Update 4 (Charem: 3327 lbs) (Tucker: 5169 lbs)

Tucker struggled to take in the sheer size of the Shadox shadowing over him, not to mention simply enduring his natural stage fright! Why, the little Poochyena looked about ready to leave the show before he'd even participated...

Ruffer, having returned after his mysterious break, had already anticipated such a reaction from the new contestant. Standing next to a purple mountain, and imagining becoming the same, can be pretty intimidating after all... Ruffer had thus not come back alone; he'd actually stepped just outside the studio to recruit his secret 'weapon'...

A food cart was pushed up onto the stage, its squeaky wheels distracting the nervous Tucker. He looked back, his nose twitching involuntarily as it detected the scent of greasy, juicy meats and sizzling fries...! Iver HAD picked well, as Ruffer knew the security officer would; Tucker was another canine, as expected. As desired. As of course, no canine could resist Nano's Meats and Savories...

Another Shadox, grey-furred and deceptively-lean despite their role, poked their head out from around the cart. ~Nano~, proprietor of their namesake, operated their food cart outside of BloaTV's offices on a regular basis. While normally just serving delicious, if sinfully-caloric meals to the staff on their lunch breaks, the real money in setting up here was the special calls by exactly this show, now and again. Whenever A Whale of a Time needed somebody fattened BIG, and FAST, Nano was ready to provide.

The unassumingly-sized food cart was merely the staging point for cooking. Off-camera, there was tremendous mount of stock - refrigerated meats and fries and...that was it, really~ What else was needed?~ Nano was known for their meat skewers, grilling and marinating and BBQ'ing beef and chicken and pork in all varieties of ways, with a sloppy helping of fries on the side of every dish of course~

Already Tucker had approached the cart, the Pooch's thoughts all but erased in lieu of focusing on those juicy meats... Bacon cookies had been an excitement-inducing treat some scene before, but even that paled in comparison to the pure carnivorous bliss on display... Nano grinned ear to ear as they gave the Poochyena a pat on the head, quickly hiking up onto their hind-paws to artfully collect the currently-cooked batch of foods. The Shadox's odd coiled tail assisted in this activity, almost-prehensile in its nature as it collected, flipped, and presented the juicy, greasy delights down to Tucker, prepping more foods to sizzle while simultaneously (and quite insistently) feeding his customer.

The Poochyena started his meal a bit daintily even so, even bothering to chew a bit... But he soon noticed that the foods were so fresh and greasy that they slickly slipped right down his hungry throat with nary an effort! Tucker elected to simply let the food follow this path of no resistance, which was all the easier as Nano's paw shoved one thing after another in there...

The swirl of different meats all flowed into a savory stupor for the Dark-type, who fell into darkness on all other thoughts aside from consumption... What a good boy~ Nano had at first needed to reach down to feed the pupper, but more and more did Tucker grow and plumpen...causing Nano to simply reach across at his own height before long. ...And before much longer, Nano was reaching UP to feed the ever-increasing mound of Pooch, who somehow seemed to only grow faster the bigger he got!...

All the while, the poor mountain of purple-Shadox was left off to the side, whimpering and wriggling obesely atop his immobilizing gut. He could smell all that delicious food too...and with some real effort, he could even squish and crane his blubbery next around to watch the scene behind him. Charem was MORE than envious of the little Dark-type...though that envy grew into fascination, then intimidation, as the little dog became not-so-little anymore.

Soon enough, Tucker had matched Charem's size...but Nano had yet more meats to feed, and Tucker was LIVING for them now! The Poochyena had smartly elected to lie down and lean a bit as he got bigger. He was more immobile than the original contestant now, but also delightfully-well-positioned for his feeding host to continuously reach his panting, wheezing, starving chops~ Not that Nano would have had any trouble clambering up the many fatty folds inlaid throughout the squishy Poochyena regardless, but it surely sped up the consumption rate~

...The stage began to creak as Tucker shot past Charem's weight in spades, his otherworldly-sized gut casually blobbing off the side of the once-large-seeming platform. The Dark-type's weight was so massive that his gut even scooted the now-dwarfed Charem around, pushing the overindulged Shadox off the platform a bit too! Really, this was...probably a good place to call the event, right? The show was...certainly at a conclusion now. Host, would you...like to end the episode...?

...Ruffer was easy to miss, a small canine amongst a sea of larger canid flab... It would seem the mildly-corrupt host had once again selfishly skimmed a bit off the top of the show's budget, and had indulged on the food cart's offerings himself. He'd fallen partly behind the cart now, his tumby fatter than before. It's likely he'd entered a food coma, his senses too overwhelmed by the powerful scents of meat and grease to continue feeding himself. Such a shame he was the host, and not a contestant, or perhaps he would have some further feeding assistance...

...Ah. Well, if the host is incapacitated, um...

Cut? ...Cut?

$3000 Milestone Bonus Image

Unlocked!

'Cut!' was eventually called for the end of that supremely-expanding episode of A Whale of a Time. After the cameras stopped rolling and the live studio audience was eventually escorted out (once they were encouraged to stop taking so many pictures of the scene on their phones, of course), the crew immediately busied themselves on figuring out how to move not one, but two massive mountains of blubber that were once doggos off of the stage and away from the studio...

It was all such a task that nobody had noticed host Ruffer sneaking away once he'd awoken from his sneaky little post-gorging nap. To be fair, the host's job was done...and while it wasn't exactly to policy how he had pilfered from the contestants' food all during the show, he was still, comparatively, much smaller and much-less-noticable than the dogs the camera focused upon. Ironically due to this, he could certainly get away with the casual thievery of company resources while on set and in front of the cameras, and had likely done so on previous episodes as well.

Perhaps that's why he had snuck away, emboldened a bit too far by his past successes. Yes, yes; he might be the HOST of A Whale of a Time, but goodness, watching so many furry participants get all fattened up certainly built up his own appetite, and maybe a bit of jealousy too. His snackings during the episode helped this slightly, but he still felt his hunger growing all the time. And this time...no, he didn't really feel sated, this time.

Ruffer kept a very low profile - or as low as his gurgling gut would allow - as he slipped into the locked storeroom which held...predictably, even more food. Specifically non-perishables, ordinary but reliable snacks that could be delivered at a moment's notice during an episode, in case fresher and more-exciting foods could not be brought out.

Ordinary didn't mean bad, of course. Ruffer jostled open a crate with a generic 'cookies' label. Yes, this whole crate of cookies would do...perfectly~ He sure did love the bacon cookies from earlier, but that was more...savory a snack. Now, he wanted a good 'dessert' after the show...and what's better for dessert than chocolate-chip cookies?

The fatty Rockruff monch, monch, monched away on the sweet little discs, package after package nomfed into his maw. He was forced to feel around for each next box in the crate, the storeroom quite dark as he had elected to keep the lights off, but this was fine. As was it fine that he likely spread around crumbs everywhere as he aggressively chomped away at his snacks; he couldn't see them, after all, so what did it matter?

The dark cooking-binging would likely have gone unabated to the very end of the cookie-crammed crate. That was how Ruffer had imagined it. What use would anybody have in entering the food storage room AFTER the show ended that day, after all?

Of course, that was the moment the emergency exit door - a door he'd not thought to keep an eye on - swung open from the outside. A harried-looking fluffer, one of the many staff who helped coordinate the removal of contestants from the show, looked around tensely. "Of course the tools warehouse doesn't have 'em..." the frazzled employee half-mumbled, half-ranted aloud. He perked up a fair bit more as he saw the back of Ruffer. "Oy! Host! Have you seen any ratchet straps around here? ...Wait, why are you here anyways?"

Ruffer froze mid-cookie-nibble, swinging his head around with a dumb expression...before, far too late, slurping the cookie out of view and into his snout. Not that the one would matter. The outside-light entered through the door in a line that Ruffer was directly in the center of, a natural spotlight being cast on him...the cookie crumbs around him...the open cookie crate...the packages of cookies littered around him...

Maybe that all could somehow be explained or smoothed-over, if it wasn't all capped off by his huge, hefty, heavy gut. The cookie-stuffed stomach called even more attention to itself as it glorped and gurgled, loudly struggling to work over the sheer mass of bready-chocolatetyness that Ruffer had practically sped down his throat. The noise echoed quite well in the high-roof storeroom, causing the frazzled employee's ears to shiver at the sound.

Looking ever-more frazzled, the poor workman blushed heartily. Perhaps he was held smitten for a moment from the scene, but his brow soon furrowed dutifully. "Heyyyy... Those are for the contestants! Ruffer...I'm gonna have to report this..."

Ruffer pouted at those words. Oh, not again. He sighed...or tried to, till it turned into a crumb-spitting belch, anyways.

Frazzled himself now, and quite upset to be caught, the Rockruff defiantly grabbed one more full cookie-box from the crate and stomped very dramatically past the worker and out the exit door, giving him a mean side-eye and mumbling, "You're lucky you're not a cookie rrrrrumblegrumble urp"

The worker stepped aside as that hefty Rockruff-gut's side squished into him, wisely realizing the host would take up most of the doorway as he stomped out. After the moody Pokemon had left the building, still stomping dramatically towards the parking lot, the worker merely sighed. He pulled out a walkie-talkie, pressing the button and dutifully letting the rest of the staff - including the showrunners, for that matter - of Ruffer's flagrant theft of company resources. It was an open-and-shut case for sure, given Ruffer had also stomped right past the exit door's security camera with that hefty gut.

As he put the walkie-talkie back away, the worker paused in confusion, finally processing the host's weird threat to him. "...I don't look anything like a cookie, though. Or...do I? Maybe a little like a chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips... Hmm. Mmm." he mumbled aloud, still not quite getting it. He shrugged, returning to task and entering the warehouse to look for that jack...

...Though passing the scene of the crime, the worker hesitated...before taking the last cookie in the last tray Ruffer had abandoned, quickly munching it down with a thought. I mean...it'd just be thrown away at this point, right? "Mmm... No...yeah. I wouldn't taste anything like that cookie. Man, Ruffer is weird..." He idly adjusted his tie, his tail now waggling thanks to the 'free' cookie. A self-reward for his dutiful call-in! ...He was sure nobody would mind~

$5000 Stretch Goal Bonus Image

Unlocked!

Ruffer sighed with a weighty groan as he waddled out of the BloaTV storage warehouse, his belly doing its own groans as it churned greedily around its cookie-contents. But Ruffer's groan was not nearly as happy as his gut's. He had been caught after all, and if he was unlucky...

'Vrrrr!' His tail vibrated. He reached into the fluffy appendage, pulling out his cell phone from where he always kept it. (What? He doesn't have pockets.) Tapping it on, he saw the text from the Boss, the Head Honcho of the business... 'Theft of company property? Not enough of a loss that we'll press charges, but it's all on security feed. You're fired.' Yuuuup. Ruffer expected this. It wasn't the first time his appetite had removed him from a job...ironic, then, that it removed him from a job all about eating this time.

The well-engorged dog looked up. His frustratration had made him wander right over to the garage and parking side of the company lot, and there was quite a beefy semi truck idling in one of the exit lanes. Even despite its size, Ruffer could swear he heard its metal flatbed creaking a little bit...and understandably-so. On the back of it, tied down securely, was Tucker the Poochyena. Charem the Shadox sat (or perhaps, flabbily-oozed) on the grass nearby, with a couple workers standing in-between. They seemed to be working out how to load the second doggo-blob onto the truck... Perhaps, stacking? And with a LOT more ratchet straps? The two over-obesified canines seemed all too out of it to complain, regardless; still lost in their food comas, their body's energy undoubtedly still working to digest rather than think.

Ruffer thought for a moment. It was a semi-common occurance after an episode of A Whale of a Time; the larger contestants would have to be rolled out the large semi-garage entrance, and put on a semi-truck to who-knows-where. Their home? They likely wouldn't fit inside anymore. A public attraction site? More likely. Maybe as props for some monster movie? That'd save a lot in special effects... The Rockruff never really thought about it too much during his stint working there. But he had paid enough attention to know that these two blobbo-doggos surely had reached a record-size for the show...

Not that it did his ex-job any good.

Ruffer looked down at his phone once more, switching to another texting window and typing to his Cutie, venting a bit of his frustrations to his understanding mate. Well, he didn't know where those two blobs were going, but he knew HE was going home, at least...

And to a good big lunch, to be sure~ Eating all those cookies HAD worked up an appetite...

$6000 Stretch Goal Bonus Image

Unlocked!

After the larger-than-life duo of doggies left BloaTV's lot, it was just the start of their fame. From brand deals with caloric-stuffed food brands, to late-night TV show appearances (at least for those shows with...larger stages), both Pokemon had gained casual TV-stardom, and captured the hearts of many.

But then the movie deal came. ...They had both begun to slim up a tad over the months, but of course, they were still far too incapable of anything terribly athletic or...significantly-mobile, for that matter. It didn't matter to Strange Beasts Productions, though. The studio was well-known for making monster movies, especially those larger-than-life kaiju movies. They only used CGI for touch-ups, preferring the raw energy of practical effects, miniature sets, and the like. This included actors in suits...and the pair of overfed doggos had truly MONSTEROUS proportions, making them perfect for the part of their latest kaiju-duel movie!

The studio had thought they could manage to shove them into a couple of XXXXXXXXXXETC-Large costumes, but the canids could not be contained! But all the better, all the more beastial, unbelievable, and overwhelming! The effects department was a bit stretched for cash having spent most of it on the custom suits, so a bit of DIY cost-effective redesigning was required... Nothing some spray-painted and well-positioned pieces of cardboard couldn't solve. A few fake horns, claws, crags and spikes...that would work, as the two dogs already delivered most of the kaiju energy all by themselves!

All that was needed was to place them on the miniature (and very-destructible) metropolis set, and let them do their worst... The pair were eager to wobble, wriggle, and stomp about the set! Their massive floof-tails swept cars and buses into the air, their padded paws squooshed little clay figures running about on the sidewalks, and their rolling waves of flab crashed upon and cracked and crumbled building after building.

What horror! What destruction! What...adorable rawrs!

...Well... Those could be made more scary-sounding in post.

(Viewer exercise: What would these two's kaiju names be? I couldn't think of anything good enough to put into the story, but I'd love to hear your ideas!)

$7000 SUPER-EXTRA Bonus Image

Unlocked!

Click, clack, tap. Aspen's padded digits smooshed down the keyboard keys in a rapid procession, finishing up another line of a spreadsheet. He blinked slowly, his eyes burning a bit from staring at the monitor so long.

The office was dark; it was well-after normal work hours now. Aspen preferred to stay late, though. He was happy to have this job, to be able to financially support himself like any adult human could. He used to be one. No...he still was one, he strongly felt, despite the...inconveniences that he'd gone through. That's why he dressed as human as he could, and held work, and acted mature and professional... As...much as he could.

...But. It was...easier to work during the less-busy hours. Other humans could...heckle him a lot, and that included his co-workers. Some misguidedly mistook him for somebody bringing their pet to work, and treated him like a common Leafeon. Others treated him with more dignity, but couldn't help but crack some jokes at his body. Still others picked on him for his weight...something he had trouble controlling, especially with his less-than-desired Leafeon instincts...

His weight, yes... The Leafeon reached over to the open pizza box, grabbing another slice as he paused his work, but still lazily stared over his monitor. He tried to manage it, but there was always such a hunger... If he didn't eat enough, he couldn't control the feral mood, and would binge... But eating 'enough' would constantly make him fatter... He'd have to exercise enough just to balance it out. He'd been working on this as well as he could for the last year or so, when he'd started working at this office... He didn't want to deal with the fat jokes and the snarky offers of Pokemon treats at this job

But more than that, he didn't want to lose this job like he had the others... Because it was hard to convince your employer you were a worthwhile employee if you turned into a feral Pokemon and romped around the office raiding everyone's lunchboxes. He couldn't...do that again. He was a proper human...he'd show them all that. He needed to prove that, each and every day, despite his form...

Gulp. He swallowed down the crust of the pizza slice, feeling a momentary release from his tension as it tumbled down his fat throat. Aspen's eyes hazed over, unable to focus further on the screen as he reached for the final pizza slice in the box, mmmhph'ing as it also slid into his drooling snout, and down his greasy throat...

Riiiip. Another portion of his shirt tore apart as more pizza plopped into his growing gut... His pants straining with another imminent tear in them too. The human clothes would not hold much longer...nor would his human mind.

...Despite his concerns, he had already been lost to his hunger hours ago. Working away on his mind-numbing work, he had failed to notice him succumbing to his weaknesses. He had ordered one pizza after another to the office that evening, hazily forgetting he'd already eaten the moment each pizza had been fully stuffed into his gut. Not even noticing as his fatty body strained against, then slowly defeated, his clothes.

Yes, working late, alone, let Aspen avoid ridicule and judgement. But it also left him too isolated to notice as his humanity slipped away, replaced by the feral hungry Leafy he really was inside...

The hungry Leafeon could only discern the glow of the screen now, a hypnotic light that only seemed to encourage him on his need to stuff his snout. Slowly he half-slid, half-fell out of his chair as he lost the knowledge of sitting so upright, his gut squishing well-into the carpeted office floor as he stood properly on all fours. His nose sniffed about, soon aiming towards the company's food-stocked break room...

...Given the hour, no employees would see him roaming around like a hungry animal this time. But as such, there was also nobody around to stop him from scarfing down anything edible he could find... And he'd surely be discovered come morning shift, happily passed out and cuddling against his overstuffed tum in whatever executive room had the nicest throw rug to sleep on.

Poor, poor Aspen. It is tricky to hold a job when you're a 'starving' Leafeon, isn't it?