Speed Dating Year 2

[selfhelp]

Who: Anyone who wants/is forced to come
What: Speed Dating!
When: Today (Saturday) afternoon-ish
Where: The Rec Center
Summary: Details here, Roster here!
Rating: PG/13/T/R/god I don't know there's too many people

[Much like last year, the rec center is decorated and freshly cleaned, with a plethora set up throughout the main floor. Each set includes a small table and two chairs facing each other. Along with number plates to help direct people to their partners, there is a small pile of coloured paper cards, stacked down, and pencils on every table.

Further back there is a collection of couches forming a lounging circle, as well as a couple of tables with drinks and snacks all set up and ready to be eaten. And yes, the fantastic rainbow cookies from the year before have made a reappearance. No doubt they'll disappear just as fast. The lounge area has a recycled sign from last year that says, "If you find yourself on a turn without a date, come hang out!", and this year, a new weird-looking potato man is hanging on the wall. ...But whatever.

All in all, the whole place looks ready for a big event, and when enough people have gathered - and the clock ticks to the agreed starting time - Teddy and Billy step forward to get things moving at last.]



Hey, hey! Announcement time here! Can everyone hear me? [...] All right, good!

So, some of you may remember this from last year. If you didn't come then, or if you're new, or happened to get roped into this by one of your friends, then on behalf of... uh...

[He glances down at Billy and, taking the cue, his partner speaks up.]

...We'll call the name a work-in-progress for now. Kurt says he's got it covered.

[His response is a raised eyebrow, because really, Kurt? But Teddy gets right back on track with a smile after that.] … Welcome to the second annualish speed dating event! I'm Teddy, this is my fiancé Billy, and we'll be your hosts for today. I know you just want to get started already, but unfortunately, we've got to go over the rules and stuff first. Everyone should have a list of numbers. When Billy gives the signal, everyone will head to the table with the first number on your list, where you'll either wait for or meet up with the person you're paired with. You'll both have five minutes to talk and get to know each other, for better or for worse, and leave with some sort of impression of them. Hopefully good, but can't win 'em all, right? After those five minutes, one of us will blow the whistle, and then you'll head to the table with the next number on your list. Repeat steps one through whatever, until we've reached the end! Hopefully by then, you'll have a new friend, a potential date, or hey, you might have just met the new love of your life!

[Teddy looks to Billy then, who speaks up next to him.]

The tables have conversation cards, in case you're not sure how to get things rolling, or if you're feeling shy- it has topic ideas, questions to ask your partner, whatever we could come up with. As you go through the list, try to give a little 'yes' or 'no' to the people you speak to- yes for wanting to see them again, no for it not being a good match. Once it's over just hand in your papers and we'll let everyone know - discretely, of course! - who gave and received a mutual yes. You don't have to wait for us, though- if you hit it off with someone really well and you both want to hang out right away, don't let us stop you. We have games and stuff set up over in the lounge area-

[He gestures to aforementioned lounge, complete with couches, a couple of tables, a stack of assorted games, and a snack and drink table.]

-Or you could just sneak off to keep yourselves entertained. We don't judge.

We totally do judge, just so you know.

[Billy elbows him. Gosh, boyfriend, behave.

Teddy just laughs a little, waving his hand as if to dismiss a joke.]

Okay, okay, we don't. Anyway, that's about it. We're going to give everyone one minute to get to the first table, then we'll blow the whistle and let everyone start. Thanks for coming, have a great time!

[They go back to sitting at their host table, and then, after the minute passes and everyone's settled, the whistle is blown. BEGIN!]


(( ooc: directions are as follows:

1) check your roster
2) make a top thread for your character with their name in the subject line
3) tag and be tagged
4) MAKE AWESOME NEW CR FOR GREAT JUSTICE ))

Comments

Ventus

[risingwinds]

[Who's excited? This dork's excited, and he makes his way around the room with a spring in his step, an enormous grin, and energy practically radiating from his skin. At age nineteen, he's now about 5'10'', dressed in a loose white hoodie, grey sweats, and his armored boots... because at least some of the armor's gotta stay.

He greets people with a wave, offering some of the cookies he grabbed. You know, just in case they needed extras. The rainbow cookies are pretty awesome, after all.

If you're a girl, though, he might start clamming up a little. Fiddling with one of the cards, smiling sheepishly... It's tough to tell who's here for friendship and who's here for romance at a mere glance, but he'll try his best to stay positive all the same.

So, how to start...]

My name's Ventus, but most people call me Ven. So uh... where are you from?

[Okay, that sounded silly, but at least he's trying.]

[rashness]

[ Oh see this guy? This fucking guy seems cool. Rin's tail shifts behind him and he definitely looks pleased despite the wet-ish hair and the suit which isn't fitting perfectly right ] 'M from Japan, living in True Cross Academy's campus town - name's Rin. Where're you from?

[risingwinds]

[This guy has a tail. A tail. Ven's face lights up at the mere sight of him.

He's so temped to ask what he is, but he withholds the urge, opting to answer Rin's question.]

Well, I dunno where I was born, but I've been living in this world called the Land of Departure for as long as I can remember. It had this great view of the sky from up on the mountains, and me and my friends lived in this huge, gold castle.

[He could go on, but he doesn't wanna ramble, so he'll just start with that.]

[rashness]

Oh, a castle?! Really...? So are you like a prince of something in that Dentures place?

[risingwinds]

A prince?

[He leans back, shaking his head.]

No way! I'm just a Keyblade Apprentice... well, maybe 'just' isn't the right word, but I'm definitely not royalty.

[rashness]

So then why did you live in a castle...?

[risingwinds]

Uh... well, my Master was kinda in charge of that world. But there were only ever four of us there, so I dunno why the castle was built or where it originally came from.

[He scratches his cheek. Come to think of it, there's a lot he doesn't really know about his home, like why it's so deserted and when it became a haven for Keyblade wielders.]

[rashness]

Oh... huh. I guess you must've had a pretty cool master if he's a king or something who can train some people in a castle.

[ That's actually really cool, wow ]

[risingwinds]

Uh, not really a king. I mean, the Land of Departure's not a kingdom-- the only other people who lived there were my friends Terra and Aqua. Plus, the world's supposed to be a secret.

[Still, Eraqus might as well be the king, seeing how he's the one in charge. Hmm... so does that make apprentices princes and princesses? Knights? Hmm... something to think about.]

[rashness]

So it's a secret castle?! Man, that's cool!

[risingwinds]

It is, isn't it? Plus, it's got the coolest view.

[Ven emphasizes this with a broad, sweeping gesture and a massive grin.]

There's all these grassy cliffs reaching over the rivers, waterfalls oozing over the rocks, and at night, if you look out over the ledges, you can see every star in the sky.

[rashness]

[ Oh... huh... ] That does sound really nice, man. Like it'd be relaxing and such.

[risingwinds]

Sure, when we weren't busy training.

[He presses a hand against his back and winces.]

Being an apprentice isn't all fun and games. All that sparring can leave you feeling like a noodle. Plus, Terra's so strong that his hits sometimes knocked me all the way across the training grounds.

[cilantro]

[So this is who we get to talk to next, huh. But hey, Cilan's up for talking about where he's from--he is from the best place ever, after all.]

I'm from Striaton City, in the Unova region. [And if you've met Cilan before, or have seen him socializing with the other Pokemon trainers, then you probably already know that he's from a Pokemon world too.] I've lived there for most of my life working at our restaurant and as one of the Gym Leaders, but I've since taken a leave of absence to do some traveling.

[And...well, being stuck here now too doesn't really help, but whatever.]

[risingwinds]

Whoa, so you worked at a restaurant and as a Gym Leader?

[Geez, that's gotta be tough work! Granted, Ven's knowledge of GymLleaders is vague at best, but it sounds important.]

How'd you manage to juggle all that work? Sounds like you had a ton of stuff on your plate.

[...Pun possibly not intended.]

[cilantro]

[Unintentional or not, it gets a laugh out of him.]

Oh, I won't say that it was easy, managing these tasks, and there was also keeping up with my studies as a Pokemon Connoisseur...but, luckily I had my brothers there to help me! They also share the title of "Gym Leader" with me, and they also work in our restaurant too. Thanks to our teamwork, there's a lot that we manage to get done so that we can still have time to do other things as well! [Like Cilan's endless list of hobbies and other weird interests.]

[risingwinds]

[Ven nods, grinning at the thought.]

That would make a difference. Still, what made you decide to leave? Didja get a little stir crazy?

[Ven would understand. After all, he'd grown tired of being cooped up in the Land of Departure after a while. Sometimes it's good to go out and build nw experiences.]

i'm sorry for how long this reply is, cilan likes to talk a lot ^^;;

[cilantro]

Ah, something like it, I suppose. I had always wanted to travel around the region and brush up my skills as a Pokemon Connoisseur, but at the time I was quite confident that I was doing well enough as it was, seeing as I had something of a winning streak at the gym. There had not been any trainers in quite a while that were able to beat me in a battle whenever they selected me as their opponent.

...But then, one day, a young boy named Ash came to the city, having traveled from another region so that he could challenge the Gym Leaders in Unova. But instead of just picking me, or one of my brothers, they wanted to battle all three of us in a row! At the time, I thought that they were a little arrogant, but this flavor was certainly a bold and new one in comparison to what we were used to...and sure enough, they were the first one who was able to break my winning streak in such a long time.

After that...well, it kind of seemed like a shame, to not get to know him better. Plus, it looked like a good opportunity to take some time to travel and work on those skills of mine, so when he and Iris, another interesting trainer I met with him, were getting ready to leave for the next town...well, I thought it couldn't hurt to join them. Plus, it looked like those children could use someone to look out for them. [And here, he smiles.] And sure enough, the three of us ended up becoming very good friends as a result!

no worries! I'm just sorry this took so long

[risingwinds]

[Man, that's a lot to take in at first. Initially, Ven says nothing, occasionally nodding while he absorbs Cilan's story.]

Man, that must've been rough, though. I know that when Terra failed his Mark of Mastery exam, he got really upset... Dunno if it was anything like that, but it's good to hear that you made the most of it. Plus, if I were in your shoes, you can bet that I'd wanna make friends with someone like him. I mean, it sounds like you two could've learned a lot from each other. And maybe you did!

[But whatever the case may be, the story's definitely close to Ven's heart. Then again, any tales with friendship involved are right up his alley.]

[cilantro]

Well, I'd certainly like to think I did! After all, there were quite a lot of new and refreshing flavors that we got to discover during our journey back home in Unova, and honestly, I don't think that's really changed here in Luceti either.

[...Of course, some lessons about friendship getting learned here lately is about having to try to find ways to protect them from some of the more dangerous aspects of this place rather than what most fun friendship lessons entail, but ssshhh.]

So, what about you, Ven? Where are you from?

[risingwinds]

Um, well, that's where it gets kinda... tricky.

[And cue the sheepish laughter as he reaches up to scratch his cheek.]

See, I sorta lost all my memories a few years back. So I dunno where I was born, but I wound up living in a world called the Land of Departure and training under Master Eraqus. It's kinda a long story, but I can't think of a better place to grow up. There's cliffs that reach up over the rivers, waterfalls flowing over the rocks, and whenever the sun sets, you can see every star in the sky!

Plus, I kinda lived in a castle.

[cilantro]

Oh, that sounds like a beautiful place to live! And you got to live in a castle too? [Wow, you're officially the coolest person he's spoken to so far today as he claps his hands together.]

Are you of royalty? Or...ah, was this castle perhaps the home of the master that you said you trained under?

[risingwinds]

No, definitely not royalty. Or if I was, I don't remember.

[And his face scrunches up like a raisin at the mere idea. It's just too weird...]

But as far as I can tell, that castle's always been there for Keyblade Masters and their apprentices. Plus, it's kinda a special world, stuck right in between the light and the darkness.

[cilantro]

[...There are parts of that second sentence that don't quite make sense to Cilan here, but he'll start with asking about the first part of what you just said.]

"Keyblade Masters"? [What are those...]

[risingwinds]

Well, they're the ones who teach apprentices like me how to use our Keyblades and stuff.

[Which... doesn't explain a whole lot, come to think of it.]

And Keyblades are these weapons that look like giant keys, but they've got all kinds of power. Like being able to open any lock, transform into Gliders, and appear outta thin air. But what really makes 'em special is the fact that only their chosen wielders can use 'em.