All right, it’s time for me to stop fooling around and deliver the goods on what I think will become the official Canan path storyline. For as long as it took to finally make this post, it’s missing information on decision points and some details need filling in, but I blame a lot of this on my lack of experience with visual novels and trust that my fellow writers can pick up my slack.

Anyway, let’s get this over with so I can go back to drooling over Gundams. Spoilers at 12 o’clock!

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It’s finally here! My long-awaited MG Unicorn Gundam Ver. Ka was delivered to me by my postman at about 3:30 this afternoon! Damn, that was fast! The mail folks around here should get medals.

Unicorn Gundam came in a FUCKING huge box. For the first time in my history with Gunpla, I felt the compulsive otaku urge to spread out the contents on the floor and photograph them just to show off.

 And I would post the picture right here if my computer wasn’t fucking up.

I’ve never seen so many runners and parts before! And there’s even wet-application decals this time, which is going to make the finished model look much better while saving me lots of time and effort with the old detailing markers.

I’m going to take my time on this one and use every tool at my disposal, plus a few new ones, to make this Unicorn Gundam the magnum opus I intended it to be. I can’t wait to share pictures with you guys when I’m done!

Thanks to a breakthrough conversation with Zanaikin today, I was finally able to do what I haven’t been able to do on my own even after weeks of attempts. I now have a clear vision of how to progress through Canan’s and Exam’s route, with actual ideas about character roles, key scenes, and sources of conflict and drama being much more defined than the handful of themes I had been attempting to cobble together for so long.

What I’m listing below is the raw material that I want to use to create the final route. As usual, Imperium Project spoilers are beyond this point.

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Sooo… I just got my first paycheck. I take back anything bad I ever might have said about Mickey D’s, because now I can fund my otaku hobby more aggressively than ever before! At the risk of sounding overly self-satisfied, it’s Christmastime here at Taishou!

And I’ve already put something wonderful under my tree. What could it be?

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Eager to give myself a break from the Canan/Exam route (which is quickly becoming too involved and difficult for my meager talents as a visual novel storywriter), but unwilling to cease all productivity, I decided to get some much-needed work done on character profiles for the Imperium Project Wiki. I’ve written an extended personality description for my favorite character, Hikari…

…as well as a stub description for Exam so that obnoxious “…awaiting more information from Citrus…” tab will go away.

Unlike past TIP articles, no plot spoilers after the break! Read on!

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All right, it’s time to stop being lazy for a little while and get back to some work on the Imperium Project. This time, I have to focus on the in-game events that will reveal Canan’s and Exam’s personal histories and bring Exelar close to them.

Although Canan will be introduced at an early stage in the game, her route cannot begin until Exam joins the party, whenever that is. It’s absolutely necessary for Exam to be introduced as an injured, unconscious survivor of a major battle scene, as he would never willingly place himself in the care of the Arcanum.

At any rate, Canan’s and Exam’s routes progress simultaneously, although the player will have choices that will bring him closer to one or the other.

Prospective spoilers ahead!

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I knew that it was going to be hard to take care of business this summer, but I didn’t think I would be the one making it hard on myself. I slept straight through a job interview today, squandering my only opportunity to find decent work this summer. Now I’m going to be stuck working fast food.

I wonder if they serve Cabbage Love at Mickey D’s…

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With exams hanging over my head, I felt like I couldn’t enjoy anything, not even my favorite anime…

But now that they’re done and I’ve proclaimed my joy to the world, let’s get to my long-overdue review of the fifth episode of Kanokon!

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Well, I did it. I’ve finished my final exams and have officially survived my first year as a college student! Yay!

Now I can look forward to a summer full of Super Smash Bros. and Gunpla.

The only trouble is related directly to this blog. In the next 24 hours, posting will become more difficult for me as I transition from the high-speed Internet here at UVA to the 56k dial-up that I have to put up with at home. I’ll probably have to drop some things here and there and cut back on screencaps, but I plan to keep Taishou up to date no matter what, so stick with me!

Also, congratulations to all the other college students out there finishing their exams! Have a great summer!

Lelouch… we need to talk. Lately, I’ve been hiding a secret from you.

Yeah. See, things between us haven’t been moving as quickly as they used to… we had a good thing going before this spring, but now I need someone who can really make things happen. There’s no point arguing - in fact, there’s already someone else. Lelouch… I’m leaving you for Suzaku!

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