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Hercules/Iolaus
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Hercules/Iolaus |
| Alternative name(s): | H/I |
| Gender category: | Slash |
| Fandom: | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys |
| Canonical?: | No |
| Prevalence: | Popular |
| Archives: | The Less Than Legendary Journeys |
| Other: |  |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Hercules/Iolaus is the slash pairing of Hercules and Iolaus from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys fandom. They are the most popular slash pairing for The Legendary Journeys fandom. Their dynamic of childhood friends growing into life long companions spoke to a lot of fans.
Fandom
Hercules/Iolaus is the most popular slash pairing for HtLJ fandom, and they are the most popular pairing for both of these characters.
Unlike in many other fandoms of its time, the sexual undercurrent between Hercules and Iolaus was quietly acknowledged by the actors and everyone involved, if only because in myth, Heracles had sex with everybody including Iolaus, who was his nephew and charioteer.
The pairing was most prevalent in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The early fandom was located on mailing lists—where the abbreviation H/I was used for the ship name in order to save space—and individual fan sites and archives, most of which have since gone defunct. A few older archives still survive, and several authors have now archived their stories at AO3.
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Adventure or Quest: because of the nature of the series many stories focus on them going on a journey or needing to save someone
- Episode Tag: written in response to a particular episode
- Hurt/Comfort: usually with Hercules comforting and taking care of a hurt Iolaus; Iolaus being a popular target of whump in fanworks.
- Humor: Hercules and Iolaus find themselves in comedic situations
- Kidnapping: it was a common trope to have Iolaus kidnapped or captured by villains, these stories could include torture and other dark elements. Stories usually resolved with a big rescue from Hercules.
- Side Pairing: occasionally a featured secondary pairing in stories focusing on Xena/Gabrielle
From a 2000 fan essay about epithets:
In "King of Thieves" Hercules is asking for Iolaus in a tavern and a guy with a wicked black eye and a head injury says "I just met your little friend -- he gave me this."
"Well if you called him 'little' you're lucky that's all he gave you," Hercules replies unsympathetically.
One thing in Hercules fanfiction that will cause me to hit the back button faster than almost anything else is Hercules calling Iolaus "little buddy. [1]
Fan Comments
I am a sucker for Hercules and Iolaus. I really like that they are not only lovers but friends and life-time companions. I also like the contrasts the two offer as a pairing: mortal v. demigod, small v. big, quiet v. talkative and many others. I also feel this tracks with the shop itself and lends to developing stories from existing episodes more easily. [2]
They have a lot of history together, best friends since childhood, been through a lot with each other. They seem to have given their lives over to one another, especially Iolaus to Herc. It makes sense that they would take the deep bond of their friendship to a physical level. They fit well together, compliment each other: one is small, the other large, one is half god, the other mortal, one possesses hunting/stalking skills, the other strength. They are both very attractive to me (esp. Iolaus) I see their relationship as lasting and not just an encounter for the night. This gives opportunities for relationship problems, jealousy and other angst that makes fanfic interesting. The difference in their statures/strength and the way they interact with each other on the show almost makes hurt/comfort scenes inevitable. [3]
They make my toes melt. Ok, they're nice guys, who have interesting adventures, which makes it fun to read about them. Plus, they're not hard on the eyes... Lots of eye candy.. even if it has to be mental eye candy (or would that be 3rd eye?). [4]
H/I shows absolutely *no* imagination, in my opinion. The Hercuverse is populated with some pretty choice manflesh; it's just *wrong* to keep these two glued to each other. [5]
Fanworks
Fan Art
- You're more important by Sithy
- Herc and Iolaus by by Deppfan61
- Kiss colored with a romantic backdrop by bunnybloom
Fanfiction
- Nocturne by LtLJ
- Clean by Mary Crawford
- Boys Will Be Toys by Artemis Artemis
- Home is Where the Heart is by Kimberley Rector and Martha Wilson
- Bed And Breakfast by Therienne
- Homecoming By Rusalka
Fan Vids
- You Needed Me by linseysg8
- Breathe by nomadff7
Meta
- Subtext and the Single Warrior ship manifesto by LtLJ
- Zeus Doesn't Approve of Our Relationship by Randi DuMois
Resources
- The Less Than Legendary Journeys [1] Fan Fiction Archive
- Hercules/Iolaus tag at Archive of Our Own
- Hercules + Iolaus at FanFiction.net
- Hercules & Iolaus Fans Livejournal community
References
- ^ The Less Than Legendary Journeys: They Don't Wear Leather Pants on Gilligan's Island, Archived version, by Randi DuMois (2000)
- ^ from The Herc-Xenaverse Fanfic Survey, a 1999 survey by Thamiris
- ^ from The Herc-Xenaverse Fanfic Survey, a 1999 survey by Thamiris
- ^ from The Herc-Xenaverse Fanfic Survey, a 1999 survey by Thamiris
- ^ from The Herc-Xenaverse Fanfic Survey, a 1999 survey by Thamiris