Why do you think Achilles should simp for Patroclus more often in fics???????????
(if you get the gif reference then you know that I ain't bout to Miss)
I wrote y'all a fucking ESSAY because I love this topic so much!
Before I start, I gotta make my requisite disclaimer: I am not one of those uppity people who thinks they're too good to enjoy The Song of Achilles for what it is! I think it is beautifully written, a joy to read, one of my favorite books that inspired my love for my #1 of all time ship!
The Tl,Dr: I just wonder if a lot of people who read TSoA have not read The Iliad, and because of that lack of context tend to have what I feel is a very nonchalant (to use a word), almost underestimation for Achilles' love for Patroclus and how it affects him. I began to want more variation, more of an uplifting of Patroclus both as an individual and love interest.
Here's a link to Extra Credit's summary of The Iliad, bc I find it charming, in case you're curious!
I've read a lot of Patrochilles fics, left kudos and comments bc I'm a good noodle, and enjoyed very many! I encourage everyone who writes them! But I noticed after a while that there was a specific taste I was looking for that I wasn't finding as much (outside of my own particular Pat HCs, which is why I started writing my own shit lmao, the combination of canons explained HERE). The longer I thought about it, the more I realized what it was:
The stories almost always approached the narrative and romance from that near worshipful gaze of Patroclus onto Achilles from TSoA. And I really love that for TSoA, because it makes sense, right? The one guy that actually loved Achilles should be the one to see him in his glory, to tell a softer tale of his love.
But the thing I think we need to remember is... The Iliad is the story that we have been telling for almost three millennia. ALMOST THREE MILLENNIA of a man's love etched in history, and it wasn't Patroclus' love.
The Iliad is the story of Achilles' wrath, of his hubris, of his heartbreak so palpable from the loss of his beloved that he was willing to commit war crimes (on top of the war crimes he was already committing), that was so strong it scared Olympus. The Iliad exposes the messy ass man that was Achilles and his decision making. I suppose Madeline didn't have time to get into all the details (which thank god bc The Iliad is LONG) but her version of what happened to Pat, and Achilles' resulting anger, is very streamlined for pacing and romance's sake.
(The man went Super Saiyan for fucks sake, this is what he looked like out there, armorless, glowing, screaming to the heavens and depths)
(The Trojans fucking retreated, accidentally killing some of their own, in fear upon seeing him!! Book 18, lines 202-238, LOOK IT UP ITS FUCKING AWESOME)
And The Iliad... LOVES Patroclus. It almost make you wonder if Homer had a crush on him himself lmao. Achilles is always fondly speaking to and of Patroclus. There's always some form of "my beloved companion, my dearest companion, my favored above all". In the midst of letting thousands of men die (to the joy of endless Hannigram fans), he told Patroclus that it would be them who would take Troy (which I will never get over, because it says a lot about both his mental state and his devotion lmao bc SIR! There are people dying!)
I just found it odd that out of so many TSoA fics, very few seemed willing to have a focus on Achilles as the truly messy one out of the pair when it came to romance. And by messy, I mean, struggling to be the one to deserve Patroclus' love. Risking looking goofy while trying to get his attention, genuinely being nervous about Patroclus' approval and love. Struggling to be the one to prove himself worthy, to hold himself together because his image and his pride clearly mean a lot but just maybe they don't mean more than his man... that sort of thing. Bc to me, from both stories, Patroclus is the catch! He's the one that everyone loved and would want to be with, if not when he was young, certainly by the time he was grown!
And I get it- it's bc we want happy endings, bc TSoA hurt folks! So we don't want Achilles to be a butthead bc that's what caused half the problem! But...sometimes I feel like Patroclus is rarely given his opportunity to shine as an equivalent in fic (that's the reason I started Fame, way back when; because I wanted to see Patroclus literally stand on the same stage as Achilles, to have his own star power shine, for Achilles to realize that he's been slowly rising and now stands next to him and not in his shadow).
I just think it's a disservice to Patroclus, as well as to Achilles' DEEP devotion and adoration of this man so powerful we still talking about the shit, to act as though Achilles would always be so suave and unruffled about bagging him. To act as though Patroclus should always be the one in search of Achilles' attention without that same energy emphasized in reverse.
And it's not me saying that those stories are wrong or bad or anything! I just... I don't know, I wanted to see more of the opposite. I wanted to see Achilles be the one fumbling too, for him to realize that he's got a King in Patroclus, and that he should have his shit together to keep him. It happened in TSoA; he was quite unnerved that Briseis tried it, Patroclus just quickly handled it lmao. If we take both stories, TSoA is how Patroclus sees himself, and The Iliad is how everyone else sees him, and if those narratives are so different, why can't Achilles be the same? Why can't his inner monologue (in canon, fics, etc.) be a hot mess, but outwardly people aren't seeing it?
It's also why I really liked the growth of Achilles in Hades; it was nice to see him shameful, anxious, vulnerable and trying to hide it, to see him try to contain the mess and try to do right by his soulmate (and still fumble it lmao, i love that man). I liked that it showed that the things that happened to them had an effect and it was painful for both of them. That he adored this man while still not picking the action that would have made them both happy bc it's a character trait atp.
Damn i been talking forever. I've honestly lost my train of thought. Point is, I think that more people should take advantage of the fact that Achilles was clearly crazy in love about Patroclus. Like, lost his mind afterwards with grief type crazy... Like... 'sacrifice twelve men on a funeral pyre', 'stab holes in a man's ankles and tie his rope through it and drag his body because he killed you' type crazy. I don't think it's a far jump, especially in fanfic where we can play with these ideas in a more modern context without including the war crimes, to think that he'd be nervous, messy, and actively simp for the one man that he loved so much more than all others.
please please please move your body every day and read every single day. everything we consume is rotting our brains just as it is meant to but i promise these two things make a difference i PROMISE
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