I know it’s not supposed to have much in-universe implication, but I love the possibility for connection between certain sets sharing particular pieces. The 2003 rebuilt Matoran design is supposedly the result of Matoran combining their own bodies with parts from Bohrok, and this is kinda seen in their arms using the Bohrok limb piece as well as additional sockets. The smaller technic pieces could’ve come from anywhere in the Bohrok’s main 2 body pieces, or even from a Bohrok-Va. What I find interesting, however, are their torsos. While introduced for these sets, they’re shared by the Vahki a year later, chronologically a millennium prior. We know the Vahki were designed by Nuparu, and I wouldn’t put it past him to have designed this new Matoran form either. Considering he’d forgotten designing the Vahki by the time he arrived on Mata Nui, I see this more as a storytelling component that pairs well with the later-revealed idea that Bohrok are transformed Av-Matoran. In essence, they are being returned to their origin. Sentient Matoran, mutated by fate into little more than tools, brought new life by enriching the lives of the population of Mata Nui.
I’m taking this another step further in my OC headcanon, as a partial connection between the Bohrok and Vahki. Being an Onu-Matoran, Nuparu likely took inspiration from various Rahi and creatures in the Archives, some of those in fact being inactive Bohrok. Studying them, I’m sure he could’ve discovered they serve as a mindless drone fleet controlled by a central leadership… just the thing Turaga Dume would’ve commissioned the Vahki for. Considering the life cycle of a Bohrok, however, I find it a compelling possibility that the reason the Vahki outnumber the Matoran of Metru Nui is because they were created using those Matoran. Just like Bohrok are transformed Av-Matoran, I like to imagine that, while Matoran are kept in the dark or told that Vahki are completely inorganic and artificially constructed, behind the scenes Turaga Dume is running some program in which well-performing Matoran are kidnapped, trained as Vahki cadets not being given the whole picture, then eventually contorted and morphed into mindless Vahki to fuel the growing army.
Each Metru’s Vahki model also has some inherent power, separate from their staves, that isn’t conveyed in their design. Many of these can correlate to Kanohi powers, like super speed and strength but also swimming potentially being tied to a Calix or Kaukau, or mind-reading being tied to a mask of Psychometry or something. Now, though, why do we not see these masks conveyed in the Vahki’s design?
Well… Norik and potentially others show us that Kanohi don’t have to have designs that match their powers, as the power comes from the disks used to forge them. Now, then, what mask shape would the Vahki cadets have worn, and then later merged into their being?
Perhaps the mask that was, out of universe, likely designed for Toa Nidhiki before the Toa Hagah had been conceptualized? Toa Nidhiki, who, when mutated gained the head of a Vahki? The Kualsi, the mask of Quick-Travel. A symbol of ever-presence, a mask whose bearer could appear at any moment as if imbued with the power of Botar himself. Perfect for an imposing law enforcer.
So then… what conclusion does all this bring me to? Vahki are the result of Matoran undergoing the same mutation as Nidhiki, wearing specialized masks all carved into Kualsi to impose an image of an ever-present law enforcement. (still headcanon but it’s metal af and i love it)
