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

[neverplaysfair]

Lovey dovey and friendship, thank you.

I'm certainly having a fun time. But as it goes, I need to judge my potential matches for compatibility. I don't suppose you've dated anyone you haven't been a good match with, but I can assure you it's not a fun experience.

[castbytheglyph]

Lovey dovey aaand friendship! [There, corrected herself.]

I kinda get on with everyone [Or so she thinks.], so being compatible or whatever doesn't matter! As long as both of us guys have fun and make friends outta each other then that's awesome. You should try worrying less about the judging-matching stuff so you have more fun!

[neverplaysfair]

Not all of us have the good fortune of being liked by everyone we meet. In fact, I'd say that no one does. Even if you think otherwise, maybe that's just you pushing your desires onto other people.

[castbytheglyph]

Nah, it's nothing like thaaat. It's just not all that hard to get along with someone, you know? Even if you get off on the wrong foot you can totally turn things around to avoid a friendship catastrophe.

[neverplaysfair]

But what if your personalities don't mesh well? Or if you both have strong beliefs which are in conflict?

[castbytheglyph]

[Well personalities don't matter too much, she did manage to make a friend out of Hubert after all.]

Guess it depends on what those beliefs are. Like saaay protecting the world and keeping everything in order versus wrecking everything and destroying stuff. [...] But even if you can't be fully-fledged-friends or whatever you can still get along, sorta! And maybe the other guy's beliefs will change or something will happen to make things different. So everything would end up working out in the end!

[neverplaysfair]

But maybe they wouldn't. People can be quite set in their beliefs. Especially when it comes to things like prejudices.

[castbytheglyph]

Aaawh, they'll come around! Everyone would hafta come to some understanding at some point in the future. If you worry about all the 'buts' and stuff too much you'll never get anywhere.

[neverplaysfair]

Have you ever considered that if you don't take those "buts" into account, you may never get anywhere either?

[castbytheglyph]

You can still take 'em into account without totally running yourself into the ground with worry or whatever. It's just way easier to cut out all the worrying sometimes! [For example-] There are loads of guys here who are all up tight about meeting people, yeah? If they stopped worrying and stuff they'd have a way better time getting to know everyone.

[neverplaysfair]

If they stopped worrying, they might fail to avoid a mistake they didn't want to make and wind up making a poor impression. [ Like Fenimore down there. ] In that case I'd imagine they'd have a much worse time.

[castbytheglyph]

Okay okay, so just cut out half the worrying then. Then you've got the best of both worlds! And besides, even if you seriously mess up you can still turn things around. S'not the end of the world.

[neverplaysfair]

Yet what about those who put a lot of weight on first impressions? It may be possible to change that, but not without more time than might be worth the trouble.

[castbytheglyph]

[She's about to reply, but she can't help but feel as though there might be a pattern emerging here.]

Hey Joshua, let's saaay if I said it's totally worth the time and trouble and stuff. Would you just say 'but what if blah blah blah' or something like that?

[neverplaysfair]

[ Giggle. Oh, she caught on. ]

I would. Is that a problem?

[castbytheglyph]

Nah, no way! But if we're gonna keep pulling this back and forth thing until it's time to move on then we're not really learning much about each other.

[Were this any other time then she would be quite happy to talk to and fro about first impressions and making friends until the cows come home.]

I mean, I guess I've learnt a boat load about how you think and stuff, but nothin' much about you! You know?

[neverplaysfair]

Funny, and here I always felt that how I think makes up a very important part of who I am. Hobbies and such are simply extensions of that, after all. Or will we be disagreeing on that, too?

[castbytheglyph]

We're not disagreeing, it's more liiike... [Suddenly, Pascal is sidetracked by a very serious thought.] Wait a sec, would saying we're not disagreeing be like disagreeing that we're disagreeing on stuff in the first place? 'Cuz I don't think we're disagreeing.

[neverplaysfair]

Hmm, no, I don't believe so. I posed it as a question rather than a declaration, so I never actually took a stance on the disagreement. Hence, there's nothing to disagree with beyond my original statement, which you've decided not to disagree with.

So I suppose for a moment, I'm not being contrary very successfully, hee hee.

[castbytheglyph]

Sooo in a way we were totally agreeing just now! That's awesome! I knew we'd be getting along and agreeing on all sorts of stuff as soon as I laid my eyes on you.

[Despite the fact their conversation has consisted of Pascal not-disagreeing with every point Joshua makes. But oh well! She's still happy with how things are going right now.]

[neverplaysfair]

All sorts? We seem to only have agreed once this whole conversation. What else will we be agreeing on, then?

[castbytheglyph]

What good friends we've become! You've gotta admit, we've been having a pretty intense conversation all this time. It's like we've totally hit it off as pals!

[neverplaysfair]

But what if we've simply hit it off as two people who profoundly disagree with each other's viewpoints?

[ Hypothetically. ]

[castbytheglyph]

Then we've still hit it off! And that's the main thing here. Besides, we already agreed that we're not disagreeing, so that doesn't matter!

[Well, she agreed that they're not disagreeing anyway.]

[neverplaysfair]

That was only once, and because I hadn't taken a stance on the issue yet. Do you always push your opinions on others?