Hey, everybody! Antoni aka the Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup FanFiction Critic and Recommender with a Reds-centered fanfic. I’m taking a look at Wedding Madness, which was written by crazycatmommy, published on December 8, 2016, and last updated on January 16, 2017. It’s rated T. It’s in English. It has sixteen chapters. It’s Romance/Humor and aside from Brick and Blossom as the main couple, there is also Butch/Buttercup and Boomer/Bubbles. Other characters involved are Professor Utonium, Miss Keane, Miss Bellum, Robin Snyder, Mary, the chubby girl who is one of the girls’ kindergarten classmates, and Mitch Mitchelson. There are also some OCs in the forms of Candace, Butch’s rebound girlfriend, Jeff, Buttercup’s rebound boyfriend, Sarah the saleslady from Bijou and Belle’s Bridal, Claire the manager of Tasty Cakes, and a teenage girl, who I presume is the intern or someone with a part-time job. Even more so, Brick, Butch, Blossom, Buttercup, Boomer, and Bubbles are between 22 to 23.
If I were not obvious already, I now turn my attention to Brick and Blossom also known as the Reds. Whether one likes them as a couple or finds this pairing overrated, there’s no doubt that their dynamics have something rather interesting. Sure, in the TV show, their relationship was antagonistic at best, given the fact that Brick is impulsive, prone to anger, a bully, a major troublemaker, yet has enough street smarts to survive and Blossom is book smart, rational, intelligent, and strong-minded, but let’s not forget, they were about 5 or 6 years old and they were certainly not yet ready to be in an age where they can be together. In terms of how they are usually portrayed as teenagers or young adults mostly in fanfics and fanart, they seem to have this will they or will they not type of dynamic. Partly because they are the eldest and they have to deal with their younger siblings the best they can every single day, in spite of arguments and disagreements, and partly because of their roles as leaders, as they have to constantly face the burden of their responsibilities to not only their family but also the City of Townsville, even though Brick and Butch would usually be assigned in the anti-hero parts with Boomer mostly leaning towards hero. Even more so, they tend to not have the usually clichéd fairy-tale romance, as they are tested to look beyond their personal biases, do what they can to keep the totality of their team together and do what they can to set examples not only as leaders but as the eldest children. Brick, at least according to a lot of shippers, would even grow up to be as smart as Blossom, as he wisened up from his previous life as an impulsive punk and can be more than what he has bargained for, to say the least. All in all, in terms of fan work, unlike Boomer’s and Bubbles’ sentimental, sweet, yet syrupy romance and Butch’s and Buttercup’s Takahashi-level belligerent sexual tension where they are constantly bickering and going back together, Brick’s and Blossom’s relationship grows at a steady yet realistic rate, showing how being in a relationship can be tough if one is not on the same page, if old wounds are in desperate need of healing, and if one is really willing to grow up and take full responsibility for everything one does as an individual and as a couple. Okay, enough of my rambling, let’s get on to what I thought about this fanfic.
It seems incredible that Brick and Blossom have been dating for five years. Granted this transition was not at all easy, due to their turbulent past as enemies when they were kids and as teenagers, they ended up matriculating in the same high school. Through this turn of events, Brick and Blossom steadily ended up being good friends, as she was still in a relationship with Dexter. However, she decided to break up with him after some derogatory remarks directed not only at Blossom but her sisters too. Come one day at Brick’s soccer match does he make the move on Blossom to be his girlfriend and all the way up until college, with Brick being in a community college and Blossom in Yale, he decides to give her a romantic trip to Paris for two, as a graduation present. Whilst in Paris, he then proposes to her and Blossom joyously accepts. The news has been spread to their siblings and the wedding preparations are being put into motion in courtesy of Bubbles. What follows is a gamut of madcap activities from Butch’s and Buttercup’s break up leading them to try to get back at each other with their respective rebound partners while still harboring feelings for each other, Bubbles trying desperately to make the wedding plans as perfect as possible, Boomer’s love for Bubbles ever increasing, and Brick and Blossom just doing what they can to keep it together. This story is an absolutely fun blend of humor, romance, and truly genuine and heartwarming moments, enough for one to feel so fuzzy inside. Speaking of the humor, it also functions as a sort of comedy of errors. From Butch and Buttercup setting up strippers for the main couple to the cake fight to Brick and Blossom not being able to tolerate their siblings’ tomfoolery to the main couple’s romantic moment of intimacy being interrupted by Butch’s whining to even the main couple attempting to elope in Paris, there are a lot of moments where I did find myself laughing. I dare not spoil the ending but let’s just say that it’s not only greatly satisfying seeing our three favorite couples together, especially the main one, but it managed to wrap everything up so blissfully and warmheartedly. Even more so, the ending gives the reader a major hint that there will be a continuation. By and large, the story was charming, rollickingly fun, and it’s almost reminiscent of such films like The Wedding Planner, Bride Wars, The Wedding Singer, and many other romantic comedies I could barely name off the top of my head. I can clearly tell that crazycatmommy got a lot of inspiration from certain romantic comedy films and their tropes, and they were well-presented in this fanfic.
The characters, from the main couple of Brick and Blossom to the secondary couple of Butch and Buttercup to the tertiary couple of Boomer and Bubbles, are all lovable. Brick has clearly shed away his jerkish, obnoxious personality as it made way for a noble, suave, charming, rather eloquent, and dashing gentleman of a character. Sure, he does maintain his brashness but it’s not done in a way that makes him obnoxious. Sometimes I have to wonder, how on earth do all of Brick’s savings suffice for a trip to Paris with Blossom? Well, the story makes it clear that he has been saving up during high school especially for his ever-budding relationship with Blossom, but to have that much not just for that but also for other fancy things like going to a swanky Italian restaurant for six does seem rather far-fetched. All rambling aside, Brick has certainly proven himself to be a loyal husband-to-be and seems to have Blossom’s best interests without being a doormat.
Blossom maintains her poise, elegance, and her occasional dry sarcasm. She is still the bright, lovely, intellectual, and gorgeous girl I really enjoy and love, and her chemistry with Brick is so endearing. Even more so, I rooted for them to be together, as they not only worked it through but they always knew from the depths of their hearts that they were made for each other.
Butch is still the impulsive muscle, but he is backed up by oodles of charm, lovability, and hilarity. Sure, his decision of initially breaking up with Buttercup to see another girl did eventually bite him in the butt. But, at least he is not an obnoxious player. He has shed his psychotic and uncontrollable personality to one that is charming in his own special way. I also like the few moments he has with Blossom, as he does care for her and she for him, in a lovable musclehead and prim, pretty intellectual way.
Buttercup maintains her disdain for all things overly girly, given the fact that she has to wear a proper gown to Blossom’s wedding and not any of the low cut ones. She is still wonderfully impulsive, strong-willed, rambunctious, and just plain fun while taking a level of femininity. She even has a younger sister-like relationship with Brick’s big brother-in-law in the making, as she ensures that he does not harm Blossom in any shape or form.
Boomer functions as the charming, lovable, romantic type, given the fact that he has been taking a liking to Bubbles to the point where they ended up dating, thus hinting at a future marriage. I really love those flourishing moments he has with Bubbles, as they were truly meant to be together. Even more so, Boomer is so happy about having Blossom as his future sister-in-law, and why not, I can certainly see Blossom liking Boomer, as if though he were her best friend willing to confide in her.
Speaking of Bubbles, she was the most entertaining character in this fanfic. She does her darndest to make Brick’s and Blossom’s wedding an all-time success. From organizing the dresses to the catering to the location even to listening to Blossom’s suggestions for how their wedding should be, she shows lots of spunk and determination. Thus, she steals the show with flying colors. She is even excited to have Brick as her big brother-in-law.
Dexter, at least in this fanfic, ended up being villainized, as he was Blossom’s former boyfriend who had many bouts of jealousy. Luckily, Blossom got out of that relationship, as he did make some mean comments about Blossom being on the cheer squad along with Bubbles and Buttercup being labeled as the dumb muscle.
Even though he did not have a huge part to play, Professor Utonium is still the wonderfully caring and lovable dad, I have been dearly admiring for the longest time. He supports his daughters’ and future sons’-in-law relationships to the best of his abilities, as he cannot be any prouder of them all.
The original characters from Buttercup’s rebound boyfriend Jeff to Butch’s rebound girlfriend Candace to Sarah to Claire are welcome additions and they do not make their presence obnoxious. They served the plot well and sufficiently, and they were quite entertaining. The same thing I can say about Miss Keane, Miss Bellum, Robin, Mitch, and Mary, they were really good additions to the story.
With this much good going on, you would think I don’t have any issues, right? I regret to inform you that I do. There were some wrong word usages present in certain chapters like “surly” could have been “surely”, as one is an adjective and the other is an adverb, please know the difference. There were also some tense errors, but they were not as obnoxious, and even some spelling and grammatical errors. Sure, these screw-ups put a slight damper on my reading enjoyment, and I certainly hope that crazycatmommy will go back to this fanfic and right all the wrongs unless she has other priorities to take care of. Nonetheless, the layout was good but it could have been better if a Beta-reader were hired or if strict proofreading were to have been implemented.
So, overall, in spite of my technical critiques, I still enjoyed reading this fanfic. If you are a Brick/Blossom fan, you will definitely get a kick out of it, the same thing if you are a Butch/Buttercup fan and/or a Boomer/Bubbles fan. With that said, I give this fanfic a grade of A. Had the technical problems been thoroughly fixed, I am sure it would have been an A+. Still, my enjoyment level was high enough for me to let certain issues go.
Well, that’s all for now. Tune in later for the sequel story, Baby Madness, also written by crazycatmommy and once again starring Brick and Blossom as the main couple, Butch and Buttercup as the secondary couple, and Boomer and Bubbles as the tertiary couple. Until then, this is Antoni aka the Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup FanFiction and Recommender, wishing you a most pleasant Holy Week. Take care.
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