ship_manifesto

Title: Destiny
Pairing: Ares (the God of War)/Caesar (Julius Caesar)
Fandom: Xena
Spoilers: Not really, especially since the show ended in 2001
Author:

oshunanat

I didn't realize quite how hard it would be to write about this couple, but I gave it my best shot :)

Caesar: Each event in our life is part of a great plan. There are no accidents. Only destiny.”

Xena: “And who shapes this destiny-- the gods?”

Caesar: “Perhaps. Or it’s the blood in our veins, our-- souls, our desires-- our will. They’re all in it-- together, weaving a tapestry we call-- ‘destiny.’”

The Show:
Xena, Warrior Princess is the story of Xena, a former warlord with a guilt complex who starts helping the masses from oppressive warlords, kings, monsters and the occasional vengeful god. She has a "partnership" with Gabrielle, a relationship that just ever so barely stays on the side of "subtext."

While the show is most commonly known for it's femmeslash (I mean, "alt") shippers, the series did have a small contingent of m/m slash fans. While perhaps it's not quite as easy to find as it was in Hercules, potential still existed for m/m relationships, and this manifesto is going to focus on Ares/Caesar, two of the main villains for the first four seasons of the show.

Ares, The God of War:

Back in her warlord days, Xena used to be one of his followers. He considered her one of his generals and was rather upset at the thought of losing her. When not bothering his half-brother Herc, a good portion of his time was spent trying to win back Xena. The rest of his time was divided between babysitting his less-then brilliant followers, and trying to fight Dahak. Ares gets closer than most to almost winning against her, but of course, can never win.

Caesar. Julius Caesar.

What is there to say about this Roman General who has his eyes set on ruling Rome? He is the best mortal antagonist Xena has in the series. He is smart, he is ruthless, and he does not allow emotions to control him. He is always reaching for more, and almost gets everything he desires, before he is slain by Brutus and the other co-conspirators in the Senate. As for the quote above, Caesar is a great believer in Destiny. On the series, he says that he is destined to rule the world. In the context of the pairing, he can easily believe that another part of his destiny is to be with Ares. He has an iron will and uses it to get what he wants. He is truly a man who makes his own destiny.

Canon basis for this relationship:
Like so many pairings in this fandom, there really isn't much canonical basis for the pairing. While Caesar would almost certainly pray to Ares/Mars before a war, it would seem that the men have a stronger relationship than that. In the Deliverer, we have two exchanges that show us this:

[Ares, talking to Discord about Caesar, though he isn't mentioned by name in this instance, but we know it is him in a scene a few minutes later]

Ares: "The cult-- has been taken care of. I put one of my best men on it-- he controls their temple. And without that-- they’re hardly a threat.”

Discord: “Best men-- you have a mortal handling this.”

Ares: “Not just any mortal-- this one is-- exceptional.”

Later in the episode, Ares appears to Xena and says:

"You know, Caesar and I-- talk, now and then."
That isn't much, I admit, but the choice of wording certainly is helpful, especially the whole "talking" business. As we all know, you can talk, or you can "talk" and considering the pause he takes to say it, it wouldn't surprise me if it were "talk."

What to expect:
+Mind games, either with each other, or against a third party (commonly Iphicles). These two men are powerful in their own ways and don't like to relinquish it easily. They either use their cunning against each other, or they combine their forces to go against someone else.

+Jealousy, from Caesar. Caesar is possessive. What is his is his. He does not like to share his lover. Ares, on other hand, has no qualms with sleeping around. This can be rather detrimental to those that would sleep with Ares. Canon character like Iphicles, or OMCs tend to get killed off, sometimes in rather messy ways. This may or may not phase Ares, depending on the attachment Ares has to the man.

+ Ares toying with Caesar. Caesar wants Ares. Period. Exclamation part. This amuses Ares, or it annoys him, depending on how Caesar goes about trying to get what he wants. The relationship can be one-sided, with Caesar obsessive about Ares. This can lead to some great characterizations, because the best fics you can pick up on feelings of loneliness or desperation and the need for self-validation by being recognized as the best by Ares.

+Unhappy endings. If you're into happy, sappy endings, then don't go any further. For this pairing, a happy ending is mad kinky sex that everyone enjoys, and everyone living to see the next day. Other stories might end with the physical or emotional death of a character.

Needless to say, this isn't a pairing that you'd want to read every day, but if you're looking for good plotting, sometimes angst, and lots of manipulation, this is a pairing for you. It's definitely the darkest of the Hercules/Xena pairings. But, if you're into Dark Fic, you really can't go wrong with this pairing.

The Fandom:
The slash fandom is definitely in it's twilight years. For a variety of reasons, including time and the premature death of Kevin Smith (especially the latter) the fandom is very quiet, and new Ares/Caesar fics are almost non-existent. Still, if you know where to look, you can find some good fic out there.

Whoosh. Not a fiction site, but a great general information site. There is a complete episode guide, and many of the episodes have transcripts as well.

Ksmithares Archive The older of the two archives for the main Ares slash list, this and it's sister site, KSAres Archive (you really don't want to know the wank that led to the creation of the other list) are your best bests for finding Ares/Caesar fic. You definitely should check out both. Ksmithares has the oldest stories, but also a great portion of Ares/Caesar fic.

Ashera's Archive, a good multi-pairing site, where you might find a few more stories.

As for specific authors, I'd definitely recommend Thamiris' work as she wrote easily the best stuff for the pairing. I'm not going to recommend other authors, because I'm not really sure what is still up online and what only exists on my hard drive. I do have some stuff up too… but I don't know that you'd' really want to read it. LOL.

Finding fics may take a bit of sleuthing, but it's definitely worth the effort if you can find them. So enjoy! :D