Oh, how sad! I love Xena and Ares. This is a lovely, if depressing, look into Ares' mind. I like the contrast between his physical invincibility and his extreme emotional vulnerability when it comes to Xena. It's part of what makes him an interesting character in general, and you've captured it very well.

After all these years and a general lack of interest and time, it stills gives me a twist in my stomach when I read this.

Don't ever stop, or I'll come over there and beat you with a keyboard ;-)

Mm, this definitely does deserve more reviews. I loved it, it was so bittersweet. One shots are my favorite, and this is one of my favorite one shots in any category. I just recently thought to check if there was a Xena category, and I'm glad this is the first one I read. Sets a high standard for the rest of them. :P

--Red--

I was deleting my already viewed author alerts when I came across the email alerting me of this story. I should have reviewed immediately, but once the window closes I tend to forget things. Reading this piece again months later I am struck with how deserving this monologue is of praise.
It is not so much the quality of the writing that impresses me, but the mastery of the character's voice, and in particular his tone. Reading through, it is easy to imagine how a person might be saying these words. The use of "you" makes it easy to hear his point of view as part of a possible conversation or a natural development of a thought process instead of a random series of unconnected thoughts.
In particular I am impressed with the last four paragraphs. The switch from philosophy to personal is unforced. The conclusion of the piece rings true; it does not have the feel of carelessly placed words.
I thank you for this well-plotted piece, this short glimpse into the mind of a sometimes unfathomable character that covers familiar ground without treading in overdone paths. And I thank you for placing it here so that others may read it.

i like the title of this...i really like the descriptions and alalogies you use in this :) i think this is very fitting and i like the way you worked "other incidents" into it as well a.k.a alalogies etc. very creative. very good job here! :)