Right. The cables serve no purpose due to Chiara’s natural efficiency in conduction.
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I don’t quite get your complaint about the scarves. Your point seems to be that people are only adding scarves to their entries because that’s what everybody likes, but… if everyone likes scarves, doesn’t that mean that the entrants themselves also like the scarves, and added them because they wanted to?
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It’s not that everyone likes scarves. It’s just that scarves seem to disproportionally improve you chances of becoming a finalist.
Ok, maybe correlation =/= causation. But at the same time, I’m just pointing out what I suspect to be the meta.
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In all fairness, only one of the fanon contest winners has had a scarf, and only one out of the eight TTV canon contest winners had a scarf. No matter what people feel about scarves, the winners of these contests have kept scarves in the minority.
Also, and this is just my personal opinion, but not only does Chiara not seem like a character who fits having a scarf, all the winners in both the fanon and TTV canon contests that did have scarves were ones that fit the scarf aesthetic.
As for Chiara having elements that seem unnecessary and canon-defying, I think canon itself has done just as many nonsensical things that then had to be explained away - having breathing tubes on characters that canonically breathed water, naming the guy with an axe Axonn, giving Vakama a jetpack - but especially in the realm of Toa appearances.
Toa of Stone typically feature brown, maybe tan as a secondary color, right? Hewkii says no. Toa of Stone wear yellow and sometimes gunmetal, stealing from fire and iron at the same time, and they use spears as their weapons. They also wear orange, according to Pohatu, and have a strange pattern of losing their hands if it becomes inconvenient…
Nikila’s color palette is all over the place, with blue and white scattered about like blue-and-white china plates were the aesthetic. With almost every single Chiara entry having better color blocking, which no one has batted an eye at in regards to canon, why does a little extra detail - when the model is entirely non-canon regardless - make any difference?
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Perhaps they won’t, but before these contests (fanon and canon) we’ve only ever seen it once in use for the Ko-Matoran of Mount Ihu. They have reason. And look- there’s 2/10 entries with the scarf; not a large number but not expectantly small neither.
I’ve had discussions before to help me with coping Kualus’ and Nidhiki’s inclusions. But, no, Chiara does not seem like a scarf character. She needs reason, beyond just looking cool (which is a bad argument). I am looking for this reason.
They are varied, but not to the excessive-machinery-uselessly-tacked-on extent some of these Chiara contest models have.
Their tools were merely covering their hands, doesn’t mean losing them.
I don’t see what you are talking about in regard to color issue, but I never expressed any concern with this, as again, it could be an expectant variation.
Because there’s no reason. As there is a definitive trend provided by all the other Toa we know, to go against that precedence requires reasoning. It just looks silly elsewise. Even if it is for fun, many of us want to see these as continuations to the visual graphics of the long-dead theme that we love, no?
I am looking for the reason behind these designs. I want good discussion. I want to accept this. But I can’t without good reason.
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So why does lightning need a reason but not fire?
Let’s compare Chiara and Nikky to the weapons of two fire toa, Norik and Tahu Mata.
Tahu has a sword that, as described in the story, looks like it is made of fire. There is no “legitimate reason” for this – it’s just a sword. All it does it cut things and channel elemental power. Kopaka could pick it up and shoot ice from it. Why does it look like it is made of fire? Because it belongs to a toa of fire. Because Artakha, or whoever made it, wanted it to look that way.
Norik has a weapon that can shoot lava, superheat things, and absorb heat. This is a feature of the spear itself, not Norik – Gaaki could pick it up and shoot lava from it. So why doesn’t it look like fire, like Tahu’s sword? Because whoever made it decided it should look the way it does.
Nikila doesn’t wear tubes that make her look electric; Chiara does. Why? Because Nikila decided to go with standard Toa armour, and Chiara decided to make herself look electric. That’s as much reason as we get for Norik and Tahu’s weapons.
Or perhaps there’s more…
However, toa tools also canonically help a toa focus their energy. Tahu can just shoot fire from his hands, but he shoots it from his sword, which channels and concentrates the energy.
Chiara’s wires could serve the same purpose, to help her channel lightning whichever way she needs. She doesn’t need them to channel electricity, any more than Tahu needs a sword to be able to shoot fire, but they do serve a purpose.
Or perhaps, like Tahu’s sword, their purpose is just to look cool. (Or hot, in Tahu’s case)
Personally, i don’t vote for any entries i think Ghid would like.
I also don’t vote for entries i think he wouldn’t like.
Actually i don’t vote in these contests at all.
mods this is a joke i have nothing against ghid. except the point of my knife this is also a joke probably
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But, this doesn’t really fit but in context of a real-world ideology.
It could have, if it were described as much to be a Toa tool accessory. Like in Hewkii’s Inika Climbing Chains (though they also had extra functionality). However, we’re only provided a spear for a description of what she uses. It may have been laxer without this described choice of tool, and Greg likely didn’t think very hard about the idea, but it’s what we have for established canon.
It doesn’t. But all these iconography examples come from Toa tools, not bits of the Toa themselves. In this way I could definitely see the motif working with weapons, but not integrated into the body itself.
If you need help disposing of unwanted items, I may be of service.
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No I didn’t. If you’re gonna throw false accusations, go ahead.
If you mean promoting myself on social media, how is that illegal.
I literally cannot control the behaviour of people who did or did not vote for me, but I did not bot.
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I left the DuckBricks server. But I can assure you, I did not bot.
If someone who voted for me decided to bot, I literally cannot control it.
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I’m so mad omg I spent more time than I would’ve liked figuring out what you meant by
I kept checking every entry for details I missed and I completely forgot I didn’t give my own entry a spear lmao 
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Yeah… still somewhat pointy, which is kind of covered in Bionicle’s definition of a spear. I mostly was pulled away by if you consider putting it next to the others in set form- it looks a little big. But it could still be considered for art.
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Imma be real, 2/10 during a popular trend is not really a huge number. Sure there’s definitely favoritism towards scarves in these fanon contests, but how many scarved entries were weeded out before this point?
Okay so, that might be part of the problem.
Kualus I can understand, as his design is now canon, but Nidhiki’s design is entirely a fan one. There’s nothing canon about it; it’s what the community thinks at the moment, and that will change in a few years regardless of whatever other contests happen in the future. There’s plenty of people who disregarded the fanon contest Nidhiki entirely in favor of their own, entirely separate interpretations.
All of the finalists in each of the fanon contests have gotten a huge engagement boost from participating. Since the winner is fanon for each of the contests, and there won’t be any more canon contests, why can’t people have a little fun coming up with designs? Just because one entry got more votes than others in this setting doesn’t mean you or anyone else has to accept the design; I’ve seen a lot of the Chiara designs and I don’t like most of them, and I very much doubt I’ll be happy with the finalists of the Zaria contest as well.
But hey, other people are having a blast with it, and it being fanon means I’ll always have just as valid an interpretation as the winner, so I say let the kids have their fun.
I’d chalk that up to limited budgets for set design more than anything else. The Toa Nuva got guns and jetpacks and laser sights in 2008; yes, there are canon reasons, but those were made after the fact. The designers wanted guns so we got guns (those midak skyblasters are a safety hazard)
The Mahri sets featured breathing tubes in their designs because they were underwater and it fit the aesthetic. Canon clarified the tubes did nothing at all.
If Chiara’s appearance was canonized nowadays, or even back when the line came out, it’d be Greg’s job to find a purpose for her equipment just like it was his job to figure out why the Toa Nuva suddenly had completely different appearances and massive firearms.
But, that’s a bit of an aside. These contests are purely based on people’s opinions; they got tired of the strict canon adherence mandatory for the TTV canon contests and wanted something more free-flowing; Duckbricks’s contests allow that with no concern about whether or not something absolutely adheres to every aspect of canon, with only a few rules to ensure the character being made is still recognizable as the character in the contest.
Quite frankly, if you don’t want to accept any of the fanon contest winners, don’t. I prefer one of the finalists for the Orde contest to the winner, and I don’t think my mind will change on the matter. But since it is fanon - and since there’s a wide plethora of options for me to choose from, as well as the chance to simply come up with one of my own - I don’t see the harm in it.
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I’m not saying they shouldn’t have fun. But, what’s not fun about the Bionicle we know?
I’ll repeat myself:
No, ultimately there is no permanent “damage” to the official canon, but it’s still a desire to have these images for the story.
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Not necessarily. The Matoran Universe does have high-tech places, such as Metru Nui, which has cables and a power plant.
True, you make a good point. However, often accessories don’t get mentioned in lists of a character’s tools.
As an example, while Hewkii’s climbing chain is mentioned in multiple guidebooks, none of them mention Nuparu’s claws.
And, though it isn’t a toa tool, Tarix’s breathing tube on his helmet is a good example. It appears on the set, but never gets mentioned in any media.
Speaking of Nuparu’s claws, they are technically part of his hands, according to Greg. It’s a stretch, but that is the best example i could find.
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I was actually thinking of the entry with a Noble Ruru instead of a Volitak. I was definitely questioning whether your entry had a spear, but I figured it was close enough.
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Remind me please, which one was it?
I agree with your position on the scarf usage - any design element that is included in such excess just because it is apparently popular feels like a cheap move and probably limits creativity to some extent. It is an effective meta strategy but often times does not make much sense for the character. Kualus is fine, but I don’t see a reason for Nidhiki or Chiara.
Okay, for this a have a slightly different argument. When you look into prototype design language, you see this everywhere. Kitbashed Toa Inika prototypes are a nice example - Jaller has a jetpack with tubing connecting the thrusters, Matoro has tubing leading to his mask and snow shoes, Hahli has scuba fins, Nuparu claws, Hewkii a chain.
You may say “these are just prototypes” but the designers don’t put those details in with the mindset of “this won’t be in the final product anyway so whatever”. No, they make what they consider to look cool and appropriate to represent certain broad types of characters (such as Toa) Keep in mind these are the figures which are used in focus tests with target audience, and basically dictate what the kids like. Many of the features or add-ons are removed, yes, but not because they don’t fit, but for budgetary reasons (designer Brian Ellis talks about it extensively).
You can even see it in the afformentioned Inika prototypes - each one had some additional feature such as a mode of transport, but most of them were cut, with only Hewkii’s chain and Nuparu’s claws remianing. Had they had the budget, these would have likely stayed into final product.
If the profesional designers of actual Bionicle sets think this is what is okay for a Toa to have, why should we who are essentially designers without heavy financial restrictions, limit ourselves?
Ultimately I agree what others have recently said - these design details are something that would have been explained in the story, had these been official sets. But now it is up to us to come up with reasons they make sense. I understand that you are looking for such a reason, but isn’t it more fun to figure it out yourself rather than being told by the others?
PS: Mahri prototypes are even more examples
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Did you actually measure my entry or perhaps only guess from face value?
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I think we should normalize scarves as a gateway to all other clothing items, and accidentally revive Scala
In seriousness, I don’t see an issue at all with it. Yes, people are voting for scarves, or a certain mask, or a certain build. That just means the system is working. It’s not a bad thing that people vote for what they want; coercion to vote for what they hate would be a real problem. If anyone doesn’t care for the winner of a fanon contest, they can just make their own moc and put it on their own shelf and call it the real McCoy. It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other
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THANK YOU
It’s always been a prevalent issue in this community where people are trying to influence one another on how to see things, as if there was a golden standard on how to enjoy BIONICLE.
Everyone has their own interpretation of something, and if some people align with similar tastes, that’s just human nature. Nothing more to it.
There’s no resurrecting the dev team behind BIONICLE, and time travelling to 2010 to see how they would’ve done things, because that too evolved over BIONICLE’s run. The universe is now ours to enjoy and interpret as we see fit and it abysmally sucks that people still wanna label each other “incorrect” for having fun with their imagination.
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Wait wait wait you forgot something
Nobody’s saying Bionicle isn’t fun on its own. But there’s more fun picturing the Bionicle we don’t know than the one we do. That’s why there are fanon contests in the first place - conceptualizing what could be, not what has to be.
Then, y’know… Make them yourself.
Everyone threw a royal fit at TTV’s contests because of the rules being rigid and inflexible to prevent people pushing through intentionally canon-defying entries when I assume many people in retrospect now realize the rules were perfectly legitimate. There’s arguments to be made as to how well TTV enforced those rules, but that’s an aside; people didn’t want such strict restraints by what was canon.
The Duckbricks contests are not meant to be taken as canon. They’re not meant to be entered with canon entries, only ones that are still recognizable as the characters in question. So very few entrants are approaching this trying to make the ultimate, canon-adherent entry that is 100% consistent with other sets, established visuals, aesthetics, and the like. Most people just want to make cool-looking designs, and that’s how most people vote, too.
However, nothing’s stopping you from making your own canon-compliant, style-consistent iteration of Chiara, as it will be just as valid as whatever ends up winning the contest. That’s what a lot of people have done post-Nidhiki contest, and I suspect it’ll happen with Orde, Chiara, and Zaria as well.
I agree with Cantri’s viewpoint from the perspective of canon, but since this is entirely fanon, with nothing at stake, why not go ham? Let’s see some Chiaras with adidas stripes; we got blue with white overtop, we can make it work…
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