Spiral Fun

"Okay, let me get you a uniform. Wait here."
Holding that pose, Max did, as the rest of the people there, trainers and customers alike, continued mindlessly working out, waiting for more instructions from their master, focused on the music and nothing more...(14/14)

The owner smiled evilly. Perfect, he thought, and this one is already buff. Might make him another trainer so we can expand.
"Stand up and pose," the owner ordered.
Max stopped doing reps, stood and posed, except for his head, which fell loosely to his chest. The owner gauged sizes.(13/14)

"Thoughts are a distraction too. You don't need them, my voice is enough. It can do all the things your thoughts used to. You just focus on the music and wait for instructions."
Max's mouth fell open, but he still mindlessly did reps.(12/14)

My name? Max thought blearily. My name is uh... ummmm.... I... thinking... hard... reps... music... his thoughts drifted off. He continued to pump, but his eyes rolled back in his head, his brain seeming to dribble with mush with the owner's final words.(11/14)

"Memories are so distracting. Bringing up the past, trying to make you think of other times. Better to let the music block it out. Even the little things like your name are distracting, unimportant."(10/14)

So easy to focus with those gone. But there are other things that distract you, too. Like your memories?"
Wha? Max thought, the shock trying to break him from the music and the words. But the owner droned on.(9/14)

"Those blocks are very important," the owner continued, "and the longer you listen to the music, the more those unimportant things can be blocked out. So the more you work out, the easier it is to block out fatigue, to to block out distractions, to block out worries, to block out cares. (8/14)

It goes straight to those portions of your mind that distract you and just blocks them out. Can't you feel it?"
"Yeah," Max replied, finding his attention easily focused on his reps. And the music. And the owner's voice.(7/14)

The music was easy to focus on; he barely heard the owner's rambling.
"Yup, this is state-of-the-art. Everything you need to help get you to the place that you want to be. Focusing on the music helps you do that. (6/14)

"Oh yes, as long as you focus on it, you'll be able to push harder. Why don't you give it a try?" the man said, indicating a weight machine that was open.
Max shrugged. "I guess I can."
Max started working out as the owner watched. Huh, he's right, Max thought as he started working out. (5/14)

"Well, sir, we here at Kirthaven Gym feel that motivation is very important, but that kind of motivation doesn't go far enough, and so we're going to the cutting edge. The music you are hearing is specially tailored to help motivate you as you listen."
Max raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?" (4/14)

"Is there a problem, sir?" a scrawny young man asked as he walked up.
"You're a trainer?" Max was incredulous.
"No, I'm the owner," the man replied smugly.
"Well, yeah, there is a problem. Your employees aren't really helping motivate your customers," Max said accusingly. (3/14)

So far, thought, the experience had been less than ideal. The man at the front desk had been deadpan, and it looked like the trainers were the same. You don't want them gushing, he thought, but doing something to motivate helped everyone. (2/14)

Business was booming at the Kirthaven Gym, and Max was its newest customer. He'd always been a gym nut, but when his friends all started going to the Kirthaven, he decided to give the place a try.(1/14)

Whats that on TV?
"You're watching, the spiral channel."

As he puts on the hat, he remembers a long ago trigger, and falls under control once again.

Another trapped by the hypnoapp

A new wearer of the mental chains.

To turn him into the satyr that he should be, so he could frolic and sport with the others in his new home. (16/16)

Yes, that was right. He let his arm fall against the branch as he waited for the forest to do it's work. To grow him his horns, turn those silly things at the end of his legs to proper hooves, to cover his lower body with good, warm fur, and grow a proper tail. (15/16)

Elias quickly lay down, his head coming up against a bush. He felt the prickling of his branches against his head, but also another sensation along the sides, something he'd never felt before. He reached up and felt at it, feeling his ear grow larger and pointed. (14/16)

But again, something felt odd. This time, though, it wasn't something he could fix. The lights told him that. They told him that his body was wrong. He needed to be transformed. But the forest would provide. He just needed to lay down and the magic of the earth would help. (13/16)

Elias stood, scrabbling that the coverings, until his tank top, sport shorts, underwear, sneakers and socks lay scattered around him and he stood naked.
He sighed, contented, and resumed staring at the hypnotic lights of the canopy. (12/16)

The thing that covered his torso at least was open for his shoulders and arms, but the thing that covered his lower body was tight and strangely starchy. And the heavy masses covering his feet just felt wrong. (11/16)

He just needed to be comfortable and watch. But there was something that stopped that and he didn't understand what it was for a moment. Then it came to him. Somehow, he was covered in.. stuff. Like woven together strings but close to his skin. (10/16)

His old life wasn't nearly as nice. He could just forget it... forget it... forget...
Elias's eyes dissolved into the whirling spirals as his memories of his old life disappeared from his mind. Nothing mattered anymore but watching the patterns twist and flow through the canopy. (9/16)

The colors that the leaves were shifting through, every color of the rainbow sliding through the foliage. It was so pretty. Why did he want to leave? Staying here would be so much better. Where he had been wasn't as beautiful or peaceful as the forest. (8/16)

His head nodded as his brain began to melt. So this was some type of magical forest. One that could care for him and help him get... somewhere.
But where was he trying to go? His head felt very fuzzy. The twinkling shifting lights of the leaves were so very fascinating. (7/16)

I mean, yeah, I've seemingly been teleported from... from... whenever I was before, but why couldn't it have been one of the forest's denizens? He failed to notice that he was losing his memory, the idea of his old home slowly draining out of his mind. He was focused instead on the forest. (6/16)

He'd find the food he needed, mark the trees to ensure he wasn't going in circles, and find civilization, wherever it might be. The forest could provide. After all, he thought, it is an enchanted forest. Elias was puzzled at that. What made him think this was an enchanted forest? (5/16)