Summary: You've been a trembling, sleepless wreck since your encounter with Epiales, the Prince of Nightmares. Luckily, Morpheus finally returns, bringing with him his familiar snarky attitude, comfort, and an explanation for the horrors you've been enduring. He swears to you that he'll find a way to get the daemon off your back, even if it means enduring his father's wrath.

Part 1 Part 2

CW: curse words, heavy sarcasm, discussions of past sleep paralysis

Usage:

• OK to record & monetize, as long as you give me credit in the video/audio description as the scriptwriter! I would also love to listen to the recording when it’s done–please send me the link on Reddit! Paywalling is okay; however, if you paywall, you must make it possible for me to listen to the finished product.
• Gender-flipping and small tweaks are okay (e.g., changing pronouns, leaving out/changing curse words), but no large edits are permitted.
• Feel free to use music or insert sound effects if you’d like. Any sound effects given are suggestions–use at your discretion. *Sound effects in bold, set apart by asterisks\*
• Any dialogue or reactions given by the Listener are purely for the benefit of the VA, to help them feel like they have something to respond to while they’re acting. Listener reactions in italics.
• Please let me know if you have any questions!

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SETTING: The Listener’s bedroom. They’ve reverted back to their old habits since Epiales’ visit—staying awake, refusing to sleep, for fear of nightmares.

\Sound effect—magical poof, as Morpheus appears\**

Mortal?

The Listener jumps, whirling around.

Would you look at that? You’re awake. No surprise there. Gods, you look terrible. What’s going on?

“Wait—are you really Morpheus?

Huh? (sarcasm) Nah, I’m Nobody. (regular) Of course it’s me, mortal. Do you regularly get guys poofing into your room with a bag of sand?

“How—how do I know it’s you!?”

…You want me to prove it? Uh…I guess I could, but…why? Are you okay?

“STOP! Don’t come any closer!”

Whoa, whoa; okay! Fine—see, I’m staying right here. Not moving an inch. Gods, what’s with you tonight? You look like you think I’m gonna eat you or something!

“Prove it! How do I know you’re not Epiales?”

Epiales? Wait, how the f*** do you know— (horrified realization) …Oh, sh*t. Sh\t…gods, please tell me I’m wrong. *Please tell me he didn’t actually show himself to you.

The Listener tells him all about their time with Epiales.

He paralyzed you? While you were awake!? F***! Wait, did he—did he feed on you!?

“He couldn’t…he tried, but when it didn’t work, he said he’d be back, once your spell wears off! He…he put me to sleep, and I…I couldn’t do anything!”

That f***ing psycho! I swear, I’m gonna feed his a** to Cerberus!

The Listener crumples into a trembling ball.

(softening his voice) Oh, sh*t—sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled. I’m not mad at you, I promise. You didn’t do anything wrong. Gods, no wonder you were so scared when I came in. (thinking) Um…okay. Uh, hang on...how do I prove to you I’m not...

Hey—remember, last time, I showed you my sand? And then you decided to get all Sappho on me, saying that it looked like I’d scooped up a million tiny stars? No one would know that except us, right?

The Listener nods.

Okay, good. Can I, uh…can I sit next to you?

\Sound effect—sitting on the bed beside the Listener\**

Thanks. Here—breathe with me. \Breathes deeply, guiding the Listener** In…and out. In…and out.

\sigh** Well, sh*t. Here I was gonna tell you that I thought I knew what was causing your nightmares, but of course that a**hole beat me to it.

“Who…who is he? Is he a god?”

Is that what he told you?

The Listener nods.

Ugh, of course he did. No, he’s not a god, as much as he likes to pretend he is. He’s a daemon, a dream spirit. He and his kind, the Oneiroi [“OH-nee-ree”], induce nightmares in mortals, and then they feed on the fear and distress they create. I bet he also told you we’re brothers, didn’t he?

“Y-yeah.”

Well, spoiler alert, that’s also a lie. He wasn’t born to my father. Father created him and his kin as servants, supposedly to help him in his work. I think it was supposed to be a way to help the mortals. You know, a mortal has trauma; a daemon turns their trauma into a nightmare; the daemon consumes the nightmare; then, with the bad stuff gone, the mortal’s mind is able to heal.

“He seriously thought that was a good idea!?”

(very sarcastic) Pfft, I know, right? What could possibly go wrong? After all, sentient beings will always stay loyal to their creators. No chance at all that they’ll go rogue and start using their powers for evil!

“You mean, like what he’s doing to me?”

Yup. When you first told me about your nightmares, I thought it sounded like an Oneiroi at work, but I had no idea it was Epiales himself. Of course he’d be the one behind it all.

“Why? What do you mean?”

From what I’ve heard, he was the first of the Oneiroi; the first one Father created. I guess that makes him feel like he’s on equal footing with me and my real brothers…but it’s all just complete bullsh*t.

“Epiales…he told me my fields of sleep were “unusually fertile.” What does that mean?”

He said your fields of sleep were…”unusually fertile?” (revolted) Ugh. Okay; gross metaphors aside, I guess that explains why he chose you. Usually, daemons will feed on a person for a little while, and then get bored and move on. But if your nightmares are especially tasty, that’s probably why he’s decided to savor you.

“Eww.”

Yeah, agreed. Eww.

“So…what do we do!?”

I don’t f***ing know. I can give you more sand for more dreamless sleep, but…that’d only be a temporary fix. It might even make things worse…the harder we try to free you from his grasp, the tighter he’s gonna hold on.

The Listener starts to tremble, saying they don’t want to be his victim forever.

No, no. Don’t panic. Come on, Starlight. We need to be calm if we’re gonna figure this out!

“Starlight?”

Well, yeah. Starlight. I thought it was fitting, after what you said about the sand before. Besides, you’re always awake to see the light of the stars anyway. Makes sense to me.

“Well…okay. I guess I’ll allow it, at least for now.”

You’ll allow it for now? (sarcastic) Ooooh, how generous.

“Then, what should I call you?”

What should you call me? Um, Morpheus. My name.

“What about Morph?”

Morph? Seriously? Did you use up all your creativity that first night?

“Oh, come on. You know you love it.”

No. In fact, not to be dramatic, but I’d literally rather die.

“Great. I’ll call you that, then!”

No, you will not. Hey, stop laughing. I’m serious!

“Okay. Sorry, Morph.”

Aaargh. But hah, there! See? My plan worked. You’re smiling again. I win.

“What plan!? How was this a competition?”

Oh, c’mon. Don’t be a sore loser. But, in all seriousness…I’m not sure what we’re gonna do about Epiales. We need time.

“But, how are we gonna get that?”

\trying unsuccessfully to think of any other way** …I…uh….oh, f*** it. I can’t believe I’m about to suggest this, but…what if you came with me to Erebus?

“Wait—Erebus? Your home realm!?”

Yeah. Daemons are used to hunting in the mortal realm, so it’ll be harder for him to track you down. Maybe, if we’re really lucky, it’ll be like an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of thing. If you’re not around, maybe he’ll decide you’re not worth the trouble, and just move on to someone else.

“But…what about your dad? Won’t he be mad at us?”

Won’t Father be mad? (sarcastic) Of course not. He’s gonna give me a great big hug and say “I’m just glad you’re alright, son.” (regular) No, actually, he’s probably gonna kill me. But I’ve endured his wrath before. It’s not fun, but it’s not like it’s anything new. As for you—well, you were only refusing to sleep because of Epiales’ bullshit. Hopefully Father will see that you’re the victim in all this. If we can convince him to let you stay for a bit…it’d buy us some time to come up with a better plan.

“You’d…you’d really do that for me?”

Well…yeah. I mean, come on. You seriously think I’m gonna leave you at the mercy of that bastard?

The Listener asks if they can hug him.

Can you what?...Hug me? Uh…sure, I guess?

The Listener puts their arms around him.

Ooooo-kay. Right. Hugging. I swear, you mortals and your weird-a** customs.

Brief pause, before the Listener lets go.

Whew. That, uh…that actually wasn’t as terrible as I thought.

“Thank you.”

Don’t thank me yet. Wait till you actually meet Father—you might decide you want to cuss me out instead. \stands** Okay, Starlight. You ready? Stand up, and grab my arm. Yeah, just like that. Ow; ow; sh*t—okay; maybe not that tightly. You’re gonna tear my cloak at this rate.

The Listener asks if he’s ever thought about changing his style of dress.

Changing my style? What do you mean?

“You know, maybe trading in the cloak for something more stylish!”

Trade in my cloak? You do realize Aunt Athena wove this for me, right?

“Then maybe use the fabric. Why not turn it into a vest, or a blazer? You already cuss like you’re in the 21st century—why not dress to match?”

(sarcastic) Oh, well, pardon me. I didn’t realize there was a deadline to “get with the times.” (mumbles to himself) Still…that’s not a bad idea. Make it into a blazer…hmm. At the very least, I wouldn’t be constantly tripping over it...

\snaps back to reality** Uh, anyway. Come on—stop wasting time. Now, hold still. And whatever you do, don’t let go. Alright—hang on, Starlight.

\Sound effect—magical poof, as Morpheus and the Listener disappear\**