Normally I never read fanfics, but I heard this one was very popular amongst the Hetalia fandom, so I gave it a try and it did not disappoint. The way love is portrayed so beautifully! I love the symbolic meaning of the songs “Auf wiedersehen, sweetheart” and “Bella ciao” and how it is very well written in the story. But there are a few flaws throughout the book, and also some points I have critique over.
Firstly, its historically inaccurate. In the time this story takes place, Italy was occupied by Germany and German soldiers refrained from speaking to Italian citizens. But the story starts with a German soldier shouting to Feliciano, which results in Ludwig and Feliciano meeting. So if this story was historically accurate, nothing would actually happen.
Secondly, this is my opinion, but I do not like the side couples. I get that this fanfic was made in 2010, and the fandom may had different opinions then, but I still find this odd. The main side couple is Antonio x Lovino, who have an obvious father-son dynamic in the show. This is the same for Alfred x Arthur, there are multiple scenes where one can see that Arthur is portrayed as an adult and Alfred a child. Regardless, I did not really mind them because they have a 2-4 year age gap. There is a scene where Roderich mentioned Gilbert, only for a brief moment, but it was made clear they are lovers. At the time this was written, it was not confirmed yet that Ludwig and Roderich are cousins, making Gilbert and Roderich cousins too. Luckily this couple is not of importance for the story, so its not a big problem.
Thirdly, the way it is written has some flaws. I have noticed the use of “… and … and …” is overused and not grammatically correct. That is my only complaint.
This story is so heartwarming but also so heartbreaking. I feel so bad for Ludwig, Antonio and Alfred, they did not deserve going through that😭I admit I cried a lot, and every time Feliciano begs Ludwig to stay I sympathize with him. I love forbidden relationship stories, and it was portrayed so well in this fanfic. The emotions are written so well, you can clearly read Feliciano and Ludwigs love for each other. I am not disappointed with the bittersweet ending!
“The moment we met, I saw it. I saw you. You are such a wonderfully kind person, but you don't want anyone to know it. You have secret depths of passion that you hide within yourself out of fear. You love too deeply, but you try to deny it, because you know that the deeper you love, the more you hurt. Your heart is so fragile, which is why you keep it locked in an iron cage. But I am pretty sure that this cage has a lock. And if it takes me five years, or ten, or fifty… I am determined to find the key. Because I will never break something so precious, just to find out what is inside. I could give you a thousand words, and describe you a thousand ways. But in the end it is very simple. I want you because I love you. No one else. You are the only one. You are my only one.”
“You'd wait that long?”
“Forever, mi corazón.”
Bonus: I loved reading the characters dialoge’s in their accents!!
4,5⭐️