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tiredspacedragon · 3 years

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BIONICLE Retrospective

2001: Quest for the Masks

Part 6.5: 8531 Pohatu

So that's it, yeah? We've done the four classical elements, so we should be done with the Toa now, right? Haha, WRONG. See, Bionicle wasn't content with four elements, no, it wanted SIX! Presumably because six toys makes Lego more money than four. So, introducing element #5: Earth, but harder.

And yeah, let's not beat around the bush, shall we? Pohatu, the Toa of Stone, has an upside down torso.

Throughout Bionicle’s history, the Stone characters always seem to be the ones used for experimentation. They always seem to be a little more out there than the others, and Pohatu gets that tradition started right away. Unlike the other five Toa, Pohatu’s gear function controls his leg, as opposed to his arm. Since this function requires the standard Toa torso piece to be flipped upside down, this does have the effect of making him look a little…weird. Not bad, just…weird, mostly because of his extremely narrow chest. Personally, I like him just fine, his kicking function is unique and fun, and emphasizes Pohatu's athleticism, though I can see why he might unnerve some people. Butt gears can do that.

Perhaps it's a little...colourist? of me, but I do think it was a good decision to try out this kind of experimentation with Pohatu. There's nothing inherently wrong with brown as a colour, but it is less eyecatching than some of the other Toa's brighter colours. Better to play it safer with the more prominent characters and try out the weird and wacky ideas on the Toa with the colour generally seen as the least appealing.

Speaking of colour, Pohatu looks exactly like he should. The brown and tan come together to make a solid desert aesthetic, and the orange eyes add a nice pop of colour. He looks quite rugged, without going all they way into a Mad Max/wastelander look.

As a result of his topsy-turvy build, Pohatu does not carry any Toa Tools in his hands. Instead, he bears Feet Additions to aid in his kicking function. While the lack of traditional weapons is somewhat odd, the feet additions are definitely interesting and undeniably unique. They look very strong, sort of like hammers on the ends of his feet. They certainly help Pohatu stand out. I don’t advise kicking with your toes that way, though. But I guess alien cyborgs can kick however they want.

Interestingly, the Feet Additions are tan, Pohatu’s secondary colour, unlike the rest of the Toa’s weapons, which match their wielders’ primary colour. However, Pohatu does come with a brown accessory in the form of a System boulder he can kick. I really enjoy this feature of the set. Having a little ball to kick around makes playing with Pohatu that much more fun. Plus, it can serve as a stand-in for a Koli ball. Options!

Moving up from Pohatu's feet, finally, one can see that the Toa of Stone has a couple of pins sticking out of his legs. Like the pins on Gali, these are only there for the combiners, but they do make for interesting design elements. While Gali’s were on her hips, making them appear wider, Pohatu’s hips are wide enough already, so his pins go to his legs. They remind me of little vents that might puff out clouds of steam as he prepares a mighty kick.

Speaking of strange accent pieces, Pohatu has not one, but two ball accents. They adorn his shoulders, helping them reach a respectable width. Pohatu does look a little skinny as a result of his build, and that’s unfortunate, considering that he’s supposed to be the strongest of the Toa, with Onua close behind and only surpassing Pohatu with the help of his mask. I imagine the two of them to be similarly strong, with Pohatu having a slight edge, just in different ways. Pohatu is all about impacts and kinetic force. He moves fast and hits hard, looking to bring down opponents or obstacles with one devastating blow. Meanwhile, Onua is more about continuous effort and the consistent application of force. Pohatu is like a sprinter, he's thin, and his fists and feet are armoured for explosive blows, but he's not as good with drawn-out effort, while Onua has thicker legs and a broader chest; his strength comes from his core and he's built for power. Basically, Pohatu can hit much harder, but if Onua wants something moved, it will be moved.

Pohatu wears the Kanohi Kakama, the Great Mask of Speed, which allows him to move and react at incredible speeds and travel great distances in the blink of an eye. Like I just said, Pohatu is a sprinter, built for fast and powerful bursts, so the Kakama is perfect for him, and again it pairs well with Onua receiving the Mask of Strength. They're a pair: Speed and Power, Punch and Push. Plus, the Kakama makes up for Pohatu's lack of natural speed, and would be a great help in crossing the vast, open desert.

The Kakama is rather small, with its large cheeks as its most distinctive feature, a common design element for masks we’ll see plenty more of. Aside from a vent on the top, the mask is quite sleek and aerodynamic, befitting its power. On Pohatu, the mask’s somewhat aggressive eye holes are undercut by his real eyes, making the mask look more friendly. Also, the Kakama is one of only two Kanohi for which I have the golden version. While I prefer the standard-coloured masks to the golden ones, I do like the way the gold stands out, unique in the colour scheme.

Pohatu is a fan favourite, both as a character and as a set, and I really don't have any trouble seeing why. He's friendly, outgoing, annoys Kopaka, and his set is unique and fun. His strange appearance has a sort of awkward charm to it such that seeing him with more typical proportions just looks wrong. As a final note, I enjoy displaying my Pohatu with his rock propped against his hip, with two of the studs on its top plugged into the holes in his arm. It's a convenient way to store the boulder and makes Pohatu look like some kind of heavily-armoured soccer player.

Next up: 8536 Kopaka

#bionicle #bionicle retrospective #bionicle setrospective #pohatu

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randomwriteronline · 3 months

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Hello! This is my main blog! (I'm legend-as-old-as-time.)

So, I've got a favorite. But the other two AUs also fascinate me. I'd love to know what the story is for your G3 of Bionicle? What's the atmosphere like?

BLASTS MY THOUGHTS DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BRAIN TO EXPLAIN THEM FASTER AND POSSIBLY BETTER THAN THROUGH WORDS

as mentioned i have a post in drafts thats meant to be like. a vague skeleton of thoughts and ideas and shit that ive talked about to and with @cantankerouscanuck, mainly introducing the various character groups n the environment slightly, but it does NOT touch on the story much (more the backstory and again only vaguely) so GREAT QUESTION LET ME TELL YOU

thinking of like uhhhh diving this in like. cartoon seasons but old school ones yknow, so LONG ones bc oh boy ADVENTURES

Season 1 starts with that Classic Bionicle Beginning of the toa mata crashlanding on the archipelago of Okoto each on a different island not knowing what the Fuck to do and being welcomed in the villages. like in g2 theyre first tasked with finding some golden relics but instead of being accompanied by the protectors/village elders they go with the local Weird Kids (the chronicler's company) who were the first people they actually met; getting the things lets them reach the island of the mask makers and meet Ekimu (and takua!!!! his apprentice!!!!!!!) and theyre like "so what do we do with these btw" and ekimu looks at the pieces and goes. FUCK

TURNS OUT THOSE RELICS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOLDEN MASKS BUT SOME MF JUST BROKE THEM INTO PIECES and wouldnt you fucking believe it it was the Children Of Makuta, the spirit of death and animals and darkness, who live each on one of the islands except spiriah the baby of the family who roams around bothering literally everybody and ofc dont want the toa to reawaken the Great Spirit whom their parent put to sleep, AND SO BEGINS THE FETCH QUEST OF THE OTHER FIVE PIECES OF EACH MASK WHILE FIGHTING OFF THESE FREAKS OF NATURE WHO ARE TRYING TO EAT THEM AND BUILDING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEMSELVES & EKIMU & TAKUA N HIS POSSE & THE VILLAGERS AND SLOWLY BECOMING A PROPER TEAM N FAMILY which is why they need to be many episodes. i will fucking recreate almost verbatim the tale of the mask kopaka-pohatu story because its already perfect and you will Fucking See It if i have to Kill For It

closes off with a cliffhanger after getting all the masks: during an ambush by Mutran Gali gets dragged off into the sea between the islands to get crushed by the water pressure but whats this??, the pressure suddenly lifts enough to let her breathe as she loses consciousness while strange silhouettes drive off the child of Makuta and catch her in his stead, sinking deeper...

S2 starts off by quickly catching up to the rest of the toa who are SHITTING THEIR FUCKING SELVES ABOUT THEIR WATER-BREATHING SISTER APPARENTLY DROWNING BEFORE THEM

tahu and pohatu decide to look for her in a ball of tempered glass while kopaka, onua and lewa hurry back to ekimu to tell him what happened. back to gali, she awakens to a bunch of... toa???? who know her and her brothers???? personally, apparently????? three of them are like super mad at them for leaving them during their time of need??????? what the FUCK are you people talking about. who are u. how are you breathing under water. why is tHERE A WHOLE FUCKING CITY UNDER THE WATER-

ENTER: THE TOA MAHRI. as it slowly turns out inbetween rounds of beating the shit out of sapient polyamorous seafood that keeps trying to nibble the villagers and the air bubble domes for their crops, they were TRAINED by the mata a few hundreds years ago and were fighting off the cataclysm that broke the continent of okoto into islands and sunk the city of Iniri into the sea together with them before they just Fucking Left, Apparently - which ofc they didnt do for no reason but they essentially got shoved back into the stars against their will. this rightfully rattles the shit out of the mata because What Do You Mean We Have Been Here Before. What Do You Mean You Had Records Of Us Being Here Even Earlier Than That. How Many Times Have We Done This. How Many Times Have We Discovered Kinship And Affection And Had That Stripped Away From Us. I Think I'm Going To Throw Up

while theyre handling THAT they also fill in the mahri on whats been going on and the mahri go oh shit, the great spirit is in a coma and the children of makuta are against you??? bro those guys are super powerful theyve got Crabs, you cant fight em alone. but also if we try to leave the sea the water pressure Will Fucking Destroy Us, so they figure out a way to get out of there and back up and jaller is super anxious bc his mom might be there but like... based on what they said... she might be evil... he doesnt wanna fight her... shes the only family he still has...

S3 AND WE GO BACK TO SEE WHAT KOPAKA ONUA AND LEWA ARE DOING, and theyre off searching the more ruined parts of the city of the mask makers on takua's suggestion - these are the parts of the city that werent very lucky during the cataclysm and are now sacred ground prowled by Krika, daughter of Makuta

at last they find a strange underground chamber with six breathing statues, which, of course, freaky; they manage to thaw one and out tumbles a toa (?) who immediately recognizes onua and starts talking to him excitedly (??) saying that its so good to see him in person for the first time (???) and asking him about the continent (????) and being genuinely distraught that they dont know who he is. same reactions from the other five toa that also get thawed out. ok something is Clearly Amiss pls explain

its time for LOMN...... 2!!!!!! where we learn from vakama abt how Lhikan, who previously filled in ekimu's position, finds out theres Some Shit going down with the great spirit and makuta and tries to call the mata, who however get stuck due to the aformentioned Some Shit. as such she picks out six lads in the city of the mask makers and bestows masks upon them to make them become toa, but on their way to handle the current problem they get werebeast'd and Krika goes oh? free kids? free kids for me? and Lhikan goes NO but its too late. they already have joint custody of the metru. and might be blossoming a lesbian romance but unfortunately due to lhikan being lhikan i have to kill her to protect vakama, leaving krika with him AND his little brother jaller who will inherit lhikan's mask. the metru figure out the way to get the mata in this case is to attempt to contact them themselves, which they manage to do by entering a trance that however slowly turns them into statues: in this trance they are able to speak and train the mata, who also promise to free them once the whole situation is handled

CONSIDERING THE CATACLYSM HAPPENED AND THEY GOT SHOT BACK IN THE SKY AND GOT AMNESIA YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT PROMISE KIND OF WENT TO SHIT

anyways thats A Lot as you can imagine and the time to process it is Not Much bc the other three mata and the mahri are here and (after a round of MASSIVE HUGS for the metru and mahri reuniting and also the metru and Krika) theyve got a plan to beat the shit out of makuta

problem: the children of makuta have realized this is happening and decided to break out The Crabs to beat the shit out of THEM

mahri, metru and krika (and the chronicler's company much to everybody else's heart attacks) hold them off while the mata manage to fight against makuta after being briefly overwhelmed, uniting their powers to uh. Kill Him. which! IS NOT ACTUALLY GOOD. YOU KNOW. BALANCE AND ALL THAT. makuta is saved in the end by The Great Fucking Spirit who wakes up just in time to stop the mata before they murder his brother

the mata awaken before the Great Spirit and after a moment of "where are we? who are you? why didn't you let us kill makuta?" and getting their answers, they realize OH FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO PUT US IN THE STARS AGAIN? AND GIVE US AMNESIA? FUCK YOU YOURE NOT TAKING OUR FRIENDS AND SIBLINGS FROM US

Great Spirit, lovingly: ok :)

and tahu wakes up to ekimu working at the forge and none of his siblings around and he Shits His Pants, but ekimu quickly reassures him that everythings good and its been like, maybe a day or two since they managed to reawaken the Great Spirit. his siblings woke up before him and are probably down at the beach, and Makuta got driven off, all of his children following suit to take care of him, krika included. the mahri and the metru are catching up on the mata's tales from the chronicler's company. things are fine. they wont be like this forever, ekimu tells tahu, but they dont have to live in fear every second of their lives. rest a while. go see your siblings.

and it ends with the mata having a very sweet nap pile on the beach because they FUCKING deserve it after TWO whole generations ending with them not getting to just fucking sleep after EVERYTHING THEY GO THROUGH EVERY TIME

as you can see i have. Enormous Holes in this and theres things i havent explained and stuff (like how i unfortunately had to sacrifice hewkii x macku due to a Very Big age difference but they are still a power pair, just in this case its like older cousin acting as a mentor to the worlds most bloodthirsty weird little girl) but yes. have this. for now. please keep asking questions i love you

#bionicle #random talks #toa mata #toa mahri #toa metru #idk what to tag this as just TAKE IT

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