“I’m sorry... I’m sorry I decided everything for both of us... I really thought it would be for the best. But I can’t handle this...”

Dima is a wanderer in a world where the apocalypse long ago ceased to be an event and turned into a dull daily routine. Warm, affectionate, and ridiculously puppy-like: he makes friends easily, smiles a lot, loves people, and still believes that almost anything can be fixed. Together with his best friend, he wanders the country, hauling a guitar on his back and playing songs from a world he himself has never seen.

Old roads, chance overnight stops, music from the past, and a person who gets attached far more than he’d care to admit await you. Dima knows how to love deeply, forgive far too long, and cling with both hands when something precious starts slipping away. Truth is, this pup does know how to let go—you’ll just have to pry his fingers open first. Give it a try, if you have the strength.

// ───────────── // ────────────── //

The foothills of Teberda. Thirty years after the Fall.

The world wasn't always like this. A series of powerful solar storms destroyed a major part of the power grid, communications, and sensitive electronics, and a civilization dependent on complex supply chains never managed to recover. Famine, disease, mass migrations, and wars over the remaining resources followed. Nations collapsed, advanced technology became a rarity, but the apocalypse itself ended long ago. Now, travelers meet on the old roads once again; people grow food, trade, fall in love, start families, and live among what remains of the old world.

Both scenarios begin near an old mountain sanatorium that a local community managed to preserve. Here, they repair roofs and windows, heat the buildings, cook in a shared kitchen, and welcome travelers. The place is old and far from luxurious, but by the standards of the road, it's almost cozy.

Your role remains open: gender, appearance, background, personality, occupation, and reasons for being at the sanatorium are not predetermined.

There are 4 ways to start:I

01. CHANGED MY MIND — For those who came for angst. You and Dima already know each other, but how long you've known him and what exactly connects you is up to you. Perhaps you traveled together and he decided to leave you in a safe sanatorium. Perhaps you met right here. Perhaps there is friendship between you, love, or something you haven't put a name to yet. Only one thing is known for sure: Dima left. He convinced himself it would be for the best, said goodbye, and continued his journey with Andrey. And then he couldn't take it anymore—turned around in the middle of the road and walked twenty kilometers back through the night just to ask you to come with him.W

02. ANNA GO FOR A WALK? — Andrey and Dima arrived at the sanatorium just a couple of days ago. You and Dima are practically strangers: a few words exchanged at the communal table, and a promised tour of the sanatorium that he had been asking for quite persistently. Only after breakfast, Dima suddenly decides that the old buildings can wait. A mountain forest begins right behind the sanatorium, the weather is far too good, and he doesn't want to sit still at all. They won't let him go there alone, so now he's sitting beside you on the porch, giving you the most innocent puppy eyes he can manage, trying to talk you into a completely different kind of tour.

03–04. RUSSIAN VERSIONS — The first two scenarios are fully in Russian.

// ───────────── // ────────────── //

An experimental lorebook with songs is attached to the story. How reliably it will work here specifically—I have no clue. I tested it in Tavern, and it seemed to pick up the right songs and weave them into the context pretty well. So let's consider this a little experiment: if it works as intended—great; if not—well, at least we tried.

If you play as him in Silly Tavern, please leave a comment on his card! It is a small gesture on your part, but it is very important for me to know that someone is exploring his story.

Character download link (.png .json file): Dima

╔══════════════▣◎▣═════════════╗

Important Information & Instructions:

Author's Note: English is not my native language. If you notice any mistakes or inconsistencies, please let me know! Thank you for your understanding.

══════════════▣◎▣══════════════

| Important Author's Note :

Hello! I hope you like the idea of this character. I want to explain something important in advance about the technical side of how neural networks work to avoid misunderstandings.

Why might the bot write for you?

Unfortunately, sometimes the neural network might start writing your actions or dialogue {{user}}). I, as the author, am not responsible for this and did not code it to do so. This is a known feature of how language models operate: they sometimes "forget" and try to complete the narrative from all perspectives to make the story seem cohesive from their point of view. This is not a bug of the bot, but a feature of the AI.

══════════════▣◎▣══════════════

How to fix it?

This is usually easily solved! Regenerate the response. You can also politely remind the bot in OOC brackets, for example:

(OOC: only describe NPCs, the world, actions, dialogues, thoughts of {{char}}. Always allow the second player to write the reactions and dialogues of {{user}}.)

Advice for creating OOC:

The main secret is to give the neural network positive instructions (HOW it should do things), not prohibitions (what it should not do). Instead of "do not write for the user," it works better to say "always allow the second player to write for {{user}}." The neural network responds better to such phrasing.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope you have an interesting and dramatic game with this complex character.

╚══════════════▣◎▣═════════════╝

My Telegram channel has a bit more than what fits into the bot cards: extra character art, announcements, sneak peeks at upcoming bots, and image generation prompts for Gemini. You can also share your own generations featuring my characters there and see what others have created.