Sanctuary

Ai~

Hi, Lethe :) I hope you're well!

I stumbled over your domain a while back, and I saw your Idike site just now. I just have to tell you how much in awe I am of the websites you put up--not only because the designs are beautiful in their clean simplicity, but more so because of the content you write. Every sentence, it feels, is incredibly well thought-of, and every paragraph is crafted with elegance that can only come from an intellect very few possess. You are clearly a writer, and a lover of literature (it's one of the things that drew and impressed me about your domain), and every creation you put up is absolute proof of your love for the subject, and it is just oh-so wonderful.

So I've been holding in these thoughts for about a couple of months now (lol) and I can't sit back and not tell you. So here I am. Hi! :) My gratitude for being such an inspiration to everyone who wishes to put up a fansite.

Best,
Ai~

(PS: I've linked to your domain, BTW, just thought you should know!)

written about oubliette.nu on May 24, 2018

Cal
I love your Haru shrine! I found it looking for things on autistic Haru and it made me really happy because its so well done. I hope you continue filling it out!! Thank you!

Lethe: Dear Cal, thank you so much for leaving such a sweet comment for me to wake up to - it really makes my day!! <3 I, too, hope that I can return to working on the site at some point when life calms down. There's a lot more to say on the subject, some of which has already been written down, but is not quite ready to be uploaded just yet haha. /furiously looks for more autistic Haru things

written about oubliette.nu on April 14, 2018

Lysianthus

Lethe, I just want to say I absolutely adore your websites! ♥o♥ Everything is so detailed from the design — which is never “stiff” and always “free-flowing” (I know it's such a vague way to describe it, but I can't think of any other words as of the moment), not to mention all pretty — down to your analytical and lovely writing. Even your project pages have so much to say, and I love that you also wrote your milestones in the making your shrines. I can really tell that you put in so much love and effort into your works, and it's all very... <i>personal</i>. I'm stoked to see your future projects, as I'm sure they will be as good or even better!

Lethe: Lysianthus - sorry about my terribly late reply! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment awww. ;_; I'm especially glad to hear you say that about my designs (I like your sleek ones too!) and that you enjoy the tl;dr on the project pages LMAO. <3 Thank you so much for your enthusiasm!!

written about oubliette.nu on January 20, 2018

Janna

I discovered your network last night and I'm absolutely in love with your style, both in design and in writing, to the point where I'm considering reading all your shrines even though I don't know most of the subjects ^^

I see myself checking your site now and then in the future! Keep up the good work, you do it wonderfully!

Lethe: Thank you so much for your sweet words, Janna - I'm really touched omg. ;_; Haha a lot of my shrine subjects are either dated or obscure. /o

Wow, I've just had a look at your domain and you seem to have been very active lately, so YOU keep up the good work too!! <3 Your layout is lovely.

written about oubliette.nu on September 6, 2017

Blacky

Dear Lethe!
Excuse me while I'm writing this in my native language, since I'm waaaay to excited... :-D

-------

Vielleicht erinnerst du dich noch: Du hattest dich vor ein paar Monaten bei meinem Raphael Fanlisting angemeldet.
Ich habs so gefeiert, dass sich ausgerechnet jemand deutschsprachiges anmeldet (gefühlt gibt es ja keine Angel Sanctuary Fans mehr...). *_* Damals hab ich mir deine Networkseite schon angesehen und war total begeistert… neulich hab ich wieder dran gedacht und muss dir endlich mal ein Lob rüberschicken.

Dein Stil ist SO toll! Obwohl deine Layouts sehr schlicht sind, sind sie absolute Augenweiden und passen perfekt zu den jeweiligen Charakteren. Ich hab mich eben wieder durch alles geklickt (auch die Fanlistings xD) und bin so begeistert <3
Außerdem mag ich deinen Schreibstil total! Es macht einfach Spaß, sich durch die Texte zu lesen.

Bis vor ein paar Jahren hatte ich selbst noch eine Network-Seite mit diversen Chara-Shrines… aber mittlerweile ist alles offline.
Deine Websites machen mir wieder total Lust, meine Shrines neu aufleben zu lassen.

Ich hoffe, du machst noch lange solche tollen Websites!

Alles Liebe,
Chrissi/Blacky

Lethe: OMG BLACKY. OMGGGGGG.

Mein Herz hat fast ausgesetzt, als ich deinen Namen in meiner Inbox sah LOL. Ich dachte mir: "OMG, HAT SIE HERAUSGEKRIEGT, DASS ICH TREASURE-CHEST.ORG STALKE??" Gen Ende 2016 hatte ich mich nach Ewigkeiten (vermutlich gegen zehn Jahre) ausgiebig in der deutschen Website-Szene umgesehen, da ich mich wunderte, wie gross die Community noch ist und was dort die Webdesign-Trends sind - aber auch, weil ich mich fragte, ob deutsche Shrines noch existieren und ob man sich da nicht miteinander anfreunden könnte, um sich gegenseitig zu inspirieren haha... Immerhin ist für mich damit sehr viel Nostalgie verbunden, da ich gegen 2003 über deutsche Websites in das Hobby gekommen bin. Auch heute noch vermisse ich es, als Teil einer Gruppe an einer Fansite zu werkeln haha.

Jedenfalls war ich total begeistert, als ich treasure-chest.org fand!! Ich hab dein umwerfendes Michiru/Haruka-Layout einem Haufen Freunden im Shrine-Hobby gezeigt (... und darüber getweetet) - und später auch das neue, tolle Subaru-Layout. ;_;!! Und das Alexiel/Lucifer-Layout sowieso!!

Aaaaaah aber natürlich war man zu schüchtern, um PIEP zu machen. T_T Dafür freue ich mich umso mehr, dass du mein Network gefunden und mir so viele liebe Worte hinterlassen hast. ;_; <3 <3 Es freut mich zu hören, dass mein Schreibstil dich anspricht! Tausend Dank!! <3 <3 <3

Seit du auf deiner Seite geschrieben hast, dass du mit dem Gedanken spielst, deine Shrines zurückzubringen, lungere ich ständig auf der Index-Seite herum, um zu schauen, was sich da tut LOL. Als du sagtest, dass du dein Traum-Fanlisting gekriegt hast und bei den Fanlistings wieder einsteigst, fragte ich mich schon, ob das nicht ein Angel Sanctuary Subject sein könnte... Und dann war es das wirklich LOL. Ich freu mich auch abartig, wenn ich heutzutage noch Angel Sanctuary Fans im Web finde. TT___TT

ICH ERWARTE DEINE SHRINES VOLLER UNGEDULD!!!!!!!!

written about oubliette.nu on April 21, 2017

Sophia

This is 50% cheap (and belated!) birthday present, as it regards something I was going to do no matter what: read through your shrines. So far I have only combed Cephiro and Valkyrie, both of which are inspiring, intimidating works of love and nuance. That last term, ‘nuance’ is what strikes me throughout my limited exposure to your work: you build your analysis off of an amalgamation of small details, scattered throughout conversations, mechanical components, taking the smallest part of evidence into account as you build a larger understanding. It’s particularly admirable to me, because I appreciate the personal aspect of your shrines, but part of how you impart how deeply personal something is by investing and demonstrating great care (the often forgotten root of careful) as you explain it – in contrast, I’m always hurrying past the little things, hence the spelling mistakes in all my IMs to you. Side-eyes @ self. This isn’t to say that these analysis come off cold, because they do have roots in small details, but rather the warmth is an enveloping tidiness, like a perfectly set dinner table. You also don’t couch the majority your claims in first personal statements; again, it’s a theoretical confidence and grasp I admire, especially since where you do introduce yourself, it’s with tenderness for the object of your consideration, pure demure lady bsns.

And, on my own personal level, I was so touched rereading it. I played Legend of Dragoon way back when, surely inspired by a shrine to I, though I didn’t complete it (story of a lot of my gaming habits), and mostly I remember the guards in the prison system swearing (which, as an innocent young lady, I was shocked to find in a video game), as well as the scene where Dart carries Shana. It brought back a lot of what I felt playing it. The story line is engrossing, and deeply nuanced, more than I even knew at the time. Reading your shrine inspired me to remember so much of what I have always loved about games and shrines: the wealth of feeling they evoke; and how someone else’s journey can also impart something to you. The sheer information is intimidating – I feel like you looked at Rose from so many angles, so many comparisons, each one distinct while at the same time defending a cohesive sense of the character. And it’s particularly interesting that this is prompted by ‘good intentions pave the road to hell’ – I had always thought of that phrase meaning that it’s with the best intentions that we lie to ourselves into sinning, but here, it means that having the best of intentions can entomb you in a personal hell. And still, Rose kept going.

Cephiro, as I think I mentioned to you, was equally touching to me. Again, it reminds me of a particular era of my life, but I so very much appreciated the caerful unspooling of the world – and I loved the meta-analyses at the end! I loved your meta-analyses with Rose, too, but more so than Cephiro your discussion of the game seemed particularly grounded in the characterization of Rose, whereas your discussion of selfishness versus altruism versus self-actualization looms larger than just Magic Knight Rayearth for me (it’s about how that story tells us something about those concepts), whereas your discussion of protagonist versus main character, and Legend of Dragoon being very much the legend of Rose, makes me focus more on Rose. (Which isn’t to say the separation of perspective of the narrative and driving force of the narrative isn’t useful, well beyond Legend of Dragoon!) I don’t favor one over the other; instead, I really appreciate the way these shrines showcase different parts of things. Sometimes something is your favorite thing because it leads well beyond what it appears to be. Sometimes something is your favorite thing, BECAUSE. I take shrining to be showcasing the importance of something through a means that reveals how the shriner demonstrates love, and sometimes what you shrine is important because you love what it is, and sometimes it’s important because you love what it means beyond what it is. Okay, getting into vague abstract digressions, but what I mean is that in both cases, I feel your love for the work, and I feel more acquainted with your internal life because of it. Your description of Cephiro made me appreciate a struggle between living for myself and for others, something I believe I share, and your description of Rose made me appreciate how you approach understanding something, in the thoroughly exacting way you go about it, and how that thoroughness grounds your love of such a complicated, nuanced character in a complicated, nuanced story. Anyway: happy birthday, Lethe. I’m glad you make things, and I can’t wait to read even more.

Lethe: Wow I'm super late with a formal answer on this... But know that your thoughtful and extensive feedback means a lot to me, and that sharing my thoughts via shrines feels immensely rewarding just from this kind of feedback alone!

You know how you just... sit there and do your thing, and you can't fully describe or appreciate your own creation in your own words, much less with eloquence, but someone else who experiences it is much better equipped to do so? LOL As the audience, I'm usually the one word vomiting over some thing, but to be on the receiving end of it is just ajsdlksajdl immensely touching and eye-opening both. Thank you for taking the time to capture your impressions of my shrines with that much detail, seriously. T_T It really does feel as though someone was able to capture what's important to me in words I couldn't say myself.

I do sometimes worry that my obsession with collecting every little bit of information and desperately wanting to present it all detracts from other things, as in... There's a lot of value in presenting a far smaller selection of information and working with that, too (which, please, isn't the same as "hurrying past the little things"!), but I'm glad that the things I want to convey do come across even when the reader has to handle so much info!!

AND WOW COMPARING TWO DIFFERENT WORKS WITH EACH OTHER WOW I AM BACK IN MY FAV GERMAN CLASS, WRITING ESSAYS COMPARING POEMS... "Sometimes what you shrine is important because you love what it is, and sometimes it’s important because you love what it means beyond what it is." is such a beautiful way to describe different types of love and shrine objectives, I luuuuvvv. ;_; <3

BEST PRESENT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING THIS SUPER KIND AND SUPER INSPIRING FRIEND!! Your shrines and you are no less impressive! <3 <3 May we continue to impress each other in the future!!

written about Valkyrie on March 29, 2017

Angie

Letheeee!

I'm a creeper and visit your domain on a daily basis, haha! I just love it to pieces and you've become a serious inspiration for me. Your designs are gorgeous and your writing is amazing. I can only hope to write as well as you someday! And before I ramble something fierce, I'm going to stop haha. I can't wait to see what you create next but until then. <3

Lethe: aaah this is so unexpected!! /o Thank you so much for your kind words and compliments. ;_; I'm happy to have you as a regular visitor, and am eagerly looking forward to your creations too! :D /creepers unite

written about oubliette.nu on September 23, 2016

Samantha

Lethe,

I can't tell you enough how AMAZING and STUNNING your sites are!! I always look forward to your next project because I know it'll be well-done and an interesting read. <3

Lethe: Right back at youuuuuuu! <3 <3 <3 <3

written about oubliette.nu on August 15, 2016

Mikari

I love how detailed your writing is and how you give each so much attention. The new domain is beautiful and every part of it shines!

Lethe: Thanks so much for always giving my projects a look, Mikari - it means a lot to me! ;_; <3 <3 <3

written about oubliette.nu on April 13, 2016

Todd

I've been waiting to comment on your domain until I had a chance to read it, because the strength in your sites is absolutely your writing. While many collectives are made to showcase sites, I feel like yours was made to showcase a journey in which your current sites just happen to be part of, and that's a very unique and awesome thing. It's very you. I loved reading about how your sites formed, and how they changed or affected you.

Congratulations on the new domain! It was interesting reading about what made you choose Oubliette, and I'm glad you have a name that means a lot to you. The layout and presentation is absolutely gorgeous. I love the quote from Edvard Munch at the bottom. (Edvard Munch created one of my all time favorite paintings!) Your layout is very atmospheric, and themes well with your content.

Less tl;dr: I love this! Congrats on the new domain!

Lethe: omg Todd please, what made you think you needed a "tl;dr" in your guestbook entry when my entire domain is tl;dr!!

Thank you so much for giving it a read and leaving me this lovely entry! I'm very much in love and touched with how you described my collective in its entirety as a reflection of my personal journey... <3 <3 I'm glad the aesthetics are to your liking as well! Thank you so much for your continuous support, Todd!

written about oubliette.nu on April 10, 2016