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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[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)

Rat King said:
Snitches get stitches.
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That depends entirely on whether the institution being "snitched" to has the institutional power to protect "snitches."

Also, one man's "snitch" is another man's "whistleblower;" it depends entirely on whose side you're on.

brmj said:
I'm all for subversive elements. This country needs a lot more of them. Even for those of you not viewing full communism as the optimal end result, please keep the following in mind: historically, the left are the only ones likely to confront a growing fascist movement with any degree of effectiveness. Mainstream liberals and moderates will fail to take the threat seriously. The mainstream right will view them as harmlessly crazy or perhaps even useful rather than a problem until it is too late. The left will see them for what they are and confront them wherever they appear. Where fascists have won, it has been because the far left wasn't strong enough to defeat them. Where fascists have lost, it was either the left that beat them back, or the material conditions just weren't there for them to have won in the first place.
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The "material conditions weren't right for it" explanation seems to lend itself to a lot of 'no true Scotsman'-ing.

In a country like Akitsukuni, one VERY common vector for fascist takeover is, precisely, the rise of a substantial and potentially violent far-left minority, in a society where highly conservative institutions (like 19th century general staffs and hereditary aristocrats) still enjoy the bulk of the public trust, and where liberal institutions like "democracy with a loyal opposition and a firm concept of minority rights" and "a free press" and "due process" do not exist. Because at that point, it is very, VERY easy for highly conservative institutions to lean over to their fascist neighbors and say "hey, take the wheel for a minute," and transfer power to a faction that will bloodily "sort out those dangerous communists and anarchists," while leaving the conservative institutions largely intact.

Making the communists big while the liberals are still themselves a minority doesn't work unless you "luck out" by having the communists get a chance to occupy a power vacuum in the wake of the total collapse of conservative institutions (e.g. late WWI Russia, or post-WWII China), while backstabbing any liberals who get in the way (e.g. the October Revolution).

Because a von Hindenburg, facing the rise of communism, anarchism, or other far-left political factions, will always hand power over to a Hitler.

First you have to get control of the government out of the hands of the von Hindenburgs who would hand it over to the Hitlers, then you have a chance of actually getting far-left factions into a politically relevant role without triggering a handover of power to a Hitler.

To get there and have it count for anything at all, we need a left that has left beyond narodnik-style individual terrorism and instead moved towards a politics of international working class solidarity that is willing to stand up for every oppressed group, such as women and people currently being colonized. Well, guess what? Our tiny little sub has the right set of people in it for some of those insights to be on the table. Where it goes from there is another, harder question, but everything has to start somewhere.

Within the context of reforms on the current society and electoral strategies and such, that's still the kind of left we want. One that will speak up for the colonies, won't throw trans and non-binary people under the bus in imitation of Europan prejudice, and won't freak out and declare revolution if they win 10% of the vote. A socialist movement of that type could easily evolve into a social-democratic electoral party that could help lead this country into a better future.

Getting Haruna moving left will be damn useful. It may not be how real, lasting and fundamental change happens, but she's got connections, prestige and visibility. She's the most powerful tool that we, the gayaverse quest players, have to directly influence the direction Akitsukuni politics takes going forward. A lot of us spend a lot of time worrying about it. Lets do something about it.

It makes some degree of sense in character, too: In a relatively short amount of time, she has faced a great deal of institutional discrimination, seen the realities of imperialism and the plight of colonized people, gotten about as good an idea as is currently possible just how bad things would be under the Purity Club's rule, and now been spending her days listening to all this interesting and at times quite sympathetic radical talk. Frankly, given the ways we've had her act thus far, I'd be shocked if she wasn't rethinking quite a few things right now. This is the sort of situation in which a lot of assumptions and ideas from her very weird, sheltered upbringing, her society as a whole and the indoctrination at the naval academy are probably being re-examined pretty heavily.

More cynically, this is the potential nucleus of an independent power base against the captain if it comes to it, not to mention how much the extent to which she is on good or bad terms with her crew impacts her day to day happiness, well-being and even survival. Getting and staying on good terms with these guys is useful for those reasons too.
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I want her participation in, and engagement with, lefty politics; it's an idea I like.

I do want us to be mindful of the fact that Akitsukuni is exactly the kind of society where you need to peacefully break down the power of certain highly conservative blocs over time, if you want a transition to modernity that doesn't collapse into far-right violent tyranny. Because right now if there was a revolution with battling thugs in the streets, the fash would almost certainly win.
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)​
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
Simon_Jester said:
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)

That depends entirely on whether the institution being "snitched" to has the institutional power to protect "snitches."

Also, one man's "snitch" is another man's "whistleblower;" it depends entirely on whose side you're on.
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Snitches always get stiches. AKA don't be a filthy informant.
 
[ ] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)

Won't be at all disappointed if this wins. It stands a good chance of working out well. Still feels kind of icky to keep the language thing hidden, though. That could really come back to bite us.

Glau said:
[ ] Write In (WE WILL BE HEAVY WITH THE VETO ON THIS ONE)

If I were to write in, it would probably be something along the lines of thanking Kwon, in Joseon. Thank him for believing in you and giving you a chance. Then forgiving ota for his brother, telling him about how it felt from the other side of that act. Then asking them how they wanted to move forwards.
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I like the frankness here, but this leaves the ball in their court too much when I'd prefer we move forward with this.

[X] Hey, you're not a little people. Maybe you can offer to help in some way… though that would be putting yourself in with the subversive elements. Yikes. (+2 Stress)

This moves forward in the right direction, and is honest, but it might be moving too quickly. It's hard to see how they'd trust us, and I'd rather have more time discussing things with them before we start signing on for who knows what. Still, since I don't have a good write-in and the other one I like is in a strong lead, I think I'll provisionally vote for it.
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
Simon_Jester said:
That depends entirely on whether the institution being "snitched" to has the institutional power to protect "snitches."

Also, one man's "snitch" is another man's "whistleblower;" it depends entirely on whose side you're on.
Click to expand...
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Whistleblowers also get stitches. "Snitches get stitches" is a fact, not a statement of intent. The people you are blowing the whistle to generally don't have the ability to protect you, because if they knew who could be trusted, they wouldn't need you to snitch.
 
Simon_Jester said:
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)

That depends entirely on whether the institution being "snitched" to has the institutional power to protect "snitches."

Also, one man's "snitch" is another man's "whistleblower;" it depends entirely on whose side you're on.

The "material conditions weren't right for it" explanation seems to lend itself to a lot of 'no true Scotsman'-ing.

In a country like Akitsukuni, one VERY common vector for fascist takeover is, precisely, the rise of a substantial and potentially violent far-left minority, in a society where highly conservative institutions (like 19th century general staffs and hereditary aristocrats) still enjoy the bulk of the public trust, and where liberal institutions like "democracy with a loyal opposition and a firm concept of minority rights" and "a free press" and "due process" do not exist. Because at that point, it is very, VERY easy for highly conservative institutions to lean over to their fascist neighbors and say "hey, take the wheel for a minute," and transfer power to a faction that will bloodily "sort out those dangerous communists and anarchists," while leaving the conservative institutions largely intact.

Making the communists big while the liberals are still themselves a minority doesn't work unless you "luck out" by having the communists get a chance to occupy a power vacuum in the wake of the total collapse of conservative institutions (e.g. late WWI Russia, or post-WWII China), while backstabbing any liberals who get in the way (e.g. the October Revolution).

Because a von Hindenburg, facing the rise of communism, anarchism, or other far-left political factions, will always hand power over to a Hitler.

First you have to get control of the government out of the hands of the von Hindenburgs who would hand it over to the Hitlers, then you have a chance of actually getting far-left factions into a politically relevant role without triggering a handover of power to a Hitler.

I want her participation in, and engagement with, lefty politics; it's an idea I like.

I do want us to be mindful of the fact that Akitsukuni is exactly the kind of society where you need to peacefully break down the power of certain highly conservative blocs over time, if you want a transition to modernity that doesn't collapse into far-right violent tyranny. Because right now if there was a revolution with battling thugs in the streets, the fash would almost certainly win.
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All the more reason to use our position to push for change rather than hedge our bets. Hedging your bets gets you the fash.
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)

This is not the time to get involved even vaguely openly. But there are plenty of things in Akitsukuni culture that need addressing, the manner in which the powerful treat others is but one of them. If the one most central to the concerns of everybody in that sub.

Rat King said:
All the more reason to use our position to push for change rather than hedge our bets. Hedging your bets gets you the fash.
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Pushing for change won't be useful right now. Haruna's an Imperial Princess, sure, but keep in mind that the left, at this point in time, is diametrically opposed to imperial rule and just as sexist as the fascists are.

Really, even the fascists are opposed to imperial rule, unless the guy in charge of them is the emperor.

No, this is the moment to bide our time, build up Haruna's respectability and influence. In some ways her being a woman is actually an asset too.
 
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Hazard said:
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)

This is not the time to get involved even vaguely openly. But there are plenty of things in Akitsukuni culture that need addressing, the manner in which the powerful treat others is but one of them. If the one most central to the concerns of everybody in that sub.



Pushing for change won't be useful right now. Haruna's an Imperial Princess, sure, but keep in mind that the left, at this point in time, is diametrically opposed to imperial rule and just as sexist as the fascists are.

Really, even the fascists are opposed to imperial rule, unless the guy in charge of them is the emperor.

No, this is the moment to bide our time, build up Haruna's respectability and influence. In some ways her being a woman is actually an asset too.
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Caution is simply another word for cowardice.
 
[X] Casually join in and compliment the taste in poetry. No need for anything too forceful, right? You want to be part of the crew. Just Lieutenant Arisugawa and no one else. (Roll +Diplomacy)

Subterfuge here leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and jumping feet first into political conspiracy with them feels too rushed. Let's be nice, and personal, and honest.
 
[x] You did still have a duty to report this. What if Ota went for you next, or one of your cousins? What about your brother? He was still a communist agitator, and he might lure Kwon into doing something terrible.
 
[X] Casually join in and compliment the taste in poetry. No need for anything too forceful, right? You want to be part of the crew. Just Lieutenant Arisugawa and no one else. (Roll +Diplomacy)

I honestly prefer the honest route here. We need to get to relate to them as people first. The scheming can wait.

And frankly, Haruna raising those concerns in the way that she would bring them up, speaking in Akitsukuni, isn't going to sound the same to them. It's still going to sound like the Aki princess talking. We need to gain their trust as a person first, to make them see that we're alright and they can trust us. Then we can have an honest conversation with them, or at least as honestly as they can talk with their superior officer.
 
Simon_Jester said:
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)

That depends entirely on whether the institution being "snitched" to has the institutional power to protect "snitches."

Also, one man's "snitch" is another man's "whistleblower;" it depends entirely on whose side you're on.

The "material conditions weren't right for it" explanation seems to lend itself to a lot of 'no true Scotsman'-ing.

In a country like Akitsukuni, one VERY common vector for fascist takeover is, precisely, the rise of a substantial and potentially violent far-left minority, in a society where highly conservative institutions (like 19th century general staffs and hereditary aristocrats) still enjoy the bulk of the public trust, and where liberal institutions like "democracy with a loyal opposition and a firm concept of minority rights" and "a free press" and "due process" do not exist. Because at that point, it is very, VERY easy for highly conservative institutions to lean over to their fascist neighbors and say "hey, take the wheel for a minute," and transfer power to a faction that will bloodily "sort out those dangerous communists and anarchists," while leaving the conservative institutions largely intact.

Making the communists big while the liberals are still themselves a minority doesn't work unless you "luck out" by having the communists get a chance to occupy a power vacuum in the wake of the total collapse of conservative institutions (e.g. late WWI Russia, or post-WWII China), while backstabbing any liberals who get in the way (e.g. the October Revolution).

Because a von Hindenburg, facing the rise of communism, anarchism, or other far-left political factions, will always hand power over to a Hitler.

First you have to get control of the government out of the hands of the von Hindenburgs who would hand it over to the Hitlers, then you have a chance of actually getting far-left factions into a politically relevant role without triggering a handover of power to a Hitler.

I want her participation in, and engagement with, lefty politics; it's an idea I like.

I do want us to be mindful of the fact that Akitsukuni is exactly the kind of society where you need to peacefully break down the power of certain highly conservative blocs over time, if you want a transition to modernity that doesn't collapse into far-right violent tyranny. Because right now if there was a revolution with battling thugs in the streets, the fash would almost certainly win.
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We also need to distinguish between communists, socialists, and within the left generally; more reformist socialists/social democrats (like Orwell, and the Mensheviks, and for that matter Eugene Debs) are generally willing to work with more centrist positions (see the Spartacist Right).
 
[X] Casually join in and compliment the taste in poetry. No need for anything too forceful, right? You want to be part of the crew. Just Lieutenant Arisugawa and no one else. (Roll +Diplomacy)
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
[X] Nothing now. But maybe next mission, talk to them about your concerns in Akitsukuni, and go through some of the same stuff. Maybe they'll learn to trust you, even if you have to manipulate them to get there. (Roll +Subterfuge)
 
veteranMortal said:
Whistleblowers also get stitches. "Snitches get stitches" is a fact, not a statement of intent. The people you are blowing the whistle to generally don't have the ability to protect you, because if they knew who could be trusted, they wouldn't need you to snitch.
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Again it depends.

If we, an officer who can get armed guards on our door any time we want, rat out a couple of antiprivileged malcontent sailors on a ship full of Purity Club sympathizing officers, you bet your ass we can probably get away with it without consequence to ourselves. The reasons not to do so are ethical, not because there's a secret revolutionary cabal aboard the ship who will avenge our submarine crewmen.

Rat King said:
Caution is simply another word for cowardice.
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And while we're trading aphorisms, some people just want to watch the world burn.

...

I mean seriously, if we want to get Akitsukuni out of its present political situation without a fascist takeover, we need to think, not just BLOOD FOR THE REVOLUTION GOD our way into an impossible position.

Plus, y'know, the whole "don't play the character grossly OOC," when we KNOW Haruna is a somewhat sheltered princess with old-fashioned views on noblesse oblige and all that, not a secret wild-eyed radical Red.
 
[X] Casually join in and compliment the taste in poetry. No need for anything too forceful, right? You want to be part of the crew. Just Lieutenant Arisugawa and no one else. (Roll +Diplomacy)

I like the logic for this one. Also, it's not like she is bad at Diplomacy, it's her second best skill after all.
 
Simon_Jester said:
I mean seriously, if we want to get Akitsukuni out of its present political situation without a fascist takeover, we need to think, not just BLOOD FOR THE REVOLUTION GOD our way into an impossible position.
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I mean, we could also not compare the people we are disagreeing with to Chaos Cultists. That's a thing we can do.

I'm not actually that interested in arguing with you. I'd just like you to try to be civil.
 
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