Volkonir Meets the Power Rangers

Volkonir Meets the Power Rangers is a crossover fanfiction webcomic that was produced inside The Sims 4, combining in-game approximations of the cast of the original Power Rangers TV series' first season with their film counterparts, with the Emo Rangers, and with various characters from the Dozerfleet Megaverse.

It is scheduled for release on Mod The Sims when edits are completed.

Tagline
"'How many henshin heroes does it take, to save five timelines from one threat?'"

Synopsis
Gwirmalesh sends the ultra-powerful and psychotic / unstable Slaisionnach to steal a new device rolled out of the factories of HanomCorp, one capable of operating as a glorified Percolation Wand to communicate between the different dimensions created by the Divergency. However, Slaisionnach foolishly attempts to activate the device mid-battle between himself and Volkonir, while Masato and Carlos are battling Hiktomoph and the Treaders. This traps three different Power Rangers in Volkonir's world, and Volkonir in theirs - along with Kayla. While Volkonir is able to help the remaining Rangers of that world easily deal with their local problems, he starts growing weaker due to the Tapestry and Grid not being 100% compatible. Meanwhile, the displaced Rangers quickly find themselves in more trouble than they can handle. Realizing his slacking on security for the device has proven costly to these strangers, Hanom turns to MODM for help to make things right. MODM answers the call...along with some unexpected sources of additional help.

Plot
Following the defeat of Seirsionnach, Gwirmalesh decides to step up his game by sending the defeated monster's psychotic and extremely powerful cousin Slaisionnach to steal a new device rolled out of the factories of HanomCorp, one capable of operating as a glorified Percolation Wand to communicate between the different dimensions created by the Divergency. Gwirmalesh believes this will allow him faster access to the multiverse, allowing him to conquer more worlds faster and bypass the need to defeat Volkonir first. However, Volkonir and Masato intercept Slaisionnach, and the conflict leads to Slaisionnach damaging the machine while testing it out. The device causes massive instability in the Percolation Wave, eventually trapping Slaisionnach, Volkonir, and Kayla in the world of the 1993 Rangerverse - a pocket dimension of the Dromedeverse in which the Power Rangers exist. Volkonir and Kayla are sent to the Rangerverse immediately. Slaisionnach is able to remain a short while in the EccentriaVerse before being trapped in the Rangerverse himself.

Zack, Trini, and Jason find themselves on HanomCorp research grounds outside of Bozeman, and are immediately assaulted by Treaders. Unaware they are being watched from a distance by Carlos, they morph to stand a better chance against their new adversaries. Jason goes off to help Masato against Slaisionnach, as Masato appears to be losing the fight. Zack and Trini battle the Treaders morphed. Right before they morph, however, Carlos panics and calls the police to report civilians trespassing. Slaisionnach is able to slice right through Jason's suit, and injects venom into Jason's arm. He attempts to slit the throat of the de-morphed Jason, but is forced to fall back by an enraged Masato. He leaves Jason for dead, but soon finds himself transported to the Moon Palace. Masato and Carlos retrieve Jason, and contact Hanom for help. Hanom scolds Carlos about calling the police over a Percolation so soon, and helps them administer an anti-venom for Slaisionnach's venom. Jason loses consciousness regardless, and is taken to the hospital for a "severe rattlesnake bite."

Vinny and Kayla are assaulted in the Angel Grove Park by LlamaDog and some Putties; but Kayla easily disposes of the Putties, given her prior experience with the slightly-more-component Treaders. Volkonir dodges some of LlamaDog's energy blasts, mogrifies into his Golden Lion Knight armor, and kills LlamaDog with a single kick. Tommy, Kimberly, and Billy arrive on the scene a short while later. Rita, on the moon, is shocked and horrified by how easily the new face in the park was able to dispose of her monster. She orders Finster to send Super LlamaDog to finish the job, this one proving tough enough to warrant a Zord battle. However, Tommy and Volkonir discover that Selshon can interface with the DragonZord to lend it a temporary update, making it strong enough to beat the monster without any additional Zord assistance. Vinny and Kayla are then taken to the Command Center for assessment - and to ensure Rita can't put Volkonir under a spell. It is feared that with as strong as he is, him being turned evil would make him a credible threat. Kayla is also scanned, to ensure she is safe. Both Vinny and Kayla are given a treatment by Alpha to ensure that Rita can't mind control them for several hours.

Zack and Trini, meanwhile, get lost after the Treaders disperse. They begin discussing their feelings for each other, when the Bozeman police locate them. They are quickly arrested, and are booked when their Angel Grove IDs don't match any database records. A news report tips off Hanom to what has happened, and he contacts MODM in desperation to come up with a plan. MODM reveals that the only way to switch Volkonir and the displaced Rangers back to their proper dimensions now is to kill Slaisionnach, and promises to send some help of his own choosing. Hanom also contacts Carlos' girlfriend, Vanessa Kwan, and asks her to join him as he attempts to bail the two arrested Rangers out of the Bozeman city jail. Carlos and Masato are placed as guards in Jason's hospital room. Trini attempts to cope with being in jail; but finds her cellmate, Vanna Oversteel, unbearably cringy.

Slaisionnach is quickly welcomed by Rita after revealing he "killed" Jason. The Moon Palace villains decide to give Slaisionnach some upgrades, so that he can finish off the remaining Rangers and also punish Angel Grove in ways most of Rita's monsters can't. His DNA is also used to modify a batch of Putties, turning them into the homicide-inclined and venomous Slaisionnutties. The monster Clownscavator is made Slaisionnach's sidekick, just in case he needs one. Hanom's attempt to bail Zack and Trini out fails when the police find every possible excuse to stonewall him. This forces Hanom to rely entirely on MODM's discretion, much to Vanessa's displeasure. Gwirmalesh, meanwhile, decides that Slaisionnach's destabilization of the multiverse is too dangerous. He elects to sit out the rest of the conflict until a more opportune moment arrives to attack. While Hiktomoph is saddened at the lack of action, Mogabir defers to Gwirmalesh's wisdom on the subject.

MODM sends the 2017 Rangerverse Rangers to the EccentriaVerse, along with the Emo Rangers. Billy stays behind at first, so his own universe isn't left unguarded entirely - and to keep Melanie Sheer of APEX at ease. Jason and Zack wait outside the police station for further instruction, and become acquainted with Stef, Ross, Luke, Fai, and John. Kim provides a diversion for the police, while MODM comforts Zack. Trini 2017 heads with Vicken to infiltrate Trini 1993's cell and cheer her up, before MODM teleports his team to 1993 Angel Grove.

Slaisionnach is revealed to have forced denizens into the Abandoned Warehouse District, in order to increase civilian casualties. Volkonir, Tommy, and Fai attack him directly. Luke and Jason decide to team up against Clownscavator - who is revealed to have become more aggressive due to exposure to Slaisionnach. Billy and John head off in a different direction to battle the Slaisionnutties. Ross and Zack form another strike team. Trini and Vicken form yet another. Kim 2017 holds back briefly, while Kim 1993 and Stef battle Slaisionnutties. This is because the two Zordons fear that if the Kims are morphed simultaneously, it could lead to problems.

At one point, Slasionnach decides to compromise a women's prison on the outskirts of town. The extra calamity this creates leads to the heroes having to regroup. The 1993 and 2017 Power Rangers attempt to continue aiding Volkonir and fighting off the Slaisionnutties, while the Emo Rangers focus nearly all their efforts on Clownscavator. When Kimberly of 1993 experiences a critical power failure and Volkonir's armor begins to fade from taking too many hits from Slaisionnach, Kimberly of 2017 arrives and discovers Slaisionnach's enhanced fangs via Rita are weak against ceramic. She smashes his left growing extendo-fang using a Biggby mug she stole from Volkonir's apartment earlier. This exposes a weakness inside the fang, which she shoots to significantly weaken Slaisionnach and send him regrouping. Kim later promises to replace Volkonir's mug, though he's still not particularly happy with her for using his reminders of Big Rapids as weapons.

Billy sacrifices the remainder of his morph to recharge Volkonir, and Tommy gives his Dragon Shield to Volkonir as well, to create the Tricera-Dragon-Lion Knight. Billy and Tommy teleport back to the Command Center. However, Kimberly finds herself amidst a maze of chaos and her communicator gets damaged. Kayla is sent in to rescue her, and convinces a prison gang leader named Barb Weston to call attention away while Kayla completes the rescue - by bribing Barb with a pen that she and her cellmates can fashion into a shank against the Slaisionnutties. Kimberly is horrified by the fact that Kayla is so adept at prison culture and language, yet grateful for Kayla rescuing her all the same.

Realizing that Slaisionnach has been damaged badly, Rita finally grows him. However, she has forgotten about Clownscavator. The Emo Rangers summon the Mega Emo Fight Bot, and step on Clownscavator before Rita can remember to grow him too. The DragonZord is summoned, and is interfaced with Volkonir. However, it proves to be of little use against Slaisionnach on its own. The two Billys switch universes with MODM's help briefly, so that the 2017 Rangers can form their Megazord to save 1993 Angel Grove. Slaisionnach proves to be hard to beat for all three mechs sent after him. Panicking, MODM summons the Phaemer Village Peacekeepers to assist. Slip-Sadie trips up Slaisionnach while the others in their ship fly by and shoot at him. This weakens Slaisionnach just enough that an unorthodox Ultrazord combination is tried using the 2017 Megazord. This, plus the Mega Emo Fight Bot, deliver the final blow to Slaisionnach and defeat him. However, MODM's overexertion leads to Smug Wendy and Stephanie Meanswell also winding up in Angel Grove.

It's a short time after the Zords disconnect, that Vinny and Kayla find themselves back in their home universe. Jason, Zack, and Trini all find themselves at the Command Center - still dressed in the garb of their institutions but with all their possessions having Percolated back with them. Zordon assures that team of Rangers that things are quickly returning to normal - though they may still have to attend quite a few funerals. The Emo Rangers also find themselves back in their homeworld, where Captain Emohead gives them some exposition.

To celebrate, MODM takes Vinny and Kayla with him to the 2017 Rangers' universe. Kimberly is able to buy Vinny a new Biggby Coffee mug, while MODM explains that pre-2018 in the streams, Big Rapids is one of the least varied cities in the multiverse, making it almost qualify as a multiversal singularity. They celebrate their victory inside the Mancino's Pizza and Grinders of Big Rapids. After this, MODM sends Vinny and Kayla home again.

The 2017 Rangers arrive home in time to learn of yet another disaster that is assumed by APEX to be related to Goldar or Rita somehow, yet the new threat alludes to a "Lord Zedd." The Rangers promise to check it out. Meanwhile, Melanie warns them that a fanatical group called the "Silver Guardians" is forming, believing APEX isn't doing enough to keep alien threats in check. While APEX will only attack if the Rangers really step out of line, the Silver Guardians regard the Rangers as threats to be taken down equally with all the alien threats. The Rangers assure Melanie that the risk to themselves is duly noted, and they proceed to go in pursuit of the threat that was reported.

Back in the EccentriaVerse, Masato prepares to return to Japan. Vinny and Kayla are simply happy to be home again. Their celebration on Vinny's back porch doesn't take long, before more Gwirdon Treaders are spotted in the distance. Team Volkonir and Masato quickly head to the spot to investigate, noting that some things never seem to change.

Mid-credits scenes
One scene reveals that the Phaemer Village Peacekeepers also made it home safely. Another one reveals that MODM's overexertion of self has led to Stephanie getting temporarily trapped inside the Emoverse, as Luke now has to defend her from the Hoodie Patrol. Milly Bays in the Dromedeverse begins selling Power Ranger and Emo Ranger costumes. This nearly puts Barry on suicide watch, with Antonio's sympathy. MODM tries to date Smug Wendy, though Stan doesn't entirely approve. Anita and Gwen chime in their opinions on the subject.

Characters
Main article: Extended cast list and descriptions

The usual main characters of Vinny Mason, Kayla Tarington, Carlos Modi, Vanessa Kwan, and Dr. Hanom appear in the beginning, along with their new friend Masato Yoneda from Japan - the Spectral Hare Samurai. Events are set shortly after those in the "Knight and Samurai" saga, as HanomCorp and Sorisenshi are still negotiating a merger. The villains Gwirmalesh, Hiktomoph, and Mogabir are back, along with the Gwirdon Treaders. They've unleashed a new monster this time: Slaisionnach. He is the cousin to Seirsionnach, and a lot more bloodthirsty.

Due to Slaisionnach's actions with the device he steals from Hanom, the multiverse is rendered unstable. Characters from other universes begin appearing. This includes the 1993 Power Rangers. This leads to chaos quickly, and MODM from Camelorum Adventures brings six of the Emo Rangers into the equation to revolve matters - along with an alternate continuity version of the Power Rangers. The Phaemer Village Peacekeepers, Savage / Smug Wendy, and Stephanie from Lazy Town also make cameo appearances.

Locations
While no real-life locations were used in this production from actual photography, a handful of sets were used in-game based on locations both in real life and in various shows and films.

Eccentriaverse locations

 * HanomCorp R&D research grounds
 * HanomCorp R&D Elite Secret HQ
 * Vinny's apartment
 * Chestnut Mountain Lair
 * Gwirmalesh's throne room
 * HanomCorp R&D Warehouse and Office Center 1
 * Montana State University
 * WW Lessley Law and Justice Center / Gallatin County Detention Center

TV Rangerverse locations

 * Downtown Angel Grove: Usually played in the show either by downtown LA, or by downtown Tokyo sets when Zyuranger stock footage was employed, it's portrayed here by several elaborate sets built inside the game - most of them in Willow Creek. Mirrors and building facades scattered about helped to create the illusion of a larger city than what was actually possible on a 64x64 tile in-game lot.


 * Command Center: Never shown from the exterior in this story, the interior is a crude re-creation of the set that was used on the show from 1993-1996. The lot was set inside of Newcrest, not far from the lot used for concept stills for Camelorum Correctional in Camelorum Adventures.


 * Angel Grove Park
 * Century Regional Detention Facility in LA
 * Moon Palace

PRCU locations

 * Command Center
 * Angel Grove Rock Quarry
 * Big Rapids Biggby
 * Big Rapids Mancino's

Emoverse locations

 * Emo Road
 * Chelmsford
 * Emo Command Center

Inspiration
As development continued on the Dozerfleet Megaverse to pave the way of the "Percolation Warriors Saga" in Camelorum Adventures, it was quickly realized that Volkonir needed to have his own mythology advanced further. Volkonir: The Series started getting some attention to plot development, also to allow for revisions to the plot of Volkonir: Rise of Semaphry before it could actually be written - so that bits of continuity could be more cohesive. This need was realized beginning in January of 2017. As a result, Tarantrum was slated to be added into the plot for Rise of Semaphry. Explanations would also be added for why Masato would be unavailable to aid Team Volkonir as Hoshijo turns the government against them, requiring Vinny and Kayla that much more to have to locate the missing Crystal Swan mogriffer.

By February of that same year, a 2-month special of coverage began on the Dozerfleet Database and the Facebook page regarding coverage of Volkonir development. The emphasis was on Volkonir, and on other henshin shows developed by other studios. All front page character articles were characters from either Volkonir mythos directly, or indirectly via mythos pertaining to The Bison. Grinodos had his history mapped a bit more in detail, to tie him in with the mythos of both major characters in the EccentriaVerse.

In addition to this, the Dozerfleet Facebook page did its part to help generate hype for Saban's Power Rangers, out March 24th in theaters. When the film's opening week box office didn't reach anticipated hype levels, fan sites across the web did their part to help the film generate additional revenue to fund a sequel, with viewers in a panic that a sequel might not happen if sufficient international sales didn't pick up the slack. The film faced stiff competition from the likes of Disney releasing its remake of Beauty and the Beast, and from 20th Century Fox releasing Logan.

Box office hopes did not improve drastically leading into May, as Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 completely crushed all its competitors at the box office. A June release date was given for the Power Rangers film reboot, as it was seen that the film would not last at the box office against continued competition from the Guardians film. To make matters worse, DC and Warner Bros. had initiated a release date of their Wonder Woman film for June - something the recent Power Rangers film would not be able to hold out against given the historical significance of Wonder Woman's cinematic history. (The 2009 film was direct-to-video, and the 1974 one was direct-to-television; making the 2017 one the character's first solo cinematic box office outing, and second such outing with a team of heroes after Batman v. Superman in 2016.)

Not to be easily deterred, the Dozerfleet founder developed a rough treatment for a Power Rangers sequel, published to GirlsAskGuys. In a push to further promote the film, Dozerfleet Labs developed Sixam Alien suit repaints from The Sims 4: Get to Work, to make the repainted alien suits look more like Power Ranger suits. While not exact replicas of the film, these new outfits were deemed "an acceptable close approximation." The decision was made in early April to make a fanfic crossover webcomic in which Volkonir would encounter these Rangers - an idea which expanded to include the TV series Rangers and the Emo Rangers.

Volkonir armor
Volkonir's outfit as the Golden Lion Knight is modified from the Get Together expansion pack's knight armors. Additional visual effects are added to the suit to further convey that it is a powered armor. This was used as the basis for all the other Knight armors that would feature later in Rise of Semaphry and Volkonir and the Knights of Cortascius - the series happening during the Camelorum Adventures crossover "A Ferret in the Hand."

Masato armor
Due to an inability to import the samurai armor from The Sims 3 into The Sims 4 properly, a repeat method was often employed to what was used for "Knight and Samurai." Masato's mogrified shots were taken in Sims 3, and later copy-pasted into Sims 4 backgrounds with Photoshop. During one scene involving a battle with Slaisionnach, however, the entire scene was shot in Sims 3 with a close re-creation of Slaisionnach - who needed to have his Sims 4 dreadlocks added in with Photoshop. This is one of the few scenes of the entire comic that was required to be shot with Sims 3, as nearly every single other shot used Sims 4 as a base.

The difficulties with importing Masato in-armor also lead to his armored form getting so little attention in the over-all comic. Most scenes of him are shot without his armor specifically to avoid the need to use Sims 3 stock footage.

TV show Ranger suits
The TV series Rangers' outfits were created using a modified 1995 Black Ranger suit from this post on the Maclimes Tumblr. Due to inability to find a good match for a mesh for their helmets in-game, helmets were taken and modified from various photos found on Google Images. Angle matches in editing were handled as best as possible. The suit mesh didn't want to work right on female Sims, so feminized male mannequins were often used as stand-ins for the morphed female Rangers. Kimberly's skirt had to be painted on in Photoshop.

Film Ranger suits
A modified Get Together helmet re-meshed by Grilled-Cheese-Aspiration on Tumblr was used as the base for the "film" Ranger helmets. The helmets were re-painted to get as close as possible a match to the actual film helmets. DzMD on Tumblr had information added on April 17th for a download of all the necessary mods for Sims 4 players to add these approximate re-creations of the film Rangers' suits to their games.

Additional suits were made for male and female Green Rangers, though these were not emphasized in DeviantArt marketing. On April 18th, the suit designs were submitted to Mod The Sims, though Greenplumbbob ultimately turned the upload down on April 23rd due to a technical issue with the suit brightness levels and some diffusion pattern issues pertaining to the suits' glowing chest diamonds.

The uploads remained on DeviantArt. They were later reused for the treatment for Power Rangers 2; to demonstrate Trini having been captured, Zack and Jason dead, and three new Rangers listed - with APEX trying to deduce their identities. Other details in the image provided indicated APEX trying to get to the Rangers before the more fanatical Silver Guardians (reimagined from the team in Time Force) can get to them. On top of this, there were hints at Edenoi, the Masked Rider, Count Dregon, Lord Zedd, and the return of Rita. Reimagined versions of King Sphinx, Madame Woe, and Nimrod the Scarlet Sentinel were also referenced. The three new Rangers are implied to be Rocky, Aisha, and Adam. The treatment also documented in the image description and elsewhere how Tommy could be introduced in the new film as being already the Green Ranger, with the film ending after he successfully becomes the White Ranger. This would allow the film series to encompass the remainder of season 1 of the TV series, many of the highlights of season 2, and hints of the first few episodes of season 3, into a successful and engaging 2-1/2-hour-long film narrative that would catch the 2017-initiated film series up to right before where the 1995 film's plot begins.

Emo Ranger suits
The same process in Sims 4 Studio used to copy the Power Ranger film helmets onto GCA's modified helmet mesh were also used as a means of creating the Emo Rangers' helmets for the story. Their shirts were made from an easily-modified shirt that came with the game. Their pants were mostly intended to modify "near-skin-tight, black" pants for both genders as located inside the game. Stef, Fai, and Vicken required black stockings and black skirts (sometimes a patterned skirt for Fai.) Each Ranger was given tennis shoes that somewhat matched their color schemes. Fai's Emo Ranger symbol is missing on her chest, but she wears an animal fur vest similar in design to her suit in the web series.

Miscellaneous other details that could not be added directly to the Rangers' suits, would be added in post using Photoshop. Attempts were also made to give the non-morphed Emo Rangers wristbands that could be worn outside of morphing that would resemble their Emo Wristband Morphers from the show. However, it was decided later that these details - if depicted at all - would have to be added in post. Initial attempts were unsuccessful to create a mod of the Wristband Morphers. Said Morphers are depicted as being on the Rangers' left wrists in the story, although the show varied but usually depicted them on the right.

In spite the discrepancies, a post on the Dozerfleet Facebook page alerted Emo Rangers series creator Chris Phillips to the existence of the mods. He instantly became a fan of the mods, and blessed efforts to make a Sims comic featuring the Emo Rangers in order to spread their popularity to the Sims gaming community.

Miscellaneous designs
The Volkonir Cycle was designed using a custom diffusion map for a decorative motorcycle mesh created by Sandy of Around the Sims 4. This mesh was based on the one from The Sims 3: Fast Lane for a functional motorcycle in that game. Slaisionnach, to a greater degree than any of his predecessors, was created employing mechanics from the Vampires game pack for Sims 4. Rita's dry cleaning day substitute dress was used as a joke, since an adequate dress for her that was show-accurate was nowhere to be found and would have taken too long to create.

Shooting schedule
An early test photo of Vicken as the Weeping Tears Emo Ranger inside of The Sims 4 was uploaded to the DeviantArt channel on April 8th of 2017, beginning the process of developing Volkonir Meets the Power Rangers. An early plot summary was included in the image's description. It was favorited almost immediately by SWDog, and was later added to JMHirda's favorites on April 23rd.

A shot of a horrified Gwirmalesh scolding Slaisionnach for being reckless was uploaded on April 9th, and was quickly followed by other shots. Shooting of footage for the comic was completed on May 22nd.

Editing and publishing
Post-production has been set to resume on Monday, May 28th of 2017. Once the entire thing is sequenced and ready for publication, a publication date will be set. Intended destinations include DeviantArt and Mod the Sims.