A very serious not-so-Gratuitous Icon Post.
Switching back to this as my default icon for now.
For those of you (read: the majority of my flist) who aren't familiar with Final Fantasy X, Yuna is a summoner, a religious figure of sorts; part of a summoner's job is to perform a ritual called the Sending in order to see the souls of the dead safely to the Farplane. There's a scene fairly early on in the game where Yuna and her guardians visit Kilika Port, a seaside town that has just been devastated by a massive storm, and she performs a Sending for the town's dead.
It's a beautiful, heartbreaking scene in the game -- and the Sending is not only for the souls of the dead, but a ritual of comfort and strength for the living. I've often used this icon in the past for my introspective or thoughtful posts, but now it takes on an entirely new meaning for me.
I've often been quick to take potshots at the South before, much to my discredit, and I'll freely admit to that; for that, I beg pardon. All my love and thoughts and best wishes are with the people of the South right now; may those who lost their lives in this catastrophic tragedy of human neglect find peace, and may we, the living, do all that we can for the sake of the survivors.
Donate, volunteer, give blood, mobilize, figure out your own hometowns' emergency evacuation plans, put pressure on officials to improve those plans -- and spread the word about what led to this. twistedchick has been posting a wealth of links and information, and I strongly recommend her LJ as a place to start. Be warned, though, that the more you learn, the more infuriating it becomes.
shadowriter has an idea for relief efforts that she's going to discuss with folks at her other job later -- if it flies, I will post details.
ETA: Huh. Fittingly, my "thoughtful" mood icon is also from the Sending . . .
For those of you (read: the majority of my flist) who aren't familiar with Final Fantasy X, Yuna is a summoner, a religious figure of sorts; part of a summoner's job is to perform a ritual called the Sending in order to see the souls of the dead safely to the Farplane. There's a scene fairly early on in the game where Yuna and her guardians visit Kilika Port, a seaside town that has just been devastated by a massive storm, and she performs a Sending for the town's dead.
It's a beautiful, heartbreaking scene in the game -- and the Sending is not only for the souls of the dead, but a ritual of comfort and strength for the living. I've often used this icon in the past for my introspective or thoughtful posts, but now it takes on an entirely new meaning for me.
I've often been quick to take potshots at the South before, much to my discredit, and I'll freely admit to that; for that, I beg pardon. All my love and thoughts and best wishes are with the people of the South right now; may those who lost their lives in this catastrophic tragedy of human neglect find peace, and may we, the living, do all that we can for the sake of the survivors.
Donate, volunteer, give blood, mobilize, figure out your own hometowns' emergency evacuation plans, put pressure on officials to improve those plans -- and spread the word about what led to this. twistedchick has been posting a wealth of links and information, and I strongly recommend her LJ as a place to start. Be warned, though, that the more you learn, the more infuriating it becomes.
shadowriter has an idea for relief efforts that she's going to discuss with folks at her other job later -- if it flies, I will post details.
ETA: Huh. Fittingly, my "thoughtful" mood icon is also from the Sending . . .