1) This is absolutely fine and even encouraged! Since the DU is the main foundation doing research on the Dream Sphere and the ones with the most information and resources, collaborating with them will be her best bet but she can absolutely research independently or as part of the DU depending on how you'd like to play things.
2) That's also totally fine! Those sorts of things are written into the lore specifically for players to use in their backstories so feel free to run with it. You're also free to expand on it and run some sort of player plot or more general arc revolving around that disappearance later down the line if you like!
no subject
2) That's also totally fine! Those sorts of things are written into the lore specifically for players to use in their backstories so feel free to run with it. You're also free to expand on it and run some sort of player plot or more general arc revolving around that disappearance later down the line if you like!