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Aircraft Design Company- Matsura's Planes Are Always Fastest!

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Character Sheet
  • Informational


    • ​
    Stress
    0​
    Office Stress
    0​
    XP
    5​

    Matsura Asuka
    Head Designer for Ohara Airworks
    Age 24 (Legally 25)
    Year 12 AF (After Flight)

    Design Stats
    Aerodynamics Engineering - +2
    Structural Engineering - +2
    Chemical Engineering - +1
    Mechanical Engineering - +1
    Ballistics Engineering - +1
    Electrical Engineering - 0

    Personal/Political Stats
    Social Skills - 0
    Politics Skills - 0
    Importance - 2
    Income - 1
    Investments - Ohara

    Resources
    Power - 0
    Wealth - 2

    Designs
    Type 1 Series - Military Variation (Designated T1M1)
    Type 2 Racer (World Speed Record October 1910-April 1911, 180kph)
    Model 2 Scout (Designated T1M2)
    Navy Scout Prototype (Drowned Rat)
    Dive Bomber B1M1 "Duck"
    Machine Gun Carrier R1A "Dragonfly" (World Speed Record May-July 1911, 200kph)
    Naval Rescue Water-Landing Supply Plane NR1M0 "Dolphin" (World speed record 240kph)
    Rhino Demon Train Hunter
    The world's first airliner
    The world's first pulsejet airplane

    Assets
    Slide Rule
    Computator (1 Reroll per Routine)

    Languages
    Albian
    Gallian

    Familiar Vices
    Drinking
    Prostitutes
    Dancing

    Family Life
    - Engaged to Arita Yachi, formerly the leading Ace in the Imperial Army. Designated #1 Cutest Army Boy, he's having some serious problems with PTSD right now.
    - Taking a second try at dating Mikami Kiho, ex-dockerwork from the south.

    Upgrades
    - 3 XP to upgrade a stat.

    Ohara Airworks
    Start Up, Imperial Capital, Akitsukuni

    Owner
    - Mr. Ohara, Rich. Aircraft Enthusiast. Business guy.

    Engineers

    Kibe Koume, 26, Office Manager
    Tiny & angry, Kibe went to school in Albia, picking up the language, the religion, and a fuckload of swear words. Speaks Albian.
    Mechanical +2, Ballistics +1
    Office Manager: If Kibe is not assigned to a team, the Office Stress is reduced by 1.

    Sakane Jun, 26, Second Team Leader
    A soured patriot, Sakane is married and has a young child being raised gender-neutrally. His two brothers who fought in the war.
    Structural +2, Aerodynamics +1
    Team Leader: If there are any additional projects, Sakane will lead them.
    Joinery: Sakane has training in the traditional Akitsukuni carpentry art of joinery, creating complex self-supporting joints with no fasteners or glue. When working with non-monocoque wooden spars or ribs, +1 Structural.

    Tezuka Kenji, ???
    A stoner with occasional flashes of insight. Nobody really knows what he does, but he's probably useful?
    Aerodynamics +2, Chemical +1
    Flashes of Brilliance: Each natural 10 rolled by any team Tezuka is assigned to gives +1 forward to the next research roll.

    Hasegawa Morio, 26
    A hopeless nerd with a photography habit, mostly on account of developing his own film, Hasegawa seems to do nothing but work and stack card houses, but somehow has an incredible attractive boyfriend. Speaks Gallian.
    Chemical +2, Ballistic +1
    Silent Workhorse: Hasegawa can work on two different projects at once for no cost to Office Stress, providing they use different stats.

    Kawamura Yosai, 25.
    Serially successful womanizer and incredibly attractive, Kawamura doesn't seem to have much of a personality outside of seducing women. Well, except for that time he seduced Asuka, which nobody talks about. Speaks Dyske.
    Structural +2, Electrical +1, Social +1
    Easily Distracted: If Kawamura is working on the same team as a female or non-binary employee, the team is at -1d10.

    Koide Hatsu, 24.
    One of the few female graduates of an Akitsukuni engineering school, Koide is brilliant and incredibly driven, but her first job at Akibara was both humiliating and exposed her to an abusive coworker. Her father is a rich businessman with factories in Joseon, and she's engaged to Ken from Castles of Steel. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +2, Structural +1
    No Sleep: If you let her, Koide will work herself to death. She can work a second project for no Office Stress, but all her stats will be reduced to 1 for the routine.

    Kobayashi Ayao, ???
    Disowned heiress of the Kobayashi family, all Kobayashi wanted was a career and to be a modern woman. For her trouble, a cousin threw acid on her, scarring her face, neck, much of her torso, and her left arm. Despite appearing serene and above it all, she's actually an avowed communist activist and baseball player.
    Aerodynamics +2, Social +2

    Adachi Ren, 24
    Adachi learned chemistry from her father, one of the most famous chemical engineers in the country, rather than through formal schooling. She's married, has a kid, and takes spirituality very seriously. Yes, you did the math right, she had Yuki when she was 17. It's 1912, folks.
    Chemical +2, Electrical +1
    Young Mother: Adachi will cause double Office Stress if she has to work multiple tasks.

    Uyeno Sei, Ballistics Engineer, 31.
    The oldest member of the crew, this is Uyeno's second career. Her first was as an officer in the Imperial Navy with specialized technical training: her very promising career was cut short by her transition. Her work in a naval arsenal on machine-guns landed her the job here. Briefly dated Satomi (the age range is a bit creepy but again, 1912), she's missing a piece of her ear and is deaf on that side, from an exploding cannon. Recently returned from Varnmark from experimental surgery, she's known for her skill navigating gendered bureaucracy.
    Ballistic +3

    Mi Kyung-Jae, 23
    A recent graduate of the Imperial College of Heijo, Mi is from the recently annexed territory of Joseon. For those keeping track at home, that means he's a Korean national living in Imperial Japan in 1912. We haven't seen much of his personality because he's rightfully terrified of everything around him. He has a specialty in endurance engine design and modification. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +1, Chemical +1
    Endurance Engines: Mi has an excellent understanding of metallurgy and tolerances. Any engine he works on gains +1 Reliability if a 16+ is rolled.
    Pulsejet Wizard: Mi is now one of the world's leading experts on the pulsejet engine. He can be given his own project to custom-craft pulsejet engines, and he gives +1 to any pulsejet-related project.
    Joseon National: Mi does not have security clearance to work on any top-secret projects.

    Miyoshi Shigeri, 23.
    A non-binary person and admirer of Asuka's work, they were in an support role in the Army before joining the company.
    Structural +1, Mechanical +1, Aerodynamic +1
    Mechanic: Miyoshi has some experience repairing and refurbishing aircraft. They get +1 if assigned on the clean-up phase.


    Other Employees
    - Ohara Satomi, 22, Mr. Ohara's niece and the company test pilot, Ohara is a general lesbian disaster. She's good at flying planes, driving cars, and kissing girls. She's bad at being patient, being respectable, and sticking to literally anyones conceptions of gender roles. Deeply in lesbians with Coralie D'Amboise.
    - Fujkikawa Sotatsu, old, modelmaker. He's an old man and toymaker and we don't see much of him because he locks himself in his workshop a lot. He's friends with Kawamura?

    Assets
    - Engine Test Rig (Allows engine tweaking and optimization.
    - Wind Tunnel (+1 Aerodynamics)
    - Rapid Prototype Lab (+1 Clean Up)
    Expanded Cast

    Akitsukuni Industry
    - Homura Mohoko: Head Engine Designer for Kobayashi. First female engineer in the country. A lot of sex appeal.
    - Okumura: Head of Akibara aircraft design.
    - Yamanaka Hajime: Kobayashi engineer. Young and eager.
    - Igarashi Masazumi: Kobayashi engineer. Reserved and experienced.
    - Admiral Akibara Toru: Imperial Navy Admiral. Maximum nepotism. Maximum douchebag.
    - Lt.Cmnd Akibara Shinzo: The above's son. A hottie but very forward.



    Character Families
    - Matsura(?) Mizuko: Asuka's sister. Was paralyzed in an accident in Asuka's first flight. Lives Elsewhere and is married now. Can't forgive Asuka, even though she's tried.
    - Adachi Motoki: Adachi's husband, an accountant. Legally blind.
    - Adachi Yuki: Adachi's 7 year old daughter and wannabe pilot. Very adorable.
    - Yachi's Brother: Exists.
    - Sakane's Wife: Exists. Drives him a bit crazy, but he loves her.
    - Yachi's Brother's Wife: Exists. Is statistically likely to be pregnant.
    - Lt. Coralie D'Amboise: Gallian pilot in exile. Satomi's girlfriend. 25. Accomplished bisexual duelist. She flew in the war for a single day, and for her troubles got a hole blown in her cheek and had her left arm paralyzed.

    Akisukuni Army & Ex-Army
    - Lt. Torio Tanaka: Yachi's former observer as an enlisted man. Was jumped up to fly Ducks and lost a leg on his first mission. A trained painter, married to Torio Saya.
    - Captain Amari Shiro: A Dragonfly pilot who ended up flying as Yachi's partner. Kind of delightfully twinky. They sorta slept together at one point, which wasn't great. He lost his previous boyfriend in the April Offensive and turned his plane into a shrine. He was shot in the gut and is still recovering.
    - Major Izuhara: Logistics officer, Imperial Army, this bespectled officer stood up to the Caspian Crown Prince and accidentally kicked off the Akitsikuni-Caspian War. The guilt was so much that, after almost a year of running Army procurement, he shot himself in a phone both.
    - Captain Nakai Sekien: Army scout pilot. First person to drop a bomb from an airplane, later head of the Duck Squadrons.
    - Captain Teshima: A Desk pilot that fought with Yachi. Lost an arm in the process, took over for Major Izuhara after his death. Seems cheery despite it all.
    - Captain Nashio: A real piece of shit dude and probably a rapist, he's also a war hero as the second-highest scoring ace on the Akitsukuni side. He was a young shitty kid in way over his head but it's no excuse.
    - Lt. Kinjo: Kind of a dumb lump and Nashio's friend, one of the desk pilots. Dead at 19.
    - Lt. Okazaki: Yachi's friend from before the war and pilot, he died in a spin in his dragonfly. His death probably hit Yachi the hardest.

    Westerners
    - Rose & Antoinette Sears: Pioneers of flight. Sisters. Black in 1910s not!America. Yikes.
    - Timina Guasti: Famous aircraft designer from Otrusia. Likes big planes and green.
    - Prince Protasov Vasilyevich: Crown Prince of Great Caspia. Real dick. You gotta hand it to him though, a decent flier.
    - Count von Zeppelin: Invented rigid airships. Runs a successful airline business. Damned impressive.
    - Bennhold: Aircraft Engineer. Experimenting with metal aircraft.
    - Aileen Middlemiss: Albian reporter for the Artimis Times. Well meaning and oblivious.
    Available Tech
    • Materials: Wood, Duralumin, Molded Wood, Wood & Silk Composite, etc
    • All engine mounts
    • All wing types
    • Basic reinforcement
    • Wing warping and ailerons
    • Basic water radiators
    • Flying Wings
    • Semi-Monocoque design (requires at least half the slots have frame pieces)
    • Valved pulsejets
    • Basic weapon mounts and turrets
    Tech not Yet Developed
    • Custom engines
    • Monocoque construction
    • Cantilever Wings and associated tech
    • V and T tails
    • Tailless designs
    • Aluminum and titanium
    • Cellulose surfacing
    • Any kind of radar
    • Weapon accessability mods
    • Interruptor gear
    • Geared propellers
    • And Maybe Other Stuff
    Akitsukuni
    Island Nation

    Government
    Constitutional Monarchy
    - The democratic portions of the government are dubiously legitimate.
    - The head of state is the Empress of Akitsukuni. She gives her blessing to newly formed governments.
    - The Navy and a small number of families have undue influence on politics.

    Economy
    Developing Mixed Market
    - Most industry is controlled by a small number of wealthy, family-owned companies.
    - The state provides most contracts to industry. Consumer good market is anemic.
    - Exports are few, mostly cultural.
    - Imports are raw minerals, food, oil, and expertise.
    - Currently suffering an economic crash after the last war.

    Politics
    The Diet is currently ruled by a Constitutional Nationalist government. It has a system of nonlocal proportional representation, with representatives appointed by the party in accordance to their share of the vote.
    - Constitutional Nationalists: 50%
    - Purity Club: 9%
    - New Independents: 26%
    - Fairness Association: 11%
    - United Communist League: 2%
    - Monarchists: 1%
    - Assorted Fringe Parties: 5%

    Demographics
    Akitsukuni is mostly very ethnically homogeneous. Around 5% of the population are various minorities, most from nearby countries. Roughly .1% are westerners here for business or in advisory positions.
    - Population: 55 Million
    - Religion: Mostly Kodo. Roughly 2% of the population follows western religions.
    - Wealth: Most wealth is concentrated in the top 5% of the country. Nearly 20% of the population lives in conditions indistinguishable from peasantry.
    - Urbanization: Heavily urbanized for a small economy: 35% and rapidly growing.

    Military
    At Peace
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Navy (IAN): The 6th largest in the world, and the most experienced.
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Army (IAA): 150,000 highly experienced soldiers, and a considerable reserve.

    Aspects
    - Poor Resources: Aluminum costs +1.
    - Damn Akitsukuni Engines!: Engines have -1 Reliability.



    The Main Character Of This Quest Is Nonbinary And Uses They/Them Pronouns.

    I Am Putting This Here Because The Next Person To Misgender Them Is Getting Yeeted Into The Trash

    Also here's the Gayaverse TV Tropes page, because why not.​
     
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  • Informational
    • Y'know what? Omake time! Starring everyone's favorite caspian of dubious gender identity and canonicity: John Peters. Y'know, the aircraft designer. :V

    Your name is Vanja Pet'a Kruz, and you are dreaming. A nicer dream this time. No bones crunching beneath your feet.

    A place of rolling hills and strong breezes, though a storm rages on the near horizon, the sound of thunder filling your ears.

    A friend is showing you their newest plane, a thing of larger size than normal, with an odd design in the wings.

    "The wing geometry is impressive, but where are the guns?"

    "It doesn't have guns."

    "A bomber then? I see the doors here, but how would you move the bombs out?"

    "It doesn't carry bombs. It's not a war-plane, it's a passenger liner."

    In the distance, the sound of thunder fades. It's still there, faintly, on the distant horizon, since that lightning won't go back in the bottle, but it no longer casts a shadow everywhere you look. A smile comes to your face. "It's beautiful, Asuka. I'd love to fly in it. Maybe one day. But you remind me of something we are working on. Come, come, I want to show you!"

    You walk up a short hill, and down another, where your planes are arranged in a neat line, starting with the one built out of an old farm cart, and ending with the Kometa,with the massive JM-n.10 along the back, the transparent nose-bubble, and the two propellers out towards the ends of the wings

    "It doesn't look very fast, Vanja."

    Asuka always did feel the need for speed.

    "It doesn't need to be. Fast is the Glupost next to it. On paper, Glupost'd hit two-ninety five in sustained level flight. For twenty-five minutes. Fuel runs out after thirty minutes of operation, oil after thirty-five, and the engine would melt if it ran for longer than forty minutes. And then you'd pull some clever bit of plane wizardry the next week and break three hundred. The Kometa doesn't fly fast, it flies high. Cruise should be around fifty-five hundred meters, maybe more. Had to do all sorts of tricks for that."

    You walk around the Kometa with Asuaka, pointing out the intakes for the doublecharger, how the compressor feeds air to the pilots so they can still function at such high altitude, vital and expensive electrical systems that heat the pilots and let them communicate with each other, and the instrument pods with recording equipment for temperature, pressure, humidity, and a few other things you're not entirely sure about, but got you some funding from the University. There's even a camera, for God's sake!

    When you slide into the cockpit to show Asuka how exactly all the bits of the flight suit get hooked up for heat and air, you realize you're in your flying gear. Of course you are, this is your plane, in your dream. There is a second set of flying gear on the co-pilot's seat. You turn your head to look out the window to one side, and when you turn back, Asuka is sitting in the same gear.

    "Wires for heating plug in like so. Wires for intercom plug in here and here. Hose for air goes down and across, like so. Ready?"

    "Ready."

    "CONTACT!"

    The Kometa streaks down the grassy field and leaps into the sky. You both haul back on the control yoke, and the Kometa responds, tipping back and climbing hard. You can no longer hear the distant thunder over the roar of a JM-n.10 at full throttle.

    Your name is Vanja Pet'a Kruz, and you are home.
     
    Last edited:
    open_sketch said:
    The biggest news, however, was Ohara's first subsidiary, Ohara Applied Research, located in a lovely modern building three streets over. With a mission statement of "Advancing the physical science for the betterment of the Akitsukuni People", it was pretty much just a funding tank and workspace for interesting research which caught the eye of Mr. Ohara, yourself, or any of your engineers. It was headed up by an old schoolmate of yours, Suko Takayuki, who like you had been something of a multidisciplinary student, though with more of a focus on business and theoretical fields. Your telephone got a special switch beside it so you could call his office straight away without going through an operator!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Curious what OAR is up to these days (treading water for the aftermath of the big war report like everybody else in the industry, I imagine). Still, any comment on their activities would be of interest.
     
    Me: "I should write the next update. That's important."

    Brain: "Okay but what if Ohara Airworks coffee shop AU? Everyone is teenagers, Matsura is hired by this failing coffee shop with a cast of quirky baristas, Akibara is the Starbucks of the AU world, Satomi is always hanging around outside with her motorcycle trying to catch a glimpse of that cute exchange student, Yachi is a mall security guard and oh no he's hot can Asuka work up the courage to ask him out? Akitsukuni Mall is being renovated but the Russian mob has investments in it so that's complicated and also there's a bunch of rich foreigners trying to gentrify all the cool LGBT friendly shops..."

    Me: "... fuck though that's good."
     
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    Setting shifts can sound so very good but don't always work out that well, fair warning :p
     
    They can work great as vignettes, or side-shorts, or what have you- seeing familiar-but-not-quite-familiar characters and settings through a glass darkly can be fascinating. Long-term, less so; even if the characters' personalities and internal drives are the same, the external drives are almost inevitably different- and even if they start out parallel, they're going to diverge considerably and probably rapidly.

    Also the cool planes are a big draw and I would miss them.
     
    open_sketch said:
    Me: "I should write the next update. That's important."

    Brain: "Okay but what if Ohara Airworks coffee shop AU? Everyone is teenagers, Matsura is hired by this failing coffee shop with a cast of quirky baristas, Akibara is the Starbucks of the AU world, Satomi is always hanging around outside with her motorcycle trying to catch a glimpse of that cute exchange student, Yachi is a mall security guard and oh no he's hot can Asuka work up the courage to ask him out? Akitsukuni Mall is being renovated but the Russian mob has investments in it so that's complicated and also there's a bunch of rich foreigners trying to gentrify all the cool LGBT friendly shops..."

    Me: "... fuck though that's good."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Personally my favorite part of this image is trying to convert the plane design wizardry elements of the quest to coffee-brewing - Asuka throws in chili powder, rosemary, and an entire egg to somehow produce the most delicious drink yet invented.
     
    But what is botes in Akitsukuni Mall AU?

    (AU!Vanja has probably found a way to hook a V8 into a samovar despite that making no sense. Cas, Fat Steve, and Theo run a food truck on the other side of town, and I have no idea what the protagonists of @MrGazzer or @4WheelSword 's Quests would be doing, as those are the other "contemporary" quests.)
     
    samdamandias said:
    But what is botes in Akitsukuni Mall AU?

    (AU!Vanja has probably found a way to hook a V8 into a samovar despite that making no sense. Cas, Fat Steve, and Theo run a food truck on the other side of town, and I have no idea what the protagonists of @MrGazzer or @4WheelSword 's Quests would be doing, as those are the other "contemporary" quests.)
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    My headfanon:

    Haruna is working her way up the ranks of the department store attached to the mall. Her family owns the store, but they didn't want her to deal with starting at the bottom. She just made shift lead for the Sporting Goods department, and is frustrated because her schedule never lines up with her girlfriend Aiko over in Appliances. She's been on the front lines of keeping the mobsters out of the mall.
     
    open_sketch said:
    Me: "I should write the next update. That's important."

    Brain: "Okay but what if Ohara Airworks coffee shop AU? Everyone is teenagers, Matsura is hired by this failing coffee shop with a cast of quirky baristas, Akibara is the Starbucks of the AU world, Satomi is always hanging around outside with her motorcycle trying to catch a glimpse of that cute exchange student, Yachi is a mall security guard and oh no he's hot can Asuka work up the courage to ask him out? Akitsukuni Mall is being renovated but the Russian mob has investments in it so that's complicated and also there's a bunch of rich foreigners trying to gentrify all the cool LGBT friendly shops..."

    Me: "... fuck though that's good."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I think you just found Yachi's next novel.
     
    open_sketch said:
    Me: "I should write the next update. That's important."

    Brain: "Okay but what if Ohara Airworks coffee shop AU? Everyone is teenagers, Matsura is hired by this failing coffee shop with a cast of quirky baristas, Akibara is the Starbucks of the AU world, Satomi is always hanging around outside with her motorcycle trying to catch a glimpse of that cute exchange student, Yachi is a mall security guard and oh no he's hot can Asuka work up the courage to ask him out? Akitsukuni Mall is being renovated but the Russian mob has investments in it so that's complicated and also there's a bunch of rich foreigners trying to gentrify all the cool LGBT friendly shops..."

    Me: "... fuck though that's good."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    By the glory of the Empress, what a savings!
     
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    10-14: Relics
  • Threadmarks
    • "Yachi, dance with me."

    He looked at you for a second, smiling gently, and nodded, then he took your hand and you stepped out onto the dance floor. It wasn't much, just swaying gently to the music for a few minutes, safe in his arms. You could feel the eyes staring, the judgement, the suspicion, the confusion, but in the moment none of it existed. Just your boyfriend, the music, your feet shuffling across the floorboards. It was simple, small, and it meant the world.

    You retired back to the sidelines as the song ended and got a drink. The party was winding down, so it was probably time to leave: it looked like Satomi and Coralie had already ducked out.

    You went to find the General to say goodbye, but somehow you couldn't find him.

    ---

    The backlash that comes when you violate the norms of high society doesn't come as violent confrontation or unkind words. In your experience, it manifests as simple silence.

    People stopped returning your calls.

    Your letters received curt, noncommittal answers, or none at all.

    Certainly no more invitations to parties.

    They day after, Mr. Ohara didn't seem to want to talk about it, but his secretary was slightly less restrained. You were filing some paperwork for the glider project when they took you aside to the edge of the office and hissed that you'd been careless, selfish, and shamed yourself, your boss, and the company as a whole.

    "It was just a dance." You said.

    "It was out of place." Motome replied, looking furious. "This isn't about you. We are afforded the space we have because we have restraint."

    Restraint. The narrow little box. Stay in it, we trust you are who you say you are, and you're allowed to participate, to be a part of it, if still apart from it. Leave it, even a little, and people start thinking they know better than you who you are. You'd spent a decade being terrified of that happening. You were still terrified.

    But you were tired of being stuck in a box. You deserved to fly.

    ---

    That night, you and Yachi were stopping over at Satomi and Coralie's place for a social call, to drink and talk about the party. Nobody was entirely pleased by the experience.

    "They were so judgmental!" Satomi whined, throwing back another cup of rice wine. "What the fuck kind of party was that, anyway?"

    "It's all the money. They think they're better than us just because they're rich." Yachi said. "I met plenty of officers like that in the service."

    "Well, less rich now." You smiled. You'd counted up the money you'd won gaming their card table and it was considerable.

    "I found it nostalgic, in a way. It was good in some ways, but it reminded me of the things from home I was glad to have left there." Coralie said.

    "I heard some of the Army guys talking about you, Asuka. They... one of them called you a relic."

    "They're right. I'm precious and important and everyone wants me." You replied. The drink was maybe getting to you.

    "Seriously! They were so fucking offended that... they were pissed that you were trying to fit in with them, with the clothes and all. Like... the whole point of their stupid fashion stuff is to... like. Fuck. To make it so that people like you can't fit in. You or me or all of us, unless we're just like them. If this is the way our country is going, I don't want it." Yachi said. He poured the last of the current bottle into your empty cup, then went hunting through the giant cupboard that used to be Mr. Ohara's alcohol cabinet for something else.

    Satomi sighed.

    "Fucking... it's such bullshit. The right wants me dolled up and quiet and locked in the fucking house. The left wants to make me straight and take away who I am, take me away from my wife..." She was clearly the drunkest of all of you, but rather than making her incoherent it was exposing a side of her you'd never seen, a vulnerability you couldn't have imagined being there. She leaned against her wife, a look of pure despair on her face. "There's nobody who just wants me to be me."

    You looked away as Coralie brushed a stray hair from Satomi's face, a little uncomfortable at the display of affection. Her words were striking home, though, at the heart of the things you were thinking about. About how it couldn't be the only two options. There had to be something kinder.

    "And everyone wants to kill people." Satomi muttered, clearly fading out of it a bit. "They all love their stupid wars so much... They're going to burn down the whole fucking world."

    You swirled the drink in your cup with a sigh and took a drink. They probably would, wouldn't they. And you'd build them the machine that strikes the match.

    ---

    The next day, the day before the election, you were standing on the proving field as a gaggle of Cathay army officers approached by wagon. They were dressed like something from the last century, like they were in the last war fifteen years ago. Probably mostly armed the same way, too.

    Mr. Ohara had told you the government had approved the sale, on the grounds that they represented no real threat. He suspected that trying to get parts of the army indebted or reliant on Akitsukuni industry might be a political move for when the Emperor died as well.

    You turned your binoculars away from the relics and to the glider and the plane that'd be pulling it. One of the J1M1 train hunters, gun removed, turned into a tug. You weren't sure how you felt about that.

    ===

    Asuka has lost a point of Importance for their flagrant disregard for decorum.

    They also gained 2 monies for their card counting skills.

    Somebody roll me 3d20s for Vice resolution.

    Also, gliders...

    Success Checklist​
    - Matches client's requirements. ✓​
    - Exceeds client's expectations for performance. ✓​
    - Added features that appeal to the client. ✓​
    - Good reputation with the client. ✗​
    - Panders to the client. ✗​
    - Features cutting-edge technology. ✗​
    - Under cost. ✗​
    ​
    Penalty Checklist​
    - Is notably unreliable. ✗​
    - Is obsolete on the world stage. ✗​
    - Over budget. ✗​
    - Has obvious or glaring flaw. ✗​
    - Bad reputation with client. ✓​
    - Insulting to client. ✗​
    - Hard to fly. ✗​
    ​
    Roll 2d10+3!​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Losing Importance for daring to be who you are is a fairly obvious consequence in retrospect...
     
    I... Ugh. I am so onboard with our MCs right now. We may have to lean harder into the public relations side of things.

    "Not old, not western. A new country for a new age!"
     
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