Lucina and Yarne from Fire Emblem on a shopping date for a kofi! (Was requested she being being a “tacky” outfit and I did my best but ended up wanting this t-shirt anyways jsjs)
i read the hobbit in 3rd grade and i thought it was really lame. however i liked bilbo baggins for some reason and i was fully convinced he was some sort of rabbit/mouse thing until i saw the lotr movies and was really, really confused
Please please please make a graphic novel, this is adorable
So the German dub is out and I would like to offer up to all of you how it deals with the problem of formal/informal form of address because it’s really interesting
(Preface: all of this applies how we as modern people use these forms of address. In the actual 18th century, addressing any adult informally was very uncommon, even between close friends. But we’re doing a DJenkins approach here)
(@rocketrouquine wrote about how it is handled in the French dub here; also very interesting!)
The thing to understand about formal vs informal you is that it’s about politeness, yes - but that’s just a very basic understanding. Yes, you are supposed to be formal with people you don’t know, but what they don’t teach you in highschool foreign language class are all the things choice of address can communicate. Namely, what distance there is between people. About the closeness of a relationship, what level you’re interacting on, about signaling how far you will let a person into your life.
The crew of the Revenge all call each other Du (informal) - except for Stede, who everyone calls Sie (formal). Du is for friends and Stede is not their friend, he is the boss. There is a camaraderie and solidarity among the crew that Stede can’t partake in. Sie, in this case, is like a barrier that you put up to keep someone from becoming too friendly with you and reminding them what kind of relationship this is (namely, a purely professional one).
This is underlined by the crew obviously and openly thinking Stede is an idiot - and by Stede calling everyone Du. Is it because he sees himself as a social superior who can address people informally but insists on formal address for himself? That’s one way to read it! But more interesting and more accurate, in my opinion, is to read this as an attempt by Stede to make himself part of their ingroup. It’s especially obvious when Stede invites Olu and Jim to sit with him on the couch in ep1; he’s using Du while Olu very poignantly keeps insisting on Sie. It underlines how visibly uncomfortable Olu is sitting there trying to explain to Stede that people choose a life of crime out of necessity, while making Stede seem even more oblivious and out of place.
Interestingly, Stede uses Sie himself to put some professional distance between himself and someone else. Namely, with the tribe elder from ep2, who he addresses formally. Is this a sign of respect? Sure, he has a tendency to go for Sie by default. But it reminds me more of how one would be per Sie with a doctor or therapist; as a reminder that this is a strictly professional relationship. It’s easier to be open and vulnerable with someone who you know isn’t emotionally invested in your wellbeing, isn’t it?
Stede comes from a background where one is expected to address everyone with Sie unless granted permission otherwise. This is a sign of respect, the same way lower class people on this show tend to use Du as sign of solidarity; on Nigel’s ship, all the officers call each other Sie. So when Nigel uses Du with Stede, it adds a layer of disrespect, despite it being perfectly acceptable, since they have known each other as children. This is even more evident with Chauncey, who we see interact more with other pirates; when he wants something from someone (Izzy, Spanish Jackie) he calls them Sie, no problem, while Nigel’s crew doesn’t even make an attempt at showing some respect at the ep1 tea party.
And then there’s Izzy. Izzy and Stede call each other every insult under the sun and also address each other formally the whole time, which is the funniest possible choice. Like. I’m not sure why “Sie Arschloch!” is 1000x more bitchy than “Du Arschloch!” but it just is. It’s taking this whole game of distance and closeness to a whole new level; I despise you so much I would never entertain the notion of being friendly enough with you to use your first name. Sie Wichser. It’s made even funnier by the fact that for Stede, Sie is much more intuitive than for Izzy. It seems like Izzy has to make a lot more of an effort to keep the Sie up, but he’s not gonna be the one to break this particular stalemate first, goddammit.
Finally (because that’s the really interesting bit, isn’t it) Ed. Initially, in ep3, Stede calls Ed Sie, which, of course he would think to do that while he’s laying there half dead and bleeding, I love him. Ed echoes this back, because he’s determined to “do this right”, make a good first impression, and I thought this would be it, they’d be per Sie until the kiss, like it often goes in media translated from English. Fine, I guess.
But then.
When Ed wakes Stede up, he immediately goes for Du. No warm up, no getting to know each other first at all. And it’s great! First of all, because Ed of course is the type of person to just call everyone Du, but also because of what happens next: Stede calls him Du back. This is the first time this particular hand has been extended to him, and oh, is he excited to take it.
(Other people call Stede Du first, Spanish Jackie, the chief, but it’s not like this; not an invitation)
Stede isn’t meeting Blackbeard, he’s meeting some guy named Ed. Someone he instantly makes friends with; someone who has already seen him at his worst and so, who he can be himself with. Someone he doesn’t need to put up pretenses or worry about proper behaviour with. This scene would have lost so much had they decided to keep up the Sie.
Remember that camaraderie I talked about earlier? Solidarity among the crew that Stede tries but can’t manage to share in? Here it is! Here is the guy who will play dress up with him, who will delight in his interests, who will be his friend.
Yes, sometimes an unprompted Du can be disrespectful. But sometimes it is like this: Hey. I see you. Want to be friends?
A little old Our Flag Means Death meta for you since we STILL DON’T HAVE A RELEASE DATE ! DAVID ! (in alexis’ voice)
I’ve been rethinking about the importance of names and how they address each other in the show since I watched the French dubbing (a way to see the show yet another time but with little differences) and what I found very interesting is the fact that Stede and Ed are both using « vous » with each other : a sort of polite/stiff/formal « you » used amongst people who respect a certain hierarchy/elder/professors etc or that you don’t know enough to use the « tu » : the more intimate or familiar « you ». For example ed uses « tu » with everyone (including Izzy) because within his class, it would have been strange otherwise, except towards superiors in ranks or unfortunately higher class like his mom with her boss probably. Well everyone, except Stede.
On the contrary, Stede uses « tu » with no one except his crew (and yes that includes his wife and children) for the same reasons Edward uses the opposite : his higher class. What transpires between them with this choice is a deep respect even when they are joking with each other…
That is until a certain scene where Ed is saying : Ce qui me rend heureux c’est…toi. = What makes me happy is.. you (you guessed it not vous but tu).
And Stede of course replies :
Tu me rends heureux également. (You make me happy as well).
they proceed to use the tutoiement (using tu) for the rest of their dialogue which adds a very profound intimacy between them, even more so than the kiss, because a barrier has been lifted. What is heart wrenching is that when Stede is asking the petrified orange « how was your day, Edward? », in french he’s reverting to the « vous », indicating either that he knows he lost the privilege of addressing Edward with the closeness they finally achieved or that Ed’s too far away (in distance and emotion) and became a myth again, almost a figment of his imagination, more than a real man/friend/lover.
ALT