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Ideas For A Future Power Rangers Fic (Please Give Feedback)
So yeah, even though Guardians of Gaia isn’t finished yet, and is actually on another hiatus, I’ve already been compiling a list of ideas for a future PR fic, assuming I ever do one. And, as always, I’m eager to get input from my friends and fans, as well as general fans of Power Rangers. So, for now, here’s a list of ideas I’ve got, with the bold ones being must-haves.
- Layla as the mentor of the team: Basically, the idea goes that Layla, my Blue Ranger in GoG, would return as the mentor for the new team. She would supply the team with their tech, and impart her own experience as a Power Ranger to the next generation.
- A thick-bodied female Ranger: Okay, I know that Saban (and Disney, back when they owned and ran the show) may feel inclined to cast fit, skinny actresses as their Power Rangers as a means of having them be at least close to the build of their Sentai counterparts. And I’m not saying this as any kind of slight against any of the women who have been Power Rangers, either, as there’s not a single one of them I have any kind of real issue with. I’m just saying, it would be nice to have a thick girl as a Power Ranger someday, and if it’s never gonna happen for real, then I feel like I should at least do it for a fanfic.
- A male Pink Ranger: Alright, maybe this only really bothers me as a member of the LGBTQ community (yeah, what a shock, and I’ve been hiding it SO well over the years, lol), but really, why is this a thing? Why is a guy in pink still considered odd? Why is it that guys seemingly only know the names of different shades of colours when they have to insist something of theirs (usually their clothes) isn’t pink when it is? Seriously, there are plenty of guys, even 100% straight, white guys, who can pull off pink just fine. So why is it that, after four decades of Super Sentai, we still do not have a guy in pink? The closest we’ve come is the all Pink Ranger Gokai Change from one of the Gokaiger movies. And yeah, isn’t it odd that, in a series that ate through as much Sentai footage as it could, we never saw that in Power Rangers Super Megaforce? And yeah, I know, I had that team go Legendary Pink Ranger Mode in a fanfic, but I still kinda wanna do a full-time male Pink Ranger.
- A team of Rangers that represent different emotions: Think of it kind of like the different Lantern Corps, just not necessarily the same colours or emotions. I mean, we’ve had enemy factions in both PR and the Sentai (and in Kamen Rider, for that matter) who are sort of representatives of different emotions, but never a team of Rangers that does the same thing.
- A group of Zords based on animals we’ve never seen used before: Be honest, we all are always wanting to see this. If nothing else, the core set of Zords used by teams in the past have found themselves repeated over and over. In particular, tyrannosauruses, sharks, triceratops, lions, wolves, pterodactyls, elephants/mastodons, and tigers of all sorts have been used repeatedly over the years. We usually only see other, more outside-the-box animals and creatures used when the Rangers have massive fleets of Zords.
- Team-up with Guardians of Gaia: Really, I honestly can’t imagine doing a second PR fic and not having a team-up with these guys. And really, there’s no reason not to, either. It’s my team and my story, and there are plenty of ways to justify a crossover, especially if I went with the first idea on this list.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got so far. What would you like to see added to this list? Let me know in the comments below, and we’ll see what happens when GoG wraps up. Ja né!
Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia Season 2 Is Up! #TogetherWeAreMore
So, it’s been a couple of years, but I finally decided to get back to work on my Power Rangers fanfic, Guardians of Gaia, by posting ‘Season 2’ of the story. For the uninitiated, here’s the basic premise of my story: A parallel world to Earth called Gaia, which is tied to the natural elements of the world, is facing disaster. The Dark Zones of said world have been taken over by a powerful being called Dradarius, who is looking to conquer all of the other zones, cities, and locales of Gaia. Its ancient protectors, the Guardians of Gaia, disappeared millenia ago, and the source of their miraculous powers, the Gaian Crystals, with them. However, the crystals weren’t lost, instead passed down through the Guardians’ bloodlines…who wound up on Earth. As such, when five of them are brought back together by five college students, said students are sent to Gaia to protect it, not only as the newest Guardians of Gaia, but as the newest team of Power Rangers.
Furthermore, here’s a quick rundown of the main characters of the fic. And keep in mind, these rundowns do possess some spoilers, so if you don’t wanna know, scroll down past them.
- Nichelle “Nikki” Markson – The Red Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Fire. She’s a natural leader and a disciplined martial artist and fencer, and while she initially had trouble with long-range weapons, she’s since improved her aim with them. She’s a tenacious fighter and strategist who has defeated many powerful foes single-handedly, including the massive Plesio Lightless and the soul-stealing Ammit Lightless, but she has trouble dealing with loss, and treats any injuries that befall her friends as personal failures of hers. Despite these short-comings, Nikki has nonetheless earned the right to be named the true Guardian of Fire by the most stubborn of races on Gaia, the volcanic Magma Naga. Her Gaia Zord is the Phoenix Zord, which can assault foes with its razor-sharp talons, flame breath, and burning aileron roll.
- Patrick “Pat” O’Donnell – The Green Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Wind. Born to a meteorologist and a geologist, Patrick has learned much of his parents’ trades, and has also become skilled at fencing and parkour. He’s easily the most gifted swordsman of the team, using finesse and a little bit of luck to topple monsters like the Skeleton Lightless, who had previously bested the others in 4-on-1 combat. He has trouble admitting what he’s really thinking at times, and tends to put the good of others over himself to the point of self-sacrifice. Furthermore, an incident in battle cost him the use of his eyes, requiring him to further hone his natural and wind-based senses to compensate. His Gaia Zord is the Hippogriff Zord, which can both ride and manipulate the winds with ease, generate small tornadoes, and stomp down on foes with its thick hooves.
- Layla Bluestone – The Blue Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Water. A gamer-girl and tech expert, Layla was initially weak in combat, preferring to fight from a long distance, but has since toughened up a bit, once defeating the Frog Lightless by enduring its attacks long enough to find its weak point. An open lesbian, she’s currently dating a Dryad named Faye, and once subconsciously and unsuccessfully tried to hit on Nikki. While she’s occasionally made mistakes doing so, she’s been working to improve and expand upon the team’s weapons and equipment. She initially believed she was Madilyn’s sister, but this was revealed to be false, though she quickly forgave her and accepted her as her sister in her heart, regardless of blood relation. Her Gaia Zord is the Leviathan Zord, a long sea serpent which can coil around foes, tripping them up or keeping them held firmly in place, and can attack with blasts of ice.
- Dirk Slater – The Orange Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Earth. He is the muscle of the group, having grown up on a farm and having taken up wrestling in high school. While he’s occasionally the source of comedic relief, oftentimes pointing out certain long-standing tropes and coincidences in Ranger history, he also has a much more sensitive side to him he tries to hide. When the Doppelganger Lightless tried to trick him by appearing as his sister, Dirk was angered to the point of vengeance at the idea of villains using family against someone, especially his own. He also has occasionally butted heads with Layla over whether the Gaia Zords are machines or living creatures, though the two are still friends regardless of belief. His Gaia Zord is the Behemoth Zord, a bull-like monstrosity who mows down foes with its massive horns and orange energy orbs.
- Madilyn ‘Mad’ Bluestone – The Violet Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Lightning. Initially, Madilyn believed herself to be the leader of the group, as she was the one who brought them all together initially, but eventually conceded the position to Nikki, though the two can still butt heads at times. Her more hyperactive, chaotic, and overly optimistic stance has been known to cause turmoil for the team, as has her over-protectiveness of Layla, but she’s since come to grips with why she behaves in such a manner and tried her best to cool down for her team’s sake. Still, her energy is oftentimes seen as a major asset to the group, and she can at times think outside the box to confuse enemies, like the telepathic Satori Lightless. Her Gaia Zord is the Thunderbird Zord, which can launch electrified feathers from its wings, and can shoot lightning from its eyes.
- Jowar – The Wizard Ranger and Guardian of Light. The last of the Wizards of Gaia, he gave up his powers years ago to his newborn son, Walker. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a mistake when Walker was taken and raised by Dradarius, Usurper of the Dark Throne, and raised to be one of his Shadowmancers. However, Jowar later came across the Light Crystal, which reinvigorated him. He mostly prefers to wait on the team in the Ancient Library as their mentor, though this is mainly due to the crystal’s power weakening the further away from the library he gets. But, when the time calls for it, his light-based powers are the natural foil for Dradarius’ dark-based monsters, such as the mighty Orthrus Lightless. While he doesn’t possess a Gaia Zord of his own, he controls the Magna Cannon, a giant weapon that emerges from the Ancient Library, which can blast apart monsters or empower the Rangers’ Zords.
- Drayden Snyder – The Indigo Ranger and Guardian of Darkness. Despite learning Muay Thai kick-boxing growing up, Drayden always felt like a cheap imitation of his explorer father, Professor Charles Snyder. However, he was dragged into Gaia and was given the chance to become his own man if he fused his body and consciousness with that of a disembodied spirit. Unfortunately, said spirit was a former Dark General named Dargoon, who tried to destroy Gaia and nearly defeated the Rangers until they freed Drayden from his control. At first, he alienated himself from his father and the group, thinking himself evil because of the darkness still inside him, until he realized he wasn’t and officially joined the team. His Gaia Zord is the Dragon Zord, which can blast enemies with powerful dark flames, and is strong enough to carry the Rangers’ Gaia Megazord on its back while in flight.
Anyway, if you’re interested in the story, feel free to click the links below and start reading, and be sure to let me know what you think of it so far. Ja né!
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10041621/1/Power-Rangers-Guardians-of-Gaia-Season-1
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12005678/1/Power-Rangers-Guardians-of-Gaia-Season-2
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/PowerRangersGuardiansOfGaia
Another Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia Season 2 Preview
Lest you think I’m just sitting on my hands and doing nothing, I HAVE been working on Season 2 of GoG, I just have been working on the entire first few chapters at once, while also working on my blog and doing other things. But, for those that enjoyed Season 1 and are anxiously awaiting more content, here’s another preview of Season 2’s opening story arc, entitled ‘Always A Ranger’.
“We’re here,” Adam stated as the group came to a large warehouse. Opening the steel doors of the loading dock, he led everyone inside, where they found a number of people huddled about, looking a bit scared and disheveled.
“City’s inhabitants?” Nikki asked, getting a nod from Adam. “What happened?”
“I got here just after it happened,” Adam explained, leading the team through the large room of people. “The Blots came in and overran the city. The police couldn’t stop them, and the military’s still licking its wounds from the invasion, so-“
“Whoa, INVASION?” Dirk inquired, confused.
Adam scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah…You guys have missed a lot. Earth was invaded by an intergalactic Armada. There was a team of Rangers that managed to beat them back, but the overall forces were so large that it took every last Power Ranger to finally stop them.”
“Aw man, and we missed it?!” Madilyn whined, getting odd looks. “…What? I wanted to fight alongside the other Power Rangers too!”
“Point is, we were still working to get past that, and when this happened, most of us were caught off-guard,” Adam continued as the group made their way to a door labelled ‘Front Office’. “Fortunately, after the war, a few of us veteran Rangers decided to stay in contact in case anything like this should happen again.”
Opening the door the group of seven walked in to find that the front office of the warehouse had been converted into a command center. Standing at different stations were an Asian man in a military-like blue uniform with a red beret, a blonde woman in a blue and black ninja-esque outfit, a brunette in a yellow hoodie and blue jeans, a somewhat shaggy man with brown hair in a purple and black gi, a young woman with dark hair in a white lab coat over an academy uniform of some sort, and a young Asian woman in a black and pink gi. They all looked up curiously to see the Gaia Rangers enter.
“Everyone, we’ve got some new friends,” Adam announced. “These are Nikki, Patrick, Layla, Dirk, Madilyn, and Drayden, the Gaia Rangers. Gaia Rangers, these are Eric, Tori, Kira, RJ, Doctor K, and Mia.”
“So, I hope you’re about to tell us these guys know more about what’s going on?” Eric asked, walking up to the team.
“We may have been operating on the parallel world they’ve been coming from for the better part of a year, yes,” Dirk replied.
“Finally, some good news,” Doctor K said. “Speaking of which, I’ve been trying to upgrade what surveillance we have in the city. It’s coming along slowly, but that’s to be expected with the low tech available to us.”
“Here, let me see if I can help with that,” Layla offered, reaching a hand out.
“…I’d shake your hand, but I’m told that I’m horribly anti-social,” Doctor K replied. “Also, I’m not even really here. I’m transmitting my physical parameters from my location on a parallel Earth.”
Layla’s eyes perked excitedly. “Wow, really? How’d you manage to send a broadcast through the dimensional barriers?”
“The barriers run on unique energy signatures, like radio waves,” Doctor K explained with a shrug. “Once you’ve figured out each one, it’s just as simple as tuning to match it. Took weeks to figure this one’s out, but who needs sleep when you have the unrestrained power of a sugar rush?”
“Y’know, that approach might help with tracking the Blots,” Layla realized. “Can I see your computer?”
Doctor K nodded, leading Layla to it as the others watched slack-jawed, Dirk finally piping up “…Oh dear God, there’s two of them.”
So, let’s talk a bit about the team presented here and why I chose some of them. Adam, Kira, and Tori were all chosen because they’d previously worked on a team like this and thus knew each other fairly well, making them easier to gel as a team. From there, though, it was a matter of choosing Rangers confirmed to still have their powers and would round each other out well, not only in terms of powers but in terms of getting more characters from various points in PR’s history. I mean, there’s a larger presence on the team that’s from the Disney Era, but it’s a bit more spread out. Eric seemed like an obvious choice, both in being the only member of the team from the post-Zordon Saban Era, as well as being both a sixth Ranger that could fill in the Red Ranger position on the team. Plus, as someone who has led the Silver Guardians, he fits well as Adam’s second-in-command. RJ was likewise an option that made immediate sense in my head, both for having martial arts experience that even Adam hasn’t grasped and for being the first Purple Ranger in PR history. In addition, he also has a purpose from a story perspective, but we’ll get to that later. From there, all that was left was to choose a Pink Ranger, and I felt as though I should really have someone from the Neo Saban Era, my own personal feelings on it aside. And, since these Rangers are all members of teams prior to Megaforce, Mia is the only real option, though she does bring plenty to the team that’s unique to herself with her samurai skills and Symbol Power. Finally, because I just couldn’t resist (and really, how could you blame me?), I decided to have Doctor K be the team’s technical support. Hell, I’m honestly even considering having her pop in from time to time even after this, though I suppose I shouldn’t be pushing the idea too much.
Anyway, I’m hoping to have this done for the beginning of this Fall, if not sooner. When it’s done, I’ll be sure to post a notice here on my blog. Until then, though, lemme know what you think about how this is shaping up thus far. Also, I have a question: Would you like to see all of Always A Ranger posted at the same time, or would you prefer to have each chapter posted when each is done? Let me know, and I’ll see what I can do either way. Ja né!
Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia Continues – New Rangers, Upcoming ‘Season 2’ Story
So, as you all know, I tend to get distracted a lot by varying projects and plans of mine. As such, one project of mine that has suffered a long hiatus is my PR fic, Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia. However, I’ve recently gone back to writing it, focusing most of my efforts on finishing this story by the end of the year…sort of. We’ll talk about that later. For those that have no idea what this is, I HAVE posted an article on it once before, but here’s the basic premise of the story, which includes newer details since the story was first posted: A parallel world to Earth called Gaia, which is tied to the natural elements of the world, is facing disaster. The dark zones of said world have been taken over by a powerful being called Dradarius, who is looking to take over all of the other zones, cities, and locales of Gaia. Its ancient protectors, the Guardians of Gaia, disappeared millenia ago, and the source of their miraculous powers, the Gaian Crystals, with them. However, the crystals weren’t lost, instead passed down through the Guardians’ bloodlines…who wound up on Earth. As such, when five of them are brought back together by five college students, said students are brought to Gaia to protect it, not only as the newest Guardians of Gaia, but as the newest team of Power Rangers.
The story is very much connected to Power Rangers mythology, with name and location drops, powers and weapons based off of ones previously seen, and the previous Rangers’ existence is very much a fact, with this team at first hoping to get home and calling them in to help with the crisis on Gaia. The Zords are based off of mythological, legendary, or ancient creatures, though some are simply animals that are related to various mythologies or religions. The monsters are also usually legendary creatures, though there are some basic animals tossed in as well. Now, if you’ve read the original article I posted, you know the five Rangers’ back-stories and quirks, though they have of course developed over the course of 18 chapters, and new details about their pasts have become apparent. I won’t spoil those, since I want you to read…but that said, I WILL discuss what else is new since the beginning: The two newest Rangers.
Jowar, the Wizard Ranger: Jowar specializes in Light attacks and, unlike the other Rangers, doesn’t possess a motif based on a creature, but of a wizard. He started off as the team’s mentor, teaching them about the world they’d arrived in and giving advice and guidance where possible. While he isn’t the most effective mentor to a Ranger team, he DOES help however he can, and genuinely cares for the team. However, as time went by, the truth of his past, namely that he is the father of Walker, the Shadowmancer that has been tormenting the team since they arrived, and his own past tragedies in how his desire for a family was twisted against him by Dradarius, were brought to light. His genuine desire to help the team, despite being unable to use his powerful light-based magic much outside the boundaries of the Ancient Library, their base of operations, led to him earning the ability to become the Wizard Ranger. His personal weapon is his staff (which I just now realized I’ve never given a name to in the story…whoops), which possesses a unicorn motif, due to being guided to the library by the Unicorn Zord. The staff allows him to harness light in various forms of magical spells, or to emit powerful light-based attacks, which most of the monsters are severely weak to, thus making him a powerful ally in the field when he’s able to join the team. He tends to experiment with the limits of his magic through various botany experiments, providing plants with the light they need to live, which has become a favoured hobby of his. While he currently doesn’t have a Zord of his own, the Unicorn Zord instead being one of three auxiliary Zords that form weapons for the Megazord, he DOES control the Magna Buster, a massive crystalline device that emerges from the library roof, which can erect powerful force fields, or emit bursts of light to either destroy monsters or recharge the Zords.
…Also, if you guys could do me a HUGE favour…can you give me suggestions for what the heck to call Jowar’s staff? I mean, it’s his primary weapon/Morpher, and it doesn’t have a name. And most of the names I come up with in my head sound dumb. Wizard Staff, Unimax Staff, Gaia Staff Morpher, Wizard Force Morpher, and so on. Please, HELP ME. lol
Drayden Snyder, the Indigo Gaia Ranger: Drayden specializes in Dark attacks and possesses a Dragon motif. He’s the son of a professor, Charles Snyder, who studied various archaeological digs in his own search for Gaia. Despite being proud of him, Drayden always felt like a cheap imitation of his father, never seeming to be a unique person of his own making. As such, when he’s dragged into Gaia through the sixth crystal, his mind and body are merged with the spirit of an ancient Shadowmancer, Dargoon, and is lured into helping him with the promise of becoming his own man. However, when people start getting hurt and it’s clear that Dargoon is insane, looking to actually destroy Gaia, he tries to break away, only managing to do so with the Rangers’ help. Despite this, he felt the darkness was still with him, and alienated himself from his father and the group, thinking himself evil. Once he learned that darkness was just another element like any other, though, and that it was the people that had usurped the dark zones in Gaia that were the problem, he joined the team, taking his place as the sixth Guardian of Gaia. While he isn’t the sixth Ranger by order of appearance, he is in the more spiritual and philosophical sense, and more-so by the fact that there were originally six Guardians of Gaia, and that the Wizard Ranger is something entirely new. His personal weapon is the Dragon Buster, a massive sword that can channel the energies of three separate Gaian Crystals at once. He pilots the Dragon Zord, which can fly and breathe dark flames, but also controls the Wolf and Lion Zords, which combine with the Dragon Zord to form the Dragoon Megazord, or swap arms with the Gaia Megazord.
Now, I said that I’m planning to have this story done by the end of the year. However, I should probably put an asterisk over that, as the story I’m writing now is actually only the first half of the bigger story going on. After this, I plan to post what I’m referring to as ‘Season 2’, or the second half of the story. And for those worried, NO, I am NOT calling it ‘Super Guardians of Gaia’, although I will say that such a title worked a lot better with Megaforce than Samurai, and that I can actually buy Super Megaforce as a legitimate second season, whereas Super Samurai was just the remaining 20 episodes of Samurai being aired a year later. So, why the second season story? Well, primarily because of all the ideas I have for GoG that will ultimately stretch the story out much further than I had originally planned. New weapons, twists in the story, possibly a new Zord, hell, maybe even a team-up with a previous Ranger team. Plus, there is a point in the story coming up that serves as a major turning point, which I felt would actually work pretty well as a cliffhanger.
So yeah, ‘Season 1’ will end before the year is up, and then next year, ‘Season 2’ will ultimately tell the second half of the overarching story, and provide closure for it. But that doesn’t mean it’s lame sailing from here until the end of this half. Trust me, this half is ending with a bang in a way that I don’t believe we’ve seen before in Power Rangers. I mean, we’ve seen occasions where the bad guys send a massive army of monsters to the front doors of the heroes, and we’ve actually seen it already at around the halfway point of ‘Season 1’. However, this ending coming up is something I don’t recall ever seeing in Power Rangers: A massive army marching on the front door…of the BAD GUYS. 😀
Anyway, lemme know what you think of this decision, the story in general, and of course, click the link below to read the story itself. Ja né, and may the power protect you!