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

[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?

[warandpeace]

Yeah. I guess. A lot of us haven't felt this good in a long time. Or never really been treated like this. On one hand, gift horses. On the other, Trojan horses.

I spoke with someone who mentioned that her roommate could psychically screen people. Our hosts genuinely want us to have a good time.

For whatever that's worth.

[sketchycharacter]

Seriously? That's...well, it's something.

[It means they're probably not being fattened up for a slaughter, metaphorically speaking. At least not intentionally.]

Doesn't make it okay if they're doing something to us, though.

[warandpeace]

Maybe.

[For all that he's trying to be his usual cautious self, it's difficult to bring that back out when he's not been feeling it. When he's actually happy for a good ten minutes like he hasn't been in years.]

One thing I don't like, though... the mist. I don't like the mist. [That shines through even his good time.] No animals either.

[sketchycharacter]

Yeah. How the hell can an ecosystem work without animals?

[Aside from the bug people. Seems rude to just call them animals.]

It's pretty, sure. So are a lot of traps.

[warandpeace]

If it's entirely plant based, down to the carnivorous flowers eating other plants. Some sort of food chain.

Funny thing was that most plants that have a slime coating some of these leaves do are meant to catch prey, and there were plants out there in jungle that have that. Mostly insects. But they might just be catching particles out of the air.

If you talk to 76 he could tell you more about what was poisonous or not. He got... adventurous... with his experimentation. Don't know what good it would do.

[sketchycharacter]

Adventurous. Huh. All right.

[Sounds like a story he'd like to hear. But firsthand.]

Hell, maybe that's what this drug or whatever is doing. Keeping us complacent and then we're the prey.

[warandpeace]

Hard to say. There's so much speculation at this point.

[But it's kind of nice not to hurt. Not that he isn't specifically, but he's in good enough a mood he's allowed himself to get drunk and have fun and relax despite the phantom pains. He almost never does that. He wants Nate to be wrong so badly.]

[But luckily compulsion isn't louder than the knowledge that if he just allows something to happen, he'll never be able to live with himself. So he's trying extremely hard to hang onto the idea that maybe something isn't alright. It's incredibly difficult.]

It's really hard to think about right now. Maybe it'll turn out to be all in your head. You uh... [More pausing.] Rinzler and DD never found any animals when we had them look, so it's not a matter of them being hidden. DD is a specially trained dog. Rinzler can run scans. Rinzler's scans should have turned something up if there was anything.

Hope you figure it out. [And it just turns out everything is okay.]

[sketchycharacter]

Well, it's good to know we're probably not going to get chomped on by carnivores, at least. I think.

[Small comfort. But as freaked out as he is, any comfort is pretty welcome. It's one less problem to solve.]

Thanks.