When it comes to keeping track of who’s dating who, celebrities who got their start as child actors must have it pretty rough. The attention and speculation start at a young age and don’t really stop even after they reach adulthood. We definitely understand why so many actors who got their start as children keep their private lives private. In that regard, Shia Labeouf is no different.

It seems as though Shia prefers to stay pretty mum about his personal relationships. Of course, that doesn’t keep people from wondering about who his girlfriend is right now. If you’re here to find out who the star of The Tax Collector is currently dating, we might be able to help with that.

Who is Shia LaBeouf’s girlfriend now?

The year is 2001. The Fellowship of the Ring was playing in theaters, Halo had just launched and propelled the Xbox into the mainstream and Toys “R” Us was still thriving. Secluded in the back of the toy store, nestled in between sets of Legos, were six different kinds of plastic canisters. With robotic limbs, bright colors and elemental weapons, it was from these six canisters that the story of Bionicle began.

The mechanized action figures might’ve seemed out of place for Legos, as they were a visual departure from the iconic bricks, but in all of Lego’s history, there is no other line as beloved and memed as Bionicle. To fans of the series, the Bionicle universe is a place of mystery, terror and courage in all of its forms. Whether it be stories made by playing with the figures or reading through the plethora of novels and lore, Bionicle left a strong impression that translates into modern meme culture to this day. To commemorate this Lego meme giant, we shall retell the legend of the Bionicle through the eyes of those who carry its legacy today.

The Tale of the Bionicle

Those unfamiliar with Bionicle are easy to dismiss it as just another series of action figures, no different from G.I Joe or Transformers. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lego was in deep financial trouble with all of their independent IPs losing money. The idea for a new IP, one with an in-depth story, was created, and Bionicle was born as a child of innovation and desperation. Alongside the toys on shelves, the now-defunct Bionicle.com and Bioniclestory.com were also set up. The sites included promotions, games and, most importantly, lore, which unraveled the Bionicle universe. Together, these factors resulted in Bionicle being Lego’s only profitable line for several years. To this day, many claim that Bionicle is the reason Lego has survived to the present day.

For the next 10 years, Bionicle’s sets and story would become increasingly fleshed out and expansive. In terms of sets, new designs and characters were conceived and generally met with warm reception. Fans would also begin to experiment with their builds and create unique characters of their own to play with. Similarly, Bionicle figures would become stars in stop motion animation, known as Brickfilms, that flourished during the late 2000s. When it came to the story, Bionicle was expanded through the use of numerous multimedia channels. Novels, comics, websites, games, films, animations and more were used to grow Bionicle from a simple story of toys to a fully developed world. Even the commercials were iconic, with animations from Advance and rock music from bands, such as All American Rejects and Cryoshell, turning a TV ad into a cinematic experience.

At this point, Bionicles were no longer just toys, but a massive universe to explore. Despite its character-focused figures, the worldbuilding of Bionicle centers primarily around the greater world. It’s this enormous universe that makes Bionicle such a unique franchise, setting itself apart from the vast majority of other Lego IPs, if not toys in general.

The End of a Dynasty

As successful as it was, Bionicle eventually met its end in 2010 due to a sharp decline in popularity. The rise of video games and other IPs of the era slowly overshadowed Bionicle’s indirect form of storytelling. Its spiritual successor, Hero Factory, lacked the same charm and was eventually discontinued in 2015. Also that year, a short-lived Bionicle reboot was made that received warm reception but was ultimately discontinued in 2016.

As the saying goes, “sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.” These words are no more fitting than with Bionicle’s ordeal and how fans felt when it was canceled twice in a single decade. While the ending to the story was generally satisfactory, the absence of new lore left a hole in many fans’ hearts. As old sites such as Bionicle.com were taken down, it seems as if Bionicle only lived on in the form of stop motion videos and nostalgic memories.

The Legend Reborn

While the brand ended, it’s from these memories of Bionicle that it found new life in the late 2010s. On Reddit, Bionicle saw a resurgence of popularity through memes. In addition to making Bionicle derivations of established formats, such as Good Guy Bionicle, memes about the expansive lore were also prolific. The most popular types of Bionicle memes are those that pertain to the wealth of lore that can be explained over hours, even though “nobody asked.” Currently, the /r/BionicleMemes subreddit hosts more than 41,000 subscribers and continues to post obscure lore memes and cursed builds to this day. From Bionicle Instructions to Bonkles and the Piraka Rap, the franchise has inspired numerous memes over the years.

Bionicle’s transition into the modern era is partially due to nostalgia. Kids who grew up with Bionicle in their lives are now at an age where they carry their childhood passions into their adult ones (in this case, with memes). However, unlike other toys of the era, Bionicle’s secret to its longevity lies in its lore. Not the actual story of Bionicle, but how it was introduced and interpreted. The multimedia approach that Bionicle utilized created an entire franchise that profoundly affected the kids who became so engrossed in the toys. The impressions of the lore and designs translate into memories that kids growing up in the 2000s still hold dear. These memories then translate into the memes seen today, as an entire generation can understand the context and jokes behind a few plastic figures.

One last thing to note is that despite everything previously discussed, Bionicle is still unique to its fans in different ways. While the sheer scale of its media left an overall impression, individual memories of fans are perhaps the most impactful aspects of Bionicle’s modern identity. Whether it be reading the comics, window shopping at the toy store or shooting younger siblings with the squid launchers, everyone remembers Bionicle differently. It is memories and experiences like these that give Bionicle such a profound place in the memesphere and carry its legacy far into the future.

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Meme Insider is a Know Your Meme publication and the world’s leading internet trends and culture magazine. Find out how to get your first print copy for free, and check out the Meme Insider website for more info.

Have you ever seen your anguish and strife depicted in a frying pan like this before? I’m willing to bet you haven’t. These eggs are literally screaming to be put out of their misery. Just like you. Just like me. It’s 2020 in breakfast form. Likewise, this next monstrosity…

I’m struggling to understand where the third runny yolk is. I suppose it’s hidden in the middle, but the two on the top seem to be in tact. But either way, it’s another sad egg face that manages to express what we’re all feeling these days. 

Some of the eggs that others shared were unsettling in other ways. For example, this next one, an exploded hardboiled egg, is truly a sight to behold. 

It looks creamy and I hate it. Actually, I just watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the first time last night, and this egg 100 percent reminds me of the leader of the orcs, an off-white, giant, egg-shaped man with a lot of flesh and boils all over his body. 

If you’re looking for a new quarantine hobby and bread-making has proved too involved and embroidery is not your speed and you have no attention span for reading, maybe try ruining our lives by cooking weird eggs. You might go viral for it.