To Our Degeneration
A/N: Aluminium was kind enough to set me one of these addictive little challenges! This little character study is dedicated to both Aluminium (my wonderful sibling) and the equally wonderful shrieking minties 51! The vast majority of my headcanon stems from an in-depth, ongoing email conversation between us that has long since passed the 100,000 word mark – so, frankly, anything Hetalia-based that I've composed since What Liberty Lacks is partially thanks to shrieking minties 51. But special thanks to Aluminium, who tolerated me every time I read the damn thing out, over and over again, for corrections...
Sheepish note: OK, so I sort of cheated here, and arranged the sentences in the order that made sense, rather than the order the words were originally in. But you'll probably thank me for that; the chronology would be weirder than it is already had I left them as they were, resulting in confusion for all.
1. Mute
There was a time when he had a voice, and it was mighty – a time when its sonorous imperatives resounded and were feared – but that time has passed, and now he elicits scarcely a whisper against the clash of newer, deadlier empires.
2. Bold
He races across the deck, feeling the blunt daggers of raindrops slash across his face and the joyous release of untrammelled energy: old world; new world; it matters little when all is equally, stingingly vibrant.
3. Number
Thirteen colonies, and shouldn't he have known by now that it paid to take heed of superstition – or had he hoped he could defy the odds, and fate...?
4. Barrier
Sometimes, he longs for reconciliation, for those old, rash emotions, and that mad rush of an embrace – come, let us rediscover the past; I can't abide with this present - but it is no use, for he and America are and will forever be at cross purposes.
5. Breach
For over two hundred years now, there have been those terrible, minute moments – imperceptible to those who would not immediately understand– which have served to force the rift between the two wider still: for instance, the time England muttered "there is such thing as too much freedom, you dolt," and something in America's eyes seemed to shatter.
6. Flee
England finds that there is safety in retreat; safety in that reliable catch-all of step back and consider; and comfort in the soft, ineluctable trudge of progress, heavy with the promise of forward momentum – relentless, however steady.
7. Order
He has always kept his tenuous grasp on order – by granting freedom, reform, concession: anything to reinforce the floodgates; to patch over the veneer of stability; and, by and large, it has not been unsuccessful.
8. Cross
There have been certain crossroadsinstances, he is aware, in which events might have panned out differently: the General Strike is one such pivotal moment, in which he might have wavered on course... faltered, turned even – but what of it?
9. Solidarity
Oh, he is more prone to solitude than solidarity, as anyone who has all but glimpsed the outward facet of his character would be aware – but he and his people hold strength in their obduracy and a bizarre form of unity stems from that.
10. Demonstrate
"Don't give me all those quaint protestations about reform and enlightenment; I was the one who taught you and the rest of Europe to revolt, and you have never ceased admiring me for it," insists France, impishly, and ducks as England throws a copy of Burke's Reflections at his head.
11. Pest
Always just there, grinning sardonically in the corner, the wretched hedonist – ready to pester him with more well-aimed gibes and unfortunate ironies - waiting, just waiting for England to pester him back; and England just the same: literally incapable of ignoring France in return.
12. Meander
"Do you ever do anything for definite?" teases France; England rolls his eyes, lifting his chin as if to assert his dignity.
13. Bottle
"To our gradual degeneration," he says, grimly, passing the bottle back to his wine-dulled nemesis, who takes a solemn swig: "to entropy."
14. Dust
"Then pray describe our kind: pure quintessence, perpetual dust, or some arcane amalgamation thereof?" England demands - and Will Shakespeare just shrugs.
15. Darkness
They were the height of his fortunes, once – growing glory, and no restraints – and now he is told they were the Dark Ages; yet he contents himself with regaling those who will listen, such as Coleridge and Wordsworth, with tales of their splendour.
16. Book
"It was uncanny - like seeing my own reflection in print," says England, wonderingly, and when the corner of Oscar Wilde's mouth gently thins in amusement, he knows he has hit the mark.
17. Crimson
He remembers the visit from the woman they called 'Red Emma': a vibrant speaker with the ability of touching a disused chord in the national psyche, and the power to make his notoriously wayward audiences sing.
18. Comma
Between Napoleon and Christ indeed; at Versailles, he feels little better than a comma between two mighty, opposing notions – or egos, rather.
19. Ace
It is 1927 and he really does wish that Germany would cease being so much better at this industrialisation lark than everyone else – or, at any rate, better than him.
20. Tissue
England sneezes, blowing his nose pointedly; from the corner, Ramsay MacDonald rolls his eyes and mutters: "Not my fault."
21. Brooch
When France informs him of his miraculous escape from German clutches involving a soup ladle, undercooked potato stew and a silver brooch pin, England's first response can only be: "you wear jewellery?"
22. Shiver
It is '46, and he it is colder than he has ever known – brutal, bitter agony, with severity never attained by fire; he is imprisoned in glistening skeins of ice, like deadly filigree – and oh, he can scarcely think to breathe.
23. Starvation
"If I hear the word no from that lemonade-swilling, sanctimonious - Stafford Cripps – one more time, I swear to God, Clem, I'm turning cannibal."
24. Lease
"America," he says, "whilst not listening to John Maynard Keynes at inopportune moments is something of a national pastime, I refuse to let it gain in popularity in the States; now give me the goddamn loans."
25. Speech
"That little snipe at the opposition, Mr. Bevan, was almost definitely not in the script - and you will lose a great deal of the moral high ground in the process of your indulgence," he informs his Health Minister, sternly, and Nye twinkles somewhat abashedly in response: don't deny it; you wanted to say so too.
26. Whirlwind
It is 1948 and the world is spiralling further from his grasp, like a rag tossed about by the storm, and he will do all he can to wrench his chin above the floods to choke in a ragged gasp of air: be it welfare or bombs, he will do it.
27. Linger
Attlee's atomic bomb and all that Cold War posturing - he wonders how much of it was residual delusion: a desperate shot at retaining his relevance; a fatal plea for acknowledgement in a world that seemed post-everything...
28. Note
To be passed to that cretin of a Frog: De Gaulle says no to WHAT now?
29. Arrow
Sticks and stones become bows and arrows; cannon fire transmutes to nuclear monstrosities – why must the progression be so damnably inevitable?
30. Society
Of course there is such thing as society – and England would sooner face total economic meltdown than forget it, no matter what any fatuous new ideology might espouse; and furthermore, all of them, from the most ardent of leftists to the staunchest of 'drys' will soon recognise that even iron must suffer eventual fatigue.
31. Peeved
"The microphone," he tells his Prime Minister – not a little worse for wear and not long for the title - with an admirable attempt at composure, "was a mistake that could have happened to anyone."
32. Branding
Oh, they are all over the place – and such is the nature of the free market, he knows – but sometimes he just wishes he could purchase a shirt without a prominent logo gleaming obnoxiously on the pocket.
33. Moon
The ethereal moon glows auspiciously, nestled in cloud – and he remembers the age of imagination; of creation without ownership, where thinkers eked out every glimmering drop of their being, scrawled it painstakingly onto a page and called it art.
34. Banner
All right, so he did not go as far as 'TORIES: PUTTING THE 'N' IN CUTS', but as he joins the throng - bright red banner trailing conspicuously behind him in the breeze, emblazoned with 'DOWN WITH THIS SORT OF THING'- England grins sheepishly nonetheless.
35. Lattice
Those goddamned close-woven frames on America's windows have always resembled a prison.
36. Cookery
Why, for the love of God, is it always the cooking – surely he must possess other, equally mockable attributes?
37. Hair
"Oh for the love of... yes, my fringe is in my eyes, and I don't care - shut up."
38. Lens
England sometimes wonders if America's glasses really are tinted red, white and blue with obfuscating patriotism; frankly, there is much that this would explain.
39. Lace
It is a fervently guarded secret – one that, if exposed, would most likely spell death for the discoverer – that he and Austria trade needlework techniques on a regular basis.
40. Crisp
He cannot help but grin like a child when he spots the first bout of snowflakes, like scattered dust motes in the sharpening air; it has been years since there has been a decent winter.
41. Hail
The tumultuous sounds of the storm slam viciously against his shuttered window, and he finds himself wishing, perversely, that he were at sea.
42. Empty
"You're not a moralist; you're an aesthete," reprimands England at the height of an inflamed debate, and it is a full five weeks before France deigns to forgive him.
43. Envelope
He keeps his correspondence – all of it – because to discard even one letter would be to destroy the very ideas and events locked within their scrawlings; yet, so many of them have lain undisturbed in their envelopes for centuries.
44. Filigree
A fragile golden fob watch – Indian originally – that somehow lost both its hands years ago; England reflects that he really either ought to get it fixed, or dispose of the trinket, but somehow never gets around to making a decision either way.
45. Keys
For him, there is nothing to unlock; nothing to discover – he hides very little from himself, contrary to the expectations of all – but he will concede that there is much in his mind to which few, if any people hold the key.
46. Glass
In an idle moment, England amuses himself by wondering exactly how many mirrors they have all broken in the past millennia, and whether it ever made a difference.
47. Silt
All those years, plans – mistakes – everything, like sifting through silt for something solid, definite, glistening, and coming up with dirt-streaked water in softened hands.
48. River
In the oily dark of London's nightfall, the murky Thames resembles the Styx - and it brings regeneration bizarrely to the forefront of his thoughts – tinged with the apprehensive notion of some frightful, unfathomable future.
49. Intoxication
If one were to remark that England survives only with the help of coping mechanisms by which to mute the clang of various misfortunes, he would reply with grim cheer that as far as palliatives go, alcohol, Empire and correcting the grammar mistakes of others are scarcely heinous.
50. Rain
Immersed in a torrential downpour during his habitual walk along the Thames, drenched in what feels like half the river itself, and gloriously unperturbed by the fact, England feels something overwhelmingly close to freedom - pledging to himself that, whatever might follow, he shall recapture this elusive moment as often as he can.
Explanatory Notes:
Hoo, boy. Where to begin?
10. Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France is a particularly obnoxious little text by an English theorist, criticising the 1789 French Revolution and all that it stood for.
14. Hamlet's famous description of man: 'quintessence of dust'.
15. The Romantic poets were incredibly fascinated with the medieval period, even if the fashion of the time was to condemn it as barbarous.
16. Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was totally written with one Arthur Kirkland in mind.
17. Emma Goldman, famous anarchist, visited London in the late 19th century, much to the delight of spectators.
18. Lloyd George's comment on the Treaty of Versailles negotiations was: I felt I was sitting between Napoleon and Christ.
19. At this point in time, England was facing relative economic decline, in the face of new competitors such as Germany, Japan and the USA.
20. Aaaaand economic crisis hits in 1931 due to the Wall Street Crash – leading to disastrous decisions from the Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald. It was a bad stroke of luck for the 1929-31 Labour administration.
22. 1946 was one of the coldest winters on record; Britain, virtually penniless following WW2, faced starvation.
23. Stafford Cripps was President of the Board of Trade from 1947-50, and later Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was famous for TV appearances during which, in answer to questions of whether certain food would be available unrationed, he would deliver a stern, resounding no.
24. During the Attlee administration, Britain was, as mentioned before, virtually bankrupt. Keynes was sent to America to ask for loans. Congress listened in awe, overwhelmed by his intellect and power of persuasion... and promptly voted against the measure.
25. Blowing off a little steam after single-handedly masterminding the establishment of the National Health Service, Aneurin Bevan, during a speech at the Labour party conference, said that the Tories were 'worse than vermin'.
28. De Gaulle said noto Britain's entry to the European Economic Community – later to become the European Union. It was... somewhat unexpected, in Britain. (Oh, France...)
30. Anyone from the UK will know what fiend of a politician I'm referring to here. For those of you who don't, google Margaret Th*tcher.
31. Ahem. During last year's general election, Gordon Brown made something of a gaffe. After a televised conversation with a voter, he got into his car and forgot to turn his microphone off. He was overheard calling the woman he had been speaking to a 'bigot'. Something of the last nail in the coffin for our previous government.
34. Yes, both of these are real protest banners. Me, I just love the image of England publically railing against spending cuts.