Infrared

Sound familiar?

*takes bucket of cold water...* Well the quote pretty much settles that then. But notwithstanding that, I might as well address the other points. We never actually are told by another character that Orde was in the GSR; we only hear his backstory from himself and from the narrator. If Onua told us Orde's background then that would complicate things, but I'm not sure there's anything (besides, you know, the Greg quote ) to indicate that his story is true. That plays into the second point as well: sure, Orde couldn't calm a horde of Zyglak according to Orde, but his story could easily be a lie--certainly Orde would scan Chiara and Zaria's minds to come up with a foolproof backstory so he couldn't be outed easily. That wouldn't require any risky memory editing, plus seeing as Orde provides lots of exposition when he explains the Zyglak issue I imagine the Zyglak's origins aren't common knowledge (if they were, he probably would have left it at "oh yeah, I was the guy who messed up the Zyglak"). Also, AFAIK we're never told how strong he is; in fact, "Orde picked up a heavy branch" in chapter 3. And I'm afraid I don't understand your point about Orde's emotions--he shows "incredulous[ness]" and "shock" in chapter 3, but that fits in with the theory as outlined in the first post.... In the end, all we really know about Marendar is, as you said, that "no Toa or team of Toa would be able to stand against him." Does that mean he will eliminate Toa on sight, or will he take the time to learn about them before killing them? We don't know, although based on the quote it seems like Greg was leaning toward the former. The angle that I outlined in this theory struck me while I was binge-watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (no spoilers, but if you've seen the show you know what prompted it) and wasn't intended to be taken too seriously, but it's great that you all find it worthy of discussion!

I started this a while ago but SPIRIT's topic inspired me to finish it. --- Alright everybody, this is pretty outlandish but bear with me. If we make a big assumption then a lot of the post-SM material ties together nicely. Orde is Marendar. (Note I'm referring to Marendar as a "he" because using "it" gets confusing.) Marendar was designed to eliminate Toa if they did not behave as expected. In other words, the Toa are a buggy program and Marendar's job is to terminate it. If Marendar had psionic powers, he could scan through Toa's minds (step through the code, find the error) and then kill them (terminate the program). A Toa of Psionics would be the perfect cover then; Marendar could integrate with the Toa and scan their minds without raising any suspicion. By skimming people's minds, Marendar could also build up a working knowledge of the MU that would allow him to come up with a convincing backstory. Whether Marendar was created as a Toa of Psionics or whether he can shapeshift doesn't matter too much, although if he could shapeshift that would explain the gender issue; Marendar could have shapeshifted into a male Toa of Psionics and rushed in among the Toa before learning Psionics was a female element. By the time Chiara asked Orde why he was male, he already had had several days to scan her mind for info that allowed him to cover up his mistake. Now, why would Marendar join Chiara and Zaria's party? Simple: they were searching for the GBs. The GBs were SM's leadership and were also Marendar's creators. If the GBs, Glatorian, and Agori were all in danger, it would make sense for Marendar to prioritize the GBs' lives over the Glatorian and Agori's. Chiara and Zaria threatened the GBs, so Marendar tagged along to kill them. 
Several things might have happened when the party was captured by the Vorox. I think the most likely possibility is that Orde never revealed himself to the Vorox and didn't know about Velika's power dampeners (in which case his line “You can’t shut off a Toa’s power. That’s like shutting off the ability to breathe!” was genuine). Whatever happened, Orde expected the Toa to be eliminated by the Vorox. And when Orde finds out about Velika: Orde has been programmed to wipe out all Toa and to protect the GBs. Not only is there a GB disguised as an MU inhabitant (!!) but, as we learned later, that GB wants to rule over SM (!!). That totally goes against Marendar's programming to eliminate the Toa. Once Orde and Velika's true identities are revealed (maybe after Velika fails to kill Lifer and co. and Orde kills Chiara and Zaria?), we have a good lead-in to... ...the hinted-at GB civil war! On one side is Angonce and the MU inhabitants, who want a peaceful SM society. On another side is Velika, who dislikes the GBs' leadership and wants to rule over SM with an iron fist. Meanwhile, Marendar runs around killing Toa against both sides' wishes. What Angonce doesn't know is that Velika is responsible for the MUians' sapience, and what Velika doesn't know is that Angonce accidentally released Marendar. Really, their goals aren't that different: after all, they both want the MU inhabitants alive, they just want to rule them differently. The two sides at least temporarily settle their differences (with the help of Takanuva perhaps?! his destiny has something to do with the war after all), and they ally to destroy Marendar. Maybe Velika agrees to end his power grab as long as the GBs agree never to interfere with the new SM society? That's speculation of course, but it would tie up the threads nicely—by the end the GBs, Velika, and Marendar would be a non-issue. As for Kopaka and Pohatu, who knows? At the end of all of this, you might be thinking Greg never planned for Orde to be Marendar. AFAIK you're right. But did Greg plan for Velika to be a GB? Of course this theory isn't to be taken too seriously, but do feel free to poke holes in it! Edit: Hi all, I'm gonna be gone without internet for a couple weeks. If you post any feedback and you don't get a response, I'm not ignoring you! I'll respond when I get back. Also I just noticed that it's actually fitting that marendar means "salvation" in Agori. If Marendar weren't a threat, then following this theory Velika and Angonce wouldn't ally and the civil war would potentially last much longer than it would otherwise.

The listings make a distinction between the normal Skull Mask that Grinder and Warrior wear and the "Bull Skull Mask" that Basher and Scorpio wear. Basher and Scorpio were both created by Grinder according to the descriptions, so maybe the Bull Skull Mask played a role in that? Also, it sounds like Slicer was animated by the Golden Mask of the Skull Spiders, not by Grinder--hence the Skull Spider head presumably.

Don't let it infect your masks!

What, no love for the original song? (image credit) Looks like Bara and Bota Magna have been replaced with two moons here and on the box art... sort of fitting.

It looks like Skull Warrior's mask to me what with the eyes, nose, and circle on the forehead. The eyebrows jut out a bit more on the promo image, but the model they used could be a prototype or it could just be off. Edit: And I guess Skull Grinder uses the same mask mold, so seeing as he (it?) fights Ekimu I think it's probably Skull Grinder instead.

This isn't an official translation by any means, but Tolkien has developed his own version of the Matoran language, and as part of that project that he translated the chant (see here). There's more of that sort of thing on his blog. But as other people have said, it's unclear what the chant means in real life.

I don't think the GBs intended the Matoran to have sapience or feelings. Velika somehow made the Matoran sapient during Mata Nui's voyage.

Oh no worries! A teal Kakama is super cool too, and it should have some great MOCing potential. Let us know what else you get!

That Kakama also sounds interesting... I've never heard of one in lime green before. Could it perhaps be a noble Komau? Or maybe it's a misprint? If you wouldn't mind uploading pics I'd love to take a look!

Yeah, I used "cockiness" to mean "arrogance." Sorry, should be been more clear about that. I'm not sure it is though... sometimes they might seem the same on the outside but internally they can feel different. You can be confident while consciously not being arrogant (think the classic "wise old man" archetype). Yoda wasn't able to defeat Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith but I wouldn't necessarily call him arrogant for thinking he could; just going by Yoda's past experiences with Sith, he totally could have defeated Palpatine. Now during that very fight Palpatine actually does call Yoda "arrogant," which you might say is an example of Palpatine's own arrogance. In fact I would argue Palpatine wasn't being arrogant either--he was very familiar with Yoda's skill level and knew that his own skill level was greater. Now, the issue is that Palpatine conflates the idea of "bad confidence" with "arrogance"--as you've mentioned. "Confidence" and "arrogance" aren't that clear-cut in real life--I totally agree. At the same time, I feel framing confidence vs. arrogance can be a useful exercise. It's easier (for me at least) to be confident when I feel I'm not being arrogant. If I (broadly) define what "arrogance" is beyond simply "bad confidence," then I can avoid it more easily, and then I can be more confident in my actions. I can't speak to that method's effectiveness for anyone else, but certainly it's worth a shot, no?

Only being able to change volume would get around the problem, but based around BS01's descriptions (which were taken straight from official material AFAIK) it seems like it can go both ways: Stage 1: Can briefly increase density to resist physical blows. Stage 2: Can focus density to a hardness of solid Protodermis, becoming almost impervious to harm. Stage 3: Can decrease density for enhanced speed and agility. Stage 4: Has the power to become momentarily intangible.Stage 5: Has the ability to pass through matter at will.Stage 6: Complete control over own density and that of any object in physical contact. Increasing your density to take hits seems like you're increasing your mass, and passing through matter (intangibility) seems like decreasing your mass. But you're right, IIRC the Rahi Nui (and Krika's death I think?) both involve increasing volume. I mean, maybe Kraata increase their density in one part of their body and have to counterbalance it by decreasing their density in another part so their mass stays constant, but that wouldn't explain intangibility.... So maybe "complete control over your own density" means being able to change mass and volume? Density=mass/volume so for "complete control" it'd make sense to be able to control both variables. Or maybe Makuta can control their mass but Density Control requires constant focus? All the Kraata use cases seem to be temporary, unlike shapeshifting which is permanent. So a shapeshifting Makuta could increase his/her mass with Density Control but it'd be easier just to absorb mass instead (and I think I read somewhere that Makuta shapeshifting takes a while, in which case they wouldn't be shapeshifting for quick fights or what have you, so they couldn't maintain their focus long enough for Density Control to be helpful there). The exceptions are the Rahi Nui, which I think used the Kanoka Enlarge power so Makuta powers don't really apply, and Krika, but his Density Control powers went berserk when Gorast used her Felnas on him so he wasn't in control of his power anyway.

I was looking at BS01's Kraata Variations page when I realized something. According to the page, stage 6 Kraata can't shapeshift to change their own mass. That's consistent with how Makuta shapeshifting works--they need to absorb things to increase their mass. But then how does Density Control, another Kraata power, work? Stage 6 Density Control Kraata have "[c]omplete control over own density," and density is mass per unit volume, so by increasing their density aren't Makuta by definition increasing their mass? In that case, why couldn't Terry have taken on his Ultimate Dume form without killing Nidhiki and co. by 1) shapeshifting into Ultimate Dume and then 2) increasing his density -> his mass? Clearly I'm way overthinking this.

The terms might be misused but I'd like to think confidence and cockiness are a bit different from each other. Confidence is knowing your limits well enough that you feel comfortable working within them and even pushing them a bit. It's about self-awareness--you assess your capabilities based on all the information you know. That often requires failure! I think you have to have some humility to be confident. When you're cocky you don't know yourself well enough to know your limits. It requires a lack of self-awareness. You choose--often thanks to your ego--not to develop your opinions based on all the information provided. Now there's of course more nuance to it (if you're inexperienced but genuinely believe you know it all because you haven't been exposed to anything else, are you cocky? Based on the definitions above I'm not sure) and people often conflate the terms, but that's more or less my two cents. You can fail and still be confident and you can succeed and still be arrogant/cocky. Now your working definition might differ from mine, but based on what you've written it sounds like you lack cockiness. Humility is key to being confident, but it can also be detrimental if you psych yourself out. Like fishers said, I think the key to being confident is knowing your limits, and often that means doing your research but often that means pushing yourself past your limits too! Failing gracefully and learning from your mistakes leads to confidence.

Haha, I know I guy who's really into speed cubing. I think his favorite is a Dayan ZhanChi 3x3x3 6-Color Stickerless Speed Cube. I've played around with it before, it's crazy smooth.

Before the downtime I used red Comic Sans. Then I realized how obnoxious it was so I switched to the default.

Usually in stories with prophecies the term they use is fate, not destiny. Fate is played with a lot in stories and it doesn't seem to confuse people the way destiny does. I don't know if anyone is familiar with the Aeneid (an epic poem written in Latin), but in it Aeneas flees Troy and (eventually) makes his way to Italy, where he "founds" Rome by starting the bloodline that ends with Romulus and Remus (they're the ones who actually establish the city of Rome). It reveals a pretty interesting take on fate. Someone can be fated to do something and they can know it, but they still have free will. At one point Aeneas decides to lollygag in Carthage and Mercury literally has to fly down from Olympus and tell Aeneas to get a move on. The main difference I see between Greco-Roman fate and destiny in Bionicle is that you can know your fate but you usually don't know your destiny. Besides that though, they seem to work in similar ways. So maybe your destiny is like your fate kept hidden from you? In which case you're can't really rebel against your destiny, since you don't know what it is. You're just acting on your own free will in a way that seems to go against your destiny to us fans looking on.

That cult idea is pretty cool. Ahkmou'd fit right in. Short story idea? Oh for what it's worth Greg said Takanuva's destiny was going to have something to do with a Great Being civil war. Of course that never happened in-story though.

Well Jerbraz was going to get powers, but the experiment went wrong and he turned invisible instead. Also, Mazeka is useful as a spy since he is a Matoran and can blend in easily. If a Ko-Matoran were shooting blasts of energy everywhere people would know something's up.... I imagine Order members have a choice as to whether or not they want upgrades, and Hydraxon and co. just didn't want them. If I were already proficient with weapons, I'd rather get armed to the teeth than take part in an (evidently risky) experiment to gain new powers that I'd then have to learn how to use.

For what it's worth, from BS01's OoMN page: (Permalink if you're from the future) This says nothing about physical appearance though; we should assume other members of Axonn's species actually look like Axonn (Carapar is the obvious exception since we know for a fact he's a mutant), and that makes me think Hydraxon and Lariska are a reach. I think it's more likely Hydraxon is a member of Trinuma's species as suggested above. Sure, Hydraxon, doesn't have horns, but he does have Back Blades that look a whole lot like horns. He could have had them removed and replaced with the blades instead. It does seem like an odd place to store weapons, but if he had horns before he'd already be used to having two blades sticking out from his head. Or who knows, maybe Axonn is a Toa Kaita. Edit: Also Trinuma wears a Kanohi but Hydraxon doesn't. However, AFAIK it's never been said Hydraxon can't wear a Kanohi, he just doesn't. So I think that still works.

Liking the idea of grouping species together. That said, I think everyone's trying to tackle too much at once and it's making things sort of hard to follow. It might be easier if we try to hammer down one or two species at a time. I suggest we start with the less controversial ones and move on from there. If people want, we could also start up a master post to keep track of everything. This one is one of the less controversial ones, plus the conversation is sort of leaning toward it already, so: Axonn + Carapar Both have tremendous strength.Both spent lots of time in the Southern Islands.Both were once warlords in the Southern Islands. Axonn became a warlord in the Southern Islands after the Hand of Artakha disbanded, and Carapar ruled the Southern Islands as part of the League of Six Kingdoms.Any differences in powers between Carapar and Axonn can realistically be attributed to Pit Mutagen.Seeing as Carapar and Axonn were both warlords, it would make sense if this were the dominant species in the Southern Islands. Now, I think this grouping makes a fair amount of sense. Based on that, let's see if/how any other characters fit into it.