Aladdin Central Messageboard

[Cantare]

Just wondering if anyone's thought about the origins of these two animal sidekicks before. I have read an unfinished fic by an author on ffnet concerning where they came from, but haven't really come across many other fics (especially concerning Xerxes).

Anyone have theories?

In my own story I have Xerxes as a human and Mozenrath's friend, who gets turned into an eel by accident. I thought about making him an eel to begin with that was given awareness and the ability to fly by Mozenrath, but then I couldn't nail down a good reason why Mozenrath would keep the annoying thing around. It doesn't seem to be that useful, except to stroke his ego by calling him Master and obeying his every whim. So I figured that Xerxes had to have some significance to Mozenrath in order for him not to just get a more useful, smarter (and perhaps more attractive) familiar.

Apologies if this thread already exists somewhere. I'm a latecomer to this board.
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Sung and written.

http://www.fanfiction.net/~cantare

[Calluna]

Ah, I think I know the fic you mean...

Now that I think about it, it's amazing that so few people have written about Xerxes's origins, considering how much has been written about Mozenrath's! I know Celeste had a theory similar to yours, that Xerxes used to be human and was Mozenrath's friend before he got transformed. I also wrote a human Xerxes, but my fic took place a long time before he got changed. Since it'll probably be awhile before I write the sequel, in a nutshell, Xerxes used to be a crony of Destane's, and got turned into an eel as punishment after he betrayed Destane; Xerxes then helps Mozenrath beat Destane as revenge. I hadn't really thought much about why Mozenrath would still keep him around though.

My Iago answer is going to run really long; I'll get back to that later.
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"If only I could believe you. Perhaps I can! After all... you do bear the name of a flower." -- Arbutus

[Syera]

I kinda figured Mozenrath kept Xerxes around because it beat talking to the walls, and he did come in handy now and then.

Xerxes is a very odd eel; as a human, I think he'd be downright creepy. Can you imagine a human acting that way? Oy.
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Weblog | SH.net | Ed-sprite by Janette

[Jafaria]

Iago makes no sense. Not only should he not be a macaw (because they are native to South America, which had not been discovered yet) he should not be named after a character in a play that hadn't been written yet. You have to come up with some kind of bizarre theories to make it work.

[Meesh]

Jafar is a magician though... Which makes making Iago make sense a little easier

I have never written or given a whole lot of thought to Iago's origin... Just that Jafar probably took him from poverty (the bird version ) and trained him to be his sidekick.

The closest thing I had to writing about his origin is a brief mention of him in my fanfic "No Longer Thirsty" in which I mention him being a young bird to a vizier-in-training Jafar before Jasmine's birth.
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[AladdinsGenie]

That could be why Jafar bought him, though. Because he is this strange species of bird no one has heard of. Iago could have flown away from not-yet-discovered-South America, and was then caught and sold in a bazaar.

Not to mention there's some type of South Americanesque area they travel to in the series, so as far as the Aladdin universe is concerned, it's sort of possible...although that might be implying they discovered South America

[Nez]

[Syera]

I heard that some Indians may have wandered off thataway...
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Weblog | SH.net | Ed-sprite by Janette

[Jafaria]

I can come up with theories about why there's a macaw in Agrabah, but I cannot come up with theories about why that macaw is named Iago. There's no canon proof Jafar can visit, or even see, the future. Because if Jafar had time travel powers, he'd bloody well use them, and not on something so insignificant as seeing a play written a few centuries later somewhere far away from Agrabah.

I mean, yes, it would be a lot of fun to picture a time-traveling Jafar, but he's just not powerful enough before he gets his second wish.

[Cantare]

Lol. I think it's funny how people are talking about the unrealistic-ness of a South American macaw with an anachronistic name in Aladdin, when basically everything else in the show doesn't follow time or cultural rules. Like the fact that Mechanikles makes high tech machines in the 3rd century. Or everything that Genie does for that matter.

Well, one crack theory could be that it was an act of a rogue genie or some supernatural being that transcends time (and reason), that brought Iago into the world. One of Genie's friends was playing Amazon Trail, grabbed a scarlet macaw off the screen, and alt+tabbed to his Sparknotes on Othello, and slapped the villainous name "Iago" on the unwitting bird.
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Sung and written.

http://www.fanfiction.net/~cantare

[Calluna]

[Cantare]

Thanks for the link Calluna. Oh right, Iago's name did not originate with Shakespeare. It is quite an appropriate name though.

randomly about Xerxes: doesn't he remind you of the eels from the Little Mermaid? Well, he's dumber and not as creepy. But he's got the whole ugly, googly eye thing down pretty well.

Mozenrath really could do with a better sidekick, though. I don't really know what kind of animal or mystical creature would fit him well, but the ugly eel thing is weird. I figured he'd go for something more intelligent, like Jafar chose Iago. Maybe a raven or a carrion bird. But I guess since Iago's already a bird, they couldn't pick another bird for a sidekick. Oh, and Maleficent already has a raven...
_________________
Sung and written.

http://www.fanfiction.net/~cantare

[Calluna]

[Jafaria]

[Brighteyes]