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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open_sketch said:
Hey @somewhatLazy ! we've been following your progress through.

Who's your favourite character?
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There's a lot and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting a ton but it's probably Haruna. I can't really articulate it but I my favorite moment is when she gets the first ship up-to-shape, that's really the encapsulation of why I like her. After that... Her cousin, captain of the second ship, I just kinda like him as a villain, you know? It's the fickle spoiledness and how it informs his tyrannical discipline. Also in "haven't really seen a lot of but could be interesting", the Joseon princess.

Kinda unrelated but regarding the other quests you wrote that I've read so far, Araleth is my fave in Suffer Not ("You're only forty years older than me", also the snark and I also just find the whole ex thing really amusing) and I was really cheering for the Cathay plane in the race.

Edit: accidentally hit send reply too soon
 
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Omake: Helene's Meet-cute [ Canon ]
  • Sidestory
    • Omake about Helene that's been kicking around in my drafts for a few months. I wrote like a quarter of it when the chapter with her first came out, and finished the rest today on a whim. I love to get overly attached to seemingly one-off characters.

    Helene-Fic said:
    Helene Soulice sighed wistfully, earning yet another eye roll and an exasperated sigh from her tired looking lab partner. "Helene," Gerard muttered as he cast his eyes about the small room, "you aren't exactly being a credit to the fairer sex right now…"

    Helene blinked twice, then blushed and with just a moment's hesitation and a glance at their shared textbook, scribbled some numbers and equations onto the page in front of her until it looked like she had about as much as Gerard. "Thanks," she whispered back. Gerard looked at her dubiously for a moment until she sheepishly met his eyes. "Drinks tonight. On me. I'll tell you about it."

    He held her in his gaze for a moment longer, then nodded once and dropped it back down to his own page. Helene struggled to put her thoughts back on track. Good God, that Haruna had given it to her something fierce, in… more ways than one. She blushed and sank even deeper into her seat. The (hopeless) crush on the divinely attractive Akitsukuni Navy Officer could be dealt with later, she needed to focus on checking this paper for discrepancies for now.

    ~~~
    ​
    Unfortunately for Helene, focus did not come as easily as fantasy did. She got through the day regardless, but it turned out having a massive crush from a one night stand half a world away was not very conducive to letting you study a bleeding-edge field of science in peace.

    That Haruna… when Helene had heard, all those years ago, that her mother was being sent as an attachè to the Akitsukuni navy, it had taken all of her willpower to hide her excitement. Akitsukuni! Home of the 'silk girls,' and stranger things besides, from those who 'mismatch in body and soul' as Henry Le Coutier translated, to those who apparently did not call themselves under any gender at all! Sacrè bleu, her book bag was heavy. How would one refer to a… genderless... person in Gallian? Pas-Genre? She chuckled, even at the very first step, words failed her. Helene couldn't pretend to personally understand those particular aspects of Akitsukuni society, but neither did she disbelieve in them, as many of her countrymen did.

    After all, to accept that girls of the silk were real was, in her opinion, to accept that there was more to sexuality and gender than was dreamt of in Gallian philosophy. And she was very, intimately sure that girls of the silk were real. Helene yelped as her feet caught on a step she hadn't noticed and she tumbled to the ground in a pile of books and notes.

    Shit! She barely stopped herself from shouting the Albian curse she had grown so fond of on her long journey back from Akitsukuni. Bah. Organizing all of those notes had taken forever, and now- Oh shit. Some were blowing away. As if from a hundred miles distant, she saw a page gently float past that had her latest (and elsewhere unrecorded) improvements on Professor Fasquelle's irritatingly insipid theories on atomic structure. Damn all the rest, she needed to save that page!

    Without so much as a second thought, Helene dove off of the path, vision entirely tunneled towards the solitary piece of paper. Which was how she found herself airborne, quickly falling several meters towards the cleanly cut turf of the University grounds. Ah, I was on the raised path. Is this how she dies then? Clutching a piece of a paper detailing the absurdity of a blustering moron's latest theory, that would never be disproven? Or worse, that someone else would take credit for? If she'd had time, she would've blanched as she thought about the locked trunk in her room, filled to the brim with dangerously edgy books about foreign seductresses and devilish consorts. If she dies, then please let the dormitories burn down before her parents find that trunk. Why, the covers alone, women depicted almost mannishly, in a way that was supposed to forestall any attraction to them yet did very much the opposite for Helene.

    Why yes, yes… just like the wide eyes and strong jaw and muscular arms of the woman that was-

    Whump!

    Helene squeezed her eyes shut and tensed her whole body as she landed hard in- something? The breath was knocked out of her and her whole world staggered back and forth as a grunt of exertion from above sent hot breath over her face.

    "Are you okay?"

    Helene's eyes shot open as she heaved for breath, still clutching the page she had leapt for to her chest. That voice… accented Gallian, panting with exertion, deep, husky, and feminine. Presumably attached to the smooth, muscular arms that were holding her bridal style. And had… caught her?! Head going fuzzy from her heavy breathing, Helene slowly let her head fall back to take in the face of her saviour.

    Light brown eyes- like a freshly unveiled loaf of chocolate coloured sourdough, framed by dark caramel skin that seemed itself to give off an illuminating glow in the early evening light. Short, straight black hair fell loosely to either side of a strong, square jaw, pretty lips pursed with concern as they awaited Helene's answer.

    Unfortunately for those pretty lips, Helene's vision was starting to go white. Before fainting completely, one last stray thought danced through her head. That… is a very handsome woman.

    ~~~​

    The first thought Helene had upon waking was as drab as could be. Where are my glasses? Without opening her eyes, she flung her right arm out towards her bedside table, where it banged painfully against- something? She yelped and curled in, retracting her arm and finally opening her eyes.

    Oh. An alabaster wall. The colour of the stone used primarily in the administrative sections of the University. Ah, and the medical ward. A low chuckle from behind her had Helene jump in the soft cot and spin herself, coming face to face with- uhm, a blur.

    "Here." That voice again, something she vaguely recognized as her glasses was lifted towards her, and a moment later, she donned them, coming face to face with- That… is a very handsome woman. Oh wow. Yes, handsome was the right word, more than a first blush impression, it was as though the woman intentionally sought to evoke the idea.

    Helene felt herself turn a deep crimson. "I- Ah, thank you." She tried, still somewhat lost for words because God this woman was handsome. Her features reminded her of Haruna, somewhat, but her skin was more tan, facial structure slightly different. Though one thing that was shared was that everything about her was wholly and entirely appealing to the most basic aspects of Helene's urges.

    The other woman put her hand to Helene's clammy forehead. "How do you feel?"

    Helene squeaked at the contact and her saviour's sudden leaning in, but didn't flinch away. "Uhm, much- a lot better, thank you." Apparently satisfied, the muscular woman leaned back away, and Helene had to restrain herself from leaning into her hand as it retreated. Get ahold of yourself, Helene. "It was- ah. Was it you, who saved me from falling?"

    The woman grinned suddenly at Helene's question. "Yes, in fact. What ever possessed you to dive from the raised path?" A grin like that… her teeth were slightly bared and the amusement was heavy in her voice. Helene clenched her thighs. Oh, she had asked a question.

    "Ah, I was jumping for-" Her mind suddenly lit up like an electric wire. "One of my notes!" Desperately, she pushed herself up and started patting at her garments, surely it was in here somewhere…

    "Mm, this?" The purr of the woman's voice struck Helene with a heady giddiness that lit a fire in her core and had her simply stop what she was doing and blink dumbly for a moment before her mind reengaged. Was she doing that on purpose? Looking up- YES!

    "Yes! Yes that's the one!" Helene nearly shouted, grabbing for the paper, which her saviour relinquished easily. Somewhat crumpled, but more than legible, she could copy it to a fresh piece of paper. Giddy, she looked up at the woman sitting by her bed. "Thank you, thank you! You have no idea how hard it would have been to try and remember all of this!"

    That same toothy grin returned to the woman's face, though it hadn't yet left the forefront of Helene's mind. "I think I might, I looked it over while you were unconscious, but alas, I am but a mere student of the humanities. 'Proton' sounds like a brand of cigarettes to me, let alone the rest."

    Helene forced herself to finally look away. "Ah, yes, it's an improvement on, um, a theory of my professor's and…" She trailed off. Oh God there is no way she cares about this at all. Um, um. I need to secure another meeting. Um. She looked back up at the woman and any cogent thoughts she'd had a moment ago were once again blasted from her mind. "Ah, uh. Can I… treat you to dinner?" Wowthat'sforwardokayum.

    Now it was the buff woman's turn to look surprised. "Dinner? Me? Why?"

    "Well…" Because you're extremely attractive and I'm very homosexual and extremely in yearning for any kind of closeness. "Because… you saved me. And my notes! I have to repay you somehow, right?"

    Helene's saviour stared at her for a moment longer, before her face broke into an easier, more relaxed grin. "Well then sure, I won't turn down a free meal."

    Helene's mind raced, oh God she hasn't been out for a meal since she started University. The last place was… where her father took her the day she moved in, yes… "How about this weekend, at, ah, Leopold's?"

    The other woman's eyebrows shot up. "Leopold's? Didn't know I rescued a Princess." Oh my. Something in Helene absolutely melted at this gorgeous, strong, handsome woman calling her a princess.

    In a flash of uncharacteristic boldness that sometimes overtook her, like when she kissed Haruna that night in Akitsukuni, Helene leaned in and said with as much ardour as she could muster from a hospital bed, "I suppose that makes you my knight in shining armour then, doesn't it?" The other woman's eyes widened. Oh shit, too obvious? This was still Gallia, inwardly, Helene cursed at herself.

    But she was snapped out of her inner remorse by the woman's response. "I suppose it does, if you'll have me." Now, Helene thought, she looked almost nervous, bashful. Looking downwards, so her short, straight, hair cascaded down and hid her eyes from view. Still almost unbearably attractive, but in a way better described as 'adorable' than 'handsome.'

    Okay, breathe Helene, you can do this. "I think I will have you," immediately slipped out, right past her mental filter. The slowly disappearing crimson instantly returned to her olive cheeks. "Uh-Uhm. Then Saturday and we'll- ah. We'll meet by where you caught me at- at three?" She managed to stutter out amidst panicking about the sheer insinuation she had put into the last thing she'd said.

    The other woman raised her head only slightly and quietly said, "Y-Yes. Three sounds good." And then stood. Tall… With a last, nervous smile at Helene, she strode, a little too quickly for Helene's liking, towards the door.

    "Ah, wait!" Helene yelped, suddenly having realised something dire. Her saviour turned slightly. "May I ask your name?"

    "Yes… Jeanne R-Romée. Student of the Humanities, and, ah, First Stroke of the University Women's Rowing Team." And then she fled. Later that evening, Helene would reflect that it definitely was fleeing, and not simply leaving, and she wasn't sure entirely why.

    Jeanne    … Helene rolled the name around in her head. Somehow fitting of a Knight, she thought. Princess. Mmmm… Oh. She was going to have to pay for dinner. Shit.

    ~~~
    ​
    Elsewhere on campus, a young man sighed and finished his tankard. It wasn't the first time Helene had promised drinks and failed to turn up, she was probably caught up in her theoretical stuff again. Oh well, her loss, honestly. Though he wondered just who it was that had her sighing like a furnace.

    He couldn't remember her ever showing interest in a man.

    "Gerard! You drinking alone?" His sister's boisterous voice snapped him out of his reverie.

    "Just finishing, I have to-"

    "Oooh no you're not," she grinned and pushed him back into his seat, "after the day I just had, I need some drinks."

    "Fine, fine. First round's on you though, Jeanne."
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  • Sidestory
    • 7-7: Bed knobs and Numbskulls (18+)
  • Threadmarks
    • WARNING: There's some really explicit smut in this update. It's safely behind a spoiler so no one has to see if if they don't want to. ​

    You know what? You're going to find Aiko.. For some reason this boat seems to be stuffed to the gills with every weird westerner they could find, and as much as it made things interesting you needed to return to reality, to spend time with your girlfriend while you have the chance. At least that made sense.

    You headed back towards your quarters, but she wasn't in the cabin. Her textbook lay open on the table, abandoned by some impulse to pursue some other part of her schedule. You'd overworked yourself sometimes, but Aiko never seemed to slow down ever. You took a moment to adjust yourself reflexively in front of the mirror, pulling your delicate scarf centered on your neck, then you headed back out to find her.

    You weren't quite sure where to look. Maybe the gymnasium? You descended into the interior of the ship. You were struck by the oddness of having wooden, carpeted stairs inside a ship. You couldn't hear your shoes on the metal gantry-ways and you didn't have to lift your feet to make sure you tripped over bulkheads. Civilian ships were weird.

    You passed by other passengers and crew until you reached the gymnasium's entrance. You peeked inside--there she was, working away on the rowing machine. Spirits, she was beautiful--the way the muscles in her arms and shoulders moved when she pulled back, the simple, graceful motion of each stroke. Ooh.

    You were so lucky, honestly. You waited until she had finished her set, then wandered over, past other exercisers and complicated looking exercise machinery. Your fitness routine involved many fewer complicated machines.

    "Aiko!" She turned as you called her name and she smiled, her towel draped around her neck.

    "Haruna, hey. How was breakfast?"

    "It was lovely. I met this old Albian couple--and a very strange child, but…" You sighed.

    "What's wrong?" she asked.

    "Honestly, I just wanted to spend time with you. We're on holiday, after all. At least a little." You reached out to take her hand. She was still sweaty from her exercise, which you knew made her always feel a little self-conscious but you really didn't mind it. She looked at you and gave something like a laugh, then squeezed your hand.

    "Of course. Sorry… I don't want you to feel neglected, I'm just really wound up about, you know, the games and all that. All the everything."

    The two of you wandered back out aimlessly, vaguely out onto the deck. The perfect blue skies still stretched on in all directions, though you swore the horizon ahead of you was darker than it ought to be. Your long experience told you it was likely that you were sailing on into some less pleasant weather.

    "Is it just me, or are the people on this ship rather odd?" Aiko asked, leaning against a railing, her huge brimmed hat curling back as the stiff sea-breeze washed over the pair of you.

    "You have no idea," you murmured. "I met this teenager and she had a revolver in her purse. And she's apparently almost died at least twice?"

    "...What?"

    "She's from a New Allegheny. I think it's just an Alleghenian thing."

    "You meet people who are interesting. I just meet creeps and weirdos," Aiko insisted. "There was this Gallian lady discussing stealing jewelry, and I met this Albian Army officer leaving the gym yesterday and he would not stop propositioning me! Or reminding me that he was in the military. I think that was the only Akitsukuni he knew."

    "The important things." you summarized.

    "Ew. Seriously, he honestly seemed… desperate or something. Which is not an attractive attitude on top of the general harassment."

    "We are at sea. I could duel him. It wouldn't be illegal, just… against the terms of our tickets and all that. And then they'd probably hand me over to the police..." you pointed out, smiling.

    Aiko laughed and slapped your shoulder playfully.

    "You defending my honor is an attractive thought. Let's leave that for the romantic stories, though, alright?" she said. "You've done enough defending and I don't need the Albian colonial police to lead you away in handcuffs when we get to Heung Gong."

    "Right. If I'm in handcuffs, you'll want to keep me for yourself." You said cheekily. You didn't actually own any handcuffs, but you liked to tease her about it anyway.

    "Now there's an idea… how about we skip the duel and jump straight to you in cuffs," Aiko replied with a smirk. "Get a confession out of you..?"

    "Judging from the horizon it's going to be pouring rain in the next hour or so…" you murmured, keeping your voice low so it didn't carry past her ears. "You don't actually have handcuffs, do you?"

    "You'll see," she said and then reached out to tug at the front of your dress. "Come on." You jerked forward as she started to guide you back towards the cabin and you felt your cheeks start to warm. You were certain anyone watching you would know her intentions--even if you knew, really, that that was impossible. As you reached the cabin, Petty Officer Sakai was emerging. You were trying to decide how to best approach this, but Aiko barreled on ahead like a steam train.

    "Hey, Sora," Aiko said familiarly, "we're going to need the cabin to ourselves for a while."

    To their credit, Petty Officer Sakai looks absolutely unruffled by this request.

    "Of course, Miss Kishimoto. I'll check back in near supper time to see if either of you need anything," they said with a slight bow and a polite smile. You couldn't decide whether to feel relieved or mortified. When you were in the cabin, with the door firmly shut behind you, Aiko turned to look at you, her hands on her hips.

    "...now, Miss Arisukawa, I think you need to get out of that dress," she said after a moment, then dragged one of the sturdy wooden chairs from the small dining area of the suite over into the middle of the room, then opened her trunk for something. "Have a seat when you're ready."

    You paused for a moment, fingers at the hook-and-eye at your collar. Then smiled, an impertinent and perhaps dangerous idea forming.

    "Make me." As the words left your mouth, Aiko was turning back towards you, lazily twirling a pair of handcuffs around the index finger of her right hand. She looked at you from beneath the brim of your uniform cap, which she had extracted from the trunks and placed on her head at a jaunty angle (likely because it wouldn't fit properly). She smiled, a sort of devious smile that came with promise. Oh. Oh.

    You felt a thrill traipse down your spine and settle into a familiar warmth at the bottom of your belly. Your heart felt as if someone had opened the telegraph from slow ahead to full ahead.

    "I could make you," she said in a low voice. "And I will make you if you're going to insist on making this difficult, Lieutenant." Part of you desperately argued that it would be best if you did as she told you while another, the part that you almost never indulged, insisted that you rebel against this constructed authority.

    "If you're going to threaten me," you said as you removed your hat and tossed it aside, "you had better be willing to follow through."

    Before you could say or do anything else, Aiko crossed the space between you with a few quick steps. Her free hand reached out, grasping at the collar of your dress and yanking. You felt the hook and eye attachment at the collar give, heard fabric tear and the popping of the snap fasteners behind the faux-buttons along the front of your dress.

    Oh wow. You reached out to grab at her wrist, though it wasn't with any real intent of fighting back, and she effortlessly pushed you back against the wall, her lips to yours.

    "You shouldn't ask for things unless you really want them," Aiko said. She dug her hand into your hair a moment later and hauled you towards the bed by your scalp. You stumbled as you started to trip over your dress, which was falling down around your legs (and probably completely ruined, but it was just one dress) and completed the fall as you were bodily shoved onto the mattress.

    "If you're not going to be good then we'll have to start with something else," she said as she dropped the handcuffs onto the bedside table and started stripping off her own dress. You were still feeling more than a little disoriented by the positively thrilling experience of being handled by Aiko. As you propped yourself up onto elbows, she was already stripped out of her slip and underwear, leaving her only in your cap.

    Okay, that was a look you could get behind.

    Unfortunately, as she climbed into bed she got a puzzled expression on her face, and she looked at you aghast a moment.

    "Haruna, shoes, on the bed?" she pointed out, already unlacing the offending footwear.

    "I forgot… the excitement?" you babbled, as she pulled one off and made a show of throwing it behind her to clatter onto the floor.

    She just frowned and started pulling hard on the laces of the other and then dislodging it. This time, when she threw it, there was a crash behind her that made her wince, and you looked past her to see the lamp in the corner of the room askew, its glass shade cracked.

    "Oh fuck." she muttered.

    "Ignore it." you said, and she smiled and leaned down to kiss you, her hands finding your wrists and pressing them into the mattress. There was something particularly electrifying about the slow return to intensity, as her grip tightened, her fingernails found purchase, as she bit your lip just enough to send a jolt through you. As she did, your cap fell off her head (too small, as always) and landed on your face and Aiko burst into giggles.

    "Not very intimidating like that," you remarked dryly, tugging at your wrists in an attempt (sort of) to wriggle free. You weren't exactly sure where this impulse to contrainism had come from, but you were sure it was going to pay dividends. Atop you, Aiko snorted and plucked the hat from your face to replace it atop her head at an equally precarious angle.

    "Oh, so you want to be difficult?" She asked, her voice taking a harder edge. "Fine." One hand took hold of your hair and you felt her short nails dragging against your scalp as she shoved you over onto your stomach in a single fluid movement that made your knees turn into gelatin. You wriggled, trying to squirm away but of course, it was hopeless (which, to be fair, is what you wanted). Your hands were drawn roughly behind your back and you felt the cold, weighty steel of the handcuffs close over your wrists. You tugged, found that you couldn't move your hands from where they had been secured at the small of your back.

    Spirits, you were probably going to stain the bedclothes at this rate. You felt Aiko's weight shift as she straddled your thighs, her hips nudging up against your buttocks as she leaned forward to murmur against your ear.

    "Not too tight?" she murmured, breaking away from her role for just a moment.

    "F-Fine," you said. You usually hated it when your voice broke like that. It was a little crack in your cool facade that made you vulnerable. That made you weak. It made people not take you seriously.

    With Aiko, being vulnerable and weak was alright, though. Exciting, even. You shifted your hips, trying to pull your knees up under you and Aiko laughed.

    "Aw. I think I need to get off you before you can do that, Haruna." She pressed herself down on you a bit more firmly for a moment, just to remind you that she was in control, and then rolled off to kneel next to your prone form on the mattress. You struggled upwards again, but as you got your knees under you, she casually pressed down on your shoulder with one hand, keeping your face pressed against the mattress. This, of course, left you in a fairly interesting position with hips and ass hiked into the air. You jerked your shoulders upward a little, but her strength and weight were too much for you without the leverage of your arms.

    "No," she said. Her hand slapped down against your upturned ass and squeezed tight. At the same time, her other hand dug into your hair to grip you at the scalp, as if to ensure you stayed right where she wanted you. You stiffened, felt a little, startled noise squeak free of your lips. You were glad, all of a sudden, that your face was hidden in the pillows and bedclothes because you could feel your cheeks and ears growing warmer by the moment. That firm, familiar hand (you could feel the callouses from where she gripped her oar, knew the strength and gentleness she was capable of) rubbed over the spot she had just smacked and then almost casually dipped down the curve of your rear and in between your thighs.

    You swear you saw stars as her middle and ring fingers pressed easily inside of you. You grunted, the sound morphing into a soft whine as she began to fuck you with an almost casual rythym.

    "You're so wet, little Haru," she said, her voice husky, rough with lust and desire. You groaned in response and tried to shift your hips back to meet her thrusting fingers. The touch of them against you, inside of you was enough to drive you absolutely mad.

    "I never even touched you. You were all ready to get me inside of you just from a little rough handling," she added with a laugh. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised by now. You try so hard to be calm and collected and controlled but underneath all of it, you're just a mess. Waiting for someone to put you in your place." Her words were punctuated by the steady motion of her hand inside of you and your hips shifted back again. You panted against the bedclothes, heedless of the wet spot your spittle was starting to leave.

    "N-nooo…" You protested feebly in spite of present circumstances proving her absolutely and utterly correct in every respect. You were so warm, so hot and Aiko's touch was the only thing that you could possibly think of in moment. You weren't Arisukawa Haruna, lieutenant in the navy, Imperial Princess. You were just Haru. A writhing mess of desire waiting for some tall, strong woman to put her in her place.

    "No? Then should I stop?" Her fingers paused, still buried inside of you and you felt your whole frame tremble with exertion as you tried desperately to shove your hips back and induce her to continue, cool steel handcuffs scraping against the skin of your back.

    "No! No, don't--don't stop, Aiko, please--" You begged. Spirits help you, you begged desperately for more of her, unable to think of anything but her. "You're right! You're right!"

    "That's my good little Haru," Aiko said. It was practically a purr and then her fingers resumed their motions. You moaned into the bedclothes again and you felt yourself starting to tremble, the ratcheting, agonizing tension that was starting to build upwards to a single ecstatic point. You kicked a leg. Your body wasn't in your control any longer, you thought, there wasn't any Haruna left, just desire. You were so close, so close, so close, so close--

    Your whole frame tensed as you came apart at the seams, your world shaking to pieces as pleasure overloaded your nerves. You jerked and trembled, whimpering and gasping helplessly as everything seemed to vanish in a sparkle of stars dancing in front of your eyes. At some point you felt her hand come off your head and you slumped flat, panting for breath. Her hand pulled free of you and you heard her laugh. You were still reeling, couldn't make yourself turn your head to look at her.

    "You wanted that really bad, Haru." She said in a lazy tone of voice, and you felt the handcuffs come away and you were guided up into a sitting position. You swallowed, took a breath--and then you were tugged back and cuffed again, this time with a heavy 'clunk' sound. You tried to move forward, but found that Aiko had linked the the short cuff chain around one of the bed posts. It didn't go all the way up ceiling, and if you really tried to stand up and slip free, it wouldn't be terribly difficult. Of course, you didn't want to. You blinked.

    "Aiko?" She shifted her weight to look at you, your cap still perched awkwardly atop her head in a way that was endearing and hilarious all at once. She was trimmed and muscled, firm lines and soft curves and she was so beautiful. Aiko casually pushed herself up to her feet and balanced awkwardly for a moment before her hand reached out to rest against your head so she could use you as a third point of contact.

    "That was hot," she said lazily. You were roughly eye level with her hips and crotch and you could see the dark curls between her thighs, the lips of her sex glistening with her arousal. You could smell her and right now you desperately, desperately wanted to taste her as well. You tried to pull yourself towards her and were stopped by the clanking chain of the handcuffs, which held you away from her. She was so close, though. You exhaled sharply, tilted your head back to look at her.

    "Aiko…" you murmured, injecting a pleading tone into your voice. She just grinned and her free hand slide across her belly (her abdominal muscles were so, so beautiful) before her fingers--the same that had so recently been so deep inside of you--began circling her hooded clitoris in a lazy, circular motion.

    "What, Haru?" Aiko asked, her head tilting to look down at you more directly. At which point your cap slipped from her head again and bounced into the pillows. She scoffed, made no effort to retrieve it this time as she continued to tease herself. An excited, warm, red blush was creeping into her cheeks now. You opened your mouth and tried to tug a little further forward. She was so close, the scent of her was driving you mad. You wanted to taste her, to feel her and she wasn't letting you have that! It wasn't fair! You whimpered softly and her fingers continued their agonizing movement. Aiko's breath hitched as a pair of fingers slipped inside of her and then she sighed happily, her legs trembling just a little.

    "Come on, Haru. Use your words. You're supposed to be good at that, right? That fancy education and all," she teased and you felt a new blush come to your face. How did women turn you into a babbling idiot? Well, this woman in particular.

    "Aiko, please. I want to... " You swallowed. Glanced aside. She laughed again and the sound tugged your eyes back up towards her face as if attached to a string.

    "You want to what-?" Her question ended in a little gasp as she touched a particularly sensitive spot and you tried to jerk forwards again, almost on instinct, only to find yourself brought short again. You were panting like a dog.

    "I want to put… I want to put my mouth on you, I want to lick and suck and kiss every part of you but especially your beautiful cunt, please," you finally said. Your voice trembled and Aiko smiled.

    "Good Haru," she said and shifted herself forward a bare few centimeters so that you could press your face between her thighs. You opened your mouth and pressed your tongue against her, inside of her as you practically smeared your face with her arousal. Her hand tightened against your hair and tugged you closer, or tried to since you had already ensured there was practically no air between your face and her crotch. Your nose buried into her dark thatch of curls. She smelled heavenly.

    "Haru--!" Her voice rose in a whimpering gasp and you redoubled your efforts, tongue and lips working across sensitive flesh in a maddened effort. You needed her like you needed water. You closed your lips, sucked firmly at her clitoris and were rewarded with a strangled little cry, her fingers digging and scraping against your scalp with renewed passion and fervor.

    "Haru, Haru, Haru!" She was crying your name, each one louder and more breathless than the last. You kept on, refusing to stop. She was rolling and jerking her hips up against you, practically fucking your face and you didn't care, didn't mind. Wanted it. You wanted her to come, to grind on your face until you and she were a hopeless mess. Your name died away, and there was only a breathless, wordless cry that almost sounded like a sob (though you knew better) as she trembled against and above you, one hand pressed into the wall of the cabin.

    Finally, after what seemed an age, she stilled a little and gently insisted on pulling herself away from you. Her legs were trembling as she dropped down onto her knees and fumbled to unlock the handcuffs and remove them from your wrists. Casually, she dropped them onto the carpeted floor where they landed with a heavy, metallic clatter.

    "I needed that," she said as she lifted your wrists to inspect them. Frowned a touch.

    "...We need to add padding in the future, you gave yourself some bruises trying to get free there, Haru," she said seriously. You, in the moment, didn't give a damn and just wrapped your arms around her so you could tug her down into the bed and cover her face in exhausted, contented kisses.

    ---

    Somehow, you even made it out of your cabin some evenings over the next few days.

    "Why did we even pay for these super expensive tickets? We're on this giant ship and we've seen like twenty square meters of it."

    "Good twenty square meters, though. Besides, if I traveled on anything less than first-class tickets my mother would probably die of shame as soon as she found out."

    "Nobility is ridiculous. I appreciate the gym though." Aiko said, stretching.

    "As do I."

    "Haruna, you barely… oooh." she said, a huge smile on her face.

    Today, you were actually making an expedition out to the dining area rather than having meals delivered to your suite. For one thing, you had a rather express invitation from Doctor Hollins asking you and your "friend" to join him for dinner for an evening. You suspected that it was because he liked you and was getting tired of the other first class passengers. From what you'd seen of them, this was entirely understandable.

    For another, you were starting to get a little embarrassed spending every day in your cabin. Not that anyone who mattered at all was judging, but that didn't stop you from reasoning that maybe you should at least keep up some appearances on this trip.

    That said, you were most definitely late to events, having been slightly sidetracked for entirely above board and totally chaste reasons, and you walked into the dining hall to find a strange atmosphere over the proceedings. Everyone seemed very on edge, and there was no conversation to be had even among friends. It had all the air of a standoff.

    You didn't have time for whatever nonsense was unfolding, though. You were quite hungry, and you sat down next to Doctor Hollins and Mr. Waters, eager to sample more of the quite excellent menu. Waters, however, seemed quite uncomfortable himself with the unusual mood of the room, glancing about nervously.

    "What's the matter?" you asked him.

    He opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the older, heavy-set woman (whom you recognized as the Countess of Kildrummy) sitting at the table behind her sprang to her feet, throwing an accusing finger toward a blonde woman sitting opposite with an Akitsukuni man and a small child.

    "She stole my sapphire!"

    Instantly, pandemonium broke out. A dozen voices babbled over one another in three languages as everyone voiced objections, accusations, and insults back and forth.

    "This is… this is absurd! I did not do any such thing! You should look to your handsy officer, Countess!" the blonde woman responded, her accent distinctly Gallian.

    You turned to see an Army officer in a corner, one you recognized as the man Aiko had complained about. He had entirely too many medals for a man his age (rich, coming from you), absolutely absurd sideburns like torpedo nets for his ears, and he was cradling a bottle like a drowning man might a lifeline.

    "I-, How dare you! How dare you slander the good name of His Majesty's Army like that when there are perfectly shifty suspects right over there!" he said, pointing to your table.

    "... the ladies arrived after the theft, Major Redhart." Dr. Hollins said calmly. The officer blinked slowly, double-checked, and then nodded.

    "Right! That's because I was talking about you and your other one there!" he corrected.

    "Absurd. We'd never." Waters said, looking to Dr. Hollins.

    "I can't rule us out, my good man. We both have good motives and all the skills required."

    "But we didn't do it!"

    "Of course not, it was obviously the young miss over there."

    He indicated to where a middle-aged woman and a familiar young lady were sitting, who both turned to protest.

    "My daughter? How dare-!"

    "Go fuck yourself, mister!"

    "Carolyn!"

    "They can! And besides, why the hell would I do that? What, am I gonna pawn it? She probably just forgot it in her room."

    "I had it until ten minutes ago, I am sure of it! Call the captain!" the Countess protested.

    "Enough, all of you!" you announced, standing up. "We came here to have a nice dinner and you are all being quite absurd. Has anyone left the room in the last ten minutes? Even servers and so forth?"

    There was a collective shaking of heads.

    "Right, then it is still here, and if somebody took it, one of you has it." you said.

    "Oh, excellent." Dr. Hollins said, beaming ear to ear.

    ---

    You are now Arisukawa Haruna, Ace Detective.​
    ​
    Your job is to find out who stole this stupid ruby or whatever so you can get back to having delicious food. It could be any one of these numbskulls.​
    ​
    To discover which numbskull it was, you're going to have to (urgh) talk to them. Choose three numbskulls below, and to each one, tag them one of the following. You must use all three tags, and can only use each one once.​
    ​
    Accusatory: Haruna approaches them suspecting they did it, and thats how the conversation starts.​
    ​
    Inquisitively: Haruna approaches neutrally, and just tries to get the facts.​
    ​
    Supportively: Haruna approaches them trying to exonerate them of suspicion.​
    ​
    Format your vote by plan.​
    ​
    [ ] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters​
    [ ] Carolyn Keene & her mother, Mrs. Keene.​
    [ ] Miss Emelin Lalanne & her family​
    [ ] The Countess​
    [ ] Major Redhart​
    ​
    There are no wrong answers. Vote for what you think is interesting.​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Supportively
    [X] The Countess: Accusatorily
    [X] Major Redhart: Inquisitively

    Good to have you back! At this stage I can almost guarantee Flashy didn't do it though, he hasn't the stones.
     
    Artificial Girl said:
    Choose three numbskulls below, and to each one, tag them one of the following. You must use all three tags, and can only use each one once.
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    Do we think we'll get another round of questions after this, or do we have to pick our three before we've gotten any answers at all?
    open_sketch said:
    We took a very long time between updates due to Life Stuff and, uh, we may have gotten carried away.
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    No worries! It was ultra fluffy and adorable. :)
    Artificial Girl said:
    "You don't actually have handcuffs, do you?"
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    Mmm, them's fightin' words. :D
    Artificial Girl said:
    "Nobility is ridiculous. I appreciate the gym though." Aiko said, stretching.

    "As do I."

    "Haruna, you barely… oooh." she said, a huge smile on her face.
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    <3
    Artificial Girl said:
    "You meet people who are interesting. I just meet creeps and weirdos," Aiko insisted. "There was this Gallian lady discussing stealing jewelry, and I met this Albian Army officer leaving the gym yesterday and he would not stop propositioning me! Or reminding me that he was in the military. I think that was the only Akitsukuni he knew."
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    Seems like Aiko had pretty much the same experience we did.
    Artificial Girl said:
    You, in the moment, didn't give a damn and just wrapped your arms around her so you could tug her down into the bed and cover her face in exhausted, contented kisses.
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    I'm kind of surprised that this didn't fix more of our stress, lol. Like, I understand game-mechanically that we already got the bonus for choosing to take it easy and this is just what taking it easy looks like, but that was a kind of snuggly I wish I could have.
    Artificial Girl said:
    "Oh, excellent." Dr. Hollins said, beaming ear to ear.
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    Of course he's all on board with a classic closed circle of suspects mystery, lol.
    Artificial Girl said:
    "This is… this is absurd! I did not do any such thing! You should look to your handsy officer, Countess!" the blonde woman responded, her accent
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    This sentence seems to be missing a
    Artificial Girl said:
    cradling a bottle like a drowning man might a lifeline.
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    Is he visibly drunk or slurring?
     
    Well that was a fun chapter. I'm imagining rain because of course there's rain.

    Dunno who the army officer is based on.

    [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Supportively
    [X] The Countess: Accusatorily
    [X] Major Redhart: Inquisitively

    Carolyn seems like the most obvious of who we know, but there's really no reason to suspect her beyond classism and her fairly confrontational personality. The major is a big question mark.
     
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    I'm guessing, based on absolutely nothing but the possibility of the QMs messing with our metaknowledge, that Dr. Hollins and Mr. Waters did it.
     
    It's mostly that the real detectives are suspects, so you can't trust a word they say! Haruna and Aiko get the job because they can't have done it.
     
    [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Accusatorily
    It is highly suspicious to be so excited about how this investigation turned into such a mess of accusations.:V

    [X] Major Redhart: Inquisitively
    Since he so confidently accused the above two, even before Hollins started acting suspicious, he must have seen something relevant.:V

    [X] The Countess: Supportively
    Mobility needs to stick together. Carolyns accusation was obviously ridiculous.:V
     
    force200 said:
    Wait, isn't that against the rules?
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    ...

    Content which has mature themes and which might be available in restricted distribution - for example, the Kushiel's Legacy series of books, or Game of Thrones episodes on HBO (where sex and violence are explicit, but still form part of a larger body of work) - you cannot post images, and you must tag text content (with the Mature prefix for stories and quests that contain it), but, if handled in a mature and appropriate way, it will be acceptable on Sufficient Velocity.

    E.g. Explicit depictions of adult sexual activity, rape, dismemberment, or other severe physical injury
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    Ok, my bad. I just always assumed that NSFW content wasn't allowed at all.
     
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    Ooh, this is fun. A nice closed circle mystery, but without any murders to bring down the mood. (Also, the protagonists main motivation is to wrap this up so she can get back to dinner and then go back to her cabin with her girlfriend and handcuffs)

    So, as for questions, I guess we can't rule anyone out. I'm going to vote for the options that seem likely to get the most information.

    [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Supportively
    [X] Carolyn Keene & her mother, Mrs. Keene: Inquisitively
    [X] Major Redhart: Accusatorily

    Holmes loves showing off to a good audience (maybe we can get him talking and let something slip?). Drew seems likely to clam up if we're too aggressive or too friendly (friendliness must be a trap!). And Flasheart is a cowardly bastard who I'm betting will fold under enough pressure.
     
    [x] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Inquisitively
    [X] Carolyn Keene & her mother, Mrs. Keene. : Inquisitively
    [X] The Countess: Accusatorily

    I am suspicious of someone who is tossing around accusations of theft- this could be a fake used to discredit a rival, or claim insurance (I think Llyods of London was a thing in this era) or something... Who wears a giant sapphire on a cruise, anyways? That's a bit much even for a dinner piece- should be saved for palaces.

    So I want to get the detectives to weigh in, all of them, and I want to know what the Countess thinks is going on when we pressure her. Then we can look at the real suspects next turn.
     
    force200 said:
    Wait, isn't that against the rules?
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    Not unless they're underage, no.

    Already answered, that's what I get for not refreshing.
    ancusohm said:
    Ooh, this is fun. A nice closed circle mystery, but without any murders to bring down the mood. (Also, the protagonists main motivation is to wrap this up so she can get back to dinner and then go back to her cabin with her girlfriend and handcuffs)

    So, as for questions, I guess we can't rule anyone out. I'm going to vote for the options that seem likely to get the most information.

    [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Supportively
    [X] Carolyn Keene & her mother, Mrs. Keene: Inquisitively
    [X] Major Redhart: Accusatorily

    Holmes loves showing off to a good audience (maybe we can get him talking and let something slip?). Drew seems likely to clam up if we're too aggressive or too friendly (friendliness must be a trap!). And Flasheart is a cowardly bastard who I'm betting will fold under enough pressure.
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    I like this logic. Not entirely sure on Holmes, but the other two feel on point.


    [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Supportively
    [X] Carolyn Keene & her mother, Mrs. Keene: Inquisitively
    [X] Major Redhart: Accusatorily
     
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    [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Supportively
    [X] Carolyn Keene & her mother, Mrs. Keene: Inquisitively
    [X] Major Redhart: Accusatorily
     
    [X] Dr. Hollins & Mr. Waters: Supportively
    [X] Carolyn Keene & her mother, Mrs. Keene: Inquisitively
    [X] Major Redhart: Accusatorily
     
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