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- « PLAYER INFORMATION »
Name: Tao
Are you over 18?: Yes
Contact: _realms at plurk
Other characters, if any: N/A
« CHARACTER INFORMATION »
Character: Daniil Dankovksy (aka The Bachelor)
Canon: Pathologic 2 (Diurnal Ending)/ Marble Nest
Canon point: Day 12 (Post-Canon)
OU or AU?: OU
Age: 28, but looks in his 40s.
Species: Human.
« RECORD »
Disposition:
▹Obsessed with Death: Dankovsky is obsessed with destroying Death with a capital D, putting him side by side with the likes of Dr. Frankenstein. He figuratively speaks of Death as a personified entity and literally argues with them in his moments of feverish delirium or canon typical ambiguity. Canon is unspecific on the past event(s) that triggered Dankovsky’s fixation, but it’s quite clear that his entire self-identity was built around his ambitious quest.
▹Mind over matter: The Bachelor firmly believes that science is all powerful. His curious and restless little brain works on the premise that human beings can achieve anything with reason and perseverance. He can’t stop trying to rationally comprehend and interpret things. Although his work as a thanatologist (a fighter of Death!) is partially fueled by pride and ambition, there’s also an honest – albeit idealistic – desire to take humanity to a new level: “Back in Thanatica, we fought for life. For the right to live. For a chance to… to never let death veto people.”
▹Forest over trees: Although he tries not to break his Hippocratic Oath and is quite shocked and angered by senseless death, according to the game developers “the Bachelor is so engrossed in his noble battle against death that he forgets to value the lives of those near him.” The Bachelor is under the impression that he's figured the Trolley Problem all right. And what if that causes him one nervous breakdown or two? Well, that's a problem for future Dankovsky, isn't it.
▹Infinitely Exhausted: The famous Capital doctor’s ideals and sense of self-worth are thoroughly tested when he gets stuck in a isolated steppe town ravaged by the deadly and not entirely scientific Sand Pest. As the devs put it “despite the town being a mystical place, it’s sickly real. And the Bachelor lives in his beautiful little head where everything is organized and he’s confused by this reality. He’s frustrated by the fact that he’s so grounded and yet so up in his dreams, but still can’t understand some parts of the world.” He runs himself ragged trying to fix and understand things that are beyond him. And that Trolley Problem? That's Dankovsky's life now. From the moment the first Pest victim is confirmed. Every.single.day. It's impossible to save everyone no matter how hard he tries.
▹Not a people person: Daniil is an unsociable, single-minded and emotionally constipated little man, often to the detriment of his own health and well-being. Mysticism may be difficult for him, but probably not as difficult as dealing with people. Especially the town's people. His prickly and arrogant personality earns him enemies all over the little steppe town, which he sees as superstitious, irrational and backwards. Why is everybody breaking quarantine? And why won’t they listen to his expert opinion and let him do his job? He’s trying to save their lives!
He becomes increasingly reckless and enraged as his ideals are confronted not only with the vile and unescapable reality of the plague, but also the human brutality it lays bare: people not only die of illness, but also by gratuitous acts of corruption, violence, greed and despair as the town’s society and institutions collapse around him. Embittered, the doctor grows to hate the town that refuses to listen to reason and be healed.
Anyway, you can always find a fun but accurate character summary here.
Suitability: Dankovsky’s knee jerk reaction to anything remotely “magical” is to see it as illogical, dumb, or downright dishonest. Expect some serious grumbling and fist shaking at Noctium more fantastical elements. In Marble Nest, he was locked in a fever nightmare loop, so he’s also likely to question his senses. That said, he will be in love with all the tech to the point of embarrassment.
Given time, he’s bound to realize that conformity to every single Law of Physics is a luxury he cannot afford. Taking Noctium’s rules in consideration, he’ll attempt to figure stuff like Manna and Null (Death!) in his own terms, or so help him God.
Speaking of deities, he’s not a fan of religion either, though he’ll (grudgingly) acknowledge that are bigger powers at play than Daniil Dankovsky, Bachelor of Medicine. From a psychological standpoint, his alignment with Emerald may benefit him with more wisdom, tranquility and intuition than he usually portrays in canon. At least in the beginning, his anthropocentrism will make him cringe at physical changes, though he will most certainly research the heck out of them. Given his lack of people skills, synchronicity may be tricky for Dankovsky, but he’s not uncapable of creating bonds with those who manage to slip past his prickly defenses.
Condition upon arrival: Sleep-deprived, malnourished and roughed up. Stitched gun and knife wounds. Recovering from one bout of Sand Pest or two, though no longer infected or contagious. Slight dependency on alcohol, morphine and nicotine.
Dankovsky is very traumatized by the whole plague doctor experience. He no longer refuses food, water or the chance to sleep. He will hoard random knickknacks in case the economy collapses and he needs to barter. Being able to sense natural disasters will be particularly upsetting to him. Moreover, post-canon Daniil failed to heal the pest (somebody else came up with a cure) and was disgraced as a thanatologist. His research was proscribed, and his institute burnt to the ground. Since he lost everything and may or may not be hunted by the authorities, he's coping with existential crisis and suicide ideation. That said, all the SCIENCE in Noctium may alleviate his sense of loss. At the very least, access to luxuries such as (communal) hot showers and soap are bound to improve his mood.
Abilities:
▹ Bachelor of Medicine! And he’ll gladly flaunt his degree to each and every person he meets. The Bachelor hails from vaguely 30s Russia, so the title implies that he is a researching doctor, not that he lacks a full medical training. However, his medical knowledge is somewhat outdated. The good doctor knows his way around the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, but he may be a little too liberal with his morphine and has seen more amputations than he cares to remember. Also, smoking is a perfectly fine and civilized habit.
▹ Thanatologist. Dankovsky is a famous thanatologist: a doctor dedicated to the study of death and how to defeat it. He treats death as a personal enemy and firmly believes he can find a way to make humans immortal with SCIENCE. He has a vast experience with dying and dead people, and has led public lectures with the “reanimation” of dead bodies. His theories have been described as unethical and grotesque by his detractors.
▹ Infectiology/immunology. In canon, he is tasked with creating a vaccine to cure the Sand Pest. He also sets up a provisional hospital and tries to enforce quarantine rules on a small steppe town…without much success.
▹Latin. Dankovsky loves quoting Latin. He fancies himself an erudite scholar and is constantly showing off his Classical education.
▹Gun. He can shoot and has been described as a quick draw.
Don’t let his hubris fool you, he’s just a squishy human who could really use some professional help.
Inventory: If possible, it would be nice if he could have his carpet bag with some of his medical equipment: an old-fashioned microscope, a stethoscope, needles and syringe, a scalpel, a couple of morphine ampules and a pack of cigarettes.
Gembond: Emerald
Gem Location: a small gem on the right side of his head, under his hair, like a bullet entry. '-'
« MISCELLANEOUS »
Sample: TDM
Notes:
▹Post canon Danko is a mess, and his issues – especially his suicide ideation - will be CW’ed
▹The Pathologic verse is very, very meta. However, in Marble Nest and Patho 2, it remains to be seen how much Dankovsky is aware of the messed-up nature of his world. I will wait for the canon update to bring this up in his characterization, if the need ever comes up.
