Fandom makes everything shinier, this is true! Oddly, I haven't so much made really close fandom friends so much as solidified my relationships with rl friends who also participate in fandom... then again, my life is so much less varied than yours. *hugs*

I'm sorry if things suck right now! They should get better, especially if you watch Mulan. As a point of interest, have you watched the Chinese live-action filmed in 2009? It's also good, though vastly different.