Amassment Message Board

I'm just curious, what is your favorite part of making a shrine, and why? Is your favorite part all the in depth articles and how you really gotta dig deep to write them? Is it having huge image galleries, or the "sitely" section to where you can connect with others? Is it having a fun reason to rewatch/reread the series again in order to be prepared for the new shrine.

I know what I love, just wondering where everyone else stands. :)

I think for me personally, my fandoms are quite niche. I don't really own shrines that are part of more popular or widely-recognized fandoms, and I don't have a lot of friends to rant and rave about to them either. So shrining is kinda my outlet for getting all the ridiculous fangirl thoughts I have out of my head and on to "paper", so to speak. XD When you have a lot of feels you just need to let them out somewhere, right?! Shrining lets me express my undying love for something in a unique and creative way.

That being said, I think it's also a way for me to present those niche fandoms in an eloquent and beautifully packaged way to other people, and show that "Hey, this character/series is really badass and I think more people should recognize that and check it out!" I'm really, really happy when a shrine I create is something that can motivate others to look into a game or a series, or at least have other people say, "Oh yeah, I know about x because of Aku's ___ shrine!"

Other than that, I've said it before here on Amassment and I'll say it again: shrining is a bit of a masturbatory practice for me, LOL. (For all of us, no?!) It's a place I can work on my UI/UX Design & writing skills selfishly without worrying about what anyone else thinks. It's nice to use the skills I have for purely fun reasons.

Lol masturbatory process. That makes a lot of sense, sadly.

My favorite part of shrining is writing the articles and interacting with fans. Like Aku, I write to rant and rave about things I can't stop thinking about. Rather than bore my boyfriend with my fandom rambling, I write them out in articles on shrines. :D I've also met a lot of cool friends through my websites, present company included. ;)

Making the layout is one of my favorite parts, deciding on the look and putting it together. My next favorite part is when I'm editing and putting the finishing touches on, having the reader read to me what I wrote and hearing myself as I fall in love with the series/game/character all over again, while getting that feeling of accomplishment because I was able to do something artistic to express my thoughts on the subject. Then there's the part where I share it here and get everyone's thought on it. I love all those moments. XD

I like writing the essays and in-depth analysis better. I think it's because those are coming from me and I know how to write them and articulate them better than when I'm writing "general" sections, which I find particularly difficult to write, because I worry about them being boring and resembling a wikipedia page too much (even though I read wikipedia articles sometimes in order to get me started, because... well, you gotta start somewhere, right?).

Also, I like writing the "why" (why the name, why the character/pairing/etc.) pages a lot. And I mean a lot. I love reading them on other people's shrines too.

@ Aku-- I totally feel what you said since I also own shrines to usually more unknown, off beat characters. Most of my shrines have a hard time finding an audience for this reason. But it's still fun to make and to know it's a one-of-a-kind out there. :)

@ Todd -- Yes, I love ranting and raving as well, even outside of shrining! lol

@Mikari -- I have to agree, that is probably my #1 favorite thing to do. Like Aku said, something about putting it together in such a pretty package. I love adding to a beautiful page. It inspires me to keep going.

@Chibi -- Yeah , unless I just finished watcing the show or reading the manga, I read the wiki to just for a quick refresher. It reminds me of stuff I'd otherwise forget. I also love reading Why pages. :) People always say the nicest things that we can all relate to, I think.

Thanks everyone for responding, this is really interesting to read!

Pretty much anything that involves writing (which would be everything?). I love talking about some of my favorite subjects, so creating shrines for the things I like is just another way of expressing why I like that particular subject. Sometimes I struggle with writing the thoughts pages because I can't really express why I like something, but I still try and do it anyway. And I can't really think of much else. :X

...My favorite part is finally calling it done and putting it online XD

dubiousdisc wrote:...My favorite part is finally calling it done and putting it online XD

yeah I was thinking about this earlier and... ditto LMFAO

I mean I like writing out analysis but there's nothing better than looking over the finished product and being satisfied with it. Best feeling.

@Lady: Exactly! Presentation can certainly express a lot and set the mood of the shrines with images and colors, which may in turn set the mood of the building process.

@dubiousdisc: that is a wonderful moment!