Rest in peace, Liam. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. 😔✊
I finally finished this, YAY! This animatic is a mix of digital and traditional art. I definitely learned a lot of tricks while making this (also, can you notice the slight difference between art styles??).
This animatic singlehandedly explains what happened to JD after his mom sacrificed him. He was definitely ready to accept his faith until he discovered Branch's was with him (which almost gave him a panic attack). It was a good thing that everyone decided to help him, and Liam (a troll around his age, maybe older?) helped him escape.
For more context about my au check this post!
I obviously don't own the audio, only the animatic. "Bruno is Orange" by Hop Along featuring Francis Quinlan, so credits to them. Here's the link
Okay I'm done. It's not my best work but I'm proud of it. JD here is probably intimidating someone by showing that he isn't above violence lol (he's bluffing...kinda) I decided to temporarily call this AU "Beyond Reach"
Here is a poorly done brief summary of what the AU is all about.
This AU has a similar beginning to another AU called "For This You Were Born" by @/blade-that-was-broken. (Where Trolls can sacrifice themselves before Trollstice in exchange for their family to be left alone.) JD's mom begged or dragged him away to sacrifice himself for their family. Unbeknownst to them, Branch was sleeping inside JD's hair at that time, accidentally also bringing him into danger. JD was definitely ready to die until he realized Branch was with him; this made him reconsider dying and actively try to survive. He got sold to a Bergen who lives far away from Bergen Town, and that's how he managed to escape. This is where the similarities end cause after injuring himself for a bit and meeting Rhonda, he decided that he must bring Branch home at all costs. It was his only motivator—to see and be with their brothers again. So imagine the pain and grief he felt when he arrived back at the hollowed-out troll tree with its roots dug out; his brothers were probably dead. The sight alone had made him turn gray (which also turned Branch a bit gray as well). After a while, he decided to raise Branch by himself. He went to the Neverglade Trails and traveled around the Troll Kingdom.
(I suck at explaining lol. Just expect a lot of art of them traveling around and JD angst™)
JD here is a little (okay maybe a lot) different from Cannon!JD. He's very protective and kinda serious here :3
If you guys have any questions about my au feel free to ask :3