Alyska

I'm half expecting maybe one exception to the "father to son" thing among the current protectors- lack of a male heir, the daughter in question showing exceptional leadership skills, etc. But the other half of me thinks they'll all be male because that's the way things tend to work around here.

What I don't get is why explicitly father to son? Why make a society who are meant to be good guys have a political system that is rigidly patriarchal? Why could the masks not be passed down "from generation to generation"?

So, w still don't know anything about the Protectors' personalities, other than that they're presumably all male.

Although, this does seem to imply that all villages would have inhabitants of both genders, in theory.

Just got my copy. Gonna try playing this one in French, since I'm learning the language at the moment- automatically converts gaming time into fun study time.

Also gonna make Masuda-ing much easier.

Y'know, Olivia from Friends as a Master Builder would be an interesting idea. I've seen a few fan creations that show her piloting giant robots and other crazy-awesome stuff, and yet she also wears pink and does traditionally feminine things as well. It'd be a great way to mess around with gender expectations AND address some of the stigma associated with the minidoll.

(Plus, imagine official sets of Olivia in a giant pink mecha. Imagine thousand of little girls dragging their mothers down the toy shop aisles demanding pink mecha for Christmas. What it is, is beautiful.)

Also, it'd been bugging me for a while over who it was that Missy reminded me of, then I remembered Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove. 

And now the mental image of Missy wanting to turn the Doctor into a flea, and put the flea into a box, and mail the box to herself, and then SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER won't leave me alone.

So, I gave that Trick or Treat Friendly thing a go- I did okay last night -7/10 wins, mostly thanks to Weakness Policy Aegislash and a gimmicky Mega Banette carrying Shadow Ball, Phantom Force, Shadow Sneak and Imprison (No STAB for you!), but I am getting absolutely whupped today by Sableye, of all things, that burns, taunts and then stalls out with Recover- and they're all faster than my own Sableye to boot.

I'm gonna try again later after Japan's gone to bed. 

11 was softer and more optimistic than 9 and 10, though still, of course, flawed. One thing about the Doctor as a character, though- regardless of the mistakes he makes, you shouldn't be left with the impression that somebody else would have done a much better job (at least, not often). Ten frequently fell into that trap- situations where someone should have been saved, but he failed because of his ego, or some other little thing, or he neglected someone's right to decide their own fate (Donna is the prime example). There were some great female characters during his run, yes, but the sheer number of them killed off or otherwise disposed of just to make him feel angstier was horrendous. It was a credit to David Tennant's acting that his doctor was as charismatic as he was in spite of the atrocities he committed. Not to mention the fact that Twelve's constant put-downs of Clara pale in comparison to how he treated Martha.

Eleven, generally, made better decisions and did not trip up on his own ego nearly as often. His primary flaw, I think, was his habit of going behind people's backs and witholding vital information about them, and lying, of course, which has been passed onto Twelve. It started with Amy's pregnancy (kinda understandable given that he thought they were being watched, but still not okay), but really became disturbing when Clara was introduced- particularly his breakdown in Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. There was a general clinginess he had towards Clara as well, that felt a bit off to me.

It'd be interesting to discuss what a "good" set of flaws for The Doctor to have would be.

I don't, unfortunately, and I'm a bit rubbish in the technical drawing department. But if you do a Google search for Celtic Armour, you sort of get an idea how the shapes might overlap in a more streamlined, elegant way- add a few more curves, ornate patterns and some brighter colours and you'd probably be on your way to a strong design with cross-gender appeal. I think the key is to have enough overlapping shapes to disguise the ball joints, which are the main source of the "clunkiness". And, of course, there are hundreds of streamlined and feminine MOCs out there built with existing parts for your perusal if you choose.

 

 

How would they even go about making constraction sets that don't involve robots/animal people wearing things on their heads? Unless, of course... Galidor style sets...

 

This is the main reason that I doubt this idea. Constraction doesn't lend itself well to smooth, clean looking creations. It's blocky and often rather clunky, which is a major complaint many people have been having about the new Toa. The only way I could see something like that happening would be something along the lines of Galidor, but given the utter flop that was, I don't see it happening. (Nor do I want it to.)

 

I can picture some new limb and torso pieces that use smoother designs, possibly incorporating some swirly Celtic-looking designs for armour rather than mechanical-looking shapes.

One thing I was unsure about when I did my own concept was whether the characters have tools/weapons. I'd lean towards "yes, kind of"- they certainly wouldn't be enormous and bulky like the Bionicle ones, but I think a magic wand, staff, even the odd sword or bow if it fitted the character wouldn't go astray. And the success of toys like the Nerf Rebelle suggests that some girls might even appreciate a blaster or two.

It's weirding me out how close the idea you're describing is to a thing I did a couple of years back.

Okay- bit of background- it started with a discussion on here as to whether Bionicle could or should have more gender neutral appeal with a few slight tweaks (more female characters, cleaner, more streamlined designs, and some wider-reaching story media.)

The response generally was "Nope, wouldn't work." Even from GregF himself.

So I tried a different tack. I posted a concept on Lego Cuusoo (the early form of Lego Ideas, which was less rigid about project guidelines and still accepted ideas for themes). The project is long gone now, but the concept was very similar to what you described. It was a magical girl series about a group of teenage girls with powers based on various mythical creatures, who had to defend their home town from magical beasts who got in through dimensional portals, as well as human villains who sought to use them for their own ends. I never did MOCs for them, but the designs I drew were basically a more feminine version of the Marvel/DC constraction builds, with humanlike faces. 

It got a bit of positivity and a bit of criticism- I think the main thing is that it got people thinking about the possibility. I got praised for being feminist and also rather brutally attacked for being sexist. So, it was a fun thought experiment while it lasted. 

Ultimately, though, while it would be a nice idea, it's not what I would really hope for in an ideal world. What I really want is a world where franchises like Bionicle percieve girls and young women as an important part of their audience , not just an "added bonus," and alter their marketing accordingly (Oh, well, at least they don't percieve a female audience as completely unwanted to the point of cancelling the thing, like in the case of Young Justice.)

I will tell you, though- if you're serious about this- more serious than I was two years ago-  and have access to some time and talent- here's what you do.

Start with the MOCs. Use as many existing parts as you can. Adjust the colours in Photoshop if you have to. Make the heads with a 3D printer, out of polymer clay, hey, even plasticine would do- you just need the "look" made up. Post these as individual projects on Lego Ideas if you like.

Have sketches and/or 3D renderings of any parts that don't exist (weapons, maybe?), and design a simplified "look" for the characters suitable for animation.

Now get writing. Get the backstory nice and tight, then write some little bios for your characters. Post them online- make a blog for this stuff, post it on DA, get a Facebook page, go on Twitter, Tumblr- everywhere you can get. 

Write comics, one-shot short stories, serialized fiction, start an in-character blog for one of the characters, get some of your friends together and record a podcast serial series. Build up a brand that stands on its own from just being girly Bionicle spinoff, and could exist independently of LEGO if it wanted to.

Be polite and responsive to people who want to help you out. Get some amateur animators, voice actors, artists, writers, web designers, game designers, whoever comes your way.

Every now and then LEGO puts out a call to the public for new story-based themes. If this happens, jump on it. If not, wait for public interest to rise independently, and then maybe, years down the track, you'll be a well-known producer of online transmedia content who walks into Lego's office with a story bible under one arm and an offer they can't refuse. 

So, basically, you can take this as far as you want if it's something you're truly passionate about. Good luck.

Yeah, there was a little bit of discussion of it with regards to gender a few pages back, but it's not too huge of an issue, thankfully. I think it is worth addressing now and then, but the only reason it's really noticeable I think is because Eris has the same trait. 

On the thing about Gali's new flaw- the whole "chicks aren't funny" thing is a bit of an unfortunate stereotype, but if you look at the list of traits given to the other Toa, there's very little that wouldn't be read as a negative gender stereotype if it was possessed by a female character.

Fear of the dark- women are wimpy and irrational

Reckless, ending up in trouble- women are helpless damsels that can't stay out of trouble and need to be rescued

Clumsy, bad sense of direction- women make terrible fighters and can't read maps

Forgetful- ditzy bimbo

Sleepy- Okay, no gender baggage here, but it wouldn't have fitted Gali's personality.

So, that's what happens when you try to write a flawed female character in a male-dominated environment- you can't reasonably expect one character to represent an entire gender. Hopefully, they will eventually balance her with a female character renown for her sense of humour.

Please don't spoil your next fanfiction masterpiece.

Oh fishers, surely we've had enough silly conversations over the years for you to know that I should never be allowed to write fanfiction. The idea is there for the taking.

Somebody make a continuity crossover with the old and new Toa meeting!

Bronies? Whut?If anything, this series seems to be less heavy on the "power of friendship unity" theme than the original, since it's implied that the Toa get along pretty well from the get-go, unlike the originals who started out wanting little to do with each other and had to learn a Very Important Lesson. Might be more lighthearted and comedic, but a healthy dose of comedy is the norm for most kids' media these days.

I heard that Monopoly and Candyland were in the works, and Ouija already has a trailer.

Yeah, Clara's feeling much, much more like a real person now- there are so many moments in the last series where Eleven would do or say something odd or creepy, and Clara just wouldn't react to that, and that might have been because of her crush on him. But now she's actually responding, actually calling him out and asserting how she feels, and she's no longer the Impossible Walking Plot Device/Sass Dispenser.

And I like Twelve's dynamic with her a lot- I like the fact that he's rude and gruff, and yet he obviously respects her intelligence far more than Eleven seemed to- she's not coddled and belittled any more, and is given more autonomy. And I like how the episode was in some ways reminiscent of The Waters of Mars, yet with the Doctor taking the complete opposite approach to the situation- he acted arguably out of humility and respect, and yet Clara took it as negligent and condescending.

Also great how the question for Clara is not necessarily "Can I trust the Doctor to do the right thing?", in this case it's "Should the Doctor trust me to do the right thing?" It's tremendously subtle in terms of writing- we've all had moments where we feel something has very nearly gone horribly wrong on our watch, and even though it turns out okay, and people are keen to reassure us of that, you can't help feeling like you're an incompetent buffoon that somehow gets repeatedly mistaken for a responsible adult. Beautifully written, and beautifully acted. 

I just had a weird thought... if Scotland had declared independence, would that have changed the unwritten "rules" for who could be cast as the Doctor? It would be blasphemy to suggest that they couldn't cast any more Scots on the grounds that they weren't British, and yet Scotland would be no more connected to Britain (except by geography) than Canada, New Zealand, Australia or any other Commonwealth country. So would a Canadian Doctor have to be considered equally plausible as a Scottish one?

About to start flooding Wonder Trade with Supersize Pumpkaboos. Kind of an experiment to see if I get any Gourgeists back.

 

which was cut due to being too similar to recent events in Britain

technically they were events in the Syro-Arabian desert.

 

Actually, I was referring to something else, but, yeah, that too.

As for new ep details... you know, being grabbed by the ankles in the dark like that seems to be such a common irrational fear, I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to get to it. Creepy stuff. (Wonder how many bed-related long jump injuries this episode will cause? )

Apparently there was going to be a beheading scene- which was cut due to being too similar to recent events in Britain. I don't know who or what got beheaded though- maybe a Missy scene was attached to that?

Is there a party-blower tongue involved?

...Don't answer that!

Oh, I see, another time traveller then?

I really liked Clara's characterisation in this episode. It's the first time in a while she's felt like a real person, rather than a questions and sass dispenser. I love that she doesn't trust the new Doctor, loses her temper and shouts when she's frustrated, cries helplessly when she's scared and had a rubbish first day as a teacher. I really hope this continues throughout the series.