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Project Valentine (Multishippings, G-PG13)

Thanks! I love figuring out how all these characters play off each other.

*​

ObliviaShipping // Ben & Summer // G

"This is nice, isn't it?" Summer lounged on the island beach, head resting against her Staraptor's fluffy body. "We don't get many chances to just kick back and relax."

Ben stared at her. Then, slowly, his gaze turned out to the sea, sparkling in the late afternoon sun … and the billowing mushroom cloud of smoke expanding rapidly across the sky. "Yeah," he said. "About that …"

Technically, they weren't obligated to do anything. With their mission in Oblivia complete, and with the Pinchers taken out, they were actually expected to return to Ranger Headquarters within the week. There was, of course, the implication that they would help the locals if some horrible problem reared its ugly head, and Ben would have been more than happy to follow that unspoken rule. But Summer, not content to have their adventure end on such a violent note, was determined to spend their last day in the archipelago on a worry-free date — and unfortunately for Ben, Oblivia, and civilization as we know it, that date would not be interrupted for any reason whatsoever.

"Don't worry," Summer said, waving off his concern. "It's probably someone's barbecue gone wild. A passing Gyarados will fix everything."

Ukelele Pichu watched as Ben awkwardly returned to his sand castle. The little mouse, who had been strumming an aimless tune on his namesake, faltered as the smell of smoke tickled his nostrils. A sideways look from Summer, though, encouraged him to pick up the pace. He did so, but not without the occasional minor chord where a major chord would have sufficed, injecting a subconscious sense of the ominous.

The smoke's reach grew longer, denser, like an atmospheric belch. The sky was choked with a red-violet haze. In the grass, crickets hesitated.

Something just on the verge of hearing wormed its way into their notice; the roar of a motorboat grew louder. Everyone looked up as it sputtered to a stop in the shallows nearby, bobbing in the churning waves. There was a thunk, and a ladder rolled over the side; a short scientist shimmied down into the water and immediately waded over to them, heedless of her sopping-wet pants.

"It's great that you're on a date and all," she said, panting, "but it's an emergency! There was some kind of explosion and—"

Summer held up a hand. "Is this something the other Rangers can't handle?"

"I don't know," said the girl, wringing out her shirt.

"I'll take that as a no." Summer yawned, reaching out absentmindedly and squeezing Ben's foot. "Nema, I get that you guys look up to us, but we're busy right now. Do you think you could round up a few others to take care of this? We need to make the most of this sun; it's not nearly as hot at headquarters."

"... Okay." Nema bit her lip, then turned and climbed back onto her boat. With a whir to restart the engine, she urged it back into the fathoms between the islands, leaving concentric ripples in her wake.

Ben exhaled. His toes wiggled in Summer's grip, tickling her palm. "She seemed really worried, Summer."

"I know." Her sigh didn't break her calm, but he could hear the concern in her voice. She blinked slowly, then fixed her gaze on him. "But we're always so busy, running around saving the world. To just take some time off for ourselves ... is it really too much to ask?"

He understood, though he didn't entirely agree with her conclusion. "I do like that we're having fun," he admitted, drumming his fingers against her arm. "Being with you … it's great, really! But there are some things that we just can't ignore." A corner of his mouth quirked in a smile. "And don't try to tell me you don't like kicking butt together."

"That's true." Sand spilled as she shifted to face him; her fingers tickled his toes. "That's true … but what harm can it be for us to stay like this for five more minutes? Just pretend there aren't any problems."

Ben drew his mouth to the side. After a moment, he nodded. "Okay. But only five minutes."

She smiled and closed her eyes. He smiled as well, watching peace soften her face. Only Ukelele Pichu noticed the distressing behavior of the smoke, contorting into the face of a vaporized madman and leering down upon all Oblivia.

But surely that could wait.

*​

Coming up next: FerrisWheelShipping.
 

AmericanPi

Write on
Hello! American--Pi here, and welcome to the Sunday Review! Here's how it works: Every Sunday (well, at least I try to make it every Sunday in my timezone) I pick a one-shot or a single chapter of a chaptered fic to review. I try to alternate between the Fan Fiction and Shipping Fics forums. My reviews are Review Game-style, which means that for Shipping Fics I pick three out of the nine Review Game criteria and comment on them as much as I want to (but at least one paragraph). Every time I try to pick three different criteria, but usually I just comment on whatever in the story catches my eye.

This week, I've chosen your latest Project Valentine one-shot to review, which means I'm going to review "ObliviaShipping". I've known of Project Valentine for years now (thanks mostly to the Shipping Oscars, which I've kind of followed since joining the forum), but I never managed to check it out mostly due to laziness (sorry!). But now that I'm doing the weekly Sunday Review, I'm finally going to get around to reviewing a Project Valentine one-shot. Enjoy!

Opening
Heh, that was funny in a darkly humorous sort of way. I love how the first two paragraphs contrast each other, from Summer's relaxation to Ben's worry. It did a great job of making me want to read more, and helped me through the third paragraph. What I mean is, your third paragraph is quite long and sets up a lot of necessary exposition, but fits quite nicely into the flow of the story when it's juxtaposed against the opening two paragraphs. You also set up the exposition nicely, so good job on that.

Characters
The only thing I'm a little iffy on is Summer's characterization. I was quite taken aback by Summer's general apathy towards the situation, and her selfishness in caring more about her own enjoyment than the safety of Oblivia. Isn't a Pokemon Ranger supposed to always be ready to save the day? However, Summer's characterization was also quite comedic, in a dark sort of way. And I can also understand why you characterized Summer in your way. You seem to have Ben as the non-playable character here - obsessed with being a hero, optimistic, and caring - and Summer as the playable character, whose character can be anything you want it to be. That was an interesting interpretation - it was shocking and funny at the same time.

Enjoyment
I like ObliviaShipping a lot, because I've actually played and enjoyed Guardian Signs. I was pretty delighted that you chose to write about Ben and Summer, but I was also a little annoyed that you took the decently heroic player character and turned her into a selfish prick. Well, at least she was willing to save the day after five minutes of rest, which I found to be pretty funny. The one-shot had a nice, darkly humorous tone, and your interpretation of Summer's character added to it. Overall this fic was a huge Funny Aneurysm Moment, and I enjoyed it a lot.

From what I see here you have a very large, nice, and successful collection of various shipping one-shots and drabbles, and this is a very cool project that I hope you continue. Happy writing! :)

- Pi
 
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