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IC: Nale Vella - Metru-Koro "Yes, well...I'm not one to turn away those in need," she replied, shrugging. Even though, she thought, maybe it would have been better to guide them to Po-Koro at the moment, far away from...this. Unfortunately, it was short notice, the walk was long, and the Toa of Magnetism wasn't sure how that village would take to baby Skakdi after what had happened there. Kanohi might have been welcoming, but she had never been too familiar with the rest of the residents. And then, there was Arkius... "I'm Nale," she said, placing a palm on her chest. Responding to Mazor's question, she then said, "Just come along with me. We'll figure something out." The Toa of Magnetism beckoned for the babysitters to follow, turning and heading further into the ruined village. Nale wondered if Metru-Koro had ever had a daycare, and if it was still intact. Any place that still had a roof was enough at this point. "You've arrived at a difficult time, as I suppose is obvious. What's the story between you," she looked over her shoulder at Mazor (taking note of his appearance), "and the other one? Ostrox. Were you with the League before the crash? He doesn't seem to like you." @Toru Nui@Smudge8 IC: Jutori - Stone Ruins Exterior "Sure, Po-Koro," Jutori replied from inside the four-wheeler, reclined back in his seat, wondering where Atamai was. Wondering what was behind that door. Wondering why his friends were so indecisive. "Never been there. This is the farthest I've been from Metru-Koro since...you know. Let's make an adventure of it, yeah?" @Snelly@~Xemnas~@pokemonlover360@Harvali IC: Rose - Pridak's Throne Room This wasn't doing much to help. The Toa of Water struggled against Rose's superior strength, continuing to mumble the unshakable order. The larger Toa sighed and shifted her arms slightly, now putting Saybo in a hold with her hand pressing against the back of the Ga-Toa's neck and squeezing, essentially flexing him into unconsciousness. Immediately, once he was out, she then loosened her grip and slowly lowered Saybo to the floor. He'd wake up soon, she thought, and hopefully once he did his thoughts would be back to normal. A trickle of blood down her arm reminded the Ta-Toa of her injury, and she grimaced once she noticed the pain taking down Saybo had caused. Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, she thought. The mission. The mission was Pridak and the mission had to be completed...even if it took everything in her. Rose drew her revolver again and checked her ammo, then climbed over the rock wall, landing on the other side and taking aim at the League leader as he dueled with Aurax. She didn't see Stannis. No matter. The old man was fine, surely, and if not there was no time for her to grieve anyone. The Toa of Fire squeezed the trigger and a firework round went for the Takean's head. @Snelly@EmperorWhenua@Toru Nui@~Xemnas~@Kal the Guardian@Eyru@Vezok's Friend OOC: For reference, Rose has put Saybo into a "rear naked" choke, which if we're going by reality he should only be out for ten seconds (maybe less). Something like this. Autohit approved by Kal. Also threw in a Jutori post--let's make Odd Company relevant again.

The new LEGO Art line has some mosaic sets that will let you recreate some cool art, like the Andy Warhol pack. But there's no need to limit yourself to one style of art. An example of a Bionicle twist can be seen in this tweet from PrinceGalidor, AKA Nick Vas. It's a very colorful Hau, and makes me excited to think of what other kinds of cool mosaics people will start making from these.View the full article

I thought the Boss fight already happened.

Hey Guys, Im always on the lookout for these types of items for my collection. I am just making this topic so if you have anything that would fit this category I am more than likely interested in sorting some sort of deal out! Things on the lookout for: Press Kits (usually a folder and or CD rom containing press information for that year of sets Retail Kits (distributed to retailers to sell store owners on the new line of toys to stock) Style Guides (usually a book and CDs containing raw assets and image files to be used in Bionicle merchandise and media) Rare CD/DVD Roms Promo CDs/DVDs Comics in different languages/countries (Now mainly looking for German, Canadian, French Canadian, French and possibly others that im not aware of) Promo Posters/sell sheets/retail info sheets Thanks for taking a glance and please let me know if there is anything you have willing to part with. Sadly i didnt win this recent raffle so if you did win hit me up haha

Since us old fogeys love to sit around and reminisce about the "good ol' days", I figure as one of the few still-active remnants of BZPower's glory days, I have a unique platform to keep the old BIONICLE flame alive, both just for fun and for future edification of fans born well after BIONICLE's start that may need some insight on what the theme was like in the early years of the 21st century. Today, I'll dive into the summer of 2005, the middle of a very convoluted year for BIONICLE. The first, in fact, if you ask me. The first big upset was, as a person living in the USA, only being able to obtain the Toa Hordika and Rahaga for the first half of the year. The Visorak, Roodaka, Sidorak, Keetongu, and the first BIONICLE playsets were all summer releases here. Lucky Europeans had been enjoying most of that (sans the playsets) since the year began. Feelings aside, this also created some storytelling difficulties, as in order to promote the Hordika in the USA, the magazines and comics couldn't really show off the Visorak or their masters. Unlike the case with the Vahki in 2004, there was no "substitute" enemy for the Toa to deal with until summer rolled around. Therefore, right out of the gate, we have the Hordika dealing with the Visorak and appearances of Roodaka, which was frustrating since there was no way to get the sets unless I wanted to buy foreign. So that set the stage for summer 2005. That year, I would spend the longest time away from home alone (to date) at a summer academy for math and science. That would begin in late June, so I hoped the Visorak at least would start making an appearance on Wal-Mart shelves by then. No such luck. But anyways, I had another important distraction! In 2004, I was one of the 50 first place winners of the LEGO Club Magazine Rahi Building Challenge. It was an amazing accomplishment for 15 year-old me, and it saved me a lot of money by having all six Vahki as my prize, along with a letter from the desk of Greg Farshtey himself congratulating me. Therefore, I hoped to have similar success in the Dark Hunter Building Challenge. By the start of summer vacation, I was just about done with him. I gave him no name, but after photography with my dad, he just christened him "Plasticman". My dad wasn't overly fond of my LEGO obsession, especially the BIONICLE component of it, but he humored me enough times, especially when it came to competitions like this. "Plasticman" was, in my opinion, a vast improvement over my Rahi from last year. Unlike my Rahi, he had a function! Instead of a left arm, he had a grafted wheel of assorted Kanohi Masks, pried from his fallen Toa foes (or other kinds of mask-wearing entities). By spinning a gear on his back, you could select the Kanohi he would use to augment his battle abilities. In this way, his species was able to utilize the power of the masks in a brutish way. In his remaining right hand, I gave him a "hunting staff", a probably remnant of his tribal upbringing before being recruited by the Dark Hunters. As you might guess from the attached picture, his whole look and design was born from looking at a Rahkshi spine and thinking, "Hmm, this would make one wicked mohawk". One Metru shoulder armor and two Bohrok teeth later, and I pretty much had his head. The torso was a bit of a puzzle, particularly integrating the gears for driving the mask selection spinner, but I finished it and quickly assembled his hips. The Hordika chest armor and Metruan silver chest piece made for a great "loincloth", fusing a tribal look in clothing with a "punk" sensibility to the coloring and "hair" style. With a week or so to spare before my departure for the North, I took my pictures of "Plasticman" with dad and mailed them to the LEGO Magazine. I wish I could remember the name and description I gave him, or even had a copy of the letter. But alas, that is lost to history, unless the LEGO Magazine keeps the photo and card in an archive somewhere. But the big news, of course, would be if I would win this time. Unfortunately, it was not to be. I was not selected even among the runners-up, and I lost again a chance to be a part of BIONICLE. You can look at the winners in the Official Dark Hunters Guide (if you own it; I don't). From what I've seen of them on BioSector01, I must admit I was a little out of my league. But I'll let you judge for yourself! Attached is my sole surviving photograph of my Dark Hunter. In all probability, I likely made a topic for him in the BBC Forum, but that was back in 2005 and is lost forever now. That pretty much wrapped up my summer as far as BIONICLE went! When I came back from the academy in August, I managed to spend the remainder of living expenses money on a Visorak (Keelerak, I think), along with Roodaka and Sidorak. At that point, they were old hat to me, but the "Web of Shadows" movie was still on the horizon for October. Fall would bring more surprises (and even more convolutions!) to the BIONICLE story. Stay tuned for further reminiscing!

IC: Parnassus | Irnakk's Tooth "I can get behind that!" Parnassus said, throwing their arms wide. "What are we waiting for, then? We'd better get this show on the road!" OOC: @Burnmad @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Keeper of Kraata -Void

They've been chilling for a while, still at the ruins. I think everyone involved just lost track, but Atamai returning with his new pals would probably be a nice jumpstart to get them moving again.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Air Suva with Sala and Sorilax “Oh!” The ga-matoran shouted in surprise as Sala revealed himself. An expression of dread and shock came over her and she scampered inside the suva temple and out of sight. In her hurry she forgot to pick up the small drawstring sack resting on the stairs. Echoed out of the temple walls Sala heard another shout of surprise, the squawk of rahi as small birds flew out, and the crashing and breaking of wooden branches. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147 IC: Axxon | Abandoned Fortress, Northern edge of the protodermis lake He watched the three toa grow closer from the destroyed second floor where he and Atamai stood overlooking the toxic waters. The crash from the great skull and the resulting impact ripped apart half the floorboards, the ceiling, and the walls, leaving the upper stories of the fortress a terrifying and rickety wreck. Axxon knew time ran quickly out, and he needed to act fast if there was any chance of success. As Atamai pushed his hand aside, Axxon replied; “I’m sorry too, Atamai, for I must take them from you by force and return to try and avert this horrid end before you allies make this impossible. This end must be because the Great Disks were taken, and unable to complete what needed to be completed, the Ark could not sustain itself and fell apart. You speak truly of the world you lived, but in visiting the past it must have changed when you stole the Great Disks. You speak plainly, and while that is honorable I too have a duty and an honor to maintain.” Axxon lunged forward with his weapon, the steel glinting in the twilight of the stars. “If you will not heed my words, then heed the bite of my halberd!” OOC: Boss Fight? @Crimson Jester, @EmperorWhenua, @The Captain, @~Xemnas~

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green - Metru-Nui Refugees Location - The Fau Swamp (7, 13) With - Sidra This time Viltia was prepared somewhat for the total lack of senses. It was still scary and it freaked her out, but this time she focused on her connection to Sidra through her hand. As long as she didn’t let go, she would be fine. Although this time was aware of something perhaps even worse, she started to notice they weren’t exactly in a complete void. Whispers and images danced at the corners of her vision, never fully realized and disappearing when noticed. And then it was over. Once more the plants in the immediate vicinity jumped into her subconscious as she instinctively felt them pop into existence beside her. She was still a little uneasy from the trip, but the worst part had been the initial surprise of it all. "Okay," Sidra checked a still from the nektann's footage, aligning the direction of the hole in the canopy with her current position, "The breach was that way. We should probably go the rest of the way on foot. I'd rather not teleport us in on top of trouble, if whoever landed isn't friendly." “Alright,” Viltia said, something pulling her attention away for some reason. What was it? She gripped Sidra’s hand again, which she found without looking, “Be quiet.” Her tone was serious, all mirth gone. There was something wrong… A blur flew past in the distance. A bright orange streak on the edge of her vision. Then two more, one orange and one green. Viltia was able to watch those. Nui-Rama. The noise she heard must have been their buzzing coming closer. The noise itself wasn’t just a hum, one could almost hear an anger behind it that rose in fury the louder it got. They swooped around the distance for some unknown reason before flying out of sight. Viltia let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She gave a soft smile to Sidra as she let go of her friend’s hand and grabbed her axe crossbow from her back, a bit of joy back in her voice, “Well they certainly didn’t sound too friendly. Let’s go carefully, then. Oh, and whatever you do, try not to step in any water. Apparently some ponds can mutate you like you see with some of the Rahi here in this swamp.” OOC: @Nato the Traveler

IC: Taja | Swamp Outskirts Taja nodded resignedly. "Is there anything on this island that isn't trying to kill us?" IC: Oreius | The Coliseum Oreius's punch landed, infusing Achro's remaining sword with Weaken energy. His opponent fell back as a web of tiny cracks began to blossom on his weapon, then he suddenly charged Oreius again. Oreius met the assault with a standard defensive stance. Their blades threw sparks as they met. Immediately, Oreius swung again, and again, trying to drive his opponent back with a flurry of blows. Every time their swords met, the cracks in Achro's blade would grow and splinter. Oreius was painfully aware that Pridak was only a few meters away. He was so close to avenging Metru Nui... but he had to deal with this traitorous Toa of Fire first. @Toru Nui

There's so many good ones... Mata Nui, especially as depicted in MNOG, is beautiful. But it's hardly fair to categorize that as one setting, since it's like six different biomes all within walking distance of each other. I can't even pick a favorite biome, they all do what they're supposed to do so well. Metru Nui, especially in LoMN and WoS, really felt like a plausible homeland for the advanced Matoran (after three years of mystery building on why these futuristics cyborgs lived on an otherwise normal tropical island). I love the 1984 vibes we got with the Vahki animations and Teridax-as-Dume. Whereas the Rahi were (sort of) just wild animals, Metru Nui really felt like an antagonist itself against the Metru. And all I wanted as a kid was to explore the web-covered abandoned version in 2005. Voya Nui really feels like a depressing realistic version of Mata Nui. It always made me sad, reading Island of Doom, to imagine how lighthearted and carefree life on Mata Nui seemed to Voya Nui, and how both islands were inhabited at the same time. Stuart Sayger's art style works much better for locations than characters as well, imo. Mahri Nui and Karda Nui bored me, not gonna lie. It just felt like the underwater one and the sky-cave-swamp one. More a background to people fighting most of the time than settings that impacted the story. Bara Magna rekindled my interest in exploring the Bionicle world. If I had to pick an all-time favorite... Ko-Metru. What BIONICLE animation did I watch the most as a kid? Toa Nuju sliding around the Knowledge Towers and swinging himself around.

Correct! The next tricky bit is the Technic watch piece I used to attach them to the alternating joints. I've got instructions on my BrickShelf.

IC: Sidra - Fau Swamp Once again, the pair vanished into shadow, the lush landscape giving way to dwindling dimness. Not for the first time, Sidra found herself wondering where exactly she went when traversing between shadows. Was this one of the parallel realities Tuyet had spoken of, or some kind of independent realm, home to nothing but endless night? She'd never stuck around long enough to find out for sure, and given the things she sometimes heard shifting in the shadows, she had a feeling a prolonged intrusion would be unwelcome to whatever dwelled here. After a few moments, Sidra and Viltia emerged back into the swamp, in a marshy clearing hemmed in by tangled roots and trailing vines. The nektann clung to the trunk of a nearby tree, and dropped down beside Sidra once she approached it. "Okay," she checked a still from the nektann's footage, aligning the direction of the hole in the canopy with her current position, "The breach was that way. We should probably go the rest of the way on foot. I'd rather not teleport us in on top of trouble, if whoever landed isn't friendly." @Kal the Guardian

Here is a radical idea. To "finish off" the original BIONICLE story, just ignore everything in an online serial posted after the conclusion of the Final Battle between Mata Nui and Makuta. Start from when Tahu told everyone, "My friends...it is time to begin." It's been so long since the serials were left in limbo, it'd be crazy to ask Greg (or even another author) to pick up those stories and finish them. I say, keep it simple and start from scratch, so no one has to worry who's in an alternate dimension, who's planning to betray who and who's entering an unlikely alliance and resurrecting you-know-who and yadda yadda yadda. The core of BIONICLE was with the Toa and their Matoran allies. To find out what happened to The Shadowed One, the Order of Mata Nui, or whatever, let us pretend none of that stuff post-BIONICLE Stars happened. And if you think I am being obtuse, look at what happened to Star Wars, what with the "continuation" of the original Star Wars trilogy in the run-up to the release of "The Force Awakens". Bye-bye old Expanded Universe. And there were plenty of finished and unfinished story concepts that will never be "officially" continued or acknowledged. With BIONICLE, there are only a few unfinished serials, so I'm willing to accept their loss. The only arbiters that matter in this decision would be GregF and LEGO, of course.

This topic made my unexpected visit to BZPower way worth the longer stay! At first, I just read Shadow Emperor's document to get the main breakdown, but the blog Mister_N is writing adds some nice flavor to the research as well. Being a real detail-oriented person (and kid, back when I first got hooked on BIONICLE in 2001), I remember lots of these "cut" details from the original BIONICLE website and the MNOLG. In fact, my early play and story-telling experiences with my first BIONICLE sets (Tahu, Kopaka, Onua, the six Turaga, and Hafu from the PowerPack) ventured coincidentally into these same liminal spaces the "official" BIONICLE story ended up discarding or altering. I distinctly recall aligning my perceptions of the Toa personalities based on their "ages", per the original biographies on the BIONICLE website and even writing a short story wherein Kopaka uncovers a secret cult of Makuta-worshipping Tohunga (only because they were wearing infected masks, which I created by using clear Elmer's Glue and sand on black Kanohi). How interesting to read 19 years later that there were ideas generated for a "seventh tribe" of evil-worshipping Matoran! I think my play experiences back then, as well as the behind-the-scenes facts uncovered and expounded on by Mister_N and company, reveal the ultimate secret behind BIONICLE's enduring appeal. Even with all that stuff cut out, forgotten, or retconned, there was still so much detail created for BIONICLE from the beginning that combined with the toys, LEGO birthed something that really was alive. I write "was alive", not "felt real", because that reflects the truth about BIONICLE in 2020. As a viable toyline and storyline, it is finished. But one can never discount that while it was extant, it didn't merely occupy space in one's mind like knowing how to tie your shoes or a shopping list. It was a living character that affected the lives of thousands of people, some who still celebrate it today. Don't we do that for cherished places, people, pets, or even histories? It would be a dream come true to have an official book published by LEGO next year that goes into detail on BIONICLE's creation, with official word from the people who conceived it in the first place. But perhaps it is still too soon. I was "old" as far as the target audience is concerned when BIONICLE launched in 2001--I was already 12 years old, so that means I'm on the old side for a BIONICLE fan. And I'm only 31 now. That means most fans from that long ago are probably still in their mid to late 20s. A potent age for remembering one's youth, but one also busy with careers, getting married, and having kids. Perhaps once the bulk of BIONICLE's first fandom is in its late 30s to early 40s (which means I'll be getting closer to 50. Yikes!), there will be such a loud demand for nostalgic BIONICLE content that LEGO will finally get Thompson, Faber, and Swinnerton (and hopefully GregF, too) together to author and document the "making of" BIONICLE officially. In the meantime, these fan-driven efforts are wonderful, and will do nicely until the day our collective buying power (and voice in the AFOLdom) is too great to ignore!

I think I've been on this site for almost seventeen years. In that time I've made a terrible comic series, had some fun in General Art, added a handful of unfinished stories to the library and made a few friends and acquaintances along the way. If any of you here want to keep in contact, my twitter handle is attached to my profile. It's goofy and weird and a bit of a mess, just like my time on this site. The more time has passed, the more I recognize that the only thing keeping me coming back to this site is my blog. And really all I've used it for lately is to complain about life's frustrations. I'm tired of being someone who only complains. I know my content used to be goofy and silly and full of... well, more than what it is now. I've been lucky during my time here. I can't say I've been a victim of any sort of prejudice or attacks. But due to more recent statements, it appears I was ignorant to the other members that had been victims of such actions. I also feel I haven't always been the most supportive member of the LGBT+ community on here to my fellow LGBT+ peers. I feel I remained silent when I should have spoken out. I feel I was inconsiderate during one or more occasions. If I ever caused any grief, I apologize. Being gay myself is no excuse for instances of lashing out due to internalized homophobia. This website held a lot of personal milestones for me. When I was nervous about coming out to my family, I sought advice from an openly gay staff member of the site. I came out publicly here before I did to the rest of my family and friends and was mostly met with support. That meant the world to me. I like to think the person I am today was molded in part by the experiences I've had on this site. However, it would appear bzpower is no longer a place where I feel comfortable or safe. And so I shall be logging off. I hope one day things will be better and I can feel comfortable logging back in again. But I kinda doubt that will happen. So, for what is perhaps the final time... GET OFF MY LAWN! ~Tekulo <3

Nononononono. While it is true you can start a blog for free on one of those sites, who's going to read it? BZP has (or had) plenty of active members that would (exclusively in some cases) browse the blogs here. It's so convenient having the blogs built into a site where you already have an account and friends as opposed to having to seek out something offsite, create a new account, and try to get your people to join and read. Plus you're supporting BZP with your purchase sooo... I'd say it's a win-win. *shrug*