STORY PATCH NOTES~
✧ this section is to keep track of current story developments
✧ > overview: so far TEF doesn't got that much updates since it's my most solidified story so far, having it's roots all the way back in 2018 or so, and is pretty much the only story that I have an outline for all the chapters (though much tweaking is still needed), if anything that is probably what I should be focusing on rn if I were to develop the story further lol
funnily enough there was an attempt for a large overhaul revamp several months ago, mainly due to a sense of boredom for having owned this story for years now, there was a need for new char dynamics/changing the tone of the story to be more light-hearted/reducing the large ass cast for supposed easier development, though eventually I found out there are alrdy so many plot points that are intertwined in such complex ways that even removing what I deemed inconsequential ended up making the story hard to work w
I quickly found out I just needed more story variety to work w so my brain gets new refreshing things to play w every now and then, TEF is still what I considered my magnum opus though so there are still gonna be mild story devs albeit a bit more on the minor plot points to finalize everything
✧ > latest development: adding back Rigel lmao I figured he's too intertwined in the plot to be removed altogether, there's also a concept to further explore his bond w Birch + Rei, alongside having decided that the mug that Rei owns was given by Birch instead (as some sort of shorthand for the bond between the Elwood/Skyscape families, ultimately broken by Harper after knowing that Birch was who caused Rigel's disapperance)
TO DO LIST~
✧ upcoming story developments
✧ finish main lineup char playlists (14/16 done)
> Oak & Rigel left
✧ finish char profiles (wow this will take fcking forever, I'm planning to use a more simple template to save my ass trouble)
✧ tweak & finalize chapter outline (also will take forever, though I plan to make a in a nutshell ver so it's not as long as the current one, hard af to read whenever I wanna update stuff ffs)
“ the lake remembers, the leaf remembers, do you remember? if not for being a vessel of hopes and dreams? ”
— 
The Eternal: Fallout follows Helio Gaharu, a humble farm kid turned determined explorer that's deemed terribly incompetent by the prestigious agency they work for. Truthfully, Lio never wanted to become an explorer, though after a dear friend of theirs, Jingle Tinsel went missing in a failed mountain expedition known as The Eternal, they had no choice but to step up as the new hero of their hometown.
Lio believes Jingle is still out there and spends their journey trying to look for him, unknowingly stumbling into the outlawed alliance along the way, before eventually joining it after realizing they're doing a way better job at attempting to solve The Eternal. But the agency will never admit nor acknowledge it, going as far as to hunt down Lio and their newfound crew of misfits for illegal activity as they end up on a wanted list.
While Lio tries to confront their past affiliation after reluctantly betraying them, they soon find out Jingle's been alive this whole time. Yet he's somehow less than willing to return due to shady ass reasons, as if hinting at something much more sinister that reveals the true nature of The Eternal, with the outbreak of corrupted creatures and ancient artifacts getting stolen.
Knowing themself to be much of a scaredly coward, a part of Lio wants to go home and call it a day already to give their poor heart a break. But justice for the victims calls for it, and they weren't about to just leave Jingle behind even if he seems to be having a shit load of fun with his whole villain act (he's not)
