#my country made me proud idc guys

[lkluvsu]

ykw. my country did well, ils ont nous rendus fiers 🫡 taking uruguay to pens?? after canada was nawt that good even two years ago??? they were amazing this copa do not talk shit

[bleedingcoffee42]

Speirs giving Toni a gun and telling her to shoot people, her boyfriend included, if treated not well, is the most Sparky thing ever. It's the top of the tops.

And you know, this and some other stuff you posted made me thing he didn't have a "women problem", he just was that old fashioned dude who thought dating/taking a woman for a dinner = wedding bells.

It's sweet.

And weirdly suits him.

Toni's son says "It was just sooooo Speirs". Yeah, the guy who helped his niece move out of her apartment and said '"'Don't worry sweetie, I have a gun in the glovebox'. Dude was pretty upfront with his modus operandi.

He even saw a bonus of 'seeing my wife and baby!' when going back to England to the hospital in his letter to Ambrose. I'd tell the guy about chunks of shrapnel they were taking out of you or where you got em, but yeah. You get to see your girl too.

Matheson with his reason for him having 'women issues' seems to be that he thought he was collecting wives from every country in the world? Weird thing to be judgy about.

And his ex-wife marrying her POW sweetheart after divorcing him and him being really proud and supportive of his son? Thinking the new husband was a great guy? Happy to be included in their family? Legit had every reason to never see them again and he's telling people in almost every letter how proud he is of his son and grandkids.

'Come at me for the murder idc, but don't embarrass my family when you do it' has it's honest charm?

Also getting his ass kicked and tipping his hat like 'Welp, you got me' as he walks off out of breath or bleeding is just....way better than holding a lifetime grudge ya know?

Every letter from this man follows a formula: "Well that war was a long time ago and I had a 20 year career in the army (IE- I don't really remember the fine details of job I had for 4 months when I was 25 especially since I served in four wars and did cold war shit.) Sgt. Smith died in my arms in Bastogne. Why did he have to stand up that second? WHY? I am SO proud of my son and love my step-grandchildren so much. They are the light of my life. My Life which will end soon because I just had massive heart surgery and all us old guys are kicking it. Thanks for writing! ~~~~Sparky."

It's why he's so fascinating, I just don't know what's better- him being bang bang or the Easy Company guys being :/ "He's murdery and cruel" and then immediately being like "But he's OUR Captain."

Love him or hate him I guess. Or both.

[darklordofthesimp]

i still cannot get over the katnisskinny!birdy like-

both of them literally being made into war symbols for the better of their country.. weapons made just to kill. like imagine having everyone staring at you 24/7 with just pure pity. i would go absolutely feral. neither of them can trust anyone because of the trauma some old guy decided to put upon them. and that takes me to the point of BOTH OF THEM WANTED DEAD BY PRIVILEGED MEN!!! they can’t even have love, man. peeta and könig both attacked them and ruined them. and oml the ptsd. it hits so hard, especially when everything is just slightly getting better to the point where they aren’t miserable all the time. i headcanon that they braid their hair because it helps calm them down and just relax 💔. they’re both fighting a corrupt system, one that’s sided to people who obey. if they ever met oh ho ho, the whole world would be burning with them staring down watching and laughing.

könig holds birdy to sleep when she has a nightmare, same as peeta and katniss. despite everything they still find comfort in the chaos. it’s the deep rooted trauma that keeps them connected on such a deep intimate level. no matter what is being thrown at them they still get reeled back into eachother.

anyways, sorry abt the rant i just cant get over my birdy and katniss. please please PLEASEEE, let birdy go apeshit like katniss when she attacked haymitch. idc WHO she attacks just LET HER DO IT!!!!! LET HER BASH SOMEONES HEAD IN LIKE KÖNIG DID TO HER!! with proud sunshine watching on the side lines with a bag of popcorn in their arms (or if you wanna let birdy release her anger on sunshine…i don’t judge) either way i’ll be happy and i’ll continue to make my happy connections :)

EVERYONE READ THIS RIGHT FKING NOW

[bluizu]

PFP credit to Laulo821!

created: June 26, 2022

last updated: March 22, 2024

my alts: @addison-on-olemassa (my OC Addison) @pollizu (random polls and such) @ikaeon (my oc Ika, which doubles as Pokemon IRL)

I LOVE ASKS. DO NOT FEEL AFRAID TO ASK ME ANYTHING. IF YOU SEND ME AN ASK I LOVE YOU AND WILL CHERISH YOU FOREVER. ACTIVELY BEGGING YOU TO SEND ASKS. TALK TO ME ASK ME SOMETHING TELL ME ANOUT YOUR DAY IDC ANYTHING MAKES MY DAY!!!!!!!!!

hi! I'm blue/bluizu, you can call me either :] welcome to my chaotic blog! I am genderqueer and transmasc, and go by any pronouns except she/her. I'm also demisexual and omni, because... guy and girl and enby preby,,,,,. btw, a reminder that I am a minor because I've been sent way too many inappropriate messages. also, spam likes and reblogs are absolutely allowed <3

(I take requests! I currently have a shit ton of art block, but here are the rules)

My special interest is geography, and i LOVE maps. I also adore Pokémon and the games!!!!You may find posts of me when i had a hyperfixation on Markiplier and Jacksepticeye. I've had hyperfixations of LOTS of other things, some of which can be found in the tag list below!

tags to block if it's not for you:

Blue is feeling blue: Vent posts (commonly about my former paranoia, depression, derealization, and sometimes my current body/gender dysphoria).

Blue is pissed: Anything surrounding hierarchies and/or inequality. I often forget using this, apologies!

Blue spam: When i... spam. Or just random nonsense. Bluizu roulette

Blue loves ISWM: Any Markiplier related stuff, excluding the Iron Lung movie.

Blue loves Toby: Any UNDERTALE or DELTARUNE related stuff, including anything else Toby has made.

Blue loves JJ: Any Jacksepticeye related stuff.

Bluebird: Photos of birds.

Blue can't draw: my art! I accept criticism, as long as it isn't blatant hate. I have been drawing for around 3 years now and I think I'm starting to find my art style.

Blue misses Varl: Any HZD or HFW related stuff. WARNING FOR SPOILERS

Blue isn't real: Dreamcore, Weirdcore, Kidcore, Traumacore or other colorful/ derealization-related aesthetics. this content may be paranoia/ derealization inducing, please block this tag if you're triggered by such things. i no longer suffer from dpdr, but if you do, please know it gets better. im proud of you for getting this far.

Bluedew: Stardew valley. That’s it.

Blue is Zin: Furry art, fursuits ect.

Blue adores Marina: Animal Crossing, mainly Animal Crossing New Horizons.

Blue loves Venus Fly Traps: Any carnivorous plants, including my own Dionaea Muscipula.

Blue had phases: My old/ recurring hyperfixations (Pokémon, ratchet and clank, Spiderman, DSMP (FUCK WILLIAM GOLD), Minecraft)

Blue's hall of fame: my best posts/reblogs. ever.

Blue is neurodivergent: Anything regarding AD(H)D, autism, depression, derealization, psychosis, schizophrenia, paranoia ect. that isn't a vent.

Blue has moots: My mutuals/friends <3 (I'm doing this tag literally just so i can scroll through all our interactions they make me sosossoosoo happy)

Spidey and co.: My own Venus fly traps! my biggest trap is named Spidey, and thus this tag got its name.

Blues and yellows: 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪SWEDEN🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

Blue bolero hours: Käärijä!!

Bluerovision: My eurovision, and most used, tag!

Blue knows geography: Maps, Countries, Culture, History, etc. basically what your geography teacher would talk about

Blue and co.: My OCS! Blue creations: Anything that I’ve made.

Blue is here and queer: random announcements or other important posts, like this one!

Dni List:

Lgtqia+-phobe. Seriously. Go away.

anti-fiction/otherkin. I'm otherkin, so piss off.

Anti-recovery. let us be happy. get help. /gen

Rad-inclus/exclus.

Ableist, sanist, racist, ageist. I'll admit, i have internalized sanism, but i never react on it and am trying to get rid of it. don't be a shithead.

Pro-life. it's okay if you want to argue with me about this. as long as you try to help me keep it civil and see my side of it.

Fascist. i am a socialist, kiss my tits about it.

Nft-bro. go fuck yourself lmao.

Porn blog. this includes kinks, and other suggestive things. I am a minor, and while kink is completely chill, i feel uncomfortable with such things.

Non-traumagenic/supporters. i know systems, and i don't want to make them uncomfortable. i choose not to take a stance on non-traumagenic systems, seeing as i am a singlet and don't know as much about OSDDID as others do.

Trigger warnings:

I use Queer completely untagged. it isn't a slur; it's been completely reclaimed by the lgbtq community.

I am a casual member of the Dream SMP community, and i absolutely understand if you have had bad interactions with the fandom, but if you feel comfortable enough giving me a chance i hope you'll feel safe here. the dream smp had been a big part of my recovery from depression, and they mean a lot to me.

i rarely forget to tag things like gore, but it happens, so be careful.

i will talk about past trauma on here, and it might trigger you, so block the tag Blue Is Feeling Blue to be safe.

that's kind of it! I'm going to update this from time to time, and this took longer than i expected, so there's definitely some errors here and there. but i hope this gives an insight to what i post/reblog here! have a great day :D

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #246

(song lyrics here idc)

What is the most you’ve ever eaten in one sitting? I don't know. Probably too many slices of pizza back when I could kill pizza if I was hungry enough. How often do you skip breakfast? Rarely. What’s the longest you’ve gone without leaving the house? A couple+ weeks, probably. Where are you going the next time you go out? School. What kinds of things are likely to make you cry? Reunions of like any type, seeing things (esp. animals) in pain, if my feelings are deeply hurt, deaths... stuff like that. Really nothing unusual. What are some things that make others cry that don’t make you cry at all? Hm. I dunno. I'm sure there's something, but I'm unsure. If you drink/smoke, how often do you do these things? I don't smoke, and I'll ever only have like a drink or two on some holidays or for my birthday. What website do you spend the most time on and why? YouTube because it essentially replaces television for me. What’s the most amount of time you’ve spent online? Is this usual for you? Oh my god don't ask me this. What is one belief you used to have, but no longer do? In what ways are you influenced by the opinions of others, if ever? The one I disdain the most was being homophobic up to my late teenage years. I wanna curb stomp that ignorant fucking kid. I wouldn't say I'm influenced by other's opinions on things very much. What was the last thing to make you feel good about yourself? Drinking water lmao. How would you describe your overall (or preferred) personal aesthetic? My friend recently described me as a "gothic lolita" and y'know he's onta something. What kinds of small judgments are you likely to make about others? *Small* judgments? Uhhhh... God why am I blanking on surveys so much lately. What was the last thing you did mostly because society expected you to? Shower, 'cuz I seriously wasn't feeling it but needed to anyway. When was the last time you felt out of place? I had to babysit my nephew on my own early last month and I felt like I was in a different universe. I felt so, so unfit in the position and just all-around uncomfortable. I love that boy to death but babysitting is noooooot my thing. Do you believe in aliens, spirits, or angels of any sort? Yeah. Well, not "angels" by true definition, no. In what ways are you superstitious? I'm not. Where was the last place you went walking and how far? Would you rather exercise alone or with other people? Like, for fun? Not since I was at Sara's. I DO NOT like exercising in front of other people at all. What kinds of nail polish colors do you prefer to wear? How about makeup? Black is the entirely superior makeup color. How would you describe your own relationship with makeup? It's just for fun for me when I actually feel like it, and even that's rare. I usually only put makeup on for some pictures. Who has been in your life the longest amount of time? What about the shortest? My mom the longest, and my school teachers the shortest, I guess? Who was the last person to leave your life? How about return to it? My fucking therapist that deserves my fist through her face. Return, uhhhh yeah I dunno. It might be Sara, and that was yearsss ago. When it comes to travel, what kinds of places intrigue you most? Wildernesses, especially with mountains, rivers, waterfalls... that kind of stuff. Do you think humans colonizing Mars is a good idea? Would you go, if you could? No. Focus on the goddamn planet we're already on. If it was a life or death situation, I'd go, but otherwise, I'm staying here and at least trying to patch it up. What is the farthest you’ve walked in one day and what made you do it? Oh, many miles, I'm sure. I used to walk for literally hours out in my yard at night with my iPod. That was so common for me. Funny how now I'm recovering from muscle atrophy in my legs. Do you have a chore/housecleaning routine or anything like that? A "routine," no. How organized would you say your living space is? The house is currently a travesty. What is something important that’s often on your mind lately? Success in school. Do you find it easier to forgive yourself or others? Others. Have you ever had to call 911? For who/what reason? Yes; Mom thought she might've been having a heart attack. Thank fuck she wasn't. Do you like oatmeal? If so, what kinds of things do you like in it? Oh yeah. It's like a regular for me now that I'm big time trying to lose weight. I like the apple cinnamon one. What was going on the last time you felt nostalgic? Thinking about that walking question. How much attention do you pay to the movements of the stars and planets, and do you believe they influence anything? The most non-Pagan belief I have is being void of this one. No. When was the last time you were afraid to tell someone something? Heh, speaking of being (mostly, ig) Neo-Pagan. Classmate and I were doing an assignment getting to know each other and she asked my religion. She was a serious Christian and was clearly SO uncomfortable when I awkwardly answered lmao. When was the last time something didn’t go the way you expected it would? My disability case hearing just a week back. I expected to be way, way more terrified, shaking even, and was prepared for an intimidating judge. Just in general I was afraid of it being "court-like" and with a lot of people, but it was okay. I think having my attorney there was crucial to my (relative) calmness, though, because I was comfortable with and liked him. What is the most difficult or involved video game you’ve ever played? Most difficult that I ever tried, Dark Souls. Quit that waaaay early. Hardest that I've beaten, I honestly think The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night. Don't even @ me w/o trying it yourself 'cuz that game was so fucking hard to where I rage-quit for years until beating it. I did play it a second time for fun, though. Still hard. Most involved, oh, easily World of Warcraft. Years of effort put into too many characters la;ksdjfawoei Have you ever taken lessons for anything? Yeah; dance for a very long time as well as guitar. What’s your favorite band’s name? Well Ozzy goes solo. Btw I nearly died when I heard the Parkinson's news wtf life how dare why him- Who is your last sent text to? My mom. What’s your favorite flavor of Gatorade? I do noooot like Gatorade. What does your bikini look like? Oh hunny I'm barely comfortable in a one-piece. Do you drink the milk after you finish cereal or just leave it in the bowl? I can almost never drink it. The taste is just changed and is usually gross. Have you ever worn glitter eyeliner? No, yikes. Imagine that getting in your eye. Has anyone ever called you a hippie? I don't think so. Did you have any unread texts this morning? No. Have you ever been involved in strength training? No. Who is the last person you kissed? Sara. Have you ever been to a pottery painting store? No. Are bonfires common with you and your friends? Not at all. I don't think I've ever done that with friends. If you’re really quiet, what is probably the reason? I'm thinking about something intently. What does your boyfriend/girlfriend call you? N/A How much does the last person you kissed mean to you? A whole lot. Do you use lotion? If my skin is particularly dry. Have you ever used a sewing machine? No. Is hairspray a staple in your morning routine? I've never regularly used it. Do you believe in teenage love? Fuck yes I do, I can promise you that. When is your favorite TV show on regularly? It's discontinued. Who is your favorite person to waste time with? Sara. What has been the most significant thing to happen to you this year? Well, it's the first day of February, so I'll imagine you're asking about the past year, in which case I went back to school. What kind of kid were you when you were seven? Happy, weird, kinda hyper, outgoing and goofy. Do you always eat those mints you get at some restaurants? Yeah, if they're not the semi-soft ones that kinda melt in your mouth. Ew. Is there a subject you know so much about that you’d be able to teach it? Sure, but nothing like seriously important. Do you believe that being ‘cultured’ is important? Why or why not? I mean, probably if you travel. It's definitely wise to try to act at least semi-"appropriately" in another country. Where did you purchase the computer you’re using right now? Best Buy or Office Depot, idr. Do you think it’s fair to compare Family Guy to The Simpsons? I don't care? Will you miss CDs if they end up going obsolete? Why or why not? Not really, I just don't care. If you could relive one hour of your life so far, what would you choose? I don't have a clue. Do you think animals have a sense of humor? Probably. Animals can definitely act silly. Are you proud of your hometown, or do you try to distance yourself from it? That place is shit. Has your idea of the perfect romantic partner changed with age? Oh yeah, to a degree at least. I had such a fairy-tale ideology on love back then. How many cars have you ever owned? Myself, zero. Can you do math in your head well? I almost can't at all. What’s your favorite flavor of potato chip? Oh man, that's hard. Maybe salt and vinegar. Do you ever read the weather forecast? I mean I'll check the app on my phone occasionally. Do amusement park rides make you sick? Thus far in my life, no, but I'm too afraid to try some out of fear of that. Who is your favorite Star Wars character? Don't even like SW. What kind of cheese do you put on your sandwiches? American. What radio station do you listen to the most? None. Who was the last person to give you a gift? A family friend for Christmas. How old were you when you got your driver’s license? I'm about to be 24 and still don't have it. What was the first thing you ever learned how to cook? Scrambled eggs. Did you ever collect beanie babies? Maybe? I know I had one big one (me and my sisters had a matching set of different colors; mine was pink, what a shocker), but idk if I actually collected them. When was the last time you got a haircut? Early last month. Have you ever been to a bachelor/bachelorette party? No. How many people can you say you TRULY love? Romantically? Two. Platonically, a whole lot. Where are you most ticklish on your body? My feet jfc. Have you ever bailed anyone out of jail? Nope. What’s the last board game you played? Shit, what's it called. Something with my nephew. It's the one with the popping dice in the middle and four different colors to move around the board. "Sorry!" or something? Have you ever given someone a fake phone number? Might've when stupid kid me made prank calls. Do you have any bumper stickers on your car? No. Do you leave good tips when you eat out at restaurants? I've never been the one paying. Do you still own any VHS tapes? I'm sure Mom has home videos stored somewhere. If there was a real Jurassic Park, would you visit it? Oh fuck yeah 'cuz I'm dumb and love dinos. Have you ever gone golfing? Not legit golfing. Do you know any sign language? No. How many friends do you have that are married? Close friends, like people I still regularly talk to, none. Do you still have your wisdom teeth? Yes. Did you have a swing set in your yard when you were a child? Yes. Do you eat your mac & cheese with a fork or a spoon? I don't really care so I haven't noticed which I usually use. Where did you have your first kiss? His bed. When you were a kid, were you ever afraid of cooties? Lol no. Do you ever go Christmas caroling in December? No, I could never omg. Which overrated tattoo are you sick of seeing? I don’t care. Get what you want. What was the last thing you taught a younger kid? Apparently to say "aw shucks" at everything lmao. Are the clocks in your house mostly digital or analog? Digital. We have on analog in the living room. How long have you had your television(s)? God, years. A loooong time, but it's a fine TV. Do you like watching movies made with CGI or do you prefer hand-drawn ones? I tend to enjoy CGI more. I like realism in what I watch. Where did your parents buy their car(s)? Dad, idk. Mom got hers for free; a dance friend ran into a deer, so the front bumper got fucked up, and she wanted a new vehicle. Mom took it because shit, it was drivable, and she DIY fixed up the bumper to make sure it stays in place. Literally with zip ties and duct tape lmfao but HEY it WORKS. Do you know why your grandparents chose your mother’s name? No. Do you think you’d do well at teaching the English language to a foreigner? I think I'd be at least decent. What is a store you like that is exclusive to your country? Idk what's only exclusive to the country. If you attend school, what time do you usually get home after? Like, 4:35 or so. Mom finishes her field work at 4, and afterwards we go home. Have you written a resume before, either for yourself or someone else? Yes. What is your favorite thing about snow? IT'S PRETTY. What do you usually do when you have trouble sleeping? Try to go back to sleep at first, and if I really can't, I get back up on the laptop for a while. Are you satisfied with your social life (or lack thereof)? NONONONONONONONO. What TV show do you just assume you wouldn’t like? 13 Reasons Why. Do your friends have more money than you? lol duh I make none. Who always has the power to make you feel intimidated? Pretty much men as a whole...

[surveystodestressme]

52.

5000 Question Survey Pt. 12

1101. Continued…Let’s see if I’m psychic. You wrote three yes or no questions. Now I will answer them. 1 yes 2 no 3 no Did I get any right? idk 1102. You wrote one question that can be answered with a color (example: what color is my car). I say…. White. Is it true? no my underwear is green and pinklol 1103. You thought of a number between 1 and 100 and typed it down. Was it 14? nada 1104. You wrote one more question, anything you wanted. The answer is yes, 42, orange, Matt, Josh, Kim, Nicole, whatever or your mom. Does that answer your question? lol you’re bad at this 1105. Do you think that Britney Spears would make a good Bond Girl? no

1106. Have you read anything by C.S. Lewis? yeah 1107. What is your favorite movie with Bill Murray? i can’t think of one right now 1108. What is your favorite movie with Jack Nicholson? doesn’t he do the shining?  and the bucket list? bc those are both rlly good 1109. What is your favorite movie with Christopher Walkin? idk 1110. What is your favorite movie with Johnny Depp? alice in wonderland 1111. What is your favorite movie with Orlando Bloom? idk any at the top of my head 1112. What rhymes with ‘orange’? door hinge 1113. Why do guys have nipples if they will never need to feed a baby? that’s just how they’re born 1114. Some people think that couples should be screened before they are allowed to reproduce (so that people who cannot afford to support a child don’t have one, or so that a child won’t be born into a dysfunction family or to unfit parents). What do you think about this? honestly as long as the test is accurate and shit, i think it’s a good idea.  too many kids get born into shit homes or with bad people and it sucks bc they’re wayyy too many kids in foster care and end up going up for adoption bc of this 1115. Have you ever swallowed an object by accident? a penny when i was little 1116. Did you get it back? yes 1117. Do you prefer He-Man or She-Ra? don’t even know what those are 1118. Are you proud of yourself? i’m doing ok with life right now so i suppose 1119. Who should go to hell? bad people 1120. Is your eyesight 20/20? not even close 1121. Have you ever had insomnia? yes. 1122. Does it bother you when people touch you? if it’s someone i don’t know or don’t like, then yes 1123. Is it better to get too much or too little sleep? i’d rather have too little honestly bc i know how to deal with that lol 1124. Have you ever given away something you made? What? yeah some ceramics projects i made in class 1125. Is it better to have kids when you are in your teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, or older? i’d say mid to late 20s 1126. What gets your adrenaline pumping? making rash decisions 1127. Is hell all fire and brimstone or is it personal for everyone like in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey? Or does it not exist? it doesn’t exist 1128. Do you ever talk about yourself in the third person? only when i’m trying to be funny 1129. What’s your favorite radio station? What kind of music do they play? i listen to 105.7 a lot, and rock 1130. What did you think of these movies: Election? Gone With the Wind? Fight Club? pretty good!! Spider Man? depends on which one we’re talking about The Virgin Suicides? Resident Evil? Signs? it’s ok Muppets from Space? Pearl Harbor? Halloween Resurrection? not bad The Dark Crystal? 1131. Is everyone special? i suppose 1132. Are your toes: Painted (what color)? Manicured? Sparkly? Soft? Wearing a toe ring? Do you have hobbit-feet? none of these honestly lol 1133. Do you believe there is anyplace still undiscovered in all the world? of course 1134. Whose picture would you like to paint a target on and throw darts at? dahmer 1135. Is love all you need? no necessarily 1136. Ever caught a fish? yep 1137. Are you adventurous? i try to be 1138. Are you afraid of mediocrity? not afraid of it 1139. Would you rather die tomorrow or have all your friends die? i’d rather die 1140. What are 3 things you don’t understand? 1 why people are rude 2 why the world is such a cruel place 3 why people decided money should rule everyones life 1141. I would do anything for love but I won’t do 'that’. What is 'that’? kill myself 1142. Has your diary ever been rated? idek what that means? 1143. Do you do more than kiss on the first date? i’ve never been on a real date besides with my current boyfriend so idk but i don’t think that i would 1144. Are you very liberal or conservative? idk 1145. What do you like about your neighbors? i don’t really like my nieghbors lol 1146. I read that by 2010 they expect to market a gene therapy procedure that will increase the life spans of adult human beings by double or triple. If this happened would you have it done? nada 1147. If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands. Did you clap? yes 1148. Was this year a good year for you? so far 1149. What are you looking forward to next year? moving and switching colleges 1150. Are you a Jim Henson fan? not really. 1151. What do you think of these diarist names? ToxicToast: Solitary Music: gemini_wish_star: juneberry: haha idc. 1152. Do you read the Diary Master’s diary? no. 1153. Have you ever made an enemy on OD? no. 1154. Have you ever (or do you know anyone who’s) been deleted from OD? idk what that is. 1155. Were you ever in the first row of a concert? not yet 1156. Did you ever meet a celebrity? Who? steve-o 1157. Do you have any autographs? yes. 1158. Can you visualize whirled peas? idek what that is 1159. Are there some situations where love just isn’t enough to keep 2 people together? When does that happen? idk 1160. Do you have no attention span? i do 1161. What do you think of these entry titles? me. back. home: steak and butter: The Smurfs Go Communist: The controversial Athens: 1162. Have you ever been wrongly accused? yeah 1163. When you wash your hair do you blow dry it or let it dry naturally? naturally 1164. Where does your family go on vacation? we don’t go on vacation anymore 1165. Have you ever been to: Newport, Rhode Island? nope Dutch Wonderland? no. Salem, MA? no Niagara Falls? no 1166. Have you ever given money to OD cares? no. 1167. Have you ever created an OD interest? If yes, what interests did you create? IDK WHAT THAT IS 1168. What do you think of these entry names? DEAR SOUL FRIEND 57 Loss: I had a good title but i forgot it: Left Alone: yeah yeah…he kissed her: cool. 1169. If you have aol what is your 'you’ve got mail’ sound? IDK 1170. What will you never have enough of? food. 1171. Who can you only handle in small doses? My brother 1172. You are at a magic auction where you can bid on impossible things but you only brought enough money to buy one thing. Out of these..which would you buy? entrance into whatever afterlife you believe in a guarantee that you will have at least 3 books published in your life a new car, house and boat each year unending creative inspiration ultimate compassion and acceptance of others a trip into outer space perfect health for the rest of your life 1173. In the above question if finding perfect love was a choice would you change your answer? no, bc i have that now.  well it’s not perfect but ya know 1174. What food is so fattening or unhealthy that you would NEVER touch it? nothing lol 1175. Which do you love more, your country or your planet? country. 1176. What do you think of: Abba? idk Brian Adams? idk No Doubt? good shit 1177. Are you more logical or emotional? emotional lol 1178. Do you think that tattoos and piercing are overrated? not at all 1179. What do you think of these diary titles? The Seamless Garment: Your eyes can be so cruel: What was, is no more: shock me sane: omg i don’t care about these. 1180. Do you believe that Michael Jackson molests children? i don’t even know man 1181. Hypothetically, let’s say that he did molest them. Who would you feel should be held MORE accountable, Michael Jackson or the parents that allowed their children to go to Never Land Ranch unsupervised for sleepovers? both i suppose 1182. Have you ever been to: Manhattan? no Disney? no Paris? no Anywhere cooler? 1183. What 3 music videos should everyone download? i don’t really watch music videos 1184. If someone bet you ten dollars that you couldn’t sing the whole Gummy Bears theme song, would you be able to do it and win? nope 1185. Do you like Bjork? don’t know what that is 1186. How about the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? ^ 1187. What do you think of Moby? ^ 1188. What do you think of Alien Ant Farm? they’re good 1189. What do you think of the Flaming Sideburns? idk them. 1190. Do you believe that imps, trolls, giants, dragons, unicorns, etc. were real but became extinct? nope 1191. What sucks? school 1192. What do you think of these diary titles? Geologist to the Stars: The Hussy Chronicles: Gravy: Napping in the Broom Closet: again, idc. 1193. Do you ever think about suicide? i used to 1194. Do you believe that Jesus Christ was a real person? How about Noah? dk dc 1195. What is one luxury you refuse to live without? running water lol and electricity 1196. What is one luxury you feel you could live without? technology, like my phone or laptop 1197. Do you feel that you are high, medium, or low maintenance in a relationship? medium. 1198. What do you think of these diarist names? N.Y.S: Collapsibleman: *})|({*: black dove: omg bye. 1199. Do vegetables taste better from the store or from your garden? both they taste the same 1200. How long have you spent on this survey so far? too long

[surveysonfleek]

321.

you ever played “call of duty”? did you like it? are you into those types of video games at all?   i think i have once. not my sorta game.

do you like to cook for people, or do you order to be cooked for? has anyone ever told you that you were a good cook? i like to cook but hardly have any time. so i just cook whatever’s at home or go out to eat.

do you have any clocks in your house that chime when the hour changes? do those types of clocks annoy you?   no they’d annoy the hell out of me.

what is your usual hair style? do you tend to wear the same style every day, or do you switch it up a lot?   i usually wear my hair down either curly or straight.

have you had the same doctor pretty much your whole life, or have you went to a bunch of different ones over the years? have you ever been to the doctor thinking something was horribly wrong with you, but it turned out to be something minor?   tbh i’ve had different doctors throughout my life but i’ve stuck to the same practice for years now. hmm i only go to the doctors if something feel wrong and most of the time i’m right.

are there any stores you feel uncomfortable going into (ex: if you dress girly, do you feel uncomfortable going into hot topic)? are there any stores that you refuse, or just never go in to?   no i don’t care at all. if i need to buy something in a certain store i’ll go in there however i’m dressed.

do you look in mirrors a lot, or do you try to avoid them? how many mirrors are in your house?   i don’t seek to look at mirrors but if one is around i’ll just check my face, teeth etc.

what do you think is the greatest invention of all time? why? are there any inventions you wish had never been made?   nearly everything in modern society. cars, planes, light, electricity, phones, the internet etc.

are you proud of yourself? do you feel that you’ve accomplished (or will accomplish) the things you want in your life? what other person are you the most proud of and why?   i’m not that proud of myself but i have to remind myself i’ve made quite a few achievements. i just know i can do better.

did you ever have a terrible roommate? what did they do that bothered you so much? no, i still live at home. when i move out it’ll be with my husband to be surely.

if someone has a problem with something you’ve done, do you prefer they confront you directly? why or why not? when you’re the one who needs to tell someone about a problem, what’s your method of doing so? yes i prefer they come to me directly. i would do the same too. it doesn’t have to be confrontational, we’re all adults so working things out in a professional manner is all that needs to be done.

do you like the color gray?   yes.

is it possible to love someone if you don’t love yourself? yes.

do you believe happiness can exist without sadness? not really.

what hospital in your area would you most recommend for good treatment?   the one closest to me? idk.

who is the best person you’ve ever “met” online? my boyfriend. technically i first made contact with him online even though most of my friends went to his school.

who is the most versatile actor ever?   idk, not much of a movie buff. 

do you ever nap and wake up and forget what day it is?   hell yeah.

what was your maternal grandmother’s first name? angelina.

what was the last video message you received on your phone?   probably a snap?

would you kiss someone you didn’t have feelings for? if i were single.

what would your dream engagement ring look like? no idea. i haven’t looked properly.

is someone hurting you mentally at the moment? nah.

do you feel like no one understands you?   sometimes.

have you ever attempted to drown yourself? nope.

would you rather deal with all your emotions at once, or none at all?   all at once but i need to be alone in my own space.

what’s the best sex scene in a movie you’ve ever seen?   no idea.

is pornography evil or are you neutral about it? i’m neutral. it’s not something i watch. i just don’t like how it creates an unrealistic expectation of sex.

do you prefer to be monogamous, or are you more a casual dater or swinger? monogamous.

does your pet wear a collar? yeah.

what is your favorite song in “the sound of music”?   16 going on 17. is that what it’s called?

what would you do if your mom/dad saw a hickey on you? idk if they’d say anything.

you’ve just had an argument with the guy you like, and you walk away. do you want them to leave you alone?   it depends what the argument is about. if i say ‘leave me alone’, it’s for real though.

have you ever read any self-help books?   nah.

do you thank the bus driver? yes.

have you ever had your heart broken?   no.

when was the last time you flirted? haha idk how to flirt anymore. but probably my boyfriend.

are good-byes easy or hard for you? depends how long until i’ll see them.

whatcha listening to? nothing.

what do you feel about our president? my country is run by a prime minister.

do you remember the song, blue (da ba dee) by eiffel 65? yep.

if you told someone how far have you have gone with the opposite sex, how would others view you? normal, i guess?

do you have a secret that you’ve never told ANYONE? yeah probably. nothing that’s actually a secret but there’s things about me no one knows. like how i fill out surveys here, for example.

would you care if your last ex fell in love with someone else? no.

what’s something you really want right now, be honest?   sleep.

were your parents married when they had you? yes.

are they married now? technically yes but they’re separated.

would you marry someone 30 years older than you if they had millions? nah. it’s too much of a hassle to be a gold digger.

how long were employed at your last job? my last job about 4 years.

if you found out you were pregnant who would you tell first? my boyfriend.

what did you do when you hung out with the last person you kissed?   had dinner, went out, went back to my place, hooked up.

do you prefer online classes or real classes?   real. i’d have no motivation to do online courses.

do you like documentaries? have you ever watched one and find it boring? i like them, i’m just picky on which ones to watch.

if you had to choose, would you rather be an alcoholic or pothead?   er... neither tbh. 

do you hate your ex?   no.

do you like kids?   not all kids. but yeah, sure.

are your eyes the same color as your mom’s or dad’s? yes.

do you think too much or too little?   too much.

does anyone know your facebook password? other than me, nah.

have you ever seen the last person you kissed without their shirt on?   yes.

…what about their pants? yes.

did you ever rip off a barbie doll head? no.

how many people have you slept with (sexually not actually sleeping)?   one.

do you have any sort of ongoing health problem? probably.

are you a teenager and yet want a baby?   i’m not a teen.

would you date a guy with a prince albert?   hahaha it’s not something i’d judge a guy on.

do you think you are a hick?   no.

have you ever told someone to their face that they were ugly? as a joke.

have you ever swallowed a watermelon seed?   most probably.

what would be worse - going out in public with no bra or no panties? for me, no panties.

would you ever let your child drop out of high school?   it depends on the reason. if they had a solid plan for their future and it’s the reason why they’re dropping out then i don’t mind.

honestly, do you think that inner beauty is as important as outer beauty? yes.

do you pronounce “aunt” like “awnt” or “ant”? awnt i think.

have you ever seen wayne’s world?   yeah but ages ago.

what was your favorite video game as a child? the sims.

list five things you’re currently thinking about:   how late it is, what i’m doing tomorrow, wtf i’m doing with my life, i need sleep, idk.

is the last person you kissed a virgin? no.

have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring?   no.

what was the last video you added to your favorites on youtube? i forgot.

do you have any morbid interests? nah.

eat breakfast or skip it? i love breakfast but i always wake up too late to eat it.

favorite disney channel show? i never watched disney channel growing up.

do you believe in jesus?  well yeah, hasn’t it been proven he actually existed?

would you ever get a tattoo in a “naughty” place?   no.

are your ears gauged? no.

is there a band you like that many others dislike? which? idk. most likely idc.

do you play pokemon go?   i did when it came out last year.

are you a bad influence?   nah.

be honest. have you had any dirty thoughts today? yes.

honestly, have you ever danced naked?   no.

is smoking pot a turn off?   nah. 

have you ever scared yourself?   prob.

on facebook, do you have people listed as your siblings who aren’t really your siblings?   i think one of my friends are still listed as a sibling lol.

is it ever okay for a woman to ask out a man?   duh.

how important is it for a significant other to be good with kids? pretty important, especially if there’s potential to have kids together in the future.

when did your last relationship end? i’m still in it.

did your father go to college? yes.

do you plan on going to college?   i’ve already finished.

ever seen a burning building in person? no, just cars.

do you like gore? no.

do you own any choker/collar necklaces?   yes.

did you have a “scene” phase?   yeah but i never went all out. i’d just tease my hair during my own time and take stupid photos for myspace. never went out like that in public though.

how often do you shave your legs, if at all? why do/don’t you?   during winter hardly ever since you can’t see my leg hairs anyway. in summer maybe once a week, my leg hairs grow slowly.

are you dressing up for halloween this year?   idk yet.

were you ever obsessed with the jonas brothers? just during their camp rock phase.

do you ever feel like life is going by too fast? yes.

do you pay for your own things?   yes.

have you ever gotten in trouble on the internet?   once our internet provider sent us an email telling us to cease downloading torrents lmao. i forgot what movie it was for damn.

honestly, have you ever had lice? i don’t think so...

do you think it’s possible to be in a long relationship without having sex?   of course it’s possible.

where did you last bleed from and why?   a pimple lol.

has the last person you kissed ever seen you cry? yes.

what do you like most about making out? what it eventually leads up to.

have you ever had a guy put his hand in your shirt? yes.

what is the last thing you stapled? 

 paper.

who was your first prom date?

   i didn’t have one. we weren’t allowed to bring people from other schools so i just went with my friends.

have you ever been slapped in the face?

   no.

have you ever touched a snake?

 yes.

are you lonely? no.

do you like condoms? personally no.

are you good at editing pictures? 

 i’m not good but i know how to do it.

are you any good at public speaking? 
   not good, not bad.

would you have kids with the last person you kissed? someday.

have you ever thought of making love in a dressing room? no, i think dressing rooms are dirty. some of them smell like feet.

do you know anyone who tries to steal everyone’s boyfriend?   no.

do you appreciate raunchy humor? sometimes.

have you ever looked up porn on the internet? yeah.

did you ever try cutting yourself? no.

do you like to tell people who you like? sure.

ever been institutionalized?   no.

ever hold a newborn animal? nope. well puppies but they were already a month old.

[psyadrin]

Ok for that overwatch thing,,,,, a l l

1. Who is your defense main? Mei and/or Widowmaker, maybe Hanzo.

2. Who is your support main? Idk, I like playing Ana the most.

3. Who is your offense main? Reaper!!

4. Who is your tank main? Dorito rabbit aka D.Va

5. Who is you MAIN main? D.Va

6. Which character have you played the least? 

Torb, Winston, Roadhog (all of them are at 0 minutes)

7. Which character do you want to learn how to play? 

Sombra, Tracer, Genji, Pharah, Bastion, Orisa, Zarya 

8. Which character do you dislike the most? I actually like all of them.

9. Which character’s background story do you like the most? 

Bastion, Orisa, Widowmaker, Genji/Hanzo, Mei

10. Which character’s background story do you like the least? Sombra.

11. Which map is your favorite? Black Forest.

12. Which map is your least favorite? NUMBANI.

13. What Arcade game type is your favorite? Lockout 3v3

14. What Arcade game type is your least favorite? Mystery Heroes

15. Do you prefer quick play, competitive, arcade mode, or custom games?

Quick Play and comp, but comp > QP. QP is pretty much the way I like to relax and spend time with my boyfriend by messing around with the people and get achievements. It’s pretty much a huge meme parade when we play quick play and I like that. That way we can talk, make jokes and that stuff whilst still accomplishing things.

16. Which map type is your favorite? Assault, escort, assault & escort, control, or arena?

Control, probably.

17. Which map type is your least favorite? Assault, escort, assault & escort, control, or arena?

Assault & escort

18. Which event map was your favorite? Hm, I’m guessing this means like the Uprising!KR and Halloween!Eichenwalde? If so, I like both very much!

19. Which event map reskin was your favorite? 

Winter!Hanamura AND Winter!KR, top notch, really!

20. Which event was your favorite? 

Halloween Terror, Uprising (for Reyes’s pre-Reaper voice if nothing else) and Anniversary.

21. Which event legendary skin was your favorite? Cruiser, Jazzy and Pumpkin

22. Which event was your least favorite? 

Summer Games 2016, because fuck that loot system back then. Hopefully they bring it back and let me buy the old skins.

23. Which event legendary skin was your least favorite? 

Cyborg: 76 and Cyberian. OH, and Ironclad. Y’know, fuckboi torb?

24. Which event non-legendary skin was your favorite? Nevermore.

25. Which event non-legendary skin was your least favorite? Stunt Rider: 76

26. Which event item do you most regret not getting? 

Order by event: Reaper’s BMX icon/ Nihon (SG16), Coldhardt (HT), Mei’s Snowman emote (Winter), Rein’s skin,, Wujing I think? (CNY), Cadet Oxton (Uprising), Oasis (Anniversary)

27. Did you beat the Uprising event on Normal, Hard, Expert, and Legendary?

Hell, no! Wish I had, I tried so hard for Expert!!

28. Do you have Sombra’s “Power Outage” achievement? Yep, after 2 hours or so.

29. Do you have Widowmaker’s “Smooth as Silk” achievement? Yes, idefk how.

30. Do you have Lucio’s “The Floor is Lava” achievement? Working on it.

31. Do you have Zenyatta’s “Rapid Discord” achievement? 

Eh, I have like 3 minutes on Zen, no.

32. What was the first achievement you got? 

Aside from that basic “Play a game with a friend” or “Reach level 10″ bullshit, it was Reaper’s cute spray.

33. Did you get the “Not A Scratch,” achievement on Junkenstein’s Revenge? 

Yes, and I’m proud of it. I also have the Hard mode achievement. In fact, I have all Halloween achievements.

34. What has been the hardest achievement to get for you? 

Mh, Junkenstein’s Revenge “Held The Door” (Hard mode). I think it took me 4 hours of playing nothing but hard mode??

35. What’s your current SR score in Competitive Mode? 1521, don’t ask.

36. What the highest you’ve been in Competitive? 1956.

37. What’s the most amount of placement matches you’ve won? Nine.

38. How many gold guns do you have? Zero.

39. Which was the first gold gun you got? Are you mocking me?

40. Whose gold gun do you currently want? D.Va’s. After that I might go for Ana’s Biotic Rifle or a golden Widow rifle.

41. What role do you usually play in Competitive? Tank or support.

42. If you don’t play Competitive, why not? N/A

43. What kind of theme event would you like to see in the future? DOOMFIST.

44. What type of character would you like to see in the future? DOOMFIST. 

45. Who needs more (or better) skins in the future? 

Hanzo, Widowmaker. Give my sniper babes a bit of love. And Reaper.

46. What country would you like a new character to come from? Austria or Italy.

47. Favorite voice line? 

Sorted by character (mains only)

[Reaper]“I’ll see you in hell.”

[D.Va] “I get the feeling you’re not taking me seriously.”

[Ana] “More lost than the moon in winter.”

[Lucio] “Have some Lucio-oh’s!” and “Boop!”

[Mercy] “Questionable judgement.”

[Mei] “I’m going to have to science the heck out of this.”

[WM] “Your emotions make you vulnerable.”

[Hanzo] “I choose you, spirit dragon.”

48. Favorite player icon? uuuuuh, The Reaper.

49. Favorite emote? Most dance emotes, SHRUG, and FINGER GUNS

50. Favorite spray? any cute spray I have

51.Favorite victory pose? *shrug* ahahahah… ha

52. Favorite highlight intro? Selfie, Death Blossom, Ssh

53. Characters you ship the most? Bunnyribbit (Lúcio x D.Va)

54. Characters you ship the least? Shimadacest

55. Characters you wish had more in-game interactions? 

D.Va/Lúcio, Orisa/Bastion, Widow/Hanzo

56. Character you wish had a comic about? uhh, every character deserves a comic.

57. Favorite comic released? Uprising, Reflections.

58. Favorite short released? The Last Bastion.

59. Favorite new character released? Ana.

60. Overwatch, Blackwatch, or Talon? Blackwatch or Talon, tbh. 

61. Pro-Omnic or anti-Omnic? Pro!

62. Favorite character that isn’t a playable one? (Ex: Emily, Brigitte, Gerard, Efi, etc.)

Emily! Lenily is just so pure and I need more!

63. Character change (nerf, boost, work around) that you liked the most? 

Lúcio and Bastion 2.0

64. Character change (nerf, boost, work around) you liked the least? Ana’s nerfs tbh

65. Best ultimate? 

Every ultimates has its uses! My favorites are Resurrection, Death Blossom and Self Destruct though.

66. Worst ultimate? Infra-Sight. It’s not bad, just not my favorite.

67. Most kills in game? 53.

68. Most heals in game? um,, i dont remember. 

69. What character do you think needs a nerf? Sym’s beam range.

70. What character do you think needs a buff? Currently I’m satisfied with most heroes.

71. Have you ever rage quit in the middle of a game? 

Unfortunately, yes. Not in comp though.

72. What’s the fastest you’ve won a game? 2:03

73. What’s the fastest you’ve lost a game? around the same as won

74. Your best Overwatch-related story? 

Hmm, I’ll never forget how my boyfriend went Symmetra on Hollywood Defense and put down his last teleporter right in front of the very first enemy spawn and we basically just sat there waiting for some poor souls to walk through it. A Zarya and Genji happened to do so and were greeted by a Sym sitting on a stool and me as a dancing Sombra. It was great.

75. Weirdest thing that happened to you on Overwatch? 

A friend and I encountered a guy who called me a cunt for killing him in a match and who insisted that my friend would add him as a battlenet friend. That guy proceeded to call me “Black Jerome” (before he learned that I’m female) and “White Jessica” (after he had learned I’m a female).

76. Platform you play on? PC.

77. Do you stream? Wish I could, but my PC is shit.

78. Do you normally play solo or with friends? 

Normally, I play with my boyfriend, otherwise I play solo.

79. Have you made any friends because of Overwatch? 

In fact, I met all of my current friends thanks to OW and a little AU called Retailwatch.

80. Have you cosplayed a character from Overwatch? Sadly, no.

81. Have you ever wrote fan fiction about Overwatch? Yes.

82. What’s the lowest you’ve been in Competitive? 1100.

83. In “All Brawls,” if you get “Charge!” do you play Reinhardt or do you pick the Lucio role? Lúcio.

84. In “All Brawls,” if you get “One Shot, One Kill,” do you play Ana, Hanzo, or Widowmaker? Idc.

85. In “All Brawls,” if you get “This is Ilios,” do you pick Lucio or Roadhog?

Lúcio.

86. Team Genji or Team Hanzo? Team Hanzo.

87. Be honest! Do you usually get on the payload? I think I do???

88. Does your team? Nope.

89. What’s the longest session of Overwatch you’ve played? Friday 11pm - Saturday 6pm

90. No Limits, Mystery Heroes, or Total Mayhem? Total Mayhem.

91.Most cosmetics you have for one character? 73 for both Reaper and D.Va

92. Least cosmetics you have for one character? 20+ (Orisa)

93. Have you ever made your own custom game? No.

94. Best D.Va skin? Cruiser (event), Scavenger (normal)

95. Best Mercy skin? Witch (event), Imp (normal)

96. Best Tracer skin? Graffiti (event), Ultraviolet (normal)

97. Zarya’s Industrial and Cybergoth skins: yes, no, or HELL NO? 

honestly, yes, they’re my favorite Zarya skins.

98. Do you want more animal character, robot characters, or human characters? 

I’d love to see more robot characters!! But to be frank, I just want more characters LMAO

99. Is there are character you’d get rid of completely? 

Not really, they’re all precious in their own ways.

100. What do you think Sombra’s real name is? obvs something Spanish, idk

are you happy now, ken? this took me an hour to answer

[cunyappliedtheatreblog]

Alumni Spotlight : October Ramy El-Etreby (13′)

Photo: Emery Younes

What are you up to, Ramy?

These days, I am working as a teaching artist for a few theatre companies here in L.A.: the Geffen Playhouse as well as Center Theatre Group. I’ve been doing this work with them for a few years—I take students to see professional productions and then I lead workshops with them. That’s a very specific way in which I’m working. And I believe the MA in Applied Theatre has given me some very useful skills in doing that work.

I think this past summer hit six years since I graduated.

“This summer.” You had your show! Would you describe that?

So, I’m currently in the afterglow of having performed my solo show at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Throughout the whole month of June I did six performances of my solo show.  It is a 55-minute long personal storytelling, memoir based piece of theatre in which I play multiple characters from my life, including my parents, my siblings and my best friend. These are all characters who tell a very specific story about a very pivotal time in my life- when I’m in my early 20s, like 22-24. So, I crafted this play that I’m very proud of, from a writing standpoint.

The show tells a compelling story, it’s funny, and it’s heartbreaking. Most of the audience would cry, which I see as an element of success. I don’t want people to cry, but if they’re moved by something I’m doing, sounds good to me.

It won at least one award.

It won a producers’ encore award. What that meant is that I was given the opportunity to do an encore performance. The last three of the five had sold out, so we added a sixth and that sold out as well.

Congratulations, Ramy. You mentioned you were basking?

I’m basking in the afterglow of this feeling that I created something important and beautiful and moving and it makes me want to do it more. So I’m thinking about the next steps…who do I send this to? Which companies across the country would maybe be interested in featuring this piece? It could be theatre houses. It doesn’t have to be in a traditional theatre space at all. It can be in a community center, at a university.

I’m thinking about readers knowing what the show IS. The blurb online is:

THE RIDE. After being outed publicly in the LA Times, Ramy’s world is turned upside down. As his relationship with his family becomes strained, so does his faith in God. THE RIDE takes Ramy down a dark hole where he loses touch with the most precious parts of himself. Featuring multiple characters from Ramy’s life: his Egyptian immigrant parents, his caring best friend, and his snarky “catterpist” (that’s his cat/therapist), THE RIDE offers lessons learned on Ramy’s bumpy road from self-loathing to self-love.

Photo: Lea Darjes

And, friends, the poster design, it looks like a fashion magazine cover—

—that’s exactly what I was going for! That’s funny. It’s compelling. Would you want to see that show?

Yes!

Maybe I’ll do it in New York. I did come to New York last November. I performed an early version of this in Queens and had many MA alumn come see. A lot of class of ’12 and ’13 was there, and saw it, and that experience in New York last year was so important for me to truly get behind the piece and see if it was worth developing further.

What would you say to yourself at the beginning of your process that you’ve now learned on the journey, that would help you know what it takes to make the work?

I think you have to really believe in yourself and believe in the piece. Truthfully—and it’s what I lead with what I’m most proud of—I think it’s a good piece of work. I invested a lot of myself in the craft.

To be able to perform it multiple times in the Fringe was such a gift. I don’t think it was until the fourth or fifth performance that I understood why it was that I wrote the piece.

Why did you write the piece?

I think I am trying to connect to my younger self. I told you the Ramy in the piece is between the ages of 22 and 24. And…I might get emotional…I really miss him [cries]. I really miss that guy. I lost touch with him and I feel like at this point in my life, I feel so far away from who my younger self was. You know…I lost him through things like trauma and hardship and numbing myself and detaching.

And the hardships that I refer to, they’re in the show. It’s not just about connecting to my younger self. It’s trying to make sense of everything that happened to my younger self that made me lose this person. I think I’ve never really processed the journey, truly.

Everything I’ve learned about healing from trauma is about, first of all, getting safe, and then being able to reintegrate the painful stuff that happened and look at it holistically, so that it’s all part of a story. There aren’t these gaps where the story just goes on freeze and can’t be experienced.

Yes. Yes. That’s very true. Thank you for saying that. My intuition was telling me to do it [the show]. My brain was taking a while to catch up. Because the show deals with some of the trauma from my past, it was very difficult to perform, from a personal—in front of certain people who were around me during that time. It was difficult for them to have to see me perform this thing. And I just kept opening up these old wounds and I was like, why am I doing this? Why am I reopening my trauma? Shouldn’t I just be moving on?

That stuff is stuff I still question. I think when it comes to creating theatre, and being applied theatre artists, you know, you always want to know what the political implication of your work is. And I just was very, as a solo theatre artist, you don’t want to be seen as seen as narcissistic—

Talking of the political implications, and talking about these pressures to not tell the story, I think about the double cultures of silence about being gay and being Muslim.

—Gay, Arab, Muslim—

It’s not neutral.

There is a culture of silence, and sometimes you wonder whether you’re…I feel like sometimes just by telling the story I’m already doing a revolutionary thing, and it doesn’t even matter what the story is. Just by having this queer, Arab, Muslim artist in the Fringe telling their story, and the story has to do with faith and god and all that stuff, I feel from a political standpoint that that’s amazing. And I’m very proud that I am putting work out there, that artists like me are putting their work out there. But, should Ramy be doing it? Should Ramy’s community be there to support him doing it?

Can I say, spoiler alert: yes.

Yeah? Yes. Yes. See, I guess, but you understand the questioning of it all.

The reason I’m so confident about saying yes is because you get to reconnect with joy and spontaneity and freedom that was silenced by the hurts that you explore in the piece.

Oh, that’s beautiful. I needed to have recorded that.

I’ll send it to you! And the show sold out night after night, so people were getting something, and I would dare to say that those tears were about their own reintegration.

[Voice breaks] Ah. Thank you for saying that, Michael, I appreciate it.

Yeah. Easy to see from the outside. And speaking of being out and about, you did this video, “Alhamdu: Muslim Hipsters.”

[Laughs.] The “Mipsterz!” Yeah. They’re doing this project in which they’re trying to feature fashionable, stylish Muslim people, in a sort of futuristic quality. I think they’re inspired by Black Panther’s Afro-Futurism quality. They want to do a Muslim futuristic musical art piece, and they started by shooting on the west coast, back in May. There was a big search for Muslim artists. I got personally invited, which was nice.

I’m grateful to be in it, because it does look amazing, and what a gift to be able to be a part of an art piece that showcases Muslims in a positive, joyous manner. Politically, I am here for that.

Photo: Mipsterz

It’s been a minute now, but you had a TIE piece that went to a conference or conferences some years back? It’s about the Arab Spring?

Yeah. We first did it in 2012, in our IDC class, we took it to Face to Face in 2013, and then to AATE in 2014. I know that Amy Sawyers-Williams (‘13) has taken it a couple of times locally in Raleigh, NC. She has found other artists to perform this process drama in North Carolina more than once. This piece has had a life beyond the program for sure. Michelle O’Conner (’13) did it with me in 2014 in Denver at AATE. I would love to create more work like that. But you want me to talk specifically about the creation of the process drama?

I want to hear you talk about the practice of applied theatre.

The teaching artist work that I have done here, post-MA, the one workshop that I am the most absolutely proud of, is the workshop that I led with students who went to see a play called Disgraced. I don’t know if you know this play. It won the Pulitzer for one thing. It was on Broadway, I don’t know, 2014, 2015. It was written by a Muslim-American playwright named Ayad Akhtar. The play has a Muslim-American protagonist who is a controversial character. Theatre companies across America in 2016, every company was producing this play, including Center Theatre Group here in L.A. And they could see that the play was controversial.

They were specifically looking for Muslim teaching artists to lead a workshop around the themes of the play with students at a youth summit in advance of them seeing the play. It was my first gig with Center Theatre Group. Three and a half years later, I’m still working with them. I’ll be honest, I’m really bothered by the fact that I didn’t get an opportunity to show my skills as a teaching artist until the company was doing a Muslim play and they specifically were looking for a Muslim teaching artist. Because I am skilled, and four years later I am still working with them.

The truth looks good on you, Ramy. Now, you said you were really proud about it [the workshop]. Why?

My personal opinion was that the play reinforces stereotypes and doesn’t challenge them. There are all these young students who are about to see it and for the most part I perceive them to be like, white American students and I don’t know what their prior knowledge is about Islam or Muslims. What do I do as a teaching artist? What do I do as an applied theatre artist? How do I get the participants to be critical of their position and their understanding and be critical of what they hear and to be critical of what they hear in the play?

I was very much inspired by some of the process drama [work] that Chris Vine led with us in IDC. I used so many of these conventions…the pre-text, there was a poem on the wall and that was the first thing they [the students] entered with and they were reading it aloud. Then I did activities asking questions around biases and prejudices.

I placed them all in role as “truth seekers.” I fashioned a room, I asked for a second room in which I delineated a sacred space for Islam. I asked the students to stay in the [first] room and they were looking at all these statistics, like pictographs on the wall about Islam in the world, where is Islam practiced, how many people…I said, “peruse this for the next five minutes, and when the buzzer goes off join me in the next room.” I asked them to take their shoes off. So they take their shoes off and they walk into this [second] room and the first thing they do is they see me praying. By the time I’m done praying (my back is to them), they’re all sitting there with their shoes off, waiting to have a conversation. I did that on purpose. You just learned a bunch of facts. Now you’re going to meet a real person.

I’m so proud of this piece. Look, it’s been over three years. I think I truly did the most applied-theatre thing I could in that moment. I used myself as a Muslim facilitator to be able to share what I considered a very important perspective. I feel like I was able to achieve this balance of me as this professional teaching artist and the students and the content of this play. I was able to weave all of that together in a very nice way.

Is there anything else you would want readers to know about you and your work?

Um. I would love the readers to know that I am 100% grateful and appreciative of the education that I got in the MA in Applied Theatre program. I believe that Chris and Helen create an atmosphere and a culture of questioning and always advocating for the participants and having very honest conversations about power, class and access. I’m so grateful to have had the space to learn and have important conversations with colleagues, because that has truly taken me through my practice here.

There are other applied theatre artists that I meet here who studied more locally, at a different institution, and… the truth is, they had a much more narrow curriculum. It was theatre of the oppressed focused and it was one year, I did it in two years, so I literally have double the working experience in terms of focusing on the field. I just learned more tools. The MA in Applied Theatre at the CUNY School of Professional Studies is a unique program and it’s very, very important. I’m so grateful I went through it.

Thanks Ramy.

[surveysonfleek]

401.

5000 Question Survey Pt. 12

1101. Continued…Let's see if I'm psychic. You wrote three yes or no questions. Now I will answer them. 1 yes 2 no 3 no Did I get any right? not really since they’re all questions about the future. 1102. You wrote one question that can be answered with a color (example: what color is my car). I say.... White. Is it true? no, my hair is not white. 1103. You thought of a number between 1 and 100 and typed it down. Was it 14? nope. 1104. You wrote one more question, anything you wanted. The answer is yes, 42, orange, Matt, Josh, Kim, Nicole, whatever or your mom. Does that answer your question? no. 1105. Do you think that Britney Spears would make a good Bond Girl? not anymore.

1106. Have you read anything by C.S. Lewis? nope. 1107. What is your favorite movie with Bill Murray? charlie’s angels. 1108. What is your favorite movie with Jack Nicholson? i only know of one. 1109. What is your favorite movie with Christopher Walkin? no idea. 1110. What is your favorite movie with Johnny Depp? what’s eating gilbert’s grape. 1111. What is your favorite movie with Orlando Bloom? elizabethtown. 1112. What rhymes with 'orange'? nothing. 1113. Why do guys have nipples if they will never need to feed a baby? no idea. 1114. Some people think that couples should be screened before they are allowed to reproduce (so that people who cannot afford to support a child don’t have one, or so that a child won’t be born into a dysfunction family or to unfit parents). What do you think about this? it’s kinda bullshit. a lot of people could fake these sorts of tests, parents who might not be able to afford a lot of things could also be way better parents than rich folk. 1115. Have you ever swallowed an object by accident? nope. 1116. Did you get it back? - 1117. Do you prefer He-Man or She-Ra? - 1118. Are you proud of yourself? not yet. 1119. Who should go to hell? anyone that supports terrorism. 1120. Is your eyesight 20/20? hell no. 1121. Have you ever had insomnia? yes. 1122. Does it bother you when people touch you? it depends who and where. 1123. Is it better to get too much or too little sleep? too much lol. 1124. Have you ever given away something you made? What? idk probably arts and crafts stuff we’ve made at school. 1125. Is it better to have kids when you are in your teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, or older? 20s or 30s. but it also depends if you’re ready. 1126. What gets your adrenaline pumping? risky decisions. 1127. Is hell all fire and brimstone or is it personal for everyone like in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey? Or does it not exist? idk. 1128. Do you ever talk about yourself in the third person? no. 1129. What's your favorite radio station? What kind of music do they play? i hate the radio tbh. 1130. What did you think of these movies: Election? Gone With the Wind? Fight Club? Spider Man? good i guess. The Virgin Suicides? i remember liking this but i already forgot how it went. Resident Evil? Signs? everyone at school used to talk about this. Muppets from Space? Pearl Harbor? Halloween Resurrection? The Dark Crystal? 1131. Is everyone special? sure. 1132. Are your toes: Painted (what color)? Manicured? Sparkly? Soft? Wearing a toe ring? Do you have hobbit-feet? no to all. 1133. Do you believe there is anyplace still undiscovered in all the world? haha most definitely. 1134. Whose picture would you like to paint a target on and throw darts at? idk. trump. 1135. Is love all you need? not always. 1136. Ever caught a fish? yes! 1137. Are you adventurous? not really. 1138. Are you afraid of mediocrity? nope. 1139. Would you rather die tomorrow or have all your friends die? i’d rather die tomorrow. 1140. What are 3 things you don't understand? 1 why are people rude 2 why does my laptop seem to get worse every time i update it 3 why is it so hard to get a job when i’m over qualified 1141. I would do anything for love but I won't do 'that'. What is 'that'? idk. 1142. Has your diary ever been rated? i don’t think so? 1143. Do you do more than kiss on the first date? i personally haven’t. 1144. Are you very liberal or conservative? liberal. 1145. What do you like about your neighbors? most of them are quiet and keep to themselves. 1146. I read that by 2010 they expect to market a gene therapy procedure that will increase the life spans of adult human beings by double or triple. If this happened would you have it done? eh, probably not. 1147. If you're happy and you know it clap your hands. Did you clap? no. 1148. Was this year a good year for you? somewhat. 1149. What are you looking forward to next year? idk yet. i haven’t made plans. 1150. Are you a Jim Henson fan? not really. 1151. What do you think of these diarist names? ToxicToast: Solitary Music: gemini_wish_star: juneberry: haha idc. 1152. Do you read the Diary Master’s diary? no. 1153. Have you ever made an enemy on OD? no. 1154. Have you ever (or do you know anyone who’s) been deleted from OD? idk what that is. 1155. Were you ever in the first row of a concert? no. someday! 1156. Did you ever meet a celebrity? Who? most recently niall horan. 1157. Do you have any autographs? yes. 1158. Can you visualize whirled peas? yes. 1159. Are there some situations where love just isn't enough to keep 2 people together? When does that happen? if someone has to move away. 1160. Do you have no attention span? i do but it’s short. 1161. What do you think of these entry titles? me. back. home: steak and butter: yum. The Smurfs Go Communist: The controversial Athens: 1162. Have you ever been wrongly accused? yes. 1163. When you wash your hair do you blow dry it or let it dry naturally? i do both. 1164. Where does your family go on vacation? usually to the philippines. 1165. Have you ever been to: Newport, Rhode Island? driven past it. Dutch Wonderland? no. Salem, MA? also drove past it. Niagara Falls? yes. 1166. Have you ever given money to OD cares? no. 1167. Have you ever created an OD interest? If yes, what interests did you create? no. 1168. What do you think of these entry names? DEAR SOUL FRIEND 57 Loss: I had a good title but i forgot it: Left Alone: yeah yeah...he kissed her: cool. 1169. If you have aol what is your 'you've got mail' sound? lol i don’t. 1170. What will you never have enough of? food. 1171. Who can you only handle in small doses? my boyfriend’s family. 1172. You are at a magic auction where you can bid on impossible things but you only brought enough money to buy one thing. Out of these..which would you buy? entrance into whatever afterlife you believe in a guarantee that you will have at least 3 books published in your life a new car, house and boat each year unending creative inspiration ultimate compassion and acceptance of others a trip into outer space perfect health for the rest of your life 1173. In the above question if finding perfect love was a choice would you change your answer? umm probably not. 1174. What food is so fattening or unhealthy that you would NEVER touch it? i’d try everything once tbh. 1175. Which do you love more, your country or your planet? country. 1176. What do you think of: Abba? nothing really. iconic songs i guess. Brian Adams? he had some bops back in the 90s. No Doubt? they were ok. 1177. Are you more logical or emotional? logical. 1178. Do you think that tattoos and piercing are overrated? no, i just don’t care for them. 1179. What do you think of these diary titles? The Seamless Garment: Your eyes can be so cruel: What was, is no more: shock me sane: omg i don’t care about these. 1180. Do you believe that Michael Jackson molests children? i have no idea. i feel like he was just a child trapped in an adult’s body and found comfort in hanging out and making children happy. we’ll never really know. 1181. Hypothetically, let’s say that he did molest them. Who would you feel should be held MORE accountable, Michael Jackson or the parents that allowed their children to go to Never Land Ranch unsupervised for sleepovers? idk. both. 1182. Have you ever been to: Manhattan? yes. Disney? yes. Paris? yes. Anywhere cooler? they’re all cool. 1183. What 3 music videos should everyone download? none lol. just stream it. 1184. If someone bet you ten dollars that you couldn’t sing the whole Gummy Bears theme song, would you be able to do it and win? no. 1185. Do you like Bjork? no. 1186. How about the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? no. 1187. What do you think of Moby? boring tbh lol. 1188. What do you think of Alien Ant Farm? one hit wonders tbh. 1189. What do you think of the Flaming Sideburns? idk them. 1190. Do you believe that imps, trolls, giants, dragons, unicorns, etc. were real but became extinct? nah. 1191. What sucks? life. 1192. What do you think of these diary titles? Geologist to the Stars: The Hussy Chronicles: Gravy: Napping in the Broom Closet: again, idc. 1193. Do you ever think about suicide? no. 1194. Do you believe that Jesus Christ was a real person? How about Noah? yes, it was already proven he actually existed. idk about noah. 1195. What is one luxury you refuse to live without? my phone. or a hot shower. 1196. What is one luxury you feel you could live without? a car. 1197. Do you feel that you are high, medium, or low maintenance in a relationship? medium. 1198. What do you think of these diarist names? N.Y.S: Collapsibleman: *})|({*: black dove: omg bye. 1199. Do vegetables taste better from the store or from your garden? idk i’ve never had any veggies from my garden. 1200. How long have you spent on this survey so far? idk haha.