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krack-a-toa

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  1. krack-a-toa

    Random 2009 Ramblings

    By krack-a-toa,

    so now that I've started seeing Agori popping up on shelves I guess 2009 has begun for Bionicle anyway.
     
    2008 was a great year, one of the best. Lets see if 2009 can beat it. I like the idea that we are going back to the "super advanced robots living as villagers in simple society" thing like in 2001. There's something about that contrast I always loved.
     
    I've seen all the new sets (even some I shouldn't have) and I like them all quite alot. That being said I probably won't be buying any this year. I decided last year that I came in with Tahu and the gang and it seemed fitting that I stop with them too. My money keeps going else where like gas and school and I'm sure my girlfriend will love me buying her a meal once in awhile instead of buying "those rainbow colored robots". Plus I found my self more and more getting into the story and less into the sets. I'm more excited now to get the next book than the next canister. Those toys will always be a part of my life and I'm sure I'll be digging them out and playing with them for years to come. But I think 50 toa are enough for any man.
     
    But enough about that lets go onto the wild theories I have about 2009. Just hit the fancy spoiler tags
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «The theory going around about Bara Magna having a crashed Great Spirit robot makes alot of sense. I would guess all the current inhabitants of Bara Magna are the survivors of the crash. The scarcity of resource comes from there being basically none on that planet except what came in the Great Spirit.  
    Now it's possible this Great Spirit was a either an earlier model of Mata Nui. This is supported by the idea that the Agori are early versions of Matoran. And it would explain why Mata Nui would come there (I have money riding on Mata Nui being the question mark on the Bara Magna). Wouldn't that just be Mata Nui's luck if he ran to his older brother when he was in trouble on to find that brother in worse shape then he's in?
     
    My crazy idea though that has no basis in fact and proof though is that maybe that wrecked robot is what happens when you let a Makuta behind the wheel. Could it be that we've jumped ahead in time a few thousand years. We've seen it before where matoran have devolved and forgotten where they came from, and that was after only 1,000 years. just imagine how far they could fall after 100,000 with no great spirit to guide them. Of course this would mean there's a different reason for Mata Nui to arrive on Bara Magna. He's returned just as he said to clean up the mess.
     
    I wonder what the Great Beings think of all this as they look down from their little red star. Have two of their greatest creations failed them? Of course it sounds like they have bigger problems to worry about as well
     

     
    Of course my little theories tend to be way off so dont expect much out of them. I remember the first big one I had way back when the Rahkshi first came out that just was crazy. Had something to do with protodermis being alive and the island of Mata Nui actually being the Great Spirit Mata Nui... pure crazy talk.
     

  2. krack-a-toa
    So I'll try to keep out any spoilers and just tell you that Bionicle Legends 11 is an amazing book. Maybe just for the ending though. It's got some great battles but they don't seem to quite come across in print, even becoming slightly hard to follow at some points. Though the character interaction more than makes up for it between both the heroes and the villians. There's a bit of flying macguffin that seems to show up just to clean up the plot, though I'm not sure how you would have done it otherwise.
     
    While the ending wasn't a complete shock if you've been paying attention for a few years, it is surprising that they actually did it. Just reminds me how deep this story for a kid's toy line can get.
     
    Once we can post spoilers I might talk about a few metaphors that the story seemed to have, so be sure to go grab the book so you can follow along.
     

  3. krack-a-toa
    I recently got Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets and I will say it's a good book. Not exactly my favorite of the books but worth the read
     
    I wouldn't say its a spoiler to reveal there is basically two stories going on in this book. It's interesting how it flows between the two stories but the final result feels like a book that's half as long as it should be and we only get a few fights and some secrets revealed. I believe both stories had the ability to carry two books, and had thy not been crammed together they would have been great individual stories.
     
    And if your new to Bionicle world be sure to bone up on the old stories, this book wouldn't have been near as interesting if I didn't know the history of the Toa Mata from 2001.
     
    The Kingdom is also really good, better than the book in my opinion. The idea of parallel universes has alot of potential and its good to see this idea used in such a way to tell a "what if?" story.
     

     
     
  4. krack-a-toa

    Pre-order Sale

    By krack-a-toa,

    It looks like ToyWiz has the Mistika on pre-order
     
    Now usually I would never suggest ordering from Toywiz as they have a tenancy to raise the price.
     
    Interestingly enough they have all the Mistika available for $11.99, same price as the Phantoka, which is a dollar less then the price being shown at Toy Fair. So does this mean there may not be a price raise, did ToyWiz just not get the memo?
     
    But of your one of those that have to get the new sets as soon as possible, you may want to check ToyWiz out. It's only a dollar cheaper for each which wont cover the cost of shipping, but its better than paying full price.
     
    Cross your fingers for no price raise. Or cause some sort of economic shift, whichever is easier for you.
     

  5. krack-a-toa
    I finally chose the people that would be part of my podcast team today.
     
    I opened up the poll where people can vote on what to name the podcast
     
    I think I have 50 PMs in my mail box
     
    I may haven broken BZP in the process
     
    I haven't been this excited about...anything in a long time.
     
    Here's hoping you'll be listening when its all said and done.
     

  7. krack-a-toa
    It's time for one of my theories..so sit back, relax, and enjoy the crazy.
     
    It's actually an idea I had a long time ago, but due to recent evidence it just seems to get more and more true.
     
    I'm just going to go ahead and say it, that way you wont have to read.
     
    The Great Beings are people. Like you and me.
     
    Now for those of you still here I'll try and clarify it.
     
    When the mystery of the Great Beings first came about it more or less just hit me. What would be the perfect creator of the entire Bionicle world. Then I looked down at the Toa in my hand and realized who really was the creator of Bionicle...me. We make the sets and the world in our mind. What would be a more perfect answer in the story then that simple idea. The Bionicle world was made by people just like us.
     
    First it was just an idea...but now more and more seems to be supporting it. The first thing that got me was when we were told everything above ground on the Bionicle planet is infact organic, the biomechanic begins all came from underground. Everything underground was basically crafted by the Great Beings, either with their own hands or by their creations such as the matoran and Mata Nui. So if biologic things exist, but biomechanical beings were all created by the Great Beings, it goes without saying that the Great Beings are biologic, otherwise who would have created them?
     
    Also, doesn't the original story of the matoran sound alot like your average robot today. Only knowing their work, those who couldn't work any more went to Karzahni to be repaired or destroyed (think Junkyard)...or went to Artakha to continue their work in the light. This is basically a metaphor for the actual life of a machine.
     
     
    The most recent information about the Great Beings have been provided by the Gali blog. There was the list of things to do written by the Great beings, written on paper. Maybe I'm just reading into it but the idea of paper screamed human to me in this machine world. Plus theres more...and it leads into another great mystery, the red star.
     
    It's been said that if Mata Nui died that all of the Bionicle universe would go with him, but the Red Star would remain. This shows that something exists that Mata Nui has no power over, he cannot affect things created before he was, or things that exist outside his domain. We also know that the red star has guided the matoran for years with its perfectly placed astrological locations. Even more recently the star has taken a more direct approach when it created the Inika. Now it seems Gali Nuva has discovered the greatest mystery of the Red Star...there are beings inside it.
     
    Now if you had created a massive world, set it in motion and let it grow..wouldn't you wanna stick around and see what happens? I know I would.
     
    I believe it is the Great Beings themselves (a few of them at least) that inhabit the star, ever watching and indirectly helping they're little creations.
     
    So what have we learned class? The great beings are biologic, they have very human technology, and they have a giant red space ship that flies around keep an eye on things.
     
    Sounds perfectly reasonable to me, at least by Bionicle standards.
     

  8. krack-a-toa

    Should I?

    By krack-a-toa,

    should I do it?
     
    should I take the plunge?
     
    Should I follow my dream?
     
    Should I risk it all blowing up in my face?
     
    Should I face the fear of failure?
     
    Should I go out in a blaze of glory?
     
    Why Shouldn't I?
     

  9. krack-a-toa

    The 2008 Sets

    By krack-a-toa,

    Yah.....
     
    and thats all I'm going to say about that (at least until we are allowed to)
     
    EDIT: Now with twice the judgement
     
    Im just going to go ahead and use spoiler tags for all of this, in case no one even wants to have the new sets vividly described to them
     
    First of all, lets just look at the sets

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «I like these sets. Well all except maybe Kopaka, probably because the only weapon I see on him is one of those guns. I really dont like the guns, why do they seem to get bigger each year? I'm also not a huge fan of the whole jet pack flying gimmick either, but it's different and could work. I wasn't really surprised when they showed up with 3 good and 3 bad, kinda been expecting that to happen for a while. I like the baddy sets more then the good ones actually, they look good. The new matoran sets looks good as well, we've got knees now and no tacked on gun things. I would say my favorite set it the Toa Moli, with him (her?it?) the gun actually works. I'm really going to miss cans though...you just cant make a good tower without them  
    And now for the story bits
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «I hate these sets. Well ok I hate 3/13ths of these new sets. the rumor flying around is the baddies are all brotherhood members, so that should be interesting, plus I always like a good evil matoran. But on the Toa....did they just already have the sets and slap the name Nuva on them just to make us old fans happy? I'm a little confused, I thought it was said the Toa Nuva wouldn't transform again, meaning that if they changed at all it could only be some new masks and armor or something. No amount of new armor is going to completely change the shapes of their bodies. I mean Pohatu is even right side up now. You cant say that the Nuva have not been transformed. I guess I would just like one thing on these sets that said "hey we are still the Nuva" they did a good job of that for changing the Mata into the Nuva, you could do it again 
    I guess thats enough judging for now, at least till we see more.
     

  10. krack-a-toa
    You know what would make a great birthday present for BZP? an RSS feed for the main page for the news section.
     
     
    For those of you that don't know, an RSS feed is a little function that allows you to quickly load news stories from websites without loading the entire site.
     
     
    So Bink, get on that.
     
    I mean....please ol great and honorable Binkmeister grant one of your humble disciples a small request on this most happy of times....please
     
    Actually now that I think of it I have no idea how much work goes into adding a feed....could be alot. No need to strain yourself of course.
     
     
    Just thought I'd ask
     
    Ohh and when's the next Powercast coming out?
     
    EDIT: Man Bink works quick....here it is...thanks
     
    Or maybe I should just thank Shine for pointing it out
     

  11. krack-a-toa

    Good Toa, Bad Toa

    By krack-a-toa,

    Spoilers for stuff here, and a rant or two...so you might want to stop reading now.
     
    So now that BZP has ran the story about the Mahri names I think I can talk about them comfortably.
     
    I am not amused.
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «I've said it before and I'll say it again, I saw it coming. I knew they would change, I just didnt want them to. The point of having a character change is to allow that character to still be an important part of the story so we can get to know the characters even better. With the Nuva it was a neccesity, they are the main characters and have to stay that way. With the Hordika it was very interesting, we knew how the characters would behave as turaga and we saw how they got that way. But with the Inika I dont know, we've known these characters for years now, and as we've heard Jaller say they have learned from the mistakes of the Toa before them and generally seem to be a pretty good team. They have their quarks but that's what makes them interesting. Now from what quotes we have seen from these new Toa they definetly dont behave like the Inika, but I don't see them staying that way. That is actually kinda my hope, if the Inika were left kinda messed up in the head and not the usual "good cop" we have come to expect.  
    this may actually be what makes the mahri worth while, Imagine the honorable and respected Jaller doing some horrible things. Not quite to the level of being evil, but imagine tahu on his worst days and leave it like that. But once again I doubt this will happen, bionicle is first and foremost a kids toy line, and we can't have scary good guys (no matter what some crazy 2 year old thinks). Plus I thing the Inika will be returned to normal, not much use for a team of toa trained for water once back on land.
     
     
     
    So the moral is kiddies, I want the Mahri to be the "bad cops" of the Bionicle world. That would make for some very interesting stories. Though I'm afraid that afterward our little trip to Mahri Nui will be of no great significants.
     

     
    Do not reveal the identity of the Mahri without spoiler tags.
     
    -Shine
  12. krack-a-toa

    I Awake To Future

    By krack-a-toa,

    WAAAHH!!!! I've seen some crazy fuzzy pics of the Mahri..basically just enuff to make out names...WAAAHH!!! The descriptions sound good though, just when I thought I might get out of bionicle, they pull me back in!!
     
    Please do not misuse the Spoiler Tags.
     
    -Kohaku
     
    EDIT: Sorry, figured with all the stuff going around about the pics I should put them in tags.
     
    EDIT...AGAIN: OK so I've seen cleaner picks...and they look scarier than the Barraki...in a bad way. And what happened to the black toa....wheres the head?
  13. krack-a-toa
    Well apperently the blog I made yesterday didnt get through, basically it was a rant about the new sets being the horribly deformed offspring of a rahkshi and a visorak. But I will never complain again about a bionicle set ( ok at least not fot a while, not after I saw this....
     

    Image comes from site with forums. Uploaded and linked to Maj.
    ~Makaru~
     
    Now transformers are number 2 in my heart after bionicle, if it wasnt for them I wouldn't like bionicle. So to see some crazy movie execs get ahold of a beloved character and utterly destroy it darkins my very soal.....RIGHT DOWN TO MY SPLEEN!!!
     
    I dont think they can save this movie for me anymore, if the characters look like that then I just couldn't watch it.
     
    and don't even get me started on Starscream
  14. krack-a-toa
    I GOT A NEW LAPTOP!!! But the keyboard is a little different so if my writing is a little messy please bear with me till I get used to it.
     
    I just got finished watching LoMN and thought of something, where's the vahi? Last time I checked Tahu Nuva had it, and isn't Tahu's mask hanging on a wall in the Piraka stronghold? So while the Piraka are off fighting the Inika there is a mask that is nearly as powerfull, if not as powerfull, as the Mask of Life they want so much hanging in their living room.....irony though art swift....
     
    Can Piraka even wear masks? Course I suppose that doesnt matter with the Moli since it seems to be able to just merge with who ever is near by.
     
    If anyone knows something that might contradict my idea please let me know
     
     
  15. krack-a-toa
    You know what? Today is a good day. Do you know why today is a good day? Because I believe it is. And I believe today is a good day for you too. That's all it takes, beleive that it is good and it will be.
     
    "Look for the light and you will find it in yourself, don't look and only find darkness"
  16. krack-a-toa
    Warning, the following blog may contain spoilers, random theories, and science.
     
    OK, many people have been wondering if the Inika will transform in some way, and I say they have to. We know from Scholastic that the next place they go may be underwater (Power Play seems to suggest the part of Voya Nui that sunk into the sea), and what do the inika all have in common? lightning. What happens when you mix an underwater world with lightning? bad things. If everytime the Inika try to use their elemental powers they end up shocking everyone around them (maybe including themselves) then they won't be too keen on using them. It is possible that they enter some kind of giant bubble or something, but what's the point of being underwater if you still keep your feet dry? I forsee the Inika trying to face this problem in the first book of next year and being transformed by the next. While it could make for an interesting story to have them constantly afraid to use their powers, I think it would wear out quick.
     
    Also about where the Toa Nuva are. Brutaka's mask power allows him to make poket dimensions and so forth so I figure they are in there, though the fact that some beings once sent to the shadow dimension (or whatever it's called) appearing in the last book of the year makes me wonder if they weren't sent there. It's actually a pretty niffty way of disposing of some characters, send them to a different plane of existance. And since Brutaka isn't turning good anytime soon then expect to see some force used to retrieve our heros.
  17. krack-a-toa

    Dude....

    By krack-a-toa,

    Dude, I just realized that the Mask of light spinner thing goes in the opposite direction as the other masks, and I think every 5th spin of Vakama's mask is faster....
     
     
    Two matoran walk up to a protodermis pub. One says to the other "Hey what happened to your mask?", the other matoran answers back "I got attacked by a rahi". The first matoran answers back "And here I thought you were just ugly"
     
    Even on Metru Nui I get no respect, I walk up to a vahki and say "hey look, I'm J walking". The vahki says "That's nothing, just last week I saw Vakama Q walking." I asked him what Q walking was and he threw me in jail for asking too many questions.
     
     
  18. krack-a-toa
    I keep having this itching fear about the future of Bionicle. I remeber Greg saying that they needed to come out with a new set of toa every year, since they sell the best, but this leads to a problem when you have one set of Toa that are suppose to be the main characters. I forsee a repeating pattern of the Toa Nuva going to a new island in search for Mata-Nui, then they find other toa (or make new one's as the case this year, but we have to run out of Mata Nui matoran to transform after a while) and those toa become the focus for the next year or two
    (the second year will of course be when they transform or something) the new toa will find an item or a clue that will then send the Nuva on to a new island that will continue the process over and over until bionciel stops making money and lego decides to finally wake up Mata Nui. But the one good draw of having all these Toa is there could be a large battle in the end. Now I'm sure Greg can make the story very interesting with battles with the brotherhood and the order, but I'm afraid the basic outline of the story will become repetivite. But now that we have seen the piraka outsell both the hordika and the visorak there may be hope, we could have a year without heroes, but really good villians. So I'm counting on you Lego people to come up with new and invintive ways to keep the story going strong. I know that selling toys is the top priority but I can tell you right now if it wasn't for the great story I would have stopped buying bionicles years ago. Flashy displays and box art is what gets us in, story is what keeps us there. And I humbly request that you treat the Nuva with a little more importance, I know from a toy stnad point they are basically dead, but from a story standpoint they should still be the main characters. The books so far as treated them pretty well so far, but please include them in the comics as well.
  19. krack-a-toa

    Quick Idea

    By krack-a-toa,

    I vote we start calling the water planet Mata Nui crashed on Ocea Magna
     
    the barren desert planet is called Barra Magna so Ocea Magna just sounds about right
     

  20. krack-a-toa
    So now onto my next crazy theory, the Great Spirit Mata Nui himself.
     
    I have a theory that seems to come more from Transformers then Bionicle...but it might work.
     
    Mata Nui's body is literally the world under the great sea. Think of it kinda like Unicron or actually Primus from Transformers.
     
    That is why the island of Voya Nui had to be returned to help revive him, it was part of him, thats why the Staff had ot be used to repair the world, to repair Mata Nui. That is why the core needed to be healed, it was the core of Mata Nui..the heart of the world.
     
     
    Thats something I was always curious about during the Great Cataclysm. Why did so many bad things happen all over the planet? Was it because Mata Nui could no longer keep it in check. If so why didn't more things begin falling apart. Perhaps the Great Cataclysm wasn't cause by Mata Nui's slumber...perhaps he fell asleep because of it. Causing so much damage to ones body would definitely cause one to become comatose, and if such damage was not treated then death would be certain.
     
    The only way Mata Nui could be awoken is if everything is returned to the way it was before his fall. If Mata Nui is not the actual body of the world, then at least his life and existence is directly connected to the health of the world. What better person to care for a world then one who feels it's pain.
     
    next time...why the matoran matter.
     
    and yes, i am kracked
     

     
  21. krack-a-toa

    The End Draws Near!

    By krack-a-toa,

    The audition contest for my Podcast is almost over. Be sure to get your auditions in BEFORE January 15th.
     
    if you have no idea what I'm talking about then please go here.
     
    now is when the fun can start!
     

  22. krack-a-toa
    I just started auditions for the new BZPowercast (though currently looking for a new name) that I've been talking about.
     
     
    Go HERE, read the rules and be sure to send in your sound clips so we can get this thing going, I wouldn't be able to do it without you.
     
     

  23. krack-a-toa
    Well I just recently got Muaka & Kane-ra thanks to the wonder that is Ebay, and I have to say these may be my new(old) favorite sets.
     
    Not to mention I got them mint in original box for $35...gotta love it.
     
    But back to the sets, I absolutely love these things, I was amazed at how many peices on there I hadn't seen before, not to mention the pure originality of the bull and the cat. I know that this set and many of the original rahi were based on an old Lego Technic brand whose name escapes me that was all about battling so the rahi have great battle and destruction functions incorporated into them. The fun of shooting the Kane-ra head forward and having its mouth open and grab onto something is fun enough as it is, but when you use that to pull the pin out of the Muaka's arm it causes the whole arm to fall off and really gives you a sense these toys have a function.
     
    What can I say, I like my toys to have a little more "action" and a little less "figure".
     
     
    That got me thinking....what the heck happened to the creativity in the titans? I mean I know we dont have any sets over $50 anymore (i would buy a good $80 set) but when was the last time we had a titan that just wasnt a large man (anything that stands on two legs).
     
    and as I look at the sets for 2008 i see alot of repeats again. How do we go from cat/tank things and punching lizards to "large man with big weapon #47"? Most of the titans are pretty standard...the most original set since 2003 is Vezon & Fenrakk...which in itself pales to some of the earlier ones.
     
    I know of course the rahi never sold well, but how well did any of the Bionicle sets sell that year comparred to now? I would think an original and creative set (no i dont mean weird colors and wheels on your feet) would have enough support from the general fan base alone to be worth making it, at least as a limited edition or something.
     
    All I want for Christmas is a tankbull
     

  24. krack-a-toa
    You know what holds Bionicle back the most?
     
    The sets.
     
    I say that after catching up on bioniclestory.com. Those stories are amazing (though the biocast has all the production values of a elementary school play) and while I know most of my glee from it is pure fandom (Toa Hagah? Yes please) I know that's also because the story is free to just be a story. There is no need to try and explain a whole set of new characters every six months, they can just have new characters when they want to.
     
    See the fact that the story is mainly used to sell the new toys, and not to just tell a great story, is what keeps it from being able to evolve into a much deeper and richer experience.
     
    But the fact that the story is as great as it is despite these shackles is a testament to how great the story team really is.
     
    I've seen the same thing happen with my other favorite toy line, Transformers. I've always been a fan more of the comics series from transformers then anything, because unlike the TV shows they dont need to try and sell the toys, there dont even need to be toys for most of the characters.
     
    I guess what I would envision is a way that the storyline could drive the sets, not the other way round. But the part of me thats taking college economics knows that wouldn't work.
     
    Love the sets, love the story, I just want them both to live up to the full potential.
     

  25. krack-a-toa

    Project Update

    By krack-a-toa,

    Aright now that the forums are back online (which I think was just some sort of ploy so the collective energies of the site could be focused into shipping little blue bricks) I thought I would share how my project currently know as "The crazy idea for a fan made Powercast that will most likely fail" is going so far:
     
    Actually the down time for the forums have been a bit of a blessing for me cause the time I usually use sneaking my way around the forums could be put to better use. I think I know have all the programs I need. I may need to change the show a little due to limits set up by the "free" version of some of the software but that shouldn't be too hard.
     
    Right now I'm testing everything out and seeing exactly what I can and can't do with the stuff...plus i may have a theme song up soon.
     
    Next I'll just need to pitch it to the staff and see if I can get the go ahead to find other members who can help out. Then once I find my merry crew I can begin recording the pilot and see how it goes from there.
     
    School may slow me down a bit (18 credit hours aint exactly easy) but once I get settled back to college life I should have plenty of time to get this all done.
     
     
    And on a completely unrelated note, I really like my bricks. They should sell us more stuff. I would buy a Tohu mask for sure. Though I guess the fact that old yellow gears doesn't wear a mask may be a problem.
     

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