My 1P1M shrine AND my BAB challenge shrine is done! Presenting Beautiful, a Chiaki Tachibana/Hayasaka shrine!
To tell the truth, I have been meaning to shrine her for a while now, but I never had the incentive to do it. Inspiration striked me while talking to Lethe, so I dove in and wrote it in one afternoon! The layout took more time, and it's rather simple even for me, but I am ready to present it to the world!
Wonderful! Lots of information, and it flows like a story more than as separate articles, even. The simple layout and colors let the character artwork in the background speak for itself, and I am admittedly in love with the nearly-transparent white layer behind the text that helps it be more readable.
I also like that you're up-front with the character's construction--"is Chiaki evil? Yes." You acknowledge the flaws in her character while also proving that she is worthy of respect, making her human rather than trying to excuse her beliefs. AWESOME. Lovely work as always :)
Seriously there are very few characters I would call outright evil in SMT/Persona and Chiaki is right up there.
I'm pretty proud of that background, to tell you the truth! It's actually two backgrounds, so that they stick to the left and right edges of the screen to leave the space for content in between. CSS3!!!
I wish I could show Chiaki's pseudo-fiend right arm in movement in the layout somehow. Idle, it moves like it has a mind of its own. Very creepy.
At first glance, I love the layout! It has a very minimal charm to it which is one of my favorite layout styles. I think it works well in this sense too because the content is definitely the focus here. I've never played this game so it took a couple of reads just because there are a lot of names, but I do think that you introduce the game which flows beautifully into information about Chiaki and her relationships with the other characters. I really get a feel for this character's personality before and after transformation.
Like CuriousLittleBird, I also like how you are very straightforward about the intentions of this character and that she's clearly evil. I also liked how you theorized why she might have become that way. Overall, it's a really interesting read, and I'm interesting in checking out the game now!
Really awesome job, and congratulations on finishing it!
I can't believe you wrote it up so quickly, especially considering how a good part of it is a summary of events (these things take me foreveeeeeeer due to lack of motivation, whether or not I sprinkle them with analysis XD), but yay, I'm so glad you made that other topic and got this idea because this seems to be such an interesting character (and exactly the kind of character I'd adore)!
I can only echo what others have already said, especially sutkarak; I like how you split up the sections and structured them to further emphasize the contrast between "before" and "after" - not just before and after the end of the world, but also before and after the transformation. The last two sections starting from "The Reason" were lovely to read due to your nuanced approach in judging her, and though I'm not at all familiar with the game, they're easy to understand for me and really put the story sections into perspective. :> (Ugh can't believe I still haven't played any Shin Megami Tensei games, why must the series be so intimidating size-wise. D:)
This is the most precious though lmao:
nyxmidnight wrote:Shit I was so happy to be finally done I plugged mine yesterday D: Forgive me!
Both despair and ecstasy are part of the elements that compose a person.
Your layout styles are always interesting. I love it. I also read through part of your shrine and it made me want to read through the whole thing. I enjoyed it a lot, and as one who has never played a SMT game I found it really easy to follow.
There are shadows before us - but only because the light is at our back.
I encourage you to pick up Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne to see more of Chiaki! The game can be found on PSN. It's not an easy game, but it's perfectly conquerable. It's a beautiful and thought-provoking JRPG that needs a ton more fans.
Lethe, if you need help dipping your toes in Megaten, I am here to help!
Lethe wrote:This is the most precious though lmao:
nyxmidnight wrote:Shit I was so happy to be finally done I plugged mine yesterday D: Forgive me!
As usual, you bring solid analysis about a Megaten character!!!
I had to skip a few (very small) parts because I still haven't finished my first Nocturne playthrough. I just opened up the tower above the Obelisk, but I think I want to finish exploring the Labyrinth of Amala before going in there (Beelzebub tho). Besides, my current demons suck lmao I've just been tanking through the game with Focus + heavy physical attacks tbh
Either way, I really love how you provided a summary of the game's events that felt so comfortable and easy to read, almost as if Nocturne's plot wasn't, like, totally crazy?? Seriously, I'm at the last stages of the game and I still haven't a good enough grasp on what Reason belongs to whom and what the hell it's supposed to be called. Musubi?? Yosuga??? what the hell tbh lmao
ANYWAY IM GETTING SIDE-TRACKED but this happens a lot when I'm talking about Megaten, the POINT is that your shrine is very well written!!! Personally, I couldn't say Chiaki is any less evil than any other individual trying to survive in that kind of post-apocalyptic world; I prefer to see her as someone who became completely broken as a result of being exposed to very harsh circumstances - which in the end makes her entire speech about beauty and perfection seem kind of ironic? I do like, though, how you traced Yosuga back to fascism, nazism and social darwinism; the alignments in these games clearly mirror real-world philosophy. When you put Chiaki's Reason and these philosophies together and notice the similarities, I guess it becomes easier to say Chiaki is evil the same way Hitler or Stalin were inhuman. But the latter weren't living in a post-apocalyptic, nerve-wrecking, demon infested wasteland, so they can't be excused!!!!!!
Chiaki is a poor baby ok that's all I wanted to say in this post,,,,,
BTW I remember I posted a rly long post back when you launched your Adil shrine and I said the same exact thing back then that I'm going to say now, but I'm not really trying to change your opinion or anything!! As I said, your shrine is excellent and I really enjoyed reading through it and, just like your Adil shrine, it really made me think a little more about Chiaki which led to this huge post!!!!
Thank you for this great read, and I'm looking forward to seeing more Megaten shrines from you! Megaten shrines man, they're like the best kind of shrines??? Help me god I love Megaten shrines
♕ ♔ nightly dance of bleeding
swords remind me that i still live.
