Kids! Is this a future world where being friends with someone means subscribing to them, and girls combing each other's hair would only be possible with paid tiers?
It's familiarly weird, somewhat dark, and definitely disturbing! And despite all that, it creates in me a sort of whimsical wondering, "What if?" and "Could it be?"! Because let's face it, we're halfway there, aren't we?
Masterfully crafted short story. The kind that made me wonder despite a lingering sense of discomfort because of the presence of juvenile characters. Was that your intention? If so, then you've succeeded (with me, at least)! If not, I hope you understand this is just my personal perception of this particular piece. It doesn't take anything away from the brilliance of your art. Thank you!
Thanks Alex, and yeah, absolutely. Kids absorb the culture they grow up in, don’t they, so it should be disturbing to see them so thoroughly embracing the “first make friends, then monetise them” culture that pervades social media today. As always, really appreciate you reading the story and your thoughtful comment.
I realized I forgot to hit that heart last night for both story and comment (must have been sleepy), just went back to read your story again, I do that sometimes. Also, I hope I didn't get you into trouble by referring to AI as your sort of expertise?
No, of course not, all good. I take an interest, but expertise might be overstating things a bit. But no worries at all, I know you meant it as a compliment.
Indeed, I did. But the discussion on this Pangram thing in your feed has been very lively, to say the least. I guess, it's a good thing to talk (not fight) about these things. Have a nice one, mate!
The future is bleak! Great story, and thought provoking. The kids will pick up on what is considered most important by the adults in their lives and social media they are constantly consuming.
General feedback: Short and yet dark, very-very dark
What makes it more unsettling is how casually launching paid tiers is associated with getting each other better and bonding.
And then this line "River lapsed"
I mean, how bad it should get in the future so people start launching these tiers selling their time of being human in exchange of money
Also, the fact that it takes place in not so distant future
I mean, even today there's so much that goes behind paywall and I wouldn't be surprised if friendship and relationships will take the same route (I hope not)
This was such an interesting concept, and I liked how the paid-tier idea kept getting a little darker as the scene went on, especially when Alicia comped her for the week. It really kept getting more sinister as it kept going. The choker as the transactional set up for relationships was a great touch. The only thing that felt slightly off to me was some of the teen dialogue, but I also have teenagers, so my ear may be especially tuned to that. It did not really detract, just made me pause. Overall, really enjoyed this story.
This is a really artful, short satire. Wonderful pacing, really excellent dialogue, and excellent characterizations. You really packed quite a bit into it, and asked some pretty probing questions. Awesome job!
My Write Club review:
Favorite lines:
“I’m telling you, girl, you should totally launch a paid tier.” << Wait, what? This started reforming my understanding of the story and made me stop and say, "Okay, this is not what I thought it was." I started reading more closely.
“Tell me about it. Alicia pushed the green beans around her tray. “It’s totally killing me. I keep telling him to apply for the hardship plan, but he won’t.” << Oh my lord, this is dark. His mom is sick, he's got financial issues, and she translates that into the loss of a paid sub. I won't lie and say I haven't wondered myself if relationships with other people would ever come to this point. There are people out there who treat them as transactional already. I mean, people already thrub for subs here, on this platform, don't they? (yes, I just Lisafied a new verb). =P
“This one’s totally on the house. In fact, I’m gonna comp you for the rest of this week.” << There's the full satire, in all its naked glory. Well done.
Favorite scene:
The opening sequence with the necklace. Besides being fabulous character development for both girls, it really sets up the entire premise that affection often demands a price, and paid transactions are now a part of maintaining a true connection. Dark, but so evocative, and a great foreshadow of the rest of the piece.
Critique:
Not too much. There were a few instances of "slang" that felt unnecessary (a lot of "babe"s, I recall), and more for show than function, but overall, it worked really well.
I thought it was really creepy and cool. I had to reread it because my mush brain didn't get what happened at firstThen I read it over and was like OH. Oh no. That's terrible!Already mentioned that it was very Black Mirror social credit thing, but the transactional affection and "comping" the friend for some hang out time. Ooof.
Brutally efficient. A story about the monetization of human connection… the tiny sentence does the work.
“So she upgraded?”
This is where the friendship hierarchy becomes crystal clear without any exposition.
“This one’s totally on the house. In fact, I’m gonna comp you for the rest of the week.”
Funny, awful, and fucking terrible, lol.
Fav scene:
The ending. Absolutely. Alicia offering to comp her for her hair brushing is where the entire thing went pretty dark, pretty quick. I’m typing on my laptop while riding in a car, and this thing is sliding all over my lap, so forgive any typos, lol. Up until the hair brushing, paid tiers could almost be social media slang. This is the part where I really understood affection was transactional. Da fuk.
Overall I loved this, it was short but for the length… it does a whole hell of a lot. I love the premise of this, and I would definitely read more if it was available to read. I’m interested in some insider info about it too.
Question: Are they really best friends under this payment system? Can you please offer some details about your payment system and give us an example of a tier, what comes in it, and how much it costs?
I like the premise — the extrapolation of what kids are growing up with today online becomes regular IRL. Hope that’s not too much of a spoiler. Don’t think it would make a bad novel if you wanted to expand on it. You got a good handle on the dialogue and the fact that no one is self-conscious about subscriptions is perfect.
This is a pretty scathing indictment of the wonderful new parasocial business model that we are all a part of here on Substack-- that too you can find on many other sites like Patreon and Gumroad and OnlyFans and SubscribeStar and Twitch and Fansly and CandFans and Pixiv Fanbox and Fantia and Afdian and Boosty. It well-criticizes the way a lot of people pretend to have a more personal relationship with their financial supporters in a very mercenary way.
“Don’t look now, but Bobby Hunter’s checking you out again. Over at the vending machines.”
Charlotte flushed. “Oh, stop! He is not!”
“He’s been staring at you for five minutes.” She took another bite. “I’m telling you, girl, you should totally launch a paid tier. He’d sign up in a second.” <<< Paid tier of WHAT??? Nice hook!
She’s got a paid sub?”
The girls looked at each other blankly for a few seconds. Then, half-shouting, “Her mom!”
<<< EXCUSE ME. This ISN'T funny. My mom is a very nice person with excellent taste in literature.
“Biology lab this afternoon. Wanna be partners again?” Alicia scrunched her face. “Sorry, babe. I promised Rosa.” Charlotte stood quietly for a moment. “So she upgraded?” Her voice was strained. “Yeah. So strange. I mean…who knew she was good for that kind of cash?”
<<< WAIT -- is this...ONLY FRIENDS??? That's awesome!
No criticism! This is just a fantastic piece of flash fiction. 10/10.
Kids! Is this a future world where being friends with someone means subscribing to them, and girls combing each other's hair would only be possible with paid tiers?
It's familiarly weird, somewhat dark, and definitely disturbing! And despite all that, it creates in me a sort of whimsical wondering, "What if?" and "Could it be?"! Because let's face it, we're halfway there, aren't we?
Masterfully crafted short story. The kind that made me wonder despite a lingering sense of discomfort because of the presence of juvenile characters. Was that your intention? If so, then you've succeeded (with me, at least)! If not, I hope you understand this is just my personal perception of this particular piece. It doesn't take anything away from the brilliance of your art. Thank you!
Thanks Alex, and yeah, absolutely. Kids absorb the culture they grow up in, don’t they, so it should be disturbing to see them so thoroughly embracing the “first make friends, then monetise them” culture that pervades social media today. As always, really appreciate you reading the story and your thoughtful comment.
I realized I forgot to hit that heart last night for both story and comment (must have been sleepy), just went back to read your story again, I do that sometimes. Also, I hope I didn't get you into trouble by referring to AI as your sort of expertise?
Cheers!
No, of course not, all good. I take an interest, but expertise might be overstating things a bit. But no worries at all, I know you meant it as a compliment.
Indeed, I did. But the discussion on this Pangram thing in your feed has been very lively, to say the least. I guess, it's a good thing to talk (not fight) about these things. Have a nice one, mate!
Everything has a price- EVERYTHING. Haha. Great story and it definitely feels like 2026.
It does, doesn’t it? Thanks so much for the read, comment and restack. Cheers!
This is giving Valley High/Mean Girl Vibes set in the not so distant future. I’m here for what happens in Biology Class.
If Rosa can scrape up the money for the Gold Tier, I think Alicia might just have a new best friend.
Nice piece. I like the dialogue. Tough to keep up with kids.
The future is bleak! Great story, and thought provoking. The kids will pick up on what is considered most important by the adults in their lives and social media they are constantly consuming.
Right - kids absorb the culture because it’s all they’ve known. Thanks so much for reading and commenting - I really appreciate it.
Seriously creepy Black Mirror vibe on this one!
Thanks, that’s the Faraday Room promise!
Jeez, this is not far off from reality.
My older kids only talk about subscribers, channels etc. They dream about becoming famous streamers.
Sometimes I secretly wish that the whole of the internet would crash and burn. But I also make my living by using the internet so that is that.
General feedback: Short and yet dark, very-very dark
What makes it more unsettling is how casually launching paid tiers is associated with getting each other better and bonding.
And then this line "River lapsed"
I mean, how bad it should get in the future so people start launching these tiers selling their time of being human in exchange of money
Also, the fact that it takes place in not so distant future
I mean, even today there's so much that goes behind paywall and I wouldn't be surprised if friendship and relationships will take the same route (I hope not)
This was such an interesting concept, and I liked how the paid-tier idea kept getting a little darker as the scene went on, especially when Alicia comped her for the week. It really kept getting more sinister as it kept going. The choker as the transactional set up for relationships was a great touch. The only thing that felt slightly off to me was some of the teen dialogue, but I also have teenagers, so my ear may be especially tuned to that. It did not really detract, just made me pause. Overall, really enjoyed this story.
This is a really artful, short satire. Wonderful pacing, really excellent dialogue, and excellent characterizations. You really packed quite a bit into it, and asked some pretty probing questions. Awesome job!
My Write Club review:
Favorite lines:
“I’m telling you, girl, you should totally launch a paid tier.” << Wait, what? This started reforming my understanding of the story and made me stop and say, "Okay, this is not what I thought it was." I started reading more closely.
“Tell me about it. Alicia pushed the green beans around her tray. “It’s totally killing me. I keep telling him to apply for the hardship plan, but he won’t.” << Oh my lord, this is dark. His mom is sick, he's got financial issues, and she translates that into the loss of a paid sub. I won't lie and say I haven't wondered myself if relationships with other people would ever come to this point. There are people out there who treat them as transactional already. I mean, people already thrub for subs here, on this platform, don't they? (yes, I just Lisafied a new verb). =P
“This one’s totally on the house. In fact, I’m gonna comp you for the rest of this week.” << There's the full satire, in all its naked glory. Well done.
Favorite scene:
The opening sequence with the necklace. Besides being fabulous character development for both girls, it really sets up the entire premise that affection often demands a price, and paid transactions are now a part of maintaining a true connection. Dark, but so evocative, and a great foreshadow of the rest of the piece.
Critique:
Not too much. There were a few instances of "slang" that felt unnecessary (a lot of "babe"s, I recall), and more for show than function, but overall, it worked really well.
Question: Do you have teenage kids? XD
I thought it was really creepy and cool. I had to reread it because my mush brain didn't get what happened at firstThen I read it over and was like OH. Oh no. That's terrible!Already mentioned that it was very Black Mirror social credit thing, but the transactional affection and "comping" the friend for some hang out time. Ooof.
Write Club:
Fav lines: “River lapsed.”
Brutally efficient. A story about the monetization of human connection… the tiny sentence does the work.
“So she upgraded?”
This is where the friendship hierarchy becomes crystal clear without any exposition.
“This one’s totally on the house. In fact, I’m gonna comp you for the rest of the week.”
Funny, awful, and fucking terrible, lol.
Fav scene:
The ending. Absolutely. Alicia offering to comp her for her hair brushing is where the entire thing went pretty dark, pretty quick. I’m typing on my laptop while riding in a car, and this thing is sliding all over my lap, so forgive any typos, lol. Up until the hair brushing, paid tiers could almost be social media slang. This is the part where I really understood affection was transactional. Da fuk.
Overall I loved this, it was short but for the length… it does a whole hell of a lot. I love the premise of this, and I would definitely read more if it was available to read. I’m interested in some insider info about it too.
Question: Are they really best friends under this payment system? Can you please offer some details about your payment system and give us an example of a tier, what comes in it, and how much it costs?
Write Club
I like the premise — the extrapolation of what kids are growing up with today online becomes regular IRL. Hope that’s not too much of a spoiler. Don’t think it would make a bad novel if you wanted to expand on it. You got a good handle on the dialogue and the fact that no one is self-conscious about subscriptions is perfect.
This is a pretty scathing indictment of the wonderful new parasocial business model that we are all a part of here on Substack-- that too you can find on many other sites like Patreon and Gumroad and OnlyFans and SubscribeStar and Twitch and Fansly and CandFans and Pixiv Fanbox and Fantia and Afdian and Boosty. It well-criticizes the way a lot of people pretend to have a more personal relationship with their financial supporters in a very mercenary way.
There’s a lot of subtleties in this one that warrant it getting multiple reads! Good job!
Write Club feedback -
Favorite line(s):
“Don’t look now, but Bobby Hunter’s checking you out again. Over at the vending machines.”
Charlotte flushed. “Oh, stop! He is not!”
“He’s been staring at you for five minutes.” She took another bite. “I’m telling you, girl, you should totally launch a paid tier. He’d sign up in a second.” <<< Paid tier of WHAT??? Nice hook!
She’s got a paid sub?”
The girls looked at each other blankly for a few seconds. Then, half-shouting, “Her mom!”
<<< EXCUSE ME. This ISN'T funny. My mom is a very nice person with excellent taste in literature.
“Biology lab this afternoon. Wanna be partners again?” Alicia scrunched her face. “Sorry, babe. I promised Rosa.” Charlotte stood quietly for a moment. “So she upgraded?” Her voice was strained. “Yeah. So strange. I mean…who knew she was good for that kind of cash?”
<<< WAIT -- is this...ONLY FRIENDS??? That's awesome!
No criticism! This is just a fantastic piece of flash fiction. 10/10.