I know it's usually a top ten list, but I thought it would be more challenging and interesting if people were forced to REALLY pick and choose those fics
they could name as their favs. Hence, top five. I was curious as to what you guys' favorite fics were and, of course, hoping there were plenty that I had
yet to read so I could poach the link off you guys. 
Share your top five. Here are mine (I've posted them with a short summary so you guys have an idea
of what they are about.):
1. The Sad One by Verrath
http://xenafiction.net/scrolls/verrath_tso.html
If you've read my other posts, you will probably have heard me gush about this fic more than once. It's about Gabrielle Post FIN. How she deals with Xena's death, the emptiness in her days, and the cycle of a continuing journey and relationship that knows no end. One word: Breathtaking.
2. Pretium Silenti by Spyrel
http://xenafiction.net/sc...rel_pretium_silenti1.html
Gorgeous depictions and incredibly well written. The characters are so vivid they quite simply jump off the page. It is quite possibly the messiest most complicated X/G relationship I've ever read, and I LOVED IT.
Set in the conqueror realm, it has Gabrielle as a gladiator of Rome who gets purchased by Xena. There are conspiracies, plots, and a great development of a friendship between two people so scarred that it's a wonder they still are able to communicate with each other.
3.SEVEN DAYS IN POMPEII by DJWP
http://lunacyreviews.com/alts_e.php#Sev ... In_Pompeii
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/djwp/7days01.htm
This is the sequel to A Bard Day's Night, where G/X meet Sappho who is probably the most intriguing original character I've ever read. I was positively charmed.Very well written with believable dialogue and a story line that seems to be perfectly aligned with your typical Xena eppie, this story was an absolute Gem. I would give you a summary here, but I think Lunacy does it much more justice than I ever could, so the first link goes to her review and the second link goes to the story.
4. Venezia by Vivian Darkbloom
http://xenafiction.net/sc...s/vivian_darkbloom_v.html
A dreamy melancholy walk down a memory lane that isn't. Mel wanders through Venice after Janice's death and runs into a young girl who could be Janice's twin.
If there was one word to describe this fic, it would be bittersweet. As with all of Vivian Darkbloom's works, it is very well written and carries with it a wonderful undercurrent of things unseen.
5. Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained by Tonya Muir
http://www.ausxip.com/fan...on/n/nothingventured.html
Summary from site: Xena chooses to live out her wish for a Warrior Princess-free world, which the Fates granted her in the episode REMEMBER NOTHING. In a beautifully ironic, often wrenching role reversal, she becomes intimately closer to the alternate Gabrielle, yet fears betraying the lost soulmate who now exists only in Xena's dreams. - IseQween@aol.com
Share your top five. Here are mine (I've posted them with a short summary so you guys have an idea
of what they are about.):
1. The Sad One by Verrath
http://xenafiction.net/scrolls/verrath_tso.html
If you've read my other posts, you will probably have heard me gush about this fic more than once. It's about Gabrielle Post FIN. How she deals with Xena's death, the emptiness in her days, and the cycle of a continuing journey and relationship that knows no end. One word: Breathtaking.
2. Pretium Silenti by Spyrel
http://xenafiction.net/sc...rel_pretium_silenti1.html
Gorgeous depictions and incredibly well written. The characters are so vivid they quite simply jump off the page. It is quite possibly the messiest most complicated X/G relationship I've ever read, and I LOVED IT.
Set in the conqueror realm, it has Gabrielle as a gladiator of Rome who gets purchased by Xena. There are conspiracies, plots, and a great development of a friendship between two people so scarred that it's a wonder they still are able to communicate with each other.
3.SEVEN DAYS IN POMPEII by DJWP
http://lunacyreviews.com/alts_e.php#Sev ... In_Pompeii
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/djwp/7days01.htm
This is the sequel to A Bard Day's Night, where G/X meet Sappho who is probably the most intriguing original character I've ever read. I was positively charmed.Very well written with believable dialogue and a story line that seems to be perfectly aligned with your typical Xena eppie, this story was an absolute Gem. I would give you a summary here, but I think Lunacy does it much more justice than I ever could, so the first link goes to her review and the second link goes to the story.
4. Venezia by Vivian Darkbloom
http://xenafiction.net/sc...s/vivian_darkbloom_v.html
A dreamy melancholy walk down a memory lane that isn't. Mel wanders through Venice after Janice's death and runs into a young girl who could be Janice's twin.
If there was one word to describe this fic, it would be bittersweet. As with all of Vivian Darkbloom's works, it is very well written and carries with it a wonderful undercurrent of things unseen.
5. Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained by Tonya Muir
http://www.ausxip.com/fan...on/n/nothingventured.html
Summary from site: Xena chooses to live out her wish for a Warrior Princess-free world, which the Fates granted her in the episode REMEMBER NOTHING. In a beautifully ironic, often wrenching role reversal, she becomes intimately closer to the alternate Gabrielle, yet fears betraying the lost soulmate who now exists only in Xena's dreams. - IseQween@aol.com
You'll run out of fics a lot slower than some of us who read fast. Plus, slow
reading is not always bad, you probably catch more things and are better able to savor the characters in each scene.
