Essay: In Relation to the "Ghost of You" shrine challenge...
This is probably the most casual (and most finished) essay on this site lol. It's just a quick
explanation of three things: why I chose LOVE BULLET for this challenge, a quick history of this shrine
+ what I was originally considering for the challenge topic (perhaps I will start working on it
someday), and brief comments of future plans for this shrine.
Why LOVE BULLET?
...and how does it relate to the challenge? Of course, the protagonist Koharu's death literally haunts
the narrative - and so do the presence of the other cupid characters. I found LOVE BULLET through
mangadex (not gonna hide it) way back in 2023, and I distinctly remember trying to see if it had a MAL
entry yet (it didn't) + really liking the artstyle and cupid theme. I later found inee's etsy fanmerch
when I was looking for uma musume fangoods on the site, and recognized the artist (i bought a twin turbo
keychain). When it became popular starting in late 2024 (I recall first noticing a popularity spike
during the fall 0f 2024 in connection with messages by the Sancho Step scanlation group of the manga
potentially being cancelled due to low volume sales), I was genuinely surprised by how much people
rallied to save the manga from being cancelled! Just goes to show the power of community 😌 Though back
then, I was taking a social media hiatus, so I wasn't really yelling about the manga, but I hope with
building this site, it will get even more people interested in the manga, and supporting the mangaka.
Site History Overview
When I first heard about this challenge (way back in late September 2025 and I believe through a link
shared on the ficwip discord server), I was originally considering making a fanshrine for the anime "A
Place Further Than This Universe," which is one of my absolute favorite animated shows of all time. But
then I thought my graphic design skills weren't up to the task of my ideal envisioned site, and I felt
like I had nothing in particular to say about the show itself since I last watched it forever ago (I
should do a rewatch sometime), so I put the idea (and therefore plans to sign up for the challenge) on
hold for a bit. I finished working on a visual novel for a game jam entry in the meantime, and it really
burned me out from writing fiction for a bit... so I took a look at the shrine challenge again. I was
floating around a "Bloom into You"/Yagate kimi ni naru fanshrine idea, concerning how much Touko's older
sister haunts the narrative, though I soon realized I had nothing to say again - and then I was thinking
about aro/ace themes in the context of Love Bullet's cupids, and realized wait! I do have something to
say, and a fanshrine idea at that too - and it's perfect for the challenge theme!
Future Plans
Hmm... I think I will continue working on, and maybe adding more essays, as the narrative continues to
unfold in subsequent chapters. I won't be taking this site down anytime soon, unless my hosting provider
goes kaput, but since this is a static site it's portable and I can just set up shop somewhere else. I
might change up the layout, but for now my main priority is working on the essay content, not the
design. Though I want to try not overrelying on inee's illustrations, instead replacing it with graphics
I've drawn up myself (such as with vector graphics)... also, since the site guestbook is being hosted on
an external, third-party site,
I will probably make a "message archive" page in the inevitable case that the provider service goes
down.
