#random bionicle musings

[musurvivalistguide]

Been a long time since I'd looked at any of the posts here, but while I was revisiting some of the info from the handbooks and wiki, there's something that came to mind that made me wonder (and I don’t recall seeing it or not, but if it has been, please share!):

Do all Matoran/Toa/Turaga (before the Island of Mata Nui and the Toa Nuva or Spherus Magna residents, of course) see eating as barbaric, or is it just the ones in Metru Nui who think that?

Brutaka had mentioned how there were Matoran fruit stands in the story, but if it's the case of all Matoran (and by extension the Toa and Turaga) seeing the act of eating as barbaric...then what's the point?

Is it perhaps more for those Matoran who dwell on islands that have trade routes to sell to other species to make a profit? Aside from the Matoran and the skakdi, I don't recall seeing anything about how (or what) other species that live in that universe eat. Sure, they all drink water as the Skakdi prove with that sole freshwater lake, but we don't know exactly what they eat or if they have specific diets to fuel their bodies best. Unless the skakdi themselves are just weird due to their "biology" for lack of better term?

(Whatever it is that makes them grow so big, gimmie. They're too tall, and I need to see at least two inches over the shelves! >:/ )

A thought that occurred to me as I was typing this though is that--while Matoran may not like the act of eating--there is more than one way and reason to consume fruit and get nutrients from them:

Fruit smoothies.

Since they drink water anyway, who's to say that they haven't figured out how to make a fruit smoothie to enjoy a spin on drinking ordinary water or as a special treat? Or even fruit juice? Or maybe even a syrupy slushie or shaved ice! (Okay that last one might be a stretch, but it's not like they're actually crunching on anything but flavored ice) Surely even they aren't opposed to using fruit for their juices as a refreshing beverage, right?

I dunno, it just seemed odd to me after all this time how there seems to be a blanket "no eat food by mouth it's gross" for the Matoran, yet it's stated there are--in fact--fruit carts.

And then there's the silly image of a Matoran using a straw to drink their smoothie, and they have to have specific straws for masks who don't have a clear opening/have vents in their designs 😂

...now I wonder if a Matoran would be horrified by Boba tea or if they might accidentally choke on a pearl trying to drink it instead of chewing 😬

If I'm missing any other species that has been noted to eat something, feel free to add because my memory is fuzzy on those worldbuilding details!