recolle | An English Man Mourns [OPEN]

Entry tags:

An English Man Mourns [OPEN]

WHO: Derek Marlowe and YOU!
WHERE: The Three Broomsticks
WHEN: July 11, 2018 @ 8pm
WHAT: Mourning Englands loss to Croatia (FIFA)
WARNINGS: Large amounts of alcohol consumption

Derek had been keeping track of the game during his entire shift in the hospital and it took all is control to not yell out in despair that Croatia beat his beloved England! If there was one sport Derek loved, it was football (soccer). He had played all through secondary schoool and he even joined a pub team while doing his undergrad. Derek breathed football and watching the World Cup was a must. He knows he should be happy that England made it to the World Cup, unlike the USA, but still, England had a chance and they BLEW IT! There was only way to handle this situation...ALCOHOL!

Once out of the hospital he posted a messaged to Retrospec:

If anyone wants to join me in mourning England's loss to Croatia today, you can join me at The Three Broomsticks @ 8pm. If you want to mourn your own countries loss, that is also welcomed (Japan, Germany, South Korea, etc).

Also, can we all agree that Croatia should win because ANYONE BUT FRANCE!

Around 8pm, Derek can be found sitting in the three broomsticks and drinking firewhiskey and watching the game highlights on his phone. Come mourn with this pathetic english man.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After Japan lost to Belgium, Tatsuo had mostly just watched the game highlights. Until France vs Belgium and Croatia vs England. The semis determine who plays in the finals, so they usually prove to be good games. Not that he had much preference for which team won, but now that it's down to France and Croatia, Tatsuo is of a mind to support Croatia. They've been extremely plucky this entire tournament.

"Here, this one's on me."

Tatsuo plunks a shot of firewhisky down next to Derek.

"Too bad about your team, mate. That was a rough way to go."

[Derek accepts the firewhisky shot and downs it.]

Tatsuooooo, they had it. They had the lead for over an hour and then they let them make a goal! Just... why! We haven't won since the 60's!

And Japan hasn't won the World Cup ever, so at least you have that.

[He pats Derek's shoulder]

England got close this year though. They didn't make it out of group stage last time.

In Retrospec, Japan was doing well in their last match until they got too confident and lost control of the ball. England should have known they were going to have to bring their A game since Croatia hasn't lost a single game the entire competition! What the hell!

[Derek waves the waiter over and asks for more firewhiskey shots.]

Yeah, Japan should have stuck harder to their defense.

[Tatsuo resigns himself to a nasty hangover the next morning

The things he does to comfort a friend]

I have to admit, I've been really impressed by Croatia. They have a very solid team.

Edited 2018-07-15 05:20 (UTC)

[Derek nods.]

Right? They better beat France. I don't know what I'll do if France wins another title.

[Derek takes another swig of his drink.]

Concerning the Japan team, that Honda Keisuke isn't too bad of a player. Did you have a particular favorite player?

Get drunk?

[Tatsuo sips his drink a little slower than Derek does]

Oh, Honda is good. He's one of our top scorers, though I heard he's retiring from international stuff.

[which is a crying shame]

One of my favorites is Nagatomo Yūto, number 5. He started his professional career with FC Tokyo. He's a brilliant defender. He got an offer a few years ago from Manchester United, but decided to stay with his current team at the time.

What? Honda is retiring from the Japan team? WHY! And why did that other guy not take up the Manchester United offer? What team does he play for?

[Another swig of his drink follows his questions.]

Honda's my age, Derek. Not many soccer players continue past their thirties, and he's been on the national team for ten years now. So has Nagatomo, now that I think about it. And most of the more experienced players.

[now that he thought about it, the Japanese national team is probably about to go through some major changes to their line-up as more of the experienced players retire and younger players take their places]

Anyway. Maybe Nagatomo didn't want to play for Manchester? Maybe he wasn't certain he would be given as much field time as he got with Inter? That's who he was with, Inter Milan. Now he's with a Turkish club.

A Turkish club? Does Turkey even have good clubs?

[Rude Derek. RUDE!]

From the sounds of it, the Japan team will be changing up soon won't it?

Rude Derek. Rude.

[Tatsuo orders another firewhisky ditch from the bartender]

Yeah. It'll be interesting to see what the team looks like for the next World Cup. It won't be the same without Honda and Hasabe.

What? Has Turkey ever made it to the world cup?

[Derek takes another sip of his drink.]

Maybe the new players will get Japan further along in the world cup?

They took third in 2002. I remember because that was the year Japan and South Korea co-hosted.

[And Japan lost to them in Round of 16, which had hurt since they'd been co-hosts. 16 year old Tatsuo had been crushed.]

I'll have to check the roster some time. See who they've started calling up.

2002? Dang. Been a while for them hasn't it?

[Another sip of his drink.]

Do you have any players in mind you'd like to see on the team?

[Tatsuo just gives Derek a look. Does he really have room to make a comment like that when his team keeps going on about their glorious win in the 60s?]

I'm a bit partial to anyone playing for Tokyo FC, but admittedly they aren't exactly the best team in the league. They still have some damn good players though.

Is that because you're originally from Tokyo? Hey, I never asked, did you ever play football growing up?

Oh, there's quite a few teams in the Tokyo area, several of them J1 even. Yep. I could get to one of their training grounds in less than an hour on the train. Technically we live a bit closer to Kawasaki Frontale, but well, we stuck with Tokyo FC.

[Tatsuo sips his drink]

And yes. I played football growing up. I even played it at school, at least through middle school. I started getting more serious with karate after that so I didn't try out for the team in high school. Though I still just played with my friends for fun.

Tokyo FC huh? My team was Arsenal. It's a great team but... not many English people on the main team. They buy a lot of their players from other countries.

[Derek takes another sip of his drink.]

So being a professional soccer player was never an goal for you? When I was a kid I wanted to try out for the Aresenal Academy so I could be on the team someday. My mum didn't particularly like the idea.

Ahhhhh Arsenal.

[in the same sort of tone as those guys]

Yeah, which is kind of weird considering they're one of England's top teams. You'd think they'd do more to utilize local talent.

[Tatsuo chuckles at the mental image of little!Derek trying to convince his mum he wants to be a footballer]

You should have gone into sports medicine then. Then you could have been the doctor for Arsenal.

[Derek shook his head.]

Nah, sports medicine never interested me. I like working in oncology. It's a challenge I enjoy.

Ah, you should come over to my place on... I think It's August first. Aresenal is playing Chelsea. Its going to be a super intense game.

[Tatsuo raises his drink to the invitation]

I will totally come watch that.

[You know, there isn't much response to have to this that isn't just a mild "oh no" and moral support, and thankfully Cumore is capable of at least that much. So he'll join you, Derek, sure. Why not.]

Shall I call someone to prepare last rites, or do you think you'll manage to survive?

[Okay, so he's going to be kind of an ass about it still, because that's just what Alex does, but you know what we can't have everything.]

[Derek lets at a snort and shakes his head.]

I'm alive for now. But I swear if France wins you may need to call someone.

Don't worry, I'm all for supporting Croatia in these trying times.

[...That said, it's going to be a Night, so he's entirely here for buying some of this firewhiskey whatnot.]

That's the spirit.

[Derek waves a waiter down and asks for two firewhiskeys. They soon have their drinks and Derek slides one over to Cumore.]

Here you go Alex. Let's drink. Drink to England's defeat and to Croatia. That they may win and France will NOT gain another world cup title!

[Derek raises his glass and then starts chugging on his drink.]

[...Oh, god, this stuff is...interesting? He's not going to complain about it, drinking it now, but it's not what he's used to and he's going to be pacing himself a bit.]

Of course. Since Russia was taken out I'm solidly on team "anybody but France."

Edited 2018-07-15 16:24 (UTC)

[Embrace the firewhiskey Cumore, Derek is. One of the few things from Draco's world he actually really enjoys.]

Oh, you were supporting Russia? I'll admit the Russia vs Croatia game was a good one.

[Derek takes another swig of his drink.]

Would you like anything to eat? It's not good to drink on an empty stomach.

[Derek grabs a menu and shows it to Cumore. I would recommend the Turkey leg honestly. The beef pasties are shockingly small.

It's more a matter of familial loyalty than being a real fan of anything; my grandfather would kill me from beyond the grave if I were to support anyone else.

[So, yeah.]

How...acceptable is the shepherd's pie here, I'm curious.

[Derek looks at the item menu Cumore was inquiring about.]

Why the hell is there beef in it? It's shepherd's pie. Shepherd herd sheep, not cows. That is not a proper shepherd's pie.

[He shrugs.]

I've heard it done either way, really.

Well, I've heard some other guys in here says it's good. I haven't had it myself yet.

[Derek looks again at the menu.]

Hmmmm, I'm stuck between the Butterbeer Ice Cream and the Chocolate Trifle. I might just get both.

That...sounds both appalling and interesting, though I'm not sure I could do both - to each their own, I suppose.

What? You don't have a sweet tooth or something?

[Derek orders both the Butterbeer Ice Cream and the Chocolate Trifle. When both items are served, Derek asks for an extra spoon and hands it to Cumore.]

Try some with me.

[Derek pushes the ice cream toward Cumore.]

[He'll accept the spoon in an awkward, mildly perplexed sort of way, the kind of thing that implies he almost wants to protest but isn't going to.]

Ah...you're sure, then?

[...He will, granted, he just wasn't exactly expecting.]

[Derek takes his own spoon and scoops some of the ice cream onto it.]

Of course I'm sure!

[Sticking the spoon into his mouth, Derek's eyes close.]

Mmmmmmm

[He pulls out the spoon and uses it to point at the cup of ice cream.]

That stuff is good!

To say Derek is upset would be an understatement. To watch France defeat Croatia was the worst part of Derek's day. How? How Croatia!? Why did you do this to him? After watching the game, Derek walked over to the Three Broomsticks and sat down at a table, determined to drink himself into a complete mess. This is not a time to be sober. Many other NPC's from England seem to have similar feelings as the pub is populated with many somber UK citizens. He orders the Turkey leg dinner and firewhiskey, though he will absolutely be ordering more later. He sends of texts to many friends stating:

If anyone wants to complain about the Results of the World Cup with me, you can find me at The Three Broomsticks getting completely smashed.

In all honesty, someone might need to help Derek get home. If you do come across him the words coming out of his mouth will probably be along the lines of either:

"How could Croatia let them win!"

OR

"I can't believe France got another title!"

Edited 2018-07-16 05:19 (UTC)

[...You know, he kind of expected this to be not...great today, but still.

Either way, he'll rock up to the Three Broomsticks tonight as well, because FIFA is Serious Fucking Business, apparently.]

Well, I couldn't find seven priests, so I'm afraid I'll have to do for those last rites you requested. Are you going to be all right, or...?

All right?

[Derek shakes his head.]

The mortal enemy of my country just won the world cup. England hasn't won the cup since the 60's. This year we could have done. I'll admit, at the beginning of the competition I had reservations about whether England would even do well, but then they did! They were doing really well! However... it seems like the football gods refused us a victory. But WHY FRANCE!?!?!?

[Derek could you be any more dramatic?]

...I'm fairly sure you haven't been mortal enemies since Napoleon.

[Derek lets out a snort.]

Napoleon was an idiot. I mean, who invades Russia in the dead of winter?

Invading Russia at all tends not to go well, historically, but that's particularly stupid unless you want to be fighting on two fronts - against both the Russians and the winter itself.

Or the fact that Russia is HUGE! That's so much land to control if you invade it.

It is, though a fair amount of it isn't precisely the most habitable place in the world. A lot of mass, but it's nowhere near full-up with humanity.

Only because it's so fucking cold.

[Derek grabs one of the menus and starts looking at it.]

But Russia and how cold it is isn't the issue here, it'ts the fact France won and I'm distraught. Have you ever had mead before?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

An English Man Mourns [OPEN]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Sunday, July 16th @ The Three Broomsticks after France Wins

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject