Voting is open
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] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?
 
These represent life balance stuff and how they have affected certain actions. Blue is the 'Warrior', green is 'life', yellow is 'work', etc.

So we forgot the gun because we're too focused on non-military things?

Speaking of, are we likely to have a chance to adjust work/life balance anytime soon? Because this navy quest has had depressingly little navy in it for a fair while.
:/
 
So we forgot the gun because we're too focused on non-military things?

Speaking of, are we likely to have a chance to adjust work/life balance anytime soon? Because this navy quest has had depressingly little navy in it for a fair while.
:/
It's looking like Gaya!World War 1 will be shortly after this arc, so... probably?

Edit: speaking of that, I wonder where we'll be assigned? Probably supporting the attacks on Dyske colonies in Cathay, but we could also end up supporting the Albish or (whatever Australia is called here) in the Indies. Whatever the case, we'll ideally have married Aiko by then; we might consider proposing to her at the end of the games.
 
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[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?

First time we had a big weapons-drawn encounter at an international get-together, we started a war. The second time it happened, the character almost died and the quest wrapped up.

... not gonna lie, kinda hoping for the former, if not option 3: Quest just keeps going.
 
I'm not sure why people are so eager to engage an armed gunman in fisticuffs when there's a gun we can requisition right there
[X] At the next display over, maybe three or four meters distant, a woman was fumbling ineffectually for something in her purse. A pistol, probably, though she didn't look very suited to using it. On the other hand, you had training, so maybe if you moved quickly...
 
So we forgot the gun because we're too focused on non-military things?

Speaking of, are we likely to have a chance to adjust work/life balance anytime soon? Because this navy quest has had depressingly little navy in it for a fair while.
:/

Sorry! We're gonna get back to it sooner rather than later. Honestly we wanted to be hitting this part of the story sometime last year, but 2021 took a bat to our writing's knees for a while.
 
[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?

We do not have to beat him, or even capture him, we just need to keep him from using his gun on anyone else until everyone else in the area can pile on.
 
[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?
 
[x] At the next display over, maybe three or four meters distant, a woman was fumbling ineffectually for something in her purse. A pistol, probably, though she didn't look very suited to using it. On the other hand, you had training, so maybe if you moved quickly...
 
[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?
 
[X] Absolutely nothing. Now is not the time for heroics. This isn't even your country.

God damn it, we're supposed to be on vacation!
 
Definitely not the third option. It could backfire so badly.


[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?
 
Shit. This could go so (much more) wrong so fast.

Normally, I would want her to stay down (to try and avoid a diplomatic incident where a famous relative of the Empress gets shot). But we spoke to this guy and gave him a cigarette outside. At least one person probably saw that exchange, and they will talk about it after this incident. I have no idea why the shooter started shooting, but this looks bad for Haruna.

I think she needs to make it clear that she is not with the shooter.

[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?
 
First time we had a big weapons-drawn encounter at an international get-together, we started a war. The second time it happened, the character almost died and the quest wrapped up.

... not gonna lie, kinda hoping for the former, if not option 3: Quest just keeps going.
Obviously we need to stop coming to these things. Or at least start bringing a sidearm.
 
[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?

Let's get another medal!

E:
Obviously we need to stop coming to these things. Or at least start bringing a sidearm.
I think it means that we need more Work rather than Life if we want better odds to have brought our pistol?
 
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[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?

This is probably not the smart move. If she fails, she just took fists to a gun fight. If she succeeds but doesn't end up holding the gun, she just picked a fist fight with a desperate man who is well over twice her weight. Neither are good plans. But if it suceeds, it will be glorious, and it feels right.
 
[X] You had the absolute perfect opportunity to disarm him. You knew jujutsu, kendo, a half-dozen other ways of fighting unarmed and were used to fighting people bigger than you. Though maybe not this much bigger?

Get 'im!
 
7-14: Stop! You Violated The Law!
You were moving before you were thinking, the response automatic. You moved the few steps between the two of you, and the first sign he had of your presence was when you kicked hard into the back of his knee and he lurched forward, as if he was going to tumble to the ground. Before he could do that, though, you had one hand on his hand, directing it away from yourself. As he tipped forward, you slammed the sharp side of your opposite hand into his neck. Your hand slide up his wrist and you grabbed at the frame of the pistol (some tiny automatic) and wrenched it as hard as you could.

Fortunately, it worked and you had it free of his grasp as he fell to the floor. The pistol was a weird, blocky looking thing that you instantly loathed. Mechanically, you ejected the magazine and pulled the slide back to eject whatever round was still in the chamber, tossed the pistol aside, then dropped down to kneel on the man's arm. At the same moment, there was a rush as what seemed like a dozen other people descended on the pair of you and the world finally seemed to catch up with you. You were elbowed aside as someone in a police uniform grabbed the man by his jacket and began to haul him to his feet, pursued by shouting and gestures from the crowd. You stumbled free of the crush (where had your hat gone?) and Aiko was tugging at your arm all of sudden.

You could see her lips moving, but you realized you couldn't hear her. Your ears were ringing in an unpleasant way that reminded you of a battlefield. The gun must have gone off at some point during that, close to you.

"What?!" you said.

Aiko leaned forward and brushed off one of your shoulders. There was plaster there, some splinters of wood. Hm. Then she hugged you to her so fiercely that you thought she'd crush all the breath out of you. You wheezed faintly and did your best to return the hug.

"--so stupid?!" Oh, there, your hearing was coming back. There were tears in her eyes and before you could stop her or be concerned about it, she gave you a fierce kiss as the crowd jostled and yelled around you.

You know what, you didn't even want to stop her.

You pulled away to see Lucchesi staring at the two of you with a look of utter disgust and horror on her face, and then all of a sudden she pushed past you and for the door in a fast walk, disappearing out into the sunlight.

"Fuck." You started after her immediately, seething at yourself for scaring off your target. Aiko caught your arm and after a moment you realized she was actually trying to stop you, and this time you could make out what she was saying just fine.

"Leave her, Haruna, who cares what she thinks?" she said, shaking her head. "The police will probably want to talk to us, we should stick around. Why do you care so much about some random person we met at this dumb party anyway?"

---

[ ] Lie to Aiko about why you're interested in the engineer.​
[ ] Breach all the security protocols and rules you're supposed to follow and tell her the truth about your mission.​
 
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This cuts off abruptly?


[X] Breach all the security protocols and rules you're supposed to follow and tell her the truth about your mission.

Tell her as little as possible of the truth but tell her enough truth. And for the love of whatever we love (girl?), tell it to her in Akitsukuni.
Fixed oh noooooooooooooooo
 
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