It Was So Weird. Ever Since Adrian Put On Those Shoes From Check-in, Things Just ... Went Weird. He Kept

It was so weird. Ever since Adrian put on those shoes from check-in, things just ... went weird. He kept following the locker room, but no matter how far he went, he always wound up back at the same place: A massive floor-length mirror. The next walk he took left a tingling on his head. He frowned as he stared at the mirror. Was ... something different? He brushed a hand over the high and tight sides and felt the comforting bristles. No, everything was fine. He turned to try again. Once more, he passed through the endless line of lockers. No dice. He spun around on the poles, gripping with his hands and tensing the muscles in his arms and torso, then let go. Anything was better than repeating the same thing over and over again. Perhaps random turns would prevail better than reason. He stared at the mirror again. Had ... he come in shirtless? He couldn’t remember. It ... was pretty warm. Maybe he ... left the shirt behind? A few of the gym goers had done that. Yeah. He ... remembered seeing that. And it wasn’t like he had that much to be ashamed of. He was fit. No Adonis, but certainly toned enough not to raise any suspicion or antagonism. He furrowed his brow and stroked his beard. One more time? he wondered. Every step echoed hollowly through the vacuous locker room. His feet smacked heavily on the tile floor. His thighs felt tense as they brushed against one another and he adjusted his pace accordingly, swinging his legs from side to side in an unconscious swagger. The smacks sounded like hammer blows falling one after the other. One. Two. Three. Four. The rhythm beat into his head as he counted one after the other. Suddenly he stood before the mirror again. He felt the brush of fabric falling and blinked slowly as he gaped ahead at the tall muscle man in the mirror. A camera phone was in his hand. A camera phone was in Adrian’s hand. He furrowed at the sight, then clecked the button. The flash went off. He looked down. There was the man in the screen. He looked up. There was the man staring at him again with a puzzled expression. He clicked again. FLASH His cheeks became more sharply angled, his jaw thick, his traps swollen, shoulders broad. He looked good. “Damn,” he rumbled. “Wish I could be like that.” He chuckled and flexed his free arm. The man in his way did likewise. FLASH “Huhuhuh...” That felt good. He grinned as he stepped out of the shorts and strode out in his posing briefs. The weight room was awash with swollen muscle men, each wearing a pair of bright red shoes. “Uh ... is this where I audition for the weight team?” he asked. A strange sense of deja vous struck him as a titan of a man in a straining sleeveless muscle tee grinned down at him. Hadn’t he been at the desk before? And, like ... uh..... short or ... someth..... A sudden surge of warmth filled his crotch and Adrian lost track of his thoughts. A guiding hand helped him to one of the weight machines. “Right this way, bro,” a deep husky voice assured him. Then he felt his arms tensing, felt his chest seizing, heard the weight clacking heavily behind him. One. Two. Three. Four.... His head cleared. His thoughts emptied. His mouth gaped open. All that mattered were the weights now. ... Just the weights.... He let out a husky dimwitted laugh, heedless of the pulsing glow in his bright red sneakers as his muscles inflated. “Welcome to the team, bro,” the behemoth said. Adrian grunted. No time to talk. He had to lift.

The Word

Amazing, isn’t it, the power that a jumble of letters can carry? It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword. But it is what the pen creates that is so compelling. Words have held power and sway over the minds of men and women from the very beginning. If scripture is to believed, before there was anything else, there was The Word. In short, words have existed from before this world ever was. Words give voice to thoughts, shape to ideas and emotions. In short, words, much like an artist, have the power to create, to destroy, to mold, all at their creator’s whim. In politics the use of The Word is called propaganda. In journalism, it is called truth, though whose truth is a matter of intense debate. As for me, well, I’ve discovered my own manipulation of The Word. No, I am no novelist or journalist, no politician, though as you can see, I am a wordsmith of a sort. No, in this case, I have learned how to tap into the primal essence of The Word. In short, I am what you might call a wizard, a witch, a magician, a sorcerer. There are many names that seem to apply to what I am, though I don’t know how accurate they all are. It’s proven a most useful gift for me. I can do almost anything, provided I can put it to words. I could fly, breathe underwater, travel through time. Oh, the possibilities are far too vast for me to explain in one sitting, but I believe you get what I’m trying to say. As such, I’ve dedicated much of my life to the understanding of names and words. There’s a reason why they say power over the name is power over the thing itself. Take my neighbor over there. He asked if he could borrow some of my power tools for a big project of his. Naturally, I agreed, but doubtless, you can see how ... unfit he is for the task. Forgive the pun. Obviously, being that pale and overweight would make this endeavor exceptionally difficult for him. As such, being the kindly neighbor that I am, I decided it would be best to give him a little hand.  You’ll note that I only use some of the best products. I particularly enjoy this brand of jackhammer for its choice of wording. Now, watch. You see how difficult it is for him to wield at first. His whole body is shaking from the effort. Now keep watching. Note how his shirt is starting to droop. His biceps and pectorals are inflating. Surprised? I thought you might be. He’s becoming quite ... jacked, wouldn’t you say? Forgive the pun. It seemed appropriate at the time. You’ll note how his complexion is changing. His skin is gaining more color Dirt and dust are flying all over his shoes and pants. Ah, and there it is. See how the material shifts. No more sneakers for this worker. Thick, sturdy construction boots are the way to go. Steel toes glinting dully under the coat of dust. Ah, and there go the features. His jaw really is shaping up now, wouldn’t you say? So ... rugged. Ah, forgive me. It seems I may have crossed wires. Ah well. It plays into the role he’s taking, anyways, so it’s no true loss. Yes, that’s at least a month’s worth of beard growing in at once. What more did you expect? Ah, and there goes the shirt now. Note how it’s paling more and more, getting so tight against his skin. Ah, but it’s such a hot day, isn’t it? Why would a hard laborer burden himself with such long sleeves, especially when they’re so constricting on his arms? And there we go. The shirt is gone now, and much the better for it. I see you gaping now. Or is that perhaps a bit of drool? I’ll hail him, if you like. Just wait till you see how he reacts. Hey, Brute! Ah, and there it is, my favorite part. Look at that smile. See that bicep tense and swell as he flexes for us. He knows what he is now, and he revels in it. A worn snapback, some protective goggles, a pair of earmuffs to dampen the noise, and he’s finished. Tell me, do you like what you see? Do you enjoy his burly frame? Did you enjoy watching him change? I thought you might have. *Chuckle* Just wait until he starts it up again....

Well That Just Happened

Someone named Alphapuphypnous sent me a message just a short while ago with a hypno gif as the main attachment. I worried he may have been trying to hypnotize me or that it was a spam bot, so I rapidly typed a response to get the gif out of view on the message box as I typed. I basically warned the guy I don’t take kindly to people trying to hypnotize me without permission and then warned him or her I’d report them to tumblr if such a thing repeated itself. I explained it was out of courtesy and not hostility that I mentioned this, since I figured they may have just been overly exuberant in wanting to talk with me. The user responded rapidly with apologies and saying they were meaning to type to someone else. The curious thing is that shortly after the person wrote this apology, the account was deactivated. That seems highly suspicious to me, especially given the nature of the blog itself, when I checked it out to see what it was about. In case you were wondering, it was all about hypnotizing to enslave those who follow the hypnosis prompts. I checked my follower list and this person had also just begun following me. I’m not sure if the infamous Trey was trying to get me or if it was a sincere mistake, but as I’ve said before, be careful guys. You never know who you’re dealing with or what they may try to do to you. Given the closeness of the name to a previous account identified as him, I’m inclined to believe it may have been Trey thinking I might be an easy mark for him to put under. Please be careful, guys.

You’ve heard of the magic red boots that forced their wearer to dance. Well, bro, these here are magic sneaks that force a bro to LIFT! Think you’re progressing now? Just wait till that curse settles in. You won’t be able to think of anything else. ... But bro, seriously, why would you want to? Welcome to your new home, bro.

Ringing Out the old Ringing in the New

Augh. Where am I? “Jim, allow me to introduce Christopher Williams, one of our most successful beta testers to the program, by far. Christopher, why don’t you say hello?” “’Sup, bro?” Wait, did I just say that? “James, are you insane? This man is clearly engaged! We told you, no outside attachments!” “And there are none, if you would just let me explain. The ring is a symbol of being bound to one’s love, essentially making the connection to a particular entity more permanent, yes?” “Obviously.” “Good. Now watch. Christopher, could you tell me who your first love is?” “Uh, the gym? Is this like a trick question or something, Prof.?” The hell...? What am I doing here? Why am I sitting in front of these men? And ... why are my clothes feeling so tight? “And why are you wearing that ring?” “Guys and girls keep askin’ me out. It’s kinda annoying.” “And why is it annoying?” “’Cause I love the gym. Pumping reps, breaking goals, making gains. It feels so fuckin’ good.” Am I ...? Oh no. Please don’t ask me to stand up. Actually, please just pinch me or something. Wake me up! “Thank you, Christopher.” “Uh, Prof., can we just drop it to Chris?” Excuse me? “If that’s what you want.” “I do. Can I go back to the gym now? I was in the middle of a set, when you called me here.” Gym? What’s he ... I ... talking about? I only just started the program. “Not yet, Chris. Jim needs a demonstration of your progress.” Why am I smiling? “Wadaya need?” “Could you perhaps give us a bit of a show?” “Huhuhuh... Brought me to show off, huh? Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” What’s happening? Am I...? HOLY CRAP! Is that me? What the hell? Well, I guess that explains the clamminess in my armpits, but ... whoa. I look like a freaking bodybuilder! I ... I can see my fucking pectorals! ... wait. Fucking? “Fuck, that feels good.” “As you can see, the subject takes immense pleasure in the current state of his body. Put him in front of a mirror and his sense of vanity will reinforce the positive effects of his changes.” “How do you like this, Prof.?” Holy--! My arms look like a soccer ball and a softball had babies! I’m-- “I’m ripped.” “Yes, Chris, you are.” Ohhhhh ... fuck, why does it feel so good to flex? “You’ve been ripping for a while now, haven’t you?” “Uhuh....” “Getting shredded.” “Yuh....” “Shredding and repairing, tearing and rearranging.” “Fuckin’ ace. Huhuhuh....” What’s huhuhappening? “What are you, Chris?” “A gym-obsessed musclehead, sir.” I’m a what now? “And what do you do?” “I flex and I grow. It feels so fuckin’ good to work out. I wanna be bigger.” “And nothing else?” “Uh ... what else is there?” Try reading a ... Um ... Okay, how about ...? Will you just--?! O-oh.... ohhhhh... do that again.... “Then you’ll keep going to the gym, even after this trial is complete?” “Uh, ... yeah. Why shouldn’t I?” Fitness is good, but ... Mmm ... what was I ...? I was saying ... Fitness is good. Yeah. And then ... uh ... uh ... Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......... “Fitness is good.” “That’s right, Chris. Fitness is good.” “The subject appears to have difficulty holding sophisticated discussion, James.” “Better that than dealing with being obese.” Fitness is good. Flexing is good. Muscle is good. So ... so fuckin’ good... Good to... I need to... Can’t... Must--! “Uh ... can I go back to the gym now? I need to work out.” “The drain in IQ is a bit much, isn’t it?” “I think he’ll do fine.” “Is there any way we can lessen it?” “Not at this time. That being said, he’s been the most diligent of all our subjects. Perhaps we simply need to reduce exposure.” Flex. Grow. Muscle. Flex. Pump. Flex. Lift. Lift. LIFT! “Chris, what are you doing?” “Gotta lift, Prof. Huhuh. And you make a perfect dumbbell. Huhuhuhuhuhuh...” Huhuhuhuhuhuh.... “... Perhaps I gave him a little too much love of the gym.” “No, you think?”

A Well-tuned Machine

“On your way to the gym?” The young man looked down at you as you approached and pushed the button to call the elevator. He couldn’t have been much older than twenty. “Nah,” he responded. I’ve been pushing sups for the last six hours in a cramped booth. It’s time to get back to my room and unwind with a little me time.” “You can have me time at the gym, too, though, can’t you?” “It’s not the same.” He shook his head. “Of course it is. I’ve seen you there loads of times!” “You must be mistaken.” “No, I’m quite positive. Sounds like somebody needs a tuneup.” The light faded from the man’s eyes as his shoulders slumped and he stared ahead. “Muscle Machine 624 awaiting orders,” he said in a dim monotone. “Initiate maintenance tuneup protocol.” The man raised an arm and replicated a mechanical whirr with his mouth as he flexed it, showing off the many veins that stood out over the taut and ballooning muscle. Soon the second rose to join its sibling and he posed rigidly in place. “624, you will go the gym today and you will enjoy it. The gym is relaxing and exciting and fun. You love the gym. You will never miss the chance to go to the gym and keep earning more gains. Because that is your purpose as a muscle machine.” “New programming acknowledged. 624 will execute command prompt.” He nodded slightly and the doors opened with their usual chimes. “Come along, 624. Time to go. I’ll load you with programming on the way to the gym.” “Yes. I am a muscle machine. I obey....”