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archaeopter-ace · 8 months

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Don't Listen to Kafka: summary of what would have happened next

So my laptop’s harddrive got wiped for the second time within a year. And while I do have a lot of DLtK notes and writing backed up, the truth is that between the first wipe circa October 2022 and the second time I fucked up my computer at the end of July, I didn’t touch DLtK at all. At this point I don’t even know if I could figure out how much I lost the first time.

The name of the game is perseverance; I don’t want these incidents to kill all my WIPs, I don’t want to give up. But. I don’t think I have it in me to try to salvage all the WIPs I’d been working on, and Tales of Arcadia hasn’t been my hyperfixation for a while now. I keep waiting for the wheels of my fandom interest to turn in that direction again… but they haven’t, and there’s nothing I can do to make that happen on purpose.

So I’m going to share what I had planned for this series, because I still love it dearly, and this wonderful fandom, and if you want to comment or ask questions I welcome them! I am going to be writing this summary from memory, because tracking down and going through my story notes just depresses me.

First things first, I need to address the fact that Claire does not know that Enrique is trapped in the Darklands. It was on Jim’s mind in Metamorphosis, and he decides to enlist NotEnrique’s help in introducing Claire to the idea of changelings (Incidentally, NotEnrique hasn’t had a moment to cement his loyalty to Team Trollhunter, since the battle at the bridge didn’t happen the way it did in canon. So at one point I thought about writing a sort of prologue, in which Nomura drops by to talk to him - she’s not trapped in the Darklands, but she’s gonna nope right out of Arcadia now that the Janus Order is in disarray with Strickler’s defection. Because I am nothing if not preoccupied with typing up any and every possible loose end ;P And I wanted to address whether RealEnrique would be in danger, since in this AU the babies in the nursery are hostages for the changeling’s loyalty and good behavior. So if NotEnrique defects, that would put Enrique in danger - unless the Janus Order’s ability to convey kill orders to the Darklands was stopped. And since I never said how they do that, I think the Fetch will do very nicely. Better keep a tight hold on that, Team Trollhunter)

Right, so Jim tells Claire who does not take it well (oh, and there’s a whole thing about what does Barbara know, because like hell would she not tell Ophelia and Javier that their kid was kidnapped, so does that mean Jim is keeping secrets? I think I found a solution I could work with but I can’t remember what it was). Claire doesn’t take it well, and it affects rehearsals for the school play - I found some lines Juliet could deliver with scathing sarcasm. The romance is dead, and Ms. Janeth despairs.

Jim is in a serious funk, because some of the insults Claire threw his way unknowingly hit some seriously sore spots. He wants to come mask-off clean to Claire as part of his apology efforts, because Claire put it into his head that Not Telling her things is exactly equivalent to Lying, and he doesn’t want a repeat of her anger if he waits to tell her too long about being part changeling. Toby is not a fan of this idea, and goes to confront Claire about the fact that Jim is planning to be extremely vulnerable to her and she had better take that seriously, just because Jim hurt her by not telling her about NotEnrique does mean she is entitled to all his secrets, he’s going through a rough time and she’d better not hurt him back Or Else.

I… can’t remember what leads Jim and Claire to reconciling. I know that they do manage it in time to save the school play, huzzah! Around the same time as opening night, Jim’s horns finally break through, and this is something of a momentous coming-of-age moment in a young troll’s life. There’s a whole ceremony, and Claire is invited, cementing her inclusion in Team Trollhunter. (The ceremony involves digging a hole in the ground in a shady spot and burying Jim in it up to his neck for a day. It’s a test of courage, and to show that he’s ready to come to the surface on his own. Mostly Jim thinks it’s a test of his patience)

And that concludes the first act!

Next, the effort to rescue Enrique begin in earnest. See, the thing is, unlike in canon they do not have access to a complete Killahead Bridge; Otto absconded with the keystone before the bridge was recovered. So they will need to find a different way into the Darklands. Now for a bit of worldbuilding. Because Killahead Bridge is an example of Sealed Evil In a Can, right? (Keep in mind that this was drafted before Season 2 of 3Below had aired, let alone Wizards) I asked why wouldn’t you obliterate the bridge more thoroughly than just breaking it into pieces, if you really wanted to keep Gunmar in the Darklands? And the answer I came up with is that Killahead Bridge functions as lock on Gunmar, so that it is the only way for him to leave the Darklands. If you pulverized the bridge, it wouldn’t trap him; it would release him, because then he would be free to seek out another passage out of the Darklands.

That being said, there aren’t oodles of ways in and out. Besides the Fetch, the only way that rumors tell of is Morgana’s secret entrance. But no one knows how to find it, because secret map is in two pieces, and one has been in Trollmarket in Blinky’s library and the other has been with the changelings for centuries. But! This time around Team Trollhunter have the evil book they got from Strickler. (Dangit I’m blanking on the name - not grimorum arcanorum, that’s Gargoyles. Not Darkhold either.) The map points them not to the Darklands, but to Morgana’s lair where the key is hidden. Yay Baba Yaga house with chickenfeet!

But before we get to that: you’ve heard of Hybrid Vigor, now get ready for Outbreeding Depression! This is when hybrid crosses are disfavored by natural selection. Like if offspring are infertile, or two subspecies are bred together to try to preserve an endangered species, and instead it makes a muddle of local regional adaptations. Or maybe the offspring only have one copy of a gene that they really need two of to do well. Or the animal lives in an environment where there are a lot of dark surfaces and a lot of light-colored surfaces, so being dark-colored or light-colored provides good camouflage, but being gray just means you show up at least a bit on both surfaces.

All this means is that I am totally justified in putting Jim through the wringer >:) As his human blood cells are replaced with changeling blood cells, their ability to bind oxygen decreases. Oh, time for more worldbuilding: changeling blood edition. I could be wrong, but I don’t think we ever see any full-blooded trolls bleed? This despite Draal losing an entire arm. Tattoos are chiseled into them, and there’s the line about treating wounds with molten metal, so I feel confident in saying that, in this story at least, trolls don’t have blood. No blood, no circulatory system. But wait, I hear you cry, trolls can drown! And they are seen to breathe. How do I explain that?

I decided that the thing being circulated is not oxygen, but rather magic. The same kind exuded by the Heartstone (magic: it’s both a particle and a wave!) Hence troll society being built around magic-dense Heartstones. And water acts as a neutralizing agent, it smothers magic. Changelings live primarily on the surface, and do not have access to Heartstone magic. They also do bleed, unlike regular trolls. I’ve made these two facts related; changelings supplement their magic energy intake with an oxygen-using metabolism. They have hemerythrin as the binding pigment in their blood instead of hemoglobin, which is not as good at binding oxygen (this is true irl) but is capable of binding ambient particle of magic in the air (this has fascinating implications for certain species of marine worm with purple blood!)

What’s happening with Jim is that his mixed blood is getting increasingly bad at binding oxygen, but not yet good enough at binding ambient magic. So he gets out of breath easily; it presents a lot like altitude sickness, being in thin air for a prolonged time. Solution: needs more close proximity to the Heartstone, where magic is denser. He’s out of commission for a couple weeks while his organs rearrange themselves. (I wrote bits of a scene where Barbara and Jim go to a changeling doctor that Strickler puts them in contact with, I can’t remember where in the timeline that was supposed to go).

Oh, speaking of Strickler, he’s doing occupational therapy to adjust to being an amputee. Barbara is helping out, but is extremely firm that she “can’t be his Florence Nightingale.” He’s a good resource when it comes to changeling Jim things. Like when Jim becomes lethargic and Barbara can’t tell if it’s depression or something else.

To summarize the summary so far: there are two parallel plot lines, one in which Team Trollhunter, sans Jim who is convalescing, follow some clues to get to Baba Yaga’s house to find a secret way into the Darklands to rescue NotEnrique. And the other plot line is Jim dealing with continuing changes to his body.

To get Barbara to sign off on Claire putting herself into danger by going a-questing, Claire steals Jim’s glamour mask and poses as her own mother. (What could possibly go wrong!) When they get to the house with chicken feet, it’s not sturdy enough for Blinky and Aaarrrgh to climb up, so Claire and Toby are on their own. Gotta give them their power-ups!

Claire sticks her hand in a box and it gets impaled - yikes! But it’s magic, so the wound heals right up, and, she will later discover, she now has telekinesis. The drawback: she is now claustrophobic. Basing this on how in some Vathara’s fics describe ki-sense as like a fish’s lateral line sense, ‘touch at a distance.’ Basically, I figure that if you’re going to be picking stuff up with your mind, your mind has to be able to ‘feel’ the object. Thus, an awareness of the things around her, including walls. She can *feel* how big or small a room is. Even her own bedroom feels too small, too close; she can’t sleep unless her windows and door are open.

Toby, meanwhile, gets a magical pet bonded to him! In a manner of speaking. I wanted to give him something that would let him fly like his warhammer did, and reached into Norse mythology. No, it’s not mjollnir, though it, too, was made by the dwarves Eitri and Brokkr. It’s Boary McBoarface, Gullinbursti! From the Prose Edda: "It could run through air and water better than any horse, and it could never become so dark with night or gloom of the Murky Regions that there should not be sufficient light where he went, such was the glow from its mane and bristles." Toby is able to ride on its back and charge Gullinbursti into battle against his opponents. Drawback: if he uses it too long, a bloodlust rises in him, and he becomes a proper berserkr, full of rage. Good thing he has a wingman who knows a thing or two about anger management!

Who do they need to use these newfound skills to fight? I’d always planned for Otto to become the main Big Bad, a foil for Jim as a fellow polymorph. Wasn’t entirely sure what that would look like; reviving Angor Rot was Strickler’s plot, would Otto think to do the same?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jim’s uncle is concerned that Barbara says the two of them aren’t coming to Thanksgiving without giving a reason why (the reason being, Jim is bed-ridden and unable to pass for human). Uncle Mark remembers how Barbara similarly withdrew when she was with the emotionally abusive James Sr., and recalls that she mentioned a potential new beau last time they talked on the phone, so he’s going to come investigate. Just to keep throwing wrenches into the works. For some reason I really really wanted this to overlap with Blinky being turned into a human, but if they aren’t planning on *fighting* Gunmar with their sneek-through-the-backdoor plan, then they don’t really need the Triumbric Stones, do they? Do any of those quests even happen?

Act II ends with Claire and Toby getting power-ups, and Jim finally completing his transformation into a changeling. Yay! Now if he can just figure out this shape-shifting thing…

The first time Jim changes into someone other than himself, it’s after a stressful night worrying about an upcoming Spanish test, and he wakes up looking like Senor Uhl. He gradually gets more skilled and confident in his ability to change shape, and then he gets the bright idea to sneak into the Darklands through the Fetch by turning into a goblin. (Hand-wavy answer about ‘why aren’t they using the method acquired from visiting Morgana’s lair’ now that they have it. Can’t remember why.)

Jim has clearly never read Animorphs, or he would know why shapeshifting into a hivemind creature is a Bad Idea. Waka chakka!

Yeah things get a little silly at this point, but they have to be if I’m going to bring the Creepslayerz in (which, given how this whole subplot is just a tangent that could conceivably be cut without impacting the plot, I’m not 100% committed to bringing Eli and Steve into the mix. However, as I said at the beginning, I love tying up every conceivable plot-hole, and Goblin Adventure answers the question, ‘If you have the fetch and shapeshifting powers, why *wouldn’t* you shrink yourself down to get through that way?’) Toby, in a moment of foresight, writes ‘JIM’ on Jim with a sharpie, so if he escapes their watch, they can find him again. (Creepslayerz, reading it upside-down: “Hi, Wif!”) I can’t remember what’s in my notes for how they finally get Jim changed back, but if I had to guess, it had something to do with Barbara.

Yeah, Act III is where things start to break down for me, in terms of having a clear idea of what I wanted to happen. Partly to make things easier for myself and partly because I think Jim might be slightly more sympathetic to the plight of the changelings, only Enrique is getting rescued. The rest of the babies are just going to stay there for the time being. Gunmar can only be defeated with the Triumbric stones, but is it written that the Trollhunter has to be the one to use them? Can we give them to Angor Rot and unleash him to have his revenge on Gunmar? Does Jim *actually* have to fight Gunmar to achieve his objective? I kind of think things have changed enough that he doesn’t have to, and Morgana doesn’t rise again, and Merlin stays asleep, and Douxie keeps on trucking. Yeah, figuring out endings is hard. Mostly I figured I’d need to write the rest of the story first, to even know what the right ending should be. A lot can change between drafting an outline and writing a story…

So there you have it! Everything I remember (and don’t remember) off the top of my head about where I was planning on going with Don’t Listen to Kafka. Gosh I just, I appreciate so much all the love that this fic series has received over the years, and I didn’t want to leave you all hanging indefinitely.

#my writing #don't listen to kafka #trollhunters #tales of arcadia #the working title of the next installment was 'Apoptosis' (programmed cell death) but I didn't actually want to use that #bc I myself have gotten that mixed up with 'Autoeponym' in my notes. polysyllabic jargon words beginning with A for the win!#I'm releasing this into the world knowing full well that it could satisfy my need to share this story so well that #i will never again feel the urge to write it out. and i think i need make my peace with that

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silvereestars · 1 year

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My Interests!

Here’s a list of all the fandoms I’m in/was into! (WARNING: Very long post ahead! If you want to see what fandoms I’m w/o the reading, just look at the tags!)

EDIT: NEVERMIND, THE TAG LIMIT FOILED ME /GEN /LH I am SO sorry, but the last few fandoms got cut out from the tag list! You’ll have to scroll down to the bottom to see them-

Crowned: These fandoms are VERY near and dear to my heart- and I’m ALWAYS willing to talk about them!

The Legend of Zelda: This is the fandom that introduced me to the internet back in 2019 (I’m a late bloomer, I know- XDDD), and kickstarted me making theories and analyses!

Friday Night Funkin: Hate it or love it, you can’t deny there are some amazing individuals out there! And for you modders out there, this game is actually heavily moddable- and one mod in particular was what caused FNF to blow up in the first place! This is actually the fandom I’m hyper fixating on right now-

Favorites: While they aren’t as important to me as the “crowned” ones, they still managed to hold my attention for a month or so- and that’s something to admire, considering how hyper my brain is!

Animator Vs Animation: This is the fandom that introduced me to Tumblr and AO3 back in the late summer of 2021- don’t worry, @ann-aha, you’re not alone! XDDD

Oh, and I can’t talk about “AvA” without mentioning the rest of the stick figure community! Shout out to Henry Stickmin, Rock Hard Gladiators/Hyun’s Dojo, Hyun, and Gildedguy! :D

Genshin Impact: Contrary to popular opinion, this game isn’t just for “nerds” or people who can afford to splurge thousands of dollars- I managed to complete the current (back then!) storyline as a free-to-player! While I’m not in the fandom anymore, at least give this one a chance?

Undertale: Ah yes, the funny skeleton man fandom /j /lh But seriously, this fandom isn’t all “Sans Fangirls”- just search up animations and artwork! Or, better yet- search up a full play through of the game (I recommend this order for newcomers- Neutral, Pacifist, Genocide) and let the story and gameplay do the talking! ^^

Just Shapes and Beats: Exactly what it says on the tin. Pro tip- once you’ve seen the full story mode, go check out KofiKrumble!

Minecraft: Of course I’d be into this fandom at some point, everyone will! I’m not into DreamSMP (please don’t kill me I’m just not interested in stuff like server-wide wars), but I AM fond of Hermitcraft and Empires!

Normal: I don’t really think about these fandoms too often, but they deserve a mention!

Harry Potter

Voltron: Legendary Defender

My Hero Academia

The Owl House (hey, while this fandom isn’t one of my favorites, you bet I watched the finale and cried the whole time!)

Doki Doki Literature Club (somewhat- in my master post, I mentioned I hate horror, so I avoid gameplay and stick to tvtropes/summaries- sorry- ^^;)

Kipo & The Age of Wonderbeasts

Pokémon

How To Train Your Dragon

Marvel (The Avengers!)

Mario

Splatoon

Kirby

Subnautica

Trollhunters (and the rest of the Tales of Arcadia! I LOVED that series- except for Rise of The Titans. We don’t talk about Rise of The Titans. /gen /lh)

Carmen Sandiego

Amphibia

“The Big Three”: These were the fandoms I was into as a little kid, and inspired me to start making fan fiction & headcanons!

Kung Fu Panda: Oh my god, I loved this series- and a 4th movie’s coming in 2024!

Big Hero Six: This is the OG- the first fandom I EVER got into! :D

Wakfu: Yugo accidentally inspired an OC (no info- yet! Not unless I learn how to draw!), so it’d be a crime to not include this fandom!

Well, I think that’s all- for now! If you want to learn about favorite characters, theories, head canons and the like- just ask! :D

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catherdrashepard · 3 years

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Darrow is Not Going to Die at the End of the Series Part 2

There are probably going to be at least one or two more parts depending on how much I can stop myself from blathering on. Anyway, spoilers ahead for the following: Dark Age, Hunger Games, Castlevania, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, Avengers Endgame, The Hobbit, Voltron, FMA, HttYD, Death Note, Madoka Magica, Merlin, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, HunterxHunter, Dragon Prince, He-Man (the new one), Yu Yu Hakusho, Persona 3. Mass Effect, The Hollow, Camp Cretaceous, and whatever else I can think of.

I last left off on talking about how my thoughts implied that Darrow could die at the end as long all the loose ends are tied. But, I don’t think that that’s really something that can actually happen. A lot of this is speculation on my part and really relies on what happens during the 6th book.

The first thing that came to mind was Mass Effect. The ending of Mass Effect 3 was...not very well received. I’m not going to say that I’m particularly happy with it either but I also think it fits the narrative. However, one thing to note, video games are different than books and the story that Shepard goes through is reliant on the player. Also, stories in games are going to be shorter than stories in books (for the most part, there are definitely exceptions) due to player involvement.

I’m going to start with Shepard’s first death, at the beginning of Mass Effect 2. Of course, being the second game, their death couldn’t be permanent unless BioWare switched protagonists mid trilogy. There are a few reasons, in my opinion, that Shepard was killed during the opening credits of the second game.

First of all, the combat changed between games (a lot between the first and second and only slightly between second and third), and I think Shepard’s two year absence gave a reason for a tutorial on the new combat system. They were dead and had to learn how to use new technology. This is also done between the second and third games, with a 6 month gap, but the combat only changed slightly. Secondly, having the main protagonist die really highlights the threat that the player is dealing with in the second game but, Shepard’s return also shows that they still have unfinished business and that their story isn’t over. Thirdly, I think the absence gives time for the secondary characters time to develop on their own. This is shown more with the characters who appeared in the first game but also it gives an idea of just how much of an impact Shepard had. I feel like this is a parallel to the time Darrow spent in the table between GS and MS.

Now to move on to Shepard’s more permanent death...although if you complete the game entirely (at least in the legendary edition; thank goodness I hated the battle readiness thing) there is a dubious ending where Shepard may or may not have lived. But in any case, Shepard is considered dead and their story is over. Whatever my feelings about this may be, this type of ending didn’t come out of nowhere. The main threat, the Reapers, have been dealt with in a permanent manner, or at least it’s heavily implied that they won’t be coming back. However, just because the Reapers are gone doesn’t mean there aren’t still things to be done. Specifically, recovery. Shepard very well could have been involved in this but it’s not necessary. Their story is over, they have dealt with the threat and it’s not coming back.

Darrow, on the other hand, has not finished his mission. Even if he does by the end of the next book, however, it’s a very different circumstance from Shepard. The threat in Mass Effect was a very large and tangible thing, whereas the problem Darrow faces is an ideology and the people who hold those views. Something like that doesn’t end with a large space weapon pointed directly at the threat; it permeates everything. So even if Darrow defeats Atalantia, Lysander, and whoever else, there’s most likely going to be more people who shared belief that Golds are best. Also, we saw how the Vox Populi felt about the things Darrow was doing. Darrow is essentially reconstructing an entire system of government and, no matter how correct Darrow is, there will always be people who disagree with him.

Assuming Darrow defeats the remnants of the Society, stops the Ascomanni, deals with Quicksilver and whatever he’s doing, takes care of Atlas, handles Apple, what’s left? Much like with the end of Mass Effect, what’s left is recovery. The difference between these two, however, is that while Shepard was not necessarily needed for the rebuilding, Darrow would be.

Now, both Shepard and Darrow spearheaded their respective causes, but (and this relies heavily on how the sixth RR book goes) defeating the Reapers was a group effort, utilising every species and as many resources as they can spare. No doubt the rebuilding of the entire galaxy will require the same. Not that Darrow’s goal hasn’t been similar in that regards, with the help of so many different Colors being necessary. It’s just....Darrow’s circle feels a lot smaller than Shepard’s.

I mean, obviously being the face of a war is going to get you a lot supporters and people to work with, but the most important players are Darrow’s close friends and family. I’m sure part of this is the fact that the books are first person with specific POVs. Mass Effect does focus on Shepard’s story, but it’s in third person and you get a lot of different information through sidequests and talking to other characters. I mean, there’s a whole codex in Mass Effect with a lot of information and there isn’t one for RR (PB should make one tho). Our knowledge of the universe and its history is more limited in RR than Mass Effect, but I think that’s mostly because the lore in Mass Effect has more of a direct impact on how the story goes.

But back to the original point, it’s explicitly shown in Mass Effect that it requires everyone to stop the Reapers. And even though we see Darrow’s army, the main players, the ones who are taking care of the big things, are still Darrow’s inner circle. As an example, Mass Effect would be more like a pyramid (ironic) where Shepard is at the top. Even if it crumbles away (they die), the pyramid will still stand. For RR, it feels more like a chain. If one of the links (Darrow) breaks, then the chain is also broken. You could re-attach the pieces but it wouldn’t be as strong as it once was.

One last thing I wanted to bring up (which I will bring up again in part 4, yes I said part 4), is technology. Both Mass Effect and RR take place in the future and therefore have better technology than we do. There is something very important about this technology though that makes it more likely for Darrow to live. The Reapers are a race of sentient squid machines hellbent on the genocide of every other sentient species in the galaxy. But they are the ONLY things with access to that kind of technology. Even when they share it with Saren or the Collectors, it’s not something others can replicate. And once they’re destroyed (control ending notwithstanding) at the end of the third game, that’s it. They could still have people who are indoctrinated (although I think that stops when the Reapers were destroyed?) or people who are just stupid and think they were right, but...those people aren’t a threat. They can’t bring back the Reapers, I doubt anyone would be able to recreate such a thing (at least not within Shepard’s lifetime even if they did live). So once the Reapers were gone...that’s it.

Now, the technology in RR is, for the most part, accessible to everyone. Assuming Darrow defeats Atalantia, Lysander, etc. their way of thinking would still be around. But with the way the universe works, I think it would entirely possible for supporters of the Society to rise up and start a conflict all over again. This means Darrow is not finished yet, even if the immediate threats are gone. It wouldn’t make sense for him to die when there’s still stuff for him to do.

I do think, though, that it is worth mentioning that the definite ending of Mass Effect is probably related to the fact that it’s a video game and especially for stories like that, a more open ended conclusion with the implication that I COULD do more would only be frustrating. With tv shows, movies, and books, I notice, having a more vague ending works better because you’re just separated enough from the story that you can enjoy the implications of more stuff without feeling unsatisfied. There’s always exceptions of course.

ANYWAY, it part 3 I’m going to be talking about Persona 3 and 5 so....stay tuned.

#darrow of lykos #dark age spoilers #character study #long post

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undignifiend · 3 years

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Been thinking about my oc Warden again. Might play with his design a little more, too, we’ll see. In the meantime, here’s some notes on him:

Warning for vague naughtiness and safe vore mentions below the cut. ;)

+++++

+Excuse me, officer, that’s my Emotional Support Creeper

+The chillest, chonkiest, and most well-adjusted of all my Trollhunters ocs by a long shot.

+For those new to him, he’s a changeling who runs a lucrative side-business where he uses his big troll form as a “one-of-a-kind lifelike animatronic run by cutting-edge AI tech” for “simulated” experiences with human clients. Proceeds go to the Janus Order, but he keeps a cut to keep his cover smooth and occasionally indulge in luxuries. He meets all kinds of people, and enjoys interacting with them in contexts where they aren’t frightened (or truly frightened). Gives amazing aftercare and massages (whether anything spicy happened or not, if that’s what a client wants. It’s not all spicy, but he does enjoy indulging such whims, within his own limits).

+He’s got strict rules to keep people safe in these instances (repeat customers mean more money and connections). He can get rough if they want, but he has his own limits as to how rough he’ll go. Will pin people (not enough to crush them) and make them recite The Rules (discussed later) if they try to ignore them because “he’s a machine, he’s not real”. That’s his first warning. Any subsequent violations terminate the session. No refunds.

+Disaster Bi/Pan. Very romantic and enjoys making clients (and partners outside work) feel thoroughly cared for. Doesn’t get attached as easily as he seems to, but when he falls, he falls hard.

+Has a weakness for stories about superheroes with secret identities. Will occasionally do vigilante work, and covers his tracks carefully.

+Diligent about his hygiene. On one hand, he sees it as respectful to his Familiar to keep his human form clean and good looking. (Though this sometimes looks like vanity to those who don’t know any better. He really is quite vain about his troll form, though.) And on the other, humans tend to be far pickier (even if less sensitive) than trolls about smell, and his side-business model relies on reassuring them that they’re in a safe, clean, relaxing environment.

+In his human form, he plays one of the bartenders and bouncers for a hotel near the wilderness that is classier and more successful than anyone paying attention to it would suspect, given its somewhat remote location. It sees just enough traffic (including private events and conventions) to maybe justify it, and he contributes some of his earnings to helping the place thrive. It’s his cover, where his clients meet him face-to-(human)-face, so he’s invested in keeping it respectable, which also helps encourage clients to come back for more. He also drives his clients to the even more remote caves (warded by enchantments that disguise signals to give false reports of where they actually are to any tracking devices or scrying attempts) where the scenarios take place, and drives them back to the hotel afterward. Before a session, his human form takes the client(s) to the room where the session will occur, and he “leaves to monitor the AI” through an off-limits passage that loops through a fake “control room” to another, bigger passage for his troll form to enter from.

+The humans working at the hotel have an understanding with him, though they don’t know what he is. He occasionally departs to see to this “side business”, and so long as nobody questions or talks about it, or puts a tracker on his car, or any shenanigans like that, he contributes a cut of his pay to the hotel. It also helps that he’s a dependable and amiable co-worker, and no one around him has suspiciously vanished yet.

+Still, some employees feel like it’s a deal with a devil. He’s been there long enough that it’s starting to become apparent that he either uses a damn good moisturizer, or he doesn’t age. That, and he’s preternaturally strong and fast. On the rare occasions that fights break out, he ends them quickly, and his injuries recover fast despite his avoidance of hospitals. He’s getting to the point where he’s going to have to start fresh elsewhere soon.

+More relaxed in his troll form, but for different reasons than Dezoka. He sees his human form as borrowing his familiar’s image, prefers to treat it with dignity, and doesn’t take disrespect to it lightly.

+Before his current business model, he used to rob banks as an outlaw. Proceeds also went to the Janus Order to help fund their operations.

+Primarily relies on his size, strength, and situational awareness in (and before) combat. He’s not an especially skilled fighter compared to Dezoka, Ulvek, or Zahnn, (he’s a bit out of practice since his outlaw days, and it’s been a long, long time since he’s had to contend with the Darklands) but he’s resilient, observant, and hits hard.

+Loves to eat people (in all the fun ways). His stomach can double as a portable high-security safe holding cell. Not a big fan of keeping prisoners that way. He’ll bitch and grumble, but he’ll still do it if he thinks he has to. Prefers willing participants. He’s kinda spoiled on them, and the idea of someone trusting him enough for it makes him really happy, and is his favorite indulgence.

+Where that particular bit of physiology is concerned, I’ve been thinking of designing a group of trolls with this trait and figuring out how his particular safe vore shenanigans might work. Warden’s stomach lining is peppered with many thousands of specialized, regenerating cellular nodes that exchange O2 and CO2 gases from his own bloodstream for his “guest’s” benefit, so suffocation isn’t an issue for anyone inside so long as Warden can keep breathing. His stomach also contains a mild acid that won’t do much more than gently exfoliate and disinfect open wounds (it’s got a pH of about 4 or 5, which I think is typically alright for skin anyway). The acidity ramps up in cases where a high amount of necrotic tissue is detected, to digest it before it rots further, and to kill any infection that might in turn infect him. This can also damage any living tissue still attached to the dead stuff, which will hurt for anyone still alive (so it’s not a good treatment for seriously injured folks), but after the dead tissue is eaten away, the pH will return to a more neutral zone - but remain acidic enough to keep open wounds disinfected as a guest’s body recovers. His stomach can also mildly aid recovery through gentle contractions to massage a guest and improve circulation while they’re curled up in there. But he will use his hands a lot, too. He loves being full and holding people this way.

+‘The Rules’ (including safe words) are customizable and negotiated before a session is even paid for, both for clarity’s sake, and “for programming adjustments”. All involved decide what they want and what their boundaries are. A client can change their mind if they decide they don’t actually want to do something, but Warden will not agree to any last minute additions that involve a safety/trauma risk. For example, if a client decided that they want him to swallow them whole, they can change their mind mid-session if they’re too nervous to go through with it (and can change their mind back again if they decide that they actually feel ready). But if they ask him to do it during a session where that was not planned, he will decline. Reluctantly. Even if it's safe, he understands it can also be really terrifying for those who aren’t ready, and he prefers to err on the side of caution where that’s concerned. Fearplay is great, and he loves playing up the role of a wicked, cruel predator - but that's the sort of thing that has to be discussed first so the client knows they have the power to stop it if it gets too intense.

+How to convince him that you’re Evil Incarnate: He has a sweet tooth and a serious weakness for foodplay and stuffing. It’s the most effective way to tease the daylights out of him, so he always gets a bit nervous when this comes up in establishing a session’s Rules. Doesn’t fluster easily, but just thinking about this will do it. Especially loves it as a prelude to vore. Will also do this without vore, but it’s kind of a struggle to hide just how wildly hungry and desperate that leaves him. He’ll be a professional about it, and he won’t violate The Rules or try to pressure a client/partner no matter how desperate he gets. Stuffing himself silly doesn’t fix it, either, it just leaves him delirious and aching for live, warm squirming in his stomach. Belly rubs and mouthplay are the cruelest little cherries on top. If he thinks his client/partner knows what they’re doing to him, he’ll be ticked off, but also impressed and intimidated. Either way, he won’t be able to stop thinking about them and wanting to take them somewhere nice and hold their hand and move in together and sappy stuff like that. And eat them, of course. He’ll lose a lot of sleep over just how badly he wants to eat them.

#safe vore #changeling oc #vague naughtiness #character notes #roleplay notes

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magic-and-moonlit-wings · 3 years

Text

Chapter 55: Movie Night

Lots of quotes from the movie Lilo & Stitch ahead! Fewer quotes, but some, from Trolls and Frozen.

Bold italics are trollish, ~tildes~ indicate goblin.

Content warnings for this chapter: Swearing. Here we reach the story's first F-bomb.

Also, there is some talk between characters about the harshness of life in the Darklands, how Changelings are treated by the Gumm-Gumms, and mentions of cannibalism.

This was supposed to be a light-happy chapter that got feels-y at the end, but then it went and got all dark on me.

Oh, also-also, (Not) Enrique finds out Claire flirted with Jim a while ago and misinterprets what exactly happened between them, but that gets cleared up fast.

Becoming The Mask

Once again, Javier and Ophelia Nuñez were out for the evening, leaving Claire in charge of Enrique. Claire had gotten permission to invite "some friends" over to watch movies. Jim and Toby arrived to find Mary and Darci already there – Jim suspected, like the time he'd 'babysat', that Claire had purposefully asked him to arrive after she knew her parents would be gone.

They set up piles of cushions and blankets on the floor between the couch and the TV. Jim propped the Amulet up on the coffee table they'd pushed to one side. Maybe some of the ghost Trollhunters would be interested in human movies.

"Finally get your fill of the touchy-feelies?" Enrique teased Jim, seeing how they were all seated separately. Jim snorted.

"Not hardly." He pulled the smaller Changeling in for a hug. "Humans just have different rules about casual touching, is all. Freezing to death's not really a concern in this climate."

"Wait, what?" said Toby, dropping the pillow he'd been holding. Jim looked up to see all the humans staring at him.

"Darklands thing," said Enrique easily. "Gets cold there."

"We'd sleep in piles," Jim explained. "I had a bit of a reputation for being … clingy."

"If you weren't good at finding food and soft stuff, we'd never've put up with ya." Enrique proved himself a liar by climbing onto Jim's shoulders instead of jumping back to the floor. He fluffed the hair on Jim's scalp. "Jimmy-boy got his first nickname for that."

"Shut up," said Jim playfully. "Anyway, humans get weird about touching around puberty. I can still hug Mom whenever I want, but Toby gets embarrassed if I hug him around other people, and Claire, Mary, and Darci haven't given me permission to touch them casually yet."

"… Did you … want permission?" asked Claire. "You, kinda, said you were uncomfortable with that, I thought."

"No, it was more wondering if you were flirting with me that felt weird," Jim assured her. "After that conversation I felt like it'd be awkward to bring up that I was open to hugging and such."

Jim thought he felt Enrique growl, to quietly to properly hear. His hand, still in Jim's hair, changed position so the tips of Enrique's claws were on Jim's scalp.

"When exactly did this happen?" Enrique asked.

"Claire kissed Jim on the cheek on his birthday and then Jim said he wasn't interested in dating her," said Mary.

"Also that I realized she might not have meant it in a flirty way and if I was misinterpreting things she could ignore what I was saying," Jim added. The claws retreated.

Claire looked away. "So what movie did we want to start with?"

"Lilo & Stitch!" exclaimed Darci, looking through the shelves. "I haven't watched this in forever!"

"That's a good one." Jim tilted his head to get Enrique back in his peripheral vision. "Enrique, have you seen it yet?"

"… Yeah."

"Isn't that the one that always makes you cry?" asked Toby.

"It's beautiful. Of course I cry."

Stitch was a constructed 'abomination', who shapeshifted to blend in, and his adopted family found out what he truly was and still wanted him. How could Jim be expected to keep his composure in the face of that?

"So, quick question," said Jim. "Is talking during the movie a crime, or is commentary what makes it a group activity?"

"Commentary," said all three girls together.

"Okay, good." Jim and Toby usually talked during movies, unless one or both of them were seeing it for the first time. Sometimes even then.

+=+

"Not guilty! My experiments are only theoretical, and completely within legal boundaries."

"We believe you actually created something."

"Created something? Ha! But that would be irresponsible, and, unethical. I would never, ever – make more than one."

"What is that monstrosity?"

"Monstrosity?! What you see before you is the first of a new species!"

"You have to wonder if she and Merlin ever had a talk like this," Enrique muttered in Jim's ear. Jim snickered.

"And as for that abomination … it is the flawed product of a deranged mind. It has no place among us."

Jim stopped laughing and cringed. He loved this movie a lot, but some of it stung.

+=+

"A quiet capture would require an understanding of 626 that we do not possess! Who, then, Mr Pleakley, would you send for his extraction?"

"… Does he have a brother? Close grandmother, perhaps?"

"Fun fact," said Darci, "in early drafts Stitch was a career criminal and Jumba was an old accomplice."

"Friendly cousin? Neighbour with a beard?"

+=+

"Surely the teacher won't notice I was late if he doesn't see me come in!" Claire narrated sarcastically.

+=+

"I'm sorry, Scrump!" Mary wailed, as Lilo ran back to retrieve the doll she'd angrily thrown aside.

+=+

"Let me illuminate to you the precarious situation in which you have found yourself. I am the one they call when things go wrong. And things have indeed gone wrong."

"As a cook, that kitchen horrifies me," said Jim.

+=+

"If you promise not to fight anymore, I promise not to yell at you – except on special occasions."

"Tuesdays and bank holidays would be good."

The entire group cracked up.

"How does kid Lilo's age even know what a bank holiday is?" said Claire. "I don't even know what a bank holiday is!"

"Maybe she saw it printed on a calendar?" said Toby.

+=+

A raindrop fell on Stitch's head. He fired his ray gun into the sky. It started raining, hard.

"Oh, no, I broke the sky!" Darci cried.

+=+

"Does it have to be this dog?"

"He survived getting hit by a truck, how much more sturdy and not-gonna-die do you want?" asked Jim.

"Yes. He's good. I can tell."

+=+

"I'm sorry I bit you. And pulled your hair. And punched you in the face."

Mary nudged Claire. "Remind you of anyone?"

Like sunflowers, everyone else popped up and turned towards them.

Claire blushed. "We got into a fight in first grade and for like two days we decided we didn't want to be friends anymore, then our moms made us say sorry."

"He will be irresistibly drawn to large cities, where he will back up sewers, reverse street signs, and steal everyone's left shoe."

"It's weird they get in trouble for everything but this," commented Enrique. "Human grown ups might not believe a dog stole a trike, but wouldn't they think Lilo did it? She's fought the other kid before."

"It's nice to live on an island with no large cities."

+=+

"It's not an angel, Lilo, I don't even think it's a dog!"

"Isn't that the rolling thing Draal can do?" said Toby.

"Yeah, more or less," said Jim. "I mean, I don't think Draal bites his feet – but maybe that's the trick."

"At least with those stick legs you've got," said Enrique. He curled into a ball and rolled in a circle around the group. "Face it, you're out of proportion for this move."

+=+

"626 was designed to be a monster. But now, there is nothing to destroy. You see, I never gave him a greater purpose. What must it be like, to have nothing? Not even memories to visit, in the middle of the night?"

"Now, this next bit I don't care for," said Jim. "The Ugly Duckling is a messed-up story."

"What've you got against The Ugly Duckling?" asked Mary.

"The blatant segregationist propaganda? 'A swan will never fit in with ducks and everyone is better off sticking with their own kind'. You don't even have to read it as a race metaphor. Between that and The Little Mermaid, I thought for while that Hans Christian Anderson was a Changeling writing cautionary tales about why we shouldn't get attached to humans."

"… Was he?" asked Claire.

"Probably not. I couldn't find any real evidence and the rest of his work doesn't match the pattern."

"Counterpoint," said Darci. "The Ugly Duckling is pro-integration. Everyone thought he was an ugly duckling because they didn't know what swans look like. If he'd grown up with ducks and swans around, they could've judged him for what he was instead of what he couldn't measure up to, and he might've had a happy childhood instead of only finding a community that accepted him as an adult."

Jim considered this, and nodded. "I guess I can see that, too."

+=+

"Heard you lost your job."

"Well, uh, actually, I just quit. That job. Because, you know, the hours are just not conducive to the challenges of raising a child –"

"Nani, no!" Jim begged. "I know almost nothing about Social Services but I'm pretty sure choosing to leave your only source of income looks worse to them than just losing it!"

"Thus far you have been adrift in the sheltered harbour of my patience; but I cannot ignore you being jobless. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly."

"And next time I see this dog, I expect it to be a model citizen. Capiche?"

"Uh … yes?"

"New job. Model citizen. Good day."

+=+

"So, we saw Cobra on the beach after all the tourists got scared off … D'you think he was just standing there watching them the whole time?" Mary wondered out loud after the surfing sequence.

+=+

"Until we meet again …"

Lilo was about to tell Stitch about her parents. Without thinking, Jim grabbed the remote – on the coffee table, next to the amulet – to fast forward.

"What are you doing?" Darci cried. "This is one of the big emotional turning points of the film!"

Jim paused it. "Sorry. Uh … Tobes and I usually skip this scene."

"I think I can handle it," Toby assured Jim. To the girls and Enrique, he explained, "My parents died in a storm when I was two. A cruise ship, not a car accident. I got kind of upset the first time we watched this as kids, and, we got in the habit fast forwarding this part. I think I'm okay with it now."

"You're sure?" asked Jim.

"I'm sure."

"Okay …" He rewound to the point where he'd started fast forwarding.

"That's us before. It was rainy, and they went for a drive. What happened to yours?"

Jim watched Toby more than the movie for the next few minutes.

"I'll remember you, though. I remember everyone that leaves."

"Do you remember them?" Claire asked quietly.

"Only the stuff Nana tells me." Toby shrugged, and readjusted the cushions he'd propped up his arms on. "I've seen lots of pictures. A couple home movies."

+=+

"Don't run. Don't make me shoot you. You were expensive. Yes, yes, that's it, come quietly."

"I'm … waiting."

"For what?"

"Family."

"Ah. You don't have one. I made you."

"Maybe … I could –"

"You were built to destroy. You can never belong."

Jim blinked fast to keep the tears back. He sniffed, and pulled the blankets more tightly around him.

+=+

"Okay, talk! I know you had something to do with this, now where's Lilo? Talk! I know you can."

"Claire?" said Mary. "You okay?"

Jim looked over. Claire's jaw was clenched, and her hands were tight on the blanket, and her eyes were huge and fixed on the screen, and she was shaking.

"Ah … maybe the little sib getting snatched by otherworldly forces wasn't the best movie choice," Enrique said. He reached out like he was about to go to Claire, then pulled back his hand and hunkered down where he was.

"LILO! She's a little girl this big, she has black hair and brown eyes, and she hangs around with that THING!"

"I'm. Fine," Claire insisted.

"You're sure?"

"We can just fast forward."

"I said I'm fine!"

"Okay …"

Mary and Darci each scooted their blanket and cushion piles closer to Claire's, bracketing her on either side. Jim tactfully retreated to the Nuñezes kitchen to microwave a few more bags of popcorn. Enrique went with him. They could still hear the TV.

"What? After all you put me through, you expect me to help you just like that? Just like that?!"

"Ih."

"Fine."

"Fine? You're doing what he says?"

"Ah, he is very persuasive."

"Is it normal to feel bad for her?" Enrique asked.

"I think so? It's an awkward situation for both of you." Jim selected the white cheddar flavour. "But it's not like there's an alternative. You're not a polymorph. And really, the only reason she's upset is because she found out."

The Nuñezes had the same microwave as the Lakes. Jim didn't find the popcorn setting especially useful for this brand of popcorn – it tended to burn a third of the kernels– so he used the timer instead.

"I never apologized to you for that, did I?" Jim asked.

"It wasn't all your fault."

"Still, I'm sorry for my part in getting you caught."

The Changelings got back to the living room in time to see the unfortunate tourist lose his ice cream for the third time.

+=+

"Does Stitch have to go in the ship?"

"Yes."

"Can Stitch say goodbye?"

"… Yes."

Like he always did during this scene, Jim cried. He let himself do it this time.

+=+

"Wait, how is Little Mermaid a cautionary tale?" asked Enrique during the credits. The camera panned over a photo of Stitch reading to a flock of ducklings. "For getting attached, I mean. I thought the moral of that one was to control yer temper and be careful who you made deals with?"

"Sure, the Disney version," said Jim. "They adapted it to make a more dramatic, less depressing story. And give the characters names. In the older version, the sea witch is actually a neutral character. The terms of the mermaid's transformation are that she's traded her tongue for legs, but walking on land hurts, and she'll become fully human if the prince marries her, but if he marries anybody else, she'll die."

"That doesn't sound neutral."

"Wait for it. The prince gets engaged to a human princess, so the mermaid's older sisters trade their hair to the sea witch for a magic knife and a loophole; if the little mermaid kills the prince before the wedding, she can turn back into a mermaid and survive."

"Kay, I see it now."

"Except she doesn't go through with the kill, so she dies, and because she wasn't really human, she doesn't have a proper soul, so her spirit's not allowed to go to Heaven."

"… Whoa."

"I know, right?"

"I mean," Mary commented, "not murdering somebody is kind of a low bar for moral decency. It's not as if the prince owed her anything just because she was attracted to him."

"No, no, whether the prince deserved to die or not is irrelevant," said Jim. "The point is that the mermaid had a chance to, objectively, trade one life for another, and because she was attached to the particular person she'd have to kill, she didn't prioritize her own survival, and therefore suffered."

"Wouldn't the guilt of murder have caused suffering anyway?" Toby pointed out.

"Not if she wasn't attached," Jim insisted. How were they not getting this? "If she could've just cut the throat of any random human, she'd've been fine. The moral of the story is that caring about people causes pain. That's what makes it depressing."

"Do you like any fairy tales?" asked Darci.

"Sure. Just not most of Anderson's work."

"What should we watch next?" said Claire hospitably. "If we're on a 'sister movies' theme, I've got Frozen."

"Isn't that one also based on an Anderson fairy tale?" said Mary.

"Not really," said Jim. "The Snow Queen was more 'inspiration' than 'source material'. Elsa never kidnaps anyone, and they left out the broken enchanted mirror. Plus it's fun to see all the different ways humans think trolls are like."

"We also have the Trolls movie," said Claire. "I haven't watched it yet. My dad got it for Mom's birthday because she used to collect the dolls."

"I haven't seen that one yet, either," Darci commented.

"Should we?" said Mary. "Any other votes?"

"I'm game for whatever," said Toby. "This one's a musical, right? Those are always fun."

Jim squirmed.

He hadn't watched this movie despite his curiosity, after an online clip of the opening had explained the premise. Getting eaten alive was his greatest fear. Did he want to watch a movie about trolls narrowly avoiding being eaten? Did he want to explain why he didn't want to watch it?

While he debated, the movie got put in.

"Once upon a time, in a happy forest, in the happiest tree, lived the happiest creatures the world has ever known: the trolls. They loved nothing more than to sing, and dance, and hug, and dance and hug and sing and dance and sing and hug –"

Enrique started laughing.

Oh, shit, Jim hadn't warned him.

"Uh, Enrique –"

"Ssh! This is ridiculous. I mean, the huggy bit's kind of like you, but the rest of it – ha!"

"But then one day, the trolls were discovered by – a Bergen!"

"The trolls are gonna –"

"Ji-im! Spoilers!" Toby hissed.

"They were the most miserable creatures in all the land."

Jim grabbed Enrique and covered his eyes. The smaller Changeling yelped and squirmed. Jim switched forms so his fingers wouldn't bleed from the clawing.

Enrique got his eyes uncovered just in time to see the Bergen flick a troll into its mouth.

The onscreen troll's exclamation of "Oh my god!" was drowned out by Enrique's much more lurid cursing.

"What the –?" The girls and Toby all turned to stare. Claire pointed at Enrique accusingly. "I knew that didn't mean 'I'm sorry'!"

"The hell kinda movie is this?! Why would you watch this?!" He twisted to look at Jim, who let go of him rather than risk yanking his scruff by accident. "You knew?!"

"I saw a bit of it on the internet when it first came out. That's why I froze up when Claire suggested it."

That … that was the wrong thing to say. Enrique rounded on Claire. A techno-rock cover of In The Hall Of The Mountain King boomed from the movie soundtrack.

"Why in FUCK'S NAME would you think we'd WANT to watch trolls get EATEN? Is this some kind of threat?"

"How the fuck would it be a threat?" Claire shot back, stealing some cushions from Mary to prop herself up taller without getting out of her blanket cocoon.

"Most Changelings –" Jim started to say.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I'VE ALMOST BEEN EATEN?" Enrique roared. "I DON'T! CAUSE IT'S A LOT!"

"We've all had close calls," Jim finished. "Nyarlagroths, Hellheetis, goblins if you catch them in the wrong mood, Gruesomes if you're already hurt, Stalklings, and it's a … popular threat from Gumm-Gumms."

"You forgot the sloorbeasts," said Enrique bitterly.

"Nobody's gotten lichen patches that bad." At least, they hadn't when Jim got out. "Have they?"

"Still counts."

"Uh, excuse me." Toby raised his hand. "I think I speak for us all when I say, what?"

"The Darklands are a hostile environment with predators and scavengers," explained Jim. "That's the other reason we slept in groups."

"Bigger targets, but we could have lookouts."

"Okay, that's its own kind of horrifying, but I was more reacting to the cannibalism?"

"Changelings don't count as real trolls," Enrique said sarcastically. "We're Impure."

He left out the part where they'd eaten their own dead. Jim didn't add it.

(It wasn't like they'd hunted each other for food. Sometimes a Changeling just died, somehow, in a way that didn't get them eaten by something else, and … well, food was scarce in the Darklands. They couldn't afford to be picky.

It also paid to keep watch over the sentry posts. Gunmar occasionally used the Decimaar Blade to post a sentry and then forgot to order them to rest and eat. Once they died, the average adult Gumm-Gumm was a meal for twenty Changelings, easily, if they could get to the body before the Gruesomes did.)

"Okay, we're switching to Frozen." Mary made the executive decision. "Wait," she said, while exchanging the disks. "If Changelings aren't trolls, how does Jim's adoption work?"

Because of course this was the perfect moment to tell Enrique about that, right in the middle of a squabble with his adopted sister.

"For one thing, most of Trollmarket still thinks I'm human." Jim switched back to human shape to illustrate the point.

"You got adopted?"

"AAARRRGGHH and Blinky thought I should have legal standing in Trollmarket outside of my job."

Enrique stared at him. Green diamond-shaped ears were pinned back. Buggy, slit-pupil eyes were wide and hurt.

"You get everything," he grumbled. "Two nicknames, and the goblins liked you, and you could always find food, and here you're the boss's favourite even when you're a traitor, and your human family still likes you, and now you get a troll family too? S'not fair."

"Hey, the goblins liked you, too." Jim was fully aware that wasn't much comfort compared to all the rest of it. "They gave you your nickname, remember?"

"They gave you one, too."

"Yeah, but you got yours first."

They probably weren't supposed to hear Darci when she muttered, "I feel like we're missing a lot of context."

"Shit," Claire muttered back. "Not Enrique told me a bit of the name part. They don't remember their names from before they were Changelings, and they don't get real names until they have Familiars, so they use nicknames instead. From each other or from goblins, he said."

"They don't get names?" Darci's voice went squeaky at the end of that.

"We're trying to come up with something other than 'Enrique' for him."

"You're trying," Enrique corrected. Darci squeaked again.

"Can we maybe circle back to the cannibalism thing?" said Toby. "That feels like the kind of trauma that should get unpacked at some point."

"I would rather leave it packed," said Jim.

"The way you blurted it out like that feels like you need to talk about it."

"Not all psychology is Freudian, Tobes."

"Do your parents still have baby name books from when they were picking Enrique's name?" Mary asked Claire. "Real Enrique, I mean."

"They didn't use one. He was named after our abuelo."

"Okay, so what about your other grandfather? What was his name?"

"Jose María." Defensively, "It's gender neutral in Spanish."

On the television screen, the movie menu finished another loop and started again.

"I tried spelling my name like it sounds, en are ee kay, but Claire said it spelled 'Nrek'. You get why I couldn't use that."

Jim laughed.

"What's funny?" asked Toby. "Is that an insult or something?"

"No, it's goblin, in English it means 'bottle'," Jim translated. "Or possibly 'container of food'." The only bottles he's seen them use held formula for the Familiars, and the word hadn't come up on the surface, so the distinction was unclear. "It's either a silly name or a really morbid one."

"Aaand we're back to the cannibalism."

"No we are not!"

"Na na na heyana, Hahiyaha naha …"

Either somebody had decided to start the movie, or the DVD had that feature where it automatically began playing if nothing was selected after a few loops of the menu.

The conversation went in circles a couple more times, then faded out.

+=+

"And who's the funky-looking donkey over there?"

"That's Sven."

"Uh-huh; and who's the reindeer?"

"… Sven."

"Oh, they're – ? Oh! Okay! Makes things easier for me."

"~Riot~," said Enrique.

"Huh?"

"My nickname. Before. It meant 'riot'."

What are you doing? Jim wanted to demand. Was Enrique just – just giving up on a real name?

"You can call me that for now. Till we work out a for-real one. Better than 'Not Enrique'."

Jim stuffed some burnt popcorn kernels into his mouth to keep from protesting. He couldn't undermine Enrique's – Riot's – chosen name, right in front of a bunch of humans, when he'd been arguing with them about how rude that was for weeks now.

"Oh. Okay." Claire half-smiled. "Riot."

Jim shut his eyes to hide the flaring glow.

+=+

Previous Chapter (Angor Rot gets treated much better, and more sensibly, than in canon, and is correspondingly less vengeful)

Table of Contents

Next Chapter (Featuring either Otto or Gatto)

A quick thank you to Taycin on AO3 for providing some name-gender context when this chapter first went up.

22 notes · View notes

darkistheday · 3 years

Text

Dark is the Day

Chapter 1 Read on Ao3

He tried, he really did.

But when it came down to the choice between starving and protecting his pride, Hisirdoux decided starving probably wasn't the best option.

Surviving in the Darklands was brutal. He had known that when he decided to leave the protection of the Gumm-Gumms and to try to make it on his own. He did a pretty good job of it too, at least for a century or so? He couldn't be sure. He gave up trying to keep track of time ages ago, it only made things feel more bleak. Of course, he told himself, it was the starvation that had done it, it was certainly a factor, but it was probably more so the crippling loneliness that had driven him back to Dictatious.

"Well this is a surprise!" Dictatious said when the Gumm-Gumm soldiers dropped Hisirdoux off at his feet. "I thought for a while there, you must surely have perished. I guess you're scrappier than I thought."

Dictatious always underestimated him; the weak little human, the errand boy, the stupid fleshbag. Hisirdoux wanted to gloat with pride that he'd proven to be none of those things, but he knew how stubborn Dictatious could be. He was also too exhausted to deal with Dictatious' ego. He followed behind the troll, flanked by two Gumm-Gumm soldiers, as they began to lead him to the crystal dungeon. In the past, he usually had free reign of the place, but he supposed since his long absence there was some element of distrust.

"You've come at such an auspicious time, boy," Dictatious said to him as they walked.

Hisirdoux didn't have the faintest clue what the troll was on about now, some new discovery perhaps? He had often insisted to Dictatious there must be more out in the Darklands than whatever small corner of it Gunmar had decided to reside in. Waiting around for the bridge to be opened again seemed like a waste of everyone's time. In fact, Hisirdoux had gained more information on the ruins and artifacts of the ancient, giant trolls that once resided in the Darklands while he had been away, than in the collective time he had spent with Dictatious. He left all of his findings behind of course, when he chose to come back. He wouldn't give Dictatious the satisfaction of taking what he had learned.

It was the little things, Hisirdoux told himself.

"I know you were skeptical of Gunmar," Dictatious said, "but it turns out he was right all along. Through tireless efforts we managed to collect all of the pieces of the bridge."

Hisirdoux didn't bat an eye at this, he knew the bridge was useless without the Trollhunter and the amulet. He also knew Merlin's magic would never allow a troll stupid enough to open the bridge to be chosen as the Trollhunter. Why did it matter if they managed to build the bridge back on Earth?

"And lo and behold, Merlin's folly will become our salvation!" Dictatious exclaimed triumphantly.

Hisirdoux now glared at the troll at the mention of his old master's name. He didn't know what the old wizard had to do with any of his ramblings, but they had reached the crystal dungeon, and the Gumm-Gumm guards pushed him into a cell before he had a chance to ask.

"If you play your cards right boy, we might just take you with us," and with that Dictatious let out a raucous laughter that echoed through the halls.

When he got to his feet he called out, "Dictatious wait! What do you mean?" his question went unanswered however, Dictatious and the Gumm-Gumm soldiers were already on their way out of the dungeon and had no intention of coming back just to humor him. "They could have at least given me something to eat..." he muttered under his breath. Even though the trolls had completely different dietary requirements than he did, they would still manage to keep him fed. It was almost worth it to be called, 'pet,' if it meant he didn't have to suffer the pangs of starvation.

He walked to the far wall of the cell and sat back against the cold stone. It had been ages since he last saw these dark walls, the glow of the orange crystals. Despite being mostly free to do what he wanted, there were times he managed to piss off Dictatious, or one of the soldiers, and even on occasion Gunmar himself. The Gumm-Gumm's had no reservations about tossing him in a cell and letting him, 'contemplate his future,' whatever that meant. He was almost convinced these cells were there just to keep him in line specifically, since they almost never had anyone else fill them.

"Hey, my name's Jim, what's yours?" the voice on the other side of the wall was gentle, but the effect it had on Hisirdoux was as if someone had screamed in his ear.

Jumping to his feet, the only thing he could manage to say in response was; "what?" There had been times that he'd considered it before, but perhaps now he was finally starting to lose it.

"I said; my name's--" came the gentle voice, only louder this time.

But Hisirdoux interupted, "--No, no I got that, it's just..." he struggled to find the words. It didn't feel like he was losing his sanity, but maybe that's what everyone who's minds were struggling to hold onto reality thought. "How did you get here?" he finally managed.

"That's kind of a long story, actually," said the voice, Jim's voice.

Jim. Not exactly the name of a troll, not exactly the voice of a troll either.

"You're not... You couldn't be human? Could you?" Hisirdoux wasn't sure he was ready to believe this was real, and not some trick that Dictatious had planned for him this whole time.

"Last time I checked, yeah," Jim said with a hint of playfulness.

Hisirdoux felt a smile creeping up on his face. This was so unexpected, yet something he didn't realize he was desperate for until this moment. The difference between a troll and a human's demeanor was like night and day. There was a feeling growing inside his chest he wished he could grab ahold of and never let go. "So am I..." he said in response, unsure if the shaking in his body was audible or not.

"What's your name? How did you get here? I didn't think there would be any other people in the Darklands." Jim's voice was eager and full of energy and life.

It was nostalgic.

"Hisirdoux," he said, "and that's also a long story," he figured it was probably a much longer story than this other boy could imagine.

They didn't have much time to get into it before a couple of Gumm-Gumm soldiers returned to the dungeon. They were here for Jim. Hisirdoux felt the frustration of the moment deeply, he craved more information about the boy, how he came to be in the Darklands, how he found himself in Gunmar's clutches. He wanted to know everything about him.

Jim struggled against the Gumm-Gumm's but it was a wasted effort. Hisirdoux moved to the front of the cell, just as close as he could get without touching the crystals. The Gumm-Gumm's pulled their captive along passed the front of his cell, and Hisirdoux was able to catch sight of the boy. He was wearing a very familiar looking set of armor, the memory of how it was so familiar escaped him as he tried to soak in as much as he could. Black hair, young, probably shorter than he was. The boy's face was defiant, yet soft, Hisirdoux wasn't sure the boy had seen much of war or fighting based on what he could tell, but they were bringing him to Gunmar.

His heart sank.

Would this be the only time he ever saw another human? Would Gunmar eat him? Gunmar would often speak of the delicacy that was human flesh, it was one of the Dark Underlord's favorite threats to throw at him.

"I wouldn't have to devour you all at once, I could savor your tender flesh, bit by scrawny bit. How long could you survive like that I wonder?"

He pushed the memory down in anger, starting to pace. If he ever did see this Jim boy again, he would vow to get him out of here, far away from the clutches of that dark and disgusting old troll.

He wasn't sure how long he waited, an hour perhaps. An agonizing hour.

Hisirdoux finally heard the struggles and grunts of the boy as the Gumm-Gumm's finally returned. At least they hadn't killed him, Hisirdoux thought. As they passed by, the two boy's eyes met for a brief moment before the trolls pushed Jim on, tossing him back in his own cell.

"Are you okay?" Hisirdoux called over to him, "What did they do to you?" Hisirdoux let the curiosity and fervor show in his voice. He had never been very good at concealing his emotions, even when he wanted to.

"I mean, I've been better," Jim replied, his voice sounded slightly strained. "Just, Gunmar thinking he can wear me down."

"Why would Gunmar be trying to wear you down?" Hisirdoux asked. He was staring at the wall that separated them, desperately wishing he could talk to the boy face to face.

"Maybe he thinks he can use me as the Trollhunter in order to escape through Killahead?" Jim said, "but he's wrong if he thinks I'll help him, I'd rather die than help Gunmar escape!"

Hisirdoux's mind was racing at what he'd just heard. "Wait... You're the Trollhunter? But you're human!" He was ready to laugh off the ridiculous idea until the thought of why he'd recognized the boy's armor came back to him. It was clear now that the design of the armor was Merlin's own. It had been a long time but he still remembered helping his old master with his work. He'd seen the scrolls and the designs Merlin had laid out for the Amulet enough times working as his apprentice.

Jim let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah, I've heard that one before."

Hisirdoux didn't have a response. Instead, he started looking at the wall trying to find a weak point in the rocks. There had never been much of a drive for him to break out of the dungeon before. The Gumm-Gumm's would always eventually release him after he had been sufficiently disciplined. Although he had once tried to break the crystals by kicking them in anger, which ended up just hurting a lot, so he knew that wasn't going to be a likely route of escape.

His fingers ran along the wall trying to find anything he could pull at or break loose.

“So why did they put you in here?” Jim asked.

“I dunno…” Hisirdoux said, and he didn’t really know, but he was too distracted with the wall to really get much deeper into it.

“How long have you been here?”

“A long time,” Hisirdoux replied absentmindedly as his fingers caught hold of something that felt loose. He pulled on it, which caused a large part of the wall to come apart near his feet.

“What are you doing?” Jim asked, he’d obviously heard the crumbling of the stone.

"I thought there might be a way for me to break through this wall, maybe we could find a way out?" There was some desperation in Hisirdoux’s voice.

“I could try from my side too,” Jim said, “what exactly is your plan for getting us out though?”

Hisirdoux couldn’t quite figure out in his mind how he could explain what he was hypothesizing, “I have an idea, but I’m not sure it will work. Guess we will figure that out if we can get through this.” He managed to find another, smaller, crumbling place close to the floor of the cell. He dug at the loose stone as much as he could, but the path he was carving was rather small.

“Nothing seems to be really loose over here,” Jim said.

“Try closer to the floor.”

“Ok, but- oh,” there came a small crumbling on Jim’s side of the wall.

They worked like that for a while, until finally they were actually able to break through. It started as a pinpoint but eventually the hole had become large enough they could reach across to each other.

It was a bit uncomfortable to lay on the ground and reach his whole arm through the small hole. But when his fingers connected with the gauntlet of Jim’s armor, Hisirdoux felt a huge rush flow through him. He started to think his plan might actually work.

“Ok, just, give me your hand for a second,” Hisirdoux said to Jim. The other boy compiled without question, which was good because Hisirdoux had to concentrate if this was going to work. It had been a while since he’d last used magic, but the feeling of using it never left him. He tapped into the rushing feeling that the armor sent him, concentrated on it, formed it, made it bend to his will.

After a moment he was able to shoot a blast of energy at the edge of the crystal door, effectively shattering them to pieces. Hisirdoux scrambled to his feet and ran out of his cell and over to Jims.

“WOW! What did you just do!?” Jim said running up to meet him.

Hisirdoux was more concerned with how he was going to blast Jim out of his cell without hurting either of them with flying crystal shards.

“Give me your hand again,” Hisirdoux said as he reached his hand through one edge of the crystal bars. By standing on one edge and blasting at the other, he was going to put as much distance as he could between them and any flying shards. Hopefully it would work out okay. When Jim reached out and took his hand again, Hisirdoux said, “shield your eyes.”

“Uh, ok…?” Jim manifested his helmet as he reached for Hisirdoux’s hand.

Hisirdoux himself closed his eyes and turned his head away. He was able to send another blast out, shattering more of the crystals.

“Woah, that was awesome! Was that magic?” Jim asked. He had to climb a bit awkwardly out of the cell, but managed to avoid being shocked by the remaining crystals.

“Yeah, it was…” Hisirdoux trailed off as he looked around, seemingly lost in thought, “I think I know a way we can get out of here, to somewhere Gunmar can’t get us.”

“Alright, it might give me the upper hand if I’m not a prisoner… What’s your plan?” Jim asked.

Hisirdoux replied by motioning for Jim to be quiet, and started to lead him away. Jim seemed to understand enough and followed closely behind. Exploring was something Hisirdoux did a lot of, it was one of the few things he had to ease boredom around the Gumm-Gumms, as well as escaping Dictatious from time to time.

After leaving the dungeon they started to sneak carefully around the rocky outcrops. They came to a certain point that Hisirdoux paused and waited, trying to listen for the sound of lumbering trolls.

This part must have escaped Jim’s understanding as he asked, “so, what’s our next move?”

Hisirdoux turned around planning to hush Jim, but his eyes met with a Gumm-Gumm soldier who had turned the opposite corner of the outcrop they had hidden behind.

There was a short pause while the soldier processed what he was seeing. Then he pointed at them and started yelling.

So much for getting out of there quietly.

They started running, Jim following close behind Hisirdoux. He trusted in him to know where they were going, and for the most part he did. But now it was just a matter of getting there without the Gumm-Gumms catching them.

They came by one of the stone bridges that spanned the length of the chasm below them and started across, the Gumm-Gumms lumbering behind them. It was easy enough to outpace the large trolls, but if they were going to hide they would need to put enough distance between them so they couldn’t be discovered.

They were halfway across the bridge now, Hisirdoux turned back to see how much distance they had already gained. It wasn’t much.

“WAIT!” Jim called to him.

But it was too late.

The bridge narrowed so much near the end that footing would be precarious even if his full attention had been on where he was going, but his distraction cost him. He’d just barely missed planting his foot on solid ground. As he was sliding off the edge of the bridge, Jim was able to grab his arm, but it wasn’t enough to stop the two of them from falling off entirely.

Jim managed to pull Hisirdoux closer to him as they fell. It was as if Jim thought his armor could protect the both of them as they plummeted, but Hisirdoux had something else in mind. Holding tight to Jim, Hisirdoux used the power of Jim’s armor once again, he was able to form a barrier around them. It was just in time as they hit a lower bridge seconds after he had it formed. After landing, the spherical barrier started rolling them down and along a pathway, most likely created by a nyarlagroth burrowing through the rock, and down through a tunnel. It twisted and turned down, down, down, until they were finally launched out of the end, landing in a shallow pool of gray water. The barrier that protected them disappeared upon impact, as well as Jim’s armor.

They laid in the water for a few moments before Jim finally asked, “this wasn’t part of your plan was it?”

Hisirdoux let out a long sigh, “not… exactly…” He sat up and looked around, the pool was surrounded by a myriad of glowing green crystals. He knew where they were, roughly. He stood up and walked over to Jim, mostly ignoring the scrapes and bruises he acquired on their journey down, “are you okay? Can you walk?” He asked, reaching his hand out to help Jim up.

Jim grunted as he sat up, “yeah, I think so…” he reached up and took Hisirdoux’s hand, letting himself be pulled up.

Hisirdoux noticed the Amulet in Jim’s other hand, but Jim quickly hid it away inside his pocket. He wanted to ask about it but decided not to just yet. “I know some place we can go from here,” he told Jim instead.

Jim nodded in response and followed closely behind Hisirdoux.

#toa fanfic #jim lake jr #hisirdoux casperan #jimxie #jim/douxie #darkfic #abuse #isolation #starvation #angst #chapter 1

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earth-ambassador-jim · 3 years

Text

Lost Souls: Story 10

The Ones We Hail (part 3)

Lost Souls Summary: Merlin awakens early from his sleep. He decides that he doesn’t want to leaving anything to chance and kidnaps the young James Lake Jr. to began training his Trollhunter as early as possible.

Barbara is determined to hunt down the man who kidnapped her son. In her efforts to get her son back she finds a strange old radio that speaks to her in a woman’s voice. The radio leads her to an underground society of shapeshifters.

Mother and son meet again years later as strangers on opposing sides.

AO3 - Fanfiction

~~~~

“Jim! I’m here!” Kanjigar called out as he entered the cave

There was no response. No patter of small feet.

Kanjigar frowned; usually Jim was all over him by now. Where was the child?

“Jim?” He called again.

Concern began to take root in his chest and the old troll lifted his head and tested the air for the child’s scent. He could smell both Jim’s scent and Merlin’s. They were fairly fresh but…

Kanjigar sniffed again.

There was something unfamiliar in the air. A slight shiver ran through him setting his tusks on edge.

He followed the strange scent through the roughhewn hallways and deeper into Merlin’s abode. What was it? No one could get in here without Merlin’s permission.

The scent led him to Jim’s room. Kanjigar’s whole body was tense. If something had happened to the boy…

His hand wrapped around the amulet where it hung from a chain around his neck. Without a word the armor materialized around him. He didn’t summon Daylight just yet but he kept one hand free as he eased open the door.

The room was empty but the strange scent was fresh.

All Kanjigar’s muscles were tense as he entered. He moved slowly; leaving the door open as a precaution.

His ears were pricked and alert as his eyes swept over the room.

Jim’s toys sat undisturbed on the small shelf he had liberated from the junkyard. The picture book he had borrowed from Blinky was still there.

There was no sign of the boy himself.

His eyes tracked across the room before a small movement drew them.

Curled in the large pile of blankets that served as Jim’s bed was a small blue troll. They were staring at him with wide surprised eyes, both hands slightly raised as if that had been just holding their horns.

His eyes snagged on the hands. The five fingered hands.

Kanjigar’s nostril flared as he took in their scent. It smelled both like troll and human, with a heavy scent of some unidentified potion hanging over it all. More importantly it smelled like Jim.

A changeling.

Kanjigar’s ears went back -a jolt of betrayal stabbing through him like a dagger- He’d been fooled. His ears pressed tighter against his head as his fist clenched. Had he ever met the real Jim or had the impure been pulling his strings the whole time? This was what happened when a Trollhunter let themself get attached.

The low growl that rumbled from his chest caused the imposter to flinch. Its eyes widened further and its ears pressed down.

“Kanji…” It started.

Kanjigar didn’t give it a chance to spin its net of deceit. In a second he lunged forward pinning it to a wall.

The impure shrieked and wailed. It clawed at his hand for a moment before going limp. It shook as big tears dripped down its face. Its eyes looked so much like Jim’s that he felt a pang in his core at the sight. He shook his head and steeled himself; he wouldn’t fall for crocodile tears. Not again.

“How long ago were you planted,” He demanded.

If the changelings had found a way to fool even Merlin, they would be in trouble. If he was being honest part of him hoped that somehow, against all prior knowledge of when the exchange could happen, the changeling was a recent plant and he had actually known the real Jim.

The impure didn’t respond. It just kept whimpering and pressed its eyes closed. It was a very convincing actor. He would give it that.

He opened his mouth and…

“What are you doing?”

Kanjigar startled at Merlin’s harsh tone. He hazarded a glance back at the doorway, careful not to let the changeling completely out of his sight. He looked furious. His brows were drawn together and his eyes flashing.

“I found this changeling in Jim’s room,” Kanjigar reported, switching his gaze back to the creature he had pinned against the wall. “I was trying to find out just how early the exchange happened.”

Behind him Merlin huffed out a sigh.

“Put him down,” The wizard said. “That’s Jim, not an imposter.”

“What? But Master Merlin…”

“Don’t Master Merlin me. Put him down now.”

Puzzled but deferring to the wizards judgement he let the changeling drop. It hit the ground and stayed where it was curling in on itself and shaking. It looked positively frightened. He felt the unwelcome pang of sympathy again.

He shook his head trying to focus and figure out what was going on.

Why would Merlin…

There was no way.

“Did you let that changeling in here?” Kanjigar asked horrified. “You knew the whole time.”

That would explain why the wizard had been so careless with him and expected him to take care of himself. Despite appearances, changelings were not planted until they reached mental adulthood and were capable of fending for themselves.

“What? No,” Merlin looked offended.

“Then…”

“Jim is not a changeling. I would not take one of Morgana’s servants into my house lest I wake up with a knife in my back. I’m not a fool!”

“Then what…”

“Jim was a human but now, thanks to the potion I have been working on since I woke, he is a half-troll.”

Kanjigar blinked unable to quite process that sentence.

“What?” He said dumbly. He had never heard of such a thing.

Merlin sighed.

“Walk with me.”

The wizard turned away. Kanjigar hesitated glancing back toward Jim who was now hiding under the blankets. He half turned toward him before glancing in the direction that Merlin had went in.

There was no saying how long Merlin would stick around but now that he knew that the small troll was actually Jim (Even if he was still struggling to believe it.)… The flash of the boy’s scared eyes, his desperate sobs and Kanjigar, the very troll who he had trusted pinned him to the wall…

Kanjigar’s ears pressed down.

He took a step in the direction of the blankets before stopping.

He should give the boy some time to recover before he approached him. Not only that but he needed answers.

Once they were back in the main room, Kanjigar turned to Merlin. His anger at himself for hurting Jim was mixing with his anger and confusion toward Merlin for… whatever he had done. The turbulent emotions set his tusks on edge. He managed to fight down the snarl that was threatening to crawl up his throat, but his voice still came out more sharp than respectful.

“Why would you do that to Jim? What point is there in turning him into a… a half-troll?”

Humans and trolls were not meant time be mixed; changelings were proof of that. Even if they did not die by the sword or succumb to the webs of their own treachery, the magic that was forced into their stone aged them prematurely. They often suffered joint problems and fatigue as a result of hybridized systems –A weakness Kanjigar had learned to exploit when he came into conflict with them. They were doomed the weaknesses of humanity and trollkind while being rejected by both.

What purpose could Merlin possibly have in inflicting such a fate on such an innocent young child?

He drew himself to his full height ready to stare the wizard down until he got answers. Merlin eyed him through his thick brows.

“Because he will be the next Trollhunter,” He said.

Kanjigar stilled.

“What?”

In his shock it felt as if he had taken a step back out of his own body.

If Jim was going to be the next Trollhunter that meant…

Merlin sighed, looking slightly regretful.

“Yes, according to what I saw studying the future, you’re destined to die in the next decade or two and the Amulet will choose James when you’re gone.”

The first thing Kanjigar’s mind latched onto was just how soon that was. A couple decades was hardly the blink of an eye… The next was…

“But he’s just a child…”

Grown adults… great champions even… had crumbled under the weight of the amulet. Tellad-Urr the Terrible had been the most shocking and horrifying example but unfortunately not the only one.

“Then make sure you don’t die soon,” Merlin said. He sighed again. “Look I brought him here to make sure that when the time came he would be ready to take up the mantle.” He gave Kanjigar a look that the troll couldn’t quite interpret. “Perhaps you could start teaching him some combat and other Trollhunter skills. You were saying that younglings need to run around.”

Something welled up in Kanjigar’s chest as he finally managed to push through his shock.

“Yes,” He said, lips curling up slightly from his fangs. He had to take a breath to force down his anger. It didn’t work. “But they also need to have friends and enjoy the freedom that comes with their youth. I’ve already told you that Jim should not be trapped in this cage… in this cave all the time… but…” Kanjigar took another breath, the first hints of a snarl rode on the exhale. “But knowing what the future has in store for him. He needs to have time to just be a child even more. The mantle of Trollhunter is a heavy one. Caring for the wellbeing of many is a great burden. You of all people know that.”

He tried to catch the wizard’s gaze but he refused to meet Kanjigar’s eyes. The flame flickering in his chest kindled brighter. He hadn’t felt this way since he found Draal- back when his son was still just a whelp- cornered up against the edge of the tree line by some idiot younglings who thought terrorizing others was fun and who had not yet realized just how small of a slip it took for one to turn to stone.

“Let me take the boy to Trollmarket,” Kanjigar suggested, still trying to be reasonable and keep some semblance of control over his temper. “He’ll be safe there. He’ll be able to play with other younglings and grow up at a normal pace, then when the time comes for… for him to take up my mantle he’ll have had a chance to properly enjoy life first.”

Kanjigar waited for Merlin to reply. The silence stretched out between them. Kanjigar thought the wizard looked older than usual: tired. His shoulders were slumped and lines of tension traced his forehead.

“No.”

“What?”

“I said no.” Merlin looked up and met the Trollhunter’s eyes finally. Once again his face was unreadable. “James will not be accepted in Trollmarket. If you are looking for a place where he can be safe and happy and carefree… Well I’m sorry to break your delusion but that will not be it.”

Kanjigar growled and open his mouth to argue. The amulet hummed ominously on his chest in response to his emotions. He knew without trying that it was impossible to remove right now.

“Do you really think the other trolls will notice nothing odd about him?”

Kanjigar paused at his words and Merlin seized on that hesitation and continued.

“You yourself thought he was a changeling. Do you think you are the only one who will come to such a conclusion? The only one to treat him harshly because of it?”

Kanjigar flinched. Jim’s scared face as the Trollhunter had pinned him to the wall reared up in his memory again.

“Well?”

Kanjigar turned away, shame curling around his throat.

“I need to go check on Jim. I will think about what you said.”

He left the wizard, before he did something else he would regret, and hurried back to the small room. Jim was nowhere to be seen but Kanjigar could smell his strange new scent.

“Young Jim,” He said hesitantly.

There was no response.

The Trollhunter moved slowly into the room.

“Jim? Are you there? I am sorry about how I acted. That was wrong of me.”

Still no response.

Kanjigar’s ears pricked. There. He could hear harsh breathing.

It seemed he was still in the blanket pile. Kanjigar carefully lifted the thick downy blanket that was on top of the pile.

Jim flinched when the light hit him and curled into himself. Kanjigar released the blanket, not feeling quite right disturbing the boy, and it fell slightly to the side.

Kanjigar sighed. He crouched down and then stayed there for a moment, unsure of how to go forward.

“Young Jim…”

Kanjigar trailed off and ran a hand over one of his horns. This was all his fault. He had crushed the poor boy into a wall. Threatened him! A simple apology was nowhere near sufficient.

“I’m sorry Jim,” he said anyway to the boy’s back. “I thought you were something else, an enemy, but how I treated you was wrong. I won’t do it again. Can you forgive me? Or at least let me check to make sure you are unharmed.”

The boy didn’t respond but Kanjigar saw that one of his ears was turned back toward him. And wasn’t that a change? Kanjigar fought down the sense of unease that arose at the boy’s strange scent and odd features. This wasn’t the time to deal with that. It wasn’t Jim’s fault.

The boy remained quiet. Eventually Kanjigar did the only thing he could think of and sat down on the ground next to him. Both ears twitched in his direction at that but other than shivering Jim still didn’t move.

Kanjigar waited. If there was anything being Trollhunter had taught him it was patience.

An hour passed. Jim began to move more but seemed determined not to leave his spot. Not while Kanjigar was in the room.

The Trollhunter felt the shame curl tighter around his core. If only he had taken a moment longer to assess the situation. If he had done that Merlin might have arrived before he had hurt Jim and this could have been avoided. In the past he might have, but after the incident with Nomura, Kanjigar had become wary. He couldn’t forget how casually she had dropped her act when it no longer suited her or the burn of her blade on his side. He definitely couldn’t forget how heartbroken Draal had been.

He sighed and ran his hand down his face.

It was then he had realized that his enemies would take advantage of anyone close to him. It was then that he had started working alone. He found himself wondering sometimes if it was the right decision. Draal was angrier these days. He had heard that he was getting into more fights. Blinky had suggested it was because he wanted his father’s attention. Kanjigar wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he had made a decision and needed to stick to it.

Kanjigar wrenched his mind away from that painful line of thought and focused his gaze on the wall across the room. It was fairly plain rock at first glance, lightly textured with regular divots that suggested someone had worked on it with a chisel. If one looked close they would notice that thread thin veins of emerald ran through the darker stone. It made sense that Merlin had chosen this place, Kanjigar mused. The wizard’s magic was green and magic tended to be better enhanced by crystals of similar coloring…

His thoughts were broken off by a quiet scraping to his left, he carefully didn’t look.

He wasn’t quite sure what else to say either. He had already apologized; what else did one say to a child that they treated as a spy?

“Do I really look that different?” Jim asked.

Kanjigar looked at him cautiously out of the corner of his eye, making sure he wasn’t going to bolt, before looking at him fully. It was an odd question. He would have expected Jim to ask about the things Kanjigar had said when he was threatening him instead.

He took a moment to study the boy’s changes.

Like his scent, his appearance was now a mix of human and trollish traits. His skin was stoney. Whether that went all the way or was merely on the surface Kanjigar didn’t know. He didn’t particularly care to find out either. His nose was still relatively human, a little flatter and broader than it had been, but human. His ears were longer and freemoving now but his hands had retained five fingers each. Of course there were a few troll species that had five fingers but it was a rarer trait. (One often associated with changelings…) His hair was courser, but still black. Small tusks just barely poked out between his lips.

“Your eyes are the same,” Kanjigar said after a moment.

The boy jolted and then looked up at him. Indeed the rest of him may have changed but those bright blue eyes were the same.

“The rest of you looks different but they haven’t changed at all.”

“Oh,” Jim said and looked away again.

He looked down at his feet a quiet frown playing across his lips.

“Do you think my Mom would recognize me?” He asked quietly.

Kanjigar felt something his chest tighten.

“I don’t know,” He said softly. As much as he wanted to comfort the child he couldn’t lie to him on this. It would only bring pain in the future.

He paused a thought flickering in his mind.

“Does she not know… Was she not informed of your change?”

He hoped Merlin had discussed this with the boy’s parents beforehand, but… well…. The Wizard had shown that he was careless about such things. A lot of heartache could have been avoided if he had told Kanjigar beforehand…

Perhaps he had thought Kanjigar would try to stop him. (Perhaps he was right.)

Jim drew his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He pressed his face between them and murmured something that Kanjigar couldn’t quite make out.

“What was that?”

“She wasn’t there,” Jim repeated softly. His voice caught and Kanjigar realized that he was starting to cry. “I went to our house before… when Merlin told me about the potion. I…” He hiccupped and lifted his head a little to wipe at his eyes. “I wanted to see her before… But there were other people there. They said she’d moved… left.”

Jim’s shoulders shook and a slightly louder sob came out of him.

“What if I see her again and she doesn’t know who I am?” He almost wailed. “What if…” He grabbed at his long ears, tugging them down in distress. “What if she’s scared of me or hates me?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “What if she thinks I’m a monster?”

Kanjigar reached out and picked him up. He pulled him to his chest and wrapped his arms around him. For a moment Jim struggled but then the small half-troll pressed his head into Kanjigar’s chest and wailed.

It was a lonely, painful sound. Not quite troll or human.

It made Kanjigar’s chest ache.

He rested his chin on Jim’s head and rocked him gently as the boy cried.

Eventually he quieted and then after a little longer he breathing evened out.

He’d fallen asleep, Kanjigar realized.

He shifted him to a slightly better position and then leaned back against the wall tiredly.

What was he going to do?

He had had his hesitations about Jim being in Merlin’s care but after this…

He meant what he said about wanting to take Jim to Trollmarket. Unfortunately Merlin was right: the other trolls would be hesitant to accept Jim. There was some advantage to the fact that he was young. If he could convince the adult trolls that he was not a changeling they would not harm him… Most likely…

Kanjigar’s status as Trollhunter would certainly provide some protection but even if Jim was safe from the adult trolls…

Kanjigar grimaced. The adult trolls wouldn’t be the only problem. In his experience children tended to pick up on their parents’ prejudices. It was possible Jim wouldn’t be accepted among them either.

That was even without getting into ages.

The troll children who were mentally Jim’s age were already over a century. There were differences in how they approached and understood things as a result.

Not to mention he didn’t know if Jim was going to keep aging at a human rate or slow down…

Kanjigar carefully shifted Jim so he had a free hand to rub his forehead.

“What am I to do with you?” He murmured to the sleeping child.

He didn’t know. He really didn’t know.

Jim shifted in his sleep and made a soft whimper in his throat. His brows drew together and he pressed his face harder against Kanjigar before stilling again.

It wasn’t fair, Kanjigar thought. He had wished –pleaded with the amulet even- that his own son Draal wouldn’t have be forced to bear the burden. He had gotten that wish: but at what cost? This boy didn’t deserve to suffer it either.

He ran a hand through Jim’s hair and promised himself two things.

First: He would live as long as possible. He would make sure that Jim was well into adulthood before he took to mantle of Trollhunter. Kanjigar would fight for his own life as if he was fighting for Jim’s.

And second: He would do everything in his power to make sure that Jim was prepared for when his time came.

~~~~

Author Notes:

Yeah Jim is going to have some trauma from that...

Chronologically this chapter takes place soon after Chapter 6. If Barbara had waited even a month to move she might have encountered Jim. (Whether that would have ended well or not is hard to say.) We'll get to see what happened with Jim's visit to his old home in another chapter.

Jim is a little different looking from his cannon half-troll form in this AU due to Merlin having much longer to work on the potion. His troll and human traits are a little better balanced. Main differences include: 5 fingers on both hands, his ears are more like Blinky's in shape than elf-like as they are in cannon, and a slightly increased immunity to the sun (I'm still deciding to what extent). There are some other things that will come up later as well.

Something worth noting is that Jim is in many ways what troll imagine changelings look and smell like. Actual changelings switch from fully troll to fully human, but changelings are not frequently interacted with so images get distorted over time. Kanjigar knows this but it escaped his mind in the moment.

I don't recall seeing Kanjigar interact with any changelings in cannon but I have no reason to believe that he would be an exception to the general attitude toward them.

This is the end of this three part arc. I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will take place in the present.

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tristala · 4 years

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Tales of Arcadia: Wizards

I’m so sorry.

I didn’t like Wizards very much. Don’t get me wrong, I love most of the characters and there were some great moments not to mention stellar animation but I felt so little for this story.

I really wish it was longer or at least they made another season for it but I guess there were budget issues or other problems. It was too rushed for me. The pacing was a mess and it ruined the flow (to me at least). It was like 3Below but much worse because now it was all crammed into a 10 episode season.

This is an unpopular opinion but I really didn’t like how the time travel plot was executed. Especially with the time constraints of this season. It interested me at first but as the episodes went on it became quite tiresome. For example, how a lot of things just got resolved easily like King Arthur and how quickly he agreed to teaming up with the “monsters” he has hated for years. Everyone else too actually. Boy, they got over that fast. Sure it’s a cartoon but we need more slow burn. I was already rolling my eyes at that point.

Other things that irked me:

Deya just casually not being puzzled or shocked by a phone (Actually others were also pretty chill about seeing technology but she was the biggest offender to me). Also she talks too “modern” compared to other characters of her time.

Another thing about Deya is that she got over her issues immediately (Then again, almost everyone did). I like her character but I wish there was more conflict.

Vendel is the only character who they changed in character design. He’s the only one who was de-aged.

Out of all the characters we got to see again Draal was the only one I did not want to see, mainly because of his age and Jim’s reaction. I know trolls have long life spans but come on, at least make him younger. Kanjigar would have been perfect instead.

Speaking of Jim’s reaction (as well as Claire’s but mostly Jim). He has always shone deep sorrow whenever he saw Vendel and Draal in Trollhunters after their deaths. Now, he barely even reacted.

Aaarrrgghh’s past and his switching of alliances was too fast. His and Blinky’s relationship was cute but again, it was too rushed.

I am also not a fan of the time travel plot that makes the characters the one who caused the problems in the first place because when you think about it, who caused those problems in the very first time loop before any interference happened?

I love Steve but man, I really wish Toby was there with them instead, they probably wanted to switch it up but I felt like they did my boy dirty. Especially since he and Jim have been best friends for more than half of their lives.

Once again, Claire learned quickly with magic and everything else. Her voice actress improved but still mediocre especially with her angry battle cries or any yells at that.

One thing that really really peeved me is that Claire was the main focus on Jim’s journey. Like his mom or best friend didn’t even matter much. It’s always Claire, Claire, Claire, Claire.

How nonchalant was Blinky’s reaction to “losing” his brother. In Trollhunters, he looked or felt very sad whenever he mentioned or thought about him.

Morgana went off the rails too quickly and just began to cackle maniacally. Her redemption was clumsily done as well.

3Below almost had nothing to do with anything, no buildup whatsoever. I’m aware they’re gonna have a much bigger role in the movie but it would be much better if they were acknowledged more? It felt like Krel was just there like a forced insert???

Also is it just me but did Steve get dumber? He’s funny but the other shenanigans he went though were too dumb even for him. Some of his jokes also ruined moments for me like when Merlin died.

All in all most of my complaints exist because of the rushed pacing. If we had more time then I would’ve enjoyed this a whole lot more.

The things that I did love:

The combination of magic and technology.

Douxie and Archie’s wholesome relationship.

The Arcane Order. Enough said.

Claire and Douxie’s teacher and bestie relationship.

The creativity shone in casting spells and the making of the amulet.

The whole moment when Douxie was in limbo(?) and Merlin’s talk with him.

The god tier animation and dynamic cinematography.

And of course, Jim becoming human again.

I still enjoyed this season. I just really wish that there was more. I love the concept of Tales of Arcadia and I am looking forward to the movie.

I’m just so glad that Jim is back to normal and he can have a long well deserved rest.

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fuckyeaharthuriana · 4 years

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Top arthurian tv shows in preference order (26 entries)

Now that “Cursed” is in the game, I decided to re-order my favorite tv shows!

This was my god tier/not good shows list:

So welcome to the slighty updated list, now with Cursed, and small explanations

GOD TIER

01. The Legend of King Arthur (BBC): BEST arthurian show ever. It is the closest to Malory. It has a scheming, pleasant, smart Morgana who still manages to be sympathetic (I was rooting for her), some very nice scheming Mordred, some heartbreaking scenes, and I cried because of Bors, so be warned. The show goes a bit quickly for some parts because it tries to tell the whole story from baby Arthur to his death, so some characters end up becoming secondary (ex. Gawain or Lancelot and Guinevere and their love, which I didn’t mind too much).

02. Kaamelott: This tv show is amazingly heartbreaking? It starts slow, mostly comedic sketches (and I am not even sure the first seasons are subtitled), but continues quite strongly by adding more and more drama. I’d suggest starting from season 4 if you are here for the plot more than the comedy! The main character is Arthur, who plays the role of the classic straight man in comedy, at least at the beginning, but ends up on a character development journey that I loved to pieces.

03. Arthur et les enfants de la Table Ronde: this animated series is absolutely adorable (and I am slowly making subtitles here). The story revolves around young Arthur (only a few know of his destiny) and his friends: princess Guinevere, Gawain, Morgana and Tristan. Mordred and Morgause are also in the show as the classic mayhem villains, and Uther is the king... and pretty awful for a kids show! Every episode is lovely.

04. The Adventures of Sir Lancelot: I am probably biased, because this was one of my first arthurian tv shows, but this is a great fun family show with episodic stories where Lancelot just saves the day! There is nothing too deep (not even the Lancelot and Guinevere story), but each episode is fun and independent from the others.

TOP TIER

05. Camelot (Starz): This show had the misfortune of coming out at the wrong time, as I believe it would be much more successful nowadays, so it is only one season. The story set up a great Morgana, both pleasant, sympathetic and ambitious, trying to kill the less charismatic Arthur (who is probably the weak point of the show). Other great characters are peppered around (a great Merlin, interesting Igraine, adorable Kay, interesting Gawain), but the show spends a little too much time on the Guinevere-Arthur-Guinevere’s husband triangle and it drags the show down. Still, all the scenes with Morgana were gold!

06. The Mists of Avalon: A good miniseries of a less good book. The miniseries ends up making Guinevere slightly more sympathetic, which helped a lot, and cutting some of the plot related to paganism vs Christianity (which also helped). The story is the classic (classic because Mists of Avalon made it popular!) Morgana’s journey, from her childhood to Arthur’s death, with some interesting wrapping up of Arthur’s destiny and Morgana desperately trying to fix things.

07. The Adventures of Sir Galahad: A very old fun show which is more like a very long movie (one single story over different episodes, I think 7? If I remember correctly?). The old age is quite prominent (the way the show handles the continuous “Galahad is in trouble... Galahad manages to escape!”), but it is still good content for the Galahad fans! Furthermore, there is a lot of Mordred too. Basically, Galahad has to guard Excalibur for a night, when the sword disappears, and Galahad has to look for it.

08. The Boy Merlin: A very underrated show, maybe because it is quite short, but this is pretty good. It’s just a season of young child Merlin growing up with his adoptive family (his mother had to give him away) and his grandmother teaching him magic. It is quite wholesome, so expect the fluffiest adorable family and young Merlin slowly learning about his own destiny and future (lady of the lake also makes an appearance).

09. Cursed (Netflix): A new tv show about Nimue (hopefully it will have a season 2) deciding to stand up and fight for her people (the fay) with the use of a mythical Sword. The Sword (cursed sword) concept is quite interesting and I greatly enjoyed that, Nimue is a bit bland as a character, but the show has some great secondary characters like Morgana, Arthur and other spoilery characters and all of them have their personal arc, as well. Also kudos for having the first queer character in a tv show with a wlw Morgana!

10. Prince Valiant (animated series): An animated series about Prince Valiant and how he arrived at King Arthur’s court to reclaim his own kingdom and name. This show is quite good, with some interesting arcs and doesn’t chicken out from rounding up the secondary characters, in particular Guinevere, Gawain and Merlin.

MID TIER

11. Arthur of the Britons: This show follows the adventures of Arthur and his adoptive brother Kay, in a very historical settings. Don’t expect medieval castles or knightly armors, but a Celtic village and Arthur going on different adventures to help his clan or fight Saxons (or compete with Kay, who is an amazing character in this show). Sadly, Ector, Arthur and Kay are the only arthurian characters in the whole show.

12. Trollhunters: An animated series with three main parts (part 3: Wizards is coming out soon). The arthurian themes are secondary but will probably increase with the new season, and, in general, the show is quite enjoyable. It tells the adventures of human Jim Lake who is chosen to become a trollhunter and goes on various adventures to help “the good trolls” and defeat the villains, alongside his friends. Morgana is one of the main villains of the series, and Merlin instead works with Jim (but the show is not as black and white as it seems, and Merlin is definitely not a great character).

13. The Librarians: This is another ancillary arthurian show, just like Trollhunters. It is based on the movies but focuses on new characters so you won’t need to watch the movies. It follows the adventures of a group of people (found family trope!) who have to protect The Library, a place that keeps all magical artifacts. Galahad is one of these people and a main character, and absolutely one of the best parts of the show. Morgana and Lancelot also make an appearance.

14. Fate/Apocrypha: an anime in the Fate universe, but can be watched independently from the others as this is an AU story. It follows the adventures of a group of characters who summons Servants (historical and mythical figures) to help them in a ritual war to find the Holy Grail. While the show is set in modern times, there are arthurian characters among these summoned Servants and Mordred is one of them. Mordred is a great character here and it is interesting to see the father/son relationship he develops with the guy who summoned him. Plus, there are some arthurian flashbacks from Mordred’s times!

15. King Arthur (anime): I haven’t finished this anime yet (and I am slowly subtitleing it) but I love it! It flattens out a lot of arthurian plot points, and ends up mixing them up together to get a classic “Arthur goes on a quest with his arhturian friends” story. Arthur leaves to save his kingdom after finding out he is Uther’s son, and various arthurian characters join him (ex. Tristan, Percival, Lancelot). The Arthur and Lancelot relationship is particularly interesting as Arthur initially dislikes Lancelot, as he thinks Lancelot’s family caused Uther’s demise. The second season of the show ends up.... weirdly, with Arthur joining new non arthurian characters to have some more adventures, so I won’t subtitle that part.

16. Merlin (1998 miniseries): A miniseries about Merlin, from his childhood to Arthur’s death. While extremely popular, and with some amazing actors and actresses, I cannot say I am a big fan. The story has some good points (there are some prophecies that really wrap up the plot quite nicely at the end, plus the concept of gods kept alive by worship is interesting), but the story in some parts is accelerated to get to the point, and.... all female characters seem obsessed by beauty, which was annoying. I have to say, my main point of dislike was actually how female characters are good (Nimue) and subservient, or not good and vain (Morgana, Guinevere, Mab).

LOW TIER

17. Merlin (BBC): This is probably at the same level of Merlin 1998 for me. While the story starts with mixing up arthurian character to give us an interesting begin point, and show us the journey that would lead to Arthur and Guinevere as king and queen, the show seems to forget its initial premise. Instead of a character journey we have “character points”. For example, we start with Morgana being all about justice, then we have Morgana evil, just like that she forgets all her previous characterization. Furthermore, the show doesn’t let the main relationship of the show (Arthur and Merlin) grow and the two ends up stuck in the same dynamic till the end, because the show was too chicken to actually turn Arthur into a good king and change the status quo (he remains anti magic for all the 5 years of his kindgom, while the prophecy said he would create a great kingdom??). Still, on the good side, the episodes are pretty comedic and light, Guinevere actually has a character arc, and the scenery is always beautiful.

18. Stargate SG-1 (arthurian seasons): Vary vaguely arthurian, just a couple of characters and names. Still, the show is fun if you enjoy sci fi, and you can directly start from season 7 (I think that’s where the new team comes in and where the arthurian seasons start). Still, don’t expect a lot of arthuriana.

19. Sir Gadabout: Okay, this is actually funny. This is a parody about a goofy knight called Sir Gadabout, in King Arthur’s court. The reason why it is so low is because I was a bit disappointed by the lack of arthurian themes and characters (I remember only Guinevere and Arthur), and the dvds were also hard to find.

20. Fate Zero: I actually enjoyed this Fate series more than the original Fate Stay Night, and Arthur (Saber) is a bit more of a character here than the Fate Stay Night anime. Still, minimal arthuriana.

21. King Arthur’s Disasters: Comedy/parody animated series about Arthur ending up in various troubles trying to impress Guinevere, who is a bit of a sexist stereotype.

22. Seven Deadly Sins: A four seasons anime (with the new season coming out soon) about mythical knights considered both terrible villains and monsters, but clearly misunderstood by history. These knights are partially arthurian, as there is Meliodas (Tristan’s father), Ban (Lancelot’s father) and Merlin (a woman, in this show). Arthur also makes an appearance as the king of a nearby kingdom and Merlin’s friend and protegee. The show is fun and light, but even for an anime the sexism is high (Meliodas is a horrible protagonist).

SHIT TIER

23. Fate Stay Night: The original Fate anime where Saber (Arthur) is summoned as a servant to fight in the modern war for the Holy Grail. She is the only arthurian character.

24. Once Upon a Time (only the arthurian episodes): The arthurian season of Once Upon a Time was a disappointment full of plot holes, forgotten storylines and villain Arthur.

25. Merlin’s Apprentice (miniseries, sequel of the 1998 one): Nah. Please.

26. Alias the Jester (animated series): this is barely arthurian. Watching it was a mistake.

#arthurian #merlin #king arthur #guinevere #arthurian legends #list #tv shows #resource #sort of #resources #top tiers

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silver-spider-art · 4 years

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ToA: Trollhunters vs Wizards

First I don’t want to come off like I don’t think people should enjoy Wizards. Its a fun story and as a stand-alone or an AU its funny with so many call backs to favorite characters, and many emotional moments. Lots to enjoy on its own. However, it is AU. It doesn’t fit in the same timeline of events as what was hinted at and implied in ToA:Trollhunters. I believe the biggest reason beyond the tight time frame the crew had to work under is just that the main writers that were responsible for the majority of the original script for ToA:Trollhunters didn’t return to Wizards for whatever reason (they are back for the movie so fingers crossed). The people who wrote Wizards mostly had teleplay credits on ToA:Trollhunters (edited the screen play but didn’t write it) so while they’d been deeply involved in the original... well clearly a lot of ideas were lost in the swap.

So, why do I say the timeline was screwed up by Wizards version of events?

The opening of Wizards tells us that it’s the late 12th century and then says the present is 900 years later. We know that the current year is 2016 because Enrique’s crib in the Darklands lists him as born in 2016 (so while this doesn’t directly set the shows date it can’t be much past that and assuming Enrique is less than a year old, we can say it is 2016). Now 2016 - 900 is actually 1116 which is early 12th century, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

This drastically changes how we understand the history of this world. If Deya is the first Trollhunter, then all other Trollhunters existed between 1116 and 2016. We see at least 14 troll statues in the Hero’s Forge and we also see several others in storage when Claire retrieves Angor Rot’s head for Morgana, so we can assume a minimum of ~20 Trollhunters. This gives us an average of 45 years as the life span of a Trollhunter. And yes that might seem long to a human but we are told the oldest troll was 5,352 years old and since Vendel, Blinky, Arrrgh, and Draal are all there to see the first Trollhunter chosen and thus well over 900 years old (Draal is straight up said to be 1200 years old during ToA:Trollhunters), then to be chosen by the amulet would be a quick death sentence. Now, while Blinky does only say that the Trollhunters date back to the age of Merlin, this is implied to be further back than the lifetimes of the trolls of Heartstone Trollmarket. Draal talks about spending his entire life training to be worthy of it. Kanjigar pushed his son away to protect him from the dangers of the Trollhunter’s duty implying Draal was young and not an adult during this time, and the absolute faith the trolls have in the amulet and their reliance on the protection of the Trollhunter implies that they’d grown up seeing this as normal. Yet as shown in Wizards, Draal was an adult when the amulet was made. If this was the case he would've seen the amulet pick literally anyone other than him for 900 years and have no reason to think it’d pick him now. Also while showing Jim the box of stones to try in his amulet Vendel talks about Maddrux the Many from legends of old. So old they’d all forgotten what the stone’s actual power was, thinking it was the power of great strength and not the ability to make copies of yourself. 900 years, as we’ve established, isn’t long for a troll. Would you call something a legend of old if it was an event you were alive for? Even if Maddrux didn’t hang out in Heartstone Trollmarket, Maddrux wouldn’t have been an ancient legend. Vendel would've been alive for every Trollhunter to have ever been, so would’ve Blinky, yet they talk about the Trollhunter and the amulet in a revered way that doesn’t befit something which happened within a single lifetime, a single troll generation. 900 years is long for humans, but not for trolls. They would all have to have such bad memories if this is to be believed.

Another point of contention is Angor Rot. It is shown in a flashback that Angor Rot gets power from Morgana in 1297 with the location stated as Bulgaria, Black Sea... which Wizards shows us Angor Rot taking Morgana here after she drowns... but Camelot is in England/UK (in the normal legends)... that seems quite the journey for a dead girl he randomly found but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. He calls her forth by 4 names Argante (queen of Avalon or another name for Morgan Le Fey), Pale Lady, Baba Yaga, Eldrith Queen. So one, Angor Rot knows who he’s calling to, he’s not addressing the other spirits that Wizards showed using this place. Also it implies that Morgana has gained quite the legacy of power and influence. Now, when he gets her attention he says “Gunmar’s war for the surface lands has ravaged my village. I need the power to protect my people.” This very heavily implies that the war is ongoing. Based on Wizards, Gunmar was sealed away 181 years ago. It’s also strongly implied that all the Gumm-Gumms except Bular are gone now. So... who’s destroying Angor Rots village? Also we see Morgana’s hand in this scene, so either she’s really good at manifesting or she hasn’t been sealed yet. And if it was a manifestation, why would she make a physical ring? Regardless, she tells him he’s to seek Merlin’s Champions and kill his Trollhunters. Angor Rot was later sealed away in an ancient ruin of Aysa-Thoon in Ranthambore, India (which is in the middle of a tiger reserve btw). It’s old and overgrown implying he’s been there a while. Otto also says he found the location in old tomes so at the very least Angor Rot has been sealed away for centuries. So he runs around killing Trollhunters for ~300-400 years. If this is after the Killahead Bridge battle as Wizards would have us believe, then the only trolls on the evil side killing Trollhunters are just Angor Rot and Bular... which just seems off to me for how everything else is talked about in ToA:Trollhunters.

The Janus Order and the changelings are another confusing point that Wizards makes worse. When asked about changelings Blinky says that in the Old World Gumm-Gumms stole their young and did something unnatural to them and that their main purpose was to spy on the surface lands. Blinky also says that the Janus Order is an ancient guild of changeling spies, as old as they are mysterious. The phrasing of both these points imply that changelings have existed for a very long time by troll standards, not something that happened well within the lifespan of every troll seen in the show. In Wizards we see all of one changeling who’s already an adult and implies his power is new. Gunmar uses plural when he talks about Morgana’s changelings but they are also very clearly a brand new thing. From ToA:Trollhunter we know that human babies and changelings are exchanged through fetches into and out of the Darklands but if Wizards is to be believed and all the Gumm-Gumms except Bular were sealed away after the Killahead Bridge battle in 1116... who was stealing the babies? Bular? Considering how much Bular hates changelings I have a hard time picturing him setting up the exchanges to get the Janus Order established entirely on his own. If we assume there were a few changelings left loose after Morgana was sealed away... maybe... but Morgana and Gunmar just met and have worked together for like 3 days max... why are they so reliant on each other. And if most of the changelings were made after Morgana was sealed away then why are changelings like Otto so beholden and worshipful towards her? In his Janus Order orientation speech Strickler calls her their Lady Creator and that seems undisputed by any of the changelings. It is implied that Morgana is the only reason their are changelings. NotEnrique says he’s centuries old which means he’d been waiting in the Darklands as a baby until he was needed which I always took to mean that all the captured troll babies had been changed by Morgana before she was sealed away. If Morgana isn’t actually needed to make changelings, then why do they worship her and answer to her over Gunmar? Also Morgana only whispered to the changelings like Otto, never to Gunmar in the Darklands, so she couldn’t have helped set up the changeling magic from that side.

Then there is Morgana and Gunmar’s relationship. What we see in Wizards, Morgana becomes the champion of the 3 new elemental villains, she makes a changeling (off screen) and sends him to kill her brother, only then does she go see Gunmar. When Morgana talks to Gunmar she immediately brings up the Eternal Night, which... if she’s the champions of the 3 elemental beings who want the humans dead to bring balance to the world... how does the eternal night help them? It certainly wouldn’t help Nari of the Eternal Forest and I can’t think of any reason the other two would want that either. It only helps trolls (trolls who don’t realize that all their food sources need sunlight to exist). After we see her add the mind control power to Gunmar’s Decimaar Blade we don’t learn anything else she does for the Gumm-Gumms. To be honest, if I were Gunmar at this point I’d assume she set me up. Some sorceress shows up, is the king’s sister, she frees your son with a new troll hybrid thing you think is impure in order to get you to trust her and gives you a weapon upgrade to make you think you should go all in on the next battle and then you and your whole army gets locked away for 900 years... kinda no reason to think she ever had your back, especially not to the point that you trust people who say they’ve gotten visions from her in a worshipful way. She very clearly did Gunmar no favors in Wizards.

Merlin, oh Merlin... one, he’s entirely useless in the entirety of Wizards and always doing something wrong or just not having any power to do anything which is just baffling compared to the power he was throwing around in ToA:Trollhunters. As we see Morgana get sealed away in Wizards, it’s Douxie doing the sealing and Merlin has already fallen down and is asleep for some reason. This despite the fact that in ToA:Trollhunters he claimed he needed to use nearly all his power to seal her away and that was why he was asleep. That her being free meant he could get his power back which just... isn’t how anything happened in Wizards. Also Merlin very pointedly claimed that Jim couldn’t defeat Gunmar as a human, that he would die. But, in Wizards Merlin had originally been building the amulet for Arthur, a human. It was only afterwards that he decided to make it for trolls. So was the only reason Jim had to be a troll because the Jim he met was a troll? Because that is just really fucked up. The speech he gave Jim about needing to sacrifice his humanity, it implied that Merlin had planned this all out, seen this moment... but Wizards Merlin was just constantly in reaction mode and was completely backing Arthur and ignoring literally anything anyone else said until right before they went to the trolls for help. Merlin didn’t give a shit about trolls and they also hated him... but afterwards they love him to the point that they’ll talk worshiply about him? And why did they have to go back to the past? Merlin was so insistent they go back to the past at the start of Wizards... implied like they needed to flee the enemy but a moment after the kids are lost in time he just defeats the skull ship and no one that’s left on Camelot is in danger ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Also when Merlin and King Arthur go to the trolls to ask for help, at this point in Wizards it’s mostly been shown to be a battle between Gunmar and King Arthur for territory. It’s implied that the other trolls have until recently been more hurt by Arthur than Gunmar and Gunmar is only now trying to force them to join because he needs more recruits. Yet in ToA:Trollhunter the war was stated to be mostly a disagreement between Gumm-Gumms and all the “good” trolls and the humans just the victims. Everything in ToA:Trollhunters implied that humans didn’t stand a chance against trolls, Gunmar was endlessly dismissive but in Wizards King Arthur and company were a real danger to trolls, Cal/Deya was nearly taken out by an arrow. In fact the trolls of Dwoza were so useless that they needed humans to train them how to fight. They had no warriors? Where were Draal and Kanjigar during the fight with Arrrgh? So all of the trolls who would become the Heartstone Trollmarket trolls (including Bagdwella) had to be trained to fight by humans before Killahead but then were so disgusted by human Trollhunter Jim that they fainted? That they thought the very idea that a human could fight a troll was laughable? Yeah, that doesn’t make sense.

And Killahead Bridge, let us not forget. It is the portal to the Darklands but as Cal/Deya walks over it she dismissively says its nothing but a bridge over a dried up river so clearly Wizards is saying that Gunmar isn’t actively using the bridge as a portal, in fact we see no portals or any sort of magic used by trolls in Wizards, not even the door like in Heartstone Trollmarket, Dwoza just has a physical door. The only person who seems to have known that the bridge was a portal was Merlin as he is making battle plans. This also implies that the whole point of the amulet was just to seal Gunmar away in the Darklands. Which is just... why? The amulet hadn’t even been tested against Gunmar yet at this point. This brings up so many questions about the Darklands that are more confusing like how anyone figured out the fetches if travel back and forth from the Darklands wasn’t a thing until after the bridge became a sealed door.

As for the Trollhunters themselves, what were they all doing if every other Trollhunter existed between Deya and Kanjigar? Deya defeated Gunmar and sealed him away leaving only Bular and Angor Rot and the changelings. We know they weren’t fighting the Janus Order because Blinky had to look them up in a book and Blinky has actively been involved in several instances of Trollhunters (at least Kanjigar and Unkar) so he should know. Jim killed both Bular and Angor Rot, to whom everyone else just died. So what were they doing? Just cleaning up Gnome messes and Goblin battles? If there were no other Gumm-Gumms to fight, why was it a revered position that anyone wanted. The way Wizards sets up the timeline its more a curse that just means you have a countdown timer until Bular kills you. Also every single Trollhunter in the void tells Jim its suicide to fight Gunmar, even after he killed Bular. But by Wizards logic the first time the amulet was used against Gunmar it was able to seal him away forever with hardly a fight. If anything they should think Bular was more powerful than his father by that logic. It all just makes no sense.

There is more, like character backstory elements that upset me. For example how Arrrgh’s trauma over his treatment as a pet by Gunmar was ignored by Wizards and how his fear of violence was intrinsically linked to that trauma which fueled his insistence on pacifism and how Wizards showed him just casually hitting people after swapping sides with out any issues and that is just very upsetting to me, but that’s a very different rant.

In conclusion, Wizards has a lot of fun elements to it and can be a very fun watch, but it comes off like fan fiction to me, an alternate universe unconnected to the rest of canon. It doesn’t understand the world building that was established in ToA:Trollhunter and absolutely breaks its own timeline.

I’ve always pictured the line of Trollhunters stretching back to the Broze Age and the beginning of humanity, a war that has lasted several millennia, long enough that every troll in Trollmarket grew up in war, their lives shaped by it. A war that stretched out into their parents and grandparents generations. Which is completely doable from what we know of troll ages. Gunmar could easily be 4,000 years old (he looks it with all his cracks) and still not beat the oldest troll on record. Merlin always felt inhuman and ancient (centuries long nap and he just has to crack his spine), so he could be far far older than the Arthurian legends and have gone by many names. Also I clearly wasn’t the only one with this idea as if you read the Trollhunters novels or comics based after ToA:Trollhunters those authors assumed as I did. One novel has Jim and the gang go back to 501 AD to see Gunmar lose his eye to Orlagk. The Comics show an early Trollhunter interacting with humans from the stone age. To me this makes so much more sense. Trolls are old and long lived, it only makes sense that their perception of what constituted ancient be very different to what we humans see as ancient. They are also shown to be very slow to change, which is why it makes sense that the Trollhunter mantel is something that has been around longer than the current living trolls.

So anyway, I just really hope the movie doesn’t rely on too much of the nonsense that was shown in Wizards and is a fun romp. I loved full troll Jim and I miss half-troll Jim already. It just feels like his whole sacrifice was meaningless, that by undoing it and showing that humans can fight trolls just fine that it had been for nothing. Its just very disappointing. But that’s just my opinion (but then I’ve always voted for a Jim who can change back and forth and really have one foot in each world).

#trollhunters #toawizards #tales of arcadia #toa wizards #toa trollhunters

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thetimelesscycle · 3 years

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Tales of Arcadia Wizards Fanfiction: Hope Dies Last - Chapter 9

The Guardians of Arcadia grapple with the loss of yet another Master Wizard.

Zoe and Claire hatch a new plan.

A/N: I return!

A week later than I had planned, but I digress.

Turns out I spent my holiday actually working on some of my original pieces, which means this little project got set aside in favour of works that have been neglected for far longer. I intend to try and keep working on those stories going forward, so updates for this fic may not be quite as regular.

We'll still get there in the end, though. ;-)

Enjoy, TTC

Chapter 9

For Want of a Wizard

Like all wizards, Claire had been born with her abilities. They had always been a part of her; A silent power thrumming beneath the surface without her ever having been aware of it. It was strange to think that, were it not for Jim becoming the Trollhunter and pulling her into the wonderful world of trolls and magic, she might never have realised what she was capable of. She had pulled off her fair share of miracles since then, and it hadn’t even been a full year since the first time she’d used the Shadow Staff. Part of that was definitely luck — she’d been given a headstart thanks to Morgana’s attempt to steal her body, and the Shadow Staff itself had seemed to guide her in its own way long before that — but the rest had all been instinctual. Magic just felt right in the same way that being on stage had always come naturally to her, though it wasn’t until she met Douxie and the hedge wizards of HexTech that she realised how rare that kind of intuitive casting was.

All of them were her seniors in age and experience to varying degrees, though Zoe and Douxie easily outstripped their peers on both counts. She’d been given the impression when she asked that there was an unhappy reason so few wizards of their generation were still wandering the world today. She hadn’t asked again, more than capable of filling in the blanks even without a front row seat to history, and not wanting to waste what precious little of Douxie’s time she was able to claim for herself.

It was a calculated risk, making the trip between Arcadia and the Master Wizard’s new hideout, even infrequently and via the Shadow Realm. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been given much of a choice. The Arcane Order was still at large and Claire needed training beyond that which a hedge wizard could provide; Even a centuries old, very skilled hedge wizard. Douxie might not have been able to use Shadow Magic himself, but he’d learned the majority of his own skill the same way she had — through a sometimes painful process of trial and error — and was more than capable of steering her away from what might cause trouble. He was also an adept translator of the book she had taken from Morgana’s rooms, and she went to him for explanations even after he and Zoe had each set time aside to help her learn to read the tome’s contents herself. She found it easier to follow his directions than try and comprehend the words on the page, and with time set firmly against them the sooner she could learn to do more than open portals and create illusions the better.

Technically speaking, she had done more than that when she had fought to save Jim, but it had all been wild, desperate, and exhausting. She needed to learn how to do those things deliberately, and without pouring more of her energy into each spell than she could safely get away with. It was frustratingly difficult sometimes, even with Douxie’s relentless encouragement and stout belief that she was capable of anything she put her mind to. He’d laughed when she’d admitted as much, freely pointing out she’d picked up a whole lot considering she hadn’t yet had her magic for a fraction of the time Morgana had. She’d wanted to argue, not because she didn’t think he was being honest, but because for a moment her mind had completely tripped over the short passage of time that had passed since this whole adventure started.

They had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. The Eternal Night. Gunmar. Morgana. The search for the new Heartstone. The return of the Arcane Order. Jim and Toby had been at it only a few months longer than she had, yet, somehow, between them they had been involved in saving the world no less than three times. Surely, surely those adventures could not have taken place over a single year. But they had, and Douxie’s gentle amusement at her impatience had reminded her that her chosen teacher had spent nine centuries learning his craft and had still only just earned his staff.

That had put things into perspective.

So had watching Arcadia burn.

She was not a stranger to battle anymore. Even if she didn’t count the various, small skirmishes she’d taken part in there had been the Eternal Night and the Battle of Killahead Bridge to introduce her to the horrors of this millennia long war. Young though she might be, she knew what it was to stare death in the face. To stand on a pitched battlefield knowing you were outnumbered and outmatched and choosing to fight anyway. But even Gunmar had only wanted to conquer the human world — the Arcane Order wanted to burn it all to the ground — and it was there, standing in the midst of the calamity they had caused, that she most keenly felt her lack of experience.

Even without the soulless husk of Arthur to support them, the Arcane Order had them outmatched. They weren’t invincible — Deya had landed a hit on Bellroc at Killahead, and apparently caused some serious damage — but they had replaced their lost pawns with an army formed of what seemed to be every magical creature they could hold beneath their sway. She didn’t even recognise all of those swarming the streets, despite the hours she had spent pouring over Blinky’s bestiaries. There were shadow mephets, nyarlagroths, goblins, and hellheetis alongside countless others. She thought she saw a gruesome briefly out of the corner of her eye, and the stars above were blotted out by the winged outline of at least three stalklings.

It was madness, utter and complete, made all the worse by the innocent bystanders caught in the midst of it all. The three of them had been given the unenviable task of rescuing as many people from the heart of the battlefield as they could. Claire’s shadow portals were the only reliable way to transport people safely in and out, with neither the airship nor the Hextech wizards able to risk getting close to the Arcane Order themselves. That was Douxie’s role, and Claire hadn’t been able to argue when he declined her offer for assistance. Her skills were needed elsewhere, and she’d already tested her strength against the Orders and been found wanting. Douxie had promised he would manage. He’d smiled and gripped her shoulder and she’d let him walk away like a fool.

“Claire?”

The sky was spinning above her, half obscured by smoke as her mind wandered in aimless recollections, dredging up recriminations for a mistake she did not yet realise she had made.

“Claire! Wake up!”

The smoke burned the back of her throat as she unwittingly inhaled it. There was a ringing in her ears, loud and distracting and muffling Jim’s voice as he shook her urgently.

“Are you alright? Claire?”

“I’m fine,” she said, or thought she said. Her own voice sounded like a whisper, her hearing still as distorted as her vision. She coughed, her bruised sides protesting the motion, her lungs screaming for fresh air. “I’m fine. What—”

If Jim answered her she didn’t catch his reply, but he did help her off her back into a sitting position. His face was blackened with soot and streaked with blood from a dozen small cuts. No doubt she looked just as battered. Judging by the rubble surrounding them, half a building had come down with Bellroc’s last fireball. Still dizzy, she leaned against Jim a moment, trying to get her bearings, trying to gather her wits because now was not the time to lose focus.

The ringing in her ears was fading, replaced by what sounded like screams. Not sounded like, she realised, was. The smoke had parted behind them, so that when she and Jim whirled to face the source of that dreadful sound they were both given a clear view of the battlefield once more. Of her teacher — her friend —on his knees at the Arcane Order’s mercy.

“No!”

‘Magic is emotion’, Douxie had told her, something she had always known but never fully understood. Not until she was forced to embrace her fear or be rendered helpless once again. It wasn’t fear she was feeling when she staggered upright, bleeding and still choking on smoke; It was absolute, white-hot fury, and her magic reacted accordingly. The shadows took on a will of their own as soon as they left her hand, the energy torn from her fingers to join the violent maelstrom their battle had created. What she had meant to be an escape route turned instead into a whirlpool of darkness that dragged anyone and anything in the vicinity into its heart.

It should have calmed once they reached the other side, like diving beneath the surface of a pool in the middle of a storm. Unfortunately, she had unwittingly brought the Arcane Order along for the ride, and found herself emerging into chaos. Magic roared around her; Raw, unbridled, and dangerous. She couldn’t see anything, the clashing forces spinning her in circles and blinding her to both friend and foe. She could hear screams, voices she recognised, and a slow, swelling chant that settled sinisterly at the back of her mind, reeking of ill intent.

It was terrifying, but so was everything else they had faced today, and she wasn’t about to be the reason they didn’t make it out of this alive.

Giving up on righting herself, ignoring the chips of ice slicing through bare skin and the flames nipping at the edges of her hair, she let the whirlwind carry her where it would, pouring all of her focus, all of her energy, into locating her friends. She wasn’t Nari, she couldn’t simply sense the soul of any living thing, but she could picture the one’s she cared about clearly in her mind, imagine the shadows wrapping about them all in a protective blanket, and yank them to safety.

The landing was rough. They emerged from too high and crashed against the floor in a tangle of limbs and weapons. Claire had the breath knocked out of her when Krel landed on her back, a stream of what she was fairly certain were Akaridion curse words falling from his lips as they disentangled. She paid no attention, crawling on hands and knees towards the two among them who weren’t moving. Archie was closer, and she paused beside the small dragon, fingers seeking and finding the shard of ice that had felled him. She could feel the dark magic that infused it, an enchantment too complex for her to try and dispel on her own. She tugged the shard free instead, her fear easing a little when it did not resist, and watched with bated breath as the frost that had spread from its impact slowly began to melt. Archie’s wing twitched as the invisible layer crumbled away, and she nearly choked on her relief, hastily shoving the familiar into Jim’s arms as she turned to Douxie.

“Teach?”

He’d fallen face down without making any attempt to catch himself. She could still hear the screams Bellroc had been ringing out of him when they’d done... whatever it was they’d done. With a shaking hand, she reached to turn him over. There was no resistance; He rolled limply onto his back, skin pallid and face still, blood streaking the side of his face from a nasty gash on his temple. His chest had been branded with a strange rune that looked like it had been burnt directly into his skin, still bright in places, like hot embers in a dying fire.

She placed her fingers at his throat, searching for some sign of life as she pleaded under her breath, “Come on, Doux. Don’t do this again.”

There was no pulse that she could find. She tried to convince herself not to panic. This had happened before and he’d been fine, despite the fact the fall alone should have killed him. She just had to trust he could do it again. A minute ticked by, and then another, agonisingly slow and all too fast at the same time.

“He’s breathing, right?” Toby was behind her, Jim on her other side, still carefully cradling Archie. “Tell me he’s breathing.”

“I don’t…” she moved her hand to his chest, careful of the brand as she felt for the rise and fall that would indicate life. “I don’t think he is.”

“I could not hold him.” It was a fragile whisper, and Claire looked up to find Nari crouched on Douxie’s other side, staring at her own hands as if they had betrayed her. “I could not... I was not strong enough.”

“What did they do?”

Nari startled, lowering her hands as she lifted her eyes to meet Claire’s frantic gaze. “They have destroyed his soul. I tried to stop the spell, to hold him together, but I could not... I could not...”

“No.” She shook her head, denial rising. “No. There has to be a way to fix this. I can—”

“Guys!” The exasperated shout came from the other end of the dark cavern. Claire looked up to see Steve running towards them, Blinky a stride behind. “What is taking so long? We gotta move!”

The gyres. Of course. Their escape route. Their means of ferrying an entire town of people out of danger as quickly as possible. It had been her job to get everyone here safely, and she had failed.

“Great Gronka Morka!” Blinky had reached them, shoving his way through the circle they had unwittingly formed. “What happened?”

“No time for that,” Jim interrupted, moving Archie’s weight to one arm so he could reach down and pull Claire to her feet. “Steve’s right. We’ve got to move before the Order realises where we’ve gone.”

“But—!”

“We’ll figure something out,” he promised, stepping aside to let AAARRRGGHH!!! collect their fallen friend. “Just not here. Come on.”

Stumbling, she let herself be pulled along. The battle had exhausted them all, she could see it in the faces of those running alongside her, but they couldn’t stop yet. Douxie had been clear on that. They needed to get out and away, or the Order would just keep on coming. If they could. She didn’t know if Skrael or Bellroc could control the Shadow Realm now that Morgana was gone. No doubt they were powerful enough to find a way even if the magic was not in their repertoire, but leaving them trapped within its boundaries might buy a little more time.

Jim was leaning on her almost as much as she was leaning on him when they reached the gyre, his stamina not what it had once been as a half troll. Their sorry group piled on one after the other as Blinky wrestled with the controls. AAARRRGGHH!!! braced himself in the corner as they took off, cradling Douxie’s limp form gently to his chest. Claire found herself watching him as she swayed back and forth with the gyre’s sharp turns, still waiting on a miracle that wasn’t coming. Nari huddled at the large troll’s feet, her arms wrapped around herself as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked devastated; Claire hadn’t yet moved past numb.

The station was crowded when they arrived, filled to overflowing with frightened Arcadians and equally unsettled trolls. These people had faced the Eternal Night and Alien invasion, only to be left shell shocked by an ancient order of wizards marching in without warning to burn their town to the ground. She could hear Dictatious shouting somewhere amidst the crowd, trying to ferry people to where they were meant to be as if he could actually see what was going on. Her parents were somewhere in that mess, as was her brother. Douxie had been adamant they get their families to safety before joining the fight. He’d sworn he could handle the Order for as long as they needed.

He’d lied.

The guilt was an old companion, a heavy weight bearing down on her shoulders as she disembarked. They drew attention. Human or troll, people knew Jim, and AAARRRGGHH!!! was much too large to pass unnoticed. Even if very few of those present knew who Douxie really was, they seemed to recognise that something terrible had happened. The crowd parted without prompting to let them pass, battered bodies shuffling out of the way and then watching them hasten by with curious eyes.

All except one.

“Zoe...”

Claire trailed off before she had even begun, the words dying on her tongue. The hedge wizard had clearly raced to reach them, her chest still heaving from the dead sprint she had just stumbled out of, dust in her hair and rips in her shirt that had not been there the last time they had spoken. There was a wild look in her eyes that had nothing to do with her battle-worn state, and Claire stepped aside, tugging Jim with her, as Zoe staggered forward. Static energy crackled behind her as she walked right up to AAARRRGGHH!!! and his precious burden, the large troll crouching lower to allow her near.

Without missing a beat, she leant across Douxie’s prone form to grab a hold of his singed shirt. “Hisirdoux Casperan, you are not going to pull this nonsense on me again!”

The answer was, predictably, silence. Zoe waited a beat longer, then her eyes flashed down to the burning rune. “What is this?”

“The Arcane Order…” Nari answered meekly. “Bellroc turned his soul to ashes.”

Zoe went a shade paler, her voice sharpening to a verbal razor. “His soul?”

“I tried to stop them.” There was an apology and regret both in those words. “I failed. I am sorry.”

“No.” Zoe’s hand turned into a fist, Douxie shirt still clutched within her fingers. “No, that’s not good enough. I haven’t spent centuries helping Archie keep this idiot alive for it to end like this. You were a part of the Order, you must know a way to fix this. They brought Morgana back. Twice.”

“Morgana’s soul was still intact,” Nari explained, shrinking a little more with each word. “Even if I could still sense his spirit on this plane, I cannot complete the ritual alone.”

“You’re not alone,” Claire interrupted, earning the attention of both her fellow spellcasters. “You have us, Nari, there must be something we can do.” The tiny sorceress looked up at her helplessly, her lips parted without words, and Claire felt her own determination wavering. “Please.”

“Come.” Laying a supportive hand on hers and Jim’s shoulders, Blinky started them moving again. “We should find somewhere quieter to discuss this.”

Suddenly hyper aware of all the eyes on them, Claire let herself be led, finding and grasping Jim’s hand tightly in her own. They left the crowded chamber, passing by the glowing doorway where the new Heartstone rested; A triumph she had all but forgotten in the wake of all that had followed. Holding aside a thick curtain of fabric, Blinky ushered them all within the comparative privacy of his new library, then hastened to clear room on the table for AAARRRGGHH!!! to set their fallen comrade down.

The large troll did so with care, folding Douxie’s hands across his stomach. It reminded Claire entirely too much of Merlin’s tomb, and she tore her gaze away to watch Jim settle Archie into place beside his wizard. The familiar was still under the influence of whatever dark magic had been locked within that icy shard, though the paralysis seemed to have eased somewhat, his eyes no longer staring blankly into the distance. He still wasn’t conscious, and Claire thought that was probably a mercy right now.

“What the hell happened out there?” Zoe was still choosing anger over any of the other emotions she might be feeling, standing rigid with her arms folded as she searched the faces of those gathered in the room.

“We were too slow.” Jim spoke, and Claire tried not to flinch. She had been too slow. If she had been able to evacuate the town faster, Douxie wouldn’t have been trapped facing the Order alone. They’d been overrun, yes, by mephits and stalklings and all manner of dark creatures, but that was no excuse. She should have found a way. “Skrael hit Archie, and then...”

He trailed off. Scowling, Zoe moved to check the familiar herself, Nari clambering up to perch atop the table beside Douxie’s head as she did so. The small sorceress reached out as though intending to touch him, only to snatch her hand back at the last second with a guilty flinch. “This is my fault.”

“It’s nobody’s fault.” There were tears pricking at the corner of her eyes; She refused to let them fall. “The Arcane Order did this, and we are going to make sure they don’t get away with it.”

She didn’t care how. Enough was enough. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else to these monsters. Never, ever again.

“He can’t be dead.” She hadn’t realised Steve had followed them until he started speaking. “Don’t wizards like, turn to ash or something when they die?”

“That would require his soul departing to the next realm.” Blinky, one of only three in the room with the authority to comment, offered his knowledge. “Without that, I fear our wizard friend may remain like this forever.”

“What? Really?” Steve blinked, giving their fallen friend a sidelong look. “That’s… that’s just creepy.”

“One of the many mysteries of magic,” Blinky shrugged, turning to Jim. “I must go and make sure everyone is getting settled in alright. You’ll call, if you need anything?”

“Of course.” Jim nodded. “Can you let mom know we’re here?”

“Right away, Master Jim.” Blinky bustled out, AAARRRGGHH!!! shuffling behind him, and the room was plunged back into a heavy silence.

“What about Archie?” Claire couldn’t stand it, and spoke in spite of her shaking voice, “Is he going to be okay?”

“I don’t know what this enchantment is,” Zoe admitted, running her hands over the familiar with a gentle care that was at odds with the fury still radiating off her. “Curses aren’t exactly my specialty, but one of the others might be able to help.”

“I will go ask.” As eager as any of them to have something to do, Krel bolted from the room.

“And Douxie?” Toby pressed. “Is there some sort of wizard guidebook on soul reconstruction too? Some sort of relic we need to find? Some spooky, dark lair we’ve gotta sneak inside? Oh, oh! Maybe Gatto has something that would help?”

“Nari?” Claire kept her eyes on the forest guardian, the only one among them who had any true understanding of the magic that had been used here. “How do we fix this?”

“I know of no magic capable of restoring a soul once it has been destroyed.” Nari shook her head, her own gaze fixated on the unmoving wizard in their midst. “There are spells, rituals that might help if a fragment had survived, but I cannot sense any part of Douxie still with us.”

“You couldn’t sense Jim either,” Claire reminded her. “But he was still there, in the Shadow Realm.”

“Then that’s where we’ll start.” Zoe made a decision, stepping away from the table to stand closer to Claire. “We are not letting it end like this.”

“You can’t go alone.” Not about to be left out, Jim added, “The Order might still be there.”

“You stuck the Arcane Order in the Shadow Realm?” Zoe gave her a look that was equal parts bemused and impressed. “Douxie really has been training you, hasn’t he? You’ll have to ask him about that nyarlagroth he stuck in Limbo one day.”

“I will,” she promised, holding that fragile thread of hope for all it was worth. “As soon as we get him back.”

#Tales of Arcadia Fanfiction #TOA Wizards #TOA Zoe #Claire Nunez #Jim Lake Jr #Toby Domzalski #TOA Archie #Hisirdoux Casperan #blinkous galadrigal #Hurt/Comfort #Angst #We fudge the scenes I don't want to write because why not #Nobody is here for the actual plot anyway.

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freyaxx · 4 years

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Thoughts on Wizards: Tales of Arcadia

Ⰶ║ Spoiler warning║Ⰶ

Ok so... my friend and I finished watching Wizards yesterday and oh boy... that was an epic adventure! Now I want to talk a little bit about Wizards and about the final film Rise of the Titans, which will be released in January-March 2021.

Fulfilled and unfulfilled expectations:

What most hoped for from Wizards was Kre- that Trollhunters and 3Below and their main characters would be united. But that was not the case. The focus was mainly on Merlin's wizards apprentice Douxie. And also on Claire and Jim. (Steve was there to keep the mood from getting too gloomy). Many had hoped to meet again, that Aja, Krel and Vex would also play an important role and much more. Krel has had a small supporting role in the last three (correct me if I'm wrong) episodes (which actually wasn't that small, but we'll discuss that later). At first I was a little disappointed about it (and also that Krel had such a short screen time), but actually that's not that bad, because...

The end was just the beginning

https://twitter.com/talesofarcadia/status/1291705146200616961?s=20

A film called "Trollhunters Rise of the Titans" will be released between January and March next year. Many of the articles I read have listed the confirmed cast and they include all of our main Tales of Arcadia characters. Trollhunters, 3Below, and Wizards should only introduce us to the characters and their stories that will star in Rise of the Titans.

Here's a good recap of everything we already know about the film

➽ https://www.looper.com/234593/trollhunters-rise-of-the-titans-netflix-release-date-cast-and-plot/

For everyone who was disappointed with Krel's brief appearance

No need to fear. I love Krel as much as you do (and think he deserves better than being on earth (unknown if he'll just stay a little longer and one day return to his home planet). Even if his appearance in Wizards could have been longer, it was perfectly okay. Why? The conversation between him and Douxie in episode (*looks again*) 10 was short, but I found it very powerful.

Krel said "It's not easy being a leader" and "Save our friends or save the world? You have to make a decision! We're out of time!"

Why did that soothe me? Krel should know best. He was literally born to be a leader, he was raised to be a king. And that he said it so... harshly to Douxie (?) I also thought it was really great and important in some way. These sentences and the way he said them show Krel's status, his power and his experience. They reflect the king he is now after the death of his parents and I think that's really great! While Krel is the youngest character in Tales of Arcadia, he's also one of the most mature. I found the relationship between Krel and Douxie more than just great (for the fact that they don't even know each other) (STILL FOR KREL x MARY YOU CAN'T CHANGE MY MIND).

What's also great is that nobody questioned Krel. Of the whole group only Toby and Steve knew about Krel (I mean...they were there!). But no one questioned that the boy revealed himself as a big, blue, glowing, four-armed alien. I mean ... has Nari ever seen an Akiridion? Or the arcane order simply accepted Krel. Team Trollhunter what like "is big, is armed, can fight, okay fits” cvjsrjrvg

Dark atmosphere

I wouldn't call Tales of Arcadia a "kids show" ... and certainly not after Wizards! I know that Trollhunter is officially only approved for ages 12 and up and I wouldn't call “kid”. But on Netdlix they are all approved for ages 6 and up. I think Wizards is lowkey brutal and pretty dark. Especially when Douxie, Jim, Claire and Steve have been walking around in the past. There was a lot of death, tough talk, sensitive topics and more people died than usual in Tales of Arcadia. I don't think that's bad ncvjkebhjk

Something special

I think every chapter of Tales of Arcadia has something special. Trollhunters had the best atmosphere in my opinion, 3Below the best characters and Wizards the best storyline. And all of that combined in one film, it will be just epic! I couldn't pick a favorite Tales of Arcadia chapter tbh.

Good and bad

In the fight for Killakopf "What are they fighting for?" asked my little brother. I didn't know what to answer. And when he asked me "Are those the bad guys?" I explained to him "Actually there is no good or bad. Everyone believes they are right, and everyone has both good and bad reasons".

The evil side became really clear when the trio was back in the present. And I think that the bad charas (like Morgana and Merlin) were put in a better light and died as heroes. AND PLS WHEN DOUXIE ALMOST DIED, AND TALKED TO MERLIN AND MORGANA (here, the Harry Potter vibes) I HAD TO CRY.

These are the few points that come to mind. Opinions? (´• ͜. •̥`)✧

#wizards toa #wizards tales of arcadia #Trollhunters #rise of the titans #trolhunters rise of the titans #3below #aja and krel #krel tarron #aja tarron #jim lake jr.#claire nuñez #toby domzalski #douxie #steve palchuk #morgana #merlin #nari

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hamliet · 5 years

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Tales of Arcadia: Trollhunters + 3Below

Guillermo del Toro, y’all. He gets me.

All del Toro’s best qualities in storytelling--complex characterizations, excellent villains, monster romance, and redemption arcs--are very much present in both Trollhunters and 3Below. Like, seriously, the vast majority of antagonists get redemption arcs that are somehow all well written, and the ones that don’t are still complex and compelling.

Trollhunters specifically carries three structures that I adore: Campbell’s hero’s journey is followed, and the story also follows a very obvious alchemy structure (my latest literary structure obsession) and employs Jungian themes as well.

As for alchemy in the story... Jim is clearly marked as a heart character, Claire as a mind character (her intellect saves them all multiple times), and Toby as the body character. Additionally, each season’s ending fits with the nigredo-albedo-rubedo structure: at the end of season one, Jim is stuck in the Darklands (nigredo--black night of the soul); at the end of season 2, Jim and Claire have become a couple and been purified through what they’ve gone through, but a certain character marked by the color white dies; at the end of season 3, the battle is fought in red hues and they overcome together. Plus Jim has to literally submerge himself and transform physically to save the world.

The Jungian aspects which mix with the alchemy ones include some very, very blatant symbolism. Claire literally winds up in the shadowlands at one point (Jungian shadow), while as previously mentioned Jim has to merge with his shadow/troll self to save the world.

And I forgot to mention: one episode pretty clearly is modeled after my all-time favorite movie, The Breakfast Club. And it fits well in the series as a whole! AND the main villain is voiced by Lena Headey (aka Game of Thrones’s Cersei), who clearly is now typecast, but who plays a great character.

3Below is a spin-off/crossover that tells its own story while also complimenting Trollhunters quite well. It mixes a sci-fi premise (aliens coming to earth) with medieval fantasy tropes (Aja as the reluctant princess, a coup putting both the prince and princess in exile where they have to pretend to be commoners to survive), structured by the heroine’s journey this time, and somehow really, really works.

3Below also contains pretty sharp critiques of racism, xenophobia, sexism, and ageism, with, when Aja and Krel and Vex are being disguised as humans, they are deliberately given the roles that society denigrates (which is directly stated): Aja as a girl, Krel as a Latino, and Vex as an elderly man. It’s very critical of humanity and society while at the same time offering an optimistic, hopeful belief in humanity as well. This is evident in the complexity of its characters, human and alien (and troll!).

Another thing I really love about both series is how parents and teachers are portrayed. No one is portrayed as one-dimensional, and while the parents have flaws and, true to the structures employed, the kids need to overcome their parents as it’s a coming of age story, the parents are not fridged, have complexity themselves, and are even supportive of their kids’ supernatural endeavors. This was refreshing to see, and written in a way so that it didn’t lessen the conflict at all. Even the teachers used for comedy have genuine character moments, and while they struggle with communicating with our young cast, they do succeed.

For example, Jim’s mother’s romance with Mr. Strickler parallels Jim and Claire’s own romance (both are monster romances of a sort). And Mr. Strickler and Blinky are both father figures to Jim, as is Merlin who literally greets Jim with the classic Vader line “I am your father!” But he’s not--biologically--and it turns out to have been a joke. Yet, Merlin is Jim’s deadbeat dad in many ways. He’s selfish, not a villain but certainly not a protagonist either. He shows Jim what the dad Jim’s always longed for really is like, but Jim has Mr. Strickler and especially Blinky to fall back on.

At the core of both series is humanity. Whether troll, alien, human, changeling, or something in-between, every character has to wrestle with what it means to be a person, and what humanity in all its foibles and flaws has to offer.

I highly recommend both series.

#trollhunters #3below #tales of arcadia #hamliet reviews

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the-twin-trollhunters · 5 years

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it’s been literal ages since i’ve actively DONE anything with this blog but i really wanna get back into developing this au since i love it a lot,, even if “developing” is more just. writing scattered drabbles and snippits instead of writing through it chronologically so...

if you have questions or prompt ideas or cool thoughts about any particular era, please do let me know, i love talking about this crossover!

the 5 eras of this crossover:

Era 1: (August 1967- June 1968) Glass Shard Beach/Quartz Shard Cove Era 2: (1968-1982) Stan in Trollmarket/Ford’s research years Era 3: (1982-2012) Wilderness Years Era 4: (2012-2016) Summer 2012 and beyond Era 5: (Spring 2016~) The new trollhunters

(a ton more rando ideas under the cut)

Era 1: (August 1967- June 1968) Glass Shard Beach/Quartz Shard Cove

Big ideas: -Stan finds amulet, discovers underground civilization of trolls alongside Ford -Helps protect Quartz Shard Cove, the troll city below them, over the course of senior year -Major foes are Korsiva (a disgraced ex-general of Gunmar who’s been in hibernation for years) and an east coast branch of the Janus Order -Stan and Ford’s baby nephew (son of their big brother Shermie), Alexander, gets swapped out for a changeling. Chaos ensues. -Carla- Stan’s best friend- is brought into the fold/fights alongside the twins. -That time they recovered a single piece of the Killahead that was unguarded- they learn the changelings are trying to rebuilt it early in this AU. The piece is stowed away for safekeeping in Trollmarket, deep in the catacombs. -Over time there’s found family themes with Alex the changeling, and he ends up defecting from the Janus Order entirely.. after experiencing all the horror of the Darklands, he just wants the chance to live a good and honest life. Through ancient magic, he finds a way to wipe the evidence of his existence from the Order. -Blinky and Aaarrrgghh pretty much slam adopt on all of these humans. -Stan and Ford’s relationship becomes more and more strained as the year goes on because Stan keeps pushing him away (thinking he’s protecting him by doing so)

Era 2: (1968-1982) Stan in Trollmarket/Ford’s research years

Big ideas: -After Stan is kicked out, he moves with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh back to Trollmarket. -Ford, to college. -Stan becomes really close with Draal during this time. -A lot of Stan’s work during this time is working to maintain peace in the troll world with the continuing threat of Killahead bridge being knowingly rebuilt, and trying to figure out WHERE the bridge pieces are being stored. (Currently it’s being hidden in a place far away from Arcadia.) -Ford still goes to Gravity Falls to research the strange and bizzare, and the Bill Cipher stuff still happens, except in this AU the Nightmare Realm and the Darklands are the same place, just this interdimensional dumping ground that Bill and Gunmar are both trapped within. They’re pretty much both competing to see who can get out first. -Stan sent to go investigate the going-ons in Gravity Falls bc the trolls sensed an open portal to the Darklands there. He’s pissed and confused to realize it was his brother’s doing. -Ford gets sucked through the portal, along with Stan’s amulet.

Era 3: (1982-2012) Wilderness Years

Big ideas: -The troll Tribunal forbids Stan from setting foot in any troll settlement in punishment for losing the amulet to Gunmar’s clutches. They’re essentially without a trollhunter for these 30 years. -Stan realizes the truth about Ford, that he was manipulated by an ancient eldritch being. Now feeling insanely guilty for leaving him to the whims of something like that, he begins to rebuild the thrashed portal. It may be ultimate treason to the trollkind he once swore to protect, but his family is forever more important to him than law. -Ford, meanwhile, discovers a shocking fact- the amulet calls his name too, and he can wield the armor and Daylight as well. He travels the multiverse for 30 years, learning more about the amulet and what it means to be a trollhunter along the way... crossing into dimensions where other trollhunters exist, gathering stones to use in it, gaining proficiency at fighting... -Alex- or as he comes to call himself, Lex- grows up, moves to California, falls in love with a human woman, and to his great surprise they’re able to have kids- twins. As far as he knows at that point, they’re essentially fully human- but they all know about his changeling nature. -They raise their kids in Arcadia. Occasionally, Lex does reconnaissance work for the trolls- Blinky and Vendel specifically.

Era 4: (2012-2016) Summer 2012 and beyond

Big ideas: -Lex sends his kids to GF for the summer for Stan to watch, paranoid that the Janus Order discovered what he did to their records and found him again -Much of the summer is spent trying to uncover their Grunkle’s hidden past (he’s kept all the trollhunting stuff on the down low from family as a result of his disgrace from troll society. only lex knows the full story.) and what’s up with this mysterious journal in the woods. -The journal is p much the same except it has a toooon of troll stuff in it too. Ford’s a nerd. -Wendy is a changeling. Originally she was stationed in Gravity Falls to keep an eye on Stan and make sure he’s not up to no good, but she’s never actually gotten the chance to sneak into his basement to see what he’s working on. His security is too top-notch. When she’s finally a teen in human years she gets a job in the shack so she can get closer to him. -Honestly I think she also flips. Just, all the changelings eventually flip when they see how great found family and friendships and anything that’s not Gunmar is, okay? XDD -Fiddleford isn’t actually entirely insane- but he’s still not all mentally there. Long story. He lives with his son and actually wears clothes most of the time. -Yknow I’m pretty sure Dipper and Mabel prob catch Wendy shifting between forms and that’s how they esp bond -Also let’s be real the two of them definitely end up exploring the troll civilization under Gravity Falls -the Wham moment where Ford walks out of the portal wearing the Armor of Daylight and everyone’s like :O OOO two trollhunters!!! ! -Weirdmageddon’s weirdness wave activates long dormant changeling genes for Dipper and Mabel, and they shift into troll forms. They’re a unique case of changeling because they are their own familiars. -Post 2012, the full story of what happened with the amulet becomes known to trollkind, and Stan’s ban from underground is lifted. He and Ford together continue trollhunting business, and they’re still a force to be reckoned with, even with their age. -In early 2016, the amulet leaves Stan and Ford, and stops responding to them both. The assumption made is that it senses the two of them are unable to carry out their duty anymore at their age, and has made the choice to move on. (normally a trollhunter just... would die long before they grew old enough for this to be a problem, so...)

Era 5: (Spring 2016~) The new trollhunters

-Dipper and Mabel are both 18, in senior year. They are fully able to shift between forms at whim by now. -Amulet picks Jim. A lot of broad canon strokes remain the same, but the trolls already are aware of the changelings still existing, and of the Killahead bridge’s threat- and have made the appropriate precautions. Tbh I still need to develop more logical divergences this new canon would make in what happens. -But I do know for sure that the changelings have to infiltrate Trollmarket to steal the stone Stan retrieved LOOONG ago in 1968 to even open the Killahead bridge at all. -And I think Bular’s been out and about for some time trying to sniff out where this piece was being kept. His hunt has only recently brought him back to Arcadia. -Dipper and Mabel accidentally out themselves to Bular during the equivalent of the ep Young Atlas as they try to rescue Jim. This also outs the fact that ONE of their parents must be a changeling to the Janus Order. -There is a Kidnapping that occurs,,, as Strickler is trying to pry info on where the last piece is from Lex, using Dip and Mab as collateral. Strickler gets the info he wants, sigh. -Through the battle of Killahead that eventually ensues, both Nomura AND Lex are sucked through into the Darklands. Not only does everyone want to rescue Claire’s baby brother, but they want to rescue Lex too. (There’s also some interesting ethics on whether or not they should rescue the REAL baby Alexander Pines afforded the opportunity, too. I’m still not sure if they do or not.) -When Jim goes into the Darklands, Stan and Ford return from their sailing expedition to keep the peace as best they can in Trollmarket/Arcadia. Sans amulet, of course, bc it won’t respond to them anymore but.. it’s something. -They’re there for the remainder of “S2-3.” -Ford ends up trying to defend Jim at the tribunal, but despite his eloquence still fails to convince them of anything. -When the Merlin quest happens, Dipper and Mabel are there as well. They can’t shift forms because of the magic ban, but their addition is enough to help fight off/kill Angor Rot and save Draal. -Ford knows from his journeys through the multiverse what Merlin aims to do (he’s met a future half-troll version of Jim, he Suspects) and is Against It. They fight alone at one point. -Battle stuff... Except the battle goes Fucking Wrong because of some key elements (no Angor Rot to blindside Morgana) and it ends up with the eternal night becoming permanent and some hellish frickin stuff, Morgana murders Merlin, she reconstitutes the shattered fragments of Bill Cipher within Stan’s mind (those two have History and that’s literally a whole nother Story please do ask me about it) and whisks him away in seconds to GF to go break Bill’s full essence free from his stone prison because she wants to p much steal his power for herself. -Ford found a sort of special amulet stone whilst in the multiverse that he’s been keeping all this time in case of emergencies... it allows the bearer to jump backwards in time, but only once. Only thing is, it’s also. in Gravity Falls. Kept safe in Fiddleford’s mansion. -Claire jumps them to GF via shadow staff. -Jim gets the stone and is able to use it like, just before they pretty much all die. He jumps back to RIGHT when Merlin wakes up in the tomb. -He realizes that the only real way he can stop all of this from going to hell completely is by making sure that all the shards of Bill in Stan’s mind are well and truly destroyed forever... and so they do just that. It’s a big dramatic mind demon eternal exorcism, a family/friends effort.

-there’s probably more but I’ve literally been rambling on like a noob. that’s pretty much the highlights. please do ask me questions about events/character relationships/places/timeline stuff/etc etc etc i would love to see them!

#trollhunters #gravity falls #trollhunters au #gravity falls au #a tale of two trollhunters #stanley pines #stanford pines #jim lake jr #dipper pines #mabel pines #etc etc #lots of characters here #text

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magic-and-moonlit-wings · 5 years

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Chapter 30: This Is Not Enrique!

Becoming The Mask

Hey, guess who just realized they never got around to posting this chapter on tumblr?

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!"

Toby paused their video game and started rooting under his bed.

"This'll cheer you up. Remember that Heartstone piece you gave me?"

He pulled out a shoebox.

"I've been keeping it in the dark, mostly. Dunno if sunlight would actually hurt it, but quartzes lose some of their colour if you leave 'em in the sun and, considering what sunlight can do to trolls, I didn't want to take the chance. Figured a magic troll-rock would be even more sensitive."

Toby opened the box. Jim blinked twice at the orange glow, brighter than he expected it to be, before realizing the box was lined with foil. The Heartstone sat in a little pile of dirt.

"Obviously I can't recreate the pressure down in Trollmarket, but I filled a baggie with dirt down there after you gave me the seed crystal so I could, you know, at least copy the local mineral composition? And I've been measuring all its planes," pointing to a notebook wedged between the foil and the box wall, "and it's nearly a whole millimeter longer. That's, like, insanely fast when it's not salt or sugar grown on pipe cleaners."

"Tobes, that's … this is amazing."

"I mean, it could also be growing faster because it was recently cut," Toby acknowledged, "like Nana's friends' flower cuttings. Or like how martial artists break bones on purpose so they heal stronger."

"So, I get the box as protection from the sun, and making sure the dirt doesn't just get everywhere, but what's the foil for?"

"If the glow is magical, I thought maybe reflecting it back on itself could make a feedback loop and it'd get stronger."

"I am Gun Robot," Jim's phone began chanting. "I am Gun Robot." Toby's phone started buzzing and chanting as well.

"Hi, Mary?" said Jim.

"Hey, Darci, what's up?" said Toby.

"We need into Trollmarket," said Mary briskly. "Get Toby, Darci's filling him in, and meet us in the canals."

"Jim's right here, actually –" said Toby in the background.

"Whoa, wait, what happened?" asked Jim.

"Claire found a goblin in her room and her brother's missing and Blinky doesn't have a phone. You know, we should really fix that."

Jim had gone cold. He listened with half an ear as Mary talked about burner phones and emergency contact lines. Had Otto gone after Enrique? To attack him on suspicion of treason, with three confirmed traitors involved in his planting? Or to recruit the Changelings' newest surface agent before anyone else could get to him?

"Jim? You still there?"

"What've you done with the goblin? They're vengeful. Hurt one and you'll have the whole swarm after you."

"It's fine. Claire locked it in a cat carrier. We're bringing it with us."

"No!"

Toby looked over at Jim in askance.

"We probably shouldn't bring a goblin into Trollmarket. You guys are at Claire's house, right? Her parents are out?" If Claire had been the one to notice Enrique was missing, that meant she was probably babysitting.

"Yeah?"

"Tobes and I'll meet you there. We can sneak back out if her parents get home, and then they won't freak out coming home to find both their kids missing."

Toby closed the Heartstone box and slid it back under his bed. "We'll be there soon, Darce."

Claire was pacing on the porch when Toby and Jim got to her house. She practically dragged Jim inside. Toby took care of locking both their bikes to the porch before following them.

The cat carrier was on a table in the living room. Darci and Mary were on the couch, Darci holding a baseball bat. Claire was still pacing, recapping how she'd found the thing in her room (Toby shuddered) and her brother's crib empty.

"But why was the goblin alone?" Jim wondered out loud. "Goblins are pack creatures. They should've called for help by now."

"I don't care!" Claire snapped. "Just armour up and make it tell us where Enrique is!"

Jim got out his amulet. It ticked, the hands shifting to a new position – not all of them going clockwise – and the Trollhunter's armour appeared in a flash of light.

"I'll need to open the cat carrier."

"Better you than me, buddy," said Toby, picturing sharp teeth and looking at Jim's armoured hands.

Jim unlatched the cage, pulled out the squirming towel-shrouded beast, held it securely under one arm, and uncovered its face. Its eyes and Jim's bugged out in surprise at the sight of each other.

"Ssshh," Jim soothed. "It's okay, little guy." He adjusted his grip on the creature to hold it more like a baby. "Claire, this isn't a goblin; this is a baby troll. I've seen a few like him down in the market. He probably got curious about the surface, wandered off, and followed your scent."

Jim started backing towards the door.

"Here's the plan. I'll run this little guy back to Trollmarket – his family's probably freaking out – and you four stay here and keep looking for Enrique. I'll bring Blinky and AAARRRGGHH back with me to help search."

"… You're lying," Toby realized.

"What?"

That was said by Jim, Claire, Darci, Mary, and possibly the 'baby troll', but it was hard to tell under so many other voices.

"I – I don't know about what, but you lied, just now. That's exactly the kind of slightly-too-perfect excuse you use for cover stories."

No witnesses, no space for questions, and getting potential corroborators alone so they could be filled in before being questioned.

"Busted," said the 'baby troll'. Toby hadn't imagined that Cockney accent.

Jim hmphed. "Well, now we are. I can't believe that was my tell. I can't believe someone figured out that was my tell."

"How'd you end up the Trollhunter? Always thought that gig went to, you know, the trolliest troll."

"Everyone did. I was a surprise."

Claire picked up the nearest thing – a pillow – and held it up threateningly.

"What's going on?"

Darci got off the couch and gently swapped Claire's pillow for her bat.

Jim turned blue, and sprouted tusks and a tail. The metal horns on his helmet turned into real horns. Holes appeared on the sides of the helmet to let out his ears, which grew long and twitchy.

He let go of the 'baby', which landed on all fours and would've bolted if Mary hadn't pounced and caught him in the towel again.

"I'm a Changeling. I've been living as James Lake Junior for sixteen years." Jim summoned his sword, spat on the blade, and turned it around. "As you can see, Jay-Jay is perfectly fine. Also, that's what goblins actually look like. Note the mutton chops."

"So, if this isn't a goblin –" Mary stuffed the towel into the cat carrier again, "what are you?"

"I'm a Changeling, too – wuzznit obvious?"

"He's … Enrique."

Claire dropped the baseball bat.

"No. That is not Enrique. You – you kidnapped my brother?"

"Or, had him sent into sanctuary, away from an increasingly dangerous world," Jim offered. He made his sword disappear.

"Oh, god." Claire looked like she was about to faint, or throw up. "That's why you offered to babysit, isn't it? So you could switch Enrique for – this thing!"

"Naw, that was after the swap," the green Changeling said. The cat carrier stood on its end, like a bucket, with the door open. He'd wrestled his way out of the towel enough to stick his head and one arm out.

"I just wanted to check how he was settling in –"

"Settling in? You invited a monster to replace my baby brother and wanted to know how well he was settling in!"

"He's not a monster!" Jim insisted. "Getting out of the Darklands is a rough transition. It's harder for Changelings on our own. I didn't want him to feel isolated."

Claire punched Jim. Toby winced. It probably hurt her hand more than Jim's face. More weakly, tears in her eyes, she punched him over and over in the chest.

"You took my brother from me. Now he's all alone in the Darklands …"

"He's got the goblins. They'll tend to Human Enrique's every need. The Nursery is one of the safest places in either of our worlds. If any harm came to Human Enrique, Changeling Enrique wouldn't be able to transform anymore."

"How can I possibly believe you when you've lied to me all this time?"

"Hey, I never said Enrique wasn't a Changeling. The only stuff I've lied to you about either wasn't your business or would've put other people in danger."

She hit him in the face again. He grabbed her fist.

"I get that you're upset, and that's your right, but I'm not just going to stand here and let you keep hitting me."

He let her go. Claire picked up her bat again, and pointed it in the smaller Changeling's face.

"Bring. Enrique. Back! Right. Now."

The green Changeling bit the end of the bat. He didn't bite it off entirely, just held onto it with his shark-like triangle teeth. It looked like Claire was playing tug-of-war with a particularly ugly dog.

Jim sighed heavily.

"It doesn't work that way. The Nursery's not easily accessible, and he's been there for months, not aging. Even if we could bring him back tonight, he'd look like he's regressed in development. Any pediatrician would notice, and then your parents would get upset, and if you tried to prove to them what happened, that would just put you in danger."

"Bular'd love an excuse to eat a whole fleshbag family," Enrique's replacement agreed, without letting go of the bat.

"Actually, Bular died yesterday, but there're still other Changelings who'd take action if they saw our secret about to be exposed."

"He's dead?!"

"Wasn't Bular one of the scary-evil trolls Blinky warned us about?" said Darci. "The gummy guys?"

"Gumm-Gumms. Yes, officially, most Changelings work for them. I failed an assignment, he decided I was a traitor, and I had to kill him in self-defence."

"… Is that how your mom found out?" asked Toby, before it occurred to him that Jim might not want to talk about that particular detail.

Then he decided it didn't matter. Toby didn't think this was hitting him as personally as Claire – if he had the timing right, then this Jim was the only version of Jim Toby had ever known – but it still hurt, finding out that the guy he'd considered his best friend had been keeping so many secrets from him. As long as Jim was sharing answers, Toby was going to keep asking questions.

"Wait, does she know about the Changeling thing, or just about the Trollhunter thing?"

"Both. And, yeah. Draal brought her to Trollmarket to keep her safe and I had to tell her everything."

"The Boss is gonna have your hide," said the green Changeling. Jim made a non-committal noise and didn't look at anyone. Claire made an angry noise, tugged the bat out of the Changeling's mouth – leaving ugly scars on the tip – and thunked her weapon against the armrest of the couch.

"You can't just replace my brother," she snapped. "You are not Enrique."

"You don't exactly get a say in this, Big Eyes," Not Enrique shot back. He turned into a baby – they all jumped – and wailed, before turning back into a troll. "What exactly do you think's gonna happen if the parents get back to find something's happened to their ángelito precioso?"

Jim covered his eyes and groaned. "Don't antagonize her."

"And you!" Claire rounded on Jim. "When exactly were you planning on telling me about this?"

"… Ideally never?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say. No wonder you kept telling me not to practice trollish at home! I can't believe I ever trusted you! I can't believe I ever liked you!"

"Uh, Claire?" said Mary. "This is probably super-cathartic and I hate to interrupt, but your parents are supposed to get back in like, two minutes," waving her phone, "so maybe for now we should roll with the fake-baby thing and Jimmy-Jam and TP should am-scray."

Toby never should have let them find out that Nana called him Toby-Pie.

Claire pointed her finger half an inch from Jim's nose, making him go cross-eyed. "This isn't over."

Jim looked at the Changeling. The other Changeling, Toby mentally corrected. Jim said something another language, which didn't quite sound like trollish. Not Enrique shook his head and waved Jim off. Jim said something else, which got a snort and a short, barked answer.

"So what were you and Not Enrique saying at the end there?" Toby asked on the bike ride back to his house.

"I asked if he felt safe being left alone with Claire or if I should sneak back over and lurk on the roof. He doesn't think she has the nerve to actually go through with hurting him or telling her parents. Then he promised to steal her phone and call me if anything did happen."

"What language was it?"

"Eh … It's what we spoke back in the Darklands. Some trollish, some goblin, handful of human words, plus a few terms Changelings invented ourselves. No one exactly taught us to talk, so we had to pick it up by trial and error."

That raised a lot of questions and alarms in Toby's mind that he couldn't quite find the words for.

"All things considered, I think that actually went really well," said Jim. "Reactions have been a lot less murderous than I've been trained to expect."

Many questions and alarms.

"Did you ever plan to tell me?"

"No. I mean, I thought about it, especially after Draal found out and made me tell Blinky and AAARRRGGHH, but I was scared you might hate me, or that I'd get you killed for knowing things you weren't supposed to."

Jim laughed the kind of laugh that came from stress, not humour.

"I am the worst Changeling ever. A decade and a half without a slipup, and then nine people find me out. Or a few dozen, if you count the Ghost Trollhunters, but considering I'm technically supposed to kill anyone who finds out I don't know how it counts when somebody finds out who's already dead."

"The Ghost Trollhunters know?"

"Well, it's hard to keep secrets from people who could be watching you at any time through a magic artifact you literally can't get rid of. I'm almost glad you know now. A bit less lying, a bit less sneaking around. Still some, because I really should've noticed you following me to the market that time and I can't afford to get complacent like that. But –"

Toby looked at Jim in concern when Jim cut himself off.

"I'm being selfish. How are you feeling about all this?"

"Mostly confused," Toby admitted. "I … I understood, kind of, when I found out about trolls and that you hadn't told me. The whole 'sworn to secrecy' thing. But once I knew that … then you knew I'd keep secrets for you. Even something as big as that. So, it hurts that I thought you'd told me everything, and then found out you didn't."

They didn't say anything for a block and a half.

"You can still stay with me and Nana, though. Until Dr L's ready to forgive you for the whole 'stealing and replacing her baby' thing." That would probably take a while. "Hey, does this mean we can talk to Dr L about troll stuff?"

"Better if you don't. She doesn't know there are actual human teenagers involved. Tell you what – you four talk it over, and once you're all ready to tell your families, then we go to Mom."

Toby nodded. As a Responsible Adult, she'd probably feel obligated to tell their families.

"Any other secrets I should know about?"

"… I know who a few other Changelings are in their human identities. But I can't tell you who or confirm if you guess, because those aren't actually my secrets to share."

"Fair enough."

Once they got home, Toby texted Darci and Mary with the new information Jim had shared. He left it to them to update Claire. They'd known her longer. They'd have a better idea of what and how to tell her while she was upset.

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#Trollhunters #fanfiction #Changeling Jim #Not Enrique #Becoming The Mask chapters #Monday is fanfic day!#Tobias Domzalski #rocks minerals crystals and gemstones #Mary Wang #Darci Scott #Claire Nuñez #Changelings #Tales of Arcadia

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