When the students got to class, they'd find a young woman, dressed in black, watching everyone as they took their seats as if assessing her assignment. Or maybe she was wondering what she'd gotten herself into. Either one.
"Welcome to class. This is Fandom vs. The Real World. If you are not supposed to be in this class, now would be the time to leave. No one probably knows your name yet to think badly of you.
"My name is Aeryn Sun," she introduced herself. "To give you a bit of background, I was one of the first students at this school, and therefore you will get no pity from me. We had to learn about bites and invasions and people getting possessed all on our own." They also had to walk two miles uphill in the snow. Each way. "And if any of you are feeling alarmed by anything I just said, oh, just wait. I should probably also tell you straight off that I am not human. I'm Sebacean, and till a few cycles back, was a member of the Peacekeeper military. I was here for two years before I graduated, and there was never a dull moment. This is both a blessing and a curse. Since graduating, I've been living in Cambridge with my family, and in case you're one of the people not from here originally, it's quite a bit different out there than it is in Fandom. I'm sure those of you from a 'normal' place have already noticed this.
"I don't know yet how many of you are brand new to Fandom, and if you've been around a while, bear with me while I explain a few things to the new students. You're probably figuring out by now that the things you've been hearing since Saturday is true. Most of it. I'm sure people slip at least one or two untrue things in. Regardless, this is a unique place, and since I'm assuming none of you have tried to run screaming yet, I'll take it for granted that you're here for a while, and hopefully we can make the transition a bit easier.
"On the other hand, when you're used to being from someplace where this sort of thing is normal, where you're used to different species wandering around, where portals don't faze you and you're perfectly at ease flying a ship when the locals don't drive anything that leaves the ground. At times, you will venture out into that world. There are field trips, or you may pay a visit to a friend's home, and at that point, the things that are perfectly normal here suddenly have nearly no basis there. We will cover that, too. Because going out into that with no knowledge is frelling hard. Wherever you come from, it's all right to find it abnormal, or maybe even a little scary at first. You're just going to have to get over it.
"Rather than barrage you with too much information, we're going to start with the continued introductions you'll be sick of by the end of the week," said Aeryn. "I want you each to tell me your name, where and when you're from, and the strangest thing you've heard or experienced since you've been here. You first."