Speed Dating

[selfhelp]

Who: Anyone who wants/is forced to come
What: Speed Dating!
When: Saturday at a vaguely-afternoonish time period
Where: The Rec Center
Summary: Details here, Roster here!
Rating: PG/13/T/R/god I don't know there's too many people



[The rec center today is colourfully decorated, with posters and directing signs here and there to make this whole process easier. The main floor is peppered with a bunch of tables and chairs pilfered from various locations (primarily the school) with two chairs facing each other per table. There's a couple of bigger tables off to the side, one for food (carrying drinks and various snacks, including Teddy and Ororo's homemade rainbow cookies), and the other with a few chairs and piles of paper everywhere. And a checklist. The checklist is important.

The desk is Billy's, and he's handing sheets of paper out to anyone who comes in and was signed up for the speed dating. Give your name, get a sheet and a name tag, go to the first desk or mingle until it starts- that's what people will be told when they arrive. Teddy's not far from the desk or the door depending on where he's needed, directing people to follow the signs, get comfortable, try some snacks- whatever they want.

Finally a lounge area has been set up with cushy chairs, couches, and the rec center's supply of games and whatnot in the corner. There is a sign for the area that says, "If you find yourself on a turn without a date, come hang out!" It's also got a picture of a weird-looking potato man hanging out, but never mind that.

When everything is ready and people are good to go, Teddy steps up and calls for attention, with Billy sitting on top of the table behind him for moral support (and unhelpful interruptions).]

Hey, guys – Hey! Can everyone hear me? Everyone? [...] Great!

I'm sure everyone knows why they're here. Or, you know, not, since a few of these sign-ups look a little suspicious... [He raises an eyebrow at that, but his smile remains good-natured, and his brow smooths over soon enough.] On behalf of Alliance, welcome to Luceti's very first -

-We think.

- speed dating event! [Though Teddy glances at Billy for that interruption, he'd paused as if he expected it to come.] I'm Teddy, and this is Billy, and we're your hosts today. I'll try to be brief for those of you who just want to get this started already, but let's go over the rules and regulations first.

If you happened to get dragged into this without knowing what you're getting yourself into, it's basically exactly as it sounds. You might remember one of us handing you a list of numbers. Well, when Billy gives the signal, everyone will head to the table with the first number on their list, which will pair you off with someone in the room you just might not have met before! You'll have five minutes to talk to them and get to know them, just enough time for a good – or bad – first impression. After that, one of us will blow the whistle, and you'll go to the next numbered table. And on and on, until it's all over! By then, you might have found someone you're interested in, either as a friend, a potential love interest, or even just someone you really don't want to see again.

To keep track of it all, there's a space beside the number to write down the name of the person you're talking to and anything else you might have learned about them. And maybe by the end, you can write down a no, a yes, or an oh yes.

Try not to be too vague about it and we'll give you your matches at some point in the future.

[Teddy grins after that, a happy and excited one.] Remember, this is all about having fun and meeting new people! If you want to take a break, get bored, or don't have a partner, refreshments are on that side of the room [He gestures to the side, showing off the assorted foods and the cookies that he and Ororo spent a good part of the night baking.], or you can come up and talk to us! We're just the supervisors here, after all.

[He takes a step back after that, his attention going to Billy, his way of telling him to give the signal.] Billy?

[Billy gives a small wave, remaining on his table. Teddy did the hard part, after all.] There's a lounge, too, if we're not interesting enough. You might meet somebody there you're not paired with and find a new friend, so give it a shot.

That's pretty much it, so everyone can go on and head to your first table, and we'll blow the whistle in one minute. Thanks for coming, and try to have fun!


(( 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) THERE IS NO QUESTION MARK ONLY PROFIT ))

Comments

[relictusdeus]

A curious name. [He presses a hand to his chest.] ...And I am Isaac. [In light of many sexually unfulfilling encounters, he then unapologetically cuts straight to the chase, and in his cool, cultured drawl.]

Now, might I inquire for what purpose have you come? Should our interests not align, then I think it best that we move along and save one another the breath. Don't you~?

[origami_ninja]

That's fair, Isaac.

[She'll take blunt over awkward attempts at small talk.]

A friend of mine signed me up without my knowledge.

[She can guess which friend that was. Though he's subtle, Loki is the only friend of hers in Luceti who is mischievous enough and who she's ever so much as mentioned her past love life to.]

It seemed like a harmless enough way to meet new people so I decided to show up.

[relictusdeus]

Of course.

[He sighs through his nose with an air of haughty disinterest.]

And by meet, you did you mean only to exchange names and hollow pleasantries? Or... [Pausing, his eyelids lower and his voice drops to a velvety purr as if to share a dark little secret.] ...is there something more for which you have come?

[origami_ninja]

Something more, perhaps.

[It's always useful to gather information on those around her, and that is part of the reason that she's here, even as she's being some semblance of sociable.

It qualifies as 'something more', though It's probably not the something more Isaac has in mind. She's going to make him spell it out instead of leaving anything implied. She can guess as to what he came here for. With that tone of voice, it's not difficult to infer. Konan, on the other hand, remains poker-faced.]

[relictusdeus]

['Perhaps' earns her a tilt of his head suggestive of mild curiosity, though from her phlegmatic expression he's inclined to think they are not on the same page. A wearisome thought, that, though it is also possible, he thinks, that she might just be carefully and guardedly gauging his intent and interest to get a feel for him first before making her mind. It is difficult to say with great certainty and he studies her body language in search of any clues, intentional and unintentional, that may be present.]

And what might that be?

[He gazes back with a sibylline calm about him.]

[origami_ninja]

To meet others with common interests that I might like to spend time with on a regular basis. Perhaps for strategy games, training, or other things.

[Isaac can take that as he will. He's a bit unsettling, she notes. Konan isn't easily daunted and she's dealt with far worse, but she can't help but notice.]

And yourself?

[relictusdeus]

Other things, is it?

[He echoes, partly only to tease her for being vague. With his devils at the ready, he has little need for any other training partners, and games of strategy were a part of every day life, as he saw it.]

Although you sit across me, I will assume you have not as deep and... abiding... an interest in the flesh as I. [Faltering, he slants her a roguish, sidelong look.] Or am I wrong?

[origami_ninja]

Your interest is likely more focused than mine.

[She'll be a little more honest and less vague now that he's at least stated what he's looking for himself.]

Mine develops over time and toward very specific people that I've become comfortable with.

[It's not that she has no drive at all so much as hers becomes dormant for extended periods of time when there isn't anyone she's actively involved with.]

[relictusdeus]

Ah, but time is not without limit in this gilded cage of ours. Why introduce needless complication and inevitable pain with sentiment you shall never remember upon your departure?

[While he has the nagging sense, from previous failures, that this is an argument he will not win, it gives him something to discuss.]

Others wlll come and go, and one way or another you shall leave alone. [His smile is almost tinged with sadness.]

[origami_ninja]

Because shutting people out and refusing to get attached out of fear of eventually losing those people is no way to live.

[She's shut herself off from her emotions before, and done things that she's come to regret now. Never again.]

I grew up in a war-torn country. I am accustomed to loss.

[relictusdeus]

[While he refuses to give her the satisfaction, as he sees it, of his full agreement, the remark gives him pause and his gaze slides to one side, clouding in thought.]

Perhaps.

[But the beginnings of a sneer curls his upper lip, the glimmers of a fierce self-disgust glinting in his eyes. And then it comes.]

...Do you so desperately crave the affections of others that you cannot enjoy flesh without sentiment? Can you not simply take things as they are without wanting and expecting and hoping, desperate to attach and extract deeper meaning to and from it?

[Every vicious, low-voiced little word tears and twists into him.]

You, who speak of knowing loss... why not claim now what little the world is willing to give you? Pry it from its cold, greedy fingers lest it changes its mind and nothing shall be left for you!

[He doesn't realize the tension he's carrying in his body until his shoulders sag and a withheld breath slides out of him. And in an instant, he freezes over and is as he once was, hands draped high on his thighs and an air of cool and faint amusement about him.]

There is no sin in taking pleasures where they can be found.

[origami_ninja]

[Well, that was a surprising outburst. Konan's reaction is measured and controlled. Her eyes widen a little and she raises an eyebrow when he launches into his verbal barrage, but she otherwise stays in control of her emotions. In her mind, it speaks less of criticism of her views and more like he's trying to justify something for himself.]

No, there isn't. Similarly, there is no sin in preferring to save the pleasures of the body for someone that I would enjoy spending time with even without physical involvement.

[In contrast to his momentarily impassioned words, hers are deliberate and calm.]

They are just choices. What is "right" varies by the person and what brings them happiness.

you did not see that HTML fail /whistles

[relictusdeus]

[At her answer his head tips back and he chuckles to himself, a low and bitter sound in his throat.

And if neither choice has brought lasting happiness? It's a question he barely bites back but he's glad he manages that much.]

Ah... it matters not in the end.

[He says of pursuing happiness, wishing desperately he could wholly believe it. Wishing the desire for the unobtainable did not cling and make a weak and wretched creature of him. Living is difficult enough without the pain of hoping and knowing only disappointment. At least he would be free, he thinks, the moment he fades from the enclosure and he returns to his native soil, his body crushed and lifeless under the ruins of a castle he had once thought of as a home.]

Though I must wonder how it is that this glorious event was arranged. [He taps his tatooed cheek with a finger, pantomiming thought.] Surely some pairs were made in jest. [It certainly seems that way to him and he considers having a few words with Billy on the subject whenever they next spoke.]

[origami_ninja]

[They were just choices, but standing by hers matters to Konan. She's perfectly willing to be generous with those she cares about. Self-sacrificing, even. But that's a privilege that's earned along with her trust.]

It seems that they matched people based on age group more than anything else.

[She does agree that some of the pairs aren't well matched. At all. All she can really say for this discussion is that Isaac is memorable, but not because she'd like to be spending any extended period of time with him. ]

A more elaborate questionnaire could have matched people more suitably.