#blinky uses time stone

[albentelisa]

Hi. Here's an interesting ask. What if Blinky had been the one to use the time stone?

Hi! I feel that Blinky is the one who can pull the time travel better than Jim. First, because he would never try to change the Trollhunter (for Blinky Jim is THE champion, even if he likes other kids). Second, Blinky can have additional knowledge without looking suspicious to anyone (like, he's the keeper of troll lore, so everyone would rather assume that he read about it somewhere). And Blinky has a better memory than Jim which already can be a huge advantage in keeping track of all the events.

I feel that Blinky would avoid intervening when he knows that Jim will succeed, but he still will try to change some stuff. Obviously, he will start bonding with Jim earlier (and show more consideration for his regular life this time). I also believe that Blinky won't be captured before the Battle of Two Bridges this time, planning the proper ambush this time.

There will be some adjustments while dealing with Angor Rot (like Blinky can mention that Angor knows some magic tricks, so Jim can avoid being cursed). I feel that Aaarrrgghh might still get poisoned, but it's less of a problem as Blinky knows the antidote formula (I bet he has it memorized just in case).

Blinky would definitely try to warn Vendel about Usurna but it's where he might fail. After all, he has a horrible reputation because of his love for conspiracies, and suspecting Usurna, who is a respected member of troll society, sounds a lot like another conspiracy theory. Vendel is already sick and tired of those. Still, I feel that Blinky would save him in any case.

Blinky will also be against contacting Merlin this time, much to everyone's surprise. The team will still wake up Merlin, but Blinky will refuse to cooperate and rather watch over the wizard. Merlin, however, would find a way to manipulate Jim to take his potion in any case.

I imagine Blinky would cover Jim during the Green Knight's attack and get hit with the obsidian shard instead. And Merlin wouldn't even bother with saving Blinky because to his mind he has even less value than Jim - which would lead to a huge conflict with Jim who would never let his father figure suffer.

I feel Jim will be able to save Blinky from corruption with Claire's help and most likely, Aaarrrgghh will be there too. I think it would be a nice parallelism between the past where Blinky taught Aaarrrgghh to be a pacifist, and the present where Aaarrrgghh reaches out to remind Blinky of his old ways.

And obviously, during ROTT a lot of damage will be avoided, both because Blinky might help to plan things differently and because Jim has less trouble getting Excalibur (as he never went through corruption and joining the Arcane Order).

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Panic

Tw: Panic attack

Another night in the Nuñez household, another night Claire had to spend “babysitting” her “little brother”. Even though it wasn't as bad as it had once been, with Nothenrique now usually content to leave her alone, save she brings some actual food for him (usually fast food), focusing on her studies was difficult with so many thoughts racing in her mind. Questions left mostly unanswered.

Her brother was safe in the Darklands, but for how long?

Chompsky had yet to return, and there had been no sign of the gnome, so no guide, how were they gonna navigate in there?

They had no clue what Jim's new weapon from either of the stones was going to be, they couldn't go in without knowing. 

She was perfecting the use of the Shadow Staff, but she was still unsure. 

And how on earth were they going to keep that secret from their parents?!

The thoughts spiraled through her mind, the textbook was important, but a lot more frustrating. So, pushing herself away from the desk, she groaned with much annoyance. Her changeling brother looked away from the magazine he read through, wanting to poke fun at her, but deciding ultimately against it. 

“Ya should take ‘a break!” 

“If my grades slip even a decimal, my parents are gonna know something’s up.” 

“Well, a break ain’t gonna ‘break ya’!” He found his own joke hilarious, Claire groaned again, turning to the book once more. “C'mon! Ye’r gonna cramp your brain muscles if ya keep this up!”

He climbed onto the desk, closing the book himself, he was looking after her after all. The girl frowned, about to argue when something else caught their attention. A loud thud, followed by a green glow in the distance and a tree falling, disappeared into the woods. If it was just the one tree, they would simply tell Jim and handle it some other day, when more of them started to fall, both understood the problem was more serious.

“Well, now I have to take a break!” Taking the shadow staff to her hands, Claire rushed out of the room.

“Aren’t you gonna tell the others?!” Her fake brother yelled, chasing her down the stairs. 

“I’ll tell them once I know what’s going on! Jim deserves some sleep.” She rushed out the door, leaving the small changeling behind. 

Not-Henrique wasn’t one to usually care deeply for people, though he would lie and say that he hadn’t gotten attached to the girl and her friends. Plus, it would be a hassle to try to explain the girl’s death and without a sister, “normal life” could not keep going.

So, he grabbed the walkie-talkie and told Blinky what was up. Then, he ran to make sure his sister didn’t die in the woods, taking her phone with him in case he needed to call 911.

It didn’t take long to track her, after all, she had a very characteristic lilac hand cream which he loved to eat. He found her hunched behind a bush, spying beyond the leaves, trying not to be seen. He rolled his eyes and tugged onto her leg, pulling his best puppy eyes up at her. 

“How could ya leave this cute face b’hind?” She shushed him, putting a hand over his mouth. “Oi! Don’t ‘shush’ me! I told yer friends where-”

“SHUHS- look!” She pointed, whispering. 

He grumbled under his breath. Beyond the bush, there was a troll, digging his dagger into an old, now petrified, tree stump in what looked like a fit of rage.

It was Angor Rot, obviously. So far, only he was known to have Creepersun poison, especially one potent enough to petrify even trees. But his behavior was beyond incomprehensible. He had shown himself to be so calm, collected, even under pressure, and now seemed completely rabid, stabbing the petrified stump with so much rage. It was the opposite of the troll they had left in the canal. Yet at the same time, between stabs, there was clear pain in his roars. 

If Claire was able to see him from a distance, then others would too, and she didn’t want to think about what would happen if they did find him in that state. Or if they found him at all. Thankfully she had the staff, so getting out of there in case of trouble was easy, but it wouldn’t solve the issue, and in that state, he could turn on her. 

“What's wrong with him?! He was fine the last time we saw him!” Claire watched as the troll in front of them became more and more agitated, continuing to tear down trees and break them. 

She had to do something.

Climbing out of the bush, much to the worry of the changeling, she clutched the staff tighter and approached the troll.

“Angor Rot?” Her voice froze him in place, he turned slowly and eerily towards her, who clutched tighter to the staff, ready to diverge a blow. “What’re you doing here?” 

The troll swerved around, staring at her, instantly dropping his weapon and crawling away from her as if she were some sort of dangerous beast. “Please- I didn’t- I-”

His voice rang desperate, terrified even, his breathing speeding up and eyes getting distant. She recognized the signs of a panic attack from a mile away, or what seemed like the equivalent of it, however, she had no idea if it was similar to trolls or what to do in a situation such as that. She was at an utter loss, yet did what she could. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay I’m not gonna hurt you, you’re okay!” Her words seemed to phase right through him as she put the staff away, and any movement she made seemed to scare him even more. 

If he ran, he could run to the street, and that would be a disaster. It was like trying to wrangle an animal, one conscious, sentient and very scared animal. 

Thankfully, soon the others arrived. Jim was the first to call out, reaching the girl and looking over for any injuries, which he thankfully did not find. “Claire what’s going on?!”

“I- I don’t know- I found him like that and I think he’s having a panic attack or something! I don’t know what happened!” 

Blinky took the front, confirming the girl’s thought. “You are right, Claire. He is in the middle of a panic attack. I’ll handle it. Just stay back. Aarrrgh. Stay with them.”

The conundrum approached Angor calmly, moving slowly and fluidly, keeping all his hands in sight, not that it seemed to matter as he now kept his eyes somewhere on the ground frozen. Once in front of the other, blocking his view of where he once glanced, he knelt. “Angor Rot, I-”

“Don’t! call me that!-” He screamed, a mix of shame and anger seeping into his voice, shielding his face as he panted frantically, kicking back and pushing himself further away from the trollhunters. “I’m not a rot! I’m not- a blight!! That’s not my name!” 

“That’s alright! That’s quite alright. Is just Angor fine then?” The other continued gasping for air, but nodded. “Alright. Angor. I need you to look at me, can you do that please?” Shakily, he did, meeting with the Conundrum’s calm semblance as he picked up a rock. “Follow this stone, alright? While you do so, breathe. When it changes hand, you inhale and exhale…” He started moving it across his four arms, changing it slowly and carefully. “In… out… in… out…”

The pattern continued, slowly, Angor’s breathing slowed as well his shaking ceased altogether. Soon reaching a point where he did not need to watch Blinky switch hands, just continued breathing slowly. The ones who watched sympathized with him, many times during their trials as trollhunters they had similar experiences, Jim personally wasn’t surprised after all the times Blinky had to calm him down from several panic attacks. Jim unsummoned the armour, pocketing the amulet into his hoodie, slowly and calmly walked toward the troll.

“Are you feeling better?” Angor took one last deep breath before nodding. Finally shifting his eyes up to meet the rest of the group, who he now realized gazed down at him with what he remembered to be sorrow or pitty. “That’s great. Now, my friend, what has you so terrified?”

The troll sighed, glancing to the side where the Inferna Copula sat on a stone, carefully placed upon a stone. 

Claire caught on first. “Your soul… Did something happen?”

Angor brought a hand to his horns, tapping the very point of one of his ram-like antlers, trying to avoid the embarrassment of the words next. “No… I… I couldn’t do it… I couldn’t risk…” 

Although he didn’t finish his sentence, all knew what he was referring to. A tension loomed over the area, the group was silent, none with particular answers at hand. 

It was awkward enough for the changeling to speak up. “Listen’ spooks. Your situation is real bad, doin’ your magic stuff’s this close to town ‘s gonna get you found and worse. So… Why doncha take this elsewhere?”

“I thought I was far enough…” He rubbed his face, gazing to the side where he could see the moving cars, he was too close. He moved to collect his ring, putting it back in its chain. “Apologies for disturbing you.” 

He began walking off, though, that did not feel like a good solution to the problem. Angor didn’t feel like a bad troll, after all, he did have the history of being a warrior, one who was misled. Jim knew betrayal close to his heart, he felt a call again, and he was bound to answer it. 

Turning to his friends, who all had the same thought process as him, he reached out. 

“Hey Angor!” The troll stopped in his tracks, turning to the boy once again. “Look, it’s… Kinda obvious you don’t know what you’re doing right now with the whole soul-bound-to-a-ring situation. It was obvious three days ago and it’s even more now.” The troll had plain tiredness in his eyes, a feeling quite relatable. “And you’re right, it’s too dangerous to mess with your soul out of all things. So… Hey, why don’t you come with us to Trollmarket and ask Vendel? He might have a solution, or something similar?”

“Yeah! Come with us, man! Vendel can be an old goat but recently he’s been helping Jim a lot!” Toby chimed in excitedly, wrapping an arm around Jim’s shoulders. 

“And how exactly would I walk in there?” Both boys peeked up at him, slight confusion in their brows. “I am known as a soulless assassin, brutal killer of Trollhunters, who’s… Taken souls…” There was an ache in his voice, neither doubted why. “The moment I set foot in there, there will be a mob trying to kill me.”

“Jim can protect ya! No one will hurt you!” The chubby boy’s confidence in his friend’s ability to calm an entire town of trolls was inspiring, yet, unrealistic. “Or… You could sneak in! Just, spy your way in! I mean, from what we know you’re really sneaky right?”

That… was indeed a better alternative, not fewer risks, but more realistic. “I would be able to get in unnoticed, I’ve been known to gather information without them knowing.” 

“In today’s terms: Spying on people.” Blinky pipped up, always excited to teach new things to people.

“Right. So… I can do it, but it won’t be easy.”

“Or we could ask Vendel to come up here for a house visit! I mean, if we get him to know it’s an emergency!” Claire also pipes up, getting next to Jim as well. “He’s not very fond of coming up, but I’m sure he’d rather avoid the risk of a big commotion.”

Also a much better option, yet, Vendel had only left Trollmarket once in the past three centuries and he was constantly complaining about never doing it again, under any circumstance. So it was just as much of an option as him sneaking into the underground. Angor looked away from the kids, waiting for the team’s verdict.

“Well. Both options lay on the caller’s hands.” The conundrum stated, putting a hand on the troll’s back, much to Angor’s confusion. “It’s your soul and thus your choice. So. What do you choose?”

Having a choice was something Angor became a stranger to for centuries, so now, being blatantly given it, it was foreign. It took a second to make his choice, after once again looking through the options. “I… Would rather stay away from that place. Even as I watched all of you in there… When I look back something feels wrong.”

“Wait, you  followed us in there?” 

“Not all of me.” He removed his right eye, rolling it around in his hand with pure strength of thought. “A trick I learned centuries ago.”

All were unnerved by it but tried to pay more mind to the challenge at hand. “Sounds… Good then! We’ll bring Vendel! Meanwhile, you wait-” 

Jim was going to say “here” when there was the sound of people coming through the woods. Panic quickly spread through the group, Aaarrrgh whisked Toby and both hid beneath some big bushes and trees, Angor climbed on top of a tree, hiding amongst its foliage, blinky seeking to hide behind a few thicker tree trunks, while Nonenrique hid inside said trunks, leaving Jim and Claire as the only two exposed. The girl knew the voice of her family, approaching through the woods. If she was caught there, there’d be a worse penalty than a simple grounding. 

“Trollhunters, here!” Angor called and reached out his hands to the two, who darted, clinging to them and almost just as fast being pulled up. 

There was no better option available at that moment anyways.

The Nuñez parents walked past them, examining the new rocks amongst the greenery, both of them speaking in Spanish as they transited through the group, not noticing anything besides the weird rocks. Claire made an annoyed face, which solidified the point of them not wanting to know what they were saying. 

“We need to get back to my house. If my parents don’t find me and ‘Henrique’ there, we’re doomed!” Claire whispered fiercely, sitting on a branch keeping away from the path of sight of the adults.

“Do you have the Staff of Shadow?” Angor queried as Claire produced the item, understanding the plan, yet showing concern. “Should I really be giving this to you?”

“Have you spent seven centuries with it?” 

Valid point. 

She handed it and the troll quickly made a portal for the three of them, pulling Claire and Jim inside. Inside the shadow realm, they floated through, Angor made another small portal, pulling Not-Henrique through as well, kicking the log somewhere else. Once all fully emerged from the portal, they were inside the Nuñez’s house, more specifically in the girl’s living room. The changeling turned back into a human baby, Claire rushed and placed him on the feeding table in the kitchen and gestured for Angor and Jim to run out the door and hide in the backyard. 

Soon after both of them left, hiding amongst the bushes, the girl's parents arrived through the front door. “Hi Mom! Hi dad! You’re home early!”

“We actually came in earlier and didn’t find you or Henrique. Where did you go?” the voice of Councilwoman Nuñez rang as serious as ever, with her husband right behind, eyeing her daughter sternly.

“Oh! I was… Getting Henrique food! His baby food ran out, so I went to buy some more!” Good lie.

“At this hour?”

“I had a few friends take me! We were safe all the way!” Claire assured the sound of the microwave ringing and proving her statement. 

That seemed to convince the adults, much to the calm of the other two…

The ringing of Jim’s phone erased all that calm.

In a quick reaction, Angor opened another portal, teleporting both of them back to the opening where Blinky and the others were, Jim falling a lot less graciously than the troll. “Dude?! Where did you go?!”

“Back to Claire’s house so she doesn’t get her head cut off by her parents.” Jim replied, getting up and brushing off the dirt. “Look, we were gonna say you could wait here, but it’s waaaay too close to the other houses. Just come to the edge of Trollmaket, you don’t need to come in, just stay out if you want. But it’s better than staying here and risking being seen.”

Again, the troll felt a tightness again, anxiety, fear, apprehension. With another look towards Blinky, who gestured for a deep breath, he did and nodded, following them. 

The walk there wasn’t unknown to him, after all, he had followed them to the entrance before. But now, there was new weight to it, even the last time he was at Trollmarket’s door he felt another a wave extreme of uneasiness. Something about that place felt wrong in a thousand ways. His eyes were focused on each grass strips as he walked, paranoia startling him with each sound that came from behind the shadows. Most of the time being something minimal, like a true raccoon, seemed to make him even more defeated.

It was impossible not to notice how agitated he was, again, bringing more pity from the team. They all exchanged looks with each other, communicating without words, mostly through gestures and eye movements.

Aaarrrgh understood there was communication being done there, yet couldn’t understand what exactly. Looking back at Angor, he saw himself, just leaving Gunmar’s army, with an entire society that hated him for what he did, he didn’t pity Angor like the others but he wanted to help. Knowing himself, if he was in that situation again, he would get what his Wingman called “cold feet” and run away, and in his situation, it wouldn’t do well.

“We stay with you.” He pats the other’s back again, snapping him from his thoughts. “We stay waiting Vendel with you.” 

“Yeah! We can stay with ya man! Don’t want the anxiety getting worse than it is, right?” Toby pipped up from Aaarrrgh’s back, sliding from Aaarrrgh’s back now that they had reached the canal, hopping up excitedly. “Also, like, is it okay if I ask you some questions? Like, nothing personal, or that at least shouldn’t be- But like, we never met a troll that looks like you and I really wanna know more!”

It was clear Angor was dubious about it, almost denying it. But Toby made the effort to clear up what he imagined were the doubts.

“If we cross a line- just tell me! I am very understanding! Also! You don’t gotta answer questions you don’t want to! Just say ‘pass’ and we move on! No questions asked!” Angor snorted, containing himself as quickly as he did. “Pun-not-intended and yet glad it was appreciated!” 

Thinking it over one more time, Angor agreed to the terms. “Alright. I’ll indulge you.” 

[rosemaidenvixen]

Between Daylight and Darkness

Chapter 2

<Previous Next>

Ao3

Blinky’s feet scuffled against the well worn stone as he paced back and forth. The already narrow space was crowded enough with the bodies of him and the two other trolls without his scurrying about, but despite knowing that couldn’t find it in himself to stop his frantic movements.

“This is a disaster! A catastrophe! An absolute calamity!” he threw his arms out, one of them knocking against a tray of tools on the edge of the work table and sending them clattering to the floor.

“Blinkous!” Vendel said sharply “Compose yourself,”

“How can I compose myself when it’s been three days, three days with no sign of the amulet or our new trollhunter!”

AAARRRGGHH lumbered closer, flashing a hopeful smile “Maybe new Trollhunter…slow?”

“Or maybe they got trapped by the sun, or maybe a goblin stole the amulet before they could find it, or maybe Bular found it and he’s preparing to march on Trollmarket as we spe–”

His tirade was cut off by a firm hand being placed on his shoulder, Blinky reflexively turning to look up at Vendel’s stern gaze.

“If Bular had the amulet, believe me Blinkous we would know. I admit the situation is dire, but we have faced worse before, and above all else we can’t afford to lose our heads to panic,”

Blinky felt his chest tighten, immediately chastised “Of course of course, forgive me,”

Vendel’s grip on his shoulder loosened, and if he knew the older troll one iota less than he did Blinky would have missed the subtle softening of his gaze “It’s alright Blinkous, there’s nothing to forgive,”

Blinky’s guts gave an uncomfortable lurch. An objection rose up in the back of his throat, choking it back down before it could escape.

That wasn’t true, and they both knew it.

Both Blinky and AAARRRGGHH had been there to witness Kanjigar’s fall from the shadows of a sewer tunnel. Powerless to do anything but bear witness to their Trollhunter’s final moments. 

Kanjigar’s death was a steady ache in his side, it would be many a year before the pain of his loss faded, if it ever did, but that was a pain Blinky could bear. Part and parcel of being Trollhunter was accepting that one day there may be a battle you did not walk away from. And as much as Kanjigar’s death had wounded them all, they’d made their peace with it long ago.

No, Blinky’s unforgivable crime was failing to preserve the Trollhunter’s– his friend’s legacy.

It had sat only a few precious feet away, but with the sunlight flooding the canal it may as well have been at the bottom of the sea. They’d kept vigil over it until the steadily rising sun forced them further into the tunnel and out of sight of the amulet. But those few hours had been enough. By the time the daylight had receded from the canal it had been too late. Kanjigar’s remains had been pilfered by unknown hands and the amulet was lost. 

With heavy hearts they gathered Kanjigar’s remains and brought them home, his legacy looted and lost to the surface.

The absolute worst was when they’d relayed these events to Vendel. Trollmarket’s elder had sat patiently and listened without interruption, then when they’d finished there hadn’t even been a trace of anger on him, his expression unbearably sad.

It was only then that Blinky realized the true magnitude of his failure.

“The ways of Merlin and his amulet have always been mysterious,” Vendel released Blinky’s shoulder to step towards his work table, gathering the fallen tools “While we may not know when or how the amulet will return to us it will choose a champion, we just have to be patient,”

AAARRRGGHH let out a soft grumble and nodded at the elder troll, before moving closer to Blinky “Vendel right, amulet does as amulet choses, it not up to Blinky where amulet goes,”

Blinky’s throat went tight with emotion “Thank you, both of you I–”

The thudding of approaching troll feet echoing in from the entrance tunnel interrupted him. All three trolls immediately fell silent, turning and fixing their gazes on the tunnel entrance just as Draal emerged.

The words ‘Did you find it’ hung on the edge of Blinky’s tongue, only held back with extraordinary willpower. But as soon as he saw him the question withered and died without ever leaving his mouth, one glance at the look on the younger troll’s face and it was clear he’d had no more luck than they had. 

“I’ve been to every neighboring community and tribe in the area. There’s been no sign of the amulet or word a new Trollhunter,”

A small sigh of disappointment accompanied Draal’s words, so slight Blinky might have missed it had he not known the troll since he was a hatchling, a new cluster of thorny emotions sprouting to life in his chest.

Draal’s desire to be his father’s successor was known to all of Trollmarket, but Kanjigar’s desire for the exact opposite was known to only a few, namely the four trolls in this room. Blinky found himself  of two minds on the matter. He had no desire to watch a troll he’d watch grow from a hatchling be thrown into battles risking life and limb. But Draal hadn’t been a whelp for centuries, he was a grown troll and a blooded warrior, what right did Blinky or even Kanjigar himself have to choose his path for him?

But it was a testament to Blinky’s own weakness that he would have been glad to see Draal take up the amulet become the next Trollhunter if only to end this awful uncertainty.

“Then we must continue the search,” Vendel said, voice solemn.

Blinky nodded in response “AAARRGGHH and I will continue to scour the surface,”

“And I will begin my inquiries anew,” Draal added “See if there has been any change, and if there has not I will expand my search to every community this side of the continent. We shall not rest until the amulet is found,”

Vendel looked at each of them in turn “Good. And do not lose faith. No matter how long it takes the amulet will return to us, and bring with it a new champion,”

[yuki2sksksk]

[ Demon Slayer × Trollhunters ideas ] (4)

Inspired by an idea of Trollhunters characters being in the Demon Slayers world instead by @coolestzed 👀✨

TW: Gore talking

" Trolls..." Enmu taps his chin in a mocking thoughtful gesture. " Ah, yes, I've heard of them...Master sometimes would allow the leftovers to be given for the Uppermoons..."

Jim tightens his grip on Daylight, squinting his eyes as he tries to focus through the harsh wind and the rattling of the train he's on top off.

" What do you mean by leftovers? "

" I don't know much, but Master has mentioned trolls a few times...apparently they cannot handle sunlight as well, have long lifespan, and some possess powers like Blood Demon Art..."

The Lower demon giggles, clasping his hand over his mouth. Jim's glare hardens.

" But oh, we demons are much more superior to them! Master Muzan took a few so he could study them closer...when they couldn't take it anymore, he handed the leftovers to the other demons...apparently trolls are edible eheheheh!! "

" You -- " Shudders run down Jim's spine. " -- You eat trolls..? "

Enmu finds delight in the horror of the boy's face.

" What did you say you were? The Trollhunter? Why the long face if you hunt trolls? " The demon wringgles his fingers, making a motion like opening something. " I was fortunate enough to hear of the experience of eating trolls...the skin is very hard and thick, so they have to pry it open and then scoop up the organs -- "

Daylight slashes down on where Enmu used to be, the demon hovers in the air for a few seconds before landing on another spot. He can't hold back the laugh from seeing how Jim looks at him.

" Oh? Are you angry? "

" You're sick. " Jim feels like wanting to vomit. He's no troll himself, but to be treated and talked about like you worth nothing makes his blood boil.

He doesn't dare to imagine if Blinky, Aaarrrgh or Draal were taken away by the demons as meal courses. He'd fight nails and teeth to get them back.

" The trolls have something like crystal stone in them I heard? " Enmu continues on dismissively. " It supposedly can be energy boosting..."

The demon licks his lips. The mouth on his hand copies the movement. Gritting his teeth, Jim fixes his stance and charges, his chest expanding through the total concentration breathing he was taught and practiced. Enmu raises his hand lazily.

" Sleep. "

[winter-leftovers]

Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter twenty three: How To Fix An Amulet (23/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

Summary: Y/n is trying to figure her life out but is going to be hard since her brother is the new trollhunter and she is plagued by dreams and feelings she doesn’t understand.

Chapter Summary:The trollhunter team manages to escape Merlin’s tomb. Y/n doesn’t know where she stands with Jim.

Word count: 2514

Warnings: some angst, ptsd if you squint?

(Season 3 Episode 8 )

Song?: I’m Your Man by Mitski

Previous - Next

Masterlist

“I have missed you, father” Y/n smiles, taking one of Merlin’s hands.

“Whaaaaat?” Toby squealed.

Merlin squeezed his daughter's hand back, caressing her cheek with his other hand; Her soft skin pulled him back to the day they met for a moment. He held her cheek and kissed her forehead just like he did the day they said goodbye, only this time the smell of dead bodies and the screams of war weren’t so overwhelming.

“Father?” Y/n heard Jim’s confused voice.

She pulled back before the whispers could grow into a full on interrogation. That could wait until they were back in Arcadia.

“Well, where might my staff be?” Merlin looked around “Staff of Avalon About yea high? Emerald at the top. It is rather dashing” he continued after the lack of response.

“We might have lost it a little” Toby’s face contorted in fear.

“Lost it..a little?” Merlin turned to Y/n.

She looked down at her feet.

“Gunmar took it” Jim explained.

“Oh, is that all?” Merlin walked up to the trollhunter team “Well, it’s not the staff that’s lost, then. It’s just hope” he sighed, turning back to the stone where he slept the last century.

Y/n frowned, her eyes still glued to her feet, her fingers twisting each other trying to squeeze out the anxiety out of her body. She could feel her father passing glance, his cold gaze freezing her, mocking their attempt to get the staff. His voice was as sharp as it was in her nightmares. Merlin's irony was sharp as a knife. Always able to stab and twist in her gut without even trying.

“How’d you know we were gonna come looking for you? I mean, your staff?” Jim followed him.

“Because, Jim” Merlin stood tall, his face serious “I am your father”

A gasp erupted from Jim's chest. He looked back at the wizard, his mother’s face coming back to him. How? The little memories he had…

Y/n laughter filled up the room. Her right hand clutching her stomach, her left hand finding her father’s right arm grabbing it for balance, trying not to fall. The team’s confused faces weren't helping her.

“Kidding!” Merlin chuckled, he sat down on the table “I can glimpse into the future. It’s not a perfect gift, though”

“You expected me to be older”

“And taller” Merlin remind him

“Clearly, he foresaw our arrival here to rouse him from his slumber” Blinky got closer.

“Why were you sleeping in the first place?” Claire got closer.

“It was the cost of battle, my dear” Merlin explained.

“What battle?” Aaarrrgghh and Toby got closer too.

“The Battle of Killahead” Y/n stood behind the table.

“Excuse me, your wizard-ness, but Aaarrrgghh and I were present at Killahead, and neither of us recall seeing you there” Blinky lifted his hand “And I’ve read volume upon volume of history books, and none mention…”

Merlin nodded

“History is just an account of what supposedly happened,” he stood up and rubbing his hands together, a circle of green smoke appearing between them “but it’s rarely the full story, if ever”

“What’s this now?” Toby asked, transfix by the light

“I’m opening a window to the past”

“This is gonna be very cool if we don’t end up dying” Toby said as the light grew bigger and bigger.

After the light died, the darkness was replaced by a dark forest.

“Where are we?” Jim asked.

‘Camelot’ Y/n though. She took the lead along with her father as she looked around. Before these woods were a battlefield they were her backyard. Even if it was in her father’s memory it was still strange to be back.

“Still in the Geode Caverns. This is all an illusion” explained Merlin.

“I’ve been here��Great Gorka, this is the forest of Killahead” Blinky said

“As well as I remembered it, at least” Merlin said without turning around.

A white light blinded them and the war began. Weapons clashing, warriors screaming, cursing, praying. Through Merlin’s illusion they barely had to live the battle, they could see still frames of the creatures that were there and Y/n thanked him for that. She walked with her father, not interested in seeing more than she needed to see. She could hear Blinky reliving his glorious moment, Jim’s and Toby’s laughter. She felt her stomach turn, Killahead was something she had chosen to forget.

“I’m so sorry” Y/n heard Jim cry.

She turned and saw Jim crying to the memory of Draal. She didn’t know what to say to make him feel better, if such words existed.

Merlin looked down to her and saw in her eyes what he needed to know. He walked up to Jim, Y/n close behind.

“Come now” Merlin grabbed Jim’s shoulder “There is more to see. The real battle is over this way”

Y/n took a deep breath and followed Merlin through Killahead bridge.

“While you were focused on the battle, there were events unfolding that you were unaware of” Merlin explained.

“I supposed fighting for our lives would be a little distracting” said Blinky.

“What? That’s her! That’s…” Claire screamed.

“Morgana. Yes, the Pale Lady, The Mother of Monsters” completed Merlin.

“Ugh! I could add more names to that list” cursed Claire.

Y/n felt the roots of the trees wrapping around her ankles forcing her to watch the spectacle again. Merlin and Morgana, Morgana and Merlin. Both halves of her heart fighting against each other, both for noble reasons at heart. Y/n curses the day Morgana was led astray.

“Hey! Is that Y/n?” Toby shook Aaarrrgghh’s arm.

Behind a stone, guarding the battle was nineteen year old Y/n with her staff in hand, she remembers how much her hands were shaking. The dirt along her scared face and dress could tell you how long that day had been.

The troll looked back at her with a confused face.

“How old are you?” Toby turned back to her, horrified.

“I…” Y/n opened her mouth to talk but quickly closed back up. She didn’t know how to respond.

“None of the history books speak of this” Blinky whispered, scared to disturb the scene in front of him.

“Well, books don’t talk, for one thing” Merlin walked to the still frame of him and Morgana fighting and turned to the trollhunter team “This was the true battle of Killahead”

“You and Morgana?” Jim was confused.

“She is as ancient as I am, perhaps more so”

Y/n rolled her eyes. He had to be joking.

“Craving chaos, she sowed the seeds of dissension between humans and trollkind” Merlin continued, turning back to Morgana.

“I know her well. She’s a real headcase” Claire crossed her arms.

“Hence the Eternal Night. She realized if trolls could not survive in daylight, what if night were everlasting?”

“Gunmar and his forces could do whatever they wanted” Jim said.

“Morgana had to be stopped at any cost. It turns out…” Merlin turned back.

“That cost was your magic” Jim walked to Merlin.

“Aye. The only way to stop her was to expend almost all my power and confine her for as long as possible”

“I’m guessing “as possible” ends right about now” said Claire

“We’re doomed to wage battle once more thanks to the work of Gunmar” said Merlin

The illusion was over and they were back in the cave.

“Well, all fun things must end” Merlin rubbed the leftover magic off his palms.

Y/n shook her head trying to get the image of the battle of Killahead from her head.

“If we’re going to do anything about it, we still have to get out of here” Jim insisted.

The cave quivered.

The trollhunter team turned to the tunnel they came through.

“What’s this now?” Merlin complained.

“How is it raining underground?” Toby’s voice was shaking.

“The cave-in must have diverted the waterfall into the mountain” Blinky explained.

“So we’re not trapped, but we’re gonna drown?” Toby screamed.

The cavern growled.

“That sounds like a lot of water” said Claire.

“Centuries later, it never gets easier” Merlin sighed.

“Bet you appreciate me a lot more now” Y/n chuckled and looked up to Merlin from her place in the ground.

He looked down and rolled his eyes playfully.

“We could really use some of your awesome wizard magic to, you know, get us out of here” a big drop of water hit Toby’s head.

“I suppose that would be quite lovely. But weren’t you listening?” Merlin knocked Toby’s head “I just said I used most of it to trap Morgana. Kids these days”

“But you just took us to the Killahead Battle?” He insisted.

“That was a mere parlor trick. To escape, we’ll need the power of the amulet” Merlin turned to Jim

“That might be a little difficult” Jim scratched his head “I destroyed it to get the map so we could find you”

“Hand it over” The wizard extended his hand.

Jim pulled out the broken pieces from his pocket and handed them over to Merlin.

“Oh” the wizard was appalled “you really did a number on this thing”

Jim nervously chuckled

“Can you put it back together?” Claire asked

“Of course he can. Those very hands forged the amulet in the first place…”

“Four arms, six eyes, but he talks as if he had ten mouths” Merlin interrupted Blinky. He walked over to Claire “Of course I can, my dear. These very hands forged the amulet in the first place” his voice softened.

Y/n chuckled. Forging the amulet was something that took more than two hands. She saw her father walk over to the table she was leaning on and start putting the pieces back together.

The cave growled again reminding them that their time was running out.

“Would you please be quiet?” Merlin screamed.

“I don’t think the mountain is going to listen to you” Y/n stood up and turned to her father’s work, all the pieces were piled together impossible to distinguish from each other.

“It’s not us it’s the rubble” Toby explained, desperation dripping out of his mouth.

Merlin ignored the boy and kept fiddling with the amulet.

Y/n looked at his father's unkempt surroundings, everything would go smoother if she tightened things up and looked back at the trollhunter team doing everything that was possible to keep water as far away as possible from them. She sighed, starting to fix the pieces of metal from important to least important.

“I feel we haven’t much time” warned Blinky.

“I’m doing my best. It’s been centuries, do you understand?” Merlin kept working.

“Can we get an ETA on the fixing there, Merle?” Toby asked the wizard “do you mind if I call you Merle?”

“Not if you mind spending the rest of your life as a cockroach” Merlin turned back.

“Father” Y/n warned.

He ignored her and went back to the amulet.

Y/n sighed, making a mental note about explaining the team, especially Toby, on how to behave around an old man a thousand years ago.

A sudden wind entered through the cavern’s opening.

“Well, that felt like a breath of fresh air, huh? It was getting stuffy in here” Toby smiled.

“That wasn’t a breath” Claire said, worry all over her face.

“That was a floodgate!” Warned Blinky

Jim ran to the wizard

“You have to fix it”

“What’s it look like I’m doing? Twiddling my thumbs?” Merlin snapped back “It’s an amulet forged by magic. You don’t just snap it back together” he put down the amulet to observe his work so far.

“A piece is missing” Y/n observed.

“I gave you everything I had” Jim panicked

“Guys? The water is getting louder!” Toby screamed.

“Focus” Merlin grabbed Jim by the shoulder “We need a small piece, something that can fit right here” He pointed to the center of the amulet.

Y/n turned to Claire, her hair clips illuminating like a message from god.

“Claire, your hair clips!” She pointed out.

The girl quickly took one out and handed it to Merlin.

“Thank you, fair Claire” Merlin finished the amulet with a swift move “Here”

“Now, what am I supposed to do?” Jim took the amulet and looked back at the wizard.

“You’re the trollhunter, and you alone must tap the amulet’s true potential” Merlin said

The rocks gave in. Violent waves of water started to pour in threatening to take them apart. Jim stood in front of the water, his friends behind and Merlin behind him. With all his trust in Merlin’s words he lifted the amulet

“For the glory of, well, you, Daylight is mine to command! And Daylight will protect us!” With Daylight in hand, Jim parted the flood in half keeping everyone alive and dry.

“You’re doing it, Jimbo! I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re doing it!” Toby cheered.

Jim moved his sword, breaking an opening with the pressure of the water.

“Awesome” Y/n whispered when she felt the cold air of the trees.

“The instrument of our deaths has been turned into the means of our egress!” Blinky celebrated.

“Are you a troll or a thesaurus? I’m genuinely curious” Merlin lifted a brow.

Y/n looked back at Jim, he was kneeling down, still trying to catch his breath.

“Are you okay?” She kneeled next to him.

“How did he know I could do this?” He panted “Did you know I could do this?” He said more aggressively.

Y/n looked down. She was barely able to look at the anger in his eyes.

“I know you can do more things that you can realize, Jim” she looked up “I know you must have questions and I…probably don’t remember the answer, but Jim, I swear lying wasn’t in my plans. I lost my memory and…”

“You lost your memory?” Merlin walked up to them.

“It doesn’t matter right now” Y/n stood up, bumping with her father’s chest “I…”

Merlin grabbed her chin and checked her pupils.

“Mmmh…interesting”

“No…” she jumped away from his touch “Jim…has questions” she pushed away, walking to the border where the rocks met the trees.

“Careful” Aaarrrgghh said

Y/n nodded.

She looked up and saw the moon and wondered if Douxie’s was watching the moon too. Y/n pinched her nose. She ruined it. She found a nice family and she ruined it. What was she going to say now? She wishes Douxie could be there. She wishes Archie could be there to make a joke or some sarcastic comment that Douxie would shut down to not make her feel bad but actually, Y/n would find it funny. She wishes Al could be there. Al always had something to say about everything and nothing, so there’s never a moment where you feel alone. Maybe that’s why she leaves Al with Douxie every time.

Y/n plays with her bracelet and wonders if there would be a time where she won’t lose someone she loves.

A/n: sorry for the delay 😭😭 should i tag it as full angst or some angst is ok??

[aaaarsonist]

Hi What were the Most Heartbreaking moments for you not counting Rot ofc

Hi! Let's see (btw I'm also not counting 3Below, I didn't connect with it at all and didn't feel a thing lol)

Of course, SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Draal's death, definitely. Draal's one of my favorite characters, I fell totally in love with him and I was crushed by this. The whole scene of Jim going to touch his face when he finds him, and then Angor asking why's protecting a human and I just– UGHHH I JUST WATCHED THAT EPISODE AGAIN AND I'M SENSITIVE.

"What am I, Blinky?" "When I gaze upon you, do you know what I see? I see a champion. A friend. A son. A magnificent son" I don't know if it counts as "heartbreaking " bUT IT MAKES ME CRY SO MUCH I CAN'T, I'M EVEN CRYING JUST FOR WRITING IT. This episode and the one before are heartbreaking for me. Jim sacrificing his humanity to destroy Morgana and Gunmar, changing not just his appearance, but everything he does in his day to day. We saw how excited he was when he came back from the Darklands, going to school, even seeing Steve and doing homework, and now not only can he no longer do all that, but he can't go out in the sun, can't eat human food, has to get used to a new body, with new strength and needs, can't experience life as he used to. It's a fucking lot for a sixteen year old. Also the scene in the bathroom itself, as I saw someone mention here, seems to imply so much a suicide, with his family trying to knock down the door to stop him from making a mistake, I just- I just can't. (Also this edit destroys me).

The first time I watched Aaarrrgghh!!! turn into stone I couldn't believe it, and then when Jim decides to go into the Darklands alone and everyone is calling for him and he says "I can't lose anymore of you". Pain.

The whole situation with Barbara when she distances from Jim because she knows he's lying breaks my heart, because even though Toby's a big support for Jim,and now he has more people with him, his mom is the number one person in his life. And I can feel him hurt for being so far away from him.

Troll Jim going berserk and becoming human again. Okay, this is more angry heartbreak than sad heartbreak because I love Troll Jim (I love his design so much omfg). I hate it because of the same reason S3E11 pains me. He relearned how to live for what, a few months, and the he had to change back against his will? I fucking hate it. Also, yeah, it's painful because of Claire's reaction (well, Jim's almost death at the end od Trollhunters It's also heartbreaking, but I miraculously didn't cry).

Merlin's death. Not for him (actually, fuck him) but because of Douxie's reaction. We see throughout the series how Douxie's done everything to help him, please him, make him proud. We know he's his savior, and probably the most important person in his life.

I'm sure I'm forgetting several, but these are the scenes that come to mind the most. Also, I wanted to talk a little more about the last one, but I need to refresh Wizards first lol

[gh99st]

One thing I find interesting about the trollhunters comic 'a secret history of trollkind' is how the amulet heals daya when she is blinded

So daya died in a fight against bluar when the mayflower set sail for america, in this fight bular uses his blade to turn dayas eyes to stone with the rising sunlight.

She responds by getting up and fighting back, saying "my eyes may not see but the amulet still gives me sight" and her eyes have blue magic glowing on them

Before we can learn more bular stabs daya in the chest and says "did your amulet see that coming" then throws daya in the sun and into the ocean

So is this a 'in lethal danger thing' or is it a thing the amulet just does?

That could explain Jim resisting being controlled by the decimared blade in the darklands and in the final fight, or explain how Jim isn't worse off while he fights trolls? Because they're made of stone and super strong

this ability obviously doesn't give total sun immunity, but it heals daya's eyes with magic? It's super strange and super cool at the same time

To add on to this in 'the felled' comic it shows one of blinky ancestors as trollhunter, 'araknak the agile' getting one of his arms lopped off by a gruesome (he also had a armour shield and an axe AND a weird stabby bow thing, not glaive, which is cool) and that arm stays chopped off, not healed?

So maybe it is a do or die thing

But I guess it doesn't really matter that much since they arent cannon to the show (atleast I think they aren't, don't quote me on it)

[aevyk-ing]

Lights and Shadows of Camelot: Chapter 13

It was time to vote, after the Trolls had been pondering what to do for a week. For some reason, Blinky had made Jim train even harder, so he had been sore and exhausted for days. The Trolls lined up in the Hero’s Forge, which was being used by Vendel so all of them could take one colored stone (white for no, yellow for yes) and put it in the barrel. Blinky, Aaaarrrgghh and Jim inserted a white stone, Blinky almost in a ceremoniously way, with his head high, and then they all surrounded Vendel as he counted the stones.

“Well, that settles it.” Vendel said. “It’s a tie. Bular will come back tomorrow, so if anyone wants to change their answer, I’ll be back at my cave.” he concluded, heavily standing up.

The Trolls were confused, but none of them wanted to change their answers. Blinky was a little relieved.

“Huh, there was a big possibility of things turning way worse.” he said.

“Strange.” Aaarrrgghh said.

“But Merlin said I should be the one to talk to King Arthur... peacefully.” intervened Jim, shaking in anxiety as that was also the day he was going to meet with Claire at night. He hadn’t been able to sleep and he was already tired due to the training.

“Maybe I can convince Vendel that Merlin’s word should count as another vote against war. Perhaps… where are you going, Master Jim?”

“Eh... it’s market day. Gonna meet Tobes there.” answered Jim. Suddenly, the craziest idea formed in his head, probably after not sleeping a wink and the feeling that he was getting out of time.

AO3

[autumnalfallingleaves]

For the 5 headcanons, could you do ToA characters in the Hilda 'verse, please?

Sure!

Claire comes to mind first and foremost. She's already a sorceress, so she fits in well with the witches. Let's say she's currently an apprentice, under the tutelage of Morgana, a prominent witch in the Trolberg community of witches. Morgana is an okay teacher, but she desires to join the witch community back to Wild Magic rather than continue the usage of Domestic Magic, and is working against the Committee of Three. Who aren't great tbh, but at least they're not trying to destroy the whole basis of the witch community. She's also kinda trying to destroy Trolberg so Amma can rise again, which. Isn't great. But back to Claire. She is, of course, not out as a witch to her parents, so there's a lot of sneaking around. She and Frida bond over that fact, as well as being straight-A students who have a lot of stress over not being perfect. She eventually comes under the tutelage of her friend Douxie, a fellow witch who has just graduated from his apprenticeship to Merlin, a maverick of a witch with a horrible rivalry against Tildy. Claire's wand is a smaller version of her canon staff and she specializes in shadow magic. She doesn't so much use portals as utilize Nowhere Space.

Jim is in similar position as Hilda, being a kid who got Changeling'd and turned back human (though having retained some Trollish traits and ability to Change a la my (and hold it down) 'verse). The ToA Trolls in this look a lot like this interpretation of them in the Hilda style and have their own community separate from the Stone Forest. Jim's an unfortunate kid who accidentally met a young Troll around the same age as him from Trollmarket-- Toby in this verse is a Troll-- at a young age and became friends with him. The two of them messed around with some magic when they were around ten and swapped forms. They eventually figured out to reverse the spell, but they've been able to change forms since then and Toby was adopted by a nice human lady and got to stay human for most of the time.

Jim and Toby's families moved to Trolberg when they were fifteen. They still visit Trollmarket when they can, and their Troll mentors Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!!, but Trolberg is exciting in and of itself and they've gotten swept up in it all and the Troll community there. They met Claire when she was on an herb-gathering trip outside the wall and they were out during the night. After the inevitable panic (Trolls and witches typically don't mix lol) they became fast friends. And then they get into situations that make the Committee of Three hate them lol. Tildy thinks it's great.

Claire's Familiar ends up being this asshole of an imp who started living in her house that her little brother accidentally befriended. His name came about when Claire yelled at them and was like "Okay, listen up Enrique and- and- Not Enrique!" because she didn't know his name. Thus, NotEnrique is named and Claire ends up adopting this new member of their household. I imagine witch meetings where Claire and Frida are both in attendance end up with Hilda and NotEnrique always getting in fights. They hate each other's guts.

Nomura, instead of being a Changeling, is a witch in this. She's the local museum curator and friendly with Kaisa. She's secretly part of Morgana's plot to join witches back with Wild Magic and destroy Trolberg, but ends up joining forces with the good guys once Jim, Claire, and Toby get to her. She's got a special fondness for Jim and has a crush on his mother, the cute doctor at the local hospital. Toby and Claire think this is hilarious. Jim is so embarrassed. Nomura does not like the blue-haired kid who keeps coming in and somehow messing up her museum. The nervous kid who hangs out with her (David) is fine, though. He's got a proper respect for art. The witch kid is decent, but who in their right mind takes a Troll Changeling for their Familiar?

Aja and Krel aren't aliens but forest nymphs who need to take refuge in Trolberg in human forms because of a war between the nymphs back where they're from. Like canon, they become friends with Jim, Claire, and Toby. I don't know if they're still royalty, but they are sought out by the coup-attempting faction.

There's not Gunmar plot, I'd think, as it doesn't fit in as well with the Hilda 'verse, but the Morgana plot is a thing that Jim, Claire, and Toby keep foiling until Hilda and the Mountain King, where Amma is like "okay stop I like the humans" so Morgana is forced to stop and instead flees to the Wilderness. She's reluctant friends with Victoria Van Gale, who is somehow crazier than she is.

send me an au and i’ll give you 5+ headcanons about it

[albentelisa]

Hello!!! Jim here from the @theonceandfuturetrollhunter blog, but I'm making this text anonymous because Clotpole (who owns my blog) doesn't want the reply back- I'll have to search for it instead 😂😒

Anyway, we love your headcanons and the AUs you create with adks back here in Arcadia- Claire is obsessed with reading them- and we wanted to know how you wpould take to this AU...

What if mine and Claire's roles were swapped over (me being the wizard and Claire being the Trollhunter) but we found out about our respective roles at the times we did in the show (me first, then Claire)?

Can't wait for the reply!!!!

:)

Hi, Jim:)

This ask is something I really like, so I've put it up my queue of asks (there are more than thirty of those in my inbox, holy trolls!).

Anyway, to the AU.

So, in this AU Kanjigar manages to escape during his battle with Bular, so Jim and Toby pass through the canals as usual, with nothing happening. Toby sees that his bro is slightly disappointed that it's just a regular day and suggests investigating the stone monsters Eli mentioned. Obviously, Toby doesn't believe in any supernatural creatures, thinking those are just another one of Eli's delusions, but he thinks Jim needs some fun (and a minor adventure is better than no adventure at all).

It turns out to be a horrible mistake as Bular is pissed because of his failure and is actively looking for a consolation snack. Jim and Toby look like a wonderful meal for him. Bular nearly catches Toby - and it's when Jim awakes his shadow magic, firstly blasting and injuring Bular and then teleporting Toby and himself to the safe location. Jim collapses afterward as he has pushed past his limits.

The next morning, Toby is excited, but Jim is conflicted as he isn't sure it's the kind of adventure he wants. Besides, his newfound magic keeps acting on its own, complicating his life.

Jim comes to Strickler to talk about his issue, but chickens at the last second and tells some lie. Strickler initially believes that it's something trivial, but later notices Jim falling through the shadow portal, and everything clicks. After all, last night, Bular came back enraged, cursing some fleshbag wizard who injured him and swearing to kill that bastard. Strickler deduces that the wizard in question could be Jim. Unlike Bular, he wonders if he can use Jim's talent (after all, all the changelings are connected to shadow magic) and decides to get even closer to his student.

Meanwhile, Douxie visits Jim (as he learned about him from Archie who witnessed the encounter with Bular). Douxie wouldn't get involved in most cases, but apparently, Jim's magic is too strong for someone born during this age, and Jim lacks control, which could easily lead to a lot of damage. So Douxie decides to teach him a bit.

Because Bular has a personal vendetta against Jim, soon enough Kanjigar contacts him as well. Jim learns about the Trollhunter and his mission and proposes to help him (after some initial shock, Jim starts to wonder if there is some meaning to the fact that he got magic). Kanjigar is against it - he has worked alone since the very beginning, and well, Jim is a kid. Jim and Toby still sneak to the Trollmarket, and meet Blinky and Aaarrrgghh there. Blinky believes that having a trollhunting team might not be such a bad idea, so now there are four of them trying to help Kanjigar. Draal eventually joins too, becoming the fifth member. Jim keeps this fact from Douxie because Douxie forbids him to risk his life needlessly (out of concern that there might be another spike in Jim's developing magic which can be harmful to his soul). As for Toby, he gets his Warhammer early on.

Meanwhile, Strickler gets close to Barbara, wondering if she knows her son's secret. He discovers rather fast that she is in the dark about everything and uses it for his own profit.

Much like in the canon, Jim is in the school play, but he skips less because his outings are more controlled (be it magic lessons with Douxie or visits to the Trollmarket), so he has less friction with Claire. Claire still senses that Jim hides something and tries to talk to him about it.

Jim and Toby are the ones who discover the hideout at the museum and basically trigger all the changeling-related events, including Enrique's kidnapping. Enrique is picked because Jim is a regular guest at Claire's house by this point, and Strickler feels that he can use another pair of eyes.

Jim is the one who goes to the concert with Claire in this AU, while Toby babysits Enrique. Claire is initially upset with Jim afterward as she thinks that Toby and Jim decided to prank her together, but after giving it some thought, tries to investigate what is wrong.

Jim still gets Grit-shaka from Draal and ends up exposing his connection to trolls before Douxie before running to fight Bular. Much like in the canon, Bular exposes Strickler.

Claire catches her fake brother herself and encounters Jim, asking if he knows too. Jim decides to tell her everything.

Kanjigar decides to face Bular head-on together with his team (plus Douxie, who joins at the last second). Together they slay him and recover the Killahead.

Now that everything is more or less safe, Claire comes to Kanjigar and asks him to save her brother. Jim and Toby join her pleas, and Jim says that he'll travel to the Darklands himself if Kanjigar disagrees. Kanjigar agrees after some consideration (the previous Trollhunters are against it, but Kanjigar reminds them that his team has slain Bular).

Strickler frees Angor Rot, much like in the canon. Angor, however, disobeys the first command to attack the Trollhunter and judge his skill and goes for Jim instead (he senses his shadow magic and decides to get rid of someone who can possibly become a second Morgana). In this fight, Jim manages to wrestle out the shadow staff. After some examination, Douxie allows him to use it - as the shadow staff, apparently, stabilizes Jim's rather chaotic magic.

The Trollhunters recover the first triumbric stone, but during the quest at the Quagawumps' swamp, the tragedy happens - Kanjigar dies, taking the hit from Angor meant for Claire (it's something that will haunt her for a while). The amulet chooses her as the next champion, but she is conflicted wondering if she can be a good one. After all, she couldn't protect her brother, and Kanjigar died because of her. Draal also doesn't help as he questions her worth (he isn't as bad as he was with Jim in the canon, but his words are still mean).

Jim, however, believes in Claire and says that she can be the best (after all, she is a quick learner, brave, and loyal). Claire starts training, hoping to be able to catch up quickly. Draal warms up eventually and comes to help her.

Angor doesn't make any deal with the Trollhunters in this AU, as he doesn't trust Jim by default. Douxie is the one who suggests stealing Inferna Copula from Strickler, but much like in the canon it ends destroyed, and Angor unleashes his anger at Strickler, Jim, and everyone else. Barbara walks in amid the fight and gets wounded. In this AU she learns everything without losing her memories. Obviously, she is mad at Strickler for using her to get to Jim.

Angor Rot is the first Claire's major opponent, but she manages to defeat him with the help of Jim, Toby, and Draal. Draal feels that his father is avenged and thanks Claire.

However, for Claire, it's not enough. She doesn't want to lose another team member, so goes to the Darklands alone (besides, she was the one who requested that mission to start with). She saves Enrique but ends up trapped.

And here's the problem - only the Trollhunter can open the portal to the Darklands. Jim tries to find an alternative solution and finds a book in Douxie's library about summoning spirits and letting them possess the body. There is a risk, however, as the one who performs it is more vulnerable to possession later, but Jim is willing to risk. He summons Kanjigar's spirit and the team heads into the Darklands to save Claire.

Gunmar getting out isn't the only consequence of that venture. Morgana senses Jim's mind's vulnerability and starts to take over. She resurrects Angor first, then contacts Gunmar.

No one realizes that something is off with Jim at first, chalking most of the stuff to the shadow magic acting up. Claire gets suspicious first and goes to Douxie, demanding if all of that is actually shadow magic. Douxie admits that his fellow student Morgana was odd at times too. After hearing that, Claire is even more worried, and she and Douxie encounter Jim - only to realize that Morgana already fully possesses him.

Claire and Douxie restrain possessed Jim and decide to travel inside his mind to free him. They also bring Toby and Barbara with them, as more meaningful people should make it more likely to succeed. Jim is free, and fighting Morgana gives him a better understanding of his own magic.

With Gunmar and Morgana around the team decides to wake up Merlin (per Douxie's suggestion). And, well, Merlin isn't excited to learn that Douxie got involved and even took a shadowmancer as an apprentice (he is pretty much convinced that Jim will end the same as Morgana if not worse).

Merlin also plans to turn Claire into a half-troll, but as Douxie is around, he investigates the ingredients and discovers what they might do. The team encounters Merlin, and he admits his intentions but tells everyone there is no other choice. Strickler, however, intervenes and makes a guess that there might be some alternative in the Janus Order's records, which turns out to be true. The alternative just requires some blood from a shadowmancer, which Jim gladly provides. Claire becomes a shapeshifter with the ability to change forms at will.

However, Merlin also comes to Jim regarding Morgana. It's possible to seal her inside the Shadow Realm, but all the links between it and the outside world should be cut, meaning that Jim should stay inside the Shadow Realm for good. Merlin appeals to Jim's insecurities and reminds him that the shadow magic is evil, convincing Jim that it'll be better for everyone.

However, Claire overhears this conversation and confronts Jim about it. She also reminds him that Merlin's solutions have already proved to be not the only answer and that their team has already found an alternative once, so it's possible to find another one.

The encouragement from Claire prompts Jim to craft his own spell for the first time to use against Morgana. So, once the Eternal Night comes, both Claire and Jim defeat Gunmar and Morgana respectfully.

@theonceandfuturetrollhunter, I know that you feel down now, so hopefully, this one cheers you up a bit:)

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Road to redemption

Jim entered the dim-lit sewer, not for the first time. The ring in his hand did give him a sense of security, the only threat he didn’t know how to deal with now was under his control, or at least wouldn’t harm him. 

Flashback.

When he put the ring on at first, he had a flash, he could see where the assassin was hidden deep within the tunnels, holding the stone they were looking for, whilst sitting on a pile of rubble. The first instinct was to go get it, but, as he faltered and kept the ring on, he started seeing more. 

Memories that were not his own flooded his mind, mistreatment, not just from Strickler. But from others.

So.

Many.

Others. 

And many different orders, from changelings, other trolls, gum-gums, and even someone called “Pale Lady”, who, by the looks of it, was the first. There was a constant feeling of sadness through those memories, anger, regret, so many negative emotions. It was hard. When he realized time had gone back to normal around him, it had already passed five minutes. 

He got on his Vespa and rushed back to school, where he found his friends, all safe and sound. 

“Jim!!” Claire and Toby rushed to him, the girl giving him a long hug. “You used it!! Did it work?! Did you get it?!” 

The girl then looked at the boy’s hand, finding the ring inside one of them. 

“I did… And I saw something…” 

He explains all he’s seen with the ring in his finger as they walk home, all he felt when he put it on. “I… I think we should really talk about it.”

“Well… That… Does bring things into perspective…” Claire frowned, remembering how avidly she had been moments before about using the ring to control Angor Rot, feeling guilt.

“See! I told you guys! We need to give it back!” Toby insisted once again, pushing his bike along, almost tripping on the sidewalk. “And hey, imagine right? What if he becomes our friend?! ANOTHER ONE FOR THE TEEAAAAM!!”

“What if he doesn’t and wants to kill me anyway?” Jim sighs, thoughtful. 

He didn’t want to die, but also, it didn’t feel right controlling the other troll, he needed to make some arrangements. Something that would compromise and make everyone happy, and would guarantee that the deals went through.

“I think I had an idea.”

End of flashback.

And that leads back to where he was now, alone, safe for a bug he planted on his watch. Claire and Toby followed from above, while Blinkous and AAARH followed from the sewers next to him. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Master Jim?”

“It’s better than nothing, Blinky… I just need him to listen to me. Plus! He’s put a literal curse on me. The minimum I am doing is protecting myself, right?”

“Agreed.” Claire says, pulling a chair in the cafe right above where Jim was alongside Toby. “Scream if you need help.”

“I’ll specifically call out for it, not to be confused with: ‘He’s chasing me’ screams.” 

Everyone in the coms laughed, except Jim, who was now one step closer to where he saw Angor Rot the day prior. 

Except he wasn’t there, not at first glance. 

The young trollhunter hated the feeling of not knowing where the enemy was. So, he called out. “Um… Angor Rot? Are you there?!”

From the shadows, the assassin crawled out, rising to his feet and glaring at the boy with a cold stare, he wasn’t keen on words currently. It was clear, however, Angor Rot sensed a change in the boy, he was not wearing armor and was alone in the sewer. And how he was found, was the most perplexing part.

It was only when Jim revealed the ring on his finger any emotion crawled through, pure anger washed over the other’s expression as he hissed and tried to attack the boy. Being stopped by an unseen force, mere inches from hitting the brunette’s head in with a dagger. 

“Give it to me. NOW.”

“I will. But not yet.” He straightened himself, taking a few steps back and looking up at Angor. “I did what you wanted, now I need you to fill up your end of the deal.”

That agitated the other, who paced back and forth trying to find some angle to attack from, or to try to. “So was this your plan?! Get my ring just to control me?!”

“I am NOT going to control you… I just needed you to listen…” Jim took off the ring, placed it in a chain he produced from his pocket, and tied it to his neck. “I’ll keep the ring until your end of the bargain is done… But I won’t wear it. I’m not controlling you now, I just ask you to fulfill your end too.”

The assassin kept his eyes on his soul, not moving them, not distracted. “I could snap that ring off your neck…”

“You could… But the stories say you were once a great warrior and a kind troll…” Those words sank like an anchor on the deep sea, taking an expression of pain from the troll. “So… I’d like to think you’ll be honest. And uphold your end… And understand I don’t exactly trust a guy who has a murder on his record.”

With that, he turned around, walking out of the tunnel and into the street above, where sunlight made it safe, meeting the others at the cafe. “Well! It all went good I think?”

“You didn’t exactly wait for a reply-”

“And I was not planning to! He knows what job needs to be done, sooooooo-” A waitress brought three hot chocolates, leaving each of them in front of each of the kids. “Aww! You ordered me one!” 

“Chocolate has a calming effect to most, so I figured you’d need it.” Claire nodded her head, with Toby smiling with a familiar proud look on his face. 

As they all took their cups into their hands and started sipping, a fairly sized pebble fell onto their table, smashing the flower jar on it. There were words on it, written in trollish. 

“I will need the two together. I’ll gather what I need and come find you by night.”  Read Claire.

“Well. He agrees!” Jim nodded.

“Wait there’s something on the back-” Toby pointed the inscription, it read: “Thank you for reminding me who I fight for.”

“Okay… That’s nice I think.” Claire admitted after she finished reading. 

“I am sensing it! he's gonna be part of the team!”  Toby sipped his hot chocolate.

“Let’s see about that Tobes.” Jim rolled his eyes, pulling out his wallet to pay for the damaged vase.

—

When midnight came, Jim was still awake, waiting outside in Toby’s backyard with the other and Claire, waiting. He told his mother he was sleeping at Toby’s house, which was partially true. But really, they were just waiting to see if Strickler would show up. And, luckly or not, he did. Of course, Jim did mention they should do that, after all, he knew (from Drall’s retelling and his own observations) that they really liked each other. 

For much of the boy’s distaste.

“So… Strickler is here… With my mom…” Jim sighed heavely, starting to lose his patience. “I am not putting on the ring but I do wanna know where Angor is.”

“You needn’t wait, Hunter.” Angor Rot jumped the fence, entering the backyard with a bag in hand. “I brought my materials.”

“Hi- You are… Very much on time.” Jim stuttered, cleaning his throat. “Well, so… How do you start it?”

“First. My ring…”

A shiver went through all the kids’ backs, turning back to him, Jim clutched the box a bit tighter. Claire defended him, “He will give it to you when-” 

“I know.” Angor then cut. “I don’t need you to give it to me yet, but simply…” His voice was almost breaking, they could tell that as he cut his phrase. “Show it to me…”

They exchanged looks, but the trollhunter stepped forward, opening the box and showing the ring, safe and intact in it. And also with a bit of a new shine to it. “I was very careful when I cleaned it. I don’t know, thought it would be nice.”

He had no words, simply nodded, fixing the bag he had in his hand, lowering his head in a confused and unsure motion. “That… was unnecessary…”

“I read once all kindness was necessary.” Jim announced proudly, moving aside and closing the box carefully. “SO, the plan is: Dust some sleep powder on them, they fall unconscious, you unbind them and boom! All done.”

The assassin rolled his eyes, watching as the child was excited. “It won’t be as easy.”

That, again, made them stop in their tracks. “Why?”

“The moment you get your mother to sleep, do you think Strickler will not try to run?” 

“Oh! That’s why Blinky, Aargh and Drall, and if possible, YOU will be guarding all exits!” The blue-eyed boy points to the house across the street. “Drall is guarding the downstairs, Blinky’s got the back, Aaargh the side and you could block from the top!”

Angor strapped the bag to his back, walked to the other side of the backyard and disappeared into the shadows. After watching for a bit, he showed up on the rooftop by Jim’s window.

“He… Could have told us he agreed.” Jim frowned a little, passing the ring to Claire. “You keep this and make sure it’s safe okay?”

“And why am I not going with you?”

“‘Cause your shadow-staff abilities still need work!” Toby piped up, walking off, while Claire armed herself with a retort, he continued: “And Ms. Lake doesn’t know you’re here. So less suspicious!”

Now that made more sense, and Claire calmed down. “Okay, fair. I’ll keep watch.” 

With that, Jim and Toby crossed the street, sleeping powders in hand. They rang the doorbell, Barbara opened it and was shocked to see the two up at that hour. Her dress was formal and romantic, clearly a date outfit. 

“Oh! Boys! Is everything alright? What are you doing awake?” The mother asked, looking over the two but her doctor's eyes could find nothing wrong physically. 

“Hi mom! We just wanted to say goodnight!” Jim quickly blew the baby blue dust on his mother’s face. 

It felt horrible watching her cough and fall back, now asleep, or rather, in a very sleepy and disoriented state. Walter Strickler, from the dining room, heard the commotion and ran to the door, finding the boy and his friend eyeing him furiously as Jim took his mother to his arms.

“Principal Strickler! Soooo good to see you tonight.” The sarcasm was palpable in the red-haired’s voice. 

“Young Atlas, did you just put your mom to sleep with sleep powder?!” 

“It was better than to let her see trolls crowding her living room.” As Jim says that, Aaargh appears in the window, Blinkous erupts through the door and most threatening of all, Angor comes down the stairs. 

Instinctively, Strickler hides the hand where the ring was supposed to be. “Traitor! How dare you!!”

“There’s no use hiding, Changeling… You have no ring…” He grabbed the changeling by the neck, holding him in front of the trollhunters. “Put him to sleep.”

As Toby approached the changeling with the glowing powder in hand, the downed troll swiftly opened his wings, blowing the powder right back. Toby managed to hold his breath before he inhaled anything, Jim did as well. Strickler pushed Angor back with a slap to the face, climbing upstairs and dashing for a window. Summoning his armor, Jim gives chase alongside Angor, who both jump out the window and onto the roof. 

Angor throws a knife with the blunt end forward, it hits one of Strickler’s wings, it unstabilizes him a bit, but doesn’t make him fall, instead, he throws his own knives back. 

Claire had been watching the scene, taking the shadow staff in hand, she opened a portal just as Strickler turned around, catching him in it. However, ended up teleporting him exactly to where she was. “Oh no-” 

“CLAIRE!!!” Jim slid down a drainage pipe, dashing across the street. When the entire group arrived, Strickler had Claire at knifepoint with a hand over her mouth. The staff having been thrown aside, unable to be reached. “Let. Her. Go.”

“Oh, I’d rather not, Young Atlas. See, I am still BOUND to your mother, which means you cannot harm ME or you’ll harm her!” He reiterated, walking back towards the woods. “So, I will let Claire here live… And you won’t perturb me again.” 

Jim’s hands were shaky as he held Daylight, with no intent or way of using it. Claire struggled, trying to free herself. All trollhunters were in an impasse, there was no way of getting to Strickler without risking Barbara and no way of getting to him without harming Claire. When the rest of the trolls arrived at the scene, they were all angry, but couldn’t think of any way to help.

“You should be ashamed of yourself…” Blinky cursed, scrambling for an answer to protect the girl. 

“I do what I must to survive. A coward like you would understand.” Strickler hissed back, slowly walking back. 

While all of this was happening, Angor finally laid eyes on the staff, the many centuries of practice with it worked to his advantage as he called the staff to him with the tome. The staff flew to his hand and with a swift movement, another portal appeared, this time, bringing the changeling to Angor’s grasp stronger. With agile movements, Angor was able to grasp the hand with the knife, kicking Claire out of the way. The brunette boy caught the girl, meanwhile, the assassin used all his strength to contain the troll’s wings and keep him down. 

“NOW!! THE LUNAR POWDER!!” Blinky rushed to the scene, while Angor held his breath, he blew it on the changeling's face. 

Strickler fought, tried as he could to stay awake or rub the powder on the assassin, but eventually also fell to the powder’s sleep-inducing actives. Angor kept his breath held as he put the man down, if he inhaled even a particle, he could either do the spell wrong or risk losing the opportunity, though, he had no clue where to get water in that place so he could clear it off of him. He mimed his distress to the others, Claire got up, got the hose and sprayed the other’s face with it. 

Though she did overdid a bit. “ALRIGHT ENOUGH- THE POWDER IS OFF!!”

“Just making sure.” She scoffed, closing the register. “You’re the main part of this plan, after all.”

It was very unclear in her tone if she meant that as an insult, or as a compliment. He decided to simply ignore either option and proceed with the task. Picking up Strickler, they dragged him back to the Lake household, where they found Barbara, in a sleepy hazed state on the sofa, trying to make sense of what Toby was telling her. The fact she didn’t get knocked out like the changeling put a question mark to all. The sorcerer himself was shocked she had her eyes open.

“How is she still awake after a fist of the lunar powder?” Angor was impressed as he was setting up the instruments, occasionally moving the woman’s hands off of them. 

Jim looked over the kitchen, finding a packet of instant coffee and a mug in the sink. “Oh. She had espresso. Of course, she did…”

“Oh dear, that would explain it.” Blinky sighs, “I feel that is not smart at this hour?”

“It is not, if I even SMELL coffee before bed I become a buz!” Claire sympathizes with the woman and especially her son, she doesn’t blame her for taking coffee but is worried for the fact she may not sleep as often as it seems. 

The chatter of the house dulled in Angor’s ears as he set up each component, continually, and annoyingly, pushing Barbara from touching anything. His patience started to wear out, so he gave her something to fiddle with, an unfinished golem piece, it would do nothing even if she threw it or buried it. But apparently got her attention. “prettyyyyyy… This is great decoration!”

“I made that from my own flesh.”

“Your flesh is nicer than humans. So less messy… I can glue you back together… So not messy.”

He rolled his eyes, he wished it was as easy as that. But apparently it had gotten other people’s attention. “You made that- From your own skin?”

“Yes.” The silence, safe for items being arranged and placed around, was quite mournful. “If you knew I was a warrior, why does this surprise you?”

“The book didn’t say you did that-” Jim sputtered, now more and more concerned for the other. 

Once finally done setting up, Angor took the totem back and placed both bonded hands on the shiny stone in the middle. Jim, now more than ever, paced around, anxious for his mother. 

“She’s gonna be okay, right? That… That won’t hurt her?”

Angor looked back, watching as the boy got more and more worried. He sighed, truthfully unsure. “The spell was never done on humans, to my knowledge… Removing it might have some drawbacks, for example, she won’t remember anything from today… But I’ll do what I can to make it painless.”

Jim sat down anxiously, taking his mother’s hand, who was still in her hazed state. “Jiiim! Promise me, you’ll wear a helmet when fighting trolls! I’m your mama! I gotta protect you!”

He pats his mother’s hands. “It’s okay Mom, I will.” 

Angor started reciting the incantation to undo the spell, Walter started groaning and writhing on the floor, and Barbara also shifted in the comfiness of the sofa. 

—

Once the spell was removed, Jim took Barabara to the hospital, saying she fainted at home. Before heading off, Claire retrieved the box Jim put under her care, handing the ring to the troll. 

Meanwhile, Strickler woke up, to the smell of a dirty sock and all the trollhunters (and Angor) were glaring at him. He jumps, stumbling back into troll form. 

“Good morning! Mr. Strickler.”

“What have you done?!” 

“Severed your bond to my mom, making it so that whatever happens to you!” The young boy slapped the man across the face, leaving a red mark. “She’s safe!” 

The Changeling glared daggers at the trollhunter, he was about to pick up his feather knives when Angor interrupted.

 He attacks, punching Strickler in the face. “That. Is for taking my soul.” 

Before anyone could intervene, the green troll was kicked in the crotch by a very agreeable force. 

“That. Was for calling me a dog and treating me as one.” 

The man groaned, falling face-first onto the pavement. The troll then picked up one of his daggers, and everyone moved into defense positions, as he stared at the man. Clutching the dagger in his hand tighter and tighter, he walked closer to the downed foe. 

“I could kill you… Part of me does want to kill you…” He plunged the dagger onto the concrete in front of Strickler, who was ready to have his head roll. “But thanks to the trollhunter, I won’t. I’m not a soulless killer. And you’re not even worth dulling a knife for.” 

A collective sigh of relief was had by the trollhunters’ team, who instantly reverted to hating Strickler. The ex-assassin turned to the boy’s daggers, the memory of the stone he still had possession of coming to his mind. Now that no one was wearing the ring, there was no pull to keep it. So, he tossed it to the conundrum, who caught it all be it clumsily. 

“The trollhunter saved you today… You should be thankful.” 

The changeling eyed the group, shock written across his features as he gasped for air after his life passed through his eyes. After a few minutes of silence, watching as their enemy recomposed himself, Jim spoke once more. 

“I never planned to come after you, you know? You might have been the second biggest traitor of my life. But I still had no plan to just chase you or kill you.” He admitted, frowning, picking up the changeling and putting him on his feet. “I don’t like finishing fights like that. I only ever did when I needed to… I was really hoping the years before I was a trollhunter meant something like that.”

Blinkous tightened his glare, and all the others as well. Angor was a bit lost but figured it was well-deserved. Once the troll was back at his feet, he changed into his human disguise, watching the boy with attentive eyes. His shoulders detensed, his gaze softened and he let out a long sigh. 

“I will not be the last enemy you face.” He reaches into his pocket and Jim gets tense and clutches Daylight tighter, getting progressively angrier. 

Until Strickler produced a stone from his pocket, it was star-like and the colors reminded all of a blue shiny eye. Claire and Blinky gasped, all the others watched in amazement and confusion.  “Is that…?” 

“The eye of Gunmar? Indeed so.” The changeling put it on the trollhunter’s hand. “The challenges you’ll face are far bigger than any you’ve faced before… And sadly this one you won’t be able to reason with as well as you have.”

“Oh, trust me, the only talk for Gunmar is the words: Flip you and go to hell,” Jim stated, taking the stone. “Thank you. But it doesn’t make it any better what you did with my mother.”

Strickler found in himself to give a sighed chuckle, “I know. I didn’t expect that at all really.”

With that, he turned his back on the trollhunters, “Until we meet again… Young Atlas.”, with that, disappeared behind a turn in the sewers. 

—

Once they all reached the canal, the entire group was a lot more relieved. With the now, officially, not-murderous assassin out of the way and both missing stones acquired, the path to retrieving Claire’s brother was going to be a smoother one. As they all made way to Trollmarket, Angor was quiet, following way behind them, staring and examining his ring with much detail.

“Angor Rot?” His name brought him back, and turning up, he found the grubera beside him. “You okay?”

“I… I am. I am now.” He sighed, taking in the feeling of his soul again. The warm feelings, the memories, the pain and guilt, but most importantly, the hope. “I’m free… I just need to…” 

He froze, staring down at the ring once more, hands shaking and vision blurring. 

How is he supposed to put his soul back? 

What if he hurts his soul?

What if the soul breaks?

What if he loses it… forever…?

He hadn't felt this panicked in centuries, or better, he hadn’t felt panic in centuries. Now he remembered why it was so hated, the feeling hit like a hammer on a bothersome nail and made him choke. His freezing and AAARRRGH staying behind caught the attention of the other trollhunters, who turned around as well, shedding confused expressions at the two.

“You… don't know how to return your soul, do you?” Jim cautioned, letting the armour fade away. 

Angor did not have an answer, but it was in the negatives either way. “I…” 

No words would leave, the tightness in his chest kept getting tighter and tighter. After a second, and digging his claws discretely onto his hand, Angor recomposed himself. 

“I will be alright, trollhunter. I will find a way… It is my own fault for not thinking ahead.” He sighs, dusting off his hands to try to not bother the marks he left. “I am in debt to you, young trollhunter. You have my eternal gratitude, for returning what belongs to me.”

“Yeah. No worries! I gotta answer the call, right? Even if it does come from a guy who’s tried to kill me… And put a magic tattoo on my face.” 

“Oh. Yes. To revert the mark, you must wash with silver water under the moonlight.” The sorcerer explains, handing them a bottle of what it was supposed to be. 

As Claire examined it, she instantly recognized the material. “This is mercury.”

“I suppose that’s what humans call it.” He failed to understand why they looked so skeptical and fearful.

“Mercury is very toxic to humans- And anything that isn’t a troll really-” She laid flat, taking the bottle gently and passing it right back, as he now realized the mistake. 

“Ah… I see. It was the only solution I knew.” 

Blinkous was somber, massaging his temples to try to think which books on the library could contain any possible information on the matter. But then, Claire spoke up again. “Okay, does the mark actually affect Jim’s health?”

“No. All it means is that I’ll know where he is at all times, as well as can have access to the sword.” 

“Okay! Then! You. Just don’t do any of that. And we shouldn’t need to get it off. It doesn’t even show anyways.” She had a very good point, now with Angor as a good person, it wasn’t as much an issue. The troll agreed and the girl took Jim’s hand, pulling him away. “Well. Thank you for the help with the triumbric stones as well.”

“Yeah! If you need anything! You… Well. You know where to find us!” 

And with that, Jim was dragged inside trollmarket to carve the two stones he’d acquired. Leaving Angor Rot outside, looking up at the world he didn't fully know, which he hadn't been part of for centuries. Now in solitude, he felt the ringing or anxiety on his back get heavier, the ring in his hand was warm with his energy… The energy he wasn’t sure how to bring back into his body. 

Either way, he had to figure it out alone. As he was known as a soulless assassin, it was obvious they wouldn’t allow him inside. Not after centuries of killing trollkind’s protectors. 

Still, he kept the boy’s offer in mind, and his common sense made it seem a bit too good to be true.

…

Or was it?

[rosemaidenvixen]

A while back I posted that in the sunshine au each of the kids will have a signature color, and I thought I'd go a little more into detail about what that means for one character in particular.

Darci.

Her color is green, the color of both envy and harmony.

After the Battle of Two Bridges Blinky decides that in order to give his human charges an advantage in their struggle against the Janus order, he'll let them handle several magical artifacts that Vendel has in storage in the hope of awakening some form of Wizardry in them.

Because learning magic is a lot like learning music. It doesn't require any special innate factor, and with practice and hard work almost anyone can become skilled at some form of it.

Jim is barred from using the artifacts, due to his "curse" interfering with any outside magic, but for the rest of the kids it's wildly successful.

Claire awakens her magic first, darkness flickering at her fingertips and shadows bending to her will. Toby discovers his magic in the stones he spent his life studying, finding power in the heat and pressure of the earth itself. Mary's magic burns bright and hot, much more volatile than the others', able to summon an inferno on a whim.

Then there's Darci, who tries as hard as she can but is never able to summon more than a flicker of power.

That's when they learn that while most people can learn some form of magic, a few people are the magical equivalent of tone deaf. And that no matter how much work and effort they put in they'll never be able to master anything but the most basic of spells.

Darci falls into this category.

She's utterly crushed at learning this but tries to keep her spirits up and be happy for her friends. After all this isn't their fault, and they'd happily give her the ability to practice magic if they could. And while Jim does have special abilities of his own he paid a terrible price for them.

The other kids know how left out Darci feels and make a point to never exclude her and to not rub their talents in her face.

But as sympathetic as the others are and as much as she tries to force herself to stay positive, Darci can't help but look at all her friends growing into new, fantastical powers and feel the sharp sting of envy.

As time goes on Darci find herself more and more torn between her support for her friends and her growing bitterness. But then something unexpected happens that sends everyone reeling.

The arrival of someone who's also known for wearing green.

[feather-dancer]

for the made up fic title: Solar Revolution

Wanted to give my brain something completely different a few days ago (It's not been working right during March) and to keep up my "written thing each month sooo jumped on this. I wasn't expecting Blinky to go and hijack the thing. I'm sorry you've been living in my askbox this long.

~

For many of troll kind, gemstones have been used to mark eras, be they good ones or ill, much like humans apparently do with their ores, metals and crowns. Tales from these times are then passed down the generations by the spoken word and later, as language and nuance became shared, through text. It is to Blinky’s great pleasure that he happens to own some of the latter! Granted they are a touch archaic even in the sense of the long lived and their meanings have warped with age as much as dust. Eng wema bet eng wema!  Still, as a historian, these offer vital clues to the lost and lessons for the modern day that are just as valuable as when they were first spoken. It is in such great tradition that he continues to parse occurrences from his own lifetime for the records and while he firmly believes highly in accuracy over embellishment, there is the odd temptation here and there to do so. Really it should be, well, expected in particularly in such turbulent times as these…

Anyways enough with all this dilly dallying about with context. Onwards to knowledge and greater understanding!

The earliest period he wishes to cover occurs after troll-kind ventured out from their ancestral homes and long before the most recent descendants of the great Galadrigal line came to be. It is known as the era of the amethyst when the various clans and species of trolls led largely separated lives from one another. This said there are the odd mention of unions or trade meaning isolationist tendencies as the krubera do in the modern was not an absolute. Many so-called mythicals still roamed wild including the now extinct fae. Peaceful would be quite the misnomer though it is certainly one of the uh quieter in comparison.

The next era would be the obsidian or karp. This is believed to have had a different name once but was later renamed for it’s notorious association with Gunmar. Strife with humans was rapidly growing beyond the mere handfuls as space was stolen and the ground was put to flame leading to the War for the Surface Lands. This led to the rise of Orlagk who formed the original Gumm-Gumms though they were not the army they would later become. With so much blood and stone being shed it is hardly a wonder someone like him was formed nor his growing reputation prior to his recruitment as a General.

After winning the ‘battle’ for leadership, he quickly cemented himself as a protector using those under his sway to protect any and all from humans that would do them harm. Even to us who knew nothing of war, he became lauded in song and story for the lives and homes he saved. An Opradush of our very own! Joining the side of this unstoppable force was an honour and things seemed ever so hopeful. Putting aside the odd human that was snacked upon surely a truce could have been come to at some point and the sword might be laid down? It was just for now, just until it was safe. His erkl will remember this better than he assuming he would be willing to impart it.

The emerald or weyrn era is a rather… Complicated one for many reasons and it’s influence has lasted well into the present. Long before there was a name to put to the face there were many rumours even amongst their kind of a rather strange sounding man. Old by their standards yet never seemed to pass, a nose buried in books as much as wading through bogs and a thirst for knowledge that could quite rival his own were it not for the rather distasteful subjects he engaged in. A mastery of time itself…? Even now the very idea disturbs! Still, he left things be and all were willing to ignore it as long as it stayed that way.

Alas he did not keep to this neutral vow and the world would be forced to know of the name Myrddin Wylt when he nestled close to Dwoza. In choosing to back the pale tyrant over those he shared an unusual kinship with, he merrily stoked the flames of Gunmar’s rage bringing lives on both sides of the border under increasing threat. For the greater good he would call it and yet he would later grovel for his mistake with a gift of hope. His supposed liaisons with the future clearly having left him blind to the obvious.

The golden era, sometimes referred to as the oblau or even named after the Ram. did not have quite as clear cut a line from the previous. It ebbed and flowed against one another depending on who’s sway one lived under or how personal things became. When attempts to mediate broke down again and again to be resolved through the clash of armies, one of Camelot’s own turned her back on the humans. She gifted our then defender the ability to create in an attempt to lessen the losses and promised to induce the very klokaran to come to our aid! It seemed far too good to be true and perhaps it was. These were painfully naïve times and peace between the sides still believed possible.

Even this was not to last. Distant rumours that were once old to those fleeing from their razed villages suddenly became fresh to ears closer to the frontline. Caverns had been raided to bring fresh ruz into the fold, whelps snatched from bedfurs, honourless bloodlust and inscription threatened in return for lives being spared. Such things seemed so absurd until it was their doors being battered and demands made just as they were warned. One of his Generals came with an ultimatum for Vendel who was leader at the time: Stand with their protector against those who would put them to the sword without flinching or perish. Despite the desperate pleadings of an unusually armoured youngling, they chose to flee. Alas, war does not care for neutrality and it came for them anyway. Were it not for the wizard, as distasteful as he is, these writing may well not have come to exist.

The Battle of Killahead has left scars that run deep in even the thickest of stone and have not eased since. The final gateway to the old lands was torn down to prevent the escape of Gunmar and his surviving Gumm-Gumms turning it into a prison. A truce made over the blood of a dying king to cease eating their kind and they would no longer be hunted. A Trollhunter gained by the name of Deya and the two wizards that had caused so many problems presumed to have destroyed one another. Nobody would admit their relief at the idea but it was there all the same. Come to think of it, the youngling was nowhere to be seen either.

The citrine era is marked from the moment Dwoza was abandoned in hopes of finding a new, safer home that would not be burdened with all the memories. The humans were fond of wandering even across the deepest of oceans and it stood to reason that troll-kind could do so themselves through the right method of transportation. While they lost many protector during the journey and a few of their own between an assassin and a survivor, they did successfully relocate in what would become Heartstone Trollmarket. This was a true melting pot of cultures, tribes and clans that had nowhere left to turn but each other to bring about something that had not existed before right under the human nose. It’s loss still causes his horns to itch.

This was not in fact an entirely peaceful time despite how it might sound. Between outbreaks of troll flu or other disease, the difficulties of frequent expansion and sabotage from those who were once mistakenly called impure it was wise not to be complacent but despite it all things endured. While their own progress was slow but meaningful, the world above simply moved on far faster than could have been imagined.

When the sapphire or meffa era came about it was the most dramatic thing to occur since the attempted assassination of Kanjigar a handful of decades prior. A human trollhunter? Such a silly concept when he could be crushed so easily by Bular’s claws! Yet much like them and against every odd, he endured and kept doing the impossible. He gathered around allies of all types including those unwelcome, defeated those who even their greatest never managed and even sacrificed his very self to protect everyone until his very last breath. While lost for a time after a feat of sorrow filled stupidity, he found a way to break Decimaar’s leash and while would not defeat it’s owner then, the killing blow would still be his to take.

Looking back, the young master had quite the habit of looking at encounters where he would be unlikely to walk away from and charging into them anyway for good or ill. Bones, his life, his humanity, nothing was too much to give! The problem with this attitude however is you yourself are a finite resource and you will run out. If such warnings fall on deaf ears there is simply nothing that could be done other than mourn when it finally happened.

The present era is simply known as the ved. The Amulet is lost to them and the Trollhunter exists merely as a concept now with the old wizard simply giving an apologetic shrug about it all while saying something meaningful only to him. As things are, matters had to be taken into their own hands if Daylight no longer wishes to fight on the behalf of good trolls. All they have ever wished for is to survive in a world that remains ignorant and hostile as the days of his youth so it stands to reason that if all else fails, it shall have to be seized instead. The two younger magic wards tried to talk the rest out of the idea but they have since been lost to misadventure and their return seen as unlikely. All the more reason to mark this as not a time for cowardice as they once might have done. If the balance is wrong, then it will take a revolution to make it right and their group of trolls, their favoured human companion along with his warhammer and a being known as an Akirdion who wished to assist are prepared for it.

In the name of our greatest Trollhunter who once walked both sides, under ram and klokaran, Humsween ti wemi vomi hi bruzen!

[yellowmagicalgirl]

And love itself have rest

Jim fights a mind-controlled Claire.

This was written for urisarang for the 2023 Battleship Exchange. The title comes from a poem by George Gordon Byron.

CW: Mind control and implied death

AO3

FFN

SquidgeWorld

Claire swung aer staff at Jim, and he parried it away from his head.

"This isn't you!" Jim said.

"The Pale Lady showed me the Eternal Night," Claire said. Aer voice sounded like ae was in a trance, like ae wasn't fully there. And how could ae be? Claire would never agree to any of this.

"She's going to kill all of us!" Jim raised his shield and adjusted his footing, trying to gain the upper hand. He didn't want to hurt his datemate, but he had to find a way to disarm aer. Maybe that would break the Pale Lady's hold on aer? Blinky had warned Claire multiple times that the shadow Staff was imbued with dark magic, but surely it hadn't corrupted aer so fully that there was no way to save aer.

"Not everyone. My family will be safe. Maybe Toby, your mom, Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH!, too, if they surrender. I really wish you weren't the Trollhunter, Jim. Then you could see the glory of the new world. Instead, you're going to have to die to bring it about."

"You know they'd never agree to that." He dismissed his shield and tried to reach for aer staff. Ae fell backwards into a portal and reappeared above him, twisting in the air to try and impale him from above. Jim dove out of the way, rolling back to his feet.

Ae landed delicately and shrugged, a cruel smile on aer face. "More's the pity, then, that they won't see the Eternal Night either." Ae ran towards him, and when he tried to dodge out of the way a portal opened in front of him. Ae reached through a second portal and grabbed his amulet from his breastplate, his armor fading away. Ae thrust aer staff through another portal, and Jim felt something sharp pierce through his abdomen.

And Claire's eyes remained gold. Disarming aer wasn't the way to save aer. Jim tugged at the staff, groaning in pain. His mom had told him, once, that removing an impaling object usually made things worse, but he couldn't do anything when pinned down like this. This was no happy dagger, and he was no sheathe.

The staff didn't budge no matter how much Jim pulled.

The amulet wasn't supposed to return if it had been stolen, but Jim had called back the stolen amulet to himself for Claire's sake before. Doing that had removed all the goblins from him, so maybe this would remove the staff so he could retreat. He could find another way to save Claire after he had stitches. "For the Glory of -"

The daylight-blue stone of the amulet turned gold, the same gold as Claire's eyes. A ghostly hand reached through it, shattering the stone, and Claire laced aer fingers through it. "Pale Lady, it is done."

[lightfin]

Troll hunters AU, where everyone is anthropomorphised. Humans are demestic animals called demestics, but are known by the magical world as fur times instead of flesh bags, trolls are preastoric creatures, like dinosaurs. They are known as fossils and the sunlight rule still applies, but they turn into fossilised skeletons rather than stone.

Blinky is a pachirinosaur, Aaarrrgghh an argentinasaurous, Toby an African wild dog, Claire a Maincoon and Jim an Alaskan Malamute. Fossil Jim is half malamute half Dilophosaurous half breed, and his beast form a more powerful version of his Dilo half.

Story is relatively the same up untill Wizards, where Claire becomes hit instead of Jim but Jim is able to share her pain using the absorption magic he gained from being a hibrid, Clare is freed from the curuption and gains a better understanding of herself and her fears, but as a consequence looses the inocence she once had due to the things she did within the time having the shard. Jim shearing the pain causes a defence mechanism in his own body causing him to turn into the beast. Jim is also more feared by the demestics of Camelot and confusion from the fossils of Deoza, as he is what’s classified as a sharp tooth, a carnivorous focal with a natural instinct to kill. Jim does not have that desire due to his demestic side but they fear him anyways as Gunmar, Bullar and most of Gunmars fleet are also sharp tooth, this is what causes Arther to sentence him to death. The amulet gets destroyed but not in the same way as befor. In order to stop the green night both her and Douxie are forced to destroy it with there own magic. Also because I thought it would be ironic Arther ends up being eaten by rage mode beast Jim as a consequence of calling other fossils beasts for so many years. Jim does not realise this until after Claire wakes him out of it. They end up comming out of it with more scars, no amulet, powered up Claire and a permanently beast Dilo Jim. But they work through it.

[saffronthreads]

Ma? Ma there's a weird fuckin' stray cat outside!

Hi, I'm Saffron and I have a thing for men with long hair who could kill me. Sometimes I post about it. I also post selfship imagines for everyone to enjoy.

This is an 18+ blog. I post SFW imagines that everyone can interact with, but I expect you to be 18+ if you're going to follow me.

Not proship, not anti, not neutral. Incredibly opinionated. Fuck purity culture and fuck sexual irresponsibility.

Blinkies.cafe. Also I use the tag #flashing lights for all posts with blinkies.

Little background about me:

While I didn't take part in the community or use this label, I've been quietly self-shipping as long as I can remember being into DBZ.

I initially took interest in Raditz as a gag. It's no longer a gag.

Right now, self-shipping isn't my main priority in terms of creative works. My focus will be on stories like Spectrum-Verse for the time being. However, I hope that by keeping this blog, I'll have an easier time making content about my loves in the future.

I'm cool with sharing f/os as long as you are. The more the merrier.

Tags I'll be using:

#ratman simps: general content about my f/os

#ratman after dark: NSFW content

#sfw saffron: I tag all my SFW imagines, and I don't mind if minors happen to interact with these if they see them in passing.

#mad mutt: Content related to Raditz and Saffron

#stone faced droid: Content related to Trunks and Rin

Rent lowering gunshots.

Shipcourse can choke on my hairy asscrack. Shipcourse can gargle my piss.

DO NOT GET INTO HARDCORE KINK IF YOU WON'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

People can and will have sexual fantasies about some of the worst shit you can imagine. If they keep their actions to consenting adults in their own bedroom, I'm not losing any sleep over their depraved kinks.

There's a lot of people in online fandom who don't have the responsibility it takes to be into fictional incest. Or non-con. Or whatever else fandom likes to clutch their pearls over. I say this as someone who's into some depraved shit, myself. It's possible. But it takes work that a lot of people around here don't actually put in.

Original creators have a right to say things like "don't write non-con fanfics of my work". They're real people. They get to say no.

It's not "censorship" to say that if a fandom surrounds something meant for all ages, maybe the public community isn't the right place for taboo porn. Just a thought.

Genuinely, how are we supposed to get anywhere if nobody interacts with each other over this bullshit?