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]

[ And this was very new for Waver… Most of his classmates didn’t tend to take him seriously, either. So having someone listen and engaging in interesting conversation, as well as accepting his offer of help? Well, it was a nice feeling for him. Plus the idea that someone didn’t see his confident, stubbornness as too spirited or foolish, was even nicer. It gets a rare smile, rubbing the side of his cheek lightly. ]

Oh, um… I just really hate when people with potential and dedication to doing something get written off by people. But thanks, Nida, I’ll remember that.

[ Gosh, he had so much to think about now. Does he want to start with research and figuring out the best way to sneak Nida into the library? Definitely. ]

I’m kind of excited, actually. It’s been really nice to meet someone who gets this stuff and that I can work on things with, you know? [ Voice lowering to a small whisper again. With a glance ahead, he continued. ] Don’t tell Melvin, being kidnapped today for this wasn’t so bad after all.

[ because that would go to the other’s head and no one needed that. ]

[seed_pilot]

[Nida leans in to whisper back, with a warm smile at that.]

I won't tell him if you don't tell Selphie. I almost feel like I'm the one that won out tonight. Meeting someone to talk to is really nice. And exciting.

[But he's really glad to have this time with this guy that, before today, he would never have been so lucky as to consider meeting. Somehow, for once, he was lucking out. And that was a wonder.]

[ask_whydunit]

[ And it’s so weird to think someone else would even decide that about him. It felt really nice for a change! ]

Deal, she won’t hear it from me.

[ At least Waver was pretty sure they were too busy talking quietly about their own things to notice… He thought. He’s kind of disappointed that they’re almost as the dorms for the spiritual evocation department, though he’d be a bit too awkward to admit that. The teen tilted his head back to Nida again though, curious, as he tried to map out a plan in his head. ]

Are you guys free on weekends? Or do you have extra training classes and stuff, might be easy to figure out a meeting time ahead of schedule if you have a time where you’re not already going to be looked for by the academy.

[seed_pilot]

Slightly more free. It's only half days for lessons. Because, you know, fights dont' take a day off so we shouldn't fully take it off either?

[Which was annoying but Nida did understand why they did it. You never knew when you'd be deployed as a SeeD, or what days you'd have to work. Learning to manage your time and rest was important. But the faculty weren't all SeeDs and they got breaks and all of that.]

[ask_whydunit]

[ Waver’s nose wrinkled a bit. That was annoying. Though he also understood the idea behind it, and Nida’s comment backed that up… Also, small budding mages who spent most of their free time working on their studies have no room to argue against that. Melvin wasn’t kidding when he expressed having to drag his friend away from his books for this outing.

He nodded, though. He could work with that. It gave them at least a little more time without having to worry about missing someone’s curfew. ]

Then we could probably work something out in the afternoon after you guys are finished for the day. Maybe on a Sunday, there’s less people around the tower library on that day.

[ There is a plan forming, clearly. Waver would expand upon it once he had all the facts and times in place. ]

[seed_pilot]

Alright then. That sounds like a plan. Where should I meet you? And how can I contact you if things change.

[You never knew when a teacher was going to do an outdoor survival weekend, which was always frustrating. But they were good for getting through things so maybe he shouldn' be that upset.]

I'll do the skip in the next tag!

[ask_whydunit]

How about outside the restaurant, it’s kind of a good half-way point between, right?

[ Seemed sensible enough, and it wouldn’t be weird for two teenagers to meet up at a place like that if today was anything to go by. The subject of how to get in touch gets a small pause, brow scrunching a bit. ]

I’ll give you the number for the dorm, and if I’m not in, someone can probably deliver the message.

[ Hopefully Melvin or Camus if he’s lucky. He’d like to say he trusts the other students, but he hasn’t got the best track record in dealing with them lately. This was the best he could do though, without a mystic code for communication or any private line of his own. ]

[seed_pilot]

I think I might be able to head out to get a phone.

[The Garden didn't have them abundant for the students. But Nida knew he could manage it.]

Is there anything in particular I can say, to make sure a message gets to you?

[He doesn't like that 'probably.']

[ask_whydunit]

Oh, uh… If Melvin or a girl named Camus aren’t the ones who pick up, say…

[ The problem is, Waver doesn’t have a lot of options for a variety of reasons. Melvin can see the wheels turning in his friend’s head with a glance over his shoulder and interjected. ]

Just say that you’re calling for me instead. They wouldn’t dare to mess up with delivering a message to me. Either Waver hears your name in the message and knows it’s you and that something has come up, or I tell him about you.

[ Waver had to admit, that would probably work better than trying to come up with anything they wouldn’t ignore or pretend to forget. ]

That’s… Actually a smart idea.

[ Beaming over his shoulder, Melvin shrugged. ]

Of course it is, I’m brilliant. Now! Sadly, we have arrived at our destination. As sorrowful as parting is, we have our plans in place to make this parting merely a temporary one.

[ Waver rolled his eyes, but yeah, he’s both disappointed that they were at goodbyes… And excited to get the next meeting figured out. So, with an awkward attempt at a goodbye after Melvin’s comment, they let the other two head back and get into their own dorms for the night…

Waver knows the big challenge is going to be getting Nida in, given he wasn’t a student. The bounded fields should be fine. He knows about magic, unlike most people, and it would be weird if the academy didn’t go through explaining them as a security measure lightly for the event that they were involved in a job with mages. The real trick would be to figure out how to get Nida in to the tower library like he belongs there… But Waver is smart, and doesn’t take long to think of a few loopholes to exploit. As long as they don’t run into the wrong people, it’ll be smooth sailing!

And when they manage to pick a weekend that both of them were free, Waver finds himself hurrying along back towards the restaurant around noon to meet. ]

[seed_pilot]

[Well damn, that's smart. Nida smiles at Melvin, though he is definitely suspicious over the fact that these steps need taken.]

We're glad to have met you both.

[Nida smiles when Selphie takes the words out of his mouth. But he's excited and maybe putting up with the teasing Selphie gives him the whole way back to Garden. But until their next meeting he has plenty to do, including just continuing through his training. The meeting gets planned, though, and he's smiling to himself as he waits for Waver, nibbling on fries the whole time.]

[ask_whydunit]

[ It did kind of suck that they had to consider it, but it was what it was. It might have been fine, or it might not have… but they’ve been getting kind of pushy about his presence lately… But it’s just childish bullying, pure and simple. They want him out, and he’s stubbornly sticking around. He isn’t going to think about it, and he certainly isn’t going to let them win. ]

So are we. This has been fun!

[ Melvin responds with a bright grin, maybe not the way he thought it would be, but this was definitely interesting. And Waver seems… happy, a rare sight outside his studies.

Waver is on time, if only because they were meeting in the afternoon instead of morning. Having been awake long enough, he was brimming with a rare, eager energy over the whole plan. It wasn’t often he actually had someone around to talk to about this stuff to begin with, and it was exciting to have the chance to not only share an interest but to have a chance to help someone out rather than be dismissed for stupid reasons. ]

Hey, Nida. Were you waiting long?

[ He greeted, sliding into a seat across from the guy and letting him finish his fries. ]

[seed_pilot]

Not so long that I'm upset, promise. Just indulging in some really shitty calories.

[Not that he really need them. He just wants them.]

I miss indulgent food at times. I know I must have had it some before going to Garden, because I have nostalgia for certain flavors I guess.

[ask_whydunit]

Oh, good. I mean, both not being upset and indulging. I had wanted to leave early, but I got a bit caught up in planning the route for today.

[ Waver is happy to let the guy finish eating the fries, anyway. After hurrying to get here, he could use a chance to sit for a moment. It also sounded like Nida could use the treat anyway, if the next comment is anything to go by… It gets a little thoughtful frown, though. ]

Nostalgia, huh… I can kind of get that, or is this one of those things you might have forgotten because of your GF?

[seed_pilot]

[Yeah, there's the awkward question. Nida sighs as he tries to think of the best way to explain it.]

Yeah, some of it might be that. We start GF work at about eleven, a year after we start weapon work. Not heavy work until we're older though. But the truth is I'm also sort of an orphan? And my parents, I lost them when I was about seven. I don't have much memory of life from back then.

[ask_whydunit]

Oh…

[Waver doesn’t often realize that a question was awkward or potentially best left unasked until after it’s left his mouth, and the answer… Yeah it does leave him feeling a bit apologetic. He still wants to try to work out the whole GF memory thing… To know what to expect on that front… But there is also something to be said for how memories work when you’ve been through something. ]

I guess it’s complicated, kind of… How we remember things from when we’re younger. Sorry, that you lost them… Mine are gone too, so I get if you don’t want to talk about it.

[seed_pilot]

Yeah, but there's a chance that it's better that I don't know. So I haven't really ever been that upset about it. I know people think I should, but I'm not sure I should.

[Because what's the point of missing pain he's clearly had a chance to move past?]

[ask_whydunit]

[ Waver can’t deny that. He’s glad he remembers his parents and grandmother… But there are definitely things from the end that he wishes he didn’t have to remember, so in some ways, maybe it was easier. Still kind of sad that Nida couldn’t remember the other parts of his life from before that might not have been all bad before he lost them.]

I guess that’s kind of true, never really thought about it that way before.

[ Glancing at the fries thoughtfully, he tried to at least be a little less awkward. ]

How are your classes at the academy going? I got a few ideas for where to look around the library since we last talked.

[seed_pilot]

Garden classes have been pretty intense, just like always. We're coming up on sparring tests. So, you know, a lot of time doing this. I'm just really sore.

[And he doesn't really have the energy to spend on cure magic to work the soreness out.]

But I got to spend almost an hour hidden away in the rafters recently, so that was peaceful.

[ask_whydunit]

That sounds rough. At least today I can promise we just get to wander a library a little, and the chairs are pretty comfortable.

[ Because it had to be exhausting, Waver thought. He’d seen the enhanced sparring done in the self-defense class when two students decide to get competitive, and it always leaves him wondering how no one ended up injured regularly. He can only imagine how intense it is at a school like Nida’s. The other comment gets a small tilt of his head. ]

The rafters? Like you had to climb up and stay in them?

[ He’s curious, but he guessed if it were a stealth class, then that made sense. And it could not be denied that it was probably a pretty quiet place to spend your time. ]

[seed_pilot]

[There was a chance that the self-defense class fights didn't get as intense as training sessions for cadets. They were more expected to use their bodies after all. To turn their bodies into instruments of war and conflict. So yeah, he was left sore on days like this.]

Oh yeah. I love climbing. If there is a high place to get, I'll get there. I'm pretty used to it. I'm trained specifically in free climbing actually.

[ask_whydunit]

I don’t think I’ve ever had to seriously climb something before; I mean, aside from the usual stuff to reach something.

[ The library has stepladders though, so he usually does okay. ]

That sounds like a really useful skill, though. Get to see more and it probably is pretty peaceful if no one else can get up to where you are.

[seed_pilot]

I don't think what I climb ever counts as 'usual stuff'. Though I'm fast up a ladder if it comes to it. But the peace is a wonder. I can't let it go.

[He smiles to be told it's a useful skill though.]

You wanna grab any food or treats, or should we get going soon?

[ask_whydunit]

I bet sometimes it’s nice to find a quiet place away from all the noise and people to just take a breath. Not always easy to find them, though.

[ So climbing definitely would be a good way to find one.

The question gets a small shake of his head. He has never had the best of appetites, but he wouldn’t stop someone else from eating.]

I’m okay, but you should finish your fries and get something to go if you want. We have the afternoon to get through the library once we get there.

[seed_pilot]

I think I'd rather swing by for more food later tonight. So, you know, let's walk and eat? I don't like the employees eyeing me like I'm doing something bad, you know?

[Plus, he likes moving around.]

[ask_whydunit]

[ What? They were eyeing him weird when he was just eating his fries? Rude! ]

People are so stupid sometimes… You’re literally just eating. But yeah, let’s walk and you can finish on the way. I can fill you in on the plan while we’re walking.

[ He gets up to head out, but the staff giving Nida looks is getting a pointed one from Waver in return as they leave. Because he hates that kinda shit. ]