Chap64: The Dreamist [fantasy/sci-fi]

Clarence talks BookTok, screenwriting, a recent publication (Quiet Desperation in the Bad Spirits anthology), and his upcoming novel, A Girl Named Mishka. Shaun talks TWB trading cards (events/Patreon exclusive), and the Writers have another local event as well as the upcoming Maine Comic & Toy Convention (April 19-21 in Portland, Maine). The Writers also now have a Patreon! Become a patron today for exclusive content and early releases:
https://www.patreon.com/8SparksMedia/posts

At around 28:28, the Writers jump into a brand new tale about a dystopian future where nightmares are created by a vengeful witch and only the children are spared with good dreams.

Check out Clarence's "Quiet Desperation" in the Bad Spirits anthology:
https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Spirits-Clay-Vermulm-ebook/dp/B0CTNDC52J/

Find Shaun's "All Dolled Up" in the Mystic Minds #7 issue, published by Kirin Comics
https://www.patreon.com/collection/31691?view=expanded

Transcript

right. And snap. Okay. So 1.1s so we've got a 4K camera webcam set up because we're trying to do the video thing more. We did it once with um, uh, pool sharks. Uh, that was a weird angle up there somewhere. And of course now I got the higher quality. And I've chosen a day where I haven't shaved recently, so you can see every bristle. Maybe it feels like it's focusing on you and not me right now. Mhm. 1.7s Um. Oh, okay. Yeah. Your lighting is pretty good. So what I was saying is with the lighting, if you watch movies, you'll see that a lot of the times they use the, the way it's like a two thirds is the technical term or something where the light is like hitting you from one side and half of your face is kind of a little bit darker. It gives it a little bit more of a dramatic feel. So that's what the ring lights, that's what I've been trying to do when I record. So that's what you should do as well because your face is. 1.6s Just your face. Yeah. 

U1

It's the only one I've got. Um, yeah. As far as recording goes, I try to do as little video as I can get away with. 

U2

But you've been all over TikTok. I've 

U1

done. I did TikTok for like a year, where I posted almost every day, and I tried to make it a marketing strategy, and it did not work. 

U2

Um, well, but you're doing the TikTok lives more. Yeah, you're like a TikTok rock star. 

U1

No, I don't know about that. 

U2

So what have you been? Tell us about what you've been doing, because you've been doing a lot of interviews and live streams on TikTok in the past couple of weeks. Oh, 

U1

yeah. That stuff. Um, so I get invited to do lives, and I sign up to do lives. Uh, TikTok, the the book community is really big on TikTok. It's like enormous and booktok booktok. Yeah. Um, and my friend Tanya, the same that one that we've talked about on here before, Celtic blue, Celtic blue. She ran when she was healthy. She ran a handful of shows that were run on TikTok and because of her health, she had to sort of pass them on to other people. And I think we even talked about it a little bit with with Connor, because he and I ended up doing one of them together. So every time that I do a live event on one of her shows, I just book it again. I just literally I'll just text her and I'd be like, hey, hold 

U2

on a second. 2.2s We will lock you out. 4.9s We've got a gator 

U1

problem. 3.3s

U2

Of course, if I close that door, he's going to start scratching that. All right. Yeah, I'm going with you. Go go, go. 2.8s He'll be back. 

U1

Yep. 

U2

All right. Sorry, Sean. 

U1

So she she has a handful of shows. Uh, and every time I go on, when I just book again. And usually they're booked out, like, two months or something. And I was talking to Connor on our episode, actually, and I said I'd never done CSI Cold Reads. So he reached out to whoever, Tanya or Teagan or whoever, and booked me. So I literally had an extra show. So I did my regular one and then I did an extra one. So on CSI Cold Reads, they usually have, uh, an author to a couple of narrators, and they take turns narrating your story. You give them, you send them whatever it is, like 1500 words or something. So I gave them a sneak peek of my upcoming novel. And they there were three narrators. One of them was Danielle. Danielle musing, um. And yeah, it was Erin Teigen who ran the show, and then Danielle, and they all read a little bit of my upcoming novel. Yeah, Mishka, Mishka, 

U2

the girl named Mishka. And you have the. So are you using. So you had the original artwork and you showed me a wrap of artwork. Are you using the new artwork or because you were just saying that you're going to stick to the old artwork in some capacity? Okay, so the the piece that I had made from Bella, the same piece that I've had for the last year, is going to be the cover. The other piece that I sent you is going to be the title page and the work for the chapters. Okay. 

U1

Yeah. So so on the inside it'll be Mishka and like, a lipstick, a tube of lipstick and something. Something. 

U2

Uh, have you talked about Mishka at all? Did you talk about it in Connor's? 

U1

I I'm not sure, I don't remember. Pitch me 

U2

Mishka, 1s

U1

pitch you Mishka. Um, 1.6s well, Mishka has a story about a Russian orphan. 

U2

Who? Is 

U1

the lovechild of a forbidden romance between a mobster and a prostitute. And in the beginning of the book, you sort of learn that the prostitute doesn't make it, and the rest of Michigans life is her basically running away from her father. And then she goes to America, where she encounters a serial killer truck driver. And then she's trying to escape him as well. Where did 

U2

this idea come from? 

U1

Uh, 1.6s a friend of mine. Real life. Yeah, a friend of mine is an orphan, and she told me that she came from. She didn't come from Russia. She came from, I think, Chechnya. But at the time, we didn't know that. We believe that she came from Russia. And I was like, oh, there's definitely a story there. And she's like, yeah, I don't really have anything else. Just that. And I was like, oh, I'm just going to make it up. I'm just gonna make it up. I'm just 

U2

going to throw a serial killer in there. Yeah, 

U1

pretty much. And this is the longest running book I've probably ever done. It's taken me like seven years to write this thing. Not consistently. I picked it up and put it down and picked it up and put it down, but 

U2

you had already written it and released it at one point. 

U1

I had an early version of it out. Yes, that's what I read. I had the first ten chapters out on Vella, I think. No even longer before that, unless you just sent me an unreleased manuscript, I might have. 

U2

Okay, yeah. And it's not all the early access. 

U1

Yeah, and it's gone through a bunch of changes since then, too. And 1.4s I know that some people are not gonna like the ending, but it is what it is. 

U2

And so next up, you've got the kids book out, now you've got Mishka. Uh, both. You were kind of preparing for the hour big con, which is in a couple of weeks, and we will be out, um, at the arcades event again this Saturday, which is. What's the date? 

U1

The seventh. 1.7s

U2

Sixth. Sixth. Yeah. We'll be there all day, basically till like 7 p.m.. Or sometimes we wrap up early, depending on the traffic, the traffic. So if you're in listening and you think you'll be in the area, let's let's increase that traffic. Yeah. I'm gonna try to get some, uh, limited edition trading cards, laminated, uh, character art card for this podcast. The writer's block. Mhm. Um, because I think that would be fun. I think it would go along with the event where there's a lot of people reselling comics and other trading cards and. Mhm. And you're going to try to sell more of your baseball. Did you find more baseball cards because you already tried to last time with no luck. 

U1

I did not find more, I have more, I have an ungodly amount of sports cards. And I was thinking about like packaging them in like, I don't know, packs of 50 and just calling them, like, mystery packs and try to, 

U2

oh, you want to sell them at the table? 

U1

I have thought about it. I'm not saying that I'm going to. 1.2s

U2

Okay, well, that would be the place to do it. 

U1

Yeah, I was thinking of like some wrapping them up some way so you can't really see what it is. And then having an amount like maybe 50 per pack and just hocking them, you know, mystery pack, 

U2

five bucks. Okay. I, I thought you meant $50. 

U1

No. Per pack, no, like 50 cards per pack 

U2

or some sort of deal where you give one away or you factor it into the price of a book. Yeah. Sale. Like I was doing with the Prince. Yeah. So this I, I consider the are cards events are are experimental place because it's lower traffic sometimes sometimes there was a celebrity there last year I can't remember his name. He just happened to be in Auburn, Maine, and he stopped by. So. But in our experience so far, it's been a smaller event, which makes sense. It's Auburn, Maine, and um, yeah, it's I think that's the perfect setting to try things out. Uh, before we get to the big conventions. Mhm. 1.5s So that's why I want to try the trading card thing. Uh that's why I started with the 3D prints, but I'm, I've stopped that. I'm going to I might still do little minis here and there, but I'm going to put that on other events where I'm specifically selling 3D prints. Yeah. Because I think it can get kind of confusing when we've got the books and 

U1

other things. That's part of the reason why I'm probably not going to do the trading card thing is because I don't want our table to be too busy. Like I'm trying to keep the the content. Actually, what we do, everything else is sort of distraction from what we actually are. 

U2

I might stop by the mall ahead of time and see if there's an outlet nearby, and maybe we could attempt to do a twb. 1.3s Or some sort of recording while we're there, just shooting the shit. Streaming live. Do you want to lift this 

U1

off the blanket? I've done we've done TikTok lives before at events. They weren't very long, but yeah, 

U2

they weren't very involved either. No, 1.1s

U1

it's very distracting. Oh, I see 

U2

you're trying to hide yourself here. 

U1

Um, yeah. 1.3s The camera doesn't know that there's nothing on this screen. 1.5s

U2

What do 

U1

you mean, there's nothing going on on this computer like nothing at all right now. 

U2

Oh, this is actually in the middle of writing his next big novel. Oh, 

U1

God. 

U2

And he just. He just can't stop. He's always got his laptop. 

U1

Oh, there's something going on with my C key right now. I think there's, like, a rock or something underneath 

U2

it. So Clarence's next novel will not have the letter 

U1

just cut out. Wasn't that in misery? Didn't like the the key come off of one of the key? Yeah. Never mind. 1.8s

U2

Off of the keyboard. I don't remember that. Yeah. In the movie or in the book I haven't read, I 

U1

think it was in the book. Yeah, I think he. One of the keys breaks off or gets stuck or something, and he can't use one of the key letters while 

U2

she's forcing him to write. Yeah. Huh. That's interesting. Yeah, I got to read that. That's one of one of his better stories. Yeah. How do you just finish, uh, Skeleton Crew? Yeah, which has the mist in it. And, um, my, maybe my, the mist is my favorite, but I think his scariest short story is, um. I think it's called the Nonna about his grandmother, as this little kid is, um, left alone with his grandmother for a couple of hours, and his grandmother has, like, witch, a witchy past. And so the whole thing is very visceral. Uh, it's just like, through the eyes of this kid, and the grandmother is like. Becoming increasingly creepy and he's trying to get to the phone. Yeah, I highly recommend it. 

U1

That's a, I think, affection. I think I've read that one. 

U2

Um, and then there's another one in there that for whatever reason, I. It sticks with me. Um, the kids on the raft, I think it's called the Raft. And it's essentially the blob in the water. Yeah. Which was kind of the inspiration for for me, for our, um, the story about the the family stuck in the house in the woods with the black substance coming up. And then Dale do how rescues them. I keep looking over there. Mhm. Oh we can do the I, I think so it no matter where we're looking it'll automatically edit our eyes to look at the camera. 

U1

That's creepy. Yeah. 1.4s

U2

Um yeah. So what else 

U1

is new. Um I've been 1.3s I haven't written prose in a long time. Like an unusual amount of time 1.9s

U2

because you're writing screenplays now? Yeah, you're you're doing it really fast, 

U1

too. I'm doing nothing but screenwriting for the last, like, three months. And how 

U2

do you feel about that now? 

U1

Oh, it's still about the same. 

U2

I feel like you're pretty good at it. No, because I, um. So Keith is still working on the all dolled up comic, by the way. Uh, that issue, issue number seven of Mystic Minds is now out. Mhm. 

U1

Um, actually, we had two releases very close together. 

U2

Yeah. You have, 

U1

uh, bad spirits. Bad 

U2

spirits? What story is in that, 

U1

uh, quiet desperation. 

U2

Nice. And you, you also did an interview or you were on a zoom meeting at the 

U1

at the live event? Yeah. So they they did a release party in a bookstore. I don't remember what it was called in Seattle. And I dropped in and said hello and saw a little bit and there was going to be a Q&A. But I had already done a live event prior, so it was getting late at night and I had to work early in the morning and I'm like. I'm not fucking. I'm not sticking around for this whole thing. This is too long. 

U2

I don't know how you do it. Yeah, I don't know 

U1

either. I don't know how I do anything. 

U2

But. So I mentioned the all dolled up comic because my idea is to eventually pair that with Wendigo. Mhm. Uh, and so I asked for the script and you sent it like that day I think, or the next day. It 

U1

was, it was a few days. It 

U2

was. I didn't even realize what you'd sent me because you, you sent me a couple different things. And when I finally opened it, I was like, oh, shit, he actually wrote this. And it's like, professional. Um, because mine was kind of rushed. Poor Keith. Uh, I was very lazy about the way I wrote mine. I definitely will do better next time. But you're because you've been writing scripts for. Well, you did the impostor script. You submitted March of the giant. March of the dead, which is going to be on chatterbox. I don't think we talked about that 

U1

chatterbox. Yeah. That wasn't a script, though. Oh. It wasn't? No, I did write a script for it, but it never got picked up because I pitched it to hellscape. First. I pitched March of the dead. So are 

U2

they turning it into an audio drama 

U1

or not? Hellscape? Chatterbox. Right. But the prose version of it. 

U2

So they're going to take your prose version. Yes. And they're going to turn it into an audio drama. So you don't need a script to fly it, or they're just going to read it and add sound effects like we do. I think. Yeah, 

U1

I think, okay, that's what's going on there. I thought 

U2

it was going to be a more involved audio drama or radio 

U1

drama, and then they're going to sell it on their website. And I think the going rate is like four bucks or something. 3 or 4 bucks. It's not it's not that bad. 

U2

Interesting. Yeah. Um, speaking of money, we are now on Patreon. Mhm. And if you would like to subscribe, I guess this is our little commercial break. If you'd like to subscribe to Sparks Media for. What are the tiers? What are the costs of 

U1

towers one, five, ten, 15? I think 

U2

one five, ten, 15. You get, uh, well, the one you get a mention on the writer's 

U1

block. I'm gonna pull it up right here in a second. Keep going. 

U2

Uh, yeah. So basically, you can subscribe, you can get a bunch of exclusive content. We're releasing, uh, the, these episodes of the writer's block a week at the beginning of the week, and then with without ads, um, like this. 

U1

Yeah. So it is. It is one five, 1015. 

U2

Clarence has got some exclusive content on there, uh, easier access to some of our short stories. We're going to probably do something like a course. Like a writing course. I want to do a song writing course. Uh, and then I'm going to put some music up there. And if I ever get off my ass and get the ball rolling on Critique the Rapper, you're going to be able to access. So basically, all eight sparks media content. It's going to be like your little subscription home for eight Sparks Media. 

U1

Yeah. So there's a lot of stuff that's going to be available for free. This is the part that people, I think get confused about. They think Patreon and they think money, but you can go on there for free. You can be a membership, a member, and you can access a lot of like our links, our interviews and stuff. A lot of that stuff's for free. Some of it is behind paywalls. 

U2

So it's kind of like, uh, we're treating it like our official website at the moment. Yeah. 

U1

So and there's also room to discuss. So if you hear this and you want to talk to us and you want to talk to other people that listen, there's an a way to do a community on Patreon, that you could do it eventually 

U2

we should start our own discord 

U1

channel. Yeah. Um, 

U2

but I don't know if we have enough followers. I don't know if I should say 

U1

that, but yeah, eventually. But for the time being, um, yeah. You can follow us on Patreon. And for as little as $1, you can get some of this hidden content like both of the scripts for hellscape are available. I think for for the $1 tier, you can read imposter and, uh, without me. 1.1s For like, a dollar. There it is. There it is. So come on down to the eight Sparks Media Patreon. Yeah. And also, this episode is brought to you by Wrong Side. Uh, Mark Niagara services. I'm wearing the hoodie, so I might as well just shout that out. Um, you know, 

U2

not free plumbing. Uh, 1.1s

U1

sign me up. Uh, 

U2

southern Maine, we do plumbing. It's my dad's business, but I'm a licensed plumber. Um, so. Journeyman. 

U1

Journeyman. I should get my master's test. But, yeah, if you have a leak, we do a heating as well, and we do residential sprinkler systems. Um, we've already mentioned our card place. We're also brought to you by them. Mhm. And, um. 

U2

Nerdcore. Yes. Uh, for which they have moved in the Auburn Mall. They are now next to 1.3s it. Was it the game Zone or Spencer's or both. 

U1

I think it's between them. 

U2

Yeah. Yeah. So a little bit deeper in the mall but a bigger space. Uh they've got an event space where I think after the April con this month, we're going to we should look into that. Um, um. 1.4s So yeah nerdcore you get all your. It's kind of like if you're in the area if you know main um, it's sort of like a Bull moose music where they've got, well, smaller music selection, but they've got local books, local authors, um, lots of board game stuff. Um, they've got the space where they do a lot of D and D, 

U1

they're better than bull moose. 

U2

Well, I don't want to say that because my books are also at Bull Moose, by the way. 

U1

They they carry my my books. Bull moose doesn't carry 

U2

Clarence's booze. Yeah. 1.2s

U1

Bull moose told me to fuck myself, so. 

U2

Yeah, well, they're not taking new authors. Yeah, or new books from authors, so. But I never had any luck there anyway. At least not in this. I won't name a specific store, but my books are at all the stores. Part of the problem is that it's the kids books. They're not. They're so thin that the title is not on the binding, 

U1

on the spine. Spine? Yeah. 

U2

Um, so and they kind of get buried. It's hard if even if you're looking for them, it's hard for to find them. Mhm. 1.4s So. And if you're in the area, we'd prefer you try to buy them at nerdcore because they've been around for, I think it's been just over a year now. 

U1

Yeah. 

U2

And they're also they put on a lot of events at the Auburn Mall. Well, they do the weird fairs and I'm pretty sure they've done a couple other ones. But 

U1

go in there and tell them we sent you. They're active 

U2

on the local in the local community, which I like. And they're super nice. Yeah. 1.2s So there's 

U1

that. Um, yeah. The big cons coming up. Oh, boy. We're in for it. 

U2

You know what? This is my first big con because I had done little events, Portland Artwalk and stuff way back, but I've never done one this big. Yeah. 

U1

So I'm not nervous though. For for. Yeah, yeah. You know, you don't need to be nervous. Um, I'm 

U2

actually looking forward to more traffic. There's there's, like, mine doesn't wander. There's, 

U1

like, a lot of vendors. That's the thing that you got to prepare for is like, a lot of vendors and these are small communities. So a lot of these people know each other and I know a lot of people. 1.1s Um, 

U2

well, that's how you met Duane. 

U1

That's how I met Duane and Christine. Christine, 

U2

we are speaking of which in May, we're going up to what? Does she have a coffee shop or is she just hosting it out 

U1

of. She's just hosting it. And we 

U2

have our own special drink flavors. Yeah. For an event we're going to be doing. Um, we'll talk more about that on on a future episode, but that's going to be up in caribou. 

U1

Yeah. I can't remember what the cafe is called right off the top of my head, but we have drinks that are based off of the themes of our books, so 1.2s it's kind of funny, like odd. I didn't foresee this ever happening. So. 

U2

Well, that's the exciting part about, uh, getting out there a little more, I think. 

U1

I also don't know if my drink is going to be any good. I just kind of made it up. I mean, 

U2

I did too. Will you help me? Yeah, 1.1s yeah. So we went with the Engineer's Delight for mine. Yeah. And yours was 

U1

the dam Ernie. Yeah, 

U2

yeah. Does it have a little whiskey in 

U1

it or. No, unfortunately, these drinks are straight there. This is a cafe that I don't think serves alcohol. Is 

U2

this a morning event or is an all 

U1

day? Yeah, an all day event. Okay. We'll be there for probably five hours. Six hours? 

U2

Oh, wow. 

U1

Yeah. We're gonna we're going to be gone all day. It's going to take us three, 3.5 hours, four hours to get there. We're going to be there for a long time, and then we're going to take 3 or 4 hours to get back. 

U2

Okay. Because on the calendar it says 8 to 9 in the morning. Yeah. So Clarence and I have a shared calendar now we're getting all oh 

U1

yeah, so tech. So no, um, that's just the way I set it up. Like 

U2

I throw it in there as a reminder. 

U1

Yeah. Just so when I see the whole calendar, I can see what day. But the event is actually much longer. It's like five hours or something. So you 

U2

stay overnight somewhere or. No, 

U1

no, no, we'll just leave early and then we'll probably dip out of the event maybe an hour early or so, and then we'll be back by eight nine. 

U2

Our first coffee shop event. 

U1

Yeah, I'm really not nervous about that either. To be honest, I think the nerves of, like, these public events is pretty much gone. 

U2

Yeah, because you figure out your, your pitch for each of your items basically, and that's that. You just reset every time someone new. The, the hard part for me is sometimes sometimes you stutter, you mess up. That's when you're overthinking it. It's usually just me. Um, and then, like, if multiple people arrive at certain instances, it's hard to like because you don't want to pitch the same exact thing that someone else just heard. You know what I mean? You want to be kind of authentic. It's tricky. 

U1

Right? So one of the things that you have to prepare for, with, with a bigger crowd is it's sort of what you just said, like you will be in the middle of a pitch in like two more people will come up and they'll be listening to your pitch. Don't stop and try to pitch to them. Keep pitching what you're pitching, but 

U2

try to make eye contact with everyone so you know that you're you make them aware that you're aware that they're there 

U1

also, because there's two of us. Yeah, we can do good ground control like you're pitching here. I can get their attention. Hey, how are you doing? What's what's going on? Try to keep them talking while you're still pitching to this person. And then after they're done, I'll be like, oh, are you interested in this? Or I saw you looking at this or whatever. And as long as you can keep them at the table, the longer you keep them with you, the more likely are you are to get a sale. 

U2

So we all pitch over here. You pitch over there. Monique will be pitching over there, Heidi will be pitching over there 

U1

and in three dimension and four dimensions because we got the smaller table, they're going to have to buy passes. That's the other thing. 2.1s

U2

What? 

U1

So you got the artist table, right? Yeah, that's the smallest one. It only comes with two passes. The next step up. Oh, 

U2

for Heidi and Monique. 

U1

Yeah. So they're going to have to buy passes. 

U2

Okay. But whatever. Um, 1.3s anyway, um, what else did I have to say? Yeah. So as long as you know how you got your pitch down, packed the. 2s

U1

The crowd, the crowd control is difficult at times, but most of the time you'll only catch 1 or 2 people. But every once in a while, there'll be a little bit overlap, a 

U2

little net. Yeah, 

U1

but because in Monique's experience did this too. Like she went to one of the big cons with me back at the end of last year. So she was pitching and she knew what to do. She knew how to handle it. And so there will be three people with experience and I'm sure Heidi can figure it out. She's she's a smart girl. She'll. 

U2

Well, she, um, when we did the Portland Art walk, she was with me. With me. And I went to the bathroom at one point, and she actually drew more people in. Yeah. Than me. I don't know if I had a beer at the time or what, 

U1

but, um. 

U2

Yeah, she knows what she's doing. 

U1

Yeah. Monique knows what to do. She. She sold books without me there before. 

U2

Cool. Uh, before we jump into a story, I did want to mention that, uh, I've been rapping, rapping, rapping. Um, I'm pushing like, 27 songs on my next album, which is going to be called Strongly Worded Album. And, um, still working on the intro, which is going to feature you, JP Jeff, um, Todd, Connor and Connor. Yeah. Um. 1.3s So I keep I'm still working with, um, this guy Nick Mandel, or he goes by Mandel with me. Um, and he did the No Time to Waste song, which is streaming everywhere critic the rapper. So he sent me another beat and instantly I was like, it was. It's like he gets my style or he just happens to have that similar style when it comes to making the music part of it. Um, so instantly I started writing and, and now that is a song is called One of Those Days. So now we're going to eventually go with a theme. It's going to be the B-side of a vinyl release with no time to waste. We're going to go with a theme for two more songs. Another song called Third Time's a Charm, and then another one called like Forward or something. So they all have a number in the title one, two, three, four, just something silly. But then he did send me a third beat, which I enjoyed, and I've already started writing to um. Other than that, I also finished up. 

U1

Oh, I just had an idea synced for the fifth song, get it to double entendre sync because of five, synced because it's music in synchronicity synced. All right, I'll just go for myself. I'll see myself out. 

U2

Uh, and then another rap I did over a recent beat by, uh, Walter Reynolds will probably, uh, make the album as well. I did that just last 

U1

week. Not as cool as Ryan Reynolds, but. All right. I'm just kidding. I don't know who that is. 

U2

Uh. All right, so should we tell a story? 

U1

Yeah. All right. Can I take the lead? 

U2

Oh, he's got ideas. Oh, I came prepared. I had something rolling around 1.1s

U1

for a beat. I'll go. 

1s The night before his 18th birthday. 2.7s Sanders leaned back in his bed, picking at his afro, and his mother walks in and he. And she says, Sanders, I really need to tell you something. There's this thing that happens to adults in this village, and it's absolutely awful. It's horrendous. Sit down and prepare yourself because this is a bit of a tale. A long time ago, there was a woman who used to live here. 2s Her name? I don't really recall because it was even a little before my time. 1.3s But she was known in certain circles to be 1.1s a very powerful witch. 1.5s And because of her magic. And her. 2.6s The circles that she kept. Because of these things, she became a bit of an outcast to society. People began to look poorly upon this woman, and they shunned her. And eventually things escalated. It started as bullying, and it escalated to this terrible, terrible abuse which drove her to the outskirts of town to where she still lives. Now, as you well know, at 18, all of the, uh, 18 year olds are assigned a specific job, and you'll be tomorrow. You'll go before the council, and the council will provide you 1.8s your job. It's very ceremonial. It's very in-depth. And you know how that goes because you've been to a couple of them. Well. 2.8s The reason why I'm talking to you now, and the reason why I'm warning you is we need to put you on medication. Everyone, before they turn 18, goes on to medication because of the nightmares. Now this woman, she creates nightmares. It's hard to explain, but she is what we call the dream list. As far as we know, she's the only one that there's ever been. And in her wake, in her 1.2s yearning for revenge. The dream missed gives all of the nightmare. All of the adults nightmares. She spares the children, which is very nice, but she gives all of us terrible, awful, horrendous nightmares every night. And that's why a lot of us are on medication 1.4s now. We're going to start you on yours tonight, and you'll have a little bit of grogginess and a little bit of whatever, but. 2.7s You'll get used to it. Things will be okay. So here, take these pills and prepare yourself. 1.2s Hmm. 

U2

Was this a dream? 3.1s Sanders shuddered. He he knew about the medication. He knew about the ceremony coming up. And he knew about the witchy lady. The dreamiest. 1.4s Um. But still, every time he was reminded of it, he. He freaked out a little bit because he did not want to take the medication. He felt that his his mind was sharp and that he was on the verge of doing big things for his village. And he, he felt, um, that it might hold him back. 

U1

Uh, 

U2

but he was also aware that this idea had come from a small sect within the village of, uh, whatever what the adults were calling conspiracy theorists. Um, so he wasn't really sure which way to go or what to do. His mother left the drugs on the table nightstand and kissed him goodnight. 1.1s

U1

And left the door ajar. He listened at the door until she he could hear that her footsteps had stopped down. She had gone downstairs and he was alone in the room. He turned back to the bed and saw the pills, and he approached them, and he swept them into a he put them under his bed, basically under the mattress. And then he shrugged and he went to bed. 1.5s

U2

He wasn't yet 18, so he wasn't afraid of having nightmares. And he also wasn't sure that that was even true. But so he did not have nightmares that night. In fact, all the people before they became adults had really good, vivid dreams. It was almost like when they went to bed, they entered another reality and it was like sort of a utopia. All of his friends were there, um, because for whatever reason, this village of people, when they dreamed all of their dreams were connected and they were existing in the same world. 1.3s

U1

Take it. 2.9s Sanders fell asleep and dreamed of this utopia. 1.1s He had fun. He played. He was free of worry. And when he woke in the morning, 1.5s he had a splitting and terrible headache. It was the worst headache of his life. He got up and he groaned. And he, you know, rubbed at his temples and he was like, oh my God, maybe I should have taken the medication. I'm not sure. And he goes downstairs, avoids eye contact with his mother and slips himself a couple of painkillers. Are you ready for your big day? She says as she's flipping some flapjacks on a pan. 1.1s Yeah, yeah. I'm ready. He takes a couple of bites from these flapjacks, but really doesn't really doesn't have a, uh, a chance to enjoy them. He's kind of in a hurry, and he goes, and there's a large crowd of people. All the people that had turned 18 on the same day as him, which was about seven people. And he goes and follows them. And all the people that are going to watch the ceremony, are they, 

U2

like on the street, walking by all the houses? Yes. And they're everybody's just joining. 

U1

Everybody's walking down. Everybody's walking down Main Street, headed towards their ceremonial place where they will learn their jobs. So he and the other six stand before the council and they have these bowls. They're sort of wooden bowls that have been hand-carved and they're very beautiful, and there's smoke coming out of them, but they look empty. 1.5s You all know why you're here, correct? They all nod. Today is the day that you become adults. Also, today is the day that you learn your fate. Do we understand? Yes. There's no turning back. Understand? Yes. And Sander's father is one of the elders. 2.2s That's sitting in the group of, let's say, four elders of the four elders. All right. We'll start from left to right. You, ma'am. This is your fate. And the man sticks his hand into the ball and pulls out a slip of paper. In this paper, says Hunter. And then it disintegrates. You will be a hunter 1.9s the next. The next person. He reaches his hand in, and he pulls out another slip of paper, and it says, A keeper. You will be the keeper. The innkeeper. 1.2s And then the paper disintegrates. Then the third. And this is the one that is a Sanders job. The. The elder reaches into the bowl, pulls out Sanders piece of paper, and he reads it, and he stops and he says nothing. And the. The crowd goes silent as this horrified look covers the elders face, and they all gather together closely, and they whisper among themselves and his father. Sanders father slams his hand on the table and he says, no, no, absolutely not. And everyone's looking around confused and concerned. And 1.6s then there's silence. And they all look at each other and they're like, there's no other way. It has to be done. And just as he holds out the the paper, he says, 1.1s Sanders, you'll be the dream missed. And it disintegrates. 1.5s What? Everyone's in a stir. Everyone's going back and forth confused. Panic. What? There's never been another dream. Only her. Only the witch. And everybody's looking around. What? This is. This is unheard of. The bold. The ceremony has never, ever made anybody. They didn't even know it was a possibility. Until now. Until he was chosen to be the next dream. Oh, and there's another convergence where the elders walk away and they talk amongst themselves, and they're, like, going back and forth. And this is written in his fate. It has to be done. And so they agree. They say, yes, you will be the next dream missed. Now you have to apprentice under her, because that's how that works. 1.1s So Sanders walks the ten miles out of town and he arrives at the door, and before he can knock, it creaks open and she, the witch, the mist is standing there. 1.1s I've expected you for a long time. She says in a slow, sort of painful voice. 1.1s I tried to get one last year, but you weren't ready. 1.8s Uh, yeah. Okay, Sanders says as he's walking up the porch. Come. Come with me. And inside her house, there are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of slips of paper laying askew manuscripts. 1.7s What? What are all these? He says. Are these. These are dreams. These are how they're made. She pulls one off of a slip, pulls one off of a stack, and she starts reading it to him. 1.1s Oh, this is gruesome. This is terrible. Yeah, yeah, this is this is the way I've been getting revenge for years. Yeah. About that, uh. Don't you think it would be? I don't know better if you didn't 1.1s give everyone nightmares all the time. 1.2s No, 1.4s no, I brought you here for a reason, Sanders. I haven't got much time left. I'm old, I'm sick, and I need somebody to take this over. I understand. He says, and together they sit at this desk and they have a quill. And this quill is no ordinary quill, because the end of it is not a jagged point, but sort of wispy smoke. 1.4s And she begins to drag it across the paper, and it doesn't so much as lay ink as it does. 2.9s Stick like adhesive onto the paper, as if she has little control over it, and she just sort of waves it above the paper. It doesn't really contact, and each letter comes fully formed. You see, it's not about writing the story, it's about imagining it. And then it applies itself to the page. And she goes on and she writes a story, a beautiful, very poetic dream, really. There it is. This one is for one of the children. And she folds it, and she puts it inside this contraption, and it shoots up her fireplace and disappears. Take it. 2.9s

U2

Sanders, while listening to this, was beginning to feel that something was 

U1

off. 1s

U2

Um, the woman was completely entranced by her own writing and her own talking like she was. She liked herself and the things that she was offering. Um. And she truly believed him. Um, he did not know that the dream ist was also capable of creating that utopia world, that him and the rest of the villagers under 18 had experienced basically since they were born. Um, so this kind of shocked him. Why are you. Oh, and by the way, over on one shelf, she had a copy of The Giver. 2.9s

U1

Yeah. Um, which he thought was funny. He. 1.4s

U2

Oh, shit. I lost my train of thought. 1.4s

U1

Okay, so he began to wonder why this woman had been exiled and why people treated her the way she was treated if she was also giving them the dreams. What's the point again, of the of the nightmares? He asked, and she was like, huh? Huh? She turned. She was in the middle of creating some terrible dream. He could 

U2

just make out the words. Something about losing your head and falling into a ditch and exploding with worms. 1.4s And he began to think, maybe I should take that medication. Um, what she did have in his pocket, because he didn't want his mother to find him in his room. Um. 

U1

Shit. 1.2s The revenge. 

U2

Right? The revenge? She noted he noticed that, um. No, he just left. He left? That was his first day, uh, as an apprentice. And while he was walking home, he looked up at the at the the setting sun, and he began to ponder his life up to that point. He was going to be turning 18 the next day. 

U1

He already did. Oh, 

U2

when did he turn 18? 

U1

They started the night before. Oh, shit. Yeah. So he turned 18. Yeah. So he should have had the nightmare. Fuck. 

U2

Take it. 3.3s

U1

Aziz, as he's walking home, he's pondering. He's thinking about all the possibilities and all the strange behavior from the woman. Because she was an odd duck, she was unusual. 2.4s And he 1s was thinking about 1s himself and trying to imagine what his life would be like as the dreaming, as the next dream. And once he got home, he sat before his father, who was eating dinner, and he said, dad, I know there has to be another way. There has to be another job. That lady's crazy. I can't apprentice under her. 1.9s His dad shook his head. He said nothing. He ate some of his noodles, shook his head and said nothing else. 2.3s Sanders thought 1.1s he went up to his room, gripping the bridge of his nose and angst and anxiety. And he was 1.2s concerned. Deeply concerned. And he sat there, staring at the pills in his hand, wondering if he should take them or not. I, I, you know, I, I'm not going to I'm going to experience the nightmare. I'm going to do it and see what the fuss is all about. So Sanders falls asleep. Okay, let me take it from here because I got something I can work with. So he dozes off, he falls asleep, and the medication begins to kick in. I mean, no, he doesn't take the medication. Sorry. He begins. He falls asleep, and he feels himself slipping into the familiar feeling where he's slipping into a dream. Except it's almost like a light at the end of the tunnel situation. He sees the light, and it's usually foreshadowing the utopia, like he's going to be entering this utopia world with his friends. Um, and he thinks a little shit, maybe I'm special. But as he reaches out to this light, he begins to get the tunnel gets longer, and he feels himself being yanked back in another direction, and he falls backwards. And then he feels himself falling into, uh, water. Very cold, cold water. And as he gets sucked into the water, he can see the light moving around, refracted from the surface of the water. Mhm. And he's falling deeper and deeper into this hole 1s

U2

and then he lands 

U1

hard. 1.2s On the ground. It is a cement ground. The water above is gone. Like dissipates. 1.1s

U2

He. He gets up 

U1

and he sees that he's in a new hallway, and there's flickering lights hanging every few feet up to the end of it. But at the end of the hallway is a 

U2

like a mechanical looking door, 1.1s

U1

one that he's never seen before, as of a kind that he's never seen before. He walks up to it, his footsteps echoing throughout the hallway, the lights, uh, flickering up above. Hello? He tries, and his voice echoes 1.8s

U2

as he approaches the door. It begins to automatically open 1.1s

U1

and he is in awe at what he sees. He's at a he's on a balcony and he's overlooking 

U2

it. It looks like he's on the inside of a computer. That's the only way he can describe it. 1.3s And there are drones or something flying all around. One of them notices him. 1.7s

U1

Take 

U2

it. 4.8s He's staring up at this drone, this mechanical bird like thing, and it's humming. And it has a camera on the front of it, and it's staring down at him, staring into his soul. Oh, God. What the fuck is that? He thinks. And it lowers. And it lowers. And it gets very close to him. To the point where he can almost touch it and he's frozen with fear, staring into the lens of this camera and seeing his own reflection. And as he reaches out to touch it's mechanical legs, mechanical wings, whatever. The dream shatters and he wakes up in a cold 

U1

sweat. In a cold sweat. What the hell was that? It wasn't really that scary, but unpleasant. 

U2

And it felt as real as the utopia. Yeah. 1.3s

U1

And he gets up and he stretches and he rubs his temple and he's confused. Why would why would she write that for me? Why is this some kind of reflection? Some kind of I don't know. And he goes, he gets breakfast on the run because he has so many questions for the dream. Missed so many. And he walks his ten miles, which is exhausting. 1.2s Through the city and through the village, and then into the woods and then to the dreamiest house. 

U2

The grandmother's house. We go. 

U1

Yeah. And then he sits down with her and he says, why? Why did you do that to me? What what significance does all of that have? And she 1.2s stares into the inkwell for a second, and she says, there's a whole world out there that you don't understand, and maybe you never will. A whole journey that you've yet to touch. Now, come, come. It's your turn. She hands him the pen. 1.1s And he leans forward at the desk and he begins to move his hand with the pen across the page. But it doesn't work the way it did for her. Ah, you're not thinking. You're not seeing the story. Close your eyes. See it? It's as real as it ever could be. It's a part of you, and you're a part of it, right? And he does. He closes his eye and he leans in, and the words attach themselves to the page from left to right, bottom to top. 1.3s I mean, top to bottom. I can't read. 1.1s And when he opens, there's a whole dream. And he says, oh my God. It's it's almost beautiful. She nods, and she says, that's the way it used to be before they shunned me, before they tossed me out. She takes it and she folds it. She puts it inside the contraption and it shoots up her chimney. She says while you do it, you write the good dreams. And until you take over, I'll write the nightmares. 4.4s Uh, 1.1s so he agrees, and he immediately begins to write. Or let the muse, I guess, so to speak, channel threw him onto the page for the next stream. 1.2s Um, but he he finds himself thinking about his nightmare from the night before, and he can't stop thinking about or asking him. He's he 

U2

he's wondering what it was and why it felt as real as the utopia. Um, and. 2.7s Now I'm going to toss it right back to you. 3.2s

U1

She had not answered his questions about the dream, had not really given him anything. And as he's laying in bed, he's thinking, 1s I don't I don't understand the message. I don't get it. And then he drifts off to sleep, still having not taken the medication, because now he trusts her. He doesn't believe that she will be as much of a menace to him as she is to the people who have wronged her. The people of the village. 1.4s He drifts off into her sleep. And then in this dream, there's war. There are. But not just any war. It's like war. Throughout history, it starts very sticks and stones and spears, and it grows. And then it leads into, uh, arrows, and then it leads into muskets, and then it leads into guns, and then it leads into nuclear fallout. And he's watching all of this as it happens. And then right before it fizzles away, 1.2s he sees the truth. The truth of when she was younger, when the mist had lived in the village, as one of them, 1.4s she was running her hand across a child's arm, a child's arm that had been badly burned. And as she's doing so, the skin is being repaired very slowly. But being repaired. 2.6s I think I understand, I think, I think I get it. He sits up awake. He wakes up in a start. I have so many more questions and he gets up and he's running out the door when his father's calling. Hey, what's what's going on with the dreamers? Aren't you going to tell me anything? No, no, no, I don't have time. 1s And he runs. And he runs those ten miles, only stopping when he absolutely has to. And he gets to our house and he asks the poignant question, the question that had been eating him alive since he woke up from the dream. What was it that they pulled out of the bowl for you? It wasn't the dream missed. What was it? 1.2s Now that is the million dollar question. I was the only kid who turned 18 on that day. I was the only one. And I was chosen as the healer. But nobody else knew. 1.4s We had to keep it a secret. 4.2s I have 

U2

no idea. 2.7s That this might have to be a two parter. Unless you knew where you were going with that. 1.4s

U1

I could wrap it 

U2

up. I keep thinking like the giver, the matrix. Uh, this one that I always listen to 

U1

by, uh, I was a little inspired by The Giver. I just 

U2

see Clark, the city and the stars. 

U1

I don't know that one. 1.6s

U2

All right, so, like, I, I wanted to end it a certain way, but I kept going in those directions, and I. Yeah. 2.9s

U1

As the days progress, they continue back and forth writing dreams and nightmares. And as it goes, she the dream becomes less and less angry and the dreams become softer. Still not dreams per se, still a little nightmarish, but they become a little. And as they're going back and forth, they're talking every day. And she's telling him about her childhood and about how things had been before they shunned her out, before they called her a witch before. And she was talking about all the good that she had done for the community and about how she had done everything she could wake every waking hour she could healing people, doing the best she could and she had. Taking on sort of a witchy persona because she needed potions and she needed 1.3s substances to help heal faster and things, but but she no matter what she said, they all pointed at her like she was terrible. And there was this huge misunderstanding, and some of it had been led by a furious ex-lover, and he had been the one who had started these witchy rumours. And as she pours out her heart to Sanders, she begins to weep. And she says, I, I tried, I tried everything that I could. I tried to get back into their good graces. I tried, they tried to kill me. They tried to burn me at the stake. And then, 1.1s after six weeks of apprenticeship, Sanders arrives 1.1s at her house and she's lying in her bed and she's not getting up. 1.1s Oh, no, he says, and she nods very politely, very weak. She takes his hand in both of hers, and she says, it's time. I have to go. You have to take over. Don't do what I did. I was in the wrong. I gave them all nightmares when I should have given them visions of hope. I should have shown them love and mercy all those years ago. Please do better. 1.8s