#night speaks with al

[formulaheart]

nobody talks enough about the fact that marius and courfeyrac are canonically roomates

nobody ALSO talks enough about the fact that marius freaked out because his neighbors were criminals and said yeah i'm not gonna live here anymore

and walked on down to courfs house at 9pm

and knocked on his door and said "i have come to sleep with you"

and that courf was like hey yeah buddy come on in

and just DRAGGED his SECOND MATTRESS off his bed onto the floor

and said there you go homie sweet dreams

and that was that

[theoutcastrogue]

The Port & the City

Buenos Aires, photo by lasgalletas (Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0)

Introduction

City of witches and of asphalt, port with no exit to the sea! — La Portuaria, from the port of Buenos Aires

Some cities have a port, and some port cities have a port culture. That's how I call it, anyway. It's a very special thing. It's created by the furious economic activity that concentrates around the coming and going of ships, cargo, and people. A port needs to cater to all of that, the ships and the cargo, the shipowner and the dockworker, the captain and the deckhand, the tourist and the sailor and the fisherman. And that transforms the entire city.

Where a port city meets the sea, there's shipping companies, travel agencies, imports/exports, truck companies, posh hotels, shitty hotels, fancy bars, seedy bars, brothels, strip clubs, theatres, restaurants, casinos, bookshops, tool shops, souvenir shops, fishing supplies, and fresh fish. There's peddlers and businessmen, porters and accountants, all sorts of people, and they all mingle. They have to! The port's there!

Port cities have their own landmarks and geography, with docks, wharfs, piers, depots, gates, shipyards, and people can orient themselves by relation to the water.

New York City, photo by Kari Nousiainen (Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0)

Crime

My gold watch and my pocketbook and lady friend were gone And there was I, Jack all alone, stark naked in the room — the port of New York City

Port cities attract furious criminal activity. Firstly and obviously, everything that's smuggled will be smuggled through here, from cocaine to counterfeit handbags to guns to oil. (I mean crude/refined oil, though with the prices we've seen lately, olive oil is equally plausible.) Port authorities, customs, shipowners and workers, all can have a hand in the pie, a little finger or both hands shoulder-deep, depending on how high up the ladder they are.

Second, ports are always full of newcomers, sailors and passengers, and all newcomers are potential marks. Con artists, scammers, and grifters of all sorts can ply their trade here. There's also a lot of shilling for more or less legitimate businesses (come buy this, sir! rent a room here, ma'am! oh but you must have a drink there, buddy!), and peddling less then legitimate goods (may I interest you in a fine watch? Rayban glasses, I have Rayban glasses! 100% genuine!). And then there's good old pickpocketing. Although in most cases, pickpockets are not allowed to operate within the port itself: it's bad for everyone else's business, and unlike cops, "everyone else" can actually enforce that.

And third, there's the entertainment sector: the trifecta of night life, sex work, and gambling, all going hand in hand with the sale and consumption of drugs and booze. Expect the port city to be much more entangled in all that than other cities, and the port itself to attract the bulk of it, or the worst of it. Things that are theoretically illegal might be tolerated here, things that are heavily regulated elsehwhere might follow their own rules here, and things that are otherwise unheard of can be found here. What are you into? Step right up but beware: the large print giveth and the small print taketh away.

The upshot of all this is that people in the port's vicinity (not the whole city, though) are more likely to be involved, or at least personally know someone who's involved, in profoundly shady and/or illegal business. And that certainly affects the culture. Breaking the law is more "eh" than "oh my!".

Clydebuilt Museum, photo by Paisley Scotland (Creative Commons CC BY 2.0)

Politics

All my life I've lived beside the waters that they call the Clyde I build the ships and watch them glide down the Broomielaw, sir Trudge to work in sleet and rain, labour for another's gain know yer place and don't complain, that's the rich man's law, sir — Alistair Hulett, from the shipyards of Glasgow

A port displays furious political activity. Unions are strong here, because labour is not only working, it's working hard, manually, in the same spaces (so they can talk about it!), and facing the same dangers to life and limb. Working on the docks, handling cargo containers, and ship-building and maintenance are very hazardous jobs (scrapping even more so, I'd say dramatically so), and under these conditions, it's easier to spot the enemy. Not automatic though. Port cities are traditionally, but not unconditionally, strongholds of the left.

Today, it's extremely important for the left to take the ports, because if it doesn't the fascists will. The workforce here has significant ethnic diversity, coming both from inland (immigrants and local minorities) and from the sea (sailors who go around the world sometimes end up working in random ports). So basically, this either goes "proletarians of the world unite" or "foreigners are stealing our jobs", no middle ground.

By the way, if all your knowledge about port unions comes from The Wire, or worse (for our older readers) from On the Waterfront, please be aware that these are slanted depictions, and you don't actually know anything. [They're not equally slanted, The Wire is nowhere near the other one's level of shameless propaganda, nor so completely divorced from reality. I mean yes, unions can be involved in shady business; so can literally everyone else in the port. But On the Waterfront, without the slightest exaggeration, is to American organised labour what Birth of a Nation is to Black Americans.]

Valparaíso, photo by [o] Rolando Vejar (Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0)

Culture

Amo el amor de los marineros que besan y se van. Dejan una promesa. No vuelven nunca más. — Pablo Neruda, from the port of Valparaíso

The port's culture seeps through the rest of the city. This is where sailor lore gets created and spread, and a port by definition loves travel and the ocean. Many non-sailors fall for it hook, line and sinker, and write poems and sing songs and their heart swells at the mere thought of sailing. But their fascination is often rose-tinted, whereas people who make a living from the sea typically have a love/hate relationship with it.

Maiden voyages are important occasions in shipbulding ports. A ship's last voyage, before it goes to scrap, is also memorable. If the ship regularly docks there, it will be the talk of the town, and if it's a passenger ship [this assumes a geography with regular passenger runs], a whole mess of people will be sharing stories and memories, waving it farewell, shouting, applauding, crying a little. It can get very emotional.

There's also a silly sort of localism/professional pride going on, where even the port's accountants, who've never set foot below decks IF they've actually boarded a ship, feel like they're a different species of accountant, inexplicably tougher and saltier than their more, er, inland colleagues. No matter who you are and what you do, it's badge of honour to say you're from and/or work at the port, like you're automatically endowed with tenacity and street smarts. It doesn't make sense, but there you have it.

Rotterdam, photo by MaxAmy Photography (Creative Commons CC BY-ND 2.0)

Desire

In the port of Amsterdam there's a sailor who dies Full of beer, full of cries, in a drunken town fight In the port of Amsterdam there's a sailor who's born On a hot muggy morn by the dawn's early light — Jacques Brel (in David Bowie's adaptation), from the port of Amsterdam

A port is filthy, grubby, and hopelessly romantic. If it faces somewhat west, it's on fire every sunset. Silhouettes of gigantic cranes are framed by red clouds like alien tripods. The sun sinks into the ocean, and tell me, in the whole wide earth, is there a sweeter sight? Ships approach like sea beasts, and dock in their usual place like old friends.

A port carries the whiff of grease and petrol, the cool sea breeze, and the incessant sounds of waves and engines and – most of all – people. A port IS people, passing. And tell me, in the whole wide world, is there anything more exciting and heartwrenching than people passing? A port city can fill you with wanderlust and feel like a prison, or a warm welcome, or a devastating farewell.

And if you point a gun to my head and force me to describe a port in a single word, I'll have to say: desire.

Love me, leave me, hold me tight, walk away, forget. Look at how I broke inside, and how the sea has swelled! It's pouring out a riot of colours, scents, and lights, and in the city's gutter it's building paradise. — Ξύλινα Σπαθιά, from the port of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, photo by Arend Kuester (Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0)

La Portuaria - Un dia cualquiera (El bar de la calle Rodney) | the port of Buenos Aires

Ξύλινα Σπαθιά - Ρόδες | the port of Thessaloniki

Tom Waits - Step right up

Finbar Furey - New York City girls | the port of New York

The Dubliners - Go to sea no more | the port of Liverpool

Alistair Hulett - The Old Divide and Rule | the shipyards of Glasgow

The Dreadnoughts - Roll Northumbria | the shipyards of Tyne

The Longest Johns - Fire & flame | the port of Halifax

Maria del Mar Bonet - Merhaba | the ports of the Mediterranean

Cesária Évora - Mar de canal | the port of Mindelo

Susana Baca - Los marineros | the port of Valparaíso

Παντελής Θαλασσινός - Άσπρο καΐκι στη Νέα Πέραμο | the little port of Nea Peramos

Jacques Brel - Amsterdam | the port of Amsterdam

Social Waste - Kasbah | the port of Algiers

Πάνος Κατσιμίχας - Ο πιλότος Νάγκελ | the port of Colombo, so far from Lofoten

Ξύλινα Σπαθιά - Φωτιά στο λιμάνι | the port of Thessaloniki

[daggerfall]

Apparently the thing that happens at the very end of the Gold Road epilogue? Did not affect Azandar and Sharp's houseguest dialogue.

[thottybrucewayne]

I'm gonna say something, and I'm gonna try to say it in the nicest way possible without raising my voice. There is a way to write Talia being a mother, daughter, wife, and mentor without reducing her to those roles and nothing more. What about her hopes? What about her dreams? What about her relationship with herself? What does she want? She's so much more than her relationships with the men in her life!

[chilschuck]

omg the dancing thing you posted… picturing dancing with chilchuck to “a lovely night” aaaa… i feel like he’d take the girl’s part though

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ ANON OHHHH MY GOD YOURE SO RIGHT…… i listened to it and imagined it so well in my mind. i’m going to CRY WAUGHGHGHH i might need to draw him tap dancing now for my sanity

[the-al-chemist]

I am absolutely loving reading everyone’s comments and messages and reactions to THAT plot development!

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I thought that I’d share a couple more cover designs for future stories, with some additional details about them that I’ve been keeping secret…

On This Wild Night - the Hinny Wedding WIP got written, and then almost entirely written. Now everyone knows why. This one takes place in the early noughties, as Artemis nears her thirtieth birthday and is feeling the pressure to make changes in her life. It will be (finally!) published at some point this autumn.

The Lights That Never Go Out - this one follows the events of the wizarding war, with flashbacks from the years leading up to it. It’s fairly episodic in nature, and I am currently debating whether or not to write and publish it as as one story or to publish intermittently as short stories to put together as a series later. We shall see how I feel.

If anyone wants to know more, hit up the askbox!

[gatorinator]

You should be able to go to a restaurant alone and they stick you with a couple other people who also came alone and then you get to enjoy your meal and meet other people and talk. Yes that’s my nightmare 90% of the time BUT I have energy, no food in my home, and I wanna get out there and go to dinner BUT ALL MY FRIENDS ARE BUSY. what’s a girl to do. I don’t want to go to a restaurant and eat ALONE. But I wanna be out. Throw me in with some random people I can social rn

[toldentops]

omg. ok first of all im sorry for what will inevitably be a rambling ask second of all sorry if this is weird? but i followed your art blog because i thought your splatoon OCs were really cool, and then i saw your post about being on artfight so i followed you on there, and then i saw you follow my art blog on here and was like. huh... toldentops... that sounds so familiar i wonder why? and i had to think about it real hard and then i finally realized it's because i remember interacting with you on FR's i know that reference thread back in. like. 2019. which is so incredibly funny to me to think about again like 5 years later and also just like. wow what a wraparound!! again sorry if this is odd i just love like, "small world" moments like this

SMALL WORLD…IT ALWAYS COMES BACK TO FLIGHT RISING IKTR THREAD

[wiredalienvampire]

Me whenever I listen to Ales's voice lines from origins ♡

[unproduciblesmackdown]

eddie bracken as orville wingait in summer stock (1950)

[askthegothamshrike]

can you teleport?

[formulaheart]

THE FIRST SEASON OF OUTER BANKS IS JUST ROMEO AND JULIET

Sarah and John B's love draws people in because people love the idea of star-crossed lovers in any form of media. Because we're fascinated by love and tragedy intertwined, and even more fascinated by people trying to overcome all odds to find happiness, even when it's not in the stars for them. Which is exactly why so many people are drawn to the story of Romeo and Juliet. (or maybe its just leonardo dicaprio) And at first star-crossed love is all they have in common. But if the Kooks are Capulets, and the Pogues are Montagues then all the characters start to fall into place.

The Kooks/Capulets:

Sarah = Juliet The leading woman. Both are young and beautiful and naive on their ideas of what love is and what it should be, both get drawn into a whole different world when they meet their lover, and both are willing to risk everything, including their family to stay with them.

Rafe = Tybalt The violent relative. In Rafe's case it's a brother, and in Tybalts case its a cousin, but in both cases they'll do anything for their family honor and their own honor, including hurting and killing people who aren't even involved with their fight just because they can.

Topper = Paris The jealous ex-lover. The person who was to be with The Leading Woman from the start, and despite a bad attitude about their scorned(or lost) love doesn't grow violent till it all starts coming to an end and they get defensive of the woman they loved, and even then they're still able to make amends.

Weezie = The Nurse The nosy close friend of The Leading Woman. They are more different from each other than many of the other characters. But both are the closest female friend The Leading Woman has, are incredibly nosy, and don't particularly care who she ends up with as long as there is a little drama.

Ward = Capulet The Kook/Capulet patriarch. They're both an enemy of The Leading Man's family, both family oriented towards their own family but in an unhealthy way. Successful and commanding of respect, but liable to fly into a rage when things don't go their way.

Rose = Lady Capulet The ineffective mother. Neither of these characters are well connected to their families despite any efforts they put forward. Both are young and inexperienced.

The Pogues/Montagues:

John B = Romeo The leading man. Impulsive and immature but also, idealistic and passionate, aware of the fight going on, but not at all interested in it. Both affectionate and devoted to their friends. Both are absolutely captivated by their new love and do everything they can for them to stay together.

Pope = Benvolio The peaceful friend. They spend a lot of their time throughout the story trying to keep the peace between their friends and other violent characters. Level headed and thoughtful, they try to diffuse a lot of violence especially in public places.

Kiara = Benvolio/Mercutio The friend with a foot in both worlds. As Mercutio is a relative of the duke and doesn't even have a reason to be involved in the rivalry, Kiara is technically a Kook and doesn't need to be involved in the rivalry either. She's sarcastic and salty like Mercutio, but also pragmatic, sensitive and an advocate for peace like Benvolio. (She could also be translated as Rosaline, Romeo's love at the beginning of the play, but I feel like Kiara is too important to be brought down to just that character.)

JJ = Mercutio The reckless friend. Hotheaded and chaotic, they spend a good amount of time getting into fights or encouraging others to do so. They're both imaginative with a strange sense of humor, and wildly loyal. They're both implied to be more sexually active than their friends and flirt with anything that moves.

Both Montague and Lady Montague are far less involved in the story line than the heads of the Capulet family which could be translated as John B's parents being out of the picture.

Other Characters:

Peterkin/the police department = Prince Escalus Law enforcement. They want to help and attempt to maintain the peace at all costs, but are too uninvolved and oblivious of what is actually going on to actually play an important part in the situation.

Nobody = Friar Laurence Everything the friar does for the story comes from somebody else in Outer Banks. Escape plans, support, soothing words, and even legally marrying two people, all come from separate characters.

The details of how the story goes down are obviously changed up, but key elements are the same. Romeo and Juliet fall in love, and in an unrealistically fast amount of time are willing to do anything for each other. Romeo's friends notice a difference in his behavior. Mercutio takes a hypothetical bullet for a friend and takes their place in a fight that isn't his. (JJ saying it was him, and not Pope that sunk the boat.) Because of this Tybalt is ultimately a huge part of Mercutios downfall (emotionally and physically or fatally)( and Benvolio is there for Mercutio in those moments when Romeo isn't!!!!) Romeo is accused of a death that wasn't (entirely) his fault and has to go on the run from the law. Juliet dies. (disappears) Paris and Romeo fight. Paris and Romeo are tolerably respectful of each other in their very last moments with each other. A plot is hatched for Romeo and Juliet so that they can still be together. (In John B and Sarah's case they plan it together) The plan goes wrong. They decide they would rather die than be without each other. (Sarah literally says the words, "I would rather die than be without you") They hold each other as they die. (Or are presumed dead)

By the end of the season it's made clear that a social divide is never going to come to anything good. It's about young people who are torn apart by their families or cultures or things that were decided far before they were born or far before they could have any say in it and how they're stronger after realized that what they are fighting is not each other. Despite being a cliche, love overcomes all things and kids are smarter than they seem. The only major differences are that in Romeo and Juliet, the death is permanent and far more tragic, and the reaction that is had by their family and their people is that of overcoming their differences. They overcome their differences for their children and because they realize that it was their fault Romeo and Juliet were driven to this. Love prevails. Whereas in Outer Banks, they eventually come back (yay) and a lot of the people who drove them away were corrupt and didn't care, or change. I like to think that was a plot choice, for the sake of an ongoing story and that love prevails eventually.

Anyways, if you got this far thanks for entertaining my rants, sometimes i like to hyper-analyse every single thing, there were a lot more things that i did not add because it is obscenely long now

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam with Mohamed Al Fayed

Photos originally posted by Ahmed himself

[appalachy]

Ok this is a little awkward helped my two friends with their writing part of the proficiency exam and got them higher scores than i did for myself 💀 i still got a C1 in it ofc but less points than them and i wont stand for that

[thedreamparadox]

thanks for singlehandedly feeding the nights fandom

I actually came to the realization a few days ago that I (by number of fics, not necessarily by word count) think I am currently the most prolific NiGHTS fic writer on AO3 and I do not know what to do with that information.

We are a handful of people and a shoelace fandom on that site rn it's kind of surreal.

[flashfuckingflesh]

Prudish EVIL Takes on the Arcade in "Joysticks!" reviewed! (MVD Visual Rewind Collection / Blu-ray)

Get Your Herky-Jerkey Hands on “Joysticks’ on MVD Blu-ray! Arcade manager Jefferson Bailey runs his grandfather’s business like a nonstop party lined with token-operated video game machines, stocked with a complete concession counter, and welcoming beautiful women to enjoy not only the endless entertainment of the arcade machines at all hours but also to gush over his handsome, easygoing…