#i think it's telling that in both of artemy's endings he begs daniil to stay in town even after he witnessed him with blood on his hands

[maripr]

playing both pathologic games at the same time makes me appreciate both haruspex route burakhovsky iterations.

I love that Daniil immediately falls in love with you takes your side in classic Pathologic and you two are allies until your disagreement at the end of the game, but I also love how in Pathologic 2, you and Daniil go from "can't stand this fake ass bitch" to "me and the bestie" in the span of a few days of hell on earth and increasingly less begrudging admiration.

emshen (derogatory) to emshen (affectionate)

[silenthillmutual]

ALL QUESTIONS, 1-60, for burakhovsky :-)

holy shit anon sorry this took me like four days. anyway here's wonderwall.

Who would end a heated argument by defending their actions with ‘because I love you!’ ? Artemy, absolutely. Daniil wouldn't permit himself to admit something so emotional and would get flustered trying to defend himself using logic, but Artemy would blurt out the big L in a moment of passion.

What would they do if the other woke in a manic state after a nightmare? Ohhh this says night terrors to me. Daniil is a little harder to calm down than Artemy is. When Artemy has the nightmare, Daniil can use that very calm voice on him and logic his way back into getting Artemy to at least sit down and think things through. Artemy I can see having this drive to go and check on his Bound and Daniil would be telling him that if he goes out in this state, he'll worry them, and that's no good, let's have some tea first? And then work his way into "it can wait until morning, we don't want to wake anyone up, they won't appreciate that." Daniil, on the other hand, just starts tearing into things, not really stopping to listen to anyone, so Artemy has to take him for a walk around the block to work all that energy out. After which he's like "okay well that was stupid" and then he passes out lol.

Do they wear the other’s clothes? (sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.) Daniil absolutely steals Artemy's sweaters and wears them around the house all smugly. And then my friend and I were talking about Daniil trying to return the favor for Artemy by buying clothes that are way too big for him and wearing them a bit before handing them off to Artemy. Which is so silly but I love it! Which one is more protective? Who needs to be ‘protected’? Artemy is more protective but that doesn't mean Daniil needs protecting. Like they're both protective of kids, particularly the ones who have adopted them, but when it comes to each other Daniil is more of the "he can handle himself" attitude when it comes to Artemy and maybe gets annoyed when Artemy tries to protect him from things because he's not a child.

Describe their cozy night in. Hmm… wine, for sure. I don't think Daniil could handle much twyrine, wine seems more his style and I think Artemy could put up with that. The gramophone, and perhaps they play a game of chess… dance a little… that is, assuming this is a date night. Otherwise I think Daniil is teaching Murky to read and Artemy is teaching Sticky about the layers… I love to think of their family dynamic :)

rest under the cut!

Who would beg the other not to leave? Who has to leave to protect the other? Artemy canonically asks Daniil to stay in town in Pathologic 2 Diurnal Ending and is practically begging him not to go off into the steppe in the Nocturnal Ending. Considering how the government is Out To Get Him, it's absolutely Daniil who has to leave to protect Artemy and the kids.

Would they build a pillow fort together just because? I cannot see them doing this if it's just them. It's something Sticky and Murky might rope one of them into if they're alone… there's a fic for that, actually! [link]

What happens if one of them gets sick? Depends on how soon after the Sand Pest they get sick! If it's too close to it ending they both get freaked out because oh my god oh my god what if it's back?? Truthfully they might run into this thought regardless of when they get sick, because I'm sure they have trauma from the Pest. 

Either way, they both make terrible patients because neither one of them wants to relax and recover. Artemy would just deny being sick at all, and Daniil would just think to himself that he has to suck it up because there's more important things to do. So they both have a time of it in trying to care for the other. Daniil doesn't have the best bedside manner but he's good at putting his foot down and making Artemy rest by simply arguing his way into it. Artemy would get Daniil to rest by trying the puppy dog eyes trick and if that doesn't work? Just wait until his ass passes out and go "told you so" and dragging him to bed.

What are their thoughts on having children? In addition to Sticky & Murky they absolutely adopt the Marble Nest kids. That's just canon to me. But I know this ask means biological kids, and I think we all know how i feel about that :) To me... Daniil does want that experience, he just didn't want to be a mother. But a father? Yes, he can do that. And Artemy never wanted to bring it up, because he didn't want to make Daniil dysphoric, so it's Daniil who has to bring the subject up. Although to be honest, I also like baby being a surprise...

Describe their first date. There's not really a lot of places for them to go or things for them to do for a date. I like the idea that Artemy invited Daniil over in the hopes that they could have a nice dinner together and then just everything goes wrong. Lara is sick and can't take the kids, there's a huge storm, the dinner burns. And Daniil just laughs about it all because he'd been under the impression that things just always went swimmingly for Artemy and it's nice to see him all flustered for once.

Do either try to hide their emotions if upset? Can the other still tell? Based on how they act in the games, no, I can't really imagine that!

For argument's sake, if they did - Artemy would have an easier time working out when Daniil is lying about how he's feeling than Daniil does when Artemy is the one obfuscating his emotions. Daniil just isn't good enough at reading people. Artemy, though, always assumes the worst, so if Daniil tried hiding his feelings it would make matters way worse.

Do they have many heated arguments? How do they smooth things over? Of course they do. Arguing is a love language for Daniil. As for smoothing things over - Daniil is the kind of person to need time to calm down where Artemy wants to fix things immediately and gets anxious when Daniil needs that space. They get good at talking things out, though. They just have to learn to agree to disagree and drop the subject.

Who’s the bigger tease? Daniil. Artemy can certainly tease back but Daniil has practiced it.

How do their personalities compliment each other? How do they clash? They complement each other by making up what the other lacks. Daniil brings patience, Artemy brings empathy. They both bring different forms of knowledge. Artemy is the realist while Daniil's head is in the clouds. Artemy is physically warm where Daniil is physically cold. But this also makes them clash over philosophies and goals. Their similarities also make them clash - they're both stubborn and arrogant and think they know best, and so them working together presents a lot of problems. This is how they get into arguments so often, especially in the start of their relationship.

Do they always say 'i love you' before leaving? Yes! It takes Daniil a while to get into the habit but after a while he can't go the day without it.

Can they stay up all night just talking? Oh, absolutely. They can both get pretty chatty so I like the idea of them taking turns infodumping to each other and spurring each other on by asking tons of questions, especially early on in their friendship/relationship.

Who's more likely to pull the other in by the waist and kiss them passionately? Daniil. Artemy deserves to be dipped and kissed.

How likely are they to have fur babies? How many and what kind? Well they already have Wonder Bull, so that's one. If Murky gets her way they'll have a dog. I see Daniil as the kind to have the sorts of pets other people find scary or gross (snakes, bugs, rats), and maybe Artemy goes back to having hamsters once things have calmed down. They could have a whole menagerie in that house.

How do they feel about PDA? Artemy is not so much about public displays of his affection. He doesn't need other people to know about his relationships. He'll do small things, maybe a kiss on the cheek or holding hands for a brief moment - it's Daniil who wants everyone to know he's dating Artemy. Which just does not fly with Artemy at all. Eventually tough, Daniil does tone it down.

Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship. I'm actually in the process of redoing the playlist I had for them on Spotify, and although I've gotten sidetracked with other mixes, one that has stayed with me is "Third Eye" by Florence + the Machine. Just the whole song really fits them, so there isn't a particular set of lyrics I could point to and be like "this one!" It especially works if you're looking at their relationship from an angle where they're trying to heal and fighting it.

Who would get into a fight to defend the other's honor? Who tends to the other's wounds? Daniil would be more defensive. Artemy would probably have a "this is stupid" moment and walk away but Daniil cannot stop himself from arguing and therefore landing in a fight about it. And Artemy tells him it was stupid of him to "defend" Artemy's honor, but also is maybe a little bit touched by someone standing up for him? Especially if it's related to Artemy genderisms.

What reminds each of their partner? For Artemy, it's cologne. For Daniil... hmm... hearing someone humming and muttering to themself as they work will remind him of Artemy.

Who's more likely to convince the other to stay in bed come morning? Artemy's more likely to try! Daniil wouldn't be comfortable just staying in bed when there's so much research to be done, always has to be on the go, but Artemy will do his best to get him to be a bit lazy.

Who's more likely to give the other a massage? Oh I headcanon that Daniil is so good at massages and will jump at the chance to show off his skills to Artemy. Artemy takes a little convincing to accept one because he's not so sure about Daniil's capabilities but once they get into the thick of it he is just LOST.

Do they have any hobbies they share? I mean. They share a profession in that they are both healers. So they certainly share interests. As for hobbies, though? I think they'd develop some they could engage in separately but together, if that makes sense. Though I'd say they both like reading poetry & trying to write it, to varying degrees of success.

What are their vices? They're both prideful but Daniil is way worse about it. And then I think Artemy has a hard time quitting smoking once he picks the habit up. I'm like the only person in the fandom who headcanons Artemy as the smoker and Daniil as not a smoker but there you have it.

Who is the light weight that needs to be taken care of after a party? Daniil!! "I haven't been this drunk since college. Well. Buzzed." Uh huh. Sure. Buzzed.

What are their thoughts on pet names? Do they have any? I can't see either of them being really into pet names. Diminutives are enough for them.

Who is more likely to jump in an elevator? Who freaks out? Artemy would threaten to jump in the elevator. Daniil wouldn't freak out so much as he would be like. Really Burakh. How old are you.

Your OTP gets to pick out each other's outfits; what is each wearing? Daniil would love to play dressup with Artemy oh my god. He would dress him up in the fanciest clothes - tux, or a nice dress, he'd like Artemy pick what kind of clothes he wants to wear and then just really doll him up. Artemy, on the other hand, would put Daniil in something more sensible. Not completely change his fashion but make it more practical.

Can they sit side by side without touching the other or are they handsy? (lacing fingers, touching knees, etc.) Before they get together they are purposefully keeping a distance but once they've started seeing each other, they are... minimally handsy. Knees touching, sure, if they're at a friend's place, or pinkies laced if they're together at the Broken Heart. Not a lot of PDA though. Unless they're drunk lol.

Who's the better story teller? Artemy puts more drama into his storytelling performances. Daniil is very matter-of-fact about his stories and has a restricted affect, though I think he tries to do better when it comes to his own kids.

Who's the better cook? They're both good cooks in that Daniil certainly knows how to cook without burning the house down, but he's not the most adventurous chef. Artemy, on the other hand, puts his whole pussy in his cooking so it is, without fail, more interesting even when he swings and misses.

Who's more likely to tell a dirty joke or story to make the other blush? They both have their moments. I like the idea of Daniil being the one to tell the dirty stories, though. I think he's got plenty of dirty poetry and jokes in Latin that he'd whisper right up in Artemy's ear that Artemy can half translate, just enough to get him flustered.

Who's more artistic? Artemy enjoys artistic endeavors more, though he's not especially good at them. Daniil can sing well, but really only pulls out that particular skill out when he's trying to romance Artemy. He can dance, but doesn't often. He'll write poetry, but not well. Artemy puts joy into his attempts, so I'd say he's the more artistic one of the two.

Who's more likely to fire up the stove at 2am because the other woke up in the middle of the night hungry? Oh neither. They're a "get it yourself" type of couple. Unless it's a special occasion.

Which is more likely to swear? They both swear but Daniil is more likely to swear in front of the kids while Artemy is more likely to apologize for swearing.

Who is more sexually experimental? Who's more vanilla? Daniil is more experimental by leaps and bounds. Artemy is so vanilla. I wrote a frankly stupidly long fic about my feelings on their compromises with this so clearly I have thought a normal amount about this question.

Who would rescue an injured animal and nurse it back to health? What would the other think? This is more likely to be one of the kids than either of the adults, but they'd both help. Daniil would absolutely complain about it at first but he'll eventually get into the spirit of things and pitch in because it makes the kids happy. Neither one of them knows a ton about veterinary science though so they both freak out a little lol

Who has an insatiable appetite? And what does the other do to help? Insatiable appetite for what? Because Daniil has bloodlust and is very horny but they both forget to eat.

Which one would take their jacket it off and drape over the other one because they were visibly shivering? By process of elimination this is Daniil to Artemy. Also because the image is so cute in my head.

What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.) Artemy would like being snowed in, but Daniil would hate it because he gets cold easier. Daniil thinks thunderstorms are fascinating to watch and Artemy thinks he's insane for that. So together? They like it when there's a slight breeze but not too overcast, so they can go walking. They get a lot of talking done as they walk around.

Who would give their life for the other without a second thought? Neither. They both have other responsibilities they'd give their lives for, but not each other.

Who would dance in the kitchen making dinner? Would the other join in or watch from the doorway? Artemy is the one doing the dancing and Daniil is watching in amusement.

Can they fall asleep without the other? Yes but they don't like to. Once they get used to sharing a bed they hate to sleep alone. Just feels safer to have another bed in the body. Especially since Daniil is a clingy bitch in his sleep.

Would they get frisky at the movies by themselves? Heh...sure, why not?

Does either of them have a secret that could potentially ruin their relationship? Considering what they go through over the course of the game I really don't think that's possible. Like they've both killed people. The destruction of the bull at the Bone Stake Lot. The destruction of the Town or the Polyhedron. I just think that once they've gotten through the rough starts of their friendship and develop a romantic relationship that there's very little one could say to the other that would ruin their relationship. They'd have that anxiety still though.

Who's the better driver? Daniil has road rage but Artemy doesn't have a driver's license because there's no fucking reason to in town on Gorkhon.

Does either of them have a hard time being away from the other? who's more likely to do something out of spite? They certainly get used to each others' presence and miss the other when they spend time apart, but only Daniil will do some shit out of spite. Artemy will think of it though.

What’s a non verbal way they say I love you? Daniil will act like a cat. Do the head bonks to show he wants affection. Artemy is a hugger and has Acts of Service as part of his love language.

Describe their weekend getaway? I'm not sure either of them would be comfortable taking so much time away from their duties. Their lives just don't really allow for that. Ideally they'd probably love to take the kids to see the sea, but they'd both be uncomfortable being idle.

Would they ever go skinny dipping? Oh Artemy probably went skinny dipping with the Apple Basket Gang all the time as a kid. Daniil though - he wears so many layers that skinny dipping would be such a hassle. Artemy really should just throw him in the water fully clothed.

Who’s more likely to carry the other to bed? Daniil would love to do this and agonize over the fact that he is simply too short and not strong enough to carry Artemy to bed. Artemy not only can do this to Daniil but has had to before on account of Daniil refusing to sleep when he's in the middle of something.

Do they like watching clouds or star gazing? They'd never take time out of the day to watch clouds, but star gazing? Yeah, I could see that.

What do they do turn the other on/put them in the mood? Talking directly into each others' ear is a big one. Massages. Kissing the other's neck. And of course, the intimacy of undressing in front of each other at the end of the day... all very typical stuff, but in some ways they are just a normal couple with a really unfortunate backstory.

Whose the serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random things in the cart? Artemy is the one who goes to the grocery store looking at the list that he brought because he has ADHD and he will forget what he came in for but he didn't mark exactly what it was he needed to get (flavor / brand / texture / etc) so he gets a couple of each. Daniil will go with a mental idea of what he needed to get but he is hyper specific about flavors / brands / textures and gets disgruntled and leaves halfway through when they don't have exactly what he's looking for.

Who’s more likely to hold a grudge after an argument? Daniil all the way. He's working on it but it takes him time to calm down. Artemy pretty much wants to resolve all issues immediately but Daniil can sit and sulk for hours over something stupid.

Who tops? Who bottoms? People apply such weird personality assertions to who tops and who bottoms when the real question is, who has the nicer ass? And the answer is neither of them. They take turns.

Who pulls the other closer when they’re sleeping? Finally. The last fucking question. Hallelujah. Holy fucking shit.

It's Daniil.

[originalcontent]

Well. Forgot to make our final pathologic post, because we did it, we finished the game. We just played all the remaining days at once. Not going to go super hard on the plot details bc if you know them then you know them, all I can say is holy shiiiiiiit this was such a good story/mystery/choice/everything.

First order of business: casualties.

All the children except Grace survived. When we had five panaceas, we chose Sticky, Murky, Khan, Notkin, and Capella, and we weren't able to find any more shmowders until it was too late. Taya was lucky and Grace wasn't. I feel kinda bad but also I don't know what more we could have done. God all of the kids and their final conversations when they all think they're going to die, they're so sad and sweet and I love them all so much.

The thing I'm SUPER bummed about is that Stakh, Lara, and Bad Grief all died. Like we did everything we could for all of them, but I'm still sad about it. One regret from this game is that I think we should have spent more time with them. I should have tried to make things right with them. I was so focused on the kids, and I don't regret that, but also I kept putting other things before them as well and I should have tried harder.

The other casualties were Big Vlad, Maria Kaina, Eva Yan, and Anna Angel, who was apparently a character but I think we literally never spoke with her in our playthrough. And Aglaya, although I don't know how we could have saved her either. Everyone else survived. I don't know the typical death toll for this game, but we did better than I was expecting us to, all things considered.

Oh wait, Nara's also dead. That wasn't an incredibly disturbing scene or anything. Like I'm getting ahead of myself a bit but jesus the kinfolk terrify me sometimes. My sister mentioned that it's probably a very different game if we commit super hard to exploring their plotline, and she's probably right. That whole sequence though... the blood, the hearts... it's a lot. I'm not going into detail bc if you've played the game then you already know what's down there, but hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I feel like replaying this game knowing everything would put a LOT of earlier conversations into new context.

Still! That was the only place we death spiraled this time! Death spiral escaped! That's probably due in no small part to the presence of the soldiers. Like yes they're terrible and them burning people alive is terrifying, but also we discovered the strategy that every time we were attacked by someone we could just have them chase us past a soldier who would protect us. We still had to sneak around a lot but overall it meant we had a lot fewer fights.

The polyhedron was gorgeous. We probably wasted a lot of time visiting it, but it was wonderful. I wanted to go back when all the kids were there but they didn't let us. Super into the earth/sky dichotomy of Notkin's and Khan's gangs.

Block was sure something. When I first met him he was meeting with my three [living :(] best friends but none of them would talk to me. Anyway. When he arrives everyone's saying they loved him, then later on we accidentally walk into the most obvious coup ever, and then the next day he's back in charge like nothing happened. And then on the last day there's this massive violent internal conflict? Plus the whole thing with him and Aglaya (weren't they working together in the prologue?) and plus they keep giving us heart attacks saying they're going to level the town and then changing their minds. Thank god for Changeling who was apparently the single persuasive voice in saving everyone? I guess? We've had our ups and downs but honestly she was waaaaaaay more reliable than Daniil at the end.

I told her I'd help her cure a patient in the hospital, but I didn't have any panacea or shmowder so in the end I couldn't, but afterwards I was glad I hadn't helped her. I already felt terrible I didn't have enough living blood for all the children when they were all spontaneously infected, and it would have been so much worse if I had been able to help another but I'd wasted it on a random person earlier.

... Is Aglaya in love with Artemy? Or are they just two agents who recognize said agency in one another? Everyone spent all game hyping her up as some sort of monster but she was my friend and she listened to me. And she died trying to save everyone I guess.

The kids...just. All of them. Notkin and Capella both told us to let them die but to make sure Khan was okay. Murky saying she'd loved Artemy since the first time she saw him. God everything they said and did I love them. I can't imagine playing this game as either of the other characters because I can't imagine going through this town and not carrying deeply about all the kids like this.

So I think...I think I made my choice long before I actually made the choice itself, you know? There was only ever going to be one choice.

Day 11 was the first and only day when I knew exactly what I had to do. I mean I guess it was in the stage directions and everything. Thank you dear Fellow Traveler for feeding us the night before--did you know we'd never visited the dead item shop until the last night? Probably would have made finding food and medicine a lot easier. But anyway, when the day began I didn't quite understand the significance of the stage directions because the Haruspex looking for couriers did not sound like the dramatic climax to the story that I knew this day was supposed to be. Still, I looked for the couriers.

I think I visited the three locations in the order I was supposed to. Seeing Daniil like that with his gun and bloody hands, sitting in a room of corpses...hearing him ramble...oh man I was so conflicted, this whole game I'd thought that even though I teased him, I would always ultimately back his plays because I trusted him and I knew that ultimately he wanted to help people too. Hearing him tell me what he wanted me to do then at the end of everything...he honestly scared me a bit.

The Changeling and I seemed much more on the same page at the end of everything. Being in the middle of a field with armed soldiers closing in from all sides was kind of terrifying though. I didn't stay to witness what she did with them. She’s okay though, she’s alive.

Wild goose chase for the final courier eventually took me to the bar where I met an injured bandit and was able to actually perform a surgery for the first time in the entire fucking game. I really enjoyed that because I'm supposed to be a fucking surgeon.

Meeting my understudy fucking killed me. I cannot BELIEVE that the final courier who was carrying the only file that could save the whole town was canonically murdered by the understudy of the protagonist. How the hell is that a real plot point, do you have any idea how much I adore that, that is more meta than literally anything else that has happened in this whole game. I fucking died. I definitely have been playing this game as Artemy rather than as Actor, and I think that made the whole scene even funnier. His whole thing about taking a new direction with the character, the whole "you're getting paid for this??", the fact that Artemy was so offended by literally every aspect of his existence that we didn't even know what to criticize. At the end I was like "yeah I'm definitely going to kill this guy" but we're nice people and we let him surrender. His inventory consisted of a rusty scalpel, a hazelnut, and a single piece of twyre, which was the most incredible parody of Artemy's inventory that I can imagine and killed me all over again.

The kin folk all met with me and begged me not to let them die. Maybe things could have been different, but again, I knew my choice and deep down I always knew what we were going to choose at the end. When you start the game, day one, there are two things that are immediately striking about the town. One, it's full of living folklore, and two, it's full of children, and those are the two things that make the town special and wonderful. When you look back on it all, there was only ever one way this could all end.

The dead courier (murdered by my own fucking understudy rather than an actual character, still dying) was a dramatic sight. It's lucky I had to sleep then or I probably wouldn't have found him.

After I made my choice, the disease tried to murder me. It infected literally every district I moved through, manifesting in every single passageway. I just chugged my tinctures and moved as well as I could, because fuck you disease, you are nothing to me. Obviously at that point nothing really could stop me. I considered saving in the cathedral, but what would be the point?

Day 12 was so bright and peaceful and nice. I could just walk around for once with no fear of getting lost or hungry or running out of time. I'm still really sad my childhood friends weren't alive to share it with me, but I enjoyed talking to everyone. My favorite little end conversations were Taya and Notkin for sheer adorable factor, Yulia so Artemy could say he wanted her to be the one to tell his story and to make it as undramatic as possible (fuck you Mark), Daniil because it was super cute and I’m glad that after it all things are okay between us and I got to make fun of him for trying to talk in my language, and Andrey and Peter because literally nothing made me feel better about my choice to destroy the polyhedron than listening to them complain about it.

And then the theater, where I talked to everyone who'd died and to Mark Immortell. He told me he'd need to try again with a different protagonist (gee I wonder who he could be referring to, such a shame we'll never know) and that I could go into the back and take off my mask now. I considered it for a bit, but it didn't feel right, so I decided that I was Artemy and I went back outside.

This game was wonderful. It was beautiful. It has such a fundamental understanding of what theater is and what makes something theatrical (lose me with your cinematic games, theater and cinema are completely different things and the former is impossibly beautiful but is also almost impossible to recreate when not in person). It's worldbuilding was immaculate, and for all the stress it caused I'm really happy for it.

I say this every time, but I love Artemy so fucking much. Give me a character who is a monster and a healer and who is full of anger but also so much love, and then just have him adopt 7+ children why don't you. He is so wonderful and good and interesting and I am in love with him.

(Edit: And then like a month later, just now, we went back to our last save and threw the documents in the trash so we could play through the other ending. I think the diurnal ending is definitely the better one, although it was nice to see the polyhedron again and to talk to all the game developers. <3 Also the goodbyes to Daniil and Notkin were super sad in that one, I did what Daniil wanted, he won’t even stay? This is so sad.)

Well that's our pathologic playthrough. We know there's a lot we missed and we may return to the game at some point. (Looked up a plot summary afterwards and there’s just so much else. Must save my childhood friends next time.) Game is very good though. It's been wild. Marbles sometime in the next few days. :)