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miirohs · 1 year ago

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skz as marching band members

cw: n/a an: can you hear my inner band kid coming out after the absolute banger this comeback was? i may not be in band but colorguard is pretty damn close- also the reader a colorguard member! shoutout to nyx, ily boo!

bang chan:

hes a drum major. 100%

he also is band captain bc he's just that bitch

co-arranges musics with the band director and everyone knows when the time he's gonna pull out the 1970s/80s/90s music

use to be a clarinet, but definitely plays in some games if another drum major is conducting for him

an absolute beast when he's conducting, never misses a beat

he's always open to discovering new music bc he loves to arrange songs he enjoys

he's a strickler and needs shit to be on time because he needs to keep a consistent schedule lest he forget to do something

with his partner:

i mean he's definitely the type to try and help with counts (even if your counts are different than the rest of the band)

if he had a dime for every time he got yelled at because he was busy watching your section he'd have a lot of dimes

he likes to say its because your flags are bright and distracting but lets be fr he was watching you

definitely copies the stand dances when he's conducting and makes the rest of the band laugh when he messes up.

typa guy to ask you for a kiss for luck right before the halftime because in his words, "you're his lucky charm"

lee minho:

hes the cheer captain, four time state champion and a menace

probably did band for like half a year and then quit

runs the cheer team practices like its a fucking military camp, everyone fears and loves him

hes grown to have a reputation because once a girl quit due to the pressure and he basically followed her around school for a whole week and she ended up switching schools

deviously talking shit about some of the band and all the football team all the goddamn time, loves loves loves to start beef and then walk away

he also does choreography work with the guard sometimes because he likes seeing the pretty flags

with his partner:

at some point he drags the whole team to your comps just to see y'all, he loves seeing you specifically put all his work in action

always offering helpful advice on how to fix body angles, posture, etc

since he's a performer himself, he get how easy it is to burn out so sometimes he'll bring you to his own practices and show you things he's choreographed himself

seonghwa is considering locking you away after the sheer amount of times you've gone "mysteriously" missing during the end of practice

Always cheers extra loud for you in the stands, just to see your smile

seo changbin:

he's literally so bass/sousaphone coded

him and wooyoung (sax) and yeonjun (flute) have definitely tried to play each others instruments at at least one point

probably switches between the two every year, well versed in how to play both

definitely plays bass outside of band, is hella good at it too

people find him intimidating but in all honesty he's a sweetheart who would help you no matter what

probably one of the dudes that marches with way more energy than the rest of his section combined- literally during weekend practices he's smiling and laughing at 9 in the morning while everyone sluggishly retrieves their instruments

he's also a part of the stage crew and moves and paints a lot of their equipment

with his partner:

he'd definitely try to teach you how to play the bass and he'd be so proud when you manage to play like one chord

calls his friends over and everything and is like "look they did it!"

in return you've definitely taught him stand dances and bro is killing it- you keep trying to convince him to join but he's loyal

whenever you're performing near him, he has the stupidest heart-struck eyes and is always watching you

loves when you do rifle work because he thinks it looks sick as hell

he wouldn't try it though because he's scared that he'll hit himself and he still doesn't know how you do it

he'll give you little winks if you're close by

hwang hyunjin:

hes a piccolo through and through

he's got both the drama and the sass all the flute section is carrying

he always has his piccolo on him, so he's ready to give the performance of a lifetime whenever needed

he's big big friends with the guard and cheer team, they have their own dedicated groupchat and everything

also the costume manager, he has literally been badgering chan to update the uniforms like forever, sometimes he adds his own little spins to the costumes and also does repairs on them

with his partner:

he admires the guard (you) from afar for sure

he carries your stuff for you because he's such a gentleman (also the piccolo is pocket sized and chan has been getting on his ass about treating the instrument right but to him nothing matters more than treating you right)

definitely joins you and seonghwa when you're gossiping about

sometimes he plays and you'll just do a random saber combo to it and he'll cheer for you

sometimes he likes to take a spin on it (and immediately regret when it smacks his fingers really bad)

whenever you get a boo-boo he always kisses it better, swears his kisses will immediately heal your bruises

han jisung:

he's a trumpet (which is oddly fitting for him)

plays sad music even when it doesn't call for it

always doing the sad trombone thing on trumpet and the trombones are salty that he kinda stole their thunder with that

he's known in the low brass section for being able to play almost any brass instrument with the littlest instruction

chan basically refuses to let him make the switch to sax because he knows what'll happen if he does (he thinks han'll go crazy)

he loves a good challenge, will trumpet-off with other people and play songs on his instruments against other sections

with his partner:

he probably plays show tunes and stuff while you dance with him- loves to call you his showgirl

he's always vibing to your little thumps when you toss and throw, wishes that he could do it too

tries to teach you how to play but that does not end well

he's clingy, he'll do anything to stay with you a little longer

sometimes he even asks you to help find his music for him in an attempt to distract you (its in his bag and he'll magically remember after you give him a hug or some form of physical affection)

lee felix:

probably picked the flute cause it looks pretty aesthetic lets be fr

everyone in band comes to him for marching advice because he makes it look fun and easy

always giving it 100% even if no one can hear him- he makes sure he's heard

even though he joined as a hobby, he's killing it and he plays outside of band as well

always doing musical challenges on tik tok, especially when he should be practicing in sectionals

his favorite thing to play on the flute are disney songs, but he also plays a shit ton of different genres and posts them to tik tok, bringing some semblance of fame to their little high school band

with his partner:

he 100% plays little snippets of song you like because everything sounds good on flute (trust me)

will convince you to do tik toks with him even if you aren't a fan

sometimes you let him try the flag or saber in exchange for his flute so you can try it

he admits that the only reason he leaves his flute to you whenever he goes is so that he can sit nearby and listen to you try to play it (and fail)

he would most definitely be a natural at flag but tries not to do as well so you can shine when your time comes

lets you lean back against him in the stands

kim seungmin:

he's percussion. he's literally a percussion in my heart.

he definitely plays the drums around chan because he thinks its funny to annoy him by drumming off count

no one has ever survived a drum comp with this man fr

sometimes he hums along to his drumming

also taps his thighs/air when he doesn't have something in his hands

he has good rhythm so chan usually has him set the pace to which they go on the field to

he's competitive as hell, he knows hes also better than everyone else and he shows it

with his partner:

he loves guard but he refuses to be put next to them on the drill because he suffered an injury at your hands once

he loves to show off he can play the drums and him and his section do little drumming sessions sometimes while you do saber warmups

he distracts both you and himself a lot when it comes to joint practices so seonghwa and chan have tried to move them (to no avail)

he'll sit outside with you when you guys practice sometimes (as support he says, but seonghwa doesn't believe him)

he's always giving you little nods of approval, doesn't outright show it but he'll take your hands and give you a little kiss when no ones looking

he doesn't want his section to know he's soft for you

yang jeongin:

he's front ensemble/pit, i hope we all agree on him being on the synths and marimba

he's a vital part of the band for sure even if he never seems to get credit but he honestly could care less

has been running synths since he joined, originally wanted to do the sousaphone but he wasn't built enough for it

also the front ensemble section leader, he's very efficient in managing the pit

but he's also clumsy as hell and will sometimes zone out and drops the mallet on the marimba or just entirely forgets wtf he's suppose to be doing on the synths

more than once he's nearly caught these hands from chan bc in chans words, "those were expensive"

with his partner:

whenever he sees you on the sidelines, he's always ginning because out of the corner of his eye he can see you jamming out to the music

everyone teases him (especially binnie) because he zones out watching you and drops the mallet on his foot

follows your every move carefully (and like minho), and he'll always give you advice, but he sugar coats it very much because he loves you and doesn't want to hurt your feelings

loves loves loves when you send him little videos of your progress

loves it even more when you question him about his work, it makes him feel so important pls ask him how he does shit hes dying for it

brushes against you when walking out to the fields during games- he just wants to let you know hes there

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pinkytoothlesso11 · 11 months ago

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Hey, there the same newbie in the Fandom again

I rewatched the show again with my brother and started noticing things I didn't in the first. But for today, only one ask shall I send

Do you think Walter has some guilt feelings about Jim transformation? I mean, the boy wasn't listening to Merlyn till he said similar reasons to the one Strickler said in training and especially in bad coffee, which we saw in it that Jim still cared about Walter opinion or something? (TBH, I like the episode, but half of it was just trash . What do you mean by just "protect her?" he cares for Jim and forbids Bular from attacking him way before starting to start dating Barbara)

Wow, so much rambling sorry anyway back to the guilty feelings because I think he kinda saw himself the reason? He clearly knew or guessed what the potion would do because of his reaction to it

And the "young Atlas you are not alone"

It strikes me as if he realized what he said earlier about Jim not being able to defeat Gunmar by his strength alone (so he got the potion) and his speech was more of hopeless attempt to reach Jim to not accepting the fact he can't win alone but they could find another way together

Oh God, I write all of that, so sorry, but you're the only trollhunters (Strickler) fan I know would be able to understand me

First off, this is a fantastic ask! And it doesn't matter how many times I rewatch Trollhunters, I still find new things. It's probably why I rewatch so much.

I don't think Walt is guilty about Jim's transformation to half-troll. He wanted Jim to survive Gunmar. Because any humanity shown to Gunmar would end with Jim dead. Strickler never said Jim needed to be more than human, not like Merlin did. Strickler was terrified Jim would die, which was why the training in season 3 was so tough. Strickler was angry and scared when he realised what Merlin had done.

Yeah, Jim DOES care about Walt's opinion on him, and I think the same can be said of Walt.

Bad coffee is a bad episode for Strickler and Jim's relationship lol. Right from the start of Trollhunters it was JIM who instilled in Strickler the seeds of his eventual redemption. And RoTT (terrible as it was overall) proved that once and for all. Strickler is willing to DIE for Jim. He didn't die for Barbara. And that's why Jim sets him up with Barbara at the end of the movie.

The whole 'I didn't return to train you, I returned to protect her' can't be taken seriously. Since you know, Strickler was high on gravesand. Nothing he says is particularly nice while on gravesand. None of the teachers are lol. And it was said also because Strickler wanted Jim to kill him. To finish the fight. And needed to say something to wind him up. What better then using his mom? Since obviously he returned for Jim's sake, knowing Barbara would want nothing to do with him at the time. And yes, maybe he returned to train Jim also because it would indirectly protect Barbara, but still. Blatent lie. If that was true, Jim would be dead.

#Anyway that was long #Ask answers #Long post #Trollhunters #Tales of arcadia #Walter Strickler #Jim Lake Jr #Barbara Lake #Knife family #Series analysis is always fun!#Especially since I'm rewatching Trollhunters right now #And Barbara was completely out of the picture for most of the first half of season 1 and Strickler was trying hard to protect Jim #And he does again in Unbecoming I know protect Jim #And straight after bad coffee Strickler comes to help Jim with exorcising Claire no questions asked.#So yeah. Hope that answers all your questions

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rosemaidenvixen · 1 year ago

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For the Halloween thing: not quite a crossover, but Strickler and Jim swap with Eda and Luz role wise in TOH , (not sure WHAT or who that would make Hooty and King in this AU) Jim doesn't know that Strickler is cursed, not until the elixirs Strickler uses run out. Jim thinks there's a monster in the house. And it's hunting him. (or is it?)

Jim sat huddled behind the couch, holding a hand against his mouth to prevent small sounds from escaping with a small imp-like demon pressed against his side. Both of them hiding from the much larger creature that had prowled in from the hall. Desperately hoping the beast couldn’t smell the sweat trickling down his neck or hear his booming heart.

How had he gotten himself into this mess again?

It had started when he’d accidentally fallen into a magical world while biking to school one morning. Then after breaking and entering and an impromptu prison riot he’d made the decision, admittedly terrible looking back now, to stay in said magical world over the summer so his mom wouldn’t have to pay for an expensive summer camp while she took classes in LA. Sure the ground had teeth and the fairies wanted to eat his skin, but staying with a witch he’d met, trading chores for magic lessons, hadn’t seemed like a bad idea.

Then said witch had turned out to be cursed, which did make things more complicated but still manageable.

Until they ran out of the potion needed to keep said curse at bay.

So all that brought Jim to where he was now, hiding from a cursed witch stuck in beast mode while he rampaged through the house.

And to top it all off, he was trapped in the house with said cursed witch thanks to the boiling rain.

Boiling. Rain.

Yeah when he’d first seen this place that morning he should have just kept on biking.

A sharp poke in his side pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking down to see the small demon, Notenrique, glaring up at him.

His teacher refused to describe their relationship with Notenrique as anything beyond roommates, even if that didn’t strike Jim as the full truth. Once he’d asked about the meaning behind the name ‘Notenrique’ only to have the small demon give him a ten minute rant about how stupid the name ‘Jim Lake Jr’ was. Since then he tried not to ask questions.

“Oy beanpole, you got a plan yet?”

“Working on it,” Jim whispered.

“Well work faster!”

There was a creak of the floorboards behind them and they both instantly went still and silent. After a few seconds Jim risked a peek around the side of the couch. Only to see the doorway obscured by a towering figure.

Nearly eight feet tall if they stood upright, although even hunched over they were still massive, pale green skin and long ivory horns. Large wings folded against his back and long tail thumping against the ground, giving him an overall draconic look, as he sniffed the air in the room.

Glowing gold eyes pierced through the gloom, and even in the low light Jim could still see the rows of dagger-like teeth lining his jaw. Quickly ducking back behind the couch, Jim held his breath, beside him he could feel Notenrique doing the same, desperately hoping they remained undetected.

The beast gave the room another sniff and then mercifully started to retreat, moving through the doorway and heading further down the hall away from them. Jim didn’t move, he waited one second, two, five, ten. Only then did he finally allow himself to rela–

“Hello!”

Jim jerked, stifling his scream into a strangled squeak and smacking his head on the side of a table. Notenrique shot straight up in the air and landed on the back of the couch, claws out and hackles raised.

“Hooty…” Jim clutched his chest, struggling to get his breathing under control. He was way too young to be having heart attacks “Don’t do that!”

“Yeah you dumb bird worm!” Notenrique glared at him, crawling from the couch back into Jim’s lap.

“Why the long faces fellas?” Hooty twisted his neck until he was staring at them upside down “Don’t worry, I brought you a present!”

His coils spasmed and he started to gag.

“Wait Hooty could you not do that right he–”

Hooty barfed up an owl pellet straight onto Jim’s lap, Notenrique jumping clear at the last second.

Jim grimaced, picking through the mess. Rat bones, twigs, a live bat that flew free up into the rafters, some unlucky person’s scroll–

And a glowing yellow bottle.

Jim grabbed the bottle, heart pounding, but his time from sheer relief “Is this the elixir? Oh man Hooty you’re a lifesaver!”

Notenrique scurried onto Jim’s shoulder “Bout time you made yourself useful,”

“Hey I’m always useful!”

“Then stop screeching at four in the morning!”

“It’s my duty as the owl house to ensure everyone’s is up on time,”

“On time for what? Our ears bleeding!?”

“Guys guys give it a rest!” Jim angled himself between them “We have bigger things to deal with right now,”

Notenrique glowered but stayed quiet while Hooty harumphed “I like the universe with Luz and King better,”

“I– wai– you what?”

“Beanpole do yourself a favor and don’t pay too close attention to Hooty’s nonsense,”

Jim shook himself off, he had the elixir they needed to cure him. Now all they had to do was get it to him…

“Alright guys, I think I have a plan,”

A pounding headache, so forceful it threatened to crack his skull in two, was the first thing he was aware of, the second was an unbearably dry texture to his mouth and a brightness behind his eyelids compounding his headache. Raising a hand to rub at his throbbing skull to try and aleve the pressure.

When it became clear that wasn’t working he reached out with his other arm, fumbling around until he eventually found the side of the nest. Forcing himself to ignore the pain and push himself upright only to get smacked with a wave of nausea.

Strickler groaned, leaning heavily against the side of the nest while rubbing his face. His entire body felt like cement, heavy and cumbersome and barely able to move.

From beyond him there was a soft scuffling sound.

“Hey he’s awake,”

Despite his head pounding in protest, Strickler forced himself to pry his eyes open, bright light assaulting his corneas, and pulled himself upright.

He was lying in his nest in his room, which was a disaster. Furniture torn apart and upended, random bits of debris scattered about. Jim and Notenrique were standing near the window, which it looked like they’d patched with a wooden board, instantly hurrying to his side.

Notenrique jumped from Jim’s shoulder to the edge of the nest “How ya feeling bossman?”

Strickler dragged a hand down his face “Like I got in a battle with a truck and lost,”

Jim winced, running a hand through the back of his hair and refusing to meet Strickler’s eye “Yeah about that…”

Strickler followed his line of sight to a license plate laying in the middle of the nest

All at once it came slamming back to him. Agreeing to take on a human student against his better judgment. Being distracted by Jim’s presence, neglecting to stock up in elixirs–

“My curse…”

“Don’t worry, things kind of got crazy-town-banana-pants for a while, but we were able to get you your elixir and calm things down,”

A sour taste rose up in the back of his throat “I’m so sorry Jim, and to you Notenrique,”

“Oh no don’t be,” Jim held up both hands “It wasn’t my truck, and it looks like you can digest metal ok,”

“No I– wait, I ate a truck!?”

Jim and Notenrique glanced at each other then flashed Strickler matching sheepish grins.

He glanced back and forth between them before letting out a heavy sigh “I’ve let you both down. My curse is my responsibility to manage and I failed to do so. Jim I’ll arrange for you to board somewhere else for the rest of your summer. All I ask is that you care for Notenrique–”

“Whoa whoa–” Jim held up both hands “I’m not going anywhere,”

“I can’t possibly ask you to stay after I lost control–”

“This isn’t your fault,” Jim came up directly to the side of the nest “You had a slip up, it happens. I’m not leaving you over one mistake,”

“But I–”

“No buts bossman,” Notenrique scrambled over to perch himself on top of his head “I don’t care if you hulk out every now and again, you’re stuck with me for life, so no take backs!”

Strickler leaned against the side of the nest, exhaustion weighing on him heavily “Boys I am heartened by your faith in me, but the fact of the matter is my curse is dangerous. And these events have proven that I am a threat to you both,”

No one said anything, the only sound the drumming of the boiling rain against the roof. Then after a long time Jim swung himself over to sit on the edge of the nest.

“Look Strickler I…I’m still learning about magic and curses, but I know a little bit about chronic conditions. And from what you told me it sounds like your curse isn’t something you can control, only manage. And for all the weeks I’ve been here you did manage it. I didn’t even know you were cursed until…”

Jim’s gaze drifted down towards the license plate before he shook himself off and continued “Anyways, this was just one slip up,”

“Yeah,” Notenrique spoke up from his perch on top of Strickler’s head “You managed it real good for years, I can’t even remember a time you went all hulky before,”

Blue eyes twinkled, legs thrown out into the nest with ankles crossed and arms folded across his chest “Point is Strickler, if you want to get rid of us you’re going to have to do better than hulking out on your curse and chasing us around the house,”

Notenrique jumped over to perch on his shoulder, matching his cocky look “Yeah, what he said,”

Strickler glanced back and forth between the two boys, a heaviness settling in his chest. He wanted to call them foolish and naive, he wanted to demand that they leave, forcing them out with an abomination if he had to. That’s what a good pa– a good teacher would do.

But instead Strickler stupidly, selfishly got to his feet “Thank you boys. Now I know the house is a mess but I am exhausted and I imagine you two are feeling much of the same, so what do you say we have some dinner and leave the cleaning for tomorrow,”

He stepped out of the nest, Jim following with Notenrique still on his shoulder, letting out a small chuckle as he stepped over a mangled stop sign lying in the doorway “Although from the looks of things I may have filled up on automobiles and street signs,”

“Nah that’s what beanpole used to smack you in the face so I could pour the elixir down your throat,”

Strickler whirled towards Jim, spotting the boy staring back at him with a nervous grin.

Despite himself Strickler felt a smile tugging at his own lips.

What a student indeed.

“Well then I’m sure you worked up an appetite,”

#tales of arcadia #trollhunters #jim lake jr #walter strickler #notenrique #the owl house #role swap au #rmvwrites #halloween prompts

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archaeopter-ace · 1 year ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that concludes the first act!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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tyrantisterror · 1 year ago

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Since you've written so many essays about nuanced monsters, can you give advice on how humanize a monster while keeping the fear-factor?

My re-imagined versions of Strickler and Nomura (named Carter and Nakamura to keep the trend of book and show characters having different last names) are supposed to be more gross and horrifying than their show counterparts, but still with enough humanity in them so the audience can sympathize.

So, one of the dark truths about humanity is that while we can be taught that all humans are complicated feeling creatures like ourselves, it's very hard to truly understand that fact. It takes at least eighteen years of developing the brain to even be able to grasp that concept on a case by case basis, and there's an argument to be made that it's impossible for us to truly fathom that EVERY human on the planet is as complex and sensitive as we are. It's why we curse out people when they cut us off in traffic instead of thinking, "Man, maybe they're just nervous and late for work and didn't see me in their blind spot." If we don't have an explicit reason to think of other humans as human, we treat them as an enemy outgroup by default.

In regards to fiction, this manifests by audiences generally not caring when characters die if they weren't sufficiently humanized for us. A lot of comedy operates on this principle - there's the old adage that "tragedy is when I stub my toe, comedy is when someone else falls down a manhole and dies," i.e. the difference between whether we find something funny or tragic depends on whether we see ourselves in the person who's experiencing misfortune.

Horror stories work with this in mind too. If you want to give people a "fun" thrill, you make sure not to humanize the victim of your killer/monster - that way you're still scaring people on a shallow, human level, but not so deeply that they're truly emotionally affected by it. They're entertained in a cathartic way - scared, but safely disconnected from the subject so they can also enjoy it. Lots of horror stories work with this making up the bulk of their scares - i.e. disposable, one-dimensional victims falling prey to whatever horrors the writer concocts.

If you want to hit your audience deeper, though, you have to humanize the victim - put someone we like and relate to in peril and it hits much harder. That's what shifts the horror into the truly effective, and it's often something most horror stories don't do until the second act at the earliest for exactly that reason. It ups the stakes.

So, to finally address your question: you can have a sympathetic monster do all sorts of rancid shit so long as their victims are people we don't have a reason to care much about - i.e. shallow, one-dimensional bit characters. While on a moral level we should view that as just as evil as harming the characters we do care about, the simple quirk of humanity's limited and conditional capacity for empathy means that most people will not find it hard to sympathize with your monsters so long as they're only eating nameless background extras or total assholes.

I mean, if you get popular there WILL be people on tumblr who argue that anyone who likes your monsters is guilty of war crimes and fascism, but there will also be people who say your monsters never did anything wrong and it's actually the heroes who are fascist war criminals for opposing them, so it evens out in the end.

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dreamcrow · 1 year ago

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13, 15, 30

(from this trollhunters meme; thank you for the ask!)

3.) favorite non-human character?

not 2 b basic but i think i do have to say strickman lol.* not as much as he was three years ago…but i do. stinky bastard rock man. zesty tormented purely marshmallow-fluff monster. god, i really had a whole backstory for him 🙈

*obviously if u think the order is not human then the answer is the order, duh, 1000 times duh. but for me. i mean. look at them. they're Literally Just Some Guys!

15.) most heartbreaking scene in wizards?

NO don't make me be basic on main… well. sorry not sorry. bellroc right after getting blinded ;___; yeah yeah big bad evil yeah yeah they veer right back to full-throttle anger right after but there's just—those few seconds of their armor eyes flicking back and forth, man! the little glimpse of something vulnerable behind the dread, terrible façade! i hate everything about this stupid mortal world, they said, caringly! stupid horrible bastard bird light of my heart joy of my life

30.) something i would change about wizards

god. god. those of you who have been playing along at home may have picked up that i think the arcane order deserved a little…better. at least more nuanced treatment. (especially as villains in a GUILLERMO DEL TORO PROPERTY…) but like!! it's so frustrating because the threads are there, right.

nari, a character we are supposed to sympathize with, never says the order was wrong.

she also only says what the order did "was not worth it" -after- bellroc is blinded.

are the order WRONG about the balance of magic/mundane being off?

multiple villains in both trollhunters (bular, strickler, angor rot) AND 3below (kubritz, tronos madu) are either are offered the chance to change, or are at least portrayed with SOME level of sympathy

but a combination of 1.) rushed and 2.) bad writing in wizards means we just got left with !!! NOTHIN. as much as it physically pains me to acknowledge rott: even at the end, once they've lost the only other things in the world like them, bellroc still offers jim mercy. how do you get that one thing so right and then fumble the entire rest of everything so badly, lol

#trollhunters #tales of arcadia #q&a #ask games #you Get Me so you know what i mean when i say this last answer got me so worked up i had to go walk around #and i'm not super interested in beating the crumbling horse skeleton of 'was rott good' (no)#but god.#God.#much 2 consider. gonna write blorbo kees about it i think

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talesofargante · 2 years ago

Text

The Guardian of Trollhunters Episode 8: Part 3 - Changeling Reveal

Pairing: Jim Lake Jr. x Liz Walker (OFC)

Episode Summary: Jim volunteers to babysit with Liz so they can find out whether Claire's little brother, Enrique, is a Changeling. While investigating, Liz discovers a new ability.

Words: 4.1k

Warning: literal cat food (if I miss any warnings, please lmk)

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

"Since we lost our gaggletack, we need another one. Call Toby to see if he and AAARRRGGHH can get it," Liz instructed.

"Alright," Jim pulls out his phone and calls Toby, who answers, "What's up, Jimbo? Everything okay with Enrique?"

"I sort of just lost it," Jim replies, thinking of Enrique as anything but human.

"What do you mean you lost it?" As soon as Toby asked, Enrique vomited on himself and on the floor. Jim quickly backs away in shock and disgust. "No! What in the world?!"

"Oh, gosh. That's disgusting." Liz gagged slightly at the sight, carefully making her way closer to Enrique without stepping on the emesis on the floor and picking him up from the jumper. "Okay, someone's been playing around too much. Let's get you cleaned up, little padawan. Mind cleaning that up, Jim? I'll meet you upstairs."

Without waiting for a reply, Liz heads to the stairway and climbs to the second floor. She walks down the hallway to the nursery room, where she began cleaning up Enrique. Thankfully, she was familiar with taking care of him after learning from Claire while hanging out at her place.

After wiping Enrique down, Liz couldn't ignore the tingling sensation of magic coursing through her as she touched him. Without thinking and letting instinct takeover, she glances behind her to ensure Jim wasn't there before tracing a pattern with her fingers to Enrique's chest as foreign words spill from her lips.

In an instant, silver light sparks from her fingers, encompassing Enrique's form, then the light fades to reveal a green changeling with red-yellow eyes and brown course, spiked hair on his head, and scruff. The creature snarled. "Eh?! What the – What did you do? How did you do that?"

"So it is true! You are a changeling," Liz said breathlessly, thinking back on all those times she sensed something off until her eyes widened in sudden realization – she could sense changelings! If she had been sensing changelings in disguise this whole time, there was one person she could think of who may also have been involved. "Tell me, where are the Killahead bridge and your master, Bular? Is Strickler working for him?"

"Tsk. I ain't telling you nothing, enchantress. They warned me about you – the Guardian with magic."

Before Liz could confront him any further, footsteps were heard down the hall. In a flash of crackling green light, the changeling transformed back into Enrique, though he was NotEnrique to Liz's knowledge.

Entering the nursery, Jim walks up to Liz, glancing down at Enrique, unaware that the creature's identity has already been exposed. "Toby and AAARRRGGHH are going to bring us another gaggletack. In the meantime, let's see if our little friend will share where he hid our gaggletack. Where did you hide it?"

Enrique giggles, pointing his tiny finger toward the bin by the crib before clapping his hands in glee. Liz couldn't help but glare at the baby. This little trickster is messing with us.

"You hid the horseshoe in the diaper bin, didn't you?" Jim asked. Enrique seemed to cheer as Jim slowly lifted the diaper bin cover. "Because you're just a normal baby, and that's what normal babies do."

"Really, Jim, I don't think he hid it there." Liz sweat-dropped at his action. Smelling the bin, Jim quickly closed it and plugged his nose. "Ooh, doggy! Oh, it is really packed."

"Wait–" Before she could stop him, Jim instantly opens the lid and without thinking twice, stuck his hand into the bin. Liz grimaced at his action, swallowing the down the urge to vomit. Meanwhile, Enrique rolled away from his crib without their notice. Jim searches the bin, finding nothing as his eyes move to the empty crib. He gasped, standing up and looking around the room. "Enrique? Enrique!"

Liz silently cursed herself for getting distracted and searched the room, though she knew that NotEnrique hadn't gone far. He cannot escape. Not without completing his assigned task – to spy on them and report their activity to Bular until the construction of Killahead Bridge is complete.

"You stay here, Liz. Just in case Enrique decides to show himself back here." Jim suggested before walking out into the hallway. "Enrique? Oh, Enrique?"

Glad to see Jim taking the lead on this one. Before she knows it, he will be the Trollhunter that everyone needs. Liz patiently waits inside the nursery, predicting that NotEnrique will set a trap for them both should they decide to search for him together. She could hear the sound of metal clattering from downstairs and footsteps running towards it. Then, there was a silence followed by a yelp.

"Jim!" Filled with worry, Liz moves towards the door when it suddenly bangs shut in her face. A burst of giggles greeted her from behind, pulling Liz's attention to the center of the room on the floor, where NotEnrique, in human disguise, playfully grinning at her.

"Liz?" Jim called out from outside in the hallway. Just when she turned around to call out for him, a sudden weight landed on her shoulders as a baby blue blanket wrapped around the bottom half of her face with the ends pulled from behind, silencing her.

Having enough of his games, Liz reaches behind her for NotEnrique, who leaps off her back and releases the blanket. She turns around, glaring at the creature. "That's it! Playtime is over, changeling."

"Aw, but I'm having so much fun." NotEnrique teases from the ceiling, blowing a raspberry at her. "Stop being such a party pooper."

Eyes narrowing, Liz waves her hand forward, ribbons of silver light shooting towards NotEnrique, ensnaring him in its grasp. "Hey! That's cheating!"

"If this was a game, you should know I always play to win," Liz said, her voice echoing with power and control that seems to have taken a hold over the changeling as she uses her magic to pull NotEnrique towards her. Within reach, she grabs him by the scruff and stares him in the eyes.

At that moment, Liz felt as though something was being tugged inside her. Like the ends of a tight bow being pulled and loosening as a slight wave of unbridled power course through her body and mind, shadowing her senses.

"By whatever means necessary," Liz finalized, unaware of the glowing ring of silver encompassing her turquoise irises, reflecting in his own, filled with fear.

"Y-yes! Okay, you win! Please don't hurt me, enchantress. I'll be good!"

"You have nothing to fear from me if only you answer my questions."

"Alright! I'll tell you! Strickler is working for Bular, and they're hiding the bridge in the –"

"Liz! Are you in there?" Jim calls out from down the hallway, interrupting NotEnrique's confession. Using it to his advantage, NotEnrique quickly transforms into his human form and starts crying loudly in Liz's arms. "Why you little –"

"You found him!" Toby exclaimed from behind Jim as they entered the nursery. Hep walked ahead of his friend towards Liz, his attention on the distressed baby. "Aw, there, there. Did the nasty Trollhunter-man and Guardian-lady scare you?"

"Oh, come here, come here, little baby boy. Don't worry. Don't cry. Shh. Come here. Yeah, yeah. Come here, come here." Toby grabbed the baby from Liz's arms and pressed the little one against him.

Jim watched with suspicion as the baby sucked on Toby's shoulder before lifting his head and spitting out to the Trollhunter. A large frown spread across his face, not believing the act. Quickly, his face changed from serious to happy. "Oh, hey, little guy!"

Instantly, Jim pulls out and holds up the gaggletack with a purposeful grin. Awkwardly, Enrique let out a deep grunt before sobbing hysterically, making Toby wince. "Hey, what are you doing? You're freaking him out."

"He is freaking me out! He made me stick my arm in a diaper bin!" Jim holds his hand up to his friend, who curiously sniffs it before retching away. Liz grimaced, taking a step back to a safer distance. "Made you? You did that all on your own, Jim."

Jim sent her an exasperated look. "Not helping, Liz."

"She's right. You're better than that." Toby turned his focus on the baby, soothing him. "Who's a little baby boy? You're a little baby boy. You're such a little baby."

"That's it. I've got to do this. It won't hurt him." As Jim advanced, NotEnrique began to cry again, trying to escape. "Hey! Stop-! Slow! Hey, can you not-?"

Toby gently shoved his friend back, who just kept coming back. "Dude, get away from him! You're scaring Enrique!"

NotEnrique had climbed onto Toby's head as Jim jumped at him, the three flipping in the room as Liz evades to the side, avoiding the tumble. Jim had landed upside down in the chair, but he quickly picked himself back up before tossing the horseshoe between his hands.

"All right, come to daddy, poopling!" Jim grunted before diving for them, but Toby jumped out of the way. Toby groaned as Enrique fussed in his hands, pulling to be free. Jim slowly walked towards them and held out the gaggletack. Luckily, but unfortunately for Enrique and Toby, the changeling kicked Toby in the face before falling. Still, the redhead had caught him, trapping him. Jim pressed the gaggletack against NotEnrique's head, and lightning shot out of the gaggletack, revealing the changeling. Toby screamed when he made eye contact with NotEnrique, dropping the creature back into the crib as Toby ran behind Jim and Liz.

"Oh, no, that is not Enrique!" Toby shrieked, shielding himself behind the champions. The Trollhunter stepped up to the crib as the blanket draped over the creature. Once Jim reached to the side of the crib, NotEnrique popped out from the covers with a slight growl.

"Stupid flesh thing!" NotEnrique snarled. As he jumped from the crib, Toby and Jim screamed. The changeling jumped onto the lamp before twisting around and knocking it over.

"Oh, no, that is not Enrique!" Toby once again pointed out.

"We know, Toby, but we can't let him escape!" Liz said before chasing after NotEnrique with the two boys close behind. Out in the hallway, the three teenagers ran across the hallway to the stairway, looking down the empty steps.

"Where'd it go?" Toby asked as Liz and Jim turned the corner.

"There!" Jim called out. NotEnrique's back faced them before turning around, revealing Claire's family cat with part of its tail and head sticking out from the miniature troll's large mouth.

"Put... the... kitten... down," Jim ordered as they advanced. Spitting out the kitten, NotEnrique threw it at Jim's face, who fell back with a yelp. NotEnrique jumped onto Toby, kicking him down as Liz managed to get the cat off of Jim. Nevertheless, Jim was pounced on by NotEnrique, making him groan as NotEnrique's clawed hands pressed, most likely around Jim's neck. "You're a real killjoy, just like your mate."

Leaping off, NotEnrique quickly evacuated the area as Toby panicked. "That is not Enrique!"

"We know!" Jim and Liz exclaimed at the same time, pulling out their amulets. They all ran after the changeling down the stairs.

"For the glory of Merlin, daylight is mine to command."

"By the power of the Arcane, magic is mine to command."

In a flash of blue and cyan light, Jim's and Liz's armors appeared as they ran down the stairs. The three chased after the creature who had managed to climb up on the living room arch before swinging off and kicking Toby and Jim to the floor as Liz stepped back to avoid getting knocked down behind them.

NotEnrique lets out a long laugh as he crawls upside down on the ceiling, Jim and Toby already on his trail. As NotEnrique jumped from the roof, the two friends dived for him, but they knocked into one another as the creature managed to miss the oncoming collision. In the process, Toby crushes Jim into the floor with a yelp. While NotEnrique blows a raspberry at the two boys, Liz comes up behind and tries to grab him. Still, he quickly evades her grasp by jumping between her legs and onto the office chair in the reading room. Picking themselves up from the floor, Jim and Toby stopped beside Liz as the changeling twisted the chair to face them, a bottle in one hand and an open magazine in the other. "Do you realize how good you guys have it here? It's a party compared to those troll-turds in the Darklands."

Toby shouted as he ran up to the troll and tipped the chair over. Jim decided to chase as NotEnrique laughed before jumping over the room with the Trollhunter after him. Toby had finally stood as an open magazine was clutched between his hands. A sexy girl had appeared on the cover, meaning the contents inside were probably un childlike as Toby calls out on NotEnrique. "No, hey! You're a very bad baby!"

Toby looked back into the magazine anyway and flipped the page. "My word!"

Before he could turn a page further, Liz quickly snatched the magazine from his hands and tossed it away. "Bad Toby! Stop getting distracted and help Jim!"

"Ah! Yes, ma'am!" Toby saluted with a blush, running to the kitchen and skidding behind the island as Jim held a sizeable circular pan over his head, the dish acting as a shield. At the same time, random objects were thrown at him.

"Where's the real Enrique, you filthy rugrat?" Jim shouted before diving behind the island counter as NotEnrique stood in the fridge, chucking food at him.

"As if I'd ever tell you!" NotEnrique spat, throwing harder objects that shattered on impact. As Liz takes refuge behind the counter with the boys, a cake platter falls beside Toby, the slice of cake landing on the floor perfectly.

"Ooh, cake!" Toby cooed as he picked up the slice. Jim peaked his head around the counter, his sword appearing through a cloud of blue smoke. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as NotEnrique threw a carton from the fridge. Quickly, Jim jumped out and sliced it with his blade, blue smoke emitting around him with scraps of carton paper.

"Don't make me use this." Jim threatened, hoping not to kill off his evidence.

"You can't touch me. I'm her baby brother. What do you suppose is gonna happen when they come home and see something's happened to their precious?" NotEnrique laughed. "I'm untouchable, baby."

Jim frowned at the statement, knowing he was right. Noticing a broom lying next to her, Liz had an idea, grabbing it and passing it to Toby, who nods and looks around the corner of the island, broom on hand.

"Jim, catch!" Toby yelled, tossing the broom to his friend, whose sword evaporated and was replaced by a normal household item with Jim smiling.

"Uh oh."Avoiding the broom, NotEnrique jumped on top of the fridge before hopping into the divide of the cupboards and kicking the fridge door into Jim's back. Jim let out a cry of pain before smacking the wall cupboard door where NotEnrique stood last. The changeling pulled himself into the cupboard with a laugh.

Quickly, Liz reached for the handle and pulled the small door open, only to find nothing except for cans and glass containers. Trying another cupboard, she opened it, finding her target buried under some more tin cans, growling. She yelped as the cans fell, feeling her arm getting grabbed and pulled backward onto the floor as Jim steps in front of her in time, protecting her head with his arms as his back gets hit by the falling objects and NotEnrique escapes.

Luckily, Toby had been prepared with a large pot and caught the changeling under its steel trap. Unfortunately, his joyous occasion was short-lived when NotEnrique's fist created large dents from the inside.

Toby let out a scream as the pot bounced around the kitchen, carrying Toby with it. As it bounced, Liz and Jim climbed out of the way, and the pot led Toby from the kitchen and right into Enrique's bouncing swing in the living room. The swing acted like a slingshot, sending the two back with screams, passing Liz and Jim, who watched with shock as Toby and NotEnrique crashed into the wall.

Suddenly, a ringtone sounded from Jim's armor. Turning his head, Jim felt the back of his armor, searching for his phone as Toby and Enrique fought in the background.

"That must be Claire. Good thing I taught you where to store your phone." Liz winked. Jim grinned, finding his phone and answering it. "Oh, hey, Claire! How's the concert?"

"Jim, my parents just called. They're coming back early. I'm leaving now." Jim listened to her panicked voice before his eyes grew wide in realization. Noticing his reaction, Liz steps up to him. "What's wrong, Jim?"

"The Nunez, they're on their way home," Jim said, letting his armor disintegrate back into his amulet with his mouth agape. Suddenly, a blast of loud music sounded, catching them by surprise. The two champions turned to see NotEnrique by the stereo.

"Who's there? What's that music?" Claire asked.

"Tell her how you were elbow-deep in me dookie-bin," NotEnrique said, turning up the music even louder and dancing.

"Are you...having a party?" Claire asked accusingly, sending Jim into panic mode as he dodged the random items thrown at him. "No! No, no party! Gotta go!"

He hung up the phone as Liz summoned a shield to protect herself and Jim from the projectiles. Toby comes up behind them, back in the action as NotEnrique continues throwing anything and everything he can get his hands on, random objects lying everywhere as though a tornado had torn through the kitchen.

Suddenly, a loud knock sounded from the back kitchen door, followed by the door falling and landing between Jim and Toby, who gasped in surprise. Outside the doorway stood AAARRRGGHH, his hand frozen in a knocking motion.

"Stupid, smelly trolls!" NotEnrique sneered from the island countertop, dropping the cans and backing up.

"Their door!" Jim groaned and pressed his hand to his forehead as Liz shook her head, fingers pinching between her furrowed eyebrows. "What did you guys do to their door?"

With a laugh, Blinky popped into view from the outside. "We... Uh, we're here to... help."

He picked up the door as Jim pouted.

"Well, I don't remember inviting these two to dinner!" NotEnrique spoke, causing them to all look as he hopped from the fridge to the freezer, where he grabbed a box and stood atop the refrigerator. "First course, frozen peas!"

"Don't make me climb up there, foul beast!" Blinky threatened. Toby had taken a chicken leg from the floor and bit into the meat before throwing it at NotEnrique, who ate it in one gulp.

"Whoa!" The changeling grunted before jumping from his taller pedestal to the ceiling lamp and loading his mouth with peas. Then he launched them like a machine gun at Blinky, who covered his eyes as he stumbled around. "My eyes, my eyes! Green balls of madness! They hurt very badly!"

All of them took cover. NotEnrique laughed before loading more into his mouth and shooting more.

"AAARRRGGHH, it's just like our video game. You with me, buddy?" Toby mentioned. AAARRRGHH came out from beneath the small plate that did no justice to protect the giant troll from the peas. He smiled, however. "Sushi."

"Yeah!" Toby smiled, giving his troll friend a high-five.

"Draw fire?" AAARRRGGHH suggested. Balling his fists, Toby stands up with a proud smile. "No, it's my turn."

He ran as NotEnrique continuously blasted him with peas and fell over. "Oh, it's hailing peas, and I hate peas! Oh, ooh, ow!"

On top of the ceiling lamp, NotEnrique continued with the peas, aiming them at Toby. Suddenly, a large fist belonging to AAARRRGGHH slammed the changeling into the ceiling. His fist retracted, causing the smaller creature to wheeze out as he fell off the lamp, his arms and legs stiff as he fell onto AAARRRGGHH's plate. Toby laughed with cheer as he joined his larger friend's side. "Way to go, wingman!"

"Boom, boom!" AAARRRGGHH added when they fist-bumped.

"Way to go, you two!" Liz smiled, clapping as she and Jim stepped up to them. Jim's expression turned serious.

"All right, enough! Where's the bridge?" He asked NotEnrique, who recovered and sat up on the plate with a grin.

"What bridge? London Bridge? I hear it's falling down," NotEnrique teased until AAARRRGGHH's hand crushed him. "Ow! Fleshbags... no sense of humor."

"We are not asking again. Where is the bridge?" Liz questioned this time. AAARRRGGHH continued to crush him, causing the small troll to groan. "Give me a break! I don't know anything. - It's me first day."

"Squeeze him till he pops!" Blinky said, stepping beside the two champions. The giant troll followed the order and pressed down further. The smaller troll's eyes bulged before he pushed the hand off him. "Okay, okay, okay! Can't blame a guy for looking out for himself. But you can't tell anyone I told you. I got a pretty sweet deal going here. If the bossman hears I squealed, he'll feed me to Bular."

"Bular's working with someone else?" Blinky questioned in concern.

"Who? Who is Bular working with?" Jim asked.

"Oh, er..." NotEnrique glances at all of them until his gaze stops on Liz, who subtly shakes her head, her turquoise eyes flickering with glistening silver. He clears his throat, looking away. "Forget I said anything."

Suddenly, a car pulling into the driveway drew everyone's eyes to the front of the house, where headlights appeared on the wall.

"Oh, no, someone's home!" Jim exclaimed, panic setting in once again.

"I suggest we make our egress," Blinky added, but AAARRRGGHH questioned the new word. "Egress?"

"It means to exit." Blinky grabbed the changeling, but Jim grabbed him by the smaller troll's legs, causing NotEnrique to yelp. "Whoa! I'm supposed to be babysitting it!"

Blinky pulled on NotEnrique's arm. "And I need the proof for Vendel!"

"And I need not be split in two." NotEnrique swats at them to let go.

"Enough! Jim's right. We were supposed to be babysitting. We'll bring the changeling to Vendel at another time." Liz said as Blinky reluctantly let go.

The front door unlocked.

"Okay, you have to go now," Liz muttered as NotEnrique continued to push out of Jim's grip, but the boy had a tight hold on him despite getting punched and kicked in the face.

"With haste," Blinky added. They left, AAARRRGGHH had trouble putting on the door, but they went in time. NotEnrique continued to struggle, but they froze as a voice spoke out. "Claire, we're home!"

It was Claire's father.

Not wasting another second, Liz waved her hand, muttering foreign words under her breath as cyan-colored mist swirled across the kitchen, replacing everything back to their original state before her armor dissipated. Meanwhile, Jim watched with his mouth agape in complete shock. Since when can Liz do magic?!

Hearing approaching footsteps. Jim pressed on NotEnrique, who transformed into his human form as Claire's parents walked into the kitchen. The parents gasped at seeing a random boy holding their child with Liz standing near him with a charming smile.

"Oh! Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Nunez."

"Liz? We didn't expect you to be here. Who is that, and where's Claire?" Mrs. Nunez asked, perking her eyebrow with suspicion. Before Liz could reply, Jim spoke up, chuckling nervously. "I'm Jim, the babysitter."

"In-training, he means." Liz corrected, remaining calm through the situation. "He goes to our school and wants to learn how to babysit, just in case he needs to earn some money on the side after school. As for Claire, she —"

Claire runs into the kitchen in panic before letting out the word, "Fudgeknuckle!"

Claire glances between her friends and her parents.

"Ah, Claire! We were explaining how you invited us over to teach Jim how to babysit. Did you find what you were looking for?" Liz nonchalantly asked as though Claire was with them the entire time. Mr. and Mrs. Nunez turned to their daughter for an answer.

"Uhh...yeah!" Claire smiled, understanding what Liz was trying to do. "I dropped my phone outside from upstairs while playing with Enrique and them in the nursery. Good thing it happened after you guys called."

Claire pulls out her phone from her skirt pocket, waving it. "Here, it is. Luckily, it didn't break."

"I'm glad." Liz smiled, nudging Jim to say something. "Ah, yeah! Good thing. You had us worried there."

Liz turned to NotEnrique, ruffling his hair, turquoise eyes gleaming in its original color as she grinned down at the baby, who cooed innocently in response.

"Well, it seems our playtime is over. Good game, Enrique. Hope to play with you again soon."

[End of Episode VIII - Adventures of Trollsitting]

Hello there!

I hope you enjoyed the last part of Episode 8! If you are interested in reading more, click the links below!

This fanfiction story will be posted on Wattpad, Archive of Our Own, and Tumblr. However, Wattpad will serve as the original site for this story, so the latest updates will be there.

While reading, feel free to leave a comment [keep it negative-free, would you? thanks :)] or critique. I appreciate the feedback. And along the way, if you like the journey so far, leave a star, a kudos, or/and heart to vote! If you have any questions, feel free to ask as well and I’ll do my best to answer without giving any spoilers ;)

Again, thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Happy reading!

- Miss_Nightingale

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#talesofargante #tales of argante #tales of arcadia fanfiction #talesofarcadia #tales of arcadia fanfic #tales of arcadia #trollhunters #trollhuntersnetflix #trollhunter #wattpad fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #wattpad

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byblix · 1 year ago

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Random scraps I've written lately that I like or make me laugh, pulled from various WIPs and drafts. How much of these will actually make it to published fics? It's a secret to everybody.

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“Okay, so we tracked down the terapod and zephryn, and I'm pretty sure that was a seastrin,” Douxie said, counting on his fingers.

“Squilish, actually. Seastrins only have twelve tentacles,” Archie corrected.

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“Are we sure this is a good idea?”

Jim sighed. “Answer hasn't changed in the last five minutes, Tobes.”

“Yeah, but saying 'what else are we supposed to do' usually means it's a bad idea, Jim!”

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“Is it just me, or does Douxie know some scary people?” Toby asked. “First Morgana, now this girl with the threats....” He shuddered. “What's next? The mob?” He drew in a startled gasp. “What if she is the mob!?”

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“Ah, yes! I thought your dragon seemed familiar!” Blinky chuckled. “If you will pardon the expression.”

“No, no,” Archie said flatly. “I've never heard that one before.”

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Zoe, who was spinning her wand around her fingers, a crackle of pink electricity flashing from the crystal tip. “Sorry,” she said, completely unapologetic. “Potential evil wizards get the truth charm.”

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“Wait, you’re a changeling?” Douxie said, blinking at Strickler. “Gunmar’s spymaster, no less?” He covered his face with both hands, groaning. “Blimey balroths, I was avoiding you for entirely the wrong reasons.”

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“Dude, what even was that!?” Toby asked. “Did you turn us invisible? We just walked right by that guy and he didn't even notice!”

“I think I just invented a cloaking spell,” Douxie said, blinking and shaking his head as if to clear it. “And, at the same time, found out why no one else ever bothered.”

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“Oh, please,” Zoe said, rolling her eyes. “He's just a nerd.” She aimed a smirk at Douxie, who groaned.

“Please don't –” he started.

“A real Einstein, you could say,” she went on.

“That was one time –”

“It absolutely was not.”

“We both agreed the time loop doesn't count. You promised.”

--------

#libby rambles #libby writes #tales of arcadia #out-of-context fic-bits #douxie-centric because my obvious bias is obvious #one of my many wips

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vanillapie-80 · 2 years ago

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Hello, I don't want to bother you but there are some issues here that I believe can be explained.

The reason why Claire has something equivalent to a punk aesthetic while being a straight a student is because her mother is quite strict and has high expectations as a politicians daughter. In the ep where Jim and Toby are trying to bring Claire back from being possessed, we can see she's doing a whole lot to have an accomplished appearance while also trying to please her mom. One can connect the dots that Claire wants to be punk and free spirited, but she just can't because of how much power her mom has over her.

Also I don't think Claire's morals are inconsistent. She appreciates that Jim stood up for himself, but drew the line when he got physical with Steve to the point that he knocked the tooth out of him. And as for the concert thing, she said that Steve bought the last ticket, and considering she was doing this without her parents' knowledge, one can assume that her parents don't approve of her going to a Papa Skull concert and probably wouldn't take her to one even if it's her favorite band. So this is a once in a lifetime opportunity in her eyes.

Also I wouldn't say that Claire is teetering to a Mary Sue territory just because a lot of characters like her. Vendel likes her because she put in the work to know about the culture of troll while Jim struggles with it, meanwhile Morgana only really liked her in wizards and that's because she was someone with magic and so developed a kinship because of that relation. In trollhunters, Morgana only saw Claire as a perfect puppet to use because of her powers. Their relationship sours once Morgana realized that Claire wasn't going to go for a violent approach to helping the oppression of magical beings.

Also for how Claire got her magic, I'm pretty sure it's mostly because of the Shadow staff. We don't see her try to do magic before she did the giant portal. And with characters like Strickler using it, one can connect that the shadow staff is a weapon that anyone can use with enough dedication. I'm pretty sure she became a wizard because of what she did during Gumnar's invasion of trollmarket. Claire's magic has a steady progression to how she uses magic. In trollhunters, Claire uses portals almost all the time, she learns new stuff in wizards, which is a natural progression to her knowledge of magic. I mean, in wizards, we don't see her make a better version of the spell Morgana did of creating shadow clones.In fact, the real criticism to be had is in rott, where despite all the things she can do, Claire was being nerfed in the movie with the lame excuse that she was being "spent" in doing too many portals.

Claire has fail quite some times, she fails to get the triumbric stones from Angor Rot when she entered the portal, she failed multiple times to get Jim back when he was corrupted in Wizards, she didn't realize that Angor Rot got the horngazle from her purse until it was too late, and ect.

And as for the plot can’t happen without her, wouldn't that be a good thing? If a character was in her story, but their position is that you can imagine the story without them, wouldn't that be a badly written character. Because then you have a character that's unimportant. For a good story, you need to make sure that characters you add in to create an impact to the story to justify them being there. No one likes a character that has no importance to the story and is just there for no reason. And for her involvement for wizards, I think it was the case that she was a main character of the story. Yes Douxie is the protagonist, but that doesn't mean he has to be the only character that gets all the character development. Claire gets to be her own character more in this story alongside Douxie, who was a background character beforehand.

In wizards, Jim kinda takes a back seat to be a secondary character. Because honestly he already has a decent enough of character progressing, which the amount of characters toa has, it's important that they switch it up on who the writers focus on (which is one of the faults that rott has, which is that they relied too much on Jim and didn't utilize most of the other characters).

I know you said this was your opinion, but I thought it'd be neat if I could maybe provide an explanation to some of the issues you had with her character.

Toa has some writing issues indeed, but I don't think these aspects are one of them. I just thought this would be an interesting analysis in terms of the different perspective one can towards this characters

All right, it seems like I’ve got a lot of understanding and rational people who responded to my earlier inquiry about making a Claire criticism post. So I’m gonna go ahead and do it, since this is something that’s sat in my mind every time a new installment of the ToA series came out.

SO BIG DISCLAIMER BECAUSE I WANT EVERYONE TO READ THIS BEFORE ANYONE GETS MAD AT ME:

THIS IS ALL MY SUBJECTIVE OPINION. I MIGHT BE PHRASING THIS POST LIKE IT’S AN ABSOLUTE, BUT IT’S NOT, IT’S ALL ISSUES I PERSONALLY FEEL WITH CLAIRE’S CHARACTER. SO IF YOU LIKE CLAIRE, THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK OR ME TELLING YOU YOU’RE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING/CAN’T LIKE CLAIRE.

Now that I think I’ve got that out of the way, I wanna jump into the actual post of why I’ve never really liked Claire’s character.

Keep reading

#tales of arcadia #trollhunters #claire nuñez #vanilla rambles #apologies if the grammar is not that great #I struggle with that greatly

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megan0013 · 2 years ago

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So, about telling you a fic I wish you write a snippet on...

Hope this isn't too self-indulgent on my part, but a snippet of A Change in a moment? Either pre-Trollhunter!Strickler or post.

Listen. I have spent countless hours reimagining some of the scenes from A Change In A Moment. That scene when Strickler and Barbara reunite after she’d been avoiding him during the Unbecoming arc? Uh, yeah. Definitely thought about them not being interrupted and, more importantly, the teasing that results when the trolls (Nomura, mostly) realize what they’re smelling on him 😆

Which leads me to thinking about what was going on in Barb’s head during the time before that - particularly, when she overhears other survivors talking suspiciously about their troll ‘allies’. Because we all know there had to be a ton of rumors and gossip, right? And that made me think that maybe, just maybe, she’s not the only one feeling unexpectedly attracted to her husband’s new form...

"Oh, stop it. They’re not all that bad and you know it.”

Barbara’s ears perk up as Ophelia’s voice filters through the thick canvas of her tent and she sits up on her cot, shifting slightly around to hear what the councilwoman is, undoubtedly, saying about her husband. Her husband the troll. Her husband the lying troll. Her husband the lying troll who, despite it all, she wishes were lying here next to her right now.

“They are demons,” another familiar voice - Michelle, she thinks - insists in a frustrated tone. “One has horns and wings, and the other has cloven feet. And don’t even get me started on the one named after the sound you make when you scream. It’s huge. It could probably swallow me in one bite. I don’t know why you let your grandson hang around them, Nancy.”

“Aaarrrgghh’s a good boy,” Nana Domzalski says. She’s not defensive, just matter-of-fact. “My Toby thinks the world of him. And that poor Stricklander. He seems so sad, always moping about with the Lake boy.”

“Ah, sí! That’s another thing. Why is the demon spending so much time with that child? It’s not right.”

“The boy just lost his father, Michelle.”

Barbara’s face pulls back into a guilty grimace. Shit. They should probably tell their friends about what’s going on, shouldn’t they?

“And, who knows,” Ophelia continues. “Maybe the reason Stricklander likes having Jim around is because his own family didn’t survive the attack. Did you ever think of that?”

“She does have a point.”

“Or, maybe, he’s trying infiltrate our camp,” Michelle says, and Barbara can absolutely picture her hairdresser’s hands flying to her cocked hips. “He’s sure been snooping around Dr. Lake’s tent a lot, hasn’t he?”

“Speaking of which. Is she...”

“Doubtful,” Michelle huffs. “She’s probably still at the med center. Not that I can blame her. I would be drowning myself in work, too, if my husband just - Oh!” There’s a sharp, surprised screech. “What if Stricklander killed Walter?”

Barbara slaps her hand over her mouth to stifle an incredulous snort.

Ophelia, however, does not. “Ay, dios mío. Michelle. Please.”

“No, listen. What if...” She pauses dramatically. “What if Dr. Lake and Stricklander were having an affair before the attacks? What if he used it as an excuse to off her husband? I mean, think about it. She got over her shock a little too quick, didn’t she? And has she even mentioned Walter? Hmmm? Has she? No.”

“I don’t think - “

So, people are going to start thinking she cheated on her husband with her husband. Great.

“He helped her put up her tent, you know? And you’ve seen the way she acts around him. Angry, but like she wants him to wrap those chiseled arms around her and never let go.”

Barbara’s brow quirks.

“Chiseled?”

“I just meant - “

“Oh no, dearie. You’re right,” Nana says, and Barbara can practically hear her smirking. “He’s well built. Lean, but - what do you young folks call it?”

“Ripped,” Michelle supplies, supposedly before she can help it since a small squeak follows immediately after.

“Yes, thank you. Lean, but ripped.” Nana sighs wistfully. “Why, if I were just a few years younger...”

“Nancy!”

But before Michelle can further admonish the older woman, Ophelia cuts in with, “I will admit, those abs are a work of art.”

They are, Barbara can’t help but silently agree. They really, really are.

Nana hums. “Mhmm. And the tattoos.”

“Yes.”

“Ladies, please! He’s green.”

“Green is a very calming color,” Ophelia tells Michelle in a very serious tone. “His accent is hot, too, by the way. And there’s something about those horns that makes me want to just - ”

“You know your son can hear you, right?”

“So? He’s a baby. He doesn’t understand what I’m saying.”

“Then why does he look like he’s about to burst a blood vessel? Ophelia, he’s shaking!”

“It’s gas. It’s always gas with this one.”

“Or, maybe he’s uncomfortable with his mother lusting after a - “

“His clothing leaves very little to the imagination, doesn’t it?” Nana interrupts suddenly and rather loudly, intent upon continuing their conversation regarding Stricklander’s enticing physique. “I’d kill to know what he’s packing under that loincloth.”

#writer games #meg answers #stricklake #a change in a moment #this was fun #if anyone else is interested in a little snippet for their fic #let me know #can't make any promises though #i apologize if ophelia seems a little ooc btw #but i needed three people to gossip #oh and barb would also like to know what stricklander is packing under that loincloth #she decides to find out but gets a knife thrown at her head instead

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theoldandnewfirm · 2 years ago

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Still thinking about Trollhunter!Barbara AU where Bular gets...well, not redeemed, but at least brought over to her side, because I don't know what she'd actually do with him when everything's said and done.

Trollmarket won't have him nor, I imagine, would any other troll tribe. Because whereas changelings--and probably Argh when he first showed up--were reviled based on what they represent, trolls can point to Bular specifically and say, "He killed someone I loved. He took my whelps from me. He raided my tribe and destroyed us." And there's no forgiving that.

The Order sure as hell won't protect him. He hurt, humiliated, and terrorized changelings for centuries; the only thing that would keep them from hunting him down and killing him themselves is their ingrained fear of him and the knowledge of what he'd do to them if their attempt on his life failed.

As for staying in Arcadia, I think that would be a no-go too. Not because of the residents, but because of Strickler. I can see him putting up with Bular for the sake of the mission as he's always done, but after Gunmar and Morgana are defeated? Forget it. Asking him to play nice with Bular after all the abuse and cruelties Bular inflicted on him and his people would be a bridge too far.

But someone has to watch him because Bular cannot be trusted to live peacefully on his own. Grudgingly joining Barbara's side doesn't mean he suddenly becomes someone who doesn't delight in tormenting/killing/eating "lesser" beings. Left to his own devices I don't think it would take much provocation for him to revert to his old ways, at which point Barbara would be held accountable for any deaths he causes because she's the one who decided to spare his life in the first place.

So where would he go? Who would take on the thankless task of trying to tame him, or at least direct his violence and aggression towards productive ends? That's a problem Barbara would have a hell of a time solving.

#trollhunters #trollhunter!Barbara AU #now that I think about it I could see Bular taking the Draal role in Barbara's story #by virtue of Draal saying 'I will not under any circumstances work with the person who killed my father'#'and since you won't let me kill him I'll have nothing to do with you anymore Trollhunter'#(Draal would 100% still try to kill him though. Bular wipes the floor with him and Barbara intervenes just before Bular can kill him #Maybe THAT'S the event that causes Draal to leave Trollmarket in shame #assuming that she's able to talk her way out of an initial death match with him like Jim had)#Oh but I should clarify I don't mean Bular becomes Barbara's bestie #I mean that he's the muscle that protects her and Jim from other threats #no even she's like 'LOL fuck that guy' when she hears what he's done #but it turns out being a doctor and a general have a lot in common #in that you may not like the person you're required to treat/ally with #but you're accountable to a higher cause than your personal feelings #also all of this assumes that Strickler doesn't use one of the 1001 ways he has access to to kill Bular to save everyone the trouble #A plan he may or may not have hatched with members of Team Trollhunter who will never confess #Barbara KNOWS one of them did it but she gets blank stares #and she's frustrated but she also gets it because they all had excellent reasons for wanting Bular dead #but she feels weirdly guilty that she talked him into coming to her side for a chance at a better life #and her side killed him IMMEDIATELY

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gold-kobold · 2 years ago

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q has been raving to me about until dawn, and while i know pretty much nothing about the game, this video she showed me had AMAZING trollhunters shitpost potential, so here i am, turning everything trollhunters-related again lmfao

Merlin: I don't guess. I know. I never guess anything, I know everything, I do the math. 2 + 2 = You're my friend. Morgana: Mm-hmm, alright-- Merlin: Just kidding, it's 4. *steals her hand*

Angor Rot, to Jim: I'm casting a hex on you now. Have fun getting hexed, idiot.

Barbara: This is what I hope happens to you. *starts fire* Strickler: What the fuck?! That's really mean! Yay! Oh, I love it when you're mean to me Barbara: I know, it's really sexy

Douxie: I think I just want to, y'know, lay down... and sleep! Close my eyes! Merlin: That's pretty cringe of you, buddy.

Jim: *sees Angor Rot outside the school* Jim: Woah! That guy was straight-up looming! I wish I could loom like that

Strickler: Y'know, I went to Blackwoods Pines one year. I thought it was Blackwoods Penis for some reason. Got in real trouble with the locals, I did. They don't let me back there anymore. Could you point to the picture of a woman, please? Jim: Gender isn't real. *points to picture of man* Strickler: *slams desk* NO!

Barbara: I have this weird feeling someone's looming around here Strickler: Well, I'm about to be loomin' over on that bed, you wanna join me? Barbara: ... What???

Draal entering Jim's basement: Home sweet home! Draal: ... I THINK I live here.

Toby: Why is it called a hot water heater? It just needs to be called a water heater. Yeah, I guess it is a little bit hot, but that's just- Claire: Well, it heats up the hot water Toby: Yeah, but like, it's gonna be hot 'cause it's heated up! Claire: Well, would you prefer that the water stops heating after it gets hot???

Jim at the Soothscryer: This isn't the proper ouija board. I mean, there's no yes or no, you can't say goodbye... You're gonna get fucked if you can't say goodbye to a ghost, trust me on that one. Draal: I can get fucked?! FINALLY!

Jim: It's going way too fast, I can't read it. Claire: It's okay, I understand. Toby: I don't! Explain it to me in gross detail! Claire: Well, I'm the only one in the group who knows how to read, and that's the only reason you invite me to your parties. What else is there to explain?

Usurna: You ever put much stock into horror-scopes or anything like that? I don't, but I saw something VERY interesting in the papers today. So tell me, you a Gemini, a Kanker, a Sagita-ray-us? Ah, don't tell me, I looked it up. This is what they said under yours today: 'You will be tried in court under conspiracy for murder'. Jim: I what?

Draal: I have a key right here. And it's called an axe. Blinky: Well, I guess that DOES open most doors.

Strickler: I shoulda known that calling that thing what it was would've made it leave. Strickler: Just like when I called my wife a bitch and she left.

Jim: I'm really glad that you're alive, Angor, but also that's REALLY fucked up. Merlin: I'm not. I'm pretty upset that he's alive considering everything that he's done so far. Angor Rot: That's okay. I'm upset that you're alive too, Merlin.

Dictatious with the Parlok Spear: The ultimate rudeness: Manslaughter Blinky: OOOH, I THINK IT'S NOT MANSLAUGHTER IF IT'S INTENTIONAL--

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darkskywishes · 2 years ago

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I think a lot of Michael's more dick-ish decisions in S3 (and later in S5 and S6) make a lot of sense from an emotional standpoint.

This is gonna be long, so I'm gonna put it under a "keep reading" thing, lol.

I'm going to primarily focus on what you've written about Strickler, Tom Card, and Michael's general dealings with the Burned Spies Organization, as I completely agree with you about Gilroy, Sam, Larry, and the flight plans. I also agree with you regarding Michael and Fiona's relationship, but I have some more thoughts on that below as well :)

Regarding Michael's deal with Strickler—I don't think it's entirely fair to say that this decision came down entirely to Michael's wants. It's clear to me that Michael was quite worried about Management's threat toward him in the S2 finale—how Michael has no idea what hell will rain down upon him once they stop "protecting" him (quotation marks necessary since the only reason Michael needed protecting in the first place is because of their organization). In fact, I believe Michael tells Fi as much during one of their dinner dates.

So, coupled with the fact that Michael still feels rightfully wronged by being framed for all these things he didn't do and that he never left his job at the CIA of his own volition (a job that, for all intents and purposes, holds significant emotional weight as it was his escape from his abusive home)—Michael now feels even more driven to get back into the CIA as he, once again, views the CIA as his protection, and by extension, his family/friends’ protection. In Michael's mind, what chance do him and his loved ones stand against all the enemies Michael has when he's a sitting duck in Miami with no resources?

Additionally, it becomes quite clear that the Organization was never going to leave Michael alone; they burned him for a reason, and like Simon said in S7, they are weapons that will be used as tools until they're dead. Although working with Strickler was certainly a choice, I don't believe Michael himself really viewed himself as having a choice.

Michael is also someone who feels immense responsibility for all of the wrongs committed by others, especially if he's aware of them and also feels like he has the capability to prevent/change them. Knowing of the Organization's existence, Michael felt a personal duty to bring them down that went far beyond a personal vendetta; he knew that this organization would continue burning spies and using them for their own gain, a fact that becomes even more clear with Anson's appearance in S5. Victor's mercy death at the hands of Michael in the S2 finale is also something that affected Michael deeply—he saw firsthand what these people did to Victor and what they turned him into. If Michael didn't bring them down, what meaning did Victor's sacrifice even hold? What was the point of all the blood on Michael's hands? However, this once again brings us back to the CIA; Michael feels powerless against this organization without the resources and protection they offer.

Then, regarding the killing of Tom Card, I truly don't think Michael had intended to kill Card in that moment; he knew it wasn't the best play. He had lowered his gun, but then Tom Card said The Line: "I'm so proud of you, son". With the level of psychological issues Michael has surrounding father figures (and the fact that Tom Card was basically the only positive father figure Michael ever had), that line set him off completely; not shooting Card in the head was not a simple decision for Michael.

Furthermore, Fiona had kept encouraging Michael in the previous episodes to shoot Card; however, Michael's rationality and Sam's influence won over until that very moment. Killing Card is an easy decision to rationalize when you know you already have some supporters for that decision and when you're unable to think straight after such a huge betrayal. Not only that, but Michael had also just witnessed Card murdering Tyler Gray, who Michael had come to regard as someone in his exact shoes. What stops Card from continuing to manipulate Michael in the future only to have Michael killed off anyway? It was a no-win situation. Tom Card would have continued to pose a threat had he not been killed; the difference is whether they would have been able to deal with him without flagging all the authorities.

The more I watch and think about Burn Notice, as well as read some of the analyses you've written on the seasons, the more I think Michael was entirely screwed from the start—going all the way back to his abusive upbringing. He either truly had no choices, genuinely felt like he had no choice (even if he did), or had to choose between multiple awful options. I know you expressed similar sentiments during your S7 watch.

Then, regarding Michael's relationship with Fiona, I agree with you. Just to elaborate on some of my thoughts there—I think Michael was definitely aware that being involved with him was dangerous. One of Fiona's main objectives, however, was to show Michael that he's better with his friends than without them—he needs and deserves support too. Fiona never wanted to be protected by Michael, and thus, rendered without a choice by having Michael do what he thinks is best for her; she wanted to make the choice to be with him. This conflict between Fiona's safety and Fiona's agency is part of what, I believe, makes it so difficult for Michael to discuss his relationship with her. Michael already struggles immensely with opening up to people, and it's made even more difficult because of this. Despite all that, Michael has communicated multiple times starting in S1 that he doesn't believe it's a good idea for them to be together. And, although he blew off Fiona's efforts to discuss their relationship multiple times in S3, he was eventually completely upfront about his commitment to his work. At that point, like you said, it's up to Fiona to decide whether that's a dealbreaker for her.

Just as an aside, I relate a lot to Michael and had a similar upbringing as him, and he’s my favorite character as well (I’m sure you can tell lol). So, while you’re in Sam and Fiona protection mode, I’m in Michael protection mode XD I love reading your Burn Notice thoughts, especially since you don’t share the same biases as me!

Burn Notice - S3 take two and some AU musings

Season three is when I became strongly Team!Fiona and I’d been fully on board with Sam since season two. Season three is also when Michael starts to became more obsessive and make more dangerous choices, and those things clashed badly on the first watch as I went into full Fiona and Sam protection mode XD So, rewatching, and forearmed with knowledge of what’s coming, I could be more objective about Michael this time. He’s definitely doing some dickish things, and I still don’t like them, but I wasn’t as actively enraged by them the second time. And honestly, I suspect some of it’s also that I became a lot more sympathetic towards Michael in the later seasons. With everything that this show put the poor bastard through, it was impossible not to, especially in the first half of season seven. Michael spends a fair bit of time dodging Fiona at the start of season three. She wants to talk about their relationship, what it means, and whether there’s a future here, and Michael’s all, ‘No time! Got to go! Later!’ which is pretty shitty of him. But he does eventually sit down and tell her what she doesn’t want to hear – that for him, the job comes first and it always will. Which sucks for Fiona, but it’s Michael’s choice, and at that point, it’s up to her to make her own. She can either accept that this is the guy she fell in love with, that he’s not going to change and live with it, or she can move on and find someone who’ll make her the priority. The thing with Sam and the flight plans still bugs me. That’s a friendship with very little in the way of limitations, which is a damn good reason Michael should respect the few boundaries that there are, not push harder at them and expect they’ll go away too. But Sam caves pretty easily on the first point, which is his call, and on the second point he (rightly) refuses to, and in the end Michael does accept a compromise. Not great behaviour, but Michael eventually recognises that. And the worst of Michael in that ep is partly explained by the fact that he’s simultaneously trying to deal with Larry, which is definitely a strain. Michael’s deal with Strickler is what really raises all my hackles. Michael knows Strickler’s a snake, Fiona and Sam both loudly second him being a snake that Michael should have nothing to do with, and Michael goes for it anyway. Unlike in his dealings with Gilroy, there’s no argument here that Michael’s doing it for the greater good, to try and stop something nasty from happening. It’s entirely about what Michael wants, and it’s a decision that nearly gets Fiona killed and does get Diego killed. But it’s also a decision that sets into motion all the long, slow sequence of disaster that arcs through the rest of the show. Strickler leads directly to Gilroy, which leads to Simon and a deal with Management, and then Vaughn, and eventually to Anson. It’s a perspective that can only come up the second time through, and I’ve been trying to figure out how much, if any, of the decline might have been avoided if Michael had made a different choice here. If not for Strickler, Gilroy probably wouldn’t have latched onto Michael. He would presumably still have been paid to free Simon, though, just found someone else to help him do it. So assuming all of that happened anyway, Simon would have been coming after Michael, with Michael knowing nothing about it in advance. But Simon would still have had to find Michael, and Michael would have been better situated to deal with it because he wouldn’t have already been in high stress mode with the police and the FBI after him. Vaughn was able to get his hooks into Michael because he yanked him out from under arrest. If Michael had survived Simon without being arrested, would it have changed anything? Vaughn could presumably have approached Michael at some point, spun him the same tale of, ‘There are bad people and you can help us stop them.’ Michael wouldn’t have stayed to hear him out, though, if he had a choice. He would have told Vaughn to go screw himself, and Management didn’t try coming to Michael again until after he reached out to them, because they knew that. So I’m left wondering what else might have made Michael desperate enough to go to Management. He might have if one of the team screwed up and got some major jail time, and Michael thought Management could get them out. Unfortunately, I also have to conclude that Anson would have got bored of waiting for Michael to hang himself at some point, and done the same kind of set up-and-blackmail thing that he did with Larry and Fiona anyway. So there’s probably no getting away from that part, and on some level Michael was inherently screwed. But even then, all he had to do was NOT shoot his boss in the head in a public setting to avoid all the joys of season seven. Michael’s usually so careful and logical and thorough with his pre-planning, which is great, because when he does things that are reactionary and impulsive, they’re often not very good things…

#Burn Notice #c: michael westen #c: fiona glenanne #my thoughts #medium: anime/manga #c: levi ackerman #anime: snk

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arcadian-socks · 3 years ago

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Kidnapper: We have your son.

Barbara: Which one?

Kidnapper: Um, tall, skinny, black hair–

Barbara: You’re going to have to be more specific.

Kidnapper: S-self-sacrificing, loves his friends

Barbara: More

Kidnapper: M-more?

Barbara: More specific than that

Kidnapper: We have your brother.

Douxie: OH NO

Douxie: OHNONONO WHICH ONE?!

Kidnapper: It doesn’t matter which one, You have 24 hours to–

Douxie: IT’S STEVE ISN’T IT, I CAN TELL BY HIS BREATHING DON’T WORRY STEVE ILL BE THERE IN FIVE

Kidnapper: …

Kidnapper, to his partner: He says he’ll be here in 5?

Kidnapper 2: Or what, the kidnapping’s free?

Kidnapper: We have your sister.

Krel: …

Kidnapper: I said we have your–

Krel: Yeah, I heard you. You have Aja. You’re calling me from the basement of a warehouse owned by Arcadia Lumber on the outskirts of Arcadia and I can tell you your date of birth, social security number, and bank account PINs right now. Are you sure you’d like to play this game?

Kidnapper: Wh–

Krel: Oh, and by the way, you are gravely mistaken. You don’t have her. She has you.

Kidnapper: *disconnected screaming*

Krel: Heh. That’s my sister.

Kidnapper: We have your son.

Strickler: Cool. Tell him I say ‘hi’

Kidnapper: …

Strickler: *hangs up*

Kidnapper: …

Kidnapper: He says… um… ‘hi’…

Jim: Oh, sweet. Did you say hi back? Please tell me you said hi back.

Strickler: *kicks down the door*

Jim: Hey, Strickler!

Strickler: *sighs*

Strickler: The things I do for you freeloading–

Kidnapper: We have your brother.

Claire: Do you mean my BROTHER brother, or my not-quite brother, or my boyfriend brother? Or do you mean my boyfriend brother’s brother? Or do you mean my brother who isn’t actually my brother but I think of his as such? Or do you mean–

Kidnapper: *hangs up*

Kidnapper, to Jim, who’s tied in a chair: Do you have anyone else we could call?

Jim: Would you like to talk to my immortal older brother, or my best friend brother, or my redeemed bully brother, or my weird out-of-this-world brother? Or if they aren’t available, you could try my troll kinda-dad, or my kinda-troll kinda-dad, or my–

Kidnapper: I will pay you to just… leave.

Kidnapper: We have your biological father.

Jim: Sorry, I don’t accept returns

Kidnapper: …

Jim: *hangs up*

#these are all based on a Batfam post #but I can’t find it to use it as a source #incorrect quotes #toa douxie #toa jim #toa toby #toa aja #toa krel #toa strickler #toa barbara #toa claire #tales of arcadia

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inhonoredglory · 3 years ago

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ROTT: hot takes 🔥 (spoilers)

I wrote the following last Thursday, before my fandom life was waylaid by birthday shindigs for my sister and a weekend of migraines and nausea/fainting because of the COVID vaccine. I feel so out of touch w/ fandom but here’s my late but initial thoughts to ROTT if anyone’s interested LOL

––––––

DAMN SON.

DAMN.

I saw Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans last night. Before I launch into the fandom again, I’mma share my unfiltered thoughts.

ThAT oPEnING. HOLY SHIT. It was exhilarating. Seeing all of Tales of Arcadia rush past me in 3 minutes was awesomesauuuuuce.

but guYS GUYS lemme tell you the

✨✨ABSOLUTE✨✨

✨✨✨UTTER✨✨✨

✨✨✨✨✨HIGHLIGHT✨✨✨✨✨

✨✨✨✨✨✨of MY LIFE✨✨✨✨

////oh gODS////

hearing Douxie say in that deep, grave, convicted, voice:

❝ ｂｕｔ　ｔｈｅｙ　ｃａｎ　ｔａｋｅ　ｍｅ ❞

DOUXIE MY SELFLESS WIZARD BEAN. LIGHT OF MY LIFE. I’M DECEASED.

Because it’s scenes like this which convince me they KNOW that Selflessness Is His Thing. And that means so freaking much to me OH MY LORD.

Act 1 of ROTT was an absolute delight, let’s just say.

Men in Black!Krel

Nari!Douxie (i cANNot beLIEve THIs is a THING im in tears)

THE BARBARA/JIM REUNION!!!!!

A FREAKING STRICKLAKE ENGAGEMENT!!!!! Jim/Strickler relationship growth arc 😭😭😭

Y’ALL WE GOT JLAIRE SITTING ON A FLIPPIN’ RED ASS BED. This is the closest we’re gonna get to sex in a kid’s show.

NOT COUNTING OFC THE INSTA-STAJA-FAM CONCEPTION

should I be scared that GDT is reading the totally wack corners of mpreg AO3??!! 👀👀👀dude, like DUDE. that happened.

ELI GLOWUP !!!!! damn son u hot

also aja is such a Queen in this whole thing omg

I obvs can’t go scene by scene through this thing but––

Douxie and Nari in P A I N during the spellbreaking scene. that hurt my soul oh lordy. there must be art made

OK but then after this SHIT GETS VERY REAL. There’s a lot of Character Thematics/Arcs and Real Narrative shit I can get down into and stuff I want to think about because yEAH... wow, this movie Went There. And Back Again. (lOLJSKGSg)

I appreciate the deaths. I really do. But Strickler was a shock. Jim holding onto his mom and crying, overwhelmed with guilt, was the most Jim thing. The boy puts so much agony on himself. It’s his undoing. gAH POOR JIM.

CAN WE MAKE A NOTE THAT JIM’S RIBS WERE BROKEN/HURT throughout this entire thing??? 😭😭😭 HMmm? HMMMM!!! LOOK AT THE ANGST

Claire shadow-porting an eNTiRE TITAN. This girl is OFF THE CHARTS SJGHSBKGJMNFSBG

Nari’s death was emotional. Wow. She was being a Hero. Not running, like she said. That was a Power Growth and beautifully scored. Not to mention archie trapped forever?!!! Nooooo?!!!

They really want to take everything away from Douxie don’t they.

Jim getting Excalibur and leveling up with Akiridian armor was pRETTY SWEET. Especially ✨together✨. And everyone saying the Destiny speech. *tissues*

Act 3 finale babbaaayyyy.

CHILDREN OF THE SUN REDUX OMSKGJSGGMN HELL YEAHHHH

Jim realizing the amulet didn’t make. him a hero, HE DID. And that’s why the amulet chose him.

y’all I sobbed for tobes. that was powerful, painful, and moving. and y’know it was almost like this whole movie was an apology for treating toby like a comedic sidekick––and giving him the trollhunter mantle in the end.

like THEY VALIDATED JIM AND TOBY’s FRIENDSHIP and that cANnNOt be underestimated. Because friendship is almost ALWAYS knocked down the ladder of importance in the pantheon of human relationships, and ROTT said NO. Jim loves Toby so much that he’d change his own history and the history of the ENTIRE WORLD in order to get him back.

like, Jim, our sacrificial Hero. Deciding to truly be Atlas and take all the weight of What Could Have Been on his shoulders, because he cannot stand the losses that happened under his leadership.

this kiss tho. the absolute ANGUISH in the way jim presses himself to her face. gOD. THE PAIN. THE LOVE. THE “I LOVE YOU”

––––

The whole time travel twist tho. I’m kinda... not here for it?? Time travel is tricky to pull off and yeah, I think I’m in the camp that everyone’s character arcs (except Jim’s) have been retconned. It’s sad because people get connected to one another by the shared pains, joy, and experiences that brought them together, and now they’ve lost that.

But thematically and more importantly, why can’t the acceptance of death be validated? Sure, so many people dying was painful, but Let. It. Be. Painful. That’s life. TOA hasn’t shied away from dark things before. Toby and Strickler and Nomura and Nari (even Archie and Charlemagne) gave their lives; Toby became a Hero in the truest sense of the word. Let him do that, let that choice be his. In fact, it says a lot thematically about Jim’s hero complex that he cannot accept other people making heroic choices with tragic consequences. That it’s all on him. But with this ending, they do make it clear Jim’s need to be a hero is a driving obsession, and I appreciate the strength of his conviction on that identity for himself.

But the thing about retconning the anguish is that it’s telling us that bad consequences, tragedy, and loss are unacceptable in life. That just because Jim and his friends need 10 years of therapy, he should try to erase all that pain and give himself and his friends a “normal” life. No. Depression, loss, hurt... these help make us who we are; growth is about accepting them and using that pain to become better people, not invalidating them from our past.

*grumbles*

let’s be real tho: that ending was meta. it was like they were telling us fans that now WE can go create the Trollhunters we wanted to see, and fix all the things we thought went wrong. I think someone’s been reading a bunch of Trollhunter AU fics, no?

tl;dr ROTT creates more questions than it does answers and we need another show LMAO

#trollhunters #trollhunters rise of titans #rott #rott spoilers #toa #tales of arcadia #jim lake jr #douxie #claire nunez #*mymeta #*mythoughts

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