Hello, once again! Antoni aka the Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup FanFiction Critic and Recommender, here with another Reds-centered fanfic. As promised, I will be taking a look at the sequel to Wedding Madness, Baby Madness, written once again by crazycatmommy and published on January 16, 2017. It’s rated T. It’s in English. It’s Romance/Humor. It’s in fourteen chapters, and the main pairing is, obviously, Brick/Blossom. Other pairings featured here are Butch/Buttercup and Boomer/Bubbles. Other characters featured are Professor Utonium, Miss Keane, Miss Bellum, Robin, Mary, and Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory. There are also some OCs in the forms of Blossom’s co-worker Stuart, Dr. Rosenstein, and some other co-workers of Brick and Blossom. Since the story takes place some months after the Wedding Madness in the span of a year, the main characters are between 22 and 23 to 23 and 24. Well, folks, the Reds have struck again, along with the Greens and the Blues. As you can tell by the fanfic title, Blossom is going to give birth after that cliffhanger in Wedding Madness. With that said, let’s get on to what I thought about Baby Madness. Brick and Blossom are excited and anxious that they are going be parents to their newborn baby but they are not sure of the baby’s gender. Butch and Buttercup are confident it’s going to be a boy. Whereas Boomer and Bubbles are confident it’s going to be a girl. What follows is a wager between Brick’s and Blossom’s younger siblings thus being excited to be uncles and aunties to the newborn child, loads of baby shower preparations in courtesy of Bubbles, an ex-boyfriend in the form of Dexter coming to see Blossom, Professor Utonium being excited about the prospect as a grandfather, Boomer’s and Bubbles’ upcoming wedding in Disney World, and the pangs of pregnancy as experienced by Blossom. By and large, I consider this story an exceptional follow-up to Wedding Madness. It maintains its charm, humor, great buildup, and interest, and I dare not spoil the ending, as it is very heartwarming, sweet, adorable and a great way to wrap everything up. Even more so, I almost teared up in the ending. When all is said and done, this story left me wanting more, as I was thoroughly entertained, touched, and let’s just say I loved everything about it from beginning to end. Seeing that this is also a story of a woman getting pregnant, this is also handled with such thought, care, and sensitivity, especially considering the research and hard work crazycatmommy put into understanding about special classes like the Lamaze technique. To top it all off, there were even some references to the original Powerpuff Girls episodes and those were Mime for a Change, Knock it Off, and Cover Up for all the hardcore PPG fans out there. The characters certainly developed magnificently from the prequel. My heart really went out for Brick in this fanfic. He certainly grew into a mature, wise, caring, emphatic, noble, loving, hardworking, and steadfast husband to Blossom and father-to-be for the new baby. He even proves himself to be an excellent cook making healthy meals for not only Blossom but for the pair of them. I literally rooted for him and Blossom to make it through this particular ordeal and I couldn’t be any happier. Blossom proves herself to be a devoted, strong, steadfast, loving, loyal, and awesome wife to Brick. During her pregnancy, she had one moment where she exploded at Brick. However, what comes after this will leave one with a huge grin. As a mother-to-be, she does have her anxieties in terms of how she will look during and after childbirth and how healthy their child will be. One also has to leave it up to her loving husband, Brick, to ensure that everything will be all right and she can put her faith in him. As a married couple, these two have excellently heartwarming chemistry. Gone is the bickering from their childhood, as it has made way to pure genuine love and support for each other. In sickness and in health, these two leaders have each others’ backs all step of the way. Butch has toned down his impulsivity and still manages to be charming and hilarious, in an occasionally irreverent manner. Even more so, he ended up being happily married to Buttercup after everything they went through. Moreover, Butch is a supportive, kind, and loyal brother to Brick, and a good brother-in-law to Blossom, even though he can be cheeky, with the whole prosthetic belly dare to Brick. Buttercup has also toned down her stubbornness and impulsivity, and she continues to have Blossom’s back when it came to taking her to her Lamaze class. Even though it was only mentioned, Buttercup states that even though she calls Butch rude names on some occasions, they always make love to each other to compensate for all crazy crap that happened. Even more so, that trademark tomboyish spark she has never dissipated, which has consistently made her endearing. Boomer has proven himself to be an endearing, loving, and totally caring fiancé to Bubbles. It was clear as night and day that these two will eventually end up together, in terms of their plans of getting married in Disneyworld Florida. Sure, he does keep his cheekiness, but it’s done in a way that makes him amusing as a character. Once again, Bubbles steals the show. She goes out of her way to make sure the baby shower will be absolutely perfect. Sure, her whole preparation schtick does feel like a rehash of the one in Wedding Madness, but it’s really nice to see someone who takes the full initiative to make her eldest sister happy. Bubbles still manages to be a good listener to Blossom’s suggestions, even though she is fully confident that the newborn baby will be a girl. Professor Utonium maintains his trademark benevolence as a father to his…
Butchercup
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…
Hello, once again! Antoni, here, aka the Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup FanFiction Critic and Recommender back with another recommendation starring the Greens and co-starring the Reds. It is called She Ain’t You written by SilverTonguedHunter and published on June 18, 2014. It’s rated T. It’s in English and the genre is Drama/Hurt/Comfort. All the characters here are in their mid-to-late teens. The Greens have struck again in this fanfic and they have been joined by the Reds. So, let’s not waste any time and get on with it, shall we? Butch, feeling like Buttercup has been inaccessible to him, as she broke up with him, decides to see other girls. However, there is one problem. They do not measure up to Buttercup’s brand of femininity, and as a resolve, he dumps his latest fling, while having coffee. The question remains if Butch really wants to rekindle with Buttercup, with Brick’s pep talk propelling him to do so. By and large, this story is simple, short, and sweet, as it is a one-shot. It did not need to complicate nor convolute things. However, if you ask me, I would’ve loved to have a little more development, as to why Butch is the way he is. The scene that really stood out to me was, undoubtedly, Brick’s pep talk to Butch, more on him later when I talk about the characters. As to be expected, it is absolutely lovely to see Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup in this particular one-shot. Butch serves as our flawed hero who can’t stand Buttercup and her indifference towards him. In spite of that, his feelings for her grow and grow, to the point where he is sick and tired of all of these insipid flings with the other girls. Despite everything they do or say to each other, he knows that Buttercup might just be his Mrs. Right, but he is hesitant to think that. Plus, it’s also nice that Butch’s impulsive nature was intact, making him all the more balanced as a character. Brick plays his role as the wiser older brother, given that he is in a stable relationship with Blossom. He makes sure that Butch does not do anything foolish or worth regretting. He serves as the only sane man to Butch’s impulsivity, which is something I find very endearing. Blossom only appears in the middle, as she and Brick were having a little session with each other departs to be in her room studying. She does keep her sweetness and diligence intact, but it would’ve been nice if she had a say on this in terms of her sister, as she has known all her life. I’m very sure she could have given Butch that extra push to go back to Buttercup so that they can rekindle their broken relationship. Speaking of Buttercup, she appears in the beginning and the end. There is no shadow of a doubt that she kept her brand of sarcasm in the first part, but it would’ve also been nice if she were given a lot more development. By and large, the story is well-woven and well-written. However, there was one grammatical I spotted near the ending and that was the phrase “much to her upset”, which should have been replaced as “much to her annoyance or displeasure”. In spite of that, I spotted no other mistakes. Overall, this was a rather nice and short Butch/Buttercup-centered fanfic. Even though it could’ve benefitted from more character development, I still think it’s a worthy read if you are a Greens fan. With that said, I give this fanfic an A. Some slight things do need to be fixed up, but otherwise, go read it. You might feel charmed by its simplicity. Well, that’s all for now. Tune in later for a Brick/Blossom-centered fanfic called Wedding Madness, which was written by crazycatmommy. Until then, this is Antoni aka the Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup FanFiction Critic and Recommender wishing you all a most pleasant day. She Ain’t You by SilverTonguedHunter
Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, with another fan fiction recommendation. As promised, it’s another Powerpuff Girls fanfic involving Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup called Cheater Cheater Heartbreaker! written by kuku88 and published back on August 28, 2013. It’s rated T. It’s in English. It’s romance/drama, and the main couples are Butch/Buttercup and Brick/Blossom. There are hints Brick/Buttercup and Butch/Blossom, but it’s mostly platonic. Other characters involved are Boomer, Bubbles, Brute from the Powerpunk Girls, Bunny from the episode Twisted Sister who is thankfully revived in the fanfic, and Dexter and Mandark from Dexter’s Laboratory. There are also some original characters to be found in the forms of the other Rowdyruffs, Bandit, Blaster, Braker, and the other Powerpuffs, Banana, and Bliss, the latter one not being the one from the PPG 2016 reboot. Even more so the characters in this story are teenagers, roughly 16 to 18 years old so there will be some curse words like the F- and S-words, the former being slightly more dominant. Now, we are venturing into the less fluffy direction from Aqua Bailarina 15’s Sugar Song to A Bitter, Yet Sweet Step and head to something a bit more melodramatic. Before I begin talking about the fanfic’s melodrama aspect, I would like to mention that I’m sure in the previous fanfic it would have been also cool to see Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup form their own J-Rock, Alternative, or Rock band that would give the likes of ABBA and even the A-Teens a run for their money. With that little detail out of the way, let’s get on to what I thought about this fanfic. And for those who asked, this is what I meant by this story being melodramatic, almost akin to a teen soap opera, but not as far-fetched nor over-the-top. The story starts off as Buttercup scolds Butch, whom she has dated for three months and counting, and wants to call off their relationship, as he made out with her evil counterpart, Brute from the Powerpunk Girls, during her, her sisters’, and Brute’s birthday party. In Butch’s defense, he states that he was horribly drunk, as he though Brute was Buttercup and he was in under so much pressure with Buttercup’s expectations for him to be the best boyfriend. Buttercup not wanting to hear Butch’s excuses storms off to her home, where Blossom, Bubbles, Bunny, Bliss, and Banana try to comfort her. Because of the breakup’s impact, Buttercup then ends up crying in her bedroom, until Blossom’s boyfriend, Brick, arrives. As Blossom’s boyfriend and Buttercup’s closest friend, he also comforts her and even stated that he tried to stop Butch’s excessive drinking, but he was unfortunately stubborn. Buttercup grows feelings for Brick, as he is deemed Blossom’s perfect boyfriend. Thus, she uses him to break his relationship with Blossom and get back at Butch. However, Brick is befuddled by how she is reacting, and he proceeds to go to Blossom, as they have a study session. He reassures Buttercup that he, her sisters, and the rest of his brothers are there for her and he knows that Butch does need help in rekindling his relationship with her. Meanwhile, Butch is still awfully guilt-ridden about the incident and starts to suspect that Brick is getting much closer to Buttercup than any friend should. Whilst Blossom is doubting Brick’s fidelity towards her, as he starts to become Buttercup’s tutor in physics, and she cannot stand the thought of her boyfriend cheating on her with her own sister. I’m not going to spoil the rest of the story, but how it builds up shows that there is almost a love square going on between Brick, Blossom, Butch, and Buttercup, more appropriately of how even though Butch and Buttercup broke up, she then ends up having her eyes on Brick, even though he is faithfully dating Blossom. Of course, there is also a fair amount of bickering and suspicions going on between the four main protagonists due to misunderstandings, and the pattern seems to build. At least I will give the climax and the ending some kudos for alleviating the ongoing melodrama and resolving the story with a happily ever after, especially for our main stars Butch and Buttercup as well as Brick and Blossom. There were also some instances where flashbacks were used and they were done in the right moments. The character that really takes the cake here in this fanfic is Buttercup. Her impulsive nature is kept nicely intact as well as her tsundere edge, and I have to give kuku88 credit for keeping her characterization as it is. However, Buttercup in this fanfic also has the tendency to be manipulative, especially when it came to that break-up she had with Butch, as she tries to get her hands on Brick. Sure, it is not common for her to think about being lovey-dovey, but she always knew in her heart that Butch is not only her equal in terms of being counterparts but also someone she admires and adores so much because he is handsome, strong, and independent in his own way. In Butch’s case, I really like his characterization here. He is usually written by other fanfic authors as violent, a pervert, or even a psycho, but I love the route kuku88 was able to take him. What we have is a misunderstood and flawed male protagonist whose actions are rash and ill-timed but he still has enough loyalty, humanity, and compassion to make things right with Buttercup. Even more so, Butch has this charm which makes him all the more appealing as a character that I actually enjoy his presence. With Brick, it should be no doubt that I love the platonic sensible older brother and impulsive younger sister relationship he has with Buttercup. Given that he is her closest friend in this story, he does his best to support Buttercup and completely understands the situation she and Butch are in. Because of his act of kindness to…
Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, with another fan fiction recommendation. Today, I’m taking a look at a Powerpuff Girls fanfic, Sugar Song to A Bitter, Yet Sweet Step! written by Aqua Bailarina 15, published back on November 27, 2015, and updated on March 26, 2016. It’s rated T. It’s in English. It has two chapters, one with the main story or more appropriately one-shot and the other with another author’s note, and the main character pairings are Brick/Blossom and Butch/Buttercup. Other characters involved in the story, though not as prominent, are Boomer, Mitch Mitchelson, Bubbles, and Robin Snyder. This entire story takes place in a middle school setting, so the characters are approximately 13 to 14 years old, as they are in the eighth grade. Let’s get this started shall we? Ah, the Powerpuff Girls. For those of you who watched my look back on ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas, you will know that ever since I was a lad of seven years old, I was so excited to catch this show on Cartoon Network, considering the fact that it had two pilot shorts on The What a Cartoon Show, which a caught a year ago before the main show premiered in the Philippines, sometime during summer. I am still so happy to call myself a PPG fan to this day, as it is perched alongside my all-time favorite Cartoon Network shows, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Samurai Jack, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Dexter’s Laboratory, Codename: Kids Next Door, Chowder, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Regular Show. I am really looking forward to reviewing the original Powerpuff Girls because Craig McCracken and his crew made something unique, fun, endearing, absolutely high-octane, and something worth remembering until the end of time. Now in terms of the Powerpuff Girls’ rogues gallery, there is no other group of villains to get as much popularity as The Rowdyruff Boys consisting of Brick the hot-tempered leader, Butch the extremely violent one, and Boomer the dim one. They were initially created by Mojo Jojo with the help of snips of armpit hair, snails, and a dog’s tail from, of course, The Talking Dog. As an ersatz for Chemical X, he flushed the ingredients down a toxic toilet and thus, The Rowdyruff Boys were born. Yes, in their debut episode their personalities were almost similar to each other that they came off as angrier, nastier counterparts to the Powerpuff Girls. However, if you take that characterization aspect aside, they were completely on par with the girls in terms of power, that they almost defeated them. The Rowdyruff Boys do prove themselves to be formidable enemies to the girls and their episode was the second to the last one of the first season. Just when Mojo Jojo and the boys were gloating at their presumed triumph, Miss Bellum gave a pep talk to the girls saying that they can use their feminine charms to defeat the boys. From there, the viewers are then treated to the most famous scene, which has cemented the whole RRB/PPG pairing frenzy, the kissing scene. Blossom kisses Brick, Bubbles kisses Boomer, and Buttercup kisses Butch. With that, the boys exploded. These little bastards were so popular that they were even revived in Season 5 to 6. In their returning episode, The Boys are Back in Town, HIM resurrected them with a cootie shot and the boys’ personalities are not only more defined with Brick’s impulsive, mean-spirited, and hot-tempered nature, but also Butch’s bouts of psychosis, bloodlust, overall insanity, and undying loyalty to Brick as the middle brother, and Boomer’s dim-witted yet infantile nature as the youngest, as there were times that he was used as Brick’s and Butch’s punching bag evidenced in Bubble Boy. Sure, the boys’ personalities during their revival came off as obnoxious, jerkish, and irredeemable, but they were still very entertaining as characters. Heck, in The City of Clipsville, there was one scene where the Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys were teenagers and they seemed to have a thing for each other. While that scene was interesting and kind of funny, I felt like they were all robbed of their distinctive personalities, as the girls acted more like clueless valley girls and the boys acted more like laid-back slackers. Speaking of RRB/PPG pairings, my goodness a lot of fan-related pieces are all over the web, mostly due to the whole bad boy/good girl pairings are very much all the rage and there is so much appeal. As for me, I really love this particular pairing. Sure, it’s not canon in the TV show given the fact that the Rowdyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls are between 5 to 6 years old. However, if this show continued with the girls and boys as tweens or teens, I’d say they would all go a different route. The boys would be very fed up with both Mojo Jojo and HIM telling them what to do and how to be evil, and they would eventually find their own paths, all the while realizing that maybe they were in the wrong, to begin with. They would develop from being villains to anti-villains to anti-heroes at most heroes at the least. I am really sure that among Brick, Butch, and Boomer, the latter would really turn to the good side and have an amazingly stable relationship with Bubbles. Heck, it would be amazing to see the Rowdyruff Boys team up with the Powerpuff Girls and be a great superhero team to rival that of the Teen Titans, the Justice League, the Suicide Squad, and the Avengers. I indubitably support Boomubbles with a passion, but I also enjoy Blossick and Butchercup, mostly because fanfic writers will tend to make their relationships a little bit more complex in comparison to the sentimental, lovey-dovey vibe of the youngest lovebirds Boomer and Bubbles. The usual case with Brick and Blossom in fanfics would be these two will have a will they or will they not type of relationship, and because they…