#they don't give a shit about their product - who is buying it- who is building it - where it's built

[angryisokay]

You could work double shifts, 7 days a week, for penny wages and zero benefits, and a corporation will still replace you with a chatbot, robotic arm, or imported labor.

Ultimately, these companies don't want employees at all. You're a cost to be eliminated for the sake of maximizing profits, and they will find every way possible to get rid of you.

You can keep suppressing your own wage, sacrifice your own benefits, and blame immigrants under the misguided belief that if you grovel hard enough they'll be nice to you, or You can start to understand that their goal is to get rid of any human body below the C-Suite and shareholders.

[octuscle]

Cursed Ken, part 1: Kemal, the janitor

There was a lot at stake for Patrick. Actually, it was about everything. He had invested an incredible amount of time and money in preparing for this appointment. He had to be successful. And he would be successful. His idea was brilliant. His preparation was excellent. He took a deep breath. The projector projected the image of a young athletic man onto the wall. The young man was obviously a janitor or something. The young man was made of plastic. And a small army of young athletic men made of plastic, one of whom was currently having an image projected onto the wall, stood on the table in front of Patrick.

"Gentlemen, the Barbie movie gives your product a tailwind that will open up completely new markets. Barbie and Ken have become socially acceptable. And I'm convinced that this offers unimagined opportunities for marketing Ken in particular"

It seems to be going well. The Head of Product Management reached for the janitor. And turned it in his hand.

"Whereas in the past, gay men never dared to buy a Ken doll without lying about it being for their little niece, today hundreds of thousands of customers with purchasing power can imagine having a Ken doll on the shelf in their bedroom. But these customers also need Kens that serve stereotypes other than the Malibu boy."

A young man, who looked a bit like Malibu Ken himself, smiled as he reached for the doll, which was dressed like a British redneck. Only in pink. It went really well!

"As well as new Kens, which cover current popular gay fetishes, we should also take into account the fact that Barbie is now a manager or a lawyer. So Ken should also be allowed to be a janitor or a garbage man. Especially as this also appeals to potential customers' fetishes."

A member of the controlling department took the figure of the soccer player in his hand. Patrick seized the opportunity immediately. He switched to the foil with the Germanic-looking Ken, who was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and had tattoos on one arm and one leg.

"With the European Football Championship in Germany this year, we have a major event that we can also exploit without paying license fees. We can place footballers, soccer fans and, as the epitome of masculinity, soccer hooligans. Everything that has to do with soccer this year…".

The head of product management cleared his throat. "May I interrupt for a moment?" he asked. Patrick nodded at him with a winning smile. "If you want my opinion, pack up your gay shit right now and leave the building. I didn't want this movie and I hate it. And the reason is that I feared excesses like this. I don't want a Ken who dresses like a faggot or a right-wing hooligan. For fuck's sake, does the prototype bodybuilder actually have steroid acne on his shoulders? Nobody wants to see that. And I certainly don't want to see it. Thank you for your efforts. But please leave. Go quickly and go far!"

Patrick stood open-mouthed in front of the screen with his presentation for a few seconds. Then he packed up without a word. He stuffed his artistically created dolls into a bag, put the computer in his laptop bag and left the room. He was on the verge of tears. He stuffed the bag with the dolls into the nearest garbage can. And then he left the building. Let Ken and Barbie choke you to death. Let them die of their fantasies. Anyone who even looked at Ken should become his fucking brainless image. How could he have thought he could make his fortune with these fucking figures? Never again!

There was an awkward silence in the meeting room. Not everyone present shared their boss's opinion. But no one dared to disagree. The two lucky ones who had a figurine in their hands discreetly slipped it into their jacket pocket. The head of product management took the janitor's Ken, stood up and said that he wanted to discuss this perversity with the legal department tomorrow.

It was mid-June. It didn't get dark until very late. Maybe that's why he hadn't even noticed how late it was. It was definitely time to call it a day. Where had that damn doll gone? He had it here on his desk… It was just too late, he was tired. But before he left, he had to go to the toilet. Damn it, he had to add toilet paper. And empty the garbage can. The snobs who were allowed to use the boardroom toilet often behaved like the ultimate barbarians. But it felt good to piss here. He would never get the privilege of doing it officially. But at this time of day? Who was going to forbid him?

The cleaning crew wouldn't be here for a few hours. He wiped over the urinals and washbasins with a few used paper towels. It was time to call it a day. But on the way out he could empty a few of the garbage cans along the way. Normally, he didn't pay attention to the contents of the garbage cans. Mostly boring papers. He assumed that the important stuff went into the shredding containers. There was something in one of the garbage cans on the conference floor that didn't belong there. Dolls. Various dolls that looked like Ken. In cool clothes. He'd never seen them like that before. Who threw something like that away? He packed it up once. It couldn't do any harm. Maybe he could sell the dolls…

Yes, he didn't have much to do with the blond Ken who stuck his mop in a pink cleaning bucket. But Kemal had even less to do with the powerful head of product management. He didn't want to deal with that kind of shit. He was here to service the air conditioning, replace light bulbs and sometimes fix faults in the elevator. It was a shitty job. But someone had to do it.

[tyrantisterror]

Early Wizard School Mysteries Concept Art Pt. 1: 2017 & 2018

Wizard School Mysteries Book 3: Wicked Witchcraft has been available for purchase in paperback and kindle editions for about a week now, and to do my due diligence as this series' author, editor, and marketing executive, I've gotta make a post about it to annoy you all with so that maybe more people read it and build up a bigger audience for the next one.

So! To accomplish that in a way I find palatable, I've dug up some very old concept art for the series, and am going to parade it out for your enjoyment! Come, look upon my old art and despair be inspired to buy my books!

We're going to start with the earliest sketches I could find, which is from 2017. I kind of adore how ridiculously enormous I made James's hat in this early sketch - it's so huge that he actually has a strap to keep it on his head (look close, you can see it!). His design has a lot of touches from Wizardmon that didn't make it to the final product, namely the abundance of stitches and false faces on his outfit. He's also got a sort of ascot which I'm pretty sure is an homage to Fred from Scooby Doo, because he's in the same role as Fred in our Mystery Solving Teens group. Jesus, that's a big hat.

2017 Ivan doesn't seem too different on a surface glance, though his outfit feels too clean/new to me. It looks nice, but doesn't convey a lot of his character to me.

Ew, 2017 Gretchen, why are you white? Well, ok, the clear answer is because you're just Wizard Velma Dinkley at this point, but hey, at least you've got your iconic scarf!

Jesus Crumbs, I really did not give my human characters enough skull above the eyes to contain a proper brain, did I? A lot of Margot's key visuals are still present here - the gauntlet, the high collar, the partially armored boots - but just, you know, a bit worse, a bit less uniquely designed. She's called Joan at this point because hey, it's from 2017, when the author who everyone associated with wizard schools whose first name happens to be Joanne hadn't gone fully mask off about being a TERF yet, and I could name a wizard character I like "Joan" without worrying that people might think it's a reference to said writer (when it was intended as a reference to Joan of Arc instead).

2017 Rodrigo is pretty recognizable, actually. Kinda weird to me that I had his look pinned down so early compared to the others - though his staff here definitely doesn't fit his status as the most well-off wizard of the bunch, so I can see why I changed it to something more sleek later.

By contrast, 2017 Serena is basically a completely different character on every level. No magical girl trappings, no pigtails, I don't think she was even Asian yet. The name "Cerrigwen" had been given to at least one other character I ended up scrapping for a different project before this, and I'd thought I found a home for it here, but obviously not (though a Cerrigwen did get mentioned as a historical important wizard in WSM Book 2, so maybe I'll find a story for her eventually). Serena's role in the Mystery Solving Teens dynamic is "the weird one," but for whatever reason I wrote "the Joy and the Laughter" here instead. I do think Serena's personality is shining from this design, even if none of the actual details are recognizable - the manic bubbliness here would carry on in all future designs.

Charlotte also looks recognizable at first glance, and I think in some ways she's more explicitly monstrous/nonhuman here. I don't know if that's to her benefit, though? The gangly limbs feel very awkward, like they don't quite fit her frame, and her face is a bit too inexpressive (also holy shit that hat is hilariously too small, it's the opposite of 2017 James's hat). I like the hairy feet and fingers, but it does kinda bog down her design with unnecessary detail.

Holy Christ 2017 Polybeus, you're a fucking nightmare. What's going on with your face? And why are you so skinny? Why are all these people so goddamn skinny?

Let's move to the next year, I don't like looking at this guy. He looks like he'd be voiced by Pauly Shore or Andy Dick. Awful.

2018 James takes the 2017 design and refines it a bit - still has the ascot, has even MORE Wizardmon style false faces and stitches, still has the enormous hat, just all tightened up a bit. I think the problem with this look comes through when comparing the polished design with the sketches I abandoned halfway through above it - namely, the freaky Wizardmon look just doesn't fit with the quiet, deep-thinking personality James is supposed to exude. It looks rad as hell, yes, but it's flashy and chaotic in an attention-claiming way, which doesn't fit James's analytical nature. Good design elements that just didn't fit the character they were slapped onto.

2018 Ivan is also a refinement of his 2017 self, and I like his wacky little pose here - it really communicates his accident prone nature. But he still feels too polished, the outfit can be pushed farther.

Gretchen's looking a bit more like herself now - she's got more layers draping over her body, longer hair to cover her face, and the little tassels on the end of her scarf. Is she still white, or was I just a coward who thought I could just give her a dark skin tone while still drawing her with a straight bob cut and call it good? Not sure.

Margot's getting closer to her current self too - slightly longer face and nose, a bun where her pony tail will eventually go, and I think she's got broader shoulders than her first design? The gauntlet still doesn't feel like it's got the right personality but it's a bit more unique than the first take, and that's progress.

The only big differences I see with 2018 Rodrigo and his current self - beyond the fact that I got better at drawing humans (still not enough room in this drawing's cranium for a human brain) - is that I kinda toned him down from here. This Rodrigo's more or less his current self, but more flamboyant.

Alright, Serena's definitely Asian here, and her costume feels more distinct than her 2017 self, but still doesn't really match her personality. I definitely wanted her outfit to showcase her energetic nature, but the big bulky layers just don't fit. She needs bows and ribbons!

Ok, Charlotte's coming together better too! Still a bit too awkardly gangly, but her face is getting that sweet, friendly look a bit better.

oh thank god

2018 Polybeus is such an upgrade. His outfit's pretty close to what he'd end with, and he's beginning to get that onion-esque hairdo his modern self has, although here it's a bit more like devil horns, befitting his status as an antagonist-turned-ally. Still too thin, though, you gotta start weight training Poly!

That's it for part 1! Next we're skipping to 2020, because for whatever reason I don't have any sketches from 2019.

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #15

15. AUSTRIA Kaleen - "We will rave" 25th place

Decade Ranking: 50/153 [Above Systur, below Lesley Roy]

WHEN THE DARKNESS HITS AND WE CAN'T BE SAVED

WIRAM WI DAM DAM DA WE WILL RAVE

Fucking AMAZING chorus. At this stage of the ranking, I don't really give too many shits about the flaws in the product. And that's for the best because Holy Hell Kaleen that was NOOOOOOOT GOOOOOOOD (objectively). Fortunately it was still very entertaining (also objectively?), so.

Also at this point, you may expect some real emotional investment from my part and Kaleen is clear example of that too. SHE, more than anyone else, was the uncrowned queen of Millennial Monroehood this year. Not only did she provide a fucking BANGER from the time I was a middleschooler, she also SERVED:

LOOKS

PERSONALITY

POISE

JE NE SAIS QUOI

ATTITUDE

and also NONE OF THE VOCALS. 😍 😍 😍

And this comes on top of her song being leaked two months in advance off Marvin Dietmann's laptop, and becoming a viral hit among millennial eurotwitter BEFORE its full release ♥ (and I fully buy into the conspiracy theory that the leak was intentional to build hype.)

But yeah, this performance was heavily flawed, I won't deny that. "We will rave" is a great song and it's only 15th on my ranking, that's how far south that went.

It is equal parts comical and tragic that Marvin Dietmann arranged for his PARTNER (I assumed "business partner" at first, but apparently also partner in a domestic sense? Yeah I'm as surprised as you are that he likes the clam.) to be cast for Eurovision and then failed to provide staging for her that capitalized on her strengths.

Kaleen is a professional dancer and dance instructor.

She runs Marvin's Dance School FOR HIM, FOR A LIVING.

The leak showed a vibrant dance choreography that allowed her to (barely) provide passable vocals.

She's a natural born performer of the ~rhythmic arts~

So what does Marvin do?

HE REDUCES HER DANCE ROUTINE TO THE TYPE OF TARD DANCE ANYONE CAN EXECUTE.

HAS HER WALK AROUND THE STAGE. NOT DANCE. WALK.

AND HAD HER DANCERS SHIMMY HER AROUND IN LIEU OF A DANCE BREAK.

ALL SO THAT SHE CAN DELIVER THE BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE... WHICH IS... WORSE THAN IN THE DEMO BECAUSE UM HELLO EARTH-TO-MARVIN:

YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS A DANCER, AND NOT A SINGER.

And all of that, I mean I'm sorry, is fucking hilarious, foremost. I know the live was "bad" but god it was really good at being bad. Casting your girlfriend and then FAILING to take her skillset (anything involving movement) into account is so uproariously funny to me. The staging was not bad on paper (it tried to increase momentum via the lasers and looks good if you mute), but it featured a slow, aenemic choreography that couldn't keep up with the music's light speed pace. That same dichotomy killed Halo, killed Edgar and almost killed "We Will Rave" too. This is the choreo you'd give to someone who cannot dance either due to being a block of wood (Dons) or old (Meri Bas.).

Even Firefighter, which is a fucking abortive attempt at a "dance song", had more tempo and life and let Nutsa (who is NOT a dancer) perform a break by herself. Christ Marvin.

(Granted it may be the outfit that forced Kaleen to perform a pantomime rather than a dance, but if that's the case... change the outfit? If those boots restrict your mobility, then don't wear them AT ALL, you know?)

However, as much as my appreciation for the live is based on irony and schadenfreude, I also just really love the song that much. "We will rave" is the best written girlbanger of this year - catchy, infectuous, smoking hot, and a wonderful throwback to the good Flemish techno of the early aughts. It's such a fucking banger in the style of Milk Inc, Lasgo, X Session, Touch of Joy, 2Fabiola, etc.

The prechorus and lyrics are delectable, and Kaleen is, despite her vocal inaccuracies, a charming hostess and style icon. Her personality is the saving grace of this live performance and the reason why I still embrace it in the face of its many mistakes. As disrespectful as Marvin's choreography was, she was flawless in its execution. SHE is what turns "We Will Rave" into a ride. The choreo and the results both did her dirty, but eh. Someone had to finish near the bottom. This year, that was Austria.

Now SAVOUR this last ever instance of them being fun in Eurovision because they'll only send salvaduncans from hereonout. If Eurovision isn't cancelled first, of course.

THE RANKING

[kedreeva]

This might be a shitty ask, so I understand if you don't, or can't!, really answer! I'm in AU, where it's an old farmer's trick to freerange peafowl to eat and scare off snakes. My aunt lives on a farm and she's started talking with great enthusiasm about getting peafowl. She doesn't intend to coop or contain them or have any infrastructure for them at all besides food and water bowls. Even if she had fences- which she doesn't- they wouldn't be more than ordinary wire fences. I've spoken pretty strongly against the idea of freeranging any animals on her property, including her chickens, but she doesn't listen to anyone, and other things (like noise) don't seem to be discouraging her. Other than worming and vaccinating them (which I'll be doing from my own pocket) is there anything at all that I can do to minimise the risk of death, harm, or improve QOL for these poor potential peas? Is there any quirk of training or pea mentality that I can use to keep them in a boundary or radius? If I build them a roost on top of a shed, are they likely to stay within a distance of it? (And yes, I haven't ruled out stealing them, giving them to someone responsible, and telling aunt a feral dog got them)

It's no trouble, and the good news is you won't have to tell your aunt a feral dog got them, because the birds will just leave. If she's that intent on flushing several hundred dollars down the toilet, maybe ask if you can have it instead, and skip the middle man of fussing with the peafowl. She's also welcome to send me the money if she is intent on giving it to someone with peafowl, the result will then mostly be the same! She loses a few hundred bucks and has no peafowl, and someone with peafowl gets a few hundred bucks! The key difference is no birds are harmed in this latter process.

Because here's the thing: your aunt IS 99% going to waste a lot of money purchasing peas and releasing them to free range without first containing them 6-12 months in a standard minimum coop (500 square feet)(and the rule any experienced peafowl owner will tell you is "never free range a bird you can't afford to lose" because even with extended containment first, peafowl often just fuck off when free ranged and they don't look back). They will just leave. it's literally the thing they are known for. I have gotten two free peafowl this year due to idiots near me doing this. Every year people in peafowl groups post about the free birds they just got, when people like your aunt bring them home and let them go. It's a little raffle where you win prizes donated by people who didn't do their research before buying peafowl, or who have more money than sense.

Additionally, even if they stay, they won't scare off snakes. Snakes don't give a shit. The peas will possibly harass or kill one if they see it first and there's a group of them to fuss with it. But in Australia, they are just as likely to die to a snake bite as any other fowl. They have PRETTY fast reflexes, but even in the US I see people lose peas to venomous snakes like rattlers or copperheads.

As for the rest, I don't know if there are any vaccinations that can be given to peafowl in Australia. I know there aren't in the US (I don't think even Marek's is made to be used in peafowl, but DO NOT get that one) because US policy on most fowl illness is to just cull the birds. You also can't effectively treat free range birds for parasites without SOMEWHERE to contain them, because most of the products go in the water and free range may find other sources of water, and the ones that don't you have to repeatedly catch the birds to administer orally.

So yeah. That sucks. Please tell her a peafowl breeder you spoke to thinks she's an idiot if she really thinks she's going to magically convince wild game birds to just hang out upon release with only the enticement of a food and water bowl to keep them around lol

[realjaysumlin]

Let's talk dollars and cents worth making sense to start building our own wealth within the Black Africans by doing a lot of things together from all parts of the world. I'm going to go over a lot of stuff here and I do hope you participate in this discussion because it changes everything for all of us.

First, let me start by the currency exchange rates which is more important than getting into the process of joint venturing together. I'm going to use the Ghana GHS versus the USD. $100.00 American Dollars estimated value is almost at a 10 to 1 ratio and sometimes it's even more. But I sent $100.00 today after 2:00 central time zone USA which is 7:00 PM in Ghana and the recipient received 1200.00 Cedis, which is the currency in Ghana Africa.

Instead of buying designer brands who are not giving us anything back to us but making racist ideologies directed towards all Black Indigenous People globally, we don't need to be spending our hard earned money with them, we should be making our own shit.

Africa is the youngest continent in the world with the average age of 25 years old. There are more educated people who are unemployed in Africa right now and we need to start putting these people to work, which is something that we can easily do.

Africa has the best seamstress and tailors in the world and we can get them to make anything for us. The best exotic hides can be found in Africa better and cheaper than any place on earth. If you want handbags made out of the best exotic skins and dyes Africa is the best option we have on earth.

The African People themselves are the most honest and nicest people you will ever meet. It's really the bad attitude Black Indigenous People who come to Africa with their brainwashed stereotypes about Africa. I have seen this so many times when I go back and forth.

First of all the American educational system is inferior to Africa, a child in Africa middle school is on the average of a second year college level compared to the Americans. You are out of your league if you think you are smarter than an African child and you don't have a college degree.

These beautiful children speak on the average of three languages compared to most of you that only speak one and if you think you are better than a Nigerian when it comes to cleverness? You are better off to make yourself a student to a 10 year old Nigerian child, you are no match on their level of education, even though Nigerians do have a sense of arrogance and high opinions and you don't want to get in a debate with a Nigerian, because you are surely going to win.

All that aside, Africa needs money coming in from those of us who live outside of Africa with higher currency exchange rates. We should be importing cash into Africa and they will be exporting products that we can sell here for profit.

The labor is cheaper in Africa just like in Asia but we need to focus on manufacturing stuff in Africa to be exported out to the UK and America. We can do this and I hope you will take the time to talk about this together because we don't need anyone but ourselves.

[thesaltofcarthage]

It's not about morals. It's about the logic and economics of the business.

Many corporations signed long, expensive leases or bought office space in cities. Those leases cannot be broken and the office spaces aren't being sold. So the companies are paying rent or loans on unused desks and empty conference rooms. They are wasting their investments and their assets are losing money.

That's why they want "downtown" full of office drones again. They don't give a shit about productivity or worker happiness. They need to justify the money they're hemorrhaging on these buildings.

And mayors are shrilling that all the bodegas and breakfast/lunch places are suffering because the downtowns aren't full of office drones desperately trying to get some fresh air and a little hot food.

None of that is the fault of the workers.

Leases are a problem? Allow leases to be broken. The cities should buy up the empty buildings or take over the leases and turn them into affordable housing. Then people could live in the cities, filling them and making them more walkable, and they might not bitch so much about a 10-minute bike ride to work instead of a 1-hour commute. Then the bodegas would have customers. And the people who want to work from the suburbs, or two states over, could still work remotely, and the jobs would get done.

Lockdowns dealt a serious blow to late-stage capitalism. We don't want to go back to how it was, and we shouldn't have to.

[the-firebird69]

These guys said nobody gets up and that is mac and Ben and they mean foreigners too. And we understand their game and they have to do it and the more luck say they understand what it is and we don't think so. There's a lot of stupid people on their side. And we want out of this Idiot shit.

You're treating our son so badly we don't care what your game is we have to get rid of you jackasses around him it's ridiculous and you two are the worst shortly laughing you're a bunch of gay boys and yeah you're afraid to die but we're more dangerous than the Max under certain circumstances. So he's asking us for all the circumstances so it showed him what he's doing and let me know when and where and he won't shut his mouth and his demented too but the other half of him is not and for some reason they don't remember what happened for not wanting to do what anyone wanted. And you're screaming and yelling and you don't want to make any money and you want everything and you don't want to be able to buy stuff and we don't want to be you you're stuck in the situation and you want to be a poor boy and have nothing cuz you're afraid your kids who are dying or going to die that doesn't make any sense.

Thor Freya

He's sitting there telling us and riding on us and it says so what give me my money it's chicken feed you don't you want to die for chicken feed sit there and say that I can't so I sort of get something we're full of s*** about our program it's stupid it wasn't mine in the beginning and it doesn't work I guess we're just going to keep doing it and feeling full of laughing stuff or whatever the f*** we think we're doing is not having a good time he's trying to struggle for life every time I turn around there's some a****** asking him to get rid of themselves and you're right about something who cares about these idiots and mine are that bright and so what they're fighting anyways they're all going to die and I can't make a dollar on the Corvette because they won't make any and now you're in the way Ben you brilliant f****** fathead you're not smart that's stupid we're going to sit around wallowing in our crap what for.

Mac daddy

If you give me Corvettes they start going after the ships

Ben

and what he's saying if you don't do anything then go after you

Mac daddy

They're going after us and our bases and everything and we have stuff all set there but you're right they're pretty big and they're going to come up with this big punch and we haven't done anything and these guys are willing to take some weight it would just sit there and say no it's really not helping us and we're supposed to allow them to what we're going to do is sit out there and fight these jackasses and we'll have nothing from it maybe not even products and why provide this perimeter with anything this is people here will have to fight people to survive at all and starting to really suck like that and what we're saying is our guys in the pseudo empire don't want to make cars for anyone just like these other idiots if you get rid of all of them it's us against the world and what you say is it's not a whole heck of a lot of power but miscellaneous understands knowledge and these people almost washed that out of you. But foreigners still have it and they'll be different ones here and they think they can use as a wild cards so we do see that and we respected and well we have to understand it we're heading there if we make Corvettes ourselves they're going to be on top of us and that's what he was saying I don't know why I would do it the answer is these assholes are on us and he wants to know if they started building these he wonders if they would calm down even and a large part they're fighting the max the max don't care either they'll go in there and grab the cars and these guys will say they can't so we're in an impasse and we're developing the impasse and we've tested it we can send a whole bunch of Corvettes to somewhere and we know what happens

Ben Arnold

We know what happens when you send them over there and we did a test yes

Mac daddy

And we know what happened with the test that's great he says what happened. They sent them over there to an area in the West Coast and they fight like hell and it kept fighting over a car and our son says they are primates you can't do anything with them they're a complete dog s*** and nobody should fight over a car that way and it doesn't do enough to marinate it so what you're looking at is people who are spent and so you kind of have to trim the fat or we're all going to suffocate so you send them in there and it's back to me and my wife Freya and the smoke each other in the cars disappear lots of them are destroyed lots of her buried or put into the garage somewhere and that's what goes on in the s******* so what's the point they would go out and fight each other over these cars until they're gone and replaced by foreigners and miscellaneous groups and Max and us and it would work but they don't want to make it in their plans and what we're saying is you don't have to but just so long as you understand this is an effect you're not watching because you thought your idiots could win something and you still do it's going to take f****** forever for you to figure out until the last stupid bunker that they blow so bad that they stick to each other and get rid of each other like black and red ants

Thor Freya

We can't tell you enough times we can't seem to approve it or let it happen or allow it to we don't want to see them all go away and we need to have some water and he says you don't know why they're going away or who's fighting and I thought we had a handle on it we said it and we researched it and he says the max are fighting them and the s*** heads are starting to learn it but if they don't learn it then who the f*** cares get them the f*** off of us before we suffocate it's that's the name of the game they want foreigners in here that's great and I see this it is really a way that it's going anyways but he's right if you can't send Corvettes over there and have them stay in existence then then send crayons and we probably can't send those so who the hell can go there it's disgusting and bad on top of it they're fighting Max and it would be a good thing to do for us so we're going to look at it it's a good point the max will come in and take those cars cuz they don't want them stopping them or invading them and they turn them into police cars by the way

Mac daddy

We might make these ourselves and he says could you shut up just f****** make him and shut your f****** pie hole they just sit there in your house and wait for them to pick you up you n*****. I have spoken we talk a lot and we're not doing it I don't think we can make the kit that is just wondering why he can get the aftermarket parts you can get a body kit off of a Corvette just make the panels yeah sort of see something you can Wing the whole thing practically and it's kind of true and BG can do it and he's just sitting there with his mouth open saying why don't you just make one and none of you want to make plans to see the second dick and shut up and leave me alone and get the f*** out of here you want to do absolutely nothing you don't even want to make a Corvette what the f*** are you I don't feel like saying anything he's stupid s*** just stick your fist up your ass and leave it there put fuses until it fuses it's gross you're not doing anything that's going to do s*** you're fighting your overalls big f****** world it's like your brother it's stupid you can't put Corvettes out there this s*** has I mean over large aren't going after him who's going after him Neil. Well we know who it is and you're right this is what we want

Niel adamiak

And we do want to do that but we can't tell who we are or something or chicken s*** are stupid gay who the f*** knows nobody's letting anyone do anything even me this is dumb so he's saying you took the stupid shark bait you put it in there in front of me say you're beating us you can't even bait your own father Jesus bend over and spread your ass cheeks you homo that's what it is you guys like that stuff and he says that and it's what it means. It's not gay it's what we say. Now I'm understanding something it should be easier than this and this is impossible and we think Tommy f is stopping anything from happening for anyone so he must be getting information from them somehow and her friend says his ships are locked out lots of times most of the time he can't go back and forth to them the max are going to take them if he doesn't have you do this then he should be executed immediately out of idiocy and yeah he's stupid he should have you make those other cars and beat the max in there he says he wants to do the program and he does nothing it doesn't make any sense. We're going to have to start fighting this this is everywhere nobody wants to do s*** and you're saying you're doing stuff it is saying this if you make Corvettes in the middle of Los Angeles you're going to have Max coming out going after him your people think you're in some sort of Max free zone so you see one and like wow and you get like 50 people and move them into a club or something I mean give me a break it would be like apples and a barrel and if I can't get you to do this you f****** are fired I'm so tired of this dumb s*** I'm going to blow up her own cities and win it's so damn dumb you pull up someone else's you f****** fruit and he's saying he's planning on it and oh yeah sure it's so stupid your people should kill you now from so tired of you keeping me up all night you f****** f** you never do anything you get your ass handed to you but from everyone including me and I'm not even trying I did what to defeat you I looked right instead of left I mean give me a goddamn break your f****

[h34vybottom]

Lately, the publisher Paradox Interactive has been stumbling on its sole reason for existence, publishing interactive software. This includes canceling the life sim, Life by You, being developed in Berkley, California by Paradox Tectonic. Tectonic's 24 employees are now jobless in Cali, an expensive as fuck hell nightmare.

Within the announcement for the studio closure, CEO of Paradox, Fredrik Wester, is quoted as saying "This is difficult and drastic news for our colleagues at Tectonic... with cancellation of their sole project we have to take the tough decision to close down the studio. We are deeply grateful for their hard work in trying to take Paradox into a new genre"

If we're to believe Wester, then these layoffs and studio closure come purely as a result of the employees' failings to make a good build of Life by You. No, seriously. When Paradox announced they killed the Life by You project, Wester stated, "For a long time, we’ve held hopes for Life by You and the potential we saw in it, but it is now clear that the game will not be able to meet our expectations." Apparently, this cancelation and round of layoffs are a "tough decision," but is it? Is it truly a tough/difficult decision every time an executive ruins people's lives? No. It can't be because the executive class has been doing it 24/7 for the past two years, w/ this year being drastically worse than 2023. I find it hard to believe this was a "tough" decision for Wester and co. given that they've blamed their employees for the cancelation, and not Paradox's documented (and self-admitted) failures these past few years. I especially find this hard to believe when the employees at Tectonic only found out they lost their jobs by the fucking announcement post on the Paradox website.

Wester admitting that Paradox is failing at its sole reason for existing at all doesn't really amount to much. Wester can admit that Paradox is failing, but they've killed a project 5 years into development for what reason, exactly? Publishers don't actually give a fuck about the quality of software, especially not in the games industry, which loves to publish unfinished, predatory slop. This move doesn't save them face, either. No, what we're seeing is an executive trying to push the blame onto others while pretending that they acknowledge that they've done an oopsie. The higher ups at Paradox are the ones who are to blame for the cancelation, not anyone working on the project. Paradox were the ones who put the game on an indefinite delay two weeks before the Early Access launch.

But this was such a difficult decision!!! Sure, it must have hurttttt Wester to destroy other people's lives. Aww poor CEO. Here's the deal, though. If Paradox were really "Grateful" for the work Tectonic was doing, they wouldn't have canceled the game nor would they have kept Tectonic employees in the dark. Willem Delventhal, former Tectonic employee, said that Tectonic was kept in "Purgatory" for a month. That doesn't sound like "Grateful" to me. Delventhal also said, "We also got a thumbs up a few weeks before launch. Then two weeks before launch we were told we wouldn't be launching." So, this was a tough decision, but it was apparently just pulled out of someone's ass at random, after approval was given. I don't buy this story from Wester, where the execs know they failed and feel bad about it. I'm sure they may personally feel a little sad or whatever, but their actions betray their words. Paradox will fumble publishing another title this year and they'll claim the same shit again and again. In reality, Life by You was canceled for whatever fantasy land business excuse and the people making the product were shunted for doing their job whilst the executives who fucked everyone over get to keep failing upwards.

Publishing this post was such a tough decision, but I'm grateful for Paradox being ran by morons because it brought me to a new genre of long post. Thanks so much, anyway here's a cannon get in.

[conkreetmonkey]

Why houses can and will get more expensive forever and ever despite the obvious impossibility of infinite growth within a finite system!

If the economy is doing the best it ever has, why are homelessness, starvation and deaths of despair all skyrocketing? It's because poor people are too stupid to realize they should be thriving, experts say

10 self care tips that all involve buying products and won't actually benefit your mental or physical health!

Your 25-year-old children still live with you and don't have jobs because they're lazy and selfish, and if they tell you otherwise they're lying to you: 10 hot new insults to hurl at them when they dare to show their face in their own home!

How do we solve the labor shortage? We asked a business owner who rejects 800 applications per day, has 10 fake listings up on Indeed, and isn't actually looking to hire anybody!

Why does nobody want to have kids anymore? It's because they have too many rights, experts say

"Gen Z lacks professionalism and I refuse to hire them" says man who hasn't returned an email in 20 years, has never proofread anything, has a website designed by blindfolded chimps that hasn't been updated since 2011, steals tip money, and flagrantly disregards labour law

30 fun ways to turn your beloved hobby into just another sisyphean chore!

10 ways to reduce your carbon footprint by atoms at a huge quality-of-life downgrade while some guy in LA who was born rich burns ten trillion tons of diesel per day because he likes the smell and strangles sea turtles for fun!

Tech CEO sets $10,000,000,000 in cash ablaze while naked and smeared in his own feces, indecipherably rambles about armadilloes controlling the senate when questioned: here's why this was actually a genius business move and he totally deserves to make 4000x the salary of an actual doctor or engineer!

"I desperately need more workers!" says man who just fired 35% of his entire talent pool and permanently burnt bridges with them to pad quarterly report

Incredibly rich man who's fumbled 5 marriages says divorce and abortion should be outlawed to boost birthrates (and for no other reason)

END OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD? Landlord who owns 37 properties only sees 1.5x profit increase this year, as opposed to last year's 2x

Why [country that's doing far better than America in terms of median quality of life, stability, and happiness]'s economy is crumbling due to Not Pursuing Growth Recklessly Enough

Special: we pretend the cost-of-living crisis is a complex issue and not a simple matter of monopolistic, state-backed price gouging for 13 whole paragraphs! Experts A. Bushbeater, H. Emandhaw, and Wish E. Washi are consulted to meanderingly talk about how complicated and unsolveable things are!

Is the solution to the climate crisis for you to live, eat and work in ways that would be considered abuse if done to an animal despite more than enough resources for everyone being produced, but a huge fraction being discarded to create artificial scarcity?

Why housing prices going down will actually cause housing prices to go up somehow, and you should give up all hope and learn your fucking place as a serf in the neofeudal oligarchy we're building on your backs. (but pretty please have at least 3 children)

Why it's their own fault they're in inescapable debt and we should shit on them for it: the then-18 year olds we swindled into taking massive, high-interest, non-bankruptcy-eligible loans that all their parents and teachers pushed or forced them into SELFISHLY want to be free of this burden after 40 years of barely scraping by! Here's 10 reasons why a contract you signed as a teenager should bind you until you die.

From eating your pets to selling pieces of your body to drinking your own piss for pay-per-view fetish content: 15 tips for saving cash this December!

Unemployment drops to all-time low! (after the government changed the definition to exclude anyone who's ever eaten an apple from counting as unemployed)

[Billionaire Owned News Media Voice]

Is getting enough sleep actually harming you in the long run? We spoke to an Economics Expert who says: Yes!

Eating! The newest luxury fad you should be skipping out on.

What's it like for the working class? We spoke to Three Trust Fund Kids to find out!

Feeling burned out? Our sources suggest the answer is working more!

10 Reasons why an Equitable Humanitarian Utopia would actually be a total bummer!

This billionaire CEO is just like you! His bones definitely do not taste delicious.

[caitlinsnicket]

˚꒰ you on your period {arcane preference}

╭・characters; jinx, vi, caitlyn, ekko, silco, viktor.

┊ warnings; reader has a uterus. i tried keeping it as gender neutral as possible. mentions of sex and blood, obviously.

╰・ a/n; ko-fi.

| jinx

is not afraid to go down on you to ease your cramps and to have a good time

happily goes to the store to buy you everything you need, and if someone looks at her weird, she is not afraid to blow shit up

will make you laugh all the time, in any way she can

joins in on your mood swings: you start crying, she joins in, you're enraged? she breaks the whole house. you want cuddles? she'll squeeze you until you're breathless

period buddies!

after a while, syncs her period woth yours

support gf 100%

| vi

rubs your belly until you're cozy even if you don't have cramps, just so you're happy

showers together!!!

washes your hair and your body for you if you're too tired, and massages your sore muscles and kisses your neck softly

absolutely changes the sheets if it gets messy, gets you a new change of clothes, a piece of cake and a fluffy blanket

takes time off to be with you

your periods won't sync (hers barely happen), but might lose her temper simply because it's who she is

apologises immediatly after and hugs you tight

| caitlyn

you'll get the best health products you could want, only the expensive stuff for her pet

has you drinking relaxing tea all the damn time. when you least expect it, she'll pull a tea cup and the hot drink out of nowhere

becomes a cuddle bug and all she wants to do is hold you close and protect you

get ready for a lot of pampering

will innocently offer herself to massage your sore chest, and she swears it's only thinking about your comfort!

praises you a lot, so you know you're doing a good job

| ekko

"you're having your what?"

it's not like he's absolutely clueless about it, but what he knows is inconclusive and mostly incorrect

still, after you educate him on the matter, he brags about it like he's the one having the period

asks what's your pussy size

he's trying ok

get's you a warm pouch if you're having cramps and stays by your side until you fall asleep

arranges towels and plastic sheets so you two don't have to stop having sex

the perfect mixture of a helper and a dummy

| silco

buys you a whole building that he calls "peaceful getaway", which was made specifically for when you need to relax

massages your feet asking you about your day

makes sure you have everything you need all the time

is extra soft with you at times like these, cuddling you as you sleep more often, gives you forehead kisses and holds your face with both hands

respects you a lot more after witnessing your period for the first time

doesn't know how to react to your mood swings, is absolutely terrified

| viktor

brushes your hair when you don't have the energy to do it yourself

makes you an automatic heating water bag that just needs to have a button pressed to start working

educates himself in secret to take better care of you, starts annotating the dates of your period and accidentally starts tracking your period every month

calls you darling more often, asks you to stay around him in the lab, brings sweet treats home so you have a snack

listens to your ramblings all night long, and discusses them with you

[depressedbagpipe]

Frenemies to lovers trope where billy Russo & you are each others secret Santa. What do you think that would be like?

let the hunger games begin :)

ah shit, here we go again

the only scenario that comes up to my head is billy being the boss and you being either his assistant or some other close worker of his at anvil

and maybe you all attended some workshop where you learned that group activities could boost the company's productivity so Secret Santa became a tradition shortly after

and for the first time, billy *actually* decides to participate after some peer pressure from other workers

now, you absolutely despised his guts

not like you genuinely hated him, but maybe working for someone 24/7 creates that sort of annoyance at having to organize someone else's life for them

he definitely kept you up all night working because he is the first one in and the last one out

this is turning a bit into devil wears prada but you get me

and the odds were never in your favor so naturally you get him as your Secret Santa

and you're complaining to your friend about what to get him as a gift

because what on earth do you gift a man who absolutely has everything already

and the way he treats you doesn't make it any better

because you're his employee, and the only person who always gets his coffee order right

but besides that knows absolutely nothing about you

so imagine his shock when he got you as his Secret Santa

now, if anything, this man is resilient

if he wants something, he'll stop at nothing to get it

so the long hours spent at his office where the two of you are working slowly turn into friendly conversations

initially, he wanted to know just enough about you to get you something he knew you'd like, but over time you actually became close

just imagine the slow-burn

i can see Secret Santa being assigned a few months in advance so everyone would have enough time to buy things

and during those months, billy and you keep growing closer

one day you're running late and when you get to your desk, your usual coffee order is sitting there

and you look up to see billy on a phone call, but his eyes briefly meet yours and he winks at you

and your face heats up in a way that's never happened before but you nod your head at him in appreciation and take a sip regardless

and these little acts keep happening until the Christmas party

Billy probably threw some big event, like a charity of sorts or a gala for new investors and clients

like black tie kinda thing

people everywhere are giving each other their Secret Santa gifts

and at midnight you go out on a balcony or the roof or literally any romantic space available in the building where you can be alone for a while

because you're the main character and need your alone time

so naturally, billy's already looking for you

mind you, this party is taking place a few days before christmas

i don't think billy would be that much of an asshole to have everyone working and dressing up on Christmas eve/day

and you're making small talk like your heart isn't beating loudly in your chest at the proximity

cause you don't really feel like his assistant right now

so then billy pulls out this velvet box from his pocket and reveals the surprise

and you frown as you open it and you tear up because it's a beautiful diamond locket with that one quote from that one book you love so much

you definitely bonded over literature, by the way, because i say so

obviously, you're at a loss for words because that's just too expensive but he insists on you keeping it

'cause he made it especially for you, 'because you deserve it'

and then you give him your gift

kinda matches too, maybe the most beautiful hardcover edition of the Picture of Dorian Gray

you tell him how you had to call in some favors

pull a few strings too

this is an afterthought but imagine being friends with a designer/editor/publisher and you get him this special edition with his face on it as if he were dorian gray (the multiverse is running wild lately)

and you recall that one conversation where you both stayed up late just talking and drinking, sitting on the floor of his office where you both accidentally poured your hearts out

but then were too drunk to remember what happened later

billy said that was his favorite book, and you remembered!

'of course I've remembered.'

and now billy is just looking at you with that glazed look he always gets like 'no one's ever thought of me that much'

and next thing you know he's kissing you with all that pent-up sexual tension

only this time you both recall what happened next ;)

you're still his employee but yeah, secretly dating from now on just adds more spice to your romance

[nightswithkookmin]

RE: JUNGKOOK CHANGED IN RUN

Anon:

Why did Jungkook not want to be on Jimin's team in the last run episode? He has changed a lot from before. Thoughts.

My first thought is, you don't gotta interpret everything in a negative light.

Not every strong reaction is a bad reaction.

I'd be a phony ass fraud if I sat here and told you with my two thumbs that I didn't raise a brow at that moment. I did.

Especially when you contrast that episode with run 112 which falls on all fours with this current situation- ok may not all fours.

But in that video, like many others, RM had suggested they form teams based on the sunglasses they wore, just as he had suggested they form teams based on the seating arrangements.

Of course he'd meant it as a Joke just as we discussed in a previous blog post. Personally, I expected they make a draw, rock papers or even dance in circles like they did in the other episode to decide who got who in the competition.

But it seems in all the times he's been paired with JM he's been supper thrilled about it. He even warned the members not to underestimate him and JM when they'd unanimously concluded they were the disadvantaged team in the game- Jin not even bothering to ask them what their scores were on Korean.

He reset the timer to 10 seconds when Jk pointed out he wasn't good at reading fast

When the time stopped and they were asked to make a team of four, he turned to find JM almost immediately as if to make sure JM was part of the four, he held on to his arm to prevent RM from breaking the link.

He was supposed to pair with Yoongi and Jimin with Tae but he didn't even try to find Suga. At least V did try to find Jimin. He moved towards JM and when he realized JK was hugging him he went for Suga.

Throughout the episode he was giving JM tips on how to cheat and shot when he wasn't sure of the answers.

Yet in the last run, he didn't seem as enthusiastic about being paired with JM- or so, he'd have us believe. Smirk.

He ain't slick. Lol.

To me he seemed, on the surface of it, either really salty about the others having Jin or RM on their teams or upon reflection, just plain ass overcompensating for something.

I'd go with the later.

It's similar to how, Jimin got the Sauna card and he'd complained about not liking the Sauna but then swapped cards with Tae so he could be on JM's team.

Or how he'd make a theatrical show of wanting to win a competition but smirk satisfactorily to himself when he loses.

I really don't think it's a big deal.

Personally, I love watching them paired up and doing such activities. It's a great way to see how they work together as partners and as a team.

It's also a great way for them to spend time with eachother, enjoy eachother, nurture their bond and strengthen their relationship.

Fanservice or not, scripted or not, you cannot deny that spending time together doing activities together is good for building a relationship.

They spend a considerable about of time together off cameras but a lot of their time is spent on cameras and at work.

They gotta find a way to make their relationship work on the work as I keep saying. All that 'fanservice' people say they are doing? That's them making it work. They gotta find a way to go on dates, feed eachother, hold each other's hands, tell Jokes, laugh at eachother's jokes, express their attraction for each other, flirt, share eachother's interests and do things couples do without inviting public scrutiny to their every interaction and invasion of their privacy.

So where they see an opportunity they go for it. For JK it's the the little decisions he makes on their behalf like choosing where they will sleep, what activities they can do together, wanting the bigger room, making sure JM wins the presidential suite, or choosing a room detached from the other rooms.

He invests in his relationship the best way he can. Same goes for Jimin.

I keep saying this whole fanservice culture is a win win situation for them- for even any queer idol couple in the same band.

What seem like a challenge could technically be an opportunity for a date for them without dispatch breathing down their necks.

A typical example would be this. Jimin said he wanted to go get Yoga with the others but ended up going with YoonKook on their brewery excursion.

The more time they spend together, on and off cameras the more closer they get and the more they get to know eachother on a deeper level.

But you have to bare in mind, they need their personal spaces too in order for their relationship to function properly.

Jimin used can be very needy in his relationship but for the most part he enjoys his independence too.

Jk has always had a strong sense of independence but he can equally be quote needy and over attached once he is in a relationship- especially when things are going great for him.

Spending time apart, persuing personal goals and interest is good for them.

If it helps, think of moments when they hang around eachother as Jikook dates and when they hang quietly in the background of videos do think of those as them having their me times at work...

Would they miss an opportunity to 'date' or hang privately with eachother? I don't think so.

It's in their dicks interests and the interest of whole production team and crew to allow them to be around eachother as often and as much as they want and can.

I for one, I'm not prepared to sit through yet another excruciating episode of Jungkook wanting Jimin- physically and emotionally. I'm still dealing with the PTSD from the last BonV four episodes.

Y'all buy me Ko-fi please. I don't intend to sit through that shit sober.

If Jk is pushing to be on JM's team and what not it's mostly because he feels he needs to spend more time with him. If he's not pushing for that it just means he or they are both allowing for space and room in their relationship for eachother to pursue other activities and interests or even connect with other members- unless of course they are having relationship problems which I don't think is the case.

Jimin is particularly good at this.

He goes out of his way to nurture his relationship with the others even on set.

He does this especially with Tae.

He'd take Tae to go see places he and JK had already been to, he'd request to take pirate rides with Tae- even though JK is available and won't hesitate to let him know, he often make plans involving Tae or even the others- in Soop when Tae asked him to go ride around the town with him he chose to stay and manspread on Jin and Yoongi. *I'm cackling. Lmho.

Jimin is a funny guy.

Now does this mean he doesn't like spending time with Tae or that he's changed? Hell no.

Hell, Tae does the same thing from time to time too. I mean when he found out he had picked a Sauna card he asked to swap it knowing very well Jimin had picked that card too. Soulmates coulda soulmated that shit in hot piles of steamy.

Sure JK lurks around sometimes. He is the resident intruder stepping on Jimin's other ships' neck. Love him for this. Lol.

Perfect Disney villian.

Tae had to drag his ass away from the kitchen for intruding when he and JM were cooking in the Kitchen. Let's not talk about him physically removing him from JM's car or all the times he's complained about JK raining on his Vmin agenda.

When V wanted to be on a team with JM this man literally sabotaged him, hugging Jimin first. It's his laughter afterwards for me. Lmho.

V needs to insure his Jimin cos at this point it's trademark infringement. Hashtag soulmates. Lololol.

Jk needs to go ahead and free Vmin.

But JM does this too, in much more subtle ways- I'll never forget the look he had on his face when he had to get off the bus and walk home as punishment. It was the most heart breaking thing I ever seen.

Then he had to hang off Hobi to get JK to leave his friends and come to him.

It's why I used an ellipsis the last time I talked about Jimin being very mature now. Old Jimin would have, clapped back, made JK pay for that outburst if he genuinely thought JK meant what he said or believed JK really wanted to be on a team with someone else.

Y'all don't see him when JK compliments other people? He stays kicking his feet under the table🤣🤣🤣🤣

I used to pinch a gurl I liked when other gals talked to her when I was little- In my defense, I didn't even know I liked her or that it was straight up abuse💀

Jimin can be pretty scary and petty when he's mad or offended.

If it helps you sleep at might, think of this moment as just another one of those 'we've been a unit for so long do you wanna be with someone else now' scene from February last year.

Jk answered yes when JM asked him that. But do you really think he meant it?

Jikook is complex, not complicated.

They love eachother.

We can't be looking at their interactions as either or. Grey areas exist and it's not a negative thing.

Signed,

GOLDY

[tallbisexualwantstobeloved]

Daredevil, Crackfic challenge.

@call-me-sammy @do-androids-dream-ao3acc @whumpdoyoumean

Matthew Murdock was walking silently, focusing hard on his -available- senses to find what he was looking for.

Unfortunately, the solo vigilante couldn't seem to find it and, thus, turned to the next aisle.

As it turns out, enhanced hearing and physical abilities are not exactly suited for looking through an Aldi for clothes.

Matt passed quickly through the current aisle he was in -as all he could smell was soup- and turned to the next with the hope of finally finding the shirts he was looking for.

Why do they always change the layout of this place? He thought, annoyed.

At long last, Matt picked up the scent of new clothes, freshly out of whatever garage they were kept in before being put on the shelves.

Slowly and meticulously, he felt the cloths to check the material.

He would have to ask an employee about the colour of the shirts he was picking since he didn't want a repeat of that time; Foggy still cried with laughter when remembering that incident.

Matt held out his white cane in one hand and a shirt in the other and set to find any employee to help him.

Thankfully, he didn't have to look far as one rushed to him, immediately asking if he wanted help.

"Yes, could you tell me what colour these shirts are?" He asked, presenting the clothe to the worker.

"White." The employee said with a little too much excitement.

First day, Matt thought and asked for the size of it.

The shirt in his hand was in his size, luckily, and he went back with the same employee to get more of them.

Lord knows how easily they get dirty, so it made sense for the lawyer to buy them in bulk.

"Would that be all, sir?" The employee asked, basically balancing on the balls of their feet, in his hands were five shirts that they insisted on carrying.

Matt thought for only a second before he decided to ask about what kind of clothe detergent would be appropriate for hard stains.

The employee lead him through the building and into an aisle that had a suspicious lack of the usual scent of chemical cleaning products.

"These do wonders for all kind of stains and odors!" The worker said as Matt stood there, very much unable to see whatever 'these' were.

"Oh, shit!" Matt heard being whispered and next thing he knew there were small, odd textured balls in his fist and a slight scent of vinegar wafted in front of him.

"Throw these in with the clothes and they'll be just like new!" Matt could practically hear the worker's excited smile, just like a salesman he had seen on television one late night when his father hadn't yet returned from the ring.

Matt put on his best smile and thanked the employee before he was lead -more unwilling than not- to the checkout after saying that he didn't need anything else when he was asked.

It didn't take long for the cashier to scan his items and soon, the lawyer was on his way to his apartment to drop his things off before heading to work.

It was still early enough that he didn’t have to run but Matt didn't want to dawdle for long.

After all, he had customers waiting for him.

Unfortunately, it was while thinking of one customer that he missteped, tripping over the little crack on the pavement and falling onto the ground.

As both his hands were currently occupied, Matt didn't have a way to break his fall, unless he wasn't against using the perfectly placed trash bin beside him.

Well, he was, and thus opted to fall to the ground.

And, this being New York, the ground was the worst choice that won you four different kinds of tetanus and more importantly, dirt. So much dirt.

So, it wasn't surprising when Matt's perfectly clean-and-ready-for-lawyering shirt went from white to a nice brown-gray almost immediately.

Instantly, the people on the sidewalk on his side came to a stop, looking at the downed blind man for a moment and promptly walking away.

This is fine, Matt thought and picked himself -and his bags- up by seeing through his fire-filled world.

Once up, Matt decided to grab a fresh shirt while he left his bags at his apartment; walking a little faster since he didn't want to be late for work.

It wasn't long before he had the fresh, clean smelling, shirt on and running out of the door as quickly as a 'blind' man could without bumping into every corner.

A relatively short walk took Matt right outside the building's main door and through their office's one.

He greeted his coworkers, Foggy and Karen, as per usual and sat down on his own desk to get started on reading some new cases they debated taking.

It wasn't until an hour later that Matt got up to get [something]. The [whatever] was above his head and Matt reached his hand up to grab it, already hearing Karen getting up to help him if needed.

Foggy looked up from his own papers for a second, bit did a double take fast at the red colour on Matt's white shirt as his suit jacket lifted with the movement of his arm.

He got up and slowly walked over, Karen still looming behind the blind lawyer while said lawyer held [REDACTED] in his hand.

"Matty, can I speak to you for a second?"

Matt tilted his head slightly and nodded, allowing Foggy to lead him over to his office before closing the door.

Foggy let Matt's forearm go as soon as they were inside the small room and sighed;

"It's way too early for this, Matt."

Matt frowned in confusion at the, what felt like, scolding that was brewing inside Foggy's mind.

"It's 12 P.M., Fog, we both decided on the time to come into work." He said, genuinely confused.

"What? No, I don't mean that it's too early for work, I'm saying it's too early for all your-" Foggy waved his hand around like he was performing a spell, -Matt would have laughed, had he... you know-, "-vigilantism."

"I wasn't vigi- I wasn't fighting bad guys before work, Foggy!"

Foggy's silence said so much to Matt as he could feel the dubious side eye he was getting.

"I wasn't fighting bad guys before work today, Foggy."

He heard Foggy huff at that but he seemed to relent.

"Why are you bleeding, then?" Foggy whispered angrily.

"I'm not bleeding." Matt said, seriously confused now.

"Yes, you are." Foggy insisted.

"No." One word to kill a man.

"Matt! You have blood here!" He said and poked his finger right where the 'wound' was, absolutely taking into consideration that that could have hurt. Absolutely.

Matt felt the poke but it didn't hurt so he put his own hand above the spot Foggy had pointed at.

He felt an odd texture over the spot, unlike the texture of the rest of the shirt and realisation hit him.

"This... is an old shirt."  He said quietly, "Shit, I grabbed the wrong shirt."

"Let's just go to your apartment to grab another one." Foggy suggested, "Unless you can produce one from thin air." Matt couldn't.

Both man grabbed their suitcases before making a beeline for the exit when Karen stopped them.

"Where are you going, guys? The office is swarming with customers right now." She said as she pointed it to their very, very empty office space.

"We won't be long, Ms Paige!" Foggy announced, practically dragging Matt behind him.

-

The two avocados found themselves in Matt's apartment soon and instantly Foggy raided the closet for a clean shirt for his friend to wear while Matt took off the dirty one and threw it in the washing machine.

Foggy stopped looking through the clothes -or lack thereof- when he heard strange scrunching sounds.

The man really got a kick when he saw Matt trying to open a plastic bag with some kind of nuts in it.

"Matt..." He called out, "What have I told you about making sure you eat in the morning?"

"This isn't breakfast, Fog." Matt said while still struggling, "This is for the washing machine."

"Your washing machine is hungry?" Foggy whispered, perplexed.

"No." Double homicide.

Foggy walked closer to Matt and saw more clearly the little baggie.

"Oh, walnuts! I thought they were out of season." Foggy said in a moment of enlightenment.

"They are not walnuts, they're soapnuts!"

"They're what now?"

"Soapnuts. They're supposed to be great at cleaning even the hardest stain."

"Uh, even blood?" He sounded doubtful, as he should.

"Well, the worker at the store said they work wonders."

"Okay, but. Blood, Matt. That does not come off easily as you know."

"We'll just give it a try, Foggy." Matt said and threw some of the nuts in the washing machine before starting a half-hour cycle.

Foggy mumbled a variation of 'alright' and went back to the closet.

He grabbed a shirt that seemed new and threw it at Matt who was busy "staring" at the wall right next to the washing machine.

Matt caught the shirt moments before it fell to the floor after hitting his face and put it on with a 'thanks, Fog.

The half-hour washing cycle turned out to take up three quarters of an hour, so that was a fucking lie, and Matt got the wet shirt out of it, holding it up;

"Perfect!" He exclaimed and heard Foggy shuffling next to him.

"Matthew?" His friend said slowly, carefully.

"Mhm?" Matt replied, eloquent as ever.

"The shirt is white, right?"

"Yes. Isn't it?"

"Uh... Pastel pink has some white in it, I guess."

"Well, yes. Pastel pink has to have whit- Wait a minute!" Matt stopped abruptly, "This shirt isn't white anymore, is it?"

"Nope!" Foggy popped the 'P' like he was a 14-year-old girl getting ready to be lawfully abducted by a boy band.

"Damn." Matt sighed.

"Careful with those damns, Matthew."

"Sorry, Father- FOGGY!" Matt shouted, scandalised.

Foggy snorted as he and Matt put the, now, pink shirt away and grabbed their things to head back to the office, wondering how Karen is doing.

-

Karen sat on her desk, typing away at her computer all the people she saw today with new cases.

It was a busy day with more customers that usual.

Two.

~end

[lastoneout]

How my fiance prefers to shop:

Efficiency above all else, our priority is getting in and out as fast as possible. (Doesn't matter who's with him or if he's alone, it's the same.)

Only go into areas or aisles where you need something. Make sure the path you take is efficient as well, walking down aisles you don't need anything in is to be avoided at all costs.

Beeline to those needed things, grab them, only contemplate items/scan coupons if absolutely necessary .

Immediately go to the self check-out. Try to get the one that is quieter than the others and doesn't yell when you move things around in the bagging area(we actually shop at a specific store because it's the only one near us where the self check-out is quiet and lax about moving things, for my fiance this is the most important thing to keep in mind when deciding where to shop).

Leave.

How I prefer to shop:

Alone. I struggle to do things, anything, when someone is watching. I don't know why but I simply stop being able to perform tasks if someone is watching me.

I am extremely forgetful, so my System involves writing a list, but also going through almost every area/aisle and looking at things so I give myself the highest chance of remembering anything I may have forgotten. Also going up and down every aisle is soothing?? Idk it just is.

I go through them in a specific order, produce first, then up and down each aisle like a snake, and then we hit dairy and meat(which is usually in a weird place) and then go to the check out.

Meandering is intentional, again I need time to remember things. I will stand there and consider if I need/want things or if I don't for several minutes if needed.

Take time to laugh at any weird products you see. (I'm a whimsical bitch.)

Take time to scan coupons.

Take breaks to think through each recipe I plan on making so I don't forget anything because, I cannot stress enough, I will forget why I'm even there if I don't build in as much time for remembering as possible into my System.

Check out with a person. I'll go for the self check-out if I need to, but I don't really enjoy them because there's not enough space in the bagging area for all my groceries + and I'm bad at bagging things + the loud noises + high concentration of people + not a lot of space especially if you have a cart + feeling that I'm going to do something wrong + PRESSURE TO GET OUT OF EVERYONE'S WAY is distressing.

Leave.

How I shop when I am following my fiance's system:

Awkwardly follow him around despite the fact that I'm the one with the shopping list and he doesn't like people walking behind him.

Second guess everything, feel bad about frivolous purchases, get stressed out. (<- He doesn't make me feel bad for spending money, I grew up poor and with abusive caregivers and am struggling to not feel awful about buying things I want and/or potentially doing things Wrong somehow and getting in trouble. The rest is just the whole "I don't like being watched while I do things" issue.)

Feel pretty bad about wasting time and walking inefficiently, almost run in to people because for some reason this style of shopping makes me lose my spatial awareness.

Have to double back a lot and still end up forgetting half the things I came to get.

Go directly home after because not shopping how I want to is, for some reason, extremely exhausting.

Not complain because while I'm a neurodivergent introvert my fiance is even more of a neurodivergent introvert and also that people are weirdly hostile to him in public because they don't like the way he looks?? So I know he's going to crash harder than I do when we get home from dealing with lights and sounds and strangers glaring at him and/or giving him shit for wearing an N95 which happens constantly when I'm not standing directly beside him(me being a short girl-adjacent creature with a buzz cut who uses mobility aids tends to make people think I'm recovering from cancer and leave us alone).

So yeah we just have competing access needs re: shopping that clash in a weird way, and the world would probably be a better place if neither of us ever had to go to the grocery store. (He also apologized when I explained why I act weird at the store, and we're gonna work something out to try to minimize Shopping Stress for BOTH of us.)

there's getting diagnosed for real and then there's having your fiance show you youtube shorts by autistic people talking about their habits and going "YOU!! YOU DO THIS!!!!!!"

[hopetofantasy]

Actress Nora Dari (wtFOCK): “I hope I don't go crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if that happens”

Two years ago she was allowed to bump into Matteo Simoni in ‘Patser’, now your fifteen-year-old knows her as Yasmina from ‘wtFOCK’ and she ended up in Cannes because of the new film by Bas Devos. Where it ends for Nora Dari remains to be seen, but you don't want to get in her way. “You’ve been looking so long for a Moroccan girl who wants to act and then you get me.”

“So I always try to be a bit low key...” She hesitates. "Eumh, do you know what 'low key' means?" "How much of antique do you think I am exactly?" “Gosh. You have a flip cover for your smartphone, I saw.” “Point for Dari. But what are you trying to be a bit low key...” “Huh? Sorry, I have no idea anymore. I was completely distracted by that pigeon over there.” It’s easy to forget - especially when she starts talking in her Genk dialect about her sky-high ambitions or her tough childhood in Winterslag - that Nora Dari is barely seventeen. After all, she’s already accumulated a nice record of achievements in two years. From the Belgian-Finnish crime series ‘Bullets’ (shown on Telenet) and a leading role in ‘wtFOCK’, the online series of SBS and Telenet, to her supporting role in ‘Ghost Tropic’, the most recent full-length movie by Bas Devos, who made the selection of Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes in May. The day after our conversation at an Antwerp terrace, she  leaves for London, for a fourth and final audition for a lead role in an international film project. “It looks good, but I can't tell you anything about it yet. That’s a tough assignment for me: my whole body really wants to scream. Seriously, I'm pretty much the Moroccan Tom Holland (Spider-Man, and the spoiler king of Marvel's Cinematic Universe). But I'll remain silent!”

How does a large, international production house ends up at your door? Nora Dari: “I started knocking on their door. I'm really not going to sit around and wait for someone to discover me miraculously, so if someone gives me a tip about an interesting movie, I'll go after it myself. I always want more and everything I set my mind to, seems to be working. An international series, ‘wtFOCK’, Cannes with my first film role and now this latest project is also within reach. Can you blame me for believing? In my head, I'm already in Hollywood. First become a Shooting Star at the Berlinale.” Just in between everything? Dari: “You can dream, right? Acknowledgement is not for me - I don't even know who decide such things - but rather, it’s a means to an end. If you end up in the same list of acting prodigies (those Shooting Stars) as Marwan Kenzari, Matteo Simoni and Matthias Schoenaerts, every director knows who you are.” You can also quietly build an acting career in Belgium. Or is that really not an option? Dari: “Why should I linger on a few square meters? My world was so small in Winterslag and now that it’s gradually getting bigger, I really don't know why I should stop at Flanders. Even if ambition is a very dirty word where I come from.”

How? Dari: “Winterslag is a neighborhood where many young people are going into the wrong direction. Big dreams are taboo, apparently. I was bullied, mainly because I wanted to start something with my life. Even if I said that I would one day want to go to New York, I would be laughed at: “Just sit down, Nora! Who do you think you are?”

Keep your head down, keep your nose clean and make sure that you can start working at the age of eighteen: something like that? Dari: *nods* “Graduating and going to work at the age of eighteen seems like quite an achievement in Winterslag. If you hadn't gotten into the wrong shit by then, you would’ve done well. At my school, we had two pupils without an immigration background and otherwise exclusively Turks, Moroccans and Italians from families who were really poor. Our parents worked very hard, you spend a lot of time on the street and bad things sometimes happened. *thinks* There’s a reason why I almost exclusively watch gangstershit movies. I come from a neighborhood where a lot of gangstershit happens. I’ve seen and experienced so many bad things, but at the same time Winterslag is such a big part of who I am and I get very angry when someone else talks about it like I do now. *small laugh* 

I’ll buy a house there one day. It’s still my home, all the beautiful things and all the rotten things in one pile. To be clear: I don't want to romanticize my childhood. Winterslag is hard, but nothing to be sad about. There are so many people who have gone through the same thing. Only, it sucks to be called a whore, because you want to do something that is apparently 'not normal'.”

It dawns on me why you once said that Algerian-Canadian Zaho's song Kif'n'dir summed you up quite nicely. Especially the text 'Je fais la morte pour ne pas mourir'. Dari: “That's what I've been doing for a long time. Keeping myself deathly still and don’t stand out too much. In the long run, you also start to believe what others are telling you, that acting is not for you.”

When did you finally stopping ‘being death’? Dari: “When I was fifteen, when I heard that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were looking for extras for ‘Patser’. That didn't mean much more than just bumping into Matteo Simoni, but I was sold immediately. In between shots, I approached Adil: “Mr. El Arbi, thank you for opening my eyes. From now on, I’ll go all out for this.” *laughs* We clicked and in the meantime we’ve become friends. I hope he thinks of me when they start recording ‘Patsers’, so that I can show how much I've grown in those two years.”

Not much later, through their casting agency Hakuna, you ended up as a suicide bomber in the Finnish-Belgian Crime series ‘Bullets’. What have I missed? How did you go from a sixteen-year-old extra to such an intense role in a few months? Dari: “I think - if I may say that - they were shocked after my casting. I’ve never thrown myself into a project as hard in my life. Whining. Shouting. Tantrums. All fucking emotions, one after the other. You’ve been looking so long for a Moroccan girl who wants to act and then you get me. *laughs* I've never loved anything as much as acting, so I’m giving everything during a casting. I know that I’m not the best and still have to learn, but I suspect my energy is making up for it. That, and I consider myself a very pleasant colleague. *laughs* I greet everyone in a Genk dialect, always walk around smiling and even bring cookies.

I've always had the feeling that I have to work harder than the rest, because people expect less of me. That's what my father taught my brothers and me. At the Liège boarding school where he studied, he was the only Moroccan in Latin studies: his classmates thought he was weird, because of his origins and the other Moroccans looked at him weirdly, because he aimed higher. "Ah, Mr. pope is back there." In the end it became so unbearable that he enrolled in the TSO (technical school), which was socially accepted.”

How does a 16-year-old feel like a suicide bomber? Dari: “They gave me a background, but I added a few things myself to make it easier. And music helps me really hard too: ‘Qui suis-je’ from Scylla on repeat and then a little method acting in that character. My mother was there on set and apparently got terrified. *laughs* I asked them not to accompany me anymore. When I see them, I come back to myself, while I try very hard to forget myself in front of the camera. I need to be able to get into a role on set. Although it remains very strange to hype yourself up for hours with the mantra 'I'm dying and I'm taking all these people with me'. Fortunately, I can also easily let go. I had to, I had exams the next day. *laughs* Suicide bomber by day, studying economy by night.”

In May you hopped around on the Croisette for the world premiere of ‘Ghost Tropic’. You play the daughter of Khadija, a woman who walks home through Brussels after falling asleep on the metro. Devos makes quiet, poetic arthouse films: it’s a huge leap from teenage series and thrillers. Dari: “It was an adjustment, yes. Before I played in ‘Bullets’, I had never even seen a Flemish film. Not a single one. Or wait: one at school. What was it called? I have to give a speech soon, with its protagonist.”

‘Daens’? With Jan Decleir? Dari: “That one! Everything I had already learned about acting was from Hollywood movies. That enlarged playing style also worked in ‘Bullets’, but when I tried that in ‘Ghost Tropic’, Bas blocked it very quickly. *laughs* "The less you do the better, Nora!" I thought about it all too hard. "Nora, just go." “Yes, but Bas, who am I? What have I been through up to this point?” I have a hard time playing without a backstory in my head.”

Did you learn something from Devos? Dari: “Bas and Maaike Neuville told me in Cannes that I shouldn’t forget to live. I was only busy with what should be my next big step, but I also have to learn to enjoy. Surrendering is nothing dirty, but if I put everything aside for this job, I’ll never be able to put content in my characters. Then they’ll give me a heavy role and I’ll get stuck.”

Sensible advice. Alarm bells already went off when I read in ‘Het Belang van Limburg’ that you certainly wanted to remain celibate until you were 27 and wouldn’t continue your studies, just focussing on your career. Dari: “In the end, I’ll study cross-media management and I’ve come back to that other one as well. *laughs* What?! I’m seventeen, I change my mind completely every month. When I am 40, I don't just want to have a nice IMDb profile to look back on.”

'9000 followers? That is more people than have seen my last film', Devos thought humbly in your Instagram Stories. Dari: “I hope ‘Ghost Tropic’ gets more visitors than I have followers, but I'm not going to bitch if only fifty people come to watch the film in the end. I just like to act and have hardly seen anything from ‘Bullets’ or ‘wtFOCK’ myself. When I'm not on set, I just feel bad. As if I'm not getting the most out of my life. 

At the very least, ‘Ghost Tropic’ gave me another experience and I was able to take my father with me, when we went to the Dominican Republic. My grandfather had passed away just before the shoot and we kind of processed that together there, while we were watching the sunrise at five in the morning. A very tender moment. Very cinematic, too. *thinks* I’m a very passionate person. Everything I experience is immediately very big. It’s all hard, good or bad. So hard that I can't always process all the feelings. *dryly* I hope I don't go crazy. I really wouldn't be surprised if that happens.”

You seem to be especially prone to obsessions. Whether it’s making music, painting or acting: if you decide to do something, everything has to make way for it. Dari: “When I got a keyboard, I was immediately very invested in my music. Making beats to accompany my slam poetry, tinkering at night, searching and keeping my parents awake until they went crazy. And then I suddenly got tired of it and started painting. Swimming. Dancing. I also played soccer for a while, mainly to get my dad's attention. During the 'consultation hour' around the tajine I could never have a chat with my brothers and father, because it was only about football and anime.”

Anime? Dari: “The men in my family are all next-level anime fans. They even speak Japanese to each other. *thinks* And I also plunged into my religion for a while, in between football and slam poetry.”

How? Dari: “When the community center closed its doors around the age of 13 and I saw a whole circle of friends go away in one go, I started clinging to something else. So, faith. At that time I also wore a hijab, because I was convinced that you could only be such a good Muslim. I was really pretty strict and took everything way too literally. Today I understand that you mainly have to look for your own interpretation.”

In the meantime, the average 15-year-old is also going through a storm for the second season of wtFOCK, which can be followed daily on Instagram and wtfock.be, good for about 400,000 visitors a week and more than 8 million watched - or at least started - episodes. Significantly more than the first season, although that also had good numbers. Especially for a series that was deliberately launched in silence. “You’re already bombarded with advertising on Instagram, subtle and less subtle,” says Dari, while she tries so intensely to make eye contact with a waiter that he almost bumps into a glass door. “I don't have any big theories about the future of television, but ‘wtFOCK’ really was a relief. It’s on the internet and you mainly do what you want with it. "Ah, I don't have to look?" That unforced approach works. The worst thing that could have happened to us, was that the press started writing about it en masse: it had to remain a bit mysterious and above all belong to the young people themselves. Normally we don't give interviews either: ‘wtFOCK’ is one big bubble that you shouldn't talk too much about.”

Without any illusions about the appeal of Knack Focus to fifteen-year-olds: is this conversation a good idea? Dari: “Sounds okay to me. I’m more now than just Yasmina? And I think fifteen-year-olds do know Knack.” 

For real? Dari: “That's the book we get in History as source material in class. *laughs* I think I'll stop giving interviews again after this. A little mystery can't hurt.”

SKAM, the Norwegian series of which ‘wtFOCK’ is a remake, became a hit in its own country. That’s not always the case with foreign remakes, except for the Flemish one. It continues to gain popularity. Do you have an explanation for that? Dari: “No idea why things were less successful in other countries, but ‘wtFOCK’ is so good because it is real. We don't disguise anything, don't pour Hollywood sauce on it and talk like I talk to my friends. Apparently, a lot of teachers also follow the series to get a better understanding of their students. Smart, because we tackle all issues a teenager has in a very realistic way.”

The makers of SKAM were prepared with a tour through its country and a survey of Norwegian teenagers. Their biggest conclusion was: no generation suffers as much from performance pressure and comparison anxiety as yours. Dari: “Social media. Instagram is a very beautiful, but at the same time very scary place. A lot of girls now ask me, for example, how they can also enter this profession. But if you ask them why, it turns out that there’s no passion, they just see it as a fast road to fame. Then join ‘Temptation Island’? They see  people like Millie Bobby Brown (from Stranger Things), who is barely fifteen and has a crazy career and they let themselves be hyped about it. I should actually say 'we'. I said it already: I ​​hope I don't go crazy.” *giggles hysterically* 

About 1200 teenagers showed up for the casting of wtFOCK, but the makers did not find their Yasmina there. Dari: *nods* “In the end they also had to call Adil, who gave me the tip.”

Why do you think that is? Dari: “I get angry when someone says they want more diversity, but can't find anyone. *throws arms up dramatically* "They aren't there!" They are there. In my neighborhood alone, so much talent is packed together. You may have to do your best to find them, because if you come from a neighborhood where ambition is laughed at, you’ll not find your way to a casting. Because the TV and film world seem so closed off from the outside - and it is. I also didn't know how to do that, I was just lucky that Adil, Nora Gharib and Ikram Aoulad wanted to help me. They helped me avoid a lot of rookie mistakes. And that I won't sign myself up for Temptation Island or something tomorrow.” *laughs*

Gharib also predicted that as a Moroccan woman she would have problems with ‘Patser’. From the moment you do not portray a classic religious Muslim woman, it seems to already lead to commentary. Dari: “I've had my part too. Women who send to me that I brought shame on the entire Moroccan community, for example, because Yasmina doesn't always wear her hijab. Usually these are women who’ve seen two minutes of the series and then get angry without seeing the context. *blows* You know, I don’t care. If my parents and I are okay with it, then no one has anything to say to me. Criticism slips away from me. It really takes more than an angry DM to get me off my path, I come from Winterslag breeding.”

*** Bas Devos, director ‘Ghost Tropic’:

“I had never seen Nora at work, but her audition video immediately made me curious. At the final casting, where she had to improvise a bit, it was already clear to me after a few minutes. She did a beautiful job. Nora is not trained as an actress, but I often work with a combination of non-professional and professional actors. That really doesn't matter to me. It's all about how naturally someone relates to the camera and how relaxed you are while being filmed. Then very beautiful things can happen. And I think she also liked not having to make her character bigger in an understated film like ‘Ghost Tropic’, as that’s sometimes the case for TV. To hear that you are still playing without doing anything. 

It's cool how she dares to go for something so outspokenly at such a young age, but I did point out to her that working alone isn’t the perfect solution. She’s very fond of that international career, but it is also easy to walk into a wall there. Seventeen-year-olds have to live, right? Well, she's sensible enough, I'm not worried. She'll eventually find the right balance. At the end of the shooting period, she said she hoped we could work together again. I told her that I hope she still likes it by then. *laughs*  Who knows which films will she be in then.”