haikujitsu:

kingdomoftyto:

So, Phantom of Truth. 

I just finished reading this Phandom classic, this 350,000+-word dramatic epic, all the way through for the first time. It makes me about a year late to the party, I realize, but in case there are any other Danny Phantom fans out there who haven’t gotten around to reading it yet, I want to take a second to shine the spotlight on this fic one more time.

The first fic in this duology is, frankly, almost flawless as a standalone. The simple premise of “what if the government actually managed to catch Phantom and experiment on him?” is explored to its fullest and most horrifying extent. The story is told from the perspective of Maddie, tasked with leading the research on the unusual “specimen” as a consultant for the GIW, and the reader is dragged helplessly along down a psychological spiral of horror. Danny refuses to reveal his double identity, and Maddie refuses to budge in her convictions. Just when you think things can’t possibly get worse, Dr. Fenton rationalizes her way to another, crueler experiment. Each time you dare to hope a real breakthrough is about to be made, miscommunication and cold, harsh reality slap you across the face.

It was incredible the first time I read it years ago, and reading it again in 2018 only made it more poignant and powerful. This fic about sci-fi gore and angst explores–in visceral detail–such varying topics as defining personhood; the philosophy of sentience and pain; the power imbalance between captors and captives; the ways those with power delude themselves into believing their actions are justified (the ways people–even people with good intentions–delude themselves); and the agony of terrible situations with no one person to blame.

It will disgust you. It will break your heart. It will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very last chapter. It’s absolutely phenomenal.

If you consider yourself a fan of the show, and you can stomach a bit of gore and a lot of pain, you owe it to yourself to read this fic.

And the sequel? If you’ve read the first fic, suffice it to say you’ll want to read the 300k words of fallout. You won’t need an argument from me to convince you. But just in case, I’ll throw in my two cents and say that it lives up to every raw, excruciating inch of its predecessor–all while expanding its scope to include a massive cast and a slow, believable tale of consequences and recovery. The pain and impossible inner conflicts are just as present in this story, but the small victories along the way are more than enough to keep the reader cheering everyone on and stubbornly hoping for a happy ending alongside the heroes. A happy ending brilliant author HaiJu is more than willing to provide, if one sticks with the story to the very end. 

Please read this fic. You won’t regret it.

I needed to read this today, thank you.