#I read the lore once in a blue moon and used to skip a lot but I'm working on fixing that

[mahiloo]

It's ChiLumi angst time.

Lumine sighed as she got out fully clothed of the room that she had set up in the garden of her sereniteapot, feeling refreshed.

She had already had dinner tonight, accompanied by her teammates, who had already gone to their respective bedrooms, be it in this space created created and given by adepti, or in Teyvat. Now was the time for her to also go to bed, knowing that yet another day of daily commissions awaited her.

As she was mechanically heading to the liyuean mansion erected in front of her, her mind couldn't help but wander, aided by the relaxation brought by the warmth of the water that she was in just a few minutes ago.

"Aether...", she thought to herself. "What could you possibly be doing right now?"

The last time she saw her twin brother was now around a year and a half.

"We always... had enough time" were his last words before he disappeared before her in that dark blue, almost pitch black portal, shortly followed by Dainsleif.

Obviously, time was a trivial matter for the both of them. The birth and death of stars were but common occurrences in their eyes. Countless of those had they witnessed on their journey.

Words that she had heard from someone else also came to her mind.

Those of Nahida, the current Dendro Archon, as only SHE seems to remember.

"The Fatui have not classified your sibling as one of the 'Descenders'. A very important part of the intel was about this world’s Descenders… external beings, ones that don’t belong to this world... Traveler, you are Teyvat’s 'Fourth Descender'."

What exactly happened for Aether not to be considered as one of the Descenders?

What exactly did the Fatui know?

But as diligent as she was on her quest, there was only so much her head could handle at the very end of the day.

She would soon ask Childe about what he knows. Although, she probably also would need to be careful around him about that. Given that every harbinger had their own agenda, and that Childe was played like a mere pawn back in Liyue, on top being "just" the eleventh, perhaps he didn't even know a thing about it all to begin with.

The golden-haired outlander sighed at the idea of having to ask Fuujin, a.k.a the former 6th fatui harbinger about it. Not so long ago, he was easy to get along with. Despite his improvement, he was still the piece of work that he was before he erased himself from the Irminsul.

Before she realized, her hand turned the doorknob of her bedroom, thus revealing a not-so-rare sight.

Childe, also named Tartaglia, was curled up on his side on her bed, almost fully clothed, his back facing her.

Lumine made sure to make the least sound possible when closing the door, which didn't prevent the eleventh harbinger from calling her, his voice weirdly weakened.

"Hello, Lu'...

-Sorry, Ajax. I wasn't expecting you to be here tonight. Had I known, I would have paid closer attention to what I was doing.

-It's okay..." He weakly chuckled. "I know you'll make it up to me somehow." He obviously was kidding, but his smile clearly wasn't the one of someone who simply wanted to take a quick nap and who just got out of their slumber, as mentally exhausted as they appeared.

-... Is everything okay, though?" She asked as she tilted her head, a brow arched in worry.

The ginger man lost his smile.

"... Let's just say I..." He sighed. "Lu', is it okay if I stay with you tonight? I... don't feel like being alone. I need your company."

The golden-eyed blondie couldn't help but remember how much their relationship had evolved ever since they met. Still enemies, but now two persons in love and close to each other to the point of knowing each other's real names, and being willing to let their most vulnerable side show in a heartbeat.

She heaved a little sigh as she lied down by his side, barely removing anything among her clothes.

Not even a second passed before the ocean-eyed youth clang his arms around the young woman's waist, her face now gently buried in the crook of his neck.

"Of course you can", she whispered in a tired, but benevolent smile. "Now do tell me... what is going on, Ajax?

-... Teucer... has found out the truth."

Only silence was heard afterwards. In the dark, Childe could have thought that the traveler had already fallen asleep, or that she wasn't reacting at all to the revelation, save for a small gasp from her. But he felt her raise her eyebrows as they brushed against his skin.

"He knows, now. They... thought it would be good to let him process the information by giving him some alone time, but... I received a letter this morning."

Lumine gasped after hearing his voice lightly break in tears.

Few were the times during which this mighty warrior showed a vulnerable side of his person. And yet, here he was, the young man coming from a nation that doesn't believe in tears. Tears that were weakly glistening in the moon's glow, seemingly bringing back light in his eyes.

The eyes that used to be those of an innocent, pubescent Ajax.

"He left. No one knows where. It's been ten days already between the date of the writing, and this morning. It usually takes just a week for a letter to be delivered, when it's not by boat, and my work has brought me to Sumeru, recently. It's not that far from Liyue. Either the distribution was belated Archons know why, either they wanted to wait a few days before sending the letter, so as to reassure me a bit later in the same mail. If that's the case, it's been three days. I have yet to receive another one."

Lumine's fists clang to the crying man's shirt. Not knowing what to answer, she just unclenched both of her fists, leading her now open hands towards his face, gently cupping his cheeks.

Leading the ginger warrior to break down in silent tears, as his girlfriend felt tepid water drip between her slender fingers.

"I am so, so worried, Lumine. I just hope he's okay. As much as I do hope to see my younger siblings become stronger, and am, in a way grateful to have learnt how to fight, by no means do I want them to go through what I had to. Let alone the youngest of them." He said as his shoulders shaked. Little Ajax was back, in the form of a formidable man turned into a weapon against the gods.

She didn't need him to elaborate any further. She already had a very clear idea of what he meant by that.

And because it had already been a year and a half for her, away from her brother, and because she knew more about what Aether witnessed in Khaenri'Ah and its destruction, the pain that her boyfriend was going through was no stranger to her.

And even if it was not the same thing in terms of duration, by no means was it necessarily easier.

[nyan-koii]

Hashira ft. Sabito as genshin impact players

aunotes : Bad grammar ahead! I didnt proofread it so be aware of brain damage. plus i initially wrote it at the 1.6 update

PART 1 : T.Muichiro, R.Kyojuro, K.Shinobu, S.Sanemi, U.Tengen 

Muichiro : he probably would be uninterested at first. He's more to first person shooting game or anything other than this concept of farming or investing. So that's why when he saw yuichirou banging his fist on his desk, trying to get his fav character, he would simply just watch

"Fck this game, i've had enough,"

"But you havent finish your wishing things yet,"

Stares. "How about you give it a try mui. You might get the character i want,"

"You sure about that? You might get angry at me," "better than nothing. Now go go, get em you donkey,"

His first ten pulls on the game brings out a light we all want to see

"Eh is tha-" "AAAA A FUCKING 5 STAR FCK FCKFCK,"

Apparently, it was one of the luckiest wish yuichiro had ever seen so far

"OHMYFUCK, you GOT A GODDAMN KLEE, QIQI AND SUCROSE WTFF???"

"I think i get your fav character?"

"Yeahh!! More than that to be honest. I want klee but you brought me two more person," sniffles and cries "you're really lucky mui. You should try and play the game,"

"It's probably the system. I doubt im that lucky tho,"

Nah, he really is lucky. Apparently he wished for his friends and got what they all really wanted for so long

"Thank you for getting me the aquila favonia, muichiro,"

"It's nothing really. I just simply press the button. It might be the system that's giving you the thing you want when i wish,"

"But still, even if i were to wish, i can get really scared and paranoid over it,"

"That's bad. You shouldnt invest yourself that much in the game tanjiro. It's just a game,"

"Ehehehe, i guess so. But you're really good at it muichiro! If you download it, we can play together :D!"

!!!!

It took the word "play together" to get muichiro down on his knee for that game. Usually the idea of playing with your friends is not that interesting. So when tanjiro said that, you bet he's going to play it

Type of player

Extremely lucky it's not even real. He got a five star on the beginner's banner

Fast farming. He probably will complete all the quest and become an endgame player within one month

"I just wanted to play with tanjiro..." bashfully

He's really good with whatever he's doing. Attack combo, dodging, elemental reaction and all sorts of stuff. If he invest more of his time on artifacts, he would probably even one shot it!!

He's very lucky. Very

Kyojuro : he wouldnt even know the existence of this game. Well, he took a glimpse of it one day and boom, heart stolen. Maybe it was the fiery burning passion in bennett that made him play the game.

'oh wow!! What a determined young boy! Even though he has a very bad luck he still keep pushing forward! Amazing!!'

'I want to be like him'

Kyojuro's the type of player to read and pay attention to every single lore of his fav character. Bennett, oh my how he wish he could've had bennett in his team. Every wishes he made would make him a c6 bennett main if only barbara wont stop coming home

"I really like you barbara but i dont want you!! Thank you for the c6 though!! I promise to use you in the future but just-" he prepares to wish

"not NOW!!" Clicks

The highest con of bennett he had ever gotten is probably c1. One day the paimon's bargain shop offered bennett as their monthly character. Kyojuro had never been so excited over a game before. He usually perks up over academics and not this kind of thing. But it's bennett, the character he admires the most.

Unfortunately he couldnt get it due to low currency. He had never feel so sad in his life.

"I shall not give up. Dont worry, i will be a c6 bennett main!!!"

He will be a c6 bennett haver!!

Type of player :

Carefully reads every stories and listens to their lines attentively. He finds it amazing how the company spent their everything on this game. It amazes him. From the stories, lores and lines, he truly appreciates it.

Balance his team pretty well. He mains bennett so he doesnt need that much of a healer in his team.

Enjoys bennett's hangout very much!! He tried to not get him killed by the dungeon's trap but ended up having to sacrifice him which ultimately ends the route. He had never felt so down and guilty before.

Not much of a damage dealer. He prefers to play it in normal mode and doesnt care that much about one shotting monster.

He feeds his character three meals a day!! If only there's a sleep option, he would be sending bennett to sleep first before the rest.

Everyone loves his teapot

Shinobu : found the game while she's scrolling through the app store out of boredom. Initially she played it on her phone but due to the fps and a really bad ping, so bad that douma wouldnt find her interesting anymore, she finally downloaded the game on her pc where things has starting to get real

"Ara, shinobu chan, it's lunch time already. Come downstairs please,"

"Sis give me five more minutes, JUST FIVE PLEASE I NEED TO KICK CHILDE's ASS,"

"he's not going anywhere sweetie,"

"yEAHH BUT MY BP IS,"

'Bp?'

"DIE DIE DIE!!" Aggresive clicking intensifies

"Shinobu chan dont hurt the keyboard that much!!"

She got lucky on the beginner's banner too and pulled a 5 star along with bennett and noelle. Who's the 5 star? Diluc Ragnvindr in all of his glory. Shinobu benched him sadly. She prefers sword over any other weapon

"I mean he's cool i guess but i just really dont get that 'WOAHHH COOL' vibe from him you know?"

"then give your diluc to me! I really want him so bad shinobu chan!"

Deep sighs "yeah sure. You can have my c2 diluc mitsuri..."

Loses 50/50 to diluc everytime everyone would think she either is lucky or cursed by the amount of that man greeting him on the screen. She still bench him though, sadly

"Im begging you, give me jEANN THE GRANDMASTER I NEED HEALER iN MY PARTY TO DO ABYSS

Type of player :

Suffers a lot in the abyss because she just want the primos which is a valid reason to do because that's the only thing that keeps her going

She's a sword character main. She'll properly build every character as either support or dps. The support would be kaeya and bennett, and her main dps ayaka

Ayaka main btw

Honestly at some point she wanted to quit the game because of how tiring it is but then inazuma came out

Fragile resin = 0

Resin = 160/160 happens once in a blue moon

"i should probably control myself with the amount of resin i've used,"

"But i cant,"

Hates domain but always can be seen playing in there

Only coops if mitsuri is there

"So that someone can calm me down,"

"That's not a really good reason shinobu chan,"

Sanemi : dude probably know the game through obanai. He watched the latter play and finds it interesting on how high the numbers he dealt. He loves challenges so a game like genshin impact would probably satisfy his need.

"Obanai, are you hearing this shit?"

"What is it sanemi, im busy doing this event,"

"That loser giyuu is also playing the game,"

"Oh yeah i know,"

"YOU KNOW? WHY YOU DIDNT TELL ME??"

"i just know right after you told me,"

"...."

Sanemi's a meta but a mediocre one. He's meta but he doesnt show it that much. Probably buys welkin once in every three months or when he really needs it same goes with battle pass too. Honestly, he really just use his money when he really needs something

"Donno if my allowance can buy me a welkin so i'll probably skip,"

"But the next banner is zhongli's,"

"....."

"Ah fuck it," buys

My man cant dodge after he got zhongli. Its very painful because he used to studies the enemies movement in the early game so that he can utilizes it on the team but zhongli's shield is so tank he forgot that dodging exists

"Im gonna kill you and you and you hhahaahhaah just you wait im gonna shred all of yo- oh shit zhongli's shield. puT IT BACK PUT IT BACK ON,"

That one event where zhongli's shield plays an important role in the domain? Yeah, he felt like a god at that time. Even got his c2 on his rerun. Sanemi just really like zhongli because it kinda reminds him of himejima. Calm and wise and strong too. He looks up on that kind of person

"Zhongli sama, im in debt for all of your hard work protecting my team," bows and wipes tears

Type of player :

Spends a little money on the game to get what he wants

Zhongli main

Is that one player that has hoards of food but doesnt even use it

"Why need healer when you have zhongli's shield,"

Compare to kyojuro, he doesnt even touch the teapot because he finds it ridiculous and bothersome to create and design everything in it

Loves one shotting bosses and compares it to giyuu. He ask for advices from obanai regarding team build supports and stuffs

Doesnt do character's story quest. The key is full every single time. He unlocks it but leaves the quest like that.

"Ah shit, i accidentally activate the quest,"

His friend list only has obanai in it. Whenever people sent him friend request, he wouldnt hesitate, more like wouldnt care to accept it

They either have to coop in obanai's world or his world and after that, unfriend immediately

Says thank you after coop because he has manners and then completely disappears

"Zhongli main forever,"

Tengen : played since 1.0 this madlad has been staying loyal to the game ever since. Quite huge amount of money he spend on this game to be honest but he never gets broke by it. You can see his regular donation to the game by purchasing welkin and battle pass and some genesis crystal too. He's loaded with money, he didnt know what to do with it.

Uzui also plays honkai impact and guns girl Z so when he saw the unknown god at the intro , he was not surprised.

"Oh we have to pick between the siblings? Cool cool co- oh hi kiana,"

"Thats so herrscher of void hahahahah,"

Although he is a loyal fan to MihoYo games, he lost his composure when he saw the 1st genshin anniversary reward because what was that. Imagine getting billions of money and they give us this? Tengen cant believe this shit

"Oh god wtf was that reward, i have to draw to get a welkin and some primos?? aND I ALSO HAVE TO BE LUCKY? WHAT-"

"WHERE'S MY FREE MONA,"

In need of mona. He needs mona so bad he literally spent his money on standard banner to get mona but always ends up with qiqi. Not that he's complaining but he just wants the astrologist to complete the support team

"GOD QIQI YOU AGAIN? WTF WFF WTF-" converts genesis crystal to primigems

"Tengen, you should control yourself!"

"SHUT UP KYOJURO, IM GONNA WASTE MY MONEY TILL I GET HER,"

"yeah but my f2p ass is hurting with how many bennett cons you got," droops

Tengen sees potential in every character. Everyone has their weakness and strength so when kokomi comes out, he diss her at first but then realize maybe its a new way for a character. Adds the uniqueness if he may say so.

"Meh i dont care honestly. You guys should pull whoever you find nice or beautiful. Like me ;)"

"Who do you main uzui?"

"Beidou,"

Type of player

Spoils the storylines, lores, leaks A LOT THE REST HAVE TO BLOCK HIM ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Speed runs the game and has become an endgame player ever since but he still does his daily commission and helps people with domains and stuffs

R5 every battle pass weapon

Fights azhdaha for fun and to test out his characters rather than ruin guards and stuff

Mona wanter

Puts traveller as the pfp and doesnt display any showcase of his characters and namecards. You can only see his achievements and spiral abyss ( 12-3 ). Says its for fun and mystery

Throws a lot of pickup lines and roleplays a lot. Spams your chatbox messages with stickers and censored stuffs

Probably steals your ores and exotic things like violetgrass, qingxin and silk flowers

Screams in the chatbox whenever he saw Mona until Kyojuro had to calm him down

Changes signature every single time and sometimes put spoilers in it

In every survey he would complain "MihoYo where the fuck is my Mona,"

Doesnt heals his characters

[teatitty]

Rogues Lore

First of all I want to thank @schweeeppess for letting me spam her with Rogues lore 2 months ago cuz it made this post so much easier to type out when I can just copy-paste everything and then edit it to be more cohesive lmao

Second this is under a read more because it is A Lot

Leonard Snart AKA Captain Cold

He grew up with a super abusive father and his only refuge was when he would hang out with his grandfather in his grandfather's ice truck. When the grandfather died, he grew tired of his dad's abuse and set out to start a criminal career and moved to central. 

(He's the one who started the rogues!) 

He found blueprints for a "cold gun" which he ended up making from scratch (it’s also canon that he knows the gun so well he can remake it out of scraps in about 30 seconds to a minute) and had three main rules in his group: No Killing, No Harm To Women Or Children and No Drug Use. His cold gun is capable of interfering with the speedforce cuz it can reach “absolute zero” which is even colder then Mr Freeze's tech. 

He's also the only cold-based villain capable of mastering this temp. In New Earth he was described as an "adversary" but in Prime Earth (same backstory as before mind you) he's described as being a straight villain whose only rule in the group is "no killing" (which seems to be a pretty flexible rule these days cuz DC has made him more, well, down with killing). He's also much younger here then he was in NE. 

In Flash 2016 #17 we see another upgraded version of his gun that's capable of separating the Flash from the speedforce directly and, in doing so, causing Barry excrutiating pain. Generally, he and Barry had more respect for eachother in NE, to the point that Len even considered him family. In PE, though they have teamed up now and again, Len is far more hostile towards Barry, sometimes even being written in a way that suggests he wouldn’t mind if Barry died.

Sam scudder AKA Mirror Master (the first one!) 

He was a simple convict who just really wanted to learn how to get inside a mirror's reflection. He practiced in a hall of mirrors and, once he succeeded, became Mirror Master. He was a frequent foe for Barry and, during Crisis on Infinite Earths, died around the same time Barry did.

 He was the one who discovered the "mirror world". At one point he got himself trapped there and hated that the mirror world could just get him whatever he wanted instead of him stealing it so he got Barry to bust him out. He could also use mirror's to mind control ppl (dont ask) and this intrigued Barry. 

 On PE he's dating Lisa Snart (Len's younger sister) and is the only Mirror Master to exist. In N52 he, Len, Lisa, Mick and Marco all got fused with their weapons for a while and given meta-human abilities which I. hate because it took away what made them all so cool (I'm fine with Marco tho and you'll find out why in a minute) he's also a really big attention seeker lol

Hartley Rathaway AKA Pied Piper

Alright most of Hartley's info is from NE so: he was born deaf to wealthy parents who got him very high-tech hearing implants. He became obssessed with sounds and started experimenting with sonic technology. Bored of his rich life (and sometimes it's implied he had ableist and/or homophobic parents too) he took to a life of crime after learning how to hypnotize people through music (Pied Piper ayyy). 

He was the first person to ever successfully break out of Iron Heights and did so because he befriended the rats there and used them to help himself escape, adding more to his whole Pied Piper thing. After Barry died he gave up crime and started working to help the poor and underprivelaged (I'm not saying he quit specifically bc of Barry's death buuuuuut most of the Rogues did so). 

He struck up a close friendship with Wally and came out as openly gay! On PE all that we know for certain is that he's a "reformed vigilante" who's the conductor for the Central City orchestra. He used to share an apartment with Barry (yes for real) before he moved in with his bf, David Singh (also Barry's director in the CCPD). Lisa was the one who convinced him to come out to the Rogues, and they were all chill with being gay, their problem came when he started dating David who is, you know, a cop.

He has a pet rat called Moon (cute, right?). Also in pre-N52 canon (cant remember if it was NE specifically or older) Hartley once had a nervous breakdown after Barry arrested him so Barry took him to get help at a mental health hospital :')

(Some artists draw him blonde, some brunette and others go more for reddish-brown it’s kinda confusing)

Marco/Mark Mardon AKA Weather Wizard

On NE he's a two bit criminal called Mark Mardon (he's also white and yes thats important to note) but one day, after escaping from a cop van, he ran to find his brother, Clyde, who was a scientist only to discover his bro had died of a heart attack (however, there's implications that he actually murdered his brother and simply blocked out the memory). 

He then found Clyde's notes on how to create a wand to control the weather and made it for himself. The worst he ever did on NE was imprison a town in winter and after Barry's death he went into semi-retirement (told you the Rogues all did this)

On PE however! He and Clyde are Latino and are the heirs to a huge cartel! Clyde takes over the cartel and Marco wants nothing to do with that life. After their father dies, Marco runs away and eventually becomes Weather Wizard. 

He comes back when he hears his brother has been murdered and gets accused of the crime. He finds out it was Clyde's wife, Elsa, who orchestrated the whole thing and, in a fit of grief and anger, kills her with lightning. He also tries to kill himself at the same time but it doesn’t work. After her death, he curls up into a ball and starts crying because he feels like he hasnt got any family left but then Lisa shows up and is like "yo the rogues are still here for you bitch"

His emotions affect the weather in this continuity and I’m a weak bitch for that but that’s 100% my bias for Ororo Munroe showing itself lol

James Jesse AKA Trickster (the first one!)

James Jesse was born to the Flying Jesses, famous circus performers. He, however, was afraid of heights, and preferred reading stories of Western criminal Jesse James. 

He invented air-walking shoes to get rid of his acrophobia, and this led to his fame as an aerialist at the circus. Buuut he wanted more excitement in life and became a conman instead! He had a lot of wacky gadgets like exploding teddy bears and, after Barry's death, moved from Central to Hollywood and started working in special effects. 

Like Hartley, he even attended Barry's funeral. He once beat the devil, Neron, at his own game and eventually started using his skills for good, collecting weapons of incarcerated villains so they couldnt fall into the wrong hands. He eventually died protecting Hartley during Final Crisis. Deadshot was the one who got him. 

On Prime Earth his parents were straight up neglectful and, instead of creating his own boots, he stole them from STAR labs instead. This version of him is also WAY more fucked up and murdery then NE to the point us long-term Rogues fans got really upset at how much DC had changed him 

On NE his real name is “Giovanni Giuseppe” (swear this is, like, the only italian name DC knows) and on PE the Flying Jesse's were a deliberate rip off of the Flying Graysons

George “Digger” Harkness AKA Captain Boomerang

The illegitimate son of an American toy-maker, W.W. Wiggins, and an Australian woman, Betty Harkness, George Harkness was raised in poverty in the small town of Kurrumburra, Australia. His stepfather, Ian Harkness, hated the boy and made his life miserable. (Like canonically Ian was an abusive alcoholic and even abused Betty who was too ill to defend herself or George. The reason George goes by "Digger" is cuz that's what his mom used to call him before she died; it's aussie slang for "soldier") 

In school, Harkness crafted a boomerang. He discovered he had great skill with the aboriginal weapon and often used it for mischief with his best friend, Mick Wentworth. He further honed his skills while spending some time hiding from the law in the Australian bush. 

When Digger was eighteen, he and Wentworth robbed a general store and were able to make their escape with the aid of Digger’s boomerang. However, this incident caused Digger’s stepfather to kick him out of the house. 

His mother gave him a plane ticket to Central City and told him to get in touch with Wiggins. Wiggins had been searching for a spokesman for W.W. Wiggins Game Company's latest product, a toy boomerang. Under the alias "George Green", Digger auditioned for and got the job. Wiggins outfitted him with a costume and gave him the name "Captain Boomerang."

Ridiculed by the audience, he took to a life of crime instead.

His story is pretty much the same on PE. The only diff being there was no childhood friend and Digger made boomerangs in an attempt to impress his absentee father. Also he has a habit of making up fake stories about himself lmao 

The only one's he really doesnt stab in the back are the Rogues and Harley Quinn but everyone else? fair game. In Flash: Rebirth he and Barry even exchange favours for info and it’s implied this is a regular thing for them

Roscoe Dillon AKA The Top

He technically appears on PE but he's one of Thawne's acolytes so lets just. Skip that and focus on NE instead

Literally his whole thing is that he was obssessed with spinning tops as a kid and taught himself how to spin fast enough to deflect bullets. He became a criminal, tried to blackmail the entire world once, and was Lisa's first boyfriend! 

He was also her ice-skating coach and taught her how to spin super well like himself! He has a very confusing characterization tho cuz sometimes he was written to be all about revenge and killing but other times he was just like the other rogues; a blue-collar criminal who stole things because he liked to. 

He died eventually which I'm not going to try to explain cuz it's...yeah. There's also this whole thing where he could possess people after his death but this was in the silver age and that shit just happened sometimes so whatever 

In short: Roscoe has a really cool concept to him but nobody really knew how to write him so he ended up all over the place

He also has a Spinning Top shaped satellite in space where he stores all his loot (dont ask)

Mick Rory AKA Heatwave

Mick Rory has pyromania! Very severely! He was born on a farm outside of Central and, as a child, was very fascinated with fire. This turned into an obssession and he ended up burning his house down. So fascinated by the flames, however, he never ran to get help, watching his whole house burn down (and killing his parents inside) and he ended up living with his uncle after this. 

On a schooltrip, his schoolmate stuck him in a meat locker as a prank where he gained Cryophobia (fear of the cold) so in retaliation Mick locked the boy in his house and set the thing on fire (again, pyromania). He ran away again and ended up becoming a fire-eater for a circus. That didn't last long either because, surprise!, he burned the place down. 

Desperate to find a way to help his obssession, he happened to see the Rogues operating in Central and decided to take up villainy. At first he and Len got into a few altercations with eachother due to Mick's fear of the cold but eventually they settled their differences and Len officially brought him into the Rogues. 

Mick kinda relies on them to keep his pyromania in check basically. There was a time where he was, briefly, reformed and gained a close friendship with Barry (even being roommates with him. By then he'd already known Barry's real identity for a few years) and used his pyro knowledge to become a fire-fighter consultant. At one point he even worked for the FBI

His backstory is practically the same on PE the only difference being that he never expressed regret for burning down his house, and actually says he wishes he’d burned down the whole neighbourhood instead

Lisa Snart AKA Golden Glider

When I say her NE version is leagues above PE I mean it. 

Like Len, she suffered abuse under their father and escaped it by becoming a figure skater under the name Lisa Star for the Futura Ice Show! Her fame came from her very fast spins, a trick she was taught by Roscoe. When Roscoe died while fighting Barry (brain complications though there’s more to it, but again I’m not going to get into that) Lisa turned to villainy, blaming Barry for her lover's death. 

Her attempts on Barry and Iris' lives were always foiled. She used a pair of ice skates that created their own ice flow, and had many gadgets that caused hypnotism. She also stole Len's gun once but retooled it into a twirling Baton. 

When Barry died she renounced her feud with him and attempted to go straight again with her brother. They created a company that recovered lost or stolen items. Eventually she returned back to a life of crime, went through three boyfriends, all using the name Chillblaine (she named them that iirc), until the fourth Blaine killed her. Len got revenge on that one 

On PE, however, Lisa had a brain tumor (it got cured later) and was a tag-a-long villain for her brother and her boyfriend, Sam Scudder. This version of her never became a skater and is instead murderous just for...the sake of it. She also has this thing about wanting to be the leader of the Rogues instead of Len, and when she's in charge of them for a while the Rogues’ morals change and killing is suddenly fine so. Whatever. NE Lisa is the best (also her whole outfit? Stunning)

Roy G. Bivolo AKA Rainbow Raider (not technically a Rogue anymore but he was a member for a while)

He appeard on PE as Chroma but gets murdered by Grodd so we only have NE canon to use (they did my mans dirty) 

He was a wonderful painter from an early age but was born colourblind. His father, an optometrist, was determined to create a device that would let him see in full colour. Toy didnt get the device until after his father's death but unfortunately the device didnt let him see colour. 

Instead, the goggles could project beams of light that could become solid objects, make him invisible, blind his opponents, or affect the emotions of his targets. Angry that he couldnt pursue an artistic career. he decided to become a thief and primarily stole famous artwork. He was eventually killed by Amunet Black

Evan McCulloch AKA Mirror Master (second one)

Evan was born to rich parents Louis and Carol Erikson who gave him up for adoption because they were too young to be responsible parents. He ended up at the McCulloch orphanage. 

At age 8 he was molested by one of the older boys there and, in self-defence, ended up drowning the him. At 16 he left the orphanage, taking on the name of the woman who raised him and moves to Glasgow (he’s scottish btw) 

He found that it was super difficult to hold down a job but, needing to make ends meet and constantly breaking the law anyway, he turned to a life of crime and became a hitman and then a professional assassin.

One day he got hired to kill his birth father but was unaware of who his target was until after he took the shot. Grief-stricken, he attended the funeral and tried to work up the nerve to approach his birth mother. By the time he had, she'd committed suicide and he turned himself in for his crimes. 

Either the Scottish or US government gave him Sam's old Mirror Master gear and hired him to be a mercenary. 

His first job was scaring Animal Man into stopping his activism, but he failed because of Animal Man’s wife. Refusing to actually kill the wife and children (thanks to his own morals) he gets fired and helps Animal Man seek revenge.

He continues to work as a criminal and supervillain-for-hire, even working out of costume as a mercernary in Britain.

Eventually he found his way to Central City and joined the Rogues, taking over as Sam Scudders official successor. There was a time where he had a Cocaine Addiction which caused friction between him and Capt Cold because of Len’s rule against drug use. 

Throughout all of this, Evan made sure to donate a portion of all the money he ever got to the McCulloch Orphanage

Axel Walker AKA Trickster (second one) 

On PE, Axel was recruited by the Rogues early on in his career. He messed up during a heist and they kicked him out (they'd never do that but w/e) 

He worked for Mob Rule as a henchman for a bit then went freelance when MB was arrested. He saved Cold's life cuz he felt he still owed Cold a debt. When Grodd took over Central, Axel tried to join his side but Grodd tore his arm off from the bicep (ouch) and left him to die on the street. Axel got himself a cool sleek robot arm and returned to crime anyway. He got accused of murder, Barry cleared his name, but he still got sent to Iron Heights for other charges. 

The Rogues, hearing about this, went to bust him out and were like "okay fine u can hang with us" and he stayed with them from then on

In NE canon, while Jesse was working with the FBI, Axel stole all his gear and ended up working for Penguin in Gotham. Penguin gets attacked by Tarantula, Axel fails to stop her and a few days later he gets caught by Robin (Tim) for causing trouble in Gotham. 

He moves on to work with Amunet Black, but after her defeat is offered to join the “new Rogues” by Capt Cold and accepts the offer. Some stuff happens, he fights the OG Trickster who leaves him in a dumpster and tells him never to pick up the gear again, then Axel answers an ad from some college students asking for a trained hero to teach them some things, he has dinner with them and then kills them all. Neat.

When Jesse died, Axel redonned the Trickster gear and started operating his own crew out of an old Rogues hideout. When the Rogues returned to Central, Axel found out they were gonna retire and go underground. He rejoined them to help them get revenge on Inertia for manipulating them into killing Bart Allen, and he stayed with the group henceforth. 

Evan explained to him that joining the Rogues wasn’t a matter of him wanting to be one, but why he needed to be one

In short: Axel is a punk kid who wants to fit in with the big boys and the Rogues are the only ones who really gave him a chance, acting like his older siblings. It’s worth noting that canon never mentions any relatives for him so, as far as we know, crime is all he’s ever known

And that’s all of them!

[circe-poetica]

Asteroid Manwë 385446

Helios on Manwë– Have you ever watched a truly great Superhero movie (*cough* Thor: Ragnarok or Civil War *cough*) and come out of it pumped up, feeling like you could take on the world, just like them? All that was stopping you was not having a great spandex costume that leaves nothing to the imagination? Well, that and not having any superpowers or anything…. Well, the thing is, we could all be heroes! Let’s look to this week’s Transneptunian to show us how!

The Astronomy– 385446 Manwë is a binary resonant Kuiper belt object in a 4:7 mean-motion resonance with Neptune. It was discovered on 25 August 2003 in northern Chile. It has an orbital period of 287.70 years (105,081 days) and an eccentricity of 0.1114. Its perihelion is 38.599 AU and aphelion 48.671 AU. Manwë has one known satellite, Thorondor. It is estimated to be about half the size of the primary, 33–53 km vs. 58–92 km. Manwë has significant and irregular photometric variability, demonstrating that its components are not tidally locked. The surfaces of Manwë and Thorondor appear to be very red. The composition of Manwë is unknown but likely to be mostly ice because the nominal density (with large uncertainty) is less than that of water.

Manwë and Thorondor are predicted to be going through a period of mutual occultations and transits from 2014–2018, where one object crosses in front of the other as seen from Earth. Pluto and Charon went through a similar series of mutual events from 1985–1990. Observations of these events will allow for better estimates of the radii of the two objects and their densities, as well as possibly determining their shapes and mapping surface color and albedo features.

The Myth– Manwë is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Manwë was the King of the Valar, husband of Varda Elentári, was conceived in the thought of Iluvatar as a brother of Melkor, and King of Arda. He lived atop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain in the world, in the halls of Ilmarin, in the realm of Valinor. The winds, airs, and birds were his servants, and he was lord of air, wind, and clouds in Arda. He was the noblest and greatest in authority of the Valar, and less powerful only than Melkor.

Manwë was (with his brother Melkor, i.e. Morgoth) the greatest of the Ainur, and the one that best understood the will of Eru. When Melkor created the discord in the Music of the Ainur, Manwë took over leading the song. When Arda was formed, Manwë was appointed Ruler of Arda, hence his most common title, the Elder King. Manwë was a kind, compassionate ruler, unconcerned with his own power, but he did not understand evil, even in the form of his own brother. He released Melkor from Mandos, thus allowing him to cause the distrust of Fëanor, the Poisoning of the Two Trees, the murder of Finwë, the theft of the Silmarils, and the revolt of the Noldor. To hearten the Eldar, he had Aulë fashion the vessels to hold Sun and the Moon, for he knew the rising of the Atani was coming and sent Thorondor and the Eagles to watch them. After Morgoth’s fall at the end of the War of Wrath, Manwë cast him into the void. In the Final Battle, when Morgoth and his most powerful ally, Sauron, escape, it is said that the Elder King and the two Dark Lords will battle on the Plains of Valinor, but that they will not slay each other, as Morgoth is destined to die at the hands of Túrin Turambar. Manwë appeared dressed in long blue robes, with blue eyes. He wielded a powerful staff coated in sapphire made for him by the Noldor. The Vanyar were his favorite Elves, and they lived with him and Varda on Mount Taniquetil.

Manwë means Blessed One, from “mān” meaning “good, blessed or unmarred”. Súlimo means Lord of the Winds from ‘sûl’ – ‘wind’. His titles include Elder King, High King of Arda, King of Arda, Lord of the Breath of Arda and Lord of the West. He was first mentioned in The Silmarillion on page 20 at the top of the sentence, ‘But of the airs and winds Manwë most pondered…’

Why He Matters– Well, there is a lot of weirdness with this one, as befits a lengthy lore dump from Tolkein- You’re forgiven if you skipped down to this section. To be honest, it’s been years since I read the Silmarillion, but I don’t know anyone else who bothered to read it, so let’s dive in, shall we?

Though his story might give you a sense of a nerd, Manwë is actually a goddamned heroic badass. The whole point of him in the chart seems to be “A call to action”- where ordinary people are pushed into a situation that they need to step up and achieve some really amazing things. The drive to help others is strong with this guy, and Manwë is prominent in the charts of first responders that I checked- with almost all having a Mars-Manwë contact. Manwë is where we become great, where we become Heroes.

I would expect to see him most powerful in transit, when we are confronted with horrible situations that we need to overcome. There may be a connection to creative expression and performers as well (specifically singers), but I would need to do more research.

As I said above, Manwë is currently making a series of occultations with his binary partner, Thorondor. This gives him added importance, and it highlights a trend we are experiencing- We are currently in the golden age of Superheroes in media; Black Panther, Infinity War, hell, even the convoluted ArrowVerse and the Justice League movies. We cannot get enough of our heroes right now, and I would say that comes down, at least in some part, to Manwë and Thorondor. The occultations line up with Thor: The Dark World-Infinity War (The Infinity Stone storyline) and The Flash run in the Arrowverse. Manwë is using our superheroes to show us the best possible versions of ourselves and what we could be- and it’s important to realize all of the heroes we have right now are incredibly flawed, and oh so Human. You can rewrite your story at any time, no matter what you have done- You can come back from the brink and be redeemed; That is the promise of Manwë, who seeks to redeem his brother at all costs and return to idyllic peace. Yes, it is a bit naive, but honestly, I’ll bet it gives Morgoth pause once in a while, knowing his brother still believes in him and wants him to come home. The sad thing is, Morgoth will never do that, because it takes the most humility in the world to swallow your pride and beg those you have wronged for forgiveness. But that’s a story for another time….

To find out where he shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom of the next page, there will be a menu of additional objects. Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 385446 Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Manwë affect your life?http://hereticaloracles.com/2018/04/19/tno-watch-manwe/

[joyofcrime-elinorhigh]

2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 1

 Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt and man wasn't 2016 such a dumpster fire? I mean it was obviously the worst year ever in the history of the human race, I mean come on 2016! Why can't you be more like you're younger brother, 2017. I mean he was a great year!

Wait, are you implying that blaming an abstract combination of numbers for all of last years problems...wasn't the most productive way to fix things? I'm shocked.  But who cares about the harsh and often depressing reality of our own society? We have more important things to talk about today. Cartoons! Because while the real world has been imploding in on itself the world of animation has been through many up's and downs this year, and that's what I'll be talking about today. In case you didn't see my 2016 Year in REVIEW: (Which you can check out right here #humbleplug 2016 Year in REVIEW: Part 1) let me explain how this is going to work. I have compiled a list of several different notable events that happened in the world of animation over the course of 2017. I will go over these events is roughly chronological order all while giving my thoughts and opinion of each one. I won't be discussing anime or theatrical films for the most part however, as these are topics that I don't keep track of as much. So this list is mostly about television and internet animation. Also keep in mind that there is no conceivable way of me going over every series or piece of animation news that came out this year, so I had to slim it down to the most notable events. So sorry in advance if I glance over anything. At the end of the review, I will rank all the new series that I talked about this year in order from worst to best, give this year an overall grade, and in a new twist I'll be deciding which animation network "won" the year. The winner doesn't have to have the best shows per say. They just need to have a large impact, or show some kind of improvement compared to previous years.  Also I feel like I should just point out that this entire concept is completely stolen from online anime reviewer Gigguk's yearly anime retrospect series. He's a big influence on me and my reviews and you can check him out here. www.youtube.com/user/gigguk&nb…  Whether you like anime or not, he's worth checking out and he's a LOT funnier than I am.  So with all that said it's time to get into this. It's time for my 2017 year in review! We start the year off in a bit of an unexpected place, Youtube, with the first notable series of the year. Hasbro's "Hanazuki: Full of Treasures."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjaCeuL2YaA

You have diabetes yet? Just wait.  This is a show that really seems like it went under the radar for a lot of people, probably because of the fact that it was released on Youtube. Hanazuki, (voiced by Jessica DiCicco of Loud House and Adventure Time fame) is a young "Moon Flower" who lives on a small moon out in space. The series follows Hanazuki as she tried to protect her moon from a shadowy blob monster known only as the "Big Bad." She does this by growing "Treasure Trees," magical trees that can only be grown when a Moon Flower feels intense emotion. These trees are the only thing that can ward of the "Big Bad." Hanazuki must learns all about the complexity of emotions if she wants to protect her new home. And the series just get's stranger from there.  Now obviously this show is targeted at kids. Really little kids, like five years old at most. More specifically five year old girls...and I frickin' LOVE IT! C'mon, you should all know this about me by now! I...am not the most masculine person on the planet. And I love myself a good "girl power show"  And this just right up my ally. This show is basically what you get if you take Star Vs, Wander Over Yonder, My Little Pony, andInside Out, shove it into a blender, and cover it in rainbow sprinkles. It's just to adorable for me to not recommend. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGBSdYGA9II

 But not only is the show cute, it's also actually pretty good. Like it's nothing super complex or anything, but it is a show that can appeal to both kids and adults. (I swear!) Hanazuki is a really likable character. If you've read my web comic, Elinor High, you know I love myself any hyperactive cute girl. But what makes Hanazuki stand out from other hyperactive cute girls, you may ask? She got sass! Sure, show's nice most of the time, but she's not always the typical sunshine and rainbows protagonist you usually see in these kind of shows. She get's upset, and frustrated, and she can even be kinda snarky when people tick her off. Not only does this help give her some more depth, but it also helps support the shows theme of emotions.  The show has a real Inside Out vibe in terms of how it tackles emotions. The series really plays up the point that ALL emotions are important. Emotions like sadness, anger, and fear are treated as just as vital as happiness, bravery, or love. It's a message that you don't see talked about very much, but I think it's an important one.  Another thing I feel like I need to praise is the shows animation. It's flash, but it's TV quality flash. And they really make up with any faults the animation may have by having simply fantastic coloring. Purples, Blues, and Pinks are the colors of the show and it really pops, giving the show this colorful, sci-fi look. Especially when they go to the dark side of the moon, and the animation goes full black light poster.  However the show is far from perfect. Like I said, it's skewed young, so don't expect any super complex character writing or anything. Also the Hemka's, these little alien rabbit things that Hanazuki befriends, tend to come off as more annoying then lovable. There not Minion or Rabbid bad, but there in the same category. Also this show tries to be a "lore show" and it's kinda hit and miss. Some things, like the origins of the "Big Bad" and the exploration of the Moon Flowers and there powers are genuinely interesting. But other times it seems like the show is trying to take it'self to seriously. Like when we learn about the character Sleepy Unicorn's tragic, war torn backstory. No that's not a joke, that's a thing in this show. And it's not badly or anything, it's just kinda hard to take seriously when it's about a character who's name is Sleepy Unicorn!  Also, I quickly just want to talk about how the episodes we're released. Eventually they switched to just weekly uploads, but at first the episodes were released in nine episode bombs. And these bombs would always fall under the full moon. That's some black magic shit right there! I could go on, but I have a lot more stuff to talk about. This show is not for everyone. It's not going to have a super complex plot or characters, or tackle any heavy themes like some other shows that are out now of days. But if you just like some fun, cutesy fluff like I do, it's definitely worth a watch. Especially since it's free to watch legally on Youtube.  But hey, Do you remember those guys from that show, Regular Show?  Well they turned there park into a bio-dome.    And there still Regular Show....  But there in SPACE!

That's right, Regular Show, one of the defining shows of modern cartoon era, finally came to an end. Just like with the Gravity Falls finale that I talked about last year, I will be going into spoilers, so if you haven't seen the finale yet and want t go in completely blind (which I do recommend) I suggest scrolling past this part and continue reading once you see the words in bold. So (SPOILER WARNING!)  Much like the Gravity Falls ending, the hour long Regular Show finale does have it's fair amount of problems. There is a good amount of padding, there are some plot hole regarding how the whole "universe restarting itself" thing is suppose to work. (Like how Benson, Muscle Man, Skips, and co all get destroyed and yet are brought back even though they stopped the universe from resetting. Also, Anti-Pops, despite the shows best efforts, failed to really come off as that interesting or threatening of a villain, for me at least.  ...But for the most part none of that matters.  Because when you come down to it, plot holes and inconsistency don't matter as long as the emotions resonate, and that's what this special did. It was everything a Regular Show fan could want in a finale. Filled with meta call backs from Mordecai and Rigby being transported back to the first episode (and the final part of the finale having the same title as the first episode) to Pops being sent back to the original student film that inspired Regular Show, it really felt like a celebration of how far the show had come. I don't want to go into HUGE spoilers even though this is the spoiler section, because I want people to watch this for themselves, but a sacrifice is made in this finale and it really sticks. That's something that even the Gravity Falls finale, which is amazing in it's own right mind you, didn't have the guts to do. So I applaud the show for having the balls to go through with the decision.  The episode ends with a montage of the characters as they age, ending with a final scene set twenty five years after the finale. I love endings that do this, and it's one of the most emotion scenes I've seen in a finale ever. The ending is made even more powerful by the music chose used for the scene, David Bowie's "Heroes." The fact that David Bowie had just passed away not that long before the finale aired made the ending seem even more bittersweet.  I'd say that the Regular Show finale lies pretty close to Gravity Falls in terms of endings. I think the Gravity Falls ending has a better first forty five minutes due to having a better villain and just having a grander feel to it, but I honestly do think that Regular Show has it beat in terms the last fifteen minutes, due to just having a (slightly) more emotional pay off, done mostly without words. I think Regular Show chose the perfect time to end, and I'm glad it ended on a high note.  And to celebrate this occasion, Cartoon Network decide to have a Teen Titans Go! Marathon to celebrate Martin Luther King Day...That was nice of them.  (SPOILERS NOW OVER!)  And speaking of a show going off on a high note let's talk about...the complete opposite of that. Hi, Fairly OddParents!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XgwUp-SO7k

So yeah, let's talk about Fairly Oddparents again. Just when you think it can't sink lower, it does. As halfway through season ten the show had switched from tradition animation to flash. Now remember when I said that Hanazuki was animated in flash, but it's TV quality flash despite being a web series? Well Fairly Oddparents decided to do the opposite of that and have a TV series with late nineties internet quality flash. Seriously, I haven't seen a show with flash animation this bad since like, the mid two thousands at least. I've legit seen web series, like Homestar Runner, that have better flash! It's actually kinda incredible!  And just when you think things can't get worse, it does, as the show get's moved to Nicktoons. The retirement home of Nickelodeon shows. The final episode of season ten of Fairly Oddparents ended up airing later in the summer and, from what I can tell, it had no real big final episode. The show has yet to be renewed for an eleventh season, and since it's on Nicktoon now, I really have doubts that it'll happen. It is very possible that that season finale was Fairly Oddparents final episode.  I know a lot of you reading this are probably ecstatic at the news that the show is finally over. I mean to many, it was a shell of it's former self. But I'm honestly just kinda sad that it went out like this. Fairly Oddparents was Nickelodeons second longest running show, only behind Spongebob. And it was just got shafted. No fan fair, no special last episode. Nothing. I mean if a show as long lasting as Fairly Oddparents can get treated like this, then who's to say that the same won't end up happening to say Spongebob, or the Loud House, once there popularity starts to dwindle.  Like I said in the 2016 year in review, I'm never happy when a show ends because I know every show has it's fans and a lot of people are out of a job, but from a strictly artistic standpoint, it was time for the show to end. And from a business standpoint Nickelodeon didn't have a need for it anymore. Though it is still a bit bittersweet, seeing a show that was a big part of my childhood go.  But it's not all bad though, because as one door closes another one opens, as Butch Hartman created a new show for Nickelodeon, Bunsen is a Beast. Is it any better than modern FOP?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yccs2D7WvkA

 ....Eh, It's about the same really. The flash is a little better...I think.  Yeah, if you can't tell, I'm not that crazy about this show. The series follows Bunsen, a beast who transfers to an all human school, and Mikey his human best friend and the adventures that they go on. Honestly this show just doesn't seem to offer anything that new or interesting. Bunsen and Mikey are you're stereotypical happy go lucky idiot protagonist that a lot of Nickelodeon shows seem to have and most of the humor seems to be made up of the same "monster/alien has weird biology/culture/abilities" jokes that we've seen a million times before. There don't seem to be any concrete rules on how "Beast" work, it just seems to be whatever the show thinks is funniest in that exact moment. And rarely does the comedy land.  There are a few things about the show that are funny, however. Like the show's villain, Amanda. She's the cliche "character who hates the good guys and the world hates her" character and the cliche "racist villain" character all wrapped up in one package. However, what redeems her at least a little bit is just how over the top and hammy she is. She kinda feels like what would happen if you combined Vicky and Mr. Crocker into one Character. There's also this one really depressed ice cream man voiced by Jerry Trainor. Those two characters can get a laugh out of me. But as for everything else, not so much.  The show has also been moved to Nicktoons. So I don't see it getting a season two. So what now, is Butch Hartman's career over? Well not so fast, because as your second door closes another one opens, and in this case that door is Youtube.  That's right, Butch Hartman started his own Youtube channel! And I'm not just talking like just a small Youtube channel as a side project or anything. I mean like a regularly updating drawing Youtube channel that has done collaboration projects with the likes of Thomas Sanders, MatPat of Game Theroy, and Ande the Black Nerd. And it's...kinda great. Though full disclosure, Butch Hartman is a fifty year old dad, and it REALLY shows. He's is trying so hard to be hip with the "Youtube generation", and I commend his effort, but it never works. Ever. His channel might be the cringest channel on Youtube, but God damn it he's just so earnest that it's hard not to love. Some videos of his aren't that bad, like his "Danny Phantom: Ten Years Later" series. It's fun and interesting, and kinda makes me want to see a Danny Phantom continuation. But then he has videos like his  "Drawing Anime Characters In the Fairly Oddparents Style" series that are just...hard to watch. Like, I own all ten volumes of the Watamote manga and I think I've cringed less reading all of that then watching one those videos. You should check out his channel though. It's...interesting...to say the very least.  Meanwhile however, the animation community needed a new show to become the hot new thing. And then, after thirteen years of wait, the samurai returned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uxbp18y49E

 I already did a full review of Samurai Jack season five, so I'm going to make this brief (Link if you want my in-depth thoughts: Samurai Jack Season Five REVIEW:) Samurai Jack season five has a lot of really good things going for it. The animation is superb, featuring all of the things that made the animation of the first four seasons so amazing, but improved upon with modern animation technicians and the High definition. The series is also dark, while not losing touch with it's roots. The series tackles heavy issues like PTSD, depression, suicide, parental abuse, and does so without coming off as edgy. It feels like a natural progression from what came before, and never goes too dark to the point where it becomes unrecognizable from the Cartoon Network series. There is still that hopeful and optimistic element buried beneath the surface. It shows that you can have a smart and dark adult cartoon without the need for an alcoholic, womanizing, nihilist who hates himself. You can make a dark cartoon about...other things! Amazing, I know.  However, the show does have it's fair share of problems, that become more and more apparent as the season goes on. The pacing feels very rushed at points. The romance, while I think could work if given more time, is tacked on. And while everything else is much darker in tone, Aku seems to have become even less threatening than he was in the Cartoon Network days. The show first half is definitely better than the second half. However, despite it's flaws, I still really enjoyed the final season, and am glad that adult swim brought it back. It was definitely one of the more enjoyable cartoon events to happen in 2017.  Nickelodeon announced a theatrical Loud House movie for February 2020, and unlike the Adventure Time movie I actually think that this movie may come out. It has a date, the Loud House is still popular as of the time of the announcement, (Though only time will tell if it'll still be popular by 2020.) and it's Nickelodeon, who have more experience with making theatrical films. We don't know the plot yet, by my guess is that it'll involve some kinda government conspiracy. The Simpsons, Recess, whenever a slice of life cartoons get's a theatrical movie it tends to involve some kind of government conspiracy. I may not be a big Loud House fan, but I'll still see this in the theater. In general, if a traditionally animated film comes out in theaters I'll see it just to support the medium.  Meanwhile adult swim pulled the biggest animation trolling of the year by airing the season premiere of Rick and Morty on April Fools day unadvertised. Causing the whole animation community to drop everything they were doing to catch it. The ran the episode eight times on loop, preempting the much anticipated Samurai Jack causing a war in the fandoms. Which side where you on? Rick vs Jack. Comedic depression vs serious depression. Wubba lubba dub dub vs EXTRA THICC! Blood would be spilled!

Oh, and Dragon Ball Super was prepted too. And nobody cared.  Understandably, many people were asking why they didn't just run Rick and Morty six times, and lets Samurai Jack air as well. And while no official answer has been given many people including myself theorize that adult swims deal with Toei and Dragon Ball Super may have been the reason. However nothings been confirmed.  Now I bet a lot of you are expecting me to be annoyed at this given how much you know I love Samurai Jack and how much I...don't love Rick and Morty but honestly I didn't mind it too much. Not only did this make it so the last Samurai Jack aired on my birthday, (I couldn't watch it on my birthday, but still.) But also the sheer number of memes and salt this created gave me much more enjoyment than I lost by being disappointed. Well played adult swim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiLk619tHgE

 An Invader Zim TV movie was announced and, wait really?! For real...like for real real? Okay, just checking. Invader Zim is getting a TV movie, slated to come out some time next year. Geez, between Zim, Hey Arnold, Samurai Jack and Young Justice it seems like every show that got cancelled without a proper finale is coming back! I am hesitant of a lot of these Nickelodeon TV movies, as personally a lot of them feel like there just there for nostalgia sake, and no other reason. But this is one I can get behind. Invader Zim ended without a proper conclusion and the fan base is so loyal so yeah, it deserves a finale. Though personally I would of preferred another season like Samurai Jack, cause honestly I don't know how there going to fit all the dangling plot lines into just ninety minutes, but hey beggar's can't be choosers.  And speaking of continuations Cartoon Network made one for there hit show, Ben 10. Everybody love's Cartoon Network's continuations right? Right?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Y7pk2qt-I

Well the show got Ben's original voice actor and the shows original creator back, so it must be great right guys? Right? I mean that's all it takes to make a good reboot, right? That's what you all said last year! REMEMBER!  Yes, I'm still bitter.  Now I know that technically this show came out last year in other countries, but as a privileged while male American I refuse to acknowledge that other countries exist. Now I've never watched anything in the Ben 10 franchise, outside of the occasional episode that I would catch here or there. It was not a show I followed all that much. So I can't really review it in comparison of the old show like I can for say the Powerpuff Girls reboot. However, I can try to review it as just a casual watcher, and as a casual watcher the show is...fine. Not great, not awful, but fine.  It's clear from the get go what this show is trying to do. It's the Teen Titans Go-ification of Ben 10. Eleven minute run time, a focus on comedy, a much cartoon-ier art style. Let's not kid ourselves here. However, the show does have something that TTG and PPG2016 lack. It's still a superhero show. And that shocked me when I first saw it. I was sure this was going to be another sitcom with capes, but it's actually a more traditional monster of the week super hero comedy. Kinda like the original Powerpuff Girls show, except nowhere near as funny.  One of the biggest changes that even I can notice is the difference between how Gwen is written. Even never watching the old show, I know they toned down her responsible know it all-iness to make her act much more like a kid. I don't know how Ben 10 fans feel about this but I don't mind it to much, as it does make her feel like a more realistic ten year old, at least for me.  However I can't praise the show to much. The show, as a whole can be just summed up as fine. The comedy is fine. The action is fine. The characters are fine. And as someone who has to experience with Ben 10, fine wasn't enough to really grab me. However if the show is on and nothing else is on, it works as good background noise, I guess. It's perfectly serviceable. Put that quote on the back of the DVD box CN.  Uncle Grandpa ended this year with an unadvertised final episode. Uncle Grandpa was a show that I never super loved, but I did feel like there was a lot of passion that went into it. However, like I said last year, Cartoon Network has a lot of new shows coming out and you got to clear space, and at five seasons it had a good run. And to celebrate this occasion, Cartoon Network decide to have a Teen Titans Go! Marathon to celebrate the Fourth of July.  I'm starting to sense a pattern...  Meanwhile in the world of the internet, Netflix decided to try to prove that not all video game cartoons are terrible with Netflix's Castlevania.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy_FWdbnvM0

Now like Ben 10, Castlevania is not a franchise I know very well. All I know is that it's about a family legacy of people who are consistently forced to fight vampires. Also people keep telling me it's not Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, but I'm not incline to believe them! Cause I'm pretty sure that it IS Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and that this is all just a very elaborate Jojo's reference. But moving on, how is this show?  I'll start with the pros. The animation is incredible. Like, really incredible! There are some establishing shots that look almost live action there so detailed. Also despite how much the show looks and feels like an anime it is one hundred percent American produced. It's actually made by Frederator Studios in fact. Wait...THAT'S why Fairly Oddparent's flash looks as bad as it does. Frederator took literally ALL of their  budget in order to fund Castlevania. It all makes sense now!  The show also has this kinda interesting post apocalyptic middle ages aesthetic to it that really remind me of Attack on Titan. I also want to praise Netflix for making an American action show for adults. Outside of Samurai Jack, which had already ended by the time this aired, we don't have many of those. I also admire Netflix for being one of the only networks to be keeping action oriented American animation alive...  ...But that's really all the positives I have to say about this show. I'm sorry everybody, I know at this point I might come off as a hipster for not liking so many popular shows, but I just don't like this show. At all. I was ready to LOVE this show, but I just don't.  Now I feel like in order to be a fair critic I need to be upfront with my background a bit. I grew up in a quasi-religious family. What I mean is that we were raised to be religious while never actually going to church. But I'm not someone who get's offended when my faith is made fun of if it's done in a clever or humorous way. I am one who is always open for a discussion, and like hearing other points of views. I just wanted to make that clear from the get go.  I bring this up because this show has a HUGE hate boner towards organized religion! And it's very distracting!  The church in this show is depicted as the most vile, evil, despicable group ever. Now I'm not going to pretend that the church has always been the best throughout history, but it's total overkill. If you're in the church, there's a ninety nine percent chance you're evil. They are the main villains of the first season. But I'm not mad because I'm offended or anything, I'm mad because the corrupt church is such an overused cliche, and they do nothing new or interesting with it. I'm upset because it feel less like I'm watching a show and more like I'm being lectured. It's frustrating because I thought I was going to get a show about fighting vampires and that's not what I got. I don't know Castlevania, maybe this is part of the games. But whether it is or not it doesn't stop from being a major flaw. And it wouldn't be a big deal if the show didn't make it such a big deal out of it. Most of the show is this. They're is a shocking lack of monster or vampire fighting in Netflix's Castlevania. There's some, and when there is some it's really cool. But you have to get past a lot of lecturing to get there.  Also the characters are really unlikable. Trevor Belmont starts the series completely willing to let an entire town of people get destroyed by a hoard of demons. And I know part of the point is that he learns his lesson at the end, but that's a really vile place to start you're main character at. And the development to want to save the town comes kinda out of nowhere, and that's probably due to the shows terrible pacing. The character development feels rushed, while the actual pacing of plot events feel dreadfully slow, making the four episode season feel more like the TV movie designed to set the show up more than a proper season. I've never seen a show that was both too rushed and too slow at the same time before this show.  But with all of that said, I do have some hope for season two. Like I said, the whole first season felt like a pilot movie to a series. And the ending implies that season two is when the shows going to start getting into the real meat of things. And with the church defeated I'm hoping that we can actually focus on fighting Dracula. Y'know, what this show should of been about from the start! But we'll have to wait till next year to know how it plays out.  Also I can kinda look past this but the show is very historically inaccurate when it comes to religion. If they're in Transylvania, then the church should be Eastern Orthodox. And they didn't do much witch burning. Heck, most churches didn't do much witch burning. The grand majority of witches were hanged. Just FYI. But let's move on...

 Luna Loud is a bisexual.  ...

 And Star Vs the Forces of Evil had a TV movie, which is cool! Back in the early to mid 2000's every cartoon had at least one TV movie, but now you barely ever see any. Probably because cartoons now of days have more continuity, and thus don't need movies in order to tell larger plots. But still, it's cool to see them return. As for the movie itself...it was definitely...um...  Okay, I'm going to level with you guys, I'm actually really behind on Star Vs. The last episode I saw was the penultimate episode of season one. I didn't stop because I don't like the show or anything. I like it well enough, and from what I hear the show gets a lot better right around the time I stopped watching. It's just that my family lost cable for a while, and then I fell so far behind that I couldn't catch up with reruns, and then I got preoccupied with other stuff...I'll catch up to it someday! It's on my "To watch" list. (Similar situation happened with the 2012 TMNT show. Missed a week once by mistake, tried catching up but got up to the first two seasons.) So i didn't watch this movie, and I have no idea what most people thought of it. But I still think it's cool that the TV movie was brought back. Seriously, outside this and Regular Show what was the last non pilot cartoon TV movie to came out? And multiple episode aired in a row don't count, it has to be marketed as a movie!  And on that awkwardly segwayed note, we wrap up the first half of 2017 in animation. But threat not, the fun is only just beginning. So come back next week for 2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 2. What are you're thought on any of the shows/events I talked about today? Are there any that I missed? Leave all those thoughts and more in the comments down bellow. I would love to hear them and start a conversation, Even if we don't necessarily agree with each other. Please fav, follow, and comment if you liked the review, and have a nice day. (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review. All credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/2017-Year-in-REVIEW-Part-1-721422027 DA Link

[majestyrising]

*flails* hey, would you mind giving some like... tips? or something? on flight-rising related rps? I don't know what advice I'm looking for exactly rip ;;

I can indeed! I don’t how useful it’s going to be since I’ll have to hit ya with a disclaimer first: I only rp with one person consistently 8′) That’s how it’s been for coming up on two years now. HOWEVER I know that most people don’t have someone they can turn to with every single thought, so instead I’ll go through what I think helps develop ocs and how you can do that.

So, the thing about rp is you need someone who is receptive to your lore. This goes both ways. You don’t want to rp with somewhere who doesn’t engage you. It’s not rude, sometimes people’s writing senses just don’t click and that’s fine. Don’t make yourself write if you’re not engaged, you won’t get anywhere. What you’re looking for is someone who tells you about a character and you think ‘wow, I want to explore that/I want to explore that using my own character.’ I know that’s a big ask, and I know a whole lot of this community are socially awkward loners but I’m serious, if you don’t engage with someone until you FIND the person/people/type of writing you mesh with, then you’re going to stay at square one. I’m a socially awkward loner too, so if I can do it, anyone can!

As for rp itself, here’s another spoiler for you: I don’t write coherent narratives when I rp. They happen once in a blue moon where we settle into one arc and go through it, the most recent that comes to mind is a good month where it was just Quincy and Killian and a whole storyline. But, most of the time, I (I’m probably going to interchange I and we here oops) it’s flitting from place to place. Don’t feel like you have to stick to one thing. If your mind has moved, move with it! Don’t dwell. You can always come back, you can always write in the past and the future, never be afraid to postulate ‘what if’ scenarios and spitball, never be afraid to decide you don’t like something you did or remove a trait because it’s not sticking anymore. 

If we’re saying the goal is a.) build complex characters and b.) have fun talking to someone else then that’s really my biggest tip. Don’t get bogged down in protocol! Change characters, change scene, change setting, skip ten years down the line, skip ten years back! What if [x] met [y] instead! What if [y] stabbed [x]! What if [z] introduces [x] and [y] during a party! Your possibilities here are literally endless.

On a little side note, here are some things I find useful for inspiring myself! Looking at my fav pieces of media, and looking at my favourite tropes and archetypes to cherry pick, reading someone else’s writing, working out what a character is Not, and throwing them at an already established character of mine or someone else’s.

I would say there’s no wrong way to rp but that’s actually not true. Don’t assume what someone else’s character will do, don’t play the ‘my ocs are stronger than yours’ card, don’t corner someone into a certain interaction because that’s a dagger to creativity, if you want to railroad then you should write on your own. Rp isn’t about being linear, as I’m hammering on again and again, it’s about exploring!

I hope that helped

[hereticaloracles]

TNO Watch: Manwë

Helios on Manwë– Have you ever watched a truly great Superhero movie (*cough* Thor: Ragnarok or Civil War *cough*) and come out of it pumped up, feeling like you could take on the world, just like them? All that was stopping you was not having a great spandex costume that leaves nothing to the imagination? Well, that and not having any superpowers or anything…. Well, the thing is, we could all be heroes! Let’s look to this week���s Transneptunian to show us how!

The Astronomy– 385446 Manwë is a binary resonant Kuiper belt object in a 4:7 mean-motion resonance with Neptune. It was discovered on 25 August 2003 in northern Chile. It has an orbital period of 287.70 years (105,081 days) and an eccentricity of 0.1114. Its perihelion is 38.599 AU and aphelion 48.671 AU. Manwë has one known satellite, Thorondor. It is estimated to be about half the size of the primary, 33–53 km vs. 58–92 km. Manwë has significant and irregular photometric variability, demonstrating that its components are not tidally locked. The surfaces of Manwë and Thorondor appear to be very red. The composition of Manwë is unknown but likely to be mostly ice because the nominal density (with large uncertainty) is less than that of water.

Manwë and Thorondor are predicted to be going through a period of mutual occultations and transits from 2014–2018, where one object crosses in front of the other as seen from Earth. Pluto and Charon went through a similar series of mutual events from 1985–1990. Observations of these events will allow for better estimates of the radii of the two objects and their densities, as well as possibly determining their shapes and mapping surface color and albedo features.

The Myth– Manwë is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Manwë was the King of the Valar, husband of Varda Elentári, was conceived in the thought of Iluvatar as a brother of Melkor, and King of Arda. He lived atop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain in the world, in the halls of Ilmarin, in the realm of Valinor. The winds, airs, and birds were his servants, and he was lord of air, wind, and clouds in Arda. He was the noblest and greatest in authority of the Valar, and less powerful only than Melkor.

Manwë was (with his brother Melkor, i.e. Morgoth) the greatest of the Ainur, and the one that best understood the will of Eru. When Melkor created the discord in the Music of the Ainur, Manwë took over leading the song. When Arda was formed, Manwë was appointed Ruler of Arda, hence his most common title, the Elder King. Manwë was a kind, compassionate ruler, unconcerned with his own power, but he did not understand evil, even in the form of his own brother. He released Melkor from Mandos, thus allowing him to cause the distrust of Fëanor, the Poisoning of the Two Trees, the murder of Finwë, the theft of the Silmarils, and the revolt of the Noldor. To hearten the Eldar, he had Aulë fashion the vessels to hold Sun and the Moon, for he knew the rising of the Atani was coming and sent Thorondor and the Eagles to watch them. After Morgoth’s fall at the end of the War of Wrath, Manwë cast him into the void. In the Final Battle, when Morgoth and his most powerful ally, Sauron, escape, it is said that the Elder King and the two Dark Lords will battle on the Plains of Valinor, but that they will not slay each other, as Morgoth is destined to die at the hands of Túrin Turambar. Manwë appeared dressed in long blue robes, with blue eyes. He wielded a powerful staff coated in sapphire made for him by the Noldor. The Vanyar were his favorite Elves, and they lived with him and Varda on Mount Taniquetil.

Manwë means Blessed One, from “mān” meaning “good, blessed or unmarred”. Súlimo means Lord of the Winds from ‘sûl’ – ‘wind’. His titles include Elder King, High King of Arda, King of Arda, Lord of the Breath of Arda and Lord of the West. He was first mentioned in The Silmarillion on page 20 at the top of the sentence, ‘But of the airs and winds Manwë most pondered…’

Why He Matters– Well, there is a lot of weirdness with this one, as befits a lengthy lore dump from Tolkein- You’re forgiven if you skipped down to this section. To be honest, it’s been years since I read the Silmarillion, but I don’t know anyone else who bothered to read it, so let’s dive in, shall we?

Though his story might give you a sense of a nerd, Manwë is actually a goddamned heroic badass. The whole point of him in the chart seems to be “A call to action”- where ordinary people are pushed into a situation that they need to step up and achieve some really amazing things. The drive to help others is strong with this guy, and Manwë is prominent in the charts of first responders that I checked- with almost all having a Mars-Manwë contact. Manwë is where we become great, where we become Heroes.

I would expect to see him most powerful in transit, when we are confronted with horrible situations that we need to overcome. There may be a connection to creative expression and performers as well (specifically singers), but I would need to do more research.

As I said above, Manwë is currently making a series of occultations with his binary partner, Thorondor. This gives him added importance, and it highlights a trend we are experiencing- We are currently in the golden age of Superheroes in media; Black Panther, Infinity War, hell, even the convoluted ArrowVerse and the Justice League movies. We cannot get enough of our heroes right now, and I would say that comes down, at least in some part, to Manwë and Thorondor. The occultations line up with Thor: The Dark World-Infinity War (The Infinity Stone storyline) and The Flash run in the Arrowverse. Manwë is using our superheroes to show us the best possible versions of ourselves and what we could be- and it’s important to realize all of the heroes we have right now are incredibly flawed, and oh so Human. You can rewrite your story at any time, no matter what you have done- You can come back from the brink and be redeemed; That is the promise of Manwë, who seeks to redeem his brother at all costs and return to idyllic peace. Yes, it is a bit naive, but honestly, I’ll bet it gives Morgoth pause once in a while, knowing his brother still believes in him and wants him to come home. The sad thing is, Morgoth will never do that, because it takes the most humility in the world to swallow your pride and beg those you have wronged for forgiveness. But that’s a story for another time….

To find out where he shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom of the next page, there will be a menu of additional objects. Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 385446 Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Manwë affect your life? Let us know in the comments below!

TNO Watch: Manwë was originally published on Heretical Oracles

[thetribalmoth]

Top 10 novels

1: the warriors series - Erin Hunter, specially into the wild. Genre: young readers/children, fantasy, cats, dark This series is beyond massive (50+ books) and really is not suitable for children (excessive gore, death and violence). The best summary I could give of this is tons of cats in clans and/or tribes, lots of rules and lore. The series is broken down into instalments (each containing 6 books and with a different over arching plot and usually different main characters), super Edition or mega books, manga books, novella mini books and guild books. Almost every kind of conflict is addressed at some point: forbidden love, miscarriage, economic crash, mental disorders/conditions, physical disabilities (one of the main characters is blind!), vague prophecies, God complexes, starvation, genocide, the after life, war, desease, abandonment, communism, fascism, dictators etc This is also the most confusing book series to read accourding to the correct time line and you basically need to print out the time line map to do it. But if you want to read the series for the first time start with The Prophecys Begin not The Dawn Of The Clans. If you are a small child then just don't read The Dawn Of The Clans at all. If you're looking for both adorable and soul crushing this books is a great choice but very hard on the wallet. - THIS SERIES IS STILL ON GOING - Favourite characters (there's way too many to pick just one) - Rusty (has more than one name but listing them would be a spoiler) and Jayfeather/Jays Wing (blind boy and basically in love with a stick) 2: the house of night series - P.C. Cast Genre: YA, vampire, pagan, gothic, fantasy One of very few fiction books that covers paganism and witch craft accuretly without paganism/witchcraft being the focal point of the series. This series is about 13 books long with a few side books. The story of these books can be hard to follow and it jumps characters very often in the last half of the books, but the variety of characters is great. This series has a queer couple and their main characters! The series focuses on Zoey a new fledgeling vampire who is sent to attend the house of night to learn about vampires and hopefully live to be an adult. A few books in the series gets much darker with ancient awakened Kalona who once protected Nyx but fell. Some warnings for this series, there's a lot of romantic couples (the main characters dates like 3 guys at once and one is a teacher). The series can also get weirdly sexual, even by adult book standards. Kalona is literally a mass rapist. Favourite character: Rephaim (one of Kalona's many children) 3: shadow of the red moon - Walter Dean Myers Genre: fantasy, Classics Ok it's been a while since I read this (like 10 years) but this is what got me into reading and daydreaming. The main character (Jon I think) leaves his home (crystal city) after the Fen break in. He must travel and survive the wilderness that he's heard little to nothing about. Also there's a unicorn at some point. - this book is old, good lucking finding a copy - 4: thirsty - M.T. Anderson Genre: YA, Horror, vampire So this is not your classic vampire tale, but I'm a sucker for all things vampire. The main character has just become a vampire in a world where being a vampire is punishable by public exicution. He must choose to either help the strange man to defeat an ancient vampire god, join the vampire hide always or die. This series has a poetic feel to it at times and encourages questioning your perceived reality and morals. Favourite character: the vampire God guy cause the premise of him and his motives are hilarious and out of the blue. 5: the devouring - Simon Holt Genre: YA, Horror, gothic The main character and her spooky inclined friend discover a journal about body snatching evil spirits. The main characters child brother (of course) gets possessed and they decided to try to get it out of him. This is the heaviest physiological horror I've read from the YA section, if you have an issue with spiders you'll have to skip a few parts. The second book is almost pure repeated psychological torture of the main character. 6: growing wings - Laurel Winter Genre: YA, coming of age, speculative fiction This is a sweet book that addresses self acceptance, oppression minority groups face, parents mutilating their kids to make them normal and how confining what makes us abnormal hurts more than it helps. The main character has started growing her wings, something that runs in her family, and she and her mother must decide what to do. Have the wings removed and become a cut wing? Or hide away with the rest of the winged? 7: vampire taxonomy - Meredith Woerner Genre: Humor, vampire This ain't a novel in the traditional sense and is like a medical book for vampires and how their bodies work. It covers everything from different breeds, how to kill them and even how they pee. It's highly in depth and serious for a Humor book and has quite good illustrations. 8: Ghost eye - Marion Dane Bauer Genre: young readers/children, supernatural, cats Another one I haven't read since childhood but quality ghost and cat stuff is inside (I swear). Basically the main character is a cat who can see ghost cats with one of his eyes and some are real douche bags. Very short, very child friendly but good. 9: tales of deltora - Emily Rodda Genre: young readers, fantasy This is a collection of stories from the world of deltora and easily a better read than the deltora series. The gist is the main charcter seeks out to collect a bunch of special stones and encounters many odd and magical things along the way. 10: field guide to monsters - Darren Zanko Genre: Humor A guide is what this is but it covers both completely unique monsters and monsters from myths. Written from a monster hunter/studier point of view.