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[fettman53]

So after forever and a day, I've returned to these forums! I'm not sure if anyone here even remembers me, since I didn't post much. But at one point, I had posted a story called Go! Touge! that may still be up here somewhere. It's been so long. I feel like I've improved a great deal in my writing since then, and I'd like to share it with the people that I first shared it with: you guys! Since Initial D originally inspired the story, what better place to put it than here anyway?

If it's fine for me to start posting this here, I'll start putting up some pictures before beginning the story.

A quick synopsis:

Go! Touge! takes place in an unknown town, atop the dangerous Maelstrom Pass. Every night, racers from all over tackle the mountain pass. One night, a group of racers come in contact with a scarily-fast old car, and it begins a series of events that will change their lives forever.

[fettman53]

I've finally finished the remake of the prologue, and I'm here to bring it to you!

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Prologue

The chilled air made for a crisp night atop the deadly Maelstrom Pass. The mountain pass, near the coast, has claimed many lives in the past, and has continued to do so even now. A girl with dark hair, a purple sheen shining under the moonlight, stands at the mountain’s summit, next to a dark blue Madza RX-7; her FD3S. She takes a drink from a can of soda she purchased from one of the machines as a rotary engine is heard driving up to the parking area she stands within. A dark silver metallic FD drives up, over the crest where the mountain begins its downward slope, the pop-up headlights illuminating the area further as she pulls into the parking area as well. The dark-haired girl watches the FD as it pulls in, stopping in front of her and then reversing into the parking space beside of her own blue FD. The rotary engine falls silent, and the driver’s side right door opens, a pair of white tennis shoes stepping out onto the asphalt ground.

The dark-haired girl chuckles. “Haruhi, what an uneventful entrance.” The girl in the dark silver FD stands, closing her door as she looks at the dark-haired girl. She seems of Asian ethnicity, with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes to match. She wears form-fitting light-blue jeans and a white t-shirt, a light purple jacket overtop. Haruhi frowns slightly as her door latches with a clunk. “Why would my entrance be ‘eventful?’ I’m not here to impress you, or ANYBODY,” she replies with a slightly-annoyed tone. The dark-haired girl can’t help but smile. “Sure. But then again, when you’re so normal in your driving here, I can’t help but wonder if you’re even enjoying yourself.” The girl leans on her car, holding her soda can with her left hand as she smiles at Haruhi. “If you’re not going to let loose, what’s the point in even coming here at all? Right?”

Haruhi looks away, a distant look in her eyes as the other girl watches her, waiting for her response. Haruhi looks down at the blue FD to her right side. “Sorry if my driving doesn’t please you, Almo. But I’m not here to drive the way you or anyone else wants me to, or to please to by pretending to enjoy myself. I DO have my own reasons for coming up here, though. So why would you even bother questioning me about it?” Haruhi begins to walk away after replying, aiming to look out at the sea from the mountain’s summit. Almo watches her, an odd look in her eyes, then follows her over, also looking out at the sea. “Surely it wasn’t to sightsee,” she quips, glancing at Haruhi again with a small smirk. Haruhi continues to stare out at the sea, a frown forming across her face. “I come here because it’s all I have. It’s the best way for me to forget all of the bullshit I’m dealing with.” She looks down upon the winding road below. “When you’re out there, knowing full-well that any misstep will cost you your life, your mind will be on NOTHING but the course; on your driving,” she adds, turning to face Almo. “THAT’S why I’m here. And that’s all you need to know about me.”

Almo smiles, closing her eyes. “Hmph. Is that so? That makes me wonder…if you’re really dedicated to the team.” Haruhi walks past Almo, back over to her car, replying as she does so. “If you’re worried I won’t put my all into these races? Don’t.” She stops in front of her car, looking at it, focused. “For what it’s worth, I at least see you all as comrades. I’m not going to let you down. I give it my all. Every time.” Almo walks over as well, taking a sip of her soda before responding with a nod. “It’s what I like to hear. I expect no less from you…or ANYONE here holding up our name.” She holds up her fist, a determined look in her eyes. “Let’s show them all that women can do this too!” She smirks with a snort. “And FAR better than the men, at that.” Haruhi looks at her, staring at her raised fist, then looks at Almo’s face, studying her look before finally raising her fist as well, crossing wrists with her and nodding. “Hm. Definitely.”

The two girls get into their cars, starting their rotary engines up with two loud roars. Almo’s blue FD pulls out of the lot first, followed by Haruhi’s dark silver FD. Almo drives toward the downward slopes, the road becoming dangerously steep in an instant. The cars’ bodies lift for a second as the suspension lifts from the sudden change in steepness, then come back down as gravity brings them back to the norm, Almo racing into a slight left with Haruhi right at her heels. Up ahead, the road suddenly wraps into a blind right hairpin corner. Almo smirks, moving to the left side of the road and turning in super-early to the corner, sending her car sideways as she shifts down, heel-toeing to keep the revs in the powerband and causing her rear tires to spin. This sends the car around the bend, smoke rising from her tires with a loud squeal as she points the nose toward the inside guardrail of the corner, slipping onto the straightaway right after, stopping her slide perfectly as she accelerates away, Haruhi having mirrored her move completely, right behind her.

Up ahead, the sea can be seen as the cars thunder on towards the left hairpin turn, the guardrail on the outside of the corner all that keeps them from plummeting over the edge should they make a mistake. Almo brakes early, downshifting and turning in early, the back end of her FD slipping out as she slides around the corner sideways, countersteering and modestly applying gas with the accelerator to keep the car from neither spinning completely nor stop sliding. Haruhi mirrors her move again, sliding right beside of her as the two girls drift the hairpin perfectly; an almost-suicidal move. They do it as though it were child’s play as they roar away, the road curving to the right as well as the angle, making for a feel close to a corner on a NASCAR oval track. Tires squeal as they roar through, then let off as the road curves and angles to the right, downshifting at nearly the same time as they slip through the left corner on to a short straightaway, Haruhi bearing down on Almo, only inches from her rear bumper.

Almo glances in her rearview mirror and, seeing Haruhi’s pace, can’t help but smile. “You want to get by? Am I going to slowly for the high and mighty princess of the mountain?” She looks from the mirror to the road straight ahead, downshifting and taking another left-hand corner, making sure not to fly into the air upon the exit as the straightaway after dips down. As she accelerates down the straight, her revs hitting the limit, she shifts into third gear with a smirk. “Teammate or no, I’m not going to make it easy on you. Let’s see just how dedicated you are!”

The mountain pass is dangerous, with no streetlights to illuminate the path before you. The two FD drivers must rely solely on their headlamps, illuminating the street in front of them. Haruhi’s eyes are open wide, her concentration at the max as she chases her team leader down on such a dangerous road. She can focus on nothing else but the road in front of her and the car she’s trying to pass, her heart racing as the excitement gets adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her hands grip the wheel tightly, as though afraid of what might happen should she let go, even for an instant. The road wraps to the right, Almo roaring through towards the sharp left up ahead. Haruhi purses her lips as she shifts down and heel-toes, turning the wheel as she urges her car to keep up with Almo’s pace. Though the steepness is not quite so intense in this section of the pass, one mistake can still cost her her life. Haruhi slams on the brakes as she enters the sudden left corner after the short straight, whipping her rear out as she slides through, stopping her slide just to the outside, nearly hitting the wall.

Meanwhile, Almo roars through the unlit tunnel up ahead, the road mercifully straight. The rotary engines’ roars are magnified as they roar through the tunnel, Haruhi roaring to Almo’s left, coming up next to her, the two cars eventually neck-and-neck. Haruhi’s eyes are open wide, staring intently at the road ahead. Almo glances over to her left, seeing Haruhi’s FD pulling up next to her, and chuckles, letting off slightly. Her blow-off valve is heard as the turbo spools down, allowing Haruhi to take the lead. Almo then immediately gets back on the gas, Almo steering right into a position directly behind Haruhi as the two FDs roar out of the tunnel, the road curving to the right. The tires squeal, at their limit through the wide corner. Haruhi suddenly downshifts and turns in harder to the right, the road suddenly tightening. Her car slides dangerously close to the left-side guardrail as she exits the corner perfectly, driving to the opposite side of the road in time to set herself up for the left-hander up next. Almo keeps with Haruhi without much trouble, the both of them sliding their cars sideways through the left-hand corner.

Coming out of the left-hander, the two cars roar onto the straightaway. Midway through, the elevation raises, then lowers again, the bodies lifting from the change in g-forces, going back to the norm as Haruhi slams on her brakes, downshifting and heel-toeing as she turns in hard for the right hairpin at the end of the straightaway, the road becoming slightly wider to allow for a passing maneuver. Almo, however, opts to stay behind Haruhi, entering the corner the same way as her partner does. Just before she leaves the straightaway for the hairpin, she can swear she sees a flash of headlights in her rearview mirror, quite a ways back. She glances at her mirror as she slides through the right hairpin, costing her some distance on Haruhi. She quickly directs her attention back to the road ahead, focusing on the FD in front of her as they roar onto the high-speed section of the course, the road narrowing to the point that only one car can drive through at a time; passing will be impossible at this point. Instead, Almo presses her accelerator pedal down all the way, catching up to Haruhi and putting pressure on her through the high-speed section.

The road at this point is narrow, with easy, high-speed bends. It curves to the right, then lazily curves to the left. Both drivers remain focused, not letting down their guard, for they know what lies up ahead. The rhythm of the road suddenly changes, the bend suddenly twisting to the right up ahead, slightly sharper than the last two lazy bends. As Haruhi enters the right-hand bend, she shifts down and lets off of the gas, pressing only halfway as she and Almo drive through, managing their speeds carefully to avoid both sliding off the side of the mountain AND keeping up their fast pace. The road continues its long left curve, then suddenly jerks to the right up ahead. Haruhi slams on her brakes and turns in, the road changing into the older and final section of the pass, widening as they enter the long right bend. As they drive through the long right bend turning into an even longer left bend, a pair of headlights creeps in from around the corner behind Almo. She looks into her mirror in surprise: there really WAS someone back there! And they caught up FAST!

The grade steepens again, the road straightening as the headlights behind Almo come into view. However, as the two FDs hit the straightaway, the pair of headlights falls behind. Almo blinks, then stares straight ahead, trying to calm herself down. Whatever it was, it couldn’t keep up with them on the straightaways, which meant it was a low-powered car. Whoever it was, Almo wasn’t about to let them pass, and would like to outrun them if she could. Haruhi glances in the mirror as well, noticing the new pair of headlights, but immediately turns her focus to the road up ahead, which suddenly snapped into a dangerously-tight right hairpin. Having gained a lot of speed with the straightaway and not wanting to brake too late on the steep grade, she brakes super-early into the corner, downshifting and lowering her speed to a perfect level for going through the corner just as she hits it, turning in early and sliding through. Almo does the same, braking early as she comes up on the corner…and the pair of headlights behind her are suddenly bearing down on her, only inches away. Without even looking in her mirrors, Almo can tell the challenger has caught up immediately, the shine of its headlamps illuminating the interior of her car.

Almo’s heart begins to race. Afraid the challenger may have made a mistake and not wanting to be rear-ended, she forces herself to stop braking, turning in but understeering, her front tires losing grip as she enters the corner too fast. Though she enters the corner too fast, she still had managed to slow down to a point to where it wouldn’t result in a fatal crash. However, the understeering has caused her to slip to the outside of the corner, smoke rising from her tires as she struggles to keep her car from sliding into the outer wall. Her heart races as she fights the wheel and works the pedals, downshifting and adding gas at the last moment to kick her back end out and force her nose toward the straightaway coming out of the hairpin. Though she saved herself from a crash, she lost precious time, Haruhi pulling away. Not only that, but the person behind her not only had their car under control the whole time, but decided to take advantage of her mistake, overtaking her on the inside of the corner. The car whips just in front of her as they both exit the corner, the challenger using a perfect out-in-out racing line.

Almo can’t believe what just happened. What kind of car can enter a hairpin corner like that at the kind of speeds this challenger did and not go right into the wall? She looked the rear of the car over, her headlights illuminating it in the darkness. The taillights seem low, its fenders flared out. She suddenly opens her eyes up wide, realizing what it was. “A Volkswagen bug?!” Indeed, the challenger was a seemingly-stock silver Volkswagen Beetle, probably from the mid-sixties year. Almo grips the steering wheel tightly, her entire body shaking from the ordeal she had just gone through. She shares mixed emotions of fear, anger, and frustration. There was no way she was letting some ancient car like that show her up! Though her body was still shaking from the shock of her near-death experience, she forces herself to press down the accelerator, chasing the Beetle down. It’s a simple matter, the old car no match for the FD’s monstrous acceleration in comparison. However, the old car remains fixed in the center of the road, not allowing any room to pass.

Almo grimaces, shaking her head disappointedly. “That’s fine. Come this next corner, you’ll HAVE to let me pass. There’s no way I’m letting you get away!” Meanwhile, Haruhi maneuvers through the miniscule left-then-right chicane of sorts in the middle of the straightaway, the grade dropping slightly. As the suspension bounces from the slight elevation change, Haruhi sets herself up for the next corner: a left hairpin. She slams on the brakes early, setting herself on the right side of the road. Meanwhile, Almo chases down the Beetle in front of her and behind Haruhi. However, as they near the corner, when Almo brakes, she’s stunned to watch the Beetle still accelerating. “Isn’t he going to brake at all?! He’ll go straight off the side of the mountain!” Right at the last minute, the Beetle brakes for what seems like an instant, turning in and accelerating through the corner with no tire spin at all. Haruhi glances in her rearview mirror with surprise, a pair of headlights suddenly right on her rear. As she accelerates on the straightaway, they begin to fall behind. Even still…what WAS that?

Almo, behind the Beetle and falling further behind still, watches in shock, unable to believe what she saw. There was no way she could brake so late into the corners. It was no wonder to her, then, that the Beetle was able to catch up, with braking like that. The road bends slightly to the left, then wraps into a right hairpin turn up ahead. Haruhi slams on the brakes early as she comes out of the slight left bend, setting up on the left side of the road for the right corner up ahead. Suddenly, the entire interior of her car is illuminated. She opens her eyes wide in confusion and surprise, glancing in her mirrors to see a car right on her rear bumper. She stares forward, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she turns into the right-hand hairpin turn, the headlights not letting up at all, even for an instant, as they drive through it. They hit the straightaway, Haruhi’s heart racing.

Up ahead is the final corner: a wide left-hand hairpin corner. Haruhi sets herself up on the right side of the road and slams on her brakes. The headlights behind her slip to the left, Haruhi realizing at that moment that it would try to pass her. She quickly turns in hard and sharp, her back end kicking out as she slides sideways into the corner, blocking the inside lane. Unfortunately, her altered line causes the FD to slip to the outside halfway through. The Beetle manages to maintain its line, driving past on the now-open inside lane, roaring in front, to Haruhi’s displeasure and surprise. She lets off of the gas as they exit the corner, watching with disbelief as the silver Beetle drives off into the darkness of the night.

Haruhi exhales as she accepts that it’s finally over. “Who…WAS that guy?”


WELCOME TO THE STAGE

Go! Touge! - Stage 1

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The legend begins here.

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So I'd like to upload pictures and the like, but I have no idea how other than offering a link to photobucket. XD
I'm getting really involved this time!

This post has been edited by fettman53 on Dec 22 2013, 08:53 AM

[Gunma's 34]

USE the IMG code when adding the pictures; btw; make sure they're not bigger than the width of the page or we're in for a lot of strenous image glaring.

Also, welcome back fettman53.

Been a while since you last came back; are you gonna finish off your wangan story with Haruhi?
Oh, don't forget to check my thread/story too. I just updated it yesterday.

[fettman53]

Yes, the Wangan story is actually the sequel to this story. I'm rewriting the entire thing from the start with my improved writing ability haha.

And yeah, I tried uploading with the IMG code and it wouldn't allow me to upload it. It said the site address wasn't useable by the forum or something.

I'll definitely be checking out your story. I'll need to start over since I haven't been here for so long.

Image size reduced, original size: 1280 x 720. Click here to view the image in its original dimension.

EDIT: Nevermind with the image problem. I totally figured it out.

This post has been edited by fettman53 on Dec 23 2013, 11:28 AM

[THE_HONDA_CG2]

Welcome back fettman53! I'm sure you posted up on the right section, if you want this to be listed in the fanfic thread then let me know! I like the story so far and I would love to read more! Keep it up!

[Animefreak1983]

I've only had the chance to skim over this. But it sounds like a interesting read.

I'm planing a full read threw tonight. If you need any input or anything let me know.

[fettman53]

THE HONDA CG2, thank you for your reply! Would the fanfic thread make it easier to find or anything? Otherwise it's fine. Is it even a fanfic? It was inspired by Initial D for sure, but I don't know if I'd call it a fanfic. I guess that's nitpicking though.

Animefreak1983, I'd always like to know what people think of what I put up! It's the most exciting part of putting this stuff up, I think.

So I thought I'd put this here. This is a rough draft of Maelstrom Pass, the main mountain pass in the story that the characters drive on every evening.

Image size reduced, original size: 819 x 460. Click here to view the image in its original dimension.

Though from this rough sketch, the mountain pass looks short and simple compared to most notorious mountain passes, it is, in fact, one of the most dangerous of them all. For the sketch does not illustrate the steepness or the angle of the road in question. In truth, the pass is most well-known for being dangerously steep and twisting, much like a dreaded maelstrom out at sea.

The most dangerous races on Maelstrom Pass begin at the summit and work their way down. The race begins with a dangerously steep downward slope into a slight left, straight into a right hairpin turn. Most beginners see the end of their race right here. Thankfully, there is a concrete wall on the outside of the corner here, making wrecking far less dangerous here than anywhere else on the course. If you manage to get past this corner, you must then drive down an equally-steep short straight into a slightly wider left hairpin turn, the only thing keeping the driver safe from the plummet below being nothing but a guardrail on the outside of this corner. Getting past this corner, the road curves to the right, the angle of the road tilting dangerously towards the outside of the mountain, giving this particular part of the run a rollercoaster-like feel. It then curves into a 90-degree left-hander, angling inward with the corner, on to a straight that turns into yet another left corner, leveling off slightly in terms of steepness and angle at this point.

The second part of the course is a high-speed section. It is here that even intermediate drivers wreck, misjudging distances and road width. The road curves to the right from the short straightaway, then whips to the left almost immediately, forcing drivers to use special techniques to avoid understeering into the wall. The race goes into the mountain here through an unlit tunnel. Straight out of the tunnel, the road curves to the right, sharpening before finally straightening out. Many drivers understeer into the wall here as well. Those that make it drive through the long, wide left-hander on to a long straightaway, the elevation raising slightly, then lowering again, straight into a tight right hairpin, the road widening enough for nearly three cars to drive side-by-side. Out of the corner, the road narrows back to width of two cars. It bends slightly to the right, entering the high-speed section. As it curves to the left, the road narrows even further, allowing only one car through at a time. It is impossible to pass in this section. The road is fairly straight at first, then curves to the right. As the drivers wrap around this easy right curve, the road immediately starts curving to the left, much sharper than the previous right curve. This throws many drivers off and sends them sliding off the road. Those that can maintain their traction must slow down as the road suddenly snaps to the right, the drivers entering the final section of the pass.

The final section of the pass, going downhill, begins with a long, wide right-hander, the road widening to a two-car width again, into an even-longer left-hander into a long straightaway. The grade steepens, and the drivers must tackle the second super-sharp right hairpin turn. Coming off of the high speed section of the course and a long straight, this corner has claimed many cars and many lives. It curves to the right slightly upon exit, the width of the road narrowing to a one-car width. It drops suddenly and curves to the left, then right, the walls on either side making this 'straight' particularly harrowing. The road then curves into a left hairpin, the width extending once more to a two-car width. The straightaway after this left hairpin curves slightly to the left, then whips into a sharp right hairpin corner that mellows out on the exit. The road then drops again without warning, down the straight towards the final corner of the course, twitching to the right slightly before straightening out. The cars then enter the final left corner: a hairpin with a mini-straight of sorts in the middle of it, forcing the drivers to adopt an odd racing line through, out onto the final straightaway to the goal.

I'll try to put up more pictures as I write the story. I hope you all will enjoy it!

[fettman53]

So I wanted to give an update for anyone waiting. Remaking this story is taking a lot of time. I'm also adding a lot of new stuff to it and really making it something special. I hope you'll understand and forgive the long silence!

[Gunma's 34]

It's fine. Take your time. Great stories such as yours take a lot of time to make. I know, being such; the preparation eats up a lot out of you.