#♧murky

[shmowder]

He's taking his new big brother responsibilities very seriously

[honey-milk-depresso]

aah hello!! i'm here about the requests? if you'd like to write it, perhaps some rook and vil comfort post-overblot? as in, helping vil through the recovery process.

it can be platonic or romantic, whatever you're more comfortable writing.

(i apologize if this is worded bad i'm very nervous hh--)

Hey! This felt more like a drabble so sorry if it's a bit too short :'))

⋙l o a d i n g…

loading completed!✓ …━━━━━☆

┏ ⋙"Wounds Will Heal" (Vil x Rook)┛

TW: Angst to fluff, comfort, implied romance

♧…━━━━━☆

He only dared to ever cry at night, but even so Vil always felt the watchful eyes of somebody else, not that he could care while being consumed with grief and regret.

The feeling of being overblotted drove him mad as a hatter, one would say, but deep in the murkiness and darkness of magic ink lies Vil's broken, fragile heart, with years of hate, confusion and misery.

Was it a bit uncharacteristic of him to feel so down, well, yes, but it felt more like an understatement.

Now, however, he wasn't shielded or protected with the silver grace of the shining moon. Instead, a tear fell in broad daylight without him noticing, and Rook immediately fret.

"Roi du Poison?"

It was a simple question, and it sounded almost as if this was the first time Rook saw his dorm leader cried because of his overblot. A rather false front Vil was given, but somewhere in him knew;

Rook knew from the very beginning.

At least he didn't have to say anything. What was he to say now to the vice dorm leader.

"Ah... I didn't mean to just..." Vil wanted to avoid this as much as he could, feigning away Rook's concern and resume back to the day. He didn't know what dawn on him to cry this early, but he felt ashamed.

He shouldn't cry, he should just fight his battles on his own, right?

Right...?

Rook could only sigh. "Roi du Poison, you haven't changed, have you?" Rook could tell. No way would he let Vil just slide under the rug. He was going to pull it out and confront him once and for all about this.

"There is no point hiding it, just tell me why you still feel the way you do now?" Well, he just slipped that he was indeed watching Vil from the very beginning.

"I... it's none of your concern, Rook," Vil lashed in a soft and hush tone, although rather cold and harsh with his words. He didn't mean it but... he just wanted him to leave.

Rook just remained unwavering.

"Roi du Poison..."

"I swear, I'll be fine tomorrow."

"But... you wo-"

"I will, Rook."

"Vil."

The Pomefiore dorm leader halted. Did Rook just...?

The hunter sighed once more. "I've always admired your determination and sheer will to remain strong in the face of challenges and adversities. But you have to know sometimes the people around you are also here for you," Rook gingerly placed a hand on Vil, "and will always care for you."

Vil just stared at Rook, stunned.

A gentle tear streamed down his fair cheek, he sighed as he quivered a soft smile.

"You always know what to say to me... do you, Rook?"

[aro-ace-wither-skeleton]

I decided to write some short horror stories about Minecraft. Trigger warnings! Drowning, death, decay, blood, gore, bones, skeletons, zombies, corpses, mushrooms/mycological horror, body horror, impalement, violence, and graphic descriptions of death. If you are sensitive to any of these topics do not read the rest of this post!

♤◇♧♡

Drowned

Tw: Drowning, zombies, impalement, violence, blood, death

As you swim in the ocean, you hear a choked gurgle. You worry someone is drowning, so you go towards the noise. You feel three sharp pains in your leg, yell in pain, and look down. Through the murky blood-stained water, you see a pair of glowing blue eyes. Your leg, impaled by a trident, is bleeding profusely. The eyes come closer. As you watch in horror, the eyes reveal their face: the face of a zombie. Its skin is grayish teal, and it wears tattered clothes. There are strands of kelp stuck to its flesh. The sight of the zombie makes you scream. You try to swim away, but the pain in your leg and the blood loss make you sink. You feel the air exit your lungs in your last breath, then everything goes dark.

Withered

Tw: Decay, blood, gore, death, violence, bones, skeletons, body horror

You step across the sweltering brick floor of the fortress. The hot, heavy air feels suffocating. You are at the fortress for blaze rods, but you don't see any blazes. Instead, you see skeletons. These skeletons are unnaturally tall, hold swords, and are as black as coal. Behind the group of skeletons, you suddenly see a blaze. As you head towards the group of skeletons, one of them runs at you. You run in fear, and its sword pricks you. You think nothing of your cut at first, but the pain doesn't go away. Then it suddenly stops. You look at the cut, and the skin surrounding the wound is shriveled up and gray. You poke the dead skin, and it turns to dust. The blood dripping from the cut is pitch black. The necrosis spreads to the rest of your body. You feel the same sensation: pain then no pain. As you lose more and more blood, you feel dizzy. Eventually the necrosis spreads to one of your vital organs, and you collapse into a withered pile of flesh, bones, blood, and dust.

Evocation

Tw: Death, violence

The rain pours onto you. The thick forest does nothing to shield you. You are getting cold. In the distance, you see a large mansion, which seems abandoned. You see someone in the distance. He turns to you.

"Hello, is it okay if I stay here?" You ask.

The man doesn't respond. He lifts his hands up, and they faintly glow white. Fangs sprout from the ground and try to bite your legs, but you dodge the fangs. When the man sees that you're still alive, he groans and raises his hands again, and they glow. From his fingertips, two small pixie-like creatures holding swords appear. The creatures chase you through the mansion, and you find yourself cornered. You create a wall between yourself and the creatures. You're safe. Or so you thought. The creatures phase through the wall, and continually slash you with their swords. You try to hit them, but they phase in and out so fast that you can't hit them at all. You're so exhausted that you can't even dodge the final slash.

Ender

Tw: Death, violence, body horror

In the dead of night, you see a cluster of purple particles. They disappear, then reappear somewhere else. In the particles, you see a pair of glowing purple eyes. You stare at them. You hear a deafening screech, and the eyes disappear. You feel fear unlike anything else you've ever felt. The creature with the purple eyes appears right in front of you. It is very tall, very thin, and as black as obsidian. Its limbs are very long and slender. Its mouth is open so wide it looks like it could crush your head. You want to hit the creature, but you're paralyzed with fear. It teleports away. It's behind you now. You feel the creature's long fingers wrap around your neck. You are too panicked to try to stop your imminent death. The creature snaps your neck, and everything fades away.

Warden

Tw: Death, violence, body horror

The cold, dank air of the cave surrounds you. The cave is dark, but your torch lets you see your surroundings. You come across a patch of strange blue vines. You take a step, and the vines react to the noise. Your torch starts to fade. You can barely see. You try to be as quiet as possible as to not alert monsters of your presence. You walk through the cave very carefully. Your torch's light completely fades out. You relight your torch. The sound of the flint and steel echoes through the cave. That's not the only sound echoing. You hear heavy footsteps that get louder and faster. In the dim light of the torch, you see a large creature. It seems humanoid, but it's blue and has no eyes. It runs towards you. You run away, but it corners you. It punches you once, crushing your skull and killing you.

Mycelium

Tw: Death, decay, mushrooms/mycological horror, corpses, body horror

You are stranded in the ocean, desparate for land. You see an island in the distance, and sail towards it. The island is covered in mushrooms, and the only creatures there are cows covered in mushrooms. When you milk one of these cows, you get mushroom stew. You set up a base camp on the island.

After a few days, you notice mushrooms on your body. Your skin has changed color too: it has more of a purple tint to it. Your skin smells like mushrooms. The mushrooms get bigger, and you get weaker. Your body decays, and eventually, you become part of the mycelium that covers the island. Every giant mushroom in the mushroom fields was grown from the corpse of an unfortunate traveler.

[shmowder]

some traits don't need genetics in order to pass down

[shmowder]

...

What a fearsome and adorable witch, you even brought your familiar with you!

There now youngling go and curse many people today, merry hallow!

[shmowder]

Oyun and Isidor made sure to get little Artemy used to bulls so he doesn't grow up afraid of them.

How sweet is the parallel of Murky and Sticky growing alongside wonderbull, the one he bought from Roy. Never fearing them, but seeing them as beautiful and beloved creatures.

[shmowder]

okay yeah can NOT stop thinking about the termites + Clara being a friendgroup and going on silly adventures like kids are supposed to, instead of living the horrors of the plague yk?

Sure, Clara is snarky and mean at times, sarcastic at others, but you know she longs to be loved, genuinely loved by a family, and have friends who care about her.

She just spawned into existence without a single soul to watch out for her. She yearns for the Saburovs affection so much that she runs away from home just to protect them from her growing bad reputation.

Imagine the sheer mind-blowing happiness she'd feel from having a group of friends who care about her and want to hang out? They don't ask miracles of her neither claim she is the bringer of doom, they just want to play with her, they share their toys and split their candy in half to give to her, they push her on the swings and teach her how to play tag.

Grace who's usually quiet finding someone adventurous and outgoing like Clara to balance her out. Someone who thinks her "weird" traits are the coolest thing ever! Grace is the Watson to Clara's Sherlock and I will die on that hill. She enables Clara and loves exploring the unkown and spooky territories with her, while Clara can't believe someone like Grace looks at her in awe with such stary eyes. Just for being herself, not for her powers or for her mischiefs, but just for... existing.

Sticky finally joining the friendgroup after isolating himself from kids his age for so long and desperately trying to fit in with the adults. The only reason he joins despite rejecting Khan and Notkin's proposals before is because his little sister wants friends to play with but is clearly terrfied to her core of interacting with others despite the strong mask she wears of pretending not to care. Murky's smile means the world to Sticky and he'd take her hand and guide her towards the other kids gently, because no one better than him understand what it's like being a fish out of water.

Because things are different now, he has a little sister to look out for and be responsible with! His urge to set a good example for her outweighs his introverted side and he gives in and starts making friends just to encourage her to do the same.

In a way, she indirectly teaches him that it's okay to act childish and be a kid. That it's okay to want friends and trust them.

Capella, who's carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and watching her childhood slip by, like sand grains trickling down an hourglass the more her mistress powers manifest.

She is the oldest of the group and in a way feels responsible for every one of them, she desperately wants to look out for them before the responsibility of her mother's power start to manifest, not to mention the family business since young Vlad mentions wanting to leave the town and let Capella take over because "she is a smart kid" These kids may very well be the last friends she'd ever have before her whole life becomes a web of politics and business, the last flutter of innocence in a butterfly's wing before it's plucked off forever, to never regrow.

Khan living in the shadow of his family, always second place to his sister who's overtaking the role of her mother as the family head. So he does what he knows best and runs away to the next building over, starts a world of make believe and fairytales to reside at for eternity, refusing to come back home. Establishing an empire of kids who love and look up to him as a leader so he may never feel second place to Maria ever again. Ignoring how each time he looks in the mirror, day by day the face of his father stares back at him more and more.

Notking, Taya and Murky too oh my god. These kids deserve absolute heaven. They deserve to fight over sticker books and arguing about which superhero is the coolest. Imagine them planning their Halloween customs all excited! Khan refusing to participate thinking it's embarrassing for his age but then Capella and Notkin show up in customs and he feels left out so he scrambles for a last minute costume.

Sticky may or may not have used real blood in his zombie costume... you know left overs he "borrowed" from his father's cabinet. Murky wanting something pretty and princess like for her costume but being shy to ask Lara for help so Sticky does it for her instead.

Oh my god, Taya in a little bull costume with the horns and everything, saying hers is clearly superior, and she automatically wins the costume competition.

Clara thinking it's the most hilarious think in the world to dress up as Frankenstein's monster. She wanted zombie too but Sticky did it before her so she had to improvise. Grace is the mad scientist. Peter helping Grace and "Grace's friend" in making their costumes, having his weird little spin on them because he is just such an artist and could never settle for something mundane.

Capella dressing up as a detective! Or maybe something steampunk? Maybe her secret dnd character that she never told anyone about but definitely uses to play with her brother once a month in their running campaign.

Notkin picking the best Halloween costume possible ever! A vampire, duh! Nothing beats the classics, or so he claims. He is not just a vampire but the LORD OF VAMPIRES. A vampire king if you may. Jester has a cute bat costume, a cat in a bat costume. How innovative? Of course, you may only see it IF Jester feels like it.

Khan dressing at the little prince from the storybook? Or a classic werewolf to match Notkin's classice vampire look, or a vampire hunter just to fuck with him.

[shmowder]

CAN I CHOOSE TWO?? CAN I CHOOSE BIGGER DOLLHOUSE AND NEW FRIEND.....????? THEY MUST. THEY MUST HAVE BIGGER HOUSE.

Woah look at the size of that house! With a neat bunkbed too! Taya Tycheese might just get lost in it, but do not fret! She won't because she has a friend with her :)

Murky Hamsterakh! She might not show it but she is over the moon that she gets to live in such a pretty house with her best friend. She can't wait to decorate the walls with her drawings, the crayons are a little too heavy for her to carry in this state but she is clever! breaks them into tiny pieces and makes mini crayons to colour with.

[shmowder]

I can say that the found family trope is one of my favorites! so I really love that you write about Murky and Sticky's relationship with Artemy!😭

Thank you for noticing! I see Sticky and Murky as an inseparable part of his story; to remove them is very much like Artemy cutting of a limb.

I try not to use them as mere decorations either–yk the trope of the adorable kids that never cause trouble and are just blank sheets for the character to have an excuse and show their paternal side.

For example, Murky trusting Sticky more than the rest-even her own father at times.

Or, like Sticky being the more attached and emotional one, he needs Artemy's reassurance and presence because he experienced being abandoned by Isidor before.

He's intelligent, but at the cost of being kinda of sensitive and stubborn, aka why he never joins the other kids in playing despite them actively reaching out for him. It just shows how comfortable he grew around Artemy to be able to handle playful digs and smartmouth him.

...or it could also show how desperate he is for a father figure after the passing of Isidor that he endures your joke insult despite them deeply affecting him.

While Murky has always been on her own, I never liked Isidor much either.

She even got into a fight with Sticky in canon because she shattered his stained glass image of Isidor and argued that Sticky shouldn't put him on a pedestal.

Yet she loved Artemy since the moment she saw him, which let me remind you was with him covered in blood, having murdered three guys at the train station. She looked at that and saw safety & warmth, a father figure.

One she is terrified of disappointing and hurting, running away from his lair the second she suspects he is angry after her secret friends turn out to be the evil changeling.

She's more isolated and independent. Even when she finally comes nearby, she needs explicit invitation and coaxing to actually join the activity or get inside the room. She always feels like an outsider, denying how much she loves her current life and enjoys having a father and a brother.

[shmowder]

Whoa, you did amazing on your first run of P2! I made it through but like half the town died so I definitely enjoyed getting all the dialogue I missed the first time around. And just being able to spend a little more time appreciating the environment was nice, too.

You definitely make the first game sound interesting! And I would finally find out what everyone sees in Daniil 🤔

I also wanted to ask, do you have a favorite kid character? Sticky is mine.

Daniil, in the first game is... absolutely something. I love him, but god, I'm just in the first day of his route, and I can't stand his dialogue choices. He just keeps talking! he never stops. He has so much to say about everything and everyone at all times. He will fluff up the sentences with filler words and pleasantries.

Interacting with him as Artemy was fun because he was that silly dramatic guy from the Capital and you're only subjected to his theatrics once every two to four business days, plus the occasional letter he loves sending at the stroke of midnight, making you wonder if this is the time he inevitably went mad and is sharing the news with you as you open it.

BUT BEING DANIIL DANKOVSKY IS AN INSUFFERABLE EXPERIENCE.

I keep mansplaining everything to anyone who shows the slightest interest in me. Eva is flirting with me, and all I can do is abruptly change the conversation topic to be about death, very smooth Danill, I'm sure imagining her invetiable demise reeled her in.

...Am I describing myself? Is this what I'm doing right now?

Anyway, my favourite kid! My favourite child! this is gonna be a very long essay because I adore all the little rascals in Pathologic.

We're starting with Sticky <3

When I was playing P2, it was definitely Sticky. You mentioned him being your favourite!

With sticky, he is the first kid to actually give you a chance as Artemy. Sometimes, it feels like he adopted himself into your life and not the other way around. He just shows up and is immediately ride or die with you for life.

He steals for us! Breaks the law just to help us because he knows we are short on money! He doesn't have any medical knowledge but he tries his best to learn from watching you and the occasional questions.

He is endlessly curious and thirsty for knowledge. You can witness it each time you mention a medical term he doesn't know like serum or panacea, and he tries his best to understand what you're saying. Even if it doesn't make sense, he takes your words with blind trust. He wants to be just like you and it's so endearing.

I also adore how they gave him a personality that isn't just a docile student who agrees with everything you say.

No, Sticky will argue with you at times, insult you at others even. Especially his idle spoken dialogue where he keeps saying "How can people protect themselves from the infection? You're a doctor, you should know!"

It's the "You should know!" part that always gets me. He is upset that you don't know something! That's how much he secretly looks up to you and puts you on a pedestal. That when faced with the reality that you're not all-knowing and struggling to invent a cure, he's hurt and angry. Like you betrayed him by not being his superhero.

STICKY I'M SORRY MY SON I WILL DO BETTER I WILL GET 1000 COLLEGE DEGREES THAT WILL PUT THE BACHELOR TO SHAME PLEASE COME BACK!

His other idle spoken dialogue lines are also priceless. They tell a complete story on their own.

"I'll learn how to cure this plague myself. I'm a master of many skills!"

"I know the Lines, too. How else could I find my way around all the attics, and the cellars, and those twisty yards?"

He's trying to copy Artemy, to copy you the player and your effort to cure the plague. He's so small in this big world and can only effect so little in the grand scheme of the universe but he refuses to acknowledge that! He refuses that fate of being a helpless kid for you to save, he wants to be more and goddammit he will be more.

But he can't. He won't. At the end of the day, he is just a kid not matter how many tantrums he throws. He wants you to take him seriously and treat him with the same familiarity as other adults which is why insults you and jokes with you.

He wants Artemy to joke insult him too like he does with Stakh, he wants Artemy to confide in him and share theories like he does with Daniil.

HE WANTS HIS DAD TO BE PROUD OF HIM MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT.

"You don't look so happy. Musta come from the hospital"

He notices your mood, he studied your reaction and knows your routine by heart. He can tell the difference between Artemy's upset face and his normal resting scary ripper face.

Sticky tries to sympathise. But he has never seen a hospital before in his life, all he knew about them was what he read in picture books as a toddler while learning the alphabet and someone put Hospital under the letter H.

The makeshift Theatre-turned-hosptial could never compare to a real one. I've spent time in hospital and my doctor brother told me about the absolute horrors of the emergency care and surgery sections. The many peoples of which will die in front of your own eyes and there is nothing you can do to save them.

All of his world view is extremely limited. Artemy is the lense in which he views the world with, in an attempt to decipher and understand it. You've became his teacher since the moment the first ever question slipped from his mouth and you answered it with sincerity.

"My path was called In Defiance. I almost tracked down that weird creature, but then I found a better goal. I'm going to become a real doctor. "

In the marble nest, when Artemy's dead, Sticky attempts to still follow his fate and seeks the Bachelor. He confesses his dream of still wanting to be a doctor but Daniil is dismissive and only directs him towards the academic path.

It's clearly not the same, it clearly eats up at Sticky to have his old mentor die in order, a second time, to invent a cure and now he can't mourn because he has to convince the only other doctor in town to take him under his wing.

Artemy allowed him a chance, took him seriously, looked past his lack of education and taught him the same way his own father used to teach him. Because Artemy genuinely relates and understands Sticky's situation, he grew up in this town.

Daniil who lives in the capital where every child is handed a bright future and guaranteed education could never relate to the kids of the town who grew up without a single school. He feels bad for them yes but he can't see Sticky as capable of anything besides staying out of trouble and letting the real doctors do their job.

Daniil lives in his concept of a utopia where children are always protected and never put in dangerous situations while capable adults handle everything. A world where he closes a grocery to not spread infection because that's what's right and necessary, without caring about how the families will feed themselves now.

Artemy lives in the grim reality of orphans trading bullets and razors just to get enough food to stay alive, of them risking getting infected just to acquire plague maps for him to purchase, in the world where he helped a kid steal from a store for his own sake because he knew he couldn't afford saying no in these dire circumstances.

Sticky does a lot of work behind the curtains. He keeps the lair clean and takes care of Murky. It's a shame we don't get to see him doing these things in-game, besides his model changing spots depending on the time of day.

This interaction happens on the third (or second?) day! The kid barely knows us, and he is already looking for our approval and doing chores around the house. I mentioned before how the Haruspex's lair floors are constantly wet-looking in a different post, and that detail is probably due to Sticky constantly moping the floors and keeping things tidy.

I wish Artemy was more gentle with him, I wish he spoke softer to him like he does with Murky. I know he treats her like that because she is younger and more gaurded but god Sticky deserves to be told good job too!

Sticky absolutely adores Murky. He makes her candy with melted sugar and tries to cheer her up. But he also tends to idolise Isidor a little too much. They end up in fights a lot because he always defends Isidor and his actions no matter what anyone says.

In p1, Sticky absolutely did not get along with any of the kids. Notkin invited him to join his gang, and Sticky refused, Khan wanted him to do a favour too, and Sticky declined. He doesn't play with other kids, he doesn't engage with them, and he is mostly alone.

It doesn't seem like that changed much in P2, sure the others don't mention him by name but also you don't ever see him wandering to the hubs the other kids are so fond of.

So for him to be kind and befriend Murky despite all the alienation he has suffered all his life from other kids, it really must have been a challenging step for him to take. He immediately accepts her as his sister and doesn't ask any questions.

In his free time, before becoming a student, he used to uncover mysteries and perform experiments detective conan style. Camping at the steppe at night to witness one of those clay vampire creatures despite no one believing him, attempting to get to the bottom of remours.

He's clearly very fascinated by the kin folktales and mystical creatures beyond just fantasy. What others dismissed as childish beliefs, he looked at with rationality and attempted to make sense of. The same burning curiosity reared its head when Artemy shared stories about the kin with him.

Even his idle dialogue shows his lingering fascination with the supernatural world, with the miracles of the kin. He doesn't fear them, he wants to witness them despite the consequences.

"The murderer is a steppe demon! A shabnak-adyg! I just know it!"

"A long neck and a fat body. And hooves for feet—so it's an Albino. And people say it wasn't the earth that made it!"

"Have you seen a pale, glimmering man walking around at night?"

Just imagine Artemy passing down all of the kin tales to Sticky, the ones his father used to tell him, the ones he learned from the herb brides, the ones Oyun used to whisper to him, the ones Aspity shared during their brief interactions.

Isidor's death greatly affected him. He never speaks about him or shows it, but the fear of abandonment has already taken root. It's apparent in the endgame dialogue when he's refusing any idea of you leaving, even ten years from now, when he is a full 20-something adult.

Just the mention of leaving has him terrfied and panicking, he doesn't want to experience the loss of another father so soon. He clings to you like gum throughout all of the game and doesn't leave your lair out of fear you won't be there when he comes back.

He sits in that broken chair and watches over Artemy as he sleeps, that kid needs a hug and reassurance so badly.

Suddenly, he has a sister to take care of, a father who loves him and is willing to teach him, a house with his own room, a future ahead as a Menkhu doctor. He has his dream coming true, and he won't survive having it taken from him.

The devs leave a lot of room for you to influence Artemy's choices and reactions throughout the game, even when it's just flavour plot texts and I love that. In my version of events, Artemy rejected all the proposals and job offers from Young Vlad, General Block, Yulia and the rest to be their assistants or travel with them.

Instead he remains home to be a Menkhu, watching over his town and helping whatever remains of the kin to survive. He accepts Lara's offer to help him take care of Sticky and Murky as co-parenting and friends. He raises both of them to be wonderful amazing adults who listen to their hearts and follow their own dreams.

Maybe add Aglaya survives and they have a long distance romance and the kids are intrigued by her terrifying aura-

ANYWAY.

Honourable mentions, Murky, Taya and Notkin.

Murky because of EVERYTHING SHE IS. I will surrender my own life to see her happy.

THIS MOMENT MADE ME CRY. ACTUALLY FUCKING FULL ON WEEP IRL.

Do you remember her words to us? to Artemy?

"What is there about you to love? Nothing. So I don't."

"I don't need you. Nuh-uh. Things were great without you. Great."

"Why did you come here? I don't need you. Nobody here needs you. We're not friends with her anymore, anyway."

"Why should I love you? I don't need to love you at all. I can stop loving you whenever I want."

She keeps repeating how she doesn't love us, how there is nothing to love, how she doesn't need you, she doesn't need anyone....She can stop loving us whenever she wants, she can stop if she wants to she is so sure of it...

And she knows she is lying the whole time.

She loved Artemy since the first moment she saw him.

Which was when he murdered those three people after getting off of the train. She saw a murderer, a ripper, and loved him as daughter loves her father.

Covered in blood in our worst, Murky looked at us and saw a gentle heart and a nurturing soul.

Sticky is scared of being abandoned again so he clings to us, Murky is scared of loving us so she clings to a lie. She wants a dad, she wants a brother, she only has her doll and a broken train car to call her own.

The only thing left from her parents, her lonely doll. And it was your father whom caused their death and orphaned her, what cruel fate to make her love you as a father.

The son of her parents killer.

Not a gradual love that we work for, No. She loved is since the single moment she saw us. How terrifying is that for a kid who has known no love or warmth in this life.

-

For Notkin, he always seemed like the most willing out of the bound kids to be your friend, not counting your own two adopted kids. By the end of the game, he asks to join the kin and says you're already one of his guys, you have a half soul too and it's massive and so cool.

He blatantly states how much he likes you, how much you've grown on him and stood by his gang's side through the game. He shares with you his dream of opening a warehouse in the future, describing something very similar to what Grief currently has minus the crime.

How poetic it is! Grief and Artemy being childhood friends only for Notkin aka mini-Grief version to end up liking grown Artemy too and wanting to be his friend.

Murky does remind of Lara now that we mention it. In one of the items descriptions, Artemy mentions how Lara knitted him the blue sweater that he's wearing ingame under the surgical grab and when he asked her why blue, she said because it's the colour of idiots and never knitted him anything again.

Murky and her are absolutely kind and selfless to a fault, both treating Artemy with apparent hostility and sharp words when in reality they care for him more than anything.

Notkin and Grief putting an air of being dangerous so Artemy wouldn't get any ideas, but eventually warming up to him and entrusting him with their sincere emotions in rare moments of vulnerability. Both are trying to be good leaders for people under their care, both appreciate his help in dire situations and give him back when they can. Grief is the first to hand you items to get you started ingame, and in Notkins warehouse, a kid gives you bread and milk, later they give you the first plague map for free.

In a way, it feels like Sticky adores Artemy in the same way Rubin must have idolised Isidor.

Jfwifjwkd Artemy straight up adopted the kids equivalent of his childhood friends that is so peotic.

-

Finally, there is Taya!

For her, I feel more of a personal connection rather than any bond she may have with Artemy. She reminds me of myself as a kid in a way. She looks spoiled but in reality she is very isolated and only have interacted with adults all her life who keep reminding her of her responsibility.

She wants to be a kid so desperately but she is forced to play the mother superior role. And despite all her lack of emotional development at that age, she does her best to sincerely play that role. To be wise and study the responsibility handed to her.

In P1, she mentions nonchalantly how her father, the previous leader of the kin, was killed by the kin in her place, he died to protect her from being killed. She mentions that if you choose to sacrifice big vlad in place of young vlad.

Saying how the father should always pay for the sins of his children.

Isidor died so Artemy may live

Her father died so she may be spared

Big Vlad died in place of his son getting killed.

Taya is very childish at times in a way that I wish she was allowed to express more. Just look at these scenes.

SHE JUST WANTS CHOCOLATE AND SWEETS, BUT HAS TO PLAY THE ROLE OF A HOLY LEADER TO A WHOLE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WITH CULTURE OLDER THAN THAN THE WORLD. SHE IS TRYING HER BEST OKAY.

God it's like she's holding the weight of the world on her shoulders but laughing and smiling despite of it as she dreams of strawberries.

STRAWBERRIES! THAT'S LITERALLY HER BIGGEST DREAM.

Ugh she is so tiny too! LOOK AT HER. You can put her in you pocket but she might get lost between the loose change!!

SHE IS 4 GRASS BLADES TALL!!! FOUR! SHE IS PROBABLY 5 APPLES TALL LIKE HELLO KITTY! SHE IS JUST A LITTLE GIRL AAAAAAAAA

LET ME ADOPT HER GAME!! LET ME HAVE HER LIVE IN ARTEMY'S HOUSE WITH STICKY AND MURKY AS HER OLDER SIBLINGS! PLEASE I NEED IT! BRING NOTKIN TOO!

The remaining kids, Capella, Khan, Grace and even Taya herself, don't seem that fond or attached to Artemy. Their fates cross a lot and some of them clearly saw Isidor as a father figure but it's never the same with Artemy.

Taya only cares for him as Menkhu, she is mother superior and he is one of her "children" like any other person from the kin.

Capella sees him as a business partner in a way, she asks for favours and promises to repay tenfolds when she becomes a mistress. Her goals and Artemy's allign so they are partners in planning.

Sometimes, I wonder if Artemy was supposed to be born much later. Because Capella describes a future where he is included with these kids when it comes to rebuilding the town. The fact his own mother died during childbirth makes me consider that theory a bit more, maybe his parents rushed into having a second kid when his older brother passed away which caused health problems to his mother.

So Artemy was supposed to be born much later alongside these kids and play his role in rebuilding the town. But it's just a theory.

A GAME THEOR-

-

Thank you so much for the praise about finishing the game! I want to lie and say it was effortless. But.It.Was.Not. 500 reloads. But I loved every minute, I would hate going to sleep because it meant I had to stop play and would open the game first thing after waking up. It was literally and addiction and I couldn't remember my own name and life event but I for sure had the list of items best to trade to which town npcs memorised.

I want to replay it after finishing it P1. It is fun but it can be boring at times which is why I'm moving at a slugs pace in Daniil's route. Part of me is also dreading finishing it since I will only have Clara's route to play by then....and its over like that.

Maybe by stalling, I'm hoping that P2 Bachelor's route will come out sooner.

I definitely enjoyed this conversation <3 I love talking and talking loves me, I have a million opinions on everything and so much to say about pathologic. If you ever get curious about a certain subject, character or concept, shoot me an ask since I will have so much fun writing out the essay.

I hope you had fun reading this! I try to sprinkle in jokes so it's not just a big dump of information but eh, I love mansplaining guilty as charged.

Take care anon! I hope your day is wonderful. Also wanna be called Sticky anon if you're going to be a frequent quest on here?

[shmowder]

that bit about khan annihilating your steamdeck cracked me up actually. khan ily but you are NOT touching my switch

And you know his family won't pay for a replacement or even to fix it. They're the type to "let their kids pave their own paths and handle their own responsibilities" which is code for never doing any parenting EVER and letting their kids do whatever they want to other people's stuff with zero consequences or compensation!

He'd literally lose a fraction of an hp point and immediately throw both the game and your device into the floor while you're sitting there like

At least Sticky and Murky would be more careful and considerate with your stuff–I mean sure they'll leave behind mystery sticky residue from nasty unwashed hands, chips dust and melted chocolate but hey it's better for you to clean it then to leave them to do it, because they will full-heartedly run your device under tap water and scrub it with dawn dish soap.

[shmowder]

Stakh has him blocked

[shmowder]

Pathologic meme dump... 6?? I think

[shmowder]

Throwing yourself out of the window isn't an option

Poll below

you're bald + baking soda + horse legs + an aquarius + Aglaya doesn't like trains

[shmowder]

Pathologic meme dump 5 I'm just enough and great at doing stuff

[shmowder]

The Termites + Clara go on adventures together