Castles of Steel - Lesbians Good, Imperialism Bad

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Lieutenant Arisukawa Haruna

Balance Stats
❁ • ❁ Work / Life ❁ • ❁
❁ • ❁ Warrior / Princess ❁ • ❁
❁ • ❁ Radical / Respectable ❁ • ❁

Tactical Stats
Gunnery 0, Navigation +2, Command +2, Technology -4, Personal -2, Strategy +3

Stress: 3​


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PLEASE READ THE QUEST RULES BELOW

You collectively vote on the actions of Arisukawa Haruna, the first woman to serve openly in the Imperial Akitsukuni Navy.

This quest is set in a universe which is much like our own circa 1910, but with different politics, cultural norms, and ideas about gender and sexuality, as well as some unusual and advanced technology in places.

We are using this quest to explore themes like breaking the glass ceiling, divergent outlooks on gender and sexuality, colonialism and imperialism, and the place of royalty.

Content Warning
This quest goes some dark places.

There is violence, often explicit, often unfair, often against undeserving targets.

There are not always good options forward. The protagonist is not necessarily a good person.

There is implied content and discussion of sexual harassment and assault.

This is a world where people are often racist, sexist, queerphobic bigots. Sometimes, even the PC and the people they are friends with.

Voting Rules

We will tell you if write-in votes are allowed. If we do not say that write-ins are allowed, they are not. This is to prevent people from unrealistically hedging their bets.

You may proposal other options in a non-vote format, subject to approval, on non write-in votes.

We will tell you when a vote allows approved voting. If we don't say the answer is no, pick an option. We like making people commit.

Discussions makes the GM feel fuzzy.

Game Rules
When we ask you for a roll, roll 3d6. You are aiming to roll equal or under the value of your stat. If you succeed, Haruna gets through the situation with no real difficulties. If you roll above the target value, Haruna will still succeed, but this success will cost her something or add a complication.

Whenever Haruna loses something or faces hardship from a botched roll, she takes Stress. The more Stress Haruna has, the more the job and the circumstances she's in will get to her, and it'll be reflected in the narrative. Haruna must be kept under 10 Stress: if she reaches 10 Stress, she will suffer a breakdown and the results will not be great for her.

Haruna loses stress by taking time for herself, by making meaningful progress on her dreams, and by kissing tall, beautiful women.

Meta Rules
Author commentary is in italics so you know it's not story stuff.

Please don't complain about the system or the fact we have to roll dice. We've heard it before, we've heard it a thousand times across multiple quests. We're not going to change it, and it wears at our fucking souls.

Just going "oh noooo" or "Fish RNGesus Why!" is fun and fine. Complaining at length because you didn't get what you want less so.

If you have a question, tag both @open_sketchbook and @Artificial Girl. If you only tag one of us, you will be ignored. Seriously, we both write this quest.

And yes this is an alt-history type setting with openly gay and trans people, ahistoric medicine, and weird politics. Just... deal, please?

This quest employs a special system called Snippet Votes. Please read this post for more information.
 
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Simon_Jester said:
He was the senior officer present, in a culture where openly contradicting your commanding officer is Not Done. If he didn't want to be receptive to subtle hints that he was making a mistake, he shouldn't be trying to run a large organization full of Not!Japanese. :p

Uh, I would argue that it totally was. He was the senior officer present; he was in charge, not us. Being aware enough of the crowd's mood to know that planting an imperial flag in the square in front of the palace would make them freak out is well within his responsibilities. So is telling the fascist newspaper reporters that no, they will NOT get their triumphal photo of imperial maximum triumph if the cost is risking the lives of Akitsukuni soldiers who might be killed in a riot.
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His job was to head up our security detail; we were the public face of the event.
 
[x] Captain Ienaga: His acquiescence to a foolish request for political gain caused the riot.

Changing my vote. Ultimately it is the Captain's fault first and foremost. He had a duty and he failed.
 
Mr Apollo said:
No, his job was to keep us safe. He failed. We were under his command up until he was knocked out by that brick. He could have very easily taken the out we gave him and ignored that last reporter. Instead, he didn't read the crowd or think things through and got us caught in the middle of a riot.
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Gotta love how we're immediately throwing him under the bus in a desperate bid to avoid consequences/because we think it'll be the least detrimental to our own career. :V

I mean, we could've been more forceful about it, instead of treating him like he was a servant who understood all of our hoity-toity subtle nobility stuff. We could've straight-out said, "No, I think this is a bad idea," or come up with another excuse.

We don't get to wash our hands; shrugging and saying, "Well, it was really his fault" doesn't do anything positive for anybody and probably torpedoes his career. And he'll write his own report and then we get intra-service fingerpointing and recriminations and maybe a court of inquiry and everything becomes awful.
Adhoc vote count started by Rat King on Nov 27, 2018 at 12:51 PM, finished with 40 posts and 12 votes.
  • [X] Yourself: For who else is there? You could have made your objection more stringent or insisted that the schedule be kept or found a way to avoid this becoming the bloodbath that it had.
    [x] Captain Ienaga: His acquiescence to a foolish request for political gain caused the riot.
    [X] The press: They delayed our exit when tensions were high. They must be curtailed.
    [x] The reporters: They delayed our exit when tensions were high. They must be curtailed.
    [X] Captain Ienaga: His acquiescence to a foolish request for political gain caused the riot. The civilians from Our Way made the foolish request, and indulging them was a mistake. The press is there to report, not to create their own news by maneuvering the Army and Navy into taking steps that will lead to a pointless riot and place Akitsukuni lives in danger. For Captain Ienaga, forgetting his own primacy and authority in this matter was a grave mistake, and one which has paid very dearly for.
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You also have to consider just what the actual crime that occured here is. Was it :
- Rioting?
- Making a request that could cause a riot?
- Triggering a Riot
- Stabbing the crowd and causing a stampede?
 
Shebe Zuu said:
it's definitely a thorny conundrum.
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The following is an Opinion Piece appearing in the Constituent Nationalist Party's weekly newsletter:

Opinion Piece said:
...It is the opinion of this commentator that the Purity Club's reporters specifically were in error because they presumed that, because of their political leanings, they had free reign to accost Her Royal Highness at their leisure. This is inherently inappropriate for persons of their status, though of course it has been observed in the past that Her Royal Highness is sympathetic to the people desiring contact with the Royal Family. Such sympathies, while admirable, do not excuse the total irresponsibility of the Purity Club's journalist staff and their inability to read a situation and take appropriate steps to safeguard both Her Royal Highness and the soldiers placed to protect her. It is the duty of all persons to show care and tact in their dealings, particularly when lives are at risk, and such a request should not have even been made under the circumstances in Joseon at the time of this incident.

There are certainly contributing factors from Captain Ienaga, the surrounding populace, and others. But it is undoubtedly the case that, had it not been for the irresponsible actions of the Purity Club's journalist staff, then none of this would have happened. It is high time, in this commentator's opinion, that the Purity Club's excesses and presumptions be curtailed.
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Rat King said:
I don't think it's fair of us to put blame on the Captain; he was doing his job, just like we were. If he bears responsibility, so do we.
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He was the man in charge. The buck stops with him unless his incompetence is so startling it goes to his CO for assigning him to the job.

natruska said:
edit: More serious note I guess, blaming the Captain would be very shitty. He's an army officer, not a servant, handling the press or the crowd's mood wasn't really his job.
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The captain was in charge of security.

Yes it was his job.

Rat King said:
The press didn't intend to start a riot, just like we didn't intend to kill people.

I don't think we can blame them for this.
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Actually yes we can. They acted in a manner that incensed the population directly and indirectly. That it wasn't their intent doesn't mean that their meddling can't be pointed at as a major component of the cause of the tragedy, and that they should've realised that it was a possible or even likely result. If they can't be blamed for that things like prosecution for hate speech and libel would never exist.

This is early 20th century Earth equivalent. Press assignments are likely to be long term (several years) and involve building up a lot of local contacts and a sense of local sentiments. They should've read the crowd just as well. And given the political nature of the paper in question the provocation might well have been deliberate.

Rat King said:
I mean, we could've been more forceful about it, instead of treating him like he was a servant who understood all of our hoity-toity subtle nobility stuff. We could've straight-out said, "No, I think this is a bad idea," or come up with another excuse.
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In alternate universe Japan?

Japanese language and culture are extremely indirect compared to western cultures and language. There's no way Haruna could've done that, it'd have been extremely out of character, and the captain should have read Haruna's statement as 'boss, this is sounding like a bad idea.'
 
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Like, if the Navy drops a report blaming the Army and the Army drops a report blaming the Navy, we're going to have a much bigger scandal on our hands.
 
What, after all that hoopla no one wants to blame the protesters? The military establishment already looks down on them, we won't piss off anyone important or affect things in the home islands. Why, blaming them seems practically consequence free!
 
[X] Yourself: For who else is there? You could have made your objection more stringent or insisted that the schedule be kept or found a way to avoid this becoming the bloodbath that it had.
 
Hazard said:
He was the man in charge. The buck stops with him unless his incompetence is so startling it goes to his CO for assigning him to the job.

The captain was in charge of security.
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And we were the senior Naval officer present, so some of the blame lies with us as well.

Y'all are desperate to wash the Princesses's hands of this.
 
Hazard said:
He was the man in charge. The buck stops with him unless his incompetence is so startling it goes to his CO for assigning him to the job.
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Only if you consider triggerint the riot as being the only crime of note in this incident.

To illustrate the point a bit better. Imagine if instead of trying to non-lethal, we ordered our forces to fire into the crowd. Or, to exaggerate for the sake of the argument, if we'd ordered our forces to burn the city. Would that be his fault?

My point is, do the consequences of our orders fall on him because his actions helped create the situation and put us in command, or do they fall on the people who gave them?
 
Rat King said:
Like, if the Navy drops a report blaming the Army and the Army drops a report blaming the Navy, we're going to have a much bigger scandal on our hands.
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So we blame the press.

[X] The press: They delayed our exit when tensions were high. They must be curtailed.

Blaming ourselves is futilely trying to "cleanse" ourselves through self-punishment. I don't see how we reacted wrongly.

But the Captain would be a good option, too.
 
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[X] Yourself: For who else is there? You could have made your objection more stringent or insisted that the schedule be kept or found a way to avoid this becoming the bloodbath that it had.

Ultimately, we had the highest authority here, and the most power, and so the blame has to fall with us. It's how hierarchies work.
 
TotallyNotEvil said:
I don't see how we reacted wrongly.
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1) We didn't consider the possibility of warning shots.
2) We didn't keep sufficient control of our men, causing them to go stabbing jn the chaos.
3) We didn't shelter in the palace, were the crowd may not have done a thing.
4) Meta : We rolled a partial failure.


Objectively, our choice last turn means that the civilians weren't actually that dangerous. They wounded a few men (worst of all the captain), but they weren't a serious thread.

(You can argue that the alternative option shows they were, but that's an alternative reality. It didn't happen).
 
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I wouldn't mind blaming ourselves... Except we didn't get to choose at all, so it's not our fault. The press came up with the idea of the flag, and the captain decided it sounded like a great idea. We didn't even get to vote on it.
 
Rat King said:
His job was to head up our security detail; we were the public face of the event.
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That doesn't mean he was in charge.

The president isn't the commander of his own bodyguard detachment, and just because the Secret Service is there to escort him and keep him safe doesn't mean they have to take his orders. Sometimes, quite the opposite.

Rat King said:
Gotta love how we're immediately throwing him under the bus in a desperate bid to avoid consequences/because we think it'll be the least detrimental to our own career. :V

I mean, we could've been more forceful about it, instead of treating him like he was a servant who understood all of our hoity-toity subtle nobility stuff. We could've straight-out said, "No, I think this is a bad idea," or come up with another excuse.
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@open_sketchbook

Okay, let me be open about this. Does Akitsukuni have that the cultural thing the Japanese have where it's a no-no to be open and blunt to a superior officer, and when your boss makes a mistake you're supposed to inform him subtly and politely so that he doesn't lose face in public?

...

Because if so, then... Well, Rat King, this is the point I made before. If he doesn't want to, or isn't mentally equipped to, take subtle hints from junior officers, he is unfit to lead in the context of this culture. Blaming ourselves for not saying "I think this is a bad idea, sir" in a society where telling a senior officer "I think this is a bad idea, sir" in so many words is a humiliating slap in the face to their authority... Well, it doesn't make sense.

Now, maybe Akitsukuni is a lot blunter than real Japan, and that changes things. I dunno.

Rat King said:
Like, if the Navy drops a report blaming the Army and the Army drops a report blaming the Navy, we're going to have a much bigger scandal on our hands.
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This is Akitsukuni. The Army and Navy blaming each other for a mess is Tuesday.

10ebbor10 said:
Only if you consider triggerint the riot as being the only crime of note in this incident.

To illustrate the point a bit better. Imagine if instead of trying to non-lethal, we ordered our forces to fire into the crowd. Or, to exaggerate for the sake of the argument, if we'd ordered our forces to burn the city. Would that be his fault?

My point is, do the consequences of our orders fall on him because his actions helped create the situation and put us in command, or do they fall on the people who gave them?
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Ienaga is to blame only for the decisions he personally made before being knocked unconscious with a brick, plus any consequences of those decisions that do NOT reflect an error on the part of his subordinates.

If we'd done something appallingly stupid like ordering that our soldiers burn the city (assuming we succeeded), or something less appalling but still stupid like ordering that our men drop their rifles and charge the crowd barehanded... That would clearly be on us, not on Ienaga. But Ienaga was in command when the riot started, and we didn't grossly mismanage the situation by the standards of the institution we work for.
 
Ramble said:
But it is the bushido thing to do!
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See, and that's the problem.

I don't see what Haruna did wrong here. That she wasn't an expert at urban bayonet fighting and couldn't assemble a flawless formation that would leave no casualties is not her fault. That she was forced by he press and the Captain's ignorance to pose for a provoking photo isn't her fault.

She was as merciful as she could have been while still fulfilling her duties as officer.

If we say "this is my fault" then that's what people are going to accept at face value.

Remember, it's not only our career on the line, it's all of the Akitsukuni women who wish recognition.

Us fucking up isn't just a person fucking up, it's the "experiment" for letting women join the navy failing.
 
[x] Captain Ienaga: His acquiescence to a foolish request for political gain caused the riot.

The only option that criticises the political stunt. "...Ought to have known that suggestions by the Purity Club would be aimed at inflaming an otherwise loyal crowd." is going only a little too far.

And to be fair, the army officer stationed in Joseon should have known that it was dangerously provocative far better than the much more junior Navy ensign. The senior man on the spot bears responsibility. The disciplined performance of his troops might soften the blow.
 
Simon_Jester said:
That doesn't mean he was in charge.

The president isn't the commander of his own bodyguard detachment, and just because the Secret Service is there to escort him and keep him safe doesn't mean they have to take his orders. Sometimes, quite the opposite.

@open_sketchbook

Okay, let me be open about this. Does Akitsukuni have that the cultural thing the Japanese have where it's a no-no to be open and blunt to a superior officer, and when your boss makes a mistake you're supposed to inform him subtly and politely so that he doesn't lose face in public?

...

Because if so, then... Well, Rat King, this is the point I made before. If he doesn't want to, or isn't mentally equipped to, take subtle hints from junior officers, he is unfit to lead in the context of this culture. Blaming ourselves for not saying "I think this is a bad idea, sir" in a society where telling a senior officer "I think this is a bad idea, sir" in so many words is a humiliating slap in the face to their authority... Well, it doesn't make sense.

Now, maybe Akitsukuni is a lot blunter than real Japan, and that changes things. I dunno.
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We could've found a polite, face-saving way to say "Oh, no, we have a schedule to keep" and moved on; we didn't. Ienga would've lived with that. We could've done many things differently. We didn't.

Blaming Ienga is pointless and a blatant attempt to try and prevent ourselves from having to accept responsibility of any sort. Is that a message we want to send? We were caught up in events and despite being a Princess of the royal blood and an officer, we simply were swept up in the situation? That we were unable to exert any meaningful control?

Further, a subordinate "falling on their sword" for the sake of their superiors is something that happens in this culture; if it would save the face of the Navy, us accepting blame is entirely in keeping with the warrior ethos and spirit we are aspiring to live up to.
Adhoc vote count started by Rat King on Nov 27, 2018 at 1:09 PM, finished with 61 posts and 16 votes.
  • [X] Yourself: For who else is there? You could have made your objection more stringent or insisted that the schedule be kept or found a way to avoid this becoming the bloodbath that it had.
    [x] Captain Ienaga: His acquiescence to a foolish request for political gain caused the riot.
    [X] The press: They delayed our exit when tensions were high. They must be curtailed.
    [x] The reporters: They delayed our exit when tensions were high. They must be curtailed.
    [X] Captain Ienaga: His acquiescence to a foolish request for political gain caused the riot. The civilians from Our Way made the foolish request, and indulging them was a mistake. The press is there to report, not to create their own news by maneuvering the Army and Navy into taking steps that will lead to a pointless riot and place Akitsukuni lives in danger. For Captain Ienaga, forgetting his own primacy and authority in this matter was a grave mistake, and one which has paid very dearly for.
    [X] Yourself: For who else is there? You could have made your objection more stringent or insisted that the schedule be kept or found a way to avoid this becoming the bloodbath that it had.
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