Smiles, Monsters & Magic

Hi everyone. This post has been a long time coming.

On June 17th 2025, my friend Kai passed away. Those in the grishaverse fandom may know her as zemenipearls on tumblr. She was an incredibly kind person who always looked out for others. I can say I have the privilege of being her friend, even only an online one. Kai loved to write, read, play the viola, and talk to her friends. As a teacher, Kai deeply cared for her local community and. She had the most lovely smile and a kind heart, fighting for the world to be a better place for the marginalised.

It feels weird speaking about her in the past tense, even more than a year after her passing. Kai was such a joyful presence in the lives of everyone who knew her. She was sweet and funny. I still remember when she called us on discord and showed my friends and I an entire powerpoint on altered photos from instagram and how they affected body image. She spoke with such passion. I can only hope we carry with us her spirit and her love for humanity, and her striving for a better world.

This took a long time, but a few friends and I have been brainstorming a 'Remembering Kai' event. We're looking mainly at art of her OCs, her fanfictions (including the Zemeni Extended Universe (ZEU)) or her favorite canon characters, and posts about memories we have had with her.

In lieu of flowers, her last wishes were for everyone to donate to No Kid Hungry, and as such, we’ll be doing the same. Here is the link: https://www.nokidhungry.org/ .

Please help us remember her by reading some of her incredible works and donating to her charity of choice.