paige. 21. i like all the characters you hate.
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I may have started watching Homeland, because Jeff Davis likes it, Mandy Patinkin, Damian Lewis and Claire Danes are amazing, it happens to have Morena Baccarin and a guest spot for Sarita Choudhury (who I have loved since Kings) and I was too exhausted to write and ran out of Sterek fic to read.
And you know what I learned by episode 7? When you’re straight, it doesn’t matter if you don’t trust each other, it doesn’t matter that one of you is in a relationship (with kids!) and it doesn’t matter that one of you is a terrorist, or that either of you are completely fucked up about love and sex and relationships (and other head issues), or that you haven’t spent a whole lot of time actually talking to each other. Because the rules for straight pairings are basically “fuck it all, if they have chemistry, let’s see what happens”.
You know what? I goddamn well want Sterek to happen in a significant way in season 3 of Teen Wolf. I’m still working on my analysis of their actual canon relationship and what I know already is that if we assume mutual attraction - and we can - then TPTB could start off 3x01 with them making out and it would easily slot into how they’ve progressed so far. Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses, and I’d rather watch them get there than assume it happened in the four months over break, but I’m tired of the argument that says they have to work out all their issues before they can ever even be hinted at liking each other. A lot of those issues can and sometimes have to be worked out within a relationship.
The truth is that we’re telling ourselves Stiles and Derek can’t get together any time soon because that’s a safe way to say it’s okay if it doesn’t ever happen. But they can. And if nothing happens at all in season 3, not even acknowledgement of mutual attraction to a third party, it’s not because their relationship isn’t capable of going there, it’s not because it wouldn’t fit into the narrative and it’s not because there hasn’t been significant development - it’s because the Teen Wolf team doesn’t want to go there, for whatever reason. What I’m saying is that we are desperately scrambling for excuses to pre-explain why Jeff might be breaking our hearts, when we don’t even know that that’s going to happen. Let’s not do that so much anymore, maybe?
Do we really want safe and easy? Is that what we’re hoping from canon? Because that’s not really a very interesting story. Both of them being well-adjusted and perfectly in control of themselves and their surroundings may be good for a real life marriage, but it doesn’t exactly make compelling TV. What makes compelling TV is two people drawn to each other who probably shouldn’t be, two people making mistakes with each other and maybe caring enough to try and fix them, two people clashing and thrown into situations together sometimes even against their own will and making it work against the odds. That’s what I sign up for when I ship pairings like Stiles and Derek - the (declining, occasionally playful) animosity and the reluctance and the banter are part of the draw, not a dealbreaker.
So, no, I don’t think we should be waiting for season 7. There might not be a season 7. The journey has to start right now, if they are ever going to get anywhere.
Too often we conflate “happily ever after” with “becoming canon” for a pairing like this. But HEA is not a requirement for getting together, not to mention being canon. Being canon means that we, as an audience, know they both want to do naughty things to each other - nothing necessarily more than that. That’s the first step. They don’t have to share this sentiment with anyone and they don’t have to be over their issues. They don’t actually have to be together. They might kiss and pretend they haven’t, they might cuddle and pretend they haven’t, because tropes like that are fun. They might share stuff with each other in vulnerable moments that they wouldn’t have thought they wanted to share, but are kind of glad they have. They might hold each other’s secrets. But they don’t have to do any of those things to be canon. To be a canon pairing all you need is the bone-deep certainty that the people in charge want them to do naughty things, too.
And ultimately, getting together doesn’t mean everything is perfect either. Allison and Scott got together within 30 minutes of narrative and a couple of days of in-universe time - we all learned to like them after the fact, because they turned out to be pretty damn cute, and now they’re slightly more tragic but still kind of obviously meant to be. They’ve been canon the moment Scott heard Allison’s phone, but they’re not together right now and they still have so many issues to work through. Lydia and Jackson, too, are full of issues and obstacles. Doesn’t mean they can’t fuck and doesn’t mean they can’t “be canon” and doesn’t mean their true love can’t save the day.
We’ve got to ask ourselves why Stiles and Derek are so different from the canon couples on the show in our minds. Is it because of their issues? Not compared to Lydia and Jackson. Is it because of lack of interaction? Not compared to Scott and Allison. So why are we reluctant to give this story even so much as a chance?
I don’t think anyone expects a happily ever after for any of the characters in the middle of a running show, unless the characters are being written out and leaving for greener pastures. What becoming canon means is actually very simple: it’s the comittment by the writers to explore the romantic possibility and whether that means pining for each other or ill-advised on-again/off-again or starting slow and trying to get somewhere solid doesn’t actually matter that much because that’s the details, that’s the journey, the fun part, the thing we’re so excited to see unfold. And it can’t happen properly unless the team sits down and says yes. This is happening, in whatever form it might take.
So yeah, I think Stiles and Derek should be canon in season 3, undeniably so. Doesn’t mean they have to be together right away. Doesn’t even mean they have to kiss or date or obviously talk about their feelings. All it means is that the guys in charge are finally on the same page as us.
Sterek!AU in which Stiles is rich and love cars. Derek is his mechanic.
I want you.
Conflicting feelings there, huh, Stiles?
#let’s talk about how every single encounter they have further proves to derek #that stiles is capable of thinking logically and staying calm under duress #not to mention being brave trustworthy and determined as hell #let’s talk about how they really need to realize that they truly do respect and *GASP* even care for each other a little #then they can trust each other #and then i can get my snarky dynamic duo #yes?
‘Can I shave your beard after??’
‘No.’
‘Oh c’mon, I promise it will be awesome, I’ll make you look like Tony Stark’
‘Who?’
‘………………oh god…PACK MOVIE MARATHON’
He’s not waking up.
