Wizard Wednesday Episode 38 Transcription

Wizard Wednesday Episode 38 - Featuring guest Derek Kolstad

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Elf: [00:00:00] OMG, gm, W A G M I L F G. It's the final countdown to the Warrior's drop next week, but for now it's Wednesday and we are wizards. And it's time for our weekly cult meeting. Wizard Wednesday, channeling in from the quantum downs. This is Elf and Dota and uh, just now connecting is.

Bear, are you there? Hello? Introduce yourself.

Bearsnake: Hi guys. Wizard Wednesday. Let's

Derek Kolstad: go. It's time.

Elf: Um, okay guys. It's a, it's, it's a huge, huge wizard Wednesday. Um, we're probably gonna go over time, which is great. It's an extra long hour and a half special. Maybe two hours. We'll see. [00:01:00] Um, but yeah, there's a, it's just an all-nighter.

It's an all-nighter. We've got a lot to go over. Let's, uh, let's hit the trailer first. Um, cuz we have been dying to drop this thing. We've been sitting on it for months. We've been working on it for even longer. Um, what do you guys think? Is it, is it, is it any good?

Bearsnake: I think it turned out okay. Um, my hope, my, my, my biggest thing is I just wanna watch the show now.

It's not enough. 90 seconds is not enough.

Elf: It's not enough. Yeah. You can only watch it so many times. Yeah. Like a hundred

Derek Kolstad: times. And then you're like, all right, we gotta see the rest. Yeah, yeah,

Elf: yeah, yeah. So, uh, yeah, I just wanna go ahead and, um, first I want to thank, uh, all the artists and the team at Tit Mouse Studios.

Uh, they did an incredible job. They were a real pleasure to work with, super professional. Um, so I definitely want to [00:02:00] keep that going. Um, I want to thank our very own lochness for reminding us that we are all degenerate and that we just need to get up and dance. Come on de. Um, so thank you Lochness. Um, I wanna thank, uh, shark Child for bringing us that quantum style,

Derek Kolstad: my quantum style.

Bearsnake: Oh, he delivered so hard. I don't even know where that came from, that voice, but holy crap. He delivered.

Elf: Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So there, there, there's two things you want, you need in a voice actor. Number one, they, they obviously need to have the voice that sounds like the character, but they also need to have acting abilities.

And, um, you know, I was a little hesitant to bring a a for, for as far as I knew a non actor into this, but, um, shark Child, he was such a pleasure to direct. [00:03:00] He, he was real good at acting. He took my direction. Um, he understood what the scene needed. Um, and so yeah, shark Child, you are the sacred key master.

It was awesome job. Um, and then I also wanna thank, uh, our storyboard artist Augustine, uh, who really brought some drama and magic into these shots. Um, we really dove in and, and tried to extract as much drama and, and put as much story into each and every second of this trailer. Um, and so Augustine and, and the team at Tit Mouse were very gracious to listen to all the little details and the East Easter eggs.

I was trying to cram into this minute and a half. Um, You know, and, and I just wanna say, like, I, I wrote the script for this trailer, I think it was last November, um, at a time that our cult was relatively small. Um, and, and the popular [00:04:00] things from the cult at that time were, were things like, uh, DJ Auger, Gwendolyn, and I think the Cobalt Horde was brand new at that time.

And then of course, Magus was here. The one who rings was really putting his ruin on the door. Um, and so I wanted to get all of that into the trailer. Um, but so much has happened since then. The cult has really grown and there's a lot of new facets to the cult. And so, you know, I just wanna say for all the new people and, and all, you know, I, I wanna say keep writing.

Keep writing your lore, keep making your memes, keep building, keep doing art, keep doing everything that you're doing cuz I wanna put more of your creations into the next big media expressions that we produce. Yeah, I, I think that, I talked about this a little bit this morning, um, in the Secret Tower too, which is, uh, this idea for us, there's a lot of little things, but I think

Derek Kolstad: for me in particular, like having Magus

Elf: Wasier, um, [00:05:00] as part of the trailer is a super important, uh, like message from us to the cult, which is this idea that like, it's, it's a

Derek Kolstad: clear case of lore, not floor, right?

Because when you look at, we've talked about this before, Magus was years Wizard on Rarity tools, I think gets

Elf: ranked like whatever, 9,600 or something. It's like very, very low on the, on the rarity tools scale. But at the same time, because they welcome every new wizard by ringing their bell, right? They're, we've never heard their voice,

Derek Kolstad: but we hear their bell.

Every time a new person joins the cult, you know, that character has become legendary in everyone's minds. You watch the trailer that you know exactly who that is. And so

Elf: I think. That's something that we want to just keep

Derek Kolstad: doing and keep drawing from the cult and drawing from the book of lore and then bring those sort of things even into the show.

Bearsnake: Yeah. My mom was asking me how, how she can get her wizard into the show, and I said, well, listen, it's, it's up to you to make your wizard legendary and your mark on the door, but you're mark on the door, mom.[00:06:00]

Elf: It's not a phase. Mom.

Bearsnake: Yeah. Come on mom. This is, I don't need a plan B. This is the plan A. We're still, we're sticking with the

Derek Kolstad: wizards. Yeah.

Elf: Awesome. Yeah, no, it, it's, it's true though. You know, we, we talk about how rdy metrics are, that's not really what this project is about. This project is about being legendary.

You know, another good example of like Bilbo Bains, he bilbo and proto even they're, they're not, they're not rare. They're, they're just another hobbit, but they are legendary from the things that they've done. And, and that, that's sort of reflected here in, in our cult. Um, you know, and, and this, this also is sort of a segue into something I, I wanted to explain about the trailer.

People are, people seem to be asking this really interesting question, which is like, I. Like why? Um, in, in, in the universe world, why is, why use magic? Why use a sword? [00:07:00] Why build a ship out of like wood and canvas sail when like clearly this world, there's modern technology in it. Um, you know, why would you do things the old way when you can leverage technology to build things in the new way?

Um, and thi this question is actually crucial to what the universe is all about. This, this, this whole dynamic is, is something that this whole project is meant to analyze. Um, and so, so here, here, here, and here's what I would say to it. Um, everything in the universe is connected to the IR i r l world. Or to put it another way, um, this whole project is a reflection of how.

We, you, me, all of us connect to meta space. Okay? So in our world, why do we make paintings and drawings when a camera is faster or more accurate? Why do we [00:08:00] play music on a acoustic guitars when a synthesizer has a much larger range of sound? Why do we carry notebooks and pins and mail paper, birthday cards when we can just type an email and send it from a computer?

It's because all of these things, like paintings and handwritten notes, have an aesthetic component that their tech counterparts don't have. They have a certain humanity, they have a certain or in other words, they have magic. And so when you look at a handcrafted object, you feel it, you want to cherish it.

It practically en chance your heart and mind and makes you susceptible to more magic. You know, a another weird like. Obvious example would be like if you walk into a room and all the walls and the floor and the sealer ceiling are nothing but bare concrete, you would think this is a prison and you'd be miserable.

And now take that exact same room and paint every [00:09:00] surface pink. You'd walk in and you'd probably smile and laugh. And so just that one simple aesthetic component, just color alone changes your perception of reality. It literally bends time and space. And so we know this in the real world, and so do the wizards and the warriors and all the people of the universe and the wizards who use magic.

Magic, they leverage this. So when they build a ship, they don't build it like a modern battleship or a yacht with all the modern conveniences. They build it with wood and canvas sails and ornate stylings. They do this because now the boat is infused with magic. It has more. It has more magical abilities.

And this goes for all the objects that are built to optimize for aesthetics. So when, when you leave your mark on the world, when you put your room on the door, it's doing this, but then there's a second component, it makes you immortal. And so there's been [00:10:00] many cultures and many civilizations on this planet that have been lost to the sands of time.

They're forgotten. But the ones that we still know, we know them by the creations. They left behind cave paintings and, and pottery, and sculptures, and epic poems and literature. These objects endured the trials of history and they immortalized the people who made them. They were not forgotten. And so when you create your enchanting minds, you're literally bending reality and you're making the world remember.

And so that's, that's why the trailer has modern tech and, and, and old world objects and costumes and, and, you know, architecture. Um, that's sort of what the universe is about. It's a reflection of the wor the real world.

Bearsnake: Wow. Every time I listen to you talk about it, I just get so [00:11:00] excited.

Elf: Um, okay. Well, yeah, that, that, I, I saw somebody pop that question in the Discord, and so I just, I just wanted to touch on that and I've been meaning to explain it for a long time. Um, but, but that's, that's sort of what it's about. Um, w so, yeah.

So we have a, uh, special guest today. Um, is, is he ready? Bear Snake. Is he in here?

Bearsnake: I think so. Well, I just want everybody know our special guest. Uh, does not like social media, but, uh, he has joined Twitter to talk to us today and, uh, I'm so happy he did that. And I think everybody's gonna be happy to, uh, to hear from this fellow.

We've been, we've been working behind the scenes to, to find someone that, uh, really understands the ethos of what we're doing, and then also has the skillset, um, to deliver the types of, of scripts and world building that we know, uh, the whole cult deserves. Um, if we're [00:12:00] gonna take this thing to where we want to take it, we need incredible storytellers mixed in with the incredible storytellers from the cult.

And so, yeah, he is here. Hey everybody. Um, hey, there he is.

Derek Kolstad: Hi. I did it on the first try.

Bearsnake: I'm so proud of you.

Elf: Thank you. I love

Derek Kolstad: how you don't even have a profile pick. So, yeah, I just did it this morning for this, so it's all good, dude. Yeah,

Elf: I'm jealous. Let's, let's, let's give him a proper intro, guys. This, this is actually huge.

Um, Derek, I'm, so, I wanna spend like a good amount of time just talking to Derek and why, why we're so happy to have him. But if you don't know who he is, Derek, uh, is a well established figure in Hollywood. He is the creator of the John Wick franchise. Um, he also wrote, uh, a little film on Netflix called Nobody with, uh, Bob Odenkirk.

Um, and when I say little film, I [00:13:00] mean an awesome film. It's, it's, I I love it. Um, bear What else has, has Derek done?

Bearsnake: Well, I, yeah, I mean, I'd asked him to say it himself, but he's not that kind of guy. I mean, Derek, unless you wanna talk through it. I mean, dude, you know, Falcon, Falcon, producer Falcon? You want me to keep

Derek Kolstad: talking?

I'm very proud of Falcon Winter Soldier and of course diehard. But dude, these are all things that you work really hard towards and you just get kind of giddy that people dig him, man.

Bearsnake: Yeah, absolutely. Oh, the other one that, just to throw out there, cuz we do need to put you on a pedestal cause you deserve to be on a pedestal, is, um, splinter cell.

You're, you're developing splinter cell or you're making splinter cell right now, is that

Derek Kolstad: right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, deep into that. And then, uh, any number of things, I'm not quite sure what I can talk about, but, uh, there's a lot and it's all really fucking cool, man.

Bearsnake: Oh, so happy to have you here. We guys we're, guys and gals we're in such great hands with Derek and, and I'll just say, and I, and I know Elf, let's, we can get into [00:14:00] it and I want to, Derek, I want to hear you talk, but we'll say we had like, we had like me, elf and Doda and Derek had jumped on the phone.

I actually went out to, to lunch and, well, actually before that, I'll just back up real fast. Derek and I worked together years ago on a project that never really saw the light of day, but, but me and him really sort of bonded over our ability to talk in movie and television show references that are steeped in nostalgia.

And, and you know, this project really is all about nostalgia for us. Um, and so I, I reached out to him over email. It'd been a couple years right, Derek? Since we had talked Yeah, probably three. Yeah. So, so yeah. Three, three or four years. And so I email, I'm like, fuck it. I'm just gonna email Derek. It's such a long shot, but he was such a cool guy, and I emailed you and you were like, yeah, that sounds cool.

Like, let's get lunch. And so I was like, oh my God. Yes, we're gonna get lunch. And, and so we, we go out to lunch, I meet him. I drove over to his side of the city, which is a big deal in Los [00:15:00] Angeles. That's how much I love you, Derek. Yes. It's a big deal. Yeah. Lock Loch nose. Loch Nose. And, and, um, and we sit down and we just have a conversation.

And it, and Derek, it was like just jumping right back in to how like we, we sparred, um, in conversation the first time we met. And by the end of the, by the end of the lunch, we were like, yeah, this sounds good. We should do it. And I was like, oh my God, he wants to do it. Holy shit. Let's go. And so I, I like, I immediately call Aldo.

I'm like, I think he said, and then you have to like, go through the hoops of like the agents and all that stuff. But I'll have to, but like even like, shout out to Mike, um, who has been, I think you're agent for a

Derek Kolstad: long time, right there I am. Yeah. Yeah. He's family.

Bearsnake: He's, he's, he is what a fucking great guy.

And in, in a sea of bullshit that is Hollywood. This was like the, the purest version of a road to get to here. And so, ah, dude. I mean, and so, yeah, so if I didn't

Derek Kolstad: Go ahead. It wasn't [00:16:00] for Mike and Josh, I wouldn't be here, man. So, uh, no.

Bearsnake: Yeah, Mike, Mike, Mike's, Mike's a match. And, and so anyway, so long story short, um, we have our first creative call about the show and like, what it could be, what are the, what are the options and, and what do we want this thing to be at the very sort of core and, and.

It was like, listen, like having that conversation. I remember even we did a video chat and just seeing Doda smile while like Derek and El are going at it and like these, I mean, it was so amazing. Anyway, we're here, Derek. We love you. We're so excited to go on this journey with you. It's gonna be amazing.

Derek Kolstad: Agreed, man.

Elf: Yeah. Yeah. No. Did I, I love Derek. From the first like minute we started talking, um, I think he's the perfect person for the job. Um, you know, Derek, I, I, I wanna like get into a little [00:17:00] bit of a creative conversation with you. Um, you know, one, one thing that stands out to me just from talking to you and seeing your films is like, well, let, let me back up a second.

Over the last few months, a lot of cult members have been asking me like, details about the universe, details about the world. They ask about places on the map. They ask about certain characters in the collection. They wanna know history and lore behind all this stuff. And one thing I keep telling them is like, I don't wanna just put all of this stuff in a blog post or, or a wiki that you just go in and you just read it and then, you know, I want to reveal all of this stuff in a very, uh, in a more entertaining way, like through a comic or a show or whatever.

Um, and I, I think that that is something that you as, as a creator and writer int uh, intimately understand. So do you wanna like, just talk about that idea

Derek Kolstad: for a second? Yeah. I mean, when you look [00:18:00] at any kind of genre, uh, especially having grown up with, you know, sci-fi fantasy and, you know, horror, it really comes down to making sure that you have an intimate understanding of a lead character that you give a shit about, right?

And then more importantly, um, everything in and around that character is a part of the hero's journey. But as you progress, suddenly that world that's been in the background becomes more in the forefront. And so to me, you know, you can always, uh, look at these massive world builds, but at the center is Dude, Luke Ack Skywalker, right?

Or Neo or Indiana Jones, or you know, John Wick. Or you can look at all of his characters and you still give a shit about him. And for me, you know, even watching Ethan Hunt, uh, in, in the mission of possible movies, like, you're still rooting for this guy when everything's going wrong and you know, he is gonna do it.

And yet, you [00:19:00] know, it's just, there's something postmodern Western about the characters that we love that I really wanna embrace here in such a way that what you've com created here as a community will not only endure but grow.

Elf: Yep, yep. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, I, I, I want to like, Give an example from, uh, your film.

Nobody, um, that just really stood out to me. So, uh, there's a scene where Bob Oden Odenkirk walks into, I think, I think it's a tattoo parlor or, or something. And we, the, we as the audience still don't know really much about him. Um, and so he walks into this room and there's these three, like, really tough badass guys in the room.

And, and Bob Odenkirk just starts asking them really controver or, uh, con confrontational questions. And the three dudes like, get up outta other seats and one of 'em grabs a baseball bat and you think, oh shit, he's gonna get his ass kicked. Um, and then one of the [00:20:00] characters sees a tattoo on Bob o Oden, Clark's Oden, Kirk's arm, and the whole vibe of the room just changes.

And they all, all three of these bad asses go from wanting to kick his ass to start kissing his ass. And the writing in the field never explains what the tattoo is. Uh, but, but we know by the, the reaction of the characters in the scene that there's a bigger world behind this. And, you know, I, I just think that that scene is just perfectly written and perfectly em emblematic of what I'm.

What I'm talking about, how you, you don't, you don't just explain things that face value. You just reveal bits and pieces in a really entertaining

Derek Kolstad: way. Well, I like the idea too, that you never fully answer the question positive because then it makes the world feel all the larger, all the more mysterious, all the more interesting still, you know, and you know, as, as a little kid, I'm, you know, 48 years old, when you, when you watch these movies, when you, you [00:21:00] know, when you watch these shows, when you read these books and comic books, you still had this awe and wonder and creativity and imagination at the playground.

And you used to play. Who do you think that guy in the helmet really is, right? Or who do you think that dude with that lights ever really is? And on and on and on. And I think, you know, as a kid, you don't want a definitive answer. You wanna get close to it, but you want to have space in there to make all these things your own, because there's something that, uh, Applies to every other aspect in life.

You know? You know how you watch a movie again that you haven't seen in 30 years, and you know, in one scene you have the same feeling you did when you were 11 and saw for the first time. That's really the goal and the aim. And sometimes you can engineer it, but oftentimes it's Indiana Jones shooting as swordsman.

It just happens.

Elf: Yep. Yep, yep,

Derek Kolstad: yep. Yeah. One other

Bearsnake: one. Oh, sorry. Al, one of the things just about that anecdote of that, that scene and, and Derek, you do this [00:22:00] obviously so well cause you wrote that scene. But something that always, um, always impresses me is, is when. Writers know when to show something and when to, when to say something.

And choosing those moments are so important because exposition can be boring. And certainly there's ways to like make it more interesting and, and have things going on while someone is, is describing something, but like, That those choices that you make on every single page of what to say and instead of what to show is always so interesting to me.

And I think that's like one of the things that makes great writers, great writers, is knowing when not to be Logic Police, knowing when not to say something, when to use the action line to hand over to the director, to use the visual medium that is film and television. Anyway, I just think you do that really well.

And, and, and not a lot of people talk about that. Well, and honestly

Derek Kolstad: it's not just me, like on all of these productions, especially on nobody, especially on the John Wicks, it's the conversations with, uh, [00:23:00] uh, like Keanu with Bob, with the directors and so forth where like, I, you know, the joke on the first John Wick is there's a scene between him and a priest, uh, that goes on for like two and a half pages in the original script.

And we rewrote it and rewrote it and rendered it down to John just going uhhuh. And, uh, it was a lot of work to get down to one word. And yet it worked. All the, all the better still. And then even with nobody, you know, joking around with Bob and every time Bob tried to, any form of exposition, the guy he's talking to would die.

That kind of stuff. Like, I don't know whose idea that was, but because you have a blank slate in that room going, dude, best idea of wins. I am not the smartest guy in here. Uh, that's where the magic comes, man. Magic.

Elf: Yep. And then, and then on top of that, here, here's, here's what else, here's another reason I think we have the perfect person.

Not only can Derek, like build characters, build a world, tell it all in an entertaining way, but [00:24:00] he also does awesome action sequences, which is something I really wanna see.

Derek Kolstad: Hey man, you do what you love. So I, I, I grew, I grew up with all this stuff. And my thing too is, you know, I. I love that, especially in, you know, when you look in Kung Fu, but if you look, especially at Jet Lee movies, the, and Jackie Chan is the action is an extension of the character and part of the hero's journey and is perpetually evolving.

And like, you want to have action that's both unique and yet familiar. And moments, like, one of my favorite scenes in the past, I dunno, 15 years, is in Mad Max Fury Road when Max is about to take the shot and he hands the, the rifle over to osa. Like, it just, it was this massive moment that gave you goosebumps and yet was kind of funny.

So when it comes to action, man, I wanna make sure that it's the kind of thing. Then if, uh, you're an 11 year old staying up way too late and sneaking know, look at this thing, you jump out of the, uh, couch just giggling and [00:25:00] clapping. That's the aim, man.

Elf: Yeah, no, exactly. So, sorry, donor, did you wanna say something?

No, no, just agreeing. Oh yeah, no, I, you know, I, I just like, You know, in, in my head, I, I'm imagining like, number one, action sequences are awesome, but what's even more awesome is action sequences with magic. Like all the awesome, like pyrotechnics and sparkles and laser beams, and just like all the magic spells mixed, mixed that with magic and like using these spells to blast, like mythological monsters.

I just, I mean, tell me you're gonna have fun writing that stuff,

Derek.

Derek Kolstad: Come on man. I, I grew up with, I grew up with the, uh, you know, ninja scroll and, and, and all of those Yes. Glorious anime where you're just like, I can't wait to do that one day. And yet there's also something to be said for that moment [00:26:00] where, You know, you think it's gonna go one way and it goes the other way.

You know, and I think we talked about this before, but like I re, I remember the first Star Wars movie I saw in the theater was returned to Jedi. And people don't understand that. When the emperor is killing Luke and Darth looks at Luke and that the Emperor, and then Luke and the Emperor and then grabs the emperor, every kid in that theater lost their shit.

I mean, it was, yeah, it was my, my dad remember telling a story going, what just happened? You know, like, you know, we didn't know a story could do that, right? Because we're little kids, what do we know? But here, it's the same thing when it comes to action, is you want to have that really cool action, but it's gotta have that humor, levity and soul, and more importantly, a bit of humor thrown in for good measure.

Exactly.

Elf: Yeah. I, I, I, I, I noticed that a lot in, uh, in the film. Nobody, um, you know, it, it's, it's, there's a lot of, there's a lot of like, gravity to the film, a lot of seriousness, but I, I felt like when you dove into the [00:27:00] action scenes, you weren't afraid to go a little over the top and just have fun with it.

Um, well, especially, and I lo I love that,

Derek Kolstad: especially on the bus man, we had so much fun, uh, with Bob and with Ilia and with, uh, you know, uh, Daniel Bernhardt, who's the guy on the bus with the, the fucked up teeth. He did all the, the stunt coordination stuff. But like, what I loved about working on that thing was going okay.

Uh, how about he does this? And Bob would be like, you know what'd be really funny is if he, he, he accidentally hits, hits the bar, right? Or there'd be, there'd be a scene where he is like, how about he, he grabs the call line and you know, strangles the guy and starts punching him. It's going Ding, ding, ding.

And it's, oh, it's so good. Funny when you're thinking about it and you put it in the script going, man, I really hope this works. Right? But then you see it. And when I finally saw a cut of the movie, I saw it with the sound guys and it was a little, little room and they put me in that, the sweet spot in the theater is I, I was standing cause I was just cackling at that scene.[00:28:00]

Cuz I also love that scene where, where Bob is thrown through the window. And the stunt guy, you can see in the scene, you know, Bob wanted this stunt, but he couldn't, and the stunt guy actually snagged his leg. And so Bob them limps and when he goes back into the Bob Daniel's like, oh, come on. Like that to me makes those scenes even the point where, you know, he crushes the dude's throat and he's like, and then, you know, you know, saves his life.

To me it goes back to I love Silverado, I love Pale Writer, I love the Man with No Name movies. And a lot of those had moments of unspoken narrative and in the darkest and bleakest of moments. This sense of, uh, humor that I think is, is, is important and key to this as well.

Elf: I totally, totally, I also love that nobody where you had like the, just

Derek Kolstad: this real subtle humor in like some of the signage.

Like it reminds me of like, In Jurassic Park when the T-Rex is chasing him and it says, you know, objects in [00:29:00] mirror may be closer than they appear. You have moments like that in nobody too, like, uh, you know, he's in the factory, right? And he, the sign says, you know, 36 days with no accident and he like, erases the scientist, you know, you know, I love that.

You know what's awesome about that third actor too, is that siege. We didn't really have it written, written out in the script because we had spent so much time on the first two acts and, you know, under the gun. And, uh, when we came to that, it was seriously everyone. Coming up with all of that stuff. And it's just, it's just glorious because at that point, you, you give a shit about Hutch, you don't understand him, and come the end of it, you still don't quite know who he is, but you see that he's just trying to be the best version of himself.

And that, to me is why, of all the MCU stuff, uh, especially the movies, you, you know, I love the Galaxy, you know, the Guardians, the Galaxy Man is, there's an element there where it's like, it's, it's easy to say it's the dirty Dozen, but no, they're, they're trying to be the best version of themselves. And these are, these are broken.

And that's what it's love [00:30:00] about our favorite kind stories.

Elf: Yep. Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, it, it makes me think about the, the way I, I always like to describe Wizards. One of my favorite things about them is they are simultaneously powerful, dangerous, very grave, very, um, like almost omniscient. They're that, but they're also comedic, clumsy, the butt of a joke, goofy, silly.

Um, and they can represent tho those two extremes in one character. Yep.

Derek Kolstad: Well, and again, too, it's like we, we've talked about this quite a bit and you know, honestly the characters we all love have will, and they have empathy and, you know, people have, are probably rolling their eyes if they're listening to this.

Cause I say it all the time, but like, you know, John McClain's not the best cop. John Ramble's not the, the best soldier. Rocky's not the best fighter, but they get up and there's also an innate kindness to them. They have their own moral compass. It's a little bit fucked up, a little bit broken, and yet you're like, come on, [00:31:00] keep doing what you do, because that's who I wanted to be as a kid, you know?

Yep,

Elf: yep. Yeah. So, so, so Derek, you and I, well and the rest of the team, we had a, uh, sort of a, sort of a, a, a brain dump last week. Um, just sort of talked about moving

Derek Kolstad: forward.

Elf: Can you give any insight into, I, I guess like your vision for what the show could be? And you don't have to give any specifics, but just, yeah, I don't know any initial thoughts.

And you won't be locked in either,

Derek Kolstad: right? Everyone understands we're early in the process and it's what's still early concept, but just any stuff you wanna share. So, puppet musical? Uh, no, to be honest, like, uh, perfect. I just, you look at Koan, the Barbarian, the first time I saw as a kid is here, it's, it's a sword and sorcery, you know, fantasy movie, and yet they took time to actually show the Vista shots, right?

And you're just watching this thing and there's a sense of wonder. [00:32:00] Um, I would argue that what we're doing here is I wanna make sure that we say as much visually as we can, and that we leave the exposition on the quote unquote editing room floor in such a way that. If, you know, when you're a little kid and you watch Jaws, you're like, oh, that scene with this, that scene with that, now it's the best.

And then you're older. And the best scene in that whole movie is when Robert Shaw talks about the ESIS of Indianapolis. You know, it's, it's this one little story that is, uh, just, it's an anecdote, but it's subtext and it's almost as if he's the oracle, the muse, and the choir all at once. That's the kind of way you wanna actually have the exposition of the world build out.

The rest is, I wanted this world to kind of peel back before the eyes of our elite and realize that along the way, not everyone knows everything. Everyone knows a little piece of it, and some are curious and some are not. Some are, you know, um, chained to the world and others are free of it, and come the end of it.

You wanna look at a lot of these characters in [00:33:00] such a way that. You know, the best bad guys are a 3% perspective shift off of our, uh, our, our main hero. Um, so yeah, the other great thing about this medium and when we start talking about the structure and the pacing, the tone and the format is I kind of wanna just, I wanna slow down, you know, not, not in such a way that's a slow moving show, but there is so much here that, you know, you don't want to sprint off to that.

One thing that we can't wait to get to. You wanna enjoy the journey, right? Because it's one of those things that you watch those old westerns and the gun fighter walks up in the sunset, cuz you need to be the same goddamn thing and the next fucking town. And I wanna do that here. Like, when we get to the end of our journey, wherever it is, it ain't over cuz it's never, and you know, you see them walking off and you're like, man, what do you think he's gonna do next?

What do you think she's gonna next? What are they, what are they gonna do next? And you wanna have. That sense of wonder. But I would also argue that when it comes to action, um, a love intimate action, [00:34:00] you know, to me the best action sequences, uh, have been, uh, the hallway scene from the raid. It's atomic blonde, but char's thrown in the car.

It's, uh, diehard with a vengeance in the elevator with the, with the crooked cops. And it's just making sure that you ha or even like in, um, I think it was Winter Soldier where it was Captain America versus the Hyd agents in the elevator. Like, I love those sequences. And yet at the same time, I love those massive battle shots from Lord of the Rings.

You know, and you really wanna merge those two because if you watch that second one, You have these massive, massive battle shots. I mean, it's like saving private Ryan of the fantasy game. And yet the thing that you always remember is that one tiny little scene where Legos pulls an arrow out, jabs the dude in the face, and then pulls it back in his, and you're like, fuck yeah, I wanna make fun, dude.

Bearsnake: Yes.

Derek Kolstad: That's, yeah, that's great. I

Bearsnake: think taking, taking your time [00:35:00] is, or taking our time, I think is gonna be even harder, right? Because we have all of these elements. We're not just, and I know you hate this term, Alf, but like this, this, this like mid evil right sort of era of castles and wizards and warriors.

But because there's technology, because because there're all these different elements. We're in the future, we're also in the past all at the same time. It's after the singularity. Like there's so much to unpack. And for, and, and, and I think for us, like we see this thing going on season after season after season.

And, and I think the way you approach you will approach writing the show is similar to how we approach just building this franchise and this brand. And that is like patience and being, and having humility and understanding that there's no need to get ahead of ourselves. Let's, let's look at what's right in front of us right now and what's the best thing to do for this [00:36:00] episode.

Um, while also understanding what the larger landscape is. I think that balance is what is going to ultimately make or break this thing. And, and again, I think that we're in great

Derek Kolstad: hands with you. Well, and I think the other thing too is when you look at. All of the, the books I read as a kid, um, you know, those, those classic world builds that we all kind of delved into.

It was always a sense of all is lost. This, uh, evil's about to win impending boom against all odds, right? And yet at the same time, at its core was, uh, an individual just trying to be that individual, you know, and come the end of it, um, be it for ill or for will you kind of see where they lead, but against the backdrop of what you guys were created here, you know, it's the, it's also the kind of thing where, you know, you can merge a little bit of the genres, uh, visually, but at its core, it's what you guys have done here.

You know, it really [00:37:00] is, uh, a mutually assured journey, uh, and a perpetual world build that at a certain point you kind of wanna just let it go and see where it evolves into.

Elf: Yep. Yeah, we, uh, so, so, yeah. You know, one, one thing that I think is kind of interesting about this is, um, like, uh, you know, a again, last week I gave you my sort of big brain dump, like the meta-narrative underneath all this world, and sort of just like the, the, um, the, the structure and the scaffolding it's built upon, but none of the characters are really defined, like, like you would have in the Marvel universe or, or for example.

Um, and so, you know, we, we do have some standouts, you know, in our cult, and we certainly wanna put them in the show. But, but for the most part, like, it's, you Derek, are gonna get a lot of creative freedom and artistic license to sort of build out a lot of these characters. Um, does, does that sound fun to [00:38:00] you?

Does that sound daunting? Talk about that a little

Derek Kolstad: bit. You know, I mean, I hope it's fun and I hope it's daunting or also wouldn't do anything like this, you know? Um, what I love about, what I love about the best ip, right, the best, uh, brands, the best, uh, preexisting worlds is that sometimes they have too much or not enough.

And, you know, they each come with their own challenges in adaptation. But here it's also looking at the sense of the community, you know, and what you guys are attempting to do. And, you know, this, this 15%, um, silver lining amidst where we could go in the darker dower and us trying to figure out what is right, what is wrong, and ultimately what is humanity, you know, in the face of inhumanity.

And I think it's intimidating, but it's also fun because you go back to, you know, just wandering through what you guys [00:39:00] have sent me. Like I can't wait to have that one episode where there's no dialogue. It's our version of, uh, the Predator by way of the gray, right? And we're just like, this makes complete sense.

There's no, there's no voiceovers, there's no flashbacks to how a character learns something. We're just with them, you know? And Yep. I find that super exciting. And, and the other cool thing is there isn't an ending, uh, that's looming over us that a book might have. And what I mean by that is, you know, again, we talked a great deal about the, or Boris and, you know, all of those other elements of philosophical thought.

And you know, really what I really dig here is kind of saying that, look, it's this, you know, like I said before, it's the journey, not the destination. And that's the kind of thing where in a certain point you can hand off the baton to a different character and follow them for a bit, and maybe they circle back with the lead in the first season or not.

But you don't care because it's just showing you, uh, a larger and [00:40:00] larger world still. Um, and you know, the big thing is I just wanna be. On the, on the one hand, respectful to the community. Uh, and yet at the same time, challenge it in such a way of going, all right, here's where we're going, you know? Yeah.

And I just, my favorite shows are the ones we're halfway through. You just have a big dumb fucking grin. And I gotta tell you, most of those shows for me are animated. You know, I love Adventure Time, I love Rick, and Morning, I love Gumball, you know, and yes, all of those shows. And I could keep going down, down that path.

There is something there, and I don't know what it is sometimes, but it's just, you know, you know how you watch something that's not supposed to be deep, and suddenly you're in bed late at night and you're staring at the ceiling going, uh, is that what they were trying to say? You know? And other, other times you're in the shower just chuckling at something, I'm Pickle Rick Bitch.

You know, and then you're just like, I won't wanna do that kind shit across the [00:41:00] absolutely.

Elf: No, that's great. It it, I mean, this is, you know what, what's fun for me is, um, in one of our meetings with Derek, like I told him, I said, dude, I want you to just get experimental with this, get you like you truly have full artistic license to just, you know, experiment with a new form or a new kind of story you want to tell.

Like, I, I'm, I don't wanna put any sort of too many limitations on you. I, I, you know, I want you to just like, really just run with this thing

Derek Kolstad: done. Awesome. That

Bearsnake: was easy. Okay. Let's call today. Talk

Derek Kolstad: to you guys later. So, nine, 900 episodes later. Exactly. Yeah.

Elf: Yeah. No, but it's just, you know, I, you know, I, I've, I've been an art director at several studios and I just, you know, I find often that if you just. You know, you, you, you don't want to give an [00:42:00] artist a ton of direction as long as they're like is, as long as they're worth, like, telling the story that needs to be told you it, it often, it's better to give them a little bit of flexibility and leeway, cuz you gotta give them the freedom to do the thing that they're best at.

And, um, you know, I, you know, and it's, and it, and it, and it works when you have someone who's extremely talented. And so I'm really

Derek Kolstad: hoping to see that with this. Gosh. Aw, shucks. Yeah.

Bearsnake: I think we're asking. Uh oh. So, so Derek, while we do these Twitter spaces, we're also in Discord. Um, and so during this whole entire conversation, there's just like a wall of text and, and chat going on.

Okay. And so I think we're asking the group, uh, if anyone has any questions. So let's see. Oh, is he familiar with NFTs and crypto in general? Do you

Derek Kolstad: own any. That's one, uh, [00:43:00] I, I own a little bit. Um, I come from a, um, you know, financial background. That's what I kind of studied and what I grew up with in, in, in college.

Uh, but I have a lot of people that are incredibly deep into it and some of whom have done incredibly well over the years. And I'm also one of those guys that if I don't know, I'll tell you, I don't know, and I'll deep dive with them. So I'm learning more and more and more. Um, but at the same time, there are elements of this world where I'll just be honest saying, look, I get it, but I don't get it.

You know? Yeah. And so, yeah, again, it goes, it goes back to, you know, just the world is changing swiftly, but it always has been. And you know, I find that it's to the technology of blockchain, uh, fascinating, especially in light of, uh, various computational, um, you know, evol, you know, evolutions with, uh, the quantum, [00:44:00] the quantum scape and stuff.

And I, I just, that's stuff I really get into as, as for like the trading and the open sea and kind of wandering through, um, those little auction houses. It is the wild, wild west to me. Um, but I'm wandering a bit trying to figure it out. Someone's asking in the chat, if you consider yourself more of a wizard or a warrior,

That's, that's funny. Back in the day when I, when I played all of these games, I always liked a ranger. Somebody gonna do those. Yeah. No, to be honest, like, I love what I always loved about the, the Wizard, and especially when you had a difference between, uh, you know, you know, a wizard and a Sorc, or a Soer was born with it and Wizard had to, uh, to learn it.

There was something very intriguing about that because I, uh, was a voracious reader. I just wanted to read. And in fact, you know, Sonya gives me shit about it every [00:45:00] now and then. But in high school I was in the library during lunch and was just reading, you know. So with that in mind, I'm very much, uh, a wizard, but what I like about Warriors is that A to B is that A to C through B mentality that we love about certain characters.

And I think it's one of those things where, When you ask that question, you look at it to you and you answer the one, and I'll answer on the wizard, but then there's a part of me wishing I was the warrior, you know? But I think it's always that way.

Elf: Totally understand. Yep, yep. I agree. Yeah, I mean, you know, there, there's, there's a part of a, there's a, there's a wizard in a warrior in all of us.

Um, you know, this is kind of a tangent, but what I'm a big Star Trek fan, and one of the most interesting things about Star Trek to me was all the different alien species you had, the Klingons and the Kardashians, and the Fgi and the Borg. And, and what I realized one day is that all of those alien races, they were really just like a reflection of humanity.

[00:46:00] They, they all represented a reflection of humanity. So the, the Klingons were like the, the war, the war or the blood lusting side of humanity. The, the fari were like the, the, the capitalists, the, the board were like the unthinking hive mind technologists. Um, and so, you know, all these archetypes are, are really just like reflections of humanity.

Um, and that, you know, that's, that's what the wizards are. The in the warriors are, we're, you know, there, there's a little of both in, in all of us,

Derek Kolstad: I think. Yeah. Well also there is an element in all of these stories, and we talked about this a little bit before, but my favorite line in any of the M C U movies is at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy part or part two, when Rocket Raccoon, you know, has planted the bomb.

Kurt Russell looks at Star, he is like, no, you'll be mortal. And Staler goes, what's wrong with that? And every time I say that line, I just get goosebumps because I'm like, did they know? Like how deep, how daunting, how touching that is. Right. [00:47:00] And you know, bringing that here and looking at these, these various, uh, iterations, our favorite scenes in movies, be it a wizard or warrior, they both have had them, you know, and people forget that when, you know, I saw the, the first Lord of the Rings, and when Gandolph does the, you know, you shall not pass, there was this intake of breath in the theater.

Like it was, first of all, we'd never really seen anything like the ball rod. Right. But also like that, just sense of will in that moment. Right. And then of course, those scenes in movies with a warrior, it just steps up towards the 50 guys and he points at the guy on the way back and he is like, I've come for you and you, and you know, You know, he's gonna cut through 49 motherfuckers cut that guy in half.

Right? So let my freak flag fly. But like, these things just make me kidding. Oh, that's great.

Elf: You, you know, Derek listening to you [00:48:00] reference all these movies, it like, I'm starting to get a very clear picture of all the badass scenes you're gonna put into the series.

Derek Kolstad: I can't wait, man.

Bearsnake: I have, wait, I have a good question.

Cause I think we touched on this, uh, on our call last week. Uh, this is from Tango. Uh, how do you imagine the role of heroes and villains, a gray area of, of morality and evil or more traditional good guys versus bad guys? Cause you know, that's the question,

Derek Kolstad: dude. Honestly, it has to be an amalgamation of both.

And I, and I say that not because I, I'm, I'm not, I don't want to answer it because there's also part of me where I love that. A good character does a bad thing and a bad character does a good thing. Right. And honestly, whenever you play a roleplaying game, all of us wanna be dark gray. Right. We always want to be like that.

We're that badass, but we won't go too far. There's a line, right? Yeah. Yeah. And I get that. And you know, in books, all that, that stuff, you get kind of annoyed by the fucking white hats, right? Yeah. But. You need [00:49:00] him, you know, and you also need that bad guy you just love to fucking hate, right? That guy that you just like motherfucker die, you know, the whole time.

So that when you get, when you get that satisfying, uh, you know, reveal or death or whatever, and yet at the same time going back to, you know, uh, turn the Jedi, like, I also like the idea that those that you are cer you are certain, are completely and fully damned find salvation in the 11th hour, right? I think all of those moments are key and on top of it, you look at scenes like in Saving Pryor Ryan, um, the coward.

You know, the guy who just stands there whimpering while his friend died. I wanna have those movies, uh, moments. I wanna have those stakes because then it's worth investing your time into and it's something you return to. Like, like I said, with my favorite cartoons, I don't know how many times I've gone through 'em, but every time I go back to one, I see something new or I'm reminded of something that just makes [00:50:00] me glad, glad that it was played again.

You know?

Elf: Yeah. I, I, I just wanna pause here. I know everybody in the audience can't answer me, so just give a little emoji react. Did we find the perfect showrunner or

Derek Kolstad: what?

Elf: Just listen to this guy. He knows what he's talking about. Yeah. Yeah. So Derek, I don't know if you can see, but there's tons of reactions.

Derek Kolstad: They all agree. Hey, my phone still, I have a question.

Bearsnake: This is, so this is still random, but this is just a personal question. Is Keanu a cool guy? Keanu is, I have to ask, I'm sorry.

I just have to

Derek Kolstad: ask Dude. You know, at this point I've met a lot of, uh, famous people, but like Keanu growing up, he is, he was the biggest, you know, and so when the John Wick spec script went out initially to directors, and again, everyone was like, ah, the dog's not enough. He's gotta have a family, and all that kind of stuff.

And we were all pushing back [00:51:00] on, no, no, you don't get it. You don't get it. Uh, Keanu got a hold of the script and he got it, and it was, uh, I think the, the, the scriptors couriered over him on a Friday at 11, and I was at his house that night. And, you know, he, he lives up in, he lives up in the Hollywood Hills and it's not ostentatious for, you know, who he is.

And honestly, dude, within 15 seconds, you forget it's that Keanu. Instead it's a guy. That just wants to hang and chill and chat about that thing you made and how he might come play and bring his toys into the sandbox. Um, so I can't speak highly enough of that guy. And, you know, whenever I see, you know, these stories that people have about him, and they're always generous, they're always positive, they're always just surreal, but kind and gentle.

That's who he is, man. And, and I'm better for having known him.

Bearsnake: Uh, I love that. Yeah. He's got, he's got such a great, um, reputation for [00:52:00] doing so many great things. We may, maybe, we may down the line, we may need to get in touch with him. We may need him to do a voice, so we'll have to figure that out.

Elf: I, I was gonna suggest that too, but I thought you would yell at me for saying it, Barry, so I'm glad you said

Derek Kolstad: Yeah,

Bearsnake: I'm, I'm that, I'm that guy also.

Um, it looks like bam. Bam. Says, I'm in love with Keanu. Hi. Bam. Bam.

Derek Kolstad: Hi everyone.

Bearsnake: Oh, sorry. You have a, you have a really bad echo. Bam, bam.

Well, yep. Alright, anyway,

Elf: um, do we have more questions in Theor? I think, I think there's a bunch more.

Derek Kolstad: Um,

Bearsnake: let's see, uh, when will Keanu be a wizard? I think we just covered that. We don't know. Um,

Elf: uh, oh, I, I have a question. It's, [00:53:00] it's something we sort of talked about, um, in our last meeting. Um, you know what, and, and I, there's probably not even an answer to this yet, but one of the tricky things about this show is gonna be like, who's the main character?

Because we have like 10,000 characters to choose from. Are we even gonna have a main character is gonna be like a Game of Thrones sort of thing, where the main character kind of changes every few episodes. Like do you wanna talk about that Derek, and just how we're gonna maybe approach that?

Derek Kolstad: You know, I, I don't know.

Cause one, one of the things in talking about the story with these guys is kind of saying, look, I, I kind of want to kind of wanna have a little bit of a step back from the IP and that whole world and tell you how I see. This kind of tail spun out of it and back into it and within it. Um, I like the idea that at least for, you know, the first half you're with someone and it feels like, okay, this is [00:54:00] the point of the spear.

But I also love it when you get to episode six and you are with someone else. Yeah. And you, you are, you're not necessarily spinning off, but you're just looking at that world from, like I said before, that 3% perspective shift. Mm-hmm. Um, I think too that, especially for the first season, You forget like Game of Thrones, it was a much more intimate first season because they were spending all of this time establishing the world through the leads.

Yeah. And then they earned where they got to go. And I think that we have to earn where we have to go as well. And I would also say that this is the first iteration of, you know, the story scape that we'll be delving into. There's so much here that at a certain point, um, you know, timer's relevant, you want to see the past, you wanna see the future, and you wanna see how all of these lives and stories intertwine.

So again, like, I don't know if that's an answer or not, but it's one of those things where I'm like, I got an idea of what the pilot looks [00:55:00] like. Right? Yeah. And we talked through a number of scenes. I don't know who that main character is yet. Uh, and, and again, it's the kind of thing that I think the story itself and that development process will educate and inform where we go.

Yeah. No, I,

Elf: I, I think that's a great answer. I'm, I'm gonna say something that I don't know. I think a lot of, like, maybe writers think, this is very cliche, but I'm just gonna say it. What if the main character is the world itself?

Derek Kolstad: You know? And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, when you look at our favorite movies and TV shows and books, the, the, the world, the city, uh, that dungeon, they're all characters in and of themselves, right?

Yeah. Um, I'm more of, from the standpoint of it, it's, it's much easier to kind of lay, lay out what that word looks like through, uh, you know, uh, a primary. Uh, and then once you have that primary and set 'em on course, the rest can be told through whatever, uh, you know, landscape choice you make. Yeah,

Bearsnake: [00:56:00] yeah.

There's something, uh, so there's a very active and incredible community member named jail warden. He's a beast owner. Um, and he wrote something that I think is really cool, and he says, maybe it would be more interesting to have a main conflict rather than a main character. I think that's a, that's a, that's a, that's a pretty cool concept.

Um, and, and yeah. And, and so I think maybe that, that, that speaks to the idea of like the world being a character. And I think in every great story, the world is a character. The other thing I do wanna say is, and, and because we're just kicking this off with Derek, Is that like whole, he's gonna have the chance to read through the book of lore and, and sort of, and really ingest, um, and synthesize all the stories that you all have written, a lot of you have written that are on, you know, on the Twitter spaces.

And we can weave those into, into what Derek writes. And so I think again, like that, like bringing it back for full circle, you know, the ethos of Web three is, you know, this [00:57:00] decentralized approach to whatever sector you're in. And in our world it's storytelling. And so I think that's one of the reasons that we created the book of Laura is, is that give the ability to every single character owner, um, to tell their own legendary story.

And, and so Derek, it'll be fun to see you parse through that and unpack the stuff that really speaks to you.

Derek Kolstad: Well, I can't wait till we get to a, to a, uh, a situation where we have our primary story, uh, for the series and then having the spinoffs where you can do, um, You know, kind of like, uh, what the Twilight Zone used to do, but against the backdrop of your book of lore, like these one-offs that, you know, just make this rich fabric, this quilt work of just Keyon enjoyable storytelling that both answer old questions and, uh, poit new ones.

Hell yeah.

Bearsnake: Um, so I'm just going to say that this has been [00:58:00] amazing. Um, I know that we have Derek, uh, at the end of every single Wizard Wednesday, we actually have people come up and read their story from the book. Allure Out Loud. Would love for you to stay and hear. Um, I think is, is meth, uh, is meth reading today?

La

Derek Kolstad: la Yeah. We have Key, yeah, the Key Masters, sacred Key Masters, the number 7 77. We also have Mindo reading today.

Elf: And also I know that bam, bam is here. She wanted

Derek Kolstad: to say something about the um, uh, the Dow proposals.

Elf: I think bam, bam. You can, that would be

Derek Kolstad: a great time.

Elf: Or does. You know, you sound good. Okay, great. Oh, yes.

Derek Kolstad: Okay. I don't have any idea how to follow that up,

Elf: but, uh, okay.

Derek Kolstad: Well, so as you guys know, we're still working on, um, creating a legal entity for our [00:59:00] dao, but we wanted to get the proposals process rolling so that we can sort of like figure out what's gonna work, what's not.

Um, so for now, not to confuse anybody, we're gonna be taking in proposals starting right after I post the link, um, on multidisciplinary projects that benefit the cult a or potentially process or governance for the House of Wizards. Um, so you do have to own a Wizard, beast Pony, or Warrior, I guess not yet, warrior to submit a proposal.

Um, and I think that this is just gonna be a fabulous way for us to sort of like, Foster new collaborations among our cult, sort of like get each other's opinions work together. And I think the sum of our, like diverse backgrounds is, are gonna yield so many amazing projects. Um, so I am going to link to discourse and you guys will be able to read all about the proposal instructions and how to get started.

Um, and so that's about it. I think that the proposals that are [01:00:00] coming in this month, we'll figure out how to, uh, review and give feedback together as well as within the council. And then the very first opportunity we have to vote on the first round of proposals will be in June, the first week of June. So I hope to hear many, many of your amazing ideas.

Um, yeah, I think that's about it. If you have any issues with discourse, feel free to reach out to Matto or, um, or Reptar our lovely, uh, scribe. So, yep. And you can feel free to ask any of the other council members if you have any questions. Uh, please feel free to post on House of Wizard's

Elf: panel. Okay.

Awesome. Thanks. Ba ba thanks Ma. Bam. Um, ZLA Snow, did you have a question? Yeah,

Derek Kolstad: I

Bearsnake: had a quick

Derek Kolstad: question for Derek. As far as the writing process go, um, how often do you think you'll be giving us [01:01:00] like updates or leaks to how the script is going?

Bearsnake: Do you see that

Derek Kolstad: happening? I defer these guys, uh, but I, I just wanna make sure that, uh, You know, it's one of those things where you, I want to, I wanna keep you all apprised of the situation at the same time, uh, presented in such a way that it still has that, uh, nuance of surprise.

Um, so like, at a certain point, uh, even though I'm not the big social media guy at all, um, I'll, I'll be leaning on his guys heavily just saying, Hey, just so you know, let 'em know this because it's, this is, this is a process and, uh, we're all in it together, you know? And would you be showing up to any, uh, I r L events?

Like is like, uh, N Y T N ffc something or nft you'll something you'll be going to, you know, I'm gonna start because, uh, this is a brand new world to me, and I'm not necessarily, um, horrified by it. I'm far more curious. So, dude, I, I hope [01:02:00] to, to kinda dip a toe in these waters, you know? Yeah. We'd love to have you and see you there.

That'd be dope. Done.

Elf: All right. So Meth was up here, uh, to read his lore, but then,

Derek Kolstad: I don't know, he disappeared. So

Elf: yeah, I, I'm, I'm having trouble getting meth and somebody else I think is, I'm not sure. Locke, can you help them? Um, yep, for sure. Okay. And then, okay. But we also have, uh, some lore from Mindo, which is a, uh, recording.

So I'm just gonna play it, um, cuz I have not listened to this yet, but it, it looks awesome. So here we, here

Derek Kolstad: we go. This is the beginning of the story of two friends trying with all their heart to find the great magical magnolia tree part one. Sage Eden and the pony mo swell arrived in a storm to the blue wizard bastion the road where Eden and Mo stood like [01:03:00] statues before the stronghold gate rain pooling in the brim of Eden's hat.

They were hungry and tired, worn and weathered, looking only for rest. Slowly. Eden typed the blue entrance code phrase into his digital tablet as the wind and rain intensified, but the castle doors did not open. Instead, a rather disagreeable voice bellowed from an alarm system. Intercom, evening, sir, what is your business and what is that fell animal?

You ride Blue wizard, set the voice in that black cloak. There's a shadow upon you, sage. The terror of the long journey flashed through the wizard's mind. Eden patted Moe on the head. Indeed, a shadow does follow us, which is why we seek rest here. And this who [01:04:00] you call fell as my hearty friend and I saved him from death and torment.

And this cloak is but a garment and none of your concern. Gate deeper, let us pass through. The cities and castles of the wizards were becoming defensive. Even the yellows uncertainty coiled like a spring throughout the realm. New beasts rounded and warriors marched silence,

and then the doors unlocked and opened. Eden's side, put away the tablet and took a moment to think the water that had pulled in his hat began glowing, reddish light in his eyes. Flickered blue. He was a color enlightened transmitter was, sometimes the magic happened without his tent. Electric, yellow, and white light [01:05:00] burst forth from his staff.

And in that moment in the woods nearby Eden glimpsed a dark figure, but a vanished quickly.

Elf: Eden later

Derek Kolstad: found a nice spot for MO to rest, and then settled into some wine and music.[01:06:00]

That's it.

Elf: Um, Mindia, that was great. I'm sorry I messed it up right in the middle. Um, but the, uh, sound effects the story. I, you know, one thing I'm noticing about everybody's lore nowadays is they are, they're really starting to world build. They're starting to incorporate, um, just other parts of the map, other characters.

You know, it's, it's not necessarily so much about the single character that you own. You're, you guys are really like starting to incorporate the entire world in your lore.

Bearsnake: Um, it's awesome. It's, it, it, it elevates every single week more and more. It's really, it's, I think everybody's learning from one another. We're like hive minding it.

Elf: Exactly. Yep. Yep. Mindia, thank you that, that was a really great recording. Um, Derek Disks, uh, we finally got you up here.[01:07:00]

Are you ready? Ready? Yep. Yeah, I'm here. Can you hear me? Yep. Yep, we got you.

The Sacred Key Master: Perfect. Sorry for delay. I was on my, uh, desktop and it didn't have a request to speak button, so I had to uh, yeah, you have get Twittered on my mobile quickly because, uh, like, uh, the other Derek, I only joined Twitter recently because of this.

Elf: You Derek, just dunno how to use Twitter.

Derek Kolstad: I know, right?

Elf: Alright, well yeah. Whenever you're ready, go for

The Sacred Key Master: it. Yeah. So, uh, just, just before I start, just to let you know, I'm, I'm reading the first chapter out of three for, for the Sacred Key Master. Um, and if people want to read the other two chapters, they can go and see his law that that's now in the book of law.

And then there's a full story arc of, of other ca uh, other characters after the end of his story as well. So this is the first, uh, story in the seventh realm [01:08:00] and the fate of the universe for, for Sacred Key Master number 7 77, um, entitled, uh, behold My Quantum Style.

Elf: Yes. So

The Sacred Key Master: chapter one, sacred Key Master Nothingness Silence.

Darkness fails. Darkness. The void stirs ripples, flutter at the edge of creation. Pockets of space unfold, stretch and collapse upon themselves. A sudden flash, a spark of magic, a vast explosion of brilliant light, Sears space and time, shards of reality spin in the void, broiling clouds of cosmic gas and dust below, across galaxies of blaze surging ever outwards on incandescent waves, beams of lights spray in all directions, a multicolored glow streaming ever onwards to the edge of existence.[01:09:00]

A sky full of the immensity of innumerable worlds, innumerable possibilities, and then a rainbow. The celestial images wavered and then faded from his mind as he opened his eye, casting his gaze over the seventh realm. Golden grass stirred on the undulating hills. Sacred key master exhaled slowly flexing massive shoulders.

As he traced the run of infinity and wide lazy arcs around the head of the golden key that lay in his lap, he hung in the air, legs crossed, allowing the thrill of the magic to course through his veins. This time he was sure it would work. He could feel the pull of the cosmos, molding the magic, driving it towards its intended purpose, transforming the key into a device of great power.

The wizard focused all of his intent into the room, urging the magic onwards. He could sense the key [01:10:00] responding. It was as though a myriad voices spoke all at once. Some laughed with joy. Others held in the depths of agony and despair, and in the midst of it all, the key master Harvard reveling in the sense of power and purpose, the thrill of creation.

In the distance, the landscape distorted pulled impossibly upwards into the purple sky. All the energy of the seventh realm seemed to flow inexorably into this one point, coagulating around the spot swelling and contracting with a hideous tearing sound. The sky split a a wide hole appearing in the fabric of reality with an overpowering whoosh.

It began to hungrily suck up the surrounding space. Thousands of blades of grass were torn free from their roots and vanished through the opening sacred key master GAed as the winds tugged at him, he fought it briefly, but the outcome was inevitable and the storm picked him up and tossed him into the air as likely as though he were one of those fragments of grass.

He spun. [01:11:00] Vaguely aware of Derek Buffeting against his side. The SPX tried to beat his vast wings against the torrent air, but no avail. A serrated feather caught the key master across the face making his giant eye water. Together, the pear hurtled end of her end as all manner of creature and plant were swept with them into the mouth of the vortex, he caught a glimpse of a startle beast.

Sheer terror plastered across its scaly silver face. Its clawed pore scrabbling, helplessly at thin air as it was sucked through the gap in the stratosphere. Instinctively sacred key master thrust the key outwards with all his might. The incantation swelled from its depth, perfect and fabulous. Pure and spectacular.

It surged up his bulging arms and into his barrel chest building to a crescendo until he felt his lungs would burst. The words radiated and sparkled to his pyramidal mind, bringing tears of joy to his eye as he wept at the rapture. A deep and profound bellow burst forth on his lips, [01:12:00] drowning out the roar of the cosmic wind.

Behold, my quantum style, everything went black.

Derek Kolstad: Yeah,

Elf: you got it.

Derek Kolstad: I,

Elf: uh, I, I, you know, I say this a lot. There's, there's some serious, uh, quantum synchronicity happening in this cult. The fact that you named your spinks Derek, without even, I know, right? We were bringing Derek Colstad on the, is literally helping to open the gate to another world, and that's what Derek Colstad is doing for us.

So, I

The Sacred Key Master: love it. Uh, as soon as I saw Derek, uh, was gonna be the writer, I was, I was just completely amazed that I had actually chosen Derek as the name of the Spanx.

Derek Kolstad: Hey, I approve it, man. It's so good.

Elf: Oh, there's, there's seriously [01:13:00] magic flowing through the cult guys. I'm, I'm not joking. Um, it's, it's real. It's all real.

It's all real. Um, well that was one hell of a wizard Wednesday. Um, we are way over time, but, but I'm, I'm glad we did. Uh, is there anything else? Notah, bear Derek spam. Bam. No, just thank you Derek,

Derek Kolstad: thank you so much for coming on today and chatting with us is just, it's always a joy when you and I get to chat.

This is exciting. It's a pleasure guys. And honestly, thanks for having me.

Elf: Yep. Yep. We hope to bring you back soon, Derek. And, um, this has been, uh, El Doda Bear Snake, bam, bam. Zla Soul, Derek Colstad and Derek Des Spinks channeling out from the Quantum Downs

Derek Kolstad: gn everybody.

Bearsnake: Good night.