Name: Renacera (Signed) · Date: 29 Jan 2019 06:28 PM · For: See the Ground

Hi again Madi!

I'm not familiar with The 100, but this makes me want to watch it now! You did such a good job with this story! I really love that you were able to incorporate the "new beginnings" prompt and the teen pregnancy theme so seamlessly. I admit that I didn't try to tackle teen pregnancy in my story for the Collab. I'm not quite sure I'd do it justice.

I really like the plot of this, though I suppose a lot of that likely comes from the show. I've never seen it, but it sounds intriguing! The Dead Earth idea is one that is a biiiiit too real these days, eh? But I think it sounds really interesting to consider how a new society might function in the aftermath of nuclear war (or other catastrophes), especially if that new society was made up of delinquent teens.

You did a great job showing Clarke's character in this story. I could see how she was trying to stay calm and professional and help her patients as much as she could. And the ending where she'd even considered how to shift their duties to better accommodate them also showed that she's a great leader.

This story reminds me a bit of the short story "The Luck of Roaring Camp," which definitely doesn't end on this positive of a note. But it's a tiny bit similar insofar as it's a society raising a baby that really doesn't have the wherewithal to know how to do that. (In "Roaring Camp" it's a bunch of burly men, not teens, but they...try?)

Great job with this story! I'll let you know if I check out The 100!

Best,
Emily

Name: TreacleTart (Signed) · Date: 11 Jan 2019 10:02 PM · For: See the Ground

Hey Madi!

 

I'm here with a review for the Magical Menagerie event over on the forums! I happened to see this in the recently posted stories listing and thought I'd give it a shot.

 

Wow. So this is a really interesting concept, sending a large group of teenagers back to a ravaged planet to try and re-settle it. I wonder why they chose to send children. (I'm unfamiliar with this fandom, so forgive me if this is common knowledge.)

 

Even more interesting is the concept of forced birth control on the female teenagers. I mean I get that they're preparing them so that they won't get pregnant when they inevitably start forming relationships, but it does seem rather drastic.

 

I thought the nurse did a good job of dealing with the pregnancy news. It must be a bit frightening to deal with someone who is so young and in such a stressful environment and then to tell them that they're now going to be a parent. I can't even imagine.

 

I did wonder about one small detail. You had the nurse tell her not to have any intimate contact until the end of her pregnancy. Is this something specific to the world? Because as far as I'm aware, physical contact doesn't actually create any risk for pregnancy. That's sort of an old wives' tale, unless you have certain high risk health concerns.

 

Anyway, either way, this was a very interesting concept and overall, I thought you handled the teen pregnancy trope quite well. Will this have more chapters later? If so, I'd be interested in reading them.

 

Good work!

 

~Kaitlin

Author's Response:

Heya, Kaitlin!!

The premise of this show (based on a book series) is that there was a nuclear war with terrible fallout that made the Earth uninhabitable, leaving the human race to live up in space for 100 years. The people in space then send 100 juvenile deliquents down to the ground to see if it's survivable (spoiler, it is) and TV drama happens. I'd recommend the show, it's all on Netflix up to the current season (7) which has just started airing on the CW. 

The birth control thing is not something explicility mentioned in canon, but it's pretty widely used in fanon, and serves a purpose here as well, especially as the adults who sent these (mostly) teenagers down to a place where there would be little to no supervision, it would be best for them to begin without adding that possible stress on top of trying to create space for themselves and to stay alive on a potentially dangerous planet surface. 

Clarke thankfully had good medical training thanks to her mother being one of the space station's only doctors. I think Clarke moreso wanted them to stay in line a bit better and not overdo any activities especially as they've barely been on the ground and have a lot of work to do still to be safe. This was actually the first setting/fandom I thought of when we were given the "teenage pregnancy" theme for the Great Collab, and I'm glad you enjoyed it even without being super familiar with the fandom. 

Thanks so much for leaving a lovely review! :) 

~Madi

Name: Rumpelstiltskin (Signed) · Date: 08 Jan 2019 10:07 PM · For: See the Ground

I'm procrastinating and I saw a The 100 fic pop up on the new chapters on Twitter, so I put the two together (which means this review was brought to you by fate). 

 

Your setup for the pregnancy is sound -- I mean, you put a bunch of teenagers in an unsupervised area and things are bound to move passed the bounds of PG-13 at some point, and even with precautions -- well, nothing is ever 100%. I really think you did a good job at showcasing the amount of nervousness in Jenny and Bradley in facing a potential pregnancy, especially being so young and in not-so-optimal conditions (what with wars and food shortages and overall danger). 

 

Clarke did an awesome job at being professional about it, too -- it probably helped a lot given the situation. I imagine I would be really nervous in their situation. Also, I'm really glad that Bellamy was so calm and rational about the situation, and so willing to make accommodations for the baby-to-be. I think a new life on the planet might even be a good omen ;). 

 

Anyway, I think you did a lovely job! 

 

-Rumpels

Author's Response:

Hi Rumpels!

Apologies on responding to this with such a delay, I really have no excuse other than I'm just bad at responding to these things :P 

This was actually my first ever fic dealing with pregnancy in general, but with the teen pregnancy theme, The 100 was an immediate setting because we already have teens living on a still mildly radioactive surface of the Earth, so something's bound to happen! I'm happy everything seemed believable, especially considering the setting/conditions of The 100's camp on the ground and major uncertainties they still face. Clarke definitely got her bedside manner more from her father than her mother, even though her mother is the medical professional, and I will die on that hill. This is a moment of acquiescence from Bellamy we typically wouldn't see from him in what would be set in season 1 of the TV show, and it was fun to write him like that! 

Thanks for the review :)

~Madi