07. like feeble age he reeleth from the day

[keepscalm]

Characters: England and you!
Setting: Various (room 1-20, floors 28, 48, 3, 19)
Format: Starting action, will match!
Summary: A few more centuries have made England even broodier. Gross.
Warnings: England is affected by the event. He believes he has been in the Tower for 300 years. For full tl;dr, go here. Also, nation angst and potentially language.

scenario A♛ room 1-20
[If you're here, it's probably for one of three reasons:

You want to learn survival skills from that grumpy English dude,

You're visiting one of the other residents of 1-20,

or, you've run into some trouble with America and you're consulting his keeper.

(If you're here for the first reason, you probably heard about him through word-of-mouth, since it's not like he advertises his abilities any more.)

Whatever your reason, he's here, poring over books that he's taken from the libraries. They're stacked on the bedside table, on his trunk, and all around the bed. He isn't too worried about returning them. They vanish on their own eventually anyway.]

scenario B♛ floor 28
[He's made himself up a little area in the music room -- mostly because the din of the flashy media room is too much for him and he'd rather listen to other instruments than video games. He's sitting beside an amp with his bass in his lap, plugged in and strumming against the unmatching tunes of the Tower's instruments.

He doesn't play much. Mostly just one bassline, over and over.]

scenario C♛ floor 48
[Whenever he feels the temptation to do something stupid, he visits the graveyard instead. Usually he rests amongst the graves of the other nations.

Today, he sits propped up against the back of the headstone designated for one United States of America (there are three of those, by his count-- but this is the one he knows). There are actually individual flowers set by the graves of each nation, America included, but England acts as though he isn't the one that put them there.

Some of them are the national flowers. But some of those are hard to cultivate in the Tower, so he made do with what he had.

The sentiment is there, at least?]

scenario D♛ dorm floors or either of the libraries
[More than likely, he'll be found arsing around on the terminals, usually with books nearby. He looks so bored that he's obviously not doing anything important, and can be bothered at will.]

Comments

<3; this thread is going to be a disaster oops

[keepscalm]

[England's eyebrows furrow at the girl's explanation. The events she described had definitely been hundreds of years ago, and he's not exactly in the habit of forgetting his own history. That kind of thing sort of goes against his nature.

So he can't help but sound a bit defensive when he retorts:] And if it is an experiment, how can you be sure you're not the spinny one here?

<3 Disasters are fun though!~

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko kept smiling as she explained. People had said things like that before, so she wasn't that frazzled.]

Because I've seen several people on the network who haven't been affected, and they're all wondering what's going on. So I haven't been affected.

[keepscalm]

[Oh he is not taking this very well at all.]

You know-- telling people that their memories are fake probably shan't be making you any friends.

[That is a lot snippier than it needs to be. He almost feels bad. But what right does she have telling him what's real and what isn't? It's no place of hers to set him straight if he's wrong.

Which he absolutely isn't. And even if he were, he is far too proud to ever admit to being wrong about anything, even under normal circumstances.]

[tohko_amano]

[At that, Tohko sighed and..tried to pat England on the head.]

Probably not, but I figure that even if the truth is painful, it's better to let people know of it than have them live in a lie. After all, I be that after awhile, the lie will become even more painful.

[keepscalm]

[Wh- what on Earth is she doing.

The action takes England so off-guard that she actually gets a pat in before he recoils to duck away from her hand, looking very affronted and sounding very confused.]

I beg your pardon-- I'm not a child, so I'll thank you not to treat me like one!

[seriously why pats he doesn't understand

wh

why]

[tohko_amano]

[At that, Tohko sighed and, looking rather sheepish, let her hand fall to her side.]

I'm sorry..I know you're not a child, but headpats can be used to help everyone of all ages. I apologize. If you don't want me to use them, then I won't.

[keepscalm]

[He scoffs mildly and turns away from Tohko. Normally, he might be embarrassed for his rudeness, but he is definitely not normal right now, so she just gets a roll of the eyes.]

That would be preferable.

[He still sounds a bit sour from being condescended to.] Do you not have a job to attend to? Surely there are more important things on your to-do list than distributing gestures of affection to your patrons.

["Patrons" is said almost derisively. It's not like they're paying to be in the library -- England himself probably wouldn't be here now if he had anything better to do, and he suspects it's the same for many of the long-lived residents of the Tower.]

[tohko_amano]

[Not that Tohko meant to be condescending. However, at his words, Tohko sighed.]

..It wasn't really affection..it was more something to calm you down and cheer you up. And I can spare a few minutes to talk with you! There are a lot of librarians here, so I can spare a few minutes to talk with people here. However..what's wrong with the patrons here? You're one yourself, after all.

[keepscalm]

[And not that she necessarily was, but boy did England take it that way.

He is starting to get very confused. Why is she so insistent on talking to him? Just like there are plenty of librarians, there are plenty of patrons. Most of them would probably appreciate the conversation more than he.]

We're more prisoners than patrons, is all.

[He sets his jaw and his lips curl into a frown. He spares Tohko another glance, though it's not exactly friendly. It's heavy with scrutiny.]

I don't need any sort of "cheering up".

[tohko_amano]

[Probably, but Tohko met up with England and wanted to talk to him, so she was talking with him. She was pretty simple in that regard.

Tohko gave him a puzzled look as she spoke.]

How so? No ones keeping you in the library..and it sounded like you could use some cheering up..but then again, most everyone in the Tower does.

[keepscalm]

[Everything has to be complicated with England, you see. Simplicity is lost on him.

Speaking of that, her simplicity is frustrating him.] Not the library--

[He's too annoyed to finish that sentence, and so quickly moves onto the next one:] I don't! The only thing I could use is some peace and quiet. [He doesn't need some kind of little cheering-up pity-party.]

[tohko_amano]

[Not that Tohko was trying to give him a pity party. Sheesh. A pat on the head was a small comfort, not a party. And Tohko definitely didn't pity him.

Tohko sighed at his comment and nodded.]

Alright then. I'll let you have some peace and quiet. However, before I do, I should say that I'm sure we'll be able to get home eventually. After all, there are people here who wouldn't be able to exist if their universes were destroyed..and since everyone is fighting to get home, I'm sure we'll be able to someday.

[keepscalm]

[His expression shifts for a very brief second; his eyebrows furrow in distress and he parts his lips in a look that's equal parts offended and stricken.

People who wouldn't be able to exist if their universes were destroyed.

England turns away like he's a great insult has just been done to him. He tries to return to his previous state of apathetic disinterest, but there is tension in his shoulders that indicates Tohko has hit something of a nerve.]

Fine. Leave me be, then.

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko missed the tension, but there was no way she could ignore the fact that he turned away, like she had shown him a terrible novel that he didn't want to read. Puzzled, she didn't move away quite yet..but she did scratch her head.]

I'm sorry..I don't know how I offended you, but I didn't mean to.

[keepscalm]

[Whoa there no one is supposed to know when something actually bothers him, especially not strangers. The nerve is raw enough without Tohko letting on that she can actually see it.

England thus goes even harder on the defensive, as he is wont to do when his emotions are brought up.] Then perhaps you should go back to minding your own business. [He really does not want to continue this conversation.

Of course he is too dumb immature proud to just stop responding.]

[tohko_amano]

[This was the result of reading several books and weird trains of thought. Those trains were sometimes inaccurate, but when they were right, they were right.

Tohko nodded to herself, thinking. Judging by his reaction, he might have been the sort of person she was talking about: a person who couldn't exist unless their universes did too. Maybe.

As his words though, she sighed.]

..I suppose I will let you be..but before I do, can I at least know your name?

[keepscalm]

[He grinds his teeth in response. He could do the equivalent of slap her in the face and tell her his real name. He's extraordinarily tempted to.

Fortunately for her, the thought of having to explain himself and draw out this awful encounter even further prompts him to take the path of least resistance in that regard.]

Arthur Kirkland.

[tohko_amano]

[Not that he would be slapping her in the face-she was already friends with Prussia and had been helped out by France. However, his response threw her for a loop, and she thought for a moment.

Prussia sometimes called himself Gilbert when he wanted to hide what he was..and Tohko did suspect that 'Arthur' was a nation. After all, they were more common than people like Wilhelm or 'Azazello'.

So, she took a small leap of faith. And logic.]

It's nice to meet you then, Arthur. I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl. This..probably sounds odd, but you're not England, by any chance? I'm sorry if you're not..it's just a guess of mine.

[keepscalm]

[He turns on her with evident suspicion, completely disregarding her niceties in favour of pressing on her leap of logic.]

So I am. [His scrutiny is turned up to eleven again.] And how do you know that?

[Sure, he was kind of a fixture around the Tower, the same way the local drunkard is a fixture at his favourite pub, but this girl claims that they haven't been there as long as he thinks. He still doesn't believe her, of course, but she has no reason to know who he is if that's the case.]

[tohko_amano]

[With that, Tohko actually gave a small smile.]

Ah, alright then! It's nice to meet you then, England. And..to be honest, it was a bit of a deduced guess. You flinched when I mentioned that there are people here who wouldn't be able to exist unless their universes were still alive, which means that you probably were one of those people.

The only people I've met here like that have been the nations, like Prussia and France, and Wilhelm and his workers. So, I thought you might be a nation. Your manner of speaking and acting pegged me as English, so I thought you might be England.

[Reminds you of a certain detective, huh, England?]

[keepscalm]

[Well, that's annoying. He detests being transparent, even about something as trivial in the long run as this.

England grinds his teeth and sets his jaw with noticeable annoyance.]

I see.

That being the case, perhaps you may understand why telling a nation that their memories are fake would be a bit offensive.

[What a load of tripe. He won't believe it for a moment.]

[tohko_amano]

[At that, Tohko sighed and nodded.]

I do..and while I would be wrong in normal circumstances, these are anything but normal circumstances. None of us are back in our own universes, and the Administrators can mangle our bodies and minds.

It seems that they chose to mess with our memories this time around.

i am so sorry wow ;_; SHE CAN TRY TO STOP HIM IF SHE WANTS

[keepscalm]

[He thought he was jaded to the point of numbness by now, but Tohko's words make something turn violently in his gut. As he stands with the unpleasant scraping of the chair across the floor, words spill venomously out of his mouth before he can think better of them.]

You think I don't know that? You think I haven't gotten the short end of a good bit of that mangling?

[There's an anger boiling in his veins that feels centuries old, and while part of him needs to quell it for his own sanity, another part feels so vindicated at finally letting some of it out.] I don't care who you are or what good you think you're doing! Don't speak to a stranger like— like you know them— what they've seen, what they've done.

Because you don't.

[He roughly shoves the chair in underneath the desk.] Good day, Miss Amano.

[And, with that, he will be taking his leave if Tohko doesn't stop him.]

It's alright! This is great!~ She..will try to follow him though..><;

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko wouldn't stop him, but there was no way she was letting him go after that. Glaring a little, she walked quickly beside him, and-if she could- she would move to stand in front of him again, still glaring.]

You and I have both gotten mangled and abused here! I don't know what your physical body went through, but I can tell you that they warped my mind into that of a rage-filled murderer and changed my body so that my fingers were knives! So I know you've gotten mangled! I would be a fool to not think that.

However, you're not quite a stranger. You're England, so I know some things about you already, and even if I didn't know your name, I would still know things about you. However, if you want me to understand exactly what you've been through, incident through incident, then tell me! Or write it down!

[keepscalm]

[He could probably overpower her easily based on stature alone, but he doesn't want to resort to that. He's not really even angry at her, specifically. He's just angry at everything and he never has reason to show it any more. It would be better if she'd just mind her own business and stop giving him reason.

So he stops when she crosses his path, clearly put off by her retaliation. There's no way he's telling her — some random, presumptuous little girl — about every incident. He's equal parts furious that she thinks it's that easy, and distressed that she's trying so damn hard.]

Even if I did, you wouldn't understand. Knowing things about someone doesn't mean you understand them.