A Summer Getaway

[Guest Jen-ji]

Very out of practice, but I started posting a new series today: https://www.deviantart.com/jen-ji/art/WG-A-Summer-Getaway-Part-1-833075746

Synopsis: A reporter investigates a mysterious island resort for gainers/gainers-to-be, and gets a little more than she bargained for.

The first chapter contains some mentions of male WG, but mainly just to set the scene - I think the story as a whole is going to be primarily female WG focused, unless there's any particular demand for me to take it in a different direction

[Guest Jen-ji]

In fact, since it's marked as mature on DA, I'll repost it here to save people having to make accounts if they don't want to.

Part One

Sick of wasting your holiday in the gym?
Sick of counting calories at the hotel buffet?
Sick of not being able to truly let go?
Then come to Lai Margia Resort!
A week of all-inclusive, judgement-free relaxation and gluttony!
If your pants still button when you check out, the bill's on us!

Nina re-read the flyer over and over as she trundled her suitcase along the docks. When it landed on her desk, she'd snorted - she was notorious around the Daily Sun's office for her intense workout regime, so it was probably one of her co-workers making a joke. But her editor wasn't laughing.

"N, there's something fishy with this place," Mark said, spinning his laptop round. "Look at these pictures on their website."

It was a side-by-side of two women in matching outfits. The one on the left was angular and petite of frame, almost akin to a ballet dancer. The girl on the right, however, was anything but. At a guess, she must have been at least three hundred pounds, if not more, and she barely fit into the photo's frame. The buttons of her blouse strained to contain her gigantic orb of a stomach, large diamonds of pale skin peeking out between them. That didn't seem to bother her, though - in fact, she was absolutely beaming, a far cry from the other woman's maudlin expression. It took a moment for it to click in Nina's head that they were the same woman, such was the difference between the two shots.

"So?" the reporter said, folding her arms. "She got fat on vacation. That's not exactly newsworthy."

"These pictures are a week apart, N! Even if you were eating around the clock, there's no way you could put on that amount of weight naturally!"

"Bullshit. Their marketing team must have cooked that up."

Mark sighed. "Nina, you're my best reporter. I respect your time. Do you think I'd be bringing this up if I wasn't one hundred percent sure it was legit? I've been to meet Miss White" - he pointed at the woman on the screen - "and she swears to multiple deities that her trip was for one week, and one week only. This thing is real."

Nina opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but none came. "Okay. What's this got to do with me?"

"I want to send you there. If anyone asks, you're doing a feature for our lifestyle section, but make no mistake - this is an expose. There's something weird going on on that island, and if anyone can get to the bottom of it, it's you."

—

And so, here she was - stood in the lobby of Lai Margia Hotel, wearing a leather jacket entirely too hot for the climate, wondering why exactly she'd let herself be talked into this. The crowd was varied, more so than she'd expected - men, women, young, old, tall, short, and so on. But they all had one thing in common: they couldn't wait to spend a week getting fatter. As Nina dragged along her suitcase, a pair of dumbbells weighing it down, she could not have felt more out of place.

The writer wheeled her things over to the reception desk, and rang the bell. A few minutes passed, before a blonde young man in a uniform came barrelling around the corner, almost slipping as he ducked under the counter. His freckled cheeks were flushed red - between that and his soft physique, it was clear that his job didn't usually involve quite so much urgency.

"Welcome, Miss Knight," he said with a genuine smile. The boy was clearly out of breath, but doing an admirable job of hiding it. "Everyone here at Lai Margia is really excited to have someone from the Daily Sun visiting. Although, uh, we weren't expecting you quite this soon!"

"Flight got in early," Nina shrugged. "Mind if I check in now, uh..." - she squinted at the man's name-badge. It occurred to both of them at the same moment that it was pinned on upside down.

"Ah, i-it's Cieran!" he said, turning an even brighter shade of crimson. "And absolutely, just one moment!" He turned to the wall behind him, and pulled a small plastic keycard out of an alcove. "There - your king-size suite is in the south wing, just next to the pool - room 195."

"King-size?" Nina frowned. "On my booking I specifically asked for a single."

"Ah, I'm afraid king-size is the minimum we offer, Miss Knight. In the past, we found that some guests would underestimate their... future needs, when booking their stay. The management decided it was easier to just head that problem off at the pass, I guess."

Screw it, thought Nina. The Sun's paying - might as well enjoy myself. She slid the card into her jeans' pocket, and grabbed her suitcase. "Anything else you need from me, Cieran?"

"No, the Sun's already sent all the forms through, so you're free to go and start enjoying your holiday! Your package is all-inclusive, so feel free to use as many of the facilities as you want," the attendant beamed. "I'm super excited to see your progress!"

"My what?"

"O-oh, I mean your progress with the article!" Cieran stammered. "We don't get a lot of press here. We're all hoping to make a good impression, drum up some publicity, y'know. Plus I'm a big fan, haha!"

"Uh-huh," Nina said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, to be clear, I'm purely here as an observer. I have no intention of gaining any weight while I'm here."

The bellhop smiled shyly. "I totally know what you're saying. I felt the same way when I started working here, but... I don't know, something about this place just makes you want to let go!"

"Wait, so they make the staff get bigger here too?" the reporter frowned, pulling out her notepad. "I figured they just only hired fat people. No offence."

"None taken. And I wouldn't say they make us get bigger? Although the free food doesn't help," he chuckled.

"When did you start to notice?"

"A few weeks in, I... I popped a button on my uniform. At first, I was kinda worried - I mean, I was always the skinny kid at school, I used to freak out if I gained even a pound. But the longer it went on, the more I started to... enjoy it, I guess?" He looked embarrassed - Nina got the sense he'd not said that out loud before. "The guests felt more at ease with me, cause I looked more like them. I finally started to enjoy food, instead of being afraid of it. The only thing I was afraid of was how my girlfriend would react, but she loves it! She calls me her teddybear now-"

"Okay, I think I've heard enough," the reporter sighed, slapping her notepad shut. "I draw the line at pet names, especially after a seven hour flight... Thank you, though. You've been really helpful."

Cieran's face returned to its original flushed state. "Oh, yeah, of course! Enjoy your stay, Miss Knight."

—

Nina sprawled out on her oversized bed, reading through her notes. It was perfectly plausible that Cieran's change of heart had come naturally - after all, this was probably one of the least fatphobic places on the planet, and he wouldn't be the first person to put on a few pounds due to a work meal plan. But the way he'd described it was almost like some invisible force had caused him to lose control. Could there be something other than sheer gluttony causing people to gain weight at the resort? And if even the staff weren't immune, what did that mean for an outsider like her?

Her stomach gave an ill-timed rumble. She panicked for a second - oh god, I was right, it's happening already - before realizing that she hadn't eaten since her flight took off. The journalist laughed to herself. "I've been in war zones, and I'm getting freaked out by a holiday resort? Must be losing my edge."

With that, she rolled out of bed, and unlocked the door - if she'd dug up this much at the front desk, the restaurant was sure to have some more answers.

[>_< 0_0]

This is gonna be good 🤔 I’m pretty curious about what will make her let go — or if she’ll even let go at all! This could be anything at this point.

[Guest Jentera]

Took a break from Curvage for a little while, but decided I didn't want to leave this story hanging!

Part Two (Read on DeviantArt)

Despite herself, Nina couldn’t help but let out a gasp as she stepped into the hotel’s dining hall. It was more akin to a ballroom than a restaurant, delicately dressed tables stretching out across a marble floor for what seemed like miles. That said, the classy atmosphere was offset somewhat by the hall’s centerpiece: a huge buffet, attended to by a small army of chefs. They all seemed to be in varying stages of their own gains - the slender blonde at the carvery station was clearly trying and failing to suck in her growing potbelly, while the young man collecting the used plates seemed almost unaware of how wide his love handles were, nearly swiping guests’ drinks off tables as he passed. Very few of them could be described as skinny, and Nina had the sneaking suspicion that those that were wouldn’t stay that way for long.

 

So it’s not just Cieran, the reporter thought to herself, tentatively stepping up to one of the counters. She had half-expected to see nothing but fattening foods on display, but to her surprise there were plenty of salads, fruit and vegetables. Admittedly, few people seemed to be interested in them, but it wasn’t the forced choice she had been expecting.

 

She started to load up her plate with a balanced meal, but a dark thought slowly creeped into her mind - could it be something in the meals that was causing the hotel’s patrons to gain weight so quickly? After all, there was no other source of food on the island as far she could see, and Cieran had mentioned the staff meal plan while explaining his sudden expansion. She started to break out into a cold sweat - if that was the case, how on earth could she hope to avoid eating or drinking anything for the entire length of her stay? Was the healthy food just a trap for people like her?

 

“Spoiled for choice?”

 

Nina jolted, nearly dropping the tongs she was holding. A tall, bespectacled woman was leaning on the other side of the counter, her black hair in a bun and a wide grin on her face. She wore the same white outfit as the chefs that were milling about the room, but hers had a slight gold trim that set her apart from the rest. And that wasn’t the only difference - while most of the other attendants were only somewhat chubby, this woman was positively enormous, her near-spherical midsection stretching the uniform to its limits and jutting out proudly over the edge of the table. She was so large it almost felt like she was casting a shadow over the journalist, her imposing aura doing nothing to calm Nina’s nerves.

 

Taking a deep breath, the smaller woman attempted to compose herself. “Something like that,” Nina said. “I was just checking that there’s nothing in this that I’m allergic to.”

 

The chef let out a loud belly laugh, her stomach bouncing up and down hypnotically. “No need to be so polite, darling,” she said, the slightest hint of a German accent colouring the words. “You’re wondering if there’s something unusual in the food, correct?”

 

Nina bit her lip - had she really been that transparent? “Fine, you’re right. I was trying to figure out if this salad’s going to make me blow up like a balloon. Call me crazy, but I like to know what I’m putting into my body.”

 

“If I had a penny for every time I’d been asked that…” the larger woman chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t still be working on an island in the middle of nowhere, I suppose.

 

“To answer your question: no, the food is completely ordinary, delicious as it is. We’re not in international waters, you know - the health inspector still comes knocking every now and again. I can show you the certificates, if you’d like. Anything for our ‘special guest’.”

 

Nina sighed, and continued putting together her meal. “I did wonder why you’d picked me in particular to talk to. Is there anyone on this island that doesn’t know who I am?”

 

“Management made sure all of the staff were aware that we had a VIP staying with us this week. The other guests haven’t been informed, though - so unless they’re familiar with your work, you shouldn’t worry about being recognized.”

 

Great, Nina thought. I’m writing an expose, and the people I’m trying to expose are rolling out the red carpet. “So, you know who I am. Mind returning the favour?”

 

“Claudia Lang, head chef,” the cook replied, bowing as deeply as her huge frame would allow. “I am responsible for ensuring that both our guests and our staff are kept well fed. As I’m sure you’ve gathered, that is quite a monumental task.”

 

“So would it be fair to say your team is the reason that everyone who stays here ends up getting bigger?”

 

“Somewhat. We provide the means, but they provide the motivation. Look around - nobody here is acting under duress. I think you’ll find that everyone is quite thoroughly enjoying themselves.”

 

“I understand that for the guests, but what about the staff? Surely not all of them want to get bigger. The receptionist, for instance - he told me that he was terrified of gaining weight when he took the job.”

 

“Ah, Cieran! Such a lovely boy - and he’s grown into his role so well!” She looked irritatingly pleased with her turn of phrase.

 

“It didn’t sound like that was entirely by choice, though,” Nina frowned. “He seems happy now, but he can’t have been when he first started getting bigger. How did you change his mind?”

 

The chef gave a sly smile. “The thing you need to realize, my dear, is that everyone who comes here wants to be fat. Some of them just don’t realize it yet.”

 

Just for a split second, Nina could have sworn Claudia’s eyes had flitted down to her stomach, but before she could say a word, the chef was gone, striding back towards the kitchen.

 

---

 

The words kept playing back in Nina’s head as she walked away from the buffet, plate in hand. Lang’s parting glance had felt like a threat, but the way she’d said them sounded like a statement of fact, and in a way that was almost scarier.

 

The reporter was so lost in her own thoughts that it took her a moment to realize that she’d been walking around for a solid five minutes without finding an empty table. She suddenly felt like she was back in high school, looking for someone to have lunch with. The new arrivals had only been there for an afternoon, yet people had already formed into cliques. In one corner, a crowd of massive men and women were hugging and chatting; perhaps repeat visitors, catching up on eachothers lives. In another, some people were running back and forth from the buffet in some sort of impromptu eating contest, getting slower and more laboured with each repeat trip.

 

But there was one group in particular that caught her eye, off to the side of the hall. Unlike many of the guests, they all seemed to be skinny, and they weren’t engaging in any strange acts of hedonism - yet, at least. They just seemed to be quietly sitting and talking, which was the closest thing to normality the journalist had seen all day.

 

Time to make some friends, Nina thought to herself, and marched towards the table.

[Guest Jentera]

Also, here's the new link to Part 1 on DA, since the old one doesn't work any more!

Please let me know if you have any feedback :)

[PrincessBlurmy CLIPS]

Enjoying this so far, will be interested to see where you take it?