#mulan rant

[artist-issues]

Mulan is not a metaphor for neurodivergence.

Because none of you can describe what “neurodivergence” is. You can’t make a metaphor for something that is undefinable.

If you think Mulan “looks at the world a little differently than everyone else,” then sure, it’s a story with that in it. But guess what? Grandma also looks at the world differently than everyone else. Oh! And Fa Zhou looks at the world differently than Mulan! And Fa Zhou’s wife looks at the world differently than Mushu! And Mushu looks at the world differently than Shan Yu! And Shan Yu looks at the world differently than The Emperor’s Advisor!

Heyyy maybe we’re all humans who have our own unique perspectives & responses to the world around us. Some of us have some pieces of unique perspectives/responses in common, like fabrics we like the feel of or topics we happen to be focused on in this season of life, and some of us, shocker, have different pieces/responses in common! Hey, we’re all alike and we’re all unlike—which means we’re mostly alike! Even in the way we think!

Maybe you don’t need a word that means “I’m different, but not in a specifically definable way, just in a way that makes me both like and unlike some people, somewhere, sometime, depending on how ‘seen’ I need to feel in a given moment, and who/what piece of media I’d like associated with me/that given people group.”

Unless you can define “neurodivergent” beyond what I just said. Then tell me how Mulan is a metaphor for that definition—of “neurodivergent” beyond what I just said.

[zombiecheri]

I really hope Mizu and Taigen never end up together. I don't exactly dislike Taigen's character but I don't see him with Mizu. It would be so forced to me. "he bullied you in past and now likes you" trope is so shitty in my opinion. So overused, so boring, so cliche. It's doing nothing to me.

I don't see Mizu with Akemi either. As much as I want Mizu with a girl (mostly because I need a confirmation that she's indeed wlw), I don't think they're compatible. I don't see Mizu with anyone at this point. I don't think she needs a love interest. Not all characters need one, plus her past would make sense why she wouldn't want it.

Anyways, if Mizu does end up with Taigen I'll be very disappointed. I lied a little bit when I said I didn't dislike him, he is very annoying to me. He's not bad, just annoying, uninteresting and unfortunately very boring. He does nothing for me as a character.

Walmart Zuko mixed with Shang with a bald spot (I'm jealous over pixels what the fuck is my life)

[trans-leek-cookie]

i feel like we are conflating "not realizing you were being lied to" and "accepting/ignoring obvious gross behavior" in the same realm of being Not At Fault. Yeah this is abt James Somerton cause like. Yeah you're not going to notice plagiarism unless youre familiar with the plagiarized work (or someone calls out said plagiarism) that's fine. But like? You aren't irredeemable or anything, but maybe in the future be more critical when someone you respect or like says stuff that's misogynistic or lesbophobic or biphobic or transphobic? Like you don't have to instantly persecute them, but please let that inform how you see them? Don't just write them off as having good intentions or important things to say (even if they do), you can acknowledge those intentions while also acknowledging their faults. Again: it's not an unforgivable sin, but there's a difference in being lied to and listening to someone Say Misogynistic and Bi/Trans/Lesbophobic Shit openly

[atopvisenyashill]

Sorry, but I saw your tags on an Alicent post and I am now using your inbox as a way to rant about the reaction to the Viserys praise in Season 2.

Because no, we probably didn’t need a once-an-episode mention of how great he was. But people acting as though that’s out of character for Alicent or that the show is engaging in abuse apologia really annoys me.

First, in the context of Westeros, none of what Viserys did to Alicent is recognized as abuse. While she was slightly under the Westerosi age of maturity when they married, she had almost certainly had her first period by that point and was therefore seen as appropriate to marry. Marital rape is not a concept for them, and even if he hit her (which I think is unlikely from what we are presented) no-one is going to punish him. He is the king. So while she clearly knows that she doesn’t like “having sex” with Viserys, it’s likely that she (consciously) sees it as less of “he’s forcing me to do this” and more as “I am bearing my marital duty as best as I can, perhaps this is how it is for all women” or at worst, “I’m a bad wife.” As for the emotional abuse: even our modern society is really just discovering that concept. Either way, given the context of Westeros and how she was raised, I think it would be very unlikely for her to recognize his treatment of her as abuse and subsequently rail against it. My guess is that she sees him as a kind of typical husband: she wasn’t in love with him, but she liked him sometimes and he was sometimes nice to her, and he was never overly violent in a way that she would recognize. In her mind, he was a fine husband and a good king.

Second, the idea that abuse survivors feeling anything less than murderous rage towards their abusers is “abuse apologia” really pisses me off. Especially when we’re talking about Alicent in the context of being a victim of grooming, which is done specifically so that the victim sees nothing wrong with their abuse. I see this with Rhaenyra about Daemon sometimes and it just…that’s just not always how it works. Not every single survivor of abuse is just going to hate their abuser with no complicated feelings (which there’s nothing wrong with to be clear) and oftentimes, they are going to have a lot of complicated feelings. So the idea that she should just plainly hate Viserys seems very reductionist to me and just further feeds what I’ve been feeling about the way that a lot of people seem to want Alicent to be a perfect victim.

Yeah first - I wish we had gotten an equivalent of Rhaenyra's "we became one person he could love" speech for the greens. I think that speech went a long way in telling us how Rhaenyra feels about her father (and Daemon, and vice versa) and how he's negatively impacted them and their lives without being an ooc "wow maybe my dad did suck all along" sort of thing. I don't think the greens really get that - I think it makes sense for Otto to compare Aegon disfavorably against Viserys at this point (Aegon is acting kinda wild) and for the smallfolk as well to look disfavorably on Aegon and Aemond (Viserys never dragged them into a dumb fuck war, did he) but at the same time, these comments are not made in a vacuum and I think especially when it comes to Viserys' neglect of his kids and the domestic violence Alicent experiences, which is not only kind of, idk, subtle I suppose (subtle for a general audience, anyway, bc even people real deep in discourse in fandom don't understand dv lol, let alone random joe schmoe just watching his dragon show), but also it's not a thing they have words for or context for in the show, and i think there should have been more spice there when discussing him. but that gets into how the greens writing fell off right around regent/smallfolk.

But secondly - YES. God last season it annoyed the SHIT out of me because I watched a) the throne room scene and b) Alicent crying alone over him, and I FELT that shit. It all rang so true to me - Viserys making a grand gesture at the 11th hour that makes him feel good but ultimately does not really help Rhaenyra's cause in any sort of meaningful way, and Alicent who feels so duty bound to be A Good Wife left crying alone in her room after her shitty husband dies because she HAS to mourn him, that's what a good wife does. And I saw people describe it as "rhaenyra needs viserys to save her" "why does alicent care about that rotting idiot" "why can't rhaenyra/alicent be strong on her own" and it made me want to scream.

Viserys is integral to understanding their characters! Arguably he is the influence on the way both of them develop as people, in both the book and the show. Rhaenyra loves her father - and I will say it again because I don't think people understand that Rhaenyra loves her father. When she's angry with him, when she argues with him, it is because she feels rejected by him, not because she hates him! She does not resent him for putting her in this situation - or, she does, but that resentment does not point towards him and frankly, it never will! It's the same reason Sansa cannot resent Ned, Cersei can't hate Tywin, Arianne is so desperate for approval from Doran. I think often people want Rhaenyra to reject Viserys completely because they think it's what they would do (no, they wouldn't, but alright, u can lie to urself here) but feeling like you've been backed into a corner and reaching for a parent, even a flawed one, to come rescue you, and he does (sort of, kind of, in a way that makes him feel better and is flashy but kind of useless) makes sense when you think about where Rhaenyra will end up which is following this thread and this inheritance she gets from her father to a bitter, violent end!

And then Alicent. Alicent who spells it out literally right on screen that her whole life is about serving ideals she thinks are above her, outside of her, greater than her. And what are these ideals? Family, duty, sacrifice. And who is the living embodiment of family, duty, sacrifice? The patriarch! Her husband! She is duty bound to love him, to mourn him, and so she does, because even in the privacy of her own room, the privacy of her own mind she is incapable of separating her self from her husband, her sons, her duty. She uses Viserys as a cover for her own feelings and desires constantly. And like you said - I mean, nothing that happens between them passes any sort of line in Westerosi society. I think Alicent is the sort of person who would force herself to find things to love about him and she very much seems to love the things in him that she loves in herself - his propensity for quiet, for reflection, his reluctance to act rashly, his perceived lack of violence. Of course she loves him. He practically raised her. Do we not love our fathers, even when they are imperfect?

It very much ties into all these ideas about being a "good victim" but people don't want to really talk about the way our concept of a "good victim" has shifted over the years. Now, when people love their abusers, when they don't rage against the abuse they experience, when they don't realize they're being abused, when they crave the abuse back, it's seen as being weak, unfeminist, bad writing. Real victims rage and seethe. Real victims plot to escape. Real victims may fawn in the moment but deep down they never loved their abusers even a little. That's just not true and it's especially not true when it comes to domestic abuse such as spousal or parental abuse, and because Rhaenyra and Alicent love and crave the abuse heaped on them because it is done by people who they love, by people who love them in return (however selfish that love may be!), it means the writing is bad. No, it's not actually. Sometimes, your dad sucks and you know he sucks and he never gets better and you love him anyway.

[priarity]

‘blue eye samurai is like GOT and mulan combined hahaha’ how small minded can you get omfg

[tisalonelydreamer]

i'm currently thinking about how, for so long, you couldn't be an asian on the screen unless you were a side character that was pretty much built on stereotypes. and there are standout asian actors, but i'm a teenager so legends who made a name for themselves are kinda before my time. but both michelle yeoh and ke huy quan are the embodiment of not giving up on your dreams. even if it takes a while, you're time will come, and in a way that honors yourself. every time i see another post or edit of their oscar wins, i tear up.

i didn't grow up watching asians on tv. my only likeness as a child used to be mulan, but people at school used to tell me i couldn't just pick her as my favorite disney movie because she's asian (which, kids are dumb and that reasoning is stupid and besides the fact the she was the only representation kid-me had, mulan had a great storyline and message and characters and soundtrack and it was and still is a really great movie). i remember seeing characters like mike chang from glee on tv, but he was a character always pushed to the side, and those shows always had a way of just mocking and reaffirming stereotypes.

i think about how sometimes the only space for asian women was so that they could be sexualized, or how there was even less room for asian men on the screen unless they fit a certain look. how asians had to become an image to get their space.

and in recent years, the representation for asians has increased, and i'm so thankful. i wish i had that when i was younger, but i'm glad to have it now. with movies like shang chi or crazy rich asians, we get to see how respecting and celebrating culture is significant, but it's also not an asian's entire identity. how we are still people with stories that deserve to have main characters.

i'm so happy that eeaao gave michelle yeoh and ke huy quan their space. how this door opened for them and asians to be seen and respected. how they inspire people to dream big. how it feels possible for big dreams to really and truly happen.

when i was a little girl, i was obsessed with superheroes, which led me to my obsession with the tv show agents of shield. and i adored melinda may, played by ming na wen, who was a bad*ss character. and her character revolved not around her culture (although culture was not ignored) but how even without it she is still a character with a complex history and development and personality.

it's nice to be living and experiencing an era where asians are getting their recognition. representation is so important because it reaches so many people and lets them know that somewhere out there, achieving the dream, even for someone who looks like us, is within our reach.

we finally get to exist in the mainstream. and for that, my inner child is so grateful.

[jimbalaiee]

I wish that who uses only "she/her" or "he/him" referring to Mizu kinda get the drip that Mizu isn't neither a man nor a woman.

That whoever is using only one of these pronouns is actually seeing that Mizu is kinda beyond gender shit, and any other category.

So when using those are all in a genderqueer/genderfuck way. When calling them girlfriend or man or bf is in an ironic way.

I really wish I'm not seeing people thinking Mizu is a woman just bc they are AFAB or bc "this trope is ant-women" terf's shit. Cuz I guarantee that Mulan (1998) and Blue Eye Samurai (2023) aren't being feminist in a simple "We Can Do It, too" way, but rather "See, gender roles are stupid and fuck you if you think that genderqueer people don't exist and people are only MAN or WOMAN."

Man, I really hate when people look at a genderqueer story and think only in binary. Adult Mizu could have been a woman if they really were one, cuz the point of they being perseved as a boy was only to be more difficult to find them as a kid, when their mom couldn't protect them with her hands or power, cuz she had none.

I think that when they were in the wife role, they weren't really performing it as a woman, but more like a duty commonly attributed to wife (more like my father being the cook in the house and a really good caretaker who is really considering and cute, and also being the dad figure, when my mom is in the finances business of the house and isn't the best caretaker of all times...) and for they mom respect and consideration, cuz they loved her and wanted to show their love, retributing by marry that guy.

But they were rejected by their mom and their husband, when being their own singular self. When showing they weren't the wife, neither the woman people thought they should be.

Yes, they suit a masc appearance and mannerisms, but it seem dehonest to call them a man. They really don't perform a man image.

Just like non binary transmasc or butches... We aren't really men just bc we are mascs. And we aren't really, by the book, women, solely by the fact we are AFAB.

Why? Cuz it is just like that. Gender isn't the binary we were thought and I wish everyone a really good search and thinking on genderqueer thesis and documents, already documented discussions and a read on "Butch Blues", a watch on "Tomboy", etc.

[insanely-lovely-and-random]

Joker 2 rant cause it's always a rant with me ( but a mini one) Just wanted to say this, cause everyone on the internet apparently thinks the entire planet hates musicals (Or think the entire movie going audience is boring ass men who think all musicals are lame for some godforsaken reason). I'm so fucking psyched for this shit. An artistic jukebox musical with Phoenix and Gaga?? Yes fucking please! I couldn't tell you how uninterested I was in a Joker sequel UNTIL I found out it was a musical. That trailer slapped so fucking hard I lost a tooth.

Cannot freaking waittttt

[femslashspuffy]

I think it's really interesting that Mulan and She's the Man both have the same little detail where the main characters are pushing the toxic masculinity so hard because that's what they think is expected of them in these athletic all-male settings, and then they miss the male social cues that usually allow guys to be more genuine and talk to each other about their feelings

Viola and Mulan both get so in their heads with an idea of what a man is like that they can't just be a person. Which is interesting because at times they're right that stopping the 'all that' will get them clocked but also they dont know how to be emotional in a male-coded way. So they get weird!!

These movies are such a representation of the culture of the time I would love to watch something like them made today

[cursedfallingmoon]

IM FINALLY BACK ON THE CREATIVE TRAIN. I SWEAR THIS TIME IM NOT LYING. GONNA GET GB MULAN OUT BY THE END OF TODAY. OR SO HELP ME

[robbierants]

Li Shang Is A Bisexual Legend

Li Shang, voiced by BD Wong with Donny Osmond providing the singing voice in the 1998 film, was one of the most popular characters in the original animated "Mulan." His complex character was a departure from the more mundane, hollow love interests past Disney princesses had fallen for.

He was far more interesting, for instance, than any of the interchangeable princes in "Cinderella" (Prince Charming), "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (who is not even given a name and is referred to only as The Prince), "Sleeping Beauty" (Prince Phillip), and "The Little Mermaid" (Prince Eric).

"Mulan" dared to be different with Li Shang, a fully fleshed-out character with his own desires and difficulties.What really made his character stand out, though, was that he was clearly bisexual.

It may not be overtly stated, but his relationship with Mulan strongly suggests he is. Li Shang doesn't fall for Mulan after she reveals herself to be a woman — he's drawn to Mulan while she is still in disguise as Ping, a male soldier.

While Mulan is presenting as Ping, their relationship suggests intimacy and desire rather than soldierly respect or male camaraderie. You can actually pinpoint the moment when Li Shang seems to realize he's into Ping:

Yes, he is smiling because Ping has gone from a clumsy soldier to an incredible warrior. But any Disney fan will recognize that look — it's the same sort of moment as in "Beauty and the Beast" when Belle and Beast begin to like each other and sing "Something There." Both sets of characters come to an understanding that is strongly suggested to be more than friendship.

In "Mulan," traditional romantic relationships are pushed to the side, presenting Mulan as a fiercely independent heroine with her own story and agency. This was hugely inspirational to many young girls and Asian people, and it still is — but so, too, was the subplot of Li Shang's bisexuality (Link below)

It meant a lot to LGBTQ viewers, particularly kids growing up at that time who felt alienated and alone, to see themselves represented in a major Disney movie in such a natural way, even if it wasn't explicitly stated.

[heydranga]

Hey welcome back to random thoughts with yours truly.

Today's random thought is about mulan.

I think the Huns/hans? Are better people then the men from china.

Let me explain!

They aren't sexist at all. They saw a village and killed everyone leaving no survivors. Shan Yu saw Mulan was a woman and wasn't like "A woman defeated me?" Nah he was like "The SOLDIER from the mountains" he saw Mulan as an equal regardless of her gender.

In the og story when mulan was discovered she became the emperors concubine and committed suicide.

In the disney version she would have been killed by shang if she didn't save his life.

Also shout out to Ling, Yao, and Chin Po. They saw her fight and we're like nah that's our equal we all would have died without her brain power bro.

Also Shang should have been gay, let's be honest.

Anyway, I feel like Mulan's father was the goat because you know he taught her how to ride a horse and he probably would have thrown hands with any man who dared to mistreat his daughter. He knew his daughter was a tomboy and encouraged it for years. You also know he adored his wife as his equal rather than as someone who should give him sons.

The Huns mostly likely treated women the same way. I don't get how the only way a woman can bring honor to her family is by giving birth to sons. Like come on. "We need more people for the war but oh no not women" what type of sense does that make?

I've recently discovered that some people ship Mulan and Shan Yu at first I didn't get it but then I actually thought about how he would at least look at Mulan as a equal rather than an enemy.

Also disney never gave the reason why The Huns had beef with the emperor.

Now onto the 2 mulan movie. The emperor was ready to give all his daughters to a man he himself never met. That's like sending your children to a harem or pimping them out to strangers.

Shang out right pissed me off in the 2nd Mulan movie. Like I get it Mushu was wrong for trying to split them up but I feel like he was revealing how their relationship was always rocky. Shang didn't even bother to really listen to Mulan or ask her opinion on what she wanted.

Like when the villagers were asking questions they were literally opposites. How do you expect Mulan to give you as many children as possible did you not catch on in the time you guys have been dating that Mulan loves her independence and that she didn't want to be the one stuck at home with the children while you did whatever?

When Shang was thought to have been dead I was excited I was like yes now Mulan to live out her life as a Kung Fu master who trains girls to be their own person. Then the whole I'll marry the prince in the princesses place thing happened and I gagged.

Love should never be treated as a 1 way street or a way to control or to make ends meet. You either see each others as equals, think of each others feelings, ask what the other wants out of life and see if it has conflicting interests, actually communicate your problems rather then being quick to start a fight or dismiss the other.

Ugh anyway that was my rant, have a nice day, stay safe out there.

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Here's the Tazercraft + Fit AU I was thinking about yesterday while lying on the floor sick to my stomach listening to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" soundtrack on loop:

Tazercraft are known for being master thieves, so they get contracted to break into the Federation to steal something (or maybe they just hear about the Federation being powerful and impossible to infiltrate, so they take it as a challenge and see if they can steal something).

Either way, they get discovered in the middle of their heist, but not before Mike manages to nab something from the lab: a bunch of strange rounded objects which they shove into Mike's backpack. They manage to escape, but while they're running from the Feds, one of the objects falls out of Mike's backpack and Pac stalls for a moment to double-back and grab it. They get separated, and Pac gets chased down and winds up losing Mike completely. He hides somewhere and pauses for a moment to catch his breath and take a closer look at the object he grabbed.

He and Mike originally thought they were some kind of gems or even fancy Fabergé eggs or something, but it turns out to be an ACTUAL egg, which starts to crack right in Pac's hands. The small dragon that noses its way out is adorable... until it starts making noise, which alerts the lingering Feds to Pac's location.

—

Pac makes a break for it, but he has as much success as the mother at the beginning of the Hunchback of Notre Dame movie. Unlike the mother however, he doesn't die when he's knocked down the temple steps, but he does crack his head and gets knocked out.* The Feds were planning on killing him and dumping him somewhere, but the little dragon that hatched (Richarlyson) refuses to be separated from Pac. They realize their experiment imprinted on him, and since the rest of their subjects got kidnapped by Mike, they drag Pac back to Federation HQ with Richarlyson.

After hours searching for Pac, Mike finally finds the place where Pac was cornered, and seeing all the blood left behind on the steps of the temple, he assumes Pac was either killed or captured. I imagine he'd try (and fail) to infiltrate the Federation again, so he'd join the Rebels to try and take down the Feds and save his friend (thus taking on an Esmeralda-esque role in the story). I imagine the Rebels would be like the Court of Miracles group in the movie, and this would be how the rest of the Eggs wind up hatching / finding the parents they have in canon.

Meanwhile in the Federation, Pac's head injury (conveniently) damaged his memory enough that the Federation is able manipulate him into cooperating with them. He lives in the Federation’s Headquarters and takes care of Richarlyson, neither of them allowed to leave the premises. Pac's the only reason Richarlyson isn't an absolute terror (he's still a terror, but he'll at least let the Federation scientists run tests on him. Sometimes).

I imagine that this goes on for some time, maybe even a few years. The Rebels try chipping away at the Federation, but they're always thwarted. Maybe after one particularly aggressive attack, the Federation boosts security and that's how they wind up hiring Fit (whose closest counterpart in the movie would be Phoebus). Fit's still there on his own mission for Madagio, but he gets assigned to guard Richas (and Pac by extension) and that's how they wind up meeting. 

The conflict in the story would be Mike trying to rescue Pac + Richas, get Pac to remember who he is, and convince Pac that the Rebels are actually the good guys. There would also be conflict between Fit trying to keep his cover as a spy for Madagio but also getting attached to Richas and Pac, knowing if he helps them escape he'll blow his cover and if the Federation doesn't kill him, Madagio will.

Anyways! I'll never get around to writing this fic, but it's a fun idea to think about. Maybe Pac even wound up with Richas and Ramon, and things are complicated even further because of how much Fit winds up loving Ramon.

—

* It's fun imagining Felps filling the priest's role in the movie, but it's a bit hard imagining Cucurucho being swayed by Felps enough to let Pac live. (In canon, I think the only one who could really do that would be Antoine, but it's still fun imagining Felps helping out Pac like that).

[bellamysgriffin]

hard to contribute to the snow white discourse rn bc so much of it is just an excuse to hate on rachel zegler, and i think casting her in that role is nothing short of a revelation. that said….

with this whole “she’s not gonna be saved by the prince” nonsense….. an adaptation of snow white that doesn’t include the true loves kiss is kinda pointless tbh… like make a new story at that point. also that’s literally ALL the prince does to save her like he JUST kisses her.

and then the whole “she’s not gonna dream of true love she’s gonna dream of becoming the leader she knows she can be” is weird too because i just don’t think we need to girlbossify EVERY disney princess. the most dated thing about snow white is that she becomes the pseudo mother for 7 men and cooks and cleans for them, not wanting love.

if EYE were making a snow white adaptation, i would emphasize the power of kindness idea bc like… that’s fully present in the original film. like the huntsman saves her… bc of her goodness. the dwarves take her in … bc of her goodness. the prince falls in love with her bc of her beauty yes but also… her innate goodness/kindness. i think you can really draw that theme out a lot more and emphasize it in a way that would modernize and update the story without basically scrapping it and turning into yet another sterile girlboss disney story.

that said, i do hear queen greta is writing the script so i ultimately mostly trust it and will likely be giving my money

[xiao-lantern]

saw a tiktok that said “[Mulan] would’ve been so much better if she was a guy” bc of the whole “Shang finding out Mulan’s actually a girl and not a femboy” stuff as if… as if the WHOLE POINT of the movie wasn’t supposed to be that Mulan was a girl in a country who oppressed women (+ forced men to fight even in their old age or if they were disabled) and she broke the status quo of being a “submissive” “weak” woman… like?? sorry that the Disney movie is based on an actual legend and not your average ao3 fanfic 💀

[bluelippedbrelly]

you know that stereotype that you start looking more like each other the longer you’re dating? very true for me and my partner.

but no one seems to talk about what breaking up after that feels like. i don’t recognize myself in my old photos, even though I feel like i looked the most myself. i feel stripped of identity, no longer recognizing the person in the mirror or camera, everything always leads back to her. I became the best version of myself that i had always wanted, but no longer can connect to or be that person.

it kind of really sucks