Dying Like Animals/Analysis: Difference between revisions

* '''[[While Rome Burns|Butterflies]]:''' ''"Let's live like there's no tomorrow!"'' These party animals refuse to take action in the face of imminent disaster, preferring to keep playing around [[While Rome Burns]]. Having abandoned the notion of self-preservation, Butterflies resolve to enjoy the fun while they're still alive and kicking.

* '''[[Stupid Evil|Crows]]:''' ''"All shall perish!"'' Crows are [[Obviously Evil]] types and see the new threat as just making their jobs easier, but are too short-sighted to see it also means their eventual downfall. They don't ever realize that if all the good guys are defeated, there will no longer be a fresh supply of carcasses for them to prey on. They'll be the type to pollute the water supply just to kill off those pesky heroes without considering where ''they'll'' be getting a drink from.

* '''[[Apathetic Citizens|Mice]]:''' ''"They're too powerful. We may as well give up."'' Mice are downers, often discouraging the hero from even trying to resist the [[Big Bad]] for fear of angering them. Occasionally this because they're also [[Suicidal Pacifism|Suicidal Pacifists]] who abhor violence-- even in self-defense! You can expect mice to be [[The Quisling|snitches]] for [[The Empire]].

* '''[[Hidden Elf Village|Ostriches]]:''' ''"If we hide/stay out of it, nothing bad will happen... at least, not to us."'' Ostriches know there's a problem and that no large group is responding to it, but they believe that [[Just Ignore It|ignoring it]] will make it go away. Yeah, tell that to the [[Zombie Apocalypse|zombie of old Mrs. Withers.]] Comes from the old tale that Ostriches hide their heads in the sand, thinking that if they can't see the danger, it doesn't exist.<ref>In reality, ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand. They do lay their heads and necks on sand-colored ground for camouflage: this makes them look like a small earthen mound to predators. So it's less about ignoring danger than making danger ignore them.</ref>

 

'''{{smallcaps| Self Destructive}}'''

* '''[[Leeroy Jenkins|Boars]]:''' ''"Come on, guys, '''we''' can take 'em! Let's get out the [[Torches and Pitchforks]] and we'll finish them off in a matter of minutes!"'' These are the brave, foolhardy souls who ''insist'' on [[Martyr Without a Cause|sacrificing themselves]] for the greater good, even when they don't actually ''[[Senseless Sacrifice|need]]'' to, much less help. Their courage may be admirable, but it usually causes them to get in the way of the ''competent'' heroes. Not to mention that it's hard to think rationally about how to defeat a [[Big Bad]] when you have an army of Boars squealing for his blood. Worse still is when the [[Zombie Apocalypse]] kills off the entire army and promptly turns all of them against the heroes as well.

* '''[[Dirty Coward|Chickens]]:''' ''"Let's get out of here before it's too late!"'' Chickens' reaction to the mounting disaster is to try to put as much distance between them and it as they can. Chickens are often as selfish as Wolves, concerned only with their own safety and not with helping others escape. Their escape attempts might fail disastrously, and if they ''do'' reach their intended destination, they might find that the disaster got there first. Comes from the slang term "chicken" for a cowardly person.

* '''[[Zombie Infectee|Rats]]:''' ''"I'm not sick! It'll all be okay if I keep quiet."'' They know they're sick (though they ''really'' don't want to admit it to ''themselves'', let alone anyone else). They know they'll die and infect or kill their friends if they don't go away or bite the bullet. But they stay quiet and doom them all. Rats make [[The Virus]]'s work easier by acting as plague carriers, much like rats and fleas during The Black Death in Europe.

* '''[[Disaster Scavengers|Vultures]]:''' ''"These are ''my'' corpses to loot! Get your own!"'' Vultures are a more passive form of Wolf. They're less of a physical threat, but will steal anything that isn't nailed down or on fire (and they steal crowbars and fire extinguishers for the things that are), hampering [[The Drifter]] and other heroes by stealing his kit when he comes to help. Interestingly, vultures make for pretty good [[Sidekick|Side Kicks]] and [[Morality Pet|Morality Pets]], since one will inevitably be befriended by the hero after being caught stealing. Comes from traditional portrayals of scavengers like Vultures.