Non-GSG fanfic concept: 'Speed Witches'

I shared this idea with a few others in chat last night. The concept goes as follows:

An offshoot of the Strike Witches franchise, 'Speed Witches' explores a potential peacetime outcome of any future Witches on earth.

After the defeat of the Neuroi in The Second Great War, the witches of the world's military powers are gradually discharged from service when an agreement is reached during the Fourth Geneva convention that military use of Witches will be strictly limited to humanitarian and extraterrestrial defense purposes, never to be utilized in conflicts between the forces and citizens of nations. As a result, legendary groups such as the 501st Joint Fighter Wing 'The Strike Witches' are either disbanded entirely or severely reduced in size to no more than 2-5 Witches per group, per country, and have extremely stringent selection processes that wash out approximately 98% of candidates. All such units are sworn to a pact of neutrality that does not allow them to participate in conventional offensive and defensive military operations. Most potential Witches end up leading civilian lives as a result.

Another result of the Second Great War is the loss of many economic resources, chief among them crude oil reserves that have been rendered either inaccessible or extremely difficult and costly to tap into due to the effects of the Neuroi taking over large swaths of land during the war. The invention of the Striker Unit, however, gives rise to new advances in technology that quickly trickled down into civilian use. In 1946, the Commission Sportive Internationale of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, spurred by the petitioning of Liberion war hero Charlotte E. Yeager, allowed development and usage of partially or fully magic-powered engines in all FIA motor racing events (an exception clause was added for Karting later on), and many Witches have found new careers in motorsport ever since. Eventually, magic-powered engine technology spread to other motorsports bodies outside the governing reach of the FIA.

Perhaps the most famous of all FIA events is Formula One Grand Prix Racing. In this discipline, Witches compete in open-wheel, single-seat racecars that run off of their magic power and are capable of speeds up to 220 miles per hour. Formula One races on circuits located the world over, from Suzuka Circuit in Fuso, to Silverstone in Britannia.

Joining this fast-paced world is 13-year-old rookie Louise Hamilton of Britannia. Hailed as a racing prodigy ever since she started Karting at the age of six, her racing prowess has been unrivaled in partial-magic racing series such as Formula Renault and Formula Three. Formula One now presents the challenge of developing her full magic potential, but it won't be easy. Formula One is a crowded world, but in the end, only one driver will be crowned World Champion.

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Now, because this is Strike Witches-inspired, I want to play with the characters a bit here. Based on the age ranges of the Strike Witches, the greats and the big names need to be represented. Who, aside from Lewis Hamilton, should be represented here? Would the different styles of F1 car designs make for interesting racing? thoughts, please.

As I noted in the thread, since the Strike Witches range in age from 12-19 (in the first series), I think we could have the same here, with the older girls representing the 1950s and 1960s greats like (all names just suggestions):

Juanita Manuela Fangio (Juan Fangio)
Jill Clark (Jim Clsrk)
Tiziana Nuvolari (Tazio Nuvolari)

Then the girls in their mid-teens could be the 1970s and 1980s:

Maria Andretti (Mario Andretti)
Alice Jones (Alan Jones)
Jane Hunt (James Hunt)

And finally the girls in their early teens representing the 1990s and 2000s:

Louise Hamilton (Louis Hamilton)
Fernanda Alonso (Fernando Alonso)
Michelle Schumacher (Michael Schumacher)

How about doing a bit of a hybrid where the races are F1-esque; but more in the vein of the Red Bull Air Races.

boomer_gonz wrote:How about doing a bit of a hybrid where the races are F1-esque; but more in the vein of the Red Bull Air Races.

In coming up with this, I wanted to move away from the Striker Units and focus more on the action, Historical references, and narrative. I'm also trying to cut down on the fanservice, and air racing with Striker Units kind of goes against that, what with the lack of pants-wearing and all. And because of Strike Witches, the focus of Mecha Musume (the concept SW was based around) has been on military aircraft. No one's really given much love to cars, and that's what I would do with this fic.

And what about number Division. You know like, 505th Brigade Witches. An oblivious reference to Haruhi Suzumiya's SOS Brigade club. Well you saw my signature, right? The number you want is either 503th, 506th, 508th, or 509th?

MasterChiefSnake wrote:And what about number Division. You know like, 505th Brigade Witches. An oblivious reference to Haruhi Suzumiya's SOS Brigade club. Well you saw my signature, right? The number you want is either 503th, 506th, 508th, or 509th?

The 501st Joint Fighter Wing was the one focused on in the TV anime of Strike Witches. And this idea is loosely based in the universe of Strike Witches, in this case, witches using their powers in a civilian setting, particularly Formula One Racing.

MasterChiefSnake wrote:And what about number Division. You know like, 505th Brigade Witches.

They wouldn't matter, since they're not military.

They'd likely either be racing for their countries (in their official colors - red for Italy, Blue for France, etc.) or for Constructors (Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, etc.).

One of the girls' racing-armors sporting a '501' numeral designation would be a nice little nod to Strike Witches, though. Maybe we might even have the original Witches make cameo appearances as spectators or judges.

Here's a possible inspiration for a racing-armor design. Of course, we'd be going with something a little less futuristic, but you get the general idea:

http://yokattaweb.jp/img/preorder/busou-shinki-achyda-01.jpg

Nachtsider wrote:One of the girls' racing-armors sporting a '501' numeral designation would be a nice little nod to Strike Witches, though. Maybe we might even have the original Witches make cameo appearances as spectators or judges.

Here's a possible inspiration for a racing-armor design. Of course, we'd be going with something a little less futuristic, but you get the general idea:

http://yokattaweb.jp/img/preorder/busou-shinki-achyda-01.jpg

Hm, Racing Armor, huh? I was originally thinking of taking the 'humanized' approach to Mecha Musume and making their uniforms look like the design scheme of their cars. however, this is also a brilliant idea.