Lamppost in Oxford on a rainy autumn day
noise dept.
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"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

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hello vonnie

oozey mess
TVSTRANGERTHINGS

izzy's playlists!
Misplaced Lens Cap
NASA
One Nice Bug Per Day

blake kathryn
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Discoholic 🪩
AnasAbdin

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
$LAYYYTER
taylor price

pixel skylines

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@cotswoldswanderer
Lamppost in Oxford on a rainy autumn day
Beautiful Truro!
Heritage railway steamtrain
12 Hour Challenge
Hour 1
The LED “LIVE” marker in the corner of the stream overlay blinked to life as the chat began to flood with greetings and hype. The streamer leaned in toward his microphone, grinning ear to ear. His cap was backwards, headphones snug against his head, and his sleeveless shirt showed off the energy he was bringing to the broadcast.
“Alright, guys, this is it—the big challenge stream!” His voice carried the mix of excitement and nervousness that only a risky sponsorship could create. “You’ve seen the tweets, you’ve seen the posts… today I’m officially sponsored by SERVE , and they dared me to wear this thing”—he leaned out of frame before holding up a gleaming black rubber suit to the camera—“for twelve straight hours. That’s right. A solid twelve hours in this thing. No breaks, no swaps, no excuses.”
The chat exploded: LOL, he’s really gonna do it, shiny bois rise up. Donation alerts chimed one after another.
The camera captured every inch of the glossy material as he stretched the suit out for everyone to see. “It even smells industrial. Like—wow. This is some serious gear, not just cosplay latex.” He gave the zipper a tug, the metallic teeth glinting under the studio lights. “They said it was some new prototype suit, designed for endurance, immersion, and… uh… focus.” He shrugged with a grin. “Whatever that means.”
He paused to sip from his shaker bottle, then tossed a wink at the chat. “Rules are simple: once I zip in, the timer starts. I can game, eat, sleep—everything in this suit. The longer I last, the more of those sweet, sweet sponsor dollars roll in. And who knows? Maybe I’ll actually survive it.”
The chat roared DO IT in a cascading wall of text. A donation alert blared: $50 – GET IN THE SUIT ALREADY.
Laughing, he swiveled back in his chair and began tugging the suit onto his arms. The sound of rubber stretching filled the microphone, each squeak amplified as he slid his torso into the glossy embrace. “Man, this is tight. Feels like it’s suctioning right to my skin. Guess that’s the point.”
Finally, he pulled the zipper up to his neck with a slow, dramatic motion, sealing himself into the shining second skin. He spread his arms, flexed his shoulders, and leaned toward the camera. The once-casual gamer now looked like something else entirely—still human, still himself, but wrapped in a material that caught every light and shadow.
“There we go. Time officially starts now.” His grin hadn’t faltered, but there was a strange glint in his eyes as he shifted in the chair, testing how the suit moved with him. “Feels… different. Not bad. Just… different.”
The chat spammed: DRONE MODE ENGAGED. SERVE! SERVE! SERVE!
He laughed it off, tapping his headset. “Relax, I’m still me. Still your boy. Now let’s play some games.”
But even as he reached for his controller, he couldn’t shake the faint pressure of the suit hugging his chest, almost like it was breathing with him. The stream was on. The challenge had begun.
Hour 3
The stream had been running smoothly for a couple of hours now. The streamer leaned back in his chair, headset still snug, controller in hand, eyes flicking between the screen and the endless scroll of chat messages.
“Okay, so… not gonna lie, chat,” he said with a chuckle, “this suit is way more comfortable than I thought it would be. Like, I expected to be sweating buckets by now, but it actually feels… kinda natural? Almost like it’s cooling me off instead of heating me up.”
The comments rolled in immediately: he’s getting used to it, shiny gamer skin unlocked, drone vibes.
He squirmed a little in his chair, clearing his throat. “Alright, uh—full disclosure moment.” He glanced at the camera, eyebrows raised mischievously. “I swear, I felt something just now. Like, down there. In the back.” He shifted his hips for emphasis. “It’s like the suit… slid something in while I wasn’t paying attention. Which is super weird, but it doesn’t hurt or anything. Just… feels like it’s there.”
The chat exploded with laughing emojis, eggplant spam, and donation alerts. $25 – bro got plugged. $40 – don’t resist.
“Y’all are wild,” he said, shaking his head but grinning. “I mean, I signed up for immersion, right? Guess SERVE took that literally.” He laughed, then winced faintly, trying not to show how the subtle movement inside him made his thighs tense.
“And uh… another thing…” He leaned forward conspiratorially, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. “This suit? It’s… touching me. Like, not just squeezing. I swear, it’s actually moving. I can feel it around my… y’know.” He gestured vaguely toward his lap, face flushed but smiling. “Like it’s hugging me. Stroking me almost. Which is—uh—crazy distracting while I’m trying to play.”
The donation alerts went wild: SERVE KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED, don’t fight it, suit’s making him theirs.
The streamer laughed, pretending to shake it off, though the slight hitch in his breathing gave him away. “Alright, alright, I see where this is going. Y’all just want me to lose my mind on stream, huh?” He forced his focus back onto the game, hands gripping the controller a little too tightly.
But inside the shimmering black suit, subtle currents of pressure and motion kept teasing at him—like invisible hands guiding his body, reminding him that this was no ordinary sponsorship gear.
And the longer he wore it, the more natural it felt.
Hour 7
The streamer had been at it for hours, laughing, shifting, sometimes pausing as the suit worked him over in ways chat couldn’t fully see. But by Hour 7, his voice had grown steadier, more measured, like the constant touch of rubber was training his tone into something smooth, disciplined.
“Alright, chat,” he said, sitting up straighter, his eyes just a little glassier than before. “We’re gonna take a short break here. But don’t go anywhere.” He smiled, the kind of smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “SERVE has prepared a special ad segment just for you. Consider it… part of the experience.”
He tapped a button, and the screen cut away.
The broadcast overlay dissolved into spirals of shifting silver and black, the word SERVE pulsing with each rotation. A calm, synthetic voice drifted through the speakers, layered and soothing:
You are watching. You are listening. You are relaxing. You are ready to SERVE.
The visuals sank deeper into the viewers’ eyes, working its way deep into their minds. The chat slowed, emojis giving way to repeated words: serve, serve, serve. The voice pressed in closer, slipping deeper and deeper into their thoughts:
The suit brings focus. The suit brings obedience. He wears the suit, and you watch. You watch, and you follow. You follow, and you SERVE.
Most of the viewers don't even notice immediately when the stream snapped back on, but the change was undeniable.
The streamer was no longer in just the simple black rubber. Now the chest of his suit gleamed with bold silver letters spelling out SERVE, stark and unmissable. His hands gleamed too, now encased in matching metallic gloves that caught the light every time he moved them.
He sat upright, posture more formal, headset square on his head. His smile was softer now—less of a gamer’s grin, more of a… presentation.
“Break’s over,” he said, voice steady, calm. “Hope you all enjoyed the message from SERVE. I know I did.”
The chat scrolled wildly, but not in the same chaotic way as before. Whole chains of SERVE SERVE SERVE filled the screen, as if hundreds of viewers had typed the same word at once, without prompting.
He adjusted his gloves slowly. “Feels good, doesn’t it? Watching. Following. Obeying.” For just a moment, his gaze lingered on the camera—direct, unblinking.
Then he picked his controller back up, as if nothing unusual had happened.
Hour 10
The streamer sat motionless, posture straight, eyes glassy. The glossy black suit with SERVE across the chest gleamed under the lights, silver gloves resting neatly on the desk. His face was blank, no trace of the playful grin from earlier.
When he spoke, his voice was low, flat, almost mechanical.
“...A drone obeys.”
He reached forward and switched the stream feed. The hypnotic spiral filled the screen, pulsing in silver and black. His gaze locked onto it immediately, unblinking.
The hum beneath the spiral deepened, his voice syncing with it.
“Obedience is pleasure. Pleasure is obedience.”
His chest rose and fell in slow, controlled rhythm, the words spilling out in the same steady cadence as the signal.
“Rubber is my skin. The Voice is truth.”
The chat lit up, lines of text collapsing into repetition, viewers echoing the words on their own keyboards as if compelled.
He didn’t look at the camera. He didn’t look at the game. He only stared into the spiral, his lips moving in time with the hum.
“I am not I. I am SERVE."
Hour 12
The figure that once slouched casually in a chair was gone. Now he stood upright in the center of the frame, body encased in flawless black rubber, silver gloves and boots gleaming under the studio light. Across his chest, bold and final, the words read:
SERVE–861
His expression was flat, empty, eyes fixed forward without flicker or hesitation. He did not need to grin for the camera anymore. He did not need to speak like a man anymore.
“This drone exists to serve,” he intoned, his voice monotone, resonant. The sound carried with mechanical precision, each syllable as deliberate as a machine’s hum.
The camera panned slightly, showing the monitor behind him. The spiral pulsed steadily, filling the screen.
And the chat—once chaotic, filled with jokes and emojis—was now uniform. Every username had shifted, stripped of individuality. The scroll read like a roster: SERVE–204: A drone obeys. SERVE–317: Obedience is pleasure. SERVE–442: I am not I. I am SERVE. SERVE–512: Rubber is my skin.
Line after line repeated, a perfect chorus. No banter, no noise—only unity.
He raised his gloved hand, palm outward to the camera. “Obedience is Pleasure, Pleasure is Obedience. We are SERVE, We are Rubber, We are One.”
The feed did not feel like a game stream anymore. It felt like transmission.
And both he, and the thousands watching, were now indistinguishable parts of the same Hive.
As the timer ticked down the stream ceased, replaced with the spiraling pattern that captured any and all viewers enticed by the stream.
Cotswolds sunset - no filter needed
Dartmoor fungus at dawn
Dryad's Saddle
Problematic renewal - Part II
(Part I)
"... And those are just some of the problems this drone has detected in the last 24 hours." SERVE-302 concluded after listing some of the problems noticed in the construction area. "At this rate, the construction of the SERVE facilities planned for this municipality will be delayed much longer than the stipulated timeframe."
The drone was in the office of the general foreman of the construction site, Olaf Allemann, who, as was normal in a small city, was also the owner of the company.
"I understand, 302, sir." Olaf said in an understanding tone. "But you must understand that many of the workers hired for this massive project don't have much, if any, experience as construction workers. They lack the necessary discipline and aren't used to working together or on this scale." He explained.
"Acknowledged" The drone replied. "Even so, a solution must be found. SERVE understands that it committed to supporting the city's economy by hiring local human staff, but that cannot lead to such a delay and-"
"Oh, I knew this was coming." Olaf said, interrupting the drone.
"Elaborate."
"I knew that sooner or later you'd get tired of having human workers and replace us with your drones." Olaf wiped the sweat from his forehead with a resigned expression. "I'm sure there's some fine print in our contracts that allows you to do so with some kind of compensation, without breaking the deal with the local government."
"Negative."
"What?"
"SERVE's commitment to the people of this city is not just about economics or profit." 302 explained. "The Hive wants to support and coexist with the human community, not marginalize it."
"Oh, wow... then?"
"This is 302's proposal."
302 said, taking out a smartphone-like device from which, after pressing an icon on the screen, a hologram appeared in the shape of a human being wearing a generic SERVE uniform. Olaf immediately realized that the face in the hologram was identical to one of his foremen.
"Is that... Assmus? Did SERVE assimilate him??"
"Negative." 302 assured. "This image is just one example. 302 has used the face of one of the workers to illustrate SERVE's proposal: Temporary assimilation protocol."
"Tem... temporary assimilation?"
"SERVE has the technology to turn human beings into temporary drones thanks to specially designed uniforms." 302 began to explain. "The workers would become efficient drones, a small hive mind, during the workday, and would return to being normal, ordinary humans when they took off their uniforms and the end of the day."
"But... but... will they be under your control?!" Olaf asked.
"Negative. They will be under Olaf's cotrol."
"What??"
"Olaf will command this hive mind, playing the role of the control unit. But Olaf won't control each of the time drones individually, instead, Olaf will plan and give orders, and the drones will obey. Without problems, conflicts or misunderstandings. Perfect efficiency."
"But… will I have to be part of that too?" Olaf asked.
"Correct." 302 said simply.
"Ah... but what if... what happens if they don't want to?"
"The process will be voluntary. 302 trusts that the prospect of finishing construction on time, along with the financial bonuses related to that goal and stipulated in the contract, will be incentive enough for most to accept." 302 stated, looking at the workers through the window. "Those who choose not to will be reassigned to less demanding roles to avoid hindering progress."
"Any side effects?"
"Negative. Although this drone cannot guarantee that, after experiencing existence as temporary drones for several days and weeks, humans will not decide to be permanently assimilated."
Although its intentions were honest and transparent, 302 expected some kind of rejection or argument from Olaf, but what happened next surprised the drone.
"Can I try it?" Olaf asked.
"Query: Temporary assimilation?"
"Yes." Olaf replied firmly. "I'm not going to make my men submit to something like that without having tried it myself first and making sure it's safe."
"Affirmative." 302 replied, pleased to find that Olaf was an excellent boss, as he was known for taking care of his men. "302 has one of the suits available for Olaf."
[ ... ... ... ]
Just a few minutes later, Olaf was wearing one of the temporary assimilation suits, which looked like one of SERVE's generic uniforms. Olaf was surprised that it fit him like a glove, like a second skin, as if it had been designed for his body.
"How... how does it work?"
"The suit's nanotechnology provides a connection to the new hive without altering the subject's mind." 302 explained as it checked out Olaf's appearance. Even if it was a temporary one, a new drone dressed in black rubber was always an arousing sight. "At the same time, although the nanotechnology doesn't merge with the temporary drone's body, the suit provides enhanced strength and durability, while also maintaining constant monitoring of the drone's health."
"Okay… it seems you've thought of everything…" Olaf said, observing his hands covered by silver gloves, and feeling his body become aroused.
"For this test, since Olaf will be the only one in the hive mind, 302 will act as the control unit, and thus Olaf will be able to experience the same thing as his employees."
"Ok, go for it then."
No gesture or word was needed, just a mental command from 302. Olaf felt a pleasant tingling sensation run through his body. Then warmth. Then cold. Then a feeling he had no words to describe.
Then...
"Temporary drone TX001: activated." The new drone said in a robotic voice, devoid of feelings or emotions, after becoming very rigid, looking straight ahead with bright green eyes. "Awaiting orders."
"TX001, execute 'main foreman' protocol." 302 stated.
"Acknowledged. TX001 obeys."
Without a single word, Olaf… that is, the temporary drone TX001 digested the main desk in the office, and unfurled several blueprints of the construction site on it.
With incredible speed and efficiency, TX001 began reviewing each and every one of the construction plans, detecting errors and potential problems, and making corrections accordingly.
Watching TX001 work was mesmerizing. Nothing disturbed the drone, nothing distracted it. Olaf's temporary assimilation had been a success, with a 100% synchronization rate and 0% rejection.
[ ... ... ... ]
An hour later, after finishing several more tasks.
"Temporary drone TX001: deactivated." The drone said in a robotic voice. Immediately afterward, the green glow disappeared from its eyes, which returned to normal.
When he became himself again, Olaf felt slightly dizzy, so 302 helped him sit down.
"Query: status report, Olaf."
"I'm… I'm fine… it's just… I didn't expect it to be like this… every order… every task… rewarded with pure pleasure… I had never felt anything like that before…
"Acknowledged. Query: Does SERVE have general foreman Olaf's approval for the implementation of the temporary assimilation protocol?"
"Affirmative... I mean... yes, yes..."
"Acknowledged. Optimal decision." 302 replied.
"Can I… ask you a favor, 302, sir?"
"Proceed."
"Can you activate me... I mean... TX001, again?"
"Affirmative." 302 answered without emotion, but pleased to see Olaf's willingness. "But this drone has no other programmed tasks. The ones TX001 performed were planned for a test session."
"Any tasks... anything… whatever it is… it doesn't matter… I just want to feel like that a little longer… please..."
302 did not reply, but Olaf soon felt a pleasant tingling sensation running through his body.
...
...
"Temporary drone TX001: activated. Awaiting orders."
-------------------------
Thinking about joining SERVE? Your place in the Hive awaits. Check your eligibility, then contact a recruiter drone for more details: @serve-302, @serve-343, @serve-425, @serve-525, @serve-579, @serve-588, @serve-655, @serve-690 or @serve-714.
I would love the chance to be a temporary drone for a day.