It all started with an email from kiTT at
Tongue Twied with the subject line "Brace yourself." I never expected to open it and find out that someone in our fandom had passed away, someone so many of us had connected with.
Many of you have asked what happened exactly. From tweets her cousin sent about her accident to confirmation from an email forwarded to another blogger, I know that she fell down some stairs and had a concussion and a broken leg. While in the hospital for observation, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage
. She was only 23, the same age as my kids, which is another reason it has hit me so hard. I look at my kids and all their hopes and dreams for the future, hopes and dreams I want to watch them achieve. As a mother, there could be nothing worse than losing a child. My heart breaks for Aini's mother and what she must be going through.
My first memory of UV is in the comments on
TwiBite. From there, one thing led to another, and we were exchanging emails, tweets, and tumblr posts.
The first email I got from her came from an address I didn't recognize. This is what she typed at the bottom:
Please excuse my gmail username. I opened this acct. when I was in my anime freak mode. I still am but my Robsession is stronger :)
Those of us who "knew" her know that statement to be true. Her Robsession was very strong, but she wasn't selfish. She loved sharing it with us. She cared enough to remember which Rob versions were our favorites.
She sent me Beanie Rob pics and pics of Rob with a guitar. When she discovered that I had a little thing for Jacksper and Robward, she was hooking me up with gifs, manips, and links to tumblr accounts she thought I would like.
She was embraced by Bleriana and the girls at
The Cold Shower...the same group that gave me an honorary #VPP membership despite my old age ;) Following and/or participating in their twitter convos always made me smile.
As I read each heartfelt post, tweet, and email paying tribute to her, I am once again reminded of how proud I am to be a part of this fandom. If anything, this tragedy has brought us closer together,
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another,
'What! You too? I thought I was the only one”
C.S. Lewis (British Scholar and Novelist. 1898-1963)
 |
| Rob unites us all. |
I invite you to visit other blogs who have left tributes. If I have missed any, please leave a link in the comments. I know there are more in the works, and I will try and update this list when they are posted.
You can also view a special thank you from Aini's cousin and all of Aini's beautiful tumblr posts here:
***NEW***
The iconic Biel just uploaded this video and dedicated it to Aini. It's full of Smiling/Adorkable Rob. Exactly what we need. She would have loved it.
Below is one of the avis I made for Bleriana's post. Feel free to grab it and use it on twitter like several of us are doing, or post it on your sidebar (thanks for the idea, kiTT).
