#kanohi huna

[alic0rez]

i love how these three are entirely different characters despite looking like some pokemon evolution line lol

[tiredspacedragon]

I wonder if the thing about Huna and Volitak-users still casting a shadow has less to do with the physics of how their powers work and more to do with the concept of moral light and darkness.

Because logically, a Huna-user shouldn't cast a shadow if they're truly invisible, since light would be either passing through them or bending around them. But we know they are truly invisible because there is simply no way for a mere chameleon ability to be that effective, no matter how good it is. No matter how well camouflaged you are from one angle, you will be noticeable from another; that's the downside of living in 3 dimensions; but Huna-users don't have that problem. And we know it's not a psychically-derived ability either, because it works on machines like the Vahki. And that's not even getting into how a Volitak could make someone translucent without affecting their shadow.

So maybe we're looking at this wrong by assuming that shadows in Bionicle work exactly like they do in our world. Maybe for them, a being's shadow is a physical manifestation of their inner darkness, a constant reminder that though the people of the world may be builders, in their hearts also exists the capacity to destroy. So when a Huna or Volitak user turns invisible or translucent, respectively, any physical shadow they may have cast is eliminated or significantly lessened, but they cannot so easily shed their moral shadow, so its visible manifestation continues to follow them.

If it did work like that, then I wonder what the ramifications of that would be. Would beings with less inner light have darker shadows? Is there a whole culture in the MU around judging someone's trustworthiness by the shade of their shadow? Would beings like Makuta and Shadow Matoran who have no inner light left at all be constantly followed by pitch black wraiths, as if they weren't creepy enough already? What about beings like the Melding Makuta, who have purged their inner darkness, or Umbra, who never had any to begin with? Would they cast shadows at all?

I'm not really going anywhere with this idea; I was just trying to figure out how the two sneaky Kanohi might work and this idea popped into my head; but I thought it was an interesting concept and wanted to share it. Y'know, as much fun as it is to analyze Bionicle through the lens of our world and how things might play out based on the rules we know, sometimes I think Greg has a point about not assuming our laws of physics exactly apply to the Bionicle universe.

[onvermel]

These are the real question folks.

Seriously though. If one was to photo edit a moc which way should one go?

[sepublic]

So the Noble Akaku resembles its adaptive version, right? Same goes for the Miru and Kakama... Now I’m imagining that a hypothetical Adaptive Huna would bear a closer resemblance to the Noble Huna than its Great version... Maybe the Adaptive Huna would just be the film version, since it definitely looks close to the Noble Huna. In an AU where Toa Vakama dons the Adaptive Armor, he’d resemble his movie counterpart, or at least his mask would.

[basingamer]

(Keep in mind I’m referring to the Great versions of these masks, so they’re at their full potential)

Please reblog and state your reason for your choice. Doesn’t need to be complex, also please name the mask you pick. I can’t see your votes.

[downtofragglerock]

I finally read the bionicle story bible and here's the most interesting things I noted from it (I might be forgetting a thing or two)

while the gba game and the cancelled pc game are brought up multiple times, mnog isn't, at least from what I can tell

nokama, nuju, kotu, hewkii, hafu, and jaller all have different names

the turaga were originally called the kahuna

the noble kanohi were called the mortal kanohi and the hau was one while the huna was a great kanohi (this is not a case of name change as the powers they each have are still the same as they are in the final version)

gali and kopaka are said to be twins, the same is also true for onua and pohatu

tahu and lewa are stated to be besties, while the main tension between the toa as a group comes from tahu and gali, rather than tahu and kopaka in the final story

the toa kaita's domains were swapped

the kanohi were considered masks of wisdom rather than of power

the toa's trials to get them were more intellectual and puzzle based

the turaga in general have different characterization than in the final story, some minor, some major

pohatu is described as "slow" and "sure footed" as opposed to the speedster we know

while not outright stated, the text implies that what will become ga koro was situated on an inland lake, rather than the coastal settlement it will become

likewise, onu koro is coastal and may or may not even be underground

rahi as a term does not seem to apply to all of the island's creatures, rather two specific guardian beasts under makuta, the rahi tori (who will become the muaka), and the rahi kahu (later just the kahu, an ally creature to the matoran)

the manas are considered even separate from that

the tarakava were originally conceived as "boxing gorillas" rather than semi-aquatic reptiles

makuta's final form is described as having three heads, a cobra, a tiger, and a hawk

And two big ones (at least for me)

takua is absolutely nowhere to be found in this document, not even a slight hint at their existence

mata nui awakening and being revealed to be a giant robot that they were all living on was originally only the first part of an even bigger plot twist, that being that Mata Nui was only one of six giant robots that had all crash landed on the planet, and that the other five were still out there, comatose in very different environments (obviously this was clearly meant to be a potential way to continue the story if it did well, as it's been known for some time that bionicle's original story was initially only meant to last for one year)

Overall it was a very intriguing read, interesting to see what changed and what remained the same

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

Every Bionicle mask-power summarised.

Hau: Everything-proof shield

Kaukau: "Hey, wanna see how long I can hold my breath underwater?"

Miru: Somewhat balanced flight powers (can't take off from a standstill; horizontal movement at least somewhat controlled by wind)

Kakama: Wheeeeeeeee!

Pakari: Kinda like the Berserk Pack from Doom

Akaku: X-ray specs

Huna: Stealth mode

Rau: Google Translate

Mahiki: Illusions, but also just full-on shapeshifting for some reason?

Komau: Hypnotism kink

Ruru: "Night vision", which canonically manifests as a torch-like beam projected from the mask's front, and gives the wearer actual night-vision, and yet more x-ray stuff

Matatu: Gmod Physgun Telekinesis Addon 2004 No Virus

Calix: Basically X-Cell from Fallout 4 but without the intelligence boost

Elda: Thing finder, for finding things

Suletu: Telepathy and also psychic torture

Sanok: Aimbot

Kadin: Very unbalanced flight powers (literally the only downside is that the user can't hover in place)

Iden: Out of body from morning to night/Dance floor packed and I'm feeling alright

Arthron: *Whale noises*

Faxon: "Hey, wanna see my animal impressions?"

Zatth: Kinda like if going "pspsps" had an equal chance of attracting a cat, a bear or a car-sized land-octopus

Garai: Gravity-y-y-y-y-y, on me/Never let me down, gent-ly damn, two Gorillaz references in one post; I'll try to use another band next time

Volitak: Same as the Huna but worse

Tryna: Wise fwom your gwave!

Jutlin: Rust-vision

Avsa: *Vampire noises*

Felnas: Messes up your abilities, but only through touch for some reason?

Mohtrek: I have no idea how I'd condense this mask's timeline-fuckery into a single se- where did all these scars come from?

Shelek: ‍

Crast: Pushes others away

Mask of Mutation: Guess.

Mask of Scavenging/Vulture: Like the Avsa, but it only works on the recently-deceased

Pehkui: Makes you tiny

Mask of Clairvoyance: The last word of this post will be "diversity"

Kualsi: Nightcrawler powers

Mask of Emulation: "Hey, wanna see my non-animal impressions?"

Mask of Growth: Makes you big

Mask of Rahi Control: Gives you all the powers of a zookeeper

Avohkii: Let there be light!

Kraahkan: Actually I changed my mind; there should darkness

Mask of Psychometry: Ever wondered where your favourite shirt came from?

Rode: Mask of Seeing Through Your Shit

Olmak: Now you're thinking with portals

Mask of Charisma: Actually functions more like brainwashing

Olisi: Isn't it weird how Bionicle's most notable use of the "mad oracle" trope is A. unreliable and B. a giant Frankenstein-man who commits body-horror on random people?

Kiril: Basically the opposite of the Jutlin

Mask of Intangibility: *Ghost noises*

Mask of Possibilities: Essentially the Improbability Drive from Madness Combat, but on a smaller scale

Mask of Elemental Energy: who cares about this one like seriously it barely appears outside the games

Mask of Adaptation: Turns you into an environment-specific action figure

Mask of Aging: The mask that makes you old

Mask of Biomechanics: Essentially the Gmod ragdoll-mover addon

Mask of Conjuring: I'm just going to copy what Biosector says, since it's really convoluted and complex; "The Mask of Conjuring is a Kanohi that allows its user to verbally program a limited power into the mask for a brief period of time. The user must describe in detail the power desired and at least one weakness. If the phrasing is spoken wrong, it causes intense psychic backlash in the user's mind. The user can use a programmed power for fifteen minutes (with a Great version), and after the time is out, the user must wait thirty seconds to activate the mask again. The Noble version will only work for five minutes. Another weakness is because it requires time and speech, any enemies nearby can hear in detail what power to expect and what its weakness is. Because of this, the usage of the mask is more commonly done alone. It is also capable of being programmed with the powers of other masks, such as the Kanohi Hau."

Mask of Freezing: What do you think it does

Mask of Fusion: Combines things • Mask of Healing: Heals stuff

Mask of Incomprehension: 👁️🧠🫵🥫🚹🇮🇹📤

Mask of Rebounding: Something something rubber glue etc.

Mask of Reconstitution: Literally just another Mask of Mutation, but slightly worse

Mask of Sensory Aptitude: 'Cause I've got one two three four five/Senses working o-ver-ti-ime!

Mask of Undeath: I live... again!

Mask of Weather Control: /weather clear 18000

Mask of Weight Increase: Literally just a Garai that can't make things lighter

Ignika: Do-anything MacGuffin that turned into a guy once and also became God's hat for a bit

Vahi: Time isn't holding up/Time isn't after us/Same as it ever was/Same as it ever was...

Mask of Creation: Just kinda lets you make stuff, while also celebrating the Matoran Universe's cultural diversity!

[nattarthetimedragon]

Dark Hunter Locust (he/him). For years this sentient Rahi was being studied and experimented on by Makuta Chirox in his lab on Destral. As Chirox was studying Locust, the bug was studying all the other Rahi that Chirox made. Locust was often given masks, something none of the other Rahi were ever given. Sometimes when the masks were worn he could breathe underwater or see through walls. One day Chirox got a new test subject, a Tatoran named Torau. she was from the Tren Krom Peninsula and made a deal with Chirox to be his test subject for getting out of there. Torau taught Locust how to speak matoran. Soon Torau and Locust became close friends. then one day Makuta Gorast destroy the lab. In the chaos Locust got his claws on a Huna and was able to sneak out of the lab. When trying to go back for his friend he saw Gorast taking all the Matoran from the lab away. Locust tried to fallow them but was not able to get to them before the air ship left the island. For many years Locust searched for his friend but no Matoran wanted to help a beast of Rahi. Some were only willing to trade information for doing mercenary work for them. Over time word of a Rahi that can use Kanohi and was good mercenary reach the island of Odina. The Shadowed One sent for Locust to be brought before him. finding out about Torau he promise to help finder her if Locust swore loyalty to him, Locust was more than happy too. The Shadowed One gave him a Faxon to help him take out his targets. Little did Locust know that she had been killed the day she was taken in front of her Village to make point to never betray Gorast. The Shadowed One's agents discovered this information and reported it back, the information did not upset him at all he was going to have the Tatoran killed anyway. Now he had info that can weaponize Locust fully against Gorast need be, until that day the Shadowed One can just string Locust along.

[glowingskull]

Short write-up of the Vakama outfit. I'll probably go back and edit it later to add a few more photos.

[0m3g4skanohiforge]

Out of curiosity, and purely based on aesthetic:

[byz-was-here]

the fun part about imagining the Chronicler's Company as a toa team is that 70% of them have noble versions of the Toa Metru's kanohi.

...So if their masks get upgraded into great Kanohi, there might be some whiplash on the Turaga's part.

Matau doing a double take before realizing thats Tamaru, not Nokama. Turns out becoming a toa does more than make you taller.

Vakama having a moment of horror as a Great Matatu peeks into his forge before he realizes its not a re-toa'd Nuju, It’s Kapura asking if he could adjust Kopeke's spare Matatu to fit properly.

Nuju Freezing as he sees a white great Komau and immediately turning around and walking back to his igloo. Nope. Not dealing with that today. Meanwhile poor Kopeke is looking at Matoro, wondering what caused *that*.

Onewa, well.... "Oh, hello Whenua." A beat. "...Wait."

Hafu just turns around and walks right back outside without a word.

The less said about Nokama having a mild panic attack over the last toa she knew who wore a Blue Huna, the better. Onewa now has to deal with Two upset toa in Po-Koro. (Hewkii, however, takes less than a day to make a "Toa Macku's no.1 Fan" flag. It cheers her up immensely.)

Whenua is the only one who doesn't immediately insert his foot into his mask, and he's incredibly pleased about it at the next Turaga meeting.

Now strictly speaking, Takua didn't have to record all of these incidents, but it was absolutely impossible to persuade him not to.

[musurvivalistguide]

Something that just occurred to me, but in terms of powers and abilities, there's one that makes me wonder just how exactly it works in the Matoran Universe: invisibility.

We all know that the Kanohi Huna can turn the user completely invisible...except for their shadow. Granted, not every ability is meant to be perfect, but it still makes me wonder just how it actually functions.

Does the concept of invisibility in the Matoran Universe only affect the residents of that universe (save those who have a mask that can see them), or does this make them completely invisible even on Spherus Magna to the Agori and Glatorian? Does it bend light around the user to conceal them without the user being an Av-Matoran/Toa, or does it emit some sort of frequency that can block the user from being seen by anyone save for their shadow? Or do their eyes simply block out what they can't see similar to how we humans try to fill in the blanks when something is absent in the dark?

And then there's Jerbraz, an OoMN member who was accidentally turned permanently invisible during an experiment. Does he cast a shadow like a Great/Noble Huna wearer, or is his shadow completely invisible too because the process was different? Or is he only invisible to the residents of the Matoran Universe due to their programming to react to invisibility, but the moment he steps on Spherus Magna, he's suddenly being addressed by people left and right while the Matoran Universe residents are confused until he speaks or picks someone up?

I dunno, this was a random thought that wouldn't leave me alone. What do you guys think? Is this some variation of an "illusion" the mask casts to hide the person, or is it just me overthinking the biology aspect of bio-mechanical beings with superpowers?

[elaho]

Alrighty, it's day 2 of posting old artwork. Here are some redesigns of humanized Ga-Matoran ["Toronaiga"]: Macku, Kotu, and Hahli ["Mara, Kota, and Hale"].

I had originally designed them to be part of a mini-series about how Hale rose from her rank as lowly errand-girl to famous Kohlii champion [based on the flash game from the early 2000s], but I decided to have that plot merge with the island's main prologue/backstory instead of being a separate story arc.

Keeping with the idea of merging facial features with mask designs and personalities, I again "fused" shape elements from LEGO's kanohi masks into each character's design:

Macku/Mara:

An energetic, wild, adventurous [and somewhat rebellious] spirit, balancing Mara's personality with the sharp, fierce features of the Huna was tricky since the two seemed fundamentally opposed to each other. But having thought about it more, Mara is second-in-command of her village after the Elder, a role that would require tough decisions and firm direction in leadership.

In the end, I decided to incorporate some sharp, decisive elements to her face [chin, nostrils, square face shape] would be a good way of showcasing her internal struggle between the desire for the normal, care-free life of a child [wild curly hair, large eyes, freckles] and her confidence in her ability to lead her people.

Kotu/Kota:

A prim and proper personality who believes firmly in established order, structure, and earning your place in society, her design is modelled to closely resemble/imitate the Village Elder's [Turaga Nokama/"Noehli Agota"] in both their face shapes [Rau Mask] and individual hairstyles.

Other elements from the Rau in Kota's design include her lips, nose, and downturned almond-shaped eyes.

Hahli/Hale:

Another redesign [More of a touch-up than a redesign, I think?] of my original design for Hale. Not much has changed, but I wanted to polish more of the Kaukau's shape in her re-design [triangle-shaped lips, short nose bridge, and round cheeks]. I also wanted to convey her youthfulness and innocence in her design too [round face shape, large eyes], along with her cheekiness and unpredictability on the Kohlii playing field with her wild, flippy, choppy hairstyle.

[coldgoldlazarus]

It's still so funny how most of the Toa Metru's great Kanohi look nothing like their original (by release order) Turaga forms' great Kanohi. The one main exception is the Rau, which still has differences, just more understated about it. With cases like the Ruru and Huna there's enough of a broad similarity that you can make some really great designs blending the best of each. With the Komau, it's a bit more of a stretch, but you can still bring 'em together.

And then with the Mahki and Matatu, there's one version that sucks ass and one version that's just objectively better, and this disparity goes in opposite directions from each other.

[toa-kohutti]

Did you like my fic "It's Just Paint"? Do you like explorations of gender and love in the Matoran Universe? Do you like some of the best writing in the fandom? Then read KDNX's fic, "A Different Kind of Unity"!

Seriously, this is one of the fics that makes me glad I am in the Bionicle fandom in 2023; an earnest exploration of what it means to be a Matoran and what it means to love in a world that de-emphasizes that passion, whether it's for yourself, your work, or other people, so much.

Laying on his bed, he found he could hardly sleep. He tossed and turned on the stone slab, staring at the ceiling of his domed hut, casting his eyes to the overstuffed trophy rack on the other side of the room, then to the fabric doll of a blue Matoran at the foot of his bed. He sat up and held the doll gingerly - light blue chest, blue hands and feet, and a mask with a long trunk: the Kanohi Huna, Macku’s mask of choice.

Read the whole heartwarming story at AO3!

[bionigrls]

Part 1