Rise Up, Oh Heart, For There is Another Battle to Win

Today I became a Jedi

drossna:

So, I work at a movie theater…

And when you work at a movie theater, there’s a myriad of jobs you can be given. My favourite by far is running theater checks, which is basically following a list and making sure that all the screens are running A-okay the entire day, ducking in and out of theaters, and occasionally radioing in if something is wrong–I get paid to watch movie trailers for eight hours–and its glorious.

Then Star Wars comes out and everything is thrown into chaos. The AVX theaters are constantly packed, fans swirl around the lobby in their cloaks and robes, children have lightsaber duels in the arcade, and you have lines in the hall twenty-people-strong of guests trying to snag the perfect seats. To level with you, it’s pretty amazing and magical.

Naturally, any theater showing Star Wars gets put on priority for theater checks–God forbid something happen to mess up your perfect viewing experience, I understand. 

When you do theater checks, you need to make sure that the picture is framed correctly, all the guests are quiet, and that the sound for the film is playing properly. You listen to a the first few notes of the opening logos and boom you’re free to move on. 

The first bit of audio for The Force Awakens is the earth-shattering and iconic Theme that plays as the yellow text scrolls into its starry infinity. 

After seeing the opening to the film for the up-teenth time, I could predict without fail exactly when the music would cue up, and I would often snap my fingers just for laughs, as if I were the one making the music play on command.

It’s my last Star Wars check of the day. I’m standing in the front, ready to go down the list.

In the aisle seat next to me is this kid, and I can see him staring at me behind his 3-D glasses, kids pack of popcorn clutched in his hands.

I give him a little wave, and he waves back. He won’t stop staring at me though, maybe because its just so scandalous to see someone stand in a movie theater.

The theater hushes. On-screen, the Lucasfilm logo glints–and here people clap, I’m still confused about that–fades, and is replaced by ‘a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away’ in blue.

The kid is still staring, and I think, You know what, what the heck?

The blue text fades.

 I count, “One Mississippi, two Missip–”

Right before the music blares, I thrust my hand out Force-wielder style, fingers splayed with effort, and the walls vibrate with the opening chords of the Theme.

The kid’s eyes go wide like saucers. Ignoring the opening scroll completely, he mouths to me, “You can Force?”

I nod at him. Hell yeah I can Force, kid. Hell fucking yeah

tldr: I used my intense movie theater knowledge to convince a kid I was a Jedi.

(via fuckyeahisawthat)

lierdumoa:

holycheeseandcrackers:

dojahan:

fisadeepforestgreen:

holycheeseandcrackers:

ok here we go pet peeve no. 45678: when girls are made fun of for behaviour that has literally been drilled into them by society. let’s go through some of these.

haha girls are all like “don’t look at me without makeup on!!!!”: maybe because we are taught from a very young age that we’re ugly without makeup. if we don’t wear it we’re asked why we look so tired, why we didn’t make an effort today, why we seem slobbish. as we grow older if we don’t wear makeup we’re seen as unprofessional and it can actually affect our careers but no yeah it definitely doesn’t make sense that we’re insecure about our naked faces whatever

man my gf always takes food from my plate so annoying lol #relatablecontent: probably because she’s fucking starving but it was instilled in her that cute girls eat like precious baby bunnies so she got a salad but all she fuCKING WANTS ARE FRIES. JUST GIVE HER THE FUCKING FRIES.

girls always go to the bathroom together haha lame and weird: mainly so we don’t get attacked asshole. also having a pee buddy is fun i pity you and your pee-buddy-less experience. when do your friends tell you how nice your hair is. oh that’s right they don’t because guys are the fucking worst

look at these drunk girls tottering around on high heels they look ridiculous: i will defend to the death women’s right to get just as completely shitfaced as men and don’t even ACT like it’s not practically fucking mandated that if a woman isn’t wearing high heels she isn’t dressed up. high heels LITERALLY GIVE ME BACK PROBLEMS but i have to wear them for work because if I don’t i’m not “””””professionally dressed”””””” give me a fucking break

WOMAN AND SHOPPING. OHOHOHO BOY.: yeah ok so we have to spend money you don’t on makeup products, skin products, hair removal products, pads and tampons, and on top of that we’re expected to change our clothes more often than you which means we need more of them, and also women’s clothing sizes are voodoo so every fitting session is a battle with your self confidence. AND we pay the gender tax. i fucking hate shopping. i do it because i have to, you buttnerd. and even if some women enjoy shopping im sure some men also enjoy shopping??? why must you gender??? activities??? why is this the world we live in????

girls on their periods are fucking psycho hahaha!!!: no we’re just in more or less constant pain so we have less patience to put up with your your bullshit. not to mention that a woman’s testosterone levels actually INCREASE on her period so GUESS WHO WE’RE MORE FUCKING LIKE, CHAD. GIVE A FUCKING GUESS.

lol girls spend forever in the bathroom lololol: all right first of all if we’re talking about say, a sporting event, and you’re complaining about all the women who are queueing to go to the bathroom, we have a COUPLE MORE STEPS INVOLVED THAN PEOPLE WHO CAN JUST WHIP IT OUT AND THEN TUCK IT AWAY. not to mention the fact that yeah we have to take a second to double check the paint smeared on our faces or the socially acceptable hairstyle we’re wearing. we’re not allowed have fucking buzzcuts chad. apparently having less than the requisite amount of dead protein on the top of our head makes us a target for verbal abuse on the street chad. how about ranting about the people who built the stadium or whatever who KNOW it takes women longer to go to the bathroom but normally lot the same amount of stalls to men and women?? AND IF WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PERSONAL MAINTENANCE yeah ok buddy and how long does it take you to shave your legs? you think I like spending SEVENTY TWO DAYS OUT OF MY LIFE accidentally cutting myself and pulling muscles in my thighs??? well. i dont. so that’s why i don’t do it mainly. but we probably spend the rest of the time slathering ourselves with anti-aging creams because everyone is falling over themselves to tells us that our sell-by date is 35 while George Clooney and RDJ will probably continue to play wry sexy playboys until their fucking hips fall off. go fuck yourself chad.

GOD. I CAN’T EVEN GO ON. ADD YOUR OWN IF YOU THINK OF MORE.

this post is gold

I hate you Chad 

i was not expecting this to get popular at all but i will tell you one joyous thing: over 2,000 notes so far and not one single person has disagreed. WE ALL KNOW ITS BULLSHIT AND THAT IS SOMETHING AT LEAST.

Don’t forget:

what’s with the enormous purses women carry around?: you can fit a 10 year old child’s deluxe train set down any of the 14 different pockets in your cargo pants and I have a seam pretending to be a pocket sewn on to a blue compression bandage pretending to be jeans so don’t even

(Source: glittermobboss, via bonehandledknife)

samwellwinchesterthebrave:

Leverage is one of the few shows that I was completely happy with the finale. It hit just the right notes and gave me exactly what I wanted to end this amazing show.

Tbh, the only complaint I have is that there’s no more Leverage.

(via renew-leverage)

breelandwalker:

acureforbrainwork:

cosmic-kleptomaniac:

dismantlethefeminism:

I do not understand this “male privilege" bullshit.

What. Fucking. Privileges. Do. Men. Have.???????

Name them. I swear, I challenge you to name these “male privileges" and be able to prove them. 

Come on, I fucking dare you. 

Name them!

Oh boy. Well, as a man, I’ll tell you my male privilege.

1. My odds of being hired for a job, when competing against female applicants, are probably skewed in my favor. The more prestigious the job, the larger the odds are skewed.
2. I can be confident in the fact that my co-workers won’t think that I was hired/promoted because of my sex - despite the fact that it’s probably true.
3. If I ever am promoted when a woman of my peers is better suited for the job, it is because of my sex.
4. If i ever fail at my job or career, it won’t be seen as a blacklist against my sex’s capabilities.
5. I am far less likely to face sexual harassment than my female peers.
6. If I do the same task as a woman, and if the measurement is at all subjective, chances are people will think I did a better job.
7. If I am a teen or an adult, and I stay out of prison, my odds of getting raped are relatively low.
8. On average, I’m taught that walking alone after dark by myself is less than dangerous than it is for my female peers.
9. If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be questioned.
10. If I do have children but I do not provide primary care for them, my masculinity will not be questioned.
11. If I have children and I do care for them, I’ll be praised even if my care is only marginally competent.
12. If I have children and a career, no one will think I’m selfish for not staying at home.
13. If I seek political office, my relationship with my children or who I deem to take care of them will more often not be scrutinized by the press.
14. My elected representatives are mostly people of my own sex. The more prestigious the position, the more this is true.
15. When i seek out “the person in charge", it is likely that they will be someone of my own sex. The higher the position, the more often this is true.
16. As a child, chances are I am encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.
17. As a child, I could choose from an almost infinite variety of children’s media featuring positive, active, non-stereotyped heroes of my own sex. I never had to look for it; male protagonists were (and are) the default.
18. As a child, chances are I got more teacher attention than girls who raised their hands just as often.
19. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether or not it has sexist overtones. (Nobody’s going to ask if I’m upset because I’m menstruating.)
20. I can turn on the television or glance at the front page of the newspaper and see people of my own sex widely represented.
21. If I’m careless with my financial affairs it won’t be attributed to my sex.
22. If I’m careless with my driving it won’t be attributed to my sex.
23. I can speak in public to a large group without putting my sex on trial.
24. Even if I sleep with a lot of women, there is little to no chance that I will be seriously labeled a “slut,” nor is there any male counterpart to “slut-bashing.”
25. I do not have to worry about the message my wardrobe sends about my sexual availability.
26. My clothing is typically less expensive and better-constructed than women’s clothing for the same social status. While I have fewer options, my clothes will probably fit better than a woman’s without tailoring.
27. The grooming regimen expected of me is relatively cheap and consumes little time.
28. If I buy a new car, chances are I’ll be offered a better price than a woman buying the same car. The same goes for other expensive merchandise.
29. If I’m not conventionally attractive, the disadvantages are relatively small and easy to ignore.
30. I can be loud with no fear of being called a shrew. I can be aggressive with no fear of being called a bitch.
31. I can ask for legal protection from violence that happens mostly to men without being seen as a selfish special interest, since that kind of violence is called “crime” and is a general social concern. (Violence that happens mostly to women is usually called “domestic violence” or “acquaintance rape,” and is seen as a special interest issue.)
32. I can be confident that the ordinary language of day-to-day existence will always include my sex. “All men are created equal,” mailman, chairman, freshman, he.
33. My ability to make important decisions and my capability in general will never be questioned depending on what time of the month it is.
34. I will never be expected to change my name upon marriage or questioned if I don’t change my name.
35. The decision to hire me will not be based on assumptions about whether or not I might choose to have a family sometime soon.
36. Every major religion in the world is led primarily by people of my own sex. Even God, in most major religions, is pictured as male.
37. Most major religions argue that I should be the head of my household, while my wife and children should be subservient to me.
38. If I have a wife or live-in girlfriend, chances are we’ll divide up household chores so that she does most of the labor, and in particular the most repetitive and unrewarding tasks.
39. If I have children with my girlfriend or wife, I can expect her to do most of the basic childcare such as changing diapers and feeding.
40. If I have children with my wife or girlfriend, and it turns out that one of us needs to make career sacrifices to raise the kids, chances are we’ll both assume the career sacrificed should be hers.
41. Assuming I am heterosexual, magazines, billboards, television, movies, pornography, and virtually all of media is filled with images of scantily-clad women intended to appeal to me sexually. Such images of men exist, but are rarer.
42. In general, I am under much less pressure to be thin than my female counterparts are. If I am over-weight, I probably suffer fewer social and economic consequences for being fat than over-weight women do.
43.  If I am heterosexual, it’s incredibly unlikely that I’ll ever be beaten up by a spouse or lover.
44. Complete strangers generally do not walk up to me on the street and tell me to “smile.”
45. Sexual harassment on the street virtually never happens to me. I do not need to plot my movements through public space in order to avoid being sexually harassed, or to mitigate sexual harassment.
46. On average, I am not interrupted by women as often as women are interrupted by men.
47. On average, I will have the privilege of not knowing about my male privilege.

And lastly, I am taken as a more credible feminist than my female peers, despite the fact that the feminist movement is not liberating to my sex.

This is male privilege.

 

THIS. THIS IS HOW YOU BE A MALE FEMINIST. 

This is a BEAUTIFUL breakdown of male privilege, and one that should be read to ANYONE who thinks that we are living in a post-sexist society.

And it’s good that the commenter uses phrases like “on average” and “it’s unlikely” on several of the points, thus preventing the automatic response of “NOT ALL MEN.” Because these things DO happen, but that’s a separate issue from male privilege and the need for feminism.

Stay classy, @cosmic-kleptomaniac. And thanks. :)

(via ifeelbetterer)

Honestly I feel sort of ridiculously lucky re: potential ships in the upcoming Star Wars movies, and I’m realizing that it’s possibly just me?  But LET ME LAY THIS OUT FOR YOU.

MOST LIKELY: Finn/Rey.  These two children are cute as shit.  They’re just so damn excited about the world and the universe and green and the Force and each other.  Finn is all star-eyes and bear hugs, and Rey is all toothy grins and fierce protection.  It’s fucking precious.  Sit with me and think about Rey coming back from Fuckety Nowhere to find Finn recovered from his injuries and learning how to be Resistance, and she bounces off the Falcon and runs up to him and throws her arms around his neck for a hug like they did in Starkiller, and when she pulls away she holds onto one of his hands and they smile at each other like the adorable little fucks they are.  BONUS: interracial relationship between a white woman and a black man, which is still something that’s considered more than a little taboo.  Racism is a thing guys, and it’s SO IMPORTANT that representation of this sort of relationship be in the media, especially in such a big-name franchise as Star Wars.  Finn is affectionate, self-determining, and allowed to show emotions like fear and anxiety without any in-narrative penalties, and that is NOVEL, unfortunately.  And Rey is…well, Rey.  Come on, guys, I want to be Rey when I grow up and I’m sure you do too.  She’s able to be the hero, and not in the sense a lot of us are familiar with: there’s no assault, no rape, nothing like that.  She just finds a droid, and then she finds a lightsaber, and then she has the Force, and then she fights for the people she cares about, which is the same way that Luke became a hero.  No one criticizes her for being female.  THIS WOULD BE A GREAT COUPLE.

SECOND MOST LIKELY: Finn/Poe.  The jaCKET?  That is all?  No, seriously, though, this would be a great ship: the dashing pilot and the rogue Stormtrooper.  The entire base would ship it.  Poe would shout down anyone who talked about Finn being a spy, and Finn would learn Droid to talk to BB-8, Poe’s best friend.  This would be a ship with a lot of teasing smiles and laughing, arms around shoulders and warm support.  It would be about Finn learning to be an independent person and Poe welcoming someone new into his family.  BONUS: interracial gay relationship between a Guatemalan man and a black man, which is a little taboo in a different way.  Homophobia is a thing guys, and it’s SO IMPORTANT that representation of this sort of relationship be in the media, especially in cuh a big-name franchise as Star Wars.  Finn is everything I described above, and Poe is dashing, confident, intelligent, skilled…and caring toward his squadron, kind to a stranger, and respectful toward women, including those who have authority over him like Leia (insert battle hymn about the greatness of General Leia here).  Poe is a whole other thing from the standard cocky bastard of a pilot we know from movies and TV.  And please sign me right on up for this new type of dashing heroic gentleman, I am on this bullet train to a brighter future and you should be too.  THIS WOULD ALSO BE A GREAT COUPLE.

OTHER MORE UNLIKELY COUPLES: The Damerons (Finn/Poe/Rey).  It would be great for all of the reasons above, with the addition of the Poe-Rey dynamic of, I imagine, “Look at how beautiful and powerful and glorious this girl is” from Poe’s angle and “You are nice to me and handsome and I’m not sure what to do with any of that” from Rey’s.  Technically the best of all worlds (interracial! everyone is bi except possibly Rey!), but unlikely because, well, it’s a threesome, and that renders it frankly improbable for Hollywood to make it a thing.

And of course, THE ONE PAIRING I’M NOT EXCITED ABOUT: Kylo/Rey.  Um.  No.  Not least because things are looking like she’s going to be Rey Skywalker and that makes them EITHER first cousins OR siblings, depending on which twin is Rey’s parent, and yes, Luke and Leia were almost a thing, but let’s just take a hard line on No Incest this go-round, shall we?  But also because that would, I think, be wildly unhealthy unless they pulled off some sort of miracle.  And because honestly my main interest in a redemption arc for Kylo is the one that is Entirely For Leia’s Benefit, and I’ve read enough stories about poor damaged boys whose actions weren’t their fault at all being saved from themselves by the purity of love and…like…give the man the dignity of his own choices, okay?  I can feel sorry for Kylo because of the way he’s so clearly been manipulated and groomed by Snoke, but unless there’s evidence of actual legitimate mind control it’s still his choice to side with the Dark.  I have a lot of firm opinions about human dignity and free will and even though he’s currently a spectacular bastard, Kylo Ren still has free will and he has exercised it and as a human being he deserves to have his choices recognized as his own.

ANYWAY.  My point here is that no matter what you ship hardest, it needs to be recognized that either of the two most likely ships to happen will be almost groundbreaking in the representation they’ll offer.  I will make no judgements and fight no wars about what kind of representation is ‘most important’ because, you know what, it’s ALL important.  It matters that kids see interracial relationships on the big screen, presented as grand sweeping romances rather than comedy or tragedy.  It matters that kids see gay relationships that way.  It is important that teenagers and adults and children look at the characters they love and see themselves there, see the people they love there, see their friendships and relationships there.  Duking it out about who is more oppressed and therefore more deserving of that representation lessens us as people.  You, as a person reading this, deserve to see yourself in a character, in a hero, and so do the other people on the street, friends, strangers, enemies.

I want us to have it all, guys.  I want you to have everything: trans characters who are fierce and strong, women who can save galaxies, men who can be gentle and emotional and heroic, gay and lesbian romances full of light and laughter, racial diversity because, hey, when your copilot is covered in ten inches of hair what’s a little melanin between friends.  I want you to have ace characters with adoring husbands and wives, nonbinary characters and genderfluid characters whose friends would die for them no matter what their pronouns are today and vice versa, aro characters with badass spaceships full of loyal crew they love, characters with ADHD and autism and schizophrenia and depression going out to save the world with the people who care about them, physically disabled characters with blasters concealed in their prosthetics or souped up hoverchairs.  ALL OF IT.  And this movie series isn’t going to give us all that, because all of that is…it’s a lot to ask, and I know it, but I want it anyway.  But this movie is virtually guaranteed to give us something, some starting point, and you know what?  I’m ready to take what I can get while I work on finding a way to give you guys everything.

rawkiss:

radikitten:

Ok but why do men always talk to you like they’re trying to teach you something? 

i learned about this in my comm theory class!!! 

basically when men speak they tend to prove status/higher intelligence but when women speak we tend to seek connections! so like for example: when asking questions- women ask questions to know more about their conversation partner, while men see asking questions as showing no knowledge on the topic. So a man would rather talk about something that makes him more comfortable and makes him seem smarter rather than something that makes him look inferior. 

ALSO!!! when women are communicating with each other, we often have cooperative/positive “interruptions” like asking questions or saying “oh yeah thats happened to me” or “i know how you feel” to show interest in the conversation/build a connection, but men see these kinds of “interruptions” as hijacking the conversation/making them lose their “status” 

(Source: gencritical, via cthulhu-with-a-fez)

shockblanketnightmares:

geiszlerandgaila:

I still can’t believe that fanfiction is free

I sometimes have to pay for water, but with a phone and some wifi, I get to read whole novels about my favorite characters for exactly zero additional dollars

How goddamn rad is that

all the love to the fanfic authors who make this possible, y'all are the best

(Source: pumatscorp, via clockwork-mockingbird)

studygoddesses:

I am literally in love with the fact I get to see how my little cousins interact even with a language barrier. On my mom’s side, I have a 3 year old little cousin who only speaks French, and on my dad’s side I have a 2 year old cousin who only speaks Spanish. When they play together it is so funny to see them blabber on and on to each other until one of them hears a word that sounds familiar and then they just repeat that word and nod like they’re totally connecting. Like today the one that speaks Spanish said “Venga a poner los pantalones en la muneca!” and the other heard “pantalones” and was just like “Oui, pantalon!” They’re best friends and it’s the cutest and funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

(Source: rosesandstudying, via clockwork-mockingbird)

Look to your left. The first thing you see is what you would hoard as a dragon.

dyinghistoric:

kukkiisart:

synapsenfehler:

deathcomes4u:

zomgitsalaura:

funny story. I just got a silver coin for my birthday. So, silver coins. 

I’ll see your silver coin and raise you a square minecraft dirt block cushion.

… I’m hoarding roomies. Okay. (I just don’t want to be alone, okay?)

1 Liter coffee cups filled to the brim with steaming hot coffee. Yeah that sounds about right.

Pillows!!!! Oh I am a happy dragon *snuggles*

We can combine your pillow hoard with my blanket hoard to make the ULTIMATE COZY HOARD.

(via dyinghistoric)