Firsthand History- Monday- 1st period

[throughaphase]

The students had received an email to meet at the Danger Shop, which looked and felt like a windy day on a North Carolina beach in December.

"Sorry if it's a little chilly," Kitty greeted them. "Welcome to Firsthand History. I'm your teacher, Kitty Pryde-Barton, and I don't really care what you call me since I'm still getting used to one of those names a little. In this class, we're going to visit certain times in history, where you'll get to see what it was actually like to be there. And since there are a lot of different timelines and universes represented at this school, I'm basing this class off of this particular world's timeline. Depending on the situation, we may be in here, or we may portal off to wherever it is. I'll let you know ahead of time. And because this is what we're doing, I want to know what kinds of things you want to see. Whether it's seeing a world event or just visiting a specific time period, I'd like to make sure you can see what you're actually interested in seeing. So since you're going to be doing introductions all week, let's start there. Tell me your name, when and where you're from, and what you want to see."

And then once the last student had introduced themselves, Kitty stepped aside, where the students should see a very old plane in the background. "By the way, if you're wondering where we are, welcome to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. Enjoy the flight."

Comments

Introductions

[throughaphase]

Name, when/where you're from, and what you want to see.

Re: Introductions

[intotheout]

"My name's Gratuity," Tip said, waving a little. "I'm from Pennsylvania, the United States, Earth --" she could keep going, but decided against it. "Contemporary to Fandom, but in my world we got invaded by aliens a few years back. So, you know. Divergence point. I'd like to seeeee. . . ." She thought for a few moments, sifting through the numerous options that sprang immediately to mind. "The March on Washington where Dr. King gave the 'I have a dream' speech. Or maybe the Dahomey Amazons?"

She was going to make sure black history got represented here. Not that she expected it to get skipped, but -- well. The class was going to be over by February.

RE: Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"I've actually never heard about the second one," Kitty admitted. "Which means I'll be looking it up immediately after class..."

Re: Introductions

[intotheout]

"They were an army of West African women in the 19th century. Very cool." Tip grinned. "Pretty much any African history that isn't the slave trade would be great, though."

Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"Got it. I'll see what I can do," Kitty smiled.

Seriously, she was going to look that up, it sounded awesome.

Re: Introductions

[spell_chucker]

"Um, I'm Khadgar, and I'm from a city called Dalaran in Azeroth," he said uncertainly. "It's the year 592 where I'm from, but I think we track our years differently than you do here. Honestly, I want to learn everything I can about this place, so whatever you and the others want to discuss will be fascinating to me, I promise."

RE: Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"Great, welcome," Kitty smiled. "Do you have any general subjects you're interested in?"

Re: Introductions

[spell_chucker]

Khadgar thought for a moment. "Whatever it is that makes phones work that isn't magic?"

Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"Can do," Kitty said, and added, "And people are pretty good about others being from other times and places so I swear it'll seem more normal soon."

Re: Introductions

[studyingfear]

"I'm Rufus," he said, when it was his turn. "I'm from Midgar, on a planet called Gaia. Our calendar is different than yours but a great deal of our technology is on similar level."

Not all of it, but enough that adjusting had not been particularly strenuous.

"I don't have enough of a frame of reference to ask for anything in particular," he continued, though this was not quite the truth. Rufus read an awful lot. "But, perhaps, something to do with the founding of this country?"

RE: Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"We can get to that," Kitty assured him. "There's also plenty of background there. Welcome."

Re: Introductions

[teenagewarhead.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Talking.

"I'm Negasonic Teenage Warhead. I'm from Salem Center, New York most recently and I don't really care what I see."

There.

RE: Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

So last year the whole space bullet thing had been prefaced by getting mindwhammied into falling through the Earth by some goth chick with a familiar name.

Eh, she'd taught Mystique, this was fine.

"Do I call you by that whole name, or do you have a nickname?"

Re: Re: Introductions

[teenagewarhead.livejournal.com]

Well there's no mind-whammying going with this goth chick so she can guarantee a lack of space bullet this year.

"Negasonic is fine," she said with a shrug. "I'm not picky."

Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"Did you pick that yourself?"

Sorry. Just... that was some name.

Re: Introductions

[teenagewarhead.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. It's from a song I like," she replied. "Fit me better than my old name."

Re: Introductions

[wildandbrave]

"I'm Cosette," she said, suddenly realizing that at some point in the past year or so she'd become rather fond of the nickname and hadn't found herself insisting on being called Euphrasie. "I'm from Paris, where -- well, I suppose it isn't 1829 there any more either, is it? Or, well, it could very well be in some universe, but . . ."

She'd been in Fandom for a while, plus had a recent binge on sci-fi novels of the time-travel variety.

"Beg pardon, I got carried away there a bit. And I suppose I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of the French Revolution myself -- it was only just before my time, but one heard older people talk about it a great deal as if it were only yesterday." Her father never did, it occurred to her, and that was odd, wasn't it?

She bit her lip. "Though . . . perhaps not Waterloo." Thanks for that particular trauma, Monsieur Thénardier.

Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"I figure if you came from 1829, you cool to say you're from 1829," Kitty assured her. "We can work on that area."

Re: Introductions

[wildandbrave]

"I'd like that, thank you," Cosette said, because she was ridiculously polite. "Though it's no trouble, if we've too many requests to accommodate in the space of the term, and can't fit it in."

Re: Introductions

[throughaphase]

"Psh, I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't going to do it," Kitty said.

She was the teacher who said 'psh.'

Re: Introductions

[wildandbrave]

Cosette was fairly fond of 'pshaw' herself, so she wasn't going to judge.

"Beg pardon, Madame," she said quickly. "I don't mean to doubt your judgment. I will look forward to it, though! To that particular class, that is to say."

Re: Introductions

[vrajna_kralis]

Hyacinthe recognized the word 'French.' It was used in place of 'D'Angeline' in this world. "There was a revolution?" he asked, with a very obvious accent. "In your Terre--in your France?"

Re: Introductions

[wildandbrave]

There was something familiar about the cadence of his voice, which accounted for the extra touch of interest in Cosette's when she responded.

"Oh, yes, it ended some fifteen years before I was born," she answered, nodding. "The sisters in the convent didn't much care about such things, though, so I never learned about them."

Re: Introductions

[vrajna_kralis]

"But why?" Hyacinthe would have been aghast if he could wrap his head around the concept in the first place.

Re: Introductions

[vrajna_kralis]

"I am Hyacinthe, from the City of Elua in Terre D'Ange," Hya said when it was his turn. "We keep the calendar according to the Caerdicci fashion, but it's roughly a thousand years after the life of Yeshua ben Yosef."

That was...a bunch of names, sure. Helpful, Hya.

"As for what I should like to learn..." He shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't know enough of what's happened or what's different to even begin to say."