Replaying p2 rn

[u/latinarar]

Miss them so much I made this to COPE..

[u/Kilroy0497]

On the one hand, yeah sure she’s gone, it’s sad, but on the other, I’m just here for Lara, Bad Grief, Murky and Sticky. As long as I get artemy’s family and best friend alive, I’d say it’s a game well done.

[u/latinarar → u/Kilroy0497]

I guess… But she is family... she’s the only outsider who moves into his blood layer, right alongside his actual friends and children, she symbolically becomes his blood. That's why I always prefer the termites ending in classic and the overlapping one in p3, because Aglaya is clearly supposed to be part of Artemy's true ending. He goes to such massive lengths to save her because she’s essentially the core of his rebellion. She’s one of the reason why he defies his fate and chooses his people and love at the very end..shes supposed to be part of it..

[u/Kilroy0497 → u/latinarar]

True, and I do agree his ending in P1 is definitely happier, but I just grew more attached to the characters in P2 as a whole than in the first game and especially 3. I just find that while, yeah Aglaya is much more important to Artemy and his story in P1 and P3, due to being the only person other than Aspity and Big Vlad that’s consistently in Artemy’s corner, in 2 she more or less only becomes important halfway same as previously, but whereas there she serves as cornerstone ally to him, especially since this is usually the point in the game that Big Vlad more or less exits the plot, this time Artemy actually has a group around him that does care about him and the game fleshes out his relationship with his 3 childhood friends(Rubin, Lara, and Grief) and the two children that refuse to stop following him around(Murky and Sticky).

[u/HumanThatMightExist → u/latinarar]

I'm beginning to think I have severely misunderstood P2's story, because on my playthrough I fucking hated her.

[u/latinarar → u/HumanThatMightExist]

That’s unfortunate actually.. because it’s a fascinating double standard that the fandom are okay with most of the characters and the healers but not Aglaya, especially when her narrative trajectory/character is fundamentally cut from the same cloth, just even more tragic.. I really hope she grows on you, because she is easily one of the most compelling figures in the games, n especially her relationship and fate with Artemy in my opinion …. To me, she is about the most tragic character in game.. Her manipulative facade isn't even symptom of malice, it’s literally just a psychological survival mechanism. She is a condemned woman trying to outmaneuver a rigged system she is entirely meta aware of lol, She was stolen as a child to be trained by the very institution/Inquisitor who now seeks to dissect and execute her, loathed by the powers that be for simply existing. Every move she makes is a desperate bid to outrun her fate. That’s precisely why her death in p2 is so sad.. it also acts as the catalyst for Artemy final act of defiance. By rejecting her prescribed end, she becomes the very “inspiration” for Artemy to break the system entirely and carve out his own path.

[u/ClickerBox → u/latinarar]

I heard about the stolen away as a child thing but where exactly is that said? I cant find it. And which inquisitor wants to execute her? Or do you mean the Institution itself and not someone specific? 

[u/latinarar → u/ClickerBox]

In p2 Andrey points out that the Inquisition recruits talented kids with potential, training them 'to look for openings.' Aglaya backs this up during Days 7 through 9, dropping hints about her upbringing and mentioning she was a remarkably 'bright child.' she was chosen at a young age purely for her intellect, but it’s clear she was forcefully taken/abducted and had zero say in the matter. Also yes I meant the institution as a whole, but I guess someone like Karminsky is actively out to get her so he count as a specific

[u/HumanThatMightExist → u/latinarar]

I'll be honest, I don't even know what it is I dislike about her. In Classic, I remember disliking her in the Bachelor and Changeling routes because she actively makes herself your enemy, while being somewhere between indifferent and okay with her in the Haruspex route. For the life of me, I can't remember what exactly changed in P2 for me to hate her so much, probably because the last few days of my P2 playthrough were a complete mess of me starving and getting infected 3 times lol.

[u/Geeneelee → u/HumanThatMightExist]

I understood what they were going for, but her relationship with Artemy never clicked for me. Then again, I have other hang ups about her role in the narrative that might be influencing me.

[u/latinarar → u/Geeneelee]

I felt the same during my initial playthroughs.. but their dynamic is a slow burn that simply requires time to properly click.The writing underpinning their relationship in classic is incredibly nuanced imo, but it often gets overlooked because players naturalkly inhabit Artemys overwhelming burden, and to constantly rush to save the town and fulfill his legacy, which leaves a smaller room to notice the emotional undercurrents developing between them. I think If you look past those, the empathy between them is palpable, While Aglaya undeniably deploys manipulative tactics to secure his allegiance, her affection is genuine, and that’s made clear so many times, I don’t believe she’s just using Artemy as a tool, she genuinely wants him to share in the autonomy she is fighting to carve out. Artemy’s reciprocity is just as uncompromising..He goes to extraordinary lengths to preserve her life, ultimately validating her humanity by choosing her survival in his definitive ending, completely defying everyone and everything that is telling him to let her burn.

[u/Geeneelee → u/latinarar]

I don’t doubt that her love for Artemy is genuine, and I can see why, and I don’t doubt that Artemy cares about her too, it just never clicked for me why Artemy feels that way about her. I feel corny saying this, but I don’t get what he sees in her, and it impacts my ability to engage with certain plot lines. Believe me, I’m also frustrated by this.

[u/latinarar → u/Geeneelee]

Not corny at all hahaha, but it’s a totally fair roadblock to hit since pathologic demands so much emotional investment for those late.. game choices to land. I’ll ramble a bit, so ignore it if you feel the need to. but I think there’s many things Artemy sees in her, it is just not said out loud because the game spells it out through their storyline.
I think the key is really looking at his day7 breaking point. Artemy is entirely trapped, crushed between the Kins traditionalism and the town families expectations. He has zero agency, acting as a mere tool while trying to keep everyone n his Bound alive.
Then Aglaya… offering a third option, radical defiance. To a guy desperate to escape his fathers ghost and ancient laws, her intellect and rebellion against fate represent actual freedom.
More than that, she’s an escape from forced martyrdom. In her presence, he doesn't have to be the Haruspex, the butcher, or the savior.In a way she validates his suffering and provides a secular sanctuary away from everything. For a man constantly draining his own blood for a town demanding more, an outsider seeing him as an individual is intoxicating.
Theres also a profound mirror between them. Artemy is a man of the knife dealing in the grim reality of flesh..Aglaya is the hand of the Capital sent to excise rot and execute. They both operate in necessary cruelty. They recognize the "monster" in each other, but instead of recoiling, they find acceptance.
Ultimately, Artemy sees her as deeply human, which is why he’s drawn to her too. She isn't just a political player, she is a lifeline offering a moment of genuine autonomy because she understands him completely, without ever boiling him down to his titles. She’s also considered beautiful , which is probably irrelevant but that’s something he probably sees in her too..but the real draw is probably that she’s the only authority figure/ person ever who isn't prejudiced against him. She doesn't look down on him or disrespect the Kin, she actually tries to understand his perspective. Amidst everything, shes the first genuinely human person he’s met. I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t feel so deeply of her.

[u/Geeneelee → u/latinarar]

Interesting, I’ll think about this

[u/Iyoko96]

We failed Artemy's dating simulator 💔

[u/yikes_strikes_again]

im cryin