Ratchet: Part 7 (Patreon)

Monique had gotten used to sleeping in well into the afternoon since Lovelie’s spell had taken hold of her. She figured it was the very least of her vices and given that no one ever really complained about it, it wasn’t worth arbitrarily forcing herself out of bed just to get up, eat more food she didn’t need, and then go back to bed the moment she inevitably got sleepy again. Now that the sun was blocked out and she had a dedicated fan blowing on her, she could actually stand to stay under the blankets long enough to get a good night’s sleep. There came a time every day however where she was too hot under the blanket, but too chilly without it and would force herself to come to terms with being awake. From there, she would force herself out of bed and go see what was going on in the other room.

Lovelie was the one who insisted that whole she continue her trials, she go by Monique. According to the family matriarch, “Monica” was becoming a bit conspicuous and unbefitting a woman of Monique’s new visage. Keisha of course pulled her off to the side to lecture her about not giving in and letting other people tell her what to do, but the more she did it the more Monique felt that is was Keisha that was always hassling her to break the spell HER way. Granted, she was only trying to help, but it had become a constant battle of which version of the magic Monique was going to believe. 

On one side there was Lovelie. Constantly saying to take things easy, but maintain good morals and avoid unnecessary temptations so that Monique might pass her trials and be returned to her original form. While Monique had clearly failed some of her challenges from the spirits and further transformed as a result of it, Lovelie insisted that the fact that she was still in control of herself and that the spirits had been “blessing” their home was a sign that she was succeeding in many trials, even if she didn’t know it. She merely had to stay the course.

On the other side was Keisha. Keisha virulently asserted that her mother was completely full of shit and that her advice was meant to placate Monique so that she would gently fall into acceptance of her new life as a black woman. The younger of the two women was much harsher and insisted that Lovelie’s blessings weren’t at all gifts from the Loa, but the result of her mother sapping the hearty life and light from Monique and replacing it with something sickly sweet. But her attitude was exactly the problem. She pushed Monique to exercise and diet constantly, practically berating her new family member for gaining weight or not re-dying her hair when the color faded. Any moment spent not poring over some old tome or googling magic spells was considered a waste of time. Any snack or indulgence was a criminal offence in her eyes and everything from sleeping in to having a drink with her man was somehow going to turn her into Bongquisha overnight.

Still, Monique couldn’t decide who to believe. Keisha was so harsh and overbearing that it made Monique not want to listen, but Lovelie was overly accommodating and always told her that she was doing well no matter what happened. There were bursts of time where Monique’s trust in Owen’s mom would begin to shake and her confidence in the explanation that she was being tested by the Loa and would revert back one day would shake, causing her to run to Keisha for help and advice. Then Keisha would admonish her for listening to her mom instead of her, and the lecture would make Monique so upset that she would put her faith back in the hope that passing the Loa’s trials would really be the thing she needed to be herself again.

Monique rolled out of bed and stuffed herself into a pair of distressed jeans that she didn’t really remember buying and tugged them up over her hips. She’d been finding more things like that. More and more clothes that she simultaneously remembered bringing with her and never seeing before in her life. She remembered being curvy and wide-hipped all throughout high school, but knew in her heart of hearts that she was a skinny white girl with above average tits and always had been. Keeping track of what was real and what was just a hazy illusion masquerading as a memory was becoming more and more difficult, but ad much as her mind screamed at her to do something about it, Monique constantly felt as though she was wading through sludge that only grew thicker every time she stopped to catch her breath.

She threw on an old tanktop that she’d nearly outgrown and walked out into the living room without even bothering to look in the mirror or put on any makeup. The smell of spicy pork and butter immediately assailed her senses and her mouth began watering instantly. Owen was at the table doing a crossword puzzle while Keisha’s music could be heard playing from behind her door. What surprised Monique was that for the first time since she’d arrived, the tv wasn’t on and Ne-ne wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Monique moved to the kitchen under the guise of curiosity as to where the normally lazy teen girl had gone off to, but in reality even she knew that she was really just looking for an excuse to see what Lovelie was cooking.

“Hay Mama.” She said, wandering in slowly.

Lovelie greeted her with a warm smile on her cherubic face. The blessings of the Loa she said, had done her a lot of good. Apparently whatever good Monique had done during her tribal fever dreams had impressed the spirits enough to bless Lovelie with youth and beauty in abundance. She was still clearly older than Owen or Monique, but she was much thinner and seemed to be on the low end of 40 as opposed to pushing 70. She wore her long dreadlocks in an African style scarf, stirring a pot of heavily seasoned rice in a matching apron that clung conservatively to her curvy figure.

(1)

“Hay baby. How are you doing, sweetheart? You hungry yet? I’ve got a big lunch on the way so just give me a couple minutes.” She said cheerily.

“But I thought I wasn’t supposed to be eating all that much….” Monique said on a tone that was just as much a pout as it was a statement of concern. 

“Well that’s only if there’s a spirit around. Do you see any tribal goddesses or fertility idols walking around my kitchen?” Lovelie asked matter-of-factly.

“Well…no.” Monique mumbled.

“Owen?” Lovelie asked immediately.

“Just the one you got sniffing around that casserole dish.” Owen said, grinning as he looked up from his newspaper.

Monique pouted again. “Uggghhh, baby nooo. Don’t be saying that shit. I’m tryna get back to normal. I can’t be eating like this in front of the spirits!” 

Lovelie laughed from across the counter. “Oh yeah? What’s ‘normal’ supposed to mean, hm?”

“Skinny! And white! I’m no-“ Monique attempted, only to realize the landmine she’d stepped on after she said it.

“Oooooh, girl.” Lovelie said, shaking her head. “I KNOW you didn’t just tell me that your definition of what a woman should be is ‘skinny and white.’ How about you sit down and rethink your statement while I get your food ready. Loa or not, I know my boy isn’t chasin’ after no skinny white girl, especially if she thinks that lacking melanin is a default. You’re gonna have to unlearn some of those toxic prejudices if you wanna stay in *my* house, you understand?” 

“…..Yes, Mama.”


Keisha had come out to eat while Monique was halfway through breakfast and spoke eagerly with the family about her new makeup channel she was starting up on youtube. It seemed amicable and friendly enough, but she texted Monica under the table that she wanted to show her something important after they ate and to accept the offer she was about to make. 

“Yeah, I was actually gonna go down to the store an get some products for my channel later of anyone wants to go with me.” Keisha said invitingly, prompting an eye roll from her mother and eliciting no reaction from her brother.

“Pass.” Lovelie said nonchalantly. “I don’t need that gunk giving me pimples.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment before Monique raised her hand and said “I’ll go with you.” 

The rest of the family stared at her before quirking all of their respective eyebrows.

“Yep. You might be a little darker now but you’re still white on the inside.” Lovelie droned judgmentally. 

“Alright. Just finish your food and don’t be out all day.”

“Oof…Keisha slow down.” Monique huffed, pressing her hand into her supple belly as she hobbled forward slowly. She bent over at the waist slightly as she walked, feeling both the heaviness of the big meal and the chafe of her thighs through her jeans.

“No bitch, hurry up! We gotta get to the place and back before it gets dark.” Keisha scolded and began walking even faster, not even looking at the look of despair on Monique’s face as she gasped for air and did her very best to speed up.

“You’re going…Too fast…Please…I’m too full…” 

Monique begged and pouted until Keisha stopped her momentum and turned around.

“If it hurt so bad why’d you eat that much then?” Keisha asked, sighing with irritation.

“Mama said…I had…to finish it…before we left.” Monique gasped, finally catching up.

“Oh my gawt.” Keisha said, turning sharply and shaking her head in a manner not unlike her mother had earlier. “Hopeless.”

The pair continued on with some difficulty through the neighborhood with Keisha leading and Monique dragging behind. Both of them took notice of the state of the street and sidewalk, noting at different times with equal amounts of awe and surprise that the spell had indeed affected the neighborhood as well as their family. The houses were cleaner. Larger. The sidewalks were wider and had fewer cracks and lips in them. Streetlights now lined the paved road and even the locals seemed to be in better shape and less unhealthy.

(2)

Several still whistled and catcalled the two women as they sauntered by, both of them putting more effort into putting on a show than they’d originally anticipated and giggling to each other about the attention once they were out of sight and around the corner.

Before long, they’d hit the busier streets of the city proper and Monique had caught her breath. 

“Hey, where we goin anyways?” Monique asked, curiously looming around at the area with a childlike innocence on her face. 

(3)

“It’s a secret. But an important one. I don’t wanna say cuz I want you to get the full impact, feel me? The full effect. When we get there you be like DAMN. I gotta fix this shit!” Keisha said, confidently strutting up the street in her own tight outfit.

“How long’s it gonna be before we get there?” The curvy, faded-blonde girl asked. As she waited for the answer, she couldn’t help but gaze at Keisha’s newly altered figure. She seemed curvier in places, and more fit than she was in the beginning. Her skinny body now had a delicate strength and softness to it now. Her hair had shifted from thick braids to cascades of wavy, natural hair that fell down past the small of her back. She still looked like Keisha, Monique thought. Only….Better.

(4)

“Uhhhmmm…Prolly another twennyfive...thirty minutes.” Keisha said cheerily, a bounce in her step causing her pert butt to quiver ever so slightly.

“Ooh, well…Can we stop by that donut shop real quick? I wanna see if they got maple bars.” Monique said, dreamily looking over at the shop, already anticipating a positive response.

Keisha was not amused. “Wha-…Bitch, WHAT?! You just got done cryin over how full you were!”

“That was like an hour ago!” Monique pouted. “I’m getting hungry again and I don’t wanna wait until it’s dark to come back!”

“No! That’s not why we came out here! Plus, you don’t need to be eatin ANYTHING they got at that place anyways.” The slim, dark haired girl replied snappily.

“Uhhhn! What’s wrong with it? Why can’t I just go get a donut real quick?” Monique asked, her pouting having now devolved to full blown whining.

Keisha turned quickly and stomped her foot on the ground. “CUZ YOU *FAT* NIGGA!”

There was a moment of stunned silence between the two of them at the realization that not only had someone finally broken the barrier of acknowledging that Monique looked to any outside observer like a curvaceous but fat woman, but also that she had subconsciously recognized her as black. She continued, if only to ride out the shock and tension by continuing to explain.

“All you wanna do is eat! I tell you lay off that shit but you just say ‘well Mama said, Mama said, Mama said’ like I ain’t TOLD you she’s the one makin you this way! She has you eat and eat and eat and you do it EVERY time. Now you spillin outta your clothes and you don’t even care!”

Monique wanted to cry. She wanted to have a breakdown or emotional episode. She wanted to bury her face in her hands and weep openly on the street at what was happening to her, but the tears never came. Instead, she simply absorbed the words and felt them become more true. More expected. More normal. She could clearly remember that she was supposed to be Monica Branson, Skinny white businesswoman, but was now Monique, the chubby black girl with a voodoo curse hanging over her head. She just couldn’t bring herself to care as much as she wanted. She felt the realization fade into her like it had always been there, and even as her mind shrieked and raged like an ADHD college student trying to force herself to write an essay, her face remained still and thoughtful.

“I know.” She said, letting the thought pour over her in what almost felt like submission to it. She was fat and she knew it. Other people saw it. 

“I’m just…Yeah. Thank you. I’m not gonna get any donuts or whatever. I need to fight this thing with everything I have. Thanks, Keisha.” She said, smiling at the end.

Keisha smiled too, brightly and beautifully as her bangs fell gently over her face. She was stunning and luscious with a dazzling smile and a killer body.
“Of course. I know I get a little nasty sometimes but…I’m here for you. We got this, okay?” She said cheerily, her bright teeth almost sparkling.

“Yeah.” Monique said softly.

But the damage was done. She could feel the weight of her body more acutely than before. She became aware of the tug of her belly with every step and the compressed wobble of her thighs in her jeans. Monique still wanted with all her heart to be more upset than she was, but it still wouldn’t happen. The moment she had become truly aware of her weight, it sunk deep into her mind and embedded itself as a simple, acceptable, obvious truth.

She had become a fat woman.
She wasn’t skinny anymore and no one who saw her would say she was.
She felt herself whisper the words without thinking, feeling them shift from a hazy, nebulous concept to a solid reality. She squeezed a handful of her doughy middle.
“I’m fat.”

“There. That’s the place.” Keisha said after minute 40 of their 25 minute ETA. 

It was a house in another, nicer part of town across from the park. It was cleaner too, with terraced bushes lining the walls of the community as an older white man carelessly mowed a well kept lawn. He even waved as they walked by. Both women waved back with Keisha smiling broadly as she did, further demonstrating her brilliant beauty. After turning down a couple streets, the girls came to a two-story house with several dirty Power Wheel jeeps in the messy yard.

Keisha rang the doorbell and shifted from side to side anxiously as what sounded like a pair of tiny dogs began barking excitedly at the door. Monique had no idea who she expected to answer, but when the door creaked open, she was greeted to the sight of one of the roundest and fattest black women she had ever seen in her life. She wore a large black tent of a dress with a vaguely tribal design set over two massive, drooping breasts that sagged like pancakes over a huge, protruding pregnant belly. Her hair was an unflattering mess of dark, dyed-purple curls that fell to either side of her head only to bounce onto her outrageously fat and protruding cheeks.

(5)

“Uhhh, hi…” The woman said, kicking back a Pomeranian from the door. Her full, flabby cheeks puffed into a dismayed look of confusion before suddenly rising into a wide smile.

“OH MAH GOT, KEISHA?!?!? HAY GIRL!!!” She said, suddenly waddling backward and bidding them come in. 

“Oh don’worry, dey don’t bite.” She called over her shoulder as she moved. 

Monique couldn’t help but be amazed at the sheer size of the woman. Her movements were even less a waddle that a full blown rocking from side to side as she leaned on one leg and tilted her whole body just to lift one of her massive legs even a couple inches off the ground. When she did finally plop onto the couch, the cushions sunk and the wood creaked before she immediately reached into a bowl of fun size candy bars and unwrapped them one after another. As she chewed, her thick jowls jiggled along with the bloated neck ring that completely enveloped her face and Monique couldn’t help but stare.

“So! What’s up girl! Who dis? Yo freyn?” The woman said, her mouth still full of chocolate. 

“Hay Jewleigh…This is Monica…or Monique. She’s my brother Owen’s new girlfriend and she’s here from New York stayin with me and Mama for a while. I figured you two might wanna talk and get to know each other.” Keisha stated concisely, her voice upbeat and enthusiastically sweet.

Jewleigh’s facial expression dropped considerably before turning over to her guest.

“Oh yeah? You Owen’s new girl? Hi, I’m Jewleigh.” She said, weakly extending a flabby arm that Monique awkwardly shook.

“Sorry dis a lil awkwert. Owen’s my ex. We use’ta date for a while. How you meet?” Jewleigh said, sweetly trying to maintain her composure as Keisha looked on with bright eyes and a smile on her pink lips.

“Oh, uhh…We met online. I lived in New York and-“ Monique began.

“You live there, or you used ta live there?” Jewleigh interrupted. Monique stared for a moment, taken aback.

“Hard to remember?”

Monique thought for a moment. “No like…I live there. I’m just visiting him and his Mama.”

Jewleigh popped another chocolate in her mouth. “Mmmmmmhm.”

“Hey Jewleigh, why don’t you tell Monique about what happened during your relationship with Owen? I figure it’d help her to know and…you know, maybe prepare for what’s comin.” Keisha said, an almost mischievous smile plastered across her face, clearly enjoying the interaction thus far.

It didn’t take much prompting for Jewleigh to launch into a series of stories about dates that she had gone on with Owen. Each of them were fast-paced and obnoxiously detailed when it came to the sexual encounters between the gigantic woman and Monique’s current boyfriend. She gushed about how skinny Owen used to be and how charming he became the longer they stayed together, breaking open a bag of ruffles halfway through. Apparently she had met Owen after she took a babysitting position from Lovelie. Jewleigh spent several minutes reminiscing about the games she had played with the then-13 year old Keisha and 8 year old Ne-ne. Neither woman got in a word over her either, as Jewleigh spoke at a thousand words a minute with very few pauses, often repeating herself for either emphasis or to make sure she was dominating the speaking floor so as to not give anyone space to interrupt her.

Monique shot several glances towards Keisha who simply acknowledged them with a knowing grin. She felt terribly awkward and uncomfortable, especially since her boyfriend’s ex was still speaking about him in a way that made it seem like she still had some claim to ownership over him. Keisha seemed to recognize this and excused herself to the bathroom to give Monique the chance to speak up and ask whatever questions she needed to before they had to leave.

When Keisha had left the room entirely, Monique looked over at the gargantuan woman and saw her smiling unnervingly at her.

“You white, huhh?” She asked, point-blank, taking Monique by surprise.

“Or you was. Bet’chu was skinny too.” Jewleigh stated with a look of smug certainty on her jowly face.

“Um…What’chu you mean?” Monique asked nervously.

Jewleigh pointed to an end table next to where Monique was sitting. “On yo left there’s a pichaframe. Grab it and take a look.”

The plump woman did as she was told and looked at the table next to her. She hadn’t noticed when she sat down but there was indeed a small picture frame sat face down next to a lamp. Taking the small wooden frame in her hands, Monica blew off a thick layer of dust from the glass covering. It was a strange thing in and of itself, as nearly everything in the house was reasonably clean save for that one item. It was out of place. 

Wiping off the glass with her hand, she stared into the bright and smiling face of a young woman in a loose pink sweater. She had light and gentle brown hair that fell just past her ears as she walked down an autumn street in a pair of tight jeans that showed off a slight thigh gap. She was cute, Monique thought. Not immensely beautiful in a way that would make her stand out in a crowd, but she did have a sort of Breakfast Club sort of charm that made her seem like a normal, cute girl. There was only the tiniest moment of confusion before a sense of dread began to seep from the picture up into Monique’s arms. Jewleigh was Owen’s ex girlfriend and knew his family in the same way she did. The room suddenly seemed darker.

(6)

“….This is….You. Isn’t it?” She asked with a lump in her throat.

“Yes it is.” Jewleigh responded in a heavy, ghetto blaccent. “Dat’s gon’ be you too one day if you ain’t find a way to break the spell Mama Lovelie be puttin on you.”

Monique set the picture back down and was startled to see a large bowl of the same mini candy bars on the table where there wasn’t one before. She set the picture down timidly, eyeballing the candy with a suspicious look on her face. She wanted Keisha to come back very badly. 

The room had dimmed considerably around them despite sunlight pouring in through the windows. Only Jewleigh sand the candy bowls seemed to be haloed in light, highlighting them against the dark.

“You want some? Go ahet. Eat.” Jewleigh smirked, gesturing towards the candy. 

Monique knew she shouldn’t, but her stomach growled from the exertion earlier and her inability to sate it with a snack from the donut shop. Against her own better judgment, she reached in and grabbed a dark chocolate milky way, justifying in her mind that she just needed a little sugar to boost her energy and soothe the craving. 

“So….They changed you too right? So like…umm. Is that….the baby…” Monique stumbled, losing focus as the chocolate and caramel seemed to melt perfectly in her mouth, hitting every pleasure center in her brain in just the right way. She grabbed another.
The massive girl laughed and patted her belly through the thin fabric of her blanket-sized dress. 

“Oh dis? Nah. Dis me NEW man’s baby. He ain’t really wit me right now tho cuz he gotta notha’ girl he ain’t leave yet but I got dis baby so gonna have to make a CHOICE, feel me? An if he don’t, that’s aight. I already got 4 kids so he can start payin me dat chile’ support an I be fine. His call if he still wanna get summa dis or stay wit dat lightskin bitch Jada or be wit his real baby mama.”

“So what happened with Owen? He dump you after…you got done changin or something?” Monique asked, poppong yet another chocolate in her mouth, now slouching into the couch like she owned it.

(7)

“Oh Owen? Nah, *I* dumped *him.* I got tired a’ not bein able to get wit the guys I wanted you know like I want a open kinda ruhlashionship ya feel me? Like I’m o’hurr feelin horny and moist an he tryna be doin bizniss shit like he forty an I’m still young so I said fuck it nigga, if you don’t wanna be wit me when you wit me then I’mma find a man who gon’ actually spend his time on *me* ‘steada the DAMN newspaper. Like I love the girls too but he mama is controllin too. Bitch trip over everythang and dat shit got old RULL FAST, feel me? RULL fast. RULL FAST. Just all the time sje bitchin bout the clothes, the kitchen, everythang. Jewleigh get a job. Jewleigh get off the couch. Jewleigh who you talkin to?Everythang. So I said fuck it and I bitched her ass out an she told me to move an Owen let it happen and didn’t come wit me so I left. I said fuck this, nigga you  wanna be wit me then be wit me. Othawise you stay here wit’cho mama and she be you girl instead, I’mma go find a man that gimme what *I* want. Not what he want. Not what his mama want. What *I* want. Jewleigh. I’m about what JEWLEIGH want. JEWLEIGH.” Jewleigh ranted, finally slumping back down onto the couch and grabbing more candy for herself as she did.

“Mmmmmhm…Iz good, huhh?” She said smugly.
Monique could feel that something had come over her but couldn’t stop it. No matter how she tried to resist, she was unable to convince her hands from greedily shoving more and more chocolate in her mouth one after another, nor could she force her sloppy, salivating mouth from accepting more every time.

“Yeah I figured who you was when I saw Keisha here with a lightskin girl. You was white once. You was skinny too right?” Jewleigh asked in a snarky but casual tone that sounded more like a woman bitching about her ex than attacking Monique.

Monique nodded vigorously, gulping down chocolate and caramel at a breakneck pace as it began to melt into liquid pleasure the second it touched her tongue.

“Yeahh, dat’s right. Eat up. You ain’t skinny no more. Might as well.” Jewligh shrugged.

Monique looked up with an animalistic fear in her eyes. “Ahm nohht??” She mumbled through a mouthful of candy causing her host to laugh.

“What? No nigga, you already fat as hell. An you gon keep growin too. Dis just the beginnin ‘less you stop stuffin yo mouf and break dat spell.”

There it was again. Monique’s eyes traveled down to her belly, now stuffed into her jeans and straining the buttons instead of gently sitting on top of the waistband. She felt a wave of pleasure snake down her spine and her vision dim as her eyes crossed from the sensation.

“Ooohhhh you like dat don’tchu? You prolly been skinny a yo life but now you got a BIG gurl callin you fat? That’s it huh? You wanna get yo old self back but's too hard, huh? You just gonna keep eatin and givin it what it want ain’t you? AIN’TCHU?” Jewleigh demanded jovially.

“MMMMPH. MMMMPHHMMMM.” Monique grunted, now practically drowning herself in an endless bowl of already unwrapped candy as she nodded in desperation, terror, and rapturous defeat.

“That’s right. You ain’t gonna stop. You ain’t skinny no mo. You a FAT bitch now. Fat. You FAT. Faaaaaaaaat. An you lovin dis so much you ain’t gon’ stop. I already seent it. I been there. Soon you be walkin round lookin like me." The pregnant woman teased.

Monique’s hips were now bucking wildy on the couch. She had finally reached the bottom of the bowl, now sticky with melted chocolate and was lapping at her fingers as pressure built between her legs. When she finally came, she felt her body surge and tense in pleasure before collapsing where she was. Her vision grew dim and drowsy, and she felt her eyes begin to close.

“Sorry Mo-nique.” She heard Jewleigh say arrogantly. 

“Keisha wasted her damn time.”