I later received a tip to use a proxy, and I've used a proxy to visit the site needing it. I changed proxies to an overall-better one down the line, but annoyingly enough, that proxy isn't working for me today, meaning to do mafia stuff (since it's the mafia site I need it for), I require that inferior proxy. Which simply isn't worth the pain. I checked in and that'll be likely all I do today, while I wait for my PREFERRED proxy to get back up and running.
On another note, the soreness in my body is, TODAY, feeling mostly gone...except in my left arm/shoulder, where I definitely feel like I might have done some sort of damage last week, so I'm probably not going to get a workout done today. Which means I have free time that I'll likely waste doing nothing!
...But as long as we're here, might as well talk about my (chronologically) last blog post a little bit more, the story idea about vampires-werewolves-zombies. I basically laid out all the details of base-zombies (I didn't cover mutated zombies), but I didn't go into detail about vampires or werewolves. So I thought I might as well:
Vampires are powered by the night, and lose their power during the day, thanks to the sunlight--which they're free to move around in. They maintain minor hypnotic abilities, able to briefly trick a person, yet this will wear off quickly. (It also does not work on werewolves or zombies.) They're not superhumanly fast nor strong nor durable during this time as well, but they are at peak human levels, meaning they're still capable of putting up a decent fight. They also maintain superhuman hearing, though they lack superhuman sight.
Now, during the night, this is a different story. Vampires have such strong hypnotic abilities that they are essentially masters of illusion: this is where ideas of them turning into mist, bats, rats, and so on and so forth come from: the vampire isn't actually transforming, but like any good stage-trick magician, makes you believe they have. With training, you can gain resistance to this, but you are never fully immune to it. Werewolves and zombies aren't immune, either, though they hold resistance to it as well. It should be noted this hypnosis is useful for more than just illusions; it can bend humans to their will. This (combined with illusions to enhance their appearance) is how they draw in their victims, and erase their memory of the encounter after dining.
(Vampires, when feeding, are capable of sucking out the blood without their saliva entering into the bloodstream of their victim. They do apply just enough saliva to heal up the wound as to prevent their victim from bleeding out/getting a normal infection, yet it is in such a small quantity that the victim will not be infected by the vampire virus. However, there is the risk that the victim will either build up a resistance to the vampire virus or build up a surplus of it, making them immune to turning or triggering a turn, but this can only occur if the victim suffers from frequent feedings, thus, why vampires typically do not go to the same human twice. The risk of accidents is also why many modern vampires prefer not to use their fangs to feed, either relying on blood banks or using instruments to leave an open wound they suck from. Or they simply drain it all and kill the human, if they're a particularly brutal vampire.)
Their illusionary abilities are enhanced by the fact that they possess superhumanly-fast speed: when a vampire runs at full speed, humans can only see a blur of movement. Add in an about-equal level of superhuman strength, and vampires are a force to be reckoned with during the night...especially since they hold superhuman sight as well, having perfect clarity and able to see much further. It's during the day when they are little more than humans that they are vulnerable. A third weakness is that vampires do require rest, and like any being, you are at your most vulnerable when sleeping, which for them takes 2-4 hours of a day, which they typically take some time during the day.
They don't need to sleep in a coffin with ground from their native land, by the way. They have, however, developed a habit of sleeping in obscure locations, as to help prevent finding them. They also prefer cooler beds, since they are not fond of heat. (It doesn't have any adverse effects on them; they simply don't like it.)
Werewolves are similarly limited during the day: they're superhumanly strong, and maintain their superhuman sense of smell, yet lack their superhuman sense of touch and sight. They cannot transform in daylight, either, to gain access to the full array of abilities a wolf possesses. Their enhanced speed is gone, meaning they're only at about average human speeds. (Vampires can outrun them during the day, albeit only just.) They also lack any mental link to other werewolves, and thus, must communicate using human methods. (That is, cell phones.) Which is one thing that pack wolves do plenty of. (Keep in mind, the factions are at war. Though lone wolves might do hunting, the majority of werewolves belong to packs, and the majority of packs actively hunt their prey down to kill them.)
During the night, though, this is different. Their superhuman strength even untransformed is raised to vampiric levels (with it being noticeably below vampiric-night-levels during the day), and they gain superhuman speed that allows them to move at about half the speed of a vampire. They gain superhuman instincts, though, allowing them to almost-predict the movements of others, be them friend or foe.
This, all before transforming. When transformed, they are twice as strong as a vampire. They're not quite as fast as a vampire, but their regeneration is elevated to above-vampiric levels, giving them higher endurance. They have perfect night vision, hear everything, smell everything, and feel everything. They establish a bit of a mental link with other wolves, too: they're capable of communicating basic thoughts to one another, allowing for instantaneous coordination.
These abilities are magnified to be twice as strong during full moons, in which a werewolf is basically an unstoppable killing machine. (However, note that werewolves lose all control during the full moon, meaning they operate purely on instinct. Their natural instinct will generally follow their trends as a human outside of the full moon, but not necessarily if there are things they're forcing themselves to suppress. Thus, a hunter werewolf might continue hunting. A peaceful werewolf might spend the night simply wandering around having fun. But an otherwise-peaceful werewolf who is feeling stressed during the day might 'let it out' and suddenly become a hunter.)
Overall, it can be said that in a wolf-vampire fight, on a night other than the full moon, the vampire is more likely to win, but it's only a 55/45 divide. (The vampire's speed and illusion advantage give them slightly more opportunities to land lethal strikes. Also, these stats become 65/35 if the wolf can't transform, which they often cannot in a city environment.) In a wolves-vampire fight, the wolves are more likely to win. (Again, they hunt in packs for a reason.) HOWEVER, in a wolves-vampires fight, the results are widely dependent on the vampiric force's organization: if they're trained soldiers, 75/25 vampire/wolves. If they're average vampires banded together, 55/45 wolves/vampires. (Wolf packs hold better natural coordination, even though each individual vampire is capable of more.) In any case, a full-on brawl between vampires and werewolves is an absolute bloodbath, and both sides take heavy casualties each time they clash.
This is one reason why hit-and-run tactics are preferred for both sides (but particularly wolves): they know that attacking smaller forces and retreating before they have had a chance to counter is the best way to save the lives of their own troops.
You might notice this leaves out zombies. The above are the dynamics that have been in place for hundreds of years. Zombies generally prefer to attack during the day, since they know that both wolves and vamps are at their weakest during the day. However, when forced into a night conflict, the zombies use mutated zombies as hit-and-run attackers, while their unmutated brethren provide cover.
Most mutated zombies operate at about twice peak human condition, so fast, but not as fast as vampires or werewolves. The mutated zombies that don't go that fast make up for it in raw power, being at about transformed-wolf-levels. (Think like a tank in L4D.) They're still fast, though! (Think sort-of like Juggernaut: get momentum going, and nothing can stop him as he plows through obstacles.) In general, it depends on the abilities of a mutated zombie. Mutations can manifest in virtually any form. (Think a combination of L4D and Resident Evil in the variance they create. It can be as simple as bladed hands to as complex as tentacles grabbing someone.)
The result of zombies swarming individual vampires or werewolves are not hard to predict: the zombies will probably lose some of their walkers/runners, but take down the vampire/wolf with minimal casualties all things considered. (Something like 3%.) However, if the zombies are facing off against a whole group, the fight is going to be much, much higher in casualties, thus, why they typically avoid it. A werewolf-zombie brawl will have the wolves shredding walkers, though runners provide more of a challenge. If the strike isn't coordinated, assuming the zombies have the required numbers to win, they'll lose about 80% of their walkers, 60% of their runners, and 40% of their mutated zombies. A vampire-zombie brawl inversely has the vampires shred runners, while having difficulty dealing with walkers. The results end up at being around the same 80/60/40 divide assuming an untrained group of vampires; zombies require more than just numbers to beat a trained group of vampires.
Understandably, then, zombies tend to plan out their assaults in advance. While their mutated zombies typically will still dodge in and out of combat, zombie tactics are explicitly not hit-and-run. Rather the opposite, zombies anticipate where their opponents are going to be moving, and set up their zombies to be positioned such as to ambush their opponents in a trap: something set up in advance, which they simply wait to spring. (If there's one advantage zombies have over the other races, it's patience of time. Werewolves are impatient, and vampires tend to regulate their time carefully. Zombies have patience, and have no concern about timing, allowing them to begin plans.)
The result of this is that while vampires/werewolves leave survivors with their planned attacks, zombies usually leave none; wolves and vampires are entirely eliminated by this utter-annihilation-inducing tactic. The disadvantage, though, is that while vampires/werewolves using hit-and-run usually sustain no casualties, zombies will sustain casualties no matter what: about 20% of their weaker force (runners against vampires, walkers against werewolves), 10% of their stronger force (walkers-vampires; runners-werewolves), and 5% of their mutated zombies.
This is why the masquerade is beginning to crack: every single battle fought leaves a bloody massacre. Suspension of disbelief carries humanity far, yet they've begun to catch on. Vampires are trying to work their way into the government, though some are trying to work their way into corporations. Zombies are trying to work their way into corporations, though some are trying to work their way into the government. (In both cases, trying to convince them of the benefits their faction could have for humanity. Or in some cases, giving offers to leave humanity.)
Werewolves, being the overall-best at hiding their creature status (albeit only slightly--the monthly transformation mostly negates their advantage over vampires' bloodlust and fair complexion), are mainly focusing on sabotaging the efforts of vampires and zombies, also in part thanks to their own beliefs which I mentioned last time.
It's an all-around ugly situation, but the three are approximately equal: no faction has gained a distinct advantage.
...As for the weaknesses of vampires/werewolves, like the logistics of zombies, I haven't quite worked out that aspect of them. For the time being, just know that the most common kill method used on all three is to separate head from body; it kills vampires, it kills werewolves, and it kills all but the most mutated of zombies. (And if facing a mutated zombie that it doesn't kill, well, there's only so many places that the body can continue functioning from, so removing the heart--the most common hiding spot--is a good guess. If that doesn't do the trick, burning the zombie to a crisp is recommended. Keep in mind, though, less than 8% of mutated zombies have this adaptation, and those that do typically show signs of it, like their head not moving in the normal zombie way.)
...Yep. I just wasted about an hour or two rambling here.