#but sometimes Hasan just hits different

[mila-bee]

[fullofgutsndopamine]

Just A Spark (Gonna Let It Happen)

Or: five times hasan helped you + 1 the one time you helped him

feat: fire fighter hasan

tw: mention of drinking, cursing, mention of ptsd/trauma

thanks to the wonderful @the-phantom-author for letting me run with their idea. @medlarmeadows and @abadarkade for their wonderful suggestions and always offering ideas when i run out

more hasan here

one. first encounter

sometimes, when the thick blanket of night falls in the room, hits his eyes even though they’re blocked by his arm-he wonders exactly what he did wrong in a past life to be here.

he isn’t sure if he believes in that past life bullshit; people with cards and stars that tell him he looked at someone the wrong way, years ago, in a different lifetime, landed him here- but fuck, he did something wrong.

it’s the steady beep of a half broken fire alarm that makes an eye snap up. it’s ironic, or something, that the fire stations fire alarm would be broken, but he can’t find himself caring enough to pull up a chair, find the screwdriver, to care long enough to do something for it.

instead, he lays with his forearm over his eyes, counts the seconds in between the beeps, find the peace in the lull between the five seconds.

there’s parties to go to; things he could make himself do-instead, he lays in a twin sized mattress that lightly reeks of a delicate mixture of body odor and oil.

Last nights call plays in his head: what was suppose to be a harmless call for a ninety year old-the flash of fear in her eyes when he gets there, holding her hand and promising her it’ll be okay-

he sits up and flips the pillow over to the cooler side, hopes that makes a difference, tries to face the wall and count the markings that line the wall.

An alarm blares over head.

he wonders if he squeezes his eyes shut long enough, picks the sides of the pillow up and slams it into his ears. instead, he sits up with a sigh, pulls his shoes up and says a hail mary to whatever supernatural powers be, wills it to be better.

The engine starts up, James, his partner forever, hops into the seat next to him and they’re off.

Three streets away in a yard only lit up by a fire, you find yourself borderline pacing.

The coughing didn’t bother you. At least, not at first.

The bonfire started hours ago, before the sun had set, hiding behind clouds and dipping in and out of them, as if it was an elaborate game of hide and seek that you were losing badly.

The coughing was almost expected. Peter and Paul, the two idiots together, disappeared off an hour ago with a large container of gasoline and a glint in their eye that you didn’t fully trust-honestly, you were surprised it took this long for it to catch up with you.

“Dude,” someone, you think his name is Scott, a friend of a friend, speaks up: “The first cough is whatever. The second? Sure. but the third? Can you please get it together?”

It’s dramatic.

an anxious habit, your hands go to the side of your hand, nail to your head to scratch at an invisible itch.

"Hey," Scott says in-between the coughs, scratches at his throat, "what's in these brownies anyways?"

Peter speaks up: "Nothing ground breaking. A family recipe-"

"Oh, please," Ava snorts, "Is the family recipe from a box found at Meijer's?"

"Fuck off, you're disrespecting my dead Nana," Peter puffs his chest out, "Who's dead, by the way, you sick fuck-"

"Guys," Scott is borderline wheezing, "The brownies?"

Peter rolls his eyes, "Oil, mix.." He ticks them off on his fingers, "Oh, I added some chopped walnuts in, to spice them up-"

"Stop trying to make 'spice them up' happen. Your Nana did not say that."

"Walnuts?" his eyes go wide, "I'm allergic-"

it's a blur after that. Yelling, running around, phone calls with fingers shoved in their ears to block out the noise, frantic googling that yielded no results

Honestly, the first thought you had when you saw him was relief. you wonder if that's what he's use to; the guardian angel status, the way he walks into a room with authority, like nothing actually scares him

Ava walks next to him, although it's less walking and more running, trying to run to keep up with his strides

You have Scott leaning against a dead tree trunk, his shirt ripped off in a panic, his hand on his throat as if he could scratch the itch out-your hand rests over his, your face close to him as you try to talk him off an invisible ledge.

"You're going to be fine," You're saying, trying to convince yourself, more than anything, "by tomorrow this is going to be a funny memory we'll all look back at-"

Hasan recognizes this-knows that it's you more panicked than him, and he realizes how out of his element he is-needs to rescue a cat in a tree, reset a fire alarm-

EMS comes in first, breaks up the two of you-you take the hint, inch further away so you're not in the way, but can still hear what’s going on-if he’ll make it.

“Hey.”

your head whips up. eyes stinging, didn’t realize you were crying until the familiar pinch came.

“Hey,” you shake your head, “sorry. Am i in the way?”

The taller man shrugs, “he’s good. James got him, too.”

He studies you for a second.

“are you okay?”

before you can answer stuff is flying from his belt; a smaller pack hits by your feet, a walkie talkie inches from your toes-

he plops down next to you with a groan, like that took a lot out of him.

Panic looms. blooms in your chest, fills it, threatens to take over-

“here.”

he digs in his jeans and pulls out a caramel candy, holds it by the wrapper.

“isn’t that an old man candy?”

you sniffle but a shaky hand reaches out, grabs it and unwraps it.

“it’s Hasan, by the way.” the man says gently, eyes downcast as he unwraps his own, “and it’s not.”

finally some comfort, the rise of panic crashing like a wave in your chest as it retreats for now.

“Hasan the old man,” you settle on, “got it.”

two

"You've got to be kidding me."

Hasan chomps on gum as if he doesn't have a care in the world

"I know the medical emergency was a little above your pay grade," You hope your voice doesn't come out as shaky as it feels, "So I figured saving my cat would be more up your alley."

He snorts, rolls his eyes as he cranes his neck to look up the tree.

"What's it's name?"

"My name?" You scratch at your neck, not sure how this is relevant but if it saves your cat-

"No," hasan says slowly, "The cat-"

"Oh."

You hope he doesn't see the rising red splash across your face

"Tomato," You clear your throat, "Tomato is the asshole who thought it was a good idea to climb a tree at five in the morning when i have an interbiew in an hour and my hair is still wet-"

and my hair is still wet- your hand flies to your head, where a towel is still damp and wrapped around your head, stained and worn with age-past hair colors stained and marked the towel up

"Hey,"

Hasan's voice brings you down, crashes you back to earth. Instead of the rising heat on your face and the worried roar in your head, your back in your front yard. Hasan stands in front of you-a too tight uniform shirt across his chest, stained, a mop of curly hair and a constellation of freckles across his face.

wide eyed, looking at you, his hands on either side of your arms:

“you’re fine,” he’s saying, “Tomato is fine. i’ll get her down in time.” he hesitates for a second, considers the weight behind it, “i promise.”

he turns to the tree before you can see him flustered:

“what a fucking stereotype,” he sighs, calls over his shoulder, his shoulders already aching from the work out he’s about to get: “got a ladder?”

there’s a quick fight between you two (“just tell me where the ladder is“ “you’re going to save tomato! you can’t carry the ladder too!”) before he throws his hands up and makes his way to the small shed in the corner of the yard, ignoring you, all but marching back to the scene of the crime.

“can you hold the ladder?” he says gently, before a smile paints across his face, “can you handle that much?”

the bastard is smirking now. in the sunlight his freckles are more pronounced, can trace the lines of them on his face.

“shouldn’t you have someone with you?” you’re calling up gently as he scales up a ladder. he’s clicking his tongue as he does so.

he doesn’t answer:

“i fucking hate cats,” he’s saying instead, “murderous, ungrateful bastards-“

his fingers reach out at the branch, so close to touching Tomatoes tail-he hisses, climbs up another branch.

“I don’t think he likes me.” Hasan huffs, scaling the tree higher

“can you blame him?” Nibbling fingernails, “some scary man is climbing up a ladder and invading his space-“

“handsome?”

head titled back as he slowly climbs the ladder, “what?”

“a handsome man, i assume you said,” hasan continues, silence for a second before there’s light rustling; a branch falls, a bundle of leaves-you’re about to ask if he’s okay before he retreats back, an orange bundle under his arm, meowing and yelling at him as he carefully climbs down. Heavy gear clatters around him, and you worry about it falling off of him for a second

once his feet are down he continues:

“a handsome man,” he finishes, “who rescued your cat, right?”

silence

“right?”

“thank you, hasan.”

three

you run through the list in your head: eggs, milk, loaf of bread-

music seems to blare around you. wraps around you, makes your head pound-your only plan to try and get out as quickly as you can.

Faces pass; none familiar, all just as frantic and busy as you are-

cans of soup- your eyes scan the shelves, falls on the familiar red branding-fingers reach out, almost grasp it-fall

again.

reach, fingers brush against it-push it back a little further.

“mother fucker-“

“need help?”

the voice is familiar. too familiar. your eyes narrow, back still to them.

“i think you need me at this point,” the voice is almost gleeful, “should just follow you round to help-what is it? chicken noodle? you look like a chicken noodle soup enjoyer”

“it’s tomato.” you grumble unhappily.

“tomato?” he turns around, head over his shoulder, “hmm.”

he looks tired. bags under his eyes, hair a million different directions, shirt is untucked and stained-a pen cap is hanging on for dear life at the neck of a stretched out shirt.

“shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“shouldn’t you be calling the fire department for something?”

“awe,” you finally smile, snatching the can, “you do miss my calls-“

“when they see your number they automatically dispatch me to you. you’re a liability.”

you reach for the can but he holds it higher in the air, a smirk creeps on his face:

“what do you say?”

a huff, “please?” you try, “pretty please?”

he rolls his eyes: “there’s no way you think that’s what i want.”

“who’s your favorite fire fighter?”

“what’s your partners name? Rob? He is-“

he huffs, turns his back to you and sets the can back on the shelf, his fingers still brush against the can as he hums like he’s considering his own soup options-

“hasan, please. my chili depends on you-“

he ignores you, still humming, as you pull on his shirt:

“you’re my favorite firefighter,” you find yourself saying, “it hurts to say that.”

he turns around, hands you the can: “was that so hard?”

four

weeks pass. with job deadlines on the horizon, your apartment all but falling apart-it’s easy to forget about about anyone else.

sleep finally finds you. a cold side of the pillow, eyes finally shut-

a fire alarm blares that makes you shoot out of bed. tomato lays at your feet, grabbing him, running outside to the yard, sweater long forgotten.

by the time you’re at the yard, you can at least see the building isn’t burning up. in fact, you can’t see anything. you weigh your options for a second, considering ignoring the blaring fire alarms before you hear the fire truck and groan, knowing what’s coming up, knowing who’s around the corner.

the second the car parks everyone is running out, talking into walkie talkies-

“is this you?” hasan calls as he jogs past you, “you’re an arsonist at this point-“

you go to yell back and he’s gone.

an hour later he appears. his hair is disheveled, his shoulders slump. he walks next to his partners, something in his hand-

“if you need cooking lessons, i volunteer,” hasan says, “i can teach you how to fucking make ramen-“

“why do you assume that i’m behind all bad things that happen here?”

“your track record doesn’t help,” he says, “to begin with. and this has your name written all over it. please,” he stops, drops the pan and claps his hands together as if begging: “let me teach you how to cook.”

“it wasn’t fucking me!”

his eyes narrow: “Please. no one believe you-“

“you’re a dick. don’t you have a donut to eat? or-“

“that’s police officers, idiot.” he huffs, “and fuck them, anyways. look-“

he stops, leans into you, “i know just the place. i’ll teach you-“

“you aren’t teaching me how to cook! and it’s not me!”

“fine,” his eyes narrow, “but the next call here, if it’s yours, i take you to a cooking class-“

“what-“

“even if it isn’t your call. you owe me a date.”

his hand outstretched to you: “a deals a deal-“

“what’s in it for me?”

“i’ll leave you alone.”

you groan, knowing that’s not going to happen. sunrise threatens to fall over the horizon, and you know he won’t give up anytime soon-

your hand falls into his-larger and calloused-slips into his like a missing puzzle piece, like a perfect piece-

“it’s a deal.”

five

look, this isn’t bribing.

but after your fourth call to your apartment this month, you figured you at least owed them something for coming out-even if they somehow always sent just Hasan out-

you couldn’t sleep, anyways. or at least, that’s your excuse. the tray of baked goods threatens to fall out of the seat any second.

The door to the station is open, all the workers walking around, half suspenders down, shirts untucked, plates of food half eaten-

you couldn’t find your guy in the line up,is your first thought. before you quickly shake your head, trying to get that idea out as quickly as it came. he isn’t your guy. if anything, he’s the pain in the ass who keeps saving your ass-

putting the car in park, saying a prayer before grabbing the plate and walking in, hoping you look more confident than you feel.

“Well,” one of the firefighter smirks as you show up, “have any batteries that need to be changed?” he teases, “or is cilantro in trouble? hasan hasn’t shut up-“

“it’s tomato,” hasan appears behind him, “i know my mortal enemies name.”

“look what the cat dragged in-“

“it’s almost like you’re at the place where i work. imagine that-“

“i made brownies.”

the guy next to him immediately perks up, grabs the plate and pulls back tinfoil: “thank you!”

hasan stops him before he can run off, grabs a brownie before he can leave, eyes it as you stand in front of him.

“so,” he says, “what’s the trick with this? i don’t have any allergies-“

“damn. nut allergies are the most common allergies. i thought that’s how i could take you out-“

“and they aren’t burned-“

“that wasn’t me with the ramen, you dick.”

“these look good.”

“always the tone of surprise,” you roll your eyes, “most people would say thank you.”

“why would i say thank you before I’m potentially poisoned?”

“you’re insufferable.”

“here,” he smirks, “you take the first bite.”

“i’m not hungry-“

“that’s exactly what someone who poisoned food would say to get out to eating it.”

“you’re a dick, give it to me.”

“ah,” he says instead when you reach for it, his hand still on the brownie as he leans forward, a hand cupped under your mouth as he goes to feed you the bite.

“this is outrageous,” you roll your eyes as pink rises up, but don’t put up more of a fight as it makes contact, as you bite off, “it’s delicious”

he watches you carefully as you chew

“see?” you roll your eyes: “now you.”

“eh?” he shrugs, “i don’t know how hungry i am-“

you gasp and he giggles, before shoving it in his mouth:

“not bad.” he settles on.

+1

“if you’re looking for your guy, he called in sick.”

you aren’t proud of the fact that they know who you’re really here for, and less that you know the man who yelled that-Michael-will proudly tell hasan that.

“what?” you tease, “the big baby can’t handle a little bit of a cold?”

he snorts: “he did the kids fire safety at the elementary school this week-he blames them.”

“what a baby.”

you try and make polite small talk. they’re all fine-the entire time, thinking of the plan you’re already cooking in your head.

everyone knows where he lives. the house was famous before the newest fire fighter bought it (and when you’re in a small town like this, a new guy on the team is a big deal, gets around) and in the center of town, you pass it every day on your way to and from work: seeing him leave in the morning, at night, still in his uniform, shirt untucked and wrinkly as he moves around his front yard: tends to the garden on the side of the house (looks like he’s very proud of his herbs he’s growing, at least) hunched over as he flicks his tongue and has a small ceramic bowl of kibble for the gang of cats that seem attached to him-

a quick stop at the only grocery store in town, the paper bag of groceries on your lap, your stomach bubbles and bursts as you worry your lip about this-

you park the car and find yourself in front of his house before you can talk yourself out of it.

tapping your foot, waiting for him to answer-

“hullo?”

he still looks good, even sick.

glasses crooked on his face, his hair a mess, the tip of his nose is red, lines over his freckles from a pillow-

he groans. stands in the doorway, his hand against the doorframe.

“i’m off duty,” he tries, “you’ll have to put out your own fire-“

“heard the kids made you sick,” you say instead, ruffling through the plastic bag on your wrist, “nothing ramen can’t help.”

“ramen?” he laughs, “like-“

“it wasn’t me!” you insist, can feel your heart thump in your ears, “let me redeem myself; make you some soup.”

“i can’t call the fire department-“

“if i start a fire i’ll put it out myself, i promise.”

he laughs: “i guess i’d like to see that.”

comfortable silence for a second.

“so?” you push, “the soup?”

his eyes narrow for a second before his hand slowly slides up the doorframe, an invitation in-you duck and act like you can’t see the smile light up his face

[inkofimagination]

hasan is always by your side to help you after your break ups but something changes.

this a part 3/3 of my this mini series.

the finale is here!!!!

October

The nights were lengthening, sunsets shorter each night as the fall began to take full hold. But still there was nowhere better to watch it than the roof according to Hasan.

“Just reach up, you’ve got it.” Hasan was encouraging, but you felt anything but stable as he boosted you up to the tree branch. You scrambled up onto the branch, getting your balance as best you could. But the roof wasn’t as close as you thought - knowing your luck if you tried to make it you would fall.

“Hold onto the trunk, I’ll help you once I get up there,” Hasan instructed, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. You were sure you looked like a treed cat. You shuffled to the side until you got to the trunk, wrapping your arms tightly around it. You watched Hasan run backwards, getting momentum. When he hit the tree the entire thing shook, making you squeak as he pulled himself up, kicking his leg over and then rising to his feet. The tree stabilized again, and you let out the breath you’d been holding.

“You okay?” He teased, but there was no malice to be found in his tone.

“Now that the earthquake is over, yeah,” you laughed.

“C’mon, I gotcha.” He held his hand out and you reached for it, grabbing on tightly as he started to coax you across the branch. It was only a few feet, but there was no way you could have done it without him there guiding you.

“There you go, you got it,” he encouraged you, taking it one step at a time until you stepped onto the roof. Although it felt more stable, you were still hyperaware of the fact that you were much higher than you’d like to be.

“I gotcha, you’re not gonna fall,” he repeated, looking down to where your nails were digging into his bicep as you shuffled your way across the shingles. You could tell he was trying not to laugh.

“We’ll see about that,” you said, taking tiny steps as he led you over the peak so you could see the view he’d been raving about.

And he was right. The sunset was incredible, streaks of orange and pink painting the sky, giving everything the light touched an ethereal glow - Hasan included.

“Woah.”

“Told you it was worth it.” He was grinning from ear to ear as he guided you over to a less sloped part of the roof, stopping and helping you sit down. He settled down next to you, and you reached out for his hand, just to have an anchor.

Ever since the move in, things had been more touchy than they’d ever been between you and Hasan. It wasn’t that you never touched each other before - but now it was different. When you were on your laptop, he used to come rest his chin on top of your head. Now, he came up behind you and put his chin on your shoulder. Sometimes, you swore you could feel his lips on your skin when he moved. When you used to put your legs over his on the couch, he didn’t even notice. Now, his fingers would trace over your skin absentmindedly. He held your hand when you crossed the street now, put a hand on your lower back if you were in a crowded place.

At first you thought that it was just because you were together constantly now.

Things were different. Different in a good way. You knew that eventually you were going to have to talk about it, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that as the sun went down, he asked.

“You up for a round of hard ones?”

Hard ones wasn’t a game per say - it was something you and the boys had come up with very early on in your friendship. Essentially, you were allowed to ask any hard questions you wanted to, and the person had to answer honestly, no matter what. The condition was that you couldn’t judge them off what they said, and it couldn’t change your friendship.

“Got lots of hard questions for me?” You teased, nudging his shoulder. In all honesty, there were some things you wanted to ask him.

“Maybe.” Even in the fading light from the sun, you could see the blush that spread across his cheeks. Your fingers itched to reach out and touch them, feel the warmth.

“Well, hit me with it,” you grinned, unsure if you were more excited or nervous. Either way you squeezed Hasan‘s hand, smiling when he squeezed back.

“Do you think you were really in love with Adam?”

Hearing his name stung a little bit. You’d tried not to think about him much after you’d blocked him on everything.

“I thought that I was. Maybe in the beginning. But no, I know I wasn’t in love at the end. That’s not what love is supposed to be like,” you explained, picking up a few twigs that had landed on the roof, throwing them off.

“Your turn.”

“What’s your favorite color?” You grinned when he rolled his eyes.

“That’s not a hard one’s question, c’mon. And you know it. Ask me something else.”

“Alright alright. Hmmm. Okay, last time we played you said you didn’t think you were ready for a relationship. How do you feel now?”

“I think I’m ready for one. Still makes me nervous, cause I know there will be people who have shit to say about it. But I think I’m ready anyways.”

“Do you think you’d just keep it private, or would you go public with it?”

“Not your turn,” he grinned, nudging you.

“Shit, sorry.” You always got a bit question happy.

“But I don’t know. I think it would be fake to hide the whole thing, and I don’t wanna do that. But I don’t want her to be harassed either. But she’s pretty tough, so I think that it might be alright.”

Your heart started to race - her. Who was he talking about?

“I get two questions now,” he reminded you. The way he paused before he asked was his tell - it was about to get even more serious.

“Shoot.”

“Do you think a month is too soon between relationships?”

“No. Maybe for some people, but I think I would be fine.” You answered it quickly - surely this was going where you thought it was going.

You hadn’t realized how much you wanted it until right then, and suddenly you wanted nothing more than to kiss him. You noticed just how close you were to him; you could feel the heat coming off his skin, feel the nerves in his fingertips, like he was sending it through you where you were connected. His next question couldn’t have come quick enough.

“Remember when we were 21 and we promised we’d never date, cause we didn’t wanna fuck up our friendship?”

You nodded, urging him to go on.

“Do you still think it would fuck it up?”

“No. I think we’re a lot more mature now. I think we could do it,” you breathed, staring right at him. There was an understanding in his eyes, mixed with a giddy excitement that you could feel.

“When we had our fight, you said that you were waiting for the right person, and that’s why you hadn’t been dating,” you said, nerves on fire.

This was it, there was no going back from this. He nodded, anxiously waiting for you to keep going.

“Did you find her?”

There was a little pause, both of you realizing the magnitude of what was happening, the entire shift of the relationship that you had known.

“I think I did.”

And then his lips were on yours. It was as easy as breathing - you fit together like you’d done it a thousand times before. He was gentle, his hand coming up to cup your face as you turned towards him, shifting your weight towards him, wanting nothing more than to be as close to him as you could get.

Bad move.

Just the tiny shift threw off your balance, and you started to slide down the shingles. You couldn’t have moved more than an inch, but you squeaked out in panic, scrambling to get a hold of something. Hasan grabbed you on instinct, holding you steady with a laugh.

“Did you forget we were on a roof?” He teased. His smile was brighter than you’d ever seen it.

“Can you blame me?” You laughed, relaxing a bit but holding your tight grip.

“C’mon, let’s get you down.” He rose to his feet, getting his balance before helping you up to yours. As you started to walk his hands went to your hips, moving up to your waist under your shirt. You blushed at the feeling of his fingers on your skin, but you tried to stay focused as you navigated the roof back towards the tree.

He went ahead of you, climbing onto the branch and guiding you down, going slow and keeping you steady. When you got back to the trunk, he jumped down without hesitation, turning back and reaching up for you.

“I’ll catch you,” he answered your question without you having to ask. You leaned forward, reaching out for his shoulders to brace on. His hands caught your waist as you half-jumped, half-fell forward.

As soon as your feet touched the ground he was walking you backwards until your back was against the tree, and he was kissing you. This one was different - the shy hesitation from only a few minutes prior was long gone. Your hands traced from his shoulders to his neck, fingers curling in his long hair and pressing him closer to you. He angled his hips forward, pinning you in place as you gasped at the sensation. It was so new, but somehow so familiar at the same time. You leaned into the kiss, exploring new territory and trying to get him closer to you, as close as you could.

“You were holding back on me up there,” Hasan breathed when you finally broke apart.

“Didn’t really wanna fall to my death,” you grinned. You were giddy in a way that you hadn’t felt in so long - you weren’t sure you could stop smiling even if you wanted to.

“I would have caught you,” he countered.

“I know.”

He backed up just slightly, and the loss of his skin and the breeze caused you to shiver. He frowned, reaching down for your hand.

“You cold?”

“Just a little,” you shrugged. You didn’t care if you had to stay out all night if it meant you’d be with him.

“Let’s go inside.” You followed him as he started guiding you inside. “By the way, you’re never moving out. You’re stuck with me for good.”

“Sounds perfectly fine to me,” you sighed, letting go of his hand and wrapping your arms around his waist instead. You could feel his smile when he pressed a kiss to your hair.

So wrapped up in each other, you didn’t even notice Will in the kitchen when you came in because he came over earlier but was napping.

But you heard his little anecdote in the background, making you smile.

“Fucking finally,” was all he said.

[st4rc4t]

hasan piker x weed smoking reader hcs

disclaimer! i do not condone underage marijuana usage!! this is just something silly for ppl who do/have smoked weed before. if ur under 21 in the united states don’t do it !!!

cw: marijuana usage, friends to lovers sorta idk the situation is weird, autistic coded reader ? it kinda just happens, semi pining, gn!reader

wc: 1.1k+

a/n: just me and my 3 weed smoking gfs

most of his friends in the youtube/twitch scene also smoke weed so he doesn’t really care

he smokes occasionally but only at night to help wind down a little bit

he doesnt mind the smell but he really hates when his clothes and hair smell like it

so when he’s around you make sure you’re either outside or blowing it out of a window

you never smoke inside his house

he didn’t ask you not to, you just assumed he wouldn’t like it

he doesnt and it makes him blush a little at ur consideration

whenever you get high and he doesn’t, he never says “omg ur so high” while ur trying to talk

cus like . yeah obviously that was the point ! and its not like ur completely different while high, just a little floatier and it takes you a minute to get thru ur sentences

but you talk about pretty much the same stuff and he loves talking to you

and u laugh a lot he likes that too

dont tell anyone tho

you looove getting high with him its such a special treat

ull be gathering ur paraphernalia to take out on the patio and he wanders out of his stream room looking like the sad hamster

he sees you getting ready, getting a bottle of juice and such and asks if he can join u

gasp of course he can !!!!!

asking how fucked up he wants to get so you know the best method of smoke delivery

he wants to sleep Good tonight so indica in the bong it is !

he’s nervous ab the bong so u bring out a bowl too incase he gets cold feet

he watches you get comfy in your seat outside, a comfortable warmth from the california setting sun

arranging everything ready on the table

“you look like a tweaker”

“im gonna make you a tweaker if ur not careful”

he laughs but he keeps watching you carefully pick out a healthy portion from the large bud you have, pushing it into the prongs of your grinder and twisting the two pieces against each other

he watches you pour the contents of a reusable water bottle into the large glass piece, eyeing the level of water

he watches you stop and put it to your lips, taking a pretend hit and making sure the water level is good

he watches you carefully pack the ground up flower into both bowl pieces, using your fingers to pat it level and dusting the excess back into the grinder with each one

you notice him staring but dont say anything until you’re already done

you make him an offering, bong and bowl in each respective hand. eyebrows raised as if to say, “which are we feeling?” but when he continues staring at the contents of your hands, you actually speak.

“dude are you already high, whats going on?” you laugh cautiously, genuinely a little worried but keeping it light hearted. he seems to snap out of it at your voice.

his eyes dart around for a second as he reenters his surroundings, chuckling when your word’s finally register, “no, yeah- sorry… really long day today,” his words fizzle out as he goes along. you cant help but feel bad, you dont know how he deals with streaming sometimes. you also feel weird about giving him a mind altering substance while he already seems spaced out.

setting the pieces down safely on the table, you look at him seriously before speaking, “are you sure you wanna do this? you’re kinda out of it,” you’re hard trying not to sound condescending, but you doubt he can read your tone that well right now anyway.

he smiles the most minuscule amount and looks away, but you see it. “yeah, im sure,” he sighs out gently before continuing, “i need to empty my brain,” he finishes by looking back to you with already tired eyes. you nod in understanding, relishing in knowing exactly how to fix his problem.

picking up the little glass bowl and a lighter, you hand both to him. they instantly look tiny in his hand and you’re not sure how he’s gonna actually do this. after realising you gave him green hit, you remind him to take a small hit. he just rolls his eyes sarcastically and scoffs, like of course he would, but you both know he would’ve blown a lung.

you watch him fumble with the glass, trying to get a good grip that covers the carb and wont burn his hand when he lights it

he eventually gets it and takes a little corner hit

a bit bigger than he was expecting tho so he does that thing where u cough the smoke out

just awful btw

u give him some water hes fine but boy does he love to complain

u just laugh at him and take ur own hit

breathing in deep, holding it for a second, and letting it go watching it escape into the open air

when he sees other people smoke it usually feels more rushed and energetic, like they were trying to ingest as much thc in as little time as possible

but you take your time. gathering everything and getting comfortable, settling into the ritual of the action. you take your time and let yourself feel it, you take your time and make sure he’s fully prepared before offering him anything

oh no he likes you !

he does end up hitting the bong but like the smallest baby hit so it doesn’t even count

he is sooo silly when hes high loves to laugh

he will def devolve into political rants if you let him, but you’re pretty good at making him laugh and redirecting him when hes like this

bc he smoked an indica this time his eyes are even more droopy than they were before and you can tell he’s getting tired

you clean up and follow him back inside amd he goes completely baby mode at the sight of kaya sleeping on the couch

petting her and pressing his face into her fur, going on and on about how soft she is

you laugh and sit on the other end of the big sectional covered in pillows and blankets

when hes done melting into kaya he sits down next to u with his arm around the back of the couch

real smooth .

it works 1000%

watching smth stupid like family guy (genuinely my fave show while high i will not elaborate)

chilling until he decides to go to bed at like 8:30

he convinces u to sleep on the couch bc ur both too high to drive and he would freak out at the thought of u in an uber rn

okay i have to be done i basically wrote a oneshot in the middle bye bye

[makeandshift]

Hasan S/O // Streamer!gf

one of my personal faves, so more is probably to come.

Peacefully exists in her own little corner of the internet, think variety, art or wholesome gaming streams.

Has a small but very wholesome and tight community and she works very hard to keep it that was. Zero tollerance for any hate or bullshit.

Meets Hasan through some Twitch related event where a mutual friend introduces them. bestie!Will maybe 👀

She's definitely intimidated by him at first, but once she gets over that they hit it off instantly.

They live really far apart (other side of the country or maybe even a different continent?) so at first it is just a long distance friendship kind of thing.

They are constantly texting or chatting on Discord, even during streams. Either of them has their phone in their hand? The other definitely just texted them.

Once they are actually in a relationship people figure it out so fast because suddenly Hasan is in her city very often and she always stays in L.A. forever whenever there is an event she attends.

Either that or Austin accidentally leaks their relationship on his Instagram or just by mentioning it on stream.

Speaking of Austin, he asks her to appear on any of his shows and she will say yes without even knowing what she is saying yes to. Bonus points if she gets to compete against Hasan.

She tries playing co-op games with Hasan on stream, but it just always results in them yelling at each other or them both getting hella distracted and getting nothing done.

So instead they just make tierlists and look at dumb videos together.

Also IRL streams where they go on little trips together (and sometimes with Kaya as well)!!!!

Totally moves to L.A. to be closer to Hasan, but will deny that and gives a dozen other dumb reasons when people ask: "The weather is way nicer", "All my friends live here", "I really love being stuck in traffic no matter where I am trying to go". The list just gets more and more unhinged.

She does move into Hasan's place like four months later though.

After that she probably is on his stream a lot, "just to hang out with Kaya".

Can totally see her hanging out in his chat waiting for him to notice. Or using clips to communicate with each other.

Weekly 'Reviewing Hasan content' segment on her stream, as previously discussed here.

Totally getting distracted by thirst traps / edits of the other. It goes from "Why did you send me this chat?" to "Okay, but are there more? 🫠"

[yharnamsnewslug]

I'm not sure if this is appropriate to ask, but I figured since you're so passionate about it, you'd be the best place to go. What publications/blogs in do you suggest Americans follow to stay up to date on our knowledge of European politics? Especially stuff in english that isn't UK based.

The UK is fucking terrible at reporting anything non-UK, tbh. And in English... I've no idea, because I get my sources in French and Spanish, which are my two languages. Plus, having friends living around. Recently, thanks to my friend Mio I'm able to understand Swedish news.

I recommend you follow and listen to more non-American people, especially on YouTube. Don't be afraid of reading subtitles, it's your best tool to watch non-English videos. Also, google translate has gotten so much better in the last year, so you can run it on your browser, most of the time. If not, doing it manually also works.

And before any of you get on my ass about BUT THAT TRANSLATES TERRIBLY AND I WONT UNDERSTAND A THING AND WAHHHH -

Yeah. Yeah, I know. Every goddamn not English native speaker knows. Now it's your turn :) learn to fucking cope in a language you don't understand :) maybe that will teach you some humility :)

For Spanish, which is my country and where most of my politics are centered (as I worked with orgs like COGAM and El Balcón Trans, at least before the pandemic hit and I moved to Brussels) I recommend a GREAT YouTuber called PutoMikel. He's great at criticizing Spain from a historian's point of view and also, his style is more polished than the usual.

There's a bit difference in cultures around Europe, and people often don't realize that. The way Spain colonized and reacted to that colonization was very different from the way England did it or Belgium did it or Portugal did it -

So, again, like, there's so much background to this. And I just ask for like, a SMIDGE of self awareness before Americans complain about Europe. You CAN complain, you SHOULD complain. A whole fucking LOT, especially indigenous people who have been decimated by MY country's warmongering need for conquest in a show of egos against France and England.

But I don't talk about American shit until I've read up about what's been going on. I slip sometimes, like with the Hasan Piker or whatever thing, with the price of his fucking house, which seemed exorbitant. Then I learned about Los Angeles prices, went back and admitted I'd been wrong.

Europeans ask for humility. And for Americans to listen to marginalized European voices instead of applying terms and background of THEIR country to an entire fucking continent.

That's all. I hope that was some help.

[angeloncewas]

yeah i totally agree with what you said about satire and schlatt basically taking the easy way out. it seems like since that video he's kinda eased back from doing that shit, either bc the backlash or bc his friends have started verbally calling him out on it, both to his face and through making comments about him on stream (comments as in like saying they dont agree with what he did and saying they thought that video was terrible, not like them shading him or whatever ajsksk) which is good but also i wouldnt be surprised if something like that video happened again just bc like. it is his career and at this point he has to know what his larger fanbase is like to an extent, which means he also knows those terrible fucking jokes will make him money. i dont like that, but im also not gonna sit around and pretend like i cant see the fucking obvious, ya know? from what ive seen of him when he's not putting on a show for his main channel, or when he isnt around people who both encourage and enable his bad behavior (not saying this to shift blame, ive just noticed how he goes from making actually funny jokes that are harmless or, at most, a pretty obvious example of him poking fun at shitty people, at least imo, to like. straight up just being offensive when he's with people like swagger, miz, etc. vs ted, charlie and so on), he seems like a pretty good guy and its pretty clear to me that he doesnt hold the same views as the character he plays up for his main channel but that doesnt change the fact that his audience is now full of the worst kinds of people and that is how he makes money.

as someone who, again, watched idubbbz, as well as filthyfrank, they both stated they were playing characters and they didnt agree with the shit they were joking about, joji especially, but them saying that isnt very well known by even their own fanbase who just watches their main channel stuff, bc the one video where joji made that explicitly clear what he was doing, he later deleted for people harassing him in the comments (it was an old ass video where he basically said that playing those characters was giving him literal health problems, specifically stress induced seizures, and his comments were so bad that he never made an ooc video on his main channel again) and the one video i can think of where ian explicitly said he was playing a character was like an hour long podcast with h3, which most people dont even wanna watch bc it is a painfully uncomfortable one hour, considering the fact that they are supposed to be friends. besides that, the only other time they were really out of character was in vlogs with maxmoefoe, and they still did their offensive bits from time to time bc it was still going up on youtube, even if it wasnt their main channel. compare that to schlatt who has, as far as i know, never explicitly said he's playing a character, and the closest he has gotten to saying that was in some weekly slap video that i cant remember the title of bc all those videos kinda blend together if im being honest. like they definitely show a different, better side of him, but they are also all really short videos with only gameplay to watch and he never even promotes the channel, so its not like the shitty people watching him are like "hm time to take some time out of my day to go watch big man schlatt give people advice and be a genuine person for once", right?

idk. schlatt is just such a weird person for me bc like. he is a big comfort for me, i really do enjoy his content when he's not making bad stabs at satire (bc sometimes he does it right!! but a lot of the time, at least recently, he has just missed the mark entirely, to the point where it feels like he wasnt even trying to hit the mark at all), but he is also so uncomfortable to watch sometimes just bc he seems to either not know where the line is, or thinks crossing it is okay bc its him playing a character and that's not fun to watch as a minority who often ends up being apart of that "punchline".

that aside tho...yes, unfortunately idubbbz does still make content (and i say unfortunately bc it is not very good) though it seems like he is very slow to upload and last i checked, the views arent too great, but ive seen worse. probably the only thing that could bring back his views at this point would be a content cop, but like a year or so back he said he has no plans of continuing the series bc he finds it boring now, which is fair enough. i dont really keep up with him anymore, but as far as i know, he just got married to anisa and he streams on twitch sometimes, besides that the dude is a mystery to me!

—🦷 (also im sorry if this is formatted weird, for whatever reason tumblr has indented each of my paragraphs with one of those grey line thingys and it wont let me remove it. if it doesnt show up in the actual ask then ignore this!)

This is kind of old now (sorry), but I still wanted to respond because I really appreciate your perspective :)

> I always wonder how people not involved in the fandom view Schlatt. Because wasn't there this thing about Hasan genuinely thinking that he was conservative? And like he obviously doesn't now, but does that not impact how he sees him and his content? I don't mean to dictate friendships - of course - I'm just curious as to the impact of having that audience from an outsider pov. I remember being shocked what that thing happened with the pdp fan, but I later found that many people weren't because they knew the nature of the audience he cultivated; maybe I'm just stupid, I had no idea. (Not that Schlatt and pdp are the same, it's just a loose comparison.)

> No one should face harassment, but I doubt Joji deleting that video helped his case. (I mean ig it worked out in the long term considering everything that happened with his music, but yk.) I'm very sorry for the health problems he faced with the characters themselves though. I don't know much about him but that sounds awful.

> I have thoughts on The Weekly Slap, but I think they make me sound bitter and don't add much so just know that they're there ajfdkjdf. I will say that he doesn't seem like "Jschlatt" in them, and moreso just a guy. I know that he quit it for a number of reasons and one of them was not being comfortable with that kind of connection in relation to his increasing fame, but honestly I think his complete dislodgement from his fanbase isn't healthy either.

> I mean, I get it. I've watched a lot of content from a lot of people - ranging from kind of unpleasant to very unsavory - and it's kind of a weird feeling with YouTube and Twitch stuff. Idk it's like - when I go to the grocery store, I'm not wondering if the guy checking my things out is a racist. When I see a commercial, I don't wonder if that guy advertising chicken nuggets is a secret creep. But with content creation of this kind, it's just a weird thought in the back of my mind. I don't know if this makes sense lmao

> Weird that Idubbz finds content cop "boring." I guess the formula is kind of stale and half of the content was the edge, but it seems like the kind of thing that'd be perfect to capitalize off of around now. Cool that he got married... I think. I mean if he's happy ???

> Don't mind the formatting, and sorry to respond like WAY past when this conversation was relevant T_T. I read it right away but the timing got off with actually being able to type stuff out.

[cloveroctobers]

GENEVIEVE ALIU —

IG info/bio: @/genevealiu1 | 19k followers | currently on a journey as a junior doctor living in 🇦🇺🤎 | blm.card.co🖤 | sk💛

26 years of age

Born and raised in Glastonbury, England

Pisces sun? + libra moon?

Mother is Guyanese and works for a non-profit organization

Her father is Nigerian and works in property management

has one older brother who is a Prosthetist and resides in Nigeria with his pregnant fiancée

She can’t wait to be a auntie!!!

And a younger sister who is a medical laboratory technician

To say the least, their parents were happy that their children fell into the medical field. Based on their cultures it was a honor to have their children in these professions

Vieve grew up with a sassy demeanor and her parents have old videos on their camcorders to prove it lol, it never fails that the pair brings out the embarrassing vids during the holidays but vieve genuinely appreciates them 

Although thanksgiving is a RACIST American thing, vieve never misses the opportunity to share what she’s thankful for in life and counts all of it as blessings! But it’s still fuck the pilgrims

Has held a friendsgiving before, loves any moment where she can host gatherings or attend them! either is quite fine. She loves being around people

the only time she likes to look back on the past is to see how she and her family carried themselves then and how the evolved into who they are now, it’s interesting to see

Loves “how it started vs how it’s going” posts and might have participated in a few

Always knew from a young age that she wanted to help people in some way, she was always doing something to help around the house and especially her aging/sickly grandparents

Felt offended that many people around school that she thought were her friends would stab her in the back labeling her as this “fake saint” since she rather spend her time volunteering instead of going to house parties in hs

Don’t get it twisted, she still went to those too & had her fun but definitely felt like it was the same routine and nothing ever felt fulfilling at these functions after awhile

Well known with all the cliques around school but had her own group of friends that fit into many of those cliques but she never felt obligated to stick to one social group. If you were nice and cool with her, she was the same to you, if you weren’t? Depending on her mood, she’d ignore you/say things under her breath or be “fake nice” as a form of being the bigger person

Has a curly hair routine that she consistently follows (after struggling to find the right products to make them flourish) and gets annoyed with if her curls don’t turn out the way she knows they can, it’s always frustrating when things don’t turn out the way you want them to but isn’t afraid to at least try

Three times is the charm! Is one of her mottos

loves bright colors, flowy attire, big hats, brimmed hats, bucket hats, berets, etc...

Has faced racism/prejudices and bullying growing up in public spaces—mostly school/uni & some of those same hatred actions online now that she’s dating seb

Because of that there were times where she felt insecure but deff grew to forgive, heal, and rise above the hate, she knows her worth

Has never been happier in a relationship than she is with seb, he’s her “moody long-haired, soft-hearted bby”

they’re both complete fools for each other and vieve is more vocal about her being in love/finding her soulmate whereas seb doesn’t mind showing it rather than speaking it—even tho he’s on a podcast but we mind our business okay?!

Seb is thinking of moving to Australia with vieve, he’s ready to risk it all for this woman, HIS woman 🤩

canon: gives more than she should/taken advantage of/not reciprocating in relationships... ex) how she dated a guy that she did everything for! especially financially and also struggled to find her worth but once she did? Her aura shined brighter than before— Ik chill out there Rocco

Also believes in loving yourself first to attract what you need in this world and found that in her career and seb. I hope they’re endgame! Since they’re the only couple I rooted for this season? Except for tai & ciaran maybe? They’re probably not endgame but whatever

They still get nervous/shy around each other even tho they’ve been together for months now + are in a long distance relationship which is too cute! I think since they’re in this for the long game they can look back on moments and still feel the way they felt in that moment. You know if you get the chance or have already heard elderly people talk about their relationships and how they get all starry eyed? That’s vieve & seb, that shit gets me right in my feels ew

Vieve’s love language is quality time, it’s what she shows and likes along with acts of service from her partner

Makes the best jollof rice & her fav dish is Metemgee

Trying to be on a plant-based diet only but will have her cheat days on occasion—mostly when she’s drunk and forgets her diet plan lmao that’s me getting double cheeseburgers or anything with dairy drunk af

now living in Australia, she tried to like vegemite but...the it’s a no for her, respectfully ofc! She never wants to disrespect anyone

besides the food, the atmosphere is much nicer since she feels like she’s on a holiday almost everyday and that there’s much more to see and do when she has the time

Loves the beaches and is thinking about surfing lessons

yes she enjoys those doctor shows and can agree that most scenarios are not the same as rl ofc but great question!

Since she’s a junior doctor now, and on her way to graduation! She feels so accomplished and having this chance to complete what she’s wanted her whole life in a different place, makes her super emotional

All those stressful all-nighters will be worth it. She mostly did it on her own but is nothing but humble and Is thankful to those that have helped her along the way, what kind of person would she be if she didn’t mention them?

and when COVID hit, she was one of many already on the frontlines. Her studies became altered but this wouldn’t stop her for her mission on this earth, this was her purpose and she knew we would conquer it all—but definitely has empathy and gets angry with how it’s being handled from time to time

She’s been exposed to it first hand which aboustely worries her parents, seb, her friends, and friends from the villa

Keeps up to date when all medical news, has a whole app dedicated to health

Learning French with some of her free time and is doing well at it

It was only natural for her to become closer to elladine since their men are homies and have a podcast together

They’ve hung out a few times on a double dates before the boat vacation & once just as girls before vieve left to Australia

Vieve is always offering advice but knows that every relationship is different and what works for her and seb won’t work for elladine and Nicky, she loves them together and knows everyone has bumps in the road

feels there’s some sort of tension between her and Harry now? Which she found a little off putting since they were supposed to be friends but she realizes that Harry has a condition but it’s also not an excuse for him to treat her shitty sometimes which he does and feels like it comes out of nowhere most times but he always apologizes yet vieve is slowly getting tired of this unhealthy habits

So they’re talking less these days, which he notices!

She wants Harry to find his happiness too! If he hasn’t found it in mc first that is

has met Tim— he’s a great laugh and seems like a nice guy—they follow each other, talia and jake in person when she was out with seb—they were also super nice and congratulated them on their win, she went up to miles once on a night out—he’s still a arsehole, priya reached out to her via dm about her new boutique that she wanted her to model in someday, Hope was just as stunning in person along with Siobhan, Chelsea & mc s2 were also kind, and a couple of the guys also wished her and seb well

She’s also noticed some of the shit talking coming from Elisa, Allegra, Lucy, and mc s1 (subtle shade from mc, basically about how vieve reacted if mc decided to give Harry a go but that was only brought to her attention thru fans) online but again, vieve peeped it and felt majority of it didn’t require a response. She was too happy in life rn and she had a man and they don’t

Plans to get a komondor, thinks they’re super cute! — seb does not “if you love me, you’ll love our child.” “It’s a bloody mop dog! And I’m a cat dad, you know that!” “Don’t talk about him like that, he’s got feelings just like your cat babies!”

I feel like she’s a matcha & Frappuccino lover, tries to keep her drinks simple and feels guilty when she has to make adjustments but the heart wants what it wants

Mini Countryman owner, she also drives like a “granny” better safe than sorry! She hates fast drivers, there’s absolutely no need for it!

Minimal makeup: eyeshadow, moisturizer, & a nude lip and she’s good to go

Secretly obsessed with among us, second life, and SIMS!!!

Celeb crushes? Heath ledger, Tyler posey, KENDRICK SAMPSON, Jordan fisher, Algee smith, Donald Glover, Mack Wilds, Khleo Thomas, Robert Ri’chard, Tahj Mowry, & Hasan Minhaj

Listens to: DaniLeigh, ABIR, Mary J. Blige, TORI KELLY, Us the duo, 11:11, Jacob Latimore, fifth harmony, joya mooi, & Greentea Peng, etc...

Anthem: The Cheetah Girls — Cinderella

[iplaysims4]

“Who Is She to You” Pt.3

Stephany: “I feel lost and alone sometimes. As if we don’t have that connection anymore-well your connection to me has been distinct. Not to mention that I can smell her body spray all over you each time you hang with your co-workers”.

Hasani has never been the one to lie about anything, and this was no exception. He just never thought he’d be in this position-seeing two women at once. Not being able to fight temptation. He’s been happily married to Stephany for eleven years now. They have been together for 14 years. He has been the most faithful he had ever been. He deeply loves his wife and sees them growing old together. He let infatuation get in the way. How was he going to admit his wrongdoings to his wife?

His head dropped in shame. This shit was no longer a game. Seeing his wife cry from the pain he had caused was starting to eat at him.

Stephany: “Hasani? talk to me. Say something!”.

Hasani came to terms that there is no more avoiding the situation. He then musters a way to tell his wife the truth.

Hasani: *Takes a deep breath and throw his arms out* I Fucked’dup! You’re right! I fucked’dup big time! I’ve been seeing someone else”.

Those words hit Stephany like a ton of bricks. She was immovable. Her stomach was building knots like never before. Tears started to fall from her face non-stop. Her heart was beating faster than she would when working out. Her intuition was on point.

All the memories of them flooded her mind....

.....

Hasani couldn’t stop now. If he was going to be completely honest with his wife, he might as well do so now.

Hasani: “Her name is Tamia. I’ve been seeing her for the past year. We met at the club and first started as just friends. We bonded in a way and our chemistry toward each other was different. One thing lead to another. She uh...Fuck...She... she is also the mother of my baby, Steph...”

It was official. Stephany’s heart was in shreds. A baby! What the hell was he thinking. She could see if it was just a setback cause they could come from that but a whole baby! 

Stephany: “A....a ba-.....”

This pain was different.

Hasani: “His name is Hasan. He’s the same age as Reign-...”

Stephany: “Get out”.

Hasani: “No. I’m not leaving you this way”.

Stephany was speechless. How did they get here.

Hasani: “I know that sorry isn’t going to fix this and it might not be a way out of this...but I truly regret betraying you this way”.

Stephany: “Fine. Then I’m leaving.”

Previous // Next // Beginning

[aka217]

Ok so 2018

2017 was pretty awesome, and 2018 had a tough act to follow. But honestly it was a great year as I was able to knock out some bucket list items. Let’s break it down and recap:

Portland: AJ’s birthday had the schmooters take Portland. Pretty cool to hit some vineyards with Ashley's fam, and then explore Portland a bit with the crew. But really as always its the hanging out that highlights the time (and bangers go whole song)

Milwaukee (2x): completing out my hydraulic training were two early trips to Milwaukee. I had the pleasure of seeing my first snowfall which was cool. Also had a grand time continuing to explore the area and fall more in love with the place. Unfortunately getting food poisoning the second time, I couldn’t take full advantage of the second trip, but nonetheless I got my certification and grew fond of a new city.

Bok tower: For my birthday we went to Bok Tower gardens, a small gem in between Tampa and Orlando. Serene place and something a little different than the usual fare or Orlando or Tampa

Tail of the dragon: this was a special trip, as this is sort of a US mecca for driving enthusiast. I went on the road trip with a few friends in a few cars, and i was glad i was able to bring the Miata. While the tail of the dragon is fun, long, and concentrated, really that whole area had many great roads, and to me a lot of better (albeit short) stretches. Definitely a cross off on the bucket list.

Vegas: Vegas is as wild as they say it is. I spent this trip with the wife, revolving around the Life is Beautiful festival, with NERD and Florence + the Machine as the main draws. I’ve always wanted to see NERD live, and my wife made it happen. Other star parts of the festival was Sabrina Claudio, which i did not know of until i looked up who else  was on the schedule. I’m glad i stumbled into her. And the rest of Vegas was wonderful, and had way too much fun. That’s all i can really say.

New York: it’s been a long time coming, for a place i think of sometimes as a second home of sorts. Thanks to Jenny for hosting us, we were able to sneak in a visit before the end of the year. With a mix of seeing old favorites and some new (including a brief taste of Queens living), it is wonderful as always. Went to the Historic Museum to catch the Harry Potter History exhibit, showcasing notes and sketches from JK Rowling. Right after the exhibit, on a whim Hasan Minhaj tweeted a last minute link to a Q&A session he was doing THAT NIGHT in NY. I was originally bummed we would miss the live taping of his Patriot Act show, but this was one of those few moments where great things just fall into your lap, and so we got the chance that evening to see him in person. We also saw Karen, an old friend we always try to find a way to catch up whenever we are in New York. Although brief, New York will always have our hearts, and we feel welcome there each time.

Local highlights:

Megacon/Holiday Matsuri: My first anime expo in a long time (actually my second only i think) , and first time at MegaCon I had a wonderful experience with an old hobby of mine. The main takeaway was meeting Alyson Tabbitha, who i follow on IG because of her unbelievable transformation as Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. She’s really kind. Which inspired me to try to Cosplay, which I managed (the week of) to build up a costume for Holiday Matsuri. I made a quick costume of Joker’s school uniform from Persona 5. Bought the pants, but modified a turtle neck sweater and blazer. Chose a more subtle route so that it can be worn on other occasions and not instantly be looked at as a character. Alyson was there as well, and unfortunately i did not have the patience or time to wait in her very long line. But that’s ok because it led to a very nice conversation with someone in the bus. I may not be a devout fan of the genre but I’m glad i went out of my way to enjoy one of my life long hobbies out in public.

Baby goats: this year we did Baby goat yoga! I can tolerate yoga enough to partake in this class, and it is well worth it. Feeding baby goats and having them stand on you while you downward dog is too fun. This, along with the dolphin experience below, are fulfilling tastes of wanting to be a zoologist.

Pride yoga: this was a pretty cool opportunity as we got to get onto the Orlando City stadium pitch to do yoga. A very unique experience and being able to see what it’s like to be on the pitch looking up into the stands is really fun.

Falcon heavy rocket launch: Ashley gives us a great opportunity to see rocket launches on center, and this one was one of the coolest. The largest rocket Space X launches, this was a pretty big spectacle. The neat part was the re entry landing, watching two small rockets come barreling down to earth, only to elegantly land side by side. Sci-Fi for real.

KSC tour: More perks, we did a KSC tour of the grounds. Being a Hydraulic/Mechanical engineer, I can really appreciate some of the ground support equipment and facilities on site, as I find it pretty bonkers to think the kind of engineering that goes on to create such unique and just straight up big machines.

Beyonce/Jay-Z: bucket list for Ashley was to see Beyonce, and to team up with Jay-Z was an added bonus. OTR II was a pretty good album too, so we splurged on the tickets and got some pretty decent seats to the stadium. We had a fun night listening to some great music. And it was clear that night Beyonce is queen.

In the Heights: I’ve been thinking I don’t have theatre in my life as much as I’d like to, and the chance came up to see a well known play be shown at the local Orlando Shakes theater. A great play by Lin Manuel-Miranda, and in an intimate venue as Orlando Shakes it was top notch time. 

USA Womens soccer: Watched the US Womens National Team play in Orlando for the She Believes Cup. I’ve been following the team for a few years now, and thankful to be able to support near by. They deserve a lot more respect by being a dominant representation of the US. 2019 brings the Women’s world cup, and look forward to continuing to cheer them on.

Discovery Cove: Another bucket list item, to be a Dolphin Trainer. This was my first answer to the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question as a kid, and up to this year I never even touched a dolphin. Well my (amazing) wife granted my life long wish and we went to Discovery Cove where I had the ability to live out my dream and not only pet the dolphin, but tell her tricks and take a ride/swim in the cove. This place was actually pretty fun, as they have many other attractions (swimming with fish and manta rays was really fun) and unlimited food and snacks.

Lantern Festival: Initially thinking it was hokey (especially after the amount i paid to do it) it was well worth doing. I knew Ashley has wanted to light a lantern, so the event came up a ways out from Orlando. Although the event could have had a little better coordination as it wasn’t as nice as their PR video, it was still a spectacle to see the hundreds of lanterns continuously lift into the air. As this event neared the end of 2018, we reflected where we were and where we planned to be. 

Heat games: Dwayne Wade’s “Last Dance” we got to see him twice in a week: in Orlando and in Miami. I’m really loving these Vice jerseys, and it’s nice to pay respect to the man who has been integral to our city.

Christmas/New Years fam: Writing this post late (post-2018) I can also add in the crazy last weeks I’ve had, as it was pretty much non-stop from Christmas weekend through New Years weekend. My family, Ashley’s family. Ashley’s Family friends, my family’s friends, our college friends, Ashley’s aunts and uncles. Every night was another party. Every day was a lunch to catch up. Truly blessed to have so much family and friends to be in close proximity, honestly it was a very concentrated dose of the people that you grew up with that really make the holidays so memorable.

That’s pretty much it. I was looking at the previous year, and I don’t think I mentioned that the Disney B250 was completed, a very special project and milestone that really my entire engineering career has led to this pinnacle. well in 2018 production has been completed. It isn’t perfect, and if I did it again I have a lot more knowledge under my belt to tackle it better, but nonetheless I will always be grateful and appreciative of the project, and may never get over how cool it is to see it running in Disney. I can only hope it lasts just as long as the previous set of Tram pullers.

Random honorable mentions:

Discovery of Brambleberry Ice Cream. Initially in Atlanta during the Tail of the Dragon road trip. But then the wife finding it at the local grocery, blessing. Summer as an ice cream flavor

Pan roast at oyster bar: a gem of a meal for 2018, found in Las Vegas. debatable as the best thing i’ve eaten in 2018. 

Marie patties: This was a small mom and pop Jamaican patty bakery near my house that we would always go to growing up while my mom shopped at the oriental store, or after we would get haircuts. The best tasting patties I’ve had, and certainly unique to any others. As time goes on, the mom and pop get old and therefore retired the place. With a stroke of luck we stopped by during one of our trips to Miami as we usually miss the opportunity to, and they were only a couple weeks from closing up. Sad to see such a staple end, and a small reminder nothing lasts forever, and some things don’t last a lifetime.

Hmm...I also beat Persona 5. I don’t think the group can match the hijinks of Persona 4, but otherwise a great game, and one I cosplayed. Plus Joker for Smash, cmonnnn.

I think I’ll end it here. Although not as crazy as last year as far as trips (although we still took a good amount this year) I have to say I crossed a lot off my bucket list this year. And of course I have to thank my wife for all of it pretty much, as she looks out for me way more that I realize. I hope in 2019 I can return the favor and realize some of her goals too. This year I will be turning 30, and ending my Twenties. A remarkable decade of my life, and to think back on that will have to be saved for another time. 

Thank you 2018, you’ve been kind.

[aion-rsa]

Abandoned and Hideo Kojima Silent Hill Conspiracy Just Got Much Weirder on YouTube

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Today was supposed to be a big day for Silent Hill and Hideo Kojima fans, at least those who believe an upcoming PS5 game called Abandoned is secretly a new entry in the horror series from the creator of Metal Gear and Death Stranding. But after a week of teasing the release of a new “trailers app” meant to reveal more of the indie title at the center of gaming’s latest conspiracy theory, Blue Box Game Studios’ enigmatic founder Hasan Kahraman released a video to announce the app and reveal had been delayed to August.

Did this quiet the fans who had spent more than a week speculating, deciphering “clues,” uncovering weird coincidences, and hounding the Blue Box Twitter handle for answers? If you think the answer is yes, you clearly don’t know the internet very well.

But let me rewind. If you’ve not been keeping up with the chatter on Twitter or obsessively reading the Blue Box Conspiracy subreddit like I have, we tracked many of the potential clues the eagle-eyed sleuths on Reddit found last week. But here’s the gist:

Ever since the first cryptic trailer for Abandoned premiered during a PlayStation State of Play broadcast last April, fans have been drawing connections between the game, Abandoned developer Blue Box Game Studios, Silent Hill, and Hideo Kojima. At first, the theory just seemed like wishful thinking, but A LOT has happened since then. After the official Blue Box Twitter handle posted a now-deleted tweet teasing that “Abandoned” wouldn’t be the final name of the game, fun speculation quickly turned into obsession for some.

“Guess the name: Abandoned = (First letter S, Last letter L). Reveal closing in…” read the tweet posted on June 15, which was enough to trigger a full-scale investigation spanning the entire internet, from Kojima’s Instagram feed to some really creepy YouTube videos involving Morse code. More on those videos in a second. The point is that things are getting SO weird.

All this even after Kahraman posted a video earlier this week confirming not only that he was a real person (and not Kojima in a mask — the MGSV developer previously pulled a stunt like that once) but that Blue Box and Abandoned had nothing to do with Konami or Silent Hill. He’s also been previously interviewed by IGN and went on the record with Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, arguably the most reliable reporter in games journalism.

“It doesn’t matter how much I try to debunk all this,” Kahraman told Schreier in an hour-long phone interview. “People don’t believe it. They just expect something that’s not out there. It bothers me.”

Quick message from Hasan: pic.twitter.com/1oVeaMvu3w

— BLUE BOX Game Studios (@BBGameStudios) June 22, 2021

The videos on social media and statements to the press would normally be enough to debunk the theories that Kahraman isn’t real, but many fans have dismissed the evidence as red herrings designed to push them off the trail. Plus, there ARE some weird coincidences, such as the fact the Kaharaman and Kojima both share the same initials and that when you translate “Hideo” from Japanese to Turkish, you get “Kahraman.” Blue Box’s initials are also “BB,” which is the name of a character in Kojima’s most recent game, Death Stranding.

Some “clues” that Kahraman and Blue Box aren’t who they say they are more outlandish. For example, some Reddit sleuths have suggested the black t-shirt Kahraman is wearing in his first video has a secret meaning. Why? Because every major figure whose talked about Abandoned or Kojima’s next game on video has worn a black shirt, including Leo Enin, the founder of Nuare, a real art outsourcing studio that has most recently worked on Marvel’s Avengers and Halo Infinite. The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest founder (and longtime Kojima collaborator) Geoff Keighley also teased that Kahraman had reached out to him to possibly help him reveal the game sometime in the near future.

Then Kahraman posted a new video today to announce the delay of the release of the Abandoned trailer app on the PlayStation Network. Yes, an app just for your trailers is a peculiar way to market your game, and it’s strange that PlayStation is giving such special attention to a very small indie studio, but that’s not the weirdest thing about Kahraman’s second video.

An update from Hasan: pic.twitter.com/vpFN81YDXL

— BLUE BOX Game Studios (@BBGameStudios) June 25, 2021

While Twitter users were busy trying to decipher the meaning of Kahraman’s switching from a black t-shirt to a white turtleneck, and speculating that perhaps the developer was actually a CGI model created by Kojima, something far stranger was happening on YouTube.

More than 10 hours before Kahraman announced the delay, a YouTube channel claiming to be the official channel of “AbandonedTheGame” went live with a countdown video, seemingly for the launch of the promised trailer app. But right when the clock hit zero on the live YouTube broadcast, Kahraman announced the delay on Twitter. What the hell?

At first it seemed like Blue Box had gotten cold feet at the last second, deciding to reveal Abandoned when it was a bit more polished. But those who stuck around YouTube after the delay was announced were treated to new clues that seem to confirm what some have known all along: that there’s much more to Abandoned than meets the eye.

The video, which played a loop of weird sounds over the Blue Box logo, began to communicate with the viewers, sending out messages in Morse code that some speculate is actually a conversation between two sides of the same person, potentially a tease of a character both in and outside Silent Hill’s Otherworld. Each line of Morse code appeared in either blue or red, seemingly signifying that two different voices were speaking, although some simply took this as confirmation that PlayStation (blue logo) and Konami (red logo) are collaborating on the new Silent Hill.

Either way, viewers quickly deciphered the would-be conversation:

BLUE: FIND THE SOURCE RED: REALITY BENDS TO MY WILL BUT MY MIND IS DELUSIONAL BLUE: I CANT TRUST YOU IF YOU CANT TRUST YOUR MIND SO FIND THE SOURCE RED: SHALL I REMIND YOU WHO I AM BLUE: SHALL I REMIND YOU WHAT I CAN DO BLUE: I THINK THEY SPOT ME STOP PLAYING ME AND FIND THE SOURCE RED: I CANT GET HOLD OF YOU SO I ASSUME YOU GOT MADE TIME TO SEPARATE BLUE: BYE BYE FOR NOW RED

Those on Reddit and YouTube quickly rushed to try and “find the source,” the central message of the otherwise nonsensical conversation. At this time, neither the Blue Box Conspiracy subreddit nor fans on other social platforms have come up with a definite answer as to what’s happening here, although there are some stunning theories I won’t delve into here because…it’s A LOT. Unfortunately, the video recording was deleted from the channel after the broadcast ended a few minutes after the final line of Morse code.

There are other videos on the channel, including this very creepy teaser apparently released earlier this week:

If you feel like taking a trip down the rabbit hole this weekend, I highly recommend you check out all the weird videos on the channel as well as the aforementioned subreddit. Even if you’re not invested in what Kojima or Blue Box have planned, it’s a lot of fun watching these sleuths try to figure out what’s going on. I can’t even begin to summarize all of the theories that have popped up since the Morse code dropped.

As of this writing, the YouTube channel has most recently dropped an “Act II Teaser” with more Morse code that reads:

RED: Endure BLUE: Survive

What does it all mean? We’ll hopefully get some answers in August…which also happens to be the month in which P.T., Kojima’s “Playable Teaser” for Silent Hills, released on the PSN back in 2014. Oh god.

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The post Abandoned and Hideo Kojima Silent Hill Conspiracy Just Got Much Weirder on YouTube appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[homesteadchronicles]

Ten Questions Tag

Thank you to the fantastic @acfawkes for tagging me in this! These questions were really interesting, and got me thinking about things I wouldn’t have considered before.

I’ll be tagging @firewritten, @lady-redshield-writes, @ivettaviolet, and @pen-and-sword-writing. We’ll keep the questions the same for this, as I had a blast answering these, and I’m sure you will, too. As always, feel no pressure to participate! Just enjoy the thought of knowing I wanted to include you :)

1. Tell me something you love about your current WIP(s).

This might sound cliche (or cocky?), but as I develop more and more of the story, I truly feel as if something special is stirring. I feel as though this story - and the stories of the characters inside of it - will resonate deeply within people. That they will be able to find themselves somewhere in the pages and know that there is hope, that there is joy, that there is a light coming for them in the midst of their darkness. I cannot articulate what it is I sense brewing when I begin to write, but it creates this urgency within me to write and write and write until I cannot anymore.

2. Three of your characters are coming with you on a road trip. Who are they and why did you pick them? 

THIS IS SUCH A FUN QUESTION! Okay, I’m gonna go with: Medea, Solomon, and Royan. Medea could help me to keep everyone in line, I feel like she and I would share a similar taste in music, and she’s got that same shady sense of humor as I. Sure, we might get into a bit of mischief, but nothing too troublesome. Solomon has influence in every community he enters and seems to make alliances and friendships as easily as he breathes. He would look after each of us, know all of the perfect tourist destinations, and I feel like he’d get a kick out of playing tour guide. But no one can allow him near the radio. No one wants to hear Gregorian chants and the greatest hits of Woodstock on a road trip. Just no. And Royan? That’s a strange one for me. He’s the opposite of me, but I feel like I need him because he’s the opposite. He’d pull me out of my comfort zone. He’d make me have fun when I’m too busy mom friend-ing everyone. He’d crack stupid jokes and dance like an idiot and he would contribute absolutely nothing logistical, but he would bring life to the group. And I need someone like that.

3. When you’re not writing, what are you most likely to be doing?

In truth? Working. I work multiple jobs, and I do not mess around when it comes to completing my work as well as possible. For relaxation, I primarily play through games with my bestie @khymnal​ that she has not yet completed, go out to eat with my inner circle of friends, or play D&D every Monday night. I try to throw in some personal time to read and game by myself, but I tend to make myself work on writing anyways.

4. How do you name your characters?

I actually do a lot of research for each character that I name, even the minor ones. I love learning how different cultures choose to name their children, how they label and title one another, etc. As time-consuming as it is for me, it’s also so exciting to find a name and feel that stirring in your gut that tells you that this was always meant to be their name. Sometimes, my characters have placeholder names for a time, but I will not settle until I have found the perfect one. 

5. Do your characters have any pets?

They do! Because the sigils of the kingdoms contain animals as their heraldry, most of them do own their namesake animal. However, rarely do these pets come into play beyond as mounts in travel or in battle. Do I know their names, temperaments and relationships with their owners? Oh, without a doubt. But I’ll give you a little sneak peak of two important (but as of yet unnamed) ones: 

Oeden keeps a bird caged in his bedroom within Almsgard Castle. He has no idea what species it is, as his mother brought it back from the Southern Isles. However, it is capable of limited speech, speaking in short, cryptic phrases. 

The other important pet is owned by the Western royals. The sigil of Al-Hasan’s royalty is a red lion roaring before a golden sun. They do own their own family lion, whom Simdan mounts in battle, but who secretly loves Medea the most.

6. Do you have a favorite time of day to write?

Typically, the only chance I have to write is late at night, once I’m done with all of my work for the day. But I don’t mind it, because I come alive at night. However, on my one day off, I love waking up early and spending the entire day writing away. On that day, I allow myself some time late at night, when all the inspiration has been exhausted, to instead sit and unwind with a good game or a big book.

7. Which of your characters would win the Most Huggable Award?

Out of my POV characters? Oh goodness. None of them are particularly people you’d look at and think “that one - they would love nothing more than a hug right now”. However, out of the primary seven, I would say that Royan is the most huggable. I did just write an adorable little moment between he and Oeden where Royan may or may not do one of those I’m-gonna-spin-you-around-in-midair-because-I-love-you-even-though-I-know-you-say-you-hate-this-but-secretly-love-it-too hugs. Yes, that is a thing.

8. Which of your characters would win the Most Punchable Award?

Honestly? They all really deserve a good shiner at one point or another in the story. Oeden and Medea might make good points, but they also say or do them wrong more often than not. Farukh has some anger management issues. Lazarus can be a BIG ol’ baby. Nadielle kinda b****es at a lot of people, albeit for justifiable reasons. But I’m gonna have to go with Kasumi’s younger twin sister and the other princess of Genesai, Chihiro. Sure, she’s not irredeemable. But you will learn to hate her. Real fast.

9. How do you decide when you’re done planning and just have to start writing?

I am quickly approaching this point, actually. I will know this when the details can no longer be decided on, and I find myself at a standstill when previously the inspiration poured out as if from an infinite faucet. I can easily become concerned with the most minute details and stress about them instead of about the big picture. Once I feel as though I can look at an outline and know that I can go from Point A to Point Z, I will be ready. Sure, there might be bumps along the way, but it will not be because I was too lazy to plan for this eventuality.

10. Do your characters have any odd habits?

Without a doubt. Medea wrings her hands constantly, but because she’s always wearing gloves, she has worn through so many sets of them that Zahira is getting tired of sewing new ones...especially because she sucks at sewing. As an insomniac, Oeden does all sorts of strange things to pass the time. Wanders the halls of the castle, organizes rooms without anyone knowing, and he spends copious amounts of time detailing every dream he has in a journal (with both words and drawings). Royan is constantly fidgeting - tapping his feet, drumming his fingers, etc. He’ll likely do this on other people, too. He’s super touchy, even when he doesn’t realize it or mean to be. Solomon gets lost in thought while reading all of the time and keeps accidentally rereading the same line ten thousand times over. It takes him forever to finish anything because of it. He blames it on old age. Kasumi naturally tends to walk in shaded areas or a bit too close behind people, as she has become accustomed to the shadows. She also needs to have her mask on as much as possible. Carmila constantly rubs her coins or flips them through her fingers. It helps her think, and calm her down when she’s stressed. The coin reminds her that she still has something to cling to, money left to spare. Her family won’t go under again. Farukh gets little sleep, not because of insomnia like Oeden, but because he is constantly working or on patrol. He feels the need to check on every tent, recount every supply, and double-check the perimeter. He feels as though there is danger lurking around them, somewhere, but he cannot pinpoint its location. He wants to protect his people, and only sleeps when he passes out, because the anxiety does not allow him to sleep otherwise.

[globalworship]

‘Yeshu Raja’ with Maha Prasad ritual

Yeshu Raja - येशु राजा Words by Mumtaz Masih, Music by Hasan Ali Khan Arrangement by Peter Hicks and Chris Hale (Aradhna)

Performed and recorded by Yeshu Satsang Toronto Miranda Stone - vocals & tabla Chris Hale - vocals & sitar Luke Parker - harmonium

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Yeshu Raja Lyrics:

येशु राजा त्रिलोक नाथ Yeshu Raja Triloka Naatha* King Jesus, Lord of the three worlds

दीन दुखी के तुम हो विधाता Deen dukhi ke tuma ho Vidhaata You are the God of the wretched and distressed

1. लाज शर्म मोरी रखियो जगत में Laaj sharam mori rakhiyo jagata mein Protect my honour, save me from shame in the world

तुम बिन नहीं कोई दूजा रे Tum bin nahin koi duja re Without you there is no other

2. पापिन कारण लियो अवतारा Paapin kaaran liyo awatara On account of sin you became incarnate

दियो प्राण दियो छुटकारा Diyo praan diyo chutkaara You gave up your life and released us

www.YeshuSatsangToronto.com www.YeshuSatsangToronto.bandcamp.com

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* The word trilok means, the three worlds of sky, atmosphere, and earth, but can also refer to heaven, earth and the lower regions. The word also means, “the Universe.” Trilok Nath refers to “The Lord of the Three Worlds,” or the “Lord of the Universe.” http://aradhnamusic.com/discography/amrit-vani/lyrics-amrit-vani/

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Miranda and Chris write,

This puja is not something we do for show.  It's a deeply devotional practice we do in our home....

Breaking open a coconut with a hammer symbolizes sacrifice;  the breaking of something whole in itself, leads to nurture and life for others.  An older friend and mentor of ours in India first shared this symbol with us during a ceremony in 1999 and it deeply impacted us.  It brings to life the verse, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (from the Book of John 15:13). 

In an earlier chapter of this same book, in chapter 10 vs. 11, Jesus/Yeshu talks about how seriously he takes his service to humanity when he says, “I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”  In a world where powerful leaders resort to throwing colleagues or vulnerable people “under the bus” to avoid having to face their own mistakes, I wonder at the kind of love that could pay the bill for the mistakes of others; not just of friends, but of enemies also.  I sing to remind myself of that grace, but more so, I am asking for help from that source of grace to transform how I respond to situations where I’m more likely to attack or defend, rather than listen.

You’ll see Miranda pick up the coconut about 3:50 into the video, then hit it multiple times until the coconut water drains out below. Eventually the coconut breaks into two halves, showing the white coconut meat inside.

The ritual is called Maha Prasad (”Great Grace”), a contextualized ceremony referring to the crucifixion and rich in symbolism. It is not meant as a substitute for Communion as instituted by Yeshu at the Last Supper.

Learn more in this helpful article: https://margnetwork.org/is-maha-prasad-the-same-as-the-lords-supper/

You’ll see such ‘breaking of a coconut’ in this animated video about Yeshu. Go to about 5:30 in the video below and you’ll see a boy asking about the crucifixion. The older man who is telling the Bible stories strikes a cococut, collects the coconut water that drains out, and splits the coconut into two halves - the same ritual we see as ‘Maha Prasad’ in the music/worship video above, used here in a storytelling context.

See the animated video (with English subtitles) at http://www.indigitube.tv/video/coconuts-hindi-language-engsub/

More about Maha Prasad below.

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An earlier studio version of the song, by Chris Hale and Peter Hicks of Aradhna, is on their 2007 album ‘Amrit Vani.’

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My colleague Michael Thomas writes this about Maha Prasad from much experience:

In my experience, this ritual has been taken very well by those present, as a way of physically showing the messiness and rawness and beauty of Prabhuji's sacrifice. *The coconut on the outside, alone, before being broken, has no real value...it is a hairy thing that truly has no worth (except I suppose for throwing at someone). It is only when it is taken and broken, violently smashed open and apart, that it is now available and we can access its literal life-giving nectar and eat of the nourishing flesh. This raw, hard, hairy thing of little value becomes literally life-giving, but only when it is broken for us! In the same way, Prabhuji was broken for us, and sometimes as we smash the coconut during this, pieces may fly around and it can be a mess. It was not a neat, painless experience. But because of that sacrifice, and only because of that sacrifice, we can take and eat, and take and drink of this life-giving nectar, naturally-occuring and more nourishing than Gatorade. But it can only be accessed through the breaking of the coconut. So as we break it open and apart, we remember Prabhuji being broken for us - for the sins of the world, for all who would come and taste and see and take and embrace the gift of this life-giving sacrifice. **When explained in this manner, we have had VERY positive responses. One guy from a very Christian background was saying that he kept expecting it to cross a line of Syncretism at any point, but was thrilled that it didn't but stayed focused on Jesus. Another said that it really made the sacrificial element come alive more, seeing it hammered and broken apart as it was. ***Hindu Background people (in my experience) have also seen it as a positive experience if done and explained in this way. When doing it for Hindu-Background people especially, I just make NO mention of a Christian Ritual, etc, at all. Instead, I may introduce it by talking about how coconuts have different meanings to Hindus across India, but that breaking a coconut is in some traditions an important part of their worship experience, and that as followers of Yeshuji, coconuts can have a special meaning to us as well, as they remind us of His sacrifice. Introducing it in this way, instead of as an adaptation of a Christian Ritual of PrabhuBhoj (Lord's Supper) seems to really increase its acceptability to Hindu Background friends.

[corkcrab7-blog]

The Best New Shows and Movies on Netflix This Week -- The Society, Wine Country

Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? Here is a list of all the best new shows and movies released on Netflix the week of May 10-May 16.

This is a very well-rounded week on Netflix. We've got a star-studded comedy movie (Wine Country), a suspenseful teen thriller series (The Society), the final season of a well-liked anthology series (Easy), some anime, some kid stuff, some foreign cinema, and some documentaries, and not too much of any one thing. Sometimes it's like "why do we need three murder documentaries this week," you know? Nothing this week is going to be a big hit, except mayyybe The Society, but nothing is especially bad, which isn't always the case. Steady as she goes, Netflix!

If you're looking for even more hand-picked recommendations, click over to our Watch This Now! page.

(All titles are out Friday, May 10, unless otherwise specified.)

The Biggest Releases

The Society, Season 1 Netflix's latest TV-MA YA offering is its best one yet, an inspired Lord of the Flies riff about the teenagers of a wealthy New England town that gets mysteriously cut off from the world. "No parents, no school, no rules" sounds like fun, right? Think again! Things Chinua Achebe real fast — and that's the kind of reference these kids would make, because they're all hilariously well-read. This is a show where ominous graffiti in Romanized Hebrew appears on a wall and a jock is like, "Oh, that's from the Book of Daniel. It means you've been judged and found wanting." It's a lot of fun.

Wine Country Amy Poehler is making her directorial debut with this feel-good comedy about a group of longtime friends taking a trip to Napa to celebrate a 50th birthday. The cast includes Poehler's own longtime friends and fellow Saturday Night Live alumni Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, and Tina Fey. In addition to directing, Poehler also stars, executive-produces, and wrote the story with Spivey and Liz Cackowski (who used to write for, you guessed it, Saturday Night Live). (Trailer)

Everything Else

Easy, Season 3 Writer-director Joe Swanberg's low-key anthology series is back for a third and final season of charming little tales of the love, sex, and app lives of a gaggle of Chicagoans. Returning faves include Jake Johnson, Aya Cash, Dave Franco, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, and Elizabeth Reaser, along with new faces like Sophia Bush and John Gallagher Jr. Is this the final sigh of mumblecore? Maybe!

Dry Martina I feel like this came out already? Or maybe Netflix puts out so many similar movies that I can't keep track of them all. Anyway, this is a sexy Chilean dramedy about a former teen pop star rediscovering her libido and finding out about who she is in the process. Lots of talk about "concha" in the trailer. (Trailer)

Gente que viene y bah (In Family I Trust) This is a Spanish movie about an architect whose boyfriend cheats on her with a news anchor and everyone finds out so she returns to the small town where she's from and gets her groove back with the help of her family and the local hot dude. You've seen this one before. (Trailer)

Harvey Girls Forever!, Season 2 The animated series formerly known as Harvey Street Kids is back for another season of after-school adventures on the street where every day feels like Saturday. Fun fact: The voices of the boy band the girls adore belong to Joey McIntyre (New Kids on the Block), Nick Lachey (98 Degrees), Joey Fatone (*NSYNC), and Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men). That's star power! (Trailer)

Jailbirds People sure do love jail documentaries. Here's another one, profiling the women incarcerated in the Sacramento County Jail. It's as close to a real-life Orange Is the New Black as Netflix has gotten. (Trailer)

ReMastered: The Lion's Share The eighth and final installment of this season of monthly music documentary series ReMastered follows South African journalist Rian Malan's quest to redistribute the wealth of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which has earned millions of dollars for American artists but nothing for the impoverished family of songwriter Solomon Linda, an injustice which Malan sets out to rectify as an act of personal contrition for his own family's role in apartheid. (Trailer)

Shéhérazade This gritty French indie is set in the slums of Marseille, where teenage petty crook Zach falls in love with streetwalker Shéhérazade, which leads to serious consequences. It won three César Awards (the French Oscars), for Best First Film for director Jean-Bernard Marlin and Best New Actor and Actress for its young stars Dylan Richard and Kenza Fortas. (Trailer)

Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Volume 3 Hasan Minhaj is back for another batch of informative John Oliver-style political comedy. Topics in this volume include censorship in China (which comes after Minhaj was banned in Saudi Arabia), politics in India, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development and its loony leader Ben Carson. (Trailer / Sunday, May 12)

Malibu Rescue The premise of this kids' movie is Baby Baywatch. Some kids including Breanna Yde and Ricardo Hurtado from Nick's School of Rock learn how to be junior lifeguards. If this were a theatrically released movie, it would be rated PG for "mild rude humor." (Trailer / Monday, May 13)

revisions, Season 1 This anime series has a pretty similar premise to The Society in some ways. It follows some teenagers from Shibuya who get time-warped into a future version of their city. But then there's big robots and stuff they have to fight, so it's actually pretty different than The Society. You should just watch The Society. (Trailer / Tuesday, May 14)

Still Laugh-In: The Stars Celebrate This special is a tribute to the classic Nixon-era sketch comedy show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Dan Rowan and Dick Martin are both dead, so they won't be there to accept the praises. There doesn't seem to be much of a point to this besides the fact that it launched the career of Lily Tomlin, and Netflix loves Lily Tomlin. It also launched the career of Goldie Hawn, but she's not in this. But it does have Tiffany Haddish crip-walking, which is something we all know and love from the original Laugh-In! (Trailer)

Stop searching, start watching! TV Guide's Watch This Now! page has even more TV recommendations.

The 52 Netflix Originals You Should Be Watching

Tim Robinson, I Think You Should Leave with Tim RobinsonPhoto: Netflix

Source: https://www.tvguide.com/news/the-best-new-shows-and-movies-on-netflix-this-week-the-society-wine-country/?rss=breakingnews

[insidegnss]

Who Was the First Scientist?

We live in a scientific age. Millions of puppy aviation study science, thousands of universities teach it, and hundreds of publications chronicle it. We even have a mount channel devoted exclusively to its wonders. We are immersed in technology rooted in its discoveries. But what is science, and who was its first practitioner?

Science is the study of the physical world, but it is not just a topic, a subject, a field of interest. It is a discipline--a plot of inquest that adheres to a specific methodology--the scientific method. In its basic form, the scientific legislature consists of seven steps:

1) observation;

2) excuse of a funeral or question;

3) estimation of a hypothesis, or a possible answer to the funeral or question;

4) trying of the speculation with an experiment;

5) answer of the experiment's results;

6) definition of the information and planning of a conclusion;

7) bundle of the findings.

One can study phenomena without sticking to the scientific method, of course. The result, however, is not science. It is pseudoscience or grunge science.

Throughout history, dozens escape in loads parts of the burrow have studied stroke without using the scientific method. Some of the earliest people to do so were the ancient Greeks. Scholars such as Aristotle made many supervision closely natural phenomena, but they did not try their impression with experiments. Instead they relied on logic to stronghold their findings. As a result, they often arrived at erroneous conclusions. Centuries later the errors of the Greeks were exposed by student using the scientific method.

Perhaps the sum famous debunking of Greek belief occurred in 1589 when Galileo Galilei challenged Aristotle's notions closely falling bodies. Aristotle had asserted that heavy aviation fall at a faster rate than lighting aviation do. His rivalry was logical but unproven. Galileo decided to trial Aristotle's hypothesis, fable says, by dropping cannon madness of different weights from a balcony of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He released the madness simultaneously and found that neither orbits raced ahead of the other. Rather, they sped earthward together and box the kingdom at the same time. Galileo also conducted experiments in which he rolled balls of different weights down inclines in an trial to discover the fact roughly dropping bodies. For these and other experiments, Galileo is considered by dozens to be the first scientist.

Galileo was not the first person to appearance experiments or to follow the scientific method, however. European pupil had been instructing experiments for three hundred years, ever since a British-born Franciscan monk named Roger Bacon advocated experimentation in the thirteenth century. In Part Five of his Opus Magus Bacon challenges ancient Greek appearances approx foresight and includes several experiments with decoration that include all seven steps of the scientific method.

Part Five of Opus Magus is not an original work, however. It is a sketch of a scads longer employment entitled De aspectibus (The Optics). Bacon follows the founding of De aspectibus and reiteration its experiments step by step, sometimes even manifestation for word. But De aspectibus is not an original work, either. It is the plagiarism of a collection written in Arabic entitled Kitab al-Manazir (Book of Optics). Written around 1021, Kitab al-Manazir predates Roger Bacon's plan of it by 250 years. The writer of this groundbreaking publication was a Muslim scholar named Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham.

Born in Basra (located in what is now Iraq) in 965, Ibn al-Haytham--known in the West as Alhazen or Alhacen--wrote more than 200 books and treatises on a wide contrivance of subjects. He was the first person to apply algebra to geometry, instituting the branch amounts known as analytic geometry.

Ibn al-Haytham's use of experimentation was an offshoot of his skeptical feathers and his Muslim faith. He believed that human creature are flawed and only God is perfect. To discover the truth closely nature, he reasoned, one had to allow the world to speak for itself. "The seeker after reality is not one who studies the manuscripts of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his credit in them," Ibn al-Haytham wrote in Doubts Concerning Ptolemy, "but rather the one who suspects his trusts in them and dispute what he pleats from them, the one who submits to agent and demonstration."

To experiment his speculation that "lights and personality do not blend in the air," for example, Ibn al-Haytham devised the world's first camera obscura, observed what happened when illustration gleam intersected at its aperture, and recorded the results. This is just one of many of "true demonstrations," or experiments, contained in Kitab al-Manazir.

By insisting on the use of verifiable experiments to test hypotheses, Ibn al-Haytham established a new plot of inquiry--the scientific method--and earned a job in history as the first scientist.

An award-winning poet of more than fifty books for puppy adults, Bradley Steffens is a frequent contributor to online and print publications, including Discovery Channel Magazine, QScience Review, Gig and Broker Agent Magazine. A copywriter with 25 age experience, he creates website component for cloud desktop computing, health insurance, a https://insidegnss.com/galileo-hits-the-spot-testing-gnss-dual-frequency-with-smartphones/  nd homeowner's insurance professionals. His 2007 book, Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist, is the world's first biography of the medieval Muslim scholar known in the West as Alhazen. His hordes recent batches is The Prisoner of Al-Hakim, a historical novel based on the life of Ibn al-Haytham.

[hasansonsuzceliktas]

From Darkness to Light...

What a spectacular landscape, and I was whole within this marvellous environment. Oh, how gorgeous it was! I had never before experienced the energy I felt when I opened my arms wide. Not just clean oxygen but also clean energy filled my lungs. I am the ONE! I am the ONE! I am the ONE! A momentary recoil and I'm again opening my eyes to utter darkness. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been in this darkness. You might wonder how someone who lives in perpetual darkness can be aware of it. From time to time, the light inside changed. Sometimes light oozed in here and there, but no one knew where it came from. There were rumors going around about people who had discovered the source of this light, but these conversations were always interrupted by the elders: Geez! The same nonsense again! There’s no such thing. People dream about it and send fools on a wild-goose chase. There is no such light, or we would have found it. We are here for life. There’s no other world beyond this one—there cannot be! Who knows that light is better anyway? Who could see it except for a few lunatics? I didn't know if there were places beyond where we lived. Very few people could reach very far. So much was unknown about the far and away, and very few dared to venture there. Yes, we were used to living in darkness, and at least we knew our environment. We knew what was around us, what we should avoid hitting, who was doing what and with whom, and so on. It was enough for us to survive, but what about my dreams? What about the lights? What about that spectacular landscape? What does “I am the ONE” mean? The rumors about the far and away were solemn. They told about people who went to the far and away and never came back. When I told people around me about my dreams, they told me they were my imagination being influenced by the rumors. Even one of my close friends told me, “Get over it, bro! Thousands of years ago, some people might have gone to this perfect world and told others about it, but do you get your bread from this perfection? Get on with your business and leave this dream behind!” Yet I could not leave my dream... **** I had another dream one night. I was by a great body of water. It was said that this was called an ocean. Someone was with me, and he showed me something with glasses of water. It’s difficult to recall it right now, but in a way I felt the story didn’t end. When I told my friends about this dream, I saw how excited they were. I had also felt different for some time. I was not alone any more, and seeing this was good for me. But what kind of a threshold were we on? ***** The following night, I lay down and closed my eyes. I found myself on a beach by that ocean again. This time I stared at the horizon for so long. I had never seen an ocean, yet I was sitting on a beach watching one. I suddenly sensed someone beside me, so I turned and saw the same man from the last dream. This time he appeared to be the same age as me. As if reading my mind, he said, “I want you to see me as your friend. I could appear as a beautiful woman, but then your heart might get involved. It's better this way.”  “You love this ocean scene, but there are many other scenes we can show you.” He snapped his fingers and we found ourselves on a mountain peak. We were very high, and down below there was a huge world. Once again, he snapped his fingers and suddenly we were in a ruin. I had never seen such a place before, although I had heard of ancient people living in such places. After the people leave or die out, these places deteriorate and become ruins. For the first time, I could actually see one of them. What a beautiful place it was. The man snapped his fingers once more and we were back by the ocean. He then started to talk: "Anyway, bring back the person you know best. Otherwise, you could skip the message and just look around. Don’t worry, though, you'll have plenty of time to discover everything. Now, first feel my message. I'm placing it deep in your heart, so you can deliver it to your friends...” I took a deep breath and felt the message: "Until now, you’ve been beautiful beings living in darkness but dreaming of light. You lived in darkness but could not embrace it, because somewhere inside you, you knew there was something else far beyond what you could perceive. Your refusal was a reaction, and it’s good you felt this. It’s like how children test the boundaries set down by their parents. Those rules protect you like a cocoon, but to become a butterfly you need to escape it. The darkness has been your cocoon. It was needed for you to grow and develop, but it’s time to go beyond it. I know you’re aware that you were on a voyage. You left the places you know. You even tried to advance by continuously rocking and hitting things around you. You got so hurt, and part of you started to refuse to go far away for this reason. There’s not much time left. This is not a trip of salvation from the darkness— it never was. Darkness is the place where you grew up. It was always a part of you, a protective shroud... As far as you know, you accept it and embrace it. You have started moving easily on your voyage, just how the eyes get accustomed to darkness. Refusing darkness is like moving through the dark with your eyes closed. When you open your eyes, your eyes will get used to it. Pretty soon, you’ll come out of the darkness. This is my message to you. A much more compelling adventure is about to begin, so be ready. The name of this adventure is the voyage of light. You'll live the most wondrous things you saw in your dreams, but accepting the light will be harder than embracing the darkness. The greatest challenge of humanity is not to accept how dark it has been but rather to realize how much light is within it. For example, when you confront people and tell them they’re terrible, they easily accept it even if they react badly. This is because they have plenty of proof for it. Now, when you tell people how beautiful or good they are, they get in a lather. This is because they don’t know what it means or how it feels... Now, get ready, Hasan! Pretty soon, you'll see the light. First, it will hurt your eyes, and this won’t go away. Many people will scream for the light to be turned off, and they will try to hide from it. Carry on, however, despite the pain. See your reflection in the first lake you come to, because it will be the first time you see yourself. You will be able to see yourself and others under the light, but then what? Come on! First experience this a little and figure out the rest later. Be ready, you'll soon awaken and deliver my message exactly. NOW WAKE UP!” ***** I opened my eyes to the familiar darkness. Some of my friends were also awake, while others were happily snoring. There were fine murmurs coming from some sleepers, and I thought they might also be getting similar messages. We were getting ready to live something very significant. I felt I had to look at my hands. They had always been with me, but what did they look like? I didn't know, so it was time to find out. It was therefore necessary to start my journey, but first I had a message to deliver… Read the full article