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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1. Clean up and report to captain.
2. Check on wounded and take possession of deceased personnel items for return to family.
3. Send report to higher command of the battle and losses.
4. Check on crewmen of your old ship and the cat
 
[ ] Haruna tries to remember details about the dead sailors.

Better this for to give some comfort to their families, we should check on them since the dead could be their breadwinner, could we setup an charity fund to the widows and orphans, something sailors and people would appreciate and support?
 
Remember folks, the random tat Haruna picks up now make for great stories in 30 years time.
 
I'm pretty sure Not-Japan isn't that cool with Tattoos.

Because of the Not-Yakuza, they've basically taken the cultural association with Tattoos and made it "Only Career Criminals"
 
Back in the day they were a sailor thing. Tsar Nicholas II visited Japan in 1891 and got a huge dragon tat on his arm that took seven hours. About half of Victoria's sons had tattoos of some sort. Haruna getting a tattoo isn't beyond the bounds of plausibility although personally I don't think she seems like the sort.
 
Balaur said:
What real weapon were the incendiary rockets based on, or is it a Gayaverseism? Either way, those things are nasty.
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The Katyusha multiple rocket launcher from WWII I'm pretty sure, based on the repeated references to eerie screaming noises, which it was famous for.

On another note, goddamn Haruna is a badass. Literally had her clothes set on fire by an incendiary and spent the entire time after getting it put out leading the firefighting.
 
Raw90 said:
The Katyusha multiple rocket launcher from WWII I'm pretty sure, based on the repeated references to eerie screaming noises, which it was famous for.

On another note, goddamn Haruna is a badass. Literally had her clothes set on fire by an incendiary and spent the entire time after getting it put out leading the firefighting.
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Basically it's a Gayaversian anti-torpedo boat weapon where someone thought that having your torpedo boat destroyer fire a bunch of incendiary rockets would do a good job of detering/destroying torpedo boats. Only problem is it's only really effective at the naval equivalent of point blank range.
 
5-9: Back to the Beginning
  • Threadmarks
    • Well, nothing for it. You reached the top of the ladder, sending your best poisonous glare to ward off the soldiers crowded around. They backed away so fast they almost tripped over themselves, one of them nearly dropping what looked like an expensive pocket camera.

    "That was the princess," you heard someone say in a startled voice as you started down the strangely familiar deck towards the bridge. You clambered up stairwell and then stepped into the wheelhouse. You desperately wanted clean clothes, but you felt it might be best to report yourself first.

    There was a moment, as you climbed the stairs, where you thought this might end up being an apology. That you'd proved him wrong. That you'd finally get some respect.

    You saluted as you entered.

    "Lieutenant Arisukawa come aboard, sir. Thank you for your prompt assistance."

    The bridge was just how you remembered it. Cluttered, messy, there was still that loose cable that, this time, you stepped carefully over as you walked in. A few of the stations were unmanned, now: you got sort of a skeleton crew vibe. Probably moving all the young officers who got the short straw before onto combat vessels to make up for losses. That's what had happened with Akio and, presumably, Hideaki.

    And in the middle of it, as before, was Commander Shinsato Hachiro. Looking just about the same. Maybe a bit greyer. Beard maybe a bit messier. The look in his eyes immediately dashed all hope of an apology: he was furious. You braced yourself instead for the deflection and demure behavior you'd need to put on to get through this. You were well practiced in weathering the rage of men who outranked you.

    You did check to make sure there was nobody between you and the hatch out of the bridge, though. Just in case.

    "Ensign." He spat.

    You realized that you didn't have your rank pins on right now. They'd come off along with your sleeves.

    "Lieutenant Arisukawa now, sir," you repeated your rank. Maybe he was just getting deaf in his old age, the old goat.

    The commander sneered at that, and then launched into a rant that had clearly been building a while. You tuned out almost immediately as he began with the fact that in his day, an ensign would never be promoted in their first two years of service (in his day, most ensigns were sixteen). That then meandered into a general gripe about how he'd been working this position for damned near a decade, world going mad, he was being disrespected, how dare they give you command when he fought and scraped for everything he had, etc etc. You'd heard it all before, though perhaps not all at once. The one you particularly liked was how apparently, they'd just handed you a torpedo boat because either they pitied you, or because they were just trying to get a female admiral to play nice with the Westerners, or because of your connections (which was obviously meant to imply that you'd been fucking your way up the command chain, which… spirits, even if you were straight you wouldn't touch any of those men).

    (Okay, maybe Kenshin. If you had to pick a man).

    He went on like that what felt like an hour, and what you knew from the clock mounted in a nearby station was closer to four and a half minutes. The officers and men on the bridge looked increasingly uncomfortable as he went on, though they were doing their best not to show it. As for yourself, you were doing your best to keep your face perfectly neutral and breathe regularly. You hated how well practiced you were at it.

    Finally, finally, he seemed to run out of steam with a final comment that you were a disgrace to what was left of your uniform.

    "Will that be all, sir?" You said. Voice perfectly flat, perfectly neutral, just a bit into a higher register than usual. Flawless. A lady never allowed herself to show outward discomfort around a man.

    That really set him off. He glared at you, then yelled at you to leave his bridge and go find something decent to wear, damn you. You saluted, picture perfect, then spun and marched neatly out of the bridge with all the parade ground precision you could muster.

    +1 Stress​

    Not sure what else to do, and wary of the crowd between you and your boat, you ducked into one of the open hatches and descended the stairs into the ship. He told you to get a new uniform, so you must as well borrow one off his supply ship. Even down here was packed with soldiers, all giving you a wide berth as you swept through the supply rooms. They looked filthy: it seemed the place had gone back to its old standards once someone new had swept in to manage things. Disgusting.

    Finally, you found the room that, according to the way you'd organized it before, ought to contain spare uniforms. You opened it, shooed out the two soldiers occupying the place, and found the smallest jacket you could. You were swimming in the shoulders of it, and it need tailoring for the proper fit. Without that, it looked like you were wearing a cigar box. You almost wanted to go back to the charred one, but you would have to deal with it. There wasn't much you could do about the singed helm of your skirt, but you didn't worry about that too much.

    At least the hat fit you properly.

    As you stepped back out, you almost ran directly into somebody. It took a few moments to recognize him: that was the petty officer in charge of the men in this section. You wracked your brain for the name.

    "Sakiyama?"

    "T-that's me, ma'am." He said, saluting furiously. He had the air about him like a child dodging questions about why his room wasn't clean, and you couldn't help but indulge in a bit of power-tripping.

    "The ship looks… ill kept." Not that it was your business any longer, but you had to have a bit of pride as an officer, didn't you?

    "Yes, ma'am. Sorry ma'am. Things have been hectic with the war on, ma'am." He was trying to make excuses. At least there was one man on the ship who still respected you.

    "I'm disappointed. After all of our hard work to keep things neat, too." You shook your head. "You're lucky I'm not coming back aboard to take command, Sakiyama. Very lucky." Spirits, it felt good to be the one who got to talk without interruption for once. You were tempted to indulge that cruel instinct for a brief moment--but then you heard little 'mrow' and something rubbed against your leg. Glancing down, you saw the ship's cat, still as plump as ever. She looked up at you.

    "Nyan," She said.

    "Ah! You've been taking good care of her!" You crouched down, scratching the cat behind the ears. "I'll let you off this time, I suppose."

    The petty officer scampered away down the hall, and you decided to follow the kitty down, down to your old office.

    Heh, they still hadn't cleaned the graffiti off the door. You peered inside the tiny closet of a room, the desk and the reports laid out. They looked fairly up to date, so at least that stuck.

    No futon on the pipe, though. That must have been just for you.

    Overhead, distantly through the hull of the ship, you could hear the pops of artillery pieces and boots clattering across the deck. The landing must be beginning.

    You should get above deck.

    ---

    Eventually, the boilers of the Kari were lit again, and freshly coaled, you were ordered to start the long crawl home, with too many casualties and too much damage to contribute further. The worst of your injured had been lifted aboard the Okinami. Everyone else had to make due making your way back home. The damage was bad--you'd need to spend a few days replacing the burned deck and making sure everything was in working order, but… that was the worst of it. No yard time required. A miracle, even.

    It was dark when you steamed slowly into the harbor. Not just night, but late. Still, it was a relief to pull easily up to the wharf, put out fenders and at last drop anchor in friendly waters. Living aboard the torpedo boat for the last… three days? You thought it was three days but it was hard to think about when one ended and the next began, even though you'd been checking things against your log while you worked on a report.

    Not only were you exhausted, you were tired. Mentally done, at least for a little bit. You longed for the thin little futon in the appropriated, hollow family home. It beckoned to you.

    There was work, but it could wait until morning.

    ---
    ​
    Drinking.​
    [ ] Haruna is conscious that she's drinking too much, and tries to stop.​
    [ ] Haruna needs a fucking drink. (-1 Stress)​
    ​
    Kari needs new parts and crew.​
    [ ] Handle the paperwork yourself, make sure everything is perfect. (+1 Stress)​
    [ ] Pass it off to Ishinari. He can handle it.​
    ​
    Ishinari and Nashimoto​
    [ ] You should probably apologize. Again. To both of them. And make an effort to be friendlier to Nashimoto. You shouldn't let on that you know he's afraid of you, but maybe being friendly and spending time with the two of them will help make things less awkward. (+1 Stress)​
    [ ] You don't care. You don't need to make friends here.​
    ​
    Seriously, what's going on with young Seaman Tsuda?​
    [ ] Give him a commendation for his initiative in fighting the fire and recommend him for extra training off the boat. You know, after he's married his girlfriend so he can take her along. You'll need to send those letters about the legal stuff, though. (+1 Stress)​
    [ ] Commend him, but keep him here. You need as many good sailors as you can keep.​
    ​
    Personal Upkeep​
    [ ] Keep up intense exercises and training. Hit the books. (+1 Stress, +1 to a stat)​
    [ ] You need some downtime. (-1 stress)​
    ​
    The next update will take place a fair bit into the future, so snippets for our sleepy little town would be appreciated.​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Hmmm. Our stress is currently 8.... I at least want to give Tsuda the commendation. Even if it gets him off the boat it's always nice to have friends spread around. Or at least people who owe you a favor.
     
    We outright sank a destroyer and then crippled a cruiser. That's at least worth some kind of promotion at least.

    Or maybe a pay raise.

    Can we at least get a unit citation?
    Mentioned in dispatches?
     
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