dancing in the new world (bionicleposting)
I guess I'm gradually piecing together a newish setting / rules / whatever, to play games in a world inspired by the old Bionicle comics / books / movies / games / toys. Here's some lore based loosely on what I remember, but mostly it's new shit based on vibes and intentional reinvention. Any discrepancies between my version and canon are a personal attack against you, to toughen you up.
Props to Mr. Garamondia for giving the prompt and reacting with a bunch of happy emojis (important part of the creative process!!).
The matorans (partially organic robot people) and rahis (the same but animals) spilled out of a gigantic terraforming spaceship that landed on a foreign planet. They don't understand or remember this. They basically gained sentience after the landing. Before that, they were robotic workers, keeping the thing running. They only have the vaguest memory of that time.
Rahis make noises like normal animals, but with perfect mechanical rhythm. Matorans base their music around these sounds, as well as the sounds of running water, wind, etc. Music is impromptu, live, and communal. It's a form of play. You can generally think of matorans as regular people, without much technology. The fact that they're bionic doesn't come up that often really.
There are six matoran cultures on the new world, which are named according to the environments in which they built their societies. They are: Ta (volcano), Ga (coastline), Le (jungle), Po (desert), Ko (extreme highlands), and Onu (underground). Due to some combination of their previous life's responsibilities, their personalities (all the Matoran who live now, have lived always. They don't reproduce), and their surroundings, each culture has its own concepts of dance. But all of them build cow tools to help them get into their dancing. These tools are as vague as their sense-memories. They serve no practical purpose (often resembling strange impractical mishmashes of normal tools), except to facilitate dancing. Every matoran has one, sometimes several. A matoran dancing looks kind of like a person sleepwalking through manual labor.
Ta-matorans believe they are descendants of an earlier people, whose legacy lives on in them. By repeating the physical actions of the ancestors (to the best of their ability), they align their minds and spirits, gaining their wisdom. Ta-matorans dance before making important decisions. Their village meetings begin with dances, as do their workdays and sports. A ta-matoran in crisis might be advised to dance alone, in order to better isolate the memory of their own ancestors from the general mileu.
Ga-matorans have a mystic view of dancing. To try to understand the dance, or the impulse to dance, is to spoil the magic of it. Ga-matoran dance according to absolute whim, and maintain an intentional blind spot about any potential patterns in their dancing behaviors. Pointing out a pattern to a ga-matoran is an attack. It is better to forget you noticed. Strangely, ga-matoran dances are the only matoran dances which wild rahis are known to join.
Le-matorans view the self as experiencing a kind of constant drift towards singular eccentricity. Dancing is a tool for making a Le-matoran less weird and more relatable. Le-matorans dance before public speaking, to prepare for disagreements, and before leaving their villages. They refrain from dancing at other times in order to further their artistic and philosophical pursuits.
Po-matorans dance to invite chaos and strife (the noise of a Po-matoran dance often draws predators), and the dancing reinforces their confidence that they will pull through as a community. A Po-matoran dance will always involve music, and will move about the whole village collecting matorans as it goes. They dance to welcome newcomers, to celebrate, and to recover from hardships.
Ko-matorans view dancing as a type of physical maintenance or exercise. They do it each morning and afternoon for about ten minutes, and while they don't actually atrophy or experience cramps or sprains, their psychological need for the ritual will cause them to literally destabilize if they miss it. Ko-matorans will usually dance in teams according to their work assignments.
Onu-matoran dancing is seen as a dangerous obliviating behavior, akin to drinking or drugs. Doing it overmuch will cause you to lose your individuality and purpose, but doing it in moderation can be fun and relieve the stresses and despairs of being a singular intelligence. There are notable parallels here with the Le-matorans' view. Onu-matorans dance in small groups as a recreational activity and as a sort of group therapy after traumatic or close-call events.