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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commando2341 said:
Except can we not wager like priceless Imperial tea sets if we go gambling?
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Plan Take Your Time doesn't actually have us go gambling personally, we just visit the casinos.

DocMatoi said:
yachi's a captain, it aint him
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I think this story is set chronologically before the events of Aircraft Designer Quest. For all I know, this could be the period Yachi was talking about where he and a bunch of his fellow soldiers were posted in a dissolute tropical garrison in a city and wound up spending months in a brothel.
 
I think we're about a year earlier than Aircraft Design Company time, the war hasn't yet started.

Anyway, I went and checked, and he wisely avoided the opium dens, so the answer is the brothels.
open_sketchbook said:
You nodded along. "I can't imagine. Where were you stationed in the colonies?"

"Kambuja. Was in an artillery detachment stationed in a city there, Nokor? Means majestic or majesty or something, an old capital of some ancient empire. Lots of really cool ruins, but the place is a dump. We were supposed to be there to fight off the bandit armies that were forming out in the jungle, but that summer some warlord or another in Cathay had put out a call for soldiers. They all went north, so basically I spent nine months with nothing to do but get drunk in a... a house of ill repute, let's say." He grinned. "Yeah, not my proudest moment. But considering half my unit got hooked on opium, I got off light."

"You spent nine months in a brothel." You said, deadpan.

"Well, not like... constantly. But... yeah pretty much. Listen, there was nothing to do. We weren't allowed outside the city walls, and I was pulling 350 yen a month on my salary, which was essentially infinite money. Our CO was basically comatose most of the time and the troops pretty much did their own thing between weekly inspections, so it was that or... or I dunno what. Get eaten by tigers. So yeah, I spent my time in the embrace of some very nice, very handsome boys for three yen a day."

"All guys, huh?" You said. Interesting.

He nodded. "Yeah, all guys, before you I guess. Though... okay, this is awful, but once... I got really blackout drunk and woke up with a girl." He was blushing quite a bit. "Like, a trans girl. The madam of the brothel thought I'd be into her because, uh, because they have some weird ideas about gender over there." You laughed incredulously as he related the story, his face growing redder and redder. "So here's me trying to explain that that's not how things work back home, basically still drunk from last night, with this old woman who I shared maybe a dozen words with. That's about the time I gave up drinking."
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oh, ok lets check the brothels then
 
I don't want to carry around whatever item we buy all day so that's going last and gambling is the main DE stressor so it's going first. Addiction and possible terrible time at the brothel sound to negative for me to want to deal with. I admit I like the idea of having him carry our souvenir when we find him. Alright I've switched it back if we buy the souvenir first we will have it even if we lose all our money.

[X] Plan Take your money and our time
[X] Search the Vendors:
This city is full of desperate people pulling pieces of their heritage out of the walls and selling it to tourist for next to nothing. If you were a shameless Army pig, you'd definitely be haggling with some merchant over a priceless cultural artifact that
belongs in a museum.
-[X] It would be nice to get something for the office, though… (-1 Stress, souvenir get)
[X] Search the Gambling Halls:
The Army was poor because none of them had any sense. It would be just like one of their Lieutenants to gamble away his money in some pit of vice.
-[X] Though it has been a while.. You miss your games from the academy! (-2 Stress, possible loss of money)
[X] Search the Opium Dens: Army trash are always getting high and wasting the day away. You'd wager that he's comatose on the floor of some filthy hovel.
[X] Search the Brothels: Army dogs have no dignity. If they're anywhere, it's almost certainly in the bed of some two-yen whore. Or rentboy.

​
 
[X] Plan Take Your Time
Does 90% of what I want, though I'd prefer Gambling to Sex as our second vice indulged. Syphilis is no joke.
 
[X] Plan Take your money and our time
 
[X] Search the Vendors: This city is full of desperate people pulling pieces of their heritage out of the walls and selling it to tourist for next to nothing. If you were a shameless Army pig, you'd definitely be haggling with some merchant over a priceless cultural artifact that belongs in a museum.
-[X] It would be nice to get something for the office, though… (-1 Stress, souvenir get)
[X] Search the Gambling Halls: The Army was poor because none of them had any sense. It would be just like one of their Lieutenants to gamble away his money in some pit of vice.
-[X] Though it has been a while.. You miss your games from the academy! (-2 Stress, possible loss of money)
[X] Search the Brothels: Army dogs have no dignity. If they're anywhere, it's almost certainly in the bed of some two-yen whore. Or rentboy.
[X] Search the Opium Dens: Army trash are always getting high and wasting the day away. You'd wager that he's comatose on the floor of some filthy hovel.
 
[X] Plan Take your money and our time
 
1-12: Army Dog
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    • Well, the first place you thought to look for the Army dog was the brothels. It was entirely likely that he was dallying away his time here in this overheated, humid excuse of a city in the arms of pretty company. It's what you'd do if you were a poor Army mudslogger with no prospects and no other way to spend his money except drinking, opium, and whores.

    You bothered the first group of sailors you came across with "Fellows! I've had the misfortune of being tasked with looking for an Army brat. So… where do you keep the whores?" and in between the hysterical laughter ("That's a good one, Ensign, er, ma'am!") you got some rough directions. Just as with any good cities, the important services were clustered, so off you went.

    Thus, you spend the next hour going door to door to a variety of seedy locations, looking for a man in blue. The Army presence was a lot smaller than the Navy presence, and the locals didn't really know the difference between the services or keep track of names and ranks, so mostly you just managed to interrupt a lot of officer's good times.

    "Sorry, sir. Won't happen again sir." You bowed out of another embarrassing incident and stepped out. Not there, either. You were starting to run out of whorehouses. The next place was… well, you couldn't read the language, but from the crudely illustrated sign, looks like they catered different merchandise to a different clientele. Means you wouldn't even have some pleasant scenery on your search.

    You stepped up the stairs (none of the buildings here were at ground level, instead using the area below as a storage space), and through the light wooden doors. One thing that could be said about the locals was they knew how to build a hovel: it was nice and cool inside, and surprisingly dry for the humidity. There were young men in various states of undress lounging around the place, and behind a desk and a wall of bottles of cheap booze was an elderly old woman with stark white hair.

    "Excuse me." You stepped up to the bar? Desk? And peered over. "I'm looking for an Army lieutenant by the name of…" You checked the notes you had taken. "...'Arita Yachi'. He wouldn't happen to be here, would he?"

    "Yachi! Yes, we have a Yachi. He is in the back." The old woman replied, talking a mile a minute in such a rough accent that you think your mother would have had an aneurysm hearing her speak. "You give him a few minutes, yes?"

    "Actually, no. I have orders to retrieve him now." You said sternly. You didn't, of course, but that was the fun.

    "No orders! Yachi is best customer!" She announced, slamming her hand down on the desk. "You wait!" You do your best not to scowl but the old woman is canny enough to see that you're not happy with being refused.

    "Maybe you have some fun while you wait? Lots of nice boys for you!" She's trying to be conciliatory. "Ladies only pay half-price!"

    Ew.

    "Ah, no thank you ma'am. I'm in the middle of fulfilling my duties, and besides. I like girls."

    "Girl?" She sat up with a shock. "We have a girl!"

    "You have a girl?" You say, incredulous.

    "CHENDA!!!!!!!" The woman suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, and sure enough, around the corner came a woman. A tall and somewhat angular woman, but there she was.

    What was she doing in a place like… oh right. Savages. You'd thought that Akitsukuni rule was supposed to civilize these people, but apparently it hadn't stuck yet.

    "You like her?" The old woman grins. You hesitated for a moment. Chenda smiled at you. She was pretty, prettier then you'd expected in some place frequented by the Army. And you'd always had something of a weakness for tall girls… It's not like it would hurt to indulge yourself before hauling this blue-clad reprobate out by his ear, right? You smiled back at Chenda, more embarrassed by the fact that you're blushing like some silly schoolgirl then you are by being propositioned like this.

    "She's very pretty," you replied, then added a moment later: "Yes, I do like her. And I suppose I can spare a few minutes of the Empress' time." You were going to have to climb back onto a boat with a bunch of crude, sweaty men in a few hours. You hadn't seen another woman since you left Akitsukuni. Really, there was nobody who could blame you for enjoying yourself.

    ---

    A short while later, you adjusted your uniform's jacket as Chenda bent down to do up your very shiny buttons, laughing when you blushed again. Even after all that.

    "I can do up my own buttons, really," you protested feebly, but made no other effort to stop her as she helped you dress. Why were you so weak when it came to women?

    "You are funny. Come back and see me again sometime?" She asked as she did up the last button and then kisses your forehead. You knew that the affection was probably at least partially feigned, but she had such a warmth about her that you couldn't help but fall into it. At least a little.

    "Maybe. If I have time before my ship leaves." Which you probably wouldn't, but it felt cruel to just say no.

    "Good!" She kissed your cheek and then breezed out of the room in a flutter of silk robes. Women were going to be the death of you. You actually felt bad you couldn't visit again! On the other hand, you felt much, much more relaxed and now you could fulfill your duties. You step back out to the front room to see the man who was probably your mission was leaned up against the counter. Bar. Whatever it was. The point was, he was there chatting with the old woman and had a very pretty young man on his arm. Also he wore blue army trousers tucked into his boots, even if he was stripped down to his undershirt in the heat. He had an impressively thick beard, hair that was definitely longer than regulation, and was wearing a necklace of what looked like tiger teeth and seashells.

    You stepped up behind him and gave a little cough.

    "Pardon me. Lieutenant Arita? I'm Ensign Arisugawa and--" He turned around to squint at you and you nearly fell over backwards from the alcoholic stench that wafted out of his mouth.

    "Navy! What's a sea boy…" He looked you up and down slowly, comprehension slowly dawning. "Sea… Girl? Doing in a place like this? Wha-? They let girls in the Navy now?"

    "Yes." Better not to bother trying to explain the complicated situation to a drunken Army lout. "I'm here to take you back to the ship for the trip home."

    He was probably leaning on the bar because he couldn't stand. Disgraceful. It took all your years of cultured upbringing and courtly manners not to let your disdain seep into your voice.

    "Let me go get my stuff." He slurred, and you shook your head.

    "No time for that, Lieutenant. I'm afraid you'll have to have it posted to you."

    "Oh no! It'll only take a second." He staggered over through one of the doors, and came back a few minutes later with his jacket, hat, and… a full bag. And paperwork. And his sword. And his revolver. And… everything else.

    "Lieutenant, have you been sleeping here?"

    "Um… yeah. Past few months. Shit, something like that." He tried to count something on his fingers and gave up. "I just got the Colonel to make it my official billet." He then leaned in conspiratorially, the drink on his breath causing you to recoil. "He doesn't know what this place is, hehehehe."

    "Well, good job. You've certainly been a model soldier." That time you couldn't help sneering a little. Fortunately, he was so drunk it didn't seem like he had noticed.

    As you were pulling him out the door, he turned around and gave a drunken bow (he almost fell over). "Madam Tang, thank you so much for your hospitality. And boys…" He got strangely serious. "Serey, Chann, Sokha… I'll miss you guys. Don't have too much fun without me!" You paused to make sure he actually stepped out the door as the boys all made various gestures of farewell and you added a quick bow of your own.

    "Thank you for your assistance, madam." And then you turned to march out the door because you needed to make sure this overgrown schoolboy didn't fall down the stairs and break his neck.

    Fortunately, Lt. Arita seemed to be fairly adept at walking while blind drunk (however did he get so practiced?), so you only needed to give him a little guidance and occasionally prod him forward. The whole way, he was telling you tales of his tour here, as if you cared even a little.

    "We only fired the guns once! Once! Nine months and that was it. Was it at the dreaded Red Band Army in the jungle? Was it to fight off a terrifying raid of hill people? No! It was to scare birds off the general's HOUSE. I know! Crazy right!" He bumped into a local merchant and promptly dropped everything he was carrying, and you were forced to pick some of it up so he didn't actually fall over when he bent to retrieve them.

    "Thanks you. You're not so bad for Navy. They musta really cleaned up since women joined." He said, hefting his stuff back over his shoulder. "Hey, waaaaait a minute. Are you that princess? The navy princess?"

    "Yes." You said, now walking a few steps ahead of him.

    "Wow! That's amazing. I'm so glad you made it!" He actually did sound genuinely happy. "Wonder if they'll let women in the Army next?"

    "What, so you can have company while raiding the rentboys?" You snapped.

    "... I mean, sure, that'd probably be fun." He giggled to himself. Whatever train of thought he had before, it had clearly derailed.

    You were passing now through a street packed with merchants, most selling food, but some with tables loaded with stone statues, trinkets, and folk art. The crowd was dense enough here that you were forced to slow down and grab your charge by the strap of his bag to prevent from losing him. Eventually, this pushed you to the edge of the street, up near the merchant stalls. You were pressing on as best you could, but eventually you were distracted by…

    [ ] A small relief statue in stone of a woman in an archway, wearing a tall pointy crown. She is holding a cross staff, a traditional naval navigation aid.
    [ ] A patterned silk art piece to be hung on a wall, depicting an ancient navy battling a sea monster.
    [ ] A Wooden lacquer tea tray, painted in white and blue, depicting sea birds resting above a beach, with a beautiful old ship in the background.​
    Adhoc vote count started by open_sketch on Nov 18, 2018 at 8:17 PM, finished with 46 posts and 27 votes.
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