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multiplicationdivision · 8 months ago

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The Road Trip

The theme of this year’s boys’ trip was as wild as ever.

It was a tradition. Pick a theme and let the trip change you. There was never a logic to how it all worked, just the strangeness of the in-between places of the American mid-west generously warping all sense of reality. Once you knew its odd logic, it was simple to apply a word to a road trip. The magic was more than willing to improvise off a prompt.

Last year’s trip they had painted the word “Possession” onto some old empty highway billboard. What had followed was a timeless week of the four of them mixing and matching. Avery pushing his nearly clean-shaven face into Jackie’s, grinning the man’s bearded face as he felt his body align with Jackie’s. Clayton exhaling his cigarette through the lungs of Willie, as Willie napped in Avery’s body in the back of their van. Trading their bodies as easily as they traded sneakers.

That trip had nearly beaten out “Lust”, the year before last, but it was admittedly hard to beat a week or two of endless mind numbing sex. Especially when the road kept bringing them new participants every night, handsome truckers with nothing but pent up needs for them to fulfill.

This year they had pushed the boundaries of the magic. Possession had been the first step towards some truly mind-bending shit and the road had so casually provided. Hell, it seemed to even have some permanent effect once they’d return home. They were all pretty sure that Clayton and Willie had never swapped back, but cheeky smiles from the two were all they received.

“Duplication” was the name of this game.

It happened in different ways for all of them.

Willie (Clayton?) said he was asleep when his twin appeared, whilst the others picked out snacks at a gas station. He’d just so lightly dozed off when he felt another body beside him, feeling the hair on his legs scratch up against another. Felt a head relax against his and an arm lazily reach around him.

The guys had woken the two twins with a pack of cigarettes thrown in one of their faces, laughing their assess off when the two Willies blinked blearily up at them. They had quickly taken to sharing a cig as their buddies interrogated them, prodding the two with questions about their lives. Playing up the game of who was the original and who was the fake, as both of them failed every question on Willie’s life. That was typical though, Clayton had never been a good liar.

The 2nd had been Jackie. He’d gone out for a piss at a rest stop and had come back with another blond double in tow, the two of them rough-housing as they went.

There had been a man in the next stall over who’d given Jackie a look. That glazed over stare of someone who was also participating in some game with the highway, magic and desire reflecting just slightly in the barely working overhead light. Jackie had quirked an eyebrow at him and they found themselves in the stall, the man worshiping Jackie’s cock as Jackie pushed his way deep in and out of him. Jackie had felt some part of himself come away with every bit of precum, watching brunette hair lighten and skin-color darken just slightly to a light tan. Felt the way the mouth changed on his cock and the body mass shift. Looked down at a clone of himself as he finally let go, white cum drum down his own face, identical lust in this other man’s eyes. Jackie had always been the dominant man in the equation, but the guys had waited near 30 minutes for their friend to finish up in there as he bent to his clone’s whims.

None of the others were really sure if anything remained of that other man in their new Jackie, nothing but their boisterous friend in all his blond glory reflected into two. It hardly mattered really, the road did what you wanted it to do and existentialism died out on these dusty roads. Jackie was happy to share, and that man was probably happy to be nothing but the handsome man he’d fucked in a bathroom stall.

It got weird out here.

A diner waiter paid no mind to the many twinned group as she took their orders, even as one of their members continuously stretched his neck to get out the pressure in his neck. Avery just choking out his order of scrambled eggs before he rushed outside, his brains fixing to split.

And split it did, as Avery walked in 10 minutes later, flashing two white smiles from identical heads. They moved liked Avery had always been this conjoined man, sitting down at the table with a half-heated apology about their quick exit. The waiter handing him his plate with a flirty complement to the both of him, both of his face blushing in turn as fumbled with their crappy eggs.

Avery had always been the most anxious one when it came to these warping roads. It was healthy for their group, having a person who fixated on every potential bad way these trips could end. A man who was always checking in to prevent them from going too far, to prevent a good thing from going bad.

The only problem was that Avery took a while to warm up to the influence of the open country. He’d been the last to join in on swapping bodies, enter the town-wide orgy, fuck the moth man. He needed time and convincing, but the energy of this place was always willing to compromise.

He’d been worried about a twin, of having another him doing things he didn’t know about. It made his mind wander dangerously to all the things he could possibly be doing without his own knowledge.

Looking at the Avery’s completely enthrall their waiter with two voices taking turns to awkwardly flirt back, the boys knew this trip was turning out as good as ever. Watched Avery seem to grow in confidence by the second as he somehow wing-manned himself, slipping the waiter their motel’s address as an Avery mentioned that the others would be out for the night. It wasn’t initially the other’s plan, but these trips took great turns when Avery remembered he could boss each and every one of them around. They’d come back from late night partying with the locals the next morning to a happy pair of Averys, lacing up their Nikes on their shared legs and pulling on a tank top that just so perfectly fit over their two heads.

It had been a great night he’d said and they knew they’d likely be back at this town for next year’s trip.

Clayton had been the last to be changed, carrying all the pissy energy of Willie’s personality at the way the magic played with what he wanted. It seemed to enjoy getting a rise out of him, prodding the guy with tastes of an oncoming change before retreating. The Willie inside of that Clayton body had hoped to escape this constant trend with every trip, but not even changing bodies had stopped it. Willie would complain that he’d felt an ache in his head, felt a body beside him late at night, traded glances with a glassy eyed man across a diner.

The other’s just thought it was funny. Clayton (Definitely Willie) always ended up with a nice surprise, judging by the little things left after the wake of every hint of change. He’d complain about the second shape in his shorts, repositioning another cock as if it was a chore. He angsted over not having his transformation yet as he kept up with two conversations at once, his mind multitasking like he never had before. Drawled over the party, all the men he’d made out with that tended to come out much more like him then they’d been before he’d spent a few minutes with them.

He was always this oblivious, continuously wanting for more change as the road gave and gave. It was funny, but also tended to be a thing the others learned to sense. Like an oncoming storm of effect that was more trouble than it was worth to get stuck in.

Avery could always tell when it was time to give the guy some space, convincing Clayton/Willie to head into the next town over to get beers or some other errand when the man seemed to shift the air with the concentrated explosion he held inside. This was always the climax of their trips, the reason their lust of two years ago had coated a whole town and the reason why on their first trip they’d nearly ended up permanently as a fusion of all of them. The fused man they’d become had been a good time, but it had been a mess undoing it.

Clayton/Willie had gone out in the evening to get condoms and the likes when the pair of Averys ordered he do so. The oblivious man wandering out, a step too close to the Jackies leaving them just a little more mousey haired than they’d been before.

He’d come back with a sheepish grin a few hour later, a pack of condoms instead. The five of them (six if you counted Avery’s heads) had been astonished to just see one of him, but it was never that simple. The man holding a pack of condoms was just one of the many who’d originated from some bar downtown, proud in the fact that the original him was still finishing up there. He seemed to shudder every now and then, even as he walked into their tiny motel. Still feeling the others enjoying themselves a few blocks over, every feeling and thought at the background of this new guy’s mind.

They’d had to pick up the rest of their friend at his rundown bar, seeing the disaster that had come about. Tables and chairs overturned, half dressed Claytons spread out with identical shameless faces. The Clayton/Willie they’d brought with them in the van waving over to what he identified as the original, before the original man shambled over, exhausted from releasing days of wild magic out in the span of hours.

The van couldn’t fit the total of eight Claytons in that bar, but conveniently most had been motorcyclists before being transformed so that problem worked itself out. Didn’t stop the original and the first clone they’d met that sat in the back of the van from trading off about being pissy all of them weren’t in the van and being pissy they too weren’t riding outside on a motorcycle. Their half-hearted whining only being interrupted as they distracted themselves, the original taking to noogie-ing and wrestling his double like a little brother in between rounds of the two acting like two guys with one body. Occasionally shouting at their clones riding besides the van outside the window, alternating between catcalling and banter.

They would eventually need to head home, after they’d dwelt in this utter chaos for a little more time. Let the Claytons take their turns with each of them, as the Averys dealt out their two-faced charm in every stop they could find to get more bodies to sustain the lot of them. They’d sate themselves in the week they had left and head back to their sleepy town.

Maybe they’d return back to who they’d been a week ago, but it was never predictable. Except for Avery, who was definitely going to keep his second head. The road played favorites like that. Maybe Clayton would have to get used to being a whole gang and maybe the other two would live in tandem, photocopied men going back to the swing of their jobs without a single question pointed at them, all intrigue muddled by the lingering magic of the endless highways. It was all a matter of hoping really.

And looking forward to next year’s trip.

#identical #copy #clones #shapeshift #male shapeshift #duplication #merging mentioned #personality change #clone by conversion #hivemind

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deiaiko · 7 months ago

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#20.8 Spar

"Are you up for a spar, Viole?" Novick asked after they finished snacking on the garlic bread. He was always competitive, especially when he was introduced to new people. However, Dan and Gyetang also looked excited to join. From what Agni caught, they were curious as to how talented Viole could be to have earned his status as a slayer candidate, which was understandable.

Still, Agni huffed in amusement. His team still chose to train even though he had called today off. Though Agni wasn't against it. He felt like it'd be good for both him and Grace, since exercise always took their minds off things. Bam seemed a little reluctant, but he went along with it, especially after Grace said it'd be a good bonding experience.

Everyone moved to the training area and they made a quick bracket match. Grace reminded Agni not to overexert himself in this spar, even though Agni insisted that he was fine. But he understood why Grace was worried, since he would be too if Grace were in his place.

The first round was Dan against Gyetang. Both of them had improved a little bit from the last time Agni watched their spar. Gyetang was able to read Dan's movement the moment the spar began, and act accordingly to counter his attack. Though in the end Dan still gained the upper hand once he was able to render Gyetang's fuuma shuriken useless.

The second round was Grace against Agni, which would have ended fairly quickly if Grace used his reverse flow control. But since he didn't, he and Grace had shinsu enhanced martial art combat instead. Agni could tell that Grace was avoiding hitting his leg. In a real fight, Agni would use that to his advantage, but on this occasion he appreciated Grace's thoughtfulness. However, none of them went easy with the other, so they dragged out the fight until Agni ran out of stamina.

The third round was Bam against Novick. Despite it being the first match, Novick went all out on Bam by using his ultimate moves as a start. Still, Bam kept up with him, though he kept on the defensive. It wasn't until Novick and Grace encouraged Bam to attack that things finally got more interesting. Novick was slowly pushed onto the defensive, though Agni knew that Bam was still holding back. However, all of Novick's attempts at challenging Grace seemed to pay off, and Agni could see that he was still able to keep up. However, Bam's attack pattern was different from Grace, and one of his bangs took Novick off guard, allowing Bam to subdue him. Even though Novick was clearly still okay enough to keep going and break himself free from Bam, he raised his hand in surrender and ended the round.

Since this spar was for the team to get to know Bam, and everyone knew that Grace was the strongest, the fourth round was voted to be Bam against Dan. Having seen the first round, Bam was able to predict Dan's attack. However, that didn't mean that Bam was prepared to go against Dan’s speed. Bam tried to use reverse flow control on him, but Dan was too slippery to get caught in it. He was used to having to deal with Grace's, so he was able to read Bam's aim. Dan didn't waste time and successfully pinned Bam down to the ground the moment Bam let his guard down. However, it seemed to trigger a fight response from Bam, and he summoned a bang behind Dan. Agni intervened by creating a barrier to null the shot which could cause serious injury, but the bang had already been snuffed out before it exploded. Agni looked at Grace who exhaled in relief with his hand half raised, before calling the match over. Everyone else was too stunned by the outcome until Dan offered a hand and pulled Bam up to his feet. Then Gyetang and Novick finally cheered and congratulated them both.

As they waited for Bam to cool down after two matches in a row, Novick challenged Agni to a spar. It was understandable, since Agni usually was too busy to join their afternoon routine. However, Agni was still worn out from his previous match and a little under the weather, so he aimed to end this one as soon as possible, especially because Novick was a tank which would put Agni at a disadvantage if the match was dragged out. As soon as the match began, Agni activated his lighthouse flow control to stop Novick and teleported behind him. He froze Novick's limbs before he was able to reinforce himself with shinsu, and pointed a knife at his neck.

"Not going easy on me, huh?" Novick chuckled as he admitted defeat.

Agni melted the ice on Novick's limbs and stepped away to the spectator seats. "I would be at a disadvantage, otherwise."

Since it ended too fast, Novick challenged Dan next. Compared to what he had with Bam and Agni, he went relatively easy on Dan. But in the end, Novick still came out as the winner since Dan was built for agility, not power.

As if saving the best for last, Novick finally challenged Grace for a spar. It went as it usually would. Grace was just humoring Novick, but at least he managed to make it believable and kept Novick on his toes. Agni had seen what Grace was actually capable of, after all. Practicing with them like this was actually wasting potential on Grace's part. He would grow stronger quicker if he faced an opponent that was on his level or above. But Grace looked like he was having fun, so who was Agni to ruin it?

The last match was Bam against Grace, which everyone had been looking forward to. Grace assured Bam that he could go all out with him, which prompted Agni to reinforce the barrier that surrounded the training area even more than usual. At first, neither of them made any move to attack, but it was interesting to see the differences in their mirrored stances.

"You can have the first move," Grace taunted.

Bam summoned two bangs and released them toward Grace. They were easily blocked.

"Is that all? I know that you can do better."

Agni thought it was harsh of Grace to say that. A regular on this floor that could control two powerful bangs was already considered a prodigy. But Agni understood the frustration. He himself had been far harsher on his younger self. Their teams were far behind, and would not survive had they lived during wartime. It was a scary thought.

Grace decided to step forward, and Bam switched to his reverse flow control stance. However, nothing happened as Grace kept on closing their distance. Bam frowned and ran forward, pressing his palm in front of Grace's chest. Grace didn't move away from the touch, looking at Bam with anticipation.

"Go on," Grace said when Bam hesitated a moment too long.

Bam bit his lip, before releasing his flare wave explosion. Grace's eyebrows twitched in pain. Even though Agni could feel the wave, it was not as destructive as he had predicted, even with his lowered standards.

"One more time, but you have to give it your all." Grace very rarely used his strict voice, but when he did, it was a clear warning that he was displeased. "If you refuse to, then I will start to go on the offensive."

Bam inhaled sharply and forced himself to release another flare wave explosion that was finally close to the level that Agni predicted Bam could do. Grace covered his mouth and coughed, and Agni saw a glimpse of red. However, Agni kept firm on his seat, since Grace was smiling at Bam.

"That's right, don't hold back." Grace jumped back to create some distance and got in his defensive stance again.

Bam got more serious after that, and his bangs were formed with more concentration. Grace carefully landed a few blows and slowly shifted to offense, while still creating some openings for Bam to take advantage of. Their exchanged blows got fiercer, and it was finally clear that they were having fun.

Not too long after, Bam was starting to run low on stamina, but at one point he managed to sneak behind Grace and hit him with another flare wave explosion. However, Grace saw it coming, so he repelled some of the waves to decrease the damage that he took. Unfortunately, it fired back at Bam and injured his arm. They decided to stop the match then, as Bam seemed really close to passing out. Grace held Bam's shoulders to steady him on his wobbly feet, and gently lowered him so they both sat down on the floor. Agni approached them just in case his help was needed.

"Are you okay?" Grace asked, getting more frantic when Bam suddenly looked like he was having a heart attack. Agni froze in his steps when a red exoskeleton grew and enveloped Bam, healing his injured arm. But Grace seemed less surprised and just comforted Bam until the exoskeleton disappeared.

Agni squatted down next to them and whispered to Grace, "What the heck was that?!"

"Blue Thryssa, incomplete form." Grace looked thoughtfully at Bam, who was staring back at Grace with a confused and scared look. "Your wound healed now, see? It's fine."

"Are you sure?" Bam rubbed his healed arm. He winced, "It's, uh…talking to me?"

"Hmm, maybe I can help you understand it." Grace sat down cross-legged and got in his meditative state, placing his palm on Bam's back.

Everyone else had come closer around them as well, curious about what was happening. A moment later, a transparent blue horn started to form on Grace and Bam's left temple. It surprised Agni because he thought Grace had lost the powers that he had absorbed when they traveled back in time.

When Grace opened his eyes, he gave Agni a look that said they would talk about it later. Bam came back to his senses a moment later. Dan and Gyetang could no longer contain their curiosity and began asking Bam and Grace questions, but the topic soon drifted to more general conversation because Bam was just as lost as they were. Agni called the sparring session over and Dan went to prepare dinner. Bam and Gyetang joined him in the kitchen, and the sight of them getting along together was heartwarming.

Agni took a seat in the cafeteria, and Grace followed to sit next to him. Agni released the fish from his lighthouse bowl to roam around the kitchen, while Grace exhaled and stretched his arms. All the bruises on his skin were almost healed already.

"Well…?" Agni prompted Grace to start talking.

"Hm." Grace leaned back on his chair and rubbed the back of his neck, "After seeing what Bam is capable of, it made me think about how far I've come."

There was sadness in those golden eyes that tugged at Agni's heartstrings. Both of them had been broken so many times that no amount of fixing could bring both of them to what they used to be. Velt came and swam between them, nuzzling onto Grace's arm before settling on Agni's side. Her company was appreciated, and Agni gave her a few pats. Grace smiled as he watched them.

"About the Blue Thryssa though…" Grace stopped himself when Novick approached them and took a seat nearby.

Agni and Grace shared a quick glance. Honestly, Agni would prefer to talk in private with Grace when they brought up their time travel stuff, but it wasn't like they were actively trying to hide it either. Novick also didn't seem to mind, as his attention was more at whatever was happening in the kitchen.

Grace shrugged and continued their conversation, "It was like…I felt my own Thryssa resonate, and it said it doesn't have any recollection since, you know. It felt like I had just woken it up."

Agni hummed thoughtfully, "Could it be that you didn't actually lose them?"

"Maybe? I couldn't feel any others though." Grace tried to do something with his left hand, then frowned when nothing happened. "I can't transform it either."

"Oh, hm." If Agni recalled, the transformation was when they were with the beastkin. "I guess you have to get yourself or Bam to get it from Doom."

"I thought the same."

"Well then, guess I will have to update our plan soon."

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