beccastareyes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
beccastareyes) wrote2010-10-01 07:29 pm
beccastareyes) wrote2010-10-01 07:29 pm
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30DoS.22: A pairing you hate and no one else understands why? Xellos/Filia
Day 22 - A pairing you hate and no one else understands why? Xellos/Filia
Well, actually plenty of people understand why. And to be fair, this is one of those things that is 90% execution... though 99% of people who write it will get it wrong*. I could really throw Xellos/Lina and Xellos/Zel and Xellos/anyone-except-maybe-Xelas-or-Shabranigdo here, but I mostly move in the 'traditional het pairing' circles, rather than the alt-het-pairing or slash circles, and most trad fans will ship Xellos with Filia if they ship him.
So, Slayers. Xellos is a mazoku, a being created from piece of the source of all destruction in the world. Filia is a golden dragon, a mortal servant of the gods, who represent creation. You see the problem. Xellos drives Filia up the wall, and Filia seems to be one of the few beings that can ruffle Xellos's metaphorical feathers.
Now, the big thing here is that neither of them is human. Neither really wants to be human**. Xellos especially, since Filia at least has the basics of being in the same phylum as a human, but Xellos isn't even in the same domain. He's a being whose actual body is on the astral plane and who feeds off of human emotions -- specifically fear, sadness and anger as happiness gives him indigestion. His species apparently reproduces by budding, and the 'child' is subordinate to the 'parent' in the mazoku hierarchy. Which also serves as an inborn and apparently hard-wired set of 'social' instincts -- obey those above you in the hierarchy. Compared to that, the fact Filia is a large carnivore that will live for millennia is nothing.
Anyway, what I don't like about (most) X/F works is that they treat Xellos as mostly human, or at least motivated by human drives, when things like 'sex' or even 'companionship' don't seem to factor into his motivations. Now, I wouldn't say it's impossible to write Xellos in romance, but you'd have to give him motivation to give a damn and be willing to put up with the influx of positive emotions***.
I'm not one to argue that it's impossible for Xellos to feel some kind of devotion or attachment, but it's pretty alien to him. The closest he comes in canon is his inborn devotion to Beastmaster Xelas as his 'parent' and the respect he seems to feel for the main cast, especially Lina Inverse. You could maybe argue that familiarity with the main characters gives him some kind of fondness, but more on the level of 'I know these people, and so having them in play makes my goals easier to achieve then strangers, even when they are obstructing them'.
(And the last two are opinions. Xelas is the only one I'd call a statement of fact.)
In summary: the thing I don't care for about this pairing is the tendency to treat a dragon and a sentient piece of destruction as if they were two of the human**** cast, rather than trying to write about them on their own terms.
*Statistics made up on the spot.
** One could argue that after the events of Slayers TRY, Filia isn't too happy with golden dragons either, so is apparently living among humans and beastmen. Granted part of that is the Big Bad wiping her tribe off the map since they kind of did the same to his tribe, so Filia would have to travel to another continent to find other dragons.
*** Or if he has some complex scheme to craft a dysfunctional relationship, explain why he's bothering. Especially when a simple scheme might work better. 'Simple is best'.
*** Zel and Pocota (and Duclis) count as human, they consider themselves human (or formerly human), and were humans at one point, current bodies non-withstanding.
Previous Days
Day 01 - What is your current favorite ship? Anthy/Utena
Day 02 - What was your very first ship? Jadzia/Worf
Day 03 - A pairing that needs to happen now? Snow/Talia
Day 04 - The pairing with the most chemistry? Lina/Gourry
Day 05 - The pairing with the least chemistry? Anakin/Padmé
Day 06 - The best kiss? Eleanor/Gerard
Day 07 - The most heartbreaking scene? Harry/Susan
Day 08 - The pairing with the most baggage? Sarasa/Shuri
Day 09 - The most believable relationship? Kaylee/Simon
Day 10 - Why aren't these two married in real life? N/a
Day 11 - What is your dream pairing? Dhulyn/Parno
Day 12 - Who had the best wedding? Magrat/Verence
Day 13 - What is your favorite television pairing? Amelia/Zelgadis
Day 14 - What is your favorite book pairing? Dag/Fawn
Day 15 - What is your favorite game pairing? Link/Zelda
Day 16 - What is the pairing that is annoying me right now? Roy/Ed
Day 17 - A pairing you thought would never work out, but did? Zuko/Mai
Day 18 - What is the cutest pairing? Winry/Sheska
Day 19 - A pairing you've rooted for since the beginning? Sokka/Suki
Day 20 - The "can't stand the sexual tension anymore" pairing? Jinto/Lafiel
Day 21 - A pairing you like and no one else understands why? Zelgadis/Sylphiel
Well, actually plenty of people understand why. And to be fair, this is one of those things that is 90% execution... though 99% of people who write it will get it wrong*. I could really throw Xellos/Lina and Xellos/Zel and Xellos/anyone-except-maybe-Xelas-or-Shabranigdo here, but I mostly move in the 'traditional het pairing' circles, rather than the alt-het-pairing or slash circles, and most trad fans will ship Xellos with Filia if they ship him.
So, Slayers. Xellos is a mazoku, a being created from piece of the source of all destruction in the world. Filia is a golden dragon, a mortal servant of the gods, who represent creation. You see the problem. Xellos drives Filia up the wall, and Filia seems to be one of the few beings that can ruffle Xellos's metaphorical feathers.
Now, the big thing here is that neither of them is human. Neither really wants to be human**. Xellos especially, since Filia at least has the basics of being in the same phylum as a human, but Xellos isn't even in the same domain. He's a being whose actual body is on the astral plane and who feeds off of human emotions -- specifically fear, sadness and anger as happiness gives him indigestion. His species apparently reproduces by budding, and the 'child' is subordinate to the 'parent' in the mazoku hierarchy. Which also serves as an inborn and apparently hard-wired set of 'social' instincts -- obey those above you in the hierarchy. Compared to that, the fact Filia is a large carnivore that will live for millennia is nothing.
Anyway, what I don't like about (most) X/F works is that they treat Xellos as mostly human, or at least motivated by human drives, when things like 'sex' or even 'companionship' don't seem to factor into his motivations. Now, I wouldn't say it's impossible to write Xellos in romance, but you'd have to give him motivation to give a damn and be willing to put up with the influx of positive emotions***.
I'm not one to argue that it's impossible for Xellos to feel some kind of devotion or attachment, but it's pretty alien to him. The closest he comes in canon is his inborn devotion to Beastmaster Xelas as his 'parent' and the respect he seems to feel for the main cast, especially Lina Inverse. You could maybe argue that familiarity with the main characters gives him some kind of fondness, but more on the level of 'I know these people, and so having them in play makes my goals easier to achieve then strangers, even when they are obstructing them'.
(And the last two are opinions. Xelas is the only one I'd call a statement of fact.)
In summary: the thing I don't care for about this pairing is the tendency to treat a dragon and a sentient piece of destruction as if they were two of the human**** cast, rather than trying to write about them on their own terms.
*Statistics made up on the spot.
** One could argue that after the events of Slayers TRY, Filia isn't too happy with golden dragons either, so is apparently living among humans and beastmen. Granted part of that is the Big Bad wiping her tribe off the map since they kind of did the same to his tribe, so Filia would have to travel to another continent to find other dragons.
*** Or if he has some complex scheme to craft a dysfunctional relationship, explain why he's bothering. Especially when a simple scheme might work better. 'Simple is best'.
*** Zel and Pocota (and Duclis) count as human, they consider themselves human (or formerly human), and were humans at one point, current bodies non-withstanding.
Previous Days
Day 01 - What is your current favorite ship? Anthy/Utena
Day 02 - What was your very first ship? Jadzia/Worf
Day 03 - A pairing that needs to happen now? Snow/Talia
Day 04 - The pairing with the most chemistry? Lina/Gourry
Day 05 - The pairing with the least chemistry? Anakin/Padmé
Day 06 - The best kiss? Eleanor/Gerard
Day 07 - The most heartbreaking scene? Harry/Susan
Day 08 - The pairing with the most baggage? Sarasa/Shuri
Day 09 - The most believable relationship? Kaylee/Simon
Day 10 - Why aren't these two married in real life? N/a
Day 11 - What is your dream pairing? Dhulyn/Parno
Day 12 - Who had the best wedding? Magrat/Verence
Day 13 - What is your favorite television pairing? Amelia/Zelgadis
Day 14 - What is your favorite book pairing? Dag/Fawn
Day 15 - What is your favorite game pairing? Link/Zelda
Day 16 - What is the pairing that is annoying me right now? Roy/Ed
Day 17 - A pairing you thought would never work out, but did? Zuko/Mai
Day 18 - What is the cutest pairing? Winry/Sheska
Day 19 - A pairing you've rooted for since the beginning? Sokka/Suki
Day 20 - The "can't stand the sexual tension anymore" pairing? Jinto/Lafiel
Day 21 - A pairing you like and no one else understands why? Zelgadis/Sylphiel