[Fanfic] Chain of Freedom
Aug. 23rd, 2009 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoTitle: Chain of Freedom
Characters: The Baltic States
Rating: E for Everyone; no warning necessary
Summary: On August 23rd, 1989, approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain across the three Baltic States, uniting for independence and solidarity.
Chain of Freedom
They met in the park. It was raining. Beneath a tree they stood with their faces close together and their pale hands shoved in the pockets of their waterproof jackets. The slow, soft drone of the rain drowned out the sound of their speaking.
“Why are you getting cold feet now?” Estonia asked, his voice low and the question delivered gently.
Lithuania shook his head. “I’m just worried.” He saw Estonia raise an eyebrow, and he quickly added, “It’s a good idea, but anything could happen. A protest of this size...” He looked away, trailing off, the thought unable to fully form itself.
It was the same as every other time they had met to talk about the plan. The idea. The human chain linking the cities where their hearts rested. It would be an enormous show of protest, of defiance, but a fragile one, and every time they discussed it, one or two or all three would have doubts. Should it be done? It shouldn’t. It should.
Estonia leaned against the tree trunk and folded his arms over his chest, repeating the point he had made many times before. “At this size, I don’t think anything would happen. Not violence.”
“And we have everything to g-gain from it,” Latvia added. He stepped close to Estonia, showing his support. “The s-smaller protests are good, but not enough. I think.” He paused and nibbled his lower lip, trying to conjure up the right words. “We need to try something else.”
“Yes,” Estonia agreed. Lithuania sighed. Estonia watched him, certain that it would not take much to sway him. He continued, delivering the line he had kept in reserve, the one that would leave no doubts. “At this point the people have decided, and it’s too late to change it. They’re going to go on with it no matter if we’re actually there or not.”
All three of them were quiet. The rain continued to fall, hushed on the grass. Lithuania watched it come down, and Estonia and Latvia watched Lithuania. Though they knew what his reply would be there was still some sense of relief when he nodded and said, “Better to be there, then.”
“Yes.”
“For support. And in case something doesn’t... doesn’t work out,” Latvia said. He smiled nervously.
Lithuania said nothing. All three lingered on what those words implied, tense and worried and questioning. What if something happened? What if the protest was broken up? What if everything went according to plan? What if it did, but nothing came of it, and all the effort amounted to nothing? There was no need to voice the questions as each of them could sense what the other two was thinking, every one of them quietly running through the questions in his own mind.
The silence was broken by a rustling as Lithuania rummaged in his coat. He drew out a small piece of paper. “I received a goodwill message,” he said softly as he handed it to Latvia, who quickly read the contents then passed it on to Estonia.
It was written three times over, in Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian. It read simply, “Good luck. Stay strong.” Some of the words were not quite spelled correctly and the letters were uneven and shaky-looking as if the writer had done it with his non-dominant hand. The pale pink shade of the paper left little question as to its origin.
Estonia handed the note back to Lithuania, who wordlessly slipped it into his pocket.
“H-he has his own work too, doesn’t he,” Latvia said quietly.
“Yes. He does.”
When they dissolved to go their separate ways, it was with a renewed confidence and hope.
“Let’s get this done.”
“P-peacefully.”
“And hope something good comes out of it.”
They all nodded. That was how it would be.
Soon they left that spot, their heads full of images of what would happen. Protest and song and maybe even success. The date loomed close and they welcomed it.
Buses. Noise. Vehicles. People everywhere. The air in Tallinn hummed with voices and a movement that was direct, organized, and purposeful.
The salty air whispered with song. It wasn’t the first protest they had seen, but on this warm August day it seemed different. It was different. The wind itself sounded different.
Estonia drew in a deep breath. A breeze touched his hair, toyed with it, mumbled some lost message of hope in his ear, then moved on. The very ground beneath his feet seemed to tremble in anticipation of what was to come.
His people were around him. They were already singing. Good, he thought silently as he watched them. Go on. Sing so loudly they’ll hear you in Riga. In Vilnius. In Moscow.
In Riga the noise and movement was present too, a loud murmuring of people on foot, in vehicles, in buses. Latvia licked his lips and shoved his hands in the pockets of his light summer jacket.
The line would form soon, and he would be a part of it. The three of them had agreed on that. They would stand with their people. It was an uplifting thought, but his mind still lingered on the possibility of something untoward happening. The confident words he had spoken on that rainy day seemed to fall away in his head.
His insides twisted with nervousness.
Deep breaths. He tried to calm himself. It would be all right. As he looked up he saw that the sky was bright and the streets were full of people. His people. He breathed in and felt the unease wash away.
In Vilnius, slightly removed from the crowd, Lithuania watched. He listened. His language was on his people’s lips. His colours were in their hands. There were smiles on some faces, small ones, the kind characteristic of a people unaccustomed to doing it.
His own lips were drawn rather thinly. The anxiety he had felt days before still lingered. In spite of Estonia’s insistence that surely everything would go according to the plan, Lithuania still worried.
The message was still in his jacket pocket. For the tenth time that day Lithuania slipped it out, unfolded the endlessly-creased paper, and read over Poland’s message. “Good luck. Stay strong.” He remembered Latvia’s words. “He has his own work, too.” Yes, Lithuania thought. He did. They all did.
He looked up over the edge of the note. In front of him were his people. They moved together, acting with a purpose. With confidence. The line was forming.
Lithuania drew in a deep breath, folded the note over again, then went to join them.
It was August 23rd, 1989. It was 7 PM.
Hands joined and fingers knitted as two million people stood together.
Two million voices sang and made the air ring with hope.
Three nations united in a chain for one purpose.
Freedom.
The world listened.
Characters: The Baltic States
Rating: E for Everyone; no warning necessary
Summary: On August 23rd, 1989, approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain across the three Baltic States, uniting for independence and solidarity.
Chain of Freedom
They met in the park. It was raining. Beneath a tree they stood with their faces close together and their pale hands shoved in the pockets of their waterproof jackets. The slow, soft drone of the rain drowned out the sound of their speaking.
“Why are you getting cold feet now?” Estonia asked, his voice low and the question delivered gently.
Lithuania shook his head. “I’m just worried.” He saw Estonia raise an eyebrow, and he quickly added, “It’s a good idea, but anything could happen. A protest of this size...” He looked away, trailing off, the thought unable to fully form itself.
It was the same as every other time they had met to talk about the plan. The idea. The human chain linking the cities where their hearts rested. It would be an enormous show of protest, of defiance, but a fragile one, and every time they discussed it, one or two or all three would have doubts. Should it be done? It shouldn’t. It should.
Estonia leaned against the tree trunk and folded his arms over his chest, repeating the point he had made many times before. “At this size, I don’t think anything would happen. Not violence.”
“And we have everything to g-gain from it,” Latvia added. He stepped close to Estonia, showing his support. “The s-smaller protests are good, but not enough. I think.” He paused and nibbled his lower lip, trying to conjure up the right words. “We need to try something else.”
“Yes,” Estonia agreed. Lithuania sighed. Estonia watched him, certain that it would not take much to sway him. He continued, delivering the line he had kept in reserve, the one that would leave no doubts. “At this point the people have decided, and it’s too late to change it. They’re going to go on with it no matter if we’re actually there or not.”
All three of them were quiet. The rain continued to fall, hushed on the grass. Lithuania watched it come down, and Estonia and Latvia watched Lithuania. Though they knew what his reply would be there was still some sense of relief when he nodded and said, “Better to be there, then.”
“Yes.”
“For support. And in case something doesn’t... doesn’t work out,” Latvia said. He smiled nervously.
Lithuania said nothing. All three lingered on what those words implied, tense and worried and questioning. What if something happened? What if the protest was broken up? What if everything went according to plan? What if it did, but nothing came of it, and all the effort amounted to nothing? There was no need to voice the questions as each of them could sense what the other two was thinking, every one of them quietly running through the questions in his own mind.
The silence was broken by a rustling as Lithuania rummaged in his coat. He drew out a small piece of paper. “I received a goodwill message,” he said softly as he handed it to Latvia, who quickly read the contents then passed it on to Estonia.
It was written three times over, in Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian. It read simply, “Good luck. Stay strong.” Some of the words were not quite spelled correctly and the letters were uneven and shaky-looking as if the writer had done it with his non-dominant hand. The pale pink shade of the paper left little question as to its origin.
Estonia handed the note back to Lithuania, who wordlessly slipped it into his pocket.
“H-he has his own work too, doesn’t he,” Latvia said quietly.
“Yes. He does.”
When they dissolved to go their separate ways, it was with a renewed confidence and hope.
“Let’s get this done.”
“P-peacefully.”
“And hope something good comes out of it.”
They all nodded. That was how it would be.
Soon they left that spot, their heads full of images of what would happen. Protest and song and maybe even success. The date loomed close and they welcomed it.
Buses. Noise. Vehicles. People everywhere. The air in Tallinn hummed with voices and a movement that was direct, organized, and purposeful.
The salty air whispered with song. It wasn’t the first protest they had seen, but on this warm August day it seemed different. It was different. The wind itself sounded different.
Estonia drew in a deep breath. A breeze touched his hair, toyed with it, mumbled some lost message of hope in his ear, then moved on. The very ground beneath his feet seemed to tremble in anticipation of what was to come.
His people were around him. They were already singing. Good, he thought silently as he watched them. Go on. Sing so loudly they’ll hear you in Riga. In Vilnius. In Moscow.
In Riga the noise and movement was present too, a loud murmuring of people on foot, in vehicles, in buses. Latvia licked his lips and shoved his hands in the pockets of his light summer jacket.
The line would form soon, and he would be a part of it. The three of them had agreed on that. They would stand with their people. It was an uplifting thought, but his mind still lingered on the possibility of something untoward happening. The confident words he had spoken on that rainy day seemed to fall away in his head.
His insides twisted with nervousness.
Deep breaths. He tried to calm himself. It would be all right. As he looked up he saw that the sky was bright and the streets were full of people. His people. He breathed in and felt the unease wash away.
In Vilnius, slightly removed from the crowd, Lithuania watched. He listened. His language was on his people’s lips. His colours were in their hands. There were smiles on some faces, small ones, the kind characteristic of a people unaccustomed to doing it.
His own lips were drawn rather thinly. The anxiety he had felt days before still lingered. In spite of Estonia’s insistence that surely everything would go according to the plan, Lithuania still worried.
The message was still in his jacket pocket. For the tenth time that day Lithuania slipped it out, unfolded the endlessly-creased paper, and read over Poland’s message. “Good luck. Stay strong.” He remembered Latvia’s words. “He has his own work, too.” Yes, Lithuania thought. He did. They all did.
He looked up over the edge of the note. In front of him were his people. They moved together, acting with a purpose. With confidence. The line was forming.
Lithuania drew in a deep breath, folded the note over again, then went to join them.
It was August 23rd, 1989. It was 7 PM.
Hands joined and fingers knitted as two million people stood together.
Two million voices sang and made the air ring with hope.
Three nations united in a chain for one purpose.
Freedom.
The world listened.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 08:01 pm (UTC)Brought tears to my eyes
no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 08:05 pm (UTC)I've wanted to write something about this event for a very long time. Every time I read something about the Baltic Way, or the Singing Revolution in general, I just feel so amazed. People are incredible.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 08:11 pm (UTC)I really like the style and tone of this. It's very matter-of-fact. Almost simple, really, but very effective. Sort of underscoring the anxiety beforehand, but the knowledge that something must be done. (Or something like that. Brain can't quite articulate it the way I'd like at the moment, haha.) There's something both bold and delicate about it.
The ending was especially wonderful. Just that last line, "The world listened." I don't know...kind of sums it all up, in a way, I guess.
Just overall, a very beautiful piece. Thank you for sharing!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 08:26 pm (UTC)I am hoping that we will see some other fic on this subject. None yet today - but perhaps people are taking their time
I very much appreciate your commentary on style - I have not finished many things recently, so to hear that it was done well is very encouraging.
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Date: 2009-08-23 08:19 pm (UTC)I-It was all so beautiful, oh gosh.
I. Love. You. <3
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Date: 2009-08-23 08:34 pm (UTC)(This is one of my favourite historical events too... researching it for this story filled me with such happiness.)
no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 09:15 pm (UTC)This fandom needs more singing revolution fic, oh yes~
♥ Beautiful! ♥
Date: 2009-08-23 09:24 pm (UTC)<3!
Date: 2009-08-23 09:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 09:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 09:59 pm (UTC)If you're interested in this, if you have not done so already you might want to see the documentary The Singing Revolution, which is more specifically about the peaceful independence movement in Estonia.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 10:12 pm (UTC)*hugs the baltics* oh my Estonia, I am so proud of you^^
"Atmostas Baltija/Bunda jau Baltija/Ärgake Baltimaad" *goes singing that*
no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 12:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 11:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-23 11:45 pm (UTC)All your work to get this one written (and on time!) has paid off. It flows well and feels pleasantly uplifting.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 12:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 02:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 02:51 am (UTC)(Eee, Poland. I couldn't help but mention him - as there was quite a bit going on there, as well...)
Also, usually writing Latvia is more like LatviARRRRRRGH to me, because he's difficult for me to write, so I'm glad you seem to think I did okay with him here. <3
no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 03:23 am (UTC)(and LATVIAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH came out well!)
no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 06:46 am (UTC)Mostly I'm just glad it was finished in time <3
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Date: 2009-08-24 07:22 am (UTC)Eeee~~
I am so glad you enjoyed it. Reallyreally! The moment I learned about this event (many months ago) I just knew I had to write about it.
(If you're interested in learning more about all this, the wikipedia entries on the Singing Revolution and the Baltic Way are not too bad. And also the documentary The Singing Revolution, if you can get your hands on it.)
There's just something so amazing about using the power of fellowship and song to bring about social change *_*
no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 08:00 pm (UTC)I'm a huge fan of the Baltics, but haven't been writing much with them recently, so doing this was a lot of fun. <3
no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 09:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 07:47 pm (UTC)(Oh shush, you don't suck, people make mistakes!)
I know what you mean about the pathos thing. A little bit of it isn't so bad, but a lot of the time it's overdone. Too much! I do my best to find a balance - sometimes it's difficult, other times not.
You feel like writing something about Poland at this time? DO IT DO IT DO IT. 8D I simply had to put Poland in, because there was so much going on there and I wanted to make reference to that (though I do not know very much about what was happening there, actually).
Tik-tak-tik-tak, you, stop flattering me! *ruffle* Though I don't mind you bothering me to do it more, because writing this made me remember that I really really like writing them. Saaaaa, this fandom needs more Baltic genfic.
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Date: 2009-08-24 02:50 pm (UTC)This makes me a very happy (half)Estonian! <3
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Date: 2009-08-24 08:17 pm (UTC)What happened with the Singing Revolution was so incredible, and thinking about it gives me such a good feeling. It's amazing what people can do when they get together.
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Date: 2009-08-24 06:00 pm (UTC)This is amazing, enjoyed reading it very much. Have heard the story a thousand times but it never ceases to amaze me. You did a wonderful job. *salutes*
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Date: 2009-08-24 08:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-24 11:56 pm (UTC)Very glad you enjoyed it. <3
no subject
Date: 2009-08-25 04:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-25 11:01 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for this fanfiction, you are so great in writing Baltics - I see them exactly the same way as you :)
awwwww, I want to hug you now! D:
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 06:05 am (UTC)I'm so glad you enjoyed this. I was thinking about you in particular when I was writing it.
Your hugs are accepted, and returned, with much love~!
♥♥♥♥♥
Date: 2009-08-26 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 07:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 07:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-02 12:00 pm (UTC)I was six months old when this happened and my mum took me with her to stand in the chain. I wish I could have the memory of that, but I think this fic comes as close as possible to making me feel how it would have been like if I'd been old enough. Thank you!
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Date: 2010-02-25 12:47 am (UTC)Amazing~!
no subject
Date: 2010-02-25 12:58 am (UTC)