#zamor sphere

[toacody]

Toa Jovan

His appearance belies his magnetic personality.

Source

Creator: Eli-J-Brony

[nynrahghost]

I love washing the water themed sets when I get them it's stimulating for them I think

[girlballs]

Most fuckable bionicle launcher?

can't go wrong with the classic single-shot zamor sphere launcher. love those thangs

you could probably injure a human person in real life with a zamor sphere which i don't think can be said about any other bionicle launcher

edit: wait i'm misremembering, i had some other collectible as a kid that had the exact same sized sphere but they were like. massively heavier than the actual zamor spheres that bionicles had

[sepublic]

So remember that Zamor sphere pack that came with (at the time) exclusive gold, silver, and gunmetal colors? Since this is Bionicle, there’s actual lore for these exclusive Zamors and the powers they possess! Gunmetal causes a target to be tracked via an energy pulse they give off, and silver binds the target to the nearest living being with an energy chain (Interesting how they’re both centered around capturing people)! These powers were listed only in the Bionicle Encyclopedia and have no known canon usage/wielders. By contrast, we did see an instance of a golden Zamor in the story; The one used by Hewkii to transfer Brutaka’s power back from Hakann and Thok. So Greg applied that to these golden Zamors as well by making them the same type.

Unfortunately, there’s no lore for the blue-green Sea Squids exclusive to this pack they were sold in; I guess the species just comes in different colors the same way animals do? I remember actually adapting this difference into my Bionicle RaE fanon for G2, explaining the color comes from absorbing a specific type of energy that they can now use, kinda like the Creeps from the Deep commercial (canonically a vision Dekar received from the Ignika) having a Sea Squid glow from lightstone energy Ehlek drained… Did anyone actually buy/use this pack, especially with how unpopular the squid launcher was as a gimmick? I want to see the color paired with a set like Takadox or Nocturn.

[tiredspacedragon]

Kulbok sat in his hut, rubbing his still-aching head. It had been almost two days since the Toa Inika had freed him and his fellow Matoran from the effects of the Piraka's Zamor Spheres, and though he felt mostly recovered, his head still sometimes pounded with fleeting traces of strange, dark thoughts. He recalled little from his time enslaved, only a ringing blankness, broken occasionally by flashes of a universe in ruin, dark ocean depths, and a pair of lidless, red eyes hanging in the night sky.

A knock at the doorway drew the Bo-Matoran from his reverie, and he looked up to see a white mask peeking through the entrance.

"Widget for your thoughts," said Kvoleni, hovering on the threshold. Normally she wouldn't bother waiting for an invitation to make herself at home, but recent events had left all the Matoran of Voya Nui uncertain. Kulbok motioned for her to come in, and the Vo-Matoran joined him on his cot. They sat there saying nothing for a long moment.

"How are you feeling?" Kvoleni tried again. This time, Kulbok sighed.

"My head's still kinda funny, but I'm managing," he finally answered. "You?"

"Better," she said. "Not great, but better."

"Yeah. I think that's pretty much everyone right now." The way he said it, it was clear Kulbok had intended the words to be light, but the strain in his voice, and the truth of the statement, undermined his attempt at levity. Still, Kvoleni graced him with a chuckle.

"We've certainly been worse!" she said.

The two Matoran allowed silence to settle over them again. Even on happier days, their conversations often had a similar rhythm. One would speak, then the other, then a pause. To laugh, or think over each other's words, or simply to allow the quiet its turn. It had been a habit of theirs for several hundred years now.

Eventually, Kvoleni spoke again. "I heard some of the others say the Toa have returned from underground. They were headed to the bay, from what I can tell."

Kulbok's head shot up. "The bay? What would they want there?" He hesitated a moment. "You don't think...?"

Kvoleni shook her head. "No. They were chasing something, I think."

"Right. Of course," Kulbok said. "They're Toa. They surely have more important things to do than..."

"Chase ghosts?"

"Yeah."

The two Matoran were silent again.

"I mean," Kvoleni started, "we could try asking them to look. I heard--"

"No," Kulbok cut her off. "We shouldn't bother them. Besides, what would there even be to find?"

Kvoleni started to say something in response, but seemed to think better of it, and said nothing.

The sound of a commotion outside suddenly drew the Matoran's attention. They glanced at each other before hurrying out into the village square. A small crowd had gathered there, whispering and murmuring amongst themselves as they watched a huge being, clad in thick red-and-silver armour, tread slowly towards them.

That must be Axonn, Kulbok thought. He had heard Balta, one of the only Matoran to have evaded the Piraka's clutches, mention the armoured titan. Supposedly, he was an ally, but the grim look in his eyes brought Kulbok no comfort as Axonn entered the village.

The tall figure stood before the Matoran, towering above them. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a strangled shout rang out from the back of the crowd.

Kulbok jumped back in surprise at Kvoleni's cry. She darted forward, pushing through the crowd towards Axonn with a desperate urgency. Kulbok followed, confused. What had possessed her to run straight for this powerful-looking stranger? As Kulbok approached, he was able to see the armoured warrior more clearly, and noticed that he appeared to be carrying something, cradled in one of his massive arms.

Breaking through the crowd, the Bo-Matoran saw Axonn kneel to meet Kvoleni as she reached him. He held out his burden to her, and finally Kulbok saw

* * *

The Ta-Matoran's name was Ranta.

Long ago, an injury had resulted in him being sent to the realm of Karzahni for repairs, where, like many others before and after him, the ruler of that land attempted to rebuild him into a stronger form, and failed. Though his injury was healed, Ranta's new body was smaller and weaker than his original form, hunched and misshapen. Disgusted with his work, and unable to bear being reminded of his failure, Karzahni had given Ranta and his fellow "repaired" Matoran weapons to defend themselves, and shipped them away, far from his isolated kingdom. Eventually, they had settled in the center of the Southern Continent, in a barren region around the volcano known as Mount Valmai. The Matoran called the region "Voya Nui," meaning "Great Voyage," after the long journey it had taken them to reach this place where they could live in relative peace.

It was there that Ranta had become close with two of his companions, the Bo-Matoran Kulbok, and the Vo-Matoran Kvoleni. Ranta was a quiet sort, but unflinchingly courageous, and his subtle brand of intensity had balanced out Kvoleni's more impetuous energy, while also letting the more reserved Kulbok feel comfortable enough to come out of his shell. Though the three of them were all originally from different lands, they quickly became all but inseparable. They lived, worked, and laughed together, and comforted each other when memories of their old homes and lives overwhelmed them. Even when the Great Cataclysm had struck, sending Voya Nui crashing upwards, killing dozens and leaving the new island adrift in the endless ocean above, the three Matoran stuck together.

But then came the city of Mahri Nui. Runoff from Mount Valmai had cooled into rock, resulting in the formation of a new landmass protruding out into Voya Nui Bay. The Matoran saw the new land as an opportunity to expand their settlement, and constructed many new dwellings there, where they lived for many years. All was well, but Ranta was uneasy. He was not a volcanologist by trade, but he had taken an amateur interest in the volcano, and over time became familiar with its workings and the makeup of its lava. Though he, Kulbok, and Kvoleni had remained in the Matoran Village on Voya Nui, in no small part due to Ranta's urging, the Ta-Matoran came to spend much of his time in and around Mahri Nui. He was convinced the cooled lava was unstable and unsafe, and regularly scoured the area for signs of faults or fractures. Most ignored or laughed at his concerns, and indeed for 700 years, Mahri Nui prospered.

It was on one of these scouting trips, that he was finally proven right.

The deafening sound of cracking stone echoed all across the island. The first split was small, but more quickly followed. Gaping crevices and yawning chasms spanned the length of the bay. Ranta ran screaming through the city streets, calling out for everyone to evacuate before the entire city was lost to the sea. Indeed, some heard his warnings in time, and safely made it back to the shores of Voya Nui, but most, including Ranta himself, did not. The rock heaved and broke, and Mahri Nui sank beneath the waves, down, down, to depths unimaginable, far below where any light could reach.

Since that day, the Matoran of Voya Nui would gather twice a year to throw offerings into the bay, in memory of their lost friends. For some, this brought comfort, though others, like Kulbok, never truly found closure. They knew there was no hope that Mahri Nui had survived its descent, but the loss of hundreds of lives in only a matter of minutes was too much to accept. It felt unreal, like a dream from which they'd never quite managed to awaken.

For the Matoran of Mahri Nui, the gifts from above were also like something out of a dream.

Against all odds, the city had survived, landing on an underwater cliff and disturbing a field of Airweed, which released massive air bubbles that surrounded the settlement, saving the inhabitants from drowning. The shock of the catastrophe damaged the Matoran's fragile memory, and while many had vague recollections of where they had originally come from, none could recall their lives on Voya Nui, or how they came to reside in the Black Water.

Ranta was bothered by this gap in his memory more than most. All the Matoran of Mahri Nui knew they were missing something, but Ranta felt compelled to seek it out, that there was something he had to return to, but he could not remember what. He lived a mostly innocuous life in the underwater city, never joining the Mahri Nui Council and preferring the less public work of a sentry. He made a few friends, but none of them seemed to share his drive, and he often spent his free time exploring the caves at the base of the Cord on his own.

The Cord was Mahri Nui's only link to the surface world, a narrow, hollow tube made of cooled lava from Mount Valmai that connected the sunken city to Voya Nui, though neither Matoran population knew this. The Matoran of Voya Nui were not aware of its existence at all, and the Matoran of Mahri Nui could not see how far up it went, and did not dare leave the safety of their air bubbles long enough to find out. If the threat of drowning when their personal air bubbles ran out was not enough to deter most, the Black Water was infested with deadly sea creatures, bizarre, twisted Rahi and other beasts the Matoran did not recognize.

Ranta, however, was not so easily cowed. He did not enter the Cord itself; enough Matoran more foolhardy than he had tried, and none had returned; but he did swim alongside it, up and up, further with each trip. But he always turned back. He knew that past a certain point, he would not have enough air to make it back to Mahri Nui, and he still had no idea how far away the surface may be. So he would turn back, and tell his friends that maybe he'd make it to the surface next time. They teased him each time he did, feigning disappointment at his failed "surface runs," but in truth, they thanked the Great Spirit each time he returned.

He was missed the day he did not.

As the waters around Mahri Nui grew more dangerous with each passing year, with unseen threats pressing in from all sides, Ranta risked fewer and fewer trips along the Cord. He spent more time on guard duty, keeping watch on the city borders for whatever monsters may slink out of the darkness. But he still felt the pull, the compulsion to seek out what he was missing, and one day, he made his final trip.

As always, he pushed a little farther than he had before, but this time, before he turned back, he caught sight of a glinting object falling through the water, illuminating the gloom around it. He watched it for a moment, entranced, before he noticed a tall figure swimming down after it. For a moment, Ranta was elated. He had seen a Toa before, many many years ago, and recognized the figure as one immediately. Perhaps with her help, his city could be saved. And, if she was here, than he must be near the surface, closer than he had dared hope. But his hope quickly vanished as the Toa began to thrash.

Her name was Toa Inika Hahli, and she was drowning.

Just as he had 300 years before, Ranta spared no thought for his own safety, and charged forward. He grabbed the Toa around the waist and kicked upward with all his might, fighting his way up towards the steadily growing light, until at last he broke the surface, and felt the light of the setting sun on his armour for the first time in centuries. And for the last time.

Had he run out of air lower down, Ranta would not have perished as he had always thought he would. The mutagenic effects of the Black Water would have transformed him into a water-breather, and he would have become a creature of the sea, able to swim wherever he wished. But the Matoran had forgotten how the water had begun to change them when Mahri Nui first sank, how it had undone the work of Karzahni and restored them to stronger, fitter forms, and Ranta's air ran out well above the level the mutagen reached. The seawater that filled his lungs would do nothing to save him. And while the body of the Toa of Water he carried was more durable, and naturally more suited to rapid changes in pressure, his was not. Combined with exhaustion from carrying the weight of a being nearly twice his size, and Ranta never stood a chance. He collapsed on the beach, barely managing to beg the other Toa who received him there to help his city before his heartlight faded to black, and he was gone.

The mighty warrior Axonn, agent of the Order of Mata Nui, carried Ranta's body back to the Matoran Village after sending the Toa Inika on their way down the Cord to Mahri Nui. No sooner had he set foot in the village square than Kvoleni and Kulbok were at their friend's side. His armour and body were different, but they recognized him immediately, and wept at the impossibility. Ranta had come home to them, and they would never see him again.

* * *

Grief, the being noted as he watched the memorial service. Burial and associated ceremonies had never been programmed into the Matoran, but those who dwelt on Voya Nui had developed them independently after the crash once it became clear the bodies of the deceased would no longer simply disappear as they had before. The being made a point of observing them whenever they occurred. He found the ways in which the Matoran behaved after the loss of another whom they "cared" about to be fascinating. Such an accurate facsimile of mourning.

As the crowd dispersed, the being turned his gaze to the two specimens who had led the rite. A Bo-Matoran, designation Kulbok, and a Vo-Matoran, designation Kvoleni. They stood huddled close together before the grave of the deceased, a Ta-Matoran, designation Ranta. Exactly how the Ta-Matoran had survived for this long after the sinking of Mahri Nui, and how he had attained his stronger form were mysteries to the being, though he suspected they would not remain so for long.

The two Matoran stood together for a long time before they finally turned to leave and saw the being watching them.

"Velika, right?" the Vo-Matoran asked with surprise. "We're sorry, we didn't notice you there. Did...did you know him too?"

The being cocked his head. The two were clearly uncomfortable with his presence; the Vo-Matoran's motions and words were hesitant, and the expression the Bo-Matoran wore was a marvellous reproduction of anger. Perhaps they saw him as intruding on a private moment.

So he turned and left. He would allow them their privacy. There would be time enough to study them later, and there was still much else to do.

[voidaspects]

The real biggest mystery in bionicle is how many zamor sphere types there are because what the fuck.

Like... what do I do with this...

[orc3dprint]

I always thought the Piraka needed some stupid little guys so here are the Raka 100% dependable 0% reliable they obey and imprint on the strongest creature they meet, and reproduce by eating Zamor spheres their number are easily increased, but they are equally likely to destroy themselves as they are to remotely harm an enemy

[angryraptor13]

Toa Tuyet

Tuyet's mask came in today, so she's finally complete!

She's got a Great Mask of Intangibility created by BuryusForge on Etsy!

Here Tuyet's pondering her orb Nui Stone, a Hero Factory "Spiked Ball Half". I didn't look at the part measurements & thought it'd be about the same size as a Zamor sphere, but it still works!

Poor Lhikan, his teammates keep turning evil and betraying him 💔

[a-thread-of-green]

The Three Virtues Aren't Virtues

At least, not in the sense that they stand for anything morally good. Before I go any further, though, I want to clarify that this isn't me critiquing Bionicle, but suggesting some depth and foreshadowing to the story that I think many people may have missed.

So let's look at the virtues one-by-one:

Unity: This is maybe the closest to an actual virtue, since it implies some love for your community. But what unity really comes down to is "working together," and so how morally good unity is depends entirely on what the community's goals are. The matoran of Metru Nui might have caught on to Makuta impersonating Turuga Duma if they weren't so united behind their leader.

Duty: This one basically means "do your job," which is only really as moral as the job. Most of the matoran of Voya Nui were dutiful enough to follow the Piraka's orders even before they were mind-controlled with Zamor spheres, but that was hardly for the best, and the least dutiful rebels were the heroes in the end.

Destiny: This has a moral dimension if you believe in a destiny written by some benevolent and omniscient higher power but, in the Bionicle universe, Mata-Nui and the Great Beings are capable of making mistakes at best and amoral at worst. Destiny seems more like a way to tell characters to stay in line and accept their appointed tasks. Yet over and over we see characters who do the most good by rejecting their appointed task (Takua, Jaller's team when leaving for Voya Nui, the Voya Nui rebels), not because they think they have some other destiny , but because it's the right thing to do.

Looking at all these points together, it seems clear that the three virtues are really just an order of obedience dressed up in the language of morality and religion. Considering that the creatures of the Matoran universe were built to be nothing more than workers keeping the Mata-Nui robot alive, then it makes sense that they would be taught to worship obedience and hard work. This gives dark undertones to the adoration of the three virtues, but in turn makes it all the more beautiful that these characters developed culture, individuality, and true morality when they had been made as nothing but slaves.

(By the way, this is all on my mind because I'm planning on shirking unity (in my family), duty (to my job), and (biological) destiny by transitioning female in a few months and I wanted to set up a moral backdrop for that).

[thereadingaddic7]

>Own tools for self defence since that's what the Great Beings intended

>Four members of the Brotherhood of Makuta break into my hut

>"Holy Gadunka!" I say, as I grab my silver painted mask and zamor sphere launcher

>Launch a Kolhii ball sized sphere of Energized Protodermis through the first Makuta, he's dead on the spot

>Draw my disk launcher on the Vortixx, misses her entirely because the disk was from Ko-Metru and nails the neighbour's Kavinika

>Have to resort to the Cordak Blaster at the top of the stairs, six rounds loaded

>"For Mata Nui!"

>The explosions shred two Piraka in the blast, the sound sets the local Ussal population off

>Grab my Whirling Shields, charge the last terrified Steltian and break his body so badly the Red Star can't put him back together

>Just as the Great Beings intended

[toacody]

Irnakk the Nightmare

"Of course [he's] real! As real as a nightmare!"

Source

Creator: Sparkytron

[autumnhobbit]

I had forgotten that the Inika automatically have the advantage that the zamor spheres don’t work on them. Absolutely iconic behavior. Show up and immediately 1. evil mind-controlling substance doesn’t work, 2. go to use elemental power on their enemy and straight up electrocute him

[buggernaut-kal]

Did somebody say Irnakk redesign?!

Using only parts from Vezok, Reidak, and Thok, I wanted to modify Irnakk to look a bit more intimidating in stature and scale. The body and head are unchanged, but I went to town reworking the limbs.

First up, I reworked the legs. The official model’s permanent squat always confused me, it added stability at the cost of making the legs a glorified kickstand. The ankles are a little bit flimsy at times, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. The digitigrade leg design gives some serious height over the average Skakdi. As seen prior, I turned the Zamor sphere arm into a sort of crab claw with Thok’s Ice Gun and a Skakdi skull thumb (which articulates!) Quite proud of how elegant it is with so few connector parts to work with.

The major change was taking the weird Zamor rack and turning it into what I’m calling a catcher claw. Since Irnakk is meant to be a scary myth that can do all sorts of cryptid stuff, I figured a big claw meant to bind a victim before using his vision power or Zamor spheres. Nektann has been selected to demonstrate how that might look in action, and as you can tell by that side-by-side this Irnakk is TALL.

But yeah! Was in the mood for some combo model shenanigans and the official Irnakk disappointed me, so I had some fun modding that. May do some more combo model shenanigans soon!

[girlballs]

trans men are always shooting zamor spheres out of their coochies

[titanomarchy]

Toa are bound by a code, in which killing their enemies is taboo in all but the most dire situations (purely robotic beings like the Vahki are fair game, though). For Toa Jodha of Plasma, this adds heavy responsibility. Having elemental control of plasma, Jodha has to practice a particularly high level of restraint. One errant elemental burst can leave victims with melted organs, which makes the no-killing part of the code challenging. Fortunately, he is equipped with a Kanohi mask of Accuracy, passively granting pinpoint accuracy (even with rebounds) when doing something as simple as throwing a stone. Concentrating and focusing his plasma allows him to create a thin beam to cut through armor and weapons. He's also armed with a retractable zamor sphere launcher (loaded with stun rounds), an energized axe, and a round shield.

His supreme patience, skill, and experience makes him an excellent leader, even for a very ragtag band of Toa. When personalities clash, he's able to help mediate situations between his brothers and sisters with an even hand.

The way I engineered Jodha allows him to stow all of his tools on his back when not in use, which i find very neat. His design is very much based on the Toa Inika, partially because of the colors needed for a Toa of Plasma (orange and white)

[drunk-on-starlight]

Couldn't really justify buying it, but it was wild to find rhotuka spinners and zamor spheres still in (slightly damaged) boxes in a thrift.