The Review Box:

Guest review: I was waffling back when I first wrote this on if I should have done that, but I decided on this instead. Don't worry- it's changing.

Z. L. C genesmith: I just use Merry's artistic interpretations (she drew a base version and a retro), tbh. It would make sense for either.

.1: Speak not the name of the demon, witch.

Nameless King: Believe me, any headache you feel reading the crap I've posted, I've felt at least tenfold reading back over it. In fact, I'm just calling everything up to maybe chapter 10 a fever dream and acting like it never happened.

darksilver reaper: This is a bit hard to parse, so I'm going to try and answer as best I can: If you're talking about the list in the second chapter, I'm not even bothering to look at it because it's way too overambitious. I wrote that not really thinking because I didn't exactly go into this with a solid plan. If you're talking about the list of research ships in chapter 16, then the 17 ships that are considered to be research ships in Azur Lane are there. The rest of the list are other 'paper' ships featured in World of Warships that I plan on finding versions of online, if not bullshitting a shipgirl entirely, for. Since they're designs and not actual ships, they will be a one-off shipgirl, with no 'class' unless otherwise stated (such as Pommern being the 'third' Friedrich der Große 'class' battleship). As for having a 'thing' for Azur Lane ships, I don't really know what you mean by that- originally this story was planned to be a blend of Kantai Collection and Azur Lane shipgirls before I eventually decided to focus on Azur Lane due to being able to actually play the game making the source material far more accessible. Kancolle fans malding about Azur Lane being more popular should really be angry at the developer of Kancolle refusing to make it available internationally in an official capacity.

By the way, I'm answering these because I either forgot or because guest reviews. Which the site doesn't like. Also I didn't answer through DM like I usually do because I figured I should just leave it all in here. And I'm not answering the reviews after the last one because it's been too long for me to even look at them.

"Hey, Admiral." I glanced up. Standing in front of me was a short girl- probably a destroyer- holding a sheet and clipboard. "We're out of fuel oil."

"You're out of fuel oil." I repeated.

"Out of fuel oil." She parroted back.

"Out of fuel oil." Wait, how the… "How the fuck are we out of fuel oil?! I send out commissions every day!"

"Those just bring in extra credits and scrap metal." The destroyer replied. "Asteroids don't have oil in them."

"Makes sense, I guess…" I muttered. "I thought you girls all ran on reactors now?"

"No."

"Well, that's nice." I grumbled, reaching over to set up a call.

"What do you mean 'we don't have any oil reserves'?!"

"Oh dear." Atago was slightly concerned as she stood outside the door to the office.

"We are literally at the most technologically advanced point in our history and you don't know how to restart an industry that's only been dead for three centuries!?"

"I suspect the Admiral is not in a very good mood." Takao said, a hand on her katana, even with a solid steel door between her and her angry superior officer.

"You do that before I have you hauled in front of HIGHCOM FOR UTTER INCOMPETENCE, YOU BABY-FACED DIPSHIT! Have a good day."

The severe change in tone was almost enough to give the two heavy cruisers whiplash as they entered the office.

"Morning Atago, Takao." I greeted, typing away.

"Er… morning?" Both of them looked hesitant, for some reason.

"So, I hear one of you two is my secretary for the day?" I said.

"Ah, yes. I am." Atago said.

"Good, good. Take a seat and we can get started. I have to finish writing this letter." I said, cheerily. The heavy cruiser did so, her sister departing as I finished the letter and sent it along. Let the politicians figure out how to frame resuming oil drilling, refinement, and of course, PR. My job was to make sure my girls didn't starve to death, and though they ran on food just fine, their preference for oil as a drink meant some schmuck in some office somewhere had to suck it up for once and-

"Admiral?"

"Yes, Atago?" I asked.

"Your desk is creaking." Indeed, as I looked down, the desk was creaking. The top was a solid slab of metal, but there wasn't much under it, with the slab being only three inches thick, so it made sense. I relaxed the grip I'd put on it after sending the letter.

"Right, right…" I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm the twinge in my forehead that I felt developing. "Let's get started, then."

Approximately two hours later, the surprisingly small amount of logistical work was done- running a fleet that, as it turned out, was only a few dozen 'ships' strong took less time to sort through the bureaucracy for than a fleet of a few dozen warships crewed by thousands of men and women- even the paperwork for the Infinity's crew took longer to go through.

This, of course, had led to Atago asking things about me.

"So, Admiral… do you have any siblings?"

"I… did." I said. "Not anymore."

"Did you drift apart?"

"Not so much that as the last time I saw her I yelled at her because I thought she ran off and joined a group of sociopathic idiots and didn't even call me for about five years." I said. "She died a month later when Reach fell."

"Oh… I see." Atago said, momentarily surprised.

"But enough about me." I said, kicking my feet up on my desk as I regarded the heavy cruiser. "What about yours? I know the lead ship of your class is here too."

"Ah yes, little sis." Atago giggled. "She's so self-serious. I swear, if she could, she would have the entire bushido code inscribed into her eyelids so she could see it even when she sleeps."

"Hehe… wait, really?" I imagine that wouldn't be fun to have done. How do you tattoo the inside of someone's eyelids anyways?

"Probably. She always asks me why I have to act like I'm the big sister, even though I was commissioned a day before she was." The cruiser leaned back, looking slightly off into the distance. "She probably saw my leadership of the division as an affront to her honor, or something. She is the nameship of the class."

"Fascinating." There was only so much I could do there- I could pick brains all I wanted but that didn't make me a therapist or anything. My communicator beeped- a commission team was back.

"Oh! Let's go greet the team that just came back!" And just like that, Atago was up, pulling me out of my chair, and leading us out the door, a firm grip on my hand, but not running. There's that at least.

She'd probably have wrenched my arm out of the socket.

As I figured, Atago was very huggy with the commission team, but it wasn't anything too inappropriate. I took the opportunity to note down what exactly the fleet was bringing back.

Some notes, some ores from mined asteroids, and some credits. Also given to me was two cubes, which I gave off to Atago to take to the R&D division so I wouldn't accidentally summon a new shipgirl.

Not much else happened that day, though I did make a request of HQ that they'd probably grant. Even if these shipgirls were supposed to lead themselves in battle, having an overarching commander wouldn't be a bad idea.

That left me and Atago standing in front of the door to her room in the Japanese cruiser section of the dorms.

"I'd say today was a productive day, Admiral!" Atago said, opening her arms. "Now, hug your big sister goodnight so we can get started again tomorrow!"

I just looked at her for a moment before my brain decided to start working again. "Big sister? When did you decide that?"

"I was thinking about it this morning, but I decided on it when you told me about your sister." Atago said, still holding her arms out. "You sounded like you need a big sister, so I'll be your big sister!"

"I- what would that entail, anyways?" I asked, pointedly avoiding eye contact and settling on her ears. Her fluffy, very dog-like ears.

"Lots of things, but most important is knowing when you don't feel your best. And I know you don't feel your best. You use alcoholism as a shield for your past, your work as a way to forget. You don't want to get close to us because you know what it's like to lose a sister. Well, so do I. I may have sank first of my sisters, but the pain as I sank beneath the waves, not knowing how they would fare? It's all the same, and that's why I want to be your big sister. Not to replace your lost sister- so you can accept her." Her serious tone evaporated almost as fast as it came. Her ears flicked. "Now, hug!"

"Fine." I grumbled, letting Atago hug me. She pulled my head down so it was over her shoulder as I awkwardly put my arms somewhere around her waist. After a minute she released me, and I immediately turned on my heel and walked off.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" The heavy cruiser called after me.

So.

I'm not dead.

I'm also not going to mince words, I haven't been feeling the writing thing for a long time. Not for this, at least. I still want to finish it, but I'm kind of not sure how to.

All I have to say is thank you, I guess, to the people who keep following and favoriting this zombified mess of a story, even though I'm half-tempted to put it down myself.