Was thinking about potions being turned into temporary tattoos, and of course how they could be used to fatten up someone, so I turned it into a story. I've been in a Raf mood, so he got to be the lucky test subject!

Indi tests his new alchemical tattoo on Raf, causing the grump to blimp up with blubber...

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Alchemical Tattoos
By: Indi

Every step groaned beneath Raf’s weight as he slowly made his way down the stairs. The blubbery, five hundred pound lion scowled at the noise. Sure he was large, but did everything need to act like it was about to break or shatter or flatten when he was upon it? He couldn’t believe how fragile things could be.

His round, hill of a belly bounced as he descended, but so did every part of the lion, from his pudgy cheeks to his sizable rump. Fortunately—in the basement of the alchemy shop—there was no one around to stare.

Despite the persistent protests, no stair was lost to the immense girth of the grumpy lion. He just hoped the same would be true on the way back up later.

“I’m here,” Raf announced, before also mumbling under his breath, “for some reason.”

A plump, blue zebra was leaning over a workbench nearby, only barely aware of his guest. Indi turned around and smiled—a little too gleefully for Raf’s liking. He adjusted his goggles slightly.

“Wonderful! Now hurry on over so I can show off what I’ve been working on.”

Raf sighed, and for a moment considered just standing where he was. But if he did that Indi would just bug him to come over more, and might even go as far as to nudge him. He wasn’t eager to give the mischievous zebra a free opportunity to poke and prod his belly—something Indi was overly fond of. So he trudged over, doing his best to make sure his gut didn’t bounce or sway in a way Indi would enjoy. He was marginally successful.

The workbench was covered in powders and stains and squares of parchment, none of which meant anything to Raf. His specialty was artifice and healing magic. Alchemy was a menace as far as he—and his poor, constantly expanding waistline—was concerned. Questionable potions and alchemically condensed field rations were likely to blame for a solid hundred pounds of his girth.

On one of the pieces of parchment a series of symbols had been drawn, which did remind the lion of sigil magic. Again, not his specialty, but at least something he could recognize.

Regardless of Raf’s knowledge, Indi was already beaming with pride. “It’s taken weeks of work, but I’ve finally figured out how to make alchemical tattoos!”

He waited for praise and adoration that never came, Raf’s default scowl unmoved.

“Speechless, I see. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all the exciting details in the meanwhile.” Indi went to slap Raf’s back but missed wildly, instead hitting one of his doughy love handles. The lion’s large belly wobbled in turn, and Raf suspected the miss wasn’t an accident at all. “I got my inspiration from sigil magic and magic tattoos. I wondered if I could recreate that sort of thing with alchemy, and so got to work! By solidifying potions and grinding them into a powder, I was then able to turn it into a kind of paint that could be applied to flesh and activated on command to mimic the original potion’s effects.”

“Cool,” Raf said, with as little enthusiasm as possible. He assumed Indi was up to something. Past experience told him that avoiding the zebra’s scheme would be impossible, so he just wanted it to be over and done with so he could go be productive elsewhere.

Indi continued. “No more having to worry about where to store potion bottles—you can just use your body! Which makes them ideal for someone with...ample storage space.” He gave Raf’s middle a gentle poke, his hoof practically sinking into the mound of soft pudge. He removed the hoof as he saw Raf stare daggers into him.

“I’m not going to cover my middle in your weird potion tattoos,” Raf insisted. He could already imagine the teasing it would lead to. And of course the possibility his guildmates might use them as an excuse to expand the potential canvas for more tattoos. They were always trying to fatten him up for fun.

“But think of all the healing potions you’d be able to store on such a grand belly!”

“I don’t need healing potions, I have healing magic!”

“Well then think of all the mana potions!”

“Yeah, like I’m gonna let you cover me in your potions that have more calories than the average feast.” Raf’s gut wobbled as he grumped, as if for emphasis.

Indi smiled innocently. “The calories are a small price to pay for how effective they are. But my alchemical tattoos also have one big advantage over regular potions.”

“And what is that?” Raf asked, not interested in the least.

“They’re a whole lot easier to force on someone!”

Indi scooped up the tattoo on the table and slapped it onto Raf’s middle right as he was finishing his answer. The lion’s belly bounced from the force, left gently wobbling even after Indi’s hoof had been removed. Stained on Raf’s tunic were the same alchemical symbols that’d been on the parchment.

“What’d you just do!” Raf growled, briefly, before stopping once he realized the act was only jiggling his paunch further.

“Letting you test out my latest creation, of course! I think you’ll find it swell.”

The grump’s face scrunched up, and it took all his willpower to avoid cursing or growling further. He had more important things to worry about, though.

The tattoo glowed faintly, and once it did, Raf’s belly began swelling outward. He placed his paws on his ballooning middle, but all he felt was soft, squishy pudge. He wasn’t getting inflated or stuffed—he was actually getting fatter. And the pounds weren’t limited to his immense middle, either. Arms, legs, rump, face—every part of Raf was becoming doughier, and fast.

Raf’s tunic and pants tightened some before stretching. He’d enchanted them to expand to ensure he didn’t burst out of his clothes whenever he grew, which was frustratingly often.

His face danced from one emotion to the next, showing off a mix of fury, embarrassment, worry, and even begrudging acceptance. Raf had long ago learned that it was often easier to just get fattened and worry about the aftermath later. Resisting tended to end in exhausting failure. But he wasn’t in the mood to immediately give up that day.

“Get this dumb thing off me!” Raf grumbled, reaching for the tattoo and trying to wipe it off with a paw. The effort had no effect, and soon he was too big around to reach it.

“But the test will be a waste if we don’t see it through,” Indi insisted, easily dodging a swipe from his expanding friend. He watched the lion grow fatter and fatter by the second with awe. He wanted to give the big grump a hug and feel how much softer he’d gotten, but that would have to wait until he was less capable of throttling him.

Raf was more belly than lion at that point. Every bit of him was fat and pillowy, his stance widened constantly. His belly had reached his knees, while his rump was a pair of wobbly orbs.

Moving around was increasingly difficult for Raf. Every careful step made him feel like he was about to topple over, and the sheer amount of jiggling his body was doing caused him to blush nonstop.

Though Raf did know magic, his spells were focused on healing, not weight-loss. They’d be of no use unless he bruised his tush falling over.

He was worrying too much about the potential extent of his gains to notice Indi was getting fatter as well, albeit far more slowly. Indi smiled at his plumper middle, giving it a playful shake. “I must’ve overdid it with your tattoo if anyone who gets close fattens up too!” He chuckled, but didn’t try to distance himself from the effects. Learning how fat the tattoo would make him was an important part of the experiment now, after all.

“A normal person would turn it off then,” Raf mumbled, exasperated by his girth. He slowly waddled around, still passively trying to find a way to halt his gains. His steps were lumbering and exhausting, Raf using all his might to move the hundreds of pounds of blubber on his feline frame. Though he wasn’t getting anywhere fast or gracefully, the mere fact he could still sort of waddle was impressive. He only saw it as a sign he ended up massive too often.

The actual sensation of tightness was starting to kick in as the enchantments on Raf’s clothing were pushed to their limits. He grunted as tunic and pants became skin-tight. Threads snapped and seams ripped. The holes were tiny at first, but they expanded along with him. When the front of his tunic tore he thought he might get a reprieve from the tattoo, but it was visible on his fur underneath as well. Raf’s body felt stiffer as his clothing tightened. At last he lost his balance and fell forwards. 

There was a panicked yelp and a grunt as he landed on his gargantuan gut. Fortunately his fat cushioned the fall, leaving nothing bruised but his pride. He wobbled in place as he attempted to get back up, but it was an impossible task. Within seconds of falling his doughy legs and arms couldn’t even reach the floor. The lion was beached atop a belly of blubber.

With Raf more defenseless than ever, Indi dared getting closer. He pressed both hooves into Raf’s side, grinning wide as he felt them practically sink in. He lovingly squeezed and rubbed the soft heft of the lion, much of which was now exposed as his outfit continued to shred. It truly was like kneading dough.

Grumbles abounded as Raf protested the attention, wishing he could hide his unwelcome blushing.

“I can’t believe how soft the tattoo is making you!” Indi said, wobbling a hoof-ful of lion pudge. “Your gains are pure fat—you’re practically a dough ball now.” In the heat of the moment he’d almost forgotten he was getting fattened up as well. Though not as massive as Raf had been to begin with, Indi was getting close. The now-hefty zebra took a few steps back to slow down his gains.

Raf didn’t have such luxury. He just kept growing fatter and wider and rounder. His arms and legs were so fat they could barely move, and even turning his head took effort thanks to his plump neck and round cheeks. Knowing how large he would get was impossible, and Indi certainly wouldn’t tell him—if the zebra even knew himself.

More often than not the alchemist worried about the potency of his potions after testing them out. He could stop fattening up in a few seconds, or keep growing until he filled every nook and cranny of the room. Raf couldn’t help but imagine himself knocking down the walls, spreading over the city like a tidal wave of blubber. The thought of so many people witnessing his immensity was worse than the size itself.

Raf wasn’t fated to become a blob that day, though. When the pounds finally stopped piling on, he was merely a bit wider than he was tall. The hidden tattoo faded away, leaving behind no trace it’d ever been there.

“Pretty good for a first test, I’d say!” Indi dared to get close again now that there was no danger of getting immobilized himself. Not that he minded heft—he was bound to try the potion out on himself later on for fun. “Course I’ll have to tweak the formula and design a little to tone it down. Though there’s always a market for potent plumping.”

“You’d better have a fancy tattoo that reverses all these gains,” Raf demanded, unable to look very threatening with such massive, doughy cheeks pressing against his snout. He was about as intimidating as a cozy bed.

Indi laughed. “Silly Raf, when have I ever had potions that make people lose weight? Weight-loss doesn’t sell as much as weight-gain, that’s a fact! Being big is trendy, and you’re clearly ahead of the curve~”

“Ugh, you’re the worst,” Raf said, diverting his gaze from Indi so he could grump in private.

“But Raf, think of how much space you’ll have for healing tattoos now! With a few big ones placed around your gut and love handles, your allies can simply take cover behind your big behind and heal in a flash. No need to worry about running low on mana, or being unable to treat multiple friends at once. You’ll basically be one big healing font.”

Indi’s pitch wasn’t working in the least on Raf. “And how are they supposed to get me to the battle? Or even get me through doors for that matter!”

“Oh a few compression spells will handle that,” Indi leaned into Raf, mainly as an excuse to feel how soft he was again. “Just waddle around like normal, and the minute a fight starts uncompress and become convenient cover for allies. Though honestly you won’t have to worry about going on missions for a long, long while.”

“Not when I’m this fat. The guild’s gonna have to widen another doorway just to get me home.” Raf pouted.

“Oh you’re not gonna see your guild for a long, long while either~” Indi teased, before heading over to his workbench again.

Raf’s attention was suddenly back to Indi. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m in need of a new assistant, and that whale of a belly you’re sporting will make the perfect canvas for testing tattoos on.” Indi grabbed a pair of heavy gloves and put them on. They briefly glowed as an enchantment activated. “But hey, at least you no longer have to worry about everyone seeing how big and fat and massive and blubbery you’ve become. I promise to keep your adorably doughy self a secret while you work for me.”

“W-Wait, I’m not that desperate to hide from everyone!” Raf wobbled nervously.

“Such a brave butterball! Now why don’t I get you settled into your brand new home-slash-workplace?” Indi pushed Raf’s side, his strength-enhancing gloves giving him the force necessary to physically roll the enormous lion.

Raf jiggled considerably as he was rolled onto his back, then his belly, then his back again, gradually building momentum. He wasn’t a perfect sphere, but he was close enough. The lion grumbled and sighed, more embarrassed than ever. “I need to find better friends,” Raf mumbled as he was rolled away, likely to remain immobile for the foreseeable future.