A Good Turn Daily
By Flutterpony

Reviewed by Rinnaul

No story link due to maturity.

Alright. I have a bit of a love-hate thing with clop reviews most of the time anyway. But sometimes they get into stuff that I, personally, am not interested in.

I mean, there are some incest ships I can get into.

And I’m not entirely against foalcon, either.

No asking why they’re all Sweetie Belle.

But generally, if I’m reading a story featuring incest, I’m looking for two sexually mature characters with equal control of the relationship engaging in some taboo but consensual acts. And in the case of foalcon, I’m looking for characters at least the CMC’s (admittedly vaguely-defined) age — underage by our standards, but likely in their early teens and already experiencing puberty.

Also, no human on the latter. That’s just being a pedo.

Arbitrary double-standard? Sure. But hey, what squicks me, squicks me.

Anyway. I’m told Flutterpony writes stuff on the younger end of things, and the front page suggests consent might not be particularly clear.

Quick Recommendation: Excellently-written clop, and a must-read for anyone interested in foalcon, incest, and dubious consent. However, the fetish material dominates the story, and there’s little appeal for anyone outside of that audience.

The opening paragraphs are a bit confusing, since there are multiple characters referred to as “filly”, and I don’t really know any of them beyond BonBon and Twist, and neither of them seem to be following common fanon portrayals.

And early on we’re getting the obvious hints of BonBon and Twist’s incestuous relationship, and the slightly subtler clues that said relationship is a bit abusive in how BB manipulates Twist.

For the record, I’m a LyraBon fan, and thinking of BonBon this way is kinda weird. She’ll just be BB for the remainder of the review.

While there’s definitely a good setup for the fetish here, the fetish material itself is striking me as rather unsettling. I think it’s a combination of BB’s manipulation of her sisters with the general sexual innocence shown by the younger two. As I said above, I don’t generally read underage ships unless the characters at least demonstrate some awareness of sexuality.

Another part of the unsettling feeling, I think, is that the relationships developing don’t necessarily seem to be healthy ones. Rather than a growing romance, it instead feels like characters heading steadily for a bad situation.

It’s an interesting combination of feelings at this point — interest in a very well-written lesbian sex scene contrasting with discomfort at the manipulative nature of the relationship.

Ripe Persimmons

That has to be among the worst name puns I’ve seen lately. Sounds just like something the show would pull, though.

or tricking their youngest sister into believing this was all just a trust exercise, thought Berry…

That final “thought Berry” is a bit awkward. It feels like it’s shifting from an outside narrator to Berry’s voice there.

The rest of the sex scene is almost enough to forget the earlier unease that these relationships produced, but the fillies’ own uncertainty and distress at the end bring it back.

This is hardly the first time I’ve reviewed a story that I disliked not for a lack of skill on the author’s part, but rather for content that I found personally distasteful. This is, however, probably the most complex matter of that sort that I’ve dealt with.

I would say that, as Flutterpony touched on in the commentary, there is definitely value here beyond the eroticism. Namely, it can present something of a challenge to a reader who doesn’t generally engage in these fetishes. At what point does the fetish material become too much for you to still enjoy it?

Contrariwise, for someone who does enjoy these fetishes in a limited extent, with certain qualifiers (such as myself), it can call those preferences into question. Sure, I may limit the questions of abuse and manipulation through such caveats as “the characters are near in age”, “the characters are both aware of their sexuality before starting on this path”, or “the younger partner is the sexually aggressive one”; it still begs the question of whether that still wouldn’t be just as harmful and morally dubious as this seems to be.

Of course, if younger foalcon and dubious consent are things that appeal to you, then this story will provide you exactly the sort of entertainment you likely seek.

I think this also shows the importance of tone in a story, and shows just how much difference can arise from simply emphasizing different elements. I’m sure the story could have taken quite a different tone if BB’s manipulation wasn’t a major factor, and Ginger’s young age was downplayed. In that case, it would really have been your straightforward fetish-driven clopfic, and I honestly may have enjoyed that more.

I’m not certain I could have enjoyed it fully, as I tend to be analytical, and I don’t think I would have been able to actually put Ginger’s age out of my head entirely.

But even if I couldn’t clop to it, it made me think.

Nothing at all, beyond perhaps altering that single awkward spot. The only other changes that could really be made would be things that change the story’s focus away from the realistic consequences of these acts, something I doubt is of interest to the author, and likely not to the readers, either.

This has posed a problem. On the one hand, this is excellent writing, and even a bit thought-provoking for someone uninterested in the fetish material. However, it’s fetish fuel based on a rather niche fetish. This merits a very high score on talent and writing quality, but a much lower one on general appeal. However, I’d rather weigh things in favor of the former than the latter, and I can always add a caveat.

Must-Read, but only if you enjoy foalcon and nonconsensual. While skillfully written, the fetish material is front and center, and anyone who doesn’t like those things will definitely be put off by this.

4201460 I was wondering just how you was going to handle this story. And your assessment of the fic feels right on the money to me.

4201460 Yesss! Thanks for the awesome commentary and review! I did struggle with the p.o.v. in this. My editor tried to get me to work out the kinks, but I was apparently too distracted or stubborn. I'll very likely go back and fix that.

Thanks again, like, a lot!

I’m looking for characters at least the CMC’s (admittedly vaguely-defined) age — underage by our standards, but likely in their early teens and already experiencing puberty.

If they're experiencing puberty, they're not underage. Or am I the only one who thinks this?

4202248
Puberty often begins around 10-12 years old, and a condition known as precocious puberty can cause it to begin before age 8. Sorry, but a 10-year-old girl is underage, whether she's had her first period or not, to say nothing of an 8-year-old.

I'm more talking about "jailbait" — physically mature but legally underage, and likely lacking the emotional maturity necessary for a healthy sexual relationship as well.

4202506
You're just being technical about what puberty means. By and large, if you're in puberty, then you already have an adult body, or you're getting there. We're hard wired to be attracted to adults, and sexual urges start during puberty too. I'd agree that 10-12 is a tad young as it's very early in puberty, but from 14-15 and on most people are pretty much done, with only minor changes until they reach 20 or so.

"jailbait" — physically mature but legally underage

That depends on where you are. "Emotional maturity" is really just a matter of education. What I'm saying is, if you're in your "early teens," (starting from thirteen) you're not really underage, disregarding arbitrary standards.

As an aside, I assumed Ginger is 8, Berry is about 11, and Twist is about 13. This is implied by the use of "junior scout" and "Cadette." Though, technically, Ginger is too young to be a Junior, she's farther advanced than any regular Brownie scout in the story, plus the title "junior" fit better in context and matches her uniform.
https://www.girlscouts.org/program/basics/for_volunteers/where_to_place/junior/

I have no issue with readers interpreting them all as older or younger, of course.