The Rec Center #143
Hello at the end of...this week. By chance, we decided this would be COFFEE SHOP AU WEEK, with fic recs in conjunction with Gav’s big piece on the trope. This morning I joked that it feels fitting that we’re featuring the #1 classic “fluffy AU” after such a hellish few days (TO BE FAIR I know that coffee shop AUs are as varied as any other trope/subgenre, but still). We’ve also got our usual mix of articles and tumblr posts—if you’re looking for distraction this weekend, hopefully we can help. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“The Conflicted Life of a True Crime Fan” by Your Fat Friend at Medium
“The more true crime fans I meet, the more I see myself reflected. And the more troubled I become.”
“Was MySpace Music’s Best Social Media Platform?” at Pitchfork
An explainer + celebration of MySpace as a platform for music fandom.
“How coffee shop romance became fanfic’s hottest genre” by Gav at the Daily Dot
A deep dive into the massive popularity of coffee shop AUs, featuring interviews with fans and authors.
“Coffee shop AUs redefine escapism from wild fantasies about dragons and space travel to the comforting ideal of having a steady job and supportive relationships. For a generation who came of age during the Great Recession, living in a time of constant political trauma, it’s not hard to understand the appeal.”
older stuff
“The strange story of how internet superfans reclaimed the insult ‘trash’” by Lilian Min at Splinter
From 2016, an exploration of fandom’s use of the term “trash” as a partly positive, partly self-recriminatory descriptor.
tumblr & beyond
The Chinese wing of Sony Pictures is promoting Venom with fanart of Venom... being... an adorably good boyfriend?
The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is a great name for an activist group, actually.
Doing the math on why the Phantom of the Opera requires such a huge salary.
Turns out that Animorphs fans and cover illustrators have been picturing the andalites wrong for years.
Voltron/The Martian fusion AU fanart
Dispatches from working in a coffee shop that was...very much not an AU.
fanfiction
Coffee shop AUs! No additional explanation necessary. :-) Thank you to all of our guest reccers. — Elizabeth
“Extra Whip” by Door. 3K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Teen Wolf; Ship: Derek/Stiles
Recced by: betp
Backstory: It takes a little distance and some gentle prodding for Derek to let himself have what he wants—whether it’s a coffee or a person.
Rec: I love the unique take on the coffee shop AU. I love the characterization and the writing style.
Content warnings: N/A
“Miss Atomic Bomb” series by chash. 96K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Tortall - Tamora Pierce; Ships: Alanna/George, Buri/Thayet, Jonathan/Raoul, Numair/Daine
Recced by: Kay
Backstory: Tamora Pierce's Tortall books include several multi-book middle grade/ya series in a pseudo-medieval-ish fantasy world setting. This delightful modern college AU features favorite characters from the Song of the Lioness and Immortals quartets. You need next to no canon knowledge to enjoy the series on its own.
Rec: Chash tends to write a lot of my favorite modern aus for SFF fandoms, and Miss Atomic Bomb is a particular favorite. Features lots of found family feels and genderqueer Alanna of Trebond (which is now my headcanon for the Tortall universe).
Content warnings: Canonical age differences, emotionally abusive parents, references to homophobia, and discrimination toward non-binary characters
“Bucky Barnes Has His Shit Together (and Other Lies He Tells Himself)” by betts. 14K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Captain America (movies); Ship: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes
Recced by: emmyhildy
Backstory: “You’d think a guy who owns one of the most successful bakeries in Brooklyn, has a million-dollar smile and that antiquated good ol’ boy charm, blond hair and blue eyes and biceps for days, would know what’s what.
“But don’t let that fool you: Steve Rogers is a mess.”
Rec: Oblivious and Pining Bucky w/self-worth issues really gets me.
Content warnings: N/A
“Cryptid Coffee” by maruum. 1.6K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia; Ship: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Everyone loves a good coffeeshop AU, but hear me out—what if the customer was actually... a ghostbuster.
Rec: It’s absurd and lovely, and gets funnier and funnier as it goes on.
Content warnings: N/A
“New Beautiful Things Come” by Raven. 17.6K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: X-Men prequel movies; Ship: Erik/Charles
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: This AU riffs on one of the central themes of the X-Men franchise, the mutant rights movement. The characters still have their mutant powers and identities, but Erik (Magneto) runs a kosher bakery while Charles Xavier is an academic.
Rec: A fun romance fic that also provides a thoughtful take on intersectional activism, featuring Charles writing snippy letters to businesses that don’t provide wheelchair access, and a contemporary look at how the mutant rights movement might evolve outside the action-packed tone of the X-Men movies/comics. (Not technically a coffee shop AU, but bakeries count, right?)
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Hopefully this week’s letter has been a soothing balm after the week we’ve all had. Take care out there, and we hope you have as relaxing a weekend as possible. <3 — Gav
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, etc—are strongly encouraged as well. And if you have any interest in doing an entire rec list, explainer, or ship manifesto, please get in touch! elizabethandgav at gmail dot com.
If you liked this, please share it with your friends! https://thereccenter.substack.com/. And find us on social media: Gav (twitter/tumblr) & Elizabeth (twitter/tumblr)