#05/11/2021

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The US Copyright Office frees the McFlurry

I'll be in TUCSON, AZ from November 8-10: I'm the GUEST OF HONOR at the TUSCON SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION.

I have spent a quarter century obsessed with the weirdest corner of the weirdest section of the worst internet law on the US statute books: Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the 1998 law that makes it a felony to help someone change how their own computer works so it serves them, rather than a distant corporation.

Under DMCA 1201, giving someone a tool to "bypass an access control for a copyrighted work" is a felony punishable by a 5-year prison sentence and a $500k fine – for a first offense. This law can refer to access controls for traditional copyrighted works, like movies. Under DMCA 1201, if you help someone with photosensitive epilepsy add a plug-in to the Netflix player in their browser that blocks strobing pictures that can trigger seizures, you're a felon:

https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html-media/2017Jul/0005.html

But software is a copyrighted work, and everything from printer cartridges to car-engine parts have software in them. If the manufacturer puts an "access control" on that software, they can send their customers (and competitors) to prison for passing around tools to help them fix their cars or use third-party ink.

Now, even though the DMCA is a copyright law (that's what the "C" in DMCA stands for, after all); and even though blocking video strobes, using third party ink, and fixing your car are not copyright violations, the DMCA can still send you to prison, for a long-ass time for doing these things, provided the manufacturer designs their product so that using it the way that suits you best involves getting around an "access control."

As you might expect, this is quite a tempting proposition for any manufacturer hoping to enshittify their products, because they know you can't legally disenshittify them. These access controls have metastasized into every kind of device imaginable.

Garage-door openers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

Refrigerators:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/12/digital-feudalism/#filtergate

Dishwashers:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/03/cassette-rewinder/#disher-bob

Treadmills:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/22/vapescreen/#jane-get-me-off-this-crazy-thing

Tractors:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#deere-john

Cars:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

Printers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/07/inky-wretches/#epson-salty

And even printer paper:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/16/unauthorized-paper/#dymo-550

DMCA 1201 is the brainchild of Bruce Lehmann, Bill Clinton's Copyright Czar, who was repeatedly warned that cancerous proliferation this was the foreseeable, inevitable outcome of his pet policy. As a sop to his critics, Lehman added a largely ornamental safety valve to his law, ordering the US Copyright Office to invite submissions every three years petitioning for "use exemptions" to the blanket ban on circumventing access-controls.

I call this "ornamental" because if the Copyright Office thinks that, say, it should be legal for you to bypass an access control to use third-party ink in your printer, or a third-party app store in your phone, all they can do under DMCA 1201 is grant you the right to use a circumvention tool. But they can't give you the right to acquire that tool.

I know that sounds confusing, but that's only because it's very, very stupid. How stupid? Well, in 2001, the US Trade Representative arm-twisted the EU into adopting its own version of this law (Article 6 of the EUCD), and in 2003, Norway added the law to its lawbooks. On the eve of that addition, I traveled to Oslo to debate the minister involved:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/28/clintons-ghost/#felony-contempt-of-business-model

The minister praised his law, explaining that it gave blind people the right to bypass access controls on ebooks so that they could feed them to screen readers, Braille printers, and other assistive tools. OK, I said, but how do they get the software that jailbreaks their ebooks so they can make use of this exemption? Am I allowed to give them that tool?

No, the minister said, you're not allowed to do that, that would be a crime.

Is the Norwegian government allowed to give them that tool? No. How about a blind rights advocacy group? No, not them either. A university computer science department? Nope. A commercial vendor? Certainly not.

No, the minister explained, under his law, a blind person would be expected to personally reverse engineer a program like Adobe E-Reader, in hopes of discovering a defect that they could exploit by writing a program to extract the ebook text.

Oh, I said. But if a blind person did manage to do this, could they supply that tool to other blind people?

Well, no, the minister said. Each and every blind person must personally – without any help from anyone else – figure out how to reverse-engineer the ebook program, and then individually author their own alternative reader program that worked with the text of their ebooks.

That is what is meant by a use exemption without a tools exemption. It's useless. A sick joke, even.

The US Copyright Office has been valiantly holding exemptions proceedings every three years since the start of this century, and they've granted many sensible exemptions, including ones to benefit people with disabilities, or to let you jailbreak your phone, or let media professors extract video clips from DVDs, and so on. Tens of thousands of person-hours have been flushed into this pointless exercise, generating a long list of things you are now technically allowed to do, but only if you are a reverse-engineering specialist type of computer programmer who can manage the process from beginning to end in total isolation and secrecy.

But there is one kind of use exception the Copyright Office can grant that is potentially game-changing: an exemption for decoding diagnostic codes.

You see, DMCA 1201 has been a critical weapon for the corporate anti-repair movement. By scrambling error codes in cars, tractors, appliances, insulin pumps, phones and other devices, manufacturers can wage war on independent repair, depriving third-party technicians of the diagnostic information they need to figure out how to fix your stuff and keep it going.

This is bad enough in normal times, but during the acute phase of the covid pandemic, hospitals found themselves unable to maintain their ventilators because of access controls. Nearly all ventilators come from a single med-tech monopolist, Medtronic, which charges hospitals hundreds of dollars to dispatch their own repair technicians to fix its products. But when covid ended nearly all travel, Medtronic could no longer provide on-site calls. Thankfully, an anonymous hacker started building homemade (illegal) circumvention devices to let hospital technicians fix the ventilators themselves, improvising housings for them from old clock radios, guitar pedals and whatever else was to hand, then mailing them anonymously to hospitals:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#medtronic-again

Once a manufacturer monopolizes repair in this way, they can force you to use their official service depots, charging you as much as they'd like; requiring you to use their official, expensive replacement parts; and dictating when your gadget is "too broken to fix," forcing you to buy a new one. That's bad enough when we're talking about refusing to fix a phone so you buy a new one – but imagine having a spinal injury and relying on a $100,000 exoskeleton to get from place to place and prevent muscle wasting, clots, and other immobility-related conditions, only to have the manufacturer decide that the gadget is too old to fix and refusing to give you the technical assistance to replace a watch battery so that you can get around again:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/26/24255074/former-jockey-michael-straight-exoskeleton-repair-battery

When the US Copyright Office grants a use exemption for extracting diagnostic codes from a busted device, they empower repair advocates to put that gadget up on a workbench and torture it into giving up those codes. The codes can then be integrated into an unofficial diagnostic tool, one that can make sense of the scrambled, obfuscated error codes that a device sends when it breaks – without having to unscramble them. In other words, only the company that makes the diagnostic tool has to bypass an access control, but the people who use that tool later do not violate DMCA 1201.

This is all relevant this month because the US Copyright Office just released the latest batch of 1201 exemptions, and among them is the right to circumvent access controls "allowing for repair of retail-level food preparation equipment":

https://publicknowledge.org/public-knowledge-ifixit-free-the-mcflurry-win-copyright-office-dmca-exemption-for-ice-cream-machines/

While this covers all kinds of food prep gear, the exemption request – filed by Public Knowledge and Ifixit – was inspired by the bizarre war over the tragically fragile McFlurry machine. These machines – which extrude soft-serve frozen desserts – are notoriously failure-prone, with 5-16% of them broken at any given time. Taylor, the giant kitchen tech company that makes the machines, charges franchisees a fortune to repair them, producing a steady stream of profits for the company.

This sleazy business prompted some ice-cream hackers to found a startup called Kytch, a high-powered automation and diagnostic tool that was hugely popular with McDonald's franchisees (the gadget was partially designed by the legendary hardware hacker Andrew "bunnie" Huang!).

In response, Taylor played dirty, making a less-capable clone of the Kytch, trying to buy Kytch out, and teaming up with McDonald's corporate to bombard franchisees with legal scare-stories about the dangers of using a Kytch to keep their soft-serve flowing, thanks to DMCA 1201:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/20/euthanize-rentier-enablers/#cold-war

Kytch isn't the only beneficiary of the new exemption: all kinds of industrial kitchen equipment is covered. In upholding the Right to Repair, the Copyright Office overruled objections of some of its closest historical allies, the Entertainment Software Association, Motion Picture Association, and Recording Industry Association of America, who all sided with Taylor and McDonald's and opposed the exemption:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/us-copyright-office-frees-the-mcflurry-allowing-repair-of-ice-cream-machines/

This is literally the only useful kind of DMCA 1201 exemption the Copyright Office can grant, and the fact that they granted it (along with a similar exemption for medical devices) is a welcome bright spot. But make no mistake, the fact that we finally found a narrow way in which DMCA 1201 can be made slightly less stupid does not redeem this outrageous law. It should still be repealed and condemned to the scrapheap of history.

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/28/mcbroken/#my-milkshake-brings-all-the-lawyers-to-the-yard

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[diebie164]

Natalie Lynn ´´Samantha´´ Rupnow infopost, an analysis by Diebie164

Natalie Lynn ´´Samantha´´ Rupnow was a 15 year old girl who´s the perperator of the Abundant Life Christian School (ALCS) shooting on December 16, 2024 c. 10:57 – 11:05 a.m. where 3 people died (including Samantha Rupnow). I'll use the initials NLR for Natalie and JR for jeffrey Rupnow in this post sometimes. Included in this post is a picture of stuff of NLR they found in her room and 2 pictures of her face.

CHILDHOOD AND PARENTS OF NLR

NLR is the daughter of Melissa and Jeffrey Rupnow, they first married in 2011, 2 years after the birth of their daughter. Natalie, who recently began using the name Samantha, was caught in their turbulent relationship. The couple divorced in 2014 and agreed to share custody of their daughter. She primarily resided with her mother. Then they remarried in 2017. But the cycle of separation and reconciliation continued. The couple divorced for the second time in 2020. This time, they arranged an alternating custody schedule, with NLR spending two days with her father, two days with her mother, and so on. They married again for the third time, only to separate and divorce months later. The court instructed the couple not to marry again, though they would share custody of NLR. This time, she mainly lived with her father. By 2022, NLR, then 12, was undergoing therapy to help determine which parent she would live with. The court also ordered the couple to share joint custody again. Jeff Rupnow often posted on social media about his daughter's accomplishments, including her achievements in karate. One of her friends told police that NLR had referred to her father as a "drinker" and that he frequently verbally abused his daughter. NLR lived in the Madison metropolitan area for the entirety of her life.

MENTAL HEALTH OF NLR

Interview with JR: According to JR, NLR would sometimes make suicidal statements and had to lock up every knife in the house ''during the cutting phase''. JR would never take the suicidal statements seriously and said ''she's just looking for attention when she talks like that''. JR described finding a small item in the room of NLR that she used to cut herself with. According to JR, NLR had a therapist who recommended drawing with a marker instead of cutting herself, She would draw ''anything and everything'' according to JR. JR stated, the therapist never had a ''serious'' concern about NLR. According to JR, NLR never made any ''serious'' comments about hurting somebody, even though one of the texts he send out to someone named ''annie'' said ''yeah, my kid would shoot me if I left the fun safe open now''. In chain text messages between JR and NLR, NLR stated multiple times that she didn't want to go to school on certain days. She messaged many times about wanting to get out of school, JR about punishing NLR with screen time. According to JR, NLR would spend most of her time in her room. NLR has not been diagnosed with a mental health condition nor used any medication. NLR had a profile on Watch People Die, which is a site that features gore.

NLR went to therapy at psychotherapy center at Waunakee and had a total of 46 sessions between 10/21/2021 - 6/14/2024

EQUIPMENT USED IN THE SHOOTING

NLR was equipped with 2 handguns (9mm Glock 19 and .22 caliber Sig Sauer P322) during the shooting, but only used one of them. Five 9mm magazines, three .22-caliber magazines, and a box containing 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition. She wore a black T-shirt inscribed with a bullseye. She got access to these guns by either knowing his social security number (JR told NLR that the code was his social security number but backwards, in case of emergancy) Or by watching his father put in the code.

THE (DAY OF THE) SHOOTING

JR stated he got notified by apple track on his Phone that NLR still hasn't left the house and she was late for school. JR facedtimed NLR and she eventually went to school by uber.

10:39:37 was the time she entered the school through door #1 (Probably the main entry), she first went to the student services office, then she goes towards the break room on the first floor and after that the second floor and snapped a picture of her doing the ''okay'' sign which is used by various white supremacist mass shooters. She would upload a document in google drive to X (Twitter), however it was locked with a password so no one could access it. She sended her manifesto and last words to her eboyfriend, after that she exists the break room and went to Room C218 with a gun and shot various students and a teacher. She shot 8 people in total before turning the gun on herself. NLR killed 3 people including herself and wounded 6 others.

R.I.P to all the victims, including Samantha Rupnow

[trashytracktales]

what are some of your favourite lando dirty mind moments from his interviews/streams/radios or wtv??? my fav is the look he gives when danny ric mentions how big his hands are ;)

Academic research has been conducted, and all I have to say is my professors LOVED to see me coming back in my uni days.

The iconic British GP press conference from 2019.

When the wind was gusty and blowy at the Dutch GP.

And... reminiscing that years later.

Amsterdam?

The absolute chaos that this Quadrant vlog was (starting min. 3:35).

Min. 17:45 until the end of this mcl vlog from the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. You see, it’s a superpower of his to come up with dirty remarks so quickly.

Just aim for the hole, mate // You know I do (13:05).

The hardest thing to sign (0:44).

Slow & hard (10:30-11:05)

The chicken shop date when his mind started wandering (2:05).

S7 (ep.7) of DTS when he basically told the entire world he’s above the average AND likes to be hard.

Fragrance placement depends on the occasion.

SPECIAL MENTION

His Twitch streams, especially the one from winter break two years ago, when he was moaning into his mic (2:41:15). The way the fandom imploded overnight. The way real articles were written. Edits were made (still are till this day!!). People were genuinely unwell.

[toskarinarchive]

Toskarin Database

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[f1-chaos]

I’m trying to put together a playlist of songs Oscar mentioned or used in his social media posts. It’s far from complete, let me know songs I should add (and their source please ☺️)

Updated: 08/July

HOUSENOF LUX - DannyLux (Instagram, TikTok, 8/Jul)

Devotion - Lance Savali (Instagram, 03/Jul)

Sunsleeper - Barry Can’t Swim (Instagram, TikTok, 30/Jun)

Bancroft - Lemtom (TikTok, 26/Jun)

Still Ridin - Barry Can’t Swim (Instagram, 25/Jun)

Eatin’ Good - Woodcamp (Instagram, 21/Jun)

Swimming Places (Jerome Sydenham Remix) - Julien Jabre (Instagram, 19/JUN)

Cops & Robbers - Sammy Virji, Skepta (Instagram, TikTok, 17/JUN)

Call You Back - Josh Butler, Bontan (Instagram, TikTok, 04/JUN)

Back to Reality - RMS (Instagram, TikTok, 02/JUN)

Like I Like It - Mau P (Instagram, 01/JUN)

Da Funk - Mochakk, Joni (Instagram, TikTok, 31/MAY)

The Process Is The Good Part - geods sorèd (Instagram, 26/MAY)

Pushing On - Oliver $, Jimi Jules, TikTok, 26/MAY)

Eyes Without a Face - Billy Idol (Instagram, TikTok, 21/MAY)

Always - JAYC (TikTok, 17/MAY)

Euphoria - Claptone (Instagram, 17/MAY)

Clothouse - Hector CT (TikTok, 15/MAY)

Move Your Body (Future House) - Tchami (TikTok, 06/MAY)

No Bad Vibes - Jazzy, KILIMANJARO (Instagram, 06/MAY)

Oh Honey - Angelo Ferreri (Instagram, 05/MAY)

Back in the Dance - Darius Syrossian (TikTok, 05/May)

Like This - ZARG (Instagram, TikTok, 05/MAY)

So Good - NOSI (Instagram, TikTok, 28/APR) note: it’s the song in the background of the video, not soundtrack

CALMNESS - MVTRIIIX, Kingpin Skinny Pimp (Instagram, TikTok 26/APR)

Shapes (Oh Will) - Sammy Virji (TikTok, 22/APR)

Nostalgia - Sammy Virji, Issey Cross (Instagram, 21/APR)

Stay - FISHER (Instagram, TikTok, 20/APR)

What Does It Take - Cody Wong (TikTok, 14/APR)

Racing Green (Disrupta Remix) - High Contrast (Instagram, TikTok 13/APR)

Rally House - valtis (Instagram, TikTok, 12/APR)

GLUE (DnB) - VULTURE$ (Instagram, TikTok, 11/APR)

Automatic - Silva Bumpa (Instagram, 9/APR)

Rave Out - Turno, Skepsis, Charlotte Plank (Instagram, TikTok, 7/APR)

The Final Countdown - Europe (Oscar’s pick for karaoke song, YouTube, Which Driver Has The Best Karaoke Pick? on F1 channel, 02/APR)

Wacuka - AVAION, Sofiya Nzau (Instagram, TikTok, 24/MAR)

LETS GO - Lykia (Instagram, TikTok, 23/MAR)

Find My Way Home - Sammy Virji (Instagram, 17/MAR)

Ventriloquist - Chris Gresswelll (Instagram, TikTok, 6/MAR) Note: also recommended in the 3/MAR video

Big Dawgs - Hanumankind, Kalmi (Instagram, TikTok, 22/JAN)

Baiana (Sped Up) - Bakermat (TikTok, 17/MAR)

I Guess We’re Not The Same - Sammy Virji (TikTok, 3/MAR)

Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar (Instagram, TikTok, 13/FEB)

Chihiro - Gravagerz (TikTok, 31/JAN)

Real Love - Retrowaves (TikTok, 24/JAN)

The Days (NOTION Remix) - Chrystal (TikTok, 19/JAN) Note: also recommended in the 3/MAR video

Who Loves The Sun - Jo. Ke (TikTok, 13/JAN and 29/JUL)

It’s That Time (FISHER remix) - Marlon Hoffstadt (TikTok, 16/DEC)

Peach - salute, Sammy Virji (TikTok, 10/DEC)

Let Go - Duskus (TikTok, 02/DEC)

If U Need It - Sammy Virji (TikTok, 25/NOV)

Somedays - Sonny Fodera, Jazzy, D.O.D (TikTok, 05/NOV)

Thunderstruck - AC/DC (TikTok, 22/OCT)

Way Down We Go - KALEO (TikTok, 06/OCT)

Let It Happen - Matt Frank & The Manic Moon (TikTok, 24/SEP)

Safe and Sound - Capital Cities (TikTok, 17/SEP) Note: version used was “slowed + reverb”

I Follow Rivers - Lykke Li (TikTok, 18/AUG)

Praise Jah In The Moonlight - YG Marley (TikTok, 25/MAY)

Greedy - Tate McRae (TikTok, 22/MAY)

M to the B - Millie B (TikTok, 28/APR)

Bring It Back - Sosa (UK) (TikTok, 18/APR)

Check Da Method - SonoTWS (TikTok, 16/APR)

Lose Yourself - Eminem (Oscar’s hype song, Ride along with Robert and Oscar - Prema Youtube, 21/OCT 2021)

Streetside - Bru C, Bou (Oscar’s song to fall asleep?, other hype song, Ride along with Robert and Oscar - Prema Youtube, 21/OCT 2021)

Don’t Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin (Oscar’s song for a happy moment, Ride along with Robert and Oscar - Prema Youtube, 21/OCT 2021)

Tri Poloski - Davay (Oscar’s song for sleeping, Ride along with Robert and Oscar - Prema Youtube, 21/OCT 2021)

[how-about-some-more-whump]

The Dance of the Storm 风暴舞 (2021) - Whump List

Synopsis: After the death of his father, Li Junjie (on the left) was sent to an orphanage where he met Shi Yunhao (on the right). They became the best of friends, and years later entered a security agency as new recruits. Everything was fine, until Li Junjie suddenly disappeared for three years without a word. Now coming back and looking for revenge, Li Junjie is faced with mixed feelings coming from his agency, his brother and especially his ex-fiancée.

Notes: The WHUMP. The BROMANCE (in pink). The ACTION SCENES. It’s everything I need to keep my mind peacefully quiet. Apart from these scenes, you can watch this drama in x2 speed (or skip it entirely), it’s way too long otherwise. I refer to Junjie and Yunhao as "brothers" because it’s how they refer to each other. Love ya!

NB: Timestamps might be off (< 1mn) depending on where you watch the show. I do not disclose any character death on purpose. The characters are listed by chronological order of whump in each episode.

WARNING: This drama contains se*ual assault depiction.

------ EPISODE 1 ------

Li Junjie

2:17 (In a nightmare) Stabbed in the gut, holding his wound, struggling to stay awake, woozy

16:28 At gunpoint, fighting, running away, slapped

18:57 Hugged (awwww)

21:20 (In a flashback) Shot in the leg, at gunpoint

22:16 (In a flashback) Threatened

Shi Yunhao

40:41 Ambushed, under heavy gunfire

------ EPISODE 2 ------

Shi Yunhao

1:37 (Continued from previous ep) Ambushed, under heavy gunfire

Li Junjie

4:38 Fighting with a criminal, communication with his teammates cut off

6:15 Shot in the back by his teammate (probably in a vest because he seems fine)

9:17 In a car crash, fighting, shot at, holding onto a moving car

11:24 Surrounded, at gunpoint

14:44 (In a flashback) Shot in the leg, collapses

19:18 (In a flashback) Threatened

------ EPISODE 3 ------

Li Junjie

2:51 Fighting with a criminal, thrown around, punched, panting

12:43 Threatened with a bomb

Shi Yunhao

12:43 Threatened with a bomb

------ EPISODE 4 ------

Shi Yunhao

8:38 (The way they smile at each other-)

39:29 Ambushed, attacked with a knife, disarmed, fighting, thrown to the ground, dragged

41:25 Ran over by a car, panting

Li Junjie

20:42 In a barfight (22:27 wtf is happening lmao)

------ EPISODE 5 ------

Shi Yunhao

2:27 Publicly humiliated, pushed

5:17 Blaiming himself

6:11 Comforted by his brother (cuties)

14:00 Yelled at by his father, apologizes, teary eyes

------ EPISODE 6 ------

Li Junjie

6:35 Surrounded, at gunpoint, surrenders

7:19 Interrogated (stays detained for the rest of the episode)

------ EPISODE 7 ------

Li Junjie

11:23 (Continued from previous ep) Still detained

14:20 Handcuffed, interrogated

22:25 Shot in the abdomen, hiding, sweating, escapes from cell

34:28 Bleeding, collapses, pale face, panting

39:15 Barely conscious, wound digged through, wincing and moaning in pain, bullet digged out

------ EPISODE 8 ------

Li Junjie

11:52 Pale face, taken away

19:09 Black sack on his head, struggling to walk, holding his wound

39:25 (In a flashback) Training, attacked from behind, thrown to the ground, in an armlock

40:40 At gunpoint, shot at

------ EPISODE 9 ------

Li Junjie

6:02 (Continued from previous ep) At gunpoint, shot at

9:05 Shot in the chest, falls from a cliff

10:10 Drowning, passes out

29:39 Unconscious, bullet digged out

32:57 Still unconscious, infected wound, fever

37:59 Still unconscious, struggling to wake up

Shi Yunhao

9:02 Pushed, at gunpoint

9:50 Slapped

16:29 Tearing up

------ EPISODE 10 ------

Li Junjie

5:30 (In a flashback) In a group fight alongside his brother, thrown to the ground, kicked in the face, bloody nose, thrown again, groaning in pain, pulled by the hair, punched, dazed

16:26 Bitten (well deserved, how the hell doesn’t he realize how terrifying he is for her), screaming in pain, attacked with a knife, jumps through a window, wincing in pain, running away

Shi Yunhao

5:30 (In a flashback) In a group fight alongside his brother, picked up, manhandled, bruised face

------ EPISODE 11 ------

Li Junjie

2:25 Attacked with a knife, fighting, strangled, arm cut, running away

------ EPISODE 12 ------

Li Junjie

25:20 Trades himself against a hostage

30:26 Hands zip tied behind his back, black sack on his head, manhandled, smacked in the face

32:18 Tied upside down on a boat with ropes, can’t see and can’t hear, spasms

36:28 Hands zip tied behind his back, black sack on his head, helped to walk, weak

------ EPISODE 13 ------

Li Junjie

4:37 (Continued from previous ep) Still tied up, weak

24:29 Tied up on a chair, black sack on his head, injected with a sedative, passes out

26:22 (In a video) Still tied up, sedated, black sack on his head, shot in the head

Shi Yunhao

8:30 At gunpoint

------ EPISODE 14 ------

Shi Yunhao

40:22 (In a flashback) Surrounded by a group of people on motorcycles, trying to run away

Li Junjie

40:35 (In a flashback) Sprained ankle, limping, attacked, slapped, hit between his legs, moaning and wincing in pain

------ EPISODE 15 ------

Li Junjie

10:31 Hands zip tied to a chair

16:32 Tortured (head plunged into water), hands chained behind his back, thrown to the ground, beaten

36:22 Hung from the ceiling by the wrists, unconscious, slapped, beaten, dragged, groaning in pain, drooling blood

Shi Yunhao

22:00 Drinking alone, defeated

------ EPISODE 16 ------

Li Junjie

7:08 Unconscious in a cell, face bruised and bloody, dragged, tied on a chair, manhandled, interrogated, thirsty

9:22 (In a flashback) Hung from the ceiling by the wrists, thirsty

10:34 Injected with some sort of drug, screaming in pain

20:22 Lying on the ground in a cell with his hands tied, barely conscious, struggling to move

27:29 Fighting his way out of it

30:42 At gunpoint, recaptured

37:07 Hands tied behind his back, thrown in a cell

------ EPISODE 17 ------

Li Junjie

3:45 (Continued from previous ep) Lying on the ground in a cell, bloody (it’s pretty much all he does for this entire ep)

------ EPISODE 18 ------

Li Junjie

6:47 Hung from the ceiling by the wrists, unconscious

10:02 Watching someone he loves get tortured (waterboarded)

------ EPISODE 19 ------

None.

------ EPISODE 20 ------

Li Junjie

40:21 Gun to his head

------ EPISODE 21 ------

Li Junjie

7:41 At gunpoint, gun to his head

16:35 Gun to his head

18:20 In a gunfight alongside his brother

19:35 (This bromance omg)

32:31 Gun to his head

Shi Yunhao

17:41 Gun to his head

18:20 In a gunfight alongside his brother

------ EPISODE 22 ------

Li Junjie

2:39 Tied up on a chair

6:30 Kicked in the chest, moaning in pain, stepped on, groaning in pain, bleeding from the mouth

22:41 Beaten up, dazed, spitting blood

------ EPISODE 23 ------

Li Junjie

5:40 Shot at, running away

6:35 Head grazed by a bullet, woozy, shot at more, hiding

------ EPISODE 24 ------

Li Junjie

24:52 Jumps through a window while chasing a criminal, wincing in pain, shot at, running away

--- EPISODES 25 to 29 ---

None.

------ EPISODE 30 ------

Li Junjie

9:21 Arrested

------ EPISODE 31 ------

Li Junjie

1:44 (Continued from previous ep) Detained (stays this way the whole episode)

Shi Yunhao

8:00 Pissed (and hot as hell)

------ EPISODE 32 ------

Li Junjie

18:56 Sent to jail

Shi Yunhao

23:32 Betrayed, gun to the back of his head, forced to shoot someone

------ EPISODE 33 ------

Li Junjie

12:03 Hit on the back, manhandled by prison guards

40:21 Wrongfully accused, hit, taken away to solitary confinement

------ EPISODE 34 ------

Li Junjie

1:40 Handcuffed

3:37 Hit on the back, manhandled by prison guards

12:11 Fighting with other inmates, stabbed in the shoulder, shot, panting

29:19 On a hospital bed

40:51 Unconscious on a hospital bed

Shi Yunhao

3:34 Kicked in the chest, falls to the ground, kicked

22:28 Attacked with a knife, stabbed in the arm, groaning in pain

24:17 Cleaning his wound, shirtless

------ EPISODE 35 ------

Li Junjie

1:39 (Continued from previous ep) On a hospital bed, weak, comforted by loved ones, struggling to breath, coughing, passes out (can’t believe i got pranked by this mf)

3:40 Mask brutally taken off, exclamation of pain, scolded

17:15 Learns his father might be alive, upset

21:05 Tries to run while wounded, in pain, collapses

22:02 Helped to walk

------ EPISODE 36 ------

Li Junjie

5:17 Worried for his brother, comforted

20:26 In a fight, hit on his wound, in pain

21:38 In a heated argument with his brother

Shi Yunhao

11:04 (In a video) Holding his wounded arm, in pain

14:36 Under pressure, sighing

21:38 In a heated argument with his brother

29:49 Drinking

32:21 Still drinking, drunk, angry, crying

------ EPISODE 37 ------

None.

------ EPISODE 38 ------

Shi Yunhao

33:16 Tailed, in a car crash, severely injured, unconscious

38:50 Unconscious on a hospital bed, intubated

------ EPISODE 39 ------

Shi Yunhao

5:14 Unconscious on a hospital bed

34:54 Unconscious, abducted while being transferred to another hospital

Li Junjie

5:21 Bed vigil for his brother

20:12 Checking on his brother (who’s cutting onions?)

------ EPISODE 40 ------

Shi Yunhao

17:21 Unconscious, bomb strapped to his chest

18:07 Blown by an explosion

19:24 On a hospital bed, weak, hoarse voice, coughing

Li Junjie

18:07 Blown by an explosion

------ EPISODE 41 ------

Li Junjie

8:30 Jumps out of a moving car, dragged under a bus, shot at

16:35 Falls from a bridge into water while driving a bus

19:53 On a hospital bed

Shi Yunhao

17:40 Holding back tears

------ EPISODE 42 ------

Shi Yunhao

30:36 Disarmed, shot at, hiding, running through two brick walls (he’s lucky he’s not in Europe)

32:40 Trapped in a dark room, can’t see a thing, attacked with a knife, cuts all over his body, unsteady

34:10 Lying on the floor, bleeding, struggling to stand and walk, panting, kicked, grabs a blade with his bare hand

36:42 Panting, struggling to walk, attacked with mountain ice axes (yup), fighting

------ EPISODE 43 ------

Shi Yunhao

43:05 (This whole monologue is so funny, he’s the best bro ever lmao)

___

Head to the WHUMP MASTERLIST for more whump! For more of Willian Chan (Li Junjie), click here.

[saywhat-politics]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading Chuck Schumer by double digits in a new head-to-head poll of the 2028 New York primary.

The survey by the liberal firm Data for Progress, first shared with POLITICO, found that 55 percent of Democratic likely voters said they supported or leaned toward supporting Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, while 36 percent backed or leaned toward backing Sen. Schumer. Nine percent were undecided.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks with reporters after a House Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on Feb. 11, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

By Holly Otterbein

04/04/2025 05:00 AM EDT

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading Chuck Schumer by double digits in a new head-to-head poll of the 2028 New York primary.

The survey by the liberal firm Data for Progress, first shared with POLITICO, found that 55 percent of Democratic likely voters said they supported or leaned toward supporting Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, while 36 percent backed or leaned toward backing Sen. Schumer. Nine percent were undecided.

The poll is the latest sign that Schumer’s standing among the Democratic base has taken a hit since he voted to advance a GOP funding bill last month that avoided a government shutdown. The fact that Data for Progress conducted and released the poll also underscores that liberal organizations are continuing to look for ways to prod Schumer to take a tougher stance against President Donald Trump.

“This poll really does show that Democrats are united in just wanting to stand up, wanting to fight, wanting to see someone taking a stand for them,” said Danielle Deiseroth, executive director of Data for Progress.

Deiseroth added that her firm “has a long tradition of wanting to challenge the status quo of Democratic Party leadership” and released polling in 2021 showing then-Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was vulnerable to a primary challenge. Sinema later registered as an independent and declined to run for reelection.

[henrykathman]

The Miraculous Horror of Stop Motion

From the same artform that brought you Coraline and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, comes three stories that evoke the existential fear of art.

Original Music by Molly Noise

Bibliography below

Atrocity Guide. “The Animators Who’ve Spent 40 Years on a Single Film.” YouTube, 9 Oct. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=73hip3pz0Xs&pp=ygUMdGhlIG92ZXJjb2F0. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Brubaker, Charles. “The Japanese Studios of Rankin/Bass.” Cartoon Research, Jerry Beck, 14 Apr. 2014, cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-japanese-studios-of-rankinbass/.

Bute, Paris. “Introduction to “a Rankin/Bass Retrospective from a New Perspective.”” Citizen Jane, Stephens College, 19 Nov. 2021, www.citizenjane.org/home/cwwicd2ucb2fvs64kgfaocfykjhaum. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Crome, Althea. “Coraline.” Althea Crome | Micro Knitter, 2012, www.altheacrome.com/coraline. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Harold Halibut. Directed by Onat Hekimoğlu, Slow Bros., 16 Apr. 2024.

Hekimoglu, Onat, and Gabriel Schmitz. “Unite Berlin 2018 - Harold Halibut and Making a Stop Motion Game.” Unity, YouTube, 6 Aug. 2018, youtu.be/9usssSQc0wQ. Accessed 6 May 2023.

Jon "Sikamikanico" Clarke. “The Making of Harold Halibut.” XboxEra, YouTube, 21 Mar. 2024, youtu.be/WMyxM9t3o7A. Accessed 19 June 2024.

LAIKA Studios. “Sweater and Gloves: Knitting Coraline by Hand.” YouTube, 11 July 2017, youtu.be/zUvkfcGR-7U. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Mad God Productions. “Phil Tippett’s “Mad God.”” Kickstarter, 17 May 2012, www.kickstarter.com/projects/madgod/phil-tippetts-mad-god/posts.

Olson, Mathew. “Report: Michel Ancel Accused of Abusive, Disruptive Practices on beyond Good & Evil 2.” VG247, 25 Sept. 2020, www.vg247.com/report-michel-ancel-accused-of-abusive-disruptive-practices-on-beyond-good-evil-2. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Ono, Kosei. “Tadahito Mochinaga: The Japanese Animator Who Lived in Two Worlds.” Animation World Network, AWN, Inc, 1 Dec. 1999, www.awn.com/animationworld/tadahito-mochinaga-japanese-animator-who-lived-two-worlds.

Orland, Kyle. “Claptrap Voice Actor Accuses Gearbox CEO of Assault, Underpayment.” Ars Technica, 7 May 2019, arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/05/claptrap-voice-actor-accuses-gearbox-ceo-of-assault-underpayment/. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Pilling, Jayne. A Reader In Animation Studies. Indiana University Press, 1998. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/book/40033.

Prehistoric Beast. Directed by Phil Tippett, Tippett Studios, 1984. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlaXIRTjNfo

Randles, Jonathan. “VFX Studio with Star Wars, Jurassic Park Credits Goes Bankrupt.” Bloomberg Law, 1 May 2024, news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/vfx-studio-with-star-wars-jurassic-park-credits-goes-bankrupt. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Shanley, Patrick. “Gearbox Software CEO Accused of Contempt in Latest Filing.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Aug. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/gearbox-software-ceo-accused-contempt-latest-filing-1235064/. Accessed 19 June 2024.

The Making of “Jurassic Park.” Directed by John Schultz, Amblin Entertainment, 1995. https://youtu.be/8r01mk6F_Pk

The Making of Mad God. Directed by Maya Tippett, Shudder, 2021. https://youtu.be/sfUOHh0xmwc

The Tale of the Fox. Directed by Irene Starewicz and Ladislas Starevich, UFA GmbH, 10 Apr. 1941. https://youtu.be/Us_Pn6Q1dBQ

Wikipedia contributors. "List of films with longest production time." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 Jun. 2024. Web. 19 Jun. 2024.

Wikipedia contributors. "List of media notable for being in development hell." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Jun. 2024. Web. 19 Jun. 2024.

Wikipedia contributors. "List of Rankin/Bass Productions films." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Jun. 2024. Web. 19 Jun. 2024.

Wikipedia contributors. "Tadahito Mochinaga." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 Nov. 2023. Web. 19 Jun. 2024.

Wilson, Josh. “Phil Tippett: 24 Frames per Second < the Fabulist Words & Art.” The Fabulist Words & Art, 5 Nov. 2021, fabulistmagazine.com/24-frames-per-second-the-phil-tippett-interview/.

Worse than the Demon. Directed by Maya Tippett, Shudder, 2013. https://youtu.be/ghKqvDNRe4c

[mostlysignssomeportents]

General Mills and cheaply bought "dietitians" co-opted the anti-diet movement

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in NEXT THURSDAY (Apr 11) in BOSTON with Randall "XKCD" Munroehttps://cockeyed.com/lessons/viagra/viagra.html, then PROVIDENCE, RI (Apr 12), and beyond!

Steve Bannon isn't wrong: for his brand of nihilistic politics to win, all he has to do is "flood the zone with shit," demoralizing people to the point where they no longer even try to learn the truth.

This is really just a more refined, more potent version of the tactical doubt sown by Big Tobacco about whether smoking caused cancer, a playbook later adopted by the fossil fuel industry to sell climate denial. You know Darrell Huff's 1954 classic How To Lie With Statistics? Huff was a Big Tobacco shill (his next book, which wasn't ever published, was How To Lie With Cancer Statistics). His mission wasn't to help you spot statistical malpractice – an actual thing that is an actual problem that you should actually learn to spot. It was to turn you into a nihilist who didn't believe anything could be known:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/04/how-to-truth/#harford

Corporations don't need you to believe that their products are beneficial or even non-harmful. They just need you to believe nothing. If you don't know what's true, then why not just do whatever feels good, man? #YOLO!

These bannonfloods of shit are a favored tactic of strongmen and dictators. Their grip on power doesn't depend on their citizens trusting them – it's enough that they trust no one:

http://jonathanstray.com/networked-propaganda-and-counter-propaganda

Bannonflooding is especially beloved of the food industry. Food is essential, monopolized, and incredibly complicated, and many of the most profitable strategies for growing, processing and preparing food are very bad for the people who eat that food. Rather than sacrificing profits, the food industry floods the zone with shit, making it impossible to know what's true, in hopes that we will just eat whatever they're serving:

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2003460

Now, the "nothing can be known" gambit only works if it's really hard to get at the truth. So it helps that nutrition and diet are very complex subjects, but it helps even more that the nutrition and diet industry are a cesspool of quacks and junk science. This is a "scientific discipline" whose prestigious annual meetings are sponsored (and catered) by McDonald's:

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/05/my-trip-mcdonalds-sponsored-nutritionist-convention/

It's a "science" whose most prominent pitchmen peddle quack nostrums and sue the critics who point out (correctly) that eating foods high in chlorophyll will not "oxygenate your blood" (hint, chlorophyll only makes oxygen in the presence of light, which is notably lacking in your colon):

https://www.badscience.net/2007/02/ms-gillian-mckeith-banned-from-calling-herself-a-doctor/

When the quack-heavy world of nutrition combines with the socially stigmatized world of weight-loss, you get a zone ripe for shitflooding. The majority of Americans are "overweight" (according to a definition that relies on the unscientific idea of BMI) and nearly half of Americans are "obese." These numbers have been climbing steadily since the 1970s, and every diet turns out to be basically bullshit:

https://headgum.com/factually-with-adam-conover/what-does-ozepmic-actually-do-with-dr-dhruv-khullar

Notwithstanding the new blockbuster post-Ozempic drugs, we're been through an unbroken 50-year run of more and more of us being fatter and fatter, even as fat stigma increased. Fat people are treated as weak-willed and fundamentally unhealthy, while the most prominent health-risks of being fat are roundly neglected: the mental health effects of being shamed, and the physical risks of having doctors ignore your health complaints, no matter how serious they sound, and blame them on your weight:

https://maintenancephase.buzzsprout.com/1411126/11968083-glorifying-obesity-and-other-myths-about-fat-people

Fat people and their allies have banded together to address these real, urgent harms. The "body acceptance" movement isn't merely about feeling good in your own skin: it's also about fighting discrimination, demanding medical care (beyond "lose some weight") and warning people away from getting on the diet treadmill, which can lead to dangerous eating disorders and permanent weight gain:

https://www.beacon.org/You-Just-Need-to-Lose-Weight-P1853.aspx

Fat stigma is real. The mental health risks of fat-shaming are real. Eating disorders are real. Discrimination against fat people is real. The fact that these things are real doesn't mean that the food industry can't flood the zone with shit, though. On the contrary: the urgency of these issues, combined with the poor regulation of dietitians, makes the "what should you eat" zone perfect for flooding with endless quantities of highly profitable shit.

Perhaps you've gotten some of this shit on you. Have you found yourself watching a video from a dietitian influencer like Cara Harbstreet, Colleen Christensen or Lauren Smith, promoting "health at any size" with hashtags like #DerailTheShame and #AntiDiet? These were paid campaigns sponsored by General Mills, Pepsi, and other multinational, multibillion-dollar corporations.

Writing for The Examination, Sasha Chavkin, Anjali Tsui, Caitlin Gilbert and Anahad O'Connor describe the way that some of the world's largest and most profitable corporations have hijacked a movement where fat people and their allies fight stigma and shame and used it to peddle the lie that their heavily processed, high-calorie food is good for you:

https://www.theexamination.org/articles/as-obesity-rises-big-food-and-dietitians-push-anti-diet-advice

It's a surreal tale. They describe a speech by Amy Cohn, General Mills’ senior manager for nutrition, to an audience at a dietitian's conference, where Cohn "denounced the media for 'pointing the finger at processed foods' and making consumers feel ashamed of their choices." This is some next-level nihilism: rather than railing against the harmful stigma against fat people, Cohn wants us to fight the stigma against Cocoa Puffs.

This message isn't confined to industry conferences. Dietitians with large Tiktok followings like Cara Harbstreet then carry the message out to the public. In Harbstreet's video promoting Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs and Trix, she says, "I will always advocate for fearlessly nourishing meals, including cereal…Because everyone deserves to enjoy food without judgment, especially kids":

https://www.tiktok.com/@streetsmart.rd/video/7298403730989436206

Dietitians, nutritionists and the food industry have always had an uncomfortably close relationship, but the industry's shitflooding kicked into high gear when the FDA proposed rules limiting which foods the industry can promote as "healthy." General Mills, Kelloggs and Post have threatened a First Amendment suit against such a regulation, arguing that they have a free speech right to describe manifestly unhealthy food as "healthy."

The anti-diet movement – again, a legitimate movement aimed at fighting the dangerous junk science behind dieting – has been co-opted by the food industry, who are paying dietitian influencers to say things like "all foods have value" while brandishing packages of Twix and Reese's. In their Examination article, the authors profile people who struggled with their weight, then, after encountering the food industry's paid disinformation, believed that "healthy at any size" meant that it would be unhealthy to avoid highly processed, high calorie food. These people gained large amounts of weight, and found their lives constrained and their health severely compromised.

I've been overweight all my life. I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting when I was 12. I come from a family of overweight people with the chronic illnesses often associated with being fat. This is a subject that's always on my mind. I even wrote a whole novel about the promise and peril of a weight-loss miracle:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781429969284/makers

I think the anti-diet movement, and its associated ideas like body acceptance and healthy at every size, are enormously positive developments and hugely important. It's because I value these ideas that I'm so disgusted with Big Food and its cynical decision to flood the zone with shit. It's also why I'm so furious with dietitians and nutritionists for failing to self-regulate and become a real profession, the kind that censures and denounces quacks and shills.

I have complicated feelings about Ozempic and its successors, but even if these prove to be effective and safe in the long term, and even if we rein in the rapacious pharma companies so that they no longer sell a $5 product for $1000, I would still want dietary science to clean up its act:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2816824

I'm not a nihilist. I think we can use science to discover truths – about ourselves and our world. I want to know those truths, and I think they can be known. The only people who benefit from convincing you that the truth is unknowable are the people who want to lie to you.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/05/corrupt-for-cocoa-puffs/#flood-the-zone-with-shit

[jokeroutsubs]

Joker Out Masterpost for new fans

New fan of Joker Out? Say no more! 

Getting to know a new artist you’ve found can be intimidating if it’s all in another language, so we’ve compiled some of our favourite interviews, articles and lore here! You’ve arrived in a wonderful fanbase, welcome from all of us here at JokerOutSubs! 

If you’d just like a short overview of the band and their history, you can watch this excellent Finnish summary of them that we’ve translated (14m 53s).

But if you want to dive into the details, then check out our timeline, full of videos and articles translated by JokerOutSubs! 

Timeline graphic:

Timeline in details below the cut 👇

Timeline in details: 

How did the band form? 

Joker Out was formed from two bands, Apokalipsa and Buržuazija. 

Apokalipsa included Bojan Cvjetićanin (vocals), Martin Jurkovič (bass) and Matic Kovačič (drums) 

They gained some traction with young people around Slovenia, particularly with their song 'Mogoče' ('Maybe'), which you can watch on YouTube here.

They came to the attention of Kris Guštin, who was inspired to start learning guitar! He discusses the details in this video (at 9:40). 

Kris then met Jan Peteh, another student of his guitar teacher, and at their teachers advice, they formed the band Buržuazija. 

Bojan attended their second ever gig in 2016, and decided these two excellent guitarists were exactly what had been missing from Apokalipsa, as he wasn’t happy with their current guitarists. He asked them to join, and they accepted

The new lineup (Bojan, Jan, Kris, Martin and Matic) decided to rename themselves Joker Out. The name means nothing, but they thought it sounded good and was the ‘least horrible’ of all the ideas they could think of. 

So, in 2016, Joker Out was officially formed! 

November 2016, Kot srce ki kri poganja: 

Joker Out’s first music video was for their song ‘Kot srce ki kri poganja’ ('Like a heart that pumps blood'), filmed in Jan’s hometown of Vrhnika! We eventually got this song on Spotify on their 2023 album Live from Arena Stožice!

Music video: Kot srce ki kri poganja

English Interview (from 3:37 to 6:05): Joker Out discusses filming the music video

June 2017, Špil Liga:

One of the earliest performances for Joker Out was at Špil Liga, a competition for young bands in Slovenia. They won, and recorded their winning song, Omamljeno telo (intoxicated body) in November as part of the prize. 

Live (33m): Joker Out at Špil liga

Interview (5m): Reflections on Špil Liga in 2023 

c.2017/18, Bojan’s attempt at going solo:

The band took a hiatus c.2017/18, and Bojan considered going solo at that time, even working with a few producers. He eventually realised that he belonged with the band! Hear him tell the story:

Reel (1m 23s): A1 Vajb - Bojan’s fail

2019, A change up for the band:

The band began working with their current producer, Žare Pak, and their videographer Mark Pirc, in 2019 - both of whom have been referred to as the sixth member of the band. This led to a change in their sound and production quality, which culminated in ‘Gola’ ('Naked'), the first of their songs to be a big hit!

Music video: Gola

Zlata piščal ('Golden Flute') - Best New Artist 2019:

Joker Out won their first Zlata piščal award in 2019, for best new artist (one of many they’d go on to win!) This is a kind of Slovenian Grammy! Covid interrupted the proceedings, but you can see their interview for it here (3m 59s)- 

Interview: Joker Out wins a Zlata piščal ('Golden Flute') for Best New Artist 2019

Umazane misli, and a new member: 

During the Covid times, the band began recording their first studio album, 'Umazane misli' ('Dirty thoughts'), which was originally going to be released in March 2020 but was repeatedly delayed until October 2021. The first half was recorded with drummer Matic Kovačič, but the band felt they needed something extra and brought in Jure Maček to help write the arrangements. They loved him so much, he never left! 

Interview (from 10:40 to 11:36): Bojan talks briefly about Jure joining the band

COVID times, and Cvetličarna: 

The band had arranged to do two concerts at Cvetličarna, a very important venue in Slovenia and a big break for them. This was delayed several times due to Covid, but eventually managed to go ahead in October 2021 for the release of their first album. 

Video (1m 14s): Cvetličarna promotional video

Live (1h 28m): Joker Out at Cvetličarna

Interview (34m 55s): Bojan discusses Cvetličarna, its importance, and Covid

Umazane misli album launch: 

'Umazane misli' was extremely well received! The band would go on to win two more Zlata piščal awards, Newcomers of the Year in 2020 and Artist of the Year in 2021.

Interview (37m 08s): Umazane misli album presentation

An acting career for Bojan? 

Around the same time as 'Umazane misli' was released, Bojan began considering an acting career. He acted in two episodes of the series ‘Gospod Professor’ and in another series, which was eventually reworked as a film called ‘Kaj pa Ester’ and released in December 2023. He decided music was his passion though, and he wanted to fully focus on that. 

Interview (from 10:04 to 11:30): Bojan discusses his acting career

Interview (2m 11s): Kaj pa Ester interview

Interview (2m 30s): Kaj pa Ester première

Article: Bojan on Kaj pa Ester

September 2022, Križanke:

The band got straight to work writing their second album, 'Demoni' ('Demons'), and decided to present it in September 2022 at Križanke, another hugely important venue in Slovenia. This whole concert wasn’t recorded, but we have an interesting advertisement they did for it, an interview and a clip of one song live from Križanke! 

Video (5m 4s): Full Joker Out Hotline trailers

Interview (2m 16s): Joker Out with parachutes to Križanke?

Live (4m 7s): 'Novi val' ('New wave') live at Križanke

Interview (44m 35s): Demoni album presentation

Another new member! 

After Križanke at the end of 2022, Martin Jurkovič, one of the founding members of the band, made the decision to leave to focus on his studies.

Video (2m 20s): Martin's departure

Thankfully, he was replaced by the wonderful Nace Jordan, who remains the bassist in the current lineup.

Article: Nace Jordan discusses joining the band

2023, Eurovision:

Joker Out were then internally selected to go to Eurovision 2023, and began recording their Eurovision song, 'Carpe Diem', in Hamburg in December 2022. To learn more, you can watch the Carpe Diem series, a documentary series which followed their entire journey. 

The first episode, recording Carpe Diem, can be found with subtitles in multiple languages by JokerOutSubs!

Video (16m 41s): Carpe Diem Ep. 1 - Hamburg

The band performed their song for the first time live on Misija Liverpool, a televised debut, on the 4th February 2023.

Video (27m): Joker Out performing at Misija Liverpool

There are quite literally hundreds of interviews with Joker Out during the Eurovision era. Here's one from just before the final, that we have translated.

Interview: Joker Out before the final on the 13th May

And a few English interviews that became famous in the fanbase! 

Interview (24m 29s): Eurovanja

Interview (8m 10s): Seize the Day situations

Interview (17m 18s): Tiktok Live

Interview (6m 30s): ‘Never have I ever’

Interview (14m 12s): Madrid Eurovision

Result

Joker Out came 21st at Eurovision, which they were satisfied with.

Interview (1m 36s): Bojan talks about their results

European tour and Sunny Side of London (22nd September)

Luckily, the best was still to come for Joker Out! The rest of 2023 was spent on an extremely successful European tour, and they also released their first English single, 'Sunny Side of London', in September. 

We at JokerOutSubs were also thrilled to interview the band twice on their tour!

Original Interview (15m 25s): JokerOutSubs interview in Tampere

Original Interview (14m 37s): JokerOutSubs interview in Poznań

6th of October 2023, Stožice:

All of this, however, was building up to Stožice. This is the biggest closed venue in Slovenia and Joker Out managed to sell out their October show there - an extremely important milestone for Slovenian artists. 

Interview (15m 4s): Stožice and their whirlwind post Eurovision career

Live: Full concert live-streamed part 1 and part 2

A lovely moment at Stožice was when former members Martin Jurkovič and Matic Kovačič joined the band onstage to perform 'Kot srce ki kri poganja'!

Interview (2m 4s): Martin and Matic discuss the experience

Interview (5m 9s): Joker Out post Stožice impressions

London era and Everybody’s Waiting: 

Joker Out spent the beginning of 2024 in London, where they wrote new music, did live cooking shows on Instagram and met the incredibly talented photographer, Damon Baker, who did a beautiful series of photoshoots with them. They also released their next English single, 'Everybody’s Waiting', in February. 

They sat down with us at JokerOutSubs to discuss all this on the 20th February!

Original Interview (59m 13s): JokerOutSubs interview in London

March and April 2024, ‘See you soon’ tour:

The boys then embarked on the ‘See you Soon’ tour, another very successful European tour. They played three new songs live during the tour, two of which we translated from the concert videos of our members!

Live:  First performance of 'Bluza' ('Blouse')

Live: First performance of the hugely popular 'Šta bih ja' ('What would I')

We at JokerOutSubs also interviewed the band a fourth time in Padova!

Original Interview (22m 7s): JokerOutSubs interview in Padova

Now you know a little bit about Joker Out’s history, let’s look a little bit at the members of the band as individuals! 

Who are the members?

Bojan Cvjetićanin - singer

Charming, charismatic and an all round green flag, deep down we’re all Bojan girlies! See him here on Cosmopolitan's Blind date, Portrait with Coffee and a lovely interview he did for Delo! 

Interview (8m 49s): Cosmopolitan's Blind date

Interview (18m 3s): Portrait with Coffee

Article: “If we believed that we were “kings”, that wouldn’t be us”

Jan Peteh - guitarist

The mysterious mathematician of the band, Jan and his cat Igor have stolen the hearts of the fanbase. Here he is on Undercover Mathematician and on Metropolitan podcast with ex bassist Martin! 

Interview (3m 26s): Undercover mathematician

Interview (43m 57s): Jan and Martin on Metropolitan podcast

Kris Guštin - guitarist

Known for his organisational expertise, 'slay pose' and 'cake baking skills,' Kris stays fabulous on and off stage!

Video (1m 5s): NGVOT backstory (Kris’ breakup) at Cvetličarna

Article: Interview with the entire Guštin family

Jure Maček - drummer

Described consistently by his band mates as ‘čaga’ (party), Jure brings a chaotic energy to Joker Out that we love to see!

Video (41s): Jure’s cheating (in school!) story

Interview (18m 3s): Sunday Chat on Radio 94

Nace Jordan - bassist

The oldest member of Joker Out, Nace is a genuine sweetheart who fit like a glove into Joker Out despite joining much later! 

Article: "Enriched by a special [Eurovision] experience"

Interview (18m 24s): Interview with JokerOutSubs in Umag

Get to know the whole band! 

They mostly do interviews together, so here are some of our favourites!

Interview (16m 52s): Vičstock Unplugged

Video (7m 3s): Joker Out pre-Križanke Instagram Q&A compilation

Interview (54m 42s): Multisciplinary panel at Bežigrad High School

Article: Joker Out for DELO

Article: Joker Out for Mladina magazine

Interview (6m 42s): Joker Out for RTV SLO

Interview (1h 1m): Joker Out for N1 podkast

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a bit more about our favourite band! 

If you’d like even MORE translated interviews, articles and Instagram stories, you can find us on Tumblr, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Spotify under the name JokerOutSubs!

P.S: If you wish to share this post with new fans, we also provided QR codes!

[junosmindpalace]

GEMINI BIRTHDAY BASH!

🎧 it's so sweet, knowing that you love me.

synopsis: celebrating their birthday...w/ the hq gemini men!

pairing(s): timeskip/present!hajime iwaizumi, koshi sugawara, shoyo hinata

content: references to 2024 dates but doesn't need to be strictly speaking (iwa's is more 2021), food (in suga's and hinata's), very short and brief angst(?), otherwise all fluff and fun!

total wc: 3.6k

a/n: it was my birthday a few days ago (june 17th) and i thought i would celebrate by writing for some gemini characters! i know shoyo is a cusp but i wanted to write him too </3 also this was my first time creating a graphic please be nice i am aware its a little plain </33

HAJIME IWAIZUMI: JUNE 10TH

The clock in your living room reads 11:55 in the evening; Hajime’s birthday is five minutes away. 

You both have work in the morning, so you should be in bed sound asleep. Everything has been done as normal; the whole nighttime routine of eating dinner (that you insisted on making) together, showering, brushing your teeth. Except instead of completing the routine by cozying up in bed, you’re cozying up on your living room couch, the light in the kitchen on, and the blue light from the TV keeping your tired eyes in a trance. 

Hajime’s arm is lazily outstretched over your shoulders, your fingers intertwined with the hand that dangles beside your head. His other arm is bent sideways on the couch pillow, head against his fist as he watches through bleary eyes the movie in front of him. Though your eyes are trained on the action on the TV, your ears don’t process the mumbling that pairs with it, too engrossed in your low conversation about each others’ day. 

“—and Hinata wanted something more to do for himself, so I’ll be reviewing his progress and seeing what I can do. Seriously, the guy is a monster at times. Sometimes it’s hard to believe I’m really looking at him, with how far he’s come since his high school days.”

“They all seem to be of another caliber now,” you replied somewhat drowsily, yet no less engaged.

“They’re intense, that’s for sure,” he sighs, bringing his head to rest behind the cushion and leaning closer toward your own. “But they’ve always been like that.” 

He’s completely unaware of the time and date approaching as he drones quietly about the day he’s had. He notices, on occasion, your glances up at the wall where your clock was located, and thought you were anxious to get to sleep.

“Hey,” he nudges your knee with his own. “you wanna head to bed?”

“Hm? No, no, not yet. Keep talking, I wanna hear.” 

Upon your insistence, he obliged reluctantly, resuming his chatter for a little while longer as you hum and nod. 

He feels comfortable like this, with your head against his chest, body snuggled close to his side, the low hum of the TV, the dim light. He, for a moment, finds his eyes gently closing unconsciously. You wait for him to continue his explanation at a pause, but are only met with the quietness of the TV. A slight stir prompts Hajime’s eyes to open immediately, and he shifts a little as he takes in your face, peering up at him through small eyes.

“Haji.”

“Mm?”

“You sleeping?”

“M’not.”

You placed a hand on his chest as you turned your body to look at the clock. It now reads 12:04 in the morning. You rub your eyes and reach for the phone on the coffee table in front of you, and when it blinks to life, it blinds you with the time and the new date.

June 10. 

“Ugh, put that away,” Hajime groaned as he turned away from the straining light on your phone, lolling his head to the other side against the couch cushion. You quickly slid it back onto the table, and then collapsed again against your boyfriend’s chest, hugging his middle tightly and digging your chin into his chest as you looked up at him with a wide smile.

“Happy birthday, Haji.” 

His eyes reopen slightly, and he angles his head toward the clock to view the time for himself: 12:05. 

He tucks his chin in so he meets your gaze and the sweet, tired smile on your face, and finds one of his own, tired yet tender, slowly propping up the apples of his cheeks. So that’s why you had been eyeing the clock, all for him and his silly birthday. Of course it would be you who remembers his birthday before he even does. You were sweet and thoughtful in that way.

“So that’s why you wanted to stay up a little longer, huh?” His tone is a faux annoyance for only a moment before his arm around your shoulders curls a little tighter in endearment, and he knocks his forehead against yours, gently and playfully, as you let out a short giggle at the gesture. “Thank you, baby.”

“What do you wish for?”

“To get some rest,” he yawned as he pulled away, going to sit up from the couch. 

“Why would you say that? Now it won’t come true!”

Your weight on his lap and arms now thrown around his neck anchored him to the couch. He gives you a deadpan look as a hand finds its way rubbing gently up and down your lower back, while the other slowly snakes itself under your legs.

“Oh, I’ll make it come true.” 

You squeal when he sits up and scoops you up in one swift motion, and you throw your head back in quiet laughter as he walks the two of you to your bedroom. 

“Haji, you know, it's your birthday. I should be the one carrying you.”

He snorts, and shakes his head. “ It’s my birthday, right? I get to do what I want.” 

KOSHI SUGAWARA: JUNE 14TH

Sugawara was dejected when he realized he had to work on his birthday.

As if the universe was taunting him, this year it fell right on a Friday, just one day off from the weekend. 

If he were honest, however, it wasn’t too much of a bother. He mentally groaned about it the evening before and morning of, but all in all, his birthday was a fleeting thought in his mind. Work and everyday busyness replaced the thought with lesson plans and mental preparedness to handle a classroom of young children after an exhausting week. 

He hoped, at the very least, however, that you would recognize the oddness of the day, do a little something to acknowledge it. Maybe a small cake or a nice breakfast. Maybe a little present. Hell, just a small, intimate murmur of a happy birthday accompanied with a sweet kiss would elevate his heart. Yet every time he looked on at you, you were preoccupied with preparing yourself for work, just as Suga was. No fancy breakfast was prepared, no gift sat on the table by the door, and the only kiss he was able to snag was a hurried one on the cheek as you wished him a good day, and headed out the door and into your car. 

So Suga’s birthday was not off to a great start. 

But again, it’s only a birthday. He almost feels a little dumb, getting all worked up over it, especially as an adult. So he makes the most out of the day as he always does with his kids and their lively attitudes, plus the wind down time and lack of work reserved for Friday’s brightens his special day from the dejected morning he experienced earlier.

Little did your boyfriend know of the plans you had in store for him.

As humble as Sugawara attempted to be about his birthday, you knew that he liked having it acknowledged. He was appreciative of any and all kind birthday gestures, from simple greetings to thoughtful presents. And you wanted your present for him to be thoughtful. Memorable. Surprising, exciting, and able to convey the sheer amount of affection you hold for him, though you doubted that any gesture could entirely convey such a thing. But your mission this year was to sure try.

You had taken the day off to get everything under way. Pick up a nice cake you ordered a few days before, with Suga’s favorite flavor of icing and batter, along with a neat and heartfelt Happy Birthday written on top in cursive. 

Once the cake was tucked away in your fridge, your next stop was a party store. Perhaps you may have overdone it with the decorations, you had thought to yourself when you examined your two (full) shopping bags as you walked back to your car, but there was just so much to choose from, and you were sure Suga would like it all! Banners, balloons of impressive and wacky sizes and shapes, streamers, confetti, party poppers; you couldn’t pass up a single thing, not when you imagined his enthusiasm over each one. 

Your final stop was for restocking on foods and drinks. Besides the cake, you bought a couple of bottles of fancy alcohol (the one’s he’ll often eye and make fun of how posh they sound), a couple of his favorite snacks and beverages, and the like. 

By the time Suga arrived home from work, he’s exhausted, yet somehow invigorated by the idea of seeing you. He lets himself into the house with his key, letting out a tired I’m home, heart picking up when he spots your shoes neatly organized in the genkan, and joins his own beside them as he pads further into your home toward an alluring smell. 

The light is low in your living room. It’s enveloped in a yellow glow compared to the blinding bright white that startles him awake and strains his tired eyes in the morning. The first thing that comes into his line of sight, besides you, already in comfortable clothing with your back turned and managing something on the table in front of you, is a neat and beautiful cake on the coffee table in front of your couch. 

Your living room is full of more animated color than usual; batches of balloons occupy the corners and a few are scattered, some hovering aimlessly, on your floor. A Happy Birthday banner hangs from above the threshold into the room. Suga, once the initial shock and surprise wore off and was able to fully comprehend that it was all for him, felt that he may burst into tears. 

You hurriedly turned around upon sensing a new presence in the living room, and gasped when it was none other than your boyfriend, briefcase in hand, and staring dumbfounded at you and the sight of your decorated living room.

“Ko! I didn’t expect you to be home this soon!”

“Traffic was sparse.” He managed to get out past the lump in throat, but once he realized how stupid he appeared, he shook his head in an attempt to feign nonchalance. “So! What is, uh…what’s all this?” 

Your brows shot up, and you gave him an exasperated smile before walking over to him. “It was supposed to be a surprise,” you said slyly, wrapping your arms around his neck, with Suga immediately reciprocating with a hand to your back. “I was still setting up some stuff because I was under the impression that I still had some time before you came home.”

“Oh, so you wanted me to get stuck in traffic, is that it?” He teases in a faux annoyed tone, but it’s quickly betrayed by the smile that immediately stretches back over his face. 

“In this instance, yes!” You laughed, grinning yourself when he began to pepper kisses all over your neck and face, curling his arm around your waist to keep you secure against him. You laughed breathlessly through the assault, attempting to push away the ticklish sensation. But Suga’s energy had just been replenished fully, and his heart elevated the highest it ever could. 

“It’s perfect, all of it. Thank you.” he halts his assault to mutter against your skin through his lovesick smile, and it brings a grin to your own lips as you bring him in for one final kiss on his lips, one he immediately attempts to deepen. 

“Okay, okay,” you laugh as you pull away when he whines and chases after your lips. “Now that you’re here, let’s sing!”

He laughs too, letting you drag him further into your living room, abandoning his briefcase by the wall as he sat himself down on your couch, and you came over with the lighter you were previously fiddling with to light the candles on the small cake. 

All he could think about as you sang to him enthusiastically was how giddy he felt, and how lucky he was that he was spending his birthday in such a manner with you. And when he blew out his candles, the wish at the forefront of his mind was to spend many more birthdays with you in this manner

(and maybe a new car). 

Even as you shooed him into the bathroom to change into more comfortable clothes as you cut yourselves slices to enjoy by the TV, and afterward retreated to bed, he muttered, “I’m still mad that you tricked me, by the way.” as the two of you closed your eyes.

Which earned him a swat to the chest. 

SHOYO HINATA: JUNE 21ST

Shoyo absolutely cannot deny the fact that he’s had a great birthday since the moment the sun rose in the sky.

His special day began with an influx of texts and calls from family and friends to wish him a happy birthday, and use the opportunity to catch up with him. Nearly every moment of his morning was taken up by a different phone call that he took as he prepared himself for the training he had that day. When he arrived at the training center, his team immediately pounced on him, greeting him with enthusiastic cheers and a round of singing. 

And while he can almost say his birthday was perfect, with all the texts and calls he received and the thoughtful birthday treatment, his one and only regret was the fact that you weren’t there to celebrate with him.

His birthday this year happened to coincide with travel for upcoming tournaments, which unfortunately meant that you wouldn’t be celebrating alongside him in person. But just because you weren’t there in the flesh to hug him tight and sing loudly in his ear, it didn’t prevent you in the slightest from doing whatever you could virtually to make him feel good on his special day. 

At least, he had hoped it wouldn’t.

He had picked up your call eagerly on the day of his birthday, and grinned from ear to ear as you sang to him loudly and exaggeratedly. When you finished your song and exchanged all your morning pleasantries, to his absolute dejectment, you had informed Shoyo with a guilty tone that you would be unable to call or text for the majority of the day. 

“I’m sorry, Sho, something suddenly came up for work, and I’m going to be swamped. I’ll call you tonight, I promise!”

The disappointment he felt was tremendous, yet he easily covered it up with an understanding nod and reassuring words that he’d stay up to catch your call. It wasn’t like he was really expecting your schedule to be free the entire day so he can call and text whenever. Besides, he was miles away from you; it would be selfish for him to expect that your schedule would be all free for him when his wasn’t. 

So Shoyo made the most out of his birthday without you, and there wasn’t a moment where he wasn’t grinning. Enjoying delicious meals, being on the receiving end of all sorts of enthusiasm,  excitement and birthday traditions from friends, family, colleagues and fans alike; each kind birthday gesture lifted his heart to Cloud 9. 

The day concluded, after practice in the training facility when the sun began to die out in the sky, with Shoyo’s team insisting that they treat him to a celebratory dinner at some nice restaurant with some excellent international cuisine, allowing him to get a small taste of home. And Shoyo’s stomach was starting to churn, and it wasn’t like he was about to pass up a free meal…

The company took cramped spots in a booth inside the restaurant, bringing a few spare chairs to form a full circle around the large, polished wooden table jutting out from the wall. The setting sun meant that there was still some time before the restaurant could anticipate a more busy dining area.

Shoyo was spoiled with trays of meat, bowls of rice, and all sorts of other cuisine that he sampled from the plates of his colleagues. By the time the sun had nearly fully disappeared beneath the horizon, each one of their appetites was satiated, full and content with their meals.

As if Shoyo’s birthday couldn’t get any better so late into the day, it was about to become complete in the most unexpected and perfect way imaginable. Though the team was full, they could spare the appetite for a dessert, the most fitting conclusion for a birthday: because what’s a birthday without a cake? 

Shoyo’s team accompanied him home with eager conversation, yet strange occasional whispers among themselves. Perhaps all the celebration was all a little too much? 

When they arrived in a large group by his front door, Shoyo took notice of poorly hidden sly smiles and eager eyes from the teammates across from him, exchanging them among themselves as he fiddled with his keys. 

He’s the first to step inside the dark room, calling out to nobody in particular an I’m home!, as was routine for him to do. His heart suddenly stops, however, when he hears a voice answer. 

“Welcome back!”

His teammates burst out into chuckles and giggles. “Ah, it looks like our dessert is here!” One of them nodded his head toward the living room. 

When Shoyo makes his way reluctantly further into his apartment, initially confused, his furrowed brows immediately relax when he turns on the overhead light, and he feels as though the breath had been stolen from his lungs and hitched in his throat. 

At first, he thinks that perhaps he’s gotten a little homesick being without you, his special person, on his special day. He’d been thinking of you in intervals at every peak of his day. Surely now his exhaustion is crashing down on him, making him see things?

But your eager grin and short laughter as you took in his shocked expression tells him otherwise. You were here, in the flesh, standing right before him--

He all too suddenly finds himself squeezing you tight in his arms, and you immediately reciprocate with one hand coming around his neck, collective aww’s and teasing ew’s going round at the affectionate sight.

“Hold on there, Shoyo, the cake!” 

He quickly steps away when he suddenly feels an object collide gently with his side, and he only partially lets you go as he steps back to look at a box you were holding in your other hand. You grinned at him. 

“Surprise!”

He doesn’t dare let go of your hand even when you set the cake down and urge him to take a seat on his couch, taking an electronic candle you had bought on your way to his apartment and placing it at the very center. His entire team begins to sing to him once more as they crowd around him on the couch and around the table, this time with you joining in standing beside him, and his smile feels almost painful with the way it doesn’t falter for a second. 

When the song ends, a round of cheers go around the table, and you remove the candle to place it in a napkin. You turn toward each other, and you place a hand on his shoulder as you lean down to give him a kiss on his temple and mumble a more quiet, personal happy birthday. 

And just as he was about to lean over to capture your lips in an enthusiastic kiss, let thank you after thank you fall from his lips for such a grand surprise, all for him, you grabbed hold of his head, turned it back toward the cake, and shoved his face right into the center of it. 

Gasps and cheers alike went around the table, and the rest of his team laughed at the bold and sudden gesture. He could hear your own soft laughter as his face gradually emerged from the cake, and the shrills and hollers from his teammates grew louder as they took in the sight of the icing and chunks of cake sticking to various sides. They continued to bark out laughter as he wiped the chunks away from his eyes, staring at them on his fingertips before turning toward you, hiding a smile behind your hand as you mouthed over it an I'm sorry.

Shoyo rose silently halfway from his seat, leaned over toward you, and before anyone could properly call on what he was about to do, smeared the cake on his hands onto your own face, and a new wave of audible surprise and amusement went around the table.

“Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”

“I hear you, Shoyo,” one of his teammates hovered over his seat as he took a large chunk of the cake with his bare hands, and immediately smeared it onto his colleague beside him. “You look better like this, anyway.”

The table erupted into chaos, with the remainder of the unassualted teammates running away from the assault. 

“Quick, scatter, before they get us too!” 

“Oh, you aren’t escaping that easily!” 

Running, breathless laughter, and shrills of alarm rang out in a chaotic symphony throughout the apartment, but amidst the chaos, only you and Shoyo remained by the couch side by side, hunched over laughing at each other’s ruined faces. Despite the ruined cake, the madness in his home, and the icing running down your faces, Shoyo’s heart thrums with love and happiness, and he steps forward to cup your cool cheeks and halt your giggles by capturing your lips in a deep and (literally) sweet kiss. 

Now, perhaps, Shoyo could say his birthday was perfect.

return to masterlist.

[staydandy]

The Lost Tomb 2: Wrath of the Sea (2019) - 盗墓笔记2 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : The group of heroes are pulled into another tomb-raiding expedition that takes them beneath the sea. In an ancient Ming Dynasty ship, they encounter monstrous creatures and puzzling traps. Wu Xie opens the box that he obtained from the Seven Star Coffins of Lu Wang's Palace to discover a snake-browed copper fish. Uncle Wu San Xing recounts the strange occurrences over ten years ago when they went on an archaeological expedition to Paracel Islands. Wu Xie leads a team down to the same place to explore a sunken ship where hidden dangers await. (MDL)

Whumpee : Wu Xie played by Neo Hou (center right) • Zhang Qi Ling played by Cheng Yi (center left) • Wang Pang Zi played by Zhang Bo Yu (2nd from right)

Country : 🇨🇳 China Genres : Action, Adventure, Mystery, Supernatural, Bromance

Notes : This is a Full Whump List • Adapted from books 2, 3 and some of 4 of "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" (Daomu Biji) by Kennedy Xu • Suggested watch order of series (not including movies & spin-offs) : -- 1. Mystic Nine (2016) -- 2. The Lost Tomb (2015) >> 3. The Lost Tomb 2: Wrath of the Sea (2019) -- 4. The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note (2021) -- 5. The Lost Tomb 3: Ultimate Note (2020) -- 6. Adventure Behind the Bronze Door (2024) -- 7. Tomb of the Sea (2018) -- 8. Reunion: Sound of the Providence (2020) -- 9. Reunion: Sound of the Providence 2 (2020)

Related Lists : The Lost Tomb (2015) - Full List • The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note (2021) - Full List • The Lost Tomb 3: Ultimate Note (2020) - Full List • Adventure Behind the Bronze Door (2024) - Full List

Episodes on List : 25 Total Episodes : 40

*Spoilers below*

01 : Wu Xie shocked awake, sweating, from a layered nightmare (nightmare within a nightmare within a nightmare) … Wang Pang Zi knocked out

02 : [nightmare] Wu Xie choked

05 : Unsteady … entrapped in a trance, strangled, broken out of it … Pang Zi knocked over from an explosion … Wu Xie attacked, thrown to the ground, Pang Zi thrown into a wall, Zhang Qi Ling fights; choked & lifted off the ground

06 : [flashback] Passes out

07 : Wu Xie dizzy, entranced … [flashback] head pain, pushed into water … [present] Zhang Qi Ling head pain, recalling forgotten memories … Wu Xie, Zhang Qi Ling, & Pang Zi escaping a collapsing underwater building, stuck on the way out.. Wu Xie unconscious, receives chest compressions, spits up water, knocked to the ground

08 : Recovering from fever (not really shown) … [flashback] cut his own hand

09 : Shocked awake, sweating, from nightmare

11 : (near end) Wu Xie & Pang Zi captured, tied up

12 : … continued from previous ep. ...Wu Xie still captured, tied up … imprisoned.. dehydrated, breathing hard, unsteady.. passes out.. helped to walk

17 : Pang Zi attacked, Wu Xie attacked.. attacked again, knocked out, drowning.. spitting up water … Pang Zi bit by insect

18 : Wu Xie Hit with the butt of a gun, knocked out.. wakes tied up … Pang Zi having a reaction to bug bite; unsteady, arm in hives & paralyzed, passes out … Wu Xie falls, nightmare; wakes trapped in a casket, choked

19 : Drugged, unsteady, passes out, arm nicked & blood taken

21 : Falls, knocked out briefly … Pang Zi entranced into almost killing himself … rolls down a slope

23 : Wu Xie cuts his own hand … dizzy

24 : … continued from previous ep. ... Dizzy … unsteady, holding his head … attacked, choked

26 : Blown back by an explosion, briefly knocked out … falls, hits head, blurry vision, unsteady … cuts his own hand … blown back by an explosion, drowning … wakes in hospital (comedic: with a high-pitched voice from concussion)

28 : Pang Zi's arm in a cast (tho I'm confused as to why)

30 : (near end) Wu Xie knocked out from an explosion … falls into a pit

31 : Pang Zi found unconscious

32 : Found unconscious, head sore from being knocked out

35 : Wu Xie & Pang Zi in a fight; Wu Xie coughs up blood … head pain from noise

36 : Digs out from being buried in snow, head pain.. [flashback] buried in rubble from collapsed tomb, unconscious … [present] rolls down hill, arm hurt.. exhausted, passes out.. headache, collapses … headache … drugged asleep … caught in a trap, hung upside down

37 : Headache … captured … Pang Zi captured, tied up, mouth gagged … Zhang Qi Ling head pain, drugged unconscious

38 : Drugged unconscious … Zhang Qi Ling & Pang Zi trapped in a net, both tied up & hooded

39 : (near end) Wu Xie exhausted, collapses, hypoxia (not enough oxygen), slaps himself, passes out … hallucinating

More Whump Lists for this show: love-me-a-lotta-whump

[rolandkaros]

excerpt from emily wilson's introduction to her translation of homer's "the iliad"

quarterfinal, australian open 2021, andy brownbill // "eternal return," wikipedia // final, roland garros 2023, jimmie48 photography // round of 16, cincinnati open, 2021, jimmie48 photography // tennis majors, 12 21 2021, carrie dunn // round 3, roland garros 2022, christophe ena // eurosport, 05 27 2022, alexander netherton // final, cincinnati open 2023, aaron doster // semifinal, australian open 2021, reuters [uncredited] // final, roland garros 2023, paul zimmer // eurosport, 10 24 2023, [n.a.] // semifinal, us open 2023, mike segar // sportskeeda, 07 11 2023, urvi mehra // round 1, wimbledon 2023, toby melville // wta, 02 20 2024, [n.a.] // us open 2024, charly triballeau // china open 2024, [uncredited] // round of 16, linz open 2025, mathias schulz // "prophetic perfect tense," wikipedia // final, roland garros 2023, thibault camus // unknown origin // final, unknown, tennisforum.com [uncredited]

[whumpetywhump]

Game Of Outlaws (2021)

Nont Wongdecha

01:

- Grieving, crying, guilt-stricken

- Passes out drunk in the shower, dragged into bed, wakes up with a hangover

05:

- Punched during a fistfight, bruised face

06:

- Face still bruised from last episode

- Shot in the arm, bleeding, dragged to his feet

09:

- Shot in the side, dragged to safety

10:

- Treating his own gunshot wound from last episode, gasping in pain, gags himself while stitching it, trying to hide the injury, bleeding through his shirt

- Punched in the face

- Pistol whipped by his crush

11:

- Drunk, needs support to walk

- Chloroformed, kidnapped, wakes up tied to a chair, beaten up, bloody lip, choked

12:

- Hit with flying shrapnel in an explosion, bleeding from the head, stunned, passes out, dragged to safety, rushed to hospital, recovering in bed with a neck brace, tries and fails to get up

16:

- Face cut and scraped during a gunfight, stabbed in the back with a poisoned knife, bleeding, passes out, hospitalised, cardiac arrest, given CPR, intubated, recovering in bed, wakes up in pain

17:

- Face still scraped from last episode, needs support to walk

- Punched in the face, knocked out, kidnapped, tied up

18:

- Still tied up, face still cut and scraped, soaked in petrol and left to die in a fire, crying, rescued

19:

- Face still cut and scraped

- Shot in the arm, bleeding

Mavin

07:

- Flashback: Bloodied from a beating, held at gunpoint, protected

- Shot in the back

08:

- Still bleeding from last episode, shot in the back again, recovering in hospital

10:

- Punched in the face

12:

- Slapped in the face

14:

- Flashback: Face bruised after a fight, sobbing, comforted

17:

- Punched in the gut

- Emotional breakdown, sobbing, punching himself in the face, comforted

19:

- Shot in the arm and gut, collapses to his knees, shouting in pain

- Shot repeatedly in the chest, falls to his knees, collapses, cradled, dies in his girl’s arms

Ravee Pattarapreecha

05:

- Shot in the shoulder, collapses, bleeding on the ground, passes out

06:

- Punched in the face, nosebleed

07:

- Punched to the ground, beaten up, knocked out, dragged to a car, kidnapped

- Tied up, punched in the face during a hostage video, beaten up in an escape attempt, bruised face, tied up again, held hostage at knifepoint

08:

- Face still bruised from last episode

- Shot in the arm, bleeding, recovering in hospital

10:

- Smacked in the face by his sister

14:

- Stabbed repeatedly in someone else’s dream

17:

- Kidnapped, punched in the face, tied up, held hostage

TW: Contains themes of child abuse, noncon and addiction

[bakibakideemon]

I’m back to into Haikyuu!! And before I say anything - I absolutely adore Kageyama. It’s been a minute that have thought about his character/ discussed him. But recently came across some really great character studies of him.

Here is a list of Fics I read recently which I fell do his character justice (and just because I like them). (These are amazing fics by some great authors)

1) The best thing you (n)ever had by eleasofia

Summary: When Oikawa is asked out by Kageyama for the first time, he turns him down, saying he wouldn't date someone who is so clearly inferior to him. Three years later, after Seijou's loss to Karasuno, Kageyama asks again, and despite not really (read as: absolutely not) wanting to, Oikawa somehow ends up agreeing nevertheless. It might really be time to forget about old grudges and move on. Turns out, it's even harder than he thought it would be.

Published: 2017-12-05 Words: 6,425 Chapters: 1/1

2) Normal by AuthorInDistress

Published: 2018-10-15 Words: 5,031 Chapters: 1/1

Summary: A special guest is here in Kageyama's town and he couldn't care less.

3) I don’t know where we’re going, but I’d like to be by your side by voices_in_my_head

Published: 2020-08-03 Words: 8,548 Chapters: 1/1

Summary: "Atsumu doesn’t approach Kageyama Tobio the first day of the youth training camp, but he does keep an eye on him. He’s not the only one; everyone is curious about the main setter of the team that finally uncrowned Shiratorizawa."

Or: once Atsumu got to meet the real Kageyama, he never stood a chance. Honestly, he's not that bothered about it.

4) With all my love (And almost all of my mind) by rumxrs

Kei heaves a sigh, raking a hand through his short blonde curls. Tobio repeats the action unknowingly, and shivers shortly afterwards. A nervous shiver, like death was sending spearmint puffs of air down his neck.

Their story; told in snapshots, phone conversations, and dreams.

Published: 2016-03-29 Words: 2,175 Chapters: 1/1

5) Make It True, Takeru by luvtooru

Summary: After overhearing his uncle Oikawa mention he had a crush on someone with 'black hair and blue eyes,' Takeru assumes he’s talking about Kageyama, the grumpy setter from Karasuno. Unaware that Oikawa actually meant Shimizu-san, Takeru dives headfirst into a chaotic mission to play matchmaker—for the wrong person

Published: 2024-11-10 Words: 7,969 Chapters: 1/1

6) can this be a real thing (can it?) by akaashism (acciomerlin)

Summary: Tobio has an unexpectedly steamy dream about Oikawa one night. He tries his best to grapple with the resulting cocktail of feelings it invokes, but maybe an accidental revelation has its own set of rewards in store.

Published: 2023-06-20 Words: 10,712 Chapters: 2/2

7) What do you see when you look at me? By Aync1lgw

Summary: Three people - A woman who has been pining after Oikawa for years and finally wants to confess her feelings, a taxi driver who just happened to pick Oikawa and Kageyama up from the bar and then Oikawa's old roommate from medical school with whom Oikawa was sharing a rental apartment for the week. What is it that these people see when they look at Oikawa Tooru and Kageyama Tobio together?

Published: 2021-11-24 Words: 5,739 Chapters: 1/1

8) infernal devices by lettucehope

Summary: In a quest for revenge, Tobio learns that store-bought flames work just fine when you're summoning the powers of Hell.

Published: 2022-07-02 Words: 26,886 Chapters: 8/8

9) Cute bastard by mitoe

Summary: Oikawa calls Kageyama cute bastard every time he sees him and Kageyama hates it

Published: 2022-05-03 Words: 4,254 Chapters: 1/1

11)

10)

[how-about-some-more-whump]

Hunter 猎狼者 (2021) - Whump List

Also known as: The Wolf Hunter

Synopsis: Five years after a confrontation with poachers left him severely injured and his partner dead, the former forest policeman Wei Jiang (on the left) is only a shadow of himself. When the young ranger Qin Chuan (on the right) is reported missing, Wei Jiang is called to help find him. It turns out that Qin Chuan was abducted by the same group of poachers that killed Wei Jiang’s partner years ago. A game of cats and mouse begins.

Notes: By far my favourite kind of drama. Short, straight to the point, realistic, raw, merciless. And with a lot of whump, of course.

NOTICE: I can read/speak Chinese. I watched it on Youtube without engsub. I know you can find engsub out there, but they are terrible. I am very eager to provide good quality engsub for this drama, but I have absolutely no idea of how to make them available for those who would need it. If anybody has insight, I’ll gladly take it! Dm me please <3

NB: Timestamps might be off (< 1mn) depending on where you watch the show. I do not disclose any character death on purpose. The characters are listed by chronological order of whump in each episode.

------ EPISODE 1 ------

Wei Jiang

3:55 Watches his partner get shot, shot at, shot, falls from a cliff, half-dead

27:00 Running away, chased, hiding

40:55 Running away, chased, shot at

48:50 Shot at, rolling down a hill, groaning

54:40 In a fight against three armed men, smacked on the back on his head, collapses

Qin Chuan

17:45 Held captive, hands zip tied, bruises on his face, blood on his forehead, gun to his head, slapped, pissed, manhandled, pressed to the ground, teased

23:13 Hanged to a tree with his hands tied behind his back, made to stand on his tippy toe in the rain, laborious breathing

27:00 Running away, chased, hiding

31:37 Shivering

40:08 Attacked with a machete, running away, chased

47:58 Steps on a wolf trap, groaning and wincing in pain, panting, crawling, dragged away, shot at, rolling down a hill, groaning, leg freed from the trap, wincing and moaning in pain, panting, wound treated on the field

56:11 Hiding, panting

------ EPISODE 2 ------

Wei Jiang

4:30 Refuses to be examined

21:19 Reminiscing what happened five years before, drinking, collapses, passes out

Qin Chuan

4:45 Leg wound examined, wincing and moaning in pain

16:41 Bandage changed

31:14 Kicked, falls down, pushed to the ground, hit on his leg wound, collapses, coughing, helped to stand and walk

------ EPISODE 3 ------

Wei Jiang

14:07 Trapped in a house

15:35 Shot at, house set on fire

16:38 At gunpoint, fighting, pushed to the ground

19:48 Kicked back, crawling out

21:23 Grabbed and manhandled by police officers, pinned to the ground, heavily breathing

Qin Chuan

14:07 Trapped in a house

14:30 Smacked on the head and thrown back, dazed

15:35 Shot at, house set on fire

17:07 Fighting, pinned down, strangled, coughing

------ EPISODE 4 ------

Wei Jiang

5:20 Crying

------ EPISODE 5 ------

Qin Chuan

27:25 Dehydrated, sweating, passes out, falls down from his horse

------ EPISODE 6 ------

Qin Chuan

15:40 Stabbed in the arm, fighting, pushed back

20:25 Caught in a sandstorm

22:58 Shot at (a lot)

44:05 Forced to leave Wei Jiang behind, tearing up

Wei Jiang

19:45 Shot at

20:25 Caught in a sandstorm

21:53 Hand shaking, hitting his hand on the ground out of frustration

22:58 Shot at (a lot)

31:35 Held back by Qin Chuan, forced to listen as his best friend get shot, PTSD

40:45 Trading himself for Qin Chuan’s safety

45:11 Smacked in the face, knocked out

46:01 Wakes up tied up to a pole, shoulder injury stepped on, groaning, at gunpoint

------ EPISODE 7 ------

Qin Chuan

2:50 Has been walking under the burning sun for a while, panting, dehydrated, collapses, loses consciousness

Wei Jiang

12:28 Hands tied behind his back, sack on his head, forced to kneel

21:41 Gun to his head

37:55 At gunpoint

------ EPISODE 8 ------

Qin Chuan

9:03 Shot at

10:15 Blown by an explosion

26:25 Shot in the side, collapses, hiding, holding his wound, shot in the shoulder, exclamation of pain, collapses, shot at, struggling to move, groaning

29:11 Struggling to walk, holding his side wound

31:11 Coughing

32:27 Collapses

40:48 Heavily breathing

Wei Jiang

9:15 Grabbed and slammed to the ground

30:41 Shot in the back, collapses, shot at, in a fight, punched on his wound, ringing ear, fingers pressed on his wound, screaming in pain, bleeding, crawling

33:03 Shot in the leg and the chest, collapses, rolling down the mountain

34:33 Struggling to move, coughing blood, crawling

36:15 Shot in the leg, crawling, leaving a blood trail

40:37 Dragged in the snow

___

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