Oh, and playing around with my new Chromebook Pixel with Crouton... (how else could I play Minecraft in the middle of nowhere?).
But it was shortly before this time... in fact during my last journal entry... that I started to give serious thought into reviving an old series. It is in fact two years since our old visual novel CameliaGirls was terminated, and I started switching gears to get my mind off it for a while (ponies were a good distraction). But even then, I never gave up on some of my characters, especially Cyllia and Kai who I developed the most of the entire cast, and it was hope that some day I could have them return in something new. And at long last perhaps that day may come.
First off I will say this... the visual novel format will no longer happen as it requires lots of investment in time and energy that I've been running lower and lower on. In contrast, the relatively light-hearted and efficient Sun-Dried Cherries has demonstrated AMAZING staying power in part because I can do a lot more with less. And so my rebooted story... tentatively called "@CameliaProject"... will in fact be a comic, or perhaps more precisely a light novel.
As opposed to the 4koma format of SDC, cp would consist of only one detailed illustration (of higher quality than SDC drawings, but still not over-the-top detailed), followed by about 3 or 4 paragraphs of text or dialogue. It wouldn't follow a weekly release, but would either be released biweekly alongside SDC, or would alternate with the other comic. And this one will adhere to a main storyline, although with lots of room for spinoffs and "filler episodes".
It will also be a complete reboot of cg, with very little retained from the original other than the 4 characters below and the school setting (which is now less central to the story, and more of a convenient background). Whereas the original was a high school comedy drama [with an ethnic twist] that intended to parody (and parrot) the anime format, cp will be a highly-artsy, action-packed, technologically-bent, comedic superhero satire that has more in common with SDC. (in fact, I plan to have it set in the same Sun-Dried Cherries world, so watch for cameos).
As for the four characters themselves,... they've been reworked in varying degrees to suit their new purpose and personality....
The pink pineapple-haired protagonist, Kana, still hugs her original appearance, but with a darker shade of red in her hair and dichromatic eyes that have both a story and a purpose. cp's Kana is a firey leader and self-proclaimed revolutionary with unrelenting spirit and boundless vision and imagination. She sees nothing as unsolveable, but even so is still haunted by a dark past that complicates her efforts to change the world. Her new character could best be described as "Haruhi-like", only more useful. ^^
Her mentor Cyllia is no longer a shadowy character as in cg, but is now a first-and-foremost main cast member, with a revamped quadruple pigtail appearance to make her less "Hatsune Miku"-like. She probably will not be as young as in cg, but will certainly have been (and continue to be) a child prodigy and genius, wise and calm beyond her years, and always willing to clean-up after the antics of her more reckless friend, Kana. However, she still continues to have zero respect for laws and customs that she doesn't feel like following, so she's unfairly viewed as a truant hooligan by the world outside her circle of friends.
Kai is also no longer just a future secret character, but now takes center stage as the impossibly-small, tech-illiterate, legendarily-adorable, and completely undetectable trap. Similar to the original, he joins the all-girls school to fulfill a promise to his deceased sister, and unlike the original he is discovered almost right away by the Kana/Cyllia duo. But ever the admirer of original and unusual things, Kana takes him under her protection and introduces him to a brave new world outside the confines of daily school drawl. And being a professional tailor and non-nerd, with a unique view of the world from his vantage, he helps fill in many of the gaps left behind by the girls' erratic and quirky lifestyles.
And finally Reina changes massively [no pun] from the original, having been the victim of an uncontrollable growth spurt that left her "too tall" to lead a normal girl's life. Feeling hideous, manly and abandoned by friends and family alike (from her point of view), she withdraws away from society and lives her school life secluded in a state of self-imposed exile, with social networks being her only connection to the outside world where she can take any form she desires. It's only after meeting Kana, Cyllia and Kai that a slow but fun period of social rehabilitation ensues whereby she regains a sense of self-worth and self-respect, and learns to make the most of the strengths she's blessed with.
The above describes their "normal" characters (or as normal as they get), but they also have alternate superhero personas in addition to vastly-less-exciting internet personas. Kana becomes the dark warrior of justice[?] "Kommander Kanniving", Cyllia the hyper-intelligent "Dr. Calamari", Kai the stealthy manipulator "Little White Lie", and Reina the cute-loving juggernaut "Tall Tail". None of the other original characters from cg will make any main appearances, although cameos are always possible (Q.U.E.E.N.'s role is now Reina's delusional internet avatar, for instance).
And that's about all I can share right now about this new project. I do hope it can gain traction and become something worthwhile and serious that I can do exciting things with. ^^
