#rahi | big questions

[easton-m]

Easton's grin grows wider and wider by the second. Rahi's family - or rather his parents, feel more familiar than his own ever did (though excluded from that are his mother, and sisters. Two of them, at least). The squeeze of Rahi's hand is firm as he drops the news, and then Easton is pulled into a suffocating hug. His family, or so he remembers, doesn't do hugs. It's hands on shoulders, handshakes, confirming nods. What Mayra does - it's so full of love, and it almost makes his eyes draw tears. More so. The way she tries to hide her knowledge is endearingly sweet, and Easton knows he made the right decision.

"That you have to ask Rahi.", Easton answers her question, "But from my side, yes. Thank you for keeping it a secret." Then, he almost finds himself offering a handshake in return; but he lets it be, offers a warm smile instead.

His hand is on Rahi's lower back now, fingers on his waist, and when he catches his now fiancé's gaze, his smile doesn't waver the slightest. "I love you.", he murmurs before kissing Rahi's forehead, "So much."; right before the chatter gets too loud, but his eyes add 'Forever', and the squeeze of his hand the 'and always'.

One more whispered I love you, before taking Easton's hand and walking inside. As soon as they do, more tan just a few pairs of eyes fall on them.

But it's different, this time. Nothing like the countless cameras of the Super Bowl, or a legion of fans watching their moves from afar. Aunties he sees only at weddings; uncles he had never found affinity to; cousins he was closer to when he was younger, than they are now. Sister. Parents.

One look at his mother, and he can see — she's nearly bursting at the seams. Then comes the usual greeting, the usual nearly-suffocating hug. When Mayra pulls back, she has the nerve to ask, "Oh, and who is this?" All the while, nearly checking with Easton whether she's doing a good enough acting job.

(Of course they already have inside jokes. Why wouldn't they?)

"Mom."

"I'm just curious, you never intr—"

"Mom. I know you guys met." Finally, she stops to listen. Through the silent beat, it's Rahi's turn to blush a little. Words aren't his forte the same way numbers are, so he squeezes Easton's hand, for that boost of support. "We, uh — Easton proposed to me today. It was really romantic." Beat, and he can't fight his smile growing wide. "We're engaged."

"Ah! Oh my God! Oh my God." Into an — extremely tight — hug, she embraces the both of them. With the ease that she pulls Easton in, Rahi's convinced his mother had been a linebacker in a past life. "Oh, I am so happy. So, so happy."

His mother's excitement is palpable, and it all feels even more real now than it did ten minutes ago. She looks up at Easton and asks, "...Can I tell everyone now?" Once more — bursting at the seams.

(How she was even able to keep a secret for that long, Rahi will never know.)

Whatever the case, he's also gazing up at Easton now. An earnest look on his face, admiring him. Admiring his mother's admiration of him.

It's loud around them. The music, the chatter. Children run around chased by their mothers, multi-colored paint in their hands, staining everything in sight. Congrats, babe, Rahi communicates through an amused blink of the eye. This is what you're marrying into.

[minirigby]

"The Final Voyage"

Tales from Turaga Ventax, Volume 2, “The Final Voyage”

Following the events of our last entry, after my assistant Kopeke returned home safely with the artifact I had sent him to retrieve, we quickly set to work examining the tablet, and recording as much of its contents as we could. After many weeks of transcribing and deciphering the notes and shorthand covering the stone tablet, I am pleased to write that finally, after being lost for more than a thousand years, the last written record of Kodan, Chronicler of Metru Nui, has been recovered.

It won't surprise most who were familiar with the Chronicler to know that the final topic of Kodan's research was in fact one of the Toa Mangai themselves, but I do at least hope that this record can provide some much needed closure for those of us who knew those featured in the account, and have spent the last millennium waiting for the answers enclosed within.

As you can imagine, the record begins in Metru Nui itself, after three of the Toa Mangai had been summoned for a seemingly mundane mission by the city's Turaga…

Kodan entered the room quietly, stone tablet in hand, so as not to disturb the conversation already in progress. Turaga Dume, leader of Metru Nui, sat behind his desk addressing the three Toa in front of him with the details of their latest mission.

"So why exactly are we closing the Sea Gates?" Valtruu, Toa of Ice, spoke up.

"I fear the Dark Hunters are growing bolder by the day" Dume said, getting up from his seat and walking out in front of his desk. "If something isn't done to fortify Metru Nui soon, they will doubtless take advantage and try to make the first move. We wouldn't want another war in our great city, now would we?" the Turaga said.

"I s'pose that makes sense, but why not just have the Vahki do it?" Valtruu countered.

Kanae, Toa of Plantlife, let out a scoff. "Those machines can't find their way to a charging port without methodical instruction" he said, before Dume raised his hand to interrupt the Toa.

"They already tried" he said, tossing a scrap of Vahki armor onto his desk for the room to see, "it seems they met some resistance".

Motara, the usually quiet and reserved Toa of Stone, spoke up for the first time since Kodan had entered the room. "Any chance you could tell us what to look out for, then?" he asked, unsatisfied with the Turaga's brevity.

"Feral Rahi, in all likelihood. Surely nothing for Toa to worry about" the Turaga said, brushing aside the Toa of Stone's concern before continuing. "You have your orders, now follow them. I have no time for further questions," Dume said dismissively, showing the three Toa to the door. "The safety of Metru Nui is my utmost priority, as it should be yours. If you have concerns, I shall hear them out after you've returned, when I have more time. For now, my attention is demanded elsewhere." he continued.

Valtruu shrugged, and followed his brothers out of the Turaga's office, with Kodan making sure to keep up behind them.

As the group exited the Coliseum, Kanae waved to the others and began heading off in the opposite direction. "I'm late for a thing in Ga-Metru, you guys can handle this one right?" he said in his usual nonchalant way, now that they were no longer in the presence of the Turaga.

"Yeah, shouldn't be a big deal" Valtruu replied, turning to speak to the Po-Matoran following close behind them. "You sure you've got time to join us, little dude?" he asked.

"A long, boring boat ride alone with the two of you? I wouldn't miss it for the universe," Kodan responded, smiling beneath his mask, as the trio set out to borrow a skiff for their mission…

The vessel skipped against the waves as it began making its way further from shore, while Kodan sat back to observe the two Toa making preparations for the mission ahead. Valtruu was standing towards the back of their skiff, steering the motor with his attention focused on the dome wall far off in the distance, while toward the front of the skiff sat Motara, checking over the stone-carving claws attached at his forearms.

Despite the two having known each other for many years at this point, Motara was the Mangai least familiar to Kodan, and to many others in the city as well. There were rumors of course, everyone in the city had their own theory about the background of this strangely colored Toa clad in striking silver armor, but rumors were all they were. What really sparked their interest wasn't just how foreign the yellow and black colored Toa looked, but the mask he wore.

Motara adorned himself with a sharp silver Great Mask of Power Scream, a mask whose power was normally considered immoral by the standards of Matoran society. In addition to the mask's long history of association with the brutal and fearsome Brotherhood of Makuta, the unholy shrieks it made when used were enough to unsettle even the sturdiest of individuals, leading to its almost unanimous rejection by Matoran society.

Despite this though, Kodan had never seen the Toa be anything less than upstanding in all his years of service to the city, which just made his choice in mask all the more perplexing. And now thanks to this mission, Kodan had the perfect opportunity to ask the Po-Toa all about it, without interruption…

After finally striking up a conversation with the Toa of Stone, Kodan soon found himself eagerly writing down everything he was hearing.

"It goes back many years ago, during the great war between the Brotherhood of Makuta and the League of Six Kingdoms" Motara began. "I lived in a small village back then, and had only just become a Toa in the months before the war started. We were able to keep our heads down and stay out of it at first, but once the League caught wind of our settlement they sent someone over to plant a flag down, and started telling us we belonged to them."

Motara reached his hand up to soothe an old scar on his shoulder, as if by reflex, before continuing. "I tried to fight them off, but they were too strong for just one Toa to handle. We'd almost given up hope of getting our freedom back, until one night, when a great warrior clad in silver showed up and ran the League's governor out of town with a legion of Rahkshi." He looked out over the side of the skiff, breaking eye contact.

"I know most don't think too highly of Rahkshi, and in truth I didn't either, but after that night we saw them as our saviors. Mostly though, we were grateful to their master, the silver warrior." Motara turned back toward Kodan, "I'm sure you can guess by the company he kept, but he was a Makuta, who went by the name Aruke." Motara touched his kanohi lightly before continuing.

"Unlike most of the Brotherhood who were occupied with grand military campaigns, or pursuits of glory on the front lines, Aruke and his troops made a point of seeking out settlements like ours, who were actually suffering under League occupation, and freeing as many of them as he could. I was so moved by the man's skill, grace, and honor that I pledged myself to his service right then and there."

"Lemme guess, he gave you that shiny armor to match his?" Valtruu chimed in from the back of the skiff.

"Eventually, yeah" Motara answered. "Makuta Aruke and I continued freeing League occupied settlements for the remainder of the war, and when it was all over and 'heroes' on the front got their accolades and fancy medals, nobody paid much attention to all the work we had done. Still though, Aruke was grateful for my help. He had this armor made special, so the two of us would match. Said it was a promise, not a reward. A promise that we would always be there to stand up for the forgotten and the oppressed, and a promise to each other, that we would never forget everything we had been through", Motara finished.

"So where is he now?" Kodan asked, "Why didn't you stay with your Makuta if you two were clearly so close?"

"I did, to an extent", Motara said, "we stayed in periodic contact for quite a while afterward."

The Po-Toa got up to stretch after sitting in the skiff for so long. "Then, after the Brotherhood took up the responsibilities left behind by the Barraki and were eventually assigned their own dominions, my home village fell within Aruke's new territory, and I was offered the position of his right-hand aide, which I humbly accepted." Motara said, sitting back down as the skiff passed over rougher waters.

"Things went well, until Aruke was summoned to a Convocation- a meeting of the Makuta. He was only gone for a few days, but when he returned, there was something… different about him." Motara reached up to touch his Kanohi before continuing.

"He was acting paranoid, doubling the guard at his fortress, checking rooms before entering… When I finally asked him what had happened at the meeting, he told me only two things: no one was to be trusted, and that things were changing in the universe."

"Well, that's not ominous at all!" Valtruu shouted over the wind and waves, still listening in from the back of the skiff.

Motara's expression soured, but he continued. "It was only a few days later, before I had gotten the opportunity to pry further, that Aruke vanished. For three days the fortress grounds were alive with search parties, all silent, hoping we might hear if he called out to us. Eventually though I was the one to find his body, sitting alone in his study- where it hadn't been just the night before."

Kodan spent a short while trying to find words. "I'm sorry," the Chronicler finally said. "Did you ever find out?" he continued, failing to fight back his curiosity, "What happened to him, I mean."

"No," Motara said, in a voice that was somehow both small yet louder than the crashing waves. "I figured his paranoia was right… The universe had changed, and that change, whatever it was, swallowed him up. Afterwards, everything Aruke had was transferred to another Makuta, as though he never even existed." Motara sighed. "Everything except for me…" he said, gingerly peeling the gleaming silver Kanohi from his face, taking a long look at it for himself, "And his mask…"

Motara's gaze was transfixed on the mask for some time. Kodan noted that, despite the maskless state of the Toa of Stone, there was a steely resolve in his eyes that failed to betray any weakness.

"I've been wearing it for myself ever since. Not just to honor what he stood for, but to remind myself of his last words to me" the Po-Toa said, before placing the mask back over his face.

"I spent the next few years moving around a lot, helping out wherever I could." Motara turned to the chronicler with a solemn look, before continuing. "Trying never to stay in the same place for too long, for fear that whoever killed Aruke would catch up with me too. That is, until I heard the Turaga's request for help, and came to this city." Motara said, looking back at the now tiny Metru Nui skyline behind them.

"For the first time in as long as I can remember, living in this place, being a part of this team… It's made me feel like I have a home again." He finished…

After Kodan had recorded Motara's story on his stone tablet, the trio sat in silence, reflecting on the Po-Toa's words, until they came in eye shot of the Sea Gate. As their skiff was slowing down on approach to the towering doorway, Motara noticed another vessel parked along the edge of the dome wall, and pointed it out to his comrades. Toa Valtruu, with his Great mask of Water Breathing, decided to dive beneath the sea of protodermis to get a closer look at the strange ship.

After a few minutes with no sign of the Ko-Toa, Motara was about to stand up and take a better look for himself. Before he could leap over the side of the skiff however, a towering monster of black and purple armor, with a grotesque face and four extra arms sticking up from behind its shoulders, stood up out of the water, igniting energy that crackled between its fingertips…

The record cuts off after that, though I think it safe to assume what happened next. As someone who lived in the city for many years, I've spent more time than I care to recall thinking on what I could have done differently to prevent the tragedies that occured, both to Metru Nui itself, and its honorable protectors. I often wonder, if I had stayed in the city rather than being convinced to set out on my travels by the false Turaga, if perhaps his deception could have been uncovered before it was too late.

Unfortunately though, I doubt we will ever know the answer to that question. And so we are left to take solace in the knowledge that, although it was a hard fought battle, good did eventually prevail in the end, and no others will ever again have to meet their fate at the hands of Makuta Teridax, or his minions, as these brave heroes did…

[downtofragglerock]

Let's talk about Spiriah

Yeah, I'm pumping out another one of these

So Spiriah am I right?

Despite being a tertiary makuta, we actually know quite a bit about him

Namely his defining trait: he's a complete fuckup

Spiriah is a character defined by failure, to the point where is name became an in universe slang term for cringefail loser

While Bitil feels like a weak link in the brotherhood, Spiriah is the weak link

This can even be seen in a meta sense as well, since Spiriah's combo model is really weak and lazy, not to Gaardus levels, but close

When it comes to rahi making, all bs01 has to say is that he "lacked the skill to do so", he most certainly tried in the beginning, probably came up with hundreds of rahi ideas, but nearly all of them probably melted or broke down immediately after creation, leaving a small handful of actually successful creations that were still probably pretty weak and flimsy

But there was a canon rahi that I took interest of for its potential connection to Spiriah

Namely in "How has this rahi not outright confirmed to have been made by him?"

So Spiriah's big defining fuckup took place on Zakaz, home of the Skakdi, who at the time were a peaceful people. Spiriah had been put in charge of Zakaz after all the makuta got their own territories. Spiriah, presumably fancying himself a ruler, saw potential in making the Skakdi his own personal army. Possibly for his own motivations, possibly because the brotherhood told him too, Spiriah began experimenting on the Skakdi, resulting in them developing new abilities. Unfortunately, there was an itty-bitty little side effect of basically driving all the Skakdi crazy and violence hungry and they engaged an eternal war with themselves, rendering Zakaz a wasteland

Because of his colossal fuckup (and also to probably cover up the rest of the unethical experiments the brotherhood was doing at the time) Spiriah was exiled, with a presumed execution order on him, should he ever show his face again

The question though, is how? How did a makuta who was utter crap at the science aspect of the brotherhood even accomplish this?

I believe I may have the answer

The Spine Slug is a parasitic rahi that was known to inhabit Zakaz, where they established a "relationship" with the Skakdi.

bs01 has this to say about their abilities: "Although Spine Slugs are parasitical, they are harmless to their Skakdi victims. Spine Slugs latch onto the spines of a Skakdi, and seem to be nourished by the Skakdi's battle rage. Some believe that the slugs actually feed that rage, causing the Skakdi to continue fighting and providing more nourishment"

Harmless, you sure about that?

I think I may have found the smoking gun, and the most "successful" rahi Spiriah ever made

[worldburnrp]

AUGUST 4TH, 2024

MADDEN-KUMAR WEDDING

Together with the Madden and Kumar families, Easton & Rahi invite you to celebrate their wedding at the New York City Public Library on August 4th, 2024. The wedding is big in numbers, in venue, and in headlines; a mix of high profile figures and regular New Yorkers. Amongst the guest list, expect to see NASA scientists, NFL players, as well as political and entertainment celebrities alike; all coming together to celebrate the big day. So put your best suit on, and come party with them — — to the moon, and back.

OOC INFO

IC, the event takes place on the late afternoon of AUGUST 4th (Sunday) until the early hours of August 5th. OOC, it starts August 4th, and the end date will be determined soon.

Members aren’t required to pause non-event threads during this period, but members are highly encouraged to prioritize them for fun, flowing interactions.

We encourage you to plot with your fellow players what your characters will be up to during the event, as well as any plots and/or conflicts that may happen. For heavy conflicts, please do make sure to message the main about it first. <3

This is a burnie bucks purchased event.

As always, should there be any questions or need of assistance with any plots, please feel free to contact the main page and we’ll be happy to help you!

IC INFO

All characters are invited to come — if your character isn't familiar with the characters getting married, we encourage you either to plot with the writers to come with connections as to why they would be invited, or to suspend some disbelief to have your characters show up anyway. Plus ones are also very much welcome!

Dress code is black tie. This is your suits, tuxedos, and long dresses — as glamorous as you'd like.

CHALLENGE

OUTFIT CHALLENGE: Show us what your character’s outfit will be! Be as detailed as you’d like, and feel free to get creative. [ You will be awarded 100 points for completing this ]

OPEN STARTER: Write an open starter! [ You will be awarded 100 points for completing this ]

RESPOND TO AN OPEN STARTER: Respond to an open starter! [ You will be awarded 300 points for completing this ]

Challenges aren't mandatory, just something fun you can engage in if you'd like. <3

Have fun!

[sideeffectsofhavingnolife]

IPKKND S:1 EP-5

Thinking of doing a sprint instead of one each day.

Let me grab some tea and churn these out

Me, when high on chai.

Fifth Episode of Iss pyar ko kya naam doon, hoping for progression.

Her being surrounded by men, is just an uncomfortable feeling.

Stop it with the overreaction guys. It's clearly an accidental fall. They are acting like she had a sex tape released.

Oh! Hey Mom, who just came around Khushi after 4 episodes of sulking. Ready to be disappointed once again?

Look at Arnav watching their video, quite fondly, if I may say.

"Meri bezatti karni ki himmat na aaj tak kisi ne ki hai, na ab koi karega." 🙄 He is such a fussy kid!

I just saw Tees Maar Khan's poster behind them. A bit sad that fewer people went to that movie because they were busy watching Khushi's video. Khushi's got Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif beat. Nice going girl!

Oh there we go! The catcallers are here. Why are they always in a group of three though? It was the same in Ishqbaaz.

I doubt you all got even a penny in your pockets.

What the fuck is this acting! Lol!

Damn! The mother is very coy. I'd expect her to get in at least one slap.

A group of hooligans disrespecting women. Tick.

The sleazy dupatta pulling. Tick.

Pushing an elderly man off. Tick.

No interference from the crowd. Tick

Setting the stage so a younger man can magically appear and save the day. Tick

This is an every 2000s and 10s bollywood movie scene ever.

And our savior's got the iconic Salman Khan bracelet.

Could you walk a little slower dude? This way you might actually reach in time.

Why are there people just standing around. Like they are not even hesitantly walking by. They are full-on standing and watching as if that's what they stepped out for.

Yo! What kind of acupuncture pressure point did this man hit for the goon's hand to be shaking that much?

"Kaun hai be tu?" Honestly, I have the same question.

Holy Shit, He just made a 'I fucked you mom' comeback.

Not the shawty eating the watermelon.

More people just entered.

Did the bat just break after coming in contact with his arm?! Is this man unbreakable?

I think they forgot to put the snapping neck effect.

Not him instantly falling in love with our girl. Or does he know her from before?

Stop looking at her, my guy. She wouldn't want a man looking at her for the entire next month.

Also they don't know each other at all. This is an entirely new interaction. I need to prepare my second lead syndrome heart. Why are the second leads always the better choice?

Aghh! Bua ji please shut the fuck up! Why don't you visit the ganga ji yourself, perhaps in a kalash?

Ooh, they are going to delhi? Nice, develop the plot.

But does she really think that Delhi is the place to learn 'sanskaar'?

Ab Bua ji ko bahut problem ho rahi hai.

Oh his sister's still here.

It's the divorce you alll.

Nah! This man is really such a child. Isn't it embarrassing to talk such emo shit in front of his employee.

"Di relax, please." He got so triggered.

She saw the news? But didn't she see it live, I am pretty sure she was there.

I know Khushi feels bad but Payal literally has nothing to do with any of this, yet she is trying her best to cope with it.

"Soch ke hi to kiya hai." This bastard is so turned on by this stuff.

"Aapka pati kaha hai?" Lol.

He is gone, boy, they are divorcing.

I am kinda digging this dynamic more.

No! Tease him more. I can just tell she is gonna be a big shipper of Arnav and Khushi in the future.

Khushi! Girl! I love your spirit but please don't make this worse. This isn't as bad, you should learn to be less dependent on your parents. It's about time.

Yeah! sure this makes you so much less suspicious.

Wow! they really pulled up to the news station.

Does she think that they would have even an iota of regret about it.

At this point she would have to take it to the court which she is likely to lose because well, money.

Dubey ji and Chaubey ji. Right, Not at all fictional.

"Uske liye to aapko Delhi jaana padega!" So it's Arnav then.

Oh, so now they feel bad.

"Hum galat the" Well, that was easy.

Now she knows!

Not that she could do much about it anyways! But atleast she can hate him more viscerally now. And that's what we want!

Okay Byeeee!!

Onto the next one, I go!

[willowwhispers01]

Forevermore (2)

“My friend’s father died in an accident, his body was taken for the post mortem,” In a large assembly of senior officers and officers in training, Dhruva speaks, presenting his view on the rules still present in Indian law System since olden time which are completely irrelevant as of today.

“By providing the excuse of ‘Post Mortem is not performed after 6 PM’, the body was left as is till next morning. The family was very disturbed by this incident” He continues his views confidently.

“Rules are right sir, but, in olden days there was no proper electricity hence it wasn’t possible to perform post mortem after dark. But we still follow those many blind rules. In today’s era even phone apps get updated regularly so why can’t a country with a billion of population get updated too? This incident influenced me a lot”, He explains his point with no hesitation, laying down his views thoughtfully.

“That was admirable”,  The senior officer praises his views.

“May I share something, Ma’am?”,  Gautam questions, catching the attention of the present fellow peers , officers and his friends.

“Yes you may Mr.Gautam”, replies the Senior Officer encouraging him to share whatever is that he wanted to share.

“The reason for the strength of my social views is, Dhruva”, Gautam speaks, his voice proud and confident.

“One day he told me, Kasab, involved in Mumbai attack was 18 years old, and the boy involved in Delhi gang rape was 17 years old. Similarly, boys involved in any time of extortion and robbery of country are in age of 17-18 years. It doesn’t take a lot of time for a man to learn and commit wrong, but a good person never sees time or make excuses to commit good.” He continues as everyone listens to him attentively.

“These words of him have left a great impact on me. ‘For a good person committing good deeds, every moment is great’, with these words he has gifted me this watch.” He proudly holds up his wrist, the watch strapped on it on display for everyone to see.

Tick

 “Every tick of this watch”

Tick

“Reminds me of Dhruva”

Tick

“That is why I never separate this watch from myself” He states proudly….. not realizing how cheesy it sounds.

Everyone bursts into giggles upon hearing the last sentence as Dhruva watches his friend fondly.

“Quiet please”, The Senior Officer commands and everyone composes themselves and the session continues.

As Dhruva smiles as his friend’s short speech, he is disturbed by the vibration of his phone, a message had been sent to all of his friends and him.

I know that you all jump the wall at night….

If you don’t want me to report this to the seniors Dhruva must be present at the Park Hotel by this evening.

All of them read the message and glance worriedly at each other.

“What’s this, a new headache? Who could have sent this message?” Karan questions worried and frustrated.

“Posting is due in next few days, if the seniors found out about this we would be in big trouble”, Gautam states worriedly.

“We can deal with 40 people outside easily, but dealing with the seniors….. Tenshion ho rahi hai yaar”, Ranveer states tensly, worried about the situation.

“Instead of making the matter a big deal, lets solve it peacefully”, Vijay advises softly to sooth their nerves.

“Look, we didn’t start this to leave it in the middle. They have called to meet, haven’t they. Let’s meet them and hear them out.”

At Park Hotel…

Dhruva arrives at the meeting point, fidgeting with his pen and glancing at his watching. He subtly glances to where his friends are sitting having a clear view of him and his surroundings in case he needs help. He looks around for any sight of the person in question, glancing at his friends he gives them a slight shrug.

And then…..

Gautam and Vikram catch the sight of someone, recognition flashing on their faces.

Dhruva catches it. He focuses his hearing without turning around, catching the sound of hurried footsteps approaching his way. Before the unknown person could push him the pool, he sidesteps causing them to stumble and almost fall in the pool. But before they could fall, Dhruva catches them by their wrist, still facing away from them.

Ishika….

He recognises her without even turning  around.

“What is she doing here?” His friends question eachother as Ishika dangles above the pool, Dhruva’s hold being the only thing keeping her from falling. But as soon as realization hits him, annoyed, he lets go of her wrist.

Splash

Ishika falls in the pool. Dhruva looks back annoyed as she emerges from the pool. She tries to explain herself, but he doesn’t listen and walks away still annoyed by her antic. He meets his friends halfway, fidgeting with his pen.

“Was the message sent by her?” Ranveer questions.

“Yeah, it was her”, Dhruva replies.

“Did something happen between you two?”, Gautam questions curiously.

“ Go, why don’t ask her yourself ”,Dhruva replies with a sarcastic smile and walks away, his friend calling after him.

“To become an IPS Officer like my papa, after passing my civils, I too went to Mussoorie for my training. There, for the first time, I met Dhruva.”

Dhruva drives behind the bus as Ishika enjoys the beauty of Mussoorie, all the while leaning out the window.

Dhruva honks his horn as Ishika pays no mind to it, being slightly tipsy from the beer she was drinking.

“Kaun hai bey wo?” Bujji leans out the window to look at the cause of the noise.

To her surprise a very handsome stranger seemed to me honking his horn.

“HEY! Ishika, he is honking the horn for you!” She calls out to her friend. Ishika turns around and notices Dhruva.

“Hello!? Bus rokne ke liye kahiye!” Dhruva requests her.

“Wow, you are doing hard work, are you following us?~” She teases him leaning on the window.

“What?!” Dhruva asks back.

“Sundar ladki dikhte hi follow karne lag jaoge?” She teases again as Dhruva shakes his head, amused at her teasing.

“If you keep following us like this then…. Bujji?~” She calls to her friend.

“Ishuu?~”, Her friend coos as she leans her head back out again, a beer bottle in hand.

“Then I will make you marry her!”, She states sternly as her friend hiccups and accepts the proposal.

As Dhruva Lags back, Ishika and her friend lean back into the bus, all the girls laughing and cheering at the scenario that just occurred.

Suddenly, the bus stopped. Dhruva had parked his bike at front to stop the bus. They notice him climbling on.

“Yeh to andar he aa raha hai yaar”, one of her friend states worriedly.

“Two minutes”, Dhruva tells the bus driver as he climbs aboard.

“Bulane par kese nahi ayega.” Her friend states again.

“Sir-” Bujji hurries in front of him before he pushes her to the side.

“Moti toh nahi chalegi, par tum zaroor chalogi”, He flirts looking her up and down before pulling her for a ki-

“Stop It”, Dhruva calls out annoyed breaking her memory lane. “Tell them the truth”, He orders before walking away.

Ishika looks guiltily in between his friends.

“Don’t look at me like that yaar……. If this happened then- ”She explains before being interrupted by Gautam who asks her to tell them the truth.

As Ishika goes back to properly explaining how they met, how she had confessed her feelings to him and how he had refused her proposal.

Dhruva walks out the hotel while pulling out his phone. He calls the one person he had been wanting to call to explain the situation.

Ring~

The person on the other side picks up the call in one ring, indicating they had been waiting for him to call.

“Hello? Dhruva”

Her sweet but tired voice rings on the call, instantly calming his nerves, an unconscious smile settling on his lips.

 “Bangaram…..”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

This was so fun to write. And a little glimpse of our MC.( •̀ ω •́ )✧

Can't wait to write the next chapter. Final intro!!

@sada-siva-sanyaasi @yehsahihai @rockingstaryash12

[outofgloom]

If I can ask, what size adjectives can exist in Matoric? We have nui and kofo, but even going with superlative formations, uinui/nuinui and fokofo/kofokofo is not particularly diverse. Can there be other modifications of them, or size adjectives derrived from different roots? btw this question is caused by the small scorpion Rahi in Quest for the Toa and Legend of Mata Nui.

There are some other words that can be used as size-adjectives, yes, although they don't figure in published material as much yet (stayed tuned):

One is maka, which means something very similar to nui "great, big" but my impression is that, when used to represent size, it would imply something more extreme ("huge, gigantic").

The inverse: sa or san "narrow, precise, targeted", which evokes a concept of a single point, dot, pip, iota, etc. and can be used to refer to something very small, as well as something very thin or narrow.

Others:

wa "wide, broad, ranging, widely applicable", implies size in the sense of extent or scope, filling up, touching, or affecting a lot of things.

ahli or ali "wide, broad" has connotations of open land or open water, breadth or girth but not height.

nuihu or nuyu "tall, great in height"

koahu or koau "short, small in height"

The typical reduplications can be applied to all of these (maka -> amaka -> mamaka, sa -> asa -> sasa, etc.).

[quietimtryingtostudy]

HI. I am in 12th grade rn ofc, a JEE aspirant and ruined my 11th like. abhi tak july m sirf 11th ki chem pdhi h. organic aati h. and inorganic i read daily. physical krni h 11th ki and maths m i have to 6 very important chapters of 11th and phy m kuch nhi aata 11th m and 12th is going so far. i want a rank under 5k and i am solely focusing on mains. (preferably jan attempt).

what are the things i need to keep in mind and any advices and tips and tricks. i just want to score a good rank. thank you so much

Hmm. Wasted a lot of time in 11th? Sounds familiar.

Dekho, organic aati hai, toh that's a very big thing. Keep it going. And keep reading inorganic too. My 12th-self would have given you awe-filled eyes and a hard high-five for being able to keep up with chemistry.

Backlog badhta rahega agar abhi jo chal raha hai, use pehle nahi kara toh. Please please please focus on what's going on currently in your classes. Backlog ko side-by-side clear karne ki try karna hi hoga, but priority is always current topic.

I admire your goal, badhiya hai, yahi goal rakho ki Mains first attempt mein phodna hai. It's relatively easier to get a good rank in first mains than getting it in the second one (speaking from self and others' experience)

Physics and Maths mein bass questions dher saare lagate jao, concepts unhi se clear ho jayenge. Doubts poocho! If your teacher isn't nice, then find someone else who can clear your doubts properly. Ragad ke practise karo!

Stay focused, this time now is crucial time for people giving mains in Jan 2024. You have to stay consistent from now till your Advanced. It's not going to be easy, and you have to stay consistent and resilient (as I've said before too)

Confidence lose nahi karna hai, focus on rakhna hai, questions bohot bohot saare lagane hain

Especially for chemistry, archives ko 3-4 baar laga lo. Helps a lot. Physics and maths too, major tips are similar: keep practising questions (especially archives), keep asking doubts

Don't look around at what others are doing. Focus on yourself. You are the most important person in your life right now, and it matters what YOU are doing, not the others.

Lage rahi Munna bhai ;)

Phod do JEE ko <3

[gobind-631]

Pls note(yeh walla pehle post karna bhool gaya tha..khair ab kar raha hoon)..

Stuff to follow..(also all those previous parts..dat have recently posted)think of ‘em as scribbles(rough kinda notes..i mean..wid probably plenty of room for correction(s) here/there..(for eg…grammar related corrections..n similar such stuff …)

Rough sort of work..rough coz have been written on d fly(dis 1 too has been similarly written)..all these 16 parts..n also never been revisited (wid an aim/eye towards wanting to correct stuff/so can come across stuff dat probably calls for/requires some kind of a rectification )even once..

Ideally/as a rule..I try n revisit stuff dats been written by me..at least once..ie.. b4 posting it out..(ie..wanting to correct mistakes/errors dat may have inadvertently happened..errors here cud b spelling related /grammar related.. etc..cud even b content related sometimes)..

But dis time round have on purpose avoided doing dis(dis revisiting bit.. I mean)..

Why u ask?…”Coz Gobind Ji desires/wants it dis way..dis time round”..

Am frankly not in d know why he desires/wants it dis way..not my place to question him..so shall go along wid watever he desires/wants..

[Sirf itna hi nahi bhailog..Gobind ji ab yeh bhi keh rahe the ki “aap ko ab ..in 16 parts wale piece ke liye..koi achcha sa..ek apt kisam ke title ka bhi chunav karna hoga.

..bas phir kya tha.. yeh sunte hi..maine unse usi waqt pooch liya tha..

“One Big (Royal Kinda) Dump”.. yeh wali title kaisi/theek lag rahi hai aap ko..zara batayega…apt hai?..

Yeh sunte hi..veh muskurate hue kehne lage..“Ekdum sahi.. ekdum sahi… mann prafullit ho utha hai....yehi rakhna.. bas yehi rakhna…tathasthu!!!..

[Hum jab Gobind ji ko khush karte hai.. phir uske aage aur kuch karne ko khaas bachata nahi hai waise..kaafi sundar dikhte hai ve…muskurate hue..(dekho toh jaano)]…

Waise kuch kuch places main ..mere dwara likhi gayi text ke kuch sections ko ..maine ek AI tool ke dwara parse karte hue..uske output ko yaha par paste kiya hua hai....

Yeh sirf aur sirf isiliye kiya hai kyon ki veh yeh bhi chahte the ki .. iss piece ke ek bade hisse ko ..Good Friday se lekar Easter ke aas paas tak poste kiya jaye..(pata nahi kyon.. ve aisa chahte hai)..

Toh bhailog Jahan jahan parse kiya gaya hai..wahan sirf grammar related errors ko rectify karpane ke hisab se kiya gaya hai..(time constraint laga diya gaya tha isiliye)..[original (on d fly wale)core content ko retain kiya hai.. usmain koi changes nahi..(aur na hi parsing ki vajah se kuch extra text ko add kiya gaya hai)

Jan main hi rough tarike se sab already likh liya gaya tha.

**Baad main.. (much later) ..correct karke (wherever required..dat is)..(aur correct order main bhi).. sab kuch phir post krdunga..

[Time hai toh hi padhna bhailog..waise mujhe farak nahi.. koi padhe ya na padhe (not being rude here honestly.. only wanting to save u all some time dats all)hum toh bas isiliye likhte/post karte hai..kyon ki Gobind ji aisa karne ko kehte rehte hai.. bas yeh baat hai..aur kuch nahi]

[nikhilxkohli]

“You’re just being your charming self? So this is just how you are 24/7? Damn that’s a better way to sell yourself as my agent Layla,” he chuckled softly before giving her another smile that told her just how much he was enjoying himself. She was honestly such a breath of fresh air, and very unlike the other agents he’d met in the past. “I don’t think I need to try very hard to impress you, tum already impress ho rahi ho, otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to get all these inside stories of my past,” he told her with a smile while he did very obviously flirt with her. It was a problem Nikhil faced truly—but he’d definitely have to reel it in if they were to remain professional. “Of course—you’re such a natural, I can’t believe I ever doubted you,” he grinned at her before nodding and giving her a big sigh of relief. “Thank god—the big commentator folks will be able to breath easy now that you’re not eyeing their job.”

“My talent? But if I take you to a practice game, you’re not going to be watching my talent,” he reminded her. He had his own practice sessions happening but if he really wanted her to be able to understand the game, he’d have to be watching the match with her. “Creativity is one thing—but outright lying to a client, I’m very appalled,” he chuckled softly before noting the way she winked at him yet again which had him wondering if this was just one of the ways she got people on her side or if she was just being natural with him. Nikhil then asked her about her contract details and listened intently as she expressed how she was willing to be paid, through commission which was what he expected. “Okay—that all sounds doable and negotiable as well,” he said softly as she got to the question he was more interested in having answers to. How was her career going to change after signing a cricketer in a country that still didn’t give as much credit to the sport. He found it hard to refuse her based on what she’d said and while internally he knew he’d sign with her after that speech—he still had to test her skills. “That—is a very good speech Layla, you truly tick all of my boxes as well, especially by being so passionate about your job and the others you represent.” Nikhil gave her a smile before asking her a question that he was curious about. “But how about if I want to meet someone you currently represent, just to know how they actually feel—could that be arranged?”

She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms—trying her best not to crack up laughing. "Wooing you? Please, I'm just being my charming self. But if you're feeling wooed, I'll take it as a compliment," she teased. He wasn’t wrong. It was part of her job, after all. "And as for your tricks, Nik, I'm all eyes and ears. Impress me." Try as she might, Layla noticed the slight shift in their conversation. Was he flirting with her? Nope. He was just being nice. She pushed the thought aside, reminding herself to keep things professional. Still, it was a little unnerving—the easy rapport they'd developed. "I would never dare to tease you," she said with mock innocence. "I'm just showcasing my extensive cricket knowledge. Clearly, I'm a natural." She grinned, batting her long lashes. When he winced at her commentary example, she laughed. "Itna bura? I thought I did pretty well. But fine, I promise to leave the commentary to the professionals. Though I maintain it would be highly entertaining."

As Nik mentioned the free ticket to one of the greatest sporting events, her eyes lit up. "Now you're speaking my language. Who could resist such an offer? I hope you know, I'm not just going to go because of the free tickets. It's your talent I'm interested in," she added, her tone becoming a bit more serious. She raised an eyebrow at his comment about her other clients. "Hey now, don't knock my methods. Sometimes you have to get creative to keep your clients in top form. And for the record, he did end up improving his performance. The placebo effect is a powerful thing," she said with a wink. Why did she do that? She needed to stop it. When asked about the contract details, she straightened up, shifting into her professional mode. "Now we're getting down to business. I like that," she said, nodding approvingly. "I typically work on a commission basis, usually around 10-15% of your earnings from contracts and endorsements. But I'm flexible, and we can negotiate based on your specific needs and goals."

She wouldn’t be stiffed, though. "Now, as for how signing you can help my career? Well, Nik, you're a rising star in cricket. Your skill on the field is undeniable, and you've got charisma to boot. I see enormous potential not just in your playing career, but in building your brand off the field too. Endorsements, sponsorships, maybe even some media opportunities down the line. But more than that, I believe in representing athletes who are passionate about their sport, who have integrity, and who are willing to work hard to achieve their dreams. From what I've seen so far, you tick all those boxes. Having you as a client would be beneficial for the both of us."

[codylabs]

WAIT WAIT WAIT are you familiar with bionicle lore??? I need your help

Because when I was a kid I watched Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, and I fell in love with all the characters in it, and have been completely baffled in trying to find out what the hell the rest of bionicle lore is.

Can you help me understand?? Where did Mata Nui and his friends go after that movie??

Aight so first off, curse you.

Curse you and dang you and blast you and encase you in protodermis for all eternity, because this question is too difficult to answer. It's just too long. But since I love Bionicle lore more than any other lore (it is better than any other lore) and since you asked so earnestly, I will do my best.

I'm also not a real expert on this (there's a lot of tie-in novels for example that I haven't read), but I know enough that I can guarantee the rest of this will have only like 1 or 2 errors.

So.

The center and focal point of Bionicle lore (if you want the big picture and/or have already seen the big reveal (which I gather you have)) is that everything revolves around an enormous titanic robot.

This guy:

That guy.

In case THE OCEAN coming up to his ANKLES and the ATMOSPHERE ending at NIPPLE LEVEL wasn't enough of a giveaway, this lad is fairly large. Enough that he has entire civilizations and ecosystems of biomechanical people and animals living in chambers inside of him, to maintain and repair him, and fill him with life and beauty. All of the regular characters (the ones you read about in the comics and see in the movies and get toys of) are at this comparatively-microscopic scale. Most of the regular characters were actually part of this robot's original crew and passengers, and it's possible that most of them didn't even KNOW they were inside a robot. The robot was controlled by an AI called Mata Nui, aka The Great Spirit.

The robot had originally been constructed on the planet Spherus Magna. A cataclysm had split the planet apart into three pieces: the desert planet Bara Magna, and two moons, the oceanic Aqua Magna and forested Bota Magna. The robot's destiny was to remake the shattered world, but it first traveled the universe doing other tasks. Before it was able to accomplish its destiny, disaster struck:

One of the onboard crew, a Makuta named Terridax, was led astray by conceit and ambition, and sought to supplant the Great Spirit. He sabotaged his home, knocking the Great Spirit offline, and causing the robot to drift off-course and crash into Aqua Magna, where it remained dormant (though not broken) for thousands of years.

The majority of the Bionicle story (the first 8 of its 9 years) follows the adventures of the robot's inhabitants: the Matoran (workers), Turaga (elders), Rahi (drones), and especially the Toa (the warriors) as they worked to defeat the Makuta and his allies and reawaken the Great Spirit. The heart of the symbolism here is that Makuta is a brain cancer, and the Toa are the treatment.

After hundreds of years (8 IRL years) of struggle, the heroes finally accomplish their goal and reactivate Mata Nui, but Makuta Terridax had been ready for them, and managed to install himself into the mainframe instead of the rightful Great Spirit. The robot gets to its feet for the first time in thousands of years, but it's under Makuta's control. He begins to brutally oppress his body's inhabitants, and banishes Mata Nui's spirit to Bara Magna, trapped within the Mask of Life.

Since you saw the Legend Reborn movie I need not recount all the events of that story, but it follows the Great Spirit on an alien world, the same world where his body was first created, among the people descended from those who originally caused the disaster that necessitated his creation. During the events of the movie he joined the warrior caste of Glatorian, faced down a Skrall lord, and helped unify the planet's warring people.

From the moment he had reawakened, Mata Nui's priority had been to return to his body: to save his people and fulfill his destiny.

During and after the movie's end scene, he works with the planet's people to rebuild an second giant robot: the original prototype for his own body, which had been broken ages before. Mata Nui himself goes on a quest to retrieve an power source, and then uses that power source to reactive the prototype. Meanwhile Makuta, back up on the moon, senses this, looks down and sees him standing in defiance and challenge, and then COMES DOWN TO FACE HIM.

If you think you comprehend just how hype this image is, you do not. Comprehend again.

THEY THEN FIGHT

Makuta's minions swarm out of hatches in his feet, to make war with Bara Magna's people, while the titans duke it out above the cloud layer. When the land war seems to be turning against Makuta, he threatens to use a gravity beam to crush the whole planet to dust. Mata Nui grabs his arm and deflects it, forcing the gravity wave to hit the world's moons, and bring them drifting back toward the planet.

Mata Nui's prototype body is fast running out of power, and he knows he dares not harm Makuta, for Makuta's body is full of innocent lives, whom he loves.

But the story's main characters manage to win a sweeping victory on the ground, which distracts Makuta just long enough for Mata Nui to drive him back, right into one of the approaching moons AND WHAM

The cranial circuit that housed Makuta is smashed to bits, and the tyrant falls, never to rise. Mata Nui uses the prototype's last reserves of strength to finish remaking the world, and to fill it with life, before he too falls.

Mata Nui is very much the Jesus character in this whole saga. He had been a God, but defeating his enemy and bringing peace and happiness to the people he loved meant living among them a time, and sacrificing his power for their good. It's a really beautiful thing.

The series ends on a hopeful and open-ended note; the subjugation and annihilation that Makuta threatened will never come to pass, and all the other characters are free to make their own lives on a paradise planet: no longer warriors fighting blindly or refugees from disaster or cogwheel slaves in a grand design, but free people. To answer your original question about what happened to the specific characters of the movie, we get no answer. We know that Kina and Ackar and the others participated in the final battle, and we know that they lived, but of their lives and adventures after that, we do not.

If you want to get a more in-depth plunge into the lore, the Biomedia Project is pretty much your one-stop-shop. I'd recommend reading the comics. They don't give the entire story, but they're a good jumping-off point, and you can absolutely get enough of the story to make all but a few things make sense. In this explanation of mine I brushed over countless worldbuilding cornerstones and plot threads: the protodermis, the elemental powers, masks, the lost city Metru Nui with its eyelid suns, the jungle island which is confusingly but appropriately also called Mata Nui, the red star, the saga of Voya Nui, the masks of light and life, and Karda Nui, the center of the universe floating in the swamp beneath the thousand city pillars.

Bionicle is the greatest.

[nyotamalfoy]

First Impressions

Ram Charan x fem!reader

a/n: okay, so here's the deal, im in love with this man and i couldn't resist writing for him especially after being inspired by seeing all the amazing content created by the talented af people on here so i want you all to know that I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS SO MUCH

also, no disrespect to his wife, ily upasana

warnings: harassment, swearing (like one word)

its giving premam nivin pauly vibes and i love it anyway

Part 1 || Part 2

“Haan to tu milne kab aa rahi hai?” (So, when are you coming to meet me?)

“Arrey waah, now I have to come and see you? Tu idhar aaja na iss baar, Alia.” (Oh wow….You come here this time, Alia.)

“You know what? We are coming there for the movie promotion tomorrow, so we’ll just meet there. You good with that?”

“Oh my god, you mean to say RRR movie ki puri cast aa rahi hai? As in Ram Charan and Jr. NTR too?” (You mean to say that the whole cast of RRR is coming?)

“Haan behen tera bachpan ka pyaar bhi aa raha hai saath mein. Chal mein rakhti hoon, mujhe nikalna hai abhi.” (Yes, sister, your childhood love is also coming with. Okay I’m hanging up the phone, I need to leave now.)

“Accha theek hai, chal bye.” (Okay then, bye.)

Y/N stared at the phone screen for a long minute after hanging up the call. She still couldn’t fathom the fact that she might have the slightest chance of meeting her celebrity crush and it was all thanks to her friend, the one and only Alia Bhatt.

She thanked her lucky stars for that day in the university in Australia when she met this girl. Even though they were pursuing different degrees and were from different parts of India and weren’t even the same age, they instantly clicked. Alia wasn’t a big name in Bollywood back then like she is now but was still famous, being from a famous family and all. Y/N had no idea who Alia was when she first met her but slowly over the years, she started finding out more about Alia’s family and who they were and what they did. That didn’t change their friendship whatsoever and now, they were still the best of friends, they just didn’t meet that often with Y/N still finishing her degree in Australia and Alia being busy with movies.

Much to Y/N’s delight, she was in India for the summer break and had informed Alia when she called. So, now it was just a matter of time before she would meet her friend again and she was beyond ecstatic that it might also mean meeting Ram Charan who had been her celebrity crush for the longest time. But she thought back to Alia’s phrasing of ‘bachpan ka pyaar’ and cringed. It made him sound old like she had been watching his movies since she was a child. While that wasn’t entirely true, she had liked him for quite some time.

A notification lit up her phone screen pulling her out of her reverie. It was from Alia, informing Y/N of the time and place for their meeting tomorrow. She also said how excited she was to meet her after so long and that she had told Ram and Tarak about her who both wanted to meet her. Y/N did a double take when she read that last line.

“Wait, they want to meet me?” Y/N texted Alia, still in a bit of a shock.

“Yes? Well, they told me they had found this amazing restaurant and asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with them before the first day of the promotions, that is tomorrow, but I said that I have to go meet a friend, which is you, in case you didn’t get that. So, they said that we could all go the day after tomorrow. All as in, you, me, Ram, and Tarak.” Alia replied with ease as if that answered all of Y/N’s questions.

“Aesa to kya bola tune mere baareme ki unko milna hai mujhse ab?” (What the hell did you tell them because of which they want to see me now?)

“Arrey yaar tu phaltu ka tension bohot leti hai,” Alia replied. “Don’t worry, I only said the good things.” And maybe showed them your Instagram profile, Alia added mentally but didn’t dare tell her that. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then, don’t be late!” (“Dude, you stress too much.”)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing in front of her suitcase, Y/N contemplated her outfit for the night. She researched the place Alia had mentioned in her message and quickly realised that it was a high-end restaurant. So, she settled on a comfortable yet fancy knee-length dress and paired it with a pair of elegant heels. Grabbing her phone and her clutch, she left her room and called an Uber seeing as she didn’t have an Indian driver’s licence.

After a long half an hour, the restaurant came into view and Y/N let out a sigh of relief for finally getting out of the traffic. She walked in through the door and found it almost full to the brim with people, rich people with very fancy looking attires. Suddenly glad that she had chosen this dress instead of her usual jeans and shirts, she stopped at the hostess’ podium and smiled at the girl in uniform holding an iPad.

“Hello, ma’am, do you have a reservation with us tonight?” She asked in a polite and sweet voice.

“Hi, uh yes, I’m meeting a friend here? Ms. Bhatt?” Y/N looked around and noticed some familiar famous faces in the huge spacious room, while she waited for the girl to find the reservation.

“Oh yes! Here it is, but it seems like you are just about 15 minutes early so the table isn’t ready yet, but you’re welcome to wait in our bar area,” She smiled apologetically and informed her.

Y/N looked over at the bar and observed that it looked very clean and well-kept, and there weren’t many people there unlike some other restaurants’ she had seen. So, she deemed it okay enough and turned back to smile at the girl awaiting her reply. “Okay, yeah that’s fine, thank you!”

After a few minutes of waiting, she decided to order a soft drink and pulled out her phone to let Alia know that she had reached. Her eyes suddenly widened when she felt a hand on her lower back and she whipped her head around to find a well-dressed man, probably older than her by quite a bit, leaning down to speak to her.

“What is a beautiful girl like you doing here all alone?” He said with his face too close to her to be comfortable.

“I’m waiting for my friend, please go away.” She leaned back, away from him, disgusted and terrified.

“Damn, you got a hot accent. NRI?” He made no effort to move and continued, “Let me keep you company while this friend of yours arrives.” Grabbing the back of the bar stool, he turns it so that she faces him.

“Please leave, I don’t want to talk to you.” Her voice trembles a bit as she tries to think what she should do but her mind draws a complete blank.

“Why are you playing so hard to get? Huh?” He grabs her chin and tilts her face up. “Just relax and I’ll show you a good time.”

She feels her face drain of any colour and her hands start to shake. This can’t be happening, do something Y/N! Fight him! Scream! Do something! But it’s all in vain as she freezes. Tears form in her eyes, not again, please God, help me.

He holds the side of her neck with his large clammy hands and leans in to kiss her. She watches in horror, unable to move, feeling like she isn’t in her own body but watching it all happening from outside.

Suddenly, she hears a voice, a very familiar voice, before feeling a presence behind her.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

a/n: thoughts?

tagging: @dumdaradumdaradum @ramcharantitties @burningsheepcrown @thewinchestergirl1208 @budugu @phoenix666stuff

pls let me know if u wanna be added/removed from this taglist

[eshawrites]

Tara is an eternal seeker ~

When Tara said -

"I know mein ek crazy stalker ki tarah lag rahi hoon, but what I'm trying to say is, mein pile on nahi karoongi, I promise. I know tumhari apni life hai, aur tumhari koi girlfriend bhi hogi, so it's cool".

I felt for her with all of my hopeless romantic heart.

Tara may come off as a manic pixie dream girl who saves the male protagonist from himself, but she is so much more . She has a nuanced personality and demands to be heard and comprehended. What I find most fascinating about her is that she doesn't mind not having answers to all of her questions and prefers to wait for what she wants even if it takes time. She never stops looking for more.

I know it's a really big statement for a movie. But I believe Tamasha really changed my life in numerous ways. I am legit obsessed with this movie and I don't think any movie can surpass the intensity of emotions tamasha makes me feel!

[easton-m]

"All of them.", Easton repeats, nodding at that. It's not that he can relate - there's no past relationships he could talk about, only brief flings held as brief as possible, due to fear, due to lack of time, due to stupid excuses that all revolved around one specific; I don't want to end up like my father. "Okay. I won't." The way he says it, so confident, honesty pouring from his eyes, it's obvious he means it.

"Don't you ever dare to turn down Mars.", he laughs gently, "As long as you're still a reasonable age. That would be so cool." And a long time alone, he figures. "I don't think there's an equivalent to Mars in football, though...", he pauses, "Hall of Fame. A big one.", he nods, slowly, "Beating Tom Brady at that would be a dream, but I'm not quite sure I'll reach that." It's a big goal, but not impossible - at least not the Hall of Fame part, not for Easton. Beating Tom Brady, though, who got pronounced a member long before the four years post his career had been over, would be hard.

"I'll take my time.", he makes sure to add, gaze darting back to Rahi, "And we'll get the team to Superbowl just for that sight."

They stay like this for a while, under the moons, just because Easton can't quite let go of that view, and then he offers to keep walking - and noticing he's talked much more than usual, he figures it's his time to ask real questions about space, that Rahi can actually answer. They range from simple things to more complicated ones google has never quite found the perfect answer to, and with his hand still in Rahi's, he swings them a little as they walk, the space still quite empty. There's more questions burning beneath his tongue, but the quarterback figures he'll have some time left to ask them later on.

When they leave the planetarium and it turns out to be dark outside, a silent Oh escapes his lips, and he turns to face Rahi. "Hey, do you work for NASA, by the way?", the grin is already spreading on his lips, "Because you're out of this world." There's another of one of those cheesy laughs he's laughed all day, his cheeks already hurting, "Sorry, had to get number three out before I forget. I promised, you know."

Easton's gaze darts of to where he's parked his Porsche, "I have a panoramic roof, you know. Means you can watch the stars as we drive.", as if he wants this date to end, "We can take more rural roads, if you're not busy later? Makes a better view."

Of course, Easton assumes right, and Rahi's face shows it. He breaks into that smile which he smiles not out of joy, but something else. "All of them."

One day, he'd tell him about the reason why he didn't get to go the first time he'd tried out. How his boyfriend at the time became dependent, insecure, and desperate to keep him in the same planet as he. How, intentionally or not, Arman had pushed him into mental exhaustion before his final psych evaluation, and failing it meant failing it all. How he would have spent much more time out there, much earlier on, if it weren't for a man who dared to be jealous of his love for the stars. One day, but not today.

Because today, he's happy just to be happy. Some memories should stay buried, tomb locked and undisturbed. Ten years had gone by, and those crushed dreams have since more than come true.

"God," Rahi laughs, genuine as ever, "...I don't know if I could do a year." When he was younger, perhaps. But now... "I mean, if I have kids, I wouldn't want to be away for that long. I wouldn't want to miss anything." Rahi would rather not have children at all, than to have them and be more absent than he is around. "Unless it's something like Mars, which I'd be crazy to turn down, I guess." He warms at the hand on his shoulder, relaxing easily under the touch. Quietly, Rahi stores it into memory as the first time Easton reaches for him, entirely on his own. "...But thank you."

You have no idea, Rahi thinks, how much I needed to hear that.

(And if fifty more years would feel exactly like this, then Rahi wouldn't mind, spending them all next to him.)

As Easton speaks, the realization that his dreams aren't all that different from Rahi's own. To stretch an impossible career for as long as possible; to aim as high as gravity and the wheel of time would allow them.

"I think you'll just know." Rahi's turn, to assure him. "You'll feel it, when it's time." Easton's gaze is focused on the moons, yet Rahi's eyes are still on him. "If the feeling's not there, then it's not time yet."

There's no drug quite as addictive as the ability of being great. Athletes and astronauts know it well. It's hard to let go.

"Now you have to," he jokes. "You can't just tease me like that." Another daydream: at Allegiant Stadium, seventy-thousand people chanting Madden's name, yet Rahi is the one who would be taking him home. "I'll wear it proudly."

[reactionimagesdaily]

I dont understand bionicles at all, so maybe a crash course into like. 1) what a bionicle is 2) general plot of the bionicle story? happy 5k btw <3 love ur page!

OH BOY OH BOY, this is a question I've been waiting for. Thank you so much for asking, and I’m glad you like my page!! <333

A couple of disclaimers, before I start: I'm going to focus mostly on the mainline plot, but let it be known that there WERE a bunch of serial stories and comics and games that added to the story overall. Bionicle was, I think, one of the first big instances of a plot that was consumed through a bunch of different mediums.

I'm also going to try and do a lot of streamlining - it's not that I DON'T want to talk about bionicle, but there's 10+ years of story to cover, so... yeah. :P

Also! Sorry in advance to anyone whose 'read more' function doesn't work, because this is gonna be a doozy

So, what is a bionicle? From a meta perspective, Bionicle is a Lego theme that ran from 2001-2010, and was briefly rebooted from 2015-2016. It's name is a mashup of biological chronicle, and it was hugely successful in its time, essentially helping to save the Lego company from bankruptcy. The idea is that you use finnicky technical pieces to build humanoid figures (and sometimes their vehicles!) and then. play with them

From a textual/lore perspective, I'm not sure Bionicle is an in-universe term lol. But the characters that we recognise as 'bionicles' are grouped into a bunch of different classifications - 'Toa', 'Matoran', 'Makuta', 'Glatorian', and so on. The characters are kinda like inverse cyborgs, where there's metal on the outside and flesh and muscle on the inside. They often function like robots (e.g. have removable and replaceable masks that they constantly wear over their faces) but are still essentially living creatures.

So, what's the general plot of the story?

...[inhales deeply] Okay

In the time before time, there's an island called Mata Nui that sits in the middle of the ocean. It's populated by these dinky lil' guys called 'Matoran' that live in six villages organised by elements - fire, water, ice, air, earth, and stone. They eke out a life as best they can, facing dangerous wild animals (collectively called 'Rahi') and worshipping the Great Spirit, who is confusingly also called Mata Nui. (They named the island after him.) The great spirit, they say, once watched over them all, but was long ago forced into an enchanted sleep by his evil brother.

(These are the matoran. Look at these cute little guys :3)

One day, six canisters wash ashore, on the island's golden beaches. And out of these canisters step six strange figures called Toa. Tall, strong, and heavily armed, there is one of these 'Toa' for each of the villages, and each of these guys have control over an element. They are the main 'heroes' of this story.

(These are the six Toa. Here's a fun game - spot the girl!)

Each of the six Toa are named characters - from left to right we have Onua (wise and grounded), Lewa (fun-loving and mischievous), Pohatu (friendly and confident), Tahu (hot-headed and impulsive), Kopaka (cold and quiet), and Gali (intelligent and compromising). Some of the Matoran are also named characters - there's Jaller, the captain of the guard at the fire village, Hahli, a sports player from the water village, Matoro, a translator from the ice village, and Takua, who's technically from the fire village but is also an 'outsider' who tends to wander the island. Takua is especially important because he becomes the Toa's 'chronicler', following them around on their adventures and writing everything down for posterity.

Without getting into too much detail, the Toa spend two real-life years getting into wacky highjinks. They hunt for masks (as aforementioned, the masks they wear can be removed and replaced) that grant them special powers, fight the Rahi, and also face up against a terrifying race of creatures with mind-control powers called the Bohrok that are determined to strip the island of all life. They also fight against a being called Makuta, a mysterious shadowy figure who claims to be the brother that forced Mata Nui into his slumber. When they first meet him, Makuta takes the form of a Matoran to throw them off, before turning into a nebulous black void and doing his best to murder them all to death.

(Makuta as he appears in 2001's 'Mata Nui Online Game'. As far as villain introductions go, marching out to meet all the heroes and then telling them "I bore you, for I am nothing. It is from nothing that you came, and it is into nothing you will go. The people of this world are builders, but look into their hearts, and you will find they also have the power to destroy. I am that power. I am destruction. And I will destroy you." is pretty fucking solid though I say so myself.)

There’s a lot of cool worldbuilding and mysterious details about the island. At one point, the earth Matoran note that they can only dig so far into the dirt before they come across some hard material - some type of metal - that they just can’t break through. Also, amidst the stars in the sky, there’s an ominous blood-red star that’s appropriately known as the Red Star. What’s it doing there? Nobody knows

Also at one point, the Toa also get mutated into new forms after falling into a liquid that's called 'energized protodermis' but should really be called 'McGuffin Sauce'. There's a lot of changing forms and characters being mutated in this series in general, which I'm sure has nothing to do with the fact that Lego always needed new figures to make into toys.

(This is how the Toa look after being mutated. In these forms, they're referred to as the Toa Nuva -and let me assure you that that distinction will soon become necessary. :P)

So, in 2003 in our world (I’m not sure about the timeline within the lore), Takua the chronicler finds a mysterious mask and brings it back to the Turaga, who are the wise old rulers of the Matoran (The most promiment of the Turaga is the Turaga of fire, who’s called Vakama. He’s an even-tempered and wise old man who’s not above hitting villains with his walking stick if they threaten his village.). It turns out that the mask is special - it’s the mask of Light, and it’s part of a prophecy that involves the arrival of a seventh Toa who’s destined to defeat Makuta. So Takua and Jaller go on an adventure to try and find the seventh Toa.

Meanwhile, Makuta isn’t just going to sit around and wait for the Toa who’s destined to defeat him to rock up: he unleashes his secret weapons, the Rahkshi, who are, in lore, suits of armour driven by slugs. Sounds corny - in practice, they’re hella intimidating.

(Look at these bad boys)

Some more adventures happen and, to make a long story short, the Rahkshi kill Jaller and Takua the chronicler puts the mask of light onto his own face, transforming into Takanuva, the Toa of Light. The audience surrogate and ‘weird’ character was the secret hero all along!! I love that honestly.

(Takua and Takanuva - before and after)

As someone with light powers, Takanuva is essentially the perfect counter to the big bad Makuta, who has shadow powers, so he finds Makuta’s lair intent on beating him. Makuta challenges him to a game that’s called ‘Kohlii’ but is basically this universe’s version of lacrosse - Takanuva accepts and proceeds to wipe the floor with him. During their fight, they fall into another conveniently-placed pool of energized protodermis and become merged, forming a new being called ‘Takutanuva’. Takutanuva doesn’t stick around very long, because he’s this weird contradictory being of both light and shadow, but before he fractures he opens a gate underneath Mata Nui and lets the Toa, the Turaga, and some named Matoran get through. Inside, they find a hidden city - a whole other world.

Takutanuva then manages to use his powers to hack the universe and bring Jaller back to life. Hooray! After that, he dies, and Takanuva is back. Makuta is nowhere to be found. [eyes emoji]

So now the Toa, the old Turaga, and a couple of Matoran are inside this whole new location, and they’re all wondering what the heck is going on. Well, not all of them are wondering. Vakama, the head Turaga, steps forward and admits that actually, the six (seven) Toa heros that we’ve come to know and love... aren’t actually the first Toa. Gasp!

The next two years of sets and story are essentially one giant flashback, as Vakama tells the current heroes about adventures past. It turns out that the hidden city they’ve found is called Metru Nui, and once upon a time, Vakama and the other Turaga were Toa themselves, fighting to keep the city and the matoran safe.

(New (old) Toa! The flying green one is Matau, who was a stunt-driving excitable madman, and then on the ground from left to right we have Whenua (nerdy chronicler), Nokama (schoolteacher-turned-superhero), Vakama (anxiety-ridden leader), Nuju (absent-minded stargazer), and Onewa (racist prick who needs (and gets) a character arc). To differentiate themselves from the Toa that we’ve come to know and love, these Toa are the Toa Metru)

They had a bunch of adventures of their own. They fought the Vahki (capture robots upholding an authoritarian police state) and the Morbuzakh (evil sentient vines), and they also had ‘arch enemies’ in the form of the Dark Hunters, who were mercenaries that hunted Toa.

Also, that story about Makuta putting Mata Nui to sleep? Not a story so much as a history lesson! Ultimately, the reason that the city of Metru Nui was abandoned was because Mata Nui WAS awake, watching over them all, but then Makuta forced him into slumber and essentially caused a cataclysm. The Matoran were rounded up and forced to sleep as well, and the Toa Metru had to flee the city. When they came back, it had been overrun with Visorak (basically giant spiders), and they had to fight hard to defeat the horde and its leaders and escape with all of the sleeping Matoran.

Once they left Metru Nui (and arrived on the island that would become Mata Nui), the Toa Metru sacrificed their powers to wake up all the Matoran - which is how they transformed into the wise old Turaga. Also, the Matoran woke up with no memories, which is how they’d never known about Metru Nui up until this point.

Anyways, after exploring Metru Nui and making plans to move back in, everyone does some digging around and discover something about Mata Nui: his spirit is fading. Whatever Makuta did to him, it not only put him to sleep, but it’s also slowly killing him. After presumably having an existential crisis, the gang come up with a solution: there’s another legendary mask, the Mask of Life, that should be able to resuscitate Mata Nui, or at the very least, keep him from kicking the bucket while he’s sleeping.

(The Mask of Life! If you look closely, you can see that the faceplate is shaped like a humanoid figure (because, yaknow, life) and if you think that’s not the tightest shit ever you can get out of my face)

So, the modern-day Toa (the Toa Nuva, if you guys remember the name) are like ‘okay, give us the location of the mask, we’ll go and find it’. So they get sent to another island, this one called Voya Nui, and they arrive and... get their asses handed to them? What?

A quick backtrack: a gang of thugs called the Piraka had already arrived on Voya Nui in search of the Mask of Life, wanting it so they can use its power to blackmail powerful organisations and generally get ahead in the criminal world. (From a Meta perspective, they’re,,, really interesting. Up until this point, the villains in Bionicle had either been wild animals, or villains with grand overarching plans. These guys are basically overpowered street thugs, complete with their own theme song - the ‘Piraka Rap’. Look it up on YouTube; it’s fucking hilarious, because the rest of Bionicle is generally timeless, but the Piraka Rap was basically dated as soon as it came out. I love it.)

(The Piraka themselves! Fun fact; in Bionicle lore, ‘Piraka’ is a slang term for ‘thief’ and ‘murderer’, and was also considered so vulgar that if a Matoran called another Matoran ‘Piraka’, war would be declared over it. These guys are really just going around calling themselves slurs. I have to respect that.)

So, yeah. The Piraka defeat and imprison the Toa Nuva when they get to the island. Now what?

Well, now it’s time for the Matoran to get involved! A group of named and previously-established Matoran set out to see if they can rescue the Toa. There’s Jaller, Hahli, and Matoro, who I’ve already mentioned, and then there’s Kongu, Nuparu, and Hewkii. And I need to take a break to say that all these characters have been with the story since 2001 (it’s now 2006), and they’ve all contributed to the plot before!! Kongu is a prominent Matoran from the air village who led a flight of giant bird-riders to save the day one time, and Nuparu is an engineer from the earth village who basically invented mechs to help the Matoran defend themselves against the Bohrok. These guys are BADASSES and I want to bring up how a really strong initial 3 years of storytelling laid a great foundation for so many small characters. It’s just neat! :D

Anyways, these Matoran travel to the island of Voya Nui in canisters (like how the original Toa landed on Mata Nui) and while they’re sailing the ocean blue, their canisters are struck by lighting from the mysterious Red Star. And that lighting, say it with me now, TRANSFORMS them! Specifically it transforms them into Toa. They end up calling themselves the Toa Inika, because they’re searching for the mask of life, which is also called the ‘Ignika’.

(The Toa Inika. Being transformed by a bolt of lighting means that in addition to their regular elemental powers, they also have electric/lighting abilities.)

Souped-up and ready for action, the Toa Inika manage to defeat the Piraka and rescue the Toa Nuva. However, through plot shenanagins, the Mask of Life ends up being sent to the bottom of the ocean around Voya Nui, and the Toa Inika learn that under the waves is a hidden city - Mahri Nui. As they descend, the Mask of Life does something odd; it sends out a wave of energy, transforming the Toa Inika so that they can breath underwater. So now, they’re the Toa Mahri. (Because they’re headed to Mahri Nui. You get me?)

Mahri Nui is ruled by the Barraki - ancient warlords who were imprisoned under the sea many thousands of years ago after they became powerful enough to threaten Mata Nui himself. They were put in a prison called The Pit, but during the cataclysm caused by Makuta putting Mata Nui to sleep, the city of Mahri Nui sunk into the water and slammed into the Pit. Many prisoners and Matoran died, but the Barraki were freed. Uh-oh, spaghetti-ohs.

Speaking of Makuta - guess who’s back! Thought dead after no-one could find him after Takutanuva died, it turns out that his spirit is possessing a robot body that had previously been a prison guard. He spends some time hanging out with one of the Toa Mahri, Matoro, basically playing mind games with him and trying to get him to turn to the dark side. Eventually, three different characters and factions smack the shit out of him, and he slips out of the robot body to go do... something else (watch this space). 

This year of story was REALLY plot-heavy and I kinda can’t do it justice here. The important developments are that the Toa Mahri eventually manage to reclaim the Mask of Life, and Matoro yoinks it. While his teammates act as a big distraction, he swims away and puts on the mask. It basically grants him ultimate power, but it also fuckin’ kills him. His final acts are to teleport his friends to safety, and then release a massive burst of energy that burns him up and saves Mata Nui’s life. The Mask of Life, with no-one left to wear it, sinks into the ocean.

(“In his last moments, Matoro feels no fear. He know he has succeeded--the Toa Mahri are safe, able to resume their lives in Metru Nui. The Turaga and Matoran will know that they became true heroes. Matoro does not see himself as a hero. As a Matoran, a Toa Inika, and a Toa Mahri, all he ever tried to do was his duty. Now that duty has led him to his destiny.”- Bionicle Ignition 11: Death of a Hero)

[dries tears] Anyways, now that Mata Nui’s life has been saved, the only thing left to do is wake him back up. To do that, the Toa Nuva (the Toa that showed up at the very beginning of this story, if you recall) need to journey to the core of the universe, and a civilisation called Karda Nui. Three of the Toa Nuva - Lewa, Pohatu, and Kopaka - are sent to a village in the clouds, where they protect the local matoran and battle the forces of Makuta. Because, as it turns out, the big bad Makuta that we know? Makuta is actually the name of his species. The guy just wanted to feel special, apparently. The Makuta that the Toa have been fighting for over half a decade is technically called Makuta Teridax (or just Teridax), while the other Makuta have other names that I can’t remember off the top of my head.

Anyways, while those three Toa are figuring that out, the other three - Tahu, Gali, and Onua - journey to a place called the Swamp of Secrets in order to find a set of keystones that supposedly contain instructions on how to awaken Mata Nui. And it’s there that they find an unlikely ally: the Mask of Life itself.

See, the Mask of Life has always been a weird one - if you recall, it released an energy pulse for no reason that transformed the Toa Mahri and let them breath underwater. (It’s also done some other fucky stuff that I haven’t been able to mention - there’s a short story about how one time, a guy touched it, and it gave him the ability to involuntarily bring everything around him to life, which ultimately drove him mad. So. You know. That’s fun.) Well, it turns out that when the mask sank into the ocean after Matoro’s death, it ultimately ended up in the swamps of Karda Nui, and it senses the battles raging about it. More than that, but it remembers Matoro’s bravery as he donned the mask knowing it would kill him, and remembers how his final wish was to save his friends. Wanting to know what it means to be a hero, the Mask of Life creates a body for itself, and ventures out into the swamp to discover its destiny.

(The Mask of Life has a body now!! Good for him! Good for him.)

There’s some more shenanigans that I’m skipping over - at one point, Takanuva (Toa of light, remember him?) rocks up to help. Long story short, our eight heroes - Tahu, Gali, Onua, Lewa, Kopaka, Pohatu, Takanuva, and the Mask of Life - fight their way through the Makuta and into the very core of the universe - the Codrex. Inside, after yet more shenanigans, the Mask of Life figures that in order to wake Mata Nui up, it will have to sacrifice the body it’s built for itself. The moment is sad, but the mask remembers Matoro’s sacrifice, and is inspired to act. He sacrifices his dreams of becoming a hero, and in doing so, becomes a hero... ;_;

The mask flies deep into the Codrex, its body dissolving; when it reaches the bottom, it creates a massive energy storm that the other characters have to escape. (Our heroes make it out - most of the villains end up getting vaporized, big RIP.)

And just like that, the journey is over. After years of battle, the Toa Nuva have completed their purpose, and awakened the great spirit, thus bringing peace back to the land. Everyone meets back up in Metru Nui - the Toa Nuva, the Toa Mahri, the Turaga, the remaining Matoran. It’s a glorious day. And as they gather, something happens.

Deep, deep beneath the ocean, energy pulses through rock, and machines that have been dormant for millennia begin to whirr and move. The island of Mata Nui - long abandoned as the Matoran moved back down into Metru Nui - cracks open like a wallnut, each half sliding into the sea. From underneath where the island had been, a tremendous head rises out of the ocean, countless galleons of water pouring off of it. Titanic shoulders follow. Then the chest, and the limbs, and slowly, surely, Mata Nui rises.

Meta context: for years, the nature of Mata Nui has been a mystery. Is he a metaphysical being? Is he a real person? No-one was sure... but they know now. That solid material that the earth Matoran couldn’t mine through, all the way back in 2001? That was his skin. The mysterious red star that created the Toa Inika? That was a failsafe machine orbiting Mata Nui, poised to create new Toa as necessary. The island of Mata Nui was atop his head, Metru Nui was his brain, Karda Nui was deep in his guts. The Matoran were workers to keep him functioning, the Toa were basically his immune system (the canisters they arrive in are literally shaped like pills)... All this time, all these stories, all these characters, this entire world - they have all been inside a robot the size of continents.

(Fucking hell. Look at this. The clouds come up to his ankles.)

Celebrations ripple through Metru Nui as everyone realises what has happened. The great spirit is awake again! The Toa have won! But as the Turaga raise their voices to try and congratulate the Toa, a chill spreads over the spectators as the air grows cold. Everyone stops and looks around. What’s happening now? And then, from everywhere and nowhere, a voice rumbles. It’s a familiar voice. An unwelcome voice. A voice that most of the gathered heroes thought they’d never hear again.

It’s the voice of Makuta - the original Makuta. Makuta Teridax.

And what does he say?

“I AM EVERYWHERE. I AM EVERYTHING YOU SEE.”

Matoro’s sacrifice had ensured that Mata Nui’s body did not die, but before the great spirit’s consciousness could return, Makuta supplanted it with his own. After that, all he had to do was wait for the Toa Nuva to achieve their objective. And as they finished the fight and won the day, they handed victory to him on a silver platter. No longer does he need to strive to rule the universe - he is the universe.

(Meta perspective again but like: FUCK, man. I can’t emphasise enough how mind-breaking this was for the kids who were invested in the series. Think Thanos snapping his fingers in Infinity War, except probably more devastating, because there wasn’t a direct sequel lined up to give the heroes another chance, and there wasn’t a way to ‘undo’ it. This was a plot development that we all had to live with T_T)

(You can tell things are bad because his eyes changed from green to red.)

And what of Mata Nui? What about the spirit that the Toa were actually trying to wake up?

Oh, Makuta stuffed Mata Nui’s consciousness into the Mask of Life - and then blasted the Mask into space.

[inhales deeply]

man...

Okay, in all honesty, part of me wanted to end it there. But you know what? We’ve come this far. And there is more to the story. So I’m going to ignore my concern I won’t be able to do it justice and blunder on.

 Bionicle’s last chapter (2009-2010) follows Mata Nui himself - no longer an abstract spiritual concept, but rather a concrete character. A god felled from his pedestal, struggling to find a way to save his people. And it’s AWESOME. Armed with only the Mask of Life and a sentient shield named Click, he wanders the shithole deserts of the planet he crash-lands on, bringing the disparate tribes together, uncovering secrets about who made him and what his ultimate purpose is, and learning what it means to be a regular person. Also, at one point, in a move very reminiscent of the god that he once was, he turns a guy into a snake. You know. As a ‘fuck you’.

(There’s something really cool to me about a main character being someone who essentially lost all the power of the cosmos. Mata Nui might just be my fave character in this whole story honestly.)

Eventually, Mata Nui discovers some crucial pieces of information. Firstly: the planet that he’s landed on, Bara Magna, is his ‘homeworld’ in that it’s where his giant god body was built. Secondly: the two moons orbiting Bara Magna (the jungle moon of Bota Magna and the ocean moon of Aqua Magna) were once part of the planet itself, and split off during a planet-destroying cataclysm, leaving behind a desert wasteland in their wake. Third: the function he was ultimately built for (his ‘destiny’) was to reunite the three celestial bodies into one planet, bringing life back to Bara Magna’s harsh desert environments. He was on his way to complete this task when Makuta crashed his systems with a computer virus - which was what forced him into the ‘slumber’ that he was in for most of the mainline story.

His fourth, and probably most important discovery, is that he’s essentially his makers’ second attempt at a world-fixing giant robot. Before creating him, his makers (the ‘Great Builders’) constructed a giant robot that malfunctioned and exploded. Long-deactivated, the pieces of it are still scattered through the deserts of Bara Magna - in fact, many of the villages on the planet are set up in or around these giant robot pieces. Mata Nui figures that if he can reconstruct this old robot, he can use it to complete his destiny, and maybe even save his people.

It isn’t easy. He has to convince the villagers he’s come to befriend (the Agori) to give up their homes and their safety, and he has to find an experimental power source that’ll actually get the giant metal body moving again. But eventually, he figures it all out. Powered by the experimental source, the Mask of Life, and probably also friendship, he inhabits this enormous form and rises once again. Without missing a beat, he reaches out and begins to pull the moons towards the main planet. As far as he’s concerned, he’s going to fix everything, or die trying.

(The power of skybeams)

However, it won’t be that simple. Makuta senses that Mata Nui’s spirit has inhabited a new form (and I don’t mean that in a metaphysical way, I mean that in a computer/technology way), and he quickly jets over to Bara Magna. Obviously, flinging the fucker into space wasn’t good enough. It’s time for him to destroy Mata Nui, mano y mano. Giant robot y giant robot.

(Makuta and Mata Nui, facing off. God I love this picture.)

It’s the final battle - for real this time. The two giant robots begin to punch each other, and Mata Nui is up against some obvious disadvantages. For one thing, he can’t risk attacking Makuta with all his might, because he doesn’t want to hurt his people, who are still inside the giant robot. (Inside, they’re fairing... poorly. It’s like facism, but if facism was being actively enforced by God.)

In the fight, a hole gets blasted in Makuta’s body, and out pour a whole LOAD of Rahkshi. (Remember those guys?) However, Tahu and Takanuva also manage to escape, and join a ground battle that’s breaking out between the Agori (and their protectors, the Glatorians), the Skrall (a tribe of warriors native to Bara Magna who are absolute dicks - I’ve had to gloss over them, unfortunately, but believe me when I say that they’ve been major antagonists for as long as the narrative has focused on Bara Magna), and a bunch of guys who are called ‘Piraka’ but aren’t the gang of thugs from Voya Nui. (I think they’re the same... species?) Long story short: large-scale shitfight is happening at the feet of the two robots that are slugging it out. Makuta, being a dick, decides to try and literally stamp on all of Mata Nui’s friends down below, and Mata Nui has to desperately hold him off.

Around this point, the Mask of Life (which is really the MVP of this whole story) uses its convenient energy bursts to imbue Tahu with a set of golden armour that allows him to release energy blasts of its own. (Why it singles out Tahu, I’m not sure, but I’m presuming it’s because Tahu was the first face of the series and it just makes thematic sense for him to be a major player in the final battle.) Tahu uses his new golden armour to disintegrate ALL of the Rahkshi - and there were a lot of them on the field of battle, let me assure you. Makuta feels the loss of so many creations at once, and falters, and Mata Nui seizes his chance. He’d done his work well before Makuta had arrived, and the jungle moon is now in low orbit above the planet. Pouring every last ounce of his strength into one more push, he surges forward and up, pushing Makuta up and making sure that his head is right in the path of the falling planet.

Crunch.

(Kudos to Makuta Teridax for being such a persistent antagonist that the only way to get rid of him for good was to drop an entire damn planet on his head.)

Mata Nui guides the falling body carefully to the ground, letting it open and freeing his people. The remaining Skrall and Piraka surrender. The Matoran and Toa meet and mingle with the Agori and Glatorian. Mata Nui raises his hands, and completes his purpose; aided one last time by the Mask of Life, as well as his body’s innate systems, he enacts a synthesis on the now-united celestial bodies. Lush forests and large bodies of water appear in the desert. Life flourishes. Birds probably start to sing. Mata Nui has completed his purpose, and vindicated all of the heroes who fought for him for so long.

He feels himself fading. He lets his spirit withdraw into the Mask of Life. A new slumber - this one, earned, and of his own volition.

Perhaps one day, he will return.

(“We will honour Mata Nui, and all those who fought for him, in our memories. But the time has come to move on. His destiny is fulfilled, and for many of us, it has yet to be written. My friends, it is time to go.”- Tahu, The Mata Nui Saga, chapter 34.)

And there we go! Very, VERY long, but that’s the general plot of bionicle. There are an absolute tone of details I’ve missed out or skipped over, and I encourage you to search them out for yourself if you’re interested. But them’s the basics! :D

[nil-elk]

Tagged by @wickedica​, thank you hun! ♥ Uhhh, dunno who to tag, because I’m mad late on this lmao. This is a Modern AU spin on Rahi. Might do one for Lun as well.

GENERAL

Name: Rahi Aelius   Alias(es): Scars, Hunter, Vamp Killer Gender: Non-binary Age: 30 years old Place of Birth: Bronx, NY Spoken languages: English, Arabic Sexual orientation: Pansexual Occupation: Bouncer, Military Veteran, Vampire Hunter

APPEARANCE

Eye color: Amber Hair color: Brown Height: 5’11/180cm Scars: Soooo many. The most prominent are on their upper back, abdomen, left forearm, and right cheek across the bridge of their nose. Overweight: No Underweight: No

FAVORITE

Color: Blue, black, gray. Colors that aren’t saturated, essentially. Heavily dislikes red. Music genre: R&B, trip-hop, lo-fi hip-hop, electronica, rock. TV show: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, crime dramas, horror. Food: Anything spicy. Has a sweet tooth sometimes. Drink: Coffee, loose-leaf tea. Book: Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

HAVE THEY…

Passed university: Yes Had sex: Yes Had sex in public: Yes Gotten pregnant: No Kissed a boy: Yes Kissed a girl: Yes Gotten tattoos: A large piece on their upper back to cover the scars there. They also plan to cover the scar on their left forearm. Had a broken heart: Yes Been in love: Yes Stayed up for longer than 24 hours: Oh, big time.

ARE THEY…

A virgin: No A cuddler: Yes, but not when asleep. A kisser: A very, very good kisser. Scared easily: They have PTSD so…depends. Loud noises, fireworks, etc. Jealous easily: No Trustworthy: Yes, but they doubt themselves about that a lot. Dominant: Very. Submissive: Enjoys being restrained sometimes. In love: It’s complicated, but eventually. Single: They were engaged while in the military, but…well… They’ve had several non-serious partners since.

RANDOM QUESTIONS

Have they harmed themselves: Yes Thought of suicide: Yes Attempted suicide: Yes Wanted to kill someone: Their commanding officer. Rode a horse: Yes, actually. Have / had a job: They work as security usually, currently a bouncer at a club in Greenwich Village. Hunt wayward vampires in their spare time. Have any fears: Of making attachments, falling in love.

FAMILY

Sibling(s): Two older brothers, one younger sister. Parents: They’re estranged from their parents, but they sometimes speak to their mother. Children: No. They were going to adopt after getting married, but… Pets: A black cat named Amber.