As this year comes to a close, let us remember all the good fics given to us this year. Did you have a that you loved that was published or completed in 2023? Did you read something in 2023 that was just out of this world!? Recommend them below.
Form closes on December 29th 11:59pm EST.
Qualifications:
1. A fic can be recommended if a story was either a) published in the 2023 calendar year and is a WIP, b) completed in 2023 (even if started beforehand) or c) Transferred to AO3 from ff.net. Special exception only to Holiday Truce fics from 2022 as they were not up in time to be considered last year.
2. Avoid any NSFW fics. If you do want to suggest them, please classify them and any pairings as such.
3. Submissions should include: Title and Author, Crossover/pairing information, event information and a link to the story.
Questions? Hit up my ask box.
As this year comes to a close, let us remember all the good fics given to us this year.
Did you have a that you loved that was published o
Fullmetal alchemist is so funny to me bc this fucking kid who dresses like the worst emo 2008 hot topic cringecore is literally the smartest person in the entire country. He MET GOD yet exudes annoying atheist “my katana can cut through the Bible” energy. Mustang (his fucking boss) is very plainly is covering for the fact that he committed an unforgivable crime and yet he hates mustang so much it’s on fucking sight. The only time he talks to his crush is when he gets his ass kicked so bad he has to trudge home with his tail between his legs all “winry my arm no workee you can’t ask me why”
Danny may have been a superhero. He may have been annoying. He may even have been ‘practically an adult.’ He was still Jazz’s little brother. The one who had once begged her for play time and increasingly baffling milkshake combinations. The one who helped her fight reanimated turkeys every Christmas. The one who painstakingly researched what books to give her for her birthday.
So, it wasn't so much a choice to throw herself between him and her parents’ newest and most worrying weapon as it was a reflex. If any thought crossed her mind while she dashed across the parking lot and into the path of the beam, it was either this is going to hurt or I hope I'm fast enough.
Well, it didn't hurt. It did drop her in the Ghost Zone. Immediately, She whirled, trying to find the portal.
Way back, when she and Danny had come clean about their respective secrets, Danny had sat her down for what he called his ‘Ghost Zone Survival Guide.’
“Okay,” he'd said, spinning in his spinny chair, “Ghost Zone survival, part one. Don't go there.”
Tucker had snorted. Jazz, who had taken out a fresh notebook and her special note-taking gel pens, glared at him.
“I'm serious,” Danny had defended himself. “The Zone isn't a good place for humans.”
“Why?”
“Do you want some reason other than it operating under different laws of physics and being full of super-powered people who don't care if they kill you by mistake? The radiation, maybe?”
“Never mind. Go ahead.”
“That's what I thought. Anyway, if you wind up going through an unstable or temporary portal, the first thing you need to do is go back through that portal. Like, forget about anything else that's going on. Fights, escapes, your car, other people, get yourself back through.”
“That seems a bit callous,” Jazz had said.
“Well, maybe. But the Ghost Zone is huge, and natural portals and temporary portals aren't just unstable in space, they're unstable in time.”
“They could spit you out in my first life, the middle ages, a thousand years in the future, you name it,” Tucker had helpfully added.
“First life?”
“Don't worry about it,” Danny had said.
“Pharaonic Egypt,” Tucker had answered.
“The point is,” Danny had continued loudly, “you don't want to take a chance with portals unless you know they're stable or have the Infi-Map.”
“Or time grandpa has your back.”
“Stop calling him that.”
“Who is–”
“It doesn't matter. He doesn't have your back. He doesn't have anyone's back.”
Tucker had made a noise of negation. “He has your back.”
Danny had responded by beaning his friend with a pillow.
Somehow, despite being genuinely informative, Jazz had come away from the ‘lesson’ With more questions than answers. None of which were pertinent to her present situation.
She turned on the spot again, surveying her surroundings in more detail. It didn't help. No matter which direction she turned in, there was no portal.
So. Step one: failed.
Onto step two.
“What if I can't get back through the portal though?” Jazz had asked.
“Well, if you aren't being actively attacked–”
“You should definitely take care of that first if you are.”
“If you aren't under attack, see if you can spot any landmarks. If you can see one, you'll at least have a general idea of where you are. Mostly.”
“We're making a map,” Tucker had said, “but it sucks.”
“That's not a comment on our self-confidence or whatever,” Danny had said before Jazz could interject. “Stuff moves in the Ghost Zone. It's kind of like trying to make a map of the solar system. If you're sitting on Jupiter, you know where the sun is, and you've got a pretty good idea about the inner planets, but unless you have a model you can put the time into, you're not going to have any idea where Pluto is.”
“And you wouldn't know the right time, either,” Jazz had said, contemplatively.
“Exactly. But landmarks are still good. They'll give you your general area, at least. And maybe what else is around, too.” He'd given her a photo album full of Ghost Zone landmarks, then, and they'd spent the next half hour going through them.
Jazz was on a floating island. It was medium-sized, perhaps a dozen or so acres square on this side, full of softly rolling hills covered with purple grass and pale green flowers. As far as Jazz could tell, there wasn't anything else on it, although that didn't mean there wasn't. It didn’t look like any place she'd seen or heard of.
Offshore, the Zone was a moderately-familiar green-on-green. Foggy ectoplasm and the lack of anything like a horizon made it difficult to judge distances.
There were a few other islands Jazz could see. Something like a mountain range, a floating sphere, and, just on the edge of her vision, a slightly more regular conglomeration of shapes that could have been a town.
Bingo.
“If you don't recognize anything, do your best to head towards civilization.”
Jazz had raised an eyebrow at that. “Despite the super-powered people who don't care if I die?”
“She’s got you there, Danny my man.”
“Ugh, why couldn't Sam have been here?”
“Gasp, don't tell me you forgot the mega-ultra-turbo grounding already? How could you?”
Danny had thrown another pillow at Tucker. “You're so unhelpful. Anyway, people are dangerous, but they're also the only place you're going to get directions.”
“And if I see something, how do I get there? Considering everything is a flying island.”
“That’s a bit tricky.”
Jazz bounced on her the balls of her feet, staring down the green void between herself and her destination. She’d never done this before, and despite Danny and Tucker’s attempts at an explanation, or even Sam’s later on… Well, she felt like she should’ve convinced them to bring her to the Ghost Zone to practice.
There was nothing she could do but try. She closed her eyes and jumped into the air, believing she could fly with all her might. Her feet hit the ground again. Damn.
One, two, three, she tried again, and again, and again, and then, finally, when she got mad, when she got frustrated, her feet left the ground and stayed off the ground. She was flying, like only a human in the Ghost Zone could fly.
She opened her eyes and looked over to the distant probably-town. It was just as distant as before. And now she was exhausted from jumping. Both the jumping right now, and the jumping into the line of fire she’d done earlier.
Well, no time like the present to get going. She took off.
The little details of Danny’s advice hadn’t stuck with her - he’d really waxed poetic - but she was still able to move forward. She also spent a lot of time moving down whenever her concentration slipped. Of course, she knew it wasn’t really down, thanks to those same conversations with Danny. It was just the direction she perceived as down, or something like that.
Danny liked flying like this. Danny liked every method of flying to ever exist. Jazz, personally, hated it. A lot. Every minute that passed, every time she slipped, she was terrified that she would go plunging into the murky depths of the Zone, never to be seen again.
Danny hadn’t been wrong about the Ghost Zone not being good for humans.
Thank goodness the town really was a town. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if it wasn’t.
“If I do get to civilization–”
“--or what passes for it–” Tucker had said.
“--what do I do then? Be polite, I assume, but what’s polite for ghosts? What are the cultural touchstones? The social norms?”
“Dunno,” Danny had said. “It’s not like ghosts are just one big group that’s all the same. But if you get to a group of ghosts, like, I don’t know a village or something, they’ll all probably be fairly tolerant. To live together without fighting, you know? Normal politeness will be fine. Probably. Assuming they can speak English.”
She managed a landing at the edge of the town. She hit too hard, and her knees buckled. A few ghosts stopped what they were doing - she didn’t know what, couldn’t spare the attention while flying - to stare at her. With an effort she smiled at them. Closed lips. Many cultures considered smiles with teeth to be aggressive or rude.
“Hi,” she said. “I was wondering if you could help me.”
“Kio? Kio ŝi diris?”
“Mi ne scias, mi ne parolas la francan.”
Ah. She should’ve taken up Tucker’s offer to teach her some basic Esperanto. Danny was never going to let her live this down.
“Okay, so, what do I do if they don’t speak English?” she’d asked.
“Get good at charades? You probably won’t be able to get good directions without speaking the language - I have no idea how you’d do the portal in charades - but you can trade stuff. Bargain, barter, whatever you want to call it.”
“For food? Supplies?”
“Eh, not food, actually. Ghost Zone food is mostly ectoplasm. Not good for humans.”
“Then what? Well, you’ll think it’s crazy, but…”
Somehow or another, she got the idea of marketplace and trade across to the ghosts. Apparently the Esperanto word was related to the English. Cousins. Brothers. Whatever, it didn’t matter.
What did matter was what she was going to trade to the ghosts. All she had was her purse, and for a teenage girl, she traveled light. She had her wallet, parking change, a small handful of coupons, number two pencils, a pencil sharpener, a pen, various hygiene products, lipstick, laser, lipstick laser, sunscreen, the universal pocket psychology guide, granola bars, a screwdriver, a couple of bolts from the Peeler - if only she kept that in her purse - spiked bracelet from Spike, phone, and, okay, she didn’t pack that light. There should be something in all this that the ghosts here would probably like.
The ghosts who had seen her less-than-stellar landing ushered her to a colorful, cloth-covered stall, the contents of which looked like the detritus of a million flea markets. The ghost… manning it? Ghosting it? Haunting it? What was the terminology in this case? Whatever. The ghost at the stall was pale green and nondescript except for the swathes of polka-dotted cloth wrapped around their body.
They stared at her with wide eyes. “Ĉu tio estas homo? Viva homo?”
She smiled, forcefully. That didn’t sound like a hello, but she’d take it. “Hello,” she said. “Do you have any boxes?” She made the shape of a box with her hands.
“The Box Ghost? You’re saying that if I can’t get directions, my next step is to try to summon the Box Ghost?”
“Hey, believe it or not I’ve got an agreement with a lot of the regulars. If they bring back lost humans, they get, um. A nonlethal free day. In Amity Park. I can get you a list. And even if you end up in a weird time, like, before I made the deal or something, the Box Ghost is pretty easy. Worst case scenario, you can even let Walker catch you. He always sends humans back.”
Jazz sat on the edge of the town, a cardboard box in hand, purse lighter by a novelty pencil sharpener and the spare screws and bolts. “Oh, great and powerful and completely terrifying Box Ghost,” she said, feeling ridiculous. “I have an offering for your awful, terribleness. It’s cubical and cardboard-ical. Cardboard. Whatever.” She sighed. “This isn’t going to work, is it?”
“DID SOMEONE CALL UPON THE FRIGHTENING AND FRIGHTFUL BOX GHOST, MASTER OF RECTANGULAR CARDBOARD PACKAGES?”
Jazz shrieked and almost fell off the island.
The Box Ghost blinked down at her. “Beware?” he said.
“Hi,” said Jazz. “A gift?” She held up the box.
“THE CARDBOARD IS MINE!” He leaped on the box and held it to his chest like a baby. “What do you want from the HORRIFYING BOX GHOST?”
“So, uh, I know you have a deal with my brother?”
“WHOMST?”
“My brother,” repeated Jazz. “Danny. Phantom?”
The Box Ghost stared at her blankly.
“To get humans back to Amity Park?”
“THE BOX GHOST DOES NOT KNOW THE REALM OF WHICH YOU SPEAK?”
That wasn’t good. The opposite, really. If the Box Ghost didn’t recognize Danny’s name…
“What if I am in the past?” Jazz had asked.
“Get back to Earth anyway, and survive. Find a way to get a message to the present. Between the Infi-Map and, um, other contacts I have–”
“Time grandpa,” Tucker interjected.
“I should be able to go get you if I know where and when you are. But I need to know when and where you are.”
Then, Jazz had asked why he couldn't just pick her up at the exact moment she'd arrived, if he was going to time travel anyway, and that had spurred a migrane-inducing argument about paradoxes. Jazz had gotten the impression that the real reason was more along the lines of ‘Danny isn’t allowed to have any more paradoxes’ than ‘the universe won't let paradoxes exist.’
Jazz smiled thinly. “Can you get me to Earth?” she asked. “Please? It’ll be worth your while.”
“Worth the while of the GREAT BOX GHOST?”
“Yep. It might take a while, but you’ll get more of those.” She nodded towards the box in the ghost’s arms. “Consider it an investment in future, um, fear.”
“FEAR?”
“Yes. As in, um, fear me?”
“No, you shall FEAR ME!”
“Exactly,” said Jazz. “Just like that. Can you do it? Or… is it beyond the powers of even the Box Ghost?”
“NOTHING IS BEYOND THE BOX GHOST! I AM EXTREME IN EVERY WAY! THE BOX GHOST WILL SHOW THE STRANGE GIRL WITH GIFTS THE WAY TO HIS SECRET PORTAL!”
At least something was going right. “Thanks,” Jazz said. “That sounds great. I really appreciate it. Where is it?”
“FOLLOW ME!” The Box Ghost paused. “AND FEAR ME!”
He flew off, and Jazz struggled to keep up. Luckily, the Box Ghost was courteous enough to stop for her every once in a while. The flight seemed to go on forever, but, eventually, they came to a stop in front of a twisting, spluttering portal.
“Does this really lead to the Earth?” Jazz asked.
“THE BOX GHOST DOES NOT LIE!”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean to imply that. It’s just… is it always so sparky?”
“IT IS UNSTABLE! ONLY THE BOX GHOST IS BRAVE ENOUGH TO USE IT!”
Which meant that it could spit her out anywhere, at any time. But at least she’d be on Earth, AKA somewhere she could eat the food and drink the water.
“It doesn’t come out above an ocean, does it?”
“THERE ARE NO BOXES IN THE OCEAN. THE BOX GHOST HAS NO USE FOR IT.”
“What about crab pots?” asked Jazz.
“THE BOX GHOST DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE COUNCILS OF CRABS.”
Jazz… wasn’t going to examine that too closely. She braced herself and flew into the portal. The transition this time wasn’t the smooth, blink-and-you’re-in-another-dimension it had been with her parents’ weapon. It had turbulence, and lots of it. It was like being in a washing machine. Or a blender. A really fast blender. One that pulsed and shook and sang a song while it was at it.
It spit her out ten feet above ground. It wouldn’t have been a problem for a ghost, but for a human… Well, at least she didn’t break any bones. Instead, she laid, winded, on the ground. Tall grass framed her vision on all sides. The sun was hot overhead. Which was… less than ideal. It had been Autumn this morning. However long from now that was.
Jazz rubbed her temples. All she had to do was send a message, satisfy Danny’s no-paradox rule, and then she’d be home. Until then, she would survive. She refused to saddle Danny with the guilt associated with her disappearing.
She got up. Looked around. There was a dirt road. She staggered over to it and flipped a coin to decide whether to go left or right. Left it was.
She grew steadier as she walked, but the heat was punishing. She took off her sweater and was tempted to take her shirt off, too. She was wearing a sports bra underneath. It wasn’t like it’d be indecent.
Unless she’d been dropped into the eighteen hundreds. Best not to risk it.
The dirt road became gravel, became poorly-paved asphalt, merged onto another, bigger road… A road with a recognizable name. Jazz wasn’t that far away from Amity Park. She could probably even call… home…
“I’m stupid,” she said out loud. She pulled out her phone. No service. Typical. She kept walking. And walking. And walking.
And then she saw the smoke. Right where Amity Park should be. She ran, then.
She crested the hill, passed the Welcome to Amity Park sign - something was off about it, but she didn’t stop to try and see what it was. She hit the top of the next hill and stopped.
That– That wasn’t Amity Park. At least, it wasn’t her Amity Park. The buildings were bigger. Shinier. Whiter, even. The logo for the GIW sat proudly on one of the tallest ones.
And so many of them were smashed. Burning. Green blurs swirled and fought with white ones. She sat down.
“And what if I wind up in the future instead?”
“I don't know, hope the rest of us don't cause the apocalypse before you get back?”
There was one more explosion, and then a high-pitched wail, a ghostly wail, threw all of the shapes back and away. The white ones didn’t come back.
Jazz… wasn’t sure what to do. She watched. She waited.
And then a familiar shape appeared out of the air in front of her. It was Danny, but… not. He was thinner. Sharper. There was silver and ice in his hair, and blood and ectoplasm on his face. “Hi, Jazz,” he said, smiling sheepishly despite the dark gleam in his eyes. “Well… it isn’t the apocalypse, so…” He spread his hands to either side, and the GIW building behind him fell over. “Welcome home?”
As we head into 2024 - here are the fics that escaped from the zone this year that stuck with us.
This year, we had 35 entries and with 25 of them being crossovers. Much thanks to @nutella-icecream @reading-wanderer @emberdew and the anons for submitting some of their favourites.
As this list isn't as large as previous years, feel free to continue to suggest 2023 fics in reblogs and I will add them when I get a chance. And if you run out of reading material - click the 2022 tab OR click here for the 2021 list.
Last call for the fic round up! Please submit any DP (with or without crossovers) recommendations from 2023 by 11:59PM EST. The full list will be up by January 1st.
As this year comes to a close, let us remember all the good fics given to us this year.
Did you have a that you loved that was published o
As this year comes to a close, let us remember all the good fics given to us this year. Did you have a that you loved that was published or completed in 2023? Did you read something in 2023 that was just out of this world!? Recommend them below.
Form closes on December 29th 11:59pm EST.
Qualifications:
1. A fic can be recommended if a story was either a) published in the 2023 calendar year and is a WIP, b) completed in 2023 (even if started beforehand) or c) Transferred to AO3 from ff.net. Special exception only to Holiday Truce fics from 2022 as they were not up in time to be considered last year.
2. Avoid any NSFW fics. If you do want to suggest them, please classify them and any pairings as such.
3. Submissions should include: Title and Author, Crossover/pairing information, event information and a link to the story.
Questions? Hit up my ask box.
As this year comes to a close, let us remember all the good fics given to us this year.
Did you have a that you loved that was published o
Happy New Year Everyone! Thank you for participating in the Ecto-Exodus 2022 - here are the 76 must reads from the past year based on recommendations. Our Phandom is truly full of awesome people and writers. These will update in the coming days as I double check links. The Mature list (with 6 recommendations) is available on private request - please note that I will only send the mature list those over 18.
A huge thank you to the following people for recommending this year: @dp-marvel94, @redead-red, @strawberrycamel , @pennerjones, @all-hail-trash-prince , @Reading Wanderer, @itziwitziB, @bibliophilea, Concieted Demon, @lexosaurus, @naanandhaleem and @ave-aria
You can either use the published google sheet above or this one where you can filter based on rating, pairing, crossover, completion status and phandom event. Happy Reading Friends! .
A list from last year of the Ecto-Exodus of 2022 - feel free to rec your fics here: https://forms.gle/oE7HxhvaKkVyi3BD6 and this list will go live sometime next week.
Happy Truce @half-deadmagicperson! I've been working on this for a little bit - honestly my ideas started to get so big that I might even make it longer. Just wanted to give you this chapter and wishing you the best! Hope you like it.
The prompt I chose was: Mr. Lancer discovers Danny’s identity in the most random way.
When battling insomnia, the last thing he expected was to be sitting at his favourite grungy diner on the outskirts of Amity, drinking what he presumed was coffee.
William Lancer sighed, clicking his pen absently as he reread his manuscript for the third time that night. Green eyes swept the page, hoping for a spark of inspiration to send his whirling mind into a buzz, spilling the story onto the page. He took another sip, scrunching his nose in disgust at the burnt taste.
“Fresh Cup there Lance?”
He choked, coughing into the cup in surprise. The diner owner stood over him, a smirk across her round face as she waited for an answer. “No, probably for the best Gloria. It’s a school night after all.”
Gloria tutted, settling in across the man in his booth. “This is the third night this week dearie – anything the matter?”
Lancer sighed again. “Not sure – you know I’ve been dealing with this for years.”
“Well, yes, but it seems like it might be a little more regular now,” Gloria replied, humming slightly. “In all the years I’ve seen you William, this ranks top three. Is it the book again? The teens at the school? Don’t tell me it’s the g-“
“Shh!”
Gloria and Lancer turned to the wide-eyed cook behind the counter. “Don’t jinx it Gloria. He might show up again?”
Curiosity bubbled through Lancer. “He?” He queried.
Gloria shrugged. “It’s been a week, I doubt he’ll show up again. Besides, all he does is show the card anyway.”
Lancer frowned. “The card?”
Gloria pointed to the wall of frayed photos under a large sign labelled Friends of Dale. “The All-You-Can-Eat one. It’s the card where that person and anyone in their family can eat for free after completing the Dale’s challenge in one sitting.”
“The one that’s everything on the menu topped with a fudge sundae?”
“That’s the one! It’s been 6 years since anyone even tried.” Gloria fidgeted with the menu on the table. ‘Anyway, this kid keeps showing up here at random hours of the morning and asks for the same thing: Three pancakes topped with whipped cream and a coffee with an expresso shot and 7 sugars.”
Lancer gagged. “7 sugars? At that point why drink coffee?”
“You’re missing the point Lance,” Gloria tapped the menu card, attempting to gain his attention. “This kid, he’s like…. I don’t know. But he’s high school aged.”
Lancer bristled. “One of my students?”
Gloria shook her head. “Don’t think so – unless you have a student with white hair who can fly.”
The pen dropped from Lancer’s hand as the man’s jaw dropped. “What?”
Gloria smiled mischievously. “You heard me.”
Lancer grabbed his pen, clicked it a few times then set it on the table. “How long does he stay?”
Gloria stood up, smoothing out the front of her uniform while she eyed the rest of the diner. “Depends on the day. Often, I hear him muttering about a curfew. If our parents made our curfew after 2am on a school night I’d question their sanity.” She frowned, nodding her head to the left. “Gotta jet. But you’re in for a treat.”
Puzzled, Lancer traced Gloria’s steps across the checkered floor.
“The usual?” Gloria asked warmly as she approached the booth furthest from the door.
“Yeah – and if you have ice and a first aid kit, I’d appreciate it.”
Lancer’s blood ran cold as Phantom’s voice softly echoed through the diner. He peered subtly over his booth, barely making out the gray hoodie with a tuft of snow white hair poking out of it. Vaguely, he heard Gloria tell him she couldn’t fork over the first aid kit but took his order down. She walked back towards the counter, locking eyes with the teacher and mouthed what suspiciously looked like Told you in his direction.
Lancer stared back at his manuscript, mind reeling at this new development. Phantom here. How long? Have they every been here at the same time? Why?
“You look confused.”
Startled, Lancer jumped out of his seat, spilling coffee over the first page as the young ghost materialized across from him.
Danny Phantom winced, frowning at the mess. “Shoot, sorry.” The boy grabbed papers and suddenly the coffee fell through the table and onto the floor. Once the table was solid again, he picked up the manuscript, made them into a neat pile and handed them back to the man. “I should know better.”
Lancer stood, gaping at the boy now joining him at the booth. “It’s… alright…” He sat back down gingerly, eyeing him warily. The gray hoodie, he realized, was from an old spirit wear campaign from Casper High that was discontinued in the 80s; Lancer swore he saw them in a stock room in the basement a couple weeks back. Phantom’s gloved hands were in his sleeves, the left pressed down on his right. Green eyes stared back, confusion and a bit of concern shining back at him. “Long night?”
The spell was broken; the teen groaned loudly, shrinking into his seat. “It always is. Seriously, I thought I’d never get away from Technus’ babble. He’s almost as bad as T-a friend of mine.” Gloria came over, giving the boy his food, a bowl of ice and coffee and left the pair with a hint of smile. “What about you? Didn’t think teachers stayed up until 2am on a school night.”
Lancer laughed. “Try being a teacher in America. Trust me, I’m not up because I want to.” He watched the boy take a piece of ice, wrapped it in a napkin before pressing down on his arm. Ignoring the action and the wince that followed, Lancer continued. “I’ve struggled with insomnia over the last 10 years, sometimes I can get through it, sometimes… I embrace it.”
“Some would say neglecting sleep is bad for you,” the boy quipped.
“Some haven’t had the nights I’ve had,” he retorted.
Phantom hummed, taking a bite out of the first pancake with his left hand. “Not like I can’t relate,” he muttered. The ghost’s eyes flickered to the stack of papers. “What’s that?”
A soft smile graced his lips. “Just a little bit of writing.”
Phantom hummed again, this time bringing his head to his hand thoughtfully. “Like a book?”
“Exactly that. I figured if I couldn’t sleep, I’d at least work on it a bit.”
“Did it help?”
Lancer laughed sardonically. “Nope.” He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “And I have to cover at least one extra period tomorrow. Any chance your escapades destroyed part of the school tonight?”
The boy flushed green. “Hey! I don’t intentionally destroy buildings! I can’t pick where I’m thrown!”
Lancer chuckled. “I was joking.” The pair sat in silence, Phantom continuing his meal while Lancer drank the rest of his burnt coffee. Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him. “How long have you been coming here?”
Phantom shrugged. “Apparently this place has a bunch of …. What did Frostbite call them…. Essentially faultlines,” He made a face. “Not quite that. Anyway, a bunch of these faultlines the run under this diner that deter ghosts from coming here. It’s like a ghost truce space – some of our powers don’t work. We’re hardwired to avoid it.”
Lancer’s face twitched. “So… like it’s haunted.”
Phantom smiled mischievously. “You get it.” He stretched, taking a sip of coffee before settling in again. “Anyway, found that out a couple months back and remembered that I had the card so I’ve been coming here when I need to fuel up.”
Lancer nodded, making a mental note to ask about it later. One never got this close to the ghost hero without a ghost fight, let alone know a bit about him. His curiosity was peaked, brimming with wanting to learn everything he could about the visitor. All the questions suddenly left him as he saw Phantom add more sugar to his coffee. “Eventually, that’ll stop being coffee.”
Phantom chuckled. “Good. It’s gross – I only use it for the caffeine anyway. I still have at least another hour to go before I can actually go home.”
Lancer glanced at his watch; 2:30am. “I don’t envy you,” he said softly.
The boy’s eyebrow quirked upward. “Who would?” he asked honestly.
Lancer frowned at the response but before he was able to think hard about it, a new bulletin flashed across the TV, completely stealing the boy’s attention to the conversation at hand.
“Shoot,” he said with a frown. He downed the coffee in one go and floated into the air. “Gotta run – maybe I’ll see you around sometime Mr. Lancer.” He flew up through the ceiling and then the diner was silent again.
Lancer barely managed to wave, frowning at the bizarre conversation.
“Harmless right?”
Lancer jumped out of his skin as Gloria snuck up behind him. “Hell House Gloria, anyone ever suggest you might be a ghost?”
Gloria chuckled, giving him the bill. “You know you love it.” She started to clean the table, frowning slightly. “Huh, poor thing must have been in a rush.”
“Seemed so – why?”
Gloria flashed the membership card his way. “He left this behind. I’ll just keep it until he shows up next.”
Lancer grew pale. “Gloria – are you sure that’s his card?”
Gloria’s eyes sparkled. “Yes – why?”
“Because I recognize that name,” he said softly.
Gloria smiled in understanding. “You teach those kids right? Little one should be high school bound by now.”
He nodded.
“Well it’s his card – no doubt about it. Not stolen either, I did the test and all. It’s him.” She shrugged, turning her back as she pocketed the evidence. “Don’t think too hard about it – it’ll keep you up at night.”
Lancer sat frozen, his curiosity wrapping around such an absurd theory that he couldn’t shake. There was no way. No possible way this could be true and yet –
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
so uhhh made my first (finished) fanfic as a christmas truce gift for @flutteringdreams-matw ! hope you enjoy, for some reason im like really nervous about posting this lol but yeah! Happy holidays!
This has been such a crazy few weeks that I'm only now seeing this! Thank you so much!!!! This is honestly so fun - can't believe it's your first one. Well done :D
As this year comes to a close, let us remember all the good fics given to us this year. Did you have a that you loved that was published or completed in 2023? Did you read something in 2023 that was just out of this world!? Recommend them below.
Form closes on December 29th 11:59pm EST.
Qualifications:
1. A fic can be recommended if a story was either a) published in the 2023 calendar year and is a WIP, b) completed in 2023 (even if started beforehand) or c) Transferred to AO3 from ff.net. Special exception only to Holiday Truce fics from 2022 as they were not up in time to be considered last year.
2. Avoid any NSFW fics. If you do want to suggest them, please classify them and any pairings as such.
3. Submissions should include: Title and Author, Crossover/pairing information, event information and a link to the story.
Questions? Hit up my ask box.
As this year comes to a close, let us remember all the good fics given to us this year.
Did you have a that you loved that was published o
Summary: When a reporter catches Danny's transformation on tape, Danny finds that dealing with his new notoriety is the greatest battle of all. While facing the media, his classmates, Valerie, Dash, his teachers, and his family, he wonders if they will see him as he is, or if they will only see him as a ghost. But who is the mysterious ghost who set him up? What plans does he have for Danny now that his secret has been revealed? And how much can he possibly mess up his life further?
Yes, this is a NEW final chapter of A Secret Uncovered!
As promised, the final chapter is here! After 10 years since my last update and after 17 years of originally posting it, this chapter is finally seeing the light of day.
This is such a huge moment for me to be able to share this with you. I hope you all enjoy it. I hope it's everything you wanted it to be. And thank you for sharing your time with me while reading this fic!
Congrats @darthfrodophantom!!! I've been following this story for AGES and I'm sooooooo happy to see it conclude! Thank you for one of the best rides I've been on since I entered the fandom. Amazing work!
We’ve been getting lots of new phans joining the phandom or not knowing where to start their search for curated phandom content. There’s a lot of content out there and we have stories and comics shared on sites like FanFiction, DeviantArt, Archive of our Own, Tumblr, and so many others.
So, while this is not a comprehensive list, these are some of the works I’ve loved over the years and I highly recommend from Fanfiction.Net (which I know is hard to explore). Hope you enjoy!
If you're having trouble reading with all the ads on the site, consider downloading the official Fanfiction.Net app, downloading it on FicHub, or using an ad blocker.
Please don’t take this era classification as official or anything lol I chose these dates as a way to understand changes in the phandom (when the show aired, when Tumblr's phandom began to grow, when there was a resurgence of interest in Tumblr according to Fandometrics, etc). This won't go on to 2020 since most works I bookmarked were also posted on AO3
In the list below the break, consider that this 🔹 marks unfinished fics (...so far) that are really good
2004-2007: The Canon Discovery Era (aka when the show still aired)
📖🔹 “A Secret Uncovered” by @darthfrodophantom || Danny’s transformation is caught on tape, revelation chaos ensues. (Currently being cross-posted on AO3). Also, Darth is back in the phandom and has even joined different phandom events and really cool projects, like the DP AU Zine. She also wrote another awesome story, one of the first dissec-adjacent stories, “Tortured Truth”.
📖 “Unmasked” by WingsOfMorphius || Valerie & Phantom get stranded, learn more about each other. One of the first Val-centric stories I remember. WoM was an icon back in the day and has many awesome stories (but consider a few of them will remain incomplete, such as 🔹"Moments of Clarity" or 🔹"Gender Confusion").
📖 “Estrelas” by Shimegami-chan || Sam finds a ghost in her grandma’s attic. One of the first stories to expand on Danny's immortality.
📖 “Running Blind” by Dejah Thoris of Mars || A CSI crossover, featuring a runaway Danny Fenton. It's a long one-shot that doesn't necessarily require you to know the CSI characters to enjoy it.
📖 “Like Son, Like Father” by Erratta || As Jack's trying to understand his son’s problems, he turns into a half-ghost. One of the few halfa-Jack stories I can recall.
📖 “A Thermos for Valerie” by Bluemoonalto || Danny (as Fenton) tells Valerie he knows about her being a ghost hunter. One of the best Val reveals I've read.
📖 “Playground Philosophy” by Epona Harper || Maddie and Phantom bonding at the playground. It also has a sequel (“Fuzzy Logic”)
📖 “Complications” by HiddenAuthor || Lots of worldbuilding as Danny’s powers increase. It also has excellent sequels! “Exceptions”, “Hopes”, and 🔹 “It’s in the Genes” (the last one is the only one incomplete).
📖 “Anathema” by Firefury Amahira || Dan’s POV for the events in the TUE timeline. Companion pieces: “Jeremiad” and “Benediction”, which are all written exquisitely.
📖 “Phantom’s Sketchbook” by AkoyaMizuno || One of the phandom early classics. Mr. Lancer finding Phantom’s abandoned sketchbook and learning more about the ghost.
📖 “Do Superheroes Exist?” by Golden Lunar Eclipse || Danny’s secret revealed to the world and the aftermath after it gains media attention.
📖 “Heartbeat” by Evilevergreen || Danny never realized until now that his heart stopped beating when he turned ghost. A heartbreaking Danny/Valerie fic (with a darker sequel, too).
📖 “Unexpected Revelation” by TallieCat || Maddie waits in Danny's empty room until he crawled back through the window in the middle of the night. This one started like a one-shot was then continued years later!
📖 “Ghostly Emotions” by Invader Johnny || TUE alternate ending where Danny loses his memories and Ember tries to take advantage of that. A Danny/Ember fic.
📖 🔹 “The Ultimate Hero” by moonymonster || Alternate TUE ending in which Clockwork doesn't interfere and Danny (spoiler) becomes full ghost.
📖 🔹 “Anathema's Abode” by Twisted Creampuff || AU that takes place in a secret war, where Sam meets a ghost hybrid who could help them win the war.
2008-2012: The 100% Post-Canon Era (aka dissec and fix-its)
📖 “Lab Rat” by AnneriaWings || Danny under his parents’ scrutiny on the lab table. For many this fic marks a before and after in terms of dissec fics.
📖 “Infinite Potential” by MyAibou || Post-canon exploration (including PP). MyAibou’s stories are amazing. Check out “Ghosts in the Closet” as well.
📖 “Masks” by @cordria || A story examining Danny’s relationship to the human race. Cordria’s stories are so varied and all so wonderful to explore.
📖 “Karate, Judo, KungFu, What was That?” by Artgirl4 || Maddie trying to figure Danny out after she sees he has more fighting skills than she thought.
📖 “A Note From the Resident” by The Light’s Refrain || Danny wakes up one day to a clean room and a disturbing note. This is such an eerie take on his ghost half, I love it.
📖 “The Scrapbook” by Dragon Elexus || Maddie finds Jazz’s scrapbook about Phantom and stumbles upon some secrets.
📖 “The Truth Game” by Paradise-Whispers || Val and Danny are stranded after a field trip and play a truth game.
📖 “The Social Game” by Chaos Dragon || The A-listers discover Danny’s secret. Decide to do something about it.
📖 “Going Up” by Danny Phantom SG-1 || Danny has to help a fellow ghost move on, but it's not just any ghost. It's family. Really beautiful but heartbreaking one-shot.
📖 “Ten Minutes to the End” by @phantomtwitch || Suspenseful one-shot. Time is running out and the key to everyone's survival literally rests in Jazz's hands... This author is also currently writing a wonderful hazmat au / no one knows au named "Echoes"
📖 “A Batch of Cookies” by jadedbluerose || Maddie bakes a batch of cookies with a secret ingredient.
📖 “Complications” by @ladylynse || Valerie's trying to come to terms with the realization that Vlad Masters is Vlad Plasmius. An amazing Val-centric fic.
📖 “Family Adjustments” by dpluver || A collection of post-PP drabbles focusing on Fenton family bonding. This is another amazing example of how people tried to handle stories taking Phantom Planet into consideration.
2013-2019: The Fanon Explosion Era (aka enter Tumblr and the phandom lore era) - Note: Most new stories moved to AO3 but some were crossposted here.
📖 “Doorbell” by @sapphireswimming || She kept waiting for him to walk through the front door... A hurt & comfort story. Sapphireswimming has so many wonderful stories and micro-stories to check out as well.
📖 “The Janitor” by @currentlylurking || Casper High's janitor finds Phantom bandaging himself up in the janitor's closet. A lovely look at one of many minor characters in the show.
📖 “Nexus” by HappyLeif || When Danny is injured and desperate and backed into a corner, Clockwork passes him the reins. This author is one of my all time favorites and this story has such exquisite Donnie Darko vibes. Please check out all their other stories if you can.
📖 “Captive Audience” by LunarMothim (aka thickerthanectoplasm) || Phantom finds himself trapped with Jack and Maddie during a ghost hunting retreat. One of the stories that began to apply the ghost speak lore.
📖 “A Jock and a Hard Place” by AnneriaWings & Haiju || Danny & Dash are trapped in a janitor's closet during a ghost attack while they're alone at school. Things don't look good for Danny. A brilliant one-shot.
📖 “Phantom of Truth” by Haiju || Maddie works with the GIW to study Phantom. Also with a sequel "Shadow of a Doubt". An angsty phandom classic in the dissec genre.
📖 🔹 “Of Field Trips and Phantoms” by Ironinkpen || Fieldtrip to the Ghost Zone with lots of delicious shenanigans.
📖 “Shift” by CaptainOzone || AU in which Danny's secret is revealed to the world before he ever steps foot in Amity Park. A wonderful "everyone knows" story.
📖 “Karma has a Sense of Humor” by Vitaliciouscreations || A oneshot featuring Danny, Mikey, Nathan, and Lester and the way karma has a funny way of working.
📖 🔹 “Possession” by Hybridkylin || The state of being controlled by a demon or spirit. In this case, what happens if Phantom possessed Danny.
📖 “A Snapping Sound” by @leda-x || AU where Sam finds ghost stories and mysteries to reveal in Amity Park. A really exquisite horror story and a beloved phandom classic as well (I still cry that I couldn't buy it in print).
📖 🔹 “Experience is Everything” by Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet || A 29-year-old Danny is sent to the past in his 14-year-old body after he first gained his powers, where he tries to do things differently.
Crows normally walk. This one seems to have both legs working, so he’s not hopping out of necessity, he’s doing it for fun. Corvids can sometimes be seen doing things like this for no evident reason other than enjoyment.
