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!

What Do I Listen To While Writing Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia?

So, I’ve been writing my Power Rangers fanfic for a while now. Between the two ‘seasons’, the story is currently resting at 26 chapters long with 170,556 words. In other words, it’s the largest single project I’ve ever done, unless you count every article on my blog and add them all up together. However, one thing I’ve always liked to allude to is what I’m listening to while writing certain scenes. So, I’m here now to set the record straight as to exactly what I listen to as I write Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia.

http://bilico86.deviantart.com/art/Power-Rangers-Guardians-of-Gaia-logo-548959457

Now, obviously, while writing action scenes, I listen to a lot of Ron Wasserman. If you’re unfamiliar (which you shouldn’t be if you’re an old school PR fan, but it CAN happen), Wasserman did a LOT of the classic songs for Power Rangers, including the original Go Go Power Rangers, and came back to do the Power Rangers SPD theme and a demo for Power Rangers Mystic Force. He also did a number of remakes of his classic songs, which he released as Power Rangers Redux. Luckily, a lot of Wasserman tunes work perfectly for certain scenes of my fic. For example, in Chapter 9, ‘Knight of the Wind’ (which is also a song I listen to sometimes when I write Patrick in action, FYI), when Pat is making his big comeback against the monster, this is pretty much the intended tune to play along with the scene:

When the Wizard Ranger, who has plenty of gold on his suit and fights a lot like a combo of the Gold Zeo Ranger and the Solaris Knight, leaps in to help the team, a lot of times I listen to this:

And so on. However, on top of a lot of those themes, there’s also a mashup produced on YouTube of one of Wasserman’s songs that I’ve become rather taken with and listen to a lot…

Also, just the instrumental of Welcome To The Family on its own is a great song for writing PR action scenes to. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up one of my favourite things to listen to while writing people kicking ass, and in particular during the opening to ‘Guardians of Gaia, Awaken! Part 2’: The soundtrack to Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, specifically…

Or hey, remember the two part finale to Season 1, ‘Into Darkness’, when they charged the Blots on horseback?

I also sometimes listen to music from Super Sentai. For example, in ‘Sisters’, there’s a moment where Layla and Madilyn team up to fight a monster, and for whatever reason, this was what was playing in my head as I was writing and I HAD to put it on:

Then there’s that scene in ‘Always A Ranger Part 3’ where…well, I don’t wanna ruin it too much for anyone who hasn’t read it, but let’s just say that the Gaia Rangers band together with some new allies to fight a horde of monsters led by Dradarius himself, and I HAD to use this song. And you’ll have to forgive the quality, since there was never an official release of this, though there IS a piano cover on YouTube…

And during the fight scene that followed THAT up, I listened to THIS awesome mashup:

But enough of the action scenes, let’s talk about some of the other moments in the fic. Now, this is a case where I wish there was a lot more of the background music for the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers available, but unfortunately, for whatever reason, many of those were never released to the public. So, a lot of times, I gotta go outside the box with other stuff. Now, obviously, for moments like Dradarius sitting on the Dark Throne in the Abyssial Fortress, there’s only one theme that could fit the scene perfectly, which thankfully IS available, and has actually been covered and remixed a few different times on YouTube:

However, for other moments of the villains plotting or being menacing, particularly Walker and Darkea, I find myself listening to this more often than not:

And that’s not the only scene I’ve used music from Kingdom Hearts for. For example, remember that heart-breaking scene from ‘Sisters’ that I thought people were gonna kill me for? Well, here’s what I was listening to during that sequence. By all means, re-read that scene with this playing in your headset:

I actually use that for a lot of sad scenes, especially those centered around Layla and Madilyn. And remember in ‘Indigo Nightmare’ where the team entered the Well of Regret? Well…

Anyway, that’s enough of Kingdom Hearts. For other emotional scenes (not necessarily sad), like Drayden and Nikki’s talk in ‘Crying Out For Mummy’, here’s a nice little tune I like to pop in and listen to:

And lastly, for relatively silly moments, like when Madilyn is being…well, Madilyn, here’s a pretty on-the-nose song that I turn on:

So yeah, that pretty much covers everything, other than a few random songs I listen to here and there. Lemme know what you think about this unofficial soundtrack for my fic, as well as if you ever do the same thing while writing or drawing or the like. Ja né!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…Oh, and last of all, for the Lightless showing up in the next chapter…well… … …:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

History of Power Rangers Jungle Fury – Unofficial Companion Piece

Merry Christmas, one and all!…Okay, I don’t normally do this. I feel as though doing companion pieces to reviews is kinda stepping on the toes of the reviewer. However, something odd happened after watching today’s History of Power Rangers. For those uninitiated, History of Power Rangers is a show done by Atop The Fourth Wall host, Linkara, that talks about…well, the history of Power Rangers, season by season. It’s generally a broad overview of each season, keeping only the important details in. And, in that sense, today’s HOPR, which focused on Jungle Fury, did exactly that, and I really enjoyed it…With that said, for some weird reason, a lot of details to the show that I felt were overlooked kept popping up in my head. It was made worse when, after I was done watching, I brought up Netflix and decided to watch some episodes, and these details seemingly increased in number. Now, admittedly, a lot of this could be seen as pointless trivia, but I really like it. So, I thought I’d get it all out by compiling a list of details that either weren’t covered for whatever reason, or just helped explain them when they were. Obviously, though, you’ll wanna watch HOPR FIRST before reading this, in case you haven’t done so already. And I figure we might as well start off with the first thing we saw in the review…

#1 – The Strike Rider

While the Strike Rider IS shown in the beginning of the video, primarily so Lewis could make a snarky comment, there was one thing about it that I wish he’d talked about. See, up until now, every season since In Space had a Battlizer, an American-made powered-up form for the Red Ranger, usually in the form of some advanced armour. However, Jungle Fury doesn’t really have a traditional Battlizer. Instead, the Strike Rider, and the armour that comes with it, are often considered by many to be the Jungle Fury Battlizer. Now, not everybody is in agreement over that point, and anyone reading this is free to make their own call, but personally…yeah, in my opinion, it kinda is. It gives Casey an advanced form, it’s unique to him, and he’s even seen using it at times after the team gains access to Jungle Master Mode. It’s not really anything vital to go over, but I thought it still could’ve been brought up.

#2 – The Wolf Ranger Costume

Okay, I’m not gonna debate costume fashion sense here, but I think there’s a theme present in RJ’s morphed form that I think Linkara may have overlooked: He’s supposed to look like a Muay Thai kick-boxer. Even the Wolf Morpher itself has a little ring bell switch to it. Why? Because in his morphed fights, he’s constantly employing that style of martial art. Granted, I would’ve preferred if he used that style a bit more unmorphed, so it was more clear when the time came that the suit was made with that combat style in mind (having kick-pads and whatnot), so I suppose I can see where Lewis didn’t recognize that.

#3 – The Shark Sabers

Alright, admittedly, this is probably one of the lesser points to bring up, but I just find it kinda neat. If you watch the show (and if you don’t, I don’t know why you’re reading this), you probably noticed that the Shark Sabers look kinda…flimsy. In that, they’re VERY flimsy, resembling HORRIBLE props. However, and I admittedly only know this because I watched Gekiranger, where this point was actually specifically covered, that’s actually part of the design. Think of the blades like if the edges of rubber were sharp. They can bend and flop around, but they’ll still cut. This way, while swinging them around, anything that gets close to them is getting sliced, and they’re also harder to get around, making them every bit as good as defensive weapons as they are offensive. Again, kinda pointless trivia that only the most geeky of people would care about, but…well, what can I say? I excel at being a geek. lol

#4 – The Wolf Zord

Getting back to RJ for a sec, I thought I should bring up how his Wolf Zord works with the others. Basically, it replaces the Cheetah Zord as a new right leg for the Jungle Pride Megazord, and uses its bladed tail to improve kicking power. Again, RJ mostly uses kick-boxing in the field. However, the Wolf can’t combine with the Zords that form the Jungle Master Megazord (or, if it can, it was never shown to be able to in either Jungle Fury OR Gekiranger). Instead, when the others are piloting the Jungle Master Megazord, RJ can project copies of the Tiger and Jaguar Zords to form the Wolf Pride Megazord, which functions exactly like the Jungle Pride Megazord with Wolf Power, only usually piloted by RJ on his own. Although, one cool thing about having the two Megazords usually working together that they never fully took advantage of was the fact that the Elephant, Bat, or Shark Zords could each combine with one of the two, so they could power up even further, although that could require them splitting up between the Megazords, so not sure if that would work or not. Whatever, still cool to think about…at least more-so than the last thing I need to talk about…

#5 – The Pai Zhua Masters’ Spirit Forms

Okay, this one is actually more about confirming a suspicion Lewis had. Yeah, the spirit forms of the Pai Zhua Masters were from Gekiranger. In fact, it’s what their Sentai counterparts each looked like. I’d say that it makes more sense in the Sentai, and it does, but rather, I’ll instead just say that, after a while of watching, you kinda got used to them. HERE, however, I have NO idea why they used them. It’s not even a thing where they were used so that certain shots from the Sentai could be adapted either, since their appearance in Jungle Fury was ALL original footage. So…Yeah, I don’t know. lol

Anyway, that’s all I really wanna talk about. I hope that Lewis Lovhaug understands that I don’t necessarily want to step in on his show. It’s just…I dunno, I guess Jungle Fury, and Gekiranger for that matter, left a pretty big impact on me. As such, I’m gonna NEED to reel this in, because as anyone who knows me personally can tell you, I LOVE Power Rangers RPM and Engine Sentai Go-onger, which are next. Hopefully, I’ll keep a better thumb over my need to exposit more needless details and trivia. In the meantime, though, here’s one Ranger fanatic who can’t wait til March. Ja né, and Merry Christmas. 🙂

What I Would’ve Done With Megaforce/Super Megaforce

So, a few days ago, I ranted a lot about everything that was wrong with Power Rangers Super Megaforce. However, while I did touch base briefly on various things I would’ve done with the season, as well as Megaforce in general, I thought I’d save the majority of it for its own article. Now, some of these might not add up with one another correctly. They aren’t necessarily supposed to, though. They’re just various ideas I’ve had about how the past two seasons could’ve been done differently. So, let’s start off with an idea I had about what they could’ve done with the Rangers before I learned their back-stories and such…

#1 – The Megaforce Rangers Come From Eltar

For those not in the know, in Tensou Sentai Goseiger, the season of Super Sentai adapted into Megaforce’s first season, the Rangers were actually angels. Well, kinda angels, anyway. They’re called Gosei Angels, come from a place called Gosei World, and blend in with humanity to generally guide and protect them. And given Jonathan Tzachor’s love of directly translating the Sentai, I thought that it would actually be an interesting twist on that (and would also fit with Super Megaforce, which was adapted from a season where the Rangers weren’t from Earth) if the Megaforce Rangers were actually from Eltar, having to blend in with humanity while defending them from Warstar forces, and meet up with Zordon’s apprentice, who grants them their Megaforce powers. Granted, you’d wanna make sure they didn’t go full-blown on reusing the stories from Goseiger, and do NOT show them with wings at any time. Also, doing this would make Troy’s Super Saiyan “I AM A MAN!” punch to Robo Knight make a lot more sense, since he could’ve been channeling power from Eltar, which we’ve established was enough to fuel the Turbo Zords and powers.

#2 – Bulk and Skull

One thing that has made me scratch my head a LOT is the presence of Bulk and Spike in Power Rangers Samurai. It just seems completely out of left field for Bulk to want to be a samurai, and you REALLY need to make some serious assumptions with the timeline of Power Rangers to figure out how Skull has a teenage son (and I swear, if I hear one more person suggest that Kimberly is Spike’s mother…). What would’ve been much better use of Bulk, and hopefully Skull, would be for them to run the hangout for the Megaforce team. Why? Well, because having them run a juice bar or the like would be a great way to follow up on their development as characters. Plus, imagine some of the stories that can be told if Bulk and Skull found out about Troy and the others being Power Rangers, and being able to relay stories of the Zordon Era Rangers to them. And as a personal plus to me? We wouldn’t have the most literal retread of Ernie’s possible, even having a whole new character who has the same name…which is HIGHLY UNCOMFORTABLE TO ME. Look, maybe it was meant as a tribute or homage to the character and the actor who played him, but it still comes off as uncomfortable to me that we now have a character who more or less replaces him, especially considering that the actor passed away several years ago! Admit it, if the Yellow Ranger was named Trini, people would be more than a little uncomfortable. And speaking of stuff that should’ve been held back for Megaforce…

#3 – The Opening Theme and Morphing Call

Look, I have no problems with them reusing Go Go Power Rangers for Megaforce (although I would’ve gotten Ron Wasserman to produce and sing the remix), nor do I have a problem with their morphing call being “Go Go Megaforce!”…Or rather, I WOULDN’T mind them doing those two things if it was JUST for Megaforce. However, these are both carry-overs from Samurai, which had no business using either of those things. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Samurai should’ve had its own unique theme with a Japanese tone to it, and the only reason it didn’t was so Saban could continue the theme of “Power Rangers is back!”. It would’ve been far more meaningful and make more sense if Go Go Power Rangers was saved for Megaforce. And if I may be allowed to go on a tangent (too late, lol), I know that there was originally going to be a different theme done for it, but this was vetoed by interference from Nick, and that the theme for Dino Charge is another remake of Go Go Power Rangers, all because Nickelodeon insists on using the old theme. Again, I don’t mind the song being used for Megaforce, since it’s the 20th Anniversary season. However, I DO mind it on the grounds for why it’s ACTUALLY being used. That said, at least Dino Charge is an ACTUAL remake, and very energetically…well, for a lack of a better term, CHARGED. And in terms of “It’s Morphin Time!” being used as a pre-morphing call order of sorts…Meh, I don’t really mind, honestly. As someone who’s used it myself in that same manner for my own Power Rangers story, I can tell you it works a hell of a lot better than the oftentimes used “READY?!”. I guess “Let’s Ranger Up!” is decent enough, but I just prefer “It’s Morphin Time!”. Just personal preference, really.

#4 – Don’t Use The Gokaiger Costumes

Now, I know a lot of people who love the Gokaiger suits and equipment are gonna hate this idea, and I’d be lying if I didn’t get why: They ARE really cool. However, here’s the reason why I wouldn’t use them: They kinda clash in more ways than one with the Megaforce Rangers. Why DOES Jake go from Black to Green? Now, the obvious explanation is because there was no Black Ranger in Gokaiger, but there were Red, Blue, Yellow, and Pink Rangers, so Jake was the odd one out. But beyond a production reason, another explanation is the fact that a lot of Ranger teams use similar colour-schemes, with several teams having a Black or Green Ranger, and few having both without one being the Sixth Ranger (notable exceptions including RPM, hence why Emma uses Dillon’s Ranger Key, to the point where now I’ve gotten way too used to seeing RPM Black’s costume have a skirt). But still, it’s odd to see a Super Mode change a Ranger’s colour, and the use of GokaiGreen footage is the reason why Jake had to be made a clumsy oaf, as to fit such footage. Instead, I would just have the Rangers go Legendary Ranger Mode using new Power Cards…which, honest to God, I thought they were gonna do at first, when the card game and Morpher sold in stores had cards for various Rangers both in and out of PR canon. Plus, I’m sorry, but it bugs the heck outta me that Super Mega Mode makes them look like pirates. Gokaiger makes the pirate motif work for them (especially since their enemies are a giant space fleet with a old-school navy feel to them, and pirates are the natural antagonists to naval fleets), but it doesn’t make any sense for these kids, especially since there’s no explanation for the motif, nor does anyone bring it up. And hell, why take focus off of the Goseiger suits? They work perfect for the 20th Anniversary. Seriously, look at the Megaforce Rangers and tell me they don’t heavily resemble the Mighty Morphin Rangers. And in terms of Orion, there WAS a Green Ranger costume made for Goseiger for a single scene. Really, the only thing I would do is add a golden shield to it, akin to Tommy’s shield when he was the Green Ranger. That said, there IS one other way they could use the Gokaiger suits…

#5 – Have The Gokaigers Used Initially As Villains

Basically, among the Armada would be a group of space pirates who got mind controlled into becoming evil Rangers and wind up stealing the Legendary Keys from the Command Center. The two teams get into a massive battle until a monster from the Armada takes the keys when it looks like the evil Rangers might lose. The pirates are freed from their mind control and team up with the Megaforce Rangers to take on clones of the Rangers created from the Legendary Ranger Keys, and reclaim said keys. The pirates would then either give their Legendary Morphers to the Megaforce Rangers, thus justifying them having pirate-themed weapons, equipment, and Zords, or become a secondary group to supplement the team, making use of their ability to morph into previous Rangers. Hell, if they went with the former, it would be a better way to give Orion his own Ranger Key and Morpher: The pirates made them and gave them to him to go assist the Megaforce team. And yeah, in case you’re wondering, this WOULD make use of footage from the Gokaiger/Goseiger team-up movie, though with some additionally filmed footage…which brings me to my next point.

#6 – Proper Use Of Stock Footage

I’m sorry, but one the bigger issues with Super Megaforce is the overuse of Gokaiger footage. Now, in some cases, it’s perfectly fine to use the Gokaiger footage, since it’s plenty action-packed with badass action scenes. However, some of these scenes definitely needed to be left out or edited better than they were. Specifically, stuff like Jake and Orion’s mannerisms not matching the footage used for them (and Noah to a lesser extent), and certain Legendary Ranger Modes that really shouldn’t have been included (seriously, that battle with Levira should’ve had them use different Legendary Rangers, though at least they had Troy go MMPR Red). Now, on the flip side, there’s some moments in Gokaiger that weren’t used in Super Megaforce that I wish they HAD used. Time Force and Lightspeed Rescue were barely used at all in Super Megaforce, with I think only Jen and Chad’s keys being used to go Legendary Mode, and Quantum Ranger’s key used to summon the Q-Rex (which I assume is either a brand new version of the Q-Rex built by Time Force, or an upgrade of the original. Personally, I hope it’s the former, since otherwise, it means Eric doesn’t have a Zord anymore). Plus, I would’ve loved to see certain Legendary Ranger Modes used, like Yellow Ranger Mode, Silver Ranger Mode, Sixth Ranger Mode, and so on. So, I suppose it’s really about having a better balance of old and new footage.

#7 – Megaforce and Samurai Team-Up

What I thought would’ve been a lot better than what we got for the Samurai homage episode would be a made-for-TV movie set in Megaforce, where Vrak takes control of the remaining Nylok forces for his own purposes. And yeah, I know that the last made-for-TV PR movie didn’t work out so well, but considering how they got most of the Samurai cast to make cameos in Super Megaforce, I’m sure they could get the whole cast back for this, and if it was more or less an adaptation of Goseiger vs Shinkenger, trust me, the story would’ve been a lot better than Clash of the Red Rangers. It’d have awesome stuff like…well…Well, just look!

Hell, they coulda then made use of the episode of Gokaiger where they go back in time to the final battle of that movie (hence the Gokaiger debut being in that movie, which was set before the Great Legend War, when the Ranger Keys were created), where the Super Megaforce team has to do the same. Woulda been kickass.

#8 – Legendary Rangers Minisodes

This is basically the best way I could think of to excuse the use of the Legendary Rangers who were Sentai teams that weren’t used for Power Rangers. In a nutshell, they would be short 5-15 minute episodes telling about the Rangers’ stories, their battles, who they were, and who some of their enemies were. They coulda been exclusives shown on Netflix, or the show’s website. Granted, this is supplemental material to explain something in the main series, which can be considered a failure in storytelling, but at least we’d have SOMETHING. They’d also be super-easy to make, too. And hey, after you’re done explaining the various Ranger teams used for Legendary Mode, they could then tell some more of the back-story for Megaforce, where the keys come from, and what the Legendary Rangers are doing in the middle of the battle with the Armada.

So yeah, other than stuff I’ve already discussed (Jake’s stalker nature, the need for stuff to be properly explained, additional cameos) and little details that they got wrong about previous seasons (the island of the Wild Zords is called the Animarium, while the kingdom it once belonged to is called Animaria, and it wasn’t pronounced like you had people do in Super Megaforce), that’s all I got for now. Lemme know in the comments section below if there are any you’d add. Next time I talk PR, I think I’d like to discuss the future, which is honestly looking a bit brighter than the past four years have. So, feel free to check back in then, as we unleash the power of Power Rangers Dino Charge. Ja né!

Writing A Super Megaforce Breast Cancer PSA Fic – Need Your Help

So, as those who have been reading my fanfic, Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia, know, I’m planning to have a special one-shot fic posted before the end of October. It’s called ‘Power of Pink’, and it’s a PSA fic for breast cancer awareness (and don’t worry, it won’t preach too much or anything, and there will be plenty of action for you violence craving guys, lol). Why is it called Power of Pink? Well, as I said, it’s a breast cancer PSA fic, and pink is generally a colour well associated with breast cancer awareness. However, it’s also because, in a fight scene that occurs in the fic, the Super Megaforce Rangers will be using a Legendary Pink Ranger Mode, meaning all six Rangers will be Morphing into past Pink Rangers.

So, what do I need help with? Well, there’s been a fair share of Pink Rangers throughout PR history, and even more now, as Changeman, Flashman, Maskman, Fiveman, and Dairanger have all been made official PR teams (Power Rangers Dragon, Power Rangers Prism, Power Rangers Lightning, Power Rangers Supersonic, and Power Rangers Squadron) in Super Megaforce. And while I HAD chosen six Pink Rangers to use for the fic, one thing I’ve always been kinda nice about is letting people voice their opinions on my work and giving their opinion thought…also, I’d originally chosen the Pink Lightspeed Ranger, but then decided to add a scene where they go Legendary Ranger Mode Lightspeed Rescue. 😛

Anyway, I’m gonna post this poll here, and whoever has the top six amount of votes will be the ones the team will morph into. If there’s a tie…I dunno, I’ll roll dice or something. lol Anyway, please vote, and hopefully, I’ll have the fic finished before the end of October. Oh, and by all means, please support breast cancer awareness, this is really important. Or heck, just cancer in general. 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!

Click this image to go to the story

New Fanfiction – Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia

So, as you know, I’ve been distracted by a number of things, which has limited my use of my blog. Some are personal issues, some are other things I’m doing that are taking up my time. One of them is a new fanfiction I’ve begun, which started out as a birthday present for Emmybomber, but has quickly become an ongoing fanfic of mine. It’s also becoming one of the bulkiest fics, and has the lowest rating of any fic I’ve done thus far (K+), meaning its potential audience has the biggest age range of any I’ve done thus far. The title: Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia.

Click this image to go to the story

Here’s the jist of the story: An ancient realm tied to the natural elements of the world is in peril, and only five college students can save it before the evil threatening it can attack Earth. The Rangers are all OCs, making it a completely new team, although references to the existence of past teams are made, and there are name-drops and whatnot that refer to seasons of the show, be it city names or the like. The team is made up of three girls and two boys, and the colours of the Rangers are a bit different. The team’s motif centres around crystals, legendary creatures, and the natural elements. Here’s a quick rundown of the main characters.

Nichelle ‘Nikki’ Markson, the Red Gaia Ranger: Nikki specializes in Fire attacks and possesses a Phoenix motif. She’s African-American, of which there were three canon Red Rangers, and there were two canon female Red Rangers, but never both. She’s into martial arts, specifically karate, and is also interested in fencing. She isn’t JUST a butt-kicker, though. She’s able to make quick decisions in the field, and can assess what her teammates can do in battle to determine where best to assign each of them in a fight. While she has moments of vulnerability, she’s ultimately strong-willed and can conceivably bounce back from anything. Her personal weapons are the Heat Sabers, a pair of swords resembling Phoenix wings while also resembling wisps of flame, that can combine into the Heat Bow. She pilots the Phoenix Zord, which can breathe fireballs, rake its talons across foes, and coat itself in flames for high-speed flying tackles.

“Let’s do this. It’s Morphin Time!“

Patrick O’Donnell, the Green Gaia Ranger: Patrick specializes in Wind attacks and possesses a Hippogriff motif. He’s a redhead of Irish decent, oftentimes relying on the Luck of the Irish in situations. He’s studied parkour, which he uses to out-manoeuvre opponents with a certain level of finesse, and fencing, which he puts into effect in close combat. He’s also fascinated by meteorology. Pat’s generally annoyed by the antics of Madilyn, the Violet Ranger, and is quick to follow Nikki’s lead, recognizing her brilliance on the field of combat. Otherwise, he’s usually pretty easy-going with his team-mates. His personal weapon is the Storm Lance, a lance with three points at each end resembling a Hippogriff’s talons, that can be separated into two smaller weapons. He pilots the Hippogriff Zord, which is capable of high-speed barrel rolls and aileron rolls to whip up whirlwinds, and can stomp down on foes.

“I’ll give you guys this much: you make me look REALLY good.”

Layla Bluestone, the Blue Gaia Ranger: Layla specializes in Water attacks and possesses a Leviathan motif. She’s Madilyn’s blonde younger sister, and a self-described computer geek with a love of gaming and technology, initially thinking Gaia might be some sort of virtual reality simulation, then growing fascinated by the team’s equipment. She can occasionally get embarrassed by her sister’s antics, and can at times have issues with Dirk, but they aren’t generally that mean-spirited or result in long-term grudges. Her personal weapon is the Flood Launcher, a large blaster resembling a tidal wave ending in a Leviathan’s mouth, that’s supported with both arms to deal with the recoil, and fires wide energy blasts. Thankfully, Layla’s a bit more adept with blasters than melee weapons, as she’s not that physically strong or athletic. She pilots the Leviathan Zord, a giant sea serpent that slithers across the ground too fast for most opponents to catch, can move through the water like a jet through the air, and fires ice blasts from its mouth.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to kick a lady there?! Especially not a lady who beats suckers on Halo for a hobby!”

Dirk Slater, the Orange Gaia Ranger: Dirk specializes in Earth attacks and possesses a Behemoth motif. He’s a brunet from a family of farmers, and thus grew up surrounded by animals. As such, he’s the member of the team with the biggest connection to nature. He can sometimes get into arguments with Layla, due to the sheer difference in personality between the two and their nature vs technology debates, but they tend to let their issues slide rather easily. Dirk also has a history in high school wrestling. Using this in tandem with his work on the farm, he’s the muscle of the team, able to tackle through enemies and slam them down hard. His personal weapon is the Quake Ax, a large battle-ax resembling a Behemoth’s head and horns, which can cleave through steel and stone with ease. He pilots the Behemoth Zord, a large quadruped with long, curved horns that can ram foes like a bull or stomp the ground to cause small earthquakes.

“Yeah, you worry about finesse in a fight, I’ll just knock the suckers down.”

Madilyn Bluestone, the Violet Gaia Ranger: Madilyn specializes in Lightning attacks and possesses a Thunderbird motif. She’s a blonde with pink and purple streaks in her hair, and is Layla’s older sister. She’s also the one who started the crystallography club in college that the others all joined, and tends to think of herself as the leader, despite Nikki’s natural knack for leadership. Madilyn can get over-excited and break personal boundaries in her enthusiasm, and is generally not that great a planner. As such, she often gets on the others’ nerves. However, she always proves to be a loyal friend and team-mate, and a skilled, well-rounded fighter in the field. Her personal weapons are the Lightning Daggers, a pair of feather-like daggers that come packed with a large amount of voltage. She pilots the Thunderbird Zord, which launches thunderbolt-like feathers out of its wings, and shoots blasts of electricity from its eyes.

“And you guys all thought I was crazy nutso.”

There’s more to their arsenal than was mentioned above, but I don’t wanna give away too much. I will say that they gain access to their powers through crystals, their weapons can combine into a blaster, and the Zords can combine to become a Megazord. Will there be additional weapons, Zords, or even Rangers? You’ll just have to follow along with the story to find out. Ja né, and may the power protect you!

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Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Morphers From Power Rangers/Super Sentai

So a while back, I listed my 5 Favourite Henshin Devices From Kamen Rider. But what about my favourite Morphers from Power Rangers/Super Sentai? Well, let’s count ’em off now. And as always, since I know some people aren’t familiar with the Sentai footage, I’ll primarily use names, terms, and historical events on the PR side of things, while also giving Super Sentai names and history afterwards. Also, keep in mind that I’m going to try to keep this list limited to one Morpher per team (so not the Dino Morpher AND the Brachio Morpher at the same time). Speaking of which, let’s start with…

#1 – The Brachio Morpher from Power Rangers Dino Thunder (Dino Commander from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger)

Tommy‘s Morpher in Dino Thunder (Asuka’s in Abaranger). People have brought up the similarity of this Morpher to Tommy’s previous Morpher, the Turbo Morpher, in that it’s a wrist-mounted device that uses a key. This is actually a coincidence, as the construction of the Morpher for Abaranger didn’t have Tommy in mind (since for obvious reasons, they hadn’t planned on bringing him back for Dino Thunder yet), but it does lead to a few fan theories. Anyway, the Morpher also lets him call the Brachio Zord, as well as some of the auxiliary Zords for that season, and since it houses the Black Dino Gem inside, it also allows Tommy to become invisible.

#2 – Legendary Morpher from Power Rangers Super Megaforce (Transformation Cellphone Mobilates from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger)

This Morpher has yet to officially appear in Power Rangers yet, but it is the Morpher for the Gokaigers, and when it débuts in PR, it will allow the Megaforce Rangers to become the Super Megaforce. In addition, by using the various Ranger Keys with it, the Super Megaforce Rangers can become a copy of whichever Ranger the key was modelled after, with all their powers and weapons at their disposal. Naturally, being cell phones, they can be used as communication devices, and are used to summon their Zords.

#3 – The Omega Morpher from Power Rangers SPD (BraceThrottle from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger)

Sam’s Morpher in SPD (Tetsu’s in Dekaranger). As cool as the standard Morphers are from that season, the Omega Morpher takes everything it can do (communicator, Judgement Mode, Containment Mode, etc.) and adds more. Revving the throttle on the Morpher allows Omega Ranger to use various modes, including Electro, Muscle, Lightbeam, Blast, and Hyper Modes, granting him different advantages against different opponents.

#4 – The Power Morpher from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Dino Buckler from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger)

The Morphers of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger). It was a toss-up between this and the Zeonizers, and frankly, it was a matter of “which one would fewer people kill me for”. lol Anyway, the Power Morpher is a metallic belt buckle that houses a Power Coin. The coins can also be transformed into Power Crystals, which were used to take full control of the Dino Zords during piloting, or fire beams of light from the Megazord.

#5 – The Transformation Gun Gaburivolver from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger

Like the Legendary Morpher, it has yet to appear in Power Rangers. By inserting different Beast Batteries into the Gaburivolver, the Kyoryugers can Morph, call upon their weapons, summon their Zords, and a few other things. Also, not only do they work as the team’s blaster side-arm, but they combine with the Gabricalibur (a sword side-arm) to become the Gaburu Cannon, a powered-up gun, which has been shown to assume a Bayonet Mode for mêlée attacks. So, yes, this is a Morpher, that is also a gun, that can also can become a sword. Something tells me that as soon as it hits stores, Lewis Lovhaug will drop everything he’s doing and go on a hunt for it. XD

Anyway, that’s all for now. Lemme know in the comments if there’s anything else PR/Sentai related you’d like to see me do a Favourite 5 of. Ja né!

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Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Weapons from Power Rangers/Super Sentai

Y’know, right after the Zords, the thing that I would want most in terms of being a Power Ranger is a kickass weapon. And let’s be honest, they’ve had some pretty awesome ones. But which ones would I consider my personal favourites? Well, that’s what I’m here to count off. And once again, because I know some people aren’t familiar with the Sentai footage, I’ll primarily use names, terms, and historical events on the PR side of things, while also giving Super Sentai names and history afterward. Also, allow me to list criteria/limitations for this list right off the bat.

1. I’m going to limit this to one weapon per team, just so I don’t double up. As such, you won’t be seeing both the Power Sword and Power Ax on the list.
2. One weapon per Ranger, so only ONE of Tommy’s weapons. Not, for example, Saba AND the Brachio Staff.
3. They have to be single weapons. In other words, no Power Blasters. That said, single weapons that turn into a team’s blaster on its own, or Power Blasters/Cannons/etc. that aren’t a combination of weapons are all alright.

#1 – Fire Smasher from Power Rangers Samurai (Rekka Daizantou from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger)

So you know how some of the most awesome weapons in fiction are swords that turn into guns? Lightning’s gunblade, Ruby Rose’s Crescent Rose sniper scythe, Kamen Rider Wizard‘s Wizarswordgun, and so on. Well, PR/SS have had a number of these, one of the most recent being the Fire Smasher. It’s basically a Zanbatō that can turn into a cannon. In either mode, it is a powerful, albeit challenging to wield, weapon. It’s actually proven to be one of the more popular weapons, as aside from being used by the Red Samurai Ranger (ShinkenRed), it was also used by Kamen Rider Decade when he and ShinkenRed swapped weapons to battle a monstrous version of Kamen Rider DiEnd, and a giant version is wielded by Shinken GokaiOh.

#2 – Laser Lamp from Power Rangers Mystic Force (MagiLamp Buster from Mahou Sentai Magiranger)

Okay, as silly as the Solaris Knight’s (MagiShine) weapon is, it’s actually highly effective when put to use. By spinning the dial on the side, it charges up shots that, when fired, are guided light bursts that hit the target no matter where they are, even if they’ve gone underground. Also, by fully charging it, he can fire the genie inside, Jinji (Smoky), for a massive finishing attack. During team-ups, MagiShine has also loaded DekaBreak (SPD Omega Ranger) and Zubaan (the Sentinel Knight from Operation Overdrive) inside, allowing them to use their finishers alongside Smoky.

#3 – Saba from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Byakkoshinken from Gosei Sentai Dairanger)

This was one where if I didn’t include it, someone was gonna kill me. lol Anyway, Saba is an enchanted sword that was wielded by Tommy Oliver as the White Ranger (Kibaranger), as well as acting as a sort of partner to him. Beyond his natural abilities as a short sword, he’s also capable of speech, firing energy blasts, levitation, and assists in controlling the White Tigerzord, allowing it to mimic Tommy’s moves while it was in Warrior Mode. Also, in Dairanger, Byakkoshinken (or Byakko for short) voiced-over Kibaranger as a means of hiding his identity as a child.

#4 – The Quantum Defender from Power Rangers Time Force (DV Defender from Mirai Sentai Timeranger)

While Time Force had a TON of badass weapons, this choice again came down to which one would people kill me the most for leaving out. This is the personal weapon of the Quantum Ranger (TimeFire), though he has lent it to others where necessary. It’s also another example of a badass gun that turns into a sword and vice versa. While it may not be the biggest or baddest looking weapon when compared to the stuff that’s come out since, this little bastard still packs a hell of a punch. So whenever you’re gloating over how much ass you’re kicking, and you suddenly hear a sound like someone tapping a gun on the back of their hand, don’t bother turning around, just RUN. lol

#5 – The Falcon Summoner from Power Rangers Wild Force (Falcon Summoner from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger)

Noticing a lot of red here…Meh, anyway, the Falcon Summoner is a simultaneous blaster, bow, and summoning tool for the Wild Force’s Falconzord (GaoFalcon). It also marked an interesting transitional period that most might not be aware of, but it is the first bow weapon on Power Rangers wielded primarily by a male Ranger, in this case the Red Wild Force Ranger (GaoRed). Granted, in Super Sentai, bows and arrows had been used by men since the very beginning, but not so much in Power Rangers. In fact, they were usually used by Pink Rangers. I don’t get that. Look at Robin Hood, or Hawkeye from the Avengers. They make the bow a manly weapon when it needs to be. And really, what’s more manly than a bow and arrow that summons a giant falcon out of a volcano? I ask you.

Anyway, those are my 5 Favourite Weapons from Power Rangers/Super Sentai. Got a favourite that wasn’t on the list? Feel free to bring it up in the comments below, and I shall see you guys the next time I put one of these together. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – Power Rangers Megaforce Deluxe Gosei Morpher

What’s this?! It’s Monday?! And yet, here we are, discussing…

So what did I buy? Well, believe it or not, it’s not a comic. Instead, I bought the new Gosei Morpher from Power Rangers Megaforce. Best of all, I bought it 25% off. *does my happy dance* …Oh, byte me, I never got morphers as a kid. Plus, it came with a few cards from the new Power Rangers Action Card Game, which I am hoping to eventually learn more about.

Also, if you’ve never seen the Gosei Morphers in action…

So, that’s my purchase for today. Come on back on Wednesday when I buy this week’s worth of comics. Ja ne!