So what was the family’s reaction to “losing” Clay?

Branch - He doesn’t remember much about Clay. He does vaguely remember the Bergen escape and the exact moment Clay was gone, he gets nightmares about being in a tunnel a lot.

JD - He was with Branch when Clay disappeared. Clay tripped while they were running so he went back to grab him, but before he could get to him a shovel came down between them collapsing that part of the tunnel. Just like that Clay was gone there was no time to stay and try to find him. He would go back to the tunnel after a week or two and just sit and do nothing everyday. After he helped Branch start his career he started focusing on making Branch successful and getting back into helping around their home. He still isn’t over it though.

Bruce - JD was a mess after the escape, he had to do most of the heavy lifting in rebuilding their life after the escape. He learned to move on from the loss, there wasn’t anything he could do to change the outcome the best he can do was to look forward to the future instead.

Floyd - He was the first brother to escape out of the tunnel. It was obviously very catastrophic for him when only 3 out of the 4 brothers he has came out after him. He has a lot of guilt over being the first one out of the tunnel, a lot of “what ifs” for if he sticked with the others.

Currently writing and re-writing the lore and timeline for my Three Of A Kind AU.

But here is the timeline/order for the events that happened,(Feel free to ask about anything)

-Brozone breaks up (24 years before the first movie)

-Clay returns (one or two weeks?)

-Floyd starts his solo career and befriends DJ Suki and Guy Diamond (A month later)

-Grandma Rosiepuff's dies.Clay ,Floyd and Branch turn grey but not completely (3 years later)

-Poppy's egg was born,her mom dies (On that year's Trollstice)

-The Great Escape happens (A year later on the Last Trollstice)

-Branch trips...the tunnels start to collapse...Clay goes back for him...King Peppy grabs Floyd.

-Floyd escapes with the rest of the Pop Trolls.He thinks Clay and Branch died as they were never found when King Peppy went back.Floyd becomes completely grey.

-Clay manages to save Branch before they get crushed by the debris.But getting trapped on the other side.Clay tries to look for another tunnel exit...Only to be knocked out by some falling rocks and get trapped underneath it.

-Viva finds them and tries to help Clay.She hands Branch to Zandra and Clover and instructs them to take him and the 4 other trollings that were left behind and some other trolls to the exit unaware that it had collapsed.

-She gets Clay out just as he wakes up.Only to hear the screams of the trolls that Viva sent out.They discovered that the path had collapsed twice and killed the trolls that were trying to use the path.Branch was in that group...

-Clay turns completely grey.He and Viva take the remaining trolls and escape through another tunnel exit.

-Zandra and Clover found the collapsed tunnel.Some trolls tried to move it but they don't have enough time.The roof was about to collapse.

-Zandra sees a small tunnel opening on the wall.She and Clover lif the 5 trollings into the tunnel.

-Clover manages to get in...just before the roof collapses.

-Clover ends up raising the five trollings

-The Putt-Putt Trolls were formed (A month later)

-Clover and the trollings were found by the Classical trolls. (3 years later)

-Floyd finds Copper's egg

-They soon meet the other troll tribes (each having a different amount of time spent with)

-Kismet was formed (???)

-The events of the first movie take place (17 years later)

-Trolls World Tour happens (A month later)

-Branch got kidnapped (two weeks before TWT)

-Trolls Band Together happens (A week after TWT)

Ok here’s a timeline of events and important moments in my borrowers universe

It starts with brozone’s breakup basically the fight goes the same with one key detail Floyd stays. he comforts branch telling him it’s not his fault and promises that he’ll always be with him. This happeneds when branch is 3

In the next 6 years Floyd and rosiepuff take care of branch and he befriends creek and kismet. 8 months before branch’s tenth birthday Floyd leaves promising to come back with a special surprise.

While Floyd is gone the number of trolls being captured before trollstice increases. At the same time branch decides to go and visit kismet he convinces creek to come with him. Which means being out in the open, He gets yoinked by chef giving creek survivors guilt and whole lotta trauma

Branch finds himself in a cage surrounded by other captured trolls they are heartbroken to see a child so young was captured and help him get out of the cage. However he doesn’t know exactly how to get out of the castle without being recaptured so he stays there planning his grand escape

Floyd comes home during this time with his surprise aka John Dory and learns of branch’s ‘death.’ Floyd goes into shock and then turns to anger and takes it out on jd and clay. As 2 weeks go by and Floyd falls into a deeper depression and turns gray jd thinks it’s best to get him away from it all and ask clay if he’d like to come but he declines saying he needs to stay and help king peppy plan the escape.

While the escape is being planned trolls one by one get captured by chef though unbeknownst to everyone else are still alive being rescued by branch, kismet were the first to get captured and rescued.

Several weeks after a city of trolls have made their home in the walls of the Bergen castle. Over time their small community grew into a large compound. The escape happens as planed and like in canon viva and clay get separated. While this is happening the borrowers trolls find their way back to the tree but only find the tunnels left behind. So knowing that the trolls escaped they go back to their hideout and began planing for a search of where the trolls went

And that’s the beginning of the au! Anyway this is getting pretty long so I’ll stop it here

Alright alright alright I don't know why but the bros gave me a harder time with the designs but here they are

Floyd is the one to leave the tunnel with Poppy in his arms, he's also the one to break the bad news to all the trolls questioning where King Peppy is. When the brothers questioned him where Branch was he broke the news and they were crushed. John Dory and Floyd went grey that day as they mourned their baby brother. It's not that Clay and Bruce didn't also feel terrible it just hit the other two harder.

John Dory would go on to become the new leader of the village, he chilled out significantly with his bossiness but instead became pretty overprotective. The bros took in Poppy and were the best big brothers they could be to honor Branch, they also all wear his shade of blue in one way or another.

Poppy is aware of her father and sister but as far as she and the brothers knew they were both dead, Poppy was about nine when they first told her, she was sad but was still happy she was able to have them. For a part of her life when the boys were still figuring things out she started to become a tom boy, the brothers tried their best from then on to get her to be a great princess and queen as they didn't want to be bad influences on her.

Bruce without a doubt does her hair and picks out her outfits, Clay teaches her how to keep things organized and how to dance, John Dory teaches her how to survive and rule the kingdom but also how to stand up for herself, Floyd was reluctant for a while to really be close to Poppy as he felt like he was replacing Branch. He would eventually teach Poppy to sing and scrapbook.

Both Branch and Poppy wanted to see the rest of the world outside of their villages, knowing very well what their siblings would think, so they snuck out. When they met the two couldn't believe the existence of the other, while talking they came to the conclusion they were the sibling of the others, and would set a plan to get their siblings together and reveal the truth.

Brozone HCs (Post Break Up)

- first of all, i refuse to believe that John Dory was any older than 16 when the band broke up, maybe he's just baby faced, but to me, he's at most 16 years old, yall really gonna look at JD in that flashback and see a 20?? hes just a babyyy

- their ages when the band broke up are, JD: 16, Bruce: 15, Clay: 13, Floyd: 12, Branch: 4

- the tunnel escape only happened almost a year later

- Bruce found Vacay Island only months after the tunnel escape, he ran away from the rest of the trolls thinking maybe he'll find his older brother, but instead found Vacay Island.

- Bruce met Brandy and was in love at first sight, instantly tried to impress her by doing the whole Heartthrob bit, which only amused Brandy, but only when he started to mellow out and started to let down the Heartthrob title, did Brandy start to reciprocate.

- Bruce tried to do the whole courting thing with Brandy, but the second she liked him back, she was like "Mmyeah, youre my boyfriend now" and Bruce nearly screamed like one of his fangirls that he had to take a dive in the ocean.

- due to this, Bruce was the only one that didn't experience becoming gray.

- Floyd became gray after the tunnel escape, back when they were still within the cage, he still somewhat knew where his brothers were, except for JD, but he knew his big brother would be fine. so when they executed the tunnel escape, he couldn't find Clay and Bruce, and didnt know that Branch had started to isolate himself so no one has seen his younger brother either.

- he became gray and left the village, as he was going to look for himself. he didnt sing for a long time, but he did start writing songs and poems that eventually became songs, and had the spontaneous thought of singing one song and broadcasting it.

- the song became an instant hit, and slowly has he started to build his solo career did he gain his colors back.

- Clay lost his colors when they found the hold course to reside in. he lost it a few weeks living in the golf course, did reality set in that he might never see his family again, a lot of the putt putt trolls lost their colors too.

- when Viva saw this, as heartbroken as she was too, she was the firstborn of the king, and as their princess she cant let any of this sadness continue to consume her people, and she found ways to cheer the putt putt trolls up and bring their colors back, including Clay.

- Clay actually only started doing the boring stuff to get away from his previous title of The Fun One, but as things continued on, he did it to keep his mind off of being fun, because being fun reminded him of his family, the family he will never see again.

- but Clay does enjoy keeping the putt putt trolls safe and not gray, he even invented 'protocols' which were essentially games to keep them happy, which he would never admit were games

- JD's colours were on and off for a year when he left the band, and when he came to visit for Branch's birthday, everybody was gone, his colors went to a cooler colour where he cried for days in their pod, and then went gray when the tears subsided. when he left the cage, his colours were so dull, no bergen saw him leave the tree, bc he left with no caution whatsoever

- John Dory doesn't know how much time has passed. he used to have a calendar where he would cross out the days to keep track, but he forgot if he crossed the date out too early or too late and eventually just stopped.

- Floyd became a songwriter to multiple different species

- the brothers who had a hard time fitting back in the pop village from least to most was Floyd, Bruce, Clay, and JD.

- Floyd still had his social skills, better than the rest of the brothers due to the being a songwriter and all, Bruce, while not interacting with trolls, he wasnt living in the past like Clay was, and JD only had Rhonda with the occasional small talk to other trolls whenever he needed supplies that he couldnt make out of scratch.

- JD nearly died a few times. being mostly alone in nature was a lot of trial and error. he got sick/injured so severely that he would write barely intelligible notes about who his brothers were and to tell them how sorry he was and how to take care of Rhonda, pass out and completely forget about the letters. they're tucked into the nooks and crannies inside Rhonda.

- Clay tried to write letters to his brothers, if they were out there, but when it came to sending them, he didn't know how. so he just has thousands of letters addressed to his brothers, varying from asking how Branch was doing, if Floyd still bakes and how he misses his baked goods, asks if Spruce can tell him how to do his hair because it was growing out of control and he always had the best hair out of all of them, and telling John Dory how much he hated him and that it was all his fault and that he misses the soup JD used to make for him specifically, and how tight JD hugged him and missed his stories and how he missed him. How he missed all of them.

- Bruce had a bit of a hard time in raising his kids, not realising that the Vacay Puppets aged differently from trolls. that while most trollings could hold a whole conversation with understanding at the age of a year and a half, some even just after hatching, while his children only babbled and said very few words and short, broken sentences at age 3. he was very worried about their development until Brandy told them that they actually developing pretty quickly for a Vacay Puppet (idk wtf to call them😭😭)

- ppl think that JD is stupid, but the truth is he just misses social cues, and has been out in the wilderness mostly alone so, what is common sense to most trolls, John Dory has completely forgotten about

- Floyd is obviously the most sensitive, but this not only means he is quick to shed a tear, he is also quick to be offended/mad. sometimes it scares Floyd how much he sees JD in himself, but this also made Floyd empathise with JD somewhat, knowing the shame that comes after the anger that came too quick and left just as quickly

- accessory HCs: Floyd has a total of 4 ear piercings, all in one ear,

Branch has got both his ears pierced, the left being a small, mint green gem, and the right a magenta barbell,

Bruce def a navel piercing, a shell necklace with 14 shells on it to represent his wife and kids, and a teal, yellow, pink, and blue woven anklet,

Clay doesn't have any piercings but he does have tats on his legs of those fuck ass stars, hearts, and diamonds on his legs, all below the knee, bc Viva wanted to try tattooing,

JD has a tongue and nipple piercings, he doesn't remember getting them, all he knows he that he got really sad, and then next thing he knows he's awake somewhere he knew he didnt fall asleep in, he kept them anyway

- pop trolls' hair can change when they undergo extreme negative emotions, which was why Clay's hair went from straight and yellow, to curly and green

- when Bruce had an all girl quintuplets (bc i refuse to believe that they had all those children one by one😭😭) he named them Jane Dolly, Clair, Flora, and Briar ((btw i only just found out that Bruce only has one daughter but shhh))

- Floyd has written songs for/about all his brothers, but never said their names in them or even mentioned that it was about Brother specifically, always a vague family member or loved one.

- John Dory was the best at any culinary skill out of all of them, he's the one that taught Floyd how to bake, from how to make the fluffiest chiffon cake, how to laminate pastries, to knowing how to do everything from scratch, to how to do everything without any baking equipment, like a thermometer or a timer.

- However, Bruce, despite being a father and owning a restaurant, is the shittiest cook out of all of them, he either forgets an ingredient and/or under/overdoes it.

- nature is oddly nice to Floyd. not bc of anything in particular, they just really like him. JD used to call Floyd their lucky charm whenever they go camping.

- JD, Clay, and Floyd are adrenaline junkies.

- Clay knows pretty much everything there is in fabric making, from crocheting, knitting to tapestry making, he can do it.

- Floyd absolutely LOVES denim. he will most likely have one piece of his outfit be denim, be it his pants or a bracelet

- after years of being alone, and only having Rhonda be his constant companion, JD has a concerningly high pain tolerance, and being around such a big creature like Rhonda and no one else to compare pain to, whenever he does react to pain, he thinks he's just being over dramatic bc when Rhonda had a splinter the same size as the one he is currently injured with (AKA HUGE) she merely limped, so hed probably be fine.

- Clay looks the most like their mother

- And John Dory is their half brother

See most people are thinking about the new Trolls movie as the silly-fun-boy-band movie that it is. However, I am incapable of being normal about anything and if there’s ONE thing that I’ll always be able to rant about it’s child endangerment.

Okay, so we’re led to believe that Floyd did his due diligence for Branch by ensuring that he’s in the care of Grandma Rosiepuff before he dips out. HOWEVER, upon maybe 5 seconds of thought about those logistics, I don’t think he DID do his due diligence.

The first movie sets up two distinct chunks of time, when the trolls are living in Troll Tree and when they’re living in the forest. It’s mostly implied, but the tree is characterized as being a prison AKA near impossible to escape from. This is why they need to secretly dig escape tunnels. And in this timeline, Rosiepuff died WHILE the trolls were still trapped in the tree.

The tree being implied to be inescapable and the timing of Rosie’s death paint a confusing picture for me. With these two facts, Brozone would have had to break up WHILE they were still living in the tree since Floyd left the care of Branch to Rosie. But what did the brothers do after the breakup? They would have either had to have found a way (or four separate ways) to escape the tree or they were avoiding each other in the tree until the day of the escape. And in BOTH of these scenarios, they did not make sure they did right by Branch before they left.

In scenario 1, where they actually leave the tree and scatter to the winds, what the fuck would be the reason to leave not only Branch, but Rosie and every other troll in the tree? Trolls are getting ritualistically sacrificed every year. Why are we leaving a TODDLER in that situation if there’s a way to escape? Why are we leaving ANYONE in that situation if there’s a way to escape? I can understand the necessity of having small groups to remain hidden during an escape, but you can’t tell me that it’s preferable to leave a small child and an elderly person in a dire situation if you’ve found a feasible way to get to safety.

Scenario 2 is even worse. If the brothers weren’t able to leave the tree and were just doing their best to be no-contact with each other up until the escape, then they really dropped the ball by not ensuring that Branch had another guardian after Rosie died. And to be fair, this is murky waters because we don’t actually know what the rest of Branch’s time in the tree was like after her death. He COULD have had a guardian. But they really imply that he remained alone and if that’s true AND the brothers were still in the tree, then I’d argue that it was their responsibility to make sure Branch was being cared for before they dipped. Which they didn’t, since Branch says that he hasn’t seen or heard from them since they initially left.

Anyway, my point is that the movie tries to placate us by showing the scene of Floyd leaving Branch with their Grandma but upon even a touch of thought, that was not a reasonable situation to leave their kid brother in and they needlessly endangered him which resulted in spending nearly his entire childhood and all of his teenage years gray.

Ok so @elijah-doodle

Basically when brozone broke up clay had stayed in the tree, just on the opposite side to distance himself from all that

When rosiepuff got eaten everyone also assumed that branch had since he didn’t really seek out anyone afterwards and even if they saw him they likely wouldn’t recognize him right away being grey and all, clay was one of the trolls who assumed that

About a week of mourning after hearing the news he went to visit his grandmas pod and he that’s where he saw branch. Clay didn’t recognize him at first since it’s been awhile and also the whole grey thing but when he does he’s horrified but also so happy since branch had gone through this awful experience all alone but he’s alive

Clay tries to raise branch and it’s not easy but they manage, branch frequently went back to the old pod and would sit there for hours hoping that since clay came back the others would too, this saddened clay especially since he knew they wouldn’t be coming back but it was never an issue. Until the day the trolls escaped bergentown

Branch all out refused to leave because when the others came back they wouldn’t know where to go etc etc. eventually clay convinces him to escape but by the time they catch up with the group the tunnels had already collapsed. This filled branch with immense guilt, they were going to get eaten because he didn’t want to leave, he couldn’t be the reason another of his family died. And then like we hear in band together they all lead by viva make it out another way and end up at the mini golf course.

Branch isn’t as much of a recluse like in canon, being in a place where everyone was so paranoid about the Bergens helped him feel less isolated. He isn’t as happy as clay and viva are but he’s less angry all the time then in canon. He’s like in charge of most of their defences and that kind of stuff

When jd and all them come looking for clay (they don’t know branch is there too) branch is very hesitant to go. He does end up going but he doesn’t want to at first. He also is kind of upset at Floyd because he promised to come back but never did, and clay came back so it was obviously possible and all that stuff

He and poppy don’t get along at first like in the first movie. He saw poppy as kind of a copy of viva except extremely senseless and naive.

I’ve got a couple ideas for how the first movie goes without branch there but we’ll save that for another post

Please ask questions to like clarify and stuff. Or just something you were wondering I’m having loads of fun with this au :3

Part 1

In continuation to my Hook AU, I’ll be skimming over Clay and Viva’s situation and share a few ideas on how Clay would react to the news:

In the escape from Bergen Town, Poppy is like a year old and Branch is a bit older than her, he’s almost 3 (mostly because I don’t know what Poppy’s age is)

Brozone and Grandma Rosiepuff are still alive and are present for the escape

Their parents had died right before Branch’s first birthday

Viva and some of the other trolls are still separated in the tunnels

Suffering from this loss, King Peppy encourages Brozone to start a concert again as they are the last band with all members present, in hopes to boost troll morale

Due to this pressure, John Dory pushes all of his brothers to be at their very best, which causes a strain for his brothers, especially Clay who is grieving Viva

King Peppy is the one who tells John Dory about the perfect family harmony, which only causes more pressure for the brothers once JD ends up promising other trolls they’d pull it off

They spilt up like in canon, leaving Branch with their Grandma as they are now safe from the Bergens and have no reason to worry

On Clay’s journey, which takes a few months, he stumbles upon the Putt Putt Trolls and Viva, who had believed they were the only survivors

Assuring Viva that they had successfully relocated, he is able to coax some of the trolls to go with him to prove it’s safe

However, when they go back, the new village is deserted, and Clay’s brothers and Grandma are nowhere to be found

Clay then goes back with the Putt Putt trolls and helps Viva as a co-leader, growing up to wonder if his older siblings had survived or not

The overall idea of this is that Branch and Rosiepuff had been left behind because the brothers genuinely didn’t think they’d be in danger now that the trolls were away from the Bergens

As for why the new tree had been deserted, Rosiepuff is taken by Chef, which a few trolls had ended up witnessing, and once King Peppy hears of this, he has his people move further into the forest as he is not willing to lose any more trolls

Branch, now grey and an outcast, goes with them as he does not wish to let Rosiepuff’s sacrifice be in vain, hence why is obsessed with building the bunker, to be safe and alive

My ideas with how Clay reacts to the news of JD’s death and his newly 17-year old son who had been raised by the Rock Trolls

He’s angry that JD died, that he hadn’t gone through with the idea of looking for him at the Neverglade Forest like he had planned to when he came back from the deserted village

He’s resentful that he would never be able to yell at JD for the role he pushed him in, that he’ll never be able to find out if JD would’ve apologized, if he’d accept the troll he had become

He’s wary and uncertain towards Hook, JD’s son, because he looks so much like his father and he acts like him sometimes, that anger boils inside of him

However, Hook is the last remnant of JD and his nephew, so he tries his best to bond with him and pretend everything is okay

Whenever Hook asks Clay about JD, he either refuses to say anything or has him ask Bruce or Floyd

Clay also tries to be friendly with the Rock Trolls, though their interactions are awkward once he finds out about Queen Barb and the strings

Clay’s role may change as I am still in the drafts with deciding how Hook’s relationship would be with the brothers and how that affects the events from the third movie. Heck, I’m still debating whether it should be Hook who gets captured, just so Brozone finds out they have to save the son of their dead brother and a bigger risk of the Family Harmony not working.

Next part will be more about Hook :)

We Should Have Never Come Back (Youngest Runaways AU)

It has been a couple years since Floyd took baby Branch and made his small hideout their new home (at least until the tunnels to escape are completed).

It has also been a year or two since the pair one day stumbled upon King Peppy's pod and sort of became babysitters to baby Princess Poppy, much to the interest of Princess Viva. The older siblings smiled as they saw Branch and Poppy quickly becoming close.

It gave the pair something to do and it helped provide some clothing. Viva also took the time to begin teaching Floyd how to sew, something that he eventually took upon himself to practice on his spare time even after the escape.

The pair also went gray since leaving home, but that's just what anxiety and second-guessing yourself can do.

One day, Floyd, against his better judgement, decided to visit the old pod. His mind was gnawing at him to at least visit his brothers now that Branch was older. Ever since the stunt he pulled in leaving two years ago, that seemingly snapped the other brothers to the reality of the situation they caused and grounded them into staying. BroZone did have to get put into hiatus after that, though.

Putting the grass-shaped scarves over his baby brother's face and his own, the pair left the small bunker and began to make their way towards the pod (after Floyd works up the courage to face the rest of his family that is).

Looking up from the hideout entrance, he spotted the three older brothers on the tree branch in front of their old pod, singing On Top of the World.

He looked down to the younger Branch, who seemed to be humming along to the song.

As he smiled at the sight, he suddenly heard the thuds of footsteps. Bergen footsteps. He quickly grabbed Branch and hid in a nearby bush.

It all happened so fast.

The younger pair heard their grandma screaming at their older brothers, which according to the sounds of them still singing, didn't notice anything wrong. They then heard their brothers suddenly scream as they fell to the ground near the bush they were hiding in. The pair slowly came out of the bush and stared wide-eyed as the giant chef took their screaming grandmother away, with the other brothers screaming for her.

Floyd's heart went numb and he could have sworn that both he and Branch somehow went more gray.

Turning their attention to the others, the five brothers made eye contact for the first time in a while. The older brothers' shame was met with Floyd's silent but huge amount of rage and Branch's sadness and disappointment.

What Floyd told them next crushed them even more.

He told them that he intended to visit them, but now he does not want to see their faces ever again. Grandma was dead because of them.

As the pair turned and left, neither of them took notice as the guilt and shame took over and the three older brothers turned gray.

The trio looked at each other and agreed that it was best that they left the Troll Tree and went their separate ways. None of the brothers sang since, and that's how it was for 20 years.

"Viva la Viva, baby!"

So guess who watched Trolls 3 today~

Ngl, based on the trailers I had really low expectations for this movie, and it was really only after watching some TikToks with the villain song in them that I decided to give it a chance, and I'm so glad I did. 3 is by far my favourite of the entire series. Was not expecting to love Viva, but she was fantastic and I wish we had more screen time with her!

While I'm not entirely sure how I will/would integrate her into the Rough and Fluff AU, I decided to make a design for her anyways, complete with some little headcanons/additions. (Click the image for better quality)

More spoilery/AU discussions and 4th movie predictions below!

Okay okay, movie discussion first:

-I fucking LOVE the Putt Putt Trolls. Its so satisfying seeing how the trauma from the bergens being more fleshed out, and it makes perfect sense that they are as fearful as they are. I'm actually surprised there wasn't more pushback when Viva stopped them from executing Bridget and Gristle.

-(How did they escape actually? The tunnels collapsed, but were there other tunnels? Or did they have a different way out? How did so many, including the eldest heir to the throne, get left behind? Why did Peppy not get BOTH his daughter's immediately?)

-On the topic of Viva; notice how her ears are lower/sharper than Poppy's? I think that's typically a more masculine trait (not 100% bc we see some male trolls with softer/rounder ears) so uh yeah MTF Viva real suck my entire nards

-Fuck King Peppy. This guy gets worse every movie. He is the Dumbledoor/Sensi Wu of Trolls. Mans cannot just give Poppy relevant information to save his LIFE. I can understand not telling Poppy immediately, the grief of loosing his eldest daughter would understandably make that hard, but its been over 20 years now, and she deserved to know.

-Also, fuck most of Branch's brothers! I'm glad JD went back eventually (when exactly he did isn't clear, but sometime between the night of the escape and the first movie) but if he assumed Branch had died, why not try and contact his other siblings to tell them? Clay I can kinda understand with him not wanting to venture out beyond the mini golf area and leave the trolls he was helping to protect, but the rest of them? Not one of them tried to go back for their baby brother? Not even Floyd? When Trollstice was a thing?? Branch shoulda thrown hands fr.

-Rhonda the armadillo bus thing was hella cute and I want a plushie.

-I. Do not really like Crimp

-Velvet and Veneer slayed sooooooo hard. I hope Veneer makes a comeback.

-I also hope we see more of the other troll tribes again.

-The music for this movie was absolutely fire and I NEED a full cover of Sweet Dreams

-I wish the Grandma's death was touched on more than once for like .5 seconds. Like, come on guys, your brother just revealed a major trauma, and that your GRANDMA died!! For christ sake, maybe go apologize for fighting?? maybe go comfort him????

Movie numero 4 predictions:

-Broppy marriage. Branch fr said "Lets get married" by accident HES THINKING ABOUT IT

-Either Poppy/Viva get their mom back, or Branch gets one/both of his parents. Dreamworks will pull some bullshit out of their ass and say that uhm actually they escaped like years before the others did and have been, idk, trapped in the shadow realm or something.

-We see Chef/Creek again. Creek redemption ark would go crazy hard IF DONE RIGHT and I want to see that fear of some monster trying to eat all your friends come back again

-Broppy kid reveal at the end of the movie. Unbelievable amounts of Plush Toy Marketing and terrible spin offs ensue.

-backstory/lore/backstory/lore/backstory/lore/BACK

-I just want to see more Trollstice era stuff plz dreamworks

-We get a Sound of Silence reprise

-Branch/his brothers are revealed to be a hybrid/some kind of special troll. I am TELLING YOU this guy adapted to different kinds of music like it was NOTHING, something Poppy and the others struggled with. Hes got something in him I SWEAR

-Tiny diamond is, once again, part of the main supporting characters

Au shiz:

-If Viva IS put in, its going to most likely be during the sequel. Peppy is already going to be dragged through the mud, might have him mention something about a lost sibling near the end of the OG fic, and since the Pop trolls will be looking for a new home, maybe they'll run into her

-Branch's brothers will not be making an appearance. They simply dont fit into the narrative. I may do an alternate au with them included but who knows.

-Mildly considering making Tiny Diamond a Greek kid. (Guy x Creek) would make for some interesting angst.

Switcheroo Au: Branch

Branch was born to the previous Queen and King of the Pop Trolls. His eldest brother, John Dory, was the current ruler of the trolls, and unfortunately, soon after his coronation, their grandmother, ex-Queen Rosiepuff, got eaten by a bergen. King JD realized that they couldn't keep living like this, so he hatched a plan to escape by digging tunnels under the tree in secret. During the escape, all the brothers make it, but their parents are lost in the process. The family is torn apart by the grief of the situation. Bruce, Clay, and Floyd run away, leaving John to raise Branch himself. The prince grew up to be the most fun-loving troll of Troll Village, always planning parties and helping every troll in need, even the ones that were "unhelpable" according to other trolls, like Poppy.

He never gave up on her, even after rejecting his party invitations hundreds- no, thousands of times. During the 20th celebration of their escape, he plans to host the biggest party troll kind has ever seen despite Poppy's protests. Unfortunately, things go awry when the bergen chefs, Chad and Todd, take several of their friends back to bergen town in hopes of regaining their honor. Branch goes out to save Smidge, the veterinarian; Chenille and Satin, the twin DJs; Suki, the fashion designer; Creek, the lovable one; Guy Diamond, the businessman; Darnell, the cool one; and Biggie, the serene one. Although Poppy thinks he'll fail, she joins him anyway. On their mission, they help Gristle, the scullery maid (butler?), win over Queen Bridget of the bergens. In an unexpected twist, Biggie sells out Troll Village to Chad and Todd. Despite this, they are able to free all of Troll Village while becoming friends with the bergens. John Dory, feeling as though he was inadequate as a king, partly because he blamed himself for losing their parents 20 years ago, now crowns Branch as king now that he is old enough to rule.

Sometime later, the trolls get an invitation from the rock queen Val Thundershock who plans to take over the world. With the help of some friends, they are able to defeat Queen Val while becoming friends with her and opening up the way for the troll tribes to live in harmony once more.

A month later, a stranger interrupts Queen Bridget and Gristle's wedding. The stranger turns out to be Poppy's father who came to inform Poppy that her sister, who she thought to be dead, was actually alive but captured by the duo Veneer and Velvet. Poppy is not confident in her and her father's ability to perform a family harmony, so she asks Branch and JD if they can perform the harmony. John reveals that they're not the only family they have, and Branch finds out that he has 3 other brothers he didn't know about. They go on an adventure to find them. The first stop is Floyd who now lives among the rock trolls and is in a band with Barb (Who is Val in this au), and Riff (Who is kinda like Blaze? idk yet), with Sid Fret (who is Demo) as their manager. Next is Bruce who found love with a giant puppet lady named Brandy (his backstory stays the same cause I can't... think of anything else, but feel free to recommend ideas!). They find Clay in an old abandoned golf course as one of the co-leaders of the putt-putt trolls. He is hesitant to go and almost forces his brothers to stay, but they escape and continue on their search to find Viva, hoping that the four of them can pull it off. Unfortunately, Poppy and Peppy have a fight that leads Poppy to run off and Branch joins her. They eventually make it to Mount Rageous to find that the other brothers and Peppy were also taken hostage. They try to save them without singing but fail to. Clay eventually catches up and tries to help, but it's clear that there's only one thing that'll save their families. Branch urges Poppy to take the lead in the family harmony because he never knew his brothers, but she knew her sister. She takes the lead and they are able to escape while putting Veneer and Velvet behind bars.

Brains storm post - Poppy - Viva

More content will be posted in my #switcheroo au tag! :D Feel free to send any questions or recommendations into my ask box!

Outfit Closeups

Brozone diner au: the day John Dory took off part two

"We're talking about forcing John Dory to take a day off. Like an actual day off. Even when we're closed on the mandatory holidays, he's still here doing something. Cleaning, stocking, rearranging, all kinds of stuff. He needs at least a day to just relax and probably catch up on sleep.” Bruce answered, waving his hands about as he talked. "Ah, ok. Yeah that's gonna be hard. We need to come up with a plan before we do anything else. We need to think of every possible outcome and prepare for it." Branch said, already writing down outcomes. “Or, or, hear me out, we play the health card." Floyd said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. The rest of them gave him a confused look, unsure of what he meant. “We play the health card, the card he plays with me when he thinks I'm ‘working too much’. He says I need to take time for my health and take care of my body. Pull a uno reverse on him. He needs to do the same so when he tries to wiggle his way out of it, we can point out all the things that are causing him stress, anxiety, high blood pressure or anything else. Like working a dinner rush causes high anxiety and stress. Constantly lifting trays full of dishes can cause carpul tunnel. Not to mention the toll it takes on one's mental health. I very rarely get angry customers, he seems to get them all the time, which causes more stress. We just say we're worried about his health, he can't refuse because then he'll be brushing off our worries and he doesn't want to do that. Boom, full proof plan.” Floyd said confidently, crossing his arms. "That's so smart, I'm surprised I didn't think of it first.” Clay said, staring at Floyd, a bit dumbfounded. Floyd was about to stand up and argue with Clay about what that was supposed to mean when Bruce held up his hands.  “Ok but when should we do this? We can't just go out there without an idea of when would be a good time to do this." Bruce said, thinking aloud. "Sunday. Probably in the evening. That way he can't argue about taking Monday off. It's our slowest day. So he won't have to worry about us being busy and can actually relax." Branch said, the plan coming together. The brothers quickly went back to work to avoid alerting John Dory to their plan, playing it off as if they were killing time. 

Sunday evening comes and all of them are beat, it was the busiest day they had had in a while, making several thousand dollars worth of sales. After closing up, the younger brothers give each other a nod, silently saying it's time to put their plan into action. They went to the office, standing in the doorway as John counted their registers and safe with Clay (Clay just double checking JD's work). "How you doing John Dory?" Floyd asked nonchalantly. “Good." John replied before continuing to count. “You sure? You seemed a bit tired today. Like you needed a break." Bruce said, leaning his back on the door frame casually. “Yeah I'm fine. I guess I didn't get very much sleep last night." John Dory said before handing a stack of cash for Clay to count. Clay barely looked up, they added more details to the plan, like who was gonna say what and in what order. John wrote down the numbers and entered them into the system, a few seconds of silence passed before Branch butted with his own line. “Do you ever get enough sleep? Always seems like you're here late and open early. When do you sleep?” Branch joked, shooting John a cheeky grin that was met with a stern look. "Well I sleep after I clock out and close up. Then I wake up to come open this place up. Some nights it's takes longer to close up. Like today, that was the busiest we've been in like, a month.” John said, taking all the money from Clay and putting it in the safe.  "Maybe you should take tomorrow off then.” Branch said sincerely, subtly giving JD the puppy dog eyes. They could see the hesitation in John's face, that was Floyd's signal to go in for the kill. “He's right. It's not healthy to overwork yourself. We worry about you sometimes. It's only because we care about you and your health. When was the last time you had a day off?" Floyd's voice was sweet and gentle, asking a question they all knew the answer to: never. John Dory looked like a deer in headlights, unsure of how to respond. “When was the last time you had a day off John?" Clay questioned, knowing where this line of questioning should go. John Dory got very quiet and tried to avoid eye contact with his brothers. “When was it?" Bruce said directly. John mumbled out an answer, prompting a ‘hmm?’ out of Bruce. “I don't remember." John said quietly but it sounded deafening in the silent office. “WHAT?!?" the younger three said, being a little overdramatic. “John, working non stop is not healthy. You're gonna get burnt out. You should really take a day off at least. You make me worried, man.” Clay said worriedly, causing John to cringe a little. "Clay's right, John. We worry about your health sometimes. You should take the day off, if not for yourself, for us at least.” Floyd said gently, coming over and placing his hand on John's shoulder. They had him right where they wanted him. The office got quiet again, the seconds passing felt like hours. They continued to look at John expectantly until he finally caved. Alright, fine. I'll take tomorrow off. But you guys call me if you need me. And Clay, you're opening, Branch you're closing.” John Dory said defeatedly, Branch and Clay groaning in annoyance. They knew they couldn't openly cheer for their success but opted for teasing their brother about what he was going to do on his day off. As John locked the door, Bruce cleared his throat, catching John's attention. “Oh and John?" “Yeah?" John said as he put his keys back in his pocket.  “Stay out of the diner tomorrow. A day off is not meant to be spent at your place of work." Bruce responded in a no nonsense kind of tone. John Dory rolled his eyes, pissed off a little that his baby brothers were trying to tell him what to do. “We're serious John Dory. You don't see us in there on our days off. And the only time we are is when we're with friends. So just take a day away from the diner. I promise we'll call you if we need you.” Floyd said, placing his hands on John's shoulders, letting him know how serious he was. The others looked at John with the same serious look, he inwardly groaned annoyed with his baby bros.  

@bzjohndory

Branches Backstory in order????

I don't even have this account fully set up, but I'm truly trying to figure out the timeline of the trolls movies, for myself as well as somewhat rant, about mostly branches backstory and his brothers. This might come out as late night mad scrawling on a wall in a dark cave.

Is this important? To me at 2:34 am with only a few hours before I need to be up? right now? it is.

I will be assuming a lot, but whoops. a Lot of rambling under here. Spoilers ahoy for those who haven't watched Trolls Band Together.

So From what we know, Branch and his brothers were raised by Their Grandmother, we can assume that their parents got eaten by Bergens.

Now seeing as how their Grandmothers house was still in the old tree the Bergens had imprisoned them all in before they became buddy buddy, we can assume then that the Brozone stuff happens when they are all still stuck in the tree.

How did they get out?? Did they all wait until The day that everyone escaped? If so. shitty of them all Did they each manage to sneak away from the tree and go their own ways? For this I'm going to assume that most of them snuck away in single pairings, which would probably make sneaking away from the Bergens easier.

However I'm going to assume Clay stuck around for a bit seeing as he knew the whole situation with Viva, and her backstory. Probably stuck around for his sad book club.

(Which if that is what happened that makes me angry as can be, because that would mean not once did he check up on Branch or Their Grandmother, seeing as how he didn't even know she had been EATEN. unless she got snacked on the day right before trollstice. Even then that's shitty. Now, could he have thought Floyd was with them still? yes. But still You would think that he would try to find his siblings and Grandmother if they were going to be escaping.)

Now more assuming on my part, seeing as in the first Trolls movie Branch isn't in diapers, and in the beginning of Band Together, he is, I'm going to assume that the difference between the break up and the grandmother being eaten thing is maybe at the most 2 if not 3 years. (which also damn troll minds must be as strong as can be if Branch can actually remember all of his siblings after 20 years of not seeing them.) Anyways I'm setting Branch to be at the most 5 if not 6 around the time Grandma Rosiepuff gets eaten. Which leads to Branch loosing his colors.

Now we don't know how far from Grandma Rosiepuff the Escape on Trollstice, but for this We'll say it was rather close, if not the day before because Chef wanted to taste just one troll before the king to continue to feel like they were important.

Then King Peppy manages to take the trolls, and loose Viva and some other trolls, and Branch goes through those tunnels without any family (which probably didn't help his Paranoia at all.) Then John Dory Went to the tree, and found it empty. (does this make me forgive him any? no.) But seeing as he he might have seen the tree gone and thought the entire kingdom and all of his siblings, maybe, if he hadn't watched them leave, had been eaten and traumatized by that so he gets a pass small pass. For Now.

That means for almost all his life so far, Branch has not seen hide nor hair, of his sibling, and only has been able to hear their music to hear their voices.

it's late but I think that's everything that happens before the movies pretty much right? Anyways. Branch makes me sad and I will fight his brothers. Including Floyd thought not as much seeing as he's probably one solid punch away from turning back to a crystalized state.

I think John Dory was probably the only one that came back to the tree because he was the oldest, and he had 4 siblings he was taking care of, and did care for them in some form. Clay was busy being stuck with Viva, Floyd was doing whatever Floyd was doing before getting trapped, Maybe he came back but can't be certain, and Bruce was busy getting his life going. Anyways rant done.

EXPLOSIVE KINGDOMS questions

did creek find them after the events of the first movie or is it different?

why does creek tell the putt putt trolls everyone is dead if it does takes place after the move?

how did clay and viva take the fact both branch and poppy are dead?

do you think clay also believed floyd is also dead seeing as he left before clay and clay lived in isolation will no idea if floyd left after him?

what inspired you to make this au?

i have more questions but i think this will cover most of what im questioning and also give me more questions i can ask later

FINALLY SOMEONE ASKS THE REAL QUESTIONS AROUND HERE! Been waitin for this one, have a timeline goin on my phone and everything OKAY SO!-

Creek finds them about 1 month after the first movie (a bit after World Tour starts. keep in mind the Putt Putts were isolated completely so they have no knowledge of the rockpocolypse n all that). Instead of the usual canon ending, Creek actually leads the Bergens to Pop Village as usual and ends up escaping in the chaos of the capturing of Trolls, running into the forest and essentially leaving them all for dead

2. So to answer ur second question with the first, its because Creek HIMSELF believes them to be dead! He assumes he saved only himself by leading Chef to Pop Village, and ends up telling Viva just that, fudging the story a bit to make him look sympathetic and the "only survivor of a tragic capture"

2.5 (To follow that up, he essentially tells Viva he and his village were captured by Bergens (true), but that he was the only one who managed to escape by the skin of his teeth and has been alone ever since. he paints himself as a victim entirely to avoid being denied entry to the village)

3. Here's the thing with the Putt Putts. In my mind, i've always hc'd that everyone HOPED the other Trolls were alive but...that was just hope. Everyone actually BEING alive was a pipe dream in their minds after the cave in. They believe the cave in extended to the entirety of the tunnel, not just their end, so they believe the entire Pop Tribe that were ahead of them are dead. Clay has a sobering realization he was right all along, and Viva is stone cold anger.

Learning her people were still out there, still being hunted, and eaten, it lights a fire in her heart.

This is the spark that begins the Putt Putt's aim for an all out war. So at least for this AU, the Putt Putts always believed the other Trolls were dead from the start.

4. While yes his brothers did leave, Clay had no idea WHERE they left. The only brother he has doubts on if he's dead is John Dory, seeing as he left for the mountains, and even then no one's a perfect survivalist. Who knows if he made it?

In my mind (and canon for this specific AU), the leaving order went JD immediately, then Spruce a few days later, Clay a couple weeks after that, and finally Floyd leaving Baby Branch with Grandma. Having it happen so immediately in the movie doesnt really sit right with me for this situation? So I wanted it spaced out

Clay has no idea where Floyd went. Hes got no clue hes on a "solo career". So he assumes he stayed with Branch and that they're both gone. Along with the unknown place of Spruce and the potential of what the mountains did to JD...

There are five planted flowers behind the Admin Building. One for each of his brothers, and one for his grandmother who he assumes died in the tunnels as well.

5. Honestly? And ur gonna laugh but aside from my general love of dramatic AUs and the idea of Clay being an arsonist making me laugh one night, I got tipped over the edge...CAUSE I FOUND THIS ANIMATIC-

AND ITS SO GOOD

the actual animatic (while being incredible amazing tasty spectacular) didnt inspire me, the SONG did. the idea of Viva singing the first half while her Putt Putts charge into Bergentown-

"In all of my years of living, it isn't very often that I get this far-

I try to chill with the waves...but damn, you've crossed the line~"

"I've been so gracious! And yet you hurt the people of mine!

That's right, the Trolls that you made die...were mine."

(with a lil tweaking to make it fit)

While Clay's under the city rigging things up cornered by Poppy and Branch trying to make him stop this and just-

"You are the worst kind of good, 'cause you're not even great." (aimed at Poppy)

"The Queen, who reeks of false righteous, that's who I HATE!"

"Because you fight to save lives, but can't kill, and won't keep us all safe.

I mean, you totally could've avoided all this, had you just ended them...

But no."

"You are far too nice! Mercy has a price!"

LIKE THERES A VIBE HERE (obviously this isn't what'll happen im still ironing out details but this was my inspo :) That and Persona 5 Tactica that game's all about revolution)

I would say, keep in mind, this scenario would take place after finding out that yes the other Trolls are still alive, but now Viva and the Putt Putts are committed to completing with they started for those they lost to Trollstice's before them. They WANT revenge. Why should they have to play nice? Why should THEY forgive the consumption of their people? That kinda vibe :)

AND WHATEVER ELSE U WANNA ASK IS TOTALLY FINE! Send questions as u think of em! :D This AU isn't entirely complete quite yet, so these asks help me really nail down what details I want or at least see things written out and get some good feedback! :D

Random Strix Noctowl HCs/trivia

Strix likes her coffee black (which is also what Sebek’s disliked food is while we’re at it). Though when she consumes a mug, her eyes are wide and round as an owl’s, which frankly looks creepy if you stare into her beady pupils that can bore into your soul. It’s almost like her eyes are about to roll off their eye sockets any moment. So when you see Strix with huge opened eyes first thing in the morning, that’s when she had to resort to her caffeine. Don’t think you’ll win a staring contest with this one.

Strix has a surprisingly teasing, flirty side to her. One moment you try to fluster her, next thing you know you’re the blushing mess. She’s capable of giving you The Look that rival’s Leona’s smug-ass smirk.

Strix has fallen asleep in weird places at weird times and occasions. Once she was discovered sleeping upside down on a tree branch (her back being the only thing keeping her balanced is never a comfortable sight to see). Another time she collapsed on the window sill while fanning out the air in Ramshackle. Somehow slept on the staircase steps going both up and down the stairs.

Strix actually wanted to groom Lucius’ long soft fur, but he’s Lucifer, so of course that’s not likely.

Strix has no shame in staring at the boys’ muscles (and even admitting it) during PE. Like, have you seen Trey? She can’t help but notice how muscular his arms look. To this day I myself am not over it. Boi be looking like a snack

Strix’s stiff shoulders were once said to be like the Great Seven’s statues.

Strix knows how to mimic owl sounds. As a child who was mute at the time, she was trying to bring her speech back for practice but they somehow always end up sounding like hooting than actual human sounds. When she did find her voice, she ended up practicing owl noises for the heck of it. She had definitely once attracted an owl over with her mating call before. Could probably summon a whole army if she wanted to lol.

The one thing Strix fears in the entire world are pregnant women. She can’t admit that seeing their bloated bellies makes her feel uncomfortable; that would be rude. They also remind her of her deceased mother who died from childbirth, so that just amps her trauma ten times worse.

Please don’t trust Strix with a baby, especially newborns. She’ll freeze up, and then she’ll be the one who feels like crying, not the infant wailing in her cold still arms. Children are one thing, babies not.

Strix likes feather charms (whether real feathers or metal) and even has a feather anklet in her normal attire.

Strix used to make dream catchers with her great grandfather when she was little. Now the activity is just a nostalgic memory to look back on.

Strix prefers the cold winter season over summer because she gets to snuggle with her close loved ones before a warm fireplace and drink hot cocoa with them and doze off in their presence. A perfect relaxing scenario she’d love to live in.

She’s not a competitive gamer but a casual one. Prefers board games over video games but would never deny a game of TW’s Mario-Kart equivalent.

Strix would come to dislike her sleeping habit once reality truly settles in. All this time she would doze off into her dreams but barely explore the magic of TW because of her intent to go home. Soon that resolve would waver until she may decide to stay in TW for the rest of her life. (I smell character development)

Strix’s favorite ice cream flavor is neapolitan ice cream.

Depending on the situation, Strix’s solutions to stopping people include: digging her heel on someone’s foot, tackling the person, and kicking behind their kneecaps.

Older Strix (18+) HCs (mentions of alcohol ahead)

Assuming 18+ is the age minimum in TW, Strix can outlast anyone, even ancient fairies, in a drinking challenge. Rumors say she can take 12 shots in 4 minutes, though there’s split opinions on both sides.

Strix is the type of drunk who can keep her personality intact even after a good four bottles consumed (like she has a second stomach for that). Though she may be more touchy than she would be, which is not much normally. Also still remembers the night before as clear as day.

Strix prefers beer, but she’ll take anything. She’s not picky.

Is against smoking and piercings. It’s just not her thing. What do they for her?

Strix may get herself a tattoo if someone really pushes her to. If she does, it would be a small and simple owl design on her left shoulder. It would symbolize how she lives up to her nickname Strix (an owl) instead of her given name.

Having Strix as a lover HCs

It’s initially awkward and full of first-times for Strix, but understandable since she had only two people in the entire world love her like family, never anyone as a lover. She’d be near completely inexperienced if it wasn’t for the TV shows and films she watched to get an idea.

Strix is not all for PDA, despite being touch-starved, and because she’s touch-starved she feels she has to hold a certain image that she’s not swayed by a lot of things. In the initial stages she wouldn’t even hold hands. The least she’ll do is give a quick side hug that seems more platonic than intimate. If her partner is desperately touchy (like Floyd), she’ll try to let the hand holding slide at least once in a while. It’s the best she can do, though so don’t stretch over the boundary.

Behind closed doors though, she’s all up for affection. Pepper kisses, caressing, tight embraces, all those things are open. She whines when she doesn’t get enough affection she wants.

Can be either the big or little spoon. As long as she gets to cuddle it doesn’t matter.

Strix likes lying her head on her partner’s lap (and vice versa) and having them brush her hair and massage her scalp. She gets to naturally fall asleep that way under their secure presence.

She doesn’t prefer receiving impractical gifts like jewelry and flowers (nice sentiment but she can just have her dream eaters grow one in the yard) since she didn’t ask nor does she expect her lover to give her anything. She didn’t enter in a relationship for that.

If it’s homemade, however, she can’t refuse it. How could she when they made it with her in mind?

It’s indefinite that her unrequited romantic feelings for her brother figure will play a disturbance in the relationship, whether Strix personally or not. She’ll doubt herself: Will their relationship truly last for a long time if not forever? Will she be left heartbroken again? Is she capable of loving someone when she doesn’t love herself? Will she really find someone who can spur these confusing emotions of love like Caelum did, but beyond admiration and adoration? These will challenge her for a long bumpy ride, but if she and her lover come to terms and work together, the light in the end of the tunnel is closer than it is.

Civil  Unrest

SAT MAY 30 2020

Last Monday, a cop in Minneapolis brutally extinguished the life of an unarmed black man, in extreme cold blooded fashion, in broad daylight.  The man, George Floyd, was accused by a cashier of trying to pass a counterfeit twenty dollar bill.  He was slowly asphyxiated, over the course of eight agonizing minutes, by one of the arresting officers, who had a knee over his neck, as Floyd lay, hands cuffed behind his back, in the street by the police car, with other officers on the scene doing nothing to intervene as he repeatedly gasped for help saying he could not breathe.

The whole thing was caught by a bystander on video, which went viral, and sparked protests in Minneapolis the next night, Tuesday the 26th.  The protests began peacefully, but devolved into riots, vandalism, looting, and arson later that night.

This lead to four more nights (and counting) of ongoing protests and civil unrest, not just in Minneapolis, but across the entire country... with similar protests in  every major city... turning into riots after curfew each night so far.

Prior to Tuesday, nobody imagined any story would come along to get Covid19 out of the headlines, but the George Floyd protests have done exactly this, and the protests sparked by this act of police brutality have absolutely dwarfed the AstroTurf anti-mask wearing protests by right wingers in weeks previous.

All these things, however are related.

Covid19 lead to stay at home orders, and a massive economic shutdown, which left people out of work, and stuck at home, with nothing better to do than watch the news... which told them first, of an incompetent President who didn’t give a shit... a vindictive Senate who refused to help anybody financially... followed by cynical Astro Turf protests against the shut downs by armed idiots at courthouses demanding the right to get hair cuts and not wear masks in public... followed by this unconscionable act of police brutality which resulted in an innocent man’s death... in cold blood... in broad daylight.

And so yes, of course we have a real, grassroots protest movement of angry as hell working class people, representing all races, out there raising holy hell across the country... burning down police precincts, and cars, and looting big box stores, smashing up police cars and spray painting them, defying curfews, and... for the first three nights at least... forcing law enforcement and firefighters both to retreat.

It’s too early to say where this is all going.  I can’t remember another time where we saw civil unrest on this scale, for so many nights in a row, with no sign of tapering off.

This could all be history by next week, with law and order restored and justice served to the police officer who has already been charged with murder... or... this could be the beginning of a years long civil war.

All I know right now is... 4th of July is a little over a month away.  With all official fireworks displays cancelled thanks to the pandemic... it could wind up being the loudest, most explosive.... most potentially violent 4th of July since the National holiday has been celebrated.

This also does not look good for Donald Trump’s reelection resume’.  He’s been impeached.  The economy’s been destroyed.  The pandemic death toll in America has now far exceeded that of any other country, per capita, with little sign of slowing, and now riots are breaking out around the nation on such a scale that law enforcement can’t deal with them.

“He is rich.  He is strong.  And he is going to crash the stock market. Sidewalks crack, and streets go dark. Ten Thousand bankers shake and scream for Dalton’s pyramid.“ - Pronunciation Book

Meanwhile, looking at Allan Lichtman’s 13 Keys to the White House, in which, for an incumbent to lose reelection six or more keys must be false... for the first time ever, it appears that Trump now scores false on eight keys, with two still nether true nor false, but open.

[F]  Party Mandate: After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than after the previous midterm elections. (lost house in a landslide.)

[T] Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination.

[T]  Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president.

[T]  Third party: There is no significant third party or independent campaign.

[F]  Short term economy: The economy is not in recession during the election campaign. (it’s in the toilet.)

[F]  Long term economy: Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms. (not anymore!)

[F]  Policy change: The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy. (unless you count a tax cut for the rich and babies in cages, no.)

[F]  Social unrest: There is no sustained social unrest during the term. (not anymore!)

[F]  Scandal: The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal. (impeachment anybody?)

[F]  Foreign/military failure: The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs. (countless foreign affairs failures, as well as military failures, such as almost starting WW3, and backing a now dead dictator, in Kim Jong Un.)

[F]  Foreign/military success: The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs. (none.)

[O]  Incumbent charisma: The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero. (he’s not a national hero, and his charisma is pretty questionable now that even Fox News and Twitter have been turning on him... and he can’t hold rallies anymore.)

[O]  Challenger charisma: The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero. (there’s a possibility that by November, Joe Biden could be seen as more charismatic, relative to Trump.)

I have been checking back with these keys a couple times a year since he was elected in 2016, and it’s only now, in 2020, that Trump has finally crossed that threshold of six or more false keys. He had the two economy keys in the bag for a long time, and others remained open, such as third party challenger, scandal, and social unrest, but here on the eve of June... he’s got eight false, with the potential to go false on two more before November.

Not that Lichtman’s keys are a foolproof guide to the outcome of a presidential election, but... they’ve predicted some unexpected upsets in the past, most notably Trumps victory over Clinton in 2016... in that case mainly because there was no incumbent.

Though the keys were worked out by Lichtman by researching the history of presidential elections, it’s fairly self evident that they are simply measures of how competent a president is... while also giving any incumbent a huge edge for the win, even if he/she is only doing the bare minimum.

It does seem now, with the clock counting down to election day, that there is little Trump can do to win reelection.

He could even try to postpone or cancel the elections, but that doesn’t save him from the fact that, constitutionally, his presidency still ends on January 2nd 2021. And in the current climate, it would be extremely difficult for him to try and defy that by going full dictator.

He and his junta have already had ample opportunity to go full dictator this year, first with the pandemic, and now with the riots.  And in both cases, they’ve shied away from overt, top-down authoritarian measures... opting instead to back away, keep hands off, and dog whistle for... governors, corporations, white trash with guns... to do... something?  Anything?  Please?

Their plan (Trump, McConnel, and their junta) was not to take over by force... at least not on such a short deadline.  It was to slowly dismantle the three branches of democracy over eight years... packing the courts, undercutting the free press, sowing confusion, taking credit for the self driving economy, voter suppression, etc... until they had it all under control, and only THEN... phasing in the monarchy.

Of course, there were scenarios where a top-down overnight crackdown would’ve worked... like a Y2K, or a WW3... a global scale catastrophe that called for some kind of emergency suspension of democracy altogether. 

But, as I’ve said in earlier entries, global pandemic doesn’t lend itself to that... it’s rather the Achilles heel of such a junta, because the only enemy is a primitive, microscopic virus, and while it disrupts the economy and life around the world, competent, compassionate leadership is good enough to mitigate the worst effects... and expose states or nations who cannot mitigate the effects for their incompetency and/or cold neglect.

Also, a pandemic has a time window which is short enough for most to see a light at the end of the tunnel... but far too long for any election schedule, and impossible to get out of the headlines using distractions, in the mean time.

To give in and do the right thing... provide universal basic income and free health care for the duration, while striving to keep a frazzled nation of home bound citizens united with inspirational speeches and reassurances that if we all work together, we can prevail... runs entirely counter to the playbook, and core beliefs of the junta.

Their playbook calls only for sowing division, demonizing the jobless and homeless, and funneling money up the chain, from the poor to the rich... increasing the wealth divide ever further until the working class are indentured servants who live hard scrap lives in perpetual debt, sacrificing everything for the sake of the monarch and the elites.

This is why, all they can do right now is try to bait GOP governors into ending shut downs, and corporations into ending furloughs too early... while dog whistling for ground level supporters to rally against wearing masks... and calling for old people to sacrifice their lives.

It’s a losing strategy, and the riots that are currently breaking out nightly around the nation are proof of that.

What sparked these riots off?  Some low level police officer, with deeply racist, and authoritarian leanings, who was emboldened by such dog whistles to think it was okay to slowly asphyxiate a helpless citizen in broad daylight, against the protest of many bystanders, knowing he was being filmed by multiple smart phones.

The junta created a climate in which this officer, and even his police companions on the scene felt this type of obscene public execution, without judge or jury, for a man who purportedly passed a counterfeit twenty, was fully sanctioned by those at the top... because he was black.

But that’s happened too many times already in the country over the past four years for anybody right now... living through the pandemic and the crashed economy, after everything else... to just sit back and take it... or do a peaceful protest that lasted an afternoon.

And now we are looking at the nightmare of every powerful politician, and every rich man... the dreaded uprising of the people!  

So, we’ll see where things go from here.

For tonight, that’s all I’ve got to record and observe.

Time for bed.

Justice for George Floyd!