#Okoto Nui

[irradiated-imp]

A COLLECTION OF MELUS! So Melu's my SelfMOC, one of them anyways. He's a Le-Matoran who becomes a Toa. A while back I decided to do designs of what Melu would look like in different Matoran and Toa Builds, and decided recently to update them.

MATORAN

TOA

I'm really happy with how all of these came out looking, especially the Hordika and Mistika builds for the Toa, and the Mahri and Shadow Matoran builds for the Matoran.

Here's the originals if you wanted to see them. I didn't have the AV-Matoran, Shadow Matoran, Phantoka, or Mistika builds with them tho. Some of them really only changed in terms of color. Originally I made them trying to stick to the OG Melu's color scheme and placement, but when I went back and updated them I decided to try and emulate the original color aesthetics of the builds they're based on.

[fakebionicleideas]

takanuva traveling to a universe where mata nui never existed, on the island of okoto

[dontfindme445]

question for the bionicle fandom about bionicle 2015…

Why was “Mata nui” changed to “okoto”?

[mftango]

I think liking G2 is fine but I hardly see any G2 discussion so I never get the chance to go on a rant about what I think is the biggest problem above all else with G2 No matoran/islander/okotan characters The culture and lifestyle of Mata nui, metru nui, voya nui, mahri nui, karda nui, and even the agori of bara magna are so developed and full and really emphasize what exactly the heroes are saving and protecting. okoto feels utterly lifeless because the closest we get to random islanders is people like bingzak and even then they're living plot devices at best

Liking a silly bionicle meme and immediately unliking it when I notice the g2 hate in the tags lol

What did g2 ever do to you let people like things

[sepublic]

Order of Mata Nui

           A paramilitary organization shrouded in secrecy, the Order of Mata Nui was created as a way of fighting back against the Powers That Be in a manner that is discreet and untraceable. The brutality of their enemies and the harsh realities that Xians have to face have conditioned the Order to be similarly ruthless; Many saw the downfall of the Volunteer Militia as being contributed to the heroes’ ‘softness’ and blatant publicity. In contrast, the Order of Mata Nui operates entirely from the shadows, taking great pains to keep their existence a total secret. Even to the Barraki, their potential presence was considered, but never outright confirmed; And in their fight to liberate Xia, the Order has committed many acts of espionage, extortion, blackmailing, assassination, torture, etc.

           The Order of Mata Nui was founded by their ancient leader Helryx, as far back as the War of Six Kingdoms; Back then, Helryx was but a small, young, and fragile human girl who could do little to fight back against the bloodshed that her home regularly witnessed. Determined to make a difference at any cost, Helryx vowed to not let the deaths of others be in vain; She too would kill, but she promised to let her murders accomplish something in the end.

           Since then, the secretive Order of Mata Nui has operated from the shadows, recruiting members from any corner of Xia. They have tracked the progress of Xia’s industrial revolution, working to undermine the Powers That Be as much as possible, to varying success; It is unknown how terrible the situation on Xia would be had they never existed.

           The Order of Mata Nui worked to assassinate dictators and tyrants, and influence public opinion against such groups. In the Artidax District, many of them are employed as hackers, working to undermine the propaganda of Turaga Dume and leak the secrets of the Xian aristocracy to the public; The truth must be known. When the Nynrah Incident occurred, many Order agents worked quietly to facilitate evacuations and contain threat, while just as many also found potential servants and recruits amongst the mutated Vorox.

           Unlike conventional ‘heroes’, the Order is willing to perform unethical acts, in the name of the greater good. Helryx has seen what noble intentions and actions have done; But for now, it is best to keep noble intentions, while trading in heroic actions for more underhanded and even downright despicable means. In the past, the Order have experimented on others without consent, killed, robbed banks to fund their own activities, etc. Many of Xia’s Lekara were experimented upon them without consent to become ideal, underwater assassins. In order to maintain important secrets, the Order has even killed many innocents in the past; All in the name of the greater good.

           Because secrecy and anonymity is their key to survival, all Order members have access to masks, cloaks, and other means of disguise. They are trained in the arts of stealth, interrogation, code-breaking, etc., and communicate with one another almost entirely in encrypted messages, usually delivered manually; Wireless communications can be intercepted and are thus a liability, with the individual known as Nidhiki having accessed a few Order of Mata Nui messages himself.

           And while quick to strike and utterly ruthless, the Order of Mata Nui also recognizes that its numbers and strength is small and few compared to that of the Powers That Be; If they feel the risk is too high, members will not go on a mission to avoid being compromised and found out. Agents that are a liability and at risk of revealing the truth –whether they want to or not- will sometimes be killed by their comrades to keep them silent. Mysteriously-funded projects are supported through proxies, many of whom know little of what they are doing, and are just as quickly assassinated to keep quiet. Many mysterious deaths have been attributed to organizations such as the Dark Hunters; But in reality, it is the Order of Mata Nui. If at risk of being caught, agents have access to suicide pills, and some even have Viruses that will completely devour their body and leave nothing behind; Although these vials are helpful in assassination, at least one is always kept on an agent’s person in case it needs to be turned on themselves.

           Weakness cannot be allowed within the Order, and it is often beaten out of one another in hellish training grounds, the majority located in their hidden base of Daxia. Skills are regularly tested and honed between missions. Code-breakers work day and night to decode encrypted transmissions that pass through Artidax, hoping to decipher the secrets of the Powers That Be and anticipate their move. Official agents have access to personal ‘tokens’ that bear the insignia of the Order, to prove membership; If in danger of being caught, such tokens are to be completely destroyed.

           Due to the secrecy of the organization, many members do not know the identities of one another, and most refer to one another entirely through codenames, their faces entirely hidden. It is not out of the question for two Order members to argue about which mission they should take, before later on passing one another in public life without recognizing each other. These painstaking measures are all for the sake of ensuring that if one agent is compromised, the entire organization will not follow; Only Helryx knows everything about the Order of Mata Nui… allegedly.

           Information and data is stored almost entirely in coded print, to prevent hacking. The locations of data are mixed amongst various high-ranking members, who have miniature-explosives surgically injected into their skulls, designed to detonate at will in case they are in danger of being interrogated.

           The Order of Mata Nui has agents in just about every sector of society, and even a few nobles and their servants serve as faithful members. The Order also operates through countless servants, many of who know nothing about the true order of their commands; Some are just paid and told to keep quiet as they work on their jobs in secrecy. The Order of Mata Nui has even hired Dark Hunters in the past to do their own dirty work, with the mercenaries unknowingly contributing to projects designed to hinder The Shadowed One.

           All agents within the Order of Mata Nui have their minds telepathically shielded to prevent; These mental shields keep them immune to mind-reading, brainwashing, and attacks on the mind. As a result, they are entirely immune to Night Wraiths, and their ability to infiltrate the dreams of others. The exact nature of how Order members accomplish this a closely-guarded secret. Ideally, the mental shielding of Order agents keeps them from having their minds read, against their will; But in case all else fails, the aforementioned suicide pills and explosives are worth considering. Some risks just can’t be taken, especially since the Order doesn’t know everything about the enemy- And to them, knowledge is the true power.

           Members of the Order don’t just exist on Xia, either; Prior to the merging of worlds, there were a select few on Okoto as well. It was through these agents that Helryx knew of the happenings of that mythical island, and for a while, Okoto’s existence remained another closely-guarded secret amongst the upper echelons of the Order of Mata Nui. When they knew of Okoto and how they discovered it is also another mystery.

           Decades after the Great Cataclysm, Helryx sent trusted agents Axonn and Brutaka to Okoto, to find the Mask of Control; She hoped to use it against the Powers That Be. Arriving on the mythical land, Axonn and Brutaka succeeded in locating the Mask of Control, but to their dismay a portion of Makuta’s soul was infesting it. When Makuta’s role in the deaths of several Okotans to create the Mask of Life had been revealed, a mad scrambled by the Mask Hoarder to don his forbidden mask resulted in the Mask of Control being knocked from his face, siphoning a portion of his soul in the process.

           Axonn and Brutaka realized that whoever would don the Mask of Control would be subject to the influence of Makuta, who would then be able to locate his lost mask and use it through the proxy of his soul fragment and whatever puppet he had seized. With no way of purging Makuta’s influence without the Mask Hoarder noticing the Mask of Control’s presence, Helryx gave the order to contain the Mask of Control within the Labryinth of Infinity; It was a liability and could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.

           For centuries, Axonn and Brutaka guarded the Labyrinth of Infinity, with only the two of them knowing how to access the specific path leading to the Mask of Control’s chamber. As per Helryx’s orders, they remained a secret to all on the island, choosing not to intervene lest they attract the Brotherhood of Makuta’s attention.

At some point, an Order Agent was compromised, captured by the rogue Morbuzakh and interrogated; When they ingested a suicide pill, Morbuzakh countered this with a rapidly-synthesized antidote. Despite the Order agent’s training and mental shielding, Morbuzakh eventually succeeded in pulling vital information out of them, before killing his unfortunate prisoner- Helryx never learned the fate of this agent and was deeply troubled over what information may have been compromised during this disappearance.

           Eventually, miners in the Voymari District unearthed a massive, hill-sized block of bohrok, one that was later melted down in the Great Furnace to reveal the lost Mask of Light. Realizing this was a dangerous weapon that could not fall into the wrong hands, Helryx had Order agents infiltrate the facility that the Mask of Light was kept in. The Order of Mata Nui succeeded in retrieving the Mask of Light, defeating UP-VK 8596 (later known as Seeker). The Mask of Light was contained within a specialized module to let it be safely handled; Physical contact with the Mask could burn and blind a person, if not outright incinerating them.

           With the help of Order agent Botar, the Mask of Light was transported from the island of Xia, taken to Okoto. Axonn and Brutaka took custody of the Mask of Light, and were ordered to prioritize protecting it over the Mask of Control; Helryx compared the Mask of Light to a Xian Heart that was set to go off at any moment.

           Like the Mask of Control, the Mask of Light was contained within the Labyrinth of Infinity, with additional security measures added to ensure that nobody could find it; Maze-like symbols and cubes would be needed to act as keys, which would unlock the 777 Stairs leading down to a series of chambers. In such chambers, various guardians placed by the Order of Mata Nui would act as obstacles to the Mask of Light. To top it all off, the path to the Mask of Light was even MORE complex and difficult to navigate, than the one leading to the Mask of Control.

           (When Brutaka went rogue and betrayed the Order, he made sure not to tell Makuta of the Mask of Light; He could allow the Makuta to take the Mask of Control, but letting the Brotherhood have access to Nuva would be a step too far for him.)

           During the Okotan Expedition to Xia, the Order of Mata Nui kept track of the Toa, Protectors, and their allies. While Kopaka fumbled his way through Artidax, a few agents anonymously contacted the Toa of Ice, using him to help fight back against Dume’s tyranny and authority. To the surprise of many, Kopaka didn’t die in any of his tasks. Later, Kopaka’s ‘anonymous allies’ helped him and a few others pull off a heist in the Archives, retrieving the Fragment of Earth in the process.

           Since Xia’s relocation to Okoto, many Xians have begun to rise up against their former masters. Seeing the paradise of Okoto and its society, which is able to function without the strict class-hierarchies of Xia, has been the final straw for many; They know now that the order set by the Powers That Be is a lie and a sham, and one too many incidents have piled on, ranging from the disappearance of Kratakal, to the Powers That Be prioritizing the securing of wealth over protecting citizens from the quakes when Xia flew.

           Now, an open Xian rebellion, the likes of which history has never seen, has begun to arise. And with the Okotan Alliance right next door, Helryx has seen a once-in-several-lifetimes opportunity; A chance to finally turn the tides against the Powers That Be. And with the Okotans needing help against the Barraki, and the participation of the Brotherhood of Makuta and the rise of Kraltarak…

           The time has come. The Order of Mata Nui has emerged from the shadows, revealing its existence as a paramilitary organization of spies and assassins. They have aligned themselves with the Xian rebellion, its leaders showing some suspicion; But beggars can’t be choosers. In turn, the Barraki are incensed and seek to utterly eradicate the Order, angered that so many Xians would dare defy them for so long, and eager to kill now that the closest thing to a face –their masks- have been seen.

           The Okotan Alliance is skeptical- There are some who want no part in assisting any Xians. But many, including the Toa, Protectors, and Ekimu, recognize that they need all the help they can against the Barraki… Besides, the Order of Mata Nui helped Kopaka after all. Even if the Order has blood on its hands, it’s better than nothing; And if both groups weren’t to collaborate, they wouldn’t be as effective, which would lead to a longer conflict and thus more atrocities committed for ‘necessity’.

          While the Order’s new allies are skeptical about their unethical acts and will even contend them, one cannot deny the greater threat at large. Thus, their allies in the Okotan Alliance and Xian Rebellion will turn a blind eye, for the most part, as they work together; The help of inside-agents within these organizations has made the Order of Mata Nui’s alliance with them easier. And as the Order of Mata Nui’s more heinous crimes are revealed, Dume has taken towards highlighting such atrocities to the Xian populace as ‘proof’ of the chaotic lawlessness of the rebellion.

          Alas, the average Xian is used to the same, and worse, from the Powers That Be; At this point, most aren’t even fazed. And the difference between the Order of Mata Nui and the upper-class is that one genuinely wants to make a change for the better, and will actually work and die for it…

          Makuta himself is also wary of the Order of Mata Nui; He is curious to how Helryx has lived for so long, and now knows how they have hindered him in subtle ways in the past. The knowledge of their past secrecy has made him somewhat paranoid of infiltrators amongst his ranks, and as he combs his Brotherhood for traitors and spies, he also seeks to unlock the truth behind the Order’s mental shielding.

          Intriguingly, many of the Order of Mata Nui’s higher-ranked agents have unusual abilities… Ones that cannot quite be explained by science. Many agents have subjected themselves to various experiments to become more powerful, but these unique members seem to have inexplicable powers, some related to the realm of Space. How the Order of Mata Nui’s agents can unlock such abilities are unknown, and Makuta hopes to potentially infiltrate the organization himself one day. For now, his Night Wraiths prove useless at accessing the minds of members that he’s managed to capture.

          The Order of Mata Nui knows the risks it is taking. Each agent chose their life of secrecy, with some completing disappearing from society and being reborn under a new face, mask, and name. All agents have accepted their burden; Only the most trustworthy are allowed into the organization. Motives vary, but generally speaking, all members have been hurt and scarred by Xia in some way, shape, or form; Or they’ve seen others been hurt and cannot stand by such injustice. So although many of their past actions are indeed terrible, one has to note that the Order performs them beneath dire, desperate circumstances; And should the war end in victory for Okoto and the rebellion, perhaps finally the Order of Mata Nui can lay down its arms. Some agents are not averse to accepting the consequences of their actions and punishment, if it means that Xia can finally be liberated…

          The Order of Mata Nui has many members, in addition to the elusive Helryx;

          Axonn is a powerful, burly knight wielding a gigantic battle-axe, who can compel others to tell the truth. Once a conquerer, he helped Helryx establish the Order of Mata Nui. He helped to guard the Masks of Control and Light, and while faithful he has been criticized for being too much of a bleeding heart, compromising his own secrecy to help others; He once risked being noticed by Fenrakk when he rescued a young Takua from the Skull Spiders in the past. As the Xian-Okotan War rises, Axonn has been temporarily transferred from his duty of protecting the Mask of Light, to helping in the fight against the Barraki and Brotherhood.

          Brutaka is a rogue member, a former friend and close comrade of Axonn. Disillusioned by the centuries of brutality with no end in sight, he has seen the Order of Mata Nui commit atrocities that have barely made a difference. Seeking to do things under HIS command now, Brutaka has joined the battlefield as his own contendable player; He has assisted the Brotherhood of Makuta, and is allied with them once more alongside the Barraki. Using his knowledge on the Mask of Light, he is also helping a group of rogue Dark Hunters, led by Zaktan, into finding the hiding place of Nuva. Brutaka’s true goals are unknown.

          Botar is a towering giant of a creature, feared by even Axonn and Brutaka. He has a massive, fanged maw and a horrifying visage. One of the Order’s most powerful agents, Botar has incredibly powerful abilities of teleportation, able to warp across entire miles with objects and passengers in tow. While faithful to the Order of Mata Nui and usually serious, he can occasionally have his own dark sense of humor.

          Hydraxon is a senior-ranking Order agent. Once a prison warden, he realized the corruption of Xia and has since reformed, discarding his old name and identity in favor of the mask and codename he now bears. Hydraxon is responsible for training many of the Order’s new recruits, and is armed with a variety of blades, daggers, and boomerangs, a few of which can explode on impact. A master of the martial arts, he is a mentor to many and frequently assisted by his pet Energy Hound, Spinax; A creature capable of taking in the ‘scent’ of a target’s soul and tracking it across the distance between both islands of Xia and Okoto, back when they were separated.

          Trinuma is an Order agent with an uncanny ability to talk others into doing exactly as she desires. It is unknown if this is some sort of hidden power, or merely the result of genuine charisma; Either way, she is a skilled negotiator who has helped in securing useful deals for the Order of Mata Nui. She has recruited a few members into organization herself, and convinced a few of the Order’s prisoners and enemies into performing missions for them.

          Tobduk is a towering Vorox. Once a meek, dainty housewife, she was one of the first victims to be transformed by the Nynrah Incident, after being captured by rogue Visorak spiders and mutated into the being she is today. Horrifically traumatized by the incident, she was recovered by the Order of Mata Nui and inducted into the organization. Feeling a disconnect between her past life and current identity, the new agent renamed herself Tobduk and rapidly rose through the ranks as a feared, ruthless assassin. Tobduk is responsible for many of the Order’s most heinous acts and has innocent blood on her hands. She bears a personal vendetta against the Visorak and the Nynrah Ghosts. As a result of her mutations, Tobduk is an agile, powerful titan who can enter a berserker state. She wields poisoned daggers and machetes, as well as a staff shaped like a Doom Viper’s head, which can shoot forth white-hot beams of energy.

          Johmak is an obsidian, crystalline being, able to shatter into countless tiny crystals. These crystals can form into a floating cloud, or be used to tear apart and penetrate enemies. Johmak’s ability and unusual nature allow her to recover from just about any form of physical damage, and she is practically immune to it as a result. As a cloud of crystals, Johmak can enter tight spaces and is a skilled saboteur. Armed with a shield formed from her own essence, Johmak is a strong-willed agent who believes in ideals of freedom and resistance.

          Krakua is a grey-armored warrior with a powerful control over Sound, able to manipulate it to silence others, amplify noises, mimic voices, etc. Krakua has used their Sound abilities to a devastating effect, able to access frequencies that shatter almost any material, and cause internal rupturing of organs to enemies. For these abilities, Krakua is an ideal assassin, infiltrator, spy, torturer, and warrior. They are armed with a ‘tuning fork’ blade consisting of two long, silver prongs with which to better attune and amplify Krakua’s power over Sound.

          Jerbraz is a charming agent and spy for the Order of Mata Nui. A botched experiment resulted in him being rendered permanently invisible. He wields a Twilight Blade that can turn practically invisible alongside him, or blind opponents. He is a skilled assassin and infiltrator, and has been frequently teamed up alongside Krakua to watch enemies completely undetected, sometimes right next to them. Most intriguingly of all, the failed experiment has caused Jerbraz to have a presence in both the Light and Dark Worlds; If one were to warp between either realm, they would find Jerbraz still there, existing across the veil between worlds. For this reason, he is an ideal enemy against Night Wraiths, and is able to see into the Para-Realm; Allowing the Order to keep track of the Kraahl as well.

          Mazeka is a skilled decoder, encrypter, and hacker amongst the Order of Mata Nui. Once a skilled programmer, a massacre for the secrets of the company worked for led them down a long chain of events that resulted in their status as an Order agent. Now, they regularly work to intercept transmissions in Artidax, decode messages, encrypt Order communications, etc. They made anonymous contact with Kopaka during his arrival on Xia, helping guide the Toa of Ice in resisting Dume; Mazeka has long been stationed in the fight against the dictator’s propaganda and control of information.

           Scowe is a winged member of the Order, skilled in quiet transport across the skies. She has functioned often as a manual messenger, transporting physical letters containing encrypted data within to other agents in the dead of night. An incredibly stealthy flier, Scowe has managed to evade the sights of guards and cameras through her unusual ability to automatically ‘see’ through the eyes of everyone in her proximity. The owners of these eyes are completely unaware as Scowe is able to map out blind spots, navigating a completely unnoticed flight path through them.

           Deralte is a hulking, four-armed warrior armed with horns and a multi-bladed axe. He has the unique ability to ‘ignore distance’; When he swings his axe, the effects of that axe cutting into something will travel through the empty air between him and whatever is closest, immediately cleaving that object. Thus, he can swing his weapon, and in real-time, whatever is in front of him -within the distance of about a mile- will be sliced as if Deralte was right there. This applies to any of his actions; A hi-five will be immediately felt across a field as he reaches to meet it, for example. Because of Deralte’s unique ability to ignore the distance between him and a target, he is an ideal if unconventional ‘sniper’. Although his power only applies to his body and the axe he wields, Deralte has still managed to kill many unwitting targets, who die believing they were attacked by an invisible assailant that had somehow gotten close. The only way to avoid his attacks is either to get out of the way, or place something –or someone- in front of oneself.

           Boggon is a Vorox with well over a dozen, serpentine heads, with which he can survey the area all around him; Or attack with his fangs, while wielding a weapon in his hands. Operating within the Nynrah District, Boggon acts as a spy for the Order of Mata Nui, reporting the goings-on amongst the various Vorox clans, while researching into the potential existence of whereabouts of the mythical Keetongu.

[northmarch]

So, according to ‘The Art of Bionicle’ the black crater is 50km wide.  Presuming our most realistic looking map is accurate, that means that Okoto is about 1600km from north to south (about 32 times).

The official size of Mata Nui is 489.09km from north to south meaning that, if we round everything off...

Okoto is about 3 times the size of Mata Nui.

No wonder it took them so long to get anything done.

[tiredspacedragon]

"The original feeling 01 carried can’t be recaptured" is something I strongly believe, myself, and it's why it frustrates me that so many Bionicle projects laser-focus on 2001, including G2. Most of them just cut out the mysteries and foreshadowing and tell the baseline story of "Makuta bad, god asleep, Toa come and stop Makuta", and it always feels... soulless. It's why I liked "The Toa", it kept the mystery at the core instead of being a soulless remake.

Hey so I know this ask is ancient at this point, but I always did intend to answer it, so uh... happy November I guess.

But yes, I still firmly believe that 2001 was a truly special case. It was a perfect storm of desperation meeting a truly good idea meeting a market that was hungry for just that kind of story(telling). They set up for a long game and ran with it and the result was an absolutely stellar beginning to my favourite franchise ever. And the thing about that kind of perfect combination is that you can't really recreate it. You can try, and sometimes you'll succeed in evoking that same sentiment; I've certainly come across some stellar artwork and music that have taken me right back to the island of Mata Nui. But even then, those are additions. They're not so much trying to recreate the Golden Years as they are trying to add to them. Completely mimicking the vibe works on those occasions because it's meant to be the exact same thing. Compare those to G2, which was actually trying to recreate 01, but missed the mark because it had all the dressing but none of the meat, so to speak.

Now that's not to say I don't think 2001 should be emulated, because it absolutely should. It worked for a reason. I don't even think G2 necessarily had the wrong idea in trying to do 01 but with a new spin. If a G3 were ever to happen, I think that would be a decent direction to take. "Elemental biomechs on a tropical island" is a totally solid premise, and it works wonders, when it's accompanied by a strong story. What made 01 work is that it leaned into how absolutely out there the premise was, and made the question of "How does any of this make sense?" the core of the story, proceeding to gradually explain why and how it all made sense over the next 10 years.

This is where G2 tripped up. They pulled a Sequel Trilogy, there was no long-term game plan, no sense of intrigue or a grander mystery to uncover. It did have its own identity, and they probably could have made something worthwhile of it if the team hadn't been shot in the foot so much. It's possible they did actually have plans for some kind of mystery element and it just got shot down. I mean have you seen the concept art? What are all the obelisks? What are the giant rings in the Region of Fire? I feel like there could have been something there, something about the nature of the island of Okoto itself. Plus there was the question of where the Toa came from and what the second half of the Mask of Time was doing here of all places. There were opportunities, they were just squandered.

Which is why I'm hesitant about the idea of a G3. Because yeah, it could be great. You can't recapture 2001, but you can take the same formula and take it in a new direction, and it would still work so long as it's done with passion and so long as you keep in mind that Bionicle thrives on questions. It can be done, but I'm not sure I'd trust Lego to do it. They're in a good position right now, they don't need to take risks, and Bionicle worked because it was a risk. It was all or nothing so they poured their hearts and souls into it and created a world so enchanting it's kept us hooked for two decades. They put way more into it than they needed to, and that's what made it work. But now that'snot something they would realistically do, and I don't think I want to see another official take on Bionicle until whoever makes it is ready to try way too hard.

Also, sidenote. I feel like this may be a rare opinion, but if we ever do see a G3+, I strongly believe that the giant robot plot point should be kept in. Obviously not in the same way, because we already know about it, and trying to make "It was all inside a giant robot the whole time!" a plot twist just will not work anymore. This is what I mean when I say G3 could work as 01/G1-with-a-twist. What's the story like if the characters know about the giant robot from the get-go? What's the story like if the giant robot crashed and is 100% dead, no shot at revival? What if this giant robot is one of several? Hell, I'd even be down for a Transformers Prime version someday, where it's just G1 but slightly to the left. Transformers is actually a really good analogy for what I'd like to see happen with Bionicle someday; a multi-generational franchise with some hits, some utter flops, and some complete bangers sprinkled in there too, that will run for a while, then take a break and come back with a new spin on the story. The Legend of Zelda, from what little I know of it, would also be a fine comparison for my vision here, but I digress. The reason I want the giant robot to remain relevant is partially because of just how important it was to G1, since it was the culmination of everything in the first 8 years, but mainly because of the name, BIONICLE. BIOlogical chroNICLE. It was the tale of Mata Nui's biology. It was catchy and also meant something, and I think it should always hold onto that meaning, even if its exact relation to the version of the story being told changes with each new iteration.

[xenon-noble]

A 28, C 7 and 16?

Thanks for the ask pal

A28: Okay the answer for this one gonna be complicated because I grew up with G2 and some of the things I say about G1 lore might be wrong, but favorite locations are

1: As a concept, the water region of Okoto. All those underwater temples full of seaweed covered naval mines just seem so cool and it's a shame that they don't exist outside of the art book.

2: Another one I like as a concept is the Red Star, specifically the broken version. I kinda like the idea of every person to ever die being forced to live in the same city. (plus I had this project I abandoned where the plot was "The Order of Mata Nui tries to land the Red Star to make a Toa army to deal with Marendar")

3: In execution, Karzanhi's island seems pretty cool. Not a good place to live, but a good setting for a story. I had a headcannon about Tuyet being from there. Not sure how lore viable that is but I thought it was a neat idea.

C7: I actually sort of can read it. Not very well, but I probably could answer multiple choice questions about translating it.

C16: I do really like the animation style from Journey to One, where it's in between the Miramax Trilogy and The Legend Reborn in terms of toy accuracy. It looks sort of cell shaded, and everything is sort of scratched and dusty, but still colorful. As for plot and setting, I'm thinking make a movie adaptation of one of the Ignition War years. Ignition War is probably my favorite part of the plot. As for which year, I think JTO's bright animation style would fit best with the 2008 setting and characters, so we're going with that.

[rebuiltbionicle]

Hagah Cohort

Shortly after Makuta Teridax’s rise to power, the Brotherhood of Makuta opted to gather elite Toa to serve as bodyguards for their members, called the Toa Hagah. For centuries, the Makuta were flanked by Toa in shining armour. Such an honour guard was a gamble, as it risked discovery of the Brotherhood’s corruption. Their treachery was discovered, but led to the corruption of the Toa instead.

Makuta Teridax seized power by unveiling a plan for the Brotherhood to overthrow the Great Spirit and have the Makuta rule the universe. For this goal he began a military buildup of the Brotherhood’s forces. This meant an increase in War Rahi and Rahkshi, but Teridax wanted to diversify. At first this meant the development of more new breeds of War Rahi, such as the Skull Spiders and eventually the Visorak, but this wasn’t enough for Teridax. The most powerful force in the universe, aside from the Makuta themselves, were the Toa, and he wanted them as part of their army.

Toa were not formally included into the rank and file of the military; they was not feasible way to convince the Toa to serve in that capacity outside of a few (less than ten) that had enlisted as officers. Makuta Antroz was the one to arrange Toa service with the Brotherhood. As the Brotherhood was still maintaining its public persona as the force of order and justice in service of Mata Nui, it seemed reasonable that such noble servants receive proper protection. Antroz organised the recruitment of the finest Toa from across the universe to serve as “Toa Hagah” teams for the Makuta.

A great many Toa were successfully recruited, the best the universe had to offer. There were 80 Makuta remaining in Brotherhood service at the time, with six Toa Hagah for each Makuta for a total of 480 Toa in service of the Hagah Cohort. The Toa were taken from all elements and the Makuta had their pick of what elements they wanted in their teams. Squabbles were kept behind closed doors. The Toa were given protosteel armour gilded with precious metals. They were given their pick of Kanohi and weapons. The sky was the limit for the Makuta’s bodyguards. This was the beginning of the pampering.

Serving as the Makuta’s honour guard opened a great deal of social doors for the Toa Hagah. The Matoran societies they hailed from were generally classless, but now the Toa were invited to the high society of the more stratified cultures. They were the elite, and the Makuta made sure they knew it. They were exposed to luxury and made to appreciate it. This said, the Makuta did not let the Toa Hagah’s skills dull. They were made to practice for long hours and there were plenty of threats to the Makuta to keep them in check and avoid complacency. This training emphasised an ideological aspect as well; highlighting the Toa’s great power and impying a superiority because of it. The prestige of the Toa Hagah did manage to influence some more Toa to become officers in the standard army.

As time went on, the Makuta began testing the waters of what they were creating. Minor grievances against the Great Spirit were voiced in earshot. Nothing sacrilegious, but legitimate concerns over Mata Nui allowing suffering and tyranny to exist within the universe. The Toa Hagah warmed to the idea that the Great Spirit was negligent and that the universe needed a firmer grip. The Makuta contemplated revealing the plan to them, but an incident convinced them to put it off. Makuta Kulta’s unethical experiments on Okoto had his Toa Hagah turn against him and give the Brotherhood a public relations nightmare trying to pretend Kulta was renegade. The long game had to continue.

Five centuries after the recruitment of the Toa Hagah, Makuta Kojol launched an attack on Artakha and stole the Kanohi Avohkii. While the attack was far larger and far more identifiable with the Brotherhood than Makuta Teridax wanted, the Brotherhood was able to avoid public responsibility as Artakha chose to handle this personally and with secretive allies rather than publicly, and thus the Toa Hagah were kept in the dark about the event for the time being. However, a century later this fell apart.

Makuta Teridax’s personal Toa Hagah, led by Toa Norik, attempting to investigate Toa Kojol’s death eventually put the clues together and realised what the Brotherhood had done. They secretly raided the Destral fortress and retrieved the Avohkii, though they were mutated into Rahaga in their attempted escape. The Makuta did their best to keep the incident quiet, and although it failed to reach public ears, it spread to the rest of the Toa Hagah.

The Toa Hagah were given the choice to continue serving blindly or complicitly, or to stand up against the Brotherhood. A total of one hundred and sixty-three revolted, leaving three hundred and five loyal to the Brotherhood. The revolt was short and brutal, with the Brotherhood victorious. One Makuta was slain, thirty-five loyalist Toa killed, and 57 rebelling Toa killed. The remaining rebel Toa were imprisoned and given to Makutas Mutran, Chirox, and Tridax for experimentation.

The Makuta had their test of loyalty. The remaining 270 Toa Hagah were now completely under their sway, and finally allowed into some final locked doors where they could directly aid the plan. As Makuta Teridax had desired, they now had a cohort of Toa serving in the Brotherhood army. There they would serve until the end of the universe.

This was not the end of the Toa Hagah’s story. Those taken for experimentation were subject to all sorts of modifications. Slight physical modifications such as talons and a digitigrade gait, mind altering to make them obedient again, and changing their element to become Toa of Shadow. The viruses used to accomplish this were later distilled into the Shadow Leeches. Makuta Tridax convinced Makuta Teridax that the Shadow Toa were trustworthy and they became a secret special forces unit for the Brotherhood. The obedience viruses were slowly applied to the loyalist Hagah as well.

This would set the tone of the Toa Hagah’s servitude for the rest of the universe’s history. The bulk would serve in the army or occasionally as bodyguards again, while the Shadow Toa would act as assassins and strike teams. The Shadow Toa remained nothing more than a rumour to the public, while the regular Toa Hagah remained a symbol of prestige that gave the Brotherhood of Makuta a good name. The two groups were fully aware and content with each other’s existence, though there was virtually no overlap. The only exchange of personnel occurred when the Brotherhood opted to purge the universe of Toa of Iron and Magnetism. Instead of killing their own loyal subjects, they converted them into Toa of Shadow to replace their powers while keeping them useful. Brotherhood loyal Toa would remain one of the largest surviving Toa populations during the Toa Decline.

When the Brotherhood went to war with the Order of Mata Nui, the Toa Hagah were used in an attempt to maintain good public relations. This was a failure, and the treachery of the Makuta exposed to the entire universe, so the Brotherhood saw no reason to hold back. The Shadow Toa were now publicly serving the Brotherhood, and the body modifications of talons and enhanced strength and senses made universal amongst the Toa Hagah.

The bulk of the Toa Hagah (referred to at large as the dark Toa) survived the Destiny War to become Teridax’s enforcers after his takeover of the Great Spirit Robot. They were disturbed by his destruction of the rest of the Makuta, but their virus-based loyalty kept them in line. Using powerful illusion powers, he even temporarily brought his own Toa Hagah team back into the fold. As part of the Makuta’s effort to turn symbols of hope into symbols of his own reign, he used the Toa Hagah’s status to turn Toa into a symbol of his rule. As the Reign of Shadows only lasted two years, the cultural memory of Toa as heroes held a stronger impression.

After Makuta’s death, the dark Toa fled onto the surface of Spherus Magna and set out to find a place to rebuild. They remain loyal to the Brotherhood, and with the only surviving Makuta being the “traitorous” Makuta Miserix, the dark Toa serve only the memory of Makuta Teridax. They are currently gathering the remnants of Makuta’s forces into a new Brotherhood.

[supernova1us]

My top 10 hated things about Bionicle G2

1.       the overuse of golden masks. I mean all the powerful masks are all gold, the toa happen to have golden masks just like theirs, then there is another set of golden masks that looks like their recent upgraded ones.  It was just all ridiculous and blown out of proportions and diminished the specialty of the phenomenon. Plus they wore the golden mask through a majority of all of g2 so why bother even giving them regular colored masks anyway. They should have ditched the gold mask part in “journey to one” and juts made it about finding/merging with the creatures.

 2.       Diminished characters. While the 2d web series was pretty good with characterizing the toa, though rather simply, they all had distinct traits and personalities.  That was just all trashed in the Netflix show.  Almost all the toa now felt like angsty teenagers. I think lewa was the only one that stayed fairly consistent, though he transitioned from playful and free spirited to the teams wide-eyed kid brother. Or pohatu from a quiet moody ninja to loud emo brawler. It just showed the lack of care or interest in the characters or writing.

 3.       Generic villain. While g1 had this ass well, there were always reasons and history and lore behind them. Each wave of enemies(spiders/zombies/beasts) had no point other than being an obstacle. Even umurak, the most important villain, had no history or drive other than doing what makuta tells him.

 4.       The backstory and history of the toa.  It felt like no thought was put into it and they went with what we were given so as little thought as possible had to be put into it.  Lore and history were never part of g2 and that is prominent nowhere more than the toa themselves.

 5.       Ekimu being a pointless dick. Marketed as a powerful being and sage, he really never showed himself to be so.  He acted fairly obnoxious and he told the toa a lot, but never anything they wouldn’t have figured out themselves eventually, which would have been more interesting.  And we find out that all he knows it just what he read in prophecy, and is so up his ass honoring it that he never reveals things the toa should know. Okoto could have been saved in a day if he came clean with them. And quite frankly not telling them that defeating makuta would mean their own end is the definition of a dick move.  All and all, as the g2 successor to mata nui, he was a piss poor replacement.

 6.       Voice acting. In both the web series and the Netflix show, voice acting really was a second or third thought.  The web series has all the character voiced by the same damn person, and though he did try to differentiate all the characters, it was still a bit jarring.  Heck, casual watchers would prob never even realize gali was a women. Still, it was better than the Netflix series; if I closed my eyes and listened to the web series, just by the detail of the mannerisms and character acting I could tell who was who.  I don’t think I could ever do that with “journey to one”. Aside from gali and maybe lewa, all the toa sound generic and similar, and as I said before, there are so few defining traits or personalities to them now to pick out. I don’t know if they modded the voices to much or just got all deep voiced men but it was just not handled well.

 7.       Not releasing the makuta set or the mask of ultimate power. Makuta was the main villain of the series and they actually said “we areent going to release him”. Makutas backstory, while cliché, was one of the better written and more nuanced part of g2.  Again just shows how little the creators cared for the franchise.

 8.       Figure looks and proportions.  Compared to the last 2 years of g1, first set of toa were kinda disappointing.  They have their good points and highlights, but it felt like they focused  more on grasping g1 nostalgia than making sure they were descent figures on their own. Tahu had the slung up back blades which seemed so awkward and clunky with his legs, which were covered by literal copies of his chest armor. Then onua, the largest toa of the group, ends up being the smallest toa set, effin really.  The uniter sets were no better in proportions; overly long one piece torsos, arms that if not good length were to short and legs that seems either to short or too long.  The uniters all felt like scarecrows.

 9.       Lack of side characters or additional sets. Unlike g1, g2 did not stray at all from the absolutely necessary characters and sets.  They did not expand the story from the main plotline so we never got to meet other important individuals or characters or goings on in okoto.

 10.   Never exploring okoto.  Okoto was the main setting of the story and like mata nui in g1, one of the most interesting parts of the story should have been exploring it. Instead we get the smallest glimpses of each region and everything else it just important location to important location.

[starshipmatanui]

Year 4 Story

Under the cut for length.

The Matoran now occupy the city in the mysterious underworld. They express their distaste for industrial underground living, and the Turaga assure them once Ekimu is awake he will recreate Okoto for them. The Rahaga keep tight lipped on that comment. The Toa still have a long way to go before they awaken Ekimu. The Turaga lead them  further into the dark underworld, and discover its entire structure is slanted until they reach a region that is totally flooded. Not only do the Toa need to find a way to reawaken Mata Nui down there, but they need to find a way to pump an entire ocean of water out.

The Toa are constructed an entirely new set of armour, ready to take them underneath the ocean and confront whatever creatures may be lurking under there. Matoran are still eager to follow their heroes into battle and start constructing submarines. The Elemental Creatures agree to stay behind and protect the Matoran.

They plunge into the depths with only vague directions in their mind. They catch only glimpses of things moving in the murky depths. Eventually they get cornered by a swarm of horrible things, which they manage to fight off. They continue towards where the swarm had been moving and discover a submerged city, peopled by more hideous creatures but which are timid instead of hostile.

One of the creatures builds up the nerve to greet the Toa. They explain that they are in the City of the Lost, and that they are mutants, former Matoran, forced to live underwater under the reign of the Barraki. The Mutant Matoran agree to aid the Toa in their quest if they help defeat the Barraki. The Toa head out to confront the Barraki’s armies as a show of good faith. The battle is a terrible failure and the Toa are captured and taken to the Barraki.

The Barraki confront the Toa, and introduce themselves. Shockingly, they identify themselves as former Toa now mutated into horrible creature by the Lord of the Deep. The Barraki are amused that the Toa don’t realise how many other Toa there have been. They drop some names, revealing that both Rahkshi and Visorak were once Toa.

One of the Matoran submarines causes a disruption and allows the Toa to escape. Kopaka, irritated at the team not doing what they want, decides they want to loner it up and splits up with them. Kopaka comes across a mysterious figure called Malixos who asks for their assistance. There is a figure in the deep called Hydraxon that plagues them, and desires Kopaka’s aid in bringing them down.

The people of the City of the Lost accuse the Toa of being in league with the Barraki, interpreting capture as a rendezvous. The city is besieged by the pursuing Barraki, so the Toa fight them off and the people realise their error. They agree to aid the Toa if the Toa will lead their uprising.

Kopaka goes into battle with Hydraxon, a powerful Earth elemental. It goes fairly poorly for Kopaka until Maxilos aids him from behind the scenes. This has consequences: when the other Toa meet Hydraxon they refuse to help them. Maxilos leads Kopaka deeper into the abyss into some machinery. Apparently it’s used to by the Barraki to manufacture mutagen drones. Maxilos has shut it down by melting the innards, but wants Kopaka to encase it all in ice to delay any repairing of the machine. Kopaka pressures Maxilos for information on awakening Ekimu.

The Toa and Matoran battle Barraki, and eventually catch their first glimpse of Karzahni, Lord of the Deep. They do battle him but withdraw as their forces overwhelm them. A Matoran, Dekar, is captured. While regrouping, they discover an enormous structure in the depths. It is a huge orb, a little  larger than the underworld cities. Hydraxon returns and fights them furiously until they back down. During the battle, Hydraxon reveals themselves as defending Ekimu, and the Toa attempt to reason with them on the basis of mutual goal. Hydraxon doesn’t believe them.

The Matoran in their submarine decide to take a crack at Hydraxon while the Toa try to rescue Dekar. Hydraxon recognises and is pleased to see unmutated Matoran. They reveal that the orb they guard is the Core, which must be activated to awaken Ekimu. Hydraxon will not permit anyone entry until the sea has been drained; they will not risk the flooding of the Core. The Matoran relay this to the Toa who relay this to the rebel mutations. Apparently the mutations have been developing and repairing a pump system for exactly that purpose, but will not activate it until they are cured of their mutations and can breathe air again.

The Toa capture one of the Barraki’s aides and pressure them for information about the mutations. They learn all about the mutation drones, most importantly the fact that they’re manufactured by Karzahni. There is even a cure, which Karzahni has used for executions (since they drown when cured). The Toa resolve to fight Karzahni for the cure, but want to reunite with Kopaka beforehand.

Kopaka continues to follow Maxilos, pleased that they’re making so much progress on their own. Maxlios leads them to the Core, which they claims was used by the Makuta to plunge Ekimu into slumber. Maxilos claims they don’t understand how to stop it, but suggests that if Kopaka could freeze it over it may cut off its effects. As Kopaka does so, Hydraxon reappears and battles them.

The Toa find Kopaka fighting Hydraxon and they help drive the Earth warrior off. Kopaka explains the progress he had made, and the Toa point out that he’s been mislead and need to enter the Core. Mutations point out that their pump system has been frozen over. Realisation dawns on Kopaka that he’s been screwed over. Making amends, he returns to the pump and removes the ice.

The cure is their primary concern now. The Toa, Matoran, and the rebel mutations track down Karzahni and have a great battle. Dekar leads a prison riot in the Barraki’s dungeons, providing reinforcements for the Toa that turns the tide. The Barraki scatter and the Toa close in on Karzahni. A dramatic battle is fought from which they gain the cure.

The mutations activate the pumps and the sea of darkness drains. The Barraki regather their forces and attempt to destroy the pumps, but the Toa manage to defend it. As the cities begin to drain, the mutation drones administer the cure and the mutants are turned back into Matoran and Rahi.

The Core can now be accessed safely. The Matoran vouch for the Toa, and Hydraxon makes amends with them and permits them entry. Kopaka mentions Maxilos, and Hydraxon explains that Maxilos was a companion of theirs long dead. Whoever Kopaka saw, says Hydraxon, was not Maxilos. Hydraxon explains what has to be done to awaken Ekimu, and the Toa continue on into the Core.

[irradiated-imp]

So, been a while since I posted Rahi so have some of my recent ones. The Kahu and Kikanalo have been updated recently with new wings and feet, tho that's it.

Tullo Fish Tropical fish rahi found in the oceans around Okoto Nui. They are common prey for numerous rahi and animals.

Khabew Large beetle-like Rahi. They are temperamental and very territorial often fighting with each other or anything else that enters their territory. Bone Hunters have been known to catch them to pit against each other or other rahi for fun.

Tarakava Semi-aquatic lizards. Tarakava are massive, dangerous predators able to punch with enough force to break solid protodermis.

They dig dens for themselves under water, gathering air weed to breath. Some have been known to take stones with coral polyps on them and placing them at the mouths of their dens intending to use the burgeoning coral to draw in small fish to use as bait for larger prey.

Whali Small bugs found almost everywhere. Many matoran consider them cute.

Fikou Nui Massive, venomous Spider-rahi that stalk Okoto-Nui's forests, jungles, and caverns. The only spiders feared more than them are the Vizorak.

Size comps

I always thought it was weird that something that spent alot of time under water didn't seem like it could swim, so I corrected that with my Tarakava build. I like the idea that tropical fish will school around Tarakava for protection.

[coldgoldlazarus]

Yeah, that's a good point. I'd argue that G2's premise of going back to basics and doing 01 again, wasn't inherently a bad idea. I would definitely love to see a wide variety of different approaches, but I like the blend of familiarity and newness that came from same characters in a new setting.

(Also, as a tangent, but while I do like the later years of G1, I would argue that the huge scale of the world by that point, massive amounts of continuity and characters to keep track of, and the Serials, were what ultimately contributed to its demise, as it became too hard for new people to get into it until 09's attempt at a soft reboot. And that aside, it was something built up to over time from still pretty basic beginnings; I feel like a Bionicle reboot trying to do something super lore-heavy like Ignition right off the bat with no preamble would be just as bad an idea as G2's super stripped-down approach.)

But point is, IMO the problem lies not in the premise but in the execution. G2 went back to basics, and then failed to do anything with it soon enough. The animations were cute, but they really should have been a supplement to a bigger story driver, not the sole narrative carrier for the first year.

I also feel like the lack of specialized terms and names was really emblematic of the problems in approach, Lego overcorrecting for G1's later convolution (and in this case also probably the Maori lawsuit to some extent) by removing even basic worldbuilding that was present even in G1's early years. No Kanohi, (and no Kanohi powers, just the elements again) the use of "Masters" and "Uniters" instead of "Toa", and it even felt like a victory when we so much as got names for Umarak and the Creatures after the Protectors got nothing.

And the problem with that approach extended into the general failure to make Okoto interesting. A big reason G1's early years succeeded IMO was the amount of lavish detail put into Mata Nui as a location and culture,* with Templar Studios in particular really putting in the legwork to create a cast of Matoran we still know and love and talk about compared to later years' groups of throwaway small sets. (For all that I dislike '06, I will give it that it was the last year that it felt like the Matoran characters actually mattered.) And G2 just didn't have that, until the Ryder Wyndham books in late 2016 when it was too little too late. There was all that lavish concept art revealed later, but little to nothing of the loving detail present there was reflected in the story we got. Again, playing things too safe and stripping away the things that are part of Bionicle's identity.

*(Which tbh, hot take, is one thing I feel like the Ignition Trilogy and Bara Magna were missing, even though the worldbuilding was so huge and massive by that point, it was all big-picture stuff, without the more personal and intimate details of daily life that made Mata Nui and Metru Nui so compelling to me.)

And the concept art thing reminds me of another point - I definitely concur on the lack of a sense of mystery, but again I think it's a matter of the lackluster presentation. There were things like the Maze in 2016, the mask shrines in 2015, and the Skull Villains that were ripe to open up questions about the setting and background of the world, but it all wound up being either immediately explained with little fanfare, or just taken at face value without any elaboration or their presence being highlighted as strange. 01 through 03 made a point of how mysterious and unknown stuff like the Bohrok and the Nuva Symbols and the hidden masks and the Toa themselves were, opening the door for exploration and later payoff, whereas G2 just... Didn't.

The Toa Masters crash-landed? From where? Doesn't matter. Who are the protectors? They're the protectors; you don't even get names for them until the books. What's with the ToaMaster-looking skeleton guys? Dunno, they're just there. What happened to Makuta after Ekimu smacked him? Shrug. What about that weird maze? Doesn't matter.

When we did finally get some answers in the books and JTO (the skeletons are raiders from a far-off land who Makuta recruited to help him! Makuta went to a whole parallel shadow dimension!) it was more a pleasant surprise that stuff was being explored at all, because G2's presentation was so obtuse and lacking in curiosity that it felt like there just wasn't an intended answer to those questions in the first place. And it's like, the material was there, it could have evoked the same feeling as G1, but they just didn't use it.

(From my understanding, part of this was that the team still hadn't figured out their story bible by that point and weren't sure what stuff to and not to include? So that's another way the timing was just too early.)

Another thing is like, Okoto in of itself. If this really was just going to be a super lazy retread of early G1, they could have easily just reused the island of Mata-Nui and called it a day, but the decision to create a whole new setting with it's own lore tells me that at least in theory, this could have struck a great balance between new and old, bringing new ideas to the table that have nothing to do with G1 while still also retaining the core characters and concepts that make Bionicle what it is. To a certain extent they did do that. Just... Not very well.

To bring it back around to my original point, I definitely agree that G2 played things too safe, but IMO the basic concept wasn't the problem. It could have been great, capturing what made the original years work so well while adding a bunch of new and interesting concepts to the sandbox; the flaw is that they played it too safe in the execution and were too afraid to meaningfully explore the concepts being put forth, resulting in there being nearly nothing to get invested in the way there was in 01.

(The lack of a general marketing push also didn't help, though.)

So with the Faber stuff and the Lego 90th anniversary vote and whatnot, there’s been a fair amount of talk over the past few years about another potential Bionicle reboot and what form that could take. I’ve seen a few different options bandied about, and thought I’d like, try and organize some thoughts on them.

Keep reading

[binkybonkles]

the ideal yet non effective bonkle reboot

MNOG but its G2 rules (canon reproduction, everything on the island is techno organic, its on the surface of an actual planet)

The Toa never magically get stronger, but they become more powerful as the story progresses

Old equipment is stored so Tahu with last years armour but this years weapons makes sense in canon

Toa tools act as actual tools because they’re makeshift weapons made from Matoran equipment

Makuta and Mata Nui and extremely vague and mysterious, but folks know Makuta is influencing the local wildlife to go crazy

The story mainly focuses on (this is per Koro) a Toa, a Turaga, the right hand Matoran, the left hand Matoran, and maybe an extra Matoran (ex, Gali, Nokama, Maku, Kotu and Hahli)

Gender based elements are out the window entirely

Skakdi, Vortixx, Stelts, Minroes(Krekka’s race) are all on the planet but in different places around the world, occasionally a member of one of these races will show up to Okoto for the year and act as a 7th member of the Toa

(ex, we get a Skakdi barbarian looking for a challenge, who shows up to Okoto right after a legendary Doom Viper shows up and terrorizes the Toa)

The Toa are a complete mystery, and the Turaga are just old Matoran

There are other Toa on the planet(Jovan, Chiara, Lesovikk, ect), but how they came into being is unknown, and they simply travel the world protecting people

Kulta, LOSS, Umarak and all the other ditched G2 villains exist on the planet too, and some have even been called to Okoto to cause chaos 

Okoto isn’t part of the main continent, so no one knows why Makuta has such an obsession with attacking the large island

Takua, an amnesiac matoran wanderer acts as the self insert for the series, since he gets all the terminology, story, and characters explained to him, aswell as going on adventures with the Toa he wanders into

Makuta’s main goal is to kill Takua, eliminating the only thing on Okoto that can stop him, no other villains know this

There are more than just one Wahi per region, Wahis are just the capital cities/seat of the Turaga while there are a bunch of smaller little settlements and villages dotting each Koro

Family relations are a thing but rarely ever shown (ex, Korgot is Whenua’s daughter, Kongu and Tamaru are brother/sister)

[tailethefireheart]

Bionicle G3

Ok, I've been seeing various pitches for a Bionicle generation 3, so I thought I might throw my hat into the ring. Hopefully someone from TTV will read this, as I feel like they are struggling to make any progress at all. If I'm being honest, I hate most of their ideas, but I want to contribute, not compete (if that makes sense). Also, obviously it would be nice if someone at Lego saw this and it gained traction. First things first, the aesthetic of Bionicle should remain consistent with the "Golden Age" of Bionicle with bits of the later aesthetic of G1 thrown in for context as to why there are mostly mechanical beings living the tribal life on an island. The tribal fantasy and sci-fi mix really worked to make the world unique and interesting. Second, there should be an entirely new host of characters, including toa. The villagers should be who we relate to, who we can equate ourselves with. While the toa should remain characters that we don't really understand until later on in the line. For those upset about losing the old toa, I would be too, but I took care of that. The old toa would be introduced one or two at a time, as the "ancient masters", and would be in "perfected" forms. This gives set designers the freedom to go a little wild making them, for example, this way Lego could release a titan sized Onua as a $30-$40 set while other "ancient toa" are in the $20-$35 range. Normal toa being $15, villagers being $5-$10. Third, Bionicle must, I mean this, must remain a constraction line. System sets should be made, yes, but primarily Bionicle should remain constraction oriented. It should also be made an extension of Lego Technic once more as it had been. The reason for this is that constraction DOES bring something different from system to what Lego offers. Not a single company of that size can be successful if they started eliminating variety in their products. Constraction has proven again and again that it is successful, it just needs a little push. That push consists of, proper characterization, proper advertising, and proper budgeting. Fourth, NO PIECES MADE FROM PRECIOUS METALS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EVER! They destroy the budget, and the "contests" hosted to give them away for G2 were equivalent to a 6 blind raffles and 2 foot races run by a few race horses and a boatload of snails. Fifth, the elements should not change, but should be more clearly represented. Now I am talking about using G1 elements, not G2. The G1 elements were distinct; however, the key distinctions between earth and stone, water and ice, was in the larger concept each of those elements represented. I've posted about that previously, so go check it out. I'd post a link, but I haven't got one. Sixth, if the island is divided it should be more like Mata Nui instead of Okoto. This should be obvious as to why. I'm not entirely sure the island should be segregated though, as each village is dominated by a profession, and rarely does that profession cover all of the needs of the village. Seventh, as long as the colors are varied and interesting with a distribution across the spectrum, and clearly represent the elements, it doesn't matter what the colors are. That said, the "ancient toa" should retain at least their traditional primary colors. That is all for now. Please feel free to respond with your own opinions.

[sepublic]

Part 4 of Bionicle: RaE

           The Shadowed One is dead- And yet Makuta still lives.

           Through a combination of luck and sheer force of will, the Mask Hoarder has clung to life, now taking the form of a revenant, a phantom made up of his own, vile soul’s energy.

           And though the leader of the Dark Hunters is dead, his legacy lives on, even brighter than before. Thanks to him, two worlds so different, and yet in some ways so alike, are together. The gap between the two worlds has been bridged, and now the islands of Xia and Okoto are right beside one another.

           Conflict between two such polar-opposites is inevitable. There are those Xians who greedily want to take advantage of Okoto’s rich, abundant plethora of resources and exploit it for their own. But some Xians are merely curious, hoping to scout out this new island ahead of them, and perhaps make a new life and opportunity for themselves.

           Meanwhile, the Okotan Alliance is scrambling. Not only has the survival of Makuta shaken them to their core, but the Toa are now gone, reduced back to their original forms as stars in the sky. For better or worse, there’s even a seventh star now, and in the face of so many potential threats, how will the Toa return? There is no Mask of Time to power the Inika this time…

           The answer is in the Elemental Deities; They remember dearly how the Toa went to their aid, in their dark times of need. Uxar remembers her friendship with Lewa, and Ketar recalls how Pohatu had forsaken the Mask of Control for her own life. The Deities originally intended to cease taking sides after they had returned to their original power, only returning when all of Okoto was threatened by The Shadowed One.

          But… in lieu of what the Toa did for them, perhaps it’s time they repay the favor. Thus, the Elemental Deities use their combined power to temporarily reactivate the Inika, summoning back the Toa; But excluding the Seventh Star, for fear of what it may provide. Some things are better left in the cold vacuum of space…

           But some things are present now, on this planet; Some Okotans want to be open to the new tide of Xians. Among them are those who have seen first-hand the hardships of the lower-class, and are sympathetic, believing proper support and a new chance at life will help make a difference. But some Okotans are naturally un-trusting of Xia and its greedy aristocrats and corporations, and that distrust has spread to the rest of the island’s population as a whole. Already, many Xians are polluting portions of the recently-healed Okoto, plundering its resources and gluttonously harvesting whatever they can find. They’ve heard the horrific stories, and now get to see them first-hand; How can they trust Xia? Perhaps Okoto should be adamant about separating itself from that cursed land…

           The situation becomes even more complicated, as amidst Anti-Xian sentiment, unrest is growing in Xia’s own society as well. With Okoto’s civilization as a blatant example of a good life that is fully possible, many are beginning to revolt against the Powers That Be. And in lieu of both a growing resistance, as well as Xian workers who are leaving their authority, six individuals emerge;

           These ancient warlords fought over one another for control of Xia in the past, only to come across something, a secret within the island’s core; The Codrex, an ancient machination of infinite energy. Through the Codrex’s power, these six warlords became immortal beings and have since ruled Xia from the shadows, collaborating to fuel its industrial revolution.

           They are the Barraki, conquerers who have long-ago taken over Xia. But in face of a new world with even richer resources, old passions flare to life. Now in the open, the Barraki hope to not only quell the uprisings against their authority, but also participate in a long-awaited conquest upon the island of Okoto! A Xian-Okotan War is on the horizon, and already beginning as Nature clashes with Technology, and two worlds so different and yet so alike meet one another. Will they realize the similarities, or the differences? Maybe even both…

           Knowing the threat of the Barraki, an organization once-hidden in the shadows, dedicated to leading the Xian revolution, has emerged as well; The Order of Mata Nui, a secretive organization led by the ancient Helryx! Its members include Axonn and Brutaka, the latter of whom has emerged and allied with the Brotherhood and Barraki, hoping to take advantage of the multi-faceted conflict for his own ends. The Order of Mata Nui is a ruthless organization that will sacrifice anyone in the name of the greater good, leading some Okotans to wonder if they are trustworthy, or morally-worth supporting.

           But that isn’t all- A new, powerful player is emerging onto the scene. Kralta, a native of Xia, has donned the Mask of Shadows, becoming Umarak’s Kaita and the Toa of Shadows herself! She leads the Kraahl, a group of darkened beings who were long-ago trapped in the Para-Realm; The dark counterpart to Okoto.

           Legend has it that in the Time before Time, there existed Light and Shadow; Two alignments of Life itself that fought with one another. Umarak was of Shadow… And the Deity of Light was named Nuva.

           Time and time again they fought and clashed, with Nuva achieving victory each time, banishing Umarak to the Dark World. But eventually, the aggressive, hostile Nuva became overzealous and went on a rampage, threatening to scorch all of Okoto with her burning light. The Deities of Okoto collaborated together and weakened Nuva, causing her to revert into the Mask of Light before that mythical artifact disappeared from the face of the island…

           The Elemental Deities want the Okotan Alliance to help them ravage the Kraahl and their leaders, Kralta and Umarak. But Takua is uncertain if conflict is necessary- She has seen into Kralta’s heart and knows that she isn’t evil. To complicate matters, the Brotherhood of Makuta has begun to join the fray as well. Not only are they supporting the Barraki’s conquest of Okoto through their own agents, ranging from the likes of Sidorak, to the treacherous Roodaka… But they also have sights on the Dark World as well.

          With the return of the Kraahl, beings of Light and Shadow who can travel between both worlds as a result of this dual-nature, Makuta hopes to make a new army, one identical to his son Yagavo, an army of Night Wraiths; Orbs of energy made from Light and Shadow, able to travel between the Light World and Para-Realm at will and access the world of dreams. The Night Wraiths are an intrusive, unstoppable enemy, capable of breaching any location, and to get the dual-nature he needs for his army, Makuta is harvesting the Kraahl to create his Night Wraiths!

          Takua knows the familiarity of this plight- Makuta also harvested the Okotans with his Skull Spiders, and still does. If she wants to help Kralta and Umarak save their people, then perhaps she needs to resolve the ancient conflict between Light and Shadow. Perhaps it is time to recover the Mask of Light, and fight off others who are also in search of it, such as the dreaded Zaktan and his fellow former Dark Hunters. Zaktan and his group have defected from the mercenary organization, which has now reorganized itself under a new leader; The sharp and cunning Lariska. The ‘Neo-Hunters’ hope to use the chaos to their own ends, and can be both an enemy and an asset for those involved.

          While hostility remains on both sides, there are those who see the blatant, fundamental similarities between one another and want to reach out. The history of Light and Shadow is one mired in opposites and the resulting conflict. A clash is inevitable between two separate, polar opposites, but can resolution be found? Xia VS Okoto, Toa VS Brotherhood, Barraki VS Order of Mata Nui, Light VS Dark, Nature VS Technology… Multiple conflicts will converge in Part 4 of Bionicle RaE;

          Twilight.