I'VE BEEN WANTING TO LEAVE A
LENGHTY COMMENT ON THIS FOR DAYS but I've been so busy. At least you got to see my preliminary yelling in the meantime.
Seeing how the feedback in this topic so far has been worked into the shrine is so lovely!! (... I'm happy the horizontal scrollbar is gone for me haha...) I am very, very fond of your layout due to so many different things - it's minimal, yet expressive, and I see a mix of sternness and hard edges along with a surprising softness in the background, and it just reminds me so much of Quistis. Don't know how much of it is intentional, but at the very least, that fractured face, the placement of the title and the shrine title itself make one very curious about this particular shrine.
When I was at your network before, I did go "what's up with this title", but now, after reading your brief outline of the reasoning behind it - and especially the It-Girl article (never heard the term before, different time and language) - I am really looking forward to a longer essay! There seems to be so much content in that short paragraph already, and so many different directions an essay, or even the shrine as a whole, can take based on the shrine title... AAAAAAAAH THE EXCITEMENT.
ALSO, THE "Q" OF YOUR MAIN CONTENT FONT IS SO GORGEOUS. OMG. QUISTIS IS SPECIAL. (By the way, I love all the colours you've chosen, but I think the italic parts of the text are a bit difficult to read as the font setting makes the text quite narrow.)
I think the first impression one gets from this shrine is how markedly
refreshing it is, and a large part is due to what
you bring to the table with being rather new to coding and shrining. I love it very much, and this shrine shows exactly why it's so beneficial and inspiring to the community as a whole when someone new joins. ;_; It's... very touching how you write about shrines and the process of shrining
on the shrine itself as you engage with the activity and the subject matter, and it doesn't come across as being out of place at all, but makes the experience something very personal. ... I think I'm so moved because people tend to be so intimidated about their lack of experience (and I wish it weren't so, but all of us are here to help) when it comes to their first few shrines, and your shrine just presents those first steps as something very lovable, in a "I'm new, this is what I want to do and achieve, this is what I'd like to explore, using this particular medium". aaah /rolls
"Personal" is really what captures the content so far, and it's what I love seeing in shrines! I think your blogging background and penchant for longer texts that explore several different aspects of a subject shows, and that's nothing you need to worry about! I'm sure it'll make your shrine very special.
I admire your writing so much, and love how engaging and entertaining it is; reading it here really does feel like traversing the landscapes of Final Fantasy, FFVIII, its characters and part of your history alongside you. The way you described/introduced FFVIII is beautiful, already touching on several things that make up its mood and themes. ;__________; (I GET EMOTIONAL BECAUSE INTRODUCTIONS TO THINGS BASED ON THEIR THEMES and reading about themes in general is my fav thing.)
Something that was surprising at first is how much you already went into details of the game so as to outline not just the themes, but Squall specifically on the
introduction page... It's surprising because it means already giving the spotlight to a character on a shrine to a different character, before the latter has been introduced on the shrine. But it's so fitting because, as much as other Final Fantasy installments have several different characteristics that make them what they are (IX' whimsical mood or VII's love and fight for the planet, for example), when I think of VIII, what
makes it is Squall: Squall and his internal monologues that colour the entire game, Squall and his journey and growth, Squall as the representation of the game's themes, Squall and Rinoa as a continuation of a past love story, and so on. (After reading all those shrine classics, I certainly see why he is such a loved character.)
That's why it's so very touching to me that you go on not just to talk about your past self and the crush on Squall, but use those past feelings to transition to Quistis' perspective... The way you introduced Quistis - including the way you phrased those sentences - on that page following what you've said about FFVIII and Squall really, really touched me. And then there's the way you so beautifully wrote about that line of Quisti's too.... ... To be honest, I teared up when I read those last few paragraphs, and I know I'll come back to reread that page - and hopefully the rest of your shrine - again and again.
I can hardly wait for the rest of the content, and the two essay themes you have up already greatly intrigue me. As I've said before, Quistis is one of my favourite Final Fantasy characters, and I've always wanted to see more shrines to her (it's been a while, as Stefi said) - especially so as to explore her inner life, beyond the facts of the game, as FFVIII's side characters didn't have as much presence as I would have liked to see.
About "Learning to Love the Princess" in particular: Reading so many of the Quistis and Rinoa shrines that have come before, I very much like good introspection regarding the feelings Quistis may have felt towards Rinoa. To me, it feels as though that kind of analysis inevitably has to come from some kind of personal place, while also sometimes being a commentary on women in social setting and the portrayal of women in media in general, if one wants to include that... I'm looking forward to what you have to say.
Sophia wrote:I'm a bit confused on whether or not I am allowed to share this yet (I think the topic says a layout, an index, a site page, and an introduction, which I do have, but not yet the five articles it notes for general plugging), so if I have started waaay early, slap me, and I'll take it down til the appropriate moment. Apologies if so!
Your content is fine! The part about the five articles refers to another Challenge that fell into the timeframe of the Construction Zone Challenge; it's now obsolete as that Challenge concluded a while ago. In any case, we will get rid of that rule altogether for all kinds of shrines in the future.
Lastly, some typos if you'd like to know about them, otherwise ignore:
INDEX
Your shrine made us realize Amassment has had a mistake on that rather new page lol:
There are no rules to making shrines and there no expectations. -> "There are no rules to making shrines and there are no expectations."
Amassement -> Amassment
WORLD
included -> including
INTRODUCTION
in his eye . -> remove space before period
Hot Topic® -> here's another special symbol that needs to be fixed
to a wall if. -> remove "if"
in at least two sense -> "senses"
SPECULATION
In the same way I think trying to introduce someone else wo why I love FFVIII's Quistis Trepe -> "wo" needs to be "to", I think?
I HAVE TO GO TO BED BYE