My heart bleeded, girl

I'm thinking good thoughts for everyone in New Zealand today, as well as those in the Middle East where things are so fraught.

I tried to run today while listening to pensnest's fabulous podfic of jae's popslash story The Earl of Rothinghamtonfordshire but it was very difficult, because running and laughing hysterically don't mix very well, not if I want to breath, too.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before but "drug" is not the past tense of "drag."

I adored H50 last night, while at the same time it broke my heart. But here's the thing. And let's see if I can do this without being spoilery for last night's show, or without rambling.

I pretty much stay away from the comms, no matter what fandom we're talking about, but that's where the promo clips and the episode stills and whatnot can be found, so what are you gonna do some days? But really, people, get a grip.

Hawaii Five-0 is only eighteen episodes old but for the first time last night I had that sinking feeling I so often associate with SPN, that feeling of, oh noes, "famdom" isn't going to like that. Now we all know fandom isn't a monolith, but we all also know exactly that feeling I'm talking about, amiright?

There was a blog somewhere, EW maybe, about does H50 need more sexual tension? And the answers were either, "oh, yes, with talk of Steve and Catherine, or Danny and Kono, or bringing in a new female character", or they were "no, there's plenty of sexual tension already with Steve and Danny." Which was followed by the usual "ew, you people are creeping me out" comments, and then I got bored and went away.

Now there's no reason CBS couldn't go there. Hawaii Five-0, on the surface, appears to be another police procedural. Team members can get involved, sometimes more successfully than others. Grissom and Sara, Catherine and Warrick, Tony and Ziva, if that's what they end up doing. There is no reason in the world that Steve and Danny couldn't be the romantic partnership on this show.

And it should be just that simple, although we all know it isn't.

It's not gonna happen. CBS thinks this show is a police procedural, and at this point they've established what they think is the heterosexuality of all four principle players. Danny and Rachel, Kono and Ben, Chin and Malia, Steve and Catherine. There you go, done. Bisexuality, DADT, none of this will have occurred to the heteronormative, casual viewer of just another network show, and to suddenly have Danny and Steve be gay or bi would constitute a bait and switch in the eyes of a large part of the audience, and probably the network.

Gay people have to be OUT. They must announce their sexuality to the world, and if they don't, well then, they're obviously straight. And two characters who are presumed to be straight because it hasn't been announced that they're not can't just turn around and be gay or bi.

I wish it wasn't this way. Someday there will be a show that is brave enough to go there, but today is not that day. CBS doesn't have the balls for it.

So, did CBS, or TPTB, include that scene at the end that has some people upset on purpose, to emphasize the characters' heterosexuality? Have they been heading towards this storyline, a reconciliation, all season? Is it just that whole heteronormative thing that made it not even occur to them to go another way? DID IT STAB YOUR OPT IN THE HEART?

I don't know. Who cares? It is what it is.

I myself ship everybody on this show. If my picfor1000 story could have been longer, I think it was heading towards GSF. (Is that a term that's only specific to popslash?) Maybe it's my years in popslash, but I'm used to loving multiple characters in multiple combinations, and I just don't get myself worked up over other people's OTPs and preferences.

At one of those comms I try to avoid, there was some discussion over a term of endearment possibly heard on the show, and someone said, in LARGE, RED FONT, come on, this is a slash fandom, we should be having fun with this. And while, yes, they happened to say this on a slash comm, H50 isn't just a slash fandom. One person's OMG YOU'VE RUINED MY SHOW is another person's \0/ OTP.

So, I guess my point is, enjoy your OTP and your subtext and your fanfiction, but be realistic. CBS isn't gonna go there for reals, so chill and have fun.

And that was a lot of work just to avoid a cut tag.

( family )