The Database/Databank/Compendium/Collection

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Not to mention, all the different types of obscure phyla, kingdoms and species of creatures you can turn into. I'd just stick to the main ones (cat, dog, horse, rat, etc), and a few quirky ones (shark, insect, dinosaur, etc).

Then again, they seem to take the idea of listing EVERY POWER EVER quite seriously.

[Zaleramancer]

This site is of interest to me.

It details information for some sort of forum-based roleplay. The forum itself has been shut down because the person in charge apparently was unhappy with the number of people on it, so I can't check and see any of it.

But this wiki still exists.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Have you checked to see if the Forum is on the Internet Archive?

Doubtful it is, but it's possible.

[Zaleramancer]

Huh, I'll have to use that to take a look at things.

I came by the site while looking for info on Malakim. They have a page on Loa.

The wiki as a whole seems to take inspiration from Supernatural.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Google Books also helps.

Angels A to Z: A Who's Who of the Heavenly Host.

Because I despise getting my factual information from on-purpose fiction, and things based on on-purpose fiction.

[Zaleramancer]

I don't like Google Books because it always drops pages from the books.

Which pisses me off.

At any rate, sometimes there's so little information on things that I have to pillage fictional sources for ideas.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Yeah, cutting out major portions can be a big pain in the butt, when I come across a fascinating mythical critter, and I can't finish the information-gathering on it because the page cuts off, but I do prefer that to the fictional imaginings of somebody whose assertions can later on be easily disproved within the actual mythology.

Not that I don't like the fictional embellishments AT ALL. I just think they should come in when necessary.

Some folks are okay to get rid of parts they don't like (and sometimes, I can look at a particular creature/being/figure, and see why such a feeling is justified), but I prefer to fill in gaps where there's no information at all.

Like the Neades. Some folks think they were based on dinosaurs, and others say they were based on elephants, but there are no surviving pics of them, as far as I know. As such, it's up to my imagination to make something tangible out of ancient-time descriptions, and interpretations of ancient time phrases. No harm, no foul, because you can't prove my description any less accurate than any other description.

That's not exactly necessary, though, when you already HAVE a myth detailing the exploits of vampires, for example. Making them sparkly emo vegans with none of the traditional vampire weaknesses and only a few of their traditional strengths, is sort of, um...unnecessary, no?

Not that I really care which perspective you take, either way (it's really your business), but I feel I should make my feelings on the subject known, for posterity's sake.

[Zaleramancer]

I think change is good.

After all, that which don't change don't live.

A new breath of life into an old myth is always such a cool thing to see. It means they still live on.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

By all means, that's certainly one way to view it.

[Myself]

Indeed.