As a fun thought experiment, I wanted to come up with an idea for the Toa/Makuta link abilities of the known Av-Matoran, if their light/shadow affiliations were swapped. Here’s a list I put together, matched with my reasonings.
- Tanma: Light- light source; shadow- irradiation. As Tanma could give light, I thought a good way to “darken” this ability would be to have him produce harmful light. This ability would allow him to create a source of light that would induce nausea and weaken an opponent.
- Radiak: Shadow- slow; light- quick sight. As a good counter to slowing down a target, I thought Radiak could have the ability to see others moving slowly. This would grant him and his Toa link with ultra-slow-motion sight, which would also extend to cognitive speed.
- Photok: Light- light speed; shadow- shadow warp. I wanted his ability to retain its motion capabilities (to be different from Radiak’s switch-up), so I just took that concept and warped it into a shadowy realm. This ability gives Photok and his Makuta link the ability to fade into a shadow and reappear in any other within some limited range.
- Gavla: Shadow- discoordination; light- situational awareness. As coordination and balance is connected to light through how we use our surroundings to constantly adjust ourselves (try balancing yourself on one leg on a cushiony object with your eyes closed to experience what I mean), I thought this would correspond nicely to a full-view input deal. This would provide Gavla and her Toa link the ability to see in all directions at once and understand the relative positions of other entities in their sight.
- Solek: Light- solid light; shadow- shadow manipulation. As Solek could give physical form to light, I thought he could instead be able to interact with a shadow as though it had physical form. This would allow him and his Makuta link the ability to grab or attack an opponent’s shadow, which would be transferred as a real effect with the opponent being bound or damaged.
- Kirop: Shadow- blindness; light- brightening. As blindness could be considered a negative side effect of looking at a bright light source, I thought that Kirop’s light based ability would be to produce such a bright light. This would allow Kirop and his Toa link to glow extremely brightly, which could be useful for both offensive and defensive measures by obscuring their location and movements.
For fun, I also wanted to discuss a possibility for Takua and the Toa Canister Builder.
- Takua: Light- observation; shadow- dissonance. I agree with and head canon @Cruciferous’ take on Takua’s ability, with the added situation of Takua not needing to be in constant contact but only needing a strong link being from his unique position as the first Av-Matoran. As a negative aspect in contrast with the ability to share experience via mental link, I feel Takua would be able to disconnect a target with themselves. This would allow him and his Makuta link to trap a target in a feeling of disbelief, incapable of comprehending reality.
- Toa Canister Builder: Light- peace; shadow- nightmare. This one is purely for fun, as there are no evidences as to what his ability could be. I came up with these ideas under the context of him experiencing a nightmarish life due to Tren Krom and Karzahni. His ability of peace would allow him to and his Toa link to remain calm and focused and support others in the same, while his nightmare ability would allow him and his Makuta link the ability to perceive an opponents fears and induce such an illusion.
What are some other ideas? Do you agree that these could be? I’d love to read your thoughts.