For the next three months, Mycena Cave is raising money for Kiwi‘s recovery. And gosh, this one is tough to talk about, so please forgive me for being a bit more bullet-pointy than usual.

Kiwi is one of our founding members, quite literally the first human to submit the sign-up form when we launched back in 2013. On November 22, she experienced a life-threatening stroke. Although she initially faced a grim prognosis and was left with “locked-in syndrome,” she has shown signs of improvement with partial limb movement. Kiwi is now in rehab, and her family is seeking financial assistance to cover the medical expenses beyond the initial 30 days covered by insurance.

Her family has set up a GoFundMe here, and donating directly is the most effective way to support this cause. But now that it has been live for a couple weeks and donations have slowed, we are also releasing a Coats for a Cause to benefit the fundraiser.

The coat is called Reverence, and is created by Tamako, a guest artist and former artist for Mycena Cave, and one of Kiwi’s close friends.

Reverence will be sold for $15.76 for a 3-month period, ending on April 30th at 23:59 Server Time. All proceeds from the sale of this coat will be donated to the GoFundMe at regular intervals, and at the end of this time, a mushroom for the coat will be placed permanently in Fungimental Magic where it will be available for purchase for 54,000 nuggets.

The reason for this somewhat unusual price is in order to cover payment processor transaction fees. When we charge $15.76, our payment processor takes $0.76, and we receive $15.00. That way, each of these purchases will result in raising $15 for Kiwi’s recovery. Mycena Cave is covering the cost of the coat creation and is not deducting it from the proceeds.

Sending so much love to Kiwi and hoping for a swift and full recovery for her. <3

edit: YEAH it’s a lovely coat and Tama did a wonderful job, it’s cool to see new work of hers on site! Sending my love to Tama, too. <3

Sending positive vibes as well

This announcement is quite a mix of emotion. I am sending all the love to Kiwi, that is terrible news to hear. But also the coat is quite beautiful, Tamako did a wonderful job.

oh this is making me emotional!!!!!!!! thank you all (tama included!!!!!!! giving you a big big hug) for doing this. kiwi has been a pillar of mycena and I’m rooting for her recovery!!!!!!!!

Oh goodness, I wish Kiwi and her family a smooth recovery. So sad to hear, but it’s good that she’s on the road to recovery. It’s wonderful to see a community fundraiser like this, though, that we already have a platform in place (Coats for a Cause) to support something like this. It’s thoughtful to help a long time member of the community when many other spaces like this wouldn’t. <3

Kiwi’s story is so heartbreaking honestly.
Her birthday is within a few days of mine and she’s only a couple of years older than me (and from the sounds of it we have some very similar hobbies), so kinda hit close to home. Wishing her the best in her recovery!

Also, I read the GoFundMe on the discord when Tamako first shared it but I thanks to this Coats for a Cause post, I looked at it again and saw the January 22nd update they posted. That’s so great that she’s making some progress in her recovery. Must be so hard for her, as well as her family and friends who care deeply for her, for Kiwi to be in this state.

Also, this is a kinda silly thought… but I happened to post this to discord about a week before Tamako first shared the news with us:

Because I loved seeing one of Kiwi’s pets as the spotlight. I actually don’t know Kiwi super well at all, just was appreciating the very neat character she gave to her pet.
Little did I know she didn’t respond because she couldn’t.

I don’t know if my ramblings here mean much, but just wishing you the best in your recovery either way.

I am so genuinely glad that Kiwi is making progress in her recovery. When Tama posted the news I was distraught. I’ve spoken to Kiwi on occasion, and earlier on that same day that Tama posted, I was actually thinking about Kiwi and pondering poking her… Similarly to Umbra, I am just rambling, but I just think Kiwi’s situation moved many of us - both those who knew her personally and those who only saw her posts in passing.

I love that Tamako was brought in as a guest artist for this coat, as she knows Kiwi the best and was able to create a beautiful pet for her close friend. <3

I’m sending lots of love and hugs to both Kiwi and Tamako. I hope Kiwi will recover swiftly and fully! <3

Sending much love to Kiwi!! You’ve always been such a lovely member of the community and I’m sure you’ll be better soon and be able to see these messages for yourself. <3 Stay strong!

Sending all of the love and good vibes to Kiwi! I’m so glad we can support, even a little bit. It’s been a long time since we last spoke Kiwi, but know that you were always pleasant and sweet to chat with and i wish you the best!!

And thank you to MC for letting this happen. It’s a wonderful gesture, and I know everyone will help as much as they can. ♥

Thank you everyone!

Thank you everyone for the kind words and well-wishes. I adore you all so much ♡ ; 3; It was an honor to come back on and make a coat for my Kiwer. And I’m glad so many of you have picked yourself up a coat. Every little bit helps! Thank you!!!

Over the course of this Coats for a Cause, we raised a total of $1,050.00 so far for the cause. Thank you everyone!