Must Sterek invade every fandom I ask you

[streussal]

From a post in tumblr's My So Called Life tag:

PLEASE CAN SOMEONE WRITE A MY SO CALLED LIFE AU WITH STILES AS ANGELA AND DEREK AS JORDAN AND ERICA AS RAYANNE AND SCOTT AS RICKIE

NO BUT PLEASE
(With an edit that they haven't seen the whole series yet.)

And I am just. I already posted about this on tumblr but I am still perplexed??

I mean there's the part

Comments

[silverfyshxin]

Yeah, no, I'm pretty sure that's Sterek being itself.

Sometimes I get irrationally angry about AUs because I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO IT. :(

[streussal]

I am still so confused. I mean. The basic set-up of the show isn't unique so much as the way it's written?? Like, copy+pasting from tvtropes:

One of the most bleakly funny shows ever aired, it showed how much bitterness can result from a completely ordinary day at high school where nothing in particular goes wrong. Often the show took a comic plot (usually A Simple Plan) and subverted it by playing it for drama (and, arguably, realism) rather than for humor - and this was both much funnier and much more painful than it would have been as a comedy.

Also notable for dealing with "hot topics" with relatively little melodrama. Rayanne episodes often involved guns, drugs, etc. but didn't have Angela instantly get involved and ruin her life, as would happen on almost any other Teen Drama.

How does this translate to an AU??

[silverfyshxin]

...yeah that. That's just a normal high school AU??

And then I remembered Teen Wolf is set in HS, uhhhhh. So. That's an AU with no werewolves.

[streussal]

Basically! Set in 1994, so hopefully with fashion of the era. But then Stiles and Derek would probably do the Jordan Catalano guy-thing with clothing that stays acceptable over decades.

I mean, canon!Derek is in his early twenties (I think?? out of high school anyways), so I guess it would be more age appropriate.

[scorpiod1]

Lol omg I haven't watched My So Called Life yet but this sounds so ridiculous (Don't even talk to me about the Sterek Howl's Moving Castle AU. I start throwing things).

[streussal]

...Howl's Moving Castle wow. Is. Is Derek Hale flamboyant in it?

But then I can see why Howl's Moving Castle would strike someone as an interesting AU scenario. There's magic and a flying castle and age ups and a somewhat unique plot? Whereas MSCL is more about the writing.

[cordialcount]

Because it's so easy to instantly request/express public interest in whatever you like, I think a lot of people talk about AUs and fusions they'd like without giving particular thought to how they'd map over. Or to what they consider crucial to carry over from the smaller fandom, or if they do want some particular element, the fusion canon is just an easy shorthand. I suspect that person isn't interested so much in the specific dynamics or style of My So-Called Life as that they watched the movie, enjoyed it, and also enjoy Teen Wolf AUs, therefore bang the two together and see what happens.

(/totally not projecting wtf at discovering Loveless AUs-- the ones where the OTP are catboys and ears signify virginity, nothing else changed-- were based on a canon with complicated abuse narratives, questions of will, multiple sexual assaults on children*, magical spell battling, and also a protagonist with fox ears

* Not counting Ritsuka, even. I think you mentioned you stopped reading after the slightly twisted lesbians disappeared, but

[streussal]

It's like, I think about weird AU situations too sometimes? And random ones can be fun!

But this one is extra confusing to me because MSCL doesn't have some sort of unique plot or magic or something. It's basically a teen drama (...or deconstruction of one, maybe). So I'm confused at the same time as being weirdly offended.

Oh god, those AUs must be painful for Loveless fans.

I watched the anime, but was a little too creeped out by the sexualised dynamic between Ritsuka and Soubi to get into the manga (though I did read the Zero girls volume because yes). I've read interesting meta on the series and sub/dom, sense of self, etc. though. And yeah, Soubi's backstory alone...

[cordialcount]

Maybe the requester wants a less dramatic version of the usual high school AU, then? idek either.

From the, er, maybe thirty minutes total I've seen of the anime, their relationship is far less disturbing in the manga considered outside the fourth wall. (The anime seems more straightforwardly cute/"nothing wrong here, guys" about the shota appeal to the point where I can't watch it, whereas the context presented in the manga spins both Ritsuka's and Soubi's motives in directions I find much more interesting and that avoid my underage squick. I trust that it's intentionally creepy and complicated in ways that are not centered on sex.)

And eee, do you remember at all where the meta was? :D

[streussal]

The meta posts now seem to be locked :(

But that makes sense with the difference between the manga and the anime.