#especially the mangai

[ashilean]

HUKANARA, toa Mangai of ice (7/11)

Standing proud in Ko-Metru's monument square, Hukanara is a steadfast protector and idol to matoran across the city of legends. A cunning leader in his prime, he spends his days presiding over the mighty rahi the Mangai were first called to defeat--now imprisoned in a glacier.

Hukanara wears the great Tataupo, mask of conjuring, and wields a Boreal Banner. The red-coloured cloth is a tradition from his southern homeland, but has been adopted as a symbol among the local Ko-matoran now that he is hailed as a hero.

While the old toa has remained a pillar of the community, he has taken a step back from leading his siblings in their heroic affairs, and many wonder if he might find his destiny in becoming turaga of their great city.

[afanofmanyhats]

You've mentioned your dislike about the Bionicle timeline before. What's your take on it and what doesn't work about it for you? I'm curious to hear your interpretation.

The main issue is the fact that it's a ridiculously, laughably long time for people to stay alive. It takes me out of my immersion to remember that this whole storyline takes place over a period of time ten times greater than the existence of Jericho, but characters like Ackar and Kiina on Bara Magna and the majority of characters in the Matoran Universe have lived that whole time. I'm not opposed to immortal/long-lived characters as an idea, but the story needs to do something with that time scale.

For instance, in Tolkien's works, the ages of the Elven characters has weight in their characterization and relationships to the others. The Silmarillion highlights their horror and sadness as they realize their new human friends will age and die in what feels like no time at all to the Elves. In the Lord of the Rings, the lifespans of Elrond and Galadriel add extra gravity to their advice and foresight; they've lived longer than any of the main characters and know the threat of Sauron better than anyone. Their longevity makes them unique, provides diversity and contrast.

Meanwhile, everyone in BIONICLE ages the same way, so there isn't really a highlightable difference in how aging affects you. It's entirely subjective. Helryx and Artakha are all the same age as Takua, possibly even younger, but they're the ones noted for being ancient. I know Takua had several layers of amnesia, but his personality largely stayed consistent, so the fact that he was apparently an irascible scamp since creation makes him feel static. You're telling me he only underwent major personality changes in the last few years?

The ridiculously long timeline also makes the story feel static because it's frankly pretty sparse. Bara Magna has been a desert wasteland with a half-dozen tribes since the Shattering; the only major political shift occurred when the Skrall migrated to Roxtus less than two years before the '09 arc. The MU's timeline is more detailed, but the information we do have still suggests its development is relatively stagnant. The League of Six Kingdoms and the Matoran Civil War/Great Disruption happen back to back, but then the timeline's fairly empty for 75,000 years. All we have to go off of for the main markers is the Brotherhood consolidating power and Dume is active as a Toa. We don't get more detailed politics until the time of the Toa Mangai, and then things start happening with greater and greater intensity that feels natural.

All this to say: when you're making an expansive timeline, it helps to make it feel dense, especially the closer you get to the events of the story. Human history is intricately complicated, with even Dark Ages still providing us ample discussion through archaeology and the lack of written evidence. BIONICLE's timeline has great worldbuilding from a political and social development lens, but it's too stretched out. I'd say that cutting the timeline down to 10,000 years would solve a lot of the issues I discussed. Also reducing the ages of many of the characters, especially the ones on Bara Magna. It's hard to sell Gresh as young when he'd be old enough to remember when humans first started leaving Africa, you know?

[bionicle-ramblings]

So since Matau is growing on me and I understand his character a little more, I saw somewhere that he, like Vakama, also has a bit of anxiety and self-worth/confidence issues. Where Vakama's anxieties come from his not feeling good enough to be a Toa due to not wanting to have ever been one in the first place, and from his guilt at Lhikan's capture, Matau's anxiety is more about keeping up "appearances"

This is more interpretation and personal experience(I may need to reread the books some more later), but Matau always doing reckless things in the name of "bravery" is an example of an "appearance," as he's trying to be a Toa the way he's SEEN Toa be: Brave, strong, always doing something dangerous, but still doing it while smiling. Add to that Matau is the wisecracking, comic relief of the group, always throwing jokes and keeping things upbeat, he's more or less set up an image of the Toa he wants to be seen as even if we or the Toa Metru don't know it:

The Toa Matau wants to be seen as someone brave, someone who sees danger and laughs, someone who can keep spirits high in the team. He also mainly just wants to be seen, noticed, KNOWN by all who see him, and he wants to be seen, noticed, and known as the image of himself he's trying to live up to

We don't know if Matau has ever WANTED to be a Toa, but I can imagine that seeing how loved and how much attention the Toa Mangai most likely received, Matau may have gotten a certain image of what a Toa is, HOW a Toa is. Upon becoming a Toa, he goes straight into making sure he IS that very image, that he fits the mold he made for himself

The way I can best put the type /version of "anxiety" Matau has is this:

Imagine having to ensure you are the one in the group that smiles, the one everyone knows as the "ray of sunshine," or the one that picks everyone else up. No one put this role or expectation on you. You put it on yourself and it's something that soon becomes second nature as you adapt and begin to really "live" in even if it's not really living

I'm not saying that we're not seeing the real Matau(if anything we see him more because this is his ideal version of himself, so to speak), but I can imagine that most of what we see of Matau is the image he's made for himself and a lot of his pride and vanity comes from this image

It's small moments where the "real" Matau starts to show, or more specifically how Matau reacts when he is not recognized as a Toa, or as the image of a Toa he made for himself. One such moment in question comes in the Coliseum scene in Legends of Metru Nui, when the false Dume turns the crowd against the Toa:

When Vakama tries to tell the crowd that the Dark Hunters took Toa Lhikan rather than the Toa, we see most of the Toa react, especially Matau, who has nothing to say and can only back away from the crowd as they call turn against him, believing the lie told about him

No quips

No trying to back Vakama and say they're innocent

Just silence

And other quiet moment is when we see him for a moment in the Vahki transport, as he, Nokama, and Vakama go to Po-Metru. As Nokama tells Vakama to have faith in being a Toa, Matau simply watches, not saying anything. It may be a "nothing" moment, but from looking at the scene again, Matau appears to be sitting in a similar position to Vakama, just with one knee up, and he only looks at Nokama and Vakama when Nokama says, "You will. Have faith," to Vakama having doubts about his being a Toa.

We don't know if Nokama and Matau even had a conversation before Nokama spoke with Vakama, but knowing Matau's little reaction in the scene happens and he's more or less back to himself after, I think that maybe Matau might have been dealing with feelings of, "If I can't be what I imagine a Toa to be, then am I even a Toa at all?" Maybe hearing what Nokama said and hearing Vakama's insecurities boosted him a little and helped pull him out of those feelings because he is more or less back to himself when in the crafter's village in Po-Metru

Am I saying Matau is also an anxiety coded character? A little bit. It isn't like Vakama, where it's easy to see and connect with. Where we know Vakama's anxiety very easily, Matau's is pretty masked, and I think it's meant to be like that because for Matau, acknowledging his own anxiety, or his feeling like he can't live up to the expectation he set yp for himself, is something he can't and probably doesn't want to do. It's a lot like a feeling of, "If I something right now or if I fall apart now, I won't be able to put myself back together again." I don't think it's that extreme in Matau's case, but I imagine it close to be

And that's been my TED talk on Matau. Sorry if some bits don't make sense. I'm beginning to realize I have something in common with Matau and I don't know how I feel about it😅

[randomwriteronline]

Pyea, Toa Mangai of Stone, bearer of the Kanohi Deremios - the Mask of Animation

aka MY FUCKING GUY!!!!! whom i talk abt under the cut!!!!

Pyea (portmanteau of Pygmalion and Galatea, from a greek myth in which a sculptor falls in love with a statue he made that Aphrodite then brings to life) is a former Nynrah Ghost and tool maker. He spent many of his first years as Toa in a fortress but never ascended through the hierarchy, being mainly tasked with the building's maintenance due to his quiet and passive nature - though it was rumored that his good looks, notable even among his brothers of Stone, caused his fellow Toa to keep him off the battlefield "in fear he would get scratched".

His insistence on personally aiding Metru Nui when the Kanohi Dragon attacked the city was so surprising that nobody really argued against him. After the Dragon was defeated, he remained in the City of Legends as the protector of Po-Metru, sometimes even working directly with the Matoran on statues or repairs - maintaining a craftsman's mentality all his life, much to the puzzlement of his brothers and sisters.

(him face :) )

His manufacturer's approach to fighting allowed him to employ his element and tool, a clawed mortar, in creative manners - he was especially known for molding stone to look and behave like fabric due to a personal fascination for drapery. His readiness to follow orders made it easy to work with him, but his tendency to only verbalize the last part of his thought process often gave others the impression that he was cryptic or dim-witted.

Despite this, he enjoyed his days as a Mangai and his teammates. He was unexpectedly fond of Nidhiki - who often used this knowledge to ask him favors - for his brash personality, worked fine with his Earth brother, and accidentally swept all four Toa Mangai of Ice off their feet by dispatching a Kane-Ra Bull with nothing but his tunic (made of rock). It is unknown if he was aware of their admiration.

(doodles of a proper head ref, other poses, and a better look at the Deremios)

He wore the Kanohi Deremios (anagram of Remedios as in "la bella", character from the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez), the Mask of Animation, which allowed him to animate objects for a brief period of time and direct them to act upon his whims. The object would need to not be capable of thought and not have any flesh of its own to be affected, and would only be able to move based on its existing joints and shape: for example, Pyea used it to animate humunculi and crude statues which he created on the fly from the sorrounding stone in order to distract the Kanohi Dragon.

A hypothetical more powerful version of a Deremios, akin to the Nuva masks, could probably create and control Vatuka or beings similar to them, but would have no effect on already existing Vatuka.

(the full body sketch before i added clothes and mask)

[herora-nuva]

Here's a thought exercise for you: say you got to do a Bionicle reboot, and you could tell almost whatever story you wanted. You have a central cast consisting of a team of toa, but they have to be existing characters that AREN'T the Mata/Nuva. What toa team or lineup would you pick to centre your story on?

Ooo, now that's an interesting prompt! Had to think about this because there's a lot of really cool options, especially with the other two main teams, but I think I'm actually going to choose the Toa Hagah. I think they're really interesting, an elite team of Toa, each with their own origins and original team.

They're Makuta Teridax's personal guard, they literally were closer to the big bad than anyone outside the Brotherhood, so the betray would be so personal. They genuinely believed the Makuta were heroic, so their point of view could give some insight into what the Brotherhood looked like before it was revealed to be evil. They could travel with Makuta, or be sent to back up other Toa teams, and how those interactions would go.

Teridax was the Makuta of Metru Nui, did he ever visit? Did the Hagah meet the Mangai? How did that interaction go, would they like each other or would their be tension? After all Lhikan's team died trying to safeguard the Makoki Stone, which the Hagah later on find and steal from Makuta. The Makoki Stone was secretly a list compiled because Lhikan's team didn't trust the Brotherhood. Even though Lhikan didn't know the true significance of it, did some of that distrust rub off on him? Would he then be suspicious of the Hagah?

Their raid on Destral to steal the Mask of Light sounds like an amazing battle to depict, including the fact that they took on Makuta and won! The rifts between them would be interesting, as Iruni wanted to focus on helping Matoran day to day while the rest of the team wanted to focus on big threats.

And also, I find it so poetic that, as Rahaga, not only did they choose to continue being heroes, they choose to protect the Rahi and preserve the balance of the universe's ecosystems. The Rahi were the Makuta's original mission, and its so beautiful that even after their horrible betrayal, they still believed in what the Makuta aught to have stood for, and continued to carry out that mission in direct defiance of the Brotherhood's new evil designs. Plus if we ever wanted light-hearted moments, can you imagine episodic nature-documentary type stories with the Rahaga? Amazing!

So yeah, I think I could do a really cool Toa Hagah/Rahaga storyline. Honestly this is such a cool prompt, I'm curious what other people say, or what they think of my Hagah idea!

[rebuiltbionicle]

I liked how you heavily condensed the entirety of the MU's history into a span of 5000 years, but there's this burning question on my mind, exactly how many years took place within every event in the MU? If possible, could you explain it in the form of a timeline?

I did a few ideas about the timeline and constantly had to rearrange events as I thought of them. I also contemplated that each year of the story should take a full year, instead of the arrival of the Toa Mata on Mata Nui through to Teridax's Reign being only a few months. However, I don't think I can justify many of the stories taking that long, Voya and Mahri Nui especially.

I did have a timeline file, which I never posted because it was only a guide for my eyes only, is of dubious canon (my canon, it's obviously not canon canon) and lacks a lot of important events. But I'll post it here anyway so you can see what was going on in my head:

-177 – The Great Beings take control of Spherus Magna.

-128 – The Elemental Lords are placed into power.

-36 – The Core War Begins

0 – The Shattering and the launch of Mata Nui

44 – Karzahni hides Matoran population at Voya Nui

45 – Karzahni starts imprisoning Matoran

50 – The Six Prime Species of Mata Nui are created.

97 – Failed liberation of Karzahni

118 – Hand of Artakha is disbanded

397 – The first Kanohi Dragon attack

400 – Mata Nui ordains that six kings would arise from the Six Prime Species.

498 – The League of Six Kingdoms Solidifies

602 – The Barraki are taken to the Pit.

603 – Sutihu Civil War Begins, Kepitan Conquests begin

708 – Turaga Uadu steps down as leader of Metru Nui, replaced by Dihin.

798 – The Dark Hunters are formally established.

869 – Metru Nui Civil War begins

877 – The Great Disruption, Turaga Dihin removed from power. Turaga Vhuru takes over.

933 – Makuta Teridax seizes power over the Brotherhood.

1055 – The Makuta begin organising Toa Hagah teams to protect individual members.

1566 – Raid on Artahka

1567 – The Time Skip

1600 – Turaga Vhuru steps down, replaced by Turaga Amohon.

1666 – The Toa Hagah rebellion

2119 – The Great Decay

2290 – The Visorak Horde is created.

2555 – The Makuta evolve into vaporous beings.

2600 – Turaga Amohon steps down, replaced by Turagas Baidrau and Ledum.

2622 – Makuta Spiriah begins experimenting on the Skakdi.

3600 – Turaga Baidrau steps down, replaced by Turaga Mevoka.

3738 – The Great Draining

3914 – The Continental War begins

3918 – The Continental War ends

3922 – Turaga Mevoka removed from office. Turaga Dume takes over.

4602 – The Vahki are implemented.

4713 – Formation of the Toa Mangai.

4738 – Toa Tuyet murders a bunch of Matoran and is hauled off to the Pit.

4739 – The Dark Hunter invasion of Metru Nui

4899 – Makuta Teridax impersonates Turaga Dume.

4999 – The Great Cataclysm

5000 – Visorak occupation of Metru Nui

5072 – Arrival of Toa Mata

5073 – Bohrok War

5074 – Mask of Light and Return to Metru Nui

5075 – Mask of Life hassle

5076 – Karda Nui War and the start of the Reign of Shadows

5077 – Skrall War

5078 – Rise of the United Tribes and Mata Nui’s trek up north.

5079 – Journey’s End

[antlorien]

More Mangai Rantings

Coming off of a whopping 26 note high on my secondary toa teams post, I have more rantings about the whole storyline of the Mangai.

So for starters, WHAT THE FUCK.

Lhikan, my heart and soul, my golden sweet sweet trauma boy, has the most fucked up life out of anyone in the entire lore like his entire life is spent losing the things he cares about and watching troves of people die around him. Like, boy probably had PTSD before he even GOT to Metru Nui from the Frostelus incident, like he had one job and he failed and ran away and everyone died horribly. Thats gonna leave some psychological scars. 

He then proceeds to fight A LITERAL GODDAMNED DRAGON and like, he was probably useless as fuck in that mission. Maybe running support at most, but homeboy is a specialist with fire, and this thing specifically went to a giant lava pit to gain more power. He aint gonna hurt it. They had to call in 4 ice toa, mess up the 6 toa different element comp and just cranked it up to 11. SO hes not having a great start. 

Then, after he kills the dragon, someone starts MURDERING THE CIVILIAN POPULATION LIKE WHAT THE FUCK. No other villain seemed to be as careless about Matoran life. Makuta? Brainwashed and boxed em up. Piraka? Brainwashed and enslaved. Not great, but it wasn’t just straight up elaborate murders! Tuyet, I love her. She is so full of personality and spite and I want to do so much with her character. Like next to Naho, I feel like before this, Lhikan would have trusted her the most. She is smart, skilled, and good at what she does. Easily a very useful friend, and so he had to really trust her and to find out she was doing this? My boy would have been devastated. He then has to watch as the one he doesn’t trust as much has to pick sides, which has gotta be stressful. Also yes, he definitely doesn’t trust Nidihki. Dude comes from the hell peninsula of hell island where life is hell and he gets out of there, dude aint gonna be a socialite. Hes the dark side of what toa are meant to be before he even gets there and golden boy has to just trust him to do what is right in this moment, and obviously, it isnt an easy decision, because we only know he sided with likhan in one universe, all the others might have been more in line with the Toa Empire or something like that.

So Nidhiki makes the right choice, they throw tuyet in jail to IMMEDIATELY have her stolen away to NAUGHTY HELL JAIL, so like, that must have been a conversation, like none of them knew it, and last they saw her, Tuyet was about to become possibly the most powerful toa ever, with the ability to become even more powerful as time went on. So shes just... GONE... and nobody knows shit. Thats gonna be stressful. 

AND THEN A WAR STARTS. Like all of this has gone down, things are going to shit, and shadow boy just decides fuck it im going downtown and invades the island. Thats gonna be a hard time on Lhikan, who now is essentially a war general. He has to run an island that does not seem particularly equipped for dealing with this kinda stuff. At this point also, we might just be getting the start of the Vakhi, so its not clone wars level, they cant just send out all these robocops to deal with the issue, at best they might still have kralhi??? but no idea. Nuparu might even still be working on the vahki when the hunters show up, just trying to crank em out. So Lhikan has now 10 toa vs dozens to hundreds of dark hunters, and thats gonna be a fight you lose. So in order to make this work, he has to arrange for Naho to sneak out, leaving them with even less defenders because also so. 

Water toa right? Easily some of the most powerful, if not the most powerful toa, especially in a small island like this. Just use the water around them to suck people to the ocean floor, and I feel like while Tuyet was more of a tactical and combat specialist, naho was really focused on her elemental powers, kinda like lhikan, with his precise fire powers. So she, possibly the strongest member of the team, just leaves, and has to go find some other army in the meantime. After this goes down and she comes back, its gotta be rough i mean they were holed up in the colliseum, thats gonne be crowded and hard to deal with morale, because that place cant be that secure, its got no roof sometimes. So any hunter that can fly is gona be up there trying to make a move, and those that can dig or climb have their own ways in. So after defending this for who knows how long with 9 toa, she brings in the cavalry and messes them up, but lots of them die. like just straight up in canon on both sides they were dying. By this point, its been a hard war already, righting back from within the colliseum, and trying to get control back of the city. 

Then we get the big slap in the face numero dos. Nidikhi, all ready for his glory, gets too overeager and betrays likhan and is so bad at doing so that he wins the war for the toa. He is so weak compared to what tuyet could have been like he had no sense of anything going on, no military knowledge, he was just edgy. Now he goes off and tries to sell them out and Lhikan already was able to suspect this right off the bat so he cant be too trusting at this point still, so he has probably had these doubts like what if he had been thinking about what might have happened if nidikhi had sided with tuyet this whole time. Like he probably set the bar so low that Nidihki just tripped over it not knowing it was there. So he gets that, and has a whole plan set up. 

THIS IS WHERE IT COULD HAVE GOTTEN GOOD FOR HIM. SO he talks to Hakann, makes the deal to RETURN THE ONE THING HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SAVE FROM HIS FIRST BIG TRAUMA so like huge personal victory for him and hes gotta be doing pretty okay, but the issue is, hes now gotta kick nidikhi out. I dont think hed be okay doing so either, like he had totaally been trying to give the edgelord a chance, and he just throws it back in lhikans face. So he kicks him out, never to be seen again, and the war ends. Nice and easy. 

AND THEN HIS BOSS GETS POSESSED. Like this boy cannot catch a break, he has fought a dragon, an impossible war, lost two teammates to betrayal, maybe more during the war, I have no idea, but they have gotta be on edge after the war at least, because they were likely split up. they were the toa with the most knowledge of the city, so they would likely all be generals, not to mention whoever was assigned to Dume’s guard, because that would also be so much stress and i feel like that was probably nahos thing after she saved the day the first time. so shes been stressed, lhikans been stressed, and then their boss starts sending all his teammates off on suicide missions. That’s just gotta destroy him. He also probably knows at this point that shit is going south, you are telling me a man who has seen this much betrayal would not instantly be on guard about this? I think if anything this might have been the hardest part for me to believe, that after being betrayed by two of his teammates who he was so willing to trust, to have dume start pulling weird shit and him not question it is hard to get. SO I think naho would have been last. Naho would have been his rock, ironically, because shes there to make sure hes still sane after the war, and shes been personally guarding dume this whole time so she trusts him more, and is persuading lhikan right up until its her turn. I have more personal head-canons about some of this but ill save that for later. 

so he is alone again. team all disintegrated, boss possessed, when guess who comes a-knocking, but the horribly mutated spider version of the only person he knows is left from his team. He has this last reminder of what he had show up, and it is so warped and distorted that he has gotta be just messed up so completely by that. So he decides to do what he can, make the stones, and then take on his old teammate, and then the movie happens, he gets captured, has to teach new toa how to do their stuff, which he has no experience in and so he is getting this chance to get to be a influential part of this toa team

AND THEN HE JUST DIES. And this is real hard, because Vakama and the rest were so ready to believe he was the Heart of Metru Nui like, this is someone who you can tell all the matoran respect and know and he just dies right in front of Vakama. This hero of the city, such an integral part that he was considered its heart, is just straight up killed by getting thrown aside by a shadow hand. That is the end of his life, is he gets this chance to try to prove his worth to these toa, and then he gets killed protecting them, even as a turaga. Beyond this, he was already a legacy. The metru, when they became turaga, told all these stories about him, about the adventures he did, like they know what he did for them, and so he does live on, in Jaller, in the metru, and in the minds of all the matoran, who may know now that this legend from their stories was actually real and actually did all this stuff. No other toa team did as much as the Mangai except the mata, and they werent even normal toa, they were specifically designed to be toa like they had to be the best designs, and also got upgraded several times. Lhikan and the Mangai didn’t. they got beat down time and time again and eventually all died protecting their city or turning against it.

I will tell this story in detail, and I think that it is one that needs to be told, because it isn’t one of the main stories that ends all happy, it is a tragedy, but it is the most important and untold tragedy of the entire canon. 

[sepublic]

I love Lhikan and any anger he has towards Nidhiki’s betrayal is fully justified... But I honestly think it was pretty immature of Lhikan to just leave Nidhiki with the Dark Hunters?

Obviously Nidhiki deserved punishment, but punish him in a way where he can’t hurt anyone or else! Keep him in an actual prison, since those clearly must’ve existed on Metru Nui or elsewhere; The Vahki were a police force after all, and Vengeance’s backstory alludes to the possibility of prisons that kept operating even after the end of the Toa-Dark Hunter war.

Leaving Nidhiki to roam free with the Dark Hunters is a bad move; He’s free to hurt other people now, and he’s got a sadistic group who will undoubtedly encourage and even force Nidhiki to do so. Instead, Lhikan gave the Shadowed One a skilled Toa of Air to use. Not only that, but Nidhiki was also used to train Krekka, Vezok, and Poison, which of course has its own problems... As well as the team who stole back the Makoki Stone.

The Makoki Stone; The one Lhikan as a novice failed to protect, while an entire fortress of Toa died trying to keep it from the Frostelus. A failure that clearly haunted him, hence why Hakann was able to use it as emotional leverage against Lhikan; Lhikan didn’t want those teammates’ deaths to be in vain. Yet when given the chance to make up for that... Lhikan immediately screws it up by including Nidhiki’s banishment as part of his demands, thereby undoing one of the reasons for his negotiations with the Dark Hunters. Thereby rendering that rectification obsolete, until the Toa Hagah got it back...

But not before the Brotherhood of Makuta, whom the stone was written about, got their hands on it and thus learned what the Toa knew of them; Likely granting the Makuta an edge against the Toa that they exploited and could’ve led to the deaths of other Toa. Maybe it even contributed to the genocide of Iron and Magnetism Toa, the genocide that led to Zaria being traumatized and shunned. And I should add, Nidhiki being a Dark Hunter leads to Roodaka getting trained by them -since her mutation of Nidhiki was her end of the bargain- which leads to her position in the Brotherhood of Makuta and the mayhem she causes there (including freeing Teridax after Lhikan died so the Toa Metru could imprison him, enabling Teridax to take his plans further to become the Great Spirit).

And speaking of the Toa Hagah, there’s also the fact that Nidhiki and Krekka played a role in defending the Avohkii and helped capture the Toa Hagah, leading to their mutation by Roodaka, because those six are already dealing with the fallout of Lhikan’s mistake! And Nidhiki was likely a source of intel on Metru Nui, contributing to Makuta’s takeover, and the assassination of the Toa Mangai. I’m not saying Nidhiki deserved to go scot-free, but criminals should be punished in a way that keeps them from harming other individuals as well. And if Lhikan chose to make Nidhiki stay with the Dark Hunters, on the vengeful idea that being a servant of the Shadowed One is worse than death (Zaktan can attest), then...

Whoof, that is not very Toa-like, condemning someone to join the Dark Hunters; I wonder how Subterranean felt about that, as a former, innocent Matoran who was also forced to leave with the Dark Hunters that day, because of his mutation and society’s cruelty? It’s really a choice by Lhikan that prioritizes personal catharsis and revenge over peace and safety; Especially since this likely contributed to the deaths of a Lhikan’s teammates. Did Lhikan ever realize this and regret what he did? Did he regret it only after his teammates began to die and he realized Nidhiki was involved?

Or was it before that, did Lhikan regret his decision, thinking of how a normal prison would’ve been both safer, but also left a better chance for Nidhiki to be redeemed; Instead of the corrupting Dark Hunters? And when he saw Nidhiki’s mutation, did Lhikan blame himself for destroying any chance of his brother turning good again; Something he so desperately wanted? Did Lhikan acknowledge that how HE handled the situation was wrong, before nevertheless holding Nidhiki accountable for his crimes upon returning to Metru Nui; Including the deaths of the other Mangai?

Did Lhikan know it was Eliminator who did the actual murdering? And how would he feel if he knew that Nidhiki DID try to leave the Dark Hunters, hoping to become a hero again... Obviously not for altruistic reasons, but that’s preferable to a Nidhiki who fully embraces villainy because of his transformation; Inflicted as punishment for his attempted escape? Did Lhikan regret it out of genuine compassion for Nidhiki after having time to cool down, and/or the consequences that came from this decision? Did he ever ponder this while trapped on the Red Star, with nothing else to do; And would Lhikan bring it up, if asked?

[tiredspacedragon]

I saw that in one of your bionicle posts you had a "laundry list of reasons you wish Nidhiki survived" and as someone who has that spider backstabber as one of my favorites in Bionicle I'm really curious about those laundry reasons.

Oh Nidhiki, what a bastard you were. What a treacherous, beautiful tragedy. Let it be known why you should have lived.

**Warning: Long Post Ahead**

Reason 1: Okay, if I remember correctly, the post where I made the laundry list comment was my Bionicle ships post, so I'll get that out of the way first. Nidhiki and Lariska, man. It's just such quality heartache and I wish we'd gotten more of it.

Reason 2: I do not believe for a second that Nidhiki did not care about his fellow Toa Mangai. If he was truly ambivalent, he wouldn't have been trying to justify his betrayal to himself for so long afterward. So I doubt he was fully on-board with Teridax's plan to murder them all, if he was even aware of it. Even when sent after Lhikan, Nidhiki never tried to kill him, only to capture him. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I don't think Nidhiki wanted Lhikan dead, I think he still cared, even if he would never admit it, even to himself. And I think that seeing Teridax murder Lhikan right in front of him would have sent Nidhiki over the edge, and he would have turned on his employer and aided the Toa Metru. Perhaps only briefly before running away, but even so, in that moment he would have been a Dark Hunter no more.

Reason 3: Imagine Nidhiki still alive when the Visorak Horde, and Roodaka with them, arrived in Metru Nui. Is that the sound of a quest for revenge I hear?

Reason 4: Nidhiki would have probably stayed with the Rahaga after the Horde's defeat. Pursuing Roodaka would be stupid, going back to the Dark Hunters would be even more stupid, and the Rahaga would accept him regardless of his appearance, so long as he didn't get too backstabby. Nidhiki would be forced into having friends and that would be golden.

Reason 5: If Nidhiki stuck with the Rahaga, he likely would have been cured alongside them when Roodaka was finally captured. Toa Nidhiki lives again!

Reason 6: And knowing Nidhiki he would immediately abandon the Hagah because he has options again and he would see the war with the Brotherhood as nothing short of suicide. And then he would very quickly be forced to come back and fight alongside them when it becomes clear that this war spans the entire universe. Better to fight and probably die than to not fight and definitely die.

Reason 7: I just want to see Nidhiki's reaction to Jaller, and to a lesser extent, Tahu. Tahu is basically Lhikan 2.0. Fire Toa? Check. Leader? Check. Hau? Check. Dual swords that can be a board? Check. Nidhiki would be SO annoyed, and at the same time, he'd follow Tahu anywhere precisely because Tahu would remind him of Lhikan. And then there would be Jaller, who's arguably even more like Lhikan, up to actually wearing Lhikan's old mask. I can see Nidhiki simultaneously hating Jaller's guts, especially after he becomes a Toa himself, and being extremely protective of him. Not out of any great fondness for Jaller, but solely because Nidhiki would not be able to take seeing "Lhikan" die a second time. And he'd hate it. He'd be pulling Jaller and the other Mahri's asses out of the fire and he'd be grumbling the entire time.

Reason 8: Nidhiki would have made a perfect Order of Mata Nui agent. Sure, Toa aren't usually allowed to join, but Krakua shows that rule can be broken when needed, and Nidhiki would have been such a good fit. He's already a sneaky bastard, and a skilled thief on top of that, and his bendy morals would make more lethal missions no trouble at all for him.

Reason 9: Tuyet. Seeing Tuyet again would send Nidhiki flying into a rage of true literary proportions. He's been through so much. His body has been mutilated, nearly everyone he's ever cared about is dead, and he's only just started to get back on his feet, but this bitch is still here? Out of everyone, this wretch is the one who has survived? The two traitors, the last Toa Mangai.

TL;DR: I wish Nidhiki had survived Legends of Metru Nui because if he had, he would have been forced onto the path of redemption. He would have tried his damnedest to resist, to remain the backstabbing bastard he was, but the universe would have conspired to deny him that at every turn. Nidhiki was, at his heart, a pragmatist, always choosing the course of action that he thought would benefit him the most, and in the wake of the Great Cataclysm, the best thing for him would have been to remain on the side of the heroes, which would have been hilarious because he would have despised every minute of it, especially when all the morality eventually started to rub off on him. It would have been the perfect case of the "How dare you infect me with morals" redemption style, and it would have been glorious.

I blame bioniclechicken33's Ragnarok comic for all of this. Nidhiki and MCU Loki will forever be the same character in my head.

[ashilean]

NIDHIKI, toa Mangai of air (2/11)

Perched high on the terraces of Le-Metru, Nidhiki watches matoran toil by day and keeps a keen eye for trouble at night. They wear the great Volitak and wield their air scythe with ease and efficiency--their time in the city having shaped them into a more cunning toa than they ever were in their homeland. As the years go on, though, they can't help but feel this work is starting to get a bit dull...

Nidhiki is one of my favourites. While I tend to favour the brighter colours in the LEGO palette--especially when it comes to toa--the dark green is so attractive.

[afanofmanyhats]

Before I start publishing my fanfic, I thought I'd share my notes and headcanons on the Toa Mangai with y'all to help get us situated. I don't have any MOCs built yet, but I'm planning on playing around in Stud.io soon. Eventually I'll be making everyone with real pieces in the far, far future.

Sidenote: in order to figure out how to make eleven characters all feel distinct from each other (especially four Toa of Ice), I decided to base them off of the D&D 5e classes, with the exception of Sorcerer and Warlock, as those wouldn't fit as well into the power system of BIONICLE.

Lhikan, Toa of Fire: Fighter, Hau and Fire Greatswords

Design: Metru red, black, and old gold. Average height and build.

Background: Lhikan lived in a Ta-Matoran within the Northern Continent, working as a Crafter. He specialized in Kanoka disks, hoping to give his fellow Matoran a means of defending themselves. He and his fellow workers ended up being targeted by some unscrupulous Vortixx that tried to make them produce only for them, and when Lhikan made a stand, the Vortixx tried to make an example of him by attempting to throw him into a vat of molten protodermis. Toa Dume was able to rescue him and drive off the Vortixx, and made a note of the Ta-Matoran’s bravery. Millennia later, when Dume retired to become the Turaga of Metru Nui, he returned to Lhikan and gave him a Toa Stone before sending him off to an Order of Toa for training. Lhikan’s time with the Order of Toa was all too brief, as only a few years into his training, their fortress in the Axal Mountains was attacked by Frostelus. Lhikan was ordered to leave with the Makoki Stone against his will by the fortress’ commander, but when he couldn’t locate the object, Lhikan had to flee alone. He wandered alone, half-hoping to perish in the harsh landscape of the Axals before Fau found him nearly frozen. She rescued him from his sorry state, and the two began traveling together, assisting Matoran and eventually being joined by other Toa, forming the Toa Aki.

Personality: Lhikan is, in a word, driven. Driven by his sense of duty to the Matoran and his fellow Toa, driven by his guilt over leaving his Order behind, driven by a need to be the best Toa he can be. His dry sense of humor, tactical mind, and valorous attitude make him a popular leader with his fellow Toa.

Nidhiki, Toa of Air: Rogue, Volitak and Air Scythe

Design: Metru green, dark grey, and silver. Average height with light build.

Background: Nidhiki was a Scout as a Matoran in the Tren Krom Peninsula. He was an expert at moving through its dense jungles and rocky canyons, which kept him alive through many close calls. He became a Toa when his village’s previous protector, a Bo-Toa named Lanekh, was wounded beyond full recovery. Nidhiki had helped Lanekh in his final confrontation with a fully-organic monster of Tren Krom's creation, so Nidhiki was Lanekh’s top pick for his successor. With the aid of his Volitak, Nidhiki became a master of stealth, but took up the habit of spending long spans of time away from his village to scout out potential threats. This came back to bite him when he left for a week to follow a beast only to find a relatively safe route out from his village's isolated position. He returned to find his village ravaged from a monster attack, with only a couple of survivors remaining. Distraught, Nidhiki took the survivors to safety through the discovered path and settled in a port, where he encountered Lhikan, Fau, and Tuyet. With nothing left to tie him down to the Tren Krom Peninsula, Nidhiki leapt at the chance to join a group and leave his homeland behind.

Personality: Nidhiki has an impulsive temperament countered by his need to survive. The traumatic environment of his homeland has made him wary of most people, and he keeps his fellow Toa at arm’s length. Nevertheless, he still wants to be seen as a hero, and to protect the Matoran.

Tuyet, Toa of Water: Barbarian, Hamaki (Mask of Intangibility) and Barbed Broadsword

Design: Trans dark blue, Metru blue, and gunmetal grey. Tall with bulky build.

Background: Tuyet comes from Galiki, a small island several miles to the north-west of the Northern Continent. As a Matoran she worked as a Fisher, and took great pride in her work. She worked alongside her friend Mara under the leadership of Turaga Zes, who unbeknownst to her community had been exiled from the Southern Continent for killing an enemy. When a pod of Takea sharks attacked while the Matoran were at sea, Mara was killed rescuing Tuyet. Tuyet avenged her friend by killing every shark with a net and a harpoon, but was heavily injured herself. Zes gave Tuyet a Toa Stone to keep her from dying, and took the novice under her wing. She trained Tuyet to use her powers lethally, eventually divulging the existence of the Nui Stone in the hope that one day Tuyet would return to the land Zes came from and take vengeance on her enemies. Tuyet, however, was forming her own plans. When she felt she had received enough training from Zes, she slipped away from Galiki with the Nui Stone one night, heading for the Northern Continent. There, she met Lhikan and Fau, and ended up joining them in an attempt to get away from her past.

Personality: Tuyet is zealous in her devotion to guarding Matoran, to the point where she frequently has to be held back from seriously injuring enemies that threaten them. While she is fully capable of nuanced thought, she tends to prefer straightforward solutions, like hitting the problem really hard with her sword.

Fau, Toa of Ice: Ranger, Kaukau and Frost Tridents, Energy Hound

Design: Trans dark blue, white, and silver. Average height with light build.

Background: Fau came from the Axal Mountains, a massive mountain range that divides the Northern Continent in half. The treacherous slopes and dangerous Rahi makes travel difficult, but there are a few safe passages that Scouts can guide caravans through. Fau worked as a Scout for much of her life, guarding travelers through rocky canyons, avalanches, floods, and Rahi attacks. Her heroism and sense of duty gained the attention of Vilti, an old Toa of Lightning, who traveled with Fau for a bit before giving her a Toa Stone and turning into a Turaga. Vilti trained Fau, eventually settling down as a village elder and gifting Fau her old Energy Hound companion named Sparky. Fau struck out on her own to be an even better Scout than before. She ended up crossing paths with Lhikan shortly after his brush with the Frostelus, and helped him survive in the harsh landscape until he felt called to explore more of the Northern Continent. He invited Fau to accompany him, and she decided to join him, becoming the first members of the Toa Aki with him.

Personality: Fau is serious and stoic, her survival instincts honed to a razor’s edge by her years of experience. She feels most comfortable out in nature, away from major centers of civilization.

Mafa, Toa of Ice: Wizard, Olfor (Mask of Conjuring) and Ice Staff with Rhotuka Launcher

Design: White, sand blue, light trans blue, and gold. Tall with average build.

Background: Mafa was one of the best Scholars of Ankha Nui, the largest city within the Northern Continent and a close trade partner to Metru Nui. He’s researched virtually every topic, written hundreds of treatises and papers, but he is mainly known for his work on the various types of protodermis and their effect on elemental abilities. Mafa has been to Metru Nui in the past for research, but he still prefers Ankha Nui over the Knowledge Towers of Ko-Metru. Just a few centuries ago, Mafa was approached by Toa Tiro, who told him that it was his destiny to become a Toa, one who would protect the Great Spirit from an ancient threat. Mafa was initially dismissive of Tiro, but her persistence wore down his resistance, and feeling that he had studied all that he could, he agreed to become a Toa.

His Rhotuka launcher teleports the target to a desired location within line of sight.

Personality: Mafa is intelligent, analytical, and self-impressed. He has a high opinion of himself, and frequently acts like he is the smartest person in the room, typically because he is. Tiro has worked hard to help him embrace humility, and he has been taking lessons now that he is out of his element as a Toa.

Motara, Toa of Stone: Artificer, Kiril with scope and Cordak Rifle, Nynrah Ghost Blaster, and Precision Hammer

Design: Grey, tan, yellow, and gunmetal grey. Average height and build.

Background: Motara was one of the original inhabitants of Odina. He worked as an Engineer, crafting tools and weapons for his fellow Matoran to defend themselves against the wild Rahi that stalked the island’s northern area. When the Dark Hunters came to make their base on Odina, many of the Matoran were captured as slaves or killed; Motara was one of the only refugees to escape. He made his way to Nynrah, where he managed to convince the Nynrah Ghosts to take him on as an apprentice. He trained with them for years, honing his skills as a crafter and coming up with plans to liberate his home. Eventually he moved to Xia with a small group of other Nynrah Ghosts to sell weapons, but Motara focused on selling his arms to other Matoran in order to help them defend themselves. His work eventually caught the attention of Toa Dume, who commissioned a new weapon from him. The process of making the weapon put Motara and Dume in close contact with each other, and Dume eventually coaxed the Matoran’s motivations from him. Dume offered to make Motara a Toa to give him a better way of defending other Matoran, and after much deliberation, Motara agreed. With the completion of his staff, Dume helped Motara become a Toa, and taught him what he knew. Eventually, Motara struck out on his own, setting up shop near the Tren Krom Peninsula to defend the Matoran on the edges of one of the wildest places in the universe.

Personality: Motara has an analytical, dissective mind, and enjoys taking things apart and putting them back together to understand how they work. He has a rough, dry sense of humor and is guarded about his past to most people.

Hura, Toa of Ice: Paladin, Rode and Avalanche Axe with Shield

Design: White, light blue, and silver. Tall with bulky build.

Background: As a Matoran, Hura lived in Ankha Nui, working in the city guard as one of its premier Investigators. His dedication to uprooting crime and corruption made him a target of a Skakdi gang, but he teamed up with Ankha Nui’s Toa, a Psionics Toa named Whul, to take down the threat. As a reward for his years of service, when Whul retired, he was granted a Toa Stone, and became one of the new defenders of Ankha Nui. With the aid of his Rode, Hura became even more of a menace to the criminals of the city, and quickly became one of the most popular Toa. His reputation spread all across the Northern Continent, to the point that Lhikan and Fau sought him out for assistance in dealing with a tribe of Zyglak threatening a trade route. He worked so well with them that he decided to join their group, and quickly became Lhikan's lieutenant thanks.

Personality: Hura is a dedicated, focused man who religiously believes in the Three Virtues. He also upholds the Toa Code more vigorously than most, doing his best to be honest and admirable to the Matoran he guards.

Naho, Toa of Water: Bard, Huna and Harpoon Bow

Design: Metru blue, Mata blue, trans purple, and silver. Average height and build.

Background: Naho was a Student in Ga-Metru, known for taking classes in as many topics as she could. She was a veritable sponge for knowledge, but never graduated to a Teacher, as many expected, as she was perfectly content to only learn. Besides studying, though, she was one of the finest singers in Ga-Metru, and had experience boating. Over time, Naho’s curiosity to explore other lands became a driving force in her life, but she was reluctant to leave without a friend, and no one she knew was willing to leave Metru Nui. That changed when she met Marn in one of her language classes, and the two quickly bonded. Upon learning about Marn’s own desire to experience other islands, they purchased a boat together, finished up their work in Metru Nui, and sailed off for the Northern Continent. After years of traveling together, the two became Toa after saving a village of Le-Matoran from a Nui Rama swarm. They trained with a Le-Turaga mentor named Exival, but eventually left the village in the care of a Le-Toa in order to continue exploring. They eventually met Kanae, and she joined their band. The three have them have sailed around the Northern and Southern Continents, Stelt, Zakaz, and Xia, protecting Matoran wherever they could.

Personality: Naho is studious, curious, and quick-witted. She enjoys discussion and music, frequently bantering with her siblings when she isn't learning new songs from other lands.

Marn, Toa of Earth: Cleric, Kakama and Quake Hammer with Shield

Design: Black, sand green, and gold. Short with bulky build.

Background: A former Archivist from Onu-Metru, Marn specialized in stories and artifacts from foreign lands. Years of cataloging and recording legends from far away inspired Marn to travel to these places firsthand, but he could never get the funding for it approved by the Chief Archivist, Mamoru. On a whim, Marn decided to enroll in a class on a language from the Northern Continent he had come across in his work, and met Naho as a fellow student. The two hit it off, and after learning of their mutual desire to travel, bought a boat and sailed for the Northern Continent. Marn kept a journal of their adventures, planning on eventually returning it to Metru Nui and adding it to the Archives, but his transformation into a Toa changed his plans. Now, his focus is on protecting the Matoran and preserving their different ways of life.

Personality: Marn is curious, quiet, and self-assured, confident in his abilities and mindful of his limitations. He believes strongly in preserving the past and understanding others, which frequently makes him a mediator in his team.

Kanae, Toa of Plantlife: Druid, Amana (Mask of Healing) and Thorn Sickle

Design: Dark blue, lime green, Mata green, and gold. Small with light build.

Background: Kanae was a Healer from a heavily forested area in the Northern Continent. As a Matoran, she was exemplary for her patience, compassion, and expertise in her craft. When a parasite created by Mutran made its way to her village, Kanae was the first to identify what was diseasing her people and concocted a cure. It worked marvelously, preventing any deaths from a wasting infection, and she was soon able to spread the cure to the rest of the Northern Continent. To honor her achievements, Kanae’s Turaga offered her a Toa Stone, which she accepted. Kanae mainly used her powers over plantlife to ensure prosperity for her people, but as the years passed without a major threat, she began to wonder if her duty required her elsewhere. When Naho and Marn stopped by her village in their travels, she begged to join them, and left with her village’s blessing to help those more in need.

Personality: Kanae is a dedicated, compassionate healer, always seeking to help. She is also fairly quiet, preferring to stay out of the limelight.

Tiro, Toa of Ice: Monk, Calix and Adamant Staff with Rhotuka Launcher

Design: Dark grey, white, and gunmetal grey. Tall with average build.

Background: Tiro comes from the slopes of Mt. Vikhtol within the Southern Continent, which holds the Temple of Destiny. The Temple is one of the holiest places within the SC, containing prophecies and visions of many different Seers. Tiro was a Seer, as well as the Temple’s guardian Toa. She stayed there for millennia, defending the temple from Rahi, as well as Dark Hunters and other brigands who wished to steal the secrets contained within. She has honed her body and her mind almost to perfection, and her Kanohi Calix gives her the edge she needs against any opponent. Her time with the temple ended when she received a vision to seek out the Scholar Mafa in Ankha Nui to help him achieve his destiny. She prepared for her departure by training a successor, and set out to find the Matoran her visions spoke of. Since finding Mafa and helping him become a Toa, she has done her best to train him in wisdom, not just intelligence.

Her Rhotuka has a calming effect on those it hits, sometimes to the point of knocking them out.

Personality: Tiro possesses vast wisdom, which she likes to convey in parables and the occasional riddle. She tends to be quiet, preferring to observe before she acts in any situation, but her devotion to the Great Spirit and the Toa Code are unshakeable.

Kodan, Po-Matoran: Chronicler, Erodo (Mask of Psychometry) and Chronicler’s Staff with Kanoka Disk Launcher

Design: Brown, black, and grey. Metrutoran.

Background: Kodan was a Merchant that traveled between the different Metrus, with a knack for Kanoka disks that led to him- at least he claims- inventing Akilini. His route around Metru Nui brought him in contact with many different walks of life, but one of his favorite places was Onu-Metru, as he found the stories stored within the Archives fascinating. At one point Marn tried to get him to become a junior Archivist, but Kodan decided against it, as he liked the freedom his current job gave him.

Personality: Kodan is friendly and personable, good at putting people at ease to share things with him. He also has a mean competitive streak, as while his invention of Akilini is up for debate, his skill with it is unquestionably high.

[bobthedoctor27]

Legacy of the Toa Mangai

Over the Dark Times, the Rahaga and Turaga Dume traveled across Metru Nui recovering the bodies of the Toa Mangai. This was especially important to Dume as he felt he had personally failed the guardians of Metru Nui in his absence. Collecting what remains they could, the seven of them built a shrine in the Great Temple to honor the fallen heroes of Metru Nui's golden age.

1000 years later, when the Matoran returned to Metru Nui and the Toa Nuva set off to Voya Nui, the Turaga looked towards the future and decided that the Matoran Universe would soon need another team of Toa.

With Dume’s support, Vakama decided to smelt down the weapons of the Toa Mangai and reforged them as a new set of Toa Tools for a new Toa team, believing that the Toa Mangai would have wanted new warriors to take up their arms in the name of the Great Spirit. In the eyes of the Turaga, this was a means of honoring the forgotten unnamed Toa.

No Toa Tool should be allowed to gather dust when the universe is at war with itself - when the Matoran of Metru Nui face the tyranny of Makuta...

[kai-borg]

The Mangai Trio

A second chance can change everything

In a time once following the same path as its original, and so many before it, three heroes of legend fell. From corruption, betrayal, and death. 

But now, now their time has been redone. It has become far different than it once was. 

An accident happened. 

An unforeseen event that was not supposed to be.

One was sent back. They were reforged. Their body remade twice over, their mind broken yet still held together, and changed through their future experiences and knowledge of what their chosen path and its choices brought unto them.

Once cruel, malicious, a betrayer to those he should’ve held most dear all for a foolish belief that a position of higher standing, no matter the cost it would take to gain nor where it came from, and what accepting it would mean, would lead to a better life than what he already had.

Now he knows how wrong he was. His mistakes unforgettable, his consequences and failures permanently etched into his body twice over, and the memories of what he caused, where his path eventually lead, and the horrifying fate he received, forever in his nightmares.

Now all he wishes is to, while unable to fix his own self’s idiotic choices of past, ensure he does not lose his family, that which brought him his only true happiness in life, something he wished he had realized so much earlier, again.

And he has succeeded. But with his success came change. Not just for himself, and those he aimed to save, but also how time and its past events once proceeded.

A fate he’d no way of avoiding. For a second chance can change everything.

Here we have the famous trio. Different from what they once were due to times own changes.

Nidhiki, the one who fell through time.

Tuyet, the one who lived.

And Lhikan, the one who turned ‘renegade’. 

-===================-

So, first off some basic info for this AU/timeline thing. 

Basically in this world (i.e my story/Tekan’s timeline) everything basically went exactly the same as it did in the canon beyond the inclusion of Tek, who honestly could’ve just been your average background Ta-Matoran of little import, especially after they all lost their memories (I.e. his friendship with Takua) following Teridax’s temporary takeover... or at least it did at first.

The two differences, both so surprisingly small for how big the changes they caused became, but perhaps such makes sense when it is considered that both were related to the Vahi.

First was the time of the Vahi’s completion, or at least its near completion. In this world Vakama had nearly completed it early, early enough that upon Teridax’s ‘proper’ reveal through means of draining the power plant, he had a mask that, while technically wearable, was far from stable, much less controllable.

The second was Teridax’s choice in who, and what he was going to absorb. 

While, yes, he did of course take Nidhiki and Krekka first, in this world the risk of letting the Vahi, now completed to a point where he himself could easily finish it if need be, slip through his grasp was enough to tip the balance from, ‘letting the Metru escape', to instead, ‘taking them out early/at all’. Certainly a change in plan, but as we who have read the story know it would’ve honestly done little in preventing it.

In fact it would’ve most likely decreased its timeframe by an astronomical amount. Certainly, the Toa were useful in getting him what he wanted, but as was fairly obvious the Makuta themselves could’ve just as easily accomplished the tasks themselves.

There’s very little beyond a Toa that can slow a Makuta for an amount of time that actually counts, much less kill them, and honestly nothing of the sort was really utilized in protecting the various necessities of Teridax’s plan. 

Even the ‘impenetrable’ shield protecting its final, and most import ‘key’ was quite quickly shown to be a false label.

So by removing the Toa in their entirety, well, all that’s left is the OOMN and truthfully when compared with the Brotherhood, well, they’re at best just even, and at worst, rather,well, disadvantaged.

So, Teridax in this world choice to also go for the Toa following his meal of a crab-spider, and its one eyed friend. This would both removed future irritants, and gain him the Vahi, which he could easily finish himself. Especially seeing as how he’d soon absorb Vakama, the one who was making it, into himself.

Unfortunately for Teridax, said choice didn’t exactly go to plan. But hey, how could he have expected Vakama to be so desperate as to put on, and attempt to activate the unstable, highly powerful mask he’d yet to complete in attempt to stop him as he’d made a grab for the Toa.

Due to said instability of the legendary mask, upon activating it instead of simply stopping, or at least merely slowing Teridax’s shadow hand, Vakama instead literally broke time around not only his fellow Toa who were in range of the mask, but also around Teridax’s entire self. The uncontrolled temporal energy quickly latching onto, and arcing through Teridax’s entire being. Including the yet to be fully absorbed duo he’d grabbed earlier.

This ‘breakage’ of time managed to create a sort of... pause, or saved point in time. An area where no matter what actions were taken would somehow repeat itself throughout the timeline. 

A loop of sorts, but also one that saved the... imprint of the original selves of those affected. An imprint which would recombine with its ‘new’ versions, forcing them to remember how their original timeline went in comparison to whatever differences may have occurred in their new one up to that point.

It also further affected Teridax and those... ‘combined. Due to the energy that crawled through Teridax’s gaseous self being a fair bit more unstable.

Of the three two,the dark hunter duo, found themselves rocketed back in time as copies, and the third, the ‘dark lord’, found himself combined with his past self, but left with only foggy, fragmented remains of his ‘original’ self’s memories. Certainly not as great a fate as the other two, but it was more than enough to cause some... changes, some steps taken earlier, much earlier, in his plans.

In particular his choice of when he took over both the Brotherhood, and Metru-Nui. I.e. A whole lot earlier than he did in canon! The few memories he either had intact, or had managed to partially puzzle back together showing him more than enough to figure out how exactly he accomplished both before, or at least how he now could.

Due to this many other events found themselves... misplaced in the timeline. Such as certain events coming earlier, or perhaps not at all, or past deaths (or at least assumed ones) not happening when they should’ve due to the events needed to cause them not happening as they originally did.

-===================-

Nidhiki, the one who fell through time

Name: Nidhiki

Element: Air

Gender: Male

Species: mutated Toa

Kanohi: Powerless, mutated Volitak, fused to face

Weapon/s: Built in, extendable, claw daggers

Bio: Nidhiki re-entered his timeline with a crackling tear of temporal energ, pained and ragged screaming, and a fall from the apex of Metru Nui’s coliseum. 

The fatal impact itself barely lessened to a more agonizing than deadly outcome by his elementally given instincts, and the few remnants of his power he’d regained.

To say the when of his re-arrival was both the best, and worst place in time would be putting it lightly. For he’d landed just after his past-counterparts betrayal and exile, a wound, while still fresh for his siblings, far more easily mended than what it had become after being kept from healing so many times, and left to fester and grow for as long as it did in his own future, but also a time long since past the loss of one member of his ‘family’s’ trio.

Or at least it should’ve been.

To say that, after initial introductions had been completed, and some of the confusion cleared up (and certain dangers made clear), such as Lhikan’s surprised arrival to his suddenly traumatized, and clearly... ‘changed’ brother after having exiled him just a few days ago, and then ‘Dume’s’ (or should I say Teridax’s) arrival, enraged recognition of the just (re)appeared Toa, and then said Toa’s panicked attack on him, which ‘Dume’ quickly took advantage of to declare both he and Lhikan, as traitor’s of the state to the Vahki (having scheduled the forces creation much earlier), Nidhiki was surprised to learn Tuyet was somehow alive would be true. 

To say he was also beyond overjoyed, and soon after beyond terrified once he began recognizing certain events from time once long passed began, would also be.

Surprisingly enough Nidhiki quickly got Lhikan on his side. The Toa having only had past suspicions, ones gained from having Teridax impersonating his Turaga for a time far greater than before, confirmed by ‘Dume’s’ declaration.

Even more so he managed to, not only stop Tuyet before she made any attempts at murder, but also redeemed, or at least set on the path of redemption, her, well, very self. Managing to now have a sister who actually saw her siblings as family, or at least potential ones.

Following this the Trio quickly became the cities most infamous inhabitants. Becoming so-called ‘renegades’, outright betrayals of Toa-Kind, yet whose acts only worked to undermine ‘Dume’, and his so called righteous intentions.

Saving Matoran unjustly attacked by Vahki, destroying what could be considered fleets of the cities so called robotic defenders (more like enforcers of ‘Dume’s’ will as many considered them), and even more actions far too heroic for what were supposed to be such vile ‘evil-doers’ as Dume was trying to make them out to be.

Tuyet, the one who lived

Name: Tuyet

Element: Water

Gender: Female

Species: Toa

Kanohi: Mask of intangibility 

Weapon/s: Crook scythe

Bio: Tuyet, a Toa once turned murderer all in attempt to keep an artifact of such power it never should’ve been made, much less given to a single protector. For power always corrupts at least a little bit, and for one who’s mind is far from the ‘purest’, such an addictive rush (as power typically is) is very difficult to give up, whereas finding ways to justify its use is so much easier. 

And Tuyet, well, we’ve seen just how far she can push her reasoning for justification.

In this world though, Tuyet was given a fairly good reason to choose the more difficult path once her time’s Lhikan, and a Nidhiki of a different future, but still with the knowledge of what would soon come, confronted her before she was pushed to that level of justification by  the recent of appearance of some dark hunters with a certain prey in mind. She’d yet to hear of one of her brothers sudden reappearance, much less of the pairs subsequent shift to ‘villainy’, a definite stopper in her plan if she’d known earlier.

When Nidhiki and Lhikan confronted her she was just beginning to prepare for said plan as it was. So she hadn’t yet set up the preparations needed for any surprise visits, such as hiding the Nui Stone. So when the two burst into her home, they caught her red-handed. Somewhat literally at that going by the crystal’s hue.

Now, any other timeline this would’ve resulted in Tuyet attacking, and either winning the battle, or losing it, but in this one, well, while she did attack the two she was quick to willingly forfeit.

Now at this point Nidhiki had only just been, well, shot out of his temporal anomaly of a portal a few hours ago, and he was still littered with loose temporal energy. So when Tuyet activated the stone to drain the pairs powers, she got a full dosage of overcharged temporal energy channeled into her.

Enough to, while not send her through time, essentially temporarily connect her to her various selves potential timelines, and force her to witness what her fate could be.

Now while a number were, yes, shows of success, they for the most part ended in painful failure. One could certainly argue that now that she knew about how she failed she could easily work to prevent it, but it didn’t fully assure she would succeed in the first place. 

And, well, the chance she’d seen how the OOMN dealt with the main timeline Tuyet, and she’d rather not have taken the risk that she would end up being the Tuyet ‘copy’ they took.

Along with this the energy itself interfered with the Stone, it did have a limit on what it could contain and temporal energy, especially when unstable, was a powerful, powerful force.

While the stone did not outright shatter, it did... fracture when she attempted to deactivate it. It was like it was caught in a temporal anomaly of itself, both shattering, and yet not at the same time.

This ended up with her being peppered with temporaly infused shards of the Nui Stone, and being left with a greatly weakened, and structurally unsound artifact.

Following the Trio’s... fight (if you could really call it that) Tuyet was quick to throw her lot in with Nidhiki and Lhikan. The fact they both quickly made to help her following the Stone’s ‘glitch’ also helped affirm the choice as the best one in her mind.

Due to the temporal infusement of the shards of Nui Stone stuck inside of Tuyet they’re kept in a form of constant temporal instability. Permanently active, yet also infused with Tuyet’s very self, this in turn causes the odd effect of causing Tuyet to now be the main focus of their elemental energy draining, but only from the environment around her instead of other Toa as is natural for her kind.

Unfortunately she is still limited to only using her own element, thus leaving her rather stock full of useless energy of the various other elements. This is where the Stone comes into use, and why the OOMN have so far not tried to take it (beyond the fact that without she’d eventually go off in what would basically be a nuke’s equivalent of a self-feeding elemental detonation that would leave its effected area permanently wiped of all elemental energy, and the surrounding highly depleted).

Tuyet uses the stone to both filter out the various energies within herself, convert what she can, and store the rest for later use.

This also causes a number of areas on her body, namely those with visible shards in them to lightly glow with elemental energy.

At the same time that the shards absorb/filter energy they also grow, attempting to revert back to their original temporal state, but forced to remain still infused with Tuyet, and thus stuck in their current one. 

This is a very painful affliction for the Toa, but a useful one in a way at least

The infusement of time energy, and its various effects also managed to warp Tuyet’s body, stretching her into a more lanky, and thinner form. Similar to Nidhiki’s own in a way, just much less withered.

The Nui Stone

The Nui Stone, once an artifact capable of power more immense than any should have. Power that is most certainly more addictive than it is not.

As Tuyet herself can most certainly acclaim to.

Nowadays the Stone is, while weakened, still a force to be reckoned with. Just one far less versatile than it was before. 

At least if you don’t want it to shatter after a single use it is.

Lhikan, the one who turned ‘renegade’

Name: Lhikan

Element: Fire

Gender: Male

Species: Toa

Kanohi: Hau

Weapon/s: Fire greatswords

Bio: Lhikan is perhaps both the most confused, yet also happiest of the Trio. For now he has regained both his lost siblings. Even if he only remembers losing one, and even then a more recent, much less devastating loss than said brother knows it grew into.

Lhikan was quick to believe Nidhiki’s story, he’d had his suspicions of Dume for years now. He’d noticed he’d become... different, even if he couldn’t outright tell why. The fact it was his own brother, screaming in pain, mutated, and clearly aged and traumatized by events he had no knowledge of also helped.

The sudden announcement of an additional, robotic force of defenders, and a number of recent deaths, or at least near ones for his various other teammates, and some just outright disappearing, all while on missions given to them by Dume had left him even further wary.

So when Dume suddenly became enraged, and seemingly recognized Nidhiki immediately despite his mutations after arriving on the scene to see what was happening, followed by Nidhiki’s own horrified apparent recognition of him, and panicked attack Lhikan was quick to figure out his suspicions had been correct.

And only had them further confirmed when Dume labeled him an accomplice despite his own reaction to Nidhiki’s attempted attack was to stop him.

He was also quick to agree with his brother’s plan of saving his sister, though he did at first have some doubts that such was true, having seen no real proof as to her having such a dark side as of yet. At least he was until they caught her holding the stone, and would’ve most likely been killed outright if it wasn’t for Nidhiki’s remnant sparks of temporal energy.

Following this, and Dume’s soon following announcement of the Trio’s newest status as the most terrible of ne'er-do-wells, Lhikan himself decided to get some upgrades to his form to make his new vigilante lifestyle a touch easier.

From a more taller, more lanky build, similar to his two sibling’s own, just now a prposeful choice, making him far more aerodynamic, and a fair bit more suited for parkour, a useful skill when running from Vahki, and a modification to his ‘Fire board’. A modification which now allowed him to strap the two greatswords to his arms and have them also be able to act as wings instead of only a flying surfboard, a much, much more maneuverable choice, and what eventually lead to his ‘nickname’ amongst the Matoran as the ‘Darkened Angel’.

Despite how modified his form is, it’s still difficult to gain access to the necessary pieces, and people needed to keep up repairs due to his criminal status.

And while Tuyet is partially temporally anomalified, keeping her form from aging in a manner any more detrimental than just the basic aging, and Nidhiki was physically set back to quite a younger age despite his remaining mutations which would’ve come about far past it, Lhikan has none of these benefits, and it is clearly shown in the visible decrepitness of his form.

From a back hunched with age and damage, to arm dulled and rusted from battle despite his own attempts to keep it as clean as possible.

Lhikan is just happy to have his family back, even despite the rather... disheartening tales of what they would’ve done, and what his Nidhiki would be doing, had future!Nidhiki not appeared.

Lhikan’s ‘wing’ positions:

Folded/speed position

Extended/Agility position

And now to wait until someone notices it.

[doctorwhi63]

Mafa, spirit of the truth,

Slain by the masked tyrant

Of all the Toa Mangai, Mafa was the most well-loved, second only, perhaps, to Lhikan. More than any other Toa, he was a champion of the Matoran first and foremost, protecting them from anyone who might threaten their freedom—including (and especially) the other members of his team. He made no secret of his distrust for his brothers and sisters; after all, the three Toa of his home island went mad when he was only a Matoran and tried to take over. He led the resistance which eventually defeated them, but he shuddered to think what eleven might do if left unchecked.

Wielding twin snow hammers and wearing a Kanohi Rode, Mafa was one of the four Toa of Ice who guarded Metru Nui. He didn’t limit his patrol to Ko-Metru, however, seeing himself as a Toa of the people. “The Hammer of Mafa” became a common euphemism for justice throughout the city, and more than a few citizens owed Mafa for saving them from overzealous Vahki. Despite his close friendship with the Matoran, none of the other Toa really considered him a friend. That was intentional: Mafa knew he had to keep his distance from the team in case he needed to fight them one day. In the end, that distance killed him—the false Dume couldn’t have him seeing through his disguise, and Eliminator had little trouble with one isolated Toa of Ice.

Project Mangai: Part 3/11

[vintageindianclothing]

Anubha George’s piece in scroll, in which I am quoted.

The nightie may be having a bit of an outerwear moment in the west but it has always been upon us per huffpost and especially in Kerala.

Pics: Saroja Devi wearing a luxe nightgown in Anbe Vaa and screengrab from an ad for Mangai nighties.

[kanohivolitakk]

Some ramblings about Memory and why I’m happy it wasn’t canonized

Honestly the more I think about the story, the happier I am that Memory (a winner of the Memories of the Dead canonization contest) was never officially canonized. And Im saying this as someone who absolutely adores Nidhiki as a character and would've liked to see more content of him, especially one that explores his psyche in a nuanced manner.

Before we go on a few disclaimers. First off, yes, I'm aware that Memory is fan-made and that some people see critiquing fanfics as bad, at the very least unless the author personally requested it. And I completely understand that sentiment given that fanfics are hobbies and the writers may not always want critique on stuff they worked on for personal fun and passion. Thing is, Memory was not only submitted to a canonization contest, but was one of the winners. The only reason it (and the other winners of the contest) weren't canonized was because Greg wasn't allowed to visit BZPower anymore (or had it to do with LEGO quitting Bionicle g1 completely in preparation for g2, don't remember tbh). In other words, Memory was this close getting canonized, and was only left out due to external circumstances. That makes criticizing Memory fair game in my opinion.

Secondly: I actually like Memory as a story. It's well written, explores Nidhikis character in an interesting way and has a really interesting theme of how some individuals are forced into roles they didn't want to by circumstance. I think it fills in gaps from the lore nicely (especially the ending). And not only does the story use Mimic (a Dark Hunter I desperately wish was used in canon) it characterizes and uses him rather well. Him acting as a pararell/comparasion to Nidhiki is a solid way to showcase the storys central theme. All in all, it's a solid story in vacuum. Even as part of the larger Bionicle mythos I do like some elements of it and have adopted them into my headcanonverse.

That being said, I have one major issue with the story specifically regarding how it relates to the greater Bionicle canon. And that is, giving Nidhiki a "my original teammates were killed by Dark Hunters and now I desire revenge" type of backstory doesn't work for his character and arguably makes him less interesting.

First off, I understand why the writer chose to do this decision, to paint Nidhiki in a more sympathetic light. In canon, Nidhiki isn't really a sympathetic character (or at the very least wasn't intended to be one, ymmv whether or not he can be seen as one). He is selfish and his reason for betraying toa Mangai boils down to desire for glory and self-preservation. So wanting to give Nidhiki a more sympathetic backstory in order for the reader to understand why he is like that and thus sympathizing with him makes sense especially given how Bionicle doesn’t really have that many sympathetic villains to begin with and Nidhiki is one of the few who could easily be written in a more sympathetic light without making his character worse thanks to his backstory being rather tragic and there being a few hints of him being a more sympathetic character than the canon presents.

Thing is, by giving Nidhiki a desire of wanting revenge against Dark Hunters, I feel the writer misses a major part of Nidhikis character, one that could be easily expanded on to make him a more sympathetic and understandable character: his pragmatic opportunism born out of survival instinct.

Nidhiki is largely driven by pragmatism and self-preservation, by making actions that benefit him. This sense of pragmatism most likely comes from him coming from Tren Krom Peninsula: a harsh climate where you had to be pragmatic in order to survive. Pretty much everything from his characterization boils down to this survival instinct, this desire to survive taught by harsh living conditions. This is the core of his characterization and something worth keeping in mind  both when trying to understand him and writing him. And while the writer of   Memory does understand this to some extent, I feel they only saw it as part of his character rather than the main core of his characterization and driving force of his actions.

While Nidhiki loosing his teammates does add more fuel into him not trusting anyone and developing this pragmatic mindset (something Memory does pretty good job showcasing), I also feel that it's kinda unnecessary. It feels as if it exists as this big push, this big traumatic event that shaped Nidhiki's mindset into this pragmatic self-survival we see in canon and I just...don't feel that suits him. It makes more sense if rather than one big traumatic event that made him what he was it was a series of smaller events, it was him living in a place with a certain mental climate that forced a certain mindset just so he could survive.

The backstory also feels that like it exists largely to give Nidhiki a history with and grudge against the Dark Hunters which just...doesn't make sense at all when you give more context into canon. Like, if Nidhiki had a grudge against them I doubt he would've interacted with Lariska the way he did in BOADH let alone agreed to betray his team, no matter how good opportunity it felt like. Well at least it gives him one more reason to despise TSO and his organization and that’s always a plus if you ask me.

However,the main reason I don't really like this is because it feels kinda cliche and makes Nidhiki less interesting than he could be. Like, it feels that the easiest way to make your audience to sympathize with a villain is to give them a tragic backstory of them loosing a loved one that made them bitter and cynical. It just feels like a cop-out, an easy shorthand. It feels such "been there done that" and does more harm than good for Nidhikis characterization, feels like its there to make him more sympathetic through tried and true means than actually trying to understand him and what makes him tick, and building up a more sympathetic portrayal from there.

What makes this all worse is that I do think you could make Nidhiki a more sympathetic character without resorting to cliche tools like that. And thats by focusing on expanding on whats already there: his desire for survival and self-preservation. While it does make him rather selfish, its also what makes him understandable and (for lack of better term) real. While we want to talk about how self-righteous and good we are, truth is that desire for self-preservation and survival is a driving force that can override (or at the very least heavily affect) our moral compass, especially if you come from a traumatic upbringing. And like I said, the harsh survival of the fittest nature of T.K Peninsula certainly was that kind of place where Nidhiki was essentially forced to adapt a certain mindset. It’d be cool to see him slowly develop this mindset from the environment he grew up in, to have whatever potential goodness and optism he once had be eroded through him having to come in terms with the messed up nature of the world. it would’ve made him much more interesting, sympathetic and tragic character than he is in canon, all while feeling unique

That being said, I understand why the writer did the way they did. Like I said, Nidhiki isn’t exactly the most sympathetic character in canon, and wanting to give him a backstory that’s easy to sympathize with is an easy and good way to do that. It’s also worth pointing out that Memory was an oneshot, so the writer didn’t have time to go through everything Nidhiki went through before becoming part of Toa Mangai and as such, it’s easy to understand why the writer choose to give one big event that changed his mindset. I also dont think giving Nidhiki revenge motive is inherently bad (I mean its basically canon he wanted revenge against Lhikan), nor is making him more emotional and not just a pragmatic opportunist (if anything making him emotional is more than welcome in this house). But I feel that Memory just kinda, changes his character in such a drastic way that didn't sit with me, at least not completely. It kinda makes him an archetypical "I'm aloof and refuse to work with others because I lost my friends against these villains" type of character. Not only is that rather cliche that's also not what Nidhiki is like...He's more interesting as an opportunist who became such due to the harsh nature of Tren Krom Peninsula rather than your archetypical edgy shonen anime rival whos aloof because tragic backstory murder.

So yeah, Memory is a good story but I’m happy it isn’t canon because while it was an interesting take of my favorite Bionicle character, it being canon would’ve done more harm than good for his characterization as whole I feel. Also you can make a character sympathetic without having to resort to “they saw someone close to them die and desire revenge because of that”, especially when it doesn’t fit to that characters characterization as whole.