Heya! I saw u from a bunch of great pretender stuff, and idk if ur still into that show but I NEED your opinion on Laurent x Makoto. I don’t know how to feel abt it lol

YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT PLACE😭🫶

So I am guilty of loving them, but I feel weary of saying it because I feel like so much of fandom culture (at least in the past) has been about reducing shipping to coffee shop aus and flat dynamics that get recycled for every ship. But Laurent and Makoto (Edaurent, as they're called) (it used to be "French bean"😭😭😭😭) is such a complex and interesting pairing to me... I feel like their chemistry in the show is sizzling and I think it's a playground for exploring taboo subjects such as their age-gap and Laurent's manipulation of Makoto etc. I'm assuming you just watched the show? But three years ago there was A LOT OF DISCOURSE like a LOT of discourse about the age-gap. my take is that they're both consenting adults and with the time that passes in the show since they meet, Makoto is getting older too. Like yeah there's a big gap (again, feeds their dynamic) but I don't think it's creepy bc GrePre is such a mature and serious show imo. It marries anime and Hollywood and it's just so elevated that they avoid all these clichés and idk. I'm rambling rn but Yeah TL;DR is I really love them and I think they're super interesting and in looooove but in a complicated waaaay.

Thank you for asking omg🫶🫶❤️

u/Evangelion2004 on Reddit has been working on translating Dogra Magra (an epic feat given how notoriously long and complicated the original is). I hope they finish it, I'd love to read it all one day.

I know there's a recently published translation of the novel as a translation of a translation from Japanese -> French -> English. I'm not sure if it'll get reprints, though, so I don't think I'll be reading that translation any time soon.

Translation is hard, and inevitably, some details will be lost in translation. I wish I was more proficient in Japanese or at least Chinese so I could read it without being dependent on a translator. For now, I'm thankful to the people who do TL work. There are so many stories I'd never get a chance to know without help crossing the language barrier.

u g h i’m just having the SHITTIEST of nights

Oh cool!

My favorites are

Dr. Facilier (for the same reasons, honestly, and I'm from Louisiana so I really loved the representation of having a movie take place in N'orleans. I actually used to specifically watch the Canadian French dub just to hear what a (as close as they could get) Cajun version of Facilier would sound like)

Hades (I'm neurodivergent, so I'm still a bit surprised people say he's antisemitic, but so many Disney villains are, it's sad. I still don't see it, but I apologize if it offends anyone) I love his design, it's my second favorite next to Facilier. Eris is my favorite DreamWorks villain for very similar reasons. I'm not a fan of the movie overall, being a big mythology buff, but I love good character design and Megara is one of my favorite "Disney Damsels" because of her sassy attitude. I'm very sad he never got a villain song, though, because those are always the best ones.

Jafar (again, I understand if it's a hurtful stereotype and I'm sorry for that, I just love fabulously designed dramatic men and he's absolutely ridiculous).

Scar and Zira are tied for fourth because I love these dramatic lion bastards, and they have some of the best lines and plots of any Disney villain.

And last, but not least, I also really love Gaston. I'm glad someone else understands, it's cool to have a "Normal" villain/that one guy everybody else in town likes but who is kind of a jerk. I love how he rallied the town during the mob song, as well as how he's not that different from Adam/The Beast except Beast had a positive character arc because Belle actually gave him a chance.

Sorry this is TL;DR. I just...I'm a dork, haha.

How about Disney Princesses? (If I'm bothering you, feel free to let me know)

Oh!!! My dad was born and raised in new orleans and I used to visit there regularly, so that's also a big part of it for me!!!

Jafar is probably an honorable mention for me. His song in the second movie is...chefs kiss.

And yeah what I love about Gaston is like. He's just a dude. A guy. A total dick but he's just a guy who could have easily had things go different for him if he weren't a dick

OOHHH PRINCESSES YES (also u are not bothering. Disney is big hyperfixation for me)

Number one is RAPUNZEL. And honestly I'm not entirely sure why? I think she's just. Fun!! She's rlly cute and her dress is so pretty and her story is rlly sweet....and she's a badass.

Two would be Tiana!! As a black person with family from new oreans I'm just obligated to love her, but also just. Her story again is so powerful and she does NOT give up and I just love her

Third would be Mulan. Again, badass princess rights. Also definitely awoke something in me as a child but isn't that just how it is when ur trans.

Fourth would be Belle!! She's pretty of course but also so smart and sweet and HELLO HAVE YOU SEEN THE RIDE AT TOKYO DISNEYLAND I watched it recently and was losing my mind

I can't pick a fifth from Jasmine or Cinderella or Snow White. All three are great ;u;

The Côte d'Azur is sooo so costly, if you're on a tight budget, just stay away from hotels and try to avoid the classic french tourist-trap, aka anything related to food (a regular meal in a restaurant = at least 25€ per person) that doesn't mean u shouldn't enjoy a campari cocktail from time to time don't mistake me, but you definitely ought to note that the French Riviera daydreamz® you can encounter on tumblr are only that — daydreams (tl;dr: southern france is expensive)

thank you for telling me, nonny! 💕 i was counting on that, so to speak - such places are typically pricey,, while our budget isn’t all that tight & we’ll mainly be staying in hotels [albeit booked by a friend who really knows his way around bargains], i’m not buying into the riviera aes anytime soon — i’m not french [or, ahaha, american] enough for that, anyway, so i’d better stay true to my regular slavic swimsuits. a nice glass of campari, though? yes please! 🍸