
ワンダーテインメント博士はそのイメージを今一度整えようとしている/Dr. Wondertainment Is Cleaning Up Its Image:
このカノンは100%ワンダーテインメント博士関連ってわけでもない。驚くかもしれないけどね。確かに博士はここのすべての基盤 (Foundation、ハハッ) ではあるけれど、それがすべてというわけでもないんだ。まあ、まずはそこの話からしていこうか。
This isn't 100% about Dr. Wondertainment, which may come as a surprise. Certainly that's the Foundation (ha ha) of everything here, but it's not really the full picture. But let's start there.
このカノンの主な舞台は、異常都市ワンダー・ワールド!™だ。この町はアメリカ合衆国マサチューセッツ州ボストンのどこかにある異次元空間として、確かに世界に存在している。ワンダー・ワールド!™には、もちろんワンダーテインメント博士の会社があるし、マジカルで”ワンダラス”な人間がたくさん住んでいる (つまり、並の都市ぐらいと思ってもらえればいい)。その文化は子供じみたあどけなさ、気前のいい純朴さ、キテレツさ、それと誰にでも見られる善意への心からの感謝から成り立っている。
This canon is mainly set in the anomalous city of Wonder World!™, which does indeed exist on earth as an extradimensional space somewhere in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. Wonder World!™ is host, of course, to the company of Dr. Wondertainment, and to a large population (I mean, think medium sized city) of magical, Wondrous people. The culture is built on childlike innocence, willing naivety, whimsy, and a deep appreciation for the goodness that can be found in each and every person.
でももちろん、完璧なものなんてない。
But of course, nothing's perfect.
”この素晴らしき世界”What a Wonderful Worldは、暗く、不穏で、恐ろしく酷い財団世界に見てみぬふりをするカノンではない。そんな世界でも幸せを掴む理由を見い出し、押し進んでいくカノンだ。まあ、ある方はワンダー・ワールド!™の住民を見て”現実を見ていない”と言うかもしれないし、またある方は”楽観的にすぎる”と言うかもしれない。結局は個々の解釈に委ねられる。
What a Wonderful World is not about ignoring the dark, disturbing, horribly effed up world that is the Foundationverse. It's about finding reasons to be happy and pushing through in spite of that. One person may look at a Wonder World!™ denizen and call them "in denial". Another may call them "optimistic". It all depends on interpretation.
このカノンのワンダーテインメント博士にはいくつかのキーポイントがある:
- 社の目的は本当に、子供たちの生活をもっとマジカルにすることだ。
- ワンダーテインメントのところで何か良くないことが起こっているのなら、それは上級管理職たちの足元にある。
- 各ワンダーテインメント博士は、全部門のトップが集まる委員会の承認を経たうえで次のワンダーテインメント博士を任命する。称号は持ち主に何かマジカルな影響を与えるかもしれないし、与えないかもしれない。
Some key points about this canon's Dr. Wondertainment:
- The goal of the company is, truly, to make child's lives more magical.
- If there is anything shady going on at Wondertainment, it is under the nose of upper management.
- Dr. Wondertainment is a title. Each Dr. Wondertainment chooses the next Dr. Wondertainment, with the approval of a committee made of the heads of all departments. The title itself may or may not have some magical effect on the bearer.
- ワンダーテインメント博士には複数の部門がある。最も知名度が高いのはおもちゃづくり部門Toy Creation Departmentだけど、スイーツ&食品部門Sweets & Consumables Departmentや建設部門Construction Department、公衆&人間関係部門Public & Human Relations Departmentなんかも有名だ。どの部門にもかわいらしいあだ名がついており、たとえばスイーツ&食品部門の従業員はキャンディ・カタリストCandy Catalystsと呼ばれている。
- Dr. Wondertainment has multiple departments. The most famous of which is the Toy Creation Department, but there are also notably the Sweets & Consumables Department, the Construction Department, the Public & Human Relations Department, etc.. All of which have cutesy names, such as the employees of the Sweets & Consumables Department being called Candy Catalysts.
- Dr. Wondertainment was founded in 1909 by Chester Williams (the original Dr. Wondertainment) and Maria Herring (the original Toy Tinker). The first store was in Boston, and was called Dr. Wondertainment's World of Whimsy.
- The Misters are handled very differently.
That's about all the information I am willing to fit into this introduction. If you're really hoping to write for the canon, or get a good understanding of it, then I would simply recommend you to read some of the articles available. Oh, and speaking of "read some of the articles", below are some good intro articles for people wishing to write for What a Wonderful World.
Enjoy the canon!
"Recommended Reading"
- And I Think To Myself... by DarkStuff
- "And I Think To Myself… is 10,000 words worth of crafted Wonder World!™ worldbuilding. If you have a question on how a part of the world works, and you haven't read this, read this and see if you have that question afterwards. Be wary! Using the navigation at the bottom will put you smack in the middle of the Vend-a-Friend story, and you will likely be lost unless you've already read the series."
- City of Wonder™ by DrChandra
- "City of Wonder™ is another author's more concise image of Wonder World!™, and thus another good look at the setting of the canon. While And I Think To Myself… is based on a local's perspective of Wonder World!™, City of Wonder™ is focused on an outsider's perspective, which may be equally useful for writing the canon / deeper reading."
- Wonder World Dossier by Uncle Nicolini
- "Wonder World Dossier is a summation of Wonder World!™ through the eyes of the Foundation. If you were ever curious as to what exactly the Foundation knows about Wonder World!™, its culture, and the inner workings of the company, look no further."
An Origin Story:
Below is the origin story for Wonder World!™. At the time of writing, no tales have been written about this origin story, but I feel it best to specify so that people writing for What a Wonderful World can make sure not to interfere with the origin story. For any interested, here's where the canon came from:
"The Story of Chester Williams & Maria Herring"
- Chester Williams is the original Dr. Wondertainment. He is a non-anomalous thirty-two-year-old black man in Boston in 1909 when he founds Dr. Wondertainment (as Dr. Wondertainment's World of Whimsy).
- Maria Herring is a magical woman who quickly joins Dr. Wondertainment and makes the first actually magic stuff. Chester remains the face of the company, but Maria is what helps makes it special.
- The shop exists in a little back alley because it's the only place that Chester could ever afford, but as its magical nature becomes (somewhat) known, business actually picks up. Strangely enough, it's not usually children asking for stuff.
- Place slowly grows, and at some point, they get approached and warned that "magic stuff doesn't last long when it gets big, you need to figure out how to keep low". Eventually, this leads to an extradimensional real estate agent selling them a space that they can put in the back of their shop. This starts as an expansion of the store, and then it becomes a place that people can take a Way to, which becomes more popular of a way to meet them than finding them in Boston (where they hope to lay low, they change their name and everything).
- This extradimensional space eventually, over a long time, expands, and becomes Wonder World. This happens as they make bunks for people they recruit as toymakers, and eventually, they get powerful enough to expand the space themselves. It becomes a haven for Dr. Wondertainment employees, and eventually just weird (and Wondrous) people who wish to hold onto their childhood innocence before the world shoved them into the hell that is being anomalous against the GOC and SCP.
What a Wonderful World Proper:
The Chester Era (1909-1975, 0th-66th Wonder Years)
01. The Workshop ~~ by RockTeethMothEyes & Uncle Nicolini
02. Lord Blackwood in the Land of Wonder ~~ by Raddagher & Uncle Nicolini
03. Extradimensional Purchase: "Wondertainment Vacation Spot!" ~~ by Ellie3
The Cornelius Era (1976-1998, 67th-89th Wonder Years)
01. Take-A-Wish ~~ by Uncle Nicolini & DarkStuff
02. Cornelius the Collector ~~ by DarkStuff
03. X-Men Syndrome ~~ by Shaggydredlocks
04. We Stopped Making Socks (But What if We Made Something Better?) ~~ by Ellie3
05. What do you want to be when you grow up? ~~ by Uncle Nicolini
06. When It Rains, It Pours ~~ by Captain Kirby
07. I Get It ~~ by DarkStuff
08. Señor Taste ~~ by Uncle Nicolini
09. The Good Ending ~~ by Uncle Nicolini
10. All the Details ~~ by DarkStuff
11. Spread the Word ~~ by HarryBlank
The Holly Era (1999-2040, 90th-131st Wonder Years)
The Vend-a-Friend Series ~~ by DarkStuff
01. We Just Make Toys
02. To Think I've Spent My Whole Life Waiting
03. I Don't Get It, I Functioned Before
04. You Can't Win Them All
05. Be Strange or Be Forgotten
06. Sometimes the Best Intentions are in Need of Redemption
07. Life's a Show
08. ...And I'm the Star!
09. Back in Habit
10. Pepper's Lament
11. Souls & Somas
12. Deceptive Cadence
13. And I Think To Myself... (technically set in the Cornelius era)
14. Everything Will Be Okay
15. Holding an Umbrella but the Sun's Still Shining
01. Do They Know It's Christmas Time At All? ~~ by Elogee FishTruck
02. Wonder World Dossier ~~ by Uncle Nicolini
03. City of Wonder™ ~~ by DrChandra
04. Musical Jolly Ape™ by Dr. Wondertainment ~~ by Uncle Nicolini
05. Nobody's Observations on Temporal Displacement, Family, and Waffles ~~ by HotColes & DrAnnoyingDog
06. Choco-Wonder Explosion Marshmallow Bites!™ by Dr. Wondertainment ~~ by DarkStuff & Uncle Nicolini
07. We're All Mad Here ~~ by DrChandra
08. Phoenix à La Mode ~~ by RockTeethMothEyes & Uncle Nicolini
09. Fanfa ~~ by Uncle Nicolini
The Stories My Dad Told Me Series ~~ by DarkStuff & Uncle Nicolini
01. Elliot & Edna Had a Son Named Tim
02. Dad Goes to the Zoo
03. Blake Tillerson
04. Diving in the San Diego Sea
05. The Beginnings of Love
06. & the Endings Thereof
07. Alice Özdemir
08. Anders & Robin
09. Wilson's Wildlife Shelter
10. Letters from Oregon
11. Audrey Fuchs
12. The Supervisors
13. Disconnect
14. Fae Goes to the Shelter
15. The Years Between
16. Tim Wilson
17. Escapism I
The Stories I Tell Myself Series ~~ by DarkStuff
01. Tim & Audrey Had a Daughter Named Fae
02. The Old New
03. Out of Stasis
04. Old Connections
05. The Fundraiser
06. A Welcome Distraction
The Judy Era (2041-20??, 132nd-???th Wonder Years)
01. The Word of the Day is Hope ~~ by DarkStuff
02. Mr. Brass ~~ by DarkStuff
03. Austin "Aggy" Genadew ~~ by DarkStuff & DeviantDharma
04. The Really Really Real Adventures in Capitalism ~~ by DarkStuff
05. Curtain Call ~~ by DarkStuff
The ??? Era (????-????, ???th-???th Wonder Years)
The Wonderful Wonderful Series ~~ by MaliceAforethought
01. Old Business
If there are any articles tagged with this canon that aren't on this list for whatever reason (either by mistake or because of some other more esoteric drama), then below is a self-updating list of all articles tagged with "wonderful-world".
Some Honorable Mentions:
- Somatic Backups by DrChandra
- "Mentions characters from Vend-a-Friend, but paints MC&D in a direction contrary to the What a Wonderful World MC&D."
- A Simple Toymaker by Jim North
- "Intentionally exists in no canons, but makes mention of Wonder World!™ and Vend-a-Friend."
- I Don't Get It, But I'll Figure It Out. by Uncle Nicolini
- "Used to be in the canon, until Nico and I realized that the representation of Faeowynn's relationship with her dad was inaccurate. It has now been replaced by another tale, but it would feel wrong to not include it on the hub somewhere, as it was written for this canon. Check it out! It's heartwarming."
A Special Short Message About Canon Crossing:
The Dread & Circuses canon and this canon do not perfectly coexist. Some of the articles do cross over into the other canon. However! Only articles tagged with "wonderful-world" are canon here. You can imagine that Icky and Manny exist, that Iris Dark exists, that Icky and Manny took over the Circus from an overbearing Herman Fuller, but how Marshall, Carter & Dark work may be different, the Group of Interest relationships are likely to be revised, etc.. Assume that everything tagged "dread&circuses" works within that canon, and everything tagged "wonderful-world" works within this canon, and there will be overlap, but they are not the same.
And, yes, this rule extends to all canon crossovers, which will most certainly happen later.