#modern greek grammar

[nostalgia-tblr]

started reading about the shakespeare authorship thing and the first argument from a literary person to say Willy S couldn't have written them is "he didn't go to university," at which point i went "oh wow i didn't realise THIS was the level of 'evidence' people meant"

[gemsofgreece]

Most unpopular opinion ever:

it was unnecessary to ditch the vareia (grave accent) in the monotonic system because its rules are super easy and it is essentially still used in our speech.

Okay, before you throw eggs at me, hear me out for a moment!

Thoughts on Greek intonation by someone who's NOT a linguist:

For instance, you stress differently the word “γιατί” in the examples below, don’t you?

Γιατί ρωτάς;

Γιατì θέλω να ξέρω.

In the second example, γιατι and να take the grave accent and I am assuming you do put the stress on them less or somehow differently than in θέλω and ξέρω, right? In fact, γιατι in the second sentence has a somewhat "dragged", "falling" stress while θέλω and ξέρω have sudden rising, emphasizing stresses. The γιατι of the first sentence follows the stress patern of these two verbs rather than its own self in the second phrase!

And in more regular cases:

Ο καλος και σοφος γονιος.

Of course you stress all the words, however if you had to choose one word in this phrase where you feel your stress or pitch should be naturally (and not intentionally or emphatically) raised, which would you say it is?

If you chose γονιος, then check how it would be in a bi-tonic system:

Ο καλòς καì σοφòς γονιός.

Therefore your “instinctive” pronunciation was correct and γονιός is where you go for the acute stress.

And now this. Let's suppose you say the phrase above slightly modified:

Ο καλος και εξυπνος γονιος.

Pronounce this phrase naturally but carefully. Notice your most natural intonation. Does it seem like the "εξυπνος γονιος" part comes out of your mouth a little more emphasized than the "Ο καλος και" part?

If so, check how it would be in a bi-tonic system:

Ο καλòς καì έξυπνος γονιός.

So, once more, you employed the vareia without realising it.

And again. See these two phrases.

Ο έξυπνος καì καλòς γονιός.

BUT

Ο έξυπνος καì καλòς γονιòς θέλει να σε βοηθήσει.

Say these phrases without minding the stresses. And then look at them. In the first one, the words έξυπνος and γονιός slightly overshadow the second adjective, «καλός». In the second phrase on the other hand, the stress in the word γονιος also weakens to the benefit of the second part of the phrase «θέλει να σε βοηθήσει». That is because there is no period after γονιος so it returns to its natural grave accent.

Say the phrases again, naturally but carefully. Doesn’t γονιος sound a little different in the way you say it in each phrase?

If you stressed έξυπνος more than καλός in both phrases and if you emphasised the first and last part in the second phrase more than the middle part, then you did use the vareia!

The rules of the vareia are so simple, you just put it in all words which are stressed in the last syllable and are not followed by a punctuation mark, as the Greek speech is raised in the end and in all non-last stressed syllables. There are of course some irregularities but they are very easy to remember and predict i.e «δεν» would take the acute and not the grave because its whole point is to stress the negation, it wouldn’t make sense to remove the emphasis from it.

One more exception is the ellipsis (…), before which the grave is retained

i.e Είναι ζωηρò… αγόρι.

This example might help you single out better the falling, dragging effect of the grave accent because it is like it happens in slow motion before the ellipsis.

So, the concept of the differentiation between the grave and the acute is extant in the modern pronunciation and it is so easy that even the argument of “unnecessary difficulty” doesn’t stand. I mean, it’s not the same case as with (my otherwise beloved) perispomeni (circumflex) and the spirits which do not exist in our pronunciation anymore (technically psili, the smooth spirit, exists though but it makes no sense to use it as it only implied the absence of the daseia, the aspirate, which is not used anymore at all).

Of course, the differentiation between the grave and acute stress is not anywhere as prominent in Modern than it is in Ancient. On the other hand, the realisation that this is something that does exist in Modern Greek and we take it so much for granted that we don’t realise it (but it becomes clearer when people speak more slowly, carefully and beautifully, with a lot of vocabulary and more complex grammar) might as well suggest that a lot of the theories as to how exactly the stress accents were used in the ancient language border on not being very realistic. I have heard it all; that casual speech had huge pitch and stress transitions like o kalos ke sofos goNIOOOOOOOOS or that if you also added vowel lenth in the equation it was exactly like singing i.e KEH-EH-eh-eh-pos. I mean, that's all very nice, but Greek has very long words and many syllables for this to be entirely realistic in casual everyday speech, unless it took them the whole afternoon to say a couple of sentences. Maybe that's why the Spartans became laconic after all!

Hold the eggs a little more. Please.

The thing is, there is a lot of research in academia about how Greek was an extremely and uniquely musical language which operated with a pitch accent system. Most of the evidence from which the linguists derive their conclusions are Greek authors praising their own language as "pure music". And some Romans, who liked everything Greek anyway. Meanwhile, there is next to none study on Modern Greek intonation, that child of a lesser god. And yet, the wiki page for modern intonation says this:

Variable (phonologically unpredictable) stress. Stressed syllables are longer or louder.

Okay let me weigh in on this. Modern Greek indeed has a dynamic stress system, where the amplitude raises in the stress. However, as I showed above, there are drops inside a sentence as well. Furthermore, syllables in some accents and dialects can indeed be dragged or cut off. Greek is also highly vocally inflected, which means that besides the regular stress of each word, there is also a stress generally in the part of the phrase that has to be emphasized based on the context. That acute is louder than the other acutes and it can also be embellished with sometimes strong musicality, which varies depending on whether the phrase has a question, wonder, sarcasm, anger, tenderness and so on. In fact, Greek is similar to English on this aspect. They use similar notes and patterns to express those emotions. And of course, in order to achieve all this, there is pitch intonation, except it is secondary to the dynamic intonation. In simple words, the pitch is raised in the dynamically stressed syllables and often lowered in the would-be vareia stressed or the non-stressed syllables. However, it is secondary and often overshadowed by the dynamic stress, except in more emotional speech, when it becomes much more prominent. In an unemotional even speech, like reading loudly a book as a chore, it is often too weak to notice. But this might be an explanation about why there are conflicting opinions on modern intonation with many people attesting to modern Greek's expressiveness / melody while others appear condescending that Greek lost its ancient musicality.

Which brings me to some thoughts about ancient intonation. Again, of course it was way more prominent than any pitch intonation Modern may retain. No doubt whatsoever. It was prominent enough that it absolutely needed its own stress marks. This prominence in Modern has been lost on enough that someone has to make posts asking "Do YOU say it like that too?". (That's me.) So yeah there is a considerable difference. But I think the answer might lie in taking the modern intonation and dramatizing it, putting more emphasis on the transitions and lowering the vareia even more. And again realise that researchers blow conclusions out of proportion.

You see, the thing is Greek in all its eras is structured in a way that makes dynamic intonation make more sense than pitch intonation. That is because Greek words do NOT change meaning with a pitch shift! Pitch accent is really important in languages with very short words, often one syllabled ones, where the pitch change makes people realise the differences in the meaning. Greek has long words. Sometimes really long. And words that are written identically, besides being very rare, CAN NOT take different accents 99% of the time because the accents in Greek obey to grammatical rules based on the word's structure!!! Therefore a dynamic stress can help way more than a pitch one in such cases, which seems redundant.

This makes me assume the pitch intonation in Ancient Greek was mainly stylised and secondarily functional. Besides, all testaments and linguists draw conclusions based on famous authors, aoidoi (bards), poets and rhetors. It wouldn't surprise me if the high musicality and use of pitch was a form of art or used by rhetors EXACTLY because a rhetor's job was to enrapture audiences with his speech. But now, imagine two farmers in the mountains arguing while having to use 10-12 lettered words and apply all rules of pitch shifts let alone all long vowels and short vowels and diphthongs (especially in the way academia likes to imagine them) in rapid successions! Do you understand why I believe it is not realistic at all? And even if the farmers did argue like that, I cannot for the life of me imagine how on earth this noise could sound impressive to anybody. (Do you like the sound of west academia's Greek by the way? Does it sound like it deserves all that ancient praise? If not, maybe it's time for a re-evaluation? Food for thought.)

People had started diverging from it in the 2nd century already. But what if it was not exactly "divergence" but rather, access of more "commoners" to writing and more eloquent speaking, who were the ones to spread the use of a simpler, dynamic intonation at the expense of the musical, pompous (but certainly beautiful), intonation of poets, bards and rhetors of the past centuries? I mean, what if we had the actual regular and previously undocumented speech invade the written high forms of Greek, to the dread of the contemporary scholars who had to come up with the polytonic system to rescue the high language from this "corruption"? It is an established fact after all that Byzantine scholars were trying desperately for centuries to retain archaic forms of the language to the growing annoyance of the public, who as time passed must have naturally had more and more access to literary and scholarly work.

In short, what I am suggesting is that Modern Greek has a dynamic stress yet also a secondary pitch intonation, while retaining archaic elements in a much weaker form. Ancient Greek, especially high Greek, Attic and poetic or rhetoric speech, had pitch accent yet also must have employed dynamic stress secondarily. Colloquial ancient Greek or other less known dialects could be in between with more even use of pitch and dynamic intonations.

And also, that vareia has not died yet! Vareia LIVES… it holds on for dear life but it still lives!

PS: I just found it funny that one argument for Ancient Greek's pitch intonation is that the stresses follow the notes in this ancient song,

because if you read this with the supposedly exclusively dynamic modern pronunciation it absolutely still follows the same notes, especially if you use the phrase part emphasizing and emotional stress I described above. The major difference is in the circumflex. But if you know Greek and listen to Greek music, you will realise that the melodies or the phrases follow each other's intonation very seamlessly.

OK, now you can throw your eggs if that was so... audacious. I am not a linguist, which probably makes my audacity even greater, but I genuinely believe I contemplated this based on common sense. If not, at least throw the egg politely, my object was just to find a truth that seems and sounds realistic enough...!

[kelseythelinguist]

The modern Greek case system is a grammatical system that highlights the function of a word in a sentence. In the case of Greek, the functions a noun can take are fairly simple:

Nominative denotes the subject of the sentence.

Accusative denotes the direct object.

Genitive denotes possession.

Vocative denotes someone you’re speaking directly to or calling out. This one isn’t going to be used as much as the other three.

[wetbloodworm]

the worldbuilding doc for my new storyline is going well

[quatregats]

I am attempting to translate a song from Turkish for school things and it's kind of wild because I forgot I actually got pretty far in studying Turkish way back in high school

[hbmmaster]

in zoology, animal species are given standard "latin" names consisting of two words, the genus name and the species name. typically, the genus name is a noun, and the species name is an adjective. following the rules of latin grammar, adjectives need to agree with nouns with grammatical gender, so if the genus name is a feminine latin noun then all species of that genus are given (in principle) adjectives marked with feminine latin suffixes.

in practice of course, new genus names don't always use actual latin words, so these latin grammatical gender rules need to be grafted onto words that aren't really latin. and this is where one of the weirdest conventions of zoological binomial nomenclature comes in!

how exactly do you determine what the latin grammatical gender of a word is if it isn't a latin word? according to the ICZN, it's simple:

if the word is from greek, use its gender in greek

otherwise, if the word is from a modern european language with grammatical gender that uses the latin alphabet, use the gender in the source language (yes it is that specific)

otherwise, if the name ends with -a it's feminine

otherwise, if the name ends with -um, -u, or -o it's neuter

otherwise, it's masculine

unless of course if the zoologist with naming dibs says explicitly that they think this genus should have an irregular gender.

anyway these rules are fascinating to me. why are they this specific? grammatical gender systems compatible with latin's adjective suffixes are found throughout the entire indo-european language family, so why restrict it to modern european latin-script languages (and greek)? I don't know!

[archaic-stranger]

the greek students

seeing the roots of modern life in antiquity

a deck of flashcards, learning the unfamiliar words by heart

quiet afternoons spent in museums

attention to detail and impeccable grammar

socratic dialogues and fast-paced conversations

fragments of ancient pottery, beautiful in their intricacy

perking up when greek letters show up in your math or science classes

a rich vocabulary

reading the works of long-dead philosophers, applying their ideas to the present

stories passed down for thousands of years, still as poignant as if they'd been written yesterday

flaky spanakopita that melts on your tongue

recognizing where mythology and history overlap

reciting poetry until the words flow from your mouth

tracing the letters on an ancient scroll

warming your face under the rays of a mediterranean sun

wondering about the lives of those who came before you

the satisfaction of translating a sentence without looking up any of the words

a pantheon of gods, learning their stories by heart

arguing over the best translations of the Iliad and Odyssey

recognizing greek roots in words you use every day

copying the alphabet until its letters are as familiar to you as those of your native tongue

[grecoromanyaoi]

i wonder how close ancient greek is to modern greek? like im probs gonna learn at least a bit of ancient greek 4 this degree, n it would b super cool if i could somewhat understand my greek friends bc of it. like biblical hebrew n ancient n medieval n modern hebrew r rly close, but thats probs bc it was preserved as a religious language, not an every-day spoken one? we learn the bible n medieval poetry n such in school, untranslated. the grammar is p much the same, n we understand most of the words (or alterations of words we know but arent used anymore). its probs easier to learn biblical/medieval hebrew from modern hebrew n not the other way around tho (bc of the quantity of new words). idk im generally curious if thats similar in greek

[eeunoia]

ENHYPEN Mini Series

E N H Y P E N as Greek Myths

NARCISSUS & ECHO

pairings: kim sunoo x reader

synopsis: you’ve always been love struck with kim sunoo’s beauty. your love for him is undying and once said, its like echo that kept on repeating and repeating. what happens when finally, you caught his attention? this time in a good way.

word count: 10k

important note: i originally planned to write enhypen as greek gods but then i didn’t find some love stories that i like so i end up using some love stories that aren’t greek gods. also these are like modern versions of greek mythology love stories.

warnings: grammar errors, not proof read, very rude kim sunoo, curses and foul words, angst. let me know if i missed some!

note📎: inspired by a walk to remember movie. if you haven’t watched that yet, check it out! i hope you guys liked it! it really means a lot to me whenever you let me know what you think about them, re-blogs and comments are well appreciated. btw, i love you guys and thank you for supporting me up until now. have a nice day/night! 🤍

permanent tag-list:

@rubyanne @map-of-border @hwangjangmi @crjwon @love13tter @classicroyalty @angel-hybrid @bridgebridgebirdiebridge @hime98 @moonsclover @ddeonubaby @yeoungie @acciomylove @mymeloem19 @jvngw0n @dreamyenskz @minamoons @clar-iii @herasalvatore @nyfwyeonjun @rcveribin @yizhoutv @one16core @soobin-chois @kyutiepeachy @chareadingpurposes @hwalllllllelujah @solelyenha @90sni-ki @nourhan-8 @nikipedia07 @yangbreads @drunkjazed @kimmchijjajang @hoonbrry @axartia @all4haru @hiqhkey @sta-rie @purplepuppychild @iceeee @wtfhyuck @tobiosbbyghorl @edensgardenn @nikililmj @ayayiiie @moonlightisland @simpforniki

© 2023 eeunoia — all rights reserved.

"Good morning students of Hybe University. This is the president of your Radio club wishing you a wonderful day. And for that I have a short message for everyone." you have a small smile over your lips as you read those lines for the morning message for the students. It was a project of the audio-visual club to have this messages at morning to spread good vibes.

"Quote of the day, 'Love the person inside you.'" after you utter those words, one of the club members then played a short sound as an effect.

You are the president of this club and was voted to be the voice behind it. The first time it was announced to you still lingers over your head. It was a memorable one. You feel really honored.

"And to end this, I want to leave a special message for our sunshine Kim Sunoo," a bigger and warmer smile appears over your lips after saying his name.

A lot of students, if not everyone yet, knows how head over heels you are to the campus crush. Of course, a lot of students admires him and the line is just up to the mount everest. So you do these routine in order to somehow cut in that line. Work smarter, not harder, that's what they say.

"Remember to smile!" you said hoping that short message do remind him to smile like how thinking of him makes you smile.

‘✓ Give short messages for Sunoo.’

You had this list you made that consist of things you wanted to do. There’s a lot of them and most of it involves Kim Sunoo. You’ve read somewhere that having this lists can help you feel more motivated in life. To have things to look forward for.

The session got wrapped up like how it always do. You complimented your team for doing such an amazing job for assisting you and they did the same thing back to you. As you all walk back to your own classes, you try to roam your eyes around to look for someone.

Your eyes found him too easily as he have this different aura from anybody else. It was too easy for you to tell that it was him even if he's not facing. Just by looking at his hair, the way he stands, his broad shoulders and good body proportions. Not to mention the eyes of the students around glued at him completely. Some people who passes by even greets him just to catch his attention even just for a while.

"Hi Sunoo!" your tone sounded too energetic. He glanced at you and his eyes were emotionless as always. His stare didn't even last for a long time and it teared off of you then back to his friend who greeted you back.

You gave him a wave and focused on Sunoo once again. He's back on getting his morning books from his locker to prepare for class.

You trapped your lower lip over your teeth and hesitated whether to talk again or not. In the end, you decided to try and bother him once again.

"How was your sleep last night?" you asked and even rested over the lockers to get a grip over his stare.

"Terrible."

'He responded!' you almost scream in joy. It was just one word and he was definitely pissed, but who cares? The fact that he responded to you is already a progress.

You cannot hide your smile. "Why? What happened? Do you need anything?" you said continuously, questions followed by another questions.

He lets out a strained sigh before facing you. His cold eyes intimidated you, but you kept your stand. He was always like this and you're already used to it.

"Do you want me to get you anyth-"

"I want you to fuck off." his rude remark made your smile fade. You can feel your eyes starting to water and your mind slowly floating out of embarrassment. Eyes of students around that heard what he said watched you with shame and pity.

Jungwon, Sunoo's friend, quickly grabbed him over his shoulder to calm him down. "Hey, don't be rude." you heard him whispered over his friend.

Sunoo shrugged his hold off while keeping his cold stares right at you. He rolled his eyes and then started walking off. Jungwon tries to call him, but as expected he didn't listen. He turned over you and smiled apologetically.

You quickly flashed him a soft smile despite the tears forming at the side of your eyes.

"I'm sorry about him, Y/n. Seems like he woke up in the wrong side of the bed." he said.

You gave him a nod, "No problem! I'm at fault to for being too pushy. I should've gave him space after he said that he slept terrible."

Jungwon smiled a little, "No, he still have no reason to be that rude." he draws in a sigh, "Anyway, see you at class." and he waved before he exits himself.

You waved and your smile slowly faded after he started to walk away. The words Sunoo said kept lingering over your brain. He's always rude to you, yes. But he seems to be get more rude as days passes by.

Your friend arrived minutes after and you both walked towards your class without her knowing what happened. You decided not to tell her to avoid any more commotion. Your friend is a little troublemaker and she hates it whenever you're getting bad treatment from anybody. She will mess with them with no hesitation.

When you entered the room, your eyes darted automatically at Sunoo's chair. He have this serious face while girls from your class surrounds him. They were giving him some things they probably prepared for him. He seemed uninterested and just trying to kept his cool.

"Ooh, Mr. Popular is surrounded by hyenas again." your friend commented and even pointed his direction. You put her hand down and shush her.

"What? You won't go and join?" she teased. If only she knows what happened a while ago, she's probably storming over Sunoo to start a fight without and not like this. But you guess this is better than having her fight with Sunoo.

"Kim Sunoo really do look like an angel, right?" your stares remained at the said boy while waiting for what's your friend is going to say.

She scoffed lightly and took another sip from her juicebox before talking. "Angel with evil inside?" she says.

Your smile faded at her remark and slowly turns your head at the side to face her. She doesn't seem bothered by your glaring eyes and just kept this innocent looking face like as if she didn't just bad mouth the love of your life.

"He doesn't have evil in him!" you defended the poor, innocent kim sunoo.

She gave you this unamused look, "Come on! He's so rude to anyone and you know that." she puff out a sigh then looked back at him. "Having a face like that is not an excuse on having a foul attitude. I don't even know why you like him, Y/n."

You pouted and rested your chin at the back of your hand then resumed on admiring him from afar. The view from the third floor sure is perfect for you to watch him play soccer without getting noticed or mistaken as a creep. It's p.e and you are excused due to medical issues. Your friend here gave an excuse that she's having terrible menstrual cramps just so she can skip it and be with you. Best best friend in the world, everyone.

"I wish he can notice me." you mumble, eyes not leaving Sunoo. He's to busy focusing on that stupid ball that you bet he doesn't have time to give care to those girls gawking at him.

He's indeed if not the most then one of the most popular guy here in your campus. He came from a good family, like the having multiple businesses and living in a big mansion type of good family. He's also pretty talented and active on school activities. Smart and to top it all up, he's drop dead gorgeous. No words could make a justice on how he looks good. Some people even says God really took his time on making him. You will surely agree. He's so perfect for you. Only, he's not that friendly and like what your friend already said, he's a little evil.

"What do you mean you wish? He does notice you, y/n. He already rejected you for.." she raised her hand and started counting with her fingers. You rolled your eyes and swat it away to stop her.

She chuckles, "..so many times! Just enough with him."

As obvious as it was, your friend is really not that supportive of your undying love for Sunoo. Ever since you made her aware of this feelings, she's already against it. Insisting that he will cause you nothing but pain. So far, you must say she's right. He's been so rude to you.

But your mother didn't raise a quitter! You will keep on trying and trying. After all, life is short. You just have to live it how you want it. Live it the best way you can.

After the p.e class, your classmates storms inside. They all looked exhausted and freshly showered. You pulled your warm smile when you see Sunoo walks inside beside Jungwon. His friend was busy talking about something while he's attentively listening.

Without wasting any time, you marched towards him while holding a water and gatorade just incase he wanted something with flavor. The class gave no care for your approach to the said boy as they were probably used to it. This isn't the first time you'll be doing this and honestly, it still make you nervous.

"Hi Sunoo! How's p.e?" you say full of energy.

Both of them snaps their head at your direction. Jungwon kept his smile and waved at you while the other one shows no expression over his face.

"Uhm, water or gatorade?" you asked and even raise both of your hands to show him the things you prepared for him.

Jungwon looked at Sunoo awkwardly then back at you. He didn't respond right away, but later on lets out a sigh before rolling his eyes.

"I already had water." he coldly said then walked away from where you are. He even slightly bumped over your shoulder.

You got stoned from your position and your shoulder fell together with both of your hands. You looked over your shoulder and saw him heading straight to his chair.

"Sorry about him, y/n. You know he's always grumpy after p.e class." he's giving you this apologetic smile for you.

You shake your head to let him know that its totally fine. You raised your hand and offered him the drinks instead. His eyes grew and shine after what you said then accepts the gatorade. He said thank you before you head towards your seat.

"What? You like Jungwon now?" your head snaps towards your friend when she asked that.

You frowned at her.

"No! Sunoo already had water so I offered him the drink."

She scoffed, "Why don't you go for Jungwon instead? He's nicer and looks so cute!"

You raised a brow at her, "(friend's name), you can't dictate what the heart wants."

She showed this disgusted face and roamed her eyes all over you.

"Wow. That's disgusting."

You draw another sigh and settle the bottle of water just beside your table. The next class pretty much started a few minutes after. It somehow made you occupied. Honestly, you aren't the studious type, but since Sunoo is so smart and always part of the honor students, you don't want to be left out. You try to study as hard as you can. Hard work sure pays you off since you aren't at the top of the class.

"Sunoo! Are you going to eat at the cafeteria today?" right after the bell rang, you quickly went to approach him.

He didn't glance at you, but you heard him let out a strained sigh. He fixed his notebooks neatly, "I always eat there, you don't even have to ask that every time." he answered with full sarcasm.

You pursed your lips and fidgets with your fingers. You felt embarrassed and hurt with the way he respond to you, but you try hard to shove it away. Pulling another warm smile, you nodded your head.

You saw a slight glint of amusement over his eyes. It vanished right away, but you saw it.

"O-Okay. Eat well, Sunoo!" his stares remained at you for a while before he tears it off from you.

He left the room without saying anything to you again. Your eyes followed him silently and you felt a presence behind you.

"You know what? I wish he choke on his food-"

"(friend's name)!" you shouts her name. She quickly raised both of her hands then lets out chuckles.

"Just kidding! Let's go eat already." she threw her arms over your shoulder then leads you back to the garden at the rooftop.

It was decorated by your batch and you are confused why no one spends time here. It's cool up there, have the best view of the school field and also peaceful. So in order to give justice in the beautiful place, you and your friend usually spends your breaktimes and vacants there.

"How was your check up last saturday?" your friend asked after you both open your lunch boxes.

Your eyes dropped to your food and unconsciously start to play with it. Her eyes remained at you and watches you carefully.

"Y/n..."

You puff a small sigh then smile at her. "Its still the same, (friend's name). I don't get why you guys still hope that something will change. We just need to accept it." you can feel the air slowly being stripped away from your lungs.

You hate talking about this thing as it always kills the mood. It makes your chest tightening as you saw sadness flickering through her eyes. You understand how she feels and all the people close to you. But these things aren't something you can control.

You sighed and lets go of your utensil to reach over her hand. You gave her a small squeeze then smiled at her assuringly.

"Please, let's just accept it and let me live the rest of my life happily. I don't want you guys sad, please." she gulps and the corner of her eyes started to water.

She closed her eyes and tears started streaming down her face.

"I just.." she says, "..don't understand why it has to be you. You're too kind and perfect. Why... you?"

You pursed your lips then reached over her face to cup it, "Everything happens for a reason."

"Whatever that reason is, its unexpected."

You chuckled and tears streams down your eyes as well. "Let's stop crying and just eat."

She sniffs and wiped off the tears a little aggressive. "You're the only one who made me cry." she mumbles before starting to eat her food.

You chuckles, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Do you want to walk together?" you approached Sunoo's table after dismissal.

‘— Walk home with Kim Sunoo.’

This is honestly one of the hardest things written at your list. Not just because Sunoo doesn’t like you, but also because its impossible for him to walk with people other than his friends.

He was putting his things inside his bag before he glanced at you, eyes emotionless. He seemed unbothered and bothered at the same time by your presence.

"No." he coldly rejected you.

You pursed your lips. "Why?"

"Why do you have a lot of questions?" he started to sound pissed.

"I just want to walk with you." and you lower your head.

He stood up towering in front of you then smoothly hangs his bag over his shoulder. You raised your head to look at his pretty face. The corner of his lips slowly lifts, "Well I don't." his response make you feel like someone prickled your heart using a needle.

"Sunoo! Let's go?" his eyes shifted over to the person behind you. Probably one of his friends. He nodded his head and started going to that person without even glancing at you.

Your eyes silently follows him like old times until he totally disappears from your sight. The only thing that snapped you back to reality was when an arm suddenly rest over your shoulder. When you twist your head to look at the person, it was your friend.

“If he doesn’t want to walk with you, then I will!” she says, her tone sound a little pissed but you’re just glad she didn’t caused a scene. She must have been watching from a far.

You two then headed home, starting to chat about random things. It was always like this with her. Just pure fun and all. Whenever you’re with her, you don’t have to worry too much or feel awkward because she treats you differently. This is what you want. For everyone to act normal and not weird around you.

When you arrived at your street, your laugh slowly faded along with your smile when you saw a familiar built. He isn’t alone. A girl is smiling brightly while walking beside him. He still have this serious face, but it seems like he’s listening to her.

Your friend notice the sudden change on your mood and quickly followed your line of sight. She rolled her eyes and scoffed before gently grabbing your arm to pull you towards a different direction.

“Hey, calm down.” she says in a soft voice and handed you a water.

Your mind was still full with the memory of Sunoo and that girl. To some, it may seem like its just normal. But for you, its already a big deal. Sunoo isn’t the type of person who walks home together with someone other than his friends. He isn’t that friendly.

So to see him with her right after rejecting you really made you upset. Your friend sighs and taps your shoulder. “Don’t overthink it, y/n! I’m she forced him or something! Did you see his face? It was obvious that he didn’t like it.” she tries to comfort you.

A pout appears over your lips as your eyes slowly trails towards her. “At least she managed to walk with him.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “So? There’s always tomorrow! We have a lot of days left for school so don’t get down over it. Hmm?” she hummed and tried to encourage you.

A small smile slowly creeped over your lips. You are very thankful that you have her. Yes there are times she obviously shows how she disagrees with your craziness over Sunoo, but she still tries to be supportive whenever you need it.

You two walked towards your home after you finally calmed down. Thankfully, she managed to divert your attention towards something else. It didn’t spoil your whole evening.

The next day, you went early to school like usual and went straight towards the audio-visual room to prepare for your morning broadcast. You pull the paper containing your speech then you added your daily quotes and your message for Kim Sunoo.

When the clock strikes 8 am, you started the broadcast with some reminders for school activities and ended it with a short quote.

“And to our sunshine, Kim Sunoo. You’re four days away from your quizbee. Keep going and I know you can do it!” a small spread over your face after you finished your short message.

You wrapped it up and told everyone that they did a good job before you exits the club room to head over the lockers area. A lot of students are scattered around the hallways, but it was easy to spot Sunoo. You don’t have any idea how you can manage to do that all the time. Maybe it was a skill you developed for always looking for him.

“Hi Sunoo!” you greeted full of energy and with your bright smile. You act like as if you didn’t saw him with that girl yesterday and proceed on greeting him.

He didn’t spared you a glance, but you heard him letting out a strained sigh while continuing getting something from his locker. You shrugged it off and kept your smile.

You remembered the cookies you baked last night for him.

“Sunoo, please accept my—”

“Didn’t I rejected you already? Get lost.” your hand was stopped midway when he once again turned you down. It wasn’t something new, but his words still sting like a bee.

A small smile made it your lips, chest tightening. Even you yourself think you are no good for Kim Sunoo himself. It’s just, you wanted to feel something while you’re still here, while you’re still alive.

“I made this just for you. I figured you may be hungry while studying—” he snaps his head at your direction once again and glared. His jaw clenched.

“What language do you speak that you can’t understand a simple ‘no’?” he rudely hissed at you.

Here he is again, being rude to you. Just today was a little bit more harsher. It’s fine, you kept telling yourself but deep inside you know, it’s not okay.

“Get lost, I say!” he said.

You kept your eyes darted straight to his cold ones. They didn’t show any remorse despite the tears forming at the corners of your eyes.

Someone then interrupted and tugged him over his shoulder. “Dude! Say sorry to her.” it was Jungwon. His eyes looked so worried and apologetic when he glanced at your direction.

Sunoo clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes before closing his locker. “Whatever.” he mumbled then started walking away.

Your eyes followed him while still standing at your position. You are in shock. Embarrasment and pity plays through your mind. He’s always snobby with you, but this is actually the first time he’s been this rude towards you.

Jungwon walks closer and handed you some tissues. You quickly flashed him a smile and chuckles to make the atmosphere lighter.

“I’m sorry about him, y/n. He’s just really tired because he stayed late last night.” he said looking really sorry for what his friend did.

You shook your head after accepting the tissues he was handing. “It’s okay! Maybe I am really pushing myself too much.”

Jungwon pursed his lips, amused at how kind and understand you can be. He sighed and just smiled a little.

“Still, he shouldn’t be rude.” after he says that and comforted you for a while he left to go to class.

Your smile fell the moment he turned his back. You really don’t want to give up on Sunoo and you did said you aren’t the type who gives up easily but it sure hard. Really hard.

Just in time your head snaps over to your back when you heard someone screaming your name. It was your friend and she was running towards you. Chuckles escaped your lips while watching her struggle and almost stumble across the floor.

“Phew!” she sighed heavily and tried catching her breath. “I thought I'm going to be late!” she exclaimed with relief.

You help her get her stuff before you two head towards the classroom. When you arrived inside, you saw that girls from your class are around Sunoo. They’re trying so hard to get any response from him. You pouted a little, thinking that you probably looked the same.

You let out a small sigh then head towards your table that made her tilt her head in confusion. She took quick steps to catch up with you.

“Wait, you’ll just let them?” she sounded so surprised.

“I feel a little tired.” you tried to reason out and gave her a small smile.

Thankfully she read the room and diverted the topic to somewhere else.

The whole day was pretty much busy for you since you had a lot of things to do. Even if you want to approach Sunoo, you tried your best not to for two reasons. One, because of what happened at the locker’s area and number two, he’s busy preparing for the quizbee.

At the end of the day, you still asked him if he wants to walk home with you. The answer was the same so you just walked home with your friend. You have no problem with it because you do enjoy every time with her, but a small part of you really wants for him to walk with you. If he do it once, you’ll be more than happy. Not just because it was on  your bucket list, but also because you really like him.

“Cheer up! You can always try tomorrow, y/n.” your friend threw her arms around your shoulder to start pulling you towards the direction of the gate.

You just smile a little and nodded your head. That’s the point. How long will you waste your time? You don’t have a long time remaining to this world. You are not sure if this whole idea is still wise. Is Kim Sunoo worth it?

After spacing out a little, you shrug and shove that negative thought away. You let out a big heavy sigh before smiling again.

Of course Kim Sunoo is worth it! He will always be worth it.

Weeks passed by with the same routine. And today, you ran a little late because you weren’t feeling well last night and slept too much. Thankfully, you made it before you morning broadcast. As always you read some reminders for the day and then your short quote for everyone.

“And to our sunshine, Sunoo. You make my dopamine levels go silly.” and with that you wrapped the broadcast then bid your clubmates to go at the locker’s area.

You pouted and glanced at the direction of his locker. He’s there surrounded and talking with his friends. You wanted to go approach them, but you have no enough time since you need to get your books for your class.

Someone approached you that made you tear your gaze away from Sunoo and his friends. You smiled brightly at the sight of your friend and she had her hand laid in front of you. Like as if asking you to lend her something.

You gave your a confused look and she did stared at you for a while before letting out a sigh.

“Give me your locker keys so I can get your workbooks for you. You can go and approach Mr. Popular.” she said in almost a monotonous way.

You giggled and hugged her before giving her your keys. She just shoo you away, acting like she’s not that affectionate over you.

You didn’t waste any time and just go approach Sunoo. He was listening to what his friends are talking about. He doesn’t seem bored, but he also not a talker.

The first one to see you approaching was Jungwon who quickly smiled and waved at you. That caused everyoneof them to turn and look at you, making you feel shy. Sunoo’s stare didn’t last long and he teared it off to go busy himself with rummaging through his locker. You sent Jungwon a small wave then looked at Sunoo.

“Hi Sunoo!” you greeted happily before trailing your eyes back over to his friends who are now watching you two.

“Hi guys!” you greeted them so just it wouldn’t be awkward and also to avoid being rude.

“Y/n, can you give me messages tomorrow as well?” your eyes darted Sunghoon when he said those words. He have this smile that makes you wonder if he’s teasing or being sincere.

Either way you gave him a smile, “Sure! I will surely read one for you tomorrow.”

“Me too! We have a basketball match tomorrow. Wish me luck, y/n.” this time it was Lee Heeseung, the captain ball of your basketball team who requested a message from you.

Even before you can say yes to his request, someone talked once again.

“Me too! We’re also part of the team!” Jake and Ni-ki said in unison that made you chuckle. They’re so cute.

‘✓ Make new friends.’

You smiled widely as you crossed that out of your list. It was so happy to have these type of conversation with new people.

“Sure! I’ll wish you good luck tomorrow.” you said with a sincere warm smile. The boys even cheered together that made you laugh once again.

While you are busy interacting with his friends, Sunoo suddenly felt irritated for an unknown reason. You are annoying already, but when you are like this around his friends you get more annoying. He isn’t sure why and he doesn’t know if he wants to know the reason.

You jolted when he abruptly closed his locker. It was a little aggressive that made you jump a bit. You followed him with your eyes as his friends tried to call him. He ignored them and just proceeded on going to class.

“What’s gotten into him?” Jake asked, totally clueless.

Jay shrugged his shoulders off then smoothly hangs the strap of his bag over his shoulder, “I’ll go to my class. See you at class, y/n.” he says and even playfully winked at you.

It made you chuckle and you bid good-bye to them too so you can go to your friend. She was done when you saw her and is watching from afar. She have this smirk over her lips that made you confuse.

“What’s with the smirk?” you asked curious.

She shakes her head side to side, “Nothing! I just realized its more fun watching from a distance because you get to observe things better.”

You didn’t totally get what she said, but she quickly dismissed the thought and start telling you about this movie she watched last night.

When you arrive inside the room, the whole class is still rowdy. Your eyes automatically searched for Sunoo and you saw him leaning over his table. No girls are around him. They probably realized he’s tired and doesn’t have the energy to deal with them today. You pouted and can’t help but to feel worried for him. Maybe that’s the reason why he reacted like that a while ago. He must’ve been tired. Being a smart student sure is tiring.

You sat down over your chair and your friend follows, still talking about her movie. You listened to her carefully and even comments from time to time. It was interrupted when your homeroom teacher went inside holding a folder over her hand. You looked at your friend and she did the same thing.

For some reasons, you felt a little nervous and curious of what’s inside the folder. The whole class was curious as well as they try to take guess of it. Some says that its your quarterly ranking. It made your heart stop for a while. ‘Isn’t it too early for that?’ you thought to yourself.

The teacher roamed her eyes around the room like as if checking if everybody’s present. When she finally make sure that you are complete she flashes a warm smile.

“I have here the list of pairs for your prom.” she announced that quickly made the whole class noisy. All of you cheered in happiness and relief.

“Omg! Y/n! This is really it! I wish my partner would be Ni-ki!” your friend exclaimed and even dramatically put her hands together then closed her eyes.

You laughed at her and also after seeing how the said boy turned his head at your direction. He probably heard his name being mentioned.

“I wish Sunoo is my partner!” you copied your friend and put your hands together, but unlike her you kept your eyes open then looked at Sunoo.

After a couple of seconds, your heart dropped when your eyes met. He didn’t break your eye contact and just stared at you. Later on, he rolled his eyes then looked away. You couldn’t stop yourself from smiling in victory while your heart thumped loudly. That was so far the longest eye contact with him!

Now, you really wish he will be your prom partner. You know the chance to get him is so small, but you will still hold on to it even if its just .03 percent.

‘— Dance with Sunoo at Prom.’

If you two became partners, this is already sure to happen. That will be the best night of your life. You bet its wonderful to be paired with him. You wanted this because you want to have the most memorable prom. This will only come once in your life and you don’t even know if you’ll ever get the chance to have a dance with Sunoo while wearing a pretty dress.

You jolted when your friend suddenly held your arm and shakes you continuously. She got this excited look on her face while you have this confused look.

“W-What?! What is it? What happened?!” you asks a bit in panic. You roamed your eyes around to see if there’s something odd, but nothing. Some of your girl classmates are eyeing you with their mean look, but you didn’t give much care about it. The teacher in front are also busy reading the pairs for your class.

“You got paired with Sunoo!” she announced that caught you off-guard.

You gave her this look like as if you’ve been casted a spell and couldn’t react anything. She chuckled, finding you funny.

“You’re shitting me..” you said to her, trying to wait for her to say that she just got you fooled.

She rolled her eyes. Even if she hates Sunoo because of how he treats you, she still wants you to he happy and if it means having him as your prom partner then be it. She will always be supportive of you.

“I swear with my life, you are paired with Sunoo!” she even pulls Jay’s uniform who's sitting in front of her to catch his attention.

“Please tell her that her partner is Sunoo. She doesn’t believe me.” she says then smiled at Jay.

The boy looked confused at first, but then he gave you a smile. “You are paired with Sunoo. Good luck with that.” and he even lets out a taunting chuckle.

Your friend shoot him glares and even kicked his chair lightly causing him to stop laughing.

On the other hand, your mind is slowly going blank and you feel like you are floating. You couldn’t believe it. Maybe God really listened to your prayers and gave you this opportunity to finish your bucket list.

That explains the glares you are getting from the girls at your class. They proabably envy you for having him as your partner. A victory smile flashes your lips. You are so lucky.

Your have this smile on your face all day and you feel like nothing can even make your day bad. Just by thinking about having him as your pair is enough for you to be in a good mood the whole day.

Kim Sunoo as your prom partner. The Kim Sunoo. Wow. You are very excited.

Smoothly the week passed and now, you are very excited because its time for your prom practice to start. You are even hopping cutely on your way to the audio-visual room for your morning broadcasts. It was very obvious how happy you are.

“And to our sunshine, Kim Sunoo. You give me feeling I can’t put into words.” and then you wrapped the session up like usual.

Your friend was already waiting for you by the locker’s area when you arrived. She couldn’t help but to roll her eyes after seeing how wide your smile is.

“Well someone’s in a good mood.” she said in a taunting way.

“Of course! The practice for prom starts today! I can’t wait for it.” you sounded so excited as you start to go get your things.

She lets out a frustrated groan and leaned over the lockers beside you.

“Don’t even remind me about it! I feel so heart broken that I am not paired with Ni-ki.” she says, pouting.

You mirrored her face and slightly taps her shoulder, “Awe! That’s all right. You can just go and ask him to dance with you!” you tried encouraging her.

She smirked, “You are right! I won't let him rest. We’ll dance all night!” the plan of her made you giggled and shake your head side to side. The sound of determination made it even funnier.

“Oh poor Ni-ki’s feet. I feel bad for them.” you joked. She glanced at you then scoffed.

“Oh poor Sunoo’s feet. I feel bad for them too.”

You both laughed and teased each other even more, time slipped out of your mind. When the bell rang, your eyes grew and head looked over your shoulder to check if Sunoo was there. No. He’s nowhere to be found. Maybe he already went to class. A pout makes it way your lips when you realized you didn’t even greet him.

Your friend dragged you towards your classroom and your class then started. It went by too slow for you.

Finally, your most awaited time of the day came. The whole class was asked to go to the auditorium to go meet the dance instructor for the prom dance. You went there with a big smile and your friend couldn’t help but to tease you about it. Upon arrival, the instructor asked you all to listen about the orientation for the dance.

She walked you guys through the whole plan she have for the dance. It was wonderful. For you, its perfect.

“Okay! Everyone please go to your respective partners!” she says and even clapped her hands to make you move.

You stood up and started roaming your eyes around to look for Sunoo. It was easy. He’s heading your way as well, eyes looked serious and both of his hands inside his pocket. He looked handsome as always.

“H-Hi.” you greeted after he managed to get close to you.

He draws in a sigh then nodded at you. It was enough to make you feel crazy inside. Both of you listens to what the teacher will ask you to do next.

“Now hold your partners hand. You have to get used to it from now on because you’ll be holding that for a long time.”

The first task made you feel like you’re up in the clouds already. It was unexpected. You gulped feeling very nervous. You’ve never held his hand. It is one of your dreams to hold it tho and also part of your list.

Your eyes slowly trailed over Sunoo. When he faced you with that bored look, you couldn’t help but to bite your lower lip. He sighs and laid his hand in front of you, waiting for you to take it.

Carefully, you lift your arm and placed your hand on top of his. He rolled his eyes and held your hand tightly making your stomach churns, butterflies flying all over.

“Just try not to be annoying.” Sunoo mumbles and glanced away to avoid the awkwardness.

You giggled, “I promise to do good, Sunoo.”

‘✓ Hold Sunoo’s hand.’

And you are trying so hard to do that. While the instructor starts to teach you guys, you have your whole focus on her and to the dance. You shoved away the thought of having Sunoo as your partner for a while so you can give your whole attention to the dance.

On the other hand, Sunoo’s the one to give his attention towards you. He can’t help but stare at your serious face. A small smirk appeared his lips before he rolled his eyes off of you. He couldn’t believe what he’s thinking right now. He actually think you are pretty cute.

And that’s how the first day of your practice ended. The whole week, you just practiced and as day passed by, Sunoo came to observe you silently while you are too occupied by the dance. You are totally unaware of it. You are unaware that Sunoo, the cold hearted guy from your class starts to notice you more often.

“Where’s y/n?” he asks his friend when he noticed that your chair was vacant again for the fifth time. It was odd for him because its nothing like you to skip school for a long time.

“Worried?” Jungwon asked in a teasing tone.

Sunoo rolled his eyes at him then settles down to his own chair. “No. Its because I don’t have a partner again.” he made it sound so believable that his friend just nods his head.

As the class starts, his friend’s attention drift off of him. He trailed his eyes over to your empty chair feeling something in him missing.

The following week, your ranking was announced and sadly Sunoo’s rank went down. He seemed down because of it. You feel bad and wants to cheer him up so bad.

“And to our sunshine, Kim Sunoo. For me, you are sill the best.”

After the session, you bid good-bye to your club members and head over the lockers. You waved to your friend and quickly get your things to come and greet Sunoo for a bit.

“Hi Sunoo!” you greeted that made him glance at you.

Before he can shoo you away you raised your hand, showing your palm at him. He looked confused.

“Before you can send me away, I just want to personally tell you that you are doing really great. I am proud of you!” you said that made him surprised.

He’s been wanting to hear those words from someone for a long time. He was totally stunned. He looked at you, feeling this unknown emotion that occupying his chest after seeing you again.

You smiled, “I’ll take my leave now! See you at class Sunoo!” and you started heading towards the class without even glancing back.

Sunoo kept his stares at you, feeling a warmth that he was searching for. A smile made it over his lips and he closed his locker.

The discussion started when you arrived and you tried to focus hard because you missed a lot. You groaned lightly staring at the clock too often to check if its time for practice already.

“Ouch.” you gasped and quickly moved away from Sunoo when you heard him utter that for the third time now.

Its your prom practice again and you’ve been messing up the dance because you are out for a while. You glanced at Sunoo with a worried face.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry, Sunoo!” you said.

Normally, he would’ve been so pissed right now. But Sunoo doesn’t feel like that, instead he’s starting to get bothered by how you really got more pale after you missed school for a while.

He gulped and tried to shove it off your mind. Since when did he became so good at observing?

“That’s what you get for missing practices.” he says in a low tone.

You pouted and lowered your head, feeling guilty. Its not like you have a choice. You are sick. But of course, you didn’t told him that. You draws in another sigh to apologize again, but suddenly a pair of hands gently tugged yours. He held them placing one hand to his shoulder, then holding the other one.

When you lift your head, you saw him staring down at his hand that was holding your waist. His cheeks and ears red. You bit your lower lip, admiring Kim Sunoo.

“Next time, don’t leave me alone.” he mumbled and slowly stares at your eyes.

You blushed like crazy as you smile widely at him.

“I won’t!” you exclaimed.

He rolled his eyes then looked at the instructor to wait for the next step. Your smile then fell when something dawned on you. He may not mean to not leave him forever, he may just meant about the dance, but your heart aches after realizing you are leaving. You are leaving Kim Sunoo and everyone else in this world.

“Y/n! Sunoo is downstairs.” you heard your Mom said.

You abruptly stood up from your bed and eyes grew big at what she said. Did you really heard that right? Kim Sunoo? He’s outside your house?

You quickly head towards the window and you really saw him in front. With hurry, you checked yourself in the mirror and slight grunts after you notice how pale you looks. You grabbed your tint and put some on your lips.

“Sunoo! Hello!” you greeted him with a big smile.

Sunoo licked his lower lip and stared at you seriously. “Are you okay? You skipped school again.” he says straight to the point.

Your smile faltered. Its been three days of you skipping schools again. Sunoo can’t wait anymore and just went to check on you. He doesn’t care what you think about this or if you think he cares for you. He does! And he’s going crazy because you aren’t attending class.

“U-Uhm, sorry. Am I giving you troubles for prom practice?”

He didn’t respond right away and just stared at you. “Do you want to walk around?” he asks, licking his lower lip. He can feel his throat getting dry.

You roamed your eyes and it was dark already. “Okay, I will just get my jacket.” and he just nodded his head then waits for you patiently.

Sunoo tries to calm himself down. Its been a whole month after he starts feeling this way with you. At first, he tries to ignore it and tells himself that he’s probably just misunderstanding things. He can’t like you, moreso fall in love with you. He’s annoyed with you. That was the last thing he remembers. How come he’s here to come see you just because you skipped school? Why does he looks for you all the time? Why does he feel incomplete without hearing your short messages for him every morning?

“I’m here!” you announced happily and walked your way towards Sunoo with a big wide smile.

Sunoo gulped, ‘Yep. He’s definitely in love with you.’

You two walked towards the park and since it was already dark, there are less people around. Sunoo asked you to sit down by the swing beside him which you quickly obliged.

As you both stares at the sky above, you can feel your heart hammering. You can’t believe you are here with him, staring at the stars. You should’ve included this to your list.

“Sorry again for the practice. It must have been hard to learn the dances without a pair.” you apologized again after you remembered about it.

Sunoo seemed unbothered tho, he’s just staring at you with this unexplained expression. You tilt your head to check on him.

“Sunoo?” you tried to call his attention.

He gulped, “Do you want me to teach you what you missed?” he asked that made you excited.

“Sure! Is that okay?”

He nodded and stood up from the swing so he can stand in front of you. He laid his hand in front of you then you accepted it. Both of you stood at the middle part of the playground. You are smiling and blushing so hard at the moment.

He hums and placed you in front of him. Making sure he holds onto you very gently. It made your heart flutters and like butterflies flew out of your stomach. You can’t truly explain what you are actually feeling.

He continues to teach you the dance steps you ‘missed’. At one part of the said choreo, he turns you and then tugs you closer right after. He takes you over his arms, your distance were not evident anymore. Your nose almost touching his and if he leaned an inch closer, you are sure that your lips would touch yours. The thought made your heart thumper in both anticipation and fear. Anticipation because its Kim Sunoo. Fear, because you’re afraid once you get a taste you’ll crave more of it.

Sunoo stared at your eyes then he gulped, “I n-need to tell you something.” he says that made you nervous right away.

You are uttering a silent prayer that what he was about to say is not what you are dreaming and hoping for. It may sound weird, but that will seriously make you happy and sad at the same time.

“W-What is it?” No. You are not ready to hear it. Suddenly, a rejection sounds more okay, than an actual confession. Silly you, you thought to yourself, how can you think that Sunoo will actually confess and have feelings for you? He wouldn’t, right?

“I love you, Y/n.” he says that made your ears rings and your heart fell.

It happened. It did happened.

Your eyes burns of tears at the sides as you try to compose and get a hold of yourself. This isn’t what you planned for. And this is definitely what you expected for.

You slowly withdraws yourself from his hold, making the color drains out of Sunoo’s face. It made him wonder if he had said or done anything wrong for you to act like how you just did.

“N-No. Tell me you’re joking.” a pool of tears can be seen at your eyes and its honestly making Sunoo worried.

“I am not.” he says too firmly as he tries to get a hold of you once again. He didn’t succeed as you shove it away, making a small but hurtful emotion prickling over his heart. He couldn’t understand.

You stepped away with horror on your face.

“Y-You can’t love me.” you manage to say.

Sunoo furrowed his brows and his jaw sets, “Why not? Tell me!” he demands and grabbed your arm, this time succeeding.

“I am sick!” you burst out to him, tears now flowing freely over your face.

He was stunned and just stared at you, waiting for what you’re going to say next.

“I am sick and I am dying, Sunoo. Y-You can’t...” you cried, unable to even finish the words you are saying.

Sunoo on the other hand was at complete shock. Couldn’t find any words to say. His mind wanders off to somewhere far, but his hold over your arm didn’t loosened.

He shut his eyes after he snapped back to reality with your soft cries. He sighed heavily, trying to get rid of that heavy filling over his chest. He slowly takes you over in his arms and pressed his lips at your head, eyes starting to water as well.

“I am not going anywhere. You can’t tell me I can’t love.” he uttered seriously that made you cry even more while wrapping your arms around his waist.

The next morning, you haven’t slept good because what happened last night still lingers to your mind like as if it was a dream. Sunoo knew about your sickness. He confessed.

Your heart aches at the thought of it. How come one simple thing can change your view in life? How come one person can affect you this much?

“Took you long enough.” your eyes softens when you saw him waiting outside of your house.

He smiled and walks closer to come get your things from you. You watch him silently, wondering what he’s doing here right now.

“If you’re doing this out of pity—”

“What do you mean? I literally said I love you last night. What I’m doing is mainly an act of love and not for pity.” he says and gently grabs your hand.

You two started walking towards the school and your eyes can’t leave your intertwined hands. For some reasons, you have always imagined you two doing these things and now that it is happening beneath your eyes, you couldn’t believe it.

“Are we really walking towards the school while holding each other’s hands?” you can’t stop yourself from asking.

Sunoo scoffed, “Yes. What? Dreams really do come true, huh?” he tried teasing you.

To his surprise, you didn’t take offense out of it and just nodded your head. He smirked and caress your hand softly.

“We’ll do this every time you want.” and he leans in to place a soft sweet kiss at your forehead.

You arrived at the school and he walks you over to the audio-visual room so you can do your broadcasts.

“And to our sunshine, Kim Sunoo. You’re the best thing I have ever waited for.” and this time you felt your heart tugs. There’s this unknown satisfaction right after you said those words. Like you are very certain that he is the best thing, because he is.

When you went out of the audio-visual room, your eyes grew big seeing him leaning over the wall. He was waiting for you. He pushed himself off then walks towards you to get your things again.

“Hi.” he greets and then held your hand tightly. Your heart beats so fast and unconsciously roamed your eyes around the hallways. Students are eyeing you like they’d seen a ghost. Who wouldn’t be surprised?

Arriving at the locker’s area, he accompanied you and then you two walked towards class hand in hand. Everyone who you walk pass by are shock of the sight they are seeing. It was overwhelming for you.

You can’t believe you are capable of being this happy. Too happy, that you are slowly becoming more scared of tomorrow. Slowly you are starting to ask God of what’s his plan, what’s his reason for taking you the opportunity to live and long and spend it with your love ones. His reason why he let you meet Sunoo and fell in love.

The time came. Your body drops down and you are taken to the hospital. It was dreadful. Not only for you, but for your family and the people who cares for you.

Sunoo didn’t left your side. He just stayed there with you, accompanied and helped your parents to take care of you. They were beyond thankful. They can see how genuine his love for you.

“Hey, pretty.” he greets when he arrived your hospital room. He went close and dropped a quick kiss at your forehead then at your lips.

You smiled and his eyes roamed around, confused why your things are packed.

“You’re moving rooms? Are you all right?” he asked, alarmed of the situation.

You smiled and caress his face, “I’m going home. I’ll be resting there until...”

Your mouth hangs and words can’t come out of your lips. He pursed his lips and you can clearly see that he’s scared. Very scared. He sighed and cupped your face then pressed his forehead at yours. You raised your hand and pressed your hands over his.

“I love you. I love you so much.” he mumbles softly that made your heart crack.

“I love you.” you responded.

You stayed like that for a while before you’re ready to go move at your house for home medication. He helped you and your family settling down. Now, he comes visit you at your house every time. You are starting to be worried of his own health because he seemed to sleep less. He even have school.

“Sorry I can’t be your partner at prom.” you uttered one afternoon while you two rests at your balcony, staring at the stars.

He caress your shoulder while staring at the pretty stars above. His tears slowly forming at the corner of his eyes.

“Its fine, baby.” he says and kissed your forehead. “Its fine.”

The next day, it was prom night and you are brushing your hair in front of your mirror. Your mind is filled with nothing but Sunoo. He’s probably off to school for your prom night. He wanted to skip and just be with you, but you insisted for him to go. Its a one in a lifetime experience. If you can’t have it, at least he should.

Your head snaps over to your door when it opened. Your Mom enters and you can see that even if she’s smiling she have tears at the corner of her eyes.

“Hi Mom.” you smiled, just so she can feel better.

She approaches and just then, you noticed this pink lower part of a dress. Your brows furrowed as to why she have that thing with her. She asked you to stand up, and with no further questions you did. She made you wear that part of the dress. It was a detachable one. It’s your favorite color too.

You both looked over your full length mirror and she stared at you through it. This time, a tear successfully escaped her eyes.

“I love you sweetheart.” she mumbled that made you want to cry as well. If you’re having a hard time, you bet your parents did as well.

You hugged her and told her that you love her too. After calming down a bit, she asks you to come with her. Slowly, she guided you towards the backyard.

Your mouth fell when you saw that it was decorated. Some pretty lights surround it and a couple of tables and chairs were placed around. Its like as if there is a party.

Sunoo then appeared at the side and you couldn’t find a word to say. Sunoo, who supposed to be on his way to prom is now standing right in front of you. He’s wearing his tux and looking so gorgeous as ever.

“W-What...” you managed to say.

He smiles, “I wouldn’t go anywhere without my partner.” he says and put this flower over your wrist before kissing your hand.

Then his friends and their dates appeared too. They are all smiling and you can’t help but to tear up even more.

“Our prom is where you are, y/n!” Jungwon says happily. When you glance at your best friend, she was waving crazily while crying. Ni-ki is standing behind her, towering over her.

Sunoo guided you at the center and the familiar waltz you practiced back then played. Thankfully, you managed to remember the dance.

“Thank you so much, Sunoo. I love you. You make me the happiest. You are my angel.”

He smiles, “I love you, y/n. You make me happy.” and he leans in to seal your love for each other.

‘✓ Dance with Sunoo at Prom.’

The days and weeks after are magical with Sunoo. You can’t ask for more. You are contented and happy with him. Somehow, you’re slowly understanding why all of these happened.

Love made you question God’s plans for you, and its also Love that made you realized what its meant for. You are meant to meet Sunoo because he’s the one who can make you the happiest on your remaining days, and Sunoo met you because you are the one to heal him. You are each other’s soulmates.

“I will be part of them once I leave this place. I will be always pretty and looking out for you.” you utter, even if you are feeling very weak.

Sunoo caress your shoulders and trying to look at the stars you are pointing at. He smiles, but tears formed at the corner of his eyes.

“You are always beautiful.”

You turns your head and look at him. You stared at his face, trying to memorize each and every inch of it. You don’t want to miss anything.

“I love you so much.”

Sunoo cries gently, couldn’t hold it anymore. He placed a kiss a your forehead before pressing it to yours.

“I love you more than words can say.” and with that he kissed your lips.

Everybody else already left and only some of your family members remains, but Sunoo didn’t mind. He sat there silently. He promised you he won’t be sad all the time, but that promise are already broken right after the day you left him.

He pursed his lips and caress your gravestone gently. A light taps over his shoulder sends a little comfort for him. He received those from your family, his family and his friends.

“Here, Sunoo.” he glanced over your friend when she’s handing him this c.d. Her eyes are puffy from crying too much, just like him.

He accepted it and stared at it blankly.

“Y/n asked me to compile all her morning messages for you before and she records more. She said so you can have something to listen to. She knew you’ll be very sad for a while.” she said, crying more.

Sunoo smiled a little and caress the thing that will be his savior and comfort while you two are away from each other. He stood up and once he was home, he went to play it.

First time he heard your voice again, days after you left was heartbreaking for him. He mourning and nothing can really comforts him, but your voice.

This audio record of your messages has become his source of strength. Your voice that he used to hear everytime, but now only an echo that serves as a reminder of your undying love for him.

—

main master-list

greek myth master-list

[leroibobo]

another script/language post to go along with my samaritan and aramaic ones. this time, about the coptic language and script:

the coptic alphabet is mostly used to write the coptic language, the most recent development of the egyptian language (yes, the one that hieroglyphs were used to write). coptic along with previous iterations of the language belong to the egyptian branch of the afroasiatic family, of which they're the only members. once commonly spoken, coptic is mostly used as a liturgical language by coptic churches today, though copts have started revival movements. the church uses the bohairic dialect of coptic specifically, which has differences in pronunciation and grammar. modern revitalization efforts are also based in this dialect.

coptic has had a notable impact on general arabic and hebrew; for example, timsah - crocodile in arabic and one of the words for crocodile in hebrew (since palestine used to have crocodiles) - comes from coptic "emsah". it's also had a smaller impact on european languages via greek ("barge" and "skete" come from coptic). its biggest impact on a language is its significant impact on egyptian arabic.

the coptic script we have today developed between the 6th century bce and 2nd century ce, when greek was used to transcribe demotic texts. the script is a variation of the greek alphabet with all of its characteristic attributes (alphabet, written left-to-right, contains upper and lower case letters) with influences from demotic (written right-to-left, no cases) which were used to transcribe sounds/letters that aren't in greek (like Ϩ/ϩ, derived from demotic (which is not inscribed in unicode), which is "h"; greek has an "h" sound included in some letters but not just one letter for "h"). you can use coptic to write greek without any new letters to account for sounds, but lower-case coptic letters are just smaller versions of the upper-case ones with no modifications, so coptic and greek speakers may struggle to read the other's alphabet.

like greek, coptic also has its own numerals made from letters. (ⲁ = 1, ⲃ = 2, ⲓ = 10, ⲣ = 100, etc). also like greek, a line is drawn above them to distinguish them from the regular text. a formatted version of this numeral system influenced by arabic was used by egyptians of all religions along with the standard arabic one (and the hebrew one by jews) for a long time.

sample text (article 1 of the universal declaration of human rights in bohairic coptic):

Ⲉ̀ⲫ̀ⲟⲩⲁⲓ ⲥⲉⲙⲓⲥⲓ ⲣⲉⲙϩⲉⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲉⲧϣⲱϣ ⲉ̀ ⲁⲝⲓⲁ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥⲩⲛⲏ. Ⲛ̀ⲑⲱⲟⲩ ⲥⲉⲉⲣϩ̀ⲙⲟⲧ ⲅⲛⲱⲙⲏ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲥⲩⲛⲏⲇⲏⲥⲓⲥ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉⲛⲑⲣⲉⲩⲁⲣϣⲏⲧ ⲙ̀ⲙⲉⲧⲣⲱⲙⲓ ϩⲓⲛⲁ ⲛ̀ⲑⲱⲟⲩ ⲙ̀ⲫ̀ⲣⲏϯ ⲛ̀ⲥ̀ⲛⲏⲟⲩ.

transliteration:

Ephouai semisi remheu nem etshōsh e axia nem dikaiosunē. Enthōou se’erehmot gnōmē nem sunēdēsis ouoh empenthreuarshēt em’metrōmi hina enthōou emephrēti enesnēou.

english:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

a formatted version of coptic script is also sometimes used to write some nubian languages (which are not afroasiatic) like nobiin. the script includes influence from the meroitic script, itself a development of demotic. (one is the letter ⳣ, "w", which comes from this letter.) usage of the coptic script for these languages was more common historically to write old nubian. most nubian languages use arabic or latin scripts today.

the nubian script adapted for nobiin:

sample text (john 11:41 in old nubian):

ⲕⲧ̅ⲕⲁ ⲅⲉⲗⲅⲟ̅ⲥⲛ ⲓ̈ⲏ̅ⲥⲟⲩⲥⲓ ⲛⲁⳡⲁⲛ ⲧⲣⲓⲕⲁ, ⲇⲟⲗⲗⲉ ⲡⲟⲗⲅⲁⲣⲁ ⲡⲉⲥⲥⲛⲁ: ⲡⲁⲡⲟ, ⲥ̅ⲕⲟⲉⲗⲙ̅ⲙⲉ ⲉⲕ̅ⲕⲁ.

transliteration:

Ephouai semisi remheu nem etshōsh e axia nem dikaiosunē. Enthōou se’erehmot gnōmē nem sunēdēsis ouoh empenthreuarshēt em’metrōmi hina enthōou emephrēti enesnēou.

some coptic-learning links:

copticforall.com

coptic.net pdf

so, you want to learn coptic? (about boharic coptic)

r12a - resources on how different scripts in all languages work, good resource for languages/scripts in general.

the youtube channel ilovelanguages also has a few videos on coptic, you can find the playlist here.

[funky-fairy]

Lily, Remus and Pandora Headcanons (ridiculously long list)

they're my blorbos i would give my life for them. i project a lot onto remus and lily, so if anything is wildly out of character it's probably that

Lily

very kindhearted but also sarcasm queen

burnt out

Academic validation > real sense of self worth

needs external validation (no this is not healthy she's working on it)

better at potions than snivellus and he hates it hehehe

average at „regular“ magic (spells etc) but exceptional at „scienc-y magic“ (potions, arithmancy, astronomy, herbology etc) bc she's just that cool

plant mom (also green plants > flowers)

actually a rulebreaker, she’s just too smart to get caught

struggles to feel like she belongs: witch in the muggle world, muggle in the wizard world

study buddies to best friends with Remus

fav colours sage green and lavender

sorting hat couldn’t decide between gryffindor and ravenclaw at first

never involved in any drama but knows all about it

everyone is very surprised whenever she swears but she actually swears a lot

tells Pandora about the greek pandora myth and thinks that that's flirting

lotssssss of freckles

curvy/chubby

she is so sleep deprived

sneaks into the library at night (oh wherever could the sleep deprivation come from i have no idea)

loves christmas season (decorating, baking, cheesy movies, music, buying gifts for friends etc., not the christian part)

stress-bakes but can't even cook spaghetti without burning down the kitchen (baking is just different than cooking for her)

constantly apologizes for everything

smokes occasionally and always swears it's the last time (it’s not)

actually not that short but looks very short next to remus and pandora

abba fan (unironically) and always tries to get sirius to dress up as abba with her, remus and pandora (she already coerced persuaded them) for halloween

soft but wouldn't hesitate to kill for the ppl she loves

would love penelope scott if she was a modern teen bc i say so

first one to notice remus has a crush on sirius and vice versa

last one to notice she has a crush on pandora and vice versa

reminds others to drink/eat/sleep/dress warm enough but often doesn't herself bc she feels like she 'doesn't deserve it' :((

kind of a people-pleaser but remus is helping her to stop

so afraid of failure she sometimes doesn’t even try

Remus

doesn't cry (not on purpose he just suppressed his emotions for so long he literally can't cry anymore unless he has a full on mental breakdown)

caffeine addiction

won’t drink anything that isn't hot (eg coffee and tea, but also just hot water)

covers up his intense self hatred with jokes (not self deprecating but like joking about being perfect and stuff, idk how to explain it it's mostly me projecting bc i do that lmao)

very sarcastic and can come off as harsh

actually very nice and non-judgmental

chocolate >>>>>

never involved in any drama but wants to know all about it (Lily is his main source of information)

swears a lot

teachers think he’s very responsible but he just doesn’t get caught being irresponsible

smokes too much

thought the sorting head made a mistake by sorting him into gryffindor at first and still feels insecure about it all through his hogwarts years

patronus is a big black dog(sdfghjk)

very very tall but like kind of lanky

lots of scars obv

Sirius had to ask him out (and later propose to him sdfghjdfs) bc he had too much self doubt/hatred and thought Sirius would never want to be with him :(( (He did. Sirius very much wanted to be with him. Very much.)

top tier insomniac (lily makes sleep droughts for him tho)

lily taught him how to bake and now he loves it and is getting quite good at it

corrects people's grammar

knows every single abba lyric bc of lily

david bowie fan

constantly third-wheeling pandora and lily

hits/breaks things when angry, sometimes hits himself but never others

so afraid of rejection he ends up pushing ppl away (they can’t leave you if you don’t let them close in the first place) (his only close friends still are James, Sirius, Peter and Lily, but it took so long for him to let especially Lily close. Pandora still isn’t quite there even tho they are def very good friends)

Pandora

very smart but only does anything at all if she likes the class/thinks it makes sense to have the class

only follows rules she thinks make sense and most teachers just gave up trying to do something about it

experiments with magic a lot

has scars from said experiments

also random bruises and scratches of unknown origin

wears large quantities of jewellery (piercings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, beads etc in her butterfly locs)

homemade jewellery >>>>>

cannot flirt to save her life

eyeliner.

absolutely in love with lily’s brain

doesn’t drink caffeine

her maiden name is lovegood and both lily and her become lovegood-evans later bc in my brain they marry

just wanders around sometimes (excuses it with saying she sleepwalks if she gets caught past curfew)

t a l l

the sorting head barely touched her head before sorting her into ravenclaw

patronus is an octopus bc it's very intelligent but often seen as 'weird'

fav flower is the lily of the valley (sfdghjk)

knits (she knits sweaters and scarfs for lily <3)

is like the only one in this trio that actually feels pretty good about herself

although she does realize ppl tend to see her as 'weird' she just kind of accepted it? like, yeah, other ppl can be close-minded but she knows that and doesn't let it define her; as long as she's happy and doesn't hurt ppl it's all good for her

exclusively drinks sparkling water and jasmine tea

hates the feeling of brushing her teeth and is always working on spells/potions(with lily sdfghjdfs) that clean her teeth for her

would definitely also love penelope scott if she was a modern teen

loves pastries and other little baked goods

literally doesn't get cold

[ihavedonenothingright]

Captive Prince: Historical References and Naming Conventions

Hi all! I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and I finally had some time (and an Ancient Greek dictionary), so I figured I'd give it a shot. I've always been fascinated by Pacat's worldbuilding, particularly the naming conventions, and as a classicist myself, I wanted to dissect them. So that's what this is. My focus is mainly going to be on Akielos since I don't have as in-depth a knowledge of French, but I'll go through some Veretian names too (je n'ai pas étudié le français depuis deux années, mais Arles… je voudrais parler d'Arles…)

I'm not approaching this with any kind of formal, academic structure, so if something wonky gets through, please let me know! And lastly, I have no idea how many of these are intentional on Pacat's part. This analysis is less about authorial intent and more about how the associations inherent in these names can lend to our interpretation of the work. I'll also be doing this analysis over a few different posts since there is a lot I want to cover. For post #1:

Country Names

This post will solely feature Vere and Akielos since that's already a lot, but I will tackle Patras et. al. later on. There's some very interesting stuff there that I would be remiss not to look at. Of our subjects for today, Vere is the simpler, and the one I am absolutely certain Pacat intended, so I'll start with it.

Vere

Disclaimer: I am in love with this choice. The word itself is actually a Classical Latin adverb derived from the adjective "vērus," meaning "true," and in Latin it's spelled "vērē" (though you will not see those macrons in extant texts, those are a modern pronunciation and differentiation aid). Vērē can be translated a handful of ways; often it's used for emphasis, and in that case it's usually translated as "indeed," but "truly," "rightly," "exactly," and "truthfully" all work in different contexts. Extrapolate vērus and its derivatives for around a thousand years and you get the Old French word "verai" (ouah c'est vrai !) which means, well, "true."

It's also close in spelling and pronunciation to the modern French "verre," which means "glass," which isn't entirely relevant, but is cool. It makes me think of shiny, fragile displays of opulence like the Galerie des Glaces in Versailles. 

The first reason I really like this name is that it calls back to Artes, the Roman-inspired kingdom that we're told once encompassed all of Vere and Akielos, while still fitting current Veretian (aka half-old-half-modern French) grammar and pronunciation. The second is, naturally, that it fits so well into the series' themes of truth, deception, and verisimilitude. The second we're introduced to Vere, and by extension Laurent, there's a subtle hint there that both he and his country are, at their core, more real, genuine, and truthful than Damen and Akielos. We're already building towards Damen's Kings Rising line, "I have never known a truer man." Even if you don't recognize the Latin, your brain will make the connection between Vere and verisimilitude later. It's perfect, 10/10 Pacat, could not have done it better.

And just for fun: a Latin example!

Commentarii de Bello Civili, 2:27. Latin and English available here. 

Hi, sive vere quam habuerant opinionem ad eum perferunt, sive etiam auribus Vari serviunt…

Loeb Translation: "Whether they convey to him the opinion that they really held, or whether they only flatter his ears…" (165)

Slightly more literal translation (by me): "Whether these ones truly convey to him the opinion as they held it, or rather are subservient to Varius' ears…"

Akielos

The name "Akielos" is a lot more… nebulous. I don't know if there is a Greek print of Captive Prince, but my guess is it would be spelled Άκιελος (modern Greek speakers please weigh in, I'm only a year or so into Ancient Greek so I haven't really touched accent marks). That doesn't map neatly to any modern or ancient greek word—at least that I know of. What is does remind me of is Ἀχιλῆος (Achileos) from Ἀχιλλεύς (Achilleus), aka, Achilles. They're so close that I actually realized lately I had unconsciously been pronouncing Akielos as "Akileos" for a while; and in fact, this makes the Veretian spelling "Achelos" make a bit more sense. English and French both use a hard "ch" to represent χ in Greek words; so I imagine, in universe, that the word might actually be spelled Άχιελος. It wouldn't even surprise me if this was the way Pacat originally wanted to spell it, but had to change it for ease of comprehension.

I did have some other interpretations of the name, but I think this is the strongest. Because in addition to the obvious association, the name Ἀχιλλεύς is thought to be derived from the words ἄχος, "distress/grief" and λαός, "people," making it either "the grief" or "grief of/to the people" depending on who you ask (you rely on cases for that sort of distinction in Greek and they're not exactly present here. iykyk).

I really like the idea of Akielos being associated with grief; we're first introduced to it as a country in mourning, and then later on, as the cause of grief in Delfeur. And then you have the association with Achilles, himself a prolific brother killer, who Pacat references later in 'The Fall of Inachtos,' our in-universe Iliad. Insane levels of grief on grief on grief. Plus, because it looks closer to the genitive form, I automatically associate it with the opening line of the Iliad:

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

menin aeide thea Peleiadeo Achileos

Sing, goddess, the anger of Achilles, Peleus' son

So we can throw a little rage into the equation. As a treat. 

Also important to note that the -os there is a masculine ending. It doesn't have the most bearing, but it does mean that if we want to be strictly accurate to Ancient (and modern!) Greek grammar, I have to throw a quick article in front of it, making our final "how do the Akielons spell Akielos?" answer: ὁ Άχιελος ("ho Achielos"). The ὁ here is equivalent to le in French, with the major distinction being that in French, you don't typically need an article in front of a proper noun, whereas you do in Greek.

That's it for today's analysis! See you guys next time around for Patras, Artes, and (maybe) Arles, Ios, and Delfeur/Delpha.

Part 2 >>

[gemsofgreece]

could you talk more about constantinople university?

Hey, I am sorry for the very late reply. This past week was very difficult. Anyway I assume you are asking about the main educational institution in Constantinople at the times of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire.

First of all, I should start this by saying a few basic things about the educational system in the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire had the best primary education in Europe and one of the best in the known world at the time. All peasant children were able to receive education, that is, both boys AND girls, which was unheard of in most other places. As a result peasant men and women attained a satisfactory level of education for the standards of the time.

Higher education was received mainly through private tutoring, which means that this was in fact a privilege of the rich and upper middle classes. Private tutors could also be hired by women who, even though they could not work in professions of a high academic profile (except they could become doctors for women), were still able to educate and improve on themselves just for the sake of it.

The University of Constantinople

When the Roman Empire was spilt in two in 395 AD, the Hellenized eastern part of the empire already had a few famed schools in some of its greatest cities (i.e Academy of Athens, the schools in Alexandria, Antioch, Beirut, Gaza). Those remained the hotspots for higher education for a few centuries, mostly until the Arab conquest in the 7th century.

In 425 AD Emperor Theodosius II founded the state funded Pandidakterion (Πανδιδακτήριον) in the Capitolium of Constantinople, what is supposed to be the original form of the University of Constantinople. According to some sources the concept of this school was actively supported by Theodosius's sister Pulcheria and his empress wife Aelia Eudocia the Athenian. The Pandidakterion was not exactly a university in the modern sense; it initially did not offer courses in various fields of sciences and arts from which students could choose their studies and career. The Pandidakterion's aim was to train specifically those who pursued a career as civil servants for the administration of the Empire and the secular matters concerning the Church. The courses taught were: Greek Grammar, Latin Grammar, Law, Philosophy (students were taught Aristotle and particularly Plato) and Rhetoric (with an emphasis in Greek rather than Latin rhetoric). That last one was considered the most challenging course. Pandidakterion did not teach Theology; this was the responsibility of the Patriarchal Academy. There are sources which list the Pandidakterion indeed as a university though and perhaps it is the closest thing to a university you could have gotten that early in time.

Meanwhile, in Constantinople and other large cities of the empire there were various academies of theology, arts and sciences but those were not universities. Also, as stated above, it was after the 7th century that Constantinople became the center of Byzantine higher education. In the 7th and the 8th century the Byzantine empire was attacked by Slavs, Arabs, Avars and Bulgars, loosening the focus to education. All this and the Iconoclasm seemed to have had adverse yet non permanent effects on the function of the university. The dynasty of the Isaurians (717 - 802) renamed "Πανδιδακτήριον" to "Οικουμενικόν Διδασκαλείον" (Ecumenical School).

The 9th century signifies a new prosperous era for higher education. There are some conflicting sources for that time - according to some the Pandidakterion was moved to the Palace of Magnaura and according to others this is an erroneous conflation of the Pandidakterion in the Capitolium with the new University of the Palace Hall of Magnaura (Εκπαιδευτήριον της Μαγναύρας). Whatever the case is, this renovated or entirely new school was founded by Vardas (842 - 867), uncle of Emperor Michael III. Mathematics, geometry, astronomy and music were added to the courses. The school then was managed by Leon the Mathematician (790 - 869) from Thessaly. Studying there was free.

In the 10th century, Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennitos promoted the Pandidakterion and supported it financially.

In 1046 Constantine IX Monomachos reformed the actual Pandidakterion of the Capitolium into two large faculties operating in it; the "Διδασκαλείον των Νόμων" (School of Law) and the "Γυμνάσιον" (Gymnasion). The School of Law retained its purpose to train the civil servants whereas the Gymnasion taught all the other sciences (i.e philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, music). At the time Pandidakterion had a clear resemblance to a typical university. The principal of the Law School was called "Νομοφύλαξ" (nomophýlax), Guard of Law. A notable nomophylax was Ioannis VIII Xiphilinos (1010 - 1075) who was an intellectual, jurist and later Patriarch of Constantinople. The principal of the Gymansion was called "Ύπατος των Φιλοσόφων" (Consul of the Philosophers). Notable Gymnasion principals were Michael Psellos (1018 - 1078), one of the most broadly educated people to have lived in the Byzantine empire or the middle ages even. Psellos was a Greek monk, savant, courtier, writer, philosopher, historian, music theorist, poet, astronomer, doctor and diplomat. He was notoriously horrible at Latin although given the extent of his studies it is unclear to modern historians whether his Latin knowledge was genuinely poor or he played it up as an act of disdain (he was totally the type to do that). Another notable principal was Ioannis Italos (John the Italian), a half-Italian half-Greek from Calabria, who was Psellos' student in classical Greek Philosophy.

The function of the Pandidakterion as well as all high education in the Byzantine Empire was ceased after the capture of Cosntantinople by the Crusaders in 1204. The Byzantine royalty did however survive through the small Empire of Nicaea and they supported financially the private tutors. After the liberation of Constantinople by the Byzantines in 1261, there were efforts to restore the higher education institutions. Michael VIII Palaeologos, the emperor who recovered the city, reopened the university and appointed as principals Georgios Akropolitis, a historian and statesman, for the Law School and Georgios Pachymeris, a historian, philosopher, theologist, mathematician and music theorist, for the Philosophy School (Gymnasion).

However, the University never returned to its previous status and smooth function. It slowly passed fully under the Church's management in order to survive, while the rest of the teaching was again done by private teachers. This was the case all the way to the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Only one day after the capture of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed II founded a madrasa as the primary educational institution of the city. Madrasa is an arabic name for an Islamic higher education religious institution. In 1846, this insitution was reformed into a university in the likes of the typical Western European universities. Until 1930 many old sources referred to this university confusingly as "University of Constantinople" because the city's name had not actually changed until that time. However, this institution was not the same to the Pandidakterion, the university of the Byzantine Age. In 1930, the city's name was officially changed from Constantinople to Istanbul and the university was renamed in 1933 to "Istanbul University" and it operates like this, being the first university of the Republic of Turkey.

What about the Pandidakterion though, the first University of Constantinople? Well, it ceased to exist, unlike the Patriarchal Academy which re-opened one year after the Fall of Constantinople, in 1454, refounded as the Phanar Greek Orthodox College, which operates to this day.

*Forgive any potential inaccuracies, some sources were really conflicting, especially about the possible Pandidakterion and the Magnaura School mix up.

[studywithjennifer]

starting a new language and beginning again from scratch with grammar is always weird, but exciting too.

notes on modern greek articles in the nominative case - 17/06/2023

[katerinaaqu]

Hi! I want to try reading the Iliad and the Odyssey but English isn't my first language and reading Homer's poetic structures confuse me a lot. Do you know any iliad and Odyssey books that're more beginner friendly but stil close to the original? Like an abridged version?

Oh that is a good question and I understand the struggle. English is not my language either so although Butler's translation is one of the best I have seen if not THE best in English I can understand his english might be a bit difficult to understand for people who have English as second or third language.

Well I am not sure which is your mother tongue since I am almost entirely sure you can find something translated in that given how wide range of translations exists for both poems but if you look for english tralsations here are some that come to the top of my head:

Fagles translation is better than Butler for beginners for he is more poetic to his language and not so stiff but I guess it is also not entirely beginner-friendly. Lattimore is said also to be good but the wording maybe is confusing given how old the translation is and how he wanted toconvey the greek speech I should say one that comes to the top of my head is Rieu's translation that is more contemporary unless I am terribly mistaken.

People praise Willson a lot these years. Honestly I am not a fan given how she changes many words in her translation to fit some form of metric system plus the contemporary grammar and some of her personal beliefs. I wouldn't recommend her for accuracy for I found many times words that translated out of nowhere in her texts making her in my eyes more interpretative than anything but her modern language was commented on a lot. I believe if it is beginner level you want and you do not care for absolute fedelity of translations she is also a very good choice

Now for abridged versions I am not so sure. I would expect you can find very good versions out there but I am not entirely certain. Recently I came across also a illustrated novel version that has some gorgeous illustrations:

I am not sure how much of the text they actually include but from the illustrations in there that not only are super artistic but also looking very good to artistically represent the era they are talking about I should say it is worth the read. I only saw a couple of parts and clips of it and seems worth it!

So to conclude, I'd say no translation can get to the exact Greek text but if I were to suggest one I should say Riew or Fagles If you do not care about very very close accuracy and only want to enjoy the text and the plot I would say Wilson would be a choice for you given how many people have commented that she "dums down" the text aka makes it more comprehensible

I hope these help! ^_^

[kebriones]

Hi! I was in my Ancient Greek lesson the other day and I just found out about this thing called the Middle (shudder), and I was wondering if that still exists in modern Greek too!

UUHM I sucked at ancient greek in school so if i'm wrong please someone corect me but: (actually I might be wrong about modern greek terms and grammar too, it's been a WHILE since I did all the proper grammar at school)

if you mean the middle voice, it doesn't exist exactly as such in modern greek, but there are verbs with middle attitude (? not sure if that's the right word, I'm just translating directly the μεση διαθεση) such as λύνομαι (ancient greek λύομαι is middle voice) that means "I untie myself" and is described as having middle attitude because the one who is doing the act is acting upon themselves. but it's not as complicated as in ancient greek i think? (fellow greek people help me)