A non-partisan anti-Xig/Dem criticism

[sincere]

Let me preface this by saying that I don't usually care what pairings you like. If you don't like my pairings, I do not feel obliged to convince you that they are made of awesome. If you like pairings that I don't like, I don't feel the need to tell you why your pairings suck. If I'm vehemently against it, I won't read it; if I trust your writing or I haven't developed an animosity yet, I might take a dip and see what it's like. But in the end I can sit over here with my opinions and hope that you have not-stupid reasons for having yours.

But when 1) you spew stupid related to a pairing I like in an icon post while I'm looking for icons, and 2) you are so vehemently against a pairing I like that you make anti-pairing icons, while 3) advocating again to the point of icon-making a pairing which is equally if not more improbable...
...I feel compelled to respond to the stupid.

But Kay, you might say, she doesn't like Xigbar/Demyx because she doesn't want Demyx to be raped. You can't be advocating rape, right?

What.

Okay, her series of anti-Xig/Dem icons, I don't care. Sure, make Xigbar a cartoonish villain lusting after poor Demyx's hot ass, I've seen it before. (Why do Zexion/Demyx and Luxord/Demyx etc people feel the need to bash Xigbar/Demyx? I don't get it. I've never seen the former two bash each other, only Xigbar/Demyx.)

But in the comments she says some things I just have to call out, like...

Random: awww why dont you like xigbar and demyx..?? i think they're cute :P
Her: >_<;;; because I don't like seeing Demyx get raped? plus the age thing...

First of all, a little age difference never hurt anyone. Xigbar is incredibly awesome, totally hot, and pretty obviously a hippie young at heart... dude.

But secondly, why is this pairing rape by necessity? People who DON'T like the pairing will sometimes write about it so that Demyx can go cry on [love interest of choice] but unless I missed the part in canon where Xigbar was revealed to be a rapist, I'm pretty sure those are demonizing portrayals and not indicative of "real" Xigbar/Demyx. As someone who roleplays Xigbar, I have never once considered him to be the kind of person who'd rape anyone. (He doesn't think people who are crying and terrified are sexy. Or even interesting. He's more likely to kill such a person than screw them.)

She adds...

Her: I'd rather see Demyx with someone who makes him happy... I just can't help but feel that xigbar's intentions towards Demyx are totally dishonorable.

So... you think he has intentions towards Demyx, but that they're evil?

And meanwhile, I love the flat assumption that Xigbar is incapable of making Demyx happy (which, itself, is something of an impossibility; Nobodies and all) but her OTP for Demyx is of course made of happy, even though Luxord exchanges zero words with Demyx in either KH2 or FM+. (As opposed to Xigbar's whole three sentences.)

Random: I can't understand the XigbarDemyx craze either XD It makes me go wtf in so many ways.
Her: I do not like my Demyx molested D:
Random: D: especially by a surfer pirate
Her: especially by a surfer pirate who totally has "Xaldin's Bitch" tattooed on his ass er... should be sexed up hard by Xaldin! er... ANYWAY XAL/XIG FOR THE WIN

Okay, so here's another thing I missed in canon: the moment when we saw Xigbar's naked ass and the tattoo that was on it. Since Xigbar and Xaldin had absolutely 100% zero interaction in KH2, and I don't think ever addressed each other directly in FM+, this seems like a pretty poor reason to go bashing other pairings with Xigbar.

What I don't understand is how someone who ships Xaldin/Xigbar so intensely can believe that Xigbar is lusting after someone else. He can't be that OTP with Xaldin if he wants Demyx, in my opinion. And I guess is a rapist when it's anyone but Xaldin, who he rolls over and exposes his metaphorical belly for.

Summary: Stop hating on other pairings solely because it interferes with your OTP of choice. That's not a good reason. It just makes you sound like you have no grasp of characterization beyond the surface cliches that make up



Xigbar/Demyx is a fantastic pairing. Xigbar is Number Two in the Organization and he is a ruthless badass who can fuck your shit up, but he's also carefree, nonchalant, and vaguely benevolent. The dialogue he exchanges with Roxas/Sora, like, awww, aren't you cute, with your ferocious little scowl, is made of awesome.

It also leads me to believe that he'd make a good pair with Demyx, who is the only other member of the Organization who is genuinely light-hearted. But the entire Organization holds him in contempt for being dumb only half-competent adorable, and Xigbar is the only one who voluntarily interacts with him, and he sounds amused when he does. I think Xigbar must be fond of him, and so in my head he's the person Demyx can turn to when he has observations or complaints, or when he's confused, as the only person who doesn't mean it when he mocks Demyx, and who (despite his position of power) isn't unapproachable.

Xaldin/Xigbar bores me. It strikes me as "unattractive people slash," like, Xaldin and Xigbar aren't cute or young enough to sex up other people, so they'll sex up each other, and then somehow people convinced themselves that it was OTP. Even before they became literal blood siblings in my head-canon, I just didn't see the appeal. Xaldin is so utterly disassociated from everything that I don't see why Xigbar would want to screw him, much less be his "bitch". (I'm sure Xaldin feels the same.)

Luxord/Demyx is kind of random. It's not bad: Luxord is one of the more laid-back members of OXIII, although still more proper and distant than Xigbar, and Demyx might be able to get along with him. I've read some porn of them, it's hot.

But not as hot as Xigbar/Demyx, which is my OTP for them.

But *GASP* I like both of them in other pairings too. I have a higher-functioning brain and am capable of having two ideas at the same time.

Comments

[katwalkchan.livejournal.com]

This is why I refuse to ever play those games
The fandom is insane and drives me crazy even when I don't know the people they are talking about, imagine if I knew who these people were D:

[maiki.livejournal.com]

Not wanting to play the games just because of its fans doesn't sound like a good enough reason, though... ^_^; I mean, you could just play and enjoy the games but not bother looking at its fanworks, you know? At least that's what I'm sorta doing...

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

But the same thing can be said for all fandoms -- the "summary" is more an open note to all fandoms. I've heard people say "I HATE AIZEN/GIN BECAUSE IT'S RAPE AND GIN ALWAYS WINDS UP CRYING when he should be screwing Kira" and that is just not cool, no matter what the fandom, no matter what the situation. I like having reasons for things, and those reasons can't be "Because my OTP is different lol". XD

[maiki.livejournal.com]

Man, this clearly shows how out of touch I am with the KH fandom despite being in it. XD; Anti-pairing icons now? Weird interpretations of Xigbar? What next, Nomura-hate icons? OTL (sorry, can't think of anything else)

I wonder if I'm one of the minority that likes both XigDem and ZexDem...

even though Luxord exchanges zero words with Demyx in either KH2 or FM+.
Unless you wanna count the novel, where the only words Luxord gave to Demyx were "Shut up." XD

[alba-aulbath.livejournal.com]

Holy crap I'm in love with your icon. D:

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

I say more power to you for enjoying both of them. ♥ It's possible to be a fan of different pairings, but it seems like it's really difficult for a lot of people. You'd think they were literally married to certain pairings and liking one of those people in a different pairings is like cheating on their husband or something. D:

Rapist!Xigbar is not cool. :\ UNLESS HE'S WITH XALDIN LOLOLOL

XD Was that him? That's hilarious. I can see how Luxord would make Demyx happy.

[alba-aulbath.livejournal.com]

It's refreshing to remember that I'm doing my best to avoid the KH fandom.

FOR THIS IS MADNESS

NO SPARTA JOKES WERE INCLUDED IN THE MAKING OF THIS COMMENT

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

I'm avoiding the fandom now mostly because it's flooded with all this stuff about Birth by Sleep, which we still know next to nothing about. I'm sure Terra/Ven will be an awesome pairing, you guys, I just want to wait until I know wtf is going on before I go reading fanfic, okay?

But I wanted Namine icons for an RP, and, sigh.

[syvia.livejournal.com]

*applauds your post*

I'm fond of a very, very wide variety of parings in KH. I don't dislike any. I may not search out specific parings, but there's nothing in the fandom that makes me go 'OMGKILLITWITHFIRE'.

Badly written parings though- yeah. DO NOT WANT. Anyone who assumes Xigbar would rape Demyx' cute little ass just because is not someone whose fic I trust to be enjoyable.

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

I love KH pairings, and I don't believe in forming OTPs to the exclusion of other pairings: Sora/Namine is and always is my OTP for them, but I like Seifer/Namine and I like Sora/Riku etc etc. I shake your hand for being open-minded. XD

Bad writing can kill anything. >_> But on the converse side, really good writing can convince me of anything. I still maintain that if I ever found a writer I really enjoyed who wrote a pairing I dislike, I would read their stuff anyway. But the only occasion I've had where I found an intelligent, well-written person who wrote a pairing I don't care for while remaining IC was Cats in Boxes, and I unfortunately don't enjoy Luc Court's writing style, so... I guess I'll never know?

[yashahime.livejournal.com]

.................

...wait, what?

Xigbar did WHAT now? When? Behind which barn? Are you SURE Demyx isn't trying to just get some money in court with this cry of rape?

My brain hurts verymuchbad.

(Also, Xaldin/Xigbar doesn't work for me, either, though in my case it seems to be because Xaldin is so much of a...nonentity in my head. Very stereotypical and boring just on his own, to me.)

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

She was watching this episode of Sally Jesse Raphael and it reminded her of them? I genuinely can't explain it.

Like Xigbar would need to resort to rape to get laid, amirite?

(I'm not a big fan of Xaldin, myself, for similar reasons.)

[sorceressakemi.livejournal.com]

Kay! I love your XigDem icon, it's completely made of awesome!

In other words, \m/

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

I think I have a second one at home on my PC, along with a dozen other awesome icons I want to upload. :3 Mwahaha. I was so happy after finding this nonsense to also find Xigbar/Demyx icons. I'd been thinking, man, for such a tiny, almost invisible corner of fandom (from my perspective: I've NEVER seen anyone write for it outside of the very occasional bit from my friends) it sure has a lot of hate.

[soi.livejournal.com]

Wait, so they just randomly commented on an icon post to say they hated the pairings in the icons?

....WOW, that's obnoxious.

[jade-fragment.livejournal.com]

Xigbar/Demyx is a fantastic pairing. Xigbar is Number Two in the Organization and he is a ruthless badass who can fuck your shit up, but he's also carefree, nonchalant, and vaguely benevolent. The dialogue he exchanges with Roxas/Sora, like, awww, aren't you cute, with your ferocious little scowl, is made of awesome.

Word, dude, Word XD

That's just stuff I never understood about people/fandom in general. If you totally are against something sooooooooooooo much, why do you bother starting a fight over it? I mean, I've ranted about plenty of crap in my own journal, but I don't go up in people's faces and say EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW. I mean o_O;;

I haven't really followed the KH fandom so closely for a while...just mostly lurk on some of the comms but hardly ever dabble in mostly for those reasons...pairings fanbrats are so irritating. It's like these people can't understand that just because THEY don't like a character doesn't mean that that character is a BAD character. I mean, sure there are some characters that maybe I prefer over others, but I can at least acknowledge that X character still has merit.

I personally love Xigbar because he's a cryptic bastard D: but hey. Whutev.

Dumb people are dumb.

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

The weirdest part is that she doesn't dislike Xigbar! She loves him! Xigbar/Xaldin is her OTP! She just thinks that one of her favorite characters is a rapist when anyone other than the proper counterpart in the OTP. How do you fail so much? If Xigbar isn't a rapist with Xaldin, how come he's a rapist with Demyx? Do you like the part of his personality you imagine is a rapist? What's going on? Logic is not following.

[chibimazoku.livejournal.com]

Man, I was just talking with mackzazzle and harukami about how the KH portion of our Flists are very small, and for a VERY GOOD REASON WHICH YOU JUST SUMMED UP.

Pairing wars are ridiculous. I have a thirteen year old little sister who began to engage in them last year. When she shipped Zutara? She hated Aang on principle. Same with when she was into CSI-- she hated Sarah just because she interfered with some of her pairings. Any attempts to sit down with her and have a well-reasoned discussion about why hating a character for interfering with your NON-CANON pairing is a little silly would be met with a brick wall of refusal. And this is a normally intelligent and articulate girl.

For her, the turning point was realizing that it doesn't matter because the pairing isn't canon. Because she's moving outside the realm of strictly canon already in shipping those pairings, does it really matter what the canon relationship is?

Of course, she's thirteen and still working on giving up on ship wars.

I have the feeling a lot of fandom never even got to that stage.

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

I wish fandom would advance to the level of your kid sister. XD Because this stuff about "I hate X because she breaks up Y/Z" or "A belongs with B, A/C therefore sucks" is totally getting old, you guys. How they can keep up this much hatred against characters and pairings that never did anything to them, for years, is beyond me.

[okroginator.livejournal.com]

I'm obviously one of the rare breed that loathes detests wants to kill with fire doesn't go for non-canon yaoi. So my take on pairings doesn't really belong here.

Me: NOTHANKYOUPLZ

But honestly, it's all about doing your own thing and letting other people do theirs. If these people aren't mature enough to realize that, it's going to have to be up to you to move on, because they won't. Just console yourself with the fact that you can eat them if you're ever stranded on a desert island. Or, like, use them for bait to catch a wolf.

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

As I've stated, it's not about what pairing I like. I don't like Zexion/Demyx, but if she'd been whining about Zexion raping Demyx because obviously he's a rapist unless he's paired with Larxene, I'd have been equally bewildered and annoyed.

I'm not, like, obsessing over this. I was done with it a little while later, when I was lucky enough to find Xigbar/Demyx icons. XD I only posted because I know a lot of people on my flist do like talking about pairings and about logical fail, and would enjoy (or not enjoy) this shining example of the latter.

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

YOU HAVE THE FANART THAT MADE ME LOVE XIGBAR/DEMYX. How did I miss this post earlier. *sadness*

I've clearly been playing Demyx all wrong. He's never been raped once in his life. Not once!

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

I was too stupid to save it the first time, but I hunted it down on the vastness of the interwebs, in case you don't have and want to save it. :3

Your Demyx is missing out! He can't be happy until he's been hunted by a sexual predator and gets screwed by Luxord. :(

[ladycrysiana.livejournal.com]

Oh man, that icon. Is it takable, because that is still my all-time favorite artwork (and probably, one admits, the origin of my love for Xigbar/Demyx.)

As to the actual content here: I don't get why people must demonize one pairing just because they like another one. I mean, I even tend to hate Zexion/Demyx and I've tried writing it just to get my head around the concept.

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

I took it from a post a few weeks/months backdated on kh_icons, so feel free to steal. ♥ I think that without that fanart, I never would've even thought about the pairing, but once I started thinking, it just clicked so nicely!

(If you want the full version and don't have it saved, I found that again too.)

I don't like Zexion/Demyx, but it isn't because ZOMG ONLY XIGBAR CAN MAKE DEMYX HAPPY AND ZEXION HAS LEXAEUS' NAME TATTOOED ON HIS ASS although even if he did he could keep you from seeing it if he wanted to although I don't know why anyone has seen a character's naked ass in the first place. It's just because when I analyze the pairing, I don't think they're really "right" for each other. *shrug*

[yami-chan.livejournal.com]

I have no opinion about Xig/Dem, but I will agree with you about people hating on pairings because it interferes with their OTP. I mean how lame are you?

Also you're icon is gorgeous. Is there a bigger version somewhere?

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

This picture started the entire Xigbar/Demyx fandom, I think. (http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i303/_letigre/1191093165431-1.jpg)

I'd never have thought of the pairing if not for that fanart. XD

[maiki.livejournal.com]

Dude, Kay, love your new Leon/Aerith icon! Where did you get it from? D8

[kay-willow.livejournal.com]

Iconmaker 5staricons posted it at kh_icons~ I'm so glad I found it, the pairing is awesome and unloved. She had some other icons with them, but mostly just putting the same official artwork onto the same icon. XD