Rebuilt Bionicle

I love BIONICLE though I find many parts of it to be filled with plotholes and contradictions and things that don't make sense, so here I'm sort of giving it a half-assed re-write.

[rebuiltbionicle]

So are the Aryihi basically like mermaids?

Yeah essentially.

[rebuiltbionicle]

Hi, I was wondering if it'd be alright for me to post some headcanons inspired by/compatible with yours? If so, how would you like to be credited? I want to make sure I give credit where it's due, because your AU is by far my favorite and has inspired me to write some ideas of my own!

Feel free to do so! You don't need to credit me; we're all just adding our own bits and thoughts to a common fanon, though if you do want to credit me then just tagging me would be cool. That way I know there's something good to go read.

[rebuiltbionicle]

I liked how you heavily condensed the entirety of the MU's history into a span of 5000 years, but there's this burning question on my mind, exactly how many years took place within every event in the MU? If possible, could you explain it in the form of a timeline?

I did a few ideas about the timeline and constantly had to rearrange events as I thought of them. I also contemplated that each year of the story should take a full year, instead of the arrival of the Toa Mata on Mata Nui through to Teridax's Reign being only a few months. However, I don't think I can justify many of the stories taking that long, Voya and Mahri Nui especially.

I did have a timeline file, which I never posted because it was only a guide for my eyes only, is of dubious canon (my canon, it's obviously not canon canon) and lacks a lot of important events. But I'll post it here anyway so you can see what was going on in my head:

-177 – The Great Beings take control of Spherus Magna.

-128 – The Elemental Lords are placed into power.

-36 – The Core War Begins

0 – The Shattering and the launch of Mata Nui

44 – Karzahni hides Matoran population at Voya Nui

45 – Karzahni starts imprisoning Matoran

50 – The Six Prime Species of Mata Nui are created.

97 – Failed liberation of Karzahni

118 – Hand of Artakha is disbanded

397 – The first Kanohi Dragon attack

400 – Mata Nui ordains that six kings would arise from the Six Prime Species.

498 – The League of Six Kingdoms Solidifies

602 – The Barraki are taken to the Pit.

603 – Sutihu Civil War Begins, Kepitan Conquests begin

708 – Turaga Uadu steps down as leader of Metru Nui, replaced by Dihin.

798 – The Dark Hunters are formally established.

869 – Metru Nui Civil War begins

877 – The Great Disruption, Turaga Dihin removed from power. Turaga Vhuru takes over.

933 – Makuta Teridax seizes power over the Brotherhood.

1055 – The Makuta begin organising Toa Hagah teams to protect individual members.

1566 – Raid on Artahka

1567 – The Time Skip

1600 – Turaga Vhuru steps down, replaced by Turaga Amohon.

1666 – The Toa Hagah rebellion

2119 – The Great Decay

2290 – The Visorak Horde is created.

2555 – The Makuta evolve into vaporous beings.

2600 – Turaga Amohon steps down, replaced by Turagas Baidrau and Ledum.

2622 – Makuta Spiriah begins experimenting on the Skakdi.

3600 – Turaga Baidrau steps down, replaced by Turaga Mevoka.

3738 – The Great Draining

3914 – The Continental War begins

3918 – The Continental War ends

3922 – Turaga Mevoka removed from office. Turaga Dume takes over.

4602 – The Vahki are implemented.

4713 – Formation of the Toa Mangai.

4738 – Toa Tuyet murders a bunch of Matoran and is hauled off to the Pit.

4739 – The Dark Hunter invasion of Metru Nui

4899 – Makuta Teridax impersonates Turaga Dume.

4999 – The Great Cataclysm

5000 – Visorak occupation of Metru Nui

5072 – Arrival of Toa Mata

5073 – Bohrok War

5074 – Mask of Light and Return to Metru Nui

5075 – Mask of Life hassle

5076 – Karda Nui War and the start of the Reign of Shadows

5077 – Skrall War

5078 – Rise of the United Tribes and Mata Nui’s trek up north.

5079 – Journey’s End

[rebuiltbionicle]

Do you mind if I incorporate the arhiyi into my headcanon?

Please, go ahead!

[rebuiltbionicle]

Hi! Love your AU. I'm making a youtube video going over a Bionicle headcanon I've come up with and I was wondering if it would be okay if I reference and shout out your blog and the AU you came up with? Specifically how you've drastically shortened the timeline of the history to make it make more sense. My headcanon, partially inspired by yours, also attempts to reconcile how absurdly long some parts of the history are by making connections to the mask of time

Yeah go ahead, that would be pretty cool of you!

[rebuiltbionicle]

Hey, I was going through your posts again and I finally got around to reading your big Metru Nui post. I understand that it's a bit bloated, but can you be more specific as to why you're so unhappy with it? I thought it was really cool overall. A long read, sure, but what was the big problem? I guess I just didn't see what was wrong with it.

Mostly because it feel a bit too much like I'm cramming too many events ping ponging together, each of which feels like it should rather be on their own pages, and several of the events feeling shoehorned in and not feeling meshed into the world despite apparently being fairly major events.

[rebuiltbionicle]

Hey, you don't have to respond to this or anything, but I just wanted to remind you how much I appreciate your work. You've definitely inspired me to create my own AU and your stuff is just so good overall.

Thank you! That's very kind of you to say.

[rebuiltbionicle]

A while back, you gave an example of what the Matoran Universe would look like to its inhabitants. You mentioned that the arms would be seen as forming a ring above the head, so I went ahead and drew this to see what it’d look like! I opted to rotate the domes in the Great Spirit Robot’s arms so that they wouldn’t flip upside down relative to the rest of the body.

I gotta say, this is a really compelling design you came up with! I’m definitely a lot more sold on this layout, and even it kind of reminds me of a key with its ‘handle’ and asymmetry.

Now draw the mythological even-greater lands beyond the southern islands.

That's a very cool drawing and captures exactly what I'm going for! I'm glad you like my map so much :) I wonder if the Matoran ever considered that key shape?

[rebuiltbionicle]

If Kalmah was a Satorni, then what was his elemental power?

I wish I could have an interesting answer to this, but no. Red and black? Fire.

[vezon-supremacist]

Why not Plasma?

[rebuiltbionicle]

Because plasma is orange and white. I mean, I feel all elements need tertiary colours and that red and black probably occur in plasma elementals, but not as their entire colour scheme. I don’t think there should be fire elementals that are purely blue and yellow, regardless if those colours are valid fire colours. Primarily red and secondarily black matches only with fire.

@sepublic​ You’re all good. There’s nothing in his characterisation suggesting fire beyond the colours.

I have specified that Rahi is lavender and copper. You’re ideas aren’t bad, but a bit convoluted. Animal husbandry probably isn’t the exclusive abode of the Rahi elementals. Also, the society of the Satorni (which I need to make a post on) have them as a nationalist clan-based society; Kalmah probably won’t be wearing the colours of the wrong element and confuse people.

[rebuiltbionicle]

If Kalmah was a Satorni, then what was his elemental power?

I wish I could have an interesting answer to this, but no. Red and black? Fire.

[rebuiltbionicle]

Fun little development on BS01 wiki, the official elemental colours of Sonics and Magnetism have never been specified; the grey/black and gunmetal-grey/black were assumed from the depictions of Krakua and Jovan. Although those sets are still canon so it can’t be that far off the truth.

[rebuiltbionicle]

Geographic map of the Matoran Universe. Black represents landmasses I took from the canon map, while the grey are new ones I’ve added to fill the space. Light grey ones are historical and destroyed landmasses. The purple lines represent teleportation gates. The GSR outline is a trace of one of the official concept arts.

This map may be subject to change, but I’ll try to minimise that.

[geicosuave]

I wonder how the hell there were like 3 “secret” islands that nobody supposedly knew the location of despite like. Dude theres only so much space in these limited number of domes especially with how big the islands apparently are

[rebuiltbionicle]

This is how the Matoran likely viewed their universe, although if I had the art skills I’d have the arms in a ring above the head. It’s likely the apparent uneven nature of the domes was viewed in the same way the islands's unevenness. They don’t know they’re inside a giant robot so they don’t have any preconception on what the domes are meant to be. In fact, I’d go so far to say that a few Matoran theorists speculate the Southern Lands lead to domes as large and larger than even the central dome, because they have no reason not to believe that.

[rebuiltbionicle]

One thing I LOVE about your lore is your simple, elegant explanation for the extreme diversity of sapient species in the Matoran Universe - that they're all just different experiments for the Great Beings to discover their "perfect society." Now, I've noticed that you've added a lot of new species that seem to have no inspiration from the official canon, such as your aquatic Matoran and the giant quadruped helpers for the Kestora. Why did you decide to add so many new types of beings?

The Voltest, apart from their name, are canon. I’ve actually attempted to reduce the number of species, for instance including Dark Hunters as members of Barraki species or dismissed as mutations or so on. As for the ones I’ve invented specifically, I added the Aryihi and the Sthalu to have the underwater realm more populated than just Ehlek’s kind. The species of the Southern Lands are just canonising the polybag sets, and the Dorbadi were based on Ravager’s interesting backstory. The Lereran are based on concept art for G2 that I fell in love with.

[rebuiltbionicle]

Alright, for Rahi. I read your post defending it as an element, but that only seemed to explain the difference between it as an element, and Rahi Control as a power. Wouldn't creating Rahi - creating life - be way too big of a deal for a Toa to wield? Especially since the lines between Rahi and not-Rahi are somewhat blurred, it seems like this ability is way too overpowered as it deals with something that not even the Mask of Life could do.

That’s a very good point. Though this can be brought up about Plantlife just as much, it’s just that animals are easier to anthropomorphise and thus we incorrectly view them as a “higher” form of life. Thinking about how their powers would work in a scifi sense, in which their ability to create Rahi means they take the design of a wifi catalogue maintained by Mata Nui and updated with new species by the Brotherhood, means that theoretically they could create Matoran-level beings if the Makuta created an catalogued such a thing (though I don’t think many sapient Rahi were available for that. Further science-fiction interpretation (sort of violating my “Bionicle is fantasy” post but in a place I feel is warrented) specifies that there is a certain condition of Rahi brains that makes them susceptible to Rahi control, and Matoran and other purpose built sapients would lack it and sapient Rahi either lack it or can go get neurosurgery to have it removed.

I agree that it is a powerful element, but so are gravity and iron which are said to be overpowered even in the original canon. I don’t think it infinges on the powers of the Mask of Life though, since that was literally a death switch for the Matoran Universe to which all biomechanical life was dependent on.

[rebuiltbionicle]

Great! My question(s) are basically about the four additional elements you've added: Kinetics, Crystal, Salt, and Rahi. First, what exactly is "Kinetics" and how would it differentiate from Telekinesis? Second, for Crystal: It seems just like a worse version of Ice; so what could a Toa of Crystal do that a Toa of Ice couldn't? Next, Salt: What even is this exactly? You've made it clear that it involves Corrosion/Acid, but why /salt/ of all things? Final question about Rahi in next message.

1: What is Kinetics?

Literally, it’s kinetic energy. The force carried by an object in motion. It can be a little hard to explain but once the concept clicks it clicks. Sorry I can’t give a more comprehensive explanation. Fragmentation and speed are both subpowers. They wouldn’t have telekinetic powers, no capacity to lift up objects in that fashion.

2: What could a Toa of Crystal do that a Toa of Ice couldn’t?

Quartz, diamonds, that sort of thing. It’d actually brush up against Stone rather than Ice. I think I’ve specified that in my universe that the Matoran universe isn’t totally made of protodermis, just that protodermis is present and important in its construction.

3: What even is Salt?

I was originally going to make Toa of Acid, but Greg’s insistence that it’s just “a power” got me thinking. I had misinterpreted him as meaning it was a subpower of another unspecified element. Acids, when combined with bases (which basically behave like acids for the opposite chemical reason) form salts. So they’re sort of like Toa of Ion-based compounds, summarised as “Salt.”

[rebuiltbionicle]

I changed Gaardus’s backstory so that the Nynrah Ghosts were uninvolved in his creation, but the Nynrah post still references it. I could edit the post to remove the reference, or since it doesn’t mention Gaardus by name I could use this to create an OC. 

[rebuiltbionicle]

I hope you keep the Kofo Metru, they were my favorite part of your original post!

Oh yeah Kofo Metru are here to stay, they’re even part of the map! I’m surprised I hadn’t mentioned them before. They’ll get their own post soon.