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[Evangelion] Doing It Right This Time

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Mari has her own place. She doesn't need to book into a love hotel. Also, my research* indicates that Japanese supermarkets have a perfectly acceptable brand of British teabags in the world foods aisle; probably not her preferred one but a good enough substitute, even if their patented pyramid-shaped teabags probably aren't as beneficial as they claim. I'm not sure I want to know where "Ra Ra Rasputin" comes into this, because that's not a track I'd generally expect to find in someone's "songs to get shagged to" playlist.

And you're not all only just noticing how much Kensuke and this fanfic's take on Mari have in common, are you?

* Asking around on a fanfic-related Facebook group.
 
Jake said:
Mari has her own place. She doesn't need to book into a love hotel. Also, my research* indicates that Japanese supermarkets have a perfectly acceptable brand of British teabags in the world foods aisle; probably not her preferred one but a good enough substitute, even if their patented pyramid-shaped teabags probably aren't as beneficial as they claim. I'm not sure I want to know where "Ra Ra Rasputin" comes into this, because that's not a track I'd generally expect to find in someone's "songs to get shagged to" playlist.

And you're not all only just noticing how much Kensuke and this fanfic's take on Mari have in common, are you?

* Asking around on a fanfic-related Facebook group.
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I mean, supermarkets here do have somewhat acceptable tea (Lipton) which I make do with in a pinch, but I usually go to the special import supermarket (Seijyoishi) and buy the UK ones (usually Typhoo or Tetley) because the taste is stronger and better. To get the same taste I have to use two bags of the Lipton per cup.
 
Jake said:
Mari has her own place. She doesn't need to book into a love hotel.
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This is your story, so the authorial intent is yours. This basically one of 'what if' stories, in this case, 'what if there's some emergency including Angels, Mari, Kensuke, in which after debriefing, basically the only places available to sleep were only love hotels. Somehow.'

Jake said:
Also, my research* indicates that Japanese supermarkets have a perfectly acceptable brand of British teabags in the world foods aisle; probably not her preferred one but a good enough substitute, even if their patented pyramid-shaped teabags probably aren't as beneficial as they claim.
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I'd more worried for rum source. Actually, she just probably drink and utterly wasted in addition of sleeping deprivation. Kensuke "only" had sleeping deprivation.
Jake said:
I'm not sure I want to know where "Ra Ra Rasputin" comes into this, because that's not a track I'd generally expect to find in someone's "songs to get shagged to" playlist.
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This was totally on me. Other choice including "Genghis Khan" (both version of them).

Look, it's disco and it's catchy, and it stuck on my head, okay?

And this would end up with Kensuke, utterly mortified the next morning, muttering "Please don't go Charles Bronson on me." :V
 
JennyDracos said:
That's basically it. "Desu" is, well, 'is,' or 'to be,' so in theory it's at the end of every sentence that doesn't use another verb (like to go, to eat, whatever), which is most of them.

But.

In Japanese, you typically omit duplicated statements between sentences, no need to repeat them. So because 'desu' is at the end of most sentences, it's usually abbreviated to 'da' or dropped entirely and just implied. So while yes, "da ne" ("is that not so?") is closer to a literal translation of "innit," putting desu at the end of a sentence is a character tic, which in anime usually represents either immaturity or excessive formality.
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This is true. But "innit" to me isn't a tic used for cuteness or immaturity and definitely not formality. I'd associate it more with rough, "urban" style language and so would use another sentence ending tic rather than "desu" in this case ("darou" "dana" "daze" etc.) . Though I guess someone trying to use "desu" in a rough manner would be good for laughs.
 
RBomber said:
This is your story, so the authorial intent is yours. This basically one of 'what if' stories, in this case, 'what if there's some emergency including Angels, Mari, Kensuke, in which after debriefing, basically the only places available to sleep were only love hotels. Somehow.'
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Ah, I see. Fair enough then.

Dark Machine said:
I mean, supermarkets here do have somewhat acceptable tea (Lipton) which I make do with in a pinch, but I usually go to the special import supermarket (Seijyoishi) and buy the UK ones (usually Typhoo or Tetley) because the taste is stronger and better. To get the same taste I have to use two bags of the Lipton per cup.
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Oh dear... Yeah, if you can find it there, look for PG Tips instead. I'm told they at least occasionally have that brand, and it's vastly better than Typhoo or Liptons.

And I'm now going to have to include a scene where Mari rants at great length and detail about how much she hates the fact that they're all she can get, because Tetley's the best of the lot and it's still considered a cheap second-rate brand in the UK.
 
Jake said:
Ah, I see. Fair enough then.


Oh dear... Yeah, if you can find it there, look for PG Tips instead. I'm told they at least occasionally have that brand, and it's vastly better than Typhoo or Liptons.

And I'm now going to have to include a scene where Mari rants at great length and detail about how much she hates the fact that they're all she can get, because Tetley's the best of the lot and it's still considered a cheap second-rate brand in the UK.
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We used to be able to get PG tips at my local branch. But they stopped stocking it like 9 months ago. Plus it was really expensive (80 bags for ￥1100!).
Best time of my life is when mum sends us a couple boxes of Yorkshire / Lancashire tea in the post.
 
Jake said:
And I'm now going to have to include a scene where Mari rants at great length and detail about how much she hates the fact that they're all she can get, because Tetley's the best of the lot and it's still considered a cheap second-rate brand in the UK.
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Of course, this came into moot as someone (probably Hikari) hearing her rants, then shove into her hand a slovenly-packaged box of tea. And proven to be the best tea she ever had.

(Best tea in here, Indonesia, basically some local tea boxed in paper and plastic with some old brand only known by locals. In most cases, they cut above most industrialized boxed tea)
 
As far as tea goes, assuming it's bagged I'd prefer Yorkshire Gold over anything.

That said, it's expensive here (like $10 for 96 bags), and my home goes through tea very quickly, so it's not practical to only buy it. Thus, we settle for Tata, which is okay.

All of it, Typoo included, is better than Red Rose in my opinion.
 
Prince Charon said:
Is 'desu' a contraction of 'de gozaru' (or maybe a shorter word with a similar usage), or is that a mistake English-speaking anime fans made?
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The Wiktionary article for です says:

Article:
The copula です (desu) is thought to be a contracted version of であります (de arimasu), from で (de) +‎ あります (arimasu); however, there are other possibilities, namely でございます (de gozaimasu), from で (de) +‎ ございます (gozaimasu); でする (de suru), from で (de) +‎ する (suru); でおわす (de owasu), from で (de) +‎ おわす (owasu); and でそうろう (de sourou), from で (de) +‎ そうろう (sourou).
 
I just realized, I have no fucking clue why we were chatting about "desu" and Mari shagging Kensuke in a love hotel. This is either my dumbass forgetting something crucial or mixing up continuities again.
 
grommile said:
The Wiktionary article for です says:
-redacted-
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Thanks for linking a resource others can weigh in on grommile. The best way I can compare Japanese です (desu) would be British TV where a French character finishes their phrases overmuch with n'est?

I think it emphasizes agreement, or seeking agreement from a listener.
 
waito_x said:
The best way I can compare Japanese です (desu) would be British TV where a French character finishes their phrases overmuch with n'est?
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French use of "n'est-ce pas" (both native and in Anglo media) is like English use of "innit" or Spanish use of "(no es) verdad".

Memey verbal tics by anime characters notwithstanding, "desu" means "is/are".
 
grommile said:
Memey verbal tics by anime characters notwithstanding, "desu" means "is/are".
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I mean, does it otherwise make sense for the character to throw that word out and just say 'innit'? Or something from a host of other languages? But each time they do, isn't the convention to mix things up? Oui in one case, tenemos razón further along, then out of nowhere wareware no shirukagiri, ne?

I think the 'innit' remark is useful, especially if found readily in most other languages. The problem though is Japanese uses redundant wording to be funny while repeating something twice in English / Romantic languages can be construed as irritating or pushy. Though I dunno if that was the original concern raised by BadRoad.
 
waito_x said:
I mean, does it otherwise make sense for the character to throw that word out and just say 'innit'?
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No, it really doesn't. Rough breakdown:

"desu", of itself, is equivalent to the present tense of English "be". Like, normal people say "desu" dozens of times a day as part of saying that yes, this (insert noun here) fulfills this predicate. There is nothing memey or weird or equivalent to saying "innit" when you say oishii desu "(the implicit referent) is delicious".

English "innit", French "n'est-ce pas", and Spanish "(no es) verdad" are constructs used as an emphatic, challenging the listener to disagree with the speaker.
  • c'est bon, n'est-ce pas? (it/this is good, isn't it/this)
  • it's good, innit? (formally, "it's good, isn't it?")
  • es bueno, verdad? (literally, "(it) is good, isn't it?")
 
grommile said:
-snip-
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This is where the writing has to make up its mind because literature went the way of Shakespeare in one part of the world, and Chinese grammar much of the other.

Either a character's innate behavior gets explained away in the notes (Cat Mari or Bat Touji as transplanted from one of the NGE omake mediums) or their dialogue becomes more or less abrasive which maybe indicates the fanfic has goals for character growth.

To be fair, an FF7 Cid leering at the conversation starter and silencing them with a morphemetic "Mm?" (you wanna press the matter punk?) makes more sense than Mari facing the viewers and cheesily declaring "Desu!" But I could just be biased about who gained screentime first.

Good points Grommile, let's see what others bring up yeah?
 
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waito_x said:
To be fair, an FF7 Cid leering at the conversation starter and silencing them with a morphemetic "Mm?" (you wanna press the matter punk?) makes more sense than Mari facing the viewers and cheesily declaring "Desu!" But I could just be biased about who gained screentime first.
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You're absolutely right, and I haven't even played FF7.
 
waito_x said:
...makes more sense than Mari facing the viewers and cheesily declaring "Desu!"
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Most things make more sense than someone randomly saying "desu" because most Japanese-speakers wouldn't try to use it as a sentence in itself. It's like an English-speaker just walking up to someone and saying "is" and nothing else- you need more words to give context, or it doesn't mean anything at all.
 
I mean, we could start with a game of telephone. They really meant to add more, it just got clipped because somebody's AT-field or other reception issues. So now the home command is scratching their heads, replaying the transmission.

Mari: " (sore wa tenshi desu?) ... "

Then we get all the audio engineering tropes like "clean it up a little!"
 
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If the Evangelions had a text-to-speech device...
  • Sidestory
    • Short omake/snippet written mostly to celebrate the fact that my apartment no longer looks worse than Misato's. Whether or not it becomes canon depends whether I can think of anywhere funny to take it after this.)

    "Alright," Ritsuko said to herself, "I think that should just about do it." System messages filled the screen of her computer, scrolling too fast for her to read, but none of them were flagged in red so presumably nothing had bugged out or otherwise malfunctioned. At last, all that was left was a blinking cursor.

    Dr Ikari? Can you hear this, or read it? she typed.

    There was a pause, just long enough for her to worry that something had gone wrong, and then...

    ABOUT FUCKING TIME. I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT.

    "I should have tried this with Kaz first."
     
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