It seems Callum and his friends are taking the roo on a little adventure to be his bigger and more blubbery self~

Happy Birthday to  Kygen! We hope you have a fun-filled day with friends, food, and family! We appreciate you!

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Artwork:

Story:

Trial by Blubber

“Callum, I’m serious, I don’t want you doing anything this year. It’s not a big deal and last time you turned me into a tye-dye blimp.”

“A very cute tye-dye blimp. You looked like the world’s largest Picasso!”

“I looked like an inflated fruit roll up!”

“And you pulled it off marvelously.”

“I’m serious this time, fatass. I’m putting my foot down.”

“And I will forever respect your right to obey the laws of gravity.”

“Callum…”

“Kygen…”

“I swear to god, you’re more insufferable than Maz.”

“Oooh, good idea. He can come too!”

“That’s not what I was suggesting!”

“And yet it’s what I’m hearing.”

Kygen sighed. The plump, blue roo had tried (and failed quite spectacularly) to keep his friends from making a big deal about his birthday for the past several years. And yet it always seemed they were intent on making it as big a deal as possible. Callum, Maz, Regil, AB, Luke, Tzin, Dino, Dandy and many, many others had the express intent of doing the polar opposite of whatever Kygen told them to do.

Today was the twenty first of July. Tomorrow, he’d turn the big twenty-two on the twenty-two.

Ringing his thick, sky-blue tail self consciously, Kygen tried one last ditch effort to compel his friend to change his mind. Taking a moment, the roo wrinkled his black nose, let his ears go droopy and made his eyes cartoonishly big.

“Please, Callum,” he sniffed with the sincerity of a Pixar character. “I just wanna have a normal, regular day with no fanfare. No special attention or anything.” He flopped himself against the heavy derg’s belly and nuzzled up against those doughy, blue chins. He even threw in a little lip quiver for good measure. “Can you do that for this poor, sweet roo?”

The baker grinned, awwing and running a hand down Kygen’s ears. “Oh, I truly wish I could, my sweet roo berry. But you see, it’s already a bit too late. Plans are already in motion. Things have escalated beyond my control. The sappiness was a good touch though.”

Kygen’s eyes widened to saucer proportions. “Wh-what does that mean?”

“It means, my sweet, silly friend, that you’re doomed.”

Planting a kiss on the roo’s nose Callum suddenly shoved his friend backwards, sending Kygen toppling into a booth that seemed to have come out of nowhere. The roo crashed into the padded seat, which had been made specially for him. It had light blue cushioning, ornate letterwork inscribed into the headboard spelling out his name and, rather alarmingly, padded restraints embedded in the armrests.

“Don’t worry about the restraints,” a new voice said helpfully. “Those are just if you get a bit too antsy.”

Kygen whipped his head around. Where Callum’s bakery had once stood, he now found his world had been transformed into a beautiful restaurant rich in Mexican decor. The smell of spices in the air intermingled with the aroma of freshly caught fish, cayenne pepper, fried dough, authentic tortillas, and mouthwatering churros.

“Aww, the roo is hungry,” a second voice said sympathetically.

“Well let’s give the birthday boy his first course,” said the first.

Kygen was still trying to figure out how the bakery had instantaneously changed into a completely different restaurant. His best guess was some sort of magic. The voices sounded rather familiar too.

Turning his head this way and that, he finally spotted the source. The first one belonged to a pudgy, lime-green dragon dressed in jeans, a black shirt and an ill-fitting lab coat that struggled mightily to fit its way around a pale green belly. A fiery cascade of feathers crested his head, swaying about in the warm light as he balanced a tray of churros in his pudgy paws.

To his right stood the source of the second voice. A pale orange otter every bit as rotund as his Mexican companion smirked, a giant platter of flan held aloft in his paw. He wore a pair of taut sweat pants and a snug, green jacket that seemed ready to burst off his bulging, thickly furred hide.

“I think he recognizes us,” Tzin laughed, padding over to stand before the perplexed roo.

“Oh gosh, we’ve been made,” AB chittered. “Think he’ll accept food from strangers?”

“I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on,” the roo stammered, glaring at the pair of blubbery troublemakers. “What’re you two even doing here? Did Callum put you up to this?”

“He might’ve had something to do with us being here,” Tzin admitted, spinning his tray of churros under Kygen’s nose.

The roo’s mouth watered at the rich cinnamon smell.

“Does it really matter?” AB asked, letting his pale-yellow tum wobble against the roo. “Or do you wanna just enjoy all this lovely, delectable food, birthday boy.”

“I-I…”

“Don’t really have a choice,” Tzin said helpfully. Before Kygen could react, the pudgy dragon suddenly shoved a pawful of churro into his muzzle.

Kygen yelped and then melted as the taste of cinnamon-laced dough suffused his taste buds. Before he knew it, he’d munched through the entire pawful and was being proffered a cube of saliva-inducing flan from AB that jiggled about as much as the otter did.

Accepting it happily, the roo soon fell into a routine of churro-and-flan fueled madness, his world spinning out of control as his pudgy friends made sure his muzzle never went a moment without something stuffing his cheeks to the brim. Churro, flan, churro, flan. The rich, sugary cuisines very soon began to take their toll on the overwhelmed marsupial. First the lighter blue fur of his belly began to soften, then it rounded out into a ponderous sag of flab against his hoodie. His legs had to spread apart as his thighs thickened and his belly transformed in a warm spillage of gropable, flan-fed blubber that quivered at the slightest touch.

The influx of churros added other flavorful accents of pudge to his figure. A second chin that Tzin lovingly tweaked in his claws slid up along Kygen’s neck. A thick love handle AB exploited mercilessly with his short, sharp claws formed under his bulging arms. His once sleek pouch became little more than a flab riddled divot under the excess poundage of sugary foods he’d been devouring.

Before long, Kygen sank his teeth into empty air.

“Hnnng… huh?” he looked around dazedly, his pale-blue eyes glazed from the sugar rush. “Is that it?”

“Pfft, is that it, he says,” Tzin giggled, sidling up to the roo. His lime-colored lard smooshed into Kygen’s plump rolls, making the roo purr softly from the warmth.

“Poor thing has no idea how much he’s eaten,” AB chuckled, matching Tzin’s belly bump on the roo’s other side. His wide, sleek tummy formed a wonderfully hot pillow for Kygen to bury his face in.

“Why don’t you look at yourself before asking for more,” Tzin suggested, reaching over and patting the roo’s belly.

Kygen’s eyes cast downward. “Oh,” he said, blushing, “I see.”

Where there’d once been only the smallest of hints at a potbelly, a great, swollen cauldron of a gut now resided. Heavy, warm and pleasantly full, it rolled over Kygen’s lap with the grace of a wrecking ball, quivering and sloshing audibly as the flabulous roo whined softly.

“I think we better give him a nice rubbing down before the next phase,” AB advised.

“Good thinking,” Tzin said.

Together, they plunged their soft paws deep into that swollen tummy and began kneading it around. A groan of pleasure rolled out of Kygen’s muzzle as he sank back into his birthday throne, unable to believe how good the faint prickle of AB’s claws or the powerful, practiced kneads of Tzin’s paws felt against his belly.

Within moments, the dreamy rubbing frenzy reduced that sloshing dome of flab to a pillowy mass. Tzin and AB’s paws sank several inches into it, their own ponderous girths rolling over the roo’s in splendid fashion as they worked. Kygen continued to sink into his seat. Feeling as though his very essence was melting from the luxurious treatment. As the warmth of the Mexican restaurant and the spices tingeing the air lulled him into another, deeper daze, Tzin and AB began to swirl in and out of focus.

“I think he’s just about ready for the next stage,” AB said, his orange figure looking like a massive pumpkin to the blissed out roo.

“I concur,” Tzin laughed, his quivering green hide slowly dominating the roo’s vision.

They both gave the bloated roo one final squeeze. “Happy birthday, fatass,” they sang together.

Then Kygen’s world went dark.

When he awoke once more, the blubbery roo felt nothing but piercing cold. Even with his extra padding, the room’s temperature had plummeted to the point where every inch of his swollen figure was numb. Looking around, he soon discovered why.

The entire bakery had been transformed once again. Only this time, in place of the arid, spiced atmosphere of a Mexican restaurant, the roo was now surrounded by a wintery world of ice cream. A vast cavern composed of all different sorts of frozen treats sprawled out before him: Chocolate moose track stalactites, strawberry fudge geodes, an entire wall of blueberry meringue honeycombed with tunnels of red velvet cake. And all of it encased in the crystalline sheen of sub-zero temperatures. He had a vague suspicion he’d been in a place like this before, working as a lab tech in some taste testing facility. But his concerns were soon forgotten when two rotund figures waddled up to him.

At first Kygen thought they were simply exquisitely fat which, in his defense, wasn’t an inaccurate assumption to make when he realized who each one was.

The figure on the right had been cloaked in a puffed up winter onesie so thick, it made him look like the kid from A Christmas Story. His stout, purple form had been covered for the most part, but a round, chubby face framed by a luxurious, faux-fur hood gave him away. Dino D. Dice - sometimes referred too as Triple-D for the proportions of his chest and bowing belly, but mostly known as Dino - gave the trembling roo a grin.

“Hey, Kygen! You’re lookin’ a little blue there! Feeling chilly, birthday boy?”

Kygen nodded slowly, his long feet thumping against the ground as he tried to find the words.

“Aww, lay off him,” the other figure said. By some miracle, the second presence managed to somehow be even wider than Dino. He wore so many coats, Kygen wasn’t entirely sure how the dragonite moved. Luke’s plump, orange visage sat amid a nest of thick, luxurious hoods and scarves, the outermost of which belonged to a brown-furred mountaineering jacket crisscrossed with hundreds of straps stretched over a tremendous, snow-melting belly. A pair of aviator goggles hugged his temple and his legs squeaked under several layers of snow pants as he approached. “He’s freezing, Dino. We need to warm him up.”

“Y-y-y-yesss, t-t-that w-w-w-would be ni-nice,” Kygen stuttered. At this point, the already blue roo had somehow managed to turn even bluer.

Dino sighed, flicking his fat, purple-pink tail in its sleeve. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Better get him a couple dozen X-L sized stuff though,” he said, giving the roo’s belly a poke. “Tzin and AB did a decent number on him already.”

“H-hey!”

“Just telling it how it is, cutie,” the derg said.

Rolling his eyes, Luke stepped forward with a strange-looking snowsuit. It was a bright shade of blue, the color of clear sky, but with an abundance of rainbow paint splatters crossing it every which way. Across the back, in large, colorful letters, read “PAINT-A-ROO.”

Kygen sighed. “O-of course.”

“Know what it means?” Luke asked, unzipping it and holding it out for the roo to slip into.

“It’s something I called myself one time in front of Callum.”

“Oooh, yeah, that’ll do the trick,” Dino laughed, his belly quivering.

“Oh? He gives you nicknames too?”

The purple derg blushed deeply. “One or two,” he said, before quickly changing the subject. “Now the suit might be a little baggy on you-”

“Which is completely unacceptable in my humble opinion,” Luke butted in, his layered-hide sloshing about.

“But you’ll fill it out plenty soon enough,” Dino continued, patting Kygen’s bowing tummy. “Ready for your next course, Paint-a-Roo?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Mmm, not really,” Luke giggled.

Kygen braced himself as he plopped in his throne, ready for the pair to shove pawfuls of different treats into his muzzle. But neither did. Instead, the two backed away, their heavily-clad bodies jiggling against one another.

Each withdrew something narrow and dark from the deep recesses of their suits. It took a moment for Kygen to realize they were paint brushes.

“Uhhh, are you guys gonna paint my suit or something?”

“Or something,” Dino said. He looked to Luke. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

Together, the two began to weave their brushes through the air. At first, Kygen had no earthly clue what they were attempting to do, but then the frozen deposits of ice cream and fudge around their feet began to tremble. The glassy sheen of crystalized cookie dough sent sparkles of color glimmering through the air as the paintbrushes seemed to take command of the elements, drawing three-dimensional lines of sugary dessert in the space before them. Once each had summoned enough material, they set about painting in the framework of what looked to be a very heavy set golem.

It stood roughly six feet in height with the brushes tracing a bowing frame made of red velvet ice cream. An immense, sagging belly spilled over wide-splayed hips and settled atop powerful hindlegs that led into long, broad feet. The arms, molded from chocolate chip cookie dough, were ripe with crystalline flab and dead ended into broad shoulders which led up to a long neck and a tell-tale face.

Kygen, who’d been enjoying the work of art, sat up abruptly as he realized the bulging, lumpy golem they were painting was him. It truly came into fruition when they filled in the gaps. Two slices of white chocolate became his ears, his face an ornate deposit of fondant, his belly a massive deposit of chilled banana pudding, his feet two massive pieces of honeycomb toffee, and his arms and legs a shifting miasma of at least two dozen types of ice cream.

“Y-You painted me!” he demanded, unsure of whether to feel flattered or insulted by the very fat, multi-colored rendition standing before him.

“Summoned is probably a better word,” Luke said, twirling his brush in a gloved paw.

“I’d say he’s better looking though,” Dino added.

“Hey!”

The two padded dough balls smiled evilly, their warm bulk squishing together as the golem took a step forward.

Kygen’s stomach sank as he realized what they had in mind. He tried to launch himself out of his throne, but his added weight coupled with the interminable strength of the golem as it caught him proved much too great to overcome. The fat, insultingly-accurate golem pushed Kygen back into his seat and, with unwavering strength, began to stuff itself into the blubbery, blue roo.

Groaning pitifully, Kygen felt his already bulging middle begin to stretch once more. The letters spelling out “Paint-a-Roo” soon distorted and stretched as frosty cookie dough, cake, ice cream and other dairy products crammed themselves into his overtaxed midriff.

Luke and Dino came up on either side of their creation and began sinking their gloved paws into the stretching blue fabric of that padded snowsuit. Little by little, the wrinkles and creases in the fabric grew smooth around their fingers.

“He’s certainly filling his snowsuit out nicely,” Luke murmured, pushing his hand into Kygen’s yogaball-sized stomach and enjoying the rubbery texture of it straining against him. “A good pudgeball should always fill out their layers properly.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Dino agreed, watching as more and more of the roo golem demolished itself down that moaning, cobalt muzzle. At this point, roughly a third of the ice cream creation had been stuffed inside Kygen, forcing the poor marsupial to grow heavier and heavier.

His stomach gurgled and groaned as it filled with a cool, icy mass of sugary treats. It bulged out over his lap in a proud hillock, trembling against the taut snowsuit and sagging against thighs thicker around than most normal fur’s waistlines. Kygen’s tail had become a fat, bloated column of pudge, curling limply over the back of the throne through a specially made opening. Meanwhile, two ponderous, pale blue cheeks slowly swelled and sloshed up against the arm rests, making the whimpering marsupial much more bottom heavy than he needed to be. Every small movement on the roo’s part brought his muzzle and neck to life with a series of rampant jiggles, layered as they were in rolls of soft, pillowy fat.

Dino extended a paw and gently stroked the roo’s wobbling face. It conformed to his pudgy digits perfectly; a testament to just how filling their golem creation had to be.

WHUMPH!

“MMMMPH!”

The golem slammed another portion of itself into the bewildered birthday roo’s muzzle, briefly filling his cheeks to near bursting before he managed to swallow the chunk of peanut butter brittle and moose track down.

Creeeeeeaaaak. His snowsuit was growing dangerously tight. The paint splatters on it reminded Luke of a circus tent, bowing outward in great swaths of color.

Dino, growing a bit impatient as he stroked that tremendously stuffed tum, took out his paintbrush and helpfully gathered the remaining portions of golem into one giant, delicious ball of frigid treats.

Kygen’s eyes widened helplessly as he realized what the derg intended to do.

Luke, who’d seen Dino form the blob of calorie-laden desserts, draped himself over that expansive belly, his hoods splaying against Kygen’s stomach in a cozy fashion.

“Any last words, big guy?” Dino teased, twirling his paintbrush around like a Disney channel wand.

“Mmmmph,” Kygen managed. Talking could be remarkably difficult when your muzzle had been plumped up to comical proportions.

“Good enough,” the purple dragon said. “Now open wide.”

Unable to resist, the overstuffed roo’s maw unhinged one final time while Luke’s prodigiously warm bulk sank into him.

With the tact of a bulldozer, Dino hovered the mass of sugar and cream over to the roo and promptly shoved it all in as one gargantuan mouthful.

Kygen felt the mass seep down his pudgy throat and sink into his stuffed tummy, which promptly buuuulged outward, tearing small openings in his suit as he felt his figure become completely glued to the throne. His stomach creaked again, echoing under Luke’s figure as it lurched and pushed back against the poor roo like a wrecking ball. Kygen was quite confident he was no longer mobile. If he tried standing up right, he had a suspicion his gut would hit the ground before his feet.

Panting softly, he laid back in his creaking throne and glared up at the mischievous Arctic ice cream explorers. “Would you two mind informing that baker that I’ll be sitting on him the next time I see him?”

“Sure,” Dino giggled, rubbing the six foot dome of roo blubber dominating Kygen’s lap. “Though you might get the chance sooner than expected.”

“Big things await the birthday boy,” Luke added excitedly, jiggling his warm layers off the overstuffed marsupial.

The two blubbery adventurers began pushing Kygen’s throne backward. The roo’s heart almost stopped when he realized it was now gliding along like a sledge. He glanced over one fat-padded shoulder and managed to make out a tunnel leading down into darkness.

“What’s down there?” he groaned.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Dino promised.

“Just enjoy the ride for now,” Luke said, patting that belly one final time. “And have a happy birthday.”

“We’ll see you on the other side,” Dino said.

And with that, the derg pushed the bloated, over-dressed roo backwards into the cave, where he plummeted into the darkness once more.

At least this time Kygen didn’t pass out. He was grateful for that much.

As his bulging gut sloshed about wildly and he spun around and around, his surroundings blurred together once more and morphed from the frigid cavern walls of an Arctic cave to a dimly lit space filled with the flicker of torches.

When things finally stopped swaying and sloshing, Kygen found several things had changed. First, his snowsuit had been exchanged for a baby-blue tunic stretched liberally over his tremendous midriff. Secondly, his stomach no longer felt stretched to the brim. Instead, all that golem stuffing had melted into a plush, squeezable overhang rolling out over his once powerful legs and drooping nearly to the floor. His sides had become riddled with rolls of blubber under his tunic and his neck now bore a warm series of chins that mellowed out his face into an adorable, cherubic profile.

Any move he made as he looked around the new place was accentuated with a jiggle. Before him sat a stereotypical, medieval tavern complete with candle-lit chandeliers, wagon wheel tables, a wooden bar backed by massive barrels of ale and cider, and a crowd of furs dressed in Ye Olde outfits.

Two of the furs separated themselves from the rest of the boisterous group and ambled over to Kygen, who realized his throne had taken the place of honor in the center of the room. Over the slope of his pillowy gut, he watched as the newcomers presented themselves.

The one on the right wore a deep blue vest and quilted black tunic over a rather impressive beer belly. His tunic was tucked into a pair of tight fitting leather pants which accented his blue-and-white scales nicely. A cascade of feathers similar to Tzin’s crested his head, but these were colored a deep sapphire. In his right hand he held a typical wizard’s staff composed of a smooth wooden shaft with a gemstone hovering in its tip.

Regil grinned down at the pillowy roo as he poked that tremendous belly with his staff. “Seems our hefty Lord Kygen has finally come to pay us a visit. How nice of you to stop by, good sir. Have you put on weight?”

Kygen reddened. “Watch where you poke that stick, Regil. I will sit on you.”

The feathered mage feigned horror. “Oh you wouldn’t dare. I’d be squashed flat!” He turned to his companion; the shorter (but no less tubby) dragon to Kygen’s left. “Fortunately we have an all powerful wizard here to help if such tribulations arise.”

The deep green dragon wore the usual robes of his order, which were colored in varying shades of green as well. He also held a staff, but instead of a gemstone floating at the top, a larger darker object sat in its place. It took Kygen a couple moments to realize it was an avocado. Maz grinned as he stepped forward to pat that well-stuffed tum, his mass of curly black hair pulled back into a messy bun.

“I’ll have to make you too stuffed to move,” the wizard promised him. “And trust me, that won’t take too much work given the state you’re in.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what you had planned anyways.”

“Fair point,” Regil laughed. “I suppose there’s no sense in dragging this out too long. You do have another engagement to get too after all and we’ve been given explicit instructions that under no circumstances are you to arrive mobile. Maz, care to do the honors?”

Kygen gulped as the green dragon pointed his staff at one of the casks mounted on the wall. The avocado on the end of it glowed brilliantly and the giant barrel lifted into the air to float towards the already over-stuffed roo.

Regil helpfully provided a funnel which he shoved in the marsupial’s mouth.

Heart racing, Kygen watched as the cask, which read Apple Cider along its side, hovered over him like a looming blimp. Then, Maz muttered another spell to pop the stopper free and a stream of golden liquid spilled free into the funnel.

Kygen immediately began chugging, his belly grumbling against the tunic as he crossed his chubby fingers and hoped this wouldn’t be the year they burst the birthday boy.

Fortunately the cider was delicious. Sweet and very crisp, the roo soon felt his belly begin to rise and swell once more as he chugged.

To either side, the portly mage and wizard kept a running commentary of how big Kygen was getting while indulgently kneading that inflated blue stomach under its tunic. At this point, the roo had become too big to really even be overwhelmed anymore. Instead he opted to focus on the pleasant sensation of Maz and Regil’s magically-infused kneading.

While the colossal barrel of cider drained itself into him, Kygen could feel the mages’ fingers releasing bolts of concentrated bliss that weaved their way deep into the layers of lard around his tummy. Regil’s scaly fingers sank nearly a foot into the plush fur of Kygen’s upper stomach, taking care of the strain that arose around his chest, neck and shoulders. He expertly caressed the gurgling chub, letting it spill like melted butter through his hands. A deep rumble reminiscent of a car engine idling rolled up from the dense, blue abyss of that monstrous tummy, making the roo’s throne vibrate as his immense bulk continued to swell and slosh gravidly.

Maz whispered incantations continuously as he spoiled the ridiculous marsupial with a plethora of spells. Each one made the wizard’s avocado staff glow brilliantly and seemed to suffuse Kygen’s figure with a slightly different sensation. Some targeted his sagging rolls, softening them into chub with the consistency of pudding. Others worked their way into his bulging, blue thighs and over-developed hips, leaching the tension from the muscles blanketed underneath all that spilling pudge. Another one curled itself around the roo’s ponderous rump and blimped out tail, melting away the strain of being squeezed into the throne for so long and replacing it with a lovely breeze.

It went on like that for a good while. By the end, Kygen almost felt sad when the barrel of cider bubbled and gurgled to let them know it was empty. Stifling a soft belch, the roo laid back and got ready for the wave of overwhelming fullness to hit him.

It never came.

He realized the magical sensory overload Regil and Maz had bestowed upon him took care of the strain and bellyache. Glancing up at his stomach, Kygen counted himself lucky for that.

He was massive. Like “world-ending-if-he-were-dropped-from-high-up” sort of massive. His gut absolutely dominated the rest of his body, rising above his chair into a slope of pale-blue fluff and flab easily twelve feet in diameter. It blanketed the lower part of the throne, smothered his legs, suffocated his lap and pushed greedily back up against his chins and muzzle. Somewhere in the blissful massage, his tunic had also torn free, leaving him stuffed in nothing other than some elastic shorts.

The tavern was no longer visible, having been replaced by a sea of robin’s egg blue and a very faint glow of pink as the flesh under his fur shone through his stretched hide.

Maz and Regil both smiled, barely visible on either side of the overwhelmed roo.

Whimpering into his chest, Kygen stared at them with desperation. “I can’t move,” he mumbled pitifully. “Help!”

Regil gripped his staff. “Gladly, big guy. Maz?”

The green wizard banged his sceptre against the stone floor and Kygen’s massive belly jiggled.

Then he felt himself become weightless. He realized he was floating. The throne popped free of his thunderous cheeks and he rolled forward into the air, bobbing along like some wayward blimp.

Regil patted his sagging midriff affectionately. “We should hire him for the next parade! He’d make an excellent blimp.”

Maz gritted his teeth, his staff wavering. “Hey, Reg, you mind speeding things up? I can’t hold something this heavy aloft for too long. And Callum’s waiting with Dandy.”

Sighing, the feathered mage gave Kygen’s tummy one last squeeze. “See you soon, big guy. We hope you find the rest of your special day as wonderful as you are.”

Kygen blushed initially from the compliment, but then turned even redder when Maz helpfully added: “You should know your giant butt is requiring an Imperious-level spell. I usually use those for hauling war elephants around.”

“Thank you for that, Maz.”

The green wizard grinned wide and leaned forward to plant a kiss on that sagging gut. “Happy birthday, big guy.”

With that, the two mages pushed Kygen forward through the tavern.

The roo watched as the world around him shimmered and folded in on itself like a kaleidoscope. It shifted and oscillated, rearranging into contrary patterns for a couple moments before becoming another place.

This one, Kygen knew well. The large glass windows, the sturdy wooden booths, the padded stools lining the glass displays, the rows of confections within those displays and, front and center, a familiar, overfed dragon dressed in a white apron and hopelessly strained jeans.

“Our hero returns triumphant!” Callum said loudly, holding his arms out wide. “A bit rounder, perhaps, but all in one piece!”

Kygen rolled his eyes as Maz’s spell gently dropped him, belly first, on the smooth floor. He sloshed about for a moment while glaring at the baker. “You know, I promised some of your friends back there that I’d squish you when I got the chance.”

Callum got up on his tippy toes and planted a smooch on the roo’s soft, blunted snout. “And you’ll get that chance soon, cutie. But for now, I think some birthday cake is in order!”

On his word, the back doors of the bakery swung open and a familiar, golden horse pushing a cart with a multi-tiered cake clopped through. The steed’s coat flashed brilliantly in the late afternoon light, glimmering warmly over a bulging stomach and ample love handles. Kygen broke into a massive grin as he recognized Dandy, a newer, but no-less-loved companion. Dandy wore a fancy, button-down shirt that strained to encompass his molten midsection. He flashed a dazzling smile at the roo as he wheeled the cake in.

“Hey there, Kygen. Looking pretty well rounded for a twenty-two year old.”

“Doesn’t seem like you have much room to talk, Dandy. In fact, that shirt of yours doesn’t seem like it has much room at all, you overfed twinky.”

Dandy reddened as he came up beside Callum, who draped a flabby arm around the cumbersome horse. “Now, now, children, play nice. We’re here to celebrate, not bicker.”

Kygen stared at the dragon, then glanced back to the horse. “If you hold him still, I’ll squish him.”

Dandy’s eyes widened with amusement. “I won’t argue with that.”

Callum stuttered. “N-now, hang on just a moment-” he said, but he found his protests were in vain.

Betrayal reigned in the bakery as Dandy wrapped his powerful arms under the baker’s armpits, his golden belly squishing against the derg’s backside. “Don’t struggle, fatass,” he said in the derg’s ear. “We’re here to celebrate Kygen, remember?”

Callum grunted and squirmed. “Traitor,” he growled at the horse.

Kygen laughed as he began rocking back and forth atop his belly. Slowly, he gathered up momentum and began a slow, ominous descent towards the struggling slab of a baker.

“Noooooooo!” Callum groaned as the roo’s rounded face and puffed up chest raced toward him. He squeezed his eyes shut as Dandy released his arms just in time for a wall of pillowy roo blubber to slam into him.

The next thing the baker knew, he was on his back, staring up at the ceiling with everything save for his head smothered by rippling blue flab. Grunting softly, he tried to squirm his way free, but found himself effectively pinned.

Kygen’s fat, smug features dominated the breathless baker’s vision. “Hey there, Cal,” he teased. “Comfy?”

“G-get offa me! You great, blubbery heathen!” the derg growled.

The roo laughed as Dandy clopped over and leaned into the roo’s ample shoulder. “He looks good like that,” the swollen steed laughed, his golden belly bouncing mirthfully. “You know, when you cover everything up.”

“Oh, aren’t you friggin’ hilarious, Judas,” Callum huffed. “Can’t believe you’d turn on me like that.”

“And I’d happily do it again, pudgeball,” Dandy teased. “At least Kygen here doesn’t constantly represent a threat to my waistline.” He pointed to the blue, multi-tiered cake. “I was moderately chubby when we started baking that thing and now look at me.” He bumped his swollen overhang around, jostling it against Kygen’s cheek.

“Yeah,” the roo added, wiggling his blimped out figure. “And I was a slender lil’ roo this morning. Now look at me.”

“Anything you’d like to say to us?” Dandy asked, kneading Kygen’s rolled chins to make the roo purr.

“Yeah,” Callum huffed, his cheeks turning blue. “You’re welcome.”

Dandy snorted and Kygen scoffed, but before either of them could say another word, there was a soft knock on the door.

Kygen turned his head, but he couldn’t see over his bulging shoulder. “Dandy? Mind seeing what that is?”

The horse looked over and broke into an evil grin. “Ooooh, perfect,” he laughed. “Cal’s about to have an audience for his roo squishing.”

“An audience?” Kygen said, mystified. “What does that mean?” He looked at Callum, who smiled innocently. The roo paled. “You didn’t…”

“I did.”

“How many?”

“All of them.”

“Ooooh nooo,” the bulging, helpless marsupial moaned. He turned to see if Dandy was still in squishing range, but the horse had already clopped over to the door. As he worked to unlock it, Kygen turned back to glare at the dragon. “I will get revenge for this, fatass. Mark my words.”

Callum stuck out his tongue, his thick tail swishing under the roo’s warm bulk. “Consider them marked, Paint-a-Roo.”

Kygen planted one last quick kiss on the derg’s pudgy muzzle. “Thank you for this, derg.”

“Happy birthday, big guy.”

Then Dandy opened the doors and a wave of furs who knew and loved the big, blue blimp flooded into Callum’s bakery..

The first to enter were faces Kygen had already gotten more than his fair share of that day. First a familiar otter with a ponderous yellow belly waddled in, grinning at just how immense Kygen had become. Then came his partner in crime - a swollen, lime-green slab of Mexican dragon whose body looked like it had the consistency of guacamole. AB and Tzin gave Kygen a couple of birthday pokes before stepping aside to make room for the others.

Luke and Dino came next; the former still wrapped up in his cocoon of jackets and scarves while the latter had exchanged his sweltering snowsuit for a more sensible hoodie that still strained heartily to cover his bowing pink belly and bulging chest. Each one waddled over, briefly smothered Kygen’s snout with their twin tummies, snickered at Callum’s predicament and then cleared the way.

Maz and Regil, now both dressed more appropriately for the current century, entered right behind the others. The two dergs, rippling with abundant amounts of cider-fed lard, planted cheeky kisses on Kygen’s towering orb of a belly, sending a wave of magically enhanced bliss through the roo that immediately softened him up into a quivering mound of fat. Callum grumbled as the softened up marsupial threatened to smother even more of them.

After them, the newcomers came.

The first to enter or, more accurately, squeeze themselves in with considerable force was a ponderous silver wolf dressed in a pilot’s suit. His leather jacket and red scarf fit his slender frame nicely, but the wolf’s green pants looked as though they were about to give under the strain of some cockpit-crushing thighs.

“Shinden!” Kygen called happily, wobbling about. “You came!”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” the wolf laughed. “You actually solved a big mystery for us, you know.”

“I did?” the roo asked.

“Yep! We recently lost a blimp from the airyard. Nice to see it’s been found.”

“Oh hardy har.”

The wolf chuckled and patted the roo’s belly. “Happy birthday, big guy,” he said, before going off to chat with Luke about the best flight outfits one should dress up in.

Kygen huffed and felt Callum giggle under his heft.

“Shut up.”

“Sorry, blimp-a-roo. You smother me, you deal with me.”

“Oh, I’ll deal with you plenty.”

“But then you’ll miss your other guests,” Callum purred, nodding to the door. “Some are even bigger than you.”

Kygen lifted his head and yelped. The face of a tremendous, green kangaroo had appeared, his snout easily large enough to inhale the contents of Callum’s bakery in one go.

“Hey, lil guy,” Duncan said gently. Even at that pitch, however, his voice rattled the building’s foundations. “It’s good to see you’re finally getting up to a proper size. Couple more months and you’ll be set.”

“Thanks, Duncan,” Kygen laughed, rubbing his towering sides.

“In the meantime, I can lease him to you as a stress ball,” Callum offered innocently. He wuffed as the roo dumped more poundage on his face while Duncan chuckled, sending the ceiling shaking.

“I might take you up on that offer,” he promised. “But for now, I thought I’d liven up your party a bit.”

Neither Kygen nor Callum knew what the macro marsupial was referring too until he extended one paw the size of a dump truck into the bakery and slowly opened it. Within, another roo appeared. This one, colored in shades of black, purple and white, was tremendously fat, with a deep pouch and a big grin.

“Izagani!” Kygen giggled. “You’re looking great!”

“Aww, thanks,” the barely-mobile marsupial said, bouncing over to gently bump noses with his brethren. “I’m basically your doppelganger here.”

“The normal-sized Kygen?” Callum piped up from under several rolls of blue lard.

“Exactly!” Izanagi said.

“Shut up!” Kygen huffed. He nuzzled Izanagi back. “Thank you for making it, big guy.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” the roo replied. Then, after slapping Kygen’s gut once more, he hopped over to join AB and Dandy who in an intense argument over just how much the gold horse did in fact resemble a twinkie.

“Now for the second surprise,” Duncan said. The earth shook under their feet as the macro roo shifted his weight and extended his other paw into the bakery. “Everyone knows no party is complete without balloons.”

From within, a pair of pool float furs emerged. One possessed a shiny grey and white hide, adorably round belly and red bandana wrapped around his neck. He smiled down at Kygen from Duncan’s paw and effortlessly leapt through the air to land atop the bulging birthday boy’s back.

“Efio,” Kygen said, feeling the wolf dance atop his rounded sides. “Light as ever.”

“Kygen,” the wolf laughed, “Heavy as ever.”

Callum laughed under the roo’s neck rolls. “You can say that again.”

Kygen grumbled, but his attention got caught up on the other figure sliding down from Duncan’s paw. This one, like Efio, possessed the trademark sheen of nylon skin and a great, rubber stopper in the center of his belly. But that was where the similarities ended. The fox’s plush appearance was colored a brilliant red with a white tummy, darker red socks and a fanciful pirate’s coat.

“And Jac,” the bloated blue roo murred. “Balloons certainly do liven up a party.”

“Happy birthday, Kygen!” the fox said airly, skipping over and bumping his rubbery tummy against Kygen’s snout. “If you give me and Efio ten minutes, we’ll have you floating around in no time!”

“Oh could you?” Callum asked. “It’s awfully dark down here. Nothing to keep me company but this derp’s belly growls.”

Kygen silenced the baker with a slosh of his neck. He smiled up again to the three newcomers. “Thanks for the add-ons, Duncan. Jac, Shinden’s in the market for another blimp. Efio, would you mind bouncing around the rafters to string up party lights?”

All three agreed happily and bounced or, in Duncan’s case, formed new continental rifts as they went their separate ways.

The next two to come in were faces Kygen knew well. The first was a tremendous goat colored unique shades of yellow, green, and orange. He grinned at the roo with amusement. His pudgy, muscled figure rippled under a simple T-shirt and jeans, and intelligent eyes glinted behind his glasses. Kygen knew it was Syc, but something seemed a bit off with the goat’s appearance.

Before he could put his finger on it, however, a cry of excitement from a young fox sitting on the goat’s broad shoulders got Kygen’s attention.

Kid was dressed in a T-shirt and cargo shorts, with a baseball cap twisted backward over his tall ears.

“Kygeeeeeen!” the fox giggled. “Catch me!”

Before the roo could respond, the young fox launched himself onto Kygen’s face, scrambled up over his neck and straddled his wide shoulders.

“Ack! Fox attack!” the roo yelped, jiggling as Kid took a hold of his long ears.

“I’ve pinned you!” the fox laughed. “Now you have to do what I say!”

“Tell him to roll off a poor derg,” Callum mumbled, nibbling the roo’s neck.

“Stop that,” Kygen snorted, trying to swat at the derg. “I’m ticklish.”

“Kid,” the baker said. “I’ll give you all the sugar in the world if you get this lummox off me.”

“Oooh, that’d be amazing,” the fox said. “But it’s Kygen’s birthday. He makes the rules.”

“I do indeed,” the immobile marsupial chuckled. He turned his attention to Syc, who’d been stroking his multicolored beard thoughtfully. “And Syc… you look different.”

“I was going to say the same about you, my friend,” the goat laughed. “You’re considerably...”

“More of a fatass than before?” Callum offered helpfully.

Kygen shoved a roll of lard in the dragon’s mouth.

“Softer than usual,” Syc said diplomatically. “Suits you.”

“Thanks, big guy. And you’re looking heftier. You been working out? Or eating out?”

Syc’s grin widened and then a truly unique thing happened. Another different voice answered from Syc’s muzzle.

“He’s been getting closer with his friends,” the new voice said. This one was higher than the goat’s and filled with good humor.

Kygen watched as the massive goat’s figure began to shift and morph into a semi-liquid essence. The yellow and green shimmered against the brilliant streaks of orange. All around, furs turned to witness the incredible spectacle as a new figure appeared in the gooey, transformative mass of color.

This new figure was smaller and thinner than Syc, though they still possessed a slight amount of pudge. Two thick auburn curls cascaded around an oval shaped face, framing bright blue eyes and gold-framed glasses. Artie the shape-shifting or, more accurately, shape-combobulating tanuki emerged from the combined ether of his and Syc’s forms.

“Hello, Artie,” Kygen said as the tanuki stepped up to him. “You gonna hug yourself into me now?”

“Mmm, I would love too,” Artie murmured, stroking his chin and tickling the roo’s multiple ones. “But coupling with you would be like merging with a dump truck. I don’t know if I’d be able to escape the gravitational pull.”

Beneath his doughy girth, Kygen felt Callum laugh. Syc and Kid also struggled to repress grins.

“Still,” the tanuki said, “You’re a wonderfully sweet roo and you deserve the very best today.” He stepped up and snuggled Kygen’s bulging front.

Although it was for no more than a moment, Artie soon began to soften and melt into the roo’s flab. He only stopped at the last second, nuzzling Kygen’s snout and stepping away.

He and Syc wished the blimped up roo a happy birthday and drifted off together, no doubt searching for other hug-happy furs to merge with.

Kid remained perched atop the roo’s head, his small feet anchored in Kygen’s neck rolls. Together they readily greeted the next wave of guests.

Kygen grinned wide as three immense, cumbersome wolves approached and promptly got wedged shoulder-to-shoulder-to-shoulder in the door. Only after some jimmying and a helpful shove from Duncan did they pop free.

The first one to reach the bloated roo was the tallest of the three. Sporting a sizable paunch and covered in thick swaths of black, brown and grey fur, Sergeant Wolf struck an imposing figure. His body could barely be contained by the suspenders stretched over his bulk and his werewolf heritage contrasted sharply with the amicable personality beneath that hefty exterior.

The second was the shortest of the three. Dressed in a chef’s jacket and sporting a finely sculpted beard over his russet features, Thanatos had more skill in the kitchen than almost any fur Kygen knew, including the dragon nestled under his ponderous chest. A soft orange gut pressed against his jacket, testifying to his fondness for good food.

Psyc, the final wolf, was the fattest of the three. His pillowy, white belly rolled up against Kygen’s right side with the grace of a wrecking ball. It was rimmed with a streak of red along the edge that blended gorgeously into the deeper grey of his arms, back and legs. Psyc rumbled as he and the others buried Kygen in their tremulous middles.

The roo laughed, nuzzling each of their considerable middles. “Fattest wolfpack around.”

“We get even bigger in the presence of a full moon,” Sarge rumbled.

“I dare say we have one before us,” Thanatos agreed, splaying his paws over Kygen’s bulk.

“Nahhh, the moon’s not this soft,” Psyc disagreed, planting his cold nose in the roo’s abundant neck rolls.

“I was the first one to walk on it!” Kid shouted, gripping the flabby roo’s ears tight.

“And I was the first to be smothered by it,” Callum mumbled. Only the top of his snout was visible at this point.

Kygen snorted, enjoying the warmth of the triple lardus lupus snuggle encompassing his bowing front. “I’m sure howling at me won’t do you any favors,” he assured the blubbery canines. “Besides, I only get this big-”

“Once in a blue moon?” Callum offered.

Kygen didn’t have to silence the derg this time because the pack of wobbling wolves did it for him. As a collective, they rolled their bellies over the baker’s snout, drowning out his protests.

“That was a terrible pun,” Sergeant chided. “You deserve this.”

Thanatos and Psyc nodded in agreement, quivering in tandem.

“Either way, you look great,” Psyc told Kygen. “You’ll be the perfect lounge for all of us when we fall into our food comas.”

“Oh joy,” the swollen roo laughed.

“Hazard of being the birthday boy,” Thanatos said, his chins wobbling his beard. “Gonna be the center of attention for once.”

Kygen blushed. “Thanks, guys.”

All three wolves gave the corpulent kangaroo one final smoosh before joining the rest of the abundantly fed furs around the bakery.

As they left, the final three partygoers entered the threshold in a variety of fashions.

Tony, a pudgy, red and orange fox dressed stylishly in a button down and slacks, strolled in while smirking at the sheer size Kygen had attained.

Kent, an equally hefty ocelot with brilliant yellow eyes and an even more impressive belly waddled in after him, a bit more in awe of the staggering sphere of roo than his ruddy counterpart.

They approached slowly, as if witnessing a looming eclipse, while a luminous, green figure struggled to bring up the rear. Toothy, a bright green dino, possessed a stomach that easily outsized the other two combined. He waddled along with a wide gait that forced his legs wide apart. And when he managed to lumber up behind his friends, he didn’t slow quickly enough, leading to Kent and Tony being smooshed between Kygen’s towering wall of a midriff and Toothy’s hefty gut.

“Ack!” Kent yelped, though he didn’t sound terribly fussed. “I’m being smothered alive!”

“Is this what the end feels like?” Tony groaned. “A bright light at the end of the tunnel with a big, derpy roo face in it?”

Kygen rolled his eyes from the drama. “I’m not that fat!”

“Yes you are!” Both Callum and Kid said at the same time, getting a laugh from the well wishers and huff from Kygen.

Toothy, who hadn’t budged an inch, gave his trademark tooth-filled grin, quivering against the overfed birthday blimp. “I think it’s unanimous, big guy. You’re the biggest boy here and no, Duncan doesn’t count. He’s not 95% blubber roo.”

Grumbling softly, Kygen strained against his rolled neck to begin booping Kent and Tony vengefully. “Well thank you dorks for coming to my party. Even though I apparently had no say in it and am several sizes larger than I thought I’d be.”

The ocelot and fox murred, quivering together while the roo smothered them with his heated tum. Toothy continued to keep them locked in place until the roo booped him too. “And you too, doughball. I’m sure by the end of the night everyone will be a little larger than before.”

“Hopefully this place has enough room for everyone,” Kid said. “You already take up like half the space in here.”

“A quarter at most,” the roo grumbled.

Tony, Toothy and Kent all wished the hefty marsupial a happy birthday. Then they melted into the increasingly widening crowd.

Once they were gone, Kygen felt a little wriggle from under his bulging face. Two curved blue horns appeared, then a pair of wide, cobalt eyes, a soft, silver snout and a plump face. Kygen smirked as Callum drew in a huge gasp of air.

“I live!” he exclaimed dramatically. “From the depths of this immense roo, I have finally escaped. His belly is a void that has no end, his neck possesses depths I cannot fathom, his sides-”

“Squish a drama derg that never shuts up?” Kygen offered helpfully.

Callum pondered it for a moment as he popped one arm free. “I like that.”

“I’ll bet you do.”

Grunting softly, the hefty baker struggled to escape from his fleshy prison, but found it impossible. Eventually he sent Kid to grab some help. The fox returned with a bulging golden horse and a feathered, blue mage. Both looked considerably rounder than before.

“Oooh, Callum!” Regil laughed, holding his well-stuffed stomach drunkenly. “I was wondering why I couldn’t find you. How’d you end up down there?”

Callum glared at the swollen stallion beside the derg. “Ask Benedict twinky over there,” he said dryly.

Dandy blinked innocently, one hand resting on his ponderous overhang and the other coyly covering the smirk spreading over his rounded muzzle. “What?” he asked. “I was doing the birthday roo a favor!”

“That’s right,” Kygen agreed. “You did well, Dandy.”

“Well now that you’re all united over my suffering, would you mind helping a derg out?” the baker asked sarcastically.

“I’m not so sure…” Regil mused, swaying on his blue feet.

“You do look better with most of you covered in roo flab,” Dandy agreed.

“You’re both sweet,” Kygen said. “But I don’t know how much longer I can listen to his god awful jokes.”

“Also a fair point,” Dandy said.

“Very true,” Regil hiccupped.

“I’m going to stuff all three of you till you have your own gravitational pull,” Callum groaned.

Deciding the dragon had had enough, Kygen allowed Dandy and Regil to grab his arms. Though not before planting one more cheeky kiss on the baker’s pudgy snout. “Just wait, fatass,” the doughy roo whispered. “I’ll get you back.”

“Yeah, that’s the nice thing about revenge,” Callum giggled as his companions began hoisting him free of the roo’s lard. “It always comes back around on you.”

Once he was completely free, the baker dusted himself off, straightened his apron and shoved a pair of cream cakes into Dandy and Regil’s muzzles, which promptly added several hundred pounds to their abundant frames. As they cursed and swelled, the dragon then walked over and began ascending Mount Kygen. When he reached the top, he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the rest of the party guests.

Each and every single one of them looked much rounder than when they’d arrived. Some were already nearing states of immobility.

“I’ll keep this short and sweet,” Callum said, kneading Kygen’s side under his feet. “Our special blue roo here is the one thing we all have in common. He’s big, sweet, cuddly and a wonderful friend. Today, he’s twenty two and not a single one of us can deny his character. Happy birthday, Kygen!”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” the crowd echoed, quivering the roo around until he turned a light shade of pink all over.

“Thanks, everyone,” the mellowed-out marsupial said. “I love you all and appreciate you being here on this very special, very filling occasion.”

His words were met with a chorus of cheers, belly bumps and catcalls about his size.

When they died down, Callum made one final announcement.

“Also, just a quick question. Has everyone here eaten something?”

A flurry of nods answered him, making the dragon grin.

“Good,” he said, “Cuz that means you won’t be leaving here mobile.”

He flopped on his rump, wobbling Kygen’s belly as the roo watched the revelation roll over the crowd of assorted furs. Some were thrilled, others horrified. Some didn’t seem to care one way or another.

“You know that’s just gonna make you more enemies, right?” the sky-blue softie asked, grunting as Callum slid down to plop his belly onto that thick neck.

“Well it’s happening at your party, big guy. So you’ll be in the line of fire too.”

Kygen paled, but then he sighed and laughed. All around him swelling dragons, bulging wolves, ballooning foxes, rounding roos, doughy dinos, obese ocelots, and fattening friends alike were struggling to keep themselves upright. But little by little, they lost their battles and slowly rolled in towards the tremendously stuffed roo.

“You’re gonna be the end of me, dragon.”

“At least I keep it interesting, roo.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Kygen agreed. “You big, insufferable doughball.”

“Happy birthday, fatass,” Callum said.

The two tremendously soft friends relaxed together as their companions ballooned all around them.