For L18: Youth means friends
Cruel Angel's Lesson Plan (Blue Archive/Neon Genesis Evangelion Crossover)
- Thread starter Froggie
- Start date
Last Train Home
Re: Haloes
Froggie
That radiant kindness was nothing but cruel
In the Kivotos Live stream for the 18th of October 2024, the following bit of lore was given out in a Q&A section:
Summary: Students are aware they have haloes, but are unaware of unique designs and colors. Quite likely they only see generic, angelic haloes like mob students are depicted with in official art.
As certain scenes in this story have already been written where students recognize unique designs and colors, most notably in chapter 10 and chapter 15, this bit of lore will be summarily ignored going forward.
Thank you for your time!
Edit: spelling
Summary: Students are aware they have haloes, but are unaware of unique designs and colors. Quite likely they only see generic, angelic haloes like mob students are depicted with in official art.
As certain scenes in this story have already been written where students recognize unique designs and colors, most notably in chapter 10 and chapter 15, this bit of lore will be summarily ignored going forward.
Thank you for your time!
Edit: spelling
Last edited:
Lesson 19: Resting place of dreams
New
Froggie
That radiant kindness was nothing but cruel
Lesson 19: Resting place of dreams
From dust you came, and to dust you shall return.
The district of Abydos was dead.
Colossal wrecks of a once vibrant district, now sun-bleached and bare, stretched out across a desert horizon as far as the eye could see. At first, towards the outskirts, closer to the border of academies both great and small, the group of four teenaged girls had still been able to observe remnants of activity and life. Now, closer to what should have been the beating heart of the academy, the truth was written plain upon barren streets and abandoned buildings choked by sand.
The district of Abydos was dead.
And yet there existed those who looked upon that simple truth and refused to accept it.
Rejection of common sense.
Scars from the past.
Fear of death.
Ayanami Rei understood. She had felt the frozen grasp of terror in her very bones during that moment of stark clarity shortly after arriving in Kivotos when she had first realized that the empty vessels that would become a new Ayanami Rei were not present. The young girl bitterly recalled how carelessly she had treated the very concept of mortality before, not out of any notions of misguided courage but out of something far worse.
Ignorance and resignation.
How many times have I died?
The snarling woman's hands tightened around her neck, crushing and squeezing and then…
Darkness.
The self-destruct was engaged, and she felt only the briefest moment of heat and light and then…
Darkness.
And somehow there were others still. Unfamiliar and hazy recollections of NERV HQ's labyrinthine corridors, a sky full of stars, the Entry Plug, a ruined building, the blue sky, and always, always darkness without end.
Whose memories are these?
Attempting to focus on the deluge of haphazard images resulted in a jolt of discomfort and pain not dissimilar to the one she had first felt when Rin had interrogated the means of her arrival to the city.
Ayanami Rei stumbled.
"Rei-chan?"
She dismissed both voiced concern and fleeting remembrance with a shake of her head, unnecessary distractions from the truth which remained unchanged before her and needed to be accepted and confronted.
The district of Abydos was dead.
And Ayanami Rei, much to her bewilderment, found that she empathized with those who looked upon that simple truth and refused to accept it.
The young girl's bewilderment was further compounded upon as she found her vision obstructed by the wide brim of what appeared to be a sunhat placed upon her head. Red eyes curiously peeked over the edge to notice green eyes and a concerned smile peering back at her.
"Kuda-san rushed back to get a hat for you," Iwabitsu Ayumu said as she turned slightly to regard the ninja girl. Ruby eyes followed her gaze to discover the vulpine student bashfully twiddling her fingers, a happy and awkward smile on her features. Rei felt surprised as she had not noticed the slightly older girl's departure nor her return, so lost had she been in her own thoughts and disjointed memories. If Ayumu noticed the young girl's momentary shock, she gave it no heed as she continued, "She thought the sun might be getting to you. You looked a little dazed. Are you alright?"
A brief pause was followed by a quiet, "Yes," as Rei nodded at kimono and sailor uniform garbed girl. "Thank you, Kuda-san."
The brunette beamed, her awkward smile turning blindingly bright. Then concern clouded Izuna's features as her gaze turned towards Ayumu and then back to Rei, the Hakkiyako student twiddling her gloved fingers nervously.
"My lady, Abydos is a dangerous district so this Izuna will scout ahead," the voice was full cheery confidence, but golden eyes kept darting back towards the blonde GSC officer accompanying the group,"Izuna will find a safe path to Abydos High School for you!"
A blatant yet unspoken question was left hanging in the air as Izuna's eyes fully focused on Ayumu, startling the older student into flustered babbling at being put in a spotlight.
"I, uh… That's, umm…"
The burden of responsibility asserted itself and anxious confusion gave way to silent consideration and, soon after, a decision.
"Aris-chan, could you go with her, please?"
"Ayumu-san," the dark-haired girl replied, uncertainty tinging her voice, "Reducing party size is risky. Are you sure?"
"Abydos is a dangerous place," the blonde answered with conviction clear in her standing and in her voice, "A lot of delinquents hide out here. I'd be less worried if Izuna-san wasn't alone." She looked at the younger girls, her eyes earnest but firm. "Please?"
The blue lenses of Aris's eyes contracted and adjusted. A warm smile graced her lips.
"Pam-pa-pa-pam! It is a quest! The scouting party will make sure to clear a path! No delinquent will get near the Seed of Life! Let's go, Izuna-san!"
Fear of separation.
Question of value.
Unneeded self.
Two mismatched girls were left alone on a deserted sidewalk as the 'Scouting Party' rushed ahead. The pair did not dally overlong, just long enough for Ayumu to ascertain that Rei wasn't suffering from heatstroke, and then they too pressed onwards past abandoned houses, businesses, and the all-consuming sand.
At length, Ayumu broke the awkward silence that had settled between them.
"Abydos wasn't always like this," she said, and her voice was unusually quiet. "Many years ago, before any of us were even middle-schoolers, this place was considered one of the great academies of Kivotos."
An abandoned car had been left intruding into the sidewalk and the pair was forced to walk over empty street lanes to continue in the wake of their friends, trudging past a labyrinth of shifting sand and forgotten fragments of familiar life.
"Sandstorms did this," Ayumu continued once her footing was once again stable. "Sandstorms… and pride."
"Pride?"
Arrogant understanding.
Denial of others.
Self-destruction.
"Maybe our seniors could have done more," the blonde replied, regret in her voice and her black wings twitching nervously as she avoided the question. "But we can't change the past. Abydos is no longer one of the great academies and soon it might not be even a small school anymore."
She was silent for a moment before concluding bitterly, "I wish we hadn't come here. This is where student's dreams come to die."
Ayanami Rei was left to her own turbulent thoughts as Iwabitsu Ayumu did not elaborate further, walking silently and pensively, yet alert to her surroundings. A part of her realized that the older girl was acting strangely and yet realization offered no reprieve as the pallid girl found herself at a loss for what to do to restore the kindly demeanor she was used to.
What is the appropriate behavior for this situation?
What would a human do?
The awkward silence between the girls had reasserted itself for what seemed to be an endless stretch of interminable time before Ayanami Rei spoke up in a tone that was halting and unsure and tentative.
"Home," she said, "This place… it reminds me of my home."
Ayumu stopped and turned around to look at the younger girl with a puzzled expression.
"My home also…suffered a disaster," the girl spoke haltingly as she stopped to carefully choose and consider her words. "People struggled. It was difficult. It would have been easier… to disappear."
She was lying, of course. In more ways than one.
Second Impact had been much more than a simple 'disaster'.
The initial meteor impact alone had killed millions due to the sudden increase in sea levels and the violent shift in weather patterns. The wars which followed in the aftermath had, in turn, scorched countries, and killed and displaced millions more.
Between catastrophe and conflict, humanity had found its numbers reduced by half in the span of a single year.
And yet, despite standing on the edge of oblivion, humanity endured.
They endured because of those who were aware of the lie.
They endured because of those who were aware that there had been no meteor.
They endured because of those who were aware of wings of light and the wrath of God in all its fury.
"Why did they choose to live?"
Why do I fear death?
"Why does Abydos choose to live?"
Why do they fear death?
In all honesty, she possessed neither crowd-winning charisma nor scintillating wit. Her thoughts were disorganized, and her words verged on being apathetic, censored as they were for security reasons.
Rhetoric was not her strength.
She was only fourteen.
All she had were insecurities, fears, and sentiments she could not understand nor give voice to.
"I do not know much of Kivotos nor Abydos," that much, at least, was the unblemished truth, "I do not know why I was brought here nor what aid I can provide."
All she had was...
"I want to know. I want to understand," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
She raised her gaze and walked past the stunned older girl without another word.
Silence returned, interrupted only by the sound of their own footsteps. Her words had failed to restore Iwabitsu Ayumu's mood, although Rei recognized a slight shift in the way the older girl carried herself as she glanced back at her from the corner of her eye. She could only hope that whatever was consuming the older girl's thoughts would run its course and hopefully-
"Rei-chan, why does your halo not disappear when you sleep?"
Ayanami Rei stumbled.
Slowly, she turned around to look at the winged blonde a few steps behind her. Rei's voice was raspy when she spoke.
"…What?"
"Why do you flinch whenever someone steps close to you?"
She wasn't aware she did that.
Iwabitsu Ayumu stepped forward.
Ayanami Rei took a step back.
"Why does it always feel so cold around you?"
Iwabitsu Ayumu took another step forward.
Ayanami Rei took another step back.
Somehow, she already knew what Iwabitsu Ayumu was going to ask next.
"Iwabitsu-san, please do n-"
"Rei-chan," Ayumu said, and her voice rang inexorably in Ayanami Rei's ears, "why does Aris call you 'Seed of Life?'"
She stepped back as if struck.
"Please do not ask me that."
NERV HQ's labyrinthine corridors, a sky full of stars, the Entry Plug, a ruined building, the blue sky, and the ocean…
Was the ocean blue or red?
"Rei-chan, please, won't you tell me? I want to understand too. I want to understand you! What is it? Why does Aris call you-"
"That information is confidential. You do not have the appropriate security clearance."
She stepped back as if struck.
"Rei-chan, please. I'm your friend, right? Won't you trust me? I want to-"
"That information is confidential. You do not have the appropriate security clearance."
"Rei-chan, I-"
"My Lady! The path is clear! Izuna found an Abydos student to guide us!"
The pair of SCHALE representatives saw both Aris and Izuna calling from only a few dozen meters ahead. A girl with feline ears atop her head and dark hair in twin-tails was walking alongside them.
Iwabitsu Ayumu forced a smile on her face and stepped forward to greet them.
Ayanami Rei was not good at understanding her own feelings. She was even worse at understanding the feelings of others.
But the look of hurt in Iwabitsu Ayumu's eyes was unmistakable.
---
Lesson 19: End
What did we learn today, class?
Yes, that's correct!
Dialogue is how humans bridge their differences and find common ground.
Join us again next time for Lesson 20: Mundanity. We'll have: Ordinary days, unremarkable in every way save for the memories that remain.
Don't be late!
---
AN: This chapter was brought to you by the song "Rei I". Its alternate title during planning was "Hedgehog's Dilemma". I'm very happy with a lot of what was written here and I'm crossing my fingers for one more chapter in November. I make no promises, however, as I have other projects gestating that I would dearly love to share with you. --Kero
From dust you came, and to dust you shall return.
The district of Abydos was dead.
Colossal wrecks of a once vibrant district, now sun-bleached and bare, stretched out across a desert horizon as far as the eye could see. At first, towards the outskirts, closer to the border of academies both great and small, the group of four teenaged girls had still been able to observe remnants of activity and life. Now, closer to what should have been the beating heart of the academy, the truth was written plain upon barren streets and abandoned buildings choked by sand.
The district of Abydos was dead.
And yet there existed those who looked upon that simple truth and refused to accept it.
Rejection of common sense.
Scars from the past.
Fear of death.
Ayanami Rei understood. She had felt the frozen grasp of terror in her very bones during that moment of stark clarity shortly after arriving in Kivotos when she had first realized that the empty vessels that would become a new Ayanami Rei were not present. The young girl bitterly recalled how carelessly she had treated the very concept of mortality before, not out of any notions of misguided courage but out of something far worse.
Ignorance and resignation.
How many times have I died?
The snarling woman's hands tightened around her neck, crushing and squeezing and then…
Darkness.
The self-destruct was engaged, and she felt only the briefest moment of heat and light and then…
Darkness.
And somehow there were others still. Unfamiliar and hazy recollections of NERV HQ's labyrinthine corridors, a sky full of stars, the Entry Plug, a ruined building, the blue sky, and always, always darkness without end.
Whose memories are these?
Attempting to focus on the deluge of haphazard images resulted in a jolt of discomfort and pain not dissimilar to the one she had first felt when Rin had interrogated the means of her arrival to the city.
Ayanami Rei stumbled.
"Rei-chan?"
She dismissed both voiced concern and fleeting remembrance with a shake of her head, unnecessary distractions from the truth which remained unchanged before her and needed to be accepted and confronted.
The district of Abydos was dead.
And Ayanami Rei, much to her bewilderment, found that she empathized with those who looked upon that simple truth and refused to accept it.
The young girl's bewilderment was further compounded upon as she found her vision obstructed by the wide brim of what appeared to be a sunhat placed upon her head. Red eyes curiously peeked over the edge to notice green eyes and a concerned smile peering back at her.
"Kuda-san rushed back to get a hat for you," Iwabitsu Ayumu said as she turned slightly to regard the ninja girl. Ruby eyes followed her gaze to discover the vulpine student bashfully twiddling her fingers, a happy and awkward smile on her features. Rei felt surprised as she had not noticed the slightly older girl's departure nor her return, so lost had she been in her own thoughts and disjointed memories. If Ayumu noticed the young girl's momentary shock, she gave it no heed as she continued, "She thought the sun might be getting to you. You looked a little dazed. Are you alright?"
A brief pause was followed by a quiet, "Yes," as Rei nodded at kimono and sailor uniform garbed girl. "Thank you, Kuda-san."
The brunette beamed, her awkward smile turning blindingly bright. Then concern clouded Izuna's features as her gaze turned towards Ayumu and then back to Rei, the Hakkiyako student twiddling her gloved fingers nervously.
"My lady, Abydos is a dangerous district so this Izuna will scout ahead," the voice was full cheery confidence, but golden eyes kept darting back towards the blonde GSC officer accompanying the group,"Izuna will find a safe path to Abydos High School for you!"
A blatant yet unspoken question was left hanging in the air as Izuna's eyes fully focused on Ayumu, startling the older student into flustered babbling at being put in a spotlight.
"I, uh… That's, umm…"
The burden of responsibility asserted itself and anxious confusion gave way to silent consideration and, soon after, a decision.
"Aris-chan, could you go with her, please?"
"Ayumu-san," the dark-haired girl replied, uncertainty tinging her voice, "Reducing party size is risky. Are you sure?"
"Abydos is a dangerous place," the blonde answered with conviction clear in her standing and in her voice, "A lot of delinquents hide out here. I'd be less worried if Izuna-san wasn't alone." She looked at the younger girls, her eyes earnest but firm. "Please?"
The blue lenses of Aris's eyes contracted and adjusted. A warm smile graced her lips.
"Pam-pa-pa-pam! It is a quest! The scouting party will make sure to clear a path! No delinquent will get near the Seed of Life! Let's go, Izuna-san!"
Fear of separation.
Question of value.
Unneeded self.
Two mismatched girls were left alone on a deserted sidewalk as the 'Scouting Party' rushed ahead. The pair did not dally overlong, just long enough for Ayumu to ascertain that Rei wasn't suffering from heatstroke, and then they too pressed onwards past abandoned houses, businesses, and the all-consuming sand.
At length, Ayumu broke the awkward silence that had settled between them.
"Abydos wasn't always like this," she said, and her voice was unusually quiet. "Many years ago, before any of us were even middle-schoolers, this place was considered one of the great academies of Kivotos."
An abandoned car had been left intruding into the sidewalk and the pair was forced to walk over empty street lanes to continue in the wake of their friends, trudging past a labyrinth of shifting sand and forgotten fragments of familiar life.
"Sandstorms did this," Ayumu continued once her footing was once again stable. "Sandstorms… and pride."
"Pride?"
Arrogant understanding.
Denial of others.
Self-destruction.
"Maybe our seniors could have done more," the blonde replied, regret in her voice and her black wings twitching nervously as she avoided the question. "But we can't change the past. Abydos is no longer one of the great academies and soon it might not be even a small school anymore."
She was silent for a moment before concluding bitterly, "I wish we hadn't come here. This is where student's dreams come to die."
Ayanami Rei was left to her own turbulent thoughts as Iwabitsu Ayumu did not elaborate further, walking silently and pensively, yet alert to her surroundings. A part of her realized that the older girl was acting strangely and yet realization offered no reprieve as the pallid girl found herself at a loss for what to do to restore the kindly demeanor she was used to.
What is the appropriate behavior for this situation?
What would a human do?
The awkward silence between the girls had reasserted itself for what seemed to be an endless stretch of interminable time before Ayanami Rei spoke up in a tone that was halting and unsure and tentative.
"Home," she said, "This place… it reminds me of my home."
Ayumu stopped and turned around to look at the younger girl with a puzzled expression.
"My home also…suffered a disaster," the girl spoke haltingly as she stopped to carefully choose and consider her words. "People struggled. It was difficult. It would have been easier… to disappear."
She was lying, of course. In more ways than one.
Second Impact had been much more than a simple 'disaster'.
The initial meteor impact alone had killed millions due to the sudden increase in sea levels and the violent shift in weather patterns. The wars which followed in the aftermath had, in turn, scorched countries, and killed and displaced millions more.
Between catastrophe and conflict, humanity had found its numbers reduced by half in the span of a single year.
And yet, despite standing on the edge of oblivion, humanity endured.
They endured because of those who were aware of the lie.
They endured because of those who were aware that there had been no meteor.
They endured because of those who were aware of wings of light and the wrath of God in all its fury.
"Why did they choose to live?"
Why do I fear death?
"Why does Abydos choose to live?"
Why do they fear death?
In all honesty, she possessed neither crowd-winning charisma nor scintillating wit. Her thoughts were disorganized, and her words verged on being apathetic, censored as they were for security reasons.
Rhetoric was not her strength.
She was only fourteen.
All she had were insecurities, fears, and sentiments she could not understand nor give voice to.
"I do not know much of Kivotos nor Abydos," that much, at least, was the unblemished truth, "I do not know why I was brought here nor what aid I can provide."
All she had was...
"I want to know. I want to understand," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
She raised her gaze and walked past the stunned older girl without another word.
Silence returned, interrupted only by the sound of their own footsteps. Her words had failed to restore Iwabitsu Ayumu's mood, although Rei recognized a slight shift in the way the older girl carried herself as she glanced back at her from the corner of her eye. She could only hope that whatever was consuming the older girl's thoughts would run its course and hopefully-
"Rei-chan, why does your halo not disappear when you sleep?"
Ayanami Rei stumbled.
Slowly, she turned around to look at the winged blonde a few steps behind her. Rei's voice was raspy when she spoke.
"…What?"
"Why do you flinch whenever someone steps close to you?"
She wasn't aware she did that.
Iwabitsu Ayumu stepped forward.
Ayanami Rei took a step back.
"Why does it always feel so cold around you?"
Iwabitsu Ayumu took another step forward.
Ayanami Rei took another step back.
Somehow, she already knew what Iwabitsu Ayumu was going to ask next.
"Iwabitsu-san, please do n-"
"Rei-chan," Ayumu said, and her voice rang inexorably in Ayanami Rei's ears, "why does Aris call you 'Seed of Life?'"
She stepped back as if struck.
"Please do not ask me that."
NERV HQ's labyrinthine corridors, a sky full of stars, the Entry Plug, a ruined building, the blue sky, and the ocean…
Was the ocean blue or red?
"Rei-chan, please, won't you tell me? I want to understand too. I want to understand you! What is it? Why does Aris call you-"
"That information is confidential. You do not have the appropriate security clearance."
She stepped back as if struck.
"Rei-chan, please. I'm your friend, right? Won't you trust me? I want to-"
"That information is confidential. You do not have the appropriate security clearance."
"Rei-chan, I-"
"My Lady! The path is clear! Izuna found an Abydos student to guide us!"
The pair of SCHALE representatives saw both Aris and Izuna calling from only a few dozen meters ahead. A girl with feline ears atop her head and dark hair in twin-tails was walking alongside them.
Iwabitsu Ayumu forced a smile on her face and stepped forward to greet them.
Ayanami Rei was not good at understanding her own feelings. She was even worse at understanding the feelings of others.
But the look of hurt in Iwabitsu Ayumu's eyes was unmistakable.
---
Lesson 19: End
What did we learn today, class?
Yes, that's correct!
Dialogue is how humans bridge their differences and find common ground.
Join us again next time for Lesson 20: Mundanity. We'll have: Ordinary days, unremarkable in every way save for the memories that remain.
Don't be late!
---
AN: This chapter was brought to you by the song "Rei I". Its alternate title during planning was "Hedgehog's Dilemma". I'm very happy with a lot of what was written here and I'm crossing my fingers for one more chapter in November. I make no promises, however, as I have other projects gestating that I would dearly love to share with you. --Kero
Last edited:
For L19: Resting place of dreams
New
Froggie
That radiant kindness was nothing but cruel
"I do not know much of Kivotos nor Abydos," that much, at least, was the unblemished truth, "I do not know why I was brought here nor what aid I can provide."
All she had was...
"I want to know. I want to understand," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
For L19: Resting place of dreams Alt1
New
Froggie
That radiant kindness was nothing but cruel
This drawing brought to you by "Please give me wings" on repeat for the past hour.
Thanatos
New
