Monstuck

Important Update!

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 08:38:58 -0500

Wow, eighteen followers in such a small amount of time! Thanks so much!

If you’ve been wondering what’s been going on for the past few days with the updates, know that it’s not anything like writer’s block or a lack of interest. On the contrary, we have lots of stuff already planned that could go up very soon. Bad news is, one of our authors is very busy and is also having some major connection issues.

Long story short, in the meantime things are going into a bit of a hiatus, and we will be sure to keep you posted. I personally don’t want to make large decisions without consulting N because that’s kind of not ok!!!

Anyway, if you have any questions for me about Monstuck or whatever, feel free to IM me at worldarcana@gmail.com on AIM!

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Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:45:00 -0500

The young boy quickly began to panic but was calmed by his father. “Now, now, don’t be alarmed. This is our guest. Mr. Zahhak, don’t be shy, step right in and meet John!”

The large figure stood mere centimeters away from John and extended a sweaty, putrid hand to the boy. It soon gripped John’s pale, bony fingers, and nearly took his entire hand off with it’s STRONG grip. The beastly owner of the vicegrip hand brushed stringy dark hair from the side of his face and pulled his mouth into a horrible grin. Several of his teeth were missing and the chompers he did have seemed to be sweating themselves!

“A pleasure, sir.” The hulking male said looking John in the eyes from behind his cracked sunglasses.

“John, this is Equius Zahhak. He’s our neighbor a few blocks over. He’ll be traveling with you because he is very experienced, and very helpful. He’ll make sure you’re safe and give you a few pointers along the way.” The older Egbert smiled and made back patting motions on Equius, but made sure not to touch his drenched back.

Things had gone from great to horrible. This guy was spooky, but worse yet, he was pretty much a babysitter with pecs the size of a Machamp’s. John was always open for new friends, but this wasn’t the ideal adventure he had been thinking of.
“Uh, hey there! Um…what was your name? Equius? I’m John! Nice to meet you! My hobbies include pranks, movies, and not being headlocked so hard my eyes pop out of my skull!” He flashed a smile and somehow felt a little more at ease when the gray fellow quickly held his hands up and forcefully denied any harmful actions towards his charge.

The focus of the room quickly turned back to John’s father who put the cap on his son’s head and gave him a thumbs up. “Kiddo, I won’t keep you any longer. Prof. Harley wants you to check in with him once you and Dratini have become acquainted with each other, so give him a call once you make it to the next town over. He’ll be able to fill you in on anything you want to know. Just promise me you’ll stay in touch and come home if anything happens, alright?”

The new Trainer nodded and gave his dad a hug. “I will! You can count on me! Just let me grab my bag, alright?”

“No need sir!” Equius boomed hefting a large bag onto his back. “The duty is mine. I shall handle the supplies. Let your back not risk injury. It is my pleasure. Your father has performed a great service for me and I am forever in his debt! Do not worry yourself!” As he brought up the ‘great service’ he began to perspire profusely and smiled to himself subtly.

This was all a bit much, but John shrugged. This Equius guy was a stand up kinda dude! He obviously just wanted to help out and this was just how he went about making friends. No need to get into a fight with him over wanting to help out.

“Well, I guess this is it pop.” John Egbert, fledgling Trainer said triumphantly. “I love you and I promise I’ll keep you up to date with whatever I’m doing! I’ll also be sure to show you all the pictures I take of me and my friends when we meet up, ok?”

“I would love it!” Mr. Egbert replied. “Now run on, there’s a whole new world outside for you to explore! Just again, be safe and watch out for deadl—” The door slammed and John was gone. “…watch out for deadly spores…”

The parent was now alone in his home, but couldn’t feel more proud. He had slipped Mr. Mime’s ball into Equius’ pack once the boy had shown himself. He knew John would be too afraid to travel with the Psychic type, but the Pokémon was experienced and would prove useful in a fix. He never understood why his son despised clowns so much.

Immediately outside, John held the ball in his hand and briefly ignored his ward. He had been practicing this moment for ages. He tightly gripped the ball and gave it a throw. It sailed through the air and put a dent in his father’s driver side door before plopping to the ground and releasing the Dragon Pokémon inside. Even though he would normally be scared pantsless at the thought of injuring the family car, he was too focused on his bouncing Poképartner to care.

“Oh hey there! Hi! My name is John!” He held his hand out to the Dratini who quickly rubbed it with its tail. It bobbed its head happily and seemed to instantly connect with its master’s sunny disposition.

“You’re pretty cool you know! I think we’ll have lots of fun!” John said practically screaming with glee. “And you know, you could use a nickname since you’re so spunky! You know, how about….”

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ACTION TIME PLAYER COMMAND!!!!!!!!!

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>readers pick a name

(Send in your name suggestion via private message and the winner will be announced in the next entry!)

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Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:55:00 -0500

Bedtime wasn’t just a rule, it was one of the pillars of the Egbert household. John had always wandered off into dreamland at 10pm sharp, and made a point to make sure that lights out meant lights out. He would start each day with a pie to the face, a fake Spinarak on his pillow, or a plate of warm muffins at the foot of his bed, slip on his shorts, and pad downstairs to tell his father good morning.

That pillar of the House Egbert fell last night. Much like a child anticipating Christmas, John hadn’t slept a wink. He had suffered mercilessly at the hands of the LED display his Mr. Chuchu digital alarm clock (which was for ages 2-14, gosh darn it). The minutes were hours, and the hours were centuries. His blatant disobedience had even startled one of his friends who always pegged him as a “sissy sissy naptime baby” from day one.

The alarm went off at 7:00am sharp and John shot out of bed. He took a deep breath and rubbed his tired eyes and jumped out of bed. His excitement began to swell and he readied a loud “awwwwww yeaaaah” but received a fine blueberry pie to the face just as he inhaled. The boy wiped the filling from his eyes and went to go let his father know that once again, he had lost the Prankster’s Gambit, but his dad wasn’t there. Oh no. It was. It was. The Beast.

Mr. Mime. ~~He’s a good guy.~~ A CLOWNISH FIEND FROM THE DARKEST PIT OF DARKNESS.

Mr. Egbert’s Mr. Mime smiled and waved to John while reaching for a cloth to wipe the child’s face off. He was the epitome of a loving, jovial Pokémon, but to John he was a monster waiting to strike. Mime was just a fancy way of saying clown. He was like all the other red nosed, goofy shooed demons that stalked carnivals and circuses.

After Mr. Mime had helped John find some clothes that weren’t utterly ruined by blueberries and clown trauma, the boy pulled on his official Pokémon League jacket (which had come with a promotional Buneary trading card), and scrambled for his belt. After all, a trainer-to-be needed a place to keep his Pokémon, and nothing was more dramatic and cool than belt clips. Some people would call John’s style toolatrocious or just plain nerdy, but he knew that jealousy tended to cloud their rational thought.

Today was a day of firsts, a day of adventure, and a day of risk, so John took his first risky adventure of the morning and decided to rudebrazenly slide down the banister of the stairs without proper padding. The rush was great, up until the point he lost his balance and fell off a foot before reaching the end of the staircase. Instantly, his father came rushing over armed with disinfectant, band-aids, and a splint.

John stood up on his own and puffed out his chest. Nothing could stop him today. Even though the scraped elbow stung like a bad review of Con-Air, he promised himself he would let it all out once he was outside. If he let something like this get in his way, his dad might call everything off! That would make for a horrible sweet thirteen.

Mr. Egbert led his son over to the kitchen and sat him down. Normally the smell of pasties polluted the air, but not this time. In fact, the air was heavy with nervousness as opposed to the rank stench of Betty Crocker mix. It was time.

“Son…” John’s father said after clearing his throat. He rubbed at his chin and puffed on his pipe as he paced about. “Son, I’ve been both dreaming of and dreading this day. I can’t help but think that I’m like a mother Staravia pushing her newborn Starly to the ground below. I want you to fly, but the idea of you crashing into a branch some inches below and impacting your tiny infant skull worries me to death.” He puffed a little faster on his pipe and began to wring his hands. “John, the world is a dangerous place. Overbearing Parent Monthly once ran an article about the probability of a rogue Oddish releasing deadly spores into your lungs and causing a colony of mushrooms to grow inside of you. While the chance was something .004%, that’s .004% I truly don’t want to deal with.” The man sighed and took a seat next to his son who had drifted off into a dreamlike trance. He realized that his son had already made a choice, and he was only delaying the inevitable.

Another heavy sigh escaped Papa E’s mouth as he dug around inside an old trunk he hauled downstairs from the attic. He pulled out a cap that looked as though it had been popular around the same time leg warmers and spandex were in style and smiled at it. “John, you’re thirteen and based on the pep in your step, the piss in your vinegar, and the subtle post-it notes you’ve been leaving me for six years, you will leave home to pursue your dreams just like your friends.” A tear ran from his eyes which were obscured beneath his fedora. It traveled to the end of his mutant nose and fell to the ground softly.

The man’s son faded back into reality once the tear fell and he frowned. “Aw, pop, if it’s going to be a problem, I can just wait a little longer! I mean, yeah, I’ve always wanted to see the world, but I don’t want you to worry! I mean that .004% is kinda spooky.” He stood up and gave his old man a hug. It was just as hard for him as it was for his old man. He had grown so very attached his comfy Jigglypuff bedsheets and all of his movie posters. It would be a shame to leave them behind.

“Son, no. I went through this very dance with my mother, and by the time we’re done here, you’ll be skipping through that door with all the hope in the world rising inside you like a fine cake in an oven. Besides, if you didn’t embark on your journey today, you would let Prof. Harley down!”

John’s eyes suddenly expanded behind his glasses. His bucked teeth sunk into his lower lip and he squealed (which despite what his friend said, was totally HET). “D-did Jade’s grandpa really send me something for my birthd-” He was cut short as a Pokéball was pushed into his hands which instantly began to shake.

Mr. Egbert smiled again. “Dratini are hard to come by you know! It would be a shame if all you did was keep it around the house. I’m sure you’ve found an excellent partner! Just please, I know how excited you can get, so before you release the fellow, do it outside.”

A knock interrupted the heartfelt moment. John’s dad quickly moved to the front door and welcomed someone in. A smell best described as the cross between rotting broccoli, Snorlax droppings, and sweaty sneakers choked the room. An imposing figure wearing a tank top and short-shorts loomed in the entryway to the kitchen and grunted.

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So, what's this about Equius and Miltank?

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:06:00 -0500

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Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:17:00 -0500

Although he spoke and moved in a way reminiscent of an alcoholic Spinda, Cameron Poe had captivated the hearts of ~~millions thousands dozens~~

Well.

He had captured the heart of our hero, who had his full attention drawn to the television screen. Poe lumbered over to his nemesis and let his faux-Alabaman voice escape, the words smooth like a Muk rolling its way out of a dumpster.

“Mistah, you better put that Bunneary back in that there ball,” Poe slurred. To a normal human, Nicolas Cage was Nicolas Cage in every movie regardless of the role he was given. The horror that was The Cage simply bled into every character until there was nothing left. The boy didn’t care though. Instead, he mouthed every line as it was spoken. This movie was the best.

The man opposite Poe grinned and slowly held the Bunneary over his Krookodile, which licked its lips hungrily. “I’m sorry, what was that? You want me to drop her in?” Back in the real world, a pair of eyes widened behind thick lenses. Whether or not he was actually worried for the rabbit’s sake- despite knowing the inevitable outcome- is up to you.

With all the grace of a lobotomized Slowpoke, Cameron Poe threw his pelvis and arms at the fiend and went on to put his daughter’s soon-to-be first Pokémon back in the ball. What happened next was not worth mentioning.

The trainer-to-be swiveled back from the television to face his computer once more, barely able to contain his excitement as he removed ‘awesome cage-a-thon!’ from his Pesterchum status and started typing:

— SHOW PESTERLOG —

The friend disconnected just before the hour turned over- he always had a good sense of timing. The boy figured he should sleep, especially since he didn’t want to leave home with a frowny sticker on his good guy chart. That would be a pretty sour note to begin adventuring on! He didn’t feel tired, but he heaved the kind of sigh befitting a kid facing parental rules and did his best to fake-sleep when his father peeked in to check on him. He swore his dad could smell rule-breaking.

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Begin.

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 23:19:00 -0500

The symbiotic bond between the civilized world and the Pokémon world has existed since before recorded history. Hieroglyphs found in ruins thousands of years old depict a society much like our own. Pokémon were, are, and will forever be our friends, partners, and family. In the present, they can be found constructing buildings, providing protection, and even healing the sick. It is safe to say that without them, our lives would be less complete, as Pokémon have truly helped us obtain a sense of freedom and adventure.

Upon turning thirteen years old and completing their education, children from all across the land are free to explore the world to its fullest with Pokémon by their side- a tradition that has been upheld for centuries. Through this journey, one can discover and grow as a person, and strengthen the bond they share with all living creatures.

Many children take it upon themselves to challenge powerful Trainers known as Gym Leaders in order to obtain proofs of their skill. Some take the route of a Coordinator, to exhibit the charm and beauty that lies within their Pokémon, and to amaze crowds that flock to see their performances. Others simply choose to work alongside their Pokémon and travel into parts unknown.

The world, as beautiful and lush as it is, also harbors a dark side. There are those that would abuse the awesome power of Pokémon to meet their own ends. While petty criminals roam dark alleys and covet the partners of other Trainers, some organizations have more nefarious irons in the fire.

Today, however, we are not concerned with the world and how it works. Our story is one of a boy and his three friends. That boy is about to turn thirteen.

His adventure is about to begin.

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