#mohtrek

Additionally, Bitil’s domain is an island chain; A bunch of smaller landmasses in a larger ocean, just like the region Polynesian and Maori culture originated from. And since those cultures influenced Bionicle’s early years a lot, one could return to that vibe, with consultation from actual Polynesian writers and artists. Bitil’s bug motif may not just be for the sake of “more than the sum of its parts” either, we could also take it literally and make the protagonists and bestiary bug-themed, like Hollow Knight for example! 

Again, the Vahi plays a bigger role here; It was one of the first masks ever designed for Bionicle, in fact it may have even been THE first (that was brought into the final product) I believe... Our big bad, Makuta, is a being who uses the power of time to summon echoes of his past selves, creating a clear line of progression for the audience to keep track of. He may want the Vahi to boost his powers, and/or it’s a way to counteract Makuta’s time-bending abilities.

In addition to Hollow Knight vibes, we might also take a bit from, say, Pikmin; Again, another game about lots of tiny little guys coming together to defeat their larger foe. The protagonists encourage the Southern Islands, normally disparate and minding their own business, to band together to rise against Makuta; On their own, maybe they ARE nothing. But together they’re so much more than Makuta! And Makuta, his group solidarity is really just himself; An echo chamber that is unequipped against a far more diverse group.

I also think it’d be cool to explore another post I brought up, involving Bitil’s past self being horrified by the person he becomes... Imagine a storyline where Makuta has this prisoner named Bitil, whom he tries to impress and convince. Bitil, who is isolated from the rest of the world, reflects on his own past and history... And the big twist comes when the viewer finds out that Bitil was summoned from the distant past, and Makuta is in fact the being he will become. 

Bitil in G1 has a major inferiority complex and thinks everyone’s out to get him, hence his bad lot in life, when in reality it’s because he’s incompetent and there isn’t much to him. So we can play up the jealousy angle for Makuta here, and how he still wants approval even from himself in a sense.

As I said, the Mohtrek showing successive versions of Bitil could also connect to the idea of the evolution of Lego and a MoC, how you upgrade and change it constantly; So there can be a discussion of transformation, which is topical to bugs who are known for their pretty extensive metamorphosis. Perhaps Makuta is a being who regularly undergoes metamorphosis, indecisive about the form he takes; But this just makes him stronger, since when summoning past selves, he has even more to choose from!

He’s constantly evolving, hoping to reach a perfect version… but maybe there isn’t a perfect version, maybe creativity, diversity, is the spice of life! Makuta’s group is monotonous, the protagonists’ are different. There is no end goal or right way, things keep going, just as time marches on.

Change is probably a big theme, because Lego constantly transforms. Makuta reassembles himself, and since the Vahi has such prevalence, let’s thrown in some time shenanigans too; Like time travel or time loops, temporal distortions bring echoes of the past that haunt the setting, so perhaps past versions of Makuta each terrorize their own island, tempt people with the nostalgic past or a bright future. The Vahi is necessary to seal the holes in time that allow Makuta to summon long-extinct monsters and other threats, sending them back to where they belong, fixing events left unfulfilled, and repair time before it collapses.

Makuta may hope to exploit the stream of time to summon from the future, too… Eventually reaching the ‘end of time’ he believes in. And there’s a time limit for our heroes, since the longer Makuta exists, the more past selves he has to summon. In the end, Makuta puts up a big fight by combining all of his past selves into a massive kaita, necessitating our protagonists to form their most ambitious one yet. There could be a twist about time travel akin to the Masks of Power: Legacy fan game, like maybe the Toa were summoned from the past or future, and the Turaga are themselves from another point in time.

I don’t think we’d have the Great Spirit Robot twist, but maybe there’s an homage such as… A giant mountain island that resembles the bent knee of a Titan, referencing Bitil’s domain in G1 being the right leg of Mata Nui. This could be Makuta’s lair.