#the chimera (Zelgadis Greywords)

[karolinevassalor]

When I wake up to a sudden noise in the middle of the night

Now I got for a good dose of Slayers images and not afraid of using it xD

[alexeiadrae]

Mega Brand Q&A with Hajime Kanzaka, 7/2018 to 12/2018, translated

And I am just about caught up to when @kaette-kita-slayers stopped posting, I know for sure she covered 2017 but I am going to have to double check for the first part of 2018 as she started going by issue rather than date at some point to make sure I don’t redo the wonderful stuff she’s already done, and I’m not sure if this is one of those things that I worry will take forever but will be straightforward, fast and easy once I get started or if it will actually take forever. So there may still be some more or there may not.

I am also pursuing some avenues to try to get the full versions of the Blaster Interviews, but no guarantees there.

And also, I would totally be following that black cat with HK, lol.

12/26/2018  

Q: I have a question about the magical capacity. In a previous question, you mentioned that Gourry's magical capacity is high, but what is the average magical capacity of humans in that world? The fact that Flare Arrows and Fireballs are rather popular (of course, partly because of their practicality), does that mean that there is enough magical capacity to trigger them? Also, are there people who have no magical capacity at all?

KANZAKA: "The average is that you would be able to fire two or three "Fireballs" in a row if you could only learn it. Basically, there is no one in that world who has no magical capacity at all."

Q: Infectious diseases afflict even modern people, and Gourry saved Lina's life in a pinch by saying, "You'll catch the disease," but haven't they developed a spell or something to cure infectious diseases? Also, is it something that can be cured if it is as good as the red priest Rezo?

KANZAKA: "Infectious diseases cannot be lumped together because of the differences in infection routes. There have been cases where individual mages in a region have developed magic that is specially effective for a particular disease, and it can be cured in that region but not in other regions."

Q: There are stars and suns in the world of Slayers. Does this mean that space exists in the world of Lina and her friends? Also, does the existence of multiple worlds on the sea of chaos mean that there are multiple universes with different dimensions?

KANZAKA: "Basically, they are universes with the same structure as our world's universe. The other worlds of the Demon King are other worlds with the same structure. However, this is only with regard to the structure of the universe, and there are differences in many areas."

12/01/2018  

Q: In volume 1, when Zelgadis and Lina first meet and negotiate, Zel casually asks, "Would you like to help me?" If Lina had joined forces with Zel, what would Zel have done after that? And as for the "two or three times the amount of money that could buy an entire castle," how was he going to make it? Did he intend to incorporate Lina into one of Rezo's crew as usual, or was he thinking of defection at that point, and was he going to dump her from the crew and from Lina once she had joined the crew and obtained the god statue? Or did he step on the fact that Lina seemed quite capable, and he rather wanted her as a force to be reckoned with when he defected from Rezo and struck back? What was Zel's plan at that time?

KANZAKA: "Zel's inner thoughts are of course flexible. At that point, Zel did not know Lina's true ability, and it was also unknown how powerful the item hidden in the god statue was. Probably in Zel's mind, all of the means mentioned by the questioner would have been possibilities. As for the price, Zel did not calculate to pay what he said he would since Lina had refused."

Q: Now that the Underworld King Fibrizo has been destroyed and magic using his power is no longer available, what happened to the "little nifty and improvised zombies" that used to appear in the Specials? Are they still in existence since they require Fibrizo's power to create but not to exist afterwards? Or does it require even a small amount of Fibrizo's power to exist, so it is back to being just a corpse at the same time that Fibrizo was destroyed?

I would think that people who are necromancers for a living would be in a lot of trouble if they could no longer borrow Fibrizo's power, and I would like to know what they are doing after Fibrizo's demise, if you don't mind my asking.

KANZAKA: "Once generated, the small, chic zombies continue to exist even after Fibrizo's demise. They need Fibrizo's magic power when they are created, but once they are created, they do not need Fibrizo's magic power to maintain them. And since necromancy in general in that world did not specifically use Fibrizo’s power, few necromancers would have been troubled by Fibrizo's demise."

Q: Alaina called Lina "a child playing at being a mage. 　1. from an elf's point of view, all young humans are children 　2. it's just that Lina is really a child. 　3. Alaina just said something bad. 　Which of the following would it be...? I am curious.

KANZAKA: "I think she probably genuinely looked like a child. I guess she just let it slip out of my mouth. Also, at that time Alaina didn't want outside interference, so she's trying to give MacLyle the impression that Lina is unreliable."

11/2018    

Q: I would like to talk about the "paper made from plants" used by Alaina, the elf. I am wondering if this one is papyrus-like or Japanese paper-like. I thought it might be Japanese paper-like since it seems to fold up small. Also, Lina said at first glance that it was made of plants, but is it a substitute that is normally distributed among humans? If so, which is easier to obtain, parchment or vegetable paper?

KANZAKA: "If I had to say, I would say that I lean more toward Japanese paper. I can assume that Lina has probably seen some kind of prototype of plant-based paper on some previous occasion. However, it is not in common circulation among humans."

Q: The gemstones held by Alaina played an important role in the amplification device, but is that because gemstones are still a thing of high magical power in the natural world? Lina can synthesize gemstones and process them to embed magic circles, but their artificial (?) Is it possible to use gemstones for Alaina's camp?  

KANZAKA: "Think of the tools used by Alaina as a kind of pseudo-circuitry using natural objects. It does not matter the amount of magic power each individual has, it is only used as a catalyst. In that sense, it is possible to use Lina's jewelry as a catalyst as well, but that doesn't necessarily make it dramatically more effective."

Q: I have a question about the battle between Ceifeed and Shabranigdu. How big were these two bodies? Also, I heard that half of the continent disappeared due to the impact of the battle between the two bodies, but where was the battle fought? Was it a battle in the world visible to humans and other people and boom, boom, boom, or was it a battle in the spiritual world and the aftermath materialized and suddenly blew up without any warning? If it is the former, I think it would be a great nuisance for both gods and demon kings, since they are in a state of two great monster battles.

KANZAKA: "Because it was a half embodied, half astral-side battle, the size varies depending on where and how you look. Think of it as ranging from human-sized to mountainous. The location of the battle is not a specific place name, as it is now an ocean in that world. Regarding the recognition that Ceifeed is a god, shrine maidens around the world sensed it through 'prophecy.'"

10/01/2018   

Q: I have a question about the division of a day in the world of slayers. There are inaccurate Nantoka clock but they are uncommon, so does the average person in that area go to bed after sunset, wake up, and if the sun is up, it's the next day? I wonder if assassins or people who work at night would be able to tell the passage of time to some extent by the height of the moon or something, but not until "Oh, the sun just changed.”

KANZAKA: "It is true that they don't know the exact time, but at night they seem to make general judgments based on the movement of the stars and other factors."

Q: I have a question about the Demon Tribe and the Demon King. Shabranigdou was divided into seven parts by the great war in the past, and each part has 1/7th of the power of the other part. Even if Shabranigdu before the Great War had the same level of power as the demon kings of the other world, now it has been divided into seven parts, so it would be easy to say, "Oh no... that demon king over there... is too weak...?" I am worried that Master S. might be licked by others like that.

KANZAKA: "Perhaps there are demon kings from other worlds who see it that way, but basically they are occupied with their own world, and if they observe something about Shabranigdu's world, I think they would just say, 'You're having a hard time, well, good luck.'"

Q: The Blast Sword that feeds on the magic power of its surroundings and turns it into sharpness. For example, in Gourry's case, the sword's sharpness would be sharper if Lina, who has a high magical capacity, is by her side... If so, what is the effect on those around him of magic being used to feed the sword?

KANZAKA: "Basically, the power will increase or decrease depending on the magical capacity of the surrounding beings. But of course it also depends on whether the magic power is being released to the outside or not. The sharpness may increase or decrease depending on whether or not Lina is in the vicinity, but this is only a margin of error if the magic power is about the same as that of a human. Also, Gourry's magic capacity itself is actually quite high, although he cannot use magic."

08/2018 

Q: I have a question, Lina's magic became more and more useless because of 'that day'. From what I have read in the anime and novels, it seems that technology has not advanced much, but have they bought anything to use on that day? Or is it covered by magic or something? Sorry for the stupid question. I just couldn't help but wonder if I were to go to that world....

KANZAKA: "It depends on the person and the region, but I believe they use cotton or cloth."

Q: I saw in a past BLASTER! If there are only "manuscripts" for books, it seems to me that the cost of producing them would be quite high. If so, are libraries with large collections of books more heavily guarded than we think of them today? In addition, there is a description of Lina reading a zoological illustrated book in the special "The Forest of the Phantom Beast", but I think that the production cost of an illustrated book is even higher than that of a text-only book, and that publishing, mass-producing, and recovering costs for an illustrated book is also very difficult.

In the work, Mr. Estalee is a delightful creature researcher mage, but from the description that he has published nearly ten books continuously, I wonder if he is a very competent and authoritative person.

KANZAKA: "Certainly, books are expensive in the Slayers world. Naturally, manuscripts are made by apprentices or hired artisans, but if there is an "artist" among the apprentices, it is quite a big deal. According to Estalee, he published 10 books, but it is not clear whether they were solid books or 10 sheets of parchment, so the number of books he published does not always tell the whole story."

Q: I think that some of the chimeras in Slayers are not in human form or are beastmen, and I don't think we see many chimeras like Zelgadis that have kept their human form, as if they have poured other creatures into humans. (Although some of them have a form that does not hinder them in their human life even though they are a combination of a human and a demon thing...)

So my question is, is the difference in the appearance of the chimera simply a difference in the power of the magician who creates the chimera? Is the non-human form more powerful, or is there a difference in output?

KANZAKA: "In the world of Slayers, we call the synthesis of multiple life forms "chimera" as a general term, but the shape depends on the concept to begin with. If you use a human being and try to keep the human form, you will end up with a chimera, and if you cross animals with each other, you will naturally end up with an animal form. Of course, the skill of the surgeon has some bearing on this, but the main difference is the concept."

07/2018  

Q: Is there any kind of jinx or test to get luck in the world of Slayers, such as "If a black cat crosses you..."* or "Katsudon (pork cutlet served on top of rice) before an exam"? I'd like to know what it's like if there is one. *I love black cats, so when they cross my path, I want to follow them!

KANZAKA: "Of course, there are all kinds of jinxes in that world. However, they vary from country to country and region to region, so there is no particular nationally famous jinx. And, as a side note, when a black cat crosses over, the author also follows."

Q: I have a question about spirits. Do the spirits of spirit magic inhabit the astral side? Or do they inhabit the material world? Is there more than one individual in the name of a species, such as Bephimos? Or only one with power?

Can spirits, like demons, fight if they want to? If so, how strong are they?

Can the demons, aiming to weaken the humans, eradicate the spirits that are the source of Ra Tilt?

I am not asking for all the answers, but rather a list of questions I had about the spirits. Thank you in advance for the above.

KANZAKA: "No one has observed spirits in human magical knowledge. However, since they exist and can actually draw power, magic is built on the assumption that such things exist. I think it is safe to assume that it is a kind of law rather than some kind of creature. Therefore, 'destroying a particular spirit' is like rewriting part of the laws of physics, so it is not an easy task even for the demon tribe."

Q: I have a question about the oracle that informs us of things like the resurrection of the demon king and even the price of radishes, but is there an oracle for male priests as well as priestesses? Also, are there priestesses who specialize in oracles? Also, do fortune tellers in this world have anything to do with magical powers like priestesses do? Or is it like the real world, where even if you get it right, it's like bagua (Eight Trigrams)?

KANZAKA "There are male 'miko' as well, but they are often not recognized as 'miko' by the people around them. Appearance is important. There are basically no miko who specialize in oracles. This is because oracles are not always given. Therefore, fortune tellers in that world may have some magical power involved, but it is basically a matter of luck or oracles..."

[kat-vs-art]

Junicorn day 28: Zelgadis unicorn cuz I’ve been rewatching Slayers

[kaileech]

My old fanart (from 2011) on Zelgadis 💙

[light-arted]

Enjoy these... design notes? Headcanons? Anywho, my main conclusion is that while Rezo and Zelgadis have a lot of similar features (once you eliminate the distractions of Rezo's perpetually shut eyes and Zelgadis being a chimera, anyway) they aren't quite identical! Once you know they're related though, I think it's hard not to see the similarities.

[Image description: A pair of illustrations of Rezo and Zelgadis Greywords, drawn from the shoulders up. Rezo has his eyes open and Zelgadis is human in the picture.

Various design notes surround them, which read as follows: "So both of 'em have the hair that goes sideways and up like it's desperately trying to escape their skulls. ("Save me from the melodramatic anime men!") Rezo's flows more from the center though (note widow's peak) whereas Zel's comes from a slightly off-center part to his left. They both have upturned eyes (tsurime?) but the slant is more pronounced in Zel's case. They have a similar jawline but Rezo's face is narrower than Zel's, which also makes it look longer. They have basically the same nose but that might be an art style limitation tbqh... Zel's shorter than his grandpa- I estimate by about 4 to 5 inches." And here there's a little doodle of a grumpy Zel looking up at Rezo who tells him "told u to drink ur milk."

The last design note is "They're similarly fair-skinned but have different hair and eye colors- here's what I use." Underneath is an example of the skin, hair, and eye colors used for Rezo and Zelgadis in the illustration. They have the same pale skin tone but Rezo's hair is purple and Zel's hair is blue, and Rezo's eyes are brown whereas Zel's are blue. End image description.]

[20dice]

So people are wondering where Talesin got the name greymoore for Ashton and I was going through my old anime and

This is Zelgadis GREYWORDS

He’s a chimera who part ROCK golem from the anime “The Slayers”. An anime that is LOOSLEY based off of DnD.

It could just be a coincidence though

I think a lot of rock characters end up with a name like “grey____” though. I think it’s a trend like black characters having lightning powers or Asian characters with a color streak in their hair

[tuxedo-floracat]

gembond appreciation!!! i don’t have very many and half of them are wearing skins that cover most/all of the actual dragon but here are my 3 visible gembonds!

Smaragdos - the first Snapper i ever bought, still in his original genes! a very special guy.

Scoria  - an Earth egg I scavenged and hatched during my first Rockbreaker’s Ceremony in 2014! this is actually her second set of genes, I completely regened her in 2017 and gave her gembond then. looks so good on her!!!!

Zelgadis - my first fandragon, Zelgadis Greywords from Slayers! actually was inspired to get him specifically because of the gembond gene looking just like the character’s stony skin:

tho i did end up covering the dragon’s face where it actually is most visible on the character tho he is initially introduced in the anime wearing a hood and face mask to hide that he is a chimera lol

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: Comfort

Relationship: Zelgadis Greywords/Xellos

Characters: Xellos, Zelgadis Greywords

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst

Summary: When Zelgadis is nearly struck down by the Ghost of Shabranigdu, Xellos finds himself strangely troubled. Xellos/Zelgadis

Note: Written for Springkink: Slayers, Xelloss/Zelgadis: tenderness, after a close call – the thought of losing him was strangely disturbing

AO3 link

-------

Xellos hadn't expected to feel the sort of personal pain he felt when Zelgadis was nearly killed by the Ghost of Shabranigdu. Spent—"injured," he supposed, if he were to look at it from a human point of view—as he was, he could only watch the attack. Could only watch as Zelgadis screamed in pain, as blood covered a part of his face, as he fell to the ground with a terrible crash.

When Zelgadis stopped breathing, after he finally went still, he could do nothing, had to preserve what power he had left for any chance… The seconds trickled by, and his breathing started again.

Xellos was unspeakably relieved. The thought of losing him was strangely disturbing.

After it was all over, Lina's Giga Slave cast, the Ghost of Shabranigdu destroyed, the chimera had found the strength, despite the obvious internal injuries hidden beneath his stone skin, the shredded clothing that made clear what would have happened to him had he been fully human, he had used what energy he'd had left to heal Amelia as best he could.

And Xellos could only watch from the Astral plane, gathering his energy, as the shaman limped off after they were greeted as heroes by the remaining denizens of Taforashia, making his way to the quarters Pokota had provided when they had started helping the Red Priest in his attempt to make up for a portion of his sins.

Without the power to manifest, Xellos could only watch Zelgadis. He removed the remnants of his clothing, cleaned the injuries that had made themselves apparent on his skin, and then practically collapsed into the bed, his breath ragged and pained.

The Mazoku hadn't even been aware that Zelgadis had been repressing his pain until that moment, and the force of it shocked him. His spirit drank in the miasma, along with the emotional pain, the residue of what the chimera had felt when Rezo had informed him there was no cure, finally freed now that there was time to allow it.

It was just enough power to allow him to manifest on the mortal plane, and only enough for an unclothed body. One that was genderless—something that hardly mattered under the circumstances, as Zelgadis was clearly hard-pressed to breathe at all.

He curled behind the shaman, holding him chest to back, before Zelgadis saw him.

Their relationship was nothing if not tumultuous. They had come together for mutual pleasure, briefly, during the encounter before Xellos' missions had involved Lina. And again afterward. That had stopped, for a time, after his identity had been revealed by Gaav. But only for a time.

Truthfully, they often seemed to alternate between trying to kiss each other and trying to kill each other.

Although Xellos had aided them in the end, this particular mission had put them more at odds than most of the others, and he wasn't sure how the chimera would react. Hopefully, he wouldn't find dislodging him worth the pain.

As strange as it seemed, Zelgadis' near-death had… troubled him—he really didn't think Mazoku were capable of the too-human feelings of fear or concern; after all, they were inherently selfish beings. Troubled was as close as he could come to that sort of emotion.

But he certainly couldn't deny that he wanted to hold Zelgadis in his arms, to feel him breathing, have his heartbeat close, now that it had nearly stopped.

He was relieved when Zelgadis didn't push him away, when the chimera instead leaned back against him, as though seeking the comfort of his presence. Xellos wrapped gentle arms around him, held him tenderly, as a lover might, until his pain faded into sleep.

A creature who took comfort in the presence of a Mazoku, and a Mazoku who was concerned about the well-being of a mortal creature.

It seemed they were both oddities.

[ipraygreywords]

What was Rezo's relationship like with Zelgadis' parents? With his wife?

Rezo loved his entire family, and he often considers the longevity that comes from his mastery of white magic to be a curse in disguise, because he’s outlived most of the younger family members, and since he has no heritage before himself (as an orphan and foundling), this means his entire family tree consists of those younger people.

He is Zelgadis’s patrilineal grandfather (Kanzaka confirmed they have the same surname, Greywords, some years ago) which means Zelgadis is his son’s son.  Rezo has a lot of experience  raising headstrong  boys, and he’s consistently harder on male heirs than female. That’s not to say he’s too indulgent, too permissive, with the girls in his family. It just means he finds he has to try less hard to keep them in line, to raise them to be good and kind people.  

As such, he raised his son (I still haven’t thought up a name and probably should!!!–I might use “Ren,” which was the name of a previous rp partner’s take on both that character, and a son borne of Zel and Amelia) the same way he raised Zel: with consistency, kindness, and yet a firm, regimented set of rules for good conduct. You notice when Zel steps out of line, and Rezo scolds him, he never needs to raise his voice to get a “yes, sir,” and that’s not because of the chimera thing: it’s an auto-response that’s ingrained from years in the same household.  This was how Rezo behaved around his son, always loving and physically affectionate, with many words of affirmation, but also with a firm sense of who was always the alpha wolf. 

Unfortunately once Ren (we’ll call him that) reached adolescence, Rezo started to drift away into, and become consumed by, his self-curing research.  Part of this was due to the fact that his wife (also nameless, but let’s call her Oriana, again after an OC written by an rp partner who lost interest in Slayers) had died shortly after childbirth with Ren, of an illness that later became the prototype for the so-called “Durum Disease” (yeah…fuck Shabranigdu, tbh…..)  and Rezo had not been equipped to save her, which drove him more deeply into perfecting his skills as a healer.   His relationship with her had been one frowned upon by the more conservative social sects of the day: a liberated sex-positive relationship in which Oriana was as much head of household as her not-yet-famous young husband. 

 Oriana was also a skilled healer and herbalist.  She in fact taught Rezo a great deal of what he now knows of that branch of the healing arts. She also learned to cast the spell he designed for raising ink in three dimensions so he could read books. 

During his late adolescence, Ren developed a resentment for his father’s obsession to perfect his craft.  Eventually he moved out of the household and married Zelgadis’s mother.  He and Rezo weren’t exactly estranged, but it wasn’t until Zel was born that Rezo had a vested reason in visiting them regularly.  

In an eerie echo of history (probably machinated without Rezo’s knowledge by Shabranigdu, to drive Rezo mad), the same illness took the lives both of Ren and his wife, and left Zelgadis an orphan, when Zelgadis was three years old (yes, I reject the quasi-canon rumor that Rezo “killed his family because Shabranigdu made him,” that’s just...kinda egregious and cliched, tbh).  Rezo adopted him. What Shabranigdu couldn’t anticipate was the positive effect Zelgadis’s existence had on Rezo’s emotional and mental health: effectively a blockade to Shabranigdu’s agenda to break Rezo and use him to be resurrected.  This is why Shabranigdu worked diligently to press Rezo toward chimera research, and break that familial bond.  

[rollzerox]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Slayers (Anime & Manga) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Zelgadis Greywords/Lina Inverse, Zelgadis Greywords & Lina Inverse Characters: Lina Inverse, Zelgadis Greywords Additional Tags: Romance, Fluff, One Shot, Comedy, Eventual Romance Summary:

Zelgadis runs into Lina Inverse who will help him get into the Sorcery Guild in town to research on their chimera books, but for a price. Older work, light Zel/Lina fluff written for XXLenaX on DA.

[xxelloss]

tag drop 

[karolinevassalor]

Navris: *doing some crazy, probably deadly experiment again*

Xellos: *encourage her for more* /troll best friend/

Zelgadis:* try to talk her out of it* /worried bf/

Milgazia:/the tired uncle/

*hold her like this until she calm down*

Valgaav: * sulking in the corner, he wanted to play/spar with her* /much older but acting like a younger bro/

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: Trance

Relationship: Zelgadis Greywords/Xellos

Characters: Xellos, Zelgadis Greywords

Tags: angst, music

Summary: Xellos wonders about the way Zelgadis affects him while spying on him playing the guitar. Originally written in December 2010.

Note: Written for the SlayersAdult LJ community’s Kinkfest prompt: Zelgadis/Xelloss: music as an aphrodisiac - It wasn't a spell, but for some reason, hearing Zelgadis play the guitar and sing made Xelloss feel like being gentle

AO3 link

—————

Although the music itself was lovely, Xellos’ attention was drawn first to his hands. Zelgadis’ fingers moved on the strings in almost a caress, so gently he was almost not touching them.

He knew there was a non-sensual reason for it—the Shaman had likely destroyed instruments accidentally with his strength and the texture of his skin—but he chose to believe that Zelgadis was simply caught up in the music, that on some level making it was erotic. It certainly felt that way to Xellos.

It helped that the chimera seemed lost in the music, a rare look of near-rapture gracing his face.

Zelgadis had always made Xellos feel odd, but moments like this made it difficult to resist that strangeness. It was a feeling he could identify, and that was the problem—he wasn’t supposed to feel tenderness or the urge to protect something other than his master. These feelings, the desire not to destroy, but to…

There weren’t words to describe what he wanted, not words that were acceptable, not concepts that should ever occur naturally in the mind of any Mazoku, much less one of Xellos’ stature. He was the Beastmaster’s Priest-General. This was beneath him.

But Xellos couldn’t deny to himself that he couldn’t summon the desire to destroy, the bloodlust, toward Zelgadis, especially now with those nimble fingers producing such a gentle, melancholic melody.

It produced an entirely different kind of lust, one that insisted that he sooth away the loneliness that he had felt all too often in the chimera, that he knew was inspiring the music. Even traveling with the dragon and the others, it was there, and coupled with the music it inspired in Xellos an insane desire to somehow fill that emptiness.

He was still trying to control himself when Zelgadis began to sing softly, his voice deep and sensuous.

For a moment, Xellos felt lost, as though his world had shattered or shifted and he had lost his bearings completely. All that was there to guide him was the gentle strum of the guitar and Zelgadis’ voice, like a beacon in the dark.

Then the strumming stopped with a discordant thrum, and the singing abruptly cut off.

It took Xellos a moment to realize that he had allowed himself, or been drawn, to manifest on the physical plane. He was surprised at himself, at his lack of control, and fought to regain his senses. By the time he had succeeded, the guitar had fallen to the floor with a damaging-sounding clatter as Zelgadis bolted from his seat on the bed and scrambled for his sword.

The gentle melancholy in the chimera’s mood had disappeared, replaced by a medley of confusion, alarm, anger, and… fear.

That fear, Zelgadis’ fear of him, reminded Xellos of reality—no matter how much he might desire otherwise, the shaman would never feel anything beyond apprehension for him. That fear would always be between them, because of what Xellos was.

He should have been angry, should have been able to summon bloodlust; the spell Zelgadis somehow held over him should have been broken. But instead Xellos felt oddly bereft.

The Mazoku ignored the weapon Zelgadis had pointed at him and picked up the guitar, surveying the damage. A string had snapped, undoubtedly caused when his sudden appearance had startled the shaman, but the body had also cracked from the fall. He strummed the remaining strings and was disappointed to discover that the sound was ruined.

“Oh, dear,” he murmured. “What a waste.”

He could feel Zelgadis’ disappointment as he too realized that the guitar was likely unsalvageable.

“I didn’t realize you were musically-inclined, Zelgadis-san.” Xellos looked at him, frowning just slightly as the chimera tensed as though readying for a fight. “I certainly didn’t mean to startle you.”

The miasma of Zelgadis’ emotions settled on anger. “What the hell do you want, Xellos?”

There was quite a bit that he wanted, but those desires were permanently out of reach, and it was a bit painful to be reminded of his ridiculous impulses. Had Xellos the option, he would have avoided the chimera until the longing disappeared, but his mission involved following Lina and, as a result, Zelgadis.

He tried to school the features of his astral projection into something resembling amused distain. “Since you broke the guitar, I suppose nothing anymore.”

Xellos had intended to sound flippant, but instead it came out vaguely disappointed. He had a momentary urge to destroy the guitar, to vaporize it in an intimidating show of power, but he was just as incapable of that as harming Zelgadis. Ruined or not, destroying the guitar felt wrong, and he knew it would only increase Zelgadis’ fear of him.

He should have wanted the shaman to fear him, should have wanted to encourage that fear, not to relieve it. It was a failure of character, a failure as a Mazoku, to want that.

He ignored Zelgadis’ surprise and gently set the guitar on the bed.

“What a shame,” he whispered.

He wasn’t sure anymore whether he was referring to the destruction of the guitar, Zelgadis’ fear and his inability to relieve it and have what he wanted, or his failure as a Mazoku for wanting it. Perhaps everything.

Xellos stayed just long enough to taste a new medley of emotions from Zelgadis—confusion, curiosity, worry…that couldn’t really be desire; only his own delusional wishful thinking—before he left the physical plane entirely.

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: Liberation

Relationship: Zelgadis Greywords/Xellos

Characters: Zelgadis Greywords, Xellos

Tags: Imprisonment, Rescue

Summary: Zelgadis, after months trapped by a sorceress, is rescued by the most unlikely of people. Originally written in December 2010.

Note: Turned out more wistful than like crack. I was expecting crack, but I guess this works. For the Slayers Kinkfest on the LJ community SlayersAdult. Prompt: Xellos/Zelgadis: fighting against nature, romantic gestures - It was embarrassing enough being locked up in a tower by an evil witch. It was even more so to have Xellos rescue him.

AO3 link

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It had been embarrassing enough to be locked in a tower by an evil witch. Zelgadis had underestimated her completely, and the hag-sorceress had evidently decided to keep him as some sort of pet after she’d bested him. She had indicated that she intended to leave him there until the fight was out of him and he’d be useful as a servant.

What she wanted, he knew, was a slave, and from the lewd and disturbing way she had looked at him, he was more than disgusted by the idea of what that might entail.

The problem was, after several months of being cooped up and unable to escape—the tower’s walls were made of orihalcon, which also essentially sealed his magic, and there weren’t any windows for him to even tell how many months it had been—reliant on the hag occasionally bringing food and drink, he was reaching the point where that was sounding like a good deal.

However long it had been, it wasn’t like anyone had found him. They probably couldn’t, with the orihalcon between him and the outside world, probably dulling any location spells. If he hadn’t been able to best her, his only hope was Lina Inverse. But if she couldn’t find him, he was trapped.

It looked very much like he didn’t have a choice if he wanted to get out of the tower.

Zelgadis was surprised, therefore, to wake to find Xellos floating over him, looking at him with what, on a real human, might be considered puzzled concern. He scrambled off the bed, having enough sense not to trust Xellos’ intentions even if he was relieved to see another, technically, living creature after so long alone.

“Oh, my. I didn’t think you were the damsel in distress type, Zelgadis-san!” Zel bristled, but the Mazoku continued, not giving him a chance to retort. “And yet here you are, locked in a tower by an evil witch. It’s almost like one of those ridiculous fairy tales!”

“If she captured you, too, I guess hoping for Lina’s a bust.” He couldn’t imagine that orihalcon did anything pleasant to Mazoku, who seemed to practically breathe magic, but he realized belatedly that with the bastard floating in mid-air that was likely a misconception.

Xellos only smiled at the idea, clearly preferring to mock his situation. “Of course, this evil witch seems to want something more than just a hostage. Are you the pretty princess in the tower, then?”

Zel sighed, what little anger he’d been able to muster collapsing as he realized that he was, essentially, exactly that. “What do you want, Xellos? Did you just come here to mock me?”

He wanted to hope, as embarrassing as it was—even more so than being locked in a tower in the first place—that Xellos was here to help him out, but that was ludicrous. As a Mazoku, Xellos was likely only here to enjoy his helplessness and depression for his own twisted amusement.

He certainly wasn’t encouraged when a thoughtful smile spread across the faux priest’s face.

“Well, I’m not quite sure myself. After all, I could enjoy this even more from a distance.” Xellos’ smile turned slightly embarrassed. “I suppose I was intrigued by your predicament.”

Zelgadis huffed, irritated. “So you want me to tell you how I got locked in here?” He fully intended to tell the bastard it was a secret.

The Mazoku shook his head. “Certainly not. I watched your battle with the sorceress. It was rather pathetic.”

Zel winced a bit at that, even though he knew it was true and had berated himself quite enough over it. “So, what, you just came to rub it in?”

“I suspect you’ve done that quite enough on your own.” Xellos looked strangely uncertain. “It is… I suppose a bit unnerving. To see you so helpless, I mean. For a mortal you have quite a bit of strength. I rather expected you to have gotten out of this situation by now.”

“How nice of you to watch all this time,” he muttered, sitting down heavily on one of the chairs in his small cell. Plush like everything else; the sorceress clearly wanted him to be comfortable. Physically, anyway.

“Actually, I had duty to attend to. I thought I’d see how you’d fared here.” The Mazoku came closer, but Zel didn’t bother to move. “I didn’t imagine you would still be here, let alone that you would have given up.”

If Xellos expected him to be grateful to him for showing up, or to beg, he had another think coming. He still had pride left. Not much, but enough to be humiliated at the thought of being rescued like this, by him.

“What the hell do you care?”

Xellos’ hand was suddenly on his face, his nose a mere inch from Zel’s. “Interesting question. I’m afraid the answer seems to be a secret, even from me.”

He didn’t have time to react before the Mazoku’s lips were on his, gentle and soft against his stone skin. It didn’t feel like they were stone anymore, not with how Xellos’ hand felt against his cheek, how his lips seemed to sear Zel’s. He tasted of magic, something the chimera hadn’t felt since his capture. Something inside him seemed to melt away, and he found himself leaning into it, wanting more.

Zelgadis didn’t realize he’d closed his eyes until Xellos broke the kiss and his touch was gone.

When he opened them, he found himself alone, and surrounded by trees. The tower was nowhere to be seen, and he was free.

But as Zelgadis raised a hand to his lips to find them stone once more, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been captured in a different way.

At least this way felt better than the other.

[ipraygreywords]

“You haven’t moved in hours.”

      “And I won’t, for hours more.”

There is something cold in Rezo’s tone, an abrasive and aloof side to him that emerges when he is hiding shame too tremendous to share.  Pride is a damnable thing, and every Greywords man has it in excess, but not the sort of pride that’s conceited, so much as the pride that makes a person impermeable and untouchable, tucked-away and overly dignified.

Rezo turns a page of the arcanum he’s reading, one that describes Overworlder magic, and the way that Overworlder bodies, from the devastated plane owned by Volphied and the now-vanquished Darkstar Dugradigdu, isn’t susceptible to spells on Ruby.  The corner of his hand is stained by ink, and his shoulders hunch, and he continues making frantic calculations on an abacus, and says no more. 

Today is the anniversary of the day he turned Zelgadis into a chimera; yet another year has passed unforgivably without resolution, without salvation, without redemption and healing.  Prying Rezo away from his desperate research will be a perhaps doomed mission.