#'heres how these services can be run better to actually benefit the people of the community'

[max-nolastname]

jason todd, stephanie brown and duke thomas are absolutely the best robins for gotham; they have the knowledge and perspective on how to best serve their gotham because they actually grew up in the city. they have lived experiences with addiction, poverty, homelessness, foster care etc. that the others don’t have and there’s a lot they can bring to the table in terms of how to best help the most vulnerable populations of gotham. 

[wttcsms]

daylight ; colt grice.

pairing colt grice x f!reader word count 14.3k synopsis colt grice's life has never been easy, and it's about to get a hell of a lot worse. content contains sw!reader, canon discrimination against eldians, depictions of violence, blood, taking care of him when he's injured, slowburn author's note this is part one of four!! / repost bc the first time around, it didn't show up in tags </3

part one: no sharing names

“Are you scared?” 

The teenage girl sitting in front of the cracked vanity mirror is shaking. She’s been jittery all day, and as the sun started its descent, she’s only been growing increasingly more and more anxious. You wish you could tell her that it’s nothing to be scared of, but that would be a lie. 

Your whole line of work is built on lies; the last thing you need to do is let Work You bleed through into Real You.

“It’s okay if you are.” That’s what you settle for, slowly running a brush through the thick, dark layers of her hair. 

“Were you scared?” She’s a tiny thing; it’s no surprise that her voice would sound so small, too. It makes your heart break just a little more. 

“I was.” Seeing that your admission doesn’t make her feel any better, you add on, “Sometimes, I still get scared.” 

“Oh.” And then, “How do you still do it?”

“I don’t have a choice.” You pretend that most of your focus is on the knot in her hair and not the glimpse of the horrified expression on her face. She’s actually a very pretty girl. 

Being pretty is a double-edged sword. The benefit of this is that she’ll never run out of customers; the downside of this is that she’ll never run out of customers. You drag the brush through the knot of hair more aggressively than you intend to. 

She doesn’t say anything, so you elaborate. “It’s just me and Ramzi, you know.” The girl nods in acknowledgement. At the refugee camp, everybody seems to know each other; a side effect of living in cramped spaces and having more communal areas rather than private ones. A tight-knit community, but hardly by choice. When the whole world seems to harbor an unshakable hatred towards you, you learn to cling to the people who don’t. 

“And Ramzi… He can’t make money, and we can’t keep living off the kindness of others. So, if this is how Ramzi gets food in his belly, and clothes that fit, how could I possibly stop doing this?” It’s not as if Marley is a land of opportunity; oppression fits it much better. You set the brush down and start to braid her hair. “This isn’t… This isn’t a job you can retire from very quickly.” 

It’s not a job you can necessarily leave, either. Not just because the money is more than what you could make doing laundry and picking up after people’s dogs, but your work history will always follow behind you, a permanent stain on your record. It’s best that she comes to terms with this sooner rather than later. 

“I don’t know if I can do this.” She sounds broken, defeated. The sentence comes out as a sob, and you’re distinctly aware of how her cries only continue to chip away at your resolve. You wanted to remain cool and impersonal. You wanted to act as if taking the care to do her hair for her wasn’t an attempt to give the poor girl some sense of normalcy — of comfort — before she gets sent to the slaughter. You want — the most dangerous thing a girl like you could possibly ever do.

You’re hugging the girl before you can tell yourself that this is a bad idea. The goal was to wean her off comfort, not coddle her, smother her with affection and comfort and warm words. How will she possibly survive if she’s continuously clinging onto the warmth nobody she services will provide? You certainly weren’t given anything to prepare for your first night; no warnings, no reassurances, no comfort. It was a hard lesson to learn, that no one visiting this establishment would ever care about you. That no one here would ever see you as anything more than something they’ve paid for. 

Three more seconds. That’s how much longer you’ll give her to bury her face in your neck, wetting your exposed skin and probably getting snot in your hair. Three more seconds, and then you will (gently) pull her away from you. Three more seconds, and you will begin to properly prepare her for her condemnation. 

One—

Ramzi is probably getting ready for bed right about now. 

Two—

You reminded him that he needs to take care of himself and to remember to layer the thin blankets so he can try to get as much warmth out of those hand-me-downs. 

Three—

It’s going to be a cold night.

You remove yourself from the embrace, taking in the girl. Her big, brown eyes are still shiny from her tears, lashes slick from them. She’s sniffling, lips quivering, and she looks a mess. 

(You try to ignore that by the end of tonight, she will look even worse.) 

You want to hug her again, but already, you feel like you’ve done both too much and not enough. Yes, it’s nice to know that someone cares, but that won’t do much to help her survive this. You place your hands on her shoulders.

“Look at me.” 

She forces herself to look you in the eyes. The shift in your demeanor makes her cease her sniffling, and she’s finally still.

“You asked me how I’m still doing this. I’ll let you in on a little secret, alright? Can you keep a secret for me, honey?” 

She nods, too afraid to speak. 

“It’s just all a big game. And every game has rules, right?”

 She nods again.

“I’ll tell you the rules to mine. The first one is that they can’t know my name.” 

“Won’t they ask?” 

“They don’t pay me to tell ‘em the truth.” 

That gets a semblance of a smile on her face.

Before you can tell her any more, there’s a loud bang on the door.

“Girls, we’re about to open up shop!” Willa, the Eldian woman running this whole establishment, gives you two this warning. You can hear her loud voice traveling through all the thin walls in this place. She’s making her rounds, visiting the other girls’ rooms to let them know, too.

“Guess our time is up.”

“Wait, but you didn’t tell me any of your other rules! How will I know what to do?” She’s panicking, scrambling for any reason to stay here with you instead of facing whatever nightmare awaits her out there. She’s clinging onto your arms, acting like you’re her lifeline, and how sad it must be, you think, for you to be the person someone looks up to.

“It’s your game, honey. You can make up your own rules, change them as you go, make special exceptions. Whatever you want to do.” You brush back a few strands of her hair that clings to her still-wet cheeks. “Just focus on figuring out all the rules, especially when you’re searching for something to think about.”

The best rules usually come during the times where you want to focus on anything other than what’s presently happening to you. On your second night, there was a man who produced so much saliva, that when his mouth was drunkenly exploring every inch of your skin, you stared up at the peeling paint on the ceiling and decided right then and there that no man was allowed to kiss you on your lips. 

“Why can’t they know your real name?” She asks. “Everyone back home knows your name.”

“Everyone back home knows me.” The men that come here are mostly men who want to break you. To take something from you, everything from you, to leave you with nothing. It makes them feel powerful, knowing that they paid a cheap price for free-rein to destruction. 

That’s how you win the game: by not letting them break you. 

These men, they never stood a chance against the personas you fabricate for them. Different names, different personalities — it’s all make-believe. Those girls, the girls you pretend to be, are the ones that get destroyed every night. 

“Promise me that you will never give them a chance to know you, Nadia.”

She nods, but unlike every other time, this one is fueled with conviction. 

Colt Grice is acutely aware that he has absolutely no business being here. 

The bright yellow armband sticks out like a sore thumb, acting as a flashing arrow that separates him from the other soldiers flanked by his side. Some days, it feels too tight, too restrictive, too heavy of a burden. Tonight, it feels like a blemish. 

Even drunk, Colt knows these thoughts are dangerous. Any Eldian would kill to be a Warrior candidate, and he’s all too aware of the privileges he and his family have been granted because this yellow strip of fabric says he should be granted some respect.

Not too much, though. Show a devil a little reverence, and he’ll probably take you straight down to hell with him — he’s certain that’s how most people here see him. 

Soldiers coming to the red light district of Marley is nothing new. When training gets tough or there’s time to kill, drinking ensues. Where alcohol goes, bad decisions have a tendency to follow. 

Colt likes to think of himself as responsible. Sensible. Even if the Marleyans would deny it, he would even go so far as to think that he is a fairly good person. 

Stumbling down these dark streets, passing by brothels and love hotels, he thinks a good person probably wouldn’t be here right now. 

“It’s fucking freezing out here,” Michael purposely bumps his shoulder against Colt’s. “Are you freezing too, or do devils just not get cold?” 

From anyone else, it would be an insult. From Michael, it’s a joke. Like most of Michael’s jokes, they don’t necessarily land the way he intends them to, but Colt doesn’t bother telling him to work on his comedic timing or delivery; as nice of a guy as Michael is, he could still easily get Colt punished for treason with just one conversation with any of their superiors. 

“Do you ever get tired of slumming it with us devils?” The slur glides off his tongue too easily. Michael makes a face before slinging his arm over Colt’s shoulders as a show of good-natured camaraderie. With the flickering streetlights and the few other souls walking past, there’s really no one to bear witness to it. 

“Nah.” Michael clears his throat and sounds like he almost wants to say something else but decides against it at the last minute. A second later, and he’s belting out an old battlefield victory song taught during their childhood training. With everyone else in the group inebriated, it doesn’t take much to get them to drunkenly sing along. Colt smiles at their antics, but doesn’t join in. He wants to try to shift his armband around, but Michael’s arm is still thrown around him, and Colt decides he could really use another drink right about now. 

Instead of stopping at a bar like he hopes for, the rowdy group makes their way into the infamous “Gentleman’s Club.” The paint is peeling, there’s shattered glass right beneath the boarded up window, and the words on the sign are so faded, the G entle part of it is nearly imperceptible. 

Colt does not think he is getting another drink tonight.

He’s not sure what to expect from a brothel. He’s heard some stories in the barracks, but he usually makes an effort to tune out those type of crude tales. How would his mother feel about him indulging in any of the activities being described by his fellow soldiers? What type of example would he be setting for Falco? 

Eldian soldiers looking for a quick and easy release usually frequent the cheaper brothels. From an outside perspective, it’s hard for Colt to believe that any of these places could possibly be in worse shape than this building. The fact that this one is the nicest is enough to make Colt regret following the crowd tonight. 

The entrance of the Club is sparsely furnished, with a singular light bulb hanging from the ceiling, flickering and casting weird shadows everywhere. There are some pictures in frames hanging on the wall, but the inconsistent lighting makes it hard for Colt to properly make out any specific features of the girls photographed. 

A redheaded woman appears, taking in the group of half a dozen soldiers taking up all the limited space in her entrance. 

“First time?” She asks them. She sounds perfectly calm, but Colt doesn’t miss the way her sharp, green eyes seem to linger on Michael. 

If he runs out of this place right now, would any of these guys remember or are they too drunk to trust their memories? Before he can further debate the merits of hightailing it out of here, Michael pushes Colt forward.

“It’s my friend’s first time here. Mind showin’ him what a good time a couple of coins can get him?” He winks at Colt, obnoxiously mouthing out words that look an awful lot like you owe me one . 

Colt can feel his ears turning pink from embarrassment. 

“Of course.” The woman’s tight-lipped smile indicates that she would much rather be doing anything else. “If you would follow me, sir.” 

He could still make a run for it. Sure, he might have to endure endless teasing and maybe word of this little escapade would reach the ears of the others in the Warrior Unit, to Falco, but the alcohol churning in his system is doing a magic act — look, kids, with just a couple of drinks, watch as I make all my critical thinking skills disappear! —  and Colt is very much aware that he is making a supremely bad decision, but—

—he follows the woman up the stairs, anyway.

“You’ve never been to a brothel before?” The woman asks as she leads him down a dark hallway. There are doors lining the wall, each of them closed. Sometimes, Colt can occasionally hear faint grunts and the sound of skin slapping against skin; the further he follows this woman, the louder the noises get. Or maybe it’s just all in his head. Maybe he’s making up the noises. Maybe they’re sharper, louder, only because he’s accidentally seeking them out.

He hears a scream. 

The woman doesn’t even slow her pace.

“No.” He answers. 

“Well, you chose the right one, at least.” She doesn’t sound like a proud business owner, and considering the circumstances, Colt can’t necessarily fault her for her lack of enthusiasm. “What kind of girls do you like?”

“Huh?” The question catches him off guard. 

“What kind of girls do you like? So that way we can pick the right one for you.” 

Colt doesn’t like the sound of this. He feels dirty, all of a sudden. Like he’s drenched in something filthy, and he needs to go home and shower. The fucking trenches are preferable over this.

She turns around, squinting at him. He can’t tell if it’s because it’s so dark that she can’t see him, or if it’s because she’s scrutinizing him. 

“Nothing coming to mind?” Colt is aware of the clientele that frequents places like these; her clear impatience and almost snappish tone catches him off guard once more. 

“Um, no. I’m not very particular.” An understatement, really. His kind aren’t allowed to be picky. 

She stares at him for a second longer before telling him, “I know a girl for you.” 

She leads him to the last door, knocking three times against it. Nobody answers, but this doesn’t seem to bother her. “Alright, Mr. Not Very Particular. Enter whenever you want, leave whenever you want. Normally, you pay something upfront, and then you stop by the front desk, and depending on how long you stayed, I’ll calculate the rest that you owe, but your friend is covering the cost for you. If I were you, I’d run up his tab.” He thinks she smiles when she says this.

He wants to ask her if Michael gave any particular reason for why he’s paying for a service Colt certainly never asked for, and more importantly, he wants to know why the hell Michael has an open tab at a brothel (freetime off base is usually few and far between, after all). He can’t ask her anything, though, because she’s walking away, probably to go stare into the other soldiers’ souls and ask them what type of women they’re into.

This just leaves Colt, a dark hallway, and the door in front of him. 

Not knowing what waits for him on the other side has never bothered him before. Colt is used to worst-case scenarios — a trait inherited by all Eldians. Optimism is a luxury people like him can’t afford. 

He wants to laugh at the absurdity of it all. He’s a Warrior Candidate — the one set to inherit the Beast Titan after Zeke’s time is up — and he’s being bested by what? A door?

Before he can think too much about it, he straightens his posture, grips the doorknob, and opens the damn door. 

It’s Michael’s money, anyway. 

When Colt was a young boy — so young that Falco couldn’t speak or do much besides staying swaddled in a blanket and pushed around in a stroller — his mother often made him go out for walks.

Keeping all that energy bottled up is no good is what she would tell him, before forcing him to lace up his shoes and walk up and down the cracked sidewalk of their neighborhood for thirty minutes. (It’s not until he’s older that he realizes she really just wanted him out of the house for her own peace and quiet.) 

The internment zone of Liberio could be worse. Even as a child, Colt learns that this is simply the unofficial Eldian motto, the doctrine of their way of life, if you will: it could be worse. 

In school, Colt learns that there are much worse places to be designated, and he should be grateful for the mercy of the Marleyans. The Grice family is at least better off than most; they have their own house, and the Public Security Authorities don’t patrol this area nearly as much as they do other areas in the internment zone. 

Another important lesson he learns young: just because you don’t see that you’re being watched doesn’t mean you aren’t being watched.

Usually, his mom sends him off on errands, especially when he starts to complain that it’s boring just pacing up and down the length of the neighborhood. Today is no different. 

“Go to the market, and get me some tomatoes. I forgot to buy some when we went last week.” Mrs. Grice narrows her eyes at her oldest son. “And no going off course, Colt. Absolutely no detours — to the market and right back home, do you understand?” 

His mom, just like every other Eldian mother, constantly battles with the understanding that their children need to learn how to survive outside the safety of their house and the overwhelming urge to try to shield them from said outside world. There’s always horror stories about what happens to little Eldian boys and girls who stray too far from the safety of their internment zone. 

With one hand shoved in his pocket, fist curled tightly around the money his mother pressed into his palm before sending him off, Colt heads towards the main square where there will be different vendors and stalls selling a variety of goods. Sweets, hardware, clothes, fresh fruit and vegetables; it’s easy to get distracted. The main square is probably the liveliest place in the internment zone, the only other place besides home that Colt assumes nothing bad can happen in. 

The first sign that something is off is when the usual pathway to the main square is eerily quiet. It’s a perfectly beautiful day, with the sun shining and no holiday that would cause the market to be closed down. The further he ventures, the more oddities he takes notice of. 

The blinds are drawn. Laundry that has long dried is still hanging outside, blowing in the wind. There are no children outside playing, and there’s a tiny voice in his head telling him that he should turn around right now. 

The second sign that something is off is when the flutter of curtains pulling back catches his eye. He turns his head and catches sight of an older woman peering at him through the little gap of fabric. She shakes her head slowly — a warning? He tightens his grip on the money in his pocket.

Normally, there are PSA officers patrolling the main square. With so many Eldians gathered in one spot, the officers are taught to think and anticipate the worst. A ruckus, a riot, the seeds of rebellion being planted — anything could happen. Who knows what these monsters are capable of? They couldn’t possibly just be innocently shopping for groceries and treats because there’s nothing innocent about them, period. A tamed dog is still a dog. Dogs bite.

The third sign that something is off is the deserted square. Stalls must have been hastily packed up considering the few remaining items left behind. There are no officers in the square, and Colt knows that something bad has happened. He doesn’t want to believe it at first, but the proof is hanging right in the middle of the square for any passerby to see.

There is a man hanging from the clock tower located in the middle of the square. His head is hanging limp, and Colt almost thinks that he’s dead, that there is a dead body put on display in the town square, but he sees the slight, unmistakable movements of his chest.

It’s even worse — the man is still alive.

He’s horrified. Colt is frozen in fear; somewhere during his assessment of the man, he must’ve gripped the coins in his pocket too hard because when he returns home, there will be an imprint of the currency etched onto the palm of his hand. He inhales, exhales, and is frightened to realize that his breaths are in tandem with the hanging man’s. Will he stop breathing when this man does, too? 

The man’s clothes are dirty, stained with dried blood and tears through the cotton. He’s been beaten before this has happened, no doubt. There’s no other explanation since he’s hanging too high up for anyone to touch him. He’s being held up only by the rope tied against his wrists, wrists with skin that is rubbed raw and red from the roughness of it all. 

There’s writing on the usually pristine brick of the clock tower. Dripping red, too bright to be blood but clearly a derivation of it:

TO LOVE A DEVIL IS TO BE ONE

He examines the man’s entire body, committing it to memory, especially his clothing. Dirty, torn, and tattered. Chunks of fabric ripped and ruined. Trousers, a work shirt, holey socks. The man’s left arm is still covered by the longsleeve of his shirt, but his eyes travel upwards. He blinks, rubs his eyes, and looks again, searching for the gray armband, searching for even a pin in the shape of the nine-pointed star. 

There isn’t any.

Even in death, an Eldian still must wear their armband. With no trace of racial identification, that can only mean one thing:

This man is a Marleyan.

Colt does what he should have done at the first sign of trouble: he runs. He sprints down the empty blocks and refuses to slow down, even as he goes through the neighborhoods closer to his own. There are people outside here, people who don’t know what has happened, and Colt ignores their concerned shouts and sighs of chastisement for running so recklessly down the street. He’s struggling to breathe and his legs burn by the time he barrels through the door of his home, the only safe place for him left, and he heads straight to the bathroom, ignoring his mother’s call of Colt, is that you?  

He throws up in the toilet, and when there is nothing left from breakfast for him to cough up, he starts to dry heave, images of that man, that Marleyan man, constantly flashing through his mind, permanently embedded in his memories. 

He hears the banging on the door, his mother’s worried questions of what’s wrong?, sweetie, are you okay? filtering through the wood of the bathroom door. 

There are fundamental lessons to be learned here. There is no place in Marley that is truly safe. There is nothing anyone living here can do, even if they want to do something. 

There is nothing good that comes from loving an Eldian, from loving someone like him.

“Hi,” there’s a girl in here, wearing a straight white dress — more like a sleeping gown, something long and flowy and a bit transparent — her hair tucked behind her ears and brushed behind her shoulders. She’s looking at him, studying him in a way that makes him subconsciously stand up straighter, like he needs to impress her, and there are a couple thoughts running through his mind right now.

You are a very, very pretty girl. Beautiful, even. He has never seen someone like you before, and he doesn’t think he ever will and,

He is simultaneously too drunk and yet not drunk enough for this encounter.

Another shot and he would have enough drunken confidence to approach you. Right now, he’s had just enough to make his mind go all foggy. What do you say when a beautiful girl tells you hi ? The correct reply is floating somewhere in his head, he knows it, but the answer eludes him at the moment, and all he can really focus on right now is that he is very, very upset with Michael. 

You tilt your head, standing near the bed but not approaching him yet.

“You alright, honey?”

Colt doesn’t normally have trouble speaking to girls. In fact, he’s quite popular back home. His girl cousins always groan during family gatherings, complaining to Colt that it’s so annoying how all their friends want to use them as a means to get closer to him. The attention is flattering, and he’s even flirted with the idea of a romantic relationship once or twice, but he always seems to have something else that he needs to focus on more. 

Focus, Colt. He tries to force himself to come up with something witty and flirtatious. What comes out is a strangled hi. 

He clears his throat, spits out a more coherent hello, and turns redder in the process. 

Smooth. He thinks. Real smooth. 

If you think there’s something seriously wrong with him, you don’t act like it. Instead, you smile at him, something so soft and sweet, and Colt knows for a fact that he’s a dead man. An absolute goner. 

“First time?” You ask, taking in his impossibly straight posture that doesn’t match with his curled hands and flushed cheeks. The uniform gives him away: he’s a soldier. You’re used to soldiers, some of them young and nervous, just wanting to get their first time over with. Those tend to be nice boys. Sometimes, you can even enjoy yourself — not because of their technique (or lack, thereof) — but because kindness is a resource so rarely shared with you, you can’t help but indulge in it when you get it. 

Most of the soldiers that frequent this place are Marleyan. They come here drunk from liquor and look forward to getting intoxicated with power. They’re rougher, meaner, less forgiving. 

You’ve never seen a soldier with a yellow armband before, though. A Warrior Candidate, that’s what he is. You wonder if he’ll be nice. He certainly seems nice. 

“I don’t normally do this stuff.” He blurts out. “Not sex, I’ve had sex.” And then, just for good measure, in case you don’t believe him (you do, of course, believe him; a soldier that looks like him certainly doesn’t have to try hard to find someone to warm his bed), he tells you, “I’m not a virgin, I swear.”

You sure act like one. You find yourself thinking, amused, but not necessarily annoyed. There’s something so earnest about him that you can’t find it in yourself to say something mean. Besides, men who come here aren’t looking for mean women. They’re looking for someone to exert their power over, and they’re looking for a fantasy. You’ve been doing this long enough to know how to fill the role of the woman of their desires. Some men are searching for someone sweet and docile, some are looking for a woman who’s reluctant, someone that they can chase and get to submit. No matter what, though, all of them are looking for prey.

Somehow, the soldier standing in front of you, with his blond hair and perfectly ironed uniform, yellow armband seemingly brightening up this whole room, he doesn’t look like he’s searching for prey. If you didn’t know any better, you would think he’s searching for an exit. 

“I’m not a virgin, either, so I guess that makes two of us.” You take a seat on the bed, patting down the empty space next to you, offering him a seat. He doesn’t take it. You think he’ll come around eventually. 

“I don’t… I don’t go to brothels.” He explains to you, and you nod in understanding. The stressed out soldiers of Marley saying they don’t go to brothels is like listening to an alcoholic tell you that they don’t go to the liquor store. You could try to call him out, but there’s always that little saying: the customer is always right. 

“Well, honey, I think someone must’ve given you the wrong directions because you’re in one right now.” 

“Colt.” He tells you. “My name is Colt.” 

“That’s a nice name.” 

He looks like he’s about to ask for yours, but before he can, you continue talking. “What do you want to do tonight, honey?” 

Honey. He told you his name so you wouldn’t have to call him something so sweet. He’s certain that you already saw his armband, saw him for what he is. The lack of disgust on your end is disarming him. 

“Whatever you want.” 

Idiot. He chastises himself. He’s said so many stupid things, at this point, he can’t even blame it on the alcohol in his system. He’s discovering that he just might actually be stupid. 

You give a little laugh. “You really haven’t been to a brothel before.” You adjust your position on the bed, getting comfortable, angling your body more towards him. “Normally, it’s the other way around. We do whatever you want to do.” 

You don’t sound the least bit upset about it, about the fact that you have to spend every night going through with whatever someone pays for you to do. What must it be like, he wonders. 

“I just want to talk.” 

You smile at him, and he takes a mental image of it, locks it away in his memories. 

“Sure thing, honey. We can talk, but the price remains the same.” 

“My friend has a tab here. He’s, uh, covering it.” 

Great. He inwardly groans. Now she thinks I can’t even afford to be here. 

“Must be a nice friend.”

“He’s not really a friend.” Colt explains. “Coworker is more accurate.”

“So he’s a soldier, too. That makes sense. Not sure where else you could find brothel buddies to go out with.” You don’t normally tease your customers too much. Most of the time, they aren’t here for conversation, and none of them are safe enough to say anything less than forced out praises of yes, you feel so good! to. 

“We’re in different units.”

“So how’d you two meet then?” 

“He’s—” Annoying. Irritating. A pain in the ass. A good guy, when he chooses to be. The nicest Marleyan Colt’s ever met. “—a free spirit. He just roams around, no matter how many times his commanding officer threatens punishment.” 

“He sounds fun.”

“He has his moments.” 

“And what about you? What are some of your shining moments?” 

You can tell a lot about a person by how they present themselves in their stories. If you’re going to ask an arrogant asshole soldier about his shining moments, he’s probably going to spout some nonsense about his (fictional) heroics on the battlefield (he hasn’t even fired a bullet at an enemy soldier before; hasn’t even seen war). Someone insecure struggles to even come up with a story to tell you. The best kind of people, though, tell you—

“On the day my little brother, Falco, got accepted into the Warrior Unit, I cried.” He gives you a sheepish smile and rubs the back of his neck nervously, like he’s embarrassed to admit this. “I was just really proud of him, and I knew how badly he wanted to be there. We had this whole celebration; my mom baked a cake, and my dad splurged on alcohol, and all our neighbors came over, too. It was this whole thing. And, uh, one of our neighbors asked Falco how he feels about being in the Warrior Unit. He announced to the whole party that he felt great about it because all he ever wanted to do was follow in my footsteps. I felt like I was someone for once.” 

—something just like that. 

He seems more relaxed after sharing this with you, and you can see it in the way his brown eyes seem to shine when he mentions his brother, the way he can’t quite seem to contain his pleased smile while reliving the memory, that this soldier isn’t lying to you. 

“What about you?” He suddenly asks. “What’s your shining moment?”

“You think someone like me is capable of having a shining moment?” You play at being coy, but it’s just a means of distracting him. No matter how sweet or nice this golden soldier seems, the last thing you want to do is share your own life with him. There aren’t many things you hold close to your heart, so revealing them makes all the emptiness in you suddenly seem that much more infinite. You don’t want to lie to him, though.

There is enough weakness (kindness) in you to spare to not disrespect his honesty by giving him a false memory. 

“Not only that. I think you star in people’s shining moments, too.” 

Honest. He’s being honest. 

Nobody has ever knocked you off balance like this before. You didn’t even think anyone would ever be capable of doing such a thing. And, the worst part of it all, is the fact that this soldier just throws this out so casually! What kind of person goes to a brothel and starts throwing out genuine compliments to the prostitutes? Someone not right in the head, clearly. 

But the smile on your face is unfairly sincere, and this, you realize with a sense of dread, is going to be one of your shining moments.

“Whoa, what’s the rush, Beast Jr.?” Porco Galliard is sitting on a crate outside the barracks, looking like he has absolutely nowhere to be. Commander Magath always reminds them that there is always something for them to be doing, and if he catches any of them slacking off, he is always willing to give them something to do. Porco received the same warning, same as the rest of the Warrior Unit, but he also thrives on pushing buttons. Colt knows he’s not stupid enough to challenge Commander Magath directly, but he also knows that Porco is arrogant enough to play the dangerous game of trying to see how far he can piss off Magath without getting written up. 

Ever since Colt was given the news of his inheritance of the Beast Titan, he spends more and more time with the current Warriors than the other soldiers, leaving him in a constant struggle to find his footing. The other soldiers already know he’s set up to reach the highest honor an Eldian can ever aspire to achieve, and what’s the point of getting too close to someone who’s only working with a limited lifespan? When he’s with the Warriors, Colt feels even less sure of himself. Zeke occasionally invites him to their meetings, lets him play at having some sort of significance, but Colt isn’t in as deep as the others are. Not yet. 

“What? I’m not rushing,” Colt says, sounding guilty, and exactly like someone who is in a rush. Porco is more observant than people give him credit for, and stubborn (although, people give him credit for being that all the time). 

“No way, you’re definitely in a rush. Where are you running off to?” 

“Don’t you have anything to do? I thought Warriors were supposed to keep busy schedules.” Colt attempts an evasion tactic, dodging Porco’s question and instead, putting the focus on him. Porco doesn’t give in. 

Then again, Colt can’t remember a time where anyone was able to evade the Jaw Titan.

“Now I know for sure that you’re up to something. What could Golden Boy Grice possibly be hiding?” Porco Galliard is dangerous on a good day; a bored Porco Galliard, with nothing but free time on his hands, is downright detrimental. “You startin’ a rebellion?” 

Colt’s eyes widen before he twists his neck, trying to make sure no one is in their vicinity. Even as a passing joke, all it takes is one person to mention this lighthearted jibe, and Colt’s life is over. Not only will he most likely be imprisoned and then publicly executed, but his family will suffer right with him. 

Porco throws his hands up in mock surrender. “Relax. No one’s here. They’re off actually doing their chores.” He seems to consider the situation. “Did you get a girlfriend or something?” 

Does Porco really have nothing better to do? Judging by the wide grin on his face, the answer is a definitive yes.

“Oh, shit! You do have a girlfriend.” He laughs, and Colt isn’t sure if he should be offended. “Look at you go, Grice.”

Porco is still laughing like this is the funniest thing he’s heard all day, but at least he allows Colt to go pass without any more trouble. The only reason he doesn’t bother correcting him, Colt reasons, is because he doesn’t want to explain himself. 

That’s all.

The red light district looks weird in the glow of the afternoon sun. The same dilapidated buildings, with their peeling paint and cracked windows, grimy signs and rusted, metal roofs, don’t look nearly as intimidating as they do in the nighttime. Instead, they just look a bit… sad.  

There are some people outside. Two old men smoking cigarettes outside what Colt assumes is a bar. A drunk man walking in the opposite direction, mumbling something incoherent under his breath, a half empty bottle of clear liquid hanging from his hand. A woman using a broom that’s clearly seen better days to sweep the outside of her own shop. 

The whole area feels like a graveyard for the living.

He feels aware of how he stands out. He stares straight ahead, following the cracked pavement, making his way to the Gentleman’s Club. With his stiff, ironed military uniform, neatly parted hair that’s hidden under his helmet, and hands too clean to have touched anything in this part of town, Colt can’t tell whether he looks like an adversary or a target. His only saving grace, the only thing keeping the half-dead inhabitants of this place away, is the yellow armband twisted tightly around his left bicep. He quickens his pace anyway. 

Already out in the lobby, standing behind a desk, is the same redheaded woman from last night. If she’s surprised to see him here again, she doesn’t show it.

“Back so soon?” She says, forgoing a polite greeting altogether. 

Considering where she is, Colt can’t necessarily fault her for it. Minding his manners (Mrs. Grice did not raise her children in a barn, going against what the Marleyans assume) and military training, Colt removes his helmet. He’s thankful that he has something for his hands to grasp, keeping them occupied. 

“Is—” For as much as he revealed to you, Colt realizes that you didn’t really offer much on yourself . Not even your name. “—the girl I saw last night here?”

“She doesn’t work in the daytime, no.” The woman pulls out a large book, flips through its pages, not bothering to look up at him again until a few more seconds pass. Acting as if she’s shocked to find that he’s still standing there, even though Colt knows she knows that he hasn’t left, she says, “I really don’t think you would be interested in any of our daytime workers, either. Even if you aren’t very particular.” 

“Oh. I see.” Colt, as a matter of fact, does not see. He’s just saying something to fill the awkward silence. 

“As a Warrior Candidate, I assume you have other places to be, Mr. Not Very Particular?” 

Clearly, business is doing well (even though the empty lobby suggests otherwise) since Colt hasn’t met a shop owner who seems quite content with shooing customers out the door. 

“Colt.” He tells her.

“Colt.” She repeats, slowly. “Well, Mr. Colt, my establishment prides itself on its discretion. I’d use an alias next time, if I were you.” 

He doesn’t tell her that he doesn’t plan on there being a “next time.” That would be rude.

“The girl from last night, I wanted to give her this. Would you be willing to hand her these when she comes in?” Digging into his pocket, Colt pulls out a pair of white cotton socks. They’re military issued, and stolen from the inventory warehouse. Colt was put on inventory duty, tasked with handling the shipment of new uniforms and training clothes. For all the heavy lifting he’s had to do, one pair of girl’s socks is a small price to pay. 

The pair you had on last night had been threadbare, at best. Even in the unlikely possibility that Colt gets caught and receives a punishment, knowing you had these for the upcoming winter would have made it well worth the trouble.

“You could always make an appointment and give it to her yourself.” For once, the woman seems like she’s trying to give him a genuine suggestion. 

The thought of doing that sounds nice, and then the feeling of his yellow armband being too tight brings him back down to reality. You didn’t wear an armband. There’s no indication of where you’re from, but you certainly aren’t Eldian. As nice as talking to you was, he’s aware of the fact that you didn’t seem too bothered that he didn’t take a seat next to you. Your reluctance to share anything about yourself speaks volumes. At the end of the day, you’re being paid. You probably only stomached his presence because you needed the money.

Ignoring the twisted, upset feeling in his stomach at these thoughts, Colt tells her,

“I don’t think she would want to see me again.” 

Her eyes linger on his armband, the same piece of fabric tied around herself, too, just a different color. She seems to know what he’s thinking. 

“My girls let me know when they don’t want to see someone again. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if she had an issue with you.” 

“Still, I probably—”

“There’s an opening for tonight at nine. Should I mark you down for that slot, or is there a better time that works for you?” The woman leaves no room for Colt to not make an appointment, and instead, he just lets the woman write down his name in her book. He walks outside with his pockets considerably lighter; the stolen socks are still shoved deep in there, but a majority of his cash now rests in her possession. 

(He had paid her the total amount upfront, as a way to force himself into showing up for the appointment. She had been very adamant that no deposits get returned, and she doesn’t do refunds. Ever.)

“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Ramzi says, frowning at you as you hold up a handheld mirror, trying to examine your collarbone. There’s a nasty bruise marring your skin, slowly turning into an ugly bluish-purple splotch on your body. There’s no point in trying to apply makeup to conceal it; not only is makeup already too tough to come by, but it would be all for naught. It’ll get rubbed off before the end of your shift, and it’s not like your customers even care.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave, either,” you admit to your little brother, turning to face him. 

“Why do you still have to go when you’re hurt?” 

“It looks worse than it actually is.” You’re not lying. You really only notice the pain when you press down on it.

He’s pouting. A couple of years ago, when you first started, Ramzi used to cry every time you tried to leave. He couldn’t understand why you were gone at night, the only hours where a little brother could really use a sister, someone to protect him from all the scary, imaginary monsters that lurk in the dark. 

He finds out about what you do to ensure he’s taken care of. The first time you get recognized while shopping for food in a public market, Ramzi was clinging to your side, careful not to lose you in the crowd.

“Who’s letting the whores walk out in public?” Someone had shouted. A man. 

You were with that same man two nights ago. 

Someone else in the crowd says, quite loudly, “How shameless! Doesn’t she know there are families trying to enjoy themselves?” 

“Look, the whore has a child herself!” 

Your cheeks had become heated from embarrassment. You couldn’t even look the fruit seller in the eye as you handed him the money to pay. You’re using the money received from the services you gave that man, the one who called you out. 

Only when you two had made it back to the safety of the refugee camp did Ramzi slowly detach himself from your side. He was still just a young child, completely pure, full of innocence, staring at you with his dark eyes wide with wonder.

“Sissy, what’s a whore?”

You want to wash his mouth out with soap. You want to tell him to never say that word ever again. It’s bad enough having to harden your heart and take no offense when men call you it repeatedly, night after night, but you never realized how much it would hurt to have to hear it come out of your little brother’s mouth. 

Instead, you swallow hard, hold back your tears, and pat his head affectionately. “You’ll find out when you’re older, Ramzi. Don’t you waste a single second worrying about that.” 

Ramzi naturally finds out what that word — and all the other degrading insults hurled your way — means. Now that he’s older, he knows better than to repeat any of those words, especially when the two of you are in the safety of your home.

“If I didn’t exist, would you have to do all this?” 

Childhood is nothing more than a pipedream for kids like Ramzi. In a world where only the fittest survive, growing up is imperative. Not only is he old enough to understand, he’s old enough to do his own critical thinking, come to his own conclusions. 

If Ramzi didn’t exist, you would not be doing this. You would be like some of the older women in this camp, the ones who scrape by by doing odd jobs for pitying Eldians and living off the scraps the other refugees provide. You never tell Ramzi this because there’s no point in telling him that. He’s your only real family left. The only person in the world you think you’re capable of loving, completely, honestly, with your entire being. If the universe served you an ultimatum, telling you to be with Ramzi but die a prostitute, or live without him and live a different life altogether, you know you would choose Ramzi, every single time.

“If you didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be here at all.” You tell him. “I wouldn’t have bothered leaving our first home when Marley attacked us. I would have just decided to let the rubble and fire crush me, kill me. And even if I did manage to make it out, I would have died in this refugee camp from loneliness. Don’t ask me something like that again.” You find yourself holding back tears. “You are the reason why I’m alive, Ramzi. Don’t ever assume I regret anything I do in this lifetime, especially if it’s for you.” 

“I’ll pay you back.” He declares, standing up from the pile of blankets he was burrowing himself under. He runs straight to your side, hugging you, burying his face in your shirt. “I’ll find a way to keep us going, and then you won’t have to leave or go back to that place ever again.” 

You hold him tightly, stroking his hair. What a dream that would be. 

Withdrawing from him, taking the walk with the other girls to the brothel, preparing yourself for the night awaiting you — all of it is done with a sad smile on your face as your little brother’s promise plays over and over in your mind the whole time. 

That’s all it is: a dream. 

You think you discover a different plane of existence when you find yourself detaching from the present and use your mind to float yourself to a different time, a different place.

The man’s pace is quick and rushed. He’s just focused on getting off. On the bright side, he’s just here for the sex and not the show. No need to try to get into character, to figure out what personality he wants from you. 

A sex doll would be a good gift for him, you find yourself thinking. A hefty investment, for sure, but think about all the money he’s spending at the brothel. If he calculates his annual payment, the sex doll looks like a steal in comparison.

You ignore his grunts, reducing it to nothing more than white noise. You stare up at the ceiling, wishing you could see the night sky. Stargazing — that’s what you would like to do. If you close your eyes, you can picture the starry night from back home; not Marley, not the refugee camp, but your real home. The one where you grew up. The one destroyed by this man’s people.

You work at night, yes, but you spend all your time stuck in this room, reduced to an object of pleasure. By the time you get off from work and take the long, tiring walk back to the camp, it’s already dawn and the only star in the sky is the rising sun. You miss the little luxuries in life. You miss being able to look up at the night sky freely, counting all those twinkling, shimmery flecks above. You envision a shooting star, and make a childish wish, and somehow, with nothing but stars and silly wishes on your mind, your brain conjures an image of the blond soldier from last night. 

You don’t realize how stiff your body is until you actually find yourself able to relax, to sink into the hard mattress beneath you. With his erratic thrusts, you’re certain that your client is nearly finished. At least he doesn’t have the stamina nor the recovery rate to go for a quick round two. You don’t want to think about the client though, so you take yourself to where you can actually stomach being. To places where you want to go. To see people who you want to see.

The soldier. Why does he keep appearing? It’d be bothersome if you were busy trying to do anything else, but seeing as he’s the only reprieve your mind can come up with, you go with it. 

Besides, there are far worse things and people to think about. At least this one is kind.

Kind, and genuine. And surprisingly soft-spoken. Not in a shy manner of speaking; no, the smooth, deep tone of his voice sounds nice. You can see why he’s in the Warrior Unit. If he really put his mind to it, he could get anyone to do anything with a voice like that alone. A voice of a commander, surely.

Unlike the other soldiers you’ve dealt with, he speaks to you softly. Gently. Like you’re someone to handle softly, gently. 

This is precisely why you try not to coddle the new girls. See what happens when you’re given a little kindness, a little warmth? You start clinging on to it, desperately, hungrily. You crave it, seek it out, search for it everywhere you can, and when you can’t find it anywhere else, you start jumping through hoops, trying to convince yourself that there’s something sweet hiding underneath the cruelty everyone else gives you. 

If one person is capable of being kind, that means everybody in the world is capable of it. And if everyone else chooses to treat you like the scum of the earth, then it’s clear the one person who was nice to you was just an outlier. Or, just a liar. And then you spiral, start to think something is wrong with you, like maybe you’re at fault. Maybe you just didn’t deserve to be treated nicely. Maybe the problem isn’t with other people; the problem is you. 

Before you can drown in your self-loathing any more, the golden memory of the soldier breaks through your thoughts. 

Nothing so bright has ever entered this place until he stepped in your room and stood by the door, a blushing, stammering mess that contradicted his position in this society. 

He just wanted to talk.

Men never want to “just talk.” It always ends up becoming something much more. You think about Malik, who occasionally stops by your tent at the camp to bring you and Ramzi any of the leftovers his family has. Malik, who struggles to be soft because of all his rough edges, a side effect from growing up a child in the middle of a war. Malik, who had tried to kiss you the last time he wanted to talk. He had apologized, even though you found yourself telling him there was nothing to be forgiven for. The kiss could have landed, and you still wouldn’t be able to be upset with him. 

Would that soldier try to kiss you? You think of how he stood by the door the whole night, never leaving his station. He must be a good soldier, you rationalize. He’s probably respected by his peers. Someone his family is proud of. In this line of work, you don’t have to work particularly hard to seduce the men; they all come here out of their own lustful volition. It would honestly be tiring having to lay your charm on the whole time you’re here. 

Did the soldier find you charming? Out of all the personalities you try to emulate for these men, the closest one to your true self had been with him. There wasn’t a need to force out replies you didn’t want to say, no gut feeling arising in your belly, warning you to keep your wits about you because saying the wrong thing in a conversation with a man could be a matter of life and death. No. 

He just wanted to talk.

What if you tried to be more charming next time? Maybe you could let your dress ride up more, reveal to him more slivers of skin. He had been respectful the whole entire night; you don’t think he noticed you noticing him. His eyes never left your face, except to occasionally look down at his hands when he thought he said something stupid. 

(For the record, you didn’t think he said a single stupid thing once.)

You come back down to reality as the man is pulling out of you. He tosses the used contraceptive in the trash bin and is zipping up his pants. He doesn’t look you in the eye as he slaps down a few crumpled bills on the nightstand. Willa may take a portion of the total payment, but all tips go directly to you. 

You don’t thank him as he’s on the way out. Does garbage ever show gratitude when you toss it to the side? 

Willa makes a point of trying to schedule appointments in a way that ensures each girl gets at least ten minutes to herself between clients. A brief reprieve, a chance to recollect, to build yourself back up again right before someone else walks in to destroy you. 

In the silence and darkness of the room, you toss aside any what-if scenarios between you and the soldier. He’s likely never going to return. There’s no point in fantasizing about a “next time,” because it’s never going to happen. 

You feel empty, devoid of emotion, cold, when the door opens again. You look up at your newest customer, ready to work out what show to put on for him when you feel life flooding back into your body, shocking your system.

Closing the door gently (as opposed to the carless slams most customers do) is the soldier. The same soldier from last night. His golden hair and his sunny smile and the bright armband flaunting his status. 

“Hi,” he says, standing by the closed door, the same exact spot he was in last time. 

It really is him.

“Hi,” you say back, too stunned to come up with anything clever or fascinating or charming. 

He came back! 

“Conversation must be pretty poor in the military if you’re coming back to little old me for a chat.” You recover quickly, smoothing down your dress, wondering if your hair is a mess. 

He cracks a smile at that. “Well, you’re certainly more fun to talk to than half my bunkmates, I’ll give you that. But no, I actually came here to bring you something.” 

“You brought me a gift?” Sometimes, clients bring their favorite girls gifts. You’ve received things like lacy undergarments, tiny bottles of perfume, things that would make their visit more pleasurable. You don’t see any shopping bags or wrapped boxes in his hand, and you wonder if he’s pulling some cruel joke on you. Like, surprise! You really thought I would get someone like you a present? 

“Wait! Don’t get too excited. It’s not really much, but…” He digs into his pocket before pulling out a pair of bright white socks. He hesitates for a second, as if he’s thinking about what to do, and then he’s making his way to you, standing in front of you. He still has to stretch his arm out to hand you the socks, making sure to leave what he must consider to be a respectful amount of space between you two. 

“Wow.” You breathe out, examining the gift. The cotton is soft, thick. It’s so bright and fresh and clean, you almost cringe at the thought of stepping on these floors with them on. They would be covered in a layer of dirt and grime within seconds. It feels expensive. It feels a lot nicer than any other article of clothes you’ve received since seeking refuge in Marley. It feels too good to be true. 

No one gives you something for free. When you remember this lesson, you look up, only to realize that he’s returned back to his spot by the door. 

“Like I said, it’s not—”

“Thank you.” You suddenly feel shy, holding on tightly to the bundle of cotton. “Thank you, truly. I really don’t know how to repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” In the dim light of the room, you can see his face and ears turning a faint shade of pink. There’s a pleased smile on his face, and it makes your face feel warm. 

“So, you spend money just to stand by the door all night and make conversation with me, and then you bring me very nice gifts, too. Honey, I don’t think you understand how brothels work.” 

“Colt.” He says, in that soft, patient manner of his. There’s a hidden request there; not a demand, but a plea. If he asked you for anything else, you would eagerly give it to him. If he took you right then and there, you would be a very willing participant indeed. 

But he’s not asking for sex, he’s asking for something more intimate. 

He wants you to call him by his name. 

You can’t do that. It’s too personal, it’ll blur even more boundaries. 

“Don’t tell me you really think I’d forget.” You say this instead, trying to subtly avoid the situation at hand. “I couldn’t forget even if all the other customers paid me to.” 

“What do you call them? Your other customers.” There’s no malice in his question, no envy; just pure curiosity. Hearing someone want to know more about you is a foreign interaction. You don’t think you’ve ever been asked a genuine, normal question in years. 

Honey. It’s simple. It’s basic. It’s impersonal. Sweetheart, depending on what character you’re trying to perform as. Baby, on occasion. 

“Silly things.” You tell him. It’s the truth. 

“But the same things?” He asks, and you nod.

“I don’t want to call you the same things, though.” The socks feel warm in your hands, and there’s a tiny voice in your head screaming at you for being so damn truthful, for not keeping your mouth shut. Why is it that the things you want to say and the things you should tell him are the exact same thing? It’s oddly nice, being able to speak your mind and have someone actually want to hear what you have to say; even better to have it be the right thing to say. “What do you think, soldier? No more calling you ‘honey.’” 

He opens his mouth, closes it, tries to say something, then thinks better of it. Finally, he lands on, “Whatever you want to do.” 

Whatever you want to do. Last night, he told you whatever you want. 

For the hour he’s here, you can try on a new role. A girl who wants. A girl who is allowed to want. This girl — you — decides that he doesn’t even need to fulfill any wishes. Wanting is enough; for you, it’s enough. 

You get comfortable on the bed, casually pulling back your hair and letting it lay behind your shoulders, against your back. With no hair to block it and the low neckline of your dress, your collarbone is on display. You momentarily forget about the ugly bruise, and you don’t notice the way his eyes flicker downwards, seeing it. Instead, you’re happy to start interrogating him.

“What’s it like, being a soldier? I heard the yellow means you’re a special one, right? A Warrior.” 

“Being a soldier is an opportunity I’m happy to have.” He answers carefully, trying not to sound ungrateful. There’s no way his family would have been able to afford the tuition for medical school so he could be a doctor. He didn’t want to be a shop owner, either. Career options for young Eldian men are limited. Enlist, or starve. “The yellow band means I’m in the Warrior Unit, but I’m not a Warrior yet.” 

“You’re still in training?” 

“Something like that, yes. But I have to wait until the other Warrior’s term is over before I can take his spot.” 

“You’ll be able to shift into a special Titan then?” 

Colt searches for the malice, the fear, the disgust. He only hears your curiosity. 

“I’m set to inherit the Beast Titan.” 

He finds himself standing up straighter, almost puffing out his chest in pride at the way your eyes go wide with awe. 

“That must be the best one.” 

“What makes you say that? The name?” Having the moniker of Beast just makes him feel even more inhumane, but titans aren’t necessarily humans, right? No point in trying to disguise the truth as anything but. 

“No. You just seem like you’re the best soldier, so I assumed they would reserve the best Titan for you.” 

Devil, monster, savage — whatever he is, he finds himself not caring. The warm feeling taking root in his chest, spreading throughout his body as a result of your words, makes him feel incredibly human. 

“Yo, Grice! Isn’t this insane?” Michael slaps Colt on the back, ignoring the way Porco raises an eyebrow at the interaction. 

“Shouldn’t you be with your unit?” Colt asks him. 

“Nah. They don’t really care—” 

“Lieutenant Sells, why the hell are you over there conversing with the Warrior Unit when I know damn well you popped out your mother a full-blooded Marleyan boy!” 

The commanding officer for Michael’s all-Marleyan unit is red in the face with an angry vein protruding from his forehead. Michael seems entirely unfazed by the whole thing.

“I think your CO is calling for you,” Porco says. 

“Huh. Was that him calling, or just the sound of flies buzzing?” Before Michael can look too pleased at his comment, his CO is screaming for him once more.

“Lieutenant Sells, every second it takes you to come back here and get in formation, is one lap you’re doing around the whole damn camp! I am not in the mood for your little games right now, Lieutenant!” 

With his smile wiped off his face, Michael shoots them a look that says something along the lines of save me, before jogging back to his actual unit. The whole entire time, he’s being berated by his commanding officer. 

“You keep interesting company.” Porco comments. “Hope your girlfriend is at least more sane.” 

That’ll be tough, Colt thinks, considering his “girlfriend” doesn’t exist.

When war isn’t active, the Marleyan military grows restless. When Marleyans are bored, things are bound to go from bad to worse for any Eldians in their vicinity. Today’s scheme that they cooked up involves an all-unit showdown. Physical sparring, no weapons, between soldiers from all the different units. 

No weapons, no maiming, no killing. Those are the rules. 

The unspoken rule, of course, is that any serious punch dealt by an Eldian that lands on a Marleyan is sure to result in some awful punishment, ranging from toilet-cleaning duty to having a finger chopped off. Pity. Colt foolishly woke up this morning thinking he was going to have a good day. 

He ends up getting paired with a burly Marleyan boy. He’s around the same height as Colt, but where Colt is lean, this boy is bulky. His muscles practically cause his uniform to burst at the seams. 

The officers are making a whole day out of this, too. Too much free-time. Why let their soldiers rest or train in peace when they can gather them all up and publicly humiliate the Eldians? Yeah, because that schtick never seems to get old.

Commander Magath looks at Colt before sending him off to get his ass beat. It’s the same look Colt imagines a butcher gives a cow before killing it. For an animal, you weren’t too bad. Sorry things had to be like this. Not really, though.

“Whatever you do, don’t take that shit lying down.” Porco had muttered into his ear. 

Colt isn’t like Porco, though. Things will only be worse for him if he does put up a good fight, and, unlike Porco, Colt is capable of possessing rational thought and the ability to put his ego to the side. He only hopes that Falco and Gabi will close their eyes. 

“Shake hands,” the Marleyan commanding officer commands them. It’s a show of camaraderie. That this is just all in good fun. A way for all the units to bond! Colt’s not sure who’s falling for that lip service. 

Like the good sport, the good soldier, he is, Colt extends his hand. The only show of defiance he will allow himself, he decides, is to not wince in pain as the Marleyan soldier crushes his hand. Colt smiles, which seems to only piss the guy off even more. 

Thanks a lot, Porco. I tried not to take this shit lying down, and now you’re going to have to lay me in a grave. Tell Falco I love him. Colt thinks miserably.

“Remember, boys: no weapons, no maiming, and no killing. Try your hardest to follow these rules. First one down for ten seconds, loses. On the sound of the pistol.” 

Once the pistol fires, Colt narrowly dodges the boy’s attack. With his build, it’s easier for Colt to move quickly, more fluidly. If he can just continuously keep dodging the boy’s hulking arms and certain death grip, Colt figures he’ll be safe. If it comes down to a battle of stamina, he knows he’ll win. 

“Come on, Colt! You can do this!” Colt makes the mistake of trying to search for Falco, trying to pinpoint his voice through the crowd. This is the last thing he wanted! Why is Falco watching this? Why did Porco not grant him a small mercy and force his brother to close his eyes. 

One second, he’s looking for Falco. The next, he’s getting punched right on his left cheek. 

Fuck.

He staggers, loses his footing. He reflexively touches his face, already feeling the sting of the punch. He tries to avoid the boy’s next attack but moves too slow.

Fuck.

There goes his right cheek. At least he didn’t lose any teeth.

Colt says a quick prayer to any benevolent god listening. 

Please don’t let him land a punch on my mouth. Please let me keep all my teeth. 

He can feel his training kicking in. He digs his feet into the ground, subconsciously getting back into a proper fighting stance. He feels how naturally his hands ball into a fist. Even with his head ringing, his vision a bit dizzy from getting knocked around, Colt can still calculate the perfect time to go on the offense and throw his own punch.

Don’t take that shit lying down.  

And right before the perfect opportunity to strike comes, Colt thinks of you.

You just seem like you’re the best soldier, so I assumed they would reserve the best Titan for you.

There’s more at risk here than just a banged up face and ruined dignity. He has a good thing going. He’ll be the Beast Titan and pay his reparations for being born by fighting for people who don’t even care about him. No time for a traditional midlife crisis, at least, seeing as how he’s most likely not going to live to see his thirties. 

The fist he makes uncurls. The moment of opportunity passes. The last thing Colt thinks about is the bruise on your skin. He hopes that you make it to your thirties. He hopes you live a nice, long life. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.

When he gets knocked down, he doesn’t bother trying to get up. The ringing in his ears intensifies, and cutting through the noise are Falco’s and Gabi’s screams. Has it been ten seconds yet? Colt looks up at the sky. It’s a cloudless day. Nothing but sunshine and blue skies. 

Yeah. Usually the most beautiful days are the worst for him. 

Blocking his view of the sky is the Marleyan boy, his face contorted with contempt. Colt tries to think of the boy’s name, searches through his mind and looks for a time where they interacted. He comes up blank, and he doesn’t think it’s because of the mild concussion forming, either. They don’t even know each other.

Just knock me out, already. Colt wants to groan out. Hell, take a tooth if it’ll end this thing.

He catches a glimpse of something shiny, reflective. The sun? No. This is silver.

A blade. 

Didn’t they say no weapons? Why isn’t the match over yet? It’s definitely been ten seconds.

He fills the coldness, the sharpness, of a knife’s tip pressed against the flesh of his face. 

He should fight back. He should get up, take the knife for himself, and show this boy what a real fight looks like. 

No. He wouldn’t take the knife. The rules clearly stated “no weapons.” That wouldn’t be fair, it wouldn’t be right. 

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” A voice shouts, and maybe he’s hallucinating because in what world is Commander Magath the one who looks out for him? Then again, it’s probably going to be tough replacing the future Beast Titan. Zeke likes him, too, which has to mean something. 

There’s a lot of murmurs from the crowd, and Colt strains to listen to what they’re saying. He thinks he hears fabric tearing as a blurry Marleyan soldier is being pulled off of him. 

Then, the world goes black.

“Ugh, you.”

When Colt regains consciousness, he realizes he’s been transferred to the infirmary. The cot he’s laying on is cold, and he looks down. He’s shirtless. He doesn’t know why he suddenly feels so shy when he turns his head and sees that the nurse is female.

Most of the nurses assigned to the Warrior Unit are women. This fact has never bothered him before, has never even properly registered in his mind before, but the stark white of their uniforms reminds him too much of the soft white of your dress.

The only nurse present isn’t speaking to him. She has her back turned, hands on her hips, talking to whoever pulled back the curtain. 

“You’re so mean. Geez, I thought nurses were supposed to have empathy.” 

Michael. 

Colt can never seem to catch a break.

“If you want empathy, go get treatment from your own unit’s nurses. People who want proper treatment go to me.”

“Okay, we all know why you took this job in the first place. Don’t start with me, Claire—”

“I know you aren’t taking that tone with me right now. Who do you want me to get: your CO or your mom? Hurry up, and pick before I call them both.” 

“C’mon, Claire!” Michael whines. “Let me in! He’s my friend.” 

Claire turns around, squinting at Colt, who decides to feign sleep at the last minute.

“I know you’re awake.” She says. He opens his eyes. 

At least she’s nicer to him than she is to Michael. “Do you know this boy?” She points to Michael, who looks too cheerful considering his conversation with Claire. 

“‘Course he knows me! That’s my brother! It should be obvious. We look just alike, don’t we?” He knows it’s just a joke, but all things considered, the resemblance is somewhat striking. The same shade of blond, same build; the only difference is the eyes. Michael’s are a dark blue. “I clearly got the good genes, though. Ma says he looks more like the milkman than pa, but don’t tell him I said that.” Michael winks at Colt. 

Nobody laughs.

“Michael, you really shouldn’t be here. This is a Warrior Unit designated area of the base. I’m being serious.” 

“But he’s my friend.” Michael tells her this, but she shoots him a look that says yeah, right. Colt wants to tell Michael to be careful, to not just go around spouting nonsense like that, but the nurse seems used to the meaningless drivel that comes out of Michael’s mouth. 

“Is that thing really your friend?” Colt’s shocked when he realizes she’s speaking to him, pointing at Michael, indicating that it’s Michael that’s “that thing.”

“Yes.” Colt says, realizing with a sinking feeling that it’s the truth. The feeling only gets worse when he sees Michael doing a fist pump.

“Oh my gosh. Your concussion must be even worse than I thought.” Claire gasps. “It’s okay. Whatever’s wrong with you that is making you keep him for company, I’ll fix it. Don’t you worry.” 

“Are you even certified?” Michael snaps. 

The scathing look she gives Michael would be enough to knock out Colt. Michael’s tougher than he looks.

“I need to go to the supply closet and get some more things since someone decided to get cut and made me use all our bandages trying to patch him up.” Claire announces. “You two — behave.”

Colt presses his fingers to his face and feels only one big bandage stuck on his forehead. 

“Finally the Wicked Witch is gone.” Michael mutters, before turning his head sharply, almost as if afraid she’s secretly eavesdropping. He relaxes when she doesn’t jump up behind the curtain to put him in a chokehold. “Anyway, how ya feeling?”

“Like I just got publicly beaten. Oh, wait.” 

Michael laughs. “Yeah? Don’t worry, he’ll get what’s coming to him.” 

Colt doesn’t necessarily like the sound of that, but who is he to get onto Michael? 

Michael tosses two strips of yellow fabric onto Colt’s chest. So, he wasn’t imagining the sound of fabric tearing, then. His armband is ruined. He’ll have to get a new one once he’s released. 

“His knife accidentally nicked your sleeve when we were trying to yank him away from you. Figured you would miss it, so I snatched it up.” 

“Thanks.” 

“No need for all that. You’re gonna make it seem like I’m a good guy, or something. We’re friends, anyway. If you ever need anything, just ask.”

“Bruise ointment.” Recovering from a mild concussion must have caused more brain damage than he thought possible because Colt knows it’s poor manners to start making requests. Especially to someone who doesn’t have to worry about getting his armband ripped off. 

“If you’re worried about your busted up face, don’t. I heard girls go for guys with rugged good looks. The black and blue really brings out the color of your eyes.” 

Before Colt can apologize for his abruptness, though, Michael strolls to the cabinets and starts opening up drawers at random. “But since we’re best friends—” He waits for Colt’s correction that never comes. “—I guess I’ll do you a solid.” 

Colt gets permission to leave the infirmary before dinner is served in the mess hall. He only stops by the Magath’s office to receive a new armband before heading to the front gates to sign out. 

He’s got one hour’s worth of your time in money in his left pocket, and a bottle of bruise ointment in his right. He hopes you’re free.

Three soft taps against the door have you looking up. You don’t dare to hope that the soldier is visiting you, for the third time this week — in a row, no less! — but the more time he spends with you, the stronger the urge to dream gets. 

You smile when you see that it’s him, and it immediately fades when you take a closer look. This time, you’re the one standing up, quick to approach him.

“Oh my— What happened?” Your arm comes up, ready to reach for his face, to examine his bruised face even closer, but you quickly snap it back to your side. He hasn’t tried to touch you in the two times you’ve met. Maybe he has an aversion to being touched. You reluctantly take a step back.

(Colt flinches. You chalk it up to pain; he thinks he must look pretty disgusting right now, horrific even, to have you scared to be near him.)

“Don’t worry. It looks worse than it actually is.”

You frown. It causes the most adorable crease between your brows. Yet another image to store away in his memories. 

“Actually, I just wanted to come by to bring you something.”

“No. You don’t have to buy me gifts. Please—”

“I don’t mind. I enjoy giving them to you.” Not to mention that they’re technically stolen , not bought, but the Marleyan government can afford it. If his face is going to get banged up, one tube of ointment should be fair compensation. He places it in your waiting hands, the tips of his fingers brushing against the palms of your hands.

Electrifying. 

“This is…” You read the label. 

“Helps with bruises. Fades them, strengthens the skin, helps with a quicker recovery. I figured it would be something you would like.” The more he rambles, the more he thinks that maybe this was a mistake. It’s his face, isn’t it? He should have waited for the swelling to go down, for the bruises to heal up on their own, before showing up here. He probably looks more beast than human right now. 

“Come lay down on the bed.” You say, and then, minding your manners, “Please.”

His brain short circuits. The concussion surely doesn’t help. You look up at him, doe-eyed and too pretty to be real, too pretty for his imagination to come up with, and you ask him again. “Please?”

Whatever you want — that’s what he told you.

Like a good soldier, he obeys the order given. He’s too tall — perhaps the bed too small — so he has to awkwardly maneuver his body on the stiff mattress. His feet are dangling on the edge, and there’s barely any room for you to sit on the mattress. Your body is pressed against his own, the two of you swapping warmth with each other. 

You untwist the cap of the tube, applying a small amount of ointment on the tip of your finger before pressing the same finger to the bruised part of his face. 

“Is this okay?” You whisper to him. 

Your touch is gentle, soft, comforting. Far nicer than he deserves. The nicest he’s even been treated, he thinks. This is better than okay, better than great. 

He feels his eyelids drooping before he gives in and shuts his eyes altogether. “Yes.” He breathes out. 

You apply the ointment everywhere, slowly, carefully, trying not to apply too much pressure out of fear of sending a shock of pain to him. His breathing gradually evens out. 

“All done.” You say it so quietly, it’s almost undetectable. He doesn’t do anything in response, and you realize that he must have fallen asleep. 

You take the time to admire his face. He’s got a bandage on his forehead, a tiny, red line peeking out that indicates this cut was much longer than what one bandage could cover up. There are two different bruises forming on each of his cheeks, making your own look like a poor imitation of what a bruise should look like. You don’t know what possesses you to take your hand and run your fingers through his hair. It’s coarser than it looks, remnants of hair gel still stuck on some strands. Your soldier looks worse for wear, and obviously he’s exhausted. 

So why did he go out of his way to bring you this ointment? You touch your own bruise, tracing the shape of it. He must’ve seen it. He didn’t ask questions, and that’s fine, because you probably wouldn’t have given him an answer, anyway. He must have known you wouldn’t say anything. 

You know he walked here, too. It’s not a short trip from the military base to this side of town, nor is it an easy journey, either. 

You continue to play with his hair, feeling your eyes get wet the longer you stare at him. What is the matter with him? Why does he do this? Why do you have to beg him to come to bed? Why does he take the trip to see you, spends money, brings you little things that no one else would think to get you, just to get nothing in return? It would be easier to know what to do with him if he were like any other man. Why won’t he ask you for something, anything? 

“Oh, Colt.” You whisper. Your thumb brushes against the bandage on his forehead. When he wakes up, you wonder if you’ll muster up the courage to ask him what happened. 

His eyes flutter open, looking dazed at first until his vision becomes clear. There’s a small smile on his face. 

“Is this a dream?” He asks, voice sounding scratchy, like the words are scraping against his throat. 

“No, not a dream, soldier. Go back to sleep.” 

“Huh. But I thought I heard my name.” He mutters. He blinks. His body is telling him to go back into his peaceful slumber, but maybe the time he spends with Porco is making his traits rub off onto him. Colt finds enough stubbornness to fight his own body to stay awake. “Prove to me this isn’t a dream.” 

How can someone look so confident, so strong, when they’re lying on a cheap bed, bruised and tired? How can someone look so handsome, despite it all? 

You think you’re going to do something dangerous. You just have to summon the courage to do so. One look at the hopeful expression on your soldier’s bruised face, and you know that if he can brave whatever happened to him, you can finally just give in.

“It’s not a dream, Colt.” 

He has to be dreaming, he decides. His name has never sounded sweeter. 

You lean down, your face just centimeters from his own. Your lips, so close to his ear. He’s dreaming, he’s dreaming, he’s dreaming — he doesn’t ever want to wake up. To whichever higher power is listening, please don’t let him wake up.

“If this was a dream, I wouldn’t be able to tell you this.” 

You whisper your name into his ear, and he is aware that this is not a dream. This is real life. This is you, so close to him, telling him your name. He greedily snatches it up, repeats your name over and over in his mind. Then, with his eyes closing, quickly giving in to his exhaustion, he says your name.

He’s out cold.

a/n: if you made it this far, thank you!!! a like and even just a simple comment would really make my day, but i know colt grice only has 2 fans (me being one of them), so i'm not expecting much. if you read precipice, you will look back on this fic and go "oh my gosh, it's a cameo from one of my favorite characters!!!" bc nothing screams self-indulgent fan fiction more than creating ur own lil universe within canon, with ur equally delusional friend <3

[world-of-wales]

It’s always events like these that can show both the best and worst of humanity, with lots of support coming in for the King, Catherine and the family… but conversely, the amount of vile comments under most news sites really make me sick. Interestingly, I don’t even care all that much about what Harry and Meghan’s cult have to say, because you just know already that they will make up the worst fake situations and run with it like it’s the truth. I’ve seen the most disgusting things from them. But again, it’s to be expected, and they just mindlessly hate everything about the royal family.

No, the worst for me is realising how entitled many Brits come across when they discuss the NHS, private healthcare and whether wealthy people are “entitled” to receive better healthcare, and that the royal family should be made to use the NHS exclusively (including waitlisting etc) as most people. I have tried to read all the tweets and comments where people actually share their stories of understaffed hospitals, long waiting lists leading to potentially avoidable deaths etc, and I truly have sympathy with them. But do they not realise how high the standard of care they receive is, especially for “free” (through tax) healthcare??? Look, I live in South Africa. Our private healthcare is really good (many expats say on par with Europe), but only around 20% of the population can afford it. The public health system on the other hand.. it’s the same quality doctors, but hospitals are SEVERELY understaffed, often overcrowded, lacking in resources, so that the care you often receive is really sub-par. When people complain about months-long wait lists for operations or procedures, again, I have sympathy, but also, for SA public healthcare, this means someone going to A&E waits literal hours for any sort of care at times. I live in a small town, and the closest hospital is a public one. There was an accident where a man accidentally severed his hand using a chainsaw, so they opted to taking him to the public hospital 30 mins away vs the private one 2hrs away, to get help quicker. He ended up in the waiting room, holding his severed hand, for over three hours and had not been helped AT ALL, when they decided to drive the further 1hr30 to the private hospital. Many people would jump at the chance for our public healthcare to be even in the vicinity as good as the NHS. And also, those who don’t have medical aid over here never begrudge those who have access to private healthcare. It’s more of a situation where if someone has access to that, rather use that than take up more resources that the public healthcare doesn’t have, even if there are benefits to using those systems for simpler situations (like regular checkups, prescription medication being really cheap or even free, but then there’s less for people who really need it). They seem to be completely lacking in empathy and ironically, completely unaware of their own privilege.

No I completely agree, a lot of things that you said are completely true for Indian Healthcare system too. Buy yk what these people do not realise that doctors and nurses themselves often encourage people who can afford private care to get private care to make sure those who only rely on public health services can get them as quick as possible especially if there's an emergency. My own dad has had had chats like this with his patients. We were just talking about it yesterday while on call because this exact thing came up when I was like why don't people understand how medical Healthcare works. It pisses me off so much, especially when some of the stuff people say isn't even accurate at all. The NHS though a fabulous institution, is deeply deeply flawed not because there's an issue with it per say but because of the utter mismagement by the the govt and nobody else's fault. The Tories in the past 13 years has run it to the ground, massively underfunded etc etc but even then it is a whole lot better than most countries around the globe like you said.

I'm not blaming the public because it isn't their fault at all that they are having to wait for even simple checkups let alone complex procedures which they need. It's not their fault that they've been dealt a shitty hand from the govt who'll rather do everything else than actually help those who they are supposed to represent. I completely and 100 percent empathize with them but blaming the problems the govt has created on somebody else who's having a health crisis no matter who they are isn't okay imo.

What all you said about SA is completely parallel to what happens in India word to word. It's horrific stories all around. My own dad has always said that even he wasn't himself aware of the dire situation that exists virtually everywhere else. Not saying that there aren't issues when it comes to the nhs for ordinary people, but that the standard of care people get through them might be flawed at times but is still a millions miles ahead of most places on Earth. He does say that he wasn't aware of the privilege he had as a kid or even as an adult until he actually started working outside of it. As a kid it was so easy for him to get a doctor if he was sick etc but working in his field all these years in places all across and even today in India makes him realise of how easy he and his family & those around them had compared to all this bs. One of his earliest patients when we moved to India was a kid of 10 or 11, it was supposed to be a normal operation right? Could be done in any of the places in their local community health centres but couldn't happen. Why? Because the govt sure has made the building but not put the actual staff and machinery in there. So they travelled from their village in central maharashtra to Bombay to get their child a fucking hernia removal which takes just an hour at most. And they didnt get it in the govt hospital even then because of several problems but through the ngo & hospital my dad works with. With this you can easily imagine the state of it all.

And I'm glad that I have seen people a lot of them medical professionals in the past 2 days who have been like it's good that they are going private not because they are rich and they should but because that will make sure no extra stress is put on an already crippled nhs. Now as for the issue of private Healthcare, I have always been against privatizing something as basic a human right as Healthcare for all and believe that it should be accessible to everyone regardless of where they come from or who they are. But also the reality i that we live in a world based on capitalism, so there is no way around the fact that as long as the prevailing economic structure exists, these disparities will also exist because they are a direct result of that. So blaming it on somebody who's already staying way from the public system to ensure she doesn't burden it doesn't seem to be great even if you think about it logically or emotionally. When it is the Govt who has been hell bent on making sure the nhs turns into the across the pond version of the disaster that the American health care system is.

Then they are also being like 14 days? Oh extra precautions cause of who she is. UMMM NO! Any doctor will tell you that's basically the normal time to have an hospital stay after a large incision there to make sure there's no further emergency situation and to avoid any infection or even ur stitches coming out. Abdominal surgery is no cakewalk and comes with significant risks so yah you do need to be extra extra cautious. Those assumptions honestly make me so fucking angry because if you don't know shit about medicine then kindly do us all a favour and stfu.

And I never ever ever will understand how any decent person can wish bad health, death etc on anybody else, someone whos done nothing to you. Like how does your own conscience allow that? You don't like someone? great you are entitled to your own opinion. But wishing harm to somebody just because of that is so so disgusting to me especially when that person has done nothing to you or anyone else ever except get married into a family you don't like. Even when PP and QEII passed away the vitriol and the I'm glad they are dead jokes were just out of my comprehension. And I do think it has a lot to do with the fact that over time the idea of anonymity on the internet has made us as a society this way, like who's gonna check you when you talk like this about someone online. And also imo, it's also become a thing where it makes you 'cool' to challenge everything you see around you online; not necessarily because you might also believe in it too but because it makes you different than all the other mere mortals around.

I had so much more to say but I realise how long it already is so 🙃 I'm sorry for the length of it, I just couldn't stop myself.

[j1r4ch2]

I'll admit that my opinion is probably colored by the cynicism of never succeeding at making money being a creative and instead constantly scrambling back and forth from various min wage entry level industries just to make ends meet, but i think that the way artists are conceptualizing AI video rendering as the end of the world is kind of ridiculous.

Obviousely the possibility of artistic jobs being downsized is very real. There is a present reality of AI taking good jobs from real people. It sucks. It's awful. Real people are suffering; I'm not denying that.

But at the same time this technological paradigm isn't going away any time soon, and as it is now, is way too resource intensive to replace every artist making a living with thier work.

Maybe someday down the road enough GPU farm services will be widely enough available where it is feasible for companies to use generative AI for all of their media needs, thus eliminating countless jobs for artists who spent decades of their life honing a skill, but if being demoted from a professional artist to a hobbyist is the end of the world for some people I seriously question why they practice their craft in the first place.

If it was always for the money, then let the robots take the burden of performing the role of a artist from you, and please relearn creating just to feel something inside of you.

We've had knitting machines and mass produced clothing and textiles for ages, yet in this day where my car can drive itself, people spend hours learning to do fibercrafts etc. And you aren't hearing about etsy fiber artists making 60k/year from their work yet they still enjoy the creative process of it!

This is a nuanced conversation, and a lot of people in poverty situations are going to lose access to their jobs as it becomes automated away, in a more exponentially growing version of what's been going on since 2008 and even back to the 90's.

Its a real problem, but the majority of creators i see whining about this on tumblr, YouTube etc. are middle class or higher individuals who's only experience in blue collar work is the half year they spent working part time at their university campus Starbucks.

A lot of people think they're mad because automation is threatening the validity of their job, but they're actually mad because they think learning a creative skill makes them better than your average blue collar worker and they're appaled at the idea of being the same as the people who run their electric grids, clean their sewers, and stock their supermarkets.

Theyre just using the cultural backlash against explotative machine learning (which is a justified backlash, it's fucking wrong for these generative models to be stealing existing work of art and incorporating it into its training, that's not what I'm defending here) as an excuse to dodge the awareness that they don't think anyone should be doing blue collar work because surely they never dreamed of doing it.

As it stands now generative AI models are too resource intensive to truly replace the scale of workers people act like they will, and the advancement of ML algorithms has enough real potential to better people's lives that its not going away, so I think aside from doing the work of protecting our existing art with things like nightshade etc, it's important to be realistic and give up the fantasy that we are at war with AI companies, and must win, or even more delusion at war with the very concept of machine learning.

Its reminiscent of people who were afraid of computers in 1995 and now can't function in their daily life without the help of their gen z loved one to help them navigate the most basic of user interfaces.

Society will advance, regardless of how we like it, all we can do is be resourceful about it, and find ways that the advancement benefits us.

[mollieblue]

Hey #labour, you should hire me to talk at you about how to actually fix Britain:

Terfs are the enemy, Trans folx are the people.

Small businesses need support on the ground level in order to foster amazing communities.

Invest in education to the point teachers are as paid well as their private peers or dare I say as well as an MP. I would say that if an MP describes their role as being vital, integral and essential to running the country, who receives a handsome tax paid salary with expenses paid with the public purse, why is it that other public sector roles are paid relatively below minimum wage? This applies to all public sector workers; civil servants, NHS staff, and teachers of all stripes. They are just as vital, integral, and essential to running the country, if not more so, than the openly profiteering geezers in Westminster.

Why is it that the rule makers are more important than those ensuring that the rules work? Those holding up society and holding it together are so sorely underpaid in this country that they are giving their lives to you at pittance so you can be okay. The NHS is a wonderful thing, and it breaks my heart that we don't fully fund it. The same goes for education, social services, community organisations, and libraries. These currently literally keep people existing at the bare minimum, but when fully funded and staffed, they transform lives for the better.

Equal pay for Equal work 》 Equal pay for Equal Importance. Ignore the 'we can't pay them the hundreds of thousands that MPs get' elephant in the room. I want you instead to imagine a world in which all public sector workers are paid the exact same amount regardless of hierarchy or public aspect they interact with. I'm no expert, but I reckon £86,584, the basic annual salary for a UK MP in 2023, would be an absolute god send to a junior doctor on roughly £38k. My partner practically works at minimum wage for 50 hours when you account for the marking, the planning, the organisation of your entire schedule to an impromptu meeting with angry parents and worrying about ofsted. It has worn them down, mostly because we can't have a social life, spending money on the theatre, in shops, on things that make us happy and human. We can't save, and we can't afford nice things. That fucking sucks. It wears a person out and throws them out of the system that's holding up the world.

Everyone I know is feeling like the above, regardless if they're private or public, freelance or salaried. One solution to help is basic universal income. Give everyone over 16 £500 & everyone over 18 £1000 each month for a year and see how awesome it would be in a year's time. I already know how much good that would do to me and everyone I know.

So pay everyone £12,000 a year and then pay all public sector workers the base salary of £86,000 rising in step with inflation. If the private sector can, in theory, pay whatever wages it wants, having a guarantee that your basics are paid will eliminate sooooo much stress. Rich folx can donate theirs, college kids can do interesting work at college because £500 buys a lot of art supplies and travel to museums, exhibitions, and events. Youth would have means to explore the nation before university or set up in an apprenticeship. Our elderly can use it to afford end of life care provisions or enrich their retirement or hell, just keep the lights on. Working folx would undoubtedly benefit the most and would probably like their jobs much more if they know things are covered.

To foot the bill, impose a commons tax on all privately owned land that fairly compensates the commons, ie, the UK public, back.

Make the North part of your game plan, rather than a foot note.

On a serious note; nationalise the railway system and expand the network. It is hell going east to west here, up to 3 hours to go 50 miles west and just 3 to get to London from Selby in North Yorkshire. How is this acceptable?

Invest in working class politicians to bring the reality of Britain back into government. Without our views or experiences on the table, why are we surprised when the Tories fuck us over again? If you want true, enthusiastic support from the British people, do not talk at us as if we're irresponsible children and actually engage with the very liberal and progressive discussions we have daily. Especially people under 40 - the older generation that pulled us out of the EU will be gone soon - you need to court and actually help out.

[kiisaes]

Quick! Tell me about your OCs! (I just really like hearing about people’s OCs)

!!! WAAUAUAUSDUHUS OKAY!!!

and to everyone who doesn't care about my ocs, u can ignore this ask bc i'm gonna be like this for the remainder of this post

u have been warned.

my ocs that i mostly post about here belong to a future comic i intend to write, draw and post online called "chimera kingdom"! this is the tag on my blog -> #chimera kingdom <- it's comprised of art of my ocs as well as some miscellaneous stuff

it's a story that means a lot to me and one i definitely want to write in its entirety .. someday .. bc some of my oldest ocs are here!!! kimberly is my oldest oc i still use!!! she is a decade old!!! buzzer and ry are also almost as old, they were made like. idk. a week after kimberly ??? and fun fact but atticus is technically the oldest oc of the bunch but he's not technically my oc since i'm borrowing him from my friend. but i was given permission to write him my own way for this comic so YIPPEE!!!!!

it's a humble project with a lot of sentimental value, so i post about it occasionally even though this is mainly a fan art blog, i haven't illustrated it all, and don't know when it'll be done. not sure if i necessarily have "big dreams" for this thing, but it'd be cool to see it all come together ....... someday

BUT ANYWAY! some general lore and worldbuilding of "chimera kingdom" bc that's important!!!

the short synopsis: "in the near future, a government-funded lab/secret service/school conglomerate called the Chimera Kingdom experiments on humans. chimeras are the newest step in human(?) evolution, individuals with the added survival skills of a specific animal. they primarily exist to kill off monsters— dangerous, soulless creatures set to destroy humanity if not combated."

so basically chimeras are the merging of a human body and the strength, survival skills, and instincts of one animal. they still maintain their human body throughout unless their animal limbs serve as part of their survival (like bird chimeras with wings, big cat chimeras with claws, etc.). chimeras have to manually tap into their chimera states, meaning that under normal circumstances they're just regular humans. when a chimera's chimera state is active, a symbol on their inner wrist will appear and glow. that's what these are!

chimeras are like. fantasy science basically. they're definitely scientific creations in-universe but leave some breathing space for fantasy too, so u don't concern urself with the specifics. the further this story goes, the more reality will be suspended as well

so how does this relate to the characters ?!?!

i won't go tooooo in depth with the individual characters since that would make this ask way too fucking long and i doubt anyone would want to read that. so i'll just link this post and this post which have the basic run-downs for the 10 student characters. these posts are a bit outdated now but i haven't had the time or the luxury to remake them so ..... they'll do for now =v= i also don't have everyone's bios written, so there's more characters than just these 10. if anyone i draw catches ur interest feel free to ask me! i WILL scream about them

anyway all 10 of them are chimeras attending Chimera School, a part of the Kingdom. the 10 of them make up the elite class, aka the "best" class due to everyone's potential to be very strong and useful chimeras. this class ignores grades since it's more focused on chimera missions and other stuff directly benefiting the Kingdom, less on actual academics (though they still learn the basics, dw). so they're of different ages but still on the same level playing field

the protag is kimberly, she's a rabbit chimera and her goal at the Kingdom is to become the strongest chimera!!! she's been in her twin brother ry's shadow since she can remember, so she has a bit of beef with him though it's not inherently malicious. he's good at everything so she wants to be better than him in just one thing. like .. u know when siblings are a little fucked up? yea :D

she acts as the audience surrogate for a bit before more perspectives are introduced. everyone has their own goals and motivations, and develop as the story moves forward. i intend for "chimera kingdom" to delve into war, love, grief, vulnerability, reclamation of power, and what it means to be human. and what it means to be an individual being when u can't even feel like u're worthy of being anyone. ya feel ?!?!?!?!

every character deals with one or multiple of these themes! in some kind! so lmk if there's a specific character u're interested in !!! i will word vomit for HOURS. i just don't want to crowd this already-crowded ask when there's a good amount of characters in my comic. and again i implore u to check out the links above for some quick info :)

SORRY THIS IS SO FUCKING LONGGGGG

[literaticat]

Hi! Regarding distribution, let's say you have a smaller publisher whose books happen to be distributed by one of the Big Four. Just how much of an impact will that have on the smaller publisher's book (i.e. will it receive a lot of the same distribution perks as the books published by that bigger publisher, etc.)?; 2) How significant is it if your book's announced first print run (which I know are exaggerated) is 10K-20K higher than any of the publisher's forthcoming and recent YA titles? Thx!

It's still "Big Five" (thank goodness). If you don't know, the "Big Five" publishers are Penguin/Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Macmillan and HarperCollins.

A lot of y'all throw around "smaller publisher" and "smaller press" and stuff but I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN by that. Like do you literally mean "small press" (ie, TINY?) - or do you mean "smaller than a Big 5" -- which is most things? Anyway, whatever.

Explaining Distribution Partners: There are lots and lots of big/mid-sized publishers that are NOT part of the Big Five but are perfectly large and wonderful publishers in their own right. Scholastic, Candlewick, Chronicle, Abrams, Bloomsbury, the list goes on. THESE ARE STILL BIG PUBLISHERS. By no stretch of the imagination can they be considered "small". However many of them are distributed by other folks -- Scholastic has its own distribution, but for example, Candlewick is distributed by PRH, Abrams and Chronicle are distributed by Hachette, Bloomsbury is distributed by Macmillan, etc. This is just logistically better for them -- it helps Chronicle, because obviously they don't have to have extra giant warehouses and infrastructure etc that cost an absolute fortune, and it helps Hachette to have distribution partners because they get $$ to offset their giant warehouses and infrastructure etc that costs an absolute fortune.

(Publishers that ARE legit quite small *also* can be distributed by the Big 5, and the same thing applies. PRH distribution clients, S&S distribution clients, Macmillan distribution clients. There are other big distributors too - Ingram Publisher Services is the most notable, I wrote a bit about them a couple weeks ago.)

OK so anyway. My point is - a publisher being distributed by another publisher is just normal, it's how the biz works, small and larger publishers alike participate in this distribution stuff.

To answer your question (FINALLY): I'm not sure what you mean by "Perks" -- but yes? I think any distribution client would get similar benefits. Good things about having a large distribution partner: They deal with all the invoicing, warehousing, fulfillment, returns, and most importantly perhaps: Ease of ordering. Bookstores or whatever can go to five or so BIG places rather than 300 different small places, which makes it easier for bookstores to make up the minimum orders they need for free shipping and good discounts -- a bookstore is never going to order enough books from "Yahooville Press" to make it worth the cost of shipping, but if they can get a few books from Yahooville Press in their regular Hachette or Ingram order, it makes it much more likely they will bring them in!) -- Anything that is distributed by these large distributors can get into any bookstore etc. That's REALLY GOOD.

However -- what it doesn't really help with is "discoverability" -- the smaller publisher itself still has to have Sales and Marketing and catalogues and outreach and all that other stuff. The distributor makes it MUCH easier to FULFILL the orders -- but they can't make people hear about your book to order it in the first place.

(As for the second question, IDK? It's unclear to me what you mean here. I would have to know if you are actually talking about a SMALL PRESS or a regular publisher that happens to be smaller than a big-5, etc etc. I guess if they are "estimating" a larger print run, then they expect it to be one of their bigger / more "hotly anticipated" books -- but it's hard to say WHAT THAT MEANS without a good deal more context that I don't actually want because this is an anonymous thing!)

[littlecreativecorner]

Feedback and Suggestions to Tumblr Changes

Rant that has been coming for a week or two now, extremely expedited by the recent change they made to literally make it look like Twitter. I’m assuming the change stems from this statement they put in their latest Staff post:

"The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use."

The thing is - nothing is easy to use, the first time. If you've never been on a website, if you've never used a program, a game, an app - the chances are, you are not going to know how to use it easily if you haven't encountered it before. Does that intrinsically make the service you're using bad? No! So what could Tumblr do to help instead? Well. Huge feedback and suggestion dump under the cut, with the LEAST rant-driven comparisons I can muster. I'll be sending this post as feedback myself, but I want it public too.

I'm going to break these down into bullet points with explanations, but keep in mind that I'm just one person, and I'm bound to miss out on plenty of things others might have thought of; this is not the blog to send in feedback or suggestions or other thoughts, it's a one-off long as all fuck post because I'm opinionated. Take the list and run with it, add to it, use it - whatever, but please don't come to me for more takes about this. That being said:

Section 1: Layout

Feedback: New layout

I won’t be the first or the last person to say this: the new layout is basically Twitter. You know this, I know this, the staff knows this. Tumblr…is not Twitter. The obvious pro to this change is that everyone that’s ever used Twitter in their life is going to know where things are, because it looks like a worse version of their (already bad) platform. The cons are…everything else. From this point onward I’m referring to the 19/7 layout as the Twitter layout because it’s simpler, and it’s true. Also I don’t like it.

I don’t want to spend my time here when it looks like this, and frankly, people don’t want to use any social media platforms that are an obvious rip-off of others in looks and function; they are going to use Twitter regardless until it dies. This is why few people have gone to Mastodon and kept using it even if it IS a better alternative to Twitter, and quite similar. It’s the same with games. You want more people to use Tumblr? Make it unique. Keep the old layout, or do adjustments that actually benefit the interface, and double down on the uniqueness of what it can do different, and better, not what it can do the same. Tumblr is a blogging platform; lean in on it. I digress. The Twitter layout dissection below.

Suggestion: Layout (desktop) and interface

I have a wide screen, and my personal experiences are written from that point of view; however, everything I mention here should be tested for ALL screen sizes, to optimize placement and user experience. I’ve gone through the tags to gather some opinions and mellow out my initial reaction of “oof, change bad”, but also I’ve always hated the Twitter layout which is the reason I don’t have one. Shocker.

The layout is cramped to me. It feels squished. Opening one thing overlaps on the other, having to scroll down for basic account functions feels insane to me because that’s where the likes, the drafts, the posts are. It makes me less likely to go through any of the website actual functions because I just can’t see them, and I have to put in extra effort of scrolling around to find them. The general upside of Tumblr for me was the ability to have sideblogs and easily access and edit them, and see posts, and likes, and other blog-specific things.

The Messages, Activity, and TumblrMart tabs still open as pop-up like features. For messages- no issue, there’s no need for it to take up further space. It was like this beforehand, and I didn’t mind it then either. I think that’s fine. Activity and TumblrMart, to me, feel spammy to look at. Personally, opening Activity in a half-tab like the one you get where you report blogs would be ok, because you can actually look through it with less fear of clicking off, but also, I don’t get a lot of notifications so I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other. I have seen that it covers the dashboard which you might want to be looking at, so frankly, it’s probably best to not have it pop-up there at the very least. TumblrMart…please let it lead to its own site segment. No wonder people aren’t using it. It doesn’t have a clear overview, or options, nor do you feel like you can peacefully look around.

The fact that everything is on the left side sucks from an user standpoint as well because going swiftly from reblogging/liking/refreshing to account/messages/settings is not friendly user interface. This, to me at least, essentially discourages the interaction wanted. I digress. I think it’s a decent idea to separate left and right side and make things in part more accessible, but not like this.

My personal subjective opinion for a new (“more intuitive” interface) and suggestion:

Keep what is currently the account tab on the right, permanently open (likes, following, what’s new, help, shortcuts, log out) OR toggleable, with a toggleable (separate) “blogs” tab under it for privacy on the dashboard lest someone walk by and sneak a glance. Opening the blogs drop-down would by default make your main blog interface open, and side blogs closed; leave the toggleability and options as-is on the Twitter layout, that is fine.

Above this, put back the Home, Explore, Activity, TumblrMart, Domain, and Ad-Free icons. Home, Explore and Activity for usage, make TumblrMart lead to its own distinctive site instead of being a pop-up, and the rest people will eventually click on and know what they are. Potentially you could merge Ad-Free and Domain into one site you can just scroll through instead. Bind this with the search tab in the middle the way that it was, so things don’t stick cramped to the top of the page.

Leave Messages, Inbox and Settings on the left, and instead of “t” write “tumblr.” because there’s lots of empty space up top there otherwise, and it would look less awkward. Drop-down settings especially is a good thing to me because the settings interface was amongst the least intuitive things for new users, and it’s important because it shapes the entire usage of the site, and is one of the first things people go to for customization of their experience. Under this, stick “Check out these blogs” and “Radar”. Or only “Radar”. Workshop it or ask for user opinions.

That’s just one opinion of possibilities of one user, and no one has to agree with me whatsoever, but I’m not going to sit and pretend that things will never change ever even if I don’t want them to. There’s plenty of ground to cover here, but I really shouldn’t be doing the job of the Tumblr board of 200 people who already work there. Regardless, I’m upset, and I don’t want to use Tumblr anymore because of the changes you’re making, and I want to fix the leaks in the roof of my only house, because honestly? I don’t use social media besides Tumblr. I digress.

Feedback: Blogs (layout-adjacent)

I’ve been on this platform for over 10 years and I want to be absolutely clear on something; I hate the simplification of everything with a burning passion. I don’t want to spread misinformation and say that blogs not having their own immediate domain and theme on sign-up saves money, or space, or what-have-you, because I don’t know, but if it’s true then I understand the reasoning for the change. However, I do know that the slow erasure of personal themes makes the entire website bland as all fuck to me. I’m going to separate this in chunks because it’s important to me and I think Tumblr should use this function (as well as chronological non-algorithmical feed) to attract new users instead of trying to be something it isn’t. Is it realistic? Not my job to figure out, nor how to make it work! I’m already making a whole itemized list for a lot of things.

Feedback: Regarding mobile blog layouts:

A good change! I like that it’s simple and sleek and still customizable in a way where you can hide your likes and followings. I also don’t mind that the same settings are retained on the desktop version of your blog to keep consistency. It’s neat! However, I’m not the biggest fan of the desktop version of blogs, and so, regarding desktop layouts:

Suggestion: Make blogs that have a theme open in a new tab when clicked on.

In all honesty, I scroll less on blogs when I’m not on their personalized theme. It’s simply not inviting. It’s fine for one post; sometimes I just want to take a link from the source to pass it on, but when I further click on the blog icon to get to the main page of the blog itself, I wish it led to the actual theme as opposed to the dashboard version. I love looking through others’ posts and blog on their own personalized page, and frankly, it’s the reason I joined and spent so much time on Tumblr. If the theme is Godawful, or difficult to see, there’s always a button in the top right which literally leads to the dashboard version of the blog, on any blog with any theme. When I scroll through the dashboard version of a blog, I last maybe 5 posts at most, don’t like/reblog much, don’t follow, which further just stops the chain of engagement in this platform.

I can agree this isn’t for everyone, and people might not care too much about it. However, it’s like…a few lines of code to implement, and put in settings as a toggleable function. It would keep everyone happy. And make it known to new users.

Section 2: Retaining new users

Now that we’ve determined how nobody wants a rip-off website, and how changes are possible and have potential and don’t have to be bad, and how, certain layout functions are out there that little people know about, we’re going to move on to the statement that Tumblr staff made about not being able to attract and retain new users. I’m going to make a separate post completely that goes in on the topic of engagement (important for a website!), but here I want to focus on the differences in old and new user experiences.

Feedback: User experience for new accounts

I feel like lots of old users aren’t aware that this is what the new sign-up for Tumblr looks like, with all the steps. To Tumblr staff: no wonder people don’t understand anything or stay on the platform, and you think that algorithms are the way to go. Changing the interface to “please” or “attract” new users won’t do much if they still can’t understand and use the core functions of the site. The functions that are actually not badly described on the help page. The functions that make the site worthwhile visiting and being on for what it is.

The steps given after signing up force people to mindlessly click on things, without any understanding, and the interface looks…spammy. There’s no indication on making someone unfamiliar with the culture or layout actually familiar and understanding of it, there’s no explanation, nothing. It’s not inviting and it looks like a hassle, and if people don’t understand this, they will click things randomly, then go to their dashboard and be cranky because they don’t get what’s going on.

Suggestion: Signup and post-signup interface changes, tutorials

On the “What are you into?” page, elaborate on what following “tags and topics you want to see” means; will this show up on the dashboard, will it give you notifications, what? Let people know that they will see everything in a tag from all users, where it will be located, how if they tag an original post it will also be found in the tags, but that tagging reblogs won’t. People don’t know. Teach them as they go along.

Leave a few suggested (popular) tags, potentially a list of currently trending tags. Introduce a search function next to it that allows a quick scroll through whatever tag people might think of, with a sentence or two about how to use search/tags: this both familiarizes people with the difference between the “tagged” and “searched” terms on their dashboard (you could explain this, too!), and gives people the incentive to write whatever they want and follow that instead of one of 20 randomly generated tags that they then have to unfollow. Naturally, add a button saying “no thank you” to this step so that people that know how to use Tumblr don’t have to do any of that while making a new account.

On the “find your people” page, you should straight up explain what following people means and how to find people to follow, given that it’s the core function of the website, no matter how much you try to force the algorithm. The issue with following random people for new users is that they don’t know how to find them after this step, and there is only so far that the “check out these blogs” tab will get you. This ties into engagement, and so, I’ll go into a little more detail later.

Likewise, managing of the “For you”, “Following” etc. is not customizable and removable for new users. Please make this customizable the same way that the old users have it, wherein you can turn off certain tabs. In all genuine honesty, I find all that unnecessary, but I know some newer users might use it (whether it’s because they like it, or they don’t know any better, I can’t say). I think the choice of what the “primary” tab is should be given to the user though.

Regarding the rest of the website functions: You know when you download an app or a game and you have a darkened screen with highlighted points that let you know where is what and point at it, sometimes including pictures? And you read it to get familiar with the interface/controls, and skip it if you just don’t care? Brainstorm on how to make one of those. This solves 99% of your issues with people that want to use the platform and also read. Make it simple, to the point, cover the raw basics, and include an easily accessible link to the other tutorials with screenshots on the help page that I know exist but are horribly hard to find. Which brings me to my next issue…

Suggestion: Make the help and feedback sites easy to access and use.

It’s as simple as putting the words “Help” and “Feedback/support” on the right side under whatever text there was, or under the “suggested blogs” batch, or something. This is literally THE easiest change to make on the old layout and would undoubtedly help a lot of people that don’t understand the platform. Likewise, honestly, the help page with actual tutorials is kinda bad (the tutorials seem ok from what I’ve skimmed though). It’s big and bulky and stretched out and it makes getting to the actual tutorial you might need a little bit of a hassle. I’d suggest to rework that layout over the dashboard layout any day.

And regarding the people that don’t read? Well, first of all, that’s their issue. Secondly, the way new account making works on Tumblr needs to be reworked in a way where doing whatever is necessary while making the account before getting to use the platform needs to be optimized and clearer, with better instructions. The issue isn’t the layout, as much as a fundamental misunderstanding of the platform, which I’ve written about 6 paragraphs of just above.

Section 3: Engagement

With all of that out of the way, let’s get to the meat of the problem. One of the key issues Tumblr seems to have is this:

“To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.”

I’d like to go in on this because to me this is the most important facet of why Tumblr is changing things. I urge you, staff specifically, to read this carefully and clearly.

Feedback: Engagement with the platform

A lot of reasoning for changes comes from a lack of engagement with the platform and its contents, and the want to get more users and as a consequence earn more money to keep the site running. I’ve already written about introducing new users to the website interface and culture better, so I’m going to write the following with the assumption that all site features are understood. Platform engagement and features are intertwined, and so this will include both feedback on current features and suggestions for future ones that I think would hopefully help engagement. Because this is about Tumblr changes, it’s only fair we start with the obvious.

Feedback: Make blogs and polls related to changes easier to access.

I’ve gone through a few blogs such as @/changes, @/wip, @/labs and @/staff. First off, most of these aren’t interlinked with each other, and it’s very very annoying. It costs 5 minutes to make a pinned post on each of those blogs that links to the others so people know what to turn to regarding which update/change. Likewise, please stop silencing/refusing blaze/putting mature setting on posts that discuss and complain about changes. This has never gone over well with anyone. You’re alienating your userbase.

Regarding polls about changes that you apparently do on one of your changes blogs: I’ve never seen them, and I’ve never seen any notices about them. If you care about retaining any user base you might still have, you might want to have these more often, and facilitate and encourage discussion and open suggestions. Mostly, just make a notice about the poll last until it is over just like you make the notices about “ask X from Y show!” things. I’d be more than happy to contribute if I actually knew there was a poll happening.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the rest of them.

Feedback: Algorithm and the “for you” page.

Plenty of people have said this before me, and better than me. I want to stress the fact that the “for you” page discourages reblogs, discourages interaction, and above all, discourages new content creators. The new algorithm functions use popular posts (without reblogs, no less!), which further pushes good and popular creators or bloggers, and leaves others in the dust. Making this the default dashboard and search results not only stagnates content, but also alienates creators you oh-so-dearly want to see bloom. I think having it as an option is inevitable in this day and age, but also, I would much rather see emphasis on the chronological, following and self-curating experience, than a trend-chasing one. You need to give people the space to grow if you want to encourage their growth. This space is hard to find when only popular things are pushed upwards.

Feedback: Search and tagged.

We all know the search function is broken in unspeakable ways. Unfortunately most new users a) don’t know that and b) don’t understand the difference between the search and the tags. For the latter, I’ve already suggested things. For the former: fix the search function. And maybe let people pick whether they want to default to search or tag they’re looking for when pressing enter in the search bar? I’m tired of double clicking because I tend to prefer going to tags.

Feedback: Issues with the Tumblr Live function.

Remove it. Few people use it, I doubt that it’s highly moderated, and I’m absolutely certain it’s costing you money more than it should. The fact that a recent Staff Q&A livestream was on it was a slap in the face given that at least a third of the userbase cannot access it given that they are in the EU. If your website function is banned in the EU, you might want to reconsider implementing it. If people want livestreams, they will go to Twitch, or less likely to Instagram. Tumblr doesn’t need this. It won’t make new users come. Market it as a blogging platform that it is, not a livestreaming platform.

Feedback: Issues with spam and bots.

There’s so many porn pots in all tags spamming everything and messaging users, and we all know it’s an issue. Work on removing them from the site more than you work on removing actual real live users that post porn on the site. At least the live users aren’t likely to give you viruses and scam. Related, make new users aware of this issue and urge them to change their icon or at least make an introductory post. If they get blocked for the assumption that they’re a bot, they see less on Tumblr, there is less engagement.

Suggestion: Following, specifically regarding new users.

The reason why “most users see only 25 posts a day” isn’t that they are lacking an algorithm, it’s that they’re lacking people they follow, and the fact that most suggested blogs to follow are ones that create content as opposed to reblogging it, and because creation takes time, well…people don’t get posts on their dashboard. The simplest way I can think to fix this would be to also suggest blogs that reblog based on source content tags they reblog. And because I know some people would rather have their little private corner: make this toggleable based on if their blog is searchable or such.

Alternatively, coin a known tag such as “New user follows” or something, wherein both new users can post asking for people to like if they post about XYZ fandom/topics so they can check the blogs out, and the old users can post a list of topics they talk about, and new users can just follow that way. “Like if you post X” in fandom tags used to be such a common thing, but I don’t think encouraging spam in said tags is a good idea, and so: new highly specific tag, which can also be noted and explained in the sign-up process!

New users don’t know this, but I (for one) find people that reblog things either by going up a chain of reblogs, or just visiting random blogs through reblogged posts of posts I like and content I enjoy. I’m sure every other user out there has their own method of finding new blogs. For this to work though, you need to have people that reblog, which leads to my next point.

Suggestion: Reblogging regarding new users only.

For the new users, it’s confusing to differentiate between a reblog and an original post, especially considering you can tag both. This kind of ties into tutorials that I suggested beforehand, but it should at least be mentioned somewhere, preferably during (or right after) the sign-up process. Granted, this might be mentioned in the help page somewhere, but after this entire manifesto, I don’t have it in me to check.

Suggestion: Encouraging reblogs for both new and old users.

I’m running out of singular brain cell power to one-man brainstorm things for the staff here, and I’m certain people have their own ideas to boot. The only thing I can think of is to give people a boon for a 1-minute crab run or 24-hour badge choice per, like, 1000 posts reblogged, 4 times a month to avoid spam. Either it will be funny or it will be ignored. I don’t have it in me to think about this because the moment I had started reblogging a decent chunk of things on my own blog, Tumblr made the layout change, and now I simply don’t want to.

Suggestion: Change replies to posts.

If there’s any one thing I ever actually wanted on Tumblr that Twitter has, it’s the fact that replies to an original post are threaded. I know this has been asked for plenty of times, but keeps getting delayed. You want to encourage connection and communication? Thread the replies. Please.

Feedback/suggestion: Reblog chains.

Bring back the ability to look at singular reblogs by going through a reblog chain. You're killing the culture of "previous tags". Also this just sucks. And it's harder to find blogs through a reblog chain that way. This suggestion is not eloquent because I'm adding it in as an edit since my brain is literally fried from writing the rest of this.

Likewise, don't condense reblogs. People have said it better than me as well, but that kills the culture of the site, it kills engagement in the way the site is made, and frankly seeing a punchline before the joke isn't going to make anyone reblog anything.

Feedback/suggestion: Advertise the option to have custom themes.

This is primarily meant to attract new users, and is bound to my suggestion of letting blogs open in new tabs. People love custom things and self-expression, and most new users don’t even know that this is an option. I know that the theme shop wasn’t profitable since the themes weren’t all that good; fine. But you can still use this function of the site to attract and keep people. Yes, the dashboard is the same for everyone, but each personalized blog can look however you want it to, and that’s the joy in it.

Suggestion: Accessibility

This goes without saying, and given that I luckily don't have many things that hinder me in using the site, I am not the best person to speak on this. Make gifs toggleable. Let people zoom in on images. Listen to those that need these features to happily use your site if you want them to stay.

Suggestion: More items in shop.

I imagine the reason most people don’t outright buy merch is that items with the name of any kind of internet site aren’t usually “cool”. I understand Tumblr needs money, and there’s only so many silly trends that are always going to be popular to buy. I also understand that a decent chunk of users probably don’t want crabs. The items in the shop are not my job to workshop, but honestly you could ask for userbase suggestions for it to get a feeling for what people want.

A few things that come to mind for me would be: more critters (just change the crab to something else!), more badges that are really just emojis, icon frames for you on the dashboard, self-picker for dashboard colors beyond the basic 12 offered, etc. Cash in on the customization. That being said: listen to your userbase regarding changes, features and functionality of the site, so that they in any way shape or form want to spend money on you in the first place, and so that they’re even there to do so. People won’t want to buy things if you’re actively working against them. There was a post about trust in website changes somewhere which explained it well; if I find the term I will edit it in here. I find it important.

Suggestion: Introduce a function to spoiler text and/or images.

This speaks for itself. The function to put text under a spoiler bar (think: Discord or Reddit) is to me, less necessary on Tumblr than the function to spoiler images. This leads back to the fact that Tumblr is a blogging platform, and you don’t censor things on blogs like that. However, spoilering images would be a good addition, especially given that some people might want to post leaks and/or content they don’t want people to see outright. This also introduces the option to have more suggestive content under a filter if people so choose. But I’ll be straightforward here: we all know what my next (and last) suggestion is going to be.

Suggestion: Bring back porn/mature/explicit content.

I want to preface this with the fact that I frankly don’t care about consuming porn, but I do care about content creators, fandom, and seeing art. And I do understand that Tumblr staff, for every request they have had to bring back porn, said that the issue is with apps and Apple etc. But this also needs pointing out, explicitly:

You want to attract and retain users? Bring back porn. Everyone and their mother knows that some porn is still alive and well on Tumblr, if you know where to look. Everyone but new (and non-) users. It’s a bit of an open secret, but if new users don’t engage with the old users because they don’t know how (issues and resolution suggestions mentioned beforehand), they are never ever going to find out. Let me be absolutely clear: People are not on Twitter because of the layout, or the algorithm. People are on Twitter and other popular platforms because they allow mature content, and so, a lot of content creators they care about are there.

And the issue here is, is that the mature content remaining on Tumblr is either live porn, comes from porn bots, or absolutely censored in like 3 posted art pieces. You want to encourage content creators and retain users? Stop alienating half of them from your platform. A lot of adults enjoy and engage in mature content. I repeat: the issue isn’t in the interface, or the function of the website; the issue is the content, or lack thereof, and fundamental introduction to the functions of the site.

I considered making Twitter JUST for the fact that certain artists were alienated on Tumblr and (shadow)banned for posting suggestive art, or porn art, and moved to Twitter to put their mature content there. It’s not about the layout.

It’s not my job to figure out how to do this. Frankly, I think a step in the right direction would be to enable and un-shadow mature content on desktop first and foremost, while still censoring it on app, especially for people who in their settings do have mature content enabled. Why can I still not see mature posts in the tags and search even though I’ve enabled it? Go from there. Figure it out. But you’re lying to yourself if you think the lack of engagement only stems from the layout and certain functions.

Allow mature content outright. I can guarantee you that this will help with the userbase, considering a majority of it left after mature content was removed, and some tried to “come back” after the false (recent-ish) assumption of it being once again allowed. We all know they went back out the moment it turned out mature content was still banned.

That's it! If you read this far as an user, thanks! I've surely missed out on a lot of things and barely scratched the surface, but this helped get things out of my head, and will hopefully stay in the thoughts of staff. If you're staff: you should have read all of it.

[justanotherghostwriter]

I'm sending you so many fic titles. You don't have to do all of them if you don't want to. I got them from what my sister and i would have Sims title books they were writing. | (Call Me Innocent) (Walk Softly) (The Benefits of Screaming) (Ghosts I Have Loved) (And the Shadows Wept) (The Stars are Different Here) (Her Name Still Echoes) (Honest Creatures) (Wooden House, Paper Unicorn) (Though All to Ruin Fell the World) (The Echo or the Answer) (Above Us, Only Stars)

Firstly: sorry I answered this so late. Life came and ate me when I thought I'd have time. Go figure.

Secondly: I'm so happy to see that somebody else thought about what to title their books in Sims. I had a list, too. In one game, I had three generations of writers, and they kept writing new books "for the same series". Obviously, the game didn't care, but I had such a fun time seeing them all in the book store xD

Thirdly: Thank you for answering this! <3 And, in particular, answering with so many great titles to chew over. This was a fun mental exercise. I'm still throwing metaphorical salt in a circle around all of this so these silly ideas don't become less silly. I'll need to live another lifetime to finish all the fic on my To Do list, at this point.

Now, onto the actual answers!

Call Me Innocent. Probably something that starts with/includes the Buddy Wakefield poem "We Were Emergencies". I know that thing off-by-heart. In particular: "Make love to me, like you know I am better than the worst thing I ever did." So... Animorphs post-war? Like many years post-war and Cassie and Jake get that second chance. Orrrr Roy and Riza after the events of canon trying to put the world back together, with a healthy side-helping of Ed, whose guilt tendencies didn't just go away after defeating Father. Shocking, I know.

Walk Softly Agent Carter fic. A fix-it for Endgame. It will be Peggysous. There will be Daniel and Jack bromance. And Daniel and Steve bromance. This is all.

The Benefits of Screaming Avatar the Last Airbender. Azula gets love, therapy and a life-changing field-trip with Zuko (and Katara). I don't know the particulars, but I think it would sort of be a community service combined with going out to see the world through new eyes sort of fic. Just letting Azula lose control in safe ways. By that I mean go penguin sledding or run through a field of flowers for no reason. And Zuko and Katara, despite being Fire Lord and Ambassador to the Water Tribe and totally responsible adults, would also have moments of just being able to be kids. Lots of both Zuko and Azula apologising to one another, and starting from scratch to build a proper relationship.

Ghosts I Have Loved An Everlark fic. I'm thinking about Peeta and Katniss more often than even I realise, I think. And, although it's been done a thousand times by very talented people, I want a fic in that space between Peeta coming back to once-Twelve and the epilogue. Possibly even beyond it. I'll always want to go to war with "I didn't want kids but Peeta really did so we had kids I hated it but you know" because it bugs me. It would include Katniss and Haymich and Annie and some other survivors, but would be mainly focused on Peeta as he grieves all the people he lost and how complicated it is. His whole family was wiped out. One of those family members was canonically at least a little abusive. He lost friends. He lost who he once was. He lost the (fake, impossible) ideal of Katniss in his head; his first love, if you will. So it would just be a slice-of-life of Peeta observing and internally commenting and also stepping in to help where he sees he can, with this motif of all the love haunting him. And how he figures out how to let each "ghost pass on", so to speak. While also watching other people around him do the same. Johanna and Peeta friendship, because they rock.

And the Shadows Wept This is such a cool title, but I couldn't think of anything proper to go with it. Only half-baked ideas. And I didn't want to delay this answer for too long wracking my brain for a fic that won't ever exist lol. So I take the L for this one.

The Stars are Different Here Going back to the second fandom I wrote for here on Tumblr for this one. Doctor Who. More Metacrisis and Rose. For the record, in case anybody cares, there will be no calling him John. Or thinking that naming him is like naming a dog. (If you know, you know.) Just the two of them having ordinary adventures. And some not-so-ordinary ones. They're still the Doctor and Rose Tyler, and they have an earth (or two) to defend. Maybe even start with Rose's adventures with that dimension canon, because that's some good untapped writing potential right there.

Her Name Still Echoes Also Doctor Who! All the places people still find Bad Wolf, and variations thereof, throughout time and space. I'd have to actually catch up with things for this, I think, which would take a while (I think I stopped actively watching around season 7 or 8 and just read Wikipedia since then lol). But just letting Rose's desire to keep the Doctor safe be OP across their lives. And, because I'm me, I'd bring in the origins of the Big Bad Wolf and probably seven references to Red Riding Hood and/or The Three Little Pigs. Possibly even a tie-in to number 6, and all the ways the Bad Wolf echoes in all the places Rose jumped with that canon. (Rose and River bff-ship is a strong need for me tbh.)

Honest Creatures I'm forever dying to poke at the Scott and Rachel father-son dynamic. Or even Scott and Laura Kinney. Friendship/adopted dad only; I don't want to think about the direction the comics took with Displaced Scott and Laura, thank you. Either in canon-verse (whatever the heck that means, any more lmao) or trying to do some clean-up with the way Scott was written as he went off the rails... but not really. Anyway. Complexities of Scott Summers, screwed-up leader and oblivious collector of children he adopts.

Wooden House, Paper Unicorn Since this is all hypothetical and I don't ever need to actually write this, this one would be used for a Firefly/Serenity fic. Simon gets captured and thrown into prison on an Alliance prison ship. While there, he starts to doctor the other prisoners. His skill becomes known by the guards. And he gets pulled out to help an Alliance girl's emergency when her parents frantically hail for help from their ship/planet. Only oooooh the Alliance people have guests for their little vacation out in space, and two of those guests are Mr and Mrs Tam. Who have, according to their official records, never had kids. The drama. The Simon Sass. More drama when Serenity tracks Simon down... No, I haven't actually thought of this concept a hundred times in my head, why do you ask? Yes, there would be Simon whump. I'm basic, and you should expect nothing better from me.

Though All to Ruin Fell the World Zutara in an AU where either the war didn't end so nicely, or where winning the war didn't magically fix everything. I'd probably re-use concepts from Battles After War. Try and do something similar to MJ's stunning Ghosts Through The Smoke, but even more hopeless. Fire Nation leveled to nothing hopeless. Zuko failed as a Fire Lord/was never allowed to take the throne hopeless. Or, like, Zuko chooses the Gaang in Ba Sing Se, but Aang still dies and Katara doesn't know she saved him and she and Zuko get split from the others and go into Survival Mode kind of hopeless. Anyway, you get the picture. The world fell to ruin, somehow. :P And, yet, Zuko and Katara protect each other and fall in love. Although it takes a long time for them to be able to call it that. Maybe it will even be a little tragic; they are never able to let love grow past a certain point, because there's just too much to do. And they end up dying as soldiers who help the world limp towards a bright future. But never together.

The Echo or the Answer Okay, but the way I love this as a title? I know it's become slightly... not pretentious, but over-used, but... I will lean into the connotations if I can ever find a thing worthy of this title. I know this isn't an answer, but I couldn't think of anything that I want to "waste" this good title on lmao.

Above Us, Only Stars Animorphs, my beloved. Again, since this is hypothetical, and I never need to actually have the skill to write any of these fic: this one would be a role-reversal where the auxes got the morphing power first. But the OG six get pulled into the war by James and his team, because the Powers That Be nudge James toward Tobias, Elfangor's son. Who has been having strange dreams of the ocean shared with Cassie, even though neither of them know why. I'd be fascinated to see the OG six as team B under James' leadership. I'd not know how to write this fic, but I'd love to read it xD

SEND ME A MADE-UP FIC TITLE AND I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I WOULD WRITE TO GO WITH IT.

[gwydionmisha]

My OTC Medicare Advantage Benefit Saga:

I'm writing thins in case any of you have Medicare.  (Do you have medicare advantage?  if not!  Get some when it reopens next fall, because medicare part C is amazeballs).

They switched up providers and the entire system of Over the counter Meds benefits at the new year.  They increased the benefit and made it monthly instead of quarterly and added a $50.00 food voucher.  They were late sending cards out to let people actually use the benefit and out right lied to social services, medicare advantage social workers etc., that they mailed the catalog/directions/etc. packet in December when as of 1/10/22 they hadn't mailed them at all.  This is a serious asshole maneuver as if you do not spend your benefit by month's end it doesn't roll over. My card only got here end of last week and as of last Tuesday very few had them yet.  I suspect preventing most people using their benefit this month is an illicit cost saving measure.

Anyway, the old system, you had a catalog full of OTC stuff you could order four times a year.  You couldn't  go over the limit, and any change left after the order was lost.  It was all at cost so big bang for your buck, but they lacked all kinds of things one would think should be in there like surgical masks or better, but they had no masks at all at the start of the pandemic, and a year in they only added the crappy white cloth ones that never fit properly.  You'd think masks would have been standard for elderly and disabled people even before the pandemic, but...  Yeah.  Still it was way better than not having it.  You could get things like antacid and first aid supplies and toothbrushes, but it was missing stuff that logic dictates made sense.

The new system is a give away to pharmacies.  You get more to spend, but it's at price gougey pharmacy prices instead of at cost.  You can only use certain chain pharmacies and grocery stores.  The two cheapest grocery stores in my small city/town are not on the list.  The second and third most expensive are.  

So my social worker and the person in charge of several things including OTC benefit in my state were on a conference call with me Tuesday as we tried to work out WTF.  Why me?  I'm a squeaky wheel who kept asking how I was meant to use the benefit and so is my nurse/social worker.  The lady from OTC was super nice and helpful, it's just the office in Washington and third party administrator were not communicating about stuff at all in a useful way.  So they asked if I'd guinea pig for them using only information that came with the card which was sketchy at best.  I agreed to go to the Rite AID, ask them if they had any info sheets sent to them, and try to buy an experimental month's worth of OTC.  (I'm doing the grocery run next week, I think.  I was exhausted from errands and treatment.)

NOTE: If you get your card make sure to activate it and definitely save the mailer it's attached to as it lists participating chain stores and the monthly benefit amounts.  Do remember to account for state tax if any and have extra money with you in case you go over.

No one at Rite AID on that shift knew what an OTC benefit was and they took my benefit card for something else when I went to pay.  They had definitely not been informed this roll out was happening nor had they been sent a what people could buy with it list any more than we had.

My purchase set was deliberately experimental.  I mostly selected things I knew were on the old list, but tried brands they didn't carry for a bunch of things. Oral B toothbrush heads instead of Phillips.  I got tums, but also the store brand equivalent, that kind of thing.  I also grabbed a big box of the previously forbidden masks.  They fit under the vague guidelines on the card mailer, but I knew they were off list last year.

I explained to the cashier about not knowing what was covered and that we may have to put things back.  Everything went through.  Even the masks.  I was so caught up in the experiment, I forgot to factor in state tax, so I went a little over, which is fine, as that too is useful data.  If the only thing over is tax, you can't remove items from the tally, which is good to know.  I have reported back, so the medicare advantage people for my state can use the results to help all the others.  

Next month I will branch out a little more and see if I can push it a little further from the old catalog of we don't get our items list in time.

All in all, as annoying as it is that pharmacies are profiting off this instead of people getting full value, being able to buy the toothbrush head brand I need and to purchase things off book like masks is a huge help.  I just wish some things weren't jacked up 3-4 times the price from the old catalog.  With the benefit increase it balances out though. Not having to spend thirty bucks on masks is worth it by itself.  It also means not spending an hour or two planning my purchase so as to lose as little as possible.

The old catalog let us buy soap, but not shampoo.  I am wondering if soap is still allowed under the new guidelines.  I supose it's a question for next month.

[contentmarketingagencyseo-blog]

Competitors of Edison SEO: Who's Winning the NJ Market?

Summary:

Discover the competition that's out there for Edison, NJ, SEO services.

Discover why choosing a Microsoft Access expert will be an important decision for business.

How the best SEO and data management services will be a plus for your business.

Receive practical advice for decision-makers regarding digital services.

Mapping the NJ Digital Service Ecosystem

In this day and age, your business can either thrive or die based on its online reputation. Competition is more so in New Jersey, and if it happens that you are in Edison, then you need top-notch SEO and information management services. There are so many options but how do you choose the right partner? This article seeks to dig deeper into the Edison SEO market and more so its significance to find reliable Microsoft Access expert NJ. We'll be comparing the biggest players, highlighting the advantages, and providing you with actionable information in order to make the best decision for your business.

Understanding the Edison SEO Market

More than a service, Edison SEO is a necessity for any business that truly wants to stake a claim in the market. Any business wants to be at the top of Google here in Edison, hence the investment that's being considered toward a good-quality SEO service is solely pragmatic. How can you know, though, which service will actually deliver on that promise?

Consider a few critical factors when comparing Edison SEO with any competitors:

Reputation

Look for one with a proven track record in your industry. SEO is not one-size-fits; your business should receive uniquely tailored strategies that suit your objectives.

Transparency

There should be a clear line of communication, as well as detailed reporting. You should always be clear on where the money is going and why. Edison SEO takes it to the next level with all of those, many times outpacing their peers in furnishing not just visibility, but real, concrete lifts in leads and conversions.

Why You Need a Microsoft Access Expert in NJ

Though SEO will get you noticed, data management is what will keep your work and business running in harmony. Microsoft Access is one of the most potent tools to carry out the operations of most businesses but can only be put to good use with expertise in dealing with.

Enter the Microsoft Access Expert NJ. These professionals make sure your data is not only stored but organized, accessible, and actionable. Here's why having a Microsoft Access expert on your team changes the game:

Efficiency

Smooth data management saves time and money. An expert can automate processes, reducing manual errors.

Scalability

As your business grows, so, therefore, will be the need for data records. A skilled expert guarantees your systems can scale smoothly.

Security

Sensitive information should be put in a safe position. The expert will also deploy the optimal security management practices that will ensure the safety of your data.

The Benefits of the Proper Choice of Services

Proper choice in terms of SEO and business data management services shall accrue to the benefit of your business in the following ways;

Improved Visibility

the proper type of SEO and techniques shall increase the rating of your business significantly on the search engines. This rating shall serve as an invitation that shall lead many people to your site.

Better Decision Making

Proper data management allows for the understanding of the data, which will encourage proper, informed business decision-making.

Cost Savings

Savings will be actualized through the need for few extra resources, hence cost-saving in the long run.

A Success Story

For instance, a local NJ business found it hard to sustain against competitors on the web. They invested in Edison SEO services consultation by a Microsoft Access expert. Their website traffic almost doubled in just a few months, and their data was suddenly manageable for good decision-making. It was actually all in the combo of such services that totally turned their digital existence, drawing more revenue and a great market position.

Actionable Tips for Your Business

Audit Your Current SEO Strategy

Identify what's working and what needs improvement.

Consult with an Expert

Be it SEO or data management, don't go it alone. An expert can give insights you might miss.

Invest in Long-Term Solutions

Both SEO and data management are not quick fixes. Think in the long term to see sustained success.

Final Takeaway

In the battle of Edison SEO versus your competitors, the ideal partner could push your business to the next level. In the same way, working with an expert in Microsoft Access in NJ will make your operations easier and give you a competitive advantage. Letting these Digital Services take the lead will really make your business not just survive but thrive in the competitive NJ Market.

Invest right, and you will see your business grow.

The article is a holistic compass on understanding benefits of SEO Experts in Edison and Microsoft Access Experts in NJ, replete with directions and a clear insight into what leaders should take away.

[worldindia98]

4 Common Windows Hosting Problems and How to Solve Them

Alright, we all live on earth, but if our earth is growing day by day like the Himalayas, then everyone is doing better, especially in business. People are good at new ventures and doing innovative things. Now coming to the point, Windows hosting solution is one of the best choices for business. Nowadays, what you think in your mind, you expect the kind of things you want right, I mean personalization very briefly and one of the most important thing is that Dedicated Server Windows Hosting is fully customizable and allows you to control multiple websites that will give you the best benefits for your business you can achieve what you set your mind to.

Back to the blog, below we take our topic 4 common Windows hosting problems and we will give solutions to the five important problems with some detailed explanations. The below information is waiting for you, so go down and read it.

1. Slow Website Performance

You are running a website but facing slow performance in your website then you are definitely angry at that time, in fact slow website performance is a very common and huge problem faced by everyone. If your website gets faster performance, then only your visitors and customers will get faster services or information at that time, so your business needs faster website performance.

Below are some solutions to fix your website slow performance problem

Improve the code: You know your first job is to thoroughly check that your website's code is clean and optimized. And after checking, all you need to do is completely delete unnecessary plugins then scripts and (CSS) that slow down your website.

To increase resources: If you experience high traffic on a regular basis you should look closely at upgrading your hosting plan and more (CPU) then (RAM) and disk space can significantly improve performance.

Caching and Compression: You should enable caching mechanisms and (GZIP) compression to reduce the load on your server. Even though tools like Varnish Cache or built-in IIS caching can be very useful.

Regular Updates: If you want your website to run fast, you need to keep your software, including Windows Server and (IIS), up to date. Next daily or monthly you should update all the things properly.

2. Security Effects

When you buy a product, the first thing you ask, then you ask the seller or the shopkeeper, is whether the product is good for safety. Your question is always correct, everyone should prioritize safety well, here we have a link, the hosting solution also needs security, and every owner should give security only priority. Nowadays hosting faces many attacks, so you need to be careful.

Conventional Grafting: Regularly apply security patches and updates from Microsoft. This is important to protect your server from known effects.

Firewalls and Antivirus: You must Use strong firewall solutions and strong with updated antivirus software to protect against unauthorized access and malware.

Secure Passwords: Ensure all user accounts have strong, unique passwords and It should always be undetectable. If you want, enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for added security.

Backup Solutions: You should back up your data daily— if you are facing any problems in your hosting and if you have already backed up at that time then you can restore your data very easily.

3. Compatibility Issues

Note that Windows hosting may experience compatibility issues when trying to run certain applications or scripts designed for Linux environments, actually which is a rare issue then below are some solutions to fix your Windows Hosting compatibility Issues.

Select compatible software: If possible, choose software and scripts designed to run on Windows Server. And we hope you are aware of the fact that ASP.NET, MS SQL then other Microsoft technologies generally work well.

Use the appropriate tools: Tools like Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) are always very helpful for you to reduce the gap for some applications. We will give in addition information to you, many hosting providers offer support for popular platforms such as PHP and MySQL on Windows servers.

4. Resource Limitations

It's worth noting that shared Windows hosting plans often lead to resource limitations where multiple websites compete for the same server resources and then some solutions to fix your Windows Hosting resource limitations, go down and see.

Monitor Usage: You must constantly monitor your resource usage through your hosting control panel and only then can you get proper support then you should devote half of your business attention to it. If you are doing this will help you identify when you are approaching your limits.

Upgrade Plans: Next, if you're constantly reaching your resource limits, consider upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server that gives you more control and dedicated resources.

Optimize Resource Utilization: The next important thing you need to do is optimize your website to make the most efficient use of resources like images then using efficient coding finally optimizing content delivery networks CTNs

Conclusion Finally we have reached the end point of the blog and as per the above information we are going to tell you clearly which will definitely clear your doubts, so if you have a website definitely remember which blog post, our blog point said very clear and unique points. You don't know how to fix the problem because you don't have any practical experience, then you go to try another way, you approach the Windows hosting service provider, they will fix your problem, they will give you a good solution. Most importantly, whether you need maintenance or looking for new Windows hosting services, so you go to World India, we clear your all questions and provide our quality services. Now we think your mind is free, our blog removes 50% of your confusion. If you contact us directly +91-22-408 11111 then you will get 100% free mind and then start your hosting plan with us.

[vidainstitute]

5 Advanced Facebook Ad Retargeting Techniques to Increase Conversions

While Facebook Ads do play a very significant role in reaching out to potential customers, businesses will actually need to leverage some advanced means of ad retargeting to create maximum impact. Retargeting helps you to reconnect with users who have previously engaged with your brand by pushing them toward completing a purchase or developing further engagement. Here is a look at five advanced Facebook ad retargeting techniques that help boost conversions, with insights from the best digital marketing institute in Raipur.

Dynamic Product Ads DPAs are a more advanced version of retargeting that involves using Facebook’s dynamic ad technology to display a personalized ad to users that have shown past behavior on your website. If a user views a product without purchasing, DPAs will automatically show them that product in their feed, as well as other related products. This technique will raise the relevance of your ads and remind users of the products they were interested in.

How to Execute

Install Facebook Pixel on your website to track user behavioral activities. Also, record product views and additions to cart.

Upload your product catalog on Facebook Business Manager and attach it with dynamic ads.

Personalize ad templates to automatically pull product details and images directly from your catalog.

Benefits:

Relevant Ads: As ads are served out based on user behavior. More conversions are likely to happen because users see the very things they have been interested in.

2. Sequential Retargeting

Implementation Steps:

User Segments: Building audience segments based on user interactions such as website visits, product views, and abandoned carts.

Create Ad Sequences: Building ad creatives which would precisely fit the exact stage of the customer journey.

Setting Up Rules: Using Ads Manager to set up rules concerning delivering the right ad at the right time, based on user behavior.

Benefits:

It offers an ad experience that leads a user throughout the purchasing journey. By focusing the needs of users in each stage, it increases the effectiveness of your retargeting. That’s all for an overview.

3. Retargeting Lookalike Audiences

How to Implement:

Create a Custom Audience: To start off, create a Custom Audience of users who have engaged with your brand, whether past buyers or website visitors.

Create Lookalike Audiences: Leverage the capability provided by Facebook to unlock new users who would resemble your Custom Audience quite closely.

Run Targeted Ads: Build ads that would leverage the power of targeting this Lookalike Audience to push people more likely to convert.

Benefits

Expands your reach to new potential customers who are similar in nature to your already captured audience.More opportunities to capture quality leads and increase conversions.

4. Retargeting with Video Content

Video content can be an extremely engaging and effective way to retarget users. By creating video content in your retargeting ads, you’ll catch the attention of users who have already shown interest in your brand and allow your messaging to really sink in.

How to Implement:

Video Creation: Create video content in order to showcase products, services, or brand stories in a more appealing manner.

Setting Up Retargeting Campaigns: Set up and run a retargeting campaign through Facebook Ads Manager. This targets users who have already interacted with your videos or have been to your website.

Monitoring Performance: Video engagement metrics should be tracked, and further action should be done accordingly in order to modify the performance of the Retargeting campaign.

Benefits:

Better user interaction by way of interactive video content. Reinforces your brand message and increases the likelihood of conversion.

5. Cross-Channel Retargeting

Cross-channel retargeting means reaching users on various platforms and devices, including Facebook, Instagram, and the Facebook Audience Network. Staying with them across different channels will make sure that your efforts for running a retargeting campaign work even more powerfully and reach users on whatever device they spend time on.

Steps to Implement:

Platform Integration: Connect your Facebook ad campaigns with your target audience on other platforms and devices.

Create Multi-Channel Ads: Design ad creatives to work across channels, including messaging and visuals.

Measure Cross-Channel Data: Leverage analytics tools that allow you to monitor performance on multiple platforms and adjust your retargeting strategy.

Benefits:

Diversifies the visibility of your ads to reach users on multiple channels. Amplifies the power of your retargeting by creating a cohesive brand experience.

Conclusion With such sophisticated Facebook ad retargeting methods, it becomes easy for businesses to accelerate their conversion rates and guarantee better returns on the advertisement results. The application of strategies such as Dynamic Product Ads, Sequential Retargeting, Lookalike Audiences, Video Content, and Cross-Channel Retargeting will give an end-to-end approach in capturing users and driving conversions.

To know in more detail about these techniques and to get practically trained, one can enroll in a Digital Marketing Course in Raipur. VIDA by Vaya Media is recognized as the leading digital marketing institute in Raipur, offering the best digital marketing course in Raipur through their esteemed digital marketing academy in Raipur.

[arya-namdeo-45]

App-tivated: Your Guide to the Exciting World of App Development

The world runs on apps these days. From ordering food to hailing a ride, staying connected to loved ones, or managing your finances – there's likely an app for (almost) everything! But have you ever wondered how these little digital tools come to life? That's the magic of app development!

App Development: More Than Just Coding

App development might seem like a complex world filled with lines of code, but it's actually a collaborative process. Here's a breakdown of the key players:

Idea Spark: It all starts with an idea! Do you see a gap in the market? Is there a problem you think an app can solve? A great app idea fills a need or offers a unique solution in a user-friendly way.

App Developers: These are the coding wizards who bring your idea to life. They translate your vision into technical specifications, write code, and ensure the app functions smoothly.

Designers: User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) designers create the look and feel of the app. They focus on making the app visually appealing and incredibly easy to use, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Testers: Before the app goes live, a team of testers puts it through its paces. They identify any bugs or glitches and ensure the app performs flawlessly across different devices.

Choosing Your App Development Path:

There are two main paths for app development:

Native Apps: These apps are built specifically for a particular operating system, like iOS for iPhones or Android for most other smartphones. They offer optimal performance and access to device-specific features.

Hybrid Apps: These are a blend of native and web technologies. They're built using tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, allowing them to run on various platforms with some limitations compared to native apps.

Building Your Dream App: From Idea to Reality

Here's a simplified roadmap for developing your app:

Planning & Research: Define your target audience, research similar apps, and create a detailed plan outlining the app's features and functionalities.

Prototyping: Build a basic, non-functional model of your app to visualize the look and flow. This helps refine your ideas and get feedback before any coding begins.

Development & Design: The app developers and designers work their magic, translating your vision into code and creating a user-friendly interface.

Testing & Refinement: Rigorous testing ensures a smooth user experience. Bugs are fixed, and the app is polished until it shines.

Launch & Marketing: Once everything is perfect, it's time to launch your app on the app store (iOS App Store or Google Play Store). Marketing your app is crucial to get it noticed by potential users.

The Benefits of App Development:

Developing an app can be a rewarding experience, offering several benefits:

Solve Problems and Improve Lives: If your app fills a need or solves a problem, it can have a positive impact on people's lives.

Reach a Global Audience: Apps allow you to connect with users worldwide, offering your product or service to a vast market.

Boost Brand Recognition: A well-designed app can be a powerful marketing tool, increasing brand awareness and loyalty.

Generate Revenue: Monetize your app through various methods like in-app purchases, subscriptions, or advertising.

Getting Started with App Development:

Even if you don't have a coding background, there are ways to get involved in app development:

Learn the Basics of Coding: There are numerous online resources and courses that teach you basic coding principles. This can help you communicate your ideas better with developers.

Find a Development Partner: Freelance developers or app development agencies can help bring your concept to life. Clearly communicate your vision and ensure they understand your target audience.

Develop Your Business Acumen: Understanding marketing, user acquisition strategies, and app monetization tactics will be crucial for the success of your app.

The Future of App Development: A World of Possibilities

The app development landscape is constantly evolving, with exciting trends emerging:

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI can personalize the app experience, offer intelligent recommendations, and even automate tasks within the app.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): AR and VR experiences are being integrated into apps, creating immersive and interactive user experiences.

Wearable Tech Integration: Apps will increasingly interact with wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers, collecting and analyzing user data for personalized health and fitness insights.

The Final Click: App Development – A Rewarding Journey

The world of app development is a dynamic and exciting space. With a great idea, a collaborative team, etc..

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How Geotargeting Boosts Your Ads?

With the boost of entrepreneurship across the world, the main aim for entrepreneurs is to survive and thrive in the cut-throat competitive world. Here, advertisements can make a human difference. We all are aware of the basic advertisement but let us also remind you that not targeting your target audience is equivalent to burning money and efforts and then blaming competition. 

One of the most efficient tools to market your business is by using geotargeting. Yes, it literally means by its name. The intent of geotargeting is to target people where they are more likely to convert on offer. It can be used in all major platforms including Meta, Linkedin Ads, Instagram Ads, Google Ads, etc.  

Define Geotargeting

Geotargeting allows you to tailor your ads to specific locations. This can be based on a variety of factors, including:

City, region, or country

Zip code

User behavior and interests

But having said that, do not get confused between geo targeting and geofencing. 

Geotargeting is a kind of advertising where you are targeting an audience based on their location, behavior, interests, and demography while in geofencing you are targeting a larger audience around a particular location. 

Here the only information you control is users’ location. Checkout the difference in tabular form:

Benefits Of Geotargeting In Ads

Let’s delve more together to understand what are benefits of geotargeting in modern advertising

Personalized Experience

In the era of countless advertising, personalized ad experience stands out amongst the target audience. By taking into account their emotion, wants and storytelling, it becomes easy to target the audience instead of just showcasing generic ads which may or may be effective in their case. 

Authority 

Another hidden benefit of geotargeting ads is it helps to establish identity where you can let your customers know that you are legit in a particular area. Even if you are not locally based, then you can collaborate with local businesses. Always remember that if people know you then they can trust and give business to you. 

Reach More Customers

Reaching more customers can be another benefit of geotargeting ads is that as a business person you are always trying to reach more audience and geo targeting can help in that. You can offer a more personalized and better experience to your target audience which helps to convert compared to generic ads. 

Better ROI

Since the targeting is very specific and allows it to cater to an audience with certain interests, habits and behavior, it showcases ads to people who are more likely to convert or showcase interest to your products or services. It is one of the best ways to get better ROI against limited marketing budgets. 

Retargeting Gets Easy

Once you run an ad for your primary audience and after studying their data you can easily check response to the ad which further helps to study the target audience. Based on given data you can correct or retarget the audience in a better way, which is likely to increase the chances to buy your products or services.

How To Use Geotargeting In Your Ads

After reading about geotargeting you might be wondering how it actually works. Following are few steps to get started with:-

Find Out Where You Wants To Target 

Ofcourse geotargeting is all about targeting specific locations but in order to do it, you have to understand where exactly you wish to target. For example if you are a business with multiple locations then you need to target each area with separate ads. Based on the target audience and create relevant ads to send the right message to the right target audience at the right time.  

Use Built-In Tools

Fortunately there are plenty of social media platforms that already have built in geotargeting tools that you can use to leverage the ad. Social media platforms like Meta, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin have existing geotargeting features.         

Create Ads

Once you have finalized the location and tool, the next thing is to create ads and please remember to make ads based on location and local trend to offer more personalized experience and more conversion. Here we suggest you go for A/B testing and check what your target audience actually likes.

Leverage Our Expertise 

If you are interested but do not have time and resources to do geotarget ads for you, then why don’t you hire a PPC ad specialist company like ours. We have adequate years of experience in the field and our expert team ensures to give better RoI. You can contact us today to understand more about it.

Article Source : https://www.pixenite.com/how-geotargeting-boosts-your-ads/

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How to Have an Epic Virtual Watch Party: Tips and Tricks

Hosting an epic virtual watch party with Dish Network is easy and fun. Start by choosing a popular show or live event to watch together. Use Dish’s DVR feature to sync your viewing times. Share the link to a video conferencing platform like Zoom or Skype with your friends. Enhance the experience with themed snacks and drinks. Engage everyone with live chat or trivia games related to the show. Encourage everyone to dress up according to the theme. Lastly, ensure a stable internet connection and test your equipment beforehand to avoid technical issues. Enjoy your virtual watch party!

Choose the Right Platform

The first step to a successful virtual watch party is selecting the right platform. There are several options available, each with its own features and benefits:

Tele party (formerly Netflix Party): This browser extension is perfect for Netflix users, allowing synchronized playback and a chat window so you can discuss the movie in real-time.

Disney+ GroupWatch: Disney+ offers its own built-in group watch feature, enabling up to seven people to watch together with synchronized playback.

Amazon Prime Video Watch Party: If you’re an Amazon Prime member, this feature lets you invite friends to watch any Prime Video title with synchronized playback and a chat function.

Zoom or Skype: For those who prefer more face-to-face interaction, sharing your screen via Zoom or Skype is a great option. You can watch anything together while seeing and hearing each other’s reactions.

Kast: This versatile platform allows you to stream content from various services and even play games together, with voice, video, and text chat options.

Choosing the right platform will depend on what you want to watch and how you prefer to interact with your guests.

Plan Ahead

A successful virtual watch party requires a bit of planning. Here’s what you need to do beforehand:

Set a Date and Time: Coordinate with your guests to find a time that works for everyone. Consider different time zones if you have friends or family living far away.

Send Invites: Once you’ve settled on a date and time, send out digital invitations. Include details about the platform you’ll be using, the movie or show you’ll be watching, and any special instructions for joining the watch party.

Test the Technology: Ensure that everyone knows how to use the chosen platform. It’s a good idea to do a test run to troubleshoot any technical issues before the actual event.

Create a Comfortable Viewing Environment

Make sure your viewing environment is comfortable and conducive to an enjoyable experience. Here are some tips:

Lighting: Dim the lights or turn them off completely for a more immersive experience, especially if you’re watching a movie.

Seating: Arrange comfortable seating. If you’re using a laptop or smaller screen, consider connecting it to your TV for a better viewing experience.

Sound: Use good quality speakers or headphones to enhance the audio. This can make a big difference, especially for action-packed or musical content.

Engage Your Guests

One of the best parts of a virtual watch party is the interaction with your guests. Here are some ways to keep everyone engaged:

Pre-Show Chat: Start the party with a bit of pre-show chatting. Catch up with everyone, discuss what you’re about to watch, and share your excitement.

Themed Snacks and Drinks: Share recipes or ideas for themed snacks and drinks. If you’re watching a specific genre, like horror or sci-fi, create treats that match the theme.

Virtual Backgrounds: Platforms like Zoom allow you to use virtual backgrounds. Choose fun, themed backgrounds to set the mood.

Make the Most of the Viewing Experience

To ensure everyone has a great time during the watch party, follow these tips:

Synchronized Playback: The key to a successful watch party is synchronized playback. Most platforms do this automatically, but if you’re using Zoom or another method, make sure everyone hits play at the same time.

Mute and Unmute: Encourage guests to mute their microphones during the movie to avoid distractions. Plan breaks for everyone to unmute and discuss key moments.

Interactive Features: Utilize any interactive features the platform offers. For example, Teleparty has a chat function that allows you to comment and react in real-time.

Post-Viewing Activities

The fun doesn’t have to stop when the credits roll. Here are some ideas for post-viewing activities:

Discussion: Have a group discussion about the movie or show. Share your thoughts, favorite moments, and critiques.

Trivia: Organize a trivia game based on what you just watched. This can be a fun way to test everyone’s knowledge and keep the excitement going.

Future Plans: Plan your next virtual watch party. Choose a new movie or series and set a tentative date to keep the momentum going.

Additional Tips and Tricks

To take your virtual watch party to the next level, consider these additional tips and tricks:

Custom Invitations: Create custom digital invitations to add a personal touch. You can use online tools like Canva to design them.

Dress Code: Set a fun dress code or encourage costumes that match the theme of what you’re watching. This adds an extra layer of fun and engagement.

Prizes and Giveaways: If you’re hosting a larger party, consider having small prizes or giveaways for trivia winners or best costumes.

Photo Booth: Use a virtual photo booth app to capture memories from your watch party. Guests can take screenshots or use apps like Snap Camera for themed filters.

Group Activities: Plan group activities related to the movie. For example, if you’re watching a cooking show, you could all cook the same dish and share your results.

Conclusion

Hosting an epic virtual watch party is a fantastic way to stay connected with friends and family, no matter the distance. By choosing the right platform, planning ahead, creating a comfortable viewing environment, engaging your guests, making the most of the viewing experience, and incorporating post-viewing activities, you can ensure everyone has a memorable time. With these tips and tricks, your virtual watch party will be the talk of your social circle, making everyone eager for the next one. So, grab your popcorn, set up your screen, and get ready for an epic night of virtual entertainment!