In memory of my brother · 11:36pm May 9th, 2019
To the FiMF community:
Robert Morrison, aka MythrilMoth, my friend of 24 years and an amazing human being, has passed away.
He parted in his sleep at some point between Sunday night and Monday morning, due to health complications. It had been clear that, for the last few months, his health was in decline, and it worsened exponentially over the last couple of weeks. According to Mrs. White, his aunt, he had considered the possibility already, but he never made any mention to me and it was a surprise to us all regardless. I apologize for not announcing it to the FiMF community earlier, but it has been a very difficult few days for his family and myself.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking, or maybe denial, to keep hoping for things to get better, for things to at least return to the manageable status quo of last year or a couple of years ago. But if there is such a thing as "a charmed life", Robert was dealt the exact opposite even before he was born, and one of the many, many reasons I admired him so much was that despite all the pain and loss that he endured all his years, the worst he had to show for it was a short temper.
I know, believe me, I know, he could definitely be an asshole to people who irritated him. But you didn't have to dig deep into him to find a very kind, well-meaning person, a person who wanted to leave behind a much better world than the one he was given, a person who would have fought so hard for his friends and family if his body had let him, and who put his mind and heart into it even harder to compensate. To know him, and to know him deeply, was to know an incredibly strong person who would be loyal to you from one end of the universe to the other. You would know a person who didn't have much, if anything, by way of material goods or money or, indeed, health, but who wished so much for all of those things on so many people, even if they never knew it.
That's why I would come to defend him so often. He was very much a squishy clam, or an oyster--he put so much effort into opening up to the world, to connect with people with his words if he couldn't do it with his presence, and still people would attack and upset and betray his trust often just for shits and giggles, causing him to close his shell and put out the sharpest barbs because of how badly he was hurt. And I hated that. I hated every time he snapped, because I knew that was what people would remember. I knew that was what made him infamous, or even a target, in certain circles. I knew that it would cause others to turn away from him even if they had never actually spoken with him. I called him out in private so much, mollified him, talked him down from his harshest and most vitriolic stupors, because I knew that just under that surface he just wanted friends and the people who could have been friends would endeavor to see only the worst in him.
But if you were his friend, he would move heaven and earth for you. He would grab on and never let you forget that, somewhere, out there in a little town in Texas, there was someone who would lay down his life for you without hesitation, who would bare his soul without expecting anything back.
He wanted the best for all of you. Even if you ever irritated him or annoyed him, it was because he thought highly of you and knew you could be better. He wanted to see so many novice writers succeed, he wanted to the community to succeed, and the only thing he asked in return, the only thing he ever asked in return from the world, was a smidgen of consideration and kindness. He didn't want to be angry; he himself knew what it cost him. But his life was so difficult, through no fault of his own! And people still bit away at him with condescension and meanness and selfishness. And I'm furious, so furious that the world had to keep piling all the worst shit imaginable on him, from the biggest to the tiniest, it all piled up, and if only more people could have opened up to him the way he opened up to the world, maybe he could have had better support to find the right care and maybe right now we could be talking and arguing about the show's latest season.
Moth was my friend. I was his keeper in every way his aunt could not be. He was my brother in spirit and I'm going to miss him. If I'm rambling so badly right now is because I'm speaking directly from my heart.
All I ask of you is to remember him kindly. With all the good and the bad and the horny and the concern and the laughs and the barbs. If even an oyster can produce the brightest pearl from a grain of sand, just keep in mind that he had an entire desert's worth of sand dumped on him and, right up until the end, he kept working so hard to turn all that into pearls.
As for his incomplete and ongoing works, I will make an announcement as soon as I am able. He leaves behind a mountain of finished stories, in this and many other fandoms, and I know many people were very much looking forward to the rest--I mean, they wouldn't have bugged him so often otherwise. His family is still going through his belongings, so I don't know yet if he left specific instructions regarding this aspect of his life. I also want to give them time to sort his physical footprint, and I need time myself to so I can sort his online one. I'm sorry if you were wondering what this means for certain stories, but I hope you understand.
I love you, brother, wherever you are.
I'm sorry for your loss... I wish you and the family well.
Guess I'll never get to bury the hatchet now.
~Skeeter The Lurker
He was always grateful for you, man. He will be missed.
Rest in peace, Moth. You will be missed.
My word...
My sincerest condolences to you and the rest of his family. He brought us all joy on a daily basis, and he will be deeply missed.
Damn. I never really knew him personally, but obviously I'd read a number of his fics. He was incredibly prolific and very talented. I'd even tracked his latest story. That's terrible. Rest in Peace, Moth.
Oh, wow. This is so sad. He was such an interesting and pleasant person to know. I'm sure he'll always be with you, as he will for many of us whose lives he touched.
Crap...just...damn
I am sorry for your loss man. I knew him from our spirited talks back and forth a few times on a number of subjects but I had nothing but respect for him.
Sorry for your loss.
Holy shit... My condolences.
Damn, just damn. I'm really sorry for your loss Zef. Rest in peace Moth, you will be missed
Condolences to you and your family.
Moth will be sorely missed.
This was a throat punch. Rest in peace, Moth.
I... I don't know what to say other than I'm sorry for your loss. For our loss. He wasn't perfect, but he was one of us and I will definitely miss him.
I'm sorry for your loss. I wasn't a fan of his, just a few stories took my interest but I respect him because he was a good writer when he wants. I pray for God do his will to him and he goes to a better place if he wants to.
He will be missed and now the Cemetery had another mountain of books and ideas who will not be finished. Another good writer fell down. And I pray for his family and friends like you be consoled.
I am sorry for your loss. We will sure miss him.
I wasn't a fan of Moth, to be honest. But darn, this was unexpected. I'm so sorry for the loss. Condolences to you, and Moth's family.
May he rest in piece.
I am so sorry for your loss. I never knew him--but I knew of him, which is something I'm sure nearly everyone on this site has in common. You and your family have my best wishes.
<hugs>
He and I never really conversed much, although of course we both knew of each other. I think we got in one brief headcanon debate about Sunset Shimmer (he wrote a story that was similar in concept to one I’d written [or would write; can’t remember the exact chronology]). Every now and then I’d go to his website and think about how I ought to make one of my own . . . Just seems like one of those people that was going to be around forever, you know? One of those people I would have loved to bump into at a con or a bar or wherever.
Oh man, I'm so sorry.
I didn't know Mythril well, but he was such a recognizable presence on Fimfiction. I can't believe we've lost him. :(
Oh my god I... I knew him personally... But...
I...
Yet, Mothy...
Though I know not where your path is within the darkness, I do know that the stars are guiding you.
Anyway, I wish you well, condolences.
I honestly only really saw the negative side of him, but I still respected his work and I was a consistent follower of his. I just can't believe he's gone...it's so sudden...
I never really was super close to him, but we talked on occasion and I considered him a friend, despite everything that went on with him and stuff. He had his moments, but I enjoyed when we talked a lot.
He was one of us... and he will be missed.
We'll see you in the next life, Moth.
Rest in peace.
God, I am sorry for the loss, as cliche as it is for me to say, I mean it. If there is something waiting on the other side, I hope he finds peace, wherever he is. And to his family members and friends, I too wish them well.
I'm so sorry for your loss. Wish I had something more insightful to say, but all I can do is send sympathies.
I hope I don't sound too rude but, what will happen to his stories?
RIP Moth
No...I'm sorry.
Even though MythrilMoth and I had our differences in the past I'm sad to hear that he's gone
I'm terribly sorry about what's happened. Best wishes to all his friends and loved ones in this sad time.
Oh, damn.
My condolences.
I'm sorry for your lost. You and your family have my heartfelt condolences.
I'm sorry for your loss. This is never an easy time for anyone.
RIP
This is very sad news.
Damn.
RIP Moth. You were definitely a fascinating person.
R.I.P. We'll miss you.
I can't lie and say I was his biggest fan... but I'm not happy to hear this.
I'm sorry for your loss.
It seems empty to echo it again, but I'm very sorry for your loss.
I didn't know him well... But, I know the pain of losing a friend as close as one's brother in their sleep. You have my condolences.
You have my condolences. I never really got to know him, and now I wish I took the opportunity to do so.
I seem to have missed... pretty much all of this. I'm sure I came across his name and work around the website; I think I remember, at least, seeing his latest story somewhere. ...Looking through his stories list, I see some more I remember seeing, but none I'm sure I read. I don't remember ever hearing anything bad about MythrilMoth and being put off, but I don't recall hearing anything good, either, just... not much in general. With this blogpost, I expect I will indeed remember him kindly, but it's a pity about the circumstances. I'm sure that what sense of loss I'm feeling is pretty much nothing compared to that of those for whom this is a personal tragedy, whether just from ardent fanship or, as seems to have been the case for many, much closer friendhsip. Still, though, I offer my condolences; may things be turning out well for him whatever's happening now, and good luck to those left behind.
Damn....you have my condolences.
There are no words that can be said. And I mean that seriously. If he is who I think he might have been in a past "life", then yeah, I knew him just as long as Zef, though nowhere near as close. I knew a guy I used to be friends with on the old FFML (REALLY OLD FANFIC DAYS) who went by the Eternal Lost Lurker, and whose real name was Robert Morrison, lived in Texas and had health issues, but dreamed of being a writer. If this was him, then yeah, I've reached the point in my life where reality stops giving you things and starts taking them away.
Im sorry for your loss.
I'm sorry for your loss, I was a big fan of his stories. He will be missed greatly.
Sorry for your loss.
I'm so horribly sorry for you, man. I only recently reconciled with Mythril Moth (we had exchanged some heated words a few years prior, and didn't speak much), and had started to talk to him more in a server we shared.
May he rest in peace