#artifact hunt 2015

[preseriesdean]

for @spnficrecfest day six: case fics 🧡

Ions in the Ether by @nigeltde-fic 10.9k words, rated E, published 2019 When was the last time you trusted happy.

Gospel Truth by Cerberuss 15.2k words, rated E, published 2020 ‘DOES YOUR BROTHER KNOW THAT YOU WANT HIM?’ Individually placed letters, bold and tinged brown with the weather. Sam can’t look away and he prays, dream dream dream. This sort of introspection could have come from no one but himself. His secret, his affliction, on display as a reminder. He put this here. Don’t forget, Sam, you’re abhorrent. This is all you.

the constant vow by deadlybride / @zmediaoutlet 119.5k words, rated E, published 2022 With Crowley apparently dead and Sam's soul back in place, even though Eve is a worry and Castiel's fighting a heavenly war, Sam and Dean at last have some space to get back to what passes (for them) as a normal life. They've just finished up a pretty standard job and are killing time in snowy Wisconsin when Dean wakes up no longer looking like Dean. That's just the start of their problems.

Almost At Home by balefully 24.3k words, rated E, published 2008 Sam graduates from high school in early June in rural Tennessee. He and Dean start the summer with an all-nighter of celebration; the day after, while both fight hangovers, John calls to assign them their first hunt by themselves.

Suave & Complicated by OldToadWoman 56.9k words, rated E, published 2015 Sam and Dean discover a useful, little, magical artifact. No one is forcing them to do anything. No one is going to die if they don't. They don't even feel a strange compulsion. But… it would be really helpful if they powered up the magical stone… and… all they have to do is kiss.

Crossed Wires by @rivkat 10.9k words, rated E, published 2015, check warnings Dean thinks Sam is dead.

Yesterday, minnesota by @goshen-applecrumbledore 29.7k words, rated E, published 2022 Any initial awkwardness filtered away over a hundred miles of highway as Sam thumbed through the missing witch’s diary again. Some people had secret coke habits or secret second wives, and some people had passionate, pitch black, no-kissing sex with a family member every four to six months and never talked about it. You had to find ways to cope.

Sight Lines by kickflaw/kissyn 21.3k words, rated E, published 2012 Dad's on a hunt, Dean's acting strange, and Bilton, NY, is the last place on earth Sam imagined he would figure out how to make everything fit right.

They Then Ate the Sailors by coyotesuspect 24.3k words, rated M, published 2013 The summer before Sam leaves for Stanford, Sam and Dean sublet a student apartment in a heat-wave gripped Chicago. With John tied up with a case in Iowa City, Sam and Dean are left to figure what's behind a recent spate of drownings. Sam wrestles with the weight of the secret he's keeping from Dean, while Dean struggles with his feelings for Sam. Things come to a head when a young girl goes missing and Sam nearly drowns.

a thousand dreams within me softly burn by dooping_star 14.6k words, rated T, published 2020 "there is something fierce and terrible in me eligible to burst forth, i dare not tell it in words," - walt whitman, ‘earth, my likeness’, leaves of grass

[queer-starwars-bracket]

Queer Star Wars Characters (Round 4): General Bracket Match 6

Zeen Mrala | Identity: wlw | Media: The High Republic Phase I

Zeen Mrala was raised in the Elders of the Path cult, a religion which saw force-sensitivity as abhorrent. In a metaphor for being neurodivergent and/or queer, Zeen was force-sensitive, which was something she had to keep secret. When her planet was simultaneously affected by an Emergence and attacked by the Nihil, she was forced to use her powers to help the Jedi save her people. This caused her closest friend, Krix Kammerat, to feel betrayed, and he joined the Nihil. Unable to stay with the Path, she joined the Jedi of the Star Hopper, who agreed to train her as essentially a Jedi auxiliary even though she was too old to become a proper Jedi. She found it was much easier to make friends when she didn’t have to hide who she was, and easily found a family among the Padawans on the Star Hopper. She grew closest with the padawan Lula Talisola. She joined the Jedi in attempting to hunt down Krix, who was quickly growing in power within the Nihil. Through her Force connecting with Lula and the balancing of love and nonattatchment they were able to succeed. After Starlight Beacon was destroyed and Lula was declared missing, she swore she would do whatever it took to find her love.

When Zeen first confronted Krix after she decided to hunt him down, her anger at Krix’s reaction to his view of her powers drove her to Force choke him, only being held back by Lula. After further Jedi training, the next time she had Krix had her mercy she was able to resist his bait and didn’t harm him. She had come to terms that Krix had never really loved her if he couldn’t accept all of her. She took well to Jedi training, but never had any angst about not being allowed to become a proper Jedi. 

Chelli Lona Aphra | Identity: lesbian | Media: Star Wars Comics

Oh Aphra, where to begin. Honestly the best way I can describe her is that she’s Star Wars’ Vriska. She’s a “rogue archeologist” and in marketing material sometimes compared to Indiana Jones, but the only similarity is that she can feature in the same wacky stories about retrieving artifacts except with none of the mismatch between modern ideas about archeology and repatriation and Indy being the hero, because she specifically isn’t. She was originally created for the 2015 Darth Vader comic series, recruited to help Vader raise a force that would let him coup the Emperor. She was so popular she then got her own comic series, making her the breakout star of the Disney/Marvel Star Wars comics. The Fandom Menace can’t touch her.

Her comics have been a series of frankly strange adventures involving Force artifacts, Vader either working with her or wanting her dead, and double crosses that leave your head spinning. She has Thrawn level tactical abilities, but only for schemes. She is haunted by how her trauma born behaviors make it hard for her to maintain relationships and be a good person. She has so many exes it's an entire section of this tournament. Her most significant relationships have been with Sana Starros and Magna Tolvan. As of the end of the Spark Eternal arc, the comic seems to be leaning towards a poly ending with the three of them, but first Aphra needs to stop self sabotaging.

One of Aphra’s greatest achievements was at the end of her 2016 comic run, where she trapped Vader in a PTSD flashback Force artifact on Tython and hacked his suit to allow her to erase Hoth from the Empire’s records. She did this for the sake of her loved ones who had joined the Alliance. Doing this gave Echo Base enough time to build up before they were found again that they were able to evacuate much more efficiently. That’s right, disaster lesbian love saved the Rebellion.

[ohgraveyard]

Life of Rico Timeline

The presence of a few events of the canon uncharted timeline (denoted by red text) is included to lock those events into place due to the canon timeline having a bit of wiggle room (based off the fan wiki).

1971

Sam Morgan is born to Cassandra Morgan

1975

Nathan Morgan is born to Cassandra Morgan

1976

Rico is born under the name [REDACTED] to Peruvian-American immigrants in Houston, Texas

1989

Sam and Nate break into Evelyn's mansion, and henceforth are known as the Drake brothers rather than the Morgans

1991

Rico comes out to his parents as a lesbian

His parents poor reception of his sexuality causes him to run away

After a few months of being homeless and working under the table, he shows up on his uncle's door step

1992

Rico drops out of high school

1994

Rico starts working as security for various bars and clubs, both gay and not

1996

Rico realizes he's bi and genderqueer

2000

Millionaire Richard Healey recruits Rico at an exclusive club he's working at to be a personal body guard

2012

Rico is sacrifice to host the Guardian Spirit and becomes immortal

Rico kills Healey

Rico threatens and extorts Healey's widow to make up for the years of abuse

2013

Sam Drake is released from prison by Rafe Adler

After trying to live a normal life for several months, Rico is called back to the treasure hunting life

2014

Rico goes on a short job with Victor Sullivan while Nate is trying to live a normal life

2015

Uncharted 4 takes place

2016

Uncharted Lost Legacy takes place

2017

Rico is hired by Alaster Shadid to help him acquire [ARTIFACT]

Sam and Sully encounter Rico while on a job and need to steal information from Alaster

[arbitrarygreay]

Continuing to try to put into words why Sanctuary's episodes are markedly different from WH13 and Eureka's, despite the surface level genre show elements they all share. And I think that it comes down to the fact that Sanctuary doesn't have much of an episodic structural formula, as most of their episodes are high-concept and relatively more unified. Eureka (especially as it goes on) develops a strong episodic structural formula (science project goes wrong, the cast investigates, gets caught up in the effects, a red herring cause/solution, project goes catastrophic, Jack has to physically implement a solution while accounting for additional obstacles caused by the project intensifying). Even when it does have your usual high-concept premises (bodyswaps, characters get stuck to an emotion, etc.), they exist within the framework of this formula. Warehouse 13 does not adhere to a structural formula much. Every episode is an artifact hunt, but the shape of those investigations varies quite a bit from episode to episode. In addition, the artifact's effects don't always dominate the plotting, especially as the show often has multiple storylines going on. Per my previous post, this doesn't matter in the watching of the show because the cast chemistry carries the day, but it does mean that the show doesn't carry a legacy for its episodes as much (as opposed to individual sequences/scenes). And then, for both WH13 and Eureka, the episode plotting is mostly just a stage upon which the relationship stuff is played. Sanctuary, meanwhile, clearly doesn't have much in the way of planned long term thematic character arcs. At most, there's the slow increase in Will's leadership responsibilities. But there's no sense of "here is how the character should grow", especially not for Magnus, who self-actualized a long time before the show begins. Instead, each episode is a focused unified premise and tonal exercise, to which the characters are servicing. Character development is more of "here's another facet to the character the audience didn't know about before", rather than the traditional case of "and now the character changes because of the events of the episode", as is the case with Eureka and WH13. So, the episode plots aren't about facilitating a change in the characters, and it's more about looking at how they react to these specific situations. In Sanctuary, they pick a movie (a specific tone/atmosphere/setup) that they want to emulate, and then drop the main cast into that. "What does the character look like through e.g. a survival horror lens? How does the character act if they were in a film noir story?" One might also compare this to fanfiction that deliberately does not seek to emulate the source material. "Sanctuary is like browsing FIMFiction" the galaxy brain take lmao. Sanctuary also likes doing extreme focus on 1-2 characters going through an intense gauntlet (and if the other characters show up in the episode at all, only on the fringes). Isolated character showcases. Quite striking. They strip away any elements that would distract from the premise they are focused on. (Obviously Eureka and WH13 have examples of this kind of thing, but the point is that it's very noticeable when they do it, as it breaks from their usual formula/tone.) Something that really sticks in my mind is how Sanctuary aired a found-footage episode (S01E11 Instinct) in 2008, while Dr. Who wouldn't get around to theirs (S09E09 Sleep No More) until 2015.

[ksfreddo]

Destiny: No Time To Explain COMPLETE GUIDE

Posted on October 20, 2015 875 Upvotes | 96% Upvoted | 453 Comments

————————————————————

Hey guys! This mission can be unlocked by getting Praedyth's ghost in the Heroic/daily version of Paradox. Once you get it and also turn it in, you must wait until next weekly reset (Tuesday, 2 AM PST). The quest will be available to start in the Tower at Lakshmi, the FWC rep only on the character you handed the shell in on.

Here is a guide on how to get the ghost if you have not already done so. This is intended to only be done in Paradox when it is the daily. (Edit: It can be done when it's not the daily too. Here's how!)

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT WASTE MOTES TRYING TO GAIN REPUTATION IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE FIRST QUEST STEP. YOU CAN GAIN THIS QUEST AT 0 FWC REP. IT IS ON A TIME LOCK ONLY. IF YOU HAVE HANDED IN THE SHELL, YOU MUST WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEKLY RESET. DO. NOT. WASTE. MOTES.

Quest name: NOT FORGED IN LIGHT

Step 1: Ready for War

Description:

"Earn reputation through donations to the Future War Cult"

Quest Text Here

5 Motes of Light = 10%

25 Armor Materials = 5%

25 Weapon Parts = 5%

2 Heavy Synth = 5%

Step 2: Talk to Lakshmi-2

Step 3: The Simulation Core

Description:

"Here's how I see it: the Hive want to eat us. The Fallen want our stuff and the Cabal want our planet. But it's the Vex, Guardian, only the Vex can take our past away from us. If we're going to understand what these files mean, I'm going to need more context.

Hunt down a powerful Minotaur Taken by Oryx. Destroy it, and pull a simulation core from its husk. Shatter the core and return to me."

Quest Text Here

This is a GUARANTEED drop from doing the Paradox daily with the secret mission, so if you haven't done the daily yet and want a free legendary engram this is your best bet.

Any major/ultra Taken minotaurs can also drop it, but red minotaurs cannot.

This is the item it drops. It can be found in the Mission section of your inventory. Hold square (on PS4) while hovering over the item to shatter it.

After you destroy it, there's some cool flavor text

Step 4: Talk to Lakshmi-2

Step 5: The Eye of Atheon

Description:

"Excellent work. I'll make good use of the data your Ghost is feeding me. We've spect more time looking through these files, and we believe we know what your next step must be. It will not be an easy one.

Gather a Fireteam and return to the Vault of Glass. Confront Time's Conflux, Atheon, and take its eye. Within the eye will be invaluable data. Shatter it, as you did the simulation core, and then return to me."

Quest Text Here

This is super easy with level 40 Guardians. We managed to bring him down in less than 10 seconds with a tether and 2 Sleeper Simulants.

This does not need to be done on Hard mode!

Here's the item he drops, just shatter it like the last item.

Step 6: Talk to Lakshmi-2

Step 7: Approach the Twilight Gap

Description:

"Excellent. I'll begin my analysis of Atheon's data at once. In the meantime, I have results from the simulation core. The heart of the Minotaur revealed a ... ripple. A snag in the timestream around the Twilight Gap.

Head out to the pass, try to determine what Praedyth's Ghost saw there. Then, return to my side."

Quest Text Here

Step 8: Shadows at Twilight

After you spawn in, the mission updates

This can only be done as a single player.

You spawn in and slowly start getting blinded, similar to a Golgoroth wipe. You can clear the blind, and prevent dying by running into pools.

You must find an item, a bracelet, which is hidden in a chest. For me, it was near Point B in Control. For my friend it was near the special ammo spawn at Point C.

If you're a hunter, put on keen scout as the chest will show up on your radar.

Step 9: Talk to Lakshmi-2

Step 10: Approach the Black Garden

Description:

"Let me see what you ... a bracelet. With the symbol of House Bray? Ana Bray's personal sigil. Guardian, the inner circle will be grateful that you have returned this artifact to the Tower.

The data you retrieved from the Eye of Atheon, meanwhile, has pinpointed another ripple. This one is at the heart of the Black Garden.

It is time you returned to Mars. The rippled in the Garden apparently flows from a construct called "the Groundskeeper." Find it, destroy it. And return to my side."

Quest Text here

Step 11: Blood in the Garden

After you spawn in, the mission will update.

You definitely want at least one other person for this mission.

At the start, you must "anger" the Groundskeeper. You do this by killing the Vex. The Goblins will give you 2% increase in his anger per kill. However, if you don't kill them quickly enough you will start losing progress.

This format is similar to the speed patrol missions, except with kills.

Minotaurs will eventually spawn, a lot of them. These seem to give you somewhere around 7-10% anger but are obviously harder to kill.

They have void shields, so void weapons will make this a breeze.

Once you hit 100%, the Groundskeeper will spawn. He's a giant minotaur and you must kill him to progress. If you drop below 100%, he will despawn.

There will be tons of Minotaurs between you and the boss and they will keep respawning.

Dying here will not wipe you, it is not a darkness zone.

Here's a video guide on how to get to a helpful cheese spot. For some reason, the video skips but you can just jump there smoothly. You can't die here and can easily snipe out the boss.

Step 12: Talk to Lakshmi-2

Description:

"And now ... what? A ring, with the symbol of the Warlock Pujari? Death, again. Like Ana Bray, a Guardian fallen to the second death. Lost to us. We shall study these objects, Guardian. Learn why they have been pulled through time.

I believe your work is over. For now. Praedyth's files have unspooled. Their data undone like uncoiled strands of hair. And what has fallen free?

A weapon, transmatted from some time and some place, and specifically for you. Someone has taken notice of our actions, Guardian. Someday, we may be able to ask them what all this means."

Quest Text & Reward Screen here

Congratulations! Enjoy your No Time To Explain!

EDIT: Here's a short video guide!

EDIT2 : It looks like the reset did not make this quest available to characters who turned in Praedyth's ghost on 10/20. According to /u/nathanields "if you did paradox daily first time around and therefore had the 'Not Forged in Light' quest yesterday but didn't start it, it's still there today."

Reddit Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/3pjvre/no_time_to_explain_complete_guide/

[tscnews]

Actress/Director Jennifer Linch on Indie Filmmaking, Martial Arts, SDCC

About This TSC Interview: TSC News TV host Fred Richani interviews actress, martial artist, and filmmaker Jennifer Linch about the success of her feature film Kung Fu Ghost, San Diego Comic Con experience, being a non-union actress during the WGA strike, and the challenges of indie filmmaking! Jennifer Linch IMDB Bio: Jennifer N Linch is an award winning film maker. Her first movie The Dream won Best Newcomer at World Film Awards in June 2015 and Honorable Mention at LA Neo Noir Film Festival June 2015 . Her second film Flowers of The Night has won : Grand Prize at ICannes International Film Festival on 7-7-2015 , Best Action Picture and Best Actress at LA Neo Noir Film Festival on 8-8-2015. Winner of International Silver Award for Directing at International Film Competition Festival September 14 , 2015 and Winner of International Silver Award for Story and Screenwriting September 14 , 2015 . Winner Best Action Sequence at Urban Action Showcase , New York , Nov 7 2015 . Winner Filmmaker of The Year Silver Award Jennifer Linch opened up her own independent production company Sunshine Pictures on April 2014. She focuses on story telling and character development through the eyes of a martial arts filmmaker . In her own words : " Cinema is an art , the art of bringing an alternate world to life by following the journey of the characters and their development , the art of capturing the moment in the most visually beautiful way possible so their life can be immortalized on screens for years to come " Her focal point is to write , produce, and direct martial art films only. Using no sped up footage , no trick close up editing, no stunt doubles, Jennifer Linch collects the best talents in martial arts around the world to take part in her films. Outside of her entertainment obligations she has been training actively in karate, mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, Wushu sword dancing, self defense and stunt work. All of her many skills and over eight years of martial arts training are utilized in her filmmaking career. Kung Fu Ghost Synopsis: An adorable and ditsy young woman inherits her late grandfather's haunted estate but soon discovers that the ghostly inhabitants are there to protect the family's secret artifacts against treasure-hunting criminals. Once she learns of an unmatched power and confidence she has always possessed, the treasure-hunting criminals stand no chance against her and the Kung Fu Ghost!

[teepoxshop]

Stone Age humans made to-scale plans to build mysterious mega structures

Archaeologists working in Saudi Arabia and Jordan say they have discovered the oldest known architectural plans.

The “extremely precise depictions” engraved on stone slabs detail huge structures used to funnel wild animals such as gazelles into enclosures where whole herds could be slaughtered, according to a new study published Wednesday in the scientific journal PLOS One.

The Stone Age hunting traps date back about 9,000 years and are known as kites because of the shape they form. The ancient traps were first discovered in the deserts of the Middle East in the 1920s by aircraft pilots who spotted the striking shapes in the landscape.

Long converging walls, from hundreds of meters to 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) long, drive animals toward a large corral that is surrounded by a number of pits up to 4 meters (13.1 feet) deep. Some of the desert kites were the largest structures built in human history at the time of their construction.

“These structures are so large. When you’re on the ground in the field it’s hard to understand how they are built, what the layout and shape is,” said archaeologist Wael Abu Azizeh, head of the Jerusalem/Palestinian territories office at the French Institute of the Near East and a co-lead author of the study.

More than 6,000 kite structures have been found across the Middle East and central Asia, and they are most numerous in what’s now northern Saudi Arabia, southern Syria and eastern Jordan. However, the archaeological phenomenon has been little studied.

The accurate drawings of the massive kites suggested that the people who built and used the traps had advanced and sophisticated knowledge of perceived space and were able to process complex spatial information.

“In terms of cognitive development this is quite, quite amazing,” Abu Azizeh said.

In the latest research, archaeologists reported the discovery of two engraved slabs found in 2015 in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Abu Azizeh was part of the team that discovered one of the artifacts at a former settlement in the Jibal al-Khashabiyeh area in Jordan that is home to eight hunting kites.

He said he knew “within seconds” that the markings made on the 80-centimeter-long (2.6-foot-long) stone, thought to be 7,000 years old, represented a nearby kite.

“I had in mind the idea of the kites nearby and it came very suddenly, very quickly. And immediately to me that was a drawing of a kite,” Abu Azizeh said.

His colleagues in Saudi Arabia unearthed a larger engraved stone in the region of Jebel az-Zilliyat that was almost 4 meters (13 feet) long. The slab depicted two different kites that were only 120 meters (394 feet) apart. The engraving is thought to have been made 8,000 years ago.

The shape, layout and proportions of the engravings were consistent with actual remains of the kites, the study found. The depictions were also in keeping with cardinal directions — north, east, south and west. The engraving found in Saudi Arabia was created at a scale of approximately 1:175, meaning that the actual kites were 175 times larger than the engraving. The kite in Jordan was 425 times larger than the schematic marked on the other found slab.

Archaeologists find 5,000-year-old tavern – including food remains – in Iraq

“The engravings are surprisingly realistic and accurate, and are moreover to scale,” the study said.

The only exception was the oversize representation of the deep pits — the circles on the stones — that the animals would have been funneled toward before being slaughtered. Abu Azizeh said they would have been barely visible if reproduced to scale, and the exaggerated size might have represented the pits’ importance as the location where the animals were actually killed.

While there are more ancient engravings in Europe thought to portray maps, and other, rougher depictions of hunting kites have been discovered, these two engraved slabs are the oldest known to-scale drawings. Not much is known about the people who made the kites, which likely would have been a massive undertaking involving the collective effort and investment of a large group. The kites, which were sometimes organized in chains, would have allowed these communities to hunt large numbers of animals at a time.

[sarvendaralakshmanavijayarajan]

Blog post - 03

Stories Narrative theory & interactive narratives

The game which I chose for this topic is called

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Interactive storytelling is used in video games and other interactive media to allow players to make choices and take actions that affect the story's direction. It engages players in the game's world and gives them a sense of agency over the events that unfold.

One example of a game that uses interactive storytelling is the role-playing game "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt." which is an action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. It is the third main game in the Witcher series and is based on fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski.

In this game, players control the character of Geralt of Rivia, a witcher (a type of monster hunter) who is searching for his missing adopted daughter. As Geralt travels through the world, he encounters various characters, both allies, and enemies, and must use his skills and abilities to survive and achieve his goals. Along the way, he is faced with several choices that affect the story's direction and the game's outcome.

As players progress through the game, they are presented with several choices that affect the story's direction. For example, players can choose which quests to undertake, how to interact with non-player characters, and how to respond to certain situations. These choices can have consequences that affect the outcome of the game and Geralt's relationships with other characters.

From a narrative perspective, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" employs a number of techniques to tell its story and engage players in the game's world. One of the critical elements of the game's narrative is its use of interactive storytelling, which allows players to make choices and take actions that affect the story's direction. This will enable players to feel more invested in the game and give them a sense of agency over the unfolding events.

In addition to interactive storytelling, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" also uses other narrative techniques to keep players engaged. These include character development, dialogue, plot twists, cutscenes, and other non-interactive story elements that help advance the plot and develop the characters.

One specific example of interactive storytelling in "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" is the quest "The Price of Neutrality." In this quest, players are asked to choose whether to side with the Nilfgaardian Empire or the Northern Realms in a conflict between the two. The player's choice has significant consequences for the story, as it affects the outcome of the war and the fate of certain characters. This example illustrates how interactive storytelling can give players control over the story's direction and create a sense of player agency.

Another example of interactive storytelling in "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" is the quest "Family Matters." In this quest, players must decide whether to help a character named Vernon Roche or his rival, Thaler, in a dispute over a valuable artifact. The player's choice affects the quest's outcome and the relationship between the two characters. This example shows how interactive storytelling can create branching storylines and multiple possible outcomes for a quest.

Overall, interactive storytelling is a key element of "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" and is used to engage players in the game's world and give them a sense of control over the events that unfold. By presenting players with choices and allowing them to shape the story through their actions, the game is able to create a rich and immersive narrative experience.

References:

Register with US (no date) Noobfeed. Available at: https://www.noobfeed.com/news/10204/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-turns-5-gwent-now-available-on-steam (Accessed: January 10, 2023).

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. 2015. Windows, Playststation, XBox [Game]. CD Projekt: Worldwide.

[thinksmartandwinmillions]

DeftTorero: tactics, techniques and procedures of intrusions revealed

DeftTorero: tactics, techniques and procedures of intrusions revealed

Earlier this year, we started hunting for possible new DeftTorero (aka Lebanese Cedar, Volatile Cedar) artifacts. This threat actor is believed to originate from the Middle East and was publicly disclosed to the cybersecurity community as early as 2015. Source: DeftTorero: tactics, techniques and procedures of intrusions revealed

[sitp-recs]

Hey, Liv! recently, I've been having a craving for size queen draco. So do you happen to have any recs for that? Thanks!

Hi anon! That’s a golden trope indeed 😂 I love the mix of hot smut and humor that comes out of it. I hope you enjoy these gems:

Hung Like a Horntail by @lqtraintracks (2015, E, 2.3k)

Draco's become a bit obsessed with Harry's sizable package. It's a little distracting. Even more so when it's up your arse.

The Antique Bed Frame by @lazywonderlvnd, @fae-vorite (2020, E, 5.4k)

Draco “needs his bed fixed.” Harry offers to help.

If the Cock Fits by tryslora (2015, E, 6k)

It’s like Cinderella, only Draco’s arse is the shoe left behind, and he’s searching for the perfect prick that fits.

Luckiest Fucking Size Queen Alive by @l0vegl0wsinthedark (2016, E, 6k)

Potter escorts me home, presses me into my front door and kisses me with a ferocity that’s exhilarating. And then Potter asks me, in a growl that makes my cock throw a wet tantrum in my pants, how many more dates I would deem mandatory before I let him fuck me. I drag Potter to bed.

Seeing Stars (brighter than the constellations) by @carpemermaidtales (2017, E, 7.3k)

After “accidentally” overhearing a rumour that Harry Potter is hung, Draco cashes in a few favours to ensure he’s the reporter doing the Puddlemere United post-game interview with the team’s prized Seeker in the team locker room.

Aletheia by @lazywonderlvnd (2020, E, 8.3k) - dubcon, polyjuice sex

Draco finds out Daphne's been shagging Potter and it turns out it's really not that difficult to get a piece of her hair.

Chasing Treacle Tart (and Draco Malfoy) by xErised (2018, E, 23k)

Malfoy, who is sentenced to work as a dinner lady in the Ministry canteen, has an annoying habit of withholding desserts from Harry.

If you’re a Draco/Ron fan or consider exploring this ship, I can’t recommend these 2 awesome fics enough! Hung!Ron ftw 🙌🏼

Sarff A Llew by Camaendir (2017, E, 4k)

Ron and Draco are stuck in Wales hunting down a distributor of cursed artifacts.

A Fine Foray into Fashionable Fellatio by @wellhalesbells (2020, E, 31k)

First comes tolerating, then comes shagging, then comes unintended consequences.

[septembersghost]

this is saved in my drafts from December 15, it was a section of a message to @alaynestone that I intended to polish up and write in a more cohesive way, but I never actually did that, and finding it again just made me decide to post it in its (mostly) raw form.

by now, I've written stray thoughts on this subject and the way I knit it to the Winchesters often, so it's not exactly a new topic here, but I'd been thinking a lot about folklore, the nature of what that is and how those stories continue on, ever since the album came out (a year ago now!), but also as its own concept, also because of reflecting so much on Supernatural before it came to an end. how culture and time crafts and shapes that, what we wrap ourselves up in narratively.

there is a particular power to ghost stories. it isn't only about the fright, the haunting or the presence, the danger of it, it's about our desires, our hope that there is something which remains. even if that something is a terror, is there a consolation in perceiving it, holding onto it, recognizing and understanding that it's there? ghost stories aren't about the dead, but rather what keeps death from its claim. we tell them, in many ways, to remember. if there is a spiritual realm beyond the earthly one, we seek it out, and part of the way we do that has always been storytelling. a ghost is a wish.

folklore was once considered "lowbrow" - something that extended from the "common" people, informal, rural, the fringes of proper society. but its study and preservation reveals so much about those people, their culture, their customs and beliefs, their interconnectedness, the losses and victories that look small on the outside but leave lasting ripples. folklore is a breathing thing, not an artifact, because it is constantly being given life anew. it moves across generations, perhaps gently reshaped with time, but the need for it remains the same. folklore is about humanity.

Supernatural is folklore in a way I don't think genre fiction (certainly on television) has ever attempted, not in the same sense, not in the prism of archetypes that the Winchesters and the stories they followed represented. maybe this is bias because Supernatural was really what got me to watch every other genre show I’ve watched - there are so many, but none of them entirely compare to me? I appreciate and enjoy them, but it’s not the same - the other shows are fun and absolutely had impacts on me, but they never mattered as much. that's likely the indelible power of SPN coming first in my life, in 2005 - things like Buffy and The X-Files existed before and were undeniably influential on the crafting of SPN, but they came into my consciousness later (BTVS in 2008/2009, The X-Files in 2015, when SPN had been a part of my life for an entire decade) - but it was also because the boys felt like they WERE the lore to me, more so than the monsters they hunted, they were the legend that was being woven, being passed by word of mouth from one tale to the next. the places changed, but they carried through. the path wound forward and we followed them along it. neon motel signs and rolling fields, flashlight beams falling across a tombstone, rings of salt, sparks from a match - that was evanescent. they left it behind them each time, but they were the constant.

my heart was planted with those boys in their car on the open road, and the specific yearning and eeriness and complexity, from the pilot. maybe it was timing and what I was going through, that I needed something that much and it hit a particular place with grief and longing themes to me that I needed to have, I don’t know. there are so many complex reasons why I latched onto it, so many reasons why it was Dean (which I've definitely addressed many times, in countless ways), so many reasons why it was Sam and Dean together as integral pieces.

I don’t go back to episodes of others shows, even ones I like rewatching, to feel...what I feel with Dean specifically, and with Sam and Dean and all they encompass. people knew this about me (family, some friends that I don’t have contact with anymore) way back in 2005/06/07, and thought it was strange because of the way my “femininity” and emotionality/sensitivity have always been viewed (and devalued lol), because they saw the surface image of two hot guys fighting monsters and didn’t get it. I was already long obsessed with spookiness and Romanticism and gothic horror and deconstructions of heroic characters, but how to explain I saw all those things in the show? the folklore is such a huge part of it. there’s a unique sense of passing stories (and their baggage, the generational trauma and the inextricable bonds of light) on. a unique sense of bereftness, which doesn’t sound like it should be comforting, but that had such an effect on me. the isolation, the shadowy spaces, the visible breath, the headlights in the night, and these two boys filling up all its edges. the aesthetics, the symbolism. the questions about faith and reason and meaning. maybe it’s because I lived in constant fear and isolation when it started too, before I adjusted to that. maybe it’s because I’ve thought of myself as a ghost for so long. whatever the reason, that was all so formative. (hence why seeing it desecrated was more than a “I’m mad this fictional thing I like got ruined and was sad at the end,” and was more a “they violated something personally dear to me and murdered someone I love most in front of my eyes” kind of reaction).

nothing will ever be quite like it again, because nothing else is going to explore loss and connection, trauma and adriftness, love and desperate need, vengeance laced with empathy, violence succumbing to tenderness, the way they did. imperfect, silly and camp at times, problematic at others, sure, but that's not the point. it was not prestige™ television because it wasn't supposed to be, and there's a real pretentiousness surrounding that which bothers me, that insinuates that the practice of episodic television slowly building its pieces is lesser, when it's simply different, much like comparisons of "scholarly" literature to folklore in the past. the medium of television may be the same, but the method isn't and shouldn't have to be, if we think of the vast array and mosaic of how any form of storytelling is presented.

what made them fascinating and worthwhile was the soul of it. genre shows, especially monster-of-the-week shows where we get that rich development and the luxury of time with the characters, are fading away completely. keeping things as tight as possible actually reduces the imaginative aspects, compresses that folklore. they had so much space to exist, to feel lived in and real to us, to walk in our minds in interesting ways. the passion and attachment that came with them is an almost primal thing, because it comes from such a human place. the spinning of stories.

they felt like those whispers in the night, to tell by firelight, glinting in the dark. something with fear and love in it, both a dire warning and a protective amulet to hold onto. they are ghosts now, really. they’ll never disappear. they haunt every frame of 327 episodes. they’re ghosts with us too, held to us with that invisible string.

I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs..and I knew you’d come back to me - there are lyrics for them everywhere on that album, and I keep giving them double meaning within and without the narrative. (aside, since I wrote this seven months ago, I guess it was inevitable that I would make this post?) passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long.

I’d rather think of them as ghosts than as gone, and that’s probably not kind of me due to what that means in their world, but they beckon us back in spite of ourselves. when someone tells you a place is haunted, don't go in - but of course we do. we surrender to it. ghost story, love story. same thing, really. both undying. their spirits are too strong to be put to rest or made silent. even as an echo, the heart keeps beating.

[redlenai]

hi there, uhhm, I wonder if you would talk more about your story involving that character of yours that looks like Castiel, are you planning on making a novel or a comic about it in the future?

Hi hi! Sure thing! I'm just going to speak ahead and tell you I have ideas but I- I don't draw them haha.... I focus more on works than my own projects ;w; as well, I've been making a bit of lore for it since 2015, and a few things accidentally ended up being similar to Supernatural despite it was only on 2021 that I managed to get to day with the series and it's finale. Back in 2015 I've only watched at the end of Season 8-9, idk...

My story, which doesn't have an official name and I've just referred to it as "Le Fantastic Story" is meant to be a comic in the future, maybe in manga or webcomic format.

The setting and Universe is heavily influenced by Supernatural's but has quite a big amount of Devilman and Trinity Blood on it, even a bit of Blue Exorcist and Good Omens.

The story follow the adventures of Thomas Sillything(18) and Derek Van Dercycle(20), two young adults who have been raised together since kids and travel around the world. Thomas, a young priest working for Trinitatis a Porta, a secret organization by the Vatican while Derek is a Bounty Hunter, looking for treasures and artifacts that belong to the Hidden-World.

After a year of being separated thanks to warfare with a vampire group on their hometown, Thomas and Derek reunite during a mission that collided with the others's, and by insistence of the younger boy, they are once again stuck together.

They have "Monster of the week" and "Treasure of the week" cases.

Thomas was an orphan baby, who was given to Rachel Sillything by a man whose face couldn't be seen. He was raised in a small town in Austria and lived with his adoptive mother and older brother. He grew up to defend the town he loved with the help of the local Church who openly taught it's people about the Hidden World creatures. He is childish, likes anime and videogames. Despite he works as a priest, he doesn't have an official Title by the Vatican, just the license for hunts and other gigs.

Derek on the other hand, was a kid that was found in the forest near Thomas's town and adopted by the Sillything family later. While on the early beginning of the series I won't be showing much of Derek actually being intersex, that'll be explored later. There is a lot of mystery around him, especially the fact that he has magic and can summon blue flames.

The story basically starts as two brothers reuniting after a year of being apart, while solving cases, they catch up to what they were doing during that year. We learn more about Derek's past and why he appeared out of nowhere in a forest, as well, about the fact that he isn't human, but a Driaochta. A species born from Angels of Creation and Celtic Gods. As the Hidden World demonstrates it's bigger than what most of humans believe they know about, a threat arises on Derek real hometown in the Blasket Islands, (A believed) empty group of islands from Ireland.

In this world there are several creatures but as well sub-classes for ones such as demons, angels and half-bloods. Demons are divided in sins and type of demons. Angels are divided into two subclasses: Destruction and Creation, as well some even have the biblical ranks of seraphim, cherub, archangel and such. Half-bloods aren't frown uppon on most of societies but it's hard for certain species to hide their supernatural heritage. Especially for merman, or any species with animal-traits. Even nephilim aren't discriminated that badly, except for the most traditionalists angels, which are the Archangels or Higher-Ranks.

There are as well different organizations, aggrupations and market in the Hidden World. As well exclusive locations or pocket dimentions to ensure the "Normal World" doesn't find out, as it is an important rule when it comes to Worldwide Constitutions and Peace Arrangements.

Vladimir appears super in the middle-almost end of the series, he is revealed to be Derek’s father (Despite he doesn’t know thanks to brainwashing). He is actually a very caring man who was banned from his homeland in Ireland and was forced to adapt to our world, being homeless, dealing with PTSD and depression. He is also the guardian of the Last Book of the Driaochtas, as the rest were burned down thanks to a civil war years prior to Derek’s birth.

[rpgsandbox]

In 2014, Magpie Games launched a Kickstarter for Urban Shadows, an ENnie award-winning tabletop roleplaying game of political urban fantasy that quickly became one of our flagship titles. For years, fans have praised both the game’s effortless explanation of the Powered by the Apocalypse engine and the groundbreaking content on race and urban communities, leading Urban Shadows to be a favorite of urban fantasy gamers, podcasters, and streamers alike.

Now—more than six years later—we are returning to the dark streets of the city for Urban Shadows: Second Edition, updating the game’s rules, look, and tools to better support moving stories of political urban fantasy. Featuring new playbooks, new faction mechanics, and completely revised materials from first edition, Urban Shadows 2E will thrust you into the danger and drama of the city like never before!

                      Download the Urban Shadows Quickstart here

Urban Shadows is a political urban fantasy tabletop roleplaying game in which mortals and supernaturals alike vie for power in a modern-day city. Vampires, faeries, hunters, wizards, and more clash in the shadows...or make backroom deals for their piece of the streets and skyscrapers. No one is ever safe, and everything is always at stake.

In Urban Shadows, you play unique and powerful archetypes, protagonists who are attuned to the supernatural world. While the mortal world remains ignorant of the struggles of the city’s supernatural denizens, you are caught in the middle of the physical conflicts and political drama of the city’s past, present, and future.

You might be a spectre bound to an artifact, unable to move on until you’ve resolved your trauma. Or you might be a clever vampire who controls the best blood supply in the city, caught up in a war between your kind and those who hunt you. Or you might be a veteran of your city’s ancient conflicts, someone who got out of the game but keeps getting drawn back in by friends and allies.

No matter who you are, you contain within you the power to shape the city’s destiny. What future will you choose? And what will your victories cost you?

Urban Shadows is based on the Powered by the Apocalypse system used by tabletop RPGs like Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, and many of Magpie Games’s own titles such as Masks: A New Generation, Root: The RPG, and Zombie World. The game uses the core framework of that system to provide a strong, simple way to create your own stories of political urban fantasy. You’ll create a character using one of several archetypes, and then you’ll take action, rolling two six-sided dice to resolve the outcomes of dangerous and difficult situations.

Urban Shadows creates stories like those you’d find in Constantine, Diableros, The Dresden Files, The John Wick franchise, The Last Witchhunter, Lost Girl, and The Wire.

In Urban Shadows, the city is a living, breathing character all its own. It hides dark desires, wicked deeds, and devious schemes, its shadowy tendrils a danger to mortals and supernaturals alike. Some residents have sacred sanctums or secure workshops—places to weather the storms of the city—but a sprawling metropolis lies just outside those little nooks, caring little if you prosper…or bleed out in the gutters.

But nobody faces the city alone. Even the humblest of imps has a small community, a circle of those who can offer solace in the face of problems and danger. But community is a double-edged sword—demanding as much as it gives—and the needs and desires of those same circles constantly shape and reshape the vibrant urban landscape of the city. Nothing lasts forever, but the city turns over nearly every night, different forces laying different claims to you and yours.

The city hungers. Will you sate its gnawing desires? Or will your enemies make you the feast?

The schemes and plots of supernatural beings have been a part of the city for as long as anyone can remember. The faces at the top may shift and change with the tides of fortune, but rarely does something occur in the mortal world without some push from those who lurk in the shadows. A new subway system? A contested election? A bank robbery? Nothing is what it seems.

But what is mere money or prestige to wizards, ghosts, and faeries? Who cares about cash or elections when trafficking in human souls or exploring other dimensions? The supernatural forces of the city—and the mortals who deal with them—know only one real currency: debt.

Debt is the power to influence those who owe you, the chits you call in to get things done, the ties that bind you to the rest of the city, and the proof that your word is strong and your bonds unbreakable. There are few true friends in the city, but your debtors always want to see you survive—you can’t pay up if you’re dead.

But there are other ways to triumph in the city beyond the economy of favors and patronage. Cruel rituals. Dark secrets. The temptations of the monster within you. Those who seek power at any cost will find no end to the magics and mysteries available for the merest price of a soul.

The streets bleed shadows—your debtors always around the corner—as the city threatens to swallow you whole. Will you die a hero… or live long enough to become the villain? Will you fight the darkness…or beg for power? The choice is yours.

Over the past five years, Magpie Games has developed and created multiple games that broke boundaries and redefined what PbtA can do. Now, we think it’s time to apply the lessons we’ve learned to Urban Shadows, making a game that’s tighter and easier to run, but also filled with new ideas and improvements, including new tools for players and GMs. We’re also excited to create a beautiful new book with visionary art and fantastic graphic design. In short… we’re making Urban Shadows 2E because we’re thrilled to revisit and refine our work!

Here’s a quick list of the major changes, many of which are already available in the quickstart:

revised basic moves, including new versions of turn to violence and let it out

revised playbooks, including rebuilt versions of The Hunter and The Oracle

two brand new playbooks: The Sworn (Power) and The Imp (Wild)

changing Factions to Circles—see below—and adding Circle Status to represent standing

a new downtime phase of the game focused on player-facing city moves and rumors

replacing Storms with a new MC-facing faction turn, including new faction moves

expanded MC tools for generating your city and Circles at the start of play

We’re also adding a new mechanic to bring PCs into contact more often with each other: City Hubs. Cities are enormous spaces, and we found (in US1E) player characters could sometimes retreat to their different corners of the cityscape, interacting only with their own worlds and not with each other. With City Hubs, we want to create smaller, expandable environments to focus play and create drama. These Hubs—described below—position characters in neighborhoods, institutions, and community spaces in which they interact more frequently and avoid sessions in which PCs rarely come into contact and conflict.

Download the quickstart for a chance to test out some of these new features! We’ll be previewing more of them during the campaign, and we’re excited to get your feedback and refine Urban Shadows even more. Thank you to everyone who has given us feedback on 1st Edition since 2015!

In Urban Shadows, your characters juggle relationships and obligations, seeking allies and opportunities, cashing in debts along the way to get things done. When you seize the day, you reshape the city in your image and unleash your powers on those who stand against you; when your enemies move and hunt, you do your best to stay ahead of the oncoming storm.

Urban Shadows uses the Powered by the Apocalypse framework to resolve interesting moments of uncertainty through moves, bits of mechanics that say: “When you do [x], [y] happens.” Each move trigger—the “When you do [x]” part—is designed to help point at moments of uncertainty, when neither the players nor the GM know exactly what happens next. Some examples of such moments include:

When you throw a punch at a loudmouthed werewolf in a demonic club

When you plead with the wizard’s council to return a tome of magic stolen from you

When you try to escape the evil ritual you stumbled onto in the city’s sewers

When you ask one of your companions to forgive the debt your fae lover owes them

When you trigger a move—when you perform the action described in the move’s trigger—then the rest of the move kicks into effect, often requiring a die roll. You roll 2d6 (two six-sided dice) and add in one of your stats to find out what happens.

Every playbook has four stats:

Blood is the measure of your fight or flight instincts. It tells us how tough, dangerous, coiled, and quick to act your character is in a perilous situation.

Heart is the sum of your passion, charm, and charisma. It tells us how proficient your character is at getting what they want through negotiation and persuasion.

Mind is a reflection of your critical thinking and analysis. It tells us how perceptive your character can be and how good they are at manipulating others through deceit.

Spirit is a gauge of your connection to the “other” and your force of will. It tells us how focused your character is under pressure and what kind of power they can unleash.

Each stat is ranked from -3 to +3. You add your stat to some rolls when you trigger certain moves. For example, when you turn to violence, you roll 2d6 + Blood.

On most moves, if you get a 10 or higher (10+), things go your way! If you get a 7-9, you get what you were after, but usually with some cost or complication. If you get a 6 or lower, that’s called a miss, and the GM gets to tell you what happens next as things spiral out of control.

Urban Shadows has basic moves for all the usual conflicts in urban fantasy—fighting, lying, escaping, magic, and more—along with special moves for managing debts and your relationships with communities at large.  

The city is a fierce cesspool of politics and corruption, but there are clear connections and boundaries between like-minded residents, spheres of influence that make up the scope of politics within the city. Most call these divisions Circles, loose political groupings that illustrate the differing affiliations and loyalties in the world, each one a community with its own internal politics and dramas. The Circles are:

In addition to the main stats, each character also has ratings (from -3 to +3) for their Circles, measures of how well the character understands each specific community. A character with a high rating in a Circle has contacts and connections within it, and can easily interpret its political information; a character with a low rating in a Circle doesn’t understand how that Circle works or who the power players are within that community.

Circles aren’t organizations or formal alliances; they are more like broad communities or subcultures. The disagreement between two members of the same Circle may be as—or more—intense than any conflict between two differing spheres. A werewolf and a vampire both hail from Night, but that doesn’t mean they get along. It only means they understand each other...and the violence inherent in the language of their streets.

Yet there are factions within each Circle capable of acting in unison, alliances who can shape the city’s future—werewolf packs, witch covens, faerie courts, and more. In Urban Shadows: Second Edition, we’re giving GMs new tools to support those factions in a “faction turn” between sessions. We’re also giving players new tools to get stuff done in downtime, acting on the rumors they heard about what the factions have done in the past week or two of offscreen activity, all fueling the drama of the city and the power players have to shape the setting.

Urban Shadows uses archetypes (The Wolf, The Wizard, The Oracle, etc.) to help players create characters quickly and easily. These archetypes are only ever a starting point; you can always bring in different myths, legends, and ideas to make your character entirely your own.

Characters often acquire abilities and powers from other archetypes and may even change archetypes over the course of play. As your character advances, you may also find reasons to retire to safety, securing that character’s place in the city as you create a new character to continue your group's story.  

Absolute power...corrupts absolutely. Urban Shadows features a dynamic corruption mechanic, tracking your character's descent into darkness. When you take a life, give in to your monstrous nature, or cross a line you shouldn't cross, you mark corruption. As you gain corruption, you unlock new and potent powers, allowing your character to get what they want—at the cost of further corruption. The dark side of your nature bears productive fruit.

Power is never free, though. Cross the line too often and you lose your character to the darkness, handing them over to the GM for them to play as a threat. Corruption is a downward spiral threatening to push you over the edge, and not everyone is cut out to make it back from the brink. As your character gains new abilities fueled by the growing darkness within, you face a difficult choice: will you give up what you've gained to save yourself?

Corruption also encourages you to play to your archetype. Each archetype contains unique boundaries and taboos that define when you mark corruption. Life is always sacred, but werewolves, mages, and faeries all face unique temptations while stalking the city's streets.

Cities are giant, complex networks of interconnected communities caught in an almost constant state of change. In order to focus your characters’ conflicts and provide reasons for the players to consistently play together across those spaces, Urban Shadows 2E uses City Hubs—dynamic sections of urban life that frame the story you’re telling together without cutting you off from the rest of the city’s potential.

A City Hub isn’t just a physical district or area of your city. Instead, each Hub is a collection of institutions, relationships, and anchors—important NPCs—that create a background for the action in your story. Even better, Hubs can be added over the length of a campaign, expanding the city with new locations, conflicts, and NPCs as your story progresses.

Urban Shadows 2E features four City Hubs, each dominated by one of the four Circles:

City Hall (Mortalis)

Downtown (Night)

The University (Power)

The Arts District (Wild)

Perhaps your Tainted is a student at the local university, the same campus that lies within the Wolf’s territory...and the same institution at which the Wizard recently started working as a professor. Or maybe your Oracle has an occult bookstore downtown in the same office building in which the Sworn is regularly summoned to meet with the wizard’s council, just down the street from the family restaurant in which the Aware still waits tables.

Hubs are also a flexible tool for structuring your campaign as a whole. You can use two different Hubs set in the same city for different campaigns, you can grab elements from any Hub to use as inspiration for your campaign, or you can expand your campaign to include new Hubs as your city grows. We’ll release new Hubs through this campaign as stretch goals and as digital supplements after the Kickstarter.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, November 19 2020 9:00 PM UTC +00:00

Website: [Magpie Games] [facebook] [twitter]

[halloweentv]

Celebrate Halloween time on Disney Plus. You can think of it as your own DIY “Disney’s Halloween Treat”

Halloweentown movie seties

Marnie discovers she is a witch and visits Halloween town while learning more about her powers

Hocus Pocus

The Sanderson sisters come back on Halloween night for revenge.

Mom’s got a date with a Vampire

Adam and his sister set up their mom on a date so they can sneak out. But they didn’t expect her date to be a vampire.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Jack akellington daocovers Christmas and tries to take over.

Frankenweenie (movie & Short)

Victor loses his dog Sparky but brings him back to life with some

Girl Vs. Monster

The daughter of two monster hunters must take on a monster of her own.

The Simpsons

Treehouse of Horror episodes. Every season has an episode early in the season that parodies horror and other pop culture. Classic Halloween specials...at least the first few seasons for sure.

Big Hero 6

s1e22 Obaki Yashiki

Hiro visits a haunted house and keeps seeing Tacashi around the city.

So Weird

S2e07 Boo

On Halloween Fi finds the town they’re in filled with strange trick or treaters.

Suite Life of Zack and Cody

S1e19 Ghost of 613

Zack and Cody find out there is a legendary haunted room in the hotel.

Gravity Falls

S1e7 Summerween

Gravity Falls loves Halloween so much they celebrate it in summer as well.

Phil of the Future

S1e15 Halloween

Debbie is revealed to be an evil cyborg

Even Stevens

S2e11 A very scary story

Louis realizes the kids at school are turning into zombies without eyes.

Lizzie Maguire

S1e24 Night of the Day of the Dead

Kate disrespects Miranda’s artifacts from the Day of the Dead.

Boy Meets World

S2e6 Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf

Cory goes through some changes and he thinks he may be becoming a werewolf.

Lilo & Stitch

S1e5 Spooky

It’s Halloween and an experiment turns people’s worst fears into a reality.

————————————————-

A list of 6(7) episodes that all connect at the same Halloween event it was marketed as “Monstober Spooktacular Weekend”

Jessie

*S4e18 The Ghostest with the Mostest

Stuart warns the kids about a ghost named Abigail.

Girl meets World

S2e18 Girl meets world of terror 2

Riley and Maya meet a ghost!

I Didn't Do It

S2e18 The Bite Club

A fortune teller predicts bad luck for Logan.

K.C. Undercover

S1e24 All Howls Eve

KC dresses as a spy for Halloween to impress a new boy.

Best Friends Whenever

S1e9 Cyd and Shelby's Haunted Escape

Cyd and Shelby teleport to New York and get stuck in an escape room with Riley and Lucas.

Austin & Ally

S4e15 Scary Spirits & Spooky Stories

A trip to New York inspires three spooky stories

-Also part of the crossover event but on Netflix as of Sept. 2020

Liv and Maddie

S3e5 Haunt-A-Rooney

Liv and Joey travel to New York for Halloween

————————————

I didn’t do it

S1e18 Next of Pumpkin

At the Holla!-ween fest, Garrett is stuck in a corn maze

Jessie

S2e1 The Whining

The kids go trick or treating while Jessie fights exhaustion

S3e1 Ghost Bummers

Jessie and the kids throw a Halloween party.

S323 The Runaway bride of Frankenstein

Jessie doesn’t know how to respond to Brooks’ proposal.

Best friends whenever

S2e6 Night of the were-diesel

Austin & Ally

S2e1 Costumes & courage

Jimmy Star asks Austin to perform at his annual Halloween costume party

S3e20 Horror stories and Halloween scares

Power outage leaves the friends locked in Sonic Boom over night.

Ultimate Spider-Man

S2e21 Blade

Spider-man fights alongside vampire hunter Blade to stop Dracula

S2e22 The Howling Commandos

Spider-man teams up with the howling commandoes to save his friends.

S3e10 Halloween night at the museum

Jessie and Spider-man team up to save Halloween.

S4e20 Strange Little Halloween

Trick-or-treaters begin turning into real monsters.

Phineas and Ferb

S1e9 One good scare ought to do it!

Isabella is inflicted with an extreme case of hiccups.

S1e 22 The Monster of Phineas- -Ferbstein!

The grandparents tell the boys about Ferb’s ancestor.

S3e14 That’s the spirit! /The curse of Candace

The kids encounter a strange boy who is convinced his house is haunted.

S4e18 Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy of Terror

In this Halloween episode, our characters, star in three terrifying tales.

S4e19 Drusselsteinoween/Face your Fear

When Doof inherits a castle, Vanessa moves her Halloween party.

S4e30 Night of the living pharmacists

Dr. Doof turns people of Danville into Doof-zombies

Wizards of Waverly Place

S3e2 Halloween

The wizards hire real ghost to keep the sub station the best haunted house.

Hannah Montana

S1e17 Torn between two Hannahs

Miley’s look alike cousin goes to the Hollywood Halloween party and tries to expose Hannah’s identity.

Kim Possible

S1e14 October 31st

When Kim lies about not wanting to go trick or treating with Ron there are some unexpected consequences.

That’s so Raven

S2e2 Don’t have a cow

Raven uses a spell book it make her costume better b it she ends up turning into a cow.

Proud Family

S2e2 A hero for Halloween

Penny eats some scary snax and gets super powers.

A.N.T. Farm

S1e14 Mutant Farm

S2e13 Mutant Farm 2

S3e12 Mutant Farm 3.0

Halloween themed episodes based on each seasons premiere.

Shake it Up

S2e5 Beam it up

Flynn thinks his neighbor is an alien

S3e25 Haunt it up

Flynn challenges Deuce and Ty to stay the night in a haunted house.

Kickin it

S1e12 Boo Gi Nights

On Halloween the Black Dragons are expected to wreak havoc.

S3e15 Temple of Doom

The gang host a Halloween party at the temple

Milo Murphy’s Law

S1e20 Milo Murphy's Halloween Scream-A-Torium!

Zack doesn’t think anything about Halloween can scare him anymore.

Star vs. the forces of Evil

S2e11 Hungry Larry

Star and Marco help Mr. Diaz create the scariest Haunted House on the block

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The classic tale of Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman

Donald Duck

Trick or Treat

Donald plays a trick on his nephews but a witch helps them out.

Mickey Mouse

Lonesome Ghosts

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy run a ghost exterminating agency.

Goof Troop

S1e29 Hallow-Weenies

Pete and Goofy get captured by ghost so Max and PJ need to rescue them.

Duck Tales

S1e65 Ducky Horror Picture Show

A group of monsters rent Scrooge’s convention center for their meeting.

Mickey Mouse

S1e10 Ghoul Friend (2013)

S2e8 The Boiler Room (2014)

S2e19 Black or White (2015)

*The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular (2017) (hopefully this will be added to Disney Plus soon)

Recess

S3e34 Terrifying tales of recess

Bitch tells the kids three scary Halloween stories

Recess: Taking the 5th grade

Spinelli believes she is too old for Halloween

Ravens Home

S1e11 The Baxtercism of Levi Grayson

Booker and Levi try to fool a ghost-hunting classmate.

S2e16 Switch-or-treat

Raven and Booker switch bodies on Halloween.

S3e10 Creepin’ it real

On Halloween, a spooky new neighbor moves in.

Sonny with a Chance

S2e18 A So Random Halloween special

Shaquille O’Neal hosts a Halloween special.

Good Luck Charlie

S2e12 Scary had a little lamb

Teddy and Ivy take Charlie trick or treating but an annoying kid ruins their night.

S3e16 Le Halloween

Teddy and Spencer celebrate their anniversary and Amy dresses as a kangaroo

S4e14 Fright Knight

Teddy and her friends decide to go Halloween caroling.

Stuck in the middle

S2e18 Stuck in a merry scary

Harley hopes to prank Rachel

Fish Hooks

S2e5 Halloween Haul

The gang go trick or treating outside the tanks.

Gargoyles

S2e7 Eye of the Beholder

The Gargoyles are able to go out on Halloween night. Meanwhile Fox becomes more of a wolf.

Twitches

Reunited twin girls discover they have powers.

Twitches too

When a new evil threat arrives, it’s up to the twitches to save Coventry.

Doug

S1e8 Doug’s Bloody buddy

On Halloween night rumors circulate that Skeeter is a vampire.

S3e6 Night of the living Dougs

Doug’s friends and family are too busy to help him make a Halloween costume

The Emperor’s New School

S1e20 The Yzma that stole Kuzcoween.

Yzma sets out to destroy the annual Kuzcoween holiday.

Honorable Mentions

Bizardvark

S1e12 Halloweenvark

S2e12 Halloweenvark: Part Boo

S3e7 Halloweenvark part 3: Mali-boo

Crash and Bernstein

S1e2 Scaredy Crash

S2e2 Health-o-ween

Mighty Med

S1e3 Frighty Med

S2e3 Liar, Liar

.

[bookiemonsterph]

The Isle Of The Lost

Synopsis:

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that's been left to rot and forgotten by the world.

But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon's eye: the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it...who will it be?

Maleficent, Mistress of the Dark: As the self-proclaimed ruler of the isle, Maleficent has no tolerance for anything less than pure evil. She has little time for her subjects, who have still not mastered life without magic. Her only concern is getting off the Isle of the Lost.

Mal: At sixteen, Maleficent's daughter is the most talented student at Dragon Hall, best known for her evil schemes. And when she hears about the dragon's eye, Mal thinks this could be her chance to prove herself as the cruelest of them all.

Evie: Having been castle-schooled for years, Evil Queen's daughter, Evie, doesn't know the ins and outs of Dragon Hall. But she's a quick study, especially after she falls for one too many of Mal's little tricks.

Jay: As the son of Jafar, Jay is a boy of many talents: stealing and lying to name a few. Jay and Mal have been frenemies forever and he's not about to miss out on the hunt for the dragon's eye.

Carlos: Cruella de Vil's son may not be bravest, but he's certainly clever. Carlos's inventions may be the missing piece in locating the dragon's eye and ending the banishment for good.

Mal soon learns from her mother that the dragon's eye is cursed and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends." In their quest for the dragon's eye, these kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad.

Title: The Isle of the Lost Series: Descendants Author: Melissa de la Cruz ISBN: 1484720970 (ISBN13: 9781484720974) Pages:  311  pages (Hardcover) Published: May 5th 2015 by Disney-Hyperion Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Children, Adventure

My interest in this novel was thanks to initially seeing advertisements for the first made-for-television Disney movie, The Descendants, which, much like the book here, focuses on the offspring of four of the most notorious neer-do-wells in the Disney universe. (And, as a sidebar, the movie is honestly good, clean fun! I know I’m not in the target audience for it but I really did enjoy it, and the songs are super-catchy.)

Overall, I found The Isle of the Lost to be a speedy, entertaining read. Plot-wise, the novel focuses on and fleshes out the lives of four young antiheros: Mal, daughter of the evil fairy Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty; Evie, daughter of the vain Evil Queen from Snow White; Jay, son of the wizard Jafar from Aladdin; and Carlos, son of puppy-hatin’ Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians. These four teens, their parents, and others like them (read: villains) have been eternally banished to the Isle of the Lost by edict of King Beast (from Beauty and the Beast) who rules the United States of Auradon. As far as the four leads are concerned, they aspire to be as bad as their parents, but they’ve not quite earned their proverbial stripes.

I really enjoyed the character dynamics here, which is what caused me to bump this up from three-stars to four-stars. Even though this is a fantasy story, the teens have to contend with making their parents proud (something that’s a part of growing up even in the real world). Mal struggles most of all as her mother rules the Isle; Evie hopes to maintain her mother’s high standards of outer beauty; Jay is determined to be the best thief on the Isle; and Carlos, who is an inventor at heart, struggles with his fur-loving mom and her demanding ways.

Even though these kids are the flesh and blood of notorious folks, I called them antiheroes for a reason. They’re not do-gooders by nature, so the titles of “hero” and “heroine” don’t fit. On the other hand, these kids aren’t full of cold-blooded, black-hearted evil either, so they don’t qualify as true villains. Instead, they’re antiheroes – figures who are neither consistently moral nor abjectly immoral and who make good, moral choices at times. The best instances of this arrive in the book’s latter half where the gang seeks out the Dragon’s Eye, a magical artifact that will cement Maleficent’s power. Even though from the start Mal acts like this is all about her, her attitude changes and she shows that she’s not entirely like her mom in a good way. As a whole, while there is some teenage drama here (something I cringe at if it happens too much), it’s not all-encompassing as the story focuses more on developing the lead characters as individuals, not having them constantly squabble or wallow in angst.

Overall, character-wise, this is a fun romp, and long-time fans of Disney will be pleased with the incorporation of many familiar faces, from the members of King Beast and Queen Belle’s court to the denizens on the Isle. The author clearly knows her Disney neer-do-wells and presents them in a light that, much like a Disney film, doesn’t negate the fact that they’re not heroes but doesn’t make them psychotic and bloodthirsty either.

As stated, the characters saved this from being a three-star read for me. Writing-wise, this novel is a simple, quick read for adults, but at times, it’s almost a little too simplistic though it manages not to insult an adult reader’s intelligence and, to be fair, this wasn’t penned with grownups in mind anyway. That being said, the best audience for this novel would be pre-teens and young teens (i.e. ages 10 to 15). Anyone younger probably won’t appreciate the character dynamics and/or Disney villain line-up (as they might be too young to be familiar with much of the canon), and anyone older than 16 might not be attracted to the novel’s delivery. However, I, an adult reader, liked it enough to keep it on my bookshelf and I’d definitely read any related books if this happens to become a series. It definitely has potential and I’d love to read more.

Content-wise, this is a very age-appropriate novel for its chief audience. There essentially is no profanity aside from some invented words and a PG-level word here or there, but the occurrence is so sporadic, if you blinked you’d miss them. There really is no violence other than some nasty (but overall harmless) pranks some of the villains pull. Lastly, there is no sexual content of any kind and the interactions Mal and Evie have with Jay and Carlos are chaste and appropriate for their characters’ ages. Overall, parents and guardians should have nothing to fear in handing this novel off to their Disney-loving pre-teen or teen (though I always encourage parents and guardians to read books first as everyone has a different spectrum for gauging appropriateness for various ages).

In the end, The Isle of the Lost is a fun, frothy read with colorful characters and plenty of potential for future adventures. While the writing itself can be a bit too breezy in terms of simplicity, it works as a vehicle to carry the plot and characters. For pre-teens and young teens, this is a treat; and adult readers can enjoy it, too, for its homage to some of Disney’s best of the worst.

[carelessgraces]

GENERAL STATISTICS

FULL NAME Astoria Ileana Grim. NICKNAMES Stori. ALIASES Elena Hawke, Elizabeth Vane.

DATE OF BIRTH 22 August 1993. PLACE OF BIRTH Venice, Italy. ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS Leo sun, Libra moon, Leo rising. GENDER Cisgender woman. PRONOUNS She/her/hers. SEXUALITY Bisexual. HEIGHT 5'3". HAIR COLOR Red. EYE COLOR Brown. TATTOOS Several (found here). SCARS Several (found here).

ETHNICITY Italian, Swedish, Irish. RELIGION Stregoneria / stregheria. (notes here)

POSITIVE TRAITS Adaptable, ambitious, clever, perceptive. NEGATIVE TRAITS Capricious, hedonistic, manipulative, selfish.

PHOBIAS None. MENTAL HEALTH Healthy (situational, trauma-related symptoms).

SKILLS & ABILITIES

EDUCATION Hargrove Academy (1997-2008), St. Colman Catholic Academy (2008-2011), Harvard University (2011-2015), University of California at Berkeley (2015-2016). CAREER Collector, co-owner of Belladonna Apothecary. SPOKEN LANGUAGES Fluent in Italian, Veneto, and English, reading fluency in Latin and Irish, conversational skill in Irish, Spanish, Swedish.

MAGICAL SKILL Thaumaturgy, elemental magic ( esp. water ), household magic, divination. PHYSICAL SKILL Self-defense ( krav maga ). Lock-picking, pick-pocketing.

TIMELINE

22 AUGUST 1993 Astoria is born in Venice, Italy, to Seraphina Greengrass and Kasper Grim.

30 JUNE 2008 Astoria is formally removed from Hargrove Academy and moves in with Evander and Elyssa Vetri, who begin to teach her death magic, specifically expression.

1 MAY 2009 Evander and Elyssa bring Astoria with them to Paris, where they attempt to steal a heavily guarded grimoire. In the process, both Evander and Elyssa are killed, and Astoria is found, frightened and injured but otherwise safe, two days later.

1 SEPTEMBER 2009 Astoria moves in with her mother’s sister in Boston, MA, where she enrolls in St. Colman’s Catholic Academy to complete her education.

17 JUNE 2011 Graduation from St. Colman’s. She is valedictorian, cheer captain, and a member of the school’s girl’s soccer team. She is, also, a very active member of a community of local witches who meet in Salem.

6 SEPTEMBER 2011 The start of Astoria’s education at Harvard University, where she completes a double major in history ( focused in early modern Europe ) and folklore and mythology ( focused in witchcraft, magic, and demonology ).

20 MAY 2015 Graduation from Harvard University.

19 AUGUST 2015 Astoria begins an intensive course of study at Berkley for a master’s degree in folklore.

18 DECEMBER 2016 Graduation from University of California, Berkeley.

22 DECEMBER 2016 Astoria relocates to Dublin, Ireland, where she buys a building and opens a shop, Belladonna Apothecary, with her brother Damon. She splits her time moving forward between Dublin and Boston, when she isn’t traveling for work.

HISTORY (tw: abuse, torture, death, murder via poison, suicide attempt)

** Please note – this history is developed through extensive plotting with potterstillstinks, who writes Seraphina, Daphne, and Damon Greengrass.

This verse will be adapted as necessary to fit various other timelines and fandoms. You can see a breakdown of how I approach magic here. This is how I’ll write Astoria’s magic in this verse; any different approaches to be magic will be for verses based in specific fandoms.

The Greengrasses became titans: a family line of barons, the title bought in the sixteenth century and often more expense than it was worth, struck gold in the early days of Victoria’s reign. Generations of work as merchants and a bone-deep ambition left them well suited to fulfill the growing spiritualist interest in seances, divination, and summonings. They sold books written by folklorists and anthropoligists alongside tarot decks, candles alongside herbs, bezoars and adder stones alongside broomsticks and wands. For the more discerning clientele, they sold hands of glory, notes and diaries belonging to court sorcerers and alchemists, grimoires from medieval witches, cloaks and caps of invisibility.

    It didn’t matter much whether or not the Greengrasses believed; elevated from a barony to a dukedom, they cared more for the development of their earthly power than anything of other worlds. Their wealth and influence grew, and while the majority of the Greengrasses were skeptics, some were more open to the evidence presented to them. Among them was Seraphina Greengrass, heir to the Greengrass fortune, and when she went looking for a highly-desired grimoire she found witches, real witches, practicing their craft in Venice. With them she found Kasper Grim.

    When she suggested marriage he said yes; when she asked him to take her name he said yes; he adored her ambition and her power and wanted nothing more than to support her in it. Together they had four children: Camilla, five years after their marriage; Daphne and Damon, twins, three years later; and finally, two years after the twins, Astoria. All four of the children inherited Kasper’s gift and Seraphina’s drive. The family split their time between Venice, visiting Kasper’s parents, and Dublin, where they lived normal lives, cut off from their magic except in theory.

    As Astoria grew, she began to recognize apparently ever-increasing depths of power. She had an instinct for creating spells, often producing magic far beyond her years, and a particular knack for manipulating water. Kasper’s cousins, the Vetri siblings — also Astoria’s godparents — offered to help teach her better control, so as to keep her from causing unnecessary damage, and, trusting their family to look after their youngest, Kasper and Seraphina agreed to allow Evander and Elyssa to educate her.

    At first, it was everything Astoria had dreamed — at fourteen she left the mundane academy in Dublin to travel and study throughout Europe instead, crawling through ruins, poring over old books, copying out spells and practicing creating her own. The farther she got into her education, the stranger things became: her guardians were vehemently opposed to allowing her to study anything besides what they found useful, and often emphasized the kinds of magic that made her skin crawl. It wasn’t enough to manipulate water; they taught her instead to locate water in the body to heal, to harm. It wasn’t enough to invent spells; they taught her to push her boundaries, to create spells that had no business existing.

    The magic made her more powerful, but more volatile as well, producing frequent and excruciating headaches, often uncontrollable shaking, dehydration, and nosebleeds. As her physical health deteriorated, her attention to detail grew sharper: she realized that Evander and Elyssa would push her far beyond her limits so that they could direct her magic without her interference when she was in pain, and that without her, they were significantly less powerful than she’d imagined. They needed her, but she wasn’t sure why; when she began to ask questions, or refused to follow their orders, they began to punish her, often violently.

    Knowing that she couldn’t destroy them using only magic, she turned to logic, using Evander’s wrath and Elyssa’s pride against them. The weaker-willed they imagined her, the more they let their guard down. She first realized that they intended to use her as a human shield when she was fifteen: the Vetris brought her with them to hunt down a grimoire said to possess the means of prolonging human life, with far greater success than anything else they had encountered. The book was heavily guarded, and Astoria took the worst of the protective spells’ effects; she woke days later with no memory of the venture’s end, and only her godparents’ word that it had been a success. It became clear then that if Astoria was going to survive, her godparents could not.

    She picked a fight, knowing how it would end. The following night, her injuries treated only enough to keep her from something worse, she begged forgiveness, and she watched in silence as her tormentors choked on their own bile, the cups of coffee she’d brought them as a peace offering crashing to the floor. It had been easy enough. Just a little bit of poison. Something mundane, something they never saw coming. She used her magic to dispose of the bodies, to speed up the decomposition until they were nothing but dust. And she waited alone in that house for days until she called the police, sobbing, saying that she didn’t know where her godparents were, begging for help.

    The police who contacted her parents that night explained that the Vetris were missing. Their daughter was in shock. The x-rays taken at the local hospital showed several healed fractures indicative of abuse. What she needed most was to go home.

    Astoria wouldn’t speak until they were back in Dublin; her first day back she tried, and failed, to kill herself, and the day after she called her aunt overseas and told her that she couldn’t, wouldn’t stay in Europe. It took some convincing before her parents agreed that she would move to Boston, where she lived with her aunt as she completed her secondary education. She pursued a bachelor’s degree in history and folklore, spending her graduate education focused on history — specifically, the Italian Renaissance. After completing a doctoral degree, she and her siblings gathered together to take up the family business. Astoria, Camilla, and Damon came together, opening small occult shops in various cities; expanding, they said in magazine interviews and on the shop’s website, building off the foundation of our aunt’s store in Boston.

    They served upscale clientele, providing them with high quality magical goods and everything from spells to exorcisms to potions, and while Camilla and Damon took on major roles in sales, Astoria followed in her mother’s footsteps, and began to collect ( sometimes illegally ) artifacts for more discerning collectors. ( Occasionally, she was asked to take more than just a few artifacts — and, more and more, Astoria found herself in the business of selling secrets. )

IN A WORLD WITHOUT MAGIC

NAME Grim, Astoria Ileana ( born Greengrass ). DATE OF BIRTH 22 August 1993. CURRENT LOCATION Boston, MA. OCCUPATION Sale and authentication of antiques ( 10th - 16th century ).

CHILDHOOD Born 22 AUG 1993 to Kasper Grim and Seraphina Greengrass in Venice, Italy. Educated in Dublin, Ireland until 2007. Withdrawn from Hargrove Academy before beginning of Fall 2008 semester. Missing, unreported, from 30 JUNE 2008 until 11 MAY 2009; presumed living with godparents, Elyssa and Evander Vetri, in London, UK. Filed missing persons report, stating that ten days prior, her godparents left her home to run errands and did not return. Medical examination showed evidence of several healed fractures ( ribs, clavicle, nose ) and active injuries ( fracture in left wrist, poorly treated compound fracture in arm recent dislocation of left shoulder ), as well as severe trauma likely due to abuse and neglect. After several interviews, and only with parents and paternal grandfather ( Aleksi Grim, also acting as her legal representation ) present, admitted that she had been abused during the eleven months she was missing. No bodies were discovered, and no evidence of foul play was found. Relocated to Boston, MA to live with maternal aunt ( Astoria M. Townsend ); changed name to Grim to avoid confusion with her aunt.

EDUCATION Completed high school education at St. Coleman’s Catholic Academy, graduated with honors ( Spring 2011 ). Attended Harvard University to double major in history and folklore & mythology ( Fall 2011 - Spring 2015 ), before attending University of California at Berkley for an intensive master’s degree in folklore ( Fall 2015 - Summer 2016 ) and Columbia University to earn a PhD in history with a focus in the Italian Renaissance ( Fall 2016 - Spring 2021 ).

CRIMINAL HISTORY Any criminal activity is suspected, not confirmed. While Grim’s godparents were heavily involved with several criminal syndicates across Europe, Grim herself seems to have escaped relative unscathed, and without much attachment in Europe. In the United States, however, Grim is linked primarily to corporate and political espionage of questionable legality, usually in the employ of Senator Adam Vega ( D-NY ). Suspected in the theft and illegal sale of several medieval artifacts, but could not be definitively tied to any.

KNOWN ALIASES None. KNOWN ASSOCIATES Elyssa Vetri ( paternal first cousin once removed, godmother. Deceased. ); Evander Vetri ( paternal first cousin once removed, godfather. Deceased. ); Senator Adam Vega, D-NY ( business associate ).

SUSPECTED ALIASES Elena Hawke, Elizabeth Vane. SUSPECTED ASSOCIATES Raymond Reddington, unconfirmed.

NOTES Criminal record consists solely of two parking tickets and two speeding tickets. Despite her godparents’ connections, Grim does not appear to pose any physical threat. Noted as charming and persuasive, but believed to be acting within the bounds of legality.

Several deaths, seemingly unconnected, all without any evidence of foul play. All victims seen with a woman, blonde hair, late twenties to early thirties, in the 48 hours prior to their deaths. No evidence found that this is the same woman.

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS Involved with Iain Blackwood from Spring 2010 - Fall 2016; engaged from Fall 2014 - Fall 2016. A handful of alleged romantic connections, none of which have been publicly acknowledged, though she was linked to Vega from Summer 2017 to Winter 2018. Have remained close friends since apparent breakup. Tends to frequent theaters; especially fond of opera, little interest in most art. Not taken particularly seriously outside of her work due to reports of a hedonistic lifestyle, though this does work to her advantage when it comes to making new social connections.

PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS Travels often for work. Works closely with several universities, despite preferring to sell to individual collectors ( themselves often academics associated with these universities ). Well known for her skill in negotiations and her patience, as well as her willingness to lose customers if she finds them personally unpleasant.

Her staff is varied but she travels regularly with a handful of personal guards, led by Lorenzo Vescovi, also considered a close friend. Has been trained in self-defense, but prefers not to engage physically. Some have joked that even if she did need to get violent with anyone, it’s unlikely she’d ever have to do it herself. Will only pick up a gun herself if she feels the need to make a point.

Loyal to her allies, though she has yet to be linked to any criminal activity, even when those allies are arrested. Could suggest a willingness to step back and extricate herself from any danger? If she has done so, she’s done it effectively. No one seems to have a grudge against her.

Relationship with Vega seeming to cool, though there have been no indications of a falling-out.