Jer Er Veldig Tapt [America]

[atrb=border,2,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style, background: url(http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i473/shahal_sparda/Rp/norway.png) center bottom no-repeat; outline: 3px double #0b2146; width: 500px; height: 540x; padding: 0px;, bTable] In hindsight, Norway would have wished he'd sayed in America for longer. His people would soon grow dissatisfied with what power Sweden had given him. Though the Union was strongest now, Norway still resented the Swede. Denmark had given him independence and then almost immediately, Sweden had invaded. Norway thought, and rightfully so, that Sweden only wanted a replacement Finland. Three hundred years under Denmark's rule and he was to spend just short of another hundred under Sweden. To the Swede's credit, Norway had been treated well. He could have his own parliament, but Sweden was in charge of all the really important stuff and Norway had to swear fealty to the Swedish king. For the first time in what felt like forever, Norway was allowed to accompany a merchant ship to America. In 1801, Norway had visited the young nation as an envoy for Denmark. Now, he would have the opportunity to spend more time in the USA than before and properly tour the country. Compared to himself, America was just an infant, but the young American had something Norway yearned for--independence. The Norwegian was only about sixteen or seventeen in physical appearance, but had been around since roughly 600AD. Norway had been on the ship for nearly two months and was rapidly growing weary of the Atlantic Ocean. He loved boats and sailing and considered water to be his favored element, but two months of nothing but water was taxing even on the most enthusiastic. Bad weather had slowed the voyage and at one point, some rigging had come loose. No ordinary sailor was willing to scale the mast to retrieve the wildly swinging rope, but Norway did so without hesitation. The Norwegian had almost nothing to lose. If he fell, he wouldn't die and even if he landed in the water, Norway could always use magic to keep himself from cracking like a peanut in the fall. Though no one knew it, Norway had been working on boats for over a thousand years and certainly knew how to keep himself safe even in bad weather. It was roughly midmorning when land first came into view. The plan was to dock at New York Harbor, unload supplies, and do business with the Americans. The company Norway was travelling with had some connections in the colony, but America was hardly a major importer or exporter of Swedish goods. To everyone on the ship, Norway was simply Sigurd Thomasson, a friend of Lord Oxenstierna. Thinking back, one of the first things Sweden forced Norway to do was learn Swedish. The transition was rough at times and actually practicing the language was difficult given the nature of the two nations, but Norway finally learned Swedish to fluency. One of the merchants on board approached Norway, almost hesitant to start a conversation with the quiet and stoic passenger. "Ahem, god morgon, Herr Sigurd Thomasson. Hur har du det?" "Bra, tack." The merchant wandered off; it was clear that the Norwegian had no interest in conversing. Norway remained standing on the foredeck, watching as land grew ever nearer. The ship anchored a slight distance off from the New York Harbor for the night before docking in the morning. Norway made himself useful in helping unload cargo and helped translate a bit between English and Swedish. Officially, Norway wasn't bound to the merchants. As soon as everything was under control, Norway struck off on his own. He had a small pouch of various Swedish riksdaler hidden in his clothes as well as his ID papers. Lodging was still an issue, but Norway could worry about it later. For now, he only wanted to explore New York on foot. Some of the American citizens noticed how lost and grave Norway looked, but always seemed a little surprised by how flawless his English was with only the slightest hint of a Danish or Swedish accent. His clothes also set him apart as Norway had chosen to wear fine European clothing, the same sort he would wear in Stockholm. From a glance, it was obvious that Norway had money. As time passed, the Norwegian found himself feeling quite peckish. It only then dawned on him that he had forgotten to eat breakfast and it was now time for dinner. Norway's plan was to go back to the docks, figure out what his companions were doing, and possibly join them. However, New York was confusing to navigate and Norway had no idea how to get back. In his mind, the whole place all looked the same and he was reluctant to ask for help. An unamiable aura kept most people away. [style=padding: 0px 10px; font-size: smaller;] Date: September 1857 Location: New York, USA Music: None Notes: Title- I am very lost [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style,width: 460px; background-color: #f7f7f7; padding: 8px;] [STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 35px; color: 525252; letter-spacing: -5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: left; line-height: 24px;]YOU GET SOME RIGHT[/style] [STYLE=background-color: 525252; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 1px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 10px; color: AFD4E3; padding: 1px;]YOU GET SOME WRONG[/style] [STYLE=background: url(http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/Stoopid_Muffin/Alfred%20F%20Jones/j9na50.png); height: 100px; width: 100px; border-bottom-right-radius: 60px; -moz-border-radius-bottomrightborder: 60px; border-bottom-left-radius: 60px; -moz-border-radius-bottomleftborder: 60px; border: 5px solid #525252; margin-top: -6px; float: left;] [/style] [STYLE=color: padding: 16px; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: justify; color: 7D9199; background-color: EDEDED; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-bottomrightborder: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-bottomleftborder: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-toprightborder: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-topleftborder: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 130px; width: 300px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #D6D6D6;]✔ tag: Norway ✔ notes: Sorry this took so long to get up. ✗ lyrics: someday by U-KISS ✗ credits: rayah! of BTN![/style] [STYLE=font-family: georgia; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; color: 79A3B5; border-bottom: 1px solid #DEDEDE; text-align: center;]SOMETIMES HIT, SOMETIMES MISS, IT'S ALWAYS LIKE THAT...[/style] [STYLE=font-family: verdana; font-size: 9px; background-color: EDEDED; text-align: justify; color: 808080; padding: 7px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #D6D6D6;]It said something about Alfred's development, that Alfred was the same physical age as Sigurd despite only having been around for a fraction of the time. Where European affairs were concerned, Alfred largely stayed out of it. It wasn't to say that Alfred didn't have his share of altercations, just that most of them were contained to the Western side of the Atlantic. Even most European nations he'd been in contact with as of late came to him, rather than him to them. The war with Teresa was over, though matters were still tense between the two. As of that moment, Alfred was involved in relatively few international matters, but domestic matters more than made up for that. The recent financial panic was having a peculiar effect on Alfred. He was starting to feel under the weather along with the others, but something wasn't quite right about it. Normally, when a financial downturn hit, it affected an entire country. Alfred knew that sectionalism was becoming a concern, but just how bad the situation was becoming wasn't clear to him until recently. The southern states were scarcely affected by the downswing, while the northern states were struggling. He had not seen such a division since before he became a nation. It made him uneasy. It wasn't supposed to be this way. There was something not right. His illness should have been uniform, as it would have been in the past. Instead, his symptoms worsened in the northern states, and lessened the moment he entered a state where cotton was the major industry. Hopefully it would all blow over. Both the financial troubles and the increasingly apparent division between the northern and southern states. It always had in the past (though compromises usually had to be made on either side, much to the chagrin of both sides). As Alfred was currently staying in New York City, he felt the general malaise associated with the current economic environment. Nevertheless, he couldn't turn down a trip to one of his proudest cities, even if he did feel a little under the weather. He was proud of Theo's progress, and though Alfred had yet to meet with him during this particular stay, he planned on informing the city. This particular day, Alfred decided to do a little people watching. There wasn't much else for him to do, not until he found Theo or Johnny, so why not mingle amongst his citizens? Near the harbor, Alfred found someone who seemed unmistakably...out of lace. On one hand, this was not entirely unusual - or at least it would not have been if this man did not seem familiar. It wasn't the vague familiarity that he felt around his citizens either - no, he knew he'd met this other young man in person. He was also pretty certain it wasn't recently, at least in human terms. Alfred wasn't expecting any foreign visitors, but that didn't mean this wasn't a surprise visit. He certainly wasn't expecting Erin to turn up and stay with him for five years in the 1840s. While he wasn't quite sure who this mystery person was (they'd only met once before, and that was over half a century prior), he head over nonetheless. The least he could do was offer the guy some help. Plus that way he could get a closer look! Alfred would look a bit different from what Norway recalled. His face was a little less rounded, and a pair of spectacles sat atop the bridge of his nose. The differences were small, yet still noticeable. "Hey there!" Alfred called out at once as he approached, a big friendly grin on his face. "You're look a little lost...can I help you find where you're going?" Alfred knew New York pretty well, after all - as one of his largest and fastest growing cities, he spent a lot of time there. That and, well, it was his. The closer look did the trick, as Alfred was able to place the foreigner's features much easier with this narrow distance. "Norway?" He questioned in a much lower voice than before.[/style]

[atrb=border,2,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style, background: url(http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i473/shahal_sparda/Rp/norway.png) center bottom no-repeat; outline: 3px double #0b2146; width: 500px; height: 540x; padding: 0px;, bTable] Norway didn’t really notice the economic hardship the nation was facing nor did he realize that social issues were boiling just under the surface. New York was still a sight to behold and the amount of activity astounded the European who really had never gotten much of a chance to explore Stockholm. Mountains inhibited the ability of his people to populate the area and all the major cities were near bodies of water. Still, even Oslo and Bergen lacked the sheer population found in New York. Norway could barely comprehend how people lived here. He was so absorbed in taking in the wonders of the city despite how lost he was to notice America’s approach. If it was in his nature to jump at sudden sounds, Norway would have jumped a solid ten meters. Instead, he calmly turned and tried to look like he was already bored with America’s presence and that New York had nothing Sweden didn’t already have. “Good day, sir. Ja, this is Norge. America, I presume? And…I’m not lost. A little turned around, but not lost. I was simply supposed to meet some fellow Swedes by the docks for the midday meal.” Without further ado, the Norwegian marched off. Except, the direction he was headed was away from the harbor, not towards it. A small child had been watching Norway for quite some time from the shadows. When the Norwegian passed by his hiding spot, the child darted forward, a small knife in hand. Even though Norway’s silk purse was technically under his shirt, the bottom part was exposed from time to time while Norway kept walking. The blade cleanly cut through the fabric, but no coins fell out. The pickpocket tried again and still no coins dropped to the pavement. For that matter, nothing fell out of the purse. Norway didn’t even notice the thief. For a third time, the knife blade flashed forward to cut at the purse and still nothing. Only on closer inspection would anyone have realized that the purse was still completely intact despite having been cut thrice. The Norwegian abruptly turned and grabbed the child by the ear, evoking a yelp form the child who was both surprised by the agility of the Norwegian and in pain. “You ungrateful worm! Did your mother not teach you morals and ethics? Stealing from a guest to his humble city, how pathetic. If you were in my country, I would have you beheaded for stealing! And quit squeaking like a mouse! It’s pathetic. I should haul you to the municipal law enforcement and let them deal with you, but since you took nothing that belonged to me, I’ll let you go with a warning. Don’t try it again or I will turn you in.” Norway was about to let go the simpering child, but tightened his grip suddenly. “On second thought, give me your knife. You won’t need it anymore. You will not steal again, understand?” The child nodded and handed over the knife which Norway took. He then released the child and watched it scamper away down the street and disappear down a small side street. Sure, he might have overreacted a little, but Norway believed that it was better to frighten youth into submission fiercely once so that further reprimand could be avoided. The Ice King showed emotion for one of the few times in his several centuries of existence. He didn’t really care that now, most everyone on the street was staring at him. Public humiliation was always a good way to deter people from repeating offenses of one kind or another. As to whether America saw that or not, Norway neither knew nor cared. [style=padding: 0px 10px; font-size: smaller;] Date: September 1857 Location: New York, USA Music: None Notes: [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style,width: 460px; background-color: #f7f7f7; padding: 8px;] [STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 35px; color: 525252; letter-spacing: -5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: left; line-height: 24px;]YOU GET SOME RIGHT[/style] [STYLE=background-color: 525252; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 1px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 10px; color: AFD4E3; padding: 1px;]YOU GET SOME WRONG[/style] [STYLE=background: url(http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/Stoopid_Muffin/Alfred%20F%20Jones/j9na50.png); height: 100px; width: 100px; border-bottom-right-radius: 60px; -moz-border-radius-bottomrightborder: 60px; border-bottom-left-radius: 60px; -moz-border-radius-bottomleftborder: 60px; border: 5px solid #525252; margin-top: -6px; float: left;] [/style] [STYLE=color: padding: 16px; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: justify; color: 7D9199; background-color: EDEDED; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-bottomrightborder: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-bottomleftborder: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-toprightborder: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius-topleftborder: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 130px; width: 300px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #D6D6D6;]✔ tag: Norway ✔ notes: Sorry this took so long to get up. ✗ lyrics: someday by U-KISS ✗ credits: rayah! of BTN![/style] [STYLE=font-family: georgia; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; color: 79A3B5; border-bottom: 1px solid #DEDEDE; text-align: center;]SOMETIMES HIT, SOMETIMES MISS, IT'S ALWAYS LIKE THAT...[/style] [STYLE=font-family: verdana; font-size: 9px; background-color: EDEDED; text-align: justify; color: 808080; padding: 7px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #D6D6D6;]Hearing that Norway was not lost, Alfred just shrugged. Maybe he'd already been shown the way around. Maybe he'd already met up with Theo and/or Johnny. It wasn't all that inconceivable that Sigurd would already know his way around. His words, however, suggested a different story entirely. So, he was supposed to meet others at the docks? Then why was he headed in opposite direction of the docks? Alfred couldn't help but grin. A little turned around indeed. Maybe he was needed around here after all. The young nation turned to follow the other at once. As his view was blocked by a few others walking between them, Alfred did not see the pickpocket's first couple of attempts at trying to steal from the other nation. He noticed the third time, starting forward at once, but stopping when he saw Sigurd take matters into his own hands. He watched as Norway admonished the child from the sidelines. He wouldn't step in unless Sigurd showed signs of seriously harming the kid. Telling the child off, that was fine by him. Another nation intentionally causing serious harm to a citizen, especially a child, was an entirely different matter. The kid might have been engaging in a criminal act, but he was still one of Alfred's citizens. If the matter came to blows, Alfred would have to step in between the child and Sigurd, and then things would likely get complicated. Fortunately, the boy ran off after giving Sigurd his knife. Alfred did not know exactly what was said, but he had a feeling that boy wouldn't be pickpocketing again any time soon. Temporarily distracted by the scene that unfolded, Alfred very nearly forgot the reason that he was tailing Sigurd in the first place. The blond approached once he was certain that the ordeal was over. The people who'd stopped to watch the goings on were starting to go their separate ways once more. "I thought you said you were headed for the docks?" Alfred inquired, knowing full well that Sigurd was going in the entirely wrong direction if he wanted to head to the docks. He had a friendly smile on his face, but there was a hint of amusement playing in his eyes. Norway might have claimed that he wasn't lost, but it was pretty darn obvious that he was! "You might wanna head in this direction if so." Alfred pointed behind where the two of them were standing. "I'll just take you there. If you don't know New York that well, it's too easy to get lost if you don't have someone with you." It was a big city, after all, and Alfred knew it. He was proud of it too. He could still recall England telling him about London when he was still a colony, and how London had 500,000 people in it. Alfred could remember how impressed he'd been at that point, and how he'd hoped he would have cities that big some day. New York was becoming quite the large city itself. It measured a population of over 500,000 in 1850, and, by 1860, would show a population of over 800,000 on the census. Alfred knew just how much his city was growing, and it made him almost jittery with excitement. However, it also made him aware that visitors might find it hard to navigate, what with how much it was changing and growing. Hell, even he was caught surprise occasionally by new sights in the city, if he hadn't visited in a while (though he never got lost).[/style]