A/N: And here's that Omake I promised, enjoy!
Omake 2: Calendar Theory
SETTING: Caffé Nascita, Night
(In a completely dark room, a single spotlight shines down on Tomoe Mami as she begins to read from a script.)
MAMI: After forming an alliance with the time traveling freedom fighter Myokoin Geiz, Tomoe Mami and Akemi Homura decide to return to Caffé Nascita after their festivities have concluded, in order to make sure that history has truly been altered.
(A second spotlight shines down on Nakazawa Sougo, brushing his teeth at a sink placed in the far corner of the room while the Build Ridewatch sat precariously at the edge of the sink.)
MAMI: However, unbeknownst to them, a miraculous act of stupidity was unfolding elsewhere.
(As Sougo spat out the remaining toothpaste and reached for the cup to rinse with, his arm knocks the Build Ridewatch into the running water of the sink.)
SOUGO: Wahhh! The Build Ridewaaaaattcccchh!
(Sougo falls to his knees as his spotlight fades)
MAMI: With the Build Ridewatch's destruction, the three comrades walk into Caffé Nascita to find not Katsuragi Takumi, but…
(A new spotlight shines on Kiryu Sento, sitting at the bar of Caffé Nascita.)
SENTO: Takumi? My name is Kiryu Sento.
(Another spotlight shines on Banjou Ryuga, sitting at one of the other tables.)
RYUGA: Does it really matter? You're a physicist either way."
SENTO: A genius physicist.
(A spotlight shines on Myokoin Geiz.)
GEIZ: Hey, what's going on here? Wasn't history supposed to be altered?
(A spotlight shines on Akemi Homura.)
HOMURA: Isn't this a good thing? Perhaps this means that history isn't flowing towards Oma Zi-O after all.
MAMI: By the way, there is something that I've been wondering about, and perhaps a genius physicist like Kiryu-san could explain it to me. According to Akemi-san, the first two chapters of this story take place on May 25, 2018, and yet the first two episodes of Kamen Rider Zi-O take place between September 8 and September 9 of 2018. Why is there such a big difference in the timeline of events between this story and the source material?
SENTO: I'm afraid such a simple question… does not have such a simple answer.
(Sento snaps his fingers, the lights of Café Nascita flashing on)
SENTO: You see, since this story is a crossover between two series that place a huge emphases on the passage of time, Author-san knew that he wouldn't be able to reconcile the two timelines without drastically changing one or both. First off, he considered the dating of the Kamen Rider Series, which is generally assumed to correspond at least roughly to its real-world broadcasting schedule. For example, the first episode of Kamen Rider Build aired on September 3, 2017, and Kiriyu Sento's rent notice seen in that episode is indeed dated September 3.
RYUGA: Wait, why did you refer to yourself in the third person just now?
SENTO: This general rule means that the adventure depicted in any given season lasts for about a year. In the end, Author-san decided to keep this dating scheme for the timeline of events of the Legend Riders, which occur prior to the start of the story.
MAMI: I see. So then why did he decide to change the starting date of the story?
GEIZ: In fact, doesn't changing the starting point to be so much earlier make it more difficult for the author? With the previously stated dating scheme, wouldn't May 25, 2018 still be right in the middle of Build's story?
SENTO: Indeed it is. It would put the first chapter between Episodes 36 and 37 of Kamen Rider Build, right before Evolto gains his Evol Trigger power up.
MAMI: What!? But that's such a climactic moment in the series! Why would Author-san decide to start the story there of all places?
SENTO: That would be… because of her.
(Sento points accusingly at Homura.)
HOMURA: Me?
GEIZ: Oh, right, the author has to consider the Madoka Magica timeline as well.
SENTO: That's right. In Episode 10 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, it was revealed via a calendar that Akemi Homura transfers to Mitakihara Middle School on Friday the 25th in a month with 31 days in it. However, the exact month and year of that particular date is never expressly stated.
GEIZ: I see. I can understand how that would be frustrating for the author.
MAMI: Hey, Akemi-san, can you tell us on exactly what date you transfer to our school in the show?
(Homura scoffs and flips her hair confidently.)
HOMURA: Of course I can, how long do you think I've repeated the same exact month over and over again? The exact date that I transfer in is…
(Homura pauses, flipping through her script looking for her line and becoming more and more frantic as she goes.)
MAMI: Akemi-san… could it be…
GEIZ/MAMI/RYUGA: You don't know either!?
(Homura hides her face behind her script, shaking nervously. When she pulls the script away, she is wearing a pair of glasses and has her hair done in braids.)
MOEMURA: I-I-I'M SO SORRY! The canon date was never revealed in any Puella Magi Madoka Magica media, so I don't know either…
RYUGA: Wait, who the hell are you!? What happened to that cool beauty that was here a second ago?
MAMI: Akemi-san, you're breaking character.
MOEMURA: Wah! U-Um, I'm sorry, uh…
(Homura covers her face with the script. When she pulls it away, her glasses are gone and her braids are undone.)
HOMURA: Anyway, the cannon date is a complete mystery.
SENTO: Well, not a complete mystery. We know that Akemi Homura transfers into Kaname Madoka's class on Friday the 25th of a certain month, and her time loops are generally accepted to last for about a month. With these parameters in mind, two theories have been proposed for the timeline of events: either Akemi Homura transferred in on March 25th of the year the anime aired in, 2011, or she transferred in on May 25th of an unknown year later than 2011. Even before writing this story, Author-san looked into both theories while working on "The Spider Effect", and eventually decided that the May 25th theory had more convincing evidence, such as Homura seeming to transfer in at least a month into the school semester, the climate portrayed during the the series run, and Walpurgisnacht's appearance in the month of June, which is monsoon season in Japan. For a more detailed explanation of both theories, please visit this link: wiki. puella-magi Timeline
RYUGA: Why even bother providing a link if you're gonna have to break it up like that?
SENTO: However, there is one piece of evidence that made Author-san absolutely certain that he had to set the first chapter of this story on May 25, 2018.
HOMURA: And what would that be?
SENTO: See for yourself.
(Sento presents a page from his script to the camera, which displays the page for the month of May from a calendar of the year 2018, with the date of May 25th marked with a star and labeled "going to school" just as it was on the calendar in the anime.)
RYUGA: Ah! May 25th falls on a Friday in 2018!
MAMI: Just like the theory says!
SENTO: Exactly! Author-san just couldn't pass up such a convenient coincidence, so that's why he decided to move the starting date from September 8 to May 25. Also, because the events of Kamen Rider Build were going to be erased from history anyway, he didn't really have to worry about the timelines overlapping.
MAMI: Wow, that is rather convenient.
RYUGA: Teacher, I have a question!
SENTO: Yes, Banjo?
RYUGA: Back in the first chapter, Walpurgisnacht was built up to be the heroes' big end game challenge, but if a Rider season lasts for a whole year, and Walpurgisnacht shows up only a month after Homura transfers, wouldn't that mean that the big climax would happen just a few chapters in?
SENTO: I'm surprised you were able to do that much math in your head.
RYUGA: HEY!
SENTO: However, the real time dating scheme of the Kamen Rider Series is really only for simplicities sake, as well as to account for the changing of the seasons during filming, so Author-san need not abide by it for this story. For various reasons, he intends for Walpurgisnacht to be the midpoint of the story, so the first half of the tribute arcs will all pretty much occur within the month or so of Homura's time loop.
MAMI: Oh my! I suppose we have a pretty hectic month ahead of us then.
HOMURA: If it's for Madoka's sake, I am willing to endure any hardship.
GEIZ: That's right, for the sake of a brighter future, we have no choice to but to weather this coming storm. With that said; Build, Cross-Z, please lend us your strength!
(When the trio looks back towards the Legend Riders, Kiryu Sento has suddenly changed back to Katsuragi Takumi.)
TAKUMI: Hm? Build? What is that?
GEIZ/HOMURA/MAMI: …WHHAAAATT~!?
(The lights in Caffé Nascita suddenly turn off, and a spotlight shines on Nakazawa Sougo in the corner, taking the Build Ridewatch out of a bowl of rice.)
SOUGO: Phew! That was a close one. Good thing the rice bowl trick works on Ridewatches too.
(The spotlight fades and the lights come back on in Caffé Nascita. Geiz, Mami, and Homura all let out exasperated sighs.)
MAMI: …Well, it seems we have a very hectic month ahead of us indeed.
GEIZ: I will never forgive you… OMA ZI-O!
To Be Continued…
A/N: So yeah, that was how I decided how I was going to map out the timeline of this story. Hope you guys enjoyed this comedic look into my creative process, and I'll see you all next time, bye!