Constant Vigilance #1: Friday the 14th, Morning. A Classroom.

[nine-and-ears.livejournal.com]

The classroom was laid out much like your average classroom. The student desks had been placed in a circle, stemming from the larger wooden desk on the end near the dry erase board. The Doctor was sitting on the edge of that desk, a piece of fruit in each hand. One was obviously an orange, the other a pomegranate.

The Doctor smiled and gestured towards the desks whenever anyone walked in. Short greetings of "Hello" and "Don't be afraid to talk amongst yourselves" accompanied that. Once everyone had arrived and got themselves situated, the doctor set down his fruit, rolled his legs over as to end up standing behind the wooden desk, and grinned.

"Hello, in case you've not yet heard, I'm the Doctor. Not quite the fellow who was teaching here before, but in essentiality, one and the same. But let me get this straight right now. I'm the Doctor. Saying the 'the' is optional, but it's Doctor and nothing else. I'm not a professor, mister, master, or any other title. And I am not a number, I am a free Timelord. But more on that in a second." He grabbed a green dry-erase marker and wrote on the board. He finished the two words with a flourish, before turning back to the class.

"Constant Vigilance. The idea that no matter how hard it gets, no matter what the big bad is, you persevere. My only goal with this brief class is to educate you in dealing with some of the specifics. Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Zombies, Vampire, Werewolves. Out there in the millions upon million of worlds and dimensions, you're bound to stumble across everything at some point." He put down the marker and smiled.

"But back to introductions. Because good boys and girls all bother to get to know each other. The exercise is simple. Tell your name, where you're from, and one fact about yourself you'd like everyone to know, and one fact you don't. To be fair, I'll start." He stepped around the desk and sat on the edge.

"I'm the Doctor, last Timelord from the planet Gallifrey. One thing I'd like you all to know is that I'm a huge Charles Dickens fan. Greatest author of his time, he was." He paused for a second. "One thing I don't want getting out is that I once dressed as a washer-woman to infiltrate an organization's base. Headscarf and all. Course, the face was a bit different then." He smiled. "See, painless random fact. Not asking you to pull your own teeth. Now go on, introduce yourselves."

After the introductions were over, the Doctor stood up again. "Only a few more things, and we'll be done with the day. First, the two most important rules of the universe." He picked up the marker and wrote on the board again.

"One. Always ask questions. It's fairly simple. Don't accept things as being what they are at face value, because usually that means you're treating people for who the seem to be, not who they actually are. This is always a mistake, possibly a fatal one." He scribbled on the board some more.

"Two. Violence is a last resort. If you plan on subscribing to the shoot first, ask questions later approach, I will be doing my damnedest to convince you otherwise. Very little in this universe is pure evil and doesn't deserve to live. Thwarting is infinitely betting than destroying. Especially if you have no idea what you're dealing with." He pulled out a bowl from the desk, and a small pocket knife. Picking up the orange, he spoke again.

"You're fairly certain you know what you're dealing with in certain situations, and it's like cutting into the orange. Sure, it gets the job done, but the juice gets everywhere and is lost." He proceeded to cut up the orange into quarters and placed them in the bowl. "With just a little bit of effort, you could've finessed it apart, without resorting to brutality. And then, you end up with the ability to enjoy all the orange offers."

He then picked up the pomegranate. "And if you don't know what you're dealing with, just stabbing it could cause untold damage and make it hard to enjoy it at all." He glanced at the fruit and put away the tiny knife. "But I'm not one to waste a perfectly good pomegranate." He smiled.

"So, that's our class for today. Come back next week with a short essay, one hundred words or so. Tell me your worst fear, and be honest. What scares you more than anything in this world. And if any of the boys come back with the word 'commitment' written over and over, I'll be quite cross with you. Questions, anyone? And would anyone like some fruit?"

[ooc: All ready to go. Note about the assignment: The Doctor will be adapting some of these worst fears into the very special final class, assuming they fit into the model I'm working on. If I -do- believe yours will fit (which I won't know until next week, when they are handed in), I'll contact you to make doubly sure you're okay with having a possible confrontation with that. And other than that... huzzah! The first class, yay! Up early in case I accidently sleep in. I'll be around a wee bit tonight, and almost all of tommorow!]

Comments

Sign in

[nine-and-ears.livejournal.com]

In a manner that the thread shall collapse.

Re: Sign in

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia Santos

Introductions

[nine-and-ears.livejournal.com]

The Doctor's given his introduction. Time for yours.

[ooc: Remember, Name, Where You Are From, One Fact You'd Like to Share, One Fact You'd Rather Not.]

Re: Introductions

[nadiathesaint]

"I'm Nadia Santos, I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'd like everyone to know that, um, I like to play the guitar and sing, and that I don't always sing emo songs like the one from the talent show. Um. Most people know or have heard that I was arrested before I came here, and, well, if you didn't, I haven't really made a secret of that. What you don't know is that before I was arrested, I committed over 130 various criminal acts." Nadia shrugged. "In my defense, it was kind of a survival tactic."

Re: Introductions

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Hello, I'm Pippi Longstocking. I'm from... Pretty much anywhere there's water deep enough to sail in, but my family is from Sweden. Something I'd like you all to know about me is..."

She bit her lip.

"... I really like fresh rolls with dinner. And something I'd rather not talk about is... I consider it a personal victory any time I go to a party or gathering and don't end up with my face in the cake."

She curtsies and sits down.

Re: Introductions

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

"My name's Seras Victoria. I come from London, England. Though, when I left, it was 1993. I'd like everyone to know that I really won't get mad at you if you call it 'soccer' rather than 'foot ball'. And...before coming to Fandom, I stayed in twelve different orphanages, institutes and um...whatever other names they have for kids who don't have parents. Fandom's my lucky thirteen."

Re: Introductions

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Willow Rosenberg, Sunnydale California," Willow said. She thought very hard about her facts. "Um. I'd like everyone to know that I don't actually shoot people, because apparently there's been some confusion on that score and frankly I think guns are icky, scary, and not at all helpful. I also have huge fears that if I touched one it would just blow up in my hand and I'd end up scarred for life and having to figure out how to type on a computer with only one finger or possibly my nose.

"Um. A fact I'd rather people didn't know is... um. Sometimes I chew my pencils? And then try to hide the evidence?"

Re: Introductions

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

She gives a slightly heavy sigh and a very tired gaze around the classroom before she begins.

"I am Setsuna Sakurazaki, and I'm originally from Kyoto, Japan. I suppose if there was one fact about myself that I would like people to know, it would be that I...think friendship is one of the strongest, most important things someone could have. I...I'd do anything to protect my friends..."

"And if there was one thing that I didn't want anyone to really know is that right now, I'm particularly testy because I was an idiot last night and flew for about five hours and now my back is killing me, every muscle of my body aches, and I'm famished like you wouldn't believe. Plus, no sleep. Or very, very little of it. So...yeah."

So it ended up being more of a rant than a statement. Her stomach lets out a little rumble to back up her statement. She responds to it with a sighing groan.

Re: Introductions

[sensethevisions]

"I'm Phoebe Halliwell and I'm from San Francisco, California. One thing I'd like you to know is that I'm very loyal to my friends and those I care about and would go to the mat for them in most situations. What I don't want people knowing is that I seem to be the ultimate magnet for evil. If there's evil out there doing something, they somehow find me and sometimes fool me into believing what they're not."

Re: Introductions

[demonbelthazor]

"My name's Belthazor," Bel said. "I'm from the Underworld. The fact I'd like to share is that I'm a demon, but I'm good now, really. What I'd rather not share is that my full human name is Coleridge Benjamin Turner." He thought that was the most harmless fact he could share.

Re: Introductions

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

"My name is Kaylee Frye and I'm from the future," Kaylee said. "I lived on a ship called Serenity before comin' here. One thing I don't mind sharing? I was the ship's mechanic. I got natural talent for fixin' things like engines. Somethin' I don't usually share? Um...I talk to Serenity sometimes? I know when she ain't well."

Re: Introductions

[smartestone]

"My name is Hermione, and I am from England," she says, and hopes that cuts out half of the where are you from? questions she still has to answer, and as long as she's getting things out of the way, she adds, "I'm a witch, and... I haven't learned everything about this place yet, but I will."

Seriously, that's the thing she doesn't want to admit.

Re: Introductions

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"Cedric Diggory," he says. "I'm from England. One fact I'd like to share is that I do fly on a broom. It's quite fun, actually. As for one fact I don't wish anyone to know.." He pauses before finally saying, "I really hate coffee."

Re: Introductions

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"My name is Conner McKnight, and I'm from Reefside, California. I'd tell you guys that I play s--" He glanced at Nadia, Seras, Peter, and Pippi. Sure, Seras had said she wouldn't get mad, but the cultural terminology ratio was four to one here, and he had kind of promised. "Football, but that's no surprise to anyone by now, probably."

One fact he'd like to share and one he wouldn't? Hmm.

"Well, I have a twin brother named Eric who wanted to be a ninja but flunked out of the academy after a week. And . . ." Conner grinned sheepishly. "I'm hydrophobic, actually."

Re: Introductions

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter bowed to the Doctor.

"I'm Peter Pevensie. I'm from 1940 Britain, but home is elsewhere now. I'm the oldest of four - two sisters and a brother - and I'd give my life to keep them safe.

He paused to think of the second fact then simply said, "I miss them."

Re: Introductions

[stykera]

"I'm Stark. I'm from the Uncharted Territories," he pointed upwards out of habit. "What do I want everyone to know? I...I'm an alien. A Banik. And something, something I don't want everyone to know. Why am I telling you if I don't want you to know? Something I don't want everyone to know is that I...I worry, sometimes, that I don't belong here."

Re: Introductions

[upforachase.livejournal.com]

"My name is Cordelia Chase, and I'm from Sunnydale, California, like Willow. One thing I want people to know is that I'm not stupid and I really hate when people assume that I am, just because I'm pretty," she said, glaring at Willow. "As for what I don't want people to know? Um, I guess that I'm not as cold as I try to make it seem. I do actually have feelings."

Re: Introductions

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Name's Jack Harkness, and I'm from nowhere in particular in the fifty-first century. One fact I'd like everyone to know? I'm handsome, charming, and incredibly sexy, but that's probably too obvious. How about, I'm an excellent cook. Something I'd rather not share?" Jack frowned, then shrugged. "I don't have any parents."

Re: Introductions

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"I'm Elizabeth Weir, and I'm orginally from Connecticut," said Elizabeth. "The fact that I'd like to share and that most people know is that I'm fluent in Russian; enough to pass as a native. Something I'd rather not say?" She hesitated. "I have nightmares. Frequent ones."

Re: Introductions

[grand-fallguy.livejournal.com]

"Hi my name is Tim Desmond, I'm from New York in the year 1991. Uh, fact 1: I know from personal experience that despite certain events that have happened in Fandom, the majority of the Fae are not bad guys. Uh, as for something I don't want people to know...I chickened out when a gorgeous blonde banshee tried to seduce me I went through two `battles` with the Fae, with absolutely no idea how to use the wand they gave me."

Re: Introductions

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"I'm Samantha Carter, but please call me Sam," she said, "and I'm from Colorado Springs, Colorado. I guess I'd like to tell you that I like to take things apart to find out how they work. Um, and that I understand and like machines more than most people."

Re: Introductions

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Hi. I'm John Connor. I'm from California by way of Mexico before I was here. I've been here a year, almost, and my mom was the first principal." He paused for a beat. Then two. "I wish I'd never been born."

Talk During Class

[nine-and-ears.livejournal.com]

But he's being so... object lesson-ey. Would you really chat during that?

Re: Talk During Class

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi perks up at the mention of werewolves.

Ask the Doctor Questions (or get some fruit)

[nine-and-ears.livejournal.com]

Personally, he likes bananas. Bananas are good.

Excellent source of potassium.

Re: Ask the Doctor Questions (or get some fruit)

[nadiathesaint]

"Hey, um, Doctor. I just wanted to say thanks. My hand is feeling a lot better. And I promise not to punch any more doors."

OOC

[nine-and-ears.livejournal.com]

Fear the Joker!Eccleston. FEAR HIM.

Re: OOC

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

*fears*

*No really*