#mapulon

[swellbloom-kids]

Reimagined Ikapati and Mapulon as Beloved Monarchs, powerful fae in the setting of urban fantasy ttrpg The Gloaming Diaries, specifically for its second homebrew jam. Hope you can check it out!

[lilradridinghood]

Mapulon and Lakapati

Finally posting the Tagalog myth retelling I wrote for @withbarehands-zine! I still kinda get imposter syndrome sometimes when I write about Filipino stuff, so it feels really special to get this out there. Also my my first time trying to write anything arospec-related!! And @/tidalbronze on Twitter made AMAZING art to go with my story which I will add to the notes when they post.

Thanks for reading!

~~~~~~~

Mapulon watched as the rain fell at his command.

Or rather, at his nudging, as he preferred to call it. He didn't like to think of himself as some demanding ruler over nature. Sure, as the god of seasons, he had his fair share of power over the weather, but it wasn't like him to summon harsh winds or call upon the heavens for a storm.

Instead, he coaxed the water down gently, so as not to deter the villagers from coming out to gather herbs. Medicinal plants seemed to love the way he arranged the skies.

But today, no human showed up from the village—not even after the soft patter of rain had ceased.

Mapulon grew unsettled as he waited, wondering if he should venture into the village to check on the mortals. He had never actually visited their homes before, electing to merely observe from afar like every other god he knew, but it was unusual not to see anyone out in the fields by this time of day.

Before he could come to a decision, he suddenly noticed someone approaching a patch of herbs—as if the person had materialized out of nowhere. They barely paid Mapulon mind as they gathered the leaves. It was only after filling their shallow basket that they looked up, smiling at what was no doubt a bewildered expression on his face. Then, before he could say anything, the stranger got up and headed for the village.

It wasn't long before Mapulon followed.

He wasn't sure what exactly drove his feet forward—knowing there was at least someone to care for the villagers should've been enough to assuage him—but there was something about that warm, amused smile the stranger had given him. Something that made him want to see it again.

By the time he finally caught up to the elusive stranger, they had already entered someone's home. Mapulon remained respectfully at the entrance as they knelt by an unconscious old man's bedside, applying herbs to the red welts on his arms.

"Thank you," said a woman with a scratchy voice.

The mortal with the basket held it up in her direction. "You next," they said.

The woman shook her head. "I can tend to myself as long as you leave me some herbs."

The other hesitated. "Then take this too." They reached into their basket, and—somehow, though Mapulon hadn’t noticed anything other than the herbs in there before—pulled out a shiny ripe pomelo.

After more thanks from the woman, the basket-holding stranger went on their way, presumably to help the next household afflicted with illness. Mapulon was about to follow them again when the woman in the hut called out to him.

"You be careful out there," she said. "There's a sickness going around."

"Shouldn't you be more worried about the person who just helped you?" Mapulon asked.

Despite her obvious fatigue, the woman smiled with fondness. "I wouldn't worry too much about them. I don't think it's even possible for a god to get sick."

Mapulon blinked at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, you didn't know? I assumed that was what brought you here. You may not guess it from the way they're always giving time to help us humans, but they're actually the deity of fertility," she said. "Their name is Lakapati."

The next second, Mapulon was running through the village and calling their name.

And there Lakapati was, coming out of a different hut. They turned their head at the sound of their name and smiled. But that same amusement from before had barely spread across their face before their body seemed to flicker, and the next thing Mapulon knew, Lakapati was gone.

—

The next day, Mapulon was determined to have a repeat encounter with his fellow deity. He returned to the same area, once again gracing the fields with his signature caress of rain. Then he watched over the dewy herbs, waiting for Lakapati to appear, but all morning no one came.

All the while, Mapulon kept thinking back to his brief encounter with them, and how kind Lakapati had been to the humans. Such kindness was a marvel that warmed Mapulon’s heart, and he realized that he wanted to be just like them. So instead of waiting any longer, he gathered an armful of herbs and made his way into the village.

When he stopped at the same hut as the day prior, the old man had what looked like a fresh layer of treatment on his arm, while the woman winced in pain as she tried to apply herbs to her own body. At Mapulon’s arrival, she looked up and managed a small knowing smile.

“If you’re looking for Lakapati, they’ve already gone,” she said.

“And you still wouldn’t let them treat you?” Mapulon asked.

She sighed and shook her head. “It would be a great help, of course, but I don’t want to take up too much of their time—especially when they’re the only god I’ve seen down here helping us so personally. Even being a deity, I’m sure there’s only so much one can do.”

Mapulon felt guilty then, for all the years he’d thought it sufficient to support the humans from a distance.

“Then from now on there shall be two,” he declared. “And I swear as the god of seasons that you will be cared for.”

The woman’s eyes widened at his revelation. “M-Mapulon?”

He smiled. “That is my name,” he said. “May I ask yours?”

The simple question seemed to calm her down a bit, and she answered, “Dalisay.”

“Well, Dalisay, you look like you could use some help.”

And so Mapulon helped treat her welts, before moving on to another household with a promise to come back the next day. He made his way through the rest of the village, making sure everyone got what they needed. In many places, Lakapati had already satisfied all their needs, but there were others like Dalisay who could use the extra care. So Mapulon put himself to work, as he did every day for several weeks.

Then one day, while helping Dalisay care for her father, Mapulon looked up to find Lakapati watching him with a radiant smile on their face.

It was the sight Mapulon had so longed to see, and it filled his heart with a rush of warmth. He immediately knew what he wanted to ask Lakapati. And at Dalisay’s approving nod, he got up and went to join them.

—

It was dark out by the time they were done helping everyone, and the two deities settled into a leisurely stroll.

“It’s good to see someone else so dedicated to helping these people,” Lakapati said. “When we first met, I wasn’t sure you had such kindness in you.”

Mapulon grinned at them. “Well, I did have someone to inspire me. In fact, I was hoping…”

Lakapati raised an eyebrow at his sudden hesitation, and he sat down on a nearby rock, looking up at them sheepishly.

“I was hoping I could court you,” he said.

The surprise on Lakapati’s face soon gave way to a deep-set frown. “I’m not sure I’d want to be in that kind of relationship,” they said.

“It doesn’t have to be now. I’m willing to wait—however long it takes.”

But that only made things worse. “As if it’s a given that I should fall in love with you?”

“I only thought-”

“I know what you thought. You thought the same thing as everyone else.”

And with that, before Mapulon could respond, Lakapati was gone.

—

Mapulon was beside himself with regret as he ran through his memory of the conversation. He didn’t know what went wrong, only that he wanted to make things right as soon as possible. He needed to find Lakapati before night’s end.

So he asked around among the villagers—among his new friends—and he figured out where Lakapati usually retreated to. Relief flooded through him when he found them at the lake.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” Mapulon told them. “I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

Lakapati looked up wearily, their brown eyes reflecting the soft glow of firefly light. “It’s normal to assume,” they said. “But I… I don’t know if I can feel the kind of love that comes with courtship. I think I may be missing something.”

“Missing something?” Mapulon shook his head. “You’re more full of compassion than any deity I know. If you never find someone you wish to marry, it can’t possibly be because you’re lacking in love. Your love just happens to be different. Special.”

“Special enough that you’d wait an eternity? Even if there’s no guarantee I’ll ever marry you?”

“If you think there’s any chance, then yes. But if not, or if it doesn’t end up happening…” Mapulon shrugged, offering a lopsided smile. “Then I’d be more than happy to have you as a friend.”

He held out his hand, and Lakapati took it while smiling back, both cherishing their growing love for the earth, for humanity, and for each other.

[the-twelve-guardians]

Hello from the random oc questions tabby kitten!!💙

How is your character wrong? What misconceptions about the world, others, and/or themselves do they have? Do they ever work past these misconceptions?

Hello! I’m going to answer this OOC, since I feel like a character answering would be airing out everyone else’s dirty laundry. Despite their squabbles and differences, the Twelve Guardians are one big family.

Tala: Thinks she's the center of the universe and that everything is about her. If she's not included in something, she gets angry.

Mayari: Way too single-minded in her goal to defeat the Bakunawa; this leads her to neglect spending time with the other Guardians or occupying herself with other things.

Oryol: Somewhat manipulative. Given her hypnosis powers, she sometimes charms people to get what she wants.

Lidagat: Super pessimistic. Fitting as the Guardian of heartache, but she just needs to lighten up sometimes.

Lihangin: Can't pay attention to a task to save his life. He's always switching from one thing to the next, rarely finishing anything.

Mariang Makiling: Set in her ways. She thinks everything can be solved by doing what was done before.

Anitan Tabu: Has loose morals. She'll stir up trouble if it means getting a good laugh out of it.

Mapulon: Laidback to the point of laziness. He'll let the other Guardians solve problems and rarely gets involved.

Ikapati: Excessively patient and forgiving. She believes in the good of people, to the point that she tolerates mortals taking advantage of her generosity.

Mariang Sinukuan: Doesn't really act on emotions - might not even have any? She operates on pure logic and empirical data, although she knows her limits.

Mariang Kakaw: Has a short fuse and a big mouth. If something displeases her, she'll say it even if it means the other person getting hurt.

Magwayen: Acts like her word is law when it comes to mortals. She's inflexible with her judgments on their morality and is a stickler for the rules of the afterlife.

On a whole, self-awareness isn't really their strong suit. They're gods, and don't really change or grow up the way mortals do. I want to explore these flaws in future stories, so thanks for prompting me to come up with them!

[angiyonglibulan]

MAPULON "THE GOD OF SEASONS"

Watch full video on my YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/jRHZOSO0chI

[mythos-theos]

Filipino Mythology Week → Day 1: Gods (of the Tagalogs)

“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.”  ― Neil Gaiman

[leif-kenhan]

AFTER SO MANY YEARS

Actually its only been a year. Decided to try my hands on drawing again and ooh boi I’m hecka rusty. Have a Leif and Mapulon (cousin)being cute. Ref used

[the-twelve-guardians]

Early concepts for the other Guardians! Unlike Tala and Mayari, they didn't take as many iterations to finalize. As you can see, they resemble their final designs quite a lot. I am sad I had to sacrifice a lot of things in the revisions, such as Mariang Kakaw's halo, Magwayen's wings, Oryol's sea turtle shell and flippers, and Lidgat's more monstrous appearance.

[the-twelve-guardians]

Character Lineup

A full-body lineup of all twelve Guardians! Worked really hard on this, so I’m proud of how it turned out!

Some thoughts on their character designs under the cut:

In Tagalog mythology, Tala is the goddess of the stars and the daughter of the supreme god Bathala. In my reimagining of her, she's also the deity of feasts, holidays and family. I gave her the traits of a cooked crab to tie her to feasts, as well as her relationship to Mayari.

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In Tagalog myth, Mayari is the one-eyed goddess of the moon. In my design for her, she's a coconut crab as a reference to the Bagobo belief that a giant crab causes earthquakes by pinching a giant eel wrapped around the world. Fitting, since here she fights the serpent Bakunawa.

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In the Ibalong epic of Bicol, Oryol is a half-serpent demigoddess with a hypnotic voice. For her reimagining, I gave her bright colors (like a sea snake) and a flower in her hair to give her a tropical look.

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In one of the Visayan creation myths, Lidagat is the goddess of the sea. I tied a lot of my OCs to the sea, so I specifically made her deity of the deep sea and made her look like an angler fish to reflect this.

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In one of the Visayan creation myths, Lihangin is the god of the wind. I designed him to have the traits of various types of angels, such as the six wings of a seraph, as well as a sash and halo.

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In Tagalog belief, Mariang Makiling is the kindhearted goddess of Mt. Makiling. I wanted to reimagine her a deity of time, earth, and stability, hence the rotting flowers on her shoulder. She also has a hornbill beak since hornbill cries are used to tell time.

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In Tagalog mythology, Anitan Tabu is the goddess of wind and rain. She's described as being fickle-minded, and I wanted to play this up by making her the deity of rivers, mystery, lies, and ambiguity. Crocodiles are sacred in some Philippine belief systems, hence her crocodile traits. It’s also a reference to the expression “crocodile tears”, meaning fake expressions of sadness.

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In Tagalog mythology, Mapulon is the god of seasons. In my OCverse, I also made him the deity of relaxation and the protector of provincial towns, hence his rooster tail and comb-like hair.

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Again drawing from Tagalog myth, Ikapati is the goddess of agriculture. I gave her the traits of a horse, a farm animal, as well as the attire of a farmer. I also wanted to reference the myth of the tikbalang, a creature with the head of a horse.

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In Kapampangan myth, Mariang Sinukuan is the goddess of Mt. Arayat. She settles disputes among mortals, so I made her a deity of justice with a light motif. She has the wings of a moth and glowing eyes because of this.

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In Cebuano legend, Mariang Kakaw is the goddess of Mt. Lantoy, named after its numerous cacao plants. I gave her a warm brown color palette to reference dried cacao beans' brown color. I also modeled her after the provincial girls often featured in Amorsolo's paintings.

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In Visayan myths, Magwayen is the goddess of the sea who ferries the souls of the dead. I gave her the motif of estuaries (where the river transitions into the sea; death is believed to be a transition). She has the lower half of an anaconda, a sacred river-dwelling animal.