no growth An attempt at realism

[Hialmar]

An attempt at realism

Until that day, John Smith was an ordinary but shy twenty year old studying chemistry, but he was bullied by the college jocks. He was averagely built on the slim side, and his time spent before his computer had given him "office-neck".

He lived in a two-bed room at a college dorm, but his room-mate had moved to a flat of his own in the beginning of the term. He didn't know the identity of his new room-mate, who would move in after Christmas, and he felt slightly worried, that it may be some boisterous jock.

Last night, he had been in contact with a mysterious stranger online with the nickname "hulkyou1000", and they had agreed to see each other at a local bar next night. 

That morning, he had received his first package of Jockabolic Xtreme 3000 Gro Pro Bro Turbo – a supplement in its testing-phase, with unknown effects, but he had agreed to participate in the testing, because Dr. Sonderweg-Untergang at that supplement company had sounded so trustworthy.

On his way over one of the college lawns, he stumbled over an object buried in the ground. It looked like an ancient pendant of unknown age, but without any chain. It didn't look like anything crafted the last 400 years. It didn't even look like ancient native craftsmanship. It didn't look like anything he had seen in any book, museum or at TV, and there was a nimbus of eldritch and forgotten aeons surrounding it.  Foreboding feelings briefly filled him, and the word "QRUM" briefly echoed in his soul, but all these feelings swiftly faded in the humdrum sunshine, and he became distracted by something else. Absent-mindedly, he put it in his pocket.

During lunch, he had read news online. It seemed like the Armed Forces drafted young men randomly recently, and an investigative journalist had tried to dig up the truth about a restricted area somewhere in Nevada, but his colleagues had been unable to contact him in the last few days. Strange.

He had spent afternoon in the lab, writing a report with deadline next day. He had been bitten by a radioactive guinea pig, cleaned the wound with some iodine and put a plaster on it.

On his way home, he passed by a tailor's shop he hadn't seen before. He spent a few minutes there, and the decidedly weird but persuasive shop-assistant talked him into buying a tank top and a jock strap, pieces of clothing not normally a part of his wardrobe. Immediately after leaving the shop, he asked himself, why he had allowed himself to be persuaded to buy something he would never wear.

He passed by the river. There had been protests against the unknown chemicals a local business allegedly dumped into the river, but he hadn't followed the news particularly well. He didn't feel well. He didn't know, if it was the supplement he had ingested that morning or the wound, but he felt dizzy. He took a few staggering steps, fell over a rail, and fell into the river.

The authorities found him dead next day.

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Hialmar
added detail, language

[sithspawn]

Is this some sort of dig at the lack of realism in a lot of the muscle growth stories that can be found online?

[Hialmar]

8 minutes ago, sithspawn said:

Is this some sort of dig at the lack of realism in a lot of the muscle growth stories that can be found online?

I wouldn't say "a dig" (but since I'm not a native speaker of English I might miss some of the sense of the word "dig"), and I do not dislike the non-realistic events in MG stories. I just wanted to make fun of the genre in general, until I – hopefully soon – am able to continue writing one or another of my usual non-realistic MG stories.

[cutlerfan]

This is a forum for MG stories. Why post one with no MG?

[Hialmar]

15 minutes ago, cutlerfan said:

This is a forum for MG stories. Why post one with no MG?

I have posted a lot of MG stories over the years. Today, I was in the mood of posting a parody.

[Ripped]

You forgot the “mutation of the MSTN gene caused by an intergalactic particle sent from aliens bent on conquest of Earth”. 
 

Actually, I might write that one. 

[Hialmar]

18 minutes ago, Ripped said:

You forgot the “mutation of the MSTN gene caused by an intergalactic particle sent from aliens bent on conquest of Earth”. 
 

Actually, I might write that one. 

Damn. But the story is supposed to take place in another world, than the ones where MG stories usually take place, so the aliens are probably just a figment of someone's imagination there.

[Bigger]

At first, the monotonous/descriptive tone of the narrator made me wonder what kind of story this was going to be... until I realized it was a parody of MG fiction hahahaha

 

Thanks for the laugh!

[Hialmar]

Just now, Bigger said:

At first, the monotonous/descriptive tone of the narrator made me wonder what kind of story this was going to be... until I realized it was a parody of MG fiction hahahaha

 

Thanks for the laugh!

I love MG fiction: Reading it and writing it, but as about everything else, we have to be able to have a laugh about it now and then, even the tropes we adore or get excited by.

[Guest]

This made me laugh, thanks for having a sense of humour and writing that into a piece of work