[Plug] Donten.org

Share any other websites of yours that are not fansites or shrines.
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Aku
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[Plug] Donten.org

Post by Aku »

H-hey guys... :music2:

Recently, I've been trying to get into the habit of "writing for a shrine" again (since it's actually been kind of awhile since I completed one). I've been planning this revamp for my collective for some time now and have sort of been sitting on my hands about it. So, I figured this would be the best opportunity to get it done, while "exercising" those shrine-writing muscles and forcing myself to put out something complete for a change that... wasn't just a fanlisting lolol. :yay:

This weekend I finally finished up a pretty big revamp for my fanlistings at Donten! Even though it's not really a plug for a specific fanlisting, it's sort of my "Little More" for all the fanlistings that I currently own, and a plan I've been wanting to go through with my collective for a year or two:

Image
Overall, I really enjoyed working on this! I'd be lying if I didn't admit it was a damn struggle for some topics where it had been awhile since I'd consumed the content, writing my essay on almost nostalgia alone. I can see myself revisiting pages if I ever replayed certain games. I also felt like giving the collective some sort of written depth gave purpose to me owning a freaking domain name just for my dumb fanlisting hobby lol.

As someone who hasn't put something like this online in a long time: thank you so much to you guys who smothered me over the past few months to get this done... believe it or not it really really helped. >__<; Peer pressure isn't always bad!!
Masao
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Masao »

OMG the new layout looks great! Especially with all the content. :inlove:

That is such an ingenious way to add "a little more."
THE FATE OF DESTRUCTION IS ALSO THE JOY OF REBIRTH.
Angie
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Angie »

ahem. Prepare for the CAPS attack.

OMG AKU IT LOOKS SO WONDERFUL. I LOVE ALL YOUR LITTLE ESSAYS AND I KNOW IT TOOK YOU A LONG TIME BUT IT TURNED OUT AMAZING. AHHHHHHHH. <3
The earth teaches us of the cosmos and of all its ancient memories.
Lethe
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Lethe »

Aku!!!! THIS. IS. SO. PRETTY. AND ELEGANT. AND CLEAN. AND MARVELLOUS. All the nagging has paid off!!! <O><O> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH how to stop screaming and fangirling long enough to leave a coherent comment. AAAAAAAAJSDLASJLDJALD

I'm so happy you managed to see this through!! It's such a grand undertaking, especially since it's on so many different and diverse subjects rather than just one thing! So congratulations and good job!! MAY IT LIVE FOREVER AS A SHINING BEACON OF INSPIRATION.

I admit I was surprised at first when you said you were writing up essays to be stationed at the collective, as my thought at the time was: "Why not put those essays on the fanlistings themselves as About pages?" But (aside from how plenty of your fanlistings already have About pages of varying length, which are always so lovely to see), having seen it in action now, it... leaves a very different impression, and also serves a different purpose! I've browsed your fanlistings many times before because I adore your designs, and even though I enjoy browsing other people's fanlisting collectives once one of their fanlistings has clicked with me, I think that fanlistings tend to be visited and remembered as separate entities and in isolation - at least beyond distinct design styles. With the addition of essays to donten.org, however, it's very much a personal hub that, taken as a whole, has so much to convey about you as a person (while still allowing people to browse specific subjects in isolation if they so wish).

I GET SO EMOTIONAL BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE BEING PRESENTED WITH ALL OF THIS AT ONCE AND GETTING TO PERUSE IT IS LIKE THE EQUIVALENT OF GETTING THE ENTIRE ANNUAL BATCH OF SOME WEEKLY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION YOU'VE SIGNED UP FOR.

I love all the cute parts of your presentation: the silly stats under About, the recommendation boxes for the people pages, the info about adopted fanlistings and all, THE GORGEOUS BIG BANNERS (hi, I will never tire of any graphics you make with Sheryl images, signed: a Sheryl and Aku fan), the floating images and quotes... and the one-liners on the index! I remember the last iteration of shinkirou.net had short sassy lines like that as shrine descriptions and I loved them so much.

AS IF THAT WEREN'T ENOUGH TO SLAY ME, THE TL;DR AAAAAAAAHHHHHH. It's so. fascinating. how varied the tone of your writing is, and how different these pages are from one another; I really feel like you just let yourself go (especially when the level of fangirling goes through the roof), and it's just so genuine. ;_; Some pages read like mini-shrines to the subjects, some are... an accumulation of memes and jokes, while others are more about what the subjects mean to you, or even about yourself - and in all cases, those pages are such deeply personal, immediate, sometimes even physical windows into the subject in question, no stats or context necessary. I feel like reading this as a whole has introduced me to a lot of different things and characters in a very immediate and intimate way (as in, seeing their essence) without too much of a prelude, but also without too many spoilers.

Above all, I just feel like it's an incredible experience to take these pages as a package, as the sheer variety and "up and downs" - the silly, the joyful, the thoughtful, the sad, the nostalgic - make it feel like... going with you on a time travelling journey to watch all the buried and now resurfacing memories with you and have you comment on them as the person you are now. A journey through fandoms, stories, lessons, friends, experiences and personal growth. It's a small part of Aku over the years, including mentions of older as well as parallel fandoms, and recounts of physical encounters you've had in the fandoms you've been in. ;_; Not only does it paint a very clear picture of what characters fascinate you, but also what stories and messages resonate with you... and one can feel the strength all of these characters and people have given you. T_T

I think the pages that have touched me the most (and bring me close to tears) are Sheryl, Psycho le Cému and Nakagawa Shoko because they have a bit of everything. It's particularly notable with Sheryl's, because beyond the character, there's messages, fandom memories, friendships and real encounters attached to it. And Shoko's page to me just feels representative of all these essays and your passions as a whole: dabble in many different things, be passionate and love hard, share that excitement with others, and continue to inspire as you go; no time is too late for anything, and with each encounter, you grow and expand.

Thank you so much for making this and sharing it with us - it's so so lovely. ;_; <3
Both despair and ecstasy are part of the elements that compose a person.
Megan
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Megan »

This is seriously so awesome! What a great idea!! :) I also like on your about section where you state what percentage of people you have listed on your collective xD I love that!!!

Everything looks awesome!!

Would you care to affiliate your FL collective with mine? http://like-knives.org/fan
& Akihiko with Junpei (http://like-knives.org/junpei) and Junpei x Chidori (http://like-knives.org/jc) :D

Thanks!
please know that i am yours to keep, my beautiful girl.
Mikari
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Mikari »

It's great how all the FLs have an image to go with them and it's all very accessible. You really put a lot of thought into all the writing in this collective and it shows!
dubiousdisc
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by dubiousdisc »

Wow. You know, the reason why I stopped doing fanlistings was exactly because I thought they didn't quite convey the reasons why I like things, and I ended up expanding every fanlisting into a small shrine anyway, so the fanlisting didn't really do much for me. Your approach, I think, is the perfect answer to that. It really brings everything together and gives a reason to everything. "Crowning" the things you love with a fanlisting - that's something I'd never thought about, wow.
I really like this idea of having the collective be part of a site's experience - after all, let's be honest, we're all getting to the fanlistings from people's collectives anyway!

The layout is freaking gorgeous and I'm in total awe at every aspect of it. (And especially the typography). Every pixel of this is fantastic.

And the stats made me laugh so much. I kinda want to steal that idea for myself...!
Robin
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Robin »

This is awesomely done--I well understand how tiring this was to put together (given my experiences writing and compiling this slightly embarrassing thing and this slightly outdated thing), but you've made it flow SO nicely. The about pages are introductory without being overwhelming, and the pictures just make the content pop off the page...like Lethe said, it does feel like a magazine! (lmao it might actually inspire me to actually work on my old things again XD)
~ a dream is a wish your heart makes ~
withinmyworld.org
Elysa
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Elysa »

Akuuuuuuuuu!! I've been looking forward to seeing this for so long now, I'm super stoked you managed to finish it and it definitely doesn't disappoint -- in fact, I think you've outdone yourself! I've only gotten around to read a few of the pages but it's obvious from any one of them how much you adore the subjects. I love the little descriptions on the index page, the quotes and recommendations on the actual pages, the many images... Ahhh I could just sit here and enjoy myself for quite a while staring at everything!! <333
Laura
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Re: [Plug] Donten.org

Post by Laura »

I always thought it'd be really cool to see people write something very personal about their owned/joined fanlistings and your Donten.org is exactly what I hoped to one day see!

I think when someone adopts a fanlisting, it's because they really love the topic of the FL. So I want to see WHY they love the topic as much as they do. What a character, series, song, etc means to each person is different and I think it's lovely that you've taken so much time to write about each of yours. I can't even imagine how much time it took you; I have so much trouble trying to put my own feelings into words! Especially for characters that I began to love over ten years ago... how do I remember all the memories and put it all into one little page?

You did that so well and I really commend you for it. Especially since every single page has at least 3-4 long paragraphs... it's no small feat!! I find myself enjoying reading about topics I've never heard about before, all because it's stuff that you love and makes up your own personality. <3 I learned a little bit more about Aku!

Also I LOVE the logo for Donten!! Like.. AHH. I just love it!! The little heart rain drops, the kanji... very good graphic design. <3 I need to do more logos like this for my own sites; I've been concentrating more on textual stuff and less on graphical elements for my logos. Hmm! Food for thought! :)

Congrats on the hard work and the inspiration you've given us all!
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