All According to Plan (Patreon)

Nikki had always been a bit on the impulsive side.

She would probably be the first to fess up to that herself. Maybe even that this current scheme of hers was very much just inline with that. But being confronted with that realization still wouldn’t have swayed her. Not in the slightest. Because whenever Nikki set her mind to something, she followed through with it. No matter the consequences.

This new, sudden scheme stemmed from her being unhappy with her lot in life. One which involved her slaving the majority of her time away at exactly 2.5 jobs, just to still only have ends hardly ever meet two months in a row. Along with a series of bad date after bad date, with every dude seeming to base their entire personality off of a worsening degree of outspoken bald men they listened to online. All while living in a noisy, unreasonably expensive sublet with four other roommates, each of which she had some sort of mini-beef with in varying capacity, making every interaction either awkward or passive aggressive. And worst of all, she wasn’t seeing any evidence of any kind of positive change on the horizon. In fact, it looked like things were set pretty firmly on a downward trajectory. And that trajectory was starting to make her anxious, as it all seemed to weigh on her. Constantly.

But then? Late one night? Something flashed upon her newsfeed that led to gears spinning. And ultimately, one hell of a crazy idea.

At first, she hardly thought anything of it. “Gum Recall.” Chewing gum seemed like such a weird thing to recall, honestly. Unless like metal shavings had somehow found their way into a batch or something maybe? That was all the mind she paid upon seeing it at first. She didn’t even click on it. Not at first. But then she popped open another social media platform & saw it again, this time with ‘URGENT’ scrawled across the post. It certainly seemed to be making the rounds, & it piqued her curiosity, if even just a little. This time she clicked, only out of the wonder of what could possibly be so wrong with it. What made it so urgent?

”Pallets of what was only supposed to be intended as a prototype found their way to shelves- Unfit for public consumption-“ She read in a murmur. “Consuming this product… leads to… safe but ultimately severe allergic reactions? What the fuck?!” She stared puzzled. “How can it be both of those things at the same time?” Now playing detective, she immediately searched the hashtag #GumReaction, just to see what could possibly come up.

“Whatever you do: Do not try this gum!” The tiktak started, with a badly compressed product shot jpeg blown up from about four pixels wide of Wonka’s New & Improved 3 Course Meal Gum. Someone get merchandising rights to the movie or something? “Whatever you do, do not even stick this stuff in your mouth!” A large red circle with a slash through it flashed over top. It then cut to a still picture of a somewhat thicc, but relatively athletic young woman with caramel skin & darker frizzy curls. Athleisure gear hugged her curves in a way that made Nikki a little envious on some subconscious level. “This is me before-“ The voice on the video trailed.

“And now look at me!” She said, cutting to a more current video. The facial features were the same, albeit a little less done up, & with glasses on. But it was hard to tell immediately. Because her skin had seemingly turned a blotchy, dark blue. Almost violet. And everything about her was much… well… rounder. Swollen. Her hourglass figure was now interrupted by a prodigious, round potbelly, which then smoothed out into hips at least three times as wide as before. To the point where what looked like baggy sweats seemed stretched to their very limits & still seem barely adequate in containing her. Even reaching her arm away to get that top down angle in an attempt to make herself look smaller, she seemed pretty big. “This ain’t a filter. I’m all purple & puffy & shit! It turned me into a goddamn blueberry! And I only had that junk in my mouth for all of ten seconds. And already a few squeezings.” Nikki didn’t really follow what she meant by “squeezings,” but kept watching. With a practiced hand, she zipped the self facing cam closer to her face, sassily continuing “Can you say class action?” It cut to the tiktak logo the nanosecond Nikki heard the word ‘action.’ Class action?

Then another, with a blonde, hair done up in a messy topknot, tinged cerulean. She seemed to be on the verge of tears as she set her phone upright on a kitchen island & took a few waddling shuffles to better fit within its frame. Her limbs seemed swollen, so full they were a little stiff, her steps rigid. She looked quite round, but was still up & around ok. Getting about okay.  That’s when the computer voice chimed in for her.

“All I did was try a new kind of chewing gum & it turned me into a freak!” Followed by “So much for spin class.”

Nikki swiped her thumb to catch the next. A latine person, begrudgingly getting filmed by their friend, all while their new, bloated frame & blue tint did little to hide their blush of embarrassment. Which was clear despite Nikki not speaking the language. Next seemed to be a girl with numerous piercings poking in & out of her now blue face, who simply just said “I’m so suing.”

Nikki, lying there, in the black tights & bulky tee she had intended to be her pajamas for the night, kept right on swiping. She was going through the array of big, blue gum victims. Some seemed pretty round, as if they might have some difficulties getting around on their own. They’d either need a friend to help shoot the tiktak, or would be desperate to lumber away from their meaner friend who happened to hit the record button. But even in the largest of cases, to Nikki, they still seemed pretty okay. Relatively lucid, not seeming to be in any sort of pain. Just kind of embarrassed. Understandably so. In some cases, like the current one, to the point of tears.

“Oh c’mon, all things considered, it doesn’t seem that rough.” She argued under her breath. “Almost like stuffing your shirt with a pillow as a kid. Or a wacky sumo suit.” She reasoned, as someone who had been a relative twig for her entire life. It was almost an impossibility for her to put on weight.

Then a very intrusive thought came into her head, coincidentally the third time she heard someone bring up the prospect of litigation.

“We really oughta sue!” A puffy young Asian woman huffed while futilely trying to suck in her new blue belly.

“Huh.” Was all Nikki said, lying there silent for a second longer. After a brief pause, she kicked her feet up, almost theatrically & kipped up into a sitting position. She hurriedly reached for her boots & started trying to pull them on up over her big wooly socks. Last thing she really thought she would be doing was going out again tonight. But the idea kept ping-ponging its way back & forth through her skull.

“Am I crazy? I mean the effects don’t seem that bad,” she thought. “If there’s the potential of legal compensation, I could deal with puffing up a bit. Being blue for a while. And what’s the worst that could even happen? I get too puffy? Have to take some time off? I’ve got sick leave. And I’d love a mini-vacation! Best of all, no one can really talk shit. “Oh! I didn’t know! I’m a victim here! You have to be nice to me! That dumb gum turned me into a friggin’ blueberry!”

She snuck out her bedroom & down the hall, grabbing her bulky green parka to fling over her pajamas. In her head, she was making a rudimentary map of the neighborhood, thinking of all the places that would still be open where she could check & see if she could get her hands on some. Before it was too late.

“Awfully late for a weeknight,” Her one roommate said, not looking up from her book in the living room. Nikki had been avoiding her. Mostly on account of the month & half’s utilities she owed her. She wanted to tell her “Fuck off. It’s none of your business.” but niceties prevented her.

“I’ll just be stepping out for a sec,” Nikki waved, “Grab a few things.” She was trying to hide the rage behind her eyes & picked up the pace. Anything to avoid a conversation about money. Zipping her coat, she unchained the bolt & stepped out the front door before her roommate could say another word. Rounding the corner quickly, she started to rush down the four flights of steps.

The first two places she checked must’ve already gotten word. Already yanked their supplies. Or maybe they just didn’t even carry the gum in the first place. It did seem a little niche after all. And during the brisk, late night walk, she did have something of a moment of clarity. A chance to second guess herself. What if this was a stupid idea? Intentionally trying to cause a bizarre reaction to a defective product? What if it wasn’t reversible? If it was permanent? If it took an awful lot more adjusting to than the flippant way she seemed to be treating it?

“So be it,” Nikki muttered under her breath, crossing the block to the third location. It was the bodega four blocks away from her place. The one that was closest to the train. The same one she stopped going to months ago because she always seemed to catch the guy behind the counter blatantly staring at her ass. Hell, maybe she could name him & the store in her lawsuit too, if only just out of spite & some sort of karmic comeuppance.

The one thing they did have going for them, at least in this scenario, was that they were always a little slow on the draw. More than once, Nikki had noticed them having expired items still sitting out for sale. Which is probably why the place, with its slowly flickering greenish fluorescents, always had the lingering odor of spoiled milk. She didn’t miss that. Or the buzz of the bad lights. But she pressed on.

It took quite a bit of scanning. But then? On the third row of their sorry excuse for a ‘candy aisle?’ Paydirt! Even buried & crowded by all sorts of fancier, brightly colored packaging, there was no mistaking that dark blue retro look. Nikki’s eyes lit up. But she tried to tamp down her enthusiasm, taking note of it & continuing further down the aisle to the drink fridge. Instead, she opted to grab a water. And then a bag of flamin’ hot nachos. A sun faded box of tampons? Sure, why not add that too. Just other items to draw suspicion away from the notion she was there purely with the intent of trying to have a bad reaction. She tried to make it seem as if the gum was merely an afterthought, as she grabbed it last second & brought all of her items towards the counter.

Mercifully, the guy wasn’t there. But the dude in his stead seemed like a relative, carrying the same kind of creepy, almost dead-eyed glance. Nikki patiently stood there, waiting to be rung up. She partially worried he still might’ve caught wind of the recall & stopped her from purchasing it. But no, he slowly scanned & bagged her purchases up as she wiggled to pull her debit card out. ”You don’t need to bag the gum,” She timidly interjected. ”I can just throw that in my pocket.” She tried to smile, almost home free. All that was left to do was run home & start chewing! She almost couldn’t wait! Easy street, here she comes!

But then again, a thought struck her. What would really help, in the scenario of making a case? Video. Somehow capturing the progression of the effects on her body. And while she could run home & set up her phone, it’d look like some of the tiktak she had sat through. Almost staged. What she needed was some added level of legitimacy. An objective view. Like… what if she were to do it here? In front of all the closed circuit cameras? That would mean a third party point of data, corroborating her side of the story. At the same time, it would be a somewhat embarrassing experience in front of strangers. Was Nikki really willing to debase herself like that?

After her transaction went through, she took a few steps away from the counter, & began tearing at the gum wrapper. She tore away the paper saying it was a full meal in gum form. And upon getting down to the raw piece itself, it had the strangest consistency, at least to her, in a tactile sense. It came more in the form of a waxy rounded cube than a pliable stick. “Here goes nothing,” She thought to herself, taking a deep breath before popping it into her mouth. She looked to make sure at least two of the security cameras had her in their sights, & began to chew.

Another customer approached the counter, having done half a week’s grocery shopping. Tall & lanky, maybe a bit older than Nikki, he wore a beanie & a flannel, which didn’t seem like enough for the temperature outside. Both he & the clerk looked at Nikki oddly, then each other, finding it a little strange she was still there after her transaction was complete. “Swishers, please?” He pointed behind the counter, trying to continue on with his business.

It took Nikki a few seconds to place a flavor & when she did, it was actually a little upsetting. It was beef. Like roast beef. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but weird notes to pick up off of a gum. But the more she chewed, the more that flavor began to shift. It was becoming something sweeter, but also very acidic. And warm.

“Ech!” She remarked. Nikki hated tomato soup. It brought up bad memories of being forced to spoon it down as a child when she was sick. It coated her throat & warmed her, again, very strange thing for a gum to do. But as much as it made her want to gag, Nikki kept chewing. Certainly the third course would be better? Right?

And luckily for her, it was. The shift happened slowly but away from the flavors that grossed her out & triggered bad memories. It sweetened further, until it was very recognizably blueberry pie a la mode. “Okay,” she thought, “Much better.” Chewing only seemed to intensify this flavor. And for a second, Nikki almost seemed to get a little lost in it. This wasn’t so bad.

“Miss…?” The clerk seemed a little alarmed. Nikki snapped out of her short daze, noting a strange bloated feeling building deep within her abdomen.

Without bothering to look down, Nikki recognized it as the feeling of ‘Success.’

Her plan had worked. The gum was starting to take effect. And she kept right on chewing. But then she reminded herself that she really ought to not seem too happy about that prospect. “Time for the acting of a lifetime,” she joked to herself.

“What?!” She asked in feigned shock. A bit loudly too. She flapped her parka back to look down at her flat middle, only to see it was no longer as flat as she remembered. Or even that flesh colored really, as patchy blue blotches started to show up. In the space between her eyes, she could vaguely see it already taking over her nose, but now it was hitting her fingers. And the underside of her rounding belly as it started to poke through her tee.

“Are you okay?” The other customer asked, a bit concerned. He asked in a kind of way that seemed to suppress his own shock for her, as if to keep her from panicking. That was kind of sweet of him she thought.

“Oh.” Nikki chewed. “Crazy.” Admittedly the swelling was coming on a lot faster than she had anticipated. She could see her belly continue to push out further & further, rising almost like blue bread dough. It was almost kind of alarming. Almost. And the intensifying pressure wasn’t all that pleasant a sensation either. But instead of genuinely starting to worry, she tried to channel that into her acting. “It’s like this gum is turning me into a- a- Blueberry!” She continued to chew blankly.

“Blueberry?” The clerk asked, puzzled.

“That’s so wild,” Nikki continued, as she took a staggering step, suddenly realizing how much heavier she felt. How stiff her joints felt, as more & more juice seemed to course its way through her. Okay. Maybe she hadn’t thought this out all the way through. But no reason to panic. “Eyes on the prize.” She reminded herself, remembering she had to stay within sight of the cameras, & looked again to make sure she was still good. If anything, she had to take a bumbling step back, worried her growing body was starting to poke out of frame of the one. Taking the step was becoming much easier said than done though.

“Should we do something?” The customer asked the clerk. “Call somebody?!”

“Who could’ve suspected such an absolutely insane thing to happen?” Nikki seemed to bob, almost rhetorically. She was getting pretty round, with all of the swelling centered out from her middle, but slowly spreading further & further out. Like suddenly, she had boobs. Big boobs! Always being as flat as a board, the idea of actually possessing some amount of cleavage actually seemed like a wish come true. But then there were her wide set hips. It felt like a lot of the juice was settling with gravity, giving her more & more of a round, teardropped silhouette. She worried if she didn’t pay attention, she’d take out one of the shop’s displays with them. And shape aside, she felt fat. Every chew seemed to make her heavier. She didn’t want to admit how silly it was for her not to consider the weight of this. It being juice after all. Or the weirdly growing sloshy sensation, every time she tried to move. “Whatever am I to do?” She feebly asked. But it came off almost as a murmur. A little like the facade of an act was starting to fade away. But the scheming impulsive part of Nikki tried to undercut that. She tried blowing a bubble with the 3 course meal gum. Even though it wasn’t the right kind of gum to be blowing the best bubbles with.

“Ma’am?” The clerk tried to get her attention. “Please-“

“Just spit it out!” The other customer tried to reason. And on some level, he kind of had a point. This seemed like quite enough of a reaction to be awarded some damages. She was sufficiently big, blue. Round enough certainly. Maybe she should spit it out. And so she tried to work it away from her teeth to do that. But impulsively, something was working to prevent her from expelling it. “Spit out the gum.”

“I-“ Nikki tried once again, but once again, she failed, falling back to chewing again. “I- can’t.” This wasn’t part of the act. Nikki was done with the ride. She wanted off. She had grown big enough. Blue enough that her original skin tone was almost all but gone. But some deep, underlying compulsion was stopping her from stopping this. Something neurochemical she seemed helpless to override. She could pause the chewing, & get the gum loaded between her puckered lips, ready. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it, just go back to feverish chewing.

With a sharp ripping poof, her thickening blue thighs blew a large hole in the seam of her tights. Then another. And another. Her tights were past their limit & going fast.

“Ma’am!” The clerk pointed. “Please- leave.”

“What No!” She winced, trying to wrap her parka closed. But there was way, way too much of her at this point.

“What? You can’t expect the poor woman to step outside like- like this,” The other customer seemed to argue for Nikki’s benefit.

“I do not want her getting stuck!” The clerk shouted back, heavily accented. “She is quickly becoming too wide for the door!” While he might’ve had a point, he turned to her callously. “Take it outside.”

“What?!” Nikki gasped. The growing prospect of getting stuck inside this dingey bodega of all places, with her clothes starting to burst off of her was not a very pleasant one. The clerk made a good point. She took one more passing glance at each of the two closed circuit cameras before starting to waddle towards the door. It took a lot of energy to move. Fuck, she was getting so heavy. And her center of balance was way off. It was getting lower. But with panic only now just starting to set in, she had to move!

“Wait-“ The other customer had just enough time to sidestep Nikki before getting trampled.

She b-lined towards the door, but it was impossible for her gait not to sway back & forth drastically. Her knees no longer wanted to bend, & her legs were very quickly following suit. In her rush, she definitely pushed over a stacked 12pk of soda & toppled a display of Bugles. But she didn’t want to be stuck inside this place. Besides, they most definitely had another camera outside, right? Wait, why was she still thinking in terms of the lawsuit? Was it just that she didn’t want this all to be for naught? Or, as she finally reached the door, was it a coping mechanism to avoid the idea she had bit off more than she could chew-

Nikki was too big! By a lot. She was stuck in the door. And not even at her widest point. Trying to push through it, trying to kick off the ball of her foot & keep going, only seemed to wedge her further.

“No.” She winced softly, crestfallen. “NonononononoNoNoNoNO-NO!!” The mantra built with growing intensity the more she realized the physical impossibility of her mass fitting through such a narrow opening. What’s crazy was it wasn’t even that narrow. She was just… that round suddenly. And continually growing rounder.

“I could’ve told you that wasn’t going to work,” the other customer said a bit plainly, slowly approaching her from behind. “You have to have a wider door out through the back though, right? For deliveries?” He seemed to shout back to the clerk.

“Not through the back!” Nikki could hear the clerk insist from behind her, inside. “Employees only!”

“Well you can either understand that we’re dealing with extenuating circumstances here or she becomes a permanent fixture of your doorway here & no one can come in to shop.” The man reasoned. All the while, Nikki really hated being talked about like large furniture. But she didn’t really have much choice in the matter at this point. As then another customer, a stout Asian man, looked like he wanted to get into the bodega. He stared at her for a moment before realizing she was firmly wedged. Nikki could only blush, but at the same time, she wondered just how that looked on her new, blue cheeks. “Hey, could you give me a hand?” The customer from inside seemed to ask, shouting past Nikki to the customer inside. “There’s a lot more of her in here than out there. Can you just shove her this way? For now?”

“Gently,” Nikki winced, trying not to make eye contact with the new customer. The way the juice was displacing things squished her diaphragm & made it hard to get enough air to speak properly.

“Uh-“ The customer outside hesitantly seemed to oblige, awkwardly placing his hands on her shoulders, careful to reach past her growing, pendulous blue bust. This while the customer with the beanie inside seemed to tug at her parka until he could get at her round side, just below her armpit. Squeezing in a bit. And slowly, with a slight rocking the two slowly began to work Nikki back in through the door. Little by little, unwedging her.

As they tipped her back up onto her feet, Nikki could take stock at just how round she had grown. Well at least partially. With most of the juice starting from her abdomen, it had ballooned out in every direction, leaving her limbs shaped like stubby cones, sticking out at their furthest extensions like some kind of monstrously fat, blue starfish. At this point, she was much bigger than any of the blueberries she saw on tiktak. Massive. 

There was just so much of her. More than any mere ‘sumo suit.’ She couldn’t see past her own hulking breasts & the eclipse of her belly, but she could feel the remnants of her tights holding on in a spiderweb patchwork of fleshy bulges. The unrestricted flesh felt the draft of the cold night air. Her parka was no longer big enough on her to save much modesty it seemed. But feeling her body continuing to grow, press against the constrictive shreds, she kind of started to think that was the least of her problems right now. All the while, it dawned on her that she was still chewing.

“Spit it out.” The first customer cupped a hand in front of her mouth. “It’s only making things worse.” He tried to tell her. She could see that while he was maybe a bit older, he had pretty handsome features. Or maybe it was just the concern he seemed to have for her well-being just playing tricks on her? She hadn’t seemed to experience much of that in a minute.

“I- wish I- could.” Nikki winced. “Really.” The man looked ready to insist, but another voice momentarily distracted him.

“I cleared as much of a path as I could.” The clerk seemed to emerge from the back. “Please, quickly!” Both the clerk & the first customer each took Nikki by a rigidly swollen arm. She wanted to protest, strangers within such close proximity, but beyond wiggling a few fingers, there wasn’t much she could do. But it seemed like they wanted to help guide her back. And if walking was a struggle before, Nikki definitely wouldn’t have been able to manage on her own now. So heavy, so stiff. And just a few steps in, she felt her own body pressing further into the two men trying to help her more & more, almost pushing them away on its own.

“I’m- sooo sorry-“ She moaned. “I- I didn’t mean to-“ Even her lips & cheeks felt too puffy, making it harder to articulate properly.

“Shhh,” the customer seemed to calm her, grunting as he struggled to lift her for his side’s step. “Let’s just- focus on getting you outside first. We have an ambulance coming.”

“You think she will fit?” The clerk asked without an iota of bedside manner.

“Not in front of-“ The customer seemed to growl. Luckily, the bodega didn’t have an ‘employees only’ door, but a cordoned off bend around a corner into a fairly wide hallway. Though even at its widest, the three of them barely fit. They had to kind of attack it an angle And still Nikki’s round, bulging sides were making that tougher by the second. Luckily they didn’t seem to have too far to go. “What’s your name?” The customer asked.

”N-nn-Nik-Nikki.” She struggled, & slightly distracted by the sensation of her abdomen swelling out past her knees. And the more sensitive regions between her legs further pushing the scraps of tight fabric down lower & lower. No way she could vocalize any of that though.

”Nikki, I’m Will.” He said. “Sorry to meet under these… well… circumstances. But we’ll at least make sure you’re not stuck in here.” He offered a half smile, trying to offer a bit of sincerity. “Make sure you get the help you need.”

”I- I- ap- appreciate it,” Nikki murmured. For a second, it was almost as if they were kind of having a moment. At least until Nikki’s body interrupted things. An intense wave of pressure hit & her round bulges seemed to surge further. “Oooh,” she could only bleat through fat, puckered indigo lips, flapping her hands. Will’s eyes widened, even though he seemed to be trying to keep his demeanor on an even keel, not to alarm her further. 

“We are almost there,” the clerk huffed, bringing up her foot on his side. They were on step close to what looked like a loading dock. A metal door with a somewhat wider berth. One that kicked off the side alley. Nikki, attempting to take deep panting breaths to recover from her growth spurt, wasn‘t entirely sure if the alley was better than in the store. Not in her current condition. But being trapped wasn’t all that pleasant an idea either. Fuck, she felt so round. At this point, as wide as she was tall. Maybe even wider in her side profile, given her boobs. Where could so much juice even come from?

”I- can feel my legs- brush the ground-“ She freaked. It seemed like now, as they rocked her to & fro, she was pivoting off swollen parts of what were once thigh, knee, even a little ankle, before her foot made contact with the ground. I must’ve meant, like she could see happening to her arms, she was swelling out past her legs too! “Just- how round- am I?”

”Hate to break it to you, but you’re practically almost just hands & feet at this point.” Will laid it out straight. “But we’re not going anywhere. We’re almost outside! Just trust us.” In the distance, the chirps & wail of a siren could be heard. “See? Help’s on the way.” He tried to reassure.

As they came to the vertical sliding door, which was already propped up by the clerk, Nikki felt her sides brush the rail on each side. But they were out past her arms! How could she possibly be that wide? Her mind raced again as Will worked her through, & the clerk passed his side to him. For the most part, she was finally outside in the cold, brisk night. 

”See? Still fit that one!” Will breathed a sigh of relief. Almost as if he had his concerns.

”J-Jus… b-barely-“ Nikki winced softly, not sure it was the vote of confidence the good samaritan thought it was. Once she was clear of the door, the clerk went back in & shut the metal gate from inside. The way it slammed, startled Nikki, causing her to rock & seemingly lose her balance. ”Ahh-“ She started to yelp, feeling her feet leave the ground. Only she didn’t seem to fall too far forward. In fact, it was more like she was rocking. Her body was only within inches of passing her feet. 

“Easy,” Will assured, placing a hand on what was her shoulder, just to hold her steady & keep from rocking further forward. “See? The ambulance is almost here!” He pointed to red lights illuminating the block out past the edge of the alleyway. It was so close, they were starting to hear the items in its compartments rattling.

”Th- thank you- W-Will.“ Nikki winced, her lungs feeling pretty squished, her body exhausted. She tried to ignore the hubris of her situation. How this was, at least partially, her intent. But now, she did take some solace in the fact that when things did spiral out of control, at least someone decided to give a fuck about her. And now she was hopefully going to get the proper help she needed. 

“Um- don’t thank me just yet.” Will said, lowering his voice. He started fumbling for his pocket. “I’m sorry if this is a little craven, but-“ The next part he said through grit teeth. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of the clerk.” He started. Nikki’s brows furrowed. Was he going to try & give her his number? Was he some kind of freak into round girls? Blueberries? Nikki, understanding the internet, imagined there had to be a market. Maybe that could be an interesting source of revenue, she thought.

Will then pulled out a card. “I’m a paralegal. My firm would probably think it’d be remiss if I didn’t suggest you consider all of your options.“ He winked, reaching out to hand her the business card on autopilot. “You know?” Nikki, in her couldn’t state, couldn’t exactly reach. But she smirked, thinking ”What are the chances?” At least until it dawned on him she couldn’t just reach out & grab it. “Oh. I- uh-” Will awkwardly fumbled. 

“Front right pocket,“ Nikki nodded to her parka. Gingerly, Will unzipped it, slipped it in & zipped it back up just as paramedics started to wheel a gurney. “I- think- they’re going to need something a little bigger.” Nikki winced, feeling another surge building pressure.

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Just a blueberry picture/story combo I did on a whim since fall has mostly been a lot of pumpkins. Not to say maybe the art won’t get a variant at some point, but the gum bubble kind of makes it a little unmistakable. Anyway, I wanted to try & do a story about a woman who seeks out becoming a berry, to the point where she’s initially sarcastic about the onset, but then starts to regret it as it seems to get out of hand or become more than she bargained for. Like she bit off more than she could chew. Though, I don’t know if in this situation, Nikki will really learn much of a lesson here, since things kind of work themselves out. At least oncoming growth spurts aside. 

With the art, I had the idea of trying to capture bad fluorescent lighting. I feel like I went a little overboard at first & then walked it back, opting for that version, but I’m including both just in case. I finished the art in pretty short order & had intended on posting it a few days ago, but the story turned out to get a little crazier than I had initially set out to do. Either way, I hope you enjoy both.