Off the Boat (interlude)
anonymous
November 26 2010, 04:45:50 UTC
Dear Polska,
I hope this letter finds you well.
I have safely arrived at America's house. It's very large, although not as large as Russia's home, and much warmer. The room he provided me with overlooks the garden. It's very well-tended [something is scribbled out here]. Much of it is pink with pansies. I guess they grow very well on their own in this climate!
America enjoys modern appliances. He drove me to his house in an automobile, which he says he bought at a very reasonable price. I saw several autos like his on the road here, so they must be quite affordable. He has a refrigerator! The bathroom is equipped with a sink, toilet, and bathtub all in one room. I took a bath this morning and was surprised that hot water ran almost immediately. It is quite remarkable and I look forward to having conveniences like this back at home, someday.
Most of America's food is canned. Tonight wants me to cook but he didn't say what and I don't know any American dishes. I hope I can find a dish to make with what's here because I don't know the way to the market, or if it's too far to walk.
I dearly miss Vilnius. Speaking of which, you should give that back.
Sincerely,
Lietuvos
Lithuania reads and rereads the letter, then folds it in thirds and hides it in his Lithuanian cookbook. His boss will be angry with him if he sends the letter. Lithuania is pretty sure he'll be angry with himself if he sends the letter.
He's not talking to Poland, he reminds himself.
Maybe he should rewrite it in Lithuanian just to remind Poland that Lithuania has his own language, after all.
Lithuania declared its independence from Russia in 1918, and in 1920 Poland invaded and occupied Vilnius, which it called Wilno. Lithuania, whose military was weak from Russian occupation, basically had no way to protest this except to give Poland the silent treatment. Diplomatic relations weren't re-established until 1938 - at Polish demand in response to German pressure. We all know what happened next.
Much is made of the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth in the fandom, but it's worth noting that Lithuania was gradually oppressed despite their combined military might. In the way of colonization, Polish was the language of the rich and Lithuanian was only spoken by the poor. Books were published in Polish, Russian, German, or Latin, not Lithuanian. And then the Russian Empire proceeded to continue to stamp out the Lithuanian language. In the 1800's it only survived due to book smuggling.
Lithuania's history really is one of one occupation to another, even at the height of its empire. Poor guy. *hugs him*
Re: Off the Boat (interlude)
anonymous
November 26 2010, 07:16:16 UTC
I dearly miss Vilnius. Speaking of which, you should give that back.
... Am I a horrible person for actually cracking up at that? (Way to go for actually remembering that Lithuania and Poland weren't in speaking terms at the time, btw.)
Whoah, you actually included a bilingual pun. :D I never really expect people to use the more "obscure" languages in fics so I'm always pleasantly surprised.
I love America, he's so cute and IC. <3
I didn't know Russian coffee was especially strong... I thought they drink more tea. Or did you just mean it as in strong for Russian? Or is it just that I didn't know? xD; Not that I'm an expert in Russia or anything, never even been there despite living like 250km from its border. (I really need to visit one of these days...)
writer!anon
anonymous
November 28 2010, 06:06:38 UTC
=D I'm glad you enjoyed the pun! When I read the pronunciation of 'Aciu' I was highly amused and couldn't resist. Regarding Poland and Lithuania not being on speaking terms: I thought I would have a few parts of this fic dedicated to that diplomatic fiasco, but when I found out Poland invaded Lithuania so early on in their independence I was shocked! I thought it happened in the mid-20's.
I don't know anything about Russian coffee and completely made assumptions that they even had coffee. There's a complete dearth of information regarding the living conditions in Russia during the Soviet regime. However, I'm sure that Russia did not have Maxwell House (lol) and probably had different grinding methods so the coffee would taste very different from American coffee. So, yeah, I'm definitely not the end-all-be-all of knowledge on this ... sorry if it was misleading. :( Also for rambling at length here, er.
Re: Off the Boat (interlude)
anonymous
November 26 2010, 09:35:46 UTC
Ahaha, I seriously had a gleegasm at the Lithuanian-English pun. xD And "I dearly miss Vilnius. Speaking of which, you should give that back" was gleegasm number 2. Seriously anon, you're not making my language and history geek attacks any better.
I feel so bad for Liet, I hate that uncertain feeling when you don't know where the boundaries are. And it's worse for him, because he doesn't know that America has no boundaries. xP
I never knew that the Lithuanian language wouldn't have survived but for book smuggling! I must try harder to understand its insane awesome Baltic grammar system.
Re: Off the Boat (interlude)
anonymous
November 26 2010, 12:38:01 UTC
I think this fill is excellent. It's one of my favorite currently on-going on the meme and after a drought where nothing perked my interest, I can't begin to tell you how welcome it is. Your charecterization is spot-on with America - friendly, eager, intelligent, and yet still so young and naive. You also really make us feel for Lithuania, and I very much appreciate all the research into little things like the pun and so on. Also, the feel of the environment is perfect and I love that. I love the details about things like the new fridge and so on; historical setting details like that are a huge kink for me!
Re: Off the Boat (interlude)
anonymous
November 26 2010, 13:25:53 UTC
Oh my God, this whole fic just keeps getting better and better! Seriously, your characterisation of Liet is so spot on that I think I'm gonna throw a party. And you've put so much THOUGHT into it.
I continue to check daily for updates and you have my undying admiration, anon.
Re: Off the Boat (interlude)
anonymous
November 26 2010, 13:47:10 UTC
Ye gods, the horrible horrible bilingual pun. Much love for that, anon. <3
And love in general for America being so good-humoured and friendly and completely oblivious to any clues that Lithuania might not be taking things the same way.
I hope this letter finds you well.
I have safely arrived at America's house. It's very large, although not as large as Russia's home, and much warmer. The room he provided me with overlooks the garden. It's very well-tended [something is scribbled out here]. Much of it is pink with pansies. I guess they grow very well on their own in this climate!
America enjoys modern appliances. He drove me to his house in an automobile, which he says he bought at a very reasonable price. I saw several autos like his on the road here, so they must be quite affordable. He has a refrigerator! The bathroom is equipped with a sink, toilet, and bathtub all in one room. I took a bath this morning and was surprised that hot water ran almost immediately. It is quite remarkable and I look forward to having conveniences like this back at home, someday.
Most of America's food is canned. Tonight wants me to cook but he didn't say what and I don't know any American dishes. I hope I can find a dish to make with what's here because I don't know the way to the market, or if it's too far to walk.
I dearly miss Vilnius. Speaking of which, you should give that back.
Sincerely,
Lietuvos
Lithuania reads and rereads the letter, then folds it in thirds and hides it in his Lithuanian cookbook. His boss will be angry with him if he sends the letter. Lithuania is pretty sure he'll be angry with himself if he sends the letter.
He's not talking to Poland, he reminds himself.
Maybe he should rewrite it in Lithuanian just to remind Poland that Lithuania has his own language, after all.
Lithuania declared its independence from Russia in 1918, and in 1920 Poland invaded and occupied Vilnius, which it called Wilno. Lithuania, whose military was weak from Russian occupation, basically had no way to protest this except to give Poland the silent treatment. Diplomatic relations weren't re-established until 1938 - at Polish demand in response to German pressure. We all know what happened next.
Much is made of the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth in the fandom, but it's worth noting that Lithuania was gradually oppressed despite their combined military might. In the way of colonization, Polish was the language of the rich and Lithuanian was only spoken by the poor. Books were published in Polish, Russian, German, or Latin, not Lithuanian. And then the Russian Empire proceeded to continue to stamp out the Lithuanian language. In the 1800's it only survived due to book smuggling.
Lithuania's history really is one of one occupation to another, even at the height of its empire. Poor guy. *hugs him*
Reply
... Am I a horrible person for actually cracking up at that? (Way to go for actually remembering that Lithuania and Poland weren't in speaking terms at the time, btw.)
Whoah, you actually included a bilingual pun. :D I never really expect people to use the more "obscure" languages in fics so I'm always pleasantly surprised.
I love America, he's so cute and IC. <3
I didn't know Russian coffee was especially strong... I thought they drink more tea. Or did you just mean it as in strong for Russian? Or is it just that I didn't know? xD; Not that I'm an expert in Russia or anything, never even been there despite living like 250km from its border. (I really need to visit one of these days...)
Reply
I don't know anything about Russian coffee and completely made assumptions that they even had coffee. There's a complete dearth of information regarding the living conditions in Russia during the Soviet regime. However, I'm sure that Russia did not have Maxwell House (lol) and probably had different grinding methods so the coffee would taste very different from American coffee. So, yeah, I'm definitely not the end-all-be-all of knowledge on this ... sorry if it was misleading. :( Also for rambling at length here, er.
I'm glad you're enjoying this!
Reply
I feel so bad for Liet, I hate that uncertain feeling when you don't know where the boundaries are. And it's worse for him, because he doesn't know that America has no boundaries. xP
I never knew that the Lithuanian language wouldn't have survived but for book smuggling! I must try harder to understand its insane awesome Baltic grammar system.
Reply
Looking forward to the next part!
Reply
I continue to check daily for updates and you have my undying admiration, anon.
Reply
And love in general for America being so good-humoured and friendly and completely oblivious to any clues that Lithuania might not be taking things the same way.
Reply
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