◇ procrastiwriter ◇

Hetalia FrUK Oneshot Crossposted on AO3

Border by @cafekitsune

Notes (Contains Spoilers): Angst, Heavy Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Human!AU, Countries use Human Names, Hanahaki Disease, France has Hanahaki Disease, Unrequited Love, Loosely Inspired by True Events, Love Confessions, Deathbed Confessions, Major Character Death, no beta we die like francis, arthur being a dense mf

Francis Bonnefoy looks at Arthur Kirkland as if he were looking at dancing stars. He listens to him as if he were listening to fairies’ chatter. He embraces him as if he were embracing the essence of life itself.

The world has known quite a number of lovers like one such as Francis. Many poems, tales, and ballads have been sung about the intense proliferation of one’s love for another; how these feelings bloom and blossom, as if nourished by the sun itself. Francis was never alone in that regard, which brings him some comfort in his rather unbecoming circumstances.

Francis loves making Arthur let out giggles that chime sweeter than bells—this one of the many signs that indicate that the Englishman enjoys the company of the Frenchman. Francis recalls the time when they were younger—he had braided Arthur’s hair, which was quite long back in the day. He intertwined each little lock of hair with many flowers and charms.

“You look like the Queen of Witches, mon cher ami,” cooed Francis. “You’re ready to take on the entire realm.”

Arthur blushed. “Oh hush. I’m just a mere sorcerer. I do not have such capabilities.”

Francis brushed his fingers through Arthur’s unbraided strands. “But your looks alone could cast a spell,” gushed the Frenchman. “Any fair lad and lass would be utterly captivated by you.”

And so, Arthur’s giggles rang out. They were as clear as day, as fresh as summer, as delightful as morning, as energising as sunrise. Francis felt his heart melt like chocolate—the kind that coats sweet strawberries. Eat my chocolate–strawberry heart, mon amour…

“Mon amour”... to this day Francis still addresses Arthur as “mon cher ami”. That was the closest he could ever be from calling the Englishman something that truly reflected his actual feelings. He silently watches Arthur and falls in with him more and more. Whether he had long hair or short hair, Francis wished to bury himself forever in his beloved’s wispy, champagne blonde hair. He desires nothing more but to take Arthur’s hair and twirl him around in a never–ending waltz of romance. The world around them would no longer matter, because Francis would have his world right in front of him.

An excruciating pain now greets Francis daily—one that, quite literally, blossoms in his lungs. He is fully aware of the cause, the flowers that mark the symbol of unreturned passion. Yet, Francis chooses to keep this fact to himself. If he dies, no one will feel guilty, for a single person harbouring an intensely realised unshared love is better than causing a burden to come crashing down onto the other party’s head. Francis cannot fathom the idea of begging Arthur to love him back, as mountains cannot plead the sunrise to last forever. The Englishman must be willing to let the dew off of his leaves and roll down onto the Frenchman’s. For Francis to drink up any form of love, Arthur must willingly offer it first.

Life–threatening pneumonia is what Francis told the world. He was beyond saving, but all he wished for right now was to be with his most beloved at his deathbed. No one knew when he was going to be gone, so he gets visits everyday to keep him company right before he leaves this realm. With each visit, he managed to hide all the flowers he was coughing out, but the sensation was akin to keeping vomit inside one’s mouth to avoid throwing it all up. The flowers in his mouth made him sound ghastlier whenever he spoke with the visitors. Most of his words could still be understood, but the smooth and velvety quality of his voice had long been dissolved into an empty, soundless void.

---------------------

“Hello, Francis.” The words had come from Arthur. “How have you been?”

Francis looked up at the Englishman. He then began to cough out more flowers, but locked them all behind his teeth. “Oh… just about average, mon cher ami.” Arthur chuckled at that, which made Francis proud—he managed to joke about his situation and make his beloved laugh at the same time.

“I came here to visit,” Arthur added. “Just me, though. The others have certain matters to attend to.”

Francis nodded matter–of–factually, but on the inside, he felt grateful. No uncomfortable crowds towering over him, no overstimulating conversations. Just Arthur—Arthur and his beautiful face that represents home. A familiar source of comfort and tenderness manifested on the delicate physicalities of the Englishman. No other individual’s features can make Francis feel a warm and loving embrace despite not experiencing any physical contact. Arthur was Francis’s home, the one he desires to return to once his life’s journey has come to an end.

“Arthur,” began Francis. “Can’t the world just freeze for a bit?”

Arthur nodded silently, then replied, “I feel the same way.”

Francis sighed. “My death is inevitable, but I wish to experience at least a little bit more of life before I go.” His body was so paralysed that he could only move his head. “I’ve fallen in love and had my heart broken, then fallen in love once again. Death doesn’t let us choose when we are to go, so as much as I desire to attempt to cultivate this love I have, I simply have no time at all.”

Francis hasn’t spoken anything longer than three words for the past couple of weeks, so this was a momentous feat. Arthur’s eyes lit up when he realized this, which Francis noticed. The Frenchman chuckled.

“I can overexert myself at this point. Time will never stop for anyone, let alone me. I need to make the most out of my final moments,” declared Francis.

Arthur’s expression was unreadable, but Francis observed that perhaps many thoughts and emotions rushed to his head. The specifics didn’t matter, because Arthur’s face soon morphed into sadness. “You say too many pessimistic things,” he said.

“Love has turned me into a pessimist,” said Francis. “My heart was damaged not from the fall, but rather from the break.”

“What do you mean?” Arthur rubbed his chin in curiosity and concern.

Francis chuckled. “All the roads in good romances end in death.”

“Well now you’re scaring me.”

“There’s nothing to fear when I’ll finally be at peace, right?”

Arthur huffed in a frustrated manner. “God, Francis, stop talking in riddles for one second please?”

“I cannot think straight nor can I speak normally when I am in love,” Francis explained. “I see nothing but the beauty of my dearly beloved; which, despite being a sickly and dying man, motivates my drives to stay alive for a few more days. I wish to see my dearest before I go. But…” the Frenchman paused. “I wish to say certain things about myself first. Final words, if you will.

“How pitiful. The end has come for Francis Bonnefoy, and he dies of a broken heart and bursting lungs. His situation is truly laughable, pathetic even, for he is not killed by the pneumonia he was diagnosed with, but by the love that rips and tears through his very being. The one he loves does not and cannot return the feelings he is caged by, but Francis pays no mind. Things would be better off in the unrequited manner.

“And you might be thinking, ‘Francis, you are literally dying. Will you not try to not be on the verge of death? Fight for life a little harder?’ Well, mon cher ami, to that I say, what’s the point? My sickness has no ready cure, but I have long accepted the fact that it will eat away at my lungs, my heart, and my body.”

Arthur looked as if his eyes were drenched with tears, ready to drown his cheeks with the salty drops. “Francis… I…” Arthur swallowed the stutter before continuing. “You’re in such a cruel state that it has got you talking nonsense. Maybe the doctors are wrong. Maybe your pneumonia can still be cured…”

Francis chuckled brightly, a sound that has never been heard ever since he was admitted to the hospital weeks ago. “Oh, you dense idiot. And yet…” Mustering all the strength he had left, Francis pulled Arthur down into a warm, tight, embrace. “I still love you.”

Francis experienced two things before losing consciousness: First, he saw the Englishman pulling away to look at him with a shocked, tear–filled face; he was breathing heavily and unevenly. Second, he felt the flowers fall freely out of his mouth; they were more than enough to form a bouquet.

As in, extremely short

Border by @cafekitsune

Notes: School crush, school life, fem!protagonist, masc!crush, pastel girl x goth boy, supportive best friend

The boy who sat across me in the room was called Jan. He was lean and fair, tall and dandy. Jan likes to dress in all black, occasionally putting on hints of red or white or both as highlight. Everything he wears is what one described as edgy or gothic, except for his glasses, which are more suited to an academia look. Yet, his outfits overall are very practical-looking.

Jan is the cutest boy I have ever met.

I couldn't simply walk up to him and attempt to make conversation. One issue is that we were not in the same class, so we didn't know each other very well. Sometimes we would chat a for a little while since we both are into the same video game, but things did not go beyond that.

Oftentimes, I avoid Jan so that he wouldn't start feeling uncomfortable around me. If I talked to him all the time, he might get a hint and he avoids me instead. That hurts more than me being the one to let go of him sometimes.

I watched him from my spot near the emergency exit. He was having a lively conversation with his seatmate. I tried my best to hide my chuckle every time the corners of his lips turned upwards and the sides of his eyes would crinkle with joy. Being a guy with a gothic sense of style did not hinder Jan from being emotionally vibrant.

I suddenly felt an arm sling around my shoulders. "Admiring Jan again?" its owner teased.

I giggled for a short bit. "Shush please... people might hear."

The person who sneaked up to me was Sheila, one of my best friends. She was also close friends with Jan, so she was one of the first people whom I told my crush about. If anyone is able to sympathize with me, it would be Sheila. Plus, she wasn't into Jan because she was fixated on her own crush, who is a popular artist.

Sheila followed my line of sight. "Amazing how he hasn't caught you staring yet."

"He's too busy talking with Gale. Must be fun to have a seatmate whose musical talent is the same as yours," I answered.

Sheila gave me a pointed look. "But you're good at piano."

I let out a tiny laugh. "I've been learning for just three years so far. Jan's been learning since he was a toddler."

"Yeah but that's no excuse for you to downplay your talent." That made me blush a bit, so I turned my head to Sheila and said a little thanks. I only became even redder when I heard Jan stand up from his seat and walk out the room.

Oh man, I thought as Sheila and I proceeded to stand by the door to await his return, but then I caught sight of the clock. It read two minutes before the next class I needed to attend.

"Sorry, I have to go," I said to Sheila, giving an action of goodbye.

"See you later!" she replied, returning the gesture.

As in, extremely short

Border by @cafekitsune

Notes: School crush, school life, fem!protagonist, masc!crush, pastel girl x goth boy, supportive best friend

The boy who sat across me in the room was called Jan. He was lean and fair, tall and dandy. Jan likes to dress in all black, occasionally putting on hints of red or white or both as highlight. Everything he wears is what one described as edgy or gothic, except for his glasses, which are more suited to an academia look. Yet, his outfits overall are very practical-looking.

Jan is the cutest boy I have ever met.

I couldn't simply walk up to him and attempt to make conversation. One issue is that we were not in the same class, so we didn't know each other very well. Sometimes we would chat a for a little while since we both are into the same video game, but things did not go beyond that.

Oftentimes, I avoid Jan so that he wouldn't start feeling uncomfortable around me. If I talked to him all the time, he might get a hint and he avoids me instead. That hurts more than me being the one to let go of him sometimes.

I watched him from my spot near the emergency exit. He was having a lively conversation with his seatmate. I tried my best to hide my chuckle every time the corners of his lips turned upwards and the sides of his eyes would crinkle with joy. Being a guy with a gothic sense of style did not hinder Jan from being emotionally vibrant.

I suddenly felt an arm sling around my shoulders. "Admiring Jan again?" its owner teased.

I giggled for a short bit. "Shush please... people might hear."

The person who sneaked up to me was Sheila, one of my best friends. She was also close friends with Jan, so she was one of the first people whom I told my crush about. If anyone is able to sympathize with me, it would be Sheila. Plus, she wasn't into Jan because she was fixated on her own crush, who is a popular artist.

Sheila followed my line of sight. "Amazing how he hasn't caught you staring yet."

"He's too busy talking with Gale. Must be fun to have a seatmate whose musical talent is the same as yours," I answered.

Sheila gave me a pointed look. "But you're good at piano."

I let out a tiny laugh. "I've been learning for just three years so far. Jan's been learning since he was a toddler."

"Yeah but that's no excuse for you to downplay your talent." That made me blush a bit, so I turned my head to Sheila and said a little thanks. I only became even redder when I heard Jan stand up from his seat and walk out the room.

Oh man, I thought as Sheila and I proceeded to stand by the door to await his return, but then I caught sight of the clock. It read two minutes before the next class I needed to attend.

"Sorry, I have to go," I said to Sheila, giving an action of goodbye.

"See you later!" she replied, returning the gesture.

As an author who loves Fantasy, I wanted to help my fellow writers understand all of the different elements that fantasy can fall under, ranging from the well-known to the specific. I figured that doing so could help other writers like myself understand exactly what sort of story they’re writing, and how these stories differ from one another. I’ll also be giving examples of these types of stories, as well as my own thoughts on the different genres at the end.

What is Fantasy?

Fantasy in its simplest term, is any form of media that diverges from the mundane reality of our ordinary everyday world in one facet or another. A story does not need to have magic, or dragons, or princesses to be called a fantasy story. While those are common motifs, in truth, all it takes to be considered fantasy is to not adhere to the real world in one form or another. Good Omens is a fantasy story, despite having no dragons or princesses anywhere. A Song of Ice and Fire has dragons and princesses, but magic is scarce and seldom ever seen. The Song of the Sea has a lot of magic, but a lot fewer dragons.

MEDIEVAL FANTASY

 The story takes place in a fantastical world of the author’s design with a medieval or renaissance inspired setting, world view, and/or political structure. Renaissance Fantasy doesn’t really tend to exist on its own, so any setting with Renaissance aspects tends to just get lumped in with Medieval Fantasy. I don’t even really need to explain this one to you. It’s the most common subgenre of fantasy. A medieval fantasy does not have to be set in the real medieval period of Earth’s history, but rather, a medieval fantasy is any story set in a fantastical world that makes use of a medieval-based society as its setting.

HISTORICAL FANTASY 

This is a story in which fantastical elements are included in real world historical settings. This is any historical setting where there’s a King of England but also a dragon or trolls to deal with. There’s almost this sort of unspoken rule that any story set in Ancient Greece will inevitably be Historical Fantasy. Arthurian Fantasy, Mythology Fantasy, and Fable Fantasy could all be considered subcategories of Historical Fantasy, since most instances of these genres would be classified as Historical Fantasy, though there are exceptions. As an example, Once Upon a Time and the Fables comics series are both Fable Fantasies, but are not Historical Fantasy. Likewise, Rick Riordian’s Percy Jackson-verse is clearly Mythology Fantasy, but is not Historical Fantasy. Classic examples of Historical Fantasy would include tales like Beowulf, The Journey to the West, and Robin Hood. It’s worth mentioning that technically, a story is not Historical Fantasy if it’s set in the era it was written in. However, the Illiad was set in Mycenaean Greece, Robin Hood’s rivalry with Prince John was a later addition to the folklore, and most Arthurian mythos was penned long after the supposed real world figure might have lived and died. But, any story set in a contemporary modernity, such as Percy Jackson, will eventually become Historical Fiction as time moves forward, though it clearly was not written to be that way.

MYTHOLOGY FANTASY

Angels, Demons, Gods, the Underworld, mythological heroes, this is a supercategory that encompasses everything from The Chronicles of Narnia to Supernatural, as well as Good Omens, American Gods, Sandman, Rise of the Guardians, Percy Jackson, Paradise Lost, Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, Smite: Battleground of the Gods, Teen Titans, Dante’s Inferno, and Lore Olympus. Some people get squeemish about lumping Judeo-Christian ideologies in with Mythology (even though it is a mythology) such that the Christian sub-category sometimes gets called Religious Fantasy or Bible Fantasy. But regardless, this is the category for any sort of fantastical work in which supernatural forces are at work. Some divide this section differently. For instance, some will say that since faeries are part of Irish mythology that faeries count as part of mythology fantasy, while others will argue that this is more for the religious aspect of fantasy, with things like vampires and faeries relegated to a subcategory of more generic fantasy creatures.

ARTHURIAN FANTASY

The story revolves around Arthurian mythos. Whether it’s set in the real world of Britain, a fantasy counterpart to Britain, or in some author-created setting, King Arthur is still King Arthur. Sometimes, though very rarely, Arthurian stories have little to no magic, fusing this subgenre with Historical Fiction and not Historical Fantasy. While Arthurian mythos has evolved over the years, the big players are practically household names. Most people are unfamiliar with Sir Galehaut and Sir Dinadin, but almost everyone recognizes Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and all the other big players in Arthurian folklore. However, Arthurian myth effectively spans the entire breadth of the Medieval Period, first being mentioned in the Annaels Cambriae which places Arthur in 6th Century Britain, and his stories continued to be written until Le Mort d’Arthur in 1485. Keep in mind, the Medieval Period is from 476 - 1500, and Arthurian mythos spans about 800-900 of those 1,024 years. Due to his story spanning so much time, many elements of Arthur’s story have been forgotten or quietly put aside over time. Try to tell someone that Arthur put every newborn born in the month of may on a boat and sank it to prevent the prophecy of Mordred from coming true, and you’ll probably get a bunch of horrified looks from people who swear up and down that the Good King Arthur would never do anything so cruel. Even other elements shifted around. Ask who mordred’s parents are, and you could argue Arthur, Morgan le Fey, Morgause, Anna, King Lot, and more. Depending on how deep down the rabbit hole you’re willing to go, you can read stories of King Arthur fighting his nephew Oberon for control of Fairyland. Arthurian mythos, like mythology fantasy, tends to get the curbside drive-by approach. People repeat the elements they’ve heard a million times, while never dusting off any of the lesser known elements that would give the story a breath of fresh air.

FABLE FANTASY

Technically, all Arthurian Fantasy falls under this umbrella. Fable Fantasy is the genre term for fantasy based on fables, folk tales, and folkloric figures. Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Fairy Tales, Mother Goose, Baba Yaga, if it has persisted through generations of storytelling, and has had a lasting impact on the cultures that know the story, it can be considered a Fable Fantasy. Any story that pulls from these elements can likewise be considered Fable Fantasy because they are pulling from these fabled origins. So, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast is a Fable Fantasy… unless the storytelling has twisted the story so much that it’s no longer in the Fantasy genre. For more variations of this genre, well-known pop culture characters, much like Robin Hood and Fairytale characters, can be considered Fable Fantasy. So, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, Santa Claus, the Grim Reaper, Peter Pan, the Phantom of the Opera, the Wizard of Oz, and other commonly retold folk characters can be thought of as more contemporary Fable fantasies. As such, both Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera can be considered Fable Fantasy musicals, as well as the more obvious Into the Woods. Once Upon a Time and the Fable comic series are both modern Fable Fantasy stories. Not all Fable Fantasy narratives are retellings of classic folktales. Peter Rabbit, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz have all become widely considered folkloric staples, despite being written in the 19th and 20th centuries. Over the Garden Wall, a Cartoon Network miniseries from 2014, is considered to be a modern fairy tale, despite not being an adaptation of any other story, but instead using the tropes and ideas common to traditional old-school fairy tales. When they enter the public domain, I suspect that Dr. Seuss’ characters will likewise be effectively Fable Fantasy, well-known characters that see use and reuse over and over again in other media. Shrek and Disenchantment take a satirical approach to Fable Fantasy, poking fun of Disney and other fairytale narratives and tropes. 

HISTORICAL ROMANTICISM

This setting often goes hand-in-hand with Arthurian Fantasy and Fairy Tales. This is any story that romanticizes and glorifies life in a historical setting. Popular variants include Medieval Romanticism, stories which romanticize medieval settings, Victorian Romanticism or Edwardian Romanticism, for stories that romanticize the time period between 1837-1913, and Period Romanticism, which is more of a blanket term that glorifies the eras popular with Period movies, namely, the 19th century, but sometimes earlier as well. Full of handsome princes, fair damsels, large palace-like castles, and knightly codes of honor, historically inaccurrate period gowns, debutante balls, and steamy Jane Austen-style love affairs, this story paints the past with the most optimistic and flattering image possible. Everything is flowery, poetic, and awe-inspiring. This is the type of setting Sansa Stark thought she was in at the start of A Game of Thrones before G.R.R Martin pulled the rug out from under her and revealed Westeros to be a Cynical Low Fantasy. By the very virtue of the company’s child-friendly marketing, Most Disney movies, and by extension, most movies set in the past aimed at children can likewise be categorized as Historical Romanticism, as they brush the darker side of history under the rug. The Princess Bride, Bridgerton, Don Bluth’s Anastasia, and most versions of Robin Hood and Arthurian mythos fall into this category. For contrast, Downton Abbey is not Edwardian Romanticism even though it tries to make life in the 1910s look glamorous, it’s also not afraid to blatantly point out the economic and socio-political issues that were going in in the world at the time. Downton Abbey does not sugar coat the darker side of history, and can therefore not be considered Historical Romanticism.

HISTORICAL CYNICISM

The exact opposite, Historical Cynicism is the name I give to settings that use the trope “The Dung Ages”. Like Historical Romanticism, the most popular variant of this category is Medieval Cynicism. These settings seek to make life in historical time periods look as miserable and depressing as possible. They are designed to make life seem bleak, undesirable, and disgusting. Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Disenchantment take a comedic approach to this, while A Song of Ice and Fire gives a more Epic Fantasy take. Sweeney Todd makes life in Victorian London look positively putrid, and that’s without the cannibalism subplot. The Witcher games seem to merge Medieval Cynicism with Dark Fantasy and Horror Fantasy. This subgenre hinges on Dark Fantasy, but the two are distinct from one another. Expect plenty of plagues, muted color pallets, a cruel aristocracy that enjoys crushing the lower classes under its heel, and mud or dung on everything.

HIGH FANTASY

 Magic and fantastical elements are abound in this setting. Expect wizards, dragons, fantastical races, and more. Very frequently overlaps with Epic Fantasy, though they are different. The Lord of the Rings is classic High Fantasy. Most Dungeons & Dragons settings are also High Fantasy, as is The Legend of Zelda. Avatar: the Last Airbender is a High Fantasy Wuxia show, though Legend of Korra veers more toward Historical Fantasy, Steampunk, and Magitech Fantasy with its 1920s Shanghai meets New York City hub location of Republic City. The Elder Scrolls is also a High Fantasy, with plenty of elven races, the Beast Races, and star signs that actually impact those born under them. Each province has its own sort of vibe or subgenre, with High Rock being more Medieval Romanticism while Skyrim is more Dark Fantasy or Medieval Cynicism, but as a whole, Tamriel falls under the High Fantasy umbrella.

LOW FANTASY 

A medieval setting where magic and fantastical elements are rare, if not nonexistent. A Song of Ice and Fire is an excellent example. Magic is real and does exist, but it only rarely comes into play. Magic is extremely scarce, and most people one might meet are humans. Even the sight of someone casting the simplest spell is so rare in Westeros that it’s practically unheard of, and the few supernatural elements that do exist in the setting live far out into the wilderness, rarely being seen by people. It’s quite rare to find completely fictional fantasy settings with no magic whatsoever, but they do exist.

EPIC FANTASY 

This is any fantasy story on an epic scale. I’m talking well over 50+ named characters. A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time, Lord of the Rings, all of these are Epic Fantasy. Yes, these stories usually end up with long book series and a lot of words behind them, but I am defining a genre, not a reading level. Epic Fantasy is about scope, not page length. Common sights in Epic Fantasy are grand battles, multiple POVs, world-spanning events, extremely high stakes, very powerful players in the narrative, and The Final Battle Between Good and Evil.

QUEST FANTASY

Any fantasy work which is primarily driven by The Epic Quest. Often overlaps with Chosen One narratives. Lord of the Rings, Eragon, The Legend of Zelda, Avatar: the Last Airbender, and the Percy Jackson books are all examples of Quest Fantasy. The bulk of the narrative is centered on The Journey and the trouble the heroes run into along the way, or are otherwise all about The Adventure, not the destination. Our band of heroes have a goal given to them and the story is focused on following the heroes on their journey. However, this is not strictly a Chosen One category. The Legend of Korra is a Chosen One Fantasy, but is not a Quest Fantasy because Korra’s main objective changes every season. Percy Jackson toes the line due to the Oracle’s prophecies, but I wouldn’t call him a Chosen One because his birth wasn’t written in the stars or anything. He just happens to be a child of Poseidon and at the center of the story. If you switched him out for Nico di Angelo or Jason Grace, the story is still functional. In Lord of the Rings, Aragorn is the True King, but Frodo is the protagonist, so I wouldn’t call Lord of the Rings a Chosen One Fantasy either. This can also tip into other genres. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a Quest Fantasy. The entire premise of the movie is Arthur and his knights questing for the Holy Grail. Likewise, The Princess Bride is all about Wesley’s quest to rescue Princess Buttercup from Prince Humperdink. Treasure Planet is a steampunk quest fantasy telling the story of Jim’s search for Flint’s treasure, where the journey there is the bulk of the story. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is a quest fantasy with elements of Historical Fantasy and Mythology Fantasy all about Sinbad’s perilous voyage to the edge of the world to save his friend’s life.

DARK FANTASY

It’s like normal Fantasy, but bleaker and darker. The Witcher and Skyrim are good examples of Dark Fantasy, where monsters roam the wilderness, and people live in fear of the unknown beyond the safety of their villages. The general tone is more cynical, desolate, or hopeless. Some Dark Fantasy is more about just being gloomy or creepy. The movies Labyrinth and Dark Crystal are two good examples of a Dark Fantasy that’s less bleak as they are weird, yet still dark. The Black Cauldron is a perfect example of a Dark Fantasy with a dreary and macabre aesthetic paired with a genuinely horrifying necromancer villain. Pan’s Labyrinth is another good example of a Dark Fantasy. Over the Garden Wall and A Tale so Dark and Grimm are both Dark Fantasy stories as well as Fable Fantasies, reveling in the darker aspects of Grimm fairy tales.

HORROR FANTASY

It’s like Dark Fantasy, but scarier. Expect there to be horrifying monsters unlike any seen on earth. Your protagonist is probably either hunting or being hunted by something horrible. Either a monster is trying to kill them, the world is trying to kill them, the gods or demons are trying to kill them, or magic is trying to kill them. Again, The Witcher is a great example of Horror Fantasy. Geralt is a hunter of monsters, and often fights things like Werewolves, ghouls, wraiths, and lesheys. Red Riding Hood (2011) is a great example of a vaguely medieval Horror Fantasy. Depending on where you stop the line at what’s horror, what’s fantasy, and what’s Horror Fantasy, you could justify just about anything as Horror Fantasy. From The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with its undead Draugr and vampire clans, to Resident Evil VII with its vampires, or even certain Scooby-Doo! media (though Scooby-Doo! is certainly on the mild end of horror.)

PARANORMAL FANTASY

Unlike Dark Fantasy or Horror Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy takes horror elements and spins them to be more romantic. This is where you’d slot in romantic or atmospheric ghost stories. Tales of witches and vampires in a macabre setting where they’re not the villains. The Addams Family fits the Paranormal Fantasy, as does Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, The Phantom of the Opera, Hotel Transylvania, most Scooby-Doo! media, Beetlejuice, the Halloweentown movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or Hocus Pocus. Basically, if it could be a child-friendly Halloween story, or was made by Tim Burton, it’s probably Gothic Fantasy. I guess you could also call this Monster Fantasy, Gothic Fantasy, or Spooky Fantasy.

CONTMPORARY FANTASY

The setting is medieval with castles and princesses, but there’ll also be modern conveniences or nods to pop culture in the land and setting. Dave the Barbarian is a good example of this. The royal family are all barbarians (which basically just means vague warriors that wear fur loincloths), but then they also have malls, and Dave made a megaphone out of a squirrel, some string, and a megaphone. Shrek does this too, especially in Far Far Away with nods to Starbucks and Burger King, among other modern franchises. Disenchantment also uses this as a basis for comedy. Typically, Contemporary Fantasy only uses modern conveniences in a medieval setting as more or less sight gags, punchlines, or to poke fun of corporations and consumerism. These are also the fantasy stories most likely to reexamine tropes and shine a critical light on the genre, whether by showing the farm-boy turned king being royally inept, the mental issues caused by locking the princess in a tower for years of her life, or how quickly princesses married the first man that came along without so much as a conversation beforehand.

URBAN FANTASY

The wizard has a smartphone, the prince has a Grindr, and the city watch patrol the streets on motorcycles. A standard fantasy world has come to the modern age, with skyscrapers, internet, cars, and cellphones. The familiar world gives the audience a firmer foot to ground themselves in this sort of story, compared to something set in the past, but it has its own hurdles. Namely, a modern world still needs a rich history. You also need a story that can’t be solved with a gun and an internet connection. Urban Fantasy is a very broad genre, from Hidden World Fantasy like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter, to Merged World Fantasy like RWBY. There’s also some head scratchers like the Warriors Cats books. It’s definitely Urban Fantasy. A cat society living in the forest is a fantasy, and the story is set in our modern contemporary world. But labeling the series beyond Urban Fantasy is where it gets tricky. Isekai borders on Urban Fantasy, as the magical overlaps with the modern world. The Magic Treehouse and the Arthur Spiderwick Chronicles are two great examples of Urban Fantasy in children’s literature. Goosebumps is Urban Horror Fantasy.

ISEKAI FANTASY

These are stories in which an ordinary human (or group of humans) are transported to another world in order to learn a lesson, grow, and come back home wiser, stronger, and ready to face the problems they ran away from. The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and Wendy, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as movies like Stardust, Coraline, and Spirited Away, or TV shows like Over the Garden Wall, The Owl House, and Amphibia are all prime examples of this type of story. The Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent example because as the series goes on, the older Pevensee children stop needing to go back to Narnia. By Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter and Susan have learned all they need to from the other world, and don’t go back, leaving only Edmund and Lucy to go with their cousin instead. Because their arcs are over, they have no reason to return.

ROMANCE FANTASY

It’s a romance novel with supernatural elements. Usually, it’s a human falling in love with something inhuman, which we often call Paranormal Romance. However, this can also include stories of a fairy falling in love with a dwarf, so there’s a wider net here. This isn’t just a story with a romantic subplot, this is your Romeo and Juliet type love stories. Your Beauty and the Beast retellings. The romance is the main plot, and the supernatural elements simply make the romance more exciting or the problems of the couple more entangled in cultural baggage. Obviously, Twilight is a popular example, as is The Cruel Prince, The Captive Prince, and Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay.

MAGITECH FANTASY

This is when a fantasy setting has magic-powered  technology. The guardians and Divine Beasts from Breath of the Wild are a fantastic example of Magitech in a medieval fantasy setting, as are the steam-powered automatons of the Dwemmer in The Elder Scrolls. The Legend of Korra sort of fits here. The world of Avatar has advanced to include airplanes, cars, and radios, none of which are powered directly by bending, but benders do work in power plants, performing lightning bending to generate electricity. It’s certainly a middle ground between steampunk and magitech fantasy. However, the world doesn’t have to necessarily include technology, any setting where magic is a power source for anything can work. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a great example of Magitech Fantasy. Eco is a natural magical resource that give magical powers and effects. So, having doors that open when exposed to the electrical energy of blue eco makes sense. And while it’s never stated, Jak II has many automatic doors in Haven City that may very well run on an electric power grid fueled by blue eco veins. But eco largely gets dropped in the sequel games in favor of guns, though the guns themselves may actually be powered by eco as well. So it’s hard to say. RWBY surprisingly fits into Magitech Fantasy. Like Eco, Dust is a magical natural resource that can be used to create magical effects. The world is full of airships, shape-changing weapons, bullets and other weapons being infused with dust to give them magical effects, and Penny, a definitely real girl.

GASLAMP FANTASY

This is what happens when Steampunk has just enough fantasy elements to land in the Fantasy section. Gaslamp Fantasy is any fantasy story set in the era of gaslamps, while still incorporating fantastical elements. Dracula, Springheel Jack, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula, basically, as long as it’s set in a Victorian setting and has supernatural elements, it counts as Gaslamp Fantasy. However, it’s definitely one of the less popular subgeneres, and I couldn’t really name any others.

WUXIA

I decided to do my own prompts for some extra inspiration. A yandere one, and a monster one. You may of course use them as you wish, there are no rules. Pick some, pick none, in any or no order. Go wild! You can use these prompts for either drawing, writing, or any other creative activity.

If you do end up going for some of these ideas, feel free to let me know/tag me. I'm just very curious, since I never did something like this before and I'd love to see how it works out. 😭

*For local folklore, I thought it’d be nice if people introduced us to some of their own monsters and creatures, since those are less known. Call it a monstrous cultural exchange if you want, heh.

As in, extremely short

Border by @cafekitsune

Notes: School crush, school life, fem!protagonist, masc!crush, pastel girl x goth boy, supportive best friend

The boy who sat across me in the room was called Jan. He was lean and fair, tall and dandy. Jan likes to dress in all black, occasionally putting on hints of red or white or both as highlight. Everything he wears is what one described as edgy or gothic, except for his glasses, which are more suited to an academia look. Yet, his outfits overall are very practical-looking.

Jan is the cutest boy I have ever met.

I couldn't simply walk up to him and attempt to make conversation. One issue is that we were not in the same class, so we didn't know each other very well. Sometimes we would chat a for a little while since we both are into the same video game, but things did not go beyond that.

Oftentimes, I avoid Jan so that he wouldn't start feeling uncomfortable around me. If I talked to him all the time, he might get a hint and he avoids me instead. That hurts more than me being the one to let go of him sometimes.

I watched him from my spot near the emergency exit. He was having a lively conversation with his seatmate. I tried my best to hide my chuckle every time the corners of his lips turned upwards and the sides of his eyes would crinkle with joy. Being a guy with a gothic sense of style did not hinder Jan from being emotionally vibrant.

I suddenly felt an arm sling around my shoulders. "Admiring Jan again?" its owner teased.

I giggled for a short bit. "Shush please... people might hear."

The person who sneaked up to me was Sheila, one of my best friends. She was also close friends with Jan, so she was one of the first people whom I told my crush about. If anyone is able to sympathize with me, it would be Sheila. Plus, she wasn't into Jan because she was fixated on her own crush, who is a popular artist.

Sheila followed my line of sight. "Amazing how he hasn't caught you staring yet."

"He's too busy talking with Gale. Must be fun to have a seatmate whose musical talent is the same as yours," I answered.

Sheila gave me a pointed look. "But you're good at piano."

I let out a tiny laugh. "I've been learning for just three years so far. Jan's been learning since he was a toddler."

"Yeah but that's no excuse for you to downplay your talent." That made me blush a bit, so I turned my head to Sheila and said a little thanks. I only became even redder when I heard Jan stand up from his seat and walk out the room.

Oh man, I thought as Sheila and I proceeded to stand by the door to await his return, but then I caught sight of the clock. It read two minutes before the next class I needed to attend.

"Sorry, I have to go," I said to Sheila, giving an action of goodbye.

"See you later!" she replied, returning the gesture.