JMSOG

So, years ago, in either 2007 or 2008, I was 11 or 12. I ordered a whole Bionicle wave all at once (I'm not 100% sure which one), and I knew they were about to come in the mail. When the mailman arrived, I ran out of the house, grabbed the package, shook it, then hugged the mailman. Flashforward to now. I'm hearing this secondhand from my mom, since I am currently at college. My neighborhood got a different mailman, but he had to take the day off, so that mailman from 10 years ago is filling in. Apparently, he recognized the house, so he told my mom this: Apparently, not long after I ran out to hug the mailman 10 years ago, he stopped delivering mail, and became a person who teaches new mailmen to deliver the mail. The story where I run out to hug him is apparently one of the core parts of his teaching, because "these may just be packages to you, but they may be the world to the person receiving it". Just thought everyone here would find that funny.

The pin weapon connections were pretty awkward. However, my memories of the Metru are not affected by that since I decided to ignore the instructions and had them hold their weapons the "traditional" way. As noted before, at the time, they were pretty mind blowing. We all forget that knees and elbows used to be non-existant. Also those masks are probably some of the best we got in Bionicle's entire run, IMO.

I'm really excited for the Xindi. That seems to be one of the things that really makes Enterprise unique...although yes, the series does seem to be heavily HEAVILY rooted in the early 2000s.

I had heard terrible things, and was therefore...hesitant...to watch it until now. I'm halfway through season one, so it could go downhill at any point...But it's actually really good. Phlox is fantastic. Trip is fantastic. Everyone seems to hate T'Pol's character, but she's fantastic. Archer is inconsistant, but he CAN BE fantastic. The show, unlike all the star trek I've watched up until now, actually FEELS like it's set in space. The crew is in a tin can with experimental hardware that can fail at any time, and it really feels like it. These characters feel closer to astronauts, and i think that's important for the time period. So far, there've been some interesting ideas...that one episode where we never learn the alien's motivations at all, "Dear Doctor", the fact that humanity is essentially at the recieving end of the Prime Directive... Best part of all really is Phlox. He alone would make this show worth watching. Spock wanted to interact with humans as equals, Data wanted to be human, Odo wanted to be accepted by the humanoids...but it feels like Phlox views humans as bacteria in a petri dish. That's an AWESOME interpretation. ...really hoping this doesn't go drastically downhill. I have hope. I HAVE FAIIIIITH...FAITH OF THE HEAAAAAAART...

This is going to likely expose my ignorance of the other ranks. If the current highest is "destiny fullfilled"...maybe have turaga-related ranks? Could be a fun easter egg at least for when you reach that high. Or the idea of bara magna ranks also works. Or gen2 ranks!

Followed. This is real nice...I like the mix of rhythms during the main section (the cymbols being strict 4/4 halfnotes while the synth is triplets). This really fits with the whole bionicle feel. Can't wait for more!

I thought about the manas, because WOW is that amazing...But I decided to go with 2, due to the fact that I could see them releasing that exact set as-is during G1's prime.

I think that those two elements were tightly controlled by the OoMN and BoM, if I remember correctly. To my knowledge, there were av matoran, kra matoran (Which i believe was the agreed-upon name), the makuta, and maybe Umbra who exibited those powers, but otherwise shadow and light were not an element present in other species, at least not (for lack of a better phrase) "In the wild". ...now...that does lead to the interesting question of "did the OoMN hide away light skakdi like they did av-matoran", which is actually a really cool thought...

So, about two weeks ago, I biked 6 and a half miles in 100 degree heat to get the final wave of G2 at Toys R Us. They had Umarak, Storm Beast, Lava Beast, but not the other two. I checked a few other stores, but they were not there either. Over the last two weeks since, to periodically check other stores, I have (still in the 100+ degree heat) biked over 25 miles total, walked over 10 miles total, and came pretty close to heat stroke on three occasions, all to STILL NOT FIND EKIMU AND QUAKE BEAST. It occured to me a few minutes ago that I did all of that to avoid the $6 shipping charge that I would not have to pay in-store. You know what, $6 isn't that bad...

"The hype train has crashed" Someone I know said that and...ooh. that hurts.

BZP could have one. Could have basics, like being inaccessable to members under 13, as a safety feature (I know there's an obvious work-around). Also a basic wordfilter like the old days.

What JMSOG as an irrational human being wants: I want a complex story out of the gate. Bionicle will in any form from now on have two audiences: kids, and people in their 20s. People in their 20s, in the end, crave story complexity. Kids crave story accessability. I think lego has an opportunity to address both audiences. For Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures existed at the same time. A less extreme version can exist, and I think it would benifit lego on a sales front if they do it right. Gen1 proved Bionicle is capable of this. What JMSOG as a realistic human being wants: I want them to go in with a long term plan. Gen2 changed "style" twice, and jumped from the animations from JtO. gen1 had MAJOR tone changes, and some retcons. I think longer-term planning than lego is accustomed to could serve Bionicle, and Lego, well. These are both probably more abstract than what the topic wanted.

The potential. Even though it may not have been the best method of storytelling, focusing on delivering the story in a way that could be easily accessed by a phone or tablet was genius. That's exactly how to get the attention of a kid in 2015. That could have built an audience as dedicated as us old gen1ers. And there was the potential for depth and richness...as someone mentioned, that heartwarming moment where two-kua stared at awe at the story of the toa was a moment we never had in gen1. This had the potential to become something special. And, with an entire wave consisting of skeletons, therefore confronting the topic of death head-on...the potential for more mature themes to be present. One of the best parts of gen1 is that Greg and the writers knew that we would be able to handle heavy and complex ideas, and it made me excited that G2 seemed ready to do the same. No matter what you think about g2 as a whole, you cannot deny the potential future it had.

I made a joke blog post earlier about this. I mean it this time. I think every single person who saw episode 1 latched onto this little guy. We all saw Takua in him, and that was a powerful nostalgia wave. But now, I see him, and I just had an epiphany...When I was 5 years old, just building these sets and hearing the story for the first time, I was twokua. I was the one staring at these characters in awe and wonder, hoping to one day be a hero like them. And I think that may be why I personally liked that scene...I may not have conciously thought it, but when gen2 was announced, I knew that all over the world, there would be kids becoming twokua all over again. Everyone on this site knows how important and powerful that is. ...And now, with G2's end, these little twokuas just watched their heros fall too soon. I've seen some stories already...I read one account by a parent already who's child screamed when he found out gen2 was cancelled, after he had just finished JtO no less. I know that personally, my experience as a twokua was one of the most major factors in creating the person I am today. I'm guessing the same is true for many of us. Bionicle may be officially over, but the stories that made us stare up in wonder still exist...carry on the story. Tell it to your kids. Tell it to your nephews and neices. Tell it to your little brothers and sisters. Be like Narmoto in JtO, or Vakama in the all-of-early-gen1. Give them that moment where they look up, and want to be a hero like the toa. This was written at 2:36 in the morning, so it may be slightly incoherant.

We never found out the fate of TwoKua. #sadness

I went into G2 highly critical. And, while I don't think it's story quite stood up to g1, I don't think that's it's fault. We forget that G1 had 10 or 11 years to build up an audience and lore, and to learn from it's own set design mistakes. We judged a theme in it's infancy against the matured monolith that was G1. with that in mind...I shouldn't have been as critical as I was at G2's begining. They did a good job. It's likely that g1 will still be the line with the strongest legacy, but I hope g2 stays strong in people's minds. There's absolutely no need to bash G2, guys.

In gen1, pre-Bara Magna, bionicle is essentially in three parts. We all know this. The thing is, they take on a bizare internal literary significance when you start thinking of each part as one of the three virtues. -Pretty much every challenged faced in 2001-2003 is solved by the toa's UNITY. It's very much the UNITY of the island of Mata Nui that Teridax seeked to break. In addition, this is the only era of bionicle when there is a heavy focus on Kaitas. -2004-2005 focused heavily on the toa metru's DUTY to the matoran. Lhikan's DUTY to the island was what drove him beyond everything else. The major conflict in WOS was Vakama forgetting his DUTY to the matoran. Sure, the toa metru were destined to transform, but it is their DUTY that that implies that takes on a greater significance. In fact, if I remember correctly, all the Toa Metru, besides Vakama, believed that they were not the truly destined toa, and yet they did their DUTY anyway. -Ignition was heavily focused on the DESTINY of the characters, specifically Matoro and the Nuva. In addition: several story mechanics depended on destiny. Pit mutagen works IF YOU ARE DESTINED TO TRANSFORM, if I remember correctly. You can only use the ignika IF YOU ARE DESTINED. -aaaaaaand Bara Magna makes no sense here This was the result of zero fact checking and stuff I remembered off the top of my head. also nostalgia goggles. I just thought about this and found it cool.

SPOILERS Disclaimer: I am not as well versed in the gen2 story as I am gen1. I have only seen the flash animations, and have yet to get my hands on the books. So this might be a lot from a gen1 perspective. ...so, this review ended up being a summary of how it reminded me of gen1. Overall, though, I loved it. I'm probably gonna watch it several more times.

We've acknowledged time and time again the weaknesses of the 2005 story...BUT...I recently rewatched all 4...and I have to say that adult me thought that WoS was the best from a MOVIE standpoint...clearly, from a bionicle standpoint, there are problems.

We're missing the correct response to this. We should do one of two things: 1: Advocate for the star system to be named after some Bionicle reference, optimally Solis Magna but that is unlikely. 2: There are those "star registry" things where you can pay to name a star...we gotta get on that. Behold, the golden oportunity to immortilize Bionicle in the stars themselves.

Here's the itunes link! I stayed up way too late just to see this link go live...XD It's on itunes, spotify, amazon...pretty much any place you get your music off the internet. If it's not there now, I'm guessing it will be by the end of the day. Enjoy!

Eh, nothing to lose I want in on the givaway

At LAST. I have had a few possible ways this could work... G2 is a far-past series of events on Spherus Magna, with the protectors being early versions of the agori. The great beings used this story as a basis for the toa in the MU. Or, my personal headcannon...We know that the toa were well known legends in G1 before they actually were ever active. This is that legend, and Vakama is the narrator, telling it to various ta-matoran on Mata Nui.

Thanks! and I use a looooong list of software instruments and whatnot, but the DAW that I use is Ableton Live Suite. Thanks man!!!!! Following you right back (If I am right about your username XD) Liking what I'm hearing on your account as well.

Best pun for the situation...best possible pun XD