Fic Rec for Xena: Warrior Princess (rec written from inside my GLASS CASE OF EMOTIONS)

[demonqueen666]

Equal To The Gods by LadyKate.
Starts out as Xena/Gabrielle, Xena/Ares and then takes us through the completely understandably and expectedly arduous (to put it, um, lightly) at times journey of them reaching a balance not unlike OT3ness. Rated R, set in season six, AU for most of canon from "Old Ares Had A Farm", featuring cameo appearances by

Comments

[ficangel]

Ugh. YES. SO MUCH.

Although there's no point in denying this either - there is a fucking reason this post is getting the Ares icon, and not a Xena one, or a Gabrielle. Because while obviously part of it's because he's already my token squishy for this canon, his arc here made me lose it and flail all over inside and out the most. He's partially led hypnotized Pied Piper style, partially dragged through the mud on his back by his bootstraps, on a path towards mortality and something that might just be redemption - in other words, the arc I eventually was hoping the show was going to give him, and will always be a little disappointed it never did. And not only did this fic give it to me, it gave it but good, and evocative, and beautifully.*a bajillion flaily hands here* One of the things that I love SO MUCH about this fic is that he doesn't even REALIZE it, and even Xena barely does at first, that he's shifting from "makes Xena sad" to "makes me sad, I don't know why" to "because it's wrong" and it's done SO SUBTLY. GAAAAAH. His

[demonqueen666]

IAWTC. The nightmare scene was so. effin'. amazing. for every reason you just described. When it got to the part where in his dream, he as a frightened mortal was looking into the eyes of his former God of War self...I had to get up and walk away from the computer for a moment or two. Because, idek. Glass case of emotions. I mean - I loved all of it, but not gonna lie, the parts I've since gone back to reread are like all the Ares ones. (I'm also very fond of that first conversation with Aphrodite, mainly for how it really helps drive home the whole difference, by how so very much she, portrayd as one of the more sympathetic gods usually even, just does NOT get it. Also the scene at the temple with the Moment Of Temptation because...DUH. There was a certain point in there where I stopped breathing, and it was such a relief when I could start again.) Almost never have I been more happier than I was when we got to the point where he was like, "So, come back home already, dummy" to Gabrielle and I realized that not only did I want to hug