It's For Your Own Good

[thechurbyboxmod]

Blind Date Meme



Let's face it, sometimes it's difficult finding someone to share your time, and your heart (or maybe just your body), with. Luckily for you, you have well meaning friends. Unfortunately for you, you have well meaning friends who didn't tell you this was coming. That's right. They have taken it upon themselves (and no doubt friends of friends or family members or someone else who clearly doesn't know you) to arrange a date. Without telling you.

That's right. The dreaded blind date. Which means now you've got to get through at least a reasonable amount of time with a total stranger (or maybe not a stranger if you're particularly, well, we can't say if it's lucky or not) before you can reasonably escape. Maybe it will go well. Maybe this will be the start of the rest of your lives. Maybe you'll get laid. Maybe you'll have a horror story for the ages.

No matter what plays out, though, you're here. Might as well see just how your luck is going to play out.

How to Play

1. Post your character and canon below along with any preferences. Then go back and edit your comment with the next number in order (i.e. first TL is 1, second is 2, etc)

2. Tag other TLs. If a character isn't in normal preferences, ask if they might want a date that goes poorly instead!

3. Optionally, get yourself a truly blind experience by going here and randomly generating a number. Then find the matching TL (numbered back in step one) and enjoy your blind date.

4. For more fun, use the list in the first comment for randomized date locations!

Comments

[ask_whydunit]

[ Waver hummed, focusing on his burger for a moment. He can relate to not being the most impressive… but he’s a firm believer that you just keep practicing and figuring out how to make up for the things people see as a weakness. It’s… something of a delusion as far as mage society goes, but he’s a long way from accepting those particular truths about his own potential. ]

Just because you’re not the most impressive student doesn’t mean you can’t do it, though. You just need to work on it, right? Focus on the things you can improve on in the meantime and stuff. If you don’t make it this fall, do you try again, or…?

[seed_pilot]

[Yeah, but that's just how things go at Garden. You make it or you don't. And Nida was still worried he was going to be in the realm of 'don't.']

Honestly, I'll get another chance next year, But after that, if I still don't make it? Well, then I'll just have to find new work. That's what happens with Garden. Suppose I could go into the military.

[ask_whydunit]

So two chances… Well, if you don’t make it this year, then you’ll know what you need to improve on for next. You get the experience and the next try.

[ Waver was of the mind that any learning experience was valuable, as long as one used it as a guide and worked ways to improve to make up for what you lacked. The subject of many an argument in his class, really.

The military, huh…? Waver guessed that was a logical second choice, considering the school Nida was going to. ]

I guess with your background at Garden, it would be a good backup plan if you end up needing it.

[ Backup plans are smart. Waver should have had one of those he was willing to pursue. Alas. He’s stubborn as hell. ]

[seed_pilot]

[Nida shrugs. With the way Exams were structured, the practical parts of them at least, it wasn't likely that he'd know what he needed to improve at all. Just a general 'do better'. But that was what it was and he'd just have to accept it.]

I'm actually not a big fan of the backup plan. I don't like the idea of the military. It doesn't have the potential to help people the same way. Though I suppose if helping people was what I wanted, I could have tried to leave Garden a while ago.

[And it was all he knew so that wasn't likely at all.]

[ask_whydunit]

[ Waver couldn’t blame him for that, again… He didn’t have a backup plan. He’d decided he was going to be a great mage, and that was that. He did realize he had his work cut out for him, at least compared to his classmates… But he wasn’t about to let ‘the way things were’ discourage him… yet. ]

So, the only thing to do is to try to make sure you pass on at least one of your two attempts. Is there some part of it that you’re less sure of being able to pass with?

[ It was clear Nida had dedicated himself towards the goal, if his diet and exercise routine were anything to go by. ]

[seed_pilot]

[It was brave of him, not to let it all discourage him. But Nida? Fuck. He'd been mediocre with no one to believe in him for so long that it was hard to find the strength to believe in himself.]

I'm not the greatest with magic, so that doesn't help me. I also sorta... I lack presence? You wouldn't think that was something mercenaries need, but it really is.

[ask_whydunit]

[ Waver tilted his head slightly, considering Nida’s situation carefully as he took another bite of his burger. He does glance sidelong at the other table to make sure nothing was going on over there before he answered. ]

I don’t know what you could do about the presence thing, seems like something you kind of gain with experience, right? Magic, though... [ That took experience too, of course. But it was something he felt he could weigh in on, or at least offer his thoughts. ] That’s something to focus on before your test. What kind of stuff do they focus on for mercenaries?

[seed_pilot]

Paramagic of all sorts. My assigned GF isn't really suited to me though, and I've never been fast with smells or very strong with them. And since I'm not considered one of the more combat prodigies, I need to at least be passable with them both.

[ask_whydunit]

What were you assigned? [ Kind of made no sense when people were assigned things that didn’t suit them. He saw it among mage families as well. Sometimes the heir had an affinity for something other than what they traditionally practiced, but were encouraged to continue along the same path as their predecessors. ] I’ve read a little about them, but not as much. I’m in spiritual evocation as my main class.

[ Humming though, another glance at the table where things seemed to be still going well. ]

You know… If this becomes ‘a thing,’ I could try to help with theory and giving you some ideas if you want. Melvin’s going to drag me around, anyway.

[seed_pilot]

Ifrit, since I'm more combat than magic. But fire magic and me don't get on. But there aren't a lot of starting GFs to use.

[And he was more of a balanced sort. Someone who needed extra speed to work with what he's already got.]

Wait, you'd be willing to do that? I mean, our stuff might not be alike at all. But you'd consider it?

[ask_whydunit]

Working with your base element is easier than one that’s at odds with it, I tested as earth myself.

[ It was something he had a feeling that held true regardless of if it was his magic or another kind. Even if you could utilize the other elements, there was always a base that was easy to work with. Unless you were one of those lucky few who had an affinity for multiple, like his teacher. ]

Yeah, sure.

[ He is pointedly looking at his food, because it’s not a big deal! It’s not! Except it kind of is, he doesn’t generally get to work with someone on stuff. Most of his class liked to try to put the run to him after lectures ended. Camus was often occupied by Amleth even if she was a little nicer, and Melvin… Well, he was an agent of chaos and not a good study buddy. ]

Even if it’s not alike, I think it would still be interesting… And doable, based on some of my readings. I’ll just need to do a little more research before next time we get abducted.

[ He ended, grabbing his soda, smiling a little. Research, Waver’s favourite pastime. ]

[seed_pilot]

Yeah, that's true, but my base elements are water and wind and those are higher level magics in paramagic, just like earth is. The bases are fire, ice, electric, and healing.

[Nida's actually worked through his burger and a lot of the fries by now, and he's completely lost track of the other table. He's more caught up in the conversation, and in Waver of course.]

I encourage the research then, if there's a chance it will help.

[ask_whydunit]

So you’re dual… Hmm…

[ And the same elements as Lord El-Melloi, at that. Frankly, if it weren’t that mages wouldn’t work with the kind of magic Nida did generally… He’d probably be seen as someone with a decent amount of potential. ]

I think there’s definitely a chance. We just need to go about it the right way? I’ll see if there’s some other books on the subject at the clock tower library. There’s a ton of old stuff no one bothers with anymore. [ especially since most mages probably didn’t focus on the kind of magic Nida worked. ] I’ll make notes on the important-looking stuff and put some ideas together on paper for you next time.

[seed_pilot]

[He's not properly a mage though. It's just borrowed magic.]

I'd be impressed if there are. I mean, to our knowledge paramagic is very new. Though I guess it could be ancient too and we wouldn't know it. Thank you though. I'm glad we met.

[ask_whydunit]

[ Waver smiled a little at that. He actually thinks he’s glad too. Nida seemed pretty cool, and he didn’t grate on his nerves the way some people did on purpose… So he nodded. ]

Yeah, me too. I think this should be pretty interesting and I’m glad if I can offer some help while we’re here, anyway.

[seed_pilot]

I'm glad to have the help too. I just... Man, I expected all the trouble I know Selphie is going to get me in trouble for doing this tonight. But I didn't expect I was going to make a friend and have fun.

[Friend? He doesn't know if it's the right term. He knows that neither of them really MEANT this to be a date, so it's wrong to say anything else.]

[ask_whydunit]

[ If Nida wasn’t going to call it a date, Waver would be a bit too awkward himself to call it that. Even if he wasn’t terribly awkward about approaching the idea, the circumstances of their meeting indicated to him that Nida probably wasn’t looking for that himself. They’d just met through two chaotic friends who happened to be there on a date. So that would be how they’d both see it for now… Until someone hits Waver over the head with a really heavy book on this stuff.

But even being called a friend and told talking to him was fun gets a small flush and a grin, because his stupid face doesn’t let him hide his damn emotions. ]

Oh, um… Neither did I? But it was. Fun. Usually being dragged around by Melvin, ends in some kind of disaster.

[ It still could, to be fair, but so far, so good. ]

[seed_pilot]

[Can it be a date when the guy didn't volunteer to deal do it? When the guy didn't want to be here for this before, other than in supporting his friend? Yeah, that would be rude to call it because Waver didn't ask for it. But under other circumstances...]

The night is still young, and we are SeeD cadets. So yeah, the potential is still there.

[ask_whydunit]

Sounds inevitable then.

[ He doesn’t go looking for trouble… Yet. But it does tend to find him. ]

You mentioned her getting you in trouble for even coming out here. Aside from the diet thing, how strict are the rules for you guys?

[ Because it would probably be good to know if he should try to like… assist in avoiding that. ]

[seed_pilot]

Oh very inevitable. Selphie has so much potential for making trouble.

[Oh boy, rules.]

Garden can be strict in a lot of ways. For one thing, we're not allowed to fraternize with other cadets while we're cadets. Which of course a lot of people try to ignore. I think that's shy she's so happy to meet someone from outside of the school.

[ask_whydunit]

[ That made sense, he guessed. ]

Hm… I guess that would make sense if that’s the rules. [ And Melvin had been excited to meet someone as interesting as Selphie, so it seemed like it worked pretty well. ] We’re not discouraged, though at a certain point mages tend to go their own way unless relations are beneficial to one or both families of the mages in question.

[ Which was why arranged marriages were still a thing. Waver didn’t have to worry about that, at least. ]

[seed_pilot]

Okay, that sounds shady as hell. That's like... marrying out of obligation. That's what you're saying, right?

[ask_whydunit]

Yeah, basically. It’s pretty common in mage society for families to marry their kids off to other advantageous families for either their magecraft or political power in different factions.

[ Waver snagged another free to eat with an exaggerated shrug as he continued. ]

There’s like a bunch of antiquated bullshit traditions carried on from forever ago, like they’re all trapped in the past.

[ He eyed Melvin’s table thoughtfully for a moment. Technically, the other teen’s family was considered one of the most elite branch families of the Trambelios… Which meant he’d probably get caught up in that mess someday. Then again, with his health, there were murmurs that he might not be fit to be the heir. So who knew what would happen? ]

I don’t have to worry about any of that nonsense, though.

[seed_pilot]

[Yeah, Nida looks horrified at that. He looks so upset. Like, how could someone do that to their kid.]

Should I warn Selphie off then? Is your friend... Would he end up being engaged to someone soon? God, that'd be horrible.

[But he is worried. Super worried.]

[ask_whydunit]

[ The sad thing was this was both normal and just scratching the surface of what went on in the older families. Waver can see the upset in Nida’s expression, and considered how to answer it. ]

Melvin’s an idiot, but I don’t think he’s so much of one that he wouldn’t tell her. I don’t think we’d even be here if there was something already planned.

[ So there was that at least, but Waver also couldn’t just say it would never happen. ]

But it’s hard to say that it would never happen in his case. His family is kind of one of the more prominent ones… But I don’t think there’s anything planned right now. His health makes things a bit complicated in more than just socializing.