#y'all they are so different but the parallels drive me INSANE | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sol-thorne-shitpost · 1 year

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I am once again having a thought™ and I just went on a full-on rant to a friend, thought I'd share my thoughts with y'all to see if anyone agrees.

Yes, it's about Hadesgame Patrochilles, buckle up.

Currently reading the Iliad, I noticed that not only are Achilles and Patroclus extremely well-written in Hades (that we're all aware of, I think), but also that there are many many layers to their relationship and the one they have with Zagreus.

First thing that hit me while reading the og Patrochilles and how they're written is how drastically different they are in Hades compared to their original alive selves. They're basically each the complete opposite of what they were when they were alive: Achilles, once prideful, arrogant and impulsive, once his rage was appeased, now became wise, patient, calm, an actually good mentor to Zagreus, in whom he must see a lot of his younger self. Patroclus, on the other hand, once famously gentle and kind, became bitter and dismissive. That can easily be explained by the fact that decades and decades alone after death can drastically change someone. Achilles, so guilty about what his pride did to Patroclus, matured and became wiser; and Patroclus, because of years alone abandoned, lost his faith in the glory of war (and in Achilles).

They basically became the opposite of what they were when they were alive, because of years of loneliness and longing and reflecting on this war they were a part of.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL GUYS. When you dig a bit (mostly by chatting with Achilles and listening to Patroclus ramble to himself), you learn that what made them mostly change, aside from the circumstances of their deaths, is their longing for each other, and that despite all that change, they both retain the ONE TRAIT that caused their deaths.

Achilles, even in death, remains unbelievably stubborn, unshakable in his decisions (or in this case, his decision to stay away from Patroclus so that he can rest in Elysium) until Patroclus (through Zagreus) manages to shake him out of it.

And Patroclus, ever so bitter and depressed Patroclus, remains deeply kind and generous. He broods there in his glade, but when Zagreus shows up, polite, just passing by, in need of help, Patroclus offers him what little he has to keep going.

It drives me insane to see that after dying, Patroclus is the one who became impulsive and ready to 'risk it all', because he simply has nothing left to lose. Meanwhile, Achilles, so scarred by Patroclus' death (caused by him and his hubris and his pride), is terrified of risking anything, because the one thing he has left to lose is Patroclus' place in Elysium, and he simply can't bring himself to understand that Patroclus wants to be by his side anywhere rather than alone up there.

And they could have never reconciled without Zagreus' intervention. Because somehow, Zagreus is a mirror of both of them, in his own way.

And because on top of being impusilve and stubborn (like Achilles) as well as kind and caring (like Patroclus), Zagreus is the one guy down here, the only one who fights against his fate with all his goddamn might.

Because he wants to see his mother. He wants to find his place in this world. He wants to be acknowledged and respected. So he fights, against the Fates themselves (by just being alive, he does, I'll remind), against Hades, to get what he wants. Achilles and Patroclus both succumbed to their own destinies in the worst way. Of course it would resonate with them.

Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this. But there are so many parallels to draw here! Think about Achilles, who practically raised Zagreus, instructed him in myths, history, combat and arms. Seeing this kid, a prince, gifted for combat, craving for recognition and respect? That would ring a bell. And Zagreus is already a dual kind of person, he's the red eye and the green eye, he's the Olympian and the goddess with a mortal father. He's rage and fierceness (Achilles) and he's kindness and generosity (Patroclus).

And Zagreus hates the status quo. In his own life, and in the one of others. He does this for multiple people in Hades (Sisyphus, Orpheus and Eurydice, Hypnos and Thanatos, Nyx and Chaos...), he just can't stand people suffering when he knows there is something that could be done. He rattles the house and wreaks havoc in his father's well-ordered world, because he knows damn well he's the only one with enough balls to do it.

The thing is that if Zagreus had never intervened, Achilles and Patroclus would never have seen each other. Achilles took the first step toward redemption by giving up his place in Elysium (his glory, his pride, what he fought so hard for) so that Patroclus could stay there instead, as a way of apologizing for what he did to him and atone for his mistakes; but after that, he was left frozen in his own guilt, refusing to try and think of a way to see Patroclus again. And Pat, well... He's given up. Like how he gave up on reasoning with Achilles back in Troy. So he just waits there, even he doesn't know what for. It takes this bisexual disaster of a god to barge in and shake things up, until Patroclus finally reached out to Achilles, gives him that message (risk it all), the last push Achilles needed to finally move.

So yeah I just think they're neat-

This concludes my thought™.

#hades #hades game #patrochilles #the iliad #tsoa #achilles #patroclus #zagreus #supergiant hades #so yeah what you have to conclude from this is that Zag should gain a new pair of dads-#I am very normal about them #sol brainrot hours

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ladylike-foxes · 5 years

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I have had this knowledge rolling around my brain for a good long while with no one to share it with, but I think you might appreciate it assuming no one else has already thought of it. The lyrics of the song "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia become hilariously literal in relation to Solavellan. I just can't get over it, all of the lyrics work, it drives me insane every time I hear it

Oh my GOD. OKAY, LISTEN, when I first read this, I was about to get into the car, and I ran through the song in my head real quick and was like, "Haha, yeah! That totally does fit!"

But when I was in the store, I started remembering the lyrics a little better, and when I got home, I pulled up them up to double check myself— and SHE COULD HAVE STRAIGHT UP WRITTEN THIS SONG ABOUT DRAGON AGE, IT FITS LIKE MY SKINNY JEANS WHEN I'M BLOATED, IT'S ON SO TIGHT!!

So, like a psycho, I pulled out some of the lyrics to illustrate, for the consideration of my fellow Solavellan romancers:

"I thought I saw a man brought to life / ¹He was warm, he came around like he was dignified / He showed me what it was to cry / Well you couldn't be that man I adored / You don't seem to know, don't seem to care / What your ²Heart is for / No, I don't know him anymore"

Solas seemed to care an awful lot about innocent people being harmed in Inquisition, and I don't even need to elaborate on the 'dignified' bit

He doesn't know how love his Vhenan, duh! Just like he doesn't know how to have friends or let others be there for him (e.g. mourning Wisdom)

He technically does turn out to be a whole different person than we thought he was, Dread Wolf/Ancient god alter ego and everything...

"¹I'm all out of faith / This is how I feel, ²I'm cold and I am shamed / lying naked on the floor / ³Illusion never changed / Into something real / ⁴I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn / You're a little late / I'm already torn"

He tells us the truth about the Evanuris, wondering if anything we know is real

This line reminds me of the remark Cole makes, "bare-faced and embarrassed", after Solas takes the Vallaslin and then dumps you

The Breach, obvi.

"So I guess the fortune teller's right / ¹I should have seen just what was there / And not some holy light / But you ²crawled beneath my veins and now / I don't care, I have no luck / I don't miss it all that much / ³There's just so many things / That I can't touch, I'm torn"

The whole "Herald of Andraste" / "Maker-sent" thing, for one, but also the tendancy to overlook some of Solas's more damning comments and knowledge because of assumptions made, wanting to see the best in him, etc.

The Anchor and its effect, as well as the other, more emotional and psychological effects of a relationship

He LITERALLY. Takes away. Your hand. 😂😂

So...yeah. Them there parallels...they run deep, y'all.

#solas #Solavellan hell #Torn #anon #it's all connected #it's like a damn conspiracy

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