#noorie answers asks

[anulithots]

NOORIE. I JUST WATCHED EP 3-5 OF LINK CLICK AND I BAWLED MY EYES OUT. I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS MUCH EMOTIONAL DAMAGE WHYYYYY

off topic but like scattered thoughts:

i don't know if you know this but what they're chanting during the game (龙阳之好 — meaning longyang's interest) is basically a phrase that refers to gay relationships. this has to be intentional. right. right. right. anyways if you'd like you can learn more about lord longyang in this brief wikipedia page

cheng xiaoshi's basketball flashback thing with lu guang is peak queer cinema. casually called him his partner and made a profound metaphor on trust on the spot. no one is doing it like him. icon

the captain's (i think his name was hong bin??) accent changes drastically when he's around his family — i don't live in china so i can't pinpoint which region it's from, but just think of it as the chinese equivalent of a country accent. skfjd just thought that was a cute detail

embarrassing but for like the tiniest moment but with the dramatic sunlight and the gentle music i fr thought that implied that hong bin was chen xiao's first love... my stupidity knows no bounds

when cheng xiaoshi is 'in the body' of another person in the past, how much of his emotions are his, and how much of them are the other person's? ...this calls for a character psychoanalysis

okay thank you for listening to my rant. sfjdskfjkfjsj going to scream into my pillow now

KDFJKLDSJF KSDJF

EPSIDOE THREEE THROUGH FIVE ARE SO EMOTIONALLY DEVESTATING, IF NTO THE MOST EMOTIONALLY DEVESTATING EPSIDOES IN ALL OF CINEMA (I'm weak for parents singing lullabies and providing comfort that ends tragically. I never stood a chance.) /pos

OKAY RESPONDING TO YOUR THOUGHTS! (sorry if this seems disjointed I'm going through an 'execuative dysfuntino floaty-float cloud rn... yes feeligns I know how to describe those.)

OHMIGOSH THE GAY CHANT. YES IT HAS TO BE INTENTIONAL. THey just get more queer the more you watch. Their shop literally has their ship name.

The manhua exists.

If this isn't the most queer platonic/gay thing I've ever seen... I don't know what is.

OOOH and I have to tag @celestialsun123 and @mylee-sketches in this just for that point GAY BASKETBALL CHANT WOWOWOO

This ep was also just like... very queer. SO queer. the most queer coded thing I've ever watched in my life (they wanted to convince us we were safe, that this would be a fun little gay time travel show.)

Holy herbs. You know what? The censorship just made them more creative and this is more queer than if it were cannon (just shiguang in general actually... it gets even better as you go on)

ANd the shorts as wellll... also Qiao Ling literally asks Lu Guang 'so what do you like about Cheng XIaoshi?' Like she's honestly the biggest shiguang shipper of us all.

The accent thing IS such a cute detail yess. The way that entire town was written with so much life and little things, each character having depth and intrigue from the get go... only for... episode five.. . and ... *ugly sobbing*

(Especially Chen Xiao's mom. I've honestly rarely seen parents written as well as they are in link click.)

PFT YES YES I ALSO THOUGHT HONG BIN AND CHENG XIAO were supposed to be queer coded in that scene. It's very vibes.

OHMIGOSH THE CHENG XIAOHSHI POSESSION THING CONSUMES SO MUCH OF MY THOUGHTS IT"S SO INTERESTING AS BOTH A NARRATIVE DEVICE AND PART OF HIS CHARACTER. I have a post here:

Theorizing on how Cheng Xiaoshi's emotions work when he's possessing people

with some theories behind it, and lots of notes and anlysis that are... in the works (I'm on my second rewatch of season one but I'm silly and keep rewatching the same scene six times before I watch the next... rinse repeat I've been rewatching for a half a month now.)

LIke the layers and layers and layers in this show are insanneeeee.

Also boba tea:

and... screenshot collection (It's so hard to screenshot shows holy herbs. I wish the manhua adapatation of the first season - where it's all the same as the show - was available online)

(not goign to include any spoilers)

....and I reached my image limit.

THANK YOU FOR TALKING WITH ME ABOUT LINK CLICK AKLDFSJKLDSJFKLDSJFDKLSFJDSLKFJDS.

[dcymcres]

❛ you think you know me, but the truth is, you don’t. ❜ / noori & miguel.

&. for the damaged, sentence starters - accepting!

❝here's the thing, miguel..❞ cold gaze lifts from the floor to the other's face, the sight of them was almost enough to break her heart. ❝I've only known things that you've ALLOWED ME to know about you. If you're looking for me to pry or force anything that you're not telling me out of you, then I'm not the one.❞

[imslowlydisintegrating]

look both ways,

before you cross my mind.

! will be pretty inactive and won’t interact as much, sorry beloved mutuals 😞🙏

you can call me evvy, teo, dorian, ruth, or any variation of those names. i use they/he/she pronouns (in order of preference) and i am genderfluid, sapphic and maybe ace :)

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾　and i ran, i ran so far away, i just ran　☽༓･˚⁺‧͙

i do have some personal obsessions on this blog that you’ll find

music (as on record): abba grandes exitos vol. 2 (abba) ✦ the returner (allison russell) ✦ outside child (allison russell) ✦ aretha’s gold (aretha franklin) ✦ self-titled (carpenters) ✦ “awaken, my love!” (childish gambino) ✦ visions (grimes) ✦ self-titled (hozier) ✦ wasteland, baby! (hozier) ✦ grace (jeff buckley) ✦ self-titled (kc & the sunshine band) ✦ be the cowboy (mitski) ✦ bury me at makeout creek (mitski) ✦ greatest hits (queen) ✦ i am the dog (sir chloe) ✦ sawayama (rina sawayama)

tv/movies: bullet train ✦ arcane ✦ spider-verse trilogy ✦ knives out film series ✦ brooklyn 99 ✦ jurassic park ✦ the brothers sun

what’s the screen playing? [jujutsu kaisen.]

i spend my time writing, playing drums, pacing around my room, listening to music, and doing fuck-all with my life ❤️️

☂︎ oh, come on, angel, come on, come on, darling ☂︎

my silly little peoples you’ll find around this blog <3

my official unofficial bandmates: @literatureisdying ✦ @bassguitarinablackt-shirt ✦ @gently-decaying-flowers

mutual list:

@bassguitarinablackt-shirt — asher 🌊

@gently-decaying-flowers — goobie 🛸

@iwouldkickahorse — innocent sin’s no. 1 fan

@rapidlydecayingcorpse — decay 🪦

@takeutothemoon — sun li ☀️

@literatureisdying — attie 🎶

@catinasink — cat 🌸

@dumdumdumsalot — deedee 🧐

@browngirl-inthering — cool mutual ⁉️

@arcangelise — coco ⭐

@talesfromtheunknowable — noorie 🍄‍🟫

@eden-has-rotted — ed 🎸

@gayoticbeing — moth 🐌

@serendipititties — wren 🪶

@ringhoarder — cal 💍

@starryeyeddarlings — cristie ⚜️

@my-lady-macbeth — thea ⚔️

@blood-slushy — taz 👻

@waitingforthesunrise — ari 🪻

･༓☾ so if you need a hero, just look in the mirror ☽༓･

my tagging system:

#ruth speaks — answering asks/joining tag games

#dorian talks to the void — random (usually) text posts

#evvy still uses wired headphones — music related posts

#ruth engages in media consumption — posts about what i’m enjoying at the moment

#teo is typing — stuff about my writing projects

#innocent sin — band stuff

don’t go wasting your emotion, lay all your love on me

eventually i will have a sideblog for writing, but for right now just know that i have two WIPs, Made Of Our Own Storms (#mooos) and Way Down On The River (#wdotr).

mooos is about a group of teenagers doing their best to survive 100 years after the apocalypse while also struggling to balance their mental health and the burden that comes with being alive in the post-apocalypse. tags: (#mooos, #art o’cahan, #arun nidhi, #cy segal, #daya da silva iglesias, #azi tyali, #domi larieux morais, #naia zorita.)

wdotr is about a collection of serial killers that all manage to find themselves on the same riverboat, heading to the same destination. it only gets complicated when they set their sights on each other as their next victim. set in an almost-Earth, wdotr takes place in a steampunk-y world with parallels to earth, but it’s not exactly the same. tags: (#wdotr, #anastasia marie, #cheli malviya, #sam malviya, #zexi malviya, #the triplets, #akachi moriai, #moriai toyoko, #the brides, #ruhi arana, #don nekvasilová, #ash vanich.)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

lyrics used in this post:

‘look both ways before you cross my mind’, george clinton featured on wesley’s theory by kendrick lamar.

‘and i ran, i ran so far away, i just ran’, i ran by a flock of seagulls.

‘oh, come on, angel, come on, come one, darling’, running up that hill (a deal with god) by kate bush.

‘so if you need a hero, just look in the mirror’, after the storm by kali uchis ft. tyler, the creator & bootsy collins.

‘don’t go wasting your emotion, lay all your love on me’, lay all your love on me by abba.

[onlyswan]

Heloo! I'm Noori, i didn't think you would actually answer the ask, i felt beyond embarrassed after i hit send 😭 thank you for the message, it genuinely brightened my day, i'm truly running out of words about your kindness. You adding <3 to my name in the tags was something very miniscule but it meant loads. I hope you have a good day, Art!

aww my beloved 🥺 i’m proud of you for plucking out the courage and for opening up to someone about how you are feeling. your existence makes this world a beautiful place and i hope that never escapes you 💞 you have my heart <3 i love you very much and here’s a lovely anon’s message for you as well ^^

[th3h0nkz]

TIME FOR SOME FANFIC RECOMMENDATIONS PART 3

Part 1 and Part 2, in case you guys haven't seen it

• Sugar Daddy by QuickPrey

RATING: Explicit

SUMMARY:

Like everyone in the undercity, you needed to find a way to get by. Some people smuggled illegal goods and some worked at the brothel. After the tragic death of The Last Drop’s owner, you applied for the bartender job. Luckily for you, you were just what they were looking for.

Minor Arcane Spoilers

• The Winning Hand by Noory

RATING: Mature

SUMMARY:

She saw her friends grow up amidst the Black Lanes. She saw them laugh and cry. Fight and lose battles. The three of them. Children of Zaun. Never could she have imagined that life would put them on different paths in such a cruel way. Vander. Silco.

This is a story about friendship and betrayal and growing up in a world that rewards the most opportunistic.

• Eye of Zaun's Generosity || Silco/FemReader by Tawreline

RATING: Explicit

SUMMARY:

When your lover is the de facto ruler of Zaun, there is very little he won't give you.

Reader has a vag and breasts, is referred to by Silco (in latin) as feminine.

• And I'll Be Like Sugar by Kasiarzyna

RATING: Explicit

SUMMARY:

After a job-gone-kinda-wrong, you get a visit from the Devil himself

• Remember to Breathe by Fiddlezips

RATING: Explicit

SUMMARY:

Miguel, preoccupied, didn't answer. He'd seen these mannerisms before. How Silco carried himself, the precise way he moved his fingers, the subtle tilt of his jaw when he asked a question. Only one thought—as stupid and dangerous as it was—swirled in Miguel's head:

This man is a bottom.

• The Monster Inside All of Us by TheNumber4

RATING: Explicit

SUMMARY:

After being given a new start, you can't control your new animal instincts

This is very brief non-consent before it turns consensual.

And that's it for now ☺️

If you guys have any other fanfic to recommend please tell me

[sunshinewarrior11]

hello, I want to write an Arab character and I don't want to mess anything up so I just wanted to ask some things, I hope I'm not bothering or going the wrong direction, I just don't want to misinterpret Arab people and want to be sure

I read on your page something about nicknames, i have no problem with calling the character by their full name, but i just wanted to ask if having other characters calling them by a nickname is very wrong?

can I have the character and their family live in the same country as the other characters (in this case Spain)?

another one of my questions is about sexuality, how should I write it? can I make the character non-straight?

thank you so much for your answers, I hope none of the questions sound offensive, because they aren't supposed to

Hi, so sorry I am just seeing this. To answer you, 1. nicknames are fine and a common practice in Arabic. The importance here is that the nickname does not exist because the people who gave it struggle with the name. For example Mo for Mohammed to make it easier for western speakers = bad. However, my name is Noor and I've always had the nicknames of Noori or Nooni from my family members. It's like Johnny instead of John. Or we even have nicknames like Dick = Richard. My uncle's name is Mortada, but we all call him Ridda. Additionally, it is more common to nickname your friends/family of a same generation based off a trait. For example my dad's friend's call him Abu Guyora which means 'dad of anger' because he gets frustrated a lot. My cousins call me huckteera which means like 'dangerous/badass', mostly bc my job requires a lot of dumb travelling and come back with all these stories about how I manage to injure myself monthly. But these are endearing, I promise.

2. Yes, I do not know why they wouldn't live with the other characters. Especially if Spain is the setting there is a long history of Arabs and North African ethnic groups such as the Amazaigh (referred to as Berbers or Moors - the latter is common in Spain but be careful because Moro is a slur. Also neither of these groups are Arab, however, they can be mixed, many speak Arabic, but they also have their own languages and customs). Also, like make sure to mention where they are initially from and do the research of that country. It will affect naming practices, foods eaten, religions (not everyone is Muslim nor practices the same type of Islam if they are). They can't just be 'Arabs'. Its very vague and will leave you're reader feeling lost.

3. Absolutely. I'm trans and gay myself. We exist. There are many Arab families who support it and many who don't though. So choose which you're character will experience. Also, fun fact, SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) used to be the place all the European gays ran to until recently as the laws in these areas were much more relaxed and it was more accepted than in Europe. There is a long history of Queerness. But like with everywhere, there are ppl who disagree with it. Also if youre interested in making a non-binary character, Arabic has a few gender netural names which can be easily used. Noor/Nour/Nür (light/divine light) [Noori is masculine and Noura is feminine], Bahr (sea), Qamar/Kamar (moon).

Hope these help.

[makeempay]

I'm gonna need to see a salmeh x Tehran international girl school. Yk there's a lot of tension between us. We hate each other. BUT I JUST NEED to see myself actually arguing or beating them up or just silently cursing them. Anything angsty. Thank you, Mr Ramsay.

😈 Mr Ramsay shall give you power 😈

Salmeh has been to the tehran international girls school now for 2 months. She had to tolerate the nasty teachers and girls there for what? TWO MONTHS! She was literally over the school, if it was her choice, she would’ve dropped out the first day.

The students never answer her questions for homework when she asks.

The teachers criticize her 24/7, like do they have anything good to say.

The students show off too much.  Some of the teachers don’t even know how to teach well

Teachers don’t respond to emails

Too much homework

And she could go on and on but life is too short for that.

One day she was in class and the teacher was critiquing her English homework which she spent most

Of her time working on, salmeh was very proud of this essay but the teacher of course wasn’t happy with it. Salmeh had enough

““So this really doesn’t make sen-”, her teacher was saying but then Salmeh FINALLY DECIDED ITS TIME TO BEAT HER UP.

““You know what, it’s not my fault your English is so bad to the point you don’t understand very well written English, how about you go take some classes then you can come and criticize my work, you shouldn’t even be a teacher anyways so just why don’t u quit your job and go live on the streets!” Salmeh didn’t even want to hear the nonsense the teacher was going to say back so she endned the call and slammed her laptop shut.

She felt a flare run through her body, she felt good.

Salmeh’s phone then rang w a bunch of notifications from WhatsApp. It was the students in her class.

Oh my god your so disrespectful Salmeh

Salmeh no way

Ha she thinks she’s so cool

Bruh why don’t you go back to America buddy Those were only some of the things the students were saying to her. Since Salmeh already ruined her reputation at the school she might as well go full blast she thought to herself.

““Ha you guys really can’t be talking, (name of student), you just copy your art work off the INTNERNET but our art teacher is too dumb to notice that, (student name #2) you tell me to ask you questions but your too busy trying to be the teachers pet and never answer me” Salmeh typed w FORCE.

She went on and on roasting the students UNTILL she was satisfied.

At the end she typed ““you all really should go look at yourself before coming at others, all of you suck and I hope you all fail your classes ;), goodbye dumb pillocks”

Salmeh Noori has left the group

Ah, the satisfaction is great.

[chickenkooks]

[!!!]

i still have a few left but i think i’m going to take a break!!!!! ur more than welcome to still send more but if not ill just answer the ones i have left and then finish up the ask game!!!!!! thanks for playing everyone :-)

[anulithots]

I feel like people sleep on The Tides just because Overthink is SO good, but the symbolism goes CRAZY in The Tides and it's straight up beautiful 😭😭

Do you have any thoughts on it? :0

YES EXACTLY. Like sure overthink is what I hum to myself when I’m stressing about something and it’s an absolute bop and this is coming from someone who doesn’t listen to rap songs whatsoever…

OKAY BUT THE TIDES THOUGH. As the season two outro it’s a masterpiece as welll. And while I cannot (unfortunately) read the lyrics in Chinese, I do think the English lyrics are wonderous as well. (’openn your eyeess… passingg throughh liessss’) AND THE MUSIC ITSELF. Like it’s sooo soft and pretty and has been on repeat in my head for days and days and days. (LIke all the link click songs but STILL.)

BaishaJAWS - as always, I honestly don’t think they can make a bad song - realllyyy did well with the - I don’t know music terms akljfljaksdf - repetition of the melody and the lyrics being about…actually reads the lyrics because this is one of the rare songs I haven’t memorized the lyrics too… smh at myself.

Okay so it’s about how (assumminngg CXS because IDK it feels like him sort of? But of course the ‘POV’ could be a mix of the characters or this season itself) CXS has been ‘lost of in the trap of time lapse’. To me this seems like his season one search for a perfect past, and now he blames himself for how this season has turned out/how the present unfolded because of his decisions. (Like with Lu Min and Lu Guang’s stabbing and how he couldn’t save everyone. Although, I have yet to do a deep dive analysis on season two as of yet, just season one. So these thoughts will probably change going forward).

Now the past is cemented in place, and he cannot escape from the world as it is, rather, CXS resolves himself to use the past, not to fix it, but to move towards the future and ensure it turns out okay. (Overall that’s the difference of season one and season two to me. Season one focuses on CXS primarily and his desire to fix the past, whereas season two focuses more so on a wider cast of characters along with CXS - Qiao Ling especially gets more screen time, and she’s the ‘present focused’ one of the trio - and uses the past to deal with the unfolding issues in the present.

Which leads my storytelling brain to theorize that season three will be ‘future focused’ and it… would be very cool… if the structure changed again. Episodic for season one. More narrative for season two. Then for season three it would be cool (again, from a storyteller’s perspective) for the structure to become more ambiguous, a little abstract, something of that nature. AND THEN WE GET LU GUANG ANSWERS AS THE FUTURE FOCUSED ONE OF THE TRIO!! KAJFKLASJDFKLAJSDLKFJASLKDFJALKSFJKLASJFKLASJDFLSAJDFL

Erm yes… so that’s my theorizing over the two lyrics I can understand /pos <3

... this is too long /pos

[glitterandstarshine]

🦀☀️🤔 for the wip ask game please?

I’m going to answer these for Wintergleam!

🦀 - a favorite piece of dialogue

“Sorry,” Noori said. She shifted part of the load to her sister, who held out her arms to take it. “I got distracted - it’s so lovely this morning.”

Alliyah raised an eyebrow at Noori. “Are you sure?” she asked, glancing around them at snow, now falling from above. “It doesn’t look that lovely to me.”

☀️ - Current word count

6238! I think I’m doing pretty well, lol

🤔 - What’s the inspiration behind this WIP?

Any and all quest stories, a little bit of DND, Eragon, LOTR, and hints of the first couple of Percy Jackson books!

Writing asks!

[izanyas]

Wait

Dæmon AU ORV? Dæmon AU ORV.

Rating: T Words: 3,700 Warnings: some violence, internalized homophobia, mentions of past child/domestic abuse.

Wait

Kim Dokja does not often reflect on his earlier childhood memories. The past is something better left buried to someone like him, who for all that he has spent years stagnating wants nothing more than to strive forward and forward and never, truly, look back. But the moment his fingers wrap around the piece of jade and he hears it acknowledge him—the moment he stops being an incarnation for good—a memory comes to him from sometime long ago.

He is sitting on the floor of the living-room in his childhood home, a book open over his lap and Kyunguk nestled in his neck. It is that time of dusk when daylight ceases to be sufficient and his tired eyes blink over and over, struggling to make sense of printed words.

His mother comes in and flicks the ceiling light on; she says to him, "You should have him take another shape sometimes."

Noori flies over her head and right under the glowing lamp. His shadow spreads over the room like an omen, until he deigns to sit closer to Dokja than he usually elects to. The crow's yellow eyes glisten like gems and bore into Kyunguk's own unwavering gaze. Kyunguk's thin fur sticks close to the skin of Dokja's neck.

"He's watching me," Kyunguk says for Dokja's ears only.

Kim Dokja strokes his back with the tips of his fingers. He tells his mother, "Kyunguk likes it."

"It's not a flattering image. To you or him."

"And Noori's is?"

Noori is the size of a small dog, with wings so black that no light reflects upon them even when the sun shines bright. Lee Sookyung has received her share of disbelief and distrust for the shape of her dæmon, and Kim Dokja privately thinks that she is not one to interfere or care what his schoolmates say of Kyunguk. Or what his teachers relate to her.

This is an old, old memory. A memory from before. A day with his father outside, a day absent of his dog-dæmon's snarls and biting, of the sick stench of alcohol. Kim Dokja took the opportunity to read in the wider spaces of his home rather than hole himself in his room, and Lee Sookyung stayed in the kitchen for the better part of it. Occasionally, Noori peaked inside with his beady yellow eyes, just to make sure Dokja hadn't moved.

Kim Dokja hates crows.

He feels the flesh of his back tear open as wings as black as night grow out of his shoulder blades. He sees through Kyunguk's eyes the shape and style of them, remembers with a smile the sound of feathers on the wind at night when torn voices and the sound of broken echoed through the house.

He is the seventy-third Demon King. The one his comrades have to vanquish to beat the tenth scenario.

"Are you ready?" he asks Kyunguk, and the dæmon does not answer with words, but with a flick of its long tail over the length of Dokja's neck.

It takes precious time and effort to convince the party to attack him—and, though Kim Dokja is loath to admit it, Han Sooyoung's help, bright as her eyes are around the tail of the scorpion perched into her hair. Yoo Jonghyuk and Miteum stay prone against the wall in the corner of Kim Dokja's eyes. They watch from a distance, bleeding and disoriented while Lee Seolhwa works her magic on them, and it is oddly difficult not to feel the weight of their gaze as he allows his allies to stab and punch and cry at him.

Kyunguk crawls down from Kim Dokja's neck and under his white coat till he is cradled between the open wings at his back, his sharp claws stuck into the fabric of his shirt. They have never torn into Kim Dokja's skin and they never will, he knows; Kyunguk is simply more open than him with his fright.

Kim Dokja listens with one ear to the multiple messages he receives from the constellations. He smiles again when he understands the full meaning of the fate bound to him; when he sees Yoo Jonghyuk rise with his black sword in hand and murder in his eyes, Miteum at his feet showing her dripping fangs.

Perhaps this is the day he'll know how they feel when they bite.

There is no need to come to such measures. The third regression Yoo Jonghyuk is not yet someone who has dealt away with taboos and morality. His sword and will are enough to cut through the defense that Kim Dokja cannot help raising, and steel through the chest and shoulder is no laughing matter of pain. Kyunguk trembles when one of Kim Dokja's wings is cut a hair's breath off of his own back. He crawls back atop Dokja's shoulder right as Dokja falls to his knees, blood in his mouth, Yoo Jonghyuk's voice in his ears.

Already he can feel this body vaporizing as the scenario ban enacts itself.

[Your fate has been realized.]

Kyunguk shivers and shakes against him. The dæmon who has never changed form stays here as he has since they were children, into the crook of Dokja's neck and whimpering into his ear. Kim Dokja wants to lift a hand and touch him. He doesn't have the strength to.

"Kim Dokja," Yoo Jonghyuk calls into his other ear.

He has dropped the black sword in order to hold him. Kim Dokja meets Miteum's eyes over the man's shoulder.

Vomiting blood is surprisingly uncomfortable. The Fourth Wall offsets some of the pain and feeling of it, but Kim Dokja can't avoid the taste in his mouth, the slickness and heat he has no choice but to let drip over Yoo Jonghyuk's shoulder. He laughs weakly and says, "It was a great story, wasn't it?"

Yoo Jonghyuk breathes in something like a gasp.

Kim Dokja has not the strength to stroke Kyunguk's fear away, but there is one thing he can do. Already his legs and wings have crumbled like dust in the wind, and somehow this lightens the burden of fatigue and pain some more, enough for him to be able to move one arm. He slithers it along Yoo Jonghyuk's side and in the direction of Miteum until he can rest his hand on her head.

Yoo Jonghyuk tenses against him. It is a movement of the body and soul, his stillness, so deep that not even his chest moves with the air he takes in. Kim Dokja would blush if he still had the blood to, but as it is he simply focuses on the feeling of warm fur under his hand, on the strength of the wolf's gaze as he speaks to her for the first time.

"Take care of Kyunguk for me."

No dæmon can survive outside the scenario. It is something Kim Dokja knows from reading Ways of Survival, something he has prepared for the moment he realized that the tenth scenario had been updated through the prophecy's influence. He ignores Uriel's cries in his ears and the laughter of nebulæ. He thinks again of the pain Yoo Jonghyuk experienced the first time he separated from Miteum—as he reminds Kyunguk through the voice they both share that this is temporary.

"I don't want to," Kyunguk trembles and cries, "I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to."

His claws dig through the white coat until they touch Dokja's skin. He once more feels as small and cowardly as he was in those days of his youth, when Kim Dokja asked him to change form and he refused, time after time, until it was too late. But he slides down from Dokja's vanishing arm until he touches ground for the first time in years; he meets Kim Dokja's eyes with hurt and betrayal, but he doesn't try to cling again.

He was always the last one to give up between the both of them.

Yoo Jonghyuk has never allowed anyone to touch Miteum before.

A handful of people asked. His mother and father when he was a child, his sister on the day Miteum settled and her fur grew silver and white like a jewel under the light. Lee Seolhwa, the first time they made love.

Kim Dokja does not ask. Kim Dokja has never asked for Yoo Jonghyuk's input on any of his schemes and actions before, and it should come as no surprise that he should be so shameless, and yet Jonghyuk freezes at the first brush of skin on fur. The ache that grows within his chest is nothing like anything he knows, in and out of physical existence.

Kim Dokja lays a hand on Miteum's head, and Yoo Jonghyuk feels it between his ribs, around his heart.

There is nothing left of Kim Dokja's body after the black expense behind him finishes swallowing him up. Only bloodstains on the floor and his rat dæmon, prone and gasping, shuddering with the pain of separation. It is an awful thing to witness and Yoo Jonghyuk can hardly bear to look at it—can feel the others behind him holding their own, cannot stop himself from gripping the fur of Miteum's back—but he has to.

He has to look.

[The tenth scenario has ended. Rewards will be distributed soon.]

Other such messages follow. Yoo Jonghyuk doesn't listen to them. He watches Kyunguk shake and listens to the tiny, terrified squeaks he lets out. He remembers the edge of a broken bridge above Han river, a plain-faced man in a cheap suit calling himself his companion, his frightened rat dæmon gripping his shoulder with its claws.

It seems to take an eternity. Lee Seolhwa comes and nudges him, Lee Hyunsung calls his name with tears on his voice, but Yoo Jonghyuk doesn't move. He cannot move. At last the lone dæmon on the floor stops thrashing and moving and seems to fall asleep.

"Miteum," he says.

She moves, silent and deadly. His hand follows the curve of her spine until her tail flicks from under his fingers. She bends over the still rat and takes it into her mouth, and Yoo Jonghyuk knows that her hold is gentle, that her fangs will put only the softest of pressure against Kyunguk's thin bones.

He rises to his feet and declares, "Let's go."

It's not easy. The children are sobbing, Jung Heewon has gone into something like shock, and Han Sooyoung has bitten her lips open. Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah and himself manage to carry everyone out of the Dark Castle and then out of the Seoul Dome. He breaks the wall of it with his fists. It is barely enough to undo his tension.

The hours that follow do not feel real. Living inside the dome has made them all quick to forget that life goes on outside, that aside from the capitals of the world, billions of people remain who have not suffered the Star Stream. They are assaulted by journalists and do-gooders, offered money and employment, recompense, honor.

Han Sooyoung separates from their group almost immediately. Yoo Sangah guides Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung away with both hands on their shoulders, her cat dæmon walking between her legs with its thick fur raised high.

Miteum presses to his side. She still carries Kyunguk in her mouth.

A house is given to them on the outskirts of the city. The transparent dome is now as black as night and, Yoo Jonghyuk knows, just as impenetrable. There is no use in returning there and searching the ruins for a trace of Kim Dokja. He would not survive outside the scenario even if he tried.

And yet, Kyunguk remains. Weak and shivering and alone, but alive. Which means that Kim Dokja lives on in some form or another.

He and Miteum enter the farthest and most secluded bedroom in the house. Jonghyuk locks the door behind them and watches her gently set the rat atop the soft cover of the bed. Kyunguk's tongue lolls out of his mouth. His breaths are fast and shallow, raising the black fur of his stomach and sides almost too quickly for the naked eye.

"He's not dead," Yoo Jonghyuk says.

Miteum rarely speaks. She says nothing now, but he can feel that she agrees with him as she does on so many things. Jonghyuk advances through the room and sits on the bed, leaving enough distance between himself and Kyunguk that the dæmon will not topple in his direction, even with the mattress dipping. Miteum feels no such need for boundaries; she jumps atop the bed and sits, curled around the rat's trembling form without outright touching him. His fur is wet where her saliva has bathed him.

Yoo Jonghyuk pets her absently, looking at Kim Dokja's dæmon and wondering. Thoughts of his sword piercing the man's body fray at the edges of his mind and threaten to make his hands shake; he fists one into the bedspread and the other into Miteum's back.

"You let him," he starts.

He can't finish. The words pulse inside his mouth like a heartbeat.

Miteum shifts her head so she can look at him. He opens his fingers, drags them through her silver fur.

Between her legs, Kyunguk looks like he's dying.

Yoo Jonghyuk cannot explain the knot in his throat, the impression of a hand through his chest as if something has reached under his skin and pulled open his ribs. "He's going to die," he says.

Miteum bends down and licks down the rat's heaving side. He whimpers, still caught between unconsciousness and obvious suffering. Yoo Jonghyuk pictures himself for a second reaching out as Kim Dokja had earlier and taking Kyunguk in hand. Bringing him the warmth that his human must have. His throat dries.

"The fate," Miteum murmurs.

Her voice is deep and soul-wide. Yoo Jonghyuk remembers himself as a child leaning with his head against her ribs, listening to the echo of it through her soft and warm body. Even before adulthood she preferred the shape of dogs and wolves, of bigger felines sometimes. No one had been surprised by her settling.

[Kim Dokja's fate has been realized.]

That is what the dokkaebi's message said when Yoo Jonghyuk stabbed Kim Dokja through the chest.

"It doesn't make sense," he replies.

Miteum gives another lick to Kyunguk's frail body.

He cannot be the person that Kim Dokja loves most. Kim Dokja has shown no sign of being attracted to anyone but women; he and Yoo Sangah look to be close enough for affection, and if not her then Han Sooyoung, in spite of her own scheming nature—

No, he thinks, looking again at the forlorn dæmon. What does he know, truly, of Kim Dokja? He has seen him from afar with women stuck in the same unfortunate circumstances as he. He has opposed and supported him in battle. He has watched him die and rise again three times, experienced grief and relief three times, refused to examine his own feelings about it.

Kim Dokja called himself his companion the very first time they met. He called himself a prophet. Whatever he saw of Yoo Jonghyuk's future was enough to make come back again and again—to break Yoo Jonghyuk out of the throws of nightmares or of his own hopelessness and encourage him to live.

Jonghyuk knows what people say of those with dæmons of the same gender. Why did he never think of it regarding Kim Dokja and Kyunguk?

"You're asking the wrong question," Miteum growls at him.

She is right.

What he knows is right in front of him, burned into his memory: the prophecy said the incarnation Kim Dokja would be killed by the one he loves most. Yoo Jonghyuk killed Kim Dokja. The prophecy was realized.

"Incarnation Kim Dokja," he says out loud, realizing.

Of course. He rubs a hand over his bloody face and sighs. Of course, Kim Dokja must have realized this a lot sooner than he did, the bastard.

"What did he tell you?" he asks Miteum. "When he… earlier, what did he say?"

Miteum looks away from him almost haughtily. She noses at Kyunguk again.

Kim Dokja is alive. For now. Whether he can survive separating from his dæmon is another story; whether he can come back one day is too remote to even consider. Looking at Kyunguk on the bed, Yoo Jonghyuk would not bet on Kim Dokja's survival, but he has made this mistake before, he realizes.

No one would imagine that the man with the small rat dæmon could be so powerful. Powerful enough to surpass Yoo Jonghyuk. Whether this strength comes from Kyunguk or Kim Dokja or the both of them at once, Jonghyuk can only hazard a guess.

Jonghyuk settles for his first night in a proper bed in months. There is a working shower in the bathroom down the hall and he makes full use of it, Miteum beside him shedding the blood and grime off her slick fur. She has carried Kyunguk with them, put him atop a pile of warm towels outside the stall. Her eyes rarely leave him.

He almost walks into Lee Seolhwa when he exits the room.

Miteum remains docile at his side, her jaws delicately holding Kyunguk. Lee Seolhwa and Dal are both looking at her. The python hisses and moves around her shoulders, as disturbed as she is—as they all are—by the idea of a dæmon, alone.

Seolhwa looks up at him quickly. "I wanted to know if you were all right," she says.

"I'm fine."

Her lips thin. "Jonghyuk," she adds, with that same kindness in her voice that made him fall in love all those years ago. "We all saw what happened."

Yoo Jonghyuk looks down, too. He stares at Kyunguk's tail falling limply out of Miteum's mouth. "I have to prepare for what comes next," he tells her. "You should get some sleep too while you can."

He walks past her in the narrow corridor, intent on nothing more than to rejoining his room and sleeping for as long as he can.

Anger spikes through him before he can take the third step; it comes from Miteum.

Yoo Jonghyuk turns on his heels just in time to see Lee Seolhwa's outstretched hand closing where a second ago the wolf stood. Were it not for the rat she is holding so preciously, Miteum would be baring her fangs, and Yoo Jonghyuk feels the need through his own blood and bones. He clenches his teeth in fury.

"What do you think you're doing?" he snaps.

Lee Seolhwa wears a complicated expression. Dal has circled around her front again as if to make a barrier out of his white body, his red eyes fixed onto him and his tongue scenting the air for violence.

Seolhwa takes her hand back slowly. The smile that stretches her lips is joyless. Resigned. "I was wondering if perhaps things had changed," she says. "But I see I was mistaken. I'm sorry for not asking."

Some of Jonghyuk's anger abates. "Seolhwa," he murmurs, but she shakes her head at him.

"I am indebted to Kim Dokja-ssi," she declares, "though I know he didn't save me for me."

Her words close around him like the bars of a prison cell. Part of him feels, all of a sudden, like the Yoo Jonghyuk of the first day; standing in a bloodied train with bile and blood in his mouth.

"I know he saved me for you," she says. Her pale eyes shine with determination. "And I thank him for it. He must know that you and I were together, that we—"

She swallows, grief twisting over her face and inside Yoo Jonghyuk's entrails. He wishes he didn't know what she is mourning now.

He wishes he could not remember the weight of a child in his hands.

"But this life," she says, blinking quickly under the hallway light. "This life isn't for me, is it."

She moves before he can answer. This time Miteum makes no attempt to avoid her, and she does not try to touch, either; her hand simply rests for a second on Yoo Jonghyuk's shoulder. Dal brushes against his hip as his hold around her tightens.

"Sleep well."

Morning finds them smelling of freedom. They can't help it despite the paranoia that the scenario cultivates, the knowledge that they are never, really, out of danger. Yoo Jonghyuk wakes to the smell of coffee and the sound of conversation filtering in from under his door. He knows that more press and attention awaits on the threshold of this borrowed house. He knows that whatever smiles the others will have put on will pale as the days go and their time of respite grows smaller. He knows the children will bear red eyes from crying.

Miteum slept next to him with Kyunguk nestled against her warm side. She looks at him as he sits up and takes in the state of the rat dæmon; he is shaking still, through the tremors have lessened, and patches of his once-glistening fur have fallen off of him. He hasn't regained consciousness.

But he lives. And so does Kim Dokja.

Yoo Jonghyuk does not expect that he would be able to talk to him even if he was awake. He has never seen Kyunguk speak at all, not even to Kim Dokja. The only reason he knows his name is because Kim Dokja introduced the both of them on that day at the bridge.

"Will he need food?" he asks Miteum.

Dæmons do not eat to survive that he knows of. He isn't sure about a separated dæmon, however. It is hard enough looking at Kyunguk without feeling the need to hurl, Yoo Jonghyuk has no wish to see him vanish under his very nose—to picture Kim Dokja walking alone, wherever he is now, with half of his self missing.

Instead of answering, Miteum leans forward and nuzzles his hand.

Each of his heartbeats is an ache. The pain of it feels warm, feels alive, echoing through his chest and clogging in his throat. Jonghyuk treads his fingers through Miteum's fur to ignore how they shake, and then he pulls them off of her. He rests them on Kyunguk's side. He presses the full of his palm against the rat's soft belly, strokes his throat, runs a thumb over his back.

Miteum's rough tongue wets his hand and flattens the small dæmon's twitching ears.

Under their touch, Kyunguk's breaths ease.

[findmyrupertfriend]

I Watch Homeland So You Don’t Have To - Season 8 Episode 2 Catch and Release

Quinn is only shown in the title sequence. Read below the cut if you want to know, but consider this your warning.

Seriously. It’s so fucked up. They selected one of the most horrific scenes of Quinn for their title sequence - the moment he is shot by bullets in S6E12 America First. (Sydney refused to gif this scene, and I wouldn’t post a gif for this anyway.)

The other scene they selected was from S2E5 Q&A, when Quinn stabs Brody in the hand during an interrogation. (Oh, yeah. There’s lots of Brody in the title sequence 🙄)

And lastly, from S4E5 About a Boy, they used Quinn’s voice, once again to say: 

Honestly, I have the same question for Gansa, but I guess I have my answer, which is NO. There is no line. He’s in it for the trauma porn. What’s more is he keeps recycling, and there is no whiff of originality anymore. Maybe because it’s been 8 seasons. Maybe because he just ran out of good ideas. Whatever the case, I’m just hanging in there to see this through to the end.

Here’s a very quick and dirty recap of the episode for anyone who wants it:

Carrie is shaken after seeing Yevgeny, but goes into her meeting with G’ulom questioning him about the Russians. It’s not a successful meeting, as she has no leverage. “What happened to you,” G’ulom asks Carrie. AREN’T WE ALL ASKING THIS?

Carrie wants to go after Yevgeny, but she learns part of the deal Saul made to get her back meant everything that happened to her in Russia is off-limits. 

Max’s intel reveals that Haqqani wants peace as well. So who is holding up this peace process? Why it’s Pakistan, or rather, Tasneem. Tasneem gets the green light to do whatever is necessary from her Aba (stepfather Bunny Latif from S4).

Saul sets up a small operation to get a letter into Haqqani’s hands, asking him to meet. Saul waits for him in Peshawar at a hotel, but things don’t go as planned. Tasneem is on to his plan and sends ISI (Pakistani intelligence) agents to intercept and take out Haqqani. Their efforts fail because Haqqani is smarter than that. He has some of his men KIDNAP SAUL once again! (Talk about recycling old ideas.)

While all of this is taking place, Carrie sets up her own operation after receiving an anonymous tip - a name slipped into an envelope, conveniently placed at her desk. The CIA station chief, Bill, gives his blessing to call this woman, Samira Noori, into a fake job interview, so Carrie can ransack her apartment to look for intel that gives her leverage over G’ulom. Samira worked on a corruption probe of G’ulom, but it ended with a car bomb that killed Samira’s husband.

Jenna, a newbie CIA agent that Carrie treats like shit, screws up the fake interview and gets herself photographed by Samira. Carrie returns to the CIA station with a thumb drive she found hidden in Samira’s apartment and discovers she must go fix Jenna’s fuck up. Carrie asks Samira to help them keep G’ulom under control through peace, but Samira wants G’ulom arrested. 

Ultimately, Samira must have agreed, because Carrie confronts G’ulom with Samira’s evidence of his corruption and thievery. It’s enough to get him to publicly walk back his statements against peace and against releasing Taliban prisoners.

Carrie is pretty pleased with herself and joins the team at a bar to celebrate. Bill seems very keen to get her out of Kabul, but Carrie’s mission isn’t over until Saul tells her it is...and none of them know yet that Saul has been captured by Haqqani.

Carrie is on her way to the bathroom when Yevgeny surprises her again. He tells her he is the one who gave her Samira’s name. Carrie is dumbfounded. 

Yevgeny: “Don’t play dumb.” pause “Why are you looking at me like that?”

And again, he walks away. What happened to Carrie during her time in Russia is really the only interesting part of this season. Something tells me they will drag this out for the next 10 episodes. 

[newsypad]

Noori the band is made of Ali Hamza and Who?

Noori the band is made of Ali Hamza and Who?

Telenor Answers Today 30 August 2022 Noori the band is made of Ali Hamza and Who? Telenor Answers Today 30 August 2022 are available here and you can get these answers at time. Telenor Answers Today are the answers to the quiz questions asked in Telenor App Quiz. There are 5 questions that need correct answers to get passed in the quiz to get rewards. So, you will get all the correct Telenor…

[whileiamdying]

A Taste of Cherry, 1997

An impassive, middle-aged man drives through the busy urban traffic of the city, and is approached by several day laborers for hire. He has a specific task in mind, but drives away without saying a word. His name is Mr. Badii (Homayon Ershadi), and he is seeking an assistant for his planned suicide. He stops to ask strangers about their financial state, surreptitiously interviewing them for the reprehensible job, but leaves without declaring his intentions. He offers a ride to a young soldier (Safar Ali Moradi) on his way back to the barracks. An overhead crane shot follows their vehicle weaving through the narrow, unpaved roads as he drives the soldier to a remote basin where he has dug his burial plot at the foot of a tree. He sees a filial bond with the soft-spoken young man, having himself served in the military, and Mr. Badii reveals his plan: the next day, he asks that the soldier call to him twice. If he responds, the soldier will save him (and literally help him out of the hole that he has dug for himself). If he does not answer, then the soldier will throw twenty spadefuls of earth into the hole and bury him. The young man is horrified by his plan, and runs away. Mr. Badii then begins to follow an earth-moving vehicle and ends up at a closed cement factory occupied by a security guard (Ahmad Ansari) and a seminarist (Hossein Noori) on holiday. He attempts to recruit the religious man by appealing to his compassion, but to no avail. Instead, the gentle seminarist offers him a receptive ear and teachings from the Koran. Disappointed, he leaves the factory and comes upon a construction site, stopping to rest. Note the juxtaposition of Mr. Badii’s shadow against the pouring soil. Eventually, he offers a ride to a talkative old man named Mr. Bagheri (Abdolhossein Bagheri) who works at the museum of natural history. Coincidentally, years earlier, Mr. Bagheri had attempted to commit suicide, but was inspirited by the presence of mulberries under his feet. He disapproves of Mr. Badii’s plan, but his son’s illness compels him to accept the regrettable assignment.

Abbas Kiarostami creates a visually austere and serenely contemplative examination of life in A Taste of Cherry: the unchanging, barren scenery outside the car window; the desolate, winding roads leading to the burial plot; the suffocating dust of the construction site. The barren, almost monochromatic landscape serves as a metaphor for the isolation of the soul. In essence, A Taste of Cherry is not about a man’s search for death, but his search for a reason for living. By rejecting the laborers (who are undoubtedly qualified to bury him) in favor of his passengers, he is seeking empathy and connection. In the end, a chromatic shift transforms the empty landscape into a lush countryside. Perhaps, Mr. Badii, like Mr. Bagheri before him, has changed his own perspective.© Acquarello 2000. All rights reserved.

[fantasynfiction]

[Oneshot] You Belong To Me

Pairing: Kim Min Joon x Jang Ha Ri (from KDrama Mad Dog)

Category: Oneshot

Rating: PG

Genre: Fluff

A/N: Here’s another one-shot fanfic of my recent favourite onscreen couple. The obsession still hasn’t died down yet. This one is also based on my favourite OST from the drama. ENJOY GUYS ^ ^

What I Want – NiiHWA (니화)

“Did you guys get all that?” Jang Ha Ri whispered loud enough for the mic to hear. The team was on yet another mission to crack down an insurance fraud case and Ha Ri was sent to get information from one of the targets.

“Of course,” Cheetah’s voice echoed through the earpiece, “Pentium’s working on uploading the file right now.”

“It should be ready preeetty soon.” The team’s young IT genius replied with confidence, “Wah~ Jang Sunbae, that guy literally spilled every single detail to you in less than 3 minutes. That’s nearly as fast as my internet download speed.”

“Noori~ah, who could have resisted Jang Seong Su’s charm tonight? I don’t think even Kim Bak Sa could say no.”

“Where is Kim Bak Sa anyway?” At the mention of Kim Min Joon, her reflection in the mirror portrayed concern and worry. Ha Ri had to pause for a moment to compose herself before stepping out of the bathroom.

“Guys, let’s focus please. I’ll give this guy a nice warm farewell and then I’ll head straight back to the office. In the meantime…try and locate Kim Min Joon. Over and out.” With that she removed the hidden earpiece and let out a sigh.

“I swear if I get my hands on that crazy idiot…” She mumbled as she made her way back to the target.

Out of the blue, a pair of hands reached out and grabbed her from behind, pulling her over to a quietly light corner. Ha Ri was just about to punch the lights out of the mysterious stranger when she realised it was none other than Kim Min Joon himself.

“Crazy idiot? Are you talking about me?” He asked teasingly with that usual know-it-all tone in his voice.

“Ya! Kim Min Joon!” Ha Ri exasperated, slightly annoyed but mostly relieved to see him.

“Ssh…” He motioned carefully to the bar, reminding her not to cause a scene and blow their cover.

“You scared the hell out of me.” She exclaimed, lowering her tone. “What are you doing here?”

“Keeping an eye on you, of course.” Min Joon simply replied. His eyes fixed intently on hers which made her feel nervous like that time at the restaurant.

“Oh, so you don’t trust me now?”

“It’s not Jang Ha Ri~ssi that I don’t trust. It’s those beasts out there that I’m concerned about.”

“It takes one to know one.” She countered, trying to avert from his gaze. “Well anyway, I better I get back before it gets suspicious.”

“He’s already gone.”

“What?”

“The target.” Min Joon answered, suddenly looking a bit sheepish. “I…may have accidentally bumped into him in the bathroom…and had a few words.”

Ha Ri could only stare at him in disbelief. “Hey, it’s not my fault he was looking at you in all the wrong places. Why did you have to dress like that anyway?”

“How else was I suppose to seduce the man and get information out of him?”

“Seduce? Does the man know that you have a hygiene problem?”

“Kim Min Joon! Now is not the time to make fun of me. Seriously, why do you always do this?”

“You still don’t get it, huh?”

“What? Get what? What is it that you want?”

“Nothing. Nevermind.”

Bitter silence filled the air, as they both struggled to find the right words to say. Ha Ri desperately tried to search for an answer in his expression, but it was no use. He was unreadable.

Jang Ha Ri, you’re a fool for thinking that you could understand him. Disappointed, she turned to leave, holding back her emotions.

“Aish! YOU!” Min Joon slammed his hand against the wall in frustration, blocking her from escaping. “I want…you.”

“Kim…” Ha Ri was completely taken aback by his statement but before she could even process the situation fully, Min Joon had already planted his lips gently against hers, leaving her even more bewilder.

Breaking the kiss, he peered down at her with a shy smile and asked, “Do you…understand now?” His voice sounded anxious.

“I…”

“I told you that I was only going to look at you, didn’t I?”

“You…did?” She mumbled, still a little dazed.

“Pabo.” Min Joon chuckled to himself.

He tapped Ha Ri affectionately on the nose before moving in for another kiss. It felt so right that she couldn’t help but lean in closer, wrapping her arms automatically around his neck. This time she kissed him back with fervor.

[easyfoodnetwork]

Yelp Adds New Feature to Flag Businesses Accused of Racism

Photo: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock

The consumer review platform has publicly aligned itself with the Black Lives Matter movement

Starting today, Yelp will display warnings if restaurants and other businesses are associated with racist conduct, the review platform announced on its blog.

The change comes amid ongoing protests and bolstered advocacy against racism, anti-Blackness, and police brutality, sparked in part by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black people this year. Yelp reviews mentioning Black-owned businesses increased more than 617 percent this summer compared to last year, vice president of user operations Noorie Malik wrote in the blog post. “While searches for Black-owned businesses surged on Yelp, so did the volume of reviews warning users of racist behavior at businesses.” According to the company, between May 26 and September 30, it flagged more than 450 businesses that were accused of, or the target of, racist behavior related to the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Increasingly, consumers across the U.S. are voting with their dollars by supporting businesses that align with their values,” wrote Malik. “As always, we continue to evaluate how we can best use our platform to build a better, more equitable and inclusive environment where consumers and businesses can interact safely and fully informed.”

Yelp has already used “consumer alerts” — warning if a business’s ratings show evidence of manipulation or unusual activity — since 2012. For example, when a business gets “review bombed” with ratings as a result of a news event or media attention, rather than actual first-hand customer experiences, the ability to post reviews is temporarily disabled. Now, when a business gets lifted into the public spotlight for reports of “overtly racist” behavior, its page will be flagged with a “Business Accused of Racist Behavior” alert, along with a link to a news story about the conduct in question. Reviews will also be temporarily disabled with these alerts.

Photo: Yelp

Yelp’s new alert flagging reports of racist conduct associated with a restaurant or business.

Where the platform could potentially run into difficulty is adjudicating what exactly constitutes “racist behavior,” a question whose answer may vary wildly depending on whom one asks. (For instance, could right-wing news sites attempt to argue that displaying Black Lives Matter flags is racially discriminatory?)

But, while the guidelines for this arbitration are sure to be a constant evolution, for now Yelp is publicly aligning itself firmly with Black Lives Matter and the racial justice movement, telling Eater that Yelp’s definition of “racially-charged actions” includes “the use of racist language, symbols or sentiment that clearly discredits the Black Lives Matter movement.”

“We unequivocally reject racism, whether it’s happening on or off the platform,” a company spokesperson said. Yelp’s full statement is as follows:

Maintaining the trust consumers have in Yelp is a top priority. To that end, we take measures to protect the integrity of the content on our platform, and level the playing field for hard working business owners who rightfully earn their great reputation.

We unequivocally reject racism, whether it’s happening on or off the platform. Our Public Attention Alerts protect businesses that may find themselves the victim of racism when consumers storm their business page with reviews, or they may find themselves in the crosshairs if a customer behaves inappropriately. Now, we’re taking a firmer stance against racism with the Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert that will be placed when we learn of reports of egregious, racially-charged actions such as the use of racist language, symbols or sentiment that clearly discredits the Black Lives Matter movement. This alert will always include a news article associated with public allegations so our users can learn more.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/36PkJk7 https://ift.tt/3iMNhwR

Photo: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock

The consumer review platform has publicly aligned itself with the Black Lives Matter movement

Starting today, Yelp will display warnings if restaurants and other businesses are associated with racist conduct, the review platform announced on its blog.

The change comes amid ongoing protests and bolstered advocacy against racism, anti-Blackness, and police brutality, sparked in part by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black people this year. Yelp reviews mentioning Black-owned businesses increased more than 617 percent this summer compared to last year, vice president of user operations Noorie Malik wrote in the blog post. “While searches for Black-owned businesses surged on Yelp, so did the volume of reviews warning users of racist behavior at businesses.” According to the company, between May 26 and September 30, it flagged more than 450 businesses that were accused of, or the target of, racist behavior related to the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Increasingly, consumers across the U.S. are voting with their dollars by supporting businesses that align with their values,” wrote Malik. “As always, we continue to evaluate how we can best use our platform to build a better, more equitable and inclusive environment where consumers and businesses can interact safely and fully informed.”

Yelp has already used “consumer alerts” — warning if a business’s ratings show evidence of manipulation or unusual activity — since 2012. For example, when a business gets “review bombed” with ratings as a result of a news event or media attention, rather than actual first-hand customer experiences, the ability to post reviews is temporarily disabled. Now, when a business gets lifted into the public spotlight for reports of “overtly racist” behavior, its page will be flagged with a “Business Accused of Racist Behavior” alert, along with a link to a news story about the conduct in question. Reviews will also be temporarily disabled with these alerts.

Photo: Yelp

Yelp’s new alert flagging reports of racist conduct associated with a restaurant or business.

Where the platform could potentially run into difficulty is adjudicating what exactly constitutes “racist behavior,” a question whose answer may vary wildly depending on whom one asks. (For instance, could right-wing news sites attempt to argue that displaying Black Lives Matter flags is racially discriminatory?)

But, while the guidelines for this arbitration are sure to be a constant evolution, for now Yelp is publicly aligning itself firmly with Black Lives Matter and the racial justice movement, telling Eater that Yelp’s definition of “racially-charged actions” includes “the use of racist language, symbols or sentiment that clearly discredits the Black Lives Matter movement.”

“We unequivocally reject racism, whether it’s happening on or off the platform,” a company spokesperson said. Yelp’s full statement is as follows:

Maintaining the trust consumers have in Yelp is a top priority. To that end, we take measures to protect the integrity of the content on our platform, and level the playing field for hard working business owners who rightfully earn their great reputation.

We unequivocally reject racism, whether it’s happening on or off the platform. Our Public Attention Alerts protect businesses that may find themselves the victim of racism when consumers storm their business page with reviews, or they may find themselves in the crosshairs if a customer behaves inappropriately. Now, we’re taking a firmer stance against racism with the Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert that will be placed when we learn of reports of egregious, racially-charged actions such as the use of racist language, symbols or sentiment that clearly discredits the Black Lives Matter movement. This alert will always include a news article associated with public allegations so our users can learn more.

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