Castles of Steel - Lesbians Good, Imperialism Bad

Voting is open
Reader mode
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​


Click here for the winter version!

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.
 
Last edited:
open_sketchbook said:
i literally roll for things in my regular narrative writing all the time lol. it's a good way to avoid falling into bad habits while resolving plot threads

anyway a quest to me is a role playing game format where we are the GM/authors and you are the players, not a book where you are mere readers. and this lets us do bad things in the story without players resenting us (as much)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I do not associate authors rolling dice for how things go in stories with good things. It means that the author doesn't know where the story is going. Authors should know how their stories are going to go before they even begin writing.

I can understand wanting to use an RPG format and when there is an overt objective like when you were playtesting that flying RPG with the Star Wars quest. I don't think it's really appropriate though. The heavy use of dice (and random chance in general) in RPGs is an artifact of the old, more adversarial nature of early RPGs and to the war gaming roots of the genre. In war gaming, dice rolls serve two purposes: to simulate complex stuff and to resolve conflicts between players.

In story focused quests and RPGs, simulation is unneeded because events and results can be arranged to reach the intended or desired narrative outcome of an action. Conflict resolution between players is done by voting. The outcome of narrative conflicts should be done by logically determining if the player selected course of action should succeed or fail based on the PC's capabilities and resources.

There is likely a rather axiomatic difference here. I view quests as interactive fiction, and prefer quests that are on that end of the spectrum. I generally avoid the more game-like end of the spectrum, such as CK2 or empire builder quests. To put it simply, I am in the quests-as-stories camp. You appear to come from the quests-as-games camp.

To me, this quest is far enough towards the story side of things that I don't see the point of involving game mechanics in it. You, (one of) the author(s), disagree so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway, I've explained my position on this subject to my satisfaction. If this changes any opinions or anyone else wants to do the same, that's good, otherwise, oh well.

Ramble said:
Attempting to subvert the course and consequences of democracy is bad mmkay?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
But random chance is subverting the course and consequences of democracy by giving us bad rolls! :V
 
Hello I'm a professional story game designer and I think about this for a living. This isn't the place to lecture me about this thing I objectively spend more time thinking about than you.

Voteless quests have problems too. People whine if you don't signpost or if things go in bad directions. There is often a lack of tension. It's not all roses.

Also lol the vast majority of authors don't know where their stories are going when they start. Hate to break it to you. Even if they think they know, they usually don't because that's how developing narratives work.

Anyway, if you really hate the mechanics so much, there's other quests you could be reading. Otherwise, stop complaining. I'm pretty much 1000% done with people bitching about the core premise and mechanics of my quests... and @Artificial Girl is even more angry.

Update incoming.
 
I also tend to fall heavily on quests-as-stories side of things and dislike CK2/Empire builder style quests unless the characters grab me. @open_sketchbook and I both enjoy RPGs and tabletop games (hell she designs them) and approach this quest in much the same way. As much as we are authors, we are also game masters who provide obstacles and choices for the players to navigate and overcome. And yes, sometimes that means random chance makes bad things happen. My first quest was entirely narrative based with no dice. It was fun to write and all the people who participated had fun. This one is ALSO fun to write and people are, I hope, having fun reading and participating in it.

It seems that you are NOT having fun, and so I ask you WHY are you participating in that case? You writing a long post about why you don't like dice mechanics is not going to change the way we run this quest and continuing to complain about it just clogs up the thread. So I suggest that you decide to either participate or don't--but stop disrupting the quest either way.
 
Logical reasoning about the probable consequences of an action is best when the players have a large degree of control over what happens.

Dice make more sense when a great deal of the outcome is in the hands of circumstance, chance, and NPCs.

The thing is, in most quest scenarios, the latter is true, and this makes the kind of approach we see in the Gayaverse quests very valuable.

...

For instance, over in Aircraft Design Company quest, we made the best transport plane in the world and the Navy didn't buy it because we rolled low. And this was explained as happening for a very realistic reason, namely that the Navy, during the design process, decided they weren't willing to spend a ton of money buying a lot of these planes in the face of other urgent priorities.

Because shit like that happens in real life. Everyone else is following their logical incentive structure too, and trying to behave as if every action is happens in a perfectly predictable world where if we do our part right everything will go perfectly, isn't very realistic.
 
Last edited:
@open_sketchbook @Artificial Girl

Um... I think you two are letting the negative feeling from what happened over in the air design quest effect how you viewing this. The 13th fleet didn't handle how they were making their initial comments well. That was probably due to frustration about the recent dice roll. Bitching about dice rolls is something of a quester/gamer tradition. That being said they wrote up a decent length post to explain why they felt the way they did about the dice. The fact that they made the effort to put all that means they probably care about this quest. Both of you have been getting increasingly cagey and somewhat hostile about people expressing different opinions on things recently. I enjoy the story and the world building you two are doing in these quests, but I am starting to worry about you.
 
It is incredibly frustrating to continue having to defend central conceits of the world building and the quest mechanics, often based on the same complaints, over and over and over.
 
Artificial Girl said:
It is incredibly frustrating to continue having to defend central conceits of the world building and the quest mechanics, often based on the same complaints, over and over and over.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And that is perfectly understandable. I am just worried about what feels like a growing level of hostility from both of you. This isn't a criticism of you two. I am worried about how this seems to be effecting you both.

Maybe you should make a thread mark or a sticky post about things you don't want to be brought up anymore.
 
cokerpilot said:
And that is perfectly understandable. I am just worried about what feels like a growing level of hostility from both of you. This isn't a criticism of you two. I am worried about how this seems to be effecting you both.

Maybe you should make a thread mark or a sticky post about things you don't want to be brought up anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
There's been a growing level of miscellaneous shittiness, repeated complaints that have already been addressed and weird pushback on well established aspects of the setting and game system from a small minority of the players. This is sometimes seasoned with whining or what at least looks like mansplaining. It is only natural that this annoys the QMs. In that context, asking if they are okay like this without acknowledging the context takes on some of the characteristics of telling someone to "calm down" when they are perfectly rational and angry about something for a good reason.

That may not be your intent, but it's how it might feel to me in their place.
 
Last edited:
brmj said:
There's been a growing level of miscellaneous shittiness, repeated complaints that have already been addressed and weird pushback on well established aspects of the setting and game system from a small minority of the players. This is sometimes seasoned with whining or what at least looks like mansplaining. It is only natural that this annoys the QMs. In that context, asking if they are okay like this without acknowledging the context takes on some of the characteristics of telling someone to "calm down" when they are perfectly rational and angry about something for a good reason.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Look Im tired here so maybe I misphrased or missed something in my posts but, I'm pretty sure I acknowledged that they had right to be angry when I mentioned what happened in the other thread. And while there most certainly a poster who was being incredibly obstinate about the mechanics of FC as well as "medical realism"
(This is game that can have lighting guns for peat sake sure we are in a more grounded world but don't keep bother in the QMs after they have addressed it)

There are also people who honestly aren't trying to be disruptive or shitty about things as well.

10ebbor10 said:
I'm not sure if having a meta-discussion about meta-discussions is a great idea.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That might be wise...
open_sketchbook said:
I have gone and added a set of game rules to the character sheet. Please go read them now.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
open_sketchbook said:
I knew I was forgetting something!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


And super Open_Sketchbook ninja QM interrupt.
I like it. This way if people start doing something against the rules they can get a warning and if they do it again we know that it is probably legitimate hostility on their part and the QM can kindly (or not so kindly) show them the door. I also apreciate the added extra useful info for the quest it's neat.
 
Last edited:
Artificial Girl said:
It seems that you are NOT having fun, and so I ask you WHY are you participating in that case? You writing a long post about why you don't like dice mechanics is not going to change the way we run this quest and continuing to complain about it just clogs up the thread. So I suggest that you decide to either participate or don't--but stop disrupting the quest either way.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I am greatly enjoying this quest. It simply seemed to me that the mechanics for this quest were still being refined, given the changes to the success ranges, and I was hoping to convince you two to shift things in a direction more to my liking. But...

Artificial Girl said:
It is incredibly frustrating to continue having to defend central conceits of the world building and the quest mechanics, often based on the same complaints, over and over and over.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
open_sketchbook said:
-blank-
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
In this case I'm sorry. I was unaware that this was an overwrought subject. This and that Star Wars fighter pilot quest are the only quests of yours that I've read.
 
Last edited:
On a somewhat related note. I find that the partial successes we keep having in instituting positive changes on the navy are somewhat thematically appropriate. The Navy here a large, proud and well-established organization with a great deal of history and tradition. Institutions like this are often slow to change at best and downright reactionarily resistant at worst. Even when the changes are clearly positive to all the parties involved they will often drag their feet for fear of either disrupting the greater whole or the belief that what they have works fine as it is. Adding in people who think they know better than our character; for any number of reasons, ranging from defined gender role beliefs to an inexperienced new officer doesn't know what they are dealing with and everything in between. The fact we are making progress at all is amazing in and of its self even if we have the backing of the Imperial family.
 
2-17: Actually, maybe not the first.
  • Threadmarks
    • Here is one of your people--no, a fellow woman--asking for your help. How can you refuse her? Especially when she wants to serve her nation as badly as you do? You squeeze her hands tightly and smile.

    "Rei, I promise. I will do all that I can to make sure you can stay in the navy. You have my word on that." You smiled at her. It wouldn't be easy, but you could try.

    "Thank you, ma'am. Haruna. One of those." She blushed. "Sorry, I dunno."

    "If you're staying in the navy, it's ma'am," you reply, teasing. 'Now, under the regulations, I have to report this up my chain of command, but I will fight for you every step of the way. We girls have to stick together, hm?" You released her hands and stood back, mind already racing with thoughts and arguments.

    "I'll outline why you should be allowed to stay in my initial report. I'm only a lieutenant but… I have my connections. We'll have to see what happens." You frowned. "I can't promise anything. Only that I'll do my best."

    "I understand ma'am--Haruna. Ma'am." She winced and you laughed.

    "Now let's get back to work. We have a boat to finish inspecting."

    ---

    That evening you sat down and carefully laid out the incident. Then you laid out every argument you had for keeping Mikami Rei in the navy. She had a decade of exemplary service and valuable experience to pass on to other sailors. She had an excellent and highly commendable record of service including at least one decoration for saving the life of a fellow sailor who had gone overboard in rough seas. She was dedicated to the country and the navy. Most importantly, she had a deep love of the sea and the navy and wanted to do her best to help it. Of all the reasons, that seemed the most compelling to you, at least on an emotional level.

    You also sent a few letters out with the next mail ship to a few critical people. One of your uncles, an admiral, that infuriating New Independent politician who had the gall to ask you to dance and thus essentially owed you his life. You laid out the argument that prior justifications for nullifying service were now quite obsolete, and moreover simply didn't make sense in the modern world. You put on your best diplomatic language and pointed out with more women coming on to serve as officers, surely there was room for women to be sailors as well.

    It was with a nervous heart that you delivered the report to your superior officer. Then you had to wait. And wait. There didn't seem to be much of a stir at first, though you noticed that Mikami rather simply disappeared from the crew of Boat 103. You appointed a replacement (Nakama Junzo, one of the torpedomen) and went about your duties. You didn't hear a result until a few weeks later, towards the end of November, as the ship put into Joseon for one last time before it would head back to Shimazu for a refit. It needed one, badly, especially after something like six months at sea. All of the boats were worn down and you weren't sure they could take a lot more use.

    More importantly though, Mikami came to see you. You were in your office, poring over some paperwork when she arrived. You were a little surprised that they'd already found her a uniform. An officer's jacket in the feminine cut you wore and the proper skirt and hat, it was probably temporary until the brass thought of something more appropriate. She smiled at you, then bowed.

    "Lieutenant, I came to thank you for the effort you put in on my behalf," she started. "I'm to take a transport back to Tokei. They want me to be an instructor for the women officer-cadets." She looks a little rueful at that.

    "...I'm sorry," you said. "I know you wanted to stay at sea." What sailor didn't want that? She shook her head though, trying to ward off your apologies.

    "I do! But I get to stay in the navy this way, at the very least. And they're making me a chief petty officer to boot. You know, so I can order around officer cadets." She laughed. "Maybe I'll get to go to sea again some day. But… I'm still happy to be given this chance."

    You stood up and shook her hand with a smile. "Do your best, and I promise you you won't be the last."

    She saluted and headed out, and as you sat down, you realized something. With her service not nullified… you were no longer the first woman in the Navy. She was.

    Welp, second place isn't too bad?

    ---

    The boats never made it back onto the ship before you set off for Shimazu, leaving you for several days in the rather unusual position of being essentially without duties. There wasn't much for you to do as the ship steamed south and the biting cold was replaced by a tropical breeze and the accompanying torrential rains. You spent much of that time in your cabin, finishing the last of your novels and otherwise distracting yourself until the ship made land.

    Almost the moment the ship touched the dock, it was swarming with dockworkers and refit teams, and the crew were hastily shuffled off. It looked like there was a major refit in progress, though you weren't sure on the details. Though things had generally improved on-board, the fragmentation of the previous unofficial hierarchy had done a number of the number and effectiveness of briefings.

    Eventually you discovered that the refit was expected to take nearly two months, which meant that you essentially had the next two months for yourself. While it was still winter here in the southern reaches of the home islands, it was warmer than it would be in Tokei, where there was usually snow and frost this time of year. Instead, there were only the torrential monsoon rains, which you didn't think were much better. So you packed your seabag and prepared for the long journey north. Longer if there was snow on the tracks or bad weather stopped the ferries, really.

    Your train didn't leave until the next morning and despite your initial thought of going to a hotel, your feet carried you almost without thinking to a familiar little building labeled 'Kishimoto Hardware, Home Goods, & Sundries.' You hesitated at the foot of the stairs for ten minutes, prevaricating on whether it was fair or not for you to intrude on the hospitality of the Kishimoto family, but the memories of the warm welcome and friendly nature of your friend's family induced you at last to climb the steps and tug on the little bell rope outside the door. At first, you thought that perhaps no one was home, but then the door finally opened to reveal the familiar form of Kishimoto Yasuko. When she saw you, she gasped.

    "Lieutenant Arisukawa! We weren't expecting you! Come in out of that rain before you catch your death of cold, hurry!" Before you could explain or beg forgiveness for intruding, you found yourself hustled inside, stripped out of your soaked clothing and before you knew it you were planted in the family room next to a warm little stove in a dry kimono, listening to Yasuko chatter about how nice it was to see you.

    "I'm really very sorry to impose on your hospitality, Mrs. Kishimoto. I can really just get a hotel, I just wanted to stop in and see how you all were--"

    "Nonsense. Hideaki is at sea still--he'll be back for the wedding, you know--and you can take his room this time. It's no trouble at all. Really! We're so glad to see you back." You smiled and soon there was a hot pot of tea on the table and you found yourself relaxing. Well and truly relaxing. This place was tiny and humble and in your own experience, more than a little rustic but it felt warm and welcoming and… homey. More homey than the massive mansion you were returning to up north with it's dozens of rooms and legion of servants.

    "I'M HOME!" Aiko's voice was accompanied by the crash of the front door slamming open.

    "AIKO! DON'T SLAM THE DOOR! WE HAVE A GUEST!" They did this routine every single time.

    You turned to see Aiko come through into the family room, carrying two large bags in her hands. "I know I was just out to get the mail but I kinda passed by Echigoya and they had-" You didn't learn what they had, because the moment she saw you she threw the bags across the room in shock and let out a sort of half-gasp, half-squeak.

    "HARUNA! I mean, um, Ensign, um Lieutenant, um Arisukawa, um. Hi." She stumbled.

    "Hello, Aiko." You managed in return.

    "How, um, have you been?" Aiko seemed to have changed a lot. She was wearing her hair different, and… well, there was no other word for it. She was dressed like a westerner, with a long skirt and a blouse and small jacket. She even wore her hair in foreign-style braids.

    "I'm… good. Yourself?" She knew from the letters you'd exchanged that you were a stressed out mess. No point going into that now.

    (Mrs. Kishimoto busied herself in the background collecting the dropped bags and stacking them neatly. She could give lessons to the servants back home, you swear.)

    "Um. I just sent you that letter… Spirits…" Aiko chewed at her lower lip for a moment and seemed… she actually seemed anxious to talk about whatever it was that had been in the letter.

    "Is everything okay? Is Hideaki alright?" If something had happened, Yasuko would have said so, right?

    "Oh! Yeah. Yeah, He's fine. Just… I applied for the Academy, you know? So I could sit for the entrance exams in January…." She started.

    You saw where this was going. You had encouraged her, but you knew privately there wasn't much hope.

    "They turned me down." She slumped a little. "On the basis of 'familial background.' Whatever that means. I dunno why, they let Hideaki in. And his grades weren't that much better than mine..."

    It means the Navy are run by a bunch of old grey fucks who are still bitter that the caste system got abolished and they can't test their swords on random passers-by and that sometimes they have to see an untouchable or Spirits forbid talk to commoners. The sort who wanted to keep their wives in special rooms with locks on the outside. They couldn't have that any longer, but they could still control who got to be in their precious officer corps based on whether an applicants grandparents wore swords or not.

    "It means that they were shortsighted, Aiko." You said. It wasn't quite the truth, but the truth felt too unpalatable to speak right now. "I'm sure you can find something else you want to do, though."

    She sort of flopped next to you. "Bleeeh. I guess. Still, I was hoping…"

    "I enjoy my career, but it's not all it's cracked up to be, I promise. The hours are long, the food is terrible, and the work can be backbreaking. My mother wanted me to stay out of the navy because it would mean doing work with my hands, even as an officer," you said with a small smile.

    "I'm sure your mother just wanted you to be safe, dear," Yasuko said. "I'm very proud of Hideaki, you know, but I do worry about him…"

    You talked a while long, just enjoying the warm conversation and tea. Aiko did have back-up plans, of course. She had taken a summer job at the shipyard working as a clerk, and might go back to that a while, or she might apply to a university. She was nervous about her grades, though, and the thought of entrance exams coming up in late January made her positively anxious. You tried to reassure and give her the best advice you could…

    [ ] Encourage her to apply to university. She's so smart, she could do it! You can't follow her when she gets talking about electronics in her letters. Electricity is the future, after all!
    [ ] A clerk position at a major shipyard is pretty good money right out of secondary school (you think) and it could mean a reliable and secure career in the future. Jobs like that were the backbone of the New Modern Economy that was all your dad ever talked about.
    [ ] She should work with her father in the hardware store. With Junji going into law and Hideaki in the Navy, someone will have to take over the family business, right? She has a good head for numbers and her finger on the pulse of what's new and fashionable, so she'd be invaluable for helping decide which new products to invest in and which are just a passing fad.
    [ ] Write In    ​
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • And that's the cost of a partial success, I believe...
     
    Shadows said:
    And that's the cost of a partial success, I believe...
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I was bracing for worse, honestly. It's not perfect but it's something, and as my professors would say: getting something is always better than getting nothing.

    (some days it feels like my life has been one partial success after another)

    So real talk what's the economy like these days in universe @Artificial Girl? I'm not well calibrated on what's important for your career and livelihood in this era.
     
    [X] Encourage her to apply to university. She's so smart, she could do it! You can't follow her when she gets talking about electronics in her letters. Electricity is the future, after all!
     
    Artificial Girl said:
    that infuriating New Independent politician who had the gall to ask you to dance and thus essentially owed you his life.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I assume this is basically "this is a major faux pa, but was private enough no one knows, and if Haruna mentioned it to a reporter he would quickly be out of a job? If not then i'm confused how that follows...

    Artificial Girl said:
    She saluted and headed out, and as you sat down, you realized something. With her service not nullified… you were no longer the first woman in the Navy. She was.

    Welp, second place isn't too bad?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Huh...i am morbidly curious how this would end up recorded/reported/etc in the West; given the ubiquity of accepting-trans*-as-valid in Akitsukuni and the equal ubiquity of not-even-knowing-what-that-is in the West, it seems likely to not even be noticed for quite a while, and then have lots of debate and less-than-pleasant rhetoric on the subject when it is noticed...

    Also, @Artificial Girl and @open_sketchbook how would you prefer us to report minor typos like this:
    Artificial Girl said:
    Longer if there was snow on the tracks of bad weather stopped the ferries, really.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    (presumably 'or if')
    Just post in thread and tag whichever of you posted the update, tag both, post in thread but in a spoiler to make it less of an eyesore to other posters, PM, etc?

    Crasian01 said:
    I was bracing for worse, honestly. It's not perfect but it's something, and as my professors would say: getting something is always better than getting nothing.

    (some days it feels like my life has been one partial success after another)

    So real talk what's the economy like these days in universe @Artificial Girl? I'm not well calibrated on what's important for your career and livelihood in this era.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I mean, i dont think Haruna is all that well calibrated on that either :p
    Artificial Girl said:
    pretty good money right out of secondary school (you think)
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    (for that matter, Matsura "casually tips the paper girl literally several months worth of an adult factory worker's salary" Asuka likely isn't all that well calibrated on the subject anymore either :p)
     
    Last edited:
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Voting is open
    Back
    Top