Hi Lethe~
Firstly, I don't know which part of my digital footprint that had led you to my page but I'm very thankful for that encounter and it was so sweet of you to even drop me a message. It is such a coincidence too that I already had your Kingdoms, site marathon opened in my tabs for about a week now! I haven't finished going through its contents but I plan to in detail even when I'm not participating lol. I adore the depth in your designs, layout, writing and content. Your site must have taken a lot of love and effort to make! And here too I plan to savour and go through most of it, bit by bit.
Thank you for reaching out and being an inspiration in many ways and I look forward to any of your on-going and future projects. I'll be here appreciating from the shadows as I always do ♥
Message in a Bottle
Thank you for your visit to The Wither and Bloom Network! ❤ This is the central guestbook for all sites stationed at oubliette.nu and six-chances.net, open for any thoughts you would like to share. From a short hello to feedback and suggestions to musings or ramblings, I would love to hear from you!
You have the option to mark your entry as private. Entering your email address is optional unless you would like to be notified about my reply. Please excuse that I sometimes take a while to reply, though I try to respond to any message I receive, here, per mail or otherwise. Alternatively, you can reach me through the contact form.
view guestbook ♆ sign guestbook
59 bottles have been washed ashore.
Nxia
view reply
Lethe: Hello Nxia! Thank you so much for visiting my site in turn, for your appreciation and all of your positive energy. I did in fact come across your site through the note you left in Aelyn and Cerine's guestbook. :D I hope you enjoy perusing the marathon website and all of the participants' websites. Make sure to come back in October when the event ends! I am sure there will be many new shiny projects to enjoy then. May we both be inspired by that collective creativity. <3
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 31 July 2026
Fyrna
I just wanted to say that I'm so happy your site exists. It reminds me of what the Web was like when it was young, and people made beautiful websites to celebrate the things they loved.
To find something like this now, is like finding a sparkling star in heap of trash. :P
To find something like this now, is like finding a sparkling star in heap of trash. :P
view reply
Lethe: What blunt words LOL! Thank you for your visit and the laugh. <3 I know the feeling you describe so well, and dearly wish I'd experience it more often these days. May we both continue to discover sites that from love spark joy.
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 28 July 2026
Christina
Liebe Lethe,
ich habe gerade festgestellt, dass ich schon ewig nichts mehr in dein Gästebuch geschrieben habe. Dabei schaue ich eigentlich immer wieder gerne bei Oubliette vorbei ^^
Letztens habe ich dort (mal wieder) ein bisschen gestöbert und bin dabei auf Claymore aufmerksam geworden. Ich hatte ohnehin nach einem Anime gesucht, den ich anfangen könnte, weil die Witch Hat Atelier-Season ja leider schon vorbei ist und ich danach irgendwie nicht so recht wusste, was ich als Nächstes schauen soll.
Jedenfalls bin ich dann immer wieder bei Claymore hängen geblieben und dachte mir irgendwann: Ach komm, ich gebe dem Anime jetzt einfach eine Chance.
Und was soll ich sagen? Ich finde ihn wirklich richtig interessant. Ich mag die Atmosphäre total und die ganze Welt hat mich direkt neugierig gemacht (ich habe mich vom Gefühl her sofort an Made in Abyss erinnert). Ich bin noch nicht wahnsinnig weit, aber ich freue mich darauf weiterzuschauen und das ist ja eigentlich immer ein gutes Zeichen :)
Und mehr kann ich gerade eigentlich gar nicht sagen, außer: Falls irgendwann einmal ein Teresa-Shrine zustande käme, würde ich ihn wirklich, wirklich waaaahnsinnig gerne lesen!!
ich habe gerade festgestellt, dass ich schon ewig nichts mehr in dein Gästebuch geschrieben habe. Dabei schaue ich eigentlich immer wieder gerne bei Oubliette vorbei ^^
Letztens habe ich dort (mal wieder) ein bisschen gestöbert und bin dabei auf Claymore aufmerksam geworden. Ich hatte ohnehin nach einem Anime gesucht, den ich anfangen könnte, weil die Witch Hat Atelier-Season ja leider schon vorbei ist und ich danach irgendwie nicht so recht wusste, was ich als Nächstes schauen soll.
Jedenfalls bin ich dann immer wieder bei Claymore hängen geblieben und dachte mir irgendwann: Ach komm, ich gebe dem Anime jetzt einfach eine Chance.
Und was soll ich sagen? Ich finde ihn wirklich richtig interessant. Ich mag die Atmosphäre total und die ganze Welt hat mich direkt neugierig gemacht (ich habe mich vom Gefühl her sofort an Made in Abyss erinnert). Ich bin noch nicht wahnsinnig weit, aber ich freue mich darauf weiterzuschauen und das ist ja eigentlich immer ein gutes Zeichen :)
Und mehr kann ich gerade eigentlich gar nicht sagen, außer: Falls irgendwann einmal ein Teresa-Shrine zustande käme, würde ich ihn wirklich, wirklich waaaahnsinnig gerne lesen!!
view reply
Lethe: Liebe Christina,Es rührt mich sehr, wie regelmässig du dir die Zeit nimmst, um liebevolle Nachrichten in Gästebüchern zu hinterlassen (ich seh deine Spur!) – wahre Beziehungspflege, an der sich alle ein Beispiel nehmen können!
Claymore ist so ein alter und farblich düsterer Anime haha! Schön, dass er dich – noch dazu nach so was Buntem und Ausdrucksstarkem wie WHA – packt. Nach all den Jahren schaue ich mir immer wieder gern die Opening- und Ending-Videos an, weil das nicht nur schöne Tracks sind, sondern welche, die die Stimmung der Geschichte treffend wiedergeben. Ich hoffe, du gibst dem Manga eine Chance, wenn du das Ende der Adaptation erreichst und Lust auf mehr hast! (Meinen Hinweis auf das Ende des Anime hast du vermutlich gesehen.)
Danke vielmals auch für die sehr geschätzte Ermutigung zu weiteren Claymore Shrines. <3 Die Projekte sind alle auf Eis gelegt, aber ich gebe zu, dass es mich in den letzten paar Jahren immer wieder reizt, "mal kurz einen kleinen Shrine rauszuhauen" (und spezifisch zu Claymore!), nichts so wahnsinnig Komplexes wie meine neuesten und gegenwärtigen Projekte. Falls was daraus wird, freue ich mich auf deinen Besuch. :D
found on the shore of
Awakening on 5 July 2026
sqvrltastic
view reply
Lethe: Hello sqvrltastic! Thank you for returning and for the cheer; I'm honoured. I shall likewise visit your site from time to time to see what you've added. <3 Have a lovely summer!
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 18 June 2026
Fab
Hello again,
Two years (and an ADHD diagnosis, go figure) later, I've returned to actually read your reply to my first signing.
Last night, I started watching the new anime adaptation! This triggered me to return to Joker's Wild and see if there was any update, which I was delited to find. Specifically, it was your write-up on Fukunaga I wanted to read again, because I was just so excited to see her in her full glory! I was a little worried of course, but so far so goo, though I am couple episodes behind on what's aired.
I'm really enjoying the anime so far though, even though I've seen these first three games many, many times (I've watched the drama so much, and I did end up introducing my partner to it! He was a fan, of both it and now the anime, but we haven't watched season 2 together yet. I got distracted.), and what I'm really looking forward to (aside from Fukunaga) is seeing the proper Yokoya stuff, and of course what comes after that.
I think the animation is quite nice, and the art style is a slightly smoother version of the manga's, cleaned up for animation but without losing the core of the style. I also think the modern updates are integrated quite well; the tablet instead of the video tape, Nao looking at floor plans of her teacher's house on her phone... it's not intrusive or jarring at all!
Jumping back to your reply to my original message; I once again agree about Fukunaga in the drama - he is a lesser character with no real development, but he still has his place in that version of things. It's a downgrade, but he still has is charm (IMO). I'm glad people will now be able to see the true Fukunaga though.
And in regards to Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, I completely understand not quite vibing with it. I should have said in my initial message that it's quite a different tone from Liar Game. For me, the similarity is just in how the main characters go through really meaningful development, and have a bit of a similar 'power of heart' so to speak. It's not necessarily something I'd recommend to fans of Liar Game on its own, but I can't help but connect them in my head due to the similar impact they had on me personally due to their characters.
Also, the ending. I agree completely, it is what it is and we don't know the story behind how it came out be and if it was what was originally planned or not, but I am curious about this extra serialisation coming (started?) you've mentioned - I've not been checking any news about LG because I honestly did not expect any, the anime was a huge surprise I only learned about because Mother's Basement mentioned it! (He also mentioned how he'd been recommended it in the basis of wanting something similar to Kaiji - that was me! I mean, maybe more people, I don't know, but I definitely made a comment about it (not that I've read or seen Kaiji, but it was based on what he said about it in his video)).
Anyway, I've rambled enough. I just want to say once again thank you for making (and maintaining!) this lovely shrine, and I hope this new anime adaptation brings in new appreciators of this series.
Two years (and an ADHD diagnosis, go figure) later, I've returned to actually read your reply to my first signing.
Last night, I started watching the new anime adaptation! This triggered me to return to Joker's Wild and see if there was any update, which I was delited to find. Specifically, it was your write-up on Fukunaga I wanted to read again, because I was just so excited to see her in her full glory! I was a little worried of course, but so far so goo, though I am couple episodes behind on what's aired.
I'm really enjoying the anime so far though, even though I've seen these first three games many, many times (I've watched the drama so much, and I did end up introducing my partner to it! He was a fan, of both it and now the anime, but we haven't watched season 2 together yet. I got distracted.), and what I'm really looking forward to (aside from Fukunaga) is seeing the proper Yokoya stuff, and of course what comes after that.
I think the animation is quite nice, and the art style is a slightly smoother version of the manga's, cleaned up for animation but without losing the core of the style. I also think the modern updates are integrated quite well; the tablet instead of the video tape, Nao looking at floor plans of her teacher's house on her phone... it's not intrusive or jarring at all!
Jumping back to your reply to my original message; I once again agree about Fukunaga in the drama - he is a lesser character with no real development, but he still has his place in that version of things. It's a downgrade, but he still has is charm (IMO). I'm glad people will now be able to see the true Fukunaga though.
And in regards to Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, I completely understand not quite vibing with it. I should have said in my initial message that it's quite a different tone from Liar Game. For me, the similarity is just in how the main characters go through really meaningful development, and have a bit of a similar 'power of heart' so to speak. It's not necessarily something I'd recommend to fans of Liar Game on its own, but I can't help but connect them in my head due to the similar impact they had on me personally due to their characters.
Also, the ending. I agree completely, it is what it is and we don't know the story behind how it came out be and if it was what was originally planned or not, but I am curious about this extra serialisation coming (started?) you've mentioned - I've not been checking any news about LG because I honestly did not expect any, the anime was a huge surprise I only learned about because Mother's Basement mentioned it! (He also mentioned how he'd been recommended it in the basis of wanting something similar to Kaiji - that was me! I mean, maybe more people, I don't know, but I definitely made a comment about it (not that I've read or seen Kaiji, but it was based on what he said about it in his video)).
Anyway, I've rambled enough. I just want to say once again thank you for making (and maintaining!) this lovely shrine, and I hope this new anime adaptation brings in new appreciators of this series.
view reply
Lethe: Hello Fab! Thank you for revisiting my shrine (you are totally the target audience of the recent revamp) and sharing your thoughts with me once more, on the series, the new anime and beyond. They are not at all rambly, but very much appreciated, as any personal website and even more so shrine of mine is intended to be an invitation for free conversation and connection – and it means a lot to me that you see that so clearly.I haven't watched the anime myself, only the opening video as people referred to it as one of the only stylistically creative elements of the adaptation haha, but from what I've seen, I agree with you on the art style being a good and suitable translation of the manga style. I'm glad the wider world finally gets to see Fukunaga (and Nao! even though the formerly small fandom now has to deal with the massive influx of haters), and I'm touched that you returned to my shrine specifically for the Fukunaga write-up! It is, next to the parts on Nao, the most opinionated part of the shrine; unlike the former, however, it was not written for the shrine, but a pre-existing rant posted elsewhere. I wondered whether or not to leave it in when I last revamped the shrine, as it goes beyond the shrine's goal (an introduction, overview). But ultimately, Fukunaga, through her relationship with Nao, is such a central part of the series' themes that even as an overview, the shrine would be lesser without it.
I hope you continue to enjoy Liar Game with your partner, in whatever form. (I hope you saw the update on the shrine regarding the full manga ending too.) As for Liar Game: The Last Game, the addendum to the original series, it is currently underway in Japan!
found on the shore of
Joker’s Wild on 31 May 2026
Chrissi
My dear Lethe!
I feel like doing this in english right now...
It's been a few years since I've last been here (... which is crazy!!) and i love love love what you did with that revamp. That must have been so much work!
The designs on the update log as well as the guestbook here stand out to me. They remind me of Japanese tableware - the blue hues, the faded gold and the sea / fish motives just feel so luxurious yet calming to me. Paired with your lovely writings and the beautiful poetry everywhere browsing your networks just makes me so so happy!
Where do you find all the poetry scattered through your sites? I especially loved that part of "In the Desert" by Stephen Crane on oubliette.nu - instantly had to write it down. <3
Also, that Hugo von Hofmannsthal Quote on "Mistress"? He gets it. :D
I also wanted to mention the "Wherefores" section on oubliette.nu, because... omg. Like I said, not only is your writing so lovely and poignant; here, it got straight into my heart. Reading what I deep within feel about shrines, brought to "paper" in such a beautiful way had me tear up for real. You have such a way with words and they shine through your designs. I still have goosebumps, thinking about the "A Song to Myself" section.
You, sharing your musings, reflections and experiences in form of Shrines & Websites in general, are a huge reason for me to try to engage more in our space. Thank you for making the web a much nicer place!
(Also, oubliette.nu's design with the different headers? Beautiful. Melancholic - and so "Lethe"-coded - love 'em!)
All the best,
Chrissi
I feel like doing this in english right now...
It's been a few years since I've last been here (... which is crazy!!) and i love love love what you did with that revamp. That must have been so much work!
The designs on the update log as well as the guestbook here stand out to me. They remind me of Japanese tableware - the blue hues, the faded gold and the sea / fish motives just feel so luxurious yet calming to me. Paired with your lovely writings and the beautiful poetry everywhere browsing your networks just makes me so so happy!
Where do you find all the poetry scattered through your sites? I especially loved that part of "In the Desert" by Stephen Crane on oubliette.nu - instantly had to write it down. <3
Also, that Hugo von Hofmannsthal Quote on "Mistress"? He gets it. :D
I also wanted to mention the "Wherefores" section on oubliette.nu, because... omg. Like I said, not only is your writing so lovely and poignant; here, it got straight into my heart. Reading what I deep within feel about shrines, brought to "paper" in such a beautiful way had me tear up for real. You have such a way with words and they shine through your designs. I still have goosebumps, thinking about the "A Song to Myself" section.
You, sharing your musings, reflections and experiences in form of Shrines & Websites in general, are a huge reason for me to try to engage more in our space. Thank you for making the web a much nicer place!
(Also, oubliette.nu's design with the different headers? Beautiful. Melancholic - and so "Lethe"-coded - love 'em!)
All the best,
Chrissi
view reply
Lethe: Dearest Chrissi,Your messages in my guestbook have become a constant in my site-making that I do not ever want to miss, and I hope my shoutout on oubliette.nu v2 tells you exactly what they (and therefore you) mean to me.
Wordy as I am, it astounds me every time how you manage to single out the core elements of my creative work, my motivation or inspiration right away, and in so doing give me the feeling of being seen, without need to comment on every single detail or attempt a message remotely comprehensive (which would be my style, and which is not always suited for making first contact or casual hellos haha). Stephen Crane's poem is indeed near and dear to me, and I've loved it for a long time, whereas von Hofmannsthal's quote is a more recent discovery from some years ago, which pierced me, painfully and precisely, and made me feel... home, understood, with my kind at last.
As to where I find poetry that ends up on my sites: There are various entryways. I look up poems when I come across verses in everyday life that speak to me, be it in books (say, in epigraphs), newspapers (e.g. when the journalist tries to express something else in poetry), on the web (in social media bios/layouts, in title or heading tags, in forum signatures, in captions to gif or graphic sets, in all kinds of fanwork), and while looking often click around for a page or two to find "neighbouring" poems or verses. I follow Tumblr accounts that regularly post or reblog poetry that matches my sensibility/taste, sometimes in full, but more often as select verses (and look up the full poems if the verses resonate deeply or make me curious). I enjoy browsing other people's collection of favourite verses/poems, on Tumblr or on their personal website. I have built up a collection of poetry books, usually choosing poets to read whose poems I made the acquaintance with by one of the former methods.
Whenever I come across a poem that I associate with a particular thought or creative project (usually shrine), I write it down in a note or stick it into the project's folder to join them later. (Sometimes I open my shrines notes from years before and see a poem I saved for that purpose, but which I have forgotten by then, and seeing it alongside my own ideas, or even just the shrine subject itself, makes such a strong impression, feels so very RIGHT, that that temporarily becomes the primary impetus for me to work hard to make the shrine happen so as to share that association with the world.) When reblogging a verse from Tumblr, I also sometimes tag it with the subject it makes me think of. Notes aside, with new projects, I often know what poems I want to integrate as my memory is particularly fond of verses (especially if its link to a subject was already made in my mind); in other cases, I browse my digital and physical collections to see if something might fit (with poetry books, I highlight all the verses, or even single words, that speak to me as I read). Most quotes on oubliette.nu v2 are lines that had been on my mind for many years as I associate them with shrine-making, writing, the urge to create or my self. So to answer part your question in a literal way, I often do not find the poems for my sites, but they find their way into the sites.
Thank you for looking, wondering and responding, Chrissi. All the different reactions that the revamped oubliette.nu elicits from you bring me so much joy and make all the hard work (months indeed) worth it. <3
See you again, hopefully soon, on our websites to come.
All the best to you too,
Lethe
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 8 May 2026
Sqvrltastic
Hi Lethe! :)
Thanks for signing my guestbook and wow, what a gorgeous site you have! I'd never would have found it otherwise and it would be such a shame. I've enjoyed browsing through your different shrines, I admit I am not familiar with most of the media they represent, but I really liked Claymore one in particular. I might actually give it a shot, one day, I've been eyeing the manga for some time and I love dark fantasy and especially ones that feature non-sexualized female warriors. It's been an interesting read. I'm gonna check the other sites listed in the links page.
I LOVE the design of the site as well. It looks both very stylish and easy to use. I want to mention the main font choice in particular, because I'm personally am not a fan of serif fonts on the web, most of the time, but you managed to make it work!
Now, regarding Russian fan site network... Unfortunately, I'm afraid I will not be of much help. If there are any active communities out there, I am not aware of them. But! I suppose I can give you some pointers on what and where to look for if you want to check some of the older fan sites...
Back in the day, aka circa early 2000s era, there were two major "personal website" hosts used by amateurs and hobbyists — narod.ru and uCoz.ru. You can append site:narod.ru in search engine and it will give you various old sites hosted on narod.ru, although, most of them are long abandoned and half-broken. Try using keywords such as "аниме" or "фан сайт" if you want to look for anime or fan sites, respectfully. Or, try "Коты воители" for Warrior cats and you might find some old sites that are still semi active, I was never into them, but I remember browsing them because they were crazy popular at that time hahaha. Anyways, when you find an intersting site like that, you can check Wayback Machine to see how it looked back then and usually it will "unbreak" them a bit.
P. S. The emdash isn't ChatGPT, I just really like it and refuse to part with it :(
Thanks for signing my guestbook and wow, what a gorgeous site you have! I'd never would have found it otherwise and it would be such a shame. I've enjoyed browsing through your different shrines, I admit I am not familiar with most of the media they represent, but I really liked Claymore one in particular. I might actually give it a shot, one day, I've been eyeing the manga for some time and I love dark fantasy and especially ones that feature non-sexualized female warriors. It's been an interesting read. I'm gonna check the other sites listed in the links page.
I LOVE the design of the site as well. It looks both very stylish and easy to use. I want to mention the main font choice in particular, because I'm personally am not a fan of serif fonts on the web, most of the time, but you managed to make it work!
Now, regarding Russian fan site network... Unfortunately, I'm afraid I will not be of much help. If there are any active communities out there, I am not aware of them. But! I suppose I can give you some pointers on what and where to look for if you want to check some of the older fan sites...
Back in the day, aka circa early 2000s era, there were two major "personal website" hosts used by amateurs and hobbyists — narod.ru and uCoz.ru. You can append site:narod.ru in search engine and it will give you various old sites hosted on narod.ru, although, most of them are long abandoned and half-broken. Try using keywords such as "аниме" or "фан сайт" if you want to look for anime or fan sites, respectfully. Or, try "Коты воители" for Warrior cats and you might find some old sites that are still semi active, I was never into them, but I remember browsing them because they were crazy popular at that time hahaha. Anyways, when you find an intersting site like that, you can check Wayback Machine to see how it looked back then and usually it will "unbreak" them a bit.
P. S. The emdash isn't ChatGPT, I just really like it and refuse to part with it :(
view reply
Lethe: Hi Sqvrltastic! It took me a while to reply, but it was such a sweet surprise to see that you visited my site in turn and left a lengthy message here – thank you for looking around! And thanks especially for the comment on my Claymore shrine, which hadn't got many personal reactions before. There are some Claymore characters I'd like to make small, more "classic" shrines to eventually, mostly because I like seeing them in action, not because I have all that more to add (which makes the shrines less of a priority)... Hopefully, the mere presence of shrines to Claymore will lead to more visitors picking up the manga at some point! (I'm particularly amused about your reaction to the main font btw, because I remember reading on your site that you clearly prefer sans-serifs. :D I do like serifs, but I think the reason they tend to be my go-to is because they match the subject I write about and what I write about them.)I highly appreciate you sharing your memories of the old days in the Russian fansite sphere, and for the very helpful pointers on how to go about digging up old sites. I'm looking forward to digging around and hopefully finding well-preserved fansites in the archive! I'd love to see some old layouts and maybe glimpses of trends in foreign web spheres. (I had never heard of Warrior Cats before, but right after your guestbook entry, I chanced upon a website that mentioned how big it used to be wtf.)
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 10 April 2026
Syl
Hi Lethe! Thank you so much for signing my guestbook! I wanted to return the favor and sign yours as well. ^^ You have an absolutely beautiful site here, and I love the depth of your writing. I can easily sense your passion and dedication to the things you love, and your creativity here is truly something to be admired. You actually inspired me to update my Hotel Dusk shrine's layout, and I'm hoping to add more to it in the near future! Thank you so much again for stopping by my humble little site. I hope you have a wonderful new year! <3
view reply
Lethe: Dear Syl, after a long time: Thank you, again, for paying me a visit here and leaving the door open for me to return to your blog – and, of course, for your kind words on my site! I happened to read a blog entry on Hotel Dusk today, which made me think of you. It truly makes me happy to be able to think of someone because they established a visible link between them and a subject dear to them in the form of a dedicated site. <3
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 13 January 2026
Bel
Made it here through your Gwendolyn shrine which I was delighted to discover still exists. Thank you for building all of this and leaving it intact. Your designs are beautiful.
view reply
Lethe: Thank you so much for this lovely message, Bel! It means a lot to me to hear that my Gwendolyn shrine means something to someone; unfinished as it is, it is dear to me.
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 9 December 2025
ArimaMary
Hi! Found my way here from the makeashrine DW community. Hope to take part in it next year! Really happy to see a place where web masters can gather and create together :).
view reply
Lethe: Hello ArimaMary! Thank you for letting me know that you're interested! I'm looking forward to your participation if I run an event again in the future. :D
found on the shore of
oubliette.nu on 5 December 2025
Powered by PHP Guestbook - brought to you by PHP Scripts