Origins discussion: Would Chun Li be considered Natural, Magic, or Mutant?

[normalperson]

This can generally be about all seemingly supernatural martial artists, but I figure that Chun Li is well known.  

 

She probably gets her supernatural abilities from channeling her Chi.    But, I'm sure if Chi is magic?   Or still natural?  Or kind of psychic?

 

I guess Psychic powers are considered mutant.   I looked up the origins of in game characters like Mother Mayhem, Sister Psyche, Penelope Yin, etc and they were all listed as "mutant". 

 

At the same time, aren't Arachnos Widows considered "natural origin"?

 

Edited January 5 by normalperson

[Sovera]

Traditionally chi is not considered magic so I'd say go full in on natural.

[FupDup]

It depends on where the chi is coming from...in Dragon Ball for example, every living being (including normal humans) has Ki (thus natural) and can learn to do stuff like flying and shooting energy blasts with it. 

 

It also depends on what the character has to do in order to get more powerful. If they have to train/learn new physical techniques, then that leans natural. If She had to open up a spell book and learn new spells, or find magical artifacts, etc. to get stronger then that would be magic. 

 

Mutant origin is more that you're born very different from the rest of your peers of the same species, which probably doesn't apply here (I don't know much about Street Fighter lore). 

Edited January 5 by FupDup

[Forager]

Chun Li is definitely natural.

[Glacier Peak]

Origins are currently irrelevant to gameplay outside of player title selection options. Players can make a Magic origin character that has technology based powers and Science origin characters can use stone tools. It doesn't matter what players choose because it's basically as aesthetic choice anyways.

 

6 hours ago, normalperson said:

At the same time, aren't Arachnos Widows considered "natural origin"?

 

My Arachnos Widow (both Night Widow and Fortunata) are Mutation Origin. Based on how I wrote her Description, it could be assumed she is a Natural Origin character. But she's not, she is Mutation Origin. And she also received Magic Origin powers from choosing Ghost Widow as her Patron. And she's an Incarnate Origin also. 

Edited January 5 by Glacier Peak

[Snarky]

7 hours ago, normalperson said:

This can generally be about all seemingly supernatural martial artists, but I figure that Chun Li is well known.  

 

She probably gets her supernatural abilities from channeling her Chi.    But, I'm sure if Chi is magic?   Or still natural?  Or kind of psychic?

 

I guess Psychic powers are considered mutant.   I looked up the origins of in game characters like Mother Mayhem, Sister Psyche, Penelope Yin, etc and they were all listed as "mutant". 

 

At the same time, aren't Arachnos Widows considered "natural origin"?

 

from Wiki....

 

In the Sinosphere, qi (/ˈtʃiː/ CHEE)[note 1] is traditionally believed to be a vital force part of all living entities. Literally meaning 'vapor', 'air', or 'breath',[2] the word qi is polysemous, often translated as 'vital energy', 'vital force', 'material energy', or simply 'energy'.[3] Qi is also a concept in traditional Chinese medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The attempt to cultivate and balance qi is called qigong.

Believers in qi describe it as a vital force, with one's good health requiring its flow to be unimpeded. Qi is a pseudoscientific concept,[4][failed verification][5] and does not correspond to the concept of energy as used in the physical sciences,[6][7][8] with the notion of vital force itself being abandoned by the scientific community.[9]

Chinese gods and immortals, especially anthropomorphic gods, are sometimes thought to have qi and be a reflection of the microcosm of qi in humans, both having qi that can concentrate in certain body parts.[10]

 

 

my own take....  "magic" generally refers to things/powers/events that primitive people cannot define or scientists say is impossible.  (again, my take)  In this context it is easy to describe Chi as "Magic", yet it could very easily be considered "Natural" or, with a nod to Stan Lee & Co. "Mutant" (in that people with extraordinary Chi were actually mutants and that was the word used to describe people's extraordinary powers...)

[ZemX]

The origins are good only for arguing about origins on the forums.

 

That said, the origins really only make sense relative to our own real world.  Otherwise everything is natural in the fictional world of CoH where magic and things like chi are real rather than unprovable spiritual/religious concepts.

 

So... if you believe chi is a real thing in our own world, then you'd say natural.  If not, magic.

 

[Ulysses Dare]

The origins have a fair bit of overlap. That's why we have things like dual origin enhancements.

 

Magic origin is described, rather unhelpfully, as getting their powers from a magical source. Obviously what counts as a magical source is going to vary from fiction to fiction. In CoX, it's typically metaphysical entities such as demons, angels, elder gods, etc. 

 

Mutants have some sort of genetic quirk that makes them different from other members of their species.

 

Natural origin means the character's abilities are, at least theoretically, universal to that species. It includes people who train hard to develop their abilities but it also aliens whose abilities, while amazing to us, are normal for them.

 

Depending on how you define what chi is and how it works, it could fit into any of these categories. Natural is probably the most consistent with how chi is commonly portrayed: as an energy that's both purely internal and universal to all things.

Edited January 6 by Ulysses Dare

[ZamuelNow]

2 hours ago, Glacier Peak said:

Origins are currently irrelevant to gameplay outside of player title selection options.

 

I have one small addition to that: It can affect your story progression.  This is optional and 99% blueside only but what you fight is a mechanical effect on the game.

[TheMoneyMaker]

6 hours ago, Forager said:

Chun Li is definitely natural.

Are you sure?  Those legs look like she might be taking unnatural "supplements"

[TheMoneyMaker]

13 hours ago, normalperson said:

This can generally be about all seemingly supernatural martial artists, but I figure that Chun Li is well known.  

 

She probably gets her supernatural abilities from channeling her Chi.    But, I'm sure if Chi is magic?   Or still natural?  Or kind of psychic?

 

I guess Psychic powers are considered mutant.   I looked up the origins of in game characters like Mother Mayhem, Sister Psyche, Penelope Yin, etc and they were all listed as "mutant". 

 

At the same time, aren't Arachnos Widows considered "natural origin"?

 

Chi is magic if you want it to be.

Chi is natural if you want it to be.

Psychic powers are mutant if you want them to be.

Psychic powers are natural if you want them to be.

Psychic powers are magic if you want them to be.

Guns are tech if you them to be.

Guns are natural if you want them to be.

Guns are magic if you want them to be.

Anything is anything if you explain it in a way that satisfies your personal story choice.

[Octogoat]

Sounds like heresy if magic