#the exact reason that Missile is THE BEST is a spoiler but like
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pigeon-wizard · 3 months ago
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it's a tad sad that Missile Ghost Trick is the number one video game dog of all time with no exceptions because Dozy fields of mistria is SUCH a good boy, but it hard to think of anything that can live up to Missile Ghost Trick
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wyllzel · 9 months ago
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A Brief Honor Mode Reflection 🎆
Hello!! Now that I've beaten BG3's HM (on Patch 6, Hotfix 19), I am here to share my builds (and a mini retrospective). 🥳👋
My team relied on stealth, a few instances of barrelmancy, and some amoral choices... 😔 But we did not use any illithid powers!
I did not have a main party and instead swapped characters out depending on the situation. I did my best to remember how combat encounters played out, and prepared accordingly! If I was really worried about an encounter, I tried to follow these awesome guide videos from YouTuber neek. 😁
(Possible spoilers ahead!)
Party Builds
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The party that I brought to the final battle against the Netherbrain! A lot of white hair, lol.
Unfortunately, I don't remember my party's exact stats and I can't go into an old save to find them (haha) so I'll do my best to remember their key traits/items here.
All of my party members took the Alert Feat at Level 8! I consider this feat key, if not necessary, to winning Honor Mode.
Tav (Asa): 12 Monk, Way of the Open Hand (Drow)
20 STR / 14 DEX / 23 CON / 8 INT / 16 WIS / 10 CHA
Tavern Brawler Feat
Helldusk Armor
Gloves of Soul Catching
Amulet of Greater Health
Haste Helm
Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo
I got Asa to 20 STR by starting her off with 17 STR, using her Level 4 feat to take Tavern Brawler (+1), then pressuring Astarion for Araj Oblodra's potion (+2). (😭)
A Way of the Open Hand Monk is a superb DPR hitter that can also apply handy conditions to bosses, such as Stunned or Prone. It's a popular class with powergamers, and for good reason!! Personally, I really like it because I can pretend to be a wuxia heroine, haha.
Gale: 12 Wizard, Abjuration School
I don't remember his exact stats unfortunately, but I prioritized INT (20), DEX, and CON.
Robe of the Weave
Markoheshkir
Viconia's Walking Fortress
Gloves of Belligerent Skies
Boots of Stormy Clamor
Psychic Spark
Abjuration Wizard can hugely increase your chances at survival with Arcane Ward. My party was basically invincible by the time we reached Level 10, thanks to Gale's Arcane Ward and Shadowheart's Warding Flare!
I had Gale carry the Spellsparkler staff for basically all of Acts 1 and 2. I'm a huge fan, especially when combo-ing it with Magic Missile. 😁
Astarion (Vampire Ascendant): 4 Rogue (Thief) / 6 Ranger (Gloom Stalker) / 2 Fighter
See my build guide for Ascended Astarion! I followed that, but took his last two levels in Fighter rather than sticking with Ranger. Fighter's Action Surge came in handy a few times.
I forewent the Alert Feat on Astarion in favor of an ASI (+2 to DEX). His Initiative was already very high due to Gloom Stalker Ranger's Dread Ambusher.
Alongside my Tav (Asa), Astarion was easily doing the most DPR.
Shadowheart: 12 Cleric, Light Domain
I have a proper build guide in the works 😁 but I highly recommend prioritizing WIS, CON, and DEX if you can!
Amulet of the Devout
Luminous Armor
Luminous Gloves
Boots of Striding
Selûne's Spear of Night
Ketheric's Shield
Callous Glow Ring
Coruscation Ring
This build does highly rely on Radiant Damage, and there are a few enemies who punish you for using Radiant Damage (ie. the Undead Justiciars, Raphael, Viconia) - so be careful about where you're using her and how!
In most cases (especially with Invisible enemies), I had Shadowheart start by dropping a Radiance of the Dawn among clustered enemies. Thanks to her gear, this delivered a mass output of Radiant Damage and Radiating Orbs.
EDIT: Guide completed and posted on March 2, 2024!
Wyll: 12 Warlock, The Fiend, Pact of the Blade
See my build guide for Fiend Bladelock Wyll!
Unfortunately, the gear in the above guide ended up overlapping with other characters :') So instead of being a frontliner in this run, he was largely Eldritch Blasting and acting as the Party Face. As such, I had him in the following:
Potent Robe
Hat of the Sharp Caster
Daredevil Gloves
Envoy's Amulet
Band of the Mystic Scoundrel
Ring of Arcane Synergy
Lae'zel: 12 Paladin, Oath of Vengeance
Lae'zel was sadly kidnapped and killed by Orin. 😞 So her build isn't as complete, but I had her in the following for most of Acts 1 and 2:
Adamantine Splint Armor
Sussur Greatsword ➡️ Soulbreaker Greatsword
Crusher's Ring
Gloves of the Growling Underdog
Like my Tav (Asa) and Astarion, I would bring in Lae'zel when I needed an extra heavy DPR hitter! Paladins are a very powerful class if you don't mind Long Resting often, especially in the early game before you get Extra Attack on martials at Level 5.
Retrospective
To be honest, I'd already beaten the game five times (oops! 🥲) before completing my Honor Run. 😆 So I had a huge leg up just by virtue of remembering which encounters were where, and what was the best way to beat them! IMO, Foreknowledge, Initiative, and Stealth/Surprise are king in Honor Mode.
I also followed some tips that I normally find overly tedious:
Donate gold to traders to get better prices when buying + more gold when selling.
Meticulously collect camp supplies and barrels, especially smokepowder barrels.
Stock up on Invisibility Potions in case you need to Flee a combat.
Stock up on Strength Potions (Hill Giant, Cloud Giant) for your Strength-based builds, so you can prioritize other Ability Scores - particularly in the early game.
Always try to initiate combat with Surprise if you can.
Make good use of Shadowheart's buff spells!! I don't know why I never used Enhance Ability and Calm Emotions before this, haha!
Get two Hirelings through Withers: one Transmutation Wizard and one Cleric. The wizard was our camp alchemist, and the cleric was our camp buffer (Heroes' Feast, Freedom of Movement, upcasted Aid).
I even cut a deal with Philomeen for her Runepowder Vial then entered turn-based mode to kill her before she could flee the scene, thus securing the Runepowder Barrel as well. 😭
Sadly, I very much set aside my moral code for this run. :') Astarion got the extremely, extremely short end of the stick 😞 - and unfortunately, so did Wyll. 😭 I broke his pact with Mizora, but instead of rescuing his father and properly closing out Wyll's companion quest, I skipped the Iron Throne and Wyrmway quests... (I did not like my chances against the Steelwatch and Ansur...)
So, after fully building my party, we ended up briefly allying with Gortash (IYKYK haha) and heading straight for the Brain. Orpheus was our team's Mind Flayer.
The items I brought with me to the final Brain fight include:
4 Elixirs of Psychic Resistance
8 Potions of Flying (though I only ended up using 4)
10 Potions of Invisibility (though I only ended up using 5)
5 scrolls of Globe of Invulnerability (I only used 1, LOL)
10 Potions of Speed (I only used 2)
8 scrolls of Disintegrate ⭐
I will let you figure out what I did with those. 😁 (Unless you'd like to see my full strat, in which case I may post that later!)
Hope this helped anyone who's planning to attempt Honor Mode!! YOU'VE GOT THIS! 👏 Panic is the mindkiller in this version of the game, so just keep a level head, check your inventory before ending your turn, and read the BG3 Wiki (especially when facing bosses), haha - and you'll be a-okay 🥳🎆 !
Best of luck! 🍀✨
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ramblingguy54 · 3 years ago
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Sonic & Tails R: A Love Letter To Miles Tails Prower’s Characterization
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     Warning: This will contain massive spoilers for the short radio play series of Sonic & Tails R. If you haven’t listened to the radio play yet on Youtube, I’d highly recommend any hardcore Sonic fan who hasn’t seen it check it out. It’s one Hell of a treat.
     For as far back as I can remember in my childhood, Tails’ story of trying to step outta Sonic’s shadow has been such a resonating one for myself. Even when I was a much younger kid playing my Dreamcast, during entries like Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, there was some idea lingering about why Tails just stood out more emotionally in his journey to grow beyond depending on Sonic all the time for help. Now here I am a young adult in my late twenties having such a deeper appreciation of this little two tailed genius kiddo because he’s got an important element that’s made him so beloved for good reason.
     In spite of his genius being a rival to that of Eggman’s high IQ and of course proving to surpass it plenty of times when scenarios boil down to being a high stakes battle, Miles Tails Prower beneath it all is still just like any one of us. We’re all trying to find our place in this world about what defines us for who we are as unique people. He wants to be more than just seen as someone who’s alongside Sonic The Hedgehog’s never say die attitude, but prove he’s plenty capable of standing on his own two feet to protect everything the kid holds dear to himself. Underdog stories, when they’re naturally executed very well, can reel me in so easily. They are very much my bread & butter trope I adore seeing.
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     To no one’s surprise, the two Sonic Adventure’s iterations portrayal of Tails’ characterization are hands down some of my favorite writing for the two tailed fox, regarding what the 3D era has done toward him, development wise. It gave him more of an existential struggle to endure like, “What happens when Sonic isn’t around to help stop Eggman? What if I’m not strong enough to accomplish what he can?”, making Tails plight to be seen as an equal all the more endearing when stopping Eggman in his climatic battle against the Egg Walker in Station Square. This here is a great use of a timeless lesson you can apply in life that if you set you heart and mind on anything, there isn’t a thing you can’t accomplish on your own, which is why many fell in love with Sonic Adventure 1 & 2′s writing for Miles Tails Prower’s journey of independence.
     As someone who comes from a large family tree of relatives, I feel the weight of my existence on my shoulders at a number of points more than I’d care to count, admittedly. Seeing Tails struggle with his sense of purpose, in contrast to observing how much Sonic has accomplished with his carefree, yet deeply compassionate attitude, means the world to me in watching another trying to comprehend their value as a whole on how much they matter, overall. This is a big part of why my fondness for SA1 & 2′s quality has never wavered over these years, besides still obviously enjoying most of their game play mechanics. People can try to debate to their heart’s content on whether the Adventure games still hold up in their own eyes, but I’ll always respect them for how they tried to develop certain characters, such as Tails, Gamma, and Shadow The Hedgehog notably, to attempt expanding upon their characters, as well as world building.
     I won’t bother going into a rant about how Sonic’s recent 3D games have butchered Tails’ personality & relatable nature, due to the current writers in charge of handling the cast of characters. More or less, I greatly empathize toward the notion many have already stated about Tails being so cowardly and God forbid, looking at Lost World, downright severely mean spirited. Rather, I’m obviously writing this lengthy post to breakdown why Sonic & Tails R succeeds, where these certain 3D games have greatly faltered in exploring Tails’ emotional dilemmas as an insecure, yet still having the courage to prove himself, talented boy full of hidden potential he doesn’t quite realize, until his back is against the wall in life threatening situations.
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“That day, I realized I couldn’t depend on you forever. Not that I can’t depend on you, but like, “What happens when Sonic isn’t here?”, you know?”
     Sonic & Tails R further delves into this fundamental rule of what has defined Tails in Sonic Adventure 1 & 2′s stories of events where Sonic wasn’t there to aid his best bud in taking down Eggman’s evil efforts for global domination, most importantly his fear of defending the Earth without his role model. Besides what I already stated in SA1′s events in Station where he stopped the Egg Walker, as well as the missile Eggman launched from detonating before their climatic battle, Tails watched Sonic blow up in ARK’s capsule presuming him to be dead after Sonic imparted how much faith he has in the kid’s abilities to be truly strong in the face of any foe. Sonic & Tails R manages to use fan service in a way that doesn’t feel like “pandering” for the sake of it, using this past canon material to do more of an in-depth study about Miles’ anxieties of existing without Sonic.
     Wouldn’t put it past them if EmuEmi & crew were using SA2′s Sonic death fake out scene in that space capsule to further add trauma to Tails’ psychological attachment to Sonic, as well as his insecurities of depending on him too much, to boot. While it’s never obviously outright stated in their radio play, I definitely believe they were factoring this element into adding dramatic exploration for why Tails is so self-conscious about the worst case scenario of permanently losing Sonic. Watching Sonic supposedly die put Tails into a deeper state of self-reflection, so I very much enjoyed how they went using these past events to create a thorough exploration about him learning just as it’s important to realize you need to stand up for yourself without using someone else as a crutch all the time, it’s doubly important to remember there’s nothing wrong about asking someone for help when you’re about to be down and out with little options left.
     Sonic & Tails R beautifully builds upon the foundation these two games’ stories left behind years ago, creating new damn great material to explore with the most iconic characters of this cast, Sonic & Tails brotherly dynamic. I’ve been praising Sonic & Tails R out the wazoo for how well it captured Tails underdog story of overcoming death defying odds, but it managed to remind me how simply adorable and outright wonderfully endearing their brotherly chemistry is as a whole. This is a big friendly reminder Sonic isn’t all about being cocky wise cracking character making meta jokes left and right, but he can be plenty capable of showing serious compassion to anyone he values as an ally and friend. This is no greater evident, than with him verbally lifting Tails up in his time of need when he’s self-depreciating his own significance. It can be seen in Episodes 2, 4, and 7 giving Tails motivational pieces of advice.
    Episode 2 In Adabat’s Cavern
-Sonic: Wasn’t it your radar that helped us find these Emerald shards in the first place? How could you be slowing us down when you’ve gotten us this far?
-Tails: But, I...
-Sonic: I could never make something like that. You’re the smartest person I know, Tails. One way or another, we’ll figure this out, count on it.
         Episode 4 In Holoska After Helping Silver Save The Chao
-Sonic: So, what was that back there? At the cave, in Adabat? -Tails: What do you mean? -Sonic: Frozen stiff. Confidence shot. It’s not like you. It was more than feeling like you were “slowing us down”, right?
        Episode 7 Inside The Egg Carrier 3
-Sonic: Let’s split up! I’ll distract them and you can go after the energy source. -Tails: You’re gonna take them on all by yourself!? Let me help, Sonic! -Sonic: No time for this, Tails. Stop overthinking and just go! If I can get their attention, I’ll take the heat off of you and that room you’re going to probably won’t have any security. Take this emerald and I’ll take the other one we have. It’ll lead me right to you after I beat these guys. -Tails: O-Okay... -Sonic: Hold on, Tails! Listen to me. Don’t stop moving and be careful. I’ll be fine and so will you!
     Sonic & Tails R remembers the most crucial detail of their important relationship. One isn’t better than the other and needing to always rely upon that notion for helping one outta a jam, but instead showcases how they’re equals as a team/bros. Sonic may be super fast and strong, however Tails has his intelligence to analyze situations in a different angle Sonic wouldn’t necessarily consider, per say. Which isn’t to say Tails couldn’t put up a fight either, as we’ve seen in SA1 & SA2′s stories where he faced Eggman one on one with no outside help to best him at his own game of wits & strength.
     We get see the apex of this idea through Tails facing Eggman in his super improved mecha walker. Although Tails may get thrown for a loop here at first by Eggman, it’s his villainous speech about winners and losers in their world that ironically does the exact opposite of what he intended. Eggman wanted to crush Tails’ sense of self worth before finishing him off, but all it did was reignite the very lesson Sonic told him earlier before running to distract Eggman’s robotic minions. That said lesson of he’s more than capable of facing dangerous threats
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-Eggman: Poor boy. We all have to learn this lesson, sooner or later. In every game there’s no one you can depend on. You’re all alone and you’re either a winner, or a loser. And as you know, loser’s lose all of their lives. Say goodbye, fox!
-Tails: You’re wrong! I can depend Sonic! I won’t let him down! I can’t because...Because he’s depending on me! And because of that I won’t lose to you!
     This radio play strikes a good balance in utilizing the grey moral area about depending on someone vs it being an unhealthy display of attachment derived from serious insecurity. Word’s can’t begin to describe how much I loved this moment to pieces because it’s oh so important for writing Tails’ characterization. If you’re going to tackle him being super self conscious about his reliance on Sonic, then you gotta remember why they are so close to one another to begin with. Sonic & Tails have an unbreakable connection, considering they’ve brought out their best qualities in themselves from being together as individuals. For Sonic, it’s his older brother compassion to Tails to bring him outta feeling melancholy. For Tails, the kid finally understands there isn’t anything wrong with depending on Sonic when he needs it most.
     After all, that’s what a real healthy friendship is all about. Whether you’re giving someone a dose of tough love, or simply a piece of motivational advice, it defines how much you truly care about someone, period. Sonic & Tails have this very same power from their bond, which is why new emeralds form from their compassionate friendship that hasn’t been shaken after all the years they’ve been together. Another detail worth noting is it adds to the lore in an impactful manner when Tikal expresses in Episode 8 about positive connections and thoughts from users of the Chaos Emeralds having a strong will & heart. Using the ideas they had for encapsulating Sonic & Tails’ dynamic to create new emeralds from their love for each other as brothers adds an emotional weight.
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“So, Sonic’s not the only one who harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds? I can too!?”
“Yes, you have a strong heart! There is a power waiting to be unlocked within you, as well.”
          I’d always daydreamed about in my childhood seeing Super Sonic & Tails take down a threatening villain, whether it was Eggman or different powerful creature such as Chaos or the Biolizard. You can imagine how fucking giddy I was beyond belief to see this artwork of Episode 9′s cover for the radio play. Tails not only got to have another one on one with Eggman, but a team up with Super Sonic in his own respective Super form? Sign me the Hell up! Talk about an all you eat buffet of good writing for Tails’ journey reaching its climax. Getting to hear this play out, alongside the amazing song of Fly With Me, made it authentically feel like something straight outta if there were an installment of Sonic Adventure 3 being brought into reality, which certainly feels like it now.
     Episode 9 has so much awesome stuff with Sonic & Tails working together in their super forms. Particularly, my favorite scene is at the beginning when Sonic teaches Tails how to navigate his newly acquired speed in his respective Super form. My heart melted hearing Sonic help Tails through it all, while he was overjoyed about how fun this new form is for himself. Wholesome Sonic & Tails content is the perfect daily serotonin for me, easily. It’s an awesome fun fact to know they used a scrapped boss from Tails Tornado segment in SA1 for Eggman’s flying dragon three headed robot in their big final battle, once again using old canon material in a very effective manner to boost the quality of their fan made story.
     It’s been a real thrill to hear Mike Pollock play a straight forward serious Eggman making my day in more ways than one, considering that’s another thing I’ve been yearning for desperately besides Tails being a competent character again. His performance in Episode 9 when Eggman gave that speech about how long he’s been at odds with Sonic & Tails stubborn will power was simply excellent. The moment he told his mechanical dragon to crush them I got serious chills. That’s the Eggman I remember and grew up with. He could be a hammy villain sure, but Eggman wasn’t a doormat that could be swiftly beaten. Robotnik can be considered a serious threat in his own right and this radio play nailed it down to the very letter with how much he predicted their actions.
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“Sonic, all I ever wanted to do was be like you. You’re not scared of anyone or anything. I could never be like that. At least, so I thought. I grew from that, but then I got so caught up in trying to prove it that thought it wasn’t okay to depend upon anyone, especially you. I just didn’t want to be that scared little kid in Station Square anymore, but now I understand. It’s okay to depend on your friends. It all means is that we’re stronger together, so the next time Eggman comes back and wants to start any trouble with you, or any of my friends. Emeralds or no emeralds, he’s gonna have to get past me and he won’t!”
Sonic By Episode 1′s End: Aww, yeah! Adventure, here we come!
Tails By Episode 10′s End: Aww, yeah! Adventure, here I come!
Turn your thoughts into power. Be all that you can be.
     The ending legit got me choked up because what of they decided to do for wrapping up Tails journey in a poetic fashion. Having Tails go off on his own separate journey to grow more independence pulled on my heart strings perfectly. Very much so, as I’m transitioning slowly, but surely, into gaining more freedom to go out into the outside world in my own life. Concluding the story, by Sonic & Tails holding onto the two Emeralds their bond had formed from positive energy, due to their powerful friendship, was so heartwarming. This is how you write an overview of what makes Sonic & Tails chemistry work so well as it does.
     Sonic & Tails R’s ending represents while some things never change, like Sonic and Tails bond for each other, it also shows there’s very much a necessity for people to grow, hence Tails’ whole solo journey in the epilogue. People can’t stay in the same place forever and will need go about finding their own path, even if it means saying “goodbye” periodically for a notable amount of time.
     It’s for these reasons I’ve listed in great explanation above throughout this detailed post cement Sonic & Tails R high on my list of favorite Sonic fan projects. They captured the magic of what made the Adventure games so beloved. Gonna be looking back on this passion project for many years to come. Everyone involved in this year long effort of a project dating all the way back Summer of 2020 ought to be immensely proud for how much their hard efforts paid off in the long run.
Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts here! 
Hope you enjoyed. 
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just-a-fangirl13 · 4 years ago
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MacRiley fan-fic
This one is a classic. Probably wont happen but it was fun to write anyways!
Season 4 spoilers..... duh!
******************************
“Good night guys. Riles you coming?” said Mac with his usual smile leaving the war room followed by Desi and Bozer. Matty and Russ were still busy.
Mac had been wanting to tell Riley about his break-up with Desi but they had got the call from Matty.
Desi and he realised they were never going to work. The weird part was that he didn't feel heartbroken. 
He had seen it coming for a while now, it was just a matter of finally ripping off the band-aid. Desi seemed fine too, she still nipped at him occasionally but they had managed to keep it professional for the whole mission. Desi was staying with him until she could get back her old apartment.
“No I have some stuff I need to do. Good night Mac.” said Riley with a tight lipped smile. 
Mac raised his eyebrow at her. “Okay. Good night then. Call me if you need a lift anyways.” He and Des got into his car while Riley walked to the nearest bar.
The mission had been rough. Riley felt completely spent but she needed a drink. It was Friday night and she was all alone. She let that sink in. At the rate she was going she was going to die alone too.
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**************
Mac’s phone buzzing woke him up. It was 1 am. It had been barely 2 hours since they got back. 
“Why won't criminals just take a day off.” said Mac half asleep, groaning as he reached for his phone. 
He read the caller id fulling expecting it to be Matty. But it wasn't.
All the sleepiness drained right out of him. It was Riley.
“Hello? Riles? What’s going on is everything okay?” said Mac already getting up, fully alert now and trying to make as little noise as possible so as to not wake Desi up in the adjoining room.
Mac could here loud music in the background. What the hell was going on?
“Hey Mac. I need a ride.”
**************************
Mac found Riley outside The Bar. Riley was drunk and she was standing all alone outside at the entrance when she had called. Mac drove over as fast as he could. His heart racing the whole time.
He pulled up to where she was standing. Silently thanking the universe that she was okay. 
“Riles? Are you okay” said Mac with deep concern on his face.
Riley nodded but swayed on her feet. Mac caught her.
“Okay lets get you home.”
Mac got Riley in the passengers seat and buckled her up. He had just started up the car when Riley mumbled.
“I’m sorry. I'm so so sorry” and tears started rolling down her face. Mac’s heart broke a little. Why had he not gone with her? What if something had happened to Riley? What if he had somehow missed her call?
“Riles. You dont have anything to be sorry for. It’s okay. Its a best friends duty to pick up them up especially when they get drunk. Today’s mission was hard on all of us.” said Mac with a smile. It really was the least he could do for her. She had put everything on the line when she had come to his rescue. She was always there. The one true constant in his life. The one person he could count on.
Riley just went on apologising until a minute later she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep. Mac looked over at her a few times. She seemed so peaceful. He had been so caught up with Desi, Codex and Phoenix that he hadn't even paid attention to what was going on with Riley. Something was definitely eating at her. He was hoping he could have talked to her today, tried to get to the bottom of things.
Riley had seemed a little distant lately. He didn't even blame her. He had no idea what was going on with her, but for now he would be there for her just like she was for him.
Mac pulled over outside Riley’s apartment. He didn't want to wake Riley up but he couldn't help it.
“Riles,” Mac whispered. “I need you to wake up now. Please.”
Riley opened her eyes slowly. He helped her out of the car and grabbed her bag. It was a good thing he knew she kept her keys in the tiny zipper in her favourite bag which she was also carrying right now.
He opened the apartment door and helped Riley in. He set her down on her bed  and took off her boots. Riley was half asleep and was really out of it. 
He tucked her in and was about to switch off the small bedside lamp when Riley reached for his arm.
“Hey Mac” she slurred a bit while talking,”Thanks for picking me up. Your a good friend you know. Don’t ever doubt that.”
Mac smiled. Even half drunk Riley was still thinking about him. He brushed out a few strands of hair out of her face and turned off the light.
“Good night Riles.” said Mac leaving the room.
“Love you, Mac” says Riley before cuddling into her covers and falling straight asleep.
Mac froze at the door, his heart pounding. 
He had misheard her right? But he found himself hoping he hadn't.
It hit him like lightning. He loved Riley too, didn't he? Deep down he always had. 
He had told himself that he had held her hand when that missile was about to hit them because he wanted Riley to know he was sorry. Sorry that he couldn't save her. But it was more than that,wasn't it?
He had loved her. 
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Mac smiled to himself. He was such an idiot. How had he not seen it sooner. Not seen what was right in front of him the whole time.
But he wouldn't say anything until he knew for sure.
**********
The next morning Riley woke up to the worst hangover. Maybe even worse than the one that Mac’s alcohol breaking down drug had given her when he, Leanna, Bozer and she were undercover.
She dragged herself to the shower and got changed which is when it registered that she could smell pancakes. What the hell?
“Good morning sleepy head.” said Mac a little too loudly. Riley winced. 
Mac was cooking.... Pancakes... In her kitchen... In her house....
She looked over at her sofa and saw a blanket draped on it.
“Hope you dont mind. I crashed here after last night just incase you needed me.”
“No of course I dont mind. I’m just really hazy on what happened last night.” said Riley rubbing her head.
Mac placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her along with a plate of chocolate chip pancakes.
“You dont remember anything?” asked Mac trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. “You got really drunk last night and called me to ask if I could give you a ride home. You were really out of it.” said Mac with smile.
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Bits and pieces came rushing back as she took a seat at the kitchen island. She had gone to the bar and had one drink after another and had completely lost track. She remembered contemplating calling Mac and then sitting in his car. She couldn't remember if she said anything. What if she told him about her feelings. Oh no no no no. Rileys mind was going into overdrive.
“Oh god Mac. I’m so sorry. I probably ruined you and Desi’s night. Im such an idiot. I dont even remember what I was thinking.”
“Hey hey its okay Riles. Besides Desi and I aren't dating anymore.” said Mac.
Woah. It was really taking her a while to process things.
“I’m sorry to hear that Mac. I feel like such a terrible friend. I didn't even notice something was up.” said Riley. Gosh when had she become such a mess.
“It was a long time coming. Desi and I just weren't right for each other. We both knew it, but we were hanging on to the relationship because it was familiar I guess.” said Mac.
Riley just silently nodded. Her mind was spinning.
“Anyways” said Mac smiling, “try the pancakes. I need to know if they are any good.”
Riley eyed the plate remembering Mac’s track record with cooking. She could feel Mac’s gaze on her so she tried it.
“Okay wow. These are actually really good.” said Riley. Mac laughed, ”Mission Accomplished. You have to tell Bozer they were good, okay? He won't believe me if I say it.”
Riley and Mac sat there eating chocolate chip pancakes, laughing. Riley felt like all the problems in the world just fell away.
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***************
Riley was helping Mac clear up even though he had insisted he would do it on his own. There was still that worry that she had said something to Mac nagging her. He seemed alright. A little chirpy but happy. 
“Mac. Last night. I didn't say anything stupid right?” said Riley washing the plate and handing over the last one to Mac to dry it since he had insisted. 
“Why?” asked Mac a curious look on his face. “Was there something I needed to know?”
“Nope no reason. I was just really out of it yesterday. Just curious if I said anything.” said Riley relief washing over her.
“Well there was one thing I wanted to talk to you about actually.” said Mac putting the last plate away. 
“Riles, I’m sorry Ive been such a terrible friend to you lately. I..just.. with everything going on with Codex and Desi.. i..never even bothered to check in on you. I had no idea why you were being distant until I realised last night that you were probabaly drunk because you felt like you couldnt talk to me. You’ve always been there no matter what and I couldn't even return the favour. I'm so sorry.”
Mac looked so stressed. He really thought it was his fault she was avoiding him. 
Oh god what had she done. The exact reason she didn't want to tell Mac the truth was so she didnt hurt him but seeing him like this broke her heart. She loved him so much it physically hurt sometimes.
“Mac. Its not your fault. It has nothing to do with-” Riley stopped herself. She had nothing to lose right? She should just tell him. No more lies or secrets.
Mac looked up searching her face. She wasn't meeting his eye and she was fidgeting with her hands. 
Could it be possible that Riley was distancing herself from him because of what she said last night? Could it really be true?
"Before you say anything, there is something you should know." said Mac. This was it. He felt brave all of a sudden.
"You said something last night. I mean I could have misheard you but it sounded you like you said you love me. Is that what this about?" Mac sounded so nervous.
Riley was shocked. She had said it last night. Oh god what if he didnt feel the same way?
"I- Mac- I am so sorry. I just- You were dating Desi and I just broken up with Aubrey and I just had to-"
Before Riley could finish Mac kissed her. And she kissed him back.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. " said Mac smiling. "I'm such an idiot. It took me so long to see what was in front me this whole time."
Mac held Rileys hand in his and they started at each other and smiled. They were in their own happy bubble.
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samcatthorne · 7 years ago
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I'm adding Tony now 'cause your answers for Loki & Bucky made me curious
general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (more like a Slytherclaw, tbh. But if I had to pick one, I’d say he falls more under Slytherin, but only slightly.)best quality: He’s the one you go to for a killer party worst quality: Like Loki, that pride and mouth of his will likely get him killed ship them with: Pepper TBD brotp them with: Bruce (SCIENCE BROS!!!), Loki (see Loki’s ask meme for reasons why) needs to stay away from: alcohol, former mentors, the subject of his dad, thinking about his mistakes, missile shrapnel, people who place WAY too much blame on him for collateral damage during battlesmisc. thoughts: Yes. Pepper is crossed off the ship list, and for two reasons.
REASON NUMBER 1: The ending scene of Spiderman: Homecoming where (spoilers) she shows back up after the “break” with Tony that left him feeling empty and depressed at the mere mention of her, immediately scolds Tony for something beyond his control, then kisses him and essentially says “Let’s get engaged to give the press something to obsess over.”
(1 contd.)To be fair, Tony probably should have warned Peter about the upcoming press conference LONG before literally right before it was supposed to happen. Give the kid time to make a decision, think of a speech, or even, ya know, get dressed in the new suit. That way (again, spoilers), when he inevitably says no, Tony can just cancel the press conference instead of having to make up something on the spot. And Civil War did technically take place in 2016, while S:H takes place in 2020, leaving a 4-year gap for the two to get back together and work out their problems.
(1 contd.) Except there are three issues with this: the first is that Tony’s never given a shit about the convenience of the press before and has actually left them straight up hanging in a previous movie, so why should he care enough now to give them something to talk about other than having a convenient way for the writers to throw Pepper back into Tony’s life and anchor her there with a ring? 
(1 contd.) Second is that they’ve had a (very rocky) on-again-off-again relationship since the first movie. The reason Pepper always left was because she never felt like he respected her unless he felt he was going to lose her. And that’s totally within her right. Except she also infantilizes him and is extremely condescending, even toward an--admittedly misguided--attempt at a romantic gesture that is still obviously wholehearted and done with the best of intentions. Tony gives her the run of Stark Industries because he believes she has the will, the drive, and the ability to keep it successful. Yet she yells at him because she “gets blamed for his mistakes,” which had already been happening anyway, since she’d previously been his personal assistant so she was still in charge of his public image and therefore responsible for his fuckups in the eyes of the public.He basically gave her the biggest fucking promotion an employee of a giant corporation like Stark Industries could ever get, and she blames him for this new job--which most likely tripled her salary, maybe even more than that--having the exact same faults has her previous job. She was basically running the company before, Tony just made it official so that she could actually get the credit. As for the strawberries thing, if she had known Tony for that long and actually knew his personality previous to that meeting, she would have known that he was right and that it was actually progress that he remembered there was some sort of connection between her and strawberries. He had paid enough attention to realize there was a connection, but didn’t have the reminder post-”the moment he started actually paying attention” to know what the connection was and so obviously assumed that it was a positive connection because who wouldn’t? She is miserable enough to look for new career opportunities in rival companies in basically all three of the Iron Man movies, but not so miserable as to actually leave. Why? She is aware he has a problem with alcohol, but doesn’t actively discourage him from drinking until he’s already had too much. In Iron Man 2, he gets so drunk he wets himself in the Iron Man suit, so he clearly has a problem, yet by The Avengers, Stark Tower has a fully-stocked bar for casual consumption. She points out his faults when he fucks up, but doesn’t try to help him (or doesn’t try very hard/for very long) to fix his fuckups, even when it’s clear he needs help from someone else--usually someone close to him--to give him the push to fix it. Yet, for all of the dysfunction, for all the yelling and the fighting and the arguing and the anger and the tears and the drunken mishaps and the godforsaken strawberries (yes, I’m fucking salty), she doesn’t leave. If she really gave a damn about him or their relationship, she’d have either gotten help in fixing their relationship (i.e. counseling), or she would have left.
(1 contd.) My third issue is this: if she really loved him, if she really gave a fuck about him, wouldn’t getting fucking married be a bigger deal than a last-minute publicity stunt? And it’s not just a stunt for the sake of the cameras, either. They have a long kiss before going out there, so their renewed relationship is obviously real, not just for the sake of the MCU public. Yet, she has basically no reaction to Tony going, “Hey! Let’s get married!” I’ve been in relationships before. I’ve had romances with various levels of commitment. And in none of them was getting engaged a small matter, even if it was partially for the public. (Yes, I’ve had a mildly similar situation. It’s a long story.) Popping the question is a HUGE FUCKING DEAL in our society. Ladies (and I assume gentlemen as well) are ingrained with the idea that a proposal is a humongous commitment. It’s a promise that isn’t to be taken lightly. But there wasn’t even a pause from Pepper. Yes, I understand she was under a lot of pressure by the press. But a) that should be something she’s used to by now, and b) she wouldn’t even stop to question her years-long on-again-off-again boyfriend offering to propose purely as a last-minute bit for the cameras an emotionally appropriate “WTF”? Where is the reaction? Where is the delight? Shouldn’t she be just a little bit happier that he’s proposing? Or at the very least be a little bit peeved that he’s choosing now of all times to propose? There’s just so much wrong with this scenario that I cannot even comprehend it.
And, finally, REASON NUMBER 2 that Pepper has been crossed off the ship list: I’ve recently started a FrostIron RP with a friend and, while I only ship it in the context of our RP (meaning I don’t really accept it as MCU canon), my inner Loki did get a little salty (read: jelly) that Pepper was kissing Tony.
Yes. I am trash. Deal with it.
(also, Emma, please don’t hate me. I know they’re an MCU OTP of yours. >.
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fapangel · 8 years ago
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Regarding the DF-21, everyone seems to accept the Chinese claim that it is an "Anti-ship" missile, for all we know that's just propaganda and it's really a bunker buster, especially since the CIA probably got their hands on a couple during the sale of some to the Saudis after Gulf War One. I mean it's not the first time a military has lied about what a weapons system actually is.
They have a sizable arsenal of MRBMs with conventional warheads meant for attacking land targets, that’s no surprise - the latest one was hailed as the “Guam express” in their more strident “newspapers,” which tells you what they plan to use them for. There’s also a nuclear-armed variant. Same missile, different payloads. I’m sure it exists. How well it works is another question. 
The DF-21 has multiple issues - for one, what’s the kill-chain? It needs to know where the target is, for starters, because ballistic missiles are, uh... ballistic. They have a very limited ability to change their trajectories while in flight, so they need to have an exact fix on the target beforehand. This isn’t as easy as you might think - we were able to sail a carrier task force around in Russia’s back yard during the NORPAC 82 exercise without them ever locating the carrier group. Yes, 1982, well after satellite recon was available, and the Soviets had much more than the Chinese do. Said link doesn’t describe how the satellites were defeated (because it’s top-secret as hell, natch,) but there’s several methods for it - a simple one is weather. Even the best camera can’t see through clouds. And while some satellites have surface-search radar, they can’t tell ships apart - have a gander here for a rough idea of just how many ships are on the ocean at any given time, especially near major trade lanes like the South China Sea.  Then there’s dwell time; since inclination changes are hideously expensive delta-V wise, earth observation satellites are typically put in a polar orbit, so the earth will rotate underneath them slowly, letting them cover a “slice” a bit further west than their last pass. It only takes about 90 minutes to whip ‘round the Earth in LEO, but it takes, well, 12 hours for the same spot on Earth to come under you again (on the “back side” of your orbit) and even then it’ll be at night, so you’ll have to use the IR cameras (which are lower resolution for various reasons, especially atmosphere haet IR. Water vapor absorbs infa-red wavelengths very well.) So to have reasonable coverage - say, a recon satellite passing over a particular patch of ocean every 6 hours or so - you need more than a handful of satellites, and that’s hideously expensive. 
Of course, China only wants to control the SCS, so a single geostationary satellite could meet their needs, like the one they’ve already launched. Geostationary orbit is high, however, which is probably why that satellite’s image resolution is so abysmal (50m visible light can probably sort a carrier from a supertanker, but 400m resolution with IR won’t do shit.) On the plus side, geostationary is a lot harder to reach with missiles. That still leaves a bevy of methods for shutting it down, however, including old-fashioned jamming, either of the satellite, or of its receiving ground stations. It doesn’t matter what it sees, if it can’t tell anybody. There’s also this mention of the satellite only being able to “localize” a carrier due to the data processing time required, which strikes me as unusual - with modern technology even a geostationary satellite should have no problem with continuous high-bandwidth transmissions, unless I’m gravely mistaken. Or it could be referring to the time required for actual human eyes to scan the imagery and pick out the carrier-shaped dot, though fairly simple image-matching software ought to be up to simplifying that task. 
Or maybe we’d just shoot the damn thing down. The tl;dr is that there’s still a need for actual old-fashioned recon assets, (which can be seen by how China’s investing in them.) Unfortunately for China, this requires them to fly aircraft within 200nm of a hostile US CBG, which tends to be an unhealthy endeavor - especially if using surface-search radar. Their radar-equipped satellites and stationary radars on their new SCS outposts (assuming those don’t eat TLAMs) can at least locate contacts, so a recon aircraft can use advanced long-range optics to visually ID them, which lets the aircraft operate on passive EMCON to avoid detection. (It’ll probably have to check every contact - the map I linked above shows ships who are broadcasting their position/identification with transponders, much like aircraft, but that requires trusting the transponder’s owner...) Unfortunately that requires getting even closer, and flying at a minimum altitude to see over the curvature of the Earth - against some of the best AWACs in existence (both carrier-borne and land-based, given our bases in Japan, Singapore and elsewhere.) There’s been some speculation that the RQ-170 stealth drone that was forced down in Iran (that Obama refused to have bombed, the stupid fuck,) will go a long way towards providing the Chinese with the stealth recon assets they’ll need for this - thanks, Obama! But Iran’s a lot tighter with Russia than China, and Russia and China are a bit... touchy with each other still. So that’s an outside chance. 
For sake of argument say you find the carriers and fire on them. Now even a ballistic missile takes some time to arrive at a target, and given how a re-entry vehicle (RV’s) maneuvering ability in the terminal phase is very limited, you have to put the weapon on-target very precisely ahead of time. The time to do this is in “midcourse” flight, while the weapon’s in space and before it re-enters. The earlier you perform a course-correction maneuver, the more delta-v efficient it is - especially in midcourse, since in boost or re-entry your thrusters are fighting the atmosphere. Even if their geostationary satellite is capable of constant communication, I doubt it has a full EOTS system that’s fully networked (���datalinked”) to provide said course updates for the mid-course course-correction maneuver; this’d require constant contact to be held by recon assets. And of course, these datalinks are vulnerable to jamming. Some have suggested the DF-21 might operate in a “swarm mode,” much like the old P-700 did; with the first warheads fired searching for the target and passing data back to the ones still in mid-course so they can actually hit the target. 
Then there’s the actual terminal phase. Even a normal RV (not a fancy hyper-sonic glide vehicle) can maneuver once in atmosphere; the same way the Apollo Command Module did, by using the limited normal/compression lift generated by the blunt RV body to adjust the landing footprint. At the velocities/altitudes involved here it’ll only have the energy to tweak the trajectory, but that’s enough for terminal attack. These high-G maneuvers also double as evasive maneuvers, making high-altitude intercept difficult. Terminal attack, however, is where life gets difficult. 
At the kind of insane speeds a re-entering vehicle encounters, the compression heating forms plasma beneath the heat-shield. This plasma blocks all radio communications - that’s why you get the dramatic silence during re-entry in the old Apollo movies. The beam-riding SPRINT anti-ballistic missile, (which accelerated at 100 goddamn gravities,) was also hampered by this issue. There is a way around it, as used by the later Shuttle missions - communicating with a satellite in orbit (thus avoiding the plasma sheath below,) which bounces the signal back to the Earth command station. (This is yet another communications link vulnerable to jamming.) Without this, it’s hard to see how the DF-21 can “see” through its own plasma sheath, either optically or with radar, to continue fine-tuning its terminal intercept. It may deploy spoilers to de-accelerate sooner, (making it more vulnerable to intercept,) or wait till very shortly before terminal intercept as it deaccelerates in the thicker lower atmosphere to make final targeting corrections, which drastically reduces its footprint and makes very precise target information and course corrections in mid-course/re-entry interface even more vital. 
Without even talking about shooting it down yet, you can see that the DF-21 is just the pointy end of a much bigger system that is itself vulnerable to both hard and soft kill techniques. This is to say nothing of the need of the payload to penetrate the final defenses of the ship; which would include both decoys and very, very intense jamming (modern warships carry a lot of jammers, and they’re due for a massive leap in capability with the introduction of the Next Generation Jammer in in 2020 or so.) These jammers are capable of obfuscating the exact location of the ship throughout the attack, to every detection/tracking platform as well, and so can defeat the DF-21 simply by denying it accurate offboard targeting data for the mid-course correction.
And then there’s actually shooting them down, which is notable because it’s impressive it’s an option at all. The SM-3 is the big star here, of course, because it’s a purpose-built weapon with an exo-atmospheric interceptor; that is, it can hit the weapons in space, during mid-course, when they’re at apogee and moving the slowest. That’s an impressive ability, but recent upgrades have also made the SM-2ER (which the SM-3 was based on) and the SM-6 capable of ABM defense as well. They can’t maneuver out of atmosphere, but they can maneuver in the atmosphere better than the SM-3s final stage, which gives a high-to-medium altitude terminal intercept ability. Their blast-frag warheads aren’t nearly as effective as the hit-to-kill KKV of the SM-3, when it comes to completely destroying the target... but complete destruction of an RV is only a requirement when you’re being attacked by nuclear or chemical weapons, which have a wide area-of-affect. A blast-fragmentation hit to a DF-21 RV would not only knock it off course, but the damage to sensors, maneuvering thrusters and even the basic aerodynamic integrity would greatly inhibit its ability to conduct a successful attack. 
There’s more advantages to the SM-2ER and SM-6. Magazine requirements are one - it allows ships to defend themselves with the voluminous numbers of air-defense missiles they already carry for other threats, greatly reducing the penalty of reserving cells for the SM-3. It allows a longer timeframe for attack, since they’re effective even at medium altitudes. But best of all, they can attack the RVs without worrying about decoys or other countermeasures. Decoys are (by necessity) lighter than the RV itself, so once they hit atmospheric drag they’re soon parted from the actual weapon. At the time the RVs are coming into range of the majority of the CBGs defensive arsenal, they’ll be stripped of their decoys and have an IR signature like a neon friggin sign. 
And then there’s the attrition argument. There’s actually data on how many SM-3s are in the inventory and how many we’re likely to build per-annum. Compare this with the DF-21; it’s estimated by the US Navy that 8-10 DF-21s can be built per annum, and at least some of those are going to be conventional or nuclear land-attack warhead equipped. This isn’t a surprise; ballistic missiles are huge, expensive, and very very finicky things to build. So from a pure defense saturation perspective, we can build interceptors faster than they can build ding-dongs. 
China beats us in iPhone production, but we still beat them in rocket science. 
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