#and perhaps it is greater grief after all to be left on earth when another is gone

[atlas-and-the-time]

The greater grief

[chickensoup1025]

Thinking about desert duo again but this time The Song of Achilles flavored. Ow ow ow

[stsghrs]

it should be illegal to make satosugu edits to mitski's songs with song of achilles quotes

[waluigistits]

The foreshadowing in the song of achilles is so twisted every other sentence had me wanting to bang my head against the wall

[lochee]

i don’t think i can physically bring myself to read books that have been released as paperbacks or real life physical copies, on my phone because... are you trying to act like my beloved fanfiction? do you think you hold an inkling to my little archive of fanfics and endless ao3 tabs opened in a whole tag group?????????????

[minolikeswords]

Perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone- Jing Yuan x GN! Reader

cw: death, sad Jing Yuan, Jing Yuan is a sweetie, mention of pet death, angst, marriage, hurt/mild comfort???? Lmk if I missed anything <3

wc: 873 words

Mino’s notes: willed this into existence while staring at my own worn rings in the shower lmao. I hope you like it <3

© minolikeswords do not translate, copy, or repost my work to other platforms.

Jing Yuan was not a sentimental man. Throughout his very long life, he’d learned to let go of small attachments. He lived in the moment. The present and the present only, his past had haunted him for long and his future was in his palms. So there was just the present.

Besides, the general was often too tired to even pay mind to most matters of his past. Yet it slipped out sometimes, in small, barely noticeable items he had around him. Snowmoon’s red collar placed on a shelf by his desk, he’d rub the golden bell hanging from it every morning. A silent greeting to a pet (family) long gone. Pictures thrown deep within his closet he’d find maybe once a month while cleaning, letters and mementos from friends he’d lost and friends he rarely saw anymore.

But his favourite keepsake?

A shiny, golden, nearly perfect (though he’d agree it was already) ring that he kept around his neck. One he kissed many times while working. Polished every week. It lay directly over his heart most times. A reminder of who he once had and loved with all his being.

Jing Yuan liked you since you started working with him. Witty, smart, easy going, fun and always eager to learn. He found himself smitten in a few months alone, finding any excuse to keep you near him. You gave him hope.

It was great, you were both happy. He doesn’t know when it started, maybe he’d realized how fragile humans were? Maybe he’d realized how easy it was to hurt you, how easily you got sick. He didn’t know what to do, and it tore him apart.

“I already know I won’t live as long as you, ‘Yuan,” you murmured, your fingers rubbing his scalp as he sat between your legs in the shower. Jing Yuan let out a soft and irritated noise at that.

“It doesn’t bother you? You aren’t frightened?” Bright yellow eyes stared up at you and you smiled at him. He’s never seen a smile like yours since. Even then it made his chest tighten and his heart stutter. You lean down and kiss his forehead.

“It scares me every day, my love. But right now, I am here, and we are together. Is that not what matters?” You whisper against his hair, taking in his smell. Truth be told it terrified you. Jing Yuan knew it as well as you did, someone who lived as long as him was not ignorant to how death loomed over all.

But now, you were here, in his arms, where he could hold you and love you.

“I’ll love you always, you know that right?” He said suddenly, gazing at you as you read. Your head resting on his chest and his hands brushing through it. You smile amusedly, turning to look at your lover.

“I could never ask that of you. It is selfish.”

He hummed, the corners of his mouth turned upwards, “you’re the only one I get to be selfish with, so allow me to indulge, my dove.”

Jing yuan now rests against his chair in his office. Hands idly fidgeting with his own ring, the gold worn from the decades of use. He rarely ever took it off, a fear of losing it. He missed you, he couldn’t wait to visit you today.

It was your birthday. Normally he’d decorate your whole house to surprise you when you returned, set up candles, rose petals, set up a table for dinner and cook a meal for you both. Today? He was going to drop by the bakery and pick up your favourite sweets.

He didn’t like them very much, and you always insisted that you didn’t either. Yet, without fail, he’d get them for you every week, and yet, without fail, you’d wake up at night, slip out from besides him and eat as many as you could without getting sick. Never questioning where they kept coming from even when you both knew.

The bakery stood the same all the years you were together. The lady behind the counter smiling as he picked up a box, a flower taped to the top, “for the spouse, general?” She asked politely, and Jing Yuan nodded, “no one but.”

He walked to the cemetery that day. It was chilly out and you would’ve enjoyed the weather, grabbed his hand and laughed and pulled him along with you. Looking up at the sky and wondering if it would’ve rained. Oh how you loved the rain and how he loved watching you.

Your gravestone greeted him the same as it did everyday. Some people would say it was overkill to visit everyday, but it wasn’t. Not for Jing Yuan. He couldn’t get enough of you. He placed the box on your grave, fingers brushing against the cold stone, over your name. Eyes stinging with tears that your hands couldn’t wipe away. He smiled all the same and sat down on the dirt, opening the box and pulling a sweet out and taking a bite as he began to tell you about his day.

“I will see you soon, someday, Dove. Until then, allow me to be a little selfish for a while longer.”

[paintmosi]

🌞 And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone 🌞

The Song of Achilles has been living in my head rent free since I finished it about a year ago. A tribute to Achilles and Patroclus.

[icemavs]

— and perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone (Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles)

[perfectfeelings]

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.

Madeline Miller

[resqectable]

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.

Madeline Miller

[half-a-life]

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.

Madeline Miller

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Prague, Czech Republic 🇨🇿

[thoughtkick]

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.

Madeline Miller

[littlecoya]

"And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?"

"Perhaps." Achilles admitted.

CRYING SCREAMING THROWING UP GALLOPING GIVING BIRTH

[quotefeeling]

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.

Madeline Miller

[turntaxesgayer]

“And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. [...] When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with him.” - Madelline Miller

[perfectquote]

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.

Madeline Miller