#yeah blinky go tell merlin off

[dandelion-blues]

Tales of Arcadia One-shot

A Precious Youngling

Also, on Ao3

Jim cooked and spiced a meal as much to perfection as much he could make it with the materials he had available on this cross-country trip to New Jersey. It should have smelled divine, especially when he hasn't eaten much today, but instead, it smelled unimaginably gross like moldy trash was thrown in and burnt, but no trash actually smelt good now to Jim.

Ugh, Jim hated this. He was supposed to be a chef, and now he couldn't even taste what he was making. Heck, he could barely stand to be in the vicinity when he was cooking, but he wanted to surprise his girlfriend, Claire. In any case, he did it. He just hoped it tasted alright.

Jim carefully picked up the dish that he made using an extra pan that he brought with him as the plate, being careful not to stumble with his longer legs since he's been doing an awful lot of that and made his way towards Claire.

He was greeted by friendly smiles and a sense of community that he didn't feel before when he was just human. Jim didn't know if it was the fact that he was a troll now (or well half), or that he helped save them from their greatest enemy, or most likely a combination of the two, but trolls were a lot more accepting of Jim now. In fact, they were more than accommodating and would even go out of their way to help him out in some way whether that was by giving him pointers or even hunting for forks (his favorite and practically only food he likes to eat now). It was really nice, as it was weird.

Jim was just at his ends wit with the trolls dancing around him and being so nice. Like he was suddenly so different. He was though, he wasn't human anymore. He didn’t even look or act like a human anymore. He just wanted them to act normal around him, not like he was made of glass.

Jim just wished he knew why there was a sudden change. Was it because he looked like a troll now? Did they really dislike him that much because he was a human? He wasn't even a proper troll though, his mentality seemed to switch at random, one moment he was acting like he used to then the next his troll instincts took over and he was growling at something. It was just so tiresome; he didn't understand any of this. He didn't even want to mention his looks. The few times he glimpsed himself in a reflective surface, his appearance had him scrambling back. He just couldn't bring himself to look at himself anymore.

Jim shook his head. He was going to spend this night with his girlfriend and not worry about his problems right now.

Luckily, despite not being able to taste the food that he made, Claire loved it, and she said it tasted amazing. The buzzing in his mind finally fully calmed down, and he was able to just relax with his girlfriend. They hung out all day (night whatever, since sunlight kills trolls. Will kill him). They talked for hours and dueled and he just got to enjoy being in Claire’s company. However, Claire started to yawn. The dark blue of the night started to lighten, indicating that the day was about to begin, and their new sleep schedule of sleeping in the daytime was about to begin.

“I’m so glad that we finally just got to relax and hang out today,” Claire said, stretching, “But now I’m going to pass out.” Claire smiles at him, her brown eyes filled with affection.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Jim nodded in affirmation but was still feeling restless.

“Also, don’t stay up too long,” Claire scolded, “You need your sleep too, even if you need less.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jim saluted.

Claire chuckles. Then grabs his hands in hers and looks lovingly into his eyes, “I love you, Jim.”

Jim gets a soft smile on his face, “I love you too. And have a good ni- sleep, Claire.” Jim rubs the back of his neck awkwardly at his slip-up.

“I will,” and pulls Jim down to give him a soft kiss and walks away.

Jim sighs happily, all his worries from earlier gone. However, as the morning ticks closer and more and more trolls are starting to hide away in the dark. Jim is once again left to his own thoughts and makes sure that everyone gets hidden away before the sun comes out.

However, before he could spiral into thinking about, well everything, a tall orange troll came up to him. His tan horns framed his mossy colored hair, “Now Trollhunter, I know it’s your duty to protect us, but a youngling such as yourself needs rest too. Why don’t you go to your guardian Blinkous and get some rest now.”

Jim is bewildered but says, “No it’s alright, I’m simply doing rounds to make sure everyone gets in the dark safely.”

The troll has this stern look in his eyes, “Now Trollhunter, a youngling like yourself needs more sleep than us older trolls, and it’s dangerous to still be out when the sunlight is approaching us quickly.”

Jim raises his hands up placating, “I know, I know. However, as a Trollhunter I need to make sure everyone is safe. Besides, I handled Gunmar, I can handle a little sunburn if it comes to it.” Jim tries to joke about the concern by stating that he can handle himself.

However, this doesn’t work as the large troll gasps in horror, “I know younglings are reckless, but not this! I am taking you to your guardian right this instant. There will be no risking your life, young troll.”

“W-what?!” Jim shrieks as the troll picks Jim up like a sack of potatoes and carries him over his shoulders. Jim tries fighting back, but the troll's grip remains strong. Jim eventually gives up, his face burning lavender. Jim’s grateful, though, that most trolls are already inside and are not seeing this embarrassment of Jim’s defeat. A few minutes later, after going across the whole camp, the troll finds the cave that Blinky was in and plops Jim gently down in the cave like he was handling a teddy bear. Jim sighs with relief and proceeds to flop down on the floor, covering his face in embarrassment, not even looking at Blinky.

“Tell your youngling that playing in the sun is no joke. His life is more important than patrolling around the camp when dawn is approaching.” The troll demands of Blinky.

Jim sputtered and shouted out a muffled “Hey!” with his covered face.

However, Jim gets cut off when the larger troll says, “Hush, the adults are talking now.” The troll continues with a glare at Blinky “I expect that our young Trollhunter will know the dangers of the sun when I see him next Blinkous Galadrigal.”

Blinky, bewildered by the whole encounter, concedes, “Of course, Heilad.”

The orange troll then huffs and leaves.

“Well, what is this I hear about playing in the sun, Master Jim?” Blinky says sternly but secretly smiles since Jim can’t see Blinky.

Jim mutters something incorrigible.

“What was that?” Blinky raises his eyebrow.

Jim sighs and uncovers his face, and glares at his mentor, his dad, “I was just going on patrols to make sure everyone was inside and protected from the sun, and just made a joke that since I beat Gunmar I could handle a little sunburn, and then that troll just dragged me here!”

Blinky six eyes go large, “Jim going in the sunlight would kill you! I know that you haven’t been a troll for that long, but it would be much worse than a sunburn.The sun is completely deadly to us!” Then Blinky starts to catastrophize and mutters to himself, “Oh dear, I’ve failed you as your troll guardian in informing you about what you need to know as a troll! I know that I’ve been busy as the leader, but that’s no excuse. I need-”

“Blinky!” Jim shouts. Blinky stops pacing and muttering. Jim breathes out, “I know the sunlight is dangerous to trolls. The first night when I became a troll, I burned myself.”

Blinky takes a moment to process what Jim says, then shouts, “YOU WHAT?!”

Blinky goes over to Jim, who is still on the ground, and frantically looks over him to see if he has any injuries. Once again, infinitely thankful that the armor wasn’t permanently stuck on his son and that now he was dressed in a shirt and shorts.

“Blinky,” Jim tries to get his dad’s attention, but Blinky is too focused on looking at his son for his injury.

“Blinky!” Again nothing.

“DAD!” Jim yells.

Blinky looks startled at his son, as Jim waves frantically at him. Except Blinky zeroes in on Jim’s hand, and specifically the darker splotch on Jim’s left hand.

“Your hand!” Blinky shouts and grabs Jim’s hand and inspects it.

“It’s fine, it barely hurt.” Jim says, looking away.

Jim thinks about that interaction with that troll earlier, Heilad? Then asks out loud, "Why are the trolls treating me so differently now? I can't be that different, can I?!" Then Jim growls and yells, "I'm still me!" And his free hand flings to his mouth, horrified that he growled at his mentor and father figure, and his ears subconsciously droop down.

Blinky looks wide-eyed at Jim and squeezes his hand assured that the hand wasn’t impairing and hurting Jim and reassures him, "Oh Master Jim. Yes, you will always be you. The trolls just now see how truly young you've always been, and younglings like yourself are a precious commodity since Gumm-Gumms have stolen our young, so the trolls are simply treating you like they would any other youngling and are worried for you."

Then Blinky continues, "But Jim, even if you are now half-troll, you still have your heart. A heart far better than mine. You're still a sensational chef. A wondrous friend. The most prodigious Trollhunter." Blinky smiles, his speech growing sincerity with every word and gently grabs Jim's other hand from his face with his left lower arm, and his other lower arm still holds Jim's other hand. Then Blinky forces Jim to look in his eyes with his upper arm by holding Jim's face. "A magnificent son. You may not be fully human anymore, and you may not be fully troll, but you will always be Master Jim to me, and no growls or angry outbursts will stop you from being you, or me from loving my son."

Jim burst into tears, needing to hear those comforting words from Blinky, from his dad.

"Oh, master Jim, it's alright, come here." And Blinky takes Jim in his arms and hugs and comforts him.

Jim cries and cries and eventually a high pitch whine escapes him when he thinks of all the horrible things that have just piled up after he turned into a half-troll, and he whimpers, not liking the new sounds that escape him and keens for his dad. Jim's scared and vulnerable and oh so new to his troll instincts that he doesn't know what to do.

Luckily, Blinky and Jim were already settled on the soft moss-filled ground because as soon after Jim began sobbing, Blinky knew that Jim would want to be held and comforted in his dad's embrace.

"Oh son," Blinky whispers to himself, his heart breaking at Jim's desperate keen, and takes Jim up in his arms cradling him close to his own hearthstone (what would be considered the troll equivalent to a heart) and murmurs sweet reassurances to Jim in both English and Trollish, and runs his fingers through Jim hair to calm him down. Jim holds tightly onto Blinky's suspender strap and sinks into Blinky's hold.

Eventually, Jim's crying subsides, and while his breath still hitches, he looks up into Blinky's six eyes with his sky blues and whispers, "I'm s-sorry." Jim clings shakily on Blinky's suspender and buries his face into his father's torso.

Blinky whispers, "There's nothing to be sorry for," and Jim seems to relax a little, his breath calming down as Blinky continues to card his fingers through Jim's hair and holds Jim. Jim smiles into Blinky’s chest, and mumbles, “Thanks.” Jim’s eyes droop, exhausted from crying and the long day, and falls asleep, feeling warm and protected in his father’s embrace.

Blinky smiles sadly at Jim and states, "I wish I could take away your fears and worries." Blinky sighs, "Even when I said before, "fear is but the precursor of valor.' Your valor, your valor exceeds anyone's, and I am so proud of you, and you can rest, you were victorious. You fought valiantly! I am just so proud to call you my son, and you deserve to have peace and rest as much, if not more than the rest of us. Even if it means telling a certain wizard to take a hike, I'll do my best to ensure your happiness, my son, and I'll always be here for you." Blinky promises.

Notes:

Just wanted to have this out fully on Tumblr. Enjoy!

Next TOA One-shot

[winter-leftovers]

Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter twenty one: Coming Back (21/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

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

Chapter Summary: Y/n recovers her memory. The search for the staff of avalon begins

Word count: 1661

Warnings: No

(Season 3 Episodes 6, 7)

Song?: Mother Stands For Comfort by Kate Bush

Previous - Next

Masterlist

Y/n holded the doorknob to the backdoor of her house until she felt her hot hand would melt the metal under it. After spending a couple days away in a remote part of the woods her memory came back.

Amongst the trees and the darkness, the old spell lifted, allowing all the old memories wash over her like water breaking through a dam. She could finally recall who she really was and why she was there in Arcadia, in the Lake’s home or at least why she thought her father would want her there: to help the first human trollhunter to fulfill his destiny.

All the pieces of her life came back and laid to rest in their designated place, all except one: the night she strayed from her old life to found herself in Arcadia as a child in Barbara’s arms. That rainy night is still foggy in her mind.

Finally, Y/n opened the door to an empty kitchen but to a full living room. Claire’s parents and Toby’s grandmother were sitting on the couch talking with Barbara.

She sighed, relieved, she hadn't figured out what she was going to tell her family about what she uncovered in the last couple of months and more people around could buy her a little more time.

“Hi,” she smiled, quickly walking to the stairs “I don’t want to get too close, I've been camping” Y/n chuckled.

Barbara walked up to her daughter before she could run upstairs.

“You don’t have to lie anymore. I remembered everything. I even put Claire’s and Toby’s parents up to speed” Barbara laughed.

“I’m not lying! You can smell my hair” Y/n smiled.

Barbara looked at her daughter. She could sense something about her was different but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Barbara always could read her daughter like the palm of her hand

“Something’s off” she frowned and grabbed her hand.

Y/n looked at her mother’s eyes, the only mother she ever had and gave her a genuine smile “I promise I’ll explain. Just not right now” she looked back at their guests.

Barbara nodded and squeezed her daughter’s hand

“You know that I’m always here, right, sweetie?”

Y/n nodded and let go of her mother’s hand to run upstairs to take a shower.

“I wasn’t finished. That’s deranged!” Blinky’s screams echoed through the hallway.

Y/n slowly opened Jim’s door and poked her head through it. The whole gang was there except for Aaarrrgghh with the new addition, Dictatious.

“You’re saying Jim should destroy his amulet ‘cause you think you saw some old man put a map inside of it?” Toby sounded like he was going to lose his mind.

“It was Merlin” insistes Claire “The key to finding his tomb, to finding his staff, is inside his amulet”

‘Yeah, that’s him’ though Y/n.

“The girl-child may be on to something. The amulet and the staff are connected” said Dictatious.

“Both fueled by the magic of Merlin” said Blinky.

“But if Jim breaks his amulet, he can’t armor up! And if he can’t armor up ‘Goodbye, Eclipse Blade!’ How’s he supposed to kill Gunmar?” Screamed Toby in desperation.

“If we don’t get the staff first, none of that will matter anyway” said Claire

“Maybe I don’t have to destroy the amulet. You said Gunmar has Aaarrrgghh captive?” Jim looked at Dictatious.

Y/n frowned.

“And Aaarrrgghh could be used as an emotional anchor” said Blinky.

“We’d portal jump right to him” said Claire.

“The plan is set. We save Aaarrrgghh and stop Gunmar by any means necessary before he acquires the staff”

“What’s going on?” Y/n entered the room.

“Y/n?” The kids screamed in unison.

“Who is that…?” Asked Dictatious

“Shh” Blinky hit his brother on the head “Y/n, where have you been?”

“Where’ve you been?” Jim hugged his sister tight.

“Yeah, I’ve been texting, I needed…ughh” Toby hugged her and took a step back “You smell awful”

“I miss you too but…Toby is right” Claire grabbed her free hand.

“I was in the woods. Doing some…spiritual work. It's a long story and from what I heard we don’t have time” Y/n scratched Jim's hair that was still hugging her.

“We really do not have any time” said Blinky.

“Do we have time to explain the new accent?” Toby lifted a brow.

“What?”

“You’re madonna-ing”

“I’m not. Shut up” Y/n frowned. Her memories had brought her accent back?

—

After taking a quick shower, Y/n came downstairs as the trollhunter team were saying their goodbyes.

“I’m coming with” Y/n announced “I’m not letting Blinky unsupervised”

Jim and Toby laughed.

Y/n hugged Barbara tight. Y/n whispered in her mother’s ear

“You’re the best mother I could ever have”

She quickly stood behind Claire before the tears started rolling.

“Part of the spiritual trip?” Jim smiled.

“Something like that” Y/n smiled back.

The five of them jumped through the portal to a dark ruin quickly finding Aaarrrgghh in a stasis trap.

“The work of Angor Rot” observed Blinky.

“Uhm, those are Dwarkstones. If we deactivate the stasis, this place is gonna blow” said Claire.

“Aaarrrgghh, my friend, they’ve used you as bait to kill us” screamed Blinky.

Aaarrrgghh groaned.

“We gotta get him out of there!” Screamed Toby in desperation.

“No, Wingman. You leave” said Aaarrrgghh

“No, we’re not giving up”

“Guys, I’ve got an idea!” said Jim.

Everyone turned to Jim.

“Okay. Toby drops the hammer, we drop into the room below” he points to the ground.

“The hammer’s power and weight might be enough to override the stasis trap or it’ll fail, Toby will disintegrate into nothingness, and we’ll die with the explosion” Blinky explained.

“Cool beans” said Toby.

“Charming” Y/n pated the trolls back.

“Even if it works, what if we drop into something worse?” Asked Claire, fear written all over her face.

“Than this? I’ll take my chances. Tobes, are you ready?” Jim crouched down.

“Ready to possibly kill us all and die in failure? Yeah” he took a deep breath before start running “For Aaarrrgghh”

Jim pushed Toby into the air, giving the hammer enough strength to break the floor and destroying the trap, making the team fall into a dark tunnel of nothingness.

Y/n felt her knees hit the hard floor, she looked up and saw Aaarrrgghh covering them from the rest of the debri falling from the trap.

“Is everyone alright?” Y/n asked once the rain of stones stopped falling.

Jim draw daylight to illuminate the dark room.

“Wingman” Toby threw himself to Aaarrrgghh.

“Wingman” Aaarrrgghh quickly reciprocated the hug.

The group laughed and followed the two, for a moment forgetting where they were.

“What is this place?” Blinky asked

“Smells old” Aaarrrgghh sniffed the humid air.

“Ah!” Toby tried to take a step forward, almost falling into the abyss.

“Remarkable” Blinky looked down “An ancient gyre”

The team went down to investigate the old artifact.

“Why would there be a gyre here?” Jim got into the gyre.

“It doesn’t even have controls” observed Blinky.

Y/n observed the cave with the help of little light that was able to shine through the broken ceiling. She walked around the gyre with a small smile on her face. Of course. She finally recognised the place. It was Douxie’s and her longest task.

“If I break the amulet it will lead us to Merlin’s tomb” Jim said.

Y/n stopped walking through the dark and dusty room, she turned her head back to the sound of her brother’s voice. She ran to the stairs and up to the gyre and saw Jim hit the amulet with Toby’s hammer.

For an instant, a blue light illuminated the room then disappeared as quickly as it came revealing the destroyed pieces of Merlin’s amulet.

Jim kneeled in front of the stone where the pieces rested and picked them up one by one

“No turning back now” he said.

“No turning back” Y/n whispered to herself, as she played with her bracelet.

She felt her stomach turn. She knew from the moment that she crossed that portal that there was no turning back but now, that notion is final. Her old and new life were going to crash and she wasn’t sure how that was going to go. She was nervous. She hasn’t seen her father in nine hundred years and she hasn’t told her friends about her identity yet.

Jim put the blue stone where the controls of the gyre should be and a warm blue light surrounded them, the gyre starting its travel.

Y/n started to breathe a little better as she felt Douxie’s old magic all around.

“If this is fate, I really hope we’re not destined to die” screamed Toby, grabbing Y/n’s hand as the machine started to gain speed.

—

“Whoa, a hidden entrance” Jim smiled as they crossed the waterfall.

“Yeah, but to where?” Claire walked close behind the trollhunter.

Y/n took a couple steps forward when she saw Toby starting to struggle with his war hammer. She didn’t want to be behind him when the ‘no-magic’ spell got to him.

“Why no war hammer magic?” Toby complained as the artifact fell to the floor.

“No magic here” Blinky translated the sign on top of the door “It appears this hallowed tomb is warded against sorcery”

“My shadow staff doesn’t work either” Claire tried to use her staff in vain.

“Hey, what’s that?” Y/n pointed behind the girl at the giant claw marks that shouldn't be there.

“These claw marks look fresh” observed Claire.

“Hmm. Yes, yes.” Blinky got closer “As if…a struggle”

“Draal” Aaarrrgghh said.

Y/n turned back and saw the troll holding a chain “There's no magic here. He’s free”

“Then we’re not just here for the staff. We can save Draal” Jim smiled at the idea of recovering their friend.

A/n: we’re getting closer to the part that inspired the series!!! Also!!! I fucking!!! Hate!!!! Summer!!!

Remember that reviews, love letters and death threats are always appreciated 💖

[i-want-it-thaaat-way]

Tales of Arcadia - We Don’t Talk About Merlin (It got a little long so I added a cutoff :) hope you like)

Jim: We don’t talk about Merlin, no, no, no.

We don’t talk about Merlin! But-

It was a few years ago-

Toby: Just a few years ago!

Jim: We were getting ready to fight the army of Gumm-Gumms-

Toby: Yes, an army of Gumm-Gumms!

Jim: Merlin strolls in, brews a potions, and then-

Toby: TROLL JIM!

Jim: Tobes, you telling this story or am I?

Toby: I’m sorry Jimbo go ooon!

Jim: Yes, he made me into a troll!

Toby: Made of stone and blue!

Jim: Said it was the only way to win-

Toby: Was it really truuue?

Jim: Now somehow I’m human again!

Toby: Not really sure how but anyway-

Jim and Toby: We don’t talk about Merlin, no, no, no- We don’t talk about Merlin!

Claire: Hey-! Found Merlin’s tomb and woke him up to fight Gunmar-

Said he fought Morgana and he used a spell against her-

He sealed the Eldritch Queen away, in doing so his power drained-

Shh-shh-shh!

Barbara: It’s a heavy weight having kids as trollhunters-

Merlin showed up at the house and left it in disaster-

Somehow convinced Jim to go and make a drastic change-

But he’s still my son the same

Krel: sssSEVEN FOOT FRAME!

Glowing staff in his grasp!

If you piss him off enough-

Your next breath could be your last!

Yeah, he knows all things-

With magic powered green!

Jim, Toby, Clarie, and Krel: We don’t talk about Merlin, no, no, no! We don’t talk about Merlin!

Steve: He said he didn’t know who I was, and that was just MEAN!

(Oh no!)

Aja: Never actually met him, too busy being a queen!

(Oh no!)

Strickler: Left a mess for all of us that no one could have foreseeeeen!

(Oh no!)

All: Bit of a jerk and so none of us are too keen!

Douxie: He took me in when I was just a kid

And taught me what I need to succeed-

I waited centuries to do what he needs-

But he’s left me alone…again

Claire: Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!! are on their way!

Archie: Called Douxie his son-

Then he turned into dust

Leaving sorrow anew-

And a plan to follow through!

It’s almost like he’s still here…

Eli: Um…Merlin

Yeah, about that Merlin-

I really need to know about Merlin-

Give me the truth, and the whole truth, Merlin!

Krel: Hey Aja! Your boyfriend’s here!

All: Time for dinner!

(Complete chaos)

[badsongpetey]

I'm realizing that I wasn't on here when I started my fic back in September. I wanted to punish myself (and Jim) by trying to imagine that the end of ROTT wasn't a happy ending, just a set up for part 2, and see if Jim could get through it (it's how I'm coping with it). Jim has no magic outs, no one remembers anything, time has been reset completely, and he's just given up his greatest advantage -- it's going about as well as you would think. Don't worry, it's got a surprising amount of humor to cushion all the trauma lol

Here's a sample from chapter 2 -- it's spoiler-free for my fic, if you've seen ROTT (and TOA of course):

------------

Jim stared at Toby’s house. The light in Toby’s room went on over an hour ago, and… nothing. No excited phone call telling him about the cool thing he found in the canal. No panicked phone call with him screaming incoherently about trolls. Nothing. Zero. Nada.

Jim exhaled hard and switched to staring at his phone. And when that produced no results, he switched to beating himself up.

Crud. Toby probably didn’t even go through the canal. What had he been thinking? Yeah, sure, future Toby never hesitated to jump headlong into danger swinging his ridiculously oversized war hammer, but 2016 Toby? 2016 Toby hated it when Jim made him take the shortcut through the canal, he was absolutely terrified of the long, steep drop to the bottom.

Jim put his forehead down on the desk. Stupid, stupid move. And now, was the amulet just sitting there, waiting? Fear shot through him. What if it had chosen someone else? What if Blinky and Aaarrrgghh were in someone else’s basement right now terrifying them with the news that they were the Trollhunter? How could Jim even help then? It would be like in his vision from Merlin. Gunmar loose, everyone slain… Stop catastrophizing. Nothing, literally nothing, has happened yet.

“I AM GUN ROBOT… PICK UP YOUR PHONE…“

He grabbed for his ringing phone, knocking it onto the floor, then slammed his head into the desk going after it. He sat on the floor, cradling his head, and tried to be nonchalant as he answered. “Oh, hey Tobes, what’s up?”

“Not much. Just doing some homework.” Toby responded. “Hey, you okay? You sound weird.”

Jim forced himself to sound calm and not anxious and confused. “I just bumped my head getting the phone.”

“Ouch. Try not to overexert yourself next time.” Toby teased.

“Um, yeah. Hah, I’ll try.” Jim couldn’t think of a subtle way to ask, his rising anxiety clouding his brain. So he just went for it. “So, um, did you take the canal home?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I did. I don’t know why though, I nearly died on that hill Jim. Died. Dead.”

And, Toby? And you found… C’mon Tobes…

“Oh! You lucked out though, I was gonna give you grief for sending me into that death trap, but I did find something interesting.”

Jim’s heart leapt.

“I thought I heard my name, but there was only this pile of K-spar, just, like, randomly there. Looked like maybe something fell off the bridge.” He mused, “Well, anyway, when I went over, I heard my name again. At first I thought it was some kind of prank, but then I saw this pendant thing in the rocks.”

Jim put his head back and thanked whatever troll deity was looking after his sorry butt.

Toby continued, “I think it might be worth something. It looks old. Or maybe it’s from one of those treasure hunts?”

“Treasure hunts?!” Jim scoffed.

“Yeah, like they have these treasure hunts in cities where if you find the stuff you get prizes. Maybe this thing gets me some merch!” Toby fantasized.

Oh my god, only Toby would find a mystical amulet filled with ancient magic and decide it would win him a new hoodie.

“I don’t think it’s a treasure hunt Toby.” Jim tried to steer back on course.

Toby sighed, “Yeah, maybe not.”

“Has it, uh, said anything else?”

“What? Nah. It’s just some piece of old jewelry. I think I just heard the wind or the cars or something. That canal is pretty echoey.”

“Well, you should keep it anyway.” Like he had a choice on that, Jim thought. “Sounds cool.”

“Yeah… Hey, I’ve got an all day dentist appointment tomorrow, you wanna come over after school? I’ve got a new game, and I can show you this thing.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

“Cool. Night Jimbo.”

“Night Tobes.” Jim echoed. “Oh! And Tobes!”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe somebody will show up with a prize for that thing you found.” Jim suggested, thinking of his troll family and remembering Toby’s reaction to their first meeting.

“Yeah, yeah. Hah, hah.” Toby chided. “Night.” And he hung up.

Jim let the phone slip from his grasp and sighed in relief. Everything was fine, and his plan was in motion. Although, he’d have to think things through more carefully in the future, he reprimanded himself, can’t just leave something that big to chance next time.

He made sure his phone was charged and on when he went to bed that night. A little something told him that he might be getting a panicked call from a newly minted Trollhunter overnight. Well, two really big rocky somethings, he chuckled as he turned out the light.

Jim awoke the next morning to the beeping of his alarm. Holy crap he’d slept great, he felt amazing. Maybe something about not having the crushing weight of two worlds on your shoulders… he mused.

He sat up and looked down at his phone. Oh no, Tobes! Did he miss his call? He grabbed the phone, and as it unlocked, nothing. No calls.

Jim frowned, remembering. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh had visited him that very first night, surely they would’ve done the same with Toby? He started to worry again.

No, no, he would not spend the next few years going in and out of anxiety attacks at everything that was different. He’d changed things — for the better, he was sure — his whole goal was for things to be different. Right? Ug.

“Just go to school Jim, there’s nothing you can do right now anyways.” he ordered himself. Not having the amulet was proving to be almost as impossible as having the amulet.

———————

“Who has an EIGHT HOUR dentist appointment Tobes??” Jim stood in Toby’s kitchen after school, the last light from the sunset filling the room with a golden glow.

“Two molars, plus insertions,” Toby counted on his fingers, “then clean up.” He finished brightly.

“EIGHT HOURS!”

“The man’s a monster Jim.” Toby stated matter-of-factly. “Want some dinner?”

Jim shook his head in amazement. “You can eat after that?”

“It numbs the pain.” Toby explained, rubbing his jaw.

Jim had been waiting all day to see Toby, and he couldn’t wait any longer. “What I want, is to see that thing you found in the canal yesterday.”

Toby nodded, “Oh sure! I mean, it’s just some old amulet or medal or something. I left it in my room.”

Toby walked to the door, only to stop abruptly. “That’s weird.”

“What?”

“It’s here.” Toby pointed at the counter.

And there it was, perched on top of a pile of junk mail, the Amulet of Daylight, the weapon of Merlin’s Champion, one of the most powerful magical artifacts in all the world. Jim, despite himself, felt a pang of longing looking at it. It had been a part of him for so long, and that part of him missed it.

“Weird. Could’ve sworn I left it in my room.” Toby puzzled, then shrugged, “I dunno, I can’t seem to remember where I leave it. Like, it just seems to show up everywhere.” He gestured at the house in general, then rubbed his jaw again, “Must be the Novocain.”

“Anyways,” he held it up to Jim, “it is pretty awesome. Think it’s worth something?”

Yeah, it’s worth everything, Jim thought, and reached out to take it. Before he could though, there was a loud knock at the back door.

Toby jumped, Jim didn’t. “You expecting company?”

“Just you.” Toby said, and headed towards the back of the kitchen just as the door burst open.

“MASTER TOBIAS! WE HAVE FOUND YOU!!”

“Aaaahhhhh!” Toby fell backward with a yelp. “Jim! Call animal control!”

[peachcitt]

I've seen a lot of people saying that rot was BAD, what is your opinion?

OH IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED

like most people (im sure) after finishing rise of the titans, after wiping up my tears i went to the rot tag to see maybe some gifs or something. you know, make myself cry a little more. instead, i found a bunch of people saying how much they hated the ending, how it was as terrible as some of the worst big finale bombs (endgame, game of thrones, etc) and uh. im not saying the ending is perfect, but it is DEFINITELY not as disastrous as what people are making it out to be, in my opinion. i thoroughly enjoyed the movie, actually, and i thought it was an effective way to end the tales of arcadia.

warning: rise of the titans spoilers, as well as general tales of arcadia spoilers

were there some things i didn't like? yeah!

the major things i didn't like align with a lot of what i see other people saying:

the weird mpreg plotline with steve. it just felt so strange and out of place, and it was used as a tactic to remove eli and steve from the major action, which i don't like.

and the 'ninth configuration' thing that, once again, excluded eli and steve. i didn't see a reason why they shouldn't have been there, seeing as they have contributed to trollhunting since nearly the start of all of the tales of arcadia. multiples of three are clean and smooth, i get it, but at the expense of two characters that were so lovingly developed in trollhunters and 3below?? yikes

with that being said, though, i don't agree with what a lot of people are saying about the time travel at the end. obviously, they bring up some good points - by changing the timeline so drastically, there's no way for jim to ensure that they'll be able to succeed or if the arcane order will even act in the same way. it's a big 'if' and it is worth thinking about

but people have been saying that the ending is out of jim's character and negates his arc, and i have to say. that's not true.

if you've been following my blog since july 1st, you'll know that ive spent the past twenty one days rewatching the entire tales of arcadia series at a steady pace, and within that time, i've paid a whole lot of attention to jim's arc as a character and how the finale of trollhunters left me feeling as if something just wasn't clicking right. his arc wasn't finished.

because all throughout trollhunters, jim is constantly having to prove his worth - and most of the time, the way he's proving his worth is by sacrificing himself. he takes all the blame when anything goes wrong, and on some level, jim never truly learns the lesson from season one of trollhunters that he's enough as a hero because he has his friends to back him up. like, yeah, he relies on them a bit more after that, but in the end, he still stands in the bathroom alone, separated from all his allies, and shoulders the burden of turning into a troll alone. and he leaves arcadia, the city he was fighting so hard to protect, and he leaves his best friend, the one that has been with him since the beginning.

then we get wizards, where jim lets himself be corrupted to save his friends. and then, because of that sacrifice, he ends up hurting all of them. i believe this fact - that he willingly corrupted himself, separated himself from his allies, and ended up hurting the people he loved - shook jim's foundation as a hero, which is why he can't believe he's the trollhunter without the amulet. the amulet was the physical manifestation of what it meant to be a hero to him, but it was destroyed when he was corrupted - it was destroyed when he hurt his friends.

that's how we see him in rise of the titans; he's still struggling with his identity as a hero because he doesn't have the amulet or the unshakable foundation he previously had of his heroism. literally everyone is looking for him to be the leader and make the huge, world-saving-or-destroying decisions, but he can't shoulder that huge burden knowing he could hurt everyone. and then, just to add fuel to the fire, it's his plan that causes people to die or be permanently separated from the group. and he can't even get the sword out of the stone! why? because he himself doesn't see himself as worthy - how can you think of yourself as worthy when you just got two of your allies killed and two more gone, presumably for forever?

but this is the moment it finally clicks for jim. he looks around at his allies, and he sees them reflected in the amulet. he's not alone, he doesn't have to be worthy just by himself, he has an entire group of people who have fought by his side time and time again that, even despite all the mistakes and missteps he's made, are still by his side.

and what makes the amulet work, in the final fight, is his firm determination to see this fight through, no matter if he has the armor or not. he's terrified, he's probably going to die - but it's that bravery despite the fear that makes him a hero, a trollhunter, amulet or not. and he knows that now - he's had to face it before, in the unbecoming episode, but it's different now. in the unbecoming episode, he was truly alone when he decided to face the fight. and he's alone here in rise of the titans - but not for long! because almost immediately after jim comes to terms with his place as a hero again, toby comes along, and he doesn't finish this fight alone!! he finishes this fight with another trollhunter, who doesn't have an amulet!!

jim deciding to rewind time to back before the events of trollhunters is a bold choice, but it tracks with a theme in wizards - merlin told douxie that what set him apart as a master wizard was his belief that every life was valuable and worthy of being saved. this theme is repeated in the new amulet in rise of the guardians; it's for the glory of all, not just for one person.

and jim deciding to have toby become the trollhunter finally marks the completion of jim's arc. instead of shouldering the burden alone, which is inevitably what would've happened if jim had rewound time, kept all of his memories, and accepted the amulet again, jim is choosing to accept allies into his life sooner. instead of being the trollhunter, jim is letting himself be a trollhunter, alongside all the other trollhunters.

of course, there's some things in this alternate timeline i don't like; mainly that no one stepped in to stop steve from bullying eli. that, to me, was the most out of character, and i can only assume jim didn't step in because he's leaving room for that fight to be toby's; competing against steve was a large jumpstart to jim feeling like he could be strong enough to bear the mantle, and maybe jim was just trying leave it up to toby to establish that on his own. still, i didn't like it.

and, of course, there are people lamenting the fact that none of the heroes of arcadia know each other or that they might not have the same relationships, but i immediately thought of the time loop episode in 3below. in that episode, the trollhunters team and the gang from 3below meet and become friends and ultimately lose the memory of that friendship from that day. however, in that episode, blinky says that true friendship would last against the test of time; if they were meant to be together, then they would be. and guess what? even though none of them remember that happening, they all still became friends. it was meant to be.

i think a lot of anxieties about the changed timeline are because people loved the events of trollhunters so much that they a) don't want to see anything changed and/or b) are trying to project the events of trollhunters onto the new timeline and are upset when they don't fit. toby won't be the same kind of hero that jim is, though - he never has been. inevitably, the story will be different, and that's scary. that was the risk jim took, though, and jim has always trusted in toby, so why shouldn't we?

to me, tales of arcadia has never been about clean endings that make you feel entirely good. they've always left me with a tang of bitter along with the sweet, and i think that's the point. tales of arcadia has always battled with hard questions and difficult endings, and i don't see rise of the titans being any different from that.

like i said before, i don't think rise of the titans is perfect. but you can hate it as much as you want; i still really think it did a good job with the story it was trying to tell. i mean, ending with the idea that all lives are important and worth saving, no matter the risk? that heroism inherently means being part of a collective that you trust and believe in? that through time and space, you will always be able to find and connect with the people you love? that's powerful.

im climbing off my soapbox now, but basically tl;dr: rise of the titans was a good finale, despite it's imperfections, and i think that's all i can ask for.

also if you don't like toby as the trollhunter just because you don't like him breaking out of the 'funny sidekick' archetype you can die by my blade

[anileahvictoria]

More Trollhunters AU

"Good news, everyone," Blinky said, joining Toby, Aaarrrgghh, NotEnrique, Namoura, and Strickler in the living room, "Master Jim will live." The whole room released a breath of relief. "Doctor Lake informed me that all the bleeding was internal. And, according to my understanding, that is where the blood should be." "I don't believe you understand what it means to bleed internally." Strickler said, but even his worn features were beginning to relax now that he knew Jim was safe. "Yeah? Well, I don't believe you understand what it means to be Trollhunter." Blinky retorted. "Neither do I." Merlin said, appearing at the front door. "Oh, so now you show up." Blinky scoffed in annoyance. "It must be a mistake." Merlin said, ignoring Blinky. "Well, obviously. Your troll hunter is still alive, yet the amulet chose another already. And a changeling no less!" "Must be malfunctioning." Merlin said matter of factly, "It is possible I made a mistake while reassembling it after Jim so brilliantly destroyed it. Give it here." "Or maybe it's working just fine." Toby said before Strickler could hand over the amulet. "Oh? And what would you know about my amulet, Stout one?" Merlin asked incredulously. "Not what I know, what Jimbo knows." Toby clarified proudly, holding his phone aloft, "Hold on, he's typing." "Have you been messaging this entire conversation?" Strickler asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yep. He wanted to facetime us, but he says he's supposed to be asleep right now, and he doesn't want his phone to get confiscated. Oh here, he says, and I quote, 'Merlin, you said you wanted a troll hunter who had a foot in both worlds. Who does that better than a changeling?' Oo good point, Jimbo." "Yeah, I agree." Not Enrique piped up, "What's so bad about a changeling Trollhunter anyway? I hear you all thought it was the end of the world when a flesh bag became Trollhunter. At least we changelings got some troll in us." "You are nothing like us," Blinky said definitely, "None of your kind are." "Oh, then what are we, mister changeling expert?" "I'll tell you what you are," Merlin said, "Cunning, two-faced, Impure, vile, evil puppets of Morgana." There was silence, and even Blinky's six eyes blinked in surprise. Suddenly there was a loud "bong!" and Merlin crumpled to the floor. "No one talks to my little brother like that." Claire said, a metal shovel in hand. "Hey, where'd you find Nana's shovel?" Toby wondered out loud. "Thanks, sis." NotEnrique said, scratching the back of his head, "He was being a real buttsnack." but NotEnrique wouldn't meet her eye. "Yes, thank you, Claire. I-" Strickler began, but Claire pointed the shovel at him. "I didn't do it for you. You tried to kill Jim and most of the people in this room. If anyone deserves to be called two-faced, it's you."   "I... I'd have to agree, though I had hoped to put that past behind me." Strickler said quietly, and Claire was surprised to hear honest regret in his voice. "Buuuut Jim thinks you've changed," Claire finally said, "and if he's willing to give you another chance after everything you put him and Doctor Lake through, I might be convinced to as well. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll be worthy of that amulet." Strickler gave a grateful smile, "One can only hope. I thought you were with Jim." In response, Claire gave a huge yawn, "Doctor Lake sent me home. Jim needed rest." "He's not the only one," Namoura said, taking Claire's bag from her, "Why aren't you at your house sleeping?" "Eli said he dropped Jim's homework off here. I was going to take it to Jim later." "Jim's got homework?" Toby asked, surprised, "Gosh, Senior Uhl won't even let him off the hook for saving the world. What a buttsnack." Claire swayed a bit on her feet as she tried, and failed, to stifle another yawn. "You look worse than when Morgana possessed you." Toby said, steadying her, "You get some sleep. I'll take Jim his homework." "You sure?" Claire asked, her eyelids drooping lower and lower. "Sure. Besides, I haven't gotten to visit Jimbo yet. It'll be good to see how he's doing." Claire nodded gratefully and shuffled out the front door, "You might want to do something about the unconscious wizard on the floor."

[tiecladartist]

Okay, spoilers beneath the cut because I have some issues with Rise of the Titans.

Tales of Arcadia is one of my favorite series ever. It handled the "Kid is the chosen one" situation brilliantly, every character had depth (even characters like Steve, Eli, the teachers, etc). Theme was expertly handled with each part of the series. Destiny, heroism and sacrifice for Trollhunters; Family, duty and home for 3-Below; Legacy, prejudice and family (again) for Wizards. Every season brought me to tears, made me laugh, made me fear for the safety of the characters and want good things for them after watching them sacrifice over and over again. It is a comfort show for me and always will be.

Now, the movie...

So, I don't think it was bad. I also don't think it was good, unfortunately. The animation took a bit of getting used to after bingeing everything else leading up to this, but I can't deny it was incredibly beautiful. It was especially nice to see places other than Arcadia and Akiridion-5. It started off strong with the train fight, and admittedly there were a lot of scenes I quite liked during the movie. But, just the scenes. I liked moments, but overall it didn't come together quite as well as the shows did.

The biggest factor is likely time. I doubt making this a movie was the initial plan since I know production companies enjoy snubbing out strong series for various reasons. Honestly, I was surprised we got an "ending" at all based on the trends of recent shows being forced to wrap things up prematurely. Even Wizards felt rushed compared to the others and as a result a lot of interesting concepts were brushed over quickly. I mean, I for one would've loved to see more Camelot "filler" shenanigans since those less plot-heavy episodes that we had throughout Trollhunters and 3-Below helped us explore the characters and grow to love them, and we didn't get quite as much of that with Douxie, Archie, Lancelot, Charlemagne, etc. But I digress, this post is supposed to be about the movie, not Wizards.

So yeah, I think Rise of the Titans should've been a show rather than a movie. We could have more time before Nari is captured, focusing on the "where are they now" of all the characters after the year we skipped. Jim gets to cook and eat human food after losing that passion when becoming a troll, adjusting to being human again! Maybe him and Toby talk about Barbara and Stickler being together and how it's kinda weird (Toby could compare it to having conflicting feelings over his Nana dating an alien). Krel and Aja have a call about how it is being the Queen and Steve interrupts because he misses Aja. Perhaps we hear Eli in the background doing something related to the "Secret weapon" and the call gets cut off quickly because this leads to a small disaster on Aja's end that she needs to go fix. Claire is practicing her magic with the help of Zoe while Douxie is off with Nari. NARI AND DOUXIE INTERACT WITH EACHOTHER AND WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE IT! (Like, I know that they were travelling together for a year and that that is why Douxie is sad when Nari dies, but it didn't impact at all outside of empathy because there was no emotional investment on my end towards their friendship). But yeah, we get to see what's going on with everyone, and then perhaps this first episode ends with the reveal of them being ready for a plan of sorts (luring the arcane order and cutting off their magic. That wouldn't be revealed though). Cut to the Arcane Order in their super secret clubhouse saying they're close to finding Nari and you get a decent cliffhanger.

Episode 2 would start with the train fight and go fairly the same way. We see Jim struggling with fighting with no armor. Or perhaps he has akiridion armor, but it's too rigid or keeps malfunctioning (doesn't fit, so to speak). Only difference is that Jim's arc wouldn't be about whether or not he's still the trollhunter, because we've been through that already and he knows. I could get having moments of doubt, but his full on denial was kinda out of place after everything he went through. Instead, it could be that he feels useless due to now being a burden in a fight. Or perhaps instead he's wrestling with guilt. He's blaming himself since the arcane order got the seals due to them trying to rescue him. Maybe both? Maybe he even misses his troll body and feels that he's too weak now. Yes, he's still the trollhunter, amulet or not, but he's feeling less and less capable of answering this particular call, and that bothers him. He doesn't want to be a burden after all. Fight ends with the train crash, arrest, Douxie swapping with Nari, all the same.

Now, this is where things would go very very differently. Have more time before Douxie and Nari switch back. Let the Arcane order monologue a little more. They want to reset the world because the balance has been shifted? Cool! Tell me more! Did they used to try to get along with the humans? Did they try diplomacy in the past only to fail due to the stubborn humans, and that's why they've decided to take drastic measures? Or if not, explore why they believe they're the ones allowed to decide the balance is off. Is it because they're powerful? Or how long they've been on Earth? Did they reset it in the past and thus know through experience? I don't mind not knowing, since not everything needs to be spelled out for the audience, but there was potential to make them characters rather than obstacles, and it wasn't really utilized to its full potential. Allow Douxie to pick their brains a little instead of immediately swapping him and Nari back and only succeeding in delaying things a few more hours. Hell, if it was a TV show I honestly would've had one or two episodes before doing that while we address how that initial failure (and the fact that magical creatures/aliens were revealed to the world) affected everyone.

Maybe I'll go through and like, actually plot out episodes and stuff, but since I only just finished watching, here's just some various things I'd change:

-Get rid of that whole Steve pregnancy. That was just out of place and rather than the "comedy" breaking the tension, it shattered it completely and distracted from everything. If you wanna explore his father-based character arc, maybe have him and Aja discussing the fact that now that she's queen, she'll need heirs. And maybe Steve isn't sure he could be a good dad due to his history with paternal figures. You could even have it that he's taking care of Nari while her and Douxie are switched, and that leads to a situation where he helps her out and realizes he may be a better dad than expected. Or perhaps Blinky gives him paternal advice. Or Strickler. Or even BARBARA AND JIM like, Steve couldn't be worse than Jim's dad, and letting Steve and Jim bond over that would be nice. There was so much potential, but instead, Steve was reduced to an out of place running gag instead of getting a resolution to his character arc. And hey, if you wanna keep the whole male akiridions give birth thing that's cool, but it's gotta be done in moments where it won't distract. Or, you could even have it be that it means Aja and Steve need to adopt because uh... she's inorganic and he's organic? His body likely isn't actually built for akiridion childbirth despite the movie glossing over this fact? And maybe Steve has mixed feelings about someone else being the dad of his kids, but Coach and him talk about how Coach isn't his biological dad, but that doesn't mean he loves Steve any less.

-GIVE DOUXIE MORE SCREEN TIME! Seriously, had this been a show he would have the most potential for character growth out of everyone. His series was the shortest, so really all he got was a confidence boost and moving past needing Merlin's approval. But there was so much to explore with him still. What was up with that extreme burst of magic after Merlin's death that was never brought up again? How has he been mentally handling singlehandedly guarding Nari against the Arcane order for a year? Once he and Nari switch back, does he feel guilt over not being able to protect her? "Merlin wouldn't have failed like that. He kept her safe for thousands of years, I lasted a little over one". Perhaps, in his constant desire to prove himself to the people he cares about, he takes risky moves to try and save Nari again and make up for his mistakes, similar to how Jim was acting in the movie. Eventually, when he and Nari meet up again when trying to break her controlled state, Douxie is apologizing and talking about how he wants to make things right. He sees Nari as a friend; as family, just as much as Archie, and he doesn't want to lose her like he lost Merlin. He doesn't want to lose anyone else (which would make Archie getting stuck in the other Trollmarket, and Nari's sacrifice even more painful later on if that still happened).

-Krel, Eli and Stewart also needed more time. I get it was a movie, so time was short, but still. Krel's entire thing is that he grew to see Earth as his true home, and we didn't get to address the fact that he was immediately at risk of losing it at all. Not to mention the sheer amount of stuff he'd built for everyone. Like, could you imagine an episode where, to break up the tension (in a proper way, not a weird pregnancy way), in the midst of everyone trying to figure out how to stop the titans, Krel has overworked himself fixing and managing everyone's tech. He has to spend a day resting and disasters ensue as no one knows how to fix any of the stuff he usually manages. Like the tech keeping Camelot afloat, for example. Stewart and Eli could be the ones that end up stepping up to fill the Krel sized gap for the day.

-And I know that these fillers would lower the tension a bit, but like, having the titans need to charge up after awakening (like, absorbing elemental energy or something), or perhaps making the Arcane Order have to collect certain things to break the seals in the first place that they had on their fortress but lost when that was destroyed , or any other kinda obstacle to give time between the train fight and the Titans waking up would give time for less plot-heavy, more character focused episodes. And even after the titans wake up, they were moving super slowly and walking across the planet. It's not like they'd be short on time despite the movie making it seem like walking from china to america was a short jog at most.

-Don't give Toby the amulet. Don't get me wrong, I love Toby very much and literally bawled out loud at his sacrifice scene. But like, it made no sense to give him the amulet? Jim doing everything again with years of Trollhunter experience would help solve a lot of problems from his first go around (and I'm not fully on board with the whole time reset in the first place. Resetting to the start of the movie, or even just the fight with Bellroc would be better). Jim knows the burdens of being a trollhunter first hand, and you really think he'd be okay dumping all that on Tobes? Toby, the guy completely content with being the wingman and helping the people he cares about. Toby, the guy who never worried about not having a grand destiny up until the movie. The guy who in his biggest dreams was a Duke, not a king. I think Toby was well aware of how important moral support is and wouldn't see it as a lame superpower. But even if he did, in a tv show they could explore that in a way where he comes to learn just how much that moral support does for his friends. And if you still want his moment of glorious sacrifice (because I count that as one of the well done moments), then do that! But rather than going back in time to save everyone, make it so they sacrifice the stone to turn back time a bit. Risk their victory to try saving Toby. Have them fight Bellroc together instead of it being just Jim, because it's trollhunters, not trollhunter. It always has been, always will.

-And if you're like "But if they don't go back then Strickler and Nomura stay dead!" Then how about they don't kill them for shock factor in the first place? Have Strickler badly injured instead, because by god Barbara deserves some happiness. And think of the potential scene of her treating his wounds, and the two of them think about how things have changed since that visit to trollmarket when they were both hurt. About how Strickler stuck around, and when Barbara thought she'd lost him it scared her. How she's sick of almost losing everyone she cares about. She could talk a bit about Jim's dad then too, and it could be revealed that Jim was outside because he was going to check on them, but stopped when he realized they were talking. And then later on, he asks about his dad, admitting he overheard, and we get that conversation they had in the movie. And if you keep the Nomura sacrifice, give her more of a moment ffs. Like, she deserved better! Have the death be a sacrifice to save someone else instead of just "oops I got caught and I'm in the sun now". Make it deliberate. Make it her decision after a life of serving others. Finally, she got to be the one in control of her fate, and she chose to protect the people she cared about.

There's so much more I could say about this and the potential that was killed by the lack of time, but this is getting long and I should probably try actually doing the work I need to do today.

Edit (Because this just popped in my head and I need to add it).

THEY WERE LITERALLY AROUND THE ROUND TABLE! THE NINTH CONFIGURATION (which like, screw that there are more than 9 heroes here to save the day) WERE THE NEW KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. They were there to protect the world, and like... did the bond between Lancelot and Steve just not exist anymore? Did that get timeline erased too? Could you imagine Steve fighting to protect the world, doing his best to protect the people he cared about so that he never loses someone like he lost Lance again? He gets to keep his promise to carry on the legacy of the Knights even after they died. THE POTENTIAL WAS THERE!!! THE SET UP WAS THERE!!! BUT NO! WE GET MPREG STEVE INSTEAD!!

[starcookiechu]

ROTT Review

SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE. You have been warned.

FYI: I just finished the movie. So my opinions may change a bit but here I am writing a full review.

Before I talk about the movie, I have to say this movie has fantastic animation. The music is as good as usual.

Ok now the story. Let’s start with the our Trollhunters.

Fair Lady Claire. My girlie Claire really brought her all into this. I’m really proud of the young woman she has grown up into. However for the sake of the plot and story they make her run out of magic juice quite a bit. But my girl is still the best and gives it her all.

Wingman Domzalski. I will be perfectly honest. Toby is kind of the annoying best friend at times and bothers me as a plus size person. (They really push the over eating thing to the point that it’s his biggest factor.) Toby is a very eager kid who is ready to get in the action. Never being negative to his friend but the best emotional support who will always be at his side. Sure Toby was used a bit as comedic relief in the movie but when push comes to shove, Toby will always be there to do the right thing.

Blinky is amazing as always. One of the best father figures out there.

Aarrrgh was there. Was great for the scenes he was in, but all together didn’t do much that altered the story.

Our Trollhunter, Jim Lake Jr. Someone I admire and basically see as my little brother/child. Kiddo really did it. I know everyone is upset that Jim’s arc was redone when we had the “Unbecoming” episode. If I could come to a peaceful middle ground, I saw we all need to blame Merlin. He really rocked Jim’s world and self worth. When the creator of the object you need to save the world with tells you “You’re not enough”, it really can be a great setback. But once we past that, Jim really pulled through. Amulet or not, he is our Trollhunter.

Mommy Dr. Lake was there. Barbara was mostly there for our emotions.

Dilf Strickler. I felt that he was changed a bit since we last saw him, but he had a new purpose. He was more cautious and happy because he had a chance at a happy life with Barbara. Which makes what happens to him more upsetting. 

Nomura my sweet. This movie did not deserve you. At least she was with Draal.

And Not-Enrique (seriously why didn’t they ever give him an actual name) just wasn’t in the movie.

How about some CreepSlayers?

BABY ELI PEPPERJACK CAME BACK LOOKING SO CUTE. So proud.

Bumbling knight oaf Steve the Palchuckian was great as usual.

I will say though. The whole pregnancy plot was just a way to get Eli and Steve out of the way. I could feel that the writers maybe didn’t like Steve so much since Wizards. But Steve was once again someone to laugh at. Pregnant and out of the way.

How about some Akiridions?

Aja my darling girl, oh how you’ve grown. I understand some think she has changed. However I must say that her preparing a plan B on the side was smart. She isn’t just a princess on earth anymore. She is a queen on a distant planet. So if she thought evacuation was best, it would ensure that everyone would live. And avoid losing more valuable people from her life. So no, I can’t blame her.

DJ Kleb was there. He was kinda doin his own thing and messing with Steve. Brother-in-law stuff.

It was good to see Varvatos Vex.

Stu was the man in the background working on the busy important things like working on the amulet. Personally I feel like the series REALLY underutilizes Stu A LOT so I was so happy to see him being a part of something huge.

And finally some Wizards.

Douxie my love, you were amazing as usual. His powers have grown greatly and have contributed to the adventure. But god the writers really do love to take everything away from him don’t they. It’s unfair.

Archie was kinda just there and just... I understand leaving Douxie but that doesn’t mean I like it.

Nari the sweetest. I can only imagine the guilt she felt to end Nomura. Her self sacrifice was probably the one in the movie most called for.

Alright now I’ll talk about the movie.

I can whole heartedly say this movie was rushed. To be honest I feel like the original writers weren’t completely in this. At least it felt kind of not so much Trollhunters or 3Below vibes but more Wizards, if that makes sense whatsoever. Something is off.

I just want to blame Merlin for everything. To hell with that guy.

The beginning sequence was great. A car chase to a moving train. Which ends up with Toby of course screwing up and breaking the brakes. Of course. The train falling off the tracks which ultimately ends up with Nari gone. Oh yeah, and video recordings of Magic, trolls and being taken in by the police. Great.

WHY TF WAS TOBY TELLING THEIR STORY TO THE POLICE. YOU DON’T MIX THE POLICE IN STORIES UNLESS YOU KNOW THE COP PERSONALLY. CUZ IT’S A MESS AND THE POLICE GET IN THE WAY. GDI TOBY.

Our heroes go back to base on the new and improved Camelot. Where we discover that Barbara and Strickler are now engaged. Happy news and would secure that Jim has another Father figure in his life and his mother’s happiness. Which explains Strickler’s “stay behind” advice. Now he has a family to watch over. He must be careful and warns that Jim’s actions could cost so much that he might not be able to afford.

Enters our Majesty Aja and the new stud on the block, Eli. Dang I wish puberty hit me like that.Truck-kun strikes again. And also enters... the pregnancy thing. I will say, I didn’t mind it too much... at first. But there are complications. Steve is too young to be a father and dang 7 kisses?? I can’t help but feel like Aja should have mentioned that or it was a last minute plan to write out Steve and Eli. (Which it was.) It was funny sure cuz omegaverse and ALIENS but all together it’s really iffy.

They really had Douxie preform a body-swap spell only so it would be undone. And undoing the spell only hurt them both?? C’mon. C’mon.

And they mention the Krohnisfere. We’ll get back to it. Jim gets a brand new amulet infused with Akaridion tech. However theres an issue. It was created by Merlin right? Who is a wizard right? Who uses MAGIC. Shame Douxie wasn’t there to help make it. Ya know. 1/2 of the original creator of the AMULET. So it’s missing a huge part and for the sake of the plot, Jim doesn’t test the Amulet which is out of character personally.

Toby makes a silly big deal over a penny. I was actually hoping they would make it a silly Chekhov's gun later on. But no, it’s just Toby being loud and comedic relief.

The titans are released and we visit a very pregnant Steve. Ok so it’s a rushed kind of thing. ok.

Aja suggests evacuation. You can say it’s out of character but we need context. When Aja helped in the Doomsday Battle, she was ensured a way out but if she let the people of Arcadia perish. She decided to stay and help. But now the Trollhunter himself can’t help. So to ensure the survival of everyone, evacuation. A best chance for everyone to survive. Plus she is now a Queen. She rules over a whole planet which must change her thinking.

Now our characters are split into 3 teams:

Blinky, Archie, Archie’s dad and Claire for the Krohnisfere.

Jim, Aja, Toby, Strickler and Barbara for the Glacial Titan.

Nomura, Douxie and Aarrgh for the Earth Titan.

Now here is where I have problems. WHY. DID. THEY. SEND. TROLLS. TO. BRAZIL. IN. THE. DAY. Nomura dying was just so out of pocket. Unnecessary. I couldn’t even grieve properly I didn’t have a chance to process. The best thought I could think was “At least she’s with Draal now.” 10 seconds later, Strickler makes the choice to sacrifice himself. Because of Jim’s heroic’s, Strickler decided to try to save the most important people in his life. The person who was always dishonest finally had a chance to live a happy life with his family. The one who played it safe now had to make the final impulsive move. And unfortunately, his death was in vain. These deaths were just so forced. It wasn’t in any way good. And Strickler being one of the best written characters just going in such a way was just off. He died for nothing. He could have turned back and fought another battle but... no.

(BTW Barbara was just there... for Strickler’s death.)

We move to Babara and Jim having a heart to heart. I’m glad she didn’t blame Jim but a small moment of anger. Something a little more real for me but no I guess. Barbara will always just be Jim’s mom. She mention’s Jim’s father and it passed so quickly I missed it on my initial viewing. I’m happy that Jim’s father is never revealed or made a bigger part in his story. This is good representation for those of us who did have our fathers walk out on us. That we can grow despite our parents failing us.

And finally team Krohnisfere. Archie just leaves. He’s gone. Poor Douxie. A mentor and now his closest companion.

Our heroes meet up to go against the Volcanic Titan. In comes Varvatos Vex on a Gun Robot. Nice to see some good ol Gundam with a character mentioned throughout the entire trilogy. However it doesn’t last. BTW for the sake of survival, Aja leaves Jim and Toby. Iffy.

Douxie pulls a “Jason stop. This isn’t you.” thing with Nari and is reunited with his friend.(+ points for the shippers. It’s kinda winning me over?) Also, Claire now has the power to teleport a Titan. I know she’s much stronger than she was for the Trollhunters Sn 2 finale, but cmon. You can’t just say she’s out of magic juice and then pull this. C’mon.

(btw did the titan make a War of the Worlds tripod sound? No? Just me?)

Nari sacrifices herself and takes the other god with her. Which takes away Douxie’s other companion. Mr. Stark I don’t feel so good. Why does this movie hate Douxie so much. (I am so sorry shippers. Angst.)

BLINKY DIDN’T SEE A PAGE? ADDRESSING IT IN THE SHOW DOESN’T GIVE YOU A PASS. I forgot the word but this irony isn’t greatttt.

Jim now has to pull out the legendary sword Excalibur. But he can’t cuz he hasn’t harnessed the power of friendship.

And Steve is giving birth. At the worst time. What is this a zombie movie??? C’mon.

Jim says “Magic is friendship” And Stu is finally being used for one grand act. Seriously Stu is just so unappreciated. So he fixes the amulet with magic.

Basically everyone who went on top of the Volcanic titan falls off at some point. Except Jim cuz of course some 1v1. 

ONCE AGAIN Claire is out of magic juice. Because... reasons.

Toby makes the choice to race to Jim’s side with the technology to cancel out magic. (Wait how does science stop magic again)

BTW, For the Good of all doesn’t hit as well BUT it’s not mentioning any glory towards stinky Merlin so I am happy with the change.

JIM HAS A NEW TRANSFORMATION. MY BOY. MY SON. I’M SO PROUD.

Toby races to Jim and his helmet falls off the taco truck. That honestly should have been a huge warning sign. I was worried he didn’t have armor but we know how this goes.

Jim defeats the final titan and everyone is happy. The fight is finally over.

STEVE HAS 7 KIDS. OUCH. 

Seeing Jim run to Toby was heartbreaking. Now this is the one scene where the movie really let out actually process a character’s death. How on earth can you process your best friend, your most faithful companion dying. Jim goes through too much I swear to god.

Now let’s discuss the time travel plot. I honestly feel like they pulled some kind of Attack on Titan ending. The main character burdened with knowing the future and what could have been. And if everything is meant to be how it will be, destiny will reconnect them again. (Jlaire reincarnation AU???)

I’m actually ok with this ending. I understand people would want the time stone to return only a few minutes. But even then, the kiddos still have police records, so many people dead at the titan’s hands (or feet) and now the world knows about the existence of trolls thanks to the internet. In New York no less. And people are still dead.

We return the the beginning of everything, reflecting the “Unbecoming” episode.

(NGL I’m bothered that they didn’t do anything to stop Steve from bullying Eli, but Jim can’t do it. He’s saving it for Toby.)

And now finally, let’s discuss Toby becoming the Trollhunter. From the beginning, Toby never considered himself good enough to be the main star. Always the wingman, the 2nd best. Support. Now it was Toby’s turn to climb the ranks and be the Hero he’s always wanted to be. It’s Jim’s turn to live an easier high school life. I don’t doubt that he won’t follow Toby. But now he knows what to avoid and how to make the story process more smoothly.

I understand some are unsatisfied with this ending, which is kinda trademarked with Dreamwork’s shows. I get it. But honestly as of right now, I think I like the ending.

The amulet didn’t choose Jim because this Jim is not the same Jim as in Sn 1 Ep 1. He is a new man. And I think we all can agree that it’s his turn to be happy.

---

I still love this series so much. It is my favorite cartoon. Of course it has it’s flaws, but this ending is at least satisfactory and not heartbreaking. Now it’s up to us to either continue the story or contribute our ideas in fanfiction. I look forward to everyone’s creations.

Don’t think. Become.

[bular]

Welcome to Live Commentary

I had no one to talk to while watching the movie and I hate being alone with my thoughts so I wrote everything down in my notes app. It's not coherent! Enjoy!

Aw yeah 1.5 seconds of Bular that is all I needed! Might as well stop now I've seen my boy I'm satisfied.

Why is there a nearly 4 minute recap as if I haven't watched the show at least 50 times. I should be the one giving the recap.

The beginning felt a bit forced to me but maybe that's just me? Like they just tried to squeeze too many things into a small timeframe without any buildup, it just didn't really work. Congrats on the engagement! This is my OTP so I'm very happy! But it came out of nowhere.

Nari in Douxies body is so wrong and I love it and hate it at the same time (positive)

Eli is BIG. I knew he was gonna be tall but I was not prepared for that chiseled face. Or the fact that he stepped off the ship without glasses? I wear glasses and I would not choose to step off a spaceship blind.

OkAY who had mpreg on their bingo card?

AAARRRGGHH actually said a full sentence 🥺 there is no heterosexual explanation for this scene and I'm here for it

Arcadia being the center of the universe really does make a lot of sense. I hate how much sense it makes. Despise it.

Strickler in a Christmas sweater is something i didn't know I needed. Jim's jacket too but that's just adorable, Jim's adorable. Oh sweet baby you're about to get fucked over so bad.

Love seeing Barbara actively participating in battle too. Good for her! Power family!!

Where are the kids tho? Is NotEnrique babysitting? Either that or they hired the girl from the Incredibles movie.

Nomura is so talented I love seeing her fighting on the good side. I can't explain it but I love digitigrade legs they're just so pretty?? Aesthetically pleasing??? Fuck yeah, legg! I could watch Nomura run around and be badass all day.

WAIT NO OH SHIT HOW DARE YOU FUCK

STRICKLER DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE NOT YOU TOO THAT'S TOO FUCKING RUDE DON'T DO THIS TO ME

THERE'S NO WAY HE'S DEAD RIGHT WE SAW NO BODY

Barbara does not deserve this I refuse to accept it. He's fine he'll be back they wouldn't kill two Changelings at once. Also Nomura is with Draal now I take no criticism.

So my favorite characters were Bular, Draal, Gunmar and Angor. And before this movie I always half-joked that everyone I love dies, how I still like Strickler and Nomura but apart from them all of my faves were killed in the very order of favoritism. AND NOW LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I LOVE A CHARACTER. MY LOVE IS TOXIC.

OKAY I LOVE GUN RO- WAIT NO I DON'T LOVE HIM FUCK ABORT ABORT

It's great tho omg

I didn't realize it was Gun Robot when I saw it in the trailer this is amazing

Okay but imagine you're chilling in your trollmarket minding your own business when some misfit group of strangers waltzes in, steals your favorite shiny and celebrates your death before running off

"I AM GUN ROBOT" IS THE HORN LMAOOO

Nana better show up at some point to reunite with her boytoy, I'll cancel this entire franchise otherwise

Something bad is going to happen to Toby isn't it. He's getting too much screentime

Jim's hand got DEEP FRIED

ARCHIE NO

We can play Scrabble okay if they don't free them (which they must) I want an after credits scene of them playing scrabble

Douxie and Nari's bond 🥺🥺🥺

Nari pls just say what you fuckin mean the world is ending

Oh god is she going to remember killing Nomura oh nooo

Claire don't make the portal you will die again. Your hair gon be white all over

EVERYONE AVOIDING THE SCHOOL JUST RIGHT THERE LMAO RIP

I love how Darci is just with the school bus. Civilian girlfriend. But also love how the world is ending and Coach is like "fuck that I'm gonna teach these kids"

Does he know his son is pregnant

"Going back to the city where it's safe" buddy have you been to that city

Whatever happens, Nari has the coolest looking titan. Giant four legged gremlin. I'd adopt him.

WAIT SHE CAN FEEL THE PAIN?

Me: oh i love that titan

The titan 5 seconds later:

Did Nari just fucking die what the FUCK

Oh of COURSE the pages are stuck together RIGHT THERE

Seriously tho how do you not notice an entire nougat nummy in a book

Wait so Arcadia has another heartstone? Or OH SO IT'S ALIVE. OKAY GREAT. GUNMAR COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT HUH

Love how the Heartstone has been dormant/dead for months and apparently heard Blinky say it's alive and decided to wake up RIGHT THEN

Finally they're evacuating the city. This is like, the third apocalypse there. About time.

Okay so you can't pull Excalibur from the rock, but you CAN carve out the stone. Couldn't you just carve it off the sword as close as possible and like. Use that? Just swing the whole damn rock around?

God i can NOT get over Steve's pants. I mean I read a spoiler he was gonna be pregnant but I thought it was a prank or shitpost. I did not see this coming and I am never going to be over it. I love how he and Aja just roll with it and nobody else even cares. They've seen weirder stuff. So he's pregnant now. Whatever.

Jim's hand is bandaged and his ribs still hurt. I love that they're actually consistent with his injuries. I mean sucks for him but hell yeah for hero that doesn't always win!

Okayyy here comes the heartstone. Why not!

IS HE IN LABOR

So if you kiss an Akiridion 7 times you will have 3-5 babies in a few hours. How are they not overpopulated?? Also Aja couldn't have WARNED STEVE BEFOREHAND?

Eli is so supportive omfg

So uh where are the babies gonna come out of? I'm not into mpreg how does this usually work

OH STEVE THANKS FOR ASKING MY QUESTION

Oh good thing he happens to have 8 friends still alive. Otherwise this would've never worked. Nomura had to die otherwise there would've been 10 of them.

Why is everyone bowing to Jim? Did they rehearse this?

Stuart if you hadn't taken a bathroom break you would've thrown off the math and doomed the world. That was a poop of fate my man

Ahhh the signature quote. Where did Douxie and the Akiridions learn it? Did they rehearse this too? It's really cliché but I do like it tbh

If Strickler were dead we'd see more Barbara right?

WOOO BLINKY DRIVING

Ah Jim just used she/her for Bellroc! Finally we're learning some pronouns. I've been wondering this whole time.

MY VIRGIN EYES. WHAT IS GOING O N

How are they not dying with all this lava?

She really just yeeted Varvatos

Did Claire just tell AAARRRGGHH to jump off the titan and he did it without question

I want to say I like Stuart and want him to have more screentime, but I won't say it because I don't want him to die

Jim's poor ribs

Toby can drive yoooo

Tobyyy you're scaring meeeee

So did they really need the different stone or was the amulet just waiting for Jim to choose death over giving up

I saw the armor before but it looks VERY COOL

Also I didn't mention this before but I love that they cut Merlin's name from the incantation. Good for them.

Toby you lost your helmet noooo

For real tho I'm terrified for Toby rn. I saw a comment somewhere earlier that just said "Toby no" with no context and I am AFRAID

So do Bellroc's eyes work after all? I thought she was blinded back in Wizards in the past.

DID SHE JUST FUCKING STAB MY BOY

TOBY YOU SHOULD NOT BE THERE GET OUT THE TRUCK

Bellroc maybe screaming "i'm powerless" in front of your enemy isn't the best idea

She sploosh

DID JIM SURVIVE THAT FALL AND ALSO IS THE TACO TRUCK OKAY

How is he lifting Claire like that buddy you have bruised ribs and just got stabbed

ELI HI CAN WE SEE THE KIDS

SEVEN KIDS! AND ELI JR I LOVE IT

This show really loves to give people more than the recommended amount of babies with no warning huh

She immediately knows which one is Eli Jr 🥺 okay listen I'm not the biggest fan of comic relief sideplot surprise babies, but I have to admit they're cute. Cute couple. Throuple. Eli is in on this. He even has a Junior.

I TOLD YOU WHERE'S THE DAMN TACO TRUCK NANA WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU AND NEITHER WILL I

Oh yea he better fuckin be alive I will commit murder

HE BETTER FUCKIN BE ALIVE BITCH

FUCK YOU

THAT'S A WHOLE ASS CHILD HE ISN'T ALLOWED TO DIE IT'S ILLEGAL

JIM IS GONNA LOOK DOWN AT THE GREEN GLOWING BITCH AAARRRGGHH CONVENIENTLY THREW THERE AND SEE HIM ALIVE OR SOMETHING

YEAH USE THE SWORD TO UNDEAD HIM! THAT'S HOW YOU USE SWORDS!

Unbecoming Part 2

So is Jim just gonna Groundhog Day it until everyone is fine? There's only 13 minutes left we're gonna need a bigger movie

Also I screamed so much about everyone's death and now everyone reading this after they already saw the whole thing is gonna shame me for clowning huh

The scene where Blinky is giving his goodbye speech, there are no babies and Steve has a round belly? Did he reabsorb them?? I mean I know Jim is about to un-birth them but he hasn't started yet

JUST HOW FAR BACK IS HE PLANNING TO GO

WAIT HOLD UP EXCUSE ME WHAT

Oh they did NOT just do that. I though he was just gonna go back to like, the start of the movie maybe. Not all the way

Imagine being in your early twenties with as much trauma as this kid has and having to pretend you're 16 again

Somewhere Unkar is complaining because "oh sure NOW it's a good idea"

I know Jim is wondering where Toby is because he was there before. But before, he made an entire meatloaf AND did his homework before leaving the house, so honey maybe wait a minute

For a second I thought Toby wasn't gonna be there and Jim would return to the right time. But there he is!

Alright so they're in school now, did they take the canal and just didn't mention the amulet on screen or did they pass it as if the Unbecoming episode hadn't been that traumatizing? Jim you know what happens when you ignore it

Jim maybe you're being too obvious here lmao

Soooo. Anyway. These whole past years I've rewatched this show over and over and over again are cancelled now?

OKAY AT LEAST WE SAW NANA FOR A SPLIT SECOND THAT'S IRONIC TIMING

So we get the quote again. And Trollhunter Tobias is nice. Cool. Cool AU I mean, but I don't know. I don't knowwww. I've been way too invested in everything to just accept that it never happened?? So uh. Hm. How about this.

Strickler survived because fuck you, and Toby also survived and just has scars now. Maybe a wheelchair but he's fine, also he can use the Warhammer for super speed and make it awesome once he's used to it. Archie and Charlie get freed once they rebuild the bridge (and they were playing scrabble to pass the time). Nomura is still dead because she died on screen and I can't really deny that but she's with Draal so it's okay. Everyone is traumatized but they'll be fine. NotEnrique is still babysitting 500 babies and Steve is about to bring 7 more.

In summary, I reject Groundhog Day ending but everything else was great, as long as it actually happened. It was a good movie. But you can't just cancel years of passion. Having the prospect of a million "canon AUs" sounds great for writing but at the same time nooo you can't do that he didn't have to go back THAT far HHHHH

I liked the movie. It was a great watch and a satisfying end to a franchise, but I gotta say I do not fancy the ending of it so I will from now on be in denial. I honestly feel kind of betrayed that this show was my whole life for so long, I learned every smallest fact, and they basically deleted it from existence. I know what they were going for, I think, but no thank you I will be going with my own opinion. Still gonna rewatch it a few dozen times though ✌🏻

And that concludes my live commentary that was supposed to be a small handful of notes. Feel free to shame me for my opinions. See ya!

[legendary-defender-of-fandoms]

Rise of the Titans Spoilers - A Reset is NOT a Happily Ever After

So, I don’t want to go TOO far into spoilers for Trollhunters - Rise of the Titans, but I DO want to talk about the problematic elements of the ending. So there will be SOME spoilers. Bail now to remain unspoiled.

Still here? Ok.

So, after some “shenanigans,” Jim finds a way to go back. Like, ALL the way back. Back to that fateful morning when Kanjigar the Courageous was voiced by Loki & felled himself to keep the Amulet out of Bular’s hands. And while this does have the benefit of bringing back everyone we’ve lost along the way (Draal, Vendel, Mr. Meow Meow P.I., etc.), there are some issues.

1) EVERYONE is back! Not just the good guys, but the bad guys, too. Bular, Gunmar, that Changeling working as a dental hygienist with Toby’s dentist, EVERYONE. And they’re all back to planning the Nexus events we’ve seen before (rebuilding Kilahead Bridge, the Eternal Night, etc.). So Team Trollhunters has to deal with them ALL OVER AGAIN, but now Jim knows what happened on the Sacred Timeline & can tell AAARRRGGHH!!! to dodge to the left when Angor Rot starts swinging his Creeping Sun dagger.

2) Everyone but Jim is back to Square One. Not just in terms of combat skills & power levels, but also in terms of character development. Take Draal, for example. He’s back, but he’s not “Protector of Jim Lake & Bar-Bru-Ah” Draal, he’s “Son of Kanjigar, Hubristic Hater of Fleshbags” Draal. And it took a few key events (namely getting his ass kicked & life spared by Jim) for Draal to swallow his pride & become the loyal lancer that was underutilized until his untimely demise in Merlin’s Tomb. There are tons of characters who were inspired by Jim’s mercy to become better people with lynchpin roles in various apocalypses, all now reset to throwing kids in lockers or stealing shit from Troll Market. Which wouldn’t be TOO bad, if Jim was still the Trollhunter, ready & willing to rewrite his Save file & sit through all the cut scenes for a perfect play through. But that’s the thing.

3) JIM IS NO LONGER THE TROLLHUNTER. Yeah, he leaves Kanjigar’s amulet in the Canals for Toby to find while Jim goes off to be Romeo to Claire’s Juliet again. I believe the intention by the writers was for Jim to thank Tobes for being his sidekick on the last adventure by letting him take the lead this time around, but it comes across as a huge dick move for Jim to subject his BEST FRIEND to all the stress, heartache, and life threatening danger that made Jim’s own life a nightmare. It’s not like when Steve Rogers gave Sam Wilson the shield to be the new Captain America, protecting the world from unknown threats for a new generation - Jim knows EXACTLY what dangers await Toby if he chooses to answer the Call, and the Amulet won’t leave him until he dies. Not to mention how it throws off everyone’s dynamics. No more Blinky & Master Jim, now it’ll be Blinky & Master Tobias. Strickler won’t have the same qualms about killing Toby as he did when his nemesis was his favorite student & son of his possible love interest. Who knows if AAARRRGGHH!!! and Toby will still be Wingmen. And I haven’t even touched on the collateral damage with the Akiridions!

[hauntedfoxinternet]

This is my first Trollhunters Tales of Arcadia post. I hope this is good.

Chapter 1 The start of a Adventure

I woke up to birds singing in the tree next to my window and the sun was peeking over the horizon. I got up and changed into a white cardigan with a black shirt under it and some light blue jeans then I tied my long brown hair with silver white strips in a ponytail. It was a stressfull day and we would be going to look for the staff of Avalon. I got my bag packed last night but I made sure I had everything I needed. I had some snacks, my phone, some other missolaneous things I would need. I then made a breakfast burrito and headed out of my home and set off on my rollerblades to Jim's house.

When she got there

I reached Jim's house and his mom met me at the door. “Jim honey you didn’t tell me more people were coming” She called out with a hint of worry in her tone. “Oh Bella, you're here!” He said as he came to the door. ”Well, come on in.” He says as he lets me in.“Thanks.” I said to him in a thankful tone. “Alright guys let's get going!”Toby called out as Claire raised her shadow staff and created a portal.

“You guys ready.” Claire smriks.

“Yup, let’s do this.”

“Let's get our friend back.”Jim announced. The portal landed us in a rocky forest area.

“Stay alert gunmar could be anywhere.” Jim reminded us.

“Where are we?” Claire questioned, being met with no answer she sighed. A rat scampered across the floor directing our attention to AAARRRGGHH.

“Wingman!” Toby cried and ran up to him.

“Toby stop, don't move!” I said as I realized what was around AAARRRGGHH.

Blinky then grabbed him by the bag.

“A stasis trap! That’s….” Toby gasped.

“The work of anger rot. And he’s upgraded it!" Blinky finished.

“Um, those are dwarkstones. If we deactivate the stasis, this place is gonna blow.” Claire noted.

“AAARRRGGHH my friend the’ve, used you as bait to kill us all” blinky lamented. “We gotta get him out of there!” Toby cried.

“No, wingman. You leave.” AAARRRGGHH murmured.

“No, we’re not giving up!” Toby exclaimed.

“Guys I got an idea.” Jim stated. “Ok toby drop the hammer, we drop into the room below.”

“The warhammer’s power and weight might be enough to override the stasis trap. Or it’ll fail, Toby will disintegrate into nothingness and we’ll die with the explosion.” Blinky explained.

“Cool beans.” Toby sarcastically muttered.

“Even if it works, what if we drop into something worse?” Claire argued.

“Then this? I’ll take my chances. Tobes are you ready?" Jim replied.

“Ready to possibly kill us all and die in failure? Yeah. for AAARRRGGHH!!!!” Toby charged and jumped, his landing force on the hammer crashing it into the floor, but falling to make a hole.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Toby squeaked. The floor caved in as the dwarkstones went off, saving us from death.

“Is everyone all right?” Jim assured.

“Wingman!” Toby and AAARRRGGHH hugged.

“What is this place?” Blinky mused.

“Smells old.” AAARRRGGHH observed.

“Looks old too, it looks like something from the 12th century.” I said then muttered the last part.

“Remarkable. An old gyre.” Blinky quietly exclaimed.

“Why would there be a gyre here?” Jim questioned.

“It doesn’t even have controls, how does it work?” I mused with a hint of mysteriousness behind it.

‘I think I know where this goes to.’ I think as I look down the way it is facing all tho I couldn't see all that much as I was srouded with fog and shadows.

“Master Jim, your amulet!” Blinky gasped. Jim took it off and attempted to place it in the slot but it was too large.

“It won’t fit.” Blinky exclaimed.

“No, but the blue stone inside will.” Jim sighed. “Claire, it’s what you saw in your visions. If I break the amulet, it will lead us to Merlin's tomb.” He set his amulet down on a flat rock and grabbed Toby's war hammer.

“Master Jim, are you sure you want to do this? The amulet is your sacred obligation.” Blinky tried reasoning with him. It didn’t look like Jim was caring right at the moment.

“I know.” Jim said flatly. ‘I knew it.’ I thought.

“If you destroy the amulet, it is forever.” blinky continued.

“I think he gets it….” I whispered to Claire.

“Forever and ever. I get it!” Jim groaned.

“I see what you mean….” Claire responded in a whisper.

“Just making certain.” Blinky explained.

“Thank you.” jim sighed. “If we wanna catch up with gunmar and angor rot, we have to find the tomb.”

“And the staff.” claire added.

“For the glory of merlin.” Jim whispered as he walked over to the amulet, raised the hammer and let it crash down with an echoing crash, a blinding light flooding from underneath it.

“No turning back now.” Jim stated before placing the glowing blue stone into the slot. A luminous map erupted around the stone.

“Wow it’s the map Claire, you were right I knew you weren't lying.” I exclaimed in a sort of calm manner. The gyre then lit up with an electric blue glow and powered on.

“If this is fate, I really hope we’re not destined to die.” Toby hesitated, his voice filled with a little bit of fear and worry. “Only one way to find out!” Claire screamed as we were launched forward.

“Hate gyre.” AAARRRGGHH stated when we all got out. Toby was trying his best not to throw up everywhere as we trudged along. I on the other hand was completely fine for the most part. The dizzy's I felt lasted like a minute then it went away.

“Whoa, a hidden entrance.” Jim exclaimed in awe. I just stared at it with eyes of recognition.

“Yeah, but to where?” Claire mused.

“Gunmar must have come through here.” Jim muttered. Toby yelped as his war hammer suddenly became way heavier.

“Why no war hammer magic?” He pouted.

“No magic here. It appears this hallowed tomb is warded against sorcery.” blinky observed.

“My shadow staff doesn’t work either.” Claire grunted. She then walked up to a nearby wall. “These claw marks look fresh.”

“Hmm. yes, yes. As if…a struggle.” blinky replied. Toby then yelped as he tripped over a chain.

“Draal?” AAARRRGGHH gasped.

“Draal is free?” blinky hopefully exclaimed.

“If there’s no magic here, maybe Gunmar’s hold on him wore off." Jim assumed. “Then we’re not just here for the staff. We can save Draal!”

Inside Merlin's tomb was a small dark room. It was very old and covered in spider webs but I didn't question it because spiders can get about anywhere you can think of. Everything was very run down and old and the scent of dust and moss was strong in the air, a smell I know all too well. From past experiences but thats a story for another day. I smiled as I remembered what happened that day.

At the very end of the room was the exit. Although it was impossible to reach without magic.

“No way we can climb that.” Jim sighed.

‘I mean I could probably climb that wall but that would not be fair to the others.’ I thought as I looked at the exit.

“There must be some apparatus we can use. A ladder, perhaps.” Blinky mused.

“Ugh! What is this? A tomb for merlins extra junk?" Toby recoiled in disgust at the dead fish before him. I could see how he reacted and I just chuckled because I was used to the smell of rotting fish.‘Something I wish I could forget…..’ i thought.

Toby grunted as he stumbled onto a secret tile. The lights in the room lit up and everything was brand new, almost as if it had never been left.

“Wh-What was that?” Claire cried.

“By gorgus! Tobias, press that stone again!” blinky exclaimed. Toby a bit Sceptical, he still obeyed anyway. Once again the room was anew.

“Awesome sauce. This feels super weird.” Toby mumbled.

“Wait. the switch makes everything new.” Claire gasped curiously.

“Or it’s somehow jumping to the past. That’s crazy, though. Right?” Jim thought aloud.

“You’re onto something,master Jim. We do seem somehow flung into the past. Or, at least, the room has. By the wear patterns on the rocks, i’d say this is hundreds of years ago” Blinky beamed as toby took his foot back off the tile and started messing around with it, like a child turning a light on and off. While he was doing that I was chuckling.

“Tobias…tobias!” Blinky scolded. Toby muttered an apology and dumped a small sack onto the tile to keep it in place. When it hit the ground, seeds erupted from the open hole. Claire kneeled down to inspect them. “Those seeds look to be seeds from a rainforest.” I mused looking at one of the seeds.

“Seeds. I know how to get out!” Claire exclaimed. She grabbed a small pot and carried it over to the exit, placing a single seed inside its soil. “Okay. Toby, take the bag off the tile.”

As he did so, the room came back to our present and the small seed burst into a large, vine-like tree creating a path to freedom.

“Let’s climb.” AAARRRGGHH smiled.

“Claire, you're a genius!” Jim beamed.

“Go job claire.” I said to her in a proud tone.

“Good work claire! ‘And hey, good job Toby, for finding that bag of seeds’. ” Toby imitated.

“Yeah. good job, everyone.” Claire chuckled. The room above was darker than the previous.

“Wish we had a light.” Toby grunted, tripping over a few rocks.

“Oh, wait. Ugh, I hate it when my parents are right” Claire groaned as she took her flashlight out of her bag. She illuminated the wall, uncovering drawings carved into stone. They told the story and history of Merlin and Morgana's fight.

"Nice…." I said in a calm tone tho it came out as tho it was a half truth wall.

“This appears to be a depiction of history. A timeline.” Blinky explained.

“The staff of Avalon.” Jim looked in awe at the depictions above him.

“Merlin’s most powerful relic. He built it to channel the arcane energies of the universe itself.” He continued. I decided to look at the beginning of the timeline. I saw a drawing of 3 people standing around something in the photo and the part that is right next to it was a picture of the 3 of them in a line. The thing is I knew who they were and it saddened me greatly to see them again. I had a look of longing in my eye what I didn’t know was claire was looking at me.

“Hey you okay….” Claire asked.

“Huh, oh yeah i'm fine” I said as I flinched a little.

“Oh well we found something over here.” She said as we walked back to the gang.

“Whoa! Check this out! Freaky. This looks just like us.” Toby said as me and Claire walked over to a carving where Toby was at. He was looking at a drawing of all of us in the exact position we are in now.

“Whoa! That's us. Here.” Claire looked on in wonder.

“Impossible! The timeline appears to continue beyond the present.” blinky faltered.

“No, no it can’t be” Jim murmured worriedly.

“Forgot how gross this guy is.” Toby laughed upon seeing Angor Rot, carved looming above us.

“Wait…if that drawing is us now then…” I trailed off.

“We meet again, trollhunter” Angor Rot growled. AAARRRGGHH jumped in to protect us.

“Run!” Claire screeched.

“Run for your life!” Blinky yelled. We ran fast, but Angor decided he was too good for running, and began to crawl along the walls like a hungry spider. Or just a really angry cockroach.

“Over here!” blinky yelled again, directing us to an exit. Angor managed to grab hold of Jim, but thanks to AAARRRGGHH’s brute strength, the ceiling caved in, trapping Angor Rot and letting Jim escape.

Toby laughed at his misfortune, before he himself tripped on an object lodged into the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was an arm.

“Draal.” Jim heaved. He yanked the arm out of the ground, only to find it was actually a hole, leading to the next exit, surrounded by rapid moving blades of rock and crystal.

“It’s a dead end.” Claire cried. Angor Rot broke out of his rocky prison and started to head towards us.

“Plan! Plan! Plan! Anyone? We need a plan!” Toby panicked.

“Draal’s arm. Gunmar must have used it to halt the blades.” Blinky suggested.

“Here goes something!” Jim plunged the arm into the blades, stopping their movement enough to pass through without becoming cut up like french fries.

“I’ll kill you!” Angor Rot charged at us, but we had already gotten through and yanked the arm out of the blades, restoring them to their rapid spinning.

“Jim!” Toby cried out as he started slipping off the crystal we had landed on. AAARRRGGHH began to run after him but in a flash of instinct I jumped and grabbed Toby and got out a dagger from my pocket that was white. I dug it into the side of the gem we were next to.

“AAARRRGGHH!” I yelled at him. Right after I said that AAARRRGGHH pulled us up.

“Oh wow, thank you so much Isabella!” Toby said to me as he hugged my side as I put the dagger away.”No problem tobes.” I said as he let go. “oh, Nana was right. Gonna need those extra undies.” Toby groaned.

“By deya’s grace. It appears we’re in the innermost sanctum. The heart of merlin’s tomb." Blinky murmured.

“If this is the heart, I bet Merlin's staff is somewhere close. Draal can’t be far.Look for the staff, I'll get him back.” Jim instructed. “There’s only one way to go. Down.” Blinky imparted.

We all started to go down the crystals. I held my dagger out in my hand in case I slipped. I went with Claire so in case of anything we could be salf. Though So far nothing but sparkling blue crystal. Although the star-like shimmers in the crystal were almost magical, it wasn't the staff. A rumble came from beneath me. Jim had found the staff. Now me and Claire had to get out of here without getting killed.

“Claire grab my hand so if one of us slips the other can pull the other up.” I said as I held my hand out. “All right let's get to the others." She said in a confident tone. As we got to the others Blinky cried. “ Were too late. Gunmar has the staff!” We all watched with horror and sadness in our eyes as Draal threw himself in front of Angor Rot to protect Jim. It was something I had seen many times with others and everytime it broke my heart to see it again.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

If you were to write a version of Wizards without time travel but still keeping the struggle against the Arcane Order how would you do it?

This is pretty much a combination of plans I have for the cagemates au as well as the backstory of this fic I wrote pre-Wizards. This is very self-indulgent and I doubt it makes sense but oh well.

Okay, so the story starts the exact same way, with the single change of how I’m going to be using my revised backstory for Douxie (aka there was forwards-only time travel and he’s only 17 as opposed to 900-ish). Also, Jim hasn’t been sharded yet.

I think the story would involve a teleporting castle as the kids’ home base, with them effectively going on fetch quests. There are scenes of the kids bonding with minimal adult supervision (just Archie, Merlin, Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH!!!). And, that includes the following private conversation between Jim and Douxie:

Jim: You know, you’re actually pretty cool when you’re not flirting with my girlfriend

Douxie: Uh, thanks, but I never flirted

Jim: Yes you did

Douxie: No I didn’t

Jim: Yes you did

Douxie, in a lower volume and nervous: Jim, if I wanted to cause you and Claire to break up, and I wanted to get a significant other for myself in the process... I wouldn’t have flirted with her.

Jim: Oh? Oh! Okay, that’s cool. I support you. Uh, does anyone else in this castle no?

Douxie: Just Archie.

Jim: Okay, cool, I won’t tell anyone.

(The rest is going beneath a cut because this is getting long)

Back in Arcadia, after Merlin teleports the castle away for the first time in the story, Bellroc and Skrael grumble and travel the mostly-empty streets of Arcadia Oaks. And they find Gaylen’s core. Eons ago, they gave a fraction of their power to an akiridion who wanted to create a permanent home for his people, spacefarers who were constantly having to leave their planets due to war and inhospitable landscapes. And when he went mad with power, they gave Seklos the strength and inspiration to create her cannon.

They pick up the core, and they learn of an akiridion whose core resonates with Gaylen’s. And, it’s not like they would have to leave the Earth to find him - they just have to go to a wrecked and ruined spaceship to find a lonely boy whose family is dead or far away, and his best friend has left him. He tries calling his other friends, but they’re not responding (mainly because they’re recovering from the battle that Krel doesn’t know about.)

Krel’s consent to Bellroc and Skrael causing him to integrate with Gaylen’s core is dubious at best, but they do convince him that Merlin the Evil™ Wizard (along with his apprentice) has kidnapped his friends.

Steve and Toby try to reach out to Krel, but he doesn’t answer. He needs time, they think. He’s grieving and wants space, they think. In the mean time, some of the mooks they have to fight have some disturbingly akiridion qualities. And then, the kids get kidnapped. Everyone but Douxie gets placed in a surprisingly well-furnished cell, and Krel goes to them and tells them how happy he is that he was able to save them from Merlin and his apprentice. The kids, of course, can see that Krel has been changed and are scared.

Krel is sad that his friends are scared of him (and he doesn’t like that he’s been changed by Gaylen’s core, either) and so he decides to leave them so he can go to try and interrogate Merlin’s apprentice. Tries is the key word here. Varvatos may have tried to teach Krel, but Krel is too squeamish to cut off Douxie’s thumbs and thus the two of them end up bantering. Krel gets flustered; why does he like talking with his enemy so much? Krel tries to intimidate Douxie by putting the tip of his serrator’s blade under Douxie’s chin and using it to tilt Douxie’s gaze upwards... instead they both manage to get more flustered because it’s a homoerotic sword-under-chin scene now. Krel leaves the room, and finds out that his friends have broken out.

Claire ends up awakening stronger shadow magic, and she and Krel spam portals at each other as the kids try to find Douxie and escape. Someone asks Douxie if he’s okay. He claims to be physically fine and emotionally compromised. Jim finally gets sharded in the escape. He’s in a great deal of pain, and Barbara finally gets brought in. She’s terrified because her baby is hurt and she can’t do anything for him.

The other kids ask Douxie about the whole emotional compromise thing when they’re safe.

Toby: Just because Krel was our friend before you, that doesn’t mean it’s okay that he hurt you. Are you sure you’re okay.

Douxie: If he’d hurt me it’d be easier.

Everyone: o_O what?

Douxie: I... why is it that the only time I’m able to talk to a cute guy and not get too flustered to speak is when he’s trying to interrogate me by being really sweet and funny?

Everyone: O_o

Toby: You really weren’t flirting with Claire, were you?

Douxie, relieved that Jim didn’t out him but also frustrated: Why does everyone think that.

Claire: I didn’t think that. Well, I did for a little bit but then I remembered seeing you at the GSA meetings back before I switched schools from the Academy to the High

Douxie, grumbling: Why do I get the feeling that I wouldn’t be in this mess if I had just managed to try to talk to that cute DJ at the Battle of the Bands before the Eternal Night happened

Steve: Quick question, are you saying you had a crush on DJ Kleb?

Douxie, head in his hands: Yes

Steve: Yeah, that’s Krel’s human disguise

Douxie: Fuzzbuckets.

Toby: If it’s any help we all thought you were the token cishet.

Krel is panicking, because the Order was fine with hurting his friends, and also because he has a crush though he’s in denial about the latter.

Jim ends up looking way more like he did in the Deep (except he still has horns) than just growing into a giant beast.

Douxie gets a staff. Somehow.

Krel defects at around the same time as Jim joins the Order. He’s able to make up surprisingly easily with his friends, and Aja and Eli come back to Earth, shocked to find out what has been done to Krel but affirming that they still care about him the way they did before.

Merlin’s death is more-or-less like canon.

Morgana remains evil in her dying breath. Claire gets to kill her. “Oh happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rest and let me finally start to live again.”

Barbara, Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!!!, and Toby snap Jim out of the shard’s corruption.

Nari sacrifices herself to destroy Bellroc and Skrael, which would make Wizards the end of the story rather than needing Rise of the Titans.

Cut to an epilogue where Eli is complaining about how Krel is dating a guy from their rival school while Aja is laughing in the background, Steve is hanging out with Coach Lawrence and talking about teaching sports to kids after school, Douxie is training Claire in magic, Toby helping Miss Janeth direct a play involving Shannon, Conrad, Darci, and Mary, and Jim (still a half troll) is building a new motorcycle so he can be prepared for whatever next adventure is lying in wait for their sleepy little town of Arcadia Oaks.

[daydream-believin]

Recipe For Disaster 2: Electric Boogaloo

Summary: Jim is NOT happy about his sister’s boyfie. (not a part two despite the confusing name)

Warnings: swearing, a gilmore girls reference, divorce kids got daddy issues

Word Count: 5560, my longest yet woohoo

A/N: here it is im finally done with this. i- im tired. i love jim he was my favorite until doux came along but he can be a little bitch boy sometimes. and the word of the day is giggle im so sorry

tags: @alovesongshewrote​ hope i can deliver now that you have expectations lmao

It was a good Saturday. The trollhunters trio had gotten an early start on training, and thus Blinky had released them for an early lunch. It was a particularly successful day, with Claire really getting the hang of the shadow staff, so they decided to not make poor Jim cook for once and go out for a treat. And Toby really wanted a sandwich from Benoit’s.

They opted to walk to downtown instead of biking, as a way to cool down. Plus, it would give them time to digest their food on the walk back, before they returned to training once again. Although that was more of a problem for Jim and Toby, since Blinky wanted Claire to start reading a certain book this afternoon. She’d be in the library, quietly sitting while the boys go back to running around and fighting. The spring flowers had just started returning to Arcadia Oaks. The flowerbeds that decorated town added a cheery air to the day. Happily, Jim ran up in front to kick a pebble as they came up towards the bistro around the corner. He stopped in his tracks.

“Is Y/n’s boss flirting with her?”

The other two teens came around Jim to see. Y/n laughed at Douxie’s dumb joke and put her hand on his shoulder.

“And is she flirting back?” Jim asked incredulously.

Claire didn’t take this the same way Jim did. “Aww, that’s so cute.”

“No it’s not. It’s weird. And wrong.” Jim asserted.

“What are you talking about,” Claire lowered her brows with an annoyed tone.

“No, no. he’s right. Y/n doesn’t flirt. Or date. I’m not even sure she crushes.”

Claire shook her head, “That can’t be true, TP. She’s like, old. You two just didn’t notice it.”

“Oh, no, we noticed it. She went to every school dance alone, even senior prom.” Toby added. “It was kind of sad to be honest.”

“Remember that time that big movie star came into town? He was the prettiest guy I’d ever seen, and Y/n was just like ‘eh he’s okay, I guess’. We literally had a fight over that one.” Jim chuckled.

“I literally can’t imagine Y/n in a relationship. She’s just too all over the place.”

Claire rolled her eyes and gestured her hands towards the scene in front of them. “Well, she seems to be doing just fine now.”

Jim didn’t know why, but this made him a little huffy. “Whatever. It’s just a crush, anyways. She’ll get over it soon enough.”

Douxie leaned over to give Y/n a quick peck goodbye before he headed into Mr. Benoit’s to start his shift. He had swapped shifts with one of his coworkers for the day, so he could have the evening off. Y/n headed back to the bookstore. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she left, smiling to herself. The three trollhunters still stood right where they were, staring.

“I don’t think it’s just a crush, Jimbo.”

Jim was outraged. How. How was this happening. He could understand her not telling her family, their mother could be a bit nosy sometimes when it came to her daughter’s personal affairs. But his sister had often said she didn’t have enough time to pursue a love life whenever their mother probed her. There was no way she just started having said time. Right? It was curious, too, that out of all the people she could have chosen in Arcadia, she chose Douchey. That guy had girls fawning over him wherever he went. There was no way Y/n was into that.

Come to think of it, Y/n had been acting really strange ever since she had gotten that job at the bookstore. It was so easy to make her laugh now. She was actually wearing her hair in different styles instead of her signature. She actually enjoyed Barbara’s cooking. Or at least complimented it a lot now. Still a baffling action nonetheless. It was if she was experiencing the side effects of something. And that bookstore reeked of magic. Magic had the power to drive people out of their minds. He’d had plenty of first-hand experience with that. This whole situation was fishy.

“Well, I think it’s so cute they’re together now.” Claire said cheerily. He loved her but she wasn’t exactly the best when it came to making judgement calls. Hell, the fact that she was dating him after all he’s put her through was enough proof of that.

“Well, I think its magic.” Jim deadpanned.

“What.” Claire snapped.

“He’s got a spell on her! Some sort of enchantment. A charm!”

Toby was too tired from training today to deal with this. “I’ll agree, he does have charm, have you had him as a waiter? But not the kind of charm you’re implying here, Jim.”

“Douxie is my magic teacher, Jim. I promise, he’s a really nice guy.”

“Nope. There’s no way my sister would be into a guy, let alone a guy like,” He tried to find the right words but just sputtered, “Like that!” he motioned to poor Doux, who was changing the specials sign out front. Douxie was one of those bistro employees who always got asked to draw up the sign because his calligraphy was so good. Doux had to admit, his handwriting was messy compared to Merlin’s standards, but to Mr. Benoit’s he was a calligraphy god.

Toby looked Doux up and down. “I don’t know man, Y/n is kind of alternative.”

“Yeah, who do you think helps me dye my hair all the time? And sneaks me into concerts?” Claire added.

“Okay. I get that. But he’s just not good enough for her.” Jim said through gritted teeth.

Toby sighed. “Then who is?” he asked wearily.

Jim got defensive. “I don’t know! A prince, maybe. One that’s in line to be king. Not one of those waiting-for-a-brother-to-die ones, but a real one.” He nodded his head like any of that was realistic. “Definitely not just some wizard who works in a bookstore.”

“She’s just some wizard who works in a bookstore, though.”

There was no getting through to Jim. “Think about it guys, my sister, suddenly getting cozy with a magic man? Bushigal. She’s under a spell. I’m going to fight him.”

“No, no you’re not,” Claire asserted, “You’re going to have lunch like we planned AND you’re going to be civil.” Claire and Toby both grabbed one of his arms and dragged him towards the bistro.

***

The hostess guided them to the table. Claire sat across from Jim and Toby. They were handed the menus. Claire showed interest in the lunch specials while Toby flipped to the sandwiches. Jim just brooded while he stared unblinking into the first page. And by chance, and by the fact that this scene would be boring and or pointless if not, Douxie was the waiter for said table. After handing off the check to one of his other tables, he waltzed over to the trio, happy to see his protégé.

“Ello lads, how’s it going? How’d that test go today, Claire?” Douxie ruffled her hair. Jim narrowed his eyes at the sight.

“Horrible! I bombed it for sure!”

Toby rolled his eyes, “You say that about every test, Claire, and then it turns out you aced them.”

“No I mean it this time, TP. I didn’t even finish the last three questions. It was so bad!”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Douxie chuckled. Oh to have the problems of these youngsters. Claire and Toby got into some sort of glare match where they both just made more and more aggressive funny faces at each other. Both finally conceded and they fell into giggles. Douxie was glad to see Claire having so much fun, but he noticed someone else at the table who was not having said fun. His apprentice Claire’s boyfriend, his master’s champion, and his darling Y/n’s brother, looking like his dog ate his homework, or whatever teenagers got angry about these days.

“Cheer up, lad.” Doux grinned at Jim, “Hangry? I get that. You look like you could use a good meal.”

“Well strangely I am in a cafe”

Claire kicked Jim under the table. He tried his best to stifle the grunt of pain. “Don’t mind Jim, he’s a tad grumpy from a bad training session. And we’ll take waters all around.” She smiled. Doux hurried off to go get their glasses.

In the end, Toby couldn’t pick a sandwich. He had three favorites and couldn’t decide between them yet. Jim and Claire had his back. They both got one of them and he got the third. Then they would all share the halves. A good plan. And it was a delicious one. Toby was thankful for his partners.

***

After finishing up training and walking Claire home, Jim and Toby went their separate ways. Toby had promised his Nana he’d go with her and her boyfriend to see a play in the next town over. Jim had promised his mother he’d be home for a family dinner. He wasn’t able to be home in time to cook, so this was going to be a roulette wheel when it came to food. He was betting on Y/n. As he came to the front door, he cracked it first and smelled the air before going inside as to make sure his candid reaction wouldn’t be bad. The aroma coming from the house was heavenly. Alright, Y/n. Jackpot.

Jim swung the door open wide as he strutted in. Everyone was in the kitchen, it looked like. He put his bag up and called to his family that he was home. Which was met with the two voices he had expected, but one he hadn’t. And it was a voice he didn’t want to hear right now. Douxie. Hisirdoux fucking Casperan. In his house. In his kitchen. In his territory.

Jim immediately felt his muscles tense up. He took a deep breath and put on his best fake smile before heading into the kitchen. Y/n was sautéing something over the stove. Barbara was stirring something which meant that she had insisted on helping and Y/n had done the equivalent of giving your younger sibling a game controller that wasn’t plugged in. The offending wizard was leaning over the bar counter from the other side, chatting away as if he had any reason to be here.

Once Y/n caught sight of Jim, she bubbled. “Jim! How was hiking? You three have fun?” she knew where he actually spent his Saturdays but they had to keep up the rouse for their mom. While Y/n particularly didn’t care for the lying, she also agreed with Jim that some things are best kept from worrisome mothers. Barbara gave her enough shit already for her frequent homecomings from bars and shows in the wee hours of the morning with scrapes and bruises. If their mother knew about Jim’s marginally more dangerous late-night escapades, she might actually have a nervous breakdown.

“Oh yeah, it was great. We saw a deer. It had a baby with it.”

“Majestic.” She turned and gestured to the man at the counter, “You remember Douxie, right?”

“Of course,” Jim said through gritted teeth forced into a smile. “In fact we just saw each other at the bistro earlier today.”

A timer went off. Y/n expressed her delight that something in the oven was done. Barb got some plates out of the cabinet, while Y/n pulled the main course out of the oven. She handed Jim the plates and silverware and sent him to go set the table. Jim supposed this was better than having to talk to Douxie. Until Douxie insisted on helping him. Great.

“So, Jim, I’ve heard a lot about you-”

“I’m sure you have.” Jim cut him off. Douxie was a bit confused, but figured he was still grumpy like he was earlier at the bistro. He’d leave the moody teen alone then. Perhaps he be in a better mood after getting some food in him and spending time with his family. Doux would try for conversation again then.

Jim did not get any less grumpy, to Douxie’s dismay. And Y/n’s. Y/n really needed both her family members to like her boyfriend. They were all each other had, and any strife would put a strain on their tiny closely-knit family unit. Y/n loved Douxie, and she wanted Jim and Barbara to love him to. To accept him. It would help put a validity to her feelings. If they liked him then she had made the right choice. She could never be with someone her loved ones hated. And as a bonus, it would be nice if she could give Douxie the family he never had. He deserved as much.

Luckily, Barbara had taken quite a liking to Arcadia’s most charming waiter. Jim however, was subtly hostile. Or at least he thought he was being subtle. It was very apparent to the other three at the table. As Douxie was animatedly telling Barb some story that she was laughing very hard at, Y/n turned to glare at her brother. Jim tried to feign innocence. Y/n rolled her eyes and put some more salad on her plate. Jim noticed the bracelet on her wrist. Funny, she had never been one for jewelry before. But she started wearing this one everyday right around the time she started working at the bookstore. Interesting.

Douxie finished up his story and turned his attention to Jim. He’d try once again to engage the trollhunter. He knew how important this was to Y/n. Douxie was going to make this little man like him if it was the last thing he did.

“I saw the school play you were in a couple weeks ago, Jim. You were quite the actor, and I know Shakespeare’s tough. Have you ever thought of going into it professionally? Claire’s told me she wants to. You two could be one of those celebrity power couples.”

Jim just offered a short thanks that was less hostile but not exactly enthusiastic either. Well, at least Doux was getting somewhere. It’s a start. Y/n was content with this. Jim would warm up to Douxie eventually. It didn’t have to be right away, even if she would have liked that.

After the dinner conversation had died down and the food long gone, Y/n set out to clear the table and clean the kitchen. Barbara also went to help her, but Douxie assured her he’d take care of it. He was a world class waiter after all. He stacked up the plates as Y/n grabbed the dinner dishes. And so the two set off to the world behind the wall, to clean or canoodle or whatever. Jim wasn’t too keen on thinking about it. His mother pulled him into the living room to sit on the couch and preceded to ask him twenty questions about Claire. He was almost happy when the lovebirds came back.

And then his mother made them all play some card game for three hours straight. All while the lovebirds flirted away right in front of them. It was like they had no shame. This guy just had to have Y/n under a spell or something, Jim was sure of it. There was no other explanation. As she giggled at another one of Douxie’s stupid jokes that weren’t even funny, Jim felt sick.

Finally it came time for that douchebag to leave. Jim rolled his eyes at his mother and sister fawning over Doux as he made his way to the door. He slinked over behind them to watch the guy leave and make sure that he left. As Douxie went through the door he gave Y/n a quick peck and said the stupidest line Jim had ever heard. Who does this guy think he is. Once the door was shut and Doux had indeed walked away, Jim scoffed.

“Bet that guy has a bank of pickup lines he’s memorized. There’s no way he came up with that on the fly.”

***

Jim was furious. He fought like a madman during training. Draal was just making it worse by encouraging it; he really liked the kid’s fire today. Draal had no idea what was up with him right now, but Jim was giving it his all. The trollhunter was rarely this aggressive. Blinky looked on as Jim growled and shouted with every strike. He hadn’t seen his son frothing at the mouth like this before. It was glorious. Keep this up and Angor Rot won’t know what hit him.

Claire and Toby were also training, with Arrggh, albeit with not even half as much gusto as Jimbo. They were also a wee bit distracted, trying to wind Jim down from said gusto. He came over to where they were to get some water. Taking this opportunity, Toby tried appealing to him once again.

“Dude, give it a rest, this is just like how you got all pissy about your mom dating Strickler.” Toby was exasperated.

“Y/n can’t date guys, my mother can’t date guys, no men should be frequently invited into our household! No boys allowed! Me and Toby are the only boys allowed!” Jim growled. He stormed off across the keep to go land another hit on Draal.

Blinky blinked. He was taken aback at the hostility from his charge. “So, do either of you have any idea as to what that was about.”

“Right now the winning theory is that this is like, about how heartbroken his mother was when his dad left, so now he doesn’t want that to happen again or something,” Claire sighed. Her teacher really was a good guy. Lonely too. Just like Y/n. They were going to be good for each other. Her boyfriend should be happy for them. Jim took a particularly dirty swipe at Draal. Toby grunted in sympathy. “Or maybe Douxie just poked Arcadia’s most possessive bear.”

***

Jim and Toby were walking downtown, enjoying their free time after a trollhunting mission on this fine Sunday afternoon. That is, until they came in sight of the bookstore. Jim felt that bitter feeling in his stomach again. He knew Y/n wasn’t working today. Douchey would be all alone. Now was his chance to confront this and end it before it got any worse. Toby noticed the malice in his eyes as he stomped towards the bookstore.

“Woah dude, what’re you doing?”

“I’m just going to have a little chat with Mr. Casperan that’s all.”

Toby threw his head back in exasperation. ���There no talking you out of this is there?”

“Nope”

The bell jingled as they walked in. The bookshop smelled like Christmas. And Jim was about to try and talk politics with his racist uncle at the dinner table. Douxie came over and greeted them cheerily.

“Good afternoon, lads. Looking for any book in particular?”

“I’m not a part of this. I just happen to be with him physically.” Toby quickly asserted. Douxie quirked a brow at the odd statement. Jim pushed forward aggressively. Doux had the sense to back away from the boy.

“I’m onto you, wizard. Just what did you do to my sister? Did you slip her a love potion? Is that bracelet she’s been wearing charmed?” Jim growled. Toby cringed on the sidelines.

Douxie blinked. “Excuse me?”

“There’s no other explanation for your ‘relationship’. You’ve got to be magicking her. And I won’t just sit here and let it happen. That’s my sister and it’s my job to protect her from creeps like you.”

Douxie took in the boys words, and a deep breath. He tried his best not to sound too defensive and provoke the kid further, “Okay, wow. That’s quite an accusation there, friend.” He moved away from where the boy had backed him into a bookshelf. “You know, out of all that you just implied, the part I think I’m most offended by is the fact that you’d think I’d mess with Y/n’s free will like that.”

Douxie straightened some books on a nearby display. “You know Jim, when it comes to love-” Jim stormed out of the bookstore before Doux could take his lecture any further, grabbing Toby by the arm so he’d follow. Toby mouthed a big ‘I’m sorry’ to Doux as he was pulled out of the store.

***

Jim’s pencil felt abused. He was furiously scribbling the answers to his homework with a heavy hand. He still had a lot of pent up rage, even after accosting poor Doux. After snapping his lead for the seventh time in the hour, Jim decided that switching subjects to Spanish instead of math for a bit might help him calm down. He moved to his bed to start the assigned reading. He laid on his stomach, propping up his head in his hands to see his textbook. His blue eyes perused the paragraphs punctuated by cheesy cartoons. He was halfway through the third page when a knock came at his door. Taking a deep breath, he called for whoever it was to let themselves in. His sister stepped into view.

Jim ran a hand through his dark hair. Here comes the scolding. He didn’t even have to ask if Y/n had heard about what he’d done today. If Douxie himself hadn’t told her then Tobes certainly did. Jim wasn’t proud of it, now that it was all said and done. He knew he deserved whatever Y/n was about to dish out. He sat up and crisscrossed his legs. She pulled his desk chair over and sat backwards in it so that she was facing him on the bed.

That’s it. No scolding came. She just sat and looked at him, neutral faced. He squirmed at the nothing. She lifted up the coffee mug in her hands and took a slow sip, not breaking eye contact with him. Jim began to sweat. He tried to avoid her gaze by looking down at the floor, but he could still feel her eyes upon him. Sighing, he had to admit defeat.

“Okay, so I do feel bad about what I said to Douxie today.” He looked back up to meet Y/n’s eyes. She raised a brow. “It was wrong of me to jump to conclusions like that, I’m sorry.”

Y/n appeared to be satisfied by that. A smile spread across her face and she nodded to him. She stood up, and ruffled his hair on her way out. Still refusing to break her silence, she motioned for him to follow her downstairs.

***

Y/n set her coffee cup down on the table. She pulled another mug out of the cabinet for Jim. Grabbing the coffee pot from its nest under the coffeemaker, she filled Jim’s mug and topped off her own. Sliding the mug across the table to Jim, she sat down. Jim could smell the aromas of the several colorful dishes baking that he could see through the screen of the oven door. Strange, it was already half past nine. There was cinnamon in the air, so at least one of those dishes contained dessert. Jim’s stomach growled at the thought.

“You know I’m not the one you should have to apologize to, Jimbo.”

“I know, I know,” He looked at the ground, “I’ll go talk to him tomorrow after school.”

Silence filled the kitchen again. Y/n took a sip of coffee. This conversation was going to be hard. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She took yet another long sip of coffee to figure out a good enough way to word this. She took a breath.

“So, uh- listen Jimbo. I- I know it’s tough, ya know, with it just being us. And our family’s tight because of it. But you can’t get so protective that new people can’t join it. Or even try.”

Jim took a breath, “I know it’s just, I-, what happens when we, when you, get so attached to him, and he decides that he doesn’t care for you anymore. When he turns out to be bad. When he just disappears. Like- like they do.”

“Oh, Jim,” She reached across the table for his hand. “That’s my risk to take, Jim. I fully recognize that what I’m doing is hazardous and I could get hurt really bad. But I still chose to do it. I choose it every day. We all do, when we fall in love.”

Jim took a sip and lingered, staring into his cup. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” He chuckled, “I know I’d be devastated if Claire ever wizened up and left me.”

“Look, you gotta trust me okay? Douxie isn’t dad or Strickler. I promise. He’s kind. I trust him. After you apologize, I think you really should start to make an effort to get to know him. If not for me, for Claire dude. And I think you’ll really like him. Promise you’ll give him a chance?”

Jim sighed in defeat. “Alright. I promise.”

She stood up and stretched out her back, making those stretching noises that people do. She checked the food in the oven. The buns were ready, but the quiche still needed a few minutes. She took out the pans and put them on the cooling rack. After fanning them for a few seconds, she turned to Jim, “So you want a spinach bun or a cinnamon bun?”

“How is that a question?” Jim laughed.

“Spinach bun it is then,” She teased as she tossed him the cinnamon one.

“What’s all this for anyway?” He gestured to the oven and the buns.

“Oh, uh, its actually for a date tonight?” She looked warry of how he’d react.

“Okay,” He guessed now would be as good a time as ever to start letting this go, “You crazy kids have fun.” Y/n laughed, relived.

Douxie had just finished up the sweeping and was ready to close up. As he headed to towards the front doors, he took one last look around the place to make sure he didn’t miss anything. All clean and tidy. Whoever opened tomorrow would appreciate it. He flipped the neon sign from open to nope and started locking up. Which is when his girlfriend pounced on him and almost gave him a heart attack. She just appeared out of thin air to tackle him into a hug. Scared the living daylights out of him. Y/n apologized profusely when she noticed him freak out but was still snickering between sorries so she probably didn’t mean it. He asked her just what the hell she was doing here and she picked up a picnic basket that was on the ground to show him.

“I just knew a certain wizard hadn’t eaten yet tonight.”

***

Y/n felt the ground beneath her back through the picnic blanket. The new spring growth had made them a cushion of sorts. Her head rested in the crook of Douxie’s shoulder as his arm was wrapped around her. It was nice here. Comfy. She could smell his hair and feel his chest move as he breathed. Their heartbeats made a nice rhythm to accompany the cricket song and the noise of the trees swaying. The stars were so lovely tonight. Stellar.

Douxie broke the quiet. “So I brushed up on my astrology.”

“Oh yeah?” Y/n quirked her brow. Astrology was one of her biggest interests. She’d loved it since her grandmother had given her a book about it when she was small. It was a well-worn, well-loved book. Her grandmother had handwritten things in the margins too. She’d been talking Douxie’s ears off about it during work earlier that week. Something was just so fascinating about how there were gorgeous balls of light in the sky that could tell you the future. There really was magic embedded in the fabric of the universe. It was sweet that he would care enough to learn about her interests. Very sweet indeed. The fact that he went out of his way just so he could talk to her about something she loved? Tooth-rotting. She wasn’t sure if her heart sped up because she was excited to talk about astrology or because of the sugar rush he just gave her.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to look at constellations, we do have GPS now, but I think I remember enough,” He pointed to the sky, “That’s Pisces, right?”

“Yes!” Y/n couldn’t stop herself from smiling so wide her cheeks hurt.

“And that’s Aries, which marks the beginning of spring,” He looked back at Y/n who nodded to him, “oh, and look! We can see Venus tonight.”

“Hey Douxie, I love you. And You’re really making me want to kiss you right now.”

He chuckled and wiggled his eyes brows teasingly, “Ah, yes, I am aware of the effect I have.” She rolled her eyes and put her hand on his face to push him away. If he saw the blush creeping up on her, he’d just get flirtier. She wasn’t sure she could handle that. Something caught her eye and instantly stole her attention.

“Look! A shooting star! Make a wish Doux.” She pointed to the streak of light that flashed.

“I don’t need wishes when I’m here with you, Love.” If her face was pink before it was bright red now.

Y/n hid her face in her hands, “No! You were supposed to say something silly,” She came back up to look him in the eyes, “not something that makes me want to kiss you even more.”

He leaned his head in closer, “Well, what’s stopping you, Y/n”

Well, that was obviously a dare. She couldn’t not kiss him now. So she did. They melted into it instantly. At first it was sweet and slow, but they got a bit hungrier, and the kiss got a bit sloppier. Douxie smelled like the bookstore, Y/n loved the smell of the bookstore. It was everything safe in her life. He was everything safe in her life. Her best friend. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek. He loved how her lips just fit together with his perfectly. Y/n Lake was everything he’d been waiting for all these years. Soft and kind, with such a beautiful heart. Not to mention, a badass. Yet, even with all his ancient baggage, she still cared for him. Made him feel like new again. Out of all the wizards of Arcadia Oaks, she chose him. He still couldn’t believe it. They pulled apart way sooner than either of them wanted, but they did have to breathe, so it had to be done. Locked in Douxie’s gaze, Y/n broke the intensity to giggle.

“But really, I was setting you up for a joke. You know what you could have done with that, Doux?” She teased.

“I’ll remember that for next time, Love.”

“Ah, they’re super rare. This is the first time I’ve ever seen one in all my stargazing years.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of time to see the next one. And the next one. All the shooting stars you want. Only seeing them every few decades could make them a special little thing for us.” He said so nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just implied that he expected their love to last for countless decades. As if it were a given. Suddenly it hit her. She could live thousands of years by his side. She would live thousands of years by his side. This was it. She wasn’t even sure humans could turn this vivid a shade of red. Y/n’s heart was gonna pop if it beat any harder.

“Stars, are you just hellbent on making me combust tonight? It too hot out here for this.” Douxie just laughed, a twinkle in his eye. She focused on her beloved stars to calm her down. She sighed, “The stars really are beautiful tonight.”

“You know what else is beautiful?”

“Me?”

“You- aww, you’ve heard that one.”

Y/n’s snort rung in the air. So, he does just have a bank of pick-up lines he’s pulling from. Interesting. Guess it must be tough having to be Arcadia’s most charming waiter. They stilled again. The comfortable silence embraced them. And they could have basked in it all night, if Douxie had not a burning question he had been waiting to ask his beloved.

“So- uh,” She looked to him expectedly, “Do you think there’s life out there?”

Y/n tried not to laugh too hard with Douxie’s very serious tone, “Yeah, yeah I do.”

Now it was Douxie’s turn to smile so wide his cheeks hurt. “Really?”

“Yeah,” She said, “I think it’d be kinda arrogant to assume that with all that vastness up there that we’re the only ones who exist.”

“That’s a really good point.” Douxie said excitedly. He pulled her tighter into his embrace and snuggled. “I think I’m going to use that on Zoe next time she tries to tell me that I’m crazy and aliens aren’t real.”

“Yeah Babe! Win that argument!” Y/n encouraged.

She peppered his face with kisses. That big smile stayed on his face as he closed his eyes in delight. He repaid her with a nose kiss. And she repaid that by starting another snogging session.

***

Little did they know that shoot star was really aliens akiriddion spaceship crash 3below wait shit the akiriddions landed in like season two and ive set this in one ugh just pretend like this makes sense hfhadhiufs

[fantasy2739]

Hi! Fic request for Douxie and his parents? Is he orphan? Was he abandoned? What do you think? (It could be based in the 21 century as a memory or in the 12, your choice) I read the others, they’re very good!

Sorry this took a while, but I’ve written it. You got flashback! Thank you for reading the others I’m glad you like them.

I went with abandoned Douxie because I think it’s more. Angst.

Here it is, a bit long:

After everything that had happened, Douxie wasn’t allowed to just take Nari and fly away. Claire insisted that at the very least he rest and pack for the journey. Douxie had tried to argue but was shot down by everyone reminding him he had technically just died and could barely walk five feet. Ha agreed, only to stop their pestering. They went to the Lake house, Krel steering the ship, while Steve had to help Douxie walk. Jim took a deep breath before knocking. Strickler answered, looking ready to stab anything that moved. Douxie could understand that, given the recent alien invasion and even more recent ship falling from the sky. Strickler stares at the now re-fleshed Jim in shock.

“Barbara!” He called, before sweepings his gaze over the rest of them. “You’d better come in.” They stumbled into the house. A loud crash told Douxie that Krel had found somewhere to park. The blue boy came hurrying in.

“Sorry I’m still trying to get the hang of it.” He said sheepishly. Steve lowered Douxie onto the sofa, where he flopped uselessly, while Nari hopped around to sniff everything.

“Oh Jim.” Barbara said weakly, having just arrived at the foot of the stairs. She pulled Jim into a tight hug and Jim was hugging her back just as hard. She pulled away and stroked her son’s face. “It’s good to see you.”

“And no longer troll either.” Jim said. Barbara smiled but shook her head.

“I wouldn’t care what form you came in.” She said. “I’m just happy to see you.”

“I’ve been calling and texting.” Jim defended.

“It’s not the same.” Barbara said, finally seeming to notice everyone else. “Walt, call the other parents. You can tell us everything when they arrive. I’ll look you all over.” She greeted Toby and Claire with a hug and Blinky and Aaargh got smiles. “Who’s the worst?” Several eyes fell on Douxie, making him duck his head. Barbara day next to him after grabbing the first aid kit.

“Good to see you again, Dr. Lake.” Douxie greeted, flashing his most charming smile.

“Douxie right? From the cafe?” She asked and he nodded, trying not to jostle his injuries too much. She was frowning as she checked him over. “You’re badly injured.”

“He fell.” Tony answered the unasked question for him. Claire rolled her eyes.

“Yeah only a few thousand feet.”

“From that height you should be...” Barbara trailed off.

“Dead.” Douxie supplied. “Decided I didn’t like it so I came back. Wizard.” He added.

“A wizard? Like Merlin?” Barbara said coldly. Everyone cringed while Douxie tried not to sob.

“Sort of. I’m no where near as powerful.” Douxie managed.

“I dunno Teach. You manage okay.” Claire said with a warm smile. Archie cleared his throat.

“Douxie was Merlin’s apprentice, now he’s a master wizard in his own right.” Archie nuzzled Douxie. “Merlin died recently to protect us.” Barbara blinked at the talking cat but gripped Douxie’s hands.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” She said, letting them lap into silence.

When the other parents arrived, Nana, Claire’s parents and Coach Lawrence, the kids launched into the story. Douxie didn’t say much except for his fight with Bellroc and Skrael, which he tried to downplay. The adults were hugging their children, leaving Douxie feeling... lonely. He felt a pang of longing. They were all so close and he was just an intruder. No one noticed him slipping into the back garden. Everything hurt. Not just physically. The toll of losing his mentor, his keepsakes. Of dying. It was hitting him hard. He wanted so badly for someone to hold him. At 919 he shouldn’t need parental comfort but he did. And Merlin had been the closest thing to a parent he’d ever known. He wasn’t the best but he’d at least tried. He’d been a scrawny ten when his magic had shown up properly, leaving his parents to only look at him with distaste.

Douxie didn’t want to keep carrying his father’s cloths. He wanted to go and play.

“On the bench Hisirdoux.” His father told him absently, trying to find a dropped stitch. “There’s more by the door.”

“Can I go play after?” He asked.

“No. There’s more work to do.” Douxie tried not to pout. He wanted to go and explore. He’d felt something the last time he’d been out exploring. Something different. Exciting. Freeing. Not that he’d tell anyone. He wasn’t stupid, different was bad. Douxie scrunched up his nose at the next batch of cloth. He wished it would just fly to wherever. That would be quicker. He didn’t expect it to actually start floating, encased in a lovely sky blue.

“What the!” His father yelled, startled by the sudden floating cloths. “Stop that. You... you... stop that right now.” Douxie didn’t know how to. He didn’t understand why his father was so angry. The floating cloths weren’t hurting anyone. His mother came in.

“Is everything...” She trailed off at the sight of levitating clothing. “He... he has magic?” Douxie blinked at his mother, trying to see if she was angry. She didn’t seem angry. Just cold.

“What are we going to do with him?” His father asked, low and panicked. His mother seemed to mull it over, giving her son the coldest look he’d ever seen.

“He’ll have to go.” She said eventually. Douxie’s eyes widened.

“Mother?” He asked uncertainly.

“Don’t!” She snapped. “You... you have magic. You’re dangerous. You’ll put us in danger.”

“No I won’t!” Douxie exclaimed. “I won’t Mother.” She shook her head, muttering.

“Abomination of my flesh. Evil sullying my own blood. We’ll be killed for harbouring a mage.”

“Leave.” His father said. “Pack up and leave or we’ll call the guards.” At that Douxie squeaked. He knew what the guards were like. They got mad if you played in the wrong part of town. He’d be thrown in some dark dungeon. He ran to his room and grabbed what little he could fit in a bag. His mother shoved him out the back door.

“Don’t come back.” She warned, ignoring the tears in her only sons eyes. “You are no longer my child.”

“Douxie?” Jim called, waving a hand in front of his face. Douxie jumped back.

“Sorry mate. A million miles away.” He said, flopping onto a rock. “Something wrong?”

“I could ask you the same question.” Jim said, sitting next to him. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Douxie insisted. Jim raised an eyebrow and damn those blue eyes. “Just thinking about my parents.” Jim frowned before looking back to his house with dawning realisation.

“I’m sure they’d be proud of you.” He said. Douxie managed not to snort.

“Doubt it.” He muttered. Jim’s frown deepened and Douxie knew he’d have to explain. “When my magic turned up. Well you saw Camelot. People aren’t fond of it. So they sent me away.” Sent away sounded so much better than kicked out.

“They didn’t have magic?” Jim asked. He must have thought it was hereditary. “Maybe they just wanted you to be with someone who knew about magic.” Douxie didn’t reply, staring at the night sky intently.

“Go back inside Jim.” Douxie said, managing to sound his 900 years. “Your mother has missed you.” Jim stood up, giving Douxie a squeeze on the shoulder before heading in. Douxie felt a tear fall. He tried not to hate that there would be no more pats from Merlin. No hugs, pride, telling him how well he’d done. In the dark, Douxie wept.

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 3

Douxie x fem reader

Chapter 1

Masterlist in bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim's older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures. Chapter 3 summary: Your first magic lesson with Vendel leads you to a certain book store. A/n: This is a really long chapter. I wanted to combine two episodes together and I had quite a few scene ideas and I wrote it so they went together and then suddenly I realized I got to 3k, so have fun. I hope y’all like it. Enjoy!

“Have some fun on your field trip today, okay Jim,” you said, giving your brother a quick hug, something you were beginning to do more often.

   “You too, have fun during your magic lesson and don’t forget to enjoy your day off either.”

   “I will,” you responded as you began walking down the sidewalk towards the canal.

   It wasn’t too far of a walk and you were down the crystal stairs and on your way to the Heartstone in no time.

   “Ms. Lake, welcome,” Vendel greeted as he turned to you.

   “Hi Vendel,” you responded, taking your seat next to a pile of books. You had begun your lessons the day after you arrived in Trollmarket and by now it was a routine. Vendel would finish whatever he was working on while you read a book and practiced your trollish. You were picking it up quickly, unlike your brother, but you understood that he was busier.

   You focused on the pile and you felt your magic begin stir inside you. You focused a little harder and your hands began to glow orange and seconds later so did the books. You waved your hands and the books floated into the air, forming a line. You began to read the covers to try and find one that interested you and you settled on the fourth book.

   “I see you’ve been practicing,” Vendel said. From his work table as you opened the old, worn book.

   “Practice makes perfect,” you replied as you began to read. You were halfway through the book—which was on the history of the troll-gnome relationship—when Vendel finished his work.

   “So, what am I learning today?” You asked, bookmarking your page and giving your full attention to your teacher.

   “I do not know much about Wizard magic, troll magic is different and I am running out of things I can teach you,” he paused to think and you waited patiently. “Hmm, I could teach you a few healing spells.”

   “I’m ready.”

~~~~

“You’re beginning to master the basics, and your training with your brother is beginning to show,” Vendel praised as you were able to recite all the incantations back to him. While levitating. Upside down.

“Thank you,” you beamed, settling back down to the floor.

“Your welcome.”

You said goodbye and made your way out of Trollmarket to enjoy the rest of your day. Enjoying the rest of your day would feature possibly visiting Douxie’s bookstore and reading the trollish books you had borrowed. It may not seem like the most thrilling of things to do, but you were excited.

You entered the bookshop and a bell tolled your arrival. You glanced around at the quaint store, it radiated a sort of peaceful and relaxing energy. You could definitely see yourself coming back and spending a lot of time there.

You wandered amongst the shelves looking at the books. Many of them looked old and you wondered if you might find something on magic. You were desperate for more knowledge and Vendel didn't exactly have books on your type of magic. For the time being you were stuck making troll spells work for you.

None of the books in the store seemed to be calling you so you made your way over to the staircase. Maybe there would be something for you on the second floor.

As you turned and got your view of the second floor, you also got a view of a cat. Said cat just so happened to be wearing glasses.

    "What in the world?" You mumbled, staring at the cat who was staring right back at you. It meowed, breaking eye contact and began to lick one of his paws.

You continued to stand there, frozen in confusion.

"Ah, Y/n. Hi,"  a certain English-accented boy said, breaking you out of your thoughts.

    "Um, hi Douxie," you said, turning your focus to him. He seemed to notice your confusion and he looked around, his eyes landing on the cat.

"Oh, that's where my glasses went. I've been looking all over for them!" He laughed a nervous sounding laugh and took the glasses from the cat. Putting them on he said, “Anyways, how may I help you?”

   You stood there, not saying anything for a few seconds longer. Douxie wearing glasses was an interesting sight and you had to admit he looked kinda cute.

   “Um, I’m looking for old books,” you stated lamely. You didn’t really know what else to say. You weren’t really looking for any books in particular and you weren’t exactly expecting to find a book with magic, you were just hoping.

   “Right this way.” Douxie motioned for you to follow him and he walked past you, rather slowly, down the stairs. He went to turn and rammed into the banister, almost falling down the rest of the stairs.

   “Douxie!” You rushed down the remaining stairs to help him up.

   “Thanks,” he said as you helped him up.

   “Are you sure those glasses help you see?” You jokingly asked.

   He chuckled nervously and continued to lead you to a shelf. “These may interest you.”

   You walked up to the shelf crammed with old books. You began to read the titles on the sides, occasionally pulling out a book that caught your interest, but so far none of them were really calling to you.

   You were so involved in your search you forgot that Douxie was still there.

   “Here, what about this one?” He asked, handing you an ancient looking book. While none of the other books called to you, this one did.

   You opened it up and began to leaf through it. The pages were filled with magic spells and they even looked like it was your type of magic. You flipped to the front of the book and found the author: M. Ambrosius.

   The book seemed so authentic, you knew you had to buy it and show Vendel.

   You turned to Douxie. “How much?”

   “It’s on me. We’ve had this book forever and no one seems to want it. Getting rid of it will open up space for more.”

   “No way, you’re working three jobs just to make ends meet. Here,” you handed him some money and gave him a quick hug. You were so excited about finding the book, you didn’t realize you were doing it until it was over.

   “Anyways, thanks,” you mumbled, embarrassed. You internally rolled your eyes at yourself, falling for Douxie wasn’t a good idea.

   “Any time,” he replied and you noticed his cheeks were tinted pink.

   You opened your mouth to say more but your phone started ringing. It was Jim.

   “Hey, is everything okay?” You asked, worry gripping your heart.

   “Yeah, but Eli, one of my classmates, found some kind of troll remains. Toby and I are going to take Blinky and Aaarrrgghh to see it tonight.”

   “Okay send me the address.” The two of you said your goodbyes and you hung up.

   “Is everything okay?” Douxie asked, his face showing concern.

   “Yes. My brother just worries me sometimes and I always assume the worst.” You smiled at Douxie and began heading towards the door. “Again, thank you.”

   “Anytime.”

   You hopped into your car and drove to the address Jim had sent you. It didn’t take you too long and you were able to easily find and unfortunately recognize the remains. If your guess was right then they were the remains of a goblin.

   You had never met one before, but you had recently finished a book on magical creatures and they were evil little things that would be out to kill whoever or whatever made the splotch on the ground.

   You called Jim to tell him of your findings and he promised to meet you at Eli’s house at nightfall. Meanwhile you began reading the book Douxie had given you.

   Time flew by as you read the book. It was fascinating and had little notes in the margin. You were interrupted from your reading by the arrival of everyone.

   The five of you were able to determine that the goblins would be after the delivery guy who would be back later that night and so the stakeout began.

   You hid with Jim and Blinky and were able to catch up with your brother. It had been a long while since you had the time to just talk with him about everything that was going on.

   You were able to talk about his fight with Steve, his upcoming one with Draal, and everything else. It was really nice.

   You were able to talk for hours before the delivery guy arrived and the goblins followed soon after. They were terrifying, but you tried to keep your cool. You didn't want them sensing your fear.

   Unfortunately Jim and Toby were unaware of that little but important fact so goblins began to chase the five of you all the way to Toby’s house.

It was your first time out on the field helping Jim ‘Trollhunt’ and you didn’t know if you were exhilarated or terrified. It took you forever to fall asleep and you were jittery and extra alert during your job the next day.

That afternoon as you were on your way to the Heartstone for another lesson when Jim called you.

“Hey, Toby and I found out that the goblin hideout is at the Museum. We’re going with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh tonight.”

“Okay, stay safe. I’m going to go to my lesson if you don’t need me.”

“I’ll always need you, but have fun at your lesson.” After that and your goodbyes you hung up as you arrived at the Heartstone.

“Hello Ms. Lake.”

“Hi Vendel. I found a book yesterday and it looks like it might be about Wizard magic.” He turned to you, quickly abandoning whatever he was working on. You handed it to him and he began to flip through it.

“Merlin wrote this,” Vendel said, turning his attention back to you. “It’s authentic, but I’m concerned about the means in which you bought this book.”

“I can look into it,” you offered as the gravity of the situation hit you. It would be very bad if there were more books out there like this and humans were reading it and believing it.

“Good. I suppose we can go onto our lesson now. We’ll move to the Hero’s forge and I want you to try levitating while blasting targets.”

Time passed slowly as you practiced your magic. You were pretty proud of yourself for ho9w quickly you were learning magic and excelling in it.

Levitating was hard though and took up lots of energy so you had to take frequent breaks, but slowly the breaks were becoming fewer and further between.

You levitated into the air again, ready for the next round when your phone beeped, startling you. You crashed to the floor hard and Vendel chuckled. “Perhaps you should work on your concentration.”

You smiled at him while checking your phone. “It’s from Jim.”

You unlocked your phone and read the text aloud, “Museum, shapeshifter, help, hurry.”

“Go,” was all Vendel said and you took off running. Exhaustion was only an afterthought as you rushed to get to your brother.

The worst thoughts entered your mind when you saw the police cars in front of the museum. You ran up to an officer.

“Sir, what’s going on?” You asked panting.

“Some kids broke into the museum for some sort of bracelet,” he responded in a bored tone and you tried don’t to roll your eyes.

“Y/n!” Toby called out to you as he was pushed into a squad car.

“You know these kids?” The officer asked.

“Yeah, the tall one’s my brother. I, uh, told them to wait till morning so I could talk to the curator about getting the bracelet back, but obviously they didn’t listen,” you said smiling. It wasn’t your most creative lie, but you couldn’t tell the officer that what they had really gone in there for was to follow goblins.

“Well we’re just going to the station so follow us there.” With that said you got into your car and made your way to the police station.

You were sitting in the waiting room when your old history teacher, Mr. Strickler, arrived.

“Ah, Ms. Lake. I didn’t know you decided to stay here for college.”

“I’m taking a break,” you said. “I didn’t know you frequented police stations in the dead of night.”

“I’m here because of your brother actually. Nomura and I are close friends and I am hoping to convince her to drop the charges.”

“Wow, thank you, Mr. Strickler. That’s very kind of you, you’ve been a great teacher to both Jim and I.”

“That is what I strive to do, Ms. Lake,” he said as we walked down a hall to where you assumed Nomura was.

Soon after your mom arrived. “Y/n, what happened?”

You quickly explained what happened and you did your best to talk her down from grounding him indefinitely. You knew Jim shouldn’t even be getting booked at the police station and you wanted to make sure he didn’t have too bad of a punishment. Eventually you and your mom settled on him and Toby being grounded until they apologize. By the time that was decided you were heading home.

You were exhausted and fell asleep the moment your head hit the pillow and in the morning you almost missed your alarm. The day went by quickly and you arrived at home to see Jim making a feast.

“What’s all this?”

“My fight with Draal is tomorrow,” he said in way of explanation. You smiled sadly, you couldn’t handle the fact that Jim thought he was going to die. And on top of your fear and worry you weren’t able to get tomorrow of work.

You hugged your brother tightly and began setting the table. “Anything you want me to do?”

“Just… just take care of mom.”

“I meant with dinner, goof. You aren’t going to die. I refuse to believe it.”

“Fine, can you stir this?” He asked, handing you a bowl. You didn’t fail to notice that he didn’t react to your statement.

“So,” you started in an attempt to change the conversation, “what were mom and Mr. Strickler talking about last night, she seemed almost giddy when you got home.”

“Ughh, they’re going out for coffee.”

“Oh,” you said smiling to yourself. Mr. Strickler was a great teacher and if he made your mom happy you were happy.

Your mom arrived home soon after and you had a wonderful family dinner filled with laughs. It was one of your best nights in a while.

That night you fell into a peaceful sleep. Tomorrow would be scary, but you believed in your brother. He would win.  

You were sleeping so peacefully you almost missed your alarm that you had specifically set early so you would be able to talk to Jim. Your mom was already gone for work and so was Jim. So much for that plan. You quickly got ready for work and arrived almost a half hour early.

Throughout the day you were a huge bundle of nerves. Your focus was on Jim, but thanks to your training in multitasking you were able to do a good job at work. With adrenaline and worry coursing through your veins you got your work done twice as fast, but distraction plagued you too. You almost used your telekinesis to save a tray that was spilled by your coworker.

You were so distracted you didn’t notice when your shift ended and Douxie took the broom from you.

The bistro had quieted done almost a half hour ago and you had been sweeping that whole time even though you finished in fifteen minutes.

“Are you okay?” Douxie asked. Concern, this time for you, was etched on his face and you tried not to read much into it.

“Some things are going on with my brother today and I’m scared for him,” you explained.

“Why don't I help you to your car so you can go talk with him?” Douxie offered and you nodded. You quickly took off your apron and grabbed your stuff.

“Do you need me to drive you?” Douxie asked as he noticed your hands were shaking. Now that you didn’t have work you were only more afraid and upset over the fact that Toby or anyone hadn’t called you.

“No thank you,” you replied. You didn’t want to make Douxie late to work.

“It’s really no problem,” he replied and you were about to respond when your phone began ringing. You fumbled to grab it and you almost dropped it. You looked at the caller id. It was Toby.

“Toby? Please tell me Jim is okay.”

“Jimbo’s fine, he even spared Draal’s life. Most of the trolls aren’t happy about that, but we’ll be home soon.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” you mumbled, then, “Bye Toby, thank you for being there for Jim.”

“Anytime Y/n/n.” He hung up and you turned to see Douxie offering a tissue. You were confused at first but then you realized you were crying from the joy and relief that Jim was alive.

“Good news I hope,” Douxie said as you took the tissue and wiped your eyes.

“Jim’s okay.”

“It’s sweet how much you care about your brother.”

“He has a lot on his shoulders and he cares so much for everyone else. Someone had to be there for him.” With that said you wished him well and started driving home.

You pulled into the driveway just as Jim walked up with Toby. You leapt out of your car, not bothering to turn it off, to hug them.

“I know this is probably only the first of many times that I will be concerned for your life and the first of many post-death-defying-situation-hugs, but please try not to do this often. I was worried for you all day. One of my coworkers had to walk me to my car because I was shaking so much.”

“Sorry I put you through that Y/n.”

“Thanks. It won’t be the last time, but I’m glad you’re safe now. By the way I called in your absences at school.”

“Thank you.” They both exclaimed and you smiled. The three of you said your goodbyes and you turned off and locked your car while Jim took care of his bike, then the two of you walked inside together.

Unfortunately it wasn’t time to celebrate yet Nomura was inside the house talking with your mom. You scowled at her as Jim began talking. You never expected Jim to actually apologize to the changing and you had planned on covering him, but here she was now, having tea with your mom.

Your mom started to say something when she fell unconscious.

“I‘ ll get mom!” You immediately called out as Jim said the amulet’s incantation and began to fight Nomura. Your heart rate sped up for the thousandth time that day as you checked her pulse. It was there and you began to believe Nomura that whatever was in the tea would only hurt your mom’s memory.

Jim retreated up the stairs and you began to recite the healing incantations you had learned a few days ago. They didn’t wake her up, but you could tell your mom would be alright. You heard Jim take the fight outside and you realized it wouldn’t be good if your mother woke up at the table.

You focused on her and she began to glow orange. She floated up from her seat and you were able to move her to her bed without hurting her.

You quietly closed the door and realized that you didn't hear fighting any more. You carefully walked out to the backyard only to find Jim and Draal chatting.

“Are you okay?” You asked.

“Yeah, Draal showed up just in time.”

You turned to Draal. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome, sister of Jim. I have requested to your brother that I stay here and protect your home. I can not go back to troll market while my honor is tarnished”

“First, call me Y/n and second it would be lovely having an extra line of defense here.”

“Good.” Draal walked into your house and Jim made to follow, but you pulled him into a hug first.

“I know having Nomura here wasn’t your choice, but why don’t you take the rest of the day off? It’s been a long one,” you suggested.

“That sounds nice.”

****

And I hope y'all liked it. I had a blast writing it and I have planned many more chapters. I've really enjoyed exploring Y/n 's life as well as her relationship with Douxie and there will definitely be more of that. Anyways I've written a sort of bonus half chapter from Douxie's pov and I will post that tomorrow. Have a great night/day and stay safe! Thank y'all for reading!

Chapter 3.5: https://writings-of-a-daphodil.tumblr.com/post/627219547087323136/fire-keeper-chapter-35

[gotmilk5101520]

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia Watch Episode 45 Parental Guidance (Part 1)

This is rated R so read this with an adult.

“Jim”

“Get out of here”

“We have to get to the hospital”

“Can’t”

“Our wounds won’t be healed by...”

“You’re going to be okay, Barbara”

“Forgive me, Barbara”

“Jim, promise me!“

“You were always my hero”

“My beautiful boy”

“For the glory of Merlin”

“Daylight is mine to command”

“Oh, no”

“Jim”

“Mom”

“Are you home?”

“In here, kids”

“Oh, hello”

“We need to talk”

“Those four words are never good” Yes, it’s time for the talk.

“Who’s there? I’m armed” Look out! She’s armed!

“I don’t know your brother and i don’t know you”

“Now shoo!” Meeting someone everyone knows, except you.

“Yes” Wait is this the goblin from Creepslayerz? The one Steve caught?

“D is for Dog”

“Woof woof!” Wrong button.

“It’s the drugs, isn’t it?”

“It’s not drugs”

“It’s trolls”

“The internet! I knew it”

“Not internet trolls” Internet Trollhunters au.

“It’s the drugs, isn’t it?”

“It’s not drugs”

“Are you on the drugs?”

“Oh, no”

“It is the drugs” This show got away with saying drugs. 4 times. In one scene.

“Hahahaha”

“Trolls living beneath us? What?”

“That’s crazy town banana pants fosters”

“With extra nuts”

“Jim, tell them. Please”

“Uh...”

“Whatever is happening, whatever it is you’re afraid to say”

“I want you to tell me, face to face”

“Um...”

“Uh...”

“You’re suppose to be able to tell me anything”

“I never should have lied to you”

“I know there are things going on with you, Jim”

“I just want you to know...”

“there’s nothing you can’t share with me”

“Whatever it is”

“I can take it”

“The hospital asked her to take some time off”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but what do you call”

“this?”

“That’s a protractor, Dad” I know it looks something that aliens may use, but it’s not.

“We confess”

“What?”

“We confess”

“We’re... LAAAAAAARRRRRRPPPPPers”

“We’re LARPers”

“Live Action Role Players” That’s less convincing than the drugs.

“Jim?”

“Hide”

“Yeah. Okay” “Let me get-”

“Speak of the devil”

This is how me and my cousins play Hide and Seek.

“Do all Troll Knights let their mothers be humiliated?”

“Why are you this...”

“Trollfighter?”

“Trollhunter, Mom”

“Uh, Trollhunter”

“I’m the Trollhunter”

“I know we’ve had this conversation”

“Jim, listen to me”

“Promise me we will. Okay?”

“Jim, promise me”

“After this is over, don’t keep your Trollhunting a secret from me anymore”

“I didn’t wanna drag you into this again”

“So instead you dragged your friends?”

“We’re parents. It’s our duty to know if our children are in trouble”

“You really shouldn’t be putting yourself in danger like this. I’m your mother”

”I protect you”

”That’s the deal”

“Trouble?”

“This isn’t trouble”

“This is real danger”

“Genuine life-threatening stuff”

“I almost lost you”

“But you also saved my life”

“That much i do remember correctly”

“Jim, listen. I’m a doctor. I know saving lives isn’t easy work”

“I’m not trying to stop you. I’m trying to help you”

“But with danger this close to home”

“their parents should know” “Uh...”

“Hello”

“Barbara”

“Oh, i knew it!”

“That’s Mr. Blinky”

“Blink-heh”

“I can’t see”

“Is this a joyous occasion”

“or a terrifying-?”

“I don’t remember this one”

“I wanted to tell the truth”

“But what if their parents don’t understand?”

“If they get in the way, my friends, human and troll, could die”

“And if there comes a day when your friends don’t come home”

“What would you tell their parents then?”

“Tell my parents i love em”

“But who’s gonna protect you?”

“Jim, we’re here to support you”

”no matter what the problem is”

“If it’s school, if it’s girls, if it’s...”

“trolls“

“Especially trolls”

“But if we don’t talk, how are we supposed to help?”

“Even before you found this amulet-”

“way before all of this-”

“you were always my hero”

“My beautiful boy”

“I love you, Mom”

“Oh, i see”

“It’s a heartfelt occasion”

“Shut it, you blind bat”

“You’re ruining the moment”

To be continued.

Part 2