Fanfic / Silver Lion

Silver Lion is a Tales of Arcadia fanfic franchise by Seika Warrior.

Jim Lake Jr. and Talia Sturges have been best friends since childhood. However, when Jim is chosen to protect a secret civilization underneath their feet as the Trollhunter, Talia realizes that she is a part of a great destiny as big as her dear brother's as well: she is the last remaining descendant of an ancient warrior clan known as the Silver Lions.

This franchise is based on the original saga, as well as the series of novels, and is made into a series of fanfics:

1. Silver Lion: Takes place during Part One (1/2) of Trollhunters (C)
2. Dark Beast: Takes place before and during Part One (2/2) of Trollhunters (C)
3. Reunion: Takes place during Welcome to the Darklands (C)
4. Secrets: Takes place during Part Two of Trollhunters and includes The Book of Ga-Huel (C)
5. Age of Lions: Takes place during Age of the Amulet (WIP)

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Unmarked Spoilers! This fanfic provides examples of:

• Action Girl:
  • Talia is not afraid to pick a fight with anyone who messes with her or her friends. Jim even acknowledges her as one of Team Trollhunters' best fighters, even more so than himself.
  • Initially, June was not able to fend for herself against the Changelings, yet later on, she fully embraces her magic again and is able to hold off against Angor Rot, as well as other creatures.
• Action Survivor: Talia during the Dark Beast story, as it revolves around her struggling to survive the Darklands by herself.
  • Jim later becomes this alongside her by Reunion when he enters the Darklands alone.
• Amazon Chaser: Marshall has a thing for girls who aren't afraid of picking a fight, specifically someone like Talia.
• Ambiguously Human: Played with in Talia's case. Although she's more often considered a lion, she's still technically a human (or half-human, depending on the light); she's a human who has an ancient lion spirit living inside of her which grants her enhanced abilities.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Marshall delivers one to Claire and Toby when they still criticize him keeping them in the dark about Talia's endangerment in the Darklands.
  Marshall: If any of you knew that Tally was in danger, and yet you didn't even have all of the Triumbric Stones, would you guys rush in and do whatever it takes without the only thing to kill Gunmar and practically face certain doom?
  (Claire and Toby do not reply and merely exchange looks)
  Marshall: Yeah, that's what I thought.
• Ascended Fridge Horror: When Gunmar raids the Janus Order, as they've become no longer useful to him, the warlord is unaware that Talia is hidden behind a secret bunker of the base. Talia had been poisoned by Otto, but left with a pill by Allana to slow it down and keep herself alive long enough until her friends rescue her. Because of her weakened state, Talia is unable to save the changelings, who are crying and screaming in agony, begging for help and mercy from their dark master as he devours the very minions who've been nothing but loyal to him. Even though they've done horrible things, Talia can't help but feel utterly helpless and terrified throughout the whole rampage.
• Aura Vision: Talia can Detect Evil in another being by reading their black auras. This is also how she's able to see changelings under their human guises, without the need of a Gaggletack.
• Awesome by Analysis: Marshall proves to be a natural detective and advocate. He was able to determine that Bodus survived his assassination by planting a decoy and learn his motives behind The Book of Ga-Huel. Later, while defending Jim in his trial, he manages to discover that Usurna was the true culprit behind Gunmar's escape, simply by piecing together everything she's done since ordering Killahead's destruction, and how she knew June's true name, Emelia, which Gunmar also knew (and Jim points out that June never told anyone her birth name).
• Big Brother Instinct / Big Sister Instinct: Jim and Talia both exploit this trope to the T respectively. Although they’re not actually related, they most often refer to themselves as brother and sister, even the characters acknowledge them as close to siblings. Jim and Talia won’t hesitate to protect or even fight alongside each other to protect themselves from the Gumm-Gumms and other evil creatures.
  • After Jim and Draal learn that Marshall had been keeping Talia being in danger within the Darklands a secret, neither of them take it so well. Whenever they learn that Marshall and Talia are hanging out, the two surrogate brothers of Talia are quick to lecture Marshall.
• Black Sheep: Amos calls himself this before he became the Dark Lion. He was the only one born without a lion spirit and hated how his own father favored his brother, Leo, over him. As such, he searches for the witch, Morgana, to grant himself a spirit of his own. However, his power corrupted him as a result of his jealousy.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Marshall constantly calls the Tribunal out for wasting time blaming Jim and Talia for releasing Gunmar (to no avail). Even when Blinky and Claire shows evidence of a changeling spy in Trollmarket, Vendel stubbornly claims that it doesn't change the fact that Gunmar got out. A fed up Marshall finally explodes and claims that the Tribunal needs to stop allowing their fear of Gunmar to cloud their judgement over the Trollhunter and Silver Lion and focus on the real danger. Vendel finally comes around and takes the wizard's words to heart.
• Character Development: Talia starts off as a well-intentioned, yet ruthless girl who won't hesitate to physically harm bullies who threaten her friends, and even had a hard time keeping her emotions in check. However, after serving some time in the Darklands, she noticeably grows more softer, though she's still pretty protective as well as tough.
• Childhood Friends: Jim, Toby, and Talia have known each other since they were five, ever since Jim's father left, Toby and his nana moved into the house on the cul-de-sac, and Talia was adopted by her aunt. It's mentioned that when Talia was bullied, Jim stepped in and protected her. Since then, the three have become inseparable.
• Child Mage: Marshall is a 16-year-old boy who practices the art of magic under the tutelage of a sorceress.
• The Clan: The Silver Lion family clan. They were a human warrior tribe of champions gifted with the spirit of an ancient lion that grant them enhanced abilities, as well as the instincts and humanoid form of a lion. One of their most divine characteristics was their ability to enhance an entire army's strength a hundred fold, which they refer to as the Power of Enhancement. This is why Gunmar was so interested in their culture and sought to recruit them into his army to reclaim the surface lands. However, they refused, due to his ruthless ways… and he wipes out their villages, killing them all. However, what Gunmar failed to realize was that Leo’s spawn survived and continued to carry on the legacy to the present day (up to Talia Sturges, the very last surviving Silver Lion).
• Code Name: More or less often used by the quintet as Affectionate Nicknames. "Trollhunter" for Jim, "Warhammer" for Toby, "Silver Amazon" for Talia, "Shadowdancer" for Claire, and "Magus" for Marshall.
  • Toby gave Marshall the codename "Wizkid" at one point, but (for obvious reasons) Marshall changes it to "Magus".
• Color Motifs:
  • Talia's main color scheme is silver, as she has Mystical White Hair, wears a gray hoodie, can summon silver armor, and not to mention her title is literally Silver Lion. Silver is believed to be a mirror to the soul, helping us to see ourselves as others see us. Also, silver symbolizes hope, unconditional love, meditation, mystic visions, tenderness, kindness, sensitivities, and psychic abilities. Aside from her ruthless and hot-headedness, all of these are traits Talia possesses as a person.
  • Marshall's is amber yellow, which is the color of his shirt and his magic. The color amber often represents happiness, inspired boldness, vitality, confidence, and safety. Marshall is confident in his abilities and somewhat understands his limits, as well as care for the safety of others, including his friends.
  • Like Claire, June's main color is purple as it is the color of her magic, reflecting her wisdom and knowledge over the mystic arts.
• Crazy-Prepared: Marshall has proven that his weeks of studying human and Troll Law has actually paid off and useful to help Jim face his trial somewhat more fairly. AAARRRGGHH!!! even lampshades this.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • Talia's entire family history. She learns that after Gunmar raided the Silver Lion villages to the point of extinction, she learns that her great-grandfather, Leo, had his servant escort his offspring to the New World to keep the legacy alive. She even learns that the Silver Lions and the Trolls (and by extension, the Trollhunters) were bitter enemies as the Trolls blamed the Lions for the creation of Gunmar. Talia's father, Adam, was killed by Bular when Talia was just five, leaving her the last known Silver Lion in existence.
  • Marshall's mother. He mentions that she fell gravely ill after giving birth to him and died as a result, yet his father never bothered to tell him about her or her life.
  • June's backstory, as discovered by Jim, Toby, and Talia when they learn who she is. When June was a child, her entire house was burned down by juveniles and her parents were even hanged because they were convinced they were witches.
• Death by Childbirth: Marshall reveals to his friends that his mother passed away giving birth to him, but barely knows her entire past, due to his father keeping him in the dark.
• Death Glare: Talia has quite the gift of using this, enough to send Steve cowering into silence.
• Didn't Think This Through: Dictatious has never even considered that, while the Gravesand can weaken Talia enough to capture her, she'd be rendered unable to vitalize Gunmar nor open a portal back to the surface with her Power of Enhancement.
  June: I don't see why Gunmar would do such a thing if he needed her in the first place... unless some idiot didn't think things through.
• Elemental Powers: A Silver Lion can only possess one power over the four elements, consisting of air, water, earth, and fire. However, Talia is an exception as she possesses two elements, air and fire.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Allana, Otto's second-in-command of the Janus Order, heeds Talia's warning that once Gunmar got what he wants, he'll get rid of the changelings. She even points out signs that were too much of a coincidence; Gunmar and his followers never showed them much respect, they call her kind nothing but "impures", and their "Lady Creator" being silent ever since the Skullcrusher's return. Otto doesn't listen and follows through with his plan. Allana, however, believes in Talia of all changelings. She's now been informed that Gunmar's advisor from the Darklands, Kodanth, was forced by his master to feed himself to the Horde. Kodanth happened to be a close friend of Allana's, which was enough to fully convince her that the Silver Lion is really telling the truth. In a Pet the Dog moment, she warns Talia of something bigger coming and that Trollmarket and the Trollhunter himself are already in danger. She gives her a pill to slow down the Gravesand poison to keep her alive for what's to come. Finally, once Gunmar starts attacking the base, she informs the girl to stay quiet and sacrifices herself to let her live and warn her friends of the dangers.
• Evil Mentor: Skarlagk and Nomura act as this to Talia, as they both train her to become an assassin against Gunmar. Though she finds their tactics less than acceptable, she acknowledges that as long as they don't go too far, it's necessary. When Skarlagk reveals she cares nothing for the babies in the Nursery, Talia is clearly outraged.
• Exact Words: Marshall makes it clear that, according to Troll Law, the accused may only be represented by a member of their own tribe (or, in this case, their own kind). Although Marshall is a wizard, he's still just as human as Jim is, even BEFORE they discovered the existence of magic. This makes Marshall legally eligible to speak out as Jim's advocate (but is not allowed to use magic, as it would be an act of offense).
• Eye Am Watching You: Jim does this to Marshall in “Hiss Hiss, Bang Bang” when he catches him with Talia.
• Familiar: Jinx is June's familiar.
• Fantastic Racism: Since the Silver Lions are practically responsible for the human-troll war that lead to the creation of Gunmar, some of the trolls treat Talia negatively, especially the Krubera. Even the spirits of the Trollhunters were weary of her at first, until they grow to admire her genuine friendship with Jim and realizing that she's not like her ancestors from before.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Talia: Pride. Despite her tough hard-headedness, she can be extremely arrogant in her strengths and often tells her friends that she can take care of herself. Whenever that happens, she's attacked by an evil creature.
  • Marshall: Self-defensiveness. Notably, when he learns that Talia is in serious trouble in the Darklands, he keeps her well-being a secret from the rest of his friends. Justified that Jim would commit Honor Before Reason nonetheless, but when they learn the truth, he receives a What the Hell, Hero? treatment from everyone.
• Fling a Light into the Future: When Gunmar begins massacring the Silver Lion clan, Leo orders one of his servants to hide his spawn to keep the legacy of the Silver Lions alive for the future.
• Friendly Rival: Jim and Marshall become this after their Book of Ga-Huel mystery.
• Good Is Not Soft: Talia is often well-meaning and rational, but can be brutal if one threatens her and her loved ones.
• Heel Realization: After witnessing Talia returning to save her and her resistance from a chaotic Amos, Skarlagk realizes the true error of her ways and admittedly admires Talia's sense of bravery and doing what is right.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Talia sacrifices herself to prevent Gunmar from escaping the Bridge by allowing herself to be sucked into the portal so that Draal can pull the Amulet out, trapping herself in the dark dimensional prison.
  • Later on, Skarlagk sacrifices herself to save Jim and Talia from Gunmar when he raids her fortress, so that they can live to fight the Skullcrusher another day and save the Changeling Familiars to give them the childhood Gunmar took from her when he killed Orlagk. Of course, this sacrifice ends up making her a pure-hearted Troll whose blood will be the key ingredient to making a Gravesand antidote.
• Honor Among Thieves: During her time in the Darklands, Talia was trained by Skarlagk (and later Nomura) to become an assassin known in the Darklands as "Dagger Heart". Unlike her more-or-less illusioned mentors, Talia stays true to the code of Trollhunting.
• Icy Blue Eyes: When in her feral and/or beast form (or even angered), Talia’s eyes turn icy blue.
• Irony:
  • Despite being a lion, which are known to hunt animals to find meat, Talia dedicates her life as a vegan. Discussed by Jim and Talia, who confesses that when she reached puberty, she developed a strange appetite for meat. The cravings disturbed her immensely because she had no context for it and ate veggie/vegan products to dull it.
  • And as discovered in the Secrets installment, Queen Usurna is secretly allergic to cats, something trolls are actually known for consuming. Team Trollhunters find this discovery hysterical... even a bitter old goat like Vendel. Later on, NotEnrique, Gnome Chompsky, and Jinx expose Usurna's cat allergies to all of Trollmarket through their new gossip app called Troll Gossip.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Marshall's reason for lying to Jim and his friends about Talia being in danger in the Darklands in the first place; because they were both trying to protect Jim from committing Honor Before Reason by going into the Darklands unprepared, especially considering how long Talia and Jim have known each other.
• Idiot Ball: While Jim and Talia tested out gemstones for their armors, Marshall first used his anti-gravity magic to save Jim from a long fall... yet even though he could've easily done the same with Talia, he instead tried to catch her, resulting in them roughly crashing into each other.
• Innocently Insensitive: Marshall once used Talia being in the Darklands as an excuse for messing around with Steve, claiming that he was "doing her a favor", which Jim calls him out for. Marshall realizes how insensitive his excuse was and apologizes.
• I See Dead People: Or at least hear dead people in Marshall's case. In the Secrets fanfic, Marshall learns that he has a rare gift of mediumship; his magic allows him to hear spirits from the Spiritual Realm, according to June. However, this gift is also potentially dangerous as it makes him vulnerable to Demonic Possession. Luckily, June teaches him how to make his mind more resistant to temptations, though he still hears voices and is mildly affected by their influence.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: Usurna constantly calls NotEnrique an 'it', despite his protests. Also, after revealing her true colors to Vendel, she begins calling Talia not only an 'it' as well, but also a 'pet' and does so constantly from then on. Though she may well learn very soon not to ever offend a powerful warrior like Talia...
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • As ruthless as she is, Talia does have good points when regarding her methods of protecting herself and her friends.
  • And despite his defensiveness, Marshall does come up with pretty solid and rational points of his own as well when people debate and question his actions. Notably, Marshall was not completely wrong when he mentions that, if Jim learned that Talia was in danger without all of the Triumbric Stones and Strickler didn't have the last one, he still would've gone into the Darklands alone, completely defenseless against Gunmar. Claire, Toby, and even Jim himself have no counter-argument against this.
    Toby: You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… he does have a point, Claire.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Talia may be ruthless and hot-headed, but she's a really good person, especially when one gets to know her. She wouldn't be best friends with someone like Jim, would she?
• The Jinx: June's familiar, Jinx, hence his name. Jinx has the power to bring bad luck to anyone who threatens his life, whether directly or indirectly. He is also a black cat, which often symbolize bad luck.
• Jumped at the Call: Marshall was quick to help out Jim and his friends in contacting Talia, despite not personally knowing them as he just moved into Arcadia.
• Just Friends: It's made clear that Talia, despite being very close to Jim and Toby, has no romantic feelings for either of them and views them purely as brothers, nothing more. In fact, she supports Jim's crush on Claire, and eventually, Toby's relationship with Darci. Also, she's developed feelings for Marshall.
• Kangaroo Court: As knowledgable as he is in both human and Troll Law, Marshall is quick to realize just how ridiculous it was that Usurna and the Tribunal are pinning blame directly onto Jim and Talia for releasing Gunmar. He argues further that they should focus on the bigger problem instead of wasting time. Of course, he finally pieces together why because the entire court was actually a ruse plotted by Usurna to get rid of the Trollhunter and take the Silver Lion's Power of Enhancement for herself.
• Kick the Dog: Although Jim is understandably angry at Marshall for keeping Talia’s well-being in the Darklands a secret, telling Marshall right in his face that he's not a part of Team Trollhunters, despite everything he's done for them, was pretty out of line. Even Toby admits that it was pretty low for Jim to say something like that.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: Before studying magic, Marshall is a martial artist. His skills, mixed with his spell casting, makes him a dangerous Worthy Opponent.
• The Last of His Kind: Ever since Adam Sturges's death at the hands of Bular, his daughter, Talia, is the very last Silver Lion still alive.
• Magical Girl Warrior: June is a highly trained sorceress and has the ability to engage in hand-to-hand combat, even able to fight toe-to-toe with Angor Rot himself.
• Magic Enhancement: One of Talia's most divine powers is the Power of Enhancement, the ability to increase her ally's potential one hundred fold, and it also makes her a Living Battery of sorts. However, there is a limit of great power to whom she can enhance as her lion spirit, Dawn, cannot enhance a wizard's potential.
• Muggle Born of Mages: Amos was born in the Silver Lion family clan, yet he is the only one to not have a lion spirit of his own. He gained his own from Morgana, yet his power consumed him, due to his jealousy over his brother, whom their father favored over him.
• Mystical Plague: Although Gravesand makes Changelings and Trolls stronger, it is severely lethal to Silver Lions. In this case, when Dictatious (against his common sense) infects Talia with Gravesand, she is left weak and sick and unable to access her lion spirit. Thus, she is rendered unable to revitalize Gunmar or even operate as a backup key to Gunmar’s escape from the Darklands. The longer the Gravesand remains in her system, the weaker she gets to where she's on the verge of death. Only an elixir antidote can cure her, consisting of a Citrine Stone, white rose petals, and the blood of a pure-hearted Troll.
• Mystical White Hair: Talia's hair is naturally gray, due to her Silver Lion heritage. Many people believed that her hair was dyed and even made fun of it, which is one of the things that sends her over the edge.
• Named by the Adaptation: Talia's last name, Sturges, derives from Jim's counterpart’s name from the 2015 Trollhunters book by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus. This would actually come off as a Meaningful Name as "Sturges" means "warrior" and Talia is an Action Girl.
• Nephewism: A genderbent version. After the death of her adoptive brother and his wife, June takes in her niece, Talia, and raises her as her own child. Although Talia learns that her aunt's not actually related to her, this doesn't tarnish Talia's view of June and she still considers her her only family.
• New Transfer Student: Marshall Cadden. He makes his first debut in the beginning of Dark Beast as a new student. And suddenly, this new kid receives a dream message from a girl with white hair, telling him to send Jim and his friends a message. Since then, he had no trouble finding some new friends and even receives training from a sorceress in the art of magic.
• "Not So Different" Remark: While training Talia, Skarlagk believes them both to being quite similar, to the former's denial. Even though they both share common motives, which is ending Gunmar and both lost there fathers at the hands of the Gumm-Gumms, they still had different views of protecting humanity (at first, initially).
• Oh, Crap!: June has this reaction when Marshall explains that he's been hearing voices from the "Eldritch Queen", confirming hers and Vendel's fears of her potential return.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Ever since learning that Vendel had been murdered by Usurna, Talia doesn't lash out at Steve right after he teases Jim. This took both boys by surprise, and Jim knew something was up.
• Open-Minded Parent: Or open-minded aunt. Even when June discovers her niece sneaking out at night despite being grounded, she's quick to realize that Talia has become aware of the existence of Trolls and that she is beginning to realize her true heritage. Even after they discover each other’s secrets, they become quite casual about their new magical reality.
• Pet the Dog: Though he mostly does it for himself, Amos informs Talia that Gunmar was lying to her that he'd kill the babies in the Darklands' Nursery, because despite his distaste for changelings, he still needs them. As much as Amos hates his brother and his descendants, he clearly hates Gunmar more and wants Talia to take the Talisman from him so he could be free.
• Power Nullifier: The Fouding Ring. It is an ancient artifact that is able to negate and suppress a magical user's power, such as a Silver Lion and a wizard. The Rings are nearly unbreakable (unless broken by a supernatural sheer force) and can only be unlocked by a key.
• Psychic Link: Marshall and Talia are mysteriously linked to each other as they can communicate with each other in their dreams.
• The Rival: The Trollhunters and the Silver Lions. It turns out that since the trolls blame the Silver Lions for causing the bloodshed of theirs and mankind's first war that created Gunmar, they're rather hostile to the general culture, due to them seemingly being more interested in protecting mortals than magics. The same goes for the Trollhunters in the past, yet despite their animosity, they are perfectly willing to fight alongside since they share a common enemy and a common cause. And they all value honor, as well as protect humanity and magics from threats.
  • The Trollhunters and Silver Lions' rivalry ends up being eased when Kanjigar proposes an alliance with Leonardo, with only his family and Vendel knowing of this. This rivalry ends completely when Jim is chosen to be the next Trollhunter and Talia likewise discovers her lion heritage.
• Running Gag: Talia and/or Marshall either slapping or bonking Toby in the head, which he's apparently used to.
• Sadistic Choice: When Gunmar learns of Talia's true intentions while in the Darklands, he blackmails her by threatening the lives of the changeling familiars if she doesn't surrender herself in three days. However, as exploited by Amos, Gunmar was lying since, as much as he despises changelings, he still needed them to infiltrate the surface. Amos informs Talia of this to convince her to Take a Third Option. However, by the deadline, Gunmar orders the Nursery's destruction, turning this into an Ambiguous Situation.
• Secret Identity: June Sturges's birth name is Emelia Wickens before she legally changed it.
  • As pointed out by Jim, she never told anyone her real name. The only reason Jim, Toby, and Talia knew was because they were looking through her stuff from the past the night she was kidnapped. Also, both Gunmar and Usurna reveal that they know June's real name, yet are apparently unaware of her legal name. They're knowledge of June's birth name was what made Marshall realize that Usurna is working for Gunmar.
• Shapeshifting:
  • Talia is able to shift into her feral and later her beast form at will.
  • June's familiar, Jinx, is also able to shapeshift into a large humanoid panther-like creature (though for a limited time).
• Simultaneous Arcs: In the Dark Beast. During Talia’s time in the Darklands and Jim searching for the Triumbric Stones on the surface to bring his surrogate sister back, they both have to deal with ancient assassins. In this case, Jim has to deal with Angor Rot, who's killed Trollhunters in the past, and Talia likewise with Amos, who helped Gunmar wipe out the entire Silver Lion family clan. Jim and Talia both end up killing their respective assassins by the end of the second fanfic.
• Slimeball: Marshall outright (and understandably) calls Queen Usurna this after discovering that she's working as Gunmar's agent all along, and was just using the trial against Jim as a ruse to get rid of him and help Gunmar claim Trollmarket for himself, and her plot to hunt down Talia is just to claim her lion spirit for herself.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Bork, one of the Tribunal's lesser known members, was turned into a Gumm-Gumm in canon. Here, however, Talia intervenes before Gunmar could brainwash her, sparing her life and earning her trust. It's implied Bork will play a bigger role from then on.
• Straw Vegetarian: Talia is a dedicated vegan (someone who does not eat animal products), despite being a lion, which eat other animals. However, she had to eat raw Nyarlagroth Eggs in order to survive the Darklands for two whole months, to her own dismay.
• Three Plus Two: The series starts off as just Jim, Toby, and Talia, until Claire and Marshall join their team.
• Too Dumb to Live: Otto really should've heeded Talia's warning (even if he had every right to suspect she was just trying to cure herself so she could escape). Allana, however, notably points out that the girl might be telling the truth either way; pointing out clear facts that Gunmar would turn on the Janus Order. Otto merely brushes it aside by threatening her position... not much later, Gunmar begins rampaging the entire base and killing all of the changelings.
• Took a Level in Jerkass:
  • Talia towards Claire. When she saw Claire hitching a ride with Steve to a Papa skull concert, she was quick to assume that Claire was just messing with Jim’s feelings and was hanging out with Steve. She overreacts and begins acting aggressive towards Claire, even if she tries to explain that it wasn’t how it looked. When Jim explains that Claire and Steve have nothing to do with each other, Talia mentally hits herself for jumping to conclusions too quickly. Luckily, the girls make amends with Talia apologizing to Claire during their time in the hospital.
  • Jim towards Marshall. After learning of Marshall's knowledge of Talia endangerment in the Darklands, Jim developed a grudge and tries to make it clear to Marshall that him being near Talia is forbidden on his watch. During The Book of Ga-Huel mystery, Jim was nothing but irritated and cold towards Marshall in the beginning of their quest. He even goes as far as telling him that he's not a part of Team Trollhunters, something which Marshall and even Toby of all people admitted was pretty out of line. Luckily, in the end, Jim apologizes to Marshall for his behavior, but is still rather not too happy about Talia and Marshall finally hooking up.
• Tragic Keepsake: Talia wears a pendant her father gave her when she was little, as it is a family heirloom. She later realizes that it has magical properties as it operates just like the Trollhunter’s Amulet of Daylight; it summons armor and can be upgraded with special stones.
• Trauma Conga Line: Talia, usually whenever she tries to assure that she can handle herself. First, she lost her parents to Bular when she was five-years-old, gets trapped in the barren Darklands and hardened herself to survive there for at least two months, and even gets fatally poisoned by Gravesand twice! Many of the characters, Jim included, lampshade that this girl just can't seem to catch a break.
• The Unchosen One: Unlike Jim, Talia is not exactly a chosen one, aside from the fact that she's the descendant of one of the most powerful Lions (as well as their greatest chieftain). Although she somewhat prefers herself as one since she is the last of her kind.
• Undying Loyalty:
  • Just like Toby, Talia is fiercely loyal to Jim. Justified as it is mentioned he help her gain the confidence stand up to bullies in their kid years.
  • Also, Marshall’s loyalty to his friends is strong and genuine, despite knowing them for just a couple months. Even though Jim began acting like a jerk towards Marshall, he was still willing to save him and earn back his trust.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Downplayed with Jim. When he and Marshall confront each other in Secrets, Marshall explains to Jim that he was the one who alerted Talia of his presence in the Darklands and practically saved his life, which Jim rudely deflects. In the end, though, he apologizes for being ungrateful earlier.
• Walking Spoiler: A new boy in school named Marshall Cadden just happened to show up at school just a few days after Talia is sucked into the Darklands… and he just happens to have some kind of psychic connection with Talia. He’s bound to be some kind of help in the magical world.
  • Also, Marshall's link to Talia makes it pretty obvious he would start developing feelings for her.
• Warrior Princess: Downplayed. Due to being the great-granddaughter of a great chieftain, Blinky only once called Talia a “princess” upon discovering her lineage. Although she gets the idea, she prefers to not fully acknowledge it.
• What If?:
  • What if Jim had another best friend, whose destiny was just as important as his?
  • What if the Trollhunters actually had wizards and witches in their team who could keep their situations in check?
  • What if there was another reason Jim had to go into the Darklands to rescue a friend, whom he looks up to as a sister?
  • What if this particular franchise actually involved the novels based on Trollhunters?
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Marshall gets this kind of treatment at the end of Dark Beast and throughout the majority of Reunion from all of his friends when they learn his knowledge of Talia's endangerment. Luckily, when Marshall makes it up to them after warning Talia of Jim's whereabouts in the Darklands, they were clearly grateful and got over his deception. Draal and Jim, however… not so much.
  • Later on, Marshall calls Jim out for Not Helping Your Case by testifying for himself and ended up saying that, even when his decisions have landed him in so much trouble, he would do it all over again with no regrets. The Tribunal were quick to latch onto this as an admission, ignoring Marshall's explanation.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Amos. After he found Morgana and asked her to make him a lion spirit of his own, his spirit consumed him with darkness and drove through envy against his own family. As such, he’s the main reason why the Silver Lions have been driven to the brink of extinction. Even the mere mention of his brother, Leo, is enough to drive him insane.
• Wizards and Witches: Aside from the ancient wizards (like Merlin and Morgana), June was one of the only known spell casters who lives in Arcadia during the modern times. That is until she sensed potential in Marshall after learning of his manifesting gifts and chose him as her new apprentice.
• The Worf Effect: Talia (after weeks of training from Skarlagk) has managed to overcome Gunmar in the Darklands, but this is because he wasn't at full strength. In Age of Lions, a revitalized Gunmar managed to curb-stomp Talia into submission, showing what a serious threat the Skullcrusher's become to her since escaping the Darklands.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Despite just being ambushed and kidnapped by the Janus Order, Talia is quick to warn Otto that if he continued following Gunmar, he would just wipe them all out once he no longer considered them useful. However, Otto ignores her warning, believing she is only trying to trick him into curing her and escape to warn the other Trollhunters (which may be half true). Talia turned out to be right all along, as it cost the Janus Order agents their lives when Gunmar rampages their entire base.