limelight_ooc

Good evening! Hope everybody having a great [why is it cold] day! I am here just to kind of give people an idea of things coming up because I think it's cool to be somewhat aware of upcoming plans!

Listen I know there's a lot of games brewing out there, and there's been some chattering about potential endgame stuff and the like so I'd figure I'd make life easier for everybody and just clarify the current progress.

Right now, we are going towards the tru endgame frfr! Did you know this is so far my longest run with running a game in recent years? IT'S VERY EXCITING TO ME AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING IT THRU THE END!

As of right now, my guess is we'll end somewhere around the February-March 2026 timeframe, I'm trying to keep a timeline straight, but I keep scribbling it around so I can only guess when things will feel right. It might be earlier, it might be later, but that's where the current projected end time will be. During the next few months, I would like to tie up some story things for the different families and other little plot things so that's what I'm going to use a majority of my npc/mod time to do while also trying to steer things towards a certain direction. If you have any specific stories you want to learn more about or any specific exploras, I'm gonna fill my schedule with just a bunch of that!

I don't plan to rush anything, if I feel like we need until April or May or even later to get things done, I'll do that for sure. Like always, I'll feel the vibes of the game and see how it goes. However, I too think I'm hitting that "time to get things tied up" point also so I'm gonna try to do that for everyone and not drag things forever.

Activity check isn't going to change, but obviously don't stress if you don't 100% make it all the time. I'd rather people chug along and get to the end and say they made it and feel happy with it! I'd def say if you want to app a character, better do that now instead of later! Placements are going back to being a little loosey-goosey.

Thank you very much for joining the ride, whether it was from since the beginning or you joined right near the end, each character has been fun and everyone has made me a happy potato! Lets chug along, ride the waves, enjoy the sibcon, and see what kinda ending we can make of this story!

ALSO JUST NOTING A COUPLE OTHER PLACEMENTS THAT ALREADY INTRO'D!!

Sirens Melodies
Lin Ling (To be hero X)

Forge
Rocket Raccoon (MCU)

HULLO!!!!!! I'm slowly reviving from the dead so you might see more announcements along the way.

This one is entirely dedicated to Endgame options for lack of a better term. Usually when I think of endgame, it means a character finishes an arc, goes home, and is out of game FOREVER until maybe the true endgame.

So there's no true option for that kind of endgame YET (as that's part of the true endgame). However, this is the next best thing! These are more like options to help facilitate character arcs that need more than what the current game mechanics can provide, especially when they are beyond any meaningful change and/or player energy has depleted to where constant maintaining of the character is just not feasible.

I plan to put this in play once the Showmaster wakes up in game in the coming weeks, but in case you want to think about it ahead of time, I'll give you a general gist of what the options are. Some of these options might appear first before the others, but I'll let you know once the time comes (since I need to flesh these out a little bit more)

1) Become a Showmaster Producer. This does not require gamerunning!!! You would give up your true name to the Showmaster and become a "producer" instead of a performer. You will not be invited to games any longer, but you will exist on this boat and you CAN run games if you like. However, you would still be "out of play". There will be more to it of course.

2) Become a Storyteller for the Ticketmaster. This does not require eventrunning!!! You would give up your family bond, but you would also assist the Ticketmaster with "finding visions" and other such things. You will exist on this boat and you CAN run events if you like. However, you would still be "out of play". There will be more to it of course.

3) Boat explorer. You are now going to go travel through the boat to find answers and discover more secrets and lore. You can still communicate with people if needed, but until then, you're going out and running around, similar to the drop option.

4) Ocean Diver. You've been given a chance to "find your memories" or "search for the first page" of that which belongs to you by going through the ocean. To do so, you go down the elevator. Only people "invited by the ocean" can go and explore this option, access is limited. You will instinctively know that if you go far enough, you can find the place that you're looking for and your character will eventually reach "home" (once the game ends). This is the option to choose if you wish to connect to your canon life prior to true endgame. I'll explain more once I write more detail later.

5) Return back to Estoria. Your performances end and you go back to home. Maybe your character decides while they're there, they can explore further options for clues and stuff about the world if your character isn't the type to quietly accept home life.

6) There are more options probably! I like to help people figure out something that fits their character in case the current options don't fit their needs so we can chatter about it.

Whatever choice you make, please note, your character will eventually reach "home" (whatever that is to the character) once Limelight, the game, is over, regardless of what option you choose. They cannot go back to the world straight away yet, but they will eventually reach their home the same time as everyone else, and there will probably be some option for characters to icly be aware of this.

ONCE YOUR CHARACTER GOES THROUGH ENDGAME PROCESS, it is possible to still come back to the game but reapps are very, very tricky and will require a bit of thinking on my end! It requires reintroducing you to the game and for some of these options, it can be hefty (showmaster doesn't break contracts easy for example) so please consider this carefully. You can do just normal drops also if need be!

Hope this will help people who need some movement in their roster and their character arcs, but are more than just "oops we go home bye" too. Mostly, I'm ngl, I'm terrible at goodbye posts so hopefully this an option for those like me, yay!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE THINGS WAHOO

JUST A QUICK RUNDOWN OF ALL THAT HAPPENED since a lot has happened and maybe you weren't there or didn't catch all of it:

• DAY 280 - MR. DUTY ran a game where people had to "sacrifice" things. Seems nice and fine! But several people tried different ways to sacrifice things including their canon selves, amnesia selves, blessings, their memories, and somehow that worked.

• Things got a little wacky! Showmaster actually had to stop in and halt some of the sacrifices before it became bad, but it caused a whole mess. It seemed sacrificing selves to de-exist makes things go a little fucky-wucky for her and others!

• The Ticketmaster became a blobby face! Kinda like Zoe! (Did anyone ever wonder why Zoe is a blob actually? A bonus hint of fun to think about!) Showmaster was also breaking and peeling!

• She full named Mr. Duty like any parent would when their child does something bad.

• To fix all the damage caused including all the sacrifices made, Showmaster, Ticketmaster, and Mr. Duty was to sacrifice things also. The performers got to decide since this was done via performance.

• Showmaster had to give up her reluctance to ask for help and her inability to communicate meaning straight-forwardly and the stapler, and also the hold to Nettle's voice.

• Mr. Duty had to give up dumplings (oh no), had to live with other families and visit them to play video games (truly a disaster punishment).

• Ticketmaster had to sacrifice the Showmaster's authority over her. This one seemed to be a big deal. Ticketmaster now goes by Storyteller which seems to be a name that she borrowed from somewhere.

• You can read through these threads if you need more context on the results.

• Bingo was had on day 281. There's showmaster threads here and I suffer because of captcha (most of these are still going I gotta play catchup lols).

• Day 283, Ticketmaster decides to run a "performance" of some sort, telling glimpses of a story that seems to be related to the Showmaster. She seemed unhappy with this ability.

• For some reason, she decides to flip a coin, stating whichever side it lands on, she will tell a "performance" either as a storyteller or a ticketmaster and the ticketmaster wins out. The ticketmaster seems to have built up some attachments to the guests and thus it reflected in her performance that she made later.

• The showmaster had fallen asleep as of 283 and technically she has still not waken up as of current.

• There was a "performance" where performers got to "date" their historical ghosts. These seem to be a bunch of mini stories of the families and other historical facts.

• At the end, Storyteller can be seen burning a stack of books which seems to be her goal. Also sounded like something happened to the ship itself, some kind of loud bang.

TLDR PERFORMERS SACRIFICED ENOUGH STORY RELATED THINGS TO FUCK UP THE SHOWMASTER AND TICKETMASTER, TICKETMASTER GOT UNLOCKED TO "LEGEND MODE" NAMED AS STORYTELLER (NOT HER REAL NAME BECAUSE ALL LEGENDS NAMES START WITH THE LETTER "D"), SHE RAN A "PERFORMANCE", BURNED BOOKS LIKE SHE'S RELIGIOUS, AND HAD A GOOD TIME.

Some things to note, she is actually not fully back to regular Ticketmaster YET, because her contract to the Showmaster hasn't been reconnected since Showmaster is still asleep. But you can find her at her regular Ticketbooth if needed.

Any ghost you meet in these performances, if you request their presence in the ghost room, they will appear. Remember only family members can see their own family, any outside visitors cannot meet them at this time. If somehow I missed this rule for a visitor, well, forgive me okay!

I'll try to do recaps more regularly! Hope this'll be helpful for someone out there! PLACEMENTS LATER TODAY.

INSTRUCTIONS
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get the code for the meme!

Hello, hello! No new placements today, but I figured I'd still have a "things that are going on" announcements for now! Some of it has important information and some changes so please make sure to read it thoroughly!! I'm going to split it in two, one for kind of discussing the trajectory of the game and then the other for general updates!

I had some questions from a few different folks about the current trajectory of endgame and what I've got planned for that so I'd thought I would answer some of it and share with others. I can't address everything just for spoilers sake but these should be fine.

Will characters be able to go back to their home at the end?
The answer is YES. This isn't a situation where their worlds are not available to go back to, they aren't exploded, they aren't stuck in Estoria forever. There are perhaps some shenanigans as to how they can exist in Estoria

Can characters continue on in Estoria (or another world) instead?
The answer is also probably YES. Again, there are probably weird shenanigans as to how this world works, but if a character's canon world is just bad (or they're dead there lols), there are ways to mitigate that ending to fulfill their desires. And honestly, if you headcanon your own ending, that's also okay, I can't stop you from that!!

The original ooc intro in the introduction page states :"These characters have always believed they lived in Estoria, but it's not true. At some point, they lost their original canon selves, whether through fake memories or amnesia and as they continue to partake in the performances, they realize that perhaps they've been forced to act out a new role against their will. " Does this still apply?

Yes, this part can still apply, but it has hopefully expanded to allow different interpretations for different characters. The original was very very limited, and honestly would be bleak if it continued this way based on the actions so far so it needed to change a bit.

Are the Estoria lives completely fake? Depends on the character you ask. The experiences they had are their own, and depending on how they view their canon lives, they might either say "well this life is real, too, because I lived this out" or "I was forced into this role against my will because they took me from my original home".

IS THIS STRAIGHT UP REINCARNATION?
Based on MY INTERPRETATION of reincarnation as a theme, I'd say no, it is not straight up reincarnation and like I said, people can go back home in the end. But there are probably similar themes to where if a character were to interpret it that way (and also depending on a character's canon after all....) it's not farfetch'd to say so. IDK how to explain it without spoilers further than, there's obviously some weird meta story/legend/myth reasons for these things and you can be pretty open-ended on how your character got to this world (some characters are also meta adjacent with their canons). everyone is secretly a fate/stay night servant but this is probably not a completely inaccurate adjacent interpretation that can be extrapolated.

I can't answer these wholesale because I cannot speak for every character. The endgoal is that there's enough to allow different characters to have the endgame that they want and to live their lives the way they want because that's their story they wish to tell OR their life to live. Is my character just a character? Is the life I live in Estoria real or fake? There are multiple narrators in this game that has THEIR answers on these questions, but the characters will also likely have their own and that difference is what I look forward to seeing.

Why are some answers just PROBABLY or YES AND NO?
Here is how this plot came to be and how it gets adjusted. I had general themes and ideas that I wanted to follow and I created new lore along the way based on actions players took in the beginning, and depending on how players take that lore and the choices they made, I would then adjust the plot to fit it. The reason I do this is because if I had a very 100000% solid story at the very start with no flexibility to it, people's actions would often lead to dead ends unless I beat them in the head with very obvious clues as to what they need to look for.

I DON'T FIND THIS FUN BECAUSE I'M NOT GOOD AT IT. I'VE TRIED IT BEFORE, I'M NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL because I either get bored or players get frustrated.

I am much better at following character's train of thoughts and combining them and make them feel meaningful that way. I also find it more exciting to have random plot beats that don't make sense at the start and then watch them slowly come together and you find that everything is connected in some way. That can be frustrating when you want an answer from something you found in October, I def. get that. but a lot of my fictional preferences are like this so it's my default storytelling method.

Because of that though, some of my original thoughts and predictions to where the story would go has done a 180. Some of the things I might have said or predicted/planned at the start has swiveled and I cannot help that because I want to tell the stories of the players and characters, not just my own. The original reason as to why everything has happened has completely changed trajectory because of what characters have done and said, and in my opinion, it's for the better.

So yes! Some things can change, and that's why I say PROBABLY. That might make it difficult for playability for some, and I apologize for that, I get it. This is how I run plot things (which this game ALSO became waaaay more plotty than I expected) and I can only adjust as I go along. I haven't modded a big plot game since I was 20 years old (crying lmao im a grandmother) so I cannot be perfect at what I do, but I can only give you my word that I'm trying very hard to make sure that the ending will make as many people satisfied as possible.

IS THAT WHY THERE'S THIS PLOTHOLE!!!11!
Yes....... I'm sorry......... I can't keep track of every plot beat and might miss a few things. Forgive me, I value excitement/people solving things over 100000% accuracy, but also I'm a foolish potato.......

That said, as you can see, some of the mysteries ARE starting to get resolved or answered and it'll likely ramp up in that direction and less about (ooo mystery clues ooooo). The first things that are starting to come together are the Estorian Legends obviously, but the Showmaster's story is also starting to be touched upon. And then there is of course, the Ocean and the Ticketmaster as well, which will then lead to the answer of the final question, "Why am I here?".

I'm not a masterful writer or storyteller but it's the story I want to try and tell and I hope you get SOME fun somewhere out of it. If not, that's okay, I understand and no hard feelings!

I WILL ALSO SAY, at this point, a lot of the story beats are now solidified so there won't be as many secret huge change after this point and there is a chance characters will probably run into dead ends more often than before. However, because there are now so many different leads and people HAVE the clues, they should be able to find what they want in the end.

I apologize this might all be confusing, my brain is a mass of confusion, I am sure I warned you all of this at some point. I don't have much reference for AU games so I'm doing a lot of experimenting so it's a bit messy, I get it. ANYTIME YOU HAVE CONCERNS please email me at any time! I have no problem trying to hash things out to make things playable/fun for you to the best of my ability!

OH YES ONE MORE THING, I currently have it set where the game will last at least 6 months to one year more. THAT'S A MINIMUM FTR "AT LEAST" IS THE KEYWORD HERE! I'm not saying it will last ONLY that amount, but just that I'm trying to prepare for at least that amount of time, and can extend it further out as needed but I am not running a game that lasts five years lol. I WANT A SATISFYING ENDING SO! Realistically another year or so isn't too crazy unless everyone finds they want to move on in which case, I'll be ready to do that anytime. :9b

I appreciate everyone's long and waited patience for this, but lets gooooooooo.

Characters can now regain canon powers!! Ticketmaster regained access to one of her blessings (oh no). Several characters have asked her to try and roll her dice in their favor if she ever could and so she decided, "okay sure lets do it". She asked someone to retrieve her dice and the mission was successful and so, for each day, she can roll the dice once. If she lands on two six's, she gets a wish granted! And this was part of her first wish (as per all of the requests of others).

A dream post happens where people find an item, and that item is a representation of what we'll call "a magic source" for their canon powers. If they keep that item on them, they'll feel it channeling through their person at all times. It will be exactly the same as however their magic works in canon. Magic source from the planet? That's how it works here. Magic source from their lifespan? Ditto.

Now, THE GENERAL RULES TO CANON POWERS:

OOC NOTES
◆ Regains can happen in a few ways:
1) There will be very specific events or performances that will reward them. They will usually be more intense and usually EVERYONE who participates in it will receive that prize (it might be an additional prize temporarily until there are other ways to regain visions, tbd on what I decide on that).
2) Team Ghost Family events could reward them also.
3) When I do the achievement overhaul (hopefully within this month prayerhands that life will finally slow down a little) to allow for more self-sufficient posts to be made, this will be one of the rewards you can get every so often.
4) If I find another option, I will notate it!!

◆ Presumably, there aren't as many powers to regain compared to memories so the regain rate will be about once a month (on average). However, I know some of you superhero/shonen/2000+ chapter webtoon/webnovel types have like 30+ powers to choose from. In these cases, I would probably recommend knocking it down to the most important ones and then just add any smaller ones along the way if you WANT to once the major ones are regained. This is also not normally a battle heavy game so I'd also recommend prioritizing utility powers (but we'll try to occasionally have some cool fight things too).

◆ You should at least have ingested five memories before getting your first power. In the case people get awarded powers and you haven't reached that threshold, you can also gain another memory! That way you won't be stuck without a power for minimum three months (there will probably be other ways to get visions, likely with the achievement overhaul I mentioned). For all characters currently in game, this does not apply to you, your first power will happen regardless of how many memories you have due to the events of this game.

◆ All canon restrictions apply to these powers including any PG game rules. If it requires a task to be done before the power works, it is the same here. If there's a lvl 30 limit, it applies here. If it requires a very specific requirement that that game only has (maybe it's powered by a specific god or smth), let me know and I'll give you an alternative so you aren't locked out of it.

◆ They cannot be insanely overpowered to the point of game breaking, if they are a giant mecha or atomic bomb levels, that is gonna be a pain to deal with icly so preferably, we will avoid those. If they require player permission, please do so. If you need an ic reason why it doesn't work, you can say it is because you're still on Showmaster's ship and sometimes, things will not work out perfectly here. If you want to brainstorm how to make something overpowered into something usable, ask me in mod questions!!

◆ You still have blessings, however canon powers and blessing powers cannot ever mix, they are a really good once in a lifetime IC moment, it's fine to not keep to the 24 hour rule to a T. But don't get mad at me for plotholes if I ICly say that the two cannot interact for a reason!!!

◆ If your canon power is considered as one but it has like 10 different abilities disguised as one, I would consider splitting them to some degree. Try to be fair and considerate of like who you're going up against power wise, some canons are just insanely overpowered compared to others. HxH Gon who can do like 12 different ability steps with NEN alone might be too much in one go. Consider how blessings work and try to split powers roughly the same if you can.

◆ Likewise on the other scale, if you have 30 small abilities and can combine a few so your power registry isn't huge, that's fine.

◆ Cabin rules apply here as well. You can affect your own cabin, you cannot use powers in another cabin unless GRANTED IC EXPLICIT PERMISSION and if it becomes a point that it harms the family, your powers WILL shut off. This is due to the Cabin ghosts in the family room. Ghost rules override all!!!

◆ Canon powers and Blessing powers cannot ever mix, they are always one and the separate. If you use blessings one day, you must have a cooldown before using the canon powers. Ultimately I won't hardline this cooldown especially depending on the vibe of threasd but the recommendation is that it will be a 24 hr cooldown before you can use the other side of magic.

◆ Though you cannot use blessings and canon powers together, you CAN affect them using the other. So if a person is trying to hit you with a canon power fireball, and you have a blessing shield, the shield WILL work.

◆ You can decide if a side effect counts as a power or just an aesthetic change. For example, a lot of negative side effects I won't kill you if you treat it as a permanent side effect and not a power to be regained. Hair color changes, hunger to drink blood, illnesses, etc. However, item rule applies here, if the item is not near you, these do not apply to you.

◆ If you already have your canon power as a blessing, you can swap the blessing into something new at any time you're ready, that's fine.

◆ ARE YOU FROM A NON-MAGIC SERIES? Maybe all your characters do is sports or solves murder mysteries! For characters who have no magical options at all, you are allowed to extrapolate your canon and MAKE them like powers. For example, Kise Ryouta is good at imitating anything he sees in basketball but it's just a normal skill. This can be applied like a magical ability that allows him to copy any skill temporarily! Phoenix wright can ask a series of questions and determine the truth or lie, aka a truth effect! Now if you have a non-magic series character who already went through a dwrp game and gained powers there, you don't apply. If you don't know how to do this, ping Celi!

ALTERNATIVELY, there will be a list of pre-approved blessings that you can pick from in case you've already used these ICly or don't feel you have anything good enough to represent powers. This is just so characters with no magic canons don't feel left out!!! This does not automatically apply to you if you have Canon or PG powers, you must regain those first before this becomes an option for you, ok ok.

IC NOTES
◆ When Ticketmaster comes to visit your cabins, she will ICly trigger the first power unlock so everyone will have access to one canon power from this point on. You can essentially play with this one ability NOW. WHOO.

◆ The sensation of canon powers with blessings feel like two types of energy inside of you that do not intermingle or touch. It is not painful, but you can tell that if you reach for a blessing, it comes from a different space than canon powers.

◆ If you do not have your item or it is far away from you (lets say 5 feet), that magic sensation will disappear. You cannot access your canon powers without this item for now.

◆ If you did not have an item or was not there for dream post, Ticketmaster will give you one. Items should be somewhat small and fit in a pocket and be symbolic of SOMETHING in canon. It can be a mini figurine of your weapon or a small book or a feather, etc. It can be larger if you want, but keep in mind, you have to carry this. At all times. To access your powers. Ok.

◆ THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND BE ADJUSTED AT ANY POINT. If I feel like it's busted or too limiteed, I'll adjust as necessary.

◆ For Producers, you too can have this item but you'll find you cannot access any canon powers it as long as you're tied to Showmaster. :'(