#king gristle sr

[georgi-girl]

The Corpse Groom (Corpse Bride recast)

original meme belongs to Blaze-On-Fire. I've learned some disappointing things about Tim Burtan. But my sister tells me it's still okay to like his movie since he's not really the creative mind behind them. So with that in mind, I give you my polyamorous retelling of The Corpse Bride with characters from the Dreamworks Trolls franchise (inspired by the Tangled/Corpse Bride crossover "Live For You" on AO3) starring... Hickory in the role of Victor Van Dort. Princess Poppy in the role of Victoria Everglot. Delta Dawn in the role of Nell (she's Hickorys' sister-in-law) Cybil in the role of Maudeline (until the third movie comes out, I'm casting her as Poppy's mother) King Peppy in the role of Finis. Dickory in the role of William (Hickorys' brother, Delta's husband) Branch in the of Emily (why is the title character so far down? this is not a well-designed meme) Creek in the role of Lord Barkus. DJ Suki in the role of Hildagard (she's Poppys' lady in waiting) King Gristle Senior in the role of Pastor Galswells. Biggie in the role of Mayhew (Don't worry, he's not going to die) Grandma Rosie Puff in the role of Grandfather Everglot (she's Poppys' ancestor in this story)   King Thrash in the role of Elder Gutknecht. He and the other Rock Trolls are psychopomps (death angels) who watch over Troll souls in Purgatory. Riff in the role of the Black Widow. Chaz in the role of the flirtatious Miss Plum. Barb in the role of the Maggot (I thought about casting her as Bonejangles, but she's more like the sassy Maggot)   Conductor Trollzart in the role of the General (I wanted to us the Country Troll who SPOILER: dies onscreen, but I couldn't find any picture of him) King Trollex in the role of Bonejangles (specializing in Horrorcore Techno) And Fuzzbert in the role of Emil. 

The story is this... Princess Poppy is betrothed to Lord Creek. But she's in love with the handsome trans man Hickory Dock. They decide to elope, and while passing through the woods, they practice their wedding vows, accidently summoning Brance, a corpse who's still holding his last breath. He approaches his "beloveds" who explain that they're already an item. He tells them that he's "willing to share". He then sprits them away to Purgatory, where the dead spend their time before they're ready to move on. They're greeted by the Barb the psychopomp who shows them around, and Trollex who sings about the tragic Corpse Groom that was betrayed and murdered by his lover. The trio has a good time together, until Hickory remembers his family is still waiting for him. They go to Thrash, who gives them a haunting spell that sends them to the world of the living. They go (with Branch in disguise) to the home of Hickory's brother and in-laws. The next day, they sneak into the castle, where they overhear Creek blackmailing King Peppy for Poppys' hand. Poppy chooses to stay and help her father, while Branch and Hickory escape back to Purgatory. Poppy and Suki do some investigating and discover that Creek stole a royal family relic ~ a harp said to restore life to the freshly dead. (wink wink) Meanwhile, Branch is distraught, but Hickory comforts him with a romantic ballad. Right when they're ready to start again, Thrash reveals that the dead and the living are forbidden to marry. If they want to be a couple Hickory will have to go back to the world of the living and take his own life. Hickory agrees, and the whole dead community goes up to perform the wedding. Poppy sees the procession and joins them, thinking that her death will make her wedding to Creek null and void. But during the ceremony, Branch sees Poppy and Hickorys' families watching and can't go through with it. Poppy tries to tell him about the harp, but Creek interrupts. Branch recognizes his murderer, and a fight breaks out. Creek escapes but trips and impales himself on a thorn. And before he can use the harp on himself, he's dragged off to face judgement. Poppy and Hickory use the harp to restore Branch to life, and then destroy it. A new life is waiting for all three of them.

[worst-fictional-father-showdown]

[razzle-zazzle]

Brothers

9650 Words; Between AU, pre-canon

TW for death

AO3 ver

Gristle Junior was seven months and eleven days old on the day of his first Trollstice.

Or rather, he was seven months and eleven days old on what would have been his first Trollstice, were it not for the lack of trolls. And the day had started so well, too, anticipation electric in his veins as he bounced around his father’s room. He had been so ready to taste true happiness!

But the Trolls were gone, fleeing underground despite the best efforts of Chef’s underlings. Not a single Troll had been recovered, Gristle had been told, and from what little he had been able to see of the commotion—from the swinging shovels and pickaxes he had glimpsed in the plaza as he was being shuffled away from the action—supported that notion. Surely, if Trolls were being found, then surely there would be much less frustration.

But the day passed without a single Troll eaten. Gristle’s father, for who he had been named, had taken him aside to calmly explain that with no Trolls, Gristle would never be happy. Not ever. Nothing else could possibly work.

To a Bergen less than a year old, such words were absolute. And why should Gristle doubt his father? The King had lived for decades, an extent of time which felt like an eternity to Gristle Junior. Surely, if there was anyone who could know everything, it would be the King.

Gristle was seven months and eleven days old on the last chance he would ever have to know true happiness. The date clung to his mind, the damnation of eternal misery heavy in his chest. To a Bergen so young and inexperienced with the world, there could be nothing worse.

Chef was disgraced. Not a single Troll recovered, in all of that mess? Her exile was quick and loud—Gristle watched from the castle door with his father as Chef was bodily thrown through the gates, shouting curses he strained to hear. With a sigh, Gristle moved to turn away from the door, prepared to ready himself for bed.

“Your Majesty!” Two Bergens hailed down his father, bowing the moment the King’s eyes were on them. “We found…” The Bergen on the left had his hands cupped together oddly, perfectly concealing whatever would be inside. With a nudge from his partner, he bowed again, holding out whatever it was to the King. “We found this at the tree’s edge.”

Gristle Junior turned back towards the door, pressing against his father’s legs to peer at what was so urgent it couldn’t wait for daylight. The air was thick with anticipation as the Bergen’s fingers slowly parted, revealing what was delicately clasped in his hands.

It was a Troll.

Gristle’s eyes widened. His father inhaled sharply, peering down at the tiny shape curled in the palm.

The Troll stared up at them with wide eyes, curled in on itself and shaking. It was so small. How did creatures that small even exist?

The King hummed, leaning in further. Gristle Junior was quick to imitate, peering at the tiny Troll even more intently. This brought to light a detail that had been previously overlooked—a detail that seven month and eleven day old Gristle had no filter against pointing out.

“It’s gray.” Gristle said, peering down at the thing. Tiny, too. Could something so little really bring him happiness? “Is it sick?” He poked at the Troll, and it flinched back with a hiss, tail clutched in its paws.

“Inedible.” Gristle Senior growled out. He turned bared teeth to the pair before them. “Your effort is appreciated.” He said, “But there’s no use for a Troll that’s gone bad.” The King sighed, moving to reenter the castle. “Do as you wish with it.” He dismissed. “My son and I…”

Gristle Junior reached for the Troll. “It’s so small.” He whispered, staring down at it. Small and gray and baring blunted teeth in an approximation of a snarl… He looked up at the pair, eyes wide. “Can I have it?”

The Bergen holding the Troll hesitated, before tilting his hands towards Gristle. The Troll squeaked as Gristle scooped it up, voice tiny. Gristle squealed, clutching the Troll and running back inside, the rest of the world forgotten.

The Troll turned bewildered eyes up to Gristle. It trembled, shouting as Gristle turned a corner, but Gristle paid no heed to anything but the sheer novelty of his idea. His very own Troll! There was hardly much of a plan in the toddler’s head, but a simple idea was all Gristle really needed at his age.

Gristle bounced into his bedroom, Troll in hand. He moved to set the Troll down on the desk—

“Son!” Gristle Senior’s voice was seldom so loud—but when it was, it commanded attention from everyone in the area. And indeed, Gristle Junior turned his attention to his father, the Troll still squirming in his hand. “What are you doing?” Gristle had never heard his father at such a loss.

“Keeping it.” Gristle Junior said.

Gristle Senior walked across the room and peered down at the Troll on the desk, trapped between Gristle Junior’s hands. “A pet is a lot of responsibility, son.” He pointed out.

“You say the same about being Prince.” Gristle Junior responded.

Gristle Senior jolted slightly, taken aback. “That… is true.” He conceded. “But it’s a Troll.” He poked the Troll in question, sending it stumbling backwards onto the ground. “It will just get eaten.”

“But you said gray Trolls are inebidable!” Gristle Junior lifted the Troll—his Troll, up with cradled hands, pressing it against his chest. “That they’ve got no use, which means that eating them can’t do anything!”

“Inedible.” Gristle Senior corrected gently. He lowered down, to be closer to his son’s eye level. “Son, be realistic. The kingdom just lost all of its Trolls. Trollstice has been a tradition for more than a century. The shock of no more Trollstices will make the people desperate.”

The Troll stared up from Gristle Junior’s hands with wide eyes. Tiny claws too small to do any damage dug into Gristle Junior’s hand.

Gristle Junior huffed. “But they gotta listen to you, Daddy. You’re the King.” The people had listened when the King declared Chef exiled; Gristle had witnessed just that less than an hour ago. “If you say that my Troll is inedidible then nobody will eat it!”

The King sighed, tired and heavy. “You’ll need something to keep it in.” He advised. As his son cheered, he turned to the door, and made his way across the room. Once Gristle Senior reached the doorframe, he turned back to his son one more time.

“If I wake up tomorrow and find that thing is running around the castle, I will feed it to Barnabus.” He threatened. His face immediately lightened, and he left the room with a single, cheery, “Goodnight, son!”

Gristle Junior nodded at the closed door with the utmost seriousness. He turned back to his Troll, who he set on the desk gently. “Hear that?” He asked. “You stay in here, or else.” With that, Gristle propped his face up in his hands, leaning forwards. “My name’s Gristle. Yours?”

The Troll crossed tiny Troll arms and glared up at him. “I’m not telling.” It said, in a voice that reminded Gristle of the mice Barnabus ate.

“Then I’ll just give you one!” Gristle chirped. “How about… Trolly!”

“No.”

Gristle frowned. “You’re getting a name, no matter what.” He huffed, poking his Troll in the side. The Troll stumbled a bit, but remained standing. “You’re so grumpy.” Gristle noticed. “Just like… a Bergen…” He trailed off, something approaching realization creeping up his throat.

The Troll snarled. “Not a Bergen!” It insisted, tail smacking the desk.

Gristle stared. “You…” His eyes lit up. “You and I are gonna be best friends.” Gristle decided, poking his Troll again.

The Troll’s response was simple. Gristle yelped, yanking his hand back. The Troll fell over, rubbing at its mouth with tiny paws, and Gristle stared at the tiny teeth marks on his finger.

The Troll glared mutinously, as if daring Gristle to come within biting range again.

Gristle nodded. “Yep! Best friends!”

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was nine months and two days old when he learned the Troll’s name. He had been poring through a pet care magazine, oo-ing and ah-ing over the different kinds of pets that Bergens kept. From alligator-dogs like Barnabus to even frog-crows!

He had hit the section for small pets, though none of the kinds commonly kept by Bergens were as small as a Troll. He looked over at the custom cage his father had had commissioned for his Troll, from the pod taken from the abandoned Troll Tree to the sandy substrate in the basin. As usual, his Troll was down on the substrate, pressed into the corner while it worked its way through safflower seeds.

“Look!” Gristle held the magazine right up against the cage bars, pointing at the circled bird perch. “How does a swing sound? I bet you’d have a lot of fun with it, Trolly.” He didn’t expect a response—the Troll rarely ever spoke back, content with glaring and darting away when Gristle reached into the cage.

Which meant it surprised him all the more when the tiny creature spoke. “Branch.”

Gristle opened his mouth to continue speaking—stopped. “What?”

“Branch.” The Troll repeated. “My name is Branch.” Its eyes were locked resolutely on the sandy substrate, shoulders hunched and tail thwap-thwap-thwapping against the corner.

Gristle gasped. “Oh!” He’d never thought—he—Branch—

“That’s a weird name.” Gristle finally decided, leaning in. “Are all Trolls named like that?” He couldn’t quite read well enough to digest all the books he’d found about Trolls (or that had Trolls on the covers), so his only real source of information was what former Troll-handlers Chad and Todd (or was it Todd and Chad?) could tell him, when he saw them. Which wasn’t often.

Branch gave Gristle a deer in headlights look, a helpless sort of “how-would-I-know” conveyed through body language alone. Paws clenched and unclenched against the seed held between them.

Gristle shrugged, and went back to the magazine. “So,” He said, “You never said if you wanted a swing.”

“Don’t bother.” Branch huffed. “I won’t use it.”

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was five years old when his father led him into his study for the first time. The younger marveled at the book-filled shelves and neatly organized desk, at the candle holders set into the wall and the banners hanging down—this room was his future.

“My son,” Gristle Senior began. “What you will be starting today is a time-honored tradition of Bergen Royalty.” His voice had a practiced lilt, a deep timbre made of years of self-assurance. “For no Monarch rules Bergentown alone—it is the duty of Princes and Princesses to run the kingdom in concert with the reigning monarch.”

“Whoaaa…” Gristle Junior hopped up and down to see atop the desk. “I’m a Prince!” He realized, whirling around to face his father. “So I have to help you run!”

Gristle Senior chuffed. When he spoke, there was pride in his voice. “And that is exactly what you will start learning today.” He lifted his son with one arm, sitting down behind the desk and settling Gristle Junior in his lap. “Now,” He pushed a stack of books from the edge of the desk to the center. “Here are the best volumes to start with…”

The lesson continued on throughout the rest of the morning. After lunch with his father, Gristle Junior returned to his room with the stack of books he had been given, ready and willing to learn. He pushed open the door, and made his way over to the desk right next to his bed.

“There’s so many books I need to read!” Gristle lamented. “How am I ever going to learn it all?” He’d have to, though, to be a proper Prince of Bergentown. And he would! Bergens were tough, and royal Bergens were said to be the toughest of all! So Gristle would be the best Prince! No book could defeat someone as tough as him!

He was starting with history. But there was so much! He held out the book to Branch’s cage, showing off just how thick it was—and it was all pre-Trollstice, too!

Branch squinted at the tome, then returned to his digging. He’d been doing a lot of that lately. Which was weird, because Trolls were supposed to live in trees—every book Gristle had read on them said so. But the pod in Branch’s cage—taken directly from the Troll Tree, no less—remained just as empty as it always had. There was even dust building up along the top!

“I mean, how in the world am I ever going to remember all this?” Gristle slammed the book down on his desk, prying it open. He was glad for Branch—the Troll was a good listener, in the five year old’s eyes.

The Troll in question poked his head back up, ears twitching. “Are you going to read it, or are you just gonna complain?” He asked, before going back to the hole.

“Right.” Gristle turned his attention back to the book. Slowly, he began, sounding out the words as best he could.

“The first re-cor-did history of Bergenkind dates back to… three… fow-sand years ago.” He began. “When Fow-ler the First wrote the… the first ever Law.” He continued reading, stumbling over words while Branch continued digging. Gristle let the history wash over him, entranced in the task set before him. Hours passed, and Gristle found himself being called down to dinner before he even registered that so much time had passed.

Three days later, Gristle found himself staring at a worksheet in frustration. He was supposed to fill it out without looking at his books, and he was struggling.

“UGH!” Gristle threw his head back, clutching at his hair as he seethed. “How can I remember the name of the first Bergen to write a law but not when?!” He smacked his head against the desk, groaning in frustration. The urge to go to his shelf and pull out the relevant book itched down his spine—but he had to hold strong! A good Prince knew how to look things up, but a great Prince could recall whatever detail was needed when it was needed.

Oh, how was Gristle ever supposed to be a great Prince?

“The first recorded history of Bergenkind dates back to three thousand years ago.” Branch said, casually breaking the frustrated silence. “That’s what your book said.”

Gristle looked at Branch’s cage, where the Troll was busy jotting stuff down on a scrap of paper. Gristle then looked over to the book on his shelf. Slowly, he pushed out his chair and went over to the shelf, opening the book to the first page.

“That’s…” He turned back to Branch. “You’ve got a good memory.” He said, returning the book to the shelf.

Branch muttered something that Gristle didn’t quite catch. Gristle shrugged, and went back to his worksheet. He’d have to read aloud to Branch more often, if Branch could remember stuff so well.

With a hum, Gristle continued on with the worksheet. It probably wasn’t in the spirit of the challenge to have a friend who could remember a lot of words, but Gristle wasn’t concerned at all with that notion.

He continued to talk to Branch as he worked, something light in his chest with the knowledge that Branch really was listening.

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was six years old, and he and Branch were having a real good row. The kind of row that, had they been proper siblings, would have only been able to be settled by some proper Bergen roughhousing, with weapons and property destruction. A real riot-causing dispute.

It was hardly their first disagreement—Gristle had the faint bite scars all over his fingers to prove it. But it was certainly frustrating, born from weeks of buildup over a simple fact.

“It’s not healthy! Trolls are supposed to sing!” Gristle gestured to the book in his hand, which was way more useful than all the cookbooks he’d found. It actually went a bit into Troll health and growth, detailing all the ways and times that Trolls could become inedible. As Branch was, and had always been gray—or at least, as long as Gristle had known him—the book in question proved very useful.

“Well I don’t!” And that was the crux of the situation, the simple fact from which all of this had spawned. “And I never will!” Branch’s stand was resolute, unshakeable, even in the face of all of Gristle’s Princely Rage.

“But you have to!” Gristle insisted, gesturing again to the page he had the book opened to. “Trolls that don’t sing—this book isn’t very nice about them!” He was fumbling, he knew, but he didn’t know how else to say it. The book said that gray Trolls were to be removed from the Troll Tree and disposed of immediately. It didn’t say why, and Gristle was still a child—he didn’t question the words presented as fact. As far as he could tell, a Troll that had gone gray was just… it wasn’t right!

“You’re supposed to be happy.” Gristle pushed. “You’re supposed to sing, like a regular Troll.”

“Never gonna happen.” Branch insisted. “I’ll stay unhappy, just you watch!” He crossed his arms with a huff, tail twitching angrily.

“That’s not good!” Gristle responded. “You have to get your color back eventually!” The book said nothing about whether Trolls could regain their color after losing it. But it wasn’t right, for a creature so intertwined with music to never make a single note. And if the book said to get rid of gray Trolls…

Gristle cared about Branch, more than he could feasibly admit. The castle staff were fine, and his father was his father, but Branch—Branch was a friend. Someone Gristle could talk to who would actually listen, no matter what it was.

The book said it wasn’t healthy for a Troll to go gray. Gristle was going to be King someday, in the far distant future, and he’d be responsible for all of Bergentown. Even sooner, he would be a fully fledged Prince, responsible for helping his father with Bergentown. If Gristle couldn’t even take care of one tiny troll, then what were his chances of ever being good at what he was literally meant to do?

“And then what?” Branch gripped the bars of his cage, rage in every inch of his body. “You’ll eat me?”

“Of course not!” Gristle could never! Branch was… Branch was his friend! Inedible by Royal Decree! Gristle would sooner eat Barnabus!

“You’re lying!” Branch yelled back. “The moment I become edible you or some other Bergen will be serving me up on a silver platter!” His tail lashed about wildly, tears bubbling up at the corners of his eyes. “Because that’s all Trolls are to you!”

Gristle flinched back. He… he refused to admit it, but Branch had a point. Trolls were the only way that Bergens could ever be happy, and they had spent generations with a holiday dedicated to that very thing. But…

“You’re different.” Gristle insisted. Branch was his friend. “You’re not… you never sing and you’re always unhappy.” He huffed. “It’s like you’re barely a Troll at all!”

This time it was Branch’s turn to flinch, tail falling flat against the ground. “Maybe you’re right.” He said quietly, turning away from the bars.

“Branch, I—” Gristle reached out, only for his hand to fall back down when Branch glared at him.

“Fine, then.” Gristle grumbled. “We’ll just be unhappy together.” Between the two of them, Branch was the only one who had even a chance to ever be happy—Gristle would never get to eat a Troll with all of them gone, but Branch… Branch was a Troll. If anyone would ever get to be happy, it would be the creature who was quite literally made of the stuff.

“Fine!” Branch sat down hard on the substrate, arms crossed and turned away from Gristle. “Unhappy together!”

It felt like a promise, like a finality.

It felt like Gristle was failing hard at this whole “taking care of others” thing.

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was seven years old with a form in his hand. He stood before Branch’s cage, expanded over the years to include deeper substrate and a small climbing tree. The… well, it felt weird to call him a Troll, when he was nothing like Gristle’s books, but what else could he be called?

A Bergen. At least, that was what he’d be if Gristle’s idea went through.

“I’ve been learning about law.” Gristle began, with no real preamble. Branch looked up from his orange slice, ears twitching, but made no comment. “And I found out something interesting.” He took a deep breath, and glanced at the memo in his hand. “Adoption Laws, Section Two. In the case of a non-Bergen being adopted by a Bergen or other being of Bergen citizenry…” Gristle hurriedly looked at the memo again, “They are considered, in all aspects of the law, a Bergen, with all of the rights and restrictions that such a designation entails.” He let the memo flutter down to the floor and looked down at Branch, who was staring up at him with wide eyes.

Branch clenched and unclenched his paws against the half-eaten orange slice in his lap, tail flicking behind him. “...what.”

“Listen.” Gristle leaned in close, holding up the form in his other hand. “If I adopt you, then you wouldn’t be in any more danger of being eaten!”

Branch squinted. “Aren’t you a little young to be a parent?” He asked, orange slice seemingly forgotten in his lap. “And I’m older than you.” He pointed out, somewhat bitterly.

“Ew! No! Not as a son!” Gristle waved his arms wildly, then pressed the form against the bars again. “As a brother.” He clarified. “Because… you’re more of a friend than a pet,” Gristle explained, “And it’s not fair to keep treating you like one. A pet.” He carefully gaged Branch’s expressions, watching as his face flickered through a series of emotions. “All you’d need to do is sign on this line…”

“It can’t be that easy.” Branch groused, tail flicking faster. “Bergens don’t do ‘easy’.”

“Well,” Gristle rubbed at the back of his neck, “We would have to get approval from Dad for it to go through.” He rallied, clenching his free hand in a fist. “But that’s easy! I mean, he let me keep you!”

“As a pet.” Branch stressed. He set the orange slice aside, brushing off his paws as he stood. “That’s totally different.”

“And that’s why I want to do this!” Gristle unlatched the cage door, not bothering to reach in—he had long since learned that Branch hated being picked up unexpectedly. Better to let Branch come out of the cage on his own terms. “Because what kind of Prince treats his friend like a pet?”

Branch’s expression fell, his shoulders hunching. His paws clenched and unclenched in the rhythmic way they often did, his tail flicking. Carefully, slowly, Branch clambered out of the cage, climbing down the flipped out door to settle on the smooth wood of the shelf. Gristle held out his hand, palm up, and Branch hopped onto it, letting himself be lifted over to the desk.

Gristle laid out the form. He’d double-checked every word to make sure it was exactly what he needed, and all that was left was to sign it and have it approved. Gristle had already signed it, his name penned in only slightly messy ink. Penmanship win!

Branch pulled a tiny quill from his hair, hopping up to gently dab it in the inkwell on the desk. As Gristle watched, Branch kneeled down in front of his line, and carefully signed his name.

“Think that’ll be enough?” Gristle asked.

Branch hummed. “Maybe…” He tucked the quill away and went back to the inkwell, hopping up and leaning so far in that for a moment Gristle feared he’d fall in. Branch kicked the side and lifted himself back and out, clambering over to the form and slapping right next to his name with his paws.

Two inky paw prints, right next to his name. “That should do it.” Branch decided, satisfied.

Gristle nodded, offering his hand again. As Branch hopped onto his palm and clambered up Gristle’s arm to his shoulder, Gristle grabbed the form carefully, blowing a bit to make the ink dry faster.

“Let’s get this done!” Gristle declared, running off to go find his father. It wasn’t the first time Branch had left Gristle’s room, nor the first time that Branch had ridden on Gristle’s shoulder. But it was the first time since the belled harness had been made that Branch had left the room without the jingle of bells signaling his every movement. Gristle realized it was weird, actually, to feel the weight on his shoulder and not hear the sound of bells he’d come to associate with that weight. But the harness was from when Branch was still a pet in everyone’s eyes—it wouldn’t do to make Branch wear it now.

And really, Branch was like a Bergen, in a lot of ways. He never sang or danced, he was disagreeable—even the gray of his short fur was similar to the average Bergen’s dull tones. Whenever he had something to work on, be it the den he’d dug or even old worksheets Gristle tried to downsize for him, he took to working on it just like a Bergen: with a grumble and the focused spirit that allowed Bergens to create sturdy walls and buildings. And he had interesting insights, too—Bergens disliked great heights, so even the castle couldn’t get very tall, but it was Branch who gave Gristle the idea to suggest subterranean expansion when the King presented the age-old issue of expansion logistics. Which was just funny, because Trolls lived in trees—yet Branch never once touched the dusty pod hanging in his cage.

Branch settled down on Gristle Junior’s shoulder, tucked just below Gristle’s ear. Gristle found a sudden bounce in his step, a mix of anticipation and excitement in his veins. Yeah, this whole adoption thing was a great idea! Maybe even the best Gristle had ever had!

Finding the King was easy—it was just before lunch, so King Gristle Senior would be just finishing up with the final petitioners in the biweekly levee. Normally, Gristle Junior would be sitting in his own princely throne beside his father, to listen and watch and get a general idea of how a levee worked—but he had… kinda skipped it, what with how eager he was to try out the adoption idea. Not that that was a major issue—Gristle Junior wasn’t meant to fully step into his duties as Prince until he was ten.

Still…

“Ah, there you are.” King Gristle Senior groused, shifting slightly in his throne. “Care to explain why you missed today’s levee?”

Gristle Junior stopped short, nodding his head in a bow. “My apologies, Father.” He kept his tone careful, regal, like he’d been taught. “I found something that needed attending to.” He explained, head still down.

Gristle Senior snorted. “Well, out with it, then.” He waved his hand encouragingly as his son looked up. “What grand idea did you come up with this time?”

Gristle Junior’s mouth pulled back in an odd way, and he fought the strange expression off of his face. With a simple flourish, he drew out the form, holding it out towards his father. “This.”

Gristle Senior took the form, glancing it over. His expression remained neutr—his eyes widened, as the contents of the form properly registered. The King’s expression scrunched, turning thunderous, before going down to mere annoyance. He turned that annoyance upon his son, and all but sputtered out, “What in the name of Berg is the meaning of this?!”

“It’s an adoption form.” Gristle Junior explained, pressing his hands together. He felt Branch shift slightly on his shoulder, and he held out a palm. Branch took the offer, sliding down Gristle’s arm to stand upon his hand, small and gray and steady.

“I can… see that.” Gristle Senior hissed through ground teeth. “But…” His expression became just as lost as the night that Gristle Junior had first met Branch. With a deep sigh, Gristle Senior looked down at his son and the Troll.

“Letting you keep a Troll as a pet is one thing,” The King began, “But adoption? Of a Troll? Are you insane?”

Gristle Junior felt oddly gobsmacked. “It makes sense.” He tried, unable to keep childish uncertainty from his voice. “Branch is the most unTroll Troll ever, he’s just like a Bergen and I think it’d be best if he was called as such, because then nobody would even think to eat him!”

Gristle Senior sighed, heavy and tired. “That’s not a good enough reason.” He started. “Son, do you have any idea what would happen if that… thing were to become your brother?”

“It’d be a serious crime to eat him.” Gristle Junior responded easily.

Gristle Senior brought up his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, grumbling too low for Gristle Junior to make out the words. “...of all the—” With a rumbling groan, Gristle Senior regarded his son with a firm—but not wholly uncaring—expression. “You’re a Prince, my son. You can’t just go adopting every creature you see fit.”

“It’s just Branch.” Gristle Junior pushed back, “He’s already close enough to a Bergen, what’s adding the legal distinction going to do?” He shook his head. “This will all work out, Dad, I know it. I just need you to trust me.”

“Son, be realistic.” The King groused. “If that thing becomes your brother, then that makes it a Prince. There’s no way a Troll could be a Bergen Prince! Trolls are all about loud parties and sugar and silly games—they’re simply unsuited to laws and regulations and the hard work required to run a kingdom!”

Gristle Junior’s mouth opened—to say what, he wasn’t sure, but air was being forced up from his lungs and defiance was roaring in his heart, ready to burst out what would surely be a useful and clever retort—

“I can do it.”

As one, Gristle Junior and Senior turned to look at Branch. Branch took the combined attention with hunched shoulders, his tail clasped in his paws. “You want me to learn how to help run a kingdom? Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll learn.” He dropped his tail and crossed his arms, expression firm.

“I don’t want you doing anything of the sort.” Gristle Senior growled, but Gristle Junior was already rallying.

“He can! Branch is smart, Dad, he’s where I got the idea for underground expansions from! He remembers all the stuff I read, and he listens, and he’d make a good Prince!” All of his reasons were true and proven—which meant a lot, for seven year old Gristle Junior.

“Preposterous!” Gristle Senior began—

“If you think it’s so preposterous,” Branch’s voice cut through the room like alligator-dog teeth through mice. “Then why not bet on it?”

Those three words echoed in the sudden silence of the room, bouncing off the vaulted ceiling and tangling up in the eaves. If there was one thing Gristle Junior knew his father could not resist, it was a wager.

Indeed, Gristle Senior’s face had turned contemplative, his hands steepled before him. “A bet, you say?” Something like satisfaction slithered its way onto his face. “Hmm, I think I see what you mean. A trial period, of sorts, is that it? To find out if you could even come close to being a Prince?”

Branch nodded.

“Yeah!” Gristle Junior agreed. “If Branch can prove himself then you have to let the adoption go through!”

Gristle Senior snorted. “Sure, fine.” He waved his hand dismissively, before turning his attention to Branch. “But when that little creature fails to keep up the pace, I’m burning that form and you’re going to put any wild ideas of adopting Trolls out of your head for good.” He glared down at the pair, lips curled in a derisive snarl.

“You have three weeks.” Gristle Senior declared. “Better get started.”

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was seven years old when he became a brother.

The wager had been… not as hard as Gristle expected. Branch had thrown himself into the challenge with a fervor that was only seen with master artisans undergoing hefty commissions. It had taken a lot of work, in those three weeks, but at the end of it all—

The cage had to be redone, renovated into a proper bedroom. The castle staff found itself expanded by two—Bernice and Groth, who had been hired to aid in the fiddly and sometimes frustrating art of turning tiny, Troll-sized writings into something that could be read by the average Bergen. Branch needed new clothes, and a proper bed, and a shelf for all of the Troll-sized copies he’d made and was making of the various books on Law and history and regulations, and had to attend meals and levees and lessons with Gristle, and—

It was so much. Gristle had known, when he had drafted that first attempt at an adoption form in the castle library, that things would change—but he had never quite imagined the sheer scope of it all. Suddenly, his brother was accompanying him everywhere, riding on Gristle’s shoulder or flinging himself through the halls with his hair. Gristle had heard some of the staff discussing pathways for Branch, where he’d be safe from being stepped on—

There was so much.

But…

Gristle had never had a brother. He had had a friend, in Branch, but it had taken so long for them to really get there. And now, despite how it had felt like the world was ending on that fateful failed Trollstice, all those years ago—

Gristle couldn’t imagine that day going any other way. He didn’t want to imagine a world in which he never met Branch, who was surely a Bergen in Troll skin. Branch was his friend—no, his brother.

“Hey, Branch?” Gristle rolled over and looked at the shelf that Branch’s things currently resided on, at the cage hurriedly covered with a sheet in an approximation of a proper room with real privacy. Late at night, in his unlit room, it barely looked like a cage at all. “Do you ever think about the day we met?”

Branch’s voice filtered down from the shelf. “Not really.” He admitted. “Why should I?” There was something oddly bitter in his voice. “It’s the day I was left behind. Again.”

Gristle Junior wasn’t sure how to unpack that. Or if he ever should. “I won’t leave you behind.” He promised, “‘Cause brothers stick together.” It felt like such a simple truth, to the seven year old Bergen.

There was silence from the shelf. It stretched on, almost uncomfortably so, feeding into the static of the darkness filling the room.

Gristle huffed. “You really are just like a Bergen.” He commented, “Always miserable.” He chuffed, something light in his chest that he didn’t fully register. “And that’s why you know we’ll always stick together.” He said, staring up at the darkness clinging to the ceiling.

“Unhappy together, then.” There was something soft in Branch’s voice—he must have been tired after such a long day.

Gristle sighed. Unhappy together. It sounded like a promise, like a finality.

It sounded like he was finally getting the hang of this whole “taking care of people” thing.

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was ten years old when he was properly crowned Prince.

The day had been rife with tradition, from a breakfast banquet stocked with imported delicacies to the event itself out in the plaza. The old Troll Tree, withered from its abandonment, stood tall in the center of the space, dominating the whole scene no matter how Gristle Junior tried to look at it.

He fiddled with the clasp on his cape—his Princely cape, paired with his new crown to signify the change in status. The festivities weren’t exactly celebratory—the whole ceremony amounted to more of a town meeting, but with the best catering the royal kitchens could provide. Bergens of all kinds wandered about the plaza, taking advantage of the free food while Gristle Junior—Prince Gristle Junior watched on from his father’s side.

Branch—no, it was Prince Branch, now—stood to Gristle’s side, on a small platform made entirely for the occasion. His own blue cape and silver crown had to be custom-made, instead of passed down, but neither of the brothers were bothered by that fact.

“I still don’t understand how Glixry managed such tiny details.” Gristle commented, focusing in on the silver metal of Branch’s crown. “It even has tiny metal leaves!”

Branch reached up, touching the edges delicately. “It feels so weird.” He decided. “But… not bad.”

“Of course not! You’re a Prince now!” Gristle assured him. “Stand tall and proud, like a proper Bergen.” Gristle commanded, repeating the words he had heard so many times.

“Yeah…” Branch let his paws fall back to his sides, almost hidden under the edges of his cape—but Gristle didn’t miss the way they clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

Branch was older than Gristle, true. But the fact remained that he had started learning later, so it had been decided to crown them both when Gristle came of age, and not a moment sooner. So here they were, brothers crowned together, all of Bergentown around them.

There would be so many more responsibilities, now—Princes helped the reigning monarch run the kingdom, after all. They’d still have to learn as they went, but—

Gristle breathed in deeply. The Bergens—his people—they were all miserable. But they were hardworking and honest, and Gristle would do his best to be the Prince they deserved.

Gristle turned to look back at his brother, who was fiddling with his own cape clasp. Glixry had repurposed one of the bells from Branch’s old harness for the clasp, and even now it still faintly rung as Branch slowly paced around his little platform.

There was an odd expression on Branch’s face, satisfaction and an oddly melancholy contemplation firming his brow. Gristle huffed, snapping his little-big brother from whatever thoughts he was lost in. Gristle offered his hand, and Branch rolled his eyes before hopping onto Gristle’s palm.

As Gristle lifted his brother high above his head, something proud surged in his chest, light and electric in his veins. His face twitched in that odd way it sometimes did, but Gristle ignored the feeling in favor of looking out over his people once more.

He was going to be the best Prince Bergentown had ever seen! He and his brother both!

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was eleven years old when Branch finally pupated.

His book on Troll growth said that Trolls pupated when they were twelve or thirteen. It also went on about how Trolls were utterly inedible in this state, wrapped in their cocoons as their bodies changed and matured.

That Branch’s pupation had come late according to the books was worrying. That it had come at all was a stark reminder of the fact that, for all of his Bergen-like traits, Branch was in some small way still a Troll.

Gristle peered at the dark gray hair cocoon for the umpteenth time. None of his books said anything about whether Trolls could still hear in there, or even what really happened to them outside of “maturation”—all the book really cared to go over was how to identify a pupation cocoon, and that they couldn’t be eaten.

“Even if you can’t hear me,” Gristle began, settling back down with an interesting book he’d found—some kind of romance novel where none of the characters actually got together in the end. He’d heard the librarian going on about how it was a contemplative piece about the nature of connections, so he’d picked it up to go through. “But if you can’t then I’ll just read this book to you all over again when you’re out.”

The cocoon gave no discernible response. Gristle decided that that was fine, and began to read. He made it through a chapter and a half before being summoned for dinner with his father, and he gave the cocoon one final glance as he left the room.

“I see your… brother isn’t joining us again tonight.” Gristle Senior commented, as the first course was brought out.

“I told you, Dad, he’s pupating.” Gristle Junior huffed, licking sticky roe off of his fingers.

“Yes,” Gristle Senior nodded. “Trolls do do that, I’ve heard.” He went silent as the second course arrived, digging in with royal fervor. A few moments later, and he spoke again. “Hopefully this whole thing doesn’t set him too far back.” He commented airily, dabbing at his face with a napkin.

Gristle Junior scowled over his plate as a servant exchanged it for the bowl of soup acting as the third course. “Branch always keeps up.” He asserted. “And we won that bet fair and square, so you can’t go back on your end no matter what.” He sipped from his spoon with a pointedly royal slurp.

“And I have no intentions of backing out.” Gristle Senior slurped just a little harder. “I’m just curious.” And with that, the conversation was over.

Gristle stared down at his soup. Branch would keep up. He would. He always did.

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle was eleven years old, and he was getting concerned.

Nineteen days. The books said that Trolls only pupated for a week, tops. But it had been nineteen days since Branch had disappeared into the spun cocoon, eyes glassy and unfocused. Nineteen days of a silent cocoon.

Gristle had long since finished that first romance novel, and the book on fence safety regulations, and was almost halfway into a book on the history of anchovy farming. And the cocoon still remained!

The worry was starting to affect his Princely duties, too. Maybe it was because he was used to working alongside Branch, and the absence was getting to him, but there was no denying it: Gristle was concerned. But what if trying to crack the cocoon open early ruined everything? What if he was supposed to crack it open, and he’d missed the deadline? What if being gray really was bad, and Branch…

Gristle didn’t want to think about it. He really, really didn’t.

The sun had long gone down when Gristle finally put his books away and retired to his bed. He glanced at the cocoon one last time before extinguishing the lights, worry like a rock in his gut.

The night passed. The sun rose again, creeping into Gristle’s bedroom through the window until it smacked against his eyes. With a groan, the eleven year old sat up, shading his eyes with a hand. He glared at the offending celestial body. “Every day.” He muttered. “Every day, you do this.” He was about to continue—

“Are you yelling at the sun again? Really?”

Gristle yelped, jolting hard enough to fall off of his bed entirely. He flailed wildly, scrambling to clamber back to his feet, frenetic energy in every inch of his suddenly-impossibly-awkward limbs.

“Branch!” Gristle leaned up against the shelf, examining the shredded remains of the cocoon through the door of his brother’s room. His little-big brother stood beside it, already having pulled on some pants. “You’re okay! You were in there for really long!”

Branch shrugged, walking over to his wardrobe. “Well, I’m here, so you can quit your whining.” There was a fondness in his voice that had Gristle rolling his eyes.

“Your tail’s still gone.” Gristle noticed. A lump settled in his gut, hard and heavy. “Branch…”

Branch turned around, twisting to look and confirm Gristle’s words. “Eh.” He shrugged, and turned his attention back to his wardrobe. “‘S not like it matters.” He decided, picking out a shirt to wear under his cape. “Bergens aren’t supposed to have tails anyway.”

Gristle winced. It was true, Bergens were tailless—but if they had tails, they certainly wouldn’t—

Gristle shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that. “Sooo,” He started, as Branch was securing the belled clasp of his cape. “How do you feel?”

Branch carefully placed his crown back upon his head, then walked in a small circle. “I don’t know, stronger?” He tried, holding his paws out in front of himself and examining them. “I think my balance is better, actually.” He noted. As if to illustrate the point, he did a twirl, his cape flaring slightly with the motion. “My face feels kinda… hm.” Branch pressed at his jaw with his paws, before shrugging it off. “Whatever. Are you gonna get ready, or am I doing all your work for you today?”

“Oh!” Gristle whipped back around, running for his own wardrobe. “Right!” As he shrugged on his own cape, clicking the clasp into place, he turned back to glance at the shelf holding his brother’s room.

Gristle sighed, all of his worries abated. Why would he ever worry? His family was just fine, and would be for a long, long time.

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was thirteen years old when he finally had to admit it.

He’d always hoped he’d get his father’s height, that he’d be able to stand as tall as the average Bergen in his adult years. But it had become clear that he would always be half average height, always doomed to needing steps to get onto the taller chairs.

It wasn’t the end of the world; Bergens could come in a range of shapes and sizes. That Gristle was so short wasn’t that big of an issue.

But Berg, did it feel like it! Gristle had spent his whole life looking up to his father—metaphorically and literally! And he was probably going to be stuck looking up forever!

“What are you moping about now?” And there was Gristle’s little-big brother, padding along one of the many paths set into the castle walls. The masons and carpenters had done good work with those paths—when Branch wasn’t running along them, they looked like simple wall decoration. It was real classy.

“I’m never gonna be tall.” Gristle grumbled, allowing himself a moment to lean against the wall in despair. Then he remembered who he was talking to, and hurriedly pulled away, flailing his hands as he tried to recover. “I mean—not that being short is a bad thing—”

“Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there.” Branch groused, holding out a paw. “Because from where I’m standing, you are not short.” He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms in front of him.

“I am, though.” Gristle lamented. “Most Bergens are twice my size. I mean, just look at Dad!”

Branch rolled his eyes. “At least you’re not Troll-sized.” He hopped down from the path along the wall to land atop Gristle’s head, just next to the crown. “Gotta count your blessings there.”

“I dunno,” Gristle started, swiping at his brother as the tiny Bergen pattered about on his head and ruffled his hair, “Maybe being Troll-sized would be nice. I could ride Barnabus around the halls with you.” He didn’t fully mean it—being the size of a Troll in a castle made for Bergens constantly forced Branch to find workarounds to even the simplest of things. But if anyone could manage it, it’d be Branch.

And Gristle had to admit: the idea of being able to ride on an alligator-dog, even one as old as Barnabus, was really cool. But Gristle was too big for that, and too big for his old trikes—all while being too small in so many other ways. It was like he was caught between, stuck at a size that would annoy him forever.

Branch dodged away from Gristle’s hand easily, chuffing when Gristle accidentally sent his own crown flying down the hall. Gristle growled, running after it, shaking his head in an attempt to throw Branch off. But his brother held on easily, always infuriatingly good at roughhousing despite his size.

It just wasn’t fair.

But, as Gristle replaced his crown on his head, and as Branch slid down to settle on Gristle’s shoulder, Gristle brushed away the annoyance.

It wasn’t the end of the world. Not by a long shot.

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was fifteen years old when the unthinkable happened.

His father, King Gristle Senior, who had always been an unshakeable force, strong and proud in a kingdom full of strong and proud Bergens—

Gristle Junior couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t be true. It just—it wasn’t supposed to happen like this!

But there was nothing that could be done. His father had fallen ill three months ago, and, despite every effort from every doctor in Bergentown, despite all of the King’s strength—

Gristle Junior was fifteen years old when his father passed from illness, gone overnight like a snuffed candle flame. Gristle Junior was fifteen years old when the title of King passed onto him, far too soon—he should have remained a Prince until he was a proper adult, until he was married with children who would become the Princes and Princesses that would help him run the kingdom—

Gristle Junior was fifteen years old when his world shattered for the second time. The funeral was held out in the plaza, barely a week after his father’s passing. The same plaza as Gristle’s first and final Trollstice, as his and Branch’s official crowning as Princes. It felt as though every major life-changing event in Gristle’s life happened here, the caged tree looming over it all like a shadow.

It still… it just couldn’t be possible. His father couldn’t just be… gone.

Gristle returned to the castle in a daze. Some distant part of him knew that he would have no choice but to take up his father’s crown, and soon, but—

The rest of him was sinking slowly, the grief thick in his throat and veins and head. The fog was all-consuming, pulling Gristle into depths of unhappiness he’d never thought possible.

Gristle had believed his first and last Trollstice, the day where he lost any chance to ever be happy, would be the worst day of his life. Oh, how wrong he was.

Gristle didn’t know how long he laid like that, staring up at the ceiling of his room without seeing anything at all. It was as though the world around him had well and truly shattered, and now the pieces had all fallen away out of his reach. Gristle floated on the nothing for what felt like an eternity and now time at all, the mire in his head growing thicker with every passing second.

“Hey.”

Gristle rolled over on his bed, pressing his face into the comforter to block out the rest of the world.

“Hey.”

What was the point? Gristle was never supposed to be King at fifteen. He’d probably mess it up, bungle the whole thing, and then all of Bergentown would be just as dead as his father.

“Hey!”

Gristle groaned, shoving his face into the comforter. He didn’t have the time or patience for this, his whole world was falling apart, why couldn’t he have a good cry about it in peace—

Something small landed inches away from Gristle’s head. He didn’t even need to look to know who it was—only his little-big brother could land so lightly.

“Hey, idiot.” Branch pushed at Gristle’s chin, lifting the Bergen’s head off the bed by a few inches. “Chin up.” He demanded, baring his teeth.

Gristle forced his head back down onto the comforter. “Leave me alone.” He growled.

“Mm, nope.” Branch declared, moving around to pull at Gristle’s ear. “You’ve been in here long enough,” he sniffed, “And you need a shower. C’mon.” He pulled, and Gristle had to put effort into staying in place.

“No.” Gristle grumbled. “Just let me rot.” Every inch of his body ached with the grief clinging to his bones, and the very thought of getting up and doing anything made him want to vomit. The whole world made him want to vomit.

“Can’t let you,” Branch said, his voice edging into genuine worry. “C’mon, at least eat something?” He tugged at Gristle’s ear again, darting away as Gristle irritably swiped at him.

“I said,” Gristle pushed himself up ever so slightly, just so he could look Branch in the eye, “leave me alone!”

Branch shook his head, paws clenching and unclenching. “You’ve been alone.” He said. “I can’t leave you. Brothers stick together.” There was something heavy in his words, some deeper meaning than a childhood promise.

“And how are you supposed to help?” Gristle asked, sitting up fully. “What could you possibly do to make this better?”

“Not let you smell like a rotting carcass, for one.” Branch snarked. His expression immediately softened. “You need to take better care of yourself.” He urged. “Letting yourself rot only makes it hurt worse. Please.”

“And what would you know?” Gristle accused. “You and Dad barely even liked each other!”

“You think I don’t know what grief feels like?” Branch spread his arms wide, tears beginning to bubble up in his eyes. “My Grandmother was eaten on Trollstice before you were even born! DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO GRIEVE!”

Gristle flinched back. All of his vitriol drained as Branch panted. “You…” Branch never talked about that, about those four years he’d spent in the Troll Tree. Gristle’s throat tightened as a wave of emotion hit him anew, his eyes beginning to sting.

“It hurts.” He sobbed, for lack of anything better to say.

Branch’s anger melted away. “I know.” He said, sitting down. “It hurts, and you want so badly to just curl into a ball and wish the world away—”

“But you have to pick yourself back up.” Gristle finished. “Because people are counting on you.”

“Because nobody else will.” Branch added softly.

Gristle sobbed, breathy and uneven. “I miss him so much, Branch.”

Branch nodded. “I know.”

“I’m not ready to be King!” Gristle’s face was wet, now, hot and sticky with snot and tears.

Branch nodded again. “I know.”

Gristle sobbed again, his whole body shaking with the motion. He opened his mouth, but no words came.

“It’s not okay,” Branch offered into the silence, scooting forwards, “And that’s okay.”

“It hurts.” Gristle whispered.

Branch nodded. No more words came, and Gristle continued to cry. All of his misery poured out, raw and real and painful, and Branch remained right in front of him the entire time. When Gristle finally ran out of tears to cry, he flopped back down onto the bed, and two paws pressed against his cheek.

The silence stretched.

Slowly, Gristle breathed. In, and out. His chest was still strung taut and raw, his face was cold and sticky, and his throat stung from the effort of crying so much. He had never felt so low. He knew the grief was far from over.

As Gristle breathed, Branch clambered up onto his chest. He kneeled down, and held out a paw.

“Unhappy together.” Branch offered. “Shit sucks, but it sucks less when we work together.”

Gristle inhaled, his breath choppy and uneven. “Unhappy together.” He agreed, offering his finger for Branch to shake. He sobbed again, and Branch wrapped his arms around as much of Gristle’s hand as he could manage.

Gristle Junior was fifteen years old when his father died. And it sucked, and hurt, and Gristle wasn’t sure he’d ever really stop grieving.

But, at the very least, he wasn’t alone. It wasn’t much, but that simple fact helped.

+=+=+=+=+

Gristle Junior was twenty years old when Chef returned.

The day started as any other, really. Wake up, get cleaned and dressed, find his brother already awake and poring over details from the latest construction updates in the new quarter. Have breakfast, Branch darting about to steal off of his plate as he stole from Branch’s, like proper brothers would do. Go through the castle halls greeting everyone, Branch walking along the various small walkways lining the walls and arching up across hallways like tiny bridges. Prepare for the biweekly levee in the throne room.

It was as the final petitioner was leaving that it happened. A Bergen that Gristle only vaguely recognized emerged from behind a potted plant, swishing her cloak ominously as she all but marched towards the throne.

And then Gristle recognized her. The chef’s hat, the lavender tint, the wicked gleam in her eyes. He glanced to the throne beside his, and anxiety germinated in his chest at the sight of Branch still as a statue, eyes wide and locked onto Chef.

“Were you behind that plant the whole time?” Gristle asked, for lack of anything else to say. He realized immediately how stupid that sounded—but Branch made no comment on it, which was so unlike him that Gristle’s uncertainty ratcheted up another notch.

Chef grinned as she reached for the zipper on her fannypack. Slowly, she opened it, and a sweet harmony emerged from within.

Gristle gasped, the rest of the world forgotten. If Branch had any reaction, Gristle didn’t notice it, too entranced with the sight before him.

For in Chef’s fannypack was a handful of Trolls, bright and colorful and singing.

This… this could change everything.

No—this would change everything. For all of Bergentown! Finally, Gristle Junior could live up to his title, could be the King that brought happiness back to his people!

If he had bothered to look back at the thrones, he would have seen Chef glaring daggers into his back.

More importantly, he would have seen the look of utter uncertainty on Branch’s face.

[fangomango]

Gonna make a timeline because for some reason I do that with things I like

[bonewaryreblogs]

These Trolls be Trollin' Me

I have many thoughts about Trolls.

The canon backstory is pretty dark, though the movies themselves cover it up with so much rainbows and glitter that you don't really notice it at first and the dark parts are played for laughs. It's prime real-estate for trauma and drama, though, and the fandom has capitalized on this in a way the movies don't dare touch on. I tend to gravitate to traumatized characters anyways, especially if there are cute aesthetics involved!

So.

Before I can go about rewriting the movies (because of course that's what I'm gonna do lol) I need a solid understanding of the backstory and how the characters got to where they are. And that's what this post is all about! Not sure if any of it counts as spoilers but here's your warning anyways lol...

"Hair we go!"

Before time began, there were… 6 Musical Strings! We know not where they came from, only that they have the power to create worlds, and fill them with life. That is how the race of magical beings known as trolls was born. Like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil, and so began the String War; a war that divided the trolls’ music into genres and ever more niche subgenres, but never again allowed to mix and mashup their flavors of music. Pop trolls, the most likely to shamelessly utilize sounds from other genres, were blamed for the war and the resulting division, eventually being ejected from the greater Troll Kingdom; however, some small, niche subgenres remained, such as Kpop. The remaining troll tribes adopted an “I ignore you, you ignore me” kind of truce, leaving them isolated from each other.

Forced to flee, the pop trolls traveled south, through the Never Glades, and eventually settled in a tropical-type jungle, centered around an ancient, hollow but living, tree they called the Troll Tree; this became their capitol, where the royals resided. They thrived in the thick jungles, innumerable smaller communities developing and working with nature to be able to support their quickly growing numbers, spreading far and wide. Over time, pop trolls thought they were the only trolls there were, forgetting about the other troll tribes in anything but legend; to everyone but the royals, anyways, who handed down the “true” history of the pop trolls.

This was the status quo until the bergens from the west, traveling in tribal groups with nothing to unite them, discovered they could “feel true happiness” by eating a troll. United by their growing appetite for troll, the bergens led a swift campaign to track down the troll capitol and surround it; first with temporary structures but soon with more permanent buildings, including a castle for the newly dubbed “Bergen King” who led the campaign. Trolls were hunted all year, stored at the now caged in Troll Tree, until Trollstice; a yearly feast set up so as to not decimate the troll population.

The troll royals had initially fled the Troll Tree, hoping to come back and free the others later, but King Peppy was eventually captured while holding Poppy’s egg in his hair, separated from his (mortally wounded) queen and eldest daughter, Viva. As he was at the troll tree, Peppy refused to give up and, shortly after Poppy hatched, led those trapped out of the tree via tunnels. Realizing the tree was no longer secure, the Bergen King Gristle Sr. cast out his head chef, who was charged with keeping the trolls in their enclosure, and Trollstice was abandoned only a few years (decades?) after it had become tradition. Long enough that it felt like it was always a part of their culture. Being only recently united, the bergens didn’t have any other set holidays that everyone agreed on either.

BroZone was working on the Perfect Family Harmony, as were many other family bands of the time, hoping to be able to use it to free troll-kind from the Bergen menace. With initially four members, their parents were captured shortly after Branche’s egg was produced and left to oldest brother John Dory and grandma Rosiepuff to raise. Inducted into the band almost immediately (trolls hatch already at the toddler stage), Branch had a few smaller performances with his brothers before they attempted the Harmony again, on the biggest stage they’d seen. When they failed, the older four brothers left Branch with grandma that night and the pair were captured by bergens early the next morning, along with many of the concert goers, having been drawn by the lively concert.

Grandma Rosiepuff was taken by Chef early, along with a few others, leaving Branch newly grey and blaming himself as he runs away on the day of Trollstice. Since there were constantly new trolls at the Troll Tree, those that escaped weren’t all as traumatized by losing family members to Trollstice as they could have been and those that were tended to put on a happy face and “not think about it” but Branch was unable to do that, having sever survivor’s guilt on top of abandonment issues.

[hollydarlin]

trolls fandub casting call

the deadline for all auditions is december 31st at 11:59 PM (est)

a group of my friends and i have decided to host a HUGE project! a full dub of the movie trolls! it’s just for fun. you don’t have to have a microphone! just make sure the quality of your recording is understandable. basically everyone who auditions will get in, even if it’s not the part you wanted! it’s a huge project so we need as many people involved.

you can send your audition to my discord (poppysbranch#5048), my instagram @ poppysbranch or my twitter @ broppykiss.

a few characters have been casted already! they may change. please don’t audition for a huge role if you don’t have the time to record all the lines. singing is also required!

chef

originally voiced by christine baranski

[C]lead

chef was a celebrity who enjoyed all the luxury, praise and adulation that came with her status. it was clear she held a grudge about being expelled due to the trolls’ escape, seeking control over the other bergens later on.

“please give it up for your keeper of the trolls.. your minister of happiness, your royal chef.. me. this is a very special trollstice.. as there is one amongst us who has never tasted a troll. prince gristle.. the time has come.”

creek

young adult

lead

originally voiced by russell brand and matt lowe

creek has a serene, zen-like state of mind.

“whoa, whoa, easy, branch, easy. (turns to bug) thank you for providing safe passage, brother, namaste. (turning back to branch) okay, first of all, kate. thanks for sharing your unique perspective on things, again. but just for now, why don’t you try some positivity, eh? a little positivity might go with that vest.”

dj suki

young adult

supporting

originally voiced by gwen stefani and fryda wolff

suki tries so hard to please other trolls, and she doesn’t like letting others down.

“that’s it!”

king gristle sr.

senior

minor

originally voiced by john cleese

as king, king gristle sr. had dual responsibilities: leading the fickle, easily distracted bergens and raising his only son, gristle jr., whose primary mission in life was to get his first taste of a troll.

“gristle! what time is it?”

biggie

young adult

supporting

originally voiced by james corden and david fynn

biggie has a big heart, and is one of poppy’s dearest friends.

“okay, mr. dinkles, say, leaves! hm, something’s missing. (a beat) that’s it’”

king peppy

middle age

supporting

originally voiced by jeffrey tambor (2016), walt dohrn (2020), and david kaye (shows)

supporting

peppy is the old king of the pop trolls, a leader who lead by courage and example, taking risks under the motto of “no troll left behind.”

“(urging the trolls to keep running) go! go!”’

satin and chenille

young adults

originally voiced by aino jawo (satin, movies), caroline hjelt (chenille, movies), and fryda wolff (shows)

supporting

being two individuals who are conjoined together, the two tend to rarely agree on anything.

“but it’s gonna be the biggest!”

guy diamond

young adult

originally voiced by kunal nayyar (movies) and sean t. krishnan (shows)

guy doesn’t get many lines in trolls, rather being more of an “in your face” character.

“(annoyed) oh, boy.”

[geekgirles]

Crystal AU

I've had this idea since quite some time now, and I think I should share it with you, guys.

In this AU, there's a legend about a magical crystal capable of granting god-like power to its possessor. Said crystal is hidden in the heart of a troll who embodies all of the trolls' values: kindness, optimism, empathy, loyalty, happiness...In conclusion, Poppy. The bergens are aware of this and they've been searching for this particular troll since the beginning of time, actually, Chef (who's leader of the team in charge of its capture) had promised King Gristle Sr, and later Jr, that she would bring the crystal to them; but what nobody knows is that Chef actually plans to find the crystal in order to use it to become queen.

That's the main reason why she's spent most of her life searching for it.

Back with the Trolls, King Peppy knew all along that his little princess was the wielder of this magical stone. Therefore, he recruited the best team of Trolls to protect her at all costs: the Snack Pack with Creek as their leader. But Poppy is unaware of her best friends' real identities and mission, Hell, she doesn't even know that she has the crystal; she's heard of it, of course, but she doesn't know where it is.

You're probably wondering "What is Branch's role?" Easy enough. Since you're never too cautious when it comes to protecting the people you love, Peppy assigned Branch to be Poppy's secret bodyguard (not even the Snack Pack knows about this). And that is why he's a survivalist, the fact that he's grey and lost his grandma due to his singing is still cannon here, now, after all those years taking care of Poppy and receiving such wonderful invites, there's no doubt he's gonna protect Poppy due to more than just the fact that it's his job. But *shoo* that's a secret ;)

Ok, this is indeed longer than I expected. Oh, well. I've also thought about the "True Colors" scene and how can someone take the crystal, but that's something I'm gonna share later. But I want to ask you:

What do you guys think?

[shamyfanficfeed]

Collection of Oneshots

by EvaHirshYT You can request an idea for a one shot of a ship from the chosen games, cartoons, and movies! But they can only be the ones I listed- sorry! Words: 2788, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English * Fandoms: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Camp Camp (Web Series), The Big Bang Theory (TV), Young Sheldon (TV), Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga), Trolls (2016), Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon), Hetalia: Axis Powers, Ben 10 Series, Code Lyoko, Alvin and the Chipmunks - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics), Rockman.EXE | Mega Man Battle Network, Miraculous Ladybug, Homestuck, Gorillaz, おそ松さん | Osomatsu-san (Anime), Danny Phantom * Rating: General Audiences * Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply * Categories: F/M, Gen, Multi, Other * Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Big Bang Theory & Young Sheldon, Gorillaz - Character, homestuck - Character, miraculous ladybug - Character, Danny Phantom - Character, Ososmatsu-san, Marvel - Character, DC - Character, Alvin and the Chipmucks, trolls - Character, Ben 10 - Character, Megaman NT Warrior - Character, Megaman Battle Network, Hetalia - Character, Ouran High School Host Club - Character, Noragami - Character, Code Lyoko - Character * Relationships: Sally Acorn/Sonic the Hedgehog, Maria Robotnik/Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna/Sonia the Hedgehog, Julie-Su/Knuckles the Echidna, Blaze the Cat/Silver the Hedgehog, Cosmo the Seedrian/Miles "Tails" Prower, Jet the Hawk/Wave the Swallow, Antoine D'Coolette/Bunnie Rabbot, Sonia Acorn/Skye Prower, Charmy Bee/Saffron Bee, Mina Mongoose/Miles "Tails" Prower, Manic the Hedgehog & Sonia the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally Acorn & Elias Acorn, Manik Acorn & Sonia Acorn, Skye Prower & Melody Prower, Belle D'Coolette & Jacques D'Coolette, Branch/Poppy (Trolls), Bridget/King Gristle Jr. (Trolls), Guy Diamond/DJ Suki, Branch/Creek/Poppy (Trolls), Milton Moss/Smidge, Satin & Chenille, North Italy & Seborga & South Italy (Hetalia), America & Canada & England & France (Hetalia), Germany & Prussia & Holy Rome (Hetalia), Ben Tennyson/Julie Yamamoto, Kai Green/Ben Tennyson, Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson, Max Tennyson/Verdona, Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, Odd Della Robbia/Laura Gauthier, Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, William Dunbar/Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, Sissi Delmas/Ulrich Stern, Brittany Miller/Alvin Seville, Jeanette Miller/Simon Seville, Eleanor Miller/Theodore Seville, Alvin Seville & Simon Seville & Theodore Seville, Brittany Miller & Jeanette Miller & Eleanor Miller, Iki Hiyori/Yato, Bishamonten | Vaisravana/Kazuma, Garu/Pucca (Pucca), Abyo/Ching (Pucca), Fujioka Haruhi/Suoh Tamaki, Hitachiin Hikaru & Hitachiin Kaoru, Ageha Hitachiin, Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Marvel Couples, DC Couples, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari/Sakurai Meiru | Mayl Sakurai, Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari & Hikari Saito | Hub Hikari, Matsuno Choromatsu/Ichimatsu/Jyushimatsu/Karamatsu/Osomatsu/Todomatsu, Matsuno Matsuyo/Matsuno Matsuzo, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson, Tucker Foley/Valerie Gray, Jack Fenton/Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Bridgette/Félix (Miraculous Ladybug), Adrien Agreste & Félix, Bridgette & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Terezi Pyrope/Karkat Vantas, Nepeta Leijon/Equius Zahhak, Jade Harley/Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Mituna Captor/Latula Pyrope, Descendants & Dancestors & Ancestors & Lusus, Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Russel Hobbs & Murdoc Niccals & Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Sheldon Cooper/Amy Farrah Fowler, Leonard Hofstadter/Penny, Bernadette Rostenkowski/Howard Wolowitz, George Cooper Sr./Mary Cooper, Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog http://dlvr.it/RSDH4B

[ao3feed-lukanette]

by EvaHirshYT

You can request an idea for a one shot of a ship from the chosen games, cartoons, and movies! But they can only be the ones I listed- sorry!

Words: 2788, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Camp Camp (Web Series), The Big Bang Theory (TV), Young Sheldon (TV), Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga), Trolls (2016), Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon), Hetalia: Axis Powers, Ben 10 Series, Code Lyoko, Alvin and the Chipmunks - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics), Rockman.EXE | Mega Man Battle Network, Miraculous Ladybug, Homestuck, Gorillaz, おそ松さん | Osomatsu-san (Anime), Danny Phantom

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen, Multi, Other

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Big Bang Theory & Young Sheldon, Gorillaz - Character, homestuck - Character, miraculous ladybug - Character, Danny Phantom - Character, Ososmatsu-san, Marvel - Character, DC - Character, Alvin and the Chipmucks, trolls - Character, Ben 10 - Character, Megaman NT Warrior - Character, Megaman Battle Network, Hetalia - Character, Ouran High School Host Club - Character, Noragami - Character, Code Lyoko - Character

Relationships: Sally Acorn/Sonic the Hedgehog, Maria Robotnik/Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna/Sonia the Hedgehog, Julie-Su/Knuckles the Echidna, Blaze the Cat/Silver the Hedgehog, Cosmo the Seedrian/Miles "Tails" Prower, Jet the Hawk/Wave the Swallow, Antoine D'Coolette/Bunnie Rabbot, Sonia Acorn/Skye Prower, Charmy Bee/Saffron Bee, Mina Mongoose/Miles "Tails" Prower, Manic the Hedgehog & Sonia the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally Acorn & Elias Acorn, Manik Acorn & Sonia Acorn, Skye Prower & Melody Prower, Belle D'Coolette & Jacques D'Coolette, Branch/Poppy (Trolls), Bridget/King Gristle Jr. (Trolls), Guy Diamond/DJ Suki, Branch/Creek/Poppy (Trolls), Milton Moss/Smidge, Satin & Chenille, North Italy & Seborga & South Italy (Hetalia), America & Canada & England & France (Hetalia), Germany & Prussia & Holy Rome (Hetalia), Ben Tennyson/Julie Yamamoto, Kai Green/Ben Tennyson, Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson, Max Tennyson/Verdona, Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, Odd Della Robbia/Laura Gauthier, Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, William Dunbar/Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, Sissi Delmas/Ulrich Stern, Brittany Miller/Alvin Seville, Jeanette Miller/Simon Seville, Eleanor Miller/Theodore Seville, Alvin Seville & Simon Seville & Theodore Seville, Brittany Miller & Jeanette Miller & Eleanor Miller, Iki Hiyori/Yato, Bishamonten | Vaisravana/Kazuma, Garu/Pucca (Pucca), Abyo/Ching (Pucca), Fujioka Haruhi/Suoh Tamaki, Hitachiin Hikaru & Hitachiin Kaoru, Ageha Hitachiin, Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Marvel Couples, DC Couples, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari/Sakurai Meiru | Mayl Sakurai, Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari & Hikari Saito | Hub Hikari, Matsuno Choromatsu/Ichimatsu/Jyushimatsu/Karamatsu/Osomatsu/Todomatsu, Matsuno Matsuyo/Matsuno Matsuzo, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson, Tucker Foley/Valerie Gray, Jack Fenton/Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Bridgette/Félix (Miraculous Ladybug), Adrien Agreste & Félix, Bridgette & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Terezi Pyrope/Karkat Vantas, Nepeta Leijon/Equius Zahhak, Jade Harley/Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Mituna Captor/Latula Pyrope, Descendants & Dancestors & Ancestors & Lusus, Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Russel Hobbs & Murdoc Niccals & Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Sheldon Cooper/Amy Farrah Fowler, Leonard Hofstadter/Penny, Bernadette Rostenkowski/Howard Wolowitz, George Cooper Sr./Mary Cooper, Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog

[ao3feed-karezi]

Collection of Oneshots

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2U4NFxN

by EvaHirshYT

You can request an idea for a one shot of a ship from the chosen games, cartoons, and movies! But they can only be the ones I listed- sorry!

Words: 2788, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Camp Camp (Web Series), The Big Bang Theory (TV), Young Sheldon (TV), Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga), Trolls (2016), Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon), Hetalia: Axis Powers, Ben 10 Series, Code Lyoko, Alvin and the Chipmunks - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics), Rockman.EXE | Mega Man Battle Network, Miraculous Ladybug, Homestuck, Gorillaz, おそ松さん | Osomatsu-san (Anime), Danny Phantom

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen, Multi, Other

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Big Bang Theory & Young Sheldon, Gorillaz - Character, homestuck - Character, miraculous ladybug - Character, Danny Phantom - Character, Ososmatsu-san, Marvel - Character, DC - Character, Alvin and the Chipmucks, trolls - Character, Ben 10 - Character, Megaman NT Warrior - Character, Megaman Battle Network, Hetalia - Character, Ouran High School Host Club - Character, Noragami - Character, Code Lyoko - Character

Relationships: Sally Acorn/Sonic the Hedgehog, Maria Robotnik/Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna/Sonia the Hedgehog, Julie-Su/Knuckles the Echidna, Blaze the Cat/Silver the Hedgehog, Cosmo the Seedrian/Miles "Tails" Prower, Jet the Hawk/Wave the Swallow, Antoine D'Coolette/Bunnie Rabbot, Sonia Acorn/Skye Prower, Charmy Bee/Saffron Bee, Mina Mongoose/Miles "Tails" Prower, Manic the Hedgehog & Sonia the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally Acorn & Elias Acorn, Manik Acorn & Sonia Acorn, Skye Prower & Melody Prower, Belle D'Coolette & Jacques D'Coolette, Branch/Poppy (Trolls), Bridget/King Gristle Jr. (Trolls), Guy Diamond/DJ Suki, Branch/Creek/Poppy (Trolls), Milton Moss/Smidge, Satin & Chenille, North Italy & Seborga & South Italy (Hetalia), America & Canada & England & France (Hetalia), Germany & Prussia & Holy Rome (Hetalia), Ben Tennyson/Julie Yamamoto, Kai Green/Ben Tennyson, Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson, Max Tennyson/Verdona, Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, Odd Della Robbia/Laura Gauthier, Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, William Dunbar/Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, Sissi Delmas/Ulrich Stern, Brittany Miller/Alvin Seville, Jeanette Miller/Simon Seville, Eleanor Miller/Theodore Seville, Alvin Seville & Simon Seville & Theodore Seville, Brittany Miller & Jeanette Miller & Eleanor Miller, Iki Hiyori/Yato, Bishamonten | Vaisravana/Kazuma, Garu/Pucca (Pucca), Abyo/Ching (Pucca), Fujioka Haruhi/Suoh Tamaki, Hitachiin Hikaru & Hitachiin Kaoru, Ageha Hitachiin, Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Marvel Couples, DC Couples, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari/Sakurai Meiru | Mayl Sakurai, Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari & Hikari Saito | Hub Hikari, Matsuno Choromatsu/Ichimatsu/Jyushimatsu/Karamatsu/Osomatsu/Todomatsu, Matsuno Matsuyo/Matsuno Matsuzo, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson, Tucker Foley/Valerie Gray, Jack Fenton/Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Bridgette/Félix (Miraculous Ladybug), Adrien Agreste & Félix, Bridgette & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Terezi Pyrope/Karkat Vantas, Nepeta Leijon/Equius Zahhak, Jade Harley/Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Mituna Captor/Latula Pyrope, Descendants & Dancestors & Ancestors & Lusus, Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Russel Hobbs & Murdoc Niccals & Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Sheldon Cooper/Amy Farrah Fowler, Leonard Hofstadter/Penny, Bernadette Rostenkowski/Howard Wolowitz, George Cooper Sr./Mary Cooper, Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2U4NFxN

[ao3feed-rosekan]

Collection of Oneshots

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2U4NFxN

by EvaHirshYT

You can request an idea for a one shot of a ship from the chosen games, cartoons, and movies! But they can only be the ones I listed- sorry!

Words: 2788, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Camp Camp (Web Series), The Big Bang Theory (TV), Young Sheldon (TV), Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga), Trolls (2016), Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon), Hetalia: Axis Powers, Ben 10 Series, Code Lyoko, Alvin and the Chipmunks - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics), Rockman.EXE | Mega Man Battle Network, Miraculous Ladybug, Homestuck, Gorillaz, おそ松さん | Osomatsu-san (Anime), Danny Phantom

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen, Multi, Other

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Big Bang Theory & Young Sheldon, Gorillaz - Character, homestuck - Character, miraculous ladybug - Character, Danny Phantom - Character, Ososmatsu-san, Marvel - Character, DC - Character, Alvin and the Chipmucks, trolls - Character, Ben 10 - Character, Megaman NT Warrior - Character, Megaman Battle Network, Hetalia - Character, Ouran High School Host Club - Character, Noragami - Character, Code Lyoko - Character

Relationships: Sally Acorn/Sonic the Hedgehog, Maria Robotnik/Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna/Sonia the Hedgehog, Julie-Su/Knuckles the Echidna, Blaze the Cat/Silver the Hedgehog, Cosmo the Seedrian/Miles "Tails" Prower, Jet the Hawk/Wave the Swallow, Antoine D'Coolette/Bunnie Rabbot, Sonia Acorn/Skye Prower, Charmy Bee/Saffron Bee, Mina Mongoose/Miles "Tails" Prower, Manic the Hedgehog & Sonia the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally Acorn & Elias Acorn, Manik Acorn & Sonia Acorn, Skye Prower & Melody Prower, Belle D'Coolette & Jacques D'Coolette, Branch/Poppy (Trolls), Bridget/King Gristle Jr. (Trolls), Guy Diamond/DJ Suki, Branch/Creek/Poppy (Trolls), Milton Moss/Smidge, Satin & Chenille, North Italy & Seborga & South Italy (Hetalia), America & Canada & England & France (Hetalia), Germany & Prussia & Holy Rome (Hetalia), Ben Tennyson/Julie Yamamoto, Kai Green/Ben Tennyson, Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson, Max Tennyson/Verdona, Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, Odd Della Robbia/Laura Gauthier, Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, William Dunbar/Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, Sissi Delmas/Ulrich Stern, Brittany Miller/Alvin Seville, Jeanette Miller/Simon Seville, Eleanor Miller/Theodore Seville, Alvin Seville & Simon Seville & Theodore Seville, Brittany Miller & Jeanette Miller & Eleanor Miller, Iki Hiyori/Yato, Bishamonten | Vaisravana/Kazuma, Garu/Pucca (Pucca), Abyo/Ching (Pucca), Fujioka Haruhi/Suoh Tamaki, Hitachiin Hikaru & Hitachiin Kaoru, Ageha Hitachiin, Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Marvel Couples, DC Couples, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari/Sakurai Meiru | Mayl Sakurai, Hikari Netto | Lan Hikari & Hikari Saito | Hub Hikari, Matsuno Choromatsu/Ichimatsu/Jyushimatsu/Karamatsu/Osomatsu/Todomatsu, Matsuno Matsuyo/Matsuno Matsuzo, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson, Tucker Foley/Valerie Gray, Jack Fenton/Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Bridgette/Félix (Miraculous Ladybug), Adrien Agreste & Félix, Bridgette & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Terezi Pyrope/Karkat Vantas, Nepeta Leijon/Equius Zahhak, Jade Harley/Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Mituna Captor/Latula Pyrope, Descendants & Dancestors & Ancestors & Lusus, Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Russel Hobbs & Murdoc Niccals & Noodle & Stuart "2D" Pot, Sheldon Cooper/Amy Farrah Fowler, Leonard Hofstadter/Penny, Bernadette Rostenkowski/Howard Wolowitz, George Cooper Sr./Mary Cooper, Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2U4NFxN

[curlsofsagesmoke]

things i love about trolls

bridget is strong enough to lift gristle on literally one finger like what th efuck

poppy can pick up branch like no problem

TROLL EARS MOVE LIKE CAT EARS

everyone is so concerned about branch's """cheering"""" after bridget and gristle's date

branch's sARCASM

branch literally tried to kill cloud guy like can you say no chill

bridget's teenage angst

gristle trying to lose thirty lbs in eight hours before the dinner

chad and todd. just. chad and todd

branch tries to fucking choke creek to death (literally where’s the chill) and then pOPPY DOES THE SAME THING AND BRANCH LOOKS SO PROUD

when all the trolls invade branch's bunker the first thing king peppy does is strip

the in the hall of the mountain king remix they use for the trolls' theme

poppy's actual flower crown she's such a pure flower child

branch looks so lost and helpless when everyone turns grey he just wants them to be happy (side note why is he the only troll with grey hair, like are there no other trolls with blue hair)

branch's ears stick out so much and his nose is so fucking big i love it

he's so determined to make everyone happy again that he starts singing again even though he has actual ptsd and he even offers her a hug even though he has an aversion to touch

poppy's little sound of silence thing

"if i'm willing to store and drink my own sweat, wHICH I AM. WHO'S CRAZY NOW?" um you omg i love this crazy bean

branch's hair grows longer when he gets his colors back

cooper can play the harmonica without using his hands how fucking iconic

when bridget opens the pot and all the trolls freak out branch sinks into this little crouch like hes gonna fite

bridget and poppy's relationship is the cutest fucking thing like bridget literally sacrifices herself to save the trolls because she loves them so much like hOW FucKInG CuTe??

the trolls are so shook when they find out gristle was happy

chef and her fucking spoon keep hitting people in the damn head

poppy literally tackles branch to save him from being eaten by gristle

branch and poppy have a complicated friend handshake

pink girl and blue boy aesthetic

the sparkly trolls are all naked. peppy is nude in half his screen time. the trolls are so cool with nudity

dj suki has dreads like how fucking lit

this whole movie, especially the first and last scenes, are an actual acid trip

cooper has absolutely zero chill he sets chef on FIRE

all the trolls are so supportive of poppy

IN THE LAST SCENE BRANCH AWKWARDLY ASKS FOR A HUG

that smirk they share before they straight up murder cloud guy by pushing him off the mushroom like what kind of savagery

branch and poppy's dorky little dance during the end credits

"there will be no more... scrapbooking"

branch is so bouncy like he just jumps everywhere all the time

why is king gristle sr. literally me as a parent

[nerdymovielover-blog]

Commentary on “Branch and the Cooking Catastrophe”

Pg. 2-3: He didn’t want to move into one of the colorful, fuzzy pods that hung from the branches of the trees in Troll Village. That just wasn’t his style. No, Branch planned on staying underground. He liked it there. He liked the dim light and the smell of the cool soil. He’d even made friends with a couple of worms who’d passed through a few times. Not close friends, but friends. Maybe he could make a few changes. Add a skylight to let in a little sunshine now and then. A patio to enjoy on a nice day. And he’d always wanted a hot tub to soak in!

Honestly, I love the idea of Branch still living in a bunker even when he has his colors back. This passage shows that parts of Branch’s personality when he was grey still remain, which would imply he was always very independent and reclusive. Maybe he was the kid who liked to run off alone and have adventures (or at least the adventures you can have when your tree home is stuck in a cage). Also, does anyone else find it adorable that Branch always wanted a hot tube to soak in?

Pg. 3: Peering into the eyepiece of his periscope, Branch saw Cooper standing on his stoop. “Be right there, Cooper!” Branch shouted into a speaking tube. Up above, Cooper was startled to hear his friend’s voice. “Where are you, Branch? I hear you, but I don’t see you! Have you found a way to make yourself . . . INVISIBLE?”

I feel like we all have a friend like Cooper. He’s so cute.

Pg. 4-5: “I brought you this!” Cooper said. “From Queen Poppy!” He handed Branch the envelope. “From Poppy?” Branch asked, excited.

AAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW! Branch is excited to hear from Poppy. He’s like a puppy!

Pg. 6: When Branch got to Poppy’s pod, he ran inside without knocking. “Poppy!” he gasped, breathing hard. “What is it? What’s the emergency? Are you in danger? Are we ALL in danger?”

 Poor Branch. Still paranoid. But it’s still so funny.

Pg. 16: “But where will we find these recipes?” Gristle asked. “Um, in your kitchen?” Branch suggested. “I have a kitchen?” Gristle said. “I mean . . . to the Royal Kitchen!”

So, Gristle still has some growing up to do. And now, I want to go on a bit of a tangent: Gristle Jr. was an interesting character, I think. He wasn’t just a spoiled prince who was given the crown. He was taught by his father that he would never attain happiness unless he ate a troll. According to the Trolls website, Gristle Sr. was driven out of Bergen Town after the trolls escaped. So Gristle Jr. was thrust into kingship, whether or not he was ready for it. Even worse, he had his father’s reputation and supposed mistake (“letting” the trolls escape) hanging over his head. Who knows what age Gristle Jr. took the throne? Psychologically, he’s still only a boy, and he has a lot of growing up to do.

Pg. 17-18: Branch nodded. He’d been there the night Chef was thrown out of the castle. The evil, power-mad cook hadn’t been seen since. It was rumored that she now lived somewhere deep in the forest with Creek, a Troll who had been thrown out of the castle along with her, and used his hair to scrub her dishes.

This is interesting simply because it follows the post-movie-events canon we see the novelization of the film. Makes me wonder if this will affect the second film.

Pg. 21-23: In a dark corner of the big kitchen, a tall, narrow door stretched to the ceiling. A sign on the door said “Chef’s Secret Recipe Closet! Keep Out Or You’ll Be Sorry! I Mean It! Signed, Chef. PS: I really mean it!” “That’s great!” Branch said. “She must have kept her recipes in this closet!” “Yeah,” Gristle said, “but we can’t go in there.” Branch snorted. “Why not?” “Because it says right on the sign that we’ll be sorry!” The king pointed at the door. “And she really means it!” “Look around,” Branch said calmly. “Do you see Chef anywhere?” Gristle looked. “No,” he admitted. “But she could be hiding!” Branch sighed. “She isn’t anywhere near this castle. Or Bergen Town, for that matter.” “How do you know?” Gristle asked suspiciously. “Because you banished her!” Branch said. “And when King Gristle banishes Bergens, they stay banished! Right?” Gristle stood a little taller. “That’s right!” “So there’s NO WAY Chef is hiding in this kitchen!” “RIGHT!” “Now let’s OPEN THIS SECRET RECIPE CLOSET!” “YEAH!” Gristle flung open the door. ZWIT! ZWIT! ZWIT! Arrows shot out of the closet, knocking off his crown and pinning it to the wall! The king and Branch hit the deck. “Of course,” Branch admitted from his spot on the greasy floor, “the closet could be booby-trapped.” “You think?” Gristle said sarcastically, carefully reaching up to retrieve his crown.

Lesson learned: take Chef’s threats seriously. :D

Pg. 37: “I’m just not sure it’s such a good idea, making cookies in the shape of Trolls,” Branch explained. “I mean, we don’t want to remind the Bergens of how much they enjoyed eating us.” Biggie nodded slowly. “You’re right. I never thought of that.” He looked disappointed for a moment, remembering how much time he’d put into making the big Troll cookies. Branch was afraid he was going to cry. But then Biggie brightened. “I guess we’ll just have to eat them ourselves!” He picked up a Branch cookie. CRUNCH! Biggie bit off an ear. Branch flinched as Biggie munched happily.

Okay…….did that seem morbid to anyone else? But it’s also kind of a funny image in my head. Sweet, innocent Biggie biting the ear off a Branch cookie, and Branch is just staring at him like “WTF?”

Pg. 42: Bridget looked surprised and concerned. “You need help? From me? Did you hurt yourself? Are you in danger? Is someone chasing you?” She looked past Gristle down the hall to see if any monsters were after him.

Seriously, I’m going to get a cavity with all the sweet moments in this book, and I’m not even halfway through it! And, later, we see this: “Gristle hesitated. He didn’t want to work with other Bergens. He wanted to work with Bridget. He was in love with her.” Seriously! Is anyone else just saying “Awww” out loud and weirding out the people around them?

Pg. 48: “After this picnic, might Your Majesty grant me the right to serve Chef’s famous pizza here at my roller rink?” Captain Starfunkle folded his hands and bowed while looking up at the king imploringly. “Hmm,” Gristle said, pretending to think about it. It was a trick his father had taught him. “Son, when someone asks you a question, always act like you’re thinking about it,” the old king had advised. “That way, you’ll seem smart.”

Yeah, I’m sorry to say this, but I think Gristle Sr. had quite a few hits and misses in the parenting department.

Pg. 61: Branch hated being told to relax. It reminded him of Creek, and he had never liked Creek. He hadn’t been surprised when Creek turned out to be a traitor, betraying the other Trolls to save his own skin.

Interesting. I just can’t decide if Branch is a perceptive troll or if he was jealous that Creek and Poppy seemed to be an item. I’ll leave that for the discussion boards.

Pg. 66: “There could be protests! Riots! Looting!” Gristle said, looking scared. “It could mean the end of my reign as king of the Bergens!” “Really?” Branch asked. “Just because the pizza didn’t taste right?” “You obviously don’t know Bergens,” Gristle said.

Okay, I can understand being mad at the guy who was on the throne when your prized trolls escaped from under your noses. But pizza? Really?

Pg. 69-70: Branch thought for a moment. He knew it was important to Poppy for the picnic to be a big success for the Trolls and the Bergens. And if that meant scaling Mount Gloom to get special salt, so be it.

Aww, look at Branch being all dedicated and stuff to his lady love.

Pg. 71-73: “You know, you should probably ride on my shoulder,” Gristle suggested. “Why would I want to do that?” Branch asked. Gristle sighed. There seemed to be no way around just telling Branch the truth. “Because we’ll go faster if I don’t have to wait for you to catch up. Because your legs are, you know, a little shorter than mine.” Gristle was right. Branch did not react well. “Oh, so you think my legs are too short, huh?” he said, bristling with anger. Gristle shook his head rapidly. “Oh, no, no, no. it’s not that. They’re not too short. They’re just . . . short.” “Actually,” Branch said, trying to keep his cool, “the problem might be that you’ll have trouble keeping up with me.” Gristle couldn’t help snorting with laughter. “Me? Have trouble keeping up with a Troll? I seriously doubt—” Before the king could finish his sentence, Branch whipped his long blue hair around his head three times and shot it forward. WHAP! It wrapped around the branch of a tree. Branch zipped forward! As he passed the branch, he unwrapped his hair and shot it toward a low branch on another tree. He used his long hair to swing from tree to tree, rapidly making his way through the woods. “WHOOO-HOOOOO!” Branch whooped as he zoomed through the forest, propelled by his own hair power. Gristle stared. “Huh,” he said to himself. “I wonder if that’s why they call him Branch.” Then he realized if he stood there any longer, Branch would swoon swing out of sight. “HEY, WAIT FOR ME! MY HAIR’S TOO SHORT TO DO THAT! ALSO, I DON’T KNOW HOW!”

Leave it to Branch to show up Gristle. He is Branch, the Swinging Troll of the Forest!

Pg. 75-76: “Hey,” Gristle said. “There’s really nothing wrong with hitching a quick ride. You might even enjoy it. Just say the word and I’ll pick you up and put you on my shoulder.” Branch looked up at the Bergen towering over him. Branch realized it made sense for him to accept Gristle’s offer. He’d have to swallow his foolish pride for the sake of Poppy’s big Troll-Bergen Picnic.

Now this is the real challenge for Branch. He’s such an independent person that he can’t stand the thought of relying on someone else.

Pg. 102: Branch whispered to Gristle, talking fast. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll distract the wing-dingle, and you make a run for it. Get in that cave!” Gristle looked confused. “How are you going to distra—” Branch had already jumped up and was running across the side of the mountain. “HEY, WING-DINGLE! LOOK AT ME! I MAY BE TINY, BUT I’M DELICIOUS!”

I feel a strange mix of amusement and concern.

If you guys would like me to review any other Trolls books, like the Little Golden Book or Follow Your Art, let me know!

[im-abanana]

I need your opinion fellows [New Trolls fic idea]:

So, umh, I am thinking about a new fanfiction. But before starting to write it, I wanted to ask your opinion guys, because writing a single chapter usually takes me 10 hours or so, and knowing no one would read it would help me taking the final decision. XD First of all, it would be a DjDiamond (Dj Suki x Guy Diamond) fic, entirely. Maybe Broppy somewhere, but not so much. Second, it would be a Mythology AU (yeah again, I just love mythology). The plot: In a zone called "The Corral", mythology creatures are bred and kept by King Gristle Sr. (Gristle's dad). This place is a paradise, with different zone for different creatures (mountains for dragons, sea for mermaids, forest for satyrs, ecc...), but you cannot get out since there's a magic wall that blocks every way out. Anyway, the biggest part of the creatures are born in The Corral. One day, a female savage creature, a Maticore (Suki) falls off the sky, hurt, and sinks into the sea inside The Corral. After being saved by a male mermaid (Diamond), she explains that there's a whole world outside, and the two must find a way to go out along with their new friends. Sooo... what do you people think? Should I go for it? It wouldn't be that long, but not short either. And oh, there would be a nsfw chapter somewhere, I think. Lemme know pls

[scootingaround12]

Dreamworks trolls au (I think I’m gonna call it pet au if u have a better title feel free to add it):

Before bergens discovered trolls, it was humans that discovered the bergens in the forest. Time passed and the 2 races became more aware of each other and began sharing ideas and cultures etc. Through this the bergens discovered technology like tv, video games, devices to play songs etc and that they actually made them happy (really just distracted them from their misery)

But the humans wanted payment for the objects and their was nothing in bergen town they wanted. So king gristle Sr sent out a search party into the surrounding area to find ANYTHING the humans could want. One of them a young female nicknamed chef by the humans for her “ability to cook up ideas and plans” who acted as a ambassador for the king, discovered the trolls. Remembering the humans fondness for singing and small cute things she grabbed one of them and took it back to bergen town to see the humans response.

They loved them finding them completely idorable and sweet a number claiming they wanted one as a pet. True to her name chef came up with a series of false information about the trolls. Claiming they were stupid, colourful, easily taken care of creatures who like to mimic those around them which is why they covered themselves and made lovely sounds like the humans and bergens language, especially when they sung (one of the humans probably made the comparison of a parrot and how a friend has one as a pet).

The humans bought it and a deal was set up, the humans would buy the trolls as exotic pets and the bergens could use that money to purchase human devices to keep them happy.

Like in the movie the trolls manage to escape the troll tree where they were being stored ready to be grabbed and shipped off to their new human homes, but not before a good number where sent off to God knows where. Most of these were grown trolls, since humans find them cute no matter the age and their easier to handle at this size but a few children were specialy ordered, including branch who was torn away from his grandmothers arms and never seen again.

Once the trolls escape chef and the king are blamed and banished and she spends 20 years searching for the trolls again. From here things more or less happen the same as in the film, King gristle still thinks he can’t be happy but only because there bored of their current technology and cant get anything new, chef finds and captures the trolls except minus Creek who managed to hide quicker.

Instead of branch it’s Creek who accompanies poppy, who just thinks about how much of a hero he’ll be once he returns them home and probably saves her accidently a number of times e.g running away from the spiders only to trip and scream scaring them into the creatures mouth.

They still help Bridget get a date with the king by whisperering words into her ear while disguised as a wig but Creek uses confusing and seemingly deep words about love in place of branch’s poetry (also shes been orded to prepare all the cutlery for the returning humans feast) with king gristle. Also with no bunker to hide in the trolls are easily found and captured by the bergens and placed in a secure cage for the humans to see them after the celebratory feast.

Without the direct threat of being killed and eaten poppy doesn’t lose hope but does become desperate instead claiming there must be a way out of the cage. After numerous failed attempts the hatch is suddenly opened and Bridget let’s them out claiming she heard the humans talk about their plans to sell and keep the trolls as individuals pets and couldn’t let poppy be separated from her friends and family after seeing how much effort she put into saving them.

Poppy and the snack pack return and help king gristle see it was Bridget he fell in love with showing them bergens can be happy, while simultaneously showing the humans there an intelligent race. In anger chef attempts to kill the Princess with her knife but is sent out the town on a trolly, same as the movie.

The humans are horrified that they’ve been keeping the trolls like animals and promise them they’ll return all the ones left as pets home. A new law is made stating it’s illegal to keep trolls as pets and anyone owning or knowing would should report the troll so they can be returned home (they probably also give you a reward for information or a troll).

There’s very few trolls left and most are fairly old and ecstatic to be back home, but there’s one who’s not: branch. He has no memory of the village or other trolls after being taken at such a young age (he kinda has a extremely blurry image of being held and looking up a plump purple face of grandma rosiepuff), he was given to a little rich girl by her farther for her birthday who after a while grew bored of branch and more or less forgot about him in exchange for the new latest toy. So branch grew up completely isolated with very little stimulation, which more or less caused him to just shut down emotionly and physically.

He’s completely grey like you know how he still had some colour left in him especially when he stood in the right light, that’s gone his skins just one shade of grey and his hairs a dull black. He barely responds to anything and will only eat or drink once he’s on the verge of almost starving or dehydration, cause that’s when it finally registers he needs it.

The rest of the trolls and bergens especially poppy do try to help him, but they just don’t know how to help someone who’s so completely numb. Basically we’ve seen poppy deal with depressed grumpy branch, but how would she respond to a branch who just doesn’t react to anything.

if anyone has any ideas, thoughts or opinions on this au and where it could go from here please feel free to tell me :)