Fandom Tribute to Kei

[red_lasbelin]

Today is Keiliss's birthday and it is very bittersweet. So many people loved her, admired her writing and have special connections with her. There were many stories in the MSV 2023 collection as a tribute. There was also a need for others to be able to participate outside of that fandom exchange. That's what the A Fandom Tribute to Keiliss collection is for and it will remain open indefinitely.

I was able to upload her favorite icon to the profile and the glitter piece of it worked. I hope it makes you all smile. There's a little FAQ about the collection on the profile page, and a spreadsheet with prompts for anyone who wants to contribute something but needs a little guidance or ideas for what they can do. A major thanks to zhie and independence1776  for their work on that spreadsheet! It would have not have been the same without them.

hhimring made Keiliss the focus of the tolkienshortfanworks challenge for February as well. You can find more about that here! It's such a lovely idea.

After Kei's passing, there were many donations made to my PayPal in memory of her. When I spoke to R, her husband in August, he said he wanted it donated to charity. He is a very kind man. The Tolkien Fandom is incredibly generous, though, and collectively raised $1200. (I donated the difference to make it a nice even number for ease of distribution.)

I was working with M, her oldest daughter on ideas on what to do with it, but I think M found it very overwhelming to deal with (and very understandably so!). I decided to make the executive decision on what to do with the funds. $600 went to Kei's family. R is getting on in years and his retirement funds do not cover very much, plus T, Kei's youngest daughter is returning to South Africa for a family trip that she had planned before Kei passed, and I asked that some funds be used for a family outing during that time, if possible. I think it will be a very hard time for them.

With the remaining funds, I made donations to the Cancer Society of South Africa and Gift of the Givers (she mentioned this charity multiple times to me and loved their work). I'm working with anerea to finish up the last of the donations because I know it has to go to animal charities. Kei had dogs, cats and even chickens at one point - (cows, sheep and goats also were a favorite to show up in fanfiction!) She also believed very strongly in animal conservation. Some will be going to Eseltjiesrus Donkey Sanctuary because of her story Sanctuary. If you haven't read it yet, I really recommend it!

I will be editing this post when the last of the animal charity donations have been finalized. I will also be contacting each individual donor with information about where the funds went via the email address they donated from. Receipts of the funds distribution will be available upon request via email - I'm not comfortable posting my account screen shots on a public DW entry.

Thank you all for the stories you've shared about her and the assurance that she will absolutely not be forgotten any time soon.

EDIT: Last bit of the fandom donations went to Eseltjiesrus Donkey Sanctuary and Grace Animal Sanctuary. I also got news from M that R is in need of a hernia surgery and the money came at a very good time.

Kei and her husband were pensioners and things were always very tight. I know she would have been a bit shocked and embarrassed by everyone's generosity on her behalf, but the thought of her husband helped this way would have moved her to tears.

Thank you everyone who donated and thank you for trusting me to be able to distribute the funds.

Comments

[anerea]

Thank you so much for doing all of this! It's a lot, and very much appreciated!

(And thanks to Zhie and Indy too — if I had read her wants and DNWs previously, I would have read Pink Flamingo much earlier too. I just thought between the M-rating, MSV, and a brothel being the starting focus, it wouldn't be my cup of tea. But I'm with her when she says she prefers story to smut. Just like her asks, I'm enjoying her good stories with fade-to-grey. And she's making me feel comfortable to make similar asks in future.)

I've looked into the annual charity you mentioned to me and they are known locally for their care, and they also do a lot of work for very impoverished communities, which ticks another of Kei's boxes.

[red_lasbelin]

Thank you so much for checking that charity out for me! I thought it sounded like her, but I wanted someone local to double check if possible. I've had to call my credit card company and promise them that I am intentionally doing all these international distributions, not some scammer. (donations to charity though, that would be quite the scam!)

Kei has always preferred a soft R - hard R at the very most if the muse demanded it - and I imagine some people find it disappointing that a fic about a brothel really has less sexual content in it than you would think! I dared her to write a scene of Erestor, a madam, having a cup of tea with Glorfindel, and by God did she take it and run with it.

I just want to do right by her and all the people who donated in memory of her. Tolkien Fandom is just - such a special place, even when I get old and cranky about Fandom Trends as a whole. I'm really glad you're a part of it!

(So many people have been so kind to me and helped me through this really rough time - I am so humbled by it.)

[erulissedances]

I read in my reminders that it was Kei's birthday and my heart stopped for a second. Once again I was thinking about what I wanted to say to wish her a happy one, until reality crashed in and I remembered that she is no longer here to get those birthday wishes.

- Erulisse (one L)

[red_lasbelin]

I am all too familiar with those moments as well. I'm sorry, it must have felt awful. *hugs very tight*

I think she still listens. Hope she does.

[erulissedances]

*hugging you back*

- Erulisse (one L)

[melusine6619]

The icon definitely brought a smile through the tears. It's lovely to see so many tributes to her.

[red_lasbelin]

I legit cried when I realized the fairy glittered on the AO3 page too. It's been really lovely to read all the ways she touched people and left an impact.

*hugs tight*

[maggiehoneybite]

Thank you for doing all this work, both with the fandom tribute and the donations in Kei's name. I think you've done a splendid job in allocating the funds in a way that is both helpful and meaningful. I'm glad her family knows how much she meant to the fandom. And the thought of the donkey sanctuary getting a donation makes me smile. I think Sanctuary is one of my favourite stories of hers.

I know it sounds silly, but I haven't stopped leaving comments on her fics, whenever I read a new one. It may be a one-sided conversation but I'm not ready to stop having it. And part of me thinks she's out there, still reading.

[elfscribe5]

Thanks Red for all your work making this lovely tribute to Keiliss. Before I wrote this year's fic, I treated myself to a walk down memory lane, rereading some of her older stories and discovering new ones. Just wish I could tell her how much I appreciated them. You did such a wonderful job of splitting up the donations and putting them to multiple good uses. Thanks for sharing all that. I just went through that wonderful master list that Zhie and Indy put together. A snapshot over the years.