A while back I posted that in the sunshine au each of the kids will have a signature color, and I thought I'd go a little more into detail about what that means for one character in particular.
Darci.
Her color is green, the color of both envy and harmony.
After the Battle of Two Bridges Blinky decides that in order to give his human charges an advantage in their struggle against the Janus order, he'll let them handle several magical artifacts that Vendel has in storage in the hope of awakening some form of Wizardry in them.
Because learning magic is a lot like learning music. It doesn't require any special innate factor, and with practice and hard work almost anyone can become skilled at some form of it.
Jim is barred from using the artifacts, due to his "curse" interfering with any outside magic, but for the rest of the kids it's wildly successful.
Claire awakens her magic first, darkness flickering at her fingertips and shadows bending to her will. Toby discovers his magic in the stones he spent his life studying, finding power in the heat and pressure of the earth itself. Mary's magic burns bright and hot, much more volatile than the others', able to summon an inferno on a whim.
Then there's Darci, who tries as hard as she can but is never able to summon more than a flicker of power.
That's when they learn that while most people can learn some form of magic, a few people are the magical equivalent of tone deaf. And that no matter how much work and effort they put in they'll never be able to master anything but the most basic of spells.
Darci falls into this category.
She's utterly crushed at learning this but tries to keep her spirits up and be happy for her friends. After all this isn't their fault, and they'd happily give her the ability to practice magic if they could. And while Jim does have special abilities of his own he paid a terrible price for them.
The other kids know how left out Darci feels and make a point to never exclude her and to not rub their talents in her face.
But as sympathetic as the others are and as much as she tries to force herself to stay positive, Darci can't help but look at all her friends growing into new, fantastical powers and feel the sharp sting of envy.
As time goes on Darci find herself more and more torn between her support for her friends and her growing bitterness. But then something unexpected happens that sends everyone reeling.
The arrival of someone who's also known for wearing green.
Merging the magic systems of Tales of Arcadia and the Owl House
Ever since I added the Owl House in alongside Tales of Arcadia as one of my blorbo shows, I’ve wanted to do a crossover between the two. The trouble is I’m coming up empty with plot ideas, zero, nada, zilch. I want to bring these characters together but I’ve got no idea of what would bring them together and what they’d do when they got together. I still want to write a crossover, but right now I’m waiting for the right inspiration/idea to strike.
Since I have no idea when the right inspiration will strike, let alone when I’ll have anything written. I’ve decided to share my ideas for how I’d reconcile the magical systems between the two shows.
In the Owl House it is repeatedly, explicitly stated that humans cannot use innate magic; and in TOA we have multiple humans using innate magic. So how to make these two incompatible systems mesh without completely throwing out one or the other?
First step is to flesh out the world(s) the stories take place in, using some interpretation and a lot of my personal headcanons. To begin the Demon Realm isn’t really another world so much as another plane of reality to the Terrestrial Realm (aka Earth). If all of reality is a house, the Terrestrial realm would be the first floor and the Demon Realm would be the basement. Another universe would be a whole separate house. The Demon Realm isn’t the afterlife, but humans falling into the Boiling Isles and bringing stories of it back did give rise to myths about the underworld.
Now the two magic systems in these show as they are are completely incompatible, so to make them compatible I’m doing some heavy tweaking to the magic system in the TOAverse. I chose the TOAverse to alter because the Owl House has a lot of in-universe explanations for how the magic system works, while TOA is incredibly vague about it.
What I came up with is this.
Witches can practice innate magic because they have a gland of magical bile on their heart that serves as the source of their magic power. They have these bile sacs because they evolved from the decomposing carcass of an incredibly powerful eldritch god and inherited some of the Titan’s innate magic. Humans did not evolve these bile sacs and therefore have no innate magic. But what if there was a way to bypass the evolutionary middle man and get magic directly?
Because while mature titans may be some of the most powerful deities in existence, they are far from the only ones, and the terrestrial realm has plenty, the Arcane order and many others.
So while humans have no innate magic, by making a deal with a deity they can get some of their powers to use as their own.
Quick aside, in this verse deities aren’t all knowing/all powerful/pure good/pure evil. While they’re immensely powerful magical beings, deities aren’t omnipotent, and have their own struggles and limitations, just like mortal beings. There are almost no deities that are pure good or pure evil, and they often make contracts with mortals for their own reasons or their own gain, ranging from noble to petty.
And a deity giving a human some of their power doesn't lessen the deity’s power. It’s like lighting a torch from a bonfire, the bonfire isn’t reduced by lighting a torch, and it gets to spread its influence without leaving its confines.
The conditions and stipulations that go into such a contract with a deity, and what powers the human gets out of it, varies from deity to deity. An honest person making a deal with an honest deity would get an equivalent exchange, but a foolish person making a deal with a trickster deity might soon find themselves in over their head and little more than a slave. Of course there are plenty of mortals who wouldn’t mind feeding a bloodthirsty god all they desire if they come out more powerful for it. In rare cases if the mortal is clever enough they can trick the deity and come out on top of the bargain.
Every deity is unique and they all have different risks associated with making contracts with them. But making deals with ancient, primordial deities is considered especially dangerous, because while these elder beings are no more pure good or evil than their younger counterparts, their minds are much more alien. And this lack of understanding of human morality can lead to blessings that look like curses, gifts that are more like punishments. One should exercise extreme caution when making a bargain with one of these elder beings.
Now what would this look like applied?
Let’s start with Merlin. I can easily see him being clever enough to trick a deity and a lot of Arthurian myth has him being the son of the devil. So based on this, I imagine in his youth he was able to trick a very powerful, sadistic trickster god, I’m not sure how the specifics of this trick go down, but it ends with Merlin getting all the power he desires and the deity being left with almost nothing. The deity is furious but is bound by their own word.
For Douxie I imagine that a few thousand years down the line Merlin’s trickster made a deal with Douxie as a young child, giving him power with the intention of grooming him into causing Merlin’s downfall. But Merlin outsmarts them again, taking Douxie as his apprentice and teaching him all that he knows. And Merlin’s not immortal, if one day after he dies Douxie steps into his shoes that is just fine with him. Again the trickster is super pissed, but can’t do anything about it.
Now Zoe. There’s pretty much nothing in canon about her powers but I’ve seen a lot of cool fanart of her with electricity powers, so I imagine she made a bargain with Thor, god of thunder, to get lightning based magic. Thor really didn’t ask for much in this bargain, as he likes giving mortals power just because he has fun seeing them running around kicking ass and taking names.
Claire actually did what few dared to do and made a bargain with one of the oldest beings in existence, Nyx, goddess of the night and primordial darkness. No one’s sure what exactly Claire promised in exchange for power over shadows and darkness, only that Claire herself goes gaunt whenever asked and refuses to say.
Rather than being a human that made a bargain for power, I see Morgana as being a demigoddess with innate magic of her own, the child of Uther Pendragon and a powerful fae and Arthur’s half sister. Being a demigoddess makes her incredibly powerful, and killing her…complicated.
So contracts are how “typical” human magic users get their power, but when Luz goes to the Boiling Isles she discovers the glyphs, the titans’ language, and a way to use the titans’ power without a contract or a bile gland. Speculating down the line, once King learns of his true heritage and the Collector enters the scene, this opens up the possibility of Luz making a contract with one of them, but this has its own set of risks. While King and the Collector are friends and allies, the two of them are children, and while they might never intend to harm Luz they could easily end up making a contract with devastating side effects without even trying to. They’re so young they simply don’t know or understand all the subtle intricacies that go into making a bargain with a human.
That’s all I’ve hashed out for now. Like I said, any crossover story will stay in limbo until I get a good idea for a plot. And if anyone wants to incorporate any of the ideas I wrote about here into your own stories feel free. Thanks for reading my rambles!
Would there be any other striplings Jim may interact with during his first time settling in Trollmarket? Most of which could be enamored that a troll their age [physically, at least] has been chosen by the Amulet and has "roamed" the surface on his own. Would they invite him to the Troll Pub to hang out and chat about PyroBlist, tribes, etc? Given how little knowledge he has of the troll community, I can imagine how awkward and left out Jim would feel, but nonetheless intrigued.
Trollmarket is home to a handful of striplings (troll teenagers), and all of them are kind of in awe of Jim. They think it's amazing that a troll their own age (as far as they know) has not only roamed the surface but was chosen by the amulet. As far as they're concerned Jim's one of the most amazing trolls ever.
Blinky definitely encourages Jim to spend time with the Trollmarket striplings; both as part of his education to "learn to be a true troll" and so Jim can have time to relax and just be a kid. Of course they immediately run into the problem you mention. Jim has almost nothing in common with other striplings and finds it incredibly hard to hang out with them when there's basically no shared life experiences between them.
The solution, have all the other human kids join in with Jim. This way instead of Jim being the odd man out we have two already cohesive groups each bonding and learning about each other. The striplings are cool with including the humans and this works out wonderfully for everyone. The Trollmarket striplings show Jim, Claire, Darci, Toby, and Mary all their favorite hang outs and hidey holes around Trollmarket. And the humans teach them human games (red rover is an instant hit to Vendel's eternal torment) and bring them plenty of tasty human treats like socks and WD40.
Before long not only is Jim thriving in his new community of Trollmarket; but Mary, Toby, Darci, and Claire find themselves accepted as part of Trollmarket as well.
Content warning: implied sexual assault, violence, genocide.
Merlin was born in approximately 8,000 BCE in neolithic Britain. His father was a wizard of extraordinary power and Merlin's mother was one of his many concubines taken from a conquered tribe. Merlin's father, known as the High Mage to his followers, used his magical powers to control and subjugate all the tribes around him, even taking advantage of their ignorance of how magic worked to build himself up as a quasi-religious figure. Using everything from outright magical force to religious manipulation to keep people under his thumb. He fathered dozens of children with his various concubines, training the ones who showed magical potential to serve as his lieutenants. But when any of his children showed too much promise, when it appeared that one day they might surpass the High Mage in power, he had them killed.
Merlin's mother was one of the few people who hadn't bought into the religious fever his father spread, and when her son showed magical potential, the first thing she taught him was to conceal it. To never let his father, his master, know how powerful he truly was. Merlin spent his childhood walking a razor's edge, struggling to master control of his magic, all while keeping how skilled he was becoming a secret.
Merlin's father taught him very little, but Merlin still learned a lot from him, mostly about what a wizard shouldn't be. A bully, a charlatan, a false prophet; someone with phenomenal powers who only every used them for their own selfish, petty gains. From an early age Merlin knew that magic was capable of so much more than what the High Mage used it for, that with magic there was no need for people to suffer hunger and sickness. Merlin believed magic shouldn't be used selfishly, but for the good of everyone.
The greater good.
Merlin's childhood was harsh and brutal, aside from his father there were many other dangers, thuggish older siblings drunk on the power the High Mage let them wield, jealous younger siblings who would do anything to get ahead, zealots the High Mage employed to spy on his own children. He walked eggshells for years, everyday a struggle to survive, and he lost many people along the way; his mother, friends, siblings. But at last there came a day when Merlin was strong enough to challenge the High Mage.
The battle lasted days but in the end Merlin was victorious. Killing the High Mage and declaring his reign of tyranny over and a new age of peace and cooperation would begin. Merlin thought that with the High Mage dead the worst of his struggles were behind him.
He was very very wrong.
From the start Merlin's leadership was shaky, the people who enjoyed many privileges under the High Mage's rule were reluctant to give up their power. Then there were people that still clung to the quasi-religious beliefs that the High Mage had initiated. That claimed, that for all his tyranny, the High Mage was a holy figure and Merlin killing him was an act of the worst blasphemy. Then there were the people who were more open minded, but still couldn't understand the limits of what magic could and couldn't do. Merlin was constantly frustrated trying to lay out and explain to people things that just came so easily to him; that just because he could dam a flooding river didn't mean he could bring the dead back to life.
As hard as it was Merlin struggled on and kept at it, leading and protecting the community, teaching children talented in magic as his apprentices, determined to do better and use magic to create the perfect world he imagined.
Then one day tragedy struck.
When Merlin was just about 300 years old one of his young apprentices started pushing him about receiving her staff. Merlin had the utmost faith in her talent, but knew that staffs could be used to channel enormous amounts of power that required years of experience to control, experience that she did not have. He turned her down, reassuring his faith in her abilities and gently urging patience.
The apprentice didn't listen, and created her own staff in secret. And in her first time using it summoned more power than she could possibly control.
Merlin tried to help and contain the massive rush of magical energy but it was too late. The apprentice annihilated herself and everything in a twenty mile radius, and for all of Merlin's power he was only able to shield himself from the blast. Merlin stood there, surrounded by the ashes of everything he'd worked so hard to create, and was overcome with despair. Paralyzed with helplessness and the futility of his actions. Merlin fell to the ground and didn't move from where he lay.
He stayed there on the ground for hours, not moving an inch, not even when when day turned to night.
Not even when a troop of Gumm Gumms came passing through.
Spotting Merlin lying there, not responding to their spear prodding, the Gumm Gumms concluded that Merlin must be insane and tossed him in their cart to eat later.
This whole time Merlin didn't react in the slightest, allowing the Gumm Gumms to haul him underground. He had just resigned himself to being eaten when he realized that the Gumm Gumms hadn't brought him back to camp, they'd brought him to the front lines.
Where they were raiding a small troll village.
In that instant in his mind Merlin was a child again, helplessly watching his father and older siblings lay waste to an unsuspecting tribe with their magic.
Merlin shot to his feet and, using the full might of his magical skills and power, drove the Gumm Gumms away.
Once the Gumm Gumms were gone Merlin was about to sink into back into despair, when the trolls he saved approached him and insisted that he stay with them. Merlin still insisted he was no one's savior, but didn't have the will to resist them.
This is when he met Gorgus the Great, who would later be known as one of the greatest heroes in troll history, and one of Merlin's oldest friends.
Gorgus told him that just because he failed didn't mean he couldn't fulfill his goal of creating a better world, saving the troll village from the Gumm Gumms was proof that he was still capable of great things.
Merlin sharply retorts that he spent three hundred years trying to create a better world with nothing to show for it but ashes.
Gorgus slaps their knee and laughs, saying that they've been battling Gumm Gumms for over four thousand years, and that by troll standards Merlin's barely more than a child.
Stunned by this revelation, Merlin slowly starts to listen, realizing that for all his three hundred years studying magic, the world is so much larger than he imagined, and that there is much he does not know.
Merlin stays with the trolls for many years, flourishing under the tutelage of trusted teachers for the first time in his life, slowly regaining hope.
Magic can be used to help people, trolls and how they worked magic into their lives are proof of that. And while the world may never be perfect, Merlin can use his magic to make it a better place.
After two centuries studying with them Merlin bids his troll friends farewell and returns to the human world, determined to forge a better world.
And he does. Merlin spends centuries, which turn into millennia, traveling, teaching, sharing knowledge and building kingdoms. Sometimes he stumbles, people let him down and things fall apart, but Merlin always picks himself back up and keeps going, never giving in to despair.
But in refusing to give in to despair he succumbs to something else, cynicism. Little by little Merlin loses faith in the people around him, which leads him to start doing more dubious things in the name of the "greater good".
The young warlord will never listen to Merlin's sound advice, so why not manipulate him into making the right decision? Hearing that her son fled the battle like a coward will only drive the queen to hysteria, so why not lie and say he died heroically?
And as the years go by, Merlin going from a young man to an old one, having surpassed or outlived all the wizards before him something else creeps in, arrogance. He has lived so long and has seen so much he has become very wise, but no longer believes that he can be incorrect about anything. Unable to tell the difference between what he considers "the greater good" and what would truly be best for everyone.
By the time of Camelot Merlin has become almost unrecognizable to his young self. He still fights for the greater good, that hasn't changed, but he's allowed himself to fall far in what he considers "the greater good". Camelot may subjugate magical creatures and magical users, innocents undoubtedly suffering, but that's a small price to pay to protect the majority and ensure another figure like the high Mage doesn't rise. Arthur may be short tempered and thuggish, but he's a monarch that Merlin knows he can manipulate down the right path.
He'd be the first to admit that Camelot is far from perfect, but Merlin believes that it's the best that can be achieved.
It takes the efforts of his apprentice, a young wizard full of as much fire and idealism as he once was, to shatter Merlin's shell and have him believe again in things being better.
For the Sunshine AU do you have any particular ideas about the Arcane Order?
For the Arcane order I'm going to expand on them using my own personal headcanons (and some stuff that I just out and out make up).
The biggest change is that the term "Arcane Order" won't just apply to the trio of Bellroc, Skrael, and Nari. The Arcane Order is used to describe elemental, magical beings on earth, which includes Bellroc, Skrael, Nari, the lady of the Lake, and countless others. What each of these beings has in common is that they are the avatars for a particular flavor of magic, this also makes them immortal in the sense that this primordial source of magic can never truly be killed. The physical forms of one of the arcane order can be obliterated, but sooner or later a new avatar will re-spawn. However the process is more like reincarnation than rebirth, so new avatars can be very different than their predecessors.
While they are immortal, they do have one major vulnerability, waning magic. Without enough magic on the terrestrial plane they can't manifest. And thanks to human persecution combined with over-harvesting of Hearthstones and other magical sources by trolls and other beings; in modern days the magic on earth has all but dried up. All that remains are a few flickering flames (Douxie and other Wizards) and dying embers (the remaining Hearthstones) all the the remaining magical creatures can do is tend what little sparks remain and hope that in time, with careful nurturing, magic will return.
(But just because magic is nearly gone doesn't mean it's going to stay that way. After all, it only takes some misplaced beams of wood and a stray breeze to turn a few sparks into an inferno).
What about what Troll Jim drinks? I get the feeling all trolls can drink water, but can he drink soda or any other refreshments, or would they taste terrible to him? If so, what does he drink as a troll? I get the feeling he'll take a liking to the food and drinks at the Troll Pub in the next story.
As a troll human drinks are still "edible" for Jim, in that he can consume them and not become sick. But anything with sugar in it, like soda or juice, tastes terrible. Because trolls evolved in a subterranean environment sugars, commonly found in surface plants, were never part of their diet. And in general trolls find the taste of sugar pretty yucky.
Trolls do however, have a wide variety of fermented beverages. Some even include surface plants, but have all the sugar fermented out. Troll fermented beverages have a much higher amount of alcohol in them than human ones, so while Jim would enjoy the taste of trollish meads as a troll, he'd only be able to handle a sip or two at a time (after obtaining explicit permission from Barbara first).
When it comes to non alcoholic beverages mineral water is a popular one for trolls, and there's a wide variety with different types and different amounts of minerals. There's also a variety of fungal based teas. Both of which Jim enjoys trying and experimenting with.
Then we get to human produced "drinks" like motor oil and WD40. These taste incredibly rich to trolls, akin to savory milkshakes. Jim enjoys a steady supply of these, but because they’re so rich he doesn't drink them every day. Meanwhile in Trollmarket, human produced industrial oils and lubricants are expensive, highly prized delicacies; due to how difficult they are for trolls to obtain. Want to impress the visiting leader of a neighboring tribe? Bust out a few cans of WD40.
When Jim and co are introduced to Trollmarket and learn about the low supply and high demand for things they can pick up at their local Walmart; someone *cough* Toby *cough cough* is going to start his own enterprise and Mary's his partner in crime
I asked @i-am-gun-robot this a little ways back, but I’m curious about your answer. What are your headcanons about troll aging? Like, what rate would you say they age? We know they are incredibly long lived and age very slowly, given 16 is potty-training age for trolls.
Along that vein, how old is Jim in troll years in your fic- or the developmental equivalent at least? Chronologically he’s 15-16, but if the average troll saw him at night, how old would they assume him to be?
Also along that vein, I have to wonder how Trollmarket is going to feel about their new Trollhunter being a youngling.
30 years gestation inside a birthstone-Birthstones can either be conceived and laid naturally like eggs, or artificially created using hearthstone and donor stone from both parents. Draal was conceived via an artificial birthstone as seen in the tie-in novel “Way of the Wizard”. There is absolutely no difference between a troll conceived naturally vs artificially (any more than a human conceived naturally vs artificial insemination). To counter their longevity, trolls have abysmally low conception rates, making their young a very precious resource, which is why Gumm gumms would risk raiding other tribes for them. Artificial birth stones were invented approximately 12,000 years ago both to increase the troll population as a whole, and so that trolls wouldn’t have to deal with centuries of trying and waiting in order to become parents.
0 to 50 years (0 to 3.5 in human years): Hatchling-From birth nearly all trolls are able to crawl, feed themselves, and instinctively cling to their parents’ scruff almost immediately. And for the first fifty years they practically never leave the side of their parents, family member, or community caregiver; nearly constantly clinging to a caregiving troll’s scruff at all times. Only separating to be fed or cleaned. Occasionally they will be allowed down to play and explore, but only within a secure private dwelling. Letting a hatchling roam free in a public space is considered highly dangerous and reckless. Most hatchlings become latrine trained by the age of 16, where they’re conditioned to use designated bathroom areas for relieving themselves, although their parents do still manage their hygiene for them.
50 to 200 years (3.5 to 14 in human years): Whelp-After age fifty young trolls are considered mature enough to be allowed to roam in public spaces, although still with adult supervision. The amount of supervision depends on how old the whelp is; 60 years old don’t get more than a few feet away from me, 190 years old don’t leave this section of the market without me. This stage is also when young trolls start exploring their interests, developing skills and hobbies. For example a young troll whose parent is a blacksmith who expresses interest in their parent’s work would be allowed to watch their parent work at their forge and be given a set of “Toy” blacksmith tools to play with. If their interest continues as they get older they would move on from the toys and start being taught basic blacksmithing skills.
200 to 300 (14 to 18 in human years): Stripling-Aka, Troll teenagers. A troll this age is allowed to roam freely within the community, but not outside it. Striplings are not permitted to leave the community on their own, but occasionally they’ll be allowed to join adult members when going outside their community to help hunt/forage. Seeing a stripling wandering by themselves in the wilderness, or Gorgus forbid the highly dangerous surface lands, is highly unusual and concerning. This stage is when young trolls really start honing their interests and training in earnest for an adult role in the community. But no matter how skilled they are, striplings are still not considered adults, and do not have a voice in community politics and cannot participate in honor duels. Striplings may be referred to as whelps the same way human teenagers can be addressed as “kids”.
300 to 5000 (18 to 65 in human years): Adult-After age 300 trolls are considered full adults and have an equal voice in politics and are free to come and go from their community as they choose. And once they become fully mature a troll’s development rate slows significantly. From this point on each century only ages them the equivalent of one human year. (Example: 300 year old troll is 18 in human years, 400 year old troll is 19 in human years, 500 year old troll is 20 in human years). Draal is approximately 1200 (27 in human years) he became an adult shortly before the battle of Kilahead and that was the first troll conflict he fought in. Blinky is approximately 2900 (44 in human years) he is a scholar who has spent the past six centuries focusing his studies on humans. AAARRRGGHH is approximately 3100 (46 in human years) he was abducted by the Gumm gumms at the age of 100 and defected from them 900 years ago at the age of 2200.
5000 to death (65 and up in human years): Elder-Any troll over the age of 5000 is considered an elder, and while trolls don’t have a concept of “Retirement” once a troll becomes an elder they typically start to gradually fall back into advisory and supportive roles within their communities, though the speed at which they do this depends on the individual troll and their preferences and desires. A warrior troll exhausted with fighting might hang up their axe and volunteer to be the community child care giver the second they turn 5000, but a scholar troll who’s still capable and vastly enjoys their work will keep at it well past the age of 5000, only slowing in their work when declining health forces them to. A healthy elder troll in a strong community will typically live well over the age of 6000. The oldest troll in recorded history was Trym the tenacious, who passed away in his sleep at the age of 8947 (a little over 104 in human years). Vendel is approximately 6100 (76 in human years) he’s still fit enough to keep up with his day to day duties as leader of Trollmarket, but he’s not getting any younger, and is on the lookout for a troll with a good head on their shoulders who can assist him with his duties as leader and eventually take Vendel’s place once he’s gone (If Blinkous could learn to set aside his foolhardy conspiracy theories he’d be perfect for the job).
Bringing this around to the sunshine au, to other trolls Jim’s troll form appears to be about 250, and when they see that he’s the Trollhunter they are going to be horrified. A Trollhunter should have centuries of fighting experience, this stripling shouldn’t even be on the surface by himself, what was Merlin’s amulet thinking!?
Draal is going to be his usual dickish self (due to Daddy issues and being butthurt over the amulet not choosing him) but while in canon the other trolls’ reactions to Draal’s assholery are all along the lines of “Well that scrawny human is bound to die pretty quick, might as well be Draal that does it, then we can get a Trollhunter that will actually protect us,” in the sunshine au their response will be “Dude, you are an adult and that is a whelp, f*****g check yourself,”
As scandalized as the trolls are about Jim’s age, it’s common knowledge among trolls that a Trollhunter chosen is never unchosen, so the only thing to do is train him and give him the skills to help him survive his duty. But the catch is that all this support is based on the fact that Trollmarket as a whole thinks that Jim is a regular troll stripling, and his acceptance in troll society very much hinges on them not finding out about his half-human nature.
In your Sunshine AU, you’ve said Jim shoves down his trollish instincts like crazy. But have there been times, like when he was younger, that he did certain things without realizing it? Like pressing his forehead against his mother’s? (If that is an instinctual thing and not a cultural thing for trolls.)
(Brace yourself because this might be angstier than you were bargaining for)
Jim never tried forehead pressing (I headcanon this to be a learned custom and not an instinctive behavior) but he did vocalize some trollish non-verbal communication. Mainly growling and purring.
Barbara always tried to reassure Jim that it didn't matter that his blue form wasn't human, he was still a person, and no matter what he deserved love, care, and respect. But in regard to growling what she said didn't quite match up with what she did.
Growling is how trolls communicate displeasure, not necessarily aggression. Troll parents don't even bat an eye if their whelp starts growling after being told it's time for bed. But Barbara doesn't know that.
Barbara absolutely no context for Jim's troll behaviors, she has no way of knowing if growling is just a normal form of communication, or a sign that Jim's starting to develop more aggressive tendencies. One of the few things she knows for sure is if that Jim starts tantruming again, she will not be able to physically handle it. She can't take the risk of that happening again and has to treat Jim's inhuman behaviors with the utmost caution.
Whenever Jim started to growl, Barbara was always quick to jump on that with "No. Don't do that. Use your words to communicate." She was very good about never outright punishing or even shaming Jim for growling, but it was always strongly discouraged.
Important to note is that Barbara didn't shut down the growling because it was inhuman, it was because she was trying to nip any developing aggression in the bud. This is why she never discouraged him from purring, it wasn't the inhumanness of it, it was the potential for aggression. Purring was fine because it was an expression of relaxation, not aggression.
Over time Jim slowly started to become more and more ashamed of growling and other nonverbal cues. To him they were just another thing separating him from living a "normal" life, a constant reminder of how "other" and "inhuman" he was.
As a result Jim has actively forced himself to never growl or purr. Essentially he's a troll forcing himself to fit inside a human shaped box. And it's going to take a lot of time and reassurance from both his human and troll friends to undo all the years of repression.
