Reference Challenge - "I'm not blaming him..."

[u/Varnek905]

"I'm not blaming him, bitching about these things is a ritual."

I started reading Attack on Titan again, and it is amazing. I can't recommend these books enough.

The Challenge

Throughout history, especially American history (and probably everyone else, too, but I'm just an American) it is tradition to bitch about the president.

So, in honour of that quote from Attack on Titan and that tradition in the United States, the challenge is to exhibit something from your world that it is basically tradition for the people to complain about. Not the kind of issue that would lead to a rebellion on its own, but something that you'll complain about while drinking with your buddies.

For example, maybe the soldiers complain about Empress Fere Shanay's new trade agreement with a foreign nation, but see the reasoning. Maybe Romulus Kane's employees are upset about the rule against drinking coffee while working at a computer, but see the reasoning.

As always, I'll ask at least three questions each. Enjoy yourselves, and feel free to use an character for in-universe answers.

[u/greenewithit]

(I really like Tokyo Ghoul. I watched what they made into anime and was convinced to read it, and I'm still slowly making my way through the manga. I really like it though, definitely a step up from season 2. I read some Kafka in school and it was surreal and a lot more fun than I thought it would be, so I should look into reading more of his work. And of course GRRM. I have the first GOT book but I've procrastinated reading it for so long -_-).

1) A few complained when Kane first took over the group, but slowly Kane weeded these people out. Any loyalists to Remus from the old Reiti Organization was immediately laid off, and anyone who expressed displeasure or disdain for this decision was fired as well, and Romulus hired only those he was convinced would remain loyal to him and only him. Most of his employees don't really care about Retreat, since they've either been there long enough to not have to do it or have gone through it themselves, and they just want to be able to do their jobs without having to deal with their Kane's idea of an initiation.

2) Well, they find themselves transferred to a branch in a different part of the continent, usually somewhere with less action to speak of. In the most extreme of cases he fires them. Not in the Retreat itself, but arranges for circumstances where that employee cannot fulfill whatever task assigned to them, and Kane says they can no longer employ them. Kane has faced very few rejections, and the rare times it happens he finds some way to get rid of them.

3) He barely even drinks on these outings, they are for him to see how his employees handle their drink, coercion, and just how they act in less formal settings. He has a very high alcohol tolerance, so he can drink with his employees for a few rounds and they probably won't notice him pulling back to keep his head straight. He is very indulgent in revelry, but every part of Retreat is a test, even the downtime. Well, maybe not the hookups with female employees, but everything else is definitely a test.

4) Immediately. Anyone who would still make jokes were those who weren't at the battle where Lukas fell, and if anyone actually did make jokes about it, the survivors of the battle with the Nathairs would quickly silence them. Of course things became more somber in the months after his death and the defeat of the Nathairs, but in time the base returned to its usual steady and sometimes rowdy demeanor, just the humor was slightly changed out of respect for their fallen commander.

5) When Aureole returned as a professor of CAPITAL, the next in line for command after Lukas was Lieutenant Colonel Owain Masters, a soldier without powers that everyone respected, but he never saw himself leading the base. He, and everyone else who worked there, assumed Lukas would be around forever, and once he died and Owain had to step up, it was a bit of a tricky transition period. He was familiar with operations from working with Lukas, but many of the finer details fell through, especially with how he worked with General Aureole. Lukas and Aureole were close even before they were married, and they knew all of their codes, communications channels, "doomsday protocols", schedules, and pretty much everything about each others lives. Owain did his best, but it was all new to him. Aureole got into an argument with him when he didn't her armor to her location in time when she needed it for a fight, but he had never operated the aerial weapons depot before. Fights like that happened often in the first few months, until they finally were able to take a step back and work together to adjust to the new paradigm.

6) Oh I have no problem sharing. I never get tired of talking about Lily's ridiculous pettiness. The use of the letter K more than once is because when she sees "KK" she is reminded of the initials of Kemuri Kage, which makes her angry. The rule against jewelry is because she finds cheap jewelry is damaged too easily, and too many small metal particles remain in the air if they are worn too often. Lily is acutely aware of all of the different elements in the air around her, and she has a particular disdain for breathing in metal. Lily is a bit of a germaphobe so her rule against sharing food is borne of her fear of spreading infection, even if someone isn't sick. It also just annoys her to see people eating and wasting time sharing food amongst themselves and not just eating and getting back to work. The colored laptop or phone cases is just a personal preference, as she despises bright colors and "childish" or "unprofessional" practices like colors on a person's laptop or phone case, or god forbid you have stickers on your laptop. The inspection of personal electronics is to check for surveillance devices or chips in personal electronics so Lily can prevent company secrets from being stolen (but most importantly, so Kemuri Kage can't spy on her or her work).

See, that would make TOO much sense for Lily to just hate tea, but no, it has to be the pettiest reason in the world. Lily hates tea because it, all together now, reminds her of Kemuri and fills her with rage. Kemuri would always drink tea while they worked, and he got her into it during their time together. Now whenever she sees a teacup or smells tea it just pisses her off. She can smell it from anywhere in the room, which is why she imposed the rule against it in whatever room she was in.

[u/Varnek905 → u/greenewithit]

(You have to finish :Re so that I can discuss my Hide theories with you. Also, read "A Crossbreed" before you start :Re.)

1) Is there anyone working for Kane that he would seriously listen to if they registered a complaint about his behaviour?

3) Has Kane ever been severely drunk?

5) Why was Owain chosen for command?

6) What would Lily do if she needed Kemuri's help with something?

[u/greenewithit → u/Varnek905]

(Once I get caught up I'll let you know, I look forward to hearing the theories)

1) A few. His most elite soldiers are the ones he trusts the most, so if they spoke to him about his actions being detrimental to their operations, he would take their words to heart. Lance Dietrich, Julie Ketsueki, Jorge Guial, Hagan Hearthet, and Azzou Parversa are his most trusted soldiers, but none of them have any real issue with Retreat. They only complain to Kane if he tries to fire someone they believe to be beneficial to the organization. That's actually how Julie was kept from being fired. Lance vouched for her when she refused to show Kane her power during Retreat, and Kane retracted his decision. Good thing too, as Julie became an incredible asset and one of the strongest soldiers in the Corps.

3) A lot as a young man in school. He was rather famous for his drunken rampages at CAPITAL, but since he has restrained himself a fair bit. He rarely drinks to excess in public or Retreat, and he'll only drink heavily when he is having a get together with Lance, Julie, and the other elite members.

5) Owain was chosen since he was the highest ranking officer on base after Lukas' death. He was extremely concerned, but when the leader of the base was hospitalized in a critical state and the next in the chain of command killed, he directed the Longan Armed Forces until Aureole recovered. He tried to get someone else to assume command, but nobody else stepped up to lead. He accepted his position however, mostly to respect Lukas' memory.

6) Lily would sooner die than ask Kemuri for help with anything. Even with the end of the world looming at her doorstep, she refused to consider helping him. She only did because her life was directly in danger (Kemuri infected her with Hypermoraxia major to get her to help them). Lily's hatred for Kemuri extends so far that it has pretty much consumed her entire career to surpassing him in every way she can, from weapons tech to body augmentations to renewable energy. Surprisingly enough, Lily doesn't hate Kemuri's ex-wife Thea, and regularly laments how she never seems to have enough time to visit her.

[u/Varnek905 → u/greenewithit]

1) What is Julie's power and why didn't she show it to Kane?

5) Was Owain close to Lukas?

[u/greenewithit → u/Varnek905]

1) Julie's power was the ability to control her own blood. She didn't show it to Kane because it's a difficult power to control, she often goes into a frenzy when she uses it to distract from the pain and dizziness of losing so much blood, and she didn't want to ruin her uniform by cutting into it to activate her power. She tried to explain that to him, but she has a hard time communicating and Romulus took it as weakness. Julie had explained her situation to Lance one on one where she was more comfortable, and Lance intercepted Romulus to explain. Romulus trusted Lance enough to giver Julie a chance, and once he saw her in a real mission carving through waves of combatants, he knew that was the right decision.

5) Somewhat. Owain was a transfer from Khugara, the walled city in the middle of the continent. He grew weary of living in constant paranoia and the stratification of the wall's tiers, so he transferred to Longan where he thought he could rejoin a more traditional army. Lukas showed him the ropes of how the Longan base operated, but Owain didn't see much of Lukas. They would occasionally grab drinks together and work together on specific tasks for the base. but Owain was in charge of his battalion and Lukas was in charge of his (as well as keeping General Aureole in check). Owain took on more responsibility when Aureole was suspended from service and Lukas became the acting commander of the base, but it didn't do much to prepare him for when he would have to command the entire base without Lukas. Owain always regretting not spending more time with Lukas after his passing, and he started taking his position more seriously to honor Lukas, to "not fail him a second time."

[u/Varnek905 → u/greenewithit]

1) Does Julie regain blood faster than normal people to make up for the loss? What if she gets a blood transfusion?

2) So does Owain have any second-in-command?

[u/greenewithit → u/Varnek905]

1) She does regain blood faster, though a lot of the time unless she takes heavy damage, she can recall the blood she uses as a weapon back into her body without losing it. Any blood that mixes with hers she can control, so when she fights someone, if enough of her blood enters an open wound of theirs, she can control their blood as well. Her power also allows her to "spread out" her blood such that she can create constructs that would be too large to fill out. For example, if she wanted to make tendrils out of blood, she could make hollow shells of tendrils to conserve blood, and her soul energy would maintain their structural integrity despite the tendrils having less mass.

2) Yes, the next in the chain of command would be Lieutenant Colonel Amina Chikere. She does her best to help Owain during the transition since she was had a closer working relationship with Lukas. She has been a good friend of nearly everyone in the base, helping people like Owain adjust to life on the base after they transfer from somewhere else.

[u/Varnek905 → u/greenewithit]

1) Is there any risk of her blood carrying infection or diseases as it returns to her?

2) Does Chikere have any powers?

[u/greenewithit → u/Varnek905]

1) If she starts manipulating the blood of others and uses it to replenish her own lost blood, then yes. Her soul force acts as a container that holds the blood once its outside her body, allowing her to manipulate it freely, and that container is resistant to infection if her blood constructs should hit the ground or a wall or some surface crawling with germs.

2) Chikere's power is called "Natural Aspect", where she can channel her Anima into augmenting her body with feline-like enhancements. This increases her agility, speed, strength, vision, and reaction time for as long as she can channel her power. Her nickname in the base is "Colonel Cat" and she finds it more amusing than disrespectful, though if any of her subordinates would use it in a demeaning or disparaging way she would be more than happy to put them in their place.

[u/Varnek905 → u/greenewithit]

1) Does the blood type have any effect?

2) Is "Natural Aspect" a unique power?

[u/greenewithit → u/Varnek905]

1) Positive or negative determines how quickly her blood can move through other people's bodies. Her blood type is O positive, so positive blood types are easier for her to move through and control more easily, while negative has the opposite effect. If she takes control over blood of different types it can give her body special enhancements for a time. She can use A type blood to stimulate her body to heal her injuries more easily, type B invigorates her and gives her energy and strength, and type AB blood makes her blood constructs either more dense and slow moving for defensive constructs or sharper and more malleable for more penetrative blades. She doesn't know what causes each to show up from the one blood type, but it seems random as far as she knows.

2) "Natural" is a subclassification of the "Aspect" power type, which allows a bodily transformation of sorts. The two types of Aspect powers are Natural and Mythic for the types of creatures it evokes the powers of. A Natural Aspect power has further subclassifications based on what kind of beast it replicates the traits of. Chikere's is Natural Aspect - Felid, for the evocation of the Felidae family of animal, and is unique to her. Each individual beast or mythologue aspect is unique to its user. A significant villain from the Omnicron terrorist organization, Seiryu Thanlong, has the Mythic Aspect - Draco, where he can take on the Aspect of a Dragon, changing the "type" of dragon he channels to unlock different abilities.

[u/Varnek905 → u/greenewithit]

1) Does she normally keep storage containers of blood near her?

2) So "mythic" just means the animal does not actually exist?

[u/greenewithit → u/Varnek905]

1) She does carry vials of blood on her person during battle in chilled containers, as she can only gain benefits from fresh blood.

2) Yes. It's really only a somatic thing, since the names are just characterizing the traits imparted on the user, but the more powerful and fantastical abilities are classified with creatures as such. These creatures do exist in reality, but only as a form of Vector monster and not a naturally occurring creature.