Fantomo's Fics

I'm FantomoDrako, also known as ObeyTheFist. I'm an Australian fanfiction writer that also rarely draws/watercolours. I thought it might be fun to have a space where I can posts updates, snippets etc. for every fandom I write for, instead of just the odd fandom server I decide to live in.

My Ao3 is: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantomoDrako

Fandoms I'm currently writing for:

Linked Universe

Legend of Zelda

The Moomins/Moominvalley

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Astro Boy/Mighty Atom

The Dark Crystal + TDC: Age of Resistance

Seven Deadly Sins

Dr. Stone

Helluva Boss

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Mob Psycho 100

Fruits Basket

Teen Titans

YuYu Hakusho

Danny Phantom

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Harry Potter

Trigun

There are some fandoms I just haven't been able to write anything for beyond vague ideas sadly, so you could say this list is incomplete.

I write quite a few genres, from an innocent fluffy slice-of-life to dark torture, so please mind the warnings and tags! (I'm aroace and don't write romance or NSFW, so please seek such things elsewhere)

My asks and DMs are open. Feel free to ask about any of my fics, if you're just curious about something, or you'd like some writing advice!

Anyone that doesn't respect my boundaries will be blocked.

Time ticked by – much of it spent playing card games with an ordinary fifty-two card deck with the four suits, pausing whenever a customer entered. Snap, Go Fish, Blackjack, and an unintentional game of Fifty-two Pick-up when Grandpa tried to show off some ‘amazing’ one handed shuffling technique. The old man was cheerier than usual, more energetic, and somewhat childish when playing games with Bennu, happy to win or lose. The pharaoh figured Grandpa was thrilled by having some company in the shop that he could play with instead of just selling games. That was fine by him. Bennu was perfectly content to keep Grandpa company and play games.

Hands and feet pounced across the roofs of Paris, his spine arching and flexing in a way a humans wasn’t quite meant to. His vision would blur with tears, clear for a moment when he blinked, then blur again. The tears just kept coming. Why did he do that? Oh, Kwamis, he was in so much trouble.  The truth had felt amazing to say at the time, but the fallout was going to crush him. No more school, no more friends, just allowed to see Lila. Lila, who would not waste the opportunity to have him all to herself. Maybe he should run away. Find somewhere and fill it with cheese, like Plagg wanted.

Me, updating this fic not even a month later? Whoa.

Hello! That’s an interesting question. Let’s see...

I find it incredibly encouraging! It’s so nice to know people enjoy the content that I work hard on, so it really helps keep me creating. I create mostly for myself, but it’s always great to know that others enjoy it, too!

But, no lie, there is a bit of pressure hidden amongst all the encouragement. It’s like an invisible weight to keep going, to keep up the quality or improve, so that you don’t disappoint those same people.

He grinned. “This would be the perfect shoot to add some animals, you know? Trained birds, kittens, puppies, bunnies. Really play into the whole Spring thing.” Nino laughed. “You just wanna play with baby animals.” Adrien’s grin lost none of its radiance. “It’s a perk I wouldn’t turn down,” he easily admitted. “Of course you wouldn’t,” Alya and Nino in near perfect sync. “As if you would if you were in my place,” he said. Both of them pulled faces at that, making him laugh. “Got me there,” Alya easily said as Nino nodded. “But, even without the cute critters, you and Lila will probably have some adorable couples poses to do! Young, pure love and all that. I can hardly wait!” Marinette had frozen at that, her nose scrunching slightly as she tried to mask her distaste. Adrien’s own smile instantly turned plastic. That was the absolute last thing he hoped for in front of the camera today. “I hope we get some nice nature shots,” he said somewhat woodenly, glossing over Alya’s words entirely. It was okay, she didn’t know the truth, she was just trying to be a supportive friend. Right? Right.

Nendo caught her around the middle. “Hey, are you okay? Be careful,” he said as he righted her with ease. “Th-thanks,” she mumbled. “Great catch, Nendo!” Kaido praised. “You’re not hurt are you, Yumehara?” Her face was bright red, and she partly covered it with her hands. “I’m fine,” she squeaked out. “That’s good. Nendo’s right, you should try and be more careful.” Kaido paused and frowned, scrunching his nose a bit. “Nendo’s right?” he muttered. He shook his head. Kusuo knew exactly how he felt. Nendo being right seemed to break one’s perception of reality. Acknowledging that Nendo was right about something was another shift of reality that really threw off one’s mental balance. Ugh, now I smell like Nendo… If the alpha smelled like pocky instead of salted meat, then Yumehara probably wouldn’t protest. If she wasn’t obsessed with Kaido, then Kusuo doubted she would seek out the scent of paper and ash. He was just glad that Yumehara had given up on scenting him, though it was annoying for her to pass the torch to Teruhashi. Good try, Chiyo. Now it’s my turn. He could feel her eyes on him. She was watching him like a hawk, determined not to miss him or run into someone else by mistake again. That guy from earlier was still in a daydream state from his impromptu hug. Hopefully his friends walked all the way home with him, so he didn’t get hit by a car or something.

Vash sat up, panting from the effects of bad memories invading his sleep. And then fell off the side of the bed with an undignified squawk. He got his artificial arm underneath him. It had a multitude of cracks running through it; stress fractures from holding up the ion cannon decorating it like veins or spiderwebs. Brad would definitely scold him for damaging the man’s masterpiece. He moved his other arm to push off the floor and froze. Blunt fingertips and nails had become long, sharp, pearlescent tips, like claws, that melded straight into the skin of his fingers. They clicked slightly against the floor as he wiggled them. Yep, those were his digits.

First off, this may contain spoilers! Read at your own discretion. I'm a big Trigun fan. Read the whole manga, own the whole 1998 anime on DVD that I've watched multiple times. Like many other fans, I was excited to hear of a remake/reboot in 2023 - Trigun Stampede.

Unlike a typical anime, Stampede decided to go the 3D CGI route, like Beastars. I was a little sceptical of this, but Beastars looked pretty good. When Stampede came out, I eagerly gave it a go. The CGI looked pretty great!

I know Stampede was supposed to be more a self-contained version, that started as something of a prequel to where the manga and '98 anime start off, with the city of July (JuLai?) not yet destroyed. Okay, cool, sounded neat.

Meryl's new design? Not bad. This Roberto fellow? Who the hell is he? Random new character, okay. What a trope too - typical older guy, mentor type, deep in the alcohol and cigarettes. Cliché, but what can you do? He's there now. Wolfwood hasn't changed much. Nice. Vash's new design? The two layered hair with two colours is odd - especially when you factor in how hair works for Plants (not that the typical Plants in '23 have any hair at all, so... Something only a previous fan would know.) The new arm prosthetic is very different and immediately in-your-face. Hang on, his left arm being fake was such an important plot point that didn't get revealed in the manga (and the '98 anime) until some time had already passed. No cool secret reveal? Disappointing. His wardrobe? Eh, no big complaints from me. He does blend in a bit more in '23, even with the red coat. It seems to swallow his form instead of accentuate it, but oh well. My biggest gripe is actually with Vash's ankles and just above. They look waaaay too skinny, like toothpicks ready to snap under the slightest pressure. Fine when he's a kid, not okay as an adult. But what about the story? Stampede adds things from the manga that '98 never got to explore. Cool! Seeing extra manga lore is fantastic.

The problem comes from the pacing. Stampede hides no secrets. There's nothing held back. All that lore the manga and '98 series took ages to tease, peel apart, and display? BAM, you can have the majority of it in the first 3 episodes. A massive let down. Everything is shoved under your nose as fast as possible, and some parts honestly feel like blink-and-you'll-miss-it. If you have a short attention span it's fine, I guess, but it's way too quick for a proper story to be told. It hops from point A to point B with no time for the story to settle and expand in between, like the manga and '98 series do. Granted, '98 is much shorter than the manga, but the pacing is decent, especially compared to '23.

And the prequel aspect? Well, that's just the first season, 12 eps. It may be the prequel story of the Third City, but you get so many spoilers for what should come later that it ends up feeling like a massive jumble of story and timing. Can you follow it? Yes. Is the pacing good? All of the no.

The second season, titled Trigun Stargaze, starts right off with the well-known 2 year time-skip from the manga (and '98). It's definitely in the wrong spot, but they couldn't have Meryl and Wolfwood back without it. (Considering we're supposed to hop into the story 20 years after that incident!)

The time-skip is an important point in the story. Vash gives up for a bit. Tries to retire. But Wolfwood comes along, gives him back his gun, and prods him to get up off his butt and back into the game. He's the only one that stands a chance against Knives after all. He doesn't get the luxury of taking it easy. Still, for that short 2 years, he got a taste of the life he's always wanted, with a lovely old lady and her granddaughter that found a defeated vagabond and adopted him. It's a beautiful story arc.

But no, we don't even get that. We get an entire episode on the backstory of one of the Gung-Ho Guns, Hoppered the Gauntlet, even though he's not a GHG in this version? No, he's the one taking care of a Vash that hasn't retired, but is an empty husk that does nothing, says nothing, and has to be spoon-fed all his meals. WTF? Even worse, we get all of Hoppered's manga backstory squished into one episode and then we never see him again.

The PACING. It's an awfully slow episode - slower than any other '23 ep - and it wastes all the time giving us backstory for one character that lasts one episode. Ridiculous. If a character's only in one ep, we don't need to know their life story, thanks.

Hey, look, Milly Thompson is here! Her intro feels so forced to me. Like, hey, old fans, here's a humongous nod to the manga and '98 that you can't ignore! It certainly is that. You get Meryl and Milly in a bar ordering desserts and tea. This time the girls actually get them. Go figure. To me though, it feels like they shoved that in there to satisfy the older fans since criticism of the '23 version among them was no small secret. For me it didn't land.

I haven't even finished watching Stargaze, but I'm disenchanted with it a mere 3 episodes in. And this 12 eps is the last of it? "Hey, '98 only had 26 episodes! It got a whole story told!" Fans say.

Yes, yes it did. But it told it properly, not the whizz-bang-flash, lay all your cards on the table from the get-go '23 version. They ended the '98 series on their own terms since the manga wasn't done yet, and it wasn't a bad ending. (Unlike FMA '03 that went so far off the rails and had multiple train accidents along the way) At least they never tried to squish the manga's worth into 26 eps - they had to leave a lot out because it didn't exist yet, so the ending works for what it is. But the '23 version tries to squish much of the manga plotline into 24 eps and it just doesn't work.

Is the '23 version BAD? Well, that's up to each person watching it. Some adore it, some think it's okay, nothing special, while others hate it. I don't hate it, per se, but I am severely disappointed by it. I hoped for so much more, only to be let down by the writing and pacing.

I would absolutely love a Trigun remake like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was to FMA '03 - a series that stuck to the manga and followed it until the end, to make up for the earlier anime that only got halfway and made up its own ending. That would be so amazing.

I can't see it happening, sadly, especially since Trigun's creator, Nightow, loves the '23 version.

No offence to any fans out there, this is merely my opinion. The '23 version does have some cool stuff all of its own (the Plant markings and that they show up in Vash's eyes under light? That's cool as hell!) so it's worth a watch for any fan.

Vash the Stampede is a fantastic character with a deep, enduring story. I love him, he's one of my blorbos. No matter which version you may like or dislike, I'm sure we can all agree on that point at least.

---

There was nothing remarkable about the chamber or its contents. It was full of various things, like a mix between a store room and a junk pile. “Oh!” Kira gasped. “It’s that symbol from the place of the Old Ones!” A slender finger pointed. Jen turned to look and saw what appeared to be a deep stone bowl. Engraved upon it was a triangular symbol, pointing down, with circles at the three points, connected with slightly curved lines. He was very familiar with this particular symbol – the Mystics had always included it in his possessions when possible. His fingers rose to caress the little wooden beads that mirrored the symbol, sewed onto his tunic just as the base of his neck. Was he from that place? Were the Old Ones not only Gelfling ancestors, but his direct ancestors? He was drawn to the symbol, like some of the little flying creatures he didn’t know the name of were irresistibly drawn to flame. He stepped forward, gaze locked upon the stone bowl, unaware that he had reached out until the feeling of stone under his fingers jolted him out of his trance. - The Dark Crystal x TDC: Age of Resistance

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Feathers were not very common anywhere on No Man’s Land outside of towns and cities where birds fed off the scraps of mankind like pigeons. Finding one could be considered good luck, and pretty quill pens were a fancy and expensive bit of stationery. So, when Vash started to find small white feathers in his sleeping spot the past few nights, he had to do a double take. There was no explanation that he could see. Unless he was being stalked and snuggled up to each night by some strange bird that vanished before he woke up. That was plausible, right? - Trigun

---

Thankfully this meal, served to them by some potential future allies, was quite nice. Pidge had no idea what it was - the name was very hard to even try and pronounce and she didn’t want to try - and none of the ingredients were familiar, despite explanations given by the Alteans. Mouthfuls were slowly eaten as talk dragged on and on until it was finally over and Team Voltron made their way back to the castle. In the entry hall the humans started to stagger. Allura giggled lightly while Coran chuckled, giving them a knowing look. “Ah, of course you lot aren’t used to that dish and the kick it can have. I’m feeling a bit wobbly myself after not indulging in ten thousand years.” “It does make walking in a straight line something of a challenge,” Allura said. “Always fun with friends.” Shiro waved his left hand in the air before pointing at the Alteans. “Wait, wait! Are you saying that stuff was alcoholic?” “What? Have we been drinking?!” Hunk asked in horror. “Sweet! Underage liquor!” cheered Lance. - Voltron: Legendary Defender

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All Hylians blessed with wings, and even some of those without, knew that different types of wings were suited to certain types of flying. Some were able to hover, some could fly for days on end, and some could turn in the air on the tip of a rupee, displaying phenomenal acrobatics. Smithy was none of those. He couldn’t hover and his turning speed wasn’t the fastest. He certainly couldn’t fly for days - his black and green wings were not built for endurance. No, he was the kind of flyer that went a short distance, took a rest, rinse and repeat. At least he wasn’t the only one that had trouble with long distances. - Linked Universe

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He went from unconscious to awake within mere seconds, sitting up with an almost silent gasp. His hair was brushed back by something and he looked up to see a low ceiling. He was surrounded on all four sides by bars. Not just any bars either, they were wrapped in ofuda of some sort. They would prove useless. He held out his left hand and summoned a flame to burn the paper, and perhaps even the metal bars, away. The moment the first particle of flames flickered, the papers crackled to life, a strong jolt hitting him from every angle, frying his nerves and searing him from the inside out. He cried out, trying to curl up but his muscles seemed to be caught where they were. The lightning faded and Hiei was left panting, finally able to curl up slightly. Whatever these things were, they were far more powerful than the ones used by Tarukane to contain Yukina. - YuYu Hakusho

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A priestess, a monk, a female warrior, a half-demon, and a cowardly tiny fox kit. This was the group they were to assist? They were even more mismatched than his own team, which was saying something. This was the team saving the country? What possible use could the fox kit be on the battlefield? He was too young to do more than a few childish tricks with only paltry power behind them. The young priestess didn’t look very battle worthy either. The half-demon likely did the bulk of the heavy lifting in that area and Hiei was eager to get a gauge on his strength and skills. The humans were not Yusuke and were therefore not worth his time. They were probably good, as far as humans were concerned, or they wouldn’t still be alive, but they had yet to prove themselves worthy of his interest. As far as Hiei was concerned, it was a babysitting mission. He hated babysitting. If Kurama was perturbed he wasn’t showing it, while the oaf and the detective both seemed excited. Typical. - YuYu Hakusho x InuYasha

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Shiny new fic from me. Finished the very first chapter... it's after midnight, so yesterday... I know there are plenty out there, but I hope you enjoy my take on this crossover. Rated T on AO3 and ff.net, Edward Elric-centric Summary:

It’s a crossover of Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood/manga based) and Harry Potter.

Do you have any idea how many FMAxHP fics there are?

HUNDREDS.

There are almost 800 on fanfiction.net alone (792), not counting AO3, Wattpad, or any other sites out there. Not all are in English, obviously, though that’s still 751 of them that are on ff.net alone.

It feels like I’m adding one tiny drop to a big pond. It’s my first foray into FMA fanfic writing, too, which only adds to the doubt.