#matoran script

[glyptolite]

[glyptolite]

Here's the post where Ordheist and AngryRaptor13 introduced me to the Matoran script, which led to the most popular post on this blog.

the mcdonald’s boys (priv commission)

[rahiwatching]

I love where my brain goes sometimes when doing Knowledge Tower research. What started as a look into the personal air bubbles of the 2007 story ended up giving me an in universe explanation for:

1.) how a biomechanical creature like Kapura has the ability to fart like we see in MNOG

2.) how strategically timed farts could save your life as a Matoran of Mahri Nui

This script is going to be a fun one to write!

[lynnbecks-mainblog]

Fuck it, here's three important websites for if you want to get into Bionicle in 2023, inspired by a conversation I had with a mutual.

Biosector01

The main Bionicle wiki, which is very thorough. Has articles about everything from main characters to minor background villagers, and even out-of-universe stuff like the mediocre (but free) downloadable first-person shooter and the franchise's infamous use of the Māori language. It also covers the 2015-2016 reboot, and also has a sister-site dedicated to Hero Factory I guess.

Wall of History

An archive of all written and illustrated canon Bionicle media, including books, comics, animations, and even the official in-character walkthrough for a fan-favourite adventure game. The text can be toggled between the Latin alphabet and Bionicle's own "Matoran script", for some reason. I can personally say that it is really good, and if I wasn't busy with, like, 5 other things, I would probably be pretty far in (at time of writing, I am at the end of 2002/beginning of 2003).

Biomedia Project

Basically Wall of History but for non-text stuff (including some of the animations that are included in Wall). Includes all the games (free and retail), as well as the franchise's excellent music, various fanmade games and animations, ISO files of promotional CDs, all four films (including their bonus-features!), and even concept art and early pitch documents!

Oh also uh go check out @wjbs-bonkle-au I guess

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

A Great Being's Mind

What kind of Great Being allows himself to be "fixed" by Karzahni?

The descriptions of Velika in the Saga of Ignition are clear: he was an odd, broken, clumsily-rebuilt Po-Matoran, as were all the Matoran of Voya Nui. If Velika had not been like those around him, the great surprise of his unveiling after the reformation of Spherus Magna might not have been so surprising, but a surprise it was. So a broken Matoran rebuilt by Karzahni he must have been--but why?

He was not always this way, we have learned. In all the records salvaged from the Great Spirit Robot there were still traces, for those who went looking, of the original Po-Matoran Velika. There was no longer anyone who remembered him, or any record of his assigned duties in the village where he had lived in the Northern Continent: only a single copper scrap that had survived the destruction of Karzahni's realm: the tag with which he had been sent there, only partially legible:

Velika - Po-Mato-- broken arm, uppe-- return to: East Po-Koro, Inner Po-Wahi, Nor-- Signed: Roc-

A broken arm was a minor repair, compared with most of those sent to Karzahni--at least in the later years. Once Turaga across the isles began to wonder why their Matoran never returned from their repairs, they went to greater efforts to repair their broken Matoran, sending only the most irreparably damaged to Karzahni, the realm of no return. In those later years, a broken arm alone would never have been enough. Were there more damages, unable to be read on what remains of the tag? Or was he sent there so early in Karzahni's history that no one had yet become suspicious that none had returned?

The script used on the tag argues for the possibility of the latter option. The square-printed letters include a ligature that was lost in the great time-skip, an early Artakhan script that fell out of fashion everywhere but the Western Arm. While is possible that Velika was not quite the first Matoran sent to Karzahni, it seems he was an early one.

The discovery that, in early years, Karzahni had, in fact, competently fixed and returned Matoran sent a historiographic shockwave through the Bionicle community. Their Agori neighbours understood well enough that it was a surprising unveiling of mysteries when the earliest records of the Order of Mata Nui were unsealed, but they did not understand the smaller therein that, in the first few hundred years or so, every Matoran sent to Karzahni had returned, in perfect functioning order.

What kind of Great Being would allow himself to be fixed by Karzahni?

Why did Karzahni cease to competently perform the role for which he was made?

The fools, they would never know, Velika thought, nor understand, but just has he had given them thought, so too was he able to break it. His own broken arm had been a trivial wound, but he had become bored with East Po-Koro and had relished the opportunity to travel "by chance" to realm of repair. The Matoran Universe was no longer new, exactly, but the remnants of Spherus Magna were now far enough behind that he was willing to venture about and see what his changes to the Matoran had wrought--and where better to meet Matoran from all over the universe than where they were all repaired?

Karzahni had had him prepped genially, the bound-up arm unwound and laid beside him on the sterile surface, and the gentle titan started to knit him together carefully. Velika had smirked to himself, delighted at the fullness of his deception, when something--some tiny, trivial, unknowable, unpredictable instinct had made the titan pause.

"You're a strange one, aren't you?" he mused. Sedated, Velika didn't think he should answer, and maybe the sedation had even worked on him, a little, and he did not think to stop Karzahni as the titan tapped at his head, and the casing that should have housed a melding of silicate tissues and fine circuitry opened to reveal a wrinkled, grey lump of pulsating matter.

Even if he were a half-second slow under the sedation, that half-second had now passed, and Velika was indignant at being discovered. Even as Karzahni stepped back, baffled and a bit horrified at the un-Matoran brain he had discovered, Velika's eyes lit as he "woke" fully, and his good hand clutched at Karzahni's massive hand, and the titan could not break the grip.

"I look the same, don't I?" asked the apparent Po-Matoran, "but I am not--let me show you." And, with a wrench, his grip on Karzahni linked the titan's nervous system to his own, and Velika's thoughts coursed from his brain, through the apparently-Matoran body he inhabited, and into the Karzahni's nerves, leaping to his brain in less than an instant.

The visions Velika showed him awed the titan: visions of raw elemental power, of a knowledge of energised protodermis behind that of Artakha himself, of all that had come before, and of much that had happened since, and even as Karzahni struggled to comprehend the enormity of what he had just learned, Velika reached in and erased the memory of it--and then some.

Karzahni, now and forever more thereafter the Mad Titan, stumbled about, his eyes blinking furiously, and when he had calmed himself, though the world seemed to stop spinning, he saw the half-assembled Matoran on the operating table.

"Where was I…?"

"You were just about to improve me," said Velika. "To restore me."

And Karzahni did: alone of all the Matoran that had come to him yet, he sent Velika away changed from what he had been, and alone of all the Matoran that would come thereafter, he sent Velika away with no defect, though to the eyes of one accustomed to a standard Matoran, he was no longer that. All the Matoran that Karzahni fixed thereafter would resemble him in some form, but covering defects he could no longer repair. Only, in Velika, there was no defect: this was his chosen form.

[boxturret]

Bohrok Pens Part 2: Beads and Charms

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

PART 1

PART 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now for the filler beads.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0m3g4skanohiforge]

So! Let's recount 2024 and talk about the new year. Happy 2025 everyone!

2024 was a very eventful year. Not the year I started working on this, but the year I basically started to become what I am now, working towards how I want this to be.

2024 saw the release of my Protodermis Reclamation Yard packs, which has been instrumental in making use of otherwise wasted material (as well as getting the Legendary Mask of Cheese into a few folk's hands)

We matched Yellow, bringing the colour count up to Six, a very important number! (Though I'm debating tweaking the White formula again this year...) I sold out of yellow Rurus and Kakamas so many times over and I've still got folks asking when they'll be in stock again 😅

Yellow also led to the launch of commissions! Which still haunts me to this day. I'm thrilled with the ones I have completed, but there's still so much to work on that's taking so much longer than I could've expected, so I will not be reopening commissions this year. (I'll explain more later)

The last release of the year - and my celebration for 810nicle day - the Metru Nui Matoran Mystery packs! Managed to just match silver in time for this, taking us to 7 colours (though I never put out silver beyond this yet)

And we capped off the year with two more colours - Orange and Teal! Don't feel time to take a new picture of the latter but this morning's test I think is it, having opened it a few minutes ago! Thus the total colours matched is 9 - Red, Orange, Yellow, Teal, Blue, Pink, Black, White, and Silver! Masks will be available in all of these once the shop reopens.

This was also the year I started Mask Monday! Great fun that ways, even if I missed a lot more than I would've hoped. I'll be trying to keep to that this year as well!

Which takes us to this year. 2025 is going to be a year of change, and my Forge is no exception! I've had some rearranging in my personal life that should allot me more time to work the Forge, so I'm hoping to boost both production and development through the year.

There's been a complication with the shop though, which I'll be getting help to resolve so I can open things back up as soon as possible. I'd rather not discuss it too deeply because it's incredibly stupid, but it's really my fault for putting things off for so long that they became problems. Again, as soon as these are resolved the shop will reopen, even if it still takes some time for me to add any new masks and colours to proper listings.

Regarding commissions, the current ones in development are going to of course continue to be worked on, even if some of them currently feel impossible (looking at you, Purple and Sand Blue.) Aside from those two, I am developing Lime, Medium Blue, Pearl Gold, and a consistent formula for a custom Neon Pink (that commission was already sent but I want to revisit the colour and add it to the list, start doing some other non-lego colours eventually too).

However, as aforementioned, commissions will not be reopening this year, and likely not next year either. The commission formula was chaotic, frustrating, and hard to properly estimate. As such I've been turning around another idea in my head, and I'd like some feedback on them if you're willing!

Since development can take so long, some sort of steadier support would be more ideal. I've been thinking of making a Patreon! There, supporters would be able to vote on which new development ideas I pursue, as well as gaining access to behind-the-scenes/tutorial videos! I'd of course set access behind as low a barrier for entry as possible, but I've gotta have some incentive there as well, right?

That wouldn't launch until after the shop is reopened, and there wouldn't be polls on developments until current commissions are finished. No way am I widening that list before it's cleared out. The videos though I am very excited for and have already begun writing scripts for!

That's pretty much all I've got planned for the year. I don't wanna overhype myself with empty promises like "oh, this year I'll finally get the Mctoran build!" So the focus is just gonna be on clearing the backlog and getting things back up and running.

Thank you all for sticking around with me for the past year - being part of such a fun, supportive and creative community has been a highlight of my life, and I hope to be able to bring you all great things! Happy New Year, let's make 2025 a great one together!

[thecrazyworldbuilder]

A long time ago I made a script inspired by Matoran from the Bionicle universe.

My vision was that this wasn't exactly a script for writing per se, but still used for communication.

The files and memories of the premise are mostly lost but the idea was that there were some evil creatures, like rakshi, but more gecko-like and one-eyed like that large feline decepticon from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Those guys, being minions to the BBEG, had real good telescopic vision, which allowed them to see like miles and miles away.

They communicated between each other silently - absolutely safe from any interception of their messages - by looking at each other from a large distance and flashing these ^ letters inside their eyes, reshaping their "eyelids" to form the black areas.

It is free to use under a non-commercial license and you can find it here:

[toa-nonny]

I was playing Stasis: Bone Totem and i'm like 90% certain that's hexagonal matoran script on that photograph. i can't zoom in or make it clearer so i can't read it but i can see several letter n's if it is matoran. has anyone else played the game or know anything about it? i couldn't find anything online about a bionicle easter egg

[lesbioniclepod]

Episode 13: All Ussal Crabs Go to Heaven

Nausicaä’s Divorce Proceedings

Makuta Does SEO To Us

Draconian Blood Baby (antisemitism warning around 8:30-9:00)

The Accidental Transgenderism of Takua

Wet Ass Kraata

Irish Microconfusion

Vakama’s Eyebrows

Jaller Nationalism Moments

Batman Throwing Swords At A Cop

Kolhii Match Relationship Drama

Play Well!

Boulder Scorekeeping

Pondering the Great Thoughts

A Discursion on Transsexual Seinfeld

Naus Has A Full Breakdown About All Dogs Go To Heaven

Disney Protestant Reformation

Gukko Bird Design

They Fly Now?!

On the Flammability of Barbasol

Matoran Script Easter Eggs

Why Doesn’t Kopaka Use Ice?

Satan Tried To Get Me To Detransition

Doing Onua Dirty

Tahu BDSM Moment

Takua’s Impression of Gali

Naus Gets Heterosexual About Takua/Jaller

Slimegirl Makuta

Bionicle Theodicy

Reflections on the Mask of Light Movie

Reflections on Lego, Merchandising, and Capitalism

[deb79ful]

And now to share another of my childhood obsessions, Bionicle! This series was my favorite growing up, and making sprite comics for BZPower was one of my first forays into creative works. Shown above are three pieces from back in the graphite-only sketchbook days, those being my interpretation of 06's Velika, a Visorak spider walking across a web, and Hafu working on the crossroads you see him at in MNOLG. Even made sure the dates were written in Matoran script for that extra flair!

[osbob-the-existent]

So, it's almost stupid o'clock in the morning, and I had a dumb idea

Matoran single-word poetry

The Matoran script has pretty strict letter forms, contained within a circle and packed next to each other. So by putting letters that become one another in sequence, you can create a pleasing arrangement. It looks like total gibberish in English of course, but hey

Here's ABMHEFUVXKT for one

And prgildpinyk for another

I'd imagine they'd be used moreso for personal amusement or a maker's mark than anything deep and meaningful. But you could put meaning into the shapes, I suppose. HME might represent the Great Cataclysm, with the eyes closing and the world turning on its head (in a more literal sense than anyone realised at the time)

Is this anything? Probably not, but it's still stupid o'clock and I had to put it somewhere

[lynns-bonkle-blog]

Not a request, just a quick review of your latest parts pack. To start, I absolutely loved the detail on the weapons, especially the Matoran script on both sides of the hand cannon! Your modular pistols and energy gun were already some of the best traditional firearm designs, but these new weapons add the variety I love to see as a weapons enthusiast! Also, the triple-barreled shotguns were a nice touch! That extra barrel is a small touch that gives the weapon an exotic feel.

‍

[hooded-and-cloaked]

An ask game! List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you!

This is so cute!!

1. Karaoke (I love it when strangers think I’m good at stuff, and I’m pretty good at singing)

2. When the sky is Mufasa (speaks for itself)

3. Fictional smart guys (I love confidently stated meaningless jargon and well-earned arrogance)

4. Different writing scripts (like Tolkein’s Tengwar, Arubesh from Star Wars, Matoran from Bionicle, anything that I can secretly write English with)

5. Memeology (analyzing memes to break down why they mean what they mean is really fascinating to me, like etymology)

[magicalgirlartist]

[ID: 3 images with 2 characters (1 higher and older to the left facing left, 1 lower and younger to the right facing right) each. The first is 2 women. The higher one has a long blue dress and white tabard, carrying a tall trident and smiling. Text beside her: "TURAGA NOKAMA, leader of Ga-Koro, always believes she knows best, not angry, just disappointed, your well-meaning auntie." The lower one has a bright blue tube top and wrap skirt, arms folded and a grumpy expression. Text beside her: "KOTU, right hand of Turaga Nokama, Ga-Koro's best kolhii player, incorrigible prankster, coping with not being picked for the team JUST FINE, THANKS." The second is 2 men. The higher one has glasses, a long black coat over tight-fitting grey clothes, carrying a drill on a stick and smiling. Text beside him: "TURAGA WHENUA, leader of Onu-Koro, terrible eyesight, gives the best advice, weird rivalry with Turaga Nuju." The lower one has opaque goggles, safety gloves and knee/elbow pads, and a tool belt, all grey and orange, lifting the goggles onto his forehead and smiling. Text beside him: "NUPARU, engineer (2nd class), genius inventor, a little bit insane, regularly forgets to eat/sleep, loves to infodump about whatever he's working on." The last is 2 men. The higher one has a long white coat and tall grey boots with fur trim, carrying a tall ice pick, looking to the side with a slight frown. Text beside him: "TURAGA NUJU, leader of Ko-Koro, requires Matoro to translate for him, no patience whatsoever, weird rivalry with Turaga Whenua." The lower one has a long white coat and white earmuffs, looking down with a neutral expression and hands in his pockets. Text beside him: "KYLMA, acolyte, translates and interprets prophecies, workaholic, grumpy if interrupted, extremely blunt." End ID.]

More Bionicle Sports Anime stuff!! This time featuring the Turaga from the first 3 villages and some extra minor characters. Kotu and Nuparu were my favourites to draw lol. Next up are the rest of the Turaga (+extras)!

[Commissions open!]

[mechafizz]

Adding onto the the above, I remember the bio/kio/mio units of distance from the 2001 Mata Nui island map legends and how confounded I was by their otherwise irrelevance in all subsequent materials and lore. One thing I can’t find source for is if the system is native to the MU or was the system used by the Great Beings and other peoples of Spherus Magna.

We apparently know the Great Sundial was a product of the Great Beings and reflects the 36 hour day/night cycle of Spherus Magna (which was apparently also built into the MU?). We can also observe that the Great Sundial’s markings are enumerated in base 10 in the Matoran script, for what that’s worth. But if I recall correctly, the canonicity of the 36 hour day was a late addition, and the design of the sundial itself---like the Great Telescope---is likely a product of Templar Studios. Not to mention the sundial’s only appearance before 2008 was in the MNOG, where its only function was as a gate to access a room containing the code word for entry to a sweepstakes. This room was unlocked when its gnomon’s shadow was cast on 4 o’clock, so an argument could be made that the enumerations were again “translated” for an audience that used base 10.

Beyond the graphemes themselves at face value, this leaves the bio/kio/mio units as the only explicit instance of evidence supporting Matoran use of base 10. However, if we knew these units originated from Spherus Magnan society or the Great Beings, we could, in conjunction with the sundial and telescope, be able to assert a precedent for “things originated by the Great Beings use base 10″.

Otherwise, I agree that the more nuanced characteristics of the numeric graphemes alongside the frequency with which 6 occurs in Matoran society and culture all suggest a heximal system. The MNOG II gives us the 6 Principles the Mata Nui Matoran derived from the Three Virtues, and the 6 Kohlii skills they subsequently derived from those Principles. The tendency for MU beings, not just Matoran and Toa, to organize themselves into groups of 6 also seems in some way significant.

Honestly, the Matoran numeral system has been something I’ve been lowkey obsessed with since first encountering it as a child in 2001. Even then, before I had any knowledge of numeric bases, I recognized the pattern and felt the Matoran numerals looked “incomplete”. I recall I even played sorts of number games with myself in which I’d render 10 and 11 as the “missing” graphemes in the Matoran system. I even experimented with expanding the system by adding another inner ring or an outer ring for 12-17, realized it quickly became illegible and decided they were better written with two digits, accidentally “discovering” duodecimal without knowing that was what I had done.

It’s a shame that enough time has now passed that it would probably be an improbable challenge to track down the human who originally designed the Matoran alphabet and numerals to ask them what their design intent was---if they had intended for a heximal or duodecimal system, or if they just thought it important that 6 “look” significant for thematic reasons---provided they even remember at all.

Question.

Would Matoran use base 6 number systems?