Kimi no Na Iowa



Kimi no Na Iowa, also known as your (name is) Iowa, is a Kantai Collection/Your Name Alternate Universe, Continuation and Fusion Fic cowritten by max_and_emilytate and WarpObscura, with art from bapjart, Hiroki Ree and melisaongmiqin. It can be found at Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.Net, SpaceBattles and Sufficient Velocity. It ran from February 2017 to December 2021 and was initially marked complete, but returned in June 2022 after a Creator Breakdown-induced hiatus.

''' WARNING! Unmarked Late Arrival Spoilers ahead for Your Name and the rest of Makoto Shinkai's filmography. Beware. '''

In one universe, Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu reunite at a certain staircase, and their story ends.

In another, Uileag Greer and Ayaka Godai discover that theirs is not over yet. Aquatic hostiles codenamed "abyssals" emerge to wage war on mankind, while warships of old return in human form to defend us. Ayaka is thrust into the spotlight when she learns that she is really the "Natural Born" reincarnation of USS Iowa (BB-61), specifically the Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls version thereof, and is forced to struggle with what this means both for herself and those around her.


 * A-Team Firing: Normal weapons have difficulty hitting abyssals if not equipped with hypertech either of their own or to take targeting data from shipgirls. How much is due to the simple reality of conventional antiship weapons not being made to hit human-sized targets and how much is due to exotic factors is debated in-universe.
 * Adaptational Badass: Shipgirls have, beyond the physical superhumanity inherent to their being warships, Teleport Spam, full spellcasting, and More Dakka for cruiser-and-above units. They fight abyssal encounters that are larger than in canon, to say nothing of Demons that now or the leadership
 * Aerith and Bob: Most Natural Borns retain their original names, which are normal-for-their-culture ones like Alice or Ayaka. This is contrasted against the Summoned/Manifested who use their ship names rather than bothering to adopt human ones, and many of said names are things not normally used as names.
 * Arc Words:
 * "X in every generation..."
 * "The lamps (are) go(ing) out..."
 * "Just a little more."
 * "We will start over from zero..."
 * "This is my mission."
 * Alternate History:
 * The main divergence from history is Japanese migration to North America centuries ahead of real world schedule, preceding even the American Revolution.
 * High-speed rail and maglev are used by American characters several times. Efforts to establish HSR in the US have been infamously troubled in reality.
 * An International Moon Base is mentioned in Chapter Eight.
 * Alternate Universe Fic:
 * One of the main differences is a transplant to America with the leads being a NYC Irish American boy and a rural Japanese American girl.
 * What Mitsuha was trying to write on Taki's palm in canon is a mystery. Here, it's clear that Ayaka was writing her name.
 * The swapping takes place over multiple months here, as opposed to the roughly one of canon.
 * An Arm and a Leg: Chapter Two briefly mentions missing limbs among the injuries inflicted by the first abyssal attacks.
 * Anyone Can Die: Dead major characters include
 * As the Good Book Says...: In Chapter Three, “What profit you if you save the whole world and lose your soul?!” is asked of Uileag.
 * Atomic F-Bomb: Combined with Cluster F-Bomb and Punctuated! For! Emphasis!, Uileag shouts in Chapter 39 that all the medals he gained were not "WORTH A DAMN! FUCKING! CUNT! THING!"
 * Big Eater: Shipgirls regularly eat several times the amount normal humans do, although not to the full hundreds or thousands that their crews would have consumed previously.
 * Bloodier and Gorier: Canon has almost exclusively Clothing Damage, very occasional blood or injury, and only abyssals suffer Body Horror. Here, however, Reality Ensues is in play regarding the effects of high-powered naval artillery and antiship bombs, and similar to Freezing, Clothing Damage is not about titillation, but comes with gore, even maiming and Terminator-style degloving down to the endoskeleton.
 * The Cavalry: Chapter Five detours from Ayaka's POV to show the members of Amalgam Five "Gonzalez" responding to an abyssal attack.
 * Central Theme: As made explicit in the authors' notes to Chapter 40, there are meant to be four -
 * Duty: The defense of humanity is the reason the shipgirls returned, but how far should they go and how much is acceptable sacrifice to that end? Ayaka for her part finds herself sandwiched between her duties to her bloodline and family as a daughter, priestess and wife and those to her nation and mankind as a whole as a soldier. The abyssals too consider their genocidal work a duty to the fallen that they failed previously, with all the literally deadly serious implications that entails.
 * Humanity: The question of what it means to be "human" comes up repeatedly, both from the Natural Borns who find new ship drives and instincts intruding on their current lives and from the Summoned/Manifested who find that they are no longer unfeeling and unthinking war machines that exist only to be commanded but now have desires and emotions of their own to contend with.
 * Justice: What is "justice"? The abyssals think they are righting a great wrong that was not adequately punished previously, but are willing to commit what an objective observer would consider at least equally great, if not worse, wrongs to do so. Compared to what their still-unrepentant targets did, though, at what point is it "going too far"?
 * Legacy: For Ayaka it is the problem of living up to the example of her bloodline and (believed to be) far more capable mother. Historical baggage also affects others, as all shipgirls are moulded by the accomplishments, experiences and failings of their past lives, and so too are the abyssals driven by the need to deal with their own unfinished business.
 * Code Emergency:
 * In Chapter Five, the spectre of a Case Jötunn - hostile magic user - comes up but doesn't come to pass. This Chekhov's Gun doesn't get fired until Chapter 32.
 * Chapter 19 brings up Code Thorsub - overwhelming air attack - which becomes an issue in Chapter 36.
 * Chapter 36 also introduces Case Exarch for inter-universal attackers.
 * Continuation: While there are some small changes because of the different setting, what came before is mostly adherent to what was depicted in Your Name.
 * Continuity Porn: There are many, many Call Backs to canon. The authors Shown Their Work on knowledge of canon, but it can be confusing to those coming in from the other fandom.
 * Country Matters:
 * In Chapter 31, the abyssal supreme commander lists among their traitorous enemies "courtesans who ceded their cunts for the comfort of Tojo".
 * In Chapter 39, Uileag talks about his medals being not "WORTH A DAMN! FUCKING! CUNT! THING!"
 * In Chapter 41, a destroyer accuses Ayaka (in Translation Conventioned Japanese) of being a "Fucking liar cunt!" after
 * A Day in the Limelight:
 * Chapter Five follows Amalgam Five "Gonzalez" being The Cavalry.
 * Chapter 32 and 33 focus on a mission by J-DesRon Two "Riptide".
 * Chapter 34 takes the perspective of Shizuka Minami, the admiral in charge of Yokosuka's shipgirl flotilla, following the events of the previous two chapters.
 * Death Seeker: As of Chapter 39,
 * Disappears Into Light: As introduced in Chapter 33, The attached art states it to be a Homage to Your Lie in April.
 * Dissonant Serenity: In Chapter 12, "chilling calm" are the words used to describe Yorktown chewing out Willie D for a big screwup. Hammann's mannerisms while hoping that "the problem sorts itself out" are also called "utterly matter-of-fact" and "chilling".
 * Distant Finale: Chapter 39 takes place nine years after 38.
 * Downer Ending: The bad ending depicted in Chapter 39 by way of inverting Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending.
 * Dramatic Irony: In Chapter Two, the things Uileag-in-Ayaka had done are recounted to Ayaka, who at this point has been made to forget them.
 * Drop What You Are Doing: In Chapter Two, Ayaka drops her phone after receiving a certain piece of bad news.
 * Extreme Omnivore: Shipgirls can drink oil and eat metal, though the right kind of metal matters where efficiency is concerned.
 * Five Second Foreshadowing: In Chapter Three, Ayaka notices a droning noise like a propeller plane moments before an abyssal airstrike.
 * Flashback Cut: A large part of Chapter Four involves jumping back and forth between Ayaka's in-universe regaining her memories of what happened previously or in Flash Sideways and her reaction to them.
 * Flashback Echo: Ayaka starts regaining her memories after seeing incoming shells that remind her of falling comet fragments.
 * Flat Earth Atheist: It is mentioned in Chapters 7 and 24 that there are still people who refuse to believe in the supernatural despite everything going on.
 * Foreshadowing:
 * Ayaka is warned in Chapter Four that "some may take issue with your current model". Turns out that old anti-Japanese sentiments don't always die easy...
 * She is also warned then about not being able to save everyone, long before it becomes an issue.
 * Chapter Four also mentions "friends [giving] themselves over to an ideal far beyond reason and [losing] themselves in the process". Certain reveals later...
 * Chapter Seven mentions that no abyssals have been observed using magic yet. Guess what.
 * Four Is Death:
 * Doom Magnet William D Porter, whose outrageously bad luck causes harm to those around her, has the callsign Uatu One-Four. Later, and she is once again to blame.
 * In Chapter 33, it is on the fourth attack of each combo that manages to get through Naganami's defences.
 * The first shipgirl to sink is Four.
 * The abyssal attack on the Task Force VALKYRIE armada that claims the lives of is the fourth one directly involving one of their leaders.
 * Framing Device:
 * The Friend Nobody Likes: Hardly anyone likes Willie D for her accidental fratricidal tendencies, not helped by everyone else being unwilling to take her off of Uatu's hands.
 * Full Name Ultimatum: Ayaka gives Uileag the full three-name treatment in Chapter Three out of her Anger Born of Worry.
 * Fusion Fic: This world sees the events of an Alternate Universe Your Name happen in the backstory and it progresses into the abyssal attacks and returning shipgirls of Kantai Collection.
 * Godzilla Threshold: After the initial abyssal attacks on China out of the Yellow Sea penetrated deeply enough inland to do damage to Beijing, fatally wounding none less than the then-president, the dying man told the PLA to do whatever it took to defend the people. They turned to the Nuclear Option and succeeded. The idea of a LAMP RUB comes up a few times later as a kind of Black Comedy Running Gag, only to be used for real in Chapter 36.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: The abyssals want to genocide Japan to avenge the 30 million dead and war crimes. Bad enough. They also want to exterminate the USA for failing to exterminate Japan the last time, and see any other country that fought in World War II but is now helping Japan as Les Collaborateurs who must also be destroyed unless it does a Heel Face Turn (from their perspective) and turns against Japan.
 * History Repeats:
 * Once again, an attack on Pearl Harbor is begun with a command to climb a mountain.
 * The sinking of
 * The sinking of once again, though also averted as it takes place in day from air attack rather than night from surface action.
 * Homage:
 * In Chapter Three, an unknown voice(?) delivers an adaptation of the G-Man's speech from Half-Life 2. It comes up again at least once more, and is implied to be given to every shipgirl.
 * As introduced in Chapter 33 and confirmed in the relevant art, the way is based on Your Lie in April.
 * In Chapter 37, some of mirror what Kousei says to Kaori, also from Your Lie in April.
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: in Chapter 32.
 * Inelegant Blubbering: crying in Chapter 39 is explicitly described as "loudly and uglily".
 * Instant Expert: It is mentioned in Chapter Seven that fairy pilots can just hop between plane types without needing to relearn how to operate them.
 * Ironic Echo: In Chapter Three, Uileag gives not being able to leave anyone to die as the reason for his actions in Chapter One, something that Ayaka gives him grief over. In Chapter 36,
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Starting from Chapter 12, there are a few mentions of rolling successes, as if throwing dice in tabletop gaming.
 * Libation for the Dead: In Chapter 39,
 * Magitek: Called "hypertech" in-universe, it is described as the bridge between conventional technology and the magic used by shipgirls.
 * Mama Bear: In Chapter Two, Uileag's mother erupts in a fierce enough motherly anger as to frighten the war-hardened senior NCO father.
 * Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex: Averted; shipgirls have no physiological problems having sex with humans, which works out well for all involved considering that semen intake is vital both as an immediate "mana potion" and a long-term boost to their abilities.
 * Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In Chapter Four, wonders if the wisdom she had was entirely mundane or actually of magical origin.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * In Chapter Four, "Mitsuha" was considered as one of the names to give Ayaka.
 * In Chapter Five, Washington projects an icon of her scout plane followed by two holographic banners of her guns when entering Artillery Spotting mode, similar to in the game.
 * The narration mentions starting with land-based planes before using naval aviation and then reaching shelling range, which is how the order of combat phases goes ingame.
 * Quincy points out that Albacore and O'Bannon look like sisters. The fic uses the Warship Girls versions of them, which are drawn by the same artist, Saru.
 * A Running Gag starting from Chapter Six is for others to expect Ayaka to look like the canonical version of Iowa.
 * Also in Chapter Six is talk of Iowa discussing corn production with Khrushchev, which happened in Pacific canon.
 * Starting from Chapter Six, people asking Ayaka why she doesn't look like canon!Iowa becomes a Running Gag.
 * Chapter Seven mentions failed experiments producing plushies of crying penguins and clouds, referring to what happens in the game when you fail a development.
 * Non-Fatal Explosions: In Chapter One, One Corpsman remarks on his luck.
 * The Oathbreaker:
 * Offscreen Moment of Awesome:
 * The fall and later retaking of Pearl Harbor take place at some point in between Chapters One and Three. The readers get naught but brief comments as to what happened during these two vital battles.
 * Chapter 32 starts in the midst of a campaign to liberate Southeast Asia, one that has retaken Singapore by the start of Chapter 36, but none of the intermediary battles are covered onscreen.
 * Overranked Soldier: Discussed and inverted in Chapter Seven. Ayaka asks why a captain is commanding a mere six shipgirls, something that seems like a junior NCO's assignment. Cecil points out to her that, command of the support staff notwithstanding, having a battleship and a carrier means this would normally be for an admiral to take instead.
 * Painting the Medium:
 * In Chapter Four, Uileag makes "A desperate prayer for one more time, one more chance to", and then the text cuts to a link to "Make This Right" from Furi.
 * Also in Chapter Four, a spoiler character says “Embracing the", and the text cuts to "Wisdom of Rage" also from Furi.
 * Precision F-Strike: In Chapter Seven, hitherto composed Cecil drops the F-bomb in response to Ayaka's concern that someone might see shipgirls as monsters.
 * Pun-Based Title: It is an obvious play on Kimi no Na Wa, the Japanese title for Your Name.
 * Reality Ensues: A small town in the middle of nowhere with less than a percentage point of its country's population just isn't going to be missed by the world at large, no matter how exotic the cause or affected the former inhabitants are.
 * Recap Episode: A large part of Chapter Four is dedicated to covering the events of Your Name as Ayaka regains her memories of them in-universe.
 * Snow Means Death: In Chapter 37, it is snowing as
 * Something Only They Would Say: In Chapter Four, proves that she's not a hallucination by telling Ayaka something only the two of them would have known.
 * Sorry That I'm Dying:
 * In Chapter One,
 * Chapter 33 has "osaki ni shitsureishimasu", a common Japanese expression of apology for leaving early, being the last words of
 * Chapter 37 has
 * Soundtrack Dissonance:
 * Chapter 15 has an in-universe montage video of Choukai violently going to town on abyssals that has been set to Offenbach's Can Can.
 * In Chapter 31, the abyssal supreme commander makes a genocidal speech while the BGM is the heroic theme of The Avengers.
 * Statuesque Stunner: Ayaka is a towering 6'8", appropriate considering how her original ship self was among the longest of its generation. Saratoga is roughly as tall/long both then and now, such that Ayaka fits into one of her spare outfits.
 * Steel Ear Drums: In Chapter Three, Ayaka wonders how her eardrums are still intact after firing naval artillery.
 * Talking Is a Free Action: Mentioned to not be the case in Chapter Four with a mid-battle conversation only possible because of Time Mastery.
 * Technology Marches On: Chapter Two mentions that Ayaka uses an iPhone 9. It was written before Apple announced that they were skipping 9 and jumping straight to X.
 * Tempting Fate: Chapter 12 mentions the cooldown to restart Stepping and how magical defences are protecting her. A short while later, they fail at a bad time.
 * Thirteen Is Unlucky:
 * In Chapter One,
 * The abyssal attack on the Task Force VALKYRIE armada that claims the lives of takes place on December 13.
 * Throwaway Country: In Chapter Three, several countries like Indonesia, Malta and Singapore are mentioned as having been harmed by the abyssals.
 * Toe-Tapping Melody: When Missouri sings, others follow along in singing, headbanging, dancing or otherwise.
 * Tragic Keepsake:
 * Unlike in Pacific canon where Iowa came with the hat, Ayaka here inherits it from her late mother.
 * In Chapter 41,
 * Translation Convention: Various bilingual or multilingual characters exist, including all shipgirls, and their use of non-English languages is mostly rendered as English in curly brackets instead of quotes.
 * Uncanny Valley: Most Summoned/Manifested shipgirls are inhumanly mechanical and precise in their motions, to the discomfort of observant humans. Also inverted in that they find Natural Borns too human.
 * Unusual Euphemism:
 * "Hardware diagnostics" is used to describe Uileag-in-Ayaka's exploration of her body, as well as that of her-in-his.
 * The fact that consumption of semen is the most effective means for a shipgirl to gain manpower for her crew leads to "recruitment" (as in recruiting sailors) being used extensively when shipgirl (hyper)sexuality is discussed.
 * Villain Opening Scene: After the summary, the prologue is about the abyssal supreme commander starting the attack on humanity.
 * Worst Aid: In Chapter One, Uileag briefly contemplates the wisdom or lack thereof in moving someone who's been injured. He also tells a constructionman not to remove shrapnel lest the victim bleed out faster.
 * You Have Failed Me...: In Chapter 12, an abyssal battleship is destroyed by friendly fire. The other two with it promptly execute the perpetrator without bothering to confirm whether the treachery was accidental or deliberate.
 * You No Take Candle: In Chapter Six, Alice's brief attempt at speaking Japanese to Ayaka is presented as this after going through Translation Convention.