Managing Asset
by ObjectifiedBeauty
At first glance, one would think Nora was no different than any other twenty-nine year old woman. She has a successful career, a steady and supportive boyfriend, and is addicted to posting selfies on social media. And up until recently, you would be perfectly correct in thinking that way. But, if you look not-so-closely at her latest posts, you’ll notice something different: Nora now only posts pictures that appear to be a mannequin taking selfies - but the mannequin is actually her - and she has become quite a sensation in her little corner of the internet. Nora has a unique ability, in that she can transform herself willingly back and forth between human and mannequin.
But it wasn’t always that way…
*****
Nora has a budding career in management at a big regional department store. At the age of twenty-five, she was the youngest female even to achieve a significant management position, a feat she was very proud of. Her latest promotion put her in charge of asset management for three store locations; items ranging from racks and shelving to carpeting and light fixtures - basically anything in the store that wasn’t for sale.
Despite being attractive and fit, the thought of modeling had never entered her mind. Sure, she’d post selfies and was constantly being told that she could and perhaps should model, but, no, that wasn’t her. She was a successful professional, not one of those lazy vapid bimbos. Something happened, though, one day while she was overseeing the delivery of five new mannequins for one of the stores’ athleticwear departments. A strange sensation came over her. It was as if, just for a moment, she was actually jealous of the mannequins. But they had nothing on her, she thought, so she brushed it aside and carried on with her work. A few days later, though, the sensation would come back. This time, it was a sudden and well-defined urge not just to model, but to model her own store’s clothing - and not in the catalog, no, but in the store in front of actual potential customers. She had absolutely no experience in any kind of modeling, much less the kind of freeze modeling for hours on end that such an endeavor would require. But, being manager of the store’s assets, would surely entitle her to the option to sub for one of them every now and again. Or so she thought.
It took her some time to think of what and how to say. Building up the courage to say it was another matter, but she finally posed her thoughts to her immediate supervisor. However, saying that the conversation went badly would be an understatement - she in fact felt humiliated by the response she received and it even left her feeling as though her position and advancement in the company could now be in jeopardy.
Her only solace was the support of her boyfriend, Mark, the only person it seemed didn’t think her desire was absolutely foolish. With his support, she was ultimately able to get into a handful of interviews with various agencies over the next few months, but it was as though freeze modeling was entirely non-existent, and nothing panned out anyway.
Then one day at work, as if completely out of the blue, she noticed an advertisement in one of the weekly trade publications. It didn’t seem right at first, but she read and re-read it and it still said the same thing. Some place called The Mannequin Factory? She had never before heard of it, but there it was in front of her eyes in black and white. That they were some kind of outfit that sold mannequins she was able to understand, but the way the piece read made it sound like they sourced mannequins from actual living people. Surely that couldn’t be right, she thought. But if it was - and she were able to go through with it herself - perhaps then her superiors would be more amenable to her desire, or at least not laugh her out of the room. But, if the whole thing were indeed possible in that way, was she prepared to make such a potentially heavy commitment? This was a strong urge she was dealing with, for sure, but what was there to say it wouldn’t just go away as quickly as it arrived? She clipped the ad from the magazine to take it home and have Mark read it just to make sure he would read the same thing and assure her that she wasn’t in fact just going crazy.
*****
As it turned out, some home research proved that this Mannequin Factory place did in fact exist and did in fact source mannequins from ordinary people. Even better, it appeared it didn’t have to be a permanent arrangement. Later that week, Nora and Mark set up a visit and what they learned there fascinated them both to no end. The knowledge that she actually could have walked out, or rather, to put it more correctly, been carried out to the car as an actual plastic mannequin - right then and there - aroused her in ways that she had never before felt. She wasn’t actually anywhere close to going through with it, but just the thought that she could have, had she wanted to. Musings aside, though, there were still several loose ends to clear up: she needed to find a way to make it work at the store, and then there was the cost. While also admitting to being strangely turned on by the idea of his girlfriend being turned into a hunk of lifeless plastic, Mark definitely felt Nora needed to sleep on the idea for at least a few days. The price wasn’t prohibitive, but to get the kind of experience she wanted out of it wasn’t exactly in their budget, either. Of course, there was the no-cost option, but for that she would have had to volunteer (or been volunteered) to be transformed and left behind to be sold later at auction to who-knows-where. She slyly thanked him for loving her enough not to just sell her off like that and that night the two had the best sex they had ever had.
Armed with this new knowledge, it took her nearly a week to once again build up the courage to face her supervisor with her proposal. What’s the worst that could happen, she thought? She’d get fired? She was smart and motivated; surely she would land on her feet somehow, somewhere. And even if that all failed, just for a second she questioned how bad would it be if she and Mark just went back to that mannequin place and took care of things that way? To her surprise, though, her supervisor seemed to know something about what she was suggesting and was much more receptive to this form of her proposal. The difference seemed to all be in the fact that Nora would now be fully inanimate for the duration of these shifts. There were still some reservations about her ability to perform her managerial duties, but they both felt that those hurdles could be worked out.
Over the next few weeks, management worked out an arrangement, which they presented to Nora and to which she ultimately decided to sign off on. She would trial by spending one full day a week as a mannequin, from open to close. Since she was in charge of assets, and as such would in a way be her own boss, it would be her responsibility to decide where she best fit in. She was advised it might be possible to add additional days if she desired, contingent upon its effects on her managerial performance. She was also authorized to finance a portion of the transformation from her operating budget, but to bear in mind that her desired method, namely being able to transform back and forth at will, was quite expensive and would not fit wholly within the budget. It was also made clear to her that she would not be compensated for her time spent as a mannequin.
The full terms laid forth weren’t entirely favorable to Nora, but they were good enough that she was comfortable moving forward with them, so all of the arrangements were put in place. She and Mark set an appointment with The Mannequin Factory for her twenty-seventh birthday. As in past years, she would typically schedule a week off of work around her birthday, during which the couple would usually enjoy a small vacation. This year would be a bit different, and instead of spending money on the trip, they would be spending it on something a little different.
*****
It felt an eternity, but Nora’s twenty-seventh birthday finally arrived. She and Mark arrived for their appointment and she was briefed on what would be happening that day. When everything was signed and it was time, she gave him a kiss and the two could barely contain their excitement. Nora was led to one of the back rooms while Mark waited for her in the lobby.
After what couldn’t have been twenty minutes, Mark was called back into a consultation room to meet with Nora and the technician she was assigned to. Though he thought he was prepared for what he was about to see, the sight of Nora, only now just a plastic representation of herself, caught him completely off-guard, among other reactions he tried in vain to hide. There she was, standing at attention, wearing the same clothes she came in but now smooth, shiny and pale and blankly staring back at him with a lifeless yet subtly sultry painted gaze. The technician allowed Mark to inspect the mannequin for a few moments before describing the details of its situation.
He explained that Nora was now able to transform herself back and forth between mannequin and human mostly at will, with some restrictions. In order to transform, she only needed to be standing on and secured to her stand. The stand was essentially just an ordinary round glass panel just like any other mannequin stand, but the attachment point was different. It consisted of an adjustable metal support pole, at the end of which was a thin belt or collar. Only after fastening the belt around her calf would she be able to transform into a mannequin. She would not require any outside assistance to revert back to human, but there were some restrictions: First, she would be unable to revert back to human within four hours of becoming a mannequin, and being removed from her base would not prevent her from reverting. The longest she would be able to remain as a mannequin would be sixteen hours, after which she would revert automatically. After reverting, there would be a cool-down period of half the time of her last transformation before she would be able to transform again. Second, all of her appendages needed to be fully attached in order for her to revert; removing something and leaving it unattached would be the only way she could experience a transformation in excess of sixteen hours. Upon its reattachment, she would instantly revert back to human. Finally, while the odd nick and chip would not preclude her from reverting, structural modifications to her body would cause her transformation to be irreversible. He also advised that there were other aspects of the transformation process which Nora would be experiencing, but would leave it to her to describe them as she would be able to do so much more eloquently. He then helped Mark with bringing Nora’s form out to their vehicle along with two stands - one for home and the other to be kept at work.
Nora reverted herself back to human for the first time some eight hours after having initially been transformed. She excitedly described every detail of her experience to Mark and thanked him for helping her to achieve it. As planned, she used her week off to stay home and explore her newfound ability with him and a couple of her closest girlfriends. During that week, she spent nearly the maximum time possible fastened to her stand, usually consisting of the minimum four-hour durations, but sometimes going longer. During this time, she would simply stare at her frozen reflection in a full-height mirror - not that there was anything else she was able to do. Ever the professional, though, the purpose of all this time spent transformed wasn’t just for self-admiration - she was also experimenting with various poses and clothing options in order to figure out where she would best fit on display in the store. Another pleasant side-effect was how the time seemed to pass so quickly, and generally left her feeling well-rested and refreshed when she reverted back to her human form.
Throughout the week, she would also be a literal object of fascination not just for Mark, but also her girlfriends. They marveled at her rigid form, inspecting it closely and a few times even removing her from her stand and experimenting with disassembling and undressing her. Her best friend even shyly mused that seeing Nora like this was giving her the greatest urge to try it for herself. The most fascinating aspect to Nora, though, was makeup - and how it became baked-in to her form when she transformed, and how any scars, bruises or any other imperfections would disappear once she became a mannequin - and best yet, stay away after she reverted.
And then the orgasms - or well, actually, that was a point of frustration. She’d transform and get so frustratingly close to release. No matter if someone played with her while she was transformed, or if she tried a pose which put pressure on different areas - nothing seemed to push her over the edge. Worse yet is that some of that pent up arousal seemed to stick with her after she reverted, but at least then she usually had a willing volunteer to help deal with that.
*****
Nora’s first day working as a mannequin finally arrived, being the day immediately following her return from her week off. She arrived extra early just to make sure everything went according to plan. With some input from her internet followers, she had decided she would start simple, in the athleticwear department, especially since that was where she had gotten the urge to do all this in the first place. Dressed in a simple outfit consisting of running shoes, black tights and a gray workout jacket, she placed her stand on a raised platform in the middle of the athletic department, directly between two mannequins wearing similar outfits. She then stepped onto the stand, fastened the belt around her left calf before tucking it under her tights, assumed her pose and within moments became a mannequin indistinguishable from those on either side of her.
There she would stand for the entire day, with the general public and store employees alike completely unaware that there was anything different about the middle mannequin in the display. Nora didn’t often interact with sales floor staff on a day-to-day basis during her managerial duties, but a few of them who happened to pass by throughout the day would do double-takes at the new mannequin. Each time, though, they would quickly brush it off as coincidence and carry on with their work. She would remain in position until the maximum sixteen hours had passed, well after the last store employees had locked up and headed home. She then bent down, released herself from the stand, climbed down off the platform, picked up her stand and headed home.
Nora would continue this pattern for the next several months, typically choosing Monday as her day on display. While her favorite position was showing off her plastic curves in form-fitting athletic clothes, she also made sure to change things up. Casual: check. Formal: check. Even bedding. Sure, it was a little tricky finagling the stand to allow for her to transform in a lying down position, she had to arrange to have Mark in the store to position her and then let her out at night without setting off alarms, etc.; but surely there were worse things to do than lay motionless in soft pajamas on a bed all day, all the while curious shoppers touch you and play with your hair because you look so damn life-like. And speaking of hair, she discovered that she didn’t even have to keep her own hair, but that any wig she was wearing would become her actual hair once she reverted! Of course the opposite was also true, as she found once when she had to wear a wig for a week of her managerial shift because she reverted back to human after her mannequin wig had fallen off.
Eventually she was able to convince her supervisor that her performance was adequate to move to displaying clothing two days a week. She was particularly thankful for it, especially as by this point she was becoming addicted to an existence as plastic. By now, the pent-up sexual frustration could be unbearable to her, and she’s fully aware that the only way to satisfy it is by becoming a mannequin permanently. But such is something that she is unable to do.
*****
Having had the ability to will herself between human and mannequin for over two years now, there will soon come a time when Nora will indeed lose the ability to revert, and she will have no control over when that occurs. As part of her transformation contract, her employer reserves the sole right to make her transformation permanent, and along with it complete her career shift from department manager to a full-time piece of inventory. After five years as inventory, Mark will then have the choice of either acquiring Nora’s plastic form at no cost, or to relinquish all rights to it.
For the time being, the current arrangement has worked well for both Nora and the store. The store’s management does, however, find it a bit awkward to have one of their managers standing on the sales floor displaying clothing three weekdays and a weekend day every week, so they will soon begin their search for her replacement. Once her replacement is identified and brought up to speed, they will assume Nora’s old managerial position full-time. Nora will begin her next mannequin shift just as any other time, except this time she will be moved into one of the visual merchandising prep rooms, removed from her stand and disassembled. A standard pole receptacle then will be fitted either to one of her calves or her butt, as appropriate for her pose; thus making her transformation irreversible. She will then be reassembled, dressed, affixed to an ordinary mannequin stand, and placed back on the floor as if she were just the ordinary mannequin that she will then be.
Nora is, of course, fully aware of the contract terms and at this point is looking forward, albeit a bit hesitantly, to their fulfillment. She knows that when it does finally happen, she will attempt to revert back to human but will be unable. Then, some time shortly thereafter, her pent-up sexual tension will finally be released in the all-consuming orgasm she so desperately awaits. However, the unavoidable downside is that her entire memory of human existence will then disappear and she will be virtually no different than the ordinary mannequins standing with her around the sales floor. Indistinguishable to any observer, the only difference between her and the other mannequins will be that her mind, or rather the mind of a sentient object, will still exist, trapped forever in its hollow plastic form and unable to sense anything aside from touch and the passage of time. It will be at this point that only Mark, store management, and perhaps a few of the visual merchandisers will have an ever-fading knowledge that there is, or rather was, anything special about that particular mannequin.
The End
Nora reverted herself back to human for the first time some eight hours after having initially been transformed. She excitedly described every detail of her experience to Mark and thanked him for helping her to achieve it. As planned, she used her week off to stay home and explore her newfound ability with him and a couple of her closest girlfriends. During that week, she spent nearly the maximum time possible fastened to her stand, usually consisting of the minimum four-hour durations, but sometimes going longer. During this time, she would simply stare at her frozen reflection in a full-height mirror - not that there was anything else she was able to do. Ever the professional, though, the purpose of all this time spent transformed wasn’t just for self-admiration - she was also experimenting with various poses and clothing options in order to figure out where she would best fit on display in the store. Another pleasant side-effect was how the time seemed to pass so quickly, and generally left her feeling well-rested and refreshed when she reverted back to her human form.