Title: Devotion Series
Fandom: Xena: Warrior Princess
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife, Xena/Gabrielle
Categories: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Length: Epic
Warnings: Mentions of extreme abuse and self-harm themes.

Author on LJ: carolinecrane
Website: n/a

Author’s Summary: Joxer remembers a bright spot on an otherwise bleak childhood and the reason he left home at sixteen.

Review:
This is one of those series that is gut-wrenching as it is heartwarming. Opening with an emotionally battered Joxer reluctantly reminiscing about his lost first love, this entire story is a boat ride through angst infested waters...and I mean that in a good way. Naturally.

Though touted to be over-the-top by the author due to the amount of angst involved, this fic does a magnificent job of creating and exploring a past for Joxer that is heartwarning, heartbreaking, and surprisingly true to the character in a number of ways. He’s not the loveable would-be warrior we all know in this story: he’s someone else, someone new, who we’re allowed to see through shades of his past, his friends, and his allies. He’s someone who has loved and lost and is paying for it even now in his chosen life.

Filled with godly cameos, painful memories, and tender healing, this is a story for anyone who likes their characters to mostly hurt before they start to heal.

Devotion Series