#yabr

         The conflict could be so much more meaningful and personal than just people calling each other petty insults and corny puns about their elements. Kurahk could make you say things you can NEVER take back, and cause permanent damage in relationships that are strained forever; Make people hit hard and deep in emotional terms. Like…

         Can you imagine how unsettling it’d be for Pohatu, the most kind and compassionate Toa, the most cheerful one, to suddenly be reduced to a howling, cursing, frothing rage? Could you imagine Kurahk causing Pohatu to scream at Kopaka that he’s sick of him and his loner attitude actually; Pohatu isn’t going to waste any more of his energy on him, anymore. Kopaka wants to be alone, FINE, have fun being by yourself; Kopaka’s done nothing but push people away and now he’s finally succeeded with the one person who always stuck through!

         Even when Kurahk’s effect wears off, and Pohatu promises and swears he didn’t mean it… Well, perhaps the Shadow Toa from 2001 make their return after all. They emerge to the surface after having been absorbed and seemingly suppressed, made at peace with, and now Pohatu DOES struggle with his shadow self this time. Because Shadow Pohatu is literally the darkness inside of him taken form, and now a Kraahkan isn’t needed to make a new body for it, for Pohatu’s issues to manifest.  

         That stuff could really traumatize the Toa Nuva and their relationships, but them working through that could also cause them to emerge from the gauntlet, even stronger than ever. Because instead of angsting or moping, or letting Kurahk’s rage influence him; Maybe Kopaka DOES admit that yeah, he has an issue with putting up walls! Pushing people away! And he can’t take Pohatu’s patience for granted because it isn’t healthy to expect his friend to always put up with that, endlessly! So regardless of how much Pohatu meant it, it does make Kopaka reflect and admit that he DOES appreciate Pohatu, and actually put in the effort to openly reciprocate.

         Tahu apologizes for the stress he puts his teammates through, and confesses his own issues. And so on, and so forth; Because I think there’s a duality to anger, and how it can also be weirdly healing and opening, honest even, under the right circumstances. 99% of the time it just causes needless strife by Kurahk, but for those who really use this as an opportunity to vent and express themselves, it can force people to acknowledge an issue they’ve all been suppressing and ignoring, by bringing it to light. And that can result in an intervention that forces everyone to healthily tackle these root problems, and ultimately emerge even more united for it, rather than the other way around as Makuta intended.

        Obviously Bionicle is a kids’ franchise and 2003’s story was dumbed down around the more simplified, streamlined movie Mask of Light. But boy is there a lot of potential to really explore Makuta’s plans to destroy the unity of everyone, Toa and Matoran alike, via the power of Kurahk’s Anger. Something a lot more difficult to overcome than just “Sorry I called you a firespitter.”

It could show how life continues on even after death, even WITH death, because of it! And it makes sense that people would still be attached to their home and not want to immediately take it apart- Maybe parts of the Matoran Universe would collapse, but then people would choose to live on these remains once they’ve settled.

Even for those who’ve moved on, for other biomechanicals made elsewhere- It’s a bit of a holy pilgrimage to come here, a Mecca, and come in touch with one’s origins. With one’s God- To see and know and thank the one who gave it all that yielded you, and still continues to.

How might the landscape change? Would the oceans remain the same, or spill out of this broken body? This Valley of the Great Spirit might become desolate, but people could still survive in it- Especially by bringing in resources from across Spherus Magna, doing some terraforming of their own!

It wouldn’t be the same Universe but it’s still there, and so it can be lived upon. People are willing to put in the effort. In a meta sense I know I am, because I guess I’m just too attached to this universe and hate to see it go, especially as I write more fanon to flesh it out- Though certainly not here, where I do the literal opposite!

We could even see old concepts like Three Finger Island (now the Three Finger Mountains), or the Knee, symbolically find new life in the future- When once they were unlived concepts of the past! This story came and lived and died, and so it gives thanks by breathing life into what never had its chance, into the concepts that had laid its foundations.

Creation in Destruction, Life in Death- Decomposers living within a decaying corpse, like in real life! Like Ymir from Norse myth, because Bionicle drew from mythos like any good legend. It sounds like a very metal and fascinating idea, a last ode, and a fitting final chapter, to what is meant to be a Biological Chronicle.

And I think a valley that is itself the decaying corpse of a god... That could invoke the grand sense of mystery and mythos, the lore and history, that the island of Mata Nui once had- Ruins, an outcome, the sublime ending of a story that makes you want to know the origin, know of its past life and what happened here, and what continues to! It makes you ask questions, what cataclysm could’ve felled such a being??? What cosmic scale? It could be beautiful...

It’s about how YOU also have to put in the effort to care too, it’s okay if it’s not natural because you should at least try, other people are putting in the effort and so don’t treat it as some painful obligation! I guess what I’m saying here is to incorporate bits of Kopaka characterization into Mata Nui, which adding pieces of the Toa Mata into him feels VERY sensible, symbolic, and wonderfully familiar of course.

Must everyone die to awaken Mata Nui, maybe Makuta IS right about leaving him asleep, maybe Makuta really IS being merciful in his own way, delivering the harsh yet only solution... What kind of hero would go on a quest to doom his own home and everyone he loves, everything! Truly he is a fraud, maybe Takua should just give up the foolish dream to continue Mata Nui’s and let him slumber, let Makuta reign, because of course that’s what Makuta wants.

But then resolution and honest communication arrive, where Takua reveals what he knows- And somehow Vakama can tell he’s right. At this point, the Turaga are forced to admit the truth, that there IS another place they could go- The original home of the matoran, Metru Nui... And they explain how they used to be part of this grander universe beneath them, before they were forced to evacuate after Makuta cast Mata Nui into a slumber.

The Turaga didn’t want the Matoran to mourn their lost home, to not let that embitter the joy of waking up to and exploring this natural paradise that was Mata Nui... Which was in many ways kind of an improvement to Metru Nui. But if what Takua learned is true, then they have to evacuate the island before Mata Nui awakens... So they must return to Metru Nui, and the only way back is through Mangaia.

Which makes Makuta’s mention of Takanuva having to open ‘the gate’ actually built up and not out of nowhere. It’s tragic as the matoran learn the truth and prepare themselves to leave their home and return to Metru Nui, so their immigration doesn’t feel so sudden and inexplicable, there’s a reason they must leave this home they fought so hard to protect. Takua considers that if he goes with Makuta, maybe they’ll all be allowed to live life on the island like they always did, carefree, everyone’s duty to the Great Spirit and the wounded world beneath be damned!

But they can’t, they’re responsible- So everyone is ready and prepared at Kini-Nui when Takanuva confronts Makuta, whom he calls out as playing emotional mind games, pretending that he’s just protecting others, but he’s simply hiding the truth and seeking power. Makuta mocks Takanuva, claiming that even if he does succeed in defeating him, he probably won’t be able to lift the gate anyway- So the matoran will be trapped on Mata Nui when it’s destroyed.

Things turn out differently of course, and being in Makuta’s mind confirms for Takanuva that this dreadful revelation is true. Still, the Matoran and Toa steel themselves and continue on for the sake of good and Mata Nui, and it’s Makuta’s turn to be left exiled from the Matoran Universe... Up until the Piraka arrive.

Perhaps the role of the Bohrok as enacting Mata Nui’s will is revealed a lot earlier on, with it confirmed in the Mask of Light arc, right after the battle with the Bahrag, that YES they were also telling the truth like Makuta did. Or, the Toa Nuva have that confirmed with their first task in awakening the Great Spirit, and dreadfully connect the Bohrok and Bahrag’s claims to what they’d recently learned about the island’s fate- It’s all coming together.

The same thing applies to the truth of the Toa Metru, because now that they’ve revealed the existence and past of Metru Nui, the Turaga decide that this is a good point to segue into that iconic reveal that the Toa Nuva aren’t the first of their kind- Adding more context behind the heritage of the matoran and the original home they were forced to flee from as refugees. Metru Nui was once the peak of the world, only to be devastated...

So how did it happen, and why don’t they remember this, but the Turaga do? It’s all a bit heavy for the Turaga as well, that this island that was like a dream really WAS... They learned to love it, just in time for that love to hurt when they had to lose this home, they should’ve kept hating it.

And we could have the matoran mourn Mata Nui and make a proper farewell and send-off to the memories, for themselves and the growing audience, with the Toa Nuva returning for essentially a burial, Gali one more time to visit the grave... Some consider staying behind and enjoying their island home while it still lasts before leaving, but no it’s best to leave ASAP, because they’re not just avoiding a timed destruction, there’s other work long unattended to as well.

This just makes everyone wonder if it’s even worth it to awaken the Great Spirit, which creates doubt and forces people to question and self-examine, critically analyze as they slowly understand the truth. And it can create resentment and frustration, which leads to a better understanding of how the Makuta felt, when the rest are later revealed and their backstories made apparent.

As for the Makuta himself? He initially didn’t want to reveal the need to destroy the island to the matoran, doing so would motivate them to stay and not return to Metru Nui to run his future brain... But then the threat of a Toa of Light came along, and his plans are useless if he’s killed by one. So Makuta risks his own plans because ultimately, it’s in the service of the most important thing- Himself, and he dreads Takanuva for a reason. And he could always export other matoran to Metru Nui, or make new servants.

Even with the knowledge that the matoran don’t have to die, it’s still painful losing their home... And it could just tie into that surreal dream-like quality of Mata Nui’s sleep, that the island is like a dream he must wake up from eventually and end. He gave this island to the matoran to hold them over in their exile from the universe, but now it must go now that they no longer need it- Yet they still want it, they feel like they need it!

Alas, the matoran have no choice but to return to that original home, like when one goes on a great journey in a magical land, but then must leave the place to head back. It’s like an isekai, an alternative coming-of-age moment for Takua and really all of the matoran, that doesn’t conflict with his past characterization- You fled from terrible circumstances and discovered this wonderful place!

But now you have to return home, you’ve grown and are ready to handle that starting point and all of the issues left behind there- Particularly the wider Brotherhood of Makuta, the devastation of the universe that needs repairing, and Mata Nui’s dying spirit, because the story grows older and darker like the audience, matures alongside the characters.

Now you’ve grown to confront even bigger challenges, twisted ones like the Piraka and Barraki, and an even worse dilemma- The death of the universe AND Great Spirit, because it seems every place is tied to Mata Nui’s health! And when you’ve grown, you can finally wake up and confront the truth, just like Mata Nui...

And again, settling this moral quandary and reconciling these various sides, it just leads to the heroes having to be more morally ambiguous, fitting the introduction of the Order of Mata Nui- And this whole discussion could be paralleled when others later on, among them matoran who discussed that same quandary, debate killing the universe to end Makuta’s reign. Is it worth it to keep destroying the world if it first led to Makuta becoming god, should they give up? Either by letting Makuta reign, or by killing him and everything else to end it all in a fit of nihilistic despair???

Plus, this story route ties in subtly to the Bohrok, the Av-Matoran connection to them, and providing the grounds for a complex moral quandary that justifies Takua’s lack of truthfulness with Jaller. Thematically Makuta’s speech of how they came from destruction, how creation must stem from it, that to destroy is necessary- It circles back to the Bohrok being revealed right after, as the necessary destroyers to awake Mata Nui.

It’s the beginning of the increased darkness and revelations amidst the coming of light, and more hints to the true nature of Mata Nui... The mask is beginning to come off- Makuta’s Kraahkan, the truth of the Great Spirit, and his own literal island mask. The heroic and mythic fantasy is coming apart to reveal the dark, pragmatic, and mechanical reality beneath it all...

Coupled with Sidorak’s apparent popularity with his troops and his simultaneous rivalry yet desire to work with Roodaka, and I think Sidorak has a lot of potential to make for a compelling character caught between two different extremes, trying to reconcile and not be self-contradictory, and finding a middle ground between the two- Or at least, ideally choose one. Which adds to his torn insecurity as a character that makes the dude a lot more human, and not just some scheming noble but a villain with enough integrity and honor to be conscious about his lies, or at least practical about needing to address them with the responsibility he now has. And in Sidorak’s attempt to be a better leader, he overthinks and tries too hard and paradoxically becomes worse, like Vakama.

It also makes me excited to explore how his betrayal of Voporak must’ve been like for both parties, because Voporak is another character I want to play around with. That’s honestly really fascinating that Sidorak does have some semblance of an implied conscience and initiative to grow, which could even make him as interesting as fan-favorites such as Nidhiki or Krika- Especially with the idea of the lost potential of the genuine leader he could’ve been had Roodaka not gotten Sidorak killed, and this image of a ‘noble’ general marred by a dark truth that he tries to clean, but can never overcome.

It’s almost like a repentance by Sidorak of who he really is, which I love. Trying to change who he is to be what others expect and need (like Vakama), but tragically never getting past that innate identity, nor coming to terms with that nature. There’s a sudden humanity to Sidorak’s foolhardy, seemingly arrogant recklessness that, again, connects very well to Vakama’s arc, and suddenly makes me appreciate the comparisons he drew between the two of them... If Sidorak was aware of his own flaws deep down, then he very well may have seen the same in Vakama and even been sympathetic towards that (adding to Sidorak’s willingness to give Vakama a chance to prove himself, something that would resonate with him)...

But because he can’t afford to admit weakness due to the pressure, Sidorak never elaborates on this comparison and what truly resonates with him, which makes it come across more as boastful and ‘confident’ projection, mentorship- Which hell, maybe Sidorak’s sympathy towards Vakama’s plight would’ve led him to give the Toa the encouragement and advice he wished he had, albeit under a very professional persona... And make Sidorak regret all the more his betrayal of his mentor Voporak, and add to Sidorak’s admiration of Teridax, who no doubt manipulated him as well.

And that feeling of being unworthy, of having thrust himself into this position and thus needing to put in the work to get out of it, the shame (as well as the inability) that keeps him from asking for help, openly admitting these issues... Very compelling stuff. Perhaps there was a relief, deep down, in his coming death by Keetongu’s hands- A self-destructive repentance, and a gratitude to be relieved of guilt through sufficient karma, to finally be done with those sins by having them return and finish Sidorak off. It would add to the Web of Shadows novelization having Sidorak think over how Roodaka was technically doling out justice in her betrayal of him, and giving her credit in his last thoughts.

This is why Rahi grow, this is why they’re born and hunt one another. It’s also why they need to exist at all, in a precarious balance- Too many deaths and the ecosystem collapses. But too many births and the same occurs with overpopulation. Mata Nui needs the power generated not just from a life being born, but a life dying as well- Just as Creation and Destruction are two sides of the same coin, Mata Nui, Life and Death are also vital to his health.

(This is partly why the Ignika and Mask of Creation stand out against the Vahi, which not only was made later by a Matoran, but is not seen to possess the same type of duality.)

In essence, the Rahi are like livestock for Mata Nui. They also serve the added purpose of representing the untamed nature that the Great Beings want civilization to learn to co-exist with, as part of the social simulations that the sapient societies are also meant to participate in. It’s considered more ethical to sacrifice the lives of the Rahi VS fully sapient beings as well, and the ability of the ecosystem to maintain itself means less overall cost.

Naturally, this contributes towards the importance of Balance in the Matoran Universe, if opposing concepts but also for the biosphere that feeds Mata Nui. One might describe the Great Spirit as like an autotrophic organism, creating his own food supply, and running on different types of energy. Perhaps the work of the Matoran helps contribute to Mata Nui’s needs and/or fuel the mechanisms that ‘digest’ the Life and Death cycle of the Rahi.