Disclaimer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors and Dead or Alive. Koei owns the franchise and Tecmo. (More accurately, Itagaki sensei created DOA…)
A/N: While I'm almost done with the next chapter of Warlords of Later Han; KoeiTecmo has pulled out the Global release of DOA X Volleyball 3. The two previous games came out without too much of an incident. However, as of today, this sparks my disappointment in the company's dishonesty. They don't want to end up in a legal battle, but there's a feminist who wants to give other feminists a bad name using terror to make a point. Since the portrayal of female characters in Dynasty Warriors (opposite on ROTK series), Zhen Ji has always come in mind...
Koei and I: DOA X 3
At the Koei building, Zhen Ji arrange a meeting for the DOA female characters and among the TK folks, only Sun Shang Xiang, Xiao Qiao, Diao Chan, Zhu Rong, Xing Cai, Cai Yan, and Yue Ying.
"Oh, the run and bait princess is here," Ayane scoffed at Kasumi who is sitting next to Xing Cai.
"I tried to get Wang Yi, but she's busy doing her Anti Ma Chao rally," Zhen Ji scanned the group, each sitting at the large rectangle table.
"Why am I not surprised about Wang Yi? My dad did much crazier crap than Ma Chao and he 'kidnapped' my mother as the Weists says," Xing Cai shook her head.
"I've heard that DOA X 3 will not be coming to the west and you brought us here to talk about it, correct?" Helena looked at Zhen Ji to confirm the news.
"Correct and that's not all. KoeiTecmo has concerns about Western audience's depiction of women…" Zhen Ji crossed her arms to see the reaction upon the group.
"Westerners like me…? I wear a bikini and am a female wrestler in this game! WTH are they getting at?!" Tina was offended by the news since she loves the attention on her body as a bodybuilder and a tough American girl.
"They seem very pressed by the decision to cancel the western release. Is there a more specific reason besides all westerner's discrepancies over the portrayal of women?" Yue Ying asked.
"A feminist making terrorist threats…" Zhen Ji sighed.
"Hahahahah! Sounds like someone who makes a poor villainess," Christie laughed.
"…." Helena doesn't think it's funny.
"I'm a 3rd century feminist, but I'm not that insane," Sun Shang Xiang eyes widen after saying that.
"Me either," Lei Fang shrugged.
"Hehehehe, she must have a C4, proximity grenades, .45 caliber…" Christie was cut short by Xiao Qiao's condemning.
"Please stop bringing up terrorist weapons!" Xiao Qiao shouted at Christie.
"….I hadn't added the AK 47," Christie grinned.
"So, our country's gaming publisher pulls out the western release of DOA X Volleyball 3 because my western fans feared of sexism? Has our country truly gone retarded over all things western. Westerners LOVE guns and there's been a lot of gun violence and cops killing innocent children with guns. What are the ramifications on an easterner's depiction of women? I get hentai with myself making the princess my sex slave," Ayane glares at Kasumi on the last sentence.
"What's she's saying is, Koei thinks all westerners find Sex bad, Gun violence good," Hitomi said.
"Sex is overrated," Xiao Qiao groaned.
"Tell that to Cao Cao," Cai Wenji shrugged.
"Seriously, after the sixth Dynasty Warriors, I agony over how long will those morons return me to my DW-5 personality. I've undergone unnecessary changes. Making me more and more womanly, blushing Liu Bei when in history, he can't handle tomboys. That Chinese mobile game we talked about, I wore a Gstring! A gawddamn Gstring!" Sun Shang Xiang ranted over her continued character downplaying in current installments.
"I've wore a far more sexualized dress," Diao Chan nodded.
"It doesn't bother me what I'm dressing besides always making me Cao Pi's whore, but I want to stop pretending to be a villainess. However fans love the shipping and it's only devaluing me further. The Japanese versions have us talk a lot of sexual innuendo," Zhen Ji said.
"We still don't get to have our stories individually, just pair up with the husbands. I'm lucky to be the wife of Zhuge Liang and not the wife of Cao Pi, Lady Zhen," Yue Ying turns to see Lisa as a fellow geek woman who shares things in common.
"We still get the same story as our husbands. I didn't want to be too faithful to Liu Chan…I mean, the reason I became his wife and empress was because Guan Ping died… and Dad's greed," Xing Cai pouted.
"Oh man, you mean, your Dad's persistent?! I have a father who just won't leave me alone," Tina crosses her arms.
"Did he spy on you at Zack's Island?" Ayane asked.
Tina gave a nod and Ayane grinned.
"Tina has an overprotective father and I have an overprotective brother. Two in fact, but Ce allowed me to learn martial arts. He was the coolest brother in the world," Sun Shang Xiang chuckled.
"Like my brother Hayate, he taught me ninjutsu while our parents watched us," Kasumi finally able to speak about the subject of brothers with Sun Shang Xiang.
"….." Ayane couldn't go back to those painful past memories of her loneliness watching Kasumi learn while she gets treated like an outsider if it weren't for Genra.
"So, our western fans will miss the T&A. We still get to fight on our bikinis in DOA 5," Lisa assures the western audience not missing much.
"I prefer fighting over volleyball anyway," Lei Fang nodded. "Until I beat Jann Lee."
"Me too," Kokuko agreed.
"Sun bathing and wandering Zack's Island been fun, but my duty as the Mugen Hajinmon leader is too important," Ayane flexed her arms making her nipple visible on her kunoichi suit.
"I still have my father's legacy to be commenced," and then Helena checked her smartphone for messages.
"We all have things other than getting half naked, tanning ourselves, I should be bloody killing someone," Christie feign boredom.
"Is killing all you do for a living?" Xiao Qiao was uncomfortable with Christie's creepiness despite she's a killer. As if she's not the only one to creepy her out, she remembers another person with that behavior and she's still making up garbage about Zhen Ji to the fandom.
"Guo Wang will love hiring you to kill someone…" Zhen Ji thought.
"Everyone is paranoid about terrorist threats and it relates to what American audiences think when it comes to sex and violence by a terrorist activity. Pulling out the global release of DOAX 3 makes KoeiTecmo look dishonest about portraying us in DW compare to ROTK," Diao Chan took a slip of hot tea that's served during the conversation.
"And what about the Chinese game developers? Remember Honey Trap," Xiao Qiao mentioned the overly sexualized mobile game that brang memories of her older slutty look along with her sister Da.
"Honeytrap, it's the first time I was depicted sexually in my life," Cai Wenji shyly spoke.
"We've always been sexualized, it's our franchise's nature," Tina feeling so bored of the conversation put her two feet on the table relaxing.
"I know, even kunoichi like Kasumi and Ayane are the forerunners of the DOA franchise's sexuality," Lei Fang pointed at the female ninjas.
"We disguise ourselves as geishas to get out information from lowlifes, government officials, and the likes. Sex is just another art form of deception to distract our enemies," Kasumi explained the details on kunoichis usefulness in prostitution.
"Wow…." Diao Chan finds this fascinating.
"Hahaha, if it were Cao Pi, I don't care what would happen if you assassinate him like that," Zhen Ji smirked.
"Come to think of it, your ex husband been making moves on me because of my late father's fortunes and how elegance and piety I am compare to yourself, Lady Zhen," Helena frowned.
"It's nothing new Lady Helena. He likes women who will always obey him without question and do everything he asks," Zhen Ji takes out her smartphone for messages from Oichi.
"Sounds like a very ambitious man. I like ambitious men," Christie smoothes.
"Men dominate over women; that's the problem with sexism, getting one sex to overpower the other. I never longed for a man, but my current Dynasty Warriors counterpart longing for Liu Bei.." Sun Shang Xiang said.
"Is it really women's fault that crazy things happen in this world? Now I see men even more cowardly than my husband," Zhu Rong grumbled.
"All wars started by men. There were men who started September 11, 2001. Why cancel DOAX 3 over a woman making terrorist threats?" Lisa's statement left the whole room in a brief of silence.
Xiao Qiao mutter over something about her portrayal in Dynasty Warriors while Christie toyed with her knife, Ayane twirl her kunai, Diao Chan drank another sip of tea, Yue Ying raise many answers to Lisa's question and Tina knocked her fist on the table making drum beat sounds from rock.
Zhen Ji is the one to answer, "Lawsuit. Koei is afraid of getting sued. Think about the families of any victim of terror. Well, I'm a mother and married a man who killed me. I can sue Cao Pi, but that would be too cowardly. I strongly consider making him get pissed off over our relationship. We're not the one true TK couple Koei was making us out in Dynasty Warriors and he still gets jealous over everything. Anyone can outsmart Cao Pi in real life, anyone is cooler than him in real life, and he hates that."
"Then he'll hate Hayate, because Hayate is a better ruler than him. Heard Wei was subjugated by Sima loyalists. A clan that couldn't control another family's influence isn't a good leader," Ayane said.
"I was dead before that happened. Honestly, I don't care what happens to Wei as long as my family continues to survive and that my nephew succeeds," Zhen Ji scoffed at the notion of Cao Pi's leadership and Wei's fall.
"I do care what happened to ShuHan. Liu Chan has to be the worst husband ever…" Xing Cai said while her chin on her arms she's resting at the table.
"Kudos to you for marrying the fool," Christie clapped.
Xing Cai shot an anger glare at Christie.
"At least, no one blames you for Shu's fall, Xing Cai," Yue Ying comforted Cai.
"My sister had it worse. She loved him more, more than I could ever give my heart to the fool. Growing up without his mother and now…ugh," Xing Cai waved Yue Ying to leave her to groom over the failed relationship.
"Xing Cai is so lucky to be honored as a character based of Empress Zhang I and doesn't make Confucian scholars ridicule her over a kingdom's demise. I'm always going to be the plot device to Han Dynasty's demise because of Cao Pi," Zhen Ji thought.
The conversation continued until Diao Chan started talking about making a DOA guest appearance.
"Really?! I would love to be in the next DOA! What about you Shang Xiang?" Xiao Qiao asked the bow princess about participating the next Dead or Alive tournament as a guest.
"You bet I will join that tournament. Unless I'm allowed to fight a man," Sun Shang Xiang happily agreed to join.
"What's wrong with not fighting a stronger woman like me, 'princess'?" Zhu Rong took a jab at Shang Xiang.
"Oh, I can take you on if we match up," Shang Xiang crossed her arms, enthusiastic by Zhu Rong's challenge.
"You guys aren't even in my league with the power of Mugen Hajinmon ninjutsu. Much less, princess over here," Ayane arrogantly spat out the future opponents.
"Ayane, our style has a weakness," Kasumi rationalize her half sister the consequences to Mugen ninja.
"Getting captured and cloned, you ninjas aren't invincible," Christie don her evil death stare.
Kasumi and Ayane turns to stare at Christie hatefully. She had run in with the kunoichis the entire DOA 5 storyline. Helena blow her mouth over the tension between ninjas and Donovan's henchwoman.(partially..)
"I'll see to it that all of you will be guests in the next tournament. We had the Virtua Fighter guys, so why not Dynasty Warriors. And maybe another summer vacation at Zack's Island," Helena got up off her chair and proceed to leave the room as they finish the meeting.
Zhen Ji nodded, "Let me know when the next DOA comes out. I also would like to participate as a guest."
"Me too," Diao Chan got up to join Helena out of the room.
"Great, just bring more of the ancient garbage to warm me up," Ayane grinned.
"Half of you DW ladies are weak compare to us," Tina taunted the Musou ladies.
"Who are you calling me weak?!" Zhu Rong got up and put her face in front of Tina's.
"Two ape women having a staring contest. Something out of wrestling, heheh," Lei Fang giggled.
"I'll break you in the next tournament too Lei Fang!" Tina angrily threatens her rival.
"This is going to be fun. Having more guests in the tournament increase the competition," Hitomi cracks her knuckles.
"No matter what you all say, you can't beat Mugen Ninja," Ayane's arrogance is worst than Tina and Christie despite being one of the most powerful female characters in the games.
"Ayane, one of them is more powerful than us. I won't spoil it to you, but your keen insight has lacking due to your arrogance," Kasumi scolded her half sister.
"Stop talking like you lead the Mugen Tenshin runaway traitor!" Ayane now started the sibling rivalry again…
"I'm still family," Kasumi bluntly told her.
"No one accepted me since mother got raped by the man I couldn't bear to consider him my father! Did you even care what I've gone through when we were kids?!" Ayane remise her loneliness during childhood.
"I don't have time for this," Kasumi couldn't stand Ayane's blatant angst over her mistreatment in the past.
"I know, I'm now the head of the shadow sect, but your existent continues to be a torn in my side. I can't believe Ryu kept you in hidden and all that trust I had from him in the past….you are still the princess, Lady Kasumi" Ayane told her sister in her face.
"Wow….not even my sister and I had that heated rivalry," Xiao Qiao gasped and the whole group looked in shock except Helena and Christie.
"Hahaha…divided, the Mugen Ninja fall, but together…well, I had a hard time fighting both of them together," Christie snickered.
"Are they that powerful?" Zhen Ji asked Helena about the kunoichi.
"Yes and my father worked with Donovan on experiments. He was just a puppet to Victor and I too was forced to work with him to keep DOATEC running. Consequently, I tried to destroy everything after the ninjas won and killed myself until…well you know the rest in my DOA 4 ending," Helena smiled after explaining the ninja girls and her brief history on her father and Donovan involvement.
"Interesting," Diao Chan heard enough and thought what happens if Dong Zhuo and Donovan worked together.
"Shang Xiang, will you show me your techniques on using chakrams? I want to learn from your example," Hitomi asked her favorite DW a request and Shang Xiang happily nodded.
"Of course, Hitomi. I can teach you my techniques in them. Also, the effectiveness of wielding them in battle not just as a range weapon, but close quarters combats," Sun Shang Xiang showed Hitomi her chakrams. The shining metal reflects the awestuck face of Hitomi's expression.
Xiao Qiao have a moment with Kasumi and Ayane, "Why can't the two of you get along like actual sisters?"
"I tried to be kind like my mother pledged, but Kasumi is still treated the princess and I'm still the unwanted child of Mugen Tenshin," Ayane turned away from Xiao Qiao with a cold expression.
"I gave up the whole 'princess' life to avenge Hayate. You deserve the clan's respect, Ayane for your loyalty and devotion to Hayate. Just forget the enmity between us over birthright. It was a long time ago…" Kasumi pledged her half sister to let it go.
"You just want to be loved, right Ayane?" Xiao Qiao curiosity over the younger sister brought her own childhood problems choosing to be a fun and adventurous girl over her sister going the filial piety route which started her conflicts with her father who wanted both Qiao sisters to be the same.
"Love? Why do I need such trivial feelings as love to become the Killer Kunoichi?" Ayane scoffed. But, Ayane knows she wanted Hayate's love.
"Bravo, our drama queens once again impress me of their spotlight hogging in the story. Why should we care of the ninjas family problems?" Christie got up having enough trolling for a while, decided to get some fresh air.
"…."
Meanwhile in the dark observing room…
"Zhen Ji continues to be the leading lady in that meeting when she got no business representing all three kingdoms women," Guo Nuwang watched the entire meeting with Dong Bai and Zhong Hui's mother Zhang Changpu.
"Can we get Christie to support you?" Dong Bai pointed at the white haired English assassin.
"Why not, she's dangerous. I could make use of her skills if she serves me. Ahem…" Lady Guo turns to her newest supporter, Zhong Yao's wife.
"Though, it took me a while to decide whether to not get involve or support you because my husband has already supported Cao Pi as Emperor. He was supposed to be a Han loyalist…" Zhang Changpu bowed to Guo Nuwang.
"Anyone supporting Zihuan as successor must also support me as Empress. But, Zhenfu's presence here has been a thorn on my side since she became 'The Heartless Beauty' in DW, a role that rightfully belongs to me! And then the atrocious voting months ago where she won, yet I was the stronger, more talented person!" Guo Nuwang pointed her advisor fan at Zhen Ji's presence in the window.
"It was a one sided victory anyway. People feel bad about Zhen Ji, so they voted her over you cousin," Dong Bai said.
"To choose such a weakling over me, I might feel bad about taking her out because her son loves her dearly. It's like he got the best mother any son could have because she's so…perfect," Guo Nuwang waved her fan gazing at Zhen Ji with dark intent.
"Lady Zhen modeled perfectly, incomparable to most Chinese women, now she has so much power outside the three kingdoms fandom. It's up to us to derail her influence in the three kingdoms genre," Guo Nuwang got up and strike her fan strictly.
Guo Nuwang continues her indoctrinate activities as the true Empress of Wei and petition into the Warriors franchise. Zhang Chunhua was absence due to family issues and the newly recruited Zhang Changpu joined her as a supporter. As the meeting ends, Nuwang and her supporters hurried to invite Christie.
"If she refuses, we'll have to take the alternative by recruiting Ayane," Guo Nuwang and her group went directly to Christie who is standing at the hall with her arms crossed.
The English assassin had a text message from Rig about Donovan. She is delight that there's another hit job. On the contrary, MIST is relocating their HQs elsewhere after the Oil tanker incident in the 5th tournament.
"Miss Christie, I have a proposal for you. Join me in supporting my status as the Wei Empress and I will pay you for your cooperation," Guo Nuwang came directly in front of her.
"I thought Zhen Ji is the Wei Empress or did Cao Pi want two empresses on the same throne?" Christie shot her own question at the Queen of Beauties.
"No one supports Lady Zhen. She was a useless, whiny, gutter trash. All beauty and no substances. I mean, do you want me to give you the whole truth about her life as Cao Pi's 'favorite'? Her false happiness, giving up her body for her life, hahahha, yes, she's really a weak willed woman. What country would want the Nation's Mother like her as the Empress?" Guo Nuwang began to persuade Christie into supporting her.
"Do you want me hired to kill such a weak woman like Zhen Ji?" Christie felt unsatisfied about Zhen Ji.
"No no, heavens... Killing her would be way too easy without a fight. I mean, she lost the will to live when I made my existence into public historically. She didn't know I joined Cao Cao before her. To her perspective, she was Cao Pi's favorite sex object and people see their love as so real because she and Lady Liu's lives were sparred in favor of…sex. Yes, Zhen Ji is the biggest sex appeal in 3rd century and she makes Confucian scholars disgusted with her elegance. Why kill when we can make her suffer for her unwanted existence? Join me, Christie as one of my supporters from Dead or Alive?!" Guo Nuwang urged.
"Alright this empress contention sounds like fun. But there's one thing I must ask, why didn't Zhen Ji fight back?" Christie curiously asked.
"A rather rhetorical question; you do know Koei making her act like she's committed when she is not. She didn't fight over it because she's not committed and…she just whine, complain, and argument with my lord. She's literally gutter trash, a spoiled princess who's only alive because she's too beautiful. Nobody cares about how beautiful she is and I'm far more talented than her. A woman can't survive the palace life by just being filial and kind," Guo Nuwang shakes head.
Dong Bai's laughter was heard and Zhang Changpu just shrugged. Changpu admit, she felt terribly sorry for Lady Zhen.
"She's hot, I'll give her that," Christie grinned.
"Then, welcome to the club," Lady Guo and Christie form a handshake as a sign of joining.
Here we witness a DOA/Three Kingdoms alliance. Guo Wang and Christie team up to make life hell for Zhen Ji.