u/Everythingirly

I've recently finished Trollhunters, and it was one of the best fantasy shows I've ever watched. The main characters and side characters were all really memorable. And, well, whenever I get into a new fandom, I look for fanfics. I haven't seen the other shows or the movie, though (I might give 3 Below a chance). I was wondering if anyone could give me any recommendations. I'd prefer stories that take place during Trollhunters or just after S3. I usually don't read AUs, but some can be interesting.

Sorry for being so demanding lol, anything helps.

Now that I've finished the live-action series, I'd like to compare it to the donghua and analyze it. The plot is almost entirely different, but we can still compare the worldbuilding and characters. I will use c/ for the characters in the C-drama and d/ for their donghua counterparts. Major spoilers for both shows ahead! (PS: I paraphrased the quote, but it's one of my favorite quotes from the C-drama.)

Let's start with the way superpowers work. In the C-drama, we learn that some people are born with "a special magnetic field", which gives them special abilities. They can see the past through photos and even become the person who took the photo. We never see anyone do both of these things, but I guess the teacher should be the guide and the student the diver, in principle. However, the diver always needs a partner to go back in time. In contrast, every special individual in the donghua has a unique power, which may or may not be hereditary. They can even give their power to someone else before they die. Another difference is that d/CXS merges with the person he possesses, whereas c/CXS replaces the other person's consciousness, and his body stays in the present.

I think it's more interesting when d/CXS inherits some of the stranger's feelings and memories. It accentuates the concepts of sonder and empathy. But there's also more confusion about what the possessed person remembers doing, whereas in the C-drama, they don't remember anything. I think it makes more sense for people to be born with different powers. But at the same time, I like that there's a secret society for people with "special magnetic fields" in the C-drama. I was also really excited to see the boys face an opponent with the same power.

When it comes to time travel, both shows are kinda confusing. In the donghua, we see that some changes in the past can have serious consequences in the present. But d/LG also says that death is a node that can't be changed. (I wonder about that since Xu Shanshan might have died if d/CXS hadn't possessed her in time, but I digress.) I think that time travel makes a bit more sense in the C-drama since we don't hear about any nodes that can't be changed. Some of them just shouldn't be changed because it could completely rewrite the present (not that we actually get to see it). But there's still a plot hole. If young He Shu thought he succeeded in changing the past, he would have had no reason to kill Xi Ta. CXS told him that he would use him and kidnap his sister in the future, but not that he would kill Xi Ta. So one death node would have been changed anyway.

Finally, let's talk about the characters, starting with Qiao Ling. She's a reporter in the C-drama, not the manager of Time Photo Studio like in the donghua. She and c/CXS also help out at their parents' restaurant. Personality-wise, she's not that different from her animated counterpart. But her best friend is Liu Ye instead of Xu Shanshan, which changes her arc quite a lot.

When we meet Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang in the donghua, they've been friends for a long time. In the C-drama, there's a greater emphasis on them influencing each other and becoming better people as a result: c/CXS helps c/LG to be more sociable, while c/LG helps c/CXS to be more mature. The biggest difference between both Cheng Xiaoshis is their backstory. We know that d/CXS's parents went missing when he was young, but the C-drama doesn't tell us anything. There's one scene where c/LG asks c/CXS about his parents, but c/CXS just brushes it off. I guess c/QL's parents adopted him, but it's odd that the series left out such an important part of d/CXS's character (unless I missed something). However, I did like his development from a naive and cocky guy into an intuitive and responsible adult.

As for c/LG, we also don't learn anything about his parents, just that Xi Ta taught him how to use his power. I quite liked his character arc in the c/drama. At first, he only cared about catching Xi Ta' killer, but after he befriended c/CXS, he became afraid that he'd lose him if he told him the truth. He also represents the opposite of He Shu, since he was able to move on and form new connections with people. It's fascinating to me that d/LG and He Shu both broke the rules of time travel to save someone, but one is the protagonist while the other is the antagonist. Even the song Hold Back No More feels like He Shu's version of VORTEX, especially the lyrics, "I don't wanna lose you. I don't wanna hold back. In a world of intertwined memories, everything will be rewritten." It makes me even more curious about d/LG's role in season 3.

This post turned out way longer than I expected lol. If you actually read all that, thank you. Let me know if you have any thoughts on the characters or the way time travel works in either of these shows.