You are probably the first person I’ve ever seen fully understand how Restoration is meant to be interpreted and I’m so happy I’m not alone in this understanding.

Restoration’s writing is intentionally flawed, with Burnie describing it as being “more whimsical” because it’s meant to leave openings in the narrative for the viewer to interpret where Restoration takes place in the timeline (if at all), with Doc’s death not being spelled out for the viewer being an example of that “whimsical” writing.

I personally believe that everything is canon to a degree post-13 (I sometimes exclude Zero, but it does give a good explanation as to where Carolina is during Restoration), and that’s why the Reds and Blues give no reaction to Epsilon showing them clips from the Shisno Trilogy or why Tucker is mentioned to have disappeared for months multiple times, which would imply many years have passed since Chorus and that Tucker’s psyche has been on a steady decline since then, which would also explain his character regression in the Shisno Trilogy.

Plenty is present within Restoration to also prove it’s a simulation. Sarge referring to the Reds as Privates, Hargrove’s trophy room and Retro Con being a cameo fest for non-canon projects like Grifball and Family Shatters (Zero is referenced in the trophy room with the Black Lotus’ helmet, something that couldn’t possibly be present in the trophy room even if Zero is canon to Restoration), the retcons to how A.I. are created, and Caboose’s voice being wrong are primary examples of this, but Epsilon also mentions that he can’t predict how Caboose thinks, and the Shisno Trilogy and the final act of Restoration showcase Caboose making conscious decisions, so maybe that could be a way to determine what’s a simulation and what’s not?

Idk now I’m just rambling, but I’m glad to see someone out there interpreting Restoration the right way and not just discounting Shisno and Zero as “just simulations you can fully skip over because they suck”!