#just. trust me. they're going to start branching out into performing with the rest of the main cast

[mymarifae]

man i'm not exactly taiga's biggest fan rn either but if the only thing you took away from everything he said to the kiddos in lutf is "he's a shitty person and ruined their dreams" then... i think you missed the point? like it or not, this is a lesson vbs has needed to learn. they've needed to learn that they'll never produce anything better than rad weekend if they just keep trying to mimic it - because they'll never be in the same situation that produced the damn thing in the first place. not only are none of them dying from cancer, they're all very very very close friends which sets them apart from RADder in a BIG way. how many times has ken said that he and taiga weren't exactly buddy-buddy in their RADder days? part of rad weekend's insane atmosphere can be contributed to the animosity and competitive spirit between them! not that vbs lacks competitive spirit, but it's all friendly. that's already going to create an entirely different atmosphere than rad weekend's and that's okay. that's good, actually

vbs has needed to learn that they NEED to carve out their own path. if they chased after rad weekend forever they'd just be setting themselves up for failure and disappointment. you can't live your life trying to live up to or do better than someone else. you will never be that person; you are only You. so no matter what you do, your work won't be "as good" as theirs. it'll just look like a poor imitation.

ken and taiga have been trying to get this lesson through vbs' thick skulls for like 900 events. and now it's finally stuck. could it have been handled more tactfully and with less emotional trauma? absolutely. what taiga ended up doing was way way way way way over the line but you know what. whatever. it doesn't matter because in the end this is an extremely important step forward for vbs. now they can set out on a new path, one that's entirely their own. and one day they're going to put on a show that's so damn good that no one will even think to compare it to rad weekend because they blew it out of the water completely.

[ace-does-stuff]

a formal introduction

Summary: Branch finds a moment to introduce Poppy to the members of Kismet properly

Warnings: None!

Authors Note: I know I'm insane about the Kismet Poly thing but trust me guys, it's good even without the side of broppy I included to ease the wider fanbase into the idea of it. @ohposhers briefly went insane over this with me so I'm tagging 'em just for that, so did @bulliestrolls

"Branch! You never told me you were part of Kismet!" Poppy squealed, she was bouncing a little bit, holding tight to Branch's hand.

He gives an amused hum, "You want introductions don't you?"

Poppy nods eagerly, "Of course I do!"

"Promise not to freak out?"

"I promise."

Branch leads her over to where the members of Kismet sit, Ablaze, Trickee, Hype, and Boom. They're huddled in one general spot, lounging on bean bags and chairs and sipping drinks. They all perk up a bit and straighten their posture when they see Branch walking over with Poppy.

"You're finally gonna show off your girlfriend?" Hype asked eagerly.

"Actually, I'm showing off you four," Branch said.

He got a chorus of intrigued and teasing 'ooh's and 'ah's from the ensemble.

"Poppy, these are my on and off boyfriends-"

"Your what?!"

"We've been off for a couple years now, Queen Poppy," Trickee said, "No need to worry about us stealing your man."

"You dated the members of Kismet?!" Poppy exclaimed.

Branch recoiled a bit at the volume she displayed, "It's still a hush hush thing, none of my brothers know."

Poppy nodded and zipped her lips, dragging thumb and pointer across them to imitate the zipping. She stilled grinned, "Got it."

"Wait, you didn't tell anyone about us?" Hype asked.

"Anyone at all?" Ablaze chimed in with.

Branch shook his head, "Then they'd realize I was part of Kismet, Hype." He took a seat on one of the chairs, "Which would've made it really hard to isolate myself."

"You should've stayed with us," Boom said, "You were so close to getting back your true colors."

"Why did you leave them?" Poppy asked.

Branch heaved a sigh, "Because I was getting tired of performing shows. I started graying mid performance sometimes, it was stressful."

Boom leaned against Branch and bumped their shoulders together gently, "Yeah, and then we'd all give you hugs and kisses and a fruit drink and your colors would come back."

Hype did the same to Branch's other shoulder, "Boom's right, we always took care of you when your colors started to fade."

Trickee rests an arm on the back of the chair, "That we most certainly did, we never let you go fully gray for even a second."

Ablaze knocks his head against Branch's gently, "The guys have good points Branch, we took real good care of ya."

Branch's face burns bright as his bandmate relish him with attention.

"Aw, how cute," Poppy teased.

All of them scattered away from Branch like cockroaches.

"Sorry, Queen Poppy," Boom said, a nervous laugh on his voice as he spoke, "Old habits die hard."

Poppy laughs and waves off his concerns, "I don't mind much, I'm sure that there's plenty of Branch to go around."

"Are you sacrificing me to my on and off boyfriends right now, Poppy?" Branch asked.

Poppy nodded with this smug smirk on her face, "That's exactly what I'm doing right now."

"Are you for real, Queen Poppy?"

"Really, you're not joking?"

"You're serious about this?"

"We can have him again?"

Questions assaulted Poppy from every single direction and Branch gave her this look. It spoke volumes, it said he was happy with just her, it said he wasn't ready for his brothers to know he was a bit queer, it said he needed more time before trying with Kismet again. And Poppy heard every single thing that look said but she pushed it to the side, pushing Branch past his comfort zone has worked in the past.

"Of course you can, only on one condition," Poppy answered with a smirk on her face.

They all waited patiently and obediently for her condition to be stated.

"I still get to be his girlfriend."

"We'd never dream of taking him from ya."

"Of course, Queen Poppy!"

"He's absolutely still yours in part."

"Really we don't need him twenty four seven."

Poppy's just smirking as Branch shoots her a small glare. He sits up and brushes off the touches and attention from the likes of his bandmates. He drags her out of the room to a place where Kismet can't hear the discussion that Poppy knows is coming.

He brings a finger and presses it to Poppy's chest, "You."

"Me?" Poppy asked.

"Yes you, I haven't talked to these guys in years, Poppy," Branch fumed.

Poppy gently nudged his paw away from her, "It'll be good for your health."

"To be doted on and coddled like I'm helpless?"

"Exactly! You stress too much, I can't take enough care of you alone! It's a blessing, Branch."

"Four of my sort of ex's showing up and you deciding I should get back together with them is a blessing?"

"Yes! Of course it is! I promise you, most of the time it'll still be me and you," She gently grabs his paw and holds it carefully. She gives a soft smile, "I promise."

Branch squeezes her paw, "Alright, Poppy, I'll try them again."

"Now let's go talk about a housing arrangement if we're all gonna live together!"

"One step at a time, Poppifer."

[hislittleraincloud]

The usual wenclairs are so adamant about s3 being set and ready to film later this year based on production weekly, but that could change based on the perception/reception of s2 and how well that does (which I don’t see it doing well lol)

I simply don't trust them to be able to write their way around a main character's absense, given the sloppy way they write to begin with. I think what we'll see is the usual talking head critics praising Ortega's performance, praising a few of the classic star cameos, but we will likely find ourselves lost in a rat's nest of uncured story branches that were just shat there by Millar & Gough and left to rot (it's what they're good at doing, these same criticisms carried over to Beetlejuice 2). I don't think people will like the explanation they give for his absence, if they even bother to give one.

By the way, if they decide to release it split (four episodes one month, four the next), that will REALLY piss people off. They've waited long enough, they should get all of it at once.

...I say as I cut up Chapter 8 into thirds and the second part needs a ton of work still 💀...

It will likely be the same levels of mid the original is, and might be worse since we're now working off of a foundational storyline that's missing one of its pieces. I have no doubt the direction will be good, the scoring will be good (Burton and Elfman never miss in terms of skill).

But the wigs worry me. Like...am I going to be looking at the same shitty quality and shitty consistency with the props department again? Y'alls got a fatass bank to make Season 2, the money better be reflected in the SHOW and not peoples' salaries.

Dreading it a little but am pleased about the little Wyler tease. This is funny:

If only they saw his forehead. 💀

As for S3, anything can happen before they start filming it. If they do. Imma say it: I don't think this was as fun for Ortega and the rest of the OG cast to do. 🤷🏽‍♂️ I'm sure they tried to make it fun, and tried to move around the shitastic scandal, but that's kind of hard to do when you're *right there*. The nasty Wenclairs/Jemmas think that it was or would be just so easy for her and everybody else to do, but their projection doesn't work. And with Ortega wanting to do all sorts of other projects, I don't see her stretching her tenure out any longer than she absolutely has to.

What a bunch of awful people, to do this to something/someone they purport to love.

[pikatrainer99]

Branch mental health character analysis part 2: Trolls World Tour (SPOILERS FOR A FOUR YEAR OLD MOVIE BUT JUST IN CASE 😅)

(Part 1 is right here in case you missed it or need a refresher)

Hey everyone! I'm back with the second part of my Branch character analysis! This time, we're gonna go over his character in the second film, Trolls World Tour, so without further ado, let's get started!

This time around, Branch still lives in his bunker, but he's got more color to him now and he is able to enjoy singing and dancing with Poppy and the others, which is good character development for him. He also wants to confess his love for Poppy, but really struggles to do so. After hearing about the history of the different Troll tribes from King Peppy, as well as Queen Barb of the Hard Rock Trolls' world tour, Poppy decides to set out to unite the other Trolls and prove that differences don't matter. Branch tries to talk some sense into her with his logical thinking as well as his trauma-induced anxiety and trust issues, but to no avail, and he ends up joining Poppy on her quest…but not without sneaking some weapons on board the balloon they're traveling in…because his need to be over-prepared is still clearly there, especially when facing something new. He is clearly anxious, he doesn't know anything about the other Trolls and he feels the need to be hyper-vigilant just like in the first film, never letting his guard down. Poppy kicks the weapons overboard, and Branch is clearly upset by this, saying that he "whittled those for hours", referring to the sharp stick spears among the weapons he had brought.

When they reach Symphonyville, where the Classical Trolls lived, Branch, while feeling empathy for them, is still on guard upon hearing Pennywhistle the flute's voice in the destroyed town. Upon being asked if they're nice or mean, Poppy says they're nice, and Branch says, "Yeah, but not too nice…so don't even try it!" This, to me, is Branch's anxiety and fear of the unknown mixing in with his already established issues, particularly his paranoia. After their talk with Pennywhistle, Poppy finally realizes that Barb and the Hard Rock Trolls want to destroy all music except for Rock, and Branch panics and says that they need to make sure their string is safe, to which Poppy says it is as she pulls it out of her hair, causing Branch to freak out more at the fact that she BROUGHT IT WITH HER. He then says they need to go back home to Pop Village and get everyone in his bunker where they'll be safe (again, his bunker is HIS safe space, but his character development has led to him actually wanting to protect the rest of the Pop Trolls by keeping them safe in there…good job Branch!), but Poppy says that they need to keep going, completely invalidating Branch's concerns and worries (Poppy WHY…?!) and they head off towards the Country Music Trolls' territory.

When they reach Lonesome Flats, where the Country Trolls live, the Country Trolls' leader, Delta Dawn, is singing a sad song called "Born to Die" which Poppy dislikes because of how sad it is. Branch, however, seems a bit conflicted on how he feels about it, saying that he agrees that it's really sad, but then pointing out that life is sad sometimes…so he kinda likes it. This makes sense as Branch has been through so much in his life up to this point that he is depressed and traumatized. I didn't used to like sad songs either until I started really struggling with my own depression and trauma as a teenager (I've had these issues since I was a very young child but it really took over my life as a teen), and then I started finding a weird sense of comfort in them...which I was also confused about at the time, just like Branch seems to be here. After getting thrown in jail by Delta Dawn after performing an impromptu pop medley planned by Poppy to "cheer the Country Trolls up", Branch is once again, prepared for anything as he already has a plan and a shovel in his hair which he starts to dig them out of the jail so they can escape, but then they're rescued by Hickory, who Branch immediately is suspicious of and doesn't trust. His guard is up for a good portion of the time they spend traveling with Hickory, and when he says something about it to Poppy, she twists his words around saying that it's not Hickory Branch doesn't trust, but her. Branch immediately denies that (and rightfully so, he didn't say anything like that at all), and tries to get Poppy to understand that that wasn't what he meant, but she doesn't listen to him.

It's not until after the incident in Vibe City where the Funk Trolls live, that Poppy and Branch have a big fight. Poppy is so one-track-minded, so focused on being a good queen that she can't bring herself to focus on anything else, and Branch is desperately trying to get her to listen to reason. Poppy wants to continue their journey to help the other Trolls but Branch wants to go back home and protect their friends and family. Poppy accuses Branch of giving up and Branch is frustrated that all of this is all because Poppy feels the need to prove herself as a good queen, he tells her that good queens actually LISTEN, which she is not doing. They talk about how different they are and how they're too different to get along, causing Branch to leave, incredibly upset by it as he loves Poppy and cares about her more than anyone else, as his depression hits again (seriously, look at his face, he looks so sad the entire time while he sings "Perfect For Me"…he actually looks like he's close to tears at times in that scene too). When he gets captured by the K-Pop gang (who btw, actually call him "crybaby" before saying anything else to him) and the Reggaeton Trolls, he declares that all music should be saved, opening up to and accepting the two groups of Trolls in front of him even though they're bounty hunters trying to capture him and Poppy and bring them to Barb. They do end up working together as at the end, as Barb prepares to play the ultimate power chord, they show up in the balloon to help stop all music from being destroyed. This is a BIG step for Branch, as his trust issues were on alert 24/7 in only just a few scenes prior!

Branch jumps in front of Poppy, taking the hit from the ultimate power chord for her, getting turned into a rock zombie in the process. This shows how much Branch really loves her, as he didn't even HESITATE to sacrifice himself (he gets turned into a zombie controlled by Barb…I'm counting that as a self-sacrifice) to protect her, which is really sweet but also kinda sad…that kind of self-sacrificial behavior usually means (from what I've seen anyway) that the character puts others' lives way above their own, usually it's a self-worth issue, they don't care what happens to them, as long as their friends and loved ones are okay. We know that Branch has been through A LOT, so this kind of mentality actually makes sense…it's heartbreaking but it makes sense that he'd struggle with self-worth issues and low self-esteem (spoiler alert: we'll definitely get more into that when we get to the third movie). The guitar is soon smashed by Poppy, destroying the strings, but they all realize that music really comes from them, and they sing "Just Sing" (my personal favorite song in the film). Branch finally confesses his love for Poppy, she reciprocates, they high-five, and that's pretty much it for Trolls World Tour.

I hope you all enjoyed the second part of my Branch character analysis! I didn't put images or GIFs in this one because finding them takes a lot out of me, and since I'm struggling mentally right now, I didn't wanna put anymore stress on myself. Again, if you think I missed anything, please feel free to let me know what I missed in the comments below! This isn't the end of Branch's journey though! There's still one more movie to cover, so I'll see you guys hopefully soon for part 3: Trolls Band Together! Catch ya later! 👋