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How has Bionicle changed your life?


specsowl

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I'm going to get deep. Buckle up.

 

I have this old Pokemon card magazine from June 2001. It's filled with all the newest cards, popular animes, and set into 6 of those pages throughout are small advertisements of 6 characters that would change my life forever. 

 

I would play in the yard ( I was only 8) and pretend I was "the blue one" with those awesome claws. When they first came out my friends all got them. I bought Gali, my best friend bought Onua because he looked like a hockey player, and my other friend bought Kopaka. We would always go to McDonalds and try and get ANYTHING besides Onepu because thats all they ever seemed to have >_>

 

Now at the time my parents had divorced only a year before and life for me was pretty hard. I had legos but I couldn't really take them outside because I'd lose pieces. But Bionicles...I could take them anywhere. I lived on a farm with tall trees like Le-Koro and dirt fields like Po-Koro. Bionicles were my escape and being able to take them outside away from it all was freeing.

 

Fast forward a few years and I was growing up, but Bionicle was still my life. I remember most life events because of the sets that were released at those times. My mom moved when the Rahkshi came out...and so did my Dad. My mom moved again when the Hordika came out and we lived in a tough situation. I moved in with my Mom when the Piraka were out. And all this time I finally made it to highschool. Now highschool is the weird time where you aren't mature enough to make life decisions...but have to decide your career for the rest of your life. But yet I knew somehow that I wanted to work on the computer and make things. I went to college, and with it came what I didn't know at the time to be my biggest inspiration, Bionicles. Robots, aliens, cool creatures, tribal characters it all stemmed from the one thing that got me this far. 

 

And now? Well I have a Bachelor's Degree in Game Art and Animation doing what I had no idea what I would ever do before...making toys. And by my work space? My shelf with my Bionicles. Well, 3 shelves with Bionicles but you get the idea.

 

So BZPower I ask you humbly, how has Bionicle changed your life?

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Sometimes i look back and think "if i took all the hours i played with my bionicles and did something productive, the world would be a much better place". That pretty much summed up my childhood.

my days went like this. wake up, school, home, snack, bionicles, supper, bionicles, bedtime. weekends were the best I would moc for hours on end. Im still not very good but it is a lot of fun.

wearewaiting.gif

As long as there is one bionicle fan out there there is still hope for bionicle to return. Keep faith. Bionicle is amazing.

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Sometimes i look back and think "if i took all the hours i played with my bionicles and did something productive, the world would be a much better place". That pretty much summed up my childhood.

my days went like this. wake up, school, home, snack, bionicles, supper, bionicles, bedtime. weekends were the best I would moc for hours on end. Im still not very good but it is a lot of fun.

Well that sounds sad. What do you do now? I always find that doing nothing is a waste of time and it sounds to me like you were being creative! I mean, that's what I do for a living is be creative and I cant see why it would be detrimental! If it's something you enjoyed well then regret is seriously something you shouldn't be feeling :)

 

Edit: Childhood should be cherished as well. It's much shorter than we realize at that age and when it's over...man it's over.

Edited by specsowl
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Well, it led me here. Which was really valuable since this site was my introduction to the internet, letting me wade in slowly before going into the deep end. I also wonder how much the friendly environment of this place kept me from becoming an internet butt. Being able to see that people weren't inherently bad. I can only imagine how different I might've been if I'd jumped head first into the cesspool of hatred and horror that is a significant portion of the internet. BZP also helped my grammar and spelling skills immensely from reading so many words on a daily basis (Though I had been an avid book reader before) .

 

Also, on a more minor note, one day I literally just up and decided that my favorite color was blue when it had previously been yellow. I wonder how much of that was affected by Gali Mata being my first set.

Edited by Element Lord of Milk
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I think I can safely say that I wouldn't be who I am now had Bionicle not been around at the time. I doubt that I would be as interested in art and design without it.

It taught me to think creatively and use my imagination. 

I can't say I had a bad childhood, but Bionicle used to be one of the most important things (sometimes a little too important...) in my life. Sure, there were times when I was less interested in it and had other things on my mind, but it always remained to be something very special for me. 

I remember learning more about the island of Mata Nui, hearing tales from the Matoran and Turaga. I just loved the universe that Lego had established. It had this mystery to it, you just wanted to know and see more.

 

There is no other franchise I have so emotionally grown attached to and I will always remember Bionicle as one of the best parts of my childhood.  :)

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Hail Denmark

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i was 3 when bionicles came out, my brother died later that year. my parents said i could not have legos until i was 15, i convinced them to give  me my brother's very old legos at age 5, then i discovered bionicle, i saw all 4 movies, but could never figure out the story, i know a little thanks to my bionicle adventure game, and the bionicle video game for the original xbox, it works in  my 360 so i am able to play, i did not get the whole collection, mainly because i did not get an alloance until bionicle's later years. But i still love bionicle. if the comics come back i plan to get every single one, i am going to try and get everything bionicle 2015(gen. 2) related.

Edited by spectral rain
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These are all such enlightening posts. I must agree with getting involved with the story. It was amazing to have such a cool and unique story and a toy to go along with it. I was a huge reader so this was a cool double enjoyment for me. 

I remember when Vakama told the Toa Nuva that they weren't the first Toa in the comic (I still have it). Those pages are so worn from me reading it so much but stuff like that was amazing to me as a child. 

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Bionicle was the biggest thing in my life for basically my whole childhood, maybe even my whole life, I'd say; besides how inspired I was by it and how it got me interested in comics and 3D animation (which set me on a course for what is gonna now be my career), I actually got my best friends through Bionicle. In elementary and middle school I bonded with a few others over the toys and the story, and in my freshman year of high school I finally talked to a fella who would soon become my best friend. I didn't remember that being the first time we talked, I was always sure I approached him when he was gaming or something, but he INSISTS that what happened was that on the day we were all crammed into a spare computer lab due to some remodeling, and the two of us happened to be sitting together, and I was on BZPower watching the profess of the polls for an art contest for Bonesiii's Expanded Multiverse thing. If he's right, our first conversation was me basically just turning to him and basically going, "Hey, look at this. I painted this for an art contest. Isn't this better than that entry there?" and complaining and talking about this dumb Bionicle contest :P He didn't understand or care of course, but it got us talking, and it's been almost 5 years now and I'm meeting him to see a movie in a few hours. Terribly embarrassing first encounter, but that's how it went down, and I'm really glad it did.

 

I think Bioncle also helped turn me into the huge nerd I am now, which is a big part of my life :P

 

I dunno, Bionicle was always my favorite thing, and I got a lot out of it. It's impossible to think of all the little ways it affected me. At least, while I'm at work :P

 

I'll make another post when I get home, probably :)

Edited by Pomegranate
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Specowl, thank you for sharing with us, it was really honestly inspiring to see how far you've come. Congratulations on the degree! I was going do get that before I had to leave college prematurely, actually.

 

For me, Bionicle was one of the biggest things to inspire me, help me grow, and so much more. A lot of people might think that's silly, but without BIONICLE, I may not be alive today. I suffer from numerous illnesses that have often threatened my life, and it's a very hard thing to cope with. When I seriously got into Bionicle/BZP around 2004 (14 years of age), is also when health started to decline. Through all the struggles of that, and many other life problems, it really kept me pushing through. I met great friends due to my interest in Bionicle. I was encouraged to stay brave from how the Toa and Matoran acted as I went through many trials. I learned a lot of life lessons or kept things in perspective because of this. Mostly, it was a escape when it was hard to face reality--I remember once I was in the hospital, and my greatest console was doodling the characters.

 

Sometimes hardships win for awhile. I'm still very ill and because of it I lost a lot of hope, eventually leaving the fandom for about two years. Now, I'm back, and I have received a lot of strength again. Nostalgia is a powerful ally.

 

Another thing, without Bionicle, I would not have been so encouraged to draw. Sure, before, I naturally loved to art. But Bionicle really got me into it. I fell in love drawing all the characters and even some scenery. One of my favourite activities then and now was trying to convert them to a humanized look. I drew so much as a kid it was ridiculous--but without that, I wouldn't be where I am today. I may have given up on art long ago without it.

 

So, that's my story. It keeps me drawing, was healthy escape from reality, and makes me want to fight my health problems!

 

 

 

 

 

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That's really quite an amazing story, the both of you. I think Bionicle really inspires a lot of people and helps them escape. Since we grew up with it, it's more of an escape than video games or movies (which I still love regardless) but I take my collection out frequently and with each one a very specific memory. Also, Lady Kopaka, perhaps one day you can return and get your degree!

 

I am now a professional digital sculptor and can only hope one day that I could create a world just as rich and amazing as Bionicle. To see how Bionicle has inspired so many people must mean something to it's creators and I hope to achieve the same. 

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Well Bionicle introduced me to Lego and this site. Has it been a major life changer? Other than my wallet, then no.

 

I have always viewed Bionicle as my favorite pastime when I was younger, but it didn't have much of an emotional impact on me since I was slightly confused when it came to the storyline. I'm still as confused as of today, but that's why I still love the series. The mysterious ominous aura surrounding the theme.

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Sometimes i look back and think "if i took all the hours i played with my bionicles and did something productive, the world would be a much better place". That pretty much summed up my childhood.

my days went like this. wake up, school, home, snack, bionicles, supper, bionicles, bedtime. weekends were the best I would moc for hours on end. Im still not very good but it is a lot of fun.

I dont regret one bit of it BTW. Now i still moc but it isnt such a huge thing.

wearewaiting.gif

As long as there is one bionicle fan out there there is still hope for bionicle to return. Keep faith. Bionicle is amazing.

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I was 3 or 4 when I got my first sets, the Toa Mata.

 

Suffice to say, it is the major creative influence in my life. Like, of all the franchise-universes out there, this one stuck with me.

 

My first Lego sets that I enjoyed were Bionicle.

 

My first RPG was VNOG.

 

The first novel that I read a lot (I was reading a lot of non-fiction before that)Bionicle Chronicles #4.

 

And so on and so forth. It wasn't the only thing hat influenced me as a child but it was the biggest. Over the course of my life from then to the present moment, I would rate it as among the top 3.

 

Even the Internet. I really only used it to play games when Is as younger. The whole "interaction and communicatipn" bit of that never really affected me.

 

Until I joined BZPower. It wasn't as cutthroat as the rest of the Internets, so it was a good learning area.

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Well, BIONICLE certainly has sapped a lot of my money that probably could have gone towards better uses in my life. :P

 

But the theme, and LEGO in general, was healthy for exercising my imagination and creativity. Though I don't have as much time to build now, it also helps keep me a little younger at heart. It is also something both my younger brother and I can do together. I have also made a very close friend due largely to our common interest in BIONICLE.

 

(And for the record, the money used was completely worth it)

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"What we see depends mainly on what we look for" -John Lubbock
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I remember seeing a teaser for Bionicle in the Lego Magazine, way back when they would only show silhouettes of the Toa with glowing eyes, and ever since then I was hooked. The Bohrok saga was my favorite, and to this day I still have those six comics sitting under my bed at my parent's house. 

 

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but one night I had a dream about Bionicle, and that dream set the foundation for the story that I have been forming in my head for years now. I'm currently working on it in the Epics section (The Herald of Darkness, if you're interested), but even now its still evolving. It has taken me over two years to get where I am, and I'm only about halfway finished with it now. But even then it won't be over. It might be years or decades from now, but eventually I will separate it from Bionicle, and create my own world. 

 

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that Bionicle inspired me to become a writer and a storyteller, and while that might not be where my career is going at the moment, it is definitely one of my life goals.

 

Strange that all of that could come from silhouettes with glowing eyes, huh?

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Bionicle sparked my creativity and ability to think outside of the box I think - the somewhat abstract lore and universe of Bionicle which I completely immersed myself in makes a lot of things others would consider strange to be tame. :P In addition to that, my time on this site discussing and expanding the mythology and theory-crafting probably nurtured/sparked my love of that process and style of thinking which has led me to my current university degree and probable career path. I honestly feel I would have done worse at school if I hadn't become somewhat addicted to theory making and thinking how things worked and predicting the storyline, which I think helped train me to think in that way.

 

Also it has had a large influence on some of the things I like, such as colours, locations (sometimes when I travel I compare places in my mind to various locations in the Bionicle universe), personalities (...to this day I still think of people I meet as different types of Bionicle characters sometimes :P) and how I connect them to one another (if that makes sense).

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Credit to Pohuaki for the awesome banner! ^_^

 

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Bionicle, one word that would almost define my life and why I am doing what I do.

To sum it up in short, ever since the day I plucked Kopaka Mata off the shelf of a lego store in 2001, my life changed, I met new people with the same love for lego, found BZP and a lot of other fan sites, I am starting to male my own animations (stop motion, new biotuber, ect.) and write stories, I plan on getting a job as an animator and a story writer, possibly for TLC themselves. None of what I do today could have sparked without Bionicle.

"And something else ... our destinies are not written in stone, set in place. They are something we have to find for ourselves."
— Vakama

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"In this new- Wait, why am I being quoted?!"

-Kovika, Toa of Ice, Bread Enthusiast, and Ko-Metru Scholar.

 

 

 

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Bionicle taught me English in no time. It also completely opened up my imagination. My taste for music and my interest in making music has roots in Bionicle. For example, the first songs I learnt to play by ear were pre-Cryoshell songs. I also learnt how to use the internet through Bionicle. Man, I would be a total moron without it.

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Well, when I was a little tyke, I happened to be a troublemaker. I got into trouble a lot. Now, you say, "But Waz, we were all little nut jobs in elementary school, right?" Indeed, I agree, but I was a special chap - I nearly asphyxiated the school counselor, threw raw potatoes at my school, got in a fistfight outside the principals office, and sprinted down halls just to annoy my teachers. I also got in trouble a lot at home for various reasons (no, you don't want to know). Obviously, I'm not here for your pity (cookies would be fine, though). In a nutshell, parents and teachers are supposed to be role models, right? Well, mine were constantly punishing me, so that role-model kind of thing wasn't working out too well. However, Bionicle gave me not only the basis for creating two of my best friendships, but also showed me heroes to look up to. Be wise, like Onua, but be smart like Kopaka. Listen carefully to stories, as counseled Vakama, and heed Whenua's words on valuing the past. Think before acting - you're no Hordika, despite your wishes! And remember most of all - Unity (be together with your friends, treasure them), Duty (do what you are supposed to do, even if it's not easy), and Destiny (acknowledge that there are things beyond your control).

 

These are some of the ways that Bionicle has changed me,

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Steam Name: Toa Hahli Mahri. Xbox Live Gamertag: Makuta. Minecraft Username: ThePoohster.

Wants: 2003 Jaller (from Jaller and Gukko), Exo-Toa, Turaga Nuju, Turaga Vakama, Shadow Kraata, Axonn, Brutaka, Vezon & Fenrakk, Nocturn, ORANGE FIKOU.

I got rid of my picture, are you happy?

 

 

 

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Well, BIONICLE kept me out of my dark ages, continuing my interest in LEGO at the time most people fall away and "grow up into other things". Because of BIONICLE, I started MOCing pretty seriously, and of course, there's BZPower. I joined BZP in 2002 when it was still BionicleZone Community, before the K-P merger. Because of my interactions here and all the MOCing, I went to Brickfair VA in 2008, where I met several BZP staff members and became one myself. Two years later, I met Nukaya at Brickfair VA and we started dating. And because of that, I now live in Portland, OR, having moved up here from Tulsa, OK for her a few years back. I mean, that's a pretty big change.

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without bionicle.com i wouldn't even know how to use the internet because when i was little i would play old cd education games and one day in 2007 my dad found bionicle.com and from then i woud begin to use the internet to go to bionicle.com alone.    

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When I was really young, I had not even seen what challenges lie ahead in my life. I went online at a very young age to the mata-nui online game and it took me some months to get out of the beach, but eventually I made it to other villages such as Ta-Koro and learned the origins of the mysterious Toa. At the time my first set was only Kopaka, but I needed to learn more.

 

Bionicle had always set guidelines for how I should come across situations I had to deal with, and I stuck to the virtues and the principles they follow and I try and use that to become more responsible. Bionicle gave me my own universe, my own tropical island escape from the problems I had encountered at school very early on. The matoran were all my characters and the Toa were my heroes when I needed them.

 

But then there came Makuta.

 

...

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without bionicle.com i wouldn't even know how to use the internet because when i was little i would play old cd education games and one day in 2007 my dad found bionicle.com and from then i woud begin to use the internet to go to bionicle.com alone.

 

Me too, playing MNOG was the first time I really started to explore the internet on my trusty old Windows97 desktop, and I've been glued to my spinning chair since (a mixed blessing).

 

Bionicle was also the first thing that really inspired me to write my own stories, something I've kept up since and now currently hold one of the national short story prizes.

 

And of course, although my activity has waxed and waned, I've had a blast with you guys on BZPower.

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How has Bionicle changed my life? How has it not? Without Bionicle, I would have had no childhood. Bionicle is my life!

 

(Which basically means I've had no life over the past four years)

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Embers - a new Bionicle Epic - Coming 2024 

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BZPRPG Characters - Minnorak, Kain, T'harrak, Savis, Vazaria, Lash

BZPRPG Mercenary Group - The Outsiders - Description - History - Base

Ghosts Of Bara Magna - Ash Tribe - Precipere - Kehla, Somok, Skrall, Gayle, Avinus, Zha'ar

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BIONICLE is the major creative influence in my life and may have single-handedly defined my interests as well as future career paths.

 

When I was younger, around 7-8 years old, I came across a few BIONICLE books in my classroom, the first three BIONICLE: Chronicles books. I didn't really like reading, yet the covers looked so cool I couldn't help picking one up. Once I began reading I couldn't stop, and my imagination ran wild. I would go home afterwards and make up my own stories using the bizarre characters I encountered in those books and in that universe that fascinated me so much. I didn't understand a lot of stuff and confused a few things (I though the Lehvak-Kal on the cover of Makuta's Revenge was Makuta himself, for example) but I was so engrossed and inspired by the BIONICLE universe it didn't matter. I was motivated to take up reading as a hobby and see what other great worlds I could discover, and soon became a reading nut, devouring whatever I found that interested me. 

 

This extensive reading led me to develop an interesting in writing, and I began my own book series, drawing on elements from my life, various TV shows I watched, and of course BIONICLE. Greg's books especially were an inspiration, as they showed me ways to improve my writing by putting in more nuanced characterization, better plots, and ways to challenge my characters. I also began to branch out, working on a guidbook for my series (inspired by BIONICLE's guidebooks), writing a ninjutsu research book (I practiced it up until a few years ago), a mystery novel, a story about storms that ravaged the Earth, etc. I eventually gained a reputation in my school as a writer and even got published in a magazine, and am currently working to get a full-fledged, 300 page plus novel published, which I co-authored with a friend. My reading helped my writing, and my grammar and vocabulary improved as well.

 

Naturally, all this reading got me interested in history, and I devoured tons of history books, on a wide variety of subjects. Aside from being extremely educational, it also inspired me in my writing as well. I became and still am a history nut, and in fact my three primary interests (reading, writing, and history) can all be linked back to BIONICLE. I'm heading to college soon, and what I major in will no doubt likely be influenced by those passionate interests of mine.

 

Aside from all that, BIONICLE was my childhood, quite literally. When I think of my time as a little kid, BIONICLE is what comes to mind most. It's given me so many wonderful memories its ridiculous. The thrill of seeing the leaked images of next wave of sets, of going to Toys R Us and seeing the set I want available on the shelf, of opening the boxes and putting together the set. My siblings and I would often use our collection of BIONICLE sets to make these giant epic stories, complete with plot twists and major battles. Those were some of the funnest times and really drove my imagination wild. I still remember the joy of following the storyline and every single plot development, of buying the books from Barnes and Nobles or Borders and admiring how nice the books looked and how awesome their content was. I loved watching the BIONICLE movies and letting myself become so emotionally invested in the story, like when I  cried over Matoro's fate in 2007,  and was stunned by the shock ending of 2008, etc. I still remember eagerly waiting for the new BIONICLE website update and exploring every nook and cranny, and the hours I spent playing games online. I literally devoted hundreds of hours to stuff like MNOG II, and worked hard to beat games like Piraka Attack. I found BZPower and lurked before finally becoming active, and found myself in a world full of fellow BIONICLE fans whom I both agreed and disagreed with, but were fans just the same, even if I often lost sight of that in those earlier years. The comics, the books, the sets, the website, the serials, even nagging Greg was he was still active here, all of it combined to give me a childhood experience that I will always treasure, I doubt anything else out there could have done that. I could not have asked for a better childhood.

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Credit goes to Linus Van Pelt (Formerly known as Cherixon) and Spectral Avohkii Enterprises

My Memoirs of the Dead entry, Reflectons:

http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=7351

 

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These days, I'm obsessed with playing video games, writing stories, and coming up with all these different universes with all of these different characters with their own back stories and personalities. As much as I love doing these things, they've never filled the hole in my heart that formed in 2010. Although I never got a BIONICLE set until 2005, I'd say I got in at a nice time. I have so many fond memories with BIONICLE. Nothing ever beats the smell of the inside of a fresh, new canister that you just opened up. While I probably erased a lot of good memories, I remember the wacky adventures a lot of my BIONICLEs had. My brother and I still play with them to this day, and we never settle for less.

 

But when I really think of how BIONICLE had benefited my life, I think of BZPower. Without BIONICLE, I wouldn't know of BZPower (which may not exist, depending if I hadn't known about BIONICLE or if it didn't exist). Without BZPower, I'd be a different person. These days, BZPower is a form of escapism for me, an escape from an uneventful life where special things happen rarely, all my time and energy is focused on school, and I'm normally stuck at home with only a small list of things to do. BIONICLE and BZpower are the light in that darkness. Without them, I'd probably be very depressed or just be too emotionless to realize how sad I'd truly be. I have friends here on BZPower that I haven't and probably will never meet, but they all mean so much to me. I actually like them more than some friends I've had in the past. They helped me through a really dark time, and I don't wanna think about how my world would cope without me.

 

So, thank you, BIONICLE, for bringing me here. :)

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mindeth the cobwebs

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Bionicle had given me hope, passion, and thrive of an epic quest for adventure. One of the things I was grateful for was that it partly inspired me to try out new things, and one of them was being able to obtain an internship from one of my favorite companies. 

Now with the rumor that Bionicle is coming back once again; my hope, passion, and thrive of an epic quest for adventure is returning once again. I was able to land a job, not from one of my top favorite companies. thats ok. But one of the most respectable companies, which is equally just as good. I just feel happy.

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Well, BIONICLE certainly has sapped a lot of my money that probably could have gone towards better uses in my life. :P

 

(And for the record, the money used was completely worth it)

Agreed.

 

Without Bionicle, I would never have found BZP, and without BZP, my typing skills wouldn't have been developed, I wouldn't have learned how to make parcels, use the internet, etc... Of course, later on my life I probably would have learned how to do these things but BZP initiated the learning process alot earlier. It may be small things, but it's the little things that miake you happy, I guess. This is all thanks to Bionicle. :)

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As being one of the younger(est) members it was *almost* too late for me to catch on to bionicle and I barely did it! My first bionicle was Hahli Inika. I was 6 back then I didn't know english Ihad no idea there was a story! However I didn't hook up to it when I got my first bionicle. I played Bionicle Heroes in an internet cafe after seeing it already open and as soon as we got home I tried to look at bionicle a little more. It was 2007 Inıka was no more so I tried to get some mahri sets but not before getting my favorite set: Jaller Inika. I personally hated moc's I liked to keep my sets original and thought it was BS to mix sets and thus today I'm a horrible mocist. my moc's use the Inika build with slight add-ons like technic pieces to make them look more beefed up and such. While the original bionicle was DA AWESOMEST bibble-dee-doop in my entire life, a new reboot(?) wouldn't make me hate bionicle if it was bad. I don't hate HF it's pretty cool if you ask me but some people are acting like HF is a black guy in 1950's (no offense/racism intended). I personally think that some of the older sets were better and I seek them on the internet and get them whenever I can. EVERY COIN "WASTED" ON THIS IS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!1!!!!!one11111!

Edited by Makaru
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Just because you're trash doesn't mean you can't do great things.


It's called garbage can, not garbage cannot!

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6819123733_6421b845be_z.jpg

 

Bionicle introduced me to BZPower, hence the above, but that image doesn't really do it justice: the sheer amount of information I have gained and refined through yonder website cannot be described in a small amount of words. 

 

As for Bionicle itself, where do I start? I've always been a writer, but Bionicle really opened my horizons for me. Previously most of my stories were rooted in the real world - Bionicle showed me that you could design something completely different - a world with non-human characters and fantastic stuff that we don't have here. Other stories helped with that, but Bionicle was the most unusual, the most out there. 

 

It also helped me to stand up for myself and my preferences. It was okay to be different. A lot of my childhood was the "conform, submit, obey" message, and I've always thought that was not cool. But in Bionicle, we have the ice Toa over here and the Fire Toa over here, and the Stone Toa, and they were all different. But that story itself was so unusual, that it was a class of its own, that when people made fun of me for liking Bionicle I could just shrug it off and say that they didn't appreciate true originality. :P Bionicle was evidence that people could like weird, out there stuff, and that it was okay.  

 

I also have to credit Bionicle for getting me into computers, learning computer maintenance to try to squeeze every inch of speed out of my parent's slow dial-up. It also started my fascination with the internet (how do these games work, anyway?) and I'm getting a web design degree now, so it might have some influence there. :shrugs:

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From my first set, a Tahnok-Kal from Costco, I knew BIONICLE was more than just a toy. I remember wanting to explore the volcanic landscape Tahnok-Kal was standing on, or any of the mysterious background the other characters had. I discovered the comics not too long after. I loved every page. I wanted nothing more than to go to Mata Nui or Metru Nui and learn everything I could about this strange world where nobility is rewarded and bad guys get what they deserve.

 

My first writings were poorly-written BIONICLE fanfics. I eventually graduated to average BIONICLE fanfics. Like the Great Beings, by desire to create grew by bounds until I started making up my own new worlds. They started off as BIONICLE-inspired landscapes but eventually grew into places I view as real, with their own governments, histories, and cultures. I'm currently creating the epitome of this with my largely BIONICLE-inspired ELIKO dystopian science fiction novel.

 

BIONICLE has also influenced my spirituality. I'll try to limit my religious commentary, but I left Catholicism in eighth grade over disillusion with the concept of faith. The core tenets of my lifestyle became Unity, Duty, and Destiny, and later the MNOG Kolhii philosophy system. Other works, like MLP:FiM, also factored into my self-made religion of sorts. I replaced God with the Great Spirit, my personal name for everything at work that hasn't been proven to me.

 

Lastly, am I the only one who used BIONICLE as a dating system? Like, if I have to remember 2004, I think of the Legends of Metru Nui arc and work from there. If I need to remember what year I was in a certain grade, I remember which sets were out then. 2003 with Tahnok-Kal was really the start of when my memories became a continuous narrative and not isolated events, and 2011-2014 has sort of felt like one big year to me.

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"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

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If it weren't for BIONICLE, I don't know if I'd be anywhere near as involved in the LEGO fan community as I am now. I was a LEGO fan long before BIONICLE, but didn't participate in online discussions or go to LEGO conventions. I might not even still be a LEGO fan — after all, BIONICLE carried me through the time period when most LEGO fans enter their "dark ages".

 

I started studying the LEGO color palette as a direct result of being a BIONICLE fan. I wanted to improve the colors in my BIONICLE art, so I started looking for "official" RGB values for the LEGO colors, and this led me to discover the surprising relationships between well-known and obscure LEGO colors. Today, I'm considered a go-to expert on the LEGO color palette on some sites.

 

My time here on BZPower gave me a direct insight into the human effort that goes into creating the LEGO themes I know and love, thanks to things like the Ask Greg or various designer interviews linked from BZPower news. Today I count a lot of LEGO designers, writers, and art directors among my role models. And while my dreams of becoming a LEGO designer myself can seem perpetually out-of-reach, I still cling to them. I have a profound respect for content creators in general, as a matter of fact, especially people who create toys and entertainment media. LEGO designers have actually reached out to me on some sites to tell me how much they appreciate the level of understanding and appreciation I bring to discussions.

 

Now, I'd be lying if I said that everything BIONICLE did for me was positive. My forays into BIONICLE fanfiction are downright embarrassing, for the most part, and any time I even think about writing a story nowadays they discourage me from it. I certainly have given up any hope of being a fiction writer as a career. Also, my desire to be a LEGO designer drove me to study Industrial Design at Wentworth Institute of Technology, an utterly soul-crushing experience that left me reeling for many months after just one year. My optimism I had after graduating from Landmark College was utterly squandered and I no longer see any future for myself in higher education.

 

But overall, I think I'm a better person for having been a BIONICLE fan. It helped me to grow up, helped me to understand the Internet, helped me to understand society in general, and gave me a real appreciation for the brilliance of my fellow human beings. If BIONICLE hadn't been there, perhaps I would have learned these same lessons through some other childhood experience. There's no way to really know. But in any case, I'm grateful.

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Now, I'd be lying if I said that everything BIONICLE did for me was positive. My forays into BIONICLE fanfiction are downright embarrassing, for the most part, and any time I even think about writing a story nowadays they discourage me from it. I certainly have given up any hope of being a fiction writer as a career.

As an aspiring writer who used BIONICLE to build up my ability, I'll tell you that it's true you're your own worst critic. My early BIONICLE stuff was awesome, but I naturally gained skill. You should never feel afraid to give it another chance.

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"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

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Now, I'd be lying if I said that everything BIONICLE did for me was positive. My forays into BIONICLE fanfiction are downright embarrassing, for the most part, and any time I even think about writing a story nowadays they discourage me from it. I certainly have given up any hope of being a fiction writer as a career.

As an aspiring writer who used BIONICLE to build up my ability, I'll tell you that it's true you're your own worst critic. My early BIONICLE stuff was awesome, but I naturally gained skill. You should never feel afraid to give it another chance.

 

How true. Despite my own years of experience as a writer, I still hate (or at least dislike) most every fanfic I write. Even though most of my readers love my work and rarely have anything negative to say about it, I still have a hard time believing I'm any good. Just the nature of being a writer I guess. Nothing ever comes out quite the way I imagine it.

 

Back to the topic at hand: Bionicle changed my life by inspiring me to become a professional fiction writer. I haven't yet achieved that dream, but I have published a few books this year already and plan to publish at least one more before the year's out, which I wouldn't have ever done if I hadn't spent countless hours writing Bionicle fanfics and listening to the criticism I've received from my readers and fellow writers. I doubt I'd know what career to take if I hadn't started writing fanfics and realized how much I'd love to write stories as my job.

 

Bionicle is the main reason I love to read as well. Loved reading the Bionicle novels when I was a kid. The comics were pretty good, too, but the books are where it's at.

 

Also thanks to Bionicle, I'm far more knowledgeable about fandoms and the Internet in general, which has helped me avoid some of the dumber aspects of both, heh.

 

-TNTOS-

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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

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Bionicle served as a boost to my imagination. That's a very bad way of describing it, so I'll go more in depth.

 

When I was about 4 years old, I loved Thomas the Tank Engine. I would build tracks and make stories and all sorts of creative stuff. As I got older, I became more interested in drawing. I drew Thomas trains :P

 

However, as I began to lose interest in drawing, I became a less creative person. I'd go play video games at my friends house, or play sports, etc.

 

When I found Bionicle, however, my imagination was renewed, in a sense. I built characters, I made islands, I sat in the room holding my toys for hours, though for me it was an adventure through the magical Matoran Universe. I remained interested in Bionicle for a long time, and thus I kept being creative for a long time, until Bionicle ended and I lost interest.

 

But Bionicle's effect on me was not lost. I wrote stories, first about Bionicle, but later I branches out to other subjects.

 

While this may not be a big deal, or deep, or anything, it was important to me in my life.

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"Sometimes a hero has to do something else besides beat the villains and come home covered in glory. Sometimes, he has to make a sacrifice so that a lot of people, people he's never met before and who don't know his name, can live." -Hahli

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