[video] You only THINK I guessed wrong!

[nonscriptum]

I fell victim to one of the classic blunders- do I seriously have to read this?

[You may recognize the guy on your screen as local parkour enthusiast and history nerd Nathan Drake. What he is wearing, however, differs so resolutely from his typical "jeans and a Henley" aesthetic that the broadcast appears to be hosted by a man whose sartorial sensibilities make him look like the quintessential Harvard professor: tweed vest, bow tie and all.

He gives a pleading expression to someone out of frame, who appears to have no mercy. Nate takes a fortifying breath and continues his recitation with approximately zero enthusiasm.]

...the most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "never challenge an FBI psychologist to deliver a line with a straight face."

[He looks directly at the camera, then at the figure behind the camera, and mimes a finger slicing across his neck at the figure in question with a mouthed I'm going to kill you.]

Comments

[action]

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance is, clearly, extremely intimidated by this gesture, grinning to himself as he turns off the feed.]

I hope a valuable lesson has been learned here.

video; un: Clyde

[darknstormy]

[ He stared at the screen half a minute before finally replying. If this wasn't a lost bet, Seth didn't know what it was. ]

You know, I don't even think Indy wore a bow tie when he played professor. Wait. I got it! You're playin' Dad! You're missin' the glasses though. I'll see if I can find you a pair. Even let you call me junior.

[ Sorry, not sorry, Nate. ]

[action]

[nonscriptum]

[Perhaps somewhat petulantly, Nate crumples his script up and lobs it at Lance. When it falls short of its goal he shifts uncomfortably in place, fidgeting with the tie.]

You're a monster.

video;

[nonscriptum]

I have it on good authority- [The aforementioned FBI psychologist.] -that he did, but thanks, I love wearing clothes that completely restrict free movement.

[darknstormy]

Does this mean you don't wanna call me junior?

[ As if what Nate was wearing wasn't torture enough. Seth held an impish smirk but it didn't linger. He shook his head with a chuckle. ]

I'll quit givin' you shit. You wanna explain in layman terms how you lost a bet? I don't have a fuckin' clue what you started this broadcast sayin'.

video

[am_i_a_monster]

You look formal and uncomfortable, Vizzini. So, what line did you challenge him to deliver?

[nonscriptum]

My Sean Connery voice needs work.

[Nate grimaces apologetically, even if he doesn't feel all that bad about it. He should have known what he was getting into, but then, Nate so rarely thinks before acting that results like this are on-brand for him.]

Dumb bet I made months ago. Told a friend if he was gonna call me "distinguished" he'd need to do it in person with a straight face. [He gestures at himself.] Here we are.

[nonscriptum]

I am both of those things, thank you for noticing.

[The last time Nate wore a formal suit and enjoyed it was for his wedding, but that's because after the photos were taken he got to ditch the tie and the jacket and the shoes and roll up his pants and carry Elena through the surf so her dress wouldn't get completely fucked.

The question has him falter, a little, still sore from the loss.]

...didn't really get that far. If I'm being honest, I kind of expected to lose.

Video

[itsnotaonesie]

Wow.

If you were like fifty years older, you might be able to pull that look off.

[video]

[sneaklizard]

Sweet threads, man. [ Looking like a little buddy of hers.]

Who set you up?

Video

[nonscriptum]

[At that point he'd be eighty-nine, and you know what? He's fine with that assessment.]

I look like the kind of person Al Capone would extort.

[video]

[nonscriptum]

[He's seen a lot of things in Hadriel, but he's had yet to see a lizard...dragon...type person, and for that reason Nate double-takes at the camera for a moment before collecting himself and answering:]

Yeah, this was all the rage in 1932. You can thank Dr. Sweets.

video;

[storyseeker]

[JUST. ENDLESS GIGGLING. SHE'S NOT EVEN TRYING TO HIDE IT.]

video;

[nonscriptum]

[Nate is doing his level best to keep his tone even, but the chagrined smile on his face says otherwise.]

Okay. All right. Get it out of your system.

voice

[theweakhavepurpose]

As far as forced confessions go, that's pretty tame.

[His was far worse.]

voice

[nonscriptum]

It's not a-

[It isn't a confession, it's a joke gone horribly awry and Nate realizes with no small amount of hideous embarrassment that there are people here he hasn't met yet, and their first exposure to him is this.]

I lost a bet.

voice

[theweakhavepurpose]

Still pretty tame honestly.

There's probably only three people here who know what you're quoting.

[But he does think the Professor Jones look is your normal attire.]

video;

[storyseeker]

Okay!

[Aaaaaand she's still giggling for another minute or so.]

[am_i_a_monster]

You expected to lose and made the bet to be uncomfortable anyway.   That probably says something about you.  The psychologist could probably spend a whole day on it.

  [Her tone is light and joking, not wanting to seriously pile on if he's still bummed about it.] 

Did you at least have an outfit for him to wear, if you had won?

video

[smoketendrils]

[There's a lot to unpack here. He doesn't know what an FBI psychologist is (nor does he get any of the references which is depressing), but context clues and the fucking state of this man's dress tells him so much.]

That was a very bad bet. People with a dry sense of humor can say just about anything with a straight face.

[and given the state of his clothes and the lack of mercy of the person behind the camera... Yeah, that's some dry humor right there. Percy salutes you, Sweets.]

Video

[itsnotaonesie]

You look like you should be hosting some History channel documentary. But seriously, can I ask why you're dressed like a gigantic dork and quoting really old movies? There's gotta be a good story here.

[Audio]

[drabsolutelynot]

If it would make you feel better, I have a photo of him with glitter in his hair.

[And ribbons]

video!

[hellosirs]

[ DID SOMEBODY SAY 'TWEED'?

... Ok, Angus is wearing an argyle sweatervest and a bowtie, but that's like two steps away from tweed. He's also wearing his outfit voluntarily, this is just how he dresses! ]

Underestimating psychologists is a very bad idea, sir! Not only do they have great poker faces - don't play poker with any, by the way - but they're very good at reading body language and facial tells!

Video

[nonscriptum]

I lost a bet.

[Peter doesn't need to know the terms and conditions, or the fact that Nate was basically screwed from the moment he challenged Lance in the first place. Negligible details.]

Long story short, don't make bets with our local shrink.

[nonscriptum]

Seeing as the psychologist is the person who made me do this, we are spending a whole day on it.

[He's not really all that embarrassed - Nate doesn't have much ego even on days when things go his way, so this is more of a temporary nuisance. He's griping about it for Lance's sake. You understand.]

But yeah, he was going to have to wear what I usually wear, instead of his stuffy academic crap.