Introductions

[nepenthee]

Let’s get to know each other! :D Not sure what to say? Here are some ideas:

<b>Name:</b>
<b>Collective/Main site:</b>

<b>Latest finished project(s):</b> (site-related)
<b>Next project(s):</b> (outside of this event)

<b>Currents:</b> (any web stuff, a fandom you’re active in, a book you’re reading, things you’re trying out, recent life events etc.)

Note that if this DW community gets reused for future events, this post may be left as a sticky, so you may want to keep things general. (No fear, you'd always be welcome to reintroduce yourself!) For anything related to the event specifically, please use the regular checkpoint posts.

Comments

[nepenthee]

Name: Lethe
Collective: oubliette.nu

Latest finished project(s): As far as shrines go, Vanishing Moon (Irisviel from Fate/Zero) earlier this year as a resurrected project from 2016 (incredible even to me); the latest fully new shrine is Refugium (The Top Secret, a series I’ll be shrining again now) from 2022. Aside from that, I’ve been revamping various things lately, be it out of necessity (my domain) or on a whim. (One must not underestimate whims. This event? Partly cobbled together on a whim, fully intended to encourage the pursuit of whims.)
Next project(s): Getting two more manga projects done for my collective six-chances.net and the proper launch of the collective itself.

Currents: About more or less nine years after first hearing of flexbox, I have finally got around to having a closer look at the theory and giving it a try in my recent revamp adventures. I know full well why I turtled so long (when u just want to get your words and sites out and don’t want to pick up anything new that seems dauntingly complex at first sight!!), but now... I feel a rush of power. A_A

I’ve been reading a lot in the past few months after going wild in multiple English bookstores abroad. I’d like to dive deeper into sci-fi, starting with classics. All this reading makes me want to set up some personal overview/collection page because neither Goodreads (old school in an ugly way) nor Storygraphs (no public personal tags) are any good when it comes to displaying what you like to share with others in a useful way. All activities lead to site-making, it would seem.

[larissa]

Name: Larissa
Collective: redcrown.net

Latest finished project(s): The Crystarium Library, a retrospective of all of my Final Fantasy XIV fic. Before that was a site for my FFXIV characters. The FFXIV hyperfixation still knows no bounds, alas.
Next project(s): I've been working on a shrine-adjacent site for months now, but got stuck on the layout until recently. Now that the layout is finally starting to come together, hopefully I can launch it in the coming months.

Currents: I injured my hand three weeks ago and haven't been able to play any video games in that time. Over the same period, three different games I want to play released. The world is cruel, etc.

Of those, however, is a rerelease of Final Fantasy Tactics, a game I love dearly but haven't gotten to replay in many years. Long ago I said I'd make websites for it once it got rereleased, but now it's happened and I actually have to make it a reality. OOPS.

Since I haven't been able to play games, I've been reading books nonstop in recent weeks, after some months of being in a reading slump. It's nice to get back into one of the things I love the most after time away.

[velvetdusk]

Name: Elita
Collective: velvetdusk.net

Latest finished project(s): Nothing ever feels truly "finished," but the rhythm is back. After years away from shrine-building, I'm writing code like devotion again—slow, patient, trying to make pages that hold atmosphere without forcing it.

Next project(s): Right now I'm deep in Scarlet Remembrance, a shrine to Millicent from Elden Ring—less a guide, more a vigil for someone who refused to disappear. Around her: Sanctum Ineffable (Vanessa Ives), Afterimage Protocol (Mima), and Violet Vespers (Mismagius). Together they form Velvet Dusk—a constellation of character shrines and essays built from patience and care.

Currents: Relearning the pleasure of slow code and patient design. Rediscovering what it feels like to build something for love instead of metrics.

Elsewhere: Inkblot Blessed is becoming more musical—part archive, part devotional space for writing about sound. Full albums, listening rituals, the language between noise and reverence.

The ghosts keep finding their way through. 😂

[toothpastepancake]

Name: Agnes
Collective: here <- this is a personal website, but it contains a lot of fandom and contains my shrines too. I plan on making a collective soon when I have more projects.

Latest finished project(s): Spirit, a fansite for the fictional alien species the Negative Spirits from the show Doom Patrol. It's 90s fansite themed.
Next project(s): I don't know! I generally seem to get ideas randomly on a whim and then hyperfocus on finishing them the same day. I'm sure one will come to me soon!

Currents: I run a site on the AO3 code called Sunset, and I also run other fandom-related projects that I am always adding to! My current main fandoms are Star Trek, The Orville, Babylon 5 and Yellowjackets. I don't do a lot of things due to disability, no work or school or anything, so I spend a lot of time doing computer-related stuff and fandom-related stuff. Also working on a few science-fiction-related original projects. I'm trying to get into gamedev, I've been working with the Bitsy engine recently!

[kupokupo]

Name: Emma
Collective/Main site: none at the moment, I used to own rydia.nu but I let it expire and I miss it

Latest finished project(s): I work on and off on this ffxiv resource list (not sure why I can’t get the link to work on mobile? Is the problem me or dreamwidth who knows). It’s basically the only thing I’ve done in years.
Next project(s): new domain for the collective, and reuploading old sites. I also bought a cute domain for the ffxiv links list so I want to make a new layout for that and tidy it up. After that I will think about new things and/or completely revamping old things.

Currents: lots of FFXIV (doing the new deep dungeon + ultimate progging), with some Hades 2 on the side. I really want to play the FF tactics remake but I’m not letting myself buy it before I am done with Hades.
I am also running a FE3H Secret Santa for the Felix/Byleth ship in our cosy lil ship discord. It’s my first time running anything like this so I’m hoping it goes well. People have signed up, at least. IRL wise I am starting a new job in two weeks so here’s also hoping I’m able to keep on top of everything while I get settled and adjust to a new schedule.

[lexicalcrow]

Name: Lex
Collective/Main site: Per Sebek is probably the closest thing I have to a 'main site', but it's about my personal religious stuff rather than anything fannish. My fic archive for my main AO3 might become something of a fannish 'main site' when that's done though.

Latest finished project(s): Nothing is technically finished, per se. I have a few fansites and other things I'm working on, but persebek.org is probably the most finished of my sites at the moment.
Next project(s): fic archives! I have main pages up for both my ao3 accounts, but I'm yet to get all the fics up. I want to work on my mcyt one first, as that one's easier to do, and then I'll tackle my main rpf one, which I plan to make a bit more grandiose with lil subshrine pages for each fandom as well as art and other things. It's a much bigger project than the mcyt one.

Currents: Working on fic for spook_me halloween ficathon :D It's a bit of a mess of a draft atm, but I'm working on cleaning it up and finishing it in time for posting. I'm watching and enjoying the new series of Taskmaster, as well as Vampires SMP, that's been very fun. Also playing minecraft in between everything else, either on servers or in my own survival worlds.

[blaubeermars]

Name: Christina
Collective/Main site: midnight-cloud.net

Latest finished project(s): Lately, I’ve been mostly active in the fanlisting world and haven’t worked much on shrines in a while. BUT, I did recently give my shrine to Julia Heartilly a brand-new layout and improved some of the content.

Next project(s): I’d really like to update my older shrines. They’ve been around for a while, and it feels like the right time to polish them up and give them the attention they deserve.
I'm also planning to translate my Final Fantasy shrines into English so more people can enjoy them. It’s a bit of work, but I think it’ll be worth it!

Currents: I’m still playing League of Legends ... not particularly well, but hey, it’s all about having fun, right?
I also bought the game Wukong, and wow... it’s beautiful but seriously tough. I’m finding it pretty hard, but I’m stubborn, so I’ll keep at it!
I’m also currently reading Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros.

[nepenthee]

It is always a joy to read that people have plans to give their old and well-loved shrines a makeover sometime soon! Layout marathons are fun because they may give participants an opportunity to go over the content of their sites if they're already giving it a new look, but I was quite fond of dedicated shrine revamp events as well. I hope there will be an opportunity for something like that again.

I saw you mention your new Queen Millenia fanlisting in your update log (love the colour scheme of the layout!) and it reminded me it's a work I've been meaning to check out for the longest time, and Leiji Matsumoto's works in general. …Wow, as I'm checking out licenses while typing this, I found out a German hardcover edition of the Queen Millennia manga is going to be published in December :O! If I can figure out whether this spin-off can be read before the other series, I'll pick it up then. :D Thanks for the introduction on your fanlisting!

[nepenthee]

I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE REUPLOADS. Consider me subscribed. Also, as much as I miss rydia.nu all the time (truly hate the fate of expired domains), moogle.nu sounds adorbs; no wonder you have a hard time choosing between domains.

I wish you all the best with your new job and hope all the new and returning things happening in your life will be inspiring rather than stressful!

[sorayomi]

Name: Lene
Collective/Main site: The Story of the Moon

Latest finished project(s): I recently changed my main site's layout to version 4! Some pages were slightly rewritten to be less casual and more refine.

Next project(s): I am working on a shrine for my Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy XIV, of the meadow.
It will be, is, a love letter to an OC that I never knew would inspire, change, and move me so much.

Currents: I'm participating at the arts & craft show my workplace holds bi-annually. The next one will be in November, so I'm working on several bookbinding projects to showcase and sell! It's a super casual event and all skills are welcome!

I recently became a first time homeowner this past June and there are still many things in boxes. I am slowly unboxing and decorating my new place as much as I can in-between gaming, other hobbies, and errands :)

[larissa]

I'm so excited to hear you're making a site for your WoL! I had so much fun making one for my WoLs and I'd love to see more sites by XIV players in particular — there's such a great wealth of things you can put in an XIV site. (Also, aetheryte.org is such a great name choice!!) Very excited for your event sign-up as well :D

I feel what you mean about unboxing and decorating — I moved last year and I'm still not done unpacking 😱 But when you get your space looking just the way you want it, there's no comparison.

[larissa]

Oh, I love the new layout for your Julia shrine! It's so tricky to make anything for subjects with little visual material to work with, but you've sidestepped that entirely with this design, it's really impressive. (Also, I thought I was already linking your FF8 sites on mine and just realized I'm not, so I'll be changing that as soon as I can!)

I'd love to read some of your German shrines! With how much this side of the web has shrunk in recent years, I do think it's worthwhile to maintain sites in your native tongue — but that does unfortunately limit its readership :( I've always admired your German sites from afar, though; kudos for keeping them going for so long.

[blaubeermars]

Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me! I'm especially glad you liked the Julia shrine. You're right, it was tricky finding a way to present a character with so little visual material, so your comment made me smile. And thank you in advance for linking the FF8 sites. No rush at all, but I really appreciate it!

It makes me so happy to hear you've admired the German shrines, even from afar. You're right that keeping them in German does limit who can read them, but it's also nice to express things in my native language sometimes. Thanks again for your kind words and support.

[blaubeermars]

Ahh, thank you so much! I’ve actually never been part of those events myself, but I’ve always loved seeing the energy and creativity they brought out in the community. The idea of revamp marathons or dedicated shrine events sounds so inspiring (maybe something like that will come around again one day?)

I'm so happy you checked out the Queen Millennia fanlisting! And wow, I had no idea about the German hardcover release in December. Thank you for pointing that out! That’s incredibly exciting, especially since Leiji Matsumoto’s works can be a bit scattered when it comes to availability. I totally get the hesitation with where to start. Queen Millennia can stand on its own, but knowing a bit about the broader Matsumoto universe (especially Galaxy Express 999) definitely adds some depth. Either way, I hope you enjoy it if you decide to dive in. And thank you for the lovely comment!

[nepenthee]

What Larissa pointed out about the Julia shrine's layout makes me think of Tumblr/pinterest moodboards... I know some people in the fansite scene use collage techniques for their layout, which I don't do myself, but aah, it had never occured to me this could be the way for subjects with few usable images (including low quality material, images you don't like, or hard-to-work-with images like screenshots)! How atmospheric.

Also just you wait, if we all stick around long enough, I will make shrines in German and join you........ I think that expressing my love in the language I feel most strongly in is particularly important in cases where I came to love a subject thanks to an excellent German translation. And then we shall make a directory for German fansites >:(! (It saddens me that the German fansite scene has seemingly died out.)

[nepenthee]

I always loved people's sites and pages on their Ragnarok Online characters waaaay back in the day (not sure about other MMORPGs, probably WoW at most), even though it was all "just" pixel sprites without much customization. It's lovely how there is so so much more one can enjoy in modern MMORPGs and FFXIV in particular now. I hope more and more people make their WoL sites despite not being into FFXIV myself!! Feels like reading adventure logs and browsing photobooks of friends. :D

[nepenthee]

I can't claim to understand everything (and that's out of your hands), but I would like to remark that I'm impressed how concise and well-structured persebek.org is. It shows that you've maintained the project for a long, long time, and have managed to transfer and distill what I understand to be its essence to its current form. From my own experience, it's not always easy to carry over your own writing from long ago and connect it to what you want to express now. (I revamped oubliette.nu last November and fought a lot with what I'd written in 2016, which I both wanted to maintain and transform.) And you did it with base content from both an Angelfire site and a blog!

Thank you for sharing something so personal. Here's to more projects that will grow old. <3

[lexicalcrow]

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say. <3 I definitely don't expect anyone to understand it all, don't worry. It's been 21 years of love in maintaining it, and I don't like duplicating content too much. There's some stuff there from the blog, but I'm working on building new stuff for the site now, letting it reflect where my practices are now rather than where they were 10 years ago. Plus, yeah, some of the old old pieces are just not good writing, and/or have references from 20 years ago that might not exist anymore. So I decided to start fresh rather than try to rewrite. Sometimes that's easier than wrangling all that content into something new. Plus, I felt I'd run out of regular topics to blog about, so going back to a static website felt like the right move. When you do this long enough, you kind of have a good sense for what's important and what content matters, and I think that's been the biggest part in making it work so well in its current iteration.

[requiems]

Name: Rems
Collective/Main site: farron.net, norvrandt.org

Latest finished project(s): Deadlock Rebel, a tribute to Ashe from Overwatch. If in doubt, I'm thinking about the cowgirl. ❤️ The site was finished back in March, so she needs a bit of updating as I have an entirely new game mode I've sunk an embarrassing number of hours into since it launched to talk about how Ashe plays in it, and a few new lore implications and progressions to tear into (impossible but true), which I will get around to soonTM.

At the moment I'm working on updating my tributes' file paths to folders so that instead of directly linking to a page (for example, farron.net/meringue.php) it drops the file type and comes through as farron.net/meringue. It looks much tidier to me. Whilst I'm doing that I'm taking the opportunity to add disclaimers with full disclosure on potentially sensitive topics discussed on site so I don't fall foul of UK censorship laws. :') not strictly necessary, but if any children wander in, I'm covered.

Next project(s): Either Amélie or my Wol site. The layouts are for the most part done (just coding alterations and tweaks), and I know what I want to write about my Wols - they're all interwoven around my catgirl, I love lorebuilding in established worlds - and Amélie is an exploration of my fascination with her through writing since I can't play Widowmaker at all :') her lore is very good okay.

Currents: The end of the year is a difficult time for me as it's the anniversary of my chronic illness. I am going through some other unrelated stuff...

I tend to do November writing, but I'm not certain my health will allow it this year. I've been tackling my behemoth of a fic (121k words) I wrote in November 2021 by almost entirely rewriting it, which I've been doing on and off in chunks since April. I have to be very careful about time given to words or I wouldn't be able to write at all, so it's a very slow process - I'm at 9/27 chapters rewritten, and I kind of don't want to add another longfic to the pile just yet, haha. I may write something smaller than 50k though.

In Overwatch I am playing too much stadium (not a fan of the fewer rounds implemented this week) and in FFXIV I am getting into Pilgrim's Traverse whilst levelling alts. Pilgrim's Traverse is a beautiful dungeon and full of such good vibes (and Norvrandt lore, my beloved).

[evenstar]

Name: Rin (Kirryn Lia more properly~ also known on the Wired as Arwen, Evenstar, September, depending where I am at the time)
Collective/Main site: Wings

Latest finished project(s): "Tokyo BABYLON Fan Soundtrack: BOX", a Tokyo Babylon FST consisting of all the songs performed or mentioned in TyoBABI 5's "VOL 7/BOX" chapter, plus a 'disc' (so to speak, heh) full of extra songs. I also put together Disremembrance, an FST for Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne late of Sailor Moon. (Can you tell I bleed music? ^^;)

Next project(s): Torn between doing a new layout and coughing up some opinion pieces for my 20+-year-old Arwen Evenstar shrine, and working on a massive, massive encyclopædia, essentially, of Tokyo BABYLON music -- mp3s and whole album downloads (seeing as the soundtracks are so out of print they're practically ghosts), scans, lyric translations, translation of CLAMP's commentary, etc etc. I want to turn the meagre fanlisting into an actually interesting place. I'd like to ultimately do the same thing for Weiß Kreuz music, on a smaller scale (again: albums out of print!). I know no one really cares about two obscure series' soundtracks, but...I do! ♥ So why not!

Currents: I've recently been diagnosed with moderate-severe ME/CFS, so everything at the moment is kinda mixed up and on its head -- life post-diagnosis is way harder to adjust to than I foolishly thought it would be, so I'm kind of all over the place between naps. I'm re-reading "The Secret Commonwealth", book 2 of The Book of Dust series by Philip Pullman, in anticipation of my copy of book 3, "The Rose Field", arriving. (It was delayed in shipment, so I didn't get it on release day, like I was hoping. Bother. I'm terrified it's gonna break my heart, just like book 3 of His Dark Materials did back when I was small. Terrified. Adult pain and disappointment can be so much sharper and unhealable than adolescent pain... ...am I going to devour the book the moment it arrived? Oh yes.) Otherwise it's just general hobbies when I'm able to move -- gaming (I have a horrible burning need to replay FFVI, dfjsklfda), nail varnish collecting, amigurumi, journalling in general, occasionally creeping outside into the blazing heat to attempt some wildlife photography (I currently live in the hottest city in Australia, and summer is upon us two months early, because lol, everyone loves hot weather, amirite? Excuse me while I dissolve...)

I'm really shy and weird so if I come off as awkward, I really apologise -- it's not intentional, I promise ^^;; Also ME/CFS means sometimes there are days-long gaps between replies etc, so please also forgive that. I'm a flaky correspondent, but only due to illness, not laziness ^^;;

[larissa]

Oh, I can't wait to dive into your Tokyo Babylon FST! I've never done the legwork to look up all the songs mentioned in that chapter, so I'm excited to finally hear them. (Have you picked up the new edition of the manga? I got some of the volumes a few months ago, but have been waiting to get the rest before I reread...) Would love to see new content on your Arwen site as well, especially as I mostly know her from the movies.

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis; I know it's a very difficult condition to live with. Wishing you the best with everything.

[requiems]

Rin, my heart goes out to you - I also have severe ME, nine full years as of this December, and ironically enough my own flares and PEM have stopped me from replying to this sooner. It's such a world shattering diagnosis to get, particularly when that's where the non-existent treatment ends and you're just kind of left to manage and navigate it yourself forevermore; I am so sorry.

I cannot offer much more than brain-on-fire, exhausted solidarity rn but I see you. ❤️

[spyderstar]

Name: Star
Collective/Main site: dreamesque.net

Latest finished project(s): I recently completed my first ever fanlistings! HUNTR/X (Kpop Demon Hunters), Saja Boys (Kpop Demon Hunters), Concerned Ape (Stardew Valley Game Designer) (Game Music), Stardew Valley OST, Fields of Mistria (Video Game). They were all approved at the same time, so it was a challenge to get 5 completed in a month where work was intense and my eldest sister had just broken her foot so I was babysitting my nieces & nephew almost everyday.

Next project(s): My fanlisting collective itself, Nebuluna, is still under construction despite the layout having been completed before my other fanlistings. (It actually features the character of my shrine topic, Shuri from A Stepmother's Marchen). I hope to complete it within this month. I've submitted applications for other potential fanlistings that I have not heard back from yet, other than being approved for Gachiakuta and Blue Eye Samurai (both protagonists, Rudo and Mizu respectively, were close contenders for the subject of my shrine).

Currents: The medical field is relentless when it comes to certifications, so I'm currently studying for one of my board exams. I've also been struggling with some unexplained chronic illnesses, so I'm trying to get that under control.

[spyderstar]

I've been waiting so eagerly for six-chances.net to launch! Your sites are so thoughtfully created so I'm so curious to see what your project will yield upon its completion.

Have you chosen any sci-fi books yet to start with? A collection of your reading material be amazing and something I'd be extremely interested in; I'm always looking for recommendations for books, and have found some great reads through the mentions on your sites.

[spyderstar]

Rin, I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I can empathize because ME/CFS is also on my physicians' differential list for diagnosing my current chronic illness; we are just still going through testing to make sure since ME/CFS is usually a diagnosis of exclusion.

Take things one step at a time — you’re doing your best. A diagnosis of ME/CFS is very complex to navigate, especially when it comes to explaining the condition and its impacts on you to other people who may not grasp just how overwhelmingly exhausting it is.

I live in one of the hottest and humid states in the US, and I can assure you that I am not at all a fan of hot weather haha. It rarely gets below 70 degrees F where I live. Ah, what I would do for cool breezes...

[spyderstar]

Rem, I wanted to reply to you too (as I have done with Rim) in expressing my sympathy of your diagnosis while also empathizing (given that there may be a chance that I may be diagnosed with the same thing, but am still going through testing to exclude other possibilities).

I'm here for both of you, if any of you need a soul in solidarity to confide in. Sending you both gentle thoughts and quiet strength.

[evenstar]

Have you picked up the new edition of the manga?
Yes!! I got my hands on it a couple of months back, and...hm. I have some mixed feelings about the new translation; overall it's more accurate in some places, less so in others, but I don't think any differences really take away from the heartbreak story at all, and that's what really matters, imho.

And thank you! ♥

[evenstar]

Oh no, I'm so sorry! This disease is the absolute worst and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy; it's both encouraging and kind of heartbreaking to meet fellow sufferers ♥ (And amusingly, PEM is the same precise reason why this reply is late on my end, because of course it is. Sigh. XD)

I see you, too! And I offer the same brainfired solidarity...usually from a prone position, but still. ♥

[evenstar]

Ahhh, oh no -- FWIW, I hope it's not ME/CFS for you (...not that that would change a lot of the overlapping symptoms with about a million other things, but still ;.;). And thank you so much for your kind words -- they're sorely needed; so many people just don't get the absolute and utter exhaustion that it comes with! Fingers crossed for you ♥

Ugh, humidity. My mortal enemy, I swear ¬.¬; Heat is bad enough on its own, but when you add the OTHER h-word? You're measuring the air quality in wet towels and it's a minor form of hell. All the commiserations -.-;;

[verushka70]

Yikes! I meant to post this like a month ago, but time slipped away from me. (Forty+ hours a week work and commuting will do that, argh.)

Name: verushka70

Collective/Main site: Right now I don't have one... I did, in the distant past (really distant: mid-to-late 90s, early 00s - I was even part of a couple webrings! *iz old*). All I have now is my works on AO3 and my DW.

Latest finished project(s): No new site related stuff yet. I used to hand code html (back in the day), so I'm not familiar with web-site building apps/software. Guess I'll be learning.

Next project(s): I am just finishing doing complementary work for a due South c6d Big Bang primary fanfic (due tonight, yikes!). Next up is my assignment for the due South Seekrit Santa, a fanworks holiday gift exchange, which I'm also signed up for.

Then I will finally get to my shrine-building. As I explained in my sign-up email after completing the form, one thing that I can see with the benefit of hindsight over decades of being in fandom is that, most fandoms that I really got into had either a canon and/or a fanon OT3. So I would like to make a shrine to all my favorite fandom OT3s over the decades (usually, but not always, m/f/m) and even those from before I knew what fandom even was.

I've written several fics featuring my OT3s across multiple different fandoms (and have many WIPs of OT3s in these fandoms). For some of these OT3s - most, actually! - there are sections of canon (sometimes long, even even entire seasons) where one of the OT3 is canonically gone... Yet that missing third person's (ghostly) presence is still felt by the other two characters (who sometimes carry on as OTPs, and sometimes don't), and they're often mentioned in canon by the remaining two of the OT3 (plus in tons of fanfics, of course). It's rather ghostly, in its way, which seems to fit The Ghost of You Shrine Challenge.

Currents: Been doing fanart more the past couple of years (mostly photo manips) lately, but also recently bought new sketchbooks/charcoals/pencils/colored pencils (blending sticks, gummy erasers).

My younger sister and I are both currently reading The Master and his Emissary about the neurological, philosophical and societal/cultural/global issues related to right and left brain hemisphere differences, how they're integrated (or aren't) - and how this affects humans' perceptions, beliefs about "reality", and treatment of each other and the planet. It is a TOME (4th edition) but really, really interesting. (I took it out of the library.)

That book also spurred me to buy a book my oldest sister lent me decades ago - Drawing On The Right Side of the Brain , and the accompanying workbook.

I hope the two books will help jumpstart me re-acquainting myself with foundational skills in art that I haven't practiced in... let's just say "decades," and leave it at that!

[nepenthee]

I am soooo eager for six-chances.net too, which will be at the core of my shrine-making in the next while; I just haven't found the voice to write the collective's content yet (or the layout inspiration lol, but that should be secondary). Your comment had me think about what to write and how to eventually rephrase my drafts all week, allowing me to connect my idea from back then to my current feelings regarding websites and fanwork at present, so the project's shape is much clearer now. Thank you for that, truly! <3

For science fiction: I (re)read Ted Chiang's brilliant short story collections this year (Exhalation; Stories of Your Life and Others), whose concepts, themes and manner of storytelling I greatly enjoy thinking about and discussing with others; I then picked up Flowers for Algernon (which became one of my favourite books right away), I, Robot, The Left Hand of Darkness, Annihilation (which gave me a craving to reread and replay certain manga and games with a similarly unsettling mood and progression of discoveries), and a few more all at once. To take it easy, I'd like to build directly on that: check out more of Asimov and Le Guin to get a feeling of their range (Le Guin impresses me, but I have not read anything of hers yet that matches my taste), continue the Southern Reach series, and see what books Chiang mentions and recommends in his notes and in interviews I've seen. Also, reread an Alastairs Reynolds book I once randomly bought (Blue Remembered Earth; one of the few SF works I'd read), check out its sequels at long last, and perhaps continue with his works. I haven't had time to study Gollancz' SF Masterworks line-up yet, but I hope there'll be a quiet afternoon in a bookstore sometime next year where I can peruse it. :D

When six-chances.net and its planned sites are eventually up, there'll hopefully be a lot of manga to catch people's attention (though not books)! :D

[nepenthee]

STAR. I stumbled upon dreamesque.net a few weeks ago, immediately sent a link to Larissa and texted "wow I wish I were half as creative when it comes to design" lmfao. Its layout contains modern CSS and at the same time brings back and embodies the aesthetic I fell in love with in this corner of the web!! I can't wait to see you fill the site!! (And I hope I get the opportunity to make a colourful layout sometime in the next years, they always make me so jelly, but maybe my creative visions are just subdued in colour and that's all I get for my own sites!!!)

AND YOUR FL COLLECTIVE, which I hadn't seen before, IT GIVES ME... otome game vibes!! It's the feeling when I watch an otome game opening or explore the game's interface across the different menu points for the first time, which is all sparkly sparkly flowery flowery dokidoki + PURE MAGIC AND TRUE LOVE THE ONE AND ONLY IN THIS UNIVERSE, with colours and animations that pop and flow, and careful compositions that make a harmonious whole, and it feels like it's cheese specifically made to make your lil heart leap... Anyway, I was a ball of happiness after clicking on the link.

Your fanlistings are likewise created with such love and radiant creativity, and have so much personality! (It's incredible you made it all in a month omfg.) It's genuinely joyful and inspiring to see how much fun you have with your sites, especially the range of modern CSS, all the more so as I don't know how to do half of it! Welcome back to this part of the web!! :D

(I'm sorry to hear about the illnesses, and wish you all the best with the ongoing medical tests. And I hope all the site-making and this event make for a good balance with your studying!)

[sorayomi]

Hello! Apologies for the late response ;__;
I remember visiting your WoLs' website while back. I had to tread carefully though because I was still pretty new to the world of FFXIV and didn't want to catch too much spoilers! Now that I've spent much more time with the game and a better understanding of the game's lore, I am revisiting it now :D

I was so excited when I saw your Ardbert sign-up! He is one of my favorite characters in the game <3

[sorayomi]

Finding sites and reading about people's characters or OCs has been really nice. I see and love the dedication <3 Growing up, I was scrutinized to even entertain the idea of OCs, so now as an adult and coming across sites and dedications people have for their characters (WoLs included), has been a joy! And I'm forever inspired.

"Adventure logs" has such a lovely ring to it !

[larissa]

Thank you! I'm also really excited to see your site — I'm surprised by all of the XIV signups, but I'm thrilled at the prospect of having so many new sites to visit!

[x95]

Name: cygniius/cyg

Collective/Main site: https://bwzlbub.neocities.org

Latest finished project(s): I’ve recently started learning more webdev (mainly CSS and some Javascript) back in September 2025, after a couple of fits and starts + multiple hiatuses, so I don’t really have any finished site projects yet. 😅 I’d say my personal site’s design refresh, which I completed in November 2025, if that counts?

Next project(s): Not too sure yet! I’m willing to participate in more shrine challenges (and other website creation events), if my schedule allows for it.

Currents: Hmm, nowadays I’ve been mostly working on re-learning how to draw (mainly focusing on character design, and some graphic design), and chipping away at a few original stories (maybe for a game jam or two?). I’m hoping to help out with some proofreading for an upcoming game jam. I’ve mostly been reading manga in recent days, I’m pretty excited about the current Medalist arc, and the Shadows House manga seems to be barreling into a pretty serious culmination of multiple character arcs (which is raising a lot more questions than answers!) and I’ve been playing more Team Fortress 2.

[x95]

the Sunset website sounds really intriguing, I will definitely be browsing through fanworks there ^^ more femslash works are a good thing :D