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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


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] "I don't know how to square loving a low-class girl with being a princess, and I feel like I'm going to lose one or the other no matter what I do."
[X] "I hate this muddy hellscape of a war, but I keep wanting to go back to the war of steel ships and icy water. Why am I more ok with the second?"

I think she does need to talk, and I'm willing to gamble a bit.
 
[X] "I don't know how to square loving a low-class girl with being a princess, and I feel like I'm going to lose one or the other no matter what I do."
[X] "I hate this muddy hellscape of a war, but I keep wanting to go back to the war of steel ships and icy water. Why am I more ok with the second?"
 
[X] "I don't know how to square loving a low-class girl with being a princess, and I feel like I'm going to lose one or the other no matter what I do."
[X] "I hate this muddy hellscape of a war, but I keep wanting to go back to the war of steel ships and icy water. Why am I more ok with the second?"
 
[X] "I don't know how to square loving a low-class girl with being a princess, and I feel like I'm going to lose one or the other no matter what I do."
[X] "I hate this muddy hellscape of a war, but I keep wanting to go back to the war of steel ships and icy water. Why am I more ok with the second?"
 
Does she have survivor's guilt?
By the bucket full.
[X] "I hate this muddy hellscape of a war, but I keep wanting to go back to the war of steel ships and icy water. Why am I more ok with the second?"
One's highly introspective and isolating where the temptation to run is omnipresent.

The other is a tight-knot group staring over sights at impersonal machines with no way to escape but victory.
 
4-12: An officer and a gentlewoman
"I…" You hesitated. You said you hadn't wanted to talk. That should be enough, right? Were you going to sit here awkwardly now until enough time passed?

"I understand being reluctant. Do you really not have anything you want to talk about? It must be strange, being a naval officer on land."

"Ah…" You took a breath. "It's been frustrating. I don't like being here. This mud and artillery and machine guns. It's not the way I would want to fight a war and I hate it. I want to leave as soon as I can." You resisted the urge to fidget.

"But I find myself missing my ships and the ocean breeze and sting of the spray on my face. I miss so much about being at sea, even with the knowledge that I might be dead any moment or that it's one lucky shell away from me being blown-"

"Lieutenant." She looked at you very seriously. "Did you sign up for the army?"

"... No. Obviously."

"Why not?"

Why not? It was near insulting in this modern age, the Army. All marching and mud and artillery fire and digging holes in the dirt. Why that when you could have clean sea air, the deck swaying below your feet, the spray of salt water…

"I hate boats. Can't stand them. The trip over here was dreadful and as much as I look forward to going home to my family and my boyfriend I dread stepping foot on one again. When I went to sign up, they assured me there was still no place on ships for women, or otherwise I'd have gone to the Women's Army Reserve instead. They didn't mean having to take a journey on a transport, obviously, but still. This isn't complicated, and it's also not what's eating you."

"...I suppose not," you murmured and sat back in your chair, frowning. You were quiet again for a long, long moment.

"It's very personal," you finally said with what felt like a rather unconvincing shrug.

"That's fine. Anything you tell me here is strictly in confidence." Her smile was very warm and comforting and it helped disarm your skepticism.

"The girl waiting for me back home. She's… smart and beautiful and tall and just. She's smarter than I'll ever be. She's studying electrical engineering." Had you told her that before? You couldn't remember. "And…" You sighed and rested your chin in your hands.

"And?" She said, gently trying to prompt you.

"It's… it's all so complicated. Her grandparents were peasants and father runs a hardware store. My mother doesn't want me to let it become too serious because of what the family would say. And she's learning to be an engineer. She'll work all her life and I've never known anyone like that and I don't know how I'm supposed to… and… I'm away at sea all the time and I miss her so much but I love my job and I love when I'm doing and, if you asked me to choose I… I don't know... and…"

The words tumbled out of your mouth all at once, completely without the poise or order you'd spent your life cultivating. It was a cracked, emotional thing. The sort of raw exposure you never wanted anyone to see from you.

"She's sleeping with somebody else. I think." You said. "And… I don't… I hate it, but I can't blame her. I want her to be happy. When I let myself think of it long enough, it makes me sick and jealous but… I'm also just happy she has somebody, because she can't really have me. And that's… normal, right? I mean…" You waved your hand vaguely, not willing to spill family secrets or family gossip to this woman just yet.

"What do you mean, normal?"

"Everyone does it, right?"

"I've certainly had men cheat on me who said as much." Miyoshi said flatly. "How do you think I ended up twenty-eight and unmarried? You don't have to stand for it, it's just the story that cheaters tell so we blame ourselves instead of them. It's alright to ask for exclusivity and loyalty from the person you love, Lieutenant, and it's okay to feel hurt when they betray that. I can tell this is really weighing on you."

"I don't even know if it's true." You confessed. You didn't really know, after all. Only remembered the spectacled girl (Miyako, wasn't it?) hurrying out of her room. The way she talked about spending time with that same friend when you were gone. Knew that within your familial circles, the fact that various men and women had lovers outside of their marriages was common knowledge. "I just feel awful that I'm leaving her alone. Like I deserve it. Is it fair for me to ask her to just… wait for me while I spend months away from her and only see her for a few days at a time."

"If it's so terrible for her being alone, why not encourage her to find a boy? Not her inclination?"
The thought of that was almost worse than her being with another woman, for some absurd reason.

"She doesn't want to date men." You said neutrally. It was always strange to remember that it was a choice, some sort of quasi-political act she and her classmates at school had cooked up. The sort of vow that a bunch of young women would make and then probably forget as they got older and when they no longer saw their school friends or when they broke up with secondary school girlfriends.

"Honestly, the longer I do it, the more I agree." Miyoshi said with a smile. "It's not that bad, though. She should give it some thought. It might be good for both of you if she had another relationship that you didn't have to feel anxious about." How did you say that you would feel anxious anyway? You knew it was normal, knew that it was probably expected eventually. One or both of you might want kids, after all.

… And your mother would want grandchildren. That would, to the best of your knowledge, require a husband. Or your brother to meet a nice girl. The question is if mother would be patient enough to wait for him to handle that or whether she'd want you to hurry up and continue the family line.

The pang of jealousy at the thought of Aiko with a man brought to your mind was only matched by the disgust that the thought of you being with a man brought shortly afterwards. Men were fine and all as friends but Spirits you didn't want to fuck one of them; even if he was as handsome as Kenshin and as kind as Hideaki. You hadn't even ever gone on a date with one to make sure, a fact your mother constantly reminded you of.

"Maybe," you conceded lamely. You didn't want to delve into your thoughts about men with her. Miyoshi was kind and thoughtful, but she also was entirely happy with men and trying to explain the visceral feeling of repulsion the thought brought to your mind seemed impossible.

"Maybe," she said, agreeing. "The best advice I can give you here would be to talk to her about it when you have a chance. Talk about how both of you see your relationship continuing. Otherwise these kinds of anxieties are just going to keep preying on you. And probably her as well--I'm sure she worries about you being overseas, surrounded by… well…" She trailed off. "It's the sort of thing that soldi--er, sailor's partners have worried about since there have been soldiers, I'm sure."

You took a moment to collect yourself. She had a point there. You hadn't thought about how Aiko might be scared that you were happily spending every night you could in the bed of every pretty girl you met while you traveled the seas.

… Which was fair. It had honestly been at least part of your motivation for donning the uniform.

"I--That's a good idea," you said. "I'll see about bringing it up with her next time I see her in person…"

"Good. I hope it all goes well for you, lieutenant. Is there anything else on your mind?"

So you lose out one one of your removed stress, but double the other. Way to break even!

---

As you were packing your things to leave the hospital, a simple folded note was handed off to you. Opening it, you found yourself summoned to the city's military headquarters where you were greeted by a smiling naval officer (a commander in a pristine uniform) accompanied by an aide and a man with a camera. You had been worried that this was a reprimand for losing your guns. The sight of the man with a camera didn't really alleviate those fears, just switched them over to worrying about this being some kind of PR stunt. The commander beamed at you.

"Junior lieutenant! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to see you before, but the doctor advised against it." They were making sure you weren't completely crazy or just a coward first.

"It's my great honor to present you several decorations. First, in recognition of your continued excellent and meritorious service of the Empress, I am pleased to promote you to Lieutenant with all the responsibilities and privileges thereof." The aid presented a box to him which he opened, then he reached out and the silver bellflowers you wore were exchanged for gold. You were being promoted for losing your guns? Things must be worse than you thought. Another box and there was a decoration being pinned to your chest as the camera clicked. It was one you didn't recognize but he was being quite helpful and naming things.

"For suffering a wound in combat in service to the Empress, a grateful nation presents you with this Wound Medal." It was a cherry blossom in silver hanging from a pink and brown ribbon. It seemed like a rather small compensation, even for you who had suffered a rather minor injury, all things concerned. You wondered what a man who had lost a limb or the ability to walk would think.

There was a third box. You weren't quite sure what else they could possibly have. The commander, whose name you still didn't know, withdrew a medal on an orange ribbon with silver trim and a silver band down the middle. From it hung a golden sunburst surmounted by a pair of long bladed spears which crossed each other. In the center was a glittering collection of tiny blue gemstones.

"Finally, and it is my great honor present to you, lieutenant, the Order of the Meritorious Spear in recognition of your bravery and resolution in the face of the enemy, for going above and beyond the call of duty when no one would have faulted you for retreating in the face of overwhelming odds." Certainly, they would say that now that they needed a hero. You couldn't help the swell of pride in your chest and you had to call on your upbringing not to smile. "And of course, for upholding the finest traditions of Her Majesty's Imperial Navy. My congratulations, lieutenant!" He clasped the ribbon around your neck and you had no idea what to say.

"Ah. Thank you sir." That seemed polite and politic.

"You're very welcome," he said, then his aide handed him something else. A sealed envelope. That seemed to be the photographer's cue to get out of the room and he vanished, leaving you alone with the military types. The envelope was handed over to you and you tore it open with a hint of trepidation. New orders were always… nerve-wracking to some degree. You read over the first few sentences. Blinked.

Lieutenant Arisukawa Haruna is requested and required to report to the Imperial Naval Vessel KARI in the port of HABOMAI, and there to take command of the vessel and its crew. Further orders will be waiting for you at your station. You are afforded fifteen days of travel time and an additional three days of personal leave.
You looked up at the commander, who smiled.

"Congratulations on your first command, lieutenant. Best of luck."

"I… Thank you sir…" Even more than the medals and the promotion, this made your heart sing. You had a command. A real, floating command. Not some landlubber battery or a staff position but a command. It took all your willpower not to skip your way out of the commander's office. You had so much to do! By that evening, you could be on the train south. You could catch the boat back to Akitsukuni, then the train to Tokei. If you were smart about it, you'd be able to use up your three days of personal time with Aiko and then hurry off to your command up north.

You just had to see Min-Seo, first.

We'll be heading back to Tokei for a brief while, where Haruna and Aiko will be attending a baseball game and having a conversation. There'll be a few other events, too. So, some snippets for what you'd like to see in Tokei, maybe! And also a diplomacy roll.
 
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Aww yeah, new boat. I wonder what she'll be. If it's a Lieutenant's command it's not going to be big, I'm wondering about maybe a riverine craft or a patrol vessel. Maybe a landing ship.

Rolling Diplomacy:

E: Sod.
FrangibleCover threw 3 6-faced dice. Reason: Diplo Total: 14
6 6 3 3 5 5
 
Why not? It was near insulting in this modern age, the Army. All marching and mud and artillery fire and digging holes in the dirt. Why that when you could have clean sea air, the deck swaying below your feet, the spray of salt water…
Ah, that's the reason. Like how our asshole cousin called ships castles of steel, the navy still holds a mythological ideal to our protagonist. The feeling of sailing the ocean waves, that gentle knife edge between the calm and the danger. Like how aircraft IRL and in the counterpart quest took on an idealized form of being 'above' the impersonal, industrialized grind of trench warfare.
"...I suppose not," you murmured and sat back in your chair, frowning. You were quiet again for a long, long moment.

"It's very personal," you finally said with what felt like a rather unconvincing shrug.

"That's fine. Anything you tell me here is strictly in confidence." Her smile was very warm and comforting and it helped disarm your skepticism.
Shame that didn't turn out better but oh well. We still seem to have a pretty good handle on that.
"Honestly, the longer I do it, the more I agree." Miyoshi said with a smile. "It's not that bad, though. She should give it some thought. It might be good for both of you if she had another relationship that you didn't have to feel anxious about." How did you say that you would feel anxious anyway? You knew it was normal, knew that it was probably expected eventually. One or both of you might want kids, after all.

… And your mother would want grandchildren. That would, to the best of your knowledge, require a husband. Or your brother to meet a nice girl. The question is if mother would be patient enough to wait for him to handle that or whether she'd want you to hurry up and continue the family line.
Oh the wait for in-vitro fertilization and IVG technology is killing me. Although the idea that anxiety over fidelity for an overseas soldier is normal is something I want to say is wrong... I can, at best, only call it a problem still unsolved. I'm skeptical of 'try seeing other people' advice personally, but the gist of thinking hard and talking with Akio about the relationship's difficulties is something I do think the nurse is spot-on with.
"Maybe," she said, agreeing. "The best advice I can give you here would be to talk to her about it when you have a chance. Talk about how both of you see your relationship continuing. Otherwise these kinds of anxieties are just going to keep preying on you. And probably her as well--I'm sure she worries about you being overseas, surrounded by… well…" She trailed off. "It's the sort of thing that soldi--er, sailor's partners have worried about since there have been soldiers, I'm sure."
Pft. No way she'd do that without being compromis-
You took a moment to collect yourself. She had a point there. You hadn't thought about how Aiko might be scared that you were happily spending every night you could in the bed of every pretty girl you met while you traveled the seas.

… Which was fair. It had honestly been at least part of your motivation for donning the uniform.
*headdesk* Dang it Haruna! You're not helping! Save that for us testosterone-riddled men!:V
"Junior lieutenant! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to see you before, but the doctor advised against it." They were making sure you weren't completely crazy or just a coward first.

"It's my great honor to present you several decorations. First, in recognition of your continued excellent and meritorious service of the Empress, I am pleased to promote you to Lieutenant with all the responsibilities and privileges thereof." The aid presented a box to him which he opened, then he reached out and the silver bellflowers you wore were exchanged for gold. You were being promoted for losing your guns? Things must be worse than you thought. Another box and there was a decoration being pinned to your chest as the camera clicked. It was one you didn't recognize but he was being quite helpful and naming things.
I think we ended up helping alot more than it seemed at the time, or we really were the one thing that held when the breakthrough happened. The guns aren't an issue, it's what we did with them.
"For suffering a wound in combat in service to the Empress, a grateful nation presents you with this Wound Medal.". It was a cherry blossom in silver hanging from a pink and brown ribbon. It seemed like a rather small compensation, even for you who had suffered a rather minor injury, all things concerned. You wondered what a man who had lost a limb or the ability to walk would think.
*thinks to a certain image of WWI award ceremony*
It's better than the alternative.
There was a third box. You weren't quite sure what else they could possibly have. The commander, whose name you still didn't know, withdrew a medal on an orange ribbon with silver trim and a silver band down the middle. From it hung a golden a golden sunburst surmounted by a pair of long bladed spears which crossed each other. In the center was a glittering collection of tiny orange gemstones.

"Finally, and it is my great honor present to you, lieutenant, the Order of the Meritorious Spear in recognition of your bravery and resolution in the face of the enemy, for going above and beyond the call of duty when no one would have faulted you for retreating in the face of overwhelming odds." Certainly, they would say that now that they needed a hero. You couldn't help the swell of pride in your chest and you had to call on your upbringing not to smile. "And of course, for upholding the finest traditions of Her Majesty's Imperial Navy. My congratulations, lieutenant!" He clasped the ribbon around your neck and you had no idea what to say.
"Ah. Thank you sir." That seemed polite and politic.
Hm. Not 100% sure what the IRL equivalent would be. No mention of a class, but unless Haruna's really trying not to think about it I don't think she just got the Congressional Medal Of Honor equivalent. Really curious about this.
"You're very welcome," he said, then his aide handed him something else. A sealed envelope. That seemed to be the photographer's cue to get out of the room and he vanished, leaving you alone with the military types. The envelope was handed over to you and you tore it open with a hint of trepidation. New orders were always… nerve-wracking to some degree. You read over the first few sentences. Blinked.

Lieutenant Arisukawa Haruna is requested and required to report to the Imperial Naval Vessel KARI in the port of HABOMAI, and there to take command of the vessel and its crew. Further orders will be waiting for you at your station. You are afforded fifteen days of travel time and an additional three days of personal leave.
There're two IRL IJN vessels named Kari I could find, both torpedo boats that were more akin to a lighter destroyer. I don't think we're getting that, but I wouldn't be surprised if we're getting a cruiser or something. Maybe another submarine, maybe a destroyer.

As for a snippet in the town...

[ ]See if there's any complete reports on how the battle ended. Maybe your part did have some context, some larger purpose, after all.
 
Hm. Not 100% sure what the IRL equivalent would be. No mention of a class, but unless Haruna's really trying not to think about it I don't think she just got the Congressional Medal Of Honor equivalent. Really curious about this.

There're two IRL IJN vessels named Kari I could find, both torpedo boats that were more akin to a lighter destroyer. I don't think we're getting that, but I wouldn't be surprised if we're getting a cruiser or something. Maybe another submarine, maybe a destroyer.

I mean, yes, but on the other hand as a snippet this will be dealt with in the next quest update, which is probably the same time as we get our first look at her anyway.

Unless we could get a tiny subupdate from our most benevolent authors?

The Order of the Meritorious Spear is loosely based on on The Order of the Golden Kite, an exclusively military award give for bravery and daring in battle.

As for the command, I'll say this: a lieutenant does not command a destroyer or cruiser.
 
Oversized torpedo boat/undersized Destroyer would be the most to hope for. I really doubt it'll be properly daring or glamorous, though, given the track record so far.
 
The Order of the Meritorious Spear is loosely based on on The Order of the Golden Kite, an exclusively military award give for bravery and daring in battle.
Hot damn, that's a big deal. Equivalent of a service cross for the US? Now I really want to see the larger context.
As for the command, I'll say this: a lieutenant does not command a destroyer or cruiser.
Makes sense.
Oversized torpedo boat/undersized Destroyer would be the most to hope for. I really doubt it'll be properly daring or glamorous, though, given the track record so far.
Yeah, we're gonna get the M2 Bradley of the early 20th century naval world.:D
 
The new command is probably some sort of torpedo boat or auxiliary like a minesweeper. I could see a Lieutenant being put in charge of something like that. A corvette is probably as large as we might hope for and that would be a big stretch.
 
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