Marlene Collins 2024/08/13(Tue)11:55 No. 1095791 ID: 92a30c
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Carter: Why not do it now?

A blink and I suddenly find myself high up on the tower with him; a flash of vertigo waves over my body as I find my bearings!

Marlene: Whoa!! Heck-- What the fuck, dude?!

Carter: Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just... tried to think what you were thinking. Physically. With you.

Carter: I thought you would like that. Sorry.

Marlene: It’s fine... Shit, you don’t spook me like that.

Carter: Was this how it looked?

Marlene: I don’t know; I’ve never been here. It’s uncharted territory in my brain.

Marlene: Like... yeah there’s probably a bunch of trees below us but there’s no clarity. We’ll be making up as we went along.

Marlene Collins 2024/08/13(Tue)11:57 No. 1095792 ID: 92a30c
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I look down at the woods below, soaking in the autumn-colored leaves that reflect the dream-sun back.

And in the midst of slow-waving branches, I catch a glimpse of someone.

It looks like a kid down there. I think they’re lying down.

Another memory? Perhaps. But will it be mine, or is it Carter’s? I can’t pinpoint a significant moment about frolicking in the woods until more plays out.

Ask carter to teleport you down there

>>1095792

Might as well ask who that is and go investigate!

Hop down there and take a look

Maybe hold back on the teleportation. Hopefully this will be Carter's. We know so little about him, even now.

>>1095792
If it is carter, assuming we think that it is him, it might a good time to revisit your home when you wake up from this spiritual realm. Assuming that it is a realm in the first place.

Marlene Collins 2024/08/17(Sat)11:13 No. 1095968 ID: 92a30c
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>It might be a good time to revisit your home when you wake up
This place has stricken me with heavy nostalgic vibes; it has succeeded in making me homesick. Perhaps I could see Lori too. Hartwood isn’t exactly next door to Springford, but once Seb affords a week off we can probably take his car to visit.

>Ask carter to teleport you down there.
>Might as well ask who that is and go investigate
Marlene: Hey could you blink me down there too, while you’re at it?

Carter: Uh, have you forgotten?

Carter: Just think it. If you want it, you get it. You can be anywhere you want to be in this place.

Marlene: Oh. Right. I guess I could just...

We’re already deep in the woods. The trees seem to stretch pretty high up. They seem taller from the ground than the view from the water tower. The shade of a child rests below a canopy, a stick in his hand swishing above him. I don’t believe that’s me. I’ve gone cloud watching in my own backyard, but nowhere like this.

???: ♪ Six. Twelve. Eighteen. Twenty-four. Thirty. Thirty... six. ♫

I notice the air; it’s crisp. Autumn-like. The leaves are going away.

Marlene: So, is it safe to assume that could be you lying in the grass there?

Carter: ...Yeah. There is an air of familiarity here. It’s giving me goosebumps.

Carter: I... spent a lot of my free time alone as a kid. I didn’t have many friends to visit; and I lived in the middle of nowhere. And I guess... I would’ve been easy to pick on anyway.

Marlene Collins 2024/08/17(Sat)11:14 No. 1095969 ID: 92a30c
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The child sings in the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’. The words are instead replaced by multiplications of seven.

Carter (kid): ♫ Seven four-teen, twenty-one. Twenty-ei-eight. Thirty-five...

Marlene: Forty-two-o. Forty-ni-ine.
Carter: Forty-two-o. Forty-ni-ine.
Carter (kid): Forty-two-o. Forty-ni-ine.

Carter: Fifty-si-ix. Sixty-three.
Carter (kid): Fifty-si-ix. Sixty-three.

Marlene: And Seven-deee~

I quite enjoyed singing that final note.

The child sits upright and turns his head to face me. Or I think he does? It’s another memory playing on a script, right?

Carter (kid): Huh? Hello? Is someone there?

Marlene: And for a minute I thought he was speaking to me.

Carter (kid): Oh. Who are you?

Carter (kid): Are you an angel?

Look behind you and see who he is talking to and looking at.

If there is nobody behind you... you might want to cover yourself.

well this is an interesting memory. Can you see who he's talking to?

"Be not afraid."

Carter saying he has goosebumps from this memory... i wonder, ask if he remembers seeing you at that moment in time.

For the other carter, remind him not to talk to strangers

What if you pictured yourself having angel wings? Let's really see what kind of dream powers we can pull off.

Smile at the child and say something ambiguous like, "I was going to ask you the same!"

>>1095969
Try not to look too angelic and accidentally give him some weird lifelong artistic obsession with some naked ethereal woman that appeared in his dreams. Unless you want him to become an artist or something like that.

These seem to be memories, but that might be your own mind making sense of what it cannot comprehend. This boy may be trying to communicate with you, whatever he is.

But more likely the memory of what Carter was looking at happens to be behind you right now.

Marlene Collins 2024/08/24(Sat)10:52 No. 1096421 ID: 92a30c
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>see who he is talking to and looking at.
>More likely the memory of what Carter was looking at happens to be behind you.
I double-check behind myself to see if there’s another shadow-person lurking within the tall trees. I only see adult-Carter; he is hesitant to speak. I face the child again, slightly covering myself.

Marlene: You can... see me?

Carter (kid): Yeah! Are you an angel?

I manage to reflect a gentle smile.

Marlene: Well uh, I was about to ask you the same thing!

Carter (kid): Nooo. I’m not an angel!

Carter (kid): You could be an angel.

Carter (kid): Do angels go invisible for people not to see them?

Marlene: Maybe. Sometimes? I’m not sure.

>What if you pictured yourself with angel wings?
I humor myself with the idea. But I don’t grow anything.

Marlene: What are you doing out here all by yourself?

Carter (kid): Nothin’.

Carter (kid): Ma’ says to go outside. So. So no tv or games until three.

Carter (kid) ...

Carter: Hey! You wanna go see my mansion?

He tugs my wrist excitedly.

Carter (kid): Come on! Let’s go to the mansion!

Marlene: Mansion? What mansion? Is that your house?

Carter (kid): The mansion! Let me show you!

Marlene Collins 2024/08/24(Sat)10:54 No. 1096422 ID: 92a30c
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The child guides us; his speedy legs kick up leaves. When he’s far enough away I mutter to the other Carter.

Marlene: It might be your memory, but do you think this boy is... someone else?

Carter: In what way?

Marlene: Someone or something may be trying to communicate with us through him. Perhaps like those sci-fi flicks where an entity beyond caprine comprehension takes a form more fitting?

Carter: I mean...

Marlene: You can’t possibly remember meeting a naked angelic woman in the midst of the woods when you were nine or ten, right?

Carter: It’s... it’s strange. Because I do.

Marlene: What?

Carter: I mean I do and I don’t. It is my memory. I’m witnessing everything new for the first time here, as an adult, yet I also remember it fondly. It’s a weird contradiction but it’s how I feel at this moment.

Carter: I know where he’s taking you because I vaguely know what happens next. The mansion is just a little abandoned cottage further in the woods. This place used to be an apple orchard some two-hundred years ago.

Carter: I would pretend to live there--but it’s mostly where I hid comic books and junk food.

Marlene Collins 2024/08/24(Sat)11:06 No. 1096423 ID: 92a30c
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Carter (kid): Over there! This is it!

He runs ahead towards the worn-down cottage. Moss and foliage run rampant over its wet stones.

Marlene: Carter, that’s literally my house again.

Marlene: I think... kinda.

>>1096423
Seems your memories are getting a little mixed up.
Follow the kid, don't think too much about it, that could break the dream.

It's like the mooovie you're a ghoooost haunting your old abandoned house in the woooods

Follow along, just don't do anything to retroactively traumatize Carter.

Odd that your memories didn't react to Carter. Does it seem as if kid Carter can see the adult?

Maybe at some point, this forest eventually became a neighborhood and then this abandoned home became your home in your childhood

either that, or maybe whatever is going on here is messing with Carter's memories. in that case, it's probably a good thing you didn't interfere with your childhood when you saw yourself getting bullied.

or maybe these all are false memories that are seeping into Carter's, and your mind, and you getting bullied never actually happened.

Interesting that young Carter doesn't see adult Carter.

A thought, what if we make it a goal in the real world to find and visit this abandoned "mansion" and see for ourselves what this is all about. I feel it might have some answers for Marlene. Does Carter remember where this place is? we can ask kid Carter where this place is if the other Carter doesn't know/remember, like what town this is and what state, and the name of these woods is at least.

It'll be creepy if he says the exact same location you used to live at during your childhood. In which case, Carter might be from an alternate universe or something. But I'm thinking too far ahead.

>>1096423

It almost seems like we're able to ... CHANGE our memories, here.

And that they're equally less concrete; like how "the mansion" is suddenly a rendition of Marlene's place.

I wonder what would have happened had we intervened with Lori and Emmylou.

Feeling a lot stronger about this place playing with your memories now. It's either mixing them together or implanting false memories on you.

Ask Carter if he can still picture that abandoned cottage. If so, how clearly?

Marlene Collins 2024/09/02(Mon)10:48 No. 1096832 ID: 92a30c
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The child skips inside.

>Ask Carter if he can still picture the abandoned cottage
>It almost seems like we’re able to... CHANGE our memories here.
>Maybe these all are false memories that are seeping into Carter's, and your mind.
Marlene: Did they have garages for automobiles 200 years ago? In any case, I think our memories are getting a little mixed up. Some elements don’t belong even if we remember they had.

Carter: The cottage shouldn’t look like that. Yet it does.

Carter: There should only be a couple of empty rooms inside. Some cabinets, maybe. It leaves a lot to the imagination. The floorboards were loose to hide stuff underneath.

Marlene: Where was this place in the real world?

Carter: Norris Creek, still. A little ways out of my backyard.

Marlene: We ought to play it safe, then. I wouldn’t want anything traumatic to happen if we’re talking to your younger self.

Marlene Collins 2024/09/02(Mon)10:51 No. 1096833 ID: 92a30c
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We step through the ingress of the garage. And as expected, it’s a different interior; aside from the dusty and old abandoned furniture it feels very colonial. The child swings a stick around and moseys to entertain himself. He make-believes.

Carter (kid): See? This could be our hangout. We can share stuff here!

Carter (kid): This can be a TV room! And we can hide snacks in the attic!

>Does it seem as if kid Carter can see the adult?
Marlene: Uhh, Carter, honey? You can see I have a friend with me, right?

He stops and looks at adult-Carter.

Carter: Uhm. Hi.

Carter (kid): Uh huh... Hey.

Carter (kid): Are you friends with a lot of angels? Or do you have your own following you?

Carter (kid): Don’t worry. I won’t tell. I can keep a secret. And besides: everyone has a special angel looking over them.

Marlene: I’m sorry, hon. We’re not angels. But we can still be your friend!

He nods, there’s something cute about a child emoting acceptance with the slightest hint of disappointment.

Carter (kid): Oh. That’s okay. I guess one angel is good enough to have.

Carter (kid): Hey! Does your mom let you keep Yagimon cards?

Marlene: What? Oh no, I didn’t really collect them. They were a boy-thing right? I mean--they’re popular with girls nowadays and I watched the cartoon for a bit.

Carter (kid): You wanna see my collection? Come on! I can show you!

He runs straight up the stairs to the attic.

before you go up, anything of interest in this room at a quick glance? like under the staircase?

otherwise, not much to do other than going upstairs. maybe ask about his parents since he brought up his mother,

and maybe ask if he knows any kind of room with a bunch of bunk beds, since we briefly were in there earlier, and I'm curious about that.

Time to get into yagimon

agggh what part of traumatizing the kid didn't you understand you're not supposed to let time travellers meet their past selves didn't you ever watch doctor hoot

>>1096833
Now I am curious on something. If my theory is right, this "realm" you and Carter are positioned in, has properties creates a world based on intensive thought and emotion via memories and it seems to affect the users within this realm of imagination. This could explain why you and Carter can't open your eyes without seeing some sort of horrifying phenomena, forcing you to wake up back into the real world.

Carter is unsure if he had ever seen a woman, let alone a naked one, like you in his childhood memories, the child, whom could very well be a manifestation of Carter's innocence and warm memories, does and so it is being the cause of his unsured reaction as we speak. Let's experiment this, give child carter a warm and loving hug, pet him and make feel secure, then glance over to adult Carter to see if this is having an effect on him, best to ask if he remembers you hugging him when he was a child after this of course.

This is a very interesting realm you're finding in Marlene; I do wonder when it's time to wake up, however. Do remember to plan a trip to your hometown and see if you can find any traces of Carter presence there. Whether or not he is alive that is.

Marlene Collins 2024/09/06(Fri)16:39 No. 1097061 ID: 92a30c
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>Anything of interest in this room at a quick glance?
The whole place sure seems very empty, and the space under the stairs is vacant as well. The walls and floor is withered wood and cold stone. I notice the grooves in the wooden floor against my bare soles, and the coolness of its surface gives me a nostalgic feeling walking through this cottage.

Gradually, I ascend the staircase and immerse myself in his world.

At the top is the attic, while just as barren as the rest of the building, there are scattered playthings and chalk drawings on the walls and floor. The kid has a shoebox where he keeps his cards.

Carter (kid): This is a Ramsilla! And Grimsdotty! That card's my favorite, but I really want a Geyserwog.

He shows the caricatures of those monster cards. I try to act a bit proud and excited for him. I haven't paid attention to this game in a long, long time.

>Maybe ask about his parents since he brought up his mother.
Marlene: Does your mom know you come here? You wouldn’t want to scare her and make her think you’re missing.

Carter (kid): I play in the woods a lot! She always calls me when dinner is ready. I usually hear her back at my house. Sometimes she has to ring a bell.

Marlene: Do you love your mom?

Carter (kid): Yeah. Although I wish she’d let me watch tee-vee before three. And she doesn’t like yagimon. She says it’s what bad kids play. Last time my friend Mike gave me his cards and he saw our mansion. He doesn’t come over much, though. But ma found those cards and threw them out. It’s okay though, they weren't really good.

Marlene: Do you have brothers or sisters? Any siblings at all? Or share bunk beds?

Carter (kid): No ma'am. I’m an only child. Although I wish I had a brother to do stuff with. I don’t have neighbors my age. Do you have a brother to play with?

Marlene: I have two sisters. And I’d’ve rather been an only child.

Carter (kid): Oh.

Marlene: But, you know, it’s actually kinda funny how an only child and one with lots of siblings would want what the other has.

Carter (kid): Yeah.

Marlene Collins 2024/09/06(Fri)16:41 No. 1097062 ID: 92a30c
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>The child, whom could be a manifestation off Carter’s innocence and warm memories [...] give [him] a hug, pet him and make feel secure.
Marlene: Hmm. Perhaps you could be a little brother to me. Do you mind having a big sister?

Carter (kid): Oh, ho-kay! What’s your name?

Marlene: I’m Marlene! Would you like a hug lil’ bro? Come up and give your sis' a hug.

He steps right up to me and I hug him like he’s my own son, or little brother. And within me, I feel an endearing connection with him. My hand rakes over his head. I glance over his circle of chalk drawings.

Carter (kid): Marlene?

Marlene: Yes?

Carter (kid): Do you promise to be around forever?

>>1097062

There's only one answer: "I'll try."

Because nothing is forever, but sometimes you can get close enough.

Hmmm. I'll do my best. I'm not an angel, so I'm not super powerful. But you could think of me like a wizard, I guess? Well, wizard student. I'm still learning what I can do! Is there anything neat you've learned recently?

>>1097063
That's the best you can do. Anything more would be a promise you can't keep.

Tell him not yet, but when he is an adult, you will meet again to fulfill that promise.

Hey as long as I'll be remembered, I'll never really go away, yeah? Such is life!

>>1097061
>>1097062

A child who lives what I can assume is a very wealthy neighborhood, but this tended to be the causation of his loneliness Is this what Carter's childhood consisted of? If so, I may be worried what may have happened to the real Carter. Speaking of him, quickly glance at adult Carter before turning back to his child-self.

As for the promise, for the sake of the child and Carter. Promise that you'll do then speak with him after this. Also, take a look at the drawings that Carter made, I can only assume they're just the monsters that appear in the card game he likes.

Nothing lasts forever, but your memories will last you a lifetime.

Say, who's that chalk drawing of the angel goat?

Marlene Collins 2024/09/11(Wed)16:17 No. 1097269 ID: 92a30c
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I realize I may very-well be speaking to a real child, not just an echo or rendition; I shouldn’t speak bluntly like I would with an adult. There seems to be one right answer; any more would be harder to keep. Perhaps this light promise will fulfill his memory; clearly he meets me ‘again’ so many years later. And when the dream ends, perhaps Carter will feel a sense of closure waking up.

Marlene: I’ll try. But as long as you keep me in memories, Carter, I may never really go away. Do you understand what I’m telling you?

I look at him in his eyes, and hold his head in my hands.

Carter (kid): Uh-huh. I understand.

>Say, who’s that chalk drawing of the angel goat?
>Also, take a look at the drawings Carter made, I can only assume they’re just the monsters that appear in the card game he likes.
My eyes gleam over depictions of caprine friends, stars, houses, and animals, and perhaps the monsters from the card game. But it’s hard to ignore several drawings of the unusual character.

Marlene: Carter, is this someone special?

Carter (kid): That’s him. That’s my guardian angel. He comes from heaven because he wants to be my friend! We play sometimes and talk about stuff.

Marlene: O-Oh? What’s... on his head? Some sort of crown?

Carter (kid): Those are all his horns! He has a lot! He has one from every kind of goat and sheep and says all angels have beautiful and weird bodies like that! I think that would be heavy to wear all the time, but he says he’s used to it.

Carter (kid): He asks me about school and how my day is. And what I did at summer camp. And wants to hear about my cards and drawings. And when I’m sad he makes me happy and says everything will be okay.

Marlene: Does he have a name?

Carter (kid): Well yeah! His name is Kadath!

>Quickly glance at adult Carter
I look for the adult; he hasn’t followed us into the attic. Maybe he’s wandering down below. In fact, I recall our shared proprioception. It’s not like there’s any place for either of us to hide, we could appear beside one another on a whim.

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

>>1097269
So many red flags.
Warn Carter: Kadath could be his best friend or his worst enemy. The trick to finding out which is whether or not Kadath lets Carter do his own thing frequently.

Tell him he must be very special that he gets to talk to Kadath. You want to meet him too; when does he come around?

"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.