This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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High-Flying Birds by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
30 Aug 2023
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Achilles, the sun casting its last rays around his head like a halo, resplendent and aureate.
Achilles, the soles of his feet flashing pink as he sprints across the beach.
Achilles, slender fingers plucking the strings of his lyre, eyes green like fresh pressed olives. His cat's smile.
"Guess what I'm thinking about," he says.
The robin that flew over our heads but a minute past. The dream he had last night of a ship with purple sails, its prow slicing the waves of the Aegean sea. The wooden amulet that hangs about the augur's neck. This and this and this.
"I'll be the first hero to be happy," he would tell me years later. "You're the reason."
A collection of all the scenes we didn't get to see in The Song of Achilles. Follows the timeline of the book.
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Memories and Echoes by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
09 Oct 2020
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The sound of his laugh, rich and clear like a babbling brook. His hair under the bright midsummer sun. The amber light of a fire catching in the emerald depths of his eyes. His hand in mine. Moments of happiness and grief, of quiet contemplation, and moments when my heart beat so fast I thought it would burst. A thousand little moments, like fireflies in the night, crowding forward.
I am made of memories.
All of my entries for Patrochilles Week 2020, in one place!
Day 1: Reincarnation!AU
Day 2: Childhood
Day 3: "He is half of my soul, as the poets say."
Day 4: Mount Pelion
Day 5: Therapon
Day 6: Lyre
Day 7: Hurt/Comfort
Day 8: FluffSeries
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Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer, Hades (Video Game 2018)
13 Apr 2023
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“Will you finally tell me what we’re doing here?” Patroclus asks once the door of the armoury closes behind them. Achilles fiddles with his flint and a torch; soon, the oiled cloth catches fire, illuminating the pitch dark space.
Achilles turns to him then, and gives him a wide, fiendish grin. The torch’s trembling light dances in the golden flecks of his eyes. “To see that liquid fire for ourselves, of course.”
A merchant visits Phthia, bringing with him a mysterious flammable substance to show to the King. Achilles and Patroclus have their own plans.
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in the coolness of your shadow by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
20 Sep 2022
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“Guess what I’m thinking about,” Achilles said.
This, I told him. The scrape of the waves against the rock. The sun glittering on the water like gold dust scattered with the wind. The seagulls that drifted aimlessly overhead. The stone I had shown him how to skip that morning, sending it hopping far into the sea. This, and this and this.
Achilles smiled his secret smile and shook his head, like he had so many times that day.
“You have to tell me,” I finally said. “I’m never going to guess.”
For Patrochilles Week 2022!
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Violet, Yarrow, Foxglove by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
20 Oct 2021
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In the eyes of my father, I had always been a disappointment, a snag in his plans, an embarrassment that could never live up to the name of Menoitius. Peleus, on the other hand, had always been kind to me, but even he had never seen me as anything more than Achilles' friend, the exile he'd taken in out of mercy.
To Chiron, though, I was always Patroclus.
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Sunlight On The Snow by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
14 Feb 2022
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Achilles’ smile was bright like a spring sun, snowflakes melting on his lashes. His eyes stayed on me for a long moment, until I tilted my head to the side in question. “What?”
“Nothing.” His smile softened and slipped sideways as he drew me closer. “When you laugh like this, it’s just… you’re so beautiful, Patroclus. You know that?”
He was luminous, like the beams of sunlight that fell upon the snow, making it glitter like diamond dust. I linked my arms behind his neck, warmth rolling through me despite the cold. “Sweet talker,” I murmured.
Wintertime fluff and smut, just in time for Valentine's day :)
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Winter's Fruit by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
19 Jan 2021
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"I want more."
Patroclus glanced at the still barely touched piece of pomegranate in Achilles’ hand. Without a word, he dug into his own share, ready to give him half of it, when Achilles stopped him. “Not this.”
Patroclus' look was one of earnest curiosity. "What, then?"
Achilles leaned closer, close enough to smell the rich tartness of the fruit. “This,” he whispered as he flicked his tongue over Patroclus’ lips, tasting the sweetness of the pomegranate that mingled with the natural, earthy saltiness of his skin. “This is what I want.”
***
Some wintertime fluff and smut, featuring Achilles, Patroclus, and pomegranates :)Series
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At The Water's Edge by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles, The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
12 Mar 2021
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During his two month long sea voyage from Phthia to Skyros, Patroclus makes an unexpected friendship.
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The Spaces In Between by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
23 Jun 2021
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"Beyond this door, in the eyes of all men, he shone like a midday sun, his rays touching everyone that gazed upon him. Here, in the semi-darkness of this room, he shone just for me. Neither man, nor woman, neither hero nor legend, not yet; floating in the spaces in between, he was mine. Mine. My Achilles."
Or: Achilles and Patroclus steal a moment alone while in Skyros.
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Battle Tactics by Johaerys for Baejax
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, Hades (Video Game 2018), The Iliad - Homer
25 Sep 2022
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"The fort is far too strong.” Achilles sighed and shook his head. “The walls are fifteen paces high and three paces thick. There are men on every watchtower, and there isn’t an inch of battlement that’s left unguarded. It's… what are you doing?” Achilles asked when a playful hand drifted down between them, trailing the inside of his thigh.
“I am listening.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“How can you tell?” Patroclus smiled sweetly as deft fingers disappeared beneath Achilles’ tunic. “Do go on.”
Or: Achilles is trying to work, but Patroclus is being particularly distracting.
For Patrochilles Week 2022!
Series
- Part 10 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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Sacrilegious by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer, Hades (Video Game 2018)
29 Mar 2023
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Achilles is a pious man. He observes the holy days, performs the rituals, and always offers generous sacrifices and prayers to the gods.
Tonight, though, there's only one god he wants to pray to.
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- Part 11 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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Jasmine and Yarrow by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
14 Mar 2021
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Outside, there is war and chaos, blood and smoke, fire and rage and hunger. There is conquest. There is the price of glory.
Inside, there is he. He, with his gentle eyes and his kind smile, with his soft hands that smell of jasmine and yarrow, of myrtle and earth. Him, him, him.
It's always been him.
Or: when the war gets too much, Patroclus is there.
Series
- Part 12 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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what the gods plan (for you and me) by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
07 May 2023
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She is one of us.
Agamemnon's men grab Briseis by the arms and drag her forcefully away. She struggles in their hold, while the rest of the camp watches numbly on.
You will just let them take her?
Achilles can feel Patroclus’ eyes on him, willing him to say something, anything, to put an end to this. They burn him.
You will not help her?
When the men reach the edge of the camp, Achilles takes a step forward. His sword hilt is a cool, familiar shape in the palm of his hand; his voice slices through the shocked silence like a knife.
“Release her.”
Achilles doesn't let Agamemnon's men take Briseis away.
Series
- Part 13 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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My Love Has Told Me by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
28 Jun 2022
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"You are still alive because my beloved asked me to let you live, but you took him from me. Now, no one will beg for your life on your behalf, and all your gods have left you."
Series
- Part 14 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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Atērmonos by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, Hades (Supergiant Games Video Games), The Iliad - Homer
08 Aug 2024
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Ατέρμονος(a-tēr-mo-nos): ceaseless; without stop or pause; unending.
Who is to tell where they end, where they begin? They’ve always been like this, reaching for each other even before they knew each other’s names. Two pieces of a broken whole yearning to become one again, across time, across space; a snake biting its own tail, never ending.
“Perhaps,” Patroclus whispers, brushing a stray tear from Achilles’ cheek with his thumb, “if we sing this song one more time, the ending will be different.”
Series
- Part 15 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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Bound by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, Hades (Supergiant Games Video Games), The Iliad - Homer
10 Aug 2024
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It isn’t the first time Patroclus has him like this, on his knees and at his mercy. It started as a one-off, a game, one of the many they have invented for themselves over the years. A way to experiment and pass the time, but it wasn’t long before it became more, a habit rather than a rare treat. One of the handful of things that has been able to stop Achilles from flying into bouts of uncontrollable rage these days. The war is running him ragged, and Patroclus is the only one able to stop its ferocious onslaught.
Here, in the tent they share, Patroclus has the final word.
Series
- Part 16 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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Don't Go Far Off by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Iliad - Homer, The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, Hades (Video Game 2018)
25 Mar 2023
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Don’t leave me, Achilles whispers into the crook of Patroclus’ neck, breathing in his familiar scent through the astringent smell of strong wine and the sweetness of the crushed yarrow flowers. Don’t leave me here alone.
Patroclus’ eyelids do not stir; only his ribs expand slightly with each shallow, laboured breath.
Menelaus manages to save Patroclus from Hector, and brings him back to Achilles alive.
Series
- Part 17 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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The Ways You Said 'I Love You' by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, The Iliad - Homer
15 Oct 2021
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Achilles had never told me that he loved me, and I had never told him. It was always understood between us, a truth as natural as breathing, buried deep beneath our skin and woven in our bones. Yet when he said my name like this —Patroclus, Pa-tro-clus— repeated it like a chant, like it was holy, I knew well what he meant.
And so did he.
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All of my entries for Patrochilles Week 2021!
Chapter 1: With a Shuddering Gasp (Day 1: Music, Day 2: Deities)
Chapter 2: When We Lay Together, on the Fresh Spring Grass (Day 3: Phthia)
Chapter 3: On a Sunny Tuesday Afternoon, The Late Sunlight Glowing In Your Hair (Day 6: Modern!AU -- Highschool AU 1/4)
Chapter 4: In a Letter (Day 7: Love Letters -- Highschool AU 2/4)
Chapter 5: In a Way I Can't Return (Highschool AU 3/4)
Chapter 6: In Awe, The First Time You Realised It (Day 4: Friends to Lovers -- Highschool AU 4/4)
Chapter 7: Slowly, The Words Dripping From Your Tongue Like Honey (Day 8: Tattoos)Series
- Part 18 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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Fall Into Your Tide by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, Hades (Video Game 2018), The Iliad - Homer
30 Oct 2021
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Patroclus has been a sailor for most of his life, he knows the sea like the back of his hand. He's been sailing fearlessly across the Aegean for years, but everything changes when his ship is caught in a terrible storm, and he's swept away by the currents, almost drowning.
The Fates, however, have different plans for him, as well as for the beautiful merman that saves his life.
Series
- Part 19 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
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As Fate Would Have It by Johaerys
Fandoms: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller, Hades (Video Game 2018), The Iliad - Homer
11 Feb 2026
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Achilles tilts his chin up defiantly, in an effort to stare Patroclus down. He only succeeds in looking like a petulant child. “It is considered a great honour to be a therapon to a prince, you know.”
“Honour is meant to be earned, not handed out as if to a beggar, or a dog.”
Achilles’ nostrils flare, his green-gold eyes gleaming dangerously. “Such scorn from someone who was training to be a common footsoldier just this morning. Many of the boys back at the yard would beg for this chance.”
“Then you should have chosen one of them, perhaps." Patroclus glances down at the expensive chiton and his brand new arms, and hates how heavy and foreign they feel on him. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
The last thing Patroclus wants is to become therapon to the Prince of Phthia. He had his fill of princelings back when he lived in Opus—hell, he used to be one himself. He doesn't need some stuck-up demigod to size him up and appoint him his glorified manservant. He'd much rather pass, thank you very much.
Achilles, however, is unlike any prince he's ever met.
Series
- Part 20 of This and This and This: Achilles & Patroclus
