Of Blood and Steel is a Girls und Panzer fic by Panzer4life
. It takes place after the original series, and involves Riko "Erwin" Matsumoto having to move to Texas because of her mother's job and financial problems.
The fic can be found here, and the rewrite can be found here. All tropes are associated with the original story unless indicated otherwise.
Of Blood and Steel provides examples of:
- Adaptation Personality Change: The fic makes Erwin a bit moodier and more bitter than in canon. Some of her changes are forced on her, such as putting aside her trademark jacket and hat for normal casual clothing.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Several members of the JROTC class dislike Henrietta for being the daughter of a Private Military Contractor, and bully her in various ways.
- Alpha Bitch: Jackie Lambert has this reputation, whether deserved or not, as a somewhat vain and power-hungry social climber.
- Amoral Attorney: Jacob Austin is likened to a "dirty lawyer" who charges exorbitant fees for his services.
- As You Know: At the start of the fic, Erwin's mother tells her about the fact that her father died of liver failure two years ago, that they've been in debt ever since, and she can't afford Oarai's tuition. Apart from the bit about Oarai's tuition rising because of their victory in the tankery championship, Riko knows all this already.
- Blackmail: Jacob says that unless Erwin serves as his date, he will cause problems for her during weekend practice.
- Blunt "Yes": A non-verbal version. When Erwin asks Jackie if she intends to make good on their deal- that she'll replace Erwin as commander if Erwin loses a match- after the loss to Salem High, Jackie nods.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Erwin to Miho. While Miho is a Nice Girl, this fic's Erwin is a bit more temperamental and cynical. As commanders, Miho tends to lead on the fly and is a Benevolent Boss, while Erwin has more of a plan, and is a bit less tolerant of underperformers. Anzu gave Miho the position of commander even though Miho didn't initially want it, since Anzu thought Miho was best suited for it, while Erwin wants the job, and clashes with Jackie over it.
- Dead Fic: The original was scrapped in favor of the rewrite, and eventually, the rewrite was abandoned.
- Disappeared Dad: Erwin's father is dead, having died of liver failure two years before the start of the story.
- Emo Teen: Erwin has shades of this, in stark contrast to canon.
- Establishing Character Moment: Jacob shows up with the recovery truck, cusses Erwin and her crew out and tries to extort them.
- Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand: Erwin is much more of a supporter of the "firm hand" approach than Miho is.
Word of God says that this is inspired by the real Rommel's hatred of cowards and deserters.Erwin: You don't give a person a medal for failing, you give them a demeaning task to make them mull over their failure. - Hate Sink: Most of the characters are relatively likable, and even Jackie is arguably somewhat more sympathetic than the author intends. This does not go for Jacob Austin, who's an unpleasant Jerkass that no one in the school can stand.
- Honest Corporate Executive: In spite of his bad reputation as a PMC, Victor Moran is an upstanding individual and an honest businessman, cutting ties with one company that uses child labor.
- Hypocrite: As one reviewer points out, the bullies can't exactly judge Victor Moran for being a Private Military Contractor when in fact, they are entering an all-volunteer army.
- Informed Flaw: A lot of Jackie Lambert's shortcomings, such as her arrogance and desire for power, are told about, rather than shown. It's unclear whether we're meant to believe the rumors.
- Innocently Insensitive: Miho strikes a nerve by asking Erwin how she and her mother are getting along. Considering that Miho has a strained relationship with her own mother, and that she knows about Hana's temporary disownment, one would think that she'd expect mother-daughter relationships to be a potentially sensitive subject.
- Jerkass
- Jacob Austin is an extremely unpleasant person who relies on his father's influence to go unpunished.
- Jackie Lambert is said to be this, but in practice, she's somewhere between this trope and Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Erwin admits that some of Jackie's criticisms of her decisions, such as unwisely taking the Maus head-on and not having the people skills to be a good commander, are well-founded.
- The Law of Conservation of Detail: Averted. For example, Mr. Gauss mentions that cheating will be punished with a zero, but this information never becomes relevant at any point
- Military Brat: Catherine, Riko's mother's friend, was one. Because she moved every few years, she didn't make long-term friendships.
- The Mole: Apparently, Erika isn't just Raven's Peak's assistant instructor- she forwards information on the team to Shiho in case Kuromorimine ends up facing them in the future.
- Private Military Contractor: Victor Moran, Henrietta's father, is the head of one such company.
- Really Moves Around: Catherine mentions having to move around often as a child, so she understands what Erwin's going through.
- The Rival: Jackie to Erwin. They're on the same team, but Jackie sees herself as better than Erwin, resulting in some conflicts between them.
- Ship Tease: Erwin gets a little with Erich.
- Show, Don't Tell: Largely averted. Viewers are generally treated to exposition on characters' personalities before said characters actually appear.
- Sibling Team: The Salem High team is lead by a pair of sisters.
- Student Council President: Jackie serves this position. Sarah wonders whether Jackie will be overextending herself between being student council president, head of the cheer squad and tankery commander.
- Take That!: In the rewrite, Katie says that people who live in more liberal states might judge Erwin for being fascinated with military history, but not in Texas. She notes that the "more left wing population" of Texas might disapprove, but says, "screw 'em."
- Those Two Guys: Joan and Christine, Erwin's new friends and crewmates, are almost always shown together.
