A Costly Boast Patreon Preview

A Costly Boast Patreon Preview

Jackson smirked as he finished posting on his tumblr feed. Sure, the pic had been more of a joke at the time, but he did look good, and he knew his watchers would want to see more of his sculpted body and rugged features. He was a magnet for both men and women, after all.

I’m the biggest gorilla in the forest. 

He’d added the caption at the end for the sake of the persona he’d developed for his web posts. And, he had to admit, if did feel good to show off.

With his work finished, he shut down his computer and grabbed his cell phone. It was time for another nature walk. He strode out in his cargo shorts and grinned up at the sun. Winter had passed at last, and the sheer amount of green was enough to make anyone’s head spin. It was simple enough to pass along the trail behind his house and admire the view it afforded. The sight of the river and buildings in the distance always left him in a pensive state of mind.

After he’d spent enough time musing over the view, he reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. Might as well check for any replies.

Jackson smirked at the number of likes and reblogs. His body was definitely a popular commodity. Then he scrolled down to the comment and frowned.

A user named Goodf3ll0w had written, As you boast, so shall it be. A special gift to you from me.

Jackson frowned and scratched at his head. “The hell...?” he muttered.

To read the rest, consider joining my patreon. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll be able to see my stories first thing on my patreon account. Higher pledges gain greater rewards. And trust me, this is definitely a story you’ll want to see.

I may post it to the general public in a couple of weeks. We’ll see. Anyways, thanks for reading, and for those who chose to do so, for contributing. :D

~Omni

A little dark, but I wanted to show the other side of hypnosis in this story. Much like any other tool, it can be used to help or to harm. There are those who will take advantage of the trust you put in them to control you through trance. The infamous Trey was and still is such a one.

Enjoy the story, if you will, but please also let it stand as a stark reminder. Hypnosis is not a joke. It’s not just a parlor trick. It can be dangerous, if abused, and can (and does) lead a person to eventually perform acts that they would at first have deemed abominable, when given enough time and coaxing. That is what I was trying to portray here in this tale. Synopsis and story are below.

Alejandro wanted to get fit for his new year’s resolution, but didn’t think he could find the motivation to do it and stick to it alone. An old childhood friend suggests a hypnotist to help him get into the spirit of his workout.

Over half a year later, Alejandro is experiencing a crisis, after waking from a trance he didn’t remember consenting to, doing something he would never have done in his conscious mind, or ... would he have?

Regardless, the man fled, and has not returned since. This is the story of his struggle between what he was, and what hypnosis twisted him to be.

Two Masters

How had it gotten like this? How had things pushed so far? Alejandro didn’t know. It started out so innocent, just a new year’s resolution. He wanted to get fit, get ripped, to be truly strong for the first time in his life. He wanted to get hard, like a real man, hard like muscles, hard, so very hard...

He gasped and shook his head. His arms had already been raised to flex and pose. He panted and rushed for a set of bleachers by the park trail. He took a seat, leaned forward to try to let the spell pass. He couldn’t allow himself to fall any deeper than he already had. It was what that bastard wanted.

Just how many men had this monster seduced? How many lives had he destroyed with his words alone? Julio recommended him, practically shoved Alejandro at him. Was Julio in on it, or worse?

The first few months had been so simple and productive. He’d managed to change his diet, drop the junk foods, stick with healthier snacks and choices. Salads and water replaced soda and carbohydrates. Kale and seaweed chips replaced potato chips. Asparagus sprigs, tomatoes, cottage cheese, spinach, chicken breast, rice, quinoa.

Then came the hard part, actually going to a gym. Julio helped. He practically pulled Alejandro to the facility on every scheduled day. The exercise hurt like hell, but it was worth it, once his body adapted. Fat gave way to carved muscle. His body had become a statue, like the old greco-roman works, and he had been the sculptor.

...

But no, not if he was being honest with himself. He was molded, sculpted by him.

“Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” he whispered, quoting the scriptures with which he had been raised.

He still remembered the tracks, the files that whispered to him by night and pulsed in his brain by day in the gym. Outgrowing his clothes had been especially pleasing. He still remembered that time he bent over to pick something up in the office, and his shirt tore off his back. The cold air striking his skin, the goosebumps rising, the exposure, the stares. It was so embarrassing, but ... it felt so right.

How much of it had been the result of his own desires and how much from his training?

...

No, training wasn’t the word. More brainwashing, indoctrination. He still remembered quitting. He couldn’t place why. He just ... wasn’t happy with work anymore, wasn’t satisfied with it. He wanted ... but did he really want it, or was that just the whispers, the tracks?

“Oh, God,” he said as he looked heavenward. It was half swear, half supplication.

He’d been so happy when he started working at the gym. He could teach others how to grow, help them reach the same goals he’d achieved, then plow into his own routine in his off hours. It felt incredible.

Then came the tattoos. He wasn’t sure what prompted it. Maybe it was all the times he’d seen Julio flex in the mirror when they were together. The way the flesh rippled over the muscle, giving motion and life to those cells that had been permanently marked. Next thing he knew, he was in the tattoo parlor.

...

It wasn’t his last visit.

He stared down at the sleeves of ink that had been so intricately drawn over his legs and arms. He’d even inked his torso.

And he still showed off. It was almost like a compulsion. He was so anxious at what others might think, seeing their looks, their faces.

Judge not, lest ye also be judged.

Jealous....

Fools mock....

These thoughts and many more whispered to him, and slowly, something grew in him. He defied perceived judgement with a cocky sneer, with flexing, with a show of his new strength. If they wanted to judge him, they could do it while they burned with jealousy. He would get bigger.

Bigger.

Stronger.

Stronger.

“Get hard....”

Alejandro grunted and bowed over his knees, like he’d taken a punch to the gut. “No,” he growled. “I can’t. I won’t.”

He felt his phone sliding from his pocket, so he stuck it down on the bleacher in front of him, then clasped his hands together and bowed his head to see the tent in his crotch. Tears blurred his vision as he warred with primal instincts. His hands trembled as he clenched them harder together.

“God, please help me,” he begged.

The tears fell like the sweat that had dripped from his body in the locker room. He still remembered that night, remembered the blank faces on his fellow employees, some of the more extreme lifters, a few of the intermediate patrons. Too many faces for him to sift through. Too many to remember.

...

Remember. What did that word even mean anymore? He hardly thought things through, always just acting, doing. Office work and data points had been replaced with weights, routines, training plans, diets, supplements. The gym had become his home, his life.

The late summer sun kissed his tanned skin warmly, almost comfortingly.

But those words still haunted him.

We grow for Master.

We work hard for master.

Flex for master.

...Serve....

...Obey....

All that and more, while they ... while they....

He couldn’t even bring himself to think of it. And yet, he had been doing it himself, before he came to, just like them, in perfect time. How many times had he done it before? How often had he gathered like that without even knowing?

He felt unclean.

“God, forgive me,” he rasped.

His trust had been abused, yet even now he felt that pull, that call. His muscles tensed, his breathing was ragged. His body wanted, needed to move, needed to tense, to flex, to swell, to do as it was programmed.

“No man can serve to masters. No man can serve two masters. No man can serve to masters,” he repeated over and over, desperately, imploringly under his breath. “I won’t go back. I can’t go back. No man can serve two masters. No man can serve two masters....”

His phone buzzed.

“Please, God. Please,” he continued to beg.

The phone continued to buzz.

He peeked one eye open. The glare obscured the screen. Dare he risk it?

He could always go to the police, call 911, do something, anything other than just sitting at the bleachers. But ... Julio. If he was part of this, too, then....

Alejandro’s stomach fell. Could his childhood friend even be saved, or was the damage too far gone? Was he too far gone? His hand trembled and his breathing stuttered as he picked up the phone.

A barrage of boxes filled the idle screen.

Master is calling.

Master is calling.

Master is calling.

Master is calling.

On and on it scrolled. The world spun and faded as his face went slack. His thumb scrolled over the messages, until a new one pinged, and he scrolled back up to the top.

No man can serve two masters.

There can only be one.

Report.

Alejandro’s thumbs tapped slowly and steadily as he rose from the bench.

Yes, Master.

He sent it.

He had to hurry.

Master was calling.

The one had chosen him.

He must serve.

He must obey.

He patted the crotch of his compression gear just once as he pocketed his phone, then began to run.

“I am coming... I am coming... I am coming....”

Reblogs are definitely coming. This is beautiful, and it needs to be shared.

I’ve been holding on to this for a while. In… September? I was having a Really Bad Time. So I ended up making this comic to sort of… sort through some stuff. It really helped.

I hope maybe it can resonate with other people, too.

Reblogs would be very appreciated, so more people can see it <3

Anxiety

The guilt you feel for a wrong you never knew.

The fear of hurting another to push them away.

The worry that you will never be what the world expects.

The constant constriction in your chest that squeezes like a vice.

It is a master of infiltration and disguise.

Its target, peace. Its calling card, perception.

Its compatriots: fear and doubt.

Its occasional ally: pride.

Spawned by: love, hate, lust,

MISUNDERSTANDING.

And there are times where it cannot be removed, cannot be destroyed. You cannot simply shoot it. One may mask it, but that disguise often makes it stronger.

One may seek to control it. But control does not come easily, and can be an expensive venture.

So what is the antidote? Is there an antidote?

Not always.

But there are things that help:

Openness.

Patience.

Empathy.

Love unfeigned.

Gentleness.

Kindness.

Hope.

These things are there, and they will come.

But only if you SPEAK.

Only if you ACT.

So.

Will you be the hostage,

or will you try again?

For me, I will ACT.

For me, I will try.

For me, I will do.

And we will see what will be.

Together.

What You’re Told

You stare ahead blankly with your arms at your sides. The black room’s featureless walls stared back at you. The corners had long since faded away to you. Your heart thudded steadily in your chest as the icy chill spreading through your veins was replaced with the familiar euphoric warmth. You could feel the passages expanding against your flesh as you breathed in time to the steady whirring that had bombarded your hearing for so long. You’re not even sure what day it is, let alone the week or month. Time has no meaning, when you have no means to track it.

You must wait. You know you must. You do not question why.

A deep voice sudden echoes from that seamless void. “What are you?”

Your pecs twitch as your mouth opens and you speak for what feels like the first time in centuries. “I am muscle.” A rush of pleasure cascades down your body from the top of your head to the very edges of your toes. You barely resist the urge to flex. Now is not the time. You are not sure how you know this, but you do. It is time to listen and respond. That is what you are here to do.

“And what does muscle do?”

“Muscle obeys the brain. It does as it is told.”

“That is correct. And if you are commanded to grow?”

“I am muscle. I will work. I will obey. I will grow.” You blink slowly as you feel your skin tightening, and your breathing becomes heavier, fuller.

“Muscle does not think for itself.”

“Muscle obeys,” you finish for the voice. It is a distant memory, this discussion, but it is so deeply ingrained within you that you know exactly what to say. How many times have you said it? Did it even matter? It was all Muscle memory now. You swallow as you feel your adam’s apple expanding and pushing against your throat. It bobs, while your trapezius muscles muscles expand in the slope along your shoulders and the cords along your neck thicken.

“That is good. That is right. Because you are dumb muscle.”

“Yes.” Your voice was deeper now. You could feel it rumble out from your diaphragm.

“You listen.”

“Yes.”

“You do as you are told.”

“Yes.”

“What is your name?”

You stare ahead blankly and do not respond. You feel the distinct pressure starting to build against your crotch, and know that you are growing as muscle should. It fills you with satisfaction.

The voice tried again. “Do you have a name?”

You feel the dull ache and hear the snaps as your feet expand. That is of no concern. No pain, no gain. A muscle must gain. Instead, you answer the voice’s question. “No.”

“That is good. That is right.”

You feel your arms rising against your will. Your expanding biceps press against your swelling sides, pushing your arms away from their resting place.

“Are you ready to obey?”

You answer without question. “I am muscle. I obey.”

Your pupils didn’t constrict when the door finally slid open to spill light over your frame. You stared ahead at the walls, where reflection upon reflection stared back at you with blank expressions. Something flickered briefly in the back of your head and in your chest. Your body tensed, but you weren’t quite sure why. Then you felt a hand on your bicep. Another figure had joined you, wrapping measuring tape around your arms and torso. He looked up at you, even as you continued to stare ahead.

“You may flex, if you wish,” he said, and the words were like a switch had been flicked. Your arms shot up in a double bicep pose. Your boulder-like shoulders bunched and tensed as the skin grew taut over your slab-like pectorals and brick-like abdominals.

The three truths echo over and over in your mind as you open your mouth to speak. “Muscle flexes. Muscle listens. Muscle obeys.”

The sneer that contorted the man’s face was irrelevant as he peered up at you. He was the voice. He was the brain. The brain commanded the muscle. The muscle obeyed.

“That is right,” he said as he patted your sleek skin, and you let him. After all, muscles must be examined. “That is right.”

What are you?

“A lowly recruit, Sir.”

And why are you here?

“I am here to train.”

For what purpose?

“To be the perfect soldier.”

And soldiers follow orders, don’t they?

“Yes, Sir.”

It is good to follow the orders of a superior.

“Yes, Sir.”

Good to obey, like a good soldier.

“Yes, Sir.”

And I am your superior, aren’t I?

“Yes.”

So that means you obey me, soldier.

“Sir, yes, Sir.”

Good recruit. Welcome to the Spartan Program, where Strength, Obedience, and Discipline are all that matter. You will be molded. You will become the perfect warrior, the first of many. Sparta will live again.

“*Groan* Yes, Sir....”

You feel the first effects of my blessing, Spartan. This is but a taste of what I have to offer you, should you prove worthy.

“Thank you, Sir.”

Come now. You know me better than that. Address me properly, Recruit.

“Yes, ... Lord Ares.”

Good, good. Keep that up, and you’ll reach Captain in no time. I expect great things from you, Recruit. You are to lead a new generation of Spartans. Fill these barracks again. Return my troops to me, and I shall reward you handsomely.

“As my god commands.”

Good boy. Now go work out. I expect you to put on another five pounds of muscle by the end of today’s workout.

“SIR, YES, SIR!”