#fof qna

[empressgeekt]

It was that day, they discovered ehat Branch's real job is. Oh sure, Keith, Poppy, and Branch all TOLD them Branch is considered the head of security and the leader of the village's volunteer militia... but since Pop Trolls never had anything like that before the brothers didn't really understand what that meant and only thought it meant being a glorified bodyguard for his girlfriend.

They learn real quick that while protecting the crown is part of it... that is NOT the case

Branch: while I would love to spend 24/7 by Poppy's side, that won't protect the rest of the village. My average day is spent training new recruits, trap maintenance, making sure all the search and rescue teams have their needed supplies, and of course foot patrol. Which is what happened tonight. I had to gut a rabid squirrel.

Brozone: *various reactions of horror

[empressgeekt]

Ahhh I love it!!!! The whole story about the arrow shots, Clay being concerned and Viva just underwater the whole time! I love it!

Based off this post and @empressgeekt ‘s AU I decided to make my own mini comic! Mainly because I wanted to try figuring out how to work using colored pencils again. Had to play with the filters due to some lighting issues 😅

The first time it happened he was worried he’d get in trouble for teaching Keith to shoot arrows. Thankfully Dr. Moonbloom doesn’t care.

Second time was deja vu for him which made it a bit funny, Poppy on the other hand was panicking because Branch had only recently gotten better enough to fire arrows.

JD, Viva, and Keith are snorkeling while Poppy supervises Keith so Branch can take a turn swimming around. Bruce is with Floyd relaxing on the beach.

[hops-hunny]

UM UM WHAT?! THANK YOU FOF 500 GUYS WTF I DIDN'T EXPECT TO HIT IT TODAY. UHH UHH QNA???

[empressgeekt]

Ok but what if JD had come back/found the Pop Village before or even during Trolls 1? Like, all we know about bis travels is he seemed to mainly stick to the Neverglades but he is confirmed to have returned to the Tree at least once only to find the place dead and empty, and we don't know exactly when that was. What if he had searched around more and found the Village, or at least Branch's Bunker on the edge of the village?

I can imagine after a justifiably explosive reunion, he might still doing his wandering thing but stay close by, even sending presents and souvenirs for Branch and Keith from his travel, visiting every holiday (well, major holiday they actually give a shit about). Maybe make an effort to reach out to and potentially locate their other brothers because as much as he loves his grumpy baby brother, he's worried about Branch and hopes reuniting Brozone could at least cheer him up a bit. Maybe he encourages Keith's idea about Branch becoming the Forest Guardian as well, teasing him about how it might be a way to get closer to the Princess he's crushing on (Branch vehemently argues he does not, has never, and will never have a crush on Poppy).

Honestly I think that on his way into the village, JD would get caught in one of Branch's net traps. Rhonda can't get him down, and after hanging there for hours (admiring the both the foliage and the work of the trap itself, it's a beautiful survival tool), a little mossy colored trolling finds him, and cuts him down. John would be a little worried about a very small child alone in the middle of the forest, asking if his parents know where he is, but Keith would quickly shut that down, by saying that his parents were dead but his big brother made sure he was safe. John would lament this as Keith leads him back to he village, as Keith's family situation hits close to home, and he really sympathized with Keith's older brother (who at the moment john thought was an older teenager), being saddled with a kid so young, like he had been. When john asks about his own family, Keith claims not to know any trolls, by the names of "Spruce, Clay, Floyd or Bitty B."

Once in the village, JD would spend a few days wallowing in grief and signing autographs, since apparently even after twenty years Brozone is still popular. John can't even be happy about his art doing well, his family wasn't here. After a few days he plans on leaving. This place can be home if his bros aren't here. Poppy and Creek approaches him as he's packing, and want to help. They also confirm that their isn't any trolls by by his brother's stage names...stage names...

"Is there anyone named Branch in the village?"

Poppy tells him there is enthusiastically. Creek does so with fake pity. Still John doesn't pay any attention to their tone only runs off in the direct of the forest outskirts of the village, feeling incredibly stupid for not asking for Branch's proper name and almost missing his brother's house by a few yards. He was not expecting for the same mossy trolling to open the door to the bunker, and for his baby brother to be gray, and pissed off at him.

Branch is not happy to see John Dory. While he wasn't the closest to John as a baby, he does know that a lot of the fighting was between John and Clay and no way was he letting that type of conflict around Keith. So, he shuts john out and pretends he doesn't exist.

John despite the less then welcoming reunion is way to hyped up on long dormant big bro instincts to take the hint. His baby brother is grey, a single parent, and living all alone. There was definitely not a happy backstory there. He has to protect him. After a week or two of camping outside the bunker door (Branch has several exits from the bunker other then the main one so he can just avoid John) and getting nothing he switches tactics. He had no idea what Branch's schedule is, but he does know that Keith goes to school, and starts to follow the trolling during the day. It comes off as incredibly creepy, to everyone but John.

Keith tells Branch about this, and the grey troll has no choice but to hear john out, since while he knows that John isn't creepy, just dumb, he can't have John behavior (no doubt that his older brother had told the whole village they're brothers) reflecting on him. The last thing he needs is the Foster System breathing down his neck about how John could be a "danger" to Keith, Adopted or not they would take the kid given the chance.

The after math of the conversation is John Dory being allowed into Branch and Keith's lives on a probation period and several conditions. Every hoop John is given he jumps through. And slowly he gets to know Branch again. He tries to get Branch to sing, but Keith would cut in saying, "Why do you want him to sing, you want to re-traumatize him?"

JD is out on a long supply trip when the whole wolf thing happens, but he's in full support of the whole Forest Guardian thing, much to Branch's annoyance. He and Keith nudge him towards playing the role. After the whole 20th Anniversary Party, John Drives both Branch and Poppy back to bergentown (the trip is very confusing for John due to the whole time he's trying not to call branch by his name). Rhonda threatens Cloud guy into telling them which tunnel to take inside. He does not agree with the whole dating plan, but he throws his machete at Creek when he turns traitor.

It takes everything for him not the breakdown at the sight of the chef attacking Branch. Suddenly he's fourteen and watching his mom and dad get carried off, only this time it was the tiny egg his mom handed off to him all grown up at the mercy of the Bergen. Branch survives of course, but the long months of recovery and rehabilitation is hard. John keeps things together, grits his teeth and bares it. He takes care of Keith, and even helps out with the rebuilding of the village. He can't see the bergens again, so he stays home.

John becomes one of Branch's main informants with all his traveling knowledge and a survival teacher at the training grounds. He's left in charge of village security during TWT, and panics when he can't find Keith after Branch and poppy left for the other tribes. He still gets the letter in TBT, but he's at the bunker when it happens (branch didn't get one since it's made out to his stage name and he doesn't go by it). Branch and Keith see it, and call trap, but John needs to at least check it out. He comes back just as the wedding is ending, and ropes Branch into the plan....and I let this get away from me sorry.

[empressgeekt]

In the John Returns Au, how does the village react to the discovery that Branch is actually related to (and according to JD a part of) Brozone? How does Poppy and Creek?

Creek straight up does not believe him. Though when looking at Branch and JD side by side, he can see the resemblance even if Branch is grey.

Poppy is in full fan girl mode. She's begging for a performance of the two of them together at her next party, Branch denies this and even claims that the Band was the worst thing that ever happens to him. Poppy tries to question him on that because, "How could it have been the worst thing to ever happen to you you were in the best band in world!"

She becomes so much that Branch vanished into his bunker, to get away from her, and even has to keep Keith home for a couple days since other trolls wouldn't leave him alone either. John feels incredibly guilty about the whole thing, making his baby brother and kid scared to go into the village. He tries to calm the whole thing down, by saying that the band is dead and to stop harassing his family. He's open to autographs, but only if people as nicely and don't bother Branch and Keith.

Branch is surprised by John actions. After all the band was his pride and joy. However, John clears this up, by saying, yeah he loved the band. But he always cared about his family more. It takes time for Branch to believe him

[empressgeekt]

I imagine in the aus where JD returned, Branch will have a much better relationship with his eldest brother. For one explosive reunion or not, JD had been the one who returned. 20 years late, but he'd still returned, and he had done so looking for Branch simply for the sake of reconnecting with his brother and fearing for his safety. When he'd seen Branch was a paranoid and grey songle parent, he hadn't been disgusted, annoyed, or looked at him with fake pity or anything, he'd been genuinely concerned and wanted to help as best he could, even giving him soem survival tips to help with his traps. It's an almost guarantee that it was JD who looked after Branch during his recovery and helped to teach him how to fight even with hia vision being impaired (he seems the type to go so far as to wear an eyepatch just to get an idea of what the world looks like to Branch to better help). And he'd be Keith's go-to babysitter!

Branch was extremely hesitant to let John in at first, and definitely distant through out his grey period, but post chef attack he really starts to let John in. He might be colorful again, but he's hurt, exhausted, people are suddenly treating him like a hero without the mask and he can't take care of Keith like he used to so he's scared he's going to lose custody. All of which eventually fuels this useless feeling and an emotional breakdown that John helps him through. And Branch remembers why he missed being someone's little brother.

However, this closeness does take its toll on the other brothers. Bruce is upset that he wasn't told about Branch's state (grey, with a kid all alone, and then missing an eye!) as soon as possible. He gave John a postcard he should've gone to get him as soon as Branch was in trouble!

Clay's angry due to jealously. He had to deal with crazy controlling John, yet Branch and this random kid get to have the big brother that Clay lost. Yeah, no he's not okay with it.

While Floyd is happy that Branch had John, it still makes him feel more guilty since he didn't come back like John. And then John and Branch have to take care of him during his very long recovery.

[empressgeekt]

Okay so we have Branch being pregnant in TWT in the FoF Au, but what if he was pregnant during TBT? Dude’s trying to take it easy when his brother JD crashes in.

I can see Poppy either not making him go so he can rest or just body slamming anyone that tries to touch him. Doesn’t matter if it’s a brother she didn’t know about, a brother she did know about, or her sister she didn’t know about. She will body slam anyone that tries to touch him without his consent.

Well if we're going by normal timeline rules, and Branch got pregnant just after TWT, then he'd just be starting to shake the morning sickness, and beginning his nesting phase. So this whole trip he's just trying not to toss his lunch, and reorganizing the inside of Rhonda. Branch doesn't tell his brothers about the baby, and Poppy and Keith don't either on request by Branch. So the others just think he has bad motion sickness and OCD, on top of a very overprotective girlfriend and kid. They wouldn't figure it out until they get Floyd back to the village and to Dr. Plimsy who just outs Branch before dragging him off for a check up of his own.

However, if we want more drama....lets say that TWT happened 2 months then it usually does. This would put Branch late stage by the time that the wedding comes around. Once more he's carrying internally, with the egg leaning inward. The wedding is kind of a last party before they settle in for the final week or so, before the little one arrives. Then John Dory rushes in and makes things complicated. Maybe it's his hormones but Branch isn't willing to let Floyd die, and while Poppy agrees she's worried, for both Branch and their little one. Branch still doesn't tell them, he doesn't trust them with his baby. Mostly he tries to nap while John driving, and has a horrible nightmare about his water breaking when he wakes up to Rhonda flooding. He gets out of doing the practice preformance at Bruce's place, because the smell of seafood makes him want to throw up.

Bruce and John would see his scar earlier since the hustle does make him vomit and in no way was Branch puking in his mask. Bruce and John obviously want an explanation, since Branch is missing an eye, but he's real tight lipped about it, and Poppy nearly bites their heads off. Viva and Clay have similar reactions to the scar, but Branch won't elaborate.

Post argument, like leaving Rhonda and Poppy just catching up wit him, he feels the egg drop, Poppy's concerned since that's usually an early labor sign, but Branch waves her of and they continue the mission, since their aren't any contractions yet. Floyd is rescued all the same, however Branch starts getting cramps on the journey to pop village so, He's fine with John using the hustle after Floyd has a seizure. After getting Floyd checked in to the hospital, Branch would sneak away to the birthing unit, and get admitted after his water breaks. The Brother's don't notice he's gone for a couple hours, and when a nurse points them in the direction, they accidentally crash the room almost mid delivery.

[empressgeekt]

I just love the mental image of the Funk Trolls examining to the Pop Trolls what therapy is and everyone in the village unanimously start staring at Branch. Even more funny if this is how the other tribe leaders learn about Branch's Grey Days and how he used to be

Branch: why is everyone looking at me? I'm not that f*cked up

[empressgeekt]

I bet in the Crystal Poppy and Keith au Bruce was at first really scared and even angry at the mysterious stranger who just up and kidnapped him because he 'needs his help to save the Queen' for only a short time until the learn from JD the guy is actually their Baby Branch and the queen in question is trapped in a diamond bottle.

Bruce: So our little brother needs the Perfect Family Harmony to save his girlfriend?

JD: And adopted trolling, too.

Bruce does convince Branch to at least slow down long enough to let him explain everything to his wife, which Branch only allows because he knows how upsetting it would be for Bruce to just up and disappear (he did abandon HIM afterall) and would rather not have the authorities after him for kidnapping his own brother.

John: Branch! Branch! what are you doing!?

Branch: My job!

Bruce: *tied up and being dragged through the sand* John! John is that you! Help!!!!

[empressgeekt]

Keith to Poppy during the boat scene

Keith: Don’t worry, he likes your smile and fancy cards. I know. I read his diary.

Poppy: He thinks they’re fancy? 🥲💖

Branch: *Covered in blood and guts*

Poppy: Did you fight a squirrel again?

Branch: No this time it was a bat.

[empressgeekt]

Ok but imagine the brothers reactions to the first time Branch comes home like that from patrol! I imagine it happens fairly early on in their stay in the Bunker (wow he actually did make the hideout so cool!) And Branch is working double time after that initial party to deal with the necessary changes to the village security, debriefing with the council in regards to what happened to his brother (Clay and Viva joins for thise sometimes), figuring out how to connect the Putt Putt Course to the Village, and dealing eith hsi regular duties of keeping his traps prepped, making sure nobody is dumb enough to mess with said traps (*coughJDcough*), patrols, etc.

Then, one day, he deals with a predator that got just a little too close to the village and has to go fight it off.

Clay: *Passed out in a corner

Floyd: *laying on the couch looking close to joining clay

Bruce: Where are you bleeding from?!

Branch: I'm not bleeding.

JD: YOU ARE COVERED IN BLOOD!

Branch: It's not mine!

JD: THEN WHO'S IS IT!?

Keith: *sipping hot cocoa* ahh perfect chaos.

[empressgeekt]

Clay: Why are you a good brother to Branch and Keith? Why did you change for them but couldn't change for the rest of us!? If you can change for them, then that meant you could always change, and you just didn't!

JD: Clay, when I found Branch, I had just discovered that our childhood home was dead and empty. I thought you all were dead! Even then, it took nearly a year for him to stop trying to bite my head off with every interaction, and we only really started getting close after he.... after he got hurt.

Clay: Hurt?

John: Well apparently when you stab a Bergen they retaliate!

Clay: Branch stabbed a Bergen?!

[empressgeekt]

Bruce would ask while Clay would lash out about it. While Branch is busy with Keith and Poppy (if it isn't a Crystal Poppy or Crystal Keith au), they both pull JD aside to demand answers. I wonder, though, in the JD Returns au, how does the infamous fight go down since I doubt JD is gonna say the same stupid shit he had about going their separate ways after everything they'd been through and know full well by now that something like that would be cruel to say to Branch.

Back in the grey days, Branch had took notice of how frustrated John has gotten at things not seeming right. And does not care for it. He calls him out gently every time he starts to get upset, and soon John is doing it to himself. Cause Branch has had similar issues and thanks to keith he's learn to step away from the problem for a moment (if possible).

One of these call out happen during the practice, and Branch pulls John aside. "Okay, take a breath and think logically costumes are not going to save floyd." "We wore those the last time and..." "And the last time didn't work. We need to adapt, let's just start shaking off the rust, relearning the song and dance okay?"

Bruce and Clay are shocked, like what type of magic or dirt does Branch have on John. SO, they actually get more practice in but when John asks for more reruns of the song, the tension in the room rises and....Branch Pulls them over and shoves them all outside "There's a critter in the room, we've all refused to acknowledge and not we have to. Now start talking before I start shooting."

Clay tries to claim there's nothing to talk about, as they will never see each other afterwards since all John cares about is Branch and that weird little kid they brought with them. And that hurts, really bad. Bruce for once tries to be a medium because that was a little uncalled for, but its a poor attempt.

Eventually Branch just snaps, and takes off his mask, "Cause he watched me almost die and is scared it's going to happen with Floyd!"

[empressgeekt]

The therapist for Brozone is gonna have SUCH fun time. I have no doubts Branch will either threaten to or attempt to main at least one of his brothers, and it's a lot of shouting and accusations.

*insert that meme of the guy with the pizza boxes entering the room on fire*

[empressgeekt]

Clay is happy to take over the finances for the village, of course, but what he's even more impressed by is Branch's system. Like, again, he can do better... but considering Branch never went to any sort of business school and had to build this from scratch, and the fact he didn't have much of any opportunity to see THIS side of Branch outside of a small singing montage where Branch brought out the blueprints only to get pushed aside in the movie (something I'm certain would have ended in JD having a broken hand in if he'd tried it in FOF), and Clay is both extremely impressed and a bit smug that his brother turned out so like him

Clay: he's just like me....

Floyd: *knowing Branch comes home covered in blood, sweat, dirt, and guts unphased from his work most nights* You faint at the sight of blood.

[empressgeekt]

I bet in th3 JD Returns au the recovery arc for Branch is gonna have a lot of serious talks. Like, JD just watched his baby brother nearly DIE, Branch lost his eye and will never be able to be fully healed from the scars, and he'd spent actual month in a coma. That's some serious life changing shit, enough that I doubt he'd be willing to leave Branch anytime soon. Probably the first time he and Rhonda even travel is when he goes to investigate the letter from Floyd and perhaps he toook the opportunity to try to find any sign of the other brothers on the way to Mount Rageous and back in spite of the rush (The Baby almost died, it doesn't matter if they haven't spoken in 20 years they need to know about this!)

Yeah, John becomes really clingy during Branch's recovery. At that point in the time line he doesn't even know if the others are alive and he'll be damned if he lets Branch die.

He fully moves in to the bunker when he was kind of in and out before, making sure that the place is cleaned and ready for when Branch comes home. He also takes care of Keith of course. He's a little out of practice when it comes to little kids, but he does his best (though he is creeped out first time he catches Keith staring at him).

Even after Branch wakes up there's still a lot of recovery. He's in a wheelchair for the first couple weeks and then on crutches for longer. Not to mention the whole can't see on the left side of his body anymore thing. They develop a system of John shouting "Left side!" anytime Branch is about to bump into anything, and it works surprisingly well.

When he gets the letter he's hesitant to go, it screams trap, and he's still clingy to Branch due to the whole Rock Zombie thing that happened a month ago. Still he goes just in case. Floyd's his baby brother too, but all he can think is he needs to see that Branch isn't currently endanger at the second the whole drive back.