We are pleased to officially release our first ever King's Avatar fan calendar! Composed of 13 artworks (12 months + cover art) with 12 accompanying fics, this 2024 digital calendar is free for all to enjoy!
You can even download the files here--we have them as both images and pdfs, as well as desktop and full calendar versions.
And of course don't forget to check out the accompanying fics for each month by scanning the QR code, or check out the AO3 collection.
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Stenides immediately made a permanent place in my heart by sole virtue of his being a watchmaker. It’s kinda unfair really. But it’s fine, he’s Gen’s favorite sibling too.
(Will we ever get to meet the other siblings huhuhuhuhuhu)
I’ve really gone off the rails here. This isn’t a scene from the main books. It isn’t even the scene of them together from the Thief! extra. It’s just pure conjecture of a warm, fuzzy moment. GAH.
HC: When (WHEN) Gen and Irene’s firstborn comes, Stenides will make a baby crib mobile for them
Day 18 - misfit
Gen looked up at his brother. Stenides was one of his favorite people, certainly his favorite sibling. Like Gen, Stenides didn’t fit well into his martial world. He had a gift for the mechanical and the mathematical. It was Stenides who had taught his younger brother to read and was most often to be found absorbed in his unwarlike hobby of watchmaking. In spite of being different, Stenides was well liked.
Do you remember when our royal scholars wrote to us about the Duke of Ferria's Armillary Sphere? You abused them terribly by calling their sketches 'no better than scribbles of a ball of yarn after the cats had attacked it.' Well, if you've been paying attention (which you probably have), the theory of the philosopher Galileo which places the sun at the center of the universe is gaining ground. Courts all over the continent have been sending in scholars and running calculations and Gen, I kid you not, it's almost like child's play in comparison to the convoluted mess we used before. It simplifies everything regarding the placement and movements of the planets once we study them in relation to the sun. I've made a working model of it and if you thought the Duke's Armillary Sphere looked like a cat's ball of yarn then this one looks like an actual infant's toy! It has given me an idea of a gift for you and Irene but I'll keep it as a surprise. I'll leave you with something Galileo said that struck a chord with me. It goes thusly,
"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."
The future is uncertain and the heights of power that you, Irene, Helen, Sophos, and any children you might have in the future are beyond anything our Little Peninsula has seen before. I only ask that you do not forget the little grapes that could burn in the Sun's heat.
Panghalip Panao (personal pronouns) of the Philippines!
So this is basically an explanation of these pronouns as I use them in conversation as a Filipino who lives in the Philippines and speaks Filipino.(disclaimers at the bottom)
This covers pang-isahan (singular) and pang-maramihan (plural) personal pronouns. Each are subdivided into:
(1) Ang Nagsasalita /First Person /The Speaker
(2) Ang Kinakausap /Second Person /The one/s being spoken to
(as well as special cases /various specifications for plural use)
(3) Ang Pinag-uusapan /Third Person /The one/s spoken about
(note. The sample I will use is pagkain (food))
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Magsimula tayo sa mga Panghalip Panao na PANG-ISAHAN
Let us start with the SINGULAR personal pronouns
(1) Ang Nagsasalita /First Person /The Speaker
ako/ko/akin
I/my/me/mine
Ako ang bibili ng pagkain.
I will buy the food.
(Side note. Even if there’s no emphasis on The Food in the Filipino sentence. The way it’s structured kind of gives this feeling of “I will do it. I will buy the food.” If I just wanted to say “I’ll buy food”, it would be more natural to say “Bibili ako ng pagkain.”)
Ito ang pagkain ko.
This is my food.
Binigay sa akin ang pagkain na ito.
This food was given to me.
(Here, if we tried to do a word-for-word translation, we’d end up with “Ang pakain na ito ay binigay sa akin” which still works but gives a more formal feeling. Like receiving a favor or something. As for following the Filipino sentence structure, I’m not sure if English would actually accept “Given to me was this food /Given to me this food was” in any other case outside Yoda speak.)
Akin ang pagkain na ito.
This food is mine.
(“Ang pagkain na ito ay akin” is still a viable sentence structure if you’re translating from English to Filipino but the one above rolls off the tongue better. The first order focuses on your ownership, the second focuses on the food.)
(2) Ang Kinakausap /Second Person /The one being spoken to
ikaw/mo/iyo
you/your/yours
Ikaw ang bibili ng pagkain.
You are going to buy food.
(“ka” is a shortened form of “ikaw” that is used when the verb is the focus of the sentence (yeah I don’t know the proper grammar way to talk about this). So you can say stuff like “Bibili ka ng pagain?” / “you’ll buy food?” or “Bili ka ng pagain” / “Buy food.”
Ito ang pagkain mo.
This is your food.
Sa iyo ang pagkain na ito.
This food is yours.
(3) Ang Pinag-uusapan /Third Person /The one spoken about
Okay, so as can be seen above, Filipino, Philippine languages, and many other Austronesian languages don’t specify the gender of the third person. They are simply “that person.”
Siya ang bibili ng pagkain.
She/Xe/He will buy the food.
Pagkain niya ito. (Another possible arrangement of the sentence “Ito ang pagkain niya”).
This is her/zir/his food.
Sa kanya ang pagkain na ito.
This food is hers/vis/his.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Ngayon, talakayin natin ang mga Panghalip Panao na PANG-MARAMIHAN.
Let us now discuss PLURAL personal pronouns.
(1) Ang mga Nagsasalita /First Persons /The Speakers
This is only for the speaker and their companions. It doesn’t matter how many people they are talking to.
kami/namin/amin
we/our/ours/us
Kami ang bibili ng pagkain.
We will buy the food.
Ito ang pagkain namin.
This is our food.
Sa amin yung pagkain na ito.
This food is ours.
Binigay sa amin ang pagkain na ito.
This food was given to us.
(2) Ang mga Kinakausap /Second Persons /The ones being spoken to/ EXCLUSIVE we
This refers to a group of people who the speaker is speaking to. English needs extra collective words to specify the plural “you”.
kayo/ninyo/inyo
you/your/yours
Kayo ang bibili ng pagkain.
You guys will buy the food.
Ito ang pagkain ninyo.
This is your food.
(Right now, I can’t think of a collective word you’d add to this to show that the “you” here is plural).
Sa inyo ang pagkain na ito.
This food is yours.
(If I was going to tell many people that the food was for them I’d probably say “This food is for all of you” which, translated back into Filipino, would be “Para sa inyong lahat ang pagkain na ito” which gives me the impression of a rather large number of people because of modifying the already plural “inyo” into “inyong lahat”).
(2A) Pang-dalawahan /Duo of people
Ang nagsasalita at ang kanyang nag-iisang kausap /The speaker and the one person they are talking to. It means “you are to me”, “I verb you”, “I to you”. There are other pronouns exclusively for two people but they aren’t in common use anymore, at least in Filipino. Again, this apparently exists in other Austronesian languages but I personally wouldn’t know.
kita
I_you
Kaibigan kita. Mahal kita. Sasamahan kita. Kukurutin kita.
You’re my friend. I love you. I’ll go with you. I’ll pinch you.
(The very literal translation from English to Filipino would be:
Kaibigan ko ikaw. Mahal ko ikaw. Sasamahan ko ikaw. Kurutin ko ikaw.
Don’t ever use these.)
(2B) Lahat na nariyan sa kanilang pag-uusapan /All present in the conversation/ INCLUSIVE we
This includes the speaker, the speaker’s companions (if any), and the one/s the speaker/s are speaking to. Any combination applies as long as it’s not just the singular speaker and their singular companion.
tayo/natin/atin
we/our/ours/us
Tayo ang bibili ng pagkain.
We will buy the food.
Ito ang pagkain natin.
This is our food.
Sa atin ang pagkain na ito.
This food is ours.
Binigay sa atin ang pagkain na ito.
This food was given to us.
(3) Ang mga Pinag-uusapan /Third Persons /The ones spoken about
sila/nila/kanila
they/their/theirs/them
Sila ang bibili ng pagkain.
They will buy the food.
Pagkain nila ito.
This is their food.
Sa kanila ang pagkain na ito.
This food is theirs.
Binigay sa kanila ang pagkain na ito.
This food was given to them.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
EXTRA 1: More on the Exclusive versus Inclusive “we”
To better illustrate this. Imagine this situation:
Main speaker: mom
Mom’s companion: her sister
Main person being spoken to: kid
Exclusive “we”:
Mom to kid: Lalabas kami para manood ng sine/ We’re going out to watch a movie.
In Filipino the kid would automatically know that they’re not included in the group going out. In English there might be follow up conversation of:
Kid: We’re going to watch a movie?
Mom: No, just your aunt and I.
Inclusive “we”:
Mom to kid: Lalabas tayo para kumain/ We’re going out to eat.
Again, in Filipino the kid would immediately know that they are part of the group going out. Whereas in English, this might happen:
Kid: Just you and Auntie?
Mom: No, all of us!
EXTRA 2: Polite Speech
If you want to speak politely to someone and you don’t know whether to use Tito/Tita (Uncle/Aunt), Ate/Kuya (older sister/older brother, older female/older male still in your age group), Ma’am/Sir, or any other of those signifiers, it is still possible.
Tone of voice, of course, is the first. The addition of “po” is next (like the Japanese “desu” but doesn’t need to be at the end of a sentence (just put where it feels natural but try not to overuse it). Then there’s degrees of separation. For example, in addressing a single person:
“Anong kailangan mo? / What do you need?”
You’d say this to a sibling, a friend, a classmate, or someone younger/below in seniority who you speak plainly with.
(“Mo” is a very direct way of saying “you” that I wouldn’t put po anymore. If I want to be more respectful, I’d skip to the next level. I’m not sure if other people use “po” to a person they’d use “mo” with).
Ano po ang kailangan niyo? What is it that you need?
“Niyo” is a shortcut for “ninyo” and thus less formal. Even though it’s for multiple second persons, you can use it to speak politely to someone like a parent, a teacher, a work superior. If I remember right, it’s probably like the Spanish “Ustedes”.
Ano po ang gusto nila? What is it that you need?
So same as above. “Nila” should be for multiple third persons so if someone is using it to address a singular person it is very polite. They are humbling themselves and creating a lot of verbal distance. I’m not sure how in use it is in today’s day and age but in the past, it would be like saying “What does her ladyship wish?” even if speaking to the person herself.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
And that’s a wrap! If you’re still here at the end of the long post then thanks for sticking till the end! I just brushed up on my grammar knowledge by searching through the internet so if any of you want to learn more, there’s a lot of helpful guides out there. :D
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
DISCLAIMERS
1) I’m not a linguist. Not in Filipino (recognized national language of the Philippines that was made to be a middle ground of our many languages but is heavily influenced by Tagalog due to location and participants of the committee), Tagalog (prominent language in Luzon), Hiligaynon (prominent language in Visayas spoken mostly by Ilonggos), or English.
2) This guide only covers the very basic conversational Filipino personal pronouns. However, the other Philippine languages are very similar and follow the same trends. I’ve read that the other Austronesian languages also share similarities but I don’t know how to speak/read any of them so I wouldn’t know.
3) It’s been more than a decade since I had grammar lessons and even back then it was a struggle. (Speaking as someone who grew up exposed to three languages at the same time and ended up Very Confused). I won’t bother keeping the sentence structure completely 1-is-to-1. Filipino of course has a different natural sentence structure from English though it can be very flexible to the point of allowing some 1-is-to-1 translations. It’s just that it ends up clunky or focusing on different things.
"...a gryphon on one side facing a lion on the other, with lilies in between. I remember this as the first time I’d seen the unified crest of the Little Peninsula."
-Megan Whalen Turner, Return of the Thief
Been thinking about this crest for a really long time now! Solved the imbalance of the gryphon having wings by putting an olive branch beside the lion (which I now realize is probably supposed to be a mountain lion...er...whoops). Also gave the two animals a crown (annux) to support so they weren't pointing their claws at each other.
As for the lilies, I was looking for old ways of depicting lilies and found this which is great because it doubles now as three minor crowns (basileis) and a dagger. Finally, the border around symbolizes the seas, the flatlands, and the mountains.
Art I did back in October for TreeCat’s fic Challenger as part of the Quan Zhi Gao Shou (The King’s Avatar) Big Bang of 2020!
Fic Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27177019
Art Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27177097
Queen’s Thief “Inktober 2019” Master Post PART 1/3
(Yes, this is blurb-brain. I decided to make a side blog for my art stuff. Long post incoming)
~~~~~~o~~~~~~
In honor of the last book of The Queen's Thief being released yesterday (October 6), I decided to go back and finish my Inktober 2019 run. So I'm both 11 months late and 1 month early for Inktober I guess. It shocks me a bit, to look back over the whirlwind this past month has been and see all that I’ve made. I’ve never drawn this much, this often, and at a mostly consistent level...ever. Pretty proud of that and only hope I can keep the ball rolling.
Now, about Queen’s Thief.
Got into this series waaaaaaaayyyy back in the year 2000. Waiting for the next book became a running joke between my siblings and I as well as the rest of our friends who we roped into liking it. Forget 12 years of waiting, it's been 20 years for us, and 24 years for those who were there at the very beginning. Our family has had The Thief in our cabinet since before I even started reading books with no pictures.
What in the world is life like without a book in the Queen's Thief series to wait for?
So thank you very much @meganwhalenturner from the bottom of my heart for the gift your books have been in my life. They are something I share with a lot of people I love, and the characters themselves are so vivid, so endearing, they’re on that list of people I love as well.
I wish you all the best wherever your interests decide to take you now that this is over. If I may borrow your line, “be blessed in your endeavors.”
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