#DreamWorks needs to lay off Branch for a while

[mf-headcannontap]

DREAMWORKS TROLLS: SUPER UNPOPULAR AND CONTROVERSIAL OPINION!!!

DreamWorks Trolls Opinion #1:

Branch's dynamic with Cloud Guy could have been great, if not for how they severely mishandled it for the sake of making Branch the punchline in the show.

Now hear me out!

Cloud Guy is an absolute menace to Branch who loves to prank and humiliate him, but in the end somehow makes Branch overcome something. This is putting a very toxic relationship on screen and making it seem like it's fine when it 100% is not. Now, I've never been a fan of Cloud Guy, but I do know the turning point of where Cloud Guy went from being a character that mildly annoyed me to a character I genuinely hate, and that was Apple Of My Ire. To understand this, let me give you a rundown of my feelings every time Cloud Guy is in an episode.

Laugh Out Cloud: This wasn't too terrible, seeing as how Branch was sort of intense in that episode, but that whole flood thing was really unnecessary.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Hugs: This was just funny. Only thing was Keith in the end. I love Keith, but Branch worked really hard, and Cloud Guy may have been the most annoying wingman ever, but he still got the job done. Although, he really needs to not break into Branch's house and respect his personal space.

Rainbowmageddon: This was just Cloud Guy unnecessarily humiliating and undermining Branch, but honestly I'm more upset with the Trolls because THEY'RE the ones the rainbow is affecting the most, and they're the ones who aren't taking anything seriously. Also, they were fine with just leaving Branch up there? Laugh Out Cloud was fine because I do think Branch was way too uptight about the drought, but here he was rightfully worried about the rainbow, and Cloud Guy and the gang were just goofing off. What's worst was the whole deathbed confession that proved unnecessary. In Laugh Out Cloud, it wasn't exactly a deathbed confession (and it would have been way better if Cloud Guy wasn't faking being scared) and Branch really didn't suffer all that much over it. But here, that was just mean. But honestly, it was the Trolls (Snack Pack in particular) that were the most frustrating.

Two's A Cloud: Now, this episode had potential. It was SUPREMELY irritating when Cloud Guy just moved in. It was also equally horrible when he was being an inconsiderate roommate, purposeful or not IDK but IDC. But them working together to get Cloud Guy's parents to leave was great. And even if Cloud Guy decided to ultimately not move in the bunker, it was still a pretty sweet episode. The Trolls just randomly bursting in his home, though, was awful.

Apple Of My Ire: This episode had me just screaming, and not in the good way. I don't know what in the world Poppy was thinking in finding someone new for Cloud Guy to harass, when she should’ve talked to him about reevaluating and changing their dynamic into something better. You know, something more healthy, or borderline brotherly. Because Branch is so little brother coded, and Cloud Guy honestly seems like a guy who would definitely mess with his siblings out of love. Not to mention, the last time they interacted was to team up to fend off Cloud Guy's parents. That's basically a brotherhood right there! But no. This episode ruined it. Because Branch was emotionally growing, and Cloud Guy pulled him right back to his old ways. And Poppy did NOTHING!!! What's worse is that the other Trolls were also in on this! Like why??? Do Trolls not understand harassment? They have a holiday dedicated to pranking one another, but constantly being bombarded by pranks seems like that would be terrible. Like, in Prank Day, POPPY was getting fed up with the pranks. And sure, she may have planned the prank she pulled on Branch, but she really wasn't taking being pranked constantly well, so why would she be okay subjecting anyone else to that treatment on a day that isn't a day dedicated to pranks? Better yet, if she cared so much about finding Cloud Guy a troll he could annoy, why didn't she volunteer herself? There have been multiple instances where Poppy has proven to be just as temperamental and easy to annoy as Branch, so why couldn't she be that Troll? She already had some practice when she was trying to help DJ with wrangling CJ's wooferbug. But what really took the cake was when Cloud Guy just openly admitted to planting a tracker INSIDE Branch, and no one did anything. Also, was that bit really necessary? When has Cloud Guy ever had to use the tracker? Rainbowmageddon aside, he always first interacts with Branch near or in his bunker. This episode turned their dynamic from frienemies-that-can-be-potential-brothers who annoy each other, to outright bully-victim where the victim gets shamed constantly for defending themselves. This episode made me hate Cloud Guy, and gave me such an ick, I can't even watch any of the previous episodes with Cloud Guy in them without feeling rage.

I have not seen Trollstopia. I do not have access to it. But I have seen people discuss the show online. More specifically, they discuss the episode Cloud Control. And what they discuss... I thought Apple Of My Ire was bad, this episode was infinitely worse, and I haven't even seen it yet.

The takeaway here is Branch's and Cloud Guy's dynamic had so much potential, but then Apple Of My Ire came along and every episode with Cloud Guy after that just cemented Cloud Guy as an antagonistic bully who gets away with it due to victim blaming and finding ways to make it seem that he was "helping" his victims all along, as well as a large dose of full on guilt tripping.

It all comes down to DreamWorks and their love of making Branch the punchline to everything. Even his trauma isn't taken seriously, as evidenced by Trolls: Band Together. Branch deserves better. Cloud Guy's character arc was brutally murdered so I guess he deserves better, too. Poppy and the Trolls need more character development and a crash course in healthy character dynamics. And DreamWorks needs to stop making Branch needlessly suffer for the sake of a joke.

[kittyball23]

Photoshop cleanup of a few of the BroZone posters found in the Dreamworks Facebook post of Poppy's dream bedroom :)

Also, here are some more headcanons of the boys, this time about the relationships I think they had among each other:

John Dory and Spruce

Were closely bonded in their youth, being the two eldest of the bunch. They did a lot of duet performances together for talent shows and other events, and came up with the idea to start an official band after Clay’s egg came into the picture

John Dory and Clay

Enjoy working together primarily in organizing the band’s onstage routine, JD mostly deciding who does what vocals and Clay helping out with the choreography

John Dory and Floyd

JD admires the way that Floyd can hold his notes when they sing their songs and will compliment him about it, though secretly, he is slightly envious of it as well since he, leader of the band, can’t quite reach the same vocal range. As Floyd has a talent for writing songs as well, JD is usually the first one that he shares anything new with so that it can get the official BroZone seal of approval (AKA, just JD stating whether it’s bro-dacious enough to sing in their performances or not)

John Dory and Branch

JD barely got any real moments to spend with Branch in their youth, given that his focus by that point had gone to ensuring that the band’s needs were met and keeping their other brothers in check. When they were together, JD would work on teaching Branch how to sing, believing that he had lots of potential. In their adulthood, Branch gets annoyed by his cocky behavior (milder than it was when he was young, but still there) and JD likes to tease him with his childhood stage name ‘Bitty B.’ JD is very physical with him, pulling him into side-hugs that are a little too tight for Branch, trying to give him noogies, playful punches on the shoulder, and sometimes a sneaky slap on the rear

Spruce and Clay

Bonded over a love for rap music and will often try to “outflow” each other. Clay is also appreciative that Spruce is the most chill with his pranks, as he usually doesn’t really get too upset about them like the others at times will and instead praises him

Spruce and Floyd

Spruce tried his hardest with Floyd to give him love advice, but Floyd never showed interest and found some of Spruce’s tactics “gross” when it came to girls. Both have a soft spot for Branch, however, and sometimes have their bout over who will take care of him. They also bonded over a shared interest in their appearances - Spruce because he wanted to 'dress to impress' and Floyd because he wanted to nail the rocker look

Spruce and Branch

Spruce enjoyed toting Branch around as a baby (it helped him grab attention from girls, after all) and helped him get his suave on when performing. As adults, Spruce is super supportive of Branch and his relationship with Poppy, and amps up the love advice

Clay and Floyd

Floyd initially believed that Clay would be his closest brother prior to Branch’s birth, given that they would’ve been the two youngest, but quickly learned of Clay’s pranking ways. Clay at first liked making Floyd the target of his pranks, since Floyd would always be the most reactive due to his sensitivity. After a while, he feels bad when most of his pranks end up making Floyd cry one too many times and decides to lay off, instead having Floyd help out with a prank on the others every once in a while. With Floyd’s hobby of writing/journaling, he’ll sometimes write little made-up stories, which Clay in turn loves to read and compliment him on

Clay and Branch

Became great pals and pranking buddies, Clay often recruiting Branch to help him with pull a prank on the others

Floyd and Branch

The closest brothers in bond out of the bunch; Floyd initially just looked forward to Branch joining them so that he would not be the youngest anymore and his older brothers would no longer treat him like the baby of the group. That quickly changes when Branch is born, and Floyd takes joy in looking out for him and being the best/most responsible older brother that he can be. It works out, as JD (having already dealt with three other brothers) can take a little bit of a breather on sibling responsibilities to focus on leading the band. Being a more sensitive guy means that Floyd really enjoys the quieter moments with Branch, teaching him how to write, singing him lullabies, rocking him to sleep and feeding him his bottle. He'll sneak in quick hugs throughout the day and sometimes give Branch an extra treat when Grandma Rosiepuff is not looking

[aerinmelina]

Secrets Pt IV

Fictober 19 day 5 prompt: “I might just kiss you.”

Fandom: Trolls (Dreamworks’ Trolls)

No warnings apply!

Read part 3 here!

——

Branch found her before she could run down the hill to join the throng of trolls milling about between the tents and various cooking fires. He was holding a basket, but set it down at his feet when he saw her. “Hey, Poppy,” he greeted cheerfully.

She spun around when she heard his voice. “Oh. Hi, Branch!” She pointed toward the festivities going on at the base of the hill. “What’s the party for? Just because?”

He smiled and held out his hand to her. “About that... let’s take a walk. Do you mind?”

Please?

Her eyes moved back and forth from his hand to his face several times before she accepted his offer to walk, although she didn’t take his offered hand. Branch raised an eyebrow at that, but she didn’t see it because she’d already started walking.

In the wrong direction.

“Poppy...! Hang on! Wait!” he called, then ran to catch up. It didn’t take him long to reach her, and when he did, he grabbed hold of her arm and turned her to her left. “There’s a great trail over this way,” he explained before he placed his hand on the small of her back in order to guide her toward the appropriate path.

She didn’t shake off his hand, and Branch took that as a good sign, but about halfway through their walk Poppy suddenly stopped moving.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she admitted aloud to Branch.

That piqued his interest. “Do what?” he asked.

She motioned back and forth between herself and Branch.

He felt like someone had dumped a full bucket of ice water directly into his stomach. “What... what do you mean?” he asked, his voice full of caution.

“There’s... look. I figured out what’s been going on, and I understand. I...” she briefly made eye contact before she returned her gaze to the ground and stopped talking.

Branch tried to keep his anxiety levels down, but he was having a difficult time doing so. She didn’t want to be with him anymore? Well... they hadn’t officially “been together” in the first place, he supposed, but he thought... had he misread the situation?

Stop, his subconscious firmly stated. Does she really know what’s been happening, or has she formed an incorrect conclusion based on her hurt feelings?

“What do you think has been going on this week?” he asked.

She seemed to shrink in on herself, and it took her a few seconds to respond. When she did, her eyes were full of tears. She rubbed them as she spoke, her voice trembling. “You’ve fallen in love, haven’t you?” she asked.

Branch blinked.

The anxiety flared up again.

Is this too early? Should I have waited longer? Is she unhappy that I’ve fallen for her?

Maybe I should call it quits and go home.

King Peppy was wrong. I knew it.

No! Once again, his inner voice of reason halted his errant train of thought. Talk to her! Figure this out!

“Well... yeah,” he said, scratching the back of his head before he bowed it. “This isn’t where I had wanted to talk about it, though,” he mumbled.

Poppy rocked forward and backward on her feet, crossed her arms in front of her body in a protective gesture, and resumed walking in the direction they’d previously been going. They didn’t make it far before she suddenly stopped again.

“Who is it?” she asked, staring at him in his eyes. “I mean... you don’t have to tell me, I guess, but I thought we were friends? I thought you would’ve told me if you’d met someone special. I thought- ugh, never mind.” She started walking again.

He blinked.

She doesn’t think it’s her.

Things suddenly made more sense to him.

He ran to catch up with her again. “Hang on,” he said once he’d reached her. She ignored his request and kept walking, so he stood in front of her in order to get her to stop.

“What is it, Branch? What more do you want from me?” Tears started welling up in her eyes again.

“Poppy... why are you crying?” he asked.

“I didn’t think it would hurt this much,” she admitted. “Can we keep walking? It helps to do something other than just stand and talk.” She tried to move past him, but he enveloped her in a hug when she bumped into him.

Despite her heightened emotional state, she relaxed a little in his arms. He held her close and whispered in her ear, “It’s you.”

She scoffed and burrowed further into his shoulder. “Right. All I do is annoy you.”

He pulled away from her and, with his hands on her shoulders, held her at arm’s length. “It’s always been you.”

Confusion was evident in her face, which was getting more difficult to see as night took the place of twilight. This was why he’d wanted to reach the very top of the hill before nightfall.

“You... you love me?”

Branch nodded his head and grabbed hold of one of her hands. “I do,” he affirmed.

Maybe he was thankful for the darkness after all. It was hopefully hiding his blushing face.

Poppy looked like she wanted to keep talking, but he tugged on her hand in order to pull her out of her thoughts. “Come with me,” he prompted. “We’re almost there. Then we’ll talk.”

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” he answered.

——

A few moments later, they emerged from the trees and had a brilliant view of the night sky. Glittering stars and the pale moon worked together to bring light to the hilltop they’d walked to, while happy noises drifted up to them from far below where the rest of the village was. The lake glistened in the light from the heavens as well as the various campfires which dotted its shoreline.

The sight was stunning. Poppy let go of Branch’s hand without really thinking about it as she walked closer to the edge of the hill. She took in the sight of everything around her, soaking it into her memory.

“This is beautiful, Branch,” she said, taking a seat on the ground. She gestured next to her for Branch to sit, and he took her up on her offer.

Silence fell between them. Not necessarily an uncomfortable one, but not exactly relaxed, either. Many things still needed to be said.

“Branch, I-“

“Poppy-“

They spoke at the same time, then laughed a little at their own awkwardness.

“You first,” Poppy said, gesturing to him.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings this week,” he blurted. “I wanted to surprise you, and what I had in mind was going to take a lot of coordination. I needed time to set everything up; that’s all.

“You’re the most important person in my life. I’m so sorry if I made you feel like you were anything less than that this week. I promise I didn’t do it on purpose, and I’ll try to be more mindful in the future.”

She placed her hand on top of his and entwined their fingers. It looked like she was planning to speak, but Branch resumed talking instead.

“I love you, Poppy,” he said. “And I wanted to bring you here, tonight, to ask if you will allow me to court you.”

Her eyes flew open at that question. “What?”

Smooth, Poppy. Very smooth.

“Um... did you hear me?” he asked, obviously put off by her reaction.

“No! I mean, yes! I mean-“

Get it together!

“I mean yes!” she shouted as she tackled him to the ground in a fierce embrace. “Are you kidding me? Yes!”

Branch let out a sigh of relief and returned her hug. “Good, because this was going to be a really awkward party otherwise.” He laughed at that thought and Poppy sat up.

“Wait... the party! You... the whole village was in on this?!”

He smirked at her from where he was still laying on the ground. “Yep. Well... most of it, anyway. I didn’t tell our close friends - or the trollings - until maybe an hour ago. They would’ve blabbed.”

“You,” she emphasized, “Organized and planned a party for the entire village? By yourself?”

He stood up and held his hand out to her. “Now you know why it took me so long,” he stated.

“So wait - what exactly are they celebrating?”

“You,” he explained. “And, well... your dad may have told them that we’re, well...”

“Intended?”

His ears and face darkened. “Effectively.”

Poppy laughed. “You asked to court me, Branch. You know that that means marriage later, right?”

“I know perfectly well what that means,” he said as he pulled her up into a standing position. “I just would’ve preferred to tell the village after you said yes. That’s all.”

“There’s no way I would have turned you down,” she assured him.

He smiled at her. “Do you want to go join the throng of happy trolls?” he asked, pointing to the lakeshore where everyone had congregated. Glow bugs illuminated the partygoers quite nicely, and Branch was somewhat startled to see that the vast majority of the crowd below was looking up at him as though waiting for some sort of cue to throw the party into high gear.

Poppy stood by his side and looked down at her people, then grinned. “Of course,” she stated. “But before we go... I might just kiss you.”

His eyes opened wide. “I-I-I... um, that- I wouldn’t say no-“

And he didn’t.

The trolls below shouted, hooted and whistled, then broke out into song and dance. Poppy laughed and kissed Branch once more before pulling him down the hill at top speed in order to join the celebration.

For a day which had seemed like it would end in misery, she certainly was surprised and very pleased to be experiencing the opposite.

[indecisive-scribophile]

Cactus Boy: Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER:  All characters mentioned in this story DO NOT belong to me. ‘Voltron: Legendary Defender’ belongs to DreamWorks. All rights reserved.

Rating: T Warnings: No warnings apply Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Relationship: Keith x Lance (Klance) Language: English Originally Written: 23/01/2017

Summary: There’s a boy that once shows up at Keith’s cousin’s flower shop. Keith can’t keep his eyes off of him; he’s just so…pretty. Despite not being interested in flowers and more inclined to cacti – heck, he’s never even wanted to officially work at the shop – Keith serves him, not caring that the boy wants flowers for his female date. When the boy comes back a day later, complaining about his date turning out to be a flop, Keith begins to wonder what this boy’s really like beyond his pretty face.

Additional Notes: Hi! This chapter and the next were meant to be one, but then I realised I would be bombarding you all with events, and I personally don't like that when I'm reading stuff. So, that means y'all are lucky because you get an extra chapter earlier than I'd anticipated. Speaking of uploading, I got offered a job that lasts for about a week, so the next chapter probably won't be out as fast as this one. 'Till then.

“Keith. Keith. Keith.”

Upon hearing his cousin’s voice, Keith groaned quietly. Refusing to open his eyes, his position underneath his blanket remained unchanged, the only moving part of his body his socked feet. Perfectly comfortable curled up on his bed, he didn’t see a point in moving.

Keith heard a heavy sigh from the other side of his bedroom door. It clicked open, and the sound of rubber-soled shoes entering the room made Keith furrow his eyebrows. He rolled over onto his side, facing his wall instead of his cousin.

“It’s eleven in the morning.”

Keith begrudgingly parted his lips, slowly forcing himself to pry his eyes open. His grey walls stared back at him hard. “I’m trying to sleep.”

Shiro – completely used to Keith’s morning uncooperativeness – didn’t move an inch. “C’mon. I have to meet with Allura soon, so I need you to man the shop.”

“Again?”

“Yes, again. We have to talk about the shop advertisements.”

“Whose?”

“Both.” Shiro sighed again. “Look. It’s only going to be for an hour this time. You can sleep when I get back.”

Keith slowly pushed himself upright, finally having mustered the willpower to do so. He scrunched up his face as he tried to unstick his gums from his teeth, pawing at his eyes with the both of his hands. Eleven in the morning was too early for him—way too early.

“Well, when you went out last week to Allura’s, you weren’t back until three in the afternoon, and I’m not taking a nap at three.”

Shiro cleared his throat. “We had to talk business. That’s all.”

Rolling onto his right shoulder, Keith noticed that Shiro wasn’t looking at him like he’d expected; instead, Shiro’s gaze lay down at the ground beneath his feet. Keith squinted at Shiro for a moment, eyeing him up and down. His arms folded across his broad chest, having seemingly swapped his black florist’s apron for a white business shirt and navy blue tie. In fact, the only evidence that he worked at – let alone owned – a flower shop were his steel-tipped rubber shoes; other than that, he looked like any other acceptable businessman ready to sell some insurance. His body leaning against the frame of Keith’s bedroom door, Shiro looked like he was getting impatient. Of course, this wasn’t true, for he had copious amounts of patience when it came to Keith. He just had somewhere to go and didn’t want to be late; no wonder he was getting antsy.

“Fine. Just gimme a few minutes.”

As Keith sluggishly tumbled out of bed, Shiro seemingly let out another sigh, this time one of relief. “Thanks, Keith. I really appreciate it.”

With a delayed shrug of dismissal, Keith said, “Don’t mention it.”

Within a few moments, Shiro hurried out of Keith’s room. Keith managed to rub away the majority of the sleep that clung to his face. Lazily sitting up, he threw a quick glance around his room. Everything was in its place…if you count the floor as ‘its place’. Clothes, old high school textbooks, game cases, and magazines were strewn all over his wooden floorboards. His bookshelf and closet were the same in the sense that both had random articles of junk stuffed into them. His desk was no different, for papers littered its surface. The grey walls only added to the room’s faded, outdated vibe. Shiro hated how gloomy Keith’s room was, and swore that one day, he’d convince Keith to re-paint his walls. If Shiro couldn’t manage to do that, then he’d do it himself.

The only spot of colour dotting one measly part of the room was Keith’s collection of potted cacti. The succulents’ colours all stood somewhere on the extremely vast spectrum of bright green to forest green. Some were round; some were essentially mini tree trunks with branches extruding from them. Some were those fluffy kinds of round cacti that looked safe to touch; others were the spiky, dangerous-looking ones that looked like overgrown pickles.

There were heaps of them, all lined up on his white windowsill in some kind of order only Keith understood. Keith’s gaze trailed over them, and after making his bed, Keith sat on it, facing the little, green succulents with his back slouched and legs crossed.

He counted them all, just in case he’d accidentally knocked one off with his arm in his sleep. It was quite easy to do so, for his bed was parallel to his wall. (He’d done it once before during a night of presumed nightmares and wild gesticulating. Worst of all, he only noticed one was cracked and on his floor a week later.) One, two, three…twelve, thirteen, fourteen…seventeen. All seventeen cacti intact and accounted for. So he hadn’t knocked over any in the night after all.

Keith nodded gently in approval. He reached out to the cactus nearest him: a relatively large one that was tall and flat, much less round than the others. Its colour danced on the border of muted green and yellow, reminiscent of a forlorn desert. Instead of spikes, it had small, brown nubs dotting its surface, almost as if they were the precursors of spikes that could have been. The cactus’ pot was like the rest of the cacti’s spread along Keith’s windowsill: made out of clay, its colour orange and, when scraped with long nails, would make one’s skin crawl because of the stippled surface.

“Platypus.”

The word left Keith’s lips as a faint whisper. That was its name: Platypus. Why? Because after having Googled the cactus’ species soon after he bought it, he discovered that its shape was often described as ‘like a beaver’s tail’. But naming the cactus Beaver would be too conventional and boring, whereas Platypus reached just the right level of uncomfortableness and seemed just right. Besides, he’d most likely never go to Australia to see one, and platypi were close enough to beavers, anyway.

In the grand scheme of things, yes, Keith knew that Platypus was a stupid name for a plant, let alone a cactus. But nobody besides himself knew that he even named them. Like, come on—naming plants? That’s something only kids do. Keith just…didn’t want to grow up, even if his constantly annoyed disposition said otherwise.

After stretching one final time, Keith cracked his neck and rolled off of his bed. Expertly finding and stepping on pockets of floor in the mess he’d never bothered to clean up, Keith clumsily tip-toed out of his bedroom and into the apartment hallway.

“Shiro?” he called out flatly.

“Kitchen,” Shiro replied a few doors down.

Keith trudged his way down the hallway, stifling a couple of yawns into the back of his wrist. When he reached the kitchen, he noticed that Shiro had already prepared his breakfast—or, at least, the ingredients for it. On the black breakfast bar sat the half-full box of Kellogg’s cereal (that Keith may or may not have snacked on the night before) as well as a carton of almond milk. Keith collapsed onto one of the breakfast bar stools and grabbed the milk. After shaking it around, opening the lid, and peering inside it, he narrowed his eyes at Shiro’s back. The damn thing was about ninety-eight percent air. What the hell was he meant to do with about two tablespoons of milk? He sighed. At least he didn’t pour the cereal in his bowl first. He put the bowl as well as the spoon Shiro had provided him with back into their respective places, settling for snatching the cereal box itself and shoving handfuls of that into his mouth instead.

“Hey, I—Keith.” Shiro heaved a disapproving sigh. “Why don’t you just pour some into a bowl?”

“There’s no milk left.” Keith’s voice was muffled by the chewed-up bits of cereal in his mouth.

“Yes, there is.” Shiro grabbed the carton of milk on the breakfast bar that Keith had quickly abandoned. He shook it, unscrewing the lid and showing it to his cousin. “See?”

“I’m not about to eat cereal that has, like, no milk in it.”

“Isn’t…that what you’re doing now?”

“This is deliberate. With that amount of milk, it’s kind of like trying to pass a test they didn’t study for.” Keith’s voice had a salty edge to it.

Shiro stared at him for a moment then shrugged, turning back around. “Suit yourself,” he said as he downed the rest of the milk straight from the carton.

“Gross.”

“You’re the one eating dry cereal.”

“It’s deliberate!”

After having stuffed several handfuls of cereal into his mouth, Keith begrudgingly folded the cardboard box’s flaps inwards and got up to jam it back in the pantry. When he closed the pantry door, Keith was startled by Shiro, who was standing behind it. He held out a mug of black coffee to Keith. Keith took it gratefully, murmuring a “thanks” before sitting back down at the breakfast bar.

However, Shiro clearly had different plans for Keith and his mug of coffee. “No, no, nope. Put on some sweatpants and grab your apron. You can do that downstairs while you watch the shop for me.”

Keith groaned, rolling his eyes. He stood up. “Why can’t I wear what I’m wearing now?”

“Because boxers aren’t professional, Keith.”

“You can’t say anything about being ‘professional’. Your shop doesn’t even have a uniform besides an apron and work boots.”

“If it did, I know boxers wouldn’t be a part of it. And…is that your Pokémon shirt?”

Keith crossed his arms, tugging the hem of his oversized Pokémon shirt. “Yes, Shiro, it’s my Pokémon shirt. And because you didn’t tell me to change out of it, I’m going to wear it.”

Shiro shrugged, turning his hands upwards towards the ceiling. “You do you. It’ll be covered by the apron, anyway.”

Keith skulked back to his bedroom to change, much to his chagrin. He hastily threw on a pair of comfy maroon sweatpants he’d bought at some Boxing Day sale, immediately feeling a little more relaxed the moment the soft material came into contact with his toned thighs. After taking a quick glance at himself in the mirror in his bedroom, he ruffled his bedhead a little and smacked his cheeks a few times before deeming himself at least a little presentable. Thankfully, the bags under his eyes weren’t as bad as they used to be; he no longer looked like a racoon, unlike a week ago. His faded Pokémon shirt hung loosely on him, doing absolutely nothing to outline the lightly defined muscles underneath it. Keith looked around his abomination of a room, searching for the black apron Shiro had given him on the day Keith first moved in with him. Spotting it on his swivel chair, Keith leaned towards it and snatched it. Around his head went the neckpiece, and around his waist, he tied the frayed ends of the cloth into a cute bow. Shiro was right; you really couldn’t see the Pokémon details of his graphic tee anymore except for the bulb of a Bulbasaur peeking out the top of the apron.

Perfect.

Whilst walking down the apartment’s narrow hallway, Keith bumped into Shiro, who had just turned into it from the kitchen.

“Hey,” Shiro called over his shoulder, “if you happen to like sitting there today, maybe—”

“I don’t want to work here.” Keith immediately interrupted Shiro. They’d already had this conversation a billion times; he didn’t need to sit through it again.

Shiro turned into the bathroom and opened some drawers. “C’mon, Keith. Why not?”

Keith walked into the kitchen. He sunk into the same seat he sat in before, wrapping his hands around his mug of coffee once more. “I’ve told you already.”

Keith could hear Shiro sigh even from a few rooms away. He took a sip of his coffee. It was strong – very, very strong – because of the lack of milk. But that was the way he liked it: black and bitter. Diluting it with milk would only delay the speed at which the caffeine would reach his brain and actually wake him up. Keith knew that most people don’t like black coffee; initially, he didn’t really like it, either. But after his high school exams hit him like a truck, he had no choice but to start downing the stuff so that he could pull all-nighters and pass them.

Not that it always worked, but that’s not the point.

“I know you don’t like flowers,” Shiro began, to which Keith rolled his eyes at. “I get that. But I thought you found them fascinating.”

“The key word there is ‘found’.” Keith took a gulp of his coffee. He let the warmth emitting from the mug envelope his cold hands, like a candle’s flickering flame to an ice cube. “They were pretty interesting, but not anymore.”

“Why?”

“Dunno. I just…lost interest in them. Plus, you know, you were getting stressed out over them because of your university exams, so I guess that rubbed off on me.” Keith tucked his long, messy fringe behind his right ear so that he could see clearly. “I guess there’s only so much pollen you can take before getting desensitised to the stuff.”

“Then how do you explain me taking it up in university? And getting through those exams?”

“You’re just one of those people that actually enjoys looking at heaps of colour every single day of your life. You don’t have an allergy to pollen, you’re naturally good at retaining information, and you…” Keith sighed. “You’re patient.”

Shiro reappeared in the kitchen, the rubber soles of his work boots monotonously thudding against the wooden floorboards. “And you’re saying you’re not?”

“No, not really,” Keith simply said.

Shiro chuckled. “Well, when you’re stuck in that bedroom of yours all day, it’s no wonder that you shrivel away at the sight of colour.” When Keith glared at him, Shiro held his hands up in defence. “Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Despite saying, “None taken,” Keith’s voice still had an offended edginess to it. However, his voice took on its usual quieter, more reserved tone when he spoke again. “I like my room a lot.”

Shiro walked around the breakfast bar and to the kitchen sink where, for some reason, his car keys lay. “I know. I’m not holding you against that.” He shoved the keys into a pocket of his black business pants. “You have your cacti there, and as long as you’ve got plant life in there, then that’s okay. Besides—” Shiro’s grin was wide. “—you even having plants in there means you’re a step closer to being my next employee.”

Keith’s ‘yeah’ died on his tongue as he took another sip of his coffee.

[lagarciaphys23]

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

Film: Kung Fu Panda Scene: Po vs. Tai Lung (final fight)

In creating an animated film, the most common statement is that animation is not meant to reflect reality so closely It is, however, meant to make every single character and their actions as believable as possible to give a relatable sense of reality, and keeping this “sense” consistently throughout the entirety of the film. And in order for this to happen, some rules in the laws of physics have to be broken. Of course, on the most part, the rules will be kept, but with a twist, a squash, or even a stretch. A notable work that employs this strategy of animation is the computer-animated action-comedy film Kung Fu Panda (2008), produced by DreamWorks Animation. Throughout the film, physics is pushed beyond its logical limits in order to create an action-packed movie through 3D animation.

The main focus for analyzation from the movie will be the final fight between the main character, Po, and the antagonist, Tai Lung. Certain strategies that enhance the action of this fight sequence, in particular the principle of animation, “Squash and Stretch;” and the manipulation of physical characteristics as well as the law of gravity.

One strategy that the fight sequence utilizes is “Squash and Stretch,” which is one of the basic principles of animation. This can be easily seen on impacts of strikes and falls. In the beginning scene where Po tries to runaway with the Dragon Scroll, Tai Lung lunges at him and they begin a descent down the steep flight of stairs while fighting for the scroll. A distinct squash and stretch is able to be seen as they bounce along the steps. Both characters bodies are stretched during the descent to indicate them gaining speed as they fall. Upon impact, their bodies are then compressed; Tai Lung’s face, especially, is squashed to the extent of contorting his facial structure, showing that it is being crushed under Po’s weight.

Following this scene is after landing in a courtyard, where Po uses a string of noodles to grab the scroll from Tai Lung. Tai Lung makes a pounce for it before Po grabs his ankles and pulls him down; here, Tai Lung’s body imitates the characteristic of a slinky, as his entire body makes a very obvious stretch before landing in a cart, done to clearly indicate that his pursuit for the scroll is being delayed. It can be considered that this was done to not only make a point that Tai Lung’s pursuit is being countered, but also to create a better flow of an action that would otherwise be more visually abrupt.

Lastly, nearing the end of the fight sequence, after sending Po straight into the ground, Tai Lung attempts to slug Po in the stomach, and the punch is absorbed before Tai Lung is hit. This is a good indication of a squash and stretch, as Po is absorbing the strike and it sends ripples, not just in his face (which is very prominent), but throughout his entire body. Po’s rotund body translates the squash into a stretch, with the energy from the impact travelling up his torso and outstretching his arms to form a potent punch and send Tai Lung through a wall. As a result, squash and stretch is used effectively in order to create a certain flow in the characters’ movements without diverting the audience’s attention with jarring movements.

Another characteristic that can be found in this fight sequence, (or rather, the entirety of the movie) is the manipulation of physical characteristics, in particular the characters Po and Tai Lung, and of organic objects. An obvious example is Po and Tai Lung’s physique. Despite being quadrupeds, the both of them are given human physique in order to stand and move upright on their two hind legs—with Tai Lung having a more stocky build in comparison to Po’s plump build—which would almost be impossible in real life. Tai Lung is of some exception since, as a predator, he utilizes his natural method of running on all fours when trying to gain speed and attack Po. In contrast, Po’s body is not structured to stay upright for an extended period of time due to his short hind legs, but his center of gravity is adjusted so that it can be shown that he is able to stand upright anyway.

The fight scene also deforms organic objects that are naturally robust. One instance of this is the scene where Po catches himself on a tree after falling from the the staircase and it bends, drastically enough that the branches touch the ground, and holds it for a period of time before releasing it to launch Tai Lung into the air. A fully-grown tree trunk would not be able to budge, but for entertainment purposes, its physical property is changed from sturdy and unmoving, to being able to bend and snap back to its original shape like rubber, and still retain its sturdiness to swat the antagonist offscreen.

Lastly, after the courtyard scene and Po is launched into a small bamboo forest, he emerges, walking on two stalks like stilts, despite his weight. On average a male giant panda weighs around two-hundred to three-hundred pounds. Bamboo is considered to be relatively strong; however, simply two stalks of bamboo are not enough to withstand Po’s weight and would, as a result, buckle and break apart, especially since Po is balancing himself at the midsection of the stalks. (It seems that he is balancing either on the ridges of the bamboo or on its branches, which would not be very possible as well.) Furthermore, his stature itself would not be able to hold itself up on such an unstable form of stilts. As a result, physical characteristics of both character and the objects they interact with are steered towards exaggeration while handling a realistic perspective that is handled minutely in order for the viewers to believe that the environment that they are seeing is real.

Another concept to take into consideration for this fight sequence is how gravity is interpreted. It is important to pay attention to jumps, falling, and speed. For example, in the scene where Tai Lung attacks Po along the staircase, Tai Lung appears to jump over thirty feet over the second flight of stairs to attack Po. From the camera angle, it shows that Tai Lung jumped very high in order to reach Po’s location in the air; realistically, Tai Lung, a snow leopard, can only jump up to a maximum of thirty feet.

In addition to this scene, Po and Tai Lung start tumbling down the stairs while fighting over the scroll. The gravity in this scene is less harsh and is given more bounce and has a light, as well as comedic, sentiment in this scene. They are akin to a ball bouncing off the stairs (moreso of Po), clearly seen by looking at their high arcs with every contact. The apex of the arcs are also delayed to show Tai Lung trying to lay in more punches. It is safe to assume that if this was a real tumble down steep stairs, there would be more potent injuries to occur. But in order to prolong the fight, gravity is not taken so seriously.

Lastly, after Po falls through the bamboo forest, he uses the bamboo stalks to toss woks onto the floor and switches them around effortlessly quick to confuse Tai Lung in a impromptu shell game. When seeing the woks being tossed towards the right of the screen, it looks as if they are flying. Gravity is not so realistic in the sense that it would be physically complicated to punt a wok across over ten feet while standing on bamboo stalks at a breakneck pace; large, cast iron cooking woks that are most likely to weigh over five pounds. To sum up, gravity is taken lightly on certain scenes if there are not that many significant strikes to be taken care of, where the intensity is needed most. At most, it is manipulated for comedic sequences and for delaying movements in order to indicate other actions that are occurring at the same time (e.g. fighting while falling down the stairs).

In conclusion, physics is constantly being broken throughout the film and in the final fight, and multiple concepts are being used and exaggerated, or not being used at all. In order to create a believable animation, concepts such as squash and stretch, physical characteristics, and even the law of gravity need to be carefully discussed and implemented. A loose approach to the laws of physics, can create more entertaining scenes of action and emotion, plus make the actions of characters even more believable than adopting a realistic way of animation and following the laws of physics by the letter, in effect better reaching the audience’s perception of what is and is not real, and what can or cannot be done.