A marriage written in the stars

Children of the stars

Hola people I am back and a WEEK BEFORE my usual monthly schedule AND the western release date of Dynasty Warriors 9. Too bad where I am the release date is the 20th which SUCKS. So...yeah. Lucky people, those of you who get DW9 on day 1.

You may or may not have seen the people on youtube and twitch who got the game early and let me be the bearer of controversial news: the English dub is FINE. It's good, you could argue. Same amount of cringy voices from before which was actually quite a few but people have EMOTION now and, best of all, Liu Shan is STILL GOOD people. I'll tell you right here and right now, soon as I get the game I'm speedrunning up until chapter 10 where he's unlocked, I'm gonna PLAY as Liu Shan and I am gonna ROMANCE THE **** OUT OF XINGCAI IN MY FREAKING LOVE SHACK IN THE WOODS! That's what the hideaways are really for: small secluded house away from the big cities, often in romantic but secluded spots, with limited furniture including a couch and a bed? YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON THERE

...On another note, if you guys get any footage of Liu Shan and Xingcai shacking up in the game, I will be extremely happy and almost maybe a little bit jealous.

And yeah, you guys surely heard about Xiahouji being in the game...yeah. No seriously, I did not expect her to actually be added. Marketing wise, it's a bad move because while rape crimes definitely need representation, it is NOT A GOOD CHOICE to do so in a game like DW. Even worse is that they're making it so that Zhang Fei 'loves' her now. Look, I'll tell it to you straight. Zhang Fei in this story did kinda love her but more in a possessive way, like a master to a slave, not as a husband to his wife. Xiahouji, or Lady Xiahou as I call her, is suffering from the household version of Stockholm syndrome and knows her husband was horrible but cannot bring herself to stop loving him. But yeah, I can do that because this is a piece of writing that's analysing the very struggles of love and romance. A game like Dynasty Warriors, it's just...I don't know, it doesn't fit with the overall theme of war and manipulation.

Onto hopefully happier topics, for any Guan Ping x Xingcai fans, this chapter is for you. I admit, I don't ship the two as anything more than the bestest of buds but I can see the potential and if you want your romance-ish moments, they're definitely in this chapter. There's always a bit of a bias when writing about ships you don't necessarily ship yourself but I had to include it and hopefully I did it justice and didn't make Guan Ping or Xingcai too much of a jerk. I don't this idea of putting down one ship to bring up another and I want you people to know that Guan Ping is a SWEETIE WHO DID NOT WRONG AND MUST BE PROTECTED! I'M SORRY GUAN PING BUT SHE LOVES LIU SHAN IN THIS STORY. I WILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU I SWEAR!

I don't own KoeiTecmo, I don't own Dynasty Warriors OR the latest copy of the game (YET). What I do own is unfortunately not tax deductable

Chapter 16: Children of the stars

For the past few hours Xingcai had been silently staring at her open closet. She did not care about the plain underdresses meant to go over her armour nor did she care about the two beautifully tailored dresses to the side in their own little corner, her presents from Liu Shan that she actively tried to avoid looking at. Instead she stared into the darkness between the clothes, marveled at the empty space for how boring it was, how ingenious it was that the design made it so that your focus was on the clothes in the front instead of the dark, boring back. But Xingcai stared regardless, disregarding logic and habit in a whim.

Xingcai's formal introduction to Guan Ping's family went as well as it possibly could have. Guan Yinping seemed especially enthusiastic about Xingcai's presence, joyous both that her brother finally has a girlfriend and that Xingcai could potentially be her sister, and yet despite her glee she did not intrude. It was clear from the glint in her eyes she was saving her questions for the next meeting. Guan Xing and Guan Suo were louder about their relief Guan Ping had scored a date, mentioning in detail Guan Ping's pining over the years to his blushing shame which Xingcai giggled at good-naturedly. The brothers were respectful and kind and were all too ready to welcome Xingcai into their family as though she was one of their own. Together they dined and chat and laughed until the night hit its peak and they all retired for the night, Guan Ping escorting Xingcai back home. He sealed the night with a quick kiss on her lips, a quiet reminder of his affection.