Kakaru

It's... it's beautiful

Agh I tried that but it didn't sound right either, so I just opted to lampshade my own inability with words. Yes, I remember eating those. XD Now then... bacon pancakes? LOOOOL I was trying to be subtle about my love for Adventure Time but noooo

Probably left over inventory that was never properly shipped from the distributing center. Not sure how they got the prices back in their inventory though.

The photographer/reporter standing on the roof to get pictures absolutely makes this set. It's an awfully pretty corner addition to the lineup as well. I'll definitely be looking forward to this being released.

Awww yiss another member to throw in the fountain.

Talking to Janus about how 2005 was one of the best things ever and I wrote this on the spot trying to explain. He said to turn it into a story but I think this is as effective as it's going to get for me. This one's for you, Rob.So let me tell you something about the Turaga.Way back in Metru Nui,they were Toa.Toa who became monsters.After all they had facedthey came back to their cityand now it's infested.That was the Toa realizing that sometimes,they can't protect what they love.Fighting a losing battleagainst everyone and everything.They saw their city reduced to cobwebs.They saw their own kind betray them in primal madnessand they can't forget that.So they step back into their cityunrecognizable,irreconcilable.The streets are empty save for the clatter of Visorak crawling back to their webs.Something's out there in the shadows but they don't care.Vakama visits the forge where he once worked as a Matoranand finds, perhapsthe shell of a Vahkistrangled by a withering vine that trails off into the furnace,and he remembers all that the city had faced and wonand how much they lost.But all he can see now are these websall leading straight back to the Coliseum.Wrapped around the statue of his hero, the great Lhikan.Defacing the Great Temple where they were transformedinto the Toa Metru, defenders of their city.They who were once hunted and imprisoned by their own leader.And now there's nothing they can do to save their city.There's no coming back home.There will only be the bitter taste of victory,followed by a short farewell,then they will turn their backs to the cityand condemn it to entropy.And this!They win the battle!Their true forms are restored!Their friends are saved!As they head out to board the boat,Whenua glimpses the entrance to the Archives.He imagines the terrifying beasts once caged belowand he wonders what is happening to them now;mutant behemoths screaming in the dark.But there's nothing therejust an open entranceand a silence.So they board the boatand push offnone of them look back as they try not to thinkabout what once happenedabout their fellow Matoranwho will remember nothing of the glory of Metru-Nuiand so they live out their liveson the tropical paradise of Mata-Nuisuppressing these memories.Ignoring the instinct to share old jokes with their brothers and sisters.Because none of them remember,none but these six.And when they hold council,it starts with a look shared from one to the next.Sometimes Matau starts it,sometimes Nuju.But none of them want to say it.Nobody wants to speak the one thought shared by all:"Remember Metru-Nui?" ---

There was one last issue to be resolved, something that manifested as an underlying tension in all our conversations and a stilted laughter as the topic was brought up in passing, and it surfaced at last. This probably won't mean anything to most of you, and I think that is one of life's few mercies. It's come to my attention tonight as I (and my partner in conflict) finally gathered the courage to dredge up the past to finally put it to rest in the open. To that end, I'm creating this entry to issue a public apology to my very, very good and patient friend Andrew, whom I inadvertently stabbed in the back as I attempted to walk the fence between two sides that I related to both on a very personal and emotional level. Though I say this, I'm in no way trying to justify my actions or words with regard to him. What I did was wrong and hurtful, and something that no amount of regret will ever absolve. My words were careless as I said things about him to others that I never meant in a cowardly attempt to avoid conflict, though I knew that it was inevitable. I've stood by his side for years, and my sudden but inevitable betrayal was unwarranted and absolutely vile, and I can only hope he's forgiven me. I've sabotaged our relationship and my actions will serve as a blight on my record for as long as I'm alive. We talked at length and finally resolved the issue, one-on-one, by pulling our feeling out in the open to see, but a public confession for everyone else seems like the only proper way to put it all down for good. I support my friend Andrew, and no amount of words can convey the amount of respect I have for him and his convictions to his beliefs. He's kind, polite, fair, well-meaning, and understanding even when we disagree. To turn on him the way I did is irredeemable. If anything, the weakness of character and sullied reputation should be on me for my actions, and not him. That said, during the entire unspeakable event I stuck with him to a menial extent, vowing to resign as a staff member were he to be let go for any reason. This doesn't justify the backstabbing that followed, I just felt like it was worth pointing out that he's resolved to keep out of debates because neither of us want to leave. I'm keeping this entry locked to avoid any accusations against him or any polite justifications for myself, of which there are none. Thanks for understanding, everyone. (I'm not going anywhere and neither is he. Cheers!)

I'll talk to Andrew about it but he only want to do one at a time so he'll have enough for the next five years or something. :v

[12:12:29 AM] Andrew P: Hey any ideas for a bionicle flash fiction contest? [12:15:28 AM] Kakaru: okay uh [12:15:44 AM] Kakaru: "Broken Mask" [12:16:46 AM] Kakaru: "The Village" [12:17:33 AM] Kakaru: "A Canister Ashore" [12:19:08 AM] Kakaru: "The Great Mine" [12:19:47 AM] Kakaru: "City of Carvers" [12:20:10 AM] Kakaru: "Lightstone" [12:20:28 AM] Kakaru: "Archivist" [12:20:58 AM] Kakaru: "The Seven Warlords" [12:21:06 AM] Kakaru: "Tren Krom Break" [12:22:04 AM] Kakaru: "A Dark Hunt" [12:22:31 AM] Kakaru: "Bohrok-Kal" [12:23:15 AM] Kakaru: "Antidermis" [12:24:10 AM] Kakaru: "As the Mask Fell" [12:24:31 AM] Kakaru: "The Makuta's Blindness" [12:25:29 AM] Kakaru: "A New Leader" [12:25:54 AM] Kakaru: "The Order" [12:26:13 AM] Kakaru: "Death of a God" [12:26:47 AM] Kakaru: "The Morbuzakh" [12:27:31 AM] Kakaru: "Six Stones" [12:27:45 AM] Kakaru: "The Telescope by the Sea" [12:28:03 AM] Kakaru: "Impostors" [12:28:15 AM] Kakaru: "Titans" [12:28:46 AM] Kakaru: "As Time is Lost" [12:28:56 AM] Kakaru: "The Great Barrier" [12:29:29 AM] Kakaru: "The Rahi in the Snow" [12:29:35 AM] Kakaru: "Hivemind" [12:29:53 AM] Kakaru: "Surrender or Run" [12:30:40 AM] Kakaru: "The Great Temple" [12:31:37 AM] Kakaru: "The Honour of a Makuta" [12:31:53 AM] Kakaru: "Camaraderie" [12:32:39 AM] Kakaru: "Now Only Five" [12:33:08 AM] Kakaru: "Transformation" [12:33:26 AM] Kakaru: "Power Relinquished" [12:33:54 AM] Kakaru: "The Rahkshi" [12:34:07 AM] Kakaru: "Only Last Year" [12:35:10 AM] Kakaru: "Wake One, You Wake Them All" [12:35:59 AM] Kakaru: "The Bay" [12:37:31 AM] Kakaru: "Canyon of Unending Whispers" [12:37:40 AM] Kakaru: "The Coliseum" [12:37:58 AM] Kakaru: "Pakari" [12:39:37 AM] Kakaru: "Where Wisdom and Valour Fail" [12:39:54 AM] Kakaru: "The Queens" [12:40:14 AM] Kakaru: "Who You Once Were" [12:40:32 AM] Kakaru: "Chains of Karzahnii" [12:41:00 AM] Kakaru: "For Freedom We Rise" [12:41:29 AM] Kakaru: "Where Rocks Scream" [12:41:44 AM] Kakaru: "Awakening" [12:41:52 AM] Kakaru: "And in the End" [12:42:15 AM] Kakaru: "Once Reaching for the Sun" [12:42:35 AM] Kakaru: okay out of ideas [12:43:36 AM] Kakaru: pick -one-

HI TOM C: ohmehgosh look at that entry number is that rad or what I'm so glad that it was used on this entry

c: I AM NOW OFFICIALLY MICAH DAVIDSON this is the most rad thing to ever happen ever Uncle Mak! :3

THERE HAVE SOME I TRIED TO BE SERIOUS BUT THEN DEFENESTRATED THAT IDEA

I sifted through five years of topics in the GD archives to find my old stories since nothing has happened to me in recent years. Apparently the most interesting one I've got is the time I was carrying an armload of assembled figures and dropped Thok, who promptly landed flat on his feet. oh dear my eyes are bleeding why did I decide to read my old posts again

I don't know what that link is going to, but my college's network filter is vehemently opposing it. I guess I'll have to be satisfied with the summary in this news article. :v

I was just waiting for this. :3 Nope, totally legitimate criticism. A lot of my stories are written this way, with the initial idea and main concepts introduced through a choppy narrative (and this is something that people have told me many times before) then fleshed out through critique. I mentioned this a bit in my blog, but to clarify:A friend of mine had been interested in Bionicle and casually followed the story as a kid, but he was interested in the specifics of some of it, looking back. He was wondering why the Toa Mata came to the island on the first place and asked me to explain. So I cracked my knuckles, and... realized the earliest point I could possibly start at was the beginning of the entire universe. Everything was going well enough until I reached the history of Metru-Nui and its protectors. The Many Deaths of Toa Tuyet is one of my favourite stories because it shows the darker side of the Toa and a part of the Bionicle story that could never be integrated into the main line. As I was telling him this, it occurred to me that nearly every member of Lhikan's team had done something incredibly awful to contribute to the degradation of the city. Suddenly the entire police-state of the Vahki and the brainwashing-propaganda tone of the online Vahki flash animations made complete sense. The Vahki were literally a substitute for toa that couldn't falter. As I got to Dume's order to capture the Toa Metru, I nearly fell flat on my face, because if the entire history of the city and the power struggle between the Toa and the Dark Hunters was taken into account, Dume was entirely justified to give the order.I gibbered about this for a while because I had never realized the magnitude of the implication, and when we got back to the college I resolved to write a story to illustrate the emotional side of the story that should have been. I admit that, more than anything, this story is a rough draft. I would have loved to turn it into an epic if I had the time. As it was, I just wanted to share one idea without posting a couple of sentences about in in S&T, and a poem just didn't work. Oh my face. Did I really write that? *has an awful flashback to the time he wrote "the metallic sound of metal against metal" and crawled under his sheets and cried for a week* Oops yeah. I totally blundered over the tense I was using. I'd probably rewrite the entire paragraph just to accommodate that sentence if I could. I've stuck a temporary fix in by removing "now." It's 3 AM here and I am bad at writing. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Thanks a ton for being honest about what works and what doesn't (as well as for my writing style as a whole, because I know that's really something that needs to evolve beyond its current limits if I'm to improve). I'm equal parts ecstatic that it works as a character study and disappointed that it doesn't work as a complete story, as you and Mak have said. It's definitely something that could have been a much grander tale, but I didn't have the energy to draw out a single point in a full-scale epic. I guess I'm just not that dedicated.Anyways, thanks a ton for the critique! I'll be working hard on improving. :3 also I adore you too

What no. :c I could have sworn you mentioned something to this effect. At any rate, I got the general idea that Dume was genuinely acting on his own and not any of that awful Makuta stuff, which is the idea I was trying to get across. I'm glad it worked though. Thanks! :v

Looks like someone isn't keeping up with their writing group. 1. Yes, The monthly prompt can be used for either genre. Actually, more kudos for writing about Bionicle, I'd think, since most of the stuff from the Ambage is easier to write in COT nowadays. 2. This library allows both Lego and Bionicle themed fiction, so I see no problem with that. All forms of fiction are equally valid.

OKAY REPLY TIME c: Thanks! I had never really considered how pointlessly convoluted so much of the canon really was (even when Rob was explaining his far better alternative) until I began to explain the entire 04-05 arc leading to the 01-03 arc to a friend. That's when first realized that Dume had every reason to order the capture of the Toa Metru for the safety of the city and it made so much more sense if Teridax wasn't involved period. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you! The entire story was created simply to illustrate Dume's decision and the emotion behind it, so I'm glad that came through well! As for his matoran-hood, it was never really stated where he came from before his campaign as a toa, so it just made more sense to give him an origin in Metru-Nui to strengthen his emotional attachment. Yes, oh my glob. Everyone can complain about the Bohrok-Kal or the Piraka or everything about 2009-2010 overall, but the biggest letdown both character and story-wise was failing to give Dume this sort of responsibility and depth of character, choosing instead to stick to the black-and-white morality that marred so many great ideas. I mean, I understand that this was a line of toys for kids, but just changing this one little thing, even hinting at it from afar, would have taken Metru Nui from "arguably the best story arc ever" to "indisputably the best story arc ever." Thanks! Again, that's another intriguing character study. Nidhiki and Krekka were both Dark Hunters, and whether or not Dume was aware that it was the same Toa that betrayed the city so many centuries ago, he would have never allowed them to come to his city for any reason. When the Nui Dragon was released in the city, Dume's first reaction was not to send toa after it, but instead to dispatch a squad of vahki to destroy it. He trusted in his own military might, as it was the only force he believed that could not betray him, (and he was right) and that's what he would have used to capture the Toa Metru. Dume hated Dark Hunters, and they even cornered him in the Coliseum and threatened his life. It's more likely that Nidhiki's team was sent to Metru Nui after Lhikan and wanted nothing to do with Dume. The Toa Metru may have just been additional sport. Teridax was almost certainly not involved at all in the canon I'm writing from. At any rate, thank you! I really appreciate everyone's thoughts. :3

Duuuuuuuuuude. I want Wolverine so much I can't even

But honestly, just telling everyone that Dume was just Teridax in disguise and he wanted the toa captured because MAKUTA ARE EVIL AND THEY DO JUNK LIKE THAT was kind of an awful move. I subscribe to the Janus headcanon as he described it at Cascade, where it's stated that Dume was a corrupt leader who could no longer protect his people through his senility. To that end, I wrote a story.

The Turaga's hand hovered over the paper, trepidant and remorseful. For centuries he had watched his city grow into a thriving metropolis full of happy, successful matoran enjoying their lives, but this-- this was not a decision to make lightly. The petition he had written himself, of course. Nobody else would have the audacity to suggest the crimes he was about to make into indisputable law, backed with the military might of the Vahki. But then, none of the decisions he was forced to make were ever easy, and they rarely ended well. He needed to do this one thing right to redeem himself, if not for his own conscience, then for the good of his loyal citizens. Ah, the matoran. Turaga Dume smiled sadly and stepped away from the paper for a moment, still clutching the pen tightly, his hand moving forward with a tremble as his legs pulled him back. He remembered being part of the noble proletariat so many centuries ago, honoured to work with his brothers in the glory of the forges. He remembered enjoying the simple life, the satisfaction of a job well finished and the inexplicable relief at returning home after dark through the streets lined with perfectly wrought lanterns. The city worked, it thrived, and when the time had come, he protected it to the best of his ability with pride as a great toa. His retirement came as he felt his destiny calling him to lead the matoran into an era of ever more magnificent peace and prosperity as a turaga, mentor and friend to those he had come to love. No, of course he hadn't been perfect. How silly it would be to disillusion himself like that. There was always a time when wisdom and valour may fail, and he had seen the darkest of those times. But as the saying goes, faith... ah, what did it matter. No hero can save everyone, right? There were times that he had called in others to defend the city. An island so grand couldn't last forever without drawing the attention of unscrupulous creatures and natural error. Dume suppressed a small chuckle in his throat. He hadn't seen the fight when the Nui Dragon broke loose, but he heard it took a team with three toa of ice to bring it down. The three most valiant of that team he had asked to stay as protectors of the city. A Ta-matoran from the very forges where Dume once worked, and indeed, one whose life he had saved many years ago, was now a Toa of fire, the very embodiment of duty. The second was a toa of water, rational and controlled, one whose face practically glowed with the virtue of destiny. The last was a toa of air whose honour and camaraderie was flawless, the picture of unity. Oh, how they would change. Dume's city, his very legacy he had entrusted to the caring and virtuous hands of the noble toa. Their dedication to the three virtues could not have been more clear. Dume could only watch in horror as the three guardians proved themselves far, far less than heroes. How easily the three virtues could be forgotten. Unity broken through betrayal as the Toa of air gave his brother to the open mouths of Dark Hunters. Duty maligned as cowardice forced the betrayed brother into hiding, leaving the object of his sworn protection to die. Destiny consumed by madness and unflinching murder as a peaceful Toa littered the streets with the corpses of her brothers and sisters. Toa could not be trusted. It was clear that the legends of toa no longer held any merit as they were severed from the virtues that bound them all together. In their place, Dume constructed an army who would obey him if nothing else. His unflinching morals and commitment to the protection of his people would keep them from straying into anarchy. Metru-Nui needed no toa, for toa could corrupt, and toa could certainly kill. The thoughts and memories made Turaga Dume sick. He flicked the pen open and took a decisive step back to his desk, deftly marking the petition and even creasing the page a bit. Toa could not be trusted. This was all he could do to protect the matoran, even if it meant sacrificing six more. A tear pooled in the corner of his eye, but he blinked it back and firmed his stance, tightening his jaw to keep his constitution. Information wanted leading to the capture and arrest of traitors to the glorious city of Metru-Nui. Whenua, the Archivist. Nuju, the Scholar...

This would be the greatest thing ever like you don't even know

Soran wins. I give up.

I just I cannot get over how much I loved riddles in the dark. Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis (and the entire animation team backing him) were absolutely the crowning achievement of the entire film. Any gripe I have with other inconsistencies are absolutely blown away by how well that scene was executed. oh and the songs I love how they included most of the songs which were all absolutely great and I'm said that they had neither the jolly singing of the elves nor the chant of the goblins while burning the trees, but I guess neither of that made sense when compared to how they had established both groups withing Peter Jackson's Middle Earth. Oh well. not to mention the subtle references in lines or song to the chapter titles, which i thought was a nice clever touch to anyone who remembers the book (An Unexpected Party, Roast Mutton, Riddles in the Dark, Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire). Overall, I can sympathise with most of the decisions to cut, include or revise certain material, even if it felt like a little of the story I've known since I was a kid died while watching it.

BE THE BOSS LIKE THEY KNOW YOU ARE