Okay, so this is a dasey question that has been plaguing my mind for quite some time and I feel like you, the brilliant and talented dasey extraordinaire, would be able to give me an adequate answer:
Why is it that in most high school Dasey fanfics (at least the ones I’ve read) do Derek and Casey only spend the night/hang out in Derek’s room? I find it to be an interesting event that seems to repeatedly happen in dasey fanfics and honestly, I think it makes so much sense but I can’t quite figure out why it does. So I was hoping to get your take on that, even though I know you specialize more in post-highschool fics.
Thanks for your amazing writing!
My goodness gracious me. Who spilled the beans on one of my biggest weaknesses: flattery? Who did it?
Oooooh. That *is* a question. Why *do* so many fics have them hang out/spend the night in Derek's room?
Okay. So, first I thought about logistics, but I honestly can't tell and don't know where Derek's room is situated upstairs except that it's next to Casey's. I think Casey's might be closer to the bathroom? Which would likely mean there would be more traffic going past her bedroom: and if that's the case, that might be one of the reasons. People who know the show a lot more than me might have figured out that it's just *safer* for Derek's room to be the private room.
But, since I'm not 100% sure about that, I'll move on to what I do know for sure, and that's Derek. Derek is very possessive about his room. It's his room; we see how hard he fights to keep it. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, Edwin tells us very early on that no one goes in Derek's room without his permission. Casey, obviously completely ignores this rule, BUT the three younger siblings do still have a healthy amount of respect/fear. So I think they would knock. Do they have the same kind of fear of Casey? No. So there is a greater chance of, especially Lizzie, just walking into Casey's room (even though we all know the main intruders are Derek and Casey themselves).
I also can't see a high school Derek being cool about sleeping in Casey's bed. He's spent soooooo much time whining about the way she smells, her perfume, her shampoo, her laundry detergent, her body wash -- to admit otherwise (that he actually loves the way she smells) would be to admit defeat. And I find it unlikely that any version of high school Derek would be comfortable enough to admit those kinds of feelings for Casey, to admit that kind of tenderness. Would a high school Derek admit that he finds her hot and that he likes her? Yeah, if he thought he would win himself a Casey, he just might. But there's a certain amount of vulnerability in sleeping in someone else's room. It's... no longer your territory. And as long as Derek and Casey are in Derek's room, he's still got home turf advantage.
(Never mind that we ALL know that Casey has him wrapped around her finger, but let's allow the boy some dignity)
Now, while we can say that all of that is equally true for Casey, or for any human being, I think we all get the feeling that for Casey to admit her feelings for Derek, to sneak around with him, to make out or have sex with him, would already be the height of vulnerability for her. Our Casey, who narrates the show because she wants to control the narrative, who wants us to know her side of the story before anyone else, who is so deep in denial about her feelings for Derek... If she ever actually admitted it, then she's already been so very, very brave. So for her to then submit enough to agree to Derek's room... Well, whatever. She's already done the most difficult thing she could do; this is minor in comparison.
Furthermore, I think Casey's romantic side would be thrilled to spend in the night in her boyfriend's arms, surrounded by his scent and his heart, and although she would likely make him tidy it up before she spent any significant time in there (and then finish the job to her standards)... I think even that domesticity would charm her.
...So, yeah. I think that's why a lot of writers choose Derek's room, and why we all go along with it. It just fits, don't it?
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