Fantasy

From DariaWiki
Daria as Cinderella, an alter ego from the MTV website

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, by John Clute and John Grant, offers a definition of fantasy as stories about the impossible, that which cannot 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. 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


The Dreaded Brittany Dragon

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


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


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. Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy game crossovers appear here, as do Arthurian pastiches.

Examples


Fantastic Voyages

One or more of the Daria cast discover passage to a new world or universe that operates under magical laws or impossible conditions. Entry into this new realm might gift the travelers with new powers for the duration. (If the means to enter the other universes involves the Good Time Chinese restaurant or Holiday Island, the story goes into the next category below.)

Examples


Daria and Holidays

Holiday Island Stories

Perhaps the most notorious reality-busting episode of all, "Depth Takes a Holiday" spawned a number of later tales about the Good Time Chinese restaurant and various Holiday Island teens, the latter either on their home "island" or in Lawndale. Some stories here are also Fantastic Voyages.

Examples

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 (The Wizard of Oz, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Dresden Files, Resident Evil, Xena the Warrior Princess, every kind of anime movie imaginable, etc.).

Several sub-subgenres of modern magic appear with some frequency in Daria fanfiction.

Tinkerbell Jodie
Quinn as Ariel the Mermaid
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