They set me up!

[sarafina]

The BLIND DATE Meme

The Blind Date meme. Pretty self-explanatory. No matter how awkward and unexpected they might be, there is always something exciting about them. Who is your company for the evening going to be? Will it be a person of your innermost dreams or someone you absolutely can't stand? And most importantly...
 

How are you going to handle it?

What do:
1. Post with your character! They're now in the middle of a blind date.
2. Comment to each other! When you do that...
3. Go to Random.org and roll a single die!

1.

First date

-- You've never been out on a date before, so someone's decided to give you a helping hand.
2.

On the rebound

-- You're recovering from a painful breakup, but your friends/family think they found a great person for you anyway.
3.

Not strangers at all

-- Someone thought you didn't know your date. Turns out you know them from somewhere.
4.

Hideously awkward

-- Hey wait, that's your ex/boss/doctor/distant family member! Or, even worse, it's that person you absolutely despise. This will go well!
5.

Existing partner

-- You two are just acting like strangers to spice up your love life.
6.

Future spouse

-- Unfortunately, you have to have an arranged marriage. Fortunately, you get to meet that special someone for a date beforehand. How will the night go?
7. ...or, instead of rolling, come up with your own scenario!

4. Play out the date. This meme can be completely fluffy, smutty, or hilarious. If you don't want smut, you can put that in your subject. It doesn't even have to be romantic.

Comments

[prodigalmess]

Despite all of his problems, Malcolm is at least somewhat handsome. Count on his mother to hook innocent women in with his picture.

He notices the strong handshake; it's unusual for a date, but he's not upset by it. "Nice to meet you too." The two of them sit back down at the table and a waitress appears a few seconds later. Malcolm orders an old-fashioned and then looks across the table at Daisy.

"For you?"

[chuju]

More than anything, Daisy just wants to order a beer and try to get back into her comfort zone, but she's already feeling out of place in this far too swanky establishment, so instead she looks up at the waitress and says, "Whiskey, neat."

No way is she admitting that she has no idea what's in most of the cocktails whose names she can actually remember. Just sticking with a classic.

When the waitress retreats, Daisy smiles awkwardly at her date for a moment, scrambling for something to say. What comes out is the first thing that popped into her head.

"So, how many of these dates has your mom set up for you?" Because surely she's not the first.

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm's already observing her behavior, picking up on any little quirks. She seems uncomfortable, but that could be due to the fact that this is a blind date, one of the most uncomfortable situations on the planet.

The question is blunt, but it makes him laugh. "Uh. Since I've moved back to New York, or ever?" he asks. "You're the third since I've been back here."

And that's only because he's managed to wriggle himself out of a few others, thanks to using work as an excuse.

[chuju]

As a highly trained spy, Daisy is pretty good at hiding her emotions and putting on whatever act a situation might call for. She can fool even the most skilled criminal masterminds if she puts her mind to it. But this isn't a mission and she's not working tonight, so while her usual walls might be up, there are still little things that slip through the cracks: that discomfort with being out of her element and having to make small talk with a total stranger; the slight fidgeting of her fingers on the table while she wishes this place wasn't too classy to have sugar packets sitting out. The alcohol will help, whenever it arrives, and she'll at least be able to hold the glass for something to do with her hands. It's not ideal but it'll have to do.

At least she gets a laugh out of him. That's a good sign.

"I might have only had one conversation with her, but I'm not surprised," she admits with an amused smile. "Is she just the meddling type or does she really want grandkids or something?"

[prodigalmess]

He is, unfortunately, always on edge. That's a part of his anxiety. He's also always observing behavior, always profiling, because he can't help it. It comes as naturally to him as breathing. She's fidgeting, which belies her nerves. Malcolm doesn't judge her for that.

"Wow, she managed to hook you in after one conversation," he says, taking a deep breath and then letting it out with a sigh. "She... cares about me. Wants me to be happy. And probably also wants grandkids."

He'd thought that Ainsley would be the most likely source of those, but now he's not too sure.

[chuju]

"It's nice that she cares," Daisy comments, an air of sadness clinging to the words. Not all mothers do, she wants to say but catches herself in time to keep that particular bit of history to herself. They'll very likely never see each other again after this and he doesn't need her baggage ruining what is looking to possibly be an okay evening.

Another smile grows as she adds a clarification, explaining, "And technically, she hooked my boss after one conversation. Your mom introduced us to a lot of people that night — and Mack probably thinks it's about time I start dating again."

It should be very clear what she thinks of that last part. She adores her surrogate big brother but please stay out of her love life, thanks.

[prodigalmess]

"Yeah, I guess so." He can guess what Daisy is getting at. At the end of the day, Malcolm is glad that he has his mother. Without her, he'd have no one.

"So we both got set up?" he asks with a playful smile. "Sorry that you got roped into this."

'Dating again' implies that something significant happened to whomever Daisy was dating before. Bad break up? Death?

sorry, life ate me :(

[chuju]

Daisy shrugs, smile still in place, as the waitress approaches with their drinks. "I can think of worse ways to spend my evening."

Malcolm will have to outright ask if he wants that particular segment of her tragic backstory, and he certainly won't get the full thing. No way is she telling some random normal guy that her boyfriend died saving the world by blowing up an alien in space. That's a second date story, at the very least.

it's clearly been eating me too :(

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm's heard a lot of strange things from women on dates, but that might be a first for him.

He accepts the drink and toasts Daisy silently before taking a sip. Liquid courage. Malcolm could blow this entire thing off and not care about what kind of impression that he's making on her, but she actually seems interesting.

"You work for some kind of government agency?" It's half a guess, but he thinks it's solid.

life pls chill out

[chuju]

Before meeting him, Daisy would rather have been on the most boring stakeout ever than on a blind date. She would rather have been tackling a mountain of dreaded paperwork than on this date. Now? Well, blind dates still suck, but at least he's turning out to not be an entirely terrible one.

"I'm an agent of SHIELD," she answers after taking her own bracing sip of her drink. "We used to be government-funded but now we try to be self-sufficient. This way, we don't have to explain our decisions unless we really screw up, and we don't have Congress breathing down our necks trying to tell us how to do our jobs."

for real

[prodigalmess]

He's been on some pretty excruciating blind dates before, but paperwork is pretty fucking awful. At this point, he'd probably rather take the date. At least this one has gotten off to a good start.

"That's the best way to be," he says with a wry smile. "I used to work for the FBI. The oversight is... smothering, at times."

Malcolm had found it increasingly more difficult to play by their rules before he was ultimately fired from his job. He does what it takes to get answers and to get justice for victims. Some people aren't willing to go as far as he is.

[chuju]

Daisy gives a single laugh and half a smile as she nods in agreement. "That's one way of putting it. When I first started working with SHIELD, there were a thousand rules and regulations to follow that made no sense to me. It was all just... really damn frustrating."

Taking another sip of whiskey, she tips her head to the side in a semblance of a shrug. "The reorganization has changed that much, at least."

It's about the only good thing to come from the whole mess with HYDRA. The agency has become what it was always meant to be — and she's gotten to be a part of that process.

[prodigalmess]

"My methods can be unconventional sometimes," Malcolm says with a shrug of his hand. "The FBI isn't a place to be unconventional." They loved his methods when they closed cases. He must have become too much of a liability.

"I've heard about SHIELD, but I'll be honest, I don't know a lot about it." He sits back in his chair. "What kind of cases do you guys work, if you're at liberty to say."

Daisy might not be able to give specific details about cases, but he's fine with a broader description.

[chuju]

Even now, Daisy can't imagine working at any other agency than SHIELD. They deal with unconventional issues through unconventional methods on a daily basis — anything more rigid and structured would be a terrible fit for someone like her.

"Most of what we deal with on a local level has to do with people with abilities or technology beyond normal means," she answers after a moment of thought, choosing to take a more diplomatic approach. "One of my first missions, back before everything with HYDRA came to light, involved a group of people who were forcing others to commit illegal actions. They'd removed a woman's eye and installed a cybernetic implant with an interface that allowed them to communicate with her; if she didn't follow orders, they would detonate the explosives within the implant."

She tilts her glass, watching the amber liquid move within. "Later, they changed their method to what they called the Incentive Program. Instead of harming the individual, they threatened to harm family members they'd kidnapped."

Even just talking about it makes her sick. And angry. After all these years, she's still disgusted by what Garrett and HYDRA had done to so many innocent people.

[prodigalmess]

At first he questions what she means about people with abilities. Then, after her example, it makes more sense. He can tell it brings up something within her, a sense of anger and disgust.

"People can be diabolical," Malcolm says, leaning back in his chair and observing Daisy across the table. "How did you stop them?"

[chuju]

Diabolical. He doesn't even know the half of it... and it's good that he doesn't. The more people who can live their lives without knowing the kind of evil that's out there, the better.

"Stormed the castle," she answers, then takes another sip of her drink. "I went in with another agent, just walked into this normal-looking office building and got their attention with the explosives I was carrying. We got the hostages out, communicated that to someone under their control, and he took out the head of the operation as soon as he knew his son was safe."

[prodigalmess]

Daisy doesn't know the half of it either. His father single-handedly ruined his life - as well as the lives of hundreds of others. Diabolical is a perfect word.

The corner of his mouth quirks up in a smile. "Very nice. It's a more direct approach than what I usually take, but it sounds very effective."