Academy Fic

Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)	Academy Era
Related tropes/genres	High School AU, College AU, Academic AU, Pastfic
Related articles on Fanlore.

Academy fics are stories set when canon characters were studying at the Academy – when this trope originated in Star Trek TOS, this was Starfleet Academy. The particular Academy they attend varies from fandom to fandom, but it is usually an institute of learning that exists in the world's canon, that the main characters probably attended pre-canon.

These works are very similar to College AUs, but they are often canon-compliant. An academy era fic will often explore an adult character's backstory, and can be a canon AU if it gets together two characters who are not canonically in a relationship.

Many of these works are Pastfics, but others are AUs.

History

This trope originated in Star Trek TOS stories.

Example Fandoms

Fandoms where Academy Era fics are common:

• Star Trek works set at Starfleet Academy appear in almost all Star Trek fandoms and timelines.
  • Bright Nights and City Lights, ^{Archived version}
  • New Equations, ^{Archived version}
• Doctor Who works set at The Academy on Gallifrey. Many of these works focus on the early Doctor/Master (Theta/Koschei) relationship.
• MCU but particularly Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D fics set at Shield Academy. Many of these works are not canon compliant; some pair Fitzsimmons, while others include characters who did not attend the Academy in canon as students.
• Voltron: Legendary Defender works set at the Galaxy Garrison. Some of these explain character backstories fueling the interactions in episode 1 of the series. Others diverge from canon and have characters get together at the Garrison or find a different path to becoming Voltron's paladins.
• This genre is very popular in Star Wars Legends fics, with many works set at Luke's Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. After Legends was declared non-canonical, Star Wars sequel trilogy works have been set at a First Order Academy or at the Disney version of Luke's Jedi Academy (often but not always Yavin). Many works set at the latter are tagged as Jedi Academy AUs, if they have a tag referring to the setting and time period, as they are often not canon compliant.

Archives & Links

• Academy Era fics on Ao3