Roaming_Guardian said:

Do we really need shipgirl vets? Aside from the rare exceptions like Grim Reaper who represents a fighter squadron, all shipgirl pets would be normal animals handled by normal, human vets.

You could argue the rensouhou need taking care of beyond normal shipgirl repairs, but since those are turrets and not animals a repair ship like Akashi can handle them.

I don't think we need any shipgirls specifically being vets, though those with animals could pick up some knowledge of their behaviours and how to treat/handle them when they're not on top form. I can see several Devonport girls picking up some knowledge just through osmosis, though that doesn't mean they're qualified to treat other animals.


Cedric said:

Ooi will try to gift herself bathed in chocolate to Kitakami and be rejected anyway…

The Budgie Admiral said:

I love this mental image. Thank you. Might even make this a rule and write something for it.

I blame you two for this. No rule number, just a scene spawned from comments. If anyone wants to try coming up with a rule, I can add it in.

By Grathryn


Valentine's Day was always interesting, particularly around the various shipgirl bases, as people panicked and attempted to find that ideal gift for their love ones or tried to ensure that they were the ones with particular people. Of course, shipgirls, being military, often had the additional issue of having to go on a sortie at exactly the wrong time.

For Yokosuka Fleet Activities, however, there was an additional hazard in the form of a flying Ooi, usually after she had attempted once again to get into her sister ship's pants in some manner. It was that particular hazard that Felicity Jordan, the shipgirl HMS Defence, ran afoul of heading back to the cruiser dorms.

One moment she was walking along normally, the next she was being splattered in melted chocolate and staggered under the weight of Ooi slamming into her from the second storey window. An Ooi who was naked except for being covered in more melted chocolate.

Grunting under the weight as she took a step backwards, Felicity managed to hold her ground even as her muscles strained to handle the sudden impact of five thousand tons of light cruiser.

"Okay… seriously, what the bloody fuck, girl?" Felicity asked as she managed to steady herself. Dropping Ooi's feet to the ground, she pushed the girl back to arm's length once she was steady, ignoring the chocolate splatting her uniform. "What the hell happened this time, Ooi?" she asked, recognising the other cruiser.

Ooi sniffed, rubbing her arm across her nose before attempting to wipe her eyes only to be stopped by Felicity. "I-I… it was for Kitakami," she admitted.

Shaking her head, Felicity sighed. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. Even with as close as we are to the equator, running around in chocolate can't be fun," she paused and looked down at herself, sighing again. "And I need a fresh set of clothes myself." Pulling her jacket off, she flipped it around and wrapped it around Ooi, having her crew make a note to give it a thorough scrubbing to get the chocolate off it before leading the lighter cruiser back to her quarters and sending her to take a shower.

Half an hour later, with both of them clean and wearing dressing gowns, Felicity poured Ooi a shot of whiskey, before setting a glass for herself. "Want to talk about it?" she asked.

Shifting around to look at Felicity, Ooi blinked a couple of times before taking the whiskey and throwing it back, only to end up in a coughing fit. Once she recovered, she sighed. "I… you know I have a thing for Kitakami, right?" she asked.

"Pretty sure everyone knows about it unless they're new to everything," Felicity replied, sipping her own whiskey. "And the fact more often than not she's been rejecting you to the point there's been some chases around here."

Ooi nodded morosely. "Things… got out of hand, more than once," she admitted. "I just… I wanted to do something nice for her, to try to make up for it, it was supposed to be just a dance and show, maybe she'd…" she trailed off and flushed bright red. "She'd clean some of it off me," she managed.

Felicity gave Ooi a sidelong look. "I'm going to take it that things didn't go anywhere near what you'd planned and she threw you out the window, not knowing who might be walking by." She got a nod from Ooi, the girl resting her elbows on her knees and dropping her head.

"I just… why does she keep doing things like this? Why can't I get her to admit her feelings for me? I know she's got some, but she doesn't show them. She'd rather teach the destroyers about torpedoes than spend time with me, even as sisters." Ooi squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her hands into fists so tight that the glass she was still holding shattered, spraying shards.

Taking a breath, Felicity set aside her own glass and pulled the smaller cruiser into her lap. "Ooi…" she trailed off for a moment before sighing, "Actually, do you want me to use your ship name or your human name?" she asked.

Ooi sniffled, curling slightly. "Eh… um… m-my real name is Tsujihara Kiko… you can-you can use it if you want."

Felicity nodded, shifting slightly as she started rubbing Kiko's back gently. "Alright then, Kiko, I'll be honest, I'm an outsider so you don't have to take my advice. That said, honestly, I think you should take a step back and let Kitakami have some breathing room." She gave the girl a warning squeeze when she felt Kiko shift. "I don't mean stop everything, but have you ever seen horses?" she asked.

"W-what do horses have to do with my love?" Kiko asked.

"They bolt, the stamp, they kick and they bite, especially when they're scared and threatened, even if that is in their head," replied Felicity. "Kitakami is honestly acting like a spooked horse, especially because you've been chasing her all over. Keep it up and she might do worse than throw you out a window." She closed her eyes, leaning back slightly. "Probably the best thing you can do right now, Kiko, is stop pushing. Let her know you're there for her, let her know she can cry on your shoulder to bend your ear about her worries, but stop chasing her. If she wants to go, let her, if she wants to talk to someone else, that's her choice.

"My sisters don't control who I talk to and if they tried I'd give them twelve six inch rounds somewhere painful. That said; I know I can talk to any of them about things or to any of the other girls at Devonport if I've got problems, even our commodore." Felicity shrugged, still rubbing Kiko's back. "You know," she said, reaching around Kiko to take a sip of her whiskey. "There's another reason for you stepping back a bit, I had a boyfriend once, a couple of them actually, the first was an arsehole, worse than you are, constantly trying to stop me talking with others or wanting to know where I was and what I was doing. I dumped his arse in three months, only a month after he started that shit. My second was as good of a guy as you could find, wanted me to get through college and university, wanted my dreams to come true," She smiled slightly, "wanted me happy. He didn't have too much money, but he was a good guy. He's the one that taught me how to ride, how to whisper horses, what to look for in them to say they were happy, how to tell if they were spooked by something, a whole lot of things."

Kiko pulled back slightly to look at Felicity, hearing a certain amount of wistfulness in the other cruiser's voice. "What happened to him?" she asked.

Felicity closed her eyes and shook her head. "An abyssal battleship attacked, he protected me with his body, but it still tore him in half." She blinked as her eyes started to tear. "That's when I awoke; I still remember what happened and… part of why I haven't bothered with Valentine's the last few years is that I haven't found anyone to fill the hole."

"Aw jeez…" Kiko muttered, wincing. "You're going out of your way to help me when this day must hurt you even more," she said softly, reaching around to hug Felicity.

"It's not your fault," Felicity responded, shifting to hug Kiko back.

Kiko nodded slightly, leaning into the taller girl. "Uh… I hope I'm not being too forward, but… do you think I could stay here with you and your sisters? I… Kitakami would probably toss me back out if I tried going back to our room."

Felicity frowned thoughtfully. "We've got a spare bunk you can probably use, at least for tonight."

"Thank you, Defence," Kiko said.

"Felicity," Felicity told her, getting a worried look from Kiko. "I know your name; it's only fair you know mine. Felicity Jordan," she introduced herself.


A few days later Felicity approached Kitakami outside Yokosuka's mess hall. "Can we talk for a few minutes, Kitakami?" she asked the black haired light cruiser.

"Defence, right?" Kitakami asked, getting a nod. "I guess I've got a few minutes, I was just about to get something to eat though, if you want, you're welcome to join me."

Felicity nodded, indicating for Kitakami to lead the way. Once the pair had gotten their food and claimed a table, she started. "Firstly, I'd like to ask you for an apology. When you… evicted Ooi on Valentine's Day, you managed to send her into me, though I doubt it was intentional. You may also want to apologise to her as well, since if you'd sent her a bit lower… well, if it weren't for my guns, it's possible I'd be classed as a heavy cruiser, maybe armoured, and you might have been responsible for your sister getting near twenty thousand tonnes dropped on her."

Kitakami flinched and grimaced. "I…" She closed her eyes for a moment. "You're right, I'm sorry, but I really wasn't aiming at you. I didn't know you were there."

Felicity nodded again, watching Kitakami as she took the chance to eat some of the food. "I know, and I heard some of what happened from Ooi," she said, nodding at the other girl's sigh. "I did talk to her, how much it'll stick I don't know, but she does care for you from what I've seen."

"I know… she's just… she's just too much, especially all day, every day," Kitakami admitted. "I do care for her as well, but she's my sister. How wrong is it for that to be a thing? For someone to want to bed their own blood?" she asked.

Swirling her fork around in her noodles, Felicity frowned slightly. "Do you count her as a full sister?" she asked. "I mean, yes she's your sister ship, she's one of your ship class, but is she your sister by blood? Were both of you born to the same parents before you awoke?"

"I… never thought about it," admitted the ravenette softly. "I like Ooi, she's good looking for a girl, but… she's my sister ship, it'd be like trying to date Kuma or Tama."

"And how she acts scares you, doesn't it?" Felicity asked, getting a nod from Kitakami. "I asked her to tone it down when we talked, because I could see you were spooked, maybe enough to torpedo her." She took a bite of her noodles, chewing them slowly and swallowing before continuing. "I think you need to talk to her though, not run or try to avoid her advances, but actually talk. Maybe it won't change anything and you'll still get the same thing happen, but you've at least tried to get her to back down." She shifted, leaning back to look around the mess hall. "Worst case, you've got several dozen possible friends and your other sister ships, even if you don't have a human family any longer, and you could try transferring, even if only temporarily."

Kitakami nodded, frowning thoughtfully at her food. After several minutes with the pair eating in silence, she looked up. "Would you… would you be willing to be around if I talk to Ooi?"

Felicity blinked, looking up from her food. "Why me?" she asked. "I mean, why not someone from Yokosuka? Surely your friends or other sisters would be better to act as referee for a discussion."

"You…" Kitakami paused and flushed. "That is, you already seem to have gotten through to Ooi, and you seem to know what I'm going through. Even if you're not involved, or maybe it's better that you're not directly involved." She stopped to take a drink before looking up at Felicity. "Maybe everyone here is too close, and of those from other bases, you're the only one that seems to have actually bothered talking to either of us about it."

Frowning slightly, Felicity thought it over as she continued her meal for several bites before nodding. "Alright, but you'll probably need my number or email so I know where and when.


Straightening her dress for the fifth time since she had put it on, Kiko swallowed nervously as she and Kitakami stood in front of Felicity's door in Devonport. "Are-are you sure about this, Hisae-chan?" she asked, looking over at her sister shipgirl.

Hisae nodded, tugging the collar of her own, powder blue knee-length dress. "It's White Day, Kiko-chan, and Felicity-chan did help us," she replied. Taking a deep breath, she blew it out slowly before stepping up and ringing the bell.

A few moments later the door opened to reveal a redhead woman wearing a crop top and pair of jeans. "Can I help you two?"

"Yes, could you see if Defence is available and let her know that Ooi and Kitakami are here?" Hisae asked.

Pulling back, the woman turned into the dorm. "FLISS! YOUR DATES ARE HERE!"

"PRETTY SURE I'M THE CHAPERONE, NICKI!" Felicity called back. A few moments later, she appeared at the door in a simple green dress, her hair done up in a short ponytail. "Hey girls, anywhere in particular you wanted to head?" she asked.

Both girls blushed at the sight of the larger cruiser dressed to party. "W-well, you mentioned your hull was still in the memorial park, and that there were a few decent restaurants around, didn't you?" Kiko asked, trying to get her blush under control. She was a Kitakami-sexual, damn it.

"Sure, if that's what you want as well, Hisae," Felicity said, getting a nod from the ravenette. "Alright, though I'm not sure why you want to visit my hull." She turned to her class sister. "Nicki, you mind telling the others not to wait up? We should be back by around ten, but you never know."

Nicki nodded. "Sure, have fun on your date, Fliss," she said.

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I'm the chaperone, Nicki." She muttered as Nicki closed the door behind them. Shaking her head, she led the two torpedo cruisers down to where her car was parked, not seeing them share a look.

"If-if it's alright, Felicity," Hisae started. "We don't mind making this into a group rather than a date with a chaperone."


Felicity = Felicity Jordan/HMS Defence
Kiko = Tsujihara Kiko/IJN Ooi
Hisae = Kyoya Hisae/IJN Kitakami
Nicki = Nicki Calhoun/HMS Hawke

In terms of the end, it's deliberately vague, but I'm not intending on having Fliss end up in a three way, it's more a case of the pair decided to party more than date and they've not seen her dressed up so they're a bit flustered by it.