I appreciate this image a great deal, because it answers a question I've always had about the Toa Mata's transformation into the Toa Nuva, which is:

How did they manage to stand on the exact six spots that would drop them into the Energized Protodermis tubes? Those platforms are no bigger than they are! What kind of Destiny-adjacent tomfoolery is this?

And the answer is that they stood in their special little designated circles around the Bahrag like good little kiddos.

Shadow High OCs Bio 4: Velia Trafford

COLOUR PALETTE: Bioluminescence

YEAR: Third

GENDER: Female

FOCUS: Visual Arts

STYLE: Eerie. Luminous. Thalassic.

QUOTE: “Don’t freak out when the abyss stares back.”

BIO: Raised by her aunt Doris and her husband, renowned marine biologist Dr. Trafford, Velia decided to take her own interest in the deep sea in a different direction. Having spent hours as a kid in her uncle’s lab sketching his most exotic specimens, she developed a talent for visual arts and a dark, otherworldly art style that was eventually noticed by Shadow High. She’s focusing in visual arts and continues to amaze her teachers and classmates with her speculative paintings and 3D-printed sculptures of the kind of nightmare-worthy sea life that lurks in the darkest depths of the ocean. She’s even added these ideas and motifs to her personal style (like her custom headband inspired by the lure of the anglerfish) so everybody knows she’s a force of darkness to be reckoned with. In spite of the unorthodox creative path she’s chosen, her aunt and uncle couldn’t be prouder of her.

OTHER:

-She’s 17 years old and from Delaware.

-Likes sci-fi, gaming, and loud rave music. Definitely has an emergency supply of glow sticks.

-She’s used to being called a nerd for her interest in marine biology and her tendency to stay indoors to draw or study, but she’s only recently begun to accept it and become proud of it. Revamping her look has definitely increased her confidence.

-The Storm Twins derisively nicknamed her “the creep from the deep”, which backfired as Velia actually likes the epithet and sometimes even uses it to refer to herself ironically.

-Recently she enrolled in an extra art chemistry class and joined the science club, with the aim of learning all she needs to know to create her own line of glow-in-the-dark paints. (She’s thinking about calling her brand “Lure”.)

-She’s not just passionate about the aesthetic of sea life, but their continued survival too. She spends her winter breaks doing art pieces for marine pollution awareness campaigns.

-Is good friends with Zooey Electra.

-She has a system where she treats herself to a new face piercing every time she gets an A on a test or project, and as a result has more piercings than almost everyone at Shadow High. It’s a great way to stay motivated, but she’s running out of areas to pierce…

-She and Coral Navarre (Rainbow High OC) are fans of each other’s work. Velia wants to be the chief set designer for Coral’s next ballet while Coral wants to design costumes based on Velia’s artworks.

Hey I made a really good video about 2001 bionicles pls watch it

While Ninjago did Takanuva better (Lloyd) Bionicle does stakes better (ignition, Metru)

Fuck you, Bionicle photodump (Part 1)

I went rooting in my parents attic to bring my old Bionicle stuff to my apartment (the Bohrok pictured above were already here, I bought the shelf so odds and ends like them and my old rock collection would look a little less kiddie than on my dresser). Why? Do I have some sense that I'll try building something again? Or put those nasty, dusty relics on display? Who can say?

I bring you some of my classic creations in all their awful glory.

Let's start with my main man, the Guardian of Time. Rebuilt around high school from a design I did in elementary school. Big buff dude, giant poleaxe, Mask of Time.

I wrote some truly awful BZPower fanfic in middle school, a weird prequel to the second movie where he fights this jerk in Metru-Nui:

In retrospect that's clearly a female body type so this one (name long forgotten) I would retcon as a girl, or at least a dude in chest armor and hammer pants. Iunno.

What followed was a fic that highlighted the fact that I was too young to understand that stories are designed to go places and explain mysteries later on, as the story followed basically Mata Nui's & Makuta's dad who got turned into a big demon and sent into a wormhole or something. Behold the king of no structural integrity!

Note the neat wing mechanisms. Actually looks okay for the most part, other than the fact that I just spent like twenty minutes trying to put him back together as he repeatedly fell apart in my hands. The spear is also some sort of snake.

You probably wouldn't know it just by looking at it, but MNOG was huge. To an extent, still is huge. We talk about Bionicle: The Mata Nui Online Game.

         I can’t believe it’s actually ending.

         Three years the show has been airing. But it’s technically been a part of my life for five. I remember when The Owl House was first announced back in February 2018, and something about that magical poster and synopsis caught my eye. Something told me to look forward to this one, that it’d be special… And I had no idea.

         I remember checking Dana’s accounts studiously, impatient for more TOH content ever since that poster. Eventually I stopped, giving up… But then finally, that original teaser trailer, fully instrumental as it gave us clips from what we’d later discover were just the first four episodes! I remember my speculation about Luz going to this world, even had a dream where she was revealed to be the Anti-Christ (not that this was a bad thing in context), that sort of thing. I got hyped to hear Luz’s VA be announced, and went out of my way to find clips of Sarah Nicole-Robles’ voice acting just so I could get an idea of what was to come.

         And the show started off so humbly, so regularly, I didn’t think it’d become so serious! The fact that each episode was a fully twenty-two minutes did bode well for me, but damn. Hearing characters’ voices for the first time. Fully immersing myself.

         And this is it! All speculation will come to a close here, with the final episode. This is the last time we’ll get to watch a new episode, unless that young Raeda spin-off happens, but I’m not getting my hopes up because it’s Disney. These evening hours spent in anxious anticipation for the episode to drop, this is the last time it’ll happen for all of us. The last time I’ll obsessively check Discord to talk about the newest episode, scroll through the Recent tag to see fresh reactions.

         I want to savor it, but there’s also pressure to do this perfectly, as a way to go off. I can’t help perfectly capture how I feel nor a proper retrospective. But in the end, I still want to do it. A part of me doesn’t want it to end, wants it go on forever in infinite hiatus. But another part of me just wants to get the pain and grief over with. My heart is beating hard and it’s been building up in pace since I woke up today.

         I don’t know what to expect, but I gotta say I’ve loved watching it with you guys. Stuff as early as over-analyzing on the snake motifs which eventually DID pay off in String Bean, after that theory that Luz’s palisman would be a snake due to how the title card was designed! The way I compared the Boiling Isles to Mata Nui from Bionicle, even joked about King being the Titan. I remember being there in the early days when there was barely a fandom but still holding out, and boy have we grown since then!

         I was asked for permission to use my posts as credit when speculating on King being THE Titan, though it turns out he was his son. I remember speculating on the Owl mural inside of the Owl House, I’ve made so many friends through TOH. I remember when Adventures in the Elements leaked early and it was a dream episode, ideal and perfect!

         Speculating that there was more to Amity than meets the eye, and being right in the overanalysis! The vindication! Joking about her being a lesbian, seeing a Grom poster but not actually thinking we’d get a Grom episode. And then we did. Thinking we were getting our hopes up with Amity being a lesbian with a crush on Luz, and then the explosion of emotion as our hearts beat, when the note unfurled.

         I remember playing that godforsaken Witch’s Apprentice app just for more content, and then seeing Rebecca Rose analyze the artifacts, with me realizing they provided hints to upcoming episodes! Man, seeing Rebecca go from an early fan who helped start it off, someone I was glad to see provide presence at the beginning, all the way to a full-on crew member! Wonderful.

         Belos was known as Bellows due to a typo in the captions. Speculating on Lilith and Kikimora, who cursed Eda. Being blindsided by the climax of Season 1, and this mysterious Owl-masked figure besides Belos, because I had no clue who this was and who he’d turn out to be, no idea! No idea he and Willow would be a thing, that Belos had a brother he killed and repeatedly cloned in an attempt to get him back!

         This show has broken my heart, revived me, brought life, and so forth. Season 1 was truly wild, and then the year-long hiatus for Season 2, the Reddit AMA and stream… Getting Alador and Odalia’s names early, it was lovely! The S2 intro sneak peek, in progress. Waking up to get an entire trailer! Being caught off-guard with how much the animation improved, even as I had to stay quiet for like two weeks, because the first two episodes of S2 premiered early for special guests!

         Speculation on Philip Wittebane and Belos, the brothers. Seeing Luz figure out glyph combos. Hunter and Flapjack, King and Eda’s stories, as the designs updated. New palismen. The heartbreak of the show being shortened, the anger and rage. The vindication on Creepy Luz just being a scared kid who wants love and means well.

         And then the next hiatus… Season 2B, the end of a proper season as everything came to another climax. We got the truth on Belos, the story coming to a close in anticipation of the Day of Unity. The Season 3 leaks, especially with the titles, and the way they came together to tell us, Thanks For Watching. Like it wasn’t ideal but the audience worked with it, the crew made it work, and the fans stuck through regardless. The crew put themselves out there in this work and we reciprocated and understood.

         Just as Luz wanted and needed so badly. We had S3 and the first look at a special, depressed Luz. The sneak peek. The revelation on just how alike Luz and Camila are. And then the hype towards For the Future… When the Collector really got to shine and show us a new side that completed their character. And finally, after all of the anticipation…

         The episode finished production. The finale is done, just for us to watch. The crew is celebrating, saying their final goodbyes. And my heart and gut are feeling sick, aching with grief. I don’t want it to end, but it’s making me so nervous I need it to, just for the relief and release. And the finale inches ever-closer, the SERIES finale. The end of the end.

         Here’s to The Owl House, you guys. Thanks for everything, thanks for reading my posts, interacting with them, adding onto them; Responding when I responded to your posts! It truly was a magical time and still is for me. I feel like I genuinely learned and discovered a lot about myself through this show and my interactions with fellow fans, and I toast to our final get-together in watching an episode!

        Here’s to Watching and Dreaming! I know that’s what I’ll keep doing once the show ends…! And thank you @danaterrace, for coming up with this wonderful show and continuing to give it to us, despite everything.

You said that you're ripping off (no offense) the slivers from magic the gathering right? Is it bad to ask how much you do that for your campaigns? I do it on occasion and I always feel like I'm plagarizing.

All the time. One of the things I enjoy most about DM'ing is taking things from my favorite media and playing with them the way I used to play with Lego Bionicles. I rip em apart and make my own stories with the pieces. Off the top of my head:

Eonite, the substance that can supercharge magic: Stolen from the Spellmonger series.

The magocracy: Also stolen from the Spellmonger Series

The goddess of death's religion and the depiction of death: SHAMELESSLY ripped from the Abhorsen trilogy, down to the use of bells.

The earth being used as a prison: In retrospect, unconsciously ripped from The Order of the Stick, probably. Also, *spoiler* Darkest Dungeon.

My Blood Hunter subclass that is very popular: Inspired by Illidan Stormrage from the Warcraft series.

The Suprisi Elves and their culture: Ripped in part from the Golgari from MTG.

The Sasinian Empire's ban on commoners carrying gold: The Black Company

The Grimdark Continent that we haven't gone to yet: The Black Company

My willingness to let lore contradict itself: The Riyiria series, as well as my own experience with studying history

"Are these rocks alive?": Dragon Age

Steal as MUCH as you want from media you enjoy. Shit, just as importantly, steal from media your PLAYERS enjoy. I ripped the death stuff from Abhorsen because one of my players really loved that series. I wrote an entire arc based on a more common (but not what the artist intended) reading of "Running Up That Hill," using a cover to get a different vibe.

There's definitely more stuff that I'm forgetting that I stole stuff from. I'm sure my players could name influences that I'm forgetting, too, because they see stuff with a more objective eye. Sometimes I write stuff not knowing where I got something from, and then my players will mention something about me cribbing it from something, and then I say, "FUCK," and move on with my life.

Steal, borrow, and take inspiration. If you GM for a long time, it's gonna be inevitable and necessary. It's okay and good and right.

Wish I took better care of my bionicles and hero factory lego sets

They r very nostalgic n stuff but at the same time it really doesn't have the versatility of normal lego so it jsnt really a thing I'm looking to collect back but I can decently see myself repair/or buy back a few in a couple years.

Will definitely continue to acknowledge my nostalgic n stay up way 2 late at night looking at retrospective videos about a toy line I wasn't even born for the start of

So that was tonight sad nostalgic rambling brought on by youtube

This might be controversial on here, but tbh, in retrospect bionicles kinda suck ass. Maybe some of the bigger Lego technic models are kinda cool, but who the fuck wants a building kit that consists of a bunch of pre-molded pieces that only make sense as a chest? Like, besides technic axles and pins and the like, tell me one fucking piece in the bohrok or toa matu/nuva that is truly multipurpose

the bionicle to predator pipeline is so obvious in retrospect

Absolute Power... does what exactly?

It's interesting how much the marketing of early-mid 2002 toyed with the idea of the Toa Nuva being evil. There's this snippet from an ad in the comics

There's this commercial for the sets with its deeply ominous tone

The way the narrator just spits out "Toa Nuva," as if the name itself is cursed, has always given me chills.

And then even Divided We Fall, the first comic set after the Toa's transformation, cold opens with the Nuva fighting amongst themselves, making it seem as though they've lost their minds or some of their number have gone mad with power before eventually revealing it was all just a training session.

I don't exactly know what to make of all this. It seems like the notion was to play with the idea that power corrupts, that the Toa Nuva's new, increased power may overtake them and make them the new greatest threat to Mata Nui. But of course this thread never goes anywhere. In-story, the Toa Nuva are much more emblematic of the philosophy that power doesn't corrupt, it reveals. The Toa don't turn evil or become cruel because of their new power, they're just more themselves. Tahu and Kopaka's pride reaches new heights and tensions between them soar, Lewa is the same reckless loner he always was, Pohatu is still a certified Good Boi, Onua is even quieter, and Gali is still insistent on unity but unable to articulate why it matters. None of them stop being heroes or even really change at all. The message of the Nuva's early struggles is more about the greater weight of responsibility that comes with their greater power (hi Spider-Man, what are you doing here?) than any kind of meditation on the morality of the power itself. And then from there the Nuva powers go on to be nothing but an asset.

I wasn't around in the fandom back in 2002, so I'd love to hear what people who were thought of this. Were there more examples I missed? Was there actual tension over the idea that the Toa could go bad, or did everyone pretty much know they'd be fine? It's probably nothing but a weird marketing gimmick, but the fact that they teased the possibility so much makes me feel like it couldn't have all just been for one quick fake-out.

honestly so funny that the Toa Nuva and the Matoran of Mata Nui know NOTHING about the outside world (and that the Turaga didn’t bother to teach them like. anything hahahaha what the heck guys??). like Onua asks one of the Piraka what he is and Reidak’s like “I’m Reidak, I’m a Piraka” and Onua. oh my gosh. ANY other Toa would know that Reidak was a Skakdi so Reidak introduces himself by his name and team. but Onua was LITERALLY asking what species he was ahahaha. then the Mahri don’t know who the Barraki are, except Hahli, who’s actually done her research. and Makuta? THE TOA NUVA DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT A MAKUTA IS FDJNGDFHD THE TURAGA JUST. NEVER EXPLAINED TO THEM?? I’m dying. that’s like the SWORN enemy of Toa everywhere and the Toa are like “that’s that one guy we fought on our tiny home island :)” they don’t even know that’s a species. Tanma goes “look out for the Makuta!!” and Lewa, in complete honesty, assumes that one of the Matoran is Makuta because he thinks there’s only one.

like honestly how funny is it that Pohatu canonically goes “I’m going to assume that the guys who look like bats are the bad guys.” he knows so little about the universe that he’s just gotten used to assuming that the guys who look evil are evil. any other Toa would be like “ahh a Makuta!! ahh an angry Skakdi!” and Pohatu’s just like “uhhh if you’re attacking a Matoran I’m going to kick your ass” and that’s his whole worldview he’s perfect. we talk a lot about the Turaga keeping secrets from the Toa but you think they could have provided them with some bASIC WORLD BUILDING ahahaha

how to watch the bionicle movies in chronological order:

watch bionicle 2: legends of metru nui but then stop before the final scene

watch bionicle 3: web of shadows but then stop before the final scene

watch the rest of bionicle 2: legends of metru nui

watch bionicle: mask of light

watch the rest of bionicle 3: web of shadows

watch bionicle: the legend reborn and realize that this skips a ton of story that was never adapted to film

@tiredspacedragon

I wanted to clarify something mentioned a few times during your Bionicle retrospective about “Bionicle’s gender ratio being so skewed was dumb and unnecessary”.

It WAS necessary, because Bionicle is what the toy industry calls “boys product”.

Mass-market toys are firmly separated by gender, products that appeal to boys are not going to appeal to girls and vice versa. Female characters in boy targeted toy lines, and male characters in girl targeted toy lines are shortpacked because the reality is that they don’t sell.

Making the gender ratio of Bionicle 3/6, or even 2/6, would’ve been marketing suicide. Most kids don’t self insert to dolls/figures of the other gender because even at a young age children know that males and females are different.

Sure when I was a kid I would’ve liked a wider amount of female characters in Bionicle. But I was not the target audience, and girls who liked Bionicle were not a wide enough market to justify such a big change that would alienate the existing demographic.

Sure as an adult having only a handful of female characters in a sea of males in a series might be frustrating. But adults do not have the minds of children, and adults are not the target audience.

The purpose of female characters in media targeted at males is sexual titillation and romantic interest. Bionicle is meant for prepubescent boys who have no interest in either, so more female characters than the token “Smurfette” would be detrimental to the success of the franchise.

So now you know! And knowing is half the battle

Makuta the Liar

A little bit ago I started with the intent of writing a post about how I didn’t think early Teridax’s writing necessarily conflicted with his later canon motives and origin, but it turned into a whole retrospective on the divides in opinions over the direction of the story after 2003.  You can read that here.  But now to actually discuss what got my gears turning in the first place.

In the Mata Nui Online Game, we meet a manifestation of Makuta Teridax in an etherial form.  He appears as a mass of swirling disassembled Bionicle parts, and as an infected matoran.  The original intent we now know is that he was thought of as a destructive antithesis to Mata Nui’s creation; this idea would later be recycled for Makuta and Ekimu in G2 Bionicle.  Many have said that his statements that “[he is] nothing” and that he’s the darkness within everyone make no sense when we later learn he’s not some god, just a janitor/scientist who got too big for his britches and so on.  And when he continually refers to Mata Nui as his brother, and says he’s better off asleep than awake, because “awake he suffers”, well now that flies directly in the face of the whole 2006-8 story arc that focused on awakening Mata Nui.

I will concede, that under the framework given by Teridax in MNOG and TMoL among other sources, the later motives and origins of the character seem contradictory.  But, as I said in the previous post... this is entirely predicated on you believing everything Makuta Teridax said.  I don’t know what it says about my nature as a person, or what I was going through at the time Mask of Light came out, but by 2003 I was REALLY not willing to believe a word Teridax said.  When he called Mata Nui his “brother”, when everyone else revered Mata Nui as a god, and the intro even said that Makuta was jealous of “his brother”, I did not believe him, that he was on the same level as Mata Nui.  I saw a jealous, power hungry, vindictive entity who wanted control, and would lie to everyone around him to convince them that he deserved control.

So when a couple years later we learned his backstory, his motives, and his outlook as they were finalized by the writing team, I was not at all surprised at the direction they took the character, because that just made sense to me.  “I am nothing” was just an intimidation attempt to me as a child.  “Sleep spares him pain, awake he suffers” sounded like a very convenient lie someone very intent on keeping Mata Nui asleep would say.

As the story went on, everything we learned about Teridax failed to surprise me, and only some small tidbits I’ve learned recently have even minorly reframed his character for me to this day.  (For instance, did you know he was originally supposed to take over from Mata Nui when the mission was done anyway??  It’s a very fascinating take on a corruption of destiny imo.)  From a very young age, I simply never believed The Makuta was who he said he was, and every perspective I had on the story from then was shaped by this fact.