Sunshine through the Clouds is a Tales of Arcadia fanfic series by Rosemaidenvixen
on Archive of Our Own.
The Lake family may seem normal and happy. Except they have a devastating secret:
Barbara Lake's only son, Jim Lake Jr., was once an ordinary kid, until one night when he was five, he was cursed by a mysterious bath bomb to shift into a "monster" every sunset and back to human at sunrise. Barbara is forced to hide her own son from the world (including their friends) in fear of him being exposed and keep him safe and happy, all while searching for answers to Jim's unnatural "condition".
The series provides examples of:
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As a whole
- Ascended Fridge Horror: On his fifteenth birthday, the ramifications of all of the basic things normal high schoolers do that he cannot due to his "condition" hit Jim all at once and he has an emotional breakdown and cries in front of Toby, Steve and the rest of his classmates in public. Unaware of the truth, Toby thinks it is because of his father's abandonment on his fifth birthday. In the sequel story, it is mentioned that Jim has fallen into a deep depression after his said breakdown... at least until Claire invites him and Toby to hang out with her and her friends to a county fair. Afterwards, Jim gets a lot better, until his friends call CPS on him and his mother and he's practically reduced to an Empty Shell and cuts himself from the only sources of joy in his life to protect his secret.
- Ascended Extra: In canon, Mary and Darci were both relatively minor characters, who didn’t get much time in the spotlight. Here, they’re major POV charcters and
Word of God states that they, along with Jim, Toby and Claire, will be the main protagonists of the series. - Color Motif:
- Jim: Blue, for his melancholic compassion, deep sorrow from years of isolation, and his eventual rise as a hero.
- Toby: Orange, for his uncontrolled emotion and warmth towards his friends (especially Jim), and his enthusiasm.
- Claire: Purple, for her arrogance, power, and mystery.
- Mary: Red, for her aggressive personality and rage, but also holds passion for her friends.
- Darci: Green, for her envy and harmonic nature.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Inverted with Jim. He definitely was a difficult kid because he had to isolate himself within his own home with only his mother to keep him company, he never actually goes "mad"; he was just a young, naive child who was forced to deal with an unfamiliar physiology he has little-to-no control over. After his incident with his mother, he grows more calmer and helps unburden Barbara's stressful style in anyway he can. Around his teens, however, he suffers a traumatic emotional breakdown at the thought of being alone forever. In any way, Jim tries to cherish every joyful moment he has with his loved ones to keep himself from feeling completely lonely.
- Hates Being Alone: Jim fits this to T, and is one of the causes of his Mood Whiplashes. He hates isolation so much that he's willing to to anything for his friends if it meant keeping them in his life, due to having no one else to talk to other than his mother for ten years.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: All Jim wants is one night to be out in public and be able to live his own life without fear of his transformations interfering. Although his camping trips are the only times he's not under "house arrest", he still wants to hang out with his friends and participate in many other activities like other kids his age.
- Because of his limited free time to live like a normal kid, Barbara often has to spoil her son with extra fun activities, like going to theme parks, to keep his childhood more happy, yet he still never had sleepovers with his friends (let alone allowing them to stay over his house past sundown) nor attend any late-night occasions (like Halloween).
- It is once mentioned by Barbara and Toby that Jim used to participate with the Junior Mole Scouts. When he was a kid, his absences were tolerant and more flexible. However, as he grew older, his meeting schedule became more and more difficult to keep up with and couldn't even participate in field trips. Ultimately, Jim was kicked out. It's implied he kept Barbara in the dark about this until she found out.
- Involuntary Shapeshifting: One of the major downsides of Jim's curse. He changes between human and troll strictly according to the movement of the sun and/or when underground. Since Jim cannot consciously control his shapeshifting at all, he must stay hidden in his house every night from prying eyes.
- It's All My Fault: Unsurprisingly, Barbara blames herself for what happened to Jim that night he changed for the first time. It's even implied that Jim blames himself for putting his mother in such a bad situation because of his changes.
- Mama Bear: Barbara is willing to sacrifice anything to protect Jim.
- Nice Day, Deadly Night: During the day, Jim is just a normal child. But due to the mysterious properties of the bath bomb he bathed in when he was five, he ends up turning into a troll during the night. When he was eleven, he discovers he also changes into his troll form when underground, even during the day. But as Barbara observed, it is only when said underground is subterranean, not manmade.
- Parents as People: While Barbara loves Jim unconditionally, the stress of her job combined with the new living situation of being a single parent can be hard enough. Add on the fact that her son (who isn't even in his teens yet) transforms into a troll that Does Not Know His Own Strength and is not allowed to do things other kids his age could do due to the fear of people finding out is another problem entirely. Sometimes when his frustrations boil over into tantrums, she is too exhausted to deal with it and ends up locking him in the basement until he tires himself out. As guilty as this makes her feel about it, it is the closest thing she has to a solution in coping with the situation. In the sequel story, Darci, Mary, and Claire discover claw marks on the basement door, believing they were from Jim. This unfortunately leads them to believe that Barbara Lake is an Abusive Parent who locks her own son in the basement, all because of a Disappeared Dad. Toby once mentioned that Barbara told his nana that she found a babysitter for her night shifts, but after calling CPS and eavesdropping on the investigators, he believes Barbara lied and has been leaving Jim home alone. Of course, he's Right for the Wrong Reasons.
- Secret-Keeper: Barbara's initially the only one who knows about Jim's nightly transformation and, basically, she's the only person he can talk to when dealing with the unnatural changes he's going through... until Toby, Claire, Darci, and Mary learn Jim's secret themselves.
- Stages of Monster Grief: Jim appears to suffer from this.
- Denial: Jim usually tries to deny what he is and constantly tries to "fight back" his troll form.
- Defiance: At a young age, he tries to defy his mother's rules to try and be a normal kid, but must be hidden from prying eyes during the night in fear of being exposed. It's not when he accidentally hurts his mother does he realize how dangerous he is during the night.
- Depression: In his teenage years, Jim grows inevitably depressed by his nightly transformation affecting himself and his life. It's taken up a notch when he fears he'll never be able to participate in daily activities other kids his age could and may never have a life of his own. This results in Jim having a mental breakdown, but he does get better after making new friends with Claire, Mary, and Darci.
- Betrayal: After Claire, Mary, and Darci reveal that they know his mother locked him up in the basement, Jim begins to feel threatened. And when Toby learns the truth, the four decide to call CPS on Barbara to "save" Jim. However, Jim feels betrayed and tries to push them back in fear of his secret being exposed and how they'd react.
- Acceptance: Word of God claims that Jim will slowly but surely accept what he is once he has the support he needs and accept his curse as a part of him.
You Are My Sunshine
A few short months after being abandoned by James, Barbara and Jim have finally regained some stability; only to have their lives completely shattered by a single, inexplicable event. Now they have a devastating secret to keep, even if it means isolating themselves from everyone around them. But as the years go by, people are starting to ask questions, and their carefully crafted facade begins to crack.
- Afraid of Their Own Strength: After accidentally hurting his mother, Jim has become terrified of his troll form's immense strength. It doesn't help that he was just seven and he was strong enough to damage human bone with no effort and, as he matures, only grew stronger despite his effort to hold it back.
- Enfant Terrible: With the emotional trauma that his abrupt and unexplained transformation forced onto the young Jim, as well as the various limitations with keeping it a secret from humans, Jim has a tendency to go on tantrums that are very destructive given his Super-Strength. It is not until he accidentally hurts his mother and her leaving to the hospital without telling him where she is going does he snap out of this.
- My God, What Have I Done?: It is not until Jim accidentally hurting his mother in one of his tantrums does he realize the full weight of his actions and just how dangerous his troll form really is. Conversely, when Barbara finds a distraught Jim, she realizes that she had left without telling him where she was, just like how his father left them, Jim thinking she would leave forever. From then on, Jim becomes more calm and gentle and tries to handle how serious his "condition" is.
- Noodle Incident: When Jim has to double-check Barbara's cooking instincts, even at a young age.Honestly, set one measly little pasta salad on fire and suddenly your eight year old thought you needed supervision.
- Parents Know Their Children: Jim's eyes remain the same in either of his forms. This was how Barbara was able to recognize her son the first night he changed.
- Recurring Dreams: Barbara has suffered from constant nightmares of Men in Black stealing Jim away ever since his transformations began.
- Struggling Single Mother: If James leaving the family wasn't enough to put a large burden on Barbara, it's taken up a notch when her only son begins to change into a troll at night, having to raise/nurture Jim differently than other kids.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Following his incident of hurting his mom with his Super-Strength, Jim becomes more calm, respectful, and even more careful with his enhanced abilities during the night. Also, when he was nine, unlike most children his age, he was quick notice how tired his mother was, due to working only during the day. He completely understood that it is because she had to stay at home during the night and take care of him, due to lack of hiring babysitters. As such, Jim manages to convince Barbara to begin her night shifts and leave him home alone so he can look after the house.
A Secret's Worth
High school is a time for learning, exploration, making new friends. At Arcadia Oaks High school, five freshman come together to do just that, but it soon becomes apparent that all is not well for one of them. And he's just as desperate to keep his secrets as his friends are to uncover them. But more is going on than any of them can imagine, and when the full truth comes out, no one will be prepared.
- Adaptational Sexuality: In canon, Mary showed only attraction towards boys, here she is attracted to both sexes.
- Adaptational Villainy: In canon, James Sr. is just a deadbeat ghost who walked out on his family and never spoke a word to them. In this fanfic series, the author writes James Sr. as a vile, petty Psychopathic Manchild.
- A Day in the Limelight: In Chapter 12, Detective Louis Scott, Darci’s father, gets a POV section.
- Adults Are Useless: Averted heavily.
- An Aesop: Being concerned for someone does not give you a free pass to violate their boundaries and doing so is just going to drive the person you’re trying to help further away. On the other hand, when people come to you with legitimate concerns, evading their questions is going to scare them even more and drive them to more extreme action.
- Word of God assures that both of these lessons are perfectly valid and should coexist when in Jim and his friends' situation, and both sides have very rational points in this subject.
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- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: While (illegally) investigating the Lakes' house to uncover their secret, Toby, Claire, Mary, and Darci discover – besides the claw marks on the basement door – raw animal/organ meat in a padlocked freezer and a secret compartment stashed in the attic (which Barbara proclaimed was strictly off-limits). It contains fangs and fur, a book sealed with a combination lock, and... bath bombs.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Jim learns Barbara's theory that a witch from Salem had created the bath bomb that cursed him in the first place, but he finds it far-fetched despite living with said curse for ten years. Barbara herself was skeptical of her theory, but laments her own son's "condition".
- Book Ends: The story ends where it began, with Jim and his friends starting a new school year. Though this time instead of a bordering on a Despair Event Horizon Jim now knows he doesn’t have to face his problems alone, even with the discovery of the amulet.
- Both Sides Have a Point: When CPS is finally involved in the sequel, Jim is torn up from Toby, Claire, Mary, and Darci, yet each side has a point. For Jim, he is right that, no matter how close they are, his friends shouldn't have to butt into his Family Business so suddenly (even if they did prepare for anything). Also, Jim has every right to suspect how they'd react if they ever knew his secret, whether out of fear, betrayal, or struggling to accept that what Jim was is real. Finally, Jim's friends have completely misled him into believing that they'd "leave him and his mother alone". On the other hand, for Toby, Claire, Darci, and Mary, they're right that Jim himself is never completely honest with them and gave them every reason to be concerned by how Barbara raises him, not to mention how much he gaslights them into letting it go and gave them the cold shoulder by straight up avoiding them for several days. True, they made a terrible mistake of reporting the Lakes more than once (mostly due to bad communication), but they at least told the authorities to help "save" Jim from a potentially Abusive Parent, due to their more-or-less abnormal rules and routines.
- Breather Episode:
- Chapter 3, where Jim and Toby hang out with Claire, Mary, and Darci at the county fair. After having to get over his mental breakdown (and the consequences that came with it), it's nice to see Jim finally cut off some slack and feel like a normal teenager, and even makes some new friends.
- Chapter 27 may also count, as it focuses on Jim's very first sleepover with Toby. Although things briefly get awkward and heated between the two, it's refreshing to see these two Childhood Friends reconcile after months of mistrust and secrecy, as well as Jim finally getting the support he needs.
- Calling the Old Man Out: When Jim meets his bio-father for the first time, he reveals his nocturnal form and wastes no time calling James Sr. out for abandoning them when they needed him most... Then James Sr. reveals that he knows something of the bath bomb that cursed him. After this, Barbara calls James Sr. out physically.
- Character Development: Jim starts off as being a nervous wreck and mentally isolating, and tries to cut himself off from his friends after they get onto him. It's not until his friends learn his secret and lets them back into his life after hearing how sorry they were. While seeing a therapist, Jim grows more confident and laid-back around his friends, and even growing enough courage to actually confront his deadbeat father by revealing his nocturnal form, growing tired of hiding all the time.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Toby and the girls would never had called CPS on Barbara had Jim at least trusted them enough with his nightly secret in the first place.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- It is revealed that Barbara's parents were emotionally and psychologically abusive towards her, so much so that she ceased contact with them just before Jim was born. This brings Barbara's Freudian Excuse more into light as she feared of becoming more like them. It's hard not to understand why Barbara felt immensely guilty for what she's done to Jim when his transformations began.
- Chapter 36 heavily implies that Bular murdered Darci’s mother when Darci had always believed it was an accident.
- Death Glare:One scathing look from Jim shut [Claire] up.
- Department of Child Disservices: Averted.
- Dramatic Irony: Toby and the girls initially thought that Jim was in danger of his mother, but never take into account that they only put Jim in more danger by calling CPS. Although, in their defense, it's only because Jim wouldn't explain anything and why it was a bad idea for his own safety. Jim — numerously — takes note of the irony.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Toby thought that Jim was in danger from his mother, but after discovering Jim's secret, Toby believed Jim was never in danger at all... Jim's "The Reason You Suck" Speech says otherwise, that he's always been in danger ever since his friends called CPS on him.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Chapter 29 introduces the appearance of Douxie from Wizards, who helps Jim and his friend hide from his mentally-unstable father in his book shop.
- Evil Is Petty: Basically, James Sr. left his family, leaving the cursed bath bomb for Barbara, because she was being a "nag" to him when, in actuality, was just being a responsible parent to their son.
- Gaslighting: Jim's willing to tell Blatant Lies to keep his nightly troll form a secret, especially if it means keeping his mother safe (as she's the only one who knows what he's dealing with).Jim: Whatever scratches you think you saw, those were probably just made by raccoons.
- Genre Savvy: After learning Jim's secret, Barbara tries to explain to Toby and the girls about his different set of needs, such as eating raw meat and garbage:Claire: I get it, it’s kind of like someone who’s diabetic. Don’t make a big deal out of it when they check their blood sugar or give themselves insulin and stuff like that.
- Hate Sink: James Lake Sr. After just one chapter after his debut, he trespasses the high school and harasses Mary with no regard for her well-being. Then nine chapters later, he publicly chases five teenagers (one of them being his own son) and verbally attacks Douxie when he hides them from him. Finally, it's revealed that he was the one who indirectly cursed Jim ten years ago and laughs about how it hurt them. Barbara has none of it and literally kicks his ass out of her house.
- Heel Realization: Toby and the girls figure out their big mistake of calling CPS on Jim after discovering his... abnormalities, and realize how much danger they've actually put him in.
- Hidden Depths: Mary Wang, of all people. When not looking at her phone, she can actually spot small blink-and-miss-it moments. Notably, her eagle eyes caught sight of James Sr. snooping around their area during lunch while she was making summer plans, which practically saved her and her friends.
- Hope Spot: When Toby tries to give Jim one last chance to come clean about his secret, Jim was seriously considering telling him everything... until he flees from Toby at the last minute.
- In-Universe Catharsis: When Jim rants out at his friends for their actions after they've discovered his secret. It may not seem like it, but this is a good first step in Jim recovering from his depression and reconciling with his friends.
- Jerkass Ball: Toby picks it up when he accuses Jim of not trusting him enough to tell him that he wasn't in danger at all. When Jim has none of it, Toby realizes that he was mistakingly Bullying the Dragon – given that he witnessed Jim's raw Super-Strength – and Toby and the girls are reduced to a Mass "Oh, Crap!" during Jim's "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Lack of Empathy: James Sr at his worst. When he learns how much Barbara and Jim were struggling with the latter's curse, James Sr. laughs at the idea if it meant making Barbara miserable.
- Mood-Swinger: One minute, Jim is rightfully and legitimately angry at his friends for putting him and his mother in danger and tells them to leave him alone, and then when they try to leave his house to give him space, he's suddenly begging them to stay with him. Toby internally lampshades this, wondering if it's because he's extremely lonely and afraid of losing his friends or if it's a "side-effect" of his curse.
- Never My Fault: James Sr. blames Barbara for causing him to leave and have an affair with another woman, even though he chose to leave them in the first place.
- Oh, Crap!:
- In Chapter 6, Jim when he realizes that the sun was narrowly down and he must return home from the movies at a panicky speed. And again in Chapter 10 when the girls confess that they saw his claw marks on his basement door.
- In Chapter 14, Barbara when the CPS begin investigating her, courtesy of Toby, Claire, Darci, and Mary.
- In Chapter 29, Mary has this reaction when she realizes James Sr. was scouting for them during lunch and quickly warns her friends.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Barbara is normally cool and not easily tempered. In the aftermath of James Sr. revealing that he cursed Jim during one of her appointments with her counselor in chapter 25, however:Barbara: Would you give it a rest with that damn pen?!
[The counselor jumps in surprise] - Prodigal Family: When Jim's Disappeared Dad trespasses the school in an attempt to reunite with him and his mother, Jim reacts with fear and resentment. After he learns how much of a Psychopathic Manchild James Sr. is, Jim takes matters into his own hands, transforms into a troll, and calls his father out on his behavior. Overall, James' visit only causes Jim and Barbara a great deal of distress.
- Psychopathic Manchild: James Lake Sr., and oh, boy, he is. Poor Mary Wang learns the hard way just how mentally unstable Jim's father is in Chapter 20. If he was willing to trespass school property and potentially get physical with a child to try and see his estranged family, it gives Mary a moment of clarity of just how badly she and her friends screwed up. Later in Chapter 29, James Sr. publicly chases Mary and the other kids without any regards to their well-beings. It's revealed that chapter that James Sr. has quite the warranty before he showed up in Arcadia.
- Rage Breaking Point:
- Jim hits his when he learns that all of his friends had called CPS on him behind his back and lied about it. He tries to protect them from his temper, but ends up raging at Steve of all people, which does not end well.
- In chapter 32, Barbara hits hers when she learns that her ex-husband, James Sr., was not only responsible for indirectly cursing Jim in the first place, but intended her to use the bath bomb instead. She kicks his butt out of the house and permanently breaks James Sr.'s nose in the process.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Toby rants about Jim not telling him his secret sooner, believing it was because Jim didn't trust him enough with it...Jim: ...You think I wanted to be alone? You think I like being stuck in the house by myself all the time? Did you think this was fun!? You think this is a game to me!? So you’ve been scared for weeks? I’ve been scared every day for ten years! Do you have any idea what it’s like to have this happen to me every night!? To spend years trapped in your own house? News flash, I don’t just stay inside because I feel like it, I do it because if anyone else saw me like this they’d shoot me on sight!... What do you think CPS and the cops would do if they saw me like this? I’ve spent every night for the past four months wondering if this is the night that someone finds out, that this is the night my life ends. That someone in the police or CPS sees me like this and sends a squad to drag me away to a dissection table in a secret government lab. I told you over and over again. Mom. Never. Hurt me. For the past ten years, she’s sacrificed everything just to keep me safe. And now thanks to you guys, the one person who’s always been there for me could go to prison! Calling the cops, lying to me, breaking into my house!? It was never my mom, you guys were the ones putting me in danger! You guys were the ones who ruined my life! For once, just once, can you guys actually listen to me!? Stop prying into stuff that’s none of your business. Stop sneaking around behind my back! Stop digging into stuff that has nothing to do with you and just leave. Me. ALONE!!!
- Refused Reunion: Even after learning his biological father is back in Arcadia (for reasons currently unknown), Jim bluntly admits he doesn't want to see him, and for good reason.
- The Reveal:
- Chapter 22 is when Toby, Claire, Darci, and Mary break into Jim's house, and discover Jim in his troll form, ultimately blowing his ten-year-long secret.
- Then, in Chapter 31, James reveals at the end that he was the one who planted the bath bomb that cursed Jim ten years ago.
- Rule of Symbolism: Jim tries to keep himself hidden behind his bedroom door to prevent his friends (who have broken into his house again) from seeing him. His door serves as Jim's emotional barrier between himself and his friends. It takes Mary literally breaking in through the window to finally see Jim's source of emotional issues.
- Salem Is Witch Country: Barbara believes that the bath bomb that cursed Jim is somehow connected to a witch named Sarah Good from Salem, Massachusetts. She plans to spend half of the summer with Jim across the country to find potential answers. Subverted when it's later discovered that James Sr. is implied to have been responsible with the bath bomb all along.
- Sequel Hook: Chapter 38 ends with Jim discovering the Trollhunter Amulet under the bridge.
- Tranquil Fury: When the girls confess to Jim they broke into his house twice, spied on him, and eavesdropped, Jim manages to keep cool, but his feelings to these revelations say otherwise.
- Victim-Blaming: Jim ends up becoming a target of this by his own friends, including Toby, when they call him out on his hypocritical accusation of lying to him, but inevitably sends Jim into another Rage Breaking Point as he attempts to protect them from his rage. When he takes it out on Jerk Jock Steve Palchuk instead, things do not end well.
- Wham Episode:
- At the end of Chapter 19, James Lake Sr., Jim's biological father and Barbara's ex-husband, makes his first debut appearance.
- Chapter 22 is when Toby, Claire, Mary, and Darci learn Jim's magical secret.
- Chapter 36 is when Darci learns that her mother wasn’t killed in an accident, she was murdered, and it’s all but directly stated that Bular was the culprit.
- Wham Line: James Sr. delivers one of the cruelest lines in Chapter 31 upon seeing Jim's troll form:James Sr.: [laughing at Jim's nocturnal form] That old potion actually worked after all.
- And one more in Chapter 38:
The Amulet: JAMES LAKE. - Wrong Genre Savvy:
- When investigating Jim's house for clues to "save" him from his so-called "abusive" mother, Toby, Claire, Mary, and Darci believe that they're in an episode of Law and Order, but they'd have a lot more success if they treated this like an episode of Supernatural.
- James Sr. believes that by trespassing school property to meet Jim, he believes the school will allow him to have a "reunion" and Mary could help him see his son. Mary points out that's not case at all; Jim, who's now a teenager and has never even seen nor heard from his father for ten years, wouldn't be the least bit pleased to see him, and – at that point – Jim and Mary are not exactly on speaking terms.
- You're Not My Father: After the events of chapter 32, Jim officially drops the "Jr." out of his name and instead prefers to go by "Jim Lake"; a sign that he's cutting all ties of his biological father out of his life for good.
Between Daylight and Darkness
Jim’s life has been tumultuous from the start, he's been through some rough times but came out ok on the other side. Now with his friends by his side he feels ready to take on anything.
Then he finds a mysterious object in the canals that turns his life upside down. And as the five of them dig deeper into the mysteries in and underneath their town they're forced to question everything they thought they knew about the world and their place in it.
They quickly discover that secret knowledge and sacred responsibility go hand in hand, and the deeper they delve into the hidden world beneath Arcadia the more threats they uncover. Enemies and new dangers lurking around every corner. And with every foe they conquer a new one seems to reveal themselves. The further and further they go the more they find themselves irreversibly altered by these new experiences. And if the five of them want to protect each other and their loved ones they'll have to find a way to embrace these changes while staying true to themselves.
However there's far more at stake here than their five little lives, and soon they'll be grappling with choices could that affect not only the world around them, but all those living in it.
