FastForward is a column documenting the nighttime scene in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach County. It's a weeknight stop at your neighborhood dive; it's a blurry, bass-filled Friday night in the club; it's that one moment in a conversation you hope you'll remember the next morning.
For hundreds of suburban-dwelling, self-proclaimed nerds, Friday night's first-ever singles mixer at Tate's Comics in Lauderhill was an action-packed evening of mingling, avoiding eye contact, standing in line, and magical, matchmaking unicorns.
The Tate's staff running the show had expected a decent turnout of around 50 for their new event. They weren't expecting the nearly 300 folks who filled up both levels of the store -- the main floor and the Bear and Bird Gallery upstairs -- for a chance to find love. A line snaked from the entrance through the store and around the several sections of comics, vinyl toy collectibles, and Japanese candies. People who'd reached the end of the line, where they got to fill out a registration form highlighting their interests and pin a big purple button to their shirts, said they'd been waiting over an hour to make it to the front.
The registration form asked for participants to describe things like their three favorite sections at Tate's, three words that describe them, three songs they sing along with, etc. Once registered, participants got matched up by mysterious unicorn mask-wearing experts who paired them off and had them play fun, ice-breaking games.
While some complaints and suggestions did trickle in regarding more efficient registration tactics after the fact, overall, the inaugural Find Your Mate at Tate's Singles Mingle was a triumph, indicating that there is a large demand for events where we can get out from behind our screens and interact with likeminded friends in a face-to-face, fun atmosphere. And, according to the Tate's Facebook page, a few love matches have already been confirmed, along with a new Singles Mingle Facebook group for those who want to keep the conversations going.
We mingled with those in attendance to get a better idea of the scope of participants, what makes them tick, and what they really want out of a partner. Here are some of the answers we got.
Who's the all-time sexiest comic book character?
Terry: "Nami from One Piece. She's just gorgeous, gorgeous."
Rodney: "Catwoman. She just has this personality, and the way she walks and everything -- it's just, wow."
Elizabeth: "Sebastian from Black Butler. I think he's very sexy as hell. He's one hell of a butler! And I met the voice actor in real life, so double treat right there. He's also sexy as hell."
Sergio: "Mystique from X-Men. She can transform into literally anyone. I'd never get tired of her."
Angelique: Gambit from X-Men. Gambit is my favorite. He is so hot, his French accent and everything. He just does it for me."
Giselle: "For a guy, for me right now it's Captain America -- I love blondes."
Victoria: "Male comic book character, obviously the Joker. Female character, obviously Harley Quinn. Yeah, I'm super freaky. That's what makes me awesome!"
What would be your sexual super power?
Sergio: "Psychic. Everything else I'm already okay with, it's just getting inside her head. If I can get in the mind, I got everything else."
Angelique: "I would look at you, and I would make you orgasm, on demand! I would do it kinetically."
Josh: "My sexual super power would be super-endurance."
Zach: "Stretchy tongue. I wanna make sure that thing goes everywhere."
Victoria: "It's a sexual super power, and it's also kind of what would kill you. I've got the smothering boobs. It's a defense mechanism!
What is your ideal date?
Mark: "Somebody that's as nerdy as I am, and totally okay with it. We'd probably go some place just like this."
Giselle: "At an event like this, I'm looking for something pretty original. Someone that wants to go to a comic book store, maybe even for a first date, to see what he likes and see if we have the same interests. Then we could go to a movie, and then we'd go eat somewhere fun!"
Angelique: "Going to the movies, something just chill -- not too much pressure to talk on the first date. Then after that go for pizza, just something real, real simple. We would go see a horror movie. I love scary movies, and then that would be sort of an ice breaker if I needed to hold onto my date."
Zach: "Someone who's more casual, easygoing. Where? Anywhere outside, usually at the beach would be my favorite place, definitely in the nighttime -- it's way hot. The worst thing you want to have on a date is really, really sweaty everything."
Gion: Someone that really understands being a geek. You know, tech-savvy, electronic music, things of that nature. Yeah, somebody that really gets me. I could pick their brain and see what they're really like and what they're interested in."
Follow @CountyGrind
