#bohrok va

[bethanyvenefica]

the two types of bohrok va

new goofy gremlin from the VRC Rahi Beasts world :>

[alic0rez]

I geniuely love the bohrok va they look so silly

The way their heads look tickle my brain nicely

[impulseimpact]

this was also for a contest, had to turn a character from popular media into a pokemon, went with bohroks and made use of all their forms

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

Bohrok Va-Kal, made entirely using official parts!

[teelguy]

combining the little buggers (the bohrok va) into different little buggers (the these)

[axonn1999]

A Bohrok‘s duty

For some time now I was quite bothered by the fact that the only apparent task the Bohrok has was shaving the robot. It seemed like a weak reason for av-matoran to lose all their autonomy and consciousness in masses. Sure it’s creepy and makes 02 with the dead matoran mecs very weird. But other than that, i feel like the Bohrok aren’t doing enough even tho their ONE task is quite important.

So I’m not sure if that’s canon or not but what if the hive is also responsible for creating the camouflage? Would explain why it was there so quickly

But also what if the Bohrok are there to maintain the outer hull of the robot. Cleaning it up. So in conclusion. The hive is there to camouflage the robot and scrub its outer shell. Can’t have the thing rust or have other problems with its frame

I could also imagine Va and a small swarm of Bohrok are send out to gather resources on foreign planets, because I can’t imagine the great spirit robot being able to pick up smaller things with his big mecha claws

[toacody]

King Krana Captor

Fortunately the Swarm determined that bigger isn't necessarily better.

Source

Creator: Shifter-Eternal

[boxturret]

Bohrok Pens Part 2: Beads and Charms

In this second installment of my coverage of the Bohrok pens I'd like to cover the pens themselves.

PART 1

PART 3

Just for some quick terminology, the Bohrok feature 3 colours and they will be referred to as such throughout this writeup:

Primary: For Tahnok this would be red, the colour used for the body and shields.

Secondary: For Tahnok this would be orange, the colour used on the limbs.

Tertiary: For Tahnok this would be blue, the colour of the eyes and Krana

The main defining feature of this pen system is the use of a set of interlocking beads and other decorative charms that use a thin metal rod that threads through the assembly to hold it together.

Due to the fixed length of the rod the number of charms you can use at one time is limited.

The pens come with many parts to swap out, but to start let's cover the most coveted one, the miniature Krana.

The Krana featured in the pens are roughly half the size of the real ones and are quite accurate, mainly just missing the eye holes. They're even made of a slightly rubbery plastic. Unlike real Krana the Mini Krana aren't randomised, the Tahnok pen always comes with a blue Krana-Za. This unfortunately means that Kranas Ja and Vu are not available as Mini Krana.

As opposed to the original Toa pens, where their small mask clipped on to a round bead, the Krana attach to a small charm styled after a Toa head in much the same way as the real ones can, using a small peg that fits in to the mouth of the head.

Now for the most important part, structurally, the Bohrok face shield charm, which features the thin metal rod.

This part is styled after the Bohrok face shield, but the pattern is printed on, rather than achieved by mixing clear and coloured plastic like in the real part. The part is articulated and can be flipped up to reveal the Krana, should you decide to place it there. In the downward position it can also function as the pen's clip.

The next charm is made to resemble two Bohrok limbs merged together. Its quite open and allows a view of the metal rod when used in the pen. Interestingly its made in the primary colour, instead of the secondary like the real sets. The Bohrok limbs wouldn't be appear in the primary colours until the Bohrok-Kal.

That concludes the charms, so now we move on to the various types of beads. To begin with, each pen includes two cube beads in their secondary colours.

One features the corresponding Bohrok-Va on opposite sides, interestingly the art is mirrored between the two. The second features an image of the Bohrok's shield alternating with the first letter of the Bohrok's name written in the Matoran script. Unlike the Bohrok-Va being mirrored the shield is actually rotated 180 degrees.

Next comes the cylindrical beads. Again, there are two included in each pen, one is made of transparent plastic in the tertiary colour, while the other is made of solid coloured plastic in the secondary, with the Bohrok emblem printed in the primary colour on only one side. This is true for all except the one included with Kohrak pen, which for some reason inverts the colours.

The last of the printed beads is the large round one. Every set comes with a black one that features a BIONICLE logo. They also come with a primary coloured one that features a monochromatic image of the island of Mata Nui on one side and the name Mata Nui on the other, printed in the secondary colours.

Now for the filler beads.

Due to the fixed length of the metal rod there are several coloured beads that can be used to fill space. Every pen comes with one large ribbed bead in the primary colour.

There is also a much smaller, thinner bead. Each pen comes with two, one in the secondary and one in black. Except for, again, the Kohrak pen, which instead has two black beads.

Finally there are the double beads, basically two of the thinner beads stacked on top of each other. Each pen comes with one in light grey, and one in the tertiary colour.

Last but not least comes the actual pen component of these pens.

Each pen features a pattern specific to the Bohrok's element, bubbling water for Gahlok, flames for Tahnok, etc. This pattern is then encased in soft, transparent rubbery plastic that has, unfortunately, become quite sticky over the years.

The pen mechanism is rather simple, by rotating the very tip of the pen in one direction the tip will be extended and you can write with it, and rotating it in the other will retract the pen.

The mechanism can be easily removed by unscrewing the end cap, which is where the thin metal rod that holds the whole pen together is attached to.

The mechanism comprises of a small metal ink cartridge attached to a white piece of plastic with a large thread on it, which is responsible for the extending of the writing tip. There is a rather large spring to keep pressure on the cartridge, as when the pen tip is retracted fully the part is just floating freely. Due to the specialised nature of the parts I don't know how replaceable the ink cartridge would be. at the very least it would need to be cut down.

That concludes this look at the pens, finally this series will feature a small gallery of some photos I took of the pens.

[orc3dprint]

messed around with the idea of a bendy Bohrok Va not perfect, but a good first pass i think

[matau-the-228th]

A quick-and-dirty coloring job of a quick-and-dirty sketch I did several years ago and it's corresponding snippet from a take on the Hordika & Inika storylines that I was working on from... even further back.

(...Which is under the cut)

Happy 810nicle day!

Welcome to my prison-nest, brotherling

A large, draconian head emerged into the firelight. Four massive glowing eyes focused loosely on him, shimmering green with compound facets under which shone a clear intelligence. The iridescent metal-flesh of the being seemed to flicker in color every so often with the dancing flame, a bright blue or red sometimes taking hold over the dull silver for a brief moment.

“What… are you?” Vakama murmured quietly, though the thing seemed to hear him without issue. The large head rose backwards as it stepped forward, revealing a serpentine neck that folded over itself and two small forelimbs. Along its tail- or perhaps thorax- were several spheres, each gently glowing a different color, pulsing as if they themselves were alive, separate from the beast.

Our name has no meaning. The Sister-queen is dead. We were called Bahrag. That shall suffice.

He remembered the stories now. Massive beasts that had been brought by Barraki Raiders to the city as siege-weapons. So dangerous, they had to be restrained by six of the Raiders, even in the midst of battle. Lhikan and a few other toa had dispatched the whole crew, beasts and all. Or perhaps not. 

Indeed, brotherling. The voice interrupted his thoughts, This One was not killed that day. This One was half-dead, stolen away by the same Toa Tuyet who holds you captive now.

The Bahrag began circling Vakama, each eye seeming to focus on a different part of him for a brief moment before scanning another portion of his body. After a moment, it stopped, leaning in close enough for Vakama to feel hot air escaping from the beast’s frontal vents.  Rejoice, brotherling, for this Queen accepts you into her Horde. Be honored that the toa-energy of you and your fellow Hordika has been used to feed the newest Kal.

“Kal? Is that your kind’s name for the spiders?”

A repeating, sickly grunt emanated from the Bahrag, but the translation of laughter was clear.

The Kal are much more than what you call “spiders,” or even their following stages. They still sleep, waiting to wake only when I cease to be. No, the “spiders” are just our beginning.

As if to demonstrate, one of the spiders descended from the ceiling, resting on an outstretched Bahrag-claw. Now holding still, Vakama could clearly see that these ones were different from the dangerous Rahi pests he was accustomed to. The armor on it was thin and loosely-spaced, revealing a rubberlike layer of skin and muscle underneath.

We have learned that your kind do not speak the true names of the Horde out of fear, but this One shall teach you, brotherling. These children are ‘Krana.’

An orblike cocoon fell from the ceiling, the thick webbing below doing little to quiet the loud crack of flesh-metal striking stone. The same translucent shell tore through the layers of silk surrounding it, revealing claws that sparked and smoked.

The sphere began to unwind, and arms and legs that looked far too much like a Matoran’s began extending from the main body, only to shudder and begin flailing. A group of Matoran scurried from behind the webs, at least two holding onto each thrashing limb. A dull, lifeless glow emanated from the eye-holes of the Krana attached to their face, each of its spider-like legs now seeming to meld with the Matoran’s head.

These ones, who have fused to a host, are ‘Va.’

An insect-like clicking sound emanated from the spherical being.

Chikt-chikt-chikt-chikt-chikt…

Those that have encased their host and have grown into walking chrysalis are ‘Bohrok,’ such as the one entering the final stage of it's metamorphosis before you.

The carapace of the being began to crack, the clicking becoming louder until the solid crystalline shell flung forward, revealing the form inside.

And those that have fully subsumed the host and shed their chrysalis are the true Horde. The last host who gazed upon their birth and managed to live called the Horde ‘Stealers of Life,’ and so we have named ourselves. 

It pulled free from its old skin, two compound eyes gleaming despite the darkness. Spider-like legs and long, wicked pincers tore the remaining chrysalis apart, what little resemblance to the poor person the thing had consumed now lost forever.

Vakama took a step back. He had heard of them, monsters from circle-fire stories on the darkest and coldest of nights. 

“Visorak.”

[bethanyvenefica]

preview of an upcoming goofball

[binofathousandparts]

Motivation for these two was that, within established Bionicle material, there were artificially manufactured Bohrok that were called Fohrok.

Since Fake Bohrok were a thing, the logic soon developed from there; If there were Fake Bohrok, what would Fake Bohrok Va look like? So that's the image on the left, a Fohrok Va, and where there is Va, there are Va Kal, which is the image on the right.

Forged in the cauldrons of gilded industry. Foraged from the refuse of commerce, and betrayal. Your kind was manufactured at the turn of the tide, for a war you could never realize your masters had already lost.

Sleek gargoyles, you sit emplaced upon parapet bastions, claws embedded into metal, blades as high as ramparts. Baleful ruination is the defiant death you cast forth from your perch above.

Silent harpies, you cast your gaze indifferent through stoney faced and steely eyed. With blazing red talons, you cast forth malady and destruction, carving through in ceaseless hordes.

"Protect us," Your doomed curators plead. "Protect us, so that through your protection we may complete our task."

To clean it all, the land must have example of what is to be considered clean.

Manufactured, and obedient, like the homunculous you comprise.

Fohrok

[toa-arania]

I've always been interested by what order people think of the Toa Mata in, because it's so different in consistency. As far as I know I've always seen the first three be Tahu, Gali, and Lewa in that order, but then Pohatu, Onua, and Kopaka end up in all sorts of arrangements. You can see my own bias there because of the order I just named them, which I know I get from the order the Kanohi are listed on BS01. Most of the time, I see Pohatu and Onua listed together because of the similarity of their elements, so the most common arrangements I see are TGLPOK, TGLKOP, TGLKPO, or TGLOPK. I'm sure we all get this from some precedent in how they were listed on lego's website or something, but I didn't have time to go poking around archive.org while writing this so I can't be certain. What I did look up quickly was the iconic 2008 Bionicle Retrospective, which to my surprise rearranged the first three, giving us Tahu, then Lewa and Gali third, followed by Kopaka, Onua, and Pohatu.

The other thing I realised I could check quickly was set numbers, and this is where my descent into hell began. Checking the Toa Mata's set numbers gets us the fascinating arrangement of Pohatu, Onua, Gali, Tahu, Lewa, Kopaka, which is wildly different from what I see anywhere else, especially in that Tahu isn't listed first. I went to go and see if the same element order holds up in other waves and it absolutely does not. The Turaga are Fire, Air, Stone, Water, Ice, Earth as opposed to the Mata's Stone, Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ice, and the Nuva don't retain the same order either, now in Earth, Air, Stone, Water, Ice, Fire. The Bohrok (SEWFAI), Bohrok Va (WIASFE), and Bohrok Kal (EFIASW) are also all internally inconsistent, but the initial Bohrok wave are the same order as the Toa Mata. This is the only similarity we'll see for a while because the Rahkshi (SIAWEF) switch it up yet again, but most interestingly it does not remotely reflect the order I see anyone talk about the Bionicle elements in. Aside from that one similarity, we now have a different arrangement of elements every wave, and I had begun to wonder how that would hold up.

Then I checked 2004 and of course the pattern is immediately smashed to pieces. The 2004 Matoran and the Toa Metru both have the order Fire, Water, Earth, Stone, Air, Ice. The Vahki almost have this order, switching Earth and Air to ironically get the order of elements as I typically think of them, FWASEI. 2005 keeps the trend of two waves having the same order (FWESAI for the Toa Hordika and the Visorak) and then the other wave fucking it up completely, this time with the Rahaga's WSIFEA.

So far, 2001-3 had been internally consistent with a different arrangement every time. 2004-5 had been internally consistent with two the same and one different. I had hope that 2006-7 or even 2006-8 might be internally consistent and have the same arrangement each time. This hope was dashed brutally against the rocks.

To begin with, the Toa Inika have the same arrangement as the Toa Metru/Hordika, with FWESAI, but both the Piraka and the Voya Nui Resistance do things completely different, with EFWASI and SIAEFW respectively. Not only are they now completely different arrangements again, they aren't even reflective of any that came before in the way that the Inika are the same as the Metru/Hordika. 2007 only gets worse, as now the Toa aren't in a consistent order either, putting Kongu first for AFSEWI, while the Barraki go for WFSEAI, which feels close to the Rahaga even though it really isn't. I am going insane. They so nearly had a consistent order and it's just getting worse. Save me 2008. 2008. 2008 save me.

2008 did not, in fact, save me. It got worse again.

2008 was interesting for a variety of reasons, one of which being that there were not separate waves for heroes and villains - rather, each wave was half and half, a trend we would see again in Bionicle Stars so I have approximately zero hope for a consistent order then either. Because of this, each wave is rearranged and at least does consistently put the villains in the latter half of each wave. The way it does this is especially infuriating when it comes to the Karda Nui Matoran and the Phantoka wave because they are off by one single swap, giving us AISFWE and IASFWE respectively and god damn it they were so close. The Mistika were rearranged to WFEIAS, which is again an entirely new arrangement.

I was completely certain now that 2009 would just be in a total clusterfuck order every single wave, and was pleasantly surprised to see that all three waves, the Agori, the Glatorian, and the Glatorian Legends, were all in the order of Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Ice Stone. Hm? What's that? It's actually Rock, Fire, Jungle, Water, Ice, Sand? No it isn't, shut up. If that's how we're doing this then 2010 is Fire, Jungle, Light, Rock, Water, Heat Vision, and we're not doing it like this. FAIEWS is an entirely new arrangement, unfortunately, so my descent into hell continues.

I decided to brave Bionicle G2, the years 2015 and 2016. Would they finally give me a consistent order of elements? Well, in a word: "No." To begin with, the waves are split up weirdly. There are the Protectors, the Masters, and the Skull guys in 2015. The Protectors and Masters are clearly labelled with elements, and for the sake of my own sanity Jungle is now legally Air. Both waves start the same, with Air, Stone, and Water, but then the second halves are reversed order - Earth, Ice, Fire for the Protectors and Fire, Ice, Earth for the Masters. Then there are the Skull guys, who are significantly harder to place because there are only five of them. Not only that, but they don't have clear elements. The best we can manage is assigning elements based on which drained mask they come with and assuming that The Red One is fire. Therefore, we get Ice, Air, Earth, Stone, and Fire. No Water at all unless you really want to stretch to "Ekimu is Blue" (which I don't), so I'm just not going to count them. 2016 then proceeds to do this worse (sort of). There is the small wave, which only contains five guys, but that's because the sixth small guy actually comes with Kopaka. This results in the Creatures and Uniters actually matchin up, in the order of Air, Stone, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice. I'm not even going to attempt working out what the hell I'm supposed to do with the summer wave that year.

So now what the hell am I supposed to conclude from this? According to set numbers, what order should the elements be in? Well, there are a couple of ways to work this out. Firstly, the order that appears most frequently is that of the Toa Metru: Fire, Water, Earth, Stone, Air, Ice. But of course, we can work out the optimum order. Which appears most frequently in each space? Well there are some interesting things, including that Earth and Stone are spread way more evenly than every other element, and that Ice is almost always at the end. The numbers suggest that the order should be:

Earth, Fire, Water, Stone, Air, Ice

Which means that, of all the waves it could be, the Piraka get the closest to being in the optimum order. Weird.

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

W. Beck's Rahaga Conspiracy Theory (that might have been disproven already, but I don't know)

I personally believe that the Rahaga were originally meant to be a sort of underling for the Rahkshi that could transport Kraata, but someone realised that would be too similar to the Bohrok Va's thing, so they modified the design and released them two years later.

My arguments are thus:

The Rhotuka-launchers aren't particularly integral to their designs, and could be removed entirely with a Technic bush, or perhaps a Kraata holder similar to the Bohrok Va's "backpacks".

They have the same staff-tip pieces as the Rahkshi that share their colours (e.g Gaaki has a miniature Guurahk staff).

They all use the Rahkshi head-piece.

Of course, what probably actually happened was that (at least) one of the designers slapped together a small set out of random stuff to fill the "small" set-niche, since otherwise '05 would be two canister lines and many larger sets.

[teelguy]

the bohrok va have now become anime too

my cursed arts know no bounds

also couldn't forget the kaita too

[toaarcan]

Which Krana-Kal do you think each of the Bohrok-Kal used?

We see several of their Krana physically during various events in the story, for example, we know that Tahnok-Kal was using a Za-Kal at the time Onua and Pohatu defeated it, and Kohrak-Kal and Nuhvok-Kal had the Su-Kal and Xa-Kal respectively during their attempt to free the Bahrag.

While they likely started switching Krana based on the situation at hand once they had the support of the Bohrok-Va (honestly, I’d love to see the Bohrok-Kal being accompanied by a whole squad of Va carrying their alternate Krana-Kal so they can switch out as necessary), I do think it’s possible to determine which carried what.

Tahnok-Kal, being the leader, likely used a Za-Kal most of the time. Za-Kal’s power was Telepathy, the same as its non-Kal counterpart, though it gains the added ability to sense strong emotion.

Among normal Bohrok, Krana Za was used by squad leaders (which is probably why it was the one used to control high-value targets like Matau and Lewa), while Xa commanded entire swarms, but Xa-Kal is now the key to awakening the Bahrag, so Za being promoted to the “Overseer” rank makes sense, and it’s probably thus the leader’s Krana of choice.

Maybe Tahnok-Kal lost access to this Krana after Onua and Pohatu took it, I’m not really sure if there were multiple copies of each Krana-Kal made.

Kohrak-Kal having Su-Kal makes sense too. Su-Kal is another Krana-Kal that shares its power with the default Krana version, adding endurance and temperature-resistance to the extant super-strength. Kohrak-Kal had to operate in Ko-Wahi (though either Greg messed up the powers or the Kal were together when they took Kopaka’s symbol, because Matoro is defeated by Gravity, not Sonics), and, like its counterpart among the Toa Nuva, it was also the lone wolf of the Kal. 

Unlike Kopaka, of course, this was less by choice, and more because its teammates legitimately couldn’t stand it. Kohrak-Kal was so powerful that its sonic abilities were actually dangerous for the other Kal to be around.

With that in mind, it makes sense that Kohrak-Kal would usually have Su-Kal as its choice, it would need superior physical might if it was to operate alone.

Nuhvok-Kal is the bearer of Xa-Kal. Xa-Kal is the most important of the bunch, being vitally necessary for their mission, though it wouldn’t surprise me if multiple Bohrok-Kal used Xa-Kal during their attempt to free the Bahrag, just in case one or more of them were disabled.

Still, Nuhvok-Kal is one of the more powerful Bohrok-Kal, and using it as the vessel for the key would be a smart choice.

So that’s half of them, but can we work out the others? In my opinion, yes, at least partially.

Pahrak-Kal is the easiest one. Pahrak-Kal was the member of the team that found the Bahrag, and hey, look, they had a Krana-Kal for exactly that. Ca-Kal is the “Seeker” Krana-Kal, trading out its counterparts shielding power in favour of a new one that links it mentally to the Bahrag and allows it to track them. And it doesn’t give the user headaches to tell them they’re getting closer, sucks to be you, Hahli.

Greg is inconsistent on how great the range of the Krana’s power is, but given that Pahrak-Kal specifically was the one to do the exact job that the Ca-Kal was made for, I’d say that it did so by using Ca-Kal.

From here, it’s more vague, but there’s some conjecture that could suggest an answer for Gahlok-Kal.

During the theft of the symbols, it was Gahlok-Kal and Nuhvok-Kal who took Lewa’s symbol. They both escaped very quickly, and Gahlok-Kal in particular went all the way from the southern reaches of Le-Wahi to Po-Koro in the north, to take Pohatu’s symbol and cover him in goats.

With that in mind, I’d suggest that Gahlok-Kal used the Vu-Kal, which grants the user super-speed, both on the ground and through the air, to get from one location to the other at such a pace.

That leaves only Lehvak-Kal, and while normally the answer would just be “Whichever one’s left,” unfortunately we have eight Krana shapes, and there are actually three remaining unclaimed Krana-Kal.

So what does Lehvak-Kal do in the story? It’s described as relying on ambush tactics, disappearing into the jungle to evade its opponents, and is the one that took Onua’s symbol. And frustratingly, all three of the remaining options fit at least part of that role. Bo-Kal gave it night vision and x-ray vision, Yo-Kal allowed it to actually tunnel through the ground at an accelerated rate, and Ja-Kal gave it radar and enhanced senses.

Fortunately, there’s an answer for this, because Lehvak-Kal was one of the three that fused into their Kaita form. Kaita for all three forms of Bohrok are named for the Krana that controls them, and in this case, the Kaita is named “Ja”, and as Lehvak-Kal is the only one without a confirmed or speculated Krana-Kal, and as it also forms the head of the Kaita, I think it’s safe to say that Lehvak-Kal had the Ja-Kal. The same is true of the opposite Kaita, having Tahnok-Kal form the head, and being named “Za.”

I’ve typed -Kal so often that it’s lost all meaning.