#kūkaʻilimoku

[fuckyoutripimaartist]

fdg

[cheriishball]

snoooor mimimimi

[adobe-outdesign]

have you been asked to review the Tapu pokemon yet?

As a whole, I really like the Tapus. It's neat to have one guardian per Alolan island, and the designs themselves are well thought out. I really like how each one has a set of white triangular markings with a darker border, which allows each one of them to be very distinctive with unique designs and palettes while also making sure all three look like they belong together in a group. This is also enhanced by them carrying tiki-inspired masks, with each one being based on a different animal that also influences the creature itself to some degree. Good stuff.

Thematically, the Tapus are also based off of the four main Hawaiian gods (Koko, Lele, Bulu, and Fini seem to be based off of Kūkaʻilimoku, Kāne, Lono, and Kanaloa respectively). I'm obviously not Hawaiian so I don't feel qualified to judge these guys on accuracy, though it seems like Tapu Koko is the most on-point with the feathered look while Tapu Fini is the least, having little to do with the deity it's based off of aside from a vague connection to the ocean.

Regardless, all of these designs are distinct and do a good job standing out from other legendaries, as well as tying back into their region. There was clearly a lot of thought that went into them in terms of both functionality and visual aesthetics.

Tapu Koko is my personal favorite of the bunch. Vaguely based off a rooster (side note: I'm amazed we don't have a rooster 'mon yet. I guess Blaziken counts but it's only a rooster in the vaguest sense of the word), it sports feathers, a beak-like structure on its face, and a mask that it forms a beak with using its pincer-like hands. Really neat! I also like the mohawk becomes the rooster's comb when the mask is closed.

The orange and yellow palette is also nice, as it's very high-contrast and pops well against the black body. My only nitpicks would be that the two pairs of chest markings feel a bit too busy, as do the lines in the yellow part of the eye (though granted, they all have those). Otherwise, this is a very neat design.

I like Tapu Lele because it looks all cute and pretty and then it turns out it's an incredibly cruel nature deity that does not care about the suffering it causes. It and Beautifly should be friends.

Anyway, Tapu Lele is meant to resemble a butterfly head, with the hair curls becoming antennae and a tentacle emerging from the bottom that resembles a proboscis, along with two wing-like structures on the back. I don't think it reads quite as clearly as some of the others, and I do wish the body took after its animal more (the creature itself having no insect-like traits, compared to the other Tapus where you can see the animal influence outside of the masks), but it's still neat.

Tapu Bulu probably resembles its animal the most in terms of body shape, having a bull's signature nose piercing and hooves, as well as horns. Most interesting is the long tail, which not only matches the hooves but becomes the bull's nose ring when the mask closes.

The colors are nice and high-contrast, but I do wish it had been green instead of red. Koko is yellow and orange, Lele is pink and red, and Fini is purple and blue. Having Bulu be red and gold feels too similar to Lele, even if it fits the angry bull idea. It also would've made sense from a typing perspective, as Tapu Bulu is the grass-type of the group (even the horns kind of look like pencils/wood).

Otherwise I don't have any real complaints, outside of the face markings feeling a bit busy, as you have the nose, ring, and three different eye markings. I feel like they could've easily dropped the white eye markings and not lost anything.

And finally, Tapu Fini is probably my least favorite of the group, though it's still a good design. I like the body shape (kind of siren-like, though I don't know if that was intentional) with fin-shaped accents in the hair, on the hands, and on the body.

When it closes its mask it resembles a swordfish of sorts, with the hair strands becoming the side fins and the hair fin slotting into the mask's purple ridge to form a dorsal fin. Something about the fish itself feels a little off though; maybe it's just that it lacks a tail fin, or maybe it just looks a bit too plain compared to the others because it's meant to be viewed more from the side. Still a pretty solid design all around though.

Anyway, overall, I think these guys are great. They're cohesive but distinct, have unique visuals and themes that set them apart from other legendaries, and designs that work from both a visual and mechanical standpoint. Good stuff.

[farmersmarkethawaii]

The big Homie @eddiediazarts been trynna lay ink on me since I got out and I guess it was the right time for it 6 years later. He’s always booked out so he had to take me after shop hours on his personal time which I appreciate immensely and it was definitely worth the time and money. #Kūkaʻilimoku #stayready #tattootherapy #tradedinpains #newyear #newyou #influencer #eddiediaz #breitling #brokenhardened (at Broken Hardened Art Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOXxihgx4m/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1oa1fyg8ic09q

[pohocounty]

a list of specific, significant names that Dulu has been referred to over his lifetime / creatures that I believe were actually him, and whose cultural influences I attribute to him   ( fictionally ) :

Impundulu**   --  Pondo, Zulu, Xhosa  --  a birdlike or flying reptilian creature, at times disguised as a charming and seductive man, who serves as the protector of tribal medicine men / witch doctors, holds a known vengeful streak, attacks and eats humans / is vampiric in nature, and is believed to either bring on or exclusively show itself during violent weather storms.  Impundulu is depicted often with the leathery wings of a bat.

Bennu  --  Egyptian  --  a birdlike creature believed to live on top of great stone structures, worshipped similarly to Ra.  it is said to have played a role in the creation of the world, enabling the creative actions of Atum.  Bennu is self-creating and is the likeliest predecessor to the Greek legend of the Phoenix.

Firebird / Phoenix  / Dragon  --  Greek,  European  --  a western iteration of the Egyptian Bennu, wherein the mythos has been twisted into something demonic and self-resurrecting.  the result of racists getting their hands on cultures that did not belong to them and decades of horrific translation error.  only some of it rings true.

Snallygaster / Schneller-Geist   --  German, American  --  a flying reptilian creature with a birdlike snout that opens into tentacles.  it swoops silently from the sky and carries off unsuspecting victims.  the legend was resurrected in the 19th century as a scare-tactic against freed slaves, though curiously enough, it was only the plantation owners that truly seemed to fear the beast.

Quetzalcoatl  --  Aztec  --  one of the most revered gods of ancient Mesoamerica, their Dragon God.  he is the god of wind and wisdom, thought to have organized the cosmos and aided in the creation of mankind.  Quetzalcoatl is a symbol of death and rebirth, strikingly similar to the nature of the phoenix and Bennu.  he is also a war-god, and was honored in battle  +  human sacrifice.

Camezotz / The Death Bat  --  Mayan  --  a powerful god-beast from Xibalba, or Hell, powerful enough to destroy civilizations.  allied with humanity and granted us the knowledge of fire;  however, the recompense demanded was ritual sacrifice  --  human flesh and blood.  in many iterations, Camezotz can live peacefully among humans so long as his needs are accommodated.

Boh’ooo / Baha / Boh'ooonii'eihii / The Thunderbird  --  Plains Indian, Algonquian, Arapaho, Pacific Northwest, American Southwest, East Coast  --  a common creature believed to be responsible for creating thunderstorms.  Baha is a symbol of summer.  he represents power and strength, and is popularly thought to have delivered punishments for a lack of morality among humans.

Tūmatauenga / Tū / The Angry Face  --  Māori  --  the warrior god, treated with the utmost respect and awe, who is commonly believed to be the son of primordial parentage.  all war-parties are dedicated in his honor.  to the Māori, cannibalism is a part of warfare, and references to Tūmatauenga often involve the consumption of human flesh.  he is known for digging holes.  his actions against his own lineage, the slaying of his own brothers, is seen as a predictive reflection for the overall behavior of humankind.  the body of the first warrior to fall in any battle is offered up to Tūmatauenga.

Kūkaʻilimoku / Kū / Kū-ka-ili-moku  --  Hawaiian  --  a feathered war god worshipped under many names, all of which represent subordinate manifestations of its power, notably: god of land-snatching, god of the deep forest, god of the overgrowth, god of the mountain, god of the digging-stick, the supreme one, the supporter of war, the puller-together of the Earth, and of rot / Ku of the Maggot-Dropping Mouth.  rituals invoking Kūkaʻilimoku regularly involved human sacrifice, whereas no other ritual did.  Kūkaʻilimoku was known to manifest as a man-eating creature with teeth like a shark’s.

Altjira / Aljira-Mara  --  Arrernte  --  an eternal being who had no beginning, responsible for dreams, which are thought to be channels through which one may witness God.  Altjira is the supposed creator of the world and humankind, and is depicted as a tall, strong man with dark skin, long fair hair, and legs like a bird.  he is believed to live in the sky.  however, Altjira may be a poorly translated misnomer for the Christian God that was forced onto the Arrernte peoples by missionaries before the research wherein Altjira had been “discovered” was conducted.  it is very possible that Altjira was not a traditional creator-god among the Arrernte.  the creeper, however, was still mistaken for him many times.

there are  …  at least a thousand more names I could put here, this is just a little taste, but yeah.  these all tie into each other, and into the creeper’s lore, in undeniable ways, with many elements of description and methods of worship recurring.

**  --  the creeper still goes by Impundulu / “Dulu” because the Zulu were the first people he truly befriended, and the title they attributed is especially significant to him, in that it has stuck with him despite the gradual erosion of his memory and displacement from his roots.

[hawaiimadealoha]

Look up the 'ulu love story with the god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku #newyearsresolution #learn #read #explore

[fuckyoutripimaartist]

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[cheriishball]

@fightiniumzee

It was late at night when Hala arrives at the shrine. He brought his offering as usual, and goes to pray for a moment before he speaks up. "Tapu Koko, if you are around, I'd be honoured to speak to you about something important for a moment."

It takes a few seconds. Tense, silent, but eventually Hala can feel it: an electric sensation, a chill going up his spine, followed by the smell of an incoming summer storm.

Tapu Koko appears soon after, proceeded by a powerful light and followed by the rumbling of a thunder.

"Kahuna Hala." the Guardian of Mele Mele greets the old man, floating closer "Speak up."

[cheriishball]

YOU'RE NOT EVEN A KAHUNA YET AND YOU'RE ALREADY PLANNING ON LEAVING??

[cheriishball]

@skullkxd

they spray painted an alolan Meowth giving the middle finger on tapu koko’s shrine. Actually they’re quite proud of this work.

Cue a loud rumble and a thunder falling just a few inches from them as a warning.

YOU HAVE 5 SECONDS SKULL CHILD.

[cheriishball]

[ BATTLE FOR THE NEXT KAHUNA ]

[cheriishball]

actually it doesn't feel like battling hau today. it'll just make the kahuna work a little more. hau isn't ready yet.

they're the god, here. they decide when to battle.

lol.

[cheriishball]

@tapuhauko​:

Hau is at the shrine, simply staring at the altar. There's a Zapdos feather necklace around their neck, and they fiddle with it idly as they glance around, looking for a certain island deity. "Are you here? I just wanna talk, I promise."

The air becomes electric - a wind blows, the wind that proceeds a thunderstorm. Hau doesn’t need to know how Tapu Koko appeared, nor where they came from. They just... do.

Right behind the young Trainer, floating near the ceiling of the shrine, the God looks down at the child they blessed.

“ H a u. ”

Calm, collected, yet its voice seems cold and distant.

“Welcome back. What do you need, child?”

[cheriishball]

...loud.

[cheriishball]

they know they chose their kahuna wisely specifically when he’s about to beat up that good for nothing skull.

and also when he brings them food ♥

[cheriishball]

If something is happening in another Island, that’s not his business. They’re protecting Mele Mele. If the other Tapus slack off, that’s their problem.