could we pretend that we’re in love

Shane is unequivocally one of the top two professional hockey players out there; arguably the best. The way he reads the game is beyond most professional player's comprehension. He's catching plays before they occur, as though the entire game is on a second's delay apart from him. He's every goalie's sleep paralysis demon. He's a hockey player who hardly ever fights. His checks are legal, his recovery is swift. He's consistently near the bottom of the Penalty Minutes leaderboard. Chirps slide off him, his face stoic and focused, hardly ever engaging with them, instead just absorbing them and channeling them into his gameplay. He's every PR person's dream, giving the occasional soundbite without ever taking it far enough to be considered a liability.

Off the ice, he's never been the most approachable person, hardly anyone gets close to him. People are scared to approach him, purely because of his talent, and he doesn't make it easy for those who try. He goes out with the team sometimes but he never gets drunk. He doesn't sacrifice his performance diet for anyone's comfort. He attends awards and All Stars games but never contributes much to the conversations others attempt to engage him in. He would seem almost haughty if he wasn't so goddamn nice. It seems that, no matter how wide you search, no one has a bad word to say about him beyond him being a little awkward or annoyingly good at hockey.

He's completely untouchable. Hardly human.

So it is an utter and complete fall from grace when he comes out, first as gay, and is then outed as Ilya Rozanov's partner.

I don't have to tell you that hockey culture is essentially synonymous with toxic masculinity in many ways. Within hockey, there is a deeply ingrained system that celebrates violence, stoicism, and aggression; hypermasculinity is the expectation with violence being seen as a sign of manhood. This culture fosters a code of silence, marginalises women and minorities, and anyone who fails to comply with the express expectation of the "correct" way to perform masculinity.

As soon as Shane Hollander is confirmed as gay, every trait that was viewed as admirable, purely on the basis of his raw talent, becomes confirmation of weakness. He never gets drunk because he's a pussy. He's prissy about food. He doesn't talk because he's weird. He doesn't fight because he can't. He can't handle aggression at all so he simply tries to ignore it, to hide from it. He's weak.

It feels like a personal betrayal because they didn't know. They didn't know and it feels like they should have. But they didn't. And they admired him. They looked up to him. They tried to replicate his play style, they commended his control, they wondered if they should adopt his diet but didn't know if they could stick with it. They fucking worshipped him. And a part of them wonders if that says something about them. The fact that they were taken in by this ruse; the fact that they worshipped a gay man. It feels like an attack on their own masculinity. And so men, who never learned to process an emotion other than anger, are suddenly left feeling betrayed and embarrassed. And because having to properly examine that, even for a minute, would mean having to reevaluate their entire worldview it all gets channeled into aggression, which is familiar and safe.

Are you in need of some serious Moon joy? Get ready for Moon Joy June. NASA is hosting a month-long art challenge and we would love for you to participate! For every week of June, NASA will introduce a new prompt to inspire artists and creators of all kinds:

June 1-7: Launch 

June 8-14: Moon 

June 15-21: Crew 

June 22-30: Earth 

To share your Moon joy-inspired art on Tumblr, use the hashtag #ArtemisArtShow.

The sky is (not) the limit! We encourage all forms of art, including but not limited to: paintings, drawings, sculptures, dances, music, animations, nail art, latte foam art, poetry, fashion. Choose your favorite medium and share it with us!

Jiang Cheng whipping the hell out of everyone while staying perfectly dry under his umbrella was a really funny picture in my head.

And I really love painting lights.

This is, I think, the start of a series of portraits, so I'll try to come back and add links and characters:

I always imagined Fairy as a really big dog, like the wolves in Princess Mononoke. So, watching the donghua and the live series was a bit disappointing 😆

I combined my two favorite hobbies: making miniatures and worshipping everything Vegaspete.

The scenes in the safehouse are still very dear to my heart so consider this a little tribute. (With the added bonus that it makes and awesome nightlight.)

The little cage was a thrift find but everthing else is made by me.

The little book is a scan from my actual Childhood's End copy.

grace fully understood that turning around to save rocky from the taumoeba would be condemning himself to a long death in space.

they both knowingly and willingly sacrificed themselves. they both answered "who would you die for?" with a resounding "each other."