Still Pride Month

I watched a new documentary on astronaut Sally Ride and how she had to hide her lesbian relationships due to media scrutiny. Her longtime partner Tam and even her lesbian sister Bear also talk about how Sally was very private and emotionally closed off due to her upbringing. Sally even married a male astronaut for "good PR" while still having an affair with Tam. They were also friends with Billie Jean King and saw how she lost her tennis career after people found out she was a lesbian. Even after Sally got a divorce and left NASA, she stayed in the closet while running a business on recruiting more girls into science careers. Tam discusses the arguments they had, and how she even considered leaving Sally because she hated hiding their relationship, but she came back. At least when Sally got cancer and they worried about being denied access in the hospital, they signed up to become domestic partners. I'm sad that they couldn't be more open, but that was the world back then. Hopefully we can keep fighting so that LGBT+ people don't have to go back in the closet now.

If anyone remembers my old Sherlock Holmes fic Madness, I've been posting it to AO3 lately. I deleted the first chapter for being too simplistic, and I substantially rewrote and changed Chapter 9 from the previous version. It's the one where an asexual Holmes is still romantically in love with Watson, resulting in arguments and confusion on what that means. How Watson loves Holmes and still comes back to him even though Holmes faked his death. Sometimes love is so strong that you keep holding on, though it may be unwise and hopeless.

In lighter news, I watched the new movie Bride Hard, and loved it. Unlike the 2015 Spy movie starring Melissa McCarthy, this new movie treats the lead character seriously as a competent spy. The comedy is from her friendship with the bride, the wackiness of the groom's rich family, and the hostage/heist situation. Although Rebel Wilson's character does have a cover job as a cat show entrepreneur (selling plinths to display the cats), there are no jokes about how she's fat and dowdy; other spies don't treat her as an amateur, just as a rule-breaker who doesn't work well in a team. I so loved seeing Sam be competent and badass, while also flirting with a hot guy. I also loved that Da'Vine Joy Randolph plays a bridesmaid who is sexy and funny. Really a positive and hilarious movie.