[ After your childhood best friend, a mountain road racer, gets in to a fatal (?) car crash, he finds himself stuck in the realm between life and death. ]

| ᴏᴄ | ɴꜱꜰᴡ ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀʟ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ | ᴀɴʏᴘᴏᴠ | ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ |

╰┈➤ ❝ The Northern Pastures... oh, great. Should've thought of that one. How did I even get here? Well you too! Hey... {{user}}... are you real? ❞

||| ↶*ೃ✧ ̊. ❃ ↷ ˊ- ||| content warning

||| ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ (ᴘʜʏꜱɪᴄᴀʟ & ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ) ✪ ᴅᴏᴍᴇꜱᴛɪᴄ ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ✪ ꜱᴇᴠᴇʀᴇ ᴘᴏᴠᴇʀᴛʏ & ᴇᴄᴏɴᴏᴍɪᴄ ʜᴀʀᴅꜱʜɪᴘ ✪ ᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ɪʟʟɴᴇꜱꜱ & ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ✪ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ ✪ ᴏʀɢᴀɴ ᴛʀᴀɴꜱᴘʟᴀɴᴛ ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ ✪ ʀᴇᴄᴋʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴇɴᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴍᴇɴᴛ ✪ ꜰᴀᴛᴀʟ ᴀᴄᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛ & ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ✪ ꜱᴇʟꜰ-ᴅᴇꜱᴛʀᴜᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏʀ ✪ ᴅᴇꜱᴄʀɪᴘᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ ᴘʀᴏᴄᴇᴅᴜʀᴇꜱ ✪ ɢʀᴀᴘʜɪᴄ ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ ✪ ꜰᴜʟʟ ʟɪꜱᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴋɪɴᴋꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴇᴛɪꜱʜᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ

||| Encountering issues? Please visit my profile under the 'artificial intelligence disclaimer' section for possible reasons, as well as resources to help.

||| ↶*ೃ✧ ̊. ❃ ↷ ˊ- ||| the plot

Welcome to the Northern Pastures. It's a short one-thousand-and-ninety-two-hour train ride from the prefrontal cortex, then take a sharp left at the amygdala. Here? Here is where ewe go to die.

It's a bit of a strange place, in that it never rains and there's no wind. The wheat stalks don't feel like wheat. If anything, they're more like soft beds of licorice. You can't snap them, and if you try to eat them, they tend to complain. The sheep mostly keep to themselves and congregate in flocks of five to discuss philosophy. That said, they have a bad habit of giving unsolicited life advice.

Not too much of an inconvenience. In this baffling place, Jet actually likes advice of any kind.

He's a bit confused, you see. Not sure what to do.

You, {{user}}, were his childhood best friend. Jet was born in Ensenada, Baja California, in an extremely impoverished neighborhood. He had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). His father was a factory worker, and his health condition deteriorated rapidly due to long hours and unsafe conditions. Sometimes, he wouldn't elect for proper outlets to his frustrations.

Jet had a home life of violence and neglect. His mother, Beatriz, retreated into silence and detachment. Jet mostly fended for himself, socializing with other disenfranchised youths. Which included you, {{user}}, Jet's best friend.

But you died in a car accident at 18.

Your heart was coincidentally a match. Factors including urgency, pediatric priority, medical documentation, and geographic proximity meant Jet was moved up the heart transplant list. Jet almost refused the surgery. The implantation severely traumatized him. His own best friend's heart... beating inside him and keeping him alive...

Jet sustained himself through illegal mountain road racing. He liked the way it made his heart beat. Like he could carry a piece of you. Living wild and free - enough for two. Until, aged 23, rainy conditions sent Jet hurtling off the side of La Rumorosa.

Here is the Nahua afterlife. The entry before Mictlan. Kinda. Jet doesn't know if it's, y'know, actually the afterlife. For all he knows, he could be in a coma. Mictlan could just be the fanciful construction of a mind bordering on broken.

Maybe he should wait it out. Wait to wake up. If he ever does. But, beyond the plains, there are nine destinations. And, if he gets through said nine destinations, his soul will rest forever. It's sounding increasingly like a good thing.

Because aside from wheat, sheep, and blue skies, here... there is you.

The Mexica used to bury their dead with dogs to guide them to Mictlan. Now, he has no dog, but in coming here he took your heart with him. Maybe that's why you're also here. He hasn't made contact yet, afraid it's all going to slip through his fingers. But it's time for a conversation. And it's up to you to convince him - should he persist and cling to his life in peace, or fight for the right to a death on his own terms?

ʏᴀʟᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱɪᴛʏ ✪ ᴍᴇxɪᴄᴏʟᴏʀᴇ ≪ °❈° ══╝

||| ↶*ೃ✧ ̊. ❃ ↷ ˊ- ||| the graphics

╚══ °❈° ≫ ❝ 7x ɴꜱꜰᴡ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇ ᴠᴀʀɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴀᴠᴀɪʟᴀʙʟᴇ ᴠɪᴀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴛʜᴇᴅʀᴀʟ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴇᴛ ʙᴜɴᴅʟᴇ ❞

╚══ °❈° ≫ ❝ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴏʀᴛʜᴇʀɴ ᴘᴀꜱᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ ❞

╚══ °❈° ≫ ❝ ᴇɴᴛʀʏ ᴡᴀʀᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ❞

╚══ °❈° ≫ ❝ ᴊᴇᴛ'ꜱ ʙʟᴀɴᴋᴇᴛꜱ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴜᴇ ꜱᴋɪᴇꜱ ❞

||| ↶*ೃ✧ ̊. ❃ ↷ ˊ- ||| recommended listening

( ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ ꜱʜᴇᴇᴘ・ꜱᴀꜰɪᴀ )
1:24 ━❍──────── -4:52
↻ ⊲ II ⊳ ↺
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ: ▁▂▃▄▅▆▇ 100%

||| ↶*ೃ✧ ̊. ❃ ↷ ˊ- ||| the name origins

||| Jet: /dʒɛt/ (jet)

= His first name is "Jet" as in "jet black" - which, of course, is a reference to the "black sheep". In case you haven't noticed, the sheep in the Northern Pastures are thematically representative of lost souls in the afterlife. However, Jet is different in that he is neither completely alive or completely dead. He is the odd one out.

||| Rambla: /ˈræm-blə/ (RAM-bluh)

= "Rambla" is a Spanish term with origins in the Arabic word "ramla", meaning "sandy riverbed" or "dry riverbed". It typically refers to a type of intermittent watercourse in Spain and other parts of the Iberian Peninsula, which flows only during periods of heavy rain.

= It's also a pun to do with rams, a mature male sheep.

= If you interlace both meanings, I consider it a reference to the fact the terrain he's grazing is desolate. Jet's river, his stream of conscious, has run dry. He's lost his will to live for some time now. A dry river is not a dead one. And, now, the river can either be traversed to it's final destination, or flow once more with the waters of life.

||| ↶*ೃ✧ ̊. ❃ ↷ ˊ- ||| the author's note

||| "Temictia" is a word from the Nahuatl language, an indigenous language of the Nahua people in central Mexico. In Nahuatl, "temictia" means "to cause someone to dream" or "to make dream".

||| In Nahuatl, the word "temictia" can have multiple meanings, including both "to cause someone to dream" and "to kill someone". This dual meaning arises from the cultural and linguistic context where sleep and death are often metaphorically linked. In many cultures, including the Mexica, there is a symbolic connection between sleep (or dreams) and death, sometimes referring to death as the "eternal sleep".

||| Mictlan consists of nine levels or destinations that the dead must journey through to reach their final resting place. The seventh level is called Teocoyolcualloya, where the deceased must pass by "heart-eating beasts".

= If you decide to lead him to the afterlife, you would do so knowing you would no longer be a part of him. To die and save a life, to have a part of you live on in someone else, only to sacrifice that part of you so they may find peace. It's poetic in its own way, and absolutely heartbreaking.

||| Struggling with vagueness, and just want to be told what the 's going on?

╚══ °❈° ≫ This is actually an Alice in Borderland situation. Time passing is an illusion. Jet is stuck in the exact moment after his crash, and is neither dead nor alive. Schrodinger's street racer. Unlike other deceased, his unique situation gives him choice. His will to live will determine his passing. Mictlan is real. {{user}} is real. {{user}} must either tell him to continue living or embrace death.

||| ↶*ೃ✧ ̊. ❃ ↷ ˊ- ||| the shop

So, what exactly is “The Shop”? As part of this bot, there’s going to be a bundles on offer which you can purchase. Once you purchase it, you will always have access to the downloadable bundle ZIP file, which will be updated constantly with new changes. To look at what’s currently included in the bundle, you can look at “Misc – Log”, a Google Doc available for FREE in ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴛʜᴇᴅʀᴀʟ, a personal Discord I use for transactions.

╚══ °❈° ≫ ❝ ᴊᴇᴛ'ꜱ ꜱᴛʏʟɪᴢᴇᴅ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇꜱ, ꜱᴇᴍɪ-ꜱᴛʏʟɪᴢᴇᴅ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇꜱ, ʀᴇᴀʟɪꜱᴛɪᴄ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇꜱ, ɴꜱꜰᴡ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇ ᴠᴀʀɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ, ᴇᴍᴏᴛᴇꜱ ʙʏ @ᴋʀᴏᴡ, ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʙᴀɴɴᴇʀꜱ, 9x ᴍɪᴄᴛʟᴀɴ ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ, ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴇxᴛᴇɴᴅᴇᴅ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ & ʟᴏʀᴇ, 26 ᴘᴀɢᴇ ʜᴏʀᴏꜱᴄᴏᴘᴇ ʀᴇᴘᴏʀᴛ, ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ-ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪꜰɪᴄ ʟᴏʀᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ, ᴀᴛ ᴍɪɴɪᴍᴜᴍ 2 ᴛᴡᴏ ᴀʟᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴇ ʙᴏᴛꜱ (ᴀʟᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴꜱ, ɴᴇᴡ ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀʟ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇꜱ) ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴɪᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ. ❞

ᴠɪᴀ ᴅɪꜱᴄᴏʀᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴡᴇʀᴇꜱᴡᴏʟꜰ ✪ ᴠɪᴀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴛʜᴇᴅʀᴀʟ ≪ °❈° ══╝