Eyrie Productions

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Archive
Name: Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
Date(s): 1991 - present
Archivist:
Founder: Benjamin J. Hutchins (Gryphon)
Type:
Fandom: anime fandoms
URL: http://www.eyrie.net/
http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
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Eyrie Productions, abbreviated as EPU, is a collective of fanfiction writers formed in late 1991 specializing in mega-crossovers involving anime, video games, TV shows, movies, and other forms of popular culture. Unlike other modern fanfic archives, Eyrie Productions' fics are centered around a shared universe, Undocumented Features, made by a small group of writers, of which fics aren't intended to be made by outsiders of the group. Discussion of the group's stories are centered in their self-hosted discussion forums, which include annotations for the fics, mini-stories posted on the forums first, and "featured documents", in-universe documents with further worldbuilding of the UF premise. Previews of new stories and related updates on progress are usually posted on the forums first. Eyrie Production fics are largely genfic with some romantic elements.

Chronological documentation for release dates of EPU stories can be read on the Eyrie Productions: Stories by Publication Order fansite (pre-2001), the What Previously Was New fansite, and the What's New page of EPU.

Undocumented Features

Undocumented Features is Eyrie's flagship fanfic series, a mega crossover space opera setting.

Initially intended as an in-joke heavy story for friends, positive reception both locally and on the rec.arts.anime newsgroup lead them to continue the series, now forming a decades old collection of fanfics. UI unintentionally serves as a time capsule of current trends in pop culture and music at the time the fics are written as well as the personal lives of the writers, many of which have self-insert personas in the setting, often with their own fictional media partners and children. The founding writers were "Wedge Rats", geek culture affiliated students at Worchester Technical Institute that often congregated in the Wedge area of the school. As such, much of the Core fics, most heavily Core Book One, the original Undocumented Features fic, feature WPI, Wedge Rat culture, and Worchester, Massachusetts in of itself as recurring elements.

Works featured in Undocumented Features often have their characters reworked to fit within the worldbuilding of the setting while retaining their original personalities. UF also features its own "soundtrack of sorts" with specific songs cited in fic to be playing during certain scenes, featuring many contemporary artists at the time of writing. UF's soundtrack taste includes various genres and instrumental tracks from films and TV, but largely leans towards rock, especially in the initial Core fics.

While UF's crossovers range from the popular to the obscure, there's a limited set of works that are barred from inclusion in UF proper aside from minor gags or off-handed references: Ranma 1/2 (very popular in 90s anime fanfic circles at the time UF first started), Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and any Mutant Enemy production, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Lord of the Rings was originally barred from inclusion up until the release of the Peter Jackson films.

UF largely centers around recontextualized fictional media but contains mild elements of (gen, non-sexual) Real Person Fic. Unlike regular RPF, UF's real person inclusion centers around the fictionalized versions of the fic authors as lead characters. Usually relegated to references, UF rarely features known public figures in a manner similar to regular RPF, often in a respectful, fantastical manner (Daft Punk's cameo during a fight scene in a club in An Avatar in New Avalon, an episode of Top Gear with the then-current presenters but in the UF setting in Top Gear: Road Film with Fighting). Occasionally, the real person inclusions are more irreverent (the original Undocumented Features featuring wish-fulfillment parodies of hated enemies of the Wedge Rats, Hatsune Miku's often mocked appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman re-contextualized in the UF setting where Vocaloids are performing AIs who gained sentience in 2014 in The Vocaloid Variations).

The main series is formed of three parts:

  • Core: The initial set fics, four in total that set up the worldview and timeline, from 1991-2388. A group of nerdy college students at Worchester Polytechnic Institute known as the "Wedge Rats", go from causing chaos on campus after making the Dirty Pair, Kei and Yuri real, to becoming immortal space-faring heroes.
  • The Golden Age: tied into events of Core Book Two, The Long Road. "After its inconclusive early clashes with GENOM Corporation, the Wedge Defense Force comes into its own as a peacekeeping force for the United Galactica. It is a time of relative tranquility, a tranquility which the WDF plays a large role in maintaining. Business has a way of coming back to haunt those who leave it unfinished, though, and the WDF will learn that they are no exceptions."
  • Exodus: tied into events between Core Book Three, Out in the Cold, and Book Four, Crossroads. "The time between Out in the Cold and Crossroads is a dark one for the galaxy in general and the heroes of the Wedge Defense Force in particular. Shattered by GENOM Corporation, its flagship in ruins, its members branded as traitors, criminals, and cowards, the remains of the WDF struggle to survive. Some find a rallying point with PCHammer's Thunder Force; others join the WWWA or one of the other organizations trying to cope with the galactic upheaval caused by the WDF's demise. It is a time of crisis on a galactic and personal scale as the prime movers of the WDF try to sort out the who, the how, and the why of their undoing - and stay alive in the process; and in the shadows, one man fights the odds to prove his innocence and keep his duty and love alive in his darkest hours."
  • Future Imperfect: Set after the Core stories and as of 2022 features most new UF content. FI's central storyline, Symphony of the Sword, is a "New Generation" fic centered around Kaitlyn Morgan, the eldest daughter of the UF setting's Kei Morgan and Gryphon, serving as a coming-of-age story set in a new version of WPI with elements from Revolutionary Girl Utena. "The War of Corporate Occupation is over, and with it the threat that GENOM Corporation posed to galactic freedom. The Wedge Defense Force is back in high style. The universe is not all rosy hues and sweetness, though, and new threats lurk in places likely and unlikely. Some characters face new paths in life, some will rediscover old ones, and a new generation of heroes will take their place in history."

Future plans for NXE include The New Frontier, the new status quo and "present" of the UF setting, the central storyline of which will be Warriors of the Outer Rim, centering around UF's version of Star Wars characters and concepts and currently a part of Future Imperfect.

As one of the more popular fanfic series in English speaking online anime fandom in the 1990s and as the part of the series with the least consistent writing quality, the first two Core UF fanfics were the subject of MSTing.

While UF stories as a closed setting are made mostly by EPU, there have been fanfics of Undocumented Features made, including shipfic, usually focusing on UF-specific characters and not the crossover works featured. UF writer MegaZone was notably surprised at the amount of slashfic involving the UF versions of Gryphon and MegaZone.

Neon Exodus Evangelion

Neon Exodus Evangelion, abbreviated as NXE, is an alternate universe Evangelion fanfic in which the base cosmology of the series is replaced with concepts from XCOM and In Nomine. The fic was mainly written by Benjamin J. Hutchins, Additional influence comes from series as diverse as Tomb Raider, The X-Files, System Shock, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and more. Unlike the original Evangelion TV series which keeps the action largely in Japan, NXE changes Evangelion's setting of Neo-Tokyo with Neo-Worchester and features various international organizations besides NERV and SEELE involved in the conflict with Angels. Hutchins is notably not a fan of Evangelion, as such NXE is intended as a lighter while no less dramatic version of the story. NXE follows Undocumented Feature's lead in including its own "soundtrack", with Evangelion's iconic "Cruel Angel's Thesis" and "Fly Me to the Moon" replaced with Genesis' "Land of Confusion" and The Marcel's "Blue Moon" respectively.

NXE is was released in a manner akin to that of a TV show, with three parts (known as Exodus) of nine "seasons" each, ending with "the motion picture" conclusion, Apotheosis Now, treated as "Exodus 5". NXE initially follows the format of the original Evangelion TV series before diverging based on its crossover influences. The original three seasons and movie, published from 1997-2003, were followed up by Exodus 5, an irregularly updated continuation featuring the lead NXE teens as adults now facing the threat of the kaiju from Pacific Rim. NXE also had "meta" Bonus Theater mini-fics, released alongside Exodus 3 where NXE characters were actually portrayed by actors "filming" the series. This lead to comedic scenarios including parodies of ESPN ad spots, crossovers with Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Batman, and parodies of Evangelion as traditional mecha series. The Bonus Theater series was predated by Exodus 3:0 - The Big Show, a recap episode of the first two "seasons" framed as an episode of ESPN Sportscenter dreamt up by Misato.

Elements of Neon Exodus Evangelion proved controversial in Evangelion fandom at the time. Contentious elements include DJ Croft, the hypercompetent and flirty teenage son of Lara Croft and Fox Mulder, as the main character in place of original Eva lead Shinji Ikari, and a more literal appearance of Judeo-Christian aspects of In Nomine, in contrast to the original Evangelion using them for mild set dressing.

Much like the MSTings of Undocumented Features, the series was subject to period-specific mockery, including DJ Croft "winning" Worst New Character at Megane 6.7's 1997 Chicken Ball Awards. The Chickenball Awards were a fanfic awards show written in the style of a fake awards ceremony with both "Best" and "Worst" categories. In this depiction, Croft was framed as overtly lecherous and consequently suffered an off-screen death intended as humorous. Following the "meta" presentation of NXE as a work in production by a cast playing characters, a rebuttal fic in response to the ceremony was posted. This fic served as both promoting the then-upcoming "movie" conclusion for NXE and criticism of DJ's depiction as maliciously out-of-character. NXE was also nominated for "Most Overrated Fanfic or Series", which it ultimately "lost" to Daigakusei no Ranma.

Other Works

Other Eyrie fics include:

These are more irregularly updated in comparison to Undocumented Features and Neon Exodus Evangelion.

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