How effective are firearms against hoofbuns actually? From what's been described, seems like rifles are enough, but are they the minimum, or do pistols work just as well?

It depends on a few factors, the main one being their level of power. Flopsy's (and by extension, RH-01's) enhancements are kind of like muscles: the more they're used, the better they get. The lowest-caliber pistol might not pierce Flopsy's skin anymore, but Malik was able to shoot her in the shoulder just fine with a basic pistol. Mind you, I'm also no firearms expert...

Another factor is their mental state. Catching one with their guard down makes it much easier to deal damage. One that's psyched up for combat, prepared for injury, tensed up, that kind of thing? They're more likely to be able to shrug off a blow.

Other hoofbuns? Who knows what enhancements they might be made with? An un-enhanced one would be just like any other living being. One who was made with super speed in mind could potentially dodge away, making it difficult to land a blow, but be just as harmed by a blow that did land as anyone else. One with durability as a primary enhancement (Flopsy's primary was Strength, with Resilience being a secondary, and Healing being a secondary/tertiary) would grow to being bulletproof sooner than others.

Of course, there aren't any in canon, but I love the idea of other hoofbuns having enhancements that align with their chosen breeds, like racing breeds having their speed enhanced, or long-haul ones enhancing resilience, or show horses enhancing dexterity/balance/similar things. ...If only people would actually MAKE their own hoofbuns... ~_~

(Well, one person's been working on their own. I might even slip in a bit in an upcoming chapter to let their character be "semi-canon", if not fully canon... ^_^ )

So they're a Captain America style of super soldier then? Very strong, very fast, but likely improved even further with Kevlar or some other type of body armour?

Could hoofbuns themselves use guns actually? My own rabbit characters explicitly can't, the noises guns make overwhelm their sensitive hearing, enough to sometimes even damage it, so they're stuck with crossbows at best. However, genetically tweaked clones are different from cursed humans, so if those military guys wanted their hoofbuns to use firearms, they could probably just crank up the durability of the eardrums right?

Flopsy's (and thus RH-01's and any hoofbun that also has this trait) paws have digits too thick for a trigger guard, so not really. Plus, gunfire would be incredibly painful for either of them, but the damage will heal fairly quickly. (Which just means it'll be just as painful every time.)

Flopsy could try to use a gun, hooking a claw in and using that to pull the trigger, but it wouldn't go well. And in human form, she could use it, but her hearing and other senses are still "above human" so she'd still find it highly unpleasant.

And probably pretty traumatizing. Even RH-01, who hadn't killed yet, would not have been happy after her first kill. She talked tough, but she never actually killed anyone. When threatening civilians, she would bluff and make excuses like "Tch, you're not worth my time!" or "Bah, killing you would just make a mess of my fur!" or "Ugh, it would get in the way of The Mission to deal with the paperwork." (At Denver, she didn't expect the ceiling to start coming down, she was just trying to show off strength by busting columns. She was actually rather relieved to hear nobody got hurt, even if she was mad at "Rune" and the others for making her look bad, and Flaeli freakin' hurts, man!)

Well in that case, if magic can't exactly work for the clones, there's always Bows and arrows, those are still used nowadays, and even have collapsible modern variants. It works for me mutant characters at least.

RH-01 always used her strength to breeze through training, never really taking it seriously. That's why she fought with a sort of "brawler/boxer" style, but wild and uncontrolled. Had she been taught magic, she could've started learning it. Flopsy was always kick-focused because her initial training just leaned into her strengths, while her training on Earth has been with a martial arts sensei who teaches Shotokan Karate.

Flopsy's used a little magic, she just really doesn't like using it because it feels too much like "replacing" her Master. Magic was always "his thing", she was the muscle. Flopsy used Flaeli initially, and then made the spell she'd created in that moment of panic (cribbing from a buried memory of a video game) into a bracelet. She could use it again, if she had to, and has done the whole "fire in a hand" trick to prove magic is real to Falk/Reid. RH-01 had a soul that was "grown" from a "splinter" of her own, like taking a cutting of a tree and growing it into a new plant, so she would've had access to magic as well. She's just untrained.

As far as weaponry, they could use crossbows just fine, but I feel like they'd probably feel like it's a little silly. They could probably just grab something and throw it instead. A bow would have to be specially made with an insane draw strength, and use special ammunition that can withstand being firing, to be really worth either of them wanting to bother messing with. Both of them would probably feel more comfortable with some kind of melee weapon, like a large club or axe or hammer.

Any other hoofbun would be their own person, with their own preferences. I highly doubt one could be magically null like the way most people on Earth are, so magic would be an option, it's just a question of how much training it would take. (Even the "magically null" people of Earth could theoretically learn magic, it just would probably take more training than any of them would be willing to invest to even begin taking their first steps.)

And yeah, some form of body armor probably could help. Flopsy can't stand wearing stuff over fur, it itches like mad and she feels like it would make her look silly. She's got some of her enhancements in human form, but a lot of the energy powering them is diverted to the form itself. (And some of the strength loss is due to the enhancement basically working as a multiplier, and her physical muscle is decreased a little.)

RH-01 learned to tolerate clothing, but anything as restrictive as body armor probably would've been a no-go without a lot of practice.

Even something like a Kevlar vest, or loose metal cuirass?

If one had practiced with it and gotten used to it, it probably would've been fine. RH-01 was fine with clothing, because she was told to wear it from the start, and got used to it. If they'd had her wear a vest or a breastplate every day, she'd have gotten used to it and been fine with it. Flopsy's been of a mindset of "Why would I wear clothes? Do you want to dress up your farm horses? Do you put clothes on the plow?" since she's always seen herself as somewhere on the level of livestock or equipment. RH-01 would've balked at a vest early on, but if they'd forced her to wear it with a direct order, she would've dealt with it until it stopped bothering her so much. Both valued mobility, though, so something like full armor would've been a pretty hard sell.

(Flopsy would be more likely to try to find some sort of item enchanted with protection magic, honestly. Might pester Locke about it.)

Well, I didn’t expect that hoofbun to die. Not that I’d even remotely believe she’d die like that, even if you hadn’t told me about your plans for her. Unless it’s an instant kill, they aren’t dead, is the way I view deaths in stories, along with show me the body or they aren’t dead. Speaking of, let me guess, the gang catch wind of this, go to the place, and find the blood but no RH-1? (Or they do find her and heal her back up, giving her a taste of kindness if you want to go the other way)

And Samantha needs to calm herself, she’s a Karen already. I’m surprised her boyfriend (who’s name I forget at the moment) chooses to stay with her

I do feel bad for Foxtrot though, he clearly didn’t want to be the one sending the message. Echo though I feel is gonna get the Malik treatment in the near future, from either from one or both hoofbuns

I am curious what’s going on with Anastasia though. Is she slowly becoming her alter ego? Oh, wait, you already have one character slowly being changed into another form and dealing with the consequences of that. Never mind

Foxtrot didn't mind sending the message, he was just expecting to be able to talk directly. It's the "send the message with subtlety" that he didn't like. (Of course, he didn't know he could've been candid with Lydia, but it's not like he could just say, "Oh, hey, did you know the other girl is The Superbunny? No? Oh, well, nevermind then, forget I said anything.")

Samantha will probably chill out eventually. She's only sixteen. And if they break up, they'd no longer be Darrin and Samantha, and it'd destroy the old sitcom reference.

Anastasia is... Hm. You know, I'm not 100% sure what's happening right now? I think on her current course, she'd eventually gain the ability to shift forms without the collar. But it'd probably be years of use to get to the point where she could power and sustain that change. Of course, that assumes nothing happens to alter that course... ^_~

I did end up liking this one too. I especially liked Flopsies growth with learning to see herself as a person instead of the mere construct she saw herself as.

Regarding this chapter specifically, woof, quite a cliffhanger to end on, poor Flopsy. I do trust her and her friends abilities to get her out of it though, i do have some ideas how it could go. Her just sending the restraints to her nowhere seems possible, but i think she'll keep that ace up her sleeve for at least a bit as the people with guns in that van would make that kind of move to risky for now. I have a feeling RH-01 isn't quite dead yet, and will have to rethink her priorities, now that she has seen that all defeating the Superbun has gotten her is shot. Probably gonna reluctantly team up with Flopsy, leading to redemption arc which i think has been forshadowed at some points, like Flopsy discussing the possibility with her therapist.

I really wish I could get better enough to be able to write. My health has been declining, and getting faster. I do have an appointment to be put on a new medication, an immune suppressant like I used to be on, at least. They stopped the one I was on nearly two years ago, and it was apparently on me to recognize I was a frog in a boiling pot as the subtle decline got worse and worse. And then I had to fight a pain clinic that was doing half-doses of things for a year, because of reasons I've never been given. I'd been fighting Neurology for about three months now, and they kept pushing the goalposts back and delaying...

I'm scared of what's going to happen in this coming month. The infusion of the immune suppressant isn't scheduled until February, which means it might be too late. I would hate to have to drop a document that basically outlines what plans I had, instead of getting to improve to where I can post regularly again. Even if not the "two or three chapters a week" pace I used to maintain.