PeabodySam

Thank you for your feedback! Though, could you tell me which parts seemed to be too busy to you? Being the artist with the vision, naturally my mind will overlook these parts and find ways to justify them. However, if they're pointed out to me, I'll be able to hone in on them and know for the future what doesn't actually work for others as well as the artist thinks it does. For the most part, though, I tried to stay away from getting too cluttered. Generally, I'll only use one song at a time as a melody, and then use a few non-melodic songs like the "Ko-Wahi Choir" to fill in the background. Since those other songs are non-melodic, I didn't think that they would clutter it up too much, but again, that's the bias of the artist's vision that may be affecting the way I perceive it. So, if you could point out those "messy" parts for me, it would definitely be helpful for the future.

Not enough to warrant its own topic on BZPower, but still an interesting subject that I feel should be discussed. Especially in the most boring blog on BZPower. First off, let us start by acknowledging that, outside of heavily story-oriented themes such as BIONICLE, LEGO has a very loose grip of canon that frequently contradicts itself and encourages each person to come up with his or her own personal interpretation, sometimes called MOCanon. With a canon as unreliable as LEGO's, one may ask, what's the point of analyzing it? To which Cave Johnson would reply, "Why not?" So, let's begin this journey into LEGO's confusing canon with everybody's favorite fedora-wearing adventurer himself, Johnny Thunder! Arguably one of LEGO's most popular and memorable original characters, having transcended years of absence from toy store shelves combined with a license for Indiana Jones by keeping his memory alive through the likes of Laser Raiders, LEGO Universe, and most recently The LEGO Movie. Everyone who was a fan of LEGO in the late 1990s and early 2000s remembers him fondly, and thanks to The LEGO Movie, a whole new generation will be introduced to his legacy. But did you know that Johnny Thunder has the largest genealogy of any original LEGO character? Let's begin with his dear comrade, Dr. Charles Kilroy (also known as Charlies Lightning, Articus, and Titus, among other names). This brilliant yet absent-minded professor has been by Johnny Thunder's side since his first adventures in Egypt and now goes hunting for the famed Jeweled Triceratops on My LEGO Network. He is not only one of Johnny Thunder's closest friends, but he is in fact Johnny Thunder's uncle according to the January/February 1998 issue of LEGO Mania magazine. Now, let us take a step back for a moment and consider this. Johnny Thunder is LEGO's answer to Indiana Jones, another famous fedora-wearing adventurer. In the third Indiana Jones film The Last Crusade, Indy is joined by his father Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. It is clear that Dr. Kilroy is LEGO's answer to Dr. Jones, and Kilroy being a close relative to Johnny supports this notion. Makes sense, right? Hold onto your hats, because here's where things start taking a turn for the strange and unusual. Johnny Thunder and the Adventurers were not the only products of the late 1990s. Enter the Time Cruisers in 1996, two years before the Adventurers hit store shelves. These sets follow the whimsy and wacky adventures of Dr. Cyber and his assistant Tim as they travel through time and meet the characters of other LEGO themes sharing the LEGO catalogue at the time. On the United States' side of the Atlantic, the Time Cruisers were a thing of the past by the time the Adventurers arrived... but not on the other side of the Atlantic. The German LEGO magazine World Club Magazine published a series of comics following the adventures of Tim and his faithful monkey Ali (also known as Ingo in other sources such as LEGO Mania). While LEGO Mania left the Time Cruisers back in 1996, World Club Magazine continued to follow their adventures through to the end of the year 2000, after which World Club Magazine was revamped to closely resemble its western counterpart. Until that time, the Time Cruisers kept cruising through time... and as 1998 rolled around, take a few guesses which new LEGO theme was featured in the comics. Extreme Team, of course! As the story progresses, it is revealed that Extreme Team was sent by Dr. Cyber to find Tim in the Wild West because Dr. Cyber's brother was in need of help. Oh, wow, Dr. Cyber has a brother? What's his name? Professor Articus. Hey, wait, haven't we heard that name before? You can either scroll up to check a few paragraphs above, or you can look at the comic's next page and see for yourself. Dr. Cyber is Dr. Kilroy's brother. And by extension, that makes him related to Johnny Thunder. But wait, that's not all! While it's not explicitly stated in the comics themselves or in any other LEGO media (as far as I know), one of the creators behind the comic series, Kim Hagen, did a write-up of the comic's concept which confirmed that Tim is, in fact, Dr. Cyber's nephew. So, thanks to the World Club Magazine, Johnny Thunder is related to Dr. Cyber and Tim from Time Cruisers. But we're not finished with Tim yet. Throughout the comic (and as mentioned in the write-up above), he is given the surname Timebuster. That name might not mean anything to you until you recall that there's a minifigure from the Town theme named Max Timebuster, featured prominently in commercials such as and , with his full name confirmed with this LEGO catalogue. "Timebuster" certainly cannot be a common last name, therefore it stands to reason that Max and Tim are thereby related... which would indicate that Max Timebuster is yet another one of Johnny Thunder's family members! Okay, now we're finished with Time Cruisers. Let's move on to another theme... Dino. When images of Dino's minifigures first arrived, I took a long look at this minifigure and noticed there was something familiar about him. He wore a loose khaki shirt with a belt strapped across his torso (starting at his left shoulder and extending down to his right hip) and a scarf around his neck. Although shaved, this minifigure has stubble resembling sideburns and a mustache, and his cocky expression with one raised eyebrow was unmistakeable. While his hatless head, shaved facial hair, and white shirt led me to doubt it was the Thunder himself, I could not help but wonder... was this minifigure another relative of Johnny Thunder? Weeks later, the LEGO Dino website goes live and reveals that his name is, in fact, Josh Thunder. Later, the 2012 edition of The LEGO Book briefly mentions the Dino theme and confirms that he is a descendant of Johnny Thunder. How many generations separate Johnny and Josh? It is not confirmed. Depending on your personal MOCanon (does the Adventurers theme take place in the 1930s or the 1990s?), Josh could be Johnny's son or grandson. But now it confirms that Johnny Thunder did have a son, whether that son is Josh himself or Josh's father. Before we get into any further speculation, here's a quick recap of Johnny Thunder's family tree so far. Charles Kilroy: uncle Dr. Cyber: uncle's brother Tim Timebuster: uncle's brother's nephew Max Timebuster: unknown relation to uncle's brother's nephew Josh Thunder: descendant Just to give you a heads-up, what follows is entirely based on future LEGO products that are subject to change, so there will be some speculation involved that stretches a little further than "Max is related to Tim". First, let us begin with a potential LEGO product that hasn't even been confirmed as a future LEGO product as of this writing: The Adventures of Steamrod, a CUUSOO project currently at 1,865 votes. By the way, you should all definitely go support that project because it's awesome, but enough about shameless plugs. What matters here is that this CUUSOO project is obviously one big homage to the Adventurers theme reimagined in a Steampunk setting. Who is the main heroic character? Sir Jonathan Bolt. And despite the striking family resemblance, he is merely a distant relative of Johnny Thunder. Why does this matter? Should the Adventures of Steamrod project receive another 8,135 votes, it could potentially see the light of day as a LEGO product if it passes review. And, depending on how much of the original concept is maintained in the final product, Sir Jonathan Bolt could very possibly become an official LEGO character, adding another member to Johnny Thunder's already surprisingly-extensive family tree. But there is another reason why I bring up Sir Jonathan Bolt. Like Timebuster, I cannot imagine that Bolt is a particularly common surname. And there will be a character in the upcoming LEGO Ultra Agents theme who shares that surname: Curtis Bolt. According to various sources, the minifigure currently identified as Curtis Bolt does not bear much of a resemblance to Johnny Thunder. However, I believe that this is based on incorrect preliminary information that is subject to change (remember when Brick Daddy was called the Brickfather in early material?), and I've got strong evidence to support my hypothesis. For you see, there is another minifigure currently identified as Solomon Blaze according to that same preliminary information. But wait a second, Solomon Blaze is a character from last year's Galaxy Squad theme. It wouldn't be the first time in recent LEGO history that a minifigure from one theme shows up in another later theme (most notably, Brains from Power Miners later showed up in the Atlantis theme), so it's very possible that Solomon Blaze will return this year as a member of the Ultra Agents... but this guy looks nothing like him! Instead, he looks like... like... hold on. Crooked mustache. Cocky expression. Raised eyebrow. He looks like Johnny Thunder! Just like Josh Thunder, "Solomon Blaze" looks like a relative of Johnny Thunder. In comparison, "Curtis Bolt" looks more like last year's Solomon Blaze; while their facial expressions aren't exactly the same, they're both young, clean-shaven, and have some sort of high-tech gadget over one eye. Thus, leads me to my hypothesis that the preliminary information identifying the two minifigures mixed them up: "Curtis Bolt" is actually Solomon Blaze and "Solomon Blaze" is actually Curtis Bolt. After all, wouldn't it make more sense that the character named Bolt bears a striking resemblance to Thunder? Now, I know what you're thinking. Even if I'm right about the name mix-up, Curtis Bolt is a futuristic secret agent. Josh Thunder, at least, is a character in a spiritual successor to Johnny Thunder's Dino Island adventure, so that connection makes sense. What sort of connection would there be between Johnny Thunder and some secret agent? Two words: James Bond. ... What does that have to do with anything? Johnny Thunder is based on Indiana Jones. According to several sources, Indiana Jones is in fact based on James Bond. This is why Spielberg and Lucas cast Sean Connery in the role of Dr. Henry Jones, Sr., because that would mean that James Bond is literally Indiana Jones's father. Back in 1998, LEGO created Dr. Kilroy as an answer to Henry Jones, Sr. If my hypothesis is correct, "Solomon Blaze" is not only actually named Curtis Bolt but also strongly implied to be another reference to Henry Jones, Sr. And if Sir Jonathan Bolt is canonized by CUUSOO, then the relationship between Johnny Thunder and Curtis Bolt would only be further supported. So now, let's do another quick recap including these speculative members of Johnny Thunder's family: Charles Kilroy: uncle Dr. Cyber: uncle's brother Tim Timebuster: uncle's brother's nephew Max Timebuster: unknown relation to uncle's brother's nephew Josh Thunder: descendant Jonathan Bolt: distant relative Curtis Bolt: unknown relation to distant relative Johnny Thunder's family tree would include seven other members. Considering typical LEGO families, that's a surprisingly extensive list spanning five LEGO themes and one CUUSOO set. That's all that we have for today. By now, I imagine you're quite bored with all this talk about genealogy and family trees and confusing ties between LEGO themes. In that case, this blog has served its purpose well. But now, at least you can walk away with more useless trivia about plastic Danish figures that will never help you in real life!

"I have slept for so long. My dreams have been dark ones. But now I am awakened. Now the scattered elements of my being are rejoined. Now I am whole. And the darkness cannot stand before me." ----- Special thanks to the BioMedia Project, which provided the PDF for the comic and the music files used for this project. Last summer, an idea dawned upon me as I was listening to samples of the BIONICLE soundtrack. It was an idea that was simple in concept: using only the soundtrack composed for various BIONICLE media, create a soundtrack for the BIONICLE comics, beginning with the one that started it all: The Coming of the Toa. Retell the story that hooked and recapture the magic that intrigued. In the final days of September, I finally started working on this project... and after nearly six painstaking months, I have finished While my original intentions were to create such a soundtrack for every BIONICLE comic, as I worked on this and poured more and more time and effort into it, I came to believe that this was no longer a realistic goal, considering how long it took to produce this one alone. In fact, at one point, I considered just doing the first page and nothing else, but I pushed myself to keep going. As such, if I were you, I would not expect Deep into Darkness or any other future installments in the foreseeable future. With this in mind, I decided to go "all out" for The Coming of the Toa and worked on it as though it would be the only comic I would do, making certain artistic choices along the way that I probably would have saved for a later comic had I stuck with my original idea. Note that I was less concerned about creating an actual "soundtrack" for the comic and more concerned with capturing the atmosphere and telling the story, hence why the first page alone is nearly three minutes in length. Atmosphere especially was important to me, since the goal of this project was to recapture that magic of the mystery, wonder, and myths surrounding the island of Mata Nui which made it so appealing to us older fans back when we were wee young lads in 2001 and discovering this wondrous new world for the first time as we wondered not only why there was some weird DC comic packaged with our LEGO Mania magazine but also why I'm going on and on in a rambling run-on sentence that most of you probably have stopped reading by now because I'm a nostalgic old timer who's ranting about things back in my day like that one crazy old man who always lectures you about walking to school in the snow uphill both ways. The music used here is largely derived from three sources: Mata Nui Online Game, BIONICLE: The Game, and the Miramax BIONICLE film trilogy. MNOLG especially was important to this mix; not only is the MNOLG soundtrack a key component of that early BIONICLE atmosphere, but thanks to the BioMedia Project, much of it is broken down into single parts or instruments that make it easier for mixing. And not only does this allow me to construct different mixes from various MNOLG instruments, but also allows the MNOLG soundtrack to "enhance" the soundtracks of the films and The Game in order to unify the overall mix, hence why you often hear the "Ko-Wahi Choir" underscoring the soundtrack. I tried to stick as much as possible to music only from the Mata Nui era of BIONICLE, but I did end up sampling a few songs from the Metru Nui films. If you're familiar with the BIONICLE soundtrack, you'll recognize the significance of certain songs used in certain scenes. For example, when Toa Kopaka first meets Turaga Nuju, there is a sitar-like instrument accompanied by several drumbeats. In MNOLG, the sitar can be heard in the Ko-Koro Sanctum where Nuju is found, while the drumbeats are from the scene where Toa Tahu first meets Turaga Vakama. This is just one example; keep your ears to the ground and see what else you can find. As a side note, I could not control the rate at which the comic scrolls across the screen. As such, for some pages, the music doesn't sync up particularly well, with 3 and 9 being the worst (for both those pages, the top half of the page gets a much higher percentage of the music than the lower half in the mix itself, but scrolls too quickly in the video). For the most part, though, it syncs well enough. Since most songs used in this mix have no official names ("The BIONICLE Music" being the sole exception), I cannot provide a list of songs used. I will, however, cite the sources: BIONICLE Power Pack (unknown artist)Mata Nui Online Game (Justin Lutcher)Bohrok Swarms Promo CD (unknown artist)BIONICLE: Mask of Light (Nathan Furst)BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui (Nathan Furst)BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows (Nathan Furst)I hope you enjoyed this journey back in time to the beginning of BIONICLE. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.

Now, don't get me wrong - this isn't asking if Dino Attack RPG itself was worth it. Despite it all, I still consider it my pride and joy here on BZPower, and I wouldn't trade anything for the great memories and loads of fun we had with it. This is more about our efforts to get Dino Attack RPG known through TV Tropes as a way of leaving behind a lasting legacy. What started off as a fun side project to see just how overdosed on tropes the RPG really is has since evolved into an ongoing effort to try to get our writing more publicized outside those few who visit BZP's LEGO RPG forum. And instead, we've become a mockery. Sure, these are only two posts in two topics on two forums. But when these two posts are all we've heard about Dino Attack RPG's reception among those who discovered it via TV Tropes, it's all too easy to assume the worst and feel discouraged. This was supposed to be something we did for fun, and instead it's appearing to be our downfall. Was it better to languish in obscurity or to go down in infamy?

I was just giving this topic a quick peruse. I don't intend to get too involved, since I acknowledge that my own understanding of Japanese culture is very limited and, as such, I am merely an outsider who cannot offer any valuable insight into this issue. However, I noticed that one question was frequently asked in this topic: "We're westerners who are merely speculating whether or not Japanese people find this offensive, but how do Japanese people really feel about Ninjago?" And that question brought to my mind a phenomenon that TV Tropes calls "Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales". One such example of this trope: Simply put, this is when a culture or ethnicity is grossly misrepresented in media, but it's just so over-the-top that said ethnicity loves it. Of course, "Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales" is classified as an audience reaction, or "Your Mileage May Vary" trope. Simply put, it means that one Mexican might love Speedy Gonzales for being an over-the-top Mexican stereotype while another Mexican would hate Speedy for that very same reason. These vary from audience to audience and are not written in stone. It's entirely subjective. For that matter, one Japanese person might find Ninjago utterly offensive due to its misrepresentation of Japanese culture, for perverting sacred imagery, and for presenting an unrealistic image of its subject matter. And yet, it's entirely within the realms of possibility that another Japanese person would love Ninjago because it's just so over-the-top, ridiculous, and audacious that they find some sort of enjoyment out of it. And we can see that even here in this topic. There are some people who feel that this theme's misrepresentation of Japanese culture is downright offensive, while others (such as Meiko's friend) who say that they don't mind because it's just so overly misrepresented. So that's, what, the opinions of a few people? What about the majority of LEGO's audience in Japan? Do we still have a clear answer on that? So long as we don't and we're still speculating on the opinions of those who are allegedly affected by this, we shouldn't forget that "Your Mileage May Vary" and that what one person may find offensive wouldn't bother another person. Again, it's entirely subjective. So does Meiko's friend's opinion constitute that of everybody? No. But that doesn't necessarily mean that nobody else shares their opinion, and that opinion being an example of "Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales". You're not in the wrong if you feel insulted by Ninjago, but nor would you be in the wrong to, despite it all, love Ninjago regardless. Okay, now that I've thrown that out there, let me quietly retreat and exit stage left... oh wait... darn, stage left is that way...

Just thought I'd swing by and give this topic a quick little bump; I don't know whether or not this index would be considered exempt from the revival rule. In the old LEGO General Discussion forum, there was a pinned topic that included a list of RPGs, and pinned topics are exempt from revival... but, seeing as this hasn't been "officialized" or pinned, I can't say for sure. Good news, however. That Wayback Machine server from 2007 that includes many of the older RPGs is back online. Still waiting for an update on the situation regarding formatting of the first post (as well as older topics on the new forums, such as Dino Attack: At War's End); although I've seen at least two attempts from the BZP staff to fix it, it seemed that both times they still encountered problems.

In that case, one might say that you consider said acknowledgement and pledge to be adequate recompense. Therefore, while you may have turned down one offered form of recompense, you still receive some other form of recompense, one that will benefit future contestants in the long run, and that's all fair and good, and all's well that ends well, right? That's all I was trying to say. If I were bonesiii, here's where I would use a smiley emote to further establish a light and cheerful tone to lighten up an emotionless wall of text. Since I'm contractually obliged not to pretend that I'm bonesiii, I am forbidden from doing so or else they'll come to take me away (ha-haa!), but still I wish to make this clear that I'm not trying to antagonize you or anything like that and I'm just trying to have a friendly attitude. I probably don't even need this disclaimer, but you know how a faceless voiceless wall of text can be misinterpreted in tone, which is probably why people use emoticons in the first place, but I appear to have used up my lifetime supply of emoticons in my first few years in BZPower's comedies forum, which is why instead I am writing this nonsensical disclaimer that you've probably already given up on reading at this point so I'll insert some cringe-worthy joke right here. Just kidding; I won't, because that was the cringe-worthy joke. Which means I wasn't kidding, but then that means that wasn't the cringe-worthy joke, which means I was kidding, which means I divided by zero OH NO-

I just saw the news article on the front page, and... well, I hate to be that guy (no, not that guy, the other guy), but my username is "PeabodySam", not "Peabody Same". Whether it's real life or BZPower, somehow I always see my name misspelled; you might even say that I'm quite used to it, haha! Oh, good, it's been fixed. Thanks, Black Six! It's also good to see that Lyichir received some recompense given the unusual circumstances behind this contest's finale. Things seem to have worked out beautifully in the end, and it's good to hear that a lesson has been learned for the future - that's what life is all about, after all. Making mistakes and learning lessons for the future. Unless that mistake is fatal, but thankfully, BZPower comedies contests are guaranteed to be non-lethal 65% of the time.

... Wow. I am still in shock over this. Since I've joined BZPower back in 2004, I've entered two BBC contests, one LGD contest, two General Art contests, two S&T contests, and now one Comedies contest. And this... marks the first time I've ever won a contest here. Thanks a billion to those who voted for "Scene 24"; I could never have done it without you! And let's also give a round of applause to Lyichir, GreenNinjaCP, and Master Inika for their creative and comedic entries! It's a shame that there were so few entries, but everyone who submitted an entry put a lot of work, imagination, and laughs into their scripts. It's no wonder that the competition was close! Though, that being said, I must agree with Lyichir's sentiments regarding the turnout in this contest, especially for the tiebreaker poll. There was very little promotion, not even a news article on the front page; if you didn't happen to browse the voting subforum yesterday, you would never have known that there even was a tiebreaker. That, combined with the very short voting period for the poll, likely resulted in the low voter turnout. Don't get me wrong; I'm definitely happy about the victory... but, given how close the final vote was, I wouldn't be surprised if, had there been a bit more promotion and another day of voting, I would have been posting a congratulations to Lyichir for his victory instead. On a lighter note regarding how close this victory was, I admit that I'm rather amused by how prophetic Sumiki's post in the tiebreaker topic turned out to be. Once more, I commend everyone who entered and express my most sincere gratitude to everyone who voted for "Scene 24"!

A tiebreaker? I admit, I certainly did not see this coming, given that "Primetime Pitch" was well in the lead mere hours prior to the deadline last night. This makes for a pleasant surprise in the eleventh hour. Though, for a tiebreaker like this, I felt that the only appropriate thing for me to do was to nullify my vote. I couldn't vote for myself, nor could I muster up the will to vote against myself in a tiebreaker... so at the end of the day, "null" was my only fair option. Good luck to both "Primetime Pitch" and "Scene 24", and may the best script win! Or actually, if that's the case, then it sounds like we both lose because both our scripts got rejected in favor of that one written by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, but you probably already know that, and, in fact, I know you do, which begs the question of why I am telling you? The answer? Insert shameless advertisement for The LEGO Movie coming this February. And if that doesn't work, insert more shameless advertisements for The LEGO Movie coming this February.

I'm sure that it's all too tempting to vote for your own entry. But instead, like a gentleman, I cast my vote for one of the other contenders: Dangerous Detour by Master Inika. It's short and simple, but behind its appearance lies a rather clever and amusing read. Well-constructed as a story; at first, I thought that the opening with Emmet in the uncomfortable bed seemed out-of-place and tacked-on, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it tied into the plot later on. I also enjoyed the humorous wordplay with "Doom" and "Little Dainty", and overall its writing and dialogue seemed to fit the style of The LEGO Movie. Best of luck to all the contestants!

Thank you for your feedback! I had some free time today, so I went back and revised the story based on feedback, especially Aanchir's. The biggest change is that Chief now appears at the beginning of the script. This cuts down on Johnny Thunder's dialogue and gives him someone to converse with and bounce off of, as well as making Chief's character more important to the overall scene rather than just randomly showing up midway through. The Infomaniac is also mentioned earlier in order to lead up to his appearance so he doesn't come out of nowhere, and Johnny greets him by name so the audience knows who he is. I cut down on the more excessive LEGO trivia (the "Boggle Rocket Mk. II" is now simply called a rocket, and the gameplay mechanics required to build a Teleport Pad in LEGO Rock Raiders are no longer explicit). But, for the most part, I kept the rest of the references intact. I (and other fans of those LEGO themes, as evidenced by comments above) enjoyed those references too much to remove them. I also removed the advertisement for the Rock Raiders set, but only because Chief's earlier appearance meant that it would be back-to-back with the ads for the Police Dropship and Evil Lair, which would have been too repetitive. The one problem that was made worse by this revision is that Chief's dialogue in the beginning makes the scene even longer, but hopefully it should balance out the other problems. There are still a few more days in the entry period, so if anyone has any more feedback/suggestions, speak now or forever hold your tongue. Or fingers, in this case.

Thank you for your feeback, Aanchir. I will take it into consideration, but do feel the need to address some points first. Your mileage may vary on what qualifies as a "laugh-out-loud" moment, though I do see that you acknowledge that by saying "for me". I admit, I'm not much of a "laugh-out-loud" comedy writer, more of an "oh, that's amusing" writer. Perhaps that's because I personally rarely find written comedy to be "laugh-out-loud" funny. I've always felt that timing is a crucial element of "laugh-out-loud" comedy, and that's not something that's easy to pull off in just plain text without any visuals. For example, reading "suddenly, Bob slips on a banana peel" just isn't as funny as actually seeing Bob suddenly slip on a banana peel. Therefore, I instead aim for a tongue-in-cheek style of written comedy that you compared to A Series of Unfortunate Events or The Princess Bride. It's rarely "laugh-out-loud" humor, but at very least I can hope to make the reader say, "Oh, that's funny. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but still amusing." I do admit, this story was written for a very specific audience in mind, and that is an audience of people who would enjoy seeing references to Alpha Team, Rock Raiders, and LEGO Island (while there are other LEGO themes referenced, those three play the biggest roles). I suppose the group of LEGO fans that I most frequently chat with have molded me to the expectation that other LEGO fans are like that. This, of course, is a fallacy, and I do acknowledge that. You keep talking about "obscure references" in your review, but most of these references would be plainly obvious to anyone who was a LEGO fan in the late 90s. While The LEGO Movie itself isn't aimed primarily at that audience, it is the target audience of this particular script (as noted in the above paragraph). As far as references go, they're not that obscure. It's not like I had Johnny Thunder say, "Crikey, this is just like the time Navigator Sharp let a monkey fly her ship because it was just like a time machine!" or the Infomaniac say, "Make sure this isn't like Step 14 on page 10 of the first instruction booklet of 8269 Cyber Stinger!" Now, those would be "obscure references". In the case of Chief, the script does lampshade the fact that his sole purpose in the scene is a deus ex machina mixed with nostalgic fanservice, though he is introduced by Johnny Thunder as a fellow Master Builder, and given that Master Builders include "1980-something space guy" and "2002 NBA all-stars", the audience should be able to figure out that he's another classic figure. The bit about requiring a level 1 Tool Store and eight pieces of Ore might have been going too far with the trivia, but I wanted to tie in the idea that Johnny Thunder and Chief are Master Builders who don't need instructions to build. But as for Nubby Stevens, while the plot twist wouldn't make much sense to someone who wasn't a LEGO Island fan, he does come out and explain who he is: that friendly guy who works at your local gas station. Does that sound like the guy who would be overseeing an evil plot? No, it doesn't, and that's the punchline. There are six instances of this running gag in the script. Half of them refer to sets from the tie-in The LEGO Movie toyline. One of them, the "punchline" if you will (since it's the last one and changes things up), is a set that doesn't exist. That leaves only two instances of the running gag referring to "incredibly obscure sets that haven't been on store shelves in over a decade, if at all". Two is hardly "many of them". In addition, the fact that these sets are obscure and haven't been available for fifteen years is part of the joke. People who know that these sets aren't available will recognize that the advertisement is lying. However, people who don't know that these sets aren't available still get the running gag that this script is for a 2-hour-long plastic Danish toy commercial made for the sole purposes of selling more toys. As a result, the fact that these sets are obscure and no longer available should not impede the enjoyment of those who don't catch the reference. It's like the obscure references that The LEGO Movie already has, such as one character wearing a Fabuland shirt, or that highway sign that mentions "Paradisa" and "Century Skyway". These don't impede the experience for those who didn't catch the reference, but rather enhance the experience for those who do catch the reference. Not sure where you're getting Johnny Thunder talking like a "stream of blatant LEGO references". Quickly skimming my own writing, he talks about the Teleport Pad and refers to Zack the LEGO Maniac, and that's about it as far as LEGO references go in his dialogue. Granted, his dialogue doesn't seem particularly human, but Johnny Thunder is meant to be the "90s cheesy action hero archetype" rather than a real human character. I did consider adding another character at the beginning (I was considering Lloyd Garmadon or Vitruvius, but also, believe it or not, Lord Sam Sinister or even the Darkitect) for Johnny Thunder to bounce off of at the beginning. In the end, I decided against it; since the scene was supposed to focus on Johnny, adding another character at the beginning just to throw him away when Johnny enters Octan Headquarters probably would not help that much. But, here's the thing. In prose, I would have definitely cut down a lot of Johnny's dialogue and instead spewed the necessary exposition in prose instead. But that's not how it works for a movie script. In a screenplay, regardless of whether or not there is another character for Johnny to talk to, the audience still needs someone to deliver the exposition, and it's preferable to have Johnny speaking that exposition than to force audiences to read a bunch of text. Of course, they still need to read that text since this is a written story rather than a filmed movie scene, but keep in mind that this is written as a screenplay. On that note, based upon how he acts and talks in various LEGO media, it seems perfectly in character for Johnny Thunder to be that kind of character who would monologue to himself when no one is around (again, tying into the archetype of "90s cheesy action hero"). In fact, his line about "they've got kangaroos loose in their paddock" is a quote from an Orient Expedition comic where Johnny is indeed talking to himself (and no, that's not supposed to be "here's an obscure reference only Orient Expedition fans will get" so much as "here's something that Johnny Thunder would say"). It is rather long, I admit. But, as you said, it makes for a complete sequence of events: Johnny Thunder infiltrates Octan, learns about the Boggle Rocket, and travels to LEGO Island to stop it. And as I read this script over and over before finally posting it, I couldn't think of what to cut without taking away its essence (that essence being a fun ride through nostalgic LEGO fanservice). Even the part with Chief, which at first glance may seem unnecessary, is important and was written so Johnny Thunder could instantly travel from Bricksburg to LEGO Island. The references and fanservice are intended to make this more enjoyable to the reader, though again this is something that your mileage may vary on. However, the anticlimax was intentional. In comedy, the unseen has the potential to be even more effective as the seen. That's why many comedies have scenes where it cuts away just before anything happens, or why other scenes have intentional "missing content". In this case, the lack of payoff is the comedic payoff. It's like the "Relax-O-Vision" episode of Freakazoid!. There's one part where Freakazoid is surrounded by several villains, and as they move to attack, it suddenly cuts away to relaxing footage of a fishbowl, then cuts back to Freakazoid standing over the defeated villains whilst remarking how exciting the fight sequence was. The entire episode is like that. It's anticlimatic, but it's funny because it's anticlimatic.

Well, I finally did it. After swearing that I would never write another script comedy again, I did it. But, this time, I found a nice little loophole... this contest is for a movie script, and movie scripts allow for prose in giving scene directions! Besides, I needed a little something fun to write to get me out of my writing rut, and what's more fun than an opportunity to write a scene for The LEGO Movie? I'll tell you what: an opportunity to write a scene for The LEGO Movie... starring Johnny Thunder himself! What? Johnny Thunder has a cameo appearance and is due to appear in one of the upcoming sets. He counts! After all, the rules say that this could be about any character from the movie... While writing this, I referred to several online sources regarding the formatting of movie scripts, and I tried my best to replicate it with BZPower's formatting (I'd love to link to these sites, but... well, unfortunately, they're not necessarily family-friendly). I also looked up film terminology and an entire dictionary of Australian slang to spice this up. I also put a ton of references and shout-outs in the script. Let's see who can find the most! Member name: PeabodySam Entry title: Scene 24: Johnny Thunder Blows This Taco Stand Topic link: http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11770 ----- On that note, we have only a little more than a week left for the entry period, and counting my entry, we only have three entries so far. I know there was a news article published about this contest just after it began, but perhaps a little bit of extra publicity, i.e. a news article stating "One week left to enter!", might help?

Note from Director Steven Spielbrick: What you are about to read is the script of a deleted scene from the upcoming blockbuster, The LEGO Movie, soon to be in theaters. The script was written by Frank, best known for his screenwriting of the 2002 blockbuster The Johnny Thunder Movie when he wasn't writing love letters to lead actress Giselle and crying in a corner in the commissary because he was too cowardly to actually give her any of those love letters. There is some speculation by Dr. Albert Overbuild that this script was actually ghostwritten by another individual who wrote this scene just to stroke his already-inflated ego, although Johnny Thunder denies any of these accusations.This scene was written entirely as a homage to fan-favorite LEGO lines and games from the late nineties, exploiting fan nostalgia to its maximum levels. I promise that only reason we left this on the cutting room floor is because of running time, and most certainly not because of any allegations that I am a cheapskate who refused to pay the cast and crew to film this scene. Scene 24 FADE IN. The shot opens with a low-angle shot of a hill, with dark and stormy clouds in the background. Occasionally, the sky is brightened by a flash of lightning. When filming this, be sure to tell the best boy Eddie to make sure that gaffer Hank doesn't electrocute himself with the lighting equipment again, even though it would produce the desired effect if we want it to look like lightning. The music should be dark and foreboding, with the only other sounds being wind and the distant rumbling of thunder. On that note, make sure the gofers bring coffee to Unit 2 cameraman Nero so he won't fall asleep while shooting again, since it takes forever to edit out his snoring in post. And make sure it's an espresso, not a latte or mocha, because it takes even longer to edit out the sound of Nero screaming at the gofer who brought him the wrong cup of coffee. The music crescendos, becoming less dark and foreboding and giving way to a march that is most certainly not a cheap knock-off of the "Raiders March." Enter JOHNNY THUNDER, who climbs up the hill before standing proudly and triumphantly at the top, fixing his hat and staring off into the distance. As the march hits its most dramatic and emotional peak, complete with ominous Latin chanting, the backlighting turns bright and angelic, as though the sun is rising directly behind JOHNNY THUNDER (again, make sure Hank doesn't electrocute himself), sure to give this scene some faux symbolism that will leave literary critics scratching their heads for years and wondering, "What does it mean? Obviously, it means Johnny Thunder is awesome, but surely there must be an even deeper meaning!" Text flashes at the bottom of the screen, reading: "5900: Adventurer Johnny Thunder available at your local toy store! Only $4.25!" JOHNNY THUNDER: Aces! Good on ya, Johnny! If that bludger Lord Business and his dodgy Robot SWAT Team think they could hold the Thunder himself prisoner aboard that dropship, they've got kangaroos loose in their paddock! CUT TO AERIAL SHOT of the nearby wreckage of the crashed police dropship. Text flashes at the bottom of the screen, reading: "70815: Police Dropship available at your local toy story! Only $69.99!" CUT back to JOHNNY THUNDER standing on the hill. This time, he is joined by the Rock Raiders CHIEF, who climbs up the hill to stand beside him. He is not accompanied by dramatic music or angelic lighting because he is not as awesome as JOHNNY THUNDER. However, he gets to appear in this scene because we're exploiting fan nostalgia. After all, that's the reason why we have JOHNNY THUNDER, BENNY, and other classic figures for no reason other than to make older LEGO fans swoon while younger LEGO fans are confused, failing to recognize their significance. Those poor children. CHIEF frowns and crosses his arms, glaring at JOHNNY THUNDER, most likely jealous of how awesome he is. CHIEF: You know, I did help! If it weren't for me, we'd- JOHNNY THUNDER: Oh, of course you wanted to get in on a bit of the action, Chief! Doesn't everyone dream of the opportunity that they may have the chance to work with the Thunder himself? Well, mate, today's your lucky day! CHIEF: Rather than standing idly on this hill like it's a sandwich break, I'd rather resume our mission to stop Lord Business! But we can't do this alone... we need the other Master Builders. I don't know how many of the others escaped, but I overheard Vitruvius grumbling that the Infomaniac was not present at the meeting in Cloud Cuckoo Land. Perhaps we can a landslide has occurred! BEAT. CHIEF covers his mouth and looks sheepish. JOHNNY THUNDER does not appear to have noticed his sudden outburst, instead staring off into space while stroking his chin. We need a few seconds of silence that will most likely be drowned out by the laughter of older LEGO Rock Raiders fans and a chorus of confused "What just happened?" cries from the younger audience before we continue. CHIEF: Err, sorry about that. I've got a plan for the mission! We gather some resources and... are you even listening? JOHNNY THUNDER: Hmm... let's see... aha! The Thunder has a plan! Of course he does, he always does! CHIEF: But I was just about to brief you on- JOHNNY THUNDER: There's gotta be a map somewhere in Lord Business's evil lair that shows the routes that the police dropships will follow after leavin' Cloud Cuckoo Land with the captured Master Builders. And once I have a map, I can find anythin', whether it's a Golden Dragon or a Green Ninja! But first, I'll need to explore Lord Business's evil lair to find this map, and before I do that, I'll need to find the evil lair in the first place... CHIEF: Alright, fine. I'll check my handheld geological scanner to see if I can locate... Camera REVOLVES around JOHNNY THUNDER and CHIEF and ZOOMS OUT, revealing Octan Headquarters towering before them. Dramatic musical stinger plays. Text flashes at the bottom of the screen, reading: "70809: Lord Business's Evil Lair available at your local toy store! Only $69.99!" CHIEF: Oh, there it is. JOHNNY THUNDER: Chief, you stay here and contact the Infomaniac. The Thunder is going in! CHIEF: Wait! You can't just walk into Octan Headquarters like that! JOHNNY THUNDER: Hmm, that'd be right. I'm so famous, everyone will recognize me the moment I step my foot in that door, and then I'd be taken apart faster than some shonky MegaBloks rubbish! I can't believe it, a situation where no one is allowed to notice the Thunder! Those poor fangirls will have to wait! JOHNNY THUNDER takes off his hat and rubs his forehead. JOHNNY THUNDER: Think, Thunder, think! That one other Master Builder... the one always wearin' his underwear on the outside... what was his name? CHIEF: Clark? JOHNNY THUNDER: Yeah, that's it. Clark. What did he say to do in such a situation? CUT to Cloud Cuckoo Palace, filmed in black-and-white to indicate that this is a flashback and, more importantly, to cut costs of filming. While other Master Builders mingle in the background, SUPERMAN is speaking to JOHNNY THUNDER, who isn't paying much attention and is instead attempting but failing miserably to flirt with WYLDSTYLE. JOHNNY THUNDER also fails to notice BATMAN in the background, angered by the flirting, repeatedly throwing batarangs at him but missing every time. SUPERMAN: If you're ever in a situation where you need to go unnoticed, find a phone booth and wear glasses. JOHNNY THUNDER: Yeah, mate. Goin' unnoticed. Doubt I'll ever have to give it a burl- A batarang finally hits JOHNNY THUNDER and knocks him out of the shot. SUPERMAN and a few other Master Builders gasp. BATMAN performs a fist pump. BATMAN: First try! CUT back to JOHNNY THUNDER in front of Octan Headquarters. He grins and puts his hat back on. If he had fingers, he would snap them. JOHNNY THUNDER: Ripper! Find a phone booth, wear glasses! CHIEF: Oh, brilliant. But where can we find a phone booth in these modern... JOHNNY THUNDER: Well, ain't this a beaut? Have a gander at this, 'cause there's one right there! PAN to a blue police box situated just outside Octan Headquarters. CHIEF: Okay, Johnny Thunder! Go for it while I contact the Infomaniac. Good luck on your mission! And watch out for those landslides - I mean, Robot Feds! CHIEF leaves the shot to contact the Infomaniac. Or, at least, that's what he claims to be doing. In reality, we all know that he is actually going on a sandwich break. JOHNNY THUNDER runs to the blue police box, opens the door, steps inside, and closes the door behind him. JOHNNY THUNDER: Crikey, it's a lot bigger on the inside! The door opens and JOHNNY THUNDER steps out of the police box. He is now wearing a disguise: a grey fedora, a pair of sunglasses, a fake mustache, a sleeveless leather vest, a satchel, and green pants. JOHNNY THUNDER: Wicked, they'll never recognize me now in this disguise! They'll take a butcher's hook and say, "There's no way that's the fair dinkum Thunder. That's some lousy motorcyclist Thunder-wannabe!" Maybe they'll even write a ton of fan mail askin' me to come back and kick this stupid motorcyclist in the hip piece! Now, time to find that map... CUT to the Octan conference room, where there is low lighting and low, sinister music playing in the background. At the start of the shot, make sure the camera focus is on a large map of the globe, in order to highlight that Gilligan Cut between JOHNNY THUNDER saying "map" and the fact that we're cutting to a map. It's supposed to be clever. Then, PAN OUT to gradually reveal the rest of the room, including PRESIDENT BUSINESS and EVIL OGEL, who are sitting at the conference table and talking. At the end of the shot, FOCUS IN on a giant brick-built taco in the room, promoting the upcoming Taco Tuesday with a sign that ends with the following message: "Please do not rebuild this into something that will help you defeat the bad guys." Just some subtle foreshadowing. PRESIDENT BUSINESS: ... but after that incident with the noodles, I've been trying for days to sink Benny's classic spaceship, but every unit I send out to do the job ends up spontaneously combusting and falling through the floor! EVIL OGEL: Those minions are only good for tossing out a window to relieve some stress. You cannot rely on them, which is why you must pay close attention to every word I say. Heeding my advice could mean the difference between failure and victory. Now, listen: when we send out the giant plastic badger, we... Enter JOHNNY THUNDER. PRESIDENT BUSINESS and EVIL OGEL both stop talking and stare at him. When each character speaks, make sure WIDE-ANGLE LENS is used in a CLOSE-UP SHOT. Despite how many films try to do this and only look awkward and uncomfortable, we will get it right! Maybe. PRESIDENT BUSINESS: Who are you? JOHNNY THUNDER: Err, yes. Hello. My name is John... son... uh... Thun... doo... yeah. And I'm here to clean your block. PRESIDENT BUSINESS: Ah, Johnson Thundoo? You sure look nothing like that Johnny Thunder fellow. JOHNNY THUNDER: Of course not! The Thunder is a brave and awesome hero! I'm a mean, rebellious, law-breakin', motorcycle-ridin' Thunder-wannabe son of a MegaBlok! PRESIDENT BUSINESS: Hold on. Do correct me if I'm mistaken, but did you just say that you break the law? Surely, we don't want any of that around here, now, do we? JOHNNY THUNDER: Uh... of course not. I said, I'm a mean, rebellious... err, law-abidin'... motorcycle-ridin' Thunder-wannabe son of a MegaBlok... yeah. PRESIDENT BUSINESS: Oh, good! That's a very good thing to hear, or else I would have you put to sleep! Err, I mean, uh, yes, pleased to meet you, Mr. Thundoo! It's so hard finding villains who are willing to work with me... most of the time, they're just out to break the law and spread chaos. Not like Ogel here, who's perfectly happy with enforcing rules with an iron fist! Or a plastic hook, in this case. EVIL OGEL: Yes, President Business. Mr. Thundoo, I welcome you to the Organization of Great Evil Laughter. That's O.G.E.L., which spells "Ogel". Quite ingenious, isn't it? I came up with it myself! Now, please, take a seat and make yourself uncomfortable while I get back to Business. PRESIDENT BUSINESS: "Back to Business." Oh, that's clever! JOHNNY THUNDER takes a seat next to the giant taco. I bet you never expected to ever read that sentence in a movie script. JOHNNY THUNDER: Hey, mate, why is LEGO Island blinkin' red on that map? EVIL OGEL: Ah, you're just in time to witness the launch of a rocket from the spaceport on LEGO Island! Once launched, it will release its cargo and blanket the Earth with Evil Orbs that will put everyone under my mind-control so I can usurp Lord Business and rule the world... I mean, uh, just kidding! Pretend that you didn't hear that! PRESIDENT BUSINESS: Oh, I love this guy! He's so funny! What a joker! But, in full seriousness, we've got that rocket loaded with a bunch of micro-managers that will take over the world, and there's no one who can stop us! Those Master Builders have been a thorn in my side long enough! JOHNNY THUNDER: Yeah? Well, this thorn is about to take you down! JOHNNY THUNDER jumps out of his seat and rips off his disguise. A triumphant fanfare plays, and the lighting in the room brightens (keep an eye on Hank). PRESIDENT BUSINESS and EVIL OGEL gasp in astonishment. PRESIDENT BUSINESS: You're not Johnson Thundoo! You're... uh... Ogel, who is this? EVIL OGEL: Johnny Thunder! I'll have you sent to the Melting Room for this! Text flashes at the bottom of the screen, reading: "70801: Melting Room available at your local toy store! Only $12.99!" JOHNNY THUNDER: G'day, mates! Thunder's the name, building's the game! And it's time to blow this taco stand! JOHNNY THUNDER disassembles the giant taco and rebuilds it into an explosive escape catapult. The catapult launches him out a nearby window as it explodes. SLOW-MOTION SHOT of JOHNNY THUNDER flying through the air with the explosions behind him, complete with epic music playing in the background. The explosions serve no real purpose, but it'll be great trailer footage. JOHNNY THUNDER lands conveniently in a fountain outside Octan Headquarters, because if there's one thing we learn from videogames, it's that water negates fall damage, so therefore audience's suspension of disbelief won't be broken. As JOHNNY THUNDER emerges from the fountain, the camera is focused on him, although CHIEF can be seen in the background out-of-focus. JOHNNY THUNDER: Crikey, that was a close one! The other Master Builders will have to wait; I gotta stop that rocket from launchin'! But, how will I get to LEGO Island in time? It’s a back o' Bourke from here! CHIEF: A landslide has occurred! JOHNNY THUNDER cries out in surprise and spins around. FOCUS IN on CHIEF. JOHNNY THUNDER: Chief! Good to see you again, mate! Did you contact the Infomaniac? CHIEF: Yes, I did. I'll brief you on the good news and bad news. The good news is that the Infomaniac is safe; he explained that he was unable to attend the meeting due to having to attend some annual tug-of-war competition held over a shark's bay, but he was hoping to arrive fashionably late. By the time he arrived, everyone was gone... the Master Builders, the Robot SWAT Team, and even the LEGO Studios film crew! That's why he didn't have a cameo appearance earlier in this film like you did. After that, he returned home to LEGO Island... and that's where the bad news comes in. JOHNNY THUNDER: That'd be right, mate. Listen, I gotta rock up at LEGO Island as quickly as possible, and I ain't got time for a walkabout. CHIEF: I can help you build a Teleport Pad that will send you there instantly! Even better, we don't need to worry about following any complicated procedures or overly-convoluted mechanics in constructing such a teleporter. We're Master Builders; we don't need to follow the instruction manual! Just... don't tell my Rock Raider cadets I said that, or else they'll never listen to another thing I teach them at the academy, and then I'll be a landslide has occurred! JOHNNY THUNDER: You little ripper! Let's build this Teleport Pad and stop that rocket! Let's hope that audiences will ignore the fact that we’re only using CHIEF as a blatant Mr. Exposition and deus ex machina in addition to exploiting fan nostalgia. JOHNNY THUNDER and CHIEF quickly disassemble the fountain and rebuild it into a Teleport Pad. CHIEF salutes JOHNNY THUNDER as the latter steps into the Teleport Pad. The scene around JOHNNY THUNDER dissolves in a bright flash of light (okay, maybe just this once, let Hank accidentally electrocute himself for the best results). As the light fades away, JOHNNY THUNDER finds himself in front of the Information Center on LEGO Island. Text flashes at the bottom of the screen, reading: "5731: Information Center available at... oh, wait, LEGO hasn't produced that set yet." JOHNNY THUNDER looks around and sees the Super-Secret Police terrorizing the town populace in a lengthy MASTER SHOT. The camera lingers for a moment on PEPPER RONI throwing pizzas at one Robo SWAT, which is unaffected. PEPPER RONI: Whoa! Man, these bad robot dudes are nothing like the Brickster-Bots! When the camera returns to JOHNNY THUNDER, he turns around and meets the INFOMANIAC, who is clearly distressed and acting even more erratic than usual. JOHNNY THUNDER: G'day, Infomaniac! How- INFOMANIAC: Hello! Hola! Velkommen... oh, forget the usual spiel! There is no time! This should be enough: welcome to LEGO Island! Please sign the Big Blue Brick Book and, oh, no, don't sign it, we haven't got time! Oh, this is terrible! We're in danger, Johnny! Not only are all these dastardly robots everywhere, but- JOHNNY THUNDER: A big, bad rocket is gonna blast off from the spaceport, I know. How could this happen? How did you let Ogel build the rocket here? INFOMANIAC: Ogel? Well, then, I'll bet that no-good Brickster is behind this, somehow! That crook is always proclaiming himself to be Ogel's fanboy! Now, I've got a brilliant plan to stop them, but if only I could remember what it is! JOHNNY THUNDER: No worries! I once knew this lad named Zack... INFOMANIAC: Zack? JOHNNY THUNDER: He's a LEGO maniac. And he once told me, "GOTTA BUILD LIKE CRAZY!" INFOMANIAC: Eureka, that's it! INFOMANIAC runs inside the Information Center and comes back out with the Constructopedia in his hands. INFOMANIAC: Lord Business is all about following the rules; sticking to the instructions and nothing else! This book... it gives him strength! We need to stop following the instructions! Think outside the Constructopedia! INFOMANIAC tears a page out of the Constructopedia. Behind him, the Information Center deconstructs and its bricks fly up into the sky. JOHNNY THUNDER and INFOMANIAC watch the bricks as they disappear, then INFOMANIAC sheepishly sticks the page back into the Constructopedia, causing the bricks to reappear and rebuild the Information Center. INFOMANIAC: I... probably could have thought that one through a little better. Okay, forget tearing the pages out of the Constructopedia. JOHNNY THUNDER and INFOMANIAC disassemble the Information Center, manually this time, and rebuild it into a crazy flying vehicle that would probably never fly in real life, but that’s okay because this is LEGO and not real life. As a song that is most certainly not a cheap knock-off of "Flight of the Valkyries" plays, they hop into the flying vehicle and take off. CUT to AERIAL TRACKING SHOT of the flying vehicle as it passes over the Super-Secret Police down below. JOHNNY THUNDER: Crikey! I've got a gut feelin' that those bots will stop us from stoppin' that rocket if we don't stop them from stoppin' us from stoppin' that rocket! INFOMANIAC: Quick, a trick! With green bricks and red bricks... INFOMANIAC pushes a button. CUT to TILT DOWN SHOT as the flying vehicle starts dropping green and red bricks, then a FOLLOW SHOT of the bricks as they fall upon the robots. The bricks block the robots' paths and trap them in the center of the island. The LEGO Island civilians cheer. CUT back to JOHNNY THUNDER and INFOMANIAC. INFOMANIAC: They stay! JOHNNY THUNDER: Good on ya, mate! We're almost at the spaceport! The flying vehicle lands atop Space Mountain, next to the spaceport. JOHNNY THUNDER and INFOMANIAC jump out of the vehicle and run to mission control, running towards the camera in slow-motion, but they stop in shock upon seeing the off-screen minifigure at the control panel. JOHNNY THUNDER: Crikey! Well, I'll be stuffed! Isn't that the friendly mechanic who works at the gas station? INFOMANIAC: It cannot be! In all my years, I would never have thought it would be you... Nubby Stevens! LOW-ANGLE SHOT of NUBBY STEVENS operating mission control, surrounded by Robo SWAT bodyguards and looking as evil and sinister as a friendly mechanic working at your local gas station can be. Dramatic music stinger plays. NUBBY STEVENS: Hmm, I wonder who you might have been expecting. The Brickster? Don't be ridiculous... he's a criminal, a law-breaker, not at all the type of villain that President Business would hire! I, on the other hand, have been working at the Octan gas station here on LEGO Island for all these years. It only makes sense that my CEO would want a trusted employee to oversee the launch of Ogel's rocket! It's like I always say: life is like a skateboard... because you can grind it beneath your feet! INFOMANIAC: Nubby, please, listen to me! You don't want to do this! If you launch that rocket, Lord Business will take over the world! NUBBY STEVENS: I'm tired of always asking why we're yellow and what's an elbow and all those other philosophical questions. Sometimes, the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything is to rule it all! And nobody can stop me! JOHNNY THUNDER: Listen, ya fancy yabberin' wuss. Do you know who you're dealin' with? NUBBY STEVENS: Why, you're... JOHNNY THUNDER: The name's Johnny Thunder. Australian. Master Builder. And the minifigure who's gonna burn Octan Corporation to the ground! You know what? I've got writer's block. Just blow the whole movie's budget on some cool action sequence with lots of explosions. After that's over, JOHNNY THUNDER stands victoriously in front of Brickolini's Pizzeria, with the entire population of LEGO Island (except NUBBY STEVENS, for obvious reasons) crowding around him and cheering. JOHNNY THUNDER: Aces, we did it! We gave Nubby a drubbin' and stopped that rocket! I'd daresay that was the most excitin' adventure I've been on yet! PEPPER RONI: Dude, thanks for foiling Nubby's evil plan, stopping that rocket, and saving LEGO Island! INFOMANIAC: The day has been saved thanks to Johnny Thunder! Let's throw a celebration! JOHNNY THUNDER: I'd be stoked to stay and celebrate, mates, but adventure is callin'! My fellow Master Builders are in peril, and Lord Business is still at large, and only I can stop him and save the world! INFOMANIAC: Are you ready to leave LEGO Island? Thanks for the visit, and you're welcome to come back anytime! JOHNNY THUNDER climbs back into the crazy flying machine and waves goodbye to the citizens of LEGO Island, then takes off. CUT to LONG SHOT of LEGO Island. JOHNNY THUNDER flies towards the camera, and the shot freezes on him winking to the audience, sure to make any girls in the audience swoon. FADE OUT. And now, for something completely different: the boring adventures of Emmet. ----- EDIT 1/14/14: Performed a revision, as per Aanchir's suggestions. Less LEGO trivia (the Boggle Rocket Mk. II, the gameplay mechanics required to build a Teleport Pad, etc.). Chief now appears at the beginning of the story, and the Infomaniac is discussed by Thunder and Chief early on to give some lead-up to his later appearance.

I'm aware that the formatting for the first page has been messed up; however, Black Six says that the staff is currently working on a solution to fix this and the other formatting issues across the forum, so just for now, excuse the mess. I hope this time they don't wait six months before telling us that it can't be fixed. Also, one of the Wayback Machine servers is down for maintenance or something, and unfortunately it's the very server that hosts the late 2007 backups for most of the old RPG topics, which is why a number of archived links don't work at the moment. So, again, hopefully this is something that will be fixed in due time, so please be patient.

Very interesting. I'll be sure to check this out later when I have more free time since these sorts of things fascinate me because I'm such a big nerd with no life, though I did read a bit of it and I'm liking what I see. Now, I don't know if I'm thinking of Tolkien's first edition per chance, but on the old forums, there was a pretty in-depth Matoran dictionary that broken down all Matoran names and words known at the time (if memory serves me well, then it was perhaps 2007-2008 when this was posted) into single syllables that could be combined to form more complex words with deeper meanings. Unfortunately, thanks to a certain somebody, it's no longer available. I hadn't thought to save it myself, since (if I'm frank) my trust in BZP preserving the archives was clearly misplaced. I saved the URL, but alas, the Wayback Machine didn't back it up either. However, because these sorts of things fascinate me and I'm such a big nerd with no life, I did use this dictionary to start "translating" one of my short stories into Matoran for fun. I never finished this project, but based on what little I did, I was recently able to reverse-engineer much of this lost dictionary. If anyone is curious, I can repost what I have recovered here.

So, if Disney and Warner Bros. are both agreeing to put aside their differences and let classic iconic characters appear on-screen together in an animated film featuring a normal city guy caught up in the cartoonish and crazy antics of a massive crossover cast of characters (including the aforementioned iconic characters from Disney and Warner Bros.) who represent the embodiment of imagination and creativity in a Cloud Cuckoo Land that is threatened by a hammy Boomerang Bigot villain... Then I need to find some way to work a Who Framed Roger Rabbit? joke into this.

Just figured I'd give this topic a bump, as well as reposting my lecture on the canon of Life on Mars and Mars Mission for reference.

I'm sure no one here remembers anymore, but there used to be a time when the BZPower Comedies subforum was flooded with "[insert franchise here] Meets BIONICLE" comedies. Back in 2005, my fellow BZPower author Primis wrote a comedy titled The Rock Raiders Meet BIONICLE, and it was hugely successful and stood out from its contemporaries, going on to last three seasons. I had the honor of being one of the co-writers, along with Mobius, starting with Chapter 38 in Season 2. However, as we matured as writers, Primis and I agreed in 2008 that the original story was far from perfect and could use a rewrite, which was eventually titled Two Worlds. Ready for the day that I would be called in to rewrite my own chapters, I wrote up a quick rewrite of Chapter 38. Years passed, and due to schedule slip, Two Worlds was never finished, and Primis recently told me in a private message that it is very unlikely that he will ever continue writing it. I was going through my documents and stumbled upon my treatment of Chapter 38, and since I hate leaving stuff unpublished, decided that it needed to see the light of day, even if Chapter 37 would never be written, even if the original stories were lost forever with the attack on the forum archive. However, Chapter 38 was rewritten in 2008 and left largely untouched since then. And now, five years later, I read what I wrote and thought it was terrible. So, rather than posting this right away, I decided to rewrite my rewrite first. I couldn't bring myself to rewrite the whole chapter from scratch, so I largely just touched it up, and so the chapter is still not quite meeting my current standards of writing perfection, but it's considerably closer than it was before. This chapter barely focuses on the BIONICLE characters, with only two Matoran appearing, only one of which is canon. Instead, it largely focuses on the Rock Raiders, but since both Rock Raiders and BIONICLE are LEGO themes, this should feel right at home here in the BZPower Library. The original Chapter 38 was written before Chapter 37 was published, and thus was written so that it could work as its own standalone chapter, since I did not know ahead of time what events would be leading up to the chapter. The same holds true for this rewrite. As such, you don't need to know the rest of the story to follow this chapter, and the three non-canon characters (Sam, a Rock Raiders driver; Fox, a Rock Raiders demolition expert; and Gurak, a Ta-Matoran) are described in detail here. All you need to know is that the Rock Raiders are on the island of Mata Nui, and hilarity ensues. The original story belongs to Primis and this chapter is posted with his permission. Fox belongs to Mobius and Gurak belongs to Darth Jaller. Two Worlds Chapter 38, Lost and Found and Lost Again ----- Within ten minutes, all of the Rock Raiders, minus the unimportant redshirts like Roger that nobody cares about, were gathered in the center of the Rock Raiders HQ in Onu-Wahi with the false promises of a free all-you-can-eat sandwichfest at the Support Station. Instead of deli, they were greeted by the sight of Sparks pacing back-and-forth with a very worried look on his face. "So we were deceived with the false promises of sandwiches?" Jet whispered in disappointment. "No... it can't be... not the sandwich, so moist and delicious..." Chief sighed and shook his head, muttering, "Not again. I know that look on Sparks's face. It's the look Sparks makes when he loses something again." "I didn't just 'lose something again'! I lost something important!" shouted Sparks. The engineer's sudden outburst startled everyone except Axle, who had dozed off, but then Axle was suddenly woken up by an entire box of popcorn spilling on his head. As it turned out, Gurak, despite being a Ta-Matoran and not a Rock Raider, was also present at Rock Raiders HQ. Hoping to take advantage of the fact that the Rock Raiders were busy in a meeting, Gurak sneaked into the Support Station with the intent of stealing some popcorn and smuggling it back to his hut in Ta-Koro, despite the obvious flaw in his plan that required sneaking into Rock Raiders HQ while most of the Rock Raiders were present. He remained unnoticed, however, due to the Rock Raiders' limited ability to pay attention, and Chief being distracted so he couldn't shout "A TA-MATORAN IS INVADING YOUR BASE!" over and over. After stealing the popcorn, Gurak tried to sneak out quietly, but Sparks's sudden shouting startled him, leading to him accidentally spilling the popcorn all over Axle. Growling, Axle brushed off the popcorn and then proceeded to tackle Gurak to the ground. While the two of them exchanged some good old-fashioned fisticuffs, everyone else completely ignored them. "Why now?" groaned Chief. "Why must you always have to lose things when we're in a crisis?" "Why must you always have to lose things even when we're not in a crisis?" Bandit added under his breath. Gurak punched Axle, sending the Rock Raider flying into Takua, who had also sneaked into Rock Raiders HQ, hoping to chronicle something about the Rock Raiders' activity since the press continued to want more chronicles for the Wall of History despite everything being downright dull recently. Enraged, Takua started whacking Axle with his Chronicler's Staff. Axle stood up, angry, and punched Takua right in the mask. "Axle!" gasped Chief, aghast. "Why did you just punch Takua?" "He attacked me first!" snapped Axle, pointing an accusing finger at Gurak. Before the Ta-Matoran could reply, Takua declared, "It doesn't matter! I'm the Chronicler, and thus it's my duty to be here to chronicle everything, and you are interfering with Matoran traditions passed down for thousands of years... even though there wasn't a single chronicler on this island until about a year ago." "Your duty?" Axle muttered. "Yeah, I think I've had plenty of your duty! You paparazzi always reek of duty!" Chief raised an eyebrow. "Axle, I've had enough of this! Off to the LMS Explorer Detention Block, where you can think about what you've done wrong! When you're ready to apologize for what you've done, you can leave." "Not again!" groaned Axle, walking away and muttering curses to Gurak and Takua. "This is the tenth time in two days!" Sam noticed this. "Hmm, Axle hates the Detention Block?" he asked Chief, making a mental note of this experience in case he ever got the ability to magically teleport Axle into the Detention Block for no other reason than to torment him for fun. "Yes, he has claustrophobia," explained Chief. Having a sudden bout of Fridge Logic, Jet inquired: "Then how does he drive Rock Raider vehicles? Things get very cramped in those tiny cockpits." Chief started to reply, then stopped to think about this. After about an hour of standing there, lost in thought, he finally admitted, "Actually, we really don't know." "In my opinion," suggested Docs, who had patiently waited the whole hour of silence to speak up, "I believe that it's only a recent thing he developed after a... traumatic experience in a crowded elevator. First, you see, it was just Axle in the elevator, then a large axe-wielding warrior in red-silver armor entered the elevator, then after an argument between Axle and this warrior concerning the warrior's identity... you see, for some reason Axle thought the warrior was Santa Claus... well, Santa Claus himself entered the elevator. Never stand in the same elevator as that jolly fat man!" "So," Jet raised an eyebrow, "the truth behind Axle's claustrophobia is santaclaustrophobia?" At that moment, Sam groaned and doubled over in pain. "What's wrong with him?" inquired Jet. "Looks like he's suffering," murmured Docs as he put on his medical glasses, "from the pain of the pun." "YEAH!" screamed Bandit. Everyone stared at him, surprised by his sudden outburst. Glancing around at all the eyes on him, the helmsman did not say another word. "Um, hello?" Sparks asked. "Me and my missing item?" "Oh, sorry!" Chief exclaimed. "We completely forgot about you! How embarrassing... just imagine if that happened during a mining expedition and we left you stranded on an alien planet!" "It wouldn't be the first time that's happened," Bandit muttered under his breath. "I'll need volunteers to search for Sparks's item," announced Chief. "Why don't you just do it yourself?" retorted Jet. "Because I'm your boss and you're my employees," declared Chief. "That would imply we're being paid," grumbled Bandit. "Now," instructed Chief, "everyone stand in a line." This menial task took about ten minutes to complete. It started with some of the Rock Raiders complaining that they needed to eat sandwiches before doing any work, because they refuse to work on a three-quarters-full stomach. From there, it escalated to the point where Chief had to point his plasma arm cannon at them and verbally threaten them with landslides unless they complied. Once the line was finally in place, Chief turned around and closed his eyes. "Volunteers for this mission will step one pace forward." In response, everyone immediately stepped one pace backward... except for Fox, Gurak, and Sam. Why? No one knows. Perhaps they were oblivious. Perhaps they were stupid. Perhaps a Fikou spider running up the side of the Power Station distracted them due to their AD-ooh, look, it's a BZPower post with text in it! Chief turned around to see these two Rock Raiders and one Matoran standing one pace ahead of everyone else. "Ah," he smiled. "That's what I like to see. Devotion to duty!" "And exactly what does that mean?" asked Fox. "I don't know," shrugged Chief. "It just sounds cool and professional." "So, Sparks, where is this item of yours?" Gurak inquired. "You know that tunnel where Axle found that Bohrok?" explained Sparks. "Well, keep following that tunnel, and you'll find a fork in the tunnel. Take a left, then keep going until you see a fork in the tunnel; this time, look for a slice of cake I dropped, that should be a marker of which tunnel to take. Then take a right, then take a right, then take a right, and hopefully you should be back where you started. Then take a left, then take a right, then take another right, then a left, then walk around a pillar fourteen times, then take a left, and you should find a blocked-up tunnel. That's where my item is." "If you know where it is," Gurak asked, "then wouldn't it not be considered 'lost'?" Simultaneously, Sam asked, "May I bring Blacky with me?" Completely ignoring Gurak's question, Sparks nodded. "Yes, you may bring Blacky with you." "Blacky!" called Sam. "Blacky! Over here!" A Slimy Slug poked its head out from a hole in the floor that nobody noticed before. But this Slimy Slug was different from most others because, instead of green, its skin was pitch-black, serving as the source of Sam's so-called "creative ingenuity" when he bestowed such an original name upon the creature. A few weeks prior, Sam had encountered it thanks to a plot hole that opened up on Planet U, sucked it in, and spat back out on Aqua Magna. Secretly having a soft spot for Slimy Slugs, Sam adopted it and 'tamed' it, but because Sam is a moron, he really did not tame it that well, which is why Fox's eyes widened in shock. "Do you have to bring that slimy, sluggish Slimy Slug with you?" muttered Fox. "Do you have to bring that blah, blah, blah Slimy Slug with you blah, blah, blah?" Sam repeated in a mocking tone. "Fox is right for once, Sam," frowned Chief. "That Slimy Slug of yours could spell trouble. What if it drains the power from one of our vehicles just as you're about to use said vehicle to drill through hard rock and retrieve Sparks's item?" "Don't worry," grinned Sam. "Slimy Slugs can't spell!" He then took a dog leash out of his pocket and held it up so everyone could see. "And, as long as I have this leash with me, Blacky is no problem at all!" "First," muttered Fox, "you need to put the leash on the slug." Sparks sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I guess I better go with you guys, too, if only to make sure you don't screw up." "Well, then," declared Fox, "let's GO!" The demolitions expert dramatically charged out of Rock Raiders HQ, and everyone stared at him as he left. "Should I be worried about his enthusiasm?" Gurak asked the Rock Raiders. "Yes, you should," sighed Sparks. "With Fox, enthusiasm equals imminent explosions." "Break time is over, everybody," announced Chief. "Back to work! And that means you four better catch up to Fox before he accidentally blows up that thing you guys are looking for." ----- After leaving headquarters, Sparks, Sam, Blacky, Fox, and Gurak got lost for several hours before they finally reached a fork in the tunnel and just assumed that it was the very fork that Sparks was talking about. "Okay, now what?" inquired Gurak. "We take the left tunnel," replied Sparks. Before anyone could move, he quickly said, "No, wait, we take the right tunnel, or... hold on... was it the left tunnel?" Burying his face in his palms, Sparks sat down on a rock and groaned. "Great! Just great! I forgot which tunnel we're supposed to take!" "How is that great?" wondered Sam, not understanding Sparks' sarcasm. "What do we do?" asked Gurak. As Fox began to reply, he quickly added, "Other than blowing stuff up, I mean." Fox groaned in disappointment. "I've got an idea," declared Sam. "This might take a while, though." He proceeded to sit down and stare at the two tunnel entrances in complete silence. No one interfered and instead patiently waited by spending the time by chatting, playing cards, or eating snacks. After five minutes, everyone's patience had run out. Sparks stormed up to Sam and snapped, "What have you been doing for the past five minutes?" "That trick that Gandalf did in Lord of the Rings," explained Sam. "Remember when they were lost in the mines of Moria and-" "You're not a wizard, Sam," groaned Sparks. "Oh, right," Sam grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot." "Okay," sighed Gurak, "any other brilliant ideas?" "We split up!" suggested Sparks. "Fox and Gurak, take the right tunnel. I'll take the left tunnel with Sam and Blacky." And so, the team split up, each going a different path. It was expected at this point in the chapter that there would be a lengthy essay provided by a famous historian regarding the split-up, the various motivations and reactions of those put into each group, and the entire length of their journeys, but instead that historian was tragically killed by a Knight of the Round Table, leading to a police investigation that would surely be far more interesting a read than the antics of the Rock Raiders plus one Matoran that this story is contractually obligated to focus on instead. ----- The Tale of Fox and Gurak No matter how long the explosives expert and the Ta-Matoran walked, they didn't find any forks in the road as Sparks had mentioned. Instead, they began to notice sinister architecture; carvings in the shapes of Rahi, Bohrok, and Rahkshi; a deathly cold descend upon them; and a giant neon sign reading: "WELCOME TO MAKUTA'S LAIR, THE POINT OF NO RETURN! HAVE A NICE DAY!" "We didn't take the right tunnel, did we?" Fox bit his lip. "Actually, we did," Gurak pointed out. "The correct tunnel, on the other hand... that's up for debate." "I'm quite glad that Sparks had to forget which path to take!" Fox groaned with heavy sarcasm in his voice. "Now, we'll be lost in this tunnel forever and ever and ever and ever and-" "Hush!" Gurak hissed. "Do you hear something?" Fox listened. "Yeah, I do," he whispered. "It sounds like a Chrome Crusher being driven by someone determined to crash it into everything in sight-" "No, not that!" Gurak shook his head. "The other something!" Fox listened again. He faintly heard voices farther down the tunnel. "Oh, that something," he murmured. "Wait... those voices... are they singing?" "Obviously! Hey, let's go check it out!" They ran farther down the tunnel, until, at last, they found five stone busts carved in the shape of Makuta's mask, the Kanohi Kraahkan. Oddly enough, the stone busts, which should be inanimate objects, were animate. Even odder, they were singing, loud and long, the following song: "When the fortress gate creaks and the scared Toa quake, Makuta come out for a swinging wake! Ghostly Krika materializes, Burning red are his eyes; The Brotherhood comes out to socialize! So close your eyes and try to hide, Or a Rahkshi may stab your side. Shrouded in a shadowy disguise, They don't just pretend to terrorize! The Brotherhood comes out to socialize! As the moon climbs high o'er the dead Vuata Maca tree, Many Makuta arrive for the midnight spree! Creepy creeps with eerie eyes Start to Power Scream and harmonize. The Brotherhood comes out to socialize!" They sang this over and over in an endless loop, not at all seeming to notice the Ta-Matoran and Rock Raider. Nearby them stood a silver Rahkshi of Chain Lightning, playing along with them on a guitar. The Rahkshi looked up, noticed Fox and Gurak, silently nodded in acknowledgement, then looked down and resumed playing. "Perhaps they know where the blocked tunnel is," Fox suggested. "You go ask!" Feeling uncomfortable, Gurak strode over to the singing Makuta busts and cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he inquired, "could you tell me where to find a blocked tunnel?" The Rahkshi stopped playing his guitar and stared at Fox and Gurak with interest. The Makuta busts stopped singing to listen to what Gurak had to say. When they didn't reply, Gurak decided to continue: "It has an item that belongs to Sparks, and if I don't find it, he'll be-" The Makuta Busts then interrupted, singing: " comin' round Mount Ihu when he comes! He'll be comin' round Mount Ihu when he comes! He'll be comin' round Mount Ihu, He'll be comin' round Mount Ihu, He'll be comin' round Mount Ihu when he comes!" Gurak glanced at Fox, as if questioning the sense of asking these singing Makuta busts. Fox shrugged in response, so Gurak sighed and turned back to face the stone heads. "Well, I'm trying to find Sparks' lost item, because if I don't, then he'll be mad, and-" Gurak tried to explain. Almost immediately, the Makuta Busts broke into song again: "But there's no use crying Over every lost item You just keep on trying Till you find where they hide 'em And the item gets found Very deep and underground For the Rock Raiders who are Still morons!" Fox rolled his eyes and began to wander. The Rahkshi put down his guitar and walked over to the Rock Raider, but Gurak, growing annoyed, did not notice and instead shouted at the busts: "Will you help me at all? Just tell me what I want! Sparks' item is in the cave, and where is the cave? Just give me a clue already!" The singing Makuta busts continued to sing, this time performing a horrible crime in the process: "Never gonna give you a clue Never gonna help you out You're gonna run away and desert us We're gonna make you cry We're gonna make you sigh You're gonna get really mad and hurt us!" Appalled that a Rick Roll was gratuitously thrown into a story which was written specifically to cut down on cheap pop-cultural references and infuriated that he was the target of said Rick Roll, Gurak balled his hands into fists. "Darn right, I will!" he snapped, marching towards the singing Makuta busts. "Over here!" shouted Fox. "Here it is!" Gurak glanced at the singing Makuta busts one last time, before walking off and muttering, "Yeah, thanks guys. Thanks for nothing!" He walked over to his partner before the busts could start singing again. They glanced at each other, seemed to shrug despite their physical lack of shoulders, and once again started singing the song about the Brotherhood of Makuta. "This guy here helped me out a bit," explained Fox, gesturing towards the silver Rahkshi. Silently, Rahkshi of Chain Lightning nodded, then swiftly departed. Gurak gasped. "Fox! I don't believe it! You actually admitted that someone helped you!" "Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever, just don't get used to it," muttered Fox, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, the blocked tunnel is over here." He pointed to a blocked tunnel no less than two feet away from where they stood. "Wow," murmured Gurak, staring at the complexity of the pattern of which the rocks had fallen. "We'll never be able to remove it by hand." "Great!" laughed Fox. "That means there's only one way to remove it..." "Oh dear," sighed Gurak, already expecting Fox's solution. Fox, prepared for explosions in any situation, pulled out a stick of dynamite and placed it in front of the rubble blocking the tunnel. "On the count of three..." he muttered. "One!" announced Gurak. Fox lit a match. "Two!" Fox drew his match closer to the fuse, eagerly waiting for the third number. He waited... and waited... and waited... "Gurak?" called Fox. He turned to look at the Ta-Matoran. To his surprise, Gurak was completely distracted, instead paying attention to a little Fikou spider creeping along the ground. "Gurak!" he snapped. "Oh, s-sorry!" Gurak stammered. "Very short attention span. THREE!" Fox lit the fuse, and the dynamite detonated. A huge explosion later, Gurak and Fox found themselves buried under a pile of rubble. Oh, great. Fox, you moron! thought Gurak. You didn't blow up the blockage... instead, you caused the ceiling to collapse, and now we're stuck! Now we'll be buried down here forever... and I'll never get to have that popcorn. ----- The Tale of Sam and Sparks "Yee-haw!" Riding the Chrome Crusher, Sam had a grand old time traveling down the left tunnel. Also inside the giant drilling vehicle were Sparks and Blacky, and needless to say the cockpit was very crowded. Sparks stared at Sam in undisguised terror. "What are you doing?" he screamed. "If you keep on crashing, we'll have no Chrome Crusher left to drive!" "But crashing is fun!" shrugged Sam, crashing the vehicle into a stalagmite. "Anyways, you're the mechanic dude, so you should be able to fix it! Where did we get this Chrome Crusher anyway? Is it Axle's? I bet it's Axle's. All the more reason to crash this vehicle into everything I see!" Sparks decided not to answer, deciding that it might not be wise to reveal that it was Sam's personal Chrome Crusher that he was crashing into everything in sight. That, and he didn't actually know where they got Sam's Chrome Crusher due to all the plot holes slowly eating away the space-time continuum. A minute and seventy crashes later, the Chrome Crusher drove over a large pile of rubble, most likely caused by the collapsing of a ceiling due to a poorly-placed stick of dynamite, and then stopped in front of a blocked tunnel. "This is it?" asked Sam. "This is it!" confirmed Sparks. Sam smiled: "Alright! Time to mine!" Sparks winced. "Look, I know we're stuck in the nineties and all, but... man, that was just... corny." Sam flicked a switch to turn on the drill, and inched the Chrome Crusher over towards the pile of rubble and rubbish. Just as the drill was about to touch the rock, the vehicle stopped running. All the computer monitors shut off and all lights inside and outside the Chrome Crusher went out, leaving them in total darkness. "EEP!" screamed Sam while Sparks shrieked like a little girl. After a long hour of high-pitched screaming, the two Rock Raiders finally calmed down and began to look for the cause of the sudden blackout. Sparks tried to turn on the lights on his mining helmet, but nothing happened. He took off his helmet, opened up a compartment, took out a couple batteries, threw them at Sam by accident, pulled two new batteries out of his pocket, and put them inside the helmet. At first, nothing happened, and it took Sparks ten minutes to realize that he put the batteries in backwards. Upon rectifying this error, the mining helmet's lights flared to life. Sparks put his helmet back on and looked around the cockpit of the Chrome Crusher. "We had a sudden power shortage!" he exclaimed, stating the obvious. "But what could have caused...?" Sparks trailed off as his gaze fell upon Blacky. The black Slimy Slug smiled innocently and wiggled its tail playfully. There was no dog leash around its neck. "Sam, you are an imbecile," Sparks muttered. "Well, this is boring," muttered Sam, resting his hand on the control panel of the Chrome Crusher. He accidentally pushed a button, and the laser of the Chrome Crusher popped off, flew in the air, and landed in front of the Chrome Crusher. Sam, disgusted at the laser for no apparent reason, climbed out of the Chrome Crusher, walked over to the laser, and kicked it. The laser exploded without warning, sending Sam, the Chrome Crusher, and large chunks of rubble flying in the air. Sam landed first, then the rubble landed on him, then the Chrome Crusher landed on the rubble. Very faintly, Sparks could hear Sam's muffled screaming. After Sparks got Sam out from under the Chrome Crusher and the rubble, they found that the previously blocked tunnel was no longer blocked. "Great!" Sparks shouted, running for the tunnel. When Sparks stepped on a pile of rubble, the rubble shifted and Fox popped out. Sparks yelped in surprise. "Oh! Hi, Sparks!" grinned Fox. "Fancy seeing you here!" As he stood, he wobbled a bit and was noticeably bruised and cut all over. "Wow, I feel like a landslide fell on me." "It did!" cried a muffled voice from beneath the rubble pile. "G-Gurak!" stammered Fox. "I forgot about you! Are you alright?" "I would be," grumbled Gurak, "if you weren't standing on me." Sam walked over and helped Fox unbury the Ta-Matoran. Sparks walked back, with a huge smile on his face and something small in his hands. "Hey, wait a second," frowned Sam. "What is that?" "My iPod!" grinned Sparks. Sam, Gurak, and Fox all traded glances before glaring daggers at Sparks. "So, let me just get this straight," growled Sam. "We spent the past several hours aimlessly wandering around, getting lost, burying ourselves in landslides that are occurring, suffering blackouts, nearly getting killed, eating sandwiches, and for what? An inconsequential mp3 player? And here, we thought it was something vital to our survival... you know, something important, like you said it was!" "Hey," shrugged Sparks, ignoring the death glares from his teammates. "I couldn't have lasted long without my tunes! Now... uh... how do we get back to Rock Raiders HQ from here again?" ----- Comments appreciated. Constructive criticism encouraged. Spam given to the vikings. Flaming given to the pyromaniacs.

Approved by Sisen. From the original topic, before it was deleted in a hacking incident: RPG List: Active: Games that are currently running. Click the links below to get started on playing LEGO RPGs! There are no current active RPGs. New Forum Archive: Defunct games from the new forum; therefore their archives are open and fully available. Note that RPGs that predate a BZP forum update in late 2013 will most likely have broken formatting. Dino Attack: At War's End by PeabodySam (2012) Downloadable Archive Archive and Wiki links available below under "Dino Attack" Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...?showtopic=3955 Alien Conquest by avmatoran (2012-2013) Wiki Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...?showtopic=4815 LEGO Universe RPG by Jacks and Brickman McStudz (2013) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...?showtopic=8396 RPG: Castles in the Air by Lord of Adders Black (2013) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...?showtopic=8736 Hero Factory by fishers64 and #ibrow (2013) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=9663 Ninjago RPG by Canis Lycaon (2013-2014) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=8478 Exo Force RPG by Bulik, Gravity, Visaru, and GHOStDOS (2013-2016) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=10297 LEGO Dimensions RPG by Lucina (2016) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/21457-lego-dimensions-rpg/ HF RPG 2.0 by fishers64 (2015-2016) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/20001-hf-rpg-20/ HF RPG 2.5 by Lucina (2016-2018) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/22654-hf-rpg-25/ Discussion URL: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/22511-hf-rpg-25-discussion/ Old Forum Archive: Defunct games from the old forum; archives of these are extremely fragmented if they exist at all. Note that, as of January 2016, the Wayback Machine server hosting many archived pages listed in this index (particularly those from 2007 and earlier, such as the lofiversions) is apparently down, and we have no confirmation if this issue will be resolved in the foreseeable future. Knights' Kingdom RPG by Manifest Destiny (2004): Page 1 Page 2 Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=156644 Alpha Team: Mission Deep Freeze RPG by Victor Draven (2004-2006) Downloadable Archive Page 1 lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=159750 Tiny Turbos RPG by Victor Draven (2005) Page 1 Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=172831 Johnny Thunder RPG by PeabodySam (2005): Page 1 lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=173769&hl= Aquazone RPG by Ta-metru_defender (2005) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=177448 Castle RPG by Visorak-kal (2005) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=177629 The LEGO Island RPG by Tacku (2005-2006) Page 1 (incomplete) lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=179801 Dino Attack RPG by PeabodySam (2005-2011) Downloadable Archive Director's Cut Wiki Archive Wiki Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=181493 Vikings RPG by Sand Hawk 1 (2005) lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=183082 The .space RPG by Mobius (2005) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=184633 Rock Raiders RPG by Chronicler of Ko-Koro (2005): lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=186545&hl= Knight's Kingdom RPG by BZP Noob #30000 (2005) lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=186558 Pirate RPG by PeabodySam (2005-2007): Page 1 (outline) lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=197064&hl= LEGO Universe An RPG by huki beast (2005) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=198166 Space RPG by Ta-metru_defender (2005-2006): lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=198341&hl= Exo-Force: Battle for Sentai Mountain RPG by Booker DeWitt (2005-2006) Page 1 Page 40 lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=198516 Official Vikings RPG by -Soul Hordika- (2006) Page 1 (incomplete) lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...pic=199444&st=0 Johnny Thunder RPG by TakunuvaC01 (2006): Page 1 (incomplete) lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=201430&hl= Aquaraiders RPG by ~~Zarkan~~ (2006-2008) lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=235234 Slizer RPG: The Millennium Legion by Primis (2007): Apr 29 2007, 10:20 PM Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=238323&hl= Knights' Kingdom II RPG by TakunuvaC01 (2007): Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=238355&hl= LEGO Space RPG by Atton Rand (2007-2008): Page 1 Page 4 lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=262490&hl= Johnny Thunder RPG Mark Two by TakunuvaC01 (2007-2011): First Post (incomplete) 27 posts that survived the hack lofiversion Wiki Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=263684&hl= Aquazone RPG by Zemouregal (2007-2008): First Post lofiversion Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=264527 Millennium Empire by Primis (2008): Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=293806&hl= Rock Raiders RPG by Atton Rand (2008-2009): Page 1 Page 15 40 posts that survived the hack Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=294025&hl= Pirates RPG by Atton Rand (2008-2009) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=302718 (RPG lost in Time Slip, URL now leads to a different topic) Alpha Team RPG: Ogel's Last Stand by PeabodySam and TakunuvaC01 (2009-2011): Downloadable Archive Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 27 2 posts that survived the hack Wiki Alpha Team character roster Ogel character roster Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=313527&hl= LEGO Rock Raiders RPG by imperial officer (2009-2010): Wiki Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=314373&hl= Space Police RPG by Jacks (co-hosted by imperial officer) (2010-2011): Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 30 Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...opic=319036&hl= Power Miners RPG by Who am I? (2010) Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=319392 Hero Factory RPG by Observance (2011) Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 5 Thread URL: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=335615 Updates 8/13/23: Added link to Alpha Team RPG downloadable archive. Crossed out any broken Wayback Machine links for RPGs archived 2008 and earlier. 10/14/22: Changed Dino Attack RPG downloadable archive link to its wiki page for future-proofing (so I won't have to keep updating this in the future), and added link to its Director's Cut. Changed HF RPG 2.5's status from Active to Defunct. 10/3/17: Updated Dino Attack RPG downloadable archive to version 2.0. 7/26/16: Added HF RPG 2.5 link. 6/1/16: Updated Dino Attack RPG downloadable archive to version 1.3. Moved HF RPG 2.0 to New Forum Archive and added HF RPG 2.5 to Active list (currently, only the discussion topic is available). 5/8/16: Moved Exo Force RPG to New Forum Archive. 3/20/16: Moved LEGO Dimensions RPG to New Forum Archive. Added additional archived pages to Space Police RPG and Hero Factory RPG. 1/23/16: Thanks for pinning the topic, GSR! Added additional archived pages to Exo-Force: Battle for Sentai Mountain RPG. 1/22/16: Added LEGO Dimensions RPG to Active list. 9/15/15: The Wayback Machine hosting archives from 2007, especially lofiversions, is currently down. Added HF RPG 2.0 to Active list. Added additional archived pages to Alpha Team RPG: Ogel's Last Stand. 12/17/14: Added archived lofiversion links to Johnny Thunder RPG (2005), The LEGO Island RPG, Vikings RPG, Rock Raiders RPG, Knight's Kingdom RPG, Pirate RPG, Space RPG, Exo-Force: Battle for Sentai Mountain RPG, Official Vikings RPG, Johnny Thunder RPG (2006), Aquaraiders RPG, and Aquazone RPG. 11/20/13: Added first page and page 15 to Atton Rand's Rock Raiders RPG. Added complete first page and page 4 to LEGO Space RPG. Changed Hero Factory's status from Active to Defunct. 5/10/14: The BZP Staff has failed to fix the formatting issue, so I have had to take care of it manually myself. In that time, this topic died, leaving it for reference and no longer discussion. 6/9/14: Changed Ninjago RPG's status from Active to Defunct.

If I wasn't clear before, I'm not angry with the staff. Frustrated? Yes. But angry? No. I know and understand that this is an unpaid job that you guys, despite having little free time and much better things to do, are doing out of the goodness of your hearts. Anger, on the other hand, is reserved for the certain individual who has absolutely nothing better to do with his life than to hack a website about Danish plastic "for fecal matter and giggles".Nowhere did I say that I blame you for this or that I'm angry at you. If it wasn't for this individual, all would be fine.But rather than getting all defensive, you must understand that frustration is a natural reaction to these events. I know that all it takes is a small hole to render a dam useless, but there needs to be failsafes in place to prevent a devastating flood. My frustration stems from the fact that there aren't such failsafes, even though clearly you can see a number of other people in this topic offering suggestions. I don't pretend to know anything about backing up entire forums, but this needs to be a wake-up call.Don't act like we're ungrateful peasants who want nothing but sunshine and rainbows. This site has given me over nine years of happy memories. I'm grateful for what you do here... grateful that you have given us so much. But when the same person hacks this site for the third time, understand that our frustration is born from our love for this site and our anger with the hacker, and we feel the need to call to your attention that we need to see some improvements made for the sake of this site.We have freedom of speech. And we're using that freedom to declare that this site needs to be changed for the better. Not to blame the BZP staff or be ungrateful for their work, but to call their attention to what can and needs to be done.And if a easier and more secure method of creating back-ups is what is needed, then it must be done.

I'm sorry, but right now, I have to be frank, blunt, and brutally honest with you. This is ridiculous. No, this has gotten beyond ridiculous. BZP staff, I know you're trying your best, but your best clearly isn't good enough. This is the third time that one individual has hacked this site, and that in itself is simply inexcusable. There should be no reason why one insignificant person can do that to a site that had previously been going strong for ten years. Even worse, this is the second time he's deleted a significant amount of content. I know what you're thinking: "Compared to the ten years lost in the previous hack, two months ain't bad." But, after the previous hack, I was drained of will and motivation to continue posting here, as though there was constantly a threat of, "Hey, if you post something, it's just going to be deleted the next time someone hacks the website." Then, finally, I was feeling just a little bit of faith in the security of BZPower again in the past month. I started posting in topics again, poking my head out of my shell a bit for the first time since the hack. And last Wednesday evening, just after I spent the good portion of an hour writing out a thoughtful in-depth post, you cannot believe my reaction to finding out that, once again, the site was hacked. And by the same person as the previous two times. And wouldn't you know? Those posts signalling my re-emerging from my shell again? Erased by the hacker. That sliver of faith in security? Erased as well. There should be no reason why a BZP member should be afraid to do anything on this site just because they're afraid that it might be deleted the next time this person says, "Oh, I feel like hacking BZP for fecal matter and giggles today!" This site has lost enough life as it is. We already lost a ton of members from the end of BIONICLE and the 2011 forum update, we've lost the entire pre-2011 forums, and most other sites regard BZPower as little more than a mere shell of the grand site it once was. If you don't want it to lose what little it has left, you have to do better. I'm sorry. I know I'm being blunt with my honesty, but enough is enough. Do better.