No Smoking Allowed

"What part of 'Contents May Explode' don't you understand!?" Independent RP blog for the Kantai Collection iteration of one USS Firedrake, Mount Hood-class ammunition ship. Selective, irregular, mutuals-only, multiship. Please read rules before interaction.

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[kakokaini-deactivated20210902]

underprcssure‌:

Fortunately, Firedrake’s rigging wasn’t too difficult to deal with. Once she’d entered the port, all she had to do was unsnap a few buckles and lift it off, letting out a sigh of relief that she’d made it to her destination properly. Her legs were just a bit wobbly from the transition from sea to land, but no doubt she’d be getting used to that quickly enough. More importantly…

“Well, I gotta go make my report to the commander and tell ‘em I’ve arrived. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that, all the way up here, heh. I’ll meet you in a couple hours and we can figure out whatever the heck dinner’s gonna be, sound good?” Actually making dinner, that was going to be a new one. Firedrake almost always just went to the cafeteria when she needed something to eat.

“That’s okay, I’ll write my stuff and submit it later. Since I wasn’t delivering anything I only need to write what I used.” Haida took a bit longer to get out, the heavier guns and rig needed to be handled properly. Once she had it off Haida rolled her shoulders to stretch, “I’ll be in my assigned room. So whenever you arrive.”

“Just give it a few knocks and come in, I’ll leave it unlocked. I’ll get everything together so we can move to cook right away. I gotta recheck that recipe she told me to make after all.”

[underprcssure]

It would be a good few hours before Haida actually did see Firedrake again. After she had delivered her supplies, the ammo carrier did want to investigate the base some before coming back, after all, finding out all of the key locations and even a couple of good local bars and restaurants she could visit if she felt the need. Hopefully with Haida, there wouldn’t be any need, though.

Having finally found the right room, Firedrake knocked as she had been told, waiting a few seconds out of sheer overcaution before she actually stepped inside. “Haida, I’m here!” she called out, as if there was any further need to confirm her presence. “I hope I didn’t take too long, I kinda got lost for a little while exploring... just for a while though!”

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[kakokaini-deactivated20210902]

underprcssure‌:

“Heheh, well, I can certainly give it a shot! And I’m sure you can make extra points that way, right?” Firedrake was quick to reply, honestly more than a little excited by the idea. She tried not to let it show too much, but it was visible on her face. “Just don’t blame me if I’m not gonna be any good at it. You’re probably gonna have to hold my hand through most of it, heh.”

“Ah! The base!” The redhead shouted all of a sudden, pointing towards the distant landmass that had so recently become visible. “Heh, we’re close now! Let’s see if I can get any more speed out!” Firedrake took a deep breath, focusing on her rigging and willing it to help her glide as fast as possible… she did manage an increase, at least! Though, Haida would still barely need to try to keep up with her. The sorrow of being an ammo ship.

“As long as you help me clean up whatever mess we make.” Haida answered, keeping herself moving steadily as the base started to come into view. Time passing nice and fast for them as they talked, made long trips like this that much easier to deal with.

“Don’t push yourself too hard..” The destroyer making an effort but really, Firedrake’s speed was still slow. Though Haida didn’t mock her or anything, just cruised alone side till they entered port, allowing them to de-rig and hop out of the salty water for a bit.

[underprcssure]

Fortunately, Firedrake’s rigging wasn’t too difficult to deal with. Once she’d entered the port, all she had to do was unsnap a few buckles and lift it off, letting out a sigh of relief that she’d made it to her destination properly. Her legs were just a bit wobbly from the transition from sea to land, but no doubt she’d be getting used to that quickly enough. More importantly...

“Well, I gotta go make my report to the commander and tell ‘em I’ve arrived. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that, all the way up here, heh. I’ll meet you in a couple hours and we can figure out whatever the heck dinner’s gonna be, sound good?” Actually making dinner, that was going to be a new one. Firedrake almost always just went to the cafeteria when she needed something to eat.

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[kakokaini-deactivated20210902]

underprcssure‌:

“Huh… that’s actually kinda cute,” Firedrake admitted, resisting the urge to giggle at the story. She wouldn’t have expected someone like Haida to give a story like that, but here she was. “I can try to help you with the cooking if you want, but I don’t think I’m gonna be any better than you are… still, we can at least hope it turns out good, right?”

“As for hobbies, though… I mean, checking out the engineers stuff counts as a hobby, right? I’d like to be able to do at least light field repair at some point, so I’m not just a floating, you know, pile of explosives. Though I guess putting it that way it’s not really a hobby so much…” Firedrake was slowly coming to the realization that she had no real hobbies to speak of. Just more things she did for work. “Jeez, I’m more boring than I thought…”

Haida rubbed her hands through her own hair with a slight tint of pink from some embarrassment. “It was a very surprising meeting, I didn’t expect someone to be so open and welcoming. Though I think she was just as lonely as we were and welcomed the company.” The Canadian pulled her hands back to her front from her hair. “I think its worth a shot.”

“I guess we’re both in the same boat, boring. Well boring to others, I think its nice that you’re trying to work into something else. But I would enjoy your help with cooking, even if we suck…maybe Alisa will forgive me because I tried to make it with a friend or something huh?”

[underprcssure]

“Heheh, well, I can certainly give it a shot! And I’m sure you can make extra points that way, right?” Firedrake was quick to reply, honestly more than a little excited by the idea. She tried not to let it show too much, but it was visible on her face. “Just don’t blame me if I’m not gonna be any good at it. You’re probably gonna have to hold my hand through most of it, heh.”

“Ah! The base!” The redhead shouted all of a sudden, pointing towards the distant landmass that had so recently become visible. “Heh, we’re close now! Let’s see if I can get any more speed out!” Firedrake took a deep breath, focusing on her rigging and willing it to help her glide as fast as possible... she did manage an increase, at least! Though, Haida would still barely need to try to keep up with her. The sorrow of being an ammo ship.

[underprcssure]

Poor Firedrake, Poor Poor Firedrake. It's Halloween in Scapa and an miserable frost has crept in with a thick fog. The wind howls rattling the windows, the crows caw in the night. But worst of all is what looks to be something in the corner of your eyes. A little person scuttling along but vanishes when you turn to look. What could it be!?

A miserable frost, a thick fog, and to top it all off, it was a windy Halloween at, of all places, Scapa Flow. What cursed God had driven her to this place at this time of year, Firedrake didn’t know, but just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, already jittery from the atmosphere, she heard and thought she saw something... moving.

“W-what was that!?” she shouts as she turns to face whatever it was, only to find... nothing. Was she having fear hallucinations? Or was it just that quick? A nervous whining escaped Firedrake’s lips - she did not know the answer. The best thing to do now was obvious - back away and look for some place more populated.

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[kakokaini-deactivated20210902]

underprcssure‌:

“What do I do on base?” Probably a pretty good question to ask, though Firedrake didn’t consider it too much. “You mean aside from listen to my radio and wait for my next assignment? Not all that much, really. Sometimes I do what I can to help out the engineers in the armory, but a lot of the time it’s all foreign to me, you know?” Considering the amount of different bases she’d been to, after all…

“I wouldn’t mind getting to taste test stuff, though! I’ll try to be the best judge I can!” she promised, a smile on her face at the thought. Military food wasn’t bad for sure, but whatever Haida could make would hopefully be better. “Who told you something like that, though? Seems like a weird order, you know?”

“No hobbies at all?” Haida inquired, though she was just like that till not long ago, no hobbies, just resting and waiting without much aim till the next sortie came. Sort of like a weapon, service ready and always waiting. At least till she made a stop in the UK.

“A few months ago I was delayed over on base, I took some time to go looking for a candy shop with a friend. The shop was gone, but we ended up meeting the owners granddaughter. It helped me with some issues but, before we left she heard us say with didn’t do anything around the base. And now she said we had to cook a meal a stop, and send her a picture..its not that bad, its weird and I’m not really good at cooking yet.”

[underprcssure]

“Huh... that’s actually kinda cute,” Firedrake admitted, resisting the urge to giggle at the story. She wouldn’t have expected someone like Haida to give a story like that, but here she was. “I can try to help you with the cooking if you want, but I don’t think I’m gonna be any better than you are... still, we can at least hope it turns out good, right?”

“As for hobbies, though... I mean, checking out the engineers stuff counts as a hobby, right? I’d like to be able to do at least light field repair at some point, so I’m not just a floating, you know, pile of explosives. Though I guess putting it that way it’s not really a hobby so much...” Firedrake was slowly coming to the realization that she had no real hobbies to speak of. Just more things she did for work. “Jeez, I’m more boring than I thought...”

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[kakokaini-deactivated20210902]

underprcssure‌:

Now that it had been settled, Firedrake quickly took on a genuine smile - she didn’t get to bond with her escorts to a level like this that much, and who knows, it could be a lot of fun! “Well, then, I’ll certainly do my best to try! We shouldn’t be too far from the base now, right?” She figured they had to have been traveling for some time now, after all, though Haida would know better than her. “I’ll have to unload my rigging and do some paperwork first, but I should be at the base for a good few weeks at least. That should give us some time, right?”

“I think probably one more nice topic and we’ll be in sight and communications.” They had made some good ground and some good talk so far, it was nice to talk to something from the same generation, really nice. “I’ll be on for a week before needing to head back. But I’m sure we could cover a lot of ground.”

“Though what do you do on base when you’re stuck there? I’ve been told by someone I met that I have to cook a meal every so often. Think maybe in between our practice and whatever you’re doing..you could be a guinea pig for taste testing? I promise..I won’t kill you with it.”

[underprcssure]

“What do I do on base?” Probably a pretty good question to ask, though Firedrake didn’t consider it too much. “You mean aside from listen to my radio and wait for my next assignment? Not all that much, really. Sometimes I do what I can to help out the engineers in the armory, but a lot of the time it’s all foreign to me, you know?” Considering the amount of different bases she’d been to, after all...

“I wouldn’t mind getting to taste test stuff, though! I’ll try to be the best judge I can!” she promised, a smile on her face at the thought. Military food wasn’t bad for sure, but whatever Haida could make would hopefully be better. “Who told you something like that, though? Seems like a weird order, you know?”

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[kakokaini-deactivated20210902]

underprcssure‌:

“Ah, no, no, no! That’s not it at all!” Firedrake was quick to correct herself here, holding her arms out and waving them in an emphatic negative gesture. “Definitely not anything like that. I was just… okay, lemme… so you’ve got guns, right? So obviously they have ammo that you carry, so you’ve gotta have a place to put it. Somewhere in your rigging, not in you! That’s what I was saying, that’s why you’d make a better ammo carrier than I would a fighter.”

With that said, Firedrake could calm down some, though the embarrassment still showed on her cheeks. “Anyway, about learning to fight… as long as you’re not expecting too much, I can certainly try it. It’s not like I have much else to do when I’m at base, you know? You can’t really participate in exercises or anything like that. At least, not the kind that fighting ships do.” She could and did do her own exercises, of course, but those were exclusively about dodging fire - a situation she hoped never to be in.

Haida rolled her shirt down again and stared at Firedrake, letting the girl explain that she only meant her ability to store ammo aboard her rig, and comparing it to Firedrake’s ability for fight. But Haida didn’t take that admission too easily, sure she could transport a lot but nothing said Firedrake couldn’t learn to box a bit.

“Then its settled. I’ll teach you some stuff, you don’t need to be good but wanting to learn is always fun. And I always wished I had someone to learn new fighting skills with, Like how in tae kwon do they have show matches that the participants go through the motions with each other. I sort of want to do that with someone.” 

“You’ll be as fit and strong as me then too.” She pat her chest.

[underprcssure]

Now that it had been settled, Firedrake quickly took on a genuine smile - she didn’t get to bond with her escorts to a level like this that much, and who knows, it could be a lot of fun! “Well, then, I’ll certainly do my best to try! We shouldn’t be too far from the base now, right?” She figured they had to have been traveling for some time now, after all, though Haida would know better than her. “I’ll have to unload my rigging and do some paperwork first, but I should be at the base for a good few weeks at least. That should give us some time, right?”

[kantaiturnerjoy-blog]

Firedrake and the Eel

[kantaiturnerjoy-blog]

underprcssure‌:

For her part, Firedrake had decided to try the ramen - since she was stopped in Japan, this seemed like the best possible place to try it, and she was blissfully enjoying it when she was accosted, blinking in surprise at the fact that someone was trying to talk to her. Sure, a few people did, but most just left well enough alone.

“You wanna sit here? With me?” She seemed a bit suspicious, but after another bite of ramen, she waved the strange girl to the other side of the table. She might as well, it wasn’t like she was antisocial. “If you want to, sure. I can’t really say I know anyone here yet. My name’s Firedrake, I’m an ammo carrier. How about you?”

“Ah. Risa, heavy cruiser. I apologize if this is a little strange.” Risa took a seat next to the redheaded cargo ship with a nod. “It’s a rather nice evening out, isn’t it?”

She began mixing her rice and curry idly, letting the food cool down before she tried to dig into it. 

“Although maybe small talk is just a little weird right now… you seem well traveled, Firedrake. Being a supply ship, you must go all sorts of places, right?”

[underprcssure]

Risa. Risa, Risa... that wasn’t a name that Firedrake was familiar with, but that didn’t really mean anything in this day and age. If she had to guess, the name probably sounded Italian, or maybe French or Spanish... she didn’t know. In any case, she seemed like she was the type to get to the point, which worked out well for the ammo carrier.

“Heh, well, I’ve been around a bit, yeah!” she nodded between her own bites, happy to talk to someone who was actually interested in something she did. “I spend most of my time in the Pacific, but I’ve gotten to cross the Panama a few times, so that’s nice. Why, is there some place you’re interested in? I could probably tell you a few things.” Needless to say she was more than happy to open up.

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[kakokaini-deactivated20210902]

underprcssure‌:

“Haaanh!? Me? C-come, on, you’ve gotta be kidding me!” Haida had to have gone crazy there - Firedrake was an ammo carrier, she barely even qualified as a warship! She had one gun turret and barely enough horsepower to keep herself going! Still, after the few moments of shock at the idea… “I mean, sorry. Maybe you are serious, but I’m about as good a fighter as you are an ammo carrier. Probably worse, since you’ve got, you know, ammo holds, and I… y-you know what, forget the metaphor. There’s no way I’d be any good at something like that. Right? …Right?”

“Its not like you’ll actually fight. But if you’re looking for ways to pass the time on land, without our rigs. I could teach you some stuff.” Haida shifted closer, patting the girl’s back as she seemed to fluster a bit in shock. “Ammo holds?”

“Are you saying I’m fat?” The Canadian missed the meaning, looking down at herself, pulling up her shirt a little to see. She was fit, muscled even, so the girl was well confused on what part of her could be ammo holds.

[underprcssure]

“Ah, no, no, no! That’s not it at all!” Firedrake was quick to correct herself here, holding her arms out and waving them in an emphatic negative gesture. “Definitely not anything like that. I was just... okay, lemme... so you’ve got guns, right? So obviously they have ammo that you carry, so you’ve gotta have a place to put it. Somewhere in your rigging, not in you! That’s what I was saying, that’s why you’d make a better ammo carrier than I would a fighter.”

With that said, Firedrake could calm down some, though the embarrassment still showed on her cheeks. “Anyway, about learning to fight... as long as you’re not expecting too much, I can certainly try it. It’s not like I have much else to do when I’m at base, you know? You can’t really participate in exercises or anything like that. At least, not the kind that fighting ships do.” She could and did do her own exercises, of course, but those were exclusively about dodging fire - a situation she hoped never to be in.

[kantaiturnerjoy-blog]

Firedrake and the Eel

[underprcssure]

kantaiturnerjoy‌:

“Hey, stranger. You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”

An unfamiliar girl stood next to the seated Firedrake, her voice rising above the murmured clamor of the supply depot’s cafeteria. She was well-dressed and had neat, short black hair, with noticeably blue eyes that stood out even in the low light. She was carrying a tray piled high with rice and curry, and a soda on the side. 

While she awaited Firedrake’s answer, she maintained her friendly smile and rested her tray on the edge of the table. 

@underprcssure

For her part, Firedrake had decided to try the ramen - since she was stopped in Japan, this seemed like the best possible place to try it, and she was blissfully enjoying it when she was accosted, blinking in surprise at the fact that someone was trying to talk to her. Sure, a few people did, but most just left well enough alone.

“You wanna sit here? With me?” She seemed a bit suspicious, but after another bite of ramen, she waved the strange girl to the other side of the table. She might as well, it wasn’t like she was antisocial. “If you want to, sure. I can’t really say I know anyone here yet. My name’s Firedrake, I’m an ammo carrier. How about you?”

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[underprcssure]

kakokaini‌:

Haida looked over to the other, watching them process the story she told them but not rushing it at all. It was a rather wild story after all, one that played out over a year or more but she merely shared it all in the span of a single breath, barely two. “It does give me the chance to live a third time you could say, once as a ship, one as a girl, and a second time as a girl.”

“That was quite a terrible joke you know. Besides you never know, you could do it. If we’re stuck over in port at any point while working together, I can teach you a bit if you want. Some hand to hand never hurts. If you’re up for it.”

“Haaanh!? Me? C-come, on, you’ve gotta be kidding me!” Haida had to have gone crazy there - Firedrake was an ammo carrier, she barely even qualified as a warship! She had one gun turret and barely enough horsepower to keep herself going! Still, after the few moments of shock at the idea... “I mean, sorry. Maybe you are serious, but I’m about as good a fighter as you are an ammo carrier. Probably worse, since you’ve got, you know, ammo holds, and I... y-you know what, forget the metaphor. There’s no way I’d be any good at something like that. Right? ...Right?”

[mechanicaldaughter]

Local Thief

[underprcssure]

mechanicaldaughter‌:

It’s a Seal, Firedrake that’s a seal. You are trying to wrestle a seal, a pip at that. For shame. Naturally this seal fights back by bapping is’s paw against the ship girl. Not so fighting for the cutlery but to get this orange haired berk off her. Since it was a pup it didn’t have the strength to fight back too much and it was quickly pinned. However it’s just a seal pup. Why Firedrake? Why?

Firedrake was in no mood to be rational or logical. She was tired, she was hungry and she wanted to be able to relax and play some tunes on her radio - a radio that this seal just had to have. “Give me my radio, you...” she grunted, using all of the meager strength she had to try to pick the seal up off the ground and shake it until the electronic device fell out. Sadly, it was clear after a good 15 seconds of shaking that not only was she having any success, she was probably traumatizing the poor seal. With a heavy sigh, she set the thing down, though she kept a hand on it.

“I know you’re out there, whoever you are,” she started shouting out into the air. “If you come out, we can resolve things peacefully, but if not, I’m going to have to take drastic measures. And you don’t want that.” Though anyone who knew Firedrake would also know how helpless she was, especially without her rigging.

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[underprcssure]

kakokaini‌:

“Oh no its.” Haida shook her head, raising her hands and waving them back and forth as her gun slid to the side of her waist. “I’ve won a lot but you see, I’m a bit..well I think I died and now I’m here. I used to have black hair and bit a little darker.”

“Its okay I don’t mind talking about it, I tried to save an allied Admiral from a renegade ship girl. I overestimated my own capabilities and she was in rig, I was not. I ended up losing, but in a weird way. Through the power of friendship I was brought back, that’s a joke. A comatose girl inherited my rig and I filled the gap she had. So I’m me but not? I guess I died as a hero? Is that happy or sad I can’t tell?”

“Huh. That’s... quite the story, isn’t it?” The way Haida told it, Firedrake would need at least a few moments to process just what she’d been told, going over it in her mind. So she ended up failing to save the Admiral, it sounded like, but was able to be brought back to life through her rigging still being intact. Happy or sad? Firedrake didn’t know for sure herself.

“I don’t think I know the answer to that either, to be honest,” she admitted, “but it at least tells me you’ve lived a really interesting life. And whatever the outcome was, trying to attack a shipgirl with no rigging on is pretty damn brave. Hell, I don’t even think I’d risk trying to attack a shipgirl without rigging, if I had mine on. But then, I guess we’re not exactly in the same boat, are we?” She smirked at that - it was very much an intended pun.

[underprcssure]

Me: I’m going to do replies today! My computer: No you’re not, you’re going to finish repairing me first.

[underprcssure]

What the fuck is going on I can’t read semaphore

[mechanicaldaughter]

Local Thief

[underprcssure]

mechanicaldaughter‌:

However there was no person, not a single human being in sight as Firedrake rounded the corner. Instead there was grass, wind and a single seal sat on it’s belly. The seal however looked at Firedrake with it’s deep black eyes then looked away avoiding eye contact with the ship girl. It looked rather shifty, as much as a seal could. However one thing was off, on the floor in the glass was one piece of cutlery. A single spoon shining in the grass. The seal saw it too and not too subtly put it’s flipper over it while keeping it’s gaze turned away from Firedrake.

What?

A seal. That was beyond bizarre to find in such a place, and Firedrake froze in shock at seeing it, staring at it just as it stared back at her. After a moment, though, it turned away guiltily... and then moved its flipper to hide a spoon that FIredrake had just noticed. Strange as it was, there was only one conclusion she could possibly make - this seal was her mysterious thief.

“You! Gimme back my radio, you little rat!” she shouted, leaping forward to try to capture the thing. It couldn’t be all that nimble on dry land, so Firedrake kept her own movements simple, charging forward and trying her level best to wrap both of her arms around its body. How hard could it be to grab a seal?

[underprcssure]

Northern Rendezvous

[underprcssure]

kakokaini‌:

Catching up with ease, almost way too easy as Haida noted, keeping her words to herself she’d settle by Firedrake’s side to escort her. Trying her hardest not to laugh too loudly at the other’s playful imitation of a roar, like some red maned lion or something. 

“If its a bear mascot then? Then I’ll take that as a compliment.” The almost milk chocolate colored hair of hers followed the breeze as she blinked in response to the comment of her reliability. “Thank you. You know that means a lot to hear, I don’t actually go out of my way to fight but if I’m pulled into one I won’t really back down. Though the only story I really have isn’t a happy ending one.”

A red-maned lion would certainly be an interesting sight, though Firedrake was hardly as dangerous as that might suggest. The ammo carrier was hoping for something cool, though her mood was dampened a little as Haida explained that she didn’t really have any upbeat stories.

“Ah, well, that’s kinda sad to hear. I thought you seemed like the type to come out on top a lot. Is it still a good story, though?” Hell, even one that ended badly might still be fun to listen to. “Or is that the kind of thing that you don’t really want to talk about?”