#trollhunters tickle
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✨Trollhunters Masterpost✨
Exhaustion no tkling
Jim overworks himself and Blinky helps pick up the pieces
How to Defeat a Trollhunter Lee!Jim Ler!Claire Ler!Toby
When Jim grows too full of himself during training, Claire and Toby take him down a peg
Adjusting brief lee!Jim
Jim is struggling to grow accustomed to his newly changed form, luckily his surrogate troll dad is there to comfort him
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Here's my gift to @cadetsfanfictionblog12 for Squealing Santa. I haven't written for this Fandom before, and I hope I did it justice!! Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!
(P.S.- special thanks to @hypahticklish for setting this up! This was amazing, congrats!)
Fandom: Trollhunters
Lee: Jim
Ler: Claire
Summary: During training, Jim is pushing himself too hard. Claire brings him back to Earth.
Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!
"Gah!" Jim landed hard on his side, the impact sending a reverberating ache through him. He and Claire were training in the Hero's Forge, trying to sharpen his skills. He hadn't been getting the best sleep as of late, pulling all nighters to study and do homework. As a result, he was slower, and blows hit him twice as hard.
Claire came over to his side. "Jim, I think we should take a break. It's been two hours, and you look half dead." He just shook his head, pushing himself off the hard stone floor. "No, I need to get better. Arcadia is depending on me, so I need to be at my best." She huffed. "What you're being is a hypocrite. You're so tired your eyebags have eyebags. Just a small break, take a nap, relax a little. Please?"
Jim sighed, getting into a fighting stance. "Just a few more rounds. I can take it, Claire. Don't worry about it." Yeah, right. Asking his girlfriend not to worry about him? When he's Jim? Impossible.
An idea popped into her head. She remembered her first night over at Jim's house with Toby. They had been playing truth or dare, and Jim picked truth, after having to wear a shaving cream mustache. Toby smirked, and asked if he was ticklish. Jim denied it, leading to a cute punishment. Perfect.
"Fine. ONE more round, then quits." He didn't look happy with that answer, but took the deal anyways. Practice was practice, after all. Claire stood a few feet away, getting into position. "3, 2, 1, GO!"
Jim ran at her, sword drawn to his side. He swiped the blade at her feet, but she jumped away. Claire disappeared into a shadow portal. He slowly spun around, checking the forge for his partner. He heard a gust of air behind him, and before he could turn to catch her, Claire tackled him to the ground. Normally, she would be the one pinned down. However, Jim was running off of 2 hours of sleep for the week, so he was slower than normal.
He tried to shove her off, but she was already on top of him, using the weight of her armor against his tired muscles. He was thoroughly stuck.
"Okay, you win. Rematch?" Claire just sat there, a smirk on her face. Just then, as if to say 'yeah, no', his amulet fell away, taking his armor with it. No more training with weapons for today. "Claire?"
She grabbed his arms, pushing them above his head. He struggled against her, bit it didn't do much. Then it clicked; the look, the extra round, the strange pinning. Oh f-
"Jim, you need a break. And since you refuse to behave, I'm gonna help you!" She brought one of her hands down to his stomach, just hovering there. "Wait, no, Claire! I'll take the break, I'll eat, nap, I'll even meditate! Just- NOHOHO!"
She wasted no time digging into the sensitive skin, scratching and pinching. Even through his sweatshirt, he could feel every touch, poke and prod. The claws on her fingers didn't help him, either. He immediately started giggling, the intensity catching him off guard.
"Clahahahaire! Nohohoho!" The sound was, to say the least, adorable. Claire couldn't help but coo at the sweet noise. "Aww, Jim! You sound so cute! I should've done this sooner!" A rosy blush crept onto the Trollhunter's face, heating up in seconds. "Nohot cuhuhute! Knohock it ohohoff!"
Curious, Claire moved up to his ribs, earning giddy laughter from Jim. "AHAHAHA! CRAHAHAP! QUIHIHIHIT IT!" She went in between each bone, drilling into his ribcage. Jim twisted and turned, but he couldn't shake her off.
When Claire looked at his face, she saw a happy, joyful Jim, one she hadn't seen in weeks. However, it was clear he was nearing his limit. She had one more thing to try.
Pulling back his shirt and sweater, Claire released his arms and brought her head down to his belly. She took a deep breath, and blew a huge raspberry on the poor boy. He burst out in loud, frantic laughter. Jim bucked and squirmed, pushing at her head. It was so bad!
When she was done tormenting his stomach, she got off of him, rubbing his back as he curled up. Jim was still laughing, the phantom tickles gliding across his torso. After a few minutes, he got his breath back, and turned to Claire.
"Well, I'm ready for that nap now." They both laughed, getting up and heading out of the Forge. Finally, Jim could relax a bit, all thanks to Claire.
#squealing santa 2k22#ss2k22#lee!jim#ticklish!jim#ler!claire#trollhunters#trollhunters tickle#lee!james lake jr#claire nuñez#james lake junior#sfw tickling community#tickle fic#tickle#trollhunters jim#trollhunters claire
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When thinking about toa protags as evil or taken to a dark path, I realized that Jim would definitely be kinda like Phosphophyllite from Land of the Lusterous in a way. Constantly changing themselves physically in order to be strong enough to protect people and their loved ones but it ultimately becomes their downfall as they begin to lose themselves. Eventually forgetting why they were doing this in the first place. Now only feeling anger, misery, and possibly betrayal?
#tales of arcadia#trollhunters#jim lake jr#vanilla rambles#Am I only saying this because I just got into hnk and thus seeing similarities in my favorite characters????#yes :)#I might draw this in the future cause it tickles my fancy in the artistic department#also might draw phos as the trollhunter as well cause the idea is really funny to me#idk I just imagine that the armor keeps them intact when they're wearing it#and then when it's deactivates they just fucking shatters immediately#Anyways ye you guys get to have two toa post from me on the same day :)#how lucky of you dskjdskj
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I have never in my life posted writing on Tumblr so forgive me if I did this wrong but here we gooooooo. I refuses to watch troll hunters for so long but I finally cracked and now all I can do it read and draw fan shit and here's a continuation to a fanfic I read but lost so like credits to whoever wrote the original Bular x Pregnant!Reader somewhere on here. This is based off that.
16+ warning for suggestive content but like not really?
Bular x Human!Reader Nursing
Bular sat and watched as you nursed your halfbreed child. It was something history had never seen before, a babe born from both human and troll. It was a unheard of, and something his lost father would never approve of.
The whelp looked human. Some of the impure had made comments about the child not being the heir of Bular in the beginning. None of them dared make those claims while the massive brute was around though, knowing their skulls would be crushed effectively ending their gossip and their lives.
All accusations were put to rest when the child opened their eyes for the first time. They were the eyes of a troll.
No, they were the eyes of their father.
Big amber pools contained the most beautiful ruby irises. The whelp may have looked human but Bular's troll blood ran strong through in their veins.
The gurgles and fussing of his child caused the gumgum to return from his thoughts. "Not hungry anymore?" You coo, gently bouncing the child in your arms as they had unlatched. The babe babbled a little but was already beginning to settle, and you couldn't help but bare the warmest smile as you held your little bundle of joy.
Bular's large body shifted with little stealth, and sat just behind you as you doted over baby.
Since his final fight with the Trollhunter, and the early arrival of your baby you and your gumgum mate had to leave Arcadia. Strictlander had set it all up for you. He'd gotten you a truck and a driver that didn't ask questions to drive you both over the border and into Canada. You had ridden in the cab and Bular had been some very large cargo in the back. As far as anyone knew, Bular was dead. And you never existed.
"You're stewing again." You say, bundling the babe further as they began to slip away into sweet sleep.
"I do not *stew*." Bular snorted, and bent down to nuzzle the side of your face. He was massive in comparison to you, and it was a wonder how the two of you even ended up here in the first place.
Bular let out a chuff, causing some of your stray hairs to tickle your skin. This was what it was like to be the mate of a gumgum. Leaning into his gentle nuzzles you let the babe in your arms sleep while you got comfortable with a little peace and quiet.
It didn't last for long.
Between all his nuzzling and little huffs Bular caught the scent of something that intrigued him. One of your arms instinctively shot back, pushing Bular's face away as he had gotten a little too curious about what your breast milk tasted like.
"That's not for you." You chided, hand still firm on the Troll's face as you pushed him back. Bular's tongue slipped back into his mouth. "It smells sweet." he grunted in reply.
With a sigh you pulled your arm back and settled back into your Troll to get comfortable, "You don't like sweet. You eat cans, and cats and-" "Humans." He replied, and before you could protest you found him dipping back down again.
"Bular!" You squawked in surprise and lifted the baby away while you tried to cover your chest. You really hoped they wouldn't wake from the commotion.
This got a few amused rumbles from Bular and he pulled back again. The troll watched you settle the stirring whelp and how you sighed when they drifted back off to sleep. "You should put the whelp down. It is my turn." he said, his tusks and teeth bared in a mischievous grin.
You give him a light glare, and he laughs.
When you finally do manage put the babe down for a nap in their cradle, Bular is already scooping you up and dragging you into your shared nest.
That's allll folks. I don't know if I'll ever write anymore of these cause I know this fandom was dead before I started watching the series 😂 but I have to get my fanfic fill somehow
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Please Read!!
Disclairmer before you continue: This is a totally nsfw free, kink free, all of that free blog. No offense to anyone who sees tickling that way, but for me ticking is totally just an innocent and cute thing that makes people laugh and bond together that I happen to enjoy as someone who is touch starved. If you cant respect that, u may leave uwu
Requests:OPEN!!!
Hello!! My names Pandabun!! Welcome to my silly little indulgent sideblog!! Feel free to come and stay awhile, I enjoy writing so feel free to send in a request! Below are a list of all of my fandoms I write for plus what I wont write uwu
What ill write for: (Bolded means current mian interest)
Gravity Falls
Star Wars(Specifically Han and Chewbaca)
LOTR
DHMIS
ROTTMNT
The Owl House
Sea beast
Strange world
Undertale
Wolfwalkers
Lego Monkie kid
DBH
Trollhunters (Only the first tv show)
TF2
Welcome Home
Treasure planet
The mandalorin
mcsm
Mistborn (Era 1 and 2 but i prefer 2)
Mystery skulls
OCS (This is only for my mutals, tho occsionally i might do fics of my own ocs uwu)
Theres probably more that im forgetting but always feel free to ask for a specific fandom!
Things I wont write for
NSFW
Ships (some ships are okay, im just not really a romance person so just keep that in mind)
X reader
IRL people
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How about Steve/Toby for the ship thing?
SEND ME A SHIP and I’ll tell you:
Who said “I love you” first
Steve. Steve absolutely would say, "I love you" first. He'd blurt it out quickly otherwise he may never get it out.
Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background
They both do. Steve has a picture of Toby floating away with his hammer as a troll he was training with runs right under him. Head looking up in pure confusion as Toby grins.
Toby's phone has a background that's a group photo of them and all of their friends. It was taken by Claire's father in her backyard and is one of the few photos that everyone (the Tarrons, trollhunters, and wizards) is in. Steve is on leaning down with a hand on Toby's shoulder, beaming at the camera.
Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror
Toby. The first time he was just idly drawing images on the mirror as he brushed his teeth. The next time Steve showered and saw the images he screamed and said ghosts drew on the mirror. Toby now leads the occasional vague message to spook Steve. Especially when he's done something wrong, (like forget to take out the trash, or didn't clean his dishes).
Who buys the other cheesy gifts
They both do, but Steve is the kind of guy who plans it out for a surprise. Toby just buys cheesy gifts whenever he sees something he thinks Steve would like.
Who initiated the first kiss
Steve.
Who kisses the other awake in the morning
I'm gonna go with Steve.
Who starts tickle fights
I feel like they wouldn't really do tickle fights.
Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower
I don't think either of them would.
Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch
Steve does it most often, but on occasion Toby also shows up with take out at Steve's job.
Who was nervous and shy on the first date
They both were, and of course they both tried to play it off and act cool.
Who kills/takes out the spiders
Steve kills them by throwing things at spiders and squishing them from across the room. Toby does not like them but will capture and release them.
Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk
Absolutely both of them! Steve shouts it louder, but Toby does it more often.
Original post here.
Send me a ship to answer these questions about.
#toa#tales of arcadia#toa toby#toa steve#toby domzalski#steve palchuk#stoby#steve/toby#toby/steve#toby x steve#steve x toby
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3 from the fandom ask thing trollhunters addition
3. Characters you would marry instantly
Good question.
I am split between Blinky and Aaarrrgh.
Blinky:
We both do like to learn new stuff, I could sneak past him and startle him (I love it), I could tickle him (he can't me cuz I'm not really ticklish), we both could create art, he would be romantic and thoughful, he would hear me out, assure me that he wants my presence around him, make me laugh and when he would fall asleep reading, I'll have bed all for myself 😁
Aaarrrgh:
He wouldn't make me feel stupid for not knowing stuff 'everyone knows', he would be kind and respectful to me, he would protect me and TBH:
From my Karma x Aaarrrgh ship because Karma is basically the me I wish to be, I hope I'll find myself my own Aaarrrgh (because big and strong men with a beard, green hair and darker/tan skin are thanks to him attractive to me 😅).
And maybe have in future my own Aarrron? (and maybe 1-2 more? Dunno, 3 kids run in our family, always 1 son and 2 girls. Ik Killian is not a girl, let's not go too literal.)
Why trolls? Weeeell........ I'm a monsterfucker.......
And outside of fandom I doubt I'll ever come out to anyone cuz, well, people.
But hot humans I feel attracted towards (still didn't feel it to anyone yet 🤔) ofc.
I just love to read monsterfucker fics 😁🫣
#pleeease don't judge me 😅#q&a acamaryseinty#ask box#fandom ask box#tales of arcadia#trollhunters#toa#aaarrrgh#acamary seinty#karma#my oc karma#blinkous galadrigal#blinky galadrigal
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Morgana, the Pale Lady, of many names, to the human and troll parents who's children she stole from, probably:
#I'll...uh..see myself out#sdknfkdsf#Shitpost O' Clock#Morgana Le Fay#Trollhunters#Tales of Arcadia#the Pale Lady#Eldritch Queen#Wizards can we please have more changeling content#I have so many questions#Although I do enjoy entertaining the HC that#she stole from negligent families#but really...I don't think that makes up for testing on kids and forcing them into a war while having them look at you like a god and Maker#HOWEVER#that does tickle my nerdy side - the fact that she pulled a V. Frankenstein - we'll see if#her daemons confront her#goooood I'm so ready for Wizards#I might share more Frankenstein changeling stuff actually#Anyways try not to think about how many trial and errors she went through before getting the changeling process right#[ thinks about it...thinks about it a lot with the mental image of#Shou Tucker from FMA] Oh no(tm)
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“Toby you traitor!” (Oneshot)
Trollmarket bustled with activity, sellers selling socks, buyers buying socks and other knicknacks. Crowds gathered at certain stalls, waiting for their turn at purchasing. Heads would turn as the resident trollhunter bolted through a crowd, a look of giddy panic on his face. What would follow would be the speedy steps of his rotund companion and said companion’s wingman, wingman’s footsteps a lot heavier and earth-shaking. “You can’t run forever, Jim!” The rotund one known as Toby yelled, grinning from ear to ear as he sprinted after his friend, only pausing to wheeze a bit before continuing with the chase. Jim, despite his better judgement, would yell back “Yes I can!” his voice reaching a slightly higher pitch following the adrenaline pumping through him. A deep chuckle would escape from the mossy green troll known as Wingman by the shorter of the two humans, a hand reaching to scoop Toby up onto his shoulder.
Fellow trolls would stare in bemusement and bewilderment at the current chase, wondering what was the cause but ultimately ignoring it due to the playful nature being shown. Jim would duck behind a large yellow crystal, hearing the thuds of his friend’s footsteps pass by. He’d let out a shakey sigh when said steps went quiet, resting a hand on his chest. His calm was disrupted, however, by a familiar voice. “Master Jim! I saw you sprint out of the library in an awful rush. What could be the matter?” It was the caring and fatherly voice of Blinky, Trollmarket’s main historian of sorts. Unfortunately, Blinky could also be rather loud, hence Jim’s attempt at polite shushing hand motions. Every single one of Blinky’s eyebrows would raise at his young charge’s bizarre panic and attempt at silencing him.
“My dear boy, what has you in such a state? Is it the gnomes again? I’ve heard the population has been growing at a rapid rate recently-” The multi-armed troll had a habit of rambling, only stopping when Jim flapped his arms in exasperation and replied. “Sorry Blinky, but I’m kind of hiding from Tobes and Aaargh at the moment”. Such a reply puzzled him greatly, making him wonder why in Arcadia the young trollhunter would hide from one of his two bestest friends and companions. “I see..What is causing you to hide from them?” Blinky asked, then surprised by how red Jim turned at the question. Could the trollhunter have a cold? A fever? All sorts of worrying implications at the sudden redness. Jim wouldn’t have a chance to respond, for a yell would sound out. “I see him Wingman!” Toby would call out, pointing at Jim and the crystal that he thought had shielded him initially. “Sorry Blink, I’ll explain later” There was a slight eep to Jim’s voice as he resumed his run, his best friends following behind at a fast pace.
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5 minutes later, Jim was caught and held rather carefully by Aaargh, a giddy grin on the large troll’s face. Jim wore a pout, along with his arms being crossed to emphasize his disgruntled-ness about his capture. “We got ya, Jim” Toby would grin from Aaargh’s shoulder, ruffling his best buddy’s hair. Jim huffed in response, receiving a gentle poke in the side from Aaargh’s free hand which caused him to squeak and Aaargh snicker in response. “Tigglish” Snickered the troll, amused by the trollhunter’s reaction to such a simple poke. Jim would glare up at both Toby and Aaargh, considering Toby was the one who told Aaargh about such a thing in the first place.
“Just wait till I tell Claire” Toby teased in a good natured manner while Jim tried to swat at him in embarrassment. “Mean..you’re both mean” Jim grumbled before Aaargh set him down, patting him on the head lightly and helping Toby down. “It was too tempting man, tooo tempting” Toby said in reply, cheeky grin on his round face. Jim rolled his eyes and lightly jabbed him in the side, receiving a jab back from his childhood friend. Childish hilarity ensued, the two initiating a poke war between each-other while Aaargh chuffed contently. He rested on his stomach as the two wrestled, the occasional squeak and cackle heard from the battle. Aaargh felt a hand rest on his right arm and an instinctual manner, leaned into the owner of said hand, receiving a chuckle in response. “So this is what Master Jim was running from, Hmm?” Blinky mused, aware of the sensitivity of humans but having no idea it could gain such amusing and, rather cute results. The two reminded him of young whelps play fighting, though albeit less rougher than their troll counterparts. The battle lasted 10 minutes. “I got ya Tobes, I win!” Jim cheered, helping his best buddy up from the stone floor. “Maybe this time, maybe” Toby wheezed, giving his best friend a playful but light punch in the shoulder.
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I'm so glad I'm finally able to find someone who is into trollhunters and tickling there is like no tickling content for it you have no idea how long I've craved blinky and Jim tickles
H E L L Y E A H
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How to Defeat a Trollhunter
Fandom: Trollhunters
Ships: Jlaire
A sharp clang rang around the Hero’s Forge as Toby’s hammer hit the ground, missing its target by a mile. Jim, who’d jumped away from being struck by the war hammer, grinned widely.
“Come on Tobes!” He called, “Is that the best you can do?”
“You’re too fast!” Toby argued, lifting the amber hammer with a grunt of effort.
“Then you need to keep up!”
A pitch black portal opened behind Jim who leapt and rolled across the ground, laughing at Claire’s frustrated glare. “Damn it! I thought I had you that time!”
“Sorry Claire Bear!” Jim called teasingly. “Gotta be quicker than that!”
Claire growled to herself. “Don’t call me that!”
“Land a hit on me and you have a deal!”
Claire rolled her eyes. “You are so asking for it Lake!”
Jim chuckled to himself, materialising his sword and raising it in defence. “Show me what you got Nunez!”
“Gladly.”
Jim had grown so much since the first day at the Hero’s Forge. His abilities were excelling every day, hence the challenge Blinky had set Toby and Claire for today’s training before having to leave to assist Vendel. Toby and Claire were to work together to land a hit on Jim. The two had more or less forgotten about the ‘work together’ aspect of the training and had made it a friendly competition to see who could get Jim first.
Toby and Claire however, weren’t too thrilled that Jim was skilfully evading the pair of them. Of course they didn’t expect Jim to be taken down easily, but they hadn’t counted on him being so swift and alert to their attacks. And to make things just that little bit more frustrating, Jim was growing cocky. Making a smart remark every so often and stifling a giggle whenever they tripped up. And as endearing as the boy was, the two teens had had enough of him.
Claire retreated from her close combat with the Trollhunter, moving to Toby. Jim watched with a smile as she turned to Toby, her lips moved but Jim couldn’t catch what she said. Toby looked at Jim for a moment before a grin pulled at his lips. He then covered his mouth with the side of his hand and murmuring something to Claire. Jim felt a small stab of worry in his stomach when Claire’s eyes lit up, an almost evil smile on her face.
Jim watched the two suspiciously as they turned to face Jim, weapons held firmly. Jim subconsciously gripped his blade tighter, feet shifting to a battle ready stance. Whatever they had planned, he could take it.
The two teens bolted to either side of the Troll Hunter, quickly boxed him in. They rushed at Jim at the same time, weapons pointed ready at him. Jim flipped over Toby, expecting the two to crash and land gracefully on the hard floor. Instead, the two teens dodged each other at the last second, Claire pointing her Shadow Staff behind Jim. Jim gave a yell as he fell backwards right into the portal. He was dropped at least ten feet onto the ground from the exit portal that appeared a small distance from where he entered. He landed hard on his back but the armour thankfully protected him from injury.
Without warning, he felt his arms being pinned above his head, the sword being taken from his grip. It was only when he heard Toby’s gleeful shout that he finally understood what was happening. “Get his underarms Claire!”
Jim couldn’t even get a word out in protest before he felt nimble fingers scratch in his underarms. He burst into high pitched giggles, kicked his legs out in response. “Ahahaha! Claire! Nohohohoho!” Jim gasped through his wild giggles, squirming against the weight of his two best friends.
“Oh Claire yes! You deserve this James Lake Junior!” Claire shot back, grinning ear to ear.
Jim arched his back in response to the tickling, a short squeal coming from his mouth when Claire brushed close to his ribs.
“Oooo, think I found a sweet spot!” Claire teased, “too bad the armour is protecting him though.”
Jim silently thanked the gods that the armour was holding out.
Toby smirked. “Not for much longer!”
Nevermind.
The armour glowed before disappearing, the amulet rolling off of Jim’s chest and onto the floor.
“Well well well” Claire slyly leaned closer to Jim, “look at that, so much more to tickle.”
Jim flushed red, giggling nervously as he tried to find purchase on the floor, scuffing the heels of his sneakers across the ground. “C-Claire? W-We can talk about this- you don’t have to-“
“Oh I think I do” Claire replied simply, lifting her fingers just over Jim’s stomach, wiggling her fingers.
Jim squirmed, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid looking at those torturous little digits.
“Clahaha- AHH! Noooohohohoho!” Jim bucked wildy when he felt her fingers make contact. “Stop, stop stohohop plehehehehease!”
Toby and Claire couldn’t help but laugh along with Jim, his laughter was contagious, and really cute. It was high pitched and breathy with occasional squeals.
Jim managed to wrench free a hand from Toby, pawing at Claire’s hands uselessly. “I gihihive! Guhuhuys! Plehehehease! Nohohoho mohohohore!”
“Hmmm” Claire hummed as if deep in thought, “what do you say Toby? Let him off the hook?”
“I dunno if he’s learned his lesson yet” Toby replied, pretending to be just as unsure.
“I have! I hahahave!”
The pair ignored Jim’s frantic words, sharing a sly look.
“Maybe to make sure he’s learned...should we go for his death spot?” Toby asked.
Jim froze, eyes widening in panic. Claire let her hands rest against his sides, giving Toby an eager look.
“Death spot? He has one?”
“No no no no no no, Claire don’t listen to him-”
Claire pressed a finger to Jim’s lips, looking down at him. “Shush sweetie” she said with a smile Jim didn’t trust for a second. She looked up at Toby. “What’s his death spot?”
“Toby I swear-”
Toby grinned and Jim knew he was a goner. “His feet.”
Jim frantically tried to kick away from the pair of torturers he called his friends but Toby held strong, and Claire was determined. Within seconds, his socks and shoes were removed, and his feet now were stuck in a headlock.
“Any last words?” Claire asked, fingers poised for attack.
“Please don’t?” Jim whispered weakly.
“Bad choice of last words Jimbo” Toby said, “get him.”
Jim’s back arched and he let out a shrill squeal before falling back down into hysterical laughter. His cheeks flushed with every passing second, and he would deny to his grave that he started snorting. Jim was lost in laughter, squirming and kicking, he couldn’t do anything but giggle away as his feet were at Claire’s mercy. It was unbearable, but at the same time, it felt so good to just let go and laugh. Forget about Gunmar, Strickler and all his responsibilities and just be a kid again. But the longer this went on for, the less air he was getting. He slapped at Toby’s arms and his best friend got the message.
“Claire, he’s done” he said, letting go of his arms and carding a soothing hand through Jim’s messed up hair.
At long last, Claire finally put his abused soles down. Jim still giggled, curling in on himself. Toby and Claire snickered at the boy’s lingering titters, but looked a little concerned.
“Sorry Jim, did we go too far?” Claire asked.
Jim gasped a few times before he looked over at Claire, eyes a tad watery from laughing so much, but a bright, true smile was on his face. “That was torture” he pressed out, “but...no, you didn’t go too far.”
Toby grinned, leaning over Jim with hands raised like claws. “So you’re all good for round two?”
Jim yelped, rolling away from them. “No! Stay away you heathens!”
The pair laughed at Jim’s panicked reactions, raising their hands palms open to show they weren’t gonna strike.
“Chill-ax man” Toby smiled, “we’re done.”
Jim groaned, flopping to the floor. “You two are gonna be the death of me.”
“Probably” Claire lay beside him, booping his nose making him scrunch it cutely.
Toby lay at his other side, “we’ve got your back though Jimbo, whether you need us in battle or to take you down a peg when you get cocky.”
Jim exhaled a tired chuckle. “Thanks.”
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"The Kronisphere will make everything right," Nari had whispered gently, a soft smile on her lips.
Jim clutches the sphere tightly to his chest, neglecting the heat of the pavement scraping into his knees. Claire follows suit, dropping down to wrap an arm around him. He cries into her shoulder and she places her other hand on the ball with him. Slowly and quietly, the survivors huddle into a hug. They won, but they feel far from victorious.
"There has to be another way, there always have been," the Trollhunter chokes out. He stares at the magical object emanating a healthy green in his hands. It gleams with life, a stark contrast to the reality around him. But regardless, he's not going to give up. Not on Toby, not on the rest of his friends and family.
Suddenly a scene flashes, among the cracks that Aaarrrgghh had caused in his grief-stricken stupor. Claire brings a hand to her mouth.
"Wait a minute," Douxie starts, head tilting. A whispered "By Deya's Grace" escapes Blinky's lips. It's safe to say that the Akiridions, Stuart, Steve, and Eli are shocked as well.
It's them, with their hands on the ball, on top of each other's hands. Their eyes closed in momentary prayer.
And then, a miracle.
Several flurries of nature take place -- some circling around in columns, the others rushing to the debris around them. Edifices are rebuilt, while the trees uprooted find their footing back into the Earth. The roads are melded back to normal and Arcadia High stands tall in its glory. Jim's breath hitches when he sees a column of flowers spin around the silhouette of a familiar winged man with horns. He doesn't let the rest play out. He knows what they need to do.
"Everybody get up! If we're going to do this, we gotta do it together," he orders, disbelief and hope laced in his voice. He knows what he saw, and he's sure the others saw the same. He raises the Kronisphere in front of him and sees to it that everyone puts their best hand forward. A grin tugs at the corner of his lips as he watches the fire grow in the eyes of his friends.
The Kronisphere will make everything right.
And everything right it makes. They recreate the future in the Kronisphere with all the success one could ever hope for. The city of Arcadia is quickly restored to its homely self, as if a magma dripping titan hadn't just rampaged through. As if time had turned back before to reflect the location before disaster.
And maybe it's just a gut feeling, but Jim can tell that rest of the world has just experienced the same healing in its respective areas as Arcadia did.
It's a shame that the magical artifact shattered after usage, however. Must have been worthiness overload with all his friends involved, something along those lines. Or maybe the high demand they bargained. But honestly? He can't bring himself to care.
Instead he kicks the green, gold, and silver shards around across the road and looks back to check the earlier overturned vehicle which is now upright and... empty. Wait but-
"Hehe, that tickles!"
Jim turns around and as the white circulating flowers part, meets the eyes of his best friend, vibrant with life. With grimy hands, he rubs his own. He's alive. If this was a dream, he wouldn't mind sleeping for a bit longer. Maybe even forever.
Shaking, he glances at Claire. She gives him back a watery smile.
"Well? What are you waiting for?"
And that's enough to have him tackling the warhammer wielder to the ground.
"Jimbo! Hey, hey, it's alright I'm here. I'm alive," Toby laughs, patting the trollhunter's back. He shoots a thumbs up and a wink to a delighted Aaarrrgghh and Krel.
"And so are we," another voice rings out. Jim squeezes Toby once more before raising his head, the smile on his face ever increasing in size.
There stood Strickler, Nomura, Nari, even Archie and Charlemagne.
"I can't believe it actually worked," Aja remarks, taking a weak Steve from Eli's arms. Varvatos beams, and lets out a haughty laugh.
"Varvatos is most pleased with this outcome! However it came matters not to him."
"Well, it seems that the Kronisphere has the ability to not only show our futures, but reverse certain aspects of time, according to the beholder's desires. That is, if presented like it was to us. And in our case, we desired in union to reverse the deaths and destruction of the world, not necessarily an entire timeline," Douxie explains anyways. He beckons Archie and Nari into a much needed hug. He couldn't imagine a life without his familiar even if he tried. And Nari, oh Nari, she deserved to witness the joys of life she had heroically saved with all of them.
"Oooh, similar in manner to how Jim used the Kairosect to pause time!" Blinky adds, raising a finger. Claire snorts.
"Didn't you waste a turn back then, Blinky?" she teases. Blinky scratches the back of his head with a bashful smile.
"I was merely testing it out!"
"I dunno 'bout all of you, but I've had enough time travel change whatever for a lifetime," Steve groans.
"You can say that again," Stuart answers in agreement.
It's then Strickler kneels down and pats Jim's head. The trollhunter reaches out and pulls him into a crushing hug. The changeling hugs back with just as much strength.
"Young Atlas, how does it feel to not carry the burden alone anymore?" he muses. Jim chuckles.
"Feels good."
#VOILA#FIX IT FIC#i just hsdbfsdhfsgdvf#i need to cope#so ask and ye shall receive#toa#tales of arcadia#rott#rise of the titans#trollhunters rise of the titans#rise of the titans spoiler#jim#jim lake#jim lake jr#claire#claire nuñez#toby#toby domzalski#aja tarron#krel tarron#varvatos vex#stuart#hisirdoux casperan#hisirdoux#douxie#archie#nari#strickler#walter strickler#nomura
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Douxie moving in with the reader? Is this ok to request?
Yeah, definitely!
Sorry, my editor took a bit more time than I expected.
Hope you like it!
Beyond Any Doubt || One Shot
Bills, bills, bills.
Bills everywhere.
Douxie was on his laptop, frantically typing away how much money he owed people and how much he needed to pay for all his bills.
Douxie wasn't the type to ask for money from others, but it was an emergency. Now, everyone that he owed money too were chasing after him. And as for the bills, he couldn't pay all of them. Even though he had two jobs, it wasn't enough.
Tipping in Arcadia wasn't the best.
He tried to request the companies more time, but they all refused. If he didn't pay his bills on time, then his internet, water, electricity would all be disconnected. He couldn't afford that.
Many people tried to help him, saying that they'll give him money to pay everything and they won't ask for it back, but he denied any help. You, his girlfriend, even tried to help out but, as stubborn as he was, he just said no.
You were currently at the grocery store, buying some fruit for Douxie. As you were checking out, you noticed the Guardians of Arcadia were all goofing around outside. You smiled. They were finally having some fun after all the Arcane Order business.
Jim had pulled out Excalibur and is still the Trollhunter, Claire had gotten a lot stronger with her powers by the help of Douxie, we were able to save Toby, Archie magically appeared out of nowhere, claiming that he and his Dad had found a way out, Krel had gotten some headphones to listen to his music, since not everyone liked him blasting it out, Aja and Steve were happy with all 7 kids of theirs and Eli loved looking after them.
You walked out of the store and went over to the gang.
"Hey, gang!" you called out.
"Hi, Y/n!" they all called back.
"What are you guys doing?" you asked.
"We're all going to get ice cream," Toby replied.
"Wanna come?" Claire asked.
"Sorry guys, I can't. I need to drop these groceries off at Douxie’s. He hasn't been eating at all, lately," you shook your head.
"Do you need any help?" Jim inquired.
"Nah. I'll manage. You guys enjoy your ice cream!" you waved.
You were about to ring the doorbell, when you remembered that you had an extra key to his house. You pulled it out and opened the door.
You were greeted by silence.
Weird.
Whenever you were at Douxie's place, you were usually greeted by loud music but, today was a different story.
"Douxie!" you called, placing the groceries on the kitchen counter.
You saw the bedroom door fling open, revealing a sleep deprived Douxie.
"Hey, love. What 'ya doing here?" Douxie asked, walking towards you.
"If you haven't noticed yourself, you haven't been taking care of yourself, so I came to check up on you and give you some food," you explained.
"I've been taking care of myself!" Douxie protested.
"Really?!" you crossed your arms. "Says the wizard who currently is obviously sleep deprived and probably hasn't eaten in god-knows-how-many days."
"Well, I've been busy," Douxie said.
"I know, I know. But you have to take care of yourself as well," you said.
"I just… I need to pay these bills and give people money. I just don't have time,' he sighed.
"Well, leave financial problems to the side for just half an hour," you instructed. "And eat."
"Fine," Douxie grumbled.
You unpacked the groceries and placed them all in the fridge. You tossed a banana to Douxie.
"Eat," you ordered.
He gobbled down the fruit in just a few seconds.
"Wow. I didn't realise I was so hungry," Douxie admitted.
"Okay. Now, eat this," you said, handing him a sandwich.
"You're going to just feed me food for half an hour?" Douxie asked, his mouth filled with bread.
"Of course not! After you eat that sandwich, I’m gonna make you go to sleep," you said.
"But-" Douxie started but you cut him off.
"No 'buts' or 'ifs'. You will be going to sleep, that's my order," you lightly scolded.
After Douxie finished his sandwich you pushed him to his room. You confiscated his phone and laptop and put them outside.
"Now, you, Mr. Casperan, are going to sleep," you stated, heading out of his room just before he grabbed you wrist a spun you around to face him.
He leaned down and whispered into your ear, "Not until you kiss me."
He pulled back, waiting for you. You rolled your eyes and kissed him on his cheek.
"Now can you go to sleep?" you questioned.
"I meant- You know what…" Douxie leaned down and smashed his lips onto yours.
You were taken by surprise but you quickly melted into the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and started to play with his hair, while he snaked his arms around your waist, pulling you close. Soon after, the two of you pulled away, keeping your foreheads touching.
"Now can you go to sleep?" you repeated.
Douxie didn't reply, he just started to walk forward, making you walk back. Your back suddenly hit a wall.
Your breath hitched as Douxie leaned in for another kiss.
Douxie found your hands behind his neck and pinned them on either side of you, interlocking your warm ones with his cold ones. Archie came strolling into the bedroom, but he quickly spun around when he saw the two of you making out. Giving the two of you privacy, he walked back outside.
Sooner then Douxie wanted, you pulled away for air.
"Now, you're going to bed," you said, pushing him away.
Douxie opened his mouth to speak but you placed a finger to his lips.
"No more excuses," you said, "Sleep."
You pushed him onto his bed and tucked him in and walked out of his room, closing the door behind you.
You plopped onto the couch and opened up Douxie's laptop. As soon as you opened it, you saw a bunch of numbers on the screen.
That's a lot of money.
"Hello, Miss Y/n," a voice spoke.
You jumped and looked towards the source. You realised it was just Archie and leaned back into the couch, while Archie flew to you and sat himself down in your lap.
"Hey, Arch. How's it going?" you asked.
"Good. I, uh… wanted to greet you earlier but you were um… preoccupied with Douxie," Archie hesitated.
You blushed and looked away, "Uh… we were just… umm… yeah."
"Anyways, about Douxie," Archie started, "I'm worried for him. I doubt he has the money to pay for everything. I've been trying to help him out by reaching out to a couple wizard friends of his, but there's only so much that I can do. Y/n, can you please help him out?"
"Of course I will, Arch. I just need to figure out how," you replied.
Archie nodded his head and sat there in silence, while you were thinking ways to help poor Douxie out. You started to absent-mindedly stroke Archie’s fur, earning a purr from him. After a couple of minutes, your eyes began to droop and you stopped stroking Archie. Soon, you fell into a deep slumber. The familiar noticed this and looked up to you, before he realised you were asleep. He carefully removed your hand off of him and he flew to get a throw blanket for you. When he returned, he heard very quiet snores from you. Archie laid the blanket on top of you and let you rest.
Half an hour later
Douxie was up and refreshed, while you were still peacefully asleep on the couch. Douxie opened up the door to see Archie playing with a ball of red yarn on a window sill. Archie noticed Douxie and stopped playing with the yarn. Douxie was about to ask where Y/n was but Archie held a finger up to his mouth and then pointed towards the couch. He walked over to the couch and saw that you were sleeping.
He smiled. You looked cute when you were asleep. Douxie quietly sat himself down next to you, planted a kiss on your temple and started to get back to his financial problem.
After 10 mins
You started to stir awake from your nap. As you opened your eyes, you felt a light tickling sensation in your hair. You saw Douxie was sitting next to you, staring at his laptop while absently ruffling your hair.
"Douxie," you whispered, instantly getting his attention.
"Hey there, love. Had a nice nap?" Douxie asked.
You only nodded your head. You tried to look what Douxie was doing on his laptop but you couldn't clearly read what was on the screen since you could only see half of it. Douxie opened up his arm and you snuggled into him. You once again saw numbers.
"Handling bills?" you guessed.
"Yeah," Douxie replied.
Suddenly, you got an idea.
"Hey, Doux," you called.
"Yes, love?" Douxie asked.
"You know how you don't have enough money to pay for the bills. What if you moved into my place instead and put this place up on the market?" you suggested (idk how housing works, just go along with it), "You wouldn't have to pay for the bills, so less money to give."
He thought about it for a minute.
"Mordrax's miracles! That's a great idea!" Douxie cheered.
"Great! We can start moving your stuff tomorrow," you said.
You looked once again at the laptop screen to check the time, 4:15 p.m.
"Do you want some tea?" Douxie asked, closing the laptop.
"Sure," you nodded.
After drinking the tea that Douxie made, the two of you decided to go out for a walk.
You and Douxie were walking down the path, hand in hand, when you spotted Toby, Claire and Jim. The trio also noticed you and Douxie, and ran up to you.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Claire giggled.
"Hey guys! What're you up to?" Douxie inquired.
"Just hanging around," Jim shrugged.
"Wait, weren't you guys with the rest of the gang?" you questioned.
"Yeah, we were but, they had other things to do. Steve, Aja and Eli had to take care of the kids. Then Krel had to adjust one of his inventions," Toby answered, "They left just before we got ice cream!"
"Yeah, T.P. here is just whining about how we couldn't get ice cream," Claire chuckled.
"I am not!"
"Well, why don't the five of us go right now?" you recommended.
"Yes! 'Mission: Get Ice Cream' is back in action!" Toby cheered, fist pumping the air.
You all made your way to an ice cream truck that was on the other side of town.
Jim and Claire were currently arguing over what ice cream flavour to get, since they wanted to share. Toby was happily enjoying his Nougat Nummy flavoured ice cream, while you and Douxie waited for Jim and Claire to decide. It was currently between chocolate and strawberry. The ice cream scooper decided to step in and suggest a whole different flavour to them. Thank the stars, they agreed. You and Douxie finally got to order. Douxie didn't minded what flavour you got, so you ordered vanilla, the classic.
Toby had already finished his ice cream, Jim and Claire were feeding each other, and you and Douxie were basically doing the same thing as the other two lovebirds.
"Sorry to interrupt your guys' little romantic session, but we should probably start heading back," Toby stated.
"Right," Jim nodded giving the last bite to Claire before he threw the little bowl away.
"Yeah, we should too," Douxie nodded, as you threw away your rubbish.
You all waved goodbye as the trio walked towards the neighbourhood, while you and Douxie made your way to your apartment.
"So, do you think Archie's gonna scratch my couch?" you asked, pointing to your newly bought furniture.
"Depends on how he's feeling," Douxie shrugged.
"Right, cause I don't want a scratched couch in just a few days. I bought that. I'll get something for him to scratch on," you concluded.
After you two had a discussion about tomorrow, Douxie headed back to his place.
Next morning, you had woken up bright and early to move Douxie's stuff to your place.
Right now you were cleaning around the apartment while your wizard was packing.
"Y/n! I'm done packing!" Douxie called.
"Bring your stuff out here!" you shouted.
Douxie came from his bedroom with a suitcase, laptop bag and a gig bag.
"You don't have much stuff," you commented.
"Nope. What are we going to do with the furniture and other stuff?" Douxie inquired.
"Well, we could put it up for sale if you don't want it. Or you can keep it," you replied.
"Nah, I don't need it. We can just put up for sale," Douxie said.
"Right. Now, let's get your stuff over to my place," you said, making a portal and gestured Douxie to go through.
He obeyed and went through the portal as you followed behind.
You were now in your living room where Archie was scratching the scratch post you bought for him.
"Hey, Arch!" you greeted.
"Hello, Miss Y/n," Archie nodded.
"Well, hello to you too Arch," Douxie grumbled as he placed down his belongings.
"Hello, Douxie," Archie added and went back to clawing the post.
You lead Douxie to your room and helped him unpack.
After unpacking his things, you started to make lunch.
You were trying to get oil from the top shelf but you couldn't quite reach it. You were going to ask Douxie, when you felt a pair of arms wrap around you, bringing you back into a chest.
"Douxie, my love, I was just going to ask if you could help me get that bottle of oil down from the top," you chuckled.
"I have a better idea," he said.
You turned around to face him, to see a grin on his face. He grabbed your hand and took you out of your apartment.
You were taken all the way to Sam's.
"Douxie, you know I could've just made lunch, right?" you said.
"I know but, a date is better," Douxie grinned.
As soon as you and Douxie took a seat, a waiter came up to you two and asked for your order. Since the whole idea of coming to Sam's was Douxie's, he ordered. Not long after, the waiter came back with two burgers and two soft drinks. You thanked the waiter before digging into the food.
After lunch, the two of you hiked your way up to the Bluff.
"How… much… longer… till… we get… there?" you panted.
You seriously needed to get out more cause you were exhausted.
"Just a few more-" Douxie started but you cut him off.
"Please don't say 'minutes'!" you begged.
"I was going to say 'metres'," Douxie finished.
"Thank the stars!" you gasped and ran the rest of the way.
You came to halt as you saw the beautiful sunset in front of you.
Definitely worth hiking for.
"So, you happy you came up here?" Douxie asked.
"Beyond any doubt," you breathed.
You tore your gaze from the scene to Douxie.
"So, you happy that you moved into my place? you smirked.
"Beyond any doubt," Douxie repeated your words, stepping forward and bringing you closer to him.
You stared up into his soft, hazel eyes, while he stared into your childlike, e/c eyes. You both leaned in and closed the gap between each other.
Now that Douxie had moved into your place, he didn't have to worry about money that much.
And you? You had company as did Douxie and Archie. A win, win.
Word count: 2, 625
#douxie#douxie x reader#douxie casperan x reader#douxie x y/n#douxie casperan#hisirdoux x y/n#hisirdoux casperan x reader#toa hisirdoux#toa hisirdoux casperan#hisirdoux x reader#request#toa douxie casperan#toa x reader#my wriitng#my fic
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Trigger warnings: Medical stuff, blood/gore, burns, death.
Drawn from Stone
Chapter 12
Despite the fact that the trek was slow going, he had plenty to do. Mostly, he was circling around the group — Claire and NotEnrique called it herding which it totally wasn’t — to check on everyone. Between the elderly and the whelps and everyone in between, he was understanding why Blinky looked ready to blow a gasket when they stopped for a break just inside a cave that one of the scouts found.
He collapsed in a heap near the edge of the group and refused to get up when a few whelps came over and tugged at his hands, legs, and ears.
“Come on,” one of them said, “please?”
“Maybe when we stop for the evening,” he said, letting his hand fall limply from one of the other whelp’s grasp.
“But that won’t be for a few more hours,” said another, a whine starting to keen out from their throat.
“Hey, now,” Claire said, softly sitting down near his head. The smell of whatever shampoo she used tickled his nose. He tilted his head so he had a better look of her. She looked pretty in the armor Merlin made her. “What’s going on?”
NotEnrique jumped out of her arms and started scratching his ears with his hindlegs. He ran off somewhere else, probably to get away from the whelps.
“The Trollhunter doesn’t want to play with us any more,” said the whelp who started to whine. Their lip trembled slightly.
“I’m sure that’s not true, right, Jim?”
“I’d like to play,” he said, earning a few gasps of delight, “but I’m a little tired right now.”
“See? He’s just tired. Come on, we should let him rest.” There were a few complaints. “You guys took a lot out of him earlier. Honestly, together you could probably have defeated Gunmar.”
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#trollhunters#3 below#wizards toa#tales of arcadia#trollhunters fanfiction#3 below fanfiction#tales of arcadia fanfiction#drawn from stone
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That I Could Fear a Door
A Tales of Arcadia: Trollhunters Fan-Fiction
By @emachinescat
Summary: Jim had thought that going back home, back to the real world, would be an easy and painless process. He thought it would be simple - it should have been simple. It wasn’t. A reimagining of Jim’s return from the Darklands, where he quickly finds that adjusting to real life after so much trauma isn’t as easy as one might think.
Words: 5,639
TW: PTSD, depression, panic attacks
Keep reading here, or on AO3!
Years I had been from home,
And now, before the door
I dared not open, lest a face
I never saw before …
I laughed a wooden laugh
That I could fear a door,
Who danger and the dead had faced,
But never quaked before.
- From "Home" by Emily Dickinson
Jim had thought that going back home, back to the real world, would be an easy and painless process. After all, during his weeks in the Darklands, first alone and searching the endless shadows, then hunted like an animal, then captured and beaten and forced to fight for the sport of others, hadn't he dreamed endlessly of just that? Of seeing the sun again, of seeing his friends, of hugging his mom, of cooking and eating and training and playing video games and slacking off on homework? He thought it would be simple - it should have been simple.
It wasn't.
The first few moments after crashing back into the over world were indeed euphoric. There was the sun, filtering in through the branches of the trees. It took all of his self-control not to stare straight into it. Even in the evening breeze, there was a warmth in the air that he hadn't felt in so long that it seemed more like a memory. He lay there, flat on his back in the grass, wishing he could feel the soft tickle of the blades on his skin, but trapped in his Eclipse armor. Still, he was free.
Much of the next hour was a blur. He later would recall a few hazy moments - hugging his friends, receiving the amulet from Blinky and finally - finally - shedding the stifling second skin of the Eclipse armor, trying to convince Nomura to stick around, Claire semi-joking about how bad he smelled, and the word free chasing itself around in his head like a dog after its own tail. Free, free, free!
He would always remember in perfect clarity the moment he hugged his mother again, but that hadn't come until later the next week. He wanted more than anything to go to her immediately upon his escape, but Toby and Claire convinced him otherwise.
"What's she going to think if you come home looking like … well, looking like… that?" Toby demanded, gesturing unhelpfully to Jim as a whole.
"And the smell…" Claire added, also unhelpfully.
"You have been through a great ordeal, Master Jim," Blinky reminded him gently. "If you go home now, there will be questions you cannot answer and not the rest you need."
And so Jim reluctantly agreed to go home in Toby's stead with Aaarrrgghh while Toby covered for him at home once more.
It was surreal, Jim found himself thinking as he stood in the Domzalski household's upstairs bathroom, shower already running hot behind him and Aaarrrgghh just across the hall, waiting for him in Toby's room. Just this morning, he had woken up in a cage on cold stone, in a state of perpetual, gnawing hunger that had become the norm, hanging on to the tiniest thread of hope that today might be the day he was finally rescued - but knowing deep down that it was much more likely to be the day he finally died. Now, he had a full stomach for the first time in nearly a month. He was with his friends, safe, electric lights warding off the darkness that had been his hell for so long. Hot water waited for him, beckoned for him. He could be warm and clean again. Just a few days ago he had said something about how much he missed soap. He should have been happy, he thought miserably. Maybe happy wasn't the right word. He was very happy to be away from the Darklands, from Gunmar and Dictatious and goblins and monsters. But he wasn't content.
He also couldn't bring himself to undress. He had been standing in front of the mirror for a good five minutes now, as steam billowed out from behind the curtain and fogged the glass, obscuring the face he'd barely recognized anyway. Good riddance, he thought half-madly, for the boy in the mirror was a warped doppelganger, touched by death and despair, with his sunken eyes, wan skin stretched too tight over abnormally prominent cheekbones, dark, puffy bags under his eyes, and a smattering of bruises and cuts pulling the whole package together with a sickly little bow. His hair was a bit longer than he usually kept it, matted and caked with dirt and blood. It felt crusty to the touch, and brittle somehow, as if it would crumble to dust if he tried to brush it.
He looked bad enough as it was from the neck up. He had no desire to see what awaited him beneath his filthy clothes. He wondered blearily how they had gotten so disgusting when they had been underneath his armor the whole time. Sweat and revoked shower privileges would do that to a person, he finally reasoned, and at once he found he couldn't get in the shower quickly enough.
He stripped off the offending garments with an urgency he hadn't felt even at his most desperate moments in the Darklands, nearly tripping over the edge of the tub in his haste to get in. He was relieved that the mirror had fogged, but he still avoided making eye contact with it just in case.
The water burned his skin, but he turned it hotter, attacking his hair first with nearly half a bottle of shampoo, applying and rinsing, applying and rinsing, until he couldn't see from the suds cascading down his face and the murky water ran clear. He conditioned once, something he'd never done before. He didn't know if it did anything, but it made him feel cleaner.
And then he was scrubbing himself all over, the water reddening the skin on his arms (he studiously avoided looking anywhere else), again and again, as if trying to peel his very skin off. Dirt and sweat and blood poured off of his battered body and he watched it meander toward the drain in a detached sort of way before resuming his frantic washing.
It wasn't until his skin was so raw that he felt like he was an onion peeled of its top few layers that he stopped, breathing heavily, exhaustion threatening to overwhelm him, nausea roiling as he regretted the deli sandwich he'd scarfed down earlier. Knees weak, he found himself sinking to the floor of the tub, knees drawn up awkwardly to his chest. The water pounded on his head, back, shoulders, and he let it, slipping into a kind of sleep-trance, watching the water swirl around his feet before making its relentless way to the drain. He thought of nothing, felt nothing, and only broke out of the haze when the water grew cold and panic lanced through him at the loss of warmth. He turned off the water, more tired than he could ever remember being in his life, somehow managed to stand up on wobbly legs, wearily slid back the shower curtain - and froze.
Since he'd been in the shower so long that the water had gone cold, the mirror had also de-fogged, and he found himself unwillingly confronted with the specter that he had been hoping to avoid - his reflection.
Before he'd been captured, he'd scavenged for food and found himself eating something mostly every day, so he'd been nourished but always hungry. After he'd been taken, however, any meals - and he used that word lightly - were few and far between. They'd fed him just enough to keep him alive. He could see now from his emaciated frame that they had still essentially starved him. He'd been Gunmar's prisoner for what felt like years, but it had to have been a week at most.
Still, close to a month without a reliable food source had done its work: He'd always been skinny, but now he could see, fully defined, every rib. Any muscle mass, lean though it might have been, that he'd gained during his training was gone, his arms weak and frail looking. His armor had protected him from extensive physical damage all the times that he had been beaten or tossed around like a soccer ball, but his whole torso was mottled with bruises of all colors, shapes, and sizes, all in different stages of healing. A good deal of them were centered over his ribs, and he winced as the pain that had been his constant companion flared up. He wondered vaguely if he needed to see a doctor. He wouldn't be surprised if Gunmar had cracked a few in one of his rages. He cast the thought aside - how would he explain the state he was in? - and turned abruptly from the horrible, somehow shameful image of his battered body and quickly dressed in the pair of pajamas Toby had let him borrow. They would have swallowed him whole on a normal day, but now they made him feel tiny and breakable and pathetic and weak, and he only kept them on because he hated the way he looked underneath even more.
He offered a simple "G'night," to Aaarrgghh before falling into Toby's bed, expecting to fall asleep the instant his head hit the pillow.
To his surprise, and to his irritation, sleep refused to come. He couldn't get comfortable. The bed was too soft, the blankets too warm, and the moonlight making its way in between the cracks in the curtains toyed with him, tickling his eyelids with the suggestion of light and making it impossible to fall asleep. There were none of the noises he'd come to grow accustomed to, either - no faint buzzing of the magically reinforced bars holding him in, no tromping footsteps of the guards, no click-clacking of goblin claws or snorts or whistled operas or snarls or distant, echoing screams…
In the end, Jim tossed and turned, sick with fatigue and enraged at how cruelly sleep evaded him. He finally, mercifully fell into a restless, nightmare-filled slumber around five in the morning, but even the worst of the dreams didn't wake him, exhausted as he was, and he was trapped back in the Darklands, suffering torture after torture at Gunmar's hands, until he woke again eighteen hours later, on a cot in Troll Market.
He had been moved there at dusk the next day when his coma-like slumber pressed on and his friends, who had not realized the extent of his injuries or exhaustion, grew worried. Vendel had examined him while he slept, expertly bound ribs that had indeed been cracked, and performed all the healing rituals and magic he knew to be safe for a human. Even so, he'd warned Jim, who felt numb and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, it would be a week before he could even begin to regain his strength and pass as his old self, and longer for him to truly be back to the same physical shape he had been in before he'd gone to the Darklands.
And so Jim stayed in Troll Market, under Vendel's care, for another eight days, while Toby got to put on a magical mask and pretend to be him and have his life and hug his mom. Jim tried not to be bitter about it, but it was hard. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh spent all their spare time with him, and Claire and Toby came to Troll Market after school every day and kept him company until they were expected home. Jim talked to them, laughed hollowly, took the homework they gave him, and then retreated within himself as soon as they had disappeared out of sight.
It will be better soon, he kept telling himself desperately. I just need to get out of Troll Market, go back home, get back to my normal life. Once I'm feeling better and things are back to the way they were, it will be like I never left.
Once again, he was very wrong.
***
In the weeks that followed his re-emergence into his real life, Jim discovered very quickly that the life he had left was either very different than he had remembered it to be, or that he himself was very different than he had once been. He supposed both might be a little true.
Being in his mother's embrace was the only thing that felt completely safe and normal after his return. He didn't care that she had just grounded him; when he finally saw her again, he hugged harder and longer than he could ever remember doing, and he had felt better, more like himself, until he'd tried to go to sleep that night and the cold returned. The next morning, he had attempted to do his usual routine like nothing had ever happened, but even that familiar motion felt hollow and the smile he flashed his mom before leaving for school barely concealed the emptiness just beneath the surface.
Other than that first hug, everything else around him, including his friends, school, good food, trolls, even his mom - all things he had coveted during his time in the Darklands - were strange and foreign to him.
Claire and Toby, though they did their best to be understanding and supportive, were obviously thrown off by his sudden mood swings and sullen attitude. They seemed distant and somehow unfamiliar, and Jim found himself feeling awkward around them, unable to figure out what to talk about or why he should laugh at the joke Toby had just made. Didn't they understand that none of this really mattered? There was so much darkness and pain and fear just beneath the skin of this world, and if they scratched the surface just a little too deeply, it could break loose and destroy them all. So he did what he could to avoid these awkward moments all together, and barely noticed the hurt and disappointment blooming in their eyes as he shut them out and walked away.
He'd thought school would be a great return to normalcy, but everything about it grated on his nerves. Even the cheers as he returned to campus - Congrats on beating Jim Lake Disease! - made him feel claustrophobic. He barely held it together anytime Steve cornered him, his heart racing madly in his chest like it wanted to escape, with or without him. The teachers were demanding, the sound of the lockers made his head ache and reminded him too much of the sound of a cage door slamming shut, and once, when Coach had grabbed his arm to show the class proper movement for a volleyball serve, raw, animal fear had overtaken him, and he'd flipped the teacher onto his back and scurried, terrified, under the bleachers. He barely remembered it, except for the pain in his chest, the short, insufficient puffs of breath, and Claire finally coaxing him out after class dismissed and herding him to the nurse. It was a panic attack, she'd said, eyeing him with concern, and had he had any drastic life changes, any unusual stressors? He lied, because he couldn't do anything else, and she told him to consider seeing a counselor anyway.
"Maybe the nurse is right," Claire said on their way to Troll Market that evening. "You're obviously struggling with this. Maybe you should go to counseling, or something." Her voice was soft and soothing, like she was talking to a wounded beast. Perhaps she was.
Jim laughed, a harsh, cold sound that stopped his best friends in their tracks. "Oh, sure, I'll just do that," he said sarcastically, hating himself as the bitterness dripped from his lips like an overflowing witch's brew but unable to stop the words or the emotions that spawned them. "I'm sure there's plenty of shrinks out there that can help me with my troll-induced trauma."
One of the things he'd missed the most was food - good food, not soupy nightmare-creature eggs or slimy soup made from monster meat that was probably not good for humans but that he had scarfed down on the rare occasion that Gunmar had deigned to feed him. Now, he ate because it was expected of him, but he barely tasted the food. Even his favorite recipes were like ash in his mouth, and cooking didn't bring him the pleasure it once had.
If Claire and Toby were baffled by his behavior, their confusion was nothing compared to that of Blinky and Aaarrrgghh, his two closest friends and trainers in Troll Market. Blinky had fretted on more than one occasion that perhaps they had brought home a changeling Jim somehow, not the real one. After all, Jim Lake, Jr. was kind and funny and fun to be around, and this new Jim was brooding and dull and never truly present. Jim saw the worry in Blinky's six eyes and in the anxious set of Aaarrrgghh's jaw, and it saddened him - just not enough to shake him from the waking hell his life had become. Training was a monotonous routine as he gradually built his strength back up, and even Draal, perhaps the least emotionally-inclined of the trolls save for Vendel, found himself hesitantly asking the young Trollhunter if he was okay, if there was anything he needed that might help him feel better. Jim gave him a half-hearted smile, truly touched, but said no. He wasn't sure anything could fix this hole that had been drilled inside of him. It was too dark, too empty, and it hurt too damn much.
His mom had noticed a difference in him too, but she was at a complete loss. Jim tried his hardest to be his old self when he was with her, and being in her company did bring back a spark of his personality, but even so, he saw the concern in her bright blue eyes whenever she looked at him, and he'd seen her at school in conference with Seňor Uhl, and knew that she was trying to get any inkling of what was eating away at her son. Claire and Toby were no help to her, either, for after she had cornered them after school one day, demanding to know what had happened and why Jim was behaving so uncharacteristically, they had taken extra care to avoid her, unable to say or do anything to ease her worry.
***
And so this went on for nearly two weeks before Toby, Claire, Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, and Draal met up with the sole intention of finding a way to bring their friend back. He was suffering so much, and no one could truly understand what he had gone through.
"He clearly has signs of PTSD," Claire said heavily, clarifying for a befuddled Aaarrrgghh: "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."
"This… order?" Aaarrrgghh drawled, eyes wide in concern.
"Disorder, big guy," Toby corrected, heaving a weary sigh. "It means he's been through something traumatic, and he can't deal with it."
"Well, how do humans usually deal with their trauma and stress?" Blinky asked, always straight to business.
Claire and Toby exchanged knowing glances. "Most of the time, we don't. We just avoid it all together," Claire admitted. "But when someone has been through something like Jim has - extended periods of isolation, being a prisoner, abuse - it's not enough to pretend it doesn't exist." A tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away with the heel of her hand angrily. "I knew he'd be in bad shape when he came back," she admitted. "But he was so happy to see us when we rescued him that I thought that maybe he would be okay."
"What do humans do if they cannot ignore this trah-mah?" Draal enunciated the unfamiliar word. It was quite endearing to see such a hulk of a beast with so much concern in his dark eyes.
"Usually, they see a therapist," Toby supplied.
Aaarrrgghh frowned. "There - I - pissed?"
Toby snorted in almost manic laughter. "Therapist," he repeated, still chuckling. "A person who goes to school to know how to help people with their problems and stuff."
"Well," Blinky said, a new light in his eyes, "we shall venture forth and find Master Jim one of these therapists! Then he'll be back to his old self in no time!" He noticed the dubious expressions on the humans' faces. "What? Are the therapists extinct?"
"No," Claire replied. "But Jim was right - he can't talk to anyone but us about what has happened, and he obviously has no interest in talking to us!"
"Yeah," Toby chimed in, "if he went up to a shrink and told them that he had been stranded in a dark, forbidden hellscape searching for a lost child and then was the prisoner of a crazy troll that wants to escape his eternal prison and conquer the overworld… he'd be thrown in the loony bin for sure."
"So it's hopeless." Blinky's arms fell limp at his sides. "We can do nothing to help Master Jim escape the clutches of PDSC." Neither Toby nor Claire bothered to correct him. Blinky continued, "Is there anything else that might help Master Jim? Anyone else that he might talk to that would not throw him in this 'loony bin'?"
Claire opened her mouth to say no, but shut it abruptly, the light of an idea sparking in her eyes. "Actually," she said, the hint of a real smile making an appearance for the first time in a very long time, "I think I have an idea." When six pairs of eyes locked onto her hopefully, she added, "And it might even be a good one!"
***
When Jim got home from school two days after the secret meeting between his friends he was surprised to hear someone bustling about in the kitchen when he opened the front door. His mom worked late on Tuesdays, and anyway, her car wasn't in the drive. He reached his hand into his bag, paranoia growing, and his fingertips had just brushed the curve of his amulet when a tall Asian woman wearing a smart pantsuit limped into sight. His bag fell to the floor.
"Nomura?"
It was odd seeing her in her human form; after spending so much time around her changeling form in the Darklands, he had forgotten that she was quite pretty as a human. "Hello, Little Gynt." Her voice was also much less grating in this shape, but he found he didn't like the softer tones as much anymore.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, picking his bag up and hanging it on the stair rail, though he closed his hand around the amulet first, clutching it tightly in one fist. It wasn't that he didn't trust Nomura - she had proven herself to be a loyal, if reluctant friend - but because he had come to associate her presence in general with danger. If she noticed his cautionary measure, she didn't mention it. "I thought you left," he added as an afterthought.
"I did, but I came back," she replied vaguely. A stab of annoyance shot through Jim, and even the negative emotion came as a relief - he had felt nothing but fear and numbness since returning home. The change was nice, even if it was fleeting.
"Why?" His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you were worried about me?"
She studied him with dark, serious eyes for a long moment. "I don't worry about anyone," she finally responded.
Jim felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. She said this, but he could see beneath the surface now. Their time as prisoners of Gunmar had shown him that there was much more to the changeling than met the eye. He waited for the consuming awkwardness that always set in when he was around his friends to descend, but to his surprise, he continued to feel relatively comfortable around Nomura, more at home than he had in a long while.
"Shouldn't you be in a wheelchair or on crutches or something?" he asked, gesturing to her legs. Normally she wore dresses, so he could only assume that the legs of the pantsuit hid some spectacular bruises. "I thought your legs were really hurt."
"They were broken," she agreed. "But my kind heals quickly." She moved forward slowly, then sat on the couch. "They still need a bit of rest to recover fully, though."
Jim sat down across from her in an armchair. "I can't remember if I ever said - thank you, for believing me, for helping me escape." He paused, eyes on his fidgeting hands in his lap. "For being kind."
"Well, I'm more than just a pretty face," Nomura said, and it was impossible to tell if she were joking or not. After a companionable silence, she asked, "So how have you been holding up, Little Gynt?"
Jim didn't know what it was about her, but something made him want to tell Nomura about sleepless night after sleepless night, about the nightmares that plagued him whenever he finally collapsed from exhaustion, about the cavern that had been dug seemingly overnight between himself and his friends, about how he either felt nothing or everything at every moment, about how loud footsteps made him anxious and how physical touch - except hugs from his mom - made him want to wither into himself or run away screaming, about how he had had all these expectations about what life would be like on the other side of Killahead Bridge, and how none of them had come through. He gave her a weak smile, and said, "I'm fine."
An undefinable expression flitted across the changeling's features. "Yeah, kid," she said finally. "I'm fine, too."
***
After that, Jim came home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, his mom's late days, expecting Nomura to be there, because she always was. Sometimes they'd have a cup of tea and sit in silence. Often they'd talk about mundane things - Jim would talk to her about school and his mom, and Nomura would talk about anything from opera to history to art to the strange old man who had flirted with her at the laundry mat Sunday night.
These visits, as ordinary as they were considering she was a changeling and he the Trollhunter, slowly seemed to draw more of the old Jim back out into the light. Talking to Nomura was different than talking with his friends; perhaps it was because she had been there with him in the Darklands, had suffered alongside him at the hand of Gunmar. And the more he talked to Nomura, the easier it was to talk to his friends, too. Slowly, the cavern that had been dug between him and his friends, troll and human alike, began to shrink, and he laughed aloud at a stupid pun Toby made at lunch, and he didn't retreat into himself every time a locker slammed. Still, there was a barrier between himself and his real life, the one he wanted back more than he could express but that was always just out of reach.
He found himself actually complaining to Nomura about this three Tuesdays after he had first found her waiting for him in his home. "Toby spent weeks wearing a magical mask and pretending to be me and to have my life," he said. "Sometimes I just wish that I could put that mask on and be me again too."
Nomura was quiet for several seconds, and then she told a story that seemed to be very much off topic: "When I was a child, I was told stories of the human world. It was a wonderful place, full of light and life and the sun…"
"What does this have to do with-?"
"Shut up and let me talk." When Nomura told you to do something, you did it or risked life and limb. So Jim wisely shut up and let her continue. "I grew up longing to go to that world, to see the sun and to feel the warmth and the light. The surface world was a fairy tale, and I was a little girl who grew up in the dark. Nothing else could have spoken to me more.
"But when I was finally given my chance to come into the world, to take the place of a little Asian-American girl named Zelda Namura, I was separated from my parents and my home, all alone in a world I did not understand, and it didn't matter how much I had dreamed of the sun, it wasn't what I had expected at all.
"Adjusting was… difficult. It was not until the human body I had replaced had grown older and was taken by her family to the opera that I found something that connected me to this world, something to enjoy, something of beauty. But it wasn't until I met another one like me, here in Arcadia, while under the employ of Bular, that I truly felt at home."
"Mr. Strickler," Jim realized.
"Yes. There's something very special about talking with someone - even if it's someone you're not crazy about - that understands you, where you've come from, and what you've been through."
"Is that the moral of this story?" Jim asked, partially touched, partially exasperated. "Are you trying to tell me that talking to you is going to make all of this go away because we've been through the same thing?"
Nomura shrugged. "Who knows? I just think it's a good story. You can take what you want from it."
Jim smiled.
And then everything, like water pushing relentlessly at a weakening dam, broke.
***
Jim could never remember crying the way that he did that evening. He didn't think he was sad, exactly, or hurt, or even angry anymore - he was just exhausted and overwhelmed with everything that he had gone through but kept to himself. The fear and humiliation of his capture, the paranoia that his friends were never going to trust him after he betrayed their them and went to look for Enrique without them, anxiety about Gunmar and the paralyzing horror every time he wondered if there was any way he could have followed them out of the Darklands, how he was having trouble connecting with the world he'd always known, the sleepless nights, the nightmares, the numbness and terror that followed him interchangeably, the way that every touch to his arms sent him back to his prison, being dragged painfully between two trolls strong enough to rip him in half with one swift yank…
He talked and cried and had no fewer than two panic attacks, and Nomura just sat there quietly all the while, watching with an unreadable cocktail of emotions in her eyes. When he had finally quieted, his heart feeling both emptier and lighter than it had since before he had made his journey to the Darklands, she simply handed him a packet of tissues she had packed in her purse and asked, "Better?"
He offered her a sniffle and a watery smile, unable to speak anymore, too stunned to fully process what had just happened. She stayed by his side, just being there, until his mom's headlights shone through the blinds. She would climb out the bathroom window and into the night.
Jim slept peacefully that night. If he had bad dreams, he didn't remember them.
***
It was a slow process, even after the cathartic conversation with Nomura. Jim slowly found himself acclimating more and more to his old life, with friends, school, home life, and even troll hunting becoming things to look forward to rather than dread. Loud noises and unexpected touch still startled him, but he was able to ground himself more easily now. He fell into a routine very similar to the one he'd had before, what seemed like a lifetime ago.
Cracked ribs, bruises, and cuts healed much faster than emotional scars, but at least he knew, in time, he would be okay. He was acutely aware that nothing would ever be exactly the same as it had always been, though. What he had gone through was something no person, no teenager especially, should have to experience. And while he had entered the Darklands of his own volition, none of what had happened to him there was his fault (at least that's what they told him; it would take a long while to truly believe that himself, but that knowledge, like everything else, would come in time). He had been isolated in the dark, on the run, hunted, captured and held in deplorable conditions, starved and beaten, forced to fight for his life, and nearly broken beyond repair, but he had made it this far.
Things might never be as they were, but he could forge a new path from here. He could grow stronger, adapt, overcome, and prove to Gumnar, to his friends, to troll kind, and to himself that he was more than what had been done to him. He was more than pain and trauma and helplessness and fear and rage.
He was James Lake, Jr., Jim to his friends, the first ever human Trollhunter, the son of Barbara and student of Blinky, Little Gynt, and even, he supposed, Buttsnack. Some days he would only feel like some of these things. On bad days, he wouldn't feel like any of them.
But he wouldn't forget the truth. He wouldn't lose sight of who he was so completely, not again. And, if by some horrible twist of fate he did, he knew now that he had an odd but utterly complete assortment of friends - humans, trolls, and even a couple of changelings - who would help him fight his way out. Out of the Darklands. Out of the past and pain and dark recesses of his own mind.
And into, as cliche as he knew it was, the light.
#trollhunters#tales of arcadia#jim lake jr#fanfic#angst#whump fic#emotional whump#ptsd tw#depression tw#panic attacks tw#nomura#seriously there's no way this kid escaped the darklands without being traumatized af#so i fixed it#here's my take on how it could have gone down realistically#poor jim#jim whump#emcatwrites
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The trolls from Trollhunters tales of Arcadia are interesting characters but which one do you find hot I personally prefer gunmar
Picking just one is impossible... Gunmar, Angor Rot and Draal all tickle my fancy
#the energies are so different#but I'm a girl of varying tastes#ask#trollhunters#twixthings#anonymous
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