Hi all! I'm STMPD, aspiring screenwriter (I'm gonna have that fuckin' MFA by this time next year or So Help Me (Even if the ParaWarner merger basically creates State Media, I have options)), and longtime fan of EPU work.

For context, I'm a Zoomer... and got into Bubblegum Crisis when I was 16... and TVTropes got me to Hopelessly Lost and The Iron Age... and theeeeeen I started doing Wayback Machine / the other Eyrie guy's Archive-powered internet archaeology to find old fanfic and then OTHER OVA-era anime and now I have the otaku tastes of someone liiiiike 30-40 years older than me. Which on some level feels kinda cool. I run the current BGC fan Discord, actually, but I'll refrain from posting the link to that unless someone says it's okay.

I've written a lot of BGC fanfic since about early 2018, starting with continuing something trboturtle wrote years ago with *some* permission (and my writing was at that time, ehrm, regrettable) and now I've got a little metaseries of Crisis stuff I've got going on my AO3 - one fic has Sylvie live and shack up with Priss, one is a Black Lagoon Crossover, one's an Edgerunners crossover that serves as a prequel to Crisis at large, all in a sort of 'threeboot' timeline that I've had a great deal of fun working through.

Even so, Hopelessly Lost is literary candy to me. It nails a feeling of power-fantasy cool that I have wanted to write for years and have always failed to make happen for myself. I want a fusion-powered jet-hopper Camaro and damn the consequences. So that's been my main connection to EPU work give or take poking at other work, daunted by the UF megasprawl of work across so many decades.

(okay, so I did do the obnoxious thing and ask PJ Moyer if more Iron Age was in the works at ACEN in like 2019... I regret that, that was an Asshole Fan move.)

Then, a few months ago, I chewed through Warriors' Legacy with Gusto, started poking at Outer Rim a few weeks ago, and then just straight-up met Doc Mui at ACEN during a BGC panel. I guess that was the impetus to just bite the bullet and join this community. I've been in Bob's forum for ages and never posted anything of extreme merit, I doubt it'll be different here, but who knows, maybe that'll change. I'll suddenly write a miracle fic! All will flock to it like a golden bull idol! And so on.

Or I'll get the motivation to write shamelessly power-fantasy-ish adventure fiction and I'll show them (all). Anyway, happy to be here!

Greetings! It's been a while since we've had a newbie. Things are going slow, but that gives you more time to catch up. If you want to get into Undocumented Features, I recommend starting with Symphony of the Sword:

http://www.eyrie-productions.com/UF/FI/SOS/

The premise is "Utena gets isekaied to 25th century Earth and has to go to school", but it's far deeper and cooler than that.

People also talk about video games, and about those vee tuber things, but I'm too much of an old man on his porch to appreciate the latter (even though I'm a 40something enby).

Oh, hello! I've read a lot of older and weirder UF bits and pieces but I know I should give SotS a shot soon. Though I've never seen Utena... oh, look, preliminary requirement! And it's about time I watch that, too.

Side note: How many chunks of Gundam-y stuff are in UF? 'Cause I've got an idea for something in the old-timey semi-self-insert tradition that'd involve Gundam bits - Psychoframe, poor ol' Lalah Sune, etc. - and, for kicks, Cannon God Exaxxion. Real preliminary, I have no idea if newbies (or long-time lurkers, whatever) are allowed to throw their hat in the ring anymore, but if I had a reason to stick to assembling an adventure of that sort I wonder if I could. Never hurts to pitch, right?

LAST EDITED ON May-28-26 AT 08:20 PM (EDT)
 
Not as much as you might think. The Gundams themselves have been described as various flavors of Destroid; Newtypes would probably be subsumed under mutant, Jedi, or B5 telepath powers, and I don't recall a psycoframe turning up.

There's a surprising amount of G GUNDAM floating around, though.

And for the record, if you've come across my old work, I apologize. :D

(A Welcome from Mario "DigiCom" DiGiacomo)

>And for the record, if you've come across my old work, I apologize. :D
>
>(A Welcome from Mario "DigiCom" DiGiacomo)

I have read far, far worse. It wasn’t high art but that old work mostly felt pretty… self assured as what it was? No that’s not the right word.

Look, it was lighthearted and fun, and there’s so much fanfic that eschews that in favor of being creepy or offensive or both or just plain ol boring. I can point to many that do that. I could complain about many things, some of which were / are astonishingly popular in their day. Meanwhile any gripes I have with Otaku Rising are drowned out in O SHIT UPS TRUCK FROM HEEEEEELLLLLLLL and so on.

>Look, it was lighthearted and fun, and there’s so much fanfic that
>eschews that in favor of being creepy or offensive or both or just
>plain ol boring. I can point to many that do that. I could complain
>about many things, some of which were / are astonishingly popular in
>their day. Meanwhile any gripes I have with Otaku Rising are drowned
>out in O SHIT UPS TRUCK FROM HEEEEEELLLLLLLL and so on.

Thanks. I like to think I've gotten better as a writer in the last... *blinks* 34 years? Yikes....

There have been some passing mentions in various Featured Documents and Annotations if you look for "Zeon" on the forum. Most notably:

21:00 Dogfights
The One-Year War - 2079: The Zaku II-class space Destroid gives Zeon forces the advantage in the initial battles against the United Earth Nations. With its Veritech fighters sidelined by treaty concerns, the Wedge Defense Force looks to the RX-78 Gundam series to turn the tide.

So the One Year War happened, and Zaku's exist, but the promise of "Minkovski Particles" didn't actually pan out and Zeon eventually got curbstomped.

--- Philip

	Philip J. Moyer Contributing Writer, Editor and Artist (and Moderator) -- Eyrie Productions, Unlimited CEO of MTS, High Poobah Of Artwork, and High Priest Of the Church Of Aerianne -- Magnetic Terrapin Studios "Insert Pithy Comment Here" Fandoms -- Fanart -- Fan Meta Discussions

>There have been some passing mentions in various Featured Documents
>and Annotations if you look for "Zeon" on the forum. Most notably:
>
>21:00 Dogfights
>The One-Year War - 2079: The Zaku II-class space Destroid gives Zeon
>forces the advantage in the initial battles against the United Earth
>Nations. With its Veritech fighters sidelined by treaty concerns, the
>Wedge Defense Force looks to the RX-78 Gundam series to turn the tide.
>
>So the One Year War happened, and Zaku's exist, but the promise of
>"Minkovski Particles" didn't actually pan out and Zeon eventually got
>curbstomped.

There's also Living Large, a Mini that mostly involves mecha from Macross directly, but takes place at a strategically significant point during the UF version of the One-Year War itself.

Also, welcome! Sorry there's nothing much new to see around here for the past couple of years. I've been horribly distracted by, uh... (gestures vaguely toward a nearby window and, by extension, the entire world beyond it) :/

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

LAST EDITED ON May-31-26 AT 10:29 AM (EDT)
 
>>There have been some passing mentions in various Featured Documents
>>and Annotations if you look for "Zeon" on the forum. Most notably:
>>
>>21:00 Dogfights
>>The One-Year War - 2079: The Zaku II-class space Destroid gives Zeon
>>forces the advantage in the initial battles against the United Earth
>>Nations. With its Veritech fighters sidelined by treaty concerns, the
>>Wedge Defense Force looks to the RX-78 Gundam series to turn the tide.
>>
>>So the One Year War happened, and Zaku's exist, but the promise of
>>"Minkovski Particles" didn't actually pan out and Zeon eventually got
>>curbstomped.
>
>There's also
>Living Large, a Mini that mostly involves mecha from Macross
>directly, but takes place at a strategically significant point during
>the UF version of the One-Year War itself.

Ah, okay, got it. Makes sense; UF's built off Robotech because that's what was bigger back in the day.

>Also, welcome! Sorry there's nothing much new to see around here for
>the past couple of years. I've been horribly distracted by, uh...
>(gestures vaguely toward a nearby window and, by extension, the entire
>world beyond it) :/

I get it, yeah. I have strong feelings about the, uh, everything, but I'm trying to force myself to be happy and just move forward with the life I've got. Feels like any time I get sucked into political conversations with friends I get angry at the state at the world and at said friends.

No matter. Let me repeat my one question: Is there room for new writers to hop into the world of Undocumented Features here? Is that a bad idea if I don't know every single part of what's happened where and how? I'd like to know! It'd be fun to write something.

>No matter. Let me repeat my one question: Is there room for new
>writers to hop into the world of Undocumented Features here? Is that a
>bad idea if I don't know every single part of what's happened where
>and how? I'd like to know! It'd be fun to write something.

That's a tough one. There was a time when I'd have said the answer to the second question was yes, but nowadays I'm pretty sure I don't know every single part of what's happened where and how any more. :)

But by the same token, I don't think I have the energy or brain bandwidth to train up a raw recruit nowadays. The last couple of new people who've been added to the bullpen, so to speak, came in by invitation, after already demonstrating a knowledge of the material and passing an informal vibe check here on the forum.

OTOH, this is fanfic to begin with, and nobody asked any of the creators of the original materials before starting. So hey! There's nothing to stop you, least of all me. You'll just be... let's go with "unofficial". For now, at least. We'll see what happens!

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

As far as I know, only two people were ever officially banned from working on UF.

Cor was the other one. :D

>OTOH, this is fanfic to begin with, and nobody asked any of the
>creators of the original materials before starting. So hey! There's
>nothing to stop you, least of all me. You'll just be... let's go with
>"unofficial". For now, at least. We'll see what happens!

A more extreme version of "Lensmen, The Brave and The Bold" perhaps? Something that can be assumed to be complete fiction within UF, unless you end up liking it and decide to be all "A.K. Yearling is Daring Do‽"

>A more extreme version of "Lensmen, The Brave and The Bold" perhaps?
>Something that can be assumed to be complete fiction within UF, unless
>you end up liking it and decide to be all "A.K. Yearling is Daring
>Do‽"

I don't understand that last bit, but the rest of it sounds like a decent plan. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>I don't understand that last bit, but the rest of it sounds like a
>decent plan. :)

It's a My Little Pony thing, where it turns out that the writer of a series of Indiana Jones-esque books is, in fact, actually said adventurer. Although because MLP: FiM never restricts itself to just ONE cultural reference, the name is a shout-out to Rowling.

>
>>I don't understand that last bit, but the rest of it sounds like a
>>decent plan. :)
>
>It's a My Little Pony thing, where it turns out that the writer
>of a series of Indiana Jones-esque books is, in fact, actually said
>adventurer. Although because MLP: FiM never restricts itself to just
>ONE cultural reference, the name is a shout-out to Rowling.

"U.N. Owen Was Her?"

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

LAST EDITED ON Jun-19-26 AT 08:25 PM (EDT)
 
>"U.N. Owen Was Her?"
>
I regret to put before you that, and I quote, This video is only available to Music Premium members. Fortunately, there was an alternative version in the sidebar.

-Z

>>"U.N. Owen Was Her?"
>>
>I regret to put before you that, and I quote, This video is only
>available to Music Premium members. Fortunately, there was an
>alternative version in the sidebar.

Huh. I wonder when that started, and if it applies to all the "-Topic" channels, or what. There's no indication of any of it on my screen.

Ah well. I knew I should've gone with the RichaadEB version...

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>That's a tough one. There was a time when I'd have said the answer to
>the second question was yes, but nowadays I'm pretty sure I
>don't know every single part of what's happened where and how any
>more. :)
>
>But by the same token, I don't think I have the energy or brain
>bandwidth to train up a raw recruit nowadays. The last couple of new
>people who've been added to the bullpen, so to speak, came in by
>invitation, after already demonstrating a knowledge of the material
>and passing an informal vibe check here on the forum.
>
>OTOH, this is fanfic to begin with, and nobody asked any of the
>creators of the original materials before starting. So hey! There's
>nothing to stop you, least of all me. You'll just be... let's go with
>"unofficial". For now, at least. We'll see what happens!
>
>--G.
>-><-
>Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
>Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
>zgryphon at that email service Google has
>Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Thanks so much! I've basically had something of a writer's crashout, felt utterly apathetic to the fanfic projects I do have going, but getting something of a green light for this potential shtick is nice. If you're up for reviewing it or something whenever I get a first part first draft down, that'd be nice. I guess. Your call.

Debatably canon helps, honestly, because the protag is meant to be an 'aspiring mad scientist', caught between 'they laughed at me' and 'but I'll show them', so to speak, and it's hard to make that work when so much supertech is already commonplace in UF's world. I can say 'ah, this is new and novel!' when it likely isn't.

Again, really appreciate the kindness. I'll make no promises as to when I'll have something complete and / or worth reading, but I'll be around. I've got ideas, ey wot.

LAST EDITED ON Aug-07-26 AT 10:46 AM (EDT)
 
Update, months down the line: holy shit this might be going somewhere.

As I write I have like three or four better things to do, but the fact is that this is a more fun fanfic to write than what I was trying to force myself to do, it doesn't feel like an obligation at all. I'm still in the phase where I need to get a feel for my own tone and ideas, and could probably stand to figure out where the cutoff point is for a given submitted chapter soon, but I started months ago, stalled out, and in a fit of pique kept going with better ideas than what I started with.

The frame is 'aspiring mad scientist', and so grabbing off mad scientists from across fiction as characters both heroic and villainous is a fun way to work in the usual slate of crossovers. Once I realized, fresh off of my new Resident Evil fandom kick, that I could work Victor Gideon into this framework I knew I had to keep going.

It's not really in the same sphere of tone as most EPU work, I guess, but I'm doing my best to make it not just an apocryphal Bacon Comics thing, it ought to work as something real, just in a very distant corner of the galaxy on a world walled off from its wider networks of commerce and other places well-inhabited but far-flung all the same. I've got 6.5K words and change, and once I get to the end of this second chapter I'll take stock of everything and try to lock in where this is going. Make a progress thread or something. Find a beta reader, maybe.

Update: I've got two chapters at 7.5K words (cut down heavily). I know the usual Eyrie Part is like 20-30K words so I was *trying* to cut it down still more to eventually fit into that sort of sectioning, but what the hell.

I'm making a thread. You have been warned.