#thread.crystal

[little-baski]

Baskar: oooh so uhm rejkjavik, do a lot of people live there?  Baskar: me neither i alwasy failled at cluedo Baskar: definiely not here to relax adn party im afraid Baskar: i will kee you posted!

Crystal: yeah! The capital! It's super nice there but I'm a big fan of this place so far Crystal: hold on...you can't just say oh well when it comes to the possibility of murders?! Crystal: people are getting murdered around here? Crystal: I thought we were all brought here to party and relax Crystal: I've never been good at murder mysteries Crystal: but keep me posted kk? Crystal: then maybe you can use that radio ur working on to call the cops to collect whoevers killing around here

[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?"

[little-baski]

Baskar: Iceland! Wow, that's so cool! Baskar: From the captal or somehwere mreo remote? Ive seen videos of the nature there and the whole tectonic plates. Baskar: okay im glad, i dont want to make reading my texts difficutl for you! Baskar: it is weird id say. i wonder if there is a reason whytheres no kids Baskar: uhm definitely not like either of those shows more uhm... lost, that big scifi show Baskar: only with less murders Baskar: oh well Baskar: no definitey less murders

Crystal: ever been to Iceland? crazy cold there all year round! got its name for a reason Crystal: well I wouldn't say it's annoying but it definitely threw me off Crystal: though thinking about it, it's kind of nice there's no kids here Crystal: really adds to that resort feel! adults only~ Crystal: or is it more of a love island/too hot to handle situation? you've been here for a while, yeah? what's the atmosphere like?

[little-baski]

Baskar: Where areyou from? Baskar: 😅 i always fight with autocorrect, because i use dot also text a lot with myf amily from indonesia and it would always completely change anything i wrote in bahasa as something competely different Baskar: also im too lazyto go back and fixmy mistakes. Baskar: i think i have the worng phone because i also tend tomiss hiting the spacebutton a lot Baskar: but if itsreally annoying i can try a bit better and not make so many typingsmitakses

Crystal: aww that's so sad 😢 Crystal: sounds so lonely I could never imagine a life like that Crystal: i just like the beach and feel like I'm at a resort, where I'm from is suuuuper cold so it's like free vacay! Crystal: 27?! Crystal: that's crazy omg I totally thought you were like Crystal: a kid who stole their parents phone 😵‍💫 the spelling really threw me off Crystal: you know autocorrect does wonders

[little-baski]

Baskar: i think its pretty neat too! Baskar: oh well so i wasnt very happy back home and i was always forced to move aorund and id like to be somewhere and not have to move away so i think its a pretty sweet deal Baskar: you? Baskar: im 27, my parents arent here

Crystal: yeah lots of people don't seem too happy here but I think it's pretty neat Crystal: what makes you want to stick around when everyone else wants out? Crystal: huh? Crystal: what do i mean? Crystal: what do YOU mean?

[little-baski]

Baskar: thank you! Baskar: i hope so i dont necessarily want to leave the island, but I knowthat a oolot fo peopeld want to! Baskar: thatsokay i know a lot myself because i did robotics for a year but communication devicses are harder because it really depends on who manifactured them Baskar: ?? huh Baskar: whatdo you mean?

Crystal: that sounds like a great idea! very ambitious Crystal: I'm sure if you try REALLY hard you'll be able to reach out to someone! Crystal: sadly i'm not much of a radio person so I got no clue how to help you kiddo Crystal: but maybe your mommy or daddy can lend a hand!

[little-baski]

Baskar: im goign to try at least Baskar: it might not efen work but i think ic an figure out the basics Baskar: to contact the main land! Baskar: or maybe like a ship thats also at sea so they can rescue us there has to be someone out there i think Baskar: probably alone yes unless you have any experience with radios? Baskar: it will be more expereimntal anyway because i dont have aeverything i need

Crystal: oh wow! you're gonna make a radio? that's pretty neat! Crystal: but that sounds pretty tough, you sure you can handle that all on your own? Crystal: what do you need a radio for? Crystal: like a walkie talkie with your friends?

[mc-adarsh]

Adarsh made a face. He was about five seconds away from blowing up based on her tone, but she was supplying him with something nobody else was: his past. Becoming grumpy and angry wasn’t going to help. Becoming non-verbal because he was too frustrated to speak wouldn’t either. He gritted his teeth. “Hopefully,” he agreed. “And it is.” INcredibly tough, and when people acknowledged that, he felt better about it. He was supposed to have that understanding from everyone. Nobody had it as bad as he did. “And up until now, I didn’t know anyone who knew me.” Even if it was barely a connection, it was better than anything. He looked genuinely happy for a moment. 

He hadn’t expected the name to be correct. He thought the name would be incorrect, that it wasn't his, because it felt like it might not be. However, he trusted her more than his own instinct. Clearly. He’d been able to smell the bullshit on Chance, but if Chance had pretended to know him, he would’ve gladly overruled that feeling for the sake of being known. He was so desperate to have his past. 

“At least you’ve been able to answer the question about my name,” he said, offering a smile.

He smiled, it sounded… well, not like him. From everything that had happened the last few months, he had found he was easy to anger, into boxing, and incredibly judgemental. That man didn’t sound like the one she was describing, but he’d been younger then. Maybe he’d been like that. He gritted his teeth, set the odd feeling out of his mind, instead offered her an unsure smile. “Dance, drama?” He frowned. “I can barely imagine that.” Maybe not the popular thing. “And after school… did you ever hear anything about me again?” he asked. He sounded so eager, so desperate.

"And I thought the stories of the giant robot hornets were crazy. Well, those still are pretty crazy, but...full blown amnesia." Crystal was mystified. Maybe it was insensitive, treating him like some sort of spectacle, but how exactly did one address this delicately? (Maybe pretending to be someone he knew in the past wasn't a great start.) "Hopefully I can be of some help." she offered with an innocent, unassuming smile. "It must be tough, not knowing anyone, not even yourself."

He offered up a name, though it sounded like he didn't know for sure. Crystal was positive given her many years in Missouri, the only names she could feasibly generate were more common among Southern white guys. So instead of agreeing with his uncertainty, Crystal nodded as if he'd hit the mark. "Adarsh! Yeah! That does ring a bell! The language though...I don't know how much I can help you there. Geography isn't exactly my strong suit." She didn't even really have a firm grasp on her own birthplace and culture, figuring out his wouldn't be much easier.

She also didn't dwell on the fact that maybe they weren't so different. But at least he had amnesia as an excuse.

While Crystal couldn't give insight on names, languages or culture, she could sure come up with stories about fictionalized college life. "You were a master at pottery, I do remember the countless girls whispering to each other wondering what else your hands could do." she claimed, with a raise of her brows and a mischievous smirk. "You were pretty popular from what I remember. I don't know if that was on purpose though. Pottery, dance, drama. You were in a lot of different clubs."

[mc-adarsh]

Adarsh felt desperate to have people believe him when he was at his lowest. When his standing in a conversation was at the mercy of another, his whole being was afraid to be laughed at, to not be taken seriously or worse… to be taken pity on. His face contorted when she voiced her disbelief, but he just managed to stop himself from lashing out because of it, instead managing to shake his head in annoyance and letting out only a huff of frustration. “I wish,” he said. “But no, real case of amnesia.” 

He shook his head. “A name, maybe,” he offered, and perhaps she would be able to - once and for all - establish whether his odd feeling with the name was correct or not. “I woke up thinking the name Adarsh,” he said. “Does that ring a bell? Or does it sound wrong?” He gritted his teeth against the boiling frustration. “And a language, which I figured out is Malayalam. Meaning I am probably from Kerala.”

UCLA. It didn’t ring a bell or spark some kind of memory - but he’d gotten used to that. Nothing seemed to trigger anything, as if everything was so well stored away that there was simply too much static. “California,” he said with wonder. Given the state of his appearance now, he could guess he’d fallen. But if he’d been an international student… scholarship? Rich parents? “Oh,” he sounded disappointed. She recognised him, but clearly he hadn’t been an important piece of her life. “Pottery classes?” he laughed at that. “Was I any good?” 

There was a moment of shock when he mentioned he didn't remember anything. Not a single thing before he arrived here? That sounded like he was messing with her as much as she was messing with him. Either he was incredible at lying through his teeth and wanting to test her, see if she'll slip up, or he really had no memories whatsoever. "No way...no memories at all? I mean, I don't remember how I got here but, I remember what I was doing before and things I did. You really telling me you have amnesia? Or are you just saying that to pretend you don't know who I am?"

Crystal squinted her eyes at him suspiciously but she was inclined to believe him. Only because this was probably the luckiest she's ever gotten when it came to forging a new persona. When would she ever get to say and make up whatever she wanted and have it all be taken as fact? Not only making up her life but someone else's life too. "Is there anything you do remember? Name? Age? Family? Anything like that?" At least she could gauge how far she was able to push the limits.

"It was UCLA. In California. Though, I wasn't there for very long. I think I did a year and a half before I decided to drop out. It just wasn't my calling. School just wasn't for me, you know? I can't remember what you were studying though." She told him, as if anticipating that to be his next question about himself. "We did do a pottery class together though. Just an extracurricular, but you were really into it."

[mc-adarsh]

A friend from college.

Adarsh felt eager to hear more, though she seemed to have some trouble with names. His eyes were wide, listening with a hunger he hadn't felt since he'd learned the language he spoke had a name. Maybe he'd studied abroad, he knew English pretty well, despite the accent. He couldn't imagine having studied in Kerala and having met her there. But that was just an assumption. He only had those.

He did instantly believe her, she brought it with such confidence, played to his feelings so well...

He took a deep breath. "I--" He still hated admitting that he had no memory of the past when a situation wasn't in his favour. It most certainly wasn't in his favour right now. When he was requested to fill in gaps that he couldn't fill. "I don't remember, I'm sorry, I don't remember anything from before coming here."

He licked his lips. "What college?" he asked, the desperation clear in his voice. He wanted to know more. Even if it was years ago, if she could barely remember his or the friend's name. "And... where?"

Jackpot.

Just the answer she was hoping for.

A smile spread across her face, looking at him as if relieved to see him, a friendly face on an island full of strangers. Of course she didn't know anyone, but he seemed to be hopeful about whether she knew him or not which worked out perfectly for her. "Yes! Yeah, oh my god, it's been a while but I totally remember! I was dating one of your buddy's back in college, oh...what was his name...?" She tapped her fingers against her cheek, humming as she made a face, looking like she was deep in thought. Her hope was that he would interject with the name of a friend, maybe some random person that he hadn't spoken to since those days that she could simply play off of.

He didn't offer up any names though, and rather then sitting in the uncertainty for too long, Crystal just waved her hand in the air to move past it. "I can't remember exactly his name, it's been a long time, I've dated a lot since then but faces I'm good with and your face I definitely remember." She was clear and confident with her statement, easily excusing why she may not remember his name or this so called friends name from years ago.

"I'm Crystal, though I mostly went by Kris in those days. Remember?" She asked, still trying to coax the answer she wanted out of him.

[mc-adarsh]

Adarsh - a name he was still convinced wasn’t his but had gotten so adjusted too that he barely gave it a second thought anymore - no longer held any hope that someone would show up who knew him. There clearly were people with (intimate) connections on the island but he simply did not belong to those. Not even in passing. He wasn’t meant to. For this place and his situation to work he couldn’t be connected to anyone. If his amnesia was important, he held some bit of information that could prove helpful to uncover all the secrets, then they couldn't make it that easy for him.

And he'd been - to his own annoyance - growing used to not knowing who he was.

Of course, there were things that still pushed his buttons that he couldn't explain, but those became rarer as he started to at least expect certain reactions from himself.

However, that did not mean he wasn't desperate to be proven wrong.

He'd give an arm to know who he was, perhaps more than an arm. He wanted to solve his mystery.

Adarsh frowned when a voice called out for him, arms crossed as she made an effort to study him. He wondered what she wanted. She didn't seem injured, so probably nothing more than to be a nuisance.

Instead she uttered words he'd wanted to hear for a long time now.

"You know me?" he asked, frown disappearing as his face softened, mouth slightly open as he fought off hope. "You recognise me? From before all this?"

Status: closed for @mc-adarsh Location: The Hub

It was interesting to Crystal, the way people around here seemingly knew others, usually in a rather closely connected way. She liked the anonymity of nobody really knowing her here, but she also had this overwhelming FOMO. She didn't have the opportunity to reconnect with anyone, bonding over old times and now bonding more over their unfortunate circumstances. So in a way, she did what she could to try and force it.

It was like how people would break video games to get the fastest game completion time. Crystal basically wanted to speed run a bond with someone that she didn't have yet. Not that doing something like that was easy. She had gone up to a few people, trying to convince them that they knew each other but none of them seemed like playing along. Clearly not worth her time anyway.

She was considering just giving up, standing around by what others were calling The Hub, watching people walk back and forth, eating together and just going about their day. But something told her to give it one final go. Mister tall, dark, and broody marching around on his own seemed like a good final target. "Hey, hold on a minute, slow down there!" she called out to him, starting a brisk jog in his direction as she flagged him down. Crystal paused when she reached him, looking him over, brows furrowed almost quizzically to seem like she was trying to figure something out before asking, "I know you from somewhere, don't I?"

[little-baski]

Baskar: Hello! 😳 Baskar: I am confused Baskar: hwo is this? Baskar: iam thingking about makinga. radio

crystal >>📱>> ???

Crystal: what are you thinking about right now? Crystal: plans of escape? maybe planning a party? Crystal: or perhaps a deep dark secret you would never tell another soul?