Amassment Message Board

Yo Amassment-ians! So this month is our first month doing SOTM over here at the boards, now called "Shrine Spotlight". I'm super happy to take the virginity of this board... as well as bring attention to a fantastic shrine. As usual, the competition is always rough, but I did my best to select one of the shrines that I felt encompassed all of what we here at Amassment work really hard to achieve! So without further ado, my choice was:


Intensity is Sarah's tribute to Law & Order's Elliot Stabler, and a shrine born and raised from Amassment's very own Live Action Shrine Marathon! (How sweet is that?!)

I will openly admit that I am not a big TV person, nor do I know anything about Law & Order. Oftentimes I find that shrines to subjects I'm not familiar with can be really daunting to read--after all, you're trying to consume a new subject as well as a writer's theories and opinions at the same time, and shrine owners are crazy tl;dr by nature. However, Sarah's shrine to Stabler is approachable and easy to understand, as she introduces his character through humanistic topics we can all relate to. I think this speaks not only to the character of Elliot Stabler, but to Sarah's clear, friendly approach to writing and shrine organization. She is thorough but not overbearing, and has injected her personality & thoughts into the shrine to make visiting the site feel more like "OMG DID YOU WATCH LAW & ORDER LAST NIGHT?!" and less like, well... you know.

I am a big fan of exposing the duality within characters, and I love the way Sarah has broken her shrine up into the "detective" Elliot Stabler vs. the "husband, father". It allows the visitor to compare and contrast these sides of the character, as well as draw conclusions about how one aspect of his life informs the other. My favorite section of the site is Sarah's writings and philosophies about the detective's relationship with his partner, Olivia. Not only is a great breakdown of how they work as a team, but a wonderful way of exposing characteristics about the shrine's hero himself! Contrast is a beautiful thing, and throughout the shrine I really enjoy the way Sarah exploits that.

Overall, Intensity is a wonderfully written shrine that is digestible for both new visitors (who can consume the character and his story without feeling overwhelmed) as well as fans of Law & Order SVU (who will appreciate the specificities and episode call outs that she has included in her writing).
Beautiful job, Sarah! I feel like live action shrines are still few and far between, but I hope that bringing this shrine to light will help inspire anyone teeter-tottering on the edge of making one, because it's a fantastic visit! :)


This shrine was nominated by good ol' Todd:

Intensity is one of my favorite sites online. First of all, it's dedicated to a character from Law and Order SVU, a series I love, but never expected to see a site to. Second, Intensity is full quality. With pages on the series, and actor, Sarah has made the site accessible to SVU fans and newcomers alike. Long-time fans like myself will enjoy the pages on Olivia, and Sarah's input on various episode-specific events that define the type of detective Stabler is. Sarah's whole view on the character is refreshing and interesting to read. It's the little things I enjoyed, like reading why Sarah finds his character ironic. A must visit for any SVU fan, and hell, any shrine-enthusiast looking for a good read.

Thank you to Ava, Destinie, Saya, Todd, & Vii for their nominations this month! I EXPECT MORE OF YOUR NAMES HERE NEXT MONTH, so go nominate! There are so many lovely shrines out there waiting to be recognized!

CONGRATULATIONS SARAH!!!

Your first SOTM award and it's for a remarkable fansite. Look out for an email from me soon. :)

Congratulations! :D

Congratulations! :D

When I clicked here and saw "Intensity" in big blue letters, my mouth just dropped open. I'm in shock!! I just can't believe it. Thank you so much for this, especially to Todd and Aku. This means so much to me, I can't even say. Thank you guys.

Todd, I appreciate the nomination a ton, as well as Aku for your choice. And I loved reading your reason. (Also the gifs are priceless, lol. I SEE MERIDA IN THERE!) Thank you guys for the congrats, too! This has definitely made my day. /basks in the good feelings

Gratz Sarah! :D

Congrats Sarah!

Congratulations Sarah! Your shrine looks amazing! It's easy to navigate which also helps the ease of reading. <3

Congrats Sarah~! :DD

Woohoo! Good job, Sarah :D I feel like I always see SVU on TV, but haven't seen enough episodes in order to really get a feel for the characters yet. I'm sure your shrine will help me a bunch with that--I'll have to check it out soon!