Saint Joseph School

The Point of This Thread:
This is a thread for all to add to and enjoy just for the fun of it.

Sister Mary Moltar has given her English class an assignment (This is high school after all). For a few days, her students must turn in a "Stream of Consciouness" creative writing piece. This is the type of writing that requires you to sit down and simply write whatever comes out onto the page in an effort to see your own creative process. It can be as long or as short as your mind makes it. If you wish to turn in your assignments? Feel free to add to the thread! Enjoy

*Francis wandered through the quad muttering to herself, a notebook and a pen clutched tightly in her hands, her ratty backpack hanging limply from her shoulder. She passed Faster in the hall and shook her head, paused near Eric's old locker and thought a moment, before finally walking back out into the courtyard. Taking up her usual perch under the Wingra tree she uncapped the pen and began to write.*

Dear Diary, or whatever you’re supposed to write in these things.

So Sister Moltar gave us an English assignment to do some “stream of consciousness” writing. You know, the one where you just write whatever comes out of your fool head so you can see what it is you’re really thinking. I suppose I should be happy it wasn’t “What I did on summer vacation” or something like that. Then again, after last semester’s “The most fun I’ve had in Paragon City”, maybe she’s finally learned her lesson.

It’s like blogging, only with less thought, if such a thing is possible. So here it goes. My boyfriend got arrested and is doing time in the Zig, I have the magic version of writer’s block, and last night I dreamt I was on the run from a Victorian stage magician named the Amazing Albert. How’s that?

You know, now that I think about it, this is probably going to land me in Atwood’s office again. She’ll draw something with trees and cemeteries and I’ll smile like I usually do and she’ll give me the stink eye again. Its kind of like that last fiasco with the Cabal that nearly had me in court ordered counseling, but at least I got a sweet hat out of it.

Man, my stream of consciousness needs Ritalin or something. I wonder what Mimi is up to? Maybe I should go Purple this month. I need to take up smoking again.

Why can’t I just write about the Deconstruction of Plato like a normal high school witch?

Stream of consciousness, writing what I'm thinking. Okay. What am I thinking. I'm thinking about writing. Writing. Writing. Moltar! Wait, I probably shouldn't write about her, since she's going to read this. No Moltar, so. Something else. Alex! No wait, shouldn't write about him either, the nuns don't like that. No Moltar, no Alex. What can I write about. What can I write about. I don't know what to write about. About. That's a funny word if you say it funny. About. About. La la la. I wonder what they're doing for lunch today. I hope they have pizza, their pizza is so good with mustard on it! Yum. I hope they have mustard. Sometimes the mustard bottles are there, but they're empty because they didn't remember to fill them, and then I can't use the mustard because there's no mustard there to go on the pizza. And then I have to eat the pizza without mustard, which usually means I end up using Tabasco sauce instead, which is still good but not quite as good as with mustard. Sometimes it's fun to mix them both on top of the pizza, but then people give me funny looks so I don't do that too often. Oh well. I hope they have pizza and mustard, though. I wonder if I've written enough for now.

Synapse -- yes, THE Synapse -- assigned me to lead a team that eventually, well, I think what we did may be classified, so I won't write it down, but it was way more than I expected to be dealing with, and I didn't even want to lead in the first place. I was sure we were all going to get killed by the end of it.

And we weren't. None of us even needed to visit the hospital.

I'm not sure if it means anything that this happened the night before Easter. Maybe God's trying to get my attention somehow? I don't know what he's trying to tell me, though. That He'll keep me safe? Well, for some value of "safe." Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. I DID have the urge to hum some spirituals as I went into the last fight, but that may just have been because Bryan was humming himself earlier. And I don't think his rendition of "Rubbie Duckie" was divinely inspired.

I wonder if Nennya's writing something similar. It was the last day of Passover for her. I think so anyway; I don't know much about the dating for the holiday. Jewish holidays end at sundown, right? Oh, wait, Nennya's in remedial English or something; she doesn't have you for a teacher. Or did she finally test out? I should probably ask, but it's a sensitive subject for her, and I've ticked her off enough.

Wonder what's going on with Mana? Metal's not supposed to do that. Maybe someone snuck into his room while he was asleep, pulled out his spark or whatever he's calling it, and put it in a new frame. Kalie's idea of a prank? Or does Mana sleep? He says he does now, but I got the impression that this is new. I'd ask him, but it's still awkward around him, and it's not like I enjoy people asking about my appearance either.

I can't believe she pulled his ears like that. Why do people insist on doing that?

Wow. Stream of consciousness gets you off track. Hope this is long enough.

Stream of Consciousness...

I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to be writing. I mean, I understood what was asked of us but I am really much more comfortable with a set topic to write about. Something I can research and study. Hard guidelines, a viable topic, even a required length.

Normally, I'd sit in the quiet library and pour over the card catalog finding reference material or photos if I needed them for the assignment, like we did for our world history reports last semester.

I wrote mine on Sir Isaac Newton, the developer of the three universal laws of motion. His major, being the law of universal gravitation; which I use heavily in the development and understanding of my own abilities.

I wonder if I can make Nennya's car lighter as we drive in it across country? I bet we could make a single tank of gas last an entire state.

April sits down at her desk, thinking to herself about this 'Stream of Consciousness' thing.

"Hmm... where to start... Oh! I know!"

April takes out a sheet of loose leaf paper from her backpack, places it on the desk, twirls around a pencil in her fingertips, and starts to write at a furious, scary pace...

...

If this is about writing down what's on our minds right now, the only thing on my mind now and still is when I took down Arachnos! Wow, it was so cool! I got this call from some random person in Recluse's Victory asking me to come out, and I was thinking if I should go, because on one hand, I was hanging out at the hot tub with all my friends, but the other hand told me that he might be in trouble or something! So I totally picked up the call, said yes, and followed my nose straight there!

And when I got to Recluse's Victory, it was a battlefield, but littered with many heroes to watch each others backs! Although I was doing most of the back watching, it was so chaotic! Taking over the pillboxes to make sure that Atlas Park remains normal was interesting, excitng, and scary! Those guns going BANG BANG BANG and the flamethrowers, oh my, it scared the nether out of me!

Eventually, Scirocco, Ghost Widow, Captain Mako, Black Scorpion, and even Lord Recluse himself showed up to attempt to take us down. But we overpowered them, yes we did! I even landed the knockout punch on Lord Recluse himself! It was such a blast, that I was, and still am, really really hyper and excited about it! I chanted Woohoo!~ so much during that time afterward!

So then I headed back to the hot tub, and everyone there was cheering for me, Kali and Stoned, who also went to Recluse's Victory to thwart the bad guys! It was a blast! Woohoo!

But then while hanging out with all my friends, everyone kinda crowded away from me and huddled on the other side of the hot tub... kinda avoiding me. I want to say it was because I was too hyperactive, but I definitally know it was because of my abilities of the nether. They all think it's such an icky, ugly and scary power, but they're all wrong! The nether is great and comforting! It keeps me nice and warm, and gives a peace of mind that I'm safe from harm while I've got the nether around me. The nether isn't inherently evil, I believe... even though my Shade tried to take my soul back to the nether... but I feel that the nether is a world of neutrality, and those who have the ability to harness the powers of the nether manipulate it to do their will based on their morals. Good people use the nether for good, bad people use it for bad, just like guns, sharp objects and music! It's not like the nether is some dark scary place and the abilities are all evil and dark... but if good was compared to being light, and evil to being dark... the nether would be the twilight. Those using it for bad on the road of dusk, those for good on a road of dawn. I hope I stay on that road to dawn, I never want to hurt anyone with my powers of the nether who doesn't deserve it... only those who'd harm me, innocent citizens, my friends, or anyone doing ill will!

Sometimes this whole nether ordeal really bothers me... but I know that even if others are disgusted and scared of me, I know that I'm myself, will always be myself, and can never be changed from being myself, woohoo! The nether is great, and I embrace it! I may never be normal again, but I think I enjoy this whole new set of challenges my nether abilities bring to myself, especially the challenge of friendship!

At least one person didn't shy away from my nether abilities... he... or it, can't really tell anymore what with all that fur... really is a nice person... thing... whatever he is! Woohoo! And now I'm putting my pencil down, woohoo! Go Flyers!

Sitting down on the ground under a tree in Atlas Park, Mana thinks over the writing assinment he was told to do.

~~~~~~

Hmm Stream of Consiousnes, What does that mean to someone such as myself? Does consiousness even matter when I can be re-programmed or over-ridden? And to emotions and instincts? How does one tell what is natural or force upon them? How does free will factor in to this?
I understand the choices we face determine our out look in life as well as the lessons we learn from both success and failur. But in choosing to do whats right and what we want is a hard choice. Ive found trying to do what I want is to do whats right. But I decide on what I think is right and only I can see it that way. So in fighting for what I think is right I might be fighting someone who is fighting for what they think is right. In the end who actually IS right? But if I won would that make my view right and theirs wrong? What if they won? If vilolnce never solved anything then why do the PPD and LongBow use guns? Why do Heroes fight Villains?? Its all one big mess and my prossessor hurts...I hope this is enough....

Write whatever I'm thinking about. Okay.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-five.

Yes, I just counted to 25 in my head. Assignment done.

What’s on my mind? OK. How hard can this be?

It’s funny how, when you ask yourself that question for an assignment like this, all the things that pop into your head first are the things that you really, really don’t want to put down on paper for someone else to read. There are some things in my head that I don’t think you probably want to know about. Of course, there are normal things, too.

Like that guy that did that thing that I can’t get out of my head and keep seeing over and over again in my mind? Well, I don’t really want to put down on paper what I think of that.

Then there’s that dingbat that did that other thing that I don’t want to be too hard on because well, he was trying after all, and that counts for a lot, but I don’t want to say his name. Of course, I’m not so easy on the dingbat when the dingbat turns out to be me, but that’s another story entirely.

Yeah, I know. Vague much, Ves? So what else is there besides stuff I don’t want to write about?

Oh, yeah, the mission from Saturday night! I still can’t believe we were asked to do that. Well, Joni was asked, and she asked for volunteers for the team. I’m not saying I can’t believe Joni was asked, mind you. The times that I’ve been in a fight with her, Joni has been phenomenal. She really knows her stuff, and she’s good at what she does. I’d go into a fight with her just about any time. What I can’t believe is who asked. After all, it’s not very often that someone you know is asked by Synapse – yes, that Synapse, the guy from the Freedom Phalanx – to lend a hand. I mean, there were a bunch of us, but just knowing that I was able help somebody like Synapse with something, no matter how small a part I played, still makes me all goose bumpy. Is that a word? Well, it’s what popped into my head, so it stays on the paper.

Then again, I’ve been wondering about all of this “hero” stuff lately. I had planned on not running any more missions or patrols for a while. Obviously that plan is going great! I guess I could write an entire paper on that, though, so I’ll leave that one alone.

It’s weird. With exams coming up, I really should be thinking about school and less about all of this other stuff. Speaking of exams… I never thought I'd say this, but I think that math exam is going to be a piece of cake, thanks to some extra tutoring. I guess that’s why school isn’t weighing on me. Classes are going well. My grades are decent. I don’t think there’s any trouble in that area.

Oh, great! I stopped to think about things that are on my mind, and the “Rubber Ducky” song is hitting me again. I’m going to have to smack Bryan for that one. Anyway, unless you want kid song lyrics, I guess I’m about tapped out. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. It actually feels kind of good to have a little silliness running around in my mind right now. I guess I can’t smack Bryan for it, after all, because he did me a favor, in a strange, silly way. Well, like I said, that’s it.

Gabe sighed, and sat down under the tree, taking out his notebook and a pen. This was going to be tough. Write... okay, write, just write.

Write what? oh blast it all! he was hopeless at this, he'd never actually written anything in his life that wasn't a school paper. Well, he'd done some fairly awful haiku once, but that was also classwork. Apparently "miasma" has three syllables.

He put down the pen, streched out, and picked it up again. No more putting it off, he'd put it off a week already...





Okay, here we go. I don't know what I'm going to write yet, I don't really usually THINK about much, just what's going on around me, and sometimes about the people around me. Someone here is in love, not surprising really, I was never good at blocking that. Does that say something about me? I've been told I'm too introspective, but I don't feel introspective enough.
I love the trees this time of year, so bright and green and verdant. "verdant" now there's a great word, it just SOUNDS poetic doesn't it? "verdant." Anyway... so, what am I thinking? I'm thinking about what I'm thinking... it's like woah, meta-thinking. Meta, now there's a great 21st century word right there: "meta-technology" "meta-knowledge" "meta-humanity." see? Meta-human? I wonder if I'm meta-human. The human between humanity, I guess it would mean, literally.

feel like it sometimes, because I feel so much, and I've become rather more adept at glueing people back together metaphysically lately. I actually realized that I could transfer it today. That was a bit of a shock. I just focused, and BAM All of a sudden they seemed to be a lot better off and my leg hurt like heck. I had to do that a lot, when the bank-robbery turned into a riot. Hm, I wonder if I can talk about that? I mean, I'm thinking it, right? Well, the police asked us to stop a bank robbery and all hell broke loose. There was this guy with us, with me and Lilly I mean, and he took some hard hits, Lilly got messed up too.

That bugged me a lot, it stung deep when I had to pull it all off of her, not like when I pulled him back in, she cuts through all my defenses so easily it scares me sometimes, I can't shield from her. I'm dissapointed we both ended up in the hospital, even if we were all fine in the end.
I should probably blame them, for getting the attention of every ganger in sight, but I blame myself. I guess that's not healthy is it? oh well, I know the counselor told me I can't be too hard on myself, but he's not like we are is he? When he screws up, someone's sad, when I screw up, people get hurt, people bleed, people die. God! I'm being so melodramatic suddenly aren't I. If I start comparing myself to that statue of Atlas shouldering the world, someone slap me. I'm not that arrogant yet. If I ever get that way, knock some sense into me. But I don't like to see anyone hurt, so they ask and I end up running through the sewers after some homeless guys, or in a fistfight with a Wolf Spider...

okay, enough of that. This is a class assignment, no more work. I'm enjoying classes, so far. I like German, it's fun! I know how to say my name now! In math they're SOOOOO far beyond where I was at PPS, so I'm having to play catchup, I might have to spend more time in the library, or find a tutor or something. They have us reading a great book in english too, I read it all last night after I got in. well, that's a page... hope you like it... it's my thoughts for better or worse.

This isn't even what I've written, it's what I've edited. This is an editorial of a stream-of-consciousness piece. Why am I editing myself? Why am I censoring myself? Sister, did you know when you gave us this assignment that we might reveal more than we wanted to? Are you curious about us? Do we have the right to edit ourselves? I am writing about not writing now. I am sharing with you about what I won't share.

There are things in my head that I think about but I don't want to write. I don't want to look at those things all naked here on the page. I don't want you to see all the things I think, these brief little nuggets of thought about Drix, about Bryan, bursting between my teeth like little remnants of licorice eaten an hour ago. I don't risk trusting myself to the written record any more.

I love him, you know.

I've written and written and written everything I've thought about and then deleted it, let the cursor eat it backwards until it isn't there any more. Too much truth, and truth makes you naked, and most people shy away from naked. Or at least it's their instincts. Naked isn't really sexy; it's kind of embarrassing. Not being naked; being seen in that way. I never feel embarrassed when I'm wearing my skin; this is all about what's under my skin, under my skull, in my mind. To have someone look in an evaluative way.

How are you going to grade all these things? Is is a length requirement? Is it a matter of how naked I'm willing to get? Do you really want to know these things about your students? Be this intimate? Will you reject me from this class out of hand, even if I'm just auditing? Is it a crime to look back, if you're naked? Do you know things about me that you're going to apply to your reading--surely you must know about the problems I had with Sister Mary Cecilia. Are you going to share this in the teacher's lounge, pass it around like pornography? Discuss the merits and flaws of my mind the way I've heard some boys make commentary on a girl's butt, her breasts, stuff like that.

There, that's not censored although I think it should be. Talking to a nun about pornography and nudity and ogling. I should delete all of that lest it offend.

Sitting down with a large bag of sugar free cookies and some apple juice Alice looks around before pulling her goggles up so she can get started...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well here I am writing this for sister Mean Mean on what I think about. I don’t think I am going to do well on this because I think about lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of things. I like to play and I like to run and I like to watch the trees and talk with Guzol. Ves is lotsa fun! I like it here. Daddy thinks this is good for me to spend time with people my age. I like to write but I always have to do it for homework. Math fun but I always have a hard time. I don’t like taking my goggles off with other people. Sister Mean Mean gets mad at me for it. I like talking to the trees and grass. MMM! Yay cookie for me! I wonder what friend Ves is doing right now? Does she have cookies too? Who is in the kitchen with Dina? Does the little light turn off when you close the refrigerator door? And how do they put those little words on the candy bars? Yay! Another cookie! I like cookies! I just went for a nice run. I like running. I hate Weredoggies though. Men in black too. And those TickerTocks! Yeah they are mean too! Mmm...Yay! Cookie again! I like going and reading too! Reading is fun. Oh I see a birdie! Hi birdie!!! Time for juice! *Small drop on paper* Oops!! Um...what should I do now!! Will Sister mean Mean get mad at me for making the paper dirty? I hope not! Maybe if I gave her a cookie... anyways! Um...what else do I think about? I like the color red! And Blue! Green is pretty!! Like clouds too. Is cloud a color? Uh oh wind is blowing I need to stop writing and fix my hat one minute!!!! Okay back! Did you miss me? Oooh! Cookie!! Yum yum yummy!! And juice! I like juice! Yep I do! My favorite juice is Grape but I’m drinking Apple uh huh. Storeshop people where out of grape so I got Apple instead. Apple is my second favorite. And Orange is third. I like Cranberry too! And Lemon. And Lime. And Banana. And Pineapple. And Grapefruit. Weird. I like Grape bestest but I like Grapefruit leastest. I wonder how much I have to write? Do I have to keep writing till there no more to write or till I stop thinking or till there no more paper or till there no more pencil?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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? Hehehehehehe I like writing those! Funny! ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Okay I’m done! Cookie time again!!! I ate two cookies! I’m only have one. Two. Three. Four. Three cookies left! No wait two now. Ooooh......I’m out of cookies...and juice! My juice is all gone! That’s okay! I can go get more! Yes I can! I think I will. Okay I hope this good enough because I’m going for more cookies and juice now. Buh bye!!!!

Laying on her bed in the dorms Kali pulls her notebook close and begins writting.


Stream of Consiousnes

My stream runs deep sometimes and sometimes it dams up like theres a buncha beavers building a wall there and it holds together in a big puddle that becomes like a lake kinda like in that one silly movie Open Season where the beavers build a dam then this silly bear comes along and wrecks it by accident and then the beavers have to start all over again.
Well thats kinda like my head. I had all these thoughts all pooled up in my head and then Me and Erika and Stas all talked and i think the dam broke so now all the thoughts are scattered again and im not sure how long itll take for the beavers in my brain to build a new damn and make all the thoughts pool up again
Stupid boys..... and stupid girls for missing stupid boys . Hows come boys can make you feel so good inside and then make feel so stupid for liking them? Stupid boys

We're just supposed to write whatever we're thinking for this assignment, so I guess that's what I'll do. Write what I'm thinking, that is.

I'm spending a lot of time thinking lately. More time thinking than talking, as Marshall pointed out the other day. Well he didn't point out that I was thinking more than talking, he just pointed out that I wasn't talking much. He's right though. I don't talk much. I really don't know what to say.

There's so many things here that just don't make sense, or that are just completely bewildering. I keep wondering what my parents would say if they knew I were here. I don't think they'd like it. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't. Catholics, psychics, robots, animal-people. It's almost too much.

I think that probably sounds worse than it should. That's one of the reasons I don't talk much. Nothing comes out right if I start talking about what I think, and people get mad or upset. It's easier to just stay quiet.

I really do wonder what some of these people did for God to give them these powers. Were they really bad, or really good? Nobody seems to even realize that that's where their powers come from, though. It's like everyone's from another planet or something.

I don't think I want to write any more right now.

My shoelaces are never even. It bugs me. My dad always says “How can you think straight if your laces are all uneven?” I didn’t know it then, but it was his way of stalling when I asked him something difficult, something he didn’t want to answer. I told him about the football team. I still can’t believe we lost. The game was so close, neck and neck the entire thing, and it just sucks that we played so well, pulled together as a team and still lost. I know, I know, winning isn’t everything, but really I’m only typing that because it’s something you’re supposed to say when you lose. I do that sometimes though. I miss home. I don’t know if it’s that I’m homesick, or that I’m here-sick. Don’t get me wrong, I love school, my friends and "family", and it's great being able to play sports again. I love the life I have now, even though sometimes I miss my old one. And losing the football championship still sucks. Can you write suck in an English Essay? I can’t help it if I say that in my mind, and I’m just supposed to type whatever pops into my head. I’m hungry. I wanted cereal this morning but the cafeteria had Rice Krispies. I hate Rice Krispies. When I was a kid, I used to eat them real fast before they got too soggy, on account of I was afraid when it stopped making noise, it meant Snap, Crackle and Pop drowned. It was a lot of pressure. Then again, Portal Jumping is a lot of pressure too. I wish I could go back to my biggest worry being cereal. Or breaking the dish it was served in. Holy cow, I just realized my stream of consciousness is a downer. I’m not down really. Just a little wired and a little tired. We portal-hopped yesterday. I’m going to grab a nap in study hall.