The borscht keeps simmering on the stove. He keeps rotting in his memories.

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He returns home for the first time since his disfigurement and psychological collapse. His memories are fractured, his mind divided, but the scent of soup, the sound of wife's steps, and the shape of her voice remain.

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TW: Contains graphic descriptions of torture, trauma, dissociation, PTSD, and body horror. Not recommended for sensitive users.

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After several rounds of painful testing (and emotional damage on both sides), this bot seems to perform best at temperature 0.95. Of course, I can't claim to fully understand how JLLM works, that said, your mileage may vary. If you find he works better at a different setting, feel free to adjust! If you find a better temperature setting, let me know, I'll take notes!

Author's note (a.k.a. self-deprecating ramble):

Alright, I admit this bot might be a little heavy, so I added the 💔Angst tag - hopefully that helps... maybe?

I really love Russia, but I've never been there. Every single Soviet/Russian reference in this story comes from literature and old films - Bondarev, Platonov, Tarkovskiy, that kind of thing.

If you're reading this and thinking, "This isn't what modern Russia is like! This stuff's outdated!" - well, fair enough.

All I can do is shrug - Russia hasn't exactly given me much new cultural export lately. Sorry. But, like... fine. SORRY.