Trivia / A Darker Path

• Ascended Fanon: A number of reader contributions have been incorporated into the story, including (but not limited to):
  • The text of some of Atropos' PHO posts (and many of the reader posts).
  • Sometimes entire scenes have been adapted, like breakfast with Danny after he learns her identity.
  • Even Atropos' signature bodice shears were originally a fan suggestion.
  • Whirligig and Trainwreck applying to become rogues under Parian also happened in a canonized omake.
  • Scenes marked "Side story" on Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity are also considered canonical, without being specifically copied into the main story.
  • Someone wrote "Ravioli" instead of "Ravager" to refer to the villain. Ack promptly stated it was so hilarious that Atropos would use it as part of her plan to ruin Ravager's reputation.
  "This is going in the 'canon' pile. I like it a lot."
• Dear Negative Reader: After one reader wrote about not every drug user being an addict (and the ensuing discussion), the author brought in pretty much the same discussion into an In-Universe PHO thread, with Atropos pointing out to the In-Universe equivalent of said reader that she is stopping the drug trade in Brockton Bay because she knows it's horrible for people's health and the city.
  StarCat: You're forgetting that drug use, and drug addiction are not synonymous. Banning people from anything "for their own good" is paternalistic bullshit.
  Atropos: See, that's where you make your mistake. I'm not doing this for "your own good". The illegal hard drug trade is bad for the city, so I'm bringing it to an end. Other than that, I don't give a flying fuck.
• Word of God: Ack drops various bits of information about how Taylor's shard works from time to time in order to clear up any misunderstandings.
  • Taylor can't just arbitrarily obtain things by trying to "end my lack of this thing." The shard is not about getting things, it's about destruction, and attempting to get around that will get her the equivalent of a raised eyebrow and an invitation to try again. However, she's not currently showing any signs of trying that.
  • Taylor's Combat Clairvoyance relies on letting her shard essentially puppet her body for a time. However, she and her shard are getting along great. It loves how she is destroying her enemies with flair, and she's having the time of her life doing it.
  • If you're confused about this or any other aspect, there's an Informational titled BEFORE YOU POST A QUERY: SOME MISCONCEPTIONS (ie, STOP BEATING THE DEAD HORSES).
  • The main reason Taylor invokes You Don't Want to Know with Danny regarding Mannequin's death is that it involved shoving the death of Mannequin's wife (and children) in his face, and she doesn't want to re-traumatise her own father that way, even second hand.

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