Omg Ella you’re so lucky for needing such a little amount of sleep… Not many people could go on for more than a week on 3-5 hours of sleep, they would physically collapse. Even if you feel exhausted (so you would actually need a bit more than 3-5 hours) if you can manage it for the entire school year it still means that you need fewer hours of sleep than a normal person. I’m so envious of you, that’s like having 2 more hours every day to accomplish stuff, I would kill for that…
It’s not as cracked out as it seems to be. Plenty students that I know, especially in the health sciences and maths, get around 3-4 hours of sleep when they’re in Uni.
Not sleeping comes at a costly price. I constantly get headaches and sometimes have trouble concentrating.. Working out daily helps, but it also makes me more tired several hours later. Point is, it could go either way. If I’m tired, staying up longer has no effect on how productive I am, since completing tasks take longer. My advice to you would to focus on completing as much as you can without sacrificing quality.
I think it’s my determination and sheer stubbornness that keeps me going, otherwise this school-hobby balance would be completely unsustainable. I could can home completely exhausted, but as soon as I open this blog, it feels as if I’m wide awake. Weird, huh?
Note: This post
makes the assumption that Germany is Holy Rome. It hasn’t been
confirmed in canon so don’t take it as such. For more posts and evidence on
this subject, go here [x] [x] [x] [x] [x].
Aside from the overwhelming evidence that draws parallels
between Holy Rome and Germany (e.g., foreshadowing, mimicked dialogue, and similar
traits, behaviours, and tastes), there are also several instances in the series
that deliberately include Holy Rome and Germany in the same strip, utilizing
contexts that bridge a significant connection between the two.
There’s no explanation
I can think of that would account for why they would both be included in
these strips if not for the purpose to stress that there’s a link between them
that we have yet to learn. These don’t appear to be coincidental; there’s a
striking sense of intentionality and purpose that shouldn’t be overlooked or
waved off.
Comic Diary 7—
A series of fragmented scenes that, on a surface level appear to make no sense, but… [x].
Kid versions of
Chibitalia and Holy Rome “press for acknowledgment.” I’ve theorized before
that this symbolizes how both Italy and Germany have repressed memories from
their childhood.
The strip then continues with some panels covering Austria’s
annexation during WW2.
Reference to the
German Confederation. There’s a notable fixation around the vague process
of Germany’s birth. We also know that the whole idea of Germany asking about his
past is vague or misleading, as Prussia isn’t the most reliable storyteller.
Private Concert—
The Flute. Prussia
plays the flute for Germany. He has a flashback of how sick Holy Rome became
after his dissolution [x].
Notice how Prussia repeats the exact same line as Holy Rome.
Unconsciously, perhaps, but it still doesn’t negate the fact that there’s a
connection and obvious repetition here. Again, I don’t think Himaruya did this for no reason.
Volume 4, Cat Festival—
Continuity. Chibitalia, Hungary, and Holy Rome wear cat ears
to participate in Belgium’s cat festival.
Cut to Austria wearing cat ears and pressuring Germany to do
so too.
Edited photo: Adult Italy and Germany (Left) and Chibitalia and Holy Rome (Right). From the same strip.
Okay so Italy’s curl represents the sexual something of Italians but is there anything else that it could mean?
…Oh that’s complicated.
When I first started out, it was only fanfiction. My CGPA in my first year of Uni was a 9.2. Only writing fanfiction in my second year, my CGPA rose significantly to a 9.6 (I had a 9.8 GPA total in my second year). In that case, writing constantly did, in fact, raise my grades. My vocabulary, critical thinking skills, and ability to articulate my thoughts better was definitely a result of getting solid writing practice on the side.
On the other hand, in my third year (April 2018), my GPA dropped to a 9.4. I attribute that to the daily content grinder that I put myself in with this blog. Fanfiction was something I only did on the weekend, but this blog is something I work on every day for up to 3-5 hours. Balancing fanfiction, the blog, school, and work became a lot for me to handle.
My advice would be to find a better balance. I had a habit of putting this hobby first because I desperately wanted to improve my writing as fast as possible—this meant writing something every day. Writing as a hobby does improve your grades, but it won’t if you sacrifice time you should be devoting to your studies. I hope this helps!
Yes, I’m going into my last year in September! I’m exploring many options now. If my student placement works out well, hopefully I can secure a paid contract position that will eventually lead to a full-time position as a research analyst. That would be ideal.
I’ve also considered applying for a masters or entering teacher’s college.
In a dream world, I become a professional author somewhere down the line.
I’ve been good this summer, averaging on 6-8 hours. Then again, I’m part-time and am only taking two courses as opposed to five.
When I’m full-time, that figure usually falls to 3-5 hours of sleep. Readings and assignments always get done in the morning, when I’m most awake. Posts are written in between classes. In the evening, I work-out, compose the posts, post them, and then do more readings. Sleep and repeat. It’s exhausting, but as long as you have an end goal in mind, it’s worth it.
Best of luck with your blog and college!
I’m rewatching Bleach for the fourth time LOL.
Misconception: He’s
weak.
Reality: Austria
was born a fighter [x], but as he turned to marriage to solve his political
problems, he lost shape and became accustomed to home life. He’s actually quite
lazy now [x].
Misconception: He
was cruel and heartless when he ruled over Chibitalia.
Reality: While he
was strict and stern with Chibitalia, a lot of this can be attributed to the extreme
and exaggerated humour employed by Himaruya in the series’ early days.
Even with the strict punishments, Chibitalia still shared
many fond moments with Austria—nations living in Holy Rome’s household
considered each other to be family and even maintained this sense of closeness
decades afterwards [x] [x].
Misconception:
Due to historical tensions, it’s impossible that he and Hungary were able to
possess such a strong relationship under their empire. [x].
Reality: Yes and
no.
You have to remember that the nations are people too. They
have a political self and a personal self. It’s for this reason that while
Hungary has “defiant” feelings from her time spent under Austrian rule, she also
has “complicated, yearning-like” feelings for him [x].
How I interpret this is that she despised Austria for what
Austria the country stood for at the time but not who he stood for as a
concrete and separate person.
Lest we forget all the times where it’s hinted that the
two still have feelings for each other. The most notable panel that substantiates
this claim is from Buon San Valentino. There, Hungary receives a Valentine’s
day gift from someone with “glasses and one hair standing up,” [x].
“He hides his name but not his Mariazell.”
Misconception:
Austria and Prussia hate each other.
Reality: Again,
yes and no. It depends on the time period. The ‘hatred’ isn’t deep-set but
rather it’s temporary. Himaruya once said that it would be fun to draw Austria, Germany, and Prussia as a “chaotic sort of family,” [x].
Undoubtedly, Prussia gets on Austria’s nerves…a lot [x]. (Another good reference would be the Maria Theresa series).
Still, the strips have also shown that they don’t truly hate each other.
Ex: Austria
receives a censored letter from Prussia (who was under Soviet rule at the time)
and reads it out of pity [x].
Ex: The two still
consider each other to be ‘family’ and spend their holidays together despite
all the fighting it causes (Christmas 2010 Event).
(Prussia initially didn’t want to let Austria spend
Christmas with him because he was a “lesser German”. He was just being an ass;
I wouldn’t take it seriously, especially given Germany’s response).
Bonus Facts:
He’s considerably self-critical.
Ex: He wears his glasses to avoid looking plain. It’s not
from poor eyesight. Instead, they represent his “musical something,” [x].
Ex: Being unsatisfied with his appearance is enough to make
him feel discontented [x].
Similar to Freud’s “anal-retentive” personality-type,
Austria is a stingy [x] perfectionist [x].
His mole acts as an erogenous zone, not his ahoge
[Mariazell] [x].
He gets grumpy when he doesn’t have coffee.
He spent part of his life in a wheelchair [x].
He doesn’t have a sense of direction.
He once avoided fighting with Prussia because he didn’t want
to harm young Germany [x].
Me: I’m going to get so much done this summer.
Also me:
Can you give me a quick snapshot of Austria’s character please?
Pescatore means fisherman so I wonder what Hima wanted to say. Pesca (peach)? Pesce (fish)? Was the translation wrong? (I know you didn’t translate it) Anyway, even if the images you put weren’t part part of the song originally they seem spot on! And also make the post more visually appealing (this goes for the other songs you posted as well)
Pescatore is a pasta
with seafood ingredients.
Thank you so much! I just
can’t help but notice how some songs are cut-and- paste from material in the manga (obviously—they’re character songs). The references are either super obscure or obvious. While “Let’s Look Behind
the Rainbow” is supposed to be generic in that the listener is experiencing the
song as a tourist, I found that there were a lot of parallels to early
chapters of World Stars, where Italy acts as Germany’s tour guide [x] [x] [x].
There may be a double
meaning to the song too…
The sea has been used as
a metaphor for time before [x].
I interpreted the lyrics of the listener
losing something in the sea [of time] as a reference to the unconfirmed
assumption that Germany lost his early childhood memories as Holy Rome.
Ellawritesficssometimes 