I see it's been over two years. Me, I only heard about this yesterday. That's what I get for not staying in touch with friends I guess. Still, I don't care what anyone else thinks, for me it's never too late to pay your respects to someone who meant something to you.
Choco, I've been thinking about you from time to time. Because see, that's the kinda person you were. That's the kind of impact you had on people. Even though we haven't talked in like 3 years or so, I still sometimes randomly think of stuff you've said or done. And more often than not, it's been something totally hilarious. Yesterday after hearing about your untimely demise I took out my cell phone, and went through my contacts. And there it was, your number. I stared at it for a while. Knowing that never would you ever pick up if I called that number. Never again could I talk to you.
I know we've lived in different countries, and haven't been close geographically. Of course I was never as close to you as Amsah or Faab for instance. But we were friends, guaranteed. You were probably the coolest person I've met through smash - out of all the hundreds of people. Always joking, happy, with that mischievous grin on your face. At RoS3 in 2006 I was introduced to you by Amsah. We met again at RoS4 next year, and that's when we really bonded. At some point we played some Falco dittos. I knew you were really good at those. The first matches were really close. Then I told you "come on man, you're supposed to be really good at this. Destroy me." So you laughed, and started playing better, demolishing me and making me see why people said you're good. After those games we got up, and probably went to the kitchen to get some food. You stopped, looked at me and said "man, you're really fun to play against." Those words mirrored my own sentiments exactly, you were awesome fun to play against. Very quickly it became apparent that you were not just fun to play against, you were simply fun personified.
Reading through this topic and all the posts by people I know and even people I don't know... I cried. Yeah I know what you might say, Choco. That I am such a wussy - a mietje.
Smash may be what brought us together at first, but it was not at all essential for our friendship after the beginning. Whenever we were hanging out, we'd always talk about non-smash related stuff. We also used to talk online. If only I had my old MSN logs from a couple of years ago. Man, I would love to read through our old discussions now.
You showed me your home, and some of your family. I wanted to repay that, I wanted you to come to Finland so I could house you. Now it's too late, you won't ever be coming over. I hope all those who were closest you are doing well. They've lost a great guy in you, and especially for them the world is now a darker place without you being there to light it up.
My best memories of you are from May of 2008, when I came the Netherlands for Dave's XTC3 tournament in Almere - even though my interest in smash had very much dwindled. I remember we talked about this too: Although I came to a smash tournament, I didn't come for the smash. I came to have a good time, to see people like you, and all the other Dutch smashers and hang out (because pretty much all Dutch smashers are really cool, you guys know who you are).
You came to meet me at the airport, and we traveled together to Faab's place. We slept there during that weekend, always traveling back at night by train. On my last day in the Netherlands I was gonna walk around Amsterdam
a bit, before my flight. I told you I may do some shopping, that I should buy myself a pair of shoes. You told me you'd be working that day, and that I should come to the store you worked at. That you'd give me a discount. So I found my way to that store, and there you were. We looked at some shoes, I tried some on, you gave me your opinion on what colour you thought was best. I found a really nice pair of shoes, and you gave me a 30% discount. After that we still talked for a bit, then I took the picture of you Amsah used in the first post of this topic, and then I had to leave for the airport. That was the last time I ever saw you. I still have that pair of shoes by the way, they are awesome. Just like you were.
I miss you & I will always remember you
Rest in peace
Your friend, Wille