# CartoonOS Solo & Crossover Roadmap v0.1

Status: active Season 1 cast-mode roadmap.  
Updated: 2026-09-08.

Purpose: make every mascot independently memorable while preserving a **Lumi-led seven-mascot franchise** and building natural story-selected relationships.

## Portfolio rule

Do not assign a fixed pair quota before matched audience and production evidence exists.

Use five cast modes:

- `solo`
- `pair`
- `specialist_pair`
- `mutual_quest`
- `ensemble_special`

Portfolio allocation is selected per story from:

`question/story → protagonist/POV need → specialist need → emotional arc → causal contribution → minimum useful cast → readiness → production economics`

Lumi remains the franchise protagonist and primary recurring explorer, but **no pair is mandatory and no historical pairing receives a guaranteed share of episodes**.

Initial operating guidance:
- keep most flagship stories Lumi-led unless a specialist spotlight clearly earns the POV;
- use solo/spotlight stories to build independent mascot affinity;
- use specialist pairs only when both characters materially change causality;
- use mutual quests when 3–4 distinct contributions are necessary;
- reserve ensemble specials for stories that genuinely require the full network;
- rotate Shorts/Reels more freely across all seven to gather comparable character evidence.

Any future percentage allocation must be derived from matched retention, returning-viewer, affinity, learning and production-economics evidence—not inherited from an early duo assumption.

## Lumi-led broad adventures

These stories can use Lumi solo or with the smallest story-selected support cast.

1. **El mapa que cambiaba cada vez que hacían una pregunta** — exploration/mystery, 10–12 min.
2. **La puerta que solo se abría con una buena pregunta** — logic + courage, 8–10 min.
3. **La noche en que desaparecieron todas las sombras** — light/physics mystery; Nova is useful only if measurement/verification changes the solution.
4. **El camino que parecía terminar en ninguna parte** — maps/navigation/patterns, 8–10 min.

Tiko or another friend may join when the story benefits from that character's cognition, relationship chemistry or domain contribution. Support cast is never added merely because a pairing is familiar.

## Solo spotlight long-form

### Lumi solo
**La ruta que nadie quería intentar** — 8–10 min.
Lumi must choose the safest smart route after the obvious path closes. Emotional engine: doubt → assess → observe → brave decision → payoff.

### Tiko solo
**El día que Tiko encontró una pregunta que no podía responder** — 7–9 min.
A biology/nature clue keeps defeating his guesses. He learns that curiosity includes saying “no sé todavía.”

### Nova solo
**La respuesta que Nova tuvo que borrar** — 8–10 min.
Nova is highly confident, discovers contradictory evidence and must update her model publicly.

### Marina solo
**La corriente que llevaba un mensaje invisible** — 10–12 min.
Marina follows temperature/current/migration clues across the ocean. Safe tension from changing conditions; Marina owns interpretation and solution.

### Rin solo
**El bosque que dejó de cantar** — 9–11 min.
Rin tracks habitat/weather/animal clues and finds a non-catastrophic ecological explanation.

### Arqueo solo
**La piedra que parecía contar dos historias** — 10–12 min.
Two plausible interpretations compete. Arqueo uses context, layers and material evidence to decide what can and cannot be concluded.

### Pepe solo
**La pista brillante que no era un tesoro** — 6–8 min.
Pepe follows a reflective clue and learns that value comes from context, not shine. Mystery/comedy format.

## Story-selected specialist pairs

Pairing is a **configuration**, not a hierarchy. Every pair must give both characters a distinct causal contribution.

Examples:

### Lumi + Marina
**El faro que apuntaba hacia el océano equivocado** — navigation/ocean patterns, 10–12 min.

### Tiko + Marina
**La criatura que parecía un monstruo, pero no lo era** — deep-sea morphology, 9–11 min.
Theme: rare/strange does not mean dangerous.

### Lumi + Nova
**La máquina que daba dos respuestas correctas** — models/measurement/ambiguity, 9–11 min.

### Nova + Pepe
**Tres pistas, una mentira y un dato que cambió todo** — verification/pattern hybrid, 7–9 min.

### Rin + Marina
**El viaje de una gota desde el bosque hasta el mar** — connected ecosystems/watershed, 10–12 min.

### Arqueo + Pepe
**El objeto brillante que apareció bajo una ciudad antigua** — archaeology/context/patterns, 10–12 min.

### Lumi + Tiko
Use when Tiko's hypothesis/clue cognition materially complements Lumi's leadership/systems orientation. This is one valid relationship among the graph, not the default franchise gateway.

## Mutual quests — 3–4 friends

### Quest 1 — The Signal Across Worlds
Possible cast: Lumi + Tiko + Nova + Marina.
Each contribution must remain distinct:
- Lumi: leadership/question framing
- Tiko: overlooked living clue
- Nova: signal comparison/verification
- Marina: marine pattern/context

### Quest 2 — The River of Clues
Possible cast: Lumi + Rin + Marina + Pepe.
- Lumi: mission/decision
- Rin: upstream ecosystem
- Pepe: tiny visual clue
- Marina: downstream/ocean connection

### Quest 3 — The City Beneath the Questions
Possible cast: Lumi + Arqueo + Nova + Pepe.
- Lumi: emotional/mission lead
- Arqueo: context/history
- Nova: mapping/data
- Pepe: pattern mismatch

### Quest 4 — The Great Living Network
Possible cast: Lumi + Tiko + Rin + Marina.
A change in one habitat produces effects in another. The cast remains valid only if each role is indispensable to the causal chain.

## Ensemble special

### The Map of Everything We Learned
Cast: all seven; default Lumi POV unless an approved outline establishes a better rationale.

Structure:
- separate specialist clues arrive from previous stories;
- the team recognizes a larger systems question through distributed observations;
- each mascot contributes one indispensable step;
- no roll-call exposition;
- no one character receives knowledge that belongs to another specialist;
- finale resolves the season question and opens the next map.

## Shorts/Reels connected-world plan

Shorts may use:
- any solo mascot hook;
- any evidence-worthy pair configuration;
- specialist + misconception format;
- specialist + Pepe clue/quiz format;
- “friend sends a clue” handoff;
- two-part crossover where one mascot's unresolved clue transfers to another specialist.

Avoid more than two speaking mascots in most 30–60 second content unless the ensemble materially improves clarity/payoff.

Use Shorts/Reels to gather broad matched evidence across **all seven**, not to reinforce the earliest-developed pairing.

## Friendship continuity devices

Reusable:
- Question Compass friend icon/message
- shared map pins
- postcards/field notes
- approved voice notes
- previous-episode object/clue
- recurring group photo/mission board
- final reunion at the Lab

These create a connected universe without requiring full-cast generation.

## Measurement

Compare separately:
- solo attachment/affinity by mascot;
- Lumi-led flagship performance;
- specialist-led spotlight performance;
- pair chemistry by exact pair/version;
- mutual-quest/ensemble lift vs added production cost;
- return-viewer behavior after character handoffs;
- Short → long-form transfer by mascot;
- story-fit vs cast-size economics;
- production attempts/cost per accepted second by cast mode.

No relationship is promoted from “interesting” to “preferred” without enough matched evidence.

## Production readiness law

All seven maintain independent baseline:
- visual/reference identity;
- canonical voice identity/provider audition state;
- provider identity/Element state;
- independent Golden Character status.

The exact story-selected cast then receives package-specific deep readiness and only the relationship/ensemble tests that package needs.

## Season 1 principle

**Lumi gives the franchise a recurring exploration spine; every friend can lead, specialize and build independent audience affinity. The story chooses the relationship—not the history of which assets were built first.**