#mata plus

[siren-darkocean]

I just had a random thing come to my head that what if Mata Nui's body reformed back into the Ignika and formed his Toa body again as the debris of the old ruler bot fell?

I can imagine when Kiina and Ackar find him their calling for backup so Onua just rushes to use his Kanoi to help lift the debris which requires the other Toa Nuva to tap into that same Kanoi was well with the weight as Ackar tries to pull and unconscious Mata Nui from under the rubble

Fack the angst is strong here! Because imagine the shock and horror from both the Agori and Matoran seeing Mata Nui like that while the Toa and Glatorian are trying to help him

[ricisidro]

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Remembering Cherie Gil on her birthday today June 21.

Watch the #OroPlataMata (1982) restored version on #Netflix!

Stream now! https://bit.ly/OPMonNETFLIX

Rent or download (buy) on #AppleTV via https://apple.co/3SZhjQu

What's your favorite film of

#CherieGil ?

#Filipino #movies

[siren-darkocean]

I hate how right you are on this Mata Nui damnit

Also their technical robot(s) would be the Kaitia for sure

Are the Toa Mata a sentai team?

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

Fun fact: there are official versions of all 6 Mata masks in the Bionicle Heroes artstyle... in the DS version.

(they're found in the first level of each zone, and unlock the first stage of the corresponding elemental weapon).

Additionally (and this is less notable since there are unused textures for most of them in the PC/Console version that people have used to reconstruct what the Voyatoran would have looked like, plus Balta exists in that version), there are also versions of the Metru masks:

(they're found in the second level of each zone, and unlock the second stage of the corresponding elemental weapon, also the reason the Matatu has no eyes is because Kazi's texture in the PC version also lacks one, probably because he doesn't have a proper head).

[legend-as-old-as-time]

Plot bunny for u: through unspecified fanfiction magic the Turaga go back to being Toa Hordika and freak out. The Hagah bring in recently reawakened Mata Nui (who lamented he would have liked to see the toa Hordika bc they sounded super cool and interesting) hoping he can work some god magic on them or just keep them entertained while they go look for Keetongu again bc the sasquatch fucked off right back into the mountains as is his right. They return to find Mata Nui squashed under a Metru cuddle pile as they incessantly chirp and whine for him to give them scritches and pats and kissies on the head. Hes been like that for roughly twelve hours and has never been happier

Aksdsfhgosdhgdhg-

This has sent me down a rabbit role for an appropriate plot device that transforms the turaga into Toa Hordika, and which would thematically connect with their interactions with Mata Nui. I haven't found an idea yet. But maybe later!

The Toa Hagah fetching Mata Nui makes sense. He's a god of life, especially through the Ignika. Mata Nui also tires easily and this will likely stay for decades to come, if not forever. And this is delicate work he needs all his focus for. So, no godly magic for the time.

The Toa Hordika are upset because this happened without their consent or control. Dragging up old trauma from the Visorak Horde and their failures.

It's also difficult not compare themselves to their more powerful siblings. (Failing to notice that neither the Mahri nor the Nuva had any control over their transformations, either.) Or not to feel as outsiders, again. They use their elemental powers differently. They have no access to their mask powers. They have instincts that go against what Metru Nui stood for.

(Things like: I want companionship. I want to rest. I want to play.)

With Mata Nui arriving? To say their perception of him is complicated is putting it simply. And they fear his judgement.

Not that it outwardly changes anything. They're the only group who hasn't visited him yet. Not even one of them. And now...

They've been hiding for two days since their transformation. No amount of begging, cajoling, assurances, and praise could get them out. Their friends are all busy so they're taking turns checking on them / staying close their hiding spot. The toa stay silent even when the Toa Hagah announce their arrival plus their guest.

Mata Nui doesn't need to be anywhere. Actually, what he needs most is rest, at best lying down. Pouks makes him a nice little hut if they are outside. They help him lay on his bedding. Whoever is on watching shift is now looking after him, too.

He doesn't mind. He's used to waiting. He'll wait as long as his Chosen need him to.

The Toa Hordika fear his judgement. They also need to see him. They need to know why he chose Them of all matoran in Metru Nui. Which ends up with them watching him sleep, slowly coming closer when none of their friends are looking.

Until one of them finds themselves staring directly into Mata Nui's eyes. They jump in the air from surprise. (Stopping for now because this is getting so long.)

[coldgoldlazarus]

I feel like I've made a post about this before but now I can't find it. But I think a Bionicle G3 should:

A: Not constrain itself to G1 (or G2, but G1 is the one everyone wants) lore and timeline, whether as a continuation or reboot.

B: Hold off on the Toa Mata/Nuva, focus on a different cast (My vote is for the Inika/Mahri) for the most part while building up the Mata through in-universe legends and stories, and then introduce them later.

C: Not just try to recreate the vibes of 01-03 over again like G2 attempted, but also not try to launch right away into the overly complex geopolitics or overambitious grimdark epic of the Ignition Trilogy; but try to capture a little bit of the strengths of each era in a way that doesn't self-conflict.

(My suggestion - Mata Nui aesthetic and sandbox setup, Metru Nui balanced plot/character/world focus and mystery structure, Ignition dramatic elemental locales and higher stakes, (plus a bit of the broader political world on the fringes of the focus area, but again kept within reason) Glatorian/G2 vibrancy and unconventional newness)

D: Find a good balance of mythical and technological. Aknowledge and use the GSR or equivalent concept early on in some way because it is kinda inextricably fundamental to Bionicle but no longer a secret, but also bring back a return to the more mystical/eldritch vibes of the early years in addition to that.

[vashtijoy]

haru: "we'll just take him out again"

Ah, this 1/10 line of Haru's, about what they should do if Akechi betrays them all a second time.

I've talked about Haru and Akechi before—she is overwhelmingly compassionate towards him. She shows him understanding he has not earned and does not deserve. She contrasts, in fact, with Futaba, who takes a consistently harsh tone with him—and well may she do so.

Haru is done dirty by the bulk of the fandom with this flanderised crazy axe mean girl schtick, and this translation does not help. So it's time for another big red....

Let's take a look.

tatakau: "to fight or battle"

Haru また裏切るようなら戦うだけだよ。 mata uragiru you nara tatakau dake da yo Plus, if he does betray us again, we’ll just take him out too.

mata uragiru you nara—"if he betrays us again, then we'll...". tatakau dake da yo—"we'll just tatakau him". But what's that verb; what's tatakau?

戦う tatakau means to fight, or do battle, or to make war on someone, or to oppose them. It's a common word. ALC has a number of examples:

戦うか逃げるかの反応 tatakau ka nigeru ka no hannou, "fight-or-flight response";

戦うことを諦める tatakau koto o akirameru, "to give up the fight";

戦う必要なく tatakau hitsuyou naku, "without even having to fight".

It is excessively common in P5:

Ryuji (before one of the robot minibosses in Okumura's Palace) こりゃもう戦うしかねーな! korya mou tatakau shika nee na! Looks like we're gonna have to fight. Haru (when you try to switch her into the party too early) 私も戦えるよ! watashi mo tatakaeru yo! I can fight too! Haru (before a robot miniboss) こうなったら戦うしか⋯! kou nattara tatakau shika...! It looks like we just have to fight!

tatakau is the word we translate as "fight"; "a fight" is often tatakai, from the same root verb. When the PTs fight in the Metaverse, they are tatakau-ing. And when they fought Akechi in the engine room? They tatakau-ed him:

Ann 同じヤツを憎んでるのに、なんで戦うの!? onaji yatsu o nikunderu no ni, nande tatakau no!? We both hate the same guy! Why do we have to go against each other!? Morgana 戦う前に笑ってたの⋯あれ、本心だろ? tatakau mae ni waratteta no... are, honshin daro? That smile before we fought… Isn't that how you really feel?

See? Let's look at Haru's line one more time:

Haru また裏切るようなら戦う��けだよ。 mata uragiru you nara tatakau dake da yo Plus, if he does betray us again, we’ll just take him out too. And if he betrays us again, we'll just fight him again.

the phantom thieves' ghost murder victim

The other key point is this: though this isn't present in the Japanese, the localisation still says "too". "we'll just take him out too". Who's that "too"?

They're not killing Maruki, despite Akechi's efforts. They didn't kill any of their targets. They didn't even kill Shido, who they all held responsible for the murder of Haru's father, and Futaba's mother, and who knows how many others.

In short: nobody is getting murdered in this line—except Haru, by the localisation.

"take him out"

In fairness to everyone who fast-forwarded all of Haru's dialogue and so thinks she's even worse than Akechi, cold-bloodedly planning murder as a form of revenge, "take him out" is a confusing choice of words.

"take him out" means to disable a target. This is how it gets its primary meaning of "kill him". It means to get something or someone out of your way, in a way that corresponds with its death or destruction—or, as in this case, with extreme violence; remember they KO Akechi in the engine room, just like every other boss.

This is why it's common in so many contexts—sport, business, politics. You take out targets in many fields, but you don't kill them! In the same way, Haru intends for them to eliminate Akechi as a threat, if he ever makes it necessary again.

Futaba makes this explicit to him the next day, on 1/11:

Futaba けどまた裏切ったりしたら、絶対許さない。 kedo mata uragittari shitara, zettai yurusanai BUT if you ever betray us again, we'll make sure you regret it.

Futaba says this right to his face: "if you betray us again, don't think you'll get away with it"; "if you betray us again, you're done for." She tells him this is his one and only chance.

(That zettai yurusanai, of course, is the same wording she uses about the men in black suits, and the men who killed her mother—it's fighting talk, blood debt talk. And it's interesting that she has clearly not yet put Akechi into that category. yurusanai is also the word Haru uses to him in the engine room, often translated as "I can't forgive you".)

context matters

Many common misunderstandings of P5's characters and plot boil down to something like this: an overfocus on one memorable line, at the expense of the bigger picture. Again, in fairness, P5 is a huge game, which makes this very easy to do.

But the fact that the Phantom Thieves have chosen not to kill comes up over and over. It is absolutely fundamental to them: their justice does not include murder.

Again: the fact that they don't go in for vigilante killings is what makes them better than Akechi! Part of the essence of their conflict is that Akechi has made bad choices that the PTs avoided—such as Ann's fateful choice to let Kamoshida live:

Just as with Ann and Kamoshida, I don't think the Thieves would stop Haru or Futaba, if they decided Akechi should die. But I also don't think it would pass without question, as Haru's "take him out" line does. Even if nobody else said a word, Makoto would say something. Because the Phantom Thieves are not murderers.

when someone shows you who they are, believe them

On top of that, if you want to read Haru's "take him out" as meaning she wants Akechi dead, you have to ignore everything else she says about him—and, frankly, every other time she's onscreen. Because Haru oozes kindness, compassion and thoughtfulness from her every pore.

Remember, Haru expresses compassion for Akechi, not hate. Here she is on 12/25:

Look at that. Commit it to memory. Show all your friends. Haru is glad Akechi is alive. She's glad he turned himself in and thinks he should pay for his crimes—but she didn't want him dead, and she certainly doesn't want to kill him.

In the engine room, when he's at the point of death, she's afraid for him. She runs forward to call to him; note that Futaba does not, and is at the back of the group, furthest from Akechi.

Even when Haru judges Akechi for what he took from her, she is sympathising with him:

When Cognitive Akechi arrives, Haru isn't just trying to stop Akechi turning on them to save his own skin. She empathises with him, and understands how complex his feelings towards Shido truly are—and why that puts them all in so much danger:

Say it again and say it loud: Haru understands Akechi.

but how does she really feel

Haru tells us her secret feelings in the safe room:

See? Just like Futaba, she doesn't want to be around him; she doesn't want him as part of the group. But she doesn't want to kill him.

That's not her nature. Haru is not a murderer. I'll say it again for the kids at the back: Haru is not a murderer. Her compassion is what makes her unlike Akechi. It's what makes her so much better than him.

She doesn't need to be his best friend to understand him. She doesn't need to hang out with him to see herself in his situation—because the two of them have so much in common. She can acknowledge that he wronged her without secretly (or not-so-secretly) wishing him dead. Haru is a better person than most of us, and her feelings about Akechi are complex.

what is the line actually about?

The sad thing is that Haru's "we'll just take him out" is a beautiful line.

Remember, Haru could be justifiably afraid of the prospect of being around Akechi. He's not safe. He's responsible for one of the greatest traumas of her life. But she shuts that fear down: "if he betrays us again, we'll just fight him again".

She removes his power over her—power to control her, to intimidate her, to make her afraid. Haru can stand up to Akechi and look him in the face, because she's surrounded by her friends. And her friends will stand with her. They prove it over and over in the third semester, when they repeatedly prioritise her feelings and Futaba's. It's made clear repeatedly that if either of them have a problem, Akechi will not be on the team.

So Haru is prepared to work with the scorpion by the river. She understands what made it how it is, and that it can only act according to its nature. But she'll be watching—and she'll be ready. Just like Akechi, who steps forward to fire on Maruki when the rest of them are paralysed.

It's just that Haru's bag of tricks doesn't include murder. Akechi has kept that in his back pocket—but Haru never had it in hers. It's a shame that Haru's clearsightedness here, and her readiness to act—something else she shares with Akechi—is so badly misunderstood as "lol funny murder psycho girl".

Akechi's second betrayal looks like them beating the shit out of him. I'm sure Haru would shoot him in the face a second time, and good luck to her. I'm sure the Phantom Thieves would, each and every one of them, make him deeply regret it before he was again turned in—voluntarily or otherwise.

But murder? No. That's never on the table. That's not Haru, and it's not the Phantom Thieves. And, ultimately, that's why they're the good guys, and Akechi is not.

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.0 (2023/10/13)—first published.

[idollete]

a última ask me deixou pensativa💭🤔

como seria a reação do enzo quando a namorada vai visitar ele durante as gravações/press tour/premiações? eu pensei em todos os meninos se juntando pra ver ela no quarto do enzo pra bater uma papo, matar a saudade e ficar de bobeira, mas quero saber qual seria a reação dele a isso e a reação dele dps que ele colocasse todo mundo pra fora dizendo que quer dormir.

ps: pode ser um headcanon com todos os meninos. só coloquei o enzo aqui pra dar um exemplo

o enzo não dá nem meia-hora para os meninos conversarem contigo porque ele já já tá mandando todo mundo circular, alegando que está morrendo de cansaço e que você também precisa dormir (embora essa seja a última coisa que vocês fazem e todo mundo sabe disso), ele fica ainda mais desesperado por esse tempo a sós, principalmente se você tiver ido de surpresa, sem avisar. então, vai enxotar o cast inteiro e tá com um sorrisão no rosto no momento em que fecha a porta. ele vai ficar um tempinho, tipo, minutos, parado ali só te admirando, por maiores que sejam a saudade e a vontade, ele quer eternizar aquele momento na memória. seu sorriso fácil, os olhinhos brilhando, o jeitinho que chama o nome dele, manhosa, risonha, "enzoooooooo!!!", a expressão dele aumenta ainda mais, "sí, nena?", pirraça um tiquinho, até te irrita, porque parece que vai até a cama em slow motion, vai engatinhando na cama até estar por cima de ti, te encara beeeeeem de pertinho, pertinho mesmo, pra dizer que "será que agora a minha namorada pode me dar atenção?!", faz charme e drama, pois ele é um needy bf SIM! "deixa de ser egoísta, fica me querendo só pra você...não pode!", e você não fica atrás, faz esse teatrinho pelo simples fato de saber que as palavras seguintes dele serão: "pode, pode sim. você é minha. e você sabe que eu não divido, princesa". depois disso ele te beija da cabeça aos pés, mata a saudade de todo canto do teu corpo e vocês tem a foda of a lifetime, é tudo muito intenso, cheio de paixão e afeto. quando tudo acaba vocês permanecem desse jeitinho na cama, nus, entrelaçados e colocando o papo em dia. plus: no meio dessa conversa, ele vai deslizar a mão um pouquinho e te dedar, aqui vocês fazem um amorzinho lento e pegam no sono logo em seguida.

agora o pipe é do tipo que deixa a conversa rolar, mas tá com um bico DESTE 🫸🏻 🫷🏻 tamanho o tempo inteiro. cruza os braços e vai pra um canto qualquer do quarto, só sai de lá depois que você botou todo mundo pra fora. não te deixa abrir a boca e já começa o falatório, porque, até onde ele sabe, "você veio pra me ver, né? seu namorado. que sou eu, caso você tenha esquecido", a expressão é metade sisuda, metade de menino dengoso, a boca rosinha não desfez o biquinho, mas os olhos dele são iguais ao de um cachorrinho que quer carinho. ele provavelmente planejou por horas e horas o que vocês fariam juntos naquele curto período de tempo e não pode deixar de se sentir frustrado, mesmo que vocês só tenham perdido algumas horinhas (muito preciosas para ele) do dia. mas o jeito emburradinho some no segundo em que você põe a cabeça dele no colo e começa um cafuné lentinho, pede pra ele contar sobre como tem sido a gravação e, quando ele percebe, já está tagarelando contigo sobre o dia em que o simón se meteu em encrenca porque deu em cima de duas garotas da maquiagem. inicialmente, vocês só ficam no dengo mesmo, sabe? o pipe, embora cheio de tesão, prefere que vocês passem horas conversando. até porque ele vai passar a madrugada de fodendo. é nessas situações que ele dá a sua melhor performance na cama, te põe em posições inusitadas, diz que quer testar algo que ele ouviu falar, te deixa exausta de tanta pica. plus: no dia seguinte, ele acorda com o tesão nas alturas novamente e se esfregando em ti, "eu tinha toda um programação pra hoje...mas eu não resisto com você desde jeitinho do meu lado".

acredito que o fernando e o esteban sejam os mais compreensivos, porém, eu vou falar do kuku mais à frente, agora quero falar sobre o fer. ele provavelmente adora o fato de você se dar tão bem assim com os amigos dele, vai te observar interagindo com um sorriso todo bobinho no rosto, até interage um pouco também, mas prefere te deixar levar o seu tempinho ali. não se enganem, tho. tudo isso tem um motivo. vejam bem, é muito simples. o fernando te deixa matar a saudade dos amigos quando você chega, porém depois disso a sua atenção é inteiramente dele e de ninguém mais. ele também não tem vergonha de expulsar todo mundo do quarto, "o papo tá bom, mas agora a minha garota vai passar um tempo comigo. então, vazem". tenho pra mim que o fernando fica ainda mais kinky e maldoso quando vocês ficam muito tempo longe, então, é claro que tudo começa com joguinhos da parte dele. "a conversa tava boa, bebita?", fica ali recostado na porta mesmo, distante, não te dando o toque dele de propósito, "que bom, que bom", é até um pouco cínico como ele fala, "mas acho que você entendeu errado, sabe? eu te trouxe aqui pra matar a saudade. ficar comigo". e ele não tá chateado de verdade, beleza? é tudo parte do teatrinho que vocês tanto curtem. "invés disso, ficou dando atenção para todo mundo, menos para o seu namorado", aqui ele já começa a se aproximar, para ali na beiradinha da cama, se curva só um tico para ficar na altura do seu rosto, "você tá merecendo uns tapas por causa disso, princesa", segura as bochechas, aperta de levinho, ri quando percebe que seus olhinhos até brilham com a ideia de ser punida, de certa forma, por não ter dado atenção para ele, "e talvez eu te dê vários deles hoje". depois disso é game over, vocês começam uma pegação desenfreada que dura a madrugada inteira. é provável que fiquei acordados até o dia amanhecer com muito chamego e conversando bobeira com o outros num pós-foda que é muito afetuoso.

o matías é bem parecido com o pipe, a diferença é que, na frente dos meninos, ele disfarça o bico e a birra, chega até a se distrair se começar a conversar bobeira com um deles. acontece que ele fica impaciente em um certo ponto, é aí que a carranca aparece e ele começa a soltar os típicos comentários de boca de sacola. "ô, della corte, sua mulher tá te chamando lá", "vem cá, simón, cê não tem nenhum rabo de saia pra correr atrás não", "enzo, já deu o horário da terceira e idade, né", ele não para, é uma metralhadora de indiretas nada discretas até que todo mundo já tá pra dar um tapão nele. e quando tá todo mundo vazando, ele ainda tem a pachorra de gritar no corredor que "é por isso que eu nunca chamo vocês pra irem na minha casa, pelotudos!!!". não dá um segundo que fechou a porta e o matías já está em cima de ti, te dando um abração de urso e enchendo o seu rosto de beijos e mordidas – que ele diz que são uma punição por você ter praticamente cozinhado ele – enquanto te espreme como se vocês estivessem sem se ver há 10 anos. o matías não vai direto pro sexo, não, tá? ele prefere ficar de bobeira na cama contigo, batendo o maior papo de tiazona, conta todas as fofocas e barracos do cast, quem pegou quem, quem não pegou ninguém. e a vontade surge com muita naturalidade, é com um toque que se torna mais íntimo, uma mão boba, um cheiro no pescoço, uma puxadinha na nuca durante o beijo. daí vocês já se vêem envoltos numa bolha de prazer e afeto, porque ele com certeza vai fazer lentinho (no começo), dizendo um montão de putaria no pé do teu ouvido.

como eu disse antes, imagino que o esteban seja muito compreensivo com o fato de você tem esse vínculo com os outros meninos e acha natural que a saudade surja e você queira matar um tempinho com ele também. não acho que ele coloque ninguém pra fora, porque é educado demais para isso, só que, eventualmente, geral vai perceber o jeitinho meio pussy drunk que ele tá te olhando, o esteban não consegue nem disfarçar o tesão que sente em te ver naquele momento. nem presta mais atenção no que o fernando tá dizendo, só faz balançar a cabeça, o pensamento longe, como no que você está vestindo por baixo do vestido. é isso que "expulsa" o cast do quarto, com direito a um matías dizendo que "vamos deixar os pombinhos a sós, porque o nosso kuku vai entrar em campo hoje. por favor, dá pra esse homem a noite toda, porque ele fica ranzinza sem buceta" e sendo puxado pelo pardella, que deu um tapão na cabeça dele. e quando vocês estão a sós a primeira coisa que você pergunta é "ranzinza, é? quer dizer que o meu kuku fica de bico sem mim?", brincalhona, mas provocando, gosta do jeitinho que ele retrai, envergonhado de ter sido "exposto" desse jeito. é verdade, ele fica de calundu quando vocês estão separados há muito tempo, mas essa é a última coisa que ele deseja pensar naquele momento. vai te dizer pra deixar de ser boba e te agarrar DAQUELE jeito só para calar a sua boca, dá um beijão digno de cinema e confessa o quanto sentiu a sua falta, te diz juras de amor enquanto te leva até a cama, te endeusa, porque ele beija todo o seu corpo, te adora, é devoto o jeito que te encara, é assim que escolhe matar a saudade, te adorando (e te dando vários orgasmos). uma vez saciado, ele vai querer saber de tudo que você tem feito, cada detalhezinho e te enche de perguntas, mas te ouve com atenção também. plus: ele não pega no sono na hora, pois fica te admirando dormir um tempão.

[muaka-safari]

May I ask, did you get around to writing that essay about ga-matoran in Metru Nui and their connection to the Great Temple? Not expecting anything! Just curious!

Oh, I think I wrote a bullet-pointed list on ga-matoran and their connection to the Great Temple, specifically looking at how it affects their concept of gender here, but I never wrote anything long-hand.

If a quick rundown is what you're looking for, follow that link. If you do enjoy long(ish), rambling essays from someone making far too extensive headcanons for fictional worlds, read on.

So. Ga-Metru. The metru of the ga, the metru specifically for the ga, that metru. Now, I could launch straight into the impact of Ga-Metru being Mata Nui-favoured... but this is my essay, so I'm gonna roll this a bit further back and delve into a possible reason of why Ga-Metru is favoured.

Because I have a personal headcanon that Ga-Metru's favoured status was very much a byproduct of the natural resources.

Look at it this way: You need to build a protodermis purification facility on Metru Nui. You've already built the forges and furnaces; now you need to be able to source the building material for these smithies. So you need somewhere with a lot of liquid protodermis readily at hand - somewhere, for example, like Ga-Metru.

And then, because you probably shouldn't put all your important masks in a place full of burny, melty fire, you store your kanohi mask here (instead of Ta-Metru) as the other major building in this budding metru.

So, ta-da, you now have your second major site in Metru Nui, and over time that becomes Ga-Metru, home to the Ga-Matoran. Second-eldest metru, not out of any holy significance, but because it provided an important resource.

Time passes, and your purification/storage facility becomes a place of spiritual importance. I mean, it makes sense. It's an old, vital building, storing items of power, and isn't the hot, noisy space of Ta-Metru, plus the act of purifying carries a kind of holiness to it.

So, the next logical train of thought: if Ga-Metru is home to the temple of your god, then - obviously - god must like this metru best.

Next, next logical train of thought: if Ga-Metru is the favoured metru, then those who live there must be Mata Nui's favoured matorans. Or, at least, they are spiritually closer to Mata Nui, living basically on the doorstep of your connection to him.

By this point, matoran have certainly been granted sentience, and with that comes all the messy irrationality of thinking for yourself. What a lot of religions like to do is recognise those singled out, spiritually, with a title. Father. Reverend. Back in the medieval era, catholic priests were called "Sir" the same way a knight was.

Regardless, the point is: you need a name or a title to recognise that Ga-Matoran are different. And (headcanon going strong here) because Matoran weren't programmed with a sense of gender, they only really have "he/him" for daily use, with "brother" as a title of respect.

So language does what it always does in these circumstances - it adapts. Except, well, the Matoran may not have a concept of gender, but the Great Beings who created them did. So, somewhere in that pesky programming and superfluous data, there's a not-memory of "sister" being an equivalent title to "brother" - they don't understand how it relates to gender, they just know it feels right. And with "sister" comes the pronouns "she/her" so suddenly you have a whole metru with their own special pronouns and titles.

And, ta-da! Matorans have now accidentally ungendered gendered pronouns.

I also think it adds an interesting sense of irony for any (head)canons that Ga-Matorans consider themselves above or better than other Matorans (because then their importance is built on a coincidence, rather than actual Mata Nui favour) but that's for another day - or for other people to take a crack at, if they'd like. (I know I've certainly seen some interesting posts about Ga-Matoran self-importance!)

I personally was just fascinated by the fact that the "female" Matoran are the "holy" Matoran, despite gender being nonexistant, and examining one possible reason for Ga-Metru gaining its favoured reputation. (What can I say? I love clawing my way into the cracks of existing world-building.) Feel free to agree, disagree, whatever, but these are my personal headcanons and I hope people enjoyed reading about them!

[ghost-mantis]

Headcanon that Skrall as a species are essentially doomed on Spherus Magna.

Even though they are warriors of the highest caliber, 100,000 years of war, starvation, and the loss of every female of their species leads to a slow, inevitable decline.

Ruthlessly culling any member of their species that wasn't a high-class warrior meant that there was no investment in education or skilled labor. The only way their society functioned was to rely on pillaging and slave labor to obtain food, medicine, and essentially everything that didn't involve stabbing.

Given their very rigid social system, it didn't seem like female Skrall had much say or power in their society. On Bara Manga, the second they did get mental powers they were considered a threat and banished to the wilds. Canonically, the male and female Skrall also separated into two societies on Bota Manga.

After that point, the population replacement rate was 0 and the male Skrall were in an endless war with the Agori for resources. While they never really lost fights, that didn't mean that they weren't losing people to disease, injury, and old age.

And then Mata Nui came along and curb-stomped the only leader-cast member of their species they had left. The remaining male Skrall dispersed into smaller groups led by named Skrall or high-tier casts.

And then Teridax came along.

A huge portion of their remaining population was atomized when Teridax blasted their home in the Black Spike Mountains. The remaining groups decided to join the free-for-all fight between the Agori, Toa, Rahkshi, and Skakdi.

And even as amazing warriors in a normal fight, there's no way the Skrall did anything but get their shit kicked in against armies of beings with ranged supernatural powers. A sword is great, but not much use when all your opponents can do things like suck the oxygen from your lungs, or summon a mountant to crush you without breaking a sweat.

Plus, every Agori and Glatorian hates their guts and wouldn't hesitate to gut any Skrull injured or trapped by the absolute free-for-all that was Bara Magna.

Anyone who survived the bloodbath and subsequent reformation of Spherus Magna, including adding Bota Magna Skrull to their ranks, is still looking at a very grim future.

The Skrall are now outclassed by almost every sentient species (and most wildlife) on the planet in terms of power and resources. Their home and leader cast are gone, and they have no slaves left (all killed or emancipated by Toa) to produce goods or labor. Their species is still split into two societies by gender and getting together long enough to have kids probably isn't in the cards.

A few Skrall are hired on by the Dark Hunters, but given their lack of powers, they would be best as cannon fodder, or as combat trainers to beings with greater powers.

Every other remaining male Skrall group is going to have their shit kicked in by every other group the second they try to cause trouble. And the Baterra are probably still picking off warriors whenever and wherever they find them.

Their population has plummeted over the last 100,000 years and the remaining members of the species are essentially the last generation.

The best hope their species has is that the female Skrall, being less militant and having no mental powers left, join with Agori or Glatorian society. They might be closely related enough that they can have children with the Glatorian or Agori.

If so, any future Skrall are at most 50-50 genetically split with another species. Subsequent generations will have thinner and thinner Skrall genetics, and they'll be extinct as an individual species.

Given that they were absolute bastards as a species and society in-canon, that might be for the best. Banishing every member of your society that can have children, and then going to endless war with every one of your neighbors forever is essentially biological suicide.

[siren-darkocean]

People sharing fic prompts/drafts?

I shall join!

Prompt from an unwritten chapter of Hopeful Light in Flames

Brought to you by, my lack of stretch of Bionicle media due to being poor af and unable to get the novelizations while not having enough time to read online postings of the books and Mata Nui being short in Glatorian terms canon wise despite he's the tallest in The Legend Reborn movie

Ackar raised a brow ridge noticing something different now with his head more clear now. "Did you get shorter?" He asked the Great Spirit.

Mata Nui shrugged his shoulders a bit, "I heard that the, I think the term that was used was called 'submissive' in a relationship," Ackar bit his tongue to not burst out in a belly laugh at that, "are mainly the shorter partner so I thought when reforming my body to make myself a little shorter than you." Mata Nui explained to the veteran Glatorian.

"And before you ask I heard that from unintentionally eavesdropping on a random conversation between the Ignika and Matoro." Mata Nui quickly added making Ackar let out a small chuckle.

Ackar shook his head while still chuckling a bit, "I mean, yeah but I could care less about your height." He told Mata Nui who had a slight pink blush underneath his Kanoi.

Mata Nui's blue eyes drifted to the side, "G-Good to know." He stuttered slightly while avoiding eye contact with Ackar.

Ackar smiled softly as he pulled Mata Nui close to his chest. "Well at least with us being alone now, I can do this without anyone watching to interrupt us." The veteran Glatorian said.

Mata Nui raised a brow at that before Ackar brought his face closer to his. Immediately his once slight pink blush turned as the red on Ackar's armor and Tahu's Kanoi Hau.

Ackar chuckled a bit at the sight before he rested his forehead against Mata Nui's who relaxed a bit and closed his eyes at the tender affection. "I missed you, so much." Ackar spoke quietly in a gentle whisper. "I'm glad because at least that means I can still do this." Mata Nui said as he pressed his lips against Ackar's which the said veteran Glatorian kissed him back immediately while bringing a hand to cradle the side of Mata Nui's face.

[gauntletqueen]

🤜SCHEDULE🤛

no more spooktober... But it lives on in The King in Yellow! We're also starting Penny's Big Breakaway for real this week Hell Yeah, PLUS Bionicle Mata Nui Online Game and Paper Mario continuations yahoo :> (twitch link)

[sepublic]

The more I appreciate Mata Nui's arc on Bara Magna, the more salty I am about his ending. Dude spends most of the story's run asleep, so much of the story is dedicated to waking him up. And then he finally does wake up but in less than ideal circumstances, but nevertheless you get the emotional investment of him learning to interact with others as a (relatively) regular mortal and guy, getting to make friends who know him as a friend and not as some god to worship. He gets to actually truly live and connect with the world around him, instead of passively observing it, hidden by his camouflage systems.

And then it ends with him going back to sleep for what is probably the indefinite foreseeable future. And I get WHY, I get the idea of Mata Nui not wanting the people of the Matoran Universe to depend on him. But it's kinda depressing to see him cut off from everything, he doesn't really get to sit down and relax, nor retire, like the others. He doesn't get to live anymore.

Plus, given how much Mata Nui was hyped up in 2001-08, it'd be interesting to see the characters from that arc actually get to meet him and realize, Oh, he's just a guy. An imperfect guy. No wonder Makuta realized he could take him down... But also he means well. He's trying. I'd have loved a scene where the Turaga Metru get to meet Mata Nui in person, and get some closure by asking; Why us? Why did you choose us to thwart Makuta's takeover?

In 2005, Mata Nui is framed as this all-wise god who works through unknowable ways and means, and is quite the clever mastermind himself, but for good, outsmarting Makuta. So it'd have been nice to hearken back to that characterization, maybe show Mata Nui being quite the trickster during his Bara Magna arc.

Closure for all our protagonists, who work so hard to see this guy be awakened, only to never really get to see or experience him, would've been nice. Just a single scene where they talk and discuss. Maybe one way you could reconcile both ideas -Mata Nui wanting to leave people alone, and Mata Nui getting to actually meet them- is by having him fake his slumber. But in reality he uses the Ignika to create a separate, remote body elsewhere for Mata Nui to transfer his spirit to. And then he does a Metro Man, lives the rest of his life as some guy, whose true identity he shares with only a select few people, particularly his Glatorian friends, and probably the Toa Nuva, Mahri, and Turaga. Given how much they sacrificed for him idk.

...Still. Could you imagine if Greg HAD continued the serials, and actually did have Mata Nui return from his slumber to help out during a climactic arc? That'd have been SUCH a hype moment.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ramon Novarro (Ben Hur, Across to Singapore, Mata Hari)—he's so dreamy <3

Robert Earl Jones (Lying Lips)—He didn't do a lot of movies but he's great in Lying Lips! Plus hes James Earl Jones' dad

This is round 1 of the bracket. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage man.

[propaganda photos submitted under the cut]

[legend-as-old-as-time]

I keep thinking about how Bionicle as a story was written to sell toys for an aging-but-still-children/teenager fanbase and found another layer of hilarity about the Toa Metru's ages.

I can make a sensible argument that the Toa Metru can be read as young teenagers, because their books were aimed at that age bracket.

Of course, they're not literally teenagers. Characters are devices for the story. Characters don't have to be human or even physically resemble humans, as long as they resonate with the audience. So you get animals, gods, mythical beings in general, objects, plants, planets, or semi-organic semi-mechanical constructs with elemental powers plus more. That's not going even into other facets of storytelling related to characters.

Also, stories are often created with a specific audience to appeal to. The stories' characters experience situations that said audience is familiar / can resonate with / finds cool.

The books focusing on the Toa Mata are a power fantasy for children in the sense of make-believe games. You can be a super-powered hero, too! The Mata Nui Online Games are a different kind of power fantasy where the non-powered, outsider characters among the matoran come together as they are and show their heroic resolve. You are a child and you might be small and appear weird to others, which doesn't change that your actions matter, too!

The Toa Metru's adventures are darker in tone, events, characters, and setting. The Toa Metru become and stay outcasts during their time as toa. They are flung by authority (adults) into a responsibility they used to see as amazing but turns out is difficult and isolating in the place where they live. They both want to be independent and for somebody else to make decisions for them to ease the burden.

Ignorance of their previous circle as the best place gets shattered as they experience other places and their home from a different angle. The highest authority they used to look to for guidance brands them as criminals for something they didn't do, and this makes them pariahs in the perception of their former peers. They get transformed into monsters and feel like ones, when they were arguably treated as such already before as Toa Metru.

This is a story that would appeal to some groups of young teenagers, because they can relate with these experience and know the Toa Metru are the stories' heroes.

Back to this post's beginning:

Onewa still can be arguably the oldest of the Toa Metru. In this interpretation, he equals roughly a sixteen-years old who had to work several jobs to survive, dealt with a lot of shit, has comparatively more worldly knowledge to others of his age, and now thinks he's The Expert (TM) in how the world and every person works.

When he's never left his neighborhood before because it was discouraged, and doesn't realize that

"No, things work very differently in other places. And bad things happen there, too." - And

"You might have gotten a good reading of your fellow teenager, but you're not even considering what kind of shit they went through."

He has his reasons for how he acts. It doesn't make his behavior okay, but it does explain it.

[crystaltoa]

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