|
Sketchie posted:The heck? I actually laughed at this. I didn't think Mouse was that oblivious. Their plan would have worked better if they were both a little bit more hoarse.
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 05:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 22:42 |
|
|
This is why you don't leave the grenade behind
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 06:14
|
|
|
As soon as Horse was spotted, Dragon's covering fire was enough to pin him down. Mouse should have gotten reinforcements. An 11v1 would have been enough to pray Horse away. Pig the chemist would have been excellent backup.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 12:13
|
|
|
NeoRonTheNeuron posted:As soon as Horse was spotted, Dragon's covering fire was enough to pin him down. Mouse should have gotten reinforcements. An 11v1 would have been enough to pray Horse away. Pig the chemist would have been excellent backup. That's too many cooks in the kitchen. They're trying to keep everyone alive and sending in inexperienced fighters is just going to get people killed, either because Horse kills them or people trying to avoid killing each other and failing. And the more bodies you rack up, the closer Horse gets to winning. You could maybe have gotten Bunny to help, but nearly everyone else is useless in a fight sans Tiger, who's guarding the group, and Pig who doesn't have access to her chemicals.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 13:39
|
|
|
Horse asking Mouse to get a soda for him had done more to sell me on Horse than anything else so far.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 15:44
|
|
|
ZCKaiser posted:Horse asking Mouse to get a soda for him had done more to sell me on Horse than anything else so far. Yeah, that and the 'Don't worry, I'm not'. He's pretty fun when he isn't sort of just hiding in the background.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 15:53
|
|
|
Yeah we really don't get a lot of time with Horse. Most routes he either dies pretty early or is too much in the background.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 19:37
|
|
|
Mix. posted:
So Dragon went to school with Horse's cousin, if I'm reading this correctly. And Horse/Bad Horse is a gang leader. That seems relevant!
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 19:46
|
|
The bullying was relentless, and P.E. was often a chance to take it out on me physically without repercussion.
Eh. It's not like I'm special for that. Those fuckers pretty much picked on people across the board.
But man... There was this one night when I was actually out on the town with them. It had taken a while, but I had actually befriended the clique leader's girlfriend.
I had the shittiest timing in terms of when to hang out with them. It just had to be that night when it happened.
|
Actually, how many routes does Horse even survive? Pig's route, and... not much else comes to mind.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 20:11
|
|
|
ApplesandOranges posted:Actually, how many routes does Horse even survive? Pig's route, and... not much else comes to mind. But, yeah, Horse just has a very poor track record when it comes to surviving. Poor guy. There's still Ox's, Tiger's, Dragon's and Mouse's to go though, so hopefully he survives most of those to "balance" out his bad streak with the routes we've gone through.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 20:34
|
|
|
The problem he has is that he is by far the biggest threat. Any route that involves a physical fight has to involve taking Horse out by surprise, or he just stomps them into the dirt. Narratively, he needs to be incapacitated in a way that someone like Rooster does not.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 21:22
|
|
|
Dirk the Average posted:The problem he has is that he is by far the biggest threat. Any route that involves a physical fight has to involve taking Horse out by surprise, or he just stomps them into the dirt. Narratively, he needs to be incapacitated in a way that someone like Rooster does not. Can't wait to see their routes (I suspect Mix is keeping Mouse's as the very last route before the "true" route).
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 22:37
|
|
|
I think Monkey has the best survival record? She dies in Pig's, and.... that's about it? She doesn't even die in her own route.
|
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2023 10:00
|
|
|
ApplesandOranges posted:She doesn't even die in her own route. At least, as far as we know, it could just be that her body was never found  Monkey also dies in Rooster's route, because of her personality- her and Pig both die at the end, it just happens in a way that doesn't give away that Pig is the other one to die.
|
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2023 14:14
|
|
|
 [BGM: Silence]   Mouse! Are you okay, what's wrong? Hey, where's Dragon? What happened? I'm sad to say, but I think I can take a guess.I hurriedly explained everything that happened to everyone. They looked equal parts horrified and disappointed. I shared their feelings. But more than that, I felt frustrated at myself for not being able to do anything, once again. Dragon fought so hard for me. And in the end... [BGM: Final Squeal]   Even Dragon couldn't take him! What on earth... we're gonna die, we're so gonna die! I told you we should've run away, I said it from minute one! This is all so strange to me. Yeah, it's a pretty wild situation, surprised you haven't caught onto that yet. Be quiet for a second would you? I'm referring to Horse's skills in all of this. He's a real monster. It's... incredible. Horrifying. You wouldn't believe your eyes seeing this stuff. That's my exact point. You'd have to imagine, with what he's done so far, he has a history of violence and crime. And yet he was a key witness in the trial of Mr. Morris. If a witness like that had a criminal record, that almost certainly would've come up. Does that really matter right now when we're going to die?!  So this dude goes crazy when he wears a skull mask? What, does he have like a split-personality disorder or something? While you're far from the only one, it saddens me that you use those sorts of terms so haphazardly. Honestly, pop culture has completely perverted mental illness by reducing it to such simple concepts. Well, it seems like the dude acts differently and starts killing when he puts on a mask. Sounds split-personality to me. That's not... ugh. At best, the mask may be a physical object which he's learned to use in order to compartmentalize violent urges into a certain part of his psyche, but even that would be a rather rare and extreme case. I think it's high time we put my 'hide and seek' plan into effect, don't you think? No, we're not doing that. It's stupid and it'll get us killed eventually. Which is why I suggest you all listen up. Last time we went with Dragon's idea. Tragically, we can now see that it did not pan out. Dragon was a remarkably capable woman, so if she wasn't able to take Horse down in a fair fight, I doubt any of us will be able to, even if we fight as a group. Instead, I propose we go with my plan. We set up a trap for him- an ambush- and we make this place into a safe area. That's acceptable. I think... I think that might be for the best. It's worth a shot at least.Everyone voiced their agreement with this plan. At this point, we were all so panicked that we'd accept almost anything. Okay, Snake. Since this is your plan, how do you propose we set up this 'ambush'?  I'm so glad you asked. I believe we should make this cafeteria our home base. It is rich in several resources that will be useful, and more importantly, it's central to this floor.Snake took out a piece of paper and began to make a crude drawing of the area.  You're supposed to be an artist? We're in a rush, Mouse. I'm not going for Van Gogh. At any rate, if we make the cafeteria our home base, Horse will likely come by here sooner rather than later, which is actually a positive when setting up an ambush like this. Alright, but I'm noticing that there are four separate entrances to the cafeteria. How are we supposed to set up an ambush like that? We'll just have to make efficient use of the weapons on hand. First off, the main door to the left. We'll block that off using the vending machines. Huh? It shouldn't be too hard to overturn them, right? In that case, I feel as though it should act as a sufficient blocker to those doors. But Horse is super strong. He'll be able to push them out of the way. Maybe, given enough time. However, if he insists on taking the time to push open that door, he'll be wide open. If someone sees him trying that, we can pop out and shoot at him. Even with his quick reaction speeds, there'll be very little for him to do in an open hallway like that if caught unaware. Okay, that's one entrance covered. What next? There's actually a few ways we can handle things from here. At the very least, one of the entrances should be covered by the grenade. By the grenade? With what we have here, I'm confident I can set up a trap with it which will cause the grenade to explode when the door it is on is opened. Now, we can't place that in the upper left entrance, as it's far too wide. With that in mind, where do you think we should put the grenade? Yeah, there was no way I was going to make this a thread vote. The way you're supposed to solve this is taking into account multiple factors like how many doors there are, what the angles of visibility are, etc, but that's a bit more of a headache when it would come to a vote without proper context, so it's easier if we just auto-pick the right answer here  The upper-right door. That makes sense to me. It's just one door, so it should be easy to hook up. If we place it properly, he shouldn't be able to see it, and he'll definitely die if he takes a blast like that. Great. So then, what do we do with the other doors? With what we have left, I think we can cover the other entrances by placing a pair of scouts right here. Pair of scouts? We have a sniper rifle, and you brought back a pistol, right? We should keep the dual pistols with someone safe as a backup plan, so those are the weapons we'll use. The group will stay on guard in the upper-right side of the area. The scout with the sniper will look for any one entering through the open area, while the scout with the pistol will be ready for if he enters through the right set of double doors. Regardless of where he attacks from, he won't be safe. It hardly seems perfect. Still, it's probably our best shot. Yeah! With this plan, we've pretty much got the whole place on lockdown. Um, excuse me? I know you mentioned the two scouts, but what about the rest of us? Where should we be? See that little diverted section in the back of the cafeteria? You all should be fine if you hide there. It'll keep everyone completely out of all lines of sight from the entrances, so no risk of being shot, and it provides the most flexibility in the worst-case scenario where we need to flee. So I guess we should discuss who the scouts are, right? I believe I can also provide answers for that.  First of all, the scout in charge of the sniper should be none other than myself. Seriously? You? Didn't see that coming. I object to this assignment. I'm not sure why you think you'd be a good fit for 'sniper', but I sure can't see it. Trust me, I am quite capable of this task. Sniping at such a short range should be child's play. I'll confirm that. This task is totally within Snake's capabilities. It is? Good, glad that's settled.  As for the second scout, the one covering the first scout with the pistol, I would request that role go to Mouse. Mouse? Me? Again, I object. I'm a cop, I know how to use a pistol. I know how to use it way better than some random civilian! Perhaps, but as the sniper, I want Mouse to back me up. Mouse, will you go along with this? I... This choice doesn't isn't actually ending-tied at all, but we get a lot more information (and see how this plan of defense actually shakes out) if we agree, so that's what we're going to do. For posterity's sake, if you refuse and make Bunny do it instead, Mouse just awkwardly stands around with Ox and they just make small talk (with nothing noteworthy said) until Horse shows up. Yeah, I'll do it. Thank you. But- Settle down, Bunny. If Snake wants this, and Mouse has agreed to it, then we might as well let it happen. ...Though I must admit, I'm curious to Snake's motives. I'm simply making the safest choice. Well, if you guys think so, you're probably right. Sorry for being negative there, just, you know, concerned is all. Fair, but unnecessary.[BGM: Silence]  And with that, the plan was settled on. We didn't know when Horse would be coming to attack., so we worked fast. Bunny showed me the basics of how to use a pistol, and Snake set up the traps. When everything was ready, we took our station besides the upper-right entrance and began our lookout watch. So, what am I on the lookout for? Horse. I know that, I'm asking if there's any tells I can use, anything to figure out if he's about to come. Just keep your eyes peeled. I highly doubt he'll be coming in from that entrance, but if he does, you've got a clear shot of him. He doesn't have one of you. Alright...After that, we stood around in silence for a while. What was there to say? We just needed to do our jobs. ...And kill, if the need came. That was the part I was most nervous of. Even if it was totally justified, murdering Horse... it wouldn't make me feel good. But, at this point, I was determined. If I saw him, I would shoot him. I had to.  Eventually, the silence began to wear on me. I tried starting some conversation with Snake. Are you nervous, Snake? Reasonably. What's going to happen if he shows up? We'll shoot him. Honestly, I'd be more nervous if he doesn't show up. We do have to input our actions for this turn in the race eventually. But what if he shoots us first? Shouldn't be possible. Then why are you nervous? We're fighting for our lives. Fighting to kill. It's natural to be nervous. And nothing is certain. You don't look nervous. No reason to show it. So when Ox told Bunny he could trust you to use a sniper, what was that about? Was he just saying that to placate him? Most likely, Ox has remembered more about me at this point. As the prosecutor of the Morris case, he looked into the backgrounds of most of the relevant actors. Including mine. So you do know what you're doing? If I didn't, why would I volunteer? Fair enough. I suppose you wish to know why I know how to operate a sniper rifle? I'm certainly curious about it. As a matter of fact, I used to be in the military. You? No need to act so surprised. Admittedly, it was a while ago, and not for that long, but I did serve. While that life was definitely not for me, it taught me a lot. Not just about guns, of course, I'm speaking in a bigger sense. In fact, I think everyone should spend a few years of their life early on in the military. It's a valuable experience. Forgive me if I pass on that. An expected response. Though this whole endeavor may be a suitable replacement. So if that's why you chose the sniper, why did you choose me to back you up? I imagine you'd prefer if I told you that it's because I truly believe in you, that I wouldn't have anyone else at my back. It'd be nice, but somehow I doubt it. That's actually not far from the truth. I have reason to strongly distrust the others here. Well, I suppose it didn't have to be you. Rooster, Pig, or Sheep would have all been suitable replacements. But forgive me if I didn't choose them for other reasons. Reason to distrust the others?It was right as I asked that that it happened. *SLAM!* [BGM: Metal Horse]  A vending machine fell down onto the floor by the upper-left entrance. As soon as we realized what we had witnessed, we saw another figure plummet down, landing behind the vending machine. I only realized that it had been Horse a few seconds after witnessing it. What on earth...? ...poo poo. This could be bad. How the hell did he get that thing over the railing?!The common area connected to the upper-left entrance had an open ceiling which a second floor walkway could look down on. It appeared as though Horse was taking full advantage of this strange geography. You certainly were right in your assessment of Horse's tremendous physical prowess. More interestingly, why did he choose to approach like this? I can't imagine he could've figured out we were waiting to ambush him. That shouldn't be possible. Well, clearly it is, why else would he jump from the second floor like that?! At least he can't really move any closer without you shooting him. I wouldn't speak so soon. It seemed Snake predicted Horse's next move, because sure enough Horse began to move. Move the vending machine, that is. He slowly pushed it forwards, still staying completely ducked down and behind it, using it for cover. It was really an absurd sight. Still, this approach has flaws. I'm not sure what he hopes to achieve. It's not like... Oh my god, GUYS, GUYS, quickly run over here! Get out of here, go through the upper-right hallway! Snake, keep your gun trained on the machine, be ready if he pops out. Why? Think about what'll happen if he keeps pushing the vending machine. Right now, he's restricted, because if he pops out he'll likely be shot before he can do anything. But if he moves the machine far enough, he'll be able to shoot at the others without getting out from behind his cover. Good catch! I'm impressed. Ox seemed to have got what I was saying, as he instructed everyone to run over. Snake tensed up. If Horse didn't try something right now, he'd let the group get away. ...Let the group get away, he did. Now the only people in the cafeteria were Snake, Horse, and me. A tense standoff. The vending machine got closer and closer. What are we going to do? At some point, we'll have to fight. I'm just waiting for the right time. The right time? As strong as he is, pushing that thing's gotta take some effort. If he's currently holding Dragon's gun while pushing, I can easily imagine how he must be positioned behind that vending machine. If that's the case... then this should work. What should work? Instead of answering me, Snake started to sprint at the vending machine, sniper rifle in hand. He jumped off a nearby misplaced chair, and aimed the gun midair downwards. I see, if he could get to an angle where he could get the shot off... As soon as I got this hope, a blur emerged from the machine. Horse had swung the sledgehammer, knocking the sniper rifle out of Snake's hands.  For such a smart guy, I thought you'd have a better plan than that. Tch.I instantly realized Snake was in a load of trouble. I wanted to fire, but Snake was right in front of me. Duck!!Snake instantly realized what I meant, and dropped to the floor. Unfortunately, Horse also got the message, and ducked back behind the vending machine. I shot at him twice, but only one bullet connected, and it only glanced his shoulder. At least he was injured, but... Snake realized the sniper rifle was lying on the floor and lunged to grab it. But, once again, the sledgehammer came out from behind the vending machine, and using it like a stick Horse pulled it back behind his cover. [BGM: Silence]  Snake stood up, flustered. We had to act fast. Hand me the pistol! What? Why?! Trust me!I was hesitant, but Snake seemed to know what he was doing. I gave him the gun. If I'm successful... let them know what I did. Give me a hero's death. What?!Instead of explaining, Snake bent down and leapt forward, going around the vending machine, pistol out and ready. *bang* *bang*  Two shots were fired at nearly the same time. One went straight through Snake's head. His body's inertia left his body sliding across the floor. The other came from the pistol, and was aimed behind the vending machine. Did it connect with Horse? I hate to say it, but the excitement that thought brought far outweighed the sorrow I felt at Snake's death. Excitement shattered as Horse stood up, holding an assault rifle that now had a bullet lodged at the front of it. [BGM: Rat's Awakening]  Guess this thing's worthless now.Horse leaned down and grabbed the sniper rifle from behind the vending machine.  This'll have to do instead.It was those words that made me realize I was weaponless and powerless. Once again, I had no choice but to run away from the scene, tears in my eyes. Horse was unstoppable. He couldn't be beat. No one could face him. We were going to die.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 02:31
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 04:18
|
|
|
Well that's 3/3 on partnering with mouse resulting in death by horse. 2/2 of people doing so voluntarily after the first incident. I wonder who will choose the curse of our aid next?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 05:02
|
|
|
This is going to be a very bloody route isn't it?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 05:47
|
|
|
I feel like Snake's plan wasn't a very good one by default, because by holing yourself up in the cafeteria, Horse has free reign to explore the school and pick up any other Major Trinkets. But it was a losing battle and I can see the sense in grouping everyone together since letting him get free kills on people split apart would be bad too. Not sure what's next. Tiger is their next best fighter, but she'd still lose to Horse I imagine. I don't think Bunny could handle this either, he'd need the element of surprise. The rest are pretty much all bystanders at this point. Though maybe Monkey could talk him down? We know she's got a lot of power behind her words.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 05:51
|
|
|
Goddamn. Is Horse the most dangerous character so far?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 06:23
|
|
|
Monkey's still more dangerous in my opinion.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 08:09
|
|
|
FoolyCharged posted:Well that's 3/3 on partnering with mouse resulting in death by horse. 2/2 of people doing so voluntarily after the first incident. I wonder who will choose the curse of our aid next?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 08:23
|
|
|
People love smarmy smart guys but I feel like the author was a little bit too in love with Snake and his capabilities of doing pretty much anything; the only thing he doesn't have going for him is raw strength.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 09:13
|
|
|
It's worth pointing out that Snake may have talked a big game here but it amounted to precisely nothing - the barricades were worthless, it was Mouse who realized what was up with Horse's moves and yelled for the others to evacuate, and Snake's flashy "heroic death" move just got him killed for no real gain.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 09:44
|
|
|
Stop trying to solo the raid boss! Horse was proceeding slowly and could only guard once with the sledgehammer. The group needed to use a multi-prong attack to succeed. Given they had access to a grenade, they executed their defense very poorly. I think it's time to hide and Sneaky Ride on Horse. It worked once in Pig's route, surely it'll work again!
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 11:51
|
|
|
bewilderment posted:People love smarmy smart guys but I feel like the author was a little bit too in love with Snake and his capabilities of doing pretty much anything; the only thing he doesn't have going for him is raw strength. I think it's pretty consistent that Snake's major downfall is his arrogance and love for theatrics. It's what got him killed in Dog's route and how Mouse caught onto him in his own route. Besides we also just had an impressive feat of how to: fight from Dragon so it's not like Snake was the only one being given love.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 12:15
|
|
|
Snake's problem is he assumed Horse would have no plan and just walk in; Horse very much knows others are armed and definitely has to take that into account. The answer would have been more people holding onto weapons, spread out; Horse is still just one person, and can only focus on one target at a time. Put him into a situation where multiple people with weapons have different angles on him and he's going to take hits. Grenade trap is a bad idea because it means it's not in someone's hands ready to use. And now you have to ask yourself if Horse can disarm a trap and claim the grenade.
ZCKaiser fucked around with this message at 15:00 on Feb 16, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 14:50
|
|
|
ZCKaiser posted:Snake's probably is he assumed Horse would have no plan and just walk in; Horse very much knows others are armed and definitely has to take that into account. The answer would have been more people holding onto weapons, spread out; Horse is still just one person, and can only focus on one target at a time. Put him into a situation where multiple people with weapons have different angles on him and he's going to take hits. Grenade trap is a bad idea because it means it's not in someone's hands ready to use. And now you have to ask yourself if Horse can disarm a trap and claim the grenade. In another way that he continues his trend of not being nearly as smart as he thinks he is, setting up the trap in the big, wide open area with multiple entrances that is also a known rallying point is a terrible location for an "ambush." As shown it's a better place for getting ambushed. You kind of need surprise to ambush someone.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 14:56
|
|
|
Another realization: there's no reason they couldn't have done both "ambush" and "hunt down Horse" at once. If you did both back when Horse only had a pistol, you could have had both Dragon and Tiger going out to fight him and Snake and Mouse ready to shoot if she shows up at the cafeteria. This puts pressure on Horse so he can't take his time to figure out an approach and I don't think he wins a fight against both Dragon and Tiger at the same time. More interesting to me is Snake's line about who he'd trust. Why Rooster, Mouse, Pig, and Sheep? What connects them (or excludes them) such that they'd be the only person Snake would trust at his back with a weapon? It's obviously not skill with said weapon, and involvement with the trial should exclude Sheep (and maybe Rooster, though I think he was never called up).
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 15:12
|
|
|
ZCKaiser posted:More interesting to me is Snake's line about who he'd trust. Why Rooster, Mouse, Pig, and Sheep? What connects them (or excludes them) such that they'd be the only person Snake would trust at his back with a weapon? It's obviously not skill with said weapon, and involvement with the trial should exclude Sheep (and maybe Rooster, though I think he was never called up). I was thinking about that line too, and I think it ties in to how close they are to the heart of the blackmailer conspiracy. Let's consider who wasn't on that list, who is also still alive: Monkey, Bunny, Tiger, Ox. Of those, Bunny is a corrupt cop and Monkey was suspiciously freed rather than killed at the end of her route (and while that is meta-knowledge the reasons behind it might not be). What this tells me is that Snake thinks Ox and Tiger are on that sort of level of suspect. It was already mentioned that Ox's prosecutor office received money, and had a business deal with Tiger so I think there are good chances that both of them are very close to the heart of things. Perhaps Snake is thinking along the same lines as I was before about the game being a plot to clean up loose ends, which would fit well on this route with Horse going on a rampage, and would not want to put his life in the hands of someone who is more likely to be in on said plot. Compared to those, Rooster just wants revenge, Pig is a hack journalist but did the right thing in the end and dig up a lot of dirt, Sheep didn't seem that close to things based on her route, and Mouse seems unconnected entirely except via her father.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 15:51
|
|
|
 [BGM: Rat's Awakening]  Paranoia and desperation were rampant within my brain. I went up the stairs and ran down the third floor hallway. Eventually, I found the group. Explaining what had happened to them did not calm things down.   We're gonna die, we're gonna die! Is there anything we can do? Any way at all to stop him?! As a matter of fact, I believe we are not completely without options yet.She held out the dual pistols. We weren't completely out of weapons. So what should we do with them? I don't know. Put them to good use.With that, Monkey started to walk away from us. Wait! Where are you going? I am aware of my strengths well enough to know that I'd be of no use here. I'm also aware of my mental state enough to know that if I see anyone die with my own eyes, I'll likely be scarred, experiencing trauma that would take years and years to heal from. A therapist can't exactly be scarred, no? So, for my livelihood and life, I shall flee. ...Also, the round is nearing its end, we all need to input our moves once more. Hey, wait up! That sounds like a bunch of cowardly talk to justify running and hiding! Actually, I think Monkey's plan sounds pretty cool. I'm a lover, not a fighter. Know that my winning spirit is with you. Cheers.Rooster started to speedwalk away. Hey, cut it out! You're really just going to hide? How do you even know that's going to work? Don't worry, I'm sure it will. After all, I've been invisible to casting directors for years!  Ha ha ha. Ha. Cretins.[BGM: Silence]  Can we just hide and let others deal with Horse? Because if that's the case I want to do that as well.Pig ran along down the hallway. We can't split up like this!Ox started chasing those three down, shouting at them not to flee. Ironically, in trying to bring the group together, Ox also split off from the group. The only ones left were myself, Sheep. Tiger, and Bunny. The situation had only gotten grimmer and grimmer. We briefly split up so we could press the RUN buttons on our tablets without being executed. I half-expected the others to be gone when I returned. They weren't. But Ox, Pig, Rooster, and Monkey still were. [BGM: Bullfighter]   ...We're in trouble, aren't we? Screw that! You think just because others have failed, I will too? I am an Abadi, unbreakable spirit, Olympian champion, record breaker in all things! I will have a life worth two hundred of itself! If some bodybuilder homicidal douchebag thinks he'll be the end of me, he's got another thing coming! Jeez... I guess if you're that serious, I need to get into shape too, right? Fine then. Let's get serious. But what can we do that hasn't been tried already? We're going to do what the others haven't: be smart. Let's try and think about this rationally. Mouse, you said that when Horse puts on that skull mask, he starts to act like a different person? A wild one, obsessed with fighting? Yeah, seems to be. God, that's really dumb. But if it's true, we can use it to our advantage. If we stay in the third floor hallway for long enough, eventually he'll find us. That's when you, Tiger, should challenge the “masked him” to a fight without weapons. A fight without weapons? If it's really like a different person when he's wearing the mask, he might agree to it. Mouse's description painted him as an honor-bound warrior nutcase who might go for it. And Tiger, you're also dumb enough for it to be believable that you'd lay down this challenge. Point is, we're gonna hope, and I stress hope that Horse goes for that.  So it's gonna be up to me to take him down in a one-on-one fight? God no. You might be strong, but just physically speaking Horse is stronger. You don't know how strong I really am! No, but I can guess. And either way, it's also clear that Horse has more fighting experience, which honestly matters more in the long run. So if you're not relying on Tiger to win, what's the plan? I'll be hiding in a closet further down the hallway Tiger will wait at. Once the fight starts, I'll pop out wielding the dual pistols and take him by surprise. Unlike a lot of you, I actually know how to use guns like this. For a big brute like that, I won't miss. And in a hallway like that, he'll have nowhere to hide. It'll be an execution. Sounds good, but what if Horse refuses and decides to shoot her? If he's smart, after shooting her he'll walk to check her body. When he leans down over her, he'll be wide open. What?! Your plan is to sacrifice Tiger to kill Horse?! At this point, losing one more to save the other seven is worth it, especially if that one was going to die anyways. Tiger, are you okay with this? If that's what it takes... then you all will just need to live my 200 lives for me! I've probably got 80 done by now, so divide the remaining 120 amongst yourselves. Which means for each of you, um, that's like... 20 lives a piece? What? Besides, it won't come to that. I won't die! If I know Horse, he's gonna honor my one on one fight. And then I'm gonna win! No, you're going to let me pop out and shoot him to death. I could take him! We've established that you could not. But lying about having a no-weapons, one on one duel, then shooting from behind- isn't that a total dick move? You know what's also a dick move? Deciding to massacre 11 innocent people to save your own rear end. I guess. Still, it doesn't sit right with me. Well you'll just have to find some way to deal with it. As for the two of you, Sheep and Mouse, I hate to say it but I think you're just going to be burdens on this whole operation more than anything. A burden?[68-10]  You two can wait nearby in the computer lab. That way, you can watch how the whole thing goes, maybe step in if need be, run away if it really goes south. Though, if this, our fourth plan, still doesn't work, I think we're all just dead. So... sound like a plan? I guess. Yeah. Alright, let's do this!It would be a stretch to say I was feeling good about this. In truth, I was feeling very, very bad about this. But what else were we going to do? This was the plan now. We headed over to the computer lab to wait and watch. Not much else to do, after all. [BGM: Silence]  Do you think this will work? I feel like I've asked and answered that so many times now. At this point, it better work. That's not a very confidence-inspiring answer. Inspire your own confidence. How? If I told you, then it wouldn't be you doing the inspiring, now would it?Sheep fell silent. I felt a little bad about getting snippy with her, but not that bad. There were a lot of other things I was feeling worse about.  Eventually, I heard noises. I leaned out to sneak a peek at what was happening, and sure enough, Horse was there. And by the look of things, he had indeed been lured into a one-on-one fight. His weapons were thrown to the floor and his skull mask was on. You sure you want to do it like this? It'll be a lot of fun for me, a lot of pain for you. Ha! More like, it'll be the other way around with you being the one who gets the pain! Let's do this!![BGM: Rabid Rabbit]  Tiger started charging at Horse, but Horse leaped over to the side and toppled a nearby trophy closet. He sent it crashing down, blocking the closet door. ...Blocking the closet door Bunny was hiding in. Why? How? How the gently caress?! Huh? What's wrong? Nervous that your friend isn't gonna be able to give you backup now? It was you who made this a one versus one, right? There's no way ! How could you have known that was our plan?! Easy. I could hear him breathing. You... heard him breathing? My ears are very finely tuned. Although, I was listening for it- after all, at this point I didn't buy for a minute that you didn't have something up your sleeve. Should've laid your trap better. Now there's no way he's gonna be able to end the fight that easily. I wouldn't be so sure about that! Tiger once again rushed at Horse, for once catching him by surprise. She pinned him against the blocked off door, holding both his arms down to either side of the wall. Now, Bunny! Fire through the door!It must've taken Bunny a second to realize what she meant by this, because there was a pause before bullets started whizzing through. Horse, however, realized what this meant instantly, and made to escape by headbutting Tiger and rushing away. In the past, this sort of evasive tactic would have resulted in Horse making a clean escape, right before he would turn around and kill his attackers. Not this time. Horse was hit in the side by the very first bullet. It wasn't anything crucial, but it clearly weakened him. As Horse gripped his side, Tiger grabbed onto the trophy case blocking the door and shoved it aside. The sound of the heavy closet moving away was enough to notify Bunny that he could now kick the door open. Finish him! Die, you gently caress! Bunny started firing both pistols at Horse. Before the first bullet was shot, Horse had already leaped up and at Bunny. The bulky man somehow jumped with the height of a gymnast. Yet even he wasn't able to fully get out of the way of the barrage. Two bullets hit his left leg, blood splattering onto the ground. In Horse's mind, this might've been a small price to pay. After all, with the jump he was able to get right up to Bunny. In a clean sweep he grabbed onto both of Bunny's hands. He squeezed so hard I could hear the bones breaking from down the hall. Bunny cried out in pain and dropped both pistols. Horse then swung the smaller man like he was nothing more than a prop, tossing him down the hall. Bunny limply skidded across the hallway. Horse looked as though he meant to finish Bunny off, but Tiger wasn't having that. She kicked right at Horse's head. Again, normally Horse should've been able to dodge that sort of strike, but instead the blow solidly landed with a nasty THUNK. I wasn't sure if Tiger was particularly speedy, matching Horse's reflexes, or if Horse was simply starting to feel fatigue. Either way, the attack on Horse did nothing but make him an enraged punching machine.  Left hook, right hook, left straight, right straight. Horse unleashed a barrage of powerful fists at Tiger, each punch powerful enough to crack stone. But Tiger kept pace, blocking and dodging each and every one. And while Tiger was being pushed back, Bunny was starting to recover. He slowly got to his feet, reached down, and picked up one of the pistols. He tried to aim at Horse, but the two combatants were fighting too fast, and Tiger was squarely in the way. What's the matter, Bunny? Why not shoot me? … Oh wait, you can't! Nearly forgot. Oh yeah?With that, Bunny aimed his gun and...  He shot right through Tiger! He shot her right through the stomach! What the hell?! But, in theory, this might've been a worthy sacrifice. Horse's sight was blocked by Tiger, so he shouldn't have been able to see the oncoming bullet. ...And yet, some how, when the bullet came barrelling through Tiger's chest, it did not hit Horse, but rather, the dagger he held in front of him. The gently caress? Sure, the flat side of the dagger was rather wise, but still, to use something that small to block a bullet you couldn't see coming... Then, Horse wound up his arm, like he was a pitcher. Right as Tiger fell to one knee from the bullet wound, he let his dagger fly forwards, right at Bunny. It struck him right in the throat, and immediately Bunny started to clutch at his neck and painfully choke. Tiger, to her credit, refused to go down from one bullet wound. But as she determinedly stayed on one knee, trying to get up, Horse put his hands together and struck down with killing intent. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, even though I had seen it so many times.  Under impossible circumstances, Horse still managed to turn the tables and kill his attackers. He couldn't be beat. He was unstoppable. He was inevitable. He could do nothing, would do nothing except kill. He'd murder each and every last one of us. We were going to die. There was nothing we could do. Death was inevitable- [BGM: Silence]  Mouse! Snap out of it!Sheep tugged hard on my sleeve, trying to stop me from just blankly staring at the carnage. We've got to run and get out of here before Horse finishes with that! Again? What's the point...! Mouse, I don't have time for this! She closed her eyes and raised her hand. It shook in the air, and then came right at my face. Sheep, in a moment of desperation, slapped me. S-sorry! I know, I'm horrible, I just- No, no... I, uh, I needed that. You're right. Let's get out of here.My heart was still at the bottom of my stomach, but wallowing in that would certainly lead to death. Running still might not. In this race, I was the mouse. No, I was the rat. And I would survive by fleeing like one. That's all I could do.
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 22:48
|
|
|
Man, didn't know the Horse's secret is that he's basically Jason.
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 23:49
|
|
|
Well that went about as well as expected. So at this point horse has killed what 5 people? So that's a 15 space turn. So that's half the board right there. And it's been what? 2 rounds since he did his heel turn? So if he galloped twice that's another 6 for 21/32 spaces since the reveal. So if they don't stop horse they have at best 3 or so rounds to win before he does.
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 23:57
|
|
|
Ok, so who's left? Monkey, Rooster, Sheep, Pig, Ox and Mouse? Welp. They're practically out of options when it comes to physical confrontations. Time to use your brains to outwit Horse!
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2023 00:27
|
|
|
Mix. posted:Horse looked as though he meant to finish Bunny off, but Tiger wasn't having that. She kicked right at Horse's head. Again, normally Horse should've been able to dodge that sort of strike, but instead the blow solidly landed with a nasty THUNK. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2023 02:01
|
|
|
See? The 2v1 worked out pretty well this time! I think they could have managed to force Horse to negotiate. Something along the lines of "if you attack us, we'll Rooster boost and Monkey" someone to the end. It might be too late for that now though. Depending on tablet / trinket collection, Horse could make his way to the end without attacking anyone else.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2023 02:58
|
|
|
Okay the fact that Sheep is here means I think she's gotta be instrumental in breaking whatever comes over Horse with the mask. Anyway I dunno, the Useless Trio aren't here (seriously, Monkey/Pig/Rooster have good survival rates just because they're so useless in a fight and aren't worth killing half the time that they keep out of danger), so it feels like the confrontation has to come to an end sooner rather than later, the only other person who looks remotely fit left is Ox.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2023 06:20
|
|
|
I don't understand how 'dual pistols' are a weapon. It's two pistols, even if they're identical. Just... arm two people instead of only Bunny. Yes, Bunny, it's very cool that you know how to shoot with one in each hand, but I feel like against someone like Horse accuracy and fundamentals are probably the better move.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2023 06:57
|
|
|
There's a lot of stuff in specific routes that strains credulity (Pig's super magic chemicals and shift from useless to a murder machine, Snake's whole ability to think up how to set up the locked room stuff in a few minutes with no glaring flaws, Monkey's ability to basically mind control people, etc.), but good lord does Horse's route go above and beyond. He has a hell of a lot of plot armor, from the bullet lodging itself in the barrel of the gun, to being able to shrug off multiple gunshot wounds and blows to the head, to somehow deliberately blocking a shot that went through someone else that was not only blocking his line of sight, but their body would have altered the trajectory of the bullet. The author really should have reined in some of the extreme bullshit that happens here and kept the fights significantly more grounded.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2023 07:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 22:42 |
|
|
bewilderment posted:I don't understand how 'dual pistols' are a weapon. I was thinking this too. It's just so... video gamey.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2023 07:52
|
|
