I had a blast storyboarding the Taniwha fight scene on Moana 2, and I finally posted the full sequence on my website, so if you want to see the full seq storyboards feel free to check them out there! Here are some select panels for funsies. The sequence changed in final, but some shots still remained which is cool to see!
I wanted to do draw something related to my culture. I'm half Māori and love dragons of all kind so I had to use one of our mythologies which is a Taniwha. Taniwha are many things but the one I grew up with is that they were sea serpents and guardians of the lakes, rivers and oceans around Aotearoa and since I'm in my transformers phase, I decided to just slam those two together.
So here is Tāwhirimaru 🌊
Tāwhirimaru briefly means 'Stormgaurd' as Tāwhiri = storm/wind and maru = shelter or shade.
He's a massive Predacon that only dwells around the oceans of Aotearoa. Just like his name hints at, he's a guardian than an aggressor, watching over the Earth's seas for millennia :>
Woo boy, have we got a special treat for you all! That's right, seems we've overlooked a member of the circus! Why not introduce yourself, my boy!
...No? Oh fine, I'll do it myself then.
Ladies and gents, enbies and spatulas, please give a hearty welcome to the one and only Fono!
Voice Actor: Daniel Logan
Other Names: Fony, Fofo, The Smart One (by Jax)
Species: Taniwha (Circus)
Ethnicity: Māori/Japanese/Okinawan
Nationality: New Zealand
Orientation: Gay
Occupation: Video Game Designer
Personality: Reserved | Intelligent | Slow to trust | A temper he tries hard to hide | Creative | Quiet | Protective | Lonely | Highly sensitive | Blunt | Introvert | Loyal | Critical (especially towards himself) | Devious when he wants to be | Intuitive
Biography:
Born to a doting Māori mother and an emotionally distant Japanese father, "Fono" grew up a straight-A student and golden child, constantly haunted by a fear of failure and even more so by the possibility of disappointing those around him. Add in having a younger sister he got compared to a lot and rarely getting accolade from his father, it's any wonder why Fono found solace in video games where he could be anything he wanted and fail or succeed on his own merits. Eventually, that solace evolved into an interest in video game design, one that unfortunately Fono's parents did not wholeheartedly support. Regardless, he preserved and pursued the necessary education and would eventually land a job as Kinger's assistant on a bold new project - and a rather ill-fated one at that.
At first, it'd been nothing short of a dream come true for Fono. Being part of a video game? Sure, they never intended this in the design and the AI in charge of it all was obnoxious and sure the lack of an immediate exit was somewhat concerning, but they'd figure something out eventually.
Then Kinger's wife abstracted.
If not for Ragatha's timely arrival, Fono himself would have followed suit a long time ago, crushed under the guilt and shame. For a time, he seemed to be getting better thanks to Ragatha's kind (albeit smothering) demeanor, but as Fono tried and tried to figure a way out and more and more people came into the circus, for a time it seemed as though he might abstract again - that is until a certain rabbit and frog came onto the scene. Between the newcomers and their comedic air and Ragatha, for a time Fono thought the circus might finally not be so bad.
Once again, disappointment and heartache awaited him.
Since the loss of Ribbit, he's retreated in the "Smart Guy" archetype once suggested in jest by Jax, done with looking for a way out of this digital hell and more focused on scoping out any possible red flags in the others and correcting them the only way he knows how.
Brutal criticism.
Relationships:
Caine: Fono can recognize Caine is AI at his core, so he isn't surprised at the ringmaster's inability/ struggle to understand basic human emotions. That said, Fono, like Zooble, hates that any suggestion from someone other than Caine usually gets shot down.
Kinger: He was basically Fono's boss back in the real world since they were both game programmers working on the ADC, so Fono tends to be a little formal with him, calling him "sir" and all that. Of course, he's also well aware that being in the circus for so long has not done the older man's mind any favors, so he sticks by him most of the time to keep an eye out for him.
Zooble: They are the person Fono has the most straightforward interactions with. They're pretty similar in personality and don't mince words (especially in regards to Caine and Jax) even though they don't hang out much. Zooble's only gripe is that Fono needs to watch his mouth, especially around Gangle.
Gangle: Speaking of whom, being around Fono is a bit of a double edged sword for Gangle. He definitely keeps Jax off her back, but his blunt critiques of what she should do to toughen up more often than not pile onto her already jacked up self esteem. Fono, on his end, notices this and genuinely doesn't know how to do better, so he tends to keep his talks with her brief and to the point to minimize the risk of hurting her feelings.
Jax: As for Fono and Jax...oh boy. Well, they used to be good friends with Ribbit before the poor frog abstracted and Jax went full jackass. Fono does his best to be everyone else's shield as much as possible (appreciated but also smothering), but this usually just has Jax switching to him as a target.
Ragatha: The relationship between her and Fono is far less fraught since she's the reason Fono didn't abstract soon after Kinger lost Queenie, who'd been nothing but kind to Fono. He doesn't hover over her like with the others mostly out of respect, although he will sometimes butt heads with her in regards to her people pleasing and her back with his idea of "tough love".
Pomni: As she's the newest, Fono keeps a respectful distance but still keeps a close eye on her, feeling it'd be best to let her come to him if she needs anything unless the situation is dire. Over time, though, they become good friends after a certain island adventure that Caine may or may not have ripped off of Fono. Fono appreciates how much of a mediator and listening ear she can be, and does his best to provide the same in return.
Skills:
As a native Kiwi, he's naturally adept at swimming, a boon for whenever Caine thinks up an adventure that requires swimming (a lot). Out of all the players in the circus, he is also undoubtedly the strongest and the toughest, able to tank an absurd amount of damage, an aspect Jax has been more than happy to take advantage of.
Beyond his physical aptitude, Fono possesses a great deal of knowledge on video game design that gives him an edge when working out a solution in any of Caine's insipid adventures. And while he not be the most tactful with his words, Fono knows how to read people and their relationships with one another, allowing him to stay ahead of the curve whenever problems arise with the other players, especially Jax and Ragatha.
On a more whimsical note, Fono's well fluent in Māori and English, not to mention Japanese thanks to so much time spent in his father's home country, though he'll mostly stick to English around the others unless someone (once again Jax) pushes him far enough. Plus, as a game designer, he's much better at thinking up fun games and adventures than Caine (not that the kooky ringmaster ever listens to his ideas).
Central Conflict:
Poor Fono suffers from frequent imposter syndrome due to his failed sense of perfectionism, feeling as though he doesn't deserve how far he's gotten in life, especially after getting trapped in the circus. As a result, he self-doubts his life choices a lot, including his decision to go into video game design, and tends to devalue his own creations and ideas often, thinking nothing he does will ever be “good enough”. Caine's constant dismissal of such ideas does not help either. His critiques are a sort of coping mechanism against these feelings because, the way he figures, if he can get the others to improve and succeed then maybe so can he. Problem is he needs to learn to be more tactful and learn when his input is warranted.
Likes: Crocodiles/Alligators | Gummi candies | Rock n’ roll | Power Rangers/Super Sentai | Anything lemony | Electronic music | Sci-fi | His world's version of Bionicle
Dislikes: The fact that his markings in this form replaced his tattoos | How Jax treats everyone, especially Gangle | Feeling like a failure | Licorice | Mice
Quirks:
Often rubs his arm markings out of stress
Often stims by rubbing his belly with both hands
Inspirations: Spyro the Dragon (Classic) | PJ (Disney) | Onua (Bionicle) | Olga Pataki (Hey Arnold!)
Theme: “Go Back Home” by NCT feat. Veela
Disclaimer: The Amazing Digital Circus and all its intricacies are property of Glitch Productions. Fono here is my own guy.
Don't forget to hit me up on Ko-Fi for commissions!
Otherkin whose kintype is/similar to serpents and dragons from Oceanian mythology, including but not limited to Rainbow Serpent (goes by several different names), Taniwha, Mo’o.
