We hope you're excited to kick off the earliest festivities of this project! Today, as well as each upcoming monday before the campaign launches, will be when you can expect storyline posts and design reveals!
However, during my writing of this story it came to my attention that it may be too grim for some viewers to enjoy. It's not as lighthearted as the story for Cryptids and Critters with Robert and Tippy, and it's more personal than the story for Infernal Invasion with the DSEU organization. For that reason I am inclined to include a trigger warning for those of you who may not enjoy the topics covered in the story. With the story directly inspired by Filipino mythology it reflects some of the heavier themes often found in those tales.
If you do not wish to read the story, but still would like to see the pin designs revealed, skip past the text until after you see the last red block below the story - it will be the same size and shape as the trigger warning below;
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About the Legends
The Daligmata's Mythology: The Daligmata comes from Visayan folklore and is sometimes depicted as a humanoid wizard or sorcerer-like being, other times as a nocturnal animal, but in both instances the Daligmata is a creature whose body is covered in many bright shining eyes. It’s thought that this creature most often comes out at night when the boundary between the human and spirit realm is blurred, and that the Daligmata can only be seen by spirit mediums who use a special and otherwise unknown herb that contradicts the Daligmata’s invisibility. With their many eyes the Daligmata is able to see both the human and spirit realms at once. This is why mediums may seek out their presence; when a person's soul has gotten disconnected or lost from their earthly bodies, a Daligmata can oftentimes find it and serve as a guide to escort them back to their mortal vessel. Our Daligmata Pin: The Daligmata will be a two inch pin with hard enamel colors and gold plated metal line art. It will have two prongs and use UV printing for it's glossy black coat, and glow in the dark for it's many shining eyes!
The Agbarbarangays' Mythology: The Agbarbarangay comes from Ilocano folklore and is described as the beautiful spirits of men and women, sailors of the air, that would dock their golden boats with anchors to trees after flying their vessels over nearby towns. Most often they are invisible, but to some animals they are not. Dogs being one of the creatures that can spot the Agbarbarangay. With the guidance of a dog one could find where the ship was docked, and If they were brave enough to climb the tree the Agbarbarangay would allow the stranger to board their ship. Once aboard the Agbarbarangay spirits would tell them the secrets of their world. Oftentimes these secrets would make their voyager into a medium; if you shared what kinds of ailments and illnesses inflicted the town the Agbarbarangay would disclose to you the remedies found in local herbs and roots. After the voyage the other villagers would find the person asleep in the tree by the next day. Our Agbarbarangay Pin: The Agbarbarangay will be a two inch pin with hard enamel colors and gold plated line art. It will have two prongs and use UV printing, transparent enamel, and stained glass enamel for the sailing spirits aboard. Additionally it will also include a chain attached to a small anchor - we'll be reusing the mold we used for the fish hooks in the Special Lure minipin from Cryptids and Critters to cut down on costs and prices! Recycle, Reduce, Reuse!
The Herbal Remedy Minipin: The herbal remedy design is meant to ambiguously depict the herbs mediums use while communing with the Daligmata as well as potentially the herbs an Agbarbarangay may instruct you to seek out for it's medicinal properties. It will be a 1" minipin with hard enamel colors and black nickle plated metal line art. It will have a single prong The Celestial Bodies Minipin: The celestial bodies design depicts the Philippine sun as well as the cycles of the moon. Both of which holding symbolism in cultures throughout the Philippines. It will be a 1" minipin with hard enamel colors and gold plated line art. It will have a single prong, and use a black glittering enamel to represent small stars.
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That's all for now! We hope you've enjoyed the story and the designs revealed so far! Let us know what you think in the comments below :3
