Title: Unwanted Free Ugly Troll
Fandom: Homestuck
Pairing: Gen
Categories: AU, Hurt/Comfort, Kid!Fic, Drama
Length: Epic (71,873)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: NA
Author Website: coldhope, and on tumblr as ceruleancynic
Artists: Various - credited in the chapter notes

Author's Summary: The first time you pass by the troll in the box you kind of try not to see it.

Review:
Hurt/Comfort and Kid!Fic: this story has it by the truckload. You don't have to know Homestuck to read it, because it's very AU (Karkat as a small child instead of an angry master of insults!)

Dave Strider passes a tiny, abandoned troll boy in a box in the rain. He brings Karkat home, and later, an abused troll, Sollux, arrives. Over time, the Strider brothers go from doing what they can for two trolls, to working for widespread social change on a level they never expected.

I'm not normally drawn to kid!fic in particular, but I couldn't put this down. Coldhope is a master of tugging at your heart, but the Striders' no nonsense attitudes and foul mouths, and a pitiably obnoxious adult troll (Cronus Ampora), keep this from turning into treacle, even though the brothers turn their lives inside out for two boys and a strong sense of right and wrong. Sollux's budding blackcrush on Ampora provides terrific comic relief.

I love that it's been illustrated by a variety of artists in different styles.

If you're unfamiliar with Homestuck trolls:
They're nothing like fairy tale or Harry Potter trolls. They're smart and look similar to humans, despite some noticeable differences, including horns and skin tone. Although there's a lot of canon info about their culture, anything that comes up in this story - like their 4 romantic quadrants and Sollux's blackcrush - is explained.

Unwanted Free Ugly Troll