(Warning: mentions of child abuse, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. please don't read if that upsets you. Tien Fuh Wu's real backstory is very graphic and sad.)
Tien Fuh Wu was a real-life hero who helped stomp out sex trafficking in Chinatown. The OC that I'm making headcanons about is based on her. Here's an article that explains her story: Tien Fuh Wu
Warrior version of Wu Backstory HCs:
In Warrior, sheâs mostly called âWuâ except for Nellie who calls her Tien or âblessed Tienâ when sheâs doting about her. People in Chinatown also call her the "White Devil's Daughter" and âAngry Angelâ.
Wu calls Nellie âLo Moâ which means âold motherâ
Wu is a feminist activist who alongside her mother figure, Nellie, fights to end sexual slavery in Chinatown. She's Nellie's right hand. She is her bodyguard, translator, helps oversee Nellie's wine company and battered women sanctuary.
Her backstory in Warrior is mostly similar to her real counterpart's backstory. Poor baby. Like honestly the most tragic and graphic backstory in Warrior.
When she turned 10, her father sold her to a the Fung Hai for a bag of opium and a bottle of rice wine. (This is before the Hop Wei had a stranglehold on the opium trade.) She was auctioned off to her new owner in broad daylight to a Fung Hai brothel owner named Batu.
At first, she was kept as a domestic slave which was also called "Mui Tsai." Which means little sister. Wu was kept in a cage didnât see the sunlight for 4 years and she was regularly sexually abused and beaten by her owners. When she turned 11 they began to sell her to other men. It was a literal hell for her. It was so bad she prayed for death every night.
One night she Batu sold her to an aristocrat from Sinoma. This man turned out to be Nellie Davenport's husband. He molested her until he died of a heart attack on top of her. When Nellie and two police officers found her there were so many scars and burns on Wu's body that it even made the Bulls cry.
(She was the 14 year old girl Nellie mentioned at the dinner party with Penelope and the Mayor.)
Nellie brought her home that same night, completely forgetting about her dead husband. She only cared that Wu got a nice bath and food. (Nellie was 35 at the time. Nellie is 45 in my AU.)
At first, Wu was so filled with trauma and anger that she was a problem child. She'd lash out at Nellie and the servants. Even once stabbing a maid. Plus the language barrier made it difficult for them to understand each other.
However, no matter how many people around her told her to give up Wu, she refused. Nellie felt she owed it to the girl not to give up on her. Over time Nellie gained Wu's trust and they formed a very tight bond.
Nellie believed that Tai Chi could be therapeutic and help Wu with controlling her anger. Wu became fascinated with martial arts and expanded her knowledge of it. She is self-taught because no martial artist in Chinatown would train a girl.
Kung Fu did improve her mental, emotional, and physical state and helped control her anger.
Wu's fighting style is very fluid, graceful, yet effective. She's a master of many kung fu styles but specializes in internal fighting styles like Wing Chun. When she fights she's calm and stoic.
Wu uses her umbrella as a self-defense weapon.
Also, Wu became highly educated. Nellie taught her English and feminist theory. She is Nellie's translator and teaches Nellie Chinese.
She believes god saved her from dying in that brothel because her purpose was to help save the women of Chinatown.
Wu came up with the idea to turn some of Nellie's land into sanctuaries for the abused women of Chinatown and Nellie was more than happy to do it.
They started to go to Chinatown and the Barbary Coast to buy sex slaves from their owners. It grew from there. Soon they began to pay off cops to help them raid small brothels and gambling dens.
However, this also made them some enemies. Wu was targeted more than Nellie because she herself was Chinese and therefore viewed as a traitor by the tongs in her midst.
She is regularly sent threatening letters, spoken about poorly in Chinese newspapers, and some of the tongs like the Fung Hai put a bounty on Wu. Although, every assassin who has tried to kill her so far has failed. Wu, being the badass she is doesnât let this stop her from her mission work.
Wu would teach some of the girls they rescued her martial arts and self-defense if they were interested. Also, she gives feminist speeches at some temples in Chinatown.
Wuâs passionate about her cause and a determined hero, "excited" and "eager for the fray." The real Tien Fuh Wu was known to force her way into brothels, warmly reassuring young girls, and fearlessly getting them out of harm's way.
She is stern, introverted, noble, and a bit too honest for her own good. Her bluntness can come off as rude. She isn't afraid to say what's on her mind and while this shows her fearlessness she can come off as rude, intimidating, and self-righteous.
She values self-control and she doesnât allow her own pain to corrupt her. For reference, her morality is at Officer Leeâs level. Sheâs more uncompromising with her morals than Lee.
In the beginning, Wu had a white and black worldview. She absolutely hated the tongs and anyone who supported tongs and prostitution. Nellie is the more understanding one. (Nellie is a hate the sin but loves the sinner type)
But when Wu begins to form close bonds with morally grey characters like Ah Toy and Young Jun her worldview slowly becomes less rigid.
She isn't as trusting as Nellie either. She has a lot of trust issues and It takes a lot to gain it.
Sheâs a feminist who takes no shit from men. Her general distrust and distaste for men are because of her trauma. Of course, this intimidates most of the men around her.
Wu has a pessimistic view of romantic love and abstains from it. This is due to her distrust of men and her fear of getting hurt by another man.
Plus the real Tien Fuh Wu never married, saying in the article. "Men are very useful," she once said, "when it comes to moving furniture."
Despite this, a part of her still aches for romance and dreams about finding the right partner. Sheâs also really cute and easily flustered when she has a crush.
She also secretly likes dancing. Especially waltzing because of how elegant and romantic it is. Sheâs too embarrassed to admit it. Like Gamora in guardians of the galaxy.
Wu is highly educated. She speaks eloquently and doesnât curse. Because of her honesty, she is also a terrible liar.
Wu also suffers from feeling like an outsider and abandoned by her people. They treat her like sheâs not Chinese and looks down on her familiar relationship with Nellie.
In my AU she is played by genevieve doang. She fits what I imagine Wu to look like. Plus she's a real-life martial artist.
Except, Wu has a long scar down the right side of her mouth. She has many more scars on her body.
This is her main outfit design:
Her dress can bustle up so itâs easier to fight in.
Also she wears clothes and colors that are reminiscent of the suffragettes. Green purple and white are her main colors.
She wears a lot of pants outfits too.
Her pantsuit is a white summer suit. I think it suits her because it contrasts Young Junâs Hop Wei Black suit. She wears it with her hair in a long Manchurian like braid.
Romantic Interest: Young Jun
Iâm a sucker for enemies turned lovers/Yin-Yang ships. So I shipped her with Young Jun.
Theyâre the perfect Yin/Yang ship. She dwells in the light and he in the darkness.
At first, they hate each other. She hates him because well heâs Hop Wei, sleazy, and arrogant. Heâs like an 1800s frat boy.
He thinks sheâs sexy as hell but hates her frigidness and self-righteous attitude. He finds it annoying.
They also disagree morally and are always arguing. But thereâs always some unresolved sexual tension.
Heâs the only man who can make her lose her composure.
He calls her âAngel Faceâ and âBall Busterâ to piss her off.
She usually calls him âMr. Junâ but whenever she really wants to piss him off sheâll call him âButter knivesâ
Unlike every other woman, she isnât afraid to call him on his shit and tell him the truth. Which Young Jun isnât used to because he pays women to feign affection for him. (Ex when he pays girls for sex.)
Young Jun: Girls donât talk to me like that.
Wu: Thatâs because you pay women to lie to you.
Young Jun: How much would it cost for you to lie to me, Angel?
Wu: Thereâs not enough money in the world to get me to lie to you Butter Knives.
After she takes a bullet in the shoulder for him in S2 Ep6 they slowly begin to understand and respect each other. She inspires him to be better and he helps her with her unresolved trauma.
They both share the feeling of being an outcast to their people. They both don't really feel like they're Chinese.
They both know how it feels to be abandoned by a parent. Young Junâs mother abandoned him similar to how Wuâs father abandoned her.
Both never really had a childhood.
Also, being a victim of the tongs, Wu helps Jun realize just how terrible sex slavery is and how serious of a problem it is in Chinatown. He becomes much more sensitive to it.
Their main shipper is Hong.
Hong: You two are practically made for each other!
Young Jun: What the fuck are you talking about?
Hong: You have so much in common! You love prostitutes, Wu loves prostitutes. She has daddy issues, you have daddy issues-
Hong: I'm just saying, jeez.
(Iâll make a more in-depth post about their relationship and her relationships with the other characters later.)
