#i've been thinking about this since whenever i initially listened to that episode and my brain won't shut up unless i post this

[nyadversary]

i mean no disrespect to xeecee and liz shriekshack so i don't want this to come across like a big time own or anything, i'm sure they just spent less time watching invader zim than i did, which is fine (i guess). but in an older episode of the shrieking shack, back when they were still covering harry potter i think, they talk about having watched enter the florpus and they cite a particular joke as being an example of 00s "random humor" but they clearly didn't get the joke. so now i have to be That Guy and explain it.

the scene is — it's near the beginning of the film, when dib confronts zim outside his house. dib is talking about how he looked everywhere for zim and even went to that taco place he knows zim likes. zim responds that he does not in fact like the taco restaurant, gir does, and gir pipes up randomly to say "i ate a baby there once!" the reason i know they didn't get the joke, on shriekshack, is that they stop describing the scene there and we haven't gotten the joke yet. the joke is not that gir randomly claims to have eaten a baby; gir says random shit all the time, because he is malfunctioning (and the joke with gir is much more about him being broken and useless than it is about him saying random shit, btw), and usually when he does this zim reacts in confusion or anger or just doesn't acknowledge what he said at all.

the joke is that when gir says he ate a baby at the taco restaurant, zim's response is to nod and say "he did." zim has never reacted in this way to gir just saying random shit, which means this time it isn't random, gir legitimately ate a baby at the taco place. what would have otherwise come across as 00s-era Random xD™ humor is now a horrific murder confession. and nothing further is said about it, the conversation continues as if gir did not just casually confess to having eaten a baby at a restaurant. that's the joke.

[eraserisms]

1, 6, 9, 30!

A MEME IS HERE! These questions were sent in by the awesome @adam--bomb

1. What position does your character sleep in? ( i.e; stomach, side, back, etc. ) Describe why they do this — optional.

Shota will really sleep in any place that is mildly comfortable, whether its in a chair, couch or in his sleeping bag or even a hardwood floor (depending on how he sleeps, it helps with any pains he has in his back and other times, it makes it feel worse). Aizawa has managed to even sleep while standing up. In the last case, he tends to be leaning on something to do so, but he has done it before. It's inevitable that Shota will toss and turn in his sleep but whenever he lays down initially, he usually makes sure that he is in a corner so he can see any doors or windows. It's just something that he does out of habit. If not confined to a sleeping bag, he can be found with his legs sprawled out and all over the place.

6. If you were to pick one song — and only one song — to describe your character, what would it be and why?

Ohhh this is a good question. I have been thinking about this for a long time since I have been diving into music that I used to listen to. But, I think that it would really depend on what stage of his life he is in. I know I can list tons of My Chemical Romance songs that would suit him. However, out of all the tunes I've been listening to lately, "Pain" by Three Days Grace sticks out to me as a song that fits him.

9. Does your character dream or are their nights filled with an empty blackness? Describe a dream they’ve had or a night they couldn’t sleep and what they did to preoccupy their time.

This also depends on circumstances. In times that he is bone dead tired, his nights can sometimes be peaceful and dreamless. Sleep can serve as a nice escape from the things going on around him. But other times, other times Shota finds himself waking up in a cold sweat, clawing at his neck in terror and searching for a scarf that just isn't there. When he has PTSD episodes like this, he never really calls them for what they are. Instead, they are coded and given the title of 'hero dreams'. Usually these dreams entail people that Shota was just not able to save, and that includes Oboro. In reality, there have been all sorts of ways that Shota has lost people he had intended to save, but the dream is reoccurring and is almost always the same. He usually is on top of a tall building. Being vertical, whether on top of a building, or in the air, it's something that Shota is most familiar with. A place that Shota would even claim as part of his territory. While he stands on the roof, a civilian wearing the face of an unsavable is dangling from his capture weapon. There is a tear in his cloth. His mind and arms are too afraid to pull the scarf upwards in fear that it will rip from the weight. He can't will his legs to move either. Frozen. There is no way he can dive down after them. When he tries to lower these people back down to the pavement instead, the binding cloth snaps anyway and they plummet to their death. Other times when he tries to sink them to safety, his scarf just isn't long enough for them to reach the street and they're still several stories above the ground. But, in either of these dreams, the result is always the same— the cloth breaks and there is no one there to catch them. When he has nights like that, those are the rare instances that Shota can't ease himself back to sleep. He will usually try to drink some chamomile tea and pick up a book to read until he starts to feel easy again. But it doesn't work every time and some nights are worse than others.

30. Finally; if your character was forced to eat one thing for the rest of their life, what would they choose and why?

This one is an easy one. Shota would probably pick something like rice or noodles. More likely, he'd pick rice. They both are exceptionally versatile and even if he is eating one thing, he would never get bored. Fried Rice (Yakimeshi). Ochazuke. Spanish Rice. Omurice. Jambalaya. & the list goes on. If this question is implying that Shota can only eat plain rice, Shota would argue that he still is technically eating one thing. He is his mother's child after all.

[caesarflickermans]

Tag Game

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better. I was tagged by @hayffiebird Thank you c:

Three ships:

Virgilia/Plutarch. I know, a bit cliche to put my own ship forth here, but I'm noticing how much less of a shipper I've become insofar that I've more lukewarm takes on most ships, but this is one I'm really passionate about. It really (obviously) encompasses a lot of what I personally enjoy in seeing a relationship unfold. Virgilia has her own personal journey that fits well with Plutarch's. They complement each other so well and it's enjoyable to write / think about them :>

David Butt/Julia Montague. Those two are from the BBC series Bodyguard and they are such an interesting couple. There's hatred initially, each of their moments bringing them closer, and the final resolution of their story (the question of being together) never finding an answer. The show has its own problems with the portrayal of Muslim characters, and tbf whenever I rewatch it I only watch the first three episodes, but it has a sort of tension and development that I've really never seen replicated. I'm a sucker for bodyguard stuff, but none ever did it as well as this show, and most of those stories are far too smutty, far too overprotective, far too easily and quickly resolve (and me and @beedelia totally have a Plutarch&V AU based on those two).

This is NOT a ROMANTIC ship (hence the &), but I love PLATONIC stuff so much, so: Ellie Williams&Joel Miller. I really, fully, enjoy their growth together. I love a good parenting platonic not-actually-related situation. Their story is so raw. It's the way that their relationship is painted through struggles. It's the going through everything to keep their dad/their daughter safe. I love their journey and I love both games so much.

This was really hard because, as I said, I've got plenty of ships and I feel rather lukewarm about them. As in, yeah, I enjoyed this, but it doesn't have my mind spinning once I finish it and am done with the show/game. Here's a list of some ships I enjoy, but do not have a lot to say about: F!Commander Shepard/Miranda Lawson (Mass Effect), Cullen Rutherford/F!Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Will Graham/Bedelia Du Maurier (Hannibal), Serena Joy/Mark Tuello (Handmaid's Tale), Blackbeard/Stede Bonnet (Our Flag Means Death), Newt Scamander/Leta Lestrange (Fantastic Beasts). Was this cheating? Maybe, lol.

First ever ship:

I think my first ever ship was Captain Amelia/Dr. Doppler, mostly because I was very gay for Amelia and was excited for any romance interest she got. Like, it should have been me, but this was second best. I didn't write fanfiction about it or anything because I was far too young, but I think this was the first moment where I really shipped something.

First time I engaged with fandom might have been Remus Lupin/Tonks. Though I mostly read stuff rather than wrote anything.

First time I wrote something (in rp) was Haymitch/Effie, though I don't ship them anymore--same as Lupin and Tonks actually lol. Both for different reasons.

Last song: Bottom of the River by Delta Rae. Been listening to this one while writing!

Last movie: Everything Everywhere All At Once. I've had this on my watchlist since release and finally got around to it. Feels like something you should totally watch a second time. It was a brilliant movie.

Currently reading: A secret history. I'm not sure what to think of it yet & I'm halfway through. It's definitely interesting, but it's a very slow read (or maybe me mostly reading it in bed before falling asleep just doesn't read very fast).

Currently watching: Arctic Warrior. It's a German TV show about one (military) expert and one beginner having to survive (and travel through) the arctic parts of Finland. I usually don't enjoy those kind of shows, but I have a soft spot for Otto + watching it as an uncut reaction video from a favourite youtuber of mine is double fun. Actual tv series though, I want to start Succession (thanks Emily, lol) and/or Yellowjackets.

Currently consuming: I ate my salad + slice of bread for the evening :>

Currently craving: Still a bit hungry, so maybe some fruit later. I've got mango and peaches at home :)

Tagging: @beedelia @footnoteinhistory @plvtarch @mrsalanavalentine @rosegardeninwinter @ellanainthetardis @endlessnightlock @tinyfrenchowl @mollywog @districtunrest @bexbaxx @thegoddessprose @jenniferiawrence

[bucketinyourwalls]

plz plz plz rant abt rat King zack ward he looks so silly /pos

Yippie!! :D

I'll just go ahead and list some headcanons I made for him and probably bits of info, so hope ya like it <3. Most of the things I've come up for him has just been a result of talks with @/olliegoespostal so I definitely don't remember all of them </3

Rat King Zack Headcanons :D

Smells like hell. The guy lives in the sewers to that's definitely not a surprise but holy fuck he smells like sewage water the entire time. And also tastes like sewage if you ever give him a kiss.

Wears socks with sandless. More of a joke my brain thought of, but he does wear socks with sandless just to be a dick. Or silly idk yet.

Guy refuses to shower. Ever. He'll swim around in sewage all day long but the moment Mike J tried to force him into taking a bath so he wouldn't get constantly rejected when trying to get signatures the guy turns into a hissing cat that refuses to take a bath. He's a biter so be careful btw.

Whenever he doesn't have his own rats with him, he'll just carry around a rat plushie. Pretty rare since he takes his rats everywhere, but he loves cuddling with the rat plushies when he's sleeping on his mattress.

Didn't include it in my initial design, but the guy does have a pride pin. Just a random thought but I think it's pretty cute based on episode 61 of the I Regret Nothing Podcast where he's talking about his role as Dave and it's just super fucking wholesome. Highly recommend listening if you haven't already. And for a bit of an example, he's got a pin like Camilla's (TOH) <3

Found his crown while digging through the trash. It's just a BK paper crown but he loves it so much and it makes him so happy please just let him vibe with it :(

Still has the lil Scut Farkus hat and wears it quite often, with the hat serving as a nest for his rats. They'll hide under it and occasionally peak out from underneath.

As long as you're nice to Zack, the rats will be nice to you. They're decently nice and friendly, but they will not hesitate to bite you if you piss off Zack enough so be careful.

For someone who lives in the sewers, the guys quite warm. Ik you guys are simps so I'm adding it here for you and also me, but the mans body is basically a heater. Great for hugs in the cold winter, and of course great for cuddles in the sewers. Especially when the blanket is either lost or torn beyond belief.

Likely an obvious one, but the guys diet is not the best. None of the Dude's really have a good diet since why the hell would they, except for maybe Movie Dude, but he really has a shit diet. Probably since he just eats out of the trash a lot of the time or steals his food. Guy would appreciate it if you cooked for him tho ^^

[jcs-study]

Here, before moving on, we come to the final major change to "Gethsemane," one that is part of the licensed show today, and one that many long-time fans of JCS feel does severe damage to the show's central conceit.

I chose John Legend's version here not necessarily for any love for his performance (don't you get me wrong, brilliant performer, I've loved him since "Ordinary People" first dropped, but vocally entirely wrong for the role in the one moment that counted, as you can hear in this track compared to a myriad of other versions), but because it is, to my knowledge, the first major recording of this particular revision as it was finally "frozen."

Of course, as with the previous post, I'll have to provide some context.

(CW / TW: hard as it may be to believe or understand without context, this post includes mention of genitalia traditionally associated with cis males or those AMAB. If you don't wanna hear about "the D," don't click below me. If it helps, it's not prurient or exploitative.)

A Source of Embarrassment

When I first started this analysis and started writing in particular about lyric revisions in JCS over the years, I'm sure I said at some point -- and if I didn't, I'm saying it now -- that many of Tim Rice's changes to the show's words have been either the result of pursuing a better rhyme or an attempt to eliminate old embarrassments. It is my understanding that the latter is what prompted this particular refinement, and, unfortunately for him (in the unlikely event he ever reads this), I'm going to explain just what was so bad in great detail.

Apparently, it's annoyed Sir Tim no end over the years that a certain lyric in "Gethsemane" has become a punchline to many listeners. Namely, "God thy will is hard," when sung without proper -- ahem -- diction, can sound like a reference to a penis in its aroused state. (Hey, we already covered perception of smut where it didn't exist in Act I, we can't turn back now!)

You'll think I'm joking, but see for yourself: type the phrase "god thy willy's hard" in quotes into Google and look at what turns up. You'll learn that this puerile joke has surprising longevity; even after the offending line was removed, like J.C. himself the gag refuses to die.

So how did Tim heal this grievous wound that'd been festering for decades? Ben Forster, who played the title role in the 2012-13 arena tour, told the story on an episode of the podcast Inside the West End. You can listen to it here if you're an Apple user, and here if you're on Android or just the plain old Internet, but I'll do you a favor and summarize it below.

This laugh was an antique by the time Ben was cast as Jesus, and apparently, he was painfully aware of the possibility of being misconstrued. He went to great lengths in rehearsals to ensure his delivery would not lead to laughs from the punters, which was certainly worth considering given the typical arena audience, and so initially felt insulted when he received an email from Sir Tim during intermission of opening night (!) with the new lyric he would sing in its stead. Hadn't he done his best? Was it not good enough?

Once it was clarified that his diction wasn't the problem, just the line, he -- and the hosts of the podcast, when he told the story -- opined that it seemed a tad late for Tim to decide the issue needed to be addressed post-haste, but addressed it was, and so it has stayed. (To the point that even Ted Neeley, not known for his admiration of new choices in JCS, has adopted this change in the lyric in recent European performances. Tim's attendance, to be sure, may have been a motivator, but given how Ted has typically played the part in the context of his American productions, which I've written about before, his acceptance is not especially surprising, as it fits the largely typical dramaturgy whenever he steps into the robe onstage.)

Lyrical Differences

Initially, the replacement for the long-time offender was:

GOD THY WILL BE DONE TAKE THY ONLY SON

That's how it appears in the current libretto, and in the filmed performance of the arena tour.

However, Rice has since polished it up to better fit the scansion of the melody:

GOD THY WILL BE DONE DESTROY YOUR ONLY SON

This variant appears in the currently licensed score and can be heard in recent audience-shot clips of Ted's "Gethsemane" in Europe, among other performances by a myriad of performers, both male, and female-presenting, including John Legend above.

The Analysis

Well, for starters, it would appear Tim didn't forget that he'd intended to reference the classic version of the Lord's Prayer with his use of King James English (see the first "Gethsemane" post), albeit now the reference has become a quotation. But many fans feel he did forget something more fundamental in the process.

I'll remind you of part of what he said about what inspired him to write JCS (the full quote is in the same post linked above):

...Christ in Superstar is seen only as a man because Judas saw him only as a man. But even Judas has his doubts; before his suicide, flailing desperately, accusing Jesus of bringing about his death -- perhaps Jesus was God! Perhaps he was, but in Superstar the question is left open.

More than that, he was once downright insistent about what side he took on the divinity vs. humanity question, in my opinion, and why it worked in JCS' context:

Some have said that the work fails because the Jesus of Superstar is never seen to be capable of the inspiration that led him to be considered divine, but even if they can't take that as read, it is Jesus as a man facing death who is the protagonist in Superstar. He is greater because, whether God or not, he had human failings and fears, and these must have dominated his final days on earth. Were he simply God, his suffering would have been non-existent.

As far as die-hard fans are concerned, the new lyric, at least if taken literally, blows "leaving it open" out of the water. They feel that Jesus defining himself as the Son of God negates one of the central questions of the narrative, one which is left unanswered for a reason, and that he should never weigh in on his own divinity in the story. Consequently, they've criticized it at every turn, on a spectrum ranging from merely "stupid" to "the worst lyric change in the show's history."

Me? I'm an easygoing guy. I like people to be happy. I know what I sing in my head, and I feel the original is much stronger, but I have sympathy both for Rice's plight and for his hurt pride. Bearing this in mind, I'll note that, while I prefer the original and strongly recommend just using it, it's actually easy to substitute a rhyme that preserves the character's ambiguity while keeping the rhyme change (for example, concluding the couplet with "If I must be the one" comes to mind, bratty as it might sound).

Coming Up Next:

Uh-oh, the party's over. This is a bust. Or at least that's how it looks in "The Arrest."

[meimae]

Language Learning Through Immersion: One Year Japanese Update

11/03/2021

I did it, you guys! I’ve successfully reached my very first year of Japanese language immersion! I honestly thought that I would have given up by now, but this really has been a fun and ultimately rewarding endeavor.

Studying the language has been at the back of my mind for years since elementary school, I just never really knew how to go about it before, and I always thought that I could learn it in a classroom setting someday. That someday for me was in two elective courses in university, and while those were fun as well, it did not give me the same gains that I have achieved in this past year.

It’s probably easier to quantify learning a language in a classroom setting, especially when going through a program to earn a language degree. Learning through immersion, however, I had to really consider what my goals should be on my own. Eventually, I stumbled upon an article saying that for an English speaker, Japanese was exceptionally difficult to learn and that at least 2,200 hours must be spent with the language to reach a certain level of proficiency. So I said to myself, “well okay internet, if you say so!”, and set that as my long term goal going forward.

Spoiler Alert: I did not hit that goal in my first year. I am not crazy and will never listen to Japanese in my sleep regardless of what Khatzumoto (the creator of All Japanese All the Time) says. 

I did, however, hit a total 1,226.65 active immersion hours in my first year, so I guess I’m still a bit nuts. That is 874.96 hours of active listening and 351.69 reading hours. I also did 270.59 hours of passive listening, also known as the time in the very beginning of my immersion where I was using Japanese subtitles (therefore not really concentrating on listening alone). That’s a cumulative 1,497.24 hours spent with Japanese. That’s more than halfway towards my goal! 

To further break that down for curious animanga fans out there, that’s 973 episodes from 109 anime, 765 episodes from 33 dramas, 7 movies, and 967 chapters from 107 volumes of manga (21 series). Here’s my anilist and mydramalist to see what I’ve read/watched.

During all this, I was also doing my daily Anki reps and now I have a 530 day SRS streak (includes the time prior starting immersion and only doing RTK and some vocabulary cards) and a total 8,857 sentence cards. I’ve been averaging 406 cards daily (because I’m trying to cure my leeches) and I spend about an hour per day doing reps and learning new cards. I don’t really track my time on Anki, but I do have a set timer that goes off after 1-1:30 hours.

What I haven’t touched upon at all is output. I have not gone out of my way to find a tutor or a language partner. There’s still plenty of input out there to immerse in before I even consider outputting.

Graphs, stats, and more thoughts:

Here's my current card count in my main deck (minus the cards in my new/learning queue and leeches I've been relearning which are in separate decks):

That one day in 2019 where I did not do my cards because I was seriously doubting whether I can actually stick with language learning this time around will forever haunt and inspire me to keep going everyday.

Workflow and Tips

You might be wondering, how do I have a lot of time? I started this whole endeavor in the middle of a pandemic, which eliminated the option of me going to a language school, and a slew of other things I were considering doing last year became impossible (and if anything, very scary to do in a pandemic). All I can say is that, things work out eventually if it is His will, and if I can learn a skill before everything properly settles back down again, then why not? 

I wake up at 5 in the morning everyday to either do my Anki reps or read until the time when I need to get up and I listen to compressed audio throughout the day. The biggest tip is to switch the time you spend watching/reading in your native language to your target language instead. Listen to a podcast during your commute, watch an episode during lunch break, read before going to bed, do your Anki reps in the bathroom if you have to. 

But, if you’re feeling burnt out, there is no reason for you to not take a break! I have been watching a lot of Among Us streams before bed, and I chat with my friends from time to time. Language learning is not a race.

More Stats

Here are a couple of grids of the kanji characters that I have encountered at least once in my immersion and how well I have answered them in my vocabulary/sentence cards.

It's interesting that after almost 9000 words, I have yet to encounter every single character from the Remembering the Kanji 1 (RTK 1) book by James Heisig, which teaches you the most common use characters that are part of the 常用漢字. Which brings me to the question, was writing down every single character being taught in RTK worth it every time it came up in my reviews for the first 3-ish months I was reviewing them? Maybe, maybe not. It certainly removed my anxiety whenever looking at blocks of text in Japanese, but the longer I think about it, the more I feel I should have switched to Recognition RTK earlier. Still, being able to write in proper stroke order is cool I guess, and it also helps me when looking things up in the dictionary.

Here’s the same grid but in JLPT order:

I clearly need to grind those N2 and N1 level cards! Speaking of which, I have apparently almost covered every single character that could possibly appear in the JLPT (except for the N1 which I have only covered half of) in just a year's time. If the JLPT word frequency lists I’m using are accurate, I have about 2,000 words more to go to to cover most vocabulary that could appear in the test. This makes the "10,000 sentences/words to fluency" argument a reasonable milestone to aim for for Japanese learners if said aim is only to pass the test. That said, 10,000 words is just that, a milestone. It's more akin to a comfortable level of comprehension, but not my own concept of fluency which is being able to read with ease, speak articulately, and write comfortably.

READING IMMERSION GRAPHS

My biggest motivation for tracking my stats is for the purpose of seeing whether my reading speed is improving over time. Reading speed is also easier to measure than listening comprehension which is kind of subjective, so I had a lot of fun making these. What I found is that for the first volume or chapter of whatever it is I’m reading, I always take the time to get used to the writing style of the author. My speed really improves whenever I keep reading the same topic over and over again. On the other hand and quite obviously, looking up many new words in a row and trying to parse sentences slows me down.

Manga: Reading Speed Progression per Volume

I clearly love ちはやふる and I am not ashamed to admit it.

I need to start reading longer manga. When I do, I’ll probably split this graph into less than and greater than 20 volumes. Imagine if I start reading something ridiculously long as 名探偵コナン or ワンピース, these graphs will start breaching the bounds of time and space.

Novels: Time Spent Reading per Chapter

#neverforget the time I read chapter six of Norwegian Wood for 9 hours when it took me less than half that time in English RIP. Also, my interest in Kitchen plummeted LOL. Still planning to finish it don’t worry. 

I also need to start branching away from manga and start reading more novels and light novels, too just so I can make more pretty graphs.

Visual Novels: Time Spent Reading and Daily Word Count

Also known as images that clearly show that I’ve already spent several days only reading the prologue of Island. I’m not sweating. 切那 needs to stop using words I don’t know in succession. More thoughts on this VN far into the future.

Thoughts on Immersion

I can’t really say anything else other that that it works for me, and needless to say if you’re considering this method, remember that the SRS is your friend but immersion should be your one true love.

Prior to all this, I couldn’t even read a sample paragraph from Genki without being confused to my very soul. Yes, I know, it’s embarrassing, but that’s the truth. I was way more scared of failing my Japanese classes than my actual thesis for my bachelors degree, I kid you not. I would quite literally spend all my free time in university trying to understand grammar, memorize vocabulary, and answer my workbook exercises with little to no success. 

I tried so hard to get all the grammar “formulas” into my head for 1.5 years and it only brought me more confusion. I’m never going back to traditional classroom study for language learning, but I will still refer to grammar books when I need to, and not because I feel like I need to answer 4783342 different workbook exercises like my life depended on it.

I still can’t believe it, but with immersion this statement is actually true to a point, don’t try shadowing anime/or calling your boss anime language slurs, use your common sense:

study anime to understand Japanese > study Japanese to understand anime 

Future Goals/Plans

2,200 immersion hours was my initial goal, but honestly I feel like that number could be much higher. There’s still a lot of stuff I don’t understand (news, politics, sciences, etc.), so I’ll make attempts to cover more of those things in my immersion. 

I’ll continue reading more, because that’s a natural SRS in itself. Try to read longer manga, more novels, visual novels, and light novels, and maybe news articles. 

I’ll try to mine as much “JLPT vocab” as I can before making any attempts at taking the JLPT. I noticed that a lot of the words I know don’t appear in the JLPT word lists as much, even though they appear a lot in media/daily conversation. 

Continue mining all words I don’t know because all words are useful anyway. There is no such thing as useless words. I never really understood mining only “interesting words” or words that “pop up” in your immersion. As I said in my previous blog post, 美人局 is an interesting word and I certainly caught it being said in my immersion, but in the three languages I know, I wouldn’t know when I would be able to use such a word, as compared to something like ジャガイモ which is a significantly less interesting word, but is certainly useful to know. 

_

I have managed to talk up a storm, but if you have any questions regarding my process or recommendations for new immersion material, please feel free to send an ask/reply to this post. I love hearing about other people’s language learning/immersion journeys. 

See you on my next post!