i will never understand why fandoms with a historical setting insist on making like 70% of the fanfiction modern aus... the history aspect is literally what makes it interesting hello...
This is 100% a matter of personal taste, but this is why I tend to be very picky about AUs in general.
"I enjoy this series because there's an interesting fantasy, sci-fi, or historical setting" -> "Great! Here's an AU where they're just in a boring modern high school."
"I love the relationship between these characters because they have so much history together" -> "Cool! Here's an AU where they've never met before."
"The plot of this story is so high-stakes, and the characters are so shaped by everything they've been through!" -> "What if the entire plot was about working at a coffeeshop instead, though."
Obviously, all of these things can be done well! An AU that makes thing more "normal" can be used to explore what the characters would be like in a different setting in really interesting ways. And good writing and understanding of the characters can make any concept a great read.
But so often, these AU concepts just seem to remove the exact elements that make the story most interesting to me.
