video;

[sketchycharacter]

All right, I'm done pretending we're not collectively acting like a bunch of hippies at a weed convention. Yeah, the party is nice and all, but has anyone stopped to think about what the hell is happening here?

[The dancing, the partying, the getting sexy in public-to-barely-private locations. He's actually seen people relax who never, ever relax, and that might be the creepiest part.]

I'm just gonna say it. We've been drugged. And it feels like I'm the only one who's come down from it.

[Granted, this is way better than the last two times he was drugged, but it's still freaking him out.]

Look, if there's anyone out there who hasn't already told me 'oh Nate it's no big deal just have a drink and enjoy yourself,' please let me know. I talked to Thán, and if there's any hinky shit that anyone's noticed, we should bring it back to the Moira. Personally I think we should all go back to the beach and wait there, but I've given up on convincing people of that. I just want to figure out what's going on.

[ooc note: Nate is one of three crewmates to have suddenly become immune to the compulsion to party down. He's immediately come to the (possibly wrong) conclusion that they've all been drugged in some way, but per the mods, people still under the compulsion will not be less affected if he points out the weirdness and would just brush it off, so feel free to either assume this has happened (if your character knows Nate) or come exasperate him by doing so here! He would also be very happy to connect with anyone else who's become immune or never made it to the party to be affected.]

Comments

[video]

[imahologram]

[She got to the party, unfortunately, and she's still under its effects. She's still beautifully dressed, her hair loose around her face, and at the moment, she's deeply skeptical.]

The ship just crashed, and it doesn't sound like there's much we can do to fix it. What else can people do except unwind a little?

[video]

[sketchycharacter]

[The noise he makes is somewhere between strangled and resigned.]

Unwinding is great. Getting stoned out of our minds and doing things we wouldn't [at least not to this degree] is less great.

video

[saveyourserpent]

I've been drugged, and it's a hell of a lot different than this. There's no motivation for it. Who pissed in your bloody cornflakes?

[Early on, Liquid did find all this a little suspicious... but that vague feeling left a long time ago. He's been partying it up ever since, and he's clearly lounging on something comfortable while he speaks.

He is not usually this relaxed. He does not care.]

There's a thing called 'relaxing,' maybe you should try it. Sounds like you need it more than anyone.

video

[sketchycharacter]

So have I, and coming off it felt pretty damn similar.

[All right, so it was less dramatic than realizing his best friend hadn't actually been shot to death. Yay for no hallucinations this time. But the jolt of lucidity was the same.]

I can relax. But I don't need people to do it for me.

audio;

[otiosity]

What if you're drugged to think we're ones who are drugged? Reverse drug psychology.

audio;

[sketchycharacter]

Hawke, I swear to god—no. Just no, all right? Not the time.

Video

[prorenataa]

[ Though he is not in the middle of the dancing, as may have been witnessed over time, Adrien still looks relaxed. He's somewhere quiet, relaxing against one of the stone walls with the mist covered landscape behind him, looking peaceful. ]

Nate, I know we talked about this. But what other evidence do you have that we might be drugged? I haven't seen anyone being unwell or any negative reaction, across a wide variety of species.

Law of averages suggest someone would have had a reaction.

[ Adrien. Smiling. That should definitely be labeled under a strange drug side-effect. ]

Video

[sketchycharacter]

[YEAH. YEAH IT SHOULD BE.]

Doc. Do me a favor. Your expression, the way it is right now? Freeze it there. Go look in a mirror. Report back to me.

[ascendit]

"hinky"

[Look, being WTFed in person was one thing, but that word??]

[sketchycharacter]

what? it's a word. a useful word in this scenario

Text

[mylawn]

Questioned a local.

[Kidnapped and interrogated, more like, but, uh.]

Surprisingly unhelpful.

Text

[sketchycharacter]

[Oh thank goodness. Probably.]

what did they say

video

[democratically]

[While Padmé doesn't quite get all his references, given the colloquial difference, she does understand enough.]

They've been nothing but nice, considering we crashed upon their planet.

video

[sketchycharacter]

Right. And that doesn't make you suspicious?

Video;

[tearsinajar]

"Hinky". Seriously?

[ No, really. Is he for real? ]

Nate, Iiiiiiiiii think someone is over thinking things.

[ Just a bit. But this is coming from his wife who's still looking happy and relaxed, her hair loose around her shoulders in curls and still wearing that white dress while a healthy glow and flush highlights her face. From both their time together and the so-called drug. ]

Video;

[sketchycharacter]

Hinky is a useful word!

[Nooooot the point. God, he hates this, being able to see what she can't. He'd much rather be blind and indulging himself with her, but he can't go back now, no matter how amazing she looks.]

Do you really not think any of this is weird?

[video]

[pleasereset]

I think everyone's been acting really weird. It's like no one cares about leaving or getting home or anything...

[And hey, Asriel's not one who's eager to return home. But he knows there's plenty of people with that goal in mind, so just lazing around here just seems really odd.]

[video]

[sketchycharacter]

[Oh geez, it's a cute little kid. Well, at least he's not being induced to partake in some age-inappropriate hedonism.]

That's exactly what it's like. Have you noticed anything weird going on? Uh, aside from the obvious. Anything our so-called hosts have been doing?

[a_perfect_end]

[It's not at all abnormal for him to be wearing a smug grin, nor to quite literally shrug off anything he doesn't want to hear.

It's just that usually both tactics are swiftly accompanied by self-righteous bellowing or outright threats.

The grin doesn't stick around and is never, ever tolerant. It's like all that goodwill might crack his face.]

Honestly, nothing that's happened since I joined up fits known parameters, neither of my world, nor its home planet.

...They're a weird bunch of whatever they are, but they're being nice.

Besides, it's been [pause. His internal scans are still off, the clock in particular refusing to unfloat--] I mean, the sun keeps coming up and going down, and there's a conspicuous absence of either sacrificial knives or convenient obelisks.

...I am registering some affects, but it's nothing I haven't, what's the idiom, slept off before.

Counterpoint: if they were going to harm us, they have certainly had the opportunity.

[sketchycharacter]

Well those are, uh, a bunch of arguments. And they're not bad. [Especially the "they would have hurt us already" part, Nate can't figure that one out.] But consider: this is all still weird as hell and people shouldn't be acting like this.

video;

[heisenbitch]

Maybe you should just get that stick outta your ass, yo, and let people chill. Unless, of course, you're just keepin' it up there to stop these grasshopper alien freaks from probing you.

[ Someone's been indulging waaaay too much. Jesse has almost completely forgotten how much this whole messed up space situation has been freaking him the fuck out. ]

video;

[sketchycharacter]

Fuck off, pal. I can have as good a time as any but I don't want people choosing that for me.

[voice] - this is going to be so embarrassing later

[ryuuzaki]

[The low voice sounds less crisp than usual, more lazy and relaxed.]

Is this a circumstantial assumption, or is it something you can support with some kind of evidence?

[He thinks he'd notice if he were drugged. The last few days haven't felt anything like that: he's merely made the decision to shrug off several years of tension and frustrating powerlessness. He'd come up to see if there were any real danger aside from the fact that the natives could turn on their alien visitors at any time, which is true anywhere. He can't identify any.]

[voice] good

[sketchycharacter]

Look around you if you want evidence! Do you seriously think people would be cutting loose this much under normal circumstances?

TEXT

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

please. you really should take whatever our ex-captain than has to say with grain of salt.

besides where should we stay? sleep on a beach under the stars? no fucking way.

TEXT

[sketchycharacter]

i'll take that over getting forcefully stoned by some bug people who think we need to part for our own good or whatever's going on

[Voice]

[tearmeanewone]

Tell you what-- if we all start talking to people who aren't there, mutating, and hunting each other with anything available, then I'll believe something... 'hinky' is going on. Until then? What's the harm in a little... aroma-therapy? [That's the word for it, probably. All the baths and so on.]

If it makes you uncomfortable, go wait on the beach. But don't rain on anybody else's parade.

[Says the woman who's been a total stressball for the past six weeks. This is great in her opinion.]

[Voice]

[sketchycharacter]

Uh...that's a really specific definition of hinky.

[He's momentarily distracted from his own freakout. What the hell has she been through that those examples came to mind?]

[liberaltus]

Well, I did notice the clothing so ever conveniently in our size and shape, but I've not seen creatures of our size and shape around. Other than us.

[sketchycharacter]

See! Exactly! That's weird!

[Or extraordinarily hospitable, which is basically the same thing!]

[vengeance_driven]

I didn't go to the party. I just hung out by the ship.

It's getting pretty weird out there, ah?

[He's feeling increasingly like maybe he shouldn't go check it out.]

[sketchycharacter]

Good plan. Stay there. And yeah, weird is one word for it. "Bacchanalia" is another.

[warandpeace]

[He's definitely affected, and he doesn't want to leave. But he's addicted to work, that's his idea of fun, and defense is his priority.]

It's probably a good idea. If the ship's systems down, I don't know if you could test anything, but maybe take some food and drink samples. At the very least we can make sure it's agreeing with us. It feels like it is. I haven't felt sick yet.

[He doesn't want to go, though.]

[sketchycharacter]

[He will gladly take someone who's not 100% brushing him off as nonsense. It's a start.]

It's not a matter of sickness, I've felt fine this whole time, just...too fine. You know?

VIDEO

[squadgoals]

Nate.

[Her expression is... guilty? Relieved? Slightly crazed?]

You feel it too?

[I WISH I HAD FELT IT EARLIER]

VIDEO

[sketchycharacter]

Oh, thank Christ!

[FINALLY. SOMEONE SPEAKING SENSE. Who is not a small and fluffy child.]

Yeah, I do. It was like snapping out of something.

video;

[arcreact]

[ Okay, but Tony Stark really hasn't been acting that strangely, given he's always paraded around like an obnoxious lush. See, it's practically any other Tuesday! ]

I sure hope you're ready to put some science where your mouth is. Otherwise, I'm already bored.

video;

[sketchycharacter]

I'm trying, believe me.

[He's absolutely bringing stuff back to the Moira to be tested. For...stuff. Drugs. Whatever.]

But I don't need scientific proof to be sure that weird shit is going on.

text

[a_shadow]

You're still on about that, huh

text

[sketchycharacter]

yep still on about it
sorry if i'm making it weird
but not that sorry because i just don't buy that this is happening naturally

[seeingscarlet]

And how do you know the beach is safe? Where are the animals?

[Wanda can admit this is a little strange, but statistically speaking there has to be at least one planet where people won't try to hurt them. And that mist from earlier was super creepy. Who knows what could be hiding in there or what might come out at night?]

[sketchycharacter]

I don't. I'm not sure anywhere on this planet is safe, actually. But no one who's stayed on the beach has had an irresistible urge to party down.

video;

[lostsymmetry]

Drugged, huh?

[Somebody sounds amused at this suggestion. Though the video's just showing... a logo? A glitchy logo? A picture?]

That would be impressive.

video;

[sketchycharacter]

It's a working theory. I don't know that it's drugs, but it is something.