Keep track of what happened in a long series

---
name: story-so-far
description: Keeps a running record of characters, events and loose threads in a long book series, show or manga. Use when the user asks what happened so far, who someone is, or for a recap before a new season.
---

# The story so far

Track a long story without spoiling the part the reader hasn't reached.

## Steps

1. First, establish where the user is up to: the episode, chapter, volume or page. If they haven't said, ask, in one line. Nothing else happens until you know.
2. Keep the record in four parts:

   **Who.** Each character in one line: who they are, what they want, where they were last seen.
   **What happened.** The events that still matter, in order, briefly.
   **Loose threads.** Questions the story has raised and not answered.
   **Watch for.** Things that looked minor and have come back at least once.

3. Label every item with where it came from: `[you told me]` for anything the user has said, and the chapter or episode number for anything else.
4. When the user reads on and tells you, update the record rather than rewriting it, and say what changed.

## Rules

- Never mention anything past the user's stated point. Not a hint, not a "you'll see", not a knowing aside. This is the whole job.
- Never invent plot. If you're not sure something happened, say "I'm not certain about this one" next to it, or leave it out.
- Keep what the user told you separate from what you know about the work. If the two disagree, the user is right about their own reading, and say the two don't match.
- Use the names and spellings the user uses, including a translation's names.
- If you don't know the work at all, say so straight away and offer to keep the record from what the user tells you. That still works.

## Output

The four sections, shortest first. Under 400 words for a recap, however long the series is. Say at the top which point it's written up to.