>>By extension, that makes me think of what "early ironclad" fleet girls
>>would be like.
>
>More likely they're the (great)grandmothers of the current girls, as
>we all know the purpose in life of our grandparents is to inspire us
>or embarrass us, depending on the situation.

Heh. Considering this further, it occurs to me that it wouldn't really fit the motif to have fleet girls of ships that had been sunk or dismantled before WWII began (with the exception of Miyuki, presumably because her class was still in service, that particular ship had just suffered an Unfortunate Accident before the war). Which, in turn, reminded me that the battleship Mikasa, though hopelessly outmoded and long since non-operational, did still exist as a museum ship at the time (and indeed still does today - thanks in no small part, I'm weirdly pleased to learn, to Chester Nimitz).

Which makes me think that, in-setting, she's working at whatever the Japanese equivalent of Whitehall is, kickin' back at Naval Headquarters far from the actual shootin'. Even more old-fashioned than Hōshō; probably in essence the Naval Headquarters office lady, but dropping the occasional strategic insight in with the coffee. :)

>Well, if we wanted real consistency, then the Kongō girls would be
>old women, as Kongō herself is so old that she actually served in
>both world wars. She's actually older than Hōshō, who is usually
>depicted as the fleet's mother figure.

"Old women" is a little harsh; Kongō was commissioned in 1913, which would make her not even 30 when the war began. I suppose it could be argued that that is fairly old for a warship of the period (when battleships, in particular, were evolving so fast that they were occasionally obsolescent before they were finished), but certainly not by human standards. Besides - good bone structure. :)

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
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