ask-hafu

[ask-hafu]

I’ve seen some other fandoms draw characters with really nice life advice and I’ve always wanted to have a go at that because they look so good

And then today I saw some jerks picking on an artist about their art, which many people (including me) have gone through, and it’s a real shame because it pretty much only serves to discourage people from trying to get better

There’s a real difference between constructive criticism and being a jerk. If someone tells you your art- whether drawn, written, or whatever else- is bad without any other comment, says you aren’t getting any better, or gives their feedback in an insult, they most definitely fall into the latter category. Don’t give up! People improve at different rates, and while taking heed of constructive criticism is always good and can help you improve, you don’t have to listen at all to people who are just flat out insulting you and what you made. They’re not helping you improve if they’re not giving constructive feedback

That said, if you’re drawing something that’s meant to hurt or bully someone else, that’s no Hafu Original. That’s gross and you should hand in your Hafu Fan Club Badge to the front desk right this instant

[ask-hafu]

[ask-hafu]

You think you have problems?

A friendly PSA

This is me.

This is Gadjati.

We are different people.

[ask-hafu]

[[OOC: Someone really should do a version of the "Shooting Star" meme with Lehvak-Kal. Just saying.]]

[ask-hafu]

Hello Hafu! Always enjoy your work and the time you taken away to answer our questions. I have always wondered if The Po-matorans traded any goods with the other matorans back on Mata Nui island?

Of course! Did you think I became renowned island-wide by just selling my statues in my own village? Not so: Po-Koro craftsmanship was sold everywhere, from Ta-Koro’s markets to the famous bazaar of Onu-Koro!

[ask-hafu]

My work may not be a treat for the ears ( your ears, anyway), but it's certainly a treat for the eyes to see my masterpiece emerge from the rock!

Did you ever get tired of picking at those roadsigns all the time?

Why would I? I love my work! I can see why you might find such a thing as boring, but for me every scratch my pick makes is an expression of my love for my craft.

[ask-hafu]

[ask-hafu]

I beg your pardon?

Did you ever get tired of picking at those roadsigns all the time?

Why would I? I love my work! I can see why you might find such a thing as boring, but for me every scratch my pick makes is an expression of my love for my craft.

[ask-hafu]

[ask-hafu]

Bionicle fans don’t make Mermaid AU fiction because it was already an official story arc with the Mahri. 

But we had no official coffee shop AU.

[ask-hafu]

179. The hurt sentiments between Onewa and Vakama embodied the unresolved aftermath of the Matoran Civil War, felt by both Ta-Matoran and Po-Matoran across Metru Nui. Following the Great Cataclysm, the two Turaga buried the hatchet and tried to begin anew, encouraging cooperation and trading between the two villages, even reviving Kolhii in the hopes of mending the divide and allowing Ta-Matoran and Po-Matoran to socialize.

– Submitted by bobthedoctor27

[ask-hafu]

[[This is obviously OOC, but I think it's worth adding that just because the characters are asexual, that doesn't necessarily mean they're aromantic. At least, not all of them.]]

do you think that the bionicle characters (from the g1 lore) themselves are progressive? if so or if no, please name a few examples and explain, if you have the time.

That’s a tricky one. It’s certainly possible to be progressive in some areas and not in others. It’s also worth noting that Lego was not overly trying to be progressive, given that it’s not all that necessary for selling toys to eight year olds, but there are a few interesting things to talk about here.

The big one to talk about is gender. Like many, I feel that having the rule of only one woman per team and that her element had to be Water really limited the types of character that could be used. There’s room for diversity within an element, and Greg certainly made an effort to avoid  having female characters fall into the “calm and gentle” role all the time. But having just one character on a team to represent an entire gender often means writers are afraid to give them serious flaws or shortcomings that will allow them to grow as characters. Gali has had some development as she’s now less of a strict lawful good and is more pragmatic in her problem solving, but it’s not a lot compared to how much Tahu and Kopaka grew and changed over the series (she also stopped hating Tahu, but that was more the result of Tahu changing than Gali). But I do like how Gali’s gentle and compassionate approach doesn’t undermine her strength as a Toa, and Bionicle avoids demonising traditionally feminine qualities in both male and female characters. 

In a franchise for boys, the male characters are typically hyper-macho and solve problems by fighting, which is pretty standard in Bionicle, but there are moments that subvert this, particularly in Matoro’s arc, where the trait that allows him to save the universe is not courage or strength, but compassion and love, which is something pretty rare in boys’ media. The franchise is also unafraid to show male characters as emotionally vulnerable, which is really useful for young boys to see.

(I will also never stop pointing out that Takanuva canonically sparkles and has friendship powers, which would also be quite subversive… had it actually showed up in the story, that is…)

Another interesting topic to look at in terms of “progressiveness” is neurodiversity (fair warning- this bit goes heavily into fanon/headcanon territory). Vakama fairly obviously had depression, and it was portrayed mostly realistically (aside from the bit where he went evil). The way he feels about his visions can also be seen as subtext about neurodiversity and the stigma attached to it. Pohatu and Kopaka are both implied to have anxiety in the early years (particularly in Greg’s unpublished version of the Shadow Toa encounter, though there’s subtext in the Hapka books too- Pohatu has generalised anxiety and feelings of self-loathing, while Kopaka struggles with social anxiety).

I also continue to believe that Hapka wrote Lewa as autistic-coded (he shows repetitive behaviours like hand flapping and singing the same sentence over and over that could be stimming, suffers from a sensory overload meltdown at one point, and the narration explicitly states that he has trouble reading others and often ends up offending people by accident). Interpretations of Lewa having ADHD are also quite common. Whether it was intentional or not, it’s important for kids to find characters that they can relate parts of their identity to, and I think Bionicle did quite well on this front.

I suppose while I’m here I might as well discuss sexuality, not that there’s a lot to say. All canon romantic relationships (including the retconned ones) were straight, which was pretty standard in children’s media at the time. You could make the case that Bionicle had lots of asexual representation… but as an asexual myself, I feel that having characters be asexual Because They’re Robots And Not Humans isn’t exactly good representation, so I prefer not to think of them using that label. If someone is asexual in real life, it’s generally not because they’re a robot (and I don’t particularly like it when people imply I’m less than human because I don’t feel certain things). To be fair, it was never intended to be good asexual representation and was just a retcon so Greg didn’t have to write mushy stuff. But in future gens, given that G2 had canon romantic relationships, I think it’s reasonable to expect a wider range of relationship types and sexualities among the characters.

So, it’s very much a mixed bag. Bionicle is a product of its time, and including lots of female characters or LGBT+ representation in a toy-based line for young boys wasn’t the done thing, but there are some things that were remarkably progressive, particularly its portrayal of masculinity, mental health issues, and neurodiversity. With the way children’s media is going, however, I think Lego has some catching up to do in other areas. G2 was obviously a low-effort, low-risk endeavour, but it would be interesting to see them  invest more in G3 and open themselves up to new possibilities for the characters.

[ask-hafu]

Did you ever get tired of picking at those roadsigns all the time?

Why would I? I love my work! I can see why you might find such a thing as boring, but for me every scratch my pick makes is an expression of my love for my craft.

[ask-hafu]

IN THE SHAPE OF AN "L" ON HER FOREHEAD

someBODY

nO

[ask-hafu]

Hewkii and Macku in a nutshell.

Call out post for my Girlfriend

sometimes she just holds just my pinky finger instead of my hand which is still great because she is very smol and cute and important

[ask-hafu]

[ask-hafu]

SOOO I heard the new Bionicle reboot got cancelled :/ oh well, tbh it really paled in comparison to the original franchise, now THAT was my jam