- Partners
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Back for the final part!
I'm not sure what I was expecting from Arceus. I suppose I had expected that some of the larger issues unearthed in this fic would be put on the table, namely that there's something a bit messed up with this constant divine back and forth, and the strain it's putting on the mortals. But instead we pretty much get Xerneas and Yveltal whining. I get the sense that we're meant to read Arceus as being secretly sympathetic to them, and giving them a "punishment" that lets them be together. But it's not like they were forbidden to see each other before, was it? I didn't feel like that resolution resolved much.
I was kind of taken aback by Xerneas' choice to just let the "illegal" resurrections stay as is, particularly the one that was Yveltal's mistake. Do these rules matter, or not? Do they actually mean something, or is it just an arbitrary decision by Arceus? Are they not worried that if they keep flouting regulation Arceus will do something worse to them, or have they worked out that he's all bark no bite?
The moment with the sawsbuck was touching. It's always nice when stories point out that death can be a blessing in some circumstances. I was a bit confused, though, because previously I thought it had been established that unwilling souls couldn't be brought back, which would keep this situation from occurring. And per your explanation, Yveltal also isn't actually the one tasked with bringing death to pokemon--her job is limited to vegetation and fighting blight--so this didn't quite fit for me as a situation that makes Yveltal appreciated. Still seems like Xerneas and Yveltal could use that public relations specialist.
For a fic about people swapping bodies and roles, I was a bit surprised to feel at the end like nobody had really learned anything. When Xerneas and Yveltal start breaking down in front of Arceus, they're still talking in the same way they talked at the start of the fic, and Arceus' solutions doesn't seem to do much more than increase their codependency even more. It doesn't really address the central issue of how divine powers of life and death should be used, and who gets to decide that.
Always fun to read more Xerneas/Yveltal fic. I think my favorite part was number three, where is felt like Xerneas and Yveltal were really grappling with the conundrums of their powers, their duty, and their responsibility to other pokemon, the overall order, and themselves.
I'm not sure what I was expecting from Arceus. I suppose I had expected that some of the larger issues unearthed in this fic would be put on the table, namely that there's something a bit messed up with this constant divine back and forth, and the strain it's putting on the mortals. But instead we pretty much get Xerneas and Yveltal whining. I get the sense that we're meant to read Arceus as being secretly sympathetic to them, and giving them a "punishment" that lets them be together. But it's not like they were forbidden to see each other before, was it? I didn't feel like that resolution resolved much.
I was kind of taken aback by Xerneas' choice to just let the "illegal" resurrections stay as is, particularly the one that was Yveltal's mistake. Do these rules matter, or not? Do they actually mean something, or is it just an arbitrary decision by Arceus? Are they not worried that if they keep flouting regulation Arceus will do something worse to them, or have they worked out that he's all bark no bite?
The moment with the sawsbuck was touching. It's always nice when stories point out that death can be a blessing in some circumstances. I was a bit confused, though, because previously I thought it had been established that unwilling souls couldn't be brought back, which would keep this situation from occurring. And per your explanation, Yveltal also isn't actually the one tasked with bringing death to pokemon--her job is limited to vegetation and fighting blight--so this didn't quite fit for me as a situation that makes Yveltal appreciated. Still seems like Xerneas and Yveltal could use that public relations specialist.
For a fic about people swapping bodies and roles, I was a bit surprised to feel at the end like nobody had really learned anything. When Xerneas and Yveltal start breaking down in front of Arceus, they're still talking in the same way they talked at the start of the fic, and Arceus' solutions doesn't seem to do much more than increase their codependency even more. It doesn't really address the central issue of how divine powers of life and death should be used, and who gets to decide that.
Always fun to read more Xerneas/Yveltal fic. I think my favorite part was number three, where is felt like Xerneas and Yveltal were really grappling with the conundrums of their powers, their duty, and their responsibility to other pokemon, the overall order, and themselves.
I was rereading to make sure I remembered this plot point correctly and noticed Yveltal is called Xerneas here.“I can’t revive someone just like that,” Xerneas said a little too quickly. “It’s already been a whole day, hasn’t it? The body must be…”
The similarity of "cold, white" "blue, furry" in structure made these opening sentences feel a little repetitive.Cold, white marble chilled Yveltal’s wings. The only sense of warmth she had was from the blue, furry body cozied up against her back.
This is pretty vague. The simile is sort of saying, it felt like something was wrong, like something was wrong.Something felt correct, yet wrong, like there was a disconnect in what had happened earlier.
This reads as if it's from Xerneas' POV for a moment.She was in the right body again. And, therefore…
“Urgh…” Xerneas tried to move his legs, but they were underneath Yveltal.
This feels unnecessarily wordy.But it was clear that the amount of irritation Arceus chose to display here was intentionally less than his true ire.
A glare "given by" eyes is a pretty awkward/unidiomatic construction.Everything was bright, aside from the dark glare given by Arceus’ green and red eyes.
She isn't death, though. Like, she's explicitly not the one who ends pokemon's lives. Her being near pokemon doesn't instantly kill them. If anything, Xerneas is the one who should be indifferent and alone, since if he's too sentimental, he has the power to undo death. In contrast, Yveltal can't stop people from dying even if she wants to, so why does her job require indifference?“I am death. I am supposed to be indifferent and decisive. I am the end. I am inevitable. And I… can’t uphold that.” She looked down. “Not when I also need companionship.”
I couldn't follow what Xerneas was saying/implying in this last bit.But… I think I actually do like their company, in some… twisted way. At least, after the way you felt, there was… there was this emptiness
I wasn't sure what answer Yveltal is suppressing here. What's the reflexive answer, exactly? Death? Well, she clearly likes him, so that's not true. Nobody? Why would that answer be frightening.Who doesn’t love life?”
Yveltal was ready to answer the question on reflex, but the answer frightened her enough that she couldn’t say it at all.
I didn't find this super satisfying, since it seems like the main issue in Arceus' micromanagement isn't really being addressed.Because she saw something in his eyes. The way they gleamed a little, that weak, dull shine.
Yveltal cleared her throat. “Thank you,” she said, and her eyes added, I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused.
“Mm,” Arceus said, but his eyes said more: I, as well.
"the former's" is a bit overly formal and clunky.Xerneas and Yveltal had slept soundly that night, together in the former’s usual abode.
"bothered nor greeted" was a bit difficult for me to parse--I think because seeing bothered without an object following makes me expect an infinitive to follow.Not many Pokémon bothered nor greeted them while they cleared up the overgrown plants and disturbed graves.
Is the idea that the mortals could deal with this by, um, killing the pokemon they revived?Yveltal sighed. “By our rules, we are supposed to remove divine mistakes,” she said. “Those seven… perhaps even those eight…”
“Well, by our same rules,” Xerneas said, “we don’t tamper with something that the mortals can take care of themselves, unless they request it of us. And then, well, refer to the other rules. I don’t think the mortals are requesting us to un-revive them.”
Why not? Does Xerneas believe in these rules or not? And if not, wouldn't that have been something to hash out earlier? I kind of thought Xerneas was the more cold-hearted one when it came to mortals living or dying, and I didn't feel like the events of the previous parts really brought a shift in that mentality?“She’s never wanted anything more than for someone to thank her. It was a moment of weakness… But it’s one that we shouldn’t undo.”
This simile doesn't quite land for me. I can't really find anything that makes the black haze like morning dew. Dew isn't similar to a haze in substance or form.A black haze collected around her wings like morning dew.
Pretty!She sighed her final note; the stray cloud faded from the sky.