#caught in the middle au

[fluffykitty149]

@empressgeekt heard you’ve been feeling down and thought you could use a pick me up! I honestly just wrote this for fun and wasn’t going to show it to anyone, but it’s the FoF + Caught In The Middle mash up I asked you about a while ago! Had a serious brain rot about it so I ended up making this snippet!

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The wedding ceremony was going great. It never ceased to amaze Branch of the fact that his girlfriend was able to concoct an amazing party regardless of size. She may have struggled with taking charge and staying organized for defense in the past but it’s become abundantly clear that she was and is in fact a master planner. They’d gone back and forth on whether or not Branch should wear his Forest Guardian uniform at the wedding as Branch believed since he’s head of the trolls' security he needs to be ready and Poppy argued that he should dress for the occasion but both Gristle and Bridget assured them that it was okay. It probably helped that Gristle was wearing a T-Shirt tux instead of an actual one. Poppy later confessed that she just wanted to see Branch decked out in a tuz and after a bit of blushing and some persuading kisses he agreed to maybe switch to one for the reception.

As the officiant went on with her speech a forest scout signaled for Branch to come over. Branch lightly brushed his arm against Poppy’s and when she turned to him he signaled that he had to check something out and Poppy nodded in acknowledgement and scanned the rooftops herself before looking back to the bride and groom. Once Branch checked that Keith was still in the wedding rings with his blue tuft of hair sticking out he followed the scout to the other side of the reception. “What’s the situation?” Branch asked as he and the scout climbed up a building. 

“Tresillo caught some trolls sneaking around,” the pop troll answered as they continued to climb. “3 presumably male, 1 presumably female. Pop trolls like us but I haven’t seen them before.”

That caught Branch off guard. Sure he didn’t really know everyone in the village but most of the tribe recognized each other easily. The scout continued “the female one appears to be having some sort of PTSD episode? Kinda like you used to have, she’s convinced we’re all in danger right now from the Burgens. We’ve tried explaining the Burgens don’t eat us under the decree of King Gristle and if she had concerns about a particular Burgen or group she was suspicious of but it’s more like she doesn’t know about the peace that we have now.”

Branch winced at the memories of his thankfully now rare episodes before he finally scaled the wall and found where the other trolls were “go back to your post. I’ll take it from here.” The troll took a final look at the group before they nodded and walked off. As Branch got closer he could hear the group talking animatedly and the familiarity of the male trolls’ voices made a pit drop in his stomach. ‘There’s no way that’s them,’ he said to himself in denial, as he slowed down. 

“Come on man we’re Brozone! Can’t you help us out?” That was definitely JD’s voice. Turns out Branch didn’t miss it nearly as much as he thought he did.

Branch cleared his throat and the guards surrounding the group backed off and Branch was able to get a full view of three out of his four brothers. Spruce had gotten bigger and seemed to be sporting a more beach aesthetic with his hair styled down in a sweep, Clay’s hair was green instead of yellow and curled out and was much taller than Branch remembered sporting a sweater romper. He seemed to at the time be arguing with Wani who had some of her members standing by a pink troll with one of them showing her breathing techniques. JD switched out the boyband vest and pants for a more nature-like vest lined with fur and worn green shorts. Still the same stupid goggles though. And same stupid grin. 

“Would someone from your group mind explaining what’s going on here?” Branch asked in an authoritative tone. It annoyingly didn’t seem to phase his oldest Brother. 

“Hey man, sorry to bother you with… whatever is going on here.” JD gestured with his hands. “We haven’t been around the tree in a while and we’re trying to look for our siblings.”

Branch’s crossed arms helped hide his hands squeezing his biceps. ‘A while would be the understatment of the mother fucking century’ he thought to himself.

“Would you mind explaining who you’re looking for specifically?'' Was it a good idea to pretend he didn’t know them? Probably not. DId he care at the moment? Nope.

“We’re looking for Bitty B man! From Brozone!” Thank god Branch was wearing a mask because the deadly glare he was shooting right now would be beyond suspicious. 

“I don’t know of anyone named Bitty B that lives in the village. Are you sure this sibling of yours isn't’ somewhere else?” Branch asked curtly. If JD could at the very least say Branch’s actual name he might consider telling him the truth. 

“Psh come on man, who wouldn’t know Bitty B! He’s Brozone!” 

Branch drummed his fingers against his arm “again, there’s no one here named Bitty B now if you’re just here to cause a scene at a wedding that helps signal the peace between pop trolls and Bergens then I’ll have to ask you to lea-”

Before he could finish, a pink and blond blur zipped up to him and shook him by the collar “WHERE IS MY SISTER, WHAT DO YOU MEAN PEACE WITH THE BERGENS, AND WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?” 

The other scouts turned to him warily but he didn’t flinch. “Would you mind telling me your sister’s name? We can start from there.”

The woman looked bewildered at him “SERIOUSLY!? I’M TALKING ABOUT POPPY!!! DAUGHTER OF KING PEPPY!!! THAT POPPY!!!”

Now it was Branch’s turn to look bewildered “Poppy? As in the current queen?” 

Viva’s face dropped but then was brought back up “Yes! Yes her! Is she okay!? She’s not in danger is she?”

Branch’s heart seemed to be going back and forth between panicking and sinking. “No, no,” he said gently as he removed her arms away from him “she’s why we have peace with the Bergens. You’re her older sister?”

Viva’s fear turned to excitement and Branch’s heart sank furhter “Oh my gosh she did this! No way I am so freakin proud of her!” the way she bounced in excitement reminded him painfully of Poppy. ‘Peppy what did you do?’ he thought to himself while watching her stim and cheer. 

“Poppy’s busy with the ceremony right now, would you mind me grabbing your dad?” Viva’s face shifted between distraught to hopefulness and it made Branch’s heart squeeze tighter. 

“Dad’s alive?” she asks wiping a tear.

Branch nodded “I’ll just be a moment. We have multiple guards and scouts stationed on the rooftops on the venue. Even if there was a chance of a Bergen wanting to eat a troll we have contingencies in place.” He leapt off the roof of the building onto another and ran back to the reception.

Anger began to burn in his body that fueled him to run faster to the venue. He made it to where the group is and slipped in to grab Peppy’s arm. “You’re needed on the rooftop. It’s urgent.” Peppy barely had enough time to respond before Branch picked him up with his hair and ran off. The rest of the snack pack and Prince D looked somewhat baffled but turned back to the ceremony. 

It probably wasn’t professional for Branch to be running on all fours but focusing on going fast took his mind off of the interaction that was about to happen. One of the perks of traning with Smidge was that his hair was much stronger and could easily hold Peppy well enough not to hurt him as he scaled the wall. He fired a grapling gun up to help him climb with a still bewildered Peppy in his hair. “Branch?! Is everything alrgiht?” 

“Not really,” he huffed making his way up. “You have a lot of explaining to do.” Still on all fours he managed to make his way to the rooftop where Viva and his brothers were. It was definitely a tough sprint but he skidded to a stop and carefully put Peppy down. As angry as he was at the man he wasn’t going to throw him around like a rag doll.

Peppy stumbled for a second and was about to ask again what was going on when he heard a small “Dad?”

He whirled around and saw the daughter he hasn’t seen in over 20 years. “V-Viva?” he whispered shakily stumbling towards her.

“Daddy!” she cried out jumping to hug him. Branch almost stepped in incase of a fall but Peppy let his cane drop and colleceted his daughter in his arms. 

“Oh my sweet sweet girl,” he whispered holding her tightly. “I never thought I’d see you again.” he kissed her over and over again on her head stroking her curls. 

“The tunnels-” he stuttred as he pulled he away to get a better look at her. “W-we dug for hours, all we found in the ruins was your hug time bracelet. I-I thought you-” he sobbed as he pulled her tighter again. 

“I’m alive,” Viva chuckled breathlessly. “I got everyone out, it was tough but we found this old golf course to stay in! I should have gone looking for you guys I kept waiting for you to find us and I had no idea you thought we didn’t make it!” Viva sobbed as she burried her face in his neck.

“No sweetheart, it was my fault. I never should have stopped trying to look for you.” Peppy sighed as he rubbed her back.

Branch cleared his throat and Peppy’s face turned pale. “Poppy doesn’t know about her does she?”  he whispered. He hated being the bearer of bad news but it was clear what had happened. Trolls got separated during the escape and King Peppy lied about it. ‘No troll left behind’ was a total scam. A scam Poppy believed with her whole heart. It made Branch’s blood boil.

“What?”

Branch and Peppy turned back to Viva who’s face had completely dropped with her body becoming stiff. “What do you mean Poppy doesn’t know about me? I’m her sister! Of course she’d know who I am. Right?” She turned to her dad who looked completely guilty.

“I-I didn’t want her to mourn you.” Peppy mumbled fidgeting with the lapels of her jacket.

“Were there others with you who escaped?” Branch asked but Viva remained mute in shock. 

It was Clay who spoke up “there were 36 all together. With new kids we now have 40 as a group.” he said seemingly also in shock.

“Branch is everything okay? We’re supposed to be heading to the reception now.” Everyone’s head swiveled to Poppy who carried Keith on her hip.

“Cake time!” Keith shouted with raised fists and a blank stare. Everyone stared at the duo for what felt like ages before turning to Branch and bouncing back and fourth between them.

“BRANCH!?” “POPPY!” “HOLY SHIT!”

Viva rushed to hug little sister while the brothers crowded Branch asking a million questions at once. 

“YOU’RE ALIVE!?”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY WHO YOU WERE!?” “WHAT’S WITH THE OUTFIT!?”

“YOU KNOCKED UP VIVA’S SISTER!?”

“WHAT!?” Branch, Poppy, and Viva shrieked as Viva grabbed her sister tighter as she turned to Branch.

“Keith’s adopted!” Poppy said, as she tried to catch up to speed. She then turned to Viva “Hi I’m Poppy, nice to meet you. Who are you exactly?” Viva looked heartbroken while Peppy looked guiltier than ever.

“WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE AUDACITY TO PRESUME ANYTHING ABOUT ME!?” Branch shouted angrily as he shoved his brothers off of him.

“TOO LOUD!” Keith screamed as he clammed his ears shut with his hands. 

Branch tensed with guilt before turning back to his biological brothers. “I took Keith in about two years ago when his dad died and we see each other as each other’s brothers.” he said with an indignant huff. He then turned to Poppy. “Peppy apparently hid the fact that there were trolls left behind during the escape. Viva, your older sister gathered as many stragglers as she could and kept them hidden.” He paused to monitor Poppy’s reaction before he continued. “I’m so sorry Poppy I swear I didn’t know.”

Poppy’s grip on Keith loosened so he slid down and ran to Branch. “W-what?” She turned to her father in shocked betrayal.

“I was going to tell you I swear!” Peppy stammered. “After the rock apocalypse I realized it was wrong of me to try and hide the truth from you. You got so busy for a while so I figured I would tell you after the wedding in the tree.”

“I have a sister?” Poppy whispered as she turned back to Viva. 

Viva gave a small wave “hi Poppy,” she said as she nervously fidgeted with her hands.

“HOLY SPRINKLES I HAVE AN OLDER SISTER!!!” Poppy cheered as she scouped Viva up and spun her around. “MUSES I KNEW I FELT SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!! I WAS DRIVING EVERYONE CRAZY WITH ‘GOD I WISH I HAD A SISTER’ OR’ HAVING A SISTER WOULD LITERALLY MAKE MY LIFE SO PERFECT’ AND YOU WERE HERE THE WHOLE TIME!!!”

Viva burst into tears and wrapped Poppy in a hug of equal force. “I am,” she sobbed in Poppy’s shoulder “I’m right here!” 

Both sisters tried getting a good analysis of each other’s appearance but got too excited and with another squeal tackled each other in spinning hugs and jumps.

Branch picked up Keith to check on him and thankfully now that the arguing stopped he’s seemed to calm down. “We’re not getting Bergen sized cake are we?” Keith said with a pout. “We can ask Bridget and Gristle to save us a slice.” Branch chuckled. 

“Branch, is that really you?” Spruce asked which soured Branch’s mood. 

He hissed between his teeth before turning back towards his brothers. “Yes it’s me. This is Keith, he’s my little brother and if any of you say anything negative about him I’ll throw you off the building.”

The ex-brozone members turned to Keith in different forms of bewilderment but JD was the one who snapped out of it the fastest. “Welcome to the family bro!” he was about to hug both Branch and Keith. Keith lunged to bite JD but Branch managed to hold him back. 

The brozone brothers remained stunned while Branch brought Keith back to him “I think we’d both appreciate not being hugged if its all the same to you.” he huffed as he readjusted Keith on his hip. 

JD chuckled nervously and brushed dust off him “heh, got it. My bad.”

“Why were you asking all those questions if you knew we were looking for you? It was just wasting time.” Clay asked, already tired from the journey.

“Excuse me if I’m not jumping for joy that the brothers that abandoned me at 2 randomly showed up. What the hell are you all doing here anyways?” 

The brothers looked grief stricken for a second and before Clay could explain things JD blurted out “we’re here to reunite the band and pull off the perfect family harmony!” he cheered with a fist pumped in the air. Bruce smacked a paw against his face and Clay dragged his paws against his.

"No thanks, I'd rather choke on rocks than go through that again." The only reason Branch hadn't lost his temper was the fact Keith was still with him and he'd rather not go on a screaming vent in front of him. "Good to know you assholes are alive but you can crawl back from wherever you came from and never contact me again if you wouldn't mind." Branch turned his back to his ex-brothers and headed to where the Royal family was to help them figure out how to transport and shelter the other trolls that got left behind.

Before he could walk far Clay jogged to get in front of him. “Look, we’re here because Floyd needs to be broken out of a diamond bottle. Some wanna be super stars kept him trapped in one to drain him of his talent. We got him out of Mt. Rageous where he was but we need to get him out of the bottle too. I am really sorry our reunion was shit and that our oldest brother has what I can only infer is foot-in-mouth syndrome-"

"hey!"

"But we're going to need all of us if this is going to work."

Branch stood still as he processed everything Clay had said while Keith hopped down to listen in on the Royal family's family issues. "Would you guys have bothered to come back if it wasn't for the harmony?" He muttered with fallen arms.

The other two brothers had caught up by now and heard what Branch had said. "Branch, I did come back." JD said walking towards them. Branch whirled around in shock and even the other two looked surprised. JD wasn't paying attention to them though, he only stared at Branch. "I came back a couple of years later and found the tree dead and abandoned. I spent ages trying to track you guys down but couldn't find a trace of anyone. With all that added up I wasn't sure if any of you were..." he sniffed and wiped his nose.

None of the other brothers knew what to say to that. 

JD noticed all eyes on him and forced back on a smile. "But you're all alive!" he said relief evident in his voice. He ran to hug Branch and while Branch remained completely limp in the hug he didn't push JD off him either. It was the first time Branch noticed his Brother's colors were a bit duller than they were when he was younger. He cursed not being able to properly see out of one eye. 

He managed to get JD off of him "so you want us to try and perform the perfect family harmony, something we messed up so badly you all didn't want to be a family anymore, to save Floyd from being in a trapped bottle?"

"That is verbatim why we are here yes." John said confidently. Clay and Bruce gave each other a look before gauging  for Branch's reaction.

Before he could respond Poppy slammed into him with a hug. "BRANCH I HAVE A SISTER!" she cheered with a shake. 

"Congratulations Poppy, I really hope your relationship with her is less of a train wreck than the one I have with my brothers."

"Hey!" Branch's brothers responded indignantly 

"You're fine Keith."

Keith nodded satisfied and climbed back into Branch's hair. 

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry I was totally busy with other stuff!" Poppy said turning to Branch's bio brothers. "Hi I'm Poppy, Branch's girlfriend so nice to meet you all! I had no idea Branch had brothers!" She zipped to each of the brothers analyzing their clothes, mannerisms, hair, teeth, expressions, everything. 

"Oh yeah, definitely Viva's sister." Clay chuckled. 

Poppy turned to him instantly "you really think that!?" she squealed and hugged him. Then instantly jumped off "sorry boundaries! Branch isn't much of a hugger."

"I am!" JD cheered and Poppy instantly jumped to hug him. 

"Ooh! Ooh! I want a Branch's girlfriend hug!" Bruce exclaimed with a laugh. Poppy rushed to squeeze him too.

"Okay great everyone's had a Poppy hug now can we-"

"Wait a second," Poppy interrupted further analyzing JD "I know you! You're that guy from Brozone! We were just listening to them!" 

By this time some of the snack pack had also made their way up to the roof building. "Brozone? I love Brozone!" Cooper cheered. 

"Was Brozone that boy band you showed me last week? Their music is tight!" Prince D responded.

'fuck my life' Branch thought to himself as he watched the scene unfold.

"Okay, okay, let me guess, you're definitely not the heart throb,"

"What?" JD asked bewildered by Poppy's statement. CLay and Bruce snickered in the background.

"Fun one? No you're way too uptight."

"Uptight?" JD asked now seemingly shocked as Clay and Bruce wheezed in the background. Even Branch couldn't fight back a grin on his face. 

"Not the sensitive one either..." Clay and Bruce struggled to hold back their laughter.

"Okay, a lot of presumptions for someone you'd just met." JD said now a bit offended.

Poppy tapped her foot on the ground "Oh I remember! You're John Dory!"

"The leader!"

"The old one!"

Bruce and Clay laughed shamelessly on the ground completely fallen over and even Branch couldn't hold back his snickers. JD rolled his eyes at their antics. "Put food on the table and this is what you get." he grumbled as he fixed his vest. Bruce gave a somewhat apologetic smile but Clay was beyond happy with the interaction. "Branch your girl is a keeper" Clay said as he wiped a tear away. 

"So wait if you're Brozone and Brozone were Branch's bros..." the memories of old magazines started to click into place as Poppy turned to her boyfriend with a loud gasp. She remembered how much brighter his original colors were when he's in an extremely joyful mood. "BRANCH!? YOU WERE BITTY B!? HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME?!"

Branch was about to defend himself when Keith spoke up "Branch's brothers left him when he was two so he doesn't like them anymore." That brought the mood down instantly.

"Ooohhhhhh that explains so much about Branch's personality." Cooper said quietly

"Oh and the gift swap." Prince D commented.

"Oh yeah! Oh my god it makes so much more sense!" Cooper cheered

"Wait what happened during the gift swap?" Guy asked as Tiny climbed down to see everything. 

"Branch blew up his bunker." Tiny commented as he took some popcorn.

"WHAT!?" his bio brothers asked as their heads whipped towards him.

"Yeah, he was convinced that if he didn't get Poppy the perfect gift she'd leave him. He even had a little doodle of Poppy holding a suitcase saying 'goodbye forever!' on it. It was sad man." Cooper said with a shake of his head.

Clay inhaled sharply through his teeth, and it made Branch's head turn to his brother's reactions. Clay had pained expression, Bruce looked at Branch with pure pity, and JD looked at him in grief stricken horror. 

Branch struggled for what to say to them. His right arm was locked and twitched nervously as he struggled with something to say or just think. He could only try to keep his breathing steady as everyone's eye's were on him. There was a small tug on his hair that reminded him that Keith was still there and it kept him grounded.

"Branch, you okay?" Poppy asked as she made her way towards him. He focused on her to avoid the stares around him and it helped him calm down.

"Fine," he said exhausted from this terrible reunion. "There's 40 trolls all together. 36 that were with Viva and four who hatched on the course. We should probably start figuring out how to transport and shelter them."

"And contact their families," Poppy said with an excited grin. Her upper teeth stuck out a bit and Branch couldn't help but adore her beautiful smile. "We can head back to the village for now. Viva said something about one of your brothers being in a diamond bottle?" Poppy asked with a curious eyebrow raised.

"Apparently so. There's more than just Bergens out to get us." The crowed grew a bit tense at that. It had only been 20 years since they escaped and it barely passed the one year of peace. The fact there were more creatures out there was terrifying for all of them.

"I'll talk to King Gristle about keeping an eye out for Rageons. Did anyone here get a proper view of them?" Poppy asked.

"I kinda drew what they looked like," Clay said as he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his hair. "I gave a copy to one of the guys at the course."

Poppy took the drawing from Clay. "Awww they look so cute though." Poppy cooed.

"Theyre about as tall as the average Bergen though, that's way less cute." Clay commented.

"Oooohh look at my fabulous little sister taking charge!" Viva said as she slide over to where Poppy was. Poppy immideatly jumped to a hug that Viva was more than glad to reciprocate. 

"Awww thanks Vivs! I'm just gonna hand this to Gristle and- OH GOD I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE WEDDING!" Poppy shouted as she smashed her paws against her cheeks. "Sprinkles they could be waiting for us! God I'm the worst Maid of Honor ever! I need to go ASAP!" Poppy picked up her skirt to run but Viva grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

"WAIT YOU CAN'T GO!" Viva exclaimed terrified.

Poppy raised an eyebrow "Why not? I'm the Maid of Honor if I'm not there I can't help if there's a disaster and then Bridget's wedding will be ruined and It'll be all my fault and I-"

"Easy Poppy!" Guy said as he took her hands "We told Bridget that there was a situation and to go on without us, if things seem fine you, Branch, and your families can head back to the Village." He then straightened up and hammered a fist to his chest. "As life of the party I solemnly swear to make sure that this wedding after party is at maximum level fun for all!" Epic music played in the background.

Poppy stared in an awed daze for a moment before going back to a nervous twitch "ugh! I'd never doubt your party skills Guy, but I feel like such a let down as a maid of honor! I should be there for Bridget every step of the way! I'm like a 'maid of not honor'!" She exclaimed as she dragged her paws down her face. 

Branch hated the amount of stress Poppy was under "I'm sure Bridget would understand." He said as he gently took Poppy's shoulder. "Just give her a quick run down of the situation and ask King Gristle to have his guards keep an eye out. Then while I deal with my brothers mess, we can also check on our defenses and notify the other tribes about the Mt. Rageouns."

"Yeah, you're right, we should definitely give the other tribes a heads up," Poppy mumbled as she tugged on her lower lip. "Alright fine," she sighed. "It's not every day you find out you have a long lost sister, I'm sure Bridget would understand." Poppy then turned to Viva "I do really need to go see her and give her and her husband- still can't believe they got married!" Poppy squealed excitedly "a 411 and we can totally catch each other up when she gets back from her honeymoon but I can't leave without saying goodbye!" She pleaded, as much as she loved Viva she'd rather not be forced to stay on the rooftop any longer. 

"I- You can't just-" Viva fidgeted with her rubber hands antsily. She wasn't trying to make her sister feel bad, or piss off any Bergens for that matter. But the thought of Poppy with those beasts terrified her.

Almost as if she could read Viva's mind, Poppy took her hands in hers "I promise, those two are some of the sweetest Bergens I've ever met." Poppy said encouragingly. "Bridget was willing to risk her neck to save us, and I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for her. And Gristle has been working hard to not only fix relations between us and help protect us, but also keep his subjects super happy!" Poppy cheered which jostled Viva a bit.

"It's okay if you're still uncomfortable around them, not every troll in the Village came to the wedding you know? I just gotta explain things to Bridget and Gristle. You can come if you want!" Poppy then tuned excited. "You'd love Bridget, she's such a sweet heart! And trust me Gristle is totally chill!"

"Poppy nearly took out his eye when she tried pitching holidays to him," Branch commented mirthfully "he was still willing to help decorate for the holidays and even helped trim the troll tree. If Poppy could get away with that I think you'll be fine."

"What?" Viva asked with a shocked laugh.

"Ugh! Come on Gristle brings it up less than you do at this point!" Poppy pouted and kicked a nonexistent pebble. Her faux upsetness melted away when she heard Viva laugh a bit more freely.

"Okay, how about I keep an eye from a distance? That way if for whatever reason they do decide to eat you I can grab you and dash." Viva asked as she pulled out her sticky hands.

"Okay 1. Those look so cool please teach me how to use them later, and 2. I totally respect you gotta do what you gotta do to keep calm but if it helps Branch has a bunch of his guards stationed all around. It's how you guys didn't get all that far remember?" 

Viva drummed her fingers in thought "that's a good point... but I think I'll keep an eye out just incase okay?"

Poppy shrugged her shoulders "no problem! Oh my gosh I have got to introduce you to Bridget I swear you're gonna love her!" She took her sister's hand to run to where the reception was. "Branch try not to kill your bio brothers while we're gone!" Poppy shouted as she and Viva ran over rooftops.

"No promises!" Branch waved back.

[empressgeekt]

Now I am curious what would happen if you fused your Challange au with the fic "Caught in the Middle" 👀👀

OH....well....once more "Caught in the Middle" is not my au please go support its author! And for that scenario.

Creek would be at the wedding. He doesn't really have a role, he's just the guest who's here for the food and drink. Branch takes him to Grandma Rosiepuff's Pod before the ceremony, and they go through the addict finding old pictures of their moms growing up.

When Viva snatches Poppy out of no where, and Branch goes feral. Creek just sips his wine and ignores the problem for as long as possible. Then he hears Branch start screaming on the roof and he follows the drama. By the time he gets on the roof the others have gone after Viva leaving Bruce and Branch alone until Creek got there.

Creek: Alright? What went wrong now mate?

Bruce: Nothing you need to worry ab-

Creek: I wasn't asking you.

Branch: Just a flaming pile of garbage family reunion.

Creek: *immediately catching on* Oh how lovely, they can stay with my parents in the outhouse.

Bruce: Uh, Bitty who is this?

Branch: Oh sorry, you haven't met yet? Spruce meet our cousin, Creek.

Creek: You'd know me if you bothered to send a letter in recent months.

Branch: He's the only family who hasn't treated me like I don't exist.

Creek: *wincing* Actually that not....

Branch: YOU APOLOGIZED! UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE!

Creek gets dragged along the adventure, because John is convinced that more family the better for the harmony. He just comes to watch the trainwreck unfold and be the pillar that Branch needs.

[mystery-salad]

The world is safe now.

You tell yourself that as Zhaitan clings to a tower of decay, crumbling beneath its claws as the canons aim true. The shots hit, cheers raise as the dragon topples down. Falling from view through the miasma it created below. No one can hear it hit the ground over the relieved shouts of victory ringing across the airships. But everyone feels it in a resounding rumble that shouldn't have carried through the air like that. The celebrating falters, confusion rising but not fast enough to prepare for what follows. The shockwave hits like nothing you've ever felt. Everything goes dark as the screams begin.

The world is safe now, Orr is not.

You wake up in the rubble as survivors try to make sense of what happened. The dragon is dead, but no one accounted for where all the consumed magic had to go. No one planned for this despite generations of preparation. Perhaps there's a reason for the dragons, you hear murmurs through the tents. But you didn't come this far to call it quits, and one land riddled with a decaying radiation can't stop the mission. The contamination in your blood won't stop you.

The world is safe now. Orr is gone.

Mordremoth stares you down from within his mind. You're like a weed that won't die, small and foreign but resilient and ready to take everything. The odds are against you with the team sent away, you can't face the gaze of the dead like last time. They're safe at a distance, you have to hope they got far enough as you defy the odds and strike another dragon down.

The world is safe, but there's a catch.

Trahearne shudders as your mind returns to your body, as you look around in wonder that there isn't a shockwave like last time. He's so calm as he explains the truth of it, defying how terrified he is of dying, of asking a friend to do this and stand at ground zero once again. But you stand just as calm, picking up the blade and telling him to close his eyes. You hope he'll rest well, wherever his life takes him next. As the blade cuts through, you know it's real as the shockwave begins just like last time. You brace for impact as much as you can.

The world is safe now. The desert is gone.

It's almost tempting to let Balthazar handle the rest, let the god walk a path of destruction to each dragon, sparing yourself further damage. But his path leaves so much unnecessary devastation...so here you are alone with another dragon. Well, not completely alone now. You have Aurene, though you're still not sure if that's truly a blessing any more. The two of you corner Kralkatorrik, the perfect trap laid deep underground in old sunspear ruins.

The world is safe now, until the dragon takes a last stand.

Waking up in wreckage is becoming normal to you. When did that happen, when did the panic vanish? No time to think on it as new plans have to be laid out. You chase him down, you and your dragon, to kill her grandfather and save the world again. Setbacks are numerous. It's harder to work alone on this one, so many soldiers are ready to see it to the end with you. You tell them they don't know what they're asking for and send them away again. Aurene, still a child, fights the dragon's minions nearly overwhelmed as you get to his heart and strike. You've never seen the explosion from inside before. It's so bright.

The world is safe now. The island is gone.

Is it worth it all? It has to be, you tell yourself, as people celebrate your victories in a shrinking world. Refugees who have fled the fallout zones don't seem to agree, but at least they're alive right? And you know you're almost done. Jormag and Primordus, opposites and twins, rise together and somehow feel like childsplay after the last one. Perhaps it's because aurene is an equal to them now. You don't dare to think of the devastation that would be left if she were to die now. Thankfully you don't have to as the siblings tear each other apart.

The world is safe now. The mountains are gone.

No one has seen the final dragon in ages, hidden away deep underwater until you stumble into the truth while chasing a lesser threat. Soo Won was so gentle once, but the void ravages all. It feasts on the magic you released so willingly into the world, your devastations have paved the way for this chaos.

The world is safe now, for the void to reform.

You've survived so much despite the odds, held together by the very magic degrading your bones and poisoning your blood. The void pulls at those strings as it taunts you through the voice of the dragon who started it all. It's the hardest fight you've ever faced. As Aurene pumps you full of power to survive, you wonder if your death would bring destruction too in this moment. But it's left a mystery as Soo Won falls and the void fades. There's a moment of peacefulness you've never felt before, the grandmother hanging on long enough to comfort her granddaughter. But she can't prevent the state of her death. The jade sea shatters beneath your feet as she dies.

The world is safe now. But how much of it is left?

[spookberry]

Ellie( dani) going to monster kindergarden and Danny meeting someone from monster School (clawdeen probs?)

well there isn't a monster elementary or middle school in any of the monster high generations. However this did make me want to draw Ellie interacting with some of the other younger monster high younger sisters of Gen 2. So I drew that actually

(controversial monster high opinion, but I actually really like gen 2)

[fluffypotatey]

Can we please see Javy (Top Gun) and Javi (Twisters) in a fic or blurb?

hm well i haven’t written their official intro to each other yet (and i do plan to in Jake’s pov) but i got memes for how it would go down!

it’s literally just two different memes but one’s edited two more times lol

[hoofpeet]

I think it's funny that Zisu has a zoroark too<3

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

“That one time Barnaby broke somebody’s jaw for going a little too far w/ insulting Wally & almost got expelled <3”

Full story please? <3

WITH PLEASURE!

for those who are slightly confused, this is for 'my' modern human au! well. modern-ish!

okay so when they were in freshman year / 9th grade, Barnaby and Wally are soldily Bonded. they are a set, do not separate. they receive a lot of shit for this, because some kids are assholes and that's especially true for 14yr olds. and it's 2006. so Wally and Barnaby get teased/bullied a lot for their closeness. at this point they're kind of used to it. they met early in 7th grade and have been inseparable ever since. most of it slides off of them

but what is Barnaby was having an especially stressful week? one of those weeks were everything is going wrong, nothing is working out. so Barn is at the end of his rope, and then one of the main kids who likes to bother them insults Wally specifically, and badly. like it's some next level So Bad Its Almost Impressive shit. at present Barnaby is walking to his next class with Wally and Poppy. so Barnaby just kind of stops in place, mentally chooses violence, turns, walks up to the kid, and punches him as hard as he can. it knocked the bully out instantly and broke his jaw.

and keep in mind that at this point in time, Barnaby isn't the big strong guy he is later on. he hasn't had his main growth spurt yet. and he still packed enough of a punch to do Damage - which makes him even more intimidating when he Does hit his growth spurt and towers over practically everyone

the pros of this event: Frank and Julie were watching, and Frank respected Barnaby's response so much that he allowed Julie to bring him to hang out with the growing friend group at lunch / asshole kids were less inclined to insult Wally and Barnaby (or his friends) to their faces

cons: Eddie was also watching and was too scared of Barnaby for the rest of their school career to try and talk to him or his friends / Barnaby nearly got expelled but did get suspended, and that's a permanent mark on his record

so the kid goes down, everyone freaks out. Barnaby is still too angry to feel anything other than pissed off vindication. naturally higher Authorities (teachers) come to get the unconscious student to the (i almost said vet) nurse's office, and to bring Barnaby to the principle's office. they call Ms. Beagle and have her come pick him up. Wally has stuck like glue to Barnaby pretty much the whole time, except for when Barnaby was in the office to get chewed out / interrogated. when Ms. Beagle is done w/ her conversation with the principle, she takes Barnaby and Wally home.

there, Barnaby is still worked up, and as "punishment" Ms. Beagle has him do some menial tasks alongside his usual after school chores. Wally tags along, of course, and asks why the hell Barnaby did that. in a nicer Wally way of asking. this is what breaks the camels back. Barnaby just sits down and starts crying, to which Wally is like "oh no. oh fuck. what do i do." cue a solid minute of him just standing and staring in panic before awkwardly sitting next to Barnaby in solidarity.

when they go inside, Ms. Beagle already has Barnaby's favorite dinner whipped up and ready. She gives him a talk where she's essentially says "blah blah blah violence isn't the answer. however, good job for standing up to that kid. he's an asshole and deserved a good wallop." (listen im a firm believer in ms beagle having been a Wild Youth that would have thrown bricks at cops). Moods are lightened, they have a good dinner. The next day or so they need to go have a meeting with the Injured Kid's parents. that's when they find out Barnaby fully broke the kids jaw (he feels a little bad for that) and that the parents are pushing for his expulsion and also juvie. Ms. Beagle manages to whittle down the sentence to a long suspension and then detention for the rest of the year, as well as her paying the kid's hospital bill.

tl;dr Barnaby punches a kid for insulting Wally, gets a new friend out of it, nearly gets expelled, and gains a mostly unfounded Reputation that dissuades most from outright messing with him or his pals

[flickering-nightfall]

just asking, what if an iterator possibly gets too hot or cold? What happens if they can’t get to safer temps with out outside forces? What if they can’t get to safer temps at all?

Do you mean superstructures or puppet-bound iterators? I'm sure superstructures have a lot of failsafes to deal with temperature fluctuations, mostly via processing water intake. They're living saunas! They probably have an incredible resistance to both hot and cold, as evidence shows.

I'll talk about puppets here, but if you meant superstructures, well... a lot of what I'll say here could apply to superstructures too.

(For puppet-bound iterators, I am referring to my AU CDSS)

For heat: Puppet-bound iterators, like their former superstructure bodies, run hot and need to stay hydrated. They rely on liquid coolant that runs throughout their bodies. Ruptures in the coolant system are one of their many common problems, but with medical aid, they're not too serious. Many cases are self-healing, or the rupture will seal itself off and reroute around the blockage - like with collateral circulation. Leaks into essential systems are more of a concern than the actual loss of coolant. As long as they stay cool and drink water while waiting to get fixed, they tend to be fine.

If they are stuck in a hot region and can't escape, they'll suffer from dehydration, heat stroke, fried components, damage to organic tissue, seizures... pretty much what you'd expect. As a superstructure, Moon probably suffered from all this leading up to her collapse.

For cold: They're fairly resistant for a few reasons. One is the antifreeze in coolant. Another is the heat that they naturally produce. I'm thinking they have silicone-based skin, which is very cold resistant. They have hemocyanin, which tends to function better in extreme cold than hemoglobin. (Hemocyanin can also work at hotter temperatures. I have like a whole essay about this that I still intend to post lol.) However, the puppets have been modified to have more flexible and sensitive skin - dexterity in exchange for some durability. They're more susceptible to the perception of cold than they would be if they were a still a superstructure. Many of them also dislike snowscapes on principle, because they've been freezing their decaying metal butts off for centuries by the time CDSS happens.

Iterators in both forms are very moist, so if it's cold past their limits, their mechanical components will freeze. And like with hypothermia in fully organic beings, prolonged time in extreme cold will lead to tissue death and organ failure. Superstructures with fractured exteriors (direct exposure of internal parts to the cold air) are especially susceptible to this.

Misc theory about superstructures: Moon's superstructure was able to stay intact into Saint's era because she collapsed straight down into the water, preserving most of her shape. The canyon water could have provided the pressure and circulation she needed in the absence of gravity cores, as well as protection against land pests and insulation against the cold. Remnant slag could have her generate excess heat as well, which would keep the water surrounding her unfrozen. In a way, dying like that could have helped her live longer?!

Thanks for the question anon, this was very fun :P

[desultory-novice]

"Brighter Skies"

...Ended up drawing this while working on other sketches. Because my brain is just wired for wistful, emotional takes I guess XD

-

Arguably, White-Haired Noir, the Noir who lived, is the Noir who had the hardest journey learning to love not hate himself. Teenage Noir could have never imagined this kind of life for him, because his whole life, he'd just been waiting to die.

In Darkened Skies, when he makes a soft, restrained plea to Kirby for that blessed mercy kill, some part of him was relieved, calm even, that he'd finally survived to the point where he might at last be set free from the pain of living. An ironic wish...

It's a damn hard thing to learn: to live and live positively for yourself. To trust and move forward even though you're lost and confused and making constant dumb mistakes and there's no one around to reassure you, "Of course you're a good big brother!" (or whatever else one might be) when, hell, you don't FEEL good on the inside, but somehow you still NEED to hear it. And to hear it from someone else, because you've lost the ability to trust your own voice ages ago...

Kirby's "stop" is referring back to asking Dark Matter Swordsman to stop the invasion of Popstar (1) but in a general context can also be read as "I'm glad you learned to stop hurting yourself."

-

(1) Random Apologies AU AU Lore

As White-Haired Noir grew up, he became aware that he is only alive because he exists in a branch dimension. He was never supposed to survive. Adeleine was. His fate was always to become Dark Matter's Swordsman and be consumed, body and soul. You only have to live on Popstar for a while to pick up on the existence of alternate dimensions/timelines, and Adult Noir knows he is living in one. 

Kirby, through some mysterious power no one can explain, is also aware of this. Furthermore, on occasion, he expresses explicit, true knowledge of the main timeline, while Noir himself only has guesses about how a world without him would have played out.

(These sideways flashes mean that this Kirby does know about and misses playing with Adeleine, same as he would miss the absence of any of his friends, but Apologies AU AU Kirby cares equally about Noir. He could not trade one sibling/one friend for the other.) (2)

Even when he wasn't sure his existence was an anomaly, White-Haired Noir spent most of his later teenage years trying to find a way to "fix things," to either trade his life back for Adeleine's or to bring her back through some other means. It was following the Apologies AU Star Dream incident where Noir finally realized pursuing this path would only end up with him dead and no one happy. He began, at last, to accept his own reality not as an anomaly or a mistake but as something fragile, yes, something unprepared for, yes, but entirely and wholly for him and to start to cherish his own existence.

Now, if you were to wave a wish granting star or magic wand in front of Noir, he would solemnly decline it. And if you dropped a random AU Adeleine in his lap, he would do no more than give his alternate sister the warmest hug (she would be willing to accept XD) and tell her that, whether his words sound like utter nonsense or not, "Your older brother wishes you all the happiness in the world."

Then he'd send her back on her way.

-

(2)

This is ki~nd of meta-textual based on the fact that while Kirby isn't ever really like "Oh man, Meta Knight's not in this game!" we the players are aware of it and put our feelings into Kirby.

...Or something. I thought it was a fun idea at least?! ^^

[everythingwasnormalhere]

One of my fav things about TaTI is how 3 of them are the little siblings of the main kids

Imagine Karen and Ike meeting because Kyle invited Kenny to a sleepover, and the McCormicks were being shitty at that time so Kenny brought Karen with him, and she talks to Ike and they watch streams and become besties (which neither of their brothers expected since they're pretty different)

Meanwhile, Tricia and Karen meeting at school because they're both loners in their new class, finding out their brothers know each other, and organizing them a playdate (just so they get distracted and Tricia and Karen can hang out for longer lmao). And Craig and Kenny like "oh, so you're my sister's friend's brother-?" because they used to play together as kids and didn't expect that, but then they catch up and end up hanging out pretty often too (the girls are so glad because their brothers hanging out means they get to hang out too :3)

[confusedkittensposts]

Crowley that one time he made the mistake of attending Castiel's family dinner with him

[empressgeekt]

Well, now I want to combine Bergen Branch with Caught in the Middle. How would THAT turn out when Viva and the bros come in?

Well, Bridget would be far more concerned with that happened on that roof. One moment, she has her Maid of honor and her brother there the next Poppy's kidnapped and Branch has gone feral. I'd imagine that the Bergen guard would have to hold the offending party, because. One, Poppy can't deal with this shit during the ceremony, even if her long lost sister is her. Two Branch is walking Bridget down the isle he can't babysit them either. This does not do wonders for any of the visitors, Viva needs to be sedated.

[incorrect-fnaf-quotes]

While incapable of revealing who the vampire is pretending to be, Y/N finds themself still being able to bring up the vampire.

So they’ve had a few encounters with Michael—who is still just focused on trying to find his sister—and Y/N’s just like, “Okay, hey, you know what?”

And Michael’s immediate response is “There’s a vampire around? What if that vampire took my sister? Gotta find the vampire!”

Y/N does eventually start to help with his search—but more after Michael’s suggestion. Did Vamptrap do that?

[comfied-chriterature]

college prompt for anhane week had me wanting to share this SO college anhane au where they are bad at communicating and break up and go their separate ways after the events of vbs. BUT then they reunite in college and go on their exes to lovers journey with a lot of bitter feelings and fear of abandonment and admiration intertwined with jealousy and inadequacy.

I think it's one of those cases where kohane leaves after they "over rad" to pursue a career in singing (the same way nagi left an. the same way everyone will part and an will be alone again.) an is unable to articulate how much she'll miss kohane and how she fears she'll never be on the same path as her bc kohane is the brilliant star and an still doesn't have a name for herself outside of her relation to talent lionized by the public (at least that's what she thinks). kohane knows something is wrong with her an but can't get her to tell anything, and she feels hurt that an isn't supportive of her, even after trying so hard to prove herself to the girl who found her in the first place.

their partnership that used to taste like bright, sweet fruit and smell like the blossoming of trees has rotted and decayed and the grime still clings to them after all this time apart.

years later, an and kohane meet again in college (maybe the singing career didn't work out for kohane or she's taking a break). they can't help but be drawn into each other's orbit again, yearning for the moments of hopeful words and warm touch in the quiet glow of sunset. it takes a lot of inner reflection and help from exhausted friends to rediscover that passion from their youth and encourage them to not give up on their dreams, or each other.

[kelpiemomma]

He hesitated as the child below him smiled and reached up. His claws rested right above its head and yet it looked delighted to see him. Did it not realize the danger it was in? It grabbed his fur and giggled.

"Puppy!"

...if he was asked, he was simply raising it up to help him infiltrate human settlements better.

[velnica]

Singing Along Chapter 13 - Move a little closer; I wanna hear you whisper

Explicit | Sanson/Guydelot | Modern AU

A date at the aquarium should have been fun and relaxing, yet Sanson found himself alone in the living room at midday whilst Guydelot snored his head off in Sanson's bed, dead to the world.