#apparently i listened to fall out boy for 900 minutes

[no-i-didnt-notice-im-short]

My Spotify Wrapped summary:

You are Depressed and Queer. 

Also get a life, you listen to too much music.

#apparently i listened to fall out boy for 900 minutes #great #:) #fall out boy #harry styles #broadway #hamilton #hsm #disney #Panic! at the Disco #twenty one pilots

[nikibogwater]

What did you think of Nari's characterization in ROTT?

Disliked it, as with most of the other things in the movie.

The short version of it is this: In Wizards, Nari's primary character traits were empathy and compassion for others. In Rise of the Titans, her primary character traits seem to be just a general lack of awareness for what's happening around her, and a tendency to make light of very serious situations.

Now before I get into the long-form answer, I will preface by saying that the writers of RotT were at a severe disadvantage when writing for characters who were introduced in Wizards because Wizards was still in production at the time. So I understand why Nari ended up feeling like a completely different character in the movie, and I am not shaming anyone for it. But the fact of the matter is that I found her characterization in Wizards to be much more appealing, and if that characterization had carried over to Rise of the Titans, I think I would've had slightly warmer feelings towards the movie. But let's get down to brass tacks now, because I've actually been dying to talk about this. This is gonna be a loooooong boi, so I've put everything under the cut to avoid clogging people's queues (I'm just really passionate about this bean goddess, okay? 😅)

When Nari is introduced to us in Wizards, she is quietly watching the arrival of our heroes at the castle. She doesn't make herself known to them, but it is clear she is very interested in what's happening. She does not make any other appearance until the Arcane Order launches their assault on Camelot.

Nari's first spoken words are, "Merlin! This is all my fault!" and as one would expect after hearing this, she is very obviously distressed and feeling guilty for putting everyone in danger. Merlin tells her they need to escape to the past, and that he needs her help in order to do it. Nari's response is to begin charging her magic as she says "I will do what I can."

After our main characters are thrown back in time, we're introduced to Nari as she was in the past. Although she is allied with the Arcane Order in their war against humanity, it's clear that she displays the least amount of malice out of the three. In fact, it's revealed that Nari has always been rather fond of humans, and has even reached out to them in friendship a number of times. After resurrecting Morgana, Nari is the one who does most of the explaining and introductions, showing a bit of a playful/mischievous side as she pokes fun at Bellroc and Skrael. ("I told you she would, Skrael! So old, and they still haven't learned manners.")

During the Battle of Killahead, we see Nari watching the war from a distance, and it's clear from the expression on her face that she is not liking any of this. Though she does briefly aid her siblings when they join in the battle, she reveals afterwards that she can sense the pain and suffering they have inflicted on others--and she doesn't believe the Order's ambitions are worth that. She abandons the Order, presumably spending the next 900 years in hiding, before seeking Merlin's protection.

Once our heroes have returned to the present, Nari becomes a bit more involved in the plot. She expresses genuine sorrow over the destruction of Arcadia Oaks High ("Your beautiful school-home was crushed!") and is clearly distressed by Jim's agony as the shard in his chest begins to work its dark magic. ("Poor soul! Your corruption...I feel it worsening.") After Jim is taken by the Order, we can see her comforting Toby in the background. She continues to show great concern and empathy for the people around her, and is still eager to help wherever she can, though her magic doesn't seem to be combat-oriented. She is also shown to be somewhat timid, hiding behind Merlin or Claire during confrontations with the Order--she is very clearly terrified of her old allies, and seems to want to avoid direct contact with them. When Douxie is struck down by the Order and is falling to his death, it is Nari who runs to try to save him before anyone else--apparently, if someone is in need, Nari's first instinct is to rush to their aid.

So, from all of that, we can gather that Nari, as she was characterized in Wizards, is intelligent, curious, cautious, gentle, empathetic, and very aware of what's going on around her. She is also a little playful and wild, but never to the point of disregarding what's happening or how others are feeling.

In Rise of the Titans, Nari remains consistent with this characterization for all of...seven minutes.

Initially, Nari is still very much herself in this scene (though I wish we could've been told what exactly made her want to stop running and face the Order head-on. Again, in Wizards, it was abundantly clear that that was the one thing she did NOT want to do). When Douxie expresses his anxiety about the situation, she takes him by the hand, offers him a reassuring smile, and says, gently but firmly, "No. No more running, Douxie." Excellent interaction. 10/10. Five stars. That's also the only time in the movie where Nari displays any level of awareness regarding Douxie's (or anyone's) feelings/wellbeing.

The body-swap scene is when Nari's character just completely swings in the opposite direction, and she becomes near-unrecognizable as being the same character from Wizards. Douxie, being our favorite Self-Sacrificing Idiot, swaps bodies with her at the last possible second, causing the Order to take him instead. Nari, now stuck inside Douxie's body, seemingly doesn't think much of this development at all. In fact, her first response is to giggle playfully. UM, NARI. NARI, SWEETIE, YOUR BIG BROTHER IS IN THE CLUTCHES THE MOST EVIL BEINGS KNOWN TO MANKIND. LIKE, THEY LITERALLY KILLED HIM THE LAST TIME HE RESCUED YOU FROM THEM, WHY ARE YOU NOT MORE WORRIED ABOUT THIS?! Up until this point, Nari has never been shown to underestimate the Arcane Order--she seems all too aware of the kind of violence and destruction they are capable of, which explains why she was so terrified of them in Wizards. But in Rise of the Titans she seems to just....not really care anymore? The entire time she is in Douxie's body, she doesn't express the slightest amount of concern for him, or for anyone around her. She just keeps doing...cutesy forest gremlin things, like singing to her flower, batting at a light fixture, and antagonizing Archie (she's definitely not the only character who was severely lacking in empathy in this movie, but this is an essay about Nari, so I'm not going to bother touching on everyone else). This is a direct contradiction to her characterization in Wizards, where she was shown to care deeply for the people around her, and displayed genuine distress whenever they were in danger or suffering.

Nari also persists in being pointlessly cryptic for the entirety of the movie because....reasons. Before the Order breaks Douxie's body-swap spell, she tells Jim, "Trollhunter make ninth configuration--the Kronosphere will make right." Which, of course, doesn't help him in the slightest. And when they finally succeed in rescuing Nari, she doesn't elaborate or explain this at all. She just says it again. Listen, I can get behind Nari being Insanely Ancient, and maybe a little out of touch with modern trends, but I'm fairly certain that Wizards Nari at least knew how to communicate. She never showed any inclination towards being cryptic or mysterious on purpose, at least. We're never given any explanation for Nari's sudden lack of clarity, so I guess it was just there for plot reasons. Which makes it that much more infuriating.

Also I don't know why, but the little "Hehe!" Nari does when Douxie pulls her into a hug kind of grinds my gears, because Nari, love, this is a really serious moment, you were just snapped out of mind control and your siblings are currently rampaging across globe in giant magical mechs, why are you giggling like a four-year-old and not, idk, SOBBING IN A MIXTURE OF RELIEF AND HORROR BECAUSE YOU WERE ALMOST PART OF WHAT DESTROYS THE EARTH?! AS THAT WOULD BE A MORE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO WHAT JUST HAPPENED????!!!!! But that's just a stupid little nitpick.

Now this is not me saying that Nari's characterization in the movie is objectively bad. Actually, it's kind of fitting for the Tales of Arcadia brand of humor--Super ancient demigoddess who houses the power to completely destroy the earth is also kind of a clueless ditz and needs to be babysat like a toddler. If she had not been introduced in Wizards, I would've been fine with this. But, much like the rest of the movie, Nari's vastly different characterization felt a tiny bit like a betrayal, and it consistently bothered me in every single one of her scenes. It also kept me from feeling the full impact of her death--seriously, I didn't cry at all when she was killed. Which....yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are.

So anyways, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for the ask, Non! Normally I have a bit more self control than to just....essay-dump like this, but honestly I've been thinking about this for way too long, and I had to get it out of my system. 🥴 And to anyone who really liked Nari's characterization in RotT--that's totally valid! Again, I don't think it was a bad characterization. It was just very inconsistent with her character as she was introduced to us in Wizards. And I just happen to prefer Wizards Nari over RotT Nari. 🌿✨

#tales of arcadia #toa #rise of the titans #rott spoilers #toa nari #niki answers #long post

[nalgenewhore]

A rogue storm had her presumed dead and stranded on the red planet. Left on her own, astronaut Aelin Galathynius has four years to make it to the next drop-site, some two thousand miles. Armed with her smarts and dwindling supplies, Aelin attempts to survive on an inhospitable planet, when the nearest help is only millions of miles away.

masterlist - ao3 - last chapter - next chapter 

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Aelin carefully filled a container of water and walked it to her garden, pouring it over the crops and repeating the process until each little plant had been watered.

A camera had been set up in her garden so she spoke to it, still speaking as though TNSB couldn’t hear her or see her every move. “Now that everyone can talk to me, they never want to shut up.” She kissed the leaf of the smallest plant, smiling down at it and whispering a soft word of encouragement.

“They’ve even got a whole team micromanaging my crops. Which is just great,” she added sarcastically. Aelin and the botany team were not on the best of terms. “I don’t mean to sound arrogant,” she spread her arms, as if to say look at all of this, “but I am the best botanist on this planet.”

Aelin put the container down and dusted her hands, “In other news, they want me to pose for a picture. I’m debating between ‘High School Prom’,”’ she posed with her hands elbows bent and hands clasped over her stomach, “or ‘Happy College Student On A Pamphlet’,” she hooked her thumbs through imaginary backpack straps, pasting on a gloriously fake grin. “I’m not sure how it’ll all convey with my spacesuit on, but we’ll figure it out.”

Aelin laughed to herself and walked out to the kitchen area, now addressing the camera by the microwave, “Another cool thing about this communication business: email! I get a big data dump, like when I was on The Lani and stuff. Athletes, academics, musicians and even the prime minister too. But the coolest, the single coolest email I got was from my alma mater, the University of Orynth. They tell me that once you’ve grown crops somewhere, you’ve officially ‘colonized’ it.” A cocky grin overtook her features, “So I colonized Farnor. Suck it, TNSB botany team,” she stuck her tongue out before fetching her suit to take her photo.

 +*+*+*+*+*+*

Asterin was in stitches as she looked at the picture Aelin had sent. The golden-haired astronaut was mid-jump, her legs bent and her arms stretched up to the sky and she could make out the huge grin splitting the woman’s face. “Oh, this is so like her,” she murmured, tracing an iron nail over the photo. “This – I can use.”

“Good,” Weylan said, already on to the next topic. He addressed Sartaq and Gavriel on the screen, “Sartaq, is your team still on schedule.”

The man looked beat, a certain bleakness in his eyes, “It’ll be tight, but we’ll make it.”

“Make sure you do.” He tapped the table, “Nine-month flight puts us at day 868. Did we get the Botany Team’s assessment?”

Gavriel nodded, “They estimate her crops will last her until day 900. They resentfully admit Aelin’s doing a remarkable job.”

“Resentfully?” Manon questioned, arching a manicured brow.

“Yes, um, Aelin has a tendency to tell them to go have sex with themselves whenever they disagree with her or question her method. Either that or she tells them she’s the best botanist on Farnor and therefore she doesn’t have to listen to mediocre scientists,” Gavriel told them, a slight wince on his face.

The director of TNSB just shook his head, “Get her in line. We can’t have any miscommunications.” He turned to Manon and Asterin, who were both badly hiding their amused grins. “Food gets there at 868, hers lasts until 900…I hate this margin.”

“And that’s assuming nothing goes wrong,” commented Manon, ever-so helpfully.

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Aelin grabbed her toolkit and wedged it under her arm as she walked to the airlock, going out to do some late-night modifications on the rover.

Something was niggling in the back of her mind, but she paid it no heed, just wanting to do her work and sleep like the dead after whatever meager dinner she could scrounge up. She was running out of ketchup and she dreaded the day that she was forced to eat plain cooked potatoes.

A yawn grew in her and her eyes watered, gods above, she just wanted to sleep.

When one was stranded on a desolate, slumber was a fickle thing. Aelin’s eyes grew heavy as she pulled the airlock handle down.

All she heard was a ripping sound going along the canvas of the airlock before she was airborne, an explosion catapulting her and the tunnel far far away.

A strangled, panicked cry escaped her as she was battered and flung around the airlock as it flew through the air and crashed, her helmet crashing into something and she heard a cracking sound, closing her eyes on instinct.

The canvas tube rolled too many times for her to count until eventually it stopped and Aelin sat up, alarms blaring in her helmet.

It was cracked.

Fuck, it was cracked, a little hole where the polycarbonate-plexiglass had been chipped free. The beeping didn’t stop and Aelin fought to keep her breathing under control as she scrambled to her feet and wrenched the duct tape free, ripping off a length and taping it across the longest crack and then another across it.

Her toolkit had spilled everywhere and she grabbed a sharp screwdriver, stabbed it into the fabric of the airlock and yanked it down, creating a big enough rip for her to stumble out of.

Aelin could hardly see past the duct tape and she spun around, desperately looking for the hab and then sprinting, tripping countless times in her mad dash.

She stepped foot in and saw… her crops, destroyed beyond recognition.

Her lifeline was destroyed and Aelin gasped, her throat tight as she staggered out. She couldn’t stay here tonight and no good would come if she attempted to fix anything now.

Making her way to the rover, tears dripped down her cheeks until violent sobs were ripping from her throat and chest. She stumbled over a pile of rocks and fell to her knees, her gloves digging into the red dirt. There was no other answer; Aelin was going to die here alone.

A scream tore from her and soon enough, she was cursing the gods, “Where are you?! Why do you fail me time and time again?!” Her throat was raw and on fire. Her voice cracked, “Somebody save me.”

But no one answered her calls, not as she stayed there, kneeling in the sand, the reality of everything crashing down on her. There was no hope left, no bright and beautiful feeling.

The gods had never been there for her. Never.

Not when her parents died in that car wreck, not when she had to protect little Elide when she herself needed protecting, not when they made her fall for a heartless and cruel bastard, who carried a chip on his shoulder, going through life thinking no one had it as hard as he did.

It was stupid and childish to think they would save her now.

 +*+*+*+*+*+*

The mood in Mission Control was somber, nobody daring to speak as Nox read off the message Aelin had sent. “…crops are dead. Complete loss of pressure sterilized the soil and boiled off whatever was left in the water reclaimer…”

The only upside was that Aelin had managed to store away buckets of water and didn’t have to worry about that. “How long does she have,” Asterin asked.

“Well, she can still eat the potatoes she has. We estimate about two-hundred days.”

“Rations get her to what? Day four-ten?”

“Yes, so with potatoes, she can stretch to six-ten.”

“Prelim calculations call for a four-hundred-day round trip.”

 “By day 868 she’ll be long dead,” said Manon, her face emotionless. Her eyes narrowed and she sucked on her teeth, “It’s day one-thirty-five right now, we need thirteen to mount the boosters and do inspections… which give RPL forty-seven days to make the probe. Darkness above, gods damn it.”

“How long does it usually take?”

Gavriel answered Nox, his voice defeated, “Six months.”

Weylan spoke to Gavriel, already standing and doing his suit jacket up, “I’ll let you tell Sartaq and his team.”

 +*+*+*+*+*+*

Fenrys was sitting in front of The Lani’s communications computer, typing an email to Aelin. TNSB had finally given them the ok to speak with her and only Fenrys had been up to the task.

Dearest G-Money, he wrote, laughing quietly to himself, Apparently, TNSB deemed it appropriate for us to talk to you and I drew the short straw. Sorry we left you on Farnor, we don’t like you very much and we were all tired of you hogging shower times. The downside is we have to rotate through your tasks, but it’s only dirt (not real science). How’s Farnor?

 +*+*+*+*+*+*

Aelin was crying as she read Fenrys’ email. Oh, how she missed them, so terribly. The day had been a long one, one where it seemed she couldn’t stop the tears even as she fixed the mess that had been made.

She didn’t think she’d ever been as heartbroken as when she was clearing out her ruined garden and dumping the dead plants outside. After she spent a few minutes mourning all her work, thinking to herself that the botany team would be thrilled she had finally failed, she got busy – covering the hole made in the hab by taping over a plastic tarp she would no longer need now that the greenhouse was useless.

The wind was making it flutter and flap, but it would hold as she replied to her friend.

My most beloved Fenny,

Farnor is fine. How’s The Lani? Cramped, with those two broody men? I accidentally blew up the hab, but fortunately, all your movies were spared which means tonight I’m going to eat plain potatoes and watch Mulan.

Everyday I go outside and look at the vast horizon, just because I can and guess what, I officially colonized Farnor.

I hope the girls are going easy on you poor boys, I know they can be rather ruthless when it comes to board and card games.

Say hello to the others and tell Lorcan that I’m gonna beat his ass if he’s still blaming himself.

After a few minutes, she read his typed reply, just two words, Will do.

Aelin did indeed watch Mulan as she ate her dinner and then, she got up, licking her plate clean and walking it to the sink before she sat down in front of her laptop once more, opening the video journal.

She wished so badly that she could be doing anything other than this, but enough was enough. She wasn’t a child and could no longer put this off. She owed it to herself and to her crew.

“Manon, it’s currently day one-thirty-six, around nine PM. I have a favour to ask of you, and I’m sending these to you, only you, because you’re the only one who will understand. Thank you for everything you did and thank you-“ her voice broke, “thank you for being my friend.”

Aelin took a second, her eyes shut as tears slipped past her lashes, “I want you to send these to the crew in case I don’t make it, ok?”

It took a lot to decide to send these, but Aelin pushed through, addressing the first one to Nesryn.

“Faliq… thank you for being you. Every day spent with you is one I cherish, because I love you so much. Thank you for getting me hooked on The Anatolia Story; it’s addictive. I’ve read fourteen out of twenty-eight volumes and I can’t wait to finish it, but I’m trying to ration them. I won’t forgive you for liking Twilight. Take good care of my goddaughter and your wife. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you guys. Every day I miss you.”

The rest of the letters went the same way, with her saying her last goodbye to her family. Every word had her throat growing tighter and tighter, until only Elide and Rowan were left. She didn’t know what to say to him, how to tell him she loved him so when she would be dead too soon.

Hot tears were streaming down her face and she looked crazy as she spoke to Elide.

“Ellie-Boo. I-“ she sobbed once and covered her mouth, “I love you so so much. To infinity and beyond,” referencing the movie that had their obsession with outer-space beginning, Toy Story. “There’s too much to say to you. You’re my person, baby girl. Without you, I would’ve probably wound up in a ditch somewhere. I want you to have the biggest wedding and a dress with enough sequins so that I can see it in the Afterworld. You are not allowed to be sad, no tears, Elide. I mean it. My funeral better be so much better than the one TNSB had – boooring!” Aelin smiled cheekily and then grew serious, the redness from her crying making the turquoise of her eyes pop. “Be happy, my darling sister. Because guess what, you and me? More than anything, we deserve to know happiness and you’re going to have to take my happy too. I love you, to infinity and beyond.” She pressed a kiss to her fingertips and touched the screen.

The letter she dreaded having to dictate was staring her in the face and Aelin stood up, walking around in circles as she attempted to order her thoughts. Eventually, she sat down, “…Rowan. I… there’s a lot to say, but I won’t ever be able to stop crying if I say everything. Basically, I love you. I don’t know how or when or even why, but I do. I’m completely in love with you, buzzard. And I wish I hadn’t been such a coward to keep it all to myself all this time. I wish that we could’ve been together and in the next life, I will find you and I will not be scared of it, ok? I will find you again and I will not be afraid.” 

She couldn’t say another thing and ended the video, sitting and staring at the wall until she finally fell asleep.

+*+*+*+*+*+*

an: that wasn’t a very nice chapter huh....anyhoo! comment/send me an ask to be added or removed from the tag list! thank you for reading darlings 

@mythicaitt @kandasboi @schmlip-scribble @the-regal-warrior @westofmoon @empire-of-wildfire @rhysands-highlady @city-of-fae @shyvioletcat @alifletcher2012 @tangledraysofsunshine @ttakeitbacknoww @tswaney17 @ourbooksuniverse @flora-and-fae @thesirenwashere​ @queenofxhearts​ @that-other-pineapple​ @sleeping-and-books​ @superspiritfestival​ @faerie-queen-fireheart​ @chemicha​ @rowaelin-cressworth​ @mynewdreamwasyou​ @candid-confetti​ @bat-wing-rhys​ @the-reading-obsessed-stitchbear​ @feyrethedarklady​ @booklover41802​ @rowaelinforeverworld​ @jamesxdaisy​ @julemmaes​ @hellas-himself​ 

#supernova #supernova chapter six #the martian au #rowaelin #rowan x aelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #elorcan #elide x lorcan #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #fenhemia #fenrys x nehemia #fenrys moonbeam #fenrys marama #nehemia ytger #neslys #nesryn x lysandra #nesryn faliq #lysandra ennar #evangeline #weylan darrow #gavriel aryeh #manon blackbeak #asterin blackbeak #sartaq dalavtchai #nox owens #isa writes #nalgenewhore

[p-artsypants]

Arcadia or Bust (16) Corner of Main and State

"Yeah, so mom…we made it to New Jersey, and we're all safe...but the Heartstone isn't really...impressive. So, we're bringing what we found home. See you soon!" In Which Arcadia welcomes back it's underground citizens, Jim gets used to mundane life as a Troll, and drama seeks them all out like a magnet.

Ao3 | FF.net

I’m rewatching Trollhunters, because it’s been like a year since I watched it, and the more I listen, the less the plot of Wizards makes sense to me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but there’s some lore and continuity issues. That being said, I’ll continue to write this story using Trollhunter’s lore primarily, with a sprinkle of Wizards and 3Below lore as I see fit. :)

—

Jim had been through a lot of trauma in his life. At least since becoming the Trollhunter. But nothing was as jarring as looking down to his chest and seeing his ribcage, muscles, and heart beating. 

They had taken the amulet from where it was nestled, and in return, left the gaping hole wide open, oozing with blood, and exposed. Could trolls get infections? Because humans certainly could, and this was just asking for infection. 

He had been lying here alone for a few hours now. It was hard to tell exactly how long in the vast passage of time while drenched in pain. 

When Colonel Kubritz appeared at his side, he wasn’t even surprised. Had he fallen asleep?

“How do you get this to work?” She bit. In her hand, she held the cleaned amulet, and it glowed, aching to be back with him. 

“You can’t. You have to be chosen by it. Even if I die, it will pick someone else. And it might not be you.” 

She slapped him for that, but it looked like it hurt her more than him, by the wince on her face. “Don’t give me that crap. Tell me how to work it!” 

“Just speak the incantation inscribed.”

“We already tried that.”

He shrugged. “That’s all it is.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Teach me to use it, and I’ll let you go home.” 

Jim sighed. It was pointless, but he may as well try. 

—

Claire rang the doorbell at the designated house. 

A surly man opened the door. “Yeah? What do you want? No solicitors! Unless you’re a girl scout…no, you’re too old. Are you with the tamale lady?” 

“Hello sir, I’m not here to sell anything, I actually came to ask about the car you had totaled a few days ago.”

“Are you here to hunt down that devil that flipped my baby?!” He gestured to the smashed in car in the driveway. It looked drivable, but one bump away from death. 

“Not quite...I’m actually here to fix it.” 

“Fix it? You want to fix that? My mechanic couldn’t even fix it! And you want to! What are you, 15?” 

“17, actually.” 

“I doubt you have the experience for this, little lady.” 

“Oh, I’m not a mechanic, I’m a sorceress.” 

“A what now?” 

“Sorceress, a witch! Do I have permission to fix your truck?” 

“Girlie, if you can fix my truck, I’ll owe you a huge favor.” 

“I was hoping you’d say that!” With a little skip, Claire went over to the truck and rested her hands on the hood. “Ad initium redire...” Her hands glowed purple, and pulsed against the metal, making it groan. Then it began to twist and crunch, popping out dents and welding pieces back together. 

The old man stood in shock as his beloved truck knit back together, and when she was done, it was in perfect condition. 

“How did—where did you—?!” He rounded the car, circling it like a vulture. “It’s perfect! You even took out that bump from years ago! You’re a miracle worker, girlie!” 

Claire fell on her butt on the driveway, dizzy and winded. “Glad to help.” 

“You alright?” 

“Just a little winded. I’m still getting used to using magic, especially without a staff. It’s exhausting.” 

“Well why don’t you take a seat up on the porch instead of the road? I’ll get you a beer.” 

“I’m seventeen.” 

“You’ve earned it!” 

Claire chuckled to herself and climbed to her feet. She followed the man up his steps and took a seat on the porch swing while he went inside. 

Only a minute later, he returned with beers in hand. “Here you are darlin’. Summertime ale. I’m partial to dark ale myself, but my neighbor got me this pale ale. It’s pretty good! You have a favorite?” 

Claire took a sip and tried to hide the grimace. “I don’t really get to drink very often, unless it’s a special occasion.” 

“Right right, we’ll keep it our little secret. Now then, I owe you a favor. You just saved me a whole chunk of change and a basket of anxiety. You must have something in mind since you offered?” He suddenly sat up straight. “Oh god, you don’t want my soul do you?” 

Claire snorted. “No no, you can keep your soul! Don’t know what I would do with it anyways...You know the boy that damaged your truck in the first place?” 

“I only saw a glimpse of him, that blue devil? What about him?” 

“He’s actually my boyfriend, and he’s really very sweet and usually not like this. But he was...fed something he shouldn’t have had and it made him go berserk.” 

“Crying shame.” 

“I’ll say! So the army came in and took him away! They wouldn’t listen to us at all!” 

“So what do you want me to do about it?” 

“We are going to run a campaign to get him out. Hopefully, if we get enough attention on the issue, they’ll let him go.” 

“Oh, I gotcha.” 

“So if you could just...spread the truth around town? He’s actually the one that stopped that troll invasion back at the beginning of summer.” 

The man looked surprised at that. “No kidding, that was him? Well, he’s a local hero! He’s been talked about a lot since then! Sure I’ll set the record straight! What’s this kid’s name?”

“Jim Lake Jr.” 

“Got it! Don’t worry, I’ll bring it up at the lodge, and the rotary, and the chess club...”

—

The phone was ringing, he had been successfully patched through. Strickler sat in his office after hours, wanting to make the call as private as possible. 

“Stricklander, I haven’t heard from you since the fall of the Janus order. What reason have you called on me?” 

“Can’t I just call an old friend to catch up?”

“You? No.”

Walt cracked a smile. “Fine. I need a favor.” 

“Changeling to changeling, or school principal to army general?” 

“The latter, actually.” 

The man on the other line laughed. “Color me intrigued.” 

“You know of the human Trollhunter, correct?”

“Just what you wrote in your dossier, a human male, 16 years old, lives in Arcadia Oaks, California, turned half-troll by the wizard Merlin. Responsible for the death of Bular and Gunmar. Quite a remarkable young soul. Is there anything else to know?”

“He’s been captured by the United States Army.”

The man let out half a chuckle. “Captured? What dumb trouble did he get into?”

“His deadbeat father left out some cocaine for the boy to find, he thought it was trash, and ate it.”

Distantly on the other line, there was laughter, a strong bark of laughter that lasted far too long. When he came back, he was calm. “How unfortunate.” 

“He’s a good kid. Why would there be a kilogram of cocaine in the trash anyways? I fail to see the humor in the situation.” 

“Of course. So, I assume, he went on a rampage following his meal, and then attracted the attention of some of us?” 

“So you haven’t heard about it?” 

“Not where I’m stationed. But give me a moment.” The line went silent, only a very distant and quiet tapping of keys on a keyboard being tapped. Then the man returned. “I’m glad you told me about this. This incident hasn’t been reported to our database. That shows evidence of misconduct. Did you get the name of the commanding officer responsible, by chance?” 

“Colonel Kubritz, I believe.” 

More typing. “Area 49-B.”

“That name was also passed around.” 

“Technically not my jurisdiction, and since she didn’t report it, I’m not supposed to know about it.”

“I’m afraid you will officially know about it soon.” 

“Oh?”

“His friends and family, myself included, are going to put on a protest for his freedom. Drawing attention to the situation.” 

That echoing laughter was back again. 

“It wasn’t my idea, in case you were wondering.” 

“I know, you wouldn’t come up with something so bold. Regardless, go ahead in through with it. I’ll make sure whatever protest happens gets brought to my superior’s attention, and then I will take it from there.” 

“Thanks. I will owe you one.” 

“Oh come now, Walter, we Changelings that survived the Fall of the Janus order have to stick together. Besides, I heard rumors that you’re caring for my familiar?”

“He’s still in the cradle stone, and the moment. One baby at a time, for now.” 

“Then we’re even. Besides, this is the most interesting thing that’s happened in a while. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

“Your kindness is refreshing. I’m glad Gunmar didn’t eat you.” 

“Gee, thanks.” 

“We’ll be in touch then, Samuel.” 

“Of course, Walter.” 

—

“How goes the car repair?” Asked Merlin, as he met up with Toby and Claire in the park. 

“Ugh, exhausting. First I stopped at the mechanics, and they’re still backed up with fixing other cars. Apparently, Gunmar’s army did a number and backed them up for months. But they gave me the names of all the clients who got totaled from Jim. I had to hit the scrap yard for four of them, and I just finished another two in driveways.” 

“How many does that leave you with?”

“Seven more,” she sighed. “How goes the road work?”

“It goes. Now come along, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” He didn’t wait for them to follow as he turned and started walking away. 

Sharing a dubious look, Toby and Claire quickly caught up with him. He led them to a bookstore, where a young man was sweeping outside. 

“Hisirdoux, my faithful and loyal apprentice—“

“You're damn straight I’m loyal!” He shouted. “Where have you been? I’ve been cleaning tables for the last 900 years!” 

“Calm yourself boy, I’m here now, aren’t I? And I need your help.” 

“Finally! What is it? Just say the word!”

“I need you to go with Miss Claire Nuñez and help her restore recently smashed vehicles.”

“What?”

“Or, you can repair street damage.” 

Douxie crossed his arms. “What is this? I saw what happened! There were trolls, and evidence of Morgana! And now you need my help? To clean up, several months later?”

“That is correct.” 

“Why didn’t you call for me back then?!”

“I forgot.” 

“You forgot? About me?”

“Oh come now, don’t take it personally. I was busy trying to prepare the Trollhunter to fight Gunmar. And get my magic back from Morgana.” 

Douxie seemed to become more sympathetic at that. “Morgana stole your magic?” 

“Yes, but it’s all in the past now. Everything is fine. Well, not really. Seems that the US Army has declared the Trollhunter as a menace to society. We must get the trust of the city on our side if we are to get them to trust us, and agree that his capture is unjust.” 

“Please,” said Claire. “We need all the help we can get.” 

Douxie sighed. “Alright. Afterwards, you’re training me again.” He gave Merlin a hard look. “And no amateur magic either. I’ve been doing the same drills for 900 years. I think I’m ready for more advanced work.”

“Oh, you will be. Starting with helping Miss Nuñez field her shadow magic.”

Douxie looked at her, in awe. “You’re practicing shadow magic? Truly?”

“It’s a recent development…”

“She took Morgana’s Skathe-Hrün, and wielded it without any training. Because of that she has a tether to Morgana in the Shadow realm, who has been teaching her ever so slightly. I’m not allowed to train her, but she could use the guidance of a Wizard in the physical realm. Do you understand Hisirdoux?” 

“I do, and I’ll be happy to teach her…I’m just…I’ll need a moment or two to digest the sentence you just said.” 

“Well, don’t take too long, we have a Trollhunter to rescue!” 

—

There was a heavy knock on the door, which was never a good thing. Especially nowadays. 

Still, Barbara went to the door. 

Standing there was Detective Scott and James Lake Sr. 

“Does this belong to you?” Asked the detective. 

“I don’t claim him, no.” 

Her almost ex-husband smiled at her, pleadingly, “Please Babs?” 

“What is he even doing out? You arrested him!”

“About that…” Detective Scott winced. “We don’t have enough to keep him on.” 

“What!” She shouted. “He confessed in front of a bunch of people!”

“Which would be helpful if we had a case for a trial. But as it stands, he doesn’t actually have any drugs on him. And we don’t have a confession on tape. So…we’re shit out of luck.” 

“Oh come on Louis, you know the cocaine came from him! Where else would Jim have gotten it from?” 

“Look, the chief’s not thrilled that we didn’t arrest the guy responsible for trashing the town, but we’re supposed to arrest someone else without evidence?” 

Barbara threw her hands up in the air. “With probable cause!” 

“That doesn’t work with drug dealers. He’s clean, Barbara. All the blood tests came back clean too.” 

“Ugh.”

The house shook slightly, and Barbara felt the floor bow behind her. “Is there a problem, officer?” Asked Draal. 

“Nothing you can help with, Draal. Thank you.” Barbara sighed. “James is not being charged.” 

“But he is a criminal, this degenerate flesh bag poisoned the Trollhunter! He should face banishment for his crimes!” 

James withered a little with the glare Draal gave him. 

“Well,” said Officer Scott. “Maybe you can keep an eye on him from now on. If you have evidence that he is dealing, like physical traces of cocaine on the premises, call us. But for now, there’s not much else we can do.” 

“This is ludicrous.”

“I know, I’m sorry Barbara. How is Jim?”

She frowned. “You haven’t heard? The army came and collected him from the hospital!”

Louis sputtered. “The army came?!”

“Yes!”

“Where were they when Gunmar was terrorizing us?” He scoffed. “Again, sorry Barbara, I can’t help you here.” 

“It’s alright. We’ve got a plan.” 

“Love to hear it, but I’ve got to get back to the office. I’m sure Toby will tell Darci, and she’ll tell me. Good luck!” And he left James on the porch. 

“Babs, I’m sorry…” 

“Save it.” Barbara scoffed, but allowed him in the house. 

Draal never took his eyes off the man. 

“Well, you’ll be happy to know I have no more supply. And after Rudy found out what happened to my last Kilo, she’s not getting anymore for me. So…”

“I’ll have to thank Jim for keeping a kilogram of Cocaine off the streets of Arcadia. We have a fairly low rate of drug use around here, and we don’t need you to ruin people’s lives.” 

James sighed, knowing he had dodged a huge bullet by being let off the hook. He’d rather deal with his wife than with his ex-associates in jail any day. “I think I’ve still ruined people’s lives anyway.” He walked into the living room, only to halt at the signs on the table. 

Release Jim Lake Jr. 

Justice for Jim

Let Lake Go!

“Babs, what is all this?”

“That’s part of our plan to free Jim! I’m friends with the councilwoman, and she suggested that we campaign for his release. Bringing a lot of unwanted attention onto his capture will stir the government to let him go!”

James jutted out his jaw, a sign of barely concealed rage. An expression Barbara had grown very used to in the last few months. “So, you’re going to put his name—my name in the news? You’re going to broadcast what city we live in?” 

“Yes.” 

He whirled on her, grabbing her arm. “Babs, people are looking for me! Horrible, mean, and ruthless people! If you put his name out there, they’ll know where to look!” 

“All the better! Then they can come take you off my hands!” 

“You don’t understand! I owe them a lot of money, and they’ll take it anyway they can! That includes extorting you, Jim, and whoever else they connect with me!” 

Draal stepped in, removing his hand from Barbara’s arm. “This house is under my protection. If anyone dare tries to enter, they will be dealt with swiftly.”

“You don’t know what these men are capable of.” 

“I assure you, I’ve decimated armies of flesh bags in my day. These men are no different.”  

Barbara smiled. “If you’re really that scared, I hear Vermont is lovely this time of year.” 

James just narrowed his eyes, before storming out of the room.

—

The first rally took place from 3pm to dusk, starting from after school, and leading up to when Trolls would be able to participate. Granted, it was only a handful of people, but standing in the middle of downtown did garner a lot of attention. More than a dozen people walking past had stopped to ask about the cause. They were then given a short synopsis of the situation, as it pertained to them:

“Jim is a 16 year old student who was chosen by the trolls to be our protector. He willingly gave up his humanity to defeat Gunmar the Black, the monstrous troll that attacked the city at the beginning of the summer. Now, he looks like a troll, and was sabotaged to go into a rage and damage the city. The US army took him away without a trial! He’s a hero to the city, and deserves fair treatment!”

Reactions ranged from: 

“Oh, he stopped that thing?”

To:

“Oh my god! He’s just a child!” 

Overwhelmingly, there was no negative feedback, at least in person. But it was only day one. 

—

“This daylight...is it significant?” The colonel asked, as she circled his table. 

“It’s just a name.” Jim lied. “A sword with a name is stronger than one without.” 

“Interesting. Interesting indeed. According to my notes, trolls turn to stone in daylight. Any correlation there?” 

So she already knew? Then what was the point? Was she just playing with him?

“I’m the Trollhunter, and I fight bad trolls. It would make sense to name my sword after something they’re afraid of.” 

She hummed. “And what about you?” 

“What about me?” 

“Are you afraid of daylight?” 

“Why would I be?” 

The colonel laughed. “Oh Jim Lake Jr. You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met. You are honest and forthcoming with truths that work in your favor. You freely told me of your transformation, and of your victory against a Troll tyrant. But now that I’m edging on the topic of your weakness, you clam up and give me vague answers. I can do this all day, beast. What does daylight do to you?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t do anything to me.” 

“Really? Even as a troll? That’s interesting.” 

“It’s fortunate.” 

“I would say so. Though, now you’ve got me curious. These burns on your skin…where did they come from?” She dragged her fingernail over one of the dark marks.

Jim winced. “I don’t know. I wasn’t aware in my rage state.”

“Then you won’t mind if I find out for myself?” She crooked a finger towards the shadows. Jim could hear the creak of wheels before a lamp with several fixtures was wheeled forward. 

“Oh no…”

“UV lights, all different wattages. Let’s see what works the best, hmm?”

—

ARCADIA TRIBUNE

Justice for Jim

By Nadja Chamack 

Who is Jim Lake Jr. anyway? This is a question I asked myself as I drove downtown three days ago. No doubt, you’ve seen the crowd of students and teachers holding signs on the corner of Main and State Street. It’s pretty hard to miss, quite honestly. Among the students, there’s also Councilwoman Nuñez, and resident Troll Mascot, ARRRGH! Signs range from ‘Justice for Jim’ to ‘Free our Lake’. 

But who is Jim Lake Jr.? And what happened? A precursory search on my end showed only a scant few facts. Jim is a student at Arcadia Highschool, in his Junior year. He was nominated as Spring Fling King last year, and played the part of Romeo in the school play. His criminal record seemed pretty clean too. A misdemeanor for scratching a rental scooter was all that showed up. But hey, who hasn’t done that?

So I went to the source, his family and friends campaigning for him. On Saturday, the group was downtown, campaigning all day long, so I had the chance to interview each and every person about why they were there.

Turns out, Jim Lake Jr. might be the most amazing person in Arcadia. 

From his mother, Dr. Barbara Lake, I learned that Jim is an Arcadia native, born and raised here. He enjoys cooking gourmet food, working on his vespa, and acting. 

Oh, and he’s the first human Trollhunter. 

What? You’ve never heard of a Trollhunter? Me neither. But Barbara and Blinky, another resident Troll, gave me the scoop. 

You all remember that night at the beginning of the summer that we all promised not to talk about? Well, I’m going to talk about it. In fact, I’m here to give you all the answers you’ve been craving. 

Many months before that fateful night, a new Trollhunter was chosen, after the previous one had perished. “The Trollhunter is chosen according to his mettle, by the amulet of the Trollhunter, as created by Merlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend. Jim was chosen after the fall of Kanjigar, his predecessor. Jim is the first human to be chosen, also the smallest and weakest. But, he was the first to defeat Bular, son of Gunmar!” Said his mentor, Blinky. None of this made any sense to me at first, though it was said with great enthusiasm. 

It turns out, the trolls that we’ve gotten used to seeing around town, mostly ARRRGH, are ‘good’ trolls. The bad trolls, ‘Gum-gums’ are what invaded our town and destroyed my car. The Trollhunter’s whole job is to fight off these bad trolls, and gnomes, and goblins, and everything else that goes bump in the night. And so he did. The Gum-Gums invaded from the ‘Darklands’, being led by a fearsome troll named Gunmar the Black, the Skullcrasher, the Dark Lord…he had a lot of names, and it was obviously a bad dude. Gunmar had plans to invade the whole world by blotting out the sun, a.k.a the eclipse we saw. And he would have gotten away for it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids! 

Mainly Jim Lake Jr. and his friends. 

And how does a sixteen year old defeat a couple millennia old, bloodthirsty, all powerful tyrant? With a fancy sword? Close. With some magical armor? Closer. By giving up a part of his humanity and becoming a half-human, half-troll hybrid? Now you’re getting it! Yes, to protect Arcadia, to protect us, Jim Lake Jr. allowed himself to be changed. You may have seen him around town. Blue skin, big horns...okay, I just described most of the trolls that are around here. 

“Jim works the night shift at my store,” said Stu Harding, owner of Thrifty Furnishings. “He’s a very hard worker, and always willing to do the heavy lifting that is hard for the other employees to do.” 

“Despite his appearance, Jim ultimately decided to attend school,” said Principal Walter Strickler. “After the school found out about why he had missed so many days of school, they were willing to move him onto the next grade to be with his peers. He was a good student before all this, and he fought really hard to keep his grades up regardless. We felt he should still have the opportunity to graduate. We were looking forward to having him on our football team, and in our spring production of Beauty and the Beast.” 

So what happened to Jim? And why is there such a big campaign for his freedom?

Well, the truth is that Jim is a victim of unfortunate circumstances. In more ways than one, obviously. Trolls eat our trash. That’s why Arcadia has such a small carbon footprint! (Be sure to thank ARRRGH next time you see him!) And this trait was adopted by Jim too, when he was transformed. 

“He just picked a bunch of items out of the trash. Cans, an old sock, and what looked like a VHS wrapped in duct tape,” said Jim’s best friend, Toby Dolmzalski. “It was a normal lunch for him. But right in the middle of gym class, he turned crazy town banana pants and took off! I had never seen Jim act like that! Ever!” 

After an 8 hour rage through town, Jim collapsed and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. It turns out what Jim had ingested turned out to be a kilogram of pure cocaine! 

At this time, it is unknown where the cocaine came from, or if it was planted purposefully. (Seriously, who throws away a kilogram of cocaine?)

But the damage that Jim caused was extensive enough to catch the attention of the US army, who has taken Jim into captivity from the hospital. No trial, no rights, they even took him while he was unconscious. His friends and family have not heard from him since. 

“I’m so worried,” said girlfriend, Claire Nuñez. “He was injured from the battle with Gunmar, and didn’t completely heal. In the hospital, he was covered in burns from the sun. I have no idea if they’re caring for him properly, or dissecting him like some creature. But he deserves so much better than this. He saved our town, he saved my life, and the life of my baby brother. That’s why we won’t rest until he’s home!” 

“Not bad,” said ARRRGH, long time friend of Jim. “Good troll have bad days, best trolls have worse days. Jim need some good days.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself, ARRRGH. 

Friends and family of Jim are asking everyone share #JusticeforJim on social media, hoping to get the attention of someone in charge. All the damage caused by Jim has been repaired, and there were no casualties from his attack.  

Of course, the whole ‘troll’ aspect of this story has to be a local legend. So when sharing it to social media, kindly leave that part out.   

—

“C-Bomb!” Mary shouted from the other end of the hall. She came running and almost crashed into Claire and Toby, holding her phone up in the air. “My twitter feed is blowing up, girl! Look at all of this!” She held the screen up so they could see. 

“Citizen abducted by the government, is this China or North Korea? Neither! It’s the US! #JusticeforJim” 

“Imagine if this was your son. So sad, and so scary! #JusticeforJim”

“This is real life, not science fiction #JusticeforJim” 

“Whoa, where did these all come from?” Asked Claire. “What did you post?” 

“Did you know Snapper Karr did a report on it!?”

“Snapper Karr? From KTTV in LA?” 

“Yes! Thankfully, he left out the whole troll thing. I’ll send you a link. In his story, Jim is just a kid that has a rare genetic disorder that makes him look different, and so the government took him away!” 

Claire winced. “This is…kind of spiraling out of control.”

“I don’t know why you’re worrying, Claire,” said Darci. “We want people talking about Jim getting abducted. It doesn’t matter if the world outside Arcadia doesn’t have all the facts. They still know he’s been taken away without a trial, and that’s all that’s important. Besides, Jim doesn’t want the whole world knowing about Trolls, right?”

She nodded. “As long as this works, I’ll be happy.” 

“And sensationalist stories like this blow up for like a week, and then they die out and are forgotten. This won’t last.” Mary waved her hand. “It should work long enough to get Jimmy Jam out though.” Then she squealed. “OMG you know what we should do?! We should totally have a welcome home party! Or-or a parade! Like they have for veterans!” 

“Mary, I don’t think—“ 

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it! You’re not the only one with ties to the city!” And she hurried off, texting frantically. 

“What’s up Claire? I would have thought you’d be ecstatic the hashtag went viral.” Asked Toby. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I am happy. And I’m happy that Snapper Karr chalked the troll thing up to local legend or superstition…but I can’t help but worry that something bad is going to come out of this.” 

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a gut feeling.” She scoffed and went to her locker. “It’s dumb, don’t worry about it.” 

No sooner had she said that, did Strickler appear. “Claire, Toby, come with me.” 

“What?” 

“I’ve already spoken with your teachers, now come along.” 

Claire and Toby shared a look, but followed regardless.

—

They were led to the parking lot, where a black van with tinted windows waited, a huge red flag, if there ever was one. 

“Umm…” said Toby. 

“Don’t worry.” Strickler assured. 

A man in an army uniform stepped out of the driver seat. “Walter, good to see you again.”

“Glad to see you as well, Samuel. And thank you for following through with your promise.” 

“As I said, this is the most interesting thing to happen in a while.” He glanced at the two teenagers in attendance. “We’re just waiting for his mother, correct?” 

“She should be here soon.”

Toby muttered to Claire, “Who’s Jorgen Von Strangle over here?”

“No idea.”

And just like that, Barbara pulled into the parking lot, haphazardly parked, and ran over to them, still in her scrubs. “I came as soon as I could! We’re going to get Jim?!” 

“What?!” Screamed Toby. “We’re rescuing him?!” 

“That is the goal,” the man answered. “I’m General Samuel Attila. I’ve been given authorization to intervene in this situation, given that this project, whatever it is, hasn’t been officially recorded. But, bear in mind, you may not like what you see. We may be bringing home Jim, or just his body. I don’t know. So if anyone is uncomfortable with that idea, I suggest you stay behind.” 

“I’m going,” Said Toby. “No matter what.” 

“Me too,” said Claire. “It’ll hurt, but I want to know what happened to him.” 

“Alright, then let’s hurry. The facility is about an hour away.” He ushered everyone into the van, which had two front seats, two benches along the walls, and a gurney in the middle. As soon as everyone was buckled, they headed out.

“Hey, if you know Mr. Strickler, does that mean you’re a…?” 

“A what, Toby?” Asked Walt, with a hint of amusement in his tone. 

“A…man of culture?”

“Yes, I am a changeling.” 

Toby exhaled. “Okay, it’s like super hard to ask that question when you don’t know who knows, you know?” 

“I owe the Trollhunter a debt of gratitude for stopping Gunmar. After he ate the entirety of the Janus order, we the few that weren’t present for his return stayed in hiding. Had Gunmar taken over the world, my death as a traitor would have been slow and painful. We were thinking about sending him a thoughtful gift basket, but I think this is more fun. I love to bully those in lower ranks. The fleshbags get a few pretty badges and think they’re invincible. I love watching them cower!” 

Toby leaned closer to Claire. “He was so nice and helpful, I was beginning to wonder if he was actually a changeling.” 

“Same! But I actually feel better knowing he’s got ulterior motives, and that they have nothing to do with us.” 

“Have you heard from Nomura lately?” Samuel asked Walter. 

“She was in Arcadia for a while. She helped with the fight with Gunmar. Right now, I believe she’s on her way back from New Jersey.” 

“New Jersey? What was she doing out there?”

“After Morgana and Gunmar destroyed the Heartstone, Jim and Blinky went in search of a new one.”

“Oh, yes. I forgot there were rumors of a source in New Jersey. Did they find it?” 

“Yep,” said Claire. “But it wasn’t very big, so we brought it back to Arcadia in a truck. The rest of the tribe is making their way back on foot.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Samuel nodded. “You’re both very lucky. Not many Changeling’s are allowed in Trollmarket.” 

“Now that Gunmar’s out of the picture, I’m sure you could visit too!” Toby exclaimed, before getting elbowed in the gut by Claire. 

“It’d be nice to see it once. I’m sad I didn’t get to see the Heartstone in its glory, but such is life.”

The rest of the ride continued in relative silence. Strickler and Samuel spoke to each other, mostly catching up. But Toby, Claire, and Barbara were far too anxious to keep up with the conversation. 

There were no windows in the back of the vehicle, so there was no way of knowing where they were. From the front, they looked to be in a weaving forest trail. 

Then there were huge cement walls in front of them. 

Samuel pulled in the front gate. 

The man at the gate didn’t look up from his computer. “You’re not authorized to be here.” 

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t recognize your vehicle, so I know you don’t have clearance.” 

Samuel sat up a little straighter, glaring at the soldier at the gate. “How about you scan my badge first, and then tell me if I have clearance, Lieutenant.” 

The soldier gave a little shrug and reached out for the badge, his eyes widening as he caught a glance at the four stars on the man’s shoulder. “Oh.” 

“Problem?”

“No, sir. I just…I don’t need to scan your badge, you can go in.” 

“Thank you. At ease soldier.” 

Toby held back a snicker.

“And, let Colonel Kubritz know she has company.” 

“Yes sir.” 

“As you were.” 

The gate rolled open, and they pulled through. 

It seemed like Samuel’s message was received pretty quickly, because the woman that had taken Jim was waiting for them, flanked by soldiers with strange weapons. 

“Stay in the car.” He told everyone, before getting out. 

“I was not aware of any sort of inspection. You are not my commanding general, and therefore not welcome here. This facility holds highly dangerous equipment and confidential projects.”

“Stand down, Colonel. I am here on behalf of general Adele. I’m here to recover Jim Lake Jr. General Adele will be speaking to you about your discharge.” 

“What are you talking about?” She demanded. 

“You kidnapped a teenage boy from a hospital. Surely you didn’t think that wouldn’t go unnoticed? I have video evidence of you leaving the hospital with him.” 

“He’s not a normal boy—“ 

“I’d say so! His whole town is hailing him as a hero for saving them from an invasion! I thought this facility was for research on protecting Earth from invaders. And you’re punishing a boy for saving a town?” 

“He also destroyed it. Don’t give into their little campaign. Jim Lake Jr. may have done something good once, but that doesn’t stop him from being a monster.” 

“I was just in Arcadia, Colonel. There is no damage. There’s no lawsuits against Jim Lake Jr. There’s not even any pending arrests.” 

“I have video evidence of his destruction!” She barked. 

“Then let the local police handle it.” 

She growled, then commanded her men to stand down. “Fine. But if he does this again, no one will stop me from taking him.” 

“Actually,” he clarified with a smirk. “You’re being discharged. So you won’t have any means to take him again.” 

Her mouth opened in shock, as she fought to find an argument. 

But he was a general, he was above her. 

“Now, Jim Lake Jr.?” 

She grumbled something and started off towards a big central building.

Samuel was quick to beckon the others out of the car to follow him, and headed towards the same building as Kubritz. 

When Barbara reached them, she spoke, “you didn’t hurt my son, did you?” 

Kubritz didn’t even look at her. “I don’t have to share information with civilians.” 

Claire clenched her fists in anger, a black haze coming over her hands. 

But Toby simply patted her on the back to ground her. 

Colonel Kubritz led them through the research facility, ignoring their questions. 

They reached the room Jim was being held in, and she entered her code to open the door. 

Of course, Jim wasn’t the only thing in the room, being surrounded by specimens of all sorts of living creatures, but he was right in the center, with a spot light right on him. 

“Jim!” Claire shouted first as she ran to him. 

The poor boy was naked, lying on his back and strapped to the table with thick iron bonds. His wound from Morgana wasn’t the worst on him anymore, as he was covered in blackened burned spots. The spot that had the amulet was now just a hole in his chest, that went right down to the ribs. Claire could see his heart beating, and his lungs moving, thank god. 

“Jim...” she cried, seeing the carnage. 

“What did you do to him?!” Toby shouted at the Colonel, but she didn’t respond. 

“Honey? Jim? Can you hear me?” Barbara asked, as she assessed the damage. 

His eyes opened ever so slightly. “Mom? Is that you? Are you...really here?” 

“Yeah kiddo,” she wiped some tears from her eyes. “It’s me, I’m here. Toby, Claire, and Walt are here too. We’re going to take you home.” 

His smile was just a hint, and he stated, “I’m tired.” 

“I’m sure you are. We’re going to get you fixed up!” She turned to the Colonel. “Get me a gurney or a wheelchair!” 

She scoffed. “I don’t take orders from civilians.” 

Samuel interceded. “Then get me a soldier who isn’t completely incompetent! If you’re going to continue to endanger the life of this young man, then I suggest you get out of my sight before I endanger yours.” 

The Colonel didn’t waver, though a tremor went down her spine. “Lieutenant!” She called. 

A man hurried into the room, standing at attention.

Kubritz just gave a roll of the eyes. “Follow whatever order the general gives you.” 

“But—“ 

“No, I’m done.” With one last glare to Samuel, she added, “I'll be sending my evidence to General Adele, then we’ll see who’s the one putting the nation in danger.” 

“Go ahead, I’ve already given my report.”

She growled at him, turned and left without another word. 

The lieutenant just stood at attention in front of Samuel instead. “Orders sir?”

“Get someone to fetch the gurney from the back of our van, and send for the medic! And get someone to get these shackles off this kid!” 

“Sir yes sir!” 

Meanwhile, Claire stood right by Jim’s side, holding his hand, brushing the bangs away from his face and combing his hair with her fingers. He had a pretty strong fever. 

“You’re going to be alright Jim. We’re going to take good care of you.” 

“I’m…cold…” He breathed. 

Barbara found some vinyl gloves nearby and got to work examining her boy. “I don’t know about the Troll half, but this tissue looks alright. I don’t see any infection yet, or any tissue death. Of course, we need to get this covered immediately.” 

“Where’s the amulet?” Asked Walt. “That’s what’s missing.” 

“The amulet!” Barbara addressed Samuel. “His amulet, we have to find it!” 

He nodded, “we can’t let these psychos have it. They have no idea what magic it possesses, even without being the chosen wielder.” 

Only a beat passed before the army medic came with the gurney, and another soldier came with a crowbar to undo the shackles. 

“Lieutenant, we’re looking for an amulet that came with Jim. It’s what’s missing from his chest.” 

The Lieutenant blanched. “I don’t know anything about it…I can ask the Colonel?”

“She won’t tell.” 

The shackles fell free from Jim’s limbs, but he didn’t seem to register it. 

“Alright,” said Barbara, “Let’s move him onto the gurney. We can worry about the amulet later.” It took everyone to lift him and carefully slide him over. Then, he was covered up to his stomach with a blanket. 

“You’re going home, Jim. Mi amor, you’re safe now.” Claire whispered, kissing his forehead. 

“Hmm…” Jim weakly groaned. “…for the…glory…” But before he could finish, he fell back into sleep.

#arcadia or bust #tales of arcadia #Trollhunters #troll jim #jim lake junior #claire nunez #toby domzalski #fanfiction

[pundachen]

Skating lessons with Reki

Synopsis: Reki offers to teach you how to skateboard, you take up the offer and have a fun day with him and Reki. Includes: Reki and Langa Word count: 900 words

A/N: this was really fun to write tbh, it was also really cute, might consider writing more of these kinda stories, not only for sk8 but other anime I enjoy watching. Hope you enjoy the short story :D

"Y/n!" you hear a voice yell from a distance, shortly after this you're greeted with the red haired boy from your classroom jumping at you to hug you. You smile and look up to him, "Reki! Are you ready?" which he quickly responds to "Yep!" He lets go of you and starts walking, you catch up to him and walk towards the skatepark together.

You remember the conversation you had with Reki at school, you'd been talking to him for a while about skateboarding because you thought it was cool, it was fun watching Reki happily talking about skateboarding. His friend, Langa, sometimes joined as well, Langa was apparently really good at skateboarding, they even showed me some videos of his awesome tricks. Eventually Reki offered to teach you how to skate because you seemed really interesting, after some denial because you thought you weren't going to be good, you eventually gave in. After a while of walking, you guys get to the skateboard. Since you didn't have a skateboard yourself, Reki lend him yours, it was really cool looking. You were pretty scared to even get on, fell a ton of times too, Reki of course laughed at all of it but gave in and offered some support. "Hold onto my hands for support", you blush and hold onto his arms, slowly stepping on the board, it took you a minute to get your balance but you eventually managed to stand up straight. "Alright, let's try moving" Reki says while he slowly starts walking while the board moves along with him, "You're doing great!" he says, upon hearing this you give out a slight smile. "Try pushing off on the ground to move on your own" you give him a scared look and slowly move your leg down to push the ground, it takes you a lot of effort to not fall over right there, you put your leg back on the board and move a bit. Reki let's go of your hands so you can move on your own, "Reki! What are you doing!?" you scream, trying hard to maintain your balance, Reki runs along so he can catch you if you fall, "You got this! Try pushing off the ground again!" You feel encouraged by his words and push off the ground again to move, however you weren't prepared for not having support to hold onto and quickly fall forward, Reki sprints forward to catch you, you land on top of him and quickly apologise. You see Reki underneath yourself, slightly blushing, "Uh, s-sorry" you say, falling over your words. "Don't worry about it, you did well considering it's your first time trying this" he says, tilting his head away so you can't see his blushing face. From the corner of your eye you see a blue haired boy awkwardly standing near the two of you, "Hi… Are you guys okay?" he says, staring at the two of you. You quickly get up, helping Reki get up as well, "Y-yep, totally fine, a-okay!" you spurt out, your face completely red of embarrassment. You walk over to the skateboard and hand it over to Reki, "Thanks but I think I've fallen enough times for one day, haha…" Reki looks at the skateboard in your hands and puts his hand behind his neck, "Sorry for what happened, you did well today, you can sit down over there at the bench" he takes the skateboard from your hands, "I'm gonna go skate for a bit with Langa, you can watch from the side if you'd like." Reki walks over to Langa and does the cool handshake they always do, you see them talk a bit and then step on their skateboard to do some fancy tricks. You walk over to the bench and sit down, rubbing your knees that still hurt from the fall you made, thinking of what happened makes you blush. You sigh and just stare at the two boys trying out new tricks, of course they fall a bunch of times, they always laugh it off, you admire them for this. Once the sun starts setting the two boys walk over two you, Langa sits down next to you while Reki keeps talking about how Langa did really well, both you and Langa just smile and listen to what he says. After a while, Reki holds out his hand, "Let's go home!" you take his hand as he pulls you off the bench, Langa follows the two of you. After a while of walking Langa says goodbye and skates away on his board, you look at him for a minute to see how cool he looks on his board. "He's cool, isn't he, I really admire him" I hear Reki say, I shift my head in his direction and nod, "You're really cool too though!" you say, not wanting him to be sad. Reki walks ahead and looks at you, "Thank you, I had fun today!" he says as he turns around to

walk off you manage to say something. "I had fun too, we should do this again sometime!" Reki throws his skateboard on the ground and skates off into the distance.

"Today was fun...", you think to yourself, "I had fun hanging out with Reki"

#sk8 the infinity #Reki Kyan #sk8 #sk8 one shot #Langa Hasegawa

[ohtheseboysilove]

Ghost from the past II [ Roger Taylor x F!Reader ]

Words : 3, 900 K + (sorry sis)

Warnings : language, angst, panic attack

Summary :  Reader and Roger are in love and happy. Until Ally, first love and ex-girlfriend of Roger come back after years of silence, bringing chaos in their perfect life.

Note : The angst is definitively here ! I’m sorry Fred is being a bit of a bitch in this one and trust me poor Reader is not done crying ;) Tell me waht you think my cutie pies xx

Masterlist & Requests

@/ none of these gifs are mine xx

“(Y/N), baby. Wake up.” You blinked slowly as you felt a soft caress on your cheek, the worried face of Roger bended over you. “Here is my girl, you scared me baby”

You slowly sat up and noticed you were in you and Roger’s bed, your head throbbing slightly. He gave you a glass of water with a tender smile and you thanked him quietly, drinking it to clear your dizzy mind. He pressed a light kiss on your hairs, his fingers still rubbing your cheek. The conversation you had with the drummer came back immediately and you looked at the blond with terrified eyes.

“Tell me it’s not true. Please, tell me you don’t actually have a kid” You murmured with a weak voice, your hand clenching around his tee-shirt in a pleading gesture.

“(Y/N), it’s true” He grabbed your face but you pushed him away, shaking with panic your head, tears rolling freely on your red cheeks.

“No, no, no ! I love you Roger, I don’t want you to leave me” You sobbed loudly, trying to catch your breath between your cries. “You’re gonna go back to Ally and your son and forget about me” You could feel the panic attack raising in you, the fear crushing your lungs and your heartbeat increasing at every seconds.

The blond had his mouth half-opened, looking rather surprised with your reaction. His silence made you freaked out even more, crying hysterically at the thought of the love of your life leaving you for another woman.

“Baby, hey, calm down, please” He pushed away the hairs from your face and captured your jaw, he knew usually what to do to help through your anxiety but it was the first time he caused one of your panic attack. “Look at me, (Y/N). Breath baby, I’m not going anywhere. I’m certainly not going back with Ally, never. I’m staying with you because you’re the one I love” You refused to believe him, the nerves were taking the best of you as the pressure against your chest became heavier and you started to hiccup between each breath.

“N–no, I...she–“ You couldn’t form a proper sentence, sobbing furiously. She had his kid, why he would stay with you now ? He won’t. Your glanced at your shaking hands in Roger’s, you loved him so much, it was almost painful. “I– love you”

“And I love you too (Y/N), more than anyone I ever loved. You’re stuck with me for a very long time, I’m not going anywhere” You nodded slowly but you couldn’t still breath correctly, chocking out at every try. “Lay down baby, I’m coming in a minute” He raised the covers and waited until you slowly slid under, your chest going up and down painfully.

He went to the bathroom and like he promised come back quickly, a wet clothe on his hand. He sat next to you and gently pressed the fresh towel on your forehead, then your burning cheeks, rubbing softly under your swollen eyes. You felt better, his tender gestures helped you focused on your heartbeat, slowing it slightly. He put the wet towel on the night table and took his shirt off before joining you under the blankets, his arm immediately bringing your body against his, putting delicately your head on his chest, right above his heart. You sniffled quietly, streaming of tears slowing down as you listened his steady heartbeat. It was something that Roger did often when you were very anxious to calm your down, it worked every time.

He whispered sweet nothing to your ear until you fell asleep, completely drained of all your energy after your little breakdown.

                                               *************

When you woke up, the sunlight was less bright than when you fell asleep, the beginning of the evening creeping in the quiet bedroom.

“Feeling better ?” Roger’s lips pressed gently against your forehead as you yawned lazily.

“Yes” You cheeks heated up as you remembered your pathetic behaviour earlier during mid day. “I’m sorry” You watched him grabbed a cigarette and lighted it, taking a deep puff.

“Don’t be baby. I freaked out too when she told me” You let your hand wandering gently on his bare chest, waiting for him to continue. After all, he was the one who became father of a four-years old kid over a night, must be overwhelming. “Couldn’t believe it when she said that but...now I understood why she left years ago”

“Can I ask you something ? But promise you not gonna mad at me ?” You asked him with doe eyes, a bit worry about his reaction. He glanced back at you and captured your lips in a lazy, sloppy kiss, giving you the reassurance you needed. “How can you be sure it’s your son ? You told me you and her were seeing other peoples before she left...”

He chuckled softly, his chest vibrating under your head. His hand opened the drawer of his night table and he gave you a polaroid picture.

“That exactly what I said to her so she showed a picture of Seth, it’s his name, and I...there no doubt possible” Your eyes almost popped out of your head at the picture. The little boy was a perfect replica of Roger, blond messy hairs, same cute nose and his giant blue eyes. The cheeky smile was here too. “I know, he look exactly like me when I was his age, it’s crazy”

You smiled, barely hiding the sadness in your voice as you spoke :

“He is a beautiful kid, Rog” The drummer squeezed your hip, knowing how strange and hard it must be for you too. “So...what are you gonna do about Seth ? Is Ally gonna let you see him ?”

He took a last drag and crushed the cigarette in the ashtray. “Told her I want to be part of the kid’s life” He glanced at you and his features relaxed when he saw your encouraging smile. Of course he wouldn’t abandon his child, you knew Roger and even if he was surprised he would be here. “She seemed happy about it, told me I could meet him this weekend if I was ready”

“Are you ?” He nodded almost timidly his head, his cheeks covered in a light shade of pink. “That’s great Roger, Seth deserved to know his amazing father” You put a gentle kiss on his lips, stroking softly his hairs.

“You think he will like me ?” The blond rarely needed reassurance, he was a pretty confident man. He had to when whatever he did was commented by the whole world, talking shit about him and his band without any shame.

“I know he will love you Rog” You exchanged a loving gaze.

You meant every of your words.

                                               **************

Two months had pass since you learnt about Seth, stressful months for you but amazing for Roger. Him and Seth were now very close, apparently the kid was more than happy that his dad was a rockstar, beaming with joy everytime Roger showed him some stuffs on his drums in the studio. You didn’t meet him yet, your fiancé asked you to come with him for the first meeting but you told him it wasn’t your place to go, it would only confuse the poor boy. Roger and him spent a lot of time together and with Ally, of course. Picnic in the park, afternoon at the zoo or beach day at Brighton. You felt sick everytime he left to go see his...his family. You didn’t have a problem with Seth, he seemed to be a lovely kid and it wasn’t his fault but knowing that the drummer spent so much time with his ex-girlfriend made you incredibly anxious.

For the second time Roger proposed you to meet him. And Ally. Now that Seth was use to his dad, he could meet you and the band, who was aware of Roger’s paternity only since this morning. He knew that if Fred knew about Ally’s return he would have gone straight to her place and messed up Roger’s efforts. Tonight they were all coming at your and Roger’s place to introduce Seth to everyone. Saying you were nervous was an understatement.

“Relax, baby. No need to be so tense, everything gonna be fine” The blond came behind as you were cooking, gently massaging your sore shoulders.

You didn’t spend a day without being nervous, always wondering if Roger was falling back in love with Ally. It would be so much easier for him, going back with the mom of his son…

“I know, it’s just...” A loud knock on the door interrupted your sentence. You gulped loudly and watched Roger walking to the door.

You sighed when you recognised John and Brian’s voices. They were with their respective wives, of course, Chrissie and Veronica, all speaking excitedly about Seth.

“(Y/N), how have you been ? We didn’t see you for ages” Brian enveloped you in hug and you forced your lips to curl into a smile.

“I’m fine Bri, been busy with work” Lies. You were to fucked up about Ally to do much these past months. “Hey John, Rog told me about Veronica’s pregnancy. Congrat !” You put a warm kiss on Deaky’s cheek when he came toward you.

“Thanks (Y/N), we are very happy and the kids are ecclesiastic to have a new baby sister or brother in few months” You smiled tenderly and turned off the oven as the meal just finished to cook. “How...how did you take the new about Seth ? Must have been difficult to you”

“Yeah, it’s been strange at the beginning but Roger is so happy everytime he come back from seeing him...I’m glad Ally finally told him” You busied yourself with cooking the vegetables to avoid John and Brian’s gazes.

They exchanged a glance but didn’t insist, thankfully. Just when Veronica and Chrissie joined you to chat, Freddie’s voice echoed in the living-room and unfortunately, Paul’s too. This man was the devil but Fred couldn’t go anywhere without him.

You watched them seeing hello to everyone. Paul purposely avoiding Roger and it was the smartest idea he get since you knew him, the blond winked at you when he caught your gaze on him and you smiled softly, your heart fluttered everytime you lost yourself in his beautiful eyes.

“Hi Freddie” You took off your apron and walked to the singer with a big smile. You really loved him, he had been so nice since the first day Roger introduced you as his girlfriend to the band, he gave you the warmest welcome you ever had and you were grateful for that.

“(Y/N), where were you hiding ?” You opened your arms for warm hug but he turned around before you could reach him. The front door was open and a woman’s voice that you didn’t know travel to your ears. Ally.

You watched Freddie dodging your hug to almost ran toward the brunette who walked in the living-room. She was absolutely beautiful. Taller and thinner than you with a gorgeous smile and pretty doe eyes. You never really felt bad about yourself but compared to Ally you were completely ridiculous. A tight knot formed in your throat as she accepted the bone-crushing hug of Fred.

“Ally, darling ! I missed you so much, I can’t believe you’re still gorgeous as I remembered, this dress is absolutely ravishing !”

You drifted your gaze to the plates in your hands, breathing slowly to calm your shaking hands. It wasn’t the time for a scene. You silently dressed the table, listening to the boys happily welcoming their old friend and gushing about how cute Seth was. You rubbed your bare arms, feeling suddenly cold and profoundly sad. It was like it wasn’t your place to be here, she didn’t know Chrissie but they were already chatting animatedly about kids, you sniffled quietly but repressed your tears.

“Hey” You felt a light touch on your shoulder and faced Roger with Seth in his arms as you turned around. “(Y/N), this Seth, buddy this is (Y/N), daddy’s friend who I told you about” You cleared your throat and smiled warmly to the little boy, he looked even more like the drummer in reality.

“Hi Seth, it’s nice to meet you. Your dad told me a lot about you” He giggled lightly and hid his face in his dad’s neck, bringing a tender smile on Roger’s face. “He is so cute Rog. And he looked so much like you, it’s unreal”

“I’m the one who carry nice months and at the end, he looked exactly like his father” Ally joked as she appeared next to Rog, smiling gently. You stomach twisted heavily at her sight, her hand rubbing Seth’s back. You forced a chuckle and ignored the chills running through your body, she was the one who transformed your perfect life in a living nightmare. Unintentionally, but still, you would never getting back your old simple life. “I’m Ally, you must be the lovely (Y/N) ?”

“It’s me, yes. Nice to meet you Ally” You shook hands and shifted uncomfortably when she moved her hand to Roger’s forearm.

“How’s doing our little angel ?” You felt your eyes burned at the our, Seth was her and Roger’s kid, a little reminder for you that they were linking around this little boy for the rest of their life.

“He’s alright. A bit shy with all these new peoples but he’s gonna be okay, right buddy ?” Seth nodded eagerly and made grabby hands toward his mom who happily complied. “(Y/N) made him mash potatoes and nuggets for dinner, it’s ready if he is hungry” She gave you a nice smiled and walked away, you sighed deeply and turned back to the kitchen, closing your eyes to calm you down.

“I know it’s hard for you baby” Roger spun you around to face him and kissed your head. “I’m very grateful for what you do (Y/N), you’re amazing” You smiled timidly and took refuge in his warm embrace.

                                             *****************

The rest of the evening passed smoothly, the boys catching up with Ally and learning more about their “nephew”, all already under the charm of the little boy. It wasn’t hard to fall, he was as good as his dad with charming peoples.

“Oh my god Rog !” Ally stood up and walked to the bookcase, grabbing his old polaroid. “I can’t believe you still have my present. It was for your...what ? Twentieth birthday ?”

“It was for our first Valentine’s day together All, you’re still have a bad memory” He chuckled, amused. You drank a sip of your wine and Roger’s hand, which was pressed against your thigh, rubbed gently your skin.

“Really ? Jesus, I remember we did have fun this day” She giggled and you were almost sure she said that in purpose, letting Roger brought the subject on the table. You bit harshly the inside of your cheek as everyone laughed, your head downed toward your plate, staring blankly at it.

“Oh but it couldn’t have be funnier that the day I walked in your room Rog, when I found you naked and tied up to the bed, I swear I almost pee myself !” Freddie commented with a loud giggle, wiping away the amused tears of his eyes. “Ally, you cheeky bastard, she let him like this after he said something she didn’t like”

You put down your forks and pinched roughly your leg, trying to distract your mind from your urge to cry. The drummer slid his hand around your shoulder, pressing it as an apology.

“Fred, stop it” Roger warned him with a severe voice and the singer rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on, we’re all grown up. (Y/N) know perfectly it’s the past, don’t you darling ?” All the gazes were on you and you nodded quickly, a fake chuckle escaping your mouth.

“Of course Fred. I...I’m gonna bring the desert” You ignored Roger’s worry look as you walked to the kitchen.

You took few deep breaths, putting aside the pain in your chest and doing your best to ignored Fred’s words. You felt horrible and you didn’t understand why he was doing that to you. He wasn’t stupid, he certainly knew that it would hurt you to hear about Roger and his ex-girlfriend but he kept doing it anyway. Probably because she had been his best friend for years and years.

When you came back with the chocolate cake, Ally was back in her chair, the polaroid on his hand, taking a picture of Seth, more than happy to pose. Definitively Roger’s kid.

“Thank you, baby” The drummer grabbed the plate from your hands and you gave him a reassuring smile, not long before they all left and honestly you couldn’t wait. He started cutting it and giving a part for everyone.

“Oh, thanks Rog but I don’t eat chocolate, I thought you would remember that” You didn’t like the way she called him Rog all the time, a little reminder of their closeness. And she couldn’t stop neither to talk about the past, if you weren’t eating alive by the fear to see Roger left, you would have been pissed off.

“Nonsense, Ally darling ! You have an incredible body, you can eat all the chocolate of the world” Freddie didn’t miss an opportunity to praise his long-life best friend.

“He is right Ally, you’re really in a shape. I don’t know how you do that, I don’t have time with the kids !” Veronica commented and listened carefully to the brunette’s answer.

You looked at the cake in your plate and ate a little piece, feeling immediately sick after. You spaced out for some long minutes, your spoon playing with the desert as you were just waiting for everyone to leave. You came back when you felt Roger moving next to you. He pushed back his chair and took Seth on his leg, bouncing him up and down earning cute giggled from the little boy.

“You’re ready buddy ? Smile to mummy !” At his words you noticed Ally crouched down in front of them, the polaroid in her hands.

“Boys, you look beautiful !” Ally stood up and gently pressed a hand on Roger’ shoulders, showing to him and Seth the picture.

You stared at the three of them with tears in your eyes, you never felt so out of place than right now. They looked like the perfect little family and you like the horrible woman who were trying to break them.

“Can daddy sleep at home with us tonight, mummy ?” You swallowed a sob and stood up discretely, hiding the tears on your cheeks.

“You knew I would love but I can’t buddy, but next week you can sleep here if you want ?”

“Can mummy come too ?”

You closed the bathroom door and dropped on your knees in front of the toilet, emptying your stomach in it. Your throat was burning as you slowly moved away, flushing the toilet with a loud sob, thankfully the music in the living-room was probably muffling your noises. You splashed your face with fresh water, rising your mouth and shook your head, you couldn’t cry longer as they were going to leave soon. The last thing you wanted was that everyone saw you crying over Ally, Roger and Seth. You would look like the selfish jealous fiancé who couldn’t be happy for the drummer. A knock on the door made you jump.

“One minute, please” You replied with a shaky voice.

“(Y/N), it’s John. Just want to talk to you” You dried your eyes with a tissue and get out, facing Deaky. “I’m sorry for tonight” He smiled sadly at you and shook your head, blinking to keep away the tears.

“It’s okay Deaky, Seth is a really cool kid, I’m really happy for Rog”

“I know you are. But Fred wasn’t very nice to you tonight, him and Ally had always been like this, having each other’s back, even if it’s hurt innocent people like you” He squeezed gently your hand and you smiled sorrowfully at him but at least someone understood you tonight. “And I can’t imagine how you felt about her...sudden come back in our life but Roger love you, he truly does. And Ally can see it too, I think she is a bit...jealous. She always had been Roger’s number one girl and now it’s you, she’s not use to that but she will come around”

“Thank you John” He saw how hard it was for you to not burst in cry right now so he proposed to go back in the living-room, you agreed eagerly, everyone were probably about to leave.

You were right, you felt a tiny bit better when you saw all your guests putting their coats back, Seth clenching onto his father’s arms, whining loudly.

“I will see next week buddy okay ? We can go to the funfair if you want” His face immediately lighted up and all mark of sadness were gone.

“Wait ! We should do a picture darlings, like in the good old time !” Freddie yelled, a bit drunk. “(Y/N), honey come here” You smiled timidly, relieved that the singer finally gave you some attention after pratically ignoring you all night. But your smile fell as he handed you the polaroid. “Take few steps back if you want to have everyone in the picture (Y/N) !”

Paul snickered loudly and smiled nastily at you, seeing very well the hurt in your eyes.

“Hey, no, baby come here. Paul should take the picture” Roger was about to stand up but Ally pushed him back on his chair, sliding an arm around his shoulder, Seth on his lap.

“Nonsense Roger, Paul is with me, he must be on the picture” He chuckled but coughed awkwardly when he saw your glossy eyes. Everyone saw them but you ignored their pity looks and did as Freddie asked you. “I mean he knew Ally since a long time so...” He tried to save the situation but it was too late for that, the pain was already caused. Chrissie didn’t know Ally before tonight but apparently she was legitimate to the picture.

“It’s okay, Fred. I understand” You replied with a fake and pathetic weak smile.

“No, it’s not, (Y/N) baby–“

“She said it’s fine Rog” Ally cut him with an exasperate voice. “It’s just a picture”

He was about to chatted her back but he saw you, shaking your head with a pleading look. You just wanted to end this horrible evening . So he sighed discretely and smiled, hardly but he did for the photo.

As soon as the picture slid from the polaroid you said a quick and general goodbye before locking yourself in the bathroom. You peeled off all your clothes and moved under the shower, sitting on the floor as the warm water rolled on you.

“Baby, they’re gone” You didn’t answer and hid your face in your hands, muffling the sound of your cries. “(Y/N), let me in, please” You didn’t move and kept crying instead, your head pressing against the cold wall of the shower. “(Y/N) can–“

“I need to be alone right now Roger, please” You chocked out between two sobs. “I will join you in bed in few minutes” He murmured a weak okay and his footsteps echoing in the hallway.

You stayed under the shower until the water became cold, you couldn’t understand how quickly your life turned from perfect to nightmarish so quickly.

                                            ********************

Tag list : @16wiishes @borhapqueen92 @thewinchesterchronicles @khaleesi2017

#roger taylor x reader #ben hardy!roger x reader #roger taylor #queen #john deacon #brian may #freddie mercury #bohemian rhapsody

[bookworm-2692]

tagged by @lebannabell

instructions: you can tell a lot about a person by the music they listen to. put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs then tag 10 people. no skipping

ok so im on my computer and you cant “just shuffle” so im getting a friend to randomly pick a number associated w a song to start it, and then from there i can shuffle and they one AFTER that starts

turns out my friend didnt respond so i used random.org instead

warning: i dont like a lot of these songs some are from primary school some are me finding albums of old songs on the family computer and bc i like a few i copied ALL of them but i dont like them etc....

1. 99 Luftballoons by Nena - this is one of the 200 old songs i added but its not as bad as some. fun fact “luft” means “air” in swedish so its like “99 air balloons” i have no idea why its called luftballoons the lyrics say “99 red balloons go by” (im just gonna be talking as the song plays bc otherwise i may get bored or something idk)

2. LoveWave by Iveta Mukuchyan - this is armenias 2016 entry to eurovision if i remember correctly she had a giant floating head at the start and i remember my friend elly pointing out her tan tights were super obvious and she was wearing a leotard thing. she came 2nd in the first semi final and 7th in the grand final w 249 points

3. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson - remember this song? yeah. i used to do dance from year 6 until year 8 (i stopped in year 9 bc i was invited to play on a better netball team at the same time) anyway there were dance concerts and after i stopped dance my brother still did breakdancing there and in one of the concerts he danced to this song (i got to watch the concert for the first time ever) and i remember thinking it was one of the best routines bc the boys looked like they were having fun bc the break dance teacher doesnt take it as seriously as the main teacher so it was stressful and had to be “perfect” w the main teacher but it looked fun w the break dancing anyway how long is this song it just keeps on going

4. Beauty Never Lies by Bojana Stameno - omg this song i loved it so much. so this was serbia in eurovision 2015 this song had a beautiful message i loved it so much. she came 9th in the first semi only just making it to the final but in the grand final she came 10th!! w 53 points there was a different voting system back then half as many points were available so you cant compare it to 2016 and song number 2 anyway i loved this song its so upbeat and uplifting like i just... its so good

5. Death Valley by Fall Out Boy - claudio (@thecloudmeister) gave me a bunch of songs in year ten i think??? this was one of them. sorry buddy but all the songs you gave me blur together so i have no idea how often ive actually listened to this. apparently its 7 times according to my itunes. it sounds nice?? idk im not good at commentary when i dont know the song sorry. its not bad dont get me wrong i just dont know it

6. Love U More by Sunscreem - apparently this is from the 90s. its another of those 200 old songs i added but i dont like this one. at all. its boring. tbh i wondered whether i should add commentary at all bc i figured there would be less and less as i went...

7. All Too Well by Taylor Swift - yay a song i actually like. its nice but also sorta slow. (yep, definitely less commentary as i go). school sometimes wants me to record my voice for something like a lecture or a video anyway those all appear in my itunes and i was kinda worried one of them would appear bc they suck i mean they include my voice. also i would be forced to talk about school haha and half the time theyre for english i hate english anyway wow this song is over five minutes??? eurovision songs have to be three or less, theyre over so fast. the songs picking up pace a bit they always seem to start so slow (so much for less commentary as i go i guess i wanted to prove myself wrong also i kinda like the song even tho im not talking about the song). also sorry for the rambly commentary and i understand 100% if you dont read the entire thing

8. Watch Out by ABBA - omg abba you have so many good songs like the entire Gold album and many in the More Gold album and some other ones here and there but this has got to be one of your WORST songs ugh. at least its only 3:48 not 5:48 like that god-awful day before you came song which is so slow and about nothing. ugh. abba has done some good songs dont get me wrong but theres also plenty that arent great sorry. like this one it sucks.

9. Fever by The Black Keys - oooo look we’re nearly done. this song is also from claudio (what are the chances two of the ones you gave me would appear here huh? considering you gave me like 80 songs and ive got like 900 total dont worry im not actually gonna calculate it). again i dont really know this song but i think the other one was better??? idk

10. Haunted by Taylor Swift - ooo two by Taylor Swift. also last song! yay we survived. i think i like this one better its a bit faster? idk (not as much commentary again bc i started tagging people haha but this song is definitely one of the Old Songs from primary school days

ok i think im gonna just tag some people who appeared recently in my activity bc i cant choose so here we go (obviously you dont have to do it but you can) (also skipping over the people who i know have already been tagged): @fluffsharks @a-lostflower-inlove-with-eden @kanavitas @aggressively-gay-shakespeare @antiloquist @sisduke @productiveunicorn @smolcanadia @tacticallycareless @zakounenharma

#bookworm-2692 #ask #kinda? #idk theres a lot more about me than you were probably expecting bc of the added commentary haha