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cathyparrlyn · 3 years

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TIME FOR A RANDOM HEADCANON POST YEEEEEEEEEE

Six: Fantasy AU

Premise: The queens are all rebels against the Tudor kingdom. They are wanted criminals as escaped wives of King Henry. Anne and Lina were the first two to group together and then decided to get the others to join their force so they could work together to finally put an end to Henry’s kingdom of terror. They then have many gay adventures together.

Aragon: a priestess from the church of Stanlicia (cause Alicia is the god of gay nirvana, no I don’t take criticism). Don’t let the holy woman vibe fool you though, she might focus on her bible, but she also is not afraid to drop kick any fucker who comes remotely close to her in any threatening manner. Aragon, although the only human of the group, is well known as the one you should not fuck with. She is the leader of the group, seeing as she is the only one who can read a map and not get distracted by colorful flowers or ancient ruins *insert Cathy and Kat feeling attacked in the background*. She has stupendous charisma and leadership skills, knowing when to be assertive and when to be cautious. She is also a distance fighter, rocking a nice bow and arrow set. Her talents are pep talks, singing, persuasion, distance offensive maneuvers, and leadership.

Anne: a fucking elf. What else did you expect? Okay, but seriously? Full on elf, raised from status and privilege, yet heavily burdened by expectations and gender stereotypes. Anne is a free spirit just like how her mother was, and after her mother’s passing she took on her mother’s dream of adventuring the world. She ran away from home with Kitty, never looking back. She is definitely the risk taker of the group, often causing chaos and laughing at their enemies failures. Truly a master of combat and swordsmanship, Anne wields dual swords that she had stolen from Henry. She struggles with magic even though she is an elf, and she is very insecure about the subject. She is also a bit of the flirt of the group, but only genuinely means it when she’s with Cathy. Often at times she can be found asking Cathy to do a spell for some impulsive idea she had. Her skills are sleight of hand, deception, persuasion, seduction, animal handling, combat, and dance.

Jane: a nymph who literally tries to adopt every plant and animal in sight. As long as it’s not among the “civilized” races, to her it has a heart and deserves love. Firm believe in fuck humanity and fuck kids, she’s a proud plant mama. A lover more than a fighter, she is more of the groups support. She has plenty of herbs for healing and knows where to go when in need of food or water, or even direction. She also befriends plenty of animals, so when push comes to shove they defend her. She can also control plants which is pretty badass, she literally used vines to yeet some of Henry’s men off a cliff into the lake once. Anne was so jealous and begged Cathy for a week to give her plant arms so she could be badass like Jane. That was a good day. Her skills are healing, navigation, empathy, nature knowlegde, basic survival skills, among a few others. Out of the group though, she is the worse fighter.

Anna: she is part demon. Demon have been banished and slaughtered for years, their existence is believed noneexistent at this point in time due to the years of war and persecution. Although minor, Anna is well aware of the demon blood that runs through her veins and constantly has to hide her dark magic or else she’ll be ostracized and murdered. It doesn’t matter how much demon blood is inside a person, they have the potential to turn into a full fledged demon, and that is Anna’s greatest fear along with the group leaving her and deeming her a monster. Although her race has dark origins, Anna is one of the most loyal and softest people you’ll ever meet, always caring for the others and doing whatever she can to protect them. She is attached to them. Sir, that is her emotional support found family. Just don’t breathe negatively in Kat’s direction, Anna will hear it and then give you a glare that makes hell seem like a playground. Her expertises are forgotten languages, sleight of hand, and tank battling styles. She is very well trained in hand to hand combat and can kick some major ass with her overwhelming strength (which is totally human and not demon what so ever.... hehehe.)

Kat: she is Anne’s baby cousin and somewhat like an apprentice, also a half elf. She is a dual axe wielder, but also quite the performer and grifter just like her cousin. Her elf nature gives off the image of status, even if she is a magicless elf whom are viewed to be worthless scum. However her human side gives her some trouble and nasty rumors, along with making her a bit more impulsive than most elves (then again, seeing Anne, that might just be the family). She is a very gentle gal when it comes to taking care of others, and she begs for a familiar everyday. Kat has a fascination with history and adventure and is the second best story teller, only falling short to her cousin Anne. More often than not you will catch her singing while she practices her axe swinging. Although small and gentle, don’t mistake her for incompetent and weak unless you want to lose a hand or your head to her axe. She might be baby, but babies don’t take shit from bigots. Her expertises are in history, disguise, music, and sneak attacks.

Cathy: She is a fucking witch, and a badass one at that. She was a gifted magic user since a very young age. While most people are able to unlock and control enough magic around the age of puberty, Cathy was able to manage hers at the age of six. This she was very proud of as her dutiful nature allowed her to learns a galore of spells, potions, and legends through her research and practice. However, it also caused her to have to pick her activation phrase and motion, something that can never be changed, at a young age. Let’s just say, she has regrets and Cathy’s parents knew she was bi since Cathy was six. Anyways, she totally kicks ass. After getting bored of mastering the basic extensive magics, Cathy decided to study mythology and psychology and dove into the dark magics. Although dark magic users are ostracized and in majority of the land illegal, Cathy couldn’t stop herself from falling in love with the subject and becoming a dark mage / witch. Her skills are potion making, knowledge of multiple languages, dark magic, sarcasm, explosions, enhancements, protection, writing, and more. She is one of the most powerful magic users in the land and have a vast knowledge of magic and beings. Now if only she could fucking figure out herself, or at the very least learn how to get a decent amount of sleep.

Thank you to everyone who read this xx

Here is the fantasy picrew I used:

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svynakee · 4 years

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mulan (2020) and chi, a mystical misrepresentation

Disney’s research on chi (气) suggests that early on they fang qi (放弃). Mulan live action makes me want to fang pi (放屁). Long explanation on my gripes with this cultural 'representation’ which ends up backfiring into making Chinese culture look bad, plus why including the ~exotic Asian mysticism~ of qi ruins Mulan (2020).

*Translations of the words below cut

Part 1: Crouching Representation, Hidden Insult

Firstly, the accepted pinyin is qi, so I have no idea why they’re using chi. I’m no expert on Chinese medicine or spirituality, but I did grow up watching wuxia and having a mother who insisted I change my diet to balance the heat/cold/dry. The concept of qi is not a mystical one to me. I associate it with action movies and aunties who believe in alternative medicine – superstitious, but in that familiar, domestic way. Part of my tradition. Part of my culture. Part of my life.

Qi is not a magical outside force. Qi is your own personal energy. In stories, while you can seal other people’s qi or damage it, it’s not like some life force in nature where you can tap into a flower’s qi to gain plant powers. Mastery of qi is akin to an Olympic athlete who hones their body and self-control to peak physical performance. While their abilities may seem superhuman, they are not divine or innately magical.

In a wuxia setting, people can train until they get enhanced reflexes, strength, senses, motor skills and possibly healing abilities. These are all ‘normal’ human abilities that have simply been pushed to unrealistic levels. Even walking/running on water, running up vertical slopes and ‘flying’ can be explained as being really fast or…jumping really, really far. Outrageous? Yes. But importantly, not magical. This is why a wuxia hero can still be freaked out by the supernatural. In a wuxia setting, using qi is normal and anyone can become the strongest qi user. Some use it for fighting, others to be doctors (enhanced senses + acupressure), or solve crime (there’s quite a few wuxia detective stories out there).

In xianxia, there are more fantasy elements. Those who hone qi are usually cultivators, who do so with the end goal of becoming immortal. This is not a unique trait; the setting often has several (sometimes even hundreds) of flying, super strong, immortal people who have some degree of fame. There can even be establishments that teach cultivation. Or multiple sects full of cultivators who have honed their skills in qi. Entire armies of people who can cast spells and telepathically control their sword. One could argue that immortality is just the mundane ability to remain healthy pushed to the extreme, but xianxia is where monsters and demons and gods roam about.

There are further differences between the genre, but I only want to point out their similarities concerning the concept of qi.

Everyone is born with qi. Nobody is born with the skills to utilise their qi. Qi must be honed through training, usually in a balanced manner (both physical strength and mental acuity, along with some spiritual growth). Even heroes who have parents with strong qi start off weak, because if you can’t use you qi then you’re just a normal person, because everyone has qi. Being born with unusually long legs and large lung capacity might make you a good sprinter, but you won’t go to the Olympics without training, even if both your parents are gold medallists. It takes self-discipline, a good coach and a mastery of your body to reach that potential.

This is one of my gripes against Disney’s idea of ‘chi’ in Mulan. The other one is-

Qi is not gender restricted. In fact, feminine qi is associated with yin, the black part of the yinyang symbol. Not a new concept. There have been female martial artists and heroes in Chinese works for a long time. I hate how Disney is taking a gender-neutral concept, one which already has a degree of progressiveness in Chinese culture and deciding that “chi is not for women” just to push their girl power moral. For a long time, wuxia has had women warriors. Women MASTERS. Yeah, not every kung fu master is an old man with a long white beard. There are female-only sects. There are badass female warriors who participate in hand-to-hand combat and rack up kills. They’re not regulated to being healers and archers and that one ‘Amazon warrior princess’ using a whip. Growing up, I saw more strong, heroic female warriors in Chinese media than Western when I watched action films.

This is my main problem with Disney’s horrendous cultural appropriation. Instead of properly representing the culture, instead of doing research, instead of just NOT GOING FOR EXOTIC ASIAN MYSTICISM, they actually make Chinese culture look worse than it is. To. Support. Feminism.

Part 2: The Chi-asy Way Out

In addition to butchering the core concept of the thing they’re appropriating, Mulan (2020)’s baffling inclusion of qi, whoops, chi makes the story worse overall. Mulan being born with strong chi makes her a master warrior from childhood. However, society doesn’t like it when women have chi, so she is shunned and her parents worry for her. As a soldier, though, chi powers make her an asset to the army, so she becomes respected. In the end she is a hero.

Oh, and remember when Disney said removing Mushu was because they wanted a more accurate adaptation of the original poem?

MULAN WAS A NORMAL PERSON AND NEVER FOUGHT ANY BIRD WITCHES.

The problem is that this means nothing Mulan accomplishes is due to her own actions. How is this an uplifting feminist story? This is the message: “If you’re a girl who fails to conform, you will be ostracized. Don’t worry though – so long as you’re born super special and strong, make the right heroic choices and use your strength for good, you will find acceptance!”

WHO. IS. THIS. EMPOWERING.

Isn’t this just another ‘not like other girls’ story? Mulan likes something that only boys are allowed to do, so men don’t like her, until she proves she’s better than them at that thing, so they accept her? That’s not feminism! Women don’t need to prove anything to be allowed to pursue their passions or feel proud of their identity. And they don’t need to be the best at something to be allowed to do it!

In Mulan (1998), she lacks the raw physical strength of the men. This actually makes sense – she’s the daughter of a wealthy family (hence the marriage arrangement, the nice estate) – so she’s weaker. This weakness leads to her getting bullied. Mulan realises she can’t succeed if she tries to match them in brute strength. She then uses her brains to succeed. There’s a brief training montage where she becomes stronger which admittedly doesn’t explain why she suddenly gets swole, but it’s reasonable that she was always capable to being as strong as the men and merely lacked their background of physical labour (even Po, as monks are expected to maintain their temple).

In Mulan (2020), she just stops hiding her superpowers. After a personal pep talk from her commander, which she gets…because he knew her war veteran father.

Ah yes, magic and nepotism, the inspiration that little girls need! Feminism!

It gets worse. Mulan’s chi not only allows her to excel in the army, but it leads to the main villainess/anti-villain to fixate on her. Xian is a witch, a woman who used chi but fell to darkness. Her goal is to make a world where, uh, women born with strong chi aren’t oppressed. She immediately recognises Mulan as a woman with chi and inexplicably gives her chi tips while in battle. She then repeatedly leads Mulan to each plot point, culminating in her sacrificing herself to save Mulan because she sees Mulan as the kind of person she wanted to be, but couldn’t due to oppression.

Chi is the reason why Mulan is a hero. Chi is how Mulan arrived on time to save the Emperor. Chi is why she is respected. Chi makes her special. Chi makes her a hero.

The addition of chi takes away so much of Mulan’s character growth, her struggles and subsequently her triumphs. Did she join the army for her father’s sake, or because she knew her only chance to succeed was on the battlefield, where chi is a powerful weapon? Is the emperor offering her a position on his staff out of respect for her abilities, or fear that shunning her will turn her into another Xian (who almost singlehandedly gave Bori Khan victory and ALSO was responsible for foiling his plans because her abuse led to her betrayal)? Even the love interest doesn’t befriend Mulan until she shows off her chi and beats him in combat.

Chi gave Mulan everything. And with this poor addition of ‘chi’, Disney took everything from Mulan.

气 - qi, ‘air’ 放弃 - give up 放屁 - fart

#mulan #mulan 2020 #mulan film 2020 #mulan live action #disney #fuck off the west already thinks china is backwards and needs enlightenment #mulan rant

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