May 30, 2021
Someone: “What are you reading?”
Me clearly not reading Shakespeare: “hamlet, act two, scene two, line 194.”
seen from China
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seen from United States
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seen from Singapore
Someone: “What are you reading?”
Me clearly not reading Shakespeare: “hamlet, act two, scene two, line 194.”
Dear self-referred “shit stain” anon - I got your message. Duly noted.
That is apparently not Lili’s barrette in Cole’s hands. So, let the record reflect this change, everyone, and if you found joy in that idea, please return it, effective immediately. I appreciate your prompt attention to this very important matter.
Can I just say thank you? I am a huge fan of George DeValier, and reading your posts about him coming back really gives me hope. I know the Hetalia fandom isn't as popular as it once was, but it really makes my day when I see active fans still contributing their work.
^u^ You’re welcome! I really hope that one day he will come back. And there’s still some of us, lol. Maybe we have developed other interests that are shinier for the moment, but Hetalia will always hold a place in our heart.
Hi! Hope you're having a good day! If you don't mind me asking, why did George devalier stories had so much success? I read WMA, AWS and BS, and while they were nice stories, the characters were sweet, and they were truly well written, still I don't see how it became a cult. I mean maybe that's because some historical inaccuracies were really jarring for me, and maybe for other people they're not. I'm genuinely curious, and I really like your analysis so I hope this question won't offend you
Well this turned into a book. Lmfao.Before I get too deep into this so it’s not missed, would you please send me what you noticed as historical inaccuracies? I’m not much of a history buff myself (I’m a math/science person, and only more recently literature and even that it plot focused which is more like math to me anyway) so if you could point those out, I’d appreciate it. I haven’t noticed many myself, and that’s probably part of the answer to your question. Whatever historical inaccuracies there are, people generally aren’t noticing them.But, a series can have lots of flaws and people still love it. It’s about mass consumption, not each individual thing. No one is perfect either, so mistakes happen. Any sort of fame is about getting around issues that a majority would consider unassailable. The good points outweighing the bad points enough that people over look them easily. Talking success-wise, I think you hit on some of the points. The characters are relatable, which is highly attractive to many readers. If a reader can’t relate to the character somehow, they usually end up not caring. But another point on that is character diversity. That was one thing that stood out to me when I read deValier’s stories, was how well he could switch from one character to another and it flowed without effort. He wasn’t inserting himself or bending the characters to be what he wanted. The characters who they were and the story build off of that. Which is a separate point. In fanfiction, generally the more the author can keep to the original characters from the series, the better. Obviously, changing things is doable within reason (or because of a specific reason), but deValier kept most of the character qualities and simply put them in that time period. This was a big reason the ATLA movie was a flop. Not only did the characters change drastically from the animated series so that the part of the characters we loved were taken away, but that ended up having a huge effect on the theme too.Obviously, deValier’s grammar and whatnot were very good for fanfiction (beyond the occasional typo here and there, but again fanfiction, human error, and some mistakes are easily overlooked). It was clear he knew how to write and any errors were simply mistakes that anyone could make. It’s not like he didn’t know how to spell or where to separate quotes or other things that can be annoying.Then there was the plot/theme. To me, from what I’ve noticed in my writings, the plot is that thing that people don’t notice about a story that makes a huge difference. And this would be because it reaches from one cover to the other, so you have to sit back and reflect on the whole thing, or reread. But a good plot makes you want to reread. To see things you didn’t see the first time. A good theme makes people think about the story even after it’s over. Good themes bring up questions that people want answers to and will think about for ages.It’s kind of hard to define too, but I can sit here and say things like “Suicide Squad” had a terrible plot and I didn’t notice a theme (fun characters though), while “Lord of the Rings” had a great plot and an amazing theme. We can see it, but defining it is difficult. In my own writing, a good plot has seemed to come from having a focused theme on what the story is about (I’ll talk a bit about that later). Of course, there are some guidelines on when to have ups and downs, side plots, underlying themes, and I can talk about Midpoint Mirrors and whatnot till my face turns blue, but none of that comes easy without a focused subject. In AWS, it was a peace versus war kind of plot. Not quite that black and white, but you’ve got one super-nationalistic soldier and a boy who picks flowers and goes to the market...teaching the soldier how to love life. And the soldier teaches the boy how to grow up and deal with the world. It’s the sort of story that makes you think about life. And death. Same with WMA, except it looks are heroism, and how heroes aren’t really what we think they are. And it’s contrasted with a pub owner.But that one was one of his first, so I have a feeling if he rewrote, it would be better now. In BM, it’s the happy-go-lucky spy and the grumpy misunderstood wannabe hero that end up in a patience battle (they both have to wait extraordinary amounts of time for each other). And I wish that one would have been finished....One thing I’ve noticed in my writing, is that...you don’t need popular pairings...or sex scenes...or a lot of things that tend to make stories popular easily. Plots and themes have gotten me very far. One of my most popular stories has this random ass pairing, in a weird au, with no sex yet, but the plot is so good. It keeps me up at night thinking about how to weave it together and the consequences of everything. It’s exciting. And the focus of that one is how people want to change themselves constantly, and how in love it’s a fucking terrible idea. Lol. You NEED someone to love you for who you are! But it’s so hard to be who you are....And it shows that. It’s something I question myself constantly. Where’s the line between self-improvement and being yourself?? I’ve never once said it in the story, and I probably never will. But it makes me think. It makes the readers think. People want answers. And it keeps people guessing, wondering, wanting, needing....that’ how you draw people in. That’s what deValier managed to do in his stories too. The types of conflict he posed kept people NEEDING to know what happened next. And at the end, it was rewarded in a manner that people found pleasant. Because that’s something I see a lot too. The plot is great, but the ending is a flop. Or you were just expecting more...like Eragon. I LOVED the books but the ending was kind of a let down. It didn’t....resolve really. In LOTR, the same ending made sense, but in Eragon it didn’t.So let’s talk about the endings. In WMA, it’s exciting. The supposedly dead hero is alive and right around the corner. But their reunion is complicated by the possibility that Alfred is going home. And there’s pain we can understand. Not wanting to face a brutal reality and instead avoiding it until it becomes unavoidable. All the way until the end, there’s things that could ruin it, but the readers are rewarded with snippets of their happy lives and all the pain beforehand makes the happiness that much more brilliant.In AWS, again, up until the end things go wrong, people are presumed dead, then they’re injured, then there’s a problem with their romantic life afterwards. But at long last, the readers are rewarded with very touching scenes. And rewarded in a realistic way. And we get to see the characters from WMA and it makes us feel like there’s closure. For those characters at least. The endings were never a given throughout the story. It could have ended so differently. And in real life, it usually does. But that’s why I think people tend to turn to fiction (and naturally why people prefer happy endings). It’s escape for the masses and deValier’s functions as such. But those endings played off of the stories themes. At the end of AWS, they live together and are at peace as opposed to their being separated and at war. In WMA, again separation that makes the ruinion sweeter, but there’s acceptance from the world which was important for Arthur. And there are pieces that show that Alfred has learned that being a hero isn’t as important as being loved. We get to see their major conflicts resolved. And it wraps the stories up very well.So that’s why I think deValier’s works became so popular. There were a lot of parts that a lot of fanfiction authors can’t always pull off, but he did it so well. And a lot of those parts were tied together to enhance the experience. He had so much going for his stories, most of the things that could be criticized were easily overlooked or went unnoticed completely. At the same time, there are probably other stories out there that deserve just as much attention but will never get it. Fame is weird like that....Also, please don’t forget to tell me what historical inaccuracies you noticed. I’m very curious.
Do you think that George DeValier will ever update Bèsame Mucho and Lily of the Lamplight and all the others? On his old bio he said something like: "I promise, I will complete them all". Do you think he'll keep his promise...?
I hope you don’t mind if I publish this. If you want it taken down, let me know.
I think the chances are 70/30 in favor of him coming back. Largely because it’s very clear that he does love these stories. I’m not sure what happened, but sometimes life gets in the way, but throughout the years, I’ve found that I tend to come back to things that I really enjoy. And he even says that he’d want to finish them one day if he can. Sometimes it takes us years. Sometimes we have to re-discover our motivations or desires. Sometimes we have to get life out of the way and THEN re-discover motivation. Sometimes it just takes time. After writing my own fanfiction, I’ve run into the same sort of block. I wrote a lot in a short span of time. Then I slowed down. Now it’s been almost a year since I’ve written anything. But I still think about my stories every day. Also, it’s worth mentioning, the easiest time to write is directly after the idea comes to you. If you miss that window, it becomes increasingly difficult to come back to. Not impossible, but the ideas fade. The excitement fades. The motivation fades.If life has taught me anything, it’s that people tend to think or react the same way you do. They just have different circumstances that led to their decisions. So I’m fairly sure he thinks about his stories and how many lives he’s affected. Now it’s just a matter of whether or not he can find the motivation put in the effort again to finish them. It’s possible, and I think even probable. Don’t blame him. Life happens. Motivation is fleeting. And remember, it takes a lot to admit a promise has been broken. Don’t fault him for making a promise and potentially breaking it. He has apologized. And that’s the best any person can be expected of. He has done his due diligence for his fans. Now, we can only hope, create for ourselves, and wait.
Hello, I was reading the anon message about the Veravers success, and I was wondering if he/she send you another message with the historical inaccurancies, because I'm also Italian and I did not found mistakes in the WW2 stories. I also believe that deValier knows much about WW2 comparing to many Italians here. I'm genuinely curious...
They actually sent me 9 messages with detailed inaccuracies. I’m going to fact check everything and link what I find at some point along with all of their messages, so you’ll be able to see it later (although it may take me a bit, there’s a lot going on for me right now...).The anon also seems to have an interest in history, and to be fair, one of the things they sent I DID find later, I just didn’t put everything together/didn’t find it concerning. They were easy to miss in general I think, but being Italian might have afforded them a little bit easier access or more curiosity or something. Maybe it’s something you can help with by explaining what you were thinking when I do get around to posting (on anon or through comments or however you’re comfortable), because sometimes things like this can be explained away with other information (despite whether they were mistakes or intentional by the author). A lot of times I’ll see theories where one person had a concern, but it’s not something I had ever considered because I explained it differently or thought of it differently or something. But, I need to do my research first. Understand everything they’re talking about. Then we can talk. =D
Hey guys! I only just discovered this blog but it is SO AMAZING!! Are you still active for the most part?
We are as active as we can be, which unfortunately isn’t as frequent anymore. Oz has been really sick for a good part of the year, and U.S. has been moving with a new job. But we’re still here when we can be!
When you get this, please respond with five things that make you happy! Then, send to the last ten people in your notifs 🌻
My baby butt boy, Tater (doggo)
Walking through cromchy leaves in the fall
Sitting with a mug of hot chocolate on a rainy/snowy day
Sunlight in general but also got a suncatcher at a festival recently and it's lovely
Making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with the kid