Our Mewsie

[shirebound]

Julia's service is taking place right now, and my heart is so full I can barely function. I want to link here to Julia’s second-ever LJ post, in April 2005, in which she tells a little about herself... and why Livejournal, fanfiction, and her fandom friends became so important to her.

I miss her every day.

http://mews1945.livejournal.com/741.html

There was so much I loved about Mewsie...

[febobe.livejournal.com]

As I'm thinking of her this morning, two things in particular come to mind.

*Her fic recs. She always did the best roundups. And she did this even when she wasn't writing herself. She was so incredibly generous of spirit. Always she wanted everyone to know where to find fun things they might enjoy reading, even if she wasn't feeling all that well herself and it was a lot of effort for her. I miss her fic roundups. They were the best. <3

*I know I've talked about this a lot on my own LJ lately, but...Mewsie was one of the voices of clarity who brought me back into managing my diabetes earlier this year. The best part was that not only was she honest - painfully honest - w/me, she told me so many of her ideas for lower carb meals and snacks, esp ones that didn't require a lot of cooking b/c she just couldn't anymore. It gave me much more a sense of the direction I needed to be thinking, and even though it's taken a lot of months to fully sink in, it's been a comfort to me. I wasn't sure what a suitable lunch looked like, honestly; my parents are the king and queen of carbs. But Mewsie gave me perspective, and she did it both gently and firmly, never shying away from the reality of how essential it is to control our blood glucose levels in diabetes, but also...also she taught me that it's not necessary to freak out over occasional high numbers, esp when we're stressed or sick. Mewsie understood so much about living with diabetes - far more than most of the other people I know with it. She and Baranduin and Elwen helped me see the light...and while it's taken me a long time to get back on track, I'm optimistic. And I don't feel trapped anymore.

I'm dedicating my efforts at tightening up my control in large part to Mewsie. If I get a good number in January, I'll have her (and Baranduin and Elwen) to thank. But I will never, ever forget how kindly she said all she did, how she made it seem not so bad to have to manage it, how doable she made it all feel. I miss her every day. I think of her every time I check my BG. And I hope I can do the kindness she showed me justice.

Julia was so precious. She could be snarky at times, and she wasn't afraid to tell it like it was. But she was also so gentle at times, and always so thoughtful and creative. I loved her fic; I loved her; I loved everything she shared with us...and I miss her so much, as I'm sure do we all.

I hope it's beautiful over there in the West, Mewsie. Miss you here, but I'm glad you're no longer suffering.

*hugs to all*

Remembering with a full heart,
Febobe

And one more thing (fic)...

[febobe.livejournal.com]

I loved Mewsie's fics, though I confess to not reading a lot of slash stuff, just b/c that's not my cuppa...but her fic was always lovely, and I want to share one I really love here.

http://mews1945.livejournal.com/336727.html This is one where Frodo awakens at Cormallen. Lovely. Features Legolas and Merry. <3

Oh, and one more!

http://mews1945.livejournal.com/197376.html - "Comfort in Moria." Very sweet little tale about Frodo's experience just after his rescue from the Watcher in the Water. <3

That was Julia. She understood love and friendship so well, in fic and in RL.

Namarie, Mewsie. <3

-Febobe

*waves*

[carolecummings.livejournal.com]

Hi, everyone. I used to be Aratlithiel/Daffodil Bolger once upon a time. I haven't seen a lot of you for a while, but I wanted to first thank baranduin and cali_se for starting this community and allowing us a place where we can be with others who loved our mews1945.

Second, I wanted to let you know that the service was lovely. It was, not surprisingly, full of smiles through tears, and Julia's family was as loving and welcoming as she was. It was comforting, but it also made everything so real, so it was also... hard.

I want to thank aprilkat and lavendertook for hugging me and letting me awkward at them for a while. You'll probably hear more from them about the service later, and they'll likely be a bit more eloquent about it. Julia's brother, Bob, officiated and spoke with such great fondness of Julia's life and the people and things she loved, among them, all of you here. She didn't differentiate between her "fandom life" and her "real life". To her, it was all part of her life, and she loved every one of you--of us--with no conditions.

She loved you. On the day we officially tell her goodbye, that's the one thing I wanted to say, to make sure you know. She loved you.

And thanks to all of you here for... just for being here.

Remembering Mews

[hanarobi.livejournal.com]

I came to know the name Mews because of her Faculty fic series called Family.

And then I came to read comments scattered about that Mews was Mews the Second. Took me awhile to figure out that her LJ name was in honor of her cat Mews (Mews the First).

Little bits of information came to me from her journal and comments, we interacted more and more often, and then it just seemed as if I had known her forever and that she was part of my inner circle. I delighted in each new layer of friendship I built up with her.

Occasionally I get this morbid thought that I don't want to have any more new friends because losing friends is so hard. I have realized that if I held to that ridiculous approach to life I would have missed out on having had Mews as a friend.

I learned quite a bit from Mews. I will continue to learn from her.

Mews, A Beautiful Soul

[ink-gypsy.livejournal.com]

I don't remember when I first became aware of Mews on LJ. Even though I had commented anonymously on several journals for a number of months, I finally created my own account in December of 2003. Mews created hers in April of 2005. I wish I could pinpoint the exact time, but since all my posts, especially those where I posted my fic, were public, I have to assume that I first learned of Mews when she left a comment on one of my stories.

It was my habit back then to check out the journals of anyone who commented on my fics, and if I thought we had something in common, to friend them. When I learned that Mews was close to my own age, which I originally thought was rather too old to be a fangirl, I immediately felt a kinship to her, and when I found out she was also a writer and wrote in my chosen fandom, that sealed the deal.

We had different styles, of course. While I wrote one-offs, or small ficlets that were more vignettes than stories, Mews wrote a number of different multi-chaptered series, Sean/Elijah and Casey/Zeke among them. I was amazed at how prolific she was, and how much heart she put into all her work. She seemed to feel the same about the S/E pairing as I did, which made her writing so enjoyable for me.

As much as I enjoyed her writing, what I liked most about Mews was her encouragement to other writers like myself. She always left comments on my fic posts, and when I did reposts of those stories I'd first posted in community journals like waymeet and fffc, she usually commented a second time, something I didn't expect, but greatly appreciated. And when I embarked on my first series, Sanctuary, co-written with keye, Mews always commented on every chapter. Even when most of our readers had moved on to other fandoms, Mews continued to comment on Sanctuary, sometimes hers being the only comment we received on a particular chapter. I can't tell you how much her loyalty meant to me.

One of the last fic requests Mews made of me was for a hurt/comfort story in the Sanctuary Universe, and while my Muse had been absent of late, I'm happy that I was finally able to finish the story she'd requested, and that she got to read it before the end. I'm also very proud that I was able to gift her with a Sean/Elijah fic on her last birthday.

I wasn't fortunate enough to meet Mews in person as so many of you were, but her personality came through in her posts and in her fiction. She was a lovely person, inside and out, truly the heart and soul of our fandom, and her passing has left a hole in my heart. I will miss you, dearest Mews.

Remembering Mews

[lbilover.livejournal.com]

Like a lot of you, I don't remember exactly when Mews and I became friends. It seemed like she always was there and always would be. It's very hard to accept that I will never read a new Mewstale, or receive an insightful comment or word of support from her, or discover new fic treasures through her recs lists. Mews had knack for seeing to the heart of things and knowing exactly the right words to say. She was smart and wise and nobody's fool at the same time as she was kind and generous and loving. And not many people, in my experience, can be all those at once. She was also brave in the face of adversities that would have crushed many people.

When I think of her writing, what comes to my mind is how filled with detail her stories were, so that you were completely transported into the worlds she created. She was an incredibly gifted storyteller and thankfully left us a wealth of stories to turn to for solace and inspiration. When I'm missing her, I know I can find her in Hometown Boys or Frodo Lad or Family. That is such a huge comfort.

Namárië, dearest Mews. You will always be in my heart.

So Mews

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

Sadly, because I was away from lj for a few years, I lost track of Mews but I remember her being a gentle and honest lady. I was looking through her journal today when I found this entry.

http://mews1945.livejournal.com/23704.html

She managed to express what a lot of us feel about writing fanfic but in a way that was straight forward without being strident. It's sad that she is no longer here.

(no subject)

[dreamflower]

I was never fortunate enough to meet Mews in person, but she was such a presence on my friends page. She always had a kind comment, and her daily recs led me to many other good friends.

And her stories were always lovely, warm and comforting. Every time I read one it gave me the feeling I had spent a pleasant time with my favorite characters.

When her health curtailed her activity on LJ, I understood. But I missed seeing her on my flist every day.

I still miss her.

Here's a fic link for a lot of her LotR stories

[dreamflower]

West of the Moon Author Page for Mews1945

I hope that it will be useful to those who might want to revisit her wonderful world.