#the emptiness in his chest tracks tho bc rabies does cause an impending sense of doom

[merriclo]

OKAY SO RABIES IS A virus transmitted by bodily fluids, most often saliva and blood. while the entire chain would be susceptible to rabies, you’re right in saying that Twilight would be especially susceptible. this is primarily because as a wolf he fights with his jaws. if he bites a rabid animal or person and draws blood, then swallows, he would become infected.

it’s also likely that, as a farmer, he would be painfully aware of rabies. any warm blooded animal can fall victim to rabies (not just dogs and bats) so it’s not a reach to assume he’d know the signs and symptoms and how to deal with it. rabies is one of those viruses that man has known about for centuries. it’s also one of the few that man has always known a decent amount about, including where it came from. mad dog bites man, man goes mad, mad dog and mad man die. it’s pretty easy to follow.

anyways, twilight would probably know he’s infected, or at least be able to string it together once the symptoms surface. all of the Links would probably know, actually, considering the abundance of Keese and how many of them are from more rural areas.

the thing abt rabies is that as soon as you show symptoms, you’re as good as dead. it’s a virus that ravages the mind, destroys the brain and central nervous system. the moment you’re rabid, you’re dead. it has a near 100% mortality rate. i can’t stress enough how dangerous this thing is.

it comes in three stages: the prodromal phase, the excitation phase, and the paralytic phase. if you want to find in depth information on each phase (like many symptoms, what happens, etc.) then here’s a link to that.

what primarily happens, though, this that they get symptoms similar to the flu, they undergo personality changes, they are likely to become mad, they experience extreme difficulty moving and using their muscles, become paralyzed, and eventually die (most often due to asphyxiation from the diaphragm paralyzing and preventing breathing.)

death by rabies is horrific, and for centuries the most humane way to treat it was either suicide or a backyard murder. there were attempts to treat it before Louis Pasteur created the vaccine, but they were rudimentary and rarely worked. it wouldn’t be insane to imagine that maybe the sheikah had created a vaccine, or that the witches had a potion to cure it. hell, you could even make a loz equivalent of Louis Pasteur and put him in Hytopia!! make twilight the first ever patient under the rabies vaccine instead of that little boy who was tragically mauled.

but, again, once you show symptoms, you are dead. the “good” thing is that rabies can have a long incubation period, allowing time to prevent any damage.

so would twilight be able to survive rabies? maybe, depending on the world building in the fic. would it be fun? absolutely not!! the process of preventing rabies fucking sucks!!! and the terror that comes with an encounter with a rabid animal cannot be understated.

so uh yeah i hope that kind of helps a little bit. if you want more resources or have any questions please please please ask i love talking about this sort of thing. for some damn reason rabies and other prominent diseases and viruses throughout history are some of my favorite things to research, so if i don’t already know the answer i will be very willing to find it <3

Guys I’m not a writer but I do know writing fics take motivation but I have noticed a max or twilight angst fics which makes me very sad because twilight is such a good boy he deserves to feel a emptiness in his chest that comes closer and closer until he starts crying too and I have had a little thought come to me after I watched the new hunger games movie and it’s that Twilight could get rabies easily (maybe idk I’m not a biologist or whatever it’s called) AND I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN LIKE HOW THE WHOLE CHAIN WOULD REACT BECAUSE GODAMN TWILIGHT U CAN TAKE A LOT BUT CAN U TAKE RABIES???

[wildmousesword]

Wozzer that was a hole lot of information! But thank u this did help how did u know all that though!?

Guys I’m not a writer but I do know writing fics take motivation but I have noticed a max or twilight angst fics which makes me very sad because twilight is such a good boy he deserves to feel a emptiness in his chest that comes closer and closer until he starts crying too and I have had a little thought come to me after I watched the new hunger games movie and it’s that Twilight could get rabies easily (maybe idk I’m not a biologist or whatever it’s called) AND I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN LIKE HOW THE WHOLE CHAIN WOULD REACT BECAUSE GODAMN TWILIGHT U CAN TAKE A LOT BUT CAN U TAKE RABIES???