Call it a hunch, but I got a feeling Kadath here might be the one in charge. Might be worth trying to track them down.

If you can "mind speak" to Carter then maybe if you try hard enough you can reach out to Kadath.

Is the cover for the 3rd chapter Kadath?
https://questden.org/kusaba/questarch/src/169032255856.png

Marlene Collins 2024/09/23(Mon)21:10 No. 1097734 ID: 92a30c
File 172715105674.png - (231.58KB , 550x500 , 036.png )

>Kadath / cyborg layer
It’s unsettling to think if this angel could be involved in our nightmares. Still, the boy doesn’t seem bothered by Kadath.

>You want to meet [Kadath] too; when does he come around?
>I got a feeling Kadath here might be the one in charge. Might be worth trying to track him down.
Marlene: You must be very special to have a friend like Kadath. Will I ever get to see him?

Carter (kid): He’s usually around when I’m alone. I don’t know if adults can see him. He can be invisible all the time!

Carter (kid): He’s probably seeing me from heaven right now!

Marlene: Well you’re my brother now, right? It would be cool if I get to hang out with your friends time to time. Just a thought!

>Some questions
Marlene: I guess that’s why you were asking if my friend was an angel. Was he invisible, too? Were you only pretending to see him?

Carter (kid): Nah, I saw him. I dunno; he’s okay, I guess. You just look really pretty. Maybe I’m the only one who can see angels! You guys look like regular grown-ups, though. You probably have a boyfriend. Is that who he is?

Marlene: Oh no no. Just a friend! His name is Carter, actually!

Carter (kid): Oh wow! Really? Maybe he likes Yagimon.

Marlene: I think he may have gone off somewhere. You can help me find him! Let’s put your stuff away.

Carter (kid): Sure!

Everything is in its right place. I gently hold Carter’s hand.

Marlene: Is there another hangout when you’re feeling sad or lonely? Perhaps we can start there!

He shakes his head no. Maybe the adult-Carter needed space to think. He did see his younger self and our memories are mixing up. It might’ve been difficult to process all that. We step downstairs.

>Call out for Adult Carter, if he doesn't respond, you might want to start looking for him.
Marlene: Carterrr!

He still feels distant--far from the cottage. Between outside and a million miles. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to bring his younger-self along. But I’ll just roll with it. Maybe he knows a thing or two about Kadath as an adult.

Marlene Collins 2024/09/23(Mon)21:11 No. 1097735 ID: 92a30c
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Okay, let’s see if I can do this right. Travel in the dream is on a whim. I think, and I’m there. I can imagine he’s still in the woods. Somewhere. I almost didn’t notice the transition of walking down the attic stairs and into a new area. Carter sits in the grass against a tree. He looks peacefully sleeping.

Marlene: There you are, Carter! Are you alright--?

The child. His hand dissolves in mine: he becomes a wisp of smoke carried by the wind. I almost hadn’t noticed it, and was left a little speechless.

Marlene: A--

Marlene: Okay. What’s going on? I have a bunch of questions right now.

Carter: Oh. Hey. Sorry. I guess I was distracted for a bit. You seemed to be alright in the cottage.

Marlene: Your younger self just disappeared.

Carter: Uhm. Give me a moment to think...

Carter: I remember walking downstairs with you--but I can’t remember what happens after that. Maybe that’s just the extent of my memory with you.

Marlene: Is everything okay?

Carter: Yeah. Yeah I think so. A lot’s been on my mind here. Not like a headache, but, a lot of quick moments that I can’t quite latch on. Plus it feels like an out-of-body experience to see... myself. Watching things unfold.

Carter: This looked like a good place to rest for a while.

Marlene Collins 2024/09/23(Mon)21:11 No. 1097736 ID: 92a30c
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Marlene: Well then, who’s Kadath?

Carter: Huh?

Marlene: Your angel. As a boy you knew a guardian angel named Kadath. You said he visited and played with you. You drew pictures of him on the walls in chalk. Who is he, really?

He takes a slow breath, speaking like he just woke up.

Carter: Oh right, him. Marlene, Kadath... wasn’t real. He was an imaginary friend. That’s all.

Carter: I’m not so religious anymore, but I was impressionable as any kid at that age. I had almost forgotten about him, actually.

Marlene: Are you sure he aint real?

Carter: I’m sure. I haven’t thought of him in thirteen years. I grew up. He doesn’t exist.

Marlene: We’ve been sharing the same memory, and with it the same feelings. So why do I get the feeling of... nostalgia with that name? Like missing a dear friend?

Carter: I don’t know! I guess... deep inside I wished he was real. Come on, you think he has something to do with all this?

>>1097736
Maybe. We don't really know anything about this place right now. But if he's confident Kadath was just an imaginary friend then I guess it's a dead end. Hmm, does he have any particularly notable memories of talking to Kadath? I wonder if he'd show up as a shadow, or as part of the background.

Huh, whose bike is that?

Hmm, Carter's horns are breaking up. Is that symbolic or something? Also that bike seems significant given the earlier memory.

Maybe interacting with younger carter altered the timeline, and now at some point in Carter's life, he got his horns broken?

I don't think we altered the timeline. I think we just altered his memories. This place is like brain sharing, not just dream sharing.

The horns thing could be tied to his emotional state or a sign that sleep time is over.

>>1097736

Sounds like Kadath was Carter's way to connect with others, as an only (and lonely) child. It's perfectly reasonable to miss that.

"Carter, every time I opened my eyes in this dream world, I've seen him, grasping me or screaming at me, with a look of rage that makes me wake up from sheer terror.
I think he might be the one keeping us here, and I think it is not a coincidence that he looks made out of different people.

....By the way, is your first name Randolph?"

>>1097847

Do we for sure have positive identification? Maybe it's just resemblance? Be wary of assumptions.

Marlene Collins 2024/09/28(Sat)13:32 No. 1097963 ID: 92a30c
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Marlene: It’s perfectly reasonable to miss him.

Marlene: I’d like to think that I understand you better this night. Even if Kadath seems like a dead end I would like to hear more about your childhood, and your time with him. If he felt as real as you wished he was--maybe our dreams can make it possible.

Marlene: Maybe it already has in some way.

Marlene: Just a thought. I could be wrong but... what else is there to do in this place? It seems we have each other to rediscover ourselves.

Marlene: Eventually this place will reveal its purpose.

>Whose bike is that?
>Also that bike seems significant given the earlier memory.
I can see it. It’s misshapen, tossed aside.

Marlene: Is there a story behind that?

Carter: Not sure. I must’ve had an accident once. Or you did. I don’t see any... shadow-people. Must’ve been alone for this one.

Carter: Whatever the feeling is; it’s distant. It’s not as strong as the other memories. Maybe it’s like the water tower. Something I’ve seen in passing many times. Something in better detail yet so insignificant.
--
Marlene: Your horns. They look broken again.

He feels the back of his head.

Carter: I don’t know why they’ve been doing that. Don’t you often forget your horns are there, Marlene? It must be very annoying to always have horns like yours in the way. Sleeping. Turning your head too fast. Getting caught on something. Putting on a shirt.

Marlene: Sometimes. Not so many nerves in horns--but it helps to cool off faster. Most touching is negligible unless you really wanna wrangle with them.

Carter: Oh~

Marlene: Oh, shit. Heh. I shouldn’t have imagined that just now~

We chuckle.

Carter: You know, I’d try a pair of horns like yours if I could. Just to see what it’s like for a day.

Carter: I bet my head would feel heavy, but you probably got the neck muscles for it.

Marlene Collins 2024/09/28(Sat)13:33 No. 1097964 ID: 92a30c
File 172755560116.png - (247.31KB , 550x500 , 040.png )

>Randolph
Marlene: Your name wouldn’t happen to be Randolph would it?

Carter: No. My first name is definitely Carter.

Marlene: Thought I’d ask on a whim.

We notice a soothing noise echoing high above us. It’s... familiar; like a pleasant siren, a call to prepare an end or beginning. Not exactly a world-ending feeling, just an end of something miraculous. I don’t believe it’s anything serious--it’s just what my skin feels with aesthetic chills. Carter stands up from his spot; we can see the sky gradually begin to glow.

Carter: You hear it too? I feel it’s time. It’s in the air, the wind. Some kind of instinct to come home once fireflies come out.

There’s a beam of heat blooming against our faces.

Carter: Morning calls for us. One of us slowly awakes.

He shyly turns to me.

Carter: We’ll be together again, right?

One way or another, yeah.

>>1097964
It's time to wake up Marlene. Back to the real world to resume your life. Do record all of this in your dream journal just in case you need to remember what happened previously. One thing for sure; you should plan to visit your hometown and find information of a person named "Carter".

"As long as you keep me in memories, Carter"

>>1097964
Go over that phone number again to be sure you remember.

Curious. Try to wake up more naturally instead of trying to force yourself awake. Will you wake to some unknown robotic horrors still?

I wonder where your sleepwalking will end you up at. Reminder you are pantsless currently in the waking world

Let's leave with this:

"Carter, one last thing. If you can remember my number, please send me a message. I promise I won't answer, or go looking for you. I respect your privacy. I just want to know that...this doesn't have to begin and end in dreams."

Marlene Collins 2024/11/07(Thu)20:17 No. 1099474 ID: 92a30c
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>Record all of this in your dream journal just in case.
I make a mental note of that; I’ve been good so far writing everything down.

>You should visit your hometown.
I lived in Hartwood all my life; I don’t believe Carter has lived there. It’s possible our memories have only been shared, mixed. Despite that, I’m still feeling uncertain of my confidence. Perhaps I ought to visit anyway and see family down the line.

I take one step towards him.

Marlene: One way or another, we’ll be together. I promise. As long as you keep me in your memories, Carter.

I step a little closer.

Marlene: Do you remember my phone number?

Carter: Of course. I have it all in my head.

We hold hands.

Marlene: Please, at least send me a message. I won’t even have to answer or come looking for you. This doesn’t have to begin and end in dreams.

Carter: A-Alright... I’ll try. I will.

The sky brightens. It feels like the earth gravitates towards a red giant--without all the burning, I guess.

Marlene: Repeat my number. Just so I can hear.

Carter: Of course.

Carter: Six. One... Zero...

Marlene Collins 2024/11/07(Thu)20:18 No. 1099475 ID: 92a30c
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A slow ascent, there's a lulling shift to awakeness. It is as gentle as a mother would place you in a crib. I listen to wind rattling the windows. It’s grey and gloomy outside. Rain. I like rain. It makes me want to sleep a little more.

Wouldn’t that be funny to instantly come back to Carter?

I feel a wet tapping against my temple. Below me is a wooden coffee table. I use up all my morning strength to roll over and look at the ceiling. Water’s getting’ through a crack. Shit.

I’m hunched over in my living room and I remember what it feels like to despise reality.

Do you have waterproof tape? Either way, get a bucket.

Bucket and a towel, don't want the table to stain.

>>1099475
Augh. Bucket, towel, put a towel AROUND the bucket too because it's gonna splash. Maybe a wide basin would do, but you're not as likely to have one.

Hopefully it's the rain outside and not the plumbing

Mental note: getting totally smashed leads to even more crazy dreams.

Water getting in the ceiling will accumulate and rot the whole thing. Got to patch up the roof.

>>1099475

Wow, talk about rude awakenings.

Where's Seb? Any chance he can lend a hand with this?

>>1099475
Let's get your bearings here, look like you've fallen asleep on a table somewhere? How much time as passed? Did you sleepwalk again?

Don't suppose Seb's skill set includes leaky roof patching?

Marlene Collins 2024/11/10(Sun)17:09 No. 1099601 ID: 92a30c
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>How much time has passed? Did you sleepwalk again?
Looks like I have. Only short distance and nowhere embarrassing this time, still with my shirt and panties on. Looks to be about 6 in the morning.

>Hopefully it's the rain outside and not the plumbing.
There’s no apartment above us, so it’s likely rain--—I hope.

>Where’s Seb? Any chance he can lend a hand with this?
I look around for my boyfriend. He’s probably in the bathroom on the other side of the apartment. This home is literally, like, three rooms. Fuck. My head is spinning--pounding. A damn hangover.

Marlene: Seb!

...

Marlene: SEEEEEB!

...

Seb: What?!

Marlene: The roof is leaking!

Seb: Dammit. Really?

Marlene: Yeah! Come look!

Seb: I’m naked in the shower!

Marlene: Don’t be shy, I’ve seen your dick before! Now come look!

Seb: I’m almost--guh. I’m almost done!

He’ll be out in a bit...

Marlene Collins 2024/11/10(Sun)17:10 No. 1099602 ID: 92a30c
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>Bucket, [...] towel AROUND the bucket too because it's gonna splash. Maybe a wide basin would do.
We look up at the crack; it’s not dripping so bad. We do, in fact, have some large buckets; Seb has a draining oil pan for fixing cars so... there’s at least that. I pack some towels around the basin too.

Marlene: Don’t you have any tape for this stuff?

Seb: I don’t think that would be good. If the ceiling is leaking, maybe something on the roof needs repair. I don’t even know if we have an attic or crawlspace but if we ignore it too long then everythin’ll rot up there.

Seb: This old place has to have been around the seventies. I should call the landlord about that and hire a roofer.

Marlene Collins 2024/11/10(Sun)17:11 No. 1099603 ID: 92a30c
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He faces me with a smile.

Seb: Is your head alright this morning? I know you were plastered with your friend last night.

Marlene: I’m fine, I’ll shake it off. I need to eat something, though. This hangover sucks.

Marlene: Oh! Yeah I was celebrating something. I...

I shrug.

Marlene: I guess I decided to go back to work at the studio.

Seb: Wait, really? The studio? You mean Silenus, right?

Seb: Oh my god, that’s great! But... I know you were on the fence and all--

Marlene: It’s not a big deal. I think I was able to demand some things. Perhaps they’ll fall through. It’s as a writer too, so no stupid secretary duties; I don’t know how involved I am though. There’s a script I wanted to work on and I convinced Mr. Booth to at least... consider it.

Marlene: In any case, I’m going back Monday.

Seb: Does Carter work there?

Marlene: Wh-What?

Seb: Last night, Maebe mentioned someone named Carter. I was just wondering if it’s a friend from work or band practice. Perhaps I misheard. It’s nothing!

His question is innocent. He doesn’t sound suspicious of anything.
• Lie: He misheard. I don’t know a Carter.
• Lie: Carter is just a guy from somewhere. Or maybe a coworker.
• Avoid: Huh? Oh it’s nothing. Say, how about a different topic?
• Truth: He’s just a friend. No biggie. But leave out the weirder details.
• Truth: I explain my vivid dreams. He may be real. He may be fake.

• Truth: He’s just a friend. No biggie. But leave out the weirder details.

Also write down in your journal and stuff!

Why wouldn't you explain your vivid dreams? Just say Carter isn't real. You were just telling Maebe about this weird recurring dream you keep having.

If Carter wants to demonstrate differently, well he can just fuckin call you then.

Just say he's someone you've chatted with online. Maybe the three of you can meet up sometime.

>>1099603
Truth, I'm sure Seb trusts you enough to let you explain to him about the dreams you've been having. There's really no reason to doubt your loved one no?

>>1099606
This really seems like the best choice. Having some weird recurring dreams about a dude named Carter whom you've never even met or heard of in real life isn't suspicious, right? Weird, maybe, but nothing bad.

>>1099606
This really seems like the best choice. Having some weird recurring dreams about a dude named Carter whom you've never even met or heard of in real life isn't suspicious, right? Weird, maybe, but nothing bad.

>>1099603
Been trying to prove if he is real or not perhaps its some bullshit about the timeline not being aligned so he calls years in the past ..... bust out the dream journal write what you can and show it to him

Marlene Collins 2024/11/16(Sat)15:56 No. 1099872 ID: 92a30c
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>Why wouldn’t you explain your vivid dreams? Just say Carter isn’t real.
>I'm sure Seb trusts you enough to let you explain to him about the dreams you've been having.
Marlene: Well no, he’s not a friend from work. He’s not actually real.

Seb: Oh?

Marlene: I’ve been having these vivid dreams; he shows up in them. Last night I told Maebe about a stranger named Carter. A Nubian fellow. We’ve met several times in the dream by now--and there’s some confusion to whether he’s real or not.

Marlene: I encourage him to contact me. I know it’s crazy saying it out loud. But he hasn't reached out to me in the real world.

Marlene: I dunno what I’m saying, really. I promise I’m not insane. It’s just... a weird week--weird but nothing bad.

Seb: What happens with him?

Marlene: We just talk. Walk around. He’s like any normal person. We’re in some orange landscape that’s somewhat heavenly, but something doesn’t ever seem right. Maybe he’s from the past or the future. Or a robot. Maybe I’m a brain in a jar. It’s vague and I've been trying to figure out how that world works.

Seb: Is that what started the sleepwalking again?

Marlene: Perhaps.

Marlene: I’ve been trying to make sense of it. So I keep a dream journal over there. In fact, I should write down what I saw before I forget important details.

Chapter 4: Your Own Ghost Running Away With the Past Marlene Collins 2024/11/16(Sat)16:01 No. 1099874 ID: 92a30c
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Seb: I hope it’s not the onset of a brain tumor. Or those urban legends of people having nightmares.

Seb: I read once, that there was an old man whose deceased wife was buried. And he had nightmares of her trying to escape her coffin, gasping for air. Panicking. He begged the cemetery the next day to exhume her grave and found her body with scratch marks on the inside--clawing to get out.

Seb: Say! You should write a story about that!

Marlene: Yeeeeeeah. When I’m out of ideas, I’ll consider it.

He skims over my notes in the journal. He tries to understand but it’s still all a dream. He gets to eldritch robot nightmares and merely shrugs.

Seb: Maybe it’s something that’s been bothering you for the past few days. I dunno, honey. If it gets any weirder you should see a doctor or something. The brain is a weird thing.

Marlene: I suppose I could keep that in mind, then.

It won’t be long after when Seb dresses up and hops to work. I make cereal and surf the internet on my laptop. Everything was recorded from the dream into my journal by now.

It’s going to be a new week for me. I’ve got shit to do.

Summary (Real World) Marlene Collins 2024/11/16(Sat)16:09 No. 1099875 ID: 92a30c
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Outside the dream, Marlene’s life is quite mundane. But life could be turning a new leaf. Throughout her day there are moments where the dream affects her perception, even if subtly. This is a list of her usual route:
--
A) Brook’s Clove Coffee Shop
Here, Marlene stays in touch with her childhood best friend: Emmylou Meadow. Often times for advice, they generally talk about their ongoing lives. In subsequent visits Emmylou introduces her newest boyfriend Frederick Glaser who at first irks Marlene--but first impressions are forgiven.

B) Mneumonic Gaps
A garage band in Maebe Oberman’s house, with Maebe on drums, Robin Bhest on bass, and Nick Rudder on lead guitar. Marlene agreed to draft some songs for the upcoming Rock Roster at Steel City in a month’s time (Not an actual city, it’s a speakeasy bar where local bands perform). They decided to communicate through the Harmony app to share ideas and guitar riffs.

Marlene writes nonsense lyrics from the dream and attempts to shuffle them into a coherent song. There is hope that completing it will get the ball rolling for her creative mind.

C) Silenus Industries
Lastly, the town of Springford’s slice of Hollywood. Marlene had experience as a secretary and had even submitted scripts, yet most were rejected. Her anxiety increases around Nicodemus Booth, her old boss. Despite her hasty quitting, he still invites her back to work. Somehow she was influenced to kiss him--which she immediately regrets and clears the air. Perhaps effects of the dream seep into her emotions.

Marlene is friends with a couple screenwriters, particularly Dolly Cameron. Assisting her, Marlene has found an unfinished script called Jason in the Kaleidoscope. Struck with inspiration, she promises to return working as a writer as long as she can finish the story. From the sounds of it, Mr. Booth considers the offer. She starts again this week.

AUTHOR: Until further notice, each chapter will condense a week’s worth of activity/events.

Where should Marlene go first?
A) Brook's Clove to relax and chat with Emmylou
B) Mneumonic Gaps to work on her song
C) Silenus Industries to work on scripts

C is for Creativity, Celuloid and Cash!

Let's make those trashy blockbuster script into absolute works of... uh, palatable cinema.

It's time to grit those teeth and head for Silenus Industries. You got a script to finish and find a group of others to get invested in it with.

A) the dream has brought up memories of your childhood friends, maybe worth seeing her.

Have to run into Maebe at some point and tell her to stop making your boyfriend think you're crazy.

>>1099875
C) need to do our job in a way he may be after our collective cunts but we still got a job to do

>>1099895
This, calm before the storm.