Trolls Philosophy

Looking back over all the movies and specials, it seems to me that trolls are very magical creatures, whether they realize it or not. They are so magical that other species can actually make use of that magic. Velvet and Veneer could draw upon the trolls’ musical talent and the confidence to use it. The bergens did much the same thing, except their way of absorbing whatever makes a troll so magically “happy” was much cruder, by just eating them whole.

Maybe because of their generous natures, I feel that the trolls are open to being used by others. I got the distinct feeling that Floyd had befriended a shy Veneer and somehow given him a bit of his musical ability/confidence. Then Velvet found a way to exploit Floyd’s good will, which is why he was so bitter and sarcastic later on, having been betrayed by this “friends.” Thankfully, Veneer proved to be Floyd’s friend in the end, and turned against his sister.

My point is that rolls are steeped in magic. Their hair tends to be the main repository of it. They can move, stretch, and shape their hair. They can use it as an extra hand or foot, for travel, and object manipulation. They can change its color and texture to make it look like other things, like bushes for camouflage. They can use it to store items and carry babies. From what we’ve seen, they also create babies within their hair.

Now we learn that trolls can procreate with other species. Most likely due to their magical hair somehow making them compatible. It is worth noting that Bruce’s children are not trolls, though. He only seemed able to help her reproduce. Unless Brandy’s species can also self-clone, like Guy Diamond did with Tiny.

But if she does need a mate to produce babies, maybe his hair gave her the ability to self-clone like a troll. Maybe even produce eggs – which would explain why they had so many kids. I’d imagine Brandy would be delighted not to have to go through traditional pregnancies, lol. Or maybe Bruce’s hair actually produced their egg-babies.

That leads to the question of whether or not trolls have other reproductive organs, like humans (and possibly bergens) do. They probably don’t need them, but I like to think at least some have them, just for fun and frolicsome times 😉 Oh, so many questions…

On cloning… Poppy mentions DNA at one point, so genetics must have some effect in the trolls’ world. Branch and Poppy’s siblings look similar but not identical to them; brothers and sisters, not clones. Did each set of siblings truly come from a single parent? Then what about how some trolls seem to have two parents, like Cooper and Prince D’s parents? Their sons are twins who share identical coloring, but neither matches their parents. That suggests two-parent mating, not cloning.

Maybe it’s optional. Some animal species in our world can either self-clone or mate with others, if there are mates available. Maybe trolls are the same way.

Or, magic is involved. The fact that Bruce and Brandy reproduce together baffles even them. I say it’s got to be yet another magical-hair-related ability, fueled by more magic than they know they possess.

Of course, the trolls’ world itself could be considered magical. It has physics that wouldn’t work in our world, like seeing sparkles and musical notes in the air. Talking, self-aware clouds. Water made from glitter. Creatures like glowbugs that shouldn’t even be able to fly, let alone carry trolls. Animals with books growing out of their faces. Seriously?! Enlightened gurus like Cybil (and, I suspect, Tiny Diamond) can float. Which proves that Creek wasn’t a true guru – he used bugs to carry him and make it seem as if he were floating.

So we might as well call alternate-world physics “magic,” yes? 😉

Secrets, Timelines, and Why In The Heck Would Branch’s Brothers Leave Him To Die At The Claws of the Bergens?!

Hello, good readers! Now that I’ve seen Trolls Band Together, I’m going to start making some new blog posts about our favorite Broppy couple and exploring the world of the trolls in general. Needless to say, this is basically going to be all spoilers, so read only if you don’t mind knowing ahead of time everything that happens in this deeply-satisfying, long-awaited backstory of a movie 😊

The first thing that comes to mind is that when John Dory, Branch’s long-lost brother, first appears, Poppy asks her father if he knew about Branch’s brothers. Looking guilty, he deflects her question. “How would I know anything about secret family members?” Obviously he was also talking about Poppy’s similarly long-lost sister, Viva, but as the troll who was king at the time Branch’s brothers presumably lived in the troll tree, I think he did know.

Maybe he kept quiet because he or Grandma Rosiepuff decided not to keep upsetting him with talk of the brothers who left. Maybe little Branch himself asked him never to mention them again, once he was sure they were never coming back. Or maybe Peppy and Branch did occasionally talk about them in private, but if so, they obviously never told anyone else, not even Poppy.

After World Tour, I suspect Peppy knows a LOT more than he’s ever told his young daughter, in order to let her stay happy. Now that we know there’s an even bigger world out there, full of other societies than trolls and bergens, it’s obvious that he wanted the village to be this idyllic place where his trolls could live innocent, happy lives. I can’t blame him for that. I’m sure they all needed the chance to heal after the trauma the bergens inflicted on them. They needed to feel safe. It seems to have worked, at least for the younger trolls who’ve never known anything else. I have to wonder how many older trolls are more like Branch, hiding emotional scars deep inside.

I also wonder about the brothers’ origins. WERE they all originally troll-tree trolls? If so, did they grow up under the bergen threat, or had the bergens not started eating trolls at the time the brothers left? I got the impression that Trollstice had been happening for years. Yet I find it hard to believe that if they were going to leave, that they’d leave Bitty B in such a dangerous situation. Not after how they greeted him with such (adorable, heartwarming) affection the minute they saw him again.

So it makes more sense that they would have left Branch at the tree before the bergens came along. That would make an awfully short amount of time for Trollstice to become the “tradition” Poppy describes it as in the first movie. Then again, considering the ratio of bergens to trolls in the first movie, if every bergen got to eat a troll once a year, that would mean dozens of trolls would have been lost every single year, enough to decimate the population in a very short time. Peppy escaped with roughly only a hundred trolls, as far as I could tell. Viva rescued maybe another 30(?) Mostly children, by the look of them. Enough for them grow up and create a second generation by the time Band Together starts.

I wish we knew how many trolls there had been originally. Tiny as trolls are, a tree the size of the troll tree should have been able to host at least 500 trolls, if not double that. If the village had originally had about 500 trolls, it would have only taken about four years to lose ¾ of their people. Yikes! I can’t imagine the young King Peppy waiting even a year to try to rescue his people if that kept happening.

Which leads me to wonder if Peppy was originally not from the troll tree. What if he was a roving adventurer like John Dory, who had come upon this caged troll tree full of trapped, desperate trolls who needed his help? Maybe he fell in love with Poppy’s mother, (the princess?) and decided to stay? They made him their king, and he rescued them. What happened to the former rulers?

All of this makes me wonder if Branch’s family were actually big-city trolls who simply left their baby brother with their quaint country grandma, under the impression that he’d be safe there. Before the bergens became a threat, obviously.

If the bergens were already eating trolls by the time the brothers left, (which I doubt, since there was no mention of that) I have two theories as to why they’d do such a selfish, callous thing. Either the trolls didn’t consider the bergens much of a threat (at first), or they didn’t know the bergens were behind the disappearances of their people. It’s even possible that, like in my fanfiction Picturebook Romance, the bergens (mainly Chef) pretended to be their friends at first, until the cage was built. And then it was too late.

In this chapter, Poppy tries her hardest to get Branch to hug her, but the result is not at all what she expected.

This chapter marks the start of the next stage in their relationship. The princess and her foxfluff are growing closer every day, little do they realize it ;)

Here’s a little teaser:

“I was thinking about what you said yesterday,” he said abruptly. “Does not being able to hug me really make you feel that bad?”

Poppy perked up. It was the first time Branch had ever voluntarily mentioned hugs. Maybe it was his way of apologizing for yesterday. The pink princess set her treat basket in the grass and put on her saddest cuddle-pup face, all big eyes and wobbly lower lip. “Uh-huh.”

It had the same effect on Branch as it did on her father. “Well…”

Poppy clasped her hands together, letting her eyes get even bigger and more shimmery.

Branch caved. Looking supremely uncomfortable, he muttered, “I don’t want you to feel bad, so I guess… Even though I don’t need hugs… The next time your Hug Time watch goes off…

She clasped her hands together, her eyes practically glowing with hope. “Oh, say it, say it…”

“You can hug me. Just this once.” He lifted his forefinger in front of her face. “One hug. One. Got that?”

“Yesss!” Poppy pumped her fists in front of her and squealed in excitement. “Whatever you say, Branch!”

He shook his head at her excitement, but he was smiling.

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Hi, everybody!

It took a while, but I’ve got a nice long chapter for you all, my friends :)

My usual teaser:

Once upon a time the troll before her had been gray and pessimistic, never able to see the bright side of things. But that troll had learned to see the world through new eyes, and she had never been more proud of him. “I’m grateful, too, Branch,” she said softly. “I’m so, so grateful to have you in my life.”

His earnest expression softened into tenderness. “Poppy…”

As they gazed at each other, the loving look in her boyfriend’s eyes deepened into intention. After spending the night with him, she knew just what that look meant. Her heart began to race. Tingles rushed up her spine into her hair. Branch was going to kiss her right here in front of everyone!

And when he did, she would kiss him back. Everyone would know just how their queen felt about the troll who’d once been so overlooked. Once surly and secretive, with a little love and support the gray troll had blossomed into the wonderful person she’d always sensed he could be. His True Colors were finally right there for everyone to see. Branch was so sweet and caring, so dedicated to protecting everyone from harm. He was brave and smart and kind and cute, and now everyone would know just how truly special he was. To the village…and to her.

The young couple leaned toward each other, their lips getting closer and closer…

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Wow, somebody remembers Only Stone on the Outside? Thank you!

I actually didn't quite finish it, mainly because I wrapped up the major plot points. But I can tell you how it would have gone. I'm not a huge fan of wedding-fics, which is about the only thing that would have occured later on, between Lina and Gourry. You can guess how it would've gone, though - lots of hilarious chaos, destruction of property, and a big smooch initiated by Lina that would've had the entire crowd's jaws dropping to the ground.

I did have Naga make an appearance, though. She challenges Zel to a fight over his right to marry her sister (never mind that he's already married to her!). Also she and Lina reconnect, and she ends up staying for Lina and Gourry's wedding. Pretty standard stuff for Slayers, so it would have felt too much like just the same old story all over again.

I did have an idea for an Only Stone spinoff fic, though. The gang goes on another quest, to search for more dragonwolves, and find them scattered all around the country in remote places where their traveling creator left them. All the main characters and most of my original characters each bonded with one. Also, I gave everybody a love interest, and children, eventually.

About 17 years later, Shiran the dragonwolf (whose mate is bonded to Zel, of course) unexpectedly has puppies. They realize that up until then, she wasn't actually a full adult. Since she and the rest of the dragonwolves carry dragon DNA, they are very long-lived, possibly immortal. So they not only age more slowly than normal wolves, our human characters (including Zel :) find out that eventually grow wings, and possibly develop other draconic abilities like being able to breathe fire or lasers or something.

The teenage children of Zel/Amelia, Lina/Gourry, Ril/Kembri, Kerrin and his love interest Melafeena (whom they meet not long after Only Stone ends; she has a dragonwolf of her own already) each bond with a dragonwolf pup.

I think the main reason I haven't written this fic is because it was just a reason to create more characters, lol. I love choosing characteristics like personality traits, physical appearance, hair/eye/fur colors (I spent more time on the dragonwolves than on the humans, lol).

I also love designing love interests for the other characters. For example, King Phil meets a woman a few years younger than he called Aurora, or "Roara", who is a warrior, strong and bold and has a big sense of humor, with light wheat-colored hair and golden eyes. He falls for her, and doesn't have to worry that she'll be assassinated like his first wife, as she's well able to protect herself.

So that's an epilogue of sorts, if you're interested in what happens next to our intrepid heroes :)

I'm so glad you enjoyed my fic,

Branch has a breakthrough; his first laugh.

In some ways his laugh affects Poppy even more...

You can read it at either:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13533024/6/Taming-Branch

or

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333395/chapters/100675518

Welp, I attempted a couple of fluff foxes. Idk, I’m not great with color. Just bought a few Copic markers, so I’m doing a little experimenting here.

Actually, chapter 4 has been up for a few weeks but I forgot to note it here. And now we get to follow along as Poppy gets one step closer to gaining a place in Branch’s untrusting little heart ;)

Little does she suspect that she’s on the verge of falling in love with him! lol

Links:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333395/chapters/99477738

or

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13533024/5/Taming-Branch

I’ll bet you all wondered why I’ve been so quiet lately. Heh heh, I’ve been working on a second Trolls fic - Taming Branch! 

Summary: Two years before the first movie would have started, Poppy discovers a lone gray troll in the forest, elusive and shy, and makes it her mission to earn his trust and friendship. She never planned on falling in love.

Basically Poppy meets Branch, tries to befriend him, makes a lot of assumptions and mistakes that cause them both a lot of angst, but her earnest, unwavering wish to be his friend wins the cautious, untrusting gray troll over. In this universe the bergens are still a threat, so they have to deal with them - very differently than the way the movie handled them. Creek, too. 

Of course, Poppy is attracted to Branch right from the start and doesn’t realize it, lol. Wait til you see what she does when she realizes she’s falling for him! 

This story will likely be updated more often then Picturebook Romance, since it lends itself better to short chapters :)

Note: If you want to read lovemaking scenes, I’m probably going to have them as separate chapters. They will be on the Archive of our Own site only.

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I’ve got the next two chapters ready on either 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333395/chapters/97300437#workskin

or

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13533024/2/Taming-Branch

I’m still blown away that I have a story with over 50 chapters. Wow. :)

Here’s a teaser:

Maple asked, “Hey, Branch, what were you doing when we first got here?”

My irritation vanished in a flash of panic. Oops! I shouldn’t have lost my track of thought. I got distracted from my own distraction! Desperate, I played dumb. “W-what do you mean?”

“It sounded like poetry,” Moonglow said helpfully. “Something about dancing dolphins with rosy skin?”

“Rosy skin?” Maple echoed, glancing toward the lagoon, where sparkly rainbows shimmered in the air from the gleeful antics of a dozen happily splashing trolls.

The other trollings followed her gaze. As I turned to look too, it suddenly hit me that Poppy was the only pink-skinned troll in the group. Oh my gosh. I froze, then tried to brush it off. They’re not gonna notice. Are they?

Maple’s eyes widened and she turned to give me a look of surprise.

I gulped. Oh no!

“I don’t see any dolphins. Do you, Maple?” asked Celesta.

“No…” Maple answered thoughtfully. “Not pink ones, anyway.” She gave me a snarky grin, and I felt my own skin flush deep lavender. Oh, man, she’s definitely on to me!

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You can find it at: 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557388/chapters/91409467

or

Hello, my friends :) Here’s a holiday gift for all of you~

My usual teaser:

Poppy had never felt such longing for another troll in all her life. All her previous crushes paled in comparison. She wanted to throw herself on him so bad! But fear of how he might respond stopped her.

Branch wasn’t ready. She understood that, but oh, it was so hard to wait! Like most of her people, Poppy wasn’t good at waiting. Troll society revolved around fun, and a big part of fun was being spontaneous! Living in the moment. Going with the flow. Branch was a lot better at that than he used to be, but now and then a situation would still come up where he’d be pushed too far out of his comfort zone and he couldn’t handle it. He’d have a meltdown and blow up at someone, or run off.

Now that she had experienced how overwhelming anxiety could be herself, she understood him better. But she also knew what life was like without anxiety. Without the constant need to monitor every situation for potential threats - or potential rejection - and she wanted that for Branch.

There was an old troll saying: Optimism starts with ‘maybe’.

Sometimes pushing helped. There was no way to tell, other than to try. So maybe it was up to her to reach out, as she always had. Maybe her ever-cautious boyfriend wouldn’t go any farther than kissing tonight, but maybe he would. She could always hope, couldn’t she?

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You can find it at either:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557388/chapters/89644828

or