#bionicle ramblings

[biocrafthero]

Talking about Bionicle lore is so funny because you can say shit like "Yeah the Piraka kidnapped the All American Rejects" and that's somehow one of the least confusing things you can discuss

[muaka-safari]

Idk if I've ever mentioned this outside of tags, but anyway, I think it's really neat that the vahki's staffs almost perfectly pair up

The staffs of suggestion and command teach the Matoran: do not trust your body. Do not presume you have autonomy. Yes, you have tools that could become weapons, but what good are they when you can't be sure if you'll still be in control after you've raised them in anger?

The staffs of confusion and erasing teach the Matoran: do not trust your mind. It can be lost, or taken, or just as easily fooled. All the better to trust only what your superiors tell you is real. Plan, sure, but don't plan too actively. Or don't plan beyond the now. Either way, always be aware your mind - and all those plans - can be eradicated in a second.

The staffs of loyalty and presence teach the Matoran: do not trust your friends. They can be made to betray you, to turn on you, to act as unwitting ears to malicious forces. Better keep your mouth shut. Better keep your distance. Better yet, trust only the powers that be.

Anyway, I think that pairs up the metrus & toa pretty interestingly

in the respective threats the metrus posed that the staffs were required (camaraderie in Ga- & Onu-Metru; physical threats from the builders and furnace workers of Po- & Ta-Metru; the foresight and quick reactions of Ko- & Le-Metru)

in the ways the Metrus adapted in opposite ways (Matoran of Onu-Metru seem pretty isolated, while Ga-Metru seems more social, for example) (Le-Matoran focus on the immediate now, while Ko-Matoran predict the future)

and in the ways the Toa Metru (and even their masks sometimes) reflect that (Onewa literally gets a mask of command (a fight back response) while Vakama gets a mask of invisibility (reflecting his "keeping his head down" time as a mask maker))

[arr-jim-lad]

:)

[boobonicle]

but if a monocle is one eye glass then...

[antlover1234]

please dont go, please dont go, i love you so, i love you so

[dykef1sh-splatoon]

I’ve been watching the bionicle movies with my partner and slowly getting into it via osmosis. The third movie is really good but holy shit the sexual tension. Roodaka and Vakama have some crazy master/pet shit going on I was fully expecting to see that man on a leash

[nyaskitten]

Arc Dragon of Focus ... welcome back Mask Makers...

[noi-dev]

Did it really take me this long to realize Takanuva's entire arc is basically a Masking Allegory???

How have I not put that together before now?

[fvaleraye]

We want the estrogen that makes us look like Gali. Specifically Toa Mata Gali

Look at her. Her tgirl swag. We want what she has.

[biocrafthero]

What the fuck happens in Bionicle?

Okay so the guy made of bugs is the least of your worries rn there’s guys made out of vapor. And then the bug guy turns the main bad guy (who is currently vapor) into balls and shoots them at people to control them with a ball launcher. They keep the evil vapor guy in a big tube and while he’s in there the two most handsome muscular men you’ve ever seen fight and have a divorce in front of it. The bug guy and his gang members kidnapped the All American Rejects. This isn’t even what the main plot is about

[muaka-safari]

Last rambling post for now about the millennium spent on Mata Nui, I promise, but it's just as well the system for triggering new Matoran to be built was (presumably) manual. Otherwise there's a not-zero chance the Matoran would have returned to Metru Nui to discover they'd been replaced by a new generation of workers

[arr-jim-lad]

Something i really like about 2001-2003 Bionicle is how, within the context of the full story, it has such a comfortable but bittersweet layer of separation. It has its own unique mythology that the turaga made up after their civilization was literally rebooted, and it has its own separate physical place of existence after said civilization was removed from it's original universe.

The Mata Nui matorans lived in a peaceful culture and resided in primitive huts, in tune with nature on their beautiful island, with a simple creation story as the core of their beliefs. They lived in a utopia, blissfully ignorant of what was and what's to come.

The Mata Nui arc is nostalgic and favoured by many Bionicle fans, myself included, and coincidentally its story almost reflects how we often look back on our childhood as a simpler time, but in truth times were never simple.

[voidaspects]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that's valid, but I continue to be absolutely perplexed by the sheer hatred some people have for the canonized contest models and whatnot. How are there so many of them. why do they hate it so passionately. like... for context, my hyperfixation for this series didn't really become active until after they came and went. I wasn't there for any of that. And let me tell you, the amount of excitement that the existence of these designs brought me was insane. I adore them. I think at this point I have a hyperfixation with them specifically in addition to the series as a whole. They're a fun and in depth project to make, and they're honestly the pride and joy of my entire collection when they're done. it feels special just to see them in person to me. Seeing these designs get established in universe ignited an enthusiasm for the characters in themselves; just seeing the toa hagah together makes me love them infinitely more, they went from a fun footnote to something I intensely crave more story content for. they might be my favourite team at this point. I was sad to see that the contests had to end, just imagining the possibilities for the new things I could've collected and seen established properly in the universe gets me excited. and like don't get me wrong! I get that not everyone is going to love this stuff as intensely as me! and that's okay! but like... whenever I see someone absolutely despising the very concept of them, I just... I don't understand. and like... a lotta the rationale I've seen seems to be focused around the idea that it removes the freedom to see and design them as you want, but like... when has having an established design for something ever stopped anyone from doing that?

if you're not a fan, that's fair and you're valid. But if you actively hate them, I'm just... so... so thoroughly confused.

[dykef1sh-splatoon]

I had a dream last night that Bionicle was brought back but they introduced a new element. The new element was meat. Just... meat. Their main colors were red with white as accents

[0m3g4skanohiforge]

Y'know, I realize that this topic might not be of much interest to you, because I've never seen you approach it at all, but it's something I can't help but wonder every time I see your (absolutely phenomenal) work...

Have you ever considered attempting one of the unofficial masks, like Helryx's? Or, alternatively, could your methods even be applied to them in any way, with them lacking an official physical base model and all.

I'm mostly asking because I've always really really wanted to see what those would look like when created as authentically as possible. It's always been one of those things that can't quite be replicated with the usual methods, no matter how much colour matching of paints you do. So every time I see you nail it when replicating that feel, my mind can't help but wander there

(Thank you for reading my rambling ask! And also I apologize if this has ever been asked already!)

This is very much a topic of interest! Both for myself and for you, but also many others. I'm happy to talk about it!

Working with unofficial designs comes with two complications. The first is the simplest to solve - getting that digital model into real space, which would cleanest be done with a resin printer. I've actually recieved some resin printed parts already in order to try to figure these out! They do need to be really good finishes and very well sanded tho. I know some folks are really comfortable with printing groove lines, but maybe I'm just really picky. I don't want my parts to stand out as replicas or fakes, while still being identifiable as them. Fortunately, again, that can be sorted and solved.

The second and harder one is based on the limitations of Silicone Molding and Resin Casting, my work. Official parts were made in molds, so mimicking the forms of the molds both results in specific consistencies of design and means they must always be able to fit in and be removed from that mold. Recreating that mold shape is how I get accuracy.

Printed parts may not be made with such design details in mind, resulting in awkward shapes and uneven angles. These would catch the mold shape and tear it with use, resulting in a significantly reduced mold lifespan. Some of these parts can be simply modified after print - cutting and sanding away internal pockets, for example. However angles on the front would need to result in an actual modification of the Masks design, for which I think would be better done before printing. I'll probably see about commissioning someone to make some of those.

Speaking of though... I still wanna double check the sources of some of the models I'm testing with, and make sure this is okay with the designers. I don't wanna mess up someone's work, and I'd rather comfortably get their okay

[tankirb]

Lore videos being in timeline order is the worst. It should be in release order.

DuckBrick's Bionicle lore video is great from a knowledge stand point for the pre-existing community. But the problem is that it's also most likely to be many people's first exposure to the story, and they will have an inherently different experience of the story than the fans, and so it won't illustrate why so many people love the franchise.

The beginning of the story is half way through the video, so you have a lot of characters finding out this the audience already knows. It creates a disconnect and confusion between the audience about what the character's know.

And it also makes it way harder for the audience to remember stuff. Why introduce character's who won't be relevant for 5 hours because they did something off screen in the past. Just wait until they were actually introduced to the story and reveal the important information when it's relevant. That way it's easier for the viewer to remember it all.

It also sucks for plot twists

The 9 hour Bionicle video LEADS with the big reveal which plain out sucks. Because the audience didn't know that for nearly a decade. It turns an absolute mind blowing plot twist which had small hints throughout the entire series and shakes the audience's understanding and turns it into "just what the story is"