Harry Johnson (sanslavieboheme) wrote in dalton_rpg, @ 2011-03-30 17:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! text, @ character: briar holt, @ character: gabriel holden, @ character: jack barry, @ character: padraic pearson, @ character: tomohisa chikamatsu |
Who: Mr Johnson’s friends
Where: BEYOND THE GRAAAAAAAAVE plus wherever people open the envelopes Connie gives them.
What: A few final goodbyes
When: Whenever Connie delivers them
Rating: SNIFFLE
Harry had left a sheaf of cards for Connie to deliver, each hand-drawn with LOVE. The following are these cards.
[For Scotty, a card with this on the front]
Scotty,
Don’t you dare give up. Keep drawing until your hand falls off or you’ve got nothing left in the world to draw. You have an amazing talent and I can’t bear to think of it going to waste; there’s a box of supplies in the bottom drawer by the bed in my room, you might as well have a rummage through it and take anything that you like. PRACTISE. Practise makes perfect. And you’d better remember to never, never, NEVER give up on your dreams. There are times in your life when you have to step back and say ‘I’m going to do this for ME’. You’re worth that much, Scotty, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
I’m so sorry I couldn’t stay to help you through the rest of your time here. I genuinely can’t stand the thought of leaving you in particular, I desperately wanted to watch you grow as an artist, but I. Yeah. So you’re going to have to do it for me, go ahead and make a success of yourself because you deserve it, you really do.
Stay safe and for God’s sake stay happy.
I love you,
Mr J
PS. My parents will keep the drawings you gave me safe. I made them promise. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to them, they’ll be worth millions some day :)
[For Gabriel, a slightly bleak card]
Gabriel,
First and foremost, thank you. Without you I would never have had the chance to say goodbye to Scotty (we tend to trip over our own stupidity so much, don’t we?), so thank you for getting angry at me, it shook me up enough to see what I was doing wrong.
Speaking of Scotty, I don’t know exactly what you are to him, but it’s important. I don’t need to tell you to take care of him, I know you’ve got it covered, and that makes me feel a hell of a lot better.
But this card isn’t just about Scotty, and so I’d like to say goodbye to you, as well. I didn’t know you so well, certainly not as well as I’d like to (and that may be my fault, I’m not the most outgoing of people and apparently neither are you) but you seem like an amazing person. You’re loyal, logical and smart, the world would be a lot better if more people looked out for their own like you do for Scotty. You’ll take care of him, I believe that, but don’t forget to look after yourself, too. I don’t just mean in a physical sense, just try and give yourself some time to relax. You seem to be on edge all the time (forgive me if I’m leaping to conclusions and making snap judgements, but what with me being dead and all I figure there’s not a lot you can do in revenge) and that’s not good for a guy, especially not a kid of your age. You’ll end up exploding all over the place, or just working yourself into an early grave (sound familiar?). You and Scotty are like the Neurosis Twins, seriously, and you can’t fix everyone else’s problems if you’ve got just as many.
So chill out once in a while (take some of my jazz records if you like, everything I own’s getting auctioned off anyway so my friends might as well get what they need first) and try and stay sane. Or at least go mad happily.
Great knowing you,
Mr J
PS. I wouldn’t have written some of this stuff if I’d known then what I know now, so read this bit with extra special attention, please. People change, you included, and even if you were what you think you are, you’re not anymore. Scotty’s opening you up slowly, and you’re going to see the boy underneath all your trauma sometime soon. I hope he’s as good a friend and ally as I think he is.
[For Arthur, a warbler flying from its cage]
Arthur,
It's been amazing working with you, and to be honest I don't know whether I'd ever have settled in without you and Pat. I'll definitely miss you, I wish I could have worked with you for longer.
Congratulations on the Warbler win, by the way. You must be very proud. And on finding a kid (almost) worthy of having you as a guardian. I'm quite jealous :) Good luck, and may you live in interesting times.
Yours,
Harry
PS. Talking to Gabriel, I'd like to offer you a bit of advice. I'm taking something off his hands, and it might be in his best interests if you intercepted any well-meaning replacements. It's a red teddy bear, and without breaching confidentiality it's pretty deeply tied up in his traumas. I'd take it as a personal favor if you'd keep a weather eye open. Thanks.
[For Mocchi, a surprisingly simple card]
Mocchi,
Be nice to your mom, and don’t ruin her condo, I’ve had good times round there. No, I’m totally kidding. Go wild. But it feels like you and I have lost touch a bit, and I regret that. You’re a great artist and an amazing, sparkling person, and I figured I’d take this opportunity to thank you for brightening up my day so much when you were in my classes (you always were one of my favorite students, but shhhhh, don’t tell the others!). I couldn’t be happier that you and Connie have found each other, though I know life’s been less than easy for you lately…I might not be around, but wherever I end up, I’ll be rooting for you and I know you’ll make your life a success.
Have a freaking ball,
Mr J
[For Briar, an even simpler matching card]
Briar,
Take care of yourself, and good luck with the painting. You’re a great kid and I don’t think you give yourself enough credit; trust me, your mom doesn’t know what she’s talking about. If I was her my fridge would be PAPERED with your drawings, ok? So keep up the art, and if it’s what you want to do, then do it. Trust me, there’s always a way if you want to. The list of contacts is for some illustrators I know. Feel free to have a word with them, they can give you some tips. I was always more of a slavish imitator than a visionary, but I think you’ve got something really special and it would be a shame to let it die.
Good luck,
Mr J
[For Pat, a card depicting Trinity College, Oxford (image to be added)]
Pat,
Thank you. You’ve always been an amazing friend to me and words can’t express how much it means to me, nor how happy I am that you and Jack have finally tied the knot J I’m sorry to leave you so soon after (and I’m sorry I ruined your wedding coughing through it!) but we’ll always have New York!
< s>I You always I’m sorry that It’s been a privilege knowing you, Paddy (yes, Paddy, you can’t hurt me for it from beyond the grave, ha ha). I’m only sorry we didn’t have longer, and that you didn’t know me at my best. But you’ve made the last five years not just bearable but brilliant, and for that all I can say is THANK YOU. I started a painting for a wedding present for you and Jack, but I’m afraid I didn’t have time to finish it. If you want it, though, it’s under my bed. Remember the good times, ok? (the freshmen glitterbombed me first lesson I was teaching, remember? :D)
It’s been an adventure. Couldn’t have done it without you.
Your friend,
Harry
[For Jack, a drawing of a football pitch (again, yet to be drawn/added)]
Jack,
I don’t know you that well, but I truly wish I did. You’d better be as good a husband to Pat as you have been a boyfriend (or I will haunt you forever) but I don’t doubt you will be. As I said to Pat, sorry for coughing through your wedding, but these things happen. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me recently; you honestly didn’t have to and it meant so much to me.
Thank you,
Harry
[For Connie, a very careful copy of the photo of Theo]
Connie,I can’t believe I I’m going to miss There’s no way I can You’ve been so Thank you. That’s all I can say, because honestly I don’t know how to say how I feel. You’ve been everything to me for the last few months, just because I needed it, and there is no way to thank you enough for that, or for listening to me when I needed to talk, for understanding when I couldn’t, for making me gingerbread and pouring me wine and making me smile when I thought everything was hopeless, reminding me of what Angie taught me; there’s no point saving for an uncertain tomorrow at the cost of today. I don’t know what I’d have done without you, and it seems trite to say I wouldn’t have survived, given that if you’re reading this I presumably didn’t anyway. I probably would have survived this long without you, but chances are I wouldn’t have LIVED it.
So you have to do one last thing for me, ok? Other than delivering those cards. After I kick the bucket, don’t let it drag you down. I’m going to pull the classic medium line here, and this is a promise. I will be happy on the other side, and waiting for you to join me. I’ve got a lot of regrets in my life and I won’t let ruining yours be one of them. You have Mocchi and the kids, so if I don’t look down from wherever it is I end up and see you smiling, I’ll haunt you. I’ll smash plates and move chairs, I swear it! I’ll paint your house black while you aren’t looking!
I love you, basically. You’re the best friend anyone could ever hope for, you’ve stood by me through thick and thin and I’m sure between me writing this letter and you reading it, you’ve done several hundred other exceptional things. You’re an amazing woman, Connie, you really are, and you’d better not forget that.
I want you to have the photo from my coat pocket. The one of me and Angie. And when you look at it I want you to remember that, if there’s any justice in the world, that’s where I am right now. With Angie, laughing. If/when I see Theo, I’ll tell him you’re thinking of him.
I never was good at writing letters. Do me one more more favor, though? Bake the cakes for my funeral, people need good cake when they’re having a good cry over the wonderful and amazing Harry Johnson. I told my mom this and you should hear it too; my funeral is to celebrate my life, not my death, so have a hell of a wake and try not to get so drunk you end up joining me six feet under.
See you on the other side, hopefully a long, long time from now,
Harry.