#urban sniper

[stealth-skills]

A russian-made high-precision rifle RAPTOR TACTICAL caliber .338LM in "Digital Desert" camouflage in the hands of a marine sniper of the 155th Marines Brigade of the Pacific Fleet. Russo-Ukrainian War, 2024

[gijoe-forever]

[st-just]

Valorant Sova promo art by Suke

[edzactly]

20220327 - Werewolf Hunter

[annarborken]

A Ghillie suit for urban warfare.

[valeribevelsblog]

[schnuron]

Have a list of games that they have no live service things.

[artbyblastweave]

So one off-hand death that sticks with me in Worm, right, is Taylor's offhand mention that the original version of Breed was killed when someone shot the building he was in with an incendiary missile. Not even clear if they were trying to kill him specifically or if they were just lucky, but his bug minions stopped showing up after the strike so it's presumed to have gotten him.

Iconoclastic superhero fiction has a specific trope where capes have bridges dropped on them- anticlimactic, mundane, silly deaths, meant to highlight that for all their pomp and circumstance, they're just as killable as anyone else. Dollar Bill getting his cape caught in the revolving door in Watchmen, The "No Capes" montage in The Incredibles, almost every single killing in The Boys, or hell, Vikare getting brained in a sports riot in this very book. And on my first readthrough I sort of parsed Breeds death as "one of those," oh, you know, for all his horror-movie xenomorph monstrousness, all it took to kill him was a direct missile strike on the building he was in. Then I turned that last sentence over in my head a couple of times and noticed that by any reasonable standard having an airstrike called in on you is not an anticlimactic way to die. Like implicitly that missile strike is probably happening after several prolonged hours of urban combat against the Nine, mounting civilian casualties, etc. etc. Breed was contributing to the escalation of a situation where eventually the government just said "fuck it" and started bombing shit. And this is a genre where doing that typically doesn't work against someone like Breed, so it feels incongruous that for once it did. But it's also not nearly in the same ballpark as just randomly getting taken out by a sniper or something. It's part of the book striking a great balance between a respect for the power of superheroes and supervillains and an acknowledgement of the fact that they die just like everyone else.

(It's also a great subversion of that whole "never found the body" thing- like, Breed's body wasn't identifiable amongst the victims of the strike because of how badly burned everyone was, but he's also the kind of guy where you can infer he must be dead because the flow of Breed-shaped murders is cut off and that obviously wouldn't happen if he was in any shape to continue- there's no laying low for a comeback episode two seasons or 100 issues later. Until he's cloned back to life. But that's not precisely the same thing)

[cntoesussie]

The TF2 Mercenaries as Ghosts because Halloween Starts NOW (because I said so)

I think Scout's like an urban legend type of ghost. Y'know, the type of ghost kids talk about in the schoolyard? He's like a whistling you could hear on the baseball field if you visit at a certain time of night, and if ya step on the pitcher's mound, he'd appear. You two would have a one-on-one, and if you lost, you're gone. For good. Soldier's the type of ghost that can be found at a war memorial, saluting to the nearest statue/flag. He wouldn't interact, he'd be too busy lamenting his days gone by. The days when he was powerful, the days when life was exciting and rich and full... Pyro would be what appears to be a hand reaching out of the flames, beckoning you into their world of whimsy and pyre. And if ya step in, you'd join them in glittery hell. Pyroland would be your reality, forever. Demoman would be a bottle of scrumpy on a shelf, begging you to open and free him. And once you do, he'd materialize as the drink itself, drunk as he always is, wreaking havoc in the name of… nothing. He’s just doing what he wants, and that is having fun. Heavy would be the kind of benevolent ghost who would stay in his childhood home, making sure things were in order even after his death. It'd be a bit strange at first, seeing a hulking ghost floating throughout a seemingly unassuming cabin in the mountains, but he's like Casper. Kind and relatively harmless. Unless you provoke him. Then you’re fucked. Engineer would've built a robotic body to reside in just in case he dies, so he'd be a robot wandering the streets of Teufort, living life as he would normally, except in an artificial body. Just don’t be scared when a robot starts speaking with a perfectly replicated human voice. If he were to ever die, Medic would be the type of ghost to scare the living daylight out of anyone who dared enter the hospital he resides in. And when the hospital shuts down due to too many unexplained deaths and experimented-on corpses, he'd simply move on to the next one. Sniper would be a vague figure you'd catch a glimpse of in the distance, just standing there, staring. And when you do a double take, he'd be gone. But if you were lucky enough to get a good look at him, he would just continue to stare, unmoving, the dusty orange tint of his glasses standing out from his void-like appearance.

Spy would be the one to actually possess people, acting as them and getting into trouble. He'd lie, cheat, steal, etc., whatever makes him feel alive and young again. And when he’s had his fun, he’d exit the host’s body, leaving them to question why they seemingly blacked out.

[animentality]

Yes, these are all characters from my newest assassin romance/urban fantasy: 7 Deadly Habits of the Modern Demon Summoner, available here.

Full description below:

Transcription:

Twenty-three-year-old CEO Don Francisco wants one of the richest women in the world dead. Which one? Daphne Oakland: actress, model, heir to the Oakland financial empire, and unbeknownst to the general public, talented demon summoner. But since Francisco isn’t nearly as rich as the established Oakland family, he hires the only assassin he can afford: Sebastián Monterey, a down-on-his-luck, struggling demon summoner, the cheapest and lowest ranking one there is.

But Monterey is nothing like Cisco expected. He’s high-spirited, reckless, relentlessly cheerful …and worse, he’s a bit of a slut. The CEO is horrified to find out that Monterey has not just one, but seven angry exes in the killing business, who will stop at nothing to get in the way of an already impossible hit. Not only do they have personal reasons for wanting to see their former lover dead, they also have professional reasons: they are all currently employed by the Oakland family members!

To make matters worse, Monterey finds out the Oaklands are each protecting a demon ritual artifact for Daphne. When brought together, all 7 can be used to summon a demon more powerful than any currently contracted on earth. If he is to carry out this hit at all, he’ll have to interfere with the summon by stealing every artifact, and maybe even summon the demon before Daphne can.

But that's only if none of his exes kill him first!

[vivistf2brainroot]

Sooooooo

My brain hasn’t shut up about this but… what about a TF2 “monsters” AU, i mean monsters as in mythology monsters or like urban monsters, even cryptids

By far i have this

Medic: harpy, maybe a crow/raven or dove based harpy

Pyro: some kind if small dragon cuz of the fire and that

Heavy: i was thinking in a minotaur but then i thought about something originally from Russia and well, i have no idea what could it be

Spy: a changeling or whatever it can change its appearance/shape

Solly: maybe a werewolf, i’m not really sure what else he could be, i need more ideas

Demo: again a minotaur, but it happens that i have the same problem of heavy here cuz i thought it should be a Scottish being and idk what could be

With Sniper, Scout and Engi… well i have no clue and i really need help with this cuz my brain is yelling for drawing them as this. I’ll be very glad if someone says their opinion

[stealth-skills]

SVDM, 2018

The SVDM rifle is a modernized version of the well-known SVD rifle, preserving its unique reliability in challenging operating conditions. The rifle features a folding stock with an adjustable cheek rest and buttplate. The Picatinny rail on the receiver cover ensures secure mounting of various modern optics, night vision, and thermal sights of both domestic and foreign production. The SVDM rifle is equipped with convenient detachable bipods.

The thickened barrel provides stable accuracy performance during intensive firing.

The overall length of the rifle is 1155 millimeters when unfolded and 855 millimeters when folded. The weapon weighs 5.3 kilograms. The magazine holds 10 rounds of 7.62-millimeter caliber. Compared to its predecessor, the SVD rifle, the SVDM features an improved gas mechanism, ergonomic stock, and the presence of a Picatinny rail.

[myramyraotw]

Heimat Kommando Storch units are command and control oriented support units. Trained in the same fields as the STARs in the cadre with a focus on SIGINT and long range support via sniper. Upgraded "no-twitch" myomers, sub-dermal armour, targeting software and optics make these units uncanny snipers. The ability to control their oxidant pumps to an incredibly low flow allows these units to reduce their thermal signature to near zero. Paired with a HK-KLBR unit's perception altering affects these units are near impossible to spot in an urban environment.

Helga uses an upscaled 20mm VSSK rifle with anti-concrete rounds and a pm-9 as her sidearm. The rifle is designed to pierce through standard Eusan Nation civilian architecture.

STAR-HK4502 "Myra" fully approves of her battle sisters choice in weaponry and marks targets in hard cover with gusto.

[codmw2019-2022]

COD MW 2022 - Soap

John 'Soap' MacTavish's Operator Bio from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

//Operator Bio:

Name: Soap Citizenship: United Kingdom/Scotland | Language: English Faction Affiliation: SpecGru | Status: Active

The Scottish born, Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish, is a fearless, self assured and instinctive hard-charger. He remains the youngest candidate to pass SAS selection in Royal Army history. He earned the nickname ‘Soap’ for cleaning house with remarkable speed and accuracy in room clearance techniques and urban warfare tactics. He is competitive, daring and always looking for a win.

Soap is a trained sniper and demolitions expert, often operating in isolation and under pressure, performing critically timed activities in support of clandestine missions. He is a risk taker, a fierce competitor and a fighter in every sense of the word.

Soap has spent the last seven years carrying out both covert and overt operations around the world. In 2019, he was chosen to be part of Captain Price's newly formed elite special operations unit known as Task Force 141.

(AN: Just realised while writing the Operator bio out that they have changed it since MW3 has come out. Will find clips of the old bio and create a separate post for that.)

[narcolini]

caught out

frank castle x gn!reader, 1164 words

warnings for canon typical behaviours, reader’s one of the bad guys basically

for day 29 of whumpril: surrender & ‘final warning’

a/n: honestly i was almost tempted to make this into an oc fic becaue id made the reader character so fun and specific buuut i dont have the time or facilities to right now BUT maybe i will return to the idea in the future 👀 ps. love you madani im so sorry sweetie

tagging: @cositapreciosa @drabbles-mc @ashlingiswriting @hausofmamadas​ 

You’ve got a sight on her. Quite literally, your sight is lined up with the back of her head. Through the window she’s dumb enough to leave open after dark, curtains pinned back by the sides still. You adjust your grip. Your hands on the sniper, the rifle’s belly on the ledge, your knee in the gravel covering the roof-top. It’s a perfect shot from the perfect position. Better than you’ve ever had, and ever will again, really. Not by fucking luck, but patience, of course. Sheer fucking will.

You take a moment to check the sound again, turning up the volume of the radio pack attached to your waist. It crackles to life into your ear piece. Still watching television, Madani? A movie by the sounds of it—action, with a loud soundtrack, and louder gunshots. She’s still alone, still fixing her eyes to the phone in her hand. There’s no reason to wait. Distracted, unaccompanied, clueless. It’s all set up, just how you intended.

You stretch your trigger finger out, then put it back into place. Take a breath, exhale—completely. Hold.

‘Put it down.’

You freeze, because what the fuck else can you do, when there’s a gun set to curve of your skull, and a cold voice from behind you? There shouldn’t be anyone else up here, wasn’t, until now. And you hadn’t heard him approach, because of the fuzzing movie in your head.

You know who it is, of course, because it’s always Frank lately. If not for you, then for anyone else you talk to. He’s quicker than the cops nowadays. Has fucked up more plans and schemes, and just-fucking-revenge than anyone on Madani’s team.

He reaches around to tug the ear piece free of your ear, tossing it to the ground. ‘You didn’t hear me?’

‘I was on the phone,’ you lie, putting no effort at all into making it convincing. You’re leaning away from the sight now, looking at Madani’s apartment with just your own eyes, and watching her move from the couch, away from the window. He’s made you lose your chance. Stolen the moment from under you. You sigh. ‘You messed up my shot, dude.’

He doesn’t laugh—because of course not. Too serious for his own good. He already has you, he may as well take a load off.

‘Try wearing black next time,’ he comments, dryer than you were.

‘You mean camo doesn’t work in urban environments?’ You try to look back at him, just for the nose of his pistol to push your head forward again. Chin almost into your chest. Fucking ow, he could break the skin doing that. ‘Thought we had the same goal, Castle,’ you say, altering your angle. ‘I do this, and you got one less bloodhound on your trail.’

They’ve got him in the news now. Face on every TV screen. With Madani dead, it’d be a Hell of an easier job for him to do the same. Fake death, new life, start all over. He should be begging you, honestly. Should be lining your rifle back up and giving you a countdown.

‘Final warning.’ The gravel crunches as he stresses it, bringing himself closer. ‘Hands up.’

For a moment, you consider testing him. How final is final, after all? Boot to your shoulder, rifle forced to the floor, final? Or you over the edge of the fucking building, a pancake on the ground below, before you’ve even had chance to fight back, final?

‘Alright.’ You straighten, lifting both palms to the air by your head, so the gun swings loose on its strap. Over your shoulder like a birthday sash. ‘No killing today.’

He grabs you before you can even finish your laugh. Turns you roughly, violently, until you’re on your ass, back to the short wall between you and the sidewalk, ten stories beneath. He’s knelt like you were now, in your spot, with his fist twisting in the material of your collar. Knuckles to the bone, face inches from yours. Jesus, you pant a laugh, you’ve already conceded. There’s no need for all this. If he wants to make-out, he should’ve just said so.  

‘Y’know,’ you say, smiling through the ache in your back, and the pressure he’s applying to your chest, ‘I think we’d make a great team. If we worked together.’

‘I work alone.’

‘Eh, but that’s not true, is it, Frank?’

His eyes squint a fraction, then flick away from you. Then he’s talking over your shoulder like you aren’t even there. ‘Yeah, well, you’d be the last name on my list if I needed help.’

‘But I make the list?’ You suck a breath through your teeth. ‘Damn, I’m better than I thought.’

He pushes against you again, gaze coming back to yours. Fun’s over. You can see it in his face. You’re one sarcastic comment away from a bloody nose, a black eye. ‘What’s your deal with Madani?’ he asks. Right to the point.

You wind your head to the side. ‘That’s classified, I’m afraid.’ And it doesn’t matter in the slightest. Your vendettas are no less worthy than his own. ‘You wanna fight for it? Loser tells all their secrets?’

His fist turns another fraction, the cotton around your throat tightens.

‘Sure,’ you pant, ‘choke me out. But you gotta stick around til I wake up again.’ You paint a smile onto your lips that you know, you know, pisses him off, just for fun of it. ‘I don’t wanna miss saying goodbye.’

You watch the cogs turn, slow behind his eyes. He’s debating it, that’s for certain. Make you pass out, or bring you with him. Hell, maybe going other the edge is still an option, you should never assume death is out of the question for him.

Eventually, after thirty—two minute long—seconds, he grunts, pulling you up as he stands. No free-fall sky diving for you today. He’s dragging you back with him toward the rooftop’s exit, feet stumbling after his own. You’re trying to stay parallel with him, or even walk ahead to gain some advantage, but you can’t fucking get your feet straight under yourself. Boots catching, rifle nose bouncing by your knees. He may as well have knocked you out. It’d be smoother for him to drag you by the heel, than continue like this.

‘You don’t wanna talk?’ he says. ‘Fine, I got time.’

‘You gonna torture it out of me, Frank?’ He hasn’t hit you yet, he’s barely even grabbed you hard enough to leave a mark that’ll last. ‘Somehow I don’t believe you.’

‘Yeah,’ he breathes a laugh, ‘that’ll change.’

And is it wrong to say you’re excited, just a bit, in a weird, fucked up kind of way? That you hope he’s actually right? That his threats become real and he forces the answers out of you, somehow. That you get to see the Punisher, finally, in all his bloodied glory.  

[cerastes]

What are your thoughts of a possible Arknights event where you get to strategize against your own operators?

Like how W was a boss first but became an Operator, but it's you going against waves of Rhodes Island Reserve Ops (the no names) and occasionally Amiya or Texas or Kal'tsit + Mon3tr show up as the bosses.

I've thought about this, whether that be some sort of endgame "Doctor vs. Doctor" scenario or some what if event (something like PRTS replicating a perfect facsimile of pre-amnesia Doctor, or a battle-inside-the-mind existential showdown kind of deal, etc, plenty of ways one could provide context for this). Vigilo specifically made me think about this a lot, and I keep revisiting the concept in my brain palace now and then.

Regardless of how we get there, I'd love to see it. Personally, I'd lean into the vs. Pre-amnesia Doctor angle. Enemies would never really be referred to by name specifically, but gameplay and sprites would make it obvious, or at least indicative, as to who they are. Every enemy unit would have some sort of fuzzy mosaic effect covering their face.

Mooks would be Reserve Ops and the sort of RI/Babel Operator we see in cutscenes, the good ol' generics. Given how much Pre-Amnesia Doctor has been likened to a machine-like chessmaster, I think chess terminology would be fitting, although it needn't be used exclusively, especially for whenever it would be thematically appropriate not to use it. Generic footsoliders would be "Pawns", for example, and would very clearly be wearing Rhodes Island uniforms and colors (blue and black colors, mix of tactical gear and urban clothing). You'd have other more advanced units like snipers (Bishops), specialists (Knights), and hard-hitting, beefier units (Rooks).

There would be plenty of boss/midboss units, and their "tooltip" (the little pop up that appears mid-stage when a new units is introduced) would be entirely narrative. For example, you'd have:

'Ever-Marching Bulwark' - "The giant that carried the world if ordered to. No matter how grim the situation, he would always find a way to dispel the miasma." -> Ace. Effect: [Bulwark]: Ranged units will prioritize him if he's in range. Requires 2 Block to block. [Castled King]*: High HP, DEF and RES; Physical damage will raise his DEF, but decrease his RES. Arts damage will raise his RES, but decrease his DEF. *"Castling" is a chess technique used to protect the King.

'Unsung Champion' - "The hero killed and loved silently, like the shadow of a dear ghost. He could spot weakness in enemies as easily as virtue in friends." -> Scout. Effect: [Gaze of the Wraith]: Uses Ranged Physical attacks with no limit on range. Every 4 attacks, the next attack will target the unit with less DEF on the map. The amount of attacks needed to trigger this special ability decreases by 1 each time it is activated, also increasing damage dealt. Resets upon changing targets. [J'adoube]*: This enemy's route is determined by the number of allied units (the player's units) in its path. Unsung Champion will warp to the route with less units overall (melee and ranged) between it and the Defense Point (practically speaking, it checks every couple of seconds and warps to a tile equivalent to how much progress he's made). *"J'adoube" ("I knight"), or "adjust", is a special call in chess where you are letting your opponent know you're about to move a piece in the board, usually to center it on its square or if it gets otherwise displaced accidentally.

'Selfless Sage' - "Some could call her nosy, some could call her foolish, but the undeniable truth is that even if it dims her own fire, she'll fill this world with as much light as she can." -> Kal'tsit. Effect: [Selflessness & Spite]: Heals enemies at long range. Prioritizes 'Sage's Obsidian Juggernaut', then 'King's Pupa', then 'The King', then Leaders, and finally regular enemies. [Remorse & Rebirth]: Upon reaching 50% HP or if all active Leaders are defeated, spawns 'Sage's Obsidian Juggernaut'.

Making a cut here due to post length.

'Sage's Obsidian Juggernaut' - "A force of nature as unstoppable as it is unexplainable, not dissimilar to the Sage herself." - Mon3tr. Effect: [Meltdown]: The Juggernaut's Ranged attacks deal True Damage in a line, piercing through the targeted ally and hitting those behind them, leaving a damage over time effect for a few seconds. The Juggernaut's Melee attacks deal high Physical damage. After being hit a number of times (10), the Juggernaut's next attack will deal increased True damage and afflict the target with a longer damage over time effect that stacks. [Fallout]: Enemies defeated by True damage instances of the Juggernaut have increased redeployment time.

'Scholar's Mate'* - "Unusually durable and tenacious pieces. They can be reused, over and over. Useful in disrupting enemy tactics." -> W (Ranged Physical), Ines (Ranged Arts), and Hoederer (Melee Physical). They spawn at the same time. [Kriegspiel]**: All 'Scholar's Mate' must be defeated roughly at the same time, otherwise, they revive at 50% HP after a delay. [Queen's Gambit]*: The red-horned 'Scholar's Mate' plants bombs on three units in range, detonating after 3 seconds. Units defeated by this attack or an attack shortly after [Queen's Gambit] have increased redeployment time. [En Passant]*: The black-horned 'Scholar's Mate' presence in the battlefield slows down DP generation by 50%. Cannot be blocked, but moves slowly. [Albin Countergambit]*: The male 'Scholar's Mate' presence in the battlefield reduces SP Recovery rate by 30%. Attacks halt target's SP recovery momentarily, and don't reward SP to "Defensive" type Skills. *Various chess moves. **'Kriegspiel' is also known as "blind chess", in which two players play against each other 'blind', that is, they can't see the opponent's pieces. For this purpose, a third person, an umpire, is necessary to oversee the game.

'The King' - "The embodiment of tomorrow, incarnation of our hopes, and our dearest friend." - Theresa. Effect: [Noblesse Oblige]: Raises the ATK and DEF of every enemy in the field. Effect increased for Leaders. [Civilight Eterna]: Swings sword in a circular area around herself, dealing high True damage and reducing Max HP and DEF of allies hit. Leaves a [Regal Pulsation] behind on each use. [Regal Pulsation]: Every time 'The King' uses [Civilight Eterna], [Regal Pulsations] activate and replicate [Civilight Eterna] wherever they are. Can stack on top of each other. [Dead Position]*: 'The King' pours powerful Sarkaz Arts into the closest Ranged tile to her position, inundating it with dangerous Arts and rendering the tile unusable for the rest of the map. Immediately retreats the unit standing on the tile, and starts spilling onto other tiles. If there's Operators standing on these tiles, the spread is halted and they receive Arts damage continuously. If there's no Operator in the tile, after a few seconds, [Dead Position] spills over and makes that tile unusable. Can spill to Melee tiles. All [Dead Positions] vanish and become reusable if 'The King' is defeated. *A "dead position" is a position where neither player can mate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. Effectively a draw.

'King's Pupa' - "With time, she, too, can be a king." -> Amiya. Effect: [Chimera]: 'King's Pupa' slowly charges SP over time. Receives SP each time an enemy is defeated and each time an ally is defeated. Once SP is full, activates [Pawn Ascension]. [Pawn Ascension]*: 'King's Pupa' turns into another 'The King'. Avoid this at all costs. *Pawn ascension or pawn promotion is when your pawn reaches the other side of the board in chess and you can promote it into another piece, such as a rook, bishop, etc. Most players, of course, promote their pawns into queens.

'[NULL]' - "[CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. CLEARANCE IS INSUFFICIENT TO ACCESS THESE FILES. IN CASE OF ANY ERROR OR QUESTIONS, CONTACT THE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]" -> Doctor. Effect: [Resign]: '[NULL]' only appears after every other enemy has been defeated. No attacks, slowly trudges forward. They must be defeated to put an end to this. It was a good game.

I really would like to see the idea, the concept, of the current Doctor quite literally having a showdown with their past, current tactics vs past tactics, current ideals vs past ideals, to prove that today's idealism isn't mere bluster, that one needn't rely on sacrifice to get to the finish line, that we can all get there, we simply need to find a way, because it'd be not only a showdown of morality and to prove one's growth, it'd also entail having to defeat the shadows, plural, of the past, regrets, joys, all of it. Uproot the old, and change for the better, even if it means having to say one final farewell to beloved friends. Even if it means testing yourself against yourself, and them. It's because you would test yourself against yourself that it means something, after all.