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Notes:
This piece was inspired by DAYAGOLD’s fic “A Rose For All I Do (And the Rose is You).” I’ve expanded on the backstory and emotional landscape of young Patroclus, imagining his voice at 10 (seven years before the original fic) and revisiting it again at 20 (three years after the original fic).
While some themes and details draw from Daya’s universe, most of this fic is speculative and comes from my own imagination and love for this version of Pat.
I imagine child Patroclus as very curious and observant. He just doesn’t voice his thoughts, but his head is full of them constantly. I made it so that his love of baking comes from Philomela herself, and I also tried to add details of Philomela’s connection to the Olympians (something that was discussed in the original fic). I also added other headcanons, such that Patroclus doesn’t like baking as a child (rather growing into it after his mother’s passing) and doesn’t like being called by his full name as a child until eleven.
I also imagine that Patroclus, after his mother’s death, would have had a troubled state of mind. The original fic mentions Patroclus as being very quiet and closed the days after her death, and I imagine it might be because Patroclus was unstable and quite emotionally broken by the lack of support he was receiving.
By the end of both letters, I imagine all our main characters in college working toward their respective goals. In my fic, Achilles and Pat share a dorm. Achilles is working to be an Olympic runner, but I imagine he takes a culinary degree for a semester just to accompany Pat (even though he nearly burnt the kitchen once) and then dropped out. And I’m so happy... my child needs all the love he can get!
Writing in this letter format was a new experience for me, and I found it unexpectedly cathartic. I’m a longtime fan of the mystery genre — especially those stories that explore complex characters through emotional depth, trauma, and growth. If you enjoy character-driven mystery with a touch of introspective angst, you might also like my original novella:
Under The Scarlet Moon (HC Files #1) — A murder mystery following aging detective Henry Crawford, who gets pulled back into the field when an unusual case arrives at his doorstep. Is this the comeback he's been waiting for... or his last hurrah?
This is my debut novel and part of a series I’m working on — it would mean the world to me if you checked it out. You can find it on Amazon:
Amazon.com: Under the Scarlet Moon: HC Files- Issues 1: 9798293518876: Krishna, Diya: Books].
If you enjoyed the poems in this fic, you might also like my poetry book, which explores themes like identity and other social issues:
Random Thoughts: A Poetry Book by Diya Krishna
Thank you again, Daya, for your fic and the inspiration it sparked, and to anyone here who took the time to read my work. It means the world. 🌹 This fic will remain forever bloomed in my mind, like a rose.