skenasis

...Is so hard to describe with mere words, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

A note: the last link is to a song on YouTube. Ignore the video, it's the song that matters. And ignore the shit at the start of said video.

I'm going to quote myself, to give a starting point:

for better or worse, we are an international online family. Not just a community, a family. We have the four fathers of the family - the band. Aunts and uncles - the band's crew (and I'm going to quite cheerfully slot Sonia and Gavin in here as well). And us fans are all the kid brothers and sisters kept in line by the older sibs - the mods (and again, Gavin and Sonia).

And I stand by that statement. We're a family, gathered all over the world by our love of the music created by four men, collectively known as AFI. We're bound together by that common thread, and when the time comes, we mourn as one.

I speak, of course, of the loss of the incredible woman we knew as Shana. Even those of us who knew her only as an avatar and name on a message board mourn her passing like that of a long-ago friend. Her kindness, warmth and willingness to help everyone she could despite her ill health touched us all, more than she will ever know.

I believe that everyone in this world has "their" song. One song that can comfort and cheer them, pull them from the depths of despair, make them feel on top of the world, and help them through any hardship. Some people go through their lives never finding their song. Some find it, but don't recognize for what it is. And then there are those lucky few who find theirs, and know it. I'm one of the lucky ones - I found my song on the fifth on May, 2007. Shana found hers, too - This Celluloid Dream.

Shana...the world has become that little bit darker without the bright light that was your life. This Celluloid Dream will now always remind me of you. You will be sorely missed, and you will be remembered.