IT'S ONLY A FIRST IMPRESSION / AND THOUGH THE IMPRESSION IS STRONG

[musclemothers]

WHO: The intrepid daters from our wonderful match-ups.
WHERE: A Restaurant / An Amusement Park / An Aquarium
WHEN: September 10-16
WHAT: ImPress gets into full swing as imPorts meet up on their blind dates! Each prompt will have a WILDCARD option that will serve as a prompt in case you don't want a traditional date. Totally optional!
WARNINGS: Possible minor sexual content (please take this to an inbox or a different venue if anything gets hot and heavy!)



As it turns out, while Rusty is a failure at a great many things, as long as he keeps all of the details of a venue up to the venues themselves, things tend to go pretty damn smoothly. For the purposes of these dates, he gives the lucky duos a choice of three options of traditional date spots, all prepared to be as romantic as can be.

1. THE RESTAURANT

Where do you go when you really want to get to know someone? Why, you take them out to eat, of course! That way, you have no choice but to sit across from one another, gaze lovingly into each other's eyes, take in what's really important to them, notice the disgusting way they eat, their less than ideal hygenic habits, listen to them ramble on and on about their job verbatim without getting a chance to speak, hurry through your meal so you can finally pay your bill and get out already...

Okay, it can go one of two ways. But here, at the very least, imPorts will have the basics for success. When they walk into this swanky Italian restaurant, they'll find a cozy table for two way in the back, a candle illuminating the dim light between them, a crisp, white tablecloth upon the table, and a charming little flower arrangement tucked off to the side. The waiters are, perhaps, a bit too attentive, the food is excellent but a bit passe (isn't chocolate lava cake a little 90s? aren't edible flowers a little passe?), but overall, it's set up to be an excellent evening.

W-W-WILDCARD!!!

...at least, it would be an excellent evening if not for some drama behind the scenes. A large man with some truly magnificent facial hair tucked up in its own quaint hairnet storms out of the kitchen, throwing off both of his hairnets as he screams, "I have had enough! You will not let me practice my art! I quit!"

"Please," says the man trailing after him, hands wringing in mid-air. "Just stick out the shift! That's all I'm asking!"

Alas, to no avail. The chef storms out, leaving the manager staring at the filled tables, stricken, and he promptly bursts into tears. Do you try to step into the kitchen to help the poor guy out, or is it time to pick up some fast food and take this date on the fly?

2. THE AQUARIUM

Okay, so you might spend more time talking about the fish than each other, but at least the Aquarium has plenty to talk about in the first place! Our lovelorn imPorts will find themselves in a special, romantic evening trip to the Aquarium, all dim blue lighting and being surrounded by what happens to be, depending on your perspective, a magnificent display of the finest evolution has to offer, or horrible eldritch abominations that should probably never have existed in the first place. Your choice!

While imPorts wander through the Aquarium, they'll find the customary touch tanks, watch sharks be fed buckets of dead fish (not the most romantic date activity in the world, perhaps), get an opportunity to pet a sting-ray, or watch some tottering penguins slip and slide around their exhibit. You can even hit up the gift shop and pick up a kitschy pair of aquatic-themed glasses or a plushie to mark the occasion!

At the end of the night, legal patrons will be brought up to the Aquarium's bar, a magnificent display where tanks of fish surround them, illuminating everything in a pale blue light. There's not much in the way of real meals, but there are finger foods and alcohol on the menu in abundance.

W-W-WILDCARD!!!

...or maybe you don't make it to the bar at all. It starts off innocently enough, with a change in shifts as the animals shipped over from a rescue association are ushered in from one exhibit from another. First it's a penguin escape, which is as funny as it is charming, considering the penguins just sort of ineffectively hobble across the aquarium, evidently ignorant of the fact that they're being pursued by staff members and customers alike.

Then there's a cry of: "Goddamn it! It's the fucking octopus again!"

Watch out, dear daters. There may be an octopus falling on your head at any moment.

3. AMUSEMENT PARK

Ah, the amusement park. It's delightful for everything that it offers, including getting to feel another's arms around your middle as you soar through the sky on a rollercoaster, woo each other by winning the carnival games, and dine on fair food the way it was meant to be eaten: shared between two people. It's also where people throw up in front of each other, confront their fear of heights, reveal their lack of athleticism or awful temper after missing your throw for the thousandth time, but let's just hope that doesn't happen, hmm?

The amusement park is fully decked out with roller coasters, a ferris wheel, a flume ride, and other, more terrifying rides for the truly daring. Maybe you can bump cars before you bump uglies, fly high in a basket before you join the mile high club, and other very clever sexual innuendos your dear writer cannot think of at the moment. Fill in the blanks. Beyond that, there's a whole smorgasbord of wonderfully unhealthy fair goodies waiting to be gobbled down, from anything that you could feasibly fit into a deep fryer, to enormous clouds of cotton candy, to artisanal goods from local food trucks. There are also a variety of fair games that show your wit, aim, or athleticism to win oversized and poorly made plushies a-plenty, just so you can show off... but be warned: most of them are rigged!

It's a beautiful place, especially at night. Why not finish off the night by sitting on a bench with a cardboard cup of hot cocoa and watch the bright lights of the ferris wheel circle 'round and 'round?

W-W-WILDCARD

...unless you don't get that far in the date, of course. For all that these rides are supposed to be kept as safe as humanly possible, including daily maintenance sessions, there's always that slight chance of it going wrong, and that slight chance of it going wrong for you, specifically. Whether it's the log ride, the ferris wheel, a roller coaster or something else, you get to the veeeeery top when - crnkkk. Everything stops.

"Oh no," says the panicked young lady operating the machine, and shortly afterwards, you hear a voice through the loudspeaker: "We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but the ride seems to have stalled! We assure you that the situation is entirely stable but it may be, er... some time before we get things going again. Thank you for your patience!"

Well, you're stuck here. Now you'll really get to know each other.

Comments

Lando & Archie; the aquarium

[bespin]

[ Something about this whole set up seems familiar. Lando seems to recall coming to the aquarium once before, months ago, and running into a guy who went on about stealing the large animals to set them free, or some nonsense. Now here he is again, waiting for that same guy by the aquarium entrance, fixing his tie while watching the nearby seal exhibit apparently applaud him for no reason. ]

1-800-ARE-YOU-SLAPPIN

[h2no]

[archie, with his short attention span and pile of other problems to deal with, has already forgotten about that event. he recognises lando's face, but can't recall from where. he just assumes they met at a bar or during an import event.

he hasn't dressed as well as lando, wearing a simple shirt, jeans and a plain grey hoodie.

waving, he approaches lando with a grin.]

Nice digs. You put on a show for the seal, or somethin'?

Arthur and Lorna - Dinner date

[aloadeddie]

[ When it comes to dates - especially a blind date, more or less, Arthur is a traditionalist. In his opinion, the best way to get to know someone is to sit down over a meal with them and have a conversation, so dinner it is.

He's dressed to impress, though the restaurant is far from black tie - it's not a great idea to be too formal on a first date, in his experience. That just means people tend to be stiff and uncomfortable and it's hard to just relax, get to know someone, and have a good time.

The wine list here looks pretty good, though. ]

Dinner date

[magneticxman]

[Lorna is dressed a little fancy as well. She has decided against looking super sexy, though that is often what she does for dates. This is really her first meeting with Arthur, so it might be best to emphasize other assets instead.

She smiles as she walks into the restaurant and is shown to Arthur's table. He's handsome, though not her usual type. Then again, what has dating blonds ever really done for her?]

Hello! It's nice to meet you. I'm Lorna.

[she holds out a hand to shake before taking her seat.]

Are you the Arthur that greeted me when I first got here?

Cisco & Peter; wildcard

[picksthenames]

[ When Cisco heard about The Frisky Nipple, Heropa's newest and hippest imPort-owned barcade, with retro-inspired decor and old fashioned arcade cabinets, he knew it was the perfect place for him. So he decides he's going to take his first imPress date there. Except, he's more envisioning impressing a hot girl with his ballin' video game skills, not... spending an evening with Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. Oh well. They can talk shop. Or whatever.

Cisco doesn't dress too shabbily for the date, either, wearing a nice collared shirt and a pair of reddish brown skinny jeans without any rips or holes in them. He waits for Peter outside the bar entrance, wondering if you're supposed to bring flowers on a guy date... Maybe he should have asked M. No, that'd be too weird. ]

[shutterbugged]

[ Peter, true to form, is a good fifteen minutes late (although at least in this particular instance he'd managed to dash off a quick text beforehand). Whether Cisco was able to decipher "b thEre soon crjkr [mouse emoji] sry" is another question.

When Peter does turn the corner, speedwalking as he hastily ruffles his mask hair back into order, it turns out he had the same idea as Cisco did, dress-wise. He's wearing a pair of dark wash slim-fit jeans, and a blue button down shirt with a subtle greenish sheen. Even with the sleeves rolled up, it's a significant upgrade from his usual work shirts which means that Kanaya or one of his other more fashionable friends probably made him buy it. ]

Cisco! Thanks for waiting, I'm so sorry about that--thought I'd have it wrapped up in a couple of minutes, but then he got onto the highway and turned it into a whole thing.

[ But where does the [mouse emoji] come into the thing? ]

riptide and rusty (1)

[knaval]

[riptide waits outside the resturant, not really sure what he's doing or who he's going to meet. checking all that wasn't something that crossed his mind as important, so here he is.

it's a relatively glitzy joint, but riptide is just wearing his usual jaws shirt and shark hoodie.

look, he doesn't make the kind of money that a 6'6" guy would need to get a suit that fits him. also, he doesn't really know what suits are.

he's screwing around on his comm device, texting tailgate. waiting for whoever he's meant to date. he hopes it'll be a laugh.]

[musclemothers]

[ As it turns out, Rusty's been having as many problems getting some here as he did back home. He's having better luck getting to third base in the first place, at which point things get a lot harder - or, as it may be, a lot less hard, which is demoralizing for both himself and his partner that just wanted any imPort whatsoever. It's probably the drugs. Or the booze. Or the hideous, simmering pot of neuroses and hang-ups he calls his brain. Or the fact that they don't have his brand of Viagra here.

Well, it's probably the booze. Which is why he's decided that he's going to try and take it easy tonight with his beautiful lady friend (they're all quite beautiful; he checked), stick to a glass or two of wine, just enough to get the both of them niiiice and cozy. He's got a nice suit on, a spritz of cologne, his beard is well-groomed, and the rest of him is... also well-groomed. He's ready for this. He's ready to finally, finally get somewhere with someone who's not just chasing down that famous dick (though he's not entirely opposed to that either).

Rusty shows up at the venue with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, and then... strolls right past Riptide, because the dipshit in the shark hoodie can't possibly be his date. He waits outside of the entrance, pausing to check his phone and tap one foot against the ground. ]

Funny. She's late.

[ It's not funny! He's too nervous for this! He discretely sniffs himself, then digs into his pocket for another spritz of cologne. ]

Motoko & Finn; the aquarium

[prostheticbody]

[As she stands near the entrance to the aquarium, the Major wonders why she even signed up for this. A moment of weakness, she supposes. Maybe her date will surprise her, but the most she's hoping for is that this 'Finn' character isn't expecting some kind of star-crossed romance. Certainly, the brief message she'd sent him about where to meet shouldn't have given him any illusions to the contrary.

She leans against one of the columns outside, wearing sunglasses and attire she would consider normal, but anyone else might find the low-cut leotard slightly suggestive. Disappointingly, apparently the tour of the aquarium is required before she can be admitted to the bar. It might be a long night.]

[freedomflighter]

[He could see her hips. He thought. Maybe it was fabric the same color as her skin? But either way, he felt a little under-date dressed in his normal civvies consisting mostly of utilitarian tan cargo pants, a black t-shirt, and Poe's-former jacket (which was mostly serving to hide the lightsaber he couldn't get rid of, though anyone familiar with weapons could probably spot he was concealing something).

Still. Awkward and possible under dressed or no, he'd committed. So. Time to live up to it. Even if he was walking a little slower, mentally hyping himself up, than was needed.]

Mo- [He cleared his through, forcing the slight squeak from his voice]- uh, Motoko?

Jonathan & Dio - Amusement Park

[drivesadesk]

It didn't really matter much to Jonathan where they met up, so he'd let the other guy decide. He had to admit, he was a bit curious about the idea of going on an interspecies date, although he'd certainly fantasized about the idea in the past. Of course, he wasn't quite sure what to wear, because on one hand it was a date, on the other hand, it was an amusement park, and he knew humans didn't go around wearing nice clothes to an amusement park. So he settled for a long sleeved t-shirt and black slacks, and hoped that would hit the level of casual/not casual dress that would be expected.

Now all that was left to do was wait for his date to arrive.

[dioception]

Dio was somewhat pickier with the date. A restaurant? No good, he didn't eat! It was probably not the best to just sit and stare at your date as they ate when you had never met before. Aquariums were out of the question, but really only because Dio didn't care for animals. Or the ocean, really. But an amusement park!

Really, he'd never bothered going to one before. He's a busy man! But eventually Dio would show up, wearing something much more casual than he was used to. Just a tank top and some jeans, but he was bedecked with gold jewelry and gold mirrored sunglasses despite the sun having left the sky.

"Hello!" he said, a singsong lilt to his voice as he waved to the man as soon as he was spotted. At 6'3", looking for people was fairly easy! Scan the crowd for someone who looked like they were looking for someone. And here he was! Hopefully with the right person. "Jonathan?"

Lucretia & Bruce Wayne; the Restaurant + probably wildcard later

[journalkeeper]

[ Lucretia had been assigned a date before she realized Taako had signed her up to the service. She'd have to go through the moves of getting herself un-signed up but in the meantime it would be extremely rude to leave her match hanging.

Still, just because she doesn't want to be here doesn't mean she isn't rocking it. For a woman in her apparent 50s she dresses meticulously, which makes the silver bracer with an odd symbol on it that she's wearing on her left wrist feel a bit out of place.

She follows the waiter to her table and sits down with a certain amount of distinct poise. ]

Hello... Bruce, is it?

[the_caped_crusader]

[Little do the two of them know how much they have in common, having only received a notice of reservation on an unfamiliar app hours before. Before her arrival, he spends his time sipping on sparkling lemon water, and thinking about where to bury Ted Kord's body.

If there were any doubt, he is, of course, looking like a billion dollars. When he hears her approach, Bruce pushes his chair out and stands to greet her with the best smile he can muster and waits for her to be seated before returning to his.]

That's right. And you must be Lucretia. You certainly look stunning. I hope you like wine, I thought I'd order us a bottle.

Elena Fisher & Poe Dameron

[storyseeker]

[She signed up for the dating app on a whim. For one, it wasn't such a bad thing to support another imPort's efforts, or the be a little more social. For another...well, even if she wasn't looking to get super serious with anyone, it was about time she moved on from the past. So why not?

She vaguely recognized Poe's name, and the picture that showed up with the match was certainly easy on the eyes. Plus, even if he ends up boring or a boor, she does like aquariums. It should be a fun night. She makes the effort to get a little dressed up for the occasion, and waits for Poe just outside the venue. Elena's surprised to find she's a little nervous—god, how long has it been since she's had a date? But she gets the butterflies to settle smiles up at him when he approaches.]

Hey there.

[flightforfreedom]

[Poe Dameron was here for two reasons: he was bored, and the dating app was hilarious. So the fact that he got set up with an attractive date and was going to a place he'd never been was only bonus.

He was dressed for success, his hair absolutely perfect because it was impossible to be anything else, and offered a warm grin as soon as he saw her.]

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you're Elena. [He offered a hand.] And I think you already know that I'm Poe Dameron.

Peter Maximoff & Leia Organa

[quickfingers]

[Peter's not sure how to take this whole app dating thing seriously, especially when a blind date is the result. Maybe he shouldn't have dicked around with a profile and or maybe not gotten tips with his sister trying to set each other up with strangers. Because he's getting immediate last minute cold feet while standing in the midst of the amusement park hearing people shout from the rides while his screams are all contained inside.

But fuck it, there's cotton candy.

He missed any sort of memo about making attempts to dress up for a date, even having forgotten to wear his new shoes that dude Harold helped him pick out. He's just in sneakers, jeans and a denim jacket like any other day of the week. There's no holes in his t-shirt at least? He awkwardly looks while waiting for his date to show, eating cotton candy and trying to avoid getting run into by children in the process.]

Hands over Starbucks ☕

[articulations]

[ It takes her a little bit to arrive, momentarily left in awe at the sights and sounds. As far as the lighting goes, the amusement park has nothing on Coruscant, a planet that rarely knows darkness. Getting there proves to be somewhat of a challenge with navigating with her communicator, but Leia manages it and she's arriving with very little idea on who exactly it is she's supposed to meet other than the name and location.

It had been at the encouragement of the store clerk who had helped her choose some new clothes to wear in this universe that she'd gone with something she considered entirely basic-- a sweater and rolled up pants combo, the added touch being the sneakers while her hair was braided and wrapped around her head like a crown. This felt too casual. Normally Leia dressed in clothing meant more for her title, her position among the Rebel Alliance.

Eh, at least the sweater was loose and comforting. ]

Excuse me...? I'm looking to meet someone exactly at this location. I can only assume that is you as you're the only one standing here..?

Laurie Collins and Gwen Wynne-York | The Aquarium

[fridgeflower]

[ Laurie still has lessons to learn, and there's a conflict that arises in that fact when it comes to dating. On the one hand, going out helps her gain confidence with the dating habit. It helps her know better what she may or may not want, so on and so forth. It also... Well, none of these blind date situations has ever worked, and maybe the lesson she really needs to learn is that she should stop trying.

Anyway, that's all very sad sack-y, and she'll push it aside for later. Right now, she's on another date, only her second with another woman (after debating with herself about more solidly defining her sexuality via dating app), and it's... Well, it's too early to say anything.

Her date is very lovely, if potentially outside of an expected age range, and they've met up at an aquarium. Classic date! If nothing else, she can make it through an afternoon of social interaction and live to tell the tale, as if it's something that's still difficult for her.

As they start through the halls of creature-filled tanks, she even takes a stab at the type of conversation designed to know people quickly. Nothing invasive, just... ]

So... What's your world like?

[trouvaille]

( Her first, kneejerk reaction to the match up had been oh, come on; what is she, twelve? Is that even legal? Surely this is morally wrong and somebody's made a mistake somewhere. (Questions she did not ask when she was screwing men more than twice her age when she was younger than Laurie- or for that matter now, since her usual dating pool is still twice her age,)

But it's just a blind date. No one has any real expectations from these things, and it's a free evening out, and it wouldn't kill her just to socialize instead of sitting at home with her dog and an imaginary version of her dad until she gets stir-crazy enough to hit up dive bars, so, fine: she wears something nice (but not too nice; cardigan, trousers, heels) and braids her hair from the nape up into a ponytail, settles on a nude lip as casual and not inviting and turns up. Not even late, how's that for the kind of consideration she absolutely would not have deigned to show a nineteen year old boy.

She's been a nineteen year old girl, though, trying hard and not always succeeding. She'd rather go and tell each of her exes individually that they were right about whatever the hell it was than fuck one, but she wouldn't thrill to being the reason one went home sad, stood up. )

It's got the Guardian and Coachella, ( she offers, dryly, of cultural landmarks-- ) Same year. Less of the obvious cold war, but you know, Russia's Russia's Russia.

( Full of oligarchs and corruption, she means. )

People tend to be a little subtler about being anything other than human than they are here.

RAY & IWAI ▸ aquarium

[handycapable]

[ For Ray it's been, frankly, an embarrassingly long time since the last time he actually went on a date, a fact which isn't at all lost on him-- throughout getting dressed and ready he gave himself a pep-talk to keep his expectations reasonable and probably low, because he seriously hasn't much luck finding interested men the past few years. That's the nice thing about dating apps, at least, because really, it's not like he's getting any younger.

But he would like it to go well, and that sentiment is only emphasized when he gets to the aquarium where they're meeting and sees his date, who's quite handsome in a bit of a rough-around-the-edges sort of way, which is something Ray tends not to mind at all... dukes. Yep, he is totally going to get his hopes up. ]

Hi there!

[ Ray offers his non-gloved hand to shake. ]

Ray Gillette. I hope you haven't been waiting too long, I was-- [ Indecisive about what to wear. ] In... traffic. God, there was just... so much of it.

[lizard]

[ Iwai's experienced a lot of things in his life. Death. Murder. Betrayal. Parenthood. He's seen it all. Done it all. He's been neck-deep in criminal activity! He's had guns pointed at him! He hospitalized fifty people by beating them up in a single fight! He runs a store, too, so. That's pretty stressful. He's been through a lot of things, basically - but he's never actually been on a date.

Iwai's only ever had hookups, and those usually started with him or his partner drunkenly slurring at each other from across the room or over the phone and forgetting each other's names by the next day. When he signed up for imPress, that was partially what he was looking for, sure - but a smaller, realer part of him wanted to finally try for something serious, and even though he's a mess of a human person, he thinks his son deserves another parental figure in his life. And so. He's at the aquarium, primed to grill the poor guy he's been set up with about whether he wants to go home and screw like rabbits or else become a father one day. Good first date conversations.

When Ray saunters up to him, Iwai returns his greeting, squeezing the poor guys fingers a little too tightly when they shake hands. He's not nearly as well dressed as his date - he's in a black, leather overcoat, a military green tanktop (which, admittedly, does show off his rad rad physique pretty well) and some extremely unfashionable cargo pants - but he's at least had the decency to bring his hat up over his eyes so his face can be seen. He shrugs and mumbles something noncommittal when Ray apologizes for taking his time, and then... visibly forces himself to actually use his words instead of just lazily stare off into the distance being bad at conversation. ]

It's fine. I walked. Didn't see any traffic. [ He looks away, distracted by a sign advertising a dolphin show in an hour or so. for a second, it looks like he's going to invite Ray to come see it with him, but. Nope. ]

Got a date plan. We're gonna go to the touch tanks, first. Feel all the stingrays and the spiky dudes. Then we're gonna watch the shark eat shit. Then we're gonna get somethin' at the bar. We can look at all the other fish on the way. You in?

» Wanda & Beth; amusement park

[divaricate]

[A day at the amusement park should be easy enough to dress for. Casual and all. So, Wanda picks out a pair of shorts and a crop top, some sensible shoes that are secure and lace up, and has her long red-streaked hair tied up in a high ponytail.

So when she finds the other woman she's meeting here, she walks up to her with a smile.]

Hi. I'm Wanda.

Jacob and Harley, the aquarium

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[Jacob waits by the entrance to the aquarium with a casual pose, leaning against a pillar by the door. He's always had a fairly relaxed attitude toward dating, and sees Impress as a neat thing to try out more than a Serious Quest for True Love. He's probably dressed pretty uptightly by Harley's standards though: a white polo shirt that's pleasantly tight around his chest and arms, and dark slacks. He smiles when he spots his date.]

Harley? Hey. Good to meet you.

shows up two months late with starbucks

[itistolaugh]

[ Her brows shoot up as she takes him in with a pleased little smile. Pictures do not do him justice. Hot damn. His clothes are a little boring compared to her lace trimmed shorts and vivid crop top, but she's not interested in his clothes. Maybe this will be her lucky day and he'll trip into the touch tank, giving her a one-man wet t-shirt contest.]

Me, indeedy! Very pleased to make your acquaintance, Jacob.

Hartley Rathaway and Foggy Nelson | aquarium

[cigarbribery]

[Foggy had signed up for the app for a laugh—after all, what harm could it do, right? At worst he'll have an awkward date, at best he might actually make a friend at the end (if not get laid), and he'd been wanting to check out the aquarium for a while. What better way to do so than with company?

He's dressed in his fanciest suit, which means that it's slightly less shabby-looking than his usual cheap suit, waiting just outside the aquarium and rocking back and forth on his feet. This was probably a bad idea, he thinks, but it's too late to back out now, and all he can do is try to look a little less awkward and a little more suave and professional. He even slicked his hair back and everything.

A truck full of penguins from a rescue association passes him by. He checks his watch again, the fourth time in three minutes.]

Where are you?

[socialactivillain]

[ From the other side of the street, a man with a long red ponytail is rushing up from around the corner, dressed in a suit that is at least well-fitted making up for the fact that it is very green. He looks apologetic, especially as he catches Foggy's gaze looking out for his tardy date. ]

I'm sorry, I forgot my comm in my office, and there was a thing with some protesters blocking access at the Porter, I swear I'm not usually this inconsiderate.

[ He runs a hand over his hair, smoothing a loose strand back out of his face. ]

So much for a good first impression.

Nathan Drake & Taako

[bookkeeper]

[ Just standing outside of the restaurant where he'd been told to meet with his date— his blind date— Nate knew this place was expensive. He just knew. It was swanky as all hell and he was too underdressed to properly fit in. A few couples had gone in already and boy had they been dressed up to the nines; suit jackets, dresses with dipping cleavage lines, sparkling diamonds in earlobes.

His hands shoved into the front pockets of his pants after one had dragged into his hair, a breath heavily pushed out. How bad would it make him look if he bailed? But then again, what if he was missing the opportunity of a lifetime and his date was hot?

This was awkward, he was alone outside. Dammit. And he had no idea who he was really supposed to be meeting, what they looked like. Inside he went, giving his name, and was ushered to a table.

As it looked like he was early, he gave a little hum to himself and leaned back in the chair, pulling out his communicator to fiddle with the directory while he waited. ]

[shittywizard]

[ If everyone else is dressed to the nines, the very green person walking in now is dressed to the tens, long blond hair hanging loose over his shoulder. He even seems to be pulling off a large umbrella as a fashion accessory, which is no easy feat. The only thing beside the umbrella that doesn't seem to be straight off the pages of a magazine is a large silver bracer on one wrist with some sort of rune on it.

He pauses in the entryway to glance around the dining room, as if sizing the place up, before approaching the host stand. After a brief conversation, it seems like the host is leading him straight to Nate's table! ]

Lara & Kanaya; the amusement park.

[crofts]

( Lara Croft doesn't really date. It's not that she isn't interested in people, or attracted to them, she just never really seems to have the time. Putting herself through university had set her studying as the very first priority, followed by funding said studying rather than using the funds available to her, and she might have been satisfied with that for the social involvement that came hand in hand with existing in the same place as other people and being required to speak with them, if not for Sam barrelling into her life and insisting that she do x thing or meet y person, check out z location. Lara might have always wanted to be an explorer, but she wasn't necessarily socially adventurous.

Or there was the very valid possibility that Lara was just not very good at dating, because prioritising it didn't really occur to her in the same way it occurred to her with other things.

At any rate, here she is, on a date, because she willingly signed up to a dating program, albeit at a friend's behest. (Whether she and Elena remain friends after this may hang in the balance.) She's leaning against a lightpost near the bumper cars, before she realises that might seem surly, and makes the effort to straighten up, and she's at least made the effort to look on the smart side of casual, ironed and tidy and not at all looking like she's surviving in the wilderness. Bravo, Lara. And then, a figure approaches, and Lara finds herself pausing for a moment, before doing her best to remember not to cross her arms or fidget, and almost immediately failing. )

I was going to bring a flower, or something of the sort, but it seemed potentially quite impractical.

( For carrying around while they're trying to do things, she means, and though she says it quite brightly, it does occur to her that perhaps that wasn't the best thing to lead with. )

[glowsferatu]

[ Kanaya certainly gets a slightly surly vibe, but she doesn't totally mind. It makes her seem a little butch, and Kanaya's okay with a little butch, it gives her an excuse to trend more femme to compensate. Not that she needs an excuse. ]

I could always have put it in my hair, you know.

[ It might have given her a little much-needed color, actually. Between her black hair, black makeup, black dress, black blazer, and black flats, the only thing keeping her from looking entirely monochromatic are her horns and eyes. (She would have worn heels, but realized the park is on unpaved ground. They're tucked inside her black purse.) She might have worn something a little less funerary, but she's very out of practice, and it simply didn't occur to her. She's signed up for services like this a few times since Rose was ported out, but they never really go anywhere, so she's never sure exactly how seriously to treat them.

The best she can hope is they don't set her up with a straight girl. ]

So, I...don't think I've ever been to one of these before, actually. Where do you think the best place would be to start?

odin & shantae | amusement park

[shadowglitter]

[ The amusement park! Odin loves amusement, and he loves the fact that there's so much noise and light and fun here, primarily because it provides him cover for what a terrible personality he has. He's always had issues dealing with self-esteem, and while he's gotten better at handling those insecurities over the past few years, he's also basically never been on a date, ever, and he's convinced that he's going to make it terrible and ruin Shantae's life if he talks too much. So that's why he thought they should come here! The flashiness of the park! The gaudiness and exhiliration of the rides! There are so many things around here designed to make people have fun, and as Odin stands at the entrance bouncing nervously on his feet, he's pretty sure that he'll be able to give his date the best dang day ever, even if he does run his mouth or say something stupid or generally just suck to be around.

He didn't bother to change his clothes, meaning, you know, he's pretty much naked except for the black mesh bodysuit and bright yellow harlequin print. Partially, this was because he didn't think to do so, but he's also pretty sure that this is the coolest thing he has to wear, and he hopes she'll agree. When he spies Shantae walking through the crowd towards the gate, he yells at her with way too much volume, startling the other park attendees around him. ]

SHANTAE!!! [ he waves his arm through the air at what's basically the speed of light. ] Hey! Hey! Hi! It's Odin! I'm Odin. You're here! I thought you weren't going to show up! Not because you're the type of person to stand someone up on a date, or anything, because that would be a rude thing to assume about someone, and not because you're late, or whatever, because you aren't, but-- just! Hey! Hi. Hi!

[ret2go]

[Don't worry, Odin. Shantae, too, is pretty much half-naked in her bedlah. Actually, it's starting to get a little chilly. Maybe she should get a jacket? Still, she recognizes the young man, even if it weren't for the fact that he comes up to her talking at about a mile a minute.] Odin! Hi! [Hang on.] Uh... y-yeah, there was no way I'd stand you up, that'd be totally rude of me! Haha, besides, this seems like a really fun place to be, don't you think?

darlene and lestat - amusement park

[nastygram]

[The amusement park is stunning by night. The lights, the shitty mechanical music, the smell of the deep-fryer, the screams of people strapped into roller coaster cars. The whole vibe is more Coney Island than 4-H Fair, which Darlene is grateful for, because she is not (surprise, surprise) a nature girl.

She's waiting for her date as promised: standing close to the entrance, with her elbows on one of the metal crowd-control fences pushed off to the side. Looking, dispassionately, over the faces of the crowds as they drift by, bathed in the eerie glow of the fairway lights. Pale white, sick green, blushing red, electric blues and jaundice yellow. She's wearing her sunglasses, because why not, and her zip-up sweatshirt is slumped low on her arms, more like a shrug, exposing the skinny spaghetti straps of her tank top. Also she's smoking, because she's bored. And she's hungry.

After a few more seconds of waiting, she digs out her phone and starts scrolling.]

[youresovein]

[ If nothing else, they're well-matched in their inclination to wear sunglasses at night. Lestat's are large and violet and reflective, nearly sparkling with the riot of colors of the carnival; the rest is simple enough, a leather jacket, t-shirt, tight jeans, all put together with the kind of artfully-constructed casualness that's actually anything but. Overall, the picture of someone self-absorbed, but probably fun, so at least he has that going for him.

He also has a way of coming up beside a person without warning. ]

You know, I've never actually been to one of these? [ Leaning back on his elbows against the fence, Lestat glances over at her. Grins. ] Darlene, I presume? I hope I didn't keep you waiting long.