#thief and assassin

[tarvek-sturmvoraus]

bats: tim are you going to tell us anything you did while searching for bruce tim: not unless everyone gets real cool about a bunch of stuff really quickly

[snejkha]

Micah for @noumenons5 // Thank you so much//

[mackrockatansky]

[teejaystumbles]

I finally finished the Steampunk illustration I started for the @dreamlingbingo! <3

Dream hopped onto the wrong(?) airship to escape...

[itsafreetrialofdeath]

multiclassed!

[th3skullqu33n93]

For anyone who might have wondered what's in Martin's inventory, it's this. At least before you take him to Cloud Ruler Temple.

[nikatyler]

anywhere with you 🏹🎵

[silverskye13]

Someone left a comment for R&S on my last Helsknight oneshot so I've come to hand deliver it to you like some kind of messager pigeon 🙏

Really funny experience opening my email and being like 'oh new comment! .... Wait. I don't think that's my line. Isn't that from yesterday's r&s chapter?' Laughed my ass off. Someone got their ao3 tabs mixed up apparently

pfffhaha oh no! I'm sorry you got randomly pounced on!

Though since you're here I adored? Evildoers? You are fantastic at characterization anyway, but the way you wrote Helsknight's cynicism, and Evil X's manic, just a little off energy was fantastic.

Also, adore a pair of villains working together, for better or worse.

Fantastic work dude!

[oldschoolfrp]

Preparing to spring an ambush from three directions (Didier Guiserix, 2-page poster in Casus Belli 25, April 1985)

[batcrooks]

THE BATCROOKS AWARDS 2024

After keeping meticulous notes on every Media Property™ I consumed in 2024, here is my roundup of the BESTS!! It should probably be one thing per category but I couldn't decide so it's lots actually. And I broke down video games into so many categories because I play a lot of video games!!!

Best Movie I Watched for the First Time in 2024 (Live Action and Animated Categories)

What I wrote about them: Parasite - sooo good so tense and dark and funny? Isle of Dogs - what a DELIGHT. it was so fun to watch this film, i didn't want it to end. the animation was so good. the logistics behind the making of this movie are simply unbelievable. i can't believe this isn't a more beloved film.

Best TV Show I Watched in 2024 (Broadcast and Internet Categories)

What I wrote about them: Severance - SOO GOOD what a FUN SHOW. it has all the good tenseness of a thriller but it's also so funny in its absurdity. i must know more!! the work is mysterious and important Game Changer (season 6) - this season is very high concept. there have been some very funny ones and a couple eh. Sam Says 3 and the one where they had to find the buzzers were both top 5 episodes

Best Video Game (Multiplayer)

What I wrote about them: V Rising - VAMPIRES!! i loved this game for its tight and unwavering focus on being about vampires. you could build a house but it was always, always a vampire house. you can have a horse but it is a vampire horse. incredible. pretty cool combat and magical spells, some questionable level-up mechanics. mostly fun boss fights almost completely ruined by the final Dracula fight being so so overpowered. really enjoyed this one thanks Abiotic Factor - this has been a very cool survival crafting game, maybe one of the best. it reminds me of a lot of different games. mechanically it feels a bit like Raft, in that it has very unique setting and base building and a narrative thread and handcrafted things to explore. of course it has all the half life vibes but also way more SCP stuff than i would have expected and that's great because it is always fun. as of writing we are doing the reservoir section, which has been a lot more stressful than previous sections, but i think we'll probably get through it alright. with only a few exceptions (how long it took to unlock food recipes for example), the progression of craftables has been good. for the mostpart, resources haven't been very annoying to obtain (other than silver and carbon). the vibes are just so good throughout and so many things have been delightful. since it is early access, i'm not going to knock a star off for the Issues. it is an optimistic five stars. about 52 hours and we have completed all the early access. genuinely sad to stop playing it so i guess it was good!! the last chapter was a bit stressful but it was fun how many new gadgets we got to play with for a little while there. anyway it is now tied with v rising for best multiplayering of 2024

(have a lot to say about video games)

Best Video Game (Cat Plays) (Games I Played With an Audience) (Of Sourdeer)

What I wrote about them: The Roottrees are Dead - so good, better than Hand With Many Fingers. hope more games like this keep existing. the amount of info you got to trawl through was so fun. honestly considering replaying it when the steam remake comes out someday, which seems crazy for a mystery game but there was so much i doubt i'll remember everything. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes - a little heavy on the kind of arbitrary spookiness? I dunno how to explain it but it just often feels like games are spooky Just Because sometimes. The same as feeling like this and other games try to tackle high brow stuff Just Because. and the control scheme is WHACK lol. if it just had a "back out" button it would be fine tho. but this is another game that has made me feel so clever very often. it helps to play with multiple people contributing to the tricksy puzzles. It does seem to be a very meta video game which would be fine but it actually doesn't seem relevant to anything? The instruction booklet, the gameboy game of the maze, the ps1 games, the implication that the video game we are playing right now is also licensed in universe. It's INTERESTING but what does it have to do with the auteur filmmaker and the death of materialism and whatever they go on about all the time. But I'm really liking it so far. A good variety of puzzlers and lots to look into, have only felt stuck a few times. Comically long to-do list though. Could have maybe used more elegant level design? Only deal with one floor at a time maybe? Or at least less. But maybe having so many floating mysteries is part of the vibe actually. in the end i think it is firmly in the second tier of plays game, Very Good with a few flaws. most appreciated for being a rather long puzzle game. more of those please

Best Video Game (Sour Plays) (Games Sourdeer Played With an Audience) (Of me)

What I wrote about them: Hypnospace Outlaw - watched sour play. what a WEIRD THING!!! it was so finely crafted which is funny to say about something so absurd, but they really didn't skimp on anything in this. it really rewards exploring everything, and while i feel like it was maybe a little too loose i think there was just enough guidance with the cases to get you through the story that was happening. very chaotic The Rise of the Golden Idol - while i think overall it is not as good as the first one, i think that is mostly just because the first one was a brand new thing that shocked and awed us. the art style was a bit of a downgrade but still had the expected Vibes and the mysteries were just as satisfying to put together (if not as Cool thematically). i'm very glad to have future installments to look forward to. i can't even rate it a star lower because the gameplay is so good. i love golden idol. I.D.O.L.

Best Video Game (Singleplayer)

What I wrote about them: Dredge - really good!! addictive. 100%'d it Arco - i really liked it!! it was like a combo of West of Loathing and Chroma Squad gameplay-wise. it was really good stories and characters i liked them a lot. the pixels were so cute. i accidentally devoured the whole thing (about 13 hours) so fast but i think theres some replayability there sometime. make a few different choices and see what happens. Animal Well - a DELIGHT!! this game had moments where you felt soooo clever but it did also have some times that were a little hard or fiddly. i loved how it had no (very little) music but so much atmosphere. it was very pretty to look at. the backtracking could be annoying sometimes. but i like that it explained nothing and you could still figure out so much. i've gotten to the credits now as of writing (7.5 hours) but i know there's probably a lot hidden around i will try to find some. i see you smiley faces. i just have to remember how to get back to you. 10 hours later: i have gotten all the achievements which is 100%. to me. sourdeer had to help me get the last ten eggs but i think that overall it was a good difficulty throughout. if you dont try to do the rabbits and all the stuff sour is telling me about that is after even the second credits. so a Nice Game, Brent (Billy Basso)

Best Book I Read for the First Time in 2024

What I wrote about them: Children of Time - considering making this a top ten book. i really liked this one. (editor's note: there are diminishing returns on the sequels. The first one is so fun and innovative, but I don't recommend them past that. The second one is OK) Return of the Thief - yaay a satisfying ending :) it was really bold to introduce an entirely new character to be the POV for the last book in a series but it worked out really well i thought. a good character. everything all tied up in the end :) sad to finish, these were a lot of fun. it is sad that not a single one of these had a female POV. Eddis and Attolia were great but compared to the towering amount of male characters it doesn't seem great. but it is forgiveable. finally someone was gay in this one. so that's nice lol. (editor's note: i read this entire series for the first time this year and have chosen the final as the representative.) Assassin's Quest - Oh ok we are serious now!!! Actually fundamentally a bit less serious because there are dragons now but it made it work. Ended really bittersweet and if I didn't know the characters will return someday I would have been pretty thoroughly bummed out about it. Excellent fun book really elevated the other two. Fantasy books really get you drinking the divine right of kings koolaid. Will start on the next trilogy now, have no idea what to expect from it except that it isn't about any of these characters afaik but same world. It has been a real treat to stumble on to long completed series this year. (editors note: final book to a trilogy)

And that's it!! If you want to see every media I consumed this year and my star ratings and comments about them, here's a link to them! (It's a spreadsheet)

[theoutcastrogue]

MtG Art from Wilds of Eldraine

by Edgar Sánchez Hidalgo, Zara Alfonso, Nicholas Gregory, and Aldo Dominguez

[sinestrosmind]

CHIEF CHIEF CHIEF CHIEF CHIE

this is honestly one of my favorites of the eight icons I've done

This is not a commission, no one has any permission to repost (create their own post) of this art with or without credit.

Reblogs > Likes

[lady-quen]

hiii just to say thank you for your tags on rory's outfit timeline they fill me with joy 💙ALSO YES HELLO I AM HERE TO MEET ROURRHE

I am so glad! He fills me with joy, definitely on my list of characters to draw when I get over my very wonky asura anatomy. But ahhh what better way to get over it than to practice, for sure.

Alrighty, you have convinced me! Have a lore post on Da Boy. He is loosely based on Shulk from Xeno/blade.

Crimson Shadow of the Pact

Rourrhe was once a regular student at Synergetics, finding the prospect of exploring the workings of the Eternal Alchemy and how the world's systems interact with one another quite fascinating. He was a natural at spotting patterns and reading people, preferring to work on theoretical models rather than in practice. He enrolled in a krewe studying magical patterns and their possible use in predicting behavior. The research looked promising, some even saying it could open the way to predicting the future, even if in limited capacity. Unfortunately, funding was withheld by virtue of the project's idea being too heavily hypothetical.

While the others moved on to greener pastures, Rourrhe worked on the invention obsessively, using personal means, and eventually turning to the Inquest out of sheer desperation. While he received funding, he saw things that exposed the most horrific aspects of asuran society, and just how far some deranged lunatics were willing to go for science.

As soon as he had a working prototype, he stole it and ran. Of course, the Inquest were immediately on his trail, and the situation looked dire. A cloaked Rourrhe practically broke into the house of one of his former krewe members, a surgeon, and begged her - a raving madman at that point - to help him insert the "Alchemy lens" into his right eye. The final component of the future telling device seemed to be an asuran mind.

Confused, but horribly tempted to see the strange project to completion, the krewe member agreed and inserted the lens. Rourrhe woke up screaming, a vivid vision of the Inquest attacking fresh in his mind. He got off the surgery table, got dressed and calmed down his breathing. He then mentally counted down an exact number of seconds, took out his hunting rifle and aimed, firing shots perfectly into position before the Inquest could exit stealth tech, killing them all on the spot.

It seemed Rourrhe could indeed see glimpses of the future, a true breakthrough - but the lens had become a part of him and its functionality was limited to self-preservation instinct and brief flashes of pre-cognition. Nowhere to be seen were the prophetic visions on how to lead society to brilliance, and neither was the true shape of the Eternal Alchemy. Both his and his krewemate's illicit activity were discovered, and they were expelled from Synergetics.

Crestfallen and disillusioned, Rourrhe discovered his now-unnatural talent for shooting, starting out with hunting and prediciting his prey's movements seconds before it moved. It wasn't perfectly reliable, but it kicked in more often than not. He made a living as a hunter until the Order of Whispers heard of his prowess and decided to recruit him, offering protection against the Inquest.

Rourrhe continued to work with Whispers until the formation of the Pact, where he was put in an elite unit overseeing the safety of Marshal Trahearne and Commander Maelmordha. A stalwart ally, he accompanied them throughout the campaign and then Trahearne into Maguuma, where he was only saved from certain death by the lens alerting him of Mordrem movements. He laid low in a cave with a few other survivors, and later rejoined the Pact forces during the organized effort against Mordremoth.

During his time in the army, he had made friends with a Pale Reaver, but that friendship was not meant to last.

What he witnessed in that cave haunts his nightmares to this day. Some Vigil troops, stricken by grief and rage, decided to slaughter the injured Pale Reaver who showed no signs of turning. They did not only kill her - but tortured her deliberately, believing her to be nothing more than a worthless minion of the dragon. Rourrhe arrived too late to stop them, and could only end her suffering with a swift bullet.

It is then that a switch flipped in Rourrhe's mind. Without remorse, he murdered each and every last one of the soldiers, coping with the guilt only by believing the Eternal Alchemy itself had appointed him as some sort of "judge, jury and executioner" in the absence of law. That he was law now, the hand of "god" - the universe itself. That the mutilated, modified eye he bore was meant to see exactly who he was meant to kill, and he would simply know. He then spent days hunting down targets who were about to mutiny against the Commander.

Through all this, Rourrhe nearly went insane, preaching his crazed revelation until he eventually received psychiatric care from a Pact therapist following the Maguuma campaign. It is then that the Commander approached him personally, and Rourrhe confided in him about what he saw - and did - in the cave, as well as his later killings. The two had a long talk about the nature of Rourrhe's invention, and the asura's fierce loyalty was noted. The Commander gave the sniper a secret order: observe the Pact, and inform him of undesirable individuals.

Once reviewed, it was the Commander's call to give Rourrhe the go-ahead to assassinate the target. A fruitful cooperation that weeded out dissenters from within - and a companionship that would continue throughout the years. Perhaps, to give a madman such a vital task is folly, but make no mistake; The Commander had always had an eye for people, and now an equally igneous desire to see those who would do sylvari harm burn.

While Rourrhe's skill in remaining anonymous is well befitting of the Order of Whispers, talks of the Commander's loyal assassin ensure the Wolf's howl is feared just as deeply as his actual bite.

Even when a deadeye's swift bullet is often far kinder than a necromancer's true ire.

Rourrhe's personality is stoic and collected, being rather difficult to anger and lacking the typical asuran raging superiority complex. He tends to speak to people on a level field, being very goal-oriented and driven. Despite his professional demeanor, he is quite friendly, if introverted. He does not like talking for longer than necessary and is prone to migraines due to his crudely grafted future lens - the device's impact on his brain is slowly killing him, and he is deeply fearful of one day losing his sharp cognition. He is an aspiring revolutionary, hoping to help correct the asuran society from within by any means necessary - to put a stop to the Inquest' tyranny over the naïve and unfortunate, as well as help offer more and kinder alternatives to those not gifted in sciences and unable to mentally and physically cope with the Colleges' environment.

For making it this far in, have an older doodle I made of him and his funky eye (which glows like this only when active.)

[fancyfliers-fr]

A woman made of slime slips through the shadows, her gelatinous form allowing her to dart through the tiniest of cracks. She's followed by a toxic cloud of noxious fumes...

Like the art? It (and the dragon that comes with it) will be up for sale soon at the Carrefour Inn!

Want to see more? Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Bluesky at @artbysconnor!

[cienie-isengardu]

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

[palespawn]

i'm thinking thinking thinking of tying the gloomstalker/assassin build into astarion's characterisation here; since his rogue and charlatan background stems primarily from his years in enslavement to cazador - having to deceive marks, stalk the shadows, likely lockpicking and trespassing (although for non-residential places only, since, vampire). his skills as an archer/ranger now could also be influenced by his life pre-vampirism. thinking about his parentage but also his being an elf and having natural inclinations for magic and bow/swordsmanship. his father teaching him how to use a bow and arrow as a child to hunt for skins to create leather/furs (since i headcanon his father as having been a tailor), his mother connecting him with nature and magic, as a lover of art. the assassin aspect i think could naturally come about after being tadpoled and thrust into this whirlwind adventure, since they're constantly fighting and killing and fighting some more and he enjoys stabbing. whereas before, he wasn't really required to kill people, just entice them back to cazador. SO ANYWAY if i throw all of that into a mixing pot, i just like that even after 200 years of being forced to become someone else, there are still traces of his former self and his family within him, even though he, himself, doesn't remember them