Fantasy

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, by John Clute and John Grant, offers a definition of fantasy as stories about the impossible, that which cannot possibly exist in reality as we know it. When set in the world we know, the tales are about beings, places, and events that cannot be. When placed in a realm not of this earth, the settings themselves are impossible, not functioning according to our world's physical laws. Science fiction, by contrast, describes that which might be possible, though not at the present time or with known technology.

Fantasy in Daria Fanfiction
Fantasy writing may be divided into numerous subgenres, but Daria fanfics have their own peculiar fantasy subgenres that do not always match up with the broader field. Notable subgenres are given below, with examples. Crossovers are included under the appropriate subgenre headings, though they are also discussed in their own section. Almost every category has examples that will spill over into other groups.

Afterlife Fantasy
One or more Daria characters discover the hard way what existence is like after death occurs. This category crosses over into ghost stories and other types of horror fiction, but sometimes horror is not the primary emotion evoked by such tales. Examples: Always Beside You, by The Angst Guy; Unseen Phenomenon, by Wildgoose.

Comic Fantasy
In Comic fantasy, silliness and humor are the rule. These may include bedtime stories told to children that Daria, Jane, or Quinn are babysitting; twisted fairytales; and other off-the-wall fics written purely for the reader's amusement. Squirrel stories in which the squirrels act in fantastic ways go here. Examples: Barely Tales, by Kemical Reaxion; Cynical Symphonies, by Ranger Thorne; I Never Metamorphosis I Didn't Like, by The Angst Guy; The Idiocy, by Kristen Bealer; Quinnderella, by Mike Xeno.

Dream Worlds
Dream worlds are exactly what they sound like: dreamlike environments that do not obey the laws of reality. Alice stories are nearly always of this type. Examples: If You Only Walk Long Enough, by The Angst Guy.

Fairytales
Fairytales are stories making use of classic folklore, such as giants, elves, wizards, dragons, and other monsters, taking in fantastic settings that usually resemble Dark Ages Europe.

Holiday Island Stories
Perhaps the most notorious reality-busting episode of all, "Depth Takes a Holiday" spawned a number of later tales about the Holiday Island teens, either on their home "island" or in Lawndale. Examples: A Hard Days' Night, by The Angst Guy.

Modern Magic
Also called contemporary fantasy, modern magic stories present supernatural beings, devices, wizardry, creatures, and places that turn up in the world of today (or the late-1990s world of the Daria show). Crossovers with novels, movies, TV shows, and so forth are often seen.

Several sub-subgenres of modern magic appear with some frequency in Daria fanfiction.
 * Body switchers, in which one or more pairs of characters trade bodies and discover how the other half lives, per the movie Freaky Friday. Examples: Daria and Quinn Switch Bodies, by Nada Rowls; Eternity, by Richard Lobinske; Live the Life of Quinn, by Chris Mack; The Switch, by Brett Shearer; The Way Things Ought to Be, by Barry Eshkol Adelman.
 * Faerie fics, in which one or more characters appear as miniature faerie beings and stir things up. Most of these were inspired by fan art showing faerie alter egos of certain characters. Examples: Jane Unchained, by The Angst Guy; Uranium in the Drinking Water, by The Angst Guy.
 * Harry Potter crossovers, in which Daria characters go to wizarding schools like Hogwarts. This is by far the most popular fantasy crossover. Examples: Daria Morgendorffer and the Magic McGuffin, by Ranger Thorne; Daria Morgenpotter & The New Same-Old, Same-Old, by Daniel Callahan; Harry Potter and the Flack-Jacket Mafia, by Canadibrit; One Year Later, by NightGoblyn.
 * Secret supernaturals, in which one or more Daria characters secretly possess vast magical or psychic powers that cannot be explained by science as we know it. Examples: Blood and Irony, by J Osako; Crossing Over, by The Angst Guy; Deus Jane, by The Angst Guy; The Morgendorffer Code, by The Angst Guy; The Pact, by Richard Lobinske.
 * Suburban legends, twisted "urban legends" told among teenagers, in the same vein as the three stories told in "Legends of the Mall." Examples: Chocolate Girl: The *Other* Legend of the Mall, by MMan; The Girl Who Walked Home All Alone in the Dark, by The Angst Guy.
 * Supernatural entity tales, in which lone, powerful individuals with magic-like abilities (not superheroes) enter Lawndale and interact with the locals. Examples: An Angel Named Mary Sue, by Angelinhel; Crossover, by Nemo Blank; Guardian, by Mike Xeno; Illusions: The Unswerving Punctuality of--, by CharlieGirl; It's a Wonderful Life, Not, by Thomas Mikkelsen; Kitsune and Last Dance With Mary Jane, by Rey Fox; A Midsummer Nightmare's Daria, by The Angst Guy; Smoking Mirror, by The Angst Guy; Stacy and the Lamp, by The Angst Guy; Visitations series, by Brother Grimace.