“The new you is just a few clicks away!”
Avenue was no stranger to banner ads – most of the internet seemed to have a few these days, scattered here and there. The strange thing, though, was somehow this one had managed to make it through his ad blocker. How that was possible, and why it had decided to appear now, he couldn’t quite answer.
…and, worryingly, was simply spread across his desktop, seemingly locking their inputs aside from clicking directly on it, as if funneling his attention directly towards it. He clicked here and there, hoping he could simply minimize it until he found a way to remove whatever malware had delivered the pop-up in the first place, but it stubbornly refused to budge.
Their first instinct was to simply turn the computer off and call someone to diagnose it, but the drawing open behind it hadn’t been saved in what felt like hours, and… losing it simply wasn’t an option. Sighing, Avenue clicked – hoping that opening whatever page it led to might let him close the ad for good.
Oddly, instead of the usual scammy pop-up laden page he expected, it led to nothing. A broken URL, with a “we’re sorry! this page has moved” message scrawled across it, joined by a little “:(“ at the middle of the page. Whoever or whatever it once might have led to was long gone, which… made the adware useless. Funny, in a cynical sort of way.
“Well that’s certainly a way to advertise,” Avenue said flatly, closing the page. Behind it, oddly, was another window – this one advertising a “ceiling strengthening” service, with a stylized stick-dog with a broken roof perched on their head like a hat. “Spend a lot of time counting shingles?” It read in bold, black font. “Sometimes growing pains don’t need to be so painful – Kaiju Roofing is here for you, no matter the height, no matter the problem!”
Avenue rolled his eyes and clicked the “x” there, too, only to be met with a series of “are you sure?” and “last chance!” pop-ups, until, finally, his desktop was clean and clear. He waited a few moments, expecting it to return with a vengeance – but nothing happened. He did feel slightly… tingly, but that could’ve been anything.
Now, drawing time.
He reached for his tablet pen, and realized something strange. It felt… smaller, in his grip – not exactly enough to be noticeable to the eye, but strangely different to hold. Had he just never noticed? How would he not have noticed it when he’d sat down earlier?
Come to think of it, his desk seemed a little smaller too, monitor just that tiny amount further away. Sighing, he leaned over, intent on continuing – only for the sound of ripping fabric to draw his attention away, again.
Slowly, Avenue glanced to his right where the sound had come from… and saw his white fluffy fur peeking through a long tear down his sleeve, surprisingly buff arm seemingly flexing right through it in a show of strength.
“Um.”
He felt it, now. A surge, building in his paws and barreling upwards with all the force of an earthquake – and, doubling over, Avenue began to swell. His midsection thickened, muscles he’d forgotten he even had thickening up with the physique he’d wished for so long to have – but that wasn’t all. Panting, the wolf realized that everything seemed further away, again.
Except the ceiling, of course. That was closer.
“M-Mmf… not again,” He whined, clothes barely hanging on as another surge swept through him. Somehow, despite the drastic size increase, Avenue’s underwear managed to hold on – even if knocking over the keyboard and mouse and sending his tablet flying was part of the deal.
He swelled larger, bracing a meaty paw against the ceiling, but the changes showed no sign of stopping, shirt finally giving out with a colossal RRRIP and falling to the floor in tatters, pajamas following suit as he quite literally flexed his way right through them. It was almost intoxicating being this strong and enormous, and despite his best efforts to rein it in he was wagging, tail sweeping wind across the increasingly small room like the rotor of a helicopter. It wasn’t that he was enjoying it, exactly, perhaps, but he was… enjoying it, quite a lot. The sensation of being so sensitive, the new strength flowing into his muscles with the force of a river, it was invigorating in a way he couldn’t quite describe. It was perfect!
Still taller he grew, starting to hunch against the ceiling of his room more and more with each swelling surge – until, accidentally, he crushed his bookshelf by trying to grab it to steady himself. Well. At least it’ll end soon?
Unfortunately, as the next surge proved, ceilings were not built for half-dragon wolves, no matter how sorry and apologetic he was about growing right through it. With his cheeks a rosy pink, Avenue tried to hunch back down – finding their enormous knees and thighs could barely even fit now that their pecs and biceps were so huge, making even attempting it difficult.
Still larger he grew, shingles and roofing falling from his impossibly fit frame, until, with a crash, his bulge went somewhere. It felt cold? Cold, and slightly wet, like morning… grass?
Glancing down, Avenue realized with (embarrassing) satisfaction it had literally broken straight through the wall, collapsing the computer desk and sticking straight out into the neighbor’s garden.
“S-Sorry, agh…!” The wolf managed, steaming in the cool morning air as the small figure of their neighbor peeked out in alarm – and shut the door as soon as they’d seen what happened, intent on leaving this behind until coffee was finished.
With a loud crash, the house gave up – and Avenue was left sitting in a pile of rubble and shingles, nearly thirty feet tall and nearly as wide – just in time for their computer, somewhere in the pile, to confirm their free trial. Thoughtful.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the swelling stopped, the tension in their growing muscles fading away to be replaced with something worryingly like satisfaction, a desire for more of their neighbors to see what has happened. A dragon’s pride, maybe?
“P-Phew,” Avenue sighed, wiping their brow and leaning back a little. “A lot to fix, but…”
There was a snap, and, without warning, their waistband fell loose.
With a titanic crash, their poor neighbor’s fence was ruined.
“Ah. Oh dear.”