inflatable – deep future

uwu (c)

for AquaticNebulae

It was, finally, May.

Spring had held on a bit too long for her tastes, as far as she was concerned – snow hanging in on the weather forecast until mid-April was, at best, an annoyance. It had its place, sure, but… well. Winter had it’s time in the sun, and Spring had come and gone.

Which, of course, meant Summer.

Basil had always had a soft spot for summer, which, of course, was why she was currently stuffing a few bottles of sunscreen into her beach bag, towel folded over her shoulder. The local pool opened as soon as the weather hit the mid 80s, and today was a good ten degrees hotter than that – a great day to lay out in the sun and splash around!

It wasn’t even really that long of a walk, either, though the summer heat and the pounding sun certainly made it less than ideal; as far as she was concerned, though, that just made the prospect of a nice time in the shade and cool pool water even better.

Surprisingly, as the cat finally made her way up to the gate, the pool seemed… empty? The only things in the water, as far as the cat could tell, were a couple of fairly mundane inflatables, grinning away in the summer sun.

She paused, glancing over at the hours. Plenty of time left in the day, and no closed signs, or… any indicator it wasn’t open? Had she just showed up at a weird time between busy hours? Lifeguard on lunch break?

…Huh.

Shrugging, Basil pushed the gate open, padding across the warm concrete pool deck and dropping her bag on one of the many unoccupied chairs. A large inflatable seal occupied the chair next to it, close enough she could touch it if she really wanted to. Bright, tight, and yellow, it wobbled a little in the slight breeze.

Something felt… off, about this whole experience, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it might’ve been. Had she missed something? Forgotten something at home? Some holiday she’d somehow overlooked?

The cat was so deep in thought, in fact, she didn’t notice she’d brushed up against the seal… and, as a result, her paw had begun to swell.

“Probably not very safe to have no lifeguard on duty,” Basil grumbled to herself, starting to tug her shirt off to reveal the swimsuit – just in time for her paw to loudly SQRRRK from the pressure of being flattened by the sleeve, instantly drawing the cat’s attention and stopping her thoughts in their tracks.

The shirt flew off, discarded without a second thought, and as she stared, wide-eyed, her arm ballooned outwards with the tell-tale hissing of inflating plastic.

“H-Huh?! What the hell?!” Basil protested, her midsection already beginning to hiss and swell as she stumbled away from the grinning seal, now gently rolling away from where her surprised flailing of her new tube of an arm had knocked it.

The changes crawled higher, her shoulder smoothing over and becoming more or less jointless – and before long even her nose had begun to fill with the smell of chlorinated water and soft vinyl plastic, snout beginning to soften and push outwards, simplifying as it went. Her mouth, puckered as the pressure made it feel, flattened – spreading across her new plastic snout into a very simplified and cartoony “W” shape even as her midsection grew more toyish and lighter, the bottom-heavy sensation the stumbling, mumbling cat causing her to wobble around as she tried to begin making her way for the gate.

Higher (and lower!) the changes crept, new tummy valve appearing with a quiet pop! of plastic snapping into shape, her swimsuit already barely hanging on by threads as the body it hugged grew right through it – yet, still, she wobbled towards the gate… until, with a sudden foomp!, everything went… fuzzy.

Her eyes had, as far as she knew, gone the same way her mouth had – but for whatever reason, she couldn’t exactly… see…?

Up her big, inflatable paws lifted, squeaking against a smooth, unnervingly simple face – the “UwU” print it had become almost laughably cheaply printed, even as the cat overstepped her next wobbly, hissy, inflating step – plunging directly into the cool water of the swimming pool with barely any splash at all.

Basil lay there for a moment, swelling into shape – until, suddenly, it all stopped.

Cool water lapped against her inflated body, caressing it like a blanket – and the warm summer sun, earlier almost unbearable, was… perfect.

The inflatable cat would’ve grinned if she could’ve.

Well. There’s today, sorted.

There was a sound, somewhere nearby – the tell-tale sound of the gate being unlatched, and the instantly recognizable sound of someone swearing under their breath.

“Oh, jeez. Again?”

Paws against concrete, and someone leaning over them. A poke. Another poke.

“Uh. Hello? Somebody took the no entry on lunch break sign down. Sorry about the uh… the toys?” She could hear the sheepishness.

“I really hope this wears off by tomorrow or I’m so fired.”

bubblite (c)

for Okie and Jono

Phew.

It might’ve been mid-April, but as far as the two raccoons were concerned, their outing in the city park was a scorcher.

It was easily 90 degrees – in the shade! It certainly hadn’t been anywhere near this hot when they’d left the house earlier that morning, and the forecast hadn’t even come close… as far as Okie and Jono knew, they’d skipped straight to summer.

“C’monnn…” Jono was complaining, tapping the bottom of the distressingly empty water bottle for those last few drops, before half-heartedly tossing the empty plastic into a nearby trash can as the pair wandered past. “There’s got to be somewhere to get something to drink, don’t you think?”

“Like a cart or something?” Okie asked, glancing over. Their fellow racc seemed a little worse for wear… maybe another water or something might be worth the stop.

It’d beat the heat, at least.

As the two rounded a corner, a sight they’d both not expected – especially as this was a corner they’d just been around, anyway? – met the two of them.

A little ice-chest on a cart, brightly dressed up as a “free samples!” cart, being set up by a cheery looking red and brown-furred dog. “Bubblite” was scribbled across the front of the cart on a cute little banner, white bubbly font on a bright blue background.

“Oh!” The dog barked in surprise, turning to face the newcomers – jumping behind the cart with enough speed to wobble on a paw. “Customers! Um. I wasn’t, uh, set up yet, heh…”

“What’s the sample?” Jono asked, perking up a little. The dog seemed friendly enough, wagging at the attention.

“Marketing test of some new soda or something,” The dog waved a paw, fishing around in the cooler and peeking inside when their paw didn’t find anything. “Getting paid to stand in the park and hand it out, yknow? Pretty day, at least.”

“And the heat?”

“Well, that’s what the umbrella’s for.” The dog said, nonplussed. “Aaaand here-!”

They held out a paw, a little glass bottle of very bubbly soda swirling around inside. “I’d, uh, recommend waiting for the bubbles to go down before drinking it. It’s… something!”

“Does it have… flavor? Or anything?” The two raccoons asked, peering into the glass. “Do we need a form, or…?”

“Nope! Just…”

The dog trailed off as the clearly parched raccoons both cracked the bottle open, downing the contents – it, uh, must’ve been a bit warmer out than they’d thought. Oh dear.

“W-Well, uh, just let me know how it is!”

Jono and Okie, however, had already finished the fizzy, delicious soda that called the glass bottle home – it had, quite frankly, been one of the best drinks they’d ever had.

Light, sparkly, and bright, it had tasted faintly of tropical fruit and an almost smoothie-like creaminess – reminding the two of them of a beach, somewhere nice and warm. Not humid and gross like today was. There was even the slightest hint of a salty breeze, as the finished bottle was handed back to the bemused dog to throw away, but that was almost certainly their imagination. After all, they were nowhere near a beach!

…which meant, as the two began to make their way back down the path, the quiet sqrks of their haunches as they walked definitely drew their attention.

“Did you hear something?” Okie asked off-handedly, glancing up at the cloudless sky.

“Mrprhprh.” Jono replied, confusedly.

Instantly, the raccoons looked at each other – Jono’s snout beginning to squeak over as their grin flattened out into a cute plastic decal, paws flying to their face – and Okie’s paws going to their tummy, already beginning to swell against their shirt!

“W-What?!” Okie managed, just in time for a cute little chunky pooltoy valve to pop free of the inflatable tummy currently riding their shirt up, their haunches and legs beginning to swell and grow more toyishly proportioned as fur gave way to soft, pliable vinyl – and poor Jono, airheaded as they were, wobbled in place, handpaws hisssssing as they began to swell and simplify into cute little raccoon toy paws, hair solidifying into a cute single piece! Their cheeks blew up first, eyes and nose flattening into cutesy happy decals – and, with a loud SQRK, they squished their cheeks together.

Okie, on the other hand, was trying their best to stop the encroaching plastic at their chest – even as their tail swelled and stretched, gaining a valve of its own on the bottom – after all, it held enough air to warrant one!

Both raccs were quite a bit larger, swelling and squeaking and stretching into their new toyish shapes as they were – so it came as no surprise when, with a loud rrrRIP of fabric tearing, their outfits gave up the proverbial ghost, leaving both toys slightly embarrassed as the loud hissing seemed to grow ever-louder and more noticeable, a confused jogger deciding to take a different path altogether when they noticed what was going on. Okie’s huge toyish paws came in next, just in time for one last big press of their tummy to force enough air into their head for their snout to balloon outwards, new decaled face appearing shocked just long enough to stick.

Jono wobbled, their tummy beginning to swell to match the toyish proportions their upper body had gained – and, with a loud squeak, they fell over.

This, naturally, only forced air into their bottom half – their tail swelling outwards with a squeak so loud the dog back at the cart heard it over the wind and birdsong.

Still, though, the changes weren’t quite finished – Okie and Jono both tried to wobble, plastic joints and round tummies finally reaching their properly inflated pressures, and… maybe even a little extra, if the almost teasing one last hiss was anything to go by.

Both waited for a moment, half expecting it to start back up as the hissing dwindled away into nothing… but it never came.

There was the sound of footsteps, and, after a moment, the curly-tailed cart-puppy peeked into their fields of view.

“I, uh, see you didn’t follow my instructions,” The dog sheepishly offered, brushing their hair out of their eyes.

“It’ll wear off in a day or two, but in the meantime…” The dog’s voice got quieter, conspiratorially.

“Wanna hit the lake?”

Instant Decorations (commission)

a commission for ehksidian!

The box was… pretty plain, if she was honest.

Not that Xena was complaining, of course – a gift was a gift, even if generic brown paper and a twine bow didn’t exactly scream “effort”, to her. No return label, either.

Oh, well. Maybe it was like… jelly of the month, or something? A gift that keeps on giving.

Looks more like a bag lunch.

Still, as she carries the little brown box in from the rainy day outside, she was curious – after all, any package timed to arrive on her birthday had to be something special, at the very least, right? Surely?

Tearing the paper and removing the twine was easy, but that didn’t… quite explain the box underneath. Party Time?

There was a note there, but she was so focused on figuring out the box she simply sat aside, completely ignoring the large “PLEASE READ FIRST” scribbled on the back in urgent red ink.

The box was…

…empty. Completely empty, aside from a weird sparkly glitter coating everything inside, some of which was thrown into the air by the force of her opening, tickling her nose.

Phew. Who sends an empty box as a birthday gift?!

Xena, fuming, picked up the card – and frowned.

“Party in a box? What the hell does that mean?”

Her question, funnily enough, was answered – loudly, and immediately.

Instantly, a loud hissing reached her ears – the sound of a balloon slipped over a helium tank, a cold, filling sensation sweeping across her tummy. The drakkai only had time to utter a bewildered “WHAT” before her tummy began to swell and stretch, scales giving way to an expanse of soft, pliable rubber. It was soft to the touch, squeaking beneath her claws – and for a moment there was silence, almost comically quiet.

Just a moment, though. The hissing returned, twice as loud.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, she wasn’t growing, exactly. While the changes were more or less proportional, she felt her clothes start to bunch and bag, but there was no way…

As she tried to press on her tummy, hoping to squish it elsewhere, her tail began to shrink down – softening, losing definition as she began to round out. A brand new balloon knot tipped the end, and as she hurriedly tried to read the note (which, she now noticed, said very plainly not to open facing yourself), a long orange ribbon snaked to the floor from it. As she watched, her claws began to feel oddly flat – and, to her bewilderment and confusion, fell apart into a little pile of Xena-print napkins.

That, unfortunately, was the least of her worries – ribbons and decorations began to pop up here and there, conveniently drakkai themed and colored. Clearly magic was at work here, and it was decorating a party with her.

Xena was beginning to feel a bit full as her clothes grew baggier, tummy swelling into her clothes even as her arms and legs receded into her shirt and shorts – a bad sign, if she’d ever seen one. Her hair, usually long and fluffy, felt oddly scratchy – and as the swelling continued, slowly slid away as so much confetti – scattering the table, and floor, and… everywhere, really.

“S-Stop, damnit!” The drakkai protested, flailing for the table – and slipping completely out of her shorts, which fell to the ground with a thud of dropped fabric. Worryingly, she wasn’t touching the floor anymore with her claws.

…more worryingly, she couldn’t feel her claws – and a glance downwards only showed an increasingly generic ovoid shape, like… a party balloon. One of a few, now scattering the ceiling. She couldn’t see them, really, but had a sinking feeling she knew exactly what was on them.

Party in a box. Duh.

Cursing her bad luck, the drakkai began to shrink further as her midsection began to round out, slipping through the neck of her shirt and dragging the ribbon along with her! It was a slow, gradual rise – clearly she only just now held enough helium to be buoyant, not that it really made her feel any better. She was a dragon, not… a toy! Usually. Mostly? Verdict was out, on that one.

The pressure continued to build inside as the hissing grew louder, her face feeling as if it was being flattened with a rolling pin – until, gradually, everything went dark.

…the next thing she knew, she could see. It was an oddly fixed view, roughly in her “middle” – but it gave her a fine view of the front door for… however long she floated there. It was a bit hard to tell, but if she had to guess it was at least a few hours – as, a little before six, the first guest arrived. First knocking, and a confused grunt as the door swung open, clearly not shut completely before she’d opened the box.

“Um. Xena?” A familiar voice rang out. “Hey?”

No reply. Not for lack of trying, of course.

The rabbit glanced over, clearly recognizing the box open on the table – then down at the clothes, and with a weary realization, up, at the drakkai-print balloons bobbing on the ceiling. The expression was almost comical, a mix of “should’ve known” and “this again.” Clearly in the habit of sending these boxes.

“…You realize I wrote instructions for a reason, right? The big red “please read” didn’t strike you as important? Honestly, why does nobody ever read the card…”

Muttering something about “it’s like they all WANT to get changed,” the rabbit plopped down at the table.

“Should change back at the end of the night, but uh. Open it away from yourself next time, okay?”

Beep Beep (commission)

a commission for aurapuffs!

It was a cold, cold evening – as December evenings often are. Snow was falling beyond the frosted glass of the bedroom’s window, lit faintly by the bedside lamp, and as far as Aura was concerned it could stay out there! He was cozy, all snuggled up under three blankets and a duvet, as comfy and tucked in as a plushie fox could be.

Still, though, for whatever reason he couldn’t make that final leap. His eyes were droopy, he were all cozied up and warm, but tonight sleep simply wasn’t coming to him like it should’ve.

Oh, well.

He laid there a while, watching the snow – before, finally, turning the lamp off.

Ten minutes passed. Then an hour. Then an hour and a half, the brightly lit LEDs of the alarm clock framing the “1:30” in harsh relief against the streetlight-lit dark.

Sigh.

“C’monnnnn,” Aura groaned, sitting up. What’s the point of being all sleepy beepy if you can’t go-to-sleepy, anyway?

Sitting there in the dark, the plushie fox plopped back down on the bed – sinking in beneath the sheets and blankets, letting the warmth of his pillowy bastion against the cold creep in. One of the blankets was even wool, he thought sleepily. Like a sheep. Heh. Beep beep.

The plushie fox could hardly even really focus on anything else, seeing as there wasn’t really much to focus on. Squeaky sheep were just… the best. He dozily thought about how nice being all puffy and wooly would be. Wouldn’t need to worry about the cold then, would he? A built-in pillow and mattress!

Aura began to feel nice and soft, the faint sensation of swelling the best trick of his imagination it’d played yet. He could almost picture it – huge, oversized squeaky hooves squishing into a beach ball of a white fluffy squeaky sheep, blush plastered to its cheeks. Yeah, that’d be the stuff.

Heh. Sheep counting helps with sleep, doesn’t it? Let’s see… 1…. 2…

Before he even got to three, it was over – and the plushie was falling asleep.

…only to suddenly be back in his bed.

It happened so quickly the fox wasn’t really even sure if they’d actually fallen asleep, but what happened next couldn’t have happened anywhere else – a faint, distant hissing reached his ears.

It sounded… like a balloon being blown up, complete with the breaths between, and as Aura watched, surprised, his blankets began to slide away, revealing an expanse of expanding, squeaky white rubber.

“W-Woah!”

The blanket, finally not having enough friction against the swelling tummy, fell aside – and Aura got a good glimpse of his puffy paws, swelling and stretching and squeaking over into toyish approximations of black squeaky sheep hooves.

This HAD to be a dream. Couldn’t be anything else!

Pressing his paws to his tummy, the fox pushed – effortlessly squishing in, and with a loud POOMPH his handpaws followed suit, squeaking over before his very eyes. He wiggled them and rubbed them together, delighting in the feeling of stretchy, swelling rubber.

“G-Gosh!” The fox giggled, cheeks rosy.

He could still see his puffy hooves for the moment, a good gauge of how big he was – but, as he began to swell sideways and up, the fox started to find it a bit tougher. Not that he really minded, of course, it felt…

…well, great. To be big, and squeaky, and sheep-y, who wouldn’t wanna spend the holiday season as a baa-lloon? Nobody, that’s who.

He squished his hooves into his swelling squeaky tummy again, hoping to change a little faster. His wish was answered by a loud puff, midsection swelling against his neck and head like a neck pillow – and, to his delight, his hooves disappeared over his tummy’s horizon, squishing into the rest of him as his arms began to follow suit. If he listened closely, he could hear the muffled squeaks of trying to wiggle them echoing through his tummy.

Heh.

The squeaks and squirks practically filled the room as he kept swelling, echoing off the walls and through him, right up into his chest and hollowing-out snout.

He’d never had a dream like this before, but what a place to start! He’d have to have pizza before bedtime more often if this was the result he got…

Aura woke up in his bed. No swelling sheep fluff, no squeaks. Just the dark, the snow lightly falling outside, and the alarm clock.

1:14.

…Huh?

Just a dream. Ugh.

Lifting the pillow and fluffing it a little, the fox laid back down – thoughts of sheep still spinning through his mind. Okay, where was I? 3? 4. 5…

SQRRRK.

Aura’s eyes snapped open, just in time for his snout to swell outwards, ballooning into a baa-llooning snout, printed grin and oversized overfilled squeaky rubber taking up a good quarter of his vision. He couldn’t see past his round, squishy white tummy, but he knew somewhere down there were an enormous pair of black squeaky hooves, easily the size of his pillow.

“B-Baa?” Aura giggled, even as his wool began to swell out around his head…

He glanced over, dreamily, spotting the clock. 1:45.

Huh.

Aura woke… up?

All that filled his vision was an expanse of white, and the faintest light of the streetlights outside. Snow?

Wool.

He wobbled, trying to do anything more than wiggle his arms in futility, and received little more than a symphony of squeaks for his troubles. G-Good. Perfect!

He’d have sighed in content, but… having a squeaky sheep snout doesn’t make that easy.

Oh, well.

He was so comfy, so full, so squeaky-sheepy that he felt as if he’d be able to doze off right then and there – and the thought of counting sheep made him giggle, again. Well. One, clearly.

Aura woke up just as his alarm went off at 7:00, on the dot. The sun had just risen, shining bright and cheery through the winter wonderland outside.

Wow, that was the best sleep I’ve had in years! Aura thought to himself, opening his eyes – greeted with a snowdrift. Wait, no. That’s my tummy.

His huge… balloon sheep tummy, massive squeaky black hooves faintly visible through it in the morning light.

“M-Mmph,” The squeaky sheep managed in realization. He had to still be dreaming, right? All he had to do was… was fall back asleep, right? Easy. Easy peasy, even.

The squeaky sheep shut his eyes, trying to will back the sheer comfy feeling he’d felt before, but… he was simply too full, too well rested.

He’d have to try again tonight, it seemed.

…was that hissing…?

Party Time! (commission)

for kaydearcane!

“Ugh… I’m gonna be late for tonight’s party at this rate,” The goat sighed to themself, frowning at their watch. Stupid party store had taken almost an hour to get their order ready, AND traffic was awful – they’d be lucky to make it at all!

Still, as they fussed with the keys and unlocked their place, the one saving grace was that getting dressed for the occasion wasn’t an issue. Kayde, in fact, had made a very sound investment indeed – a Dress-O-Matic 3000, guaranteed to impress even the hardest to please partygoer!

Kayde, naturally, had never used it.

First time for everything, right?

Party supplies dropped on the kitchen table, the goat hefted the heavy machine from its resting place under the cupboard, squinting at the manual. Like most gimmick devices in the 2020s, it was connected to the internet – making this device more thing than most internet of things connectors. Oh, well. Maybe it would… download a suit. Or something.

Fussing with the tiny screen, they finally managed to connect it – and it sprang to life, projecting a large selection screen with many, many options to choose from. So many it beggared belief.

After a few moments of browsing, Kayde settled on a nice suit with a red rose in the lapel – but, just at that moment, someone noticed the new connection.

Or, rather, something – snooping around open WAN networks for stuff to do had grown intensely boring for Cai, lately. You could only see so many shared folders of movies and old games, after all, and… well, a cyberintrusion suite wasn’t named that for show. Why not test it out? See what oysters held pearls?

The bunny peeled back the nearest network’s security, peeking inside… just as Kayde’s device connected to it, tugging the bunny’s attention as surely as a knock on a door.

Huh! Some fun settings, here – but what if they were more fun?

Snooping around further, Cai accessed calendars and information stored on the network. A party, huh?

They had the perfect idea!

Kayde hit “start” – but… no suit appeared. In fact, the screen appeared frozen for a moment – before, with a roulette sound, the menu began to spin.

“Huh?”

It finally clicked to a stop on an option Kayde hadn’t even seen when they’d browsed the list a few minutes earlier – “party favor.”

Party… favor? Like-

Their whole body began to feel… odd, as if it was being squeezed by invisible hands, as before their very eyes their snout began to stretch and reshape, smoothing over into soft, pliable red rubber.

“MMPH?!” Kayde cried out in alarm, snout tying itself into a knot – and leaving the goat to watch as the changes began sweeping upwards, Kayde’s facial features flattening out into drawn on sharpie!

Their midsection, too, began to swell – rounding out beneath their clothes as loud squeaks and squirks began to fill the air, balloon rubber struggling against the tight confines of a t-shirt and shorts. In a panic, the goat tried to press the “reverse” button flashing on the panel – but only managed to squeak a hoof against it, their hooves almost magnetically drawn together as they began to swell and redden, hissing loudly.

Cai, to their credit, seemed surprised – but not enough to really do anything about it. They’d been right – this was much better than watching another movie.

They did notice something interesting, though. The more the goat changed, the more the machine stored a “backup” – clearly intended to reverse situations like… well, this, as the goat began to shrink into their clothes, ears inflating into generic red balloon dog ears, arms swelling out in front of them.

Curious, the AI bunny grabbed the form data for the balloon dog Kayde was becoming, copying over the saved goat and dumping the copy into Kayde’s backup – unfortunately making the default the device recognized a simple red balloon animal, the same one that was currently shrinking down into their clothes a few feet away.

Kayde, inwardly blushy but outwardly red, finally stopped shrinking a moment later as the device beeped, thanking the user for using the system, and asking for feedback.

One star, they huffed internally.

It was then that they heard… something.

The sound of paws hitting their carpet, as if dropped from… somewhere?

“PHEW,” An unfamiliar voice giggled, their world suddenly lighting up as the shirt was lifted off to reveal… a bunny?

A grinning yellow-and-white bunny, visor on their forehead, the last vestiges of some odd digital pixelation clinging to their clothing.

“Hey! Thanks for the way out – but you’ve got a party to get to, right?”

They plucked the balloon animal out of the pile of clothes, lifting it to eye level.

“Mind if I tag along? I’ve always wanted to go!”

Kayde tried to wriggle, confused.

“I’ll take that as a yes! C’mon, you’re late!”

With that, the bunny headed for the front door – leaving the machine, and the overwritten backup, to autosave to the server.

Poolbunny (commission)

A commission for @poutine_sheep!

It was a cold, cold January day – and, naturally, Emmy was spending it as he usually did. Bundled up beneath a blanket or two, alternating between playing games and watching the occasional movie that caught his eye as he scrolled through the seemingly endless list of cable channels.

The world outside was blanketed in snow and ice – which, maybe, was why the sheep was so surprised when their doorbell rang, and soon enough Cai had joined them on their couch, snowed in and content.

The movie the two had been watching finally drew to an end, credits being cut off by a commercial – one of a pair of beachgoers enjoying the sun, some sort of inflatable flamingo toy being tossed around further down the beach.

“Ugh, winter’s just too cold,” Cai said aloud, tugging their own blanket a little tighter. “Summer’s more my season, even if you guys don’t really get it up here.”

“Winter’s fine,” Emmy rebutted, shrugging. “Get to stay warm and cozy, even if the snow and ice isn’t great.”

“What, not a fan of the beach?”

“I like it! Just… haven’t been, much.”

“Really?” Cai blinked.

“Not exactly the closest thing to visit,” Emmy shrugged.

The conversation dragged for a moment, before, absently, the sheep mentioned… inflatables. The flamingo was back on screen, grinning as it bounced around in the waves. It looked… inviting. Nice, even.

“Probably… nice, you know? All floaty.”

“What, being an inflatable?” Cai asked, a curious look on their face as they snuggled a bit closer, leaning on the sheep.

“Yeah, like… I don’t know. Hard to explain.”

“…Given the chance,” Cai began, eyes twinkling. “Would you?”

“Oh…” Emmy trailed off, thinking. Would he?

“…Yeah, I think so.”

The next thing Emmy knew, they’d been gently pulled to the side – and the bunny had pressed their nose to his, meeting the sheep’s gaze.

“Let’s see, eh?”

The next thing Emmy knew, the bunny had kissed him – completely bewildering the sheep, until, after a moment, their cheeks suddenly… filled with air.

Huh?

Cai took a deep, deep breath, puffing into Emmy with all the care of someone inflating a raft for a day on the waves, and to the sheep’s amazement (and concern) they felt their tummy begin to rise, displacing the blanket as beneath his clothing the sheep’s wool began to smooth over, gently squeaking and squirking as it swelled.

Emmy didn’t know it, but as puff after puff was forced in through the sheep’s soft, pliable snout, he began to get… bigger. Slowly, at first, as puff after puff rounded the sheep, but soon noticeably enough that the blanket wasn’t exactly covering much of him anymore…

..revealing, to Emmy’s surprise, off-yellows and creams, his tummy no longer held beneath the shirt he’d been relaxing in, swollen as it was. Cai, taking a break from filling their friend, grabbed the tummy between their paws, giving it a long, squeaky rub.

“Everything you hoped for?” The bunny asked, grinning up at Emmy in a bucktoothed beam.

“Y-Yeah…” The sheep breathed, giving his swollen, off-color tummy a prod. It gave beneath his hoof like… an inflatable, would. The colors weren’t his, but… if anything, that made him excited.

“Keep going?” Cai offered.

Emmy merely nodded, enjoying the sensation as the bunny scooted over, climbing onto his swollen tummy and lay on him like an airbed, snouts pressed together.

Cai, again, took a deep breath – and pushed more warm, comforting air into the sheep, bursting the buttons on Emmy’s pants and shortening his legs somewhat – hooves beginning to slowly, methodically puff up into inflatable bunny paws, if a few sizes too large.

The bunny guided the transformation, sometimes slow, sometimes quicker, rubbing and squeaking and squeezing at Emmy as more and more of him began to become an inflatable copy – wool shrinking away as it was replaced with painted plastic, internals dwindling away into so much warm, comforting bunny air.

Emmy grew – twice, three times their original size as the bunny puffed, and puffed, the poor couch starting to run out of space as the changes crawled ever higher. A valve, the hallmark of a toy, began to sprout as Cai sprawled across the toy’s huge chest – then a barcode, dotting Emmy’s thigh.

The sheep’s ears stretched, towering, overinflated shapes reminiscent of the bunny filling him – and then came the hair, a molded, bright blond mess of seamed plastic and air. Emmy could barely focus, so lost in the bliss of being so light, and full, and… bunny! They weren’t round by any stretch of the imagination, merely… big! Soft. Squeaky.

Just like he’d wanted.

“Ready?” Cai said, finally, looking the sheep in the face.

“Hm?” Emmy replied, dreamily.

Cai didn’t wait – grabbing the sheep’s cheeks gently but firmly, and beginning to rub – rubbing and massaging and gently squeaking the remaining wool as it, too began to soften and yellow, inflating beneath their paws into the soft, pliable cheeks of an inflatable bunny. Emmy’s eyes began to change, square pupils first lightening to a bright blue – and then changing entirely, rounding out and flattening into the printed decals of an inflatable Cai.

His snout, too, didn’t escape unscathed – gaining a brand new printed-on pink nose and a little plastic bucktooth, shortening considerably!

Lightheaded from the change, the two giggled at each other – and, with a squeeze, Cai hugged… themself.

“Well,” Cai said after a moment, poking Emmy’s nose.

“How is it?”

The sheep-turned-toybunny thought for a moment, resting a cushion-sized pooltoy paw on the bunny.

“…Different.”

You’re Hired! (commission)

A commission for a friend!

As far as Ollie knew, the old Bucky’s Starcade arcade had been abandoned for decades. At least as far back as his dad’s childhood, the empty space on Coral Street had stood stark, and abandoned – slowly decaying away as the town around it moved on, bright and growing.

Maybe it was the faded announcements of 70s retro-games and the promise of unexplored urban space that drew the dog in – or maybe, just maybe, Ollie wanted to be the first to step inside for who knew how long. Maybe they’d always been curious what lay behind the boarded up windows and fogged over front door, permanently affixed with a “Sorry, We’re Closed” sign that stood in stark contrast to the building with its bright reds and whites.

So, it was with a frankly brave amount of courage that the dog pushed open the front door one sunny afternoon, tugging their phone free of their pocket and clicking on the flashlight. The lock had rusted through, revealing a room full of dusty arcade games in various states of disrepair… but, oddly, nowhere near as bad as nearly fifty years of neglect would have suggested. It looked almost… new?

Bewilderingly so, as Ollie realized the place was less of an arcade and more of a play… center? Nothing outside had suggested this – maybe an owner or the company that’d run the place had kept it clean, inside?

As the dog’s eyes adjusted to the dark, they realized a few things. First, the place apparently still had power – red exit signs glowing in the dark, a little faded but definitely intact.

Second, the arcade had a few oddly out-of-place items scattered around, like an old ball pit and a plastic play place. Still, as Ollie wandered around, snapping a few photos to show his friends later, the place felt… homey. Nostalgic, in a way the dog couldn’t really quite place. It must’ve been quite the hangout spot in its heyday, all wood grain and old posters. Oddly enough, most of the posters included a yellow bunny – clearly the place’s mascot – drifting around cartoon stars, or dressed in almost Flash Gordon-esque spacesuits. There’d even been a statue of it near the entrance, tall and oddly… shiny.

The dog was in the middle of photographing an old Space Ace machine when, to his incredible surprise (and slight horror) the lights turned on. First a bright white, then… yellowing?

Bright, clearly relatively new – and a sign that this place wasn’t quite abandoned, yet. Ollie’s thoughts shot to it having a security guard, the dog spinning around to explain how he’d definitely just gotten lost and wanted to go home…

…and coming face to face with one of the strangest sights he’d ever seen. A big, slightly see-through tummy, multicolored shapes scattered around inside. Ollie’s gaze drifted up, across squeaky paws and arms, to the huge, grinning face of a bunny.

An enormous, ten foot tall inflatable bunny, yellowing the fluorescent lights shining down through it. The mascot statue hadn’t been a statue at all?!

“UH?”

“A new hire?! And I wasn’t TOLD?”

“YOU TALK?”

Ollie was so taken aback, in fact, that he froze in place – just in time for the huge bunny to heft him up under the arms, lifting the bewildered dog to eye-level.

“Where’s your outfit? You’re not in uniform!”

“I don’t work here-!” He protested, confused.

The bunny clearly wasn’t listening – as, with a wink, it opened wide, stuffing the puppy in with all the care of someone taking a bite out of their lunch.

The slick plastic was about impossible for Ollie to find a grip on, pushing against the stretchy vinyl and only managing to deform it slightly. It also didn’t help, unfortunately, that the phone slipped out of his pocket, sliding away onto the carpeted floor of the arcade as its owner was swallowed with a loud, greedy squirk.

Ollie didn’t fall far, landing with a thud in the huge toy’s tummy amidst a veritable sea of plastic balls.

“LET ME OUT,” he shouted, pressing his paws into the interior of its tummy, but… to no avail. In fact, the act of doing so made his paws feel odd.

Weird. Sticky?

With a huff, Ollie plopped down on the “floor”, kicking a few balls away. Surely somebody would see him in here?

He thought about calling for help, but… the phone laying in view outside of the toy rabbit crossed that off the list. Maybe he could…

Could.

Ollie frowned. His thoughts, for some reason, kept returning to toys. Toy rabbits. Toy dogs?

It confused him, enough that he rubbed his chin-

Squirk.

Ollie blinked, glancing down – and blanched, as much as a white-furred dog could. His tummy, before his very eyes, had begun to swell. A new bump had appeared in the middle, tenting his shirt outwards, and with shaky hands he tugged the fabric back to reveal a very soft and slightly pink inflatable valve, quietly hissing as air began to fill the dog’s midsection.

T-The toy had to be doing this, right? He had to… to…!

Squeaking, Ollie stood up – legs almost giving out as he realized they, too, had begun to become simple plastic and air, filling out his shorts as the waistband began to force pressure into his tail.

Climbing was out of the question, it was far too steep and slick – and the bunny toy hadn’t moved in a little while.

It seemed content to watch.

“Let me out!”

No reply came, aside from a big, bucktoothed grin.

The changes climbed downwards, Ollie’s toes sticking together as his footpaws inflated into big, toyish paws with painted-on pawpads, tummy riding his shirt up as a brand new barcode faded in on their see-through side.

“P-Please?”

Higher it climbed, spreading down his arms in a cascade of squeaks and hissing as it met the already-changed paws from the dog’s earlier contact with the tummy, rendering their paws largely entertainment use only.

Their clothes, too, seemed to have begun to succumb – shorts tearing down the sides as his air-filled thighs simply proved too full to hold, shirt flattening out as it slowly shifted from real, red fabric to a new printed-on red-and-white striped pattern on the inflatable toy dog Ollie was becoming!

Ollie’s neck was next, gaining a printed-on big blue collar as his mouth began to taste ever so faintly of vinyl – and, as the changes reached his head, the puppy was stricken with the worst case of lightheadedness he’d ever felt.

In… fact, all he seemed to be able to think of was how nice it was to be a toy. Right?

He’d been hired today as one, after all. Can’t reopen an entertainment business without entertainers…?

Ollie’s paws slowly raised to his face, cupping his snout as it swelled and stretched and reshaped into a cartoonish vinyl recreation of itself, glasses molding themselves perfectly into place with only the faintest of painted-on reflections, and, after a few moments, it was finished.

The dazed toy plopped down on the ruins of his shorts, swaying slightly.

“Well, someone’s ready for their first shift,” The big toybunny giggled, giving its tummy a pat.

“Welcome aboard!”

Salvage Trouble (commission)

A commission for @vanillayote on twitter!

“Delivery for… uh, Ran?”

The coyote blinked, looking up from their desk at the newcomer who was hanging around the entrance to the salvage shop, a hovering dolly loaded with a crate or two of miscellaneous junk drifting behind him like a lost duckling.

“…Rain?”

“…Sure,” The delivery man shrugged, holding the pad out as the coyote crossed the shop and placed a palm against it. It dinged a confirmation chime, lighting up bright green as the dolly hovered inside – and, unceremoniously, dumped the boxes on the floor.

“Have a good day!” The delivery man said cheerily, turning on a heel and wandering back out into the busy exterior of the station’s dock district – leaving the confused coyote and the two mystery boxes in the middle of his shop, standing out starkly as clean and white against the shelves upon shelves of random starship parts and scrap they’d managed to accrue over the last year and a half, mostly from the various scrappers and salvagers who frequented the docks.

Maybe that was who’d left these for them?

Rain hefted one of the crates, peeking at the label – merely listing where it was to be delivered and to who, but… little else. Their contents were marked as scrap, so, at the very least, he had new inventory… but…

After a few moments, Rain simply shrugged. Oh, well. A good samaritan sending leftovers to be resold wasn’t exactly a bad thing, was it?

They did have to at the very least sort through it, though – which was where their own dolly came into play, scooping the two crates up and carrying them into the back for proper inventory and sorting.

The first few pieces they’d gone through were standard fare – burnt out control circuits, a valve for a MKXIV plasma conduit on an old backup reactor, a few old couplings – but, as they made it to the second crate and sent their few helper drones away to place the first crate’s new inventory in its proper places, something caught their eye.

Sitting atop the contents of the second crate was a curious square object – brassy and rectangular, inset with three sets of vertical blue lines. It reminded them vaguely of some sort of datapad, but… seemed off, somehow.

Curious, Rain plucked the object from the pile. It was surprisingly heavy, given its size – but lighter than the materials would’ve implied, already giving the junk dealer some ideas about composition – and possible sale prices.

At least, they were; their paw suddenly exploding outwards into a couch cushion sized inflatable paw slightly ruined that train of thought.

“WHAT.”

The tiny object was catapulted into the front of the store, landing in a pile of junk with a clatter – as Rain’s predicament, naturally, began to worsen. Their outfit began to tighten as his body underneath began to expand, fur flattening out into soft, pliable plastic – their attempts to tug at it with his still-unchanged paw eliciting enough squeaks to give the confused coyote enough clues to piece together what exactly might’ve been happening.

“OH THIS SUCKS,” Rain shouted to nobody in particular as their pant legs shredded, new inflatable thighs expanding outwards until they were practically the size of chairs themselves, the coyote managing to stumble and squeeze their way back out into the front of the store just in time for their tail to knock over a few shelves, expanding out into a ridiculous size and gaining a brand new valve of its own.

They tried to scramble for the pile of junk they’d seen the little device land inside, only to suddenly feel their midsection wedge against the ceiling – the loud hiss of expanding plastic playing about the coyote’s ears as they scrambled against the floor, squeaking and squirking without moving an inch. Then, suddenly, their other paw followed suit – rocketing outwards into a shelf to their left, knocking the shelf over with a loud clatter before it began expanding outwards and upwards, overshadowing the coyote’s still normal-sized chest and head! At least, until the hissing suddenly grew louder.

And closer.

Uh-oh.

With a loud FWOOMP, Rain’s muzzle suddenly shot outwards – printing itself on as a huge expanse of softly rounded plastic, cheeks falling victim a moment later!

“MMPH?” The coyote squeaked in protest – but, as expected, it wasn’t of much help. Their ears followed a moment later, and as the hissing grew even louder, Rain found that they’d become an enormous inflatable coyote – and at the rate they were expanding, there wouldn’t be an inch left in the already cramped and mostly-filled store that they hadn’t covered…!

A few hours later, a rabbit stepped off of the station’s lift – squinting at their little wristpad for the map the dockmaster had given them. A few turns, a trip down the stars, and some walking later, and they felt as if they should have arrived… right? Wasn’t the salvage shop supposed to be…

They skidded to a stop, glancing first at the store in front of them – and then through the glass, a huge slightly-see-through mass of… something, squishing up against it.

A huge black nose and a pair of worried eyes were pressed up to the front doors of the shop, bulging out into the station’s walkway ever so slightly.

“…I think I’ll come back later?” The rabbit managed, blinking a few times.

“You, uh, seem… busy.”

New Merchandise Wanted (commission)

A commission for @snouttalk on twitter!

“Help Wanted.”

…What kind of pool supply store hired in January, anyway? Was there a demand for pool stuff in the off season?

Arno frowned, crossing their arms. Heated pools, maybe. Who knew.

Shrugging to themselves, the poodle pushed open the door – intent on, at the very least, asking. Couldn’t hurt, right?

The problem was, the store appeared… closed. Completely closed, as if it had been abandoned over the past year entirely – empty shelves aside from a few dusty boxes, a cobweb here and there. It definitely didn’t fit with the “We’re Open!” sign cheerfully plastered to the front door, which had, apparently, been much dustier on the inside than out.

“Uh. Hello?”

There’s no reply, beyond the jingling of the bells as the door shut behind them.

This store clearly had been closed for months, at least – half-packed boxes of pool supplies and various cleaning chemicals scattered about in haphazard piles, various toys and floats neatly packed in plastic and stacked for boxes they’d never been placed inside of.

A fine layer of dust coated everything they could see, meaning… there was almost certainly nobody here to stop them from taking a look around, right?

There were aisle after aisle of empty or mostly empty shelves as the poodle wandered around, hoping maybe to find something worth keeping – after all, the place had clearly been left unlocked for a reason. Maybe they were hoping someone would take the stock they couldn’t?

Finally, after almost an hour of exploring, Arno was bored, and they had plenty of other things to get done before the day was over.

They crossed the store for the last time, stepping over a few discarded yellow pieces of folded-up vinyl, before pressing a paw to the door’s handle and pushing.

It… didn’t budge.

Arno tried again, giving it a little more force – but, despite the added elbow grease, the door was… locked?

How could it have locked?!

Grumbling, the poodle turned to look for a rear entrance in the back, stomping back across the store’s floor towards the employees only door – only to almost immediately trip over a discarded box.

Down the poodle went, falling to the floor with a loud, shelf-shaking thud – where they lay for a moment, dazed.

When Arno finally sat back up, they noticed two things almost immediately. The first being that the lights, somehow, had come on – and the second being that something soft and plastic was under their shirt on their tummy, tenting it slightly.

Confused, the poodle lifted their shirt to peek – spotting, to their immense surprise, a small, plastic valve sprouting from where their belly button was just a few moments earlier – fur around it matted down and… shiny?

A cautious poke yielded a shocking sqrrk of poodle pawpad against vinyl plastic, which, before their very eyes, began to spread!

“U-Uh, what? Hello?”

Arno’s first instinct was to try and tug the valve off – but all that did was introduce them to the strange sensation of their newly plasticized skin tugging along with it, stretching and protesting as the skin around it began to change even faster! It swept down below their waistline in just moments, the cool, creeping sensation of vinyl crawling up their chest and around to their back as the poodle scrambled to their feet!

Immediately their balance was thrown off as one of their paws practically exploded outwards into a puffy inflatable poodle footpaw, the legs of their shorts starting to tighten as seams worked their way down the poodle’s legs, the hissing of air filling the dog’s ears as they swelled outwards uniformly, becoming more toyishly proportioned!

The other footpaw followed suit quickly after, along with Arno’s tail – swelling from base to tip like a balloon as, unseen, Arno’s thigh gained a brand new safety warning label.

Every toy has to be safety compliant, after all.

With a loud ripping sound the poodle’s shorts finally gave up the ghost, Arno’s chest soon putting their shirt to the test soon after as seams began to crawl down the poodle’s arms as they waddled about, trying their best to find some way of stopping the changes or to remove the valve behind it all – in vain, much to their chagrin.

Pushing open the door to the employee area, Arno stumbled about as their neck began to swell, fingers mitting together into large pooltoy paws as they finished changing. Maybe if they got out of the store they’d stop changing?

They picked the first exit-looking door they saw as their ears began to swell, hissing loudly as they filled with air – only to discover it was a bathroom.

Grabbing the sink, they stared into the mirror just in time to watch their muzzle plastic over, the corners of their mouth tugging themselves first into a smirk – and then a wide, cartoony grin, which immediately froze into place!

It was over in an instant – and soon enough an inflatable poodle was staring at themselves in an old dusty mirror, a grinning, static face staring back.

“MMph?!”

They tried one last time to tug the valve free, a last-ditch effort to maybe, just maybe, change back – but only managed to uncap it, the worrying hiss of escaping air reaching their ears just as one of their footpaws began to crumple.

Uh-oh.

Shuffling out into the hallway, the inflatable poodle managed to make it back out into the store, going flatter with each step…

…only to collapse completely just by the other discarded toys, a flat pile of black and gold plastic, grinning up at the ceiling.

Do (Not) Overinflate (commission)

A commission for @Firr on twitter, featuring @AuraPuffs!

“Ugh…”

Firr yawned, flipping over with the thwump of a big skunk tail slapping against a couch.

“BORED.”

Aura, currently occupied with bopping his zipper back and forth with his big plush paws, agreed. It was simply too hot to go out, too slow to stay inside; it was, naturally, a lazy, lazy summer day.

A boring summer day.

“Maybe you’ve got something in the garage?” Aura offered, gesturing towards the garage door. It would’ve been easier with thumbs, but it got the message across well enough. “Bikes or something?”

“Just bike pumps,” Firr replied off-handedly, waving a paw. “And what can you do with-“

He paused, and grinned. “Actually, yeah! Let’s go check the garage, huh?”

Aura, puzzled, pushed himself up to waddle after the suddenly-eager skunk, curious. Bike rides were fun, yeah, but… that exciting? Probably not.

Firr ducked through the door ahead of the plushie fox, giggling to himself, and there came the sound of boxes being rummaged through, a few clangs as things were thrown aside, and, curiously, a loud moo.

“C’mon in!” Firr said after a few further barnyard animal sounds, Aura’s curiosity piqued. A surprise?

“What’s the big mystery?” Aura asked, peeking through the door – just in time for a hose to be shoved directly into the plushie’s snout, a rubber band wrapping around it to secure it firmly to the fox!

“Big’s right!” Firr grinned, hefting a little black and green (it looked a bit like him, actually) bike pump, before hammering the handle down with the excitement of someone blowing up something big!

Immediately Aura’s cheeks puffed up as air rushed down the rubber hose, then… stopped, the air going somewhere else. His first thought was his tummy, but, suddenly, his footpaws comically sprung outwards, first doubling, then TRIPLING in size!

“HMPH?” The fox exclaimed in the way only someone with a hose in their mouth can, cheeks burning bright red as their handpaws quickly followed suit! They looked… different. Plastic? Not at all the usual felt and fluff the plushie was used to, as they began to feel lighter with each pump from the pump!

“What’s up, pillow-paws?” Firr teased, giving another pump to the handle. “Hose got your tongue?”

The plushfox didn’t reply, too busy focusing on their still-swelling paws and rounding tummy to pay attention. Squeaking and squirking, Aura tried to reach up towards their snout – failing, of course, as they began to grow too pressurized to bend their arms properly. Aura had almost doubled in height from those alone, wobbling as the hose started to lift past Firr’s head height, still tightly stuffed in Aura’s swelling snout!

This, of course, only compelled Firr to pump faster, a giggle escaping the skunk as Aura began to take up a good portion of the garage itself, rounding out as his arms and legs began to swell out just as his paws had.

“You’re right, the garage WAS more fun,” Firr grinned, giving the fox a few extra pumps as even their ears swelled up, zipper looking like a sprig of grass poking out of the squeaky expanse of white and orange plastic!

“MMPH!”

Aura’s back finally hit the ceiling, swelling larger, and larger, cheeks burning a bright, almost fluorescent red!

“Aaaand ta-da!” Firr proclaimed, giving the hose a tug as it popped free, rubber band unwinding itself as if it was nothing! A pressurized whoosh of air escaped from Aura’s overfilled squeaky snout for a moment, before it, too, sealed!

“I did a good job, if I say so myself,” Firr boasted, grabbing his vest with both paws and flaring it. “Now, where’s a tether…”

He spun on a heel, starting to walk deeper into the garage, and promptly planting a paw directly on a pipe.

It rolled, pitching the skunk forwards… and, perhaps in an act of karma, directly onto an air compressor’s hose.

“Mmph?” was all Firr had time to say before a nearby broom, precariously perched against a shelf, tipped over… landing directly on the “pressurize” button of the compressor.

The compressor roared to life, filling Firr’s cheeks to practically comical levels – and, completely unsurprisingly, his tummy.

It began to swell normally, as normally as the situation allowed, anyway – but, then began to bulge, the skunk’s legs being pushed aside as a new, squishy, inflatable pink mass pushed from his lower half!

Immediately blushy, Firr spared a look – now being held up by an inflatable udder!

Oh.

Oh dear.

Trying to reach for the hose, the skunk was stopped as his lower half began to swell outwards, tail shrinking down into a comically small (if still oversized) cow tail, new patterns filling in as the skunk’s usual black fur became simple black spots on white cow vinyl!

He could hear Aura snickering from across the garage as his midsection began to blow up much as his rear had, footpaws reshaping into huge, stompy rounded inflatable cow hooves, handpaws already starting to follow suit as he flailed for the hose. It was no use; he wasn’t going to reach it in time, as even his arms began to grow more rigid, legs now firmly quadrupedal.

He wasn’t even going to be an anthro parade cow?! LAME.

Trying to push himself up, he only managed to force more air out of the udder into the rest of him – shooting his usually soft and fluffy skunk snout out into a huge inflatable cow snout, hose still firmly stuck in it as little horns began to push out of his increasingly squeaky and air-filled head, ears stretching out and one gaining a nice, yellow, inflatable cow tag! (with a price, to boot)

By this point Firr was the size one would usually associate with a bounce house, taking up most of the garage Aura hadn’t already filled, the last little bits of fur falling free as his transformation finished, and popping the hose free as it became too pressurized to stay firmly in, flopping to the floor as the compressor turned off!

The parade-sized fox and cow made eye contact for a moment.

“FIRR.”

“SORRY.”