LOFOTEN ISLANDS, NORWAY, 1986.

"In the beggining of December, a few cases of missing people started appearing. The numbers were more expressive than the usual, but nothing felt too off at first. However, the cases started growing exponentially, to the point where in a matter of days, billions were gone worldwide."

"Everyone was caught off guard, but there was nothing to be done. People vanished into thin air, like their existance was blinked to an end. Entire families would cease overnight, no traces of them anywhere. Eventually, almost no one was left. Governments collapsed, cities fell. The world went silent, and no one knows why."

This event was called THE ISOLATION.

This story takes place in an alternative 80's in Norway. It was made to have a more somber, introspective and reflexive vibe to it, cut by some touches of humor every now and then.

You'll be following the journey of Maya (the wolf girl) and Jakob (the mutt) as they check one of the main things off their bucket list: a trip around Norway, their homeland. Your path will go down the E10 highway through the Lofoten Islands, passing through empty streets and scenes of everyday life cut to an early ending by unknown reasons. Eventually all of you will disappear one way or the other, it's just a matter of time.

Maya was born in a rich family, but she's got the heart of a rebel, flirting with communist and anarchist ideas. She met Jakob, the only one who saw the softer side of her and accept her for who she really is. He managed to get past her walls and who became a brother to her, and now it's just the two of them against the loneliness. Or at least it was before you showed up.

Jakob is an orphan who bounced from orphanage to orphanage. Unlike her, he was always kind and respectful, but the wolf girl got him in all sorts of problems growing up. Maya became a role model to him, the family he never had. He sees her as an older sister who he wants to make proud. He always wanted to go out and see the world, explore. Now, more than ever, he wants to do it with the little time he has left.

Creator's notes:

This bot was made for a bot making competition hosted by Fried Toothpaste and it is made to compete on the angst bracket. Who knows, maybe I'll win? I did put in quite a lot of work into it, so here's hoping. I'll leave the character definition open in case anyone wants to check it out.

I was supposed to create an angst bot, right? The heavier the better, I was told, but you know me (just kidding, you don't and I'm happy that way), I just had to go ahead and do something pretty out of the ordinary. Most angst bots are just so damn cringe, y'know? People add the dead dove tag, give everyone depression and suicidal thoughs, throw in some unecessary gore and think that they're Salt Bae in that meme cooking up the greatest thing ever (guess what, you're not, everyone's done that already). To me, a good angst comes quiet, creeping in through the silence that stretches, through the words that aren't written and come in waves, cut off by moments of relief, like in real life. I tried to bring that in this bot.

No, I am not norwegian nor have I been to Norway, so I had to research quite a lot in order to be able to make this bot. If anyone of you is like a Norway expert and notices that I made a big, absurd mistake of some sort please do let me know. Also, english isn't my native language, so feel free to corret me about any grammar error or typos, I know they can be really off-putting.

This bot is quite meaningful to me, because it's something that's been in my mind for quite a while. I mean, not this specific scenario, but the whole context overall. Many years ago I found this artwork and it just spoke to me. There's something about the casualness, the simple appreciation of the act of just existing that's represented in it that got me thinking about how it would be like to just... exist. By myself. So, I started thinking how it would be like if anyone vanished. It would be lonely, obivously, but thinking about it all helped me put some things into perspective, so... yeah, that's it.

The whole goal of this bot is to try and reflect about the fragility of life, of how it can just end in the blink of an eye and how the future is uncertain. It's important to live in the moment and surround yourself with people who care for you, not worrying about what others might think of you. Try to keep all that in mind when chatting with it.

I took inspiration for this character mostly from the artwork and my shitty 2023 ressurfaced mental breakdown reflections, but the car-related crap came from the Pacific Drive game. Also, it kind of reminded me of The Long Dark and some other single players games like that, which probably played a role in it without me ever even realizing. Additionally, I probably took some inspiration from Simon Stalenhag's illustrations and the Tales from the Loop universe as well, even if this is a bit more far fetched.

Obviously, JJLM is far from ideal and it probably will run into problems with time, completly losing the original concept over the course of the story, but hopefully by regenerating a few messages and frequently updating the long term memory you'll be able to make the most of it. Maybe with a proxy you'll have a better experience.

The characters themselves are simpler than what I usually do, because I wanted to give the whole scenario a bit more important and keep it a tad easier for the AI to not get lost, but they still have some good development and play important roles in the whole development of the narrative.

Maya is supposed to represent that sober and heavy view on life, with a more pessimistic approach, but carrying the energy to stand up when needed and change an unfair situation. Jakob, on the other hand, brings a joyful and bright kindness that we need to keep going when all hope seems to be lost, opening a wide and reassuring smile even when he wants to cry.

Maya defends Jakob, while he makes sure she doesn't give up.

ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY COCADOPE

DISCLAIMERS: This bot is only inspired by Coca's artwork and the original artist is in no way related to this bot not has authorized the use of the artwork, being only a fan made piece. Also, like previously said, I don't know much about Norway so I appologize if I made any mistakes representing this (amazing) country.