#should i do the toa nuva next because there is a part of me that wants to

[takuas-eyebrows]

reader x toa metru headcanons because I can

also some hcs are slightly nsfw so beware. ooOOOOOoooOOOOO ghost noises as i disappear into the abyss

Nuju: Shy about initiating PDA, but won't refuse it, so hold his hand or whatever. He's generally not easy to fluster, but makes an exception for you. He smells like spearmint and lavender. Likes to organize things, often suggests dates to observatories, planetariums, or areas with low light pollution to do a little stargazing. Down to try new things if you can convince him. Level-headed, a little snarky, shows affection through touch & acts of service rather than words; prefers to receive affection through acts of service. Knows all your favorite movies and snacks. A bit of a control freak, needs to be reminded that the two of you are a team every so often. Time spent with him makes you feel calm and refreshed. If he's coming up behind you, he'll let you know by gently touching your shoulder or back. Down to try anything in bed at least once and is surprisingly kinky, but gets easily flustered if he's not in control. Surprisingly incredible stamina.

Vakama: Extremely easy to fluster. Shy about PDA in public, but extremely cuddly in private, loves holding you & being held by you. He smells like leather and sandalwood. Likes art museums, art fairs, and other art-related activities as dates; gets very into the details of whatever craft he's investigating, so he'll spend ten minutes looking at chisel angles in a sculpture or asking an art fair vendor about their materials. Also enjoys stories, so take him to a play or book reading. Completely unaware of how attractive he is. Shows affection through quality time and acts of service; prefers to receive affection through touch and needs to be acclimated to acts of service & words of affirmation. Good at managing personal finances. If he's coming up behind you, he'll smush his face into your back like a cat. Can be convinced to take charge in bed, but needs a lot of affirmation. Excellent kisser.

Matau: PDA all over the place, must be touching you in at least two places at ALL TIMES, his hand is somehow always in the back pocket of your jeans. Even clingier in private. He smells like fresh laundry and cloves. Flirty, great eye contact, sometimes needs to be reminded to talk about his issues rather than joke them away. Very funny, great sense of humor, easygoing, always makes you laugh. Literally down for ANYTHING when it comes to dates: a scenic ride on his fancy motorbike, dancing, ziplining, trespassing, trying new things, etc. Also loves a good concert. Shows and prefers to receive affection through quality time & words of affirmation. If he's coming up behind you, he'll slide his arms around your waist and plant his chin on your shoulder. Extremely adventurous & eager in bed, often takes charge but is open to the reverse. Gives oral & takes it up the ass like a fucking champ.

Nokama: A comfortable, casual, acceptable level of PDA. Likes to hold hands when out and about. Makes a lot of eye contact, good at flustering you. She smells like pine and mountain air. Has a smile and laugh that make you melt, great sense of humor, witty. Great communicator. Open to anything when it comes to dates within reason; loves trying new things, going to new places, etc. Loves science museums, archaeology museums, and aquariums the most, but also down for peaceful nights in or a coffee shop work date. If she's coming up behind you, she'll drape an arm around your waist and lean into you. Shows affection through quality time and words of affirmation, prefers to receive affection through affirmation or acts of service. Communication skills are also applied in bed, sex with her feels like a conversation but also will take charge if asked. You may have called her "mommy" in a sexy way on multiple occasions.

Whenua: Extremely chill about PDA, do whatever you want to him. Proud and protective, so he likes to have an arm around your shoulder or a hand on your thigh whenever you're seated together. Normally a bit grouchy, he softens up considerably when he's with you. Straightforward communicator, can be a little blunt. He smells like spiced coffee. Gives the most incredible massages. You love his big, jolly, infectous belly-laugh. Big on museums, aquariums, and zoos when it comes to dates. Also loves window shopping, because stores are just museums where you can buy things. Also likes a good bar trivia night, but he can get a little competitive at these. Goes to therapy for work hazard trauma management. Shows and receives affection through words of affirmation, touch, and gifts. If he's coming up behind you, he'll place his whole hand on your upper back and rub gently. Prefers to follow your lead in bed, down to try anything you ask for. Calls you pet names in bed.

Onewa: Not big on PDA, but fine with subtle stuff like holding hands in public or putting a hand on your thigh when seated together. A lot more touchy in private. Brash and snarky, will rib you good-naturedly but needs to be aware of when it's taken too far. Straightforward and blunt communicator; thinks miscommunication is a waste of time and would prefer it if you just talked to him about any issues. Surprisingly mature about criticism, a good team player and partner but expects you to be the same. Dates involve sports games, art-related events, and rock climbing. Shows and receives affection through acts of service and gifts. If he's coming up behind you and you're in private, he'll just grab your ass, honk. Prefers to take the lead in bed, pretty kinky and enjoys talking shop about kinks, no kinkshaming only kink-same-ing here. Lays pipe like a fucking champ.

anyway thank you for listening

[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

[mocsbylexan]

The Toa Magna (And Friends)

“I know it’s a crazy idea. To think that if we have the nerve to just step up and do it, we can conquer evil and save the world. To think that a handful of people can be the crucial factor that makes all the difference, when everything seems so hopeless. But the even crazier thing is it works. You of all people should know that. You said your name was Balta, right? And your friend sulking in the corner over there is Dalu. I know about you two. Toa Kongu told me. You’re already heroes; you and your friends beat the odds and saved the world when you were just matoran. And now you’re toa! Think of what we could accomplish if we all worked together. The Makuta Nuva will never know what hit him!” - Pyla, Glatorian of New Tesara and Leader of the Toa Magna

“What is a toa team? That question was once easy to answer, back before the Great Rejoining. But now I’m not so sure. Things are more complicated. Like those Glatorian that have elemental powers. They claim Mata Nui himself called them toa. Are they a toa team? We call them the Toa Glatoria, but ask someone if they’re actually toa and you’re bound to start an argument. Does a toa team have to be all toa? What about the glatorian and agori? And the matoran... there are thousands of admirable matoran warriors who have always been a crucial part of our society despite going unnoticed and unthanked. Just look at Kapura and the Ta-Koro Guard. Since the rejoining I have even seen warriors of Stelt and Zakaz, peoples that used to disgust me, fight passionately and honorably to protect the law, culture, and freedom of our new world. Dare we call them toa? I think that one day soon there will be a toa team that will redefine the meaning of that term. One that will make us truly consider what being a Toa entails at its very core, apart from the body and the powers. A toa team for the new world, for all the people of the new world, or at least a start to getting there. And when that team appears, I will name them the Toa Magna.” - Turaga Dume’s secret journal

***

Things were rapidly going wrong in Bara Magna. Makuta Onezu Nuva’s grip over the southeast was growing ever wider and stronger, and even the desperate emergency plan put into motion by Turaga Pohatu had somehow gone awry. Tanma had not arrived at Faxon Koro as planned. Rahaga Kafes was distraught.

But perhaps destiny was still on the side of light. In this darkest of hours, fate had gathered in and around Faxon Koro a small group of beings: some weary, disillusioned veteran heroes; some driven and reckless youngsters; many, in some strange way, both at the same time. All of them more powerful than anyone suspected, least of all themselves. All of them unsettled at what was happening to their people. All of them lost and unsure of what to do... except, perhaps, the young Glatorian from New Tesara. She had a fire inside her. She could unite them.

With her help, Kafes organized one last stand. They created a team. An unlikely crew to be sure, but one that somehow gave Kafes more reassurance than she had had in years. It was a sign. Mata Nui was with them. The team’s mission? Find out what happened to the Toa Avohkii. Bring them back. And strike at Onezu when and where he would never expect it.

As they set off on their journey, not even the most optimistic among them understand how crucial they will be in the days ahead. Or how deep the bonds they forge with each other will be. Now, they are simply a group of people looking to help. But they will go down in legend as the first true toa team of the new age. The Toa Magna.

Team Roster (*honorary toa magna and member of the reformed VNRT)

Pyla of the Jungle Tribe - team leader, warrior, and morale booster

Balta, Toa of Fire - deputy leader and warrior

*Garan - deputy leader and strategist

*Kazi - strategist

Irex, Toa Hordika of Air - scout and air support

*Piruk - scout, warrior, and spy

Dalu, Toa of Water - primary offensive warrior

Gyraci - primary defensive warrior and combat expert

Buruka - mascot, pet, and annoyance

***

THEY’RE HERE! MY INCREDIBLY SELF-INDULGENT TOA TEAM!

*confetti*

Once again, I shove in all of the voyatoran just because I can. In all seriousness though, I really did want to include Garan, Kazi, and Piruk in the story, and Buruka’s just fun to throw in there too, but really the core toa team here is the toa and glatorian. Also, fun fact, this whole project (by which I mean both the ROO story and the blog) was basically all started when I came up with the character concept for Gyraci of all people. The whole story and all the characters I built (original or not) grew out of thinking about who he would be and how he would interact with people. Not that he’s, like, the star of the show or anything (if I had to choose a protagonist for ROO at this point it would be either Dalu or Tanma), but I did just want to acknowledge that he was the catalyst for everything I’ve done with this story and this blog.

And with that... this concludes all of the MOCs I was planning to post related to this weird little story I’ve been doing. I don’t really know if this is end of ROO content on this blog or not... I’d like to come back to it and maybe actually WRITE SOMETHING at some point, and maybe someday I’ll come up with more ideas for characters to build and add to it. But at this point in time I’ve gone through all of the character ideas I had, and I have other original MOCing content I wanna post for a while.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s followed me since I started posting.  I’ll make an update post probably sometime in the middle of this next week about what’s next for the blog. Hope to see you guys there!

[terra-magna-verse]

BIONICLE: Underground - Chapter 3

((Guys I’m incredibly sorry for the wait, I was out of “writing idea juice” and kept stalling by doing other projects. Underground is finally back!))

Conua did not move, he stood still, mouth agape at the tall figure standing before him.

“We’re here for a Toa of Earth, we’re in need of one. Is he present in your facility?” the figure at the door finally said.

“Kneekapu!” Conua called without a single turn of his head.

Kneekapu woke up with the sound of his younger roommate. Groaning and rolling his eyes in dismay, he sluggishly made his way to the main room.

The Toa of Earth stretched, “Did the sun rise yet? What is i-”

The slender Toa’s inquiry was cut off by the one good look he gave the Toa of Fire standing at his front porch. He couldn’t believe his eyes, was that who he thought it was? Was that the leader of his most admired Toa Team he would never shut up about? Was he dreaming, still? Only one way to find out.

He approached the doorway to get a better look. In doing so, his eyes had not only met the Toa of Fire, but an entire team behind him all smiling with pride and with an overall welcoming demeanor.

“Toa Ahiti...” Kneekapu finally managed to let out in a large exhale.

“Yes. Believe what you see, kid.” the addressed Toa of Fire assured, “We need to discuss your mission in our headquarters.”

“M-My mission?” the rogue stammered.

“Yep.” Ahiti placed his large hand on Kneekapu’s shoulder, “We’ll tell you all about your place in our team.”

“Wait!” a voice called out. Kneekapu and Ahiti both turned to the voice, it was Conua.

“Can I come with you? I wanna see!”

“No.” Kneekapu demanded.

“Why not? I won’t tell anyone!” Conua begged, “I wanna see what Toa teams do-”

“You have to watch Dombo.”

Conua got closer to the two Toa, “He’ll be fine on his own, he’s asleep anyway!”

“Ahhh....” Kneekapu made an incoherent noise in indecision, not knowing if this was right.

“I think he should come along,” Ahiti began, “The Matoran could use a bit of knowledge on Toa life. Who knows, it could probably come in handy some day.”

Kneekapu sighed, “Alright, alright. You can come, but close the door on the way out. We can’t have Dombo run off again.”

Ahiti made a gesture with his head to his team, ushering them to get moving to their headquarters. Conua remembered to close the door behind him as he and the Toa headed out.

The Toa travelled by foot to the headquarters. ‘Not really how I imagined we’d get to the headquarters.’ Kneekapu thought. Said Toa of Earth staying far back in the group, head hanging low in thought.

‘Why do they want me?’ Kneekapu pondered, ‘Is it not known how much of a screw-up I am? No Toa team I’d know would ever allow a troublemaker like myself to join them.’

The next thing he knew, they’d already made it to the headquarters. It wasn’t very big, nor was it very visible. ‘Very discreet,’ Kneekapu thought, ‘Very clever way to hide from enemies and commoners.’

The twin doors at the front of the building slid apart after a sensor next to it scanned Ahiti’s hand shape and element controlled within said body part, as both features of this Toa were distinct.

Kneekapu and Conua were agape at their surroundings as they entered. Unique weapons designated for each Toa, emblems of each respective element jutting from the walls, and even technology neither Kneekapu nor Conua have ever seen before powering the very headquarters. ‘Why hide all this?’ Kneekapu thought, ‘Some cities in Archoko could really use stuff like this, they’re missing out!’

Conua tilted his head at the emblems, noticing a strange pattern to them. A green beetle, a red dragonfly, blue butterfly, brown scorpion, a white moth, black spider?

“Hey, um...” Conua turned his head to the Toa, “What are the bug symbols for?”

“Something Kandoa came up with for the team,” Ahiti replied, referring to his Plantlife-elemental team member. “He loves bugs so much that he gave us all nicknames, so we just made it kinda our thing.” Kandoa nodded energetically in agreement and gave a two-thumbs-up.

“Oh, good. I was under the impression there was some element that makes you shoot spiders out of your hand.” Conua shuddered a bit at the thought, feeling itchy.

Ahiti frowned, he had just remembered the Spider emblem was there thanks to Conua reminding him. Spider was Zeyo’s respective nickname, and Zeyo had been long gone. He shook the feeling off and proceeded to tell Kneekapu his mission.

“Kneekapu, you might know of the tragic disappearance and presumed death of your respective Toa, Zeyo. Without the element of Earth, our team is incomplete, and nowhere near strong as we used to be.”

Kneekapu listened to every word intently, nodding firmly as he awaited his hero’s words.

“Because you are the only living Toa of Earth of Archoko, I’m appointing you.” he put his large hand on Kneekapu’s slender shoulder. “Do you, Toa Kneekapu, accept our offer of ranking you a true member of our team?”

The young Toa of Earth’s face lit up, eyes wide and mouth agape. His heroes, let alone the leader of his heroes, appointed him of all Toa. Kneekapu admired Ahiti’s Toa team ever since he was a Matoran, always wanting his existence to be acknowledged by them but was always just out of reach of them because of their quick disappearances. But now, they stood before him, their undivided attention towards him.

After a moment of thought, Kneekapu confirmed. “I accept, Toa Ahiti.”

The Toa of Fire smirked, “Welcome to the team, Spider.”

After Kneekapu and Ahiti bumped fists which gave a loud clank as their hand armor collided, the remaining Toa cheered and clapped at the initiation. Conua did not cheer, his hands on his hips.

“Hey,” Conua called, “If Kneekapu gets a cool nickname, can I have one? I promise I’ll work for you if I get a name, I’ll be the first Matoran to be part of a Toa team!”

Ahiti sighed, maybe they could use a little help from the Matoran. But what would an elementless Matoran do? Keep citizens calm? Sweep up and polish the headquarters? Whatever, he’ll find a use for him, he seems willing.

“Ah, yeah, kid. You could be, uhhh...” the Toa of Fire examined Conua’s small and slender figure, “...Ant.”

Conua slumped at Ahiti’s name choice, “Aw...”

“So it’s settled,” Ahiti announced in a proud voice, “we have a new Toa of Earth and it shall stay that way for however long we exist.”

The remaining Toa cheered again, welcoming Kneekapu and bumping fists with him one by one. One fist-bump felt unique, he felt the soft touch of the Toa of Water’s hand. He looked up to see her divine Kanohi Kaukau Nuva.

“Welcome to the team, Spider.” the Toa of Water named Kaliha cooed softly.

“H-Hahah, hi.” Kneekapu lightly chuckled nervously.

Kaliha walked away to follow her team out of the headquarters, a graceful stride as she made her way next to Ahiti, as she was his deputy.

Kneekapu stared, feeling he could watch her all day. He shook the feeling off as he remembered he had to go home. After all, he and Conua had a certain dog waiting at home who is probably tearing the house down in anxiety right now.

On their way out the door, Kandoa placed a hand on Conua’s shoulder, speaking privately to the Matoran in his ever-jubilant voice, “I’d say the name fits, you may be small, but you are stronger than you appear.”

Conua looked up at the Toa of Plantlife, feeling reassured. Yeah, he could prove just how useful he is! Maybe he can fit through small spaces for them, perhaps sneak past Makuta guards! That’ll do it!

The two followed the remaining Toa out the door to where Kneekapu and Conua resided, the pink sky signifying dawn just reaching over the hills.