#adarshthreads

[mc-adarsh]

texts from a found phone

@zaidshair Tim: I found this phone on the forest floor. Can you tell me who it is? Tim: The owner of the phone. Tim: There is nobody nearby. I checked. Tim: The screen photo is a dog.

[adarsh-the-peacekeeper]

@emreakbar

With a gruff expression and eyes filled with glee at the possibility of further discovering the island - as if he hadn't already covered a lot of land in general - Adarsh pushed one of the makeshift bows into Emre's hands. "Know how to use this, Akbar?" he asked, adding a few arrows to the mix. "No guns allowed on this trip, too loud." Too loud and too easy to spot, he figured Emre was aware of the man who got killed on one of Adarsh's expeditions into the dangerous areas of the islands. Since then he'd vowed not to take guns into the place.

He gnashed his teeth and his gruff expression turned into a grin. "If you do have a weapon, I'd like you to drop it right here, you can pick it up when we get back, but know I picked you because you don't seem trigger happy." He studied the other. "You have sharp eyes, you're going to need them out there." He threw a backpack over his shoulders and tied the holder with arrows to his hip. "Last chance to turn back."

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @selinswonderland location: THE RAIN FOREST timestamp: SOMEWHERE AT THE END OF WEEK 2 / MAYBE WEEK 3

It was a good thing that Adarsh felt a constant need to roam and be outside, either to spend his time in nature or the nervous energy to keep on moving. Else, he would’ve been a shut-in for sure, writing down his thoughts and trying to figure out more of who he’d left behind. Not just the other people in his life, but himself as well. 

Not that being outside left him with many more options than inside however, he still walked around thinking, he walked around attempting to stir some thought, some memory, but all he got was the void gaping back at him, giving him nothing but that one image of a name written in Sanskrit, the name he had adopted as his own. 

It was starting to become clear that his best option might be to just… be someone new. To ignore his left behind memory and do something with everything he did know. He figured he could be useful. Right? Probably not in company, but he must have some skills. 

He took a deep breath and wandered down to the beach again. He was only wearing his UV shirt now, he hadn’t been able to wash Chance’s blood from his tank top, and he didn’t want the reminder. He stopped when he spotted Selin. He remembered the last words she said to him: in case he needed help with anything. He needed help with being helpful. 

He had apologised for before, hadn’t he? Or should he lead with that. 

“Selin.” Great start. And now what. “Do you… need help with anything?” 

[adarsh-the-peacekeeper]

@kazxraval

Adarsh knew the island was not in need of any kind of police force, and he'd never trusted the police force at home either, so it wouldn't make sense to put himself in such a role. However, in this new life, it seemed that it was the perfect solution to being able to understand every single person on the island and see what they were up to: or what new missions could lay in the future for him.

He snuck up on Kaz' little stand without much difficulty, his approach being hidden by the noise of the market place. The dealer always thought he could hide his business in clear sight, and Adarsh would let him, because technically there were no clear cut rules about drugs on the island, but Adarsh liked to form the world around him like the one he'd left behind.

"Raval," he said, loudly, as he grabbed Kaz by the back of his head, his appearance right away scaring away anyone there. He smiled relentlessly. "What counter-legal things have you been up to lately?" Adarsh still spoke with a heavy Indian accent, even if his English dictionary had grown over the years.

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @zaidshair location: ADARSH' BUNGALOW timestamp: SOMEWHERE IN WEEK 2

Adarsh couldn’t say why, but leaving the door to his bungalow open whenever he was there and not sleeping or showering was so natural he hadn’t even questioned it. He simply let it be as he tried out the stove for a second time within the small space - the idea of making a fire on the beach again and dragging all the ingredients down with him was less enticing this time. He was also worried that if he did that too often, people would think he was doing it on purpose. And there was a small thought - though once again it seemed Bollywood movie scene instead of memory - of homeless people making low-ingredient street food next to actual food vendors. 

He gritted his teeth together as he tried to remember the order of the recipe he was attempting to make. He didn’t know the name, but it had started out similar to the masala paste he’d made before. Garlic, union, ginger, a shitton of herbs and spices, and a good three tablespoons of masala garam, and there he was stranded again. 

He figured he should then use it to marinate the meat - which he’d raided from the kitchen not even having asked what kind it was. But instead he was staring at the pan, arms crossed, motionless. 

He didn’t have enhanced hearing - or any other power - but he did hear footsteps by the door, spinning around with still a contemplative expression. He recognised Zaid, how could he not, second face he’d seen since waking up. There were several possible retorts coming to mind, but instead he said: “Hungry?” 

[mc-adarsh]

Clearly it was a dumb direction for his mind to go into. But he’d been thrown some curveballs already: conspiracies, mostly that. Darcy’s being the one that had stuck with him the most. The others he tried to ignore. He already felt like there was enough to worry about, he didn’t also want to think about why they could possibly be on this island. Because it would lead to far too many deep thoughts about why he had amnesia. 

“Hmm, I mean, there are cameras, people from all walks of life, enough food and public facilities to survive,” he said. “It would probably be a very bad game show.” 

He shrugged. “I have no idea what else it could be, I have my own problems.” Which was true, though the way he brought it out sounded more like a plea than acting tough and like he didn’t care about all of it. 

Every time someone crossed her path, she couldn’t help but assess them—it was second nature, whether from her military training or nursing background, maybe a blend of both. The person in front of her seemed… unsure. Or perhaps lost. There was no sign of certainty in his posture or expression, nothing to suggest he knew where he stood. Most people carried themselves in a way that gave them away immediately. Take Cemre, for example—her confidence and the strictness in her demeanor were obvious at a glance. But, as always, this was just her observation, her perspective on things.

A person who was on a survival show? was this a joke? "and so , what? we think this is a repeat of that?" she asked raising a brow. She scoffed, more so because that was ridiculous. "A game show where the host has yet to reveal why we are all here. I don't think that's the case."

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @alexpanganiban location: THE BEACH timestamp: EVENT 01 PART 02

Nothing so far had sparked any kind of memory.

And despite how little time had passed, Adarsh was already extremely frustrated. 

From what he knew factually - which seemed to be plenty - head injuries severe enough to completely make someone’s memory disappear - except for one name - were movie material, story material. Not real life, at least not that he seemed to recall. Not that he trusted whatever vast knowledge that he held, because it might be enough to make his way around, to give him tidbits of info when what he wanted was memories, it wasn’t substantial. It felt like he’d read an encyclopaedia one day and decided to remember only fifteen percent of it but without rhyme or reason. 

He couldn’t even tell what the name of the language he dreamt in was. 

Though that could also be withheld from him intentionally.

No, his memory loss was not… plausible from any type of injury or stress. 

It was the island’s fault. 

Yet, he continued on his quest to find memories. 

He grumbled in that damned language he couldn’t place as he made his way around the beach, looking up and down the buildings that were further away, trying to unlock something that wasn’t there. He stopped short of another figure, then looked into the water. He paused, switched his brain into English mode and grumbled, as he pointed at himself. “Do you know me?” Ignoring the flare of misery and grief that washed over him as he admitted to yet another person that he had NO / ZERO / NADA idea of who he was. 

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @darcyxpalmer location: CRUISE SHIP timestamp: EVENT 01 PART 02

Adarsh stared at the water as if it had personally insulted him, as if with a single look he could force it to part before him, split like that one guy from... was it Christianity? Clearly whomever he was had little interest to retain information regarding religion. He could barely recall a thing even if he wanted to. No impressions or rules or rituals or words to live by.

Or perhaps religion was so deeply tied to his memories that those were lost to him forever.

Could that be? That everything that retained some intense connection to him was muddled and vague and thus not within the waters of knowledge he seemed to have.

Some of it was useful information, but what if nothing would lead him to any answers.

He could swim.

But he doubted he was a strong enough swimmer to make it to the cruise ship and back onto it.

So instead he stared at the water and blamed its tide for his inability to get his answers. For good measure he hit it with rocks. It only made a small splash, but the exercise of throwing stones at least made him feel a bit better. As he yelled 'Take that!' in the language he didn't know the name of.

Clearly he hadn't been someone who played Baseball when he was younger.

He cursed at the ground as he looked for more rocks.

He touched the wakeboard shirt he was wearing. Had he grown up near the beach? Or been near a beach when the island had been taken? Or was the whole population of the island lying to him and had they actually all been on the cruise ship.

But he wasn't wearing swimming trunks? So it had to be an aesthetic choice. Or he burned quickly.

He waved at the first figure to cross near the beach. "Hey you! Is my face burned?" he asked with a thick accent.

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @zaidshair location: AT THE FOREST NEAR THE WATER timestamp: POST-EVENT02

Power was everything. And Adarsh's healing ability certainly proved to be everything he'd hoped from discovering he had a super power himself. Something to focus on. Beyond his daily search for answers on who he was. It was... almost intoxicating. This new thing. But he was beginning to get restless within the medi-centre, and people weren't in dire need of someone with awesome healing abilities.

Maybe he could find someone who would willingly cut themself so Adarsh could heal them. He doubted it, but he was happy to be out of the building.

Roaming first the camp, then the forest, he wasn't new to finding people doing all kinds of sports or activities to calm their nerves.

Zaid meditating was a new one. He was still far enough that he had to shout, and that wouldn't be kind to anyone who was meditating, but he couldn't help it, he was too restless, too fired up, too eager to distract himself from the big questions that were still out there: who was he? "I didn't think you were the sort to meditate!"

[mc-adarsh]

Of course, Adarsh was still frustrated, he didn't know everything, he barely knew a thing, but here was someone who at least had known him, who could say something about him. Even if it was something he had a hard time believing, it was his college days, he must've been very different then.

After all, he'd ended up looking like this. He didn't think someone with a university degree from the States would end up roaming the street, sporting this haircut.

He wondered what down fall he'd been through after college.

"Oh yes, of course, take your time." Even if there was an eagerness and a note of impatience to his voice. He couldn't force her to remember. And it wasn't as if she was suddenly going to be able to tell him about what he'd been up to after college, because as she'd said: they hadn't been close.

He blushed slightly, then grinned. Yes, that did sound more like him. He could imagine himself following someone around just because he was into them. A bit like he did with Alex. "No... but that does sound like it could be the truth." Even if she wouldn't know, she seemed to be able to put some puzzle pieces down.

The questions turned away from him - such a bother - and onto the broader subject of: this place.

Adarsh sadly didn't think he had the answers to those questions, he'd heard too many theories and hadn't bothered to really pin down which one he believed him. "That's anyone's guess," he said. "Survive is my guess, do some challenges along the way when the people who run this place throw them at us. There are cameras everywhere, and this huge tower, so we're probably being tested. At least it's for sure that we're being watched. There is a warehouse with food that keeps restocking itself magically, a pit in the middle of town with corpes... plenty of weird shit going on. You'll be getting some type of super power as well at some point."

Crystal found it quite fascinating, this desire to be known by others. So far, she didn't know anyone and they didn't know her and that was kind of the fun of it. All her life, she had been morphing and changing to fit whatever she thought might interest and attract other people to her. That was easiest, especially with the threat of disappearing somewhere new, forced to start over again and again. She was basically doing the same thing here, starting over with all these people and giving them what they want, giving them the Crystal that would keep their interest. And clearly, the Crystal (or Kris) that went to UCLA with this guy who knew nothing about himself was the one that would stick.

"Well you've got me now. I'll see what I can do to reboot that memory, I haven't thought about university in so long. It's hard to remember things on the spot." She hoped that would be enough to move on for now but leave him wanting more. She would have to remind herself to think of new things that he might have gotten up to in a college setting.

There was no telling if or when his memory might return, so Crystal felt she might have a very short window of opportunity to play around. He was willing to accept her words as fact, even if he sounded a bit confused he didn't fully try to dispute it, not that he could if he wanted to. "Oh, yeah. I mean. Again, I don't know if it was genuine interest in the art or if you did it to…you know, shoot your shot. There's a lot of hotties in art clubs, so I wouldn't blame you. But I wasn't that deep into your mind, darling." She was about to say that he was the only one who would know for sure but…not even he would know.

"Hmmm…I'll have to think about it. I've been busy. But you know what I really want to know. What the hell is up with this place? What's going on? What are we supposed to be doing exactly?"

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @darcyxpalmer location: AT THE HUB timestamp: POST-EVENT02

Adarsh had a hard time accepting that people didn't get injured left and right. It felt like with the danger of the island, he'd have plenty of work. Instead, he found himself wishing for another hornet attack. He made sure to trade his time and energy for some word on what was going on outside.

When he'd heard about Darcy and Tej - someone he could finally put a name to - battling and defeating the robot hornet with the hundred screens, he dropped his work and went to look for Darcy. He told himself that he just wanted to be there to heal any possibly injuries, but that wasn't true.

He spotted her easily, it was obvious that Darcy had not made herself a beloved part of the growing community. And that bothered him, so he glowered at anyone that looked at him oddly.

"Hey!" Him coming to find Darcy wasn't new at this point, his observant and intent gaze might be however, as he scanned her for any signs of injury. "I heard you fought the giant robot hornet," he said. "Are you injured?" He sounded a little too eager to have the answer be 'yes'.

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @alexpanganiban location: MEDI-CENTRE timestamp: EVENT 02: PART 01: THE DRONES / PRE-DRONES ATTACK

Adarsh had managed to drag himself to the medi-centre, finding it filled with people when he claimed a spot on one of the beds, too tired to really register much of what was going on. He didn’t need medical attention, but he could use a nap and clearly his bungalow wasn’t free from being knocked into. As Akhila had already accidentally found it when in need of help for another person. Here he could rest, regain his strengths, maybe shine some more when he had the energy to flex his new power. 

He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, but when he woke up again, the place was empty. 

He blinked awake but found no trace that anything was amiss. Else he hoped they wouldn’t have just left him to fend for himself. His head felt a lot clearer, meaning he’d gotten a few hours at least. 

Pushing himself up from the comfortable bed, he walked through the place. He couldn’t hear any buzzing nearby, or any kind of noise really. Every man for himself in this place clearly. 

His eyes shot to the door when he heard it open. 

And the sight for a moment was too much for his brain to process. He had to still be dreaming. A very good dream, definitely, but definitely dreaming. To say he hadn’t fantasised about Alex since their kiss and hot moment was an understatement. 

He was unsure where this new fantasy came from. But two Alexes certainly was something. 

“Uhm…” 

Too many errors. 

"There's two... do you need medical assistance?" He blinked again. "Either I'm seeing double or I'm still asleep. There's two of you."

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @tejvirani location: AT THE HUB timestamp: EVENT 02: PART 01: THE DRONES

The place seemed in disarray, which was fair, given the amount of huge robot hornets and what little anyone could do to stop them. They were flying by in droves, or coming at people in groups of three or more. Some people were hiding, some were trying to stop them, mostly it seemed as if these things had all gotten a plan told to them before setting for the beach, and then somewhere upon arrival half of them had forgotten the directive. Meanwhile, Adarsh, resident healer, was trying to do his part. He had a moment to shine here, a situation in which he could both test out his ability, and gain some good will among the populus. There really wasn’t a better moment. 

He felt the results of the healing however, the exhaustion that slowly seeped into his bones. He’d rest at the medi-centre later. Right now he went places where there were plenty of people, where he had the possibility to use his powers. 

And the hub certainly managed to take the cake. And it seemed safe for exactly three seconds before the chaos started. The buzzing rippled through the air as suddenly a large group of the robots flew overhead and descended towards the place. 

Adarsh’s eyes widened slightly before he started kicking furniture aside so people could run away faster. He bumped into a familiar face, the handsome one from the warehouse, as people started screaming and trying to get away from the location.

[mc-adarsh]

Adarsh couldn’t really explain the weird sensation that set off when the other said ‘he’d pay for all of it’. It wasn’t jealousy, or frustration. Just… judgement. And it felt unfounded, because he had no idea if he had any experience with rich people or if he was just thinking like this because he was most likely a homeless person. He turned his eyes to the pools and tried to force the opinions that led nowhere down. He felt that… if he was truly homeless… and they really got a bill, he should be happy someone offered to pay for him. It would make things a lot easier. “I’d appreciate that,” he said, as he sat down at the edge of the pool and pulled his beat up sneakers off of his feet. “Because I’m very sure I was homeless before I woke up on that ship, can’t imagine this hair is a result of good choices.” Or he had been some weird bohemian. 

He pulled the tank top over his head and contemplated taking off the cargo pants, even if there was nothing in there, and they’d probably dry quickly enough. Thinking he’d look weird in just his undies and the UV shirt. But the decision would have to be made later, because his eyes shot back to the stranger. “A swimming pool? Dressed like that?” He must’ve misunderstood the comment, because it confused him. It wasn’t an UV shirt, it looked like it might be made of wool or cotton. 

“Sadly don’t have one for you,” he said, through slightly gritted teeth, as he decided he didn’t want to get the cargo pants wet, and stood to pull them off. “My first actual memory is waking up on the cruise ship,” he admitted, focussing on lowering himself into the water before the frustration could take hold and fuck with his mental state. He felt like hitting something, but tried to think of good breathing exercises, anything to force down the feelings that were bubbling to the surface. “The rest of it is just blank.” 

"Don't worry, I'll pay for it," Apollo shared his bitter joke, filled with anger and frustration of his own. There used to be a time when he thought his money -his father's money- could get him out of anything, fix every wrong. And in a way, that was true until the end- even though his issues were far from fixable, he was rather certain that all his hospitalization and plastic surgery and physiotherapy was draining money out of one of the innumerable off-shore bank accounts that he had learned to take from granted. Still, he couldn't find it in himself to be grateful for any of that any more. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't gotten out of the fire and that was a thought that took up a big part of his brain that his confidence used to occupy.

It felt strange to talk about sun protection, under these circumstances. Everything going on around them felt just one too many steps away from reality for him to think that something as mundane as the sun could hurt him. It felt like his whole body was burning anyway, way more than usual, and that wasn't something sunscreen could fix. "I will go get something lighter then, thank you for the information," he probably lied, still not ready to abandon the false confidence of his turtlenecks.

The man's question made him give a chuckle at the sad parallel of the situation. "I was in a swimming pool," he answered truthfully, absentmindedly swishing his bare feet through the water of the tidal pool. He didn't think his company would be interested in hearing more about hydrotherapy, so he didn't elaborate. "And you? French art critiques such as myself do love exciting stories."

[mc-adarsh]

Evil robot hornet, the odyssey, yourself

"The ship? The Odyssey the ship? What is wrong with-- fine, kill the evil robot hornet, those tv screens are unnerving. I'm not fucking a ship, and fucking myself is basically masturbation. And I'm mr. Adarsh Odyssey now."

[mc-adarsh]

CLOSED STARTER for @chancedarling location: THE FOREST NEAR THE CRUISE SHIP timestamp: 6TH DAY ( I think )

The one time that Adarsh decided to take an alternative route towards the cruise ship’s mooring place, he’d instantly regret it. He’d moved through the dense forest edging the water with the intention to discover more of this place than simply all the places he’d been at before. He didn’t talk much to people, so he had no idea what might be lurking there, but he kept a careful step regardless. He supposed there could be dangerous animals out there, he supposed everyone made sure to practise caution. 

He heard rustling up ahead, and stopped dead in his tracks, only to find a familiar figure appear not much later. The guy who’d given him unsolicited advice, the one he was supposed to avoid however he could. 

Bad choice to go through the forest.

He made a face, as he watched the other continue his movements. Hoping he wouldn’t come near him. 

“Please tell me you’re not—” 

He hadn’t seen nor heard the creature that suddenly shot out from the thick undergrowth; it lept out so quickly that all Adarsh could do was jerk sideways, too late to offer any kind of help.

The creature was bigger than a tiger - he had no idea why he knew that - and black in colour, its skin rippling with the light coming down from the canopy. It growled. 

“Fuck!” 

He acted on instinct, and where that came from, or the knowledge he used, he had no idea, but Adarsh tried to make himself as big as possible and started shouting at the creature with all the pent up rage he could possibly bring to the surface. Which was a lot, and the more he thought about it, the more he fucking hated the tiger-like creature. 

Luckily for him, and for the annoying guy, it worked, and with enough shouting, the creature stopped standing over the other and growling at Adarsh and ran off. 

And he was too worked up over it to question it, instantly running to the other’s side. His heart hitched somewhere in his throat. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he muttered.