Alyska

The only reasons Hero Factory might end are if:A. Kids aren't buying sets, in which case Lego may stop producing constraction lines altogether, or,B. Kids aren't responding to the story, although I think their first course of action in that case would be to re-tool HF into something a bit different, which is possible given the flexible storyline.C. They get a licensing deal with a film/TV show to produce constraction figures based on their characters. If this line was too popular, it would cannibalise sales of Hero Factory, leading Lego to look into more licensed products than creating their own franchises.Edit: Or D, a director approaches them with a pitch for a Bionicle film. To tie in with the movie, Lego starts putting out Bionicle sets again, sacrificing Hero Factory.

Not to mention the other brony-nods, like Bic Mac liking a "girls' toy" in Lesson Zero.

Hmm... not many fans of Western animation there...

And was I the only one who thought Dash's wing trapped under the rock looked really weird?

Nope. She was stuck there by one feather... which was apparently stretchy.

^Well, I think you could do a nice post-apocalyptic setting with run-down, gloomy environments and cobbled-together technology for the heroes' base and vehicles. That could make for some cool sets, so it wouldn't be all about the characters.

We can add Derpy to the list of ponies who might be chickens. She appeared in the henhouse at the end of the song.Also, for a moment there I thought that eagle really had been decapitated. I guess I really should know better by now...

Hewkii and Kongu as a couple? That would make the ugliest kissing banner ever!

Pfft, what are you talking about? The Suletu, man. ^///^ XDD Though, I'm not a fan of Hewkii's mask at all... Glad that changed as a Mahri. (Though, Kongu should have kept the Suletu... I mean, he should have just kept his Inika form in general)Back on topic -cough-Yeah, I agree with you there, Alyska. Nikila is actually a character I'm very curious about. I know she was good friends with Lessovik, I know she was good with tactics... I know little else, yet her character still appeals to me. I'd love to see more of her (and it would help me loads with a project I'm working on. XP).I don't really remember a Nidhiki/Lariska moment. Do you remember the book/story it's from by any chance?

The short story, "Birth of a Dark Hunter". It's been a while since I read it, but I seem to remember that they became quite close once Lariska stopped threatening to stab him.

Also, while the Transformers films were mostly geared towards adults, a lot of kids went to see them and enjoyed them. I would question the ethics of marketing such a film while cartoons that six year olds watch were on, but that was what they did, and it worked.The second film wasn't sure who it was aimed at. Michael Bay claimed that characters like Mudflap and Skids were aimed at children, but many of the jokes and language in the film just weren't appropriate for kids at all.Now, I don't mind the odd naughty joke in a kids' film, as long as it's subtle and clever. Classic example: In the first Shrek film, when the characters see Lord Farquaad's very tall tower, and Shrek remarks that he's "compensating for something". I found that funny as a kid, because I assumed they were referring to his height, and it's just as funny now that I'm an adult. But unsubtle, in-your-face "I am beneath the enemy's wrecking balls" ? No. Just... no.And he didn't even have the decency to use the term "wrecking balls"!

@Alyska: I remember quite a bit back we talked about all the Double Standards and Unfortunate Implications (unfortunately we can't apparently say the site, cause it has forums. Are you kidding me.). It's a shame cause it harms both genders.

Yeah, it's a shame. I think the discussion would be enhanced if we could link to it, but I guess if anyone's curious they can just Google some of these terms. We could possibly even put quotes from it here if we're vague enough about where they came from. That's a general tip for anyone talking to me who doesn't know what we're on about. If I start capitalising seemingly random words and you want to know what they mean, either Google them or you can ask about it me via PM.

Anyway, still trying to get the imagery of Hewkii and Kongu out of my head before I fall in love with the pairing and start shipping it (Kongu had better be wary of Macku XD), but you're right. They really didn't have much chemistry going on in the books. I wonder if that was just to shy away from the elephant in the room of "OMG, Jaller + Hahli = romance" expectation that the fans had?

Yeah, it's probably that. I still don't see why their entire friendship had to be almost retconned, though. And shippers gonna ship regardless of how much-or how little- material you give them. Greg's shown that he can portray fun and interesting female-male friendships, although most of them were only in brief spurts (Lariska and Nidhiki, Nikila and Lesovikk), so I think he's wasted a good opportunity here.Hewkii and Kongu as a couple? That would make the ugliest kissing banner ever!

Does the trademark thing mean that every single name needs to be used over the next five years?Maybe Greg could do a series of one-shot stories that recapped what all the main characters were doing over the next few years, instead of another serial.

I actually want to see a Macku-Hewkii team-up with Macku still as a Matoran. I wouldn't mind whether it took a romantic or platonic interpretation of their relationship, but things would have to have changed. Hewkii would obviously see it as his duty to keep her safe, and Macku could start to think that he no longer saw her as an equal or respected her. Cue arguing/awkwardness/unresolved tension. And, I'm not entirely convinced that Jaller and Hahli would be happy together now. That's one thing that really bothers me about decanonising the romance- those two don't seem to be particularly close, even as friends any more (at least, no more so than the rest of the Inika. Hewkii and Kongu have much more chemistry than those two.) Jaller seems much more serious and distant after becoming a Toa. And Hahli seemed closer to Matoro, which makes sense given that they both had some self-confidence issues.

A Bionicle movie aimed at 7-12 yer old kids? What are you, nuts?It's going to be a romantic comedy aimed at middle-aged women!Kidding, kidding. I think a talented filmmaker could make a movie that appeals to both kids and adults. If you're making a movie based on a toyline, and it doesn't appeal to kids, it's not going to do very well. You want to make your audience as broad as possible.

A Bionicle movie has the highest chance of being made if the Lego movie is a success and they want to do spin-offs. Lego's film is being filmed/animated by an Australian studio, which will probably be responsible for future projects if they do a good job......which means......HughJackmanasPohatuHughJackmanasPohatuHughJackManPohatuPohathughPohathughwheeeeeeeeeeee....... [/crazy_fangirl]

@Katuko- I think she should have just given Orde a harmless 50 volts or so. It would have served the same purpose of establishing her as not-gentle, and would have been funnier, in my opinion. Orde would have deserved it more than the lizard did.As for my sig, I came up with that in the last Bzpower Girls' corner, in response to all the "KIIINA AND GRESH!" "NOOOOO, KIINA AND BERIX" that was going on. Bionicle doesn't provide much material for female/female 'ships, since it's rare to see two female characters so much as interacting.@Tekulo- I agree about the equality thing. One thing I've started to notice is that something that is sexist against women is actually far more likely to get called out and discussed than something that is sexist against men, and that to me is quite dangerous. And it of course enforces a huge double standard: that women need to be defended from sexism, while men should be able to just shrug it off.Classic example: Brony haters. If someone was saying I shouldn't like Bionicle because I'm female, they'd immediately get shot down in flames. But criticising a man for liking something aimed at girls? That's okay!I'm sure the topic is flexible enough to cover equality in general, if that's what you'd like to talk about.

From what I can tell, there were several groups of complainers:

• [*]Those who thought that Greg was being sexist because of the "female equals gentle" logic. (It was actually meant to establish that the Great Beings were the ones being sexist. (This group kind of missed the point.)

• [*]The second group was complaining about the first group, because they thought that the "female equals gentle" logic was perfectly reasonable, and didn't see what all the fuss was about. (This group also missed the point.)

• [*]The third group just didn't think Chiara should have zapped that poor lizard. I tend to agree with this, since the act of hurting an innocent animal is often used to characterise someone as cruel and violent (It was done quite a bit when the Piraka were introduced). According to Greg, Chiara is not meant to be like that at all. When you're in the early stages of introducing a character, it's important to remember that everything they do is going to influence how the audience percieves a character.

My views:

• [*]I actually quite like the "sexist Great Beings" explanation, as it explains so much anbout the Matoran Universe. Why are there more male Matoran than females? Because the GBs thought that males would be more useful for the functioning of the universe than females! It all makes perfect sense.[*]However, I don't get why Orde had to be male in the first place. It can't have been just so we could get that one-off piece of backstory, and Greg has said that he's not going to write about gender issues ever again after this little piece of controversy. Part of the reason so many people voted for Psionics and Lightning to be on the new team was so that we could have two female Toa on the same team. I'll give Greg the benefit of the doubt and assume he had a memory lapse, but if that's the case, he should think about getting himself an editor who is familiar with the Bionicle canon. I'm sure one of the S&T staff would be happy to do it.[*]I want to like Chiara, but I don't. She's obviously intended to be a strong female character, but she's a bit two dimensional at this stage, and she hasn't done anything significant in the story so far. I hope later chapters spend more time fleshing out her personality.

I have a few more points I'd like to make on this, but I've tried typing it out in full twice, and my computer crashed both times. I'll probably edit this post and elaborate later.

No, there's actually a Bionicle character named Chiara. She's a Toa of Lightning introduced in the web serial "The Yesterday Quest". Chapter 2 was particularly infamous for its handling of gender issues.

I think Roodaka's personality and design were decided on by the animation studio that made WoS, rather than Lego. I mean, Lego set designers came up with the set, but apparently it was one of several, and the less "feminine" designs were rejected by the people making the movie. Greg handled her personality quite well in the later years, as she obviously relied on her wits to manipulate people, rather than her... um, energy pods, or whatever those things on her chest are. :PI like to assume that the males of her species look exactly the same as the females. That would really mess with the fans.

I guess the thing to do would be to go through the forum archives, find interesting old topics, and repost them here. Some of them may not be relevant or allowed any more, but there's bound to be some gems if you dig far enough.

My dad once used the term "Gadunkadunkadunkadunka" to describe the sound of our dog running across a wooden bridge. And he knows nothing of Bionicle, so it was just sheer coincidence. I nearly fell off my chair when he said that.Also, another awesome name: Pouks.It suited him as a Rahaga, but it must be hard to be a noble and dignified Toa with an adorable name like that.

.Lariska is a very appealing name to me for some reason, and it helps that I like her character.

I once flicked through a book about what your name supposedly says about you, and claimed to be able to read your fortune based on it. It was mostly rubbish, of course, but it claimed that names with the letters "l", "r" and "s" were the "sexiest" names. So, there you go.

That doesn't look like AJ. :PAnd how could she drive a truck?

No it doesn't, though I'm more annoyed that the truck is pink, instead of say, red. To drive it, she'd use sticks attached to her legs to she could reach the peddles, and for the steering wheel she'd take a rope, wrap one end around her left hoof, thread it through the wheel, and wrap the other end around her right hoof. Problem solved.

So, I woke up this morning with a big, curly Rarity-lock, just like the one Twilight got from the loopdy-hoop.I didn't know what to do with it, so I kept it. I've already overheard one person say that they really like my mane hair.

Keep it. If you're caucasian like Rarity, then you should dye it purple and your look would instantly become 20% cooler. Oh, and don't forget to take pics of your awesomeness.

I'm fairly pale, but nowhere near Rarity-white. As awesome as that suggestion is, I don't think it would hold if I tried to dye it. My default hairstyle is actually closer to Pinkie Pie( I'm pretty sure Rarity doesn't get frizz like I do).And I wouldn't want to have a Rarity-curl all the time. It gets in my face, and people keep trying to play with it. Not to metion the small, purple dragons that might start following me...

So, I woke up this morning with a big, curly Rarity-lock, just like the one Twilight got from the loopdy-hoop.I didn't know what to do with it, so I kept it. I've already overheard one person say that they really like my mane hair.

True. And, yes, a comedic female character would be nice. And, if there were two female characters on a team of six Toa, the comedic character might replace the role of a Toa of Air, or something similar to that. But yes, it is difficult for male writers. Female writers would know how to write the characters out, I suppose. And, although that would be slightly funny, it would be sexist to most. But, if it were written like that, the character probably wouldn't get any screen time because she is not an intellectual of sorts.

I don't think it's necessarily harder for male writers to actually write them (That may be the case with some lesser writers, but definitely not Greg), but men are more likely to be criticised for their portrayals of women than female writers. Add that to external influences like Lego wanting predominantly male characters, and it's not surprising that most of the female characters in Bionicle go the "safe" route personality-wise. Even the more balanced characters like Hahli seem to be less flawed than their male companions.And ironically, I'm being pretty nitpicky and over-analytical myself, which only makes Greg's job even harder. :POf course, it's not always better for female writers, since female writers with female lead characters are much more likely to attract cries of "Mary Sue!" than male writers with female leads. Male characters in general also seem less likely to get called Sues/Stus. (I'm pretty sure that if Batman was a Bat-woman, she'd cop that criticism a lot more often than the male version does).

I'm a guy but I have long hair, can I lurk?

It says in the first post, gents are allowed. Even long-haired ones.

With regard to stopping time, couldn't you just have your own little time-bubble, rather than stopping all the time in the universe? As in, time passes for you inside the bubble, while no time passes for everything else. Of course, that raises questions about what happens when a person in the time-bubble interacts with an object outside it...I sort of agree about time powers being the most powerful/dangerous. I was planning on writing something involving two sisters, one of whom had the time powers, and the other having the "hammerspace" . But I decided that the former was too overpowered, so now they're both going to have access to hammerspace...Or maybe one could have hammerspace and the other could have HAMMERTIME!

It's going to be filmed/animated in Australia!

I've seen pictures of the toys and demo videos of them in action. Corny and not impressive. For example, Celestia is pink, and the light-up version says "I love to make new friends." (It should be "I enjoy banishing siblings to the moon for a thousand years.") After seeing that, I've sworn off official pony merchandise.

Hey, Hasbro! I have a suggestion for a new toy!It's a Twilight Sparkle doll that says "READING IS HAAAAARRRRD!".