The apartment smelled like stale Cheetos and Axe body spray, the holy trinity of three graduate students in their mid-twenties who’d long given up on the concept of “clean.” Paul sat cross-legged on the threadbare couch, glasses fogged from stress-sweat, highlighter in one hand and a half-eaten protein bar in the other. Midterms were a week away. He was going to crush them. Discipline was his kink.

 

“Paulie! Door!” Vince’s voice boomed from the kitchen. The big guy lumbered in, 320 pounds of jiggling, shirtless glory—hairy gut swinging, basketball shorts riding low enough to flash the top of his crack. He was grinning like an idiot, waving the delivery tablet. “Signed for your weird shit. Looks like it’s from ‘MysticTechEmporium dot onion’ or some dark-web bullshit. You finally ordering fleshlights, nerd?”

 

Brandon swept in behind him, pink silk robe fluttering around his lean, gym-honed frame like he was on a runway. “Darling, if it’s another box of ‘study aids,’ I’m staging an intervention. Last time it was that vibrating ‘neck massager’ that definitely wasn’t for your neck.” He winked, lips glossy with cherry ChapStick.

 

Paul’s ears went scarlet. He snatched the plain black package, muttering, “It’s… for a project. Quantum entanglement demo. Shut up.”

 

They crowded the coffee table anyway. Paul sliced the tape. Inside: a sleek matte-black remote, heavier than it looked. No logos. Just a tiny screen, a directional lens like a TV clicker, and rows of unlabeled buttons—plus a big glowing red “ACTIVATE” and a voice-input mic. A folded note fluttered out: Point. Command. Reality bends. One target at a time. Reversals free. Enjoy the ride. —MT.

 

Vince snatched it first, belly quaking with laughter. “Holy fuck, bros. This is it. The cheat code. I point this at my dick and boom—pornstar cock.”

 

Brandon plucked it from Vince’s sausage fingers with two manicured nails. “Or we could fix you, honey. Make that gut into a waist and give you tits that make traffic stop. Mmm, the possibilities.” He twirled the remote like a prop.

 

Vince slapped his thigh, leaving a red handprint on the pale flab. “Well? We testing this shit or what? I vote we go full freak-mode.”

 

The remote’s screen pulsed, waiting.

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April 7
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