I have no idea where to post team-type stuff these days, but an interesting conundrum has been brought to my attention. Going through the postwar planning stages with my team, the subject of unified continuity has become a major factor in our story design. What we have so far is only adequate.

The Epilogueverse has always had a very loose sense of continuity, with blaring plot holes throughout. It has joyessly distorted the dimensional gates so that anything could happen, resulting in an infinite number of unexplained cameos. However, it has generally been a simple task to keep track of when everything should be happening. Still, we've begun to rely on continuity a lot. In fact, we used to put dates on our War Journals, up until the process was ignored completely.

Unless I am mistaken, Wanted is where documentation of time and place first became an integral part of the storytelling process. It took a lot more effort, but it was a brilliant concept. It is a shame that we seem to have dropped the notion almost entirely. Forgoing the question of how long the Third World War lasted, I have to wonder when the events prior to the project began. For me, it started with Hardman's Bar. That was the moment that defined a core element: Mesmerman.

My memory is hazy, but I recall Hardy writing the novel sometime during the Summer of 2006. That same year on 27th of September, Gary was taken off life support. It brings back some pain to remember that day, and I wish I didn't have to make mention, but it is important to the point that I am trying to make.

Based on real life events, I am compelled to place the events of the Epilogueverse, driven primarily by the Mechanical Maniacs and starting with Hardman's Bar, at Summer 20XX(a). Reflecting Gary's time of death, and the succession from the Megaman Communism, I place All Good Things, the final Sinister Six Epilogue at late September 20XX(a).

From there, during the Winter of 20XX(a), the Mechs are inducted into the RPD. As the months following Gary's death pass, Jonathan becomes detached and leaves the community. In January of 20XX(b), Kin & Tonic takes place. Series 6, Issues 1-3 take place during the following three months. In late May, we are introduced to the darkside in full form by Wanted. Everything else is properly documented, up until Business of War, Stage 5.

tl;dr version
20XX(a) - Summer - Hardman's Bar
20XX(a) - October - All Good Things
20XX(a) - November - Nothing Happens
20XX(a) - December - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - January - Kin & Tonic
20XX(b) - February - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - March - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - April - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - May - Wanted, 31st
20XX(b) - June - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - July - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - August - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - October - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - November - Nothing Happens
20XX(b) - December - WWIII Begins

Mind you, this is just my personal interpretation of the timeline.

Now, some of you probably want to know why I brought this up. It is because I am beginning to see some extreme possibilities in this absurd fan fiction. The war was a blessing, and the aftermath has left my team with near endless amounts of material to work with. From here, we can write about what happens before, during and after the war to great detail.

I find it to be within the best interest of everybody to evaluate what the end of the Third World War entails. By my estimation, at least a third of the world's population has been wiped out. All the major cities are in ruin, the environment is sure to be a disaster, and the surviving 2/3 of humanity is sure to be extremely jaded.

We have given ourselves an entire WORLD to write about. It can be every bit as post-apocalyptic as you want. We can do what we've done for years. We can write Epilogues with sprites to illustrate the characters, or we can go the extra mile and create a mythology. Telling stories is one thing. A mythology is something in a league of its own.

Aside from the possibilities a solid timeline presents, it is also a very helpful thing to look into. This is something that digs deep into a subject, exploring every nook and cranny. Imagine what it must be like for the reader? I mean granted it is not an original story, but god damn... I would be floored if I were walking into the community for the first time.

I could continue ranting, but I fear that the text box is about to run out of character spaces. Anyway, this seems right up Gauntlet's alley, because as I said before, it goes below face value. It goes into the obscure. That is why I'm interested to see what the Mechs have to say about this. So I ask, what DO you guys think? Is my reckoning any bit accurate?

Well, a solid timeline is probably less likely now more than ever. The Mechs stopped being concerned with the continuity of other teams with respect to our own when the team list was dumped, and some teams have little obligation to accept our own timeline from now on. For one thing, the post-apocalyptic idea won't appeal to all teams, some will prefer the idea that the world somehow rebuilt everything and repopulated back to its previous level in a couple of weeks. On the other hand, if you want to explore the more radical possibilities, those other teams have no right to stop you. If anything, we're looking at the point where team timelines really split into their own stand-alone series, with crossovers happening on a random whim rather as a necessity. Making a linear chronology will be even more impossible than it was in the early years.

Although, that'll actually be more like a "mythology" than if everything were unified and simple.

Yeah, no doubt that things are branching off. Hell, I'm making a sincere attempt to isolate the MM5 Epilogues in an attempt to encourage independent creativity.

I think the point in my making of this topic began with the simple realization that, for all the existing material, we have no real outline of major, community-affecting events to refer to. Then I just sorta broke out into a that whole rant on the many possibilities that probably won't be realized by the majority of teams.

Personally, I see the war as a catalyst for people who still have an affinity for the Epilogueverse. One that offers that chance to expand upon what was already a strong foundation. My simple notion of a timeline really bleedd into this whole thing.

Though I got a bit carried away, I do think I raised an interesting point. I honestly don't know what other teams are up to, but it does bother me to think that some, if not many people just won't notice these things (of course, the more I think about, the more I realize just how much potential the Androids have accumulated in comparison to most others. Still, everybody's got something to work with. You just gotta study the source material).

By nature, humans do appear to instinctively prefer dwelling among established territories, venturing out for sustenance and nothing more. Going by this Darwinist theory of mine, I do seriously worry about whether or not other teams can see just what the aftermath of a World War presents to a fiction series.

Regardless, I should elaborate on my original point by stating that, no matter the directions we're all taking now, the key events I listed are essential to all teams that participated in the war. It is a universal set of core elements, and therein I believe it to be a practical form of mental stimulation. Just theorizing, and reexamining the timeline on my own has been a blast. I've rediscovered my reasons for following the scene this long.

Anyway, even if all it concerns is in regards to the many events that transpired before and during the war, I reckon that it should be fun to explore and elaborate our roots.

Well, whether or not the war remains canon to individual teams should be left up to them. Some aren't in the best position to accept it into their continuity without messing themselves up, while there were others such as the Androids who carefully planned around it.

I see it this way. Imagine... Looney Tunes. A happy go lucky world of craziness, and slapstick comedy involving anvils and dynamite, which, incidentally, doesn't cause any lasting injury. Now, imagine, the Looney Tunes went to war. Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny had an epic final confrontation in the ruins of what was once Las Vegas. After the loss of many limbs between the two combatants, Elmer finally shoots Bugs in the heart, quickly and without remorse, silencing the wascally wabbit once and for all. And then there is Granny and Tweety... Granny, having aligned herself with Acme, is forced to destroy her once beloved pet, who had surprised everybody by aligning himself with his former archenemy, Sylvester the Cat. Wile E. Coyote then blows France straight off the map, leading Pepe Le Pew to form an underground rebellion to avenge the loss of his country...

In the aftermath of all this, could anybody truly look at Looney Tunes the same way ever again? Because, really... what kind of world would it have become?

Not very well received by fans lol~~

I thought War was great in many ways. And for teams who want to take a more serious approach at things, its influence is really really great, no questions asked. But for teams who would prefer to write about joining forces with Godzilla to journey through time to find a missing Easy-Bake oven... eh. Back to the Looney Tunes thing... when the Loonatics were first revealed... their darker, edgier appearance didn't exactly sit well with fans of the otherwise wacky cartoon show. It may not have seemed like much, but it did cause a great deal of controversy at the time.

Some teams are better off seeing the War as an alternate universe story. But if there is a way to incorporate it into their individual canons without it feeling forced or tacked on... great! The big issue is, I have heard some felt as if they were forced to participate, despite in reality they were really not... but do bear in mind that that mentality did indeed exist amongst individuals. So, it would be best not to burden them with the event any more.

But if you are serious when it comes to fiction, and it fits in with what you are doing, it can lead to good things. But reluctantly adapting it into one's continuity can cause things to fall apart in some areas. Especially if say, only two or so members on one given team of eight actually cared one bit for the event. In all, everyone has their own storytelling styles, so to each their own.

"It can be every bit as post-apocalyptic as you want."

I don't necessarily demand that people reassess the setting in a radical fashion. What I feel, is that the aftermath of the war could provide an interesting stage to play on. Instead of the benign, formulaic happy-go-lucky disposition, the presence of lingering aftereffects as a subtle, recurring theme could work to the author's advantage in portraying the Epilogueverse. There's so much dimension that it could add.

But then, we do have a problem in that most people joined the community to write Epilogues. In the Epilogues, you don't have much to work with as far as setting goes. It is generic, acting only as a backdrop. By that reckoning, one would be forced to use a more descriptive style of writing to better portray a postwar universe.

That reminds me of my beginning stance on the subject of time and setting. I find that because the war has already implemented the serious, fiction style of writing, that the community is in the best position its ever been to follow a new direction. The war was something big, so why downgrade?

The best compromise I see is keeping the Epilogue style, but also focusing on the more descriptive, layered universe that the war had managed to bring to fruition. I see it as a chance to evolve. Loonatics was a cheap attempt to "reinvent" an established continuity, but we've already implemented the seeds of change. I don't suggest anything radical... just consideration for what a team could personally do that would make a good follow up to the war.

For the people who did in fact see the war as an abomination of sorts, they're free to follow their own words. These are merely my own suggestions for those who enjoyed writing within the context of an epic, elaborate and plot-driven universe. I dare say that even a slight alteration in how we view and write the teams, in a way that is not an RPG, but rather a mythology--an expansive collection of stories... I think we could be larger than life. More so.

There's a lot people can do to use War as a springboard for their own stories. Which is what it was meant to be. And the Androids are in a real good position to take full advantage of it. Frankly, if you feel jazzed about moving then go to it!

Timelines are tough to nail down, which is why it was dropped. As far as the overriding universe goes, major events really depend on which team you're looking at. What happens in one team isn't nessasarily important to all.

But, team canon / continuity is basically over from my perspective unless you actually want to work with someone. I mean ... I don't think I'll go out of my way to step on anyones toes, but ... there's a very short list of teams I actually want to work with now. The Androids are on that short list, though.

The Androids have my attention more than any other team right now. They're in an especially unique position, with five of its members enlisted in the RPD, one gathering new legit members but lacking the armor to put them in, one missing and presumed villainous, and the other missing and presumed liquified. It's not one of those things that can be wrapped up with a single epilogue, and it looks like the MM5 team won't be a unified front like your typical MM team for a long time. It'll be interesting to see how the stories develop with the team's members comprising allies, enemies, and wildcards all at once.

I dunno if choosing to write an epilogue without descriptive verse can really constitute downgrading your work. A lot of successful 20th/21st century comedy is very situational, which is to say it focuses on the characters instead of the universe. Even immensely effective and intelligent situation comedy (I hesitate to use Seinfeld as an example because so many people hate the show, but it really was a clever piece of work) ignores its own universe because it's only a backdrop for the shtick that's really going on up front. Hell, they could be doing their bit on a green screen and it wouldn't lose any of its humour. Which is why so many sit-coms have the generic and rather bland living room set. Because adding more doesn't add anything to the story.

And then there's the stories that focus as much on the universe as the people that are in it. Fantasy, science fiction, these types of stories are pitiful when the universe is ignored or, even worse, inconsistent.

But when you have a science fiction situation comedy, obviously you have a conflict of interest between the two genres. At that point you'd have to assess which genre you want to get across as your primary message, and if it's the comedy, then you have artistic license to divulge as little as necessary to ensure readers aren't confused. So descriptive passages are really not very necessary and tend to disrupt the flow of the work, and can become unconstructive instead of constructive in creating an entertaining and meaningful story.

That being said, there's a difference between choosing not to describe the post-Apocalypse and choosing to ignore the post-Apocalypse and ret-con completely. But is there such a thing as post-apocalypse situation comedy? ...why not? But it would take a lot more work to fit the tone. A bleak universe leads to bleak outlooks for most characters, and if you want your character to behave a certain way it might not be in your best interest to stay in that setting.

My suggestion at that point would be to cooperate with other people in the timeline. If your story doesn't fit with current continuity, instead of ret-conning everyone else's current continuity, just set it in the past. The only argument anyone could have with that is that it disallows for character growth and evolution, but really, in situation comedy, that doesn't tend to happen anyways. If that's what they wanted, they're looking at their epilogues in more of a comic-series-capacity (like G does by calling them Issues instead of Episodes), and if they're doing that then they have to add ANOTHER sub-genre into the mix and re-assess their priorities again. Is comedy more important than their story arc, or vice versa. And maybe people don't want to compromise. Which is silly if they're waving the banner of team unity.

I'm gonna quote this for truth.

I mean, when other people get into someone's ass about making a "canon" story just because it's dark ... it's really rediculous. I mean, the idea that we have to write ONE type of story and only ONE type of story is insane. Especially when I have other talented writers whom have great ideas. I may not always agree 100% with their take on stories and we bicker and get in each other's way sometimes ... but Hell, I'm never gonna make a blanket statement to my team about only writing comedy or script-style stories. Or even what they want to do, overall, with their guys.

And every single one of the MM3 epilogues in the regular series is "canon". Even the Series 1 ones that were done in one week. I mean, even if people tell me they won't consider War canon in their own stories or that, somehow, it's an AU-take ... as the guy with the longest running series I kinda find it silly. Yeah, it's AU. Even tho everything pretty much reset at the end well enough, it's totally AU. That half a year we took to write it? Waste of time.

And the team unity is another thing. In the past I've been pretty accepting. PC team? Don't like it since I made the PC guys memorable (did ALL the initial reaserch; was one of the first to post the games; was the first to post all the sprites) and someone decides PC is free even tho I have them in my eps. But that's all fine. But we want to write a dark story? And open it up to people? Yeah, somehow that's out of line.

Well, the team unity thing is toast anyhow. I mean, Top is right, if you want to practise team unity you really shouldn't go out of your way to flat-out contradict each other, but MM4 has it's own War stories that pretty blatantly contradict the final product, and we have the 7 Mercs deciding it's (somehow) an AU (despite things pretty much going back to the norm) while MM3, the longest running series, definately considers it's own stuff canon ... as well as ending it's consideration about most other teams' fiction, so the series is turning self-exclusive. Which kind of ... defeats the purpose. I was actually considering just dropping the other shoe, but Rich (you will be surprised to learn) talked me out of it.

So the epiverse is pretty dead thanks to the lack of team unity. Maybe in another two years all three mountains of resentment will have eroded away, but I dunno .... In the meantime, the bright side is individual team's stories might flourish thanks to the lack of any "team canon". Because the epilgoues are reaaaallllly strict about their canon...

To explain my BoW choice: the only thing that we added, which was in my original entry, was Kalinka salvaging the CPU in Stage 5, which could have happened in the version that is on the Mechs, but just wasn't mentioned. Of course, I didn't, and still don't have a problem with you taking that little piece (And the subsequent on in the end, but I knew you would take that out and I mentioned it to you as well) out for the Mechs site.

As for the epilogue cannon, all the Mechs stuff is cannon, all the Six's stuff is cannon. Those are obvious. Hell, I just referenced season 4 in my new epilogue. The other teams I consider to be cannon too, but I dont focus on it as much. The only team that I am unsure of is the Androids, who could be considered as cannon before getting "SAified" but it seems a tad off for some reason. Like G, I eagerly await the teams post war epilogues.

If other teams want to mention the CC, go for it, in fact I encourage it. I enjoy collaborations with people, which is why I enjoyed BoW.

Well, I pointed out the condition of the team last night, on the MM4 Forum, so...

Yeah I didnt read that until after I posted this.

Still, I can't wait to read more.

I'm actually surprised to hear this. We had a series of debate among the Team about whether or not to keep the War cannon, and we kept it. Mostly because of the mentioned half-a-year I took into writing it (and my previous "work", as Vulcan and Rich can attest), and it would have been a waste not to put it.

The most un-cannon thing about the War is that Season 2 is still in the writing stage. Otherwise, it's included in the 7M continuity.

NOTE : I just looked back at the site an corrected it. I admit it was confusing.

When discussing team "canon", you have to go back and take a look at the origins of it all. With the formation of Gary's original Sinister Six, the intention was very different from what we have now. It wasn't a club, it wasn't part of a large elaborate game; it was a few people on the internet that liked Megaman whom happened to meet and share interests.

There was no "canon" then. It was just telling off the wall stories set loosely in the Megaman universe (though that may be debatable when you take into account the massive arra of guest stars and cameos over the years). I very much doubt Gary and the gang really gave much thought to other "teams" existing, let alone becoming a huge interconnecting web that we have today. Therefore, there simply wasn't much effort put into keeping a very cohesive continuity. It was what it was- the story was merely a vehicle for Gary's sense of humor, and it did the job.

However, that meant that anyone inserting themselves into this new fictional world would have to take into account the lack of continuity and either try to make sense of it or follow Gary's lead and let the overall story suffer for the sake of having a good time. Most people chose the latter, which effects us now.

In short, the original continuity was never meant to make much sense from a broad standpoint. That wasn't the point back then.

There's only two ways to really get everyone on the same page now. The first would be the hardest route, and that would mean going through every epilogue ever created and deciding what was "canon" and what wasn't, because not everything could have happened the way it did. People would have to bite the bullet and be prepared to sacrifice some of their work or their predecessors' work in order to make sense of it all. And when it was all said and done, everyone would need to keep constant vigil over each others' work to make sure everything meshed together.

I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound very fun to me at all. And if its not fun, then it completely defeats the purpose of this team thing.

Furthermore, as shown by War, my idea of fun may not be someone else's idea of fun. My style is very different from the traditional slapstick randomness abound in the eps, and it doesn't really fit in. And as the older members grow up and manage to stick around, they may want to forego the silliness of it all and tell more "grown up" stories set within the canon. Its not completely impossible, but it is hard to do, and its even harder for others accept these "darker visions" in the same storyline where Jay and Silent Bob are dealing hash in Siberia.

Now, the second solution was "proposed" during the War, and that was obviously met with much anger and malice. If the mere mention of a canon reset was enough to cause a split, with people defending their precious Naruto-themed, frankly boring material with blood and guts, then obviously seriously suggesting such a thing would never go over.

And then, that also brings me to the next point of mine, which is that the entire canon is so incredibly fucked up that I stopped attempting to make sense of it a long time ago- ong before the War was even conceived. To me, the idea of War was refreshing- you didn't have to drop the silly aspects of the modern canon, but what the War asked of everyone was to put those aspects aside for a while and try something new. Stretch your boundries, so to speak. It was also an example of how canon would be kept within this community. You'll note that during the War, the whole storyline flows much more smoothly than regular canon due to increased cooperation and awareness of what everyone else was doing, even correcting things that would otherwise fly outside of the event.

I'll be honest, I never liked writing within the same context where you have random characters that don't belong in this universe popping up at will. That might be great for one team, but that pretty much forces me to accept another team's guests as a part of my world. I didn't agree to to that. But I'm stuck with it because its gone on for so long that it can't be reversed. Ever.

There is, however, a third solution. That solution will be revealed on January 1st, 2009 at exactly 12:01 AM, Eastern Standard Time. It could technically be unveiled at anytime, but then again, War could have been revealed as early as last May.

And just like War, it'll be your choice. You'll go with it or you won't. I, however, have the feeling that things are going to be drastically different less than one year from now, and it will all be due to the options I'll give you.

"Project WIND" was an experiment, its results mixed. "Project ANEW" is the product.

Come that time, you'll have to decide what the word "canon" really means to you.

-

No doubt, the interlocking continuity was always jitterier than Michael J Fox. Still, eight years now and the whole Epilogueverse is still going. Lots of time and love went into forming that world, and... in the end, there honestly may not be that high a probability that it can be taken much further, considering its roots.

Project ANEW is something I've got a vague recollection over, recalling all sorts of creative brainstorming in the past. Public speculation is nonsense in this case, though. All I'm really wondering is whether or not it will be Megaman-based. I've very much enjoyed writing within the confines of the Epilogueverse these past few years, but I've been dying to invest my so-called "natural talents" into something less... fanfic-y, to say the least.

Okay, now you piqued my interest. Damn you are good at that.

Something you mentioned has actually clicked with a recent event. As you know, the CC uses fictional characters sometimes (Some more then others, excluding JaSB who I have just grown to enjoy writing. I think of them as a R2 and 3PO pair, on the sidelines as the "Comic" characters). We just got our new Ringman, who is my friend in visual life (Note I do not say Real Life, as if one considers another to be a friend no matter where doesnt that take place in Real Life?) and I am trying to explain epilogues to him and it's odd trying to explain why Iceman flew with Peter Pan or why Krang and Mother Brain got together. It is an odd thing, but as you said the practice has been around since the beginning and it would be odd for it not to happen anymore.

Personally, I enjoy them because they are a reference to the past. It's obvious that I was/ am a Transformers fan, or Gauntlet a Slayers. Plus it's a way for people to connect more with the material given. A random guy reading might say "What the hell's a Crorq?" but then might say "Ha! Crorq just out ate Pac Man!" or something lame like that gives you a link to an otherwise unfamiliar character.

Of course, I could be entirely wrong and they are there solely for humor. There is that option too.

@Hunter - well, that's good to hear.
@AM - The very last War post from you, man. It really brought me down seeing "you know who" back, especially afer I made my feelings crystal clear, and you knew that I'd have to change it. I mean, there's no point in fighting about it then or now, but there ya go ... inconsistancy. On purpose, knowing full well it'd step on people's toes.

The only time eps really ought to be uncanotical is when a team quits. Out of pure practicality issues. And even that isn't meant to be enforced.

But the "canon" is pretty finished. If you look at the community right now the truth will be staring you right in the face.

Then Gauntlet, I am sorry. The thing is, I did that for the story which I thought would tie with "You Know Who" there. Of course, I could have added it to the new epilogue but I really was not thinking that way at the time.

So G, I am sorry. Hopefully you can overlook it. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal man. I wasn't trying to deeply offend you at all.

Apology accepted. I figured that was the case.

But, yeah. There's still insurmountable issues in the Team Scene. I mean, the whole incident pretty much showed me that the community I was a part of with ice and all that old gang is gone. That's over.

But I'm not a quitter. MM3 is still going to be around. Rich's new idea is exciting and I have a few of my own too. Just gotta stay modivated.

This "Project ANEW" sounds pretty exciting! ^///^