"I've seen him, Carter. I've seen your friend in my dreams. But every time he appears in those dreams, he grabs me or screams and I get so scared I wake up! What would make him be so mean to me, do you know?"

>>1097287

Are we sure the ugly hateful cyborg layer is what he's talking about though? I'm not so sure!

>Yet he... feels far away from here, away from the cottage.

hmmm... ask kid carter if there is a place far from here that he likes to visit when he feels depressed or needs to think. Whatever kid carter answers is probably where adult carter went, and we can will ourself over to him.

I think before we leave to find Carter, we should also ask if kid Carter actually saw adult Carter, or if he was invisible to him. He didn't seem to have as big of a response to adult carter than he had with us. Something tells me he only see's you, but can't see Carter.

We can also probably ask kid Carter from his perspective what we look like to him. If to us, he looks like a silhouette like kid Marlene did, then perhaps we look different to him too.

>>1097269
Call out for Adult Carter, if he doesn't respond, you might want to start looking for him.
>>1097324
Seconding this, right before you search you might need to take his child-self along too just to be sure.

>>1097324
On second thought, Carter said he did remember seeing us, so we would probably be recognizable to him. Still, I wanna know what kid carter sees in our appearance to see if there is anything different about how he see's us, and how we see ourselves.

Being two people at once would be very unsettling. This might just be too weird for Carter and he needs some space. Imagine if he were talking to a younger version of you, and you started remembering talking to someone when you were young.

So that's why Carter thought you were an angel! You have only one set of horns of course, but it's an easy mistake to make. You might tell him he's very lucky to have Kadath as a friend. You've never even met an angel before!

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
File 172715108720.png - (317.84KB , 550x500 , 037.png )

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
File 172715111516.png - (273.06KB , 550x500 , 038.png )

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
File 172755553307.png - (261.14KB , 550x500 , 039.png )

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
File 173103944799.png - (232.06KB , 550x500 , 041.png )

>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
File 173103949393.png - (192.03KB , 550x500 , 042.png )

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
File 173128736319.png - (155.67KB , 550x500 , 043.png )

>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
File 173128741510.png - (184.53KB , 550x500 , 044.png )

>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
File 173128751164.png - (151.92KB , 550x500 , 045.png )

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
File 173180137458.png - (153.02KB , 550x500 , 046.png )

>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
File 173180171463.png - (223.73KB , 550x500 , 047.png )

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
File 173180216479.png - (173.87KB , 550x500 , 048.png )

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.

Marlene Collins 2024/12/02(Mon)13:59 No. 1100655 ID: 92a30c
File 173317675004.png - (252.52KB , 550x500 , 049.png )

>Let’s make those trashy blockbuster scripts into absolute works of palatable cinema.
It’s pretty rainy waiting for the bus. I think the weatherman says it’ll last a good while. April showers, I suppose. I make sure the basin is empty before leaving.

Arriving at the studio, I think about what may have happened with that script. I have my old ID--and wonder if I’m still in the system. Nevertheless Lars lets me through. Muscle memory guides my legs through the lobby and into the elevator. It feels weird how automated my path is to the correct floor.

And here are the writers.

Bo: My, my, look who has returned.

Roy: Crawlin’ back to us, huh? Heh heh.

Marlene: Hey guys.

Dolly: Let me be the first to welcome you back, Marley! The second time’s the charm, right?

Marlene: I guess I am back, huh? Hopefully I won’t freak out like last time. I’ll have to see what Mr. Booth has in store for me.

Dolly: Oh! Yeah, Nico wants to see you in his office before you start your day. He’ll probably pit you with us. You sure know how to spot the good stuff, don’t-cha?

I utter an awkward chuckle.

Marlene: Wish me luck, then.

Marlene Collins 2024/12/02(Mon)13:59 No. 1100656 ID: 92a30c
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I patiently wait outside Booth’s office. Someone else has just finished a meeting. The stranger notices me and pauses a moment.

Stranger: Huh. You must’ve been the one on the phone. Marlin, right?

Marlene: Marlene. But close enough. Do I know--?

Stranger: Oh! It’s me, Devon. Devon Neiro! You were the one who read my father’s story. I met your boss to sell the rights to the script.

Devon: I drove all the way here during the weekend to negotiate.

Immediately I shake his hand.

Marlene: Right! Devon! Of course! It’s nice to meet you in person! It sounds like it... went well!

Devon: Oh yeah. There are still a couple of things to sign but it’s in your hands now.

Devon: I still want to thank you for honoring my father--at least a part of him could live on in some way.

Devon: I read a bit of it; it’s not really my thing and it’s hard to follow in some parts. But you seemed thrilled and invested on the phone; maybe you’ll make something of it. I’ll just stick to crime dramas.

Marlene: It’s still good to meet you. I won’t keep ya from where you’re going. Have yourself a good day.

Devon: Let me know when the movie’s out, alright? Heh heh. You take care, Marlene.

Marlene Collins 2024/12/02(Mon)13:59 No. 1100657 ID: 92a30c
File 173317679598.png - (131.82KB , 550x500 , 051.png )

I walk in Mr. Booth’s office. He’s glad to see me--we make with quick pleasantries before I segue into work-mode.

Marlene: Where’s my station, boss?

Nico: You’re in the middle of a big change at Silenus. We’re wrapping up shows before the quarter’s end; the distributors we collaborate with will drop any IPs which failed to garner attention. And like I’ve said before, I’m being forced to... reevaluate... my current staff.

Nico: Out with the old, I suppose. It’ll bring in a slew of new ideas that you may have a chance to hop on.

I’m silent, but I notice how I’m standing at attention nodding at each sentence. He notices his ramblings-on.

Nico: If you haven’t heard by now, I convinced the higher-ups to purchase that script.

Nico: It wasn’t easy.

Nico: But they were mildly agreeable in the end--I’m expecting your best in this story. I’m not going to be made a fool for entrusting you. Is that understood?

Marlene: Yes. Thank you... sir.

Nico: My associates won’t let this relax either. Amused by my vouch for this unfinished, convoluted script, they ordered the whole thing to be finished within the next four weeks.

Marlene: Four goddamn weeks?

Nico: Hey, at least it’s partially done. You can work with what you’ve got.

Nico: But that’s where the favor ends. You’ll work on it as promised, but...

Nico: I’ve paired you with another writer to speed things along.

Marlene: What?! I mean--who?

Nico: I’ve passed the script around; and I’ve appointed Ms. Cameron as your co-writer.

Marlene: Dolly?

Nico: Yes! You two will work just fine. Also, feel free to sift through any more golden scripts we have lying around on your free time.

Nico: But I must usher you on out. I’m about to be flooded with calls.

Nico: And Marlene... welcome back.

Marlene Collins 2024/12/02(Mon)14:00 No. 1100658 ID: 92a30c
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Ushered I was. I hurry on back with the script and a notebook. I’m a bit concerned whether Dolly felt the same as I did reading the story. I’m not saying she aint clever at writing, but I feel Kaleidoscope is my baby now.

Am I going to be too obsessive? I’ll have to keep an open mind.

Marlene: So you’ve read the script, huh? And you have no problem understanding the plot?

Dolly: I’ve already caught up with it! The story is interesting and all--but I think we ought to dumb it down. Ya know?

Dolly: The average audience can barely remember what happens every twenty minutes when they see a movie. It’s our job to captivate and appeal to as many people as we can!

Marlene: I get that, sure. But... maybe it can still be a bit... ambitious?

Dolly: Let’s just get the basic plot points down first; then we’ll slap whatever ambition we have saved on top if there’s time!

Dolly: We’ll zoom through the script. And before you know it, it’ll already be May!

Marlene Collins 2024/12/02(Mon)14:44 No. 1100670 ID: 92a30c
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Dolly: So we have our inciting incident and a bit of act 2; we need to keep the situation rising to a climax!

Dolly: Have you thought about an ending yet? I think we should just get that out of the way. Then fill everything in-between.

Dolly: Jason is stuck in a timeloop or something. Right? Let’s get the easy solutions out of the way. I can propose a few things to get us started:

>a. Dolly: It can all be just a dream I guess! Uh, about a kid who needs to make a hard decision! That’s just one that comes to mind first.
>b. Dolly: Or Jason is actually in a coma and has to find his way back to reality!
>c. Dolly: Or it’s the future and an old Jason wears a machine to recall and change memories!
>d. Dolly: Maybe Jason can learn how to solve an equation to turn back time! Talks to another Jason, even! Somehow.

>e. Marlene: I can think of one better... [___]
>f. Marlene: I’d rather just pick up where the story left off, first...
Last Chapters
[>>/questarch/1068908] Vodka & Soda
[>>/questarch/1070316] Conflicting Memories
[>>/questarch/1073379] The Prom
[>>/questarch/1080630] The Anchor (Kaleidoscope Rules)

Hmm, maybe Jason manages to contact other versions of himself, probably at another turning point in each of their lives, and begins steering them towards a better path, better choices.

Then he realizes that each time a Jason makes a good life choice, other worlds splinter from that timeline, worlds in which Jason took a different route.
He begins dispairing, thinking all his choices are meaningless. Then he has an experience, in the climax of the story, that drives him to realize that changing all lives and also the cosmos is more than any one person can do, but he still influenced the other Jasons a little and there is one life he can truly change.

His own.

And then he goes back. Back to his original body, permanently injured from the car crash, and his life somewhat worse for the wear because of it. But Ellz is there.And so are his friends. Memories come back to him of what his life has been since his first jump. It wasn't perfect, and he often hesitated and doubted himself, but he made the most of his limitations.

Ellz notices he's startled and ask him what's wrong.
Jason, now finally resolute in the life he wants to live, says he wants to go somewhere special with her and his buddies on vacation after graduation and ask her what place she would love to visit. Ellz then says "Hmm, I'm not sure...

What would your choice be?"

Aaaaand scene!

Jason learns that there's more to life than just his little multiple-choice life. In all his choices up to that point, he kept failing to make the one choice he should have pursued: finding out where his power came in the first place.

Jason is not a hero. There is no version of him that is a super-soldier, a teen genius, a born leader, or even a lucky guy. But he is there, where he is needed. And that ends up being enough.
This time, Jason lets himself get hit by the car, and in a fit of truly spoiled, childish rage, points all his hostility at the driver, keeping him tied up by Jason and his friends long enough for the police to arrive and discover that the driver was a monstrous slave trafficker; there is a little girl in his trunk, tied up and barely able to breathe. Jason is left with crippling injuries but 'somehow' always manages to pull through the surgeries, eventually taking an experimental one that enhances his mobility. It turns out that Jason originally didn't have superpowers, but the girl in the trunk did. The people who kidnapped her only knew that she was 'abnormally lucky' and decided to sell her to an ex-president some big corporate CEO, yep, most definitely. She visits him in secret a few times, telling him about the secret world behind the curtain, all the people with powers that are constantly exploited, and how, in a fit of desperation, she felt him about to die and tried to give him all the myriad ways of living at once so he'd come back knowing how to position himself to not get splattered.

When his mom is finally able to visit, Jason insists on adopting the girl, who is now in an orphanage. She ends up being troublesome at times - every time Jason tries to date one of the girls, she ends up hitting on them as well, encouraging a threesome no matter how discomforted the girls get - but this time, Jason and his sister aren't alone.

There's a big scene at the end where Jason and his sister are represented with little lights, and the city opens up to reveal sparse lights throughout - that, no matter how many bad choices you make or how many things you regret, as long as there's a world around you, there's always a way to find happiness - you just have to choose to look for it.

Oh and the cyber master from your dreams puppeteering a few people in the city from above.

>>1100693
Something along these lines seems right. What he needs to learn is that the other timelines he's been visiting are just as valid, there isn't a 'right' one. You have to live with your decisions and improve your life from there, not obsess on how things could have been different.

>>1100670

C'mon, Dolly, we've got TONS of media that deals with weird time-jumping stuff. Several movies have done it already, so why not stick to the central theme?

It's real. Jason has died multiple times, but as one path closes down, a new one opens if he can just hold out long enough to see it to the end.

And isn't that the point? To keep going no matter what?

Because even if it feels like you're living a dozen different nightmares and you can't remember which of it was real, you'll always be the one sure constant in your world.

If anything, it feels almost moralistic; you've got one life, so you can either wait for things to change or you can make your best attempt at living it.

No Dolly, the point here isn't "going back in time", it's learning from failures and moving forward! You are right though, establishing what his end goal is now rather than later on is going to make getting there a lot clearer.

The end goal for Jason should be pictured around him and his true love finally being able to stay together. A good way to start drawing in the audience more could be to start kicking up the action. Most of the bad things going on to Jason were focused on him directly. What if now things start to turn, it's bad things happening to the people around him and he has to use his knowledge to save them!

Whatever ending we choose, I feel his mother has to play a huge part in it. It's been established that she is an anchor to his timelines in some way.

Jason can't win, every time he tries to recover, things change to make it worse. He's given up, and walks onto the highway, intending to finish what was started all those years ago. He faces the oncoming truck that should have killed him in his youth. His brother shoves him out of the way. Roll credits!

In essence, the themes thus far have been about missed opportunities, anxiety, depressive spirals, and longing for a better life. The ending should reflect how even at his worst, he resolves to make decisions that work to make things better, not to give in to hopelessness, and find a way forward no matter the path or the whims of chance.

Once he stops trying to find the right timeline, or bemoaning what could have been or the horrors he suffers in other ones, that decision should be an inflection point that starts going all the way to the climax. Show how he works at his life, no matter what life it is, to make it better. What was previously just him throwing things at the wall trying to find a way forwards is now a determined act to improve the lives of himself and the people around him, whatever the circumstances, even when he stumbles or miscalculates.

It should start slow. One life, one agonizing decision at a time, making improvements. And then he shifts to another. Each time, he gets better and better and the shifts come more rapidly. At some point it should start to become ambiguous whether the shifts are him hopping timelines again or if the editing is showing -all- of his lives, not just where he is now.

As time goes on and he continues to work through all the timelines he can see, editing picks up. Rapid pace, every decision, every little thing he can do. Show his mother the care she deserves, his brother, whether it's him in reality or just his memory, his girlfriend, whether just having her in his life as a romantic partner, a friend, or even just a stranger given space. Finally it cuts to him dead, lying in a hospital bed, killed by a truck collision or something, and surrounded by people he cares about, the last point in any timeline that jason ever lived in, maybe. After that the conclusion can just be really normally-shot conversations of the people around him talking about how he made their lives better, how he kicked his drug problems, how he never stopped working to improve while the credits roll. Even dead, jason has a smile on his face.

The emotional core of the movie is about doing the best with what you've got. As long as that emotional core is there, you don't actually have to worry that much about dumbing things down. That part, audiences will get.

Marlene Collins 2025/08/05(Tue)17:42 No. 1112315 ID: 8179f5
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>We've got TONS of media that deals with weird time-jumping stuff
Marlene: No, Dolly, there’s no going back in time. Let’s not use that to fall back on just yet.

Marlene: You sure you’ve read the script?

Dolly: Of course! I’m only suggesting something the audience can be familiar with, after all!

Dolly: I mean, we own it now. Scripts will drastically change; it’s just a fact in this business. Before you know it we’ll be out of time so we’ll have to compromise on something.

Marlene: Well sure... possibly. W-We’ll put a pin on that for now. What matters more is how he has improved his character. Just picture it--

Marlene Collins 2025/08/05(Tue)17:43 No. 1112316 ID: 8179f5
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Marlene: There would be a low point. He’ll feel all choices are meaningless.

Marlene: He realizes he can’t win. He knows despite everything he’ll do to make things right--it won’t stay for long.

Marlene: But he has to keep going, no matter what. These reality-hops won’t be an inconvenience--it must be his curse! We must emphasize that!

Marlene Collins 2025/08/05(Tue)17:43 No. 1112317 ID: 8179f5
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Marlene: He should learn from other timelines to help his friends.

Marlene: He’ll recognize the plight of one complete stranger, yet in another life where they loved each other--he knows everything about them.

Marlene: He’ll realize it shouldn’t be about him anymore. At least for a while.

>The end goal for Jason should be pictured around him and his true love finally being able to stay together.
>You have to live with your decisions and improve your life from there, not obsess on how things could have been different.
Marlene: I imagine a bittersweet ending. He’ll have to give up something and change his outlook on what’s more important.

Marlene: His love for Elsa will always be there. And as long as he figures out a way to make sure she and all his friends are alright, he should learn to be content with that to the very end.

Marlene: In the end, there will always be a timeline where he’s happy with her. Old and still together. Somewhere out there.

Marlene Collins 2025/08/05(Tue)17:44 No. 1112318 ID: 8179f5
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Dolly: Waaaait!

Dolly ...

Dolly: What about the whole time-hopping thing? Why does it happen? You can’t leave people hanging like that.

Dolly: Jason should figure out where he got this power in the first place.

Marlene: I don’t... really see it as a superpower though.

Dolly: Howabout we just make the ending now? I’ll scribble down that Jason wakes up after being hit by a car with his brother. Everything he experienced is summed up in a coma or near-death experience. Okay? Good.

Marlene: Ugh. I guess... for now.

I don’t like that at all. But anything to get her less-than-stellar ideas out of the way so I can concentrate. I’ll bring up the ending once we get there.

Dolly: There! That wasn’t so hard. Now we have a goal to move towards. What kind of scene should we write next? Oh! Maybe he jumps into the body of a serial killer! Or another timeline where everything’s the same but a meteor hits so he must survive underground for a while.

Marlene: Ya know what? We can write our own ideas for scenes and compare them later! We can work faster that way.

Dolly: Sure! I know I have some good ideas cooking up.

Marlene Collins 2025/08/05(Tue)17:46 No. 1112320 ID: 8179f5
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While Dolly does her thing, I seclude myself and wonder which scene I should work out. I could write up a new anchor for him to solve. I have several ideas at the top of my head.

>a. I could have him try balancing his multiple relationships
>b. He could be saving a friend, learning from his other selves
>c. His intrusive thoughts win him over; he can do anything he wants
>d. It makes sense for him to seek for an answer
>e. >___

e) Some of the alternate timelines get weird and incomprehensible.

c. Challenge and disprove the notion that nothing matters just because there are infinite possibilities.

C is the only correct answer.

>>1112320

B.

Each one's tempting for its own reason, but this is the only one that will bring us to a meaningful resolution.

Maybe that's been the point: finally getting it right.

B. I think he’d feel guilty ruining his other selves lives doing C

B, but enough of C that he feels and acts liberated to take risks to help others, whether the thoughts suggest specific things or not, and it is taking risks to help others like his friend, as well as learning from others, as well as overcoming his fears, that helps.

Seems like you and Dolly are going to be butting heads quite a bit on this project.

Let's go with B. for now. Seems like the most natural approach. Might also be simple enough approach that you get some wiggle room to "negotiate" with any curve ball ideas Dolly tosses at you.

> Everything he experienced is summed up in a coma or near-death experience
> Maybe he jumps into the body of a serial killer! Or another timeline where everything’s the same but a meteor hits so he must survive underground for a while.

Oh, no. No, Dolly... she can't write serenity. You gotta help her understand that audiences will eat that shit up even if it isn't satisfying, even if it's confusing and ambiguous. They'd be outraged over an inconclusive ending, but so what? Done right, it'll just add to your notoriety and get people thinking. And moviegoers LOVE thinking.

It's the difference between a subpar B movie and a cult classic. This isn't going to be a cinematic AAA blockbuster, so going for the latter would be... good for business in the long run. Unless you've got one of those insurance schemes like they got in Germany, where you get to cash out when your movie "accidentally" flops?

Point being, do not have him wake up from a coma. Fade to black and middle finger to the audience is a better ending. (Waking up from a coma could happen in the terrible sequel no one likes though.)

E) Honestly, it feels like going through the stages of grief is a pretty good folow up to the situation: first Jason tries to look for a clue or hint as to what's going on, but with the turmoil of the situation itself and his poor ability to discern things beyond face value, he doesn't get anywhere, so he tries to simply manage the situation and his disparate relationships as best he can.
The brunt of the second act is shaped by how he tries to keep up with that unmanageable situation until the building pressure finally makes him lash out by treating his ordeal like consequence free rollercoaster, which creates the conflict that brings everything to a head in the poverbial third act of the film.

Jason Emerson 2025/08/12(Tue)18:03 No. 1112614 ID: 8179f5
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>[Dolly] can’t write serenity [...] going for [a subpar movie and cult classic] would be good for business in the long run
I can’t make him just wake up like it’s all a dream. I hope I find a much better conclusion than that. I wonder how involved the producers and Nico will be--if they’ll agree with Dolly for the popcorn-munching writing.

Alright, it’s time to put my brain to the test here. Let’s give him a goal to work towards. Something that utilizes his gift.

aHEM

--The anchors become more frequent. Sometimes they come in blips; I barely dip in the kaleidoscope and several lives compress in my head.

Like a migraine, I must wait it out until the world stands still.

Where am I?

I’m supposed to be restocking my fridge but my eye caught the newspaper: the obituaries. I felt a need to be here. I knew this person. They were nothing to the current Jason I possess until that moment.

Too many names in my head now. Others have died prematurely in my life. Who was it this time?

Oh right. Her.

Jason Emerson 2025/08/12(Tue)18:04 No. 1112615 ID: 8179f5
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Maeve.

Poor Maeve.

She didn’t deserve this.

Weeds are growing in the corner of the cemetery. The chilling breeze scoots rotten leaves here. Where is everybody? Her family? Who was she to the world?

I remember now; it was years ago when I was depressed. I attended an underground concert; it was just local emo bands spewing garbage noise. She was there and accidentally head-banged me. My nose was gushing blood and she dabbed a towel out back. She said I have beautiful eyes. I complimented her hair--I didn’t know what else to say. We ditched the venue and I smoked some pot with her.

But instead I had left the club early. It felt pointless to be there and I rented a movie nearby. We never ran into one another.

Could I have prevented this? Is it my fault she’s dead?

Jason Emerson 2025/08/12(Tue)18:04 No. 1112616 ID: 8179f5
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Is this a memory or happening simultaneously? I’m pumped full of hurt right now and I want to go away. Far away. Leave this hurt behind.

But there’s no place to go. Am I stuck here with her?

Do I really want to leave her like this? I wanted to save myself from this life.

This isn’t living.

Maeve: Nyuuuuuugh...

Maeve: Jason.

Maeve: Why are you so good to me?

"Because I know you. Like really know you."

>>1112626
This

"i don't think i'm being good. i think i'm just decent and you're used to it."

"What do you mean? I don't feel like I'm doing anything special."

Time doesn't last long enough to spend it otherwise.

Jason Emerson 2025/08/21(Thu)21:02 No. 1113076 ID: a6401c
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I’m trying to put words together; the drug vibrates under my skin.

Jase: Because I know you.

Maeve: Hmmhmm

Jase: I mean...

I need to get you out of here.

Jase: Really. Know you.

Jase: I dunno. Maybe I always know to do the decent thing.

Jase: But I wish I could fix everything. I wish it was enough to ease your pain.

Maeve: Awe, Jase.

Maeve: You’re a good drug to me. Heh heh.

We’re chilling in an abandoned warehouse. Maeve has found a little nook for herself whenever she becomes homeless. And it happens quite often. In some ways I’ve moved in with her. Saves some rent money for me during the hotter seasons and we’re just living day-to-day.

Jason Emerson 2025/08/21(Thu)21:03 No. 1113077 ID: a6401c
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The thing I know about Maeve, and possibly applying to everyone else, is that her past is constant up to my first anchor with Len.

Maeve would’ve always been born without her father.

Maeve’s mother would’ve always been eager to find love and remarry fast--and stuck with the worst husband in fear of being alone again.

Maeve would’ve always been abused by her stepdad throughout her entire childhood, and found comfort in drugs and alcohol.

She’s needy; she doesn’t like being alone. There are times where I wanted to leave her and yet I’m convinced to stay. Every job we pick up doesn’t last. She usually helps out a friend at the mall or sells pot and painkillers in the back. Sometimes harder stuff. She’s pretty resourceful when it gets tough.

Surprised she lasted this long.

Jason Emerson 2025/08/21(Thu)21:05 No. 1113078 ID: a6401c
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I feel her spine shudder. Her pale skin is cool, chilled from the breeze through the cracks of the building.

Maeve: Brrr. Can’t believe it’s autumn already. I forget how cold it gets in here.

Maeve: I’ll have you to warm me up though~

She straddles me with her naked body hovering over mine. I know she sometimes likes the tingling feeling when naked in a cold stone room. She feels me up tenderly.

Maeve: It’s still six in the afternoon.

Maeve: Nuthin’ for us to do. We’ll hang with Garvey later. I hear he’s got a new stash for us to sell.

Maeve: Let’s pass the time. We’re gonna die soon anyway--let’s get fucked or fucked up <3

>a. Have sex
>b. Take drugs
>c. Settle a minute and talk about her. (What about?)
>d. Try to give advice? (What?)
>e. >___

A) get the blood pumping before you give the speech that turns your lives around. Surely you'll think of something by the time you're done fucking.

>>1113078

A, for now. A little intimacy can make it easier to talk, sometimes, as much as help convince her to listen.

Because we need to get her -- get both of us -- out of here.

C. Talk about your living situation. The two of you can't make it through the winter like this in here.

E: notice your changing tattoo.

Have drugs, take sex

Write a different segment.