u/Garmagic2

Yeah, I think it would be beneficial to be able to label characters as adult content like the stories. This is very restrictive for creators because even when using vague language to not be explicit, our work still gets taken down, so either we censor it so much that it becomes unrecognizable from our original vision, or we give up on it.

Stories have '+18' labels to protect it from sensitive users, so why not add it for characters as well? It can't be that difficult, and I'm sure many users would appreciate it. It would be far less stressful for creators, who would have complete creative freedom.

Please consider it, developers. I think we would all be happy about it.

Seriously, I spent literal weeks creating up to 152 keyword notes to flesh out the world building! What do you mean that I couldn't create more than 20?! Why did you allow me to continue creating keyword notes only to turn me down like this?!

Sorry, just wanted to rant. But seriously, this is the biggest backstabbing I've received in a long time as a creator. They should have added some form of limit, like with everything else.

What are they about? They seem to come from a story, but they aren't specific at all about where it is 💀

Any help?

I don't mean his visual design. I don't think that it would have been easy to animate him at the time if his head was at the height of his shoulders. I should know.

I mean his personality. I haven't read the books, but the way I understand it, he's more of a listener, the voice of reason of his team and, in a way, a bit of an introvert.

The movie does almost a 180 and makes him loud, extroverted and almost aggressive (a trait he shares with movie Whenua in LoMN). Again, I haven't read the books so I can't make an objective claim. Was he like this after he became a Toa Nuva, or did the film's writers take a look at his mask and based his personality on his design?

And to be clear, I'm not trying to throw crap at the movie or the staff responsible for it. It's still near and dear to my heart and I'm sure they didn't have time to do the entire research for a direct-to-DVD film they'd have to release in less than a year probably.
I merely wish to be educated in this subject, and if other characters suffered from misrepresentation in the movies when compared to how they were written in the books/lore.

With what little pieces I had left, I tried to recreate Artakha, literally made with scraps. Never thought the Uniter chest piece would be so useful but here we are 👍

And yes, I know the red hammer doesn't exactly do him any favors, but I built it like two years ago and haven't been able to find a proper user. I love the design, and the Hau, being the symbol of Mata Nui before the Ignika became a thing, gives it a rather regal status, so I thought it would be perfect for Artakha, who follows the will of Mata Nui.

I must credit a friend of mine for giving me the idea of using Kongu Mahri chest piece as a chest plate with his own Artakha design. Yes, this was all part of an Artakha d*ck measuring contest 🤣

I can't be the only one who thought about this :)

>Visualize Helryx with a Toa Mata torso because she's the first Toa ever created, thus making her look ancient, and add a Nuva armor because it looks cool in your head.

>Order the necessary pieces in Bricklink.

>Receive the pieces.

>Assemble the MOC.

>Go to her lore page in Biosector01 to make sure the weapons look accurate enough.

>Stumble upon this line from Swamp of Secrets: "If Tahu expected the ruler of this land to be some massive, heavily-armored warrior who could snap a Toa in two with no effort, he was to be disappointed. The figure that awaited them was a Toa, although one WHOSE ARMOR LOOKED QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THEIRS!!!!".

>Realize you're too immature to live with your mistakes.

>Load the gun.

>Pull the trigger.

>Realize that Midak skyblasters don't really explode, but at least the funny image of the kid in the yellow triangle from the building instructions wasn't lying.

>Also the Gali Uniter mask doesn't make the build any favors.

And this is why you have to read, kids. 🥲

Might find a workaround but this situation situation of mine is just hilarious 😂

I know that plans change. Back in 2001, Mata Nui was the god of creation and Makuta the god of destruction. Then when the Matoran Universe was introduced, they had to be given more grounded backstories, but they were still considered brothers.

And yet, canonically, they never interacted even once. With that creation-destruction dichotomy gone, there had to be something that tied them together, but there was nothing to replace that. Instead, it all was left as Makuta's ultimate proof of his arrogance.

Maybe we can blame this on Bionicle's early cancellation. Maybe, given the time, their relationship could have been better explored, or even added more interactions before their final battle. But alas, they only exchanged a few words just before coming to blows.

I think the writers tried to justify their status as brothers with the fact that the Great Beings wanted Teridax to take over the MU while Mata Nui would control another giant robot, as it happened in the Spherus Magna Alternate Universe, but... It feels kinda lackluster if you ask me. Again, the writers had to rush it so I can't blame them, but there are many ways to develop their relationship in more meaningful ways.

I'm gonna come up with an example, though I'm fully aware it can't fit in the canon since Mata Nui first came into being as the GSR and Makuta was created AFTER Mata Nui left Bara Magna. So... consider this my own cool fan fiction 🥹:

During the early days of the construction of the Matoran Universe, the Great Beings had created several powerful beings to direct the workers from the shadows, which included Mata Nui and Teridax among others, to whom they could entrust the existence of the outside world and their true mission.

However, as the Baterra were out of control, they were killing so many people that they could no longer be ignored, so the Great Beings deployed Mata Nui and Makuta Teridax to deal with them. Fighting side by side, the two reduced the Baterra's numbers enough so that they wouldn't pose such a huge threat. Danger is the anvil where trust is forged as they say, so Mata Nui and Makuta became brothers in arms, equals.

However, when the Great Beings selected Mata Nui to control the GSR, Teridax began to suffer a feeling of insignificance. Someone whom he considered his equal and did the same feats as he did was rewarded with the status of "godhood" and the eternal worship of the Matoran, while he would remain a servant of his will. Over the millennia, this frustration would evolve into envy, desiring the power his brother had.

Again, I know that this fanfic of mine can't fit into the canon for the reasons stated above, but it works not only because it gives them a shared background, but because it makes their eventual battle tragic. The Brotherhood of Makuta went as far as removing their inner light, so in this scenario, Teridax would have done this to bury his feelings towards his brother and prevent them from getting in the way of his ambitions. Mata Nui was betrayed and poisoned to death by the one to whom he once entrusted his life. Even though he had to kill him to save his people, he'd mourn for him and wonder if he could have done something to save him from his own insecurities. Was he a bad friend?

Hell, if you want to put more emphasis the dichotomy between Mata Nui and Makuta, you can make Mata Nui the original owner of the Mask of Light while Makuta has the Mask of Shadows. That could explain why Makuta was so strangely humble when he first met Takanuva, as seeing the Avohkii unearthed feelings he buried long ago. Yeah, this is just fan service on my part, but let me be a kid 😁

Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts about the matter. What do you think? If you can come up with another way to develop their relationship enough to make them actual brothers (in arms), please, do share it, regardless of whether or not it can fit into the canon. This is honestly a fun exercise 👍

The post in question: https://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclelego/s/lBOn44nScL

Hopefully you'll find them useful if you wanted to replicate the build. I'm not making a building instructions though. Sorry.