Overcast, ch. 14: Internal Workings (Patreon)

Sorry for the repost. It occurred to me that, with the frustration around this spacing issue, I forgot to allow mutliple choices for votes AND forgot to set an end date. You apparently can't edit those things after a poll has gone up, so I had to start over. If you already voted, please click those options again.

Alex crossed his arms beneath his chest, the pose accentuating both of the burly jock’s overdeveloped attributes.  Standing with his sturdy legs slightly apart, his thin t-shirt straining against his heavy pecs and beefy biceps, the young blonde looked more like a bouncer than a lab assistant.  His rugged, unrefined features bore a naturally stern expression most of the time, and what he saw as an impending disaster did little to change that.  “I know I’m just the muscle here, doc, but are you sure you don’t want to hit the gym instead?  I’m happy to give you some pointers,” he said, feeling oddly protective of the doughy man currently disrobing in front of him.  He hadn’t known Brady before being hired by the grad student as his assistant, but he’d grown genuinely fond of the bookish brunette during their time working together.  His job was mostly to hold heavy objects in place or act as an extra set of hands while Brady did all the technical work, and they’d ended up hitting it off.  The scrawny man was weird and nerdy and, as far as Alex was concerned, too smart for his own good.  But he was also funny and kind and entirely lacking in common sense, thus sparking all of the brawny blonde’s Big Brother instincts, despite the other man technically being a few years older.  

“We’ve been over this,” Brady said, looking awkward as he fumbled out of his jeans and stood in nothing but his boxers.  Compared to Alex’s burly, athletic physique, his thin arms, flat chest, and soft midsection were entirely unremarkable.  “It’s not about my body…it’s about testing the machine.  I’m simply using the cosmetic enhancements as test parameters since my research has shown them to be the most commonly sought after by people hiring casters.  There’s a good chance the energy we’ve captured was already being used for such purposes.  You should know by now…my appearance isn’t high on my list of priorities.”  

“Uh-huh…suuuuuure it isn’t,” Alex smirked, his smile growing when the brunette’s ruddy complexion went a deeper crimson.  

For his part, Brady actually was being honest.  Having always been more interested in mental pursuits than physical ones, he’d never given much thought to his body at all.  He could count his sexual encounters on one hand, and while the smallish equipment lurking in his boxers was plenty capable, he knew he still hovered at the bottom end of the “average” range at best.  His delicate features could be made to look handsome with a little effort, but Brady had never seen the point.  “Is this where I remind you that I’m technically your boss,” he huffed, smiling despite himself.  

Alex raised his hands in surrender and shook his head.  “Whatever you say, doc.  I’m just pumping the brakes ‘cause I know how excited you are.  I don’t understand half of what’s happening here, but I know a loaded gun when I see one.”  

Brady walked over and gave the blonde’s brawny upper arm an affectionate squeeze.  “I appreciate the concern.  Honestly, I do.  But this is science!  A certain amount of risk is going to be involved, and there’s no way I’m letting someone else bear the brunt of that risk until I’m sure.  I’ve run all the numbers…I’ve put the machine through dozens of simulated scenarios…all that’s left is to try it for real.”  

“Yeah, but we’re dealing with magic here.  What if it doesn’t work the way you expect?  Isn’t that kind of its whole deal,” Alex asked.  “I know you’re smart as hell, doc.  And if this was literally anything else I’d be in all the way, but…” 

“What have I told you from the start?  Magic is just science we don’t understand.  Period.  THIS is how we start to understand it.  To quantify it.  Just think about all the possibilities!  The harnesser has been gathering the leftover, free-floating mystical energy for days now, energy that was just wasted before.  The casters aren’t using it…it’s not serving any other purpose…it just dissipates.  Why not put it to use?  All we’re doing is starting an arcane recycling program.  We’re gathering the magical residue left behind after a spell is cast and making sure it doesn’t go to waste.  What’s the harm in that,” Brady asked, turning back to the machine.  

“I’m sure the BMR has a list.  Casters Inc., too,” Alex sighed, knowing the argument was lost.  

“This still technically falls under the category of ‘researching’ magic.  We’re not breaking any laws,” Brady tutted.  “Once we know for sure that the machine works, I plan on speaking to both agencies.  But,” he said, grinning back at Alex over his shoulder, “I want to make sure you have a chance to use it first, just in case they decide to shut us down.  Not many people get an opportunity like this one.”  

Alex wasn’t convinced it was an opportunity he wanted.  “We’ll talk about that after I get to meet the hunky new you.”  

“Just wait…you’ll see,” Brady said, his hands trembling as he triple-checked the program’s configuration.  The device functioned like a magical x-ray machine, showering him with a burst of eldritch energy all at once.  Since there wasn’t a steady stream that could be interrupted, there also wasn’t an off switch or a way to stop it after things started, so he had to be sure.  As he’d said to Alex, Brady was confident in the specifics he’d designed, as a generically “athletic” body was about as simple as a spell came.  His machine would take the raw magical material and map it to the data he’d entered, then superimpose it onto reality in a burst of sorcerous radiation.  As he’d said, most of the residual energy they’d gathered was likely intended for such a goal in the first place, so even after it passed through the machine’s filtration system it should still prove plenty fertile for the task at hand.  He’d been less honest about the views taken by the relevant authorities, but what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.  And if it really did work the way he thought it would, he was sure they’d overlook any legal lapses on his part.  “Okay…I think we’re ready.”  

“Disagree, but I know you know that,” Alex said, briefly wondering if he should try to knock Brady over the head and haul him out of there.  That would only be a short term fix, though, as he knew the other man would be right back at it with someone else.  

“I’m going to start the timer.  Remember…don’t come back in here until after you hear the snap.  And stop worrying,” Brady smiled, hoping he sounded convincing.  “It’ll be fine.  Now get out of here…we’ve only got twenty seconds.”  

Brady darted over in front of the machine while Alex lumbered out of the room, his heart racing as he mentally counted down.  No matter what happened, in a handful of seconds his life was likely going to be drastically altered, but by the time he had a second thought it was too late.  The room rang with a loud, electrical cracking, a bright flash momentarily blinding the dazed brunette.  He’d braced himself for pain, but all he felt as his starry vision cleared was a pleasant, whole-body tingling sensation.  He was also relieved to see Alex already hurrying back into the room, the beefy blonde’s comforting presence helping to calm the inner anxiety he tried to hide by his outward nonchalance.  

“Are you okay?  Talk to me, doc,” Alex said, stopping halfway across the room.  “Am I good to come closer?”  

Brady held up a hand to stop him and walked over to the other side of the machine, making sure it had fully discharged and powered down.  “Yep…you’re good,” he said, letting out the breath he’d been holding.  “I’M good, too.  Feel totally fine.”  

Alex’s worried expression thawed only slightly.  “Should you look the same?  ‘Cause I don’t see any difference.”  

Brady nodded.  “I didn’t think it would be instantaneous.  The energies have to be absorbed for the overwriting of reality to sink in.  It should happen soon, though.  No more than a…a few…” he trailed off, his eyes going wide and his exposed skin flushing a deep pink again.  

“What?  What is it,” Alex asked.  “Are you…uh, oh,” he said, breaking off in a chuckle when he saw the front of Brady’s boxers bouncing.  He politely averted his eyes when the brunette’s rigid five inches shot through the fly a moment later.  “Is that supposed to be happening or are you just happier than usual to see me?”  

“To be expected,” Brady said, clearing his throat to hide his embarrassed tone.  “Considering the changes, I’d be surprised if it didn’t.” 

“Hey, at least you know it didn’t get messed up in the process,” Alex grinned.  “And I guess that means it’s…it’s…holy shit,” he gasped, his eyes going wide.  “Doc…it’s…it’s working!  Look at yourself!”  He darted across the room and wheeled the full length mirror over, letting the stunned brunette watch as his dumpy frame began to solidify.  

The changes were gradual at first, with a steady melting of Brady’s softer areas.  His doughy midsection and small love handles drew inwards while channels of definition began to emerge, outlining a set of modest pecs and the faint traces of budding abs.  As those channels deepened, muscle began to form in earnest, with the brunette’s shoulders pushing outward to make space for the sculpted pecs that blossomed between them.  The muscled mounds weren’t massive like Alex’s, nor were Brady’s chiseled new arms as large and imposing, but the change was remarkable nonetheless.  Instead of a dumpy nerd with a below average body, the brunette now had the lean, shredded physique of a rock-climber.  Even his face had hardened, now requiring no effort to look striking as its razor cheekbones, plump lips, and sharp jaw stood out on their own.  

“This…this is amazing,” Brady stammered, giving one of his steely new arms a tentative flex while the other hand prodded at his newborn abs.  

“Gettin’ a booty, too,” Alex whistled, nodding at the other man’s now-perky backside.  

The brunette blushed again as he turned, his exposed cock twitching at the sight of his new profile.  The once-loose boxers were now tight around his sturdy thighs, hugging the solid cheeks straining against them.  “Wow.  Never had one of those before,” he chuckled, squeezing the growing globes.  “Might need some new pants.”  

“No ‘might’ about it, doc.  That thing’s thick,” Alex said, his smile faltering slightly.  “Is it still getting bigger?”  

Brady’s heart started racing as he felt the plump backside push into his hands.  The rest of the changes appeared to have stopped, but the growth at his rear showed no signs of slowing.  He also wasn’t sure if it was simply due to the fly being pulled wide open by the straining boxers, but his cock suddenly struck him as larger than it had been.  “I…I think it is,” he stammered.  

“And, uh, how big is it going to get,” Alex asked, blushing along with his friend as he stared at Brady’s twitching rod.  He confirmed the other man’s suspicions with an awkward nod in the aching organ’s direction.  “Might just be my imagination, but I think your dick’s getting in on the action.”  

“I…I thought so too,” Brady said, his mind racing for a solution.  “I need to check the filtration system to see if something went wrong there.  Or maybe a…” he was cut off by a loud tearing sound as his boxers gave way, letting out a shocked gasp at the sensation of his heavy pumpkins bouncing free. 

“Fuck, doc!  Those things are huge,” Alex barked, unable to hold back the surprised exclamation.  The plump, heaping pillows looked abnormally large against the rest of Brady’s otherwise lean, ripped frame, and they were quickly approaching “impossible” proportions.  “What can I do?!”  

“I…I don’t know…” Brady grunted, falling forward against the machine for support.  He could see the reflection of his swelling globes in his periphery, the freakish balloons looming as a pair of gravity defying melons from his lower back.  They jutted out like a shelf, fighting with each other for space and rippling into motion at his slightest movement.  He feared the same thing was going to happen to his throbbing cock, but as he watched the below-average organ swell from five inches to seven, then to nine, and then to a wide ten and a half, the growth thankfully ceased.  “Oh…oh god…” he groaned, an aching, desperate need pulsing through him.  The tingling had finally stopped, and he was sure that his impossibly oversized rear had finally settled at its unwieldy new size, but he was beginning to suspect that was the least of his worries.  As he gawked back and forth between himself and Alex, it was taking everything in his power not to throw himself at the strapping stud.  As it was, he’d already grabbed his wine-bottle cock and started pumping, his burning embarrassment no match for his burning desire.  “Alex…I…I can’t…I need you to…the machine it…fuuuuck,” he whined, a pained expression draping across his newly refined features.  “Can’t…think like…this…” 

“Oh, shit, sorry doc,” Alex said, blinking and shaking his head.  The beefy blonde peeled out of his t-shirt without the slightest hesitation, exposing the burly, golden-furred slab of a torso underneath.  He shucked his jeans and briefs next, his own fat log of a cock going hard as it wagged while he kicked free of the entangling garments.  “I’m coming…just a second…don’t know what I was thinking,” he grunted, his feet pattering across the floor as he hurried over to Brady and bent the other man against the machine.  “Can’t believe I didn’t see how hard up you were getting.  Won’t happen again, doc, I promise,” he said, his tone cheerful as he popped his hips and slipped inside the other man.

“HHHOOOOOOOOOOooohhhhh….!”  Brady howled and arched his back, his vision blurring from the overwhelming ecstasy that rocketed up his spine.  He’d barely fucked someone else before, let alone been penetrated himself, but, as the bigger blonde started thrusting, the invading organ brought with it an impossible familiarity.  Brady was beginning to understand what was happening, if not fully the “how” yet, but all he could focus on at the moment was the sensation of Alex’s furry pecs and hairy muscle-gut pressing against his back while his heaping rear acted like a fleshy shock absorber.  

“There we go…I got you…I got you…” Alex cooed encouragingly, wrapping his arms around Brady’s chiseled new torso as he hammered into the other man.  “Fuck, doc, you feel incredible today.  I…we…we’re…oh…oh shit…doc…what…what’re we doing,” the bigger man yelped, suddenly aware of their uncharacteristic actions.  “I saw you all needy and desperate and I just…I just knew about your condition.  But…you don’t have a condition, do you?  Why do I feel like we do this all the time?  We’ve never…”

“Magic,” Brady barked.  “Can’t…not yet…head still…too fuzzy,” he whimpered, his bouncing cheeks acting like blissful batteries, storing the blonde’s kinetic energy and funneling it as pure pleasure into his bottom-heavy new body.  “It’s okay…don’t…don’t stop…” 

“If you say so,” Alex said, his head spinning.  Part of him was fully aware of what was happening, but the other part saw this as their daily routine.  Now, when he thought back to his time in the lab, he saw himself taking a much more hands-on approach.  He hadn’t just been hired for his muscle, but for his cock, acting as lab assistant and boy-toy for the flustered scientist.  Whenever Brady became too aroused, which was often, his thoughts grew increasingly muddled until he got off, an event that could only be achieved with outside assistance.  The overloaded brunette could pump on his pointlessly huge log all he wanted, but nothing would be erupting until someone slipped inside and reset the internal workings.  

“O…okay…that’s…that’s starting to get…better…” Brady moaned, shaking his head.  “Something clearly went wrong…I…I think there was a breakdown in…the filtration…system…” he whimpered.  “These could be elements of…previous…spells that didn’t…get cleared out…or…” he paused, interrupted by a series of guttural grunts he was helpless to hold back.  “...or maybe…mixing the various energy types had…unforeseen…” 

“Feels rude to say I told you so,” Alex said, torn between how good he felt and the implications of what he’d just heard.  He felt guilty for enjoying Brady’s altered existence, especially since the other man walked around with his oversized lower half on full display all the time.  “Oh…shit…” he sputtered when that latest revelation finally sank in.  “Doc…I just, uh, remembered something about your clothes…” 

“I…know,” Brady said, his eyes wide as he finally felt himself nearing the edge.  “We’ll figure it out…just…don’t…don’t stoooohh…stop…”  His ecstatic groan was tinged with humiliation when the same new memories began to surface.  Along with the rest of his impossible alterations, the bottom-heavy new beauty no longer recalled what it felt like to wear pants, shorts, underwear, or any kind of covering on his lower half.  Instead, he walked around with his plump pumpkins, swaying log, and heavy balls on full display, the rigid organ a sign to any interested men in the area that he was in need of their special assistance.  “Oh fuck…oh fuck…feels so…so good…can’t…can’t keep it…” Brady broke off in a deep, choking grunt, his mammoth cock blasting all over the machine in firehose fashion.  The potent release was like nothing he’d ever felt in his previous life, a soul-sucking ecstasy that made his vision blur and caused his addled thoughts to do a hard reset.  Brady had no idea how long he lingered in the post-fucking fugue, but when he came back to his senses he found himself in a heap on the floor, wrapped in Alex’s arms as they leaned against the machine.  

“You back with me yet,” the bigger blonde asked, gently rubbing Brady’s new abs.  

The dazed brunette sucked in a gasping breath and nodded, his thoughts slow in piecing themselves back together.  “Getting there,” he said, rubbing his face as if he’d just woken up from a nap.  “That was…that was incredible.”  

“Glad you think so considering how often it happens,” Alex chided.  “This is so weird.  I can barely remember how things were before, but we definitely didn’t do this, did we?”  

Brady shook his head, his naked frame going crimson when he looked down at his limp log.  “We certainly didn’t.  And I used to have pants, too.  This is…oh god,” he groaned, his stomach dropping at the thought of actually walking around in nothing but a fitted polo, socks, and loafers, his cock springing to life for all to see.  Worse than his exposure, Brady was mortified at the thought of his intellectual peaks and valleys, how he could go from bright grad student one moment to a desperate, horny brute the next.  “I…I can’t actually go around like this, can I?”  

“Hate to break it to you, doc, but I think you can,” Alex said, trying to keep his tone gentle.  A part of him knew he’d been affected as well, that any man around the bare-bottomed brunette would be, but it was a small consequence by comparison.  He hadn’t been forced to fuck the other man; he’d wanted to.  “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t remember anyone freaking out.  I mean…you sure as hell turn some heads, but I can’t say I blame ‘em.”  

Brady took another deep breath, slower and steadier this time.  “The machine did this…I’m sure the machine can fix it.  I just need to look at the data and see where things went wrong.  I think I underestimated the volatile nature of mixing magics the way we did.”  

“The way YOU did,” Alex corrected.  “I’m the one who tried to talk you out of it, remember?”  

“Hindsight,” Brady sighed, reluctantly peeling out of the blonde’s arms.  He went crimson again when he stood and felt the heavy new weights looming at his back and the pendulum swaying between his now-toned thighs.  A wave of dizziness hit him again when he looked to the floor where his discarded pants should have been, where the very concept of covering his lower half had seemingly vanished for good.  A part of him still dreaded the idea, and another part dreaded the fact that he could already feel that fear slipping away.  He had to get his notes down fast before he forgot anything had happened at all.  

And the way his cock had already started twitching, he knew he didn’t have much time.  

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Voting Options

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Option 1: A young hunk seeking endless stamina in bed gets more than he asked for when the spell goes haywire, causing his exposed, enlarged cock to erupt whenever another man touches him.  (cock growth, stripped)

Option 2: A short, thin man who’s tired of being the smallest guy in the room finds his size in a constant state of flux as both his height and weight increase to become bigger than the other guys around him, sparking a matching level of arousal from those same people.  (muscle growth, taller, cock growth)

Option 3: A scrawny, low-level Caster tries to boost his magic with technology in an attempt to make his body a “work of art”, inadvertently linking himself to his fantasy-obsessed friend’s AI art generator.  (weight gain, muscle growth, orc)

Option 4: Unable to afford an official Caster, a man hires a practitioner of “natural magic” in order to get a better body, ending up with a sculpted, hulking frame that needs plenty of sunlight and fresh air to keep from shrinking and withering.  (muscle growth, cock growth, muscle theft, cock shrink, stripped)