#Turaga Nui

[rahiwatching]

Ravenous - Additional Dark Hunter Entry, Dictated by the Shadowed One

On occasion, Toa have fallen from grace and joined the ranks of my Hunters. Sometimes, even a lowly Matoran has proven their worth and become an asset to the organisation, but never before has a Turaga ever come under my employ. Until Ravenous that is. But then again, Ravenous is no mere Turaga.

Energised Protodermis is a coveted substance for the Brotherhood of Makuta, and one that I have endeavoured to keep out of their claws whenever possible in my thousand year long war against them. So when word of the discovery of a new pool reached my chamber, I dispatched my closest Hunter in the field to secure it. Unfortunately, a group of 6 Turaga had also discovered the pool, and objected to my claim upon it.

Knowing their pitiful abilities were no match for my operative, they fused their bodies and minds to form a Turaga Nui, and in the ensuing battle both Turaga Nui and Dark Hunter fell into the pool. The Dark Hunter was destroyed by the Protodermis, but that was not the destiny of the Turaga Nui, who emerged from the pool to find their fusion had become permanent.

The delusional creature actually rejoiced at this, seeing it as a reward from the Great Spirit for their unity, and believing that this new power meant that their shared dream of returning to a life of heroism could now be fulfilled. But, they forgot that Mata Nui sleeps, and in a such a restless sleep as his, a dream can quickly become a nightmare.

Fusions, by their very nature, take a great deal of energy to maintain. It is why they are usually so short lived. This new fusion was about to find out that breaking this norm has its consequences.

Half way to the nearest settlement, the Turaga Nui became hungry.

When it reached the village, that hunger had turned… Ravenous.

By the time a second party of Dark Hunters had been dispatched to investigate the first’s disappearance, they found a village littered with the dead, every Matoran killed and drained dry of their life energies. In the centre of the carnage they found the Turaga Nui, its hunger temporarily satisfied but its mind driven mad with guilt over what it had done. Like so many others before it, the being now known as Ravenous could never return to the life it once knew, and so found its place amongst my Hunters.

Powers:

Ravenous has limited control over the elements of Plasma, Ice, Earth, Iron, Lightning and Psionics, but makes up for their reduced power with the wide range of possibilities that 6 separate elements provide.

When kept well fed, their combined millennia of battle experience makes them a formidable foe to my enemies, and their ability to utilise the powers of the noble Calix, Huna, Kakama, Sanok, Akaku and Kiril separately or in combination makes them an incredibly adaptable operative.

But if starved, Ravenous becomes an unstoppable beast, tearing through enemy ranks and devouring felled opponents with a savagery that even makes some of their fellow Hunters take pause.

Status:

I tend to place Ravenous on missions that keep them engaged with the forces of the Brotherhood rather than against Toa or Matoran, lest what is left of their moral code intervene with a mission that in their former life they may have found unsavoury.

I have just dispatched them to an island south of Odina to prevent the Brotherhood from establishing a foothold there. Finding their force of Rahkshi destroyed and the Kraata within reduced to withered husks should give the Makuta pause for thought in our next engagement…

[legend-as-old-as-time]

@magicalgirlmascot

@crystaltoa

I've been speculating for fun about Tien's humanoid form. This is nothing concrete, but some ideas at the moment:

Tien's outfits are contemporary. Partly inspired by Matau's fashion sense, partly because they love to experiment and show off, they combine contrasting styles to great effect. The turaga sometimes roll their eyes at Tien for being a showboat - creating a new outfit or modifying it -, but they can't deny that they always look amazing. (A large part of that is their self-respect and self-love, so they wear everything confidently.)

While they are contemporary and look normal, the clothes' materials are much more durable and protective than their non-magical counterparts. You won't see these trousers fraying out!

Their hair, salt-and-pepper, is usually in an afro pulled back into a high pony tail. Most often after they first form, Whenua and Vakama's respective eye are in the same row so they can wear glasses. The dorkiest glasses that you can imagine, as @magicalgirlmascot said. But Tien sometimes manifests monocles in the spiritual world to mess with his little siblings a bit. Or outside when they agree that it sounds funny. And of course, they have a beard.

Some minor tattoos, but I have no idea which or where except the one on their chest over their heart, often covered up: A hexagon that shifts between the elemental colors of the turaga. (The colors look like the Toa Metru's canon armor.) The other tattoos are in white.

Hordika form has more bruthe strength. Tien in Hordika Form tends to get in close and personal with opponents, using their fast mind and body to overwhelm them with precise strikes and power. They are quicker to adapt to environment changes because of their shapeshifting.

When Tien wants to use long-range, they prefer Humanoid form. They will nail their targets with frightening accuracy - and sometimes fire from several hands - and manipulate their environment to their advantage / to their opponents' disadvantage.

Or they switch it up - you can never predict how they will fight. The scenarios mentioned are not absolute. The one constant is that Tien uses their terrifying intellect and cunning alonside their elemental energies and personal powers.

A Turaga fusion is still stronger than a baseline human and has access to their elemental powers again. But overall, even a Turaga Nui's strength generally 'only' surpasses one toa.

Tien is stronger than that. Much stronger.

Akamai and Wairuha speculate that the unique factors of Tien's emergence have contributed to their unusual power as a Turaga Nui in either form.

But while they haven't met that many Turaga Nui before? Tien seems strange even with all these factors considered. There's just something else that they sometimes sense within Tien and can't identify...

[legend-as-old-as-time]

@magicalgirlmascot

@crystaltoa

I keep forgetting how huge moose are. No wonder the turaga needed to go Turaga Nui, and Turaga Nui went Beast Mode against a monster that includes THAT kind power.

[ohlookitsanartist]

"Passing the Torch"

Made in honor of the 20th anniversary of the second BIONICLE movie

[tempelbeast]

This time we have renders of:

Kalama, Vakama and Nuhrii.

Vhisola, Nokama and Kai.

Tehutti, Midak and Whenua.

Makani, Matau and Orkahm.

Ally, Onewa, and Piatra

Mazeka, Nuju and Ehrye. I know Mazeka never was on Mata Nui. The idea is that The Order send him to secretly check on the Metru Nui Matoran on Mata Nui. He was spotted when he got grabbed by Nui-Rama. He kills it, and falls straight into Ko-Koro.

Iruini, Dume and Norik.

Dalu, Jovan and Velika.

Any thoughts?

[2stepadmiral]

After arriving in Metru Nui, the Turaga began to occasionally call each of the Toa ‘brother’ or ‘sister’, partially an acknowledgment of their past lives, partially to acknowledge the success that the Toa Nuva have earned, and largely as camaraderie in the bond that they share as Toa or former Toa.

Tahu outwardly acts like it’s only right that he’d be addressed as such, trying to make others believe that he accepts it in stride, but inwardly, he is humbled by the acknowledgment. The Turaga see through his bluster and appreciate his humility.

Onua is outwardly quite humble and appreciative when it happens, but inwardly, he doesn’t quite see himself as being worthy of being addressed by such wise beings as the Turaga, who he holds in high esteem, so he usually comes off as a little bashful when he responds in kind.

The Turaga started being reluctant to call Gali ‘sister,’ largely because she reacts to the title, by pushing herself a little too hard to prove that she is worthy of the acknowledgment. She once to stayed up all night for two days while repairing an aqueduct in Ga-Metru, and when she could barely keep awake during a meeting with the Turaga, everyone immediately decided that Nokama should not call Gali sister anymore.

Kopaka typically glances at whoever called him this and slightly nods, sort of a polite acknowledgment, but those who know him best, especially Nuju, know that he is actually quite touched by the endearment, and he has to be stoic to keep up appearances. Whenua, having the best hearing, has multiple times heard Kopaka whisper ‘thank you, brother’ in response to Nuju or Vakama.

Takanuva started out being quite flustered when he was called brother by any of the elders, still being unused to being called brother even by the other Toa, but as he grew used to his powers and his responsibilities, he began to accept it in stride. He still won’t return the title, since he still uncomfortable with the idea of calling any of the Turaga by that term, but he is still moved by the respect they show him.

Lewa was delighted when they started calling him brother, But he’s also somewhat amused, often laughing when they call him that. To Lewa, it’s still difficult to imagine these wise old beings as Toa heroes, so he can’t always keep himself from laughing. Even so, he never fails to respectfully return the honorific.

The Toa Mahri have varying degrees of acceptance of the honorific. Jaller is proud to carry the title, and Hahli is eager to prove herself worthy of the honorific (though not as much as Gali). Kongo is a bit smug about it, Nuparu takes it in stride, and Hewkii tends to get sort of ‘aw, shucks’ about it. All of them are somewhat muted in their response, mostly because Nuju was the first to call them brother and sister. They all understand that Nuju calls them that as much as he does in memory of Matoro, and his regret that he never got to see his friend as a Toa and call him ‘brother’ in person. The Mahri learned the bird speak for Brother and Sister, and they always call Nuju brother right back.

And the Turaga universally agreed never to call Pohatu ‘brother’ again shortly after the first few times. After then, he began exclusively referring to the Turaga as brother or sister, always with extreme enthusiasm that the elders often find exasperating and often demanding fist bumps from any Turaga he encounters for days after. Most of them just quietly stopped calling him that, except for Onewa, who continued occasionally calling him brother when he felt he had earned it, but after Pohatu found out that Turaga Dume had been a Toa, the seven had an official meeting where they unanimously voted not to call Pohatu brother anymore. Matau still occasionally calls him that, though, because he personally thinks it’s fucking hilarious when Pohatu tries to fist bump Nuju.

[legend-as-old-as-time]

The picture still delights and amazes me, both the cropped and the full version. I adore the colors and the feelings each evoke.

Spotting the little and big bits of the turaga's hordika selfs keeps being a treat. I adore that Tien's headcrest is a mixture of Matau's own and Nokama's fin.

Nokama's scale patterns dot Tien's face.

The fur on their neck (and maybe the rest of their abdomen) transitions into feathers around their chest, and morphs into scales on their limbs. The scales could be fish scales or those of a newt or a mix of both.

Matau's spots mix with Whenua and Nuju's colors, plus the iridescence of their elemental powers shining through on Tien's body. And I do think Nokama's spotted pattern is in there as well!! That this accidentaly created a night sky / galaxy pattern is so neat. It's neat in general that their entire body is iridescent.

Nuju's feathers mix with the features of Matau's newt tail.

Nuju's wings plus the tail feathers reflect all six of them because they're a mix of genders.

Their tail is so long because of Matau's newt form, but I definitely think that mixing in a puma added to the length.

Tien's hind paws are a lot like a badger's from Whenua, but not fully, and a bit mixed with the paws of a puma plus a wolf. Their fluffy ears also look like a fusion of Whenua, Vakama, and Onewa.

Whiskers from Onewa!!!!

Other details I've noticed:

Tien's wings aren't perfectly smooth. Three or four spots look like the feathers were roughly handled - maybe a sign of their fight with the Rahi Nui.

Where Lewa flies against their neck, their fur gets ruffled. I thought at first it's because of the physical contact but that doesn't account for the size of their neck being ruffled. Then I realized that Lewa's wind probably hit them there because some hairs go flying!

Ouch, there's a bite mark at Tien's neck above Lewa's head. It only seems to have been fur that was lost. But still.

Their wings hover between the receding night and the sun rising up. There's shadows of the night on them at the same time as the first rays of a new day. Also, as you've pointed out, the color scheme evokes the enby pride flag. (Takua: !!!!!)

I wonder if Matau's eye is the biggest and in the middle because he was speaking to Lewa just a moment ago to reassure him.

My take on the Turaga Nui, from Shauni's (@legend-as-old-as-time) WIP fic set in Rags' (@magicalgirlmascot ) KNPS AU. Snippets of the fic here and here.

In which the Turaga form a fusion in order to defeat the Rahi Nui, but their past experience with the Hordika venom results in the Turaga Nui taking on a somewhat ...unexpected form. After the battle, the Toa Mata catch up with them. Pictured here is Lewa having the appropriate reaction to finding out his six mentors have turned into some kind of weird dragon-chimera-kaiju thing.

Some design notes under the cut:

The Turaga Nui's form combines traits from the forms the Metru had as Toa Hordika, known in this universe as the Kini Nui werebeasts. So, this was my take on them individually here:

(The Metru's human forms can be seen here) I hope it's fairly self explanatory which features come from which werebeast, but a few other fun design notes...

So, in KNPS, the Toa Kaita look a lot like the Steven Universe fusions, with extra eyes and limbs. The Turaga Nui follows a similar logic but on a more bestial body layout.

The top two arms are the most humanoid, as TN signs in ASL as well as speaking aloud whenever it is practical to do so (i.e. when there is not a Toa of Air attached to their neck). The next two pairs of limbs can function either as arms or forelegs, so the digits are more paw-like.

The wings are obviously based on a snowy owl and come from Nuju's werebeast form. Male snowy owls typically have lighter coloured plumage while females have prominent black bars on their feathers. Nuju in particular would probably have been almost completely white as a werebeast given he's an ice Toa and has white hair in human form. The Turaga Nui, however, is composed of five men and one woman, so I gave them a small amount of barring on the tips of one wing while the other is plain white. (The bars also help tie it back to the badger stripes on their face from a design standpoint)

The Kaita have metallic gold or silver skin, I suggested black and white patterns for TN's colour scheme to make them visibly nonhuman but also distinct from the Kaita.

Shauni felt that there should be more accents of each element's colours, however, so we decided on the "black" scales actually having an iridescent sheen to them.

I'd already been planning to give TN spots similar to that of a newt, but didn't realise until I started doing it that white spots on black combined with the iridescent colours gives the impression of a night sky/galaxy pattern.

I had previously suggested the name "Tien" to Shauni (Turaga Nui = T.N. Said aloud it phonetically sounds like "Tien"). Turns out Shauni had the exact same thought. Furthermore, it's a name in several cultures, various meanings include "heavenly being", "celestial" and "sky" (An etymologically related name is the Chinese "Tianlong", which means "Celestial Dragon")

So, accidentally coming up with a name that means "celestial" and then accidentally making them look like a living galaxy was a fun coincidence.

Also, apparently one of Rags' favourite DBZ characters was named Tien, so that was a plus for her!

The tail has owl feathers but is structurally more similar to the tail of an aquatic newt.

The eyes are based on the Turaga's animal forms but the colours come from their eye-glow. The three eyes visible in the image are Vakama's (green), Matau's (red), and Onewa's (blue)

As previous;y mentioned, photographs of jumping ferrets helped in drawing the dragon's limbs . I also ended up referencing hairless cats to get a handle on what the paws would look like with no fur.

I did do a version that shows the full body pose, which I quite liked, but felt that the cropped composition above was better to show the character details given tumblr's scrolling format

[musurvivalistguide]

So because I'm still working on refreshing my memory on things in the Bionicle fandom, looking through the reference books is quite the treasure trove of little nuggets.

In Bionicle World, a book written to seem like Helryx is writing it based on information collected by OoMN agents, I happened to notice something in the Metru Nui chapter.

Now, according to the wiki, it's not unheard of for the characters in Bionicle to use family terms such as brother and sister. But for a species that can't reproduce, I find it interesting that this term pops up--from Helryx nonetheless!--as though they know what parents or mothers or fathers are.

This makes me wonder if--since she's the first Toa that was made--she might have learned about these terms from the Great Beings? After all, even when there's fighting going on all around them while the planet is getting ready to shatter, I'd find it hard to imagine that she hadn't noticed any Agori or Glatorian children running around or hiding (protective Toa instincts activating and the Great Beings having to stop her from rushing off to save them? 😂). Perhaps even one of the Great Beings we've heard nothing about had a kid of their own and had to do what they could to keep them safe from the fight by bringing them along!

I certainly have memories of when I'd go to work with my parents, so it's not hard to imagine this happening. But if Helryx understands this concept and the family terms are in their programming...would everyone else in the Matoran Universe have any comparison to understand what paternal means, or would they attribute it similarly to how Turaga (specifically the Mata Nui Turaga since we know them best) would treat and protect their villagers?

Would Toa develop a similar role/pattern of behavior as their Turaga, and it's like the Matoran have two sets of parental figures? Or would it be a clash of "Toa, can I do this?" "Ask the Turaga." "Turaga, can I-" "No." ?

And would Makuta refer to themselves as the mother/father of the krataa they create from their bodies, or would they refer to themselves as their creator? Considering that Teridax literally calls his krataa/rahkshi his "sons", it feels like a term he'd just throw around even though he literally commanded a horde of them to die to Sentrakh in Time Trap. >.>

I dunno, it's late, and my brain is getting tired 😂 Would love to hear a second opinion or two, though!

[thereadingaddic7]

It's a bit of a funny and sad mix, how much of a Lohrak around Dume's neck the Vahki are. Certainly Dume is meant to be flawed as a Turaga, a somewhat suspicious character and cranky old man who think Matoran these days need to learn to respect their elders, but ultimately he's a good guy who'd give his life for the cause while spitting in the face of whatever killed him (see him telling Vezok, Avak and Reidak to go do something anatomically improbable when they try to extort him with a Kanohi Dragon). And given how important Metru Nui is, and how dangerous the outside world was, yeah Metru Nui does need some sort of standing army/police force to ensure that shit like the Barraki rebellion or the Matoran Civil War doesn't threaten to kill Mata Nui and doom the MU to drift endlessly through space, but holy shit the Vahki are so insanely bad at it, it's hard to think he'd sign off on it.

As an army they're pretty okay, they're very mobile with two modes of walking and one flight mode, their equipment is also extremely good offensively (mind control, seeing through your targets eyes, you hurt yourself in your confusion, etc), as well as a Kanoka disc launcher for more direct combat, and they're smart enough to think tactically, all without risking any Matoran/Toa/Turaga in combat (and that's without getting into the elite versions). But for Police work... well, they're okay for a Police State where you don't have to give a shit about what your citizenry thinks, their borderline psychotic nature means they're very effective at terrorizing a population into compliance even before bringing in the Brain Hacking they can do, and they are supposed to be the Police for Makuta!Dume's Police State...

They just also happened to be the Police for Regular!Dume's (Police(?)) State, which is a really bad look for someone who's supposed to be Not Actually A Villain. Based on what we see of them, the Kralhi that preceded the Vahki were probably much better at police duties (given that after being driven out of the city by Matoran who tried to "shut them down" they were totally willing to aid and protect Mavrah without issue they clearly don't share the Vahki's abusive nature) without having to take a number of Matoran away from work to do the police work instead (and thus potentially imperil Mata Nui and the MU as a whole by having them not do the necessary work in his brain). If the issue with them was that they left Matoran too weak to do their job after being policed, then maybe all the Kralhi needed was an equipment overhaul rather than being completely scrapped?

I don't know, Dume is meant to be Flawed but Good, but historically he's just made such a baffling decision with the Metru Nui's police forces, spurred on largely I think by Out-Of-Universe needs than because it made sense in-universe, he kind of ended up accidentally being the BIONICLE equivalent of Sentinel Prime, but because it mostly happened off screen it's easy enough for the story to sweep that under the rug. A lore hungry fandom on the other hand is not so easy to shake and I'm left trying to come up with a reason why he'd agree to the Vahki beyond the incredibly unsatisfying "he doesn't really care about the Matoran" or "he didn't think it through" and variants thereof answers.

[toacody]

Turaga Takanuva

A small glimmer in a dark future.

Source

Creator: Mate397

[legend-as-old-as-time]

I think only Nuju and Onewa would have better than human eyesight from their were beast forms. And they have other senses, so sight would be often secondary in Tien's Hordika Form.

I imagined glasses on Hordika Form because a) that's the first image that came to me, b) and I have a concrete image of them in that form. Your version made me laugh as hard as with my version*, especially as my mind supplemented that Whenua and Vakama's eyes aren't in the same row when they manifest the glasses. "Whoops."

The second green glowing eye (Vakama) switches positions with the other eye. Now there are two green glowing eyes behind the glasses.

"There, much better."

Onewa's spot would probably more difficult to determine in Hordika Form on top of that, given the different body shape. If Tien wears armor in Human form, maybe the armor is secretly reinforced over that part of their back, to be safe.

Onewa: You're getting a knee brace, and that's final, Vakama. That shit hurt!

*(Tien, in Hordika Form, is lounging and holding a book much too small for their hands, squinting at the pages as they manifest two different pairs of glasses for either side of their head.)

Thinking more about fusions in KNPS AU and what elements they keep from their little siblings, including disabilities. I'm less sure about the Toa Mata (will re-read!) so I'm focusing on the turaga.

Four of Tien's six eyes, in either form, still need corrective glasses. They can get on by short term without them, especially in Hordika form because their other senses are stronger. But looking longer than a few hours and / or using Nuju's enhanced sight (depending on if he's short- or far-sighted) gives them a bad migraine even then. They learn to manifest glasses.

Their much stronger back muscles keeps their slipped discs in position while they move or fight.

A bad knee is more of a problem in Humanoid Form (I assume they do have one). They're standing on their two legs, rather than more of their limbs like in Hordika Form. They can get around that by hovering. But if their feet need to touch the ground firmly - like for a jump - their knee can give away.

Shauni I LOVE THIS

I like the idea of Tien having weaker eyesight in comparison to their other senses in Hordika form. Vakama and Whenua don't have the same prescription, but they definitely both get real bad headaches if they go without their glasses for too long. I'm picturing a giant six armed person with metallic skin and hair and six eyes, the works, and then they squint at something and go "hold on" and the dorkiest pair of dad glasses you've ever seen appears on their face

With Onewa’s back, I'd imagine that would be a place that someone who's fought Tien before or knows the Turaga well might think to exploit as a weak spot. However, Tien is a very very good strategist and is generally protective of that area so it doesn't happen much.

I would assume they have a humanoid form! I feel like that's the default for a Turaga Nui. Tien is just special because. Well. *gestures at Hordika* Vakama’s knee could definitely transfer over to Tien as well!

[that1cactus]

Turaga-Nui

Rarely would the Turaga of Mata-Nui would ever need to bring out their wrath.

[Ko-Fi]

[legend-as-old-as-time]

*chin in my hands, kicking my feet* hiiiiii please tell me about your headcanons and plot bunnies for the Turaga Metru having a breakdown on Spherus Magna :3

We are so mean to them. XDD I have two distinct scenes in mind for their breakdown, which my mind insists can be combined, but I currently doubt that. I'll add my other headcanons + plotbunnies in the reblog.

I’ve noticed that the turaga specifically are trapped*/caught regularly in / between at least two different conflicting things.

Trapped in or between places: The Coliseum; Krahka* picking them off one after the other in the Archives; the visorak cocoons; Mata Nui the island; Metru Nui or Mata Nui

In / between concepts: their ideal of toa VS the life of toa in Metru Nui; staying in Metru Nui or leaving for Mata Nui; their ideal of Turaga Dume VS their changing perception of him

Between groups: acting in deference to Dume and his opinions and decisions VS the matoran and their needs

In / between mental states: matoran and toa, matoran and toa and turaga; toa and rahi => hordika; leading like Dume VS leading as they have done on Mata Nui

The other protagonists also face this. But the turaga specifically deal a lot with this concept. It makes them outsiders to any group they’re connected with at any point:

They’re idealized or ignored as Toa Metru in Metru Nui because of their toa status, then ostracized.

Their hordika transformation gets undone, but the effects of that and everything that followed still affect them to this day. Not toa anymore, but also not quite rahi: Hordika. Rejected by the Great Temple and seemingly used by Makuta as false toa. Going into headcanon territory, if some of the effects persisted, so could the feeling that they’re neither turaga (toa / matoran) nor rahi.

Rather than a higher power related to Mata Nui or the Great Beings granting them new skills, a warmonger causes a temporary secondary transformation that actively harms them.

Mata Nui chose them. Vakama points out that it’s unheard of that the Great Spirit ever has personally intervened. They are the first and only toa Mata Nui ever chose on his own.

They’re the only ones on Mata Nui who remember and know of Metru Nui. Aside the ethical issues of hiding the matoran’s own past from them, the turaga denied themselves any support network who could’ve helped them. And they’re caught in harmful patterns / habits of their past.

They’re caught between their supposed leader, whose actions they might excusing but whose relationship might also fracture soon, and the people whose needs they care about and for.

Helryx claimed they have a parental relationship with their matoran. Such a bond is likely unheard of, or at least rare, in the Great Spirit Universe. The turaga in this – plus other effects of the hordika transformation – resemble more Spherus Magnans, while still being different from them. (And different from their own people.)

Feeling like they don't belong anywhere would stress them even more and make their trauma worse, because that is part of their trauma.

Relevant headcanon: Somebody tries to discredit and get the turaga punished for something they didn't do / the people are jealous of.

And relevant plot bunny: Dume impulsively threatening the turaga with the vahki during a heated argument.

The (*) show the main inspirations for this idea. It's a funny coincidence that you are the one who sent this ask, because my idea is that the Turaga Metru, minds muddled, over-stressed from the afore-mentioned trauma and stress, and (feeling like they're) backed into a corner - not helped by their imprisonment in the Coliseum during Makuta's reign - say this:

"We will not be trapped again!"

The resulting Turaga Nui - no (visible) hordika elements but that might change - is very much a parallel to canon Krahka at her most terrified and angry in the Archives.

[randomwriteronline]

many thoughts about mata nui meeting the surviving toa teams (including the mata discovering that their relationship is less "king and his loyal knights" and more "very proper very sheltered very excited princess and her favorite jousters who are very baffled by her joy and wondering if this is just The Standard Way To Feel In Front Of Your Praising Boss or if theyre developing a crush", the haga being too distracted by Holy Shit The Great Spirit to focus on anything hes saying, and the mahri briefly mistaking him for Matoro on vibes alone and interrupting his genuine apology for what they went through for him to give him a hug) but most importantly imagine youre The World's Least Known And Runner-Up For Most Dysfunctional Toa Team, feeling like you only barely achieved what you were supposed to do through continuous strokes of luck, and then God shows up and is your biggest fan ever. you try to explain in detail how you fumbled your way to tentative success and it just makes God even prouder. thats what the metru are going through

[legend-as-old-as-time]

I MEAN. *wheezing from laughter* Turaga Nui could look like this when they're being a dork!

(On the other hand, I don't want to know how a mustelid THEIR size would look like when they're angry!)

So,

I have this problem.

I am trying to draw a dragon. But not just any dragon.

it’s from @legend-as-old-as-time’s WIP story set in @magicalgirlmascot’s KNPS AU, in which the Turaga Metru form a Turaga Nui in order to stop this universe’s version of the Rahi Nui. However, given their experiences as Toa Hordika, the fusion looks a lot more bestial than usual, being a hybrid of their Hordika/werebeast forms.

So, we’ve decided the following:

They’re a combination of a wolf, mountain lion, owl, fish, badger and newt.

in terms of body structure, they look vaguely like a Chinese dragon, but with a lot of limbs.

They have wings and can fly (not necessarily realistically sized since they have air powers to help with that.)

So, I’ve figured out roughly how the wolf, fish and owl fit into the picture. Wolf head, fish scales, and owl wings. So, the underlying body and limb structure has to be something like a badger, something like a big cat, and something like a newt, but extra long and noodley. None of those animals individually has quite the right kind of body structure to use as reference images.

Also, I want to draw the dragon flying, so I want refs that show how the creature’s limbs would be posed while airborne as opposed to just standing on the ground.

Wait a minute.

badgers are mustelids.

i need something like a badger, but noodley and can fly?

…I’M A GENIUS.

BEHOLD. DRAGONS!

[autonomoustoybox]

Do you ever think about how jarring it must have been, for the Turaga, to see the Matoran doing their work after the move to Mata Nui?

Like... Think about it. Metru Nui was a very, very rigid caste system. Everyone was made for a role, they'd fulfil that role, they wouldn't change from that role for thousands of years. And more pertinently, those roles were largely academic, borne of a highly developed civilisation. Then, you get to Mata Nui, and suddenly everything changed. Everyone just lost all of their memories, and with that a huge amount of their identities, and their previous roles with it. In fact, many of their roles are just outright nonexistent, in a world of stone and wood, with no city, with no Metrus, with nothing that the Turaga would have known. Indeed, Matau's first reaction to Mata Nui was "Where are the chutes?"!

Obviously, the Matoran could adapt - a blank slate can easily have anything imprinted onto it, after all, and they were made to work - but for the Turaga, who were watching their warped, diminished friends and kinsmen who sounded the same as before but acted perhaps very differently, and already had to suffer through the lie of concealing Metru Nui, it must have been bizarre in a way 'suffocating' couldn't possibly describe.

Imagine being Vakama, a craftsman among a city of crafters, who only ever made armour, being forced to see his fellow forgemates sharpen blades and call themselves a guard, a militia, an army, hunters and killers. Imagine much the same of Matau, who once spent his time driving new machines down clear tracks with his kin, now having to make do with tempermental Rahi in a twisting maze of branches and vines.

Imagine being Nokama or Nuju, who spent all their life prior as academics, pouring through tomes and staring at stars, watching as those untold millenia of knowledge simply disappear, to be replaced with hard physical chores like fishing or crafting or, indeed, fighting off Rahi. Imagine the same of Whenua, who once spent all his time studying creatures brought to him, now only providing the knowledge to make them go away, as the the scholars of all the Rahi life of the universe spend their days digging through the earth with pickaxes (not even drilling machines)!

Certainly, these are necessary roles, duties to be honoured and fulfilled to a a standard high enough to ensure continued life, but... In some ways, it must have been utterly humiliating. Sickening, even, to some.

Not to Onewa though. Pretty much nothing changed for him.

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This train of thought brought to you by the new Essenger remake of the Mata Nui Online Game II Soundtrack, specifically https://youtu.be/MAierT0S82o?si=XB9s03CUTCRubFOn . I never played much of it, but I distinctly remembered Hali being a weaver, creating thread from flax fibres; which, given the hindsight of Ga-Metru being a giant university/research centre, makes the role seem strangely small in comparison to her duties before. Of course, now she's a Toa, I suppose she doesn't have time much for either!

[Edit: I posted this at midnight when I was falling alseep and totally got the names of Onewa, Nuparu, and Whenua muddled up... This happens a lot even when I'm fully awake though. Edited for clarity.]