#rubin is still dead :(

[sylvies-chen]

rip lucy maclean you would have loved gayle rubin’s concept of the charmed circle

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

Primal Animals

girl with a bug phobia goes to a college prep summer camp to get a ‘fresh start’ after slacking at school

but her mother has a reputation among the campers, and no one will tell her why - so she’s just as isolated as she was at school

when she’s asked to join a strange secret society, she jumps at the chance to learn more, and quickly learns that things are more horrifying than she could imagine. but part of it appeals to the darkness inside her….

rich traumatised girls do fucked up things at summer camp

sapphic

[thanatika]

hot take: they should have used vlad jr. as the 4th kid in artemy's childhood friend group (the "apple basket gang") in pathologic 2, not bad grief.

so, artemy, rubin, lara, and vlad jr. here's my totally objective and non-haterish reasoning for why this would have worked better:

i think it's annoying that they aged bad grief down from a weird 56 year old queen to a relatable twenty-something

bad grief's whole dilemma in classic is about repenting after having lived a life of crime, which doesn't really work if they make him so young that his life is just getting started. in pathologic 2 he instead has a subplot about aglaya giving him an existential crisis, which they still could have kept.

hell, they could have kept basically everything except for the childhood friendship stuff and that campfire meeting. there was that tiny subplot that went absolutely nowhere about blowing up the train tracks to keep the inquisitor from showing up, artemy still could have schemed with grief on that.

it's lame that he went from being a guy who actually killed people and tried to PRETEND that he didn't (patho classic) to a guy who's all aww i never actually kill people it's just the people who work for me 🥺 i have no control over my gang 🥺

on the vlad jr side, incorporating him into the whole "reconnecting with your childhood friends" thing artemy has going on would have worked super smoothly, considering a major part of that seems to be artemy realizing that all his childhood friends are actually pretty racist to him! vlad jr obviously is that, but it could just go to show how the kinds of things you might not notice as a little kid become way more important once you're older

plus in general it would just give more space to flesh out the whole dynamic between the burakhs and the olgimskys, which i think is explored less in patho 2 than it is in classic

it ALSO would give some space for another dynamic that seems to have things going on in classic but is forgotten about in patho 2, which is vlad jr and lara. i'd have to go back and look but it's implied that the olgimskys helped fund her house of the living? and overall vlad jr and lara have interesting parallels in being invested in the idea of themselves as philanthropic good samaritans, which would have been interesting to explore.

hell, vlad jr ALSO has an interesting parallel with the other three in having "daddy issues" as a major part of his arc (see lara defining herself around her dead father and artemy and rubin around isidor). compared to bad grief who's kind of the odd one out in that regard.

[numerousracoons]

You ever think of Isador and Daniil’s friendship? Cause I do. I think about it a lot.

(I’m referring to Patho classic cause so far in my gameplay of Patho 2 it seems that Daniil has a slightly different backstory as to how he got to the town)

But like, they were friends and I feel crazy because no one talks about it. Like they exchanged letters. Daniil tells Yulia that he knows what a Shabnak is because Isador told him. Daniil trusts what Rubin is doing because it’s based on Isador’s notes, and when Artemiy tells Daniil that he has his father’s notes on him Daniil asks to see them.

Like I know when we think of the people who are grieving we think of the town and Artemiy. But like, do you think Daniil grieves his friend? Do you think Daniil feels like he just about missed him? After all he arrives to the town the very night Isador is murdered.

When he’s hunting for the murderer of Simon Kain do you think he was relieved to go see Isador? After having found out his journey was doomed from the start do you think he wanted to talk not just about his task from the Kains, but to his friend? To discuss their lives without the barrier of hundreds of miles and the delivery time of letters?

Do you think that he was not just devastated to find his life work in jeprody again, but also his friend, the man who’s extended a helping hand when he was in need, dead? Murdered? By his own son no less?

Do you think he misses the practicality having his friend would bring? How his wishes for a quarentine get ignored by the towns people, but if Isador was here, if his friend were still alive, the quarantines would work and more people would be saved?

I don’t know man I just keep coming back to it.

[lazy-sixteen]

Replaying Pathologic Classic before I play Pathologic 3: Quarantine

Part 2: The Haruspex

Artemy's got this really funny habit of being both incredibly stubborn and weirdly suggestible

Like he'll obviously take offense at something like Bad Grief calling him Ripper, then refer to himself that way. Or be super offended when Daniil just casually asks him to kill one of his fellows in the Kin for their heart, but do it anyway

Very set in his goals, but perfectly fine being led around while he follows them - which weirdly gives the impression he gets lied to a lot less then Daniil. Like people don't always tell him things (Oyun + Aspity + Aglya), but less outright lying

2. On the one hand a W, bc this means if Daniil's theme is "desperately seeking truth, constantly deceived", then Artemy's is "indifferent about being deceived, getting truths"

On the other hand a total L, bc this is the attitude of a man who will jump into a massive hole and break his neck bc the guy he knows is lying to him told him to

2. If my Pathologic 2 kids are always trying to die of the plague, then my Pathologic 1 kids keep trying to get themselves killed starting turf wars with muggers

Notkin is such a problem child in any game

3. It actually comes up a LOT (I counted 3 times at least) and gets repeated into pathologic 2 that Artemy knew and remembers Maria from when they were children - and this is a big part of the reason he distrusts and dislikes the Kains

This seems to imply Isidor and Simon have been very close for a while, but unlike his dad Artemy doesn't seem to like any of the Kains - notably he doesnt' seem to give shit Simon's dead

This is like almost weirdly emphasized, I think Rubin's and Bid Vlad are the only other people Artemy mentions remembering AND they kept it in Pathologic 2

He'll still run quests for her though, lol, see 1.

4. I wish Pathologic 2 hadn't disincentivized organ collection so hard, nothing beats running around with 43 livers in my pocket

yes really, i have some many herbs too bad they aren't as useful here

5. Artemy's pretty metaphorical and flowery in his writing but most of his spoken responses are very short and terse (excepting his introduction to Daniil last route), especially for this game

It actually reminds me, he seems much more formal and metaphorical when he's keeping the Steppe language or around the Kin in Pathologic 2 - I wonder if he's terse because he's aware he's automatically seen as a dumb savage by most non-Kin characters?

He'll even make a similar joke to Daniil that he did to Yulia at the end of Pathologic 2, where he'll pretend not to understand the big words they used

No idea if this is the same in Russian

6. lol, Artemy shading Vlad Jr.s notes on the Kin

Also i keep getting lost in that stupid well

7. I feel like something not really talked about is that Artemy also really likes Aglya back, and a big part of that is that she's really the only adult, non-Kin character in the game that takes their beliefs seriously and gives a damn about how horrific it was to lock them in the Termitary like that

Like you can almost see his affection for her triple when she first talks about how 'all myths are true' and the importance of understanding a place's problems with local wisdom

Also there is a funny parallel with Daniil, in that Aglya and he both really hate the town, really hate the Powers that Be, and are both implied to be majorly screwed if Artemy ends up solving the Plague instead of them -with Day 7 also being the day Artemy basically stops helping Daniil (bc he throws his lot in with the polyhedron) and starts helping Aglya (who after their first conversation does express a desire to save the town)

8. ohh, it is really obvious given how Daniil is struggling in this route how hard he latches onto someone that actually, genuinely wants to help. Like I talked about it in his route post, but he really started this game at the end of his rope, no wonder he's noted to be very attached to Artemy this route

Also Daniil's dramatic-ass on day 7 "well we're both dead, at the very least I'm glad we didn't live long enough to become enemies 😔"

Seriously, Eva or Artemy or someone needs to give this guy a hug

Actually, this is another reason Day 7 sucks for Daniil, he either loses Eva's support or he starts to lose Artemy's trust

That being said, as his desperation ramps up towards the end Daniil's attachment becomes really, really obvious. I would say at the end of this route, he's not trying to win so much as desperately convince Artemy to switch to his side

9. Love that Clara and Dankovsky are both sending angry letters like "The Inquisitor has DECEIVED You!!!" and this barely seems to register to Artemy, I don't think reading those even opened a new dialogue prompt with Aglya

Though funnily enough, Artemy does get a dialogue option a little bit later about how he feels Daniil is trying to trick him into thinking it is Simon's soul that is the udurgh, and he sounds more than a little hurt by it

10. Finally, it is interesting how even though this route is technically 'harder' and has the player killing more civilians - it still manages to engender a more loving attitude towards the Town.

It is hard to describe, but it felt more like Artemy was working with the Town, his fellow healers, and the Inquisitor to fix things rather than having to struggle against them

[mikayuumouse]

Alright me again here lingering in your asks, telling you about my absurd world of sskk. I've been so obsessed with sskk that I've created my own world about them. And now you're stuck with me to hear about it (because all my friends are ghosting me for some reason, even though they post notes [on insta don't worry those are my real life friends my tumblir friends never do that to me] and stories of themselves with their other friends while actively ignoring my msgs. Lol sorry for the trauma dumping I'm really sad it has been going on for months. No wonder I like akutagawa so much.)

So I'm really into mythology like reallyyyyy into it and here's some fun facts about sskk and their mythological connection.

So in Japanese mythology, Byakko and Ryu aka dragon are divine spirits. Two of the four celestial beings.

Why did I pull Ryu? Because Ryu is in akutagawa Ryonosuke's name. Not to mention rashomon,even though described as a scythe, looks very similar to a red dragon.

And the very fact that the real Akutagawa Ryonosuke was reportedly born in the hour of the Dragon (7-9 a.m.), on a day of the Dragon, in the month of the Dragon, of the year of the Dragon. (Source from Google) Is itself interesting enough

So yeah it's not wrong to assume that Akutagawa Ryonosuke contains the spirit of the dragon just like atsushi contains the spirit of the divine tiger Byakko

Now a little mythology lesson!

In Japanese mythology, Byakko is the guardian of the west and is associated with the element of metal, season of autumn, the color white and the virtue of righteousness.

On the other hand Ryu is the guardian of the east and often associated with water, wisdom and strength. It's also associated with the element of wood or sometimes earth. Ryu is also linked with spring growth and the rising sun.

But what's interesting is that byakko is linked with yin, because in the terms of yin and yang the west, autumn and metal is often associated with yin due to their association with decline, stillness and the setting sun.

And in the terms of yin and yang dragons are typically associated with yang because of their connection to growth,energy and the rising sun

I want you to remember the setting sun and rising sun parallels.

Now Yin is represented by black. It symbolizes darkness, passivity, the feminine, the moon, and the earth. On the other hand Yang is represented by white. It symbolizes light, activity, the masculine, the sun, and the heavens.

But don't you find it strange? From character designs to their moralities, Atsushi is yang and Akutagawa is yin. Then why is that, that their abilities are the opposite of what they are? Mythologically speaking?

Lemme present to you my ultimate theory - drum roles please!

It's Because their abilities are the end of their story, the final destination of their souls.

When their story comes to its ending point, It will be Akutagawa who will stand at the light, and it will be Atsushi who will fall into the abyss.

And Akutagawa will be the one to kill Atsushi

Remember the setting sun and rising sun parallels?

In their final fight, Atsushi will die, the sun of his life setting into the ocean for forever. And it will be Akutagawa who will live, who will rise as the sun from that battle.

But if Akutagawa had never felt so dead before, if akutagawa had never wanted to die so much before, if instead of feeling like the face of heaven, he felt like hell would've been better than a world without Atsushi, he never says it.

(yeah yeah ik the point of bsd is atsushi finding a reason to live bla bla but do I look like someone who cares about canon?)

Oh yeah in regards to the thing about irl Akutagawa being born in the hour of the Dragon, it's true (my source is the book Rashomon and 17 Other Stories by Akutagawa ofc, translated by Jay Rubin). It says in the Chronology section of Akutagawa's life (this is a direct quote)—

"1892, 1 March: Akutagawa Ryūnosuke born in Tokyo, the third child and only son of father Niihara Toshizō (1850—1919), dairy owner, and mother Niihara (née Akutagawa) Fuku (1885—1902). According to East Asian mythology, born in the hour of the dragon (7—9 a.m.) of the day of the dragon of the month of the dragon of the year of the dragon, he is named Ryūnosuke ('dragon-son')"

He's got a lot of dragon related things tied to his birth. (I'd also like to mention for no reason that his mom, Fuku, went insane and they just kept her inside the house until she died, which is...concerning to say the least)

Also this take on the world of Sskk is definitely interesting. It's dripping in tragic romance. The Akutagawa killing Atsushi part gets me, the angst is hurting my heart (as usual lmao). The thing about Byakko and Rashomon and the mythology they're possibly linked to is very intriguing, and I love the take on it. Especially since their abilities matter a lot to their teamwork, and I feel like Kokuto Zessou is like a physical manifestation of their connected halves

[cabbagepatchkiddd]

Turn away (‘cause I’m awful just to see) by Cabbage_patch_kid

Rating: Mature

Archive warning: Major Character Death

Fandom: Мор. Утопия | Pathologic

Relationship: Artemiy Burakh | Artemy Burakh/Daniel Dankovskiy | Daniil Dankovsky

Characters: Daniel Dankovskiy | Daniil Dankovsky, Artemiy Burakh | Artemy BurakhMishka | Murky (Pathologic), Spichka | Sticky (Pathologic), Stanislav Rubin, Laura Ravell | Lara Ravel, Gryph | Bad Grief (Pathologic), Klara | Clara (Pathologic)

Additional Tags: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Diurnal Ending (Pathologic), Drug Use, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Slow Burn, Mental Health Issues, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Daniel Dankovskiy | Daniil Dankovsky Has Issues, Good Parent Artemiy Burakh | Artemy Burakh, Internalized Homophobia, The Author Regrets Everything, Idiots in Love, no beta we die like isidor, Mystery, I know what you are Daniil “his hands are gentle” Dankovsky, Artemy Burakh is a recliner dad, Terminal Illnesses, If IPL won’t give Ersher Burakh a backstory then I will

Summary:

So what if his former associates thought of him as a lowlife? So what if he was disgraced from academia? So long as he was still welcomed back into the town-on-Gorkhon, nothing else mattered.

With quivering hands, he picked up the letter and carefully opened it as though he was afraid something would jump out at him from inside it. But nothing had changed, it was the exact same as when he had first read it a week ago.

Bachelor Daniil Dankovsky,

There is another way.

— Victoria Olgimskaya Sr., The Light Mistress.

Yes, there was hope for him still, and hope he would cling to till death did them part.

———

Over a year later, Daniil Dankovsky returns to the Town, with a letter from a dead woman and a ticking time bomb inside his own body, in a last-ditch effort to defeat death.

[indigo-constellation]

Your changeling!Daniil is amazing. Your Clara Burakh is amazing. Your totally-normal-scientist (who totally didn't do anything like Jack the Ripper and Victor Frankenstein in the capital! only ethically sourced bodies here!) Artemiy is amazing.

Clara as Haruspex is breaking my heart especially! The way you wrote her being friends with the kids - how Artemiy was once with Stakh, Grief and Lara - and how she has a foreboding feeling she won't belong with them once it is all over, because her role is to protect them, not be one of them! Rat man still found a way to be mean my girl 😭 Also she and Grace are so sweet. Wanted to say that Grace's name (Ласка) in Russian has double meaning: 1) weasel (animal); 2) tenderness. Do with that as you will~

Also Daniil (both of them) is so good as a changeling. I loved that quiet moment he had with Clara on the stage, where they say how odd it is to play like that. Love the eyes of the "twins" being what sets them apart, too! Raven feels like he wants to be a bad guy, but can't quite bring himself. Regretful plague that is also a dead man who is alive but only because the sickness is. Snake being so gentle and kind and seemingly having some sort of planning he doesn't fully share even with the reader. Also Daniil speaking Hebrew! I gasped when I realised. It's also a fun contrast to him only speaking in Latin in the game, especially if we still to see him as Jewish. Makes me really want to see how you'd write bachelor!Daniil! Want to take a look inside his head! I know what I shall read next.

Artemiy having a worst imposter syndrome out of all of them because of coming back home where he was supposed to take on his father's role and finding the man who was a founder of a project that could be called Artemiy's life work is comedy gold. Also his little sister literally living the life he refused! 10/10 no notes. Artemiy and his unfun coming-home-to-steppe party! 🥳 Roots, Rain and Reflection is secretly a comedy.

Thank you for writing this amazing role reversal, don't think I will be able to get it out of my head.

tumblr is so annoying bc I had a whole response and then it got deleted roijepigjetiuheoigj let me try to write what I can remember and hopefully do it better

I literally screamed when I read this ask btw thank you so much

the healers in this fic are so incredibly dear to me and I love them so much, I love getting to focus on them, yes Artemy's organs and cadavers as ethically sourced and fresh as he can get them :D

Haruclara truly deserves so much, she doesn't fit into the Termites despite being a kid herself, half because of the way she was raised and half because of the nature of the story and the separation of Healers and Bound. While also having messy connections with the other two Healers. I really wish I could have more Grara but this is primarily p1 focused so the Bound's role is limited (the amount of Yulia/Rubin/Lara/Aspity I had to cut- istg I was so excited to have an Aspity and Artemy interaction on day 6 but it would've been too long) I will keep what you said in mind though! thank you ^^

Changeniil has been so write, he keeps so much of himself hidden, so getting to reveal those small bits of him like in that theatre bit are great. The hands and the eyes being the main things to distinguish the twins Dankovsky is fun because those are two things Pathologic focuses on a lot, though I will say that there might be more later on. The Raven is a miserable wet beast, the idea behind the twins has been that different bits of Daniil are split up, so and what's fun about that is that it's Plagueniil that has the idealism. He's a fucked up guy held together only by spite and disease but he cares so much it hurts him. The Snake is also a creature, truly, he knows his plan, Raven knows his plan (and doesn't like it at all), and I know how it will fail, the narrators being unreliable is such a fun part of patho. I always write Daniil as Jewish (because he is to me lol) but specifically Daniil I think fits with Hebrew because it is a revived language and as a guy who is trying to defeat death I think it would suit him (also revived language and revived Daniil was an intentional choice) I will say though, idk how well my old writing holds up bc my writing got a lot better while writing roleswap so go at your own risk lol

Finally, Bachtemy, a dearly beloved fool <3 he used to have a much bigger conflict with Daniil about Daniil not being who Artemy expected him to be and that being a lot more angsty but then I started writing that scene and it turned out gay so nice. There's a lot about Artemy I'm planning to go into in chapter 7 so look out for that. Artemy is also 100% the character I get to make the funniest, truly the comedian of the cast, I am putting him in the blender as I write this.

thank you again for this!! sorry with inflicting you with the thinking about it curse lol, it's happened to a few people as I've seen and idk how to fix that (I am also infected I cannot stop thinking abt this au) but this long ask really made me so happy to see and I'm so glad you're enjoying it!!

[rubinaitoart]

I would love any crumbs of anything you're writing rn /nf /gen

(I keep seeing you go insane so thought I would see what you are interested in :3)

“I keep seeing you go insane” HAH yeah it’s even worse on discord lmao

The current WIP I have is based completely on spite. That’s it. I absolutely hated how the Lamia episode ended because. BECAUSE. BECAUSE.

You’re telling me after they kill the Lamia, everything is back to normal and perfectly fine between everyone. You’re telling me Merlin was actively threatened by some of the people he trusted the most, to the point he actually started COWERING a little when they got mad at him, and he walked out of that without even a little bit of emotional distress? A smidgeon of trauma? You’re telling me none of the knights apologized to him or to Guinevere, because even though it’s not their fault every single one of them would have still felt some form of guilt over scaring them like that, you’re TELLING ME—

^^^ Live footage of Rubin being carried off before he starts yelling even more /lh ^^^

It made me so MAD that it got wrapped up with everyone in good spirits and Arthur making fun of Merlin for being saved by a girl, and everything was fine and happy and ARGHHHH.

So yeah I started writing a fic to expand on what I feel should’ve happened after that episode I guess? Except make it a Merthur AU where they’ve been dancing around their feelings for all four seasons up until this point.

I’ve been going back and forth on this draft for a bit, so there’s a good chance whatever I end up publishing to AO3 will look COMPLETELY different. It’s also very clunky and not well edited but I figure that’s a given right now lol. Both options start the same before splitting into two different drafts, currently labeled D1 and D2 respectively.

I’ll dump a few snippets below the cut since this is already looking like a long post. Everything so far is in Arthur’s POV.

From the shared start: Set when Arthur shows up just in time to rescue Guinevere and Merlin from the Lamia.

A few seconds of silence stretched out before Arthur jerked forward and rushed to Merlin’s side.

“Better late than never.” Merlin groaned, but that stupid, goofy grin that Arthur loved more than he’d ever admit was plastered all over that smug face of his. “What took you so long?”

“You’re welcome.” Arthur said pointedly. Guinevere moved to help Merlin sit up, and the king didn’t miss the way his servant’s face twisted into a pained grimace, or how his hand quickly grabbed at his side. It hurt to see Merlin in any kind of pain, a dull ache in his chest that was somehow worse than anything Arthur had suffered in the past. “Are you hurt?”

“A little bruised, maybe.” Merlin leaned heavily against Guinevere. “Better off than everyone else though.” He added quickly, and Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Do you know where they are?” The king wanted to ask an entirely different question, but their objective held priority. They were safe, the lamia was dead, and the others were still missing.

“Elyan isn’t far.” Guinevere loosened her hold on Merlin—reluctantly, Arthur noted—and moved him to lean against a pillar. “I’m not entirely sure about the others.”

Arthur straightened up, gesturing for one of the knights. “Bevan, help Merlin outside. Cecil, with me.” He ordered. The king glanced towards his servant once again briefly before he extended his hand to Guinevere and helped her to her feet. “Lead the way.”

From the corner of his eye, he could see Bevan gathering Merlin up into his arms and hefting him up into the air. The man made a soft, pained sound in the back of his throat that was horribly loud to Arthur’s ears. Carefully with him, or I’ll have you in the stocks lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he bit back his words and turned to follow Guinevere. Bevan’s receding footsteps faded, and they pressed onward.

“He’ll be alright.” Guinevere murmured to him. She reached over to lightly squeeze his arm, a small comfort for the moment.

“Mm, he better be.” Arthur said quietly in reply. “He’s a good friend, I’d hate to lose him.” They ducked under a fallen beam, and Arthur lapsed into a contemplative quiet. Merlin was so much more than just a friend to Arthur, something he’d struggled to admit to himself for a long time. What he was, however, was just out of reach.

So in typical fashion the king did what he always did best—try his damndest to ignore what he felt, because it could never come to be.

From D1, which is set as everyone leaves Longstead. Merlin is preparing Arthur’s horse before they leave despite still recovering from his injuries, man is just insisting on staying busy.

The king watched Merlin from afar as the servant busied himself with tacking up Arthur’s steed. He couldn’t look away, even if he wanted to.

Slightly curled raven locks and pale cheeks dappled with sunlight, Merlin’s brow furrowed slightly in concentration. His slender, pale hands deftly checked the leather straps, and his fingers occasionally strayed away to brush against the stallion’s ebony coat. A faint smile finally appeared in its truest and most genuine form as the horse turned its head to bump its nose gently against Merlin’s shoulder with a soft nicker. Arthur watched as Merlin finished securing the saddle and turned to gently take the horse’s face in his hands, rubbing his palm up and down the side of its head in slow, soothing strokes. Beautiful, he couldn’t help but think. That traitorous feeling of longing welled up in his chest and Arthur found himself tempted across the small clearing to join the servant.

Almost immediately, the longing was replaced with guilt and a hefty dose of self-loathing. Merlin was in no small amount of distress, and here he was practically ogling at the man. He turned away before Merlin could catch him staring and searched the clearing for something he could busy himself with, and hopefully rid himself of the shame that had overtaken the king.

From D2, which is set directly after Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and the knights return to the village so Gaius can treat them: Gaius and Guinevere are busy with the knights, so Arthur takes it upon himself (as any good king no would do, of course) to try and tend to Merlin’s wounds himself. The best he can do is clean the gash on Merlin’s forehead, but he’s trying his best okay?

Far and few between were times that Arthur Pendragon found himself worried about his manservant. Merlin was an odd man, clumsy and strange at the best of times, prone to bouts of misfortune that he’d somehow miraculously overcome. Injuries were as rare as sickness, and he was right there at Arthur’s side day after day. Yet here he was, sleeves rolled up and a damp cloth in hand as he worried over Merlin. Thankfully the only ones around to see it were Gaius and Guinevere—the knights were still unconscious, and the physician and seamstress were busy tending to them.

It was just Arthur and Merlin, tucked away in the corner of the little hovel they were using as an infirmary.

“This feels backwards.” His servant muttered, wincing as Arthur lightly pressed the cloth to his forehead. Blood soaked into it quickly, weeping from a shallow cut on the side of his face that looked far worse than it actually was—head wounds were funny like that. And yet after all these years, after countless battles where he’d seen wounds worse than this over and over, seeing Merlin bloodied and bruised always made his heart lurch. It was so wrong.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Arthur mused, pulling the cloth back to inspect the injury. There wasn’t exactly much he could do other than try to stem the blood flow and clean away any dirt and debris until Gaius could take a proper look at it, but it was something.

He could feel Merlin’s eyes boring into him. “You’ll live, unfortunately.” Arthur added after a moment, flashing his teeth at the servant in a brief grin.

“Unfortunately for me, yes.” Merlin sank back against the cot. “I’ll be back to cleaning your stinking socks within the next few days.” His eyes remained affixed to Arthur, half-lidded and tired, and for the briefest of moments his face betrayed him to his king. Something heavy weighed on him, his gaze reflecting the burden of Atlas; then Arthur blinked, and it was like it hadn’t even been there in the first place.

What a strange thing to see on Merlin’s face.

[sapphicnaturalrights]

here are deep dives for each of the prompts for the week! if you have any more questions, our asks are open! as always, feel free to combine as many prompts as you like, just try one, or pay them no attention at all

day 1: heaven & hell / bury your gays

one of the juiciest binaries in the supernatural lore, you could start off the week with getting to grips with the angel and demon sapphics, from ambriel to abaddon. you could focus on heaven and hell together or pick one. or maybe these aren't places, but instead states of mind?

there's a lot to be said about supernatural as The Bury Your Gays show, and now it's time to focus on the sapphics! as jess moore says, "i was dead the moment we said hello". this is a chance to focus on the women the show killed off and how viscerally and violently it did so. you could reclaim that violence, get revenge, or find new meanings in it. you could also explore women in horror, and maybe bury some gays in fun new ways...

day 2: pink / chappell roan

an iconic colour on many a pride flag - the sapphic, lesbian, bisexual, pan, trans flags to name a few - pink holds a lot of symbolism, and for a lot of women, some baggage too. from the barbie fans to not like other girls, what's the first thing to come to mind when you think of pink?

imagine it: what if we had chappell roan on 2021 spnblr. what would you have created then? maybe the most prolific sapphic icon of the present moment, get inspired by her songs, her lyrics, or her wonderfully camp aesthetic.

day 3: came back wrong / monster

you can bring back the gays you burried, but are they still the same? an iconic trope which occurs in the canon of the show, but has endless potential for other women characters too - what if amara brought back [insert dead sapphic here] instead of mary? what is so 'wrong' about how they've come back? women characters are often fridged - killed for men characters' plot development - so how do these resurrected women get their agency back?

what makes a monster a monster? feel free to play with the good/bad, right/wrong, human/monster dichotomy. what about that fraught, tense, intimate relationship between a hunter and a monster? what if you love that monster; what if the monster loves you...

day 4: butch & femme / disabled sapphics

two iconic terms for queer women, butch and femme play with gender identity and presentation. traditionally, butches '...prefer masculine signals, personal appearance, and styles', and femmes '...prefer behaviors and signals defined as feminine within the larger culture' (x). we've all heard of butch!jo, but how many other supernatural women can you experiment with?

for some more reading on the roles of butch and femme in sapphic communities, here is an article by queer studies scholar gayle rubin.

when you hear 'disabled supernatural sapphic' it is all too easy to think of eileen and pamela. but we invite you to get crazy with disabled headcanons too! you could explore how sapphic hunters cope with disabling injuries, how angels and demons learn sign language for each other, or the effects of learning disabilities and neurodivergency on your favourite spn women.

day 5: lavender / one episode wonder

another colour day! as a variation of purple it is another popular colour on pride flags, and as a flower lavender has all sorts of symbolism in sapphic communities. from 'lavender marriages' between lesbians and gay men, to the lesbian 'lavender menance' movement of the 1970s, we invite you to dive deeply into the varied meanings of lavender with this prompt.

one episode wonder is for the women who only graced our screens for a single episode! they are a prominent theme in supernatural and now we get to ask - how are they doing? are they dead or flourishing; how did their experience with the supernatural world affect their connection to the hunting life? did they get into it like charlie? are they still trying to make sense of what happened? undoubtedly they met other women because of it...

day 6: new & niche / gaslight gatekeep girlboss

we all know sapphicnatural is brilliant for rarepairs, and this prompt is a chance to celebrate that! we challenge you to come up with new pairings which have never been conceived before, and get funky with them. you could also find a 'niche' pairing which is not often talked about within sapphicnatural and contribute to growing their sapphicnatural following!

for some inspiration here, check out @mrcowboydeanwinchester's sapphicnatural statistics sheet. pulling from the fics in the sapphicnatural collection on ao3, there is info about how many fics are written about each ship. you could pull from a ship near the bottom of the list, or create your own!

gaslight gatekeep girlboss is the final prompt of the week and it's time for a fun one. here at sapphicnaturalrights we support sapphics' rights and sapphics' wrongs and think you should too!!

day 7: free day

this day is a free space! go wild! you can catch up with something you wanted to work with during the week but didn’t have time for, or just explore something else completely

that's it! make sure you tag all your creations with #sapphicnaturalrights so we can see and reblog your gorgeous work!

[drrubinspomade]

#dead loyus couture #zatsepin alex photo

STILL ROCKIN’.

We post glorious pinups like this one all day, every day, all unique! If you dig this pic we’ve found online, u should investigate the creator/subjects of the work and fan them, follow them, hire them.

If you’d like us to remove, or you know who made this so that we can credit, DM. Thanks and greetings from Los Angeles.

YOU ARE THE LIGHT

Dr Rubin’s Pomade

[pawowogic]

Hi! Genuinely please tell me about why you are a Utopian defender, I'm new to the fanbase and I'm interested :D cause it seems to be a pretty rare decision and it's often seen that Daniil is either too cruel or too much of a pawn of the Kains.

sorry for such a late reply, i wanted to make sure that I answered this to my fullest ability...

so why am i a utopian supporter? first of all, i have played pathologic 1 to completion and i have NOT played pathologic 2. all of which i am going to discuss will be about the first game. i will also be doing some interpretations of the game itself, which we be DEEP into spoilers.

i also want to begin by talking about the other 2 ending first, and why i do not like them. but again, every choice is right as long as it is willed - none of the three endings are HORRIBLE, just i prefer one over the others.

first, clara's ending. probably the worst one, besides the plague/no choice ending. a lot of the limitations of this ending come from the fact that it was rushed. if i remember correctly, her original ending was meant to be the plague ending. and it very much shows! it feels rushed and stilted. we aren't given a lot of motivation to choose to sacrifice which of the bound you have, over the course of 11 days, fallen in love with. its heart wrenching. and it isn't a long term solution. people will still need to die after their sacrifices. the plague originates from the plague in the earth, which has become unearthed by the polyhedron. without destroying either of these, more people will have to die. and the people that do die - the reason is that they are 'sinners' in claras eyes. i have a bit of bias - i'm ex-catholic and staunchly against the death penalty, so everything about this ending is against what i am. (really, what is lara's sin? she wanted revenge? she is only nice to the living because of her affection for the dead? and yulia? rubin???). generally, i dont think either the polyhedron or the buildings of the town are worth it.

it also does not affect any of the issues of the town itself. the political system, the subjucation of the kin - all of these issues prevented the plague from being addressed will NOT be fixed with clara.

now, for the haruspex ending. the fandoms favorite. most of my distaste for this ending happened towards the end of day 11 and day 12. first, with the udurgh - we are made to be unsure whether the udurgh is the town or the polyhedron. its very unsure! while this ending is much better than clara's on addressing the plague (you destroy the polyhedron, stopping the spread of plague and getting a LOT of cure). but this is an impermenant solution. 10 years or 100 years from now, someone will dig a hole in this town. maybe it will be a well, or another building - but it will happen. and the plague will be unearthed again.

and the political situation that the haruspex ending has? awful. while it does end up getting rid of some of the rulers - they end up just replacing them with their children. it doesn't fix the system - it just makes the cage softer. and again, in 100 years, their might be another big vlad, another saburov family that will be awful for this town. the final cutscene of his ending has a running motif of wheels and gears turning, as if nothing had changed. it's very unsettling.

one thing i think people get wrong about the utopian ending is that many believe that daniil die. while this is a fun theory, it's not really supported by the text. if the game designers WANTED his death to be apart of the choice, they would have shown it. they also are concerned that he is not in his ending cutscene. which is true! but it would be weird if he was. i mean, he's not from the town. he's not becoming apart of the leadership. why would he stick around? maria is becoming the leader.

another reason for people's dislike of the utopian ending is people's dislike for the kains. and yes, they aren't the greatest. they often manipulate you as daniil one way or another. but, almost every character does manipulate him for their own ends. aglaya does it so daniil will destroy the polyhedron (out of revenge for both her sister and the powers that be)

now . i want to talk about teensy and tot and how these endings effect them and what i believe the polyhedron and the town represents. the enitre game of pathologic is just a game by these two playing after losing their grandfather. this is pretty simple - this grandfather they have lost is represented by simon and isidor. both are killed by the plague, just as teensy and tot's grandfather died by sickness. simon was described as an immortal, great man that everyone loved - likely a childs perspective on their own grandparents. each of the endings is a way that these children deal with the death, as they are not allowed at the funeral.

the polyhedron is simon's memory. that is what the kains want to do with it, have him continue to live within it. but this would cause the children to evacuate it, thus leaving the softness of childhood. if the town is preserved but the polyhedron is destroyed, childhood remains (with the soul and a halves and dogheads given more power) but the memory of the grandfather is dead. if both are perserved - well, in my opinion, it's suicide. the town stagnates, nothing changes. people must die for both to survive.

with this whole-dealing-with-grief metaphor, both losing childhood or losing simons memory are awful sacrifices. but i personally believe that memory is more important. ignoring death is not dealing with it - as these children (and all of us) will lose more people in our lives.

also the polyhedron is really sexy sorry.

[thanatika]

people on that child support post are talking as if patho classic daniil is great with kids and it's pathologic 2 daniil that people are getting this negative idea of him from, which got me thinking...

daniil's main characterization of how he treats kids in patho 2 comes from artemy's POV of him, which is biased against daniil due to daniil making a really dickish first impression, and is also based off of unreliable narrator accounts:

first by some kids outside of rubin's house who lead artemy to believe that daniil refused to treat poisoned children when it was actually just dying dogs, which can be followed by artemy confronting daniil himself where he continues to misunderstand the situation and assumes daniil is calling children animals, until he finally visits the kids' warehouse and learns it was just the soul-and-a-halves' pets. which, obviously it would be a nice thing to save pets from dying, but he really ISN'T a veterinarian and there's a deadly plague starting. he's doing triage.

and then another early incident with the kid in the warehouse dying of sand pest, where notkin passes along a message telling artemy not to bother trying to save him that makes him sound very dismissive ("Don't waste your time on Patches, it's over for him"). reading between the lines though, it's pretty clear that he came to that conclusion not because he doesn't want to save people from the sand pest, but because this is a seemingly incurable disease with no medical cure, and at that point he probably hasn't had the chance to test the schmowders on himself so would have no reason to believe in their effectiveness, and assesses that loading patches up with drugs will just kill him. which, he's literally correct! whether you treat him with tinctures, pills, or a whole schmowder, patches dies that night. obviously trying to treat him or at least ease his suffering is a morally good dead, but you can also see the implied basis of daniil's actions, that every second is precious in the early stages of trying to prevent a widespread outbreak, so you shouldn't waste time on a patient who ultimately can't be saved. (which fits in really well not only with his arc in both games where he comes to the conclusion that the whole town is unsalvageable, but with the bigger emphasis on time management and manipulation that his remake has been described as having. hell, maybe from daniil's POV he knows for certain that patches will die due to whatever time manipulation that's going on with him, and that spending the time on that patient allows for a larger disaster to happen elsewhere). so, the situation is framed by notkin (understandably, because he's just a kid and that's his friend dying) and artemy (because he's honestly pretty petty about daniil) as just "the bachelor is an asshole and abandoned these kids" when it's more of a genuine ethical quandary.

he's also pretty rude and dismissive in how he talks about grace to artemy later on, but again, it's pretty clear that he's not just being a hater to a 15 year old for no reason, the point he's making is that she shouldn't be left in charge of a graveyard filled with potentially bio-hazardous corpses.

all that to say, the main canon info about how he treats children in patho 2 basically comes from the fact that a lot of kids end up disliking him, because he's extremely pragmatic to the point of being heartless, but still ultimately pretty understandable in what he's trying to do (stop a plague).

meanwhile when we do get to see his POV in the marble nest, i would say the way he treats children is pretty much consistent with how he talks to them in pathologic classic -- if anything, he's a bit nicer to them? he has some fed-up, yelling sort of dialogue options to the kids, but pretty much all of those are based on being upset that they're out breaking quarantine and putting themselves at risk of death. meanwhile other dialogue options make him come off very much willing to humor them and talk to them on their level. and when another adult is much harsher about the kids being irresponsible, he defends them, with no dialogue option to agree with corporal punishment:

meanwhile in pathologic classic, i do think that on the whole daniil is pretty nice to kids and willing to go out of his way to protect or help them (to the point of risking death, such as the late game sidequest where he can agree to go take on several soldiers to keep the father of two children from being wrongly executed). but he does also have some really unkind and spiteful dialogue options, like some of what he says to clara both in his own route and hers, and on the topic of corporal punishment...

[shmowder]

Hello! Firstly id like to say how much I enjoy your writings. And I was wondering your opinions on Stanislav Rubin, and if you have written anything about him yet?

Thank you very much. I'm glad that even though I post a lot of memes and silly things, people still remember that this is a writing blog at its core.

Ah Stakh, the man, the myth, the legend Rubin himself. I absolutely adore him. He's like what happens if you drop the soul of a 90' anime tsundere into a survival horror middle age man.

Rip Stanislav, you would've loved going Hmp >:/. You would've loved posting blank black screens on your snapchat with a single dot in the text bracket. You would've loved getting away with throwing heavy-duty physical objects at Artemy in the name of comedic effect during filler beach episodes.

What's so interesting about him is how much the narrative is out there to get him. How much his story tells a complicated relationship about blind love, trust, and abuse.

At times, it seems like Rubin loved Isidor more than his own son ever did from the amount of faith he held in him. Especially when that said person took advantage of his willingness to serve in order to do the dirty work.

That's probably why Rubin is acting extremely difficult during the game. He's grieving deeply. He seems lost and devoid of purpose, so he clings to whatever new problem he can find to give himself purpose. He works himself to an early grave just so he doesn't have time to think, and if you don't interfer as Artemy, he's successful.

Rubin's extremely devoted to his own set of morality, even when it contradicts itself and hurts him in the process. It's like he's willing to dig himself further into a mess even if he knew the chances of him solving it alone are very slim.

He'd rather do it himself than ask for help.

But it doesn't feel like pride, more like spite. That's the thing him and the bachelor have in common. They're both moved in spite of the universe and not because of.

Meanwhile, Artemy does things out of love for the universe. It explains why Rubin was described by the developers as being Artemy's rival.

Stakh was the best student Isidor ever had, the most diligent and quickest to learn, even a better student than his own son.

But that's exactly the problem. That's all he was great at, being an excellent student. Isidor didn't want a student for life. He wanted a new Menkhu to replace him, to pave the way for the future. How could he let someone who always looks to others for guidance ever take the lead?

Rubin decided to follow the bachelor when it came to curing the plague. In P1, Rubin used to be a soldier and an extremely good one at following orders too before he had to come back hom from a head injury.

In P2, when Rubin is devoid of purpose again, he doesn't try to be his own person and pave his own path. No, instead he sticks with the familiar and goes to join the army.

In the marble nest where Artemy is dead, Daniil says that Rubin has already joined the army and he could be behind any of those soldiers' masks.

What's the alternative future for him? Remaining a student. But for Artemy this time, who successfully took his father's place in p2.

Rubin and Bad Grief were the first ever people to fall out from the friend group after Artemy left, and it makes sense with how opposite they are in nature.

Grief saw how good he was at doing what he is, how excellent he is at being a gang leader and how easily this life came into his hands with very little work. He almost seems perfect for the job of being a glorified sketchy shopkeeper with a dangerous front as a gang leader.

He saw that, and he hated it. He wanted out. He wanted freedom and to break from the narrative. He acted out of script and went to the Inquisitor with his own two legs, closed shop, and threw away that perfect life, which was designed especially for him.

Meanwhile, Rubin longs back for that life. For Isidor to crawl out of the grave and tell him what to do next, even if it meant he will be mistreated and forced to bear the sins of his master just so Isidor keeps his own hands clean. He wants someone more knowledgeable to direct him again, tell him what to do, where to go and what to say.

Grief adored freedom, but Rubin loathed how terrifying it was. Grief understood the way of the world, how everyone is masquerading as their roles, how the whole of humanity is a game of pretend we play with each other, a mere facade. He understood that, and he climbed up as a result of playing his cards well. Or at least, life handed him the perfect hand for his role.

Rubin's black and white view of the world was his doom. Isidor was right and could never do anything wrong in his eyes, even when it was Rubin suffering because of him. Grief was bad. Therefore, he could never do anything right no matter what explanation he gives.

Artemy abandoned his father, therefore he is forever responsible for Isidor's murder in Rubin's eyes.

It's almost funny how throughout the whole game, as Artemy, you keep getting reminded of how much Rubin hates you and wants you dead.

Yet when he invents the panacea after you neglect your job, he fully credits it to you as your invention. The inquisitor even says so.

Love and hate are like dusk and dawn, different angles, but still the same sun.

Rubin's hate for Grief and Artemy proves that he still cares about them above all.

Even then, it doesn't take much convincing for him to abandon that hate. Almost as if he wants to be rid of it himself but can't do it on his own, he requires you to talk to him and give him that one final push. Aware of it or not, he has always looked to others for help despite him trying his best to handle things alone.

-

Now, as for writing something about him, I haven't yet. I would love to, he seems very fun to write. Emotionally constipated characters usually are.

But do you mean as a ship or x reader?

If it's a ship, something with Artemy is my first thought.

I know Isidor was in the process of adopting Rubin and that he refers to him as father sometimes. But all of that happened after Artemy left the town and not before.

So while Rubin and Isidor saw themselves as found family, Rubin and Artemy never did. Their last time together was spent as childhood best friends, and not once do they refer to each other as siblings or imply it.

To me they will always be just childhood friends. Artemy was estranged from his own father for 10-5 years depending on the game and Rubin filled that spot in the meanwhile. The sole reason for the adopting thing was just to get Rubin the right to cut bodies and nothing more in Isidor's case.

Rubin might have seen him as a father figure, but I doubt Isidor saw him as anything but a student, let alone a son.

In his dairy during his last days before death, Isidor only speaks of Artemy. Wishing his son was by his side.

And in Artemy's case, he immediately forgives Rubin for so many things during their first meeting in P1. And in P2, he still attempts to talk and have a resemblance of a friendship with him.

Artemy literally follows him like a kicked puppy, wanting his best friend back and desperately attempting to mend things with Rubin. The fics practically write themselves at this point. Stakh clearly likes Artemy but he won't let himself easily give into the temptation because he is just angsty like that.

Maybe that "rivally" was extremely one-sided in Rubin's case.

-

But for x reader, you're not Artemy so you'll get very favourable treatment.

He's already willing to let himself burn at the stake for someone else. Rubin and Eva both share the passion to sacrifice themselves for the sake of someone else, ironically enough.

The only difference is that Eva took the hopeless romantic path whole Rubin took the selfless devotion one.

He'd do well with someone who is soft and caring, that man requires a hug that lasts a century. He needs someone to be patient with him, someone wise who understands him better than he understands himself. Someone be there for him to fall back on.

Stakh is the type of person who will mould himself to your expectations and needs rather than just let himself...be himself. He will think the way he is just isn't enough to get you to stay in love, and so he will try to adapt what you deem impressive and love-able.

Breaking himself in the process.

A reader who gets him out of that cycle would be perfect. Someone who reassures him that he is enough. That he doesn't need to set himself ablaze just to keep you warm.

He will be extremely awkward in love. He doesn't have a single romantic bone in his body. But he's nothing if not a fast learner.

it's clumsy attempts at the start, but eventually, he learns to speak his feelings more. Words of sincerity and promises of devotion acting as his flirting.

He stares at you a lot with his big round, lovely brown eyes. Across the room? he's looking at you until you come talk to him. Suddenly, he's not slouching so much. It's endearingly embarrassing how honest his eyes can be when his lips won't admit that he needs you.

He will cling to you as time goes on. Why exactly can't he go out with you when you're hanging out with your friends? Listen he knows this is just a grocery trip but he wants to walk there with you and carry the bags.

One time, you took too long in the bathroom at night, and he woke up from sleep just to knock at the bathroom door and ask when you were going back to bed. You found him half-asleep sitting on the ground near the door when you opened it.

[dairisrls]

artemy for the character ask thing :)

How I feel about this character: [incomprehensible screeching.] oh my god i love him so much. character of all time. when i first got obsessed with pathologic, i was firmly a daniil guy; i liked artemy, but i didn't feel that strongly about him. then i started getting into planning and plotting for bread and twyre, and i just became absolutely enamoured with him. the tragedy of a man sent away from his home to a cold city that likely treated him like shit for being a mixed indigenous man from a small town with only traditional herbal training, who then has to rush back home to find his family dead, his home struck with plague, and his town actively hostile to him. his own community resents him for leaving and he has to relearn so much. he has to resort to violence because he has no other choice. he's such a complex and heart-wrenching character. i love him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: honestly... i'm not usually an OTP guy, but i really don't ship artemy romantically with anyone other than daniil. ride or die for burakhovsky. i've read some fun smut fics with other pairings, but in terms of an actual long-term romantic relationship, burakhovsky all the way.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: hm... i guess if you mean in terms of whose platonic dynamic i like with him, i am fascinated by artemy and rubin. there's something so juicy about rubin being the one left behind to apprentice under isidor and artemy being the one sent away, but always with the intention that artemy would still be taking isidor's place. rubin's resentment and defensiveness are really compelling.

My unpopular opinion about this character: LET HIM BE AN ASSHOLE OHHHH MY GOD. i am so tired of seeing shallow characterisations where daniil is a cruel asshole and artemy is a soft uwu guy. did you play the games? artemy is a DICK. and i love him for it. especially in p1, he's even more snarky than daniil in many conversations. and he's a dick in a really funny way, too! daniil is often a bit of a dick because he's either trying to project the idea of himself as knowing everything and being in charge or he's just phrasing things in a really blunt way. artemy is often a dick because he's like "well, these people already hate me, i might as well be hilarious about it." he's so funny. let him be an asshole. i'm having a lot of fun with many of his inner thoughts in bread and twyre being asshole-ish.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i really wish they gave him, like... any named kin connections other than oyun and aspity. like. we know that isidor was very connected to the kin when artemy was growing up. he had to have brought artemy around the termitary and around the kin in the community. and artemy just... doesn't have a single childhood friend? not a single person who was like an aunt or uncle to him? not a single old lady who babysat him while isidor worked? come on, now. artemy's whole character is so tethered to the kin, and we see so little of the kin in terms of actual fleshed out characters. i find it especially insulting that they changed around so much to give him childhood friends in p2 (he literally doesn't know who lara and grief even are in p1) and only gave him townsfolk friends. all of whom, by the way, are openly racist about the kin to his face????? that actually really bothers me. that was originally why i made my OC shalzha, before i even wrote bread and twyre. he was made out of spite because i wanted a kin character who was his childhood friend. i guess they didn't want to add new characters for p2, but 1. i think that's silly, you're already changing things around in the story 2. it doesn't have to be a 'main character,' literally just a side NPC that artemy can have a few conversations with.

[ninakaina]

i need you to see my vision of artemy and bad grief even aside from the romance reading of it i just need you to understand what im looking at. i think they were like finishing each others sentences level Best friends. i think as an adult in the town on gorkhon if you saw 12-15yo artemy on the street you would instinctively look behind you for bad grief (true for all the gang but especially artemy and grief). and your wallet would already be gone. based on the dynamics we see i think rubin and lara are too stubborn/reserved to get roped into bad griefs wilder schemes Unless artemy seconds the plan. and of course yes its significant that Mr. Iron Will says "bad grief always goads me into pulling crazy stunts" (and its the first thing we need to know about grief!) like this is the most unmanipulatable man on earth and yet somehow bad grief can say something to him that will get him, like, jumping off a moving train or smth (and artemy still identifies with that!!!). it also seems like the warehouse hideout was more specifically artemy and griefs spot than the whole gangs? given that he associates that location with grief and no one else (theres also something really interesting about artemy having the opportunity to say "im surprised youre still alive"?). also somehow crop is able to recognize day 1 artemy dead in a ditch as "[bad grief's] best friend since childhood" even if you havent been to see bad grief yet meaning either crop saw them together as kids or bad grief has been telling everyone about his best friend artemy burakh. again the present tense. do you understand what im saying? theyre literally best friends artemy literally talks to bad grief in his head.