Today Your Barista Is: Genre Characteristics in the Coffee Shop Alternate Universe

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Today Your Barista Is: Genre Characteristics in The Coffee Shop Alternate Universe

Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy

in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

Katharine Elizabeth McCain

Graduate Program in English

The Ohio State University

2020

Dissertation Committee

Sean O’Sullivan, Advisor

Matthew H. Birkhold

Jared Gardner

Elizabeth Hewitt

Katharine Elizabeth McCain

2020

Abstract

This dissertation, Today Your Barista Is: Genre Characteristics in The Coffee Shop

Alternate Universe, works to categorize and introduce a heretofore unrecognized genre within the medium of fanfiction: The Coffee Shop Alternate Universe (AU). Building on previous sociological and ethnographic work within Fan Studies, scholarship that identifies fans as transformative creators who use fanfiction as a means of promoting progressive viewpoints, this dissertation argues that the Coffee Shop AU continues these efforts within a defined set of characteristics, merging the goals of fanfiction as a medium with the specific goals of a genre. These characteristics include the Coffee Shop AU’s structure, setting, archetypes, allegories, and the remediation of related mainstream genres, particularly the romantic comedy. The purpose of defining the Coffee Shop AU as its own genre is to help situate fanfiction within mainstream literature conventions—in as much as that’s possible—and laying the foundation for future close reading. This work also helps to demonstrate which characteristics are a part of a communally developed genre as opposed to individual works, which may assist in legal proceedings moving forward. However, more crucially this dissertation serves to encourage the continued, formal study of fanfiction as a literary and cultural phenomenon, one that is beginning to closely analyze the stories fans produce alongside the fans themselves. Far from writing

ii chaotically, fanfiction authors have spent the last six decades developing structured forms of literature for online spaces, of which the Coffee Shop AU is a part, yet most scholarship has yet to acknowledge that structure outside of overly broad categories (such as slash) or equally specific tropes (such as bed sharing). Defining what is currently one of the most popular genres written today—a genre that is the product of and is now helping to produce other genres—is the first step in filling this gap.

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Dedication

To my younger self, who wouldn’t have believed this dissertation was possible.

To everyone who helped prove me wrong.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, this dissertation would not have been possible without the endless patience and advice of my committee members. Dr. Sean O’Sullivan should be commended for the number of Wexner meals we sat through together, working to turn a host of ambitious ideas into something tangible. You always knew what needed to be fixed, long before I did. I owe just as much to Dr. Matthew Birkhold for not only helping to cultivate my best arguments, but also reminding me that not all of them can—or should—end up in the final product. Thanks for telling me so many things I didn’t want to hear. Likewise, I am greatly indebted to Dr. Elizabeth Hewitt and Dr. Jared Gardner for helping me get out of my own head and figure out how to write this piece for someone other than myself. Good ideas alone cannot sustain themselves. You also need good writing and a sensible structure, something you both excelled at teaching.

A special thanks goes out to the organizers and audience of the Fifth Annual

Fandom and Neomedia Studies Conference, held in Ft. Worth Texas in the summer of

2017. They were the first to hear the beginnings of this dissertation and gave me the confidence needed to turn a small paper into something more.

This project would simply not exist without the unconditional support given to me throughout the process by family and friends. Mom, Dad, Sean: you three were the safety net I needed to keep pushing forward. Leah, Ian, Amelia, and Kristin: I’m not sure how v many stressed-out texts you all had to read throughout this process, but I’m sure a compilation would be longer than the dissertation itself.

Lots of love sent to my dogs, Fergus and River. Every PhD candidate deserves a loyal pet.

Finally, the warmest thanks extended to the Supernatural, Teen Wolf, and Witcher fan communities. At its core, this piece is for you.

Vita

May 2015………………. M.A. English Language and Literature, Georgetown University

May 2013………………. B.A. Literatures in English, Classics, Connecticut College

Publications

“Epoximise!: The Renegotiation of Film and Literature Through Harry Potter GIF-sets.” Transforming Harry: The Adaptation of Harry Potter in the Transmedia Age, edited by John Alberti and Andy Miller, Wayne University Press, 2018

“Feeling Exposed? Irene Adler and the Self-Reflective Disguise.” Sherlock Holmes: Essays on Film and Television Adaptations Since 2009, edited by Nadine Farghaly, McFarland, 2015.

“Sensibly Organized: Filling in Gaps With Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.” Prequels, Coquels and Sequels in Contemporary Anglophone Fiction, edited by Armelle Parey, CRC Press, Routledge Studies in Contemporary Literature, 2018.

Fields of Study

Major Field: English

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Table of Contents

Abstract ...... ii Dedication ...... iv Acknowledgments ...... v Vita ...... vii List of Tables...... ix List of Figures ...... x Chapter 1. Introduction ...... 1 Chapter 2. Story World: “A Refuge of Sorts”...... 69 Chapter 3. Structure and Design: “I’m So Sick of These Fake Coffee Shop AUs” ...... 96 Chapter 4. Character Types: “What if They Were, Like, Baristas?” ...... 146 Chapter 5. Food As Allegory: “Love Me Some Pie” ...... 177 Chapter 6. Conclusion ...... 207 Appendix A. Index of Terminology ...... 229 Appendix B. SurveyResponses………………………………………………………....237 Appendix C. Primary Sources…………………………………………………………..243 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...….246

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List of Tables

Table 1 Alternate Universe Survey Results……………………………………………. 22 Table 2 Coffee Shop AU Word Counts………………………………………………. 113 Table 3 Coffee Shop AU Ratings……………………………………………………. 120

List of Figures

Figure 1 Tumblr Post Describing Coffee Shop AU Conversation………………………26 Figure 2 What Do Kudos Mean to You? …………………….…………………….……53 Figure 3 Tumblr Photograph of Coffee Shop Chalk Board…………………………… 67 Figure 4 Tumblr Screenshot of GIF Reacting to First-Person Fanfiction……………… 71 Figure 5 A Collection of Tumblr Images Depicting Various Coffee Shops…………… 89 Figure 6 Coffee Shop AU Mood Board…………………………………………………92 Figure 7 Teen Wolf Mood Board……………………………………………………….. 93 Figure 8 Years Active in Fandom Survey Results………………………………………99 Figure 9 Number of Fans Who Read Fanfiction Survey Results……………………….100 Figure 10 Number of Fans Who Write Fanfiction Survey Results……………………..100 Figure 11 Gender Identity Survey Results……………………………………………...101 Figure 12 Gender Identity: Cis and Queer Survey Results……………………………..102 Figure 13 Two Tumblr Screenshots of “I Am the Manager” Comics………………….134 Figure 14 Two Tumblr Screenshots of Dean Winchester………………………………188 Figure 15 Seven Tumblr Screenshots of the Image-Fic Snapchatting Starbucks………193 Figure 16 Tumblr Screenshot of a Harry Potter Text Post…………………………….208

Chapter 1 Introduction

“I want my life to be a dark academia novel mixed with a coffee shop au”

- Tumblr user Armands-Adolescentmoodswings

It's 6:30pm and you're finally home after a long day at work, ready to unwind and enjoy a bit of time to yourself. There's a half-finished novel on your nightstand table, a queue of television shows primed on Netflix, and more than one unfinished game on

Steam. However, you bypass it all and pull up your bookmarked fanfics instead. There you find a free, fifty-thousand-word story to enjoy. It features a young man working as a barista who falls in love with one of his regulars. Or maybe it's the story of the customer falling in love with the barista, the one who takes the time to draw silly doodles on his cup each morning. Perhaps one of the duo is a student, a writer, an artist, a bakery owner, works at a pet shop, or is just using the café to escape the rain. No matter who they are inevitably one of them wanders into a coffee shop and finds the love of their life there.

It's the Coffee Shop Alternate Universe (AU)1 and it's simultaneously one of the most recognizable and complex genres found within fanfiction.

This work considers the Coffee Shop AU as a genre with defining characteristics, some of which have been influenced by the conventions of mainstream literature,

1 An “AU” broadly defined is any fic that deviates from the canonical source (“Alternate Universe”). However, given that fanfiction by its own definition is an expansion upon or a transformation of a text’s canon, “AU” has come to mean a substantial re-imagining of the source where characters are placed into entirely new worlds and face radically different conflicts. Nevertheless, “substantial” is a subjective marker and fans have long debated which fics are “AU” vs. merely “Canon Divergence.” 1 television, and film, while others are unique to fan communities. The purpose of such categorization is to provide analysis of a form whose scholarship has revolved primarily around ethnographic and sociological work for the last thirty years, validating that work through the texts themselves and the paratextual work that surrounds them. A close examination of a particular genre of fic2 will help to situate the form within mainstream literature conventions—in as much as that is possible—so as to encourage continued, formal study of fanfiction as a literary and cultural phenomenon, one that is both widespread and influential enough to warrant further research.

In addition, from a more practical perspective, establishing the characteristics of fic genres has become necessary in recent years because genres cannot—and should not—be copyrighted. As more fans choose to repurpose their fanfiction for mainstream publishing (known as “filing off the serial numbers”) they are running into the challenge of determining when someone else has copied their work when both authors are pulling from crowdsourced ideas. Just such a case is currently being taken to court. Ms. Cain, author of Born to be Bound, the first novel in a long series transformed from her Batman:

The Dark Knight Omegaverse fics (also known as Alpha/Beta/Omega, or A/B/O), is currently suing Zoey Ellis, author of Myth of Omega, another series that pulls from those same A/B/O dynamics. Both authors use tropes from a genre of fanfiction that has been

2 Among fans, “fan fiction,” “fanfic,” “fanfiction,” and “fic” are often used interchangeably, though the latter two are considered the most accepted. “Fan fiction,” for example, often implies that an outsider and/or academic is using the term, rather than another fan. Here the reader will find all four terms used at different points, based entirely on my sense of what the “normal” way to construct the sentence is, which in turn is based on my extensive experience in fan communities. However, more linguistic research does need to be done on how, why, and when each term is appropriate. As of right now, the focus has been predominantly on “fanfiction” vs. “fan fiction.” See Flourish Klink’s “Fan Fiction vs. Fanfiction: When the Dictionary Doesn’t Reflect the World” for further reading. 2 developed by fandom communities for over a decade, with these trends taking root in the

Supernatural fandom in early 2010. A/B/O stories center around the premise that humanity is governed by a biological, animalistic hierarchy with Alphas dominating society, Betas functioning as their subordinates, and Omegas seen as the lowest group— though some fics do frame them as being rare and, therefore, treasured

(“Alpha/Beta/Omega”). Though this hierarchy tends to govern all aspects of the characters’ lives, A/B/Os are first and foremost erotica stories with an emphasis on power dynamics, animalistic tendencies (such as growling), supernatural elements (such as werewolves), and biological differences meant to function as kinks. Alphas, for example, are capable of knotting and impregnating Omegas, even if they’re both male. None of these details are unique to any one fic but were rather developed communally over a number of years. They are the building blocks of a genre. Yet despite this, Ms. Cain is still attempting to sue Ellis for the use of such tropes, highlighting how, legally, the uncharacterized nature of fanfiction from a mainstream perspective raises concerns about intellectual property. Fanfiction experts agree that Ms. Cain has little to support her position. Kristina Busse, cofounder and editor of Transformative Works and Cultures, says that both authors “stole from fandom or existing tropes in the wild,” emphasizing the continued controversy attached to commercializing fanfiction at all, while Anne Jamison author of Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World, points to the differing nature of fic and mainstream works, reminding outsiders that “In fan fiction, the sharing of tropes and story parts and plot lines is free flowing. There’s a blurry line between what is specifically yours and what is somebody else’s” (Alter). As of early 2020, there are no

3 previous cases to turn to in such a situation, ones that “[deal] with the emergence of this new literary genre,” thus opening up the possibility that, legally, we may put limitations on creative freedom due to a lack of understanding of how fanfiction genres function on their own and how they reflect the standards of genres in mainstream publishing.

Thus, from a Fan Studies perspective, this project serves to highlight one of the most popular genres of the last ten years, continuing the work of scholars such as Henry

Jenkins and Sheenagh Pugh who have emphasized how fans define their own transformative works, as well as to compare those works to mainstream literature, film, and television, in an attempt to provide that categorization, trace these trends, record the genre’s history, and use past scholarship as a means of analyzing the comparatively new literature of fanfiction crafted specifically for online archives.

Here, I acknowledge David Bordwell’s claim, speaking specifically about film, that “no set of necessary and sufficient conditions can mark off genres from other sorts of groupings in ways that all experts or ordinary film-goers would find acceptable,” while likewise pushing back against any implication that genre therefore does not exist or perhaps should not be considered as a useful interpretive framework (147). As Jane Feuer notes, genre is an abstract concept as opposed to an objective, empirical category that exists in the world and it is that very nature—blurred and changing—which allows the

Coffee Shop AU to flourish (144). Drawing from slice of life narratives, romantic comedies, supernatural fiction, queer theory, the concept of soulmates, food porn, and a long history of transformative works adapted for online spaces, the Coffee Shop AU is an amalgamation of other genres and mediums that at first glance might resist easy

4 classification, yet nevertheless has solidified to the point where it now possesses its own, categorical framework. Written by fans for close to twenty years now, this genre has brought certain markers to the forefront of its definition, markers that are worth establishing both so that scholars can see the ways in which fanfiction as literature complements mainstream storytelling, as well as how it differs and functions as its own autonomous art form. Up until now Fan Studies has done comparatively little work to treat the transformative fics fans produce as pieces worthy of critical study on their own, rather than using them as a vehicle through which we examine fans themselves. This is necessary work for scholars to continue yet defining one of fanfiction’s most popular genres is one way to start highlighting that innate, artistic worth. In an effort to connect the Coffee Shop AU to the wealth of scholarship already done in Literature, Film, and

Media Studies, I will be structuring my definition around aspects we typically look to in order to establish genre commonalities, including: the story world, structure, character archetypes, and allegories. Each chapter focuses on one aspect, drawing from both data mining and case studies to provide a balanced look at the genre, both distant and near.

Given that the Coffee Shop AU’s characteristics range from the structural (word count), to the supplemental (types of tags used), to the allegorical (what food is meant to represent), providing both analysis and broader data trends is crucial to articulating all aspects of the genre.

Previous Scholarship

As mentioned above, for roughly three decades now Fan Studies scholars specializing in fanfiction have focused their work around three primary questions: What is it? Who’s writing it? And why would they want to pour immense time and energy into this activity—especially for free? Since the early 2000s scholars, in particular Jonathan

Gray, Cornel Sandvoss, and C. Lee Harrington, have identified three primary generations of fan scholarship: that initial “fandom is beautiful” stage wherein fans were characterized as Other and scholars worked to both understand and justify their creativity.

Second is the “fans in the mainstream” stage where, with the rise of the internet and the mass production of new types of transformative media, being a fan changed drastically over the years, gaining broad, social acceptance. Rather than maintaining their outsider status, fans are now seen as common, dedicated consumers who should be a part of media industries’ marketing strategies. Finally, “fandom and modernity” acknowledges that fandom is not a removed object of study, but an aspect of our everyday lives, something integrally tied up in modern existence—whatever “modern” happens to be at any given moment (Gray 2007, 1-9). These are admittedly broad stroke attempts to conceptualize some of the major ways that fans and fan scholarship have changed in the last thirty-odd years and do not, by default, cover every possible fan expression. However, these stages do serve as a useful backdrop for acknowledging how technology and shifting perspectives influence fandom. It is this third wave, only hit during the last decade or so, that reframes the fans of Henry Jenkins and Camille Bacon-Smith’s research—alien, reserved, secretive, unknown entities with their fanzines and strange hobbies—as only

6 one, potentially small subset of fandom. “Fandom” has since expanded to include not just those creating transformative works or immersing themselves in trivia and collectables, but also those who simply chat about their favorite shows each morning around the water cooler. Or, to maintain a modern example, chat about them on Facebook and text about them to friends.

However, the assumption that we have moved on from that first stage—“fandom is beautiful”—is not entirely accurate. Though being a fan is now common, what you are a fan of remains a driving question, with only some aspects of fandom having made the cut, so to speak, into mainstream acceptance. Expressing enthusiasm for an upcoming

Game of Thrones episode is still received differently than, say, drawing NSFW (Not Safe

For Work) fanart of Jon and Tyrion from that series. Certain aspects of fandom, particularly those that involve the unabashed celebration of minority experience, remain taboo, resulting in continuing work to justify the existence of such creations, as well as our scholarship of it, and leaving little space for work that examines fan creations as pieces with artistic merit. In their introduction to The Fan Fiction Studies Reader, Karen

Hellekson and Kristina Busse reiterate what Anik LaChev3 said back in 2005, that

“Literature studies has, so far, not given fan fiction as a literary genre any consideration at all” (24). Just a year later in 2006, Sheenagh Pugh began filling this gap in fan scholarship with her book The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context4 while 2013 saw the publication of Ann Jamison’s Fic: Why Fanfiction is Taking Over the

3 Author of “Fan Fiction: A Genre and Its (Final?) Frontiers.” 4 Here Pugh, like many scholars, uses “genre” to describe all of fanfiction, severely limiting the ways in which it is conceptualized and (unintentionally) undermining the complexity of the form. 7

World. These texts, while undoubtedly significant, attempt to cover a great deal at once, acting as both a history of various fandoms as well as explorations of 21st-century online fan writing. Indeed, Pugh’s book spends time grappling with the concern introduced by

Henry Jenkins’ 1992 book Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture.

Namely, how do we justify the study of fanfiction, if not its existence at all? Is it legal?

Moral? Aesthetically relevant to anyone outside of these (presumably niche) communities? These questions, while necessary for the establishment of the field, have left little time for close reading of fanfiction in a manner that would help us articulate what these texts are achieving on their own, rather than just what fans have achieved through the act of writing them: creative growth, close communal ties, social justice, sexual experimentation, and the like.

Thus, in an effort to make fanfiction palatable for an often wary audience, Fan

Studies has relied heavily on historical precedent as a means of justifying scholarly interest in the form. Everything is potentially fic if we emphasize collaborative revision, the inherently transformative nature of literature, and buy into the adage that there's nothing original under the sun. Therefore fic is (supposedly) not too far removed from any other text that has already gained academic traction. Shakespeare, for example, has long been thought to have borrowed from numerous other sources. Recent work by

Dennis McCarthy and June Schleuter, using the same software designed to spot students cheating on essays, reveals a number of commonalities between eleven of Shakespeare’s plays and a manuscript titled, “A Brief Discourse of Rebellion and Rebels” by George

North (Blanding). Like fans themselves, McCarthy rejects the idea that Shakespeare

8 plagiarized and instead frames the similarities as evidence that he was “inspired by” the text, the same language used to justify the existence of fics evolving out of a copyrighted canon. More modern works, such as Disney films, are arguably sanitized fic of the

Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales (who themselves produced fic of oral folk tales). Virgil’s

Aeneid is fanfiction of Homer’s Iliad, Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea is Jane Eyre fanfiction, and Sherlock Holmes may not have survived as a cultural icon without a wealth of fanfiction (often called pastiches) produced over the last century. Even something like a wiki has the potential to be labeled as fic if we think about it as a space for fans' narrative construction, filling in gaps and theorizing about the story's course

(Booth). Thus, all texts, in order to stand the test of time, are inevitably re-made in new contexts. Each audience functions in a murky gray area where, to one extent or another, they respect and acknowledge the authorial power of previous content creators while simultaneously engaging with the text in a way that inevitably changes it. The work we see fans producing in online, 21st century archives is akin to the oral state of mind described by Walter Ong and later expanded on by Henry Jenkins, among others. Within the ancient world, oral storytelling was characterized by an episodic structure (the equivalent of chaptered releases in fanfic), intimate creator-audience interaction (reviews, requests, lists of recommendations), repetition or transformation of clichés (revised canonical tropes or tropes specific to a particular fic genre), drawing from a large catalog of communal knowledge (the fanon), and working within a mythological framework (the canon). One goes so far as to say that “The effects of oral states of consciousness are bizarre to the literate mind,” yet also familiar enough that attempting to distinguish

9 between the two is at times foolish (30). To put it bluntly, fanfiction—depending on how broad your definition of the term—has been around forever. Given this saturation, it quickly became easier to make claims about which texts aren't fic than it is to say which are. If we’re working under the near all-encompassing definition of “a story based off of another author's work” then presumably the vast majority of popular literature will produce fanfiction at some point, in one manner or another, to one degree or another, a stance that helps to raise fanfiction’s prestige while likewise bypassing what is unique about online, archived, transformative work.

Over time however, Fan Studies scholars acknowledged that there are indeed differences between fanfiction as we use the term and any transformative work. One of the most notable is that of expectation. Do mainstream authors understand fandom spaces well enough to apply the term “fic” to their work in a knowledgeable manner and are they willing to do so given the form’s long history of ridicule: its close ties to feminism, queer writing, pornography, and the pushback against so-called “high” literature? The answer, as one might expect, was a resounding “no.” E.L. James’5 Fifty Shades of Grey series is one of the most well-known examples of an author rejecting fan influence on their work6, despite gaining traction largely because it began as the Twilight fic Master of the

5 Birth name Erika Leonard. 6 In contrast to James, Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, remains a respected author because she has not attempted to sue either fan communities or James herself, despite having grounds in the latter case. She has also been more vocal about how fandom helped make Twilight the phenomenon it is today. Meyer’s willingness to accept transformative works both online and in a competitive market—even if she may find both frustrating at times—has helped shift the tide from the era of cease and desist letters, further blurring boundaries between fan and mainstream works in a way that helps protect fans and drum up scholarly interest (Gita). According to Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse, along with older transformative texts like Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, Fifty Shades might “single-handedly justify a need to critically and comprehensively theorize fan fiction studies” (3). 10

Universe. The Twilight community is likewise an excellent example of how some fandoms develop genres specific to their needs and interests, unlike something such as the Coffee Shop AU which has more cross-fandom appeal. In the case of Twilight, there was a distinct rise in All Human AUs7—stories where supernatural characters are reimagined as average humans—as fans tried to work through inconsistencies in Stephenie

Meyer’s world building, resulting in them eventually abandoning that world entirely

(Hurricangst). This means that Master of the Universe, and by extension Fifty Shades, is a text that arose not just out of fandom as a whole, or even one community, but rather a very specific trend. Understanding both Twilight and the fic’s history is crucial to fully understanding Fifty Shades, yet James has worked hard to distance her writing from its fandom roots, choosing instead to paint her efforts as those of an individual, autonomous author (Jamison 225). That is usually the preferred narrative, complicating this assumption that everything is fic—or that everyone wants everything to be fic.

This trend of rejecting the label of “fanfiction” has continued with the evolution of Anna Todd’s After series. Originally a trilogy of One Direction fics on Wattpad, the series gained immense popularity around 2013, leading to Todd re-imagining college aged Harry Styles as original character (OC) Hardin Scott and, like James, publishing the novels as so-called original works. Though Todd has been up front about the series’ derivative nature, that derivativeness has not stopped mainstream audiences from readings the books as primarily autonomous pieces. There is now an upcoming film adaptation of the trilogy, further distancing After from its fanfiction roots. Not every

7 In time, All Human AUs would move to other fandoms with similarly non-human casts. 11 viewer will necessarily know that this film is based on a trilogy, nor that the trilogy was originally fanfiction, nor that it came specifically from One Direction. Over time the acknowledgement of that structure is lost, due in large part to authors fearing both legal and reputational backlash from their audiences.8 In a more aggressive case, Lonely

Christopher highlighted a number of perceived differences between his rewriting of

Stephen King’s The Shining, THERE, and a form as “lowbrow as the accursed fanfiction”

(Hale-Stern).This reaction, given in 2018, demonstrates that conflating “fanfiction” with all other forms of “transformative works” is not a useful form of categorization beyond helping to highlight the ongoing prejudice against fic and the need to continually push back against it, even in an age where “fanfiction” itself is a buzz-word with enough acceptance to appear respectfully in popular shows like Parks and Recreation and

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (“How a Bill Becomes a Law,” “Crime and Punishment”). Fan

Studies’ focus on raising fanfiction’s prestige through comparisons to mainstream texts and fanworks revised for mainstream audiences has not quite achieved the hoped for outcome and has, arguably, limited acknowledging the merits of “real” forms of fanfiction: transformative pieces based in acknowledged canons that are written and consumed by a fan community.

8 Such a case occurred back in 1992 when Marion Zimmer Bradley, author of the Darkover series, gained notoriety in fan circles by claiming that she could no longer publish an upcoming novel due to fanfiction. The book, titled Contraband, had been in the works for several years but was eventually scrapped because it was deemed too similar to “Masks,” a short story published by Jean Lamb in the fanzine Moon Phases #12—a fanzine that Bradley subsequently read (“Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy”). More recently, Stephenie Meyer shelved her unfinished book Midnight Sun for several years, a re-telling of Twilight through Edward’s point of view, because E.L. James had already beat her to that concept with her spinoff series Grey (Lewis). 12

In addition to this broadening of fanfiction’s definition, the last two decades of fan scholarship have focused on what fanfiction might provide its writers and readers outside of literary worth. Arguments center around various forms of education that fanfiction might provide, including teaching young readers about sensitive subjects not normally covered by mainstream media or their schools (abuse, rape, sexual exploration, gender identity, etc.). Participating in online fan communities has also shown to help students learn how to navigate an increasingly complex, media landscape and foster the confidence needed to engage in creative writing (Hellekson 20). For example, author

Seanan McGuire, boasting a record of five Hugo nominations in 2013, wrote a Twitter thread explaining how she learned to write through fanfiction, citing self-insert characters and the freedom to craft anything she pleased as crucial to her later success (Colubrina).

The assumption that fanfiction offers writers a free crash course in narrative, style, story structure, and dialogue is common and not without merit. As Jenkins notes, “More and more literary experts are recognizing that enacting, reciting, and appropriating elements from preexisting stories is a valuable and organic part of the process by which children develop cultural literacy” (2008, 186). Alongside fiction writing practices, plenty of fans learn the basics of copy editing by engaging in beta work. They learn how to market themselves as writers and producers of content by first creating and then advertising their work to others (Land). Studies show that older fans, particularly those who are fluent in

English, often become unwitting teachers, using their writing to help younger and ESL fans learn the nuances of reading and writing in other languages (Lammers). In turn, foreign fans get to act as cultural experts, helping those who are attempting to incorporate

13 aspects of their culture into their writing (Black). It is an obvious but often overlooked fact that people are more likely to learn material if they already possess a love for it and fans often cite the number of hours they pour into researching, writing, and revising in the name of producing a good story for their friends (Kell 32). Fandom is modeled after interest-driven learning and thus is self-sustaining. Jenkins later goes on to claim that

“access to this participatory culture functions as a new form of hidden curriculum, shaping which youths will succeed and which will be left behind as they enter school and the workplace” (2009, xii). In addition, this emphasis on reading and writing is bolstered by the social learning that goes into managing interaction with a diverse community, as well as more personal forms of education (Holotescu). As mentioned above, fans often use fic as a means of learning about their bodies, their sexuality, and their gender identity:

Slash connected me to genders I never could’ve imagined, or could’ve imagined being worth connecting to in the days before I really understood the possibilities inherent to taking the media I had been given and transforming it (“Why Do Fangirls Always Make Them Gay?”).

Hobbit fanfiction is where I learned how to be normal and trans at the same time. (Gormley).

Looking back on the quality of the health classes that followed, I'm not sure when I would have received a well-rounded education about any of this before… what I found was that having to follow through on plot and character development over the course of months and 50,000 to 100,000 words forced me to deeply consider what both sexual and nonsexual relationships really meant to me (James).

Though undoubtedly significant, all these benefits once again frame fanfiction as a mere steppingstone—to being a mainstream author, being proficient in English, managing social skills, accepting a queer identity, etc.—thus implying that it lacks any

14 intrinsic, literary worth on its own. Despite improvements regarding how fanfiction is perceived in mainstream culture and the numerous ways that fans themselves have upheld it, the focus of scholars nevertheless remains peripheral; dancing around the fics themselves. Jenkins believes that there is an “urgent need to develop a more nuanced account of what is participatory about fandom” and one way of accomplishing that is to analyze some of the structures inherent in fic genres, to work out how fans are modeling their work after mainstream conventions or otherwise constructing their own literary standards (2014). Those pieces of scholarship that do focus on fanfiction’s characteristics as literature—specifically the characteristics that flourish in online archives—tend to be ambitiously comprehensive (such as talking about all of slash) or equally specific (see

Vera Cuntz-Leng's examination of the twincest trope in the Harry Potter universe). All this work helps to broadly conceptualize fanfiction, but few scholars have tackled fanfiction genres and how those genres situate themselves within a larger body of work.

In the last three decades we’ve said much about fanfiction while rarely speaking about the fic itself. Close readings of fanfiction, with few exceptions, remain the rarity in academia rather than the norm.

Here I would like to begin to fill that gap, continuing to push beyond those generalizations and justifications for fanfiction, instead working under the assumption that readers of this piece already have at least a cursory understanding of fic and accept its status as a literary and cultural phenomenon—regardless of what else it may be accomplishing. More specifically, it is my intention to examine the narrative commonalities, characterization, structure, style, and influences of the Coffee Shop AU

15 in order to determine how it distinguishes itself from other genres of fanfiction. I seek to provide a more targeted examination than categories (such as slash fic) or tropes (like twincest) and to bring fic into the question posed by Jason Mittell in regards to television:

“why people enjoy and regularly consume genres, despite their formulaic and repetitive qualities” (2004, 18). As a disclaimer, my attempts to emphasize genre is not to say that sociology and ethnographic research can—or even should— be removed from the conversation. Best and Marcus ask “why literary criticism matters if it is not political activism by another name” (another justification frequently applied to fanfiction’s existence) and conclude that there is more to a text then simply what it might be repressing, more than the gaps and silences that scholars like Sedgwick and Morrison have popularized (2). Fandom has always been and will always be about those gaps. The form is characterized by the act of filling in moments of the canon, highlighting small details, bringing subtext to the surface in a way that, yes, often conveys a “deeper” message that speaks to who fans are and what they hope to achieve. That work will never disappear. However, there’s also something to be said for acknowledging genre for the sake of genre, a categorization of the community’s own making, articulating what fans consider valuable among their literature and what, if any, of those aspects overlap with mainstream publishing. What are fans attempting to accomplish by writing under certain conventions and labeling their work with a particular genre’s name? How might we consider a genre of fanfiction not just as a tool for fans to express personal or activist views, but as a serious aesthetic object all on its own? These questions seem particularly

16 relevant for a genre that has celebrated extreme popularity in modern fan spaces: The

Coffee Shop Alternate Universe.

Why Coffee Shops?

There are admittedly several fic genres that I could have chosen to prioritize.

Especially since, though undoubtedly popular, the Coffee Shop AU is arguably not the most popular genre within modern fan communities. Over 18,000 fics on Archive of Our

Own (AO3) and over 3,000 on Fanfiction.net (FFN) as of early 2020 certainly seems like a great deal, but a recent survey by the podcast Fansplaining potentially paints a different picture. They asked over 7,500 fans about their reading preferences across 150 different fic tropes and conventions, finding that the Coffee Shop AU only came in as the #10 most loved genre among all alternate universes and the #53rd most loved among all tropes and themes (Klink 2016). That’s quite the deviation from what many—myself included— would assume given how much the Coffee Shop AU is discussed, with fans going to far as to integrate the genre into aspects of fandom beyond just fic and fanart, such as dressing up as baristas as a form of cosplay (Mirrormirrorcosplay). If we trust this survey, then surely the readers have spoken and the Coffee Shop AU is not as popular as it appears at first glance.

However, in analyzing data like this it is important to acknowledge the blurred line between tropes and genres in fanfiction, adding difficulty to the already challenging task of not just discussing genre, but also defining its popularity. For example, some fans consider First Time stories—where, as the name implies, characters become a couple and

17 have sex for the first time—to be a specific genre, a category of fic that is expected to draw on a number of other literary conventions in order to produce a familiar story structure (such as overcoming the obstacle that kept the couple apart in the first place).

For others, First Time is merely a trope embedded within the romance genre, a specific literary device that appears in the story (presumably at the end) but doesn’t necessarily drive the story’s composition. Each fan’s understanding of a First Time scenario will result in radically different fics and, more importantly, color that fan’s interpretation of what they’re reading. If an author does not choose to tag their fic with “First Time,” does not mention it as such in their notes, and takes 50k words to reach that scenario, the reader may not interpret that fic as a First Time story at all—and won’t comment on enjoying it on a survey.

Indeed, most genres of fic embody this flexibility. Many scenarios such as

Wingfic (characters live in a world where all people are born with wings), Mpreg (worlds where men can become pregnant due to either natural or technological means), and

Alpha/Beta/Omega (characters all have assigned biological and social roles based on an hierarchical system) can function as either driving characterizations of the fic or merely aesthetic details. Like First Time stories, these well-known setups showcase the blurry categorization system that fans adhere to. Not just in regards to how much a particular scenario must impact the structure of the fic to be categorized as such, but also whether that category is considered a genre at all. Each of these fics would be labeled as

“Alternate Universes” which, at its most basic definition, is any fic that deviates from the canonical source (“Alternate Universe”). However, discerning readers will realize then

18 that all fanfiction takes place within alternate universes, for the simple reason that fans are re-imagining and writing about the series from their own perspective, thereby automatically making changes to the canon in the process of writing. Even attempts at prequels and sequels, written under sincere attempts to mimic the text’s canon, inevitably deviate due to the writer’s own style. As one fan puts it:

Something I think is neat and really cute about fanfic is that there’s a personal version of each character in it?9 Like, each writer focuses on different traits and qualities and even though there can be a hundred fics with the same character, they’re really not exactly the same.

So even if you and I are writing a fic with the same characters, they can still be uniquely different despite having the same core and they’re each dear to us personally as our take on the person.

I don’t know, I just think it’s cute that each writer cherishes these characters in personal and unique ways (Universalfanfic).

This post functions primarily as a celebration of fic and a reassurance that fans can re-use as many characters and scenarios as they like (you needn’t refrain from writing something simply because another fan has done it before) but it also demonstrates how radically these characters change based on who is writing them. This is true even when there’s an attempt to keep them in character. These characters are no longer tied to the worlds they originally inhabited and are therefore able to embody a more archetypal existence. Who is Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, or Harry Potter without the Ring, the

Force, or magic? Merely determined young men who, when push comes to shove, can be re-molded to suit a new environment, including a coffee shop. In addition, all fics risk

9 Similar to declarative questions, many fans writing online will include question marks at the end of sentences that aren’t technically questions as a way of alerting the audience that they are feeling uncertain or torn about a topic. The question mark—alongside “sometimes” in this sentence—serves as a marker of that uncertainty, a feeling that would not come across as well with a period. 19 being re-labeled as AUs later on if a canonical prequel or sequel is published, demonstrating precisely how malleable the label is. Generally speaking, such broad definitions and overlapping categories spawn celebratory commentary as fans acknowledge the wealth of possibilities it presents them with:

my favorite thing about au fanfiction [is] the sheer range of it. how like sometimes the tag is like “alternate universe—they’re werewolf space pirates in charge of stopping their planet from being blown up by ancient immortal aliens from another real” and sometimes “alternate universe—chefs” (Hangryeowyn).

You know why I love AUs? Because the whole point of them is that everything is changed, and yet these two people are still going to meet and fall in love—that they’re so set in stone and so meant to be that you can change literally everything in a hundred universes and they’ll fall in love over and over again (Pun-rocker).

Yet even as fans continually blur definitions and celebrate that blurriness, they nevertheless acknowledge that such breadth, like labeling all transformative works as

“fanfiction,” is perhaps not the most beneficial system in a community that strives for transparency among its members10. Thus, in recent years fans have attempted to modify the definition of “Alternate Universe” to be more discerning, specifying fics that dramatically change the setting, social structure, or biology of the characters—of which the Coffee Shop still applies.

This newly imposed distinction helps us to understand how fans are likewise beginning to distinguish between genres and tropes within their communities, despite how often the terms are still used interchangeably. Inevitably, genres function as types of

Alternate Universe fics, ways of categorizing the new worlds that fans create, while

10 This is primarily due to fandom’s history of engaging with graphic and taboo material, as well as fans’ advocacy regarding mental health. It is much harder to implement blocking or trigger warnings if a community cannot agree on how certain stories should be tagged. 20 tropes have come to refer to much smaller, narrative commonalities that, as demonstrated, can sometimes expand into a genre all its own. Wingfic is a genre if all (or most) characters possess wings and that detail has an impact on the fictional world’s social dynamics. Wingfic is a trope if one character inexplicably grows wings and the story revolves around them explaining the phenomenon and learning to deal with the change. And some scenarios, like the Coffee Shop AU, start out as tropes before developing into full-blown genres. Part of my work here is in distinguishing the Coffee

Shop AU from other Alternate Universes and pinpointing how the trope—fans like characters in coffee shops— is re-imagined to sustain a whole genre.

Thus, what all of this means is that Fansplaining’s survey may tell us more about fandom’s messy categorization system than it does any supposed dislike for the Coffee

Shop AU. The survey reveals the topmost popular tropes include “canon-divergent,”

“present day,” “college,” and “soulbound” fics, all of which are commonly found within

Coffee Shop AUs. Meaning, this genre is a receptacle for some of the types of fics fans are most interested in. “Magical” and “fairytale/folklore” appear in the top listing and are found in Coffee Shop AUs as well, though admittedly not to the same extent. Indeed, the only tropes within the top ten that are entirely separate from the Coffee Shop AU are

“spy,” “historical,” and, tellingly, “non-coffeeshop,” pointing to the genre’s pervasiveness and some fans’ desire to get away from it, further supporting the genre’s prevalence. All in all, it is difficult to claim that the Coffee Shop AU only exists as the readers’ fifty-third choice when the genre embodies so many of the most popular tropes.

In addition, in the spring of 2018 I constructed a survey that included the following question: “If applicable, what is your favorite type of Alternate Universe?”

When given the chance to define “AU” for themselves and list their favorites without restriction, five-hundred and fifty-nine fans articulated a hundred and seven different scenarios, with forty-nine people listing “Coffee Shop” as one of their favorites (the vast majority of responders couldn’t pick just one). The two entries that received more votes than the Coffee Shop AU were “Soulmates” and “Canon Divergence,” however, as mentioned previously, Canon Divergences are a far broader category than anything else on the list, as it includes any story where the character remains in their canonical world but is allowed to experience different events. In fanfiction terms, it’s a bit closer to saying you like stories as opposed to a specific genre of story and is arguably the opposite of an

Alternate Universe fic as some define it. What we’re left with then is the Coffee Shop

AU as the second most popular AU genre, surpassed only by Soulmates (often a part of the Coffee Shop AU) and tied with Time Travel. The list, while giving insight into which scenarios fans tend to prefer, also demonstrates the incredibly wide range of ways that the term “AU” is used.

Table 1. Survey results showing a list of AUs and the number of respondents who named each as their favorite. Accidental Baby Acquisition 1 Accidental Marriage 1 Age Swap 1 Alpha/Beta/Omega 14 Animals 1 Apocalypse 2 Arranged Marriage 2 Artist 4

Avatar 1 Background Character 1 Bakery 1 Band 1 Body Swap 1 Bookstore 1 Broadway 1 Butterfly Effect 1 Canon Divergence 55 Characters Writing/Reading Their Own Stories 1 Chef 1 Childhood Friends 3 Cis Swap 1 Coffee Shop 49 Conspiracy 1 Crime 2 Crossover/Fusion 13 Cyberpunk 2 Dungeons & Dragons 2 Daemons (His Dark Materials) 1 Divergence 1 Disability 1 Domestic 11 Dominant/Submissive 6 Dragons 1 Dystopian 3 Everybody Lives 1 Fake Dating 2 Fantasy 47 Fix-It 29 Friends/Enemies to Lovers 1 Flower Shop 10 Flower Shop and Tattoo Parlor 3 For Want of a Nail 14 Found Family 5 Future Fic 1 Genderbent 6 Ghosts 1 Golden Compass 1 Hanahaki 5 High School 13 Historical 6

Harry Potter 4 Horror 2 Idol 1 Kid Fic 2 Love Spell/Potion 1 Magical Realism 6 Medieval 2 Merfolk 2 Modern/No Powers 21 Monsters 1 Mystery 2 Mythology 1 Neighbors 1 Peggy Sue 1 Pirates 1 Psychic Wolves for Lupercalia 1 Punk/Pastel 1 Regency 1 Reincarnation 7 Road Trip 2 Role Reversal 1 Roommates 1 Royalty 3 Science Fiction 1 Secret Identity 3 Secret Relationship 2 Self-Insert/OC 4 Sentinel/Guide 3 Sick Fic 1 Single Parent 2 Slice of Life 2 Small Town 2 Space 3 Sports 1 Spy 4 Social Media 2 Soulmates 176 Steampunk 1 Superhero 7 Supernatural 1 Supernatural Creatures 2 Swapped Universes 1

Teacher 3 Theater 1 Time Travel 49 Trans 2 University/College 16 Urban Fantasy 1 Vampires 1 Vigilante 1 Villains 12 Werewolves 1 Wing Fic 8 World Building 2 World War 2 Wrong Number 2

However, the Coffee Shop AU holds interest not just because of its popularity, but also because of the supposed legitimacy it lends to fandoms. For the past decade or so, fans have picked up and repeated the phrase, “Every fandom needs a Coffee Shop

AU” and the lack of one now indicates that your community is too small or out of touch with conventions to be considered a “real” fandom. These comments range from humorous acknowledgments of how pervasive the genre has become to more serious claims that communities are somehow incomplete without at least one stab at characters falling in love over coffee—implying that there’s something about the genre that incapsulates what fanfiction as a literary form is looking to accomplish. In the author's notes of individual fics, you'll find throwaway comments about how “every writer is obligated to write at least 1, I think;” the more forceful “every ship needs a coffee shop

AU;” and Tumblr posts circulate with the wisdom that, “The only guarantee I have in life

25 is every fandom's insatiable desire to put ships in either a cafe or a flower shop11”

(INeverHadMyInternetPhase, Space-the-final-fandom, Zonerbonerz). Where once fans blamed fic as a whole for their procrastination, they now say specifically that they're opening “another 100k word Coffee Shop AU” to waste their time with

(Potterheadlettheskyfall). And despite admitting that the genre can be “generic and overdone” at times, these readers nevertheless admit that they “still freak out when I see a coffee shop AU with a ship of mine,” implying that, no matter how much fans might complain, most secretly enjoy the genre and consider it to be a staple of 21st century fandom (Tacky-boo). All in all, the coffee shop fervor can be summed up through posts like this one, emphasizing that taking characters out of thrilling worlds and resettling them in presumably mundane coffee shops is something fans get extremely excited about12 (Trashcanniballecter):

Figure 1. Tumblr post by user Trashcanniballecter showing a hypothetical conversation between fic authors and fandom about the Coffee Shop AU.

11 Flower Shop AUs are another genre growing in popularity, often compared to Coffee Shop AUs due to their focus on romanticizing a commercialized setting. 12 Another excellent example is Sphinxingintongue’s comment that “cats are just coffee shop AU dragons.” That is, they’re the mundane equivalent of a fantasy animal and despite one presumably being more exciting than the other, both are beloved. 26

What all this tells us is that though the term “popular” is highly subjective and each fan has their own, individual tastes, the Coffee Shop AU has nevertheless permeated modern fan culture to a significant degree. It is jokingly (and sometimes not so jokingly) considered a requirement for all fandoms. It is frequently discussed by those on Tumblr and consistently turns up in broader conversations about fanfiction. Back in 2018 I was quoted for a Daily Dot article about how, as the title puts it, “Millennials Can’t Stop

Writing Fanfiction about Coffee Shops” (Baker-Whitelaw, Sept. 2018). When an entire generation of fans “can’t stop” writing a particular genre, that’s worth closer examination. Especially when one considers the ways in which such a prominent trend inevitably impacts other aspects of fandom.

While not straightforward then, the popularity of the Coffee Shop AU and its impact on fan identity is undeniable. The real question is why has this Alternate Universe been embraced so enthusiastically by fans? On the surface there are certainly reasons for why this AU is, at the very least, accessible:

• It is familiar. In that most everyone is familiar with a coffee shop and thus understands the AU’s basic premise on sight. Unlike, say, Hanahaki fics.13 • Connected to this, the Coffee Shop AU is a particularly inclusive genre. Just like most everyone will recognize a coffee shop, anyone is likewise capable of frequenting or running one. There are few fandoms where fans would struggle to fit the characters into this scenario. • While recognizable, the Coffee Shop AU is nevertheless broad enough for fans to play with indefinitely. The concept of “Two people meet in a coffee shop” is far less limiting than AUs that are expected to follow a set of rules, such as A/B/O dynamics.

13 A fictional disease in which a character coughs up flower petals due to unrequited love. The disease is usually fatal unless the love becomes requited or the character undergoes surgery to remove the growing flowers—removing their feelings for the love interest in the process. 27

• It is not a heavy story and has a guaranteed happy ending. Fans rather consistently put “Unhappy Endings” at the bottom of their rankings (Judgementalfishnun). • There is usually a significant contrast between the canonical world and the AU world, allowing the Coffee Shop AU to function as an AU supposedly “should.” That is, after engaging with the canon, fans sometimes look for fics that provide them with significantly new material. As a domestic, fluff-focused genre, the Coffee Shop AU provides that for action-heavy series like Supernatural and Teen Wolf without necessitating that the fan do much (if any) work to dive into that new world.

In some respects, the Coffee Shop AU has become the bread and butter of modern fandom. A simple, inoffensive, few-would-turn-their-nose-up-at-it genre. Yet accessibility alone doesn’t explain the fervor that many now possess for the Coffee Shop

AU, nor does it help us differentiate it from other realistic, feel good genres (such as a

College AU). What distinguishes the genre and what do fans hope to convey with it? One woman tried to explain Coffee Shop AUs to her husband and ended up with, “Like, it sounds weird when I’m saying it out loud, I get that, but yeah, it’s like a thing. It’s a really common thing, actually,” highlighting how this genre often does not make sense to community outsiders, yet even those who are otherwise familiar with fandom conventions have difficulty articulating why they’re drawn to it (Endlessmeg). Fandom history, communal expectations, and fic-specific tropes are all consumed seamlessly by fans, to the extent that many do not consciously register their impact. Part of my intention here is not merely to explain how this genre is constructed, but to do so in a way that highlights how much of that construction relies on an intimate knowledge of fandom, so intimate that at times fans themselves overlook it. In The Language of New Media Lev

Manovich writes, “I wish that someone in 1895, 1897, or at least 1903 had realized the fundamental significance of the emergence of the new media of cinema and produced a 28 comprehensive record” (6). Fans feel much same about the records lost—or never kept— in the pre and early days of the internet when their own new media was emerging, to say nothing of the fanfiction lost to purged accounts or simple indifference. Though much of the Coffee Shop AU’s history is already gone for good, much more can still be catalogued here for future reference. In a technological age where fan scholarship continues to gain traction, it is worth taking the time to record and try to understand those aspects of fandom that have proven themselves to be ubiquitous.

Primary Sources

Though they've only been around for two decades or so, reading all of the Coffee

Shop AUs would be akin to reading all of the gothic romances, or all armchair mysteries.

Even taking into account that the Coffee Shop AU is a fanfiction genre, meaning that each

Coffee Shop AU is irrevocably tied to one specific story/franchise, the number is simply too large for a project of this size. Thus, I limited primary sources based on several criteria.

First, we must acknowledge that fanfiction is influenced heavily by its canon, as well as the characteristics of its fandom (size, age, race, gender, sexuality, class, etc.)

Deciding which fandoms to focus on is a difficult task given the pervasiveness of the

Coffee Shop AU across all fandoms and the fact that many of those fandoms have had a strong impact on fan communities more broadly. They all bring something to the table, so to speak. I could, for example, have examined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a massive, multi-text fandom that is nearly as well-known to mainstream audiences as it is to its fans.

The stories that follow Tony Stark14 falling for Steve Rogers at the local Starbucks or Peter

Parker spilling coffee across Wade Wilson’s shirt are perhaps a more accessible form of the genre, for the simple reason that their characters are so easily recognizable. I could have also looked at the Voltron: Legendary Defender fandom that re-appropriated a children’s show for a much older audience, resulting in romantically explicit fic that sometimes faces criticism. It’s one thing to have a fifteen and twenty-five-year-old fighting side-by-side in a galactic war, as Keith and Takashi do in the canon. It’s quite another thing to have them dating in a modern-day setting, even if you age one of them up or the other down.15 I still also could have turned to Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), a popular anime based off

Hajime Isayama’s best-selling manga. This series has likewise met with heavy criticism in recent months for its parallels to Nazi Germany and some fans have questioned the ethics of writing fluffy Coffee Shop fics that simply ignore the canon’s ethical concerns.

The point is that there are plenty of fandoms to choose from—the pervasiveness of the Coffee Shop AU assures that any community of decent size has at least a few—and each will bring a unique perspective to the genre when used as a case study (work that the conclusion begins to tackle).16 In the end, I chose two of the more popular fandoms

14 Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, and Wade Wilson are all Marvel characters originally created for comic books. They embody the superhero identities of Ironman, Captain America, Spiderman, and Deadpool respectively. 15 This is a concern in Teen Wolf as well. At the start of the show Derek is a twenty-two-year-old adult whereas Stiles is a sixteen-year-old high schooler. In order to avoid offending other fans, authors tend to age up Stiles in their fics, putting him either in college, graduate school, or out in the work force. Sometimes fans still acknowledge that age gape and use it as a minor conflict, such as in the fic ADHDecaf where Derek assumes Stiles is seventeen, only to realize later that he’s twenty-five. The discomfort at being attracted to “jail-bait” and Stiles’ later amusement over how “You probably felt like a pedophile! God, that’s horrible!” is an acknowledgement of the ethics fans grapple with while writing these fics. 16 Form, however, doesn’t seem to have much impact on the genre. Coffee Shop AUs written for television fandoms look identical to book fandoms, movie fandoms, podcast fandoms, and the like. See the conclusion for more details. 30 producing Coffee Shop AUs as of 2019 and 2020, as well as two that I am familiar with both as a fan and an academic: MTV’s Teen Wolf and The CW’s Supernatural.

There are three primary reasons for these two choices. The first is simply that, as established, almost any fandom of significant size—therefore producing numerous

Coffee Shop AUs—would be worth analyzing, so at some level once might consider any choice to be arbitrary. However, television shows are arguably the most pervasive fandoms of the modern era17 and choosing two fantasy series offers a sharp contrast to the Coffee Shop AU. Romance, domesticity, and other aspects of the genre become more pronounced when we see them applied to violent action shows based within the supernatural, as opposed to, say, a sitcom or even a drama that is already grounded in reality. Choosing Teen Wolf and Supernatural allows me to more easily highlight what is characteristic of the Coffee Shop AU without the risk that these characteristics will read as deriving from the canon instead.

Second, I thought it best to choose two fandoms with distinct similarities to one another so that I could, as said, more easily decipher what is unique about the Coffee Shop

AU by comparing it to the canonical material. Having two canons from the same genre and with similar fanbases made this easier. In this case, both are television shows produced in the United States, featuring dark fantasy themes of supernatural creatures and aimed at a

17 This is due to a combination of accessibility and investment. Not everyone plays video games or even reads the same books. However, most Americans tend to watch television and streaming sites like Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, CBS All Access, and now Disney+ dominate the market and certain shows, in turn, gain the status of “Must see.” In addition, unlike movies television series offer long-term investment for the viewer, making it more likely that fans will create fandoms around that story and begin writing fic. The exception, of course, are long-running film franchises like Star Wars. 31 predominantly young, male audience.18 Each show focuses on a core group of able-bodied white men, conventionally attractive, who deal with these supernatural threats through violence—either by outright hunting creatures or by protecting their own turf. These genre similarities have produced a strong tie between these two fandoms in the form of crossovers and recommendations: “If you liked Teen Wolf, you’ll probably like Supernatural too.”

Finally, it was important to me that I chose texts I’m already familiar with, given that I don’t believe it’s possible to present a nuanced reading of fanfiction without an equally nuanced understanding of the canon and the communities that are producing it.

Immersion—in my case for several years—lends itself to a detailed understanding of what fans are working to accomplish, an aspect of authorial intent that is important to the fan author even if some scholars remain skeptical that “the design or intention of the author is neither available nor desirable as a standard for judging the success of a work of literary art” (Wimsatt 468). Given that fanfiction is in large part defined as a transformation of an already existing text, much of that work falls into what Sheenagh

Pugh describes as the “more from” category,19 wherein fans deliberately change parts of the canon in order to “fix” some aspect that they find lacking, be it as serious as removing a homophobic lens through which the original author wrote, or something as inconsequential as adding more dogs. Thus, fan intention—what changes the community or individual fic author wished to accomplish—drives the creation of all fanfiction and

18 Both series, however, have developed large fanbases of women and fans of other gender identities. Indeed, arguably the supposed target audience of both does not reflect the reality of who makes up the fanbases. 19 The second category Pugh establishes is “more of” wherein fans try to create works very similar in type and style to the canon, focusing on mimicry as opposed to transformation. 32 that intention is easier to spot when one is familiar not just with fandom as a whole, but with the specific fandoms producing the work. Despite their similar genres and audiences, these are still different stories and the goals of the Supernatural fandom at times vary from Teen Wolf’s, necessitating a balancing act between adhering to the needs of their community and fulfilling expectations of the Coffee Shop AU as a genre. Thus, I considered it relevant to choose fandoms whose canons I had consumed enough of and whose communities I had spent enough time in to pick up on these changes and intentions. For those readers not familiar with these shows, I’ll provide brief summaries.

Supernatural

Supernatural, created by Erik Kripke in 2005 on The WB before moving to The

CW a year later, stars Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as his brother, Dean Winchester. These two men come from a family of hunters, a secret community who have devoted their lives to protecting everyday people from the supernatural creatures that unknowingly live among them and pose a significant threat.

At the start of the series the brothers are in their early twenties and Sam had left the hunter life to instead pursue a law degree at Stanford University, but he's pulled back into the supernatural world when Dean reconnects with news that their father is missing. The first two seasons focus on episodic encounters with monsters while likewise following the search for John Winchester, hunting the demon Azazel, and trying to solve the mystery of their mother, Mary Winchester's death years earlier. This balance between season-long conflicts and self-contained, monster of the week confrontations helped to

33 establish much of Supernatural’s appeal, following in the footsteps of shows like The X-

Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Alongside this, Supernatural quickly revealed itself to be a show concerned with the interpersonal drama of its characters, not merely the action attached to its paranormal creatures (most of which derive from various domestic and foreign folklore). The seemingly opposite personality of the Winchester brothers—

Sam intelligent, calm, and empathetic; Dean more physically skilled, energetic, and often crude—creates much friction over the course of the series, tempered by the undeniable love that the brothers have for one another. Engaging in an extreme sort of sacrifice, such as dying or giving up one's soul, is par for the course for members of the Winchester family.20 Alongside a host of minor characters providing support to them, most notably their surrogate father figure Bobby Singer, Supernatural is as much about the impact that the paranormal has on found family dynamics as it is about the monsters themselves.

Beginning in season four, these family dynamics changed significantly with the introduction of Castiel, played by Misha Collins, an angel of the Lord who pulled Dean out of Hell after he'd traded his soul to assist Sam, leaving a handprint scar on Dean's arm and an unbreakable “bond” between them. Given the plot emphasis on how important

Dean and Castiel were to one another, the concept of guardian angels, the popularity of interspecies relationships in fandom spaces, and the somewhat antagonistic alliance they start out with (Castiel thinks little of humanity and Dean first greets Castiel by stabbing him in the chest), it's no surprise that viewers would immediately latch onto them as a

20 The two brothers possess a love so strong that many fans enjoy writing wincest. That is, the romantic and/or sexual pairing of Dean and Sam, combining their name “Winchester” with “incest.” 34 potential ship. As the series progressed and the two grew closer, with Castiel taking on the Winchester trait of sacrificing himself for others, particularly Dean, the fervor for

“destiel” grew and was ultimately fed by the show's writers. Season four onwards is filled with references to that “special bond” they share and the fact that Dean is Castiel's

“weakness,” his need to protect him so strong that at one point it even allows him to overcome brainwashing from another angel. In season five, Castiel's archangel brother

Gabriel is introduced, played by Richard Speight Jr., who seems to favor Sam out of the two Winchester brothers, thereby creating a balance between the two potential couples.

Wouldn't it be great if both Sam and Dean had angelic partners? The emphasis on the potential for both grew from there. Such moments—all of which can certainly still be read as platonic, especially given the equally strong love shared among the rest of the cast—are compounded by numerous jokes throughout the seasons not so much hinting at but shining a neon light on the sexual tension between them. In one famous scene from season five's “Point of No Return,” Dean comments on Castiel's intense staring with, “Cas, not for nothing, but the last person who looked at me like that... I got laid.”

Such “jokes” became so prominent that in time the fandom ceased to see them as jokes at all, instead leveling the accusation of queerbaiting at the Supernatural creators. As over a decade passed, fans came to accept that Dean and Castiel would never become a canonical couple, thus continuing to turn to fanworks in order to fulfill that desire.

In addition to growing concerns regarding queerbaiting, Supernatural began amassing more criticism in its post-season five incarnation. The first five years tell a cohesive story about preventing the apocalypse and was originally meant to end there. 35

The season five finale ties up nearly all the loose ends of the story, with said apocalypse successfully prevented, Lucifer trapped in his cage, all the significant characters who died—such as Bobby and Castiel—are resurrected by God, and Dean reconnects with his girlfriend Lisa to presumably live out a normal life. The story is complete, with only a mysterious shot of Sam functioning as lead-in to the next season. The decision to continue Supernatural past its intended conclusion came as a surprise to most of the actors, with creator Eric Kripke stepping down as showrunner when executives didn't adhere to his desire to end the series after five years. Past this, Supernatural became a show where “reinvention was hardwired into its DNA” (Arbues). Such a change provided fans with another decade of material in which the Winchester brothers survive purgatory, false gods, the real God, the fall of Heaven, the creation of a Nephilim (the offspring of a

God), and encounters with multiple other universes—to name just a few of the dangers.

Often creative, endlessly exciting, the show nevertheless was thought to have gone off the rails, prioritizing that need to continue its story ahead of satisfying plots or consistent characterization. When it was announced that season fifteen would be its final run, many fans breathed a sigh of relief. After well over a decade of ups and downs, a good chunk of the Supernatural community was ready to let it go. Or, more specifically, they were ready to let the canon go. The love of Supernatural fanworks is still going strong, in particular exploring the relationship between Dean and Castiel. As of this writing, the series' finale, originally set to air on May 18th 2020, is indefinitely delayed due to the

Covid-19 outbreak. No one yet knows how the story will end or whether fans will be left with an ambiguous conclusion for Castiel and Dean, the sort of nudge-nudge, wink-wink

36 that will please some fans and anger others. However, the chance that they will be made canonical remains so low that fans continue to consume fanfiction and, often, praise it over the original source.

Teen Wolf

Airing in 2011, Teen Wolf ran on MTV and was based on a 1985 film of the same name, starring Michael J. Fox as an average teen whose life is upended when he finds himself turning into a werewolf. Though the show takes the film's basic premise as well as the names for its title characters, it does away with the comedic focus and turns the story into a much darker, drama-focused tale. Like his film counterpart, Scott McCall, played by

Tyler Posey, is a small town teen dealing with his outcast status and whose only true friend is the equally geeky Stiles Stilinski, played by Dylan O'Brien. After the two of them go exploring in the woods to see a body found by the police earlier that day—setting up one of Teen Wolf's many mysteries—Scott is bitten by a werewolf and receives a number of supernatural powers such as enhanced speed and senses. What starts out as a presumed solution to his adolescent woes, Scott quickly realizes that these powers come with a number of dangers as well, most notably the werewolf hunters who want nothing more than to see him dead. It's a problem he could more easily avoid if his girlfriend's family, Allison

Argent played by Crystal Reed, wasn't a part of that group and if Stiles' crush, Lydia Martin played by Holland Roden, wasn't quite so adept at uncovering others' secrets.

The first season of Teen Wolf also introduces Derek Hale, played by Tyler

Hoechlin, another werewolf who is working to understand the mysterious fire that killed

37 most of his family six years prior, as well as the disappearance of his sister. As events cross,

Derek becomes more immersed in Scott and Stiles' lives, leading to one of the most popular ships in the Teen Wolf fandom of Stiles and Derek, known popularly as “sterek.” Like

Supernatural's Dean and Castiel, Derek and Stiles are appealing in part because of the initial animosity between them, with Stiles mistrusting this (literal) lone wolf they've been forced to work with and Derek having little patience for anyone in his life right now, let alone a kid still in high school. This conflict helps to emphasize their differing personalities and the presumed “opposites attract” relationship that keeps viewers engaged once they start warming up to one another. Nerdy and skittish, much of the humor in the early seasons stems from contrasting Stiles to Derek's hyper-masculine persona and Stiles likewise provides a more sunny, optimistic perspective against Derek's overall grumpy nature.

Though immensely popular, the age difference between Derek and Stiles is one of the primary criticisms of the ship. Unlike Supernatural where an age difference is one of a millennium and thus doesn't carry the same real life implications, a relationship between a high schooler and a man in his early twenties is viewed as more of a problem. Thus, many fic writers age Stiles up or Derek down in their AUs.

Alongside establishing this core trio, season one also introduces Scott and Stiles to the various types of werewolves and the hierarchy they belong to. Alphas are the strongest, followed by betas and then omegas, a structure that reflects that A/B/O dynamic beloved by many fandoms and makes it particularly easy to fit Teen Wolf into that AU. Across its six seasons, much of Teen Wolf's conflict stems from this hierarchy, with werewolves attempting to gain a higher status within their pack by killing former alphas, humans

38 attempting to secure a bite from already powerful werewolves, cure diseases such as cancer via the healing powers of a bite, and both species dealing with the mutations that can sometimes occur. The complex lore surrounding werewolves and the various other supernatural creatures that appear throughout the story provide Teen Wolf with plenty of material, though the story still concluded after the primary group had made their way through high school. The first three seasons cover their sophomore year, season four and five cover junior year, and finally season six covers their senior year, with the story split into two distinct parts. Much like Supernatural's original arc, Teen Wolf ends with war averted and the town of Beacon Hills saved, but a flash-forward provides a bit of ambiguity as the group prepares to take on the leader of the hunters and the thousands of allies she’s amassed, seeking their destruction. Some fans view this last shot as a hopeful implication, the group's victory assured even if we never get to see it on screen. Others view the show's final moment as an unsatisfying cliffhanger. The message that Scott, Stiles, Derek, and their friends' story isn't over may indeed be frustrating, but it also opens up a great deal of options for those who would like to continue that story themselves in fic.

Similarities

Notably, both shows straddle the line between the digital and analog eras of television, with Supernatural beginning in 2005 and Teen Wolf in 2011, but their run times remain one of their more distinctive differences. Despite emerging from a similar era,

Supernatural is, as said, concluding with its fifteenth as of this writing. In contrast, Teen

Wolf only ran for six seasons before concluding in 2017. The difference in the amount of

39 canon material and the fact that Supernatural remains an on-air fandom has a strong impact on its influence within other fan communities, as well as the amount of scholarship produced for it. Supernatural is also, notably, one of the few series that openly acknowledges their fandom within the canon itself, with episodes like “The Monster at the

End of this Book,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” and “The Real Ghostbusters,” grappling with questions of authorship, ownership, and whether fic writers are crafting parallel narratives or something akin to apocrypha. By examining and openly acknowledging fan responses, series producers are “acknowledging the importance of their fans to the life of the show” and invite even more reflection on how that canon material is transformed into fanon works

(Grahm 139-140). Both shows, however, have still become staple sources for Television,

Media, and Fan Studies given their influence on participatory fandom over the years. The appeal of these shows is all too obvious to fans. Given the existence of not just supernatural creatures, but other fantasy elements such as magic, alternate realities, and the existence of an afterlife, both shows encourage the idea that their cast would fit well into any sort of alternate universe, including a mundane coffee shop. The sheer range of what is possible within the canon encourages anything else that the viewer might think up. After all, if Teen

Wolf can, with a straight face, introduce the concept of de-aging a man in his twenties back to his teenage self (“The Dark Moon”) and Supernatural can give us an alternate reality where Sam and Dean, no longer brothers, work in a boring marketing office (“It’s a Terrible

Life”), then anything is plausible. Coffee Shop AUs exist for most prominent fandoms nowadays, but the more possibilities that are introduced in the canon itself—particularly possibilities that may seem absurd to shows based more firmly in reality—the more natural

40 it may feel to justify taking these characters and transplanting them into another, seemingly strange scenario.

In addition to their acknowledgment of fan authorship, the length and flexibility of each show helpfully encourages a significant amount of interaction, regardless of whether a fan is writing a Coffee Shop AU or something else entirely. Jason Mittell emphasizes that modern television has no need for closure at the end of each episode, but rather maintains an interplay between episodic and serial storytelling, major and minor plot-points (what

Seymour Chatman refers to as kernels and satellites), as well as narrative statements (what next?) and narrative enigmas (uncertainty on the viewer’s part) (2015, 26). It is the gaps generated by striking a balance among all these choices that define the serial experience for Mittell, and these same gaps encourage fan participation and expression. Both

Supernatural and Teen Wolf utilize such gaps in spades, abandoning characters, minor plot points, and leaving questions unanswered simply by virtue of trying to fit ever-growing worlds into a weekly, forty-five-minute block of time. Though for some the impossibility of maintaining all these threads makes for “bad”—or at least frustrating—television, it’s a goldmine for fans seeking new inspiration. Thus, if we are looking for primary sources that have the breadth of source material, popularity, possibility, and contrast needed to create a wealth of Coffee Shop AUs, there are few better suited than these two shows.

Methodology

In order to pinpoint the Coffee Shop AU’s defining characteristics—those that appear to be consistent across all communities, canons, and forms—I’m utilizing a

41 combination of some close reading as well as surface reading, with the former drawing on the assumption that any interaction with the text is in and of itself an act of interpretation. Stephen Best and Sharon Marcus in “Surface Reading: An Introduction” note that within the discipline of literature a particular view of interpretation has come to dominate, one where meaning is “hidden, repressed, deep, and in need of detection and disclosure by an interpreter” (1). Michael Joyce goes so far as to reject traditional views of transparency and surface interpretation of a text: “hiding is disclosing, disclosing is hiding, and a gap or its lack alike is a gap” (86). Scholarship evolving out of Freud,

Marx, Morrison, and Sedgwick’s work, those emphasizing the concept of silences, gaps, and the idea that the text has an intrinsic unconscious, is indeed difficult to let go of.

Ultimately, I don’t want to let go of these influences, for the simple reason that, as said, fans themselves still thoroughly embrace them and those artistic intentions influence the work. The existence of an unconscious—most notably, for the purposes of this work, a queer subtext—dominates interpretations of the canon and thus finds its way into most fic. Sheenagh Pugh and Henry Jenkins have both famously discussed gaps as one of the primary motivators for the creations of transformative works—What happened while these characters were offscreen? What if we rejected the ambiguity of this moment?— and, as stated previously, shows like Supernatural and Teen Wolf have so many gaps between and within episodes that it would be stranger for fans to ignore them than not

(Jenkins 2015, Pugh 2015, Mittell 2015). Trying to separate fanfiction from its emphasis on the ‘hidden’ details of relationships, world building, or foreshadowing is a useless endeavor. Without those elements it wouldn’t be fanfiction.

Nevertheless, defining a genre, particularly one that circulates outside of mainstream publishing channels, requires more than just a close reading of various themes, tropes, and structures.21 Thus, I am positioning this work somewhere between a taxonomy and a case study, wherein I also pay attention to the paratextual nature of these fics: their titles, authors, notes, covers, length, what comments they accumulate, and how they’re circulated on other websites. I believe that the best way of characterizing the

Coffee Shop AU is to engage with the text as well as its paratexts, that which is “evident, perceptible, apprehensible in texts; what is neither hidden nor hiding...A surface is what insists on being looked at rather than what we must train ourselves to see through” (9).

As Mary Crane notes, we need to, paradoxically, do more than just read our books. Or our fanfiction. Sometimes we should pay attention to the elements surrounding a work before we delve into the text itself (Best, 4). In order to accomplish this, I have primarily made use of data mining, allowing a computer program—in this case NVivo—to track specific commonalities and distinctions of the genre, covering a much larger corpus than it is possible to read through. Specifically, 1,382 texts, the entirety of the Teen Wolf and

Supernatural Coffee Shop AU collection on AO3 as of July 2019. The choice to use

NVivo over other data analysis software came down to access and ease of use. I am not trained in this form of quantitative analysis and thus was looking for a user-friendly,

21 Initially, this project was meant to prioritize close readings of Coffee Shop AUs to help fill this gap within Fan Studies. However, as the project began and I realized the importance of first defining and supporting the Coffee Shop AU as a genre at all—as well as the amount of work needed to make this work accessible to those outside of the field—I turned my attention to distant reading with a sampling of case studies instead, largely to ensure that the scope of the project didn’t get out of hand. In the future, with my own and others’ definitions in place, Fan Scholars should turn their attention to close readings of fics within all genres, including the Coffee Shop AU. 43 streamlined program to collect—if we can be blunt—a simplistic, statistical look at how fans are characterizing their Coffee Shop AUs on AO3. My hope is that this data will allow me to make some claims about the genre’s characteristics and to provide a starting point for more detailed research in the future.

In order to shift through this genre on an interior as well as surface manner, I needed a corpus of works that were faithfully representative while still being amenable for closer inspection when needed. The criteria I was concerned with, beyond choosing my two fandoms, was the archive that I would pull the fic from. Though there are a number of major fic archives up and running nowadays—Fanfiction.net (FFN) and

Wattpad are two of the most well-known—as well as numerous sites dedicated to specific fandoms, the current heavy hitter and my choice for this piece is Archive of Our Own, usually abbreviated to AO3. This is due in large part to the site’s emphasis on creative freedom, a sharp contrast to all other major archives that have caved to legal pressure over the years. Back in 2002 and 2005, Fanfiction.net worked to purge adult content

(anything NC-17+) from its server and, oddly enough given fanfiction’s inherent status as transformative work, anything deemed copyrighted material, such as song fics that use popular lyrics as a frame for the story (“Fanfiction.Net's NC-17 Purges”). In response to the backlash against this purge, FFN created a sister archive, FictionPress, meant solely for original works. Though a useful archive on its own, this act did not acknowledge fans’ complaints about the censorship. Just a few years later in 2007, fans using

LiveJournal found that many of their blogs were suspended based on their interest lists.

This strikethrough—called such because suspended usernames would appear with a strike

44 through them—occurred in an effort to root out rape, incest, pedophilia, and child pornography on the site, but many fans pointed out that the LiveJournal staff lacked the necessary knowledge of how fan communities operate to make this kind of moral judgement. That is, fans often write minor characters in sexual relations with others their own age (Harry Potter), incest relationships that are already canon (Game of Thrones), and rape scenarios as a way of processing their own trauma (The Girl With the Dragon

Tattoo), to provide just a few examples. Strikethrough was seen as an ignorant attack on fans' freedom of creativity and when Fanfiction.net underwent another purge in 2012, tempers had hit an all-time high. As Casey Fiesler points out, it’s not enough for fans to just find fault with a platform. If any true change is to occur, there must also be another viable alternative for them to move to in protest (Schwedel). Thus, in response to what many deemed a digital book burning, The Organization of Transformative Works created a safe site for storing fanworks, appropriately titled Archive of Our Own.

The aim of the archive is simple: “to moderate and moderate fairly,” providing a space for fanfiction that is supervised without being restrictive (Apollo). The only works not allowed on AO3 are those that have been plagiarized. Which, again, might seem surprising to those not immersed in fan culture. Isn’t all fic plagiarism by definition? On the contrary, people have made excellent arguments for fic falling under the Fair Use policy as a transformative work,22 but even beyond this legal defense, fans themselves have a code of conduct that they work to adhere to. Traditional fic disclaimers—e.g. “I don't own Harry Potter, please don't sue me I'm poor”—have largely fallen out of favor

22 See Anupam Chander, Stephen Hetcher, and Leanne Stendell. 45 and have instead been replaced with a more nuanced understanding of what needs the fandom equivalent of a citation. Namely, if an aspect of your story isn't immediately recognizable as a part of the canon you're writing for then a disclaimer should be included. Note that “immediately recognizable” includes all levels of fan knowledge, so a writer needn't point out that this minor character from Season Seven, Episode Three isn't an OC of theirs since the reader is capable of looking that information up on their own— and is expected to prior to raising any accusations. If, however, a writer were to include characters, dialogue, or situations lifted from other canons (or even other fics) but not admit as much, this is seen as an attempt to pass those creative decisions off as their own.23 Nowadays, disclaimers are reserved primarily for titles derived from song lyrics and less recognizable concepts that writers want to play with, such as fic author

Vendelin's note that, “The camera leaking light-idea was stolen from I Am Number Four and some of the dialogue was lifted from the TV-show (you probably recognised those parts).” Or Coffeeandcheesecake’s, “If you know musical theatre, you might guess that I totally got this idea from the song Champagne from “In The Heights” and the second-to- last-scene is pretty much verbatim from the show :)” In fandom then, plagiarism is viewed through a largely academic lens: provided that you cite your sources and acknowledge them respectfully, you can continue to build on the conversation indefinitely, and it is this mindset that AO3 has adopted into their site, making it the first

23 This is precisely what occurred during Cassandra Clare's infamous fandom days. Back in 2001 she heavily plagiarized Pamela Dean's The Secret Country trilogy as well as dialogue from numerous television shows in her Harry Potter fic series, The Draco Trilogy (Avocado). More recently, Clare has been sued for copyright infringement in her phenomenally popular series The Mortal Instruments, demonstrating that habits learned in fandom can impact mainstream publishing as well (Eyre). 46 archive structured specifically around the needs of fan communities. This work has garnered AO3 much praise over the years. Many fans frequent the archive because they know the staff has found an appropriate balance between transforming works and copying them.

In addition to this, AO3 is considered one of the most user-friendly interfaces built for fan communities. In 2019 the site was nominated for and won a Hugo Award for

“Best Related Work,” a category designed to acknowledge works in science fiction, fantasy, and fandom that do not fit into the Hugo’s other groupings (“AO3 Nominated for

Hugo Award”). The praise is justly deserved given the amount of work that has gone into accommodating fan needs and interests. Compared to Fanfiction.net, it’s much easier for fans to post their work on AO3, edit it after publication, organize bookmarks, upload tags, choose pairings, and (though it’s still a work in progress) filter out content that they’re not interested in seeing. AO3 is also one of the few, potentially the only, archives to provide orphaning, in which the name of the author can be deleted without erasing the fic itself. This is seen as an appropriate compromise between those writers—particularly pre-internet writers of the zine era who never thought that their work would be preserved to this extent—who want to erase their digital footprint, and the readers who worry about their culture being lost. Similarly, AO3 is unique in providing its users with a “fannish next of kin” option. Building off our digital culture that now includes social media wills,

AO3 allows you to name another fan who will gain access to your account after death:

“Maybe you want your works preserved; maybe you want them orphaned or deleted; maybe you want to have them open to remixes and related works. Whether your fannish

47 identity departs with you or keeps on keeping on—that’s a choice you can make”

(“Fannish Next of Kin”). Community is essential to fic practices, similar to the generational emphasis given to fandom wherein “Like the passing down of precious books or toys, the handing of the baton (lightsaber?) down to the child is a moment loaded with nostalgic gravitas” (Newman 244). Fic writers may not feel comfortable passing this particular love down to their children, but the next of kin policy allows them to nevertheless gift their work to someone who they believe will appreciate it and continue to build on their efforts. This is because, beyond providing writers with a formal way of preserving their work, next of kin acknowledges that murky space between fanfiction’s mainstream acceptance and a continuing bias against the form. As AO3 puts it in their explanation, “What happens if my mom—or my partner, or my kid—finds my fanworks?” emphasizing that fandom is still a practice best kept within the community; among those who understand the process and the intentions behind it. AO3 is one of the few archives to take such sensitive aspects into consideration24 and thus has cultivated itself as a space where the majority of new fanfiction is uploaded.

Thus today, in 2020, AO3 is one of the largest fic archives available and one of the few with a community that can successfully support the legality and value of its works.

Kristi Lee Brobeck pointed out in 2005 that there's no such thing as “utopian fic

24 This consideration is due in large part to AO3's creators: namely, fans themselves. It's an archive that “was built completely by the people who needed it, built to reflect their values and norms. And the majority of those builders have been women” (Fiesler). The gendering here is significant. For Casey Fiesler, this means that AO3 is an excellent example of feminist HCI (human-computer interaction) wherein software is written to reflect specific ideology. In AO3's case, that means attention is paid to the user's agency, empowerment, participation, identity, advocacy, and involvement with social justice, all of which are aspects of a fan community that are already upheld as significant and often not found elsewhere online. 48 communities” and it is unlikely that we'll ever see an archive with “self-evident parameters of taste.” Nevertheless, AO3 provides enough freedom to satisfy an impressively large number of readers, paired with enough restrictions that those readers feel safe25. Accounts are distributed by invitation and currently the website—over a decade after launch—still has a waiting list going. As of July 2020, there are over 1,500 people waiting for an invite at any given time with 5,000 invitations sent out per day, which says a lot about the number of people invested in becoming a part of AO3 (“Invitation Request Status”). Nowadays, if you're looking for the “best” fic—or at least the fic that the vast majority of online fans are choosing to engage with—than you head on over to AO3.

Thus, most of my primary sources come straight from the archive. However, a few others will derive from the micro-blogging website Tumblr, for the simple reason that the two sites are connected in ways that scholarship is only beginning to acknowledge. Out of the 1,382 fics surveyed, 512 Coffee Shop AU writers in the Teen

Wolf and Supernatural fandoms mention Tumblr to their readers, usually by providing their URL or explaining that a prompt/request for this fic first came from Tumblr. Fiesler describes the two as the “archive side and the social side of LiveJournal,” implying that each is responsible for an aspect that used to exist within a single site, now separated

25 There are, of course, always exceptions. In recent years AO3 has come under fire from ignorant fans who see the large donations they accumulate—usually several hundred thousand dollars—and accuse the archive of scamming the community, unaware (or unwilling to acknowledge) that AO3 maintains a public spreadsheet of all their spending. AO3 has unexpectedly become a point of contention as younger fans criticize the archive for its budget and allowance of “problematic” content (rape, incest, pedophilia, etc.) whereas older fans better understand why that money is necessary and the days when such “problematic” labels opened the door to purging fics about minority experiences. For all that AO3 is a benefit to fandom, there is a growing fear, especially on Tumblr, that this understanding isn’t being taught to younger fans who were lucky enough to grow up with AO3 and thus are more willing to take it for granted. 49

(Schwedel). The ability to comment on fics helps to meet some of the social interaction that fans crave,26 but conversations held primarily between author and reader lack a broader sense of community. Indeed, these notes that reference Tumblr seem to do so not out of an attempt to promote their blog, but rather to express a desire for friendship, that intimacy that takes fandom from being merely a hobby to (for many) another form of family. Author Allhalethekings, for example, asks readers to “Hit me up at: tumblr //

Twitter. Send me prompts, flail with me over Heochlin’s eye, let’s be friends – the whole shebang” with the “whole shebang” here including not merely a continued interaction between producer and consumer (“Send me prompts”) but an explicit request to acknowledge an equal standing within the community (“flail with me”), and an overall desire to just “be friends.”

Thus, fans turn to Tumblr to discuss the fics they're reading on AO3 and they bring material from Tumblr—stories, prompts, and miscellaneous ideas—back over to the archive. In a 2014 study, scholars found that some of the strongest reasons people chose Tumblr over other social media sites was because of its fan focus, the “jargon” used (fan language), “motivations” (strong feelings towards a particular couple), and

“discovery” (the sense that the requirements for belonging to a fandom on Tumblr is fuzzier and thus less prone to gatekeeping) (Hillman). It's also worth noting that Tumblr is one of the most prominent social media websites experimenting with transformative works, including visual fanfiction. That is, artwork, image manipulation, and, GIF-sets

26 The University of Iowa houses a collection of over 10,000 fanzines and in their studies have noted that the personal conversations they see in the zines may “now take place in a LiveJournal comment section, or the reviews of a story on FanFiction.net” (Robertson). Presumably the same can be said of AO3’s review system. 50 that re-interpret the canon in similar ways to fic, a focus due in large part to the fact that

Tumblr was one of the sites responsible for igniting mainstream interest in GIFs as an aesthetic form. There is, to put it in colloquial terms, a “beautiful [historical] arc of AO3 and Tumblr being besties forever” (Schwedel). It’s difficult then, if not impossible, to talk about one site without considering the other, particularly when it comes to analyzing modern fanfiction. Many scholars, myself included, are widening the definition of “fic” to include these multi-media forms, acknowledging the ways in which fans are working to keep their work modern by including visual and auditory elements along with their narrative—characteristics that AO3 encourages through the site’s ability to embed images and links into your uploads. However, though this intersectionality may be on the rise, written forms of fic are still dominant and thus are the form I’ll be focusing on here.

With these two primary websites in hand I whittled down my sources by tag, using Tumblr’s search engine to collect posts tagged with “Coffee Shop AU” and AO3’s

“Alternate Universe Coffee Shops and Cafes” tag to find suitable fics. However, it is worth noting that this is far from a foolproof method of collection. Fans—despite calls for improvement—can be inefficient and inconsistent when it comes to tagging their fics, leading to some Coffee Shop AUs remaining missing from my corpus while others are perhaps labeled inappropriately.27 Tumblr in particular is notorious for its lax tagging as well as an inadequate search engine, leading to numerous posts that are no doubt lost in the shuffle. Nevertheless, as of August 2019 Tumblr had a spattering of posts labeled

27 This could include drabble collections where only one fic out of many is a Coffee Shop AU, or stories that perhaps include a coffee shop as a trope but don’t utilize the space as the genre tends to. Given the genre’s popularity, fans are perhaps more willing to label fringe works as Coffee Shop AUs in the hopes of attracting more readers. 51

“Coffee Shop AU.” (Again, it is impossible to count the exact number given the search engine’s setup). While AO3 hosted an impressive 16,008 fics, split across hundreds of fandoms. In Teen Wolf and Supernatural alone there are well over a thousand Coffee

Shop AUs, so I further limited my corpus by kudos count.

Kudos,28 one of the most beloved aspects of Archive of Our Own, are the “quick and easy way to let a creator know that you like their work,” stemming from the ancient

Greek meaning “glory” or “renown” (“What are Kudos?”). It’s akin to the like button on

Facebook or the heart button on Tumblr. Kudos give readers a way of indicating their appreciation for a story without necessarily taking the time to comment on it, something that is both praised and criticized by fans. Some claim that the system actively discourages commenting (a trend that has fallen by the wayside over the years for numerous other reasons, such as the acknowledgement of social anxiety and the rise of similar features like Facebook’s like button or Instagram’s heart that encourages a trend of quick, passive engagement online) and reduces interaction with a fic down to the click of a button, while others claim that kudos allow those too busy or too intimidated to share their love when otherwise they would enjoy a fic in complete silence (Ellen). In June of

2020 the popular Tumblr blog Ao3commentoftheday released a survey on kudos to “get an idea of what kudos mean to readers, to writers, and to people who both read and write”

(“What Do Kudos Mean to You?”). The results, currently at 5,807 responses as of July

28 Despite both “Kudo” and “Kudos” being singular, fans use “Kudos” for both singular and plural descriptions. 52

2020, demonstrate that both writers and readers of fanfiction do use kudos for a variety of positive reinforcement:

Figure 2. Survey results showing what fans are trying to say when they leave kudos.

Kudos provide a comforting way to express approval in communities that are often grappling with social anxiety (Rought). The act requires nothing more intimate or strenuous than clicking your mouse and can even be done anonymously if desired. For many this is an excellent example of how to cater to various types of fans and increase the chances of authors receiving some kind of feedback, even while others worry that it reinforces passive interaction with content that should be engaged with actively. Despite the controversy, kudos have become so centralized to the AO3 experience that even when readers do comment it’s often in the form of “Extra kudos!” or an admission that “I wish

I could leave more kudos on this!” Whether one approves of them or not, kudos are at the center of modern fic consumption and fan feedback.

Thus, they are useful for research purposes because they provide one of the only ways of measuring fics by popularity. I chose popularity as a measuring tool due to fanfiction’s interconnected nature: the fics that spread widely are those most likely to inform future fics, headcanons, metas, fanart, and all other aspects of the community and thus, in turn, have an impact on the genres that develop. A fic that everyone knows about even has the power to circumvent the canon in readers’ minds, with many fans admitting to being confused about which aspects of a series are canon and which are fanon, further blurring the lines between the author’s authority and the fans’ (Anindya). Even if this doesn’t happen literally, readers will still use that authority as a means of bestowing praise, leaving comments such as “This is canon now” and “Everyone needs to read this.”

Unlike in other media such as film where there’s a distinction between popular works and artistically influential works, fanfic rarely, if ever, draws that dividing line. A fic deemed sophisticated in its writing style is no more or less likely to acquire renown than the comparatively simple fanfic with an entertaining plotline, given that fans themselves are often highly invested in dismantling assumptions about “high” and “low” literature. In fic communities, popularity speaks more to the community’s investment in certain genres, tropes, and pairings than it does the assumed quality of the fic itself.29

29 The exception to this are specific forms of grammatical literacy. Fans are outspoken about rejecting fics without paragraph breaks, or with an unseemly number of typos. Namely, anything that distracts from the story in a negative matter. This is in contrast to certain stylistic expectations like capitalization where, given the rise of texting and blogging culture, fans have become quite used to composing works in all lowercase, or using capitalization for various forms of emphasis. See Somethingscarlet13’s post that uses 54

Thus, kudos become an easy way of measuring that popularity and by extension that influence. Theoretically a reader can only leave kudos once30 so presumably the more kudos a fic has the more people have both read and liked it enough to praise, distinguishing it from the hit count which does not differentiate between readers that enjoyed the work and those that left after reading a paragraph, nor between new readers and a single reader returning to the fic multiple times. However, this is not to say that the system is a perfect measurement of popular—and therefore influential—fics. For one thing, kudos tend to grow with time. The longer a fic has been posted the longer it has to accumulate kudos, regardless of whether fans consider it a particularly worthwhile story or not. That new 100k, chaptered fic might be the best thing fans have read in an age, but it will still take time for it to surpass the four thousand kudos that other fics have had years to gather. Fics written when a fandom is still young, the ones trying out each trope and genre first, automatically end up in the initial rec lists and tend to stay there out of a sense of loyalty, a first come, first serve kind of mindset. They maintain high kudos counts even when, years later, arguably better fics have come onto the scene. Most significantly, kudos tend to perpetuate themselves. Given that readers enjoy searching by kudos count (why wouldn’t you start with the supposed best?), those fics that manage to break one thousand end up in the first couple pages on AO3, the exact place new readers will head to first, resulting in them providing more kudos to a small circle of works. This

non-standard capitalization, italics, and ellipsis to express their excitement over a moment in Amazon Prime’s Good Omens. 30 In actuality, a reader can leave kudos twice: once under their account and then again if they sign out and return to the work as a guest. Many readers do this deliberately in order to give a story they love as many kudos as they can. Additionally, AO3 can also glitch and list one user as having left three, five, or more kudos. 55 creates a bit of a feedback loop. As said, “What makes something popular is its popularity” and though fans are aware of these issues,31 it doesn’t necessarily keep them from perpetuating them (Grossberg 51).

In the end, this criteria of two fandoms, limited to AO3, narrowed by tag, and organized by the top kudos count resulted in a corpus of eighty works32. I took the top forty fics for Supernatural and Teen Wolf, or the first two pages of content each. It is worth noting here that fic readers and writers conceptualize length according to word count rather than page numbers, or even total fics written. So though for some scholars a sample size of eighty texts may seem small, when it comes to fics many single works may be the length of multiple mainstream novels. Overall, the word count for my corpus is 1,938,158 words.33

Chapter Summaries

In working through this corpus, each chapter focuses on a different characteristic of the Coffee Shop AU, pulling from these eighty fics to provide a well-rounded examination of the genre. Chapter Two begins by providing a brief overview of the

Coffee Shop AU’s history, beginning with NSynchGrrl’s Café de l’Amour. I lay out the

31 One fan writes passionately that they “want to take the path less traveled when it comes to fic, because that is new and exciting and a breath of fresh air and a new take that, unfortunately, no one reads because when people look for fic, they go by kudos” (Petitesuri). In response, another fan points out that you can search by reader-recommended fics, but the process is more complicated than searching by kudos and demonstrates how the format of these archives—and knowledge of how to navigate them—has a strong influence on which fics gain popularity. 32 A list of these eighty fics, along with their kudos count as of July 2020, can be found in Appendix C. 33 Roughly speaking. Fans also use screenshots at times—such as when mimicking a text conversation between two characters—and those images do not count towards the fic’s total word count. 56 similarities between NSynchGrrl’s revised version of the fic for mainstream publication and the modern Coffee Shop AU, segueing into assessing how the context and setting of the Coffee Shop AU is one of the most crucial differences between it and other romantic fics featuring slash pairings. Drawing from Jürgen Habermas’ concept of the public sphere and third places, I demonstrate how fans use the setting to both characterize the romantic couple and express their own desires through fiction. That is, a desire to briefly inhabit (and potentially imagine for the real world) an accessible and inclusive space that can host an equally inclusive romance. This is especially evident in the writings of

Millennial and Gen Z fans who use Coffee Shop AUs as a form of wish fulfillment, crafting worlds where non-sexualized queer spaces exist and provide those who frequent them with enjoyable, yet affordable pleasures. Idealism aside, the settling likewise provides writers with an easy means of getting their characters to meet, interact, and have an excuse to continue interacting on a daily basis. Though any coffee shop could achieve this, fans prioritize privately owned businesses over chains like Starbucks in their fics, partly to emphasize that third place familiarity and partly to continue the romanization of coffee shops, a concept that uniform chains now challenge. Fans achieve this work not just through the Coffee Shops AUs, but also related fan works like mood boards.

Chapter Three argues that the Coffee Shop AU is a remediation of romantic comedy films, taking certain structural aspects and reimagining them for fan communities. Specifically, this remediation occurs through queering the main couple, building off of fandom’s long history of slash. Here, I acknowledge some of the limitations of this trend, in particular the assumption that transformative fandom must be

57 made up of predominantly young, straight women if they’re prioritizing shipping two

(good looking) men together. However, a recent survey of mine reveals that roughly two- fifths of respondents identified as a gender other than a cis woman, challenging this notion that a remediation of heteronormative and cisgender films are meant for continued cishet consumption. In addition to queering the primary relationship, fans subvert other romantic comedy tropes in an effort to make the structure of the Coffee Shop AU less offensive, such as eliminating the union-as-spectacle and stalking-as-love tropes.

Similarly, rather than striving to fit long-term, romantic expectations into a fic of less than 10,000 words, fans choose to prioritize the couple’s immediate introspection over milestones such as first dates or marriage—milestones that some fans may not be interested in at all. There is an emphasis on balancing escapism with realism, the desire for the Coffee Shop AU to reflect real-world concerns while likewise demonstrating progress, and thus this chapter also covers recent calls for more realistic Coffee Shop

AUs, revisions that challenge both its mainstream inspirations and the easy-going nature of the Coffee Shop AU itself, without outright sacrificing it. While the Coffee Shop AU transforms much of the romantic comedy, it nevertheless maintains specific tropes that fans have deemed both engaging and acceptable, such as miscommunication and the happy ending.

Chapter Four examines character types within the Coffee Shop AU and begins by providing some history on 20th and 21st century fandom, specifically the various homosocial relationships in mainstream media that evolved into the concept of slash.

However, building off of Chapter Three, this chapter argues that the Coffee Shop AU

58 diversifies traditional concepts of slash by not just undermining the assumption that any male/male pairing should automatically be categorized as women’s writing, but likewise acknowledging the benefits of queer fans crafting queer relationships (even if the sexuality in question does not match up with their own) and the power that comes from straight, bi, and pan woman having control over the depiction of male relationships.

Thus, the characters in the Coffee Shop AU—particularly the main couple—are a response to the lack of this representation in mainstream works, with queerbaiting used as a particularly damaging (and still prevalent) example. In addition, the Coffee Shop AU characters work to complicate gendered assumptions, particularly in regards to masculinity, by characterizing the romantic duo as more emotionally emotive than traditionally seen in mainstream storytelling and emphasizing that queer men’s emotions need not be tied to sexual exploits. These changes, while reflective of fandom trends as a whole, are nevertheless a core characteristic of the Coffee Shop AU and, as an AU, undermines one of fanfiction’s primary goals: to mimic the canon to a recognizable extent. This leaves Coffee Shop AU writers with the challenge of balancing old and familiar characterizations with these new, progressive ideals. Within the genre this has led to an emphasis on shorthand elements (references to surface-level aspects of the canon characterization that writers can maintain while still changing more influential personality traits), a tendency to give characters an artistic career or hobby (as a form of self-expression), and the intersection of the Coffee Shop AU with soulmate tropes. The logic being that writers can maintain any traditionally masculine “bad boy” characterization that the reader may expect while likewise transforming that character

59 into someone softer and more emotive, provided that their crush—the soulmate—is the only one able to see their “true” personality. Here, the canonical characterization and the transformation exist simultaneously: one as a ruse and the other as a hidden discovery.

Chapter Five builds off Chapter Four to argue that much of this subversive work in characterization is achieved through how food and drink function as literary devices in the Coffee Shop AU. Drawing on concepts of food porn, this chapter examines the prevalence of sweets and how certain food choices serve to soften masculine personalities, uplift “girly” interests, find a balance between presumably sexually innocent characters and those who use food as innuendo, and function as symbols of the characters’ queer identities. This chapter then expands on this to argue that food does not merely function as subversive characterization, but also as a common marker for the developing relationship. Interactions involving customers ordering specific drinks or baristas crafting certain drinks act as milestones for the couple’s growing intimacy and food-based nicknames reflect the genre’s overall concern with the revelation of names.

As discussed in Chapter Four, the concept of one partner being able to see the other’s

“true” self is an integral part of that transformative characterization and that knowledge is easily achieved through the revelation of a preferred name. Baristas who do not wear nametags provide customers the opportunity to demonstrate their serious interest by seeking out that knowledge for themselves. Likewise, customers who only provide nicknames for their orders provide baristas with the opportunity to earn their real name by the end of the fic. These two themes of the Coffee Shop AU—sweet foods and

60 names—often combine, as said, into sweet-based nicknames so as to act on multiple reader expectations in one go.

Chapter Six concludes by introducing The Witcher, a Netflix show released in

December of 2019 that is similar to Teen Wolf and Supernatural in its focus on supernatural monsters and the men who hunt them. However, unlike my other two canons, Witcher is based on previous source material, specifically a book and video game series, and thus invites the question of whether the Coffee Shop AU changes based on the canon’s form. Given that this is a limitation of my methodology, I wanted to ensure that the arguments throughout this dissertation pertain (as much as we’re currently able to prove) to the entirety of the Coffee Shop AU genre, not just Coffee Shop AUs based on television canons. This chapter argues that the genre does not change with a new canonical medium. Rather, fans prioritize the characteristics previously established, despite the differences in engaging with the canon or even its surrounding culture (with

Witcher based on Polish as opposed to American material). I provide a close reading of the fic Black Coffee Two Sugars by Apuzzlingprince and demonstrate how, despite working from non-television material, the story reflects all of the characteristics laid out over the course of this project and grapples with them in a similar manner, helping to prove that the Coffee Shop AU’s genre characteristics inevitably outweigh any differences stemming from the canon.

Before segueing into these chapters, I would also like to take this time to note a few other aspects of this work that are worth keeping in mind. Unlike some other fields

(though becoming more common in most popular culture work), my sources here pull

61 heavily from both academia and fan metas: analyses conducted by fans themselves that can range from quick, unedited thoughts to researched pieces backed up by sources and peer-reviewed prior to posting. During the first wave of Fan Studies, scholars like

Camille Bacon-Smith usually weren't members of the communities they were researching, taking an ethnographic outsider-looking-in approach to their work. However, since the mid-1990s there has been a strong move towards prioritizing the voices of fans and aca-fans, citing the complexity of these communities and acknowledging that only those immersed in the culture can hope to fully understand it; to highlight the nuances and intricacies of each individual group. I subscribe to this belief and would like to reiterate what Lawrence Eng promotes in his essay on otaku culture in the U.S.: “In my doctoral work, I drew heavily on my experiences as an anime fan, but I also learned to take a step back from fandom (when appropriate) to create proper distance as an observer” (Eng). Distance is indeed important, but so is familiarity and I hope to find a balance between the two here. Thus, readers should expect research as well as personal accounts; scholarly work as well as fan posts, leading to longer and at times unfamiliar in-text citations. As Hellekson and Busse note, “fans themselves have continued to produce a corpus of literature that is more often insightful and current than much academic work” (23). It’s time we started utilizing that corpus more fully. Additionally, some of the vocabulary used in this dissertation may prove challenging to those not immersed in fan culture. As Bacon-Smith noted in ’91, newcomers are expected to learn the language and intricacies of fic if they have any hope of becoming a productive member of the fandom and learning that language takes time (155). All fan communities,

62 no matter how open, both consciously and subconsciously make information accessible only to other fans by using terminology and symbols not commonly written in English

(Herzog 2013). Though I did note earlier that this piece was composed under the assumption that readers would have at least a cursory understanding of fan practices, I do attempt to combat some of that gatekeeping without eliminating the fan language itself.

Thus, there is a terminology index that readers are free to make use of that covers both terms used in this piece as well as terms commonly found in fandom. In addition, here I have singled out the ten most frequently used terms throughout the dissertation:

AU - Short for “Alternate Universe.” This is an incredibly broad term that can refer to almost any fic, from characters living in a literal new universe (such as Star Trek characters now living in a Sherlock Holmes-esque universe) to the author simply changing an event in the canon (such a keeping a character alive who originally died). However, though that breadth still exists, most fans use the term to refer to rather significant deviations from the canonical universe.

Canon – Within fandom communities “canon” refers not to a specific body of works deemed influential but rather any official text within a particular fandom. This could be the original source material such as a novel or film, a beloved adaptation, or even a comment made by an author outside of their work. However, in the age of sequels, prequels, and multi, sometimes conflicting authorship, determining what is “official” varies by fandom and often individual by individual.

Fanon - The “second canon” of a fandom. Fans use the term to describe ideas that are incredibly popular among a community and are generally agreed upon, but are not actually canonical. Fans use the fanon extensively in fanfiction and metas, to the extent that newcomers can become confused and believe that such details exist in the official texts. An example is fans’ belief that Nadir Kahn is the official name for the Persian from The Phantom of the Opera, despite the fact that this name originates from Susan Kay’s popular retelling, Phantom, and not Gaston Leroux’s novel.

Fluff - An aspect of fic characterized by happy scenarios and endings. Often there is very little plot to speak of in fluff fics, just an emphasis on cute, humorous, and domestic content.

Headcanon - A headcanon is a fan’s personal interpretation of canon that is generally— but not always—unsupported. A headcanon can be anything from a detail hinted at but never explicitly stated in canon, to a completely idiosyncratic interpretation of a character. If headcanons become popular enough fans may incorporate them into the fanon or (very rarely) authors may adopt them and included them in the canon itself.

IC - Short for “in character,” it can refer to a fic that accurately reflects how the canon/fanon portrays a character, or it can refer to roleplaying/cosplaying as a way of indicating that you are now pretending to be a certain character rather than yourself.

OOC – An acronym standing for “out of character,” this is a negative term used to describe a character in a fic (or at times in a meta, a fanart, etc.) that readers believe does not reflect their canon or fanon counterpart.

OTP - Acronym standing for “one true pairing.” Fans define an OTP as either the only pairing that interests them within a fandom or the one they prefer above all others. This is the pairing that a fan will read the majority of their fic for, write for, look at art for, discuss, etc. OTPs often lead to a lot of fandom animosity, with fans getting into ship wars about which pairings are “better” and which are likely to end up being canonical. Your OTP is in every way the opposite of your NOTP, a portmanteau of “no” and “OTP.”

Ship/Shipping - “Ship” is both a noun and a verb, referring to a pairing within a fandom (“They’re a popular ship”) as well as the act of supporting the pairing (“I ship them”). The term originated in the X-Files fandom when fans who wanted to see Mulder and Scully together were dubbed “relationshippers” and then eventually just “shippers.” The common use of “ship” has led to a number of popular puns such as, “I will go down with this ship” and “I don’t have a ship, I have an armada” (as a way of claiming that you ship a large number of different pairings). Shipping often results in OTPs and the creation of ship names (a portmanteau of both partners’ names as a way of referring to them as a couple).

Slash - A term that technically refers to two or more characters of the same gender who pursue a sexual and/or romantic relationship, but more often than not “slash” denotes a specifically man/man pairing (with “femslash” used for woman/woman). Fans believe that the term originated in the Star Trek fandom when readers needed a way to distinguish fics that portrayed Kirk and Spock as friends and those that portrayed them as lovers. Fanzines had long been using the & symbol (Kirk&Spock) to show that they were the featured characters of a fic, so fans simply replaced the ‘&’ with ‘/’ to signal a romantic relationship. The use of the forward slash eventually became known as just “slash.” Today, platonic relationships are usually denoted with an ‘x.’

Readers may also find my tone, as well as the tone of my sources, more casual than might be expected of a doctoral dissertation. “New Media must be taken seriously.

But taking it seriously need not involve taking the fun out of the enterprise,” is a philosophy that fans have well mastered (Murphy 21). The use of slang, jokes, puns, sarcasm, and exaggeration are all integral to the fan experience and it would be remiss of me not to include some of that here. In contrast, readers should continue with the knowledge that some of these fics tackle sensitive issues with varying degrees of specificity. Terminal illnesses, abuse, thoughts of suicide, and numerous forms of discrimination—while uncommon in the genre—do occur and readers should keep these and other sensitive topics in mind for their own mental health.

As a final note, it is perhaps worth mentioning that this work evolved out of a paper given at the fifth annual FANS conference in Ft. Worth, Texas, a conference that is hosted by—and certainly influenced by—A-Kon, the longest running anime convention in North America. Which is to say, my audience was perhaps in a less scholarly frame of mind after spending their day exploring the artists' alley and showing off their latest cosplay. When it came time for questions, the first woman I called on asked enthusiastically if I had any fic recommendations, rather than asking about my paper itself. What followed was a quick but passionate swapping of titles, most of which were

Coffee Shop AUs from prominent fandoms like Sherlock and Once Upon a Time. In terms of adhering to niche tastes, fanfiction has always been ahead of television and other forms of popular media, providing flexible content that caters to individual desires, preferences, and triggers. No matter what kind of fic you’re interested in—whatever

65 strange mashup of genre, kink, characters, or conflict—chances are someone has written it and you can find that fic if you dig deep enough into the archives. Despite the ability to cultivate fandom to your own tastes, nothing beats a good recommendation: quality assurance from a fellow fan that this story is worth investing in. It sometimes feels like every fic reader is on the lookout for a good Coffee Shop AU, even those who, like a conference goer, are supposed to be putting their work before their play.

Readers should likewise be aware that the title of my dissertation comes from a popular Tumblr post in which a fan going by the username Brolininthetardis snapped a picture of a chalk board outside a coffee shop. Accompanied by a hilariously bad stick figure, the sign reads, “Today your barista is: 1. Hella fucking gay. 2. Desperately single.

For your drink today I recommend: You give me your number” (Ibegto-dreamanddiffer).

This sign combines the comedy and “feel good” aspects that have become synonymous with the genre, while likewise highlighting the emphasis on queer relationships. It

(presumably) once existed in front of a real coffee shop and thus coincides with a recent call to make the genre more realistic; to pull from real-life scenarios in order to better bridge the gap between what fans are reading about and what they'd actually like to experience during their everyday lives. The brazen announcement—and presumed acceptance—of the barista's sexuality, the humorous implication that a phone number is interchangeable with a drink recommendation, and the self-deprecating drawing act as a summary for much of what the Coffee Shop AU stands for as a genre, thus leading to the tags attached to the post: “#this is a coffeeshop au screaming to be brought into existence

#i don’t care what fandom or what pairing #someone write it #and send it to me.”

As is common in a gift culture, fans took the request seriously and began using this snapshot as a prompt for many of their Coffee Shop AUs. For example, on both

Tumblr and AO3 you can find Harry Potter fics that include this sign in the plot, One

Direction fics that turn the image into cover art for their story, and Percy Jackson fics that use “Today Your Barista Is” as their title (Lighting_Shaped_Scars, Kenziexo, I- write-shakespeare-not-disney). Indeed, the second most popular Coffee Shop AU in the

Supernatural fandom is simply titled “Supernatural: Today Your Barista Is...” highlighting how pervasive this prompt has become within the genre. In the end—after rejecting numerous puns deemed too unprofessional for a dissertation but which would have fit right in within Coffee Shop AU conventions—it was obvious what the title of this work should be too.

Figure 3. Photograph by Tumblr user Brolininthetardish of a chalk board outside of a coffee shop. The board shows a smiling stick figure and a message asking customers to leave their number for a gay, “desperately single” barista.

Chapter 2 Story World: “A Refuge of Sorts”

“How do I explain that the only reason I know anything about coffee is because of coffee shop AUs.” - Tumblr user Ctrlklance

Origins

The beginnings of the Coffee Shop AU, like so much of fandom history, are slim and often debated. Information on the genre stems primarily from Fanlore, a wiki that works to “record both the history and current state of our fan communities—fan works, fan activities, fan terminology, individual fans and fannish-related events” (“Fanlore:

About”). According to them, the Coffee Shop AU was originally known as a Barista AU and began—or was at least starting out—with the fic Café de l’Amour by NSyncGrrl

(“Coffee Shop AU”). Written around 2001, this 'N Sync RPF (Real Person Fic) “started a trend” according to NSyncGrrl’s own author’s notes, perhaps helping to popularize the genre in the popslash fandom before it spread to other fan communities. Sadly, this fic is no longer available to the public as NSyncGrrl took it down to publish as an original piece, using the new alias J.M. Snyder. I communicated with Snyder briefly through email in the spring of 2017, explaining this project and asking if she was willing to part with a copy of the original story. However, this proved difficult since the original is located on “a backup disc somewhere” with “such intuitive titles as ‘Backup Writings

#5.’” As the search continued “ZIP disks and 3.5” floppies revealed themselves, though they can no longer be accessed, emphasizing how easily fan works are lost as technology

69 evolves. Snyder was very kind and promised to keep looking, but sadly nothing ever came of the search. She did, however, provide me with a copy of the revised and published work of the same name.

Though the status of the work as a fic may be permanently lost, we can still look to the mainstream version for hints as to how the Coffee Shop AU functioned in the early

2000s and how consistent the genre has remained throughout the last two decades.

Overall there are a staggering number of commonalities between this initial piece and later Coffee Shop AUs, despite twenty years of difference and revisions made for a mainstream audience, demonstrating that Snyder’s work has indeed had a lasting impact on the genre overall. At 6,841 words, Café de l’Amour’s short length has become a staple of the Coffee Shop AU, allowing the characters to quickly set up the romantic conflict and then spend time on introspective pining. This romantic interest is, as expected, between two men, with barista Austin meeting customer Seth and asking quite quickly,

“Are we flirting? God I hope so,” (2). The story seeks to paint a happy and healthy crush between the two of them, sharply contrasting many of the romantic relationships depicted in mainstream media, and the story world is characterized through the “ritual” of Seth’s comforting presence in the coffee shop, always ordering the same drink and dropping hints about how he is more interested in the company than he is the coffee. The world imagined is one without homophobia or pesky issues like customer and employee formalities, with conflict instead structured around personal feelings of inadequacy:

“Who are you to him? Just a barista at a local café, that’s it. No one special. No one sharing a bed” (5). Other commonalities abound, including an emphasis on the

70 importance of names, characterization through sweets, food innuendo (often involving whipped cream), and prioritizing domestic romance over explicit content.

The only noteworthy deviation between this initial Coffee Shop AU and what the genre would develop into is that Café de l’Amour is written in the first person whereas nearly all modern Coffee Shop AUs are written in the third. However, this is less a distinction within the genre and instead a preference now found in the vast majority of modern fanfic. Readers often consider first person POV to be a sign of a new writer, given the ease with which the writing can become overblown or hackneyed while taking on the internal perspective of your character, and thus more mature writers tend to avoid it. This, ultimately, has less to do with whether a writer actually has the skill to do the first-person justice and more a reaction to the overall stigma attached to the choice. In

2020, most Coffee Shop AU writers are unwilling to risk losing a reader because they didn’t adhere to that third-person expectation (with the second-person considered too experimental for the genre). One Tumblr user’s post—currently totaling over 16,000 notes—perfectly summarizes fandom’s feelings and the risk writers take by challenging the Coffee Shop AU’s modern structure (Sexwithstilinskiandhale):

Figure 4. Screenshot of a GIF by Tumblr user Sexwithstilinskiandhale showing their reaction to opening a fanfic that uses the first-person. The GIF features a woman looking distraught.

Of course, this becomes cyclical over time, with more writers avoiding the first-person when they see posts like this one, further perpetuating the trend. However, this is an example of how fanfiction as a form has impacted the Coffee Shop AU as a genre, with broader expectations driving the structure of one particular type of fic. Otherwise, what we see today is remarkably similar to where the genre began in the early 2,000s.

Like Café de l’Amour, what distinguishes the Coffee Shop AU from other romance-based fics featuring two queer men—which make up the majority of works on

AO334—is the coffee shop setting itself. The Coffee Shop AU relies on the coffee shop being the focal point of the fic, almost akin to a third, main character, a space that provides a reason for the couple to meet, helps to characterize both of them, and likewise reflects the optimistic, almost utopian world that fans seek to craft, take comfort in, and sometimes push to see in reality. It is not enough for two characters merely to go to a coffee shop within the story. For example, Casfallsinlove’s fic Easy Now, With My Heart features Castiel as a “writer slash works-in-a-coffee shop” barista and indeed, there is a scene where he and Dean reconnect across the counter. However, as the summary of the fic lays out, this is just one of many locations where Dean and Castiel meet—Dean is suddenly finding that “Cas is everywhere,” thereby limiting the amount of influence the shop has on their interactions as well as the overall feeling the reader receives from engaging with the fic. It’s not much of a Coffee Shop AU if the characters spend the majority of their time in a classroom, a lawyer’s officer, a personal residence, etc., something that Casfallsinlove seems to have been aware of when they uploaded the story.

Bypassing the “Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés” tag, they instead wrote in their own tag of, “there is a coffee shop too,” with the “too” helping readers to distinguish between those fics that are Coffee Shop AUs and those that just happen to include a

34 When uploading to AO3 users are asked to label their fic with one or more of the following categories: Gen, Female/Female, Male/Male, Male/Female, Multi, or Other. As of March 2020, there are 2,877,638 fics within the slash (Male/Male) category compared to only half that at 1,404,002 for Male/Female, 483,825 for femslash (Female/Female), 273,592 for Multi, and 162,331for Other. Gen fics—those with no romantic pairing—total 1,073,218, still more than a million behind the slash category. 73 coffee shop. Given how little influence the setting has on the overall story, Casfallsinlove was correct (by the standards laid out in this work) to categorize their fic as the latter.35

Practical Applications

First and foremost, in order to be considered a Coffee Shop AU the setting must provide the framework around which the rest of the story rests: why the characters meet, their reason for continuing this interaction, and what about them draws the other in, with the setting providing ample opportunity to show those traits off: e.g. a character known for their generosity frequently giving out free drinks. Indeed, one of the reasons for the coffee shop’s rising popularity is its ability to explain why characters who would otherwise have no reason to meet suddenly interact on a daily basis. For example, Derek, coming from a canonically wealthy family, has almost no chance of bumping into an AU version of Stiles reimagined as a destitute artist...unless he tends to frequent the coffee shop at which Stiles is earning extra cash. It’s a simple, but wonderfully persuasive way of allowing characters with vastly different backgrounds and personalities to meet, sharing their experiences and, by inevitably becoming a couple, crafting the message that society is at its best when such differences meet and co-habit. The coffee shop likewise ensures that this work doesn’t feel forced on the author’s part. What if my character isn’t the type to frequent a library? Or a park? Or can’t afford eating out a lot? Libraries are

35 However, other fics do label themselves as Coffee Shop AUs despite the characters spending little time in a coffee shop and the shop having little impact (if any) on their relationship. It is difficult to know whether these authors define Coffee Shop AUs differently or if they are simply tagging for everything in the story. Given the Coffee Shop AUs popularity, it’s possible that authors use the tag fairly loosely with the hope that it will draw in more readers. 74 often too quiet for prolonged interaction. Parks are suitable only with weather permitting, and not every writer wants to explain how their previously poor character continues eating out at the restaurant where their crush works—or bank on their readers missing the discrepancy. Coffee shops, in contrast, provide endless possibilities for two people to relax and get to know each other in a setting that is considered accessible. At least comparatively. Whether you’re coming to work, socialize, or just grab a bite to eat, you need no authority or special schooling to enter a coffee shop, nor a justification for being there, and it’s one of the few places where you can spend hours on end without getting kicked out.

In a LiveJournal thread titled “Explain [it] to me like I’m five—fandom edition,” an anonymous poster asked the community to explain Coffee Shop AUs to them. “Why are coffee shops so prevalent in mundane AUs? Why not bookstores or diners or banks or something?” (Anonymous 2011). Banks are perhaps a bit of a stretch, but diners and bookshops are excellent counterexamples given that they would, presumably, provide the same sort of accessible, social interaction that writers are looking for in order to develop a relationship between two characters. On the surface it’s a bit of a conundrum as to why the coffee shop would prevail when there are other spaces that would serve the same purpose. In an attempt to help their fellow fans, other anonymous posters provide a number of possible answers:

1) fandom is a caffein [sic] and cake addict. 2) almost unrivaled opportunities for schmoop: cinnamon scents coffee bean metaphors, yenta or intended lover regulars, small enough that an OTP running it could work 3) write what you know; the 16-year-old anime fans write high school AU, the 20+ media fans write coffee shop AU 75

4) for some reason every second hipster wants to open a cool little latte place and serve organic cupcakes, they think that working in a coffee shop is as much fun as being served in one (thus, reading about it, is like emotional chai tea or something…)

***

I think it’s actually more of a tripartite animal consisting of: - coffee shop/barista!AUs – most popular - bookstore!AUs (librarian!AUs being a subgenre thereof) – second-most popular - bakery!AUs – still popular (officeworker!AUs exist, but seem much less popular)

… (One suspects that many of the writers either are not experienced with or deliberately for the sake of fiction choose to elide the fun and excitement of bakers’ hours, library budget cuts, barista RSI, and small-business administration and financing issues and failure rates.)

From there the conversation devolves (jokingly) into various ways of combining these genres into the ultimate fic, but these first two responses provide a great deal of insight.

There are other aspects at work that have helped to popularize the genre, but notably coffee shops—as bustling, casual establishments—more easily allow for natural interaction with the waitstaff or other customers and, perhaps most importantly, are familiar to the writer. One might frequent a diner or bookshop every few weeks (if that), but coffee shops are a staple of many people’s everyday routine. The practicality attached to the setting is not merely in regards to its ability to bring people together in an accessible manner, but also extends to the writer’s confidence in describing that setting, its atmosphere, and the events that might go on inside it. As the first responder puts it,

“write what you know” and out of all the potential settings, coffee shops are some of the most well-known to writers.

Third Places

However, it’s not merely the coffee shop’s practicality that makes it an alluring setting for fic writers to set their stories in. It is likewise the emotional investment that characters are likely to develop, which can then be exploited in the Coffee Shop AU to further develop them and their relationship. Coffee shops exist between the public and the private sphere in what is often referred to as a third place. This includes any kind of commercial establishment like bars, restaurants, and the like that have “a history of providing informal settings that encourage social camaraderie among their patrons”

(Rosenbaum 44). These spaces become a core aspect of everyday life, allowing people to find a place between work and home that has the social opportunities of the former and some of the informality of the latter. This place attachment—which is really an attachment to the relationships people develop or perceive that they’ve developed with employees and other patrons, as opposed to loyalty to the space itself—can help relieve loneliness through “commercial friendships” and the mere act of consistently engaging with other people, even if it’s just to order a drink. However, this does not mean that the look of the coffee shop doesn’t help to enhance these communal ties. Coffee shops tend to “perfectly reflect the character of their communities,” with décor that works to mimic the neighborhood and the people who live there, creating the sense that this is a space specifically meant for you (Hansen). Indeed, during a 2004 study of counterculture coffee shops, patrons recorded that they held the same artistic, philosophical, and political views as the shop owners, indicating that they were faithful to the shop out of a sense of

77 comradery, not because (or not solely because) they liked the coffee itself (Rosenbaum

49).

This concept of coffee shops as a home away from home was helped along by soap operas and other genre shows of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Long-running soaps such as

The Young and the Restless frequently use coffee shops like their Crimson Lights as a physical touchstone where family, lovers, and enemies alike can do everything from hashing out their differences to covering up murders. Cafés quickly became a trademark of the sitcom as Friends centered city life around the Central Perk coffeehouse, Frasier located drama around Café Nervosa, and Seinfeld did the same with the Monk’s Café. In

“Fun City: TV’s Urban Situation Comedies of the 1990s,” Michael Tueth argues that coffee shops and, to a lesser extent, diners have become the new living room, public spaces that are capable of housing very private interactions (103). Work friends became the new family and family is no longer restricted to houses and apartments. Similarly, the

2000s saw the rise of coffee shops in genre shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The

Flash, Smallville, and Once Upon a Time. In each of these, cafés act as a barrier between the normal and supernatural world, providing the characters with a place to wind down from their experiences without forgetting who they are. S.T.A.R. Labs is where Barry and his friends plan how to keep Central City safe, but it’s at CC Jitters where they work through how these dangers impact their personal lives. A young Clark Kent might be struggling with alien puberty and all the powers that come along with it, but he can find a sense of normality in pursuing his crush Lana Lang at the Talon. Like the sitcoms they in part grew out of, the conversations taking place on these coffee shop couches tend to

78 revolve around the themes of friendship, dating, and the characters’ sex lives, helping fans appropriate and evolve the space for more romance-focused stories.

Thus, in an effort to match the environment to these feel-good plotlines— allowing each to bolster the other—the coffee shops of Coffee Shop AUs are described as warm, cute, even nerdy at times. The concept of a third place demands that the atmosphere reflect the community, in this case the barista who works at the shop, and thereby discourages any descriptions that undermine individuality. For example, rather than modeling itself after a corporate chain, the shop in All Stirred Up, a Teen Wolf fic by

Jsea and Marguerite_26, is filled with “everything from old Star Wars figurines to odd shaped bottles and jars,” namely objects that have personality attached to them. Warm

Days describes The Coffee Bar as “an entirely unique little enterprise: masquerading as a sweet little coffee shop during the day, it took a half hour recess at 6.30 to completely transform into an all signing all dancing bar…pub type place. It was, like, the Batman of the beverage world” (Captainskellington). In Mistletoe Never Lies the shop is described as a “tiny, hole-in-the-wall, blink and you’ll miss it sort of place, with soft lighting and dark wood” that’s meant to put everyone at ease (CarolineLahey). This shop also has a book lending policy—wherein characters can take a book from the small shelf Stiles has, provided they put another book there in return—thus emphasizing those feelings of community and communication, an openness that pushes back against the supposed purpose of the establishment: to make money. The setting is designed around knowledge, free access, and universal comfort, characteristics you’re unlikely to find in a larger coffee chain.

Indeed, many Coffee Shop AUs go out of their way to paint chains in a negative light, implying that privately owned cafés with a homey feel are far more desirable. In another Teen Wolf fic, Stiles is highly suspicious about the new coffee shop that finally took over the one that had closed years before. He hopes “it’s still a proper coffee shop.

Stiles might actually break down and cry if it turns out that the monster of a machine is gone and it is being turned into just another generic Starbucks” (Sirona). Thus, there are

“proper” cafés that are perceived as inviting, that tell us something about their owners or those who work there, and then there are “generic” cafés like Starbucks that one should reject whenever possible. The former more overtly embodies a third place and thus is more beneficial to the fic writer in crafting a welcoming, compelling atmosphere.

Yet for many, Starbucks has become the quintessential example of a coffee shop third place. Founded by friends Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegel in 1971, they originally sold roasted coffee beans, but nothing brewed (“Starbucks Company

Timeline”). By the early 1980s the men had four stores in Seattle, Washington and were doing relatively well in the trade. When Howard Schultz came along and expressed interest in turning their shops into true cafés—with expressos and cappuccinos sold on site—the founders weren’t interested. However, when they decided to sell in 1987

Schultz was finally able to change Starbucks into the chain tycoon we all know and

(presumably) love, the one with over 20,000 stores worldwide. Starbucks is now the largest coffeehouse in the world and undoubtedly one of the most popular, credited with starting a trend of boutique coffee shops in cities that didn’t previously have a strong coffee culture. In an age where commodities are sold through personalization and the idea

80 that these companies somehow know and cater to you, Starbucks has succeeded in branding itself as that home away from home.

Yet few Coffee Shop AUs make use of Starbucks in a positive manner, still considering it too uniform for the purposes of their work. Though some characters do work at Starbucks, more often than not the genre has them manning, frequenting, or owning individual shops that are characterized as separate from the billion dollar enterprise. The Coffee Shop AU prefers to feature underdog cafés, not the heavyweights.

Mark Rosenbaum helps to explain this preference by noting that “Although Starbucks promotes itself as a third place, its uniform servicescapes and high prices suppress the primary characteristics of third places, namely, the ability to meet regularly with an array of people and to have varied experiences” (55). So, despite its attempts to brand itself as a third place, Starbucks hasn’t quite succeeded. As a setting it is not considered unique and is, therefore, unsuitable as a representation of these characters’ varying personalities.

Instead, you’re more likely to get descriptions like that coffee shop in All Stirred Up which is said to be “about as far from Starbucks as it could get, really” (Jsea). The contrast alone is enough to help the viewer picture a more welcoming environment conducive to various types of social interaction. Other fics use Starbucks’ status as an inferior space as a means of commenting on the status of the romantic relationship. When

Derek gets into a fight with Stiles, he’s forced to pick up his co-workers’ coffee from

Starbucks instead of Stiles’ shop and is met with looks that make him “want to bury himself behind his house” (Jsea). Later, when others learn of Derek’s mandatory

Starbucks purchase, their response is a blunt and forceful, “What a dick!” The reaction is

81 not merely due to Derek picking up drinks from a major chain, but rather that these drinks are proof that Stiles is upset enough to warrant excluding him from his shop. So long as Derek is buying from Starbucks, the rest of the town knows that he and their favorite barista are on the outs. Returning to the inviting atmosphere of the café directly reflects Stiles welcoming Derek back into his life as his boyfriend.

However, for all their emphasis on third place superiority, these coffee shops are not quite as innovative as they have the potential to be, in that they don’t reflect some of the real-life—and wonderfully unique— coffee shops that already exist in the 21st century. If writers were solely concerned with distinguishing their settings from the average coffee chain, they might include details like photobooths that put your picture on your coffee’s foam, or drink lids designed to hold cookies (Poff). However, we rarely see details like these because authors are concerned not merely with crafting a unique space, but also one that reflects the owners and/or the baristas of the shop. If a detail doesn’t tell you something about the protagonist—that Stiles loves popular culture or Castiel prefers comfort over practicality—then the description is useless. The setting exists to help these characters understand one another and foster a relationship between them. As Derek thinks to himself when catching sight of Stiles, “It’s ridiculous the way the rest of the shop seems to fade out for just a second and then come back clearer and louder and brighter” (Kariye).

The Public Sphere

In addition to these acts of characterization and relationship markers, coffee shops still exist within the public sphere, which Jürgen Habermas identified as a specific domain that at times rests in “that sector of public opinion that happens to be opposed to the authorities,” but nonetheless provides communication among various members of the public, generating the opinion needed to sustain a democracy (2). In writing Coffee Shop

AUs, fans seek not only to craft fluff pieces as a form of comforting entertainment, but to challenge the status quo with their literature: through queering the canonical texts, undermining gender roles, promoting sexual freedom, normalizing discussion of mental health, and radicalizing small acts of kindness—to name just a few. Thus, it makes perfect sense that fans would situate such stories within a space already identified as a place to discuss societal problems. Coffee shops (along with a growing press and various literary societies) helped to shape the public sphere in the 18th century where,

they became popular as centers of news-gathering and news dissemination, political debate, and literary criticism. In the early part of the eighteenth century, London is said to have had no fewer than two thousand coffee-houses. Addison wanted to have it said of him that he had brought philosophy out of closets and libraries ‘to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea tables and in coffee houses.’ The English middle classes began to accomplish their own education in the coffee- houses (Speier 381).

Today, we see that education continuing in the fictional coffee shops of fanfiction, expanded past Habermas’ original conception to include the many groups he excluded, most notably women, people of color, and queer individuals (Fraser). According to

Habermas, the public sphere only approached its ideal in the 19th and 20th centuries when class, gender, and ethnic exclusions began to disappear, allowing for an authentic melting

83 pot of public opinion. The fictional landscape of the Coffee Shop AU makes that possible for the first time, emphasizing hope, improvement, and an idealistic society by crafting a public space that anyone can become a part of, regardless of their identity. This focus is particularly significant for queer fans36 who, in recent years, have criticized the lack of non-sexualized spaces within queer communities. Bars, clubs, and pride parades are all common ways for queer individuals to connect, yet all of these spaces are sexualized to one extent or another, making some inappropriate for children or simply undesirable to many others. The Coffee Shop AU imagines cafés where queer individuals are both common and visible, allowing readers to more easily picture a world in which more spaces like that might exist. According to Jane Hu, fandom “combines the undeniably awesome power of fiction with the unflaggable support of a community.” Coffee Shop

AUs are not merely concerned with developing a practical space appropriate for telling a romantic story, but particularly a common, non-sexualized space for queer stories. Out of the 1,382 fics surveyed for this project, 1,360 include a same-sex couple.

This utopian outlook, focused on the coffee shop as a space accepting of all individuals, is summarized nicely in the fic Mistletoe Never Lies where Stiles has this exchange with Derek regarding his desire to be a barista:

Stiles puts his own cup away and leans in closer. “I wanted to create a place where people felt like they belonged. A refuge of sorts.”

“Like a home away from home?”

36 In 2013 an AO3 census found that only 38% of users identified as heterosexual and 54% identified as a gender, sexual, or romantic minority, re-emphasizing that queer individuals make up the majority of transformative fandom, thereby heavily impacting the works they produce (Centreoftheselights). 84

“Not exactly. Home is comfortable and all, but it’s not always a place to feel special. I wanted to create an environment that made people want to come in and know they’d be recognized, that they mattered. Even my coffee carts have regulars because I train the employees to remember the students.”

“You really think it matters that much?” Derek’s not trying to be mean, just wondering.

“I think people get lost in the crowd all the time,” answers Stiles, “And sometimes all we really need is someone who knows we don’t like foam on our hazelnut latte.”

It’s a rather romanticized version of the space, but for fans that’s entirely the point. Bacon-Smith notes that fic tends to “re-create the commonplace” and make interesting the seemingly mundane (155). Here, the idea that anyone can find comfort and recognition among strangers within a capitalist enterprise is the cornerstone of the fantasy. People do get lost in the crowd and the idea that someone—even just a barista— cares enough to remember your drink order is incredibly appealing.

Concept Posts

In addition to providing characterization and insight into the characters’ relationship, the space is, or is at least assumed to be, a place of productivity. The environment of a coffee shop, from its ambient noise to its endless supply of tasty fuel, is an environment closely associated with creativity and efficiency. According to research done by the University of British Columbia back in 2012, there are reasons why most people work better in cafés. Beyond the fact that background noise can help you focus better than silence and that too much focus is detrimental to abstract thinking, “There is a palpable, productive, caffeinated energy in the air, an invisible camaraderie that cannot

85 exist in the quiet of a home office. The productivity is literally contagious. You may even argue that you are more creative when writing at a coffee shop—and science is ready to back you up on that” (Specktor). Whether all coffee shops are truly this advantageous or whether that has become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, the image of a productively beneficial, welcoming, and accessible space is particularly alluring to Millennials, the generation that grew up alongside—and has helped to craft—the Coffee Shop AU.

Defined as the generation born between 1982 and 1992, our identity is defined, in large part, by a combination of long-term education and downward mobility: staying home after 18, marrying late in life, and knowing that we won’t reach the same middle-class status as our parents (Kaklamnidou, 4). Coffee shops provide a reprieve from such worries, not just offering a space for study and social interaction (significant when those in question may not own property of their own or are forced to share it with roommates), but also comparatively cheap indulgences, allowing Millennials to mimic a more financially stable lifestyle than they have. As mentioned above, this outlook is reflected in plot of Coffee Shop AUs. These characters are often struggling financially as well, acting as self-inserts for the writer and reader. They’re relatable and recognizable.

However, they still embody wish-fulfillment by working in such alluring environments and, inevitably, meeting the love of their life. Coffee Shop AUs pose the question,

“Wouldn’t it be great if the place I hang out in every day because it’s the most affordable indulgence unexpectedly landed me my soulmate?”

This act of romanticizing every day, accessible routines is mirrored by posts made by young adults on Tumblr, what are sometimes referred to as “concept posts.” As the

86 name suggests, writers begin a short paragraph with “concept:” and then proceed to describe some hypothetical and presumably sought-after situation, with the twist being that every scenario described should be easy to obtain. Though the original post that started the trend errs on the side of fantastical—“concept: me, barefoot in the forest. moss is engulfing my legs. i’ve been here for years”—the meme quickly developed a reputation for describing humbling scenarios.

concept: i wake up early fully rested and excited to start the day, i go on a run, eat healthy meals, wear nice and comfortable clothes that i feel good in, i go to school to see many kind friends who love me and would do anything to protect me. i take tests and ace them, i have perfect high A’s in all my classes. immediately when i get home i do my homework and finish it all before dinner. i understand everything i’ve learned. i read and write for a couple of hours before bed in my huge room, full of bookshelves and potted plants, while rain pounds on the window, and then i drift off to sleep... (Sprintingstudies).

This concept post is representative of most seen online today. Apart from having a

“huge room” and perhaps straight As, nothing about this scenario goes beyond Maslow’s initial stages of need: access to food, clothing, rest, camaraderie, and recreation, what we now consider to be basic human rights. Part of the purpose of these posts is to point out

(in an entreatingly whimsical manner) how low the bar is for younger generations and how little they’re looking for when it comes to happiness and self-fulfillment. Indeed, even this scenario is seen as too much to hope for with the author writing in the tags,

“#unrealistic but i wish #i should be grateful for the life i already have oopsies.” Gone are the expectations that you’ll one day achieve a suburban home with the perfect partner and

2.5 kids, to say nothing of the wealth required to travel, invest, retire, and put those kids through colleges of their own—milestones of adulthood that are now being rewritten. In their place are dreams of the most basic financial security, with time for hobbies, and 87 money left over for the occasional book or potted plant. Or cup of coffee. Other posts name the same, simplistic desires while likewise highlighting a freedom to be oneself:

but imagine being in your favorite foreign city, living in a cute, cozy apartment with a lovely view, working at a small bookstore, spending your time at beautiful coffee shops and libraries, taking long walks, meeting new people that make you feel good, being yourself, finding true love and actually feeling good & fulfilled with your life (Satinyrose).

The list form helps the post read as an authentic, stream of consciousness; something that was written out naturally and thus, presumably, represents real and truthful emotions. The list itself, and the existence of the concept meme more broadly, reflects the allure of the Coffee Shop setting and why the genre has taken root in the last twenty years. The idea that one might “[spend] your time at beautiful coffee shops” and

“[meet] new people that make you feel good” has become a sought-after dream. And we see these desires written directly into the fics. In Due Cause, Dean marvels at the fact that he “was actually looking forward to waking up everyday and making coffee [with

Castiel] which should have been stupid and boring and depressing but just wasn’t”

(FortinbrasFTW). That emphasis on everyday pleasures and the assumption that they should be cherished is what drives the structure of the Coffee Shop AU, with the coffee shop itself the perfect embodiment of both. The allure of concept posts reflects growing fears among Millennial and Gen Z fans that are then soothed somewhat by reading and writing Coffee Shop AUs, stories in which such limitations nevertheless lead to a happy conclusion. The concept of upholding a simple life with simple pleasures is made real in these fics, fleshed out and expanded upon in order to maximize its effect.

Mood Boards

The simple and frugal details that drive the culture of concept posts also take center stage in mood boards: posts that fit various images together under a particular theme. As the definition of “fanfiction” continues to expand, now including various types of multi-media as opposed to just text, the Coffee Shop AU has likewise spilled over into the realm of Instagram culture, where shots of coffees, teas, baked goods, and their locations are meant to more forcefully exhibit feelings of comfort, aesthetic appreciation, and even jealousy that you’re not currently enjoying that same. Much of the descriptive narration in a Coffee Shop AU is a written extension of an already common practice, wherein posters present highly stylized pictures of cafés for their followers to view not just as a pretty image, but as a form of achievable escapism. For example, take this collection of images, some of which have been used as inspiration for Coffee Shop AUs

(Nealc25, Cafewithstyle, Clockworkbibliophile, Like-Fairy-Tales, Delphicoracle):

Figure 5. A collection of seven images taken from various Tumblr blogs. Each shows a coffee shop with patrons reading, writing, listening to music, drinking tea, coffee, and eating sweets.

Pictured is a grande (not venti) Frappuccino. A pretty mug. A well-worn book. A phone screen that’s cracked but still working. Arms draped in what might be thrift-store fashion. This is not to say that everyone producing these types of photos is struggling financially, or even that they’re consciously focused on this sort of simplistic consumerism, only that this is the culture now attached to such photos, one where that sweater might be second hand and that coffee is probably a treat. These details are then 90 recreated in fan-specific mood boards, collections of images that are meant to evoke emotions attached to both the place and the fictional couple. It’s “such a cozy feeling” as one blogger, Cafewithstyle, notes, highlighting that these pictures are meant to be a form of emotional indulgence. Their purpose is not merely to generate a desire for the space depicted in these pictures (including the accompanying objects like cute foam bears and long-gone Starbucks drinks), but also a desire for the particular sense of peace attached to the space. This is an indulgence specifically aimed at Millennials—and now Generation

Z—many of whom can’t afford vacations or other lavish expenses in order to de-stress, but who might be able to treat themselves to a decadent drink once in a while. Or, if you cannot go to a coffee shop yourself, you can experience it vicariously through both social media and literature.

Alongside atmosphere, there is also that emphasis on the day-to-day productivity that coffee shops presumably provide. These images revolve around partially completed activities: tea half drunk, muffin almost eaten, a page’s worth of notes written out. They include the caption “slowly but surely,” implying that work half done is still work worth celebrating. This kind of work—i.e. feeding oneself and filling up a notebook—isn’t the sort of productivity that normally count as a milestone, but here they are reframed as such within the context of self-care, tying into the Coffee Shop AU’s status as a comforting, indulgent genre that celebrates average accomplishments. One artist shows off her bear latte art before drinking it (a skill that’s given little appreciation due to its impermanence) while another poster mentions that they’re working on a project and “I’ve almost hit 1000 words and it’s feeling soo good!” Images like these encourage viewers to take pride in

91 not only in what they can buy, but also what they can do, even if those successes are normally framed as comparatively insignificant. They are given weight within this genre.

Transmedia storytelling is usually discussed in terms of adaptations and franchising, stories that exist across multiple forms of media, though most who look at a mood board are likewise relying on outside knowledge—of the canon, fanfiction, fandom conversation, etc.—to successfully pull a narrative out of a seemingly tangential collection of images (Jenkins 2007). Mood boards help bridge the gap between these

Instagram-era photos and the Coffee Shop AU, giving the community who practices both a way to merge similar artistic forms more overtly. For example, this mood board for a non-fandom specific Coffee Shop AU draws on the same sort of indulgent, frugal details seen in the collection above: enjoying the rain, a newspaper, a kiss, and the coffee itself

(Hermioneandtom).

Figure 6. Coffee Shop AU mood board by Tumblr user Hermioneandtom. The board is made up of nine images divided into three rows. They show various shots of coffee houses, a city, and in the middle a man and woman kiss.

Other boards revolve around a specific ship but use that same imagery to tell the story, essentially boiling the Coffee Shop AU down to its basics: two people, longing looks, the shop’s atmosphere, good food, fluffy details like cats and coffee bean hearts, the happy ending (Hale-of-Stiles-Heart):

Figure 7. Teen Wolf mood board by Tumblr user Hale-of-Stiles-Heart. The boards is made up of ten images divided into two rows. They show various shots of coffee houses, Stiles, Derek, a heart made out of coffee beans, and a white cat.

For the newer generations of fic readers, epic seaside romances and brag worthy accomplishments are out; indulgent café encounters emphasizing everyday joys are in.

Written forms of the Coffee Shop AU then re-imagine these photographs of welcoming third places into full-fledged stories—or at least re-imagine their essence. Authors 94 attempt to capture the frugal peace of these images with words; to emphasize how everyday objects, routines, public spaces, and simple interactions can become enthralling.

Chapter 3 Structure and Design: “I’m So Sick of These Fake Coffee Shop AUs”

“I pretend not to love coffee shop aus but we all know the truth.” - Tumblr user Sauctopus

The Romantic Comedy

Coinciding with the inviting nature of the setting itself, Coffee Shop AUs are universally romances and over the years have come to reflect one genre of mainstream media in particular: the romantic comedy. Specifically, the romantic comedy of the

1990s, those that arose out of Shakespeare’s comedies—Loves Labors Lost, As You Like

It, Much Ado About Nothing—and the courtship novels that came before them (Gay 57).

There are many aspects that encourage a comparison between the two genres. Like paperback romances, rom-coms, and other literature dominated by cis women and those with queer gender identities, the Coffee Shop AU, as fanfiction, is often assumed to lack quality. It may be entertaining, but not what one would term sophisticated literature. One of the most damning accusations that both genres share is that any story with romance at its center inevitably suffers from purple prose37, even though there is just as much a variety among styles in fic writing as there is in any other medium. Both genres

37 Which is not to say that fanfiction never suffers from hackneyed descriptions. Indeed, eye color is a common feature that fans tend to wax poetic about, usually by emphasizing the uniqueness of one character’s looks. Regarding Derek’s eyes, Stiles thinks, “Green? Hazel. Hazel/green,” that “[Derek] really has the most awesome eye-colour Stiles has ever seen,” and the humorous declarations that he has “eyes that must have made eye color hard to define at the DMV for his driver’s license” (Vendelin, Ajeepandleather). 96 emphasize dramatizing social events and the “gently ironical narrator provoke[ing] our smiles at the dilemmas of courting lovers” provides much of the entertainment (Gay 54).

Both likewise appear to be a form of woman’s writing that prioritize their voices.

However, in the case of fanfiction recent research is complicating that assumption.

Historically, fic (and slash in particular) has long been considered the domain of women. This is due in large part to the division between curatorial and transformative fandoms. First articulated by a Dreamwidth user named Obsession_Inc back in 2009, affirmational fandom, as it was called, is used to describe the presumably male- dominated act of accumulating knowledge and materials connected to a canon, whereas transformative fandom is the presumably female-dominated community focused on re- imagining or fixing the canon to suit their own purposes. Fans who memorize every aspect of Lord of the Rings’ massive world building, obsess over creating a perfectly accurate cosplay, or collect every figurine associated with a franchise are all engaging in affirmational fandom, re-termed curatorial fandom by Reddit user LordByronic in 2015.

Fans who write fanfiction, draw non-canonical fanart, or craft metas criticizing aspects of the writing are all engaging in transformative fandom. Most fans are a part of both communities, but affirmational fandom has always held more prestige. The fan with intimate knowledge of a canon (and at times knowledge of future additions to the canon) is able to choose when and how they demonstrate that knowledge to others, positioning themselves as a powerful member of the community. Overwhelmingly, this pocket of fandom is considered the domain of cis, white men because the transformative side of fandom does not have the same draw for someone who already sees themselves

97 represented (and represented well) in mainstream media. In contrast, the allure of affirmational fandom is in reaffirming the power structures already built into the canon, which is how we end up with concepts like the “fake geek girl.” Women who cannot prove their curatorial knowledge to men are deemed “fake,” never mind that they have a wealth of transformative knowledge to bring to the table.

There’s no doubt that this gender divide still impacts the majority of fandom spaces, but the assumption that transformative fandom is merely the domain of women is one that researchers should now be challenging. Scholarship surrounding fanfiction tends to emphasize its benefits for women—in allowing them to take a step back from their own bodies, take ownership of male-dominated texts, explore their own heterosexual attraction to these characters through a feminist lens, etc.—yet in my own experience, transformative fandom spaces are dominated primarily by queer individuals and over the last decade or so more and more fans have adopted gender identities that don’t fit within a binary. I was intrigued as to how many transformative fans actually sit outside of these cishet38, women-led assumptions and thus constructed a survey in the spring of 2018 with the following questions:

1. How long have you been active in fandom?

2. In your fandom life have you ever publicly transitioned or changed aspects of

your gender identity/presentation?

3. If you answered ‘yes’ to the previous question, did you notice any changes in

your fandom experience that you attribute to this?

38 A term used to describe a person who is both cisgender and heterosexual. 98

4. Are you: A cis man, a cis woman, transgender, genderqueer/non-binary,

agender, or other?

5. Do you read fanfiction?

6. Do you write fanfiction?

7. If applicable, what is your favorite type of Alternate Universe?

8. Optional: If you could tell a non-fan anything about fan life, what would it

be?39

I released a link to this survey on Tumblr and Reddit in the hopes that it would circulate. After roughly six months, the survey had accumulated five-hundred and fifty- nine responses. Though arguably a small sample size, the results were still telling. Of those five hundred and fifty-nine responders, there was an incredible range of years active in fandom, with people listing just a couple of months all the way up to forty-two years. Alongside the assumption that most transformative fans are women, there is the connected assumption that they are young—the literal fangirl ranging from her teens to late twenties. Establishing the number of fans that have been active for decades serves as a reminder that these communities are not, and have never been, built or maintained primarily by teenagers.

39 For a list of selected responses, see the appendix. 99

Figure 8. Survey results showing the range of years active in fandom.

In addition, five hundred and fifty-five responders said that they read fanfiction, one

“used to,” one didn’t answer the question, and only two said “no.” Out of those readers, three hundred and sixty-one wrote fanfiction themselves, twenty-two said they used to, and only a hundred and seventy-five did not (with, again, one responder skipping the question). Thus, nearly 100% of responders are a part of transformative fandom.

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Figure 9. Survey results showing the number of respondents who read fanfiction.

Figure 10. Survey results showing the number of respondents who write fanfiction

In addition to establishing both involvement in transformative fandom and a range of ages, two hundred of the responders admitted that they had publicly changed how they expressed their gender, including changing their name, their pronouns, profile picture, or discussing aspects of their transition in posts. More than half of the responders do 101 identify as cis women, helping to justify the pervasive assumption that transformative fandom is the realm of women, yet two hundred and seven people identified as some form of non-cis, nonbinary gender, with seven respondents choosing not to answer, and only seventeen identifying as cis men.

Figure 11. Survey results showing six categories of gender identity and the number of respondents who identified with each.

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Figure 12. Survey results showing two categories of gender identity—cis and queer—and the number of respondents who identified with each.

In responding to Question Three, those who changed aspects of their gender presentation almost always cited fandom as a key influence. It was in fandom communities that they discovered terms to apply to their own identity, became more immersed in queer issues, and now actively search for content that could reflect their experiences. One fan writes,

I started to become more interested in stories of people who were beaten down or told they were worthless and years later they came back and proved all their doubters wrong. I also began to adore stories of found families, scruffy men who would adopt a kid with nowhere to go or friends that became soulmates and vowed never to leave. Because of coming out as a guy I was always scared of being abandoned, of never finding someone to share life with and it didn’t help that I was attracted more to men than women even though I liked both. So I guess I moved from action/fantasy stories to fan fiction of families/soulmates and proving those that called you worthless wrong.

The prevalence of non-binary and genderqueer fans and the intimate connection between their gender and transformative fandom emphasize that fan scholarship needs to take such 103 dynamics into account. Unlike with romantic comedies, one cannot assume that slash, including the slash found in Coffee Shop AUs, was written by and/or for a cis woman, with all the implications that accompany that assumption. Rather, transformative fan communities continue to be a refuge for all manner of queer identities, providing the space to experiment with identity politics both in and out of fictional settings.

All of this is not to reinforce the inaccurate idea that online spaces are automatically utopian in terms of how they can transcend race, sex, gender, and the like.

Identity tourism—adopting identities that lead to “stereotyped notions of gender and race”—remains rampant, with the ability to take on a new identity resulting in few (if any) real life consequences. It is thus an allure, to say nothing of the ways in which online presentation (your URL, icon, speech patterns, and the like) have themselves become new markers of identity (Nakamura 14). Bigotry of all sorts remains an ongoing issue in fan spaces. However, it is no longer an accepted fact that women are at the forefront of this media landscape, at least to the extent that we once assumed. Based on this research and personal experience, it appears that the Coffee Shop AU distinguishes itself from romantic comedies by being “queer media” rather than “women’s media.”

There are, however, still many ways in which romances and romantic comedies have influenced the Coffee Shop AU, and I am not the first to draw a connection between these genres. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Camille Bacon-Smith began comparing fic to mainstream romance novels, while nevertheless citing the ways in which fic was taking conventions in new directions—most notably by reframing them for a queer couple (Bacon-Smith 1986). Despite the change in sexual orientation, both genres still

104 rely heavily on miscommunication between the couple as the primary catalyst for conflict. As Joanna Russ points out, these kinds of “endless hesitations and yearnings resemble the manufactured misunderstandings of the female romance books,” drawing the Coffee Shop AU closer to the romantic/rom-com genres, given how manufactured these misunderstandings always are (84). With a tendency to reject heavier conflicts such as dealing with homophobia, character death, and the like, Coffee Shop AUs structure themselves around easily solved problems: Stiles doesn’t realize Derek actually wanted him to call, Derek doesn’t realize Stiles isn’t dating Lydia, Castiel misinterprets Sam and

Dean’s close relationship as flirting40, etc.—all of which inevitably leads to reconciliation once the would-be couple is upfront about their understanding of the situation

(Orphan_Account 2012, Pleaseletmetouchyourbutt, Wannaliveindeansdimples). The structure is perfectly summed up in the fic ADHDecaf:

“What the fuck is wrong with us?”

“Miscommunication,” gasped Derek.

Just as the romantic comedy is usually told primarily through the lead actress’s perspective but with additional insight into the man’s, this miscommunication is emphasized by the Coffee Shop AU all but winking at the reader, highlighting for us what the characters fail to see. In Give Me Back My Bones (Maybe Then We’ll Talk) author Kariye limits us to Derek’s perspective, but uses narration to make sure the reader understands that he’s drawing the wrong conclusions here:

40 As mentioned previously, the incestuous relationship between Sam and Dean remains a fairly popular ship. Most Coffee Shop AUs that acknowledge the pairing do so by making Castiel initially unaware that the two are brothers. 105

Scott’s grin is crooked. “If this is the love I get, I’m going back to Allison’s to wait for her to get home.” His expression goes a bit slack before he suddenly focuses on Derek. “So, this is Derek, huh.” He flashes an expression like code at Stiles. “Derek,” he says again. There’s a strange emphasis when he says Derek’s name.

“Yeah,” Stiles says quickly. “He’s, like, a customer. Frequent, you know, customer.”

Something deep stabs into Derek’s gut; he bites down against it. He feels like he must be bleeding, a long gash ripped across whatever soft parts he has. Aside from that burning pain, his senses close down against Stiles’ rejection.

Derek hears Stiles labeling him as just another customer and interprets that as romantic rejection, assuming then that he is no more significant to him than anyone else who walks through the door. The reader, however, is privy to information that Derek either doesn’t notice, doesn’t deem significant, or isn’t provided at all since it exists only in prose: Scott is unusually interested in Derek because he’s heard so much about him—“So, this is

Derek, huh.”—the expression he shoots Stiles is described as “like code,” and he puts a

“strange emphasis” on his name, implying that Derek is indeed a significant topic between the two friends. As genres, both the romantic comedy and the Coffee Shop AU generate expectations for a happy ending, yet both nevertheless rely heavily on the willful disbelief of ‘Will they, won’t they?’ Getting the reader emotionally invested in contrived, inevitably solvable conflicts is the genre’s primary draw.

That happy ending tends to take place right on the cusp of the couple officially getting together, leaving the reader in that sweet spot where everything is perfect simply because everything has yet to develop: we are denied seeing the hardships, disagreements, and even boredom that will inevitably occur in even the strongest

106 relationships. Sometimes there are epilogues that show the couple in the future, still happily together, but more often than not the happy ending stems from the perfection only achievable at the very start, when possibilities are endless and the future is bright. In mainstream romance terms this is referred to as a Happy For Now ending, with the positive resolution achieved in the present, assumed for the future, but not guaranteed

(Nicolas). In the Coffee Shop AU this occurs more often than not with one character suppling a phone number or outright agreeing to a date. Thus, the future is simultaneously hidden and yet entirely knowable. We know that they have achieved their

Happily Ever After, but we have no details of what that might look like—thereby risking that the reader disagrees with what true love and perfection look like. Leaving the characters on the cusp of their relationship ensures that the author never need challenge the ideal that the reader is encouraged to imagine for themselves.

The beginnings of the Coffee Shop AU are similarly predictable. In Complex TV:

The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling, Jason Mittell argues that despite some serials failing to conclude, and despite other shows lacking a clear beginning (such as soap operas or Doctor Who), beginnings nevertheless “suggest the parallel of an ending” (55). In the Coffee Shop AU, we can see both that parallel and the romantic comedy’s influence in the frequency of the “meet cute,” a charming first encounter that mirrors the romantic relationship these characters will eventually conclude with. Whether it’s accidentally spilling coffee, saying the wrong thing, or just being blindsided by the other’s beauty, the low-stakes beginning heralds the equally low-stakes, yet satisfying conclusion (Saucery, Bleep0Bleep, ChildOfTheRevolution). The goal here is not to be

107 distinct but to provide comfort through familiarity. As with other forms of media, much of the joy fans receive from their fanfiction stems from their “engagement with that which they have already seen” (Murphy 97). It is the very lack of narrative suspense that makes the story inviting. Readers know that no matter how badly Castiel may have messed up his first interaction with Dean, they’ll still find that happy ending together, just like readers go in with the expectation that any heterosexual couple in a romantic comedy will admit their love for one another before the credits roll.

In addition to these structural elements, fans themselves often make references to their mainstream inspirations, poking fun at the romantic comedy even as they rely on many of its characteristics. Take this passage from Delete_this’s Christmas, Coffee and

Kisses:

It was three days until the 25th and Dean had not entered the coffee shop, nor had he picked up the phone and dialed the number on Sam’s cup. In fact, Castiel had begun to wonder if he’d imagined the existence of Dean Winchester all along, it would explain the immaculate features and cheesy one liners Castiel’s brain must have summoned from watching too many late night straight-to-television romantic comedies. Well, Cas, I know what I'm getting you for Christmas.

Coffee Shop AUs are filled with such details, the characters noting how their lives have come to resemble a “straight-to-television” film (which on its own denotes a certain lack of prestige) while simultaneously insisting that this script can’t possibly continue. It’s too

“cheesy,” too “immaculate,” something that Castiel must have dreamed up as a form of wish-fulfillment, yet the reader is well aware that this is indeed the character’s life now and it will be played (mostly) straight. Like the viewer watching a young woman bemoan the fact that she’ll never find The One, safe in the knowledge that she will have secured him by the end of the film, the reader here is now able to apply that confidence to two 108 men, safe in the fic-specific knowledge that they will find their happy ending. This is a confidence that, in a media landscape of queerbaiting and queer deaths, does not necessarily apply to mainstream storytelling. Fans are invested in the ways that conventions become radical when given to a minority group despite the clichéd nature of the structure when given to another.

Such similarities beg the question of whether the Coffee Shop AU isn’t simply a romantic comedy then—the same genre by another name—that happens to include more overt representation, no different from a mainstream film replacing the female white lead with a black one, or the male lead with a disabled character. Catherine Tosenberger, in a conversation with Henry Jenkins, notes that “it’s very important to recognize fanfiction as something that does not exist in isolation from literature as a whole” and indeed, it is worth acknowledging that fanfiction contains subgenres, just like mainstream literature and media do (Jenkins 2007). Though I refer to it as a “genre” throughout this piece, we could instead view the Coffee Shop AU as a subgenre of the romance genre of fanfic, similar to how the romantic comedy is a subgenre of comedy. For Brian Henderson though, romantic comedies are immensely more complex than most might assume. As opposed to one genre or even a subgenre, he considers the romantic comedy to be “a family of genres (marriage, manners, screwball), a category of production and marketing, a category of analysis, a realm of specialties (Ernst Lubitsch, Gregory La Cava)” as well as a notion, all of it rolled into one package. “Definition,” he says, “even delimination, is difficult or impossible because all of Hollywood films (except some war films) have romance and all have comedy,” a concern that I agree with (12). Indeed, if one were to

109 define the Coffee Shop AU merely by its romantic premise and lighthearted comedic elements, then a great deal of fanfiction would bear that label—far more than what is appropriate given the genre’s other, unique elements. “Philosophically speaking, the large number of genre systems exist because there is no objective way to measure the difference between two things” (Egenfeldt-Nielsen 49). Thus, there is a culture of “I know it when I see it” attached to genre, particularly within fanfiction, an easy acceptance and rejection of categories without emphasis on how that decision was made, implying that there is no single way of defining it. This is especially true when one takes into account that genres change based on time periods, communities, form, the reaction of an audience, as well as its intersection with other genres. They emerge through intertextual relations, not the mere existence of the texts themselves, and ultimately labeling one fic a Coffee Shop AU over another is a matter not merely of evidence and argument, but also subjective interpretation (Mittell 9, 2004).

Given the debatable solidity of such definitions, I would choose to refer to the

Coffee Shop AU not just as a genre, but as a remediation, wherein themes, tropes, and other recognizable structures from established media are borrowed and adapted for newer forms (Grusin 146). In particular, fanfiction is a form of “fanonical remediation,” a term used to describe the consuming, analyzing, and transforming of a specific memory-object into a new memory-object, one that appears as normative and essential in part because of how it builds off of cultural memory (Johnson 2012, 39-40). Some texts are easier to remediate than others, such as comic books becoming Marvel films. Coffee Shop AUs then are remediating both their canon and the romantic comedy, tying itself firmly to two

110 aspects of mainstream storytelling while likewise transforming them for fandom consumption.

In How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing, Paul

Silvia claims that “Writing a journal article is like writing a screenplay for a romantic comedy: You need to learn a formula” (78). This presumed formula is familiar to most

Western audiences, having an “extremely rigid and codified nature” which many scholars believe has been sustained over the years due to the “utopian possibilities condensed in the image of the couple,” an ideal that is broadly kept within the Coffee Shop AU

(Delveyto 167, Rowe). To summarize, this formula consists of three broad stages— courtship, marriage, and love for the rest of eternity—that are both flexible enough for individual stories and yet rigid enough to reassure the audience about both the ending and the experience in getting there. Each romantic comedy has its expected, happy outcome and it is the formulaic aspect that, in part, makes it so appealing.

Rejecting Stage Two

In distinguishing itself from the romantic comedy, the Coffee Shop AU keeps only two of the three stages: courtship and love for the rest of eternity. Or rather, an implied eternity. Notably, the fics rarely end in marriage. Indeed, out of the 1,445 fics currently labeled as Coffee Shop AUs in the Teen Wolf and Supernatural fandoms on

AO3, only eleven of them include tags for marriage or a marriage proposal, and the majority of those fics begin with the couple already established. Based on these characteristics, these are not stories that I would consider Coffee Shop AUs, given that

111 the genre, like the romantic comedy, functions around the couple coming together. Those eleven fics bypass the first stage, courtship, and thus are romance fics that happen to take place in coffee shops, rather than Coffee Shop AUs. This expectation is significant as it means nearly every story starts with the couple as strangers, with the one exception being that one of them has watched the other from afar but hasn’t yet made a move. Thus, the characters have a great deal of ground to cover before a marriage proposal would feel appropriate to the reader.

This wouldn’t be a problem for novel-length fics, but the Coffee Shop AU is usually a oneshot—a fic that takes place in one chapter, akin to a short story—or a chaptered fic that could feasibly be a oneshot but has been broken up for accessibility purposes, because the author wishes to drum up interest in their story over a longer period of time, they find it easier to write in installments, etc. As established in Chapter 1, part of what defines a Coffee Shop AU is, unsurprisingly, keeping the story within a particular type of coffee shop. Though it’s possible to write a novel length fic set solely or even just primarily in one setting (and fans have managed that), it does become harder to justify keeping the characters at the shop the longer the story goes on. At some point, particularly if their relationship changes, there is the expectation that activities must change too. It is no longer enough for the characters to flirt across the counter; as a couple they must go out on dates, meet one another’s family, and the like, in which case the setting is lost and the Coffee Shop AU arguably becomes something new. For example, Due Cause plays with the idea of Castiel running a coffee cart in a legal firm, only receiving an actual shop at the end of the fic, which the reader never sees. Similarly,

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Mistletoe Never Lies quickly gets Stiles and Derek out of the shop for the holidays, only returning in the last chapter, with the shop acting as a bookend for the story. Though both are labeled as Coffee Shop AUs by their authors, their length— 93,407 and 19,220 words respectively—and their prioritized settings bring that label into question. Aspects of these stories don’t always feel like “traditional” Coffee Shop AUs, and yet they are the ones that fans are engaging with the most41, prompting questions regarding how much of the structure I’m laying out here is a true requirement of the genre, how much is merely preference, and how much may have once been an expectation that fans are beginning to challenge. It’s perhaps worth acknowledging that “because the author says so” is at times a worthwhile argument. Coffee Shop AUs are Coffee Shop AUs and not, for example, fanfic rom-coms simply because their creator has chosen to utilize that label.

For most authors though, adhering to genre expectations and crafting a story that makes sense for a single setting means that Coffee Shop AUs tend to be 100 to 10,000 words, with longer works a rarer occurrence that, as said, usually move away from the

Coffee Shop AU and instead become fics that use the coffee shop as a trope rather than a structure. Such a fic might start as a Coffee Shop AU but then expand into something else, seen in the 37 fics surveyed below that were between 20,001 and 30,000 words. Of the others, most fell between 1,001 and 2,000 words. The next largest set was under

41 It’s also worth noting that both of these fics have an “Explicit” rating. Though fans’ obsession with explicit material is highly exaggerated, fics that contain sex scenes do tend to be quite popular. Thus, it is possible—likely even—that these fics have reached the top of the kudos count because they follow through on that aspect of the characters’ relationship, not because the fic caters to certain expectations about the Coffee Shop AU. Here, rating may trump genre. 113

1,000 words and the third between 2,001 and 3,000 words. The number of fics that fell between 9,001 and 10,000 was only seventeen.

Word Count Number of Fics Under 1,000 243 1,001-2,000 362 2,001-3,000 210 3,001-4,000 101 4,001-5,000 80 5,001-6,000 57 6,001-7,000 45 7,001-8,000 33 8,001-9,000 35 9,001-10,000 17 10,001-11,000 20 11,001-12,000 22 12,001-13,000 11 13,001-14,000 9 14,001-15,000 11 15,001-16,000 8 16,001-17,000 5 17,001-18,000 9 18,001-19,000 7 19,001-20,000 5 20,001-30,000 37 30,001-40,000 21 40,001-50,000 16 50,001-60,000 14 60,001-70,000 8 70,001-80,000 3 80,001-90,000 4 90,001-100,000 4 100,001+ 5

Table 2. Data mining results showing Coffee Shop AU word counts divided into twenty- nine categories with the number of fics that fall within each range listed on the right.

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Alongside length, one of the easiest ways to distinguish a “real” Coffee Shop AU from fics that are using the “Coffee Shops & Cafés” tag without genre implications is to examine the fic’s summary alongside its length. Like author’s notes, a fic’s summary is an aspect of fannish agency and is often used as a way of finding balance between community expectations and the type of story the individual author wants to write

(Herzog 2012). A compromise is struck by laying out genre characteristics while also providing hints as to how those characteristics may be presented in a new light. As said, some Coffee Shop AUs can be long-form stories, though these tend to emphasize the coffee shop in the summary and provide specific details about how that setting functions within the fic, assuring the reader that the coffee shop and its romantic potential will remain the focus. Overall, there tend to be five ways that writers achieve this:

1. A straightforward summary of the story’s premise: “[Coffee Shop/College AU] Castiel Novak is painfully oblivious to every Christmas tradition, but he's even more oblivious of the effect he's having on Starbucks' latest customer.” (Delete_This, 4,275 words).

2. Summaries that read like narration: “Okay, maybe Dean was a little self- conscious of his soulmate counter. Yes, it was stupid. Yes, he was aware of that. No, that wasn't going to stop him from worrying over it.” (Captainskellington, 3,633 words).

3. Summaries that are excerpts from the fic: “Is that—’ ‘My number,’ says Dean, because he's a fucking champion, he's cool, he's collected, he's Captain Smooth of the USS Smoothtania, that's right. He is definitely not leaning against the counter for moral support. Cas doesn't look seduced or impressed, though. He does not look like a dude who just met Captain Smooth and wants to ride the loveboat. He looks puzzled” (Orange_Crushed 2013, 1,757 words). 4. Excerpts with context attached: “It’s not competition, Sam. That place sells overpriced coffee and tea, and calls it something fancy to justify the price.

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And they probably serve shitty, gluten-free, vegan-happy pastries that taste like sod, too. We sell doughnuts. That’s all there is to it.’ But that wasn’t all there was to it.

***

Wherein Dean and Sam Winchester inherit their father's donut shop, some tattooed hipster named Cas opens up a coffee joint across the street, and chaos ensues in the form of too many pastry-related puns” (Betts, 10,579 words).

5. Summaries that acknowledge how the author is adapting the Coffee Shop AU: “Coffee Shop!AU and University!AU rolled into one. Castiel Novak is the introverted English Literature major at the University of Kansas. Dean Winchester is the elusive cool guy who happens to work in Castiel's favourite coffee shop. This is how they meet, and this is how Anna and Crowley play cupid” (Same_Space, 70,806 words).

Thus, in adhering to these expectations for length and by maintaining the Coffee

Shop AU’s other genre aspects (not, for example, combining it with a University AU as

Same_Space does), there simply isn’t enough space in a couple thousand words to get two characters married when they only just met, not without sacrificing the emotional depth that most readers are looking for in fic. Though fans are happy to accept the concept of love at first sight, from there on emphasis is placed on the characters’ slow work in getting to know one another, an attempt to provide the sort of intimacy usually absent in the canonical source. In the case of shows like Supernatural and Teen Wolf, a couple’s development is always competing with the plot, with relationships hitting milestones either through unsatisfyingly short scenes or in work done off screen. In contrast, fanfiction—particularly fanfiction of the fluff variety like Coffee Shop AUs— seeks to provide that space, paying careful attention to every nuance of a new relationship and encouraging the reader to enjoy its development. Reaching a milestone such as 116 marriage under these circumstances would require a slow-burn format, fics in the tens or hundred-thousands of words, which complicates adhering to the Coffee Shop AU structure. Thus, fans prefer to end the story around a more realistic milestone that maintains both the genre expectations and their desire for a slow-building relationship, such as an exchange of numbers or a first kiss.

This is perhaps an unsurprising trend given that many Millennials (and Gen Z fans following in their footsteps) aren’t as invested in marriage as previous generations were. In 2018, The New York Times wrote that “Young adults are not only marrying and having children later in life than previous generations, but taking more time to get to know each other before they tie the knot. Indeed, some spend the better part of a decade as friends or romantic partners before marrying” (Rabin). Even now when it’s legal in the

U.S. for queer individuals to marry, the Coffee Shop AU emphasizes changing perspectives towards marriage as an institution, rather than simply glorifying what was once an impossibility. Unlike romantic comedies that often position marriage as an inevitable outcome and an indication of True Love, Coffee Shop fics almost always end with just a kiss or a date.

Dismantling Tropes

The rejection of marriage as a requirement or even as an implication, alongside the Coffee Shop AU’s queering of the romantic couple, becomes a significant way of helping to distinguish it from mainstream romantic comedies, as well as from other fics with similar romantic and comedic elements. However, they are not the only

117 distinguishing features. As a genre, Coffee Shop AUs are invested in dismantling many of the more harmful tropes that romantic comedies have emphasized over the years, one of the most common being the union-as-spectacle. The trope began with 1934’s It

Happened One Night and has become common in most romantic comedies and dramas in the intervening years. The trope, simply put, is when one love interest (usually the man) displays his affection for the woman in a public, deliberately over-the-top manner, with that effort functioning as a way to demonstrate the depths of his feelings (Moddelmog).

Examples include Patrick crashing Kat’s soccer practice with a rendition of “Can’t Take

My Eyes Off of You” in Ten Things I Hate About You, Johnny and Baby’s dance number in Dirty Dancing, Nick boarding Rachel’s plane to propose to her Crazy Rich Asians,

Amy calling upon the New York Knicks cheerleaders to help her win back Aaron in

Trainwreck—and many, many more.42 In contrast, fans prefer the Coffee Shop AU to have simpler declarations, in part because it removes the pressure of saying “Yes”—even if it’s just to a date rather than marriage—if the question isn’t popped in front of a large audience and with clear effort and financial loss riding on the answer. For years now younger fans, in discussing their real-life romantic pursuits, have expressed discomfort at the idea of public declarations, labeling it as a disagreeable gesture, something that turns an intimate moment into a spectacle. It is potentially even seen as manipulative

42 Just as the Coffee Shop AU’s rejection of heteronormative tropes intersects with its emphasis on queer stories, mainstream films have also begun to experiment with how these conventions change when applied to non-cishet couples. The most striking example of this is the recent Love Simon in which Simon asks his crush (another boy he has yet to meet in person) to join him at the Ferris wheel if he’s still interested in dating, thereby keeping the energy of a public spectacle while giving all the agency to his crush. Many fans praised this film for demonstrating the difference between a romantic grand gesture and a manipulative one. 118 depending on how much pressure the recipient feels to give a positive answer. Thus it’s a tradition that future generations aren’t sure they want to perpetuate in their storytelling.

Instead, characters in Coffee Shop AUs say “I love you” for the first time in the privacy of the closed shop, or ask for a date by scrawling it on the costumer’s takeaway cup. If they do share their first kiss in public, it’s discreetly over the counter, in a storeroom, a secluded corner. Rarely does the genre ever use the other customers as an indicator of success, highlighting a round of applause from the patrons as they watch two people finding love for their own entertainment.43

Fundamentally, this trope was bound to be rewritten within the structure of the

Coffee Shop AU for the simple reason that queerness has never been flaunted and enforced in the way that heteronormativity is. The union-as-spectacle trope relies heavily on the audience (in-world and out) being supportive of the union in question, which in turn relies on heterosexuality as the established and expected norm.44 Trainwreck’s ending would lose much of its romantic appeal if one of the cheerleaders started shouting slurs at the new couple; Ten Things I Hate About You would run into problems if Kat’s friends tried to shut down Patrick’s serenade. Baby from Dirty Dancing and Nick in

Crazy Rich Asians might both have to convince their parents that their less prestigious lover is still worth their time, but at the very least Baby isn’t dating a woman and Nick

43 There are a small number of exceptions to this that do acknowledge the other coffee shop patrons’ involvement. In Better Latte Than Never Dean confesses to Castiel while he’s working and hears “A few more gasps from behind him. The other customers were getting coffee and a show.” This “show” is unintentional though and is received positively, with everyone chuckling at the two men’s miscommunication and supporting their eventual romance. 44 Admittedly, not every 21st century romantic comedy puts quite as much emphasis on these assumptions. Celestino Delveyto argues that though on the surface the genre hasn’t changed much in 400 years, there has been some challenging of heterosexual love by occasionally replacing it with friendship instead (168). 119 isn’t dating a man. If they were, their parents’ approval would be much harder to secure.

Indeed, Coffee Shop AUs tend to exist in a world where homophobia is either rare or entirely nonexistent, implying that the union-as-spectacle could function there with the same level of support that heterosexuality does. However, in reality fans are wary of introducing conflict—even potential conflict—into the Coffee Shop AU, which you might get if one character feels too pressured to say “No.” Film critics like Deven Faraci have pointed out that “Younger fans [are] a group that seems uninterested in conflict or personal difficulty in their narratives. Look at the popularity of fanfics set in coffee shops or bakeries, which posit the characters of a comic or TV show or movie they love as co- workers having sub-sitcom level interactions.” Yet it’s precisely because the conflict already exists in the canon—to say nothing of, when it comes to homophobia, the real world—that fans are invested in crafting a different sort of narrative, one in which the characters need not suffer through those same issues (Grady).

Indeed, despite history defining fans by their excess, emotional displays, and rowdiness, the Coffee Shop AU is a surprisingly calm and contained genre (Jenson 20).

Of the 1,382 fics examined for this project, 580 of them contained some version of

“fluff” in their tags. Other fans include authors notes with statements like, “This has so much fluff it hurts. It’s literally the fluffiest thing I have ever written and I apologise,” as if readers of the Coffee Shop AU aren’t actively searching for fics that, to borrow a phrase, give their diabetes (Delete_This). This trend is likewise shown in the genre’s rating. AO3 has a “No Archive Warnings Apply” option which means that none of the suggested content to warn for—graphic violence, major character death, rape, or

120 underage sex—are present. On the opposite end of the spectrum there is, “Choose Not to

Use Archive Warnings” which is a way for fans to acknowledge the existence of these

(and other) hard-hitting subjects without potentially giving away their plot: e.g. perhaps there is a major character death, but that’s a twist you don’t want to spoil. Alongside these specific warnings are ratings of “Not Rated,45” “General Audiences,” “Teen and

Up,” “Mature,” and “Explicit.” Notably then, most Coffee Shop AUs stay well within the range of content appropriate for teens or young audiences:

Rating Number of Fics General 487 Audiences Teen and Up 512 Mature 113 Explicit 142 Not Rated 128

Table 3. Data mining showing the number of Coffee Shop AUs in each of AO3’s rating system.

This lighthearted, family-focused nature is, in a sense, worn on the genre’s sleeve given the trend of equally lighthearted titles. Titles are expected to reflect the emotions of the Coffee Shop AU and thus both Tumblr and AO3 are filled with fics (across all fandoms) bearing coffee-centric puns, some of which are rather inventive while others are wonderfully cringe-worthy:

45 “Not Rated” is admittedly a bit of a wild card. Some fans interpret it as meaning that not even “Explicit” accounts for what this fic contains. Others, in contrast, (and helped along by the ordering of AO3’s drop down menu) assume it is even more chaste than “General Audiences.” Still others seem to use it as a way of acknowledging that they simply didn’t know what rating to give their fic. 121

• ADHDcaf by Pleaseletmetouchyourbutt • All Stirred Up by Jsea and Marguerite_26 • Be My Dar(jee)ling by Takeittothestars • Better Latte Than Never by Whelvenwings • Brewed Awakening by Loumieredarling • Expressoself! by Spaceyshipper • Expresso Yourself by Unashamed-Shipper • I Like You a Latte by Sugar4ndroses • I Like You a Lattae (But Can’t Expresso Myself) by Thecityofgold • Mornings are Brew-Tal by PrettyMessedUpSituation • Much A-Dough About Muffin by LetThereBeDestiel • Pick-Me-Up by Heyacas • Running a Little Latte by Amazingpages • Something Brewing by Oliverwvd • To Expresso My Love by Lastbluetardis • What a Brew-Tiful Night by Some-Cookie-Crumbz • Whisked Away by Shiphitsthefan • Words Cannot Expresso How Much You Bean to Me by Isthatbloodonhisshirt

In addition, fanfiction as a form suffers from a writer’s ability to post whenever they please, which means that often times fans are eager to share their work before they’ve come up with any title, let alone one with a pun. Thus, overly literal, clichéd, and downright silly titles have long been something fans apologize for—“Oh man please forgive me for that awful title,” writes JinxedAmbitions about their fic Give Me a Sign— but what was once a source of frustration has now become a trend withing the Coffee

Shop AU, celebrating titles whose inside jokes, meta qualities, and formulaic nature reflect the genre itself:

• 30 Days of Cheesy Tropes for Dean and Cas by Ashleyerwinner • A Vampire Walks Into a Coffeeshop… by Miss_Grey • Coffee Is Not a Metaphor For Dean’s Sexuality (Except It Really Kind of Is) by Carver edlund • Coffeeshop AU by Anythingtoated and Outpastthemoat • Destiel46 Coffee Shop AU by Mr_Snuffleupagus

46 The portmanteau ship name for Dean and Castiel. 122

• Five Times Derek the Barista Ruined Stiles’ Date (And One Time He Didn’t) by Oldvoiceholdingmeback • I Decided We Needed More Coffee Shop AUs by Ajeepandleather • Like a Rom Com by Something_Poison • Not Your Typical Coffee Shop AU by Orphan_Account (2014) • Supernatural: Today Your Barista Is… by IBegToDreamAndDiffer • Ten Times Castiel Saw Dean Winchester by Azazazel • The Cliché Fanfic by Imfckntrash • The One With the Coffee Shop by MemeKon • The One With the Food Thing by Mikkimouse • Various Tumblr Ficlets by Janie_Tangerine • What if They Were, Like, Baristas? by Wannaliveindeansdimples

This practice has become so ubiquitous that when I titled my own paper “Fans

Love it a Latte: The Rise and Participatory Nature of Coffee Shop AUs,” no one at the

Fifth Annual Fandom and Neomedia Studies Conference batted an eye. For those who are familiar with the genre, puns are not merely accepted, but actively encouraged.

However, the prevalence of fluff content, assured happy endings, and the rejection of discomforting tropes doesn’t mean that there are no difficulties47. As one fan puts it,

“You can’t have slow burn or mutual pining without some conflict keeping the lovers apart—usually it’s either the constraints of society and/or circumstances or their own stubbornness that prevents them from readily admitting their love” (Klink). For Coffee

Shop AUs it’s primarily the latter, with couples kept apart for the duration of the fic due to feelings of inadequacy and miscommunication.

47 Given the existence of fandom’s gift economy, the fact that no fic author is under obligation to produce this content, and the Coffee Shop AU’s emphasis on feel-good storytelling, this positivity does tend to dominate and even extends to the comments readers produce, with feedback usually given apologetically and with great reservation (Thomas 212). Authors improve their work not via criticism (don’t do this), but rather praise (continue doing that). Marring the emotions that the Coffee Shop AU attempts to produce with overly critical reviews is severely frowned upon. 123

Thus, discomforting aspects of the romantic comedy are rewritten and the world is re-imagined as a more accepting place. People are only, at most, marginally surprised when a character is revealed to be gay (or bi, or pan, etc.) in the Coffee Shop AU, segueing into immediate understanding. As Stiles says, “So like, do you have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend. I don’t discriminate,” highlighting that such acceptance is the norm (Vendelin). More often than not though characters either a) exist in a society where queer sexualities are already considered the norm or b) exist in a society where there is a new, fictional form of discrimination at play, such as Castiel and Jimmy who have to deal with harassment for being omegas in Green Eyes, You’re the One We Wanted to Find.48

More often than not though, characters hold back solely because they presume their love interest wouldn’t be interested in them, not their gender. The emotional punch of the story comes from the realization that their crush could and does love them back, not the potential rejection of one’s identity. Eliminating sexuality as a source of conflict results in possibilities like this description:

Not to mention [Danny’s] cross gender appeal, because despite being gay, Danny managed to charm just about anyone, from the 16 year old schoolgirls on their way to the mall to ‘straight as a pin’ business men who always left with a spring in their step and a slightly confused grin on their face after being served by Danny (Orphan_account 2012).

48This fic is an excellent example of how a story may be labeled as a Coffee Shop AU and indeed take place within a coffee shop, yet other genres involved prove to have far more of an influence on the story. Green Eyes is first and foremost an A/B/O fic and is thus able to integrate tropes that the Coffee Shop AU would normally avoid. The incest in this story between Jimmy and Castiel is tame by most A/B/O standards and twincest is a more radical form of queer positivity, used by fans to explore the desire for sameness, as well as to “describe and imagine social relations in which incestuous desires need not necessarily be denied and blocked” (Vera). These themes only function within the Coffee Shop AU genre without backlash because readers recognize that Green Eyes is only tangentially a Coffee Shop AU. In this case, that genre functions as mere dressing for what the A/B/O is working to accomplish. 124

Rather than imagining queer romance as a spectacle, fic writers emphasize its normality, leaving it up to the reader to realize that this, more than anything, is what makes the story alluring; allows it to function as wish fulfillment. Pulling a Love Simon and having one man kiss another in front of his entire grade may indeed be an appealing prospect to some, but so is the concept that this same love can simply exist and is entirely irrelevant to others living their everyday lives. Notably, this view of queerness is, if not unique to the genre, far more common in Coffee Shop AUs than it is in the rest of slash fic. As one fan points out, love in the face of adversity is a popular conflict across all romances and slash as a whole is popular in part because “Assuming that characters are gay makes for great narrative material, especially when the story is set in a world where homosexuality isn’t generally accepted” (DarkTwin). Having characters fight for their relationship and providing the reader with a psychological look at how a presumedly straight character came to accept their queerness makes for a compelling story full of conflict and perseverance—which is precisely the issue. Unlike other, perhaps more plot driven slash fics, the Coffee Shop AU is interested in providing comfort and validation, not struggle. Despite all this careful work to subvert and avoid certain mainstream tropes, the one thing the Coffee Shop AU upholds with as much fervor as the romantic comedy is that inevitable happy ending. Mirroring their near utopian, easy-going narratives, every

Coffee Shop AU ends on a highly optimistic note: the characters have admitted they love one another, are attracted to one another, they’ve swapped numbers, agreed to that date, etc. The story finishes as the relationship begins, eschewing all the potential setbacks and pitfalls that one would expect when navigating dating for any significant length of time.

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Even if one does imagine arguments in the future, the implication is that these characters will work through them because they are meant to be together. They are the OTP: the

One True Pairing. The reader rarely sees such arguments, though, and likewise is not put through the emotional upheaval of watching one character unintentionally upset the other, including making their love life into a public spectacle. Such angst and second-hand embarrassment (unless humorously conveyed) have no place in the genre.

In addition to changing mindsets regarding public proposals, Coffee Shop AUs steer away from other damaging tropes such as the “Ugly Duckling” transformation49 and the prevalent theme of stalking. That is, a number of romances and romantic comedies emphasize the man going out of their way to observe, follow, and continually proposition the woman until she comes to the realization that she really loved him all along, leading to the surprising frequency of paranoia within the genre (Ponce 92). A study at the

University of Michigan found that “those who saw scary stalking movies were less likely than the control group or the rom-com viewers to endorse these myths,” yet “women who watched the rom-coms endorsed these myths more if they reported feeling transported by the movie, or thinking that the movie was realistic,” demonstrating one of the genre’s more concerning impacts (Beck). Within Coffee Shop AUs characters might think of themselves as pseudo-stalkers, considering that they know they’re only frequenting this shop for the other’s attention, but they rarely, if ever, display behavior that reflects these fears. Stiles might think, “Well, this time, stalking turned out pretty good” after he and

49 Admittedly, this is complicated by the fact that women don’t usually star in Coffee Shop AUs. However, rather than perpetuating the idea that anyone of any gender need undergo a makeover in order to be worthy of their crush’s attention, the Coffee Shop AU forsakes this message and instead emphasizes that both parties are perfect exactly as they are. 126

Derek have gotten together, but “stalking” is merely used as an exaggeration, a way of describing his intense desire to spend time with Derek (Vendelin). Notably, Derek wants to spend time with him too. Romantic comedies often function under the assumption that

“No” really means “Try harder,” leading to one character working to convince the other that she truly loves him. In contrast, both characters in the Coffee Shop AU (usually) begin the story loving one another, it’s merely a matter of gathering the courage to express that.

On the whole writers of the Coffee Shop AU are careful about reinforcing the importance of consent, as well as treating power differences respectfully. Most fic writers are both consciously and subconsciously aware of the criticisms leveled at mainstream media, as well as the impact genre-specific tropes can have on real life scenarios

(Johnson 354). Thus, it’s not enough to simply remove inappropriate behavior such as stalking or pressuring. The writer must also consider how the setting, a shop involving interactions between customers and employees, may create new scenarios that the characters must carefully navigate. For example, in Better Latte Than Never Dean is frustrated over his and Castiel’s miscommunication, demanding to know why he didn’t just ask him out. Castiel points out that, as the barista, he could have been fired if he’d done so. Dean may have rejected him and then chosen to complain to management, risking his job in the process. It’s a quick reminder to readers that every interaction comes with its own considerations and, in a genre focused on crafting healthy and balanced relationships, the writer is tasked with acknowledging those potential pitfalls and either a) avoiding them or b) calling out their characters in a way that teaches the

127 reader what the appropriate action is in this scenario. When Dean is criticized for putting all the responsibility on Castiel, he doesn’t push back against that complaint. Rather, he admits to his mistake: “Dean opened his mouth to reply, and then stopped, and tried again. ‘Good point,’ he said.”

The Coffee Shop AU’s emphasis on including teachable moments even extends past the stories themselves and into the author’s notes. Though it’s common for all fic authors to draw attention to changes they’ve made—revisions, fixed typos, added chapters, and the like—those writing Coffee Shop AUs, like most in fandom, are particularly vigilant about acknowledging and correcting any mistakes, so as to reassure the reader that they are indeed a “good” writer by the community’s standards: someone who not only avoids toxic writing conventions in their stories, but who also practices keeping an open mind, acknowledging mistakes, and then implementing that knowledge in the future. One example of this is Vendelin’s fic Kaleidoscope in which, at the end of

54,000-words, they added another long paragraph to say,

Edit: I got some feedback in the comments! You people are awesome. As I said, I'm not an art student so there surely was going to be a few mistakes when it comes to the art area, and there were! For example, this awesome person explained to me that Derek would not have used the word “naked” when he says that Stiles will be naked for his drawing, but “nude”. I'm going to change this as soon as I get the chance to sit down for a few moments (probably when I'm done with my exam). I quote: “[---] naked in the art world implies being uncomfortable with the state of undress. which, I guess stiles is, but at the same time, he knew what he was getting into and knew that the drawing of him would be on display for a lot of people to see. nude is the word you're looking for, because nude implies that you're comfortable with the fact that you will be without clothing and people will see you like that--if only in a drawing [---]” THANK YOU for pointing this out!

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The initial claim that “You people are awesome” immediately sets everyone at ease and maintains the happy, easy-going tone of the Coffee Shop AU, reassuring readers that

(polite) feedback is always welcome, even when it’s a correction. Vendelin then also politely reminds their readers that they are “not an art student” and are therefore open to listening to the expertise provided by those who are. They’re careful to use the expert’s own words in explaining the difference between “naked” and “nude,” including when they lay out the importance of that distinction. Vendelin then carefully re-emphasizes what an “awesome person” this reader is, provides a timeline for when the mistake will be corrected (“probably when I finish my exam”), and ends on a positive note: “THANK

YOU for pointing this out!” Given the politically charged nature of fanfiction, writers often hope to teach their readers something through their stories, though they can only expect to achieve that if they too model good learning skills. Here, Vendelin helps to ensure that readers will remain open to what their fic has to say—about subverting the romantic comedy, about gender roles, about queer relationships, about Teen Wolf, etc.— by practicing what they preach and accepting lessons of their own with grace and gratitude. In the end, Vendelin not only made the corrections suggested—with the author’s note remaining as a testament to the work’s collaborative aspects—but also added an additional chapter re-telling the story from Derek’s point of view simply because readers politely asked for it.

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Clichéd Fanfiction

Despite the obvious love fans have for this genre and the care that they show towards it, their efforts to combine the romantic comedy conventions that the Coffee

Shop AU is drawing from with the expectation that fanfiction should consistently push boundaries results in a rather overt, and at times discomforting acknowledgement of how clichéd the resulting genre is. Many of the tropes maintained for the Coffee Shop AU aren’t potentially damaging, but they are overused. So rather than trying to ignore their existence, writers tend to acknowledge them with what seems to be part embarrassment, part inside joke, and part attempt to undercut any reader’s assumption that they’re taking these aspects of the genre too seriously, even as fans simultaneously drag the Coffee

Shop AU into the “real” world by rejecting—and thereby highlighting—tropes that they feel may teach readers/viewers inappropriate behavior. The genre is taken very seriously indeed. Still, that’s a difficult thing to acknowledge upfront without the risk of teasing at best and cruel attacks at worst, to say nothing of the presumed embarrassment that comes from upholding such a sappy, fluffy genre in the first place. Thus, a large number of

Coffee Shop AUs contain author’s notes focused on how silly it is to be writing this piece while, of course, writing it anyway. They say things like, “did I mention that i love cliché coffee shop aus,” and “‘Coffee Shop AU’s are overdone,’ I say to myself cynically as I begin writing an outline for yet another of my coffee shop au’s” (Comicy, Cosmictisane).

In the author’s notes of What if They Were, Like, Baristas?

Wannaliveindeansdimples expands on this feeling with,

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That’s right. I finally caved and gave into the coffee shop au craze. Not because it was a coffee shop, actually, just because I liked the prompt, but still. I have become a sheep. Not that I didn’t already enjoy reading them, even though I don’t seek them out and never go in coffee shops myself

They caved, but only because they liked this prompt. They enjoy reading Coffee Shop

AUs, but don’t go so far as to seek them out. They’re a sheep, but a reluctant one.

Wannaliveindeansdimples further explains that their title is likewise a loving tease at the genre. It derives from a Tumblr post wherein Apollothegoatboy says what many fans have been thinking for years:

i just dont get it like the aus you could have are endless, there is a universe of aus out there, mafia, greek mythology, afterlife, fantasy world, zombie apocalypse, historical, PIRATES, space adventures, detectives, fuckin knights templar if thats ur shit, period drama! roaring 20s, jail, future, your favourite tv show, MORTICIANS

and youre like…yeah but…what if they were… …Baristas.

Since that post, numerous fans have responded with justifications and personal reasons for why the Coffee Shop AU exists, all with that same reluctant attitude attached to their defense. One user by the name of Gyzym begins their meta with “I ONCE SWORE ON

THE GRAVE OF MY FOREBEARERS (or, er, kind of mumbled into a soy mocha that’d gone cold three hours before, but hey, six of one), THAT I WOULD NEVER DO

THIS, but lo, the day has come: I must Speak In Defense Of The Coffeeshop AU,” highlighting how these reluctant attitudes function as another form of entertainment. It’s the expected—and thus anticipated—attitude to adopt.

This attitude persists even when fans are outright requesting fics in the genre.

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Many anonymous prompters feel the need to justify these requests with apologetic acknowledgements of how “bad” the genre supposedly is: “This s [sic] is going to be hella cheeseballs, but coffee shop AU with sskk please? Thank you~<3” and “i know i

KNOW this is SO CLICHÉ but. Qui gon. obi wan. coffeeshop” (Fy-Soukoku, Elfpen).

Very few notes treat the clichéd nature of the genre as a positive attribute and when they do there’s often still an undercurrent of apology within the writing— “Coffee shop au??

Because they are my absolute favorite in the entire world I don’t care how cliché they are okay they are my favorite” (Ourahn). It’s rare to find notes or tags that bluntly praise the genre, though an AO3 Tag of the Day comes close with, “Feel like you’ve read this story a hundred times? You have. Just do it. It’ll be fun” thereby acknowledging that the repetition is part of the appeal (Ao3tagoftheday).

The performative nature of writing and asking for Coffee Shop AUs is as integral to the genre as the stories themselves, highlighting not just the overused conventions, but the anxieties attached to them as well. It is notable, though not surprising, that fans do not highlight other genres’ conventions as being overused with the same fervor that they do the Coffee Shop AU, despite only being active for less than two decades. After all, as a remediation of the romantic comedy that is written as fanfiction, the Coffee Shop AU embodies two of the most well-known types of “women’s writing” and thus combines both of their criticisms as well. Though generally supportive of their own work, fans nevertheless feel the need to undercut their enjoyment of what’s seen as the ultimate

“trash” literature. They’ll engage with the Coffee Shop AU, but that engagement must

132 first be prefaced with an admission that yes, you should probably be reading something

(presumably) better.

Thus, you end up with fics where the similarities between romantic comedies and

Coffee Shop AUs invite the writer to poke fun at the genre they’re transforming, often in a gendered manner. In Kaleidoscope Stiles thinks about how his latest interaction with

Derek is “ripped straight out of a chick flick” and later goes so far as to say that he’s

“sounding like one of those girls in teenage movies, when they talk about their loser boyfriends” (Vendelin). In All Stirred Up Derek thinks how it “was odd to have been winked at twice already today, and it was barely past sunrise”—an annoyance that, like

“chick flicks,” are presumably reserved for women—and he admits that it’s “such a cliché” when his breath catches in Give Me Back My Bones (Maybe Then We’ll Talk), just the sort of thing that would happen in a movie (Jsea, Kariye). These moments serve as subtle winks to the reader. It’s so cliché for this to happen… even while you enjoy it happening anyway. Yet they also function as small pushbacks against gendered assumptions about romance, allowing men (or at least queer men) the opportunity to engage in all the dramatic, romanticized, overly-indulgent aspects of the romantic comedy with no more than a token protest. Just as these characters feel the need to point out that such things are for “chicks” while secretly indulging in them, the authors feel the need to point out how overdone it all is while nevertheless still embracing such conventions wholeheartedly.

Admissions such as, “Okay I don’t know if this has been done yet and if it has been sorry, but…” set up the expectation that readers will be annoyed by anything seemed unoriginal

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(Pale-silver-comb). Far from it though; most fans adore the safety of a familiar story, and in recent years there has been a move to remind writers that people want the very concepts they might reject as clichéd or overdone. Of course, as is common on Tumblr, such reassurances are also meant to entertain:

author: sorry I’m jumping on this bandwagon and writing a fic with the same premise as all these other fics

me, has read 500 fics like this one and is prepared to read 500 more: please never apologize for giving the people (me) what they (also me) want (Kyraneko)

Some time later, another fan, connecting the five-hundred amount to The Proclaimers’ hit

“I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” emphasizes their love of similar fics by changing the lyrics to “Well I would read five hundred fics/And I would read five hundred more/Just to read one thousand fics with the same/Premise as the ones before.”

Even massively popular Tumblr posts that are not tied directly to the Coffee Shop

AUs are woven into the genre because of their popularity and their status as representing a now clichéd scene. People enjoy seeing the same joke, point, or idea re-introduced in slightly new contexts, and thus there is a tendency to take these elements that have already been well received and apply them to an equally predictable genre. For example,

Ohdionne’s “I am the manager” comic, now totaling over one million notes, is one such beloved interaction. A customer is being rude, demands to speak to the manager of the café, to which the barista dramatically proclaims, “I am the manager.” Fans continue to love the energy and satisfaction of that moment, no matter how many times it’s repeated, and that enjoyment is doubled when applied directly to another popular and predictable

134 genre. This Haikyu!! comic by Haikyoutooiguess reworks the scene from Ohdionne’s original panel (on the left) specifically for a Coffee Shop AU (Ojiisanholic):

Figure 13. Two screenshots of comic excerpts from Tumblr, the first by Ohdionne and the second by Haikyoutooiguess. Each show a retail worker telling a customer, “I am the manager.”

Thus, the Coffee Shop AU sits somewhere between playfully rejecting these clichéd aspects and thoroughly adoring them. In an untitled fic by Pale-silver-comb, “The night ends with Derek pressing a brief kiss to Stiles’ cheek and writing his number on the back of his hand like the total romantic he is… Romantic comedies eat your heart out.”

The fic positions this scenario as superior, while nevertheless relying on the audience’s knowledge—and love—of romantic comedies for the scene to exist.

However, there are some fans who more seriously push back against the genre, asking “Why would you write a coffee shop au?” with another overdone customer/barista interaction when you could instead experiment with new combinations like a CVS

135 cashier and pharmacist, a sexton and a ghost, or two cemetery grounds keepers (Proteus- no)? The fan making these suggests begs “please there are so many other options,” but also includes A/B/O and High School AUs as genres to avoid, implying that there isn’t necessarily something intrinsic in the Coffee Shop AU that people are looking to abandon, rather that writers should strive for more diversity in their fanfiction overall.

There would be no problem if we had Coffee Shop AUs and that CVS fic.

Realistic Fanfic

Alongside subverting specific tropes that are seen as detrimental to society and reinforcing clichéd, but nevertheless healthy behavior from characters, nowadays fans have expressed a desire to produce something realistic that readers can hold onto, while also maintaining the escapism of an otherwise semi-perfect, romantic comedy-type world. Often, the veneer of realism is achieved by including quirky details actually found in real life, such as one fan who discovered a shop called Small’s and Tall’s and decided that was the perfect location for any OTP with a height difference (Absolute-Fangirl-

Trash), or another fan who found a sign proclaiming that “Coffee is cheaper than therapy” and concludes, “so yeah, I think we can safely say Clint works there,” referring to the superhero Hawkeye from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and inviting others to write Coffee Shop AUs wherein he frequents a café for emotional support (Sonickitty).

Still another, Fireflynovak, wrote a fic “Inspired by a news story about a coffee shop worker who learned sign language for a regular customer who was deaf” making sure that readers know and understand the link between this story and a real life experience. Like 136 the “Today your barista is…” sign, these prompts are alluring to fans because they know that this café, this encounter, this detail exists somewhere in the world—it’s a lived possibility.

However, despite the low-stakes nature of the genre, writers often choose to include more serious elements than shop names or a cute story, aspects that their audience can find relatable: characters who are dealing with mental health issues, a stressful job, financial difficulties, and the like. Such aspects ensure that what might otherwise be an absurdist genre feels stable, and they allow fans to more easily imagine such scenarios occurring in real life, a feeling that is significant given that many of the narrative choices in the Coffee Shop AU—queer acceptance, comforting third places, avoiding toxic displays—are meant to read as a model for real life behavior. Modern

Coffee Shop AUs are, to some extent, meta reflections of fans’ actual experiences and are thus a more welcome form of escapism than many mainstream romantic comedies that feel as if their perfection could only ever exist in a fictional world.

The most common choice is to place one or both of the characters in college or graduate school and to highlight the difficulties attached to that lifestyle. Many characters emphasize that they’re just broke students looking for fair prices and good WiFi, a quick reprieve from their otherwise hectic lives. Even if they’re not in college, characters tend to live a college-like lifestyle to demonstrate that, like many fic readers, they are feeling adrift, not quite settled down, in need of someone to help them out. Though the problems themselves are serious, they are often conveyed through humorous means so as not to stray the fic into angst territory. Stiles decides to have milk and cookies for dinner

137 because “He figured he would survive one day on the diet of the teenage boy he no longer was” (Jsea). Bobby yells at Dean, “Remember to practice safe sex, boy!” when he leaves to see Castiel (IBegToDreamAndDiffer). Characters struggle through breakfasts of plain cereal and think sarcastically that they “could be on Top Chef” (Vendelin). Derek, not a college student but a second-year grad student, admits that he has little idea what he’s doing with his life, so perhaps he’ll just wing things with Stiles in the same way he’s been forced to wing everything else (Orphan_Account 2012). Struggles with depression, bullying, anxiety, and feelings of ostracization all frequently make an appearance or, if characters are in the “It Gets Better”50 stage of their life, they nevertheless remember and acknowledge what they had to work through to achieve that state (Same_Space).

On top of schooling, characters frequently need to hold down part-time jobs, and thus the genre pays careful attention to how much work and effort goes into being a barista or running your own small business, sometimes using these difficulties to craft a romantic moment—such as when Stiles calls Derek on New Year’s while he’s still closing up the shop (Orphan_Account 2012). More often than not, though, the emphasis on customer service as a grueling job exists simply because the job is grueling and writers are invested in reminding readers of that. On one level, working in a café needs to seem inviting since the third place itself is meant to be a sought-after escape, but many readers with experience in customer service become frustrated with the Coffee Shop

AU’s inaccurate portrayal of that work. It’s not all foam hearts and baked goods. Thus,

50 A reference to the internet-based nonprofit that works to prevent suicide among queer youth. The slogan is a reminder that no matter how difficult things may be now, they will get better in the future. 138 most modern Coffee Shop AUs include brief references to remind the reader that this is indeed a difficult job, such as when Derek thinks that “Eight-hour shifts are a bitch” or was forced to work with “a girl who burst into tears when she couldn’t cope with a simple Grande skinny extra hot wet three shot sugar free vanilla latte” (Hatteress,

Stilinskisparkles). The humor obviously derives from the idea that such an absurd drink is truly “simple,” yet it nevertheless reminds readers that such orders do exist and baristas must fill them with an approachable attitude. When Stiles meets Derek’s sister, Laura, he notes that “Her voice is low and resonate, her smile deeper, more genuine than the polished, empty professionalism of the seasoned retail worker” (Sirona). What makes her stand out as a character is her ability to be so genuinely pleasant in the face of what the reader now knows is quite a difficult and often thankless job.

However, such details and broad-stroke acknowledgment still aren’t enough for some fans. When asked about the Coffee Shop AU, many admit that they feel the genre doesn’t “push the envelope far enough when it comes to the AU elements of the plot itself” (Ohtze). Not much happens beyond this “small slice-of-life narrative filled with shy, fleeting glances”—which for most readers is the point. However, there are many who are looking for more innovation, in fanfiction as a form51, not just the Coffee Shop

AU, and thus some fans have begun providing prompts that put these realistic difficulties

51 This call for variety is nothing new. In March of 1999 Arduinna wrote “Slash Fiction Is Like a Banquet,” alternatively known as “The Hummus Essay.” In this piece, Arduinna laid out many fans’ frustrations that repetition has overtaken innovation, comparing slash fiction with the lemon-garlic hummus found at a banquet. Sometimes that’s precisely what you want to eat, “But it’s hard to eat lemon-garlic hummus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and feel satisfied. You can feel full, but you probably won’t feel satisfied.” Finding that balance between comforting predictability and surprising readers with new content is something that fic authors are continually experimenting with. 139 at the forefront of the story: “In order to keep paying for their apartment, Character A has taken up a job at their local coffee shop. It’s all fun and games, until Character A realizes how grueling it is, dealing with bad customers who are super specific about their coffee orders” (Auideas). There has likewise been a surge of posts and comments asking writers to add even more realism—of all varieties—to their Coffee Shop AUs, pushing for a balance between wish-fulfillment and accuracy, taking the genre to places where the mainstream romantic comedy will likely never go:

Im so sick of these fake coffee shop AUs that aren’t rooted in reality so here’s some situations more likely to happen

• i flirt with you by drawing hearts in your latte but you never take your lid off and my love notes go unnoticed • we used to work together every day and then you started school and switched to the night shift now i haven’t seen you in 3 months • when you interviewed me you said we’d get along great but now that i’ve been hired and we know each other it turns out we were both BSing each other during the interview process and have nothing in common • GOD you are so cute! i just wish you tipped and didn’t yell at my coworker for something out of her control • whoops we decided to date then broke up and now everyone is super uncomfortable when we have to work shifts together • i thought you were flirting with me but then yesterday i heard you saying the same thing to my coworker and apparently you’re just super friendly and also happily married • you’re a regular and i had a really big crush on you until one day you walked [in] sporting a red MAGA hat (Offbrandbarista).

Rather than limiting writers, new perspectives like Offbrandbarista’s post have helped to make the Coffee Shop AU more versatile. On the surface theses prompts appear to be shutting down the genre, a case of “do this not that,” yet in the hands of an open-minded writer they have the ability to make the Coffee Shop AU even more

140 relevant to the communities invested in writing/reading them, without losing the genre’s primary characteristics. One of the most common questions that pops up in relation to the

Coffee Shop AU is why such a low-stakes structure is appealing to such a large number of fans. Slice of life stories have always had an allure, yet there is still a knee-jerk disbelief that fans would willingly want to take characters out of their exciting, larger than life adventures and stick them in a presumably boring shop, a space where the most dangerous thing to ever happen is a misinterpreted word. Yet the average viewer can’t empathize with stopping an apocalypse or hiding something as big as a supernatural secret. They can, however, empathize with Dean’s anger at rude customers, or Stiles’ awkward attempts at making friends, or keeping a secret regarding a crush. Coffee and

Warriors outright has Castiel think that his job, “was boring compared to touring around with rich assholes, but it was soothing, in a weird way,” acknowledging that he—and the reader—don’t always want or need high-stakes stories.

Though finances and mental health tend to take precedence, the genre likewise includes references to disability and chronic illnesses, reminding readers that for some a low-stakes life is the only one available. For many fans, the concept of having the ability, energy, and safety to frequent a coffee shop can seem as fantastical as the epic adventures of canon. Another piece of fan culture, the hit video game Stardew Valley, has generated similar questions along the lines of, “Why play it? You’re just doing chores and talking to people. Where’s the fun in that?” For Joseph Knoop, that’s precisely what makes the game so alluring since his own reality often denies him experiences as “simple” as doing

141 chores or seeing friends. Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at age twenty-five, he writes about how the farm simulator helped pull him out of his depression:

Why play out a normal life when you can live a high-flying fantasy? It’s an easy perspective to have, until your sense of normality is threatened or outright taken from you. Suddenly, the ability to build the ideal living space or the ideal routine is as much a fantasy as hunting robot dinosaurs.

The same can be said of Coffee Shop AUs. Much of the wish-fulfillment stems not from imagining an entirely different life for yourself—What if I were really a hunter out saving the world? What if I were a werewolf protecting my pack?—but imagining this life, just better. Back in the early 90s, Bacon-Smith acknowledged that “the viewer/reader develops relationships with fictional characters that are no less real than, while being intrinsically different from, relationships with living people,” emphasizing that such escapism does have real benefits, both physical and emotional (158). If you cannot connect with people and experiences due to your circumstances, fiction is the next best thing—along with the relationships you inevitably make with other fans along the way. Lawrence Grossberg likewise points out that fans are invested in certain types of stories and practices because these strategies “enable them to gain a certain amount of control over their affective life, which further enables them to invest in new forms of meaning, pleasure, and identity in order to cope with new forms of pain, pessimism, frustration, alienation, terror and boredom” (65). For the fan unable to go to a coffee shop, afford a coffee shop, drum up the courage to speak to someone in a coffee shop, etc. the fantasy of the Coffee Shop AU is, perhaps unexpectedly, a fairly powerful one, made even more alluring by these pockets of realism that help the fantasy stick.

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However, the appeal of such stories is not only the representation they may offer, but simply that the canon is already doing much of that high-stakes work. Supernatural and Teen Wolf are both full to the brim with intense, shocking, complicated, and often times bloody adventure. Supernaturally-themed television shows demand that there be a certain level of action involved, and by extension, acceptance on the audience’s part as to what will and what not will take up screen time. We understand that characters will be given only perfunctory periods to deal with the trauma of everything they’ve faced, that romances will remain as side-plots, and any non-impactful interaction will be relegated to cold opens. The expectations of the form open up the “gaps” that fan scholars highlight as one of fic’s defining characteristics. These gaps are similar to and feed off of those found in all serial television, which provide mandatory temporal spaces between each episodic installment to generate the desire to return next week and see what happens, as well as providing time to participate in the story in other ways (Mittell 2015, 27). Rather than a formal part of the story’s structure that results in plot devices like the cliffhanger, fic gaps are more akin to roads not traveled. They are all the possibilities that the canon didn’t have the time or the inclination to explore. Thus fic—but particularly feel-good fics like the Coffee Shop AU—take up the job of honing in on whatever didn’t make it into the canon. For high action TV shows, that’s usually the characters’ emotional states, (queer) romantic pursuits, and an emphasis on domestic conflicts. Fic writers create their own value by finding ways to understand the text through their own experiences until the text becomes a “mirror-reflection of the reader” (Sandvoss, 71). Part of that reflection is the simple fact that fans understand school, depression, finances, mental health, and other

143 realistic conflicts better than they do hunting werewolves. Indeed, the quieter moments within a canon are already the ones we tend to connect with. “In a world in which superpowered people exist, it’s the normal ones who have to make the hardest choices, and who come out as the most heroic and the most flawed” (Savile 246). The Coffee

Shop AU puts those characters at the forefront of the story. The other part of this reflection is the desire to see these characters finding the happiness and peace that television usually doesn’t allow for until the very end of the show’s run (if then). The emphasis on realistic, easily solved problems likewise allows fans to reach catharsis regarding these characters and their endings years before their creators tackle that in canon.

At the end of the day, escapism is the Coffee Shop AU’s primary goal and, somewhat paradoxically, realistic aspects help to reinforce that. These fics are referencing the same problems that readers face without the characters getting rundown by them. Or the problems exist, but only on the periphery. Accuracy on the level of “how expresso machines work, how to make certain drinks, the daily cycle” allows for immersion while acknowledgement of the harder aspects of life provides personal reassurance for the reader (Arminarlertsbooty-Archive). If these characters can make it through this then so can the reader, thereby re-characterizing the Coffee Shop AU as not just escapism, but also a genre that teaches and encourages growth. Reading about already beloved characters living in a more accepting world but nevertheless still facing some of the same hardships and worries—even if it’s as simple as not being able to cook

144 yet—allows readers, particularly Millennial and Gen Z readers, to connect with the genre beyond a sense of pure wish fulfillment.

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Chapter 4

Character Types: “What If They Were, Like, Baristas?”

“Me, going into a coffee shop to study: man I sure hope this doesn't become a cheesy fanfic! Wouldn't that be bad? Finding the love of my life right now? My soulmate ! Today!? in this cute coffe shop ?? Yeah, who would want THAT? NOT ME, I'll tell ya!” - Tumblr user Twilightdance

The Buddy-Cop Duo and Queerbaiting

As a genre focused on male/male romantic relationships, the Coffee Shop AU is

not merely a remediation of the romantic comedy, but a product of transformative

fandom’s emphasis on slash. As fanzine-based and, eventually, online fanfiction

continued to grow out of the science fiction of the 1960s and 70s, the number of male

duos on television and film did as well. Kirk and Spock of Star Trek, the title duo from

Starsky and Hutch, Luke and Han in Star Wars, Illya and Napoleon of The Man From

U.N.C.L.E, and Adam West’s iconic depiction of Batman alongside Burt Ward’s Robin

(though this pairing was complicated by Robin’s age) all worked to emphasize the male

duo as a foundational relationship within action and adventure stories. Despite the

introduction of love interests across numerous genres, most of which had become

aggressively heterosexual by the 1980s, fans continued to buy into the homosocial bond

that is at the heart of some of the most popular stories of the time (Dennis). Continuing

on into the mid and late 2000s, shows like Supernatural and Teen Wolf have evolved out

of the buddy-cop dynamic found in police procedurals, replacing real life crime cases

with supernatural ones. This structural dynamic already emphasizes the homosocial bond 146 between two men and the increase in danger results in further co-dependence, until that bond becomes the foundation on which the rest of the show is built. Molly Haskell says that for these buddy-cop types:

The point is love—love in which men understand and support each other, speak the same language, and risk their lives to gain each other’s respect. But this is also a delusion; the difficulties of the adventure disguise the fact that this is the easiest of loves: a love that is adolescent, presexual, tacit, the love of one’s semblable, one’s mirror reflection (24).

Slash fic, including the Coffee Shop AU, takes this love already provided by the canon— between Dean and Castiel, Stiles and Derek, other duos from different fandoms—and removes a portion52 of that adolescent barrier, most easily by removing the adventure as well. Without earth-shattering conflicts and life-threatening situations to distract them, these characters have no choice but to acknowledge and act on their true feelings.

Similarly, characters (and writers) are no longer given the chance to use danger as an excuse for that love, i.e. “We only expressed emotional and/or physical love towards one another because we thought that one or both of us wouldn’t survive.” Though the conflict of the Coffee Shop AU relies heavily on miscommunication, the end result is always what the canon fails to accomplish: an honest and open admission of precisely what each man means to the other.

This history surrounding slash is a complex one, intimately tied up with the queer movement in the United States, yaoi otaku culture in Japan, second and third wave

52 I say a portion because there is often an emphasis on innocent, almost adolescent characterization for at least one member of the romantic duo. Bacon-Smith notes that “naughty boys occasionally scrape their knees and need someone to set them on their feet again,” emphasizing how fandom likes to toe the line between sexually appealing adult and vulnerable child (181). The other half of the duo is thus allowed to embody both the romantic partner and the comforting parental figure. 147 feminism, and—most notably here—fic’s long-held reputation as a sexually explicit, deviant form of literature. The reasons behind fans’ focus on male/male pairings are numerous53, with Bacon-Smith responsible for one prevalent theory in which slash provides distance for women writers, allowing them to be fully in control of all sexual and emotional acts. However, as Chapter Three lays out, the assumption that women are the only ones writing slash—or even dominating slash—is now under scrutiny given the number of trans, intersex, nonbinary, and gender queer fans now openly celebrating their identity online. Nevertheless, it’s both a comfort and a thrill to imagine a scenario involving two cis men and having a queer author in control of that narrative, something that fans rarely find in mainstream media, let alone real life. As one fan puts it in their now well-known essay, “Why Do Fangirls Always Make Them Gay?”

Imagine being in a relationship in which you are treated like an equal, consciously and unconsciously, sexually, emotionally, socially, romantically, without being bound by gender expectations, without risk of pregnancy (or having your reproductive rights taken away from you), without feelings of inferiority, without being mistreated or neglected because men don’t understand your body and can’t be bothered to learn how to give you pleasure (or that you even deserve pleasure). Imagine having a reciprocating relationship with someone who knows how to touch you and how to talk to you, who will never abuse you or take away your consent. Imaging feeling powerful, safe, like the default rather than the specific or second-class. Imagine not requiring special handling by awkward, inconsiderate men who were never taught any better. Imagine being allowed to touch and enjoy and indulge without apprehension. Imagine being able to trust your partner. Imagine knowledge and understanding, someone who sees your depths and treats you the way you’d treat yourself if you hadn’t been told from birth that you weren’t worth it. Girls aren’t “making them gay.” Girls are fantasizing about being equal (Euclase).

53 See DarkTwin’s meta for an extensive list of the reasons fans have articulated over the years. 148

Though written sometime in 2014 and discussing women specifically, Euclase’s conclusions are not bound solely to one gender. We can apply this reasoning to numerous minority groups who are drawn to writing slash.

However, these theories have still faced pushback over the years, most notably highlighting that slash does not always refer enough to modern day homosexual identities or politics—something that is indeed often overlooked due to many fics (including the

Coffee Shop AU) functioning as an escapist experience, not an explicitly activist one— and the idea that “seemingly subversive fan fiction that depicts same-sex couplings can reinforce heteronormativity” (Van de Goor, Hunting). This is true, but it’s worth pointing out that this problem has been applied specifically to male pregnancy fics where, given that one character is now taking on a female’s biological role, the writer may be more inclined to fall back on some of those gendered assumptions. More pressingly, fans have expressed disappointment that close friendships, including potentially queer friendships, are “trivialized, shunted aside, cast as a pale imitation of the requited sex-romance bundle” when fans inevitably take an already close, loving relationship from the canon and reposition it as explicitly romantic and/or sexual, thereby positioning the latter as intrinsically superior (Havingbeenbreathedout). This is indeed a concern, one that intersects with the Coffee Shop AU’s genre roots. Queer romantic comedies are few and far between, resulting in a desire for fans to take those queer friendships and transform them into the kinds of stories that are rarely, if ever, provided by mainstream media. In addition, the buddy-copy dynamic functions in direct opposition to romantic comedy 149 ideology, undermining the idealization of heterosexual couples. “In terms of generic conventions, it is as if the romantic comedy and buddy film have engaged in a battle in which the buddy film has come out triumphant,” resulting in more media that fans are willing to transform (Delveyto 173). The point is to maintain the homosocial bond, but also allow it to develop along avenues that are only given to heterosexual couples in the romantic comedy. From a cultural perspective, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick was right to emphasize that we need not interpret all male/male interaction through homoerotic subtext as “such generalizations tend to obscure the cultural power of friendships and rivalries between men” and indeed, more and more we are seeing pushback in fandom spaces equivalent to, “Are men not allowed to be BFFs anymore? Why do you always insist on making them gay?” (Delveyto 172). However, fandom will always be a reaction to mainstream media and in turn mainstream media, which remains fairly consistent in prioritizing rivalries and friendships between men over romantic and/or sexual relationships, encourages fandom to steer hard in one direction, just as mainstream media continues to steer in the other.

Milly Williamson points out that at times these romantic and/or sexual readings of the characters are now encouraged by producers even when—sometimes especially when—they’re not allowed to become canon, thus undermining the image of the rebellious fan who is transforming the heart of the text. I disagree that the creators’ potential willingness to hint at a relationship devalues the work fans do and the risks they take in making that love explicit (whatever “explicit” means to each individual writer).

This resistance remains necessary in an age where creators’ choice to emphasize that

150 homosocial bond often becomes malicious and when subtext becomes queerbaiting instead of queer coding. Queerbaiting refers to the act of marketing and presenting a story in a way that appeals to the queer community—encouraging queer fanworks, dropping hints about potential queer characters in interviews, writing suggestive scenes between two characters, etc.—without ever overtly portraying the characters as queer on screen so as to avoid alienating other audience members. It is, in short, an attempt to have one’s cake and eat it too, encouraging queer fans to support the story while not upholding their end of an implied bargain. Creators are seen as unwilling to brave the potential backlash of an out queer character, but wanting the brownie points for having one nonetheless.

Though queer characters themselves are becoming more normalized across film, television, comics, podcasts, and console games—such as the live action rendition of

Beauty and the Beast, the 2017 Power Rangers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Supergirl, Welcome to Night Vale, Billions, and Overwatch to name just a few recent examples—not all of these stories provide ample or complimentary representation, and the treatment of these queer characters remains an ongoing discussion. In contrast, shows like The 100, RWBY,

Killing Eve, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Sherlock, and Glee have all faced intense criticism for killing off queer/potentially queer characters or otherwise denying a relationship after seeming to promote one. This can even occur accidentally through well- meaning actors and producers. For example, Newt and Hermann are not technically a couple in the Pacific Rim franchise, but actor Charlie Day admits that he worked under that assumption while acting—Newt is the way he is because “he misses the man that he’s in love with” and that romance “completely informs the character” (Baker-

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Whitelaw, March 2018). Yet “informs” cannot be a stand-in for overt, on-screen representation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the term “queerbaiting” was made popular among fan communities in the early 2000s to describe this growing trend seen within shows that had developed strong internet fandoms, the most prominent of which was Supernatural.

Genres of slash fic remain important to fans precisely because creators continue to write queer relationships in an unsatisfactory manner, write too few of them, or not writing any at all.

The positive impact of on-screen representation is well documented. Put simply,

“Consuming media that represent gay and lesbian youth offers a powerful means of socialization for young people who are coming to terms with their sexuality, as they serve as a template for their own negotiations about whether and how to come out to family and friends, managing relationships in school or the work place, as well as dealing with issues related to dating, sex, and forming intimate relationships” (Robinson 33). Slash in particular has served as a much-needed form of self-expression, validation, and even education among queer youths. During the course of her research, Rebecca Black came across a young gay man writing slash stories who “hadn’t come out, and fanfic was a space where he was using the characters to work through those issues” either by putting characters through similar situations that he’d experienced or outright putting himself into this story (Hu). When that emotional support isn’t offered by the canon, fans are inclined to create that representation themselves and encourage younger fans to turn towards those texts when appropriate. Genres like the Coffee Shop AU are upheld through positive reviews, kudos, reblogs, rec lists, or simply word-of-mouth praise, while

152 the canons are at times devalued through boycotts, petitions to bring characters back, and critical metas posted to blogs. There are assumptions that mainstream media are queer people’s first access to representation—the cartoons they watch, movies they see, books they’re given in school—but in the age of largely unrestricted internet access, where children are learning to navigate archives at a younger age, they’re just as likely to discover fanfiction as another influential source, or even, despite its flaws, a better source.

Coffee Shop Slash

Thus, much has already been written about the history of slash, its appeal to fandom, and the ways that these stories function as subversive transformations of the canon. However, the Coffee Shop AU differs from other slash fics since, more often than not, it eschews overt sexual relations in favor of focusing on an emotional connection between two characters, one capable of thriving regardless of whether a particular type of physical intimacy (which can be distasteful to many fans, for a variety of reasons) is ever adopted. Granted, fans have long claimed that their work is distinct from pornography both through its rejection of particular depictions of sexuality, such as the male gaze, and its emphasis on an emotional bond as superior to indifferent, physical relief. It’s important to acknowledge here that fans are often working with a different definition of

“pornography” than mainstream readers, namely associating it explicitly with a simplified perception of pornography as a whole—immersed in the male gaze, sexism, violence, a lack of emotional intimacy—and therefore distinct from the types of stories 153 they’re writing. To say that fans position their work against mainstream pornography is to say that they reject the perception of pornography, defined by its presumed worst traits, rather than the total of what is actually produced. In discussing wincest stories, fics that feature brothers Sam and Dean in an incestuous relationship, Anissa Grahm notes that fics are almost always concerned with the relationship itself as opposed to the sex that develops out of it. This includes PWPs or Porn Without Plot, sometimes winkingly referred to as, Plot? What Plot? Even fics which are categorized as focusing solely on an explicit interaction uphold emotional intimacy as the reason for why the story is successfully erotic: if you don’t care about these specific characters, why choose to read fic? This “focus on the emotional quality of the relationships marks the fiction as being more in line with the show’s themes than the fiction’s alternative representation might apply” (137). Yet despite this, fandom as a whole still has a strong reputation for erotic content which in turn complicates these criticisms of slash—something that the popularity of the Coffee Shop AU helps to undermine.

We are now entering an age where the solution to transforming canonical queerbaiting is no longer a straightforward, sexual encounter between the two characters.

Many fans are interested in supplying that representation without relying on the characters immediately falling into bed together. Queerness is made overt without necessarily making it sexual and writers are careful to craft characters who are queer, not simply straight men who happen to fall for one, special exception. This is usually done by establishing the character’s romantic and/or sexual queerness through quick, establishing lines early on in the fic:

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He let his eyes skim over the crowd, occasionally glancing at a beautiful woman or a hot guy (IBegToDreamAndDiffer). He’s asked out people before. Lots of people; loads, even. Women and men alike. He’s never gotten this nervous before (Coffeeandcheesecake). Cas found himself watching the man as often as possible when he was there, noticing little things—like the way he watched the asses of the men who walked past him just as often as the women’s. That confirmation that he was at least bisexual made Cas even more determined in his efforts (Wannaliveindeansdimples).

These moments are intentionally separate from one character’s interest in another individual. They are a part of the character’s identity, not the romantic plotline. In

Coffeeandcheesecake’s fic Dean might not have gotten this nervous with anyone else before, establishing that Castiel is special, but he’s not special because he’s a man. Dean has already “asked out people before… Women and men alike.” Alongside being as overt as possible about queer identities in general, these descriptions allow for those less represented sexualities, such as bisexuality, to shine in fandom spaces even as they remain rare in mainstream media. Is this Dean gay with just a passing interest in women?

Is he bisexual? Pansexual? Trans? Asexual? Is he still questioning his own identity even in his 30s? We’re not told and that in and of itself is significant for many readers.

Rejecting one specific label allows everyone reading the fic to imagine themselves in

Dean’s place. The only non-debatable part of his identity is that he’s definitely not straight. More often than not, Coffee Shop AUs will eschew labels54 in order to allow for

54 There are, of course, some fics that give characters a concrete sexuality, written for those who prefer to have their identity specifically represented. In Kaleidoscope Stiles thinks about how his dad assumes he’s gay because he probably can’t tell the difference from being bisexual, there is a bi visibility cake in The Right Motivation, Dean comes out as bisexual in Supernatural: Today Your Barista Is… while also, at times, referring to himself as “gay.” 155 as wide a variety of representation as possible, challenging the long-held assumption that slash stories equal gay stories. Indeed, over the years “slash” as a category has come to mean the very narrow relationship of two cis men romantically and sexually falling for one another, a term that derived out of the need to distinguish fanzine fics about

Kirk&Spock’s friendship (combining their names with an ampersand) from those that contain a romantic and/or sexual element (using the forward slash: Kirk/Spock). Though some fans do use the term “slash” in a broad manner to refer to any non-cishet relationship, there is a reason the term “femslash” developed to describe two women together, pushing back against assumptions irrevocably tied to “slash” after seventy years of use. Despite the growing vocabulary, as of 2015 only 3.5% of works on AO3 contained “femslash” tags or categorization, compared to 42.5% with some sort of

“slash” label, a discrepancy which many fans are incredibly self-critical of

(Porluciernagas).

This emphasis on defining the characters’ queer identities outside of their sexual exploits continues even as the romantic plotlines begin. Fans desire a celebration of the connection they already feel between themselves and these individual characters. They want to see their love for these characters reflected in the characters’ own, strong connection with one another, a relationship years in the making as opposed to two strangers meeting for a brief, single encounter. The sex—though enjoyable for many readers—becomes superfluous, allowing for genres like the Coffee Shop AU to flourish.

Regardless of the choice to keep the fic PG or raise it to Explicit, fic writers still acknowledge that the domestic, romantic, and fluffy interactions remain at the heart of

156 the genre and any sex that makes its way into a Coffee Shop AU should be read as distinct from not just mainstream porn, but the PWPs of fandom. Derek thinks, “If this was porn, [He] would have thrown the easel aside hours ago and fucked Stiles on the podium in all the possible positions and probably all the impossible, lumbago-generating ones as well” (Vendelin). The entire point, of course, is that this fic is not porn, nor is it another genre of fic; so instead Derek goes back to sketching Stiles, an act that fans may read as far more intimate than Derek throwing Stiles over the podium.

However, the Coffee Shop AU goes far beyond just eschewing explicit content in a medium that maintains that reputation, likewise pushing back against the assumption that queer literature is automatically sexual literature. The genre goes even further to normalize slash by crafting a world where, as discussed in Chapter 3, all sexualities are valid and automatically accepted, removing the need for characters to come out in any traditional fashion, or even for them to express their love in any traditional way. Worry surrounds how they will be received as an individual, not as a gender, and stories rarely use sexual/romantic identity as a conflict55.

55 One of the exceptions is Free To Be You and Me wherein Castiel initially assumes Dean is straight because “he’s manly in all the ways Castiel can never dream of being.” By eventually correcting Castiel, the fic helps to undermine assumptions that queer men cannot look and act as Dean does. 157

Consistency and Transformation

Given that, canonically, all these men are straight (or at least not yet revealed to be queer) characterization becomes a bit of a balancing act. As a general rule, fic writers attempt to avoid the dreaded OOC: dialogue, actions, and reflections in their story that read as “out of character.” No matter how innovative your work is, fans have sought it out in order to re-create some of the experience they first encountered when reading or watching the canon and deviating too far from any accepted characterization is an easy way of losing their interest56: “So I can’t exactly imagine Stiles being strict and uptight… but ‘you’re wasting my time’ Stiles? I can so see that” (Pale-silver-comb). Writers likewise express worry over how OOC they perceive their own writing to be, sometimes jokingly—if an OOC characterization is intentional, such as in crack fics—sometimes quite seriously. Captainskellington, author of Warm Days, begins their author’s note with, “I am incredibly sorry for how out of character Dean probably was. I wrote this at

3am with a head cold. Actually, no, no regrets. I did a thing. Hope you enjoyed.” This tells us that first and foremost authors feel compelled to apologize for OOCness, that any good author would only write an OOC character under terrible conditions (“I wrote this at

3am with a head cold”), but that really, in the grand scheme of things, authors shouldn’t feel guilty about their characterization because they still “did a thing.” Yet even with

Captainskellington’s pullback, they left their apology in place. Despite fanfiction’s ability

56 Of course, there are always exceptions to this unspoken rule; the most common of which is the concept of fanon: an aspect of the story that has little to no basis in canon but is accepted by so many fans that it might as well be, to the extent that newcomers to the community often mistake it for the real thing. 158 to provide us with all possibilities while still allowing us to remain safe in the knowledge that the canon will always exist, that desire for creative freedom is balanced out with the need to keep the universe in question—and its characters—recognizable.

The challenge of an AU then, especially one that deviates so sharply from its canonical source like the Coffee Shop AU, is simply that: it’s an AU, an alternate universe wherein, presumably, characters have had wildly different experiences than their canon counterparts, which in turn should, theoretically, result in different temperaments and personalities. It’s a mild debate regarding nature vs. nurture wherein nurture is presumed to have at least some impact on who a person grows up to be. To provide an outside example, Eren Jaeger—protagonist of the hit manga and anime series Attack on

Titan—canonically grows up in a world subjugated by monsters, experiencing the bloodshed of war and the terror of a totalitarian government at a very young age. The logical assumption is that this Eren will read as radically different from an Eren who, say, grew up in the suburbs and is currently finishing up his college degree. If you define a character primarily by their anger and protective instincts, but then take away the circumstances that nurtured those emotions in the first place, who then does the character become? Though changing or reinforcing a character’s sexuality is an impactful choice in and of itself, it is not the only one that the Coffee Shop AU grapples with. Theoretically, every aspect of this new universe should be influencing the characters, changing them in ways that go beyond just making the fic a slash story.

Logically, the environment of the Coffee Shop AU should invite innovation when it comes to characterization, yet for the most part fans’ fear that their writing will be 159 labeled OOC is far stronger than that creative freedom57. The desire for familiarity tends to outweigh the expectations attached to changing the setting; readers want to revisit the characters they’re already familiar with, even if that doesn’t match up with the logic of throwing them into an entirely new world, experiencing new situations, and interacting with a cast who have also been changed. Writers aim to recreate the characters’ personalities as accurately as possible, despite the massive differences between the supernatural and coffee shop worlds. Out of the 824 Coffee Shop AUs currently uploaded to the Supernatural fandom on AO3, 647 of them feature Dean and Castiel as a primary pairing. Similarly, the 614 Teen Wolf Coffee Shop AUs have 409 focusing on Derek and

Stiles as a couple, with side-pairings either entirely absent or just that: a side note.

Getting these four characters right is the key to a good Coffee Shop AU in these particular fandoms. Nailing Scott, Lydia, Lucifer, or Gabriel is an added bonus, but with the exception of a few fics that feature them as one of the main pairings, the reader is likely to ignore any OOC-ness on their part. They simply aren’t taking up enough space in the fic to have that sort of potential, negative impact. It’s the main pairings that must still read as recognizable despite the fact that they now embody the comparatively mundane experience of customers and baristas. Castiel, for example, is no longer an angel of the Lord in this world, removed from human emotions and mannerisms… but he wouldn’t be Castiel if he wasn’t awkward and overly blunt. So, that characterization remains with the author writing in how that functions in an everyday setting. We’re still

57 It’s important to note here that this fear stems just as much from potential backlash as it does worry that people won’t read your fic at all. Given the attachment that fans can develop towards characters, those who write them “incorrectly” can face flaming, call-out posts, anon hate, and—in the most extreme situations— doxing. 160 told that “Castiel has never been good at human interaction” and that the way he interacts appears alien, despite the fact that Castiel is now a human being

(IBegToDreamAndDiffer). Or, more rarely, authors will attempt to come up with a

Watsonian58 reason for maintaining personality quirks, such as implying that Castiel is autistic (Anythingtoated).

Mimicry then is an incredibly important part of the Coffee Shop AU’s characterizations, though it’s not as easily accomplished as some might assume. As

Margaret Mackermy and Jill McClay found when they incorporated writing fanfiction into their classroom, distilling the knowledge of the canon and mixing it with new content is a tricky business. They were “surprised to learn how difficult it is to write fan fictions…[we] were quite taken aback by how difficult [we] found writing within a known fictional world” because they recognized that some aspects of the canon should remain while others are discarded, but determining which those are and how exactly to use them is the challenge (Mackey). Who is Castiel without a past spent living and fighting in Heaven? Without formative moments such as rescuing Dean from Hell or turning against his brethren? He must simultaneously be someone new—an everyday customer, a stressed barista—and someone familiar. Skillfully striking that balance between the old and the new is part of what characterizes the most popular of the Coffee

Shop AUs.

58 A term popularized by fans to describe in-world explanations for potential inconsistencies, with the counter being a Doylist approach that provides real world explanations. The terms derive from the inconsistencies found in the Sherlock Holmes stories, usually pertaining to names and dates. A Watsonian explanation is that details were deliberately changed to help protect a client’s identity. A Doylist explanation is that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a fallible author, simply made mistakes. 161

This emphasis on mimicry is accomplished in large part through what Anissa

Grahm labels as shorthand elements. These are references to the original canon that act as pseudo summaries for the reader, distilling characters down to their primary personality traits. If characters have defining clothing—such as Castiel’s trench coat and blue tie— then they’ll maintain those in most fics. If the canon has particularly notable events like, say, an apocalypse or fights between werewolves, then fics will figure out ways to weave references to those into these new universes as realistically and seamlessly as possible.

Balthazar, one of Castiel’s many angel brothers, casually comments in a Coffee Shop AU that a family gathering is “going to be rather apocalyptic,” referencing both

Supernatural’s stakes and the canonical, tumultuous relationship of the angelic family, now reframed as mortal drama (FortinbrasFTW). In another fic, when Derek is accused of never leaving his café, he responds with, “It’s a curse. I can only leave the shop on the full moon” thereby referencing Teen Wolf’s premise (Orphan_Account 2012). Dean still gets an anti-possession tattoo even though demons no longer exist in this world. Now it’s based off of a family heirloom meant to bring good luck. Castiel still informs Dean that

Sam and Lucifer have formed “a bond,” but now that bond is based on love as opposed to

Sam acting as Lucifer’s human vessel (IBegToDreamAndDiffer). Stiles, already a human in the canon, is easily still defined by his awkwardness and if he’s no longer driving his iconic beat-up Jeep he has an “old, beaten laptop” instead (Hatteress). On their own none of these details necessarily read as terribly character-defining. Rather, they exist to remind the reader of all the characterization that has already been established through the entirety of these canonical franchises. Gesturing towards the “real” characterization while

162 writing something new allows the Coffee Shop AU author to find that seemingly impossible balance.

Speaking specifically of how these shorthand elements function in the

Supernatural fandom, Anissa Grahm says that they “illustrate the character’s feelings; beef jerky and loud music remind us that Dean is the emotionally distant one, Sam’s puppy dog eyes label him as the sensitive one, and Castiel’s stilted speech reminds us that human emotions are still quite new to him” (137). Here, Grahm is referencing a fic that takes place within the canonical Supernatural universe, but this work still characterizes the Coffee Shop AU. Details from the show remain in order to reassure us that these are the same characters we’ve come to know and love, even if they now inhabit a new universe. They mimic the canon, yes, but also serve to highlight the core aspects of characterization that readers are looking to re-discover. Sam painting Castiel’s brother,

Gabriel, as an angel in Coffee and Tattoos—“With giant brown wings with golden tipped feathers”—is a fun, canonical Easter egg, yet it’s also an artistic way of reminding us that underneath Gabriel’s seemingly indifferent exterior there’s a (now metaphorical) angelic nature that Sam views with awe (Orphan_Account May 2014). The Coffee Shop AU is a progressive, politically charged genre that invites such subversions, yet it is also meant to be a comforting escape. As fanfiction, the story only succeeds in comforting the reader if the characters remain recognizable. Likewise as fanfiction, some transformation is expected. Thus, a character like Derek may now be out as a queer man, no longer a werewolf, working in a coffee shop, and generally embodying numerous new aspects of

163 his identity that fundamentally change who he is as a person59, yet so long as he makes references to his canonical self, the reader is able to reconcile the two.

Mimicry and Masculinity

Within these two fandoms’ Coffee Shop AUs, the most overt example of this balancing act is seen in that characterization of Derek. Canonically, Derek is a violent, guarded man who smiles little and laughs even less. His gruff exterior (hiding a softer, loyal man) arises out of the trauma he suffered in his teenage years—wherein his family was burned to death in their home—as well as the general violence and hardship that accompanies being a werewolf. Given Derek’s past and literal animal instincts, it makes sense that he would be presented as a man who tends to bite first, either literally or figuratively, and ask questions later. These assumptions about his personality are so engrained in the fandom that they trump additional assumptions about how baristas should act in the real world, that is, always putting on a polite façade for the customer.

On the contrary, Derek is a character prepared to follow through on anything he pleases, be it providing terrible customer service to those he doesn’t like, glaring at customers as his default, or using his family’s ownership of the shop to get people to leave him alone

59 This is not to say that Coffee Shop AUs never maintain the supernatural elements that define their protagonists, it’s simply rare and inconsequential next to the Coffee Shop AUs romantic focus. In You and Your Stupid, Perfect Smile, Derek is still a werewolf, yet this choice has no impact on the story’s plot and little impact on his relationship with Stiles. In fact, though explicitly a part of this AU world and not just a reference, this choice still functions like a mimicry detail, only gestured to in throwaway lines—Derek is like a puppy, he’s a meat lover, he has unnaturally fluid grace—and, indeed, you won’t even know for sure that he’s a werewolf unless you read the author’s tags. 164

(Orphan_Account 2012). He is, in short, someone seemingly unsuited for such a domestic lifestyle. In order to maintain this characterization while still providing Stiles— now living in a world where he and Derek are no longer bound by secrets and life threatening experiences— with a reason for his interest, writers emphasize and transform what few redeeming qualities Derek has. Without a murdered family and lycanthropy to explain away his behavior, the challenge becomes maintaining that characterization while likewise keeping Derek likable, despite the fact that he now acts like an ass simply because he can.

First and foremost, authors are careful to reframe Derek’s standoffish attitude as sexually appealing (with the added benefit that this furthers that homosocial bond).

Sometimes this work is accomplished with a near throwaway line, such as acknowledging that Derek’s “bored impassivity...suited him just fine,” while in other fics the primary conflict centers around re-contextualizing Derek’s attitude as a desirable trait.

In Vendelin’s Kaleidoscope, Stiles has a long conversation in which he jokingly reprimands Derek for being rude while ordering his drink, though it’s meant to be just that: a joke. Neither Stiles nor the reader seriously believes that Derek should become a more polite customer because basic manners interfere with his bad boy persona. Indeed, in the same fic Stiles admits that he “doesn’t know if he’s supposed to be afraid or turned on,” drawing attention to the conflation of rude, cruel, and even scary behavior with sexual appeal. When asked if Derek is hot in It’s Been Like Years Since It’s Been Clear,

Stiles replies with, “Uh. Kind of? In a ‘I’m deciding whether or not to rip your throat out’ kind of way? Sort of… brooding. And dark. Dark and brooding and menacing” (Sirona).

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Much of his characterization stems from the cultural conflation of werewolves, masculinity, and the “bad boy” as a romantic interest. Teen Wolf takes to a literal extreme an already popularized form of masculinity: the alpha male. Successful, physically strong, emotionally distant, devastatingly attractive, and often housing a preference for violence, the alpha male is in many ways the pinnacle of Western, patriarchal masculinity. It’s a masculinity “unreformed by feminism” and never presented as a caricature or challenged by the narrative (Lotz 1). Derek, as a literal alpha for a time within Teen Wolf’s universe, follows in the footsteps of men like James Bond and Don

Draper who prove alluring because they are potentially dangerous. The assumption that dangerous men are the most desirable is a common trope in both mainstream media and fan culture. Characters like Stiles look at a barista who scares him and yet come to the conclusion that he’s a catch who is out of his league.

Sometimes the contradiction inherent in this reframing is acknowledged, such as in Second Chances where Derek is described as “tall and muscular and gorgeous in a way that would have [been] drool-worthy if the man didn’t appear absolutely murderous at the moment” (Rootbeer). Though the line claims that Stiles is more repulsed by his behavior than he is attracted by his looks, the reader understands that this aversion is only temporary, or is exaggerated as a way of lessening Stiles’ disappointment if he thinks he doesn’t stand a chance at landing a date. Contrary to the implication, readers who know

Derek’s character from seasons worth of material understand that he’s a good man and thus any work the AU does to acknowledge the problems attached to romanticizing caustic and violent men is immediately undermined. He may not come across as shy and

166 tender in this particular story, but there’s evidence for that hidden personality in Teen

Wolf itself and the spill over is inevitable. Banking on readers drawing from six seasons worth of material, all Stiles needs to do is think that Derek is a good man who simply has a secret reason for being standoffish, such as “a phobia of social events”—regardless of whether there’s evidence of that in this particular fic—and the reader is quite willing to believe it (Orphan_Account 2012). The same shorthand elements that allow the reader to fill in characterization also allow them to make assumptions about what this Derek is

“really” like, possessing personality traits that are often absent or even contrary to what’s actually written in the fic: a discrepancy in the “show” vs. the “tell.” Derek may come across as cold, rude, even violent at times… but he’s working as a barista to help pay his way through school and hoping to help rehabilitate wolves someday (another callback to the canon). So really, he can’t be all bad. Indeed, by the end of the story both Stiles and the reader are confident that they have access to the “real” Derek behind the standoffish mask, allowing the canonical characterization to exist while still providing a romantic interest worthy of the Coffee Shop AU’s feel-good nature. A Derek who has been woobified60 embodies the genre too strongly and wouldn’t read as Derek. Likewise, a

Derek that is too canonical doesn’t fit into this world. Thus, writers work hard to balance

60 Woobifying a character is when fans take one or two traits from the canon that paint that character as sympathetic (or drawing assumptions if there are none) and playing them up to an extreme so that the character appears deeply misunderstood, more-so than is arguably accurate (“Woobie”). The implication is that they are capable of change provided that they’re shown just a little more love. This is an alluring setup wherein fans can create self-inserts or use established characters in a similar manner, imagining that they are the special someone able to, in some cases literally, tame the beast. As a hero of Teen Wolf, Derek is not woobified in the traditional sense of the word, but some fans do feel that his flaws are downplayed in fic. Generally speaking, woobifying occurs in connection with villains, such as Kylo Ren in Star Wars or Lex Luthor in Smallville. 167 two different Dereks simultaneously: the one that he shows to the world and fits with the canon, the other that he shows to Stiles and fits with the genre.

Thus, it’s not at all surprising that Coffee Shop AUs contain the prevalent theme of love interests being able to see their partner’s “true” self; a self that is well hidden from the rest of the world—including, at times, even the reader. More often than not though, this self is acknowledged through narration and inner monologues, and the reader is left to accept the love interest’s claims without much in-world evidence to back them up. In Tis the Season Baristas Fear the Most, Stiles describes Derek as “all scary and gruff but secretly you’re sweet like apple pie,” accurately characterizing this side of

Derek as a literal secret the two of them share (Stilinskisparkles, emphasis added). We don’t see much evidence of that sweet pie personality, we’re simply expected to take

Stiles at his word. He gives a similar description to his uncertain friends in Little Kid

Crush saying, “[Derek] has, like, this marshmallow center, okay? He has this whole campaign about saving the wolves and shit” drawing on both food metaphors (discussed in Chapter 5) as well as those canonical references (saving wolves) to justify his unique reading of Derek’s character (KuriKuri 2014). The reader is encouraged to accept Stiles’ view of the situation despite the fact that there’s little in-text evidence to support it and, in this particular exchange, his friends respond with, “Yeah, because he is one,” referring to Derek as a wolf and working to convince Stiles that he is dangerous. Stiles, however, insists that Derek has potential despite the presumed danger attached to hanging out with him. Kendra James, a journalist for Elle writing on the complicated sexual education that fanfiction can provide, notes that,

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It’s much healthier to experience trying to change a man in a fictional universe than in a real-world scenario... My friends often accuse my standards for men of being too high, but if they are it’s only because I had already articulated the bare minimum of what I not want but expect in a relationship with a significant other years ago. My “high standards” are hard-won from years of confusion and exploration on the Internet and the amount of information I processed at a blessedly early age, no thanks to my public-school system.

Given the Coffee Shop AU’s emphasis on supportive and healthy dynamics, at first glance it may seem contradictory to advocate for relationships where one partner “fixes” the other through the power of loving them. However, as James points out, grappling with those dynamics in fiction allows readers to develop those “high standards” in real life. If one is drawn to such a relationship, best to work through it in fiction, and it is undeniable that Stiles’ unique ability to perceive Derek’s actions in a positive light makes for a romantic setup. Reaffirming common parallels in the canon of this closed-off nature implies there’s something worth uncovering, that violent tendencies will transform into a protective instinct provided that Derek finds “the one.” This setup likewise provides space for the reader’s fantasy that this character, their favorite (or even a stand-in for themselves), will be the one to finally break down those walls and reach the previously unreachable. Alongside the general fantasy of finding true love, the characterization in

Coffee Shop AUs tells readers that this romance will develop because they and their favorite characters are special.

However, accepting the romantic partner’s insight at face value also depends largely on the intersection of soulmates with the Coffee Shop AU. Derek may be cruel to others, but Stiles—the embodiment of true love—is capable of changing Derek for the

169 better, reframing his flaws as fixable through romance. Some fics blend the coffee shop format with literal soulmate markers, such as in Warm Days where everyone has a count- down on their arm, telling them how long it is until they meet The One. Or Second

Chances, where Stiles thinks that his soulmate (Derek) hates him because the words he has had inked on his arm all his life were blurted in a moment of frustration, essentially crafting the opposite of a meet cute. More often than not though, the concept of two characters being meant for each other is just heavily implied. In Today Your Barista Is

Dean notes that he and Castiel move seamlessly through the kitchen together, surprising considering that having anyone else cooking with him is usually an annoyance. In He

Takes His Coffee Black, Stiles is inexplicably comfortable in Derek’s shop and Derek finds himself trusting him despite being a “naturally suspicious person.” In each case the partner’s differences are emphasized in a way that readers are meant to interpret as proof of their irrevocable compatibility—even if, in the case of characters like Derek, they often do little to craft a positive relationship. Their draw towards one another is innate.

Similarly, characters spend a great deal of time acknowledging and grappling with the fact that they don’t really know this person and yet they feel like they do. It doesn’t matter if they’ve never actually spoken, or you’ve only interacted through a customer/barista relationship, or you’ve literally only known each other for five minutes

(Captainskellington, Orphan_Account 2012, Jsea). Everything clicks and something as simple as time no longer matters. “‘You don’t even know me.’ [Derek] says the last part like it’s a good reason not to be in love with someone” (Vendelin). None of these unexpected reactions are ever explained. The implication, for both the reader and the

170 character, is simply that this person is an exception. “What makes him different?” and

Dean shrugs. “I dunno. He just… is” (IBegToDreamAndDiffer).

Artistic Endeavors

Vague references to soulmates are not always enough to justify the couple’s relationship, especially when one character is, canonically, seemingly too harsh for this domestic world. Derek is a particular case where his characterization does not easily fit within the Coffee Shop AU’s aesthetic, and thus writers must work harder to craft and explain that balance. One of the ways in which this is accomplished is by introducing artistic hobbies as a way of softening the character, essentially straddling the line between alternate universes and accurate characterization by making cosmetic changes that allow for difference, but don’t change anything too significant about the character overall. Sam, for example, is already a rather buttoned-up guy in the Supernatural canon (awkward, nerdy, aspiring to be a lawyer before he’s pulled back into the hunting life), yet in Coffee and Tattoos he’s described as having long hair up in a bun, gauged ears, brow piercings, and messy clothes covered in paint (Orphan_Account May 2014). Here he is described as

“an artist, and his body was no exception to the lifestyle.” This is without a doubt a different Sam than we get in the canon, but the changes are, quite literally, surface ones: what Sam wears and how he styles his hair, allowing for both the transformation and the original Sam to exist simultaneously. Unlike with Derek, here the author of Coffee and

Tattoos does not need to try and justify an angry or violent character suddenly becoming

171 soft enough for the Coffee Shop AU and thus this work, while still necessary, can exist in a few throwaway lines to establish the change. This is still Sam, just a Sam who, without the threat of the supernatural, has had the freedom to choose a safe life of artistic endeavors. Derek, in contrast, might have more emphasis placed on his hidden skill at drawing, or a shocking reveal that he knits—something to hammer home the surprise behind these revelations and their importance to his character.

Indeed, giving characters artistic jobs and aspirations is incredibly common in the

Coffee Shop AU, not just as a way of transforming these characters, but also as a means of reflecting the coffee shop’s status as a sanctuary for artists. In Kaleidoscope Stiles, running a shop of his own, says that, “a lot of people enjoy the flexibility of coffee shop work, particularly those in creative fields” (CarolineLahey). This is true, in that spaces like coffee shops have “a history of providing informal settings that encourage social camaraderie among their patrons,” allowing for the sort of inspiring interaction that artists, otherwise holed-up at home with their laptops, might not get. Certainly it’s no surprise that there’s always been a close tie between writers and the coffee shops they frequent. Though Starbucks may now be synonymous with 9:00 to 5:00 workers picking up early coffees to get through the busy day, the name itself derives from literature. After rejecting “Cargo House” and “Pequod,” the founders settled on the first mate of

Melville’s Moby Dick, a name that they hoped “evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders” (“Company Information”). People swarm to visit The Elephant House in Edinburgh, Scotland, the place where J.K. Rowling

172 wrote much of the Harry Potter books.61 The description of the café emphasizes that detail over all others: “JK Rowling wrote the Potter books over coffee and cake in this relaxed writer/reader-friendly café,” knowing that future patrons will be drawn to this connection and thus be more likely to visit. It’s likewise no coincidence that E.L. James’

Fifty Shades of Gray first segued into mainstream publishing through a publisher known as the Writer’s Coffee Shop (Lennard). The concept of artists needing a comfortable, habitual, informal place to work is an old one, one that writers of the Coffee Shop AU— perhaps writing in cafés themselves62—have passed down to their characters.

Along with emphasizing a long history between writers and coffee shops, as well as helping their characters transition into a new world, these artistic choices are a reflection of the writer themselves. Castiel needs a career in this universe, so why not make him a writer like the author? Or an illustrator? Or someone else artistically inclined? More often than not, Coffee Shop AU characters—including those like Derek who may keep such softer hobbies on the downlow—take up artistic interests so that they may reinforce the comforting, self-insert nature of the Coffee Shop AU. Characters tend to emphasize both the joys and the anxieties that their writers face. In Something’s

Brewing Dean thinks about how writing is fun, yes, “but sometimes overwhelming with all the amazing writers out there,” a feeling that most fic writers, regardless of background, tend to struggle with (Katymacsupernatura). Castiel is also a writer in A

61 In May of 2020, Rowling clarified on Twitter that The Elephant House is not the birthplace of Harry Potter as many fans have been led to believe. Though Rowling did write some there, the majority of the early books were penned “in a flat over what was then a sports shop. The first bricks of Hogwarts were laid in a flat in Clapham Junction” (Johnson). 62 It’s perhaps worth noting here that roughly 75% of this dissertation was composed in a Starbucks. 173

Slice of Pie for Someone Who Caught Your Eye, having gotten out “about four hundred pages of scribbled nonsense” that he now “had to create a story with, somehow.” The feeling that what you have is currently “nonsense” and the overbearing pressure of pulling your work into something cohesive are anxieties that most fans can identify with, whether they’re specifically writers or not, thereby adding to the sought-after realism of the Coffee Shop AU. In contrast, the genre will also have characters wax poetic about their work, dropping nuggets of wisdom such as, “There are a lot of stories out there waiting to be heard, they just need someone who knows how to find them”

(CarolineLahey). These declarations serve the dual purpose of giving the love interests something to talk about—be impressed by—and allowing the writer to put their own, presumed pride into the mouth of the character, informing the reader that yes, stories do need to be heard and mine is one of them. If fans seek to use the Coffee Shop AU as both escapism and optimistic activism, it makes sense that they would craft their characters to look as much like them as possible without entirely losing the canonical characterization, of course.

Thus, Stiles is said to be an English major in He Takes His Coffee Black, as is

Derek in All Stirred Up63. Stiles is a novelist in You Had Me At Latte Batman while

Derek practices foam art when he has time behind the counter. A Coffee Shop fanart of

Dean and Castiel provides no indication that Dean is an artist, yet the creator makes sure

63 This surprises Stiles a great deal, highlighting that the trope of giving characters artistic interests trumps basic expectations based in characterization. That is, in this case it’s more important that the Coffee Shop AU have an artistically inclined character than it is for Derek to be studying something that better suits his bad boy nature. Stiles’ surprise is an acknowledgement of writers attempting to strike that balance and it likewise serves to provide Derek with another layer of complexity. 174 that’s mentioned in their author’s notes (Diminuel). Castiel is studying Middle English morality plays in Free to Be You and Me. Derek creates charcoal drawings of Stiles in

Kaleidoscope. Even those characters that don’t end up becoming artists themselves are both aware of and vocal about how important art is, especially when it connects back to the fic’s romantic emphasis. In Constellations, Dean takes a moment to reflect:

He doesn’t understand all the parts about the painting, not really, but he’s seen pictures like those in the city museum: big plain canvases with two colors in streaks, jagged lines or straight ones, big mute blocks that have never really said anything to Dean, never given anything up. But maybe, he thinks, that’s it after all: “What’s the point of being alive,” she said, “if you’re not going to communicate?” (Orange_Crushed 2013).

This moment allows the author to maintain Dean’s core characterization, a man with little formal education who has never been drawn much to artistry, while nevertheless still making art a significant part of his life. Becoming more open to it via Castiel, the love interest, is a justifiable reason for this sudden interest. Later Dean notices that “the whole world goes technicolor” when he looks at Castiel, turning a generic, romantic observation into something much more meaningful to both them and the reader as well as making such an observation feel plausible. Love, and the freedom to love that the Coffee Shop

AU provides, changes these characters, arguably for the better.

Canonically, none of these men pursue forms of self-expression and when they do they’re never framed as art for art’s sake. Like the emotional displays that feed into queerbaiting, any presumably non-masculine endeavor must have a practical excuse attached to it. Stiles and Derek might have a conversation about fashion, but it’s only in the context of emphasizing how Stiles does not fit a traditionally masculine physique: his 175 shirts are too small for a buff Derek to wear (“Wolf’s Bane”). Sam and Dean might keep a journal throughout the series filled with illustrations, but that’s only to provide their family with a practical record of the monsters they face. In a world stuffed with dangerous, supernatural creatures, there’s simply no time for characters to explore creative hobbies and presumably no interest on the viewer’s part to watch them do that.

Yet the Coffee Shop AU is invested in breaking down norms and stereotypes, and thus a focus on artistic careers and hobbies provides another avenue for that emotional expression, allowing traditionally masculine men to be more open, sensitive, and vulnerable with others. Art is communication and the chance to transform these characters into men who are both suitable for the genre and appealing to those who read it.

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Chapter 5 Food As Allegory: “Love Me Some Pie”

“I make killer latte art, except on your drink because you’re kind of gorgeous and you’re watching me make it and oh god my hand always shakes and makes it look awful. I am good at this usually I swear!” - Tumblr user Izupie

One of the more striking commonalities across the Coffee Shop AU genre is that someone in the relationship, if not both partners, always possesses an incredible love of sweets. These references function as an important shorthand for that re-characterization, softening the male character’s canonical personalities, as well as a way of showcasing the couple’s developing relationship. The number of examples across my corpus is too numerous to list here, but a sampling would include: in Freebies and Little Kid Crush

Stiles is obsessed with Derek’s eclairs and using cookies as a way to drown his sorrows when Derek goes off to college; in Give Me Back My Bones (Maybe Then We’ll Talk)

Derek needs that splash of caramel in his coffee to get through the day; in Always-the- little-spoon’s untitled fic he buys drinks that were “overly sweet and chocolatey, and was piled so high with whipped cream drizzled with chocolate and caramel that the topping threatened to spill over;” in Coffee & Donuts Sam and Dean own a donut shop and both of them inevitably become covered in “glaze and flour” by the time they open each morning, heavily partaking of their own merchandise; in Due Cause Castiel and Dean begin a food fight that features caramel, cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream, despite the fact that they have a whole cart of non-sweet foods at their disposal; in

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Supernatural: Today Your Barista Is Gabriel, who is notorious for his sweet tooth both in and out of the canon, stashes small bars of chocolate everywhere around the store; and in

Due Cause time is spent providing the reader with this description:

Sam couldn't help but notice that [Gabriel’s] desk was covered in candy. There was a bag of M&Ms spilled out behind the keyboard, a glass jar full of tootsie pops (with the top most definitely shut, not open and welcoming like candy on a receptionist's desk). There were little silver bits of tinfoil across the table that Sam guessed had come from chocolate wrappers, and right across the front under his name plate was one of those massive comically multicolored lollys, like something munchkins from the Wizard of Oz would tote around. Authors use these food preferences as a marker of each character’s inner, “true” nature. Like the featured food, they themselves are alluring, comforting, addictive, and literally sweet-tempered, to the point where characters who are already canonically kind, such as Stiles or Castiel, now come across as quite childlike. Even Coffee Shop AUs with explicit sexual content maintain a playful, almost innocent feeling attached to the characters’ food choices and by extension the character themselves. Their love of sweets signals to the reader that they’ve held onto a kind of childlike joy and impulsivity, a love of life that they can then help pass on to their presumably more pessimistic partner— working off of the additional trope that opposites attract. We are told, for example, that

“Stiles’s smile never falters, and he’s warm and soft and tastes like coffee,” connecting

Stiles’ personality with his sweetened drink order. Notably, that order, doctored by plenty of sugar, serves to contrast Derek’s own preference: “No cream or sugar or anything. Just black” (Orphan_Account 2012). He is the dark pessimism to Stiles’ innocent optimism.

At least, that’s the assumption both characters must work through.

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Indeed, these food choices likewise alert the reader that the gruff and seemingly cold character has a hidden, gooey center worthy of the optimist’s attention. Unable to express their real temperament in words or other actions, it’s their orders that reveal the parts of themselves that they can’t openly display yet, the emotions that will eventually translate into physicality once the relationship is official: tender kisses, gentle hugs, an utter devotion to their partner. In Kariye’s Give Me Back My Bones (Maybe Then We’ll

Talk), Derek comes in every day to get a coffee, but not the plain black coffee we might expect given his personality. Rather, he does order black coffee, but “with a drizzle of caramel that melts into sweet liquid” on his tongue. Intentional or not, the drink choices

Kariye chose for their fic greatly reflect the characters’ canon personalities: Stiles is overtly, sickly sweet while Derek appears bitter, but has a sweet center of his own. When

Derek thinks that Stiles is no longer interested in him (a common miscommunication in these stories) he orders a plain coffee with no caramel, denying Stiles the privilege of fixing a drink that represents his true personality. Over time his order has transformed from a glimpse into his real self to a loaded, personal message.

There are a number of assumptions impacting this choice to emphasize one character’s supposed innocence, arising out of the Sunshine/Grump trope64 prevalent across all fandoms, as well as ongoing criticism against fans’ tendency to infantilize gay men. The character who acknowledges their addiction to sweets (Stiles shamelessly

64 There are numerous terms to describe “opposites attract” in fandom. Red and Blue Onis tend to differentiate when it comes to passion vs. control. The Brooding Boy and Gentle Girl maintain a specific gendered dichotomy in which the unrealistically compassionate woman exists to “fix” the man. And the Ray of Sunshine is used to distinguish a more optimistic character from, as aptly named, the Eternal Grump. 179 working through a whole plate of cookies to cope) is inevitably identified as the awkward

Cinnamon Roll65 of the group and as such is the perfect, sweet opposite to balance out the more bitter member of the duo. In contrast, the character who hides their addiction

(Derek ordering coffee with caramel and hoping no one but the barista ever finds out) likewise functions as the sweet character’s opposite. They are just as soft and presumably innocent, but only the reader is aware of this hidden side to them—up until the love interest realizes for themselves, of course. This provides the appeal of the opposites attract dynamic, adherence to the canonical characterization, while likewise allowing the author to revise that characterization for the Coffee Shop AU’s fluffy setting. Like the use of art discussed in Chapter 4, the incorporation of sweets allow characters like Derek to function simultaneously as hyper-masculine and gender queer. They appear tough while secretly indulging in interests that their canonical counterparts would never touch.

Like their partner’s characterization, the emphasis on sweets implies a hidden complexity that justifies the couple’s union, answering the question of why they would be drawn to one another. Despite their surface appearance implying few similarities, they’re not so different after all.

Indeed, the introduction of food in these narratives often leads to more complex revelations that interconnect with the character’s love life. Stiles’ love of cookies in All

65 Arising out of an Onion headline—“Beautiful Cinnamon Roll Too Good For This World, Too Pure”— the phrase quickly became a meme and in time evolved into a description of sympathetic characters. Those who, as said, are considered too good and too pure for their canonical world. Eventually the description evolved into additional terms such as Sinnamon Roll (using the term “sin” to refer to a character who isn’t innocent, despite appearing so at first glance) as well as the Cinnamon Roll’s opposite: “Stale cinnamon roll, been in this world too long, too cynical” (The Onion 2014). 180

Stirred Up is not merely a sign of his happy-go-lucky nature, it’s also a way of connecting him back to his mom. Having died when Stiles was young both canonically and in this fic, baking cookies with her is a visceral memory for him and eventually becomes representative of a different kind of love in his life: Derek himself. Notoriously bad at baking even though he might enjoy it—“Every time that boy bakes, we have to air this place out,” his friends say— Stiles manages his first, perfect batch of cookies when he’s aiming to have Derek taste-test them, which is rather convenient (Jsea). Though far from logical, love succeeds where years of practice have failed, allowing Stiles to develop skills in the name of impressing his crush, calling on a hobby he associates with his mother to assist him when she cannot. Conversely, when Derek and Stiles break up later in the fic, all Stiles can manage is three burned batches of cookies that start driving his customers away. Sweets, far from simply reflecting one character’s warm personality and another’s presumed coldness, also function symbolically as a representation of the relationship itself. When things fall apart, characters lose their taste for their once beloved confections, sweetness turns bitter, and whatever magical baking skills you acquired quickly fall away.

Innocence and Innuendo

This emphasis on feel-good, childlike food is not to say, however, that these references are without innuendo, or that the seemingly innocent characters remain

181 chaste66. The Coffee Shop AU makes full use of food associations to crack as many crude jokes as possible, relying heavily on that innuendo to forward the plot and help the union to occur. For example, in A Slice of Pie for Someone Who Caught Your Eye, the coffee shop’s sign repeats the fic’s tile with, “A Piece of Pie for Someone Who Caught Your

Eye! Half-off homemade pies to those who want to make a love connection!”

(Ashleyerwinner Feb. 2014). Dean, craving a slice, is gifted one by Castiel after learning he’s single. Gabriel asks them if he can get the two anything else: “Cookies, straws, extra sugar… a phone number?” using both the innuendo he infuses into these suggestions as well as the overt offer of a phone number to secure a relationship between them. Castiel obliges, writing his number on the palm of Dean’s hand, thereby drawing a strong connection between the sweets offered by the café and the romantic interest Dean receives. He walks away from the interaction having bought far more than just pie.

Similarly, significant moments such as the couple’s first kiss are often characterized through sweet associations: “For a moment the rest of the world ceases to exist, because

Stiles’ fingers are tangling in his hair and he tastes like butterscotch candies and makes these delightful little whimpers that Derek swallows whole” (CaronlineLahey). Sweets, far from simply allowing for softer characterization, are the foundation on which Coffee

Shop romances are built. Usually the reader is left to interpret how the transformation of

66 Though food innuendos tend to dominate, the genre is not limited to them. For example, an untitled fic by Mermaid-Reyes has Stiles explaining that he was able to use his computer skills and find out Derek’s name prior to arriving at his coffee shop. What Stiles actually says though is, “I’m good with my fingers,” causing Derek to momentarily flounder. In a similar scene, Castiel asks if Dean knows how to put his number into his phone and gets the response, “I’m pretty good with my hands,” causing Castiel to choke (IBegToDreamAndDiffer). Innuendos add spice to what’s otherwise considered to be a rather chaste, wholesome genre and the addition of food associations – sexualizing the coffee shop’s purpose – helps to reinforce that. 182 this foundation likewise changes the relationship between the two characters, drawing on one character’s reaction (choking, blushing, spluttering, groaning) in order to make sense of the exchange and work through the implications.

“Holy god,” Lydia moans, slim fingers darting inside the bag and pulling out a perfect golden muffin, bringing it to her nose reverently. “These cannot possibly taste as good as they smell.” The filthy smirk on Danny's mouth begs to differ (Sirona).

Describing food indecently, moaning while eating, or otherwise consuming the food in a sensual manner are all easy ways to signal a characters’ interest, sometimes leading directly to explicit sex scenes, always resulting in the happy ending that implies a continuing relationship down the line. The implications behind these scenes is so significant to the relationship as well as the overall tone of the fic that sometimes the author will point out the innuendo and/or misunderstanding that has taken place to ensure that the reader realizes precisely how important the moment just became67:

“Yes, and I know where your mouth has been,” retorts Stiles, wrinkling his nose. The possibilities of his words hit them both at the same time and Stiles blushes while Derek snickers all over again (CarolineLahey). In a genre that rejects most forms of non-romantic conflict, a dose of second-hand embarrassment is the worst thing to happen to these characters, next to the Coffee Shop

AU’s standard miscommunication. These moments serve to not just reframe the use of food in these fics but likewise amuse the reader by allowing them to witness something embarrassing without having to be a part of it.

67 This is particularly important given that the vast majority of fanfic is written in English, making a lot of fic readers ESL learners. What might be quite obvious to one reader may be missed by another, particularly when one is relying on wordplay. 183

These innuendos function as a byproduct of the Coffee Shop AU’s short length, allowing the writer to propel the relationship forward quickly, forcing both characters to acknowledge their interest after a verbal mistake makes that interest known. Those fics that forego the practical benefits of these slip-ups do so out of an emphasis on characterization. Only canonically flirty characters can make such statements deliberately, such as when Gabriel writes on his chalkboard “TODAY YOUR BARISTA

IS: Extremely bored and in need of an extremely tall and handsome college student. FOR

YOUR DRINK TODAY I RECOMMEND: A large cup of whip cream with nothing else” (Sanityisboring). Here, Gabriel’s innuendos are deliberate, the details of an

“extremely tall… college student” label Sam as the board’s target, “handsome” cues him into Gabriel’s interest, as does the food-focused sexual fantasy: him enjoying Gabriel’s company with nothing but a “large cup of whip cream.” Once again, food becomes the means by which a romance can come about.

This trend can be traced back to Cafe de l’Amour where Snyder also uses food as a clear indicator of flirting and sexual interest. When Seth tells Austin what kind of drink he likes, he’s careful to emphasize that he likes sweet things with “lots of whipped cream,” clearly hoping to imply what else one might do with whipped cream besides put it on a drink. Later, when Austin makes him this drink, he thinks about how it is “hot and the whipped cream is piled up on top of it like a promise,” the promise being what’s to come later that night. Over a decade later, Sanityisboring would use that same, whipped cream setup between Gabriel and Sam in The Milk and Honey Café. Though far from complex, these innuendos nevertheless serve an important function within the narrative,

184 namely to provide a way for two people of different social status to make their interest known in a relatively safe manner. Given the nature of the characters’ initial interaction—an employee required to maintain a certain professional distance and a customer usually eager to come across as polite—the dialogue must include something sexually overt in order to avoid (or move past) assumptions that the other person is simply being polite out of social pressure while likewise ensuring that the exchange is something that can be laughed off as innocent if that interest is rejected.

When the Coffee Shop AU does include a rare, explicit sex scene, like the chaste endings of sharing a first kiss or receiving a phone number, it is often the result of an initial interaction with food. Yet even the most explicit fics still emphasize that supposed purity of at least one of the characters, justifying the sex by continuing to emphasize how this interaction differs from porn. In short, because these characters are presumably meant for one another (that is, soulmates) and because one, if not both, maintains that almost childlike characterization, the sex is considered acceptable even within an otherwise pure and wholesome genre. Bacon-Smith notes that fic eroticism tends to be emphasized not through actual intercourse, but the intimacy of glances, gestures, engagement, the use of eye contact, sensual hand gestures, vulnerable faces, and kissing without restraint (181). We see the same emphasis occurring in Coffee Shop AUs that choose to provide explicit sex scenes, wherein the act is reframed as significant because of these forms of intimacy, intimacy already embedded within the genre, and not because of the sex itself. For example, in He Takes His Coffee Black Derek thinks bluntly about how he sometimes “fucks Stiles in his dreams” implying an impersonal, almost vulgar

185 interaction. Yet when the reader is given a glimpse into these dreams they find a rather different experience:

In his dreams, Stiles is all limbs and laughter, with shaking breaths and confident strokes and his eyes bright and wicked. Derek knows, without really knowing, that Stiles’s hands are big and hot enough to scald, but the sensation is more like steam when dream-Stiles ghosts his hands down Derek’s chest, exploring lower and lower until Derek jerks awake, his heart hammering in his chest and his sheets sticky.

Other times, he sees someone laughing over a cup of coffee on campus, and Derek remembers the way Stiles’s fingers were never still—how he would always tap arrhythmically on the lid of the cup, wipe his thumb over the opening there, let the steam waft over his face, roll his eyes and grin in a way that would not quite split his face, like he was always holding something back.

Little things, Derek thinks bitterly. Little things that he never paid much mind to on a conscious level are now the ones that haunt him.

As the prose says, it is the “little things” that Derek chooses to focus on, things that just happen to exist in bed as well as out. The way Stiles uses his hands over a cup of coffee is just as erotic as how he uses his hands in a wet dream, both of which emphasize personality over traditional sexualization. Here there are no markers normally associated with porn or other sexually explicit media: descriptions of genitals, rock-hard abs, dirty talk between them, etc. Instead, Derek dreams of Stiles’ laughter and the awkward way he moves his body, warmth and gentle sensations like steam. His fantasies remain tailored to who Stiles is, someone who is far more significant to him outside of the bedroom. After all, at this point Derek hasn’t even had the chance to actually sleep with him.

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Sometimes, fics contain longer descriptions that take these moments past innuendo and into the realm of food porn without breaking from these expectations attached to most Coffee Shop AUs. Traditionally, food porn is associated with social media spheres where pictures and GIFs circulate, “eliciting an invitation to gaze and vicariously consume” the treats in the images (Dejmanee 431). The purpose is to create feelings of longing and aesthetic appreciation in the viewer, yet it is done in a deliberately provocative manner. Food porn is, simply put, never just about the food. It is notable then that both of these creative forms—fanfiction and food porn—are dominated by pro- am68 women (both cis and trans), gender queer, and nonbinary individuals who are creating content for their own communities. Just as fic writers have long used their storytelling as a means of pursuing feminist interpretations of characters, food porn is a visual form of “postfeminist play” and emphasizes women’s ability to reframe the production of food styling and photography “as a playful, creative, and entrepreneurial response to the prevalent representation of hypersexualized and self-disciplined female bodies in postfeminist culture” (Dejmanee 431). Like those Tumblr pics and mood boards, the ability for non-cishet men to celebrate the relationship among food, bodies, and romance on their own terms remains a radical act. Furthermore, though men do not face the same sort of hypersexualization that women do from the media, it is still notable that none of these Coffee Shop AUs punish men for choosing decadent sweets over a trip

68 Short for “professional amateurism,” pro-ams blur the boundaries between professional and amateur skillsets. The term is often applied to fans in an effort to acknowledge that their hobbies often lead to the same level of skills in writing, drawing, viding, music, and computer programming as those who do such work for their careers. 187 to the gym—or for not choosing a food culturally deemed more “manly” than hot chocolate and a cinnamon scone.

One of the most notable examples of this is Derek’s baking process in The Right

Motivation, where he gives the food he’s making ample, sensual attention: throwing dough forcefully onto the counter, flour floating slowly up into the air, the long and cathartic process of kneading, the image of sugar crystals dotting a customer’s lips.

There’s an erotic element attached to the process of both making food and imagining giving it to Stiles, which is no surprise when one considers how many foods—chocolate, strawberries, honey, oysters, champagne, and yes, coffee69—are considered to be aphrodisiacs, even without the implications attached to specific sweets like whipped cream. Alongside establishing the romantic relationship, tying the concept of beauty/aesthetic appreciation directly to food further complicates traditional ways of describing male characters. In Coffee and Tattoos the barista’s “gorgeous hair” is justified as gorgeous because it is “golden brown like the pastries that sat in the glass case before him.” Descriptions like this one—and the amount of attention paid to Derek’s baking in The Right Motivation—soften traditional depictions of masculinity and, by emphasizing aesthetic enjoyment, allow romance to exist without necessarily making it explicitly sexual (Dejmanee, 429). By characterizing Derek as a “tough” man who nevertheless expresses romantic interest through the loving creation of pastries, stories like The Right Motivation situate food and the act of making food as a radical choice, one

69 The addictive nature of caffeine also serves as an easy way to characterize the blossoming relationship. Derek may be addicted to his coffee, but it was “nothing compared to the force of his newfound addiction to Stiles” (Orphan_account, 2012) 188 pushing back against long-held assumptions about masculinity and male sexuality. The focus on these sensory details (that rarely, if ever, have a bearing on the plot) works to

“heighten pleasures of consumption while critiquing its resultant excess” and provide characters with the space to fulfill their desires in a healthy manner, before the couple has revealed their mutual interest (430). It is no coincidence that Derek’s attention moves from the dough in his hands to a pastry’s residual presence on Stiles’ lips, or that a customer would compare the barista’s hair to the sweets available for purchase. The food, for a time, must act as a stand-in, allowing the men to experience, handle, and consume it when they cannot yet do the same with their crush.

Love Me Some Pie

A more complicated example of this gendered, sexual, and romanticized characterization of food is Dean’s canonical love of pie. As discussed previously, fans are highly invested in drawing parallels between their work and the original material, even while they simultaneously change such major aspects of the work as the characters’ backstories or the environment they’re now living in. Maintaining small similarities— those shorthand elements that Anissa Grahm references—is an easy way to keep everyone in character, a way of saying, “No, they may not have been through any of the same experiences as in the canon, have the same goals, or even know the same people, but they still wear the same hat and can’t stand the smell of onions. You know this person.” In Dean’s case, this work occurs primarily through fics emphasizing his canonical love of pie. The fifteen seasons of Supernatural are filled with beloved 189 references to the pastry, beginning with Dean’s yell that “I hope your apple pie is freakin’ worth it!” after being fed pie to fatten him up for a sacrifice, and continuing on with throwbacks throughout the seasons such as, “Hey, see if they've got any pie! Bring me some pie. I love me some pie,” when Sam enters a convenience store (“Scarecrow,” “All

Hell Breaks Loose: Part One”). It’s no shocker then that fans would want to use this detail in a genre already hyper-focused on characterization through food, especially sweets; but in this case the reference is more than simply a connection to the canon. Over the years, the Supernatural fandom has turned pie into a means of measuring romantic love and acknowledging Dean’s subtextual bisexuality (“Dean Loves Pie,” Okamichan):

Figure 14. Two screenshots featuring Dean Winchester. The first, a valentine, reads, “I like you more than Dean loves pie!” The second has an image of Dean looking up at a half pie, half quiche with text that says, “Never decide, just have both!”

Throughout Coffee Shop AUs, Dean’s obsession with pie is given more weight than a normal interest in a food because it is explicitly connected to his love for Castiel. 190

In Today Your Barista Is Dean thinks about how he doesn’t regret another slice of pie from him, “even if he kind of did feel like he was about to burst. Pie was always worth it.” In Ready to Fall he describes Castiel’s kiss as like “eating slightly melted ice cream with hot cherry pie, and as soon as they pull away, Dean wants more.” Moments and descriptions like these emphasize the endless nature of the love between these two characters: Dean can no more reject pie than he can reject Castiel’s attention. Pie, whether literal pie or the metaphorical pie connected to Castiel’s kiss, is “always worth it.” This understanding that pie equals Dean’s romantic feelings developed out of the fandom’s communal knowledge, which in turn developed out of thesis-driven headcanons such as the ones above. Everyone knows that Dean canonically loves pie, but fans have turned that love into a specific threshold: claiming that Dean likes you more than pie implies a love that exceeds a lifelong obsession, thereby turning what might otherwise be a generic romantic comparison—a kiss like hot cherry pie—into a character specific statement that speaks to exactly how much Dean enjoys kissing Castiel. The pervasiveness of pie used as a metaphor for bisexuality means that when fans read a passage where Dean decides to continue eating despite feeling like he’s going to burst, they know that the moment references more than just Dean’s desire to continue tasting his favorite food. He orders another slice as an excuse to spend more time at the café with

Castiel—the character that he has been denied a relationship with in the canon, in favor of pairings with numerous women.

This connection between pie and bisexuality is not a random connection developed by the Supernatural fandom. Rather, it came about due to a popular meme in

191 fandom spaces, wherein bisexuals acknowledge the common stereotype that they are

“greedy” and push back with the analogy that sometimes people who have always loved pie suddenly find themselves craving cake instead, unwilling to “limit [themselves] on what type of dessert to have” (Completelyunhingedandhappy). The metaphor has become so ubiquitous that Supernatural itself—through a long history of queerbaiting—pokes fun at the implications, deliberately having Dean eating pie while fielding a young character’s awkward questions about sex, or scripting moments where Dean calls for a slice in much the same way he’d proposition a woman, the camera pulling back to situate the pie in the middle of the frame, casting it in soft lighting, and focusing our attention on the sweet rather than the hot waitress Dean is speaking with (“Optimism,” “Dean

Winchester Pie GIF”). Peppering the canon with moments like these encourages fans’ reading of Dean as a queer, literally sweet individual, perfect for flourishing in the environment of the Coffee Shop AU. Pie has become a particular type of food-based shortcut within Supernatural Coffee Shop AUs, used as a means of drawing on that collective knowledge and conveying more about Dean’s love than another comparison possibly could. When he asks for more pie, Dean is not looking for literal food. Rather, the reader understands that he is (perhaps unconsciously) asking for love, not just with anyone, but specifically with a man.

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Coffee Cups and Notes

Food is the primary metaphor for sexuality and the evolving relationship.

However, at times so are the objects that hold that food. When Castiel draws wings70 on the side of Dean’s takeaway cup and Dean decides to keep it, the reader knows that he’s now in deep, keeping what’s essentially trash because as of yet he has nothing else to remind him of Castiel. The coffee itself is long gone (IBegToDreamAndDiffer).

Snapchatting Starbucks, a story that catalogues the messages Castiel leaves on Dean’s cups and, by extension, their growing relationship, moves beyond adding significance to a coffee cup in a single scene and instead makes that the story’s focus. In this fic Castiel doesn’t know how to “actually talk to [Dean]”—an anxiety that many fic readers will relate to—so he instead leaves his greetings, compliments, and eventually his name on the side of Dean’s drinks. Beyond utilizing food/food containers as the romantic motivator, fic is an excellent example of how fans are taking these common narrative elements and revitalizing them with experimental forms. Rather than simply write out these interactions through prose, the author has taken the time to buy real Starbucks drinks, write out Castiel’s messages on them, and craft the snapchat pictures that Dean is sending to Sam, further blurring the line between traditional fanfiction and the picture based-fics saturating Tumblr. Epistolary social media fics are growing in popularity, partly due to improvements in technology itself (plenty of free websites now allow you to

70 This moment simultaneously functions as another shorthand element wherein choosing wings as the doodle reminds the reader that Castiel is an angel in the Supernatural canon. 193 easily craft fake tweets, texts, blog posts, etc.71) and partly due to the appeal of their immersive nature. Reading about Dean and Castiel is all well and good, but it’s something else entirely to see a real barista in the background of a picture, an arrow on the cup pointing their way, and an “I’m Cas” written next to it. The Supernatural fandom has a long history of playfully pretending that Sam and Dean are real men out there protecting everyone from monsters—similar to the long-held tradition of Holmsians playing The Great Game, Sherlock Holmes fans who believe, or pretend to believe, that

Holmes was a real detective. Thus, fics that include expected elements of the Coffee

Shop genre while likewise transforming them in ways that emphasize the hunters’ supposed existence are particularly popular. In some respects, food and food’s connection to reality are just as treasured as their connection to the relationship. Indeed, they play off one another. The more readers are able to believe (in a continuously playful fashion) that

Dean and Castiel are real people flirting in a real coffee shop using real cups, the easier it is to become invested in their growing relationship. Here these cups catalogue the relationship’s growth in a seemingly authentic manner, from the names they exchange to the handwriting they scrawl them down in (Castiel-Left-His-Mark-On-Me).

71 Within the political climate of “fake news” these technological changes are as dangerous as they are celebrated. Fans of all sorts are becoming aware that they can no longer automatically trust the information coming from creators, celebrities, or even their fellow peers. While allowing for creativity, these websites also make communication among fans more difficult. 194

Figure 15. Screenshot of an image-based fic by Castiel-Left-His-Mark-On-Me. There are seven photos divided into three rows. Each is formatted like a Snapchat image, showing a Starbucks coffee cup, a message from Castiel written on it, and Dean’s accompanying caption.

Memorization and Unique Drink Orders

Even more-so than sweets and pastries, the defining characteristic of a coffee shop romance is the coffee itself (or sometimes the hot chocolate, or the tea). Like other foods, these choices become synonymous with the character ordering them and ultimately act as indicator of their flourishing—or declining—relationship with the crush in question. In nearly every Coffee Shop AU one person becomes identifiable by their 195 never-changing drink order and the barista’s knowledge of that order acts as proof that they’re paying close attention to the customer and taking the time to learn their preferences. They’re singled out among the rest of the faceless crowd. Something as simple as remembering that they only drink their coffee black, or that they always want sugar becomes indicative of more than just an interest in doing their job well, or likewise just indicative of their core personality (Orphan_Account 2012,

Wannaliveindeansdimples). It’s also an easy way to demonstrate an intense interest in that person. This interaction is so pervasive that fic writers sometimes attempt to undermine the trope, but rarely with any real effort. In He Takes His Coffee Black, Derek thinks about how people take pride in their individual coffee orders but “Coffee is coffee, and the only time coffee says anything about who you are is when you act like a dick when you order it” (Orphan_Account 2012). However, his tune quickly changes when

Stiles comes in ordering a black coffee too and Derek is “intrigued despite himself…because almost no one in Beacon Hills likes their coffee plain and black and simple”—except for Derek himself. By undermining the assumption that Stiles must always order sweet drinks in Coffee Shop AUs, the fic achieves the same goal of catching

Derek’s interest via commonality as opposed to a difference. Stiles stands out in precisely the way that Derek insists doesn’t exist, leading to a fair bit of growth regarding his thoughts about not just love, but people overall.

These fics exist in a world where such memorization only occurs if the barista is interested in you. Simply frequenting the same shop with the same drink order for more than a year isn’t enough to warrant that attention, even if it happens in real life all the

196 time. (The Starbucks baristas who have my own drinks memorized can confirm this.) In the few fics where this attention is acknowledged, it manifests as an aspect of the customer’s pining anxiety. Of course their crush knows their drink after all this time.

Their routine isn’t hard to pin down. It doesn’t mean anything... even though the reader knows it does.

“He has your order memorized, at least,” Kira points out, shrugging.

“That’s only because I come in here practically every day,” Stiles grumbles (Orphan_Account Nov. 2014).

In Christmas, Coffee and Kisses, Dean remembers the exact date and time that he first ordered a coffee in Castiel’s presence because “this exact beverage became one of the most significant objects in Dean’s life” (Delete_this). By the end of the fic Castiel, another customer in this universe, knows Dean’s order better than any of the employees do, highlighting that this memorization develops out of romantic interest, not devotion to the job.

Often the desire to establish a drink unique to the character leads to authors creating an order that either does not exist or would be downright disgusting if it did. In a hilarious experiment, blogger Notyourhousewife decided to record every drink found in the Teen Wolf Coffee Shop AUs they read and then order them at their local Starbucks.

The results were then posted in a rating scale on their Tumblr. It’s a surprisingly long list for one reader with an unknown number of primary sources, detailing everything from the specific—“Grande mocha latte with 2 extra shots of espresso, mint syrup, whole fat milk, whipped cream and some ice” (an order that “got me a look from the barista”)—to the broad—“houseblend with cream.” While some drinks proved tasty, just as many 197 received low scores out of five, such as the “Stillinski Brand Name Comfort Coffee,” a drink where “he had a barista mix coffee with random syrups. It’s awful.” In the end,

Notyourhousewife writes that, “Most of these coffees got me looks from annoyed baristas, so if any of you try the extra crazy ones, be sure to leave a tip! Your barista does not get paid enough for this special blend of crazy.” This highlights not only the lengths writers will go to in the hopes of characterizing the protagonists through their drink orders, but also the escapist world that Coffee Shop AUs inhabit. In this universe, baristas are never annoyed by or judgmental of “this special brand of crazy,” especially not when they’re making such craziness for a crush.

Connected to this is the prevalent theme of the barista who can make their crush the perfect drink, something far superior to what’s found at every other coffee shop72.

Here we see a blend of talent and interest: the coffee is deemed extraordinary partly because the barista is indeed quite skilled, though mostly because the customer isn’t really interested in the drink by itself. In Today Your Barista Is, Castiel tells Dean, “I don’t trust the people my brother employs to get your order right,” despite the fact that his standard order is a large coffee with two sugars, no milk, and a blueberry muffin— hardly a challenging usual. Rather, the message is that the order would be incomplete without Castiel’s hand in it. The other baristas are perfectly capable of doing the work, but it’s not just a good cup of coffee and pastry that Dean is looking for each morning.

72 The exception to this are stories where baristas deliberately mess up drinks in an effort to gain more interaction between them and their crush. In What If They Were, Like, Baristas? Castiel uses pineapple syrup in Dean’s coffee and gives him a small instead of a venti, knowing that the mistakes will require him to come back and ask for another. These sort of scenarios only occur in fics where both parties are already fairly confident about how the other one feels. Otherwise, messing up an order could prove detrimental. 198

It’s an interaction with Castiel. Indeed, rather than working under the long-held assumption that customer service is a brainless job, the Coffee Shop AU treats barista-ing as a worthwhile career, one that takes practice, commitment, and talent to do properly.

This assumption of skill is then paired with the unique element that only the customer’s crush can bring to the order. In Coffee and Tattoos Sam watches “the golden haired man make his drink with deft hands and a graceful nature. He was well practiced at his art” and appropriately thinks that the coffee is the best he’s ever had (Orphan_account, 2014).

The overlap here—between Gabriel’s physical beauty and his skill—is a common one, conflating the barista’s talent at making drinks with their potential as a romantic partner.

Even if the coffee is not objectively the best a customer has ever tasted (and plenty of characters emphasize this to an unbelievable degree, clearly using this particular shop’s supposed superiority as an excuse to frequently see their love interest), it becomes the best given their crush’s involvement in the process. They simply have that magic touch.

A few rare fics take this theme to the next level, overtly acknowledging the barista’s seemingly impossible talents. In All Stirred Up, Stile’s ability to make excellent drinks is transformed into literal magic. It’s rare for Coffee Shop AUs to take on supernatural aspects, but here the blending of genres works as a way of emphasizing exactly how important drinks are to all of Stiles’ relationships. Over the course of the fic the reader slowly realizes that Stiles’ claim about “nourishing people’s souls” with his drinks is more than just bragging. Along with a host of medicinal properties, it’s revealed that a tea he’s been making has helped a local Wendigo with his transformations. Though the detail is innocuous on its own, faithful readers of the Coffee Shop AU will recognize

199 the ways in which Jsea and Marguerite_26 are playing with common expectations surrounding the meaning of drinks—consciously or otherwise.

Regardless of whether the barista’s skill is a result of training or magical talent, their willingness to invent, memorize, and customize drinks demonstrates that they’re paying close attention to their crush. Thus, Coffee Shop AU tends to translate a customer’s regular order into a rather overt form of flirting. In Same_Space’s Free to Be

You and Me, Castiel orders a caramel cappuccino each time he comes into the café and that quickly becomes an easy way for Dean to show his own interest. Rather than simply referring to Castiel by his name, the drink order becomes Castiel’s name, with Dean saying, “Haven’t seen you in a while, my little caramel cappuccino.” It’s not only a nickname that fits in nicely with more traditional food-based endearments (cupcake, sweetie, sugar plum, etc.) but once again demonstrates that Dean is invested in Castiel’s routine and preferences. The term is presented as something specific between the two of them and allows Dean to personalize a generic pickup line. He later says that Castiel is

“sweet” not simply because he’s a kind, mild-mannered person—the Cinnamon Role of the story—but also because Dean has taken note of his sweet taste in drinks and is willing to indulge them. Castiel in turn claims that, “Dean does not flirt with him. He’s just friendly, he’s just doing his job”; yet the reader is aware of these conventions and thus doesn’t attribute these moments to Dean’s canonical, playboy nature. Him calling Castiel any sweet-based endearment is the equivalent of common flirting; him turning the drink order into a specific, sweet-based endearment becomes indicative of something far deeper.

200

Names and Nicknames

In the same vein, nicknames of all sorts abound in the Coffee Shop AU.

Sometimes this interest is intimate like “caramel cappuccino,” or “Mr. Macchiato,” or simply “Tall, tatted, and handsome,” all of which cue the reader in to the speaker’s attraction (Orphan_Account May 2014). Gabriel in The Milk and Honey Café continues to use the nicknames “sasquatch” and “big guy73” until Sam shows interest in dating him.

Only then does he transition to “Sam.” Each descriptor serves some sort of purpose, drawing attention to attributes and personality traits that are deemed significant by the love interest. Coffee Shop AU writers are invested in these kinds of modern epithets.

Like the Homeric style that relies on descriptors to overcome the constraints of dactylic hexameter, these descriptors are used in lieu of names to overcome the constraints of the character not yet knowing the crush as a customer/employee. It’s notable that fic writers still choose to employ this conflict despite the Coffee Shop AU easily providing a solution to the problem: baristas wear nametags and customers attach their names to their drink order. Theoretically, every would-be couple should know the name of their crush within the first few paragraphs of the story, yet often there are contrived reasons for why a nametag is missing, forgotten, or simply not providing the information it supposedly should: Stiles doesn’t have his first name listed on his license (“Is that even legal?”) and

Sam simply forgets to ask Gabriel’s name (Jsea, Sanityisboring). Instead of revealing true names quickly, writers start with epithet-like descriptors as a way of emphasizing how

73 Like many details in fics, these nicknames lend themselves credence by following patterns established in the canon. “Sasquatch” and “big guy” both coincide with “moose,” a common nickname for Sam given to him by the character Crowley. 201 hot their crush is, highlighting an appearance outside of the norm, thereby justifying their sudden, intense attention74. For example, throughout most fics Derek is characterized as the epitome of what a man supposedly should be: he’s the “stubbled guy,” a Greek god,

Adonis, and “Deputy Sexy” all rolled into one. He is a “Greek God chiseled hunk of manhood perfect specimen of a walking daydream75 guy,” so stunning that the mind trips over how amazing he is (Sirona). Finding ways to initially necessitate such nicknames gives authors the space to demonstrate why two radically different characters would be instantly drawn to one another. Generally speaking, epithets are frowned upon in fandom as they’re often used excessively to distinguish between two men in a fic (with the author working under an inaccurate assumption that using “he” too often will be boring and/or confusing) but nicknames, whether based on drinks or looks, are well received provided they are used with intent. Like the difference between a generic and a specialized nickname, nicknames as a whole are still reserved for the initial flirting period; birth names are for something more serious.

The use of these epithets not only allows writers to emphasize what one character finds attractive in another, but also provides one of the primary forms of conflict in the genre. Discovering a crush’s name becomes a huge milestone in the relationship given that, as said, writers often do what they can to put off the moment of discovery—within reason. There’s a lot of work done to justify these situations within the reader’s

74 It’s during these pre-name descriptions of physicality that we also see the same focus on eyes found in Café de l’Amour. Castiel, for example, stands out because of his “piercing blue eyes that never left Dean’s mouth,” “ruffled dark hair and blue, blue eyes,” etc. (JinxedAmbitions, Coffeeandcheesecake). 75 Here the strikethrough is used to give insight into Stiles’ thought process, like he’s attempting to ignore all the compliments he instinctively heaped on Derek. 202 suspension of disbelief because, again, this theoretically shouldn’t be a conflict at all in this setting. Yes, the baristas in Kaleidoscope must wear name tags, but Stiles doesn’t bother with his in the early morning, which just happens to be the time Derek comes in for his coffee. Thus, everyone but Derek learns Stiles’ name, ensuring that Derek must interrogate another barista about what it is, which in turn reassures Stiles that yes, Derek cares enough to ask. Names function not simply as moments of romantic suspense, but act as proof of serious intent as well. If Derek had seen Stiles as merely another barista, he never would have taken the time to discover his name in the first place. Even when nametags are used in a fic, they can still provide other, valuable information:

“You’re ridiculous.” Derek smiled into another kiss. “But I knew that from the first moment I saw you. Your name tag was written in glitter.”

Stiles laughed, tugging Derek up the stairs. “That’s me, you get what you see.”

This moment from All Stirred Up uses a simple detail to capture Stiles’ personality. He is loud, in-your-face, outgoing almost to a fault... and, significantly, queer. Though the fic does not announce his sexuality explicitly, the authors are able to reclaim a stereotype to get the message across to both the reader and Derek. He knows that pursuing a relationship with Stiles is possible because, supposedly, a straight man would never willingly parade around in a glittering nametag. The stereotype becomes a subtle way of connecting these two, rather than an offensive assumption that they both need to fight against.

Though the emphasis is usually on learning a name and how the character obtains that knowledge, names-as-conflict can also intersect with miscommunication. In an 203 untitled fic76, Castiel is surprised when Dean asks him his name, becoming embarrassed when he realizes it’s “For the cup. Your name.” Here, a character’s expectations have coincided with genre expectations, with Castiel assuming that Dean would only ask if he was interested in him romantically, not just for a drink order. In a panic at his mistake,

Castiel provides the name Luke Skywalker and thus begins a series of flirty interactions where he is Mulder, Steve Rogers, and Starlord—anyone other than plain, boring Castiel.

When he finally divulges his true name, Dean must reassure him that it is “breathtakingly angelic,” his choice of words providing both comfort to Castiel and satisfaction for the reader who is always looking for canonical Easter eggs. This act of teasing through names has become a staple of Coffee Shop AU flirting, but so has its rejection. Just like how the refusal to order a favorite drink becomes a sign of displeasure, characters can fall back on first names when they’re angry with their crush and want to distance themselves from their previous flirting. Though usually presented as a form of intimacy at the end of fics, when used in the middle first names can mean that something has gone horribly wrong. When Derek and Stiles miscommunicate in All Stirred Up, Derek receives his next drink order and,

[He] stared down at the cup, where ‘Derek’ was the only thing written on the side in sharp, bold letters, like they were etched in annoyance. He’d never seen an actual name written on one of Stiles’ cups before... Instead of the delicate tea Stiles had been brewing for him the last few days, Derek’s mouth filled with [the] strongest, most bitter drink he’d ever tasted. The flavor was sharp and offensive instead of the subtle sweet, floral he’d been expecting (Jsea).

76 Though I have my notes from my original read through of this fic, including quotations, it no longer appears to be accessible on Tumblr. This is not to say that a link and subsequent information about the author is truly gone for good, only that I am unable to find it, highlighting the ephemeral nature of fandom even in the digital age. 204

Rather than function as a sign of them getting closer, “Derek” becomes a way for Stiles to distance himself instead, especially since Derek had “never seen an actual name written on one of Stiles’ cups before.” No one had ever offended him enough to warrant the loss of a nickname or a doodle. Furthermore, Stiles taints the drink itself, taking away the previously delicious tea that Derek had become addicted to. Here a name and a no longer sweet beverage speak volumes about the relationship, more-so than an outright fight ever could.

Even if these numerous ways of engaging in names don’t make it into the final product, they often dominate the Coffee Shop AU prompt lists. On Tumblr, one prompt reads, “How do you keep getting my name that wrong on my coffee cup” while another establishes play between the two characters with “You’re the customer and you get back at me for all the times I’ve spelt your name wrong by mispronouncing my name in increasingly horrible ways” (Kuddle-Cakes-Writes, Kuro1neko2kun). In contrast, another fan prompts, “You give me a different fake name every time you come into the coffee

[shop] and I just want to know your real name bc ur cute, but here I am scrawling Batman onto your stupid cappuccino,” providing an element of fun frustration to these standard encounters (Marauders_Groupie). On the opposite end of the spectrum, some fans beg for stories that push back against those “damn Coffee Shop AU” tropes and instead propose a situation where a customer’s real name is always written incorrectly…that is, until they find the barista of their dreams who actually bothers to ask for the correct spelling

(Newtscamander-s-fantasticbastard). Here, the willingness to listen to a customer and respectfully learn the correct way of writing their name is presented as equal to the

205 character who patiently waits to learn their name at all (or their preferred drink order).

Though seemingly a minor kindness, this may indeed be an alluring fantasy for many fans living in countries still grappling with racist micro-aggressions. The media discussion surrounding the pronunciation of Quvenzhané Wallis’ name, as well as

Orange is the New Black star Uzo Aduba insisting that she will not change her name to accommodate Hollywood, highlights why a correctly spelled name on the side of a coffee cup might hold meaning for a lot of people (Dickerson)77. It might even precede a romantic relationship, functioning as a representation for the love interest’s underlying respect. Sometimes, a correct Starbucks order means more than it initially seems.

It's nothing new then to say that names hold power, nicknames, perhaps, even more-so within this genre. Coffee cups are to be treasured for both the skill they represent and the intent attached to them. A baked good can display your sexuality and your true personality. It can mean the difference between a life of loneliness and blissful love.

Food, drinks, and their connected associations have great weight in the Coffee Shop AU, yet writers and readers alike never lose sight of what they’re meant to represent. As Dean admits in Something’s Brewing, “I don’t really stop by for the coffee”

(Katymacsupernatural). Coffee, tea, cookies, cakes, coffee cups, and nicknames only act as stand-ins until the real prize is achieved: a date with the person you’re falling for.

77 In the tags OP lists a number of ships including destiel and sterek, but also relationships from Criminal Minds, The Vampire Chronicles, the MCU, and Harry Potter, suggesting that this prompt is genre rather than form or fandom specific. Any community can—and perhaps should—consider utilizing moments like this in their Coffee Shop AUs. 206

Chapter 6 Conclusion

“When I know I have much better things to do but I casually open up ao3 and read once again another coffee shop AU.” - Tumblr user Britishbooks

Fic and Covid-19

On Marth 18th, 2020 this project was briefly put on hold due to the spread of

Covid-19. Schools all over the country struggled to transition to online learning within a matter of weeks, if not days, while teachers and students alike worked to continue their research while living through a pandemic. As people hunkered down for social distancing and struggled to find ways to entertain themselves within their homes, a great number turned to fanfiction for solace. Archive of Our Own, already one of the most popular fic sites currently up and running, saw a sudden uptick in traffic at the end of March, jumping from 262 million weekly page views to 298 million in the span of just two weeks (“Emergency Measures Affecting Works”). They've also seen an increase in works posted, no doubt due to additional time to write as non-essential workers have either, sadly, been let go or are forced to do what they can from home, with the average 3,000 works posted in March of 2019 increasing to 4,000 in March of 2020 (Çam).78 Individual fans have admitted to more than doubling their normal consumption of fanfiction,

78 The contrast to this new work ethic is the belief that, while wonderful, no one should feel pressured to produce new content during such stressful times. Over the past few months, Tumblr has circulated a number of reminders to take it easy and try not to feel guilty if you're not, by others’ standards, getting “enough” done during the lockdown. As one fan puts it, “this isn’t a holiday it’s a tragedy” (Bakwaaas). 207 participating in challenges like Big Bangs and spending upwards of “five hours a week crafting communal fiction” (Çam). One Tumblr user going by Edwardsvirginity wrote a heartfelt thank you to all the fic writers out there, saying that they have “read over

890,000 words of fanfiction while in quarantine. I know legally, fanfiction writers are not considered ‘essential’ but let me tell you: they are essential to me. Essential to my sanity, my wellbeing, my happiness” (Edwardsvirginity). In order to keep the site running through the sudden strain on their database servers, AO3 was forced to make a number of changes, most notably eliminating hits on fics counted from logged out users. As of April

24th, AO3 was able to implement new code that allowed them to re-instate those hits without overloading the archive, but the scramble to make these changes and the month long work done to make such changes possible points to the number of people turning to fanfiction during a time of crisis (“Guest Hit Counting is Coming Back”).

Though the demand for fanfiction has clearly increased, what kinds of fic people are reading during quarantine is far harder to determine. To my knowledge there is no way to track a potential increase in engagement with Coffee Shop AUs, or any other genre of fic. However, more broadly fans have been expressing a desire—a need, rather—for stories that provide comfort during this time of hardship. Right now, “turning to fanfiction [is] a way of coping with the anxiety and isolation of quarantining” (Çam).

Fans like Karen Hill, isolating with her five teenagers, three of whom have jobs as essential workers, are turning to both the act of writing and reading as a form of escapism. As she puts it, “It’s been extraordinarily stressful for me to send [my kids] off to work every day, knowing that they are in danger. Being able to just submerge myself

208 in a story, whether I’m reading it or writing it has been terribly therapeutic. It just erases all of this horribleness.” Similarly, Grace Laporte, a Star Wars fan currently separated from her fiancée, has turned to fanfiction because she is “desperate for human interaction.” Thus, it is not preposterous to assume that fans are likewise turning towards the Coffee Shop AU and other similarly peaceful fic genres in order to achieve that comfort.

Indeed, in the last four months fandom as a whole has seen the creation of a new genre in order to meet these needs: Quarantine Fics. The premise is simple, which—like the Coffee Shop AU—allows for almost endless variation. Two or more characters are stuck in quarantine together and discover their love for one another during this time. It's a budding genre that builds on already established trends in fandom, most notably the possibility attached to making both characters roommates. Though scenarios that force two individuals into close quarters for an extended period of time have always been popular (harkening all the way back to early Kirk/Spock Cave Stories wherein they're stranded on a remote planet and must take shelter for a number of days or even weeks), the appeal of roommates exploded in 2014 when Vine user ig @mattsukkar uploaded a recording of himself and a passing woman on the street (“Cave Story”). In the Vine, the unidentified woman says to someone on the phone, “...and they were roommates” to which ig @mattsukkar responds for the camera, “Oh my god they were roommates” (“Oh

My God, They Were Roommates”). There are numerous details that factored into the

Vine's popularity, but for transformative fans these two phrases successfully condensed their feelings for relationships that develop due to close quarters, often ones that are

209 forced on the characters for one reason or another. “Oh my god they were roommates” and eventually just “roommates” quickly became a catch-all phrase for compelling romance.

Figure 16. Screenshot of a Tumblr text post reminding Harry Potter fans that Oliver Wood and Percy Weasley were in the same year. One of the responses reads, “oh my god they were roommates.”

(“Oh My God, They Were Roommates - Harry Potter Reference”).

This is the foundation upon which Quarantine fics are built, with fans taking the concept of a semi-required cohabitation—we've been assigned as roommates by the school we attend, we've agreed to split the rent on an apartment because we're both struggling financially, etc.—and added a more severe twist to it. While making room for plenty of humor and slow-burn development (how do characters who start the fic hating one another deal with literally being unable to separate?) this new genre, like fanfiction more broadly, also has assisted in dealing with the anxiety of the current, real life situation. Paradoxically, including some stressful elements helps to make certain genres more comforting as they inevitably provide that happy ending, reassuring readers that, no

210 matter how hard things get, such a result is still possible. For Coffee Shop AUs, that's integrating the miscommunication or lack of self-esteem that initially keeps the couple apart. For Quarantine Fics, it's integrating the challenges that fans are currently grappling with, such as the hardships of social distancing or an inability to access certain essential supplies. Writing about the worst of Covid-19, from everyday difficulties to the systematic repercussions, gives writers and their audiences a sense of control. By having fans manage Covid-19 in a fic, fans can vicariously feel like they're managing it in real life too and, like in Coffee Shop AUs that imagine a world without homophobia inhibiting romantic relations, it provides fans with a safe space to grapple with various emotions. One 17-year-old by the name of Krystal admits that when she wrote her Fire

Emblem Quarantine Fic about the difficulties of buying toilet paper and menstrual pads,

“my anger kind of spilled over into the fic” (Haasch). At the same time, this new genre provides plenty of escapism as well. Another writer, 15-year-old Hanna, says that “The coronavirus makes me nervous about the health of my grandparents and other people who

I know could be seriously affected by it. I wanted to write something lighthearted to both take my mind off of the really bad parts of the virus and to make it feel more normal.”

The lighthearted nature of most Quarantine Fics, evolving out of a far from lighthearted scenario, helps to lessen the fear of these very real dangers in the same way that Coffee

Shop AU's lighthearted nature lessens the fear of dangers associated with dating

(particularly for women), homophobia, and transphobia.

The desire for such feel-good genres and the social work they accomplish continues to impact individual fan communities and fandoms at large. Part of why we can

211 see how fans are developing Quarantine Fics is because we understand the history they're built on, with Coffee Shop AUs being one of the most prominent genres to impact these trends in the last two decades. The work of this piece has not merely been to establish the primary characteristics of the Coffee Shop AU in order to situate it within fanfiction as a literary form as well as mainstream categorizations, but also to highlight the benefits of those characteristics that have allowed the genre to flourish. Fans continue to transform canons from a social justice perspective, validating much of the sociological research that has come before me, work that we see in genres like the Coffee Shop AU. It functions as a remediation of mainstream publications, in this case romantic comedy films, taking aspects of that genre's structure and reframing it for progressive fan communities, most notably queer fans. Beloved tropes—such as the beginning with a meet cute and the conclusion with a firmly established, yet non-specific happy ending—are reimagined to suit an audience immersed in the 21st century gender revolution, questioning where their identities fit within these fictional conventions and slowly tailoring them to suit their own needs. Similarly, we see this work in the nuances of the genre, in how characters are reimagined and how specific details, such as food and food related objects, reinforce these changes. In order to successfully exist in this new world and reflect a new audience's perspective, canon characters are made to be malleable, flexible, re-imagined as more emotional and progression than they could have ever been in their original universe, whether we're talking about something as significant as embodying a new sexuality or as minor as the way that they speak. Characters, usually coming from more violent canons, are transformed for a peaceful, domestic world that reflects the kind of

212 world fans would like to live in. Thus, these settings of the Coffee Shop AU exist as a public sphere and a third place, reflecting fans' desire to see such settings in real life; to safely exist just as their characters do. The emphasis on accessible, safe, affordable pleasures combined with the promise of true love is alluring to readers, particularly young adult readers categorized as Millennials or Gen Zers who, due to financial difficulties and a rejection of the nuclear family, feel that they have fewer options for achieving that sense of fulfillment. Though many fics include coffee shops in them, if the shop itself is not embodying this work, influencing the conflict and characterizations progressively, and does not impact the structure of the fic—usually keeping it under

10,000 words as a stable short story—then it is not, by the definition laid out here, a

Coffee Shop AU. Though similar to other fic conventions and tropes in the way that

Quarantine Fics are similar to Roommate or Cave Stories, the particular characteristics of the Coffee Shop AU, as well as the impact it attempts to have on the reader, distinguish it from these broader structures and emphasize its status as a unique genre.

Close Reading: Black Coffee Two Sugars

In my effort to define the Coffee Shop AU through an influential and practical corpus (that is, capable of being analyzed and discussed within the scope of this project) I have nevertheless limited myself in regards to the medium. Though fanfiction stems from every type of story imaginable—novels, television, films, podcasts, webcomics, video games, etc.—both Supernatural and Teen Wolf are American television shows, neither of

213 which canonically engage with other forms of media79. Though both franchises gained enough popularity for numerous tie-in materials, such as comics and novels, all of that remains supplemental. In regards to the canon, the primary story that all Teen Wolf and

Supernatural fans consume comes from television. This then begs the question of whether I have truly laid out the characteristics for a Coffee Shop AU, or merely the characteristics for Coffee Shop AUs developing out of television canons. Does anything change about the genre when fans, for example, are working with material that doesn't supply them with a visual representation of the characters (such as a novel, podcast), or one whose canonical characterization and events are muddied by various versions within a larger franchise (such as comic books)? It's the second question that I would like to briefly focus on here, providing a close examination of a Coffee Shop AU within the

Witcher fandom in order to demonstrate that a change in medium and a fic developed out of a franchise does not appear to impact the Coffee Shop AU's characteristics. Regardless of which medium the canon begins in or what culture the canon might original from,

Coffee Shop AUs adhere to the traits laid out in Chapters Two through Five.

In December of 2019, Netflix released the first season of The Witcher, an adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Polish fantasy series of the same name. Set in a fictional, medieval-inspired world, Sapkowski’s series includes two short story collections, a pentalogy, and a standalone novel set prior to the main arc. All seven works follow Geralt of Rivia, a man who underwent vigorous training and magical-alchemical

79 The minor exception to this is Teen Wolf and the film of the same name that inspired it. However, other than borrowing the most basic premise (a teen werewolf navigating high school) and a few names, the two stories are nothing alike. One needn't know about the film's existence in order to enjoy the show and thus, canonically, the two have almost no impact on one another. 214 mutations as a child, turning him into a witcher: an enhanced human with the skills and endurance needed to fight monsters. Roaming The Continent, Geralt takes on contracts from peasants and royalty alike, anyone who needs a ghoul, wraith, striga, drowner, or vampire dealt with. Alongside the action-adventure of monster slaying, Sapkowski’s work is a detailed character study of Geralt himself, someone who is shunned by humanity despite working to protect it and who is likewise considered an outsider among other witchers due to receiving additional mutations that he and he alone survived, resulting in his signature white hair. Geralt’s story is one of the supernatural, destiny, and found family, all themes that are likewise explored in Teen Wolf and Supernatural. All three shows share various similarities, from the monsters themselves to massive amounts of lore to learn, from fan engagement with an attractive, white male leading to accusations of queerbaiting. When The Witcher dropped on Netflix it was clear that many viewers already invested in Supernatural and Teen Wolf were intrigued by this new addition to the supernatural genre, with multi-fandom Tumblr blogs quickly reblogging

GIFs of Geralt alongside older sets of Dean and Castiel. Though these similarities are useful for situating Witcher within this project, in truth I could have chosen to examine any transmedia fantasy series (and other scholars should indeed apply these questions to other franchises). However, Witcher has the added benefits of age (the first short story collection was published in 1993) and internationality (both the original novels and the game series are Polish). It is also a “television” show made for a streaming service, all of which help distinguish it from Supernatural and Teen Wolf, opening up the possibility that the corresponding Coffee Shop AUs may differ as well. In addition, throughout this

215 dissertation I have striven to discuss fandoms that I myself am moderately to significantly familiar with, thereby lessening the chance that I, out of ignorance, would misinterpret something about these communities. Like so many fans lately, I too fell into the Witcher craze, watching the Netflix show, playing the computer games, and reading some of the books. This recent involvement has made the Witcher series and its corresponding fics a more accessible franchise to examine, as opposed to one that may also be a good fit for this project, but not necessarily a good fit for me.

As of May 2020, there are 14 works listed as “Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops

& Cafes” in “The Witcher (TV)” section of AO3 and 20 in “The Witcher - All Media

Types” section (commonly listed alongside the TV section as a way to ensure that as many fans as possible interact with your fic.) Though 14 stories may not seem like much, we must take into account that fans have only been actively writing for about five months now—with Witcher not dropping until the end of December on the 20th, presuming a few weeks for members of the community to watch, finish, and discuss the show before deciding to add to the story—and that, as an ongoing series, Witcher is more likely to generate fic that takes place in its canonical universe. Fans are eager to theorize about what may be coming in season two or otherwise explore the already rich world of The

Witcher universe. When that drive has faded somewhat and the world is no longer new, fans will no doubt turn to writing more alternate universes, including Coffee Shop AUs.

Until then, new fans have a plethora of Witcher content to consume that, as said, is spread across numerous media. In the interest of securing a fic that was undoubtably based on one of Witcher's non-television stories, I limited my search to fics published

216 prior to the television adaptation's release. On AO3, only two fics were published prior to

December of 2019 and used the “Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafes” tag80.

Considering that the earlier of the two, Kejran w kawie czyli Niespodzianka, is written in

Russian, I opted to look at Apuzzlingprince's Black Coffee Two Sugars, published in

February of 2018.

Though The Witcher cast is quite extensive, I will provide a bit of information on the character Regis, given that he's the one paired with Geralt in Black Coffee Two

Sugars. First appearing in Baptism of Fire, Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy, known simply as Regis to his friends, joins Geralt and the rest of his party on a search to rescue Geralt's adopted daughter, Ciri. The two hit it off rather well, but things take a turn when Regis reveals that he is a Higher Vampire, a creature of great strength and near immortality. Geralt's life as a Witcher, a monster slayer, demands that he kill Regis, but the intellect of Higher Vampires (making them people as opposed to the more bestial,

Lower Vampires), Regis’ vow to never again drink blood after a particularly discomforting experience, and this newfound friendship, makes such an act rather difficult. In the end, Geralt merely drives Regis off with the two reconnecting soon after, this time with Geralt grudgingly letting him continue with the party. Regis' complicated status as a presumed monster and Geralt's equally complicated grappling with which monsters he's willing to befriend (if any) make them a popular pairing in the fandom,

80 To reiterate, this does not mean that there are no other Coffee Shop AUs that meet this criteria, only that fans are not labeling their own work as such. This could just as easily be a result of not knowing all the intricacies of how AO3's tagging system works and which tags indicate which genres as it is a sincere desire to differentiate their fic from the Coffee Shop AU genre. One would need to ask each author individually about their motivations, if such non-tagged fics exist. 217 outranked only by Geralt's canonical relationship with the sorceress Yennefer and the fan pairing of him with his close friend Jaskier—a pairing that has exploded since the Netflix release. Sadly, by the end of the series Regis has perished, done in by a mage of immense power, adding an often desirable touch of tragedy to the pairing. However, The Witcher

3: The Wild Hunt’s second and final expansion, Blood and Wine, resurrects Regis and, depending on the choices you make throughout the game, fans are able to finally give the two the happy ending they both deserve. It’s this information—gathered either personally or via the community—that Apuzzlingprince pulls from in order to craft their fic.

To start, Apuzzlingprince lists the fic as being a part of The Witcher novel, video game, and AO3’s “all media types” category, making it an excellent source to begin the work of examining whether Coffee Shop AUs from other mediums (or multiple mediums) differ in any way from those developed out of television. Immediately,

Apuzzlingprince meets many of the structural expectations that we'd expect from a

Coffee Shop AU. At 8,916 words they're within that 10,000 bracket. They include “fluff” as one of only three distinguishing tags: “fluff,” “modern setting,” and the “Coffee Shops

& Cafes” marker. The fourth is a personal note to readers saying, “Don't copy to another site.” There is an author's note that both reiterates the supposed necessity of a Coffee

Shop AU in every fandom—“Every fandom needs at least one fic featuring a coffee shop, right? Well, here it is!”—and the summary of the fic prioritizes the coffee shop environment. Indeed, Apuzzlingprince's summary could easily be swapped out for one featuring Teen Wolf or Supernatural characters:

A man Regis recognized as the famed White Wolf would come into his coffee shop every day at four, order a black coffee with two sugars, and situate himself 218

at the corner-most table with a pile of manilla envelopes and that days [sic] newspaper. He didn't try to engage the staff in conversation, nor did he pay the other patrons any mind. He would sit in that corner for three hours and do nothing but read.

Regis had thought, at first, that he had come to scope out the location of his next job. He had good reason to be nervous, as the establishment was not only owned by a vampire, but entirely run by them.

The summary invites fans to read via familiar themes and conflicts for the characters to overcome. In just five sentences, Apuzzlingprince lays out the framework for a traditional Coffee Shop AU in terms of plot and emotional development. The majority of the tale will take place in the café itself, a presumption garnered from Regis' point of view and his clear status as owner of the establishment (“his coffee shop”). The focus is on the relationship between the two men, starting out as strangers, but with Regis already intrigued enough to take note of Geralt's reading habits, his favorite table, and his usual order. The first paragraph asks questions built into every Coffee Shop AU: Why does Geralt remain so aloof? How will Regis approach him? How will they inevitably come together? Questions that put the men’s emotional growth at the forefront of readers' minds. Then, the second paragraph introduces an external conflict in the form of Regis' vampirism and Geralt as a potential threat. Though not as common, such conflicts are not entirely unheard of either, especially when writing from canons with supernatural elements. The Teen Wolf fandom, for example, sometimes includes Coffee Shop AU's where Derek is working to keep his status as a werewolf secret from Stiles.

Regarding Regis’ vampirism, it’s not difficult to read such a setup as a metaphor for queerness. In each case a character is afraid that the revelation of a core part of their identity—something they almost always take great pride in—will lead to their love 219 interest rejecting them at best and perhaps enacting violence at worst, fears that are still prevalent in American queer communities today. Indeed, despite his interest in Geralt,

Regis comments that he was “uncomfortable with the witcher's presence” and that he

“had good reason to be nervous.” This comparison is reinforced through the café's dual status as both eatery and rehabilitation center, with Regis hiring “[v]ampires who wanted a change of lifestyle, [who] came here to learn how to be functioning members of society, rather than the mindless, blood-thirsty scourge they were often thought of as.” Regis collects not just vampires, but outcasts, people who society thinks of as more dangerous and monstrous than they actually are, much like how queerness has historically been positioned as a danger to established structures, resulting in young individuals seeking out new communities such as the one Regis has built. Yet by introducing these comparisons without actually making either character sexually and/or romantically closeted, Apuzzlingprince helps fans connect to their story without highlighting that specific fear. Black Coffee Two Sugars remains a fluffy, escapist tale in large part because though Regis may be hiding being a vampire, he never once hides his sexuality.

His hesitance regarding asking Geralt out stems from what are, at the end of the day, conflicts that the reader will never need to grapple with. AKA, the realistically impossible question of whether it's safe to reveal that you are a vampire.

In the fic being queer is not the problem, only the concept of dating a presumed enemy (a conflict that, as said, many fans are drawn to). Apuzzlingprince heavily emphases Regis' reasons for putting off a relationship, presented to the reader via that close introspection, saying, “the fact that the man was a witcher—someone often tasked

220 with killing his brethren—complicated things even further. It would be foolish to attempt a romantic relationship when they were so clearly incompatible, but Regis found himself thinking about it with increasing regularity regardless.” Here, Regis grapples not only with whether Geralt will harm him, but whether revealing his identity will endanger the lives of his “brethren” too. The conflict lies not in Geralt's actual desire to kill any Higher

Vampires (he does not possess that desire), but rather Regis' assumption—understandable and potentially relatable though it is—that Geralt is like all the other witchers out there, or even just like what witchers are supposed to be. Any conclusion that they are

“incompatible” stems from an inaccurate picture of who Geralt is as a person, one formed before the two have ever spoken. Indeed, early on Regis acknowledges that the first hurdle is getting Geralt to talk at all:

As [Geralt] vacated the table, [Regis] fought against his disappointment. It was silly to be so affected by one person. It wasn’t as though this was the first time he had encountered a person like Geralt; he'd been alive for over four hundred years and he'd spent enough of those in the company of humans to know how discourteous they could be. Rude people were usually a lot more vitriolic, in fact. Still, he wished he understood what he was doing wrong. He’d never failed to engage with a human before.

At its heart, the conflict is actually one of miscommunication, like the majority of

Coffee Shop AUs, and Regis' fears are proven unfounded once Geralt realizes he's not just making small talk as a part of his job and Regis get to learn more about him. At one point, when Geralt himself is still unsure about whether a relationship will work between them, Regis says, “Need it end like this? A witcher and a vampire—queer friends, but friends all the same,” drawing further attention to the allegory of supernatural creatures acting as a stand-in for real life minority groups, both of which didn’t realize they were

221 allies until given the chance to express that. Once they both acknowledge that outsider status—Regis as a vampire and Geralt as a mutated human that people tend to fear—and move past their assumptions, a relationship is able to develop.

Keeping Geralt and Regis' canonical identities as a witcher/vampire likewise creates that link back to the original story that Coffee Shop AUs work so hard to maintain. By setting the story in a modern era with modern sensibilities, the story allows for the re-characterization needed for Geralt and Regis to fit the mold of queer men inhabiting that third place. Yet by maintaining their canon species, Apuzzlingprince taps into what drew fans to The Witcher universe in the first place and makes the case that such fluffy, happy endings can be written even under those circumstances. Horrible monsters still roam the world, except now they inhabit subway stations instead of forests.

Regis still suffered for revealing his identity by saving people from a fire, just as he once saved a man from a fire in The Witcher 3 canon, as well as saving a woman by holding a burning horseshoe in the novel canon. He likewise has still made the mistake of killing people in the past—“I have far more lives on my conscious”—and Geralt has still earned his title of the Butcher of Blaviken. Summarized like this it sounds like the fic would be quite dark, but in fact Apuzzlingprince only nods to these issues at certain intervals, maintaining the lighthearted tone of the genre without sacrificing the characters' complexity. It appears that Apuzzlingprince has put a great deal of thought into which canonical aspects can successfully be integrated into modern Coffee Shop AUs, considering that not every major part of Geralt and Regis' identities make the cut. Despite being known as a barber-surgeon in canon, a job that has greatly shaped his character,

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Regis rejects that life in the fic due to the danger of mirrors revealing his vampirism, eventually leading to his work as a café owner instead. Some bits of canon are considered more important than others and some lend themselves more easily to the modernized nature of the genre and its feel-good tone. The takeaway is that not every Coffee Shop

AU need transform skilled fighters into average joes. By making such significant characterization as quick a reference as other nods to the canon—such as Regis going by his first name “Emiel” in the company of his friend Orianna, or references to how much

Regis likes to talk—Apuzzlingprince prioritizes the fluffy nature of the fic without allowing the reader to forget that these are men with troubled pasts. That’s where the conflict now remains, in the past, and by relegating those memories to quick references,

Apuzzlingprince ensures that the needs of the reader are met: for Regis and Geralt to achieve a happy ending. Not just a Geralt or a Regis who were lucky enough to be born as humans, or into less stressful jobs, but also those who are as flawed and traumatized as their canonical counterparts.

Though the focus on miscommunication and how tough characters may be integrated into domestic settings to achieve their happy endings are two of the most prominent characteristics in Apuzzlingprince's fic, over the course of nearly 9,000 words we see numerous other aspects that have varying degrees of impact on the story. Names remain a significant theme as, during Regis' quest to get Geralt to talk to him, he notes that he hasn't even managed to learn his name yet, only the moniker White Wolf. Like many Coffee Shop AUs, a person's given name (or the name they choose to go by) is framed as more intimate than a nickname and unlike given nicknames, Geralt's “White

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Wolf” is a term used by everyone familiar with witchers, thus denying Regis any sense of familiarity in using it. In contrast, Geralt initially cares little for Regis' name considering that he never sought to get to know him in the first place. This, combined with Regis' status as the fic's point of view, means that Apuzzlingprince need not come up with an excuse for why Regis' name remains a mystery to Geralt. It doesn't. Instead, they poke fun at the trend, having Geralt say, “I'd have to be rather dense not to know your name, considering you wear a name badge every day” and Regis maintains his stance—the stance of the author and reader—that a “proper introduction” is still superior. Geralt may know Regis' name thanks to the setup of his job, but there's still something romantic about Regis' willingness to give his name to him “properly” all the same.

We likewise have the integration of well-known side characters whose function is to either create situations that demonstrate how much one party (or both) is interested in the other, or verbally insist that the two should already be together. Orianna and Detlaff, both Higher Vampires with stories as complex as Regis' own, are reduced to minor players whose purpose in the fic is primarily to highlight the choices Regis is making and what that implies about his feelings. For example, he admits that “Orianna or Detlaff could have taken [Geralt's] order with ease, and had done so in the past, numerous times, but he would only allow Regis to fulfill his very simple order and Regis kind of... liked it.

It, stupidly enough, made him feel good.” Geralt's insistence that only Regis serve him provides insight into Geralt's feelings when the reader is not privy to his perspective, but it's the inclusion of Dettlaff and Orianna as competent baristas who could and have waited on Geralt that reinforces Regis' own feelings. It moves the act of waiting on Geralt

224 out of the realm of his job and turns it into something meaningful that makes him “feel good,” despite how “stupid” that is. In addition, Orianna also provides moments of silent criticism of Regis' inability to make a move. At one point he demands that she “cease giving me that look right now” after Geralt leaves without a confession. Having other characters ship it—notably developed characters that the reader trusts as opposed to

OCs—confirms the fated understanding of Coffee Shop AU relationships. Despite the current miscommunication and, in this particular case, despite the couple's troubled pasts, they are clearly meant to be. Such a conclusion is so obvious that anyone within their vicinity will react to the relationship as if it is inevitable…just as soon as the two get their act together.

Drawing on the Coffee Shop AU's established allegories, the fic likewise uses sweets as a means of both developing the relationship and emphasizing the alluring differences between Geralt and Regis. Regis uses the café's food to try and tempt Geralt into staying longer, giving him those opportunities to break through his shell, and Geralt does occasionally buy a slice of caramel cake. That interest in one of the sweetest options on the menu, combined with the “two sugars” Geralt takes in his coffee every day, distinguish him from Regis who “wasn't fond of sweet, nor milky drinks” and admits later that “though he didn't particularly enjoy processed sweets, he did like fruit.” The choice to emphasize differing tastes beyond Regis' canonical love of talking and Geralt's tendency towards the taciturn creates that “opposite attract” dynamic that fans adore, to say nothing of the underlying conflict of a monster falling in love with a monster hunter.

However, like fics where Dean or Derek are the ones drawn to sweet foods, Geralt's

225 choices are also an indicator that he's not as cold and dangerous as Regis is first led to believe. It would be easy to make the already open, charismatic character the one who demonstrates that softness via their tastes (and often fans do), but it serves the fic better to complicate Geralt rather than simply complement Regis. By the end of the story, the very things that set them apart and rankled Regis are things that he has now become indifferent to, or has even come to love:

The things that had previously bothered him - his brazenness, his reticence, his stoic demeanour - became things Regis appreciated, because beneath them was a man who was honourable, intelligent, kind, and who cared about people far more than he let on (something Geralt professed frustration with after a couple of drinks).

In addition, doing that double-work, the food references both establish that the characters have the temperament for a relationship while demonstrating their willingness to pursue one. Regis subtly (though not so subtly as to trick the side characters nor the reader) conveys his interest by remembering Geralt's order and insisting that he be the one to provide it. Later, Geralt reciprocates by remembering Regis' preferences:

“That would be fine,” said Regis, threading his fingers in his lap. “No sugar or milk, please.”

“I know.”

At that, Regis couldn't help but smile wide enough to show off his serrated teeth. “I'm glad you remembered.”

The act of remembering is an act of love, as is the act of offering food and drink in the first place. More specific to his species and character, Regis’ willingness to show off his

“serrated teeth” here is indicative of comfort and trust.

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Building off of this, eschewing marriage or firm promises of forever,

Apuzzlingprince ends their fic where it began, with food conveying the depth of otherwise simple actions:

With the tea done, Geralt joined Regis at the table with the mug and his tepid coffee. He placed the tea before Regis. “Stay,” was all he said.

Regis happily obliged.

It's not just that Geralt asks Regis to stay awhile (demonstrating growth from when he first rejected his company), but that he does so with tea made precisely how Regis likes it, flipping the script of who serves who and emphasizing their equality, no longer a barista pursuing a customer. These are, after all, Coffee Shop AUs. Drinks carry more weight here and mean more than they would in another genre. In a different fic,

Geralt leaving the teabag in might be a trifling detail that serves only to flesh out the world. In a Coffee Shop AU, that action, stemming from that knowledge, with that knowledge stemming from clear romantic intention, says more than a “Stay” ever would on its own.

Highlighting the structure of the fic, the emphasis on emotional intimacy, the importance of the coffee shop environment, integrating canonical details into the alternate universe, and the implications behind food, Black Coffee Two Sugars is undoubtedly a

Coffee Shop AU, despite the fact that it developed out of The Witcher novels and games as opposed to the television adaptation. Now, with over 19,000 fics labeled as “Alternate

Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés” on AO3, a quick glance at the tag shows fics from films, books, podcasts, web comics, and every other medium that already has the ability to produce fic. There may indeed still be some distinguishing factors within the genre that 227 develop out of other mediums and mainstream categories. We have yet, for example, to examine whether food plays the same role in Coffee Shop AUs that emerge from canons already using food as a consistent allegory (such as Hannibal), whether the genre changes in the hands of foreign fans who understand cultural aspects that are often unknown to

American writers (such as Japanese fans working with anime, or Korean fans working with Kpop groups), or whether games with less narrative-driven stories than The Witcher produce Coffee Shop AUs at all. For now, however, the Coffee Shop AU appears to be a recognizable genre with expectations attached to the setting, characters, tropes, allegories, and overall transformation of the canon. Like any other it possesses variations and tends to subtly evolve over time, but that evolution can only occur via an agreed upon foundation. Introduced around 2001 by NSyncGrrl, transformed through interactions with individual canons as well as mainstream genres, within two decades coffee shops moved from just another trope to one of the most prominent fan-developed genres of all time.

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Appendix A Index of Terminology

A/B/O – An acronym for “Alpha/Beta/Omega,” this is a genre where characters have defined biological roles that enable a hierarchical system in their society. Alphas are dominant and capable of impregnating Omegas (regardless of sex or gender), Betas are subordinate to Alphas but may or may not be able to impregnate Omegas, while Omegas are the lowest in society with the ability to become pregnant, often seen as rare and prized. These fics, given that the A/B/O structure originates from animal behavior research, may have animalistic elements such as some or all of the characters being werewolves.

Acafan - Popularized by Matt Hills in Fan Cultures, this term describes a person who is both a scholar and an active member of fan communities. “Aca-fans” are generally seen as primarily academic and speaking about fandom through a formal lens, while “fan scholars” are viewed as primarily fannish and discuss their own culture through metas, cursory research, and the like.

AO3 - An abbreviation of “Archive of Our Own,” currently one of the most popular fic archives available. AO3 is located at: http://archiveofourown.org.

All Human AUs – An AU setup where characters who are canonically non-human are reimagined as fully human, with authors working to craft personalities and backstories that fit the change. Though this AU has been around since at least the Buffy era, it became particularly popular after the publication of Twilight and led to the creation of Master of the Universe, the fic origins of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Beta - A fan who proofreads and edits others’ fanfiction, free of charge. Betas are highly regarded in fan communities, providing both content and copy editing services for those who request them, often leading to long-term, collaborative relationships.

Big Bang – A specific kind of fic challenge where authors who sign up are required to craft a story with a minimum wordcount, usually between 10,000 to 25,000 words. Authors share summaries of their work and/or early drafts and are claimed by artists who then illustrate the fic in a variety of ways: with traditional artwork, photo manips, icon sets, soundtracks, etc.

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Canon Divergence – A term that is distinguished from a more traditional AU. Rather than dramatically changing the environment or lives of the characters, a canon divergence merely tweaks one, smaller aspect of the story, such as changing a character’s backstory or hypothesizing that one character met another earlier. However, this does have the potential to change aspects of the overall canon and thus the line between “AU”s and “canon divergence” is irrevocably blurred.

Cinnamon Roll – This term originates from The Onion’s 2014 article, “Beautiful Cinnamon Roll Too Good for This World, Too Pure.” Though satire, the title resonated with Tumblr users and a screenshot quickly went viral, the headline eventually becoming a meme. Now, the term “cinnamon roll” is used to describe a character or celebrity who is deemed to be lovable, adorable, kind, sweet, and above all, innocent. They are considered “too good for this world, too pure.”

Cosplay - Literally “costume play,” this is when fans dress up as their favorite fictional character, generally for the purpose of attending cons (conventions). The term is both a noun and a verb, with the noun describing the costume itself and the verb describing the act of buying/creating the costume, dressing up, taking on the character’s persona, and often taking pictures to share your work with the community.

Discord – A free chat platform that was originally designed for gamers but has since become popular among Tumblr users as a way of creating fandom or even pairing- specific groups. Discord allows anyone online to form their own community and speak with one another through a group chat known as a server. Each server may have multiple channels where members can discuss different things. For example, many servers have a “sensitive” channel where members discuss topics that others may want to avoid.

Dl;dr – Short for “Don’t like; don’t read.” An older fan term that has resurfaced in the last five years or so, it is a reminder that if one fan doesn’t like the content another is producing then they are free to simply not engage with it. Often dl;dr is thrown out when fans begin harassing one another, encouraging the more aggressive parties to take a step back.

Fanon - The “second canon” of a fandom. Fans use the term to describe ideas that are incredibly popular among a community and are generally agreed upon, but are not actually canonical. Fans use the fanon extensively in fanfiction and metas, to the extent that newcomers can become confused and believe that such details exist in the official 230 texts. An example is fans’ belief that Nadir Kahn is the official name for the Persian from The Phantom of the Opera, despite the fact that this name originates from Susan Kay’s popular retelling, Phantom, and not Gaston Leroux’s novel.

Fanworks – A general term referring to any creative endeavor produced by (and usually produced for) fans. Fanworks can include everything from writing fanfiction to cosplay, with the only true requirements being that it 1. Connects back to an established canon somehow and 2. Has its own, transformative element.

Fanzine - A combination of “fan” and “zine” (magazine). Fans coined the term in the 1940’s to describe amateur science fiction publications and distinguish them from the “prozines” (professional magazines) circulating for mainstream audiences. Fanzines can contain information and art about any aspect of fandom, though many of them exclusively publish fanfiction. Nowadays, “fanzine” is often just shortened to “zine,” despite there being a distinction between fandom and mainstream zines.

First Time - A genre of fanfiction in which the characters go through their first time having sex together (though this can also include a character’s or characters’ first time having sex at all). In recent years, First Time stories have broadened somewhat to include other new experiences—a first relationship, first time experiencing domesticity, etc.—but remain primarily about a couple initially getting together.

Flames - A comment left online, usually on a fic, that is only meant to insult, belittle, and antagonize the writer. If a comment includes constructive criticism, even if it’s harsh, this is not considered a flame.

Fluff - An aspect of fic characterized by happy scenarios and endings. Often there is very little plot to speak of in fluff fics, just an emphasis on cute, humorous, and domestic content.

Found Family – Also know as Family of Choice, the term is used by fans to discuss primarily ensemble or team-based stories like Supernatural, Teen Wolf, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, etc. The implication is that, whether the canon says as much overtly or not, these people have become one another’s family, usually more-so than any biological family that might still be in the picture. They found one another, chose one another, and thus possess an incredibly strong devotion to one another that make their relationships appealing to the fan.

Freeform Tagging – A type of tagging wherein the author is not bound by the tags made available to them by whatever platform they are using. Rather, authors are free to come up with their own tags and even write extensively in the space to explain aspects of their fic that they think are significant. Both Tumblr and AO3 allow for freeform tagging, which at times can make searching and organization more difficult, but ultimately allows authors to better warn and even entertain their readers. 231

GIF/GIF-Set - Short for “Graphics Interchange Format,” GIFs are compressed image files that play on loops. Fans often GIF their favorite TV shows and films for later analysis, or just for the aesthetic and enjoyment. A GIF-set describes a series of GIFs uploaded together to create a whole, either by working through a particular scene or bringing multiple moments together under a particular category or theme. Today, there remains an ongoing debate about the pronunciation of “GIF.” Though the creators insist that the correct pronunciation includes a soft ‘g’ (like “JIF”) most fans insist on pronouncing it with a hard ‘g’ claiming, “It’s not peanut butter.”

Gift Economy – A social science term that refers to any formalized system of exchange. However, in fan spaces it specifically refers to the process of creating fanworks free of charge and accepting them—as well as specific types of interactions such as leaving reviews or kudos— as “payment” for any kind of service. Gift economies are an important part of the legality of fanfiction as well as one of its most beloved attributes. Most fans are unwilling to trade the community and creative freedom attached to a gift economy for commodification. However, this does not mean that individual fans don’t sell their work, only that this is rejected as an option for the whole community.

Hanahaki – A fictional disease in which a victim of unrequited love coughs up flower petals. The disease is traditionally fatal unless the love is returned or, in some versions, the character undergoes a surgery to remove the flowers but in doing so removes the feelings for their crush as well. This trope was popularized by East Asian fandoms before moving into Western spaces, used most predominantly in fandoms based on shoujo manga. Though quite popular, the trope has recently been criticized for its potentially manipulative undercurrents. That is, the expectation that the crush has to learn to love the main character in order to avoid their death—unwittingly similar to threats of suicide in a romantic relationship. Thus, some fans are calling that the trope be revised to make Hanahaki a chronic disease, thereby eliminating that pressure on one party and subsequently adding more representation for chronically ill fans.

Hurt/Comfort - A genre of fic defined by a character enduring physical injury and/or emotional distress and then another character comforting them, often as a love interest. It is primarily the emphasis on the comfort and the traditional happy ending that distinguishes a H/C fic from whump (angst) fic.

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LiveJournal – A social network and blogging site that became popular in the late 90s and early 2000s, particularly for fans who wanted to post fanfiction and meta. Many fans migrated to LiveJournal from message boards and mailing lists, only to leave it for Tumblr in the 2010s after censorship issues, such as Strikethrough and Boldthrough.

Meta - Meta can refer to any kind of discussion about fanworks but more often refers to essays that analyze canons, fandoms, or the fans themselves.

Mood Board – A type of aesthetic post, mood boards are collections of images unified by a theme. Often they are meant to represent a certain character, emphasizing various objects and imagery associated with that person. Each picture is edited individually in a way the author finds pleasing, often using specific color tints, while nonetheless ensuring that each fits within the whole to create a unified post.

Mpreg - Short for “male pregnancy,” Mpreg is a plot device in fanfiction where a man becomes pregnant. Though it’s possible for Mpreg to apply to trans characters, traditionally the trope is centered around a cis man in a slash relationship with the pregnancy occurring through magic, alien biology, futuristic technology, and the like.

NaNoWriMo – Short for National Novel Writing Month, this is a yearly challenge where authors attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in a single month, November. The challenge encourages a range of writing projects and thus many fans use it to write or complete longer fics.

Newbie – A newcomer within fandom. The term is generally used in a patronizing manner with more seasoned fans either kindly teasing or cruelly mocking the “newbie.”

OC - Short for “original character,” these are characters in a fic that the fic author has created themselves.

Oneshot - A standalone fic that is complete after just one chapter, akin to a short story. However, some oneshots may fit within larger verses and some authors craft oneshots of many thousands of words.

The Organization of Transformative Works – A nonprofit organization that was established by and for fans in 2007, working to serve fan interests and help preserve the 233 history of fanworks. The wiki Fanlore is a project of the OTW, as is AO3, Open Doors (a shelter for at-risk fan projects), and their peer-reviewed academic journal, Transformative Works and Cultures.

OTP - Acronym standing for “one true pairing.” Fans define an OTP as either the only pairing that interests them within a fandom or the one they prefer above all others. This is the pairing that a fan will read the majority of their fic for, write for, look at art for, discuss, etc. OTPs often lead to a lot of fandom animosity, with fans getting into ship wars about which pairings are better and which are likely to end up being canonical. Your OTP is in every way the opposite of your NOTP, a portmanteau of “no” and “OTP.”

Popslash – A particular type of RPS (Real Person Shipping) fandom that centers around the pop groups ‘N Synch and the Backstreet Boys. Popslash was particularly popular during the early 2000s on LiveJournal where fans would ship singers both within each individual group as well as between them.

PWP - Standing for “porn without plot” or the more humorous, “Plot? What plot?” PWPs are highly erotic fics that, as the name suggests, contain almost nothing but sex. However, what constitutes plot is subjective. Someone may label a fic a PWP if the plot revolves around getting to the sex and most PWPs may not have action but do contain character growth and careful introspection, distinguishing them from mainstream porn. PWPs are also known as smut.

Rec - Short for “recommendation,” this is a positive endorsement for reading a certain fic, watching a vid, etc. Multiple recs together are generally referred to as a “rec list.”

RPF - Short for “real person fic,” these are stories written about actual people, rather than the characters of a book, movie, TV-show, etc. Often these fics revolve around historical figures, the actors who portray characters, or popular boy bands. RPF has received a great deal of criticism over the years and has only recently become known to mainstream audiences. Supporters of RPF often argue that they are not truly writing about “real” people but rather about the personas put on by celebrities and their own, fictional idea about what these people might be like.

Schmoop - A term used to describe a fic that contains a large amount of sweet romance between two characters. This is often considered fluffier than normal “fluff.”

Secret Santa – Functioning largely like a mainstream Secret Santa, here fans within a particular fandom will sign up to participate and a moderator will pair them with a recipient for the duration of the exchange. It is then the fan’s responsibility to anonymously interact with their recipient and craft a gift for them that’s based within their shared fandom, often taking the recipient’s favorite characters, tropes, and settings into account. This gift could be a fic, a piece of fanart, a mood board, etc. Anything that you can successfully post online, though some fans will create physical art—such as 234 paintings or plushies—that they then mail to their recipient if they’re comfortable providing their address. Secret Santas are a fun, holiday activity that allows members of a fandom to get to know one another better and for the entire fandom to receive a great deal of new content.

Self-Insert – An original character in a fic that is either intentionally meant to represent the author, or who is assumed to be a stand-in despite protests. The goal of a self-insert is to allow the author to experience the canon’s world more overtly and to interact with its characters. Generally speaking, self-inserts have a bad reputation within fandom spaces, due largely to associations with Mary Sues (self-insert characters whose perfection is frustrating to read about) as well as the presumed embarrassment in expressing such fantasies.

Squicks - A term used to describe a deep-seated turn-off for the reader. Fic authors will sometimes warn that something within the fic may be “squicky” or readers will ask that others not recommend certain things because that’s a “squick” for them. Over the years the term has died down in use but recently fans, particularly on Tumblr, have advocated for bringing it back, so as to distinguish such dislikes from “triggers.” A trigger is a formal medical term used to describe situations or sensations that will bring up traumatic memories for an individual, capable of causing further emotional trauma. However, a “squick” is something that a fan is simply uncomfortable with reading.

Tumblr – A microblogging social networking site that, over the years, has come to contain a great deal of fan material. This is due largely to Tumblr’s ability to host text, 235 images, vids, and GIFS, as well as the fact that it allows for easy interaction and the sharing of posts between members.

Twincest – A portmanteau of “twin” and “incest,” this is a sexual and/or romantic relationship between two twins in a fic. Sometimes this is a continuation of an incestuous relationship that exists in the canon, such as Cersei/Jamie from A Game of Thrones, but it can also simply be imagined by the author. The draw of such pairings usually stems from the characters’ intense closeness, with fans hypothesizing that they could only ever be happy with one another.

Wingfic – A genre of fic where a character comes to possess wings somehow, or an AU where all characters now naturally have wings. This genre is usually distinguished from characters who already have wings in the canon, such as the angels in Supernatural.

Yaoi – Known also as “boy’s love,” this is an older Japanese term used by Western anime and manga fans to describe a fanwork with homoerotic elements between two men. It is the Japanese equivalent of slash, but with a higher chance of sexual content. Many Yaoi fics fall under the PWP category.

Zine – A shortened form of “fanzine” which in turn derived from “magazine” (with all three terms using the same pronunciation). Zines are a significant part of media fandom, a space where fans can collect related fic, fanart, and metas to share with their peers. Prior to the availability of the internet and the rise of fic archives, print zines were frequently sold or distributed at cons (conventions) in order to help these creations circulate. Nowadays, though fans still edit and submit to new zines, some are PDF only or offer up a choice between a physical or digital version.

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Appendix B Survey Responses

In 2018 I asked five-hundred and fifty-nine fans, “If you could tell a non-fan anything about fan life, what would it be?” Overwhelmingly the responses fell into four categories. In the first, fans provided explanations for why they got (or remain) involved in fandom, everything from a desire to see their favorite stories play out differently, to an acknowledgement that fan communities are one of the few, easily accessible (and relatively safe) spaces with a wealth of queer members. In the second category, fans paint this community as a hostile and even damaging environment. Sometimes these responses read as jokes, but many appear to be legitimate warnings to refrain from becoming too involved in fandom or, if you do, be sure to moderate your interactions carefully. The third collection of responses paints the opposite view: a unique, utopian space that provides an endless stream of support and creativity. Fans in this category frequently cite fandom as a form of emotional support and often describe fellow fans as “family.”

Finally, the fourth category is made up of fans who used the space to justify their interest.

When provided with the hypothetical opportunity to tell outsiders anything they like, many of them responded under the assumption that fandom is still seen as “stupid,”

“childish,” “weird,” or “perverted.” In the last decade or so, Fan Studies has exalted this

Golden Age of fandom, wherein everyone is deemed a fan81 due to the popularity of

81 Notably, it’s curatorial fandom that has become mainstream over the years. Accurately depicting a character through cosplay, winning trivia contests at cons, and theorizing about the next season of a television show based on previous information are all examples of knowledge-based fan expression, typically dominated by men. Transformative fandom—fic, art, critique and the like, dominated by a number of marginalized groups—remains fringe and, as fic readers and writers, it’s that aspect of fandom that these people are responding to. 237 shows like Game of Thrones and the new status of cons and fanfiction as common knowledge. However, here fans heavily imply that they don’t feel like there’s true acceptance yet. Many compare their interests to sports—a more widely accepted fan hobby—provide counter assumptions regarding fanworks’ explicit nature, and overall become defensive over the perceived idea that they’ll still be laughed at or judged for their passions. Nerds may no longer be the outcast, but fangirls and queer fans still remain somewhat on the peripheral, hesitant regarding how their identities, and the expression of them, will be received.

Below is a selection of responses from each category.

Why I Turned to Fandom

Responder #8 When you read a good book you don't want it to end. You've come to care about the characters. I enjoy fanfiction because it's a place to see these characters continue to work out their problems. Responder #22 It gives you a place to belong and something to care about! Responder #25 Fanworks provide readers/viewers with more material than just the source content. Often, fanworks are very well done and are just as worthy of praise and attention as the source content. Responder #33 Maybe, “It's very character-driven and a lot of transformative works are about delivering catharsis that doesn't exist in the text.” Responder #36 We're creators and transformers. We don't just consume. Responder #54 The meta and analysis that is passed around can really add depth to the original content, and you can get a brand new experience with each new idea Responder #90 It's like playing in a dollhouse - the set and the dolls are pre- made, but other than that, you're free to have fun any way you want. Responder #94 It has always existed and will always exist. Collaborative writing is an ancient practice.

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Responder #148 fan-life is about what a story /could/ be, not what it is, and what it could be is only limited by your own imagination. doesn't that sound like fun? Responder #337 write about depression and lgbtq experiences to help process being depressed and lgbtq, ???, write fanfiction with gf, profit Responder #390 It gives me something to stick around for Responder #484 There are very few published books that can compare to the depth of emotion conveyed in fic Responder #527 It's great. It may be the only place where I've seen queer people exist as if it's no big deal Responder #549 I might not be able to give you something to fit your interests but the beauty of fandoms is that there is something for everyone to find and claim as their own

Fandom as a Negative Environment

Responder #9 Don't let the negative people in the fandom affect your experience. There will always be assholes out there but it's possible to enjoy what you love and avoid them. Responder #10 Ignore the people who start drama for no reason Responder #13 Just like any community, it's a struggle Responder #14 Ship Wars are hell and will take a toll on you if you let them. So don't let them. Responder #26 Even if you have a good idea, keep your mouth shut about it and only share it with your friends, because no matter how good the idea is, it isn't worth the backlash. Responder #37 The less you interact with fellow fans, the better your experience will be. Hell is other people. Responder #47 It's never worth being a big name Responder #62 Don't hate follow people. Additionally: if you don't like something but it's not hurting anyone just keep it to yourself. Cringe culture is bad and can be SUPER discouraging so just....dont. Responder #189 Do Not Responder #235 Just don't get started on it Responder #286 Don't take negativity too seriously. The hateful people speak the loudest, but that doesn't mean they're right or in the majority. Responder #287 It's not always pleasant. Depending on the fandom, it could even be described as hellish. But fan-life at its core is the gathering of people with similar interests so they can talk about them, and that's a wonderful feeling to have. 239

Responder #334 Have fun. But use common sense when interacting with people in other fandoms, and for fuck's sake, don't let fandoms turn you into a raging asshole. Responder #543 Its like quicksand the more you struggle the deeper you dig yourself Responder #559 Be careful who you talk to and believe.

Fandom as a Positive Environment

Responder #1 Being in a fandom and collaborating with other members of that fandom really allows you to hone in on your creativity Responder #7 It's like a small family that's connected by fandom loving. Responder #16 There’s something in it for everyone and it is not always an escape from your life, but as a way of reflection and goals to improve upon yourself and push boundaries. Responder #31 The wonderful, amazing friendships and connections you can make with people you meet through fandom are simply amazing. I met my significant other through fandom, as well as all of my closest friends. Of course, I've experienced hardships and drifted from people and I've met assholes, but that's life. It's worth it. It makes me value the wonderful people I've met even more. Responder #65 it's super fun to be creative and see so many other people being creative. Fandom is actually what got me into writing, since I hated it as a kid and slowly grew to love it through creating new worlds for characters in fanfiction. Responder #74 It's the best thing that's happened to me. I don't know what i'd do without it Responder #118 You'd be surprised how much you learn about real-life issues, like gender identity and cultural differences, from reading AU fiction Responder #155 Fandom taught me research and debate skills better then school did. Responder #176 It's the source of positive energy for me and has actually helped through tough times Responder #228 It has weirdly complex terminology, and you would be surprised how much of it has influenced so-called “non fandom” culture. Responder #234 i'd have to say the validation. Whether its theories that you find others have been considering or who had never thought of it until you brought it up and respond excitedly, or its feeling something injust happened in the canon and seeing other fans putting those feelings into more eloquent words than you were managing in your own head, or the USE of fanworks as expression, like when 240

genderqueer or neurodivergant people find resonance with characters and have fun with it and spread positive messages for the sake of it. And everybody just accepts all of this as a part of fan-life. I love it more than i can describe! Responder #530 I have found the smartest, funniest, queerest, fiercest women and non-gender-conforming folk in this space. I've never felt as welcome or as understood in any physical group. It makes me happy just to think about!

Normalizing Fandom

Responder #5 Being part of the fandom for a work of fiction is like being a fan of a sports team. It's getting together to talk about and celebrate your shared love of something that makes you happy. Responder #11 I would tell them that most of us are perfectly normal people. We have jobs and healthy social lives. We just have an enthusiasm for creative media that extends beyond consumption. Responder #12 It’s not as weird as it seems. There are bad people, but ultimately, everybody is welcoming and open. Responder #19 These days I assume that if someone isn't in fanfiction fandom it's because they're in a different one, like sports or music Responder #29 It's not as weird as it seems. Responder #40 That it’s like any other hobby. I wish we’d stop making a big mystical deal out of it Responder #71 It's not that weird Responder #73 Don't bad-mouth it until you've tried it! Responder #105 It's much different then you think! It's not (not for everyone at least) sexual or obsessive or anything like that. It's just fun, and interesting, and you can see content for things you like. You also meet and see the work of a lot of really talented people. Responder #149 Don't discount it just because you think it's childish or something. It's amazing to see all the people that care about something just as much as you do. Responder #177 Do non-fans even exist? We may not consider Desperate Housewives a Fandom thing, but if people are passionate about it, they're fans too Responder #225 It's like being obsessed with anything else but slightly more niche and people stare at you weird when you talk about it Responder #263 Its not that different from irl communities, except you know you all have at least 1 thing in common. Responder #315 I'm incredibly embarrassed to admit to anyone, even people who talk about fanfiction, that I read fanfiction. It's mostly because I 241

think it's too 'girly', and I've always been... uncomfortable... with being treated as a girl. I'm still questioning whether I am or if I'm actually agender...I'll figure it out eventually! I'm also VERY embarrassed because I'd say most people (including me before I got into it more) assume that fanfiction is pure shipping. I was loath to approach it, because I'm uninterested in any of that (asexual and aromantic as I am). I don't want people to think I'm a horny obsessive fangirl! I just really like reading explorations of “what ifs” and humor that authors create! Yeah, that other stuff exists and other people are 100% within their rights to write it and enjoy it, but it isn't what fanfiction means to ME. Anyway, sorry this is long, but I thought it'd be an interesting point of view for your research. GOOD LUCK! Responder #453 NOT ALL FANFIC IS SMUT! IT'S NOT ONLY SMUT, GODDAMMIT! Responder #463 Never be ashamed of being a fan, it's the greatest compliment you can give the creator

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Appendix C Primary Sources

1. ADHDecaf by Pleaseletmetouchyourbutt (Kudos: 9,561) 2. All Stirred Up by Jsea and Marguerite_26 (Kudos: 7,786) 3. A Slice of Pie for Someone Who Caught Your Eye by Ashleyerwinner (Kudos: 826) 4. Benny Doesn’t Partake in Audience Participation by Niitza (Kudos: 908) 5. Better Latte Than Never by Whelvenwings (Kudos: 705) 6. Came for the Coffee, Stayed For You by Nashirah (Kudos: 2,429) 7. Cats & Tats by Jemariel (Kudos: 684) 8. Celestial Navigation by Alocalband (Kudos: 2,960) 9. Cheesy Tropey Drabbly Bits by Wannaliveindeansdimples (Kudos: 678) 10. Christmas, Coffee and Kisses by Delete_This (Kudos: 1,140) 11. Coffee & Donuts by Betts (Kudos: 1,626) 12. Coffee and Warriors by Justkeeponwriting (Kudos: 1,031) 13. Coffeeshop AU by Anythingtoasted and Outpastthemoat (Kudos: 930) 14. Come in From the Cold by Deathbycoldopen (Kudos: 724) 15. Constellations by Orange_Crushed (Kudos: 1,016) 16. Couches Cupcake Coffee House by ChildOfTheRevolution (Kudos: 5,232) 17. Don’t You Wanna Be My Sky? By WhoNatural (Kudos: 4,785) 18. Double Negatives by Coffeeinallcaps (Kudos: 4,103) 19. Due Cause by FortinbrasFTW (Kudos: 1,742) 20. Even a Bad Cup of Coffee (Is Better Than No Coffee At All) by Vlieger (Kudos: 4,154) 21. Expresso Yourself by Wearing_Tearing (Kudos: 2,243) 22. First Date (Queer Your Coffee, Part Two) by Alisvolatpropiis (Kudos: 2,889) 23. For Your Drink Today, I Recommend by Orange_Crushed (Kudos: 1,462) 24. Freckles and Stardust by Youaresunlight (Kudos: 715) 25. Free to Be You and Me by Same_Space (Kudos: 1,731) 26. Give Me a Sign by JinxedAmbitions (Kudos: 673) 27. Give Me Back My Bones (Maybe Then We’ll Talk) by Kariye (Kudos: 6,547) 28. Green Eyes, You’re the One That We Wanted to Find by Orphan_Account (Kudos: 1,118) 29. Hazelnut, Strawberry, and Mint by Jollypuppet (Kudos: 4,201) 30. Here’s to the Static by Matildajones (Kudos: 3,324) 31. He Takes His Coffee Black by Orphan_Account (Kudos: 5,722) 32. HMMARCW by Elumish (Kudos: 2,822) 33. Hotter Than Coffee by Dexterous_Sinistrous (Kudos: 2,264) 34. IBDC: Teen Wolf by Moonstalker24 (Kudos: 2,593) 35. I Hope By the Morning by Andnowforyaya (Kudos: 3,023) 36. I’ll Have the Usual by Skyestiel (Kudos: 1,085)

243

37. It’s Been Like Years Since It’s Been Clear by Sirona (Kudos: 4,484) 38. It’s Too Early For This by Thepsychicclam (Kudos: 3,132) 39. I Want Sugar in My Tea by Lielabell (Kudos: 2,271) 40. Just Like Honey by Orange_Crushed (Kudos: 1,422) 41. Kaleidoscope by Vendelin (Kudos: 6,891) 42. Little Kid Crush by Orphan_Account (Kudos: 5,868) 43. Looking For Group by Athaclena (Kudos: 1,056) 44. Matchmaker Mary by Waywardwings (Kudos: 1,221) 45. Mistletoe Never Lies by CarolineLahey (Kudos: 6,844) 46. Mornings Aren’t For Everyone by Eeyore9990 (Kudos: 2,388) 47. Noveltea & Coffee by Rustling_Pages (Kudos: 1,191) 48. Of Soulmates, Pseudonyms and Misunderstandings by Halcyon1993 (Kudos: 3,261) 49. Queer Your Coffee by Alisvolatpropiis (Kudos: 3,104) 50. Ready to Fall by Lemonsorbae (Kudos: 4,763) 51. Second Chances by Rootbeer (Kudos: 10,705) 52. Simple Math by Lizzstomania (Kudos: 2,572) 53. Supernatural: Today Your Barista Is… by IBegToDreamAndDiffer (Kudos: 2,215) 54. Surprise Me by Sparxwrites (Kudos: 813) 55. Sweet Masquerade by Vipjuly (Kudos: 687) 56. That Good by Filmsterr (Kudos: 927) 57. There’s a Cup With His Name on It by Hellodickspeight (Kudos: 4,947) 58. The Milk and Honey Café by Sanityisboring (Kudos: 1,172) 59. The One With the Bearded Bespectacled Guy by Mikkimouse (Kudos: 2,600) 60. The Right Motivation by Bleepobleep (Kudos: 6,437) 61. They Call Me Stuart (That’s Not My Name) by Orphan_Account (Kudos: 4,698) 62. 30 Days of Cheesy Tropes for Dean and Cas by Ashleyerwinner (Kudos: 1,279) 63. Tis The Season Baristas Fear The Most by Stilinskisparkles (Kudos: 4,998) 64. Tracing Memories by OverlordWaffles (Kudos: 1,166) 65. Trope Springs Eternal by VioletHaze (Kudos: 1,568) 66. Turn Me On (I’m a Radio) by Orange_Crushed (Kudos: 995) 67. Various Tumblr Ficlets by Janie_Tangerine (Kudos: 744) 68. Voldemort and Jean Valjean (Walk into a Coffee Shop) by PsychicPineapple (Kudos: 10,984) 69. Warm Days by Captainskellington (Kudos: 698) 70. We Found Each Other by Squirrel_and_Moose (Kudos: 959) 71. Whipped Cream by Relenafanel (Kudos: 2,466) 72. Whisked Away by Shiphitsthefan (Kudos: 1,205) 73. White Winter Hymnal by Newbluemoon (Kudos: 1,174) 74. Window of Opportunity by Tricia_16 (Kudos: 1,717) 75. Words Cannot Expresso How Much You Bean to Me by Isthatbloodonhisshirt (Kudos: 4,701) 244

76. X Reader – Oneshots by Henley_Sarah (Kudos: 737) 77. You and Your Stupid, Perfect Smile by Omni (Kudos: 7,162) 78. You Had Me At Latte Batman by Hatteress (Kudos: 6,446) 79. You Know How Much I Hate Waiting Around by Calculus (Kudos: 2,543) 80. You’re Not The One I Was Looking For by Hells Bartender (Firebog) (Kudos: 1,576)

245

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