Throb (Patreon)

“Please, Mr. Baker. I’m trying to explain this in the simplest terms. You’re not being changed, per se…you’re being overwritten. The ‘you’ that existed before the pulse will effectively cease to exist, replaced by the version that you become.” The unseen figure on the other side of the mirrored wall paused, their sigh audible over the speakers. “Sorry, that sounded more intense than it should have.”

“More intense?” Shawn scoffed, his embarrassment forgotten in the face of his growing fury. He was in better shape than most of his middle-aged peers, still sporting an impressive amount of lean muscle along with a distinguished face and full head of strawberry blonde hair, but that was small consolation after waking up naked in a strange place. He’d been a lifelong jock and had spent plenty of time with his body on display in locker rooms and bedrooms, so while he wasn’t overly shy or prude, he at least liked to know the reason for his nudity. “You just told me I’m going to cease to exist!”

“As you are now,” the voice said quickly. “None of the previous throbs have resulted in fatalities…you’re not in danger of any harm that we’re aware of. With a little time to adjust, most of the outcomes have actually been quite pleasurable for the recipient. ‘You’ as a concept isn’t being eradicated, just the ‘you’ that the world knows. And, the good news is that the world will already know the new ‘you’ when this is all over. Reality has proven to be surprisingly elastic in that regard, and your participation is helping us keep it that way.”

“Is that what you’re calling it,” Shawn barked. “Participation? Like I had a choice! One minute I’m at the office, and then all of a sudden I wake up naked in this room with some asshole telling me about holes in the multiverse and ‘burps’ in reality? This is crazy! What kind of sick, twisted fucks are…”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Baker. I truly am. I know how jarring an experience this is, and believe me when I say our organization takes no pleasure in it. The algorithm picked you as one of the participants this time. If it makes you feel better, there are dozens more like you scattered all over the globe in the exact predicament, hearing this exact explanation. We don’t know why these…throbs…started pulsing through our world, but if we don’t give them somewhere to go we run the risk of reverberation. Left unchecked, the ripples could destroy everything. Literally. Our reality…our whole universe…could be wiped away entirely. Fortunately, we figured out how to direct the energy in such a way as to limit the overall impact. And yes, before you ask, we tried building inorganic batteries, we tried dams, we tried diffusion techniques, we tried animals…” the voice paused again, the tone lower when it finally resumed. “Pointing the throb at people is the only thing that works. I don’t expect you to fully understand or endorse our actions; I’m simply giving you the explanation as a courtesy. If you’d prefer, we can administer a sedative and you’ll forget this entire conversation, but we’ve found that people transition easier with at least a basic idea of what’s happening.”

“How kind,” Shawn sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. He desperately wanted to believe that it was all some kind of prank, or even an elaborate kidnapping. It all certainly sounded impossible, but his gut told him that his unseen friend was telling the truth. Shawn’s instincts had always steered him in the right direction over the years, they’re what led to his abundant successes in the business world, and right now they were saying exactly what he didn’t want to hear. “So this new me,” he asked, his head spinning as he heard the words leave his mouth. “What are we talking about?”

He didn’t like the pause that followed the question, nor the voice’s careful choice of words. “There’s no way to know for sure. Each throb causes a unique alteration in a person’s…”

“Give me the broad strokes, then,” Shawn interrupted.

“Exactly as it sounds. You’ll be a new person, mentally and physically. Becoming taller, shorter, more muscular, less muscular, slightly older, slightly younger…proportional changes, changes in bodily functions…cosmetic features such as eye and hair color, the shape of facial features, the sound of your voice…it could be anything.” The speaker let that sink in before continuing. “As far as the more…internal…alterations, we’ve seen increases and decreases in overall IQ, lowered inhibition levels, improved mood, increased levels of arousal…as odd as it sounds, most participants report being happier after the throb than before.”

“You’re right, that does sound odd,” Shawn said, his heart racing as he looked down at his fit frame. He’d worked hard for years to maintain a trim, tapering physique that was neither too large nor too small. He had a fat, six-and-a-half inches and a perky rear, both of which perfectly complemented his 5’11” stature. Shawn didn’t think of himself as a hunk, but plenty of other people did, and the anxious blonde couldn’t help but wonder what those people would think about the new him. Or what he’d think about them. As he thought back to his last hookup a few nights prior, a vigorous romp with Jennifer from the gym, it occurred to Shawn that he could end up looking like her. He could end up into men instead of women. He could end up attracted to neither, attractive to neither. If what his unseen tormentor was telling him, he could be warped and twisted in an infinite number of ways. And he was supposed to believe that people were happy about that? “How long do I have?”

“A bit less than ten minutes,” the voice said. “I can give you some privacy if you’d like some…time…with your current self.”

Shawn blushed when the implication sank in. He looked down at his dangling log and thought about what he’d been told regarding altered proportions, imagining his package twice as large and then half as small. He repeated the process with the rest of his body, picturing what he’d look like with an abundance of muscle, and then next to none. He saw himself taller, shorter, rounder, bald, hairy, smooth, the visions of his body twisting and unfolding like a kaleidoscope in his mind. Shawn viewed it all with a kind of numb humor. He knew full well that it was the shock that kept it from sinking in, but, since there wasn’t anything he could do about it either way, denial seemed like a better option than blind panic. “I have so many questions,” he said, his eyes fixed on the reflection of his naked, strapping frame. “Why me, specifically? You said an algorithm picked me? Was it just random chance?”

“I don’t work with the algorithm side of things,” the voice said, its mechanized distortion preventing Shawn from deducing anything about the speaker. “I can tell you that it’s not random, but the specifics of how people are chosen vary depending on the dynamics of the impending throb. The warning system picks up on the early signs and sets things in motion based on the readings we get. Because of whatever it saw, you were one of the people it deemed a good fit.”

“How often does this happen,” Shawn asked, absently rubbing his sturdy arms for comfort. “How long has it been happening?”

“I’m afraid that’s classified.” There was another pause before the voice continued in a hushed tone. “I can tell you it happens with regular frequency. It’s like a…it’s like a pulse, but on a massive scale. Every so often the pace of that pulse increases and we get more frequent throbs entering our reality, though no one knows why.”

Shawn’s sculpted pecs expanded as he took a deep, slow breath. He wasn’t going to even try and wrap his head around what he’d just heard. He knew about numbers and finance, not the physics of alternate realities. “So what happens to me afterwards?”

“It all depends on the specific alterations that occur. In many cases, people go back to their previous lives for the most part. There might be a few…tweaks…but their overall day-to-day isn’t that different from before. If that’s not possible, we make every effort to get them established in their new lives however they need assistance. We provide ongoing financial support, find housing, create social networks…whatever it takes. And in the rare circumstance where a person’s alteration isn’t conducive to our reality, we make sure they’re comfortable and cared for in one of our facilities.” Shawn didn’t like any part of that last sentence, but the voice continued before he could ask any questions. “I know it's hard for you to believe at the moment, but we’re not monsters, Mr. Baker. We understand the sacrifice you’re making for the greater good of everyone. Whether you see it that way or not, you’re a hero, and you’ll be treated as such by us.”

Shawn didn’t know how to respond to that. A part of him felt like, with enough time and a better understanding, he would have agreed to go along with things if he knew for certain that what he was being told was true. If he knew without a doubt that the world would end if he didn’t offer himself up, he’d have done it. He understood that hard choices sometimes needed to be made; he just wished he’d been given the illusion of that choice in the first place. “Will I know what happened afterwards? You mentioned giving me this explanation to help me ‘transition.’ But if the world changes…”

“You’ll still remember how things were before,” the voice said. “And so will we, if that’s any consolation. To what degree you’ll remember all depends on any intellectual changes that occur.”

“So what’s to stop me from telling everyone about all this,” Shawn asked, gesturing to the stark white room around him.

“Absolutely nothing. You’re entirely free to do so,” the voice explained, their shrug evident by their tone. “But ‘telling’ and ‘getting someone to believe you’ are two different things. What would you do if someone came up to you and said everything you’ve just heard? That their body was changed by forces from beyond our reality? Would you believe them? Especially when all you remember is that they’ve always been however they are in the moment?”

Shawn sighed and shook his head. He was oddly comforted by the fact that his captors didn’t threaten him, but he knew the speaker was right. They didn’t need to threaten him; no one would believe a word of it. Before he could follow up, though, the white walls began to glow, a low hum filling the room. “What…what’s happening,” he asked, the panic his shock had been keeping at bay finally slamming into him.

The voice’s sympathetic tone was far from comforting. “We’re out of time, Mr. Baker. Just keep breathing and try to remain as calm as possible. It’s usually quite painless and fast…it’ll be over soon.”

Shawn would have explained that the “it” in question was his current existence, and that the last thing he wanted was for “it” to be over soon, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate. None of his body would. A feeling of weightlessness washed over him, and Shawn’s eyes went wide when he realized that he actually was hovering a foot or so off the ground. His naked frame began to resonate with the hum he’d heard, filling him with an intense vibration that was far from unpleasant. He felt a slight rush of embarrassment when his cock surged to life, a response that quickly turned to fear when the rigid organ began to grow. As he watched, Shawn’s aching cock stretched and thickened, taking his churning balls along for the ride as the now-meaty member nearly doubled in size. At the same time, the stunned blonde’s impressive pecs started to swell, jutting farther and farther from his chest until the growth doubled back, flowing out to his shoulders and down his arms. Shawn couldn’t tell if it was just an illusion caused by his widening frame, but he thought he appeared more compact than he had before, with his burly new arms and increasingly thick legs looking shorter than they should. Floating and frozen as he was, the now-bulky blonde couldn’t get a full view of his expanded rear, though the perky cheeks had ballooned enough for their ample curves to be visible even from his limited perspective. What was clearly visible, however, was Shawn’s changing face, the distinguished features taking on a rough, blunted edge. The handsome hunk had never thought of himself as overly invested in his looks, but his stomach dropped as he watched his jaw widen, his nose flatten, and his forehead take on a slight slope. He wasn’t ugly, far from it, but his days of passing as someone ten years his junior were officially over.

Shawn feared that wasn’t the only finale, either. As he floated and gawked at his bulky new physique, a hazy fog settled over his frantic thoughts. Like a switch being flipped, his anxiety fled. A calm, contented bliss spread throughout his altered body, exponentially magnifying the pleasurable physical sensations, but Shawn would have been happier if a large chunk of his attention span hadn’t appeared to swirl down the drain with his fear. Already, the addled beefcake’s thoughts felt more fluid. As he tried to hold onto what the speaker had told him, Shawn found his attention constantly drifting back to the physical, feeling more frustrated than anything else at his inability to get his meaty new mitts on his ample new muscle. Whereas the thought of someone watching him go to town on himself had been humiliating before, now the budding bodybuilder relished the idea. He wanted to be seen. He liked being watched. He’d spent decades bulking up his stocky frame and he wanted to show it off, just like his club of a cock. He was proud of the way the imposing organ could still get hard and pop off on a whim, and he was equally proud of the way his pumpkin cheeks could pull load after load out of man after man.

That last thought caught Shawn off guard. He tried to tell himself the new memories and impulses weren’t really from his impending existence, but it was too late. The glowing room became brighter and brighter until his altered reflection had been swallowed by a wall of white, the intense illumination turning into an inky darkness as Shawn’s overwhelmed brain finally reached its breaking point.

**********

“Goddamnit…why’s this gotta be so fuckin’ frustrating,” Shawn grunted, his stubby fingers fumbling with the tie. The strip of satin looked small against his squat pillar of a neck, the light blue color popping against the burly blonde’s tanned bronze torso. Adding to his frustration was the fact that Shawn knew he’d been able to put on a tie without even thinking about it before, but now he’d been trying to follow the same video tutorial for ten minutes.

“Want me to help?”

“No…I’m gonna get it,” he grumbled, smiling despite himself when Daniel’s lean, tall frame appeared behind him in the mirror. At 5’10”, the dark-haired young man was actually average height, but, compared to Shawn’s new 5’2” stature, everyone seemed tall. The stocky stud hesitated as he eyed Daniel’s toned, brief-clad reflection, his heaping cock nearly twitching free of the tiny thong. The fleshy wine bottle and grapefruit balls were never far from escape or view regardless of what he wore, which is why Shawn usually chose not to bother. But he knew Daniel liked the way the skimpy underwear emphasized just how hung he was. He liked it too, despite a small part of himself feeling like he should be embarrassed to be walking around bulging out of his underwear or against his shorts everywhere he went.

“Sorry, am I distracting you,” Daniel asked, giving Shawn a kiss on the top of his head. Despite their larger size, his hands seemed small as they rested on the muscled shelf that was the shorter man’s shoulders.

“Yeah,” Shawn chuckled, his muscle gut fluttering in the younger man’s arms. “But what doesn’t? At least you get me hard.”

“Such a charmer,” Daniel laughed, letting his hands drift down the blonde’s beefy torso. “Let me ask you the same question, though. What doesn’t?”

“Pussy. And this goddamn tie.” Shawn flashed a rugged smirk, knowing that his coarse language was new but not caring either way. He’d been self conscious at first about his roughened edges, both externally and internally, his days as a primped hunk having been swapped out for those of a gruff little muscle daddy. Where he’d been modest and reserved before, now Shawn was all impulse and attitude.

Daniel sighed and rubbed the burly blonde’s lumpy abs. “Why do you insist on wearing one, then? It’s not like you’re going to an office.”

“I dunno,” Shawn lied. He didn’t know how he could explain his motivation, that he went through the daily ritual of the tie in the hopes that it would one day be as easy as it had been, without sounding crazy. A small part of him still held onto the hope that the fog would suddenly lift and he could go back to the way things were before, but with each passing day that hope dwindled. He didn’t need the mysterious organization to tell him he’d lucked out with his new life with Daniel; some habits were just hard to break.

Shawn still remembered his wealth and his fancy apartment and impressive career. He still remembered going to college and being on the honor roll and rocketing up the corporate ladder. But now he also remembered barely graduating from high school, using his body instead of his brain to make his way in a world that was too big and too fast. Instead of running track and playing baseball he wrestled and lifted, and instead of hopping from one sorority bed to the other he stole glances in locker rooms and “horsed around” with his male friends. Shawn’s unique proportions, his short stature, ample bottom, and oversized cock, made him enough of a sought after commodity to subsidize a studio apartment, until the advent of social media and specialized websites let him broaden his reach. It was nothing like what he’d been making, or doing, before, but it was a comfortable, fulfilling life nonetheless. So he’d become a horse-hung, power-bottom porn star. So what?

It was hard for Shawn to feel too bad about the outcome when it was now all a large part of him had ever known. The organization who’d taken him had explained that people sometimes throbbed into existing relationships, as he’d apparently done based on the frantic texts from someone named “Danny” that started flooding his phone. Now, it was the younger man who had the corporate job and brought in the big bucks, not Shawn.

The altered blonde had marveled at his response, how real it all felt as he remembered their initial meeting at the gym and subsequent years together. Though he hadn’t known the man at all twenty minutes prior, his cock throbbed and his heart longed for the dark-haired hunk. Daniel was half his age but twice as smart, quiet and reserved while Shawn was boisterous and unbothered. They complemented and took care of each other, and while the burly blonde might get naked and get off with others, there was only one person who always took priority. “You get all dressed up every day…I just wanna look good for my man,” Shawn said, leaning back against Daniel’s tight, lean frame.

“You ALWAYS look good,” the younger man purred, leaning down to kiss the blonde’s wide neck. His hands wrapped around Shawn’s hardening club as the organ sprang free, and the shorter stud groaned as he watched himself getting stroked in the mirror. “Especially when you’re dressed like this,” Daniel sighed as he plucked the tie from his lover’s shoulders. He looped the soft fabric under Shawn’s rigid girder and began gliding it back and forth, eliciting a low whimper. “Believe me…I wouldn’t be wearing one of these if I didn’t have to. I wish I could wear what you do all day.”

Shawn shivered as the tie slid along his wide shaft. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? We can make that happen,” he barked, pulling away and spinning to face the taller man. With a surprisingly quick motion considering the size of his stubby, powerful arms, he had Daniel’s crimson briefs at the younger man’s ankles, lifting each of his lover’s legs to pull them free. He tossed them aside and then slipped out of his thong, reversing the previous process and sliding it up the dark-haired man’s longer legs until he was blushing and tenting the skimpy orange underwear. Daniel’s average cock and small, perky bubble didn’t look nearly as imposing as Shawn’s meaty proportions, but as far as the shorter man was concerned he’d never seen anyone else wear the thong better. “There ya go, stud,” he grunted, giving Daniel’s rear a swat before sending the taller man sprawling onto the nearby bed. “This the view you wanted?” Shawn flexed and turned in a slow circle, bouncing his ample rear and using the tie to work his cock as Daniel watched. Instead of being embarrassed, his previous self felt a rush of pride at the pure hunger in the younger man’s eyes.

“Yep…that’s the one,” Daniel stammered.

Shawn nodded at the tented thong and raised an eyebrow. “Prove it.”

Daniel hesitated, his wiry frame going crimson. “Babe, you know I get…”

“You said you wished you could do what I do all day, so do it. You watch me all the fuckin’ time…I never get to see you. Come on,” he grunted, his expression stern. “Get to it.”

“Yes sir,” Daniel chuckled, shaking his head. He took a deep breath and slipped the pouch aside, his face purple as he slowly tugged on his rigid organ.

“Fuuuuck that’s hot,” Shawn groaned, his flattened features twisting into a smirk.

“No, Shawn…I swear to god…don’t you dare…” Daniel trailed off in a yelp when the burly bulldog suddenly grabbed his phone and started filming.

“What? No one’s going to see this but me. I do this shit all day….it’s fine! Quit being such a little bitch about it and keep jerkin’,” he ordered, his free hand drifting to his own oversized organ. “So fuckin’ hot, Danny…goddamn. I’m about to blow just watchin’ over here.” Shawn stroked himself for a few moments, biting at his lower lip while he tried to hold himself back. “Play with your nips for me.”

Daniel went a fresh shade of pink, but he didn’t argue. His abs tensed as he started squirming more, the occasional grunt slipping out as he tweaked his toned pecs. “Is that what you waaannnngghh..!” He was cut off when Shawn’s burly body landed on top of him, the beefy blonde’s meaty thighs straddling his waist as the club of a cock rested on his trim stomach. “I thought you were…just…watching…” he grunted, his hands latching onto Shawn’s heaping cheeks when the shorter man impaled himself.

“Like I’ve got the patience for that,” Shawn laughed as he started rocking his hips. The old version of himself had been surprised at how much he now loved the sensation of having another man inside him, so much so that he didn’t even give a second thought to the fact that he was the one getting hammered instead of the one doing the hammering. The sensation of his muscle tits slamming up and down while his cheeks rippled and his cock flopped was an ecstasy like he’d never imagined, almost making his limited new intellect seem like a worthwhile exchange.

“That’s good news…’cause…I have to get to…work…soon…” Daniel grunted.

Shawn shook his head, pressing the younger man down into the mattress. “Uh-uh. You said you wanted to wear what I do all day, so that’s what you’re doin’. It’s Friday anyway, so who gives a shit? First thing I’m gonna do is fuck a monster load outta you with this fat ass, then you’re callin’ off. If you’re lucky…and we film enough videos…maybe I’ll let you put the thong back on at some point this weekend,” he smirked, loving the taller man’s blushing, bashful expression. “Wouldn’t count on it, though.”