#gali and onua also have brain cells

[maspers]

Bionicle is weird yall

Okay so let's talk Bionicle. The Lego action figures with surprisingly deep lore and themes, and basically one of the coolest things to ever exist. You either love Bionicle or have not read Bionicle.

Who's your favorite? Mine has got to be Kopaka. For various reasons, including his general competence throughout the whole story. He's just pretty rad.

Now, you might be surprised I like Kopaka, since all things considered he's kind of a prick. He snarks at basically everything that enters his line of sight, and largely acts kind of stuck up due to his (admittedly justified) belief that he's the smartest person around. He spends the entire story fed up with everything else. He is completely and utterly convinced that he is the only sane person in the entire universe, and that nothing in the entirety of Mata Nui is behaving in a logical and rational way.

But see, here's the thing: all of that bluster about being the only rational thing around is complete bullcrap and lies, and here's why:

Kopaka, like all the original six Toa, is an amnesiac. He popped out of a magic canister in the ground and basically has no backstory to speak of since before he woke up he essentially didn't exist. And we know he's not a possible exception to this since, unlike the other Toa, he's the one we actually see it happen to. He has legit no idea who he is until Nuju tells him. What this means is simple: KOPAKA HAS NO FRAME OF REFERENCE. You can't judge something to be insane if you have not experienced sanity. Nothing is "irrational" in the abstract, you need context. Most people have extremely well-developed context obtained by living, but since Kopaka had not yet lived until he woke up he has NONE OF THAT.

And even if he did, he'd still be a massive hypocrite. Sure, the Matoran society and the Makuta are kind of weird, but Kopaka is a TOA, and Toa are a whole new kettle of craziness. Kopaka is a magic space warrior robot with the power to control the very concept of THIS STUFF IS COLD. His face is a magic mask that grants him X-ray vision and then gets even more powers later on. He can physically combine with other Toa to create a weird mega fusion Toa. Heck, after his first upgrade his primary weapon was skis. SKIS. He basically shapeshifts into a new body every time he goes somewhere else. And, as noted before, he legit just popped out of the ground one day, which makes him and his sibling Toa objectively weirder than all other Toa ever, since all the rest are transformed Matoran. Kopaka's entire existence is really freaking weird. He has no legs to stand on in his "I am the only rational being in the universe" belief. So where the heck did he get it from?

The simple answer: Mata Nui himself. When designing the Toa to act as a sort of internal anti-virus for all the weird garbage in his system, Mata Nui decided "You know what let's make the Ice one a prick who thinks he's sane" and somehow that idea perpetuated to the very end of the design process. The only reason Kopaka has to deal with everything else seeming completely bonkers to him is because Mata Nui, massive benevolent Troll that he is, *made him that way*. I bet when Kopaka finally made it to Bara Magna he was probably internally extremely relieved, because now he could judge the Agori by comparing them to the Matoran and vice versa instead of judging the Matoran on no actual justification whatsoever.

TLDR Kopaka is my favorite Bionicle because the entire premise of his personality is absurd and he probably spent the entire plot trying to internally justify it. Also ice powers go brrrrr

[afanofmanyhats]

It occurs to me that we never really get to see much interaction between Takanuva and the Toa Nuva in the span of time between him defeating Makuta and their reunion in Karda Nui. That makes me sad. In Mask of Light, they’re very formal in how they address; they’re quick to call him brother, and there’s clearly respect for him as the Seventh Toa, but I feel like it would quickly be made apparent that while he may be tall with light powers, Takanuva is ultimately still just Takua. So I want to speculate/headcanon as to how his relationships with the Toa Nuva would have shifted on account to his new status, as he did know all of them quite well as a Matoran.

Tahu: Tahu, in many ways, is Takunuva’s mentor. Tahu still sees Takanuva as a member of his tribe, and thus ends up spending the most time with him as they recover what they can from the ruins of Ta-Koro. He can’t help but see Takanuva as Takua, and this makes him a bit protective of the Toa of Light, as he finds himself having to bail him out of trouble. It’s like Onua and Lewa, but with less mind control. He also is the one that helps Takanuva get started on refining his elemental control, as their elements are the most similar. Fire gives off heat and light, after all. Takanuva appreciates how seriously Tahu takes this change in dynamic most of the time, but there can be some harshness as a result of Tahu’s protective nature. Overall, though, there are bounds of mutual respect between the two.

Gali: Gali and Takua/Takanuva’s relationship has always been unique. Sometimes I’ve headcanoned this as Takua having some kind of crush on her, given that he interacted with her in Karda Nui way back when, and then was the only Ta-Matoran (or so we thought) with blue armor. That’s not even getting into their interactions in MNOG. Now, though, I prefer it being more of a deep destined friendship. Takanuva certainly feels a lot of respect for her in particular, as evidenced in that his armor most closely resembles her own, and Gali definitely notices this. She’s extremely fond of him, viewing him as a little brother, and takes the time to teach him more on the philosophical duties of the Toa. She focuses on his ability to mediate and resolve conflicts without violence, helping him take advantage of his own good nature and the power of the Avohkii for that. In fact, he ends up being a better mediator of the Nuva’s bickering than Gali ever was, which occasionally irks her, but she soon washes that away with the assurance that at least her brothers are getting along now.

Onua: Onua and Takua, admittedly, never interacted much, so it’s difficult to come up with a way their relationship may have shifted. Actually, this is probably how they built a friendship in the first place. Onua views Takanuva in a similar manner he does Lewa: brash, reckless, but earnest and brave too. His solid advice and warm demeanor do a lot to ground Takanuva when he’s feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders following the defeat of Makuta, and he’s always willing to hear Takanuva’s stories as the former Chronicler. He certainly hears a lot of tales from Turaga Whenua, so at this point he’s used to it.

Lewa: Lewa is ecstatic that the adventurous little Chronicler is now his little brother. Though there may not be a canon age difference between the Toa, Lewa is certainly viewed as the least mature a lot of the time, so he’s glad to have a new partner in shenanigans and someone he can blame those shenanigans on. Almost like a Sokka/Aang friendship. Sometimes they even rope Pohatu in, which results in the Toa of Stone having the brain cell. Takauva frequently plays hookey from Tahu’s lessons by dashing over to Le-Koro and spending time with the treedwellers, resulting in lots of laughs from everyone.  

Pohatu: Speaking of him, Pohatu is likewise glad to see Takanuva join their ranks. Ever since the incident with the infected Kohlii balls, Pohatu’s been fond of Mata Nui’s roamer, and enjoys being able to spend more time with him as a brother. Sometimes he convinces Lewa and Onua to play with them in games of Kohlii, which are surprisingly evenly matched despite Pohatu and Takanuva being way more familiar with it.

Kopaka: The Toa of Ice, like Tahu, takes a protective, mentor role with Takanuva. They mainly practice sparring, as Kopaka’s blades combined into a  staff is the closest tool they have to Takanuva’s. He’s a bit annoyed at the influence that Lewa and, to a lesser extent, Pohatu have on their newest member, as Takanuva had a hard enough time focusing as it was. He does not doubt Takanuva’s dedication to the Matoran at all, though, and has a deep respect for the young Toa’s defeat of Makuta. He rarely speaks to Takanuva, but when he does, noticeably it is always either encouragement or a critique to do better. Takanuva has noticed this, and is glad that the coldest of the Toa is still looking out for him.