The Third VI: Dance Dance Reivolution
[X] Break the news to Gendo

You made a promise. Besides, there's a very good chance Gendo already knows what you did. Time to bite the bullet. You knock on Gendo's door. Very gently. Maybe he won't hear you and you can just say oh well you tried—

Enter, Gendo's voice issues from a loudspeaker hidden somewhere nearby. You nearly jump out of your skin. You begin thinking this is a very bad idea and your brain cycles through a few flimsy excuses to get out of this, but none of them work. Okay, Misato, let's be brave. You faced down the First Angel all by yourself. And almost died, but…irrelevant. This is only a man.

You enter the room, where you find Gendo and Fuyutsuki in their usual spots. Rei is absent this time, which erodes your confidence. You think her presence would lend some credence to your arguments. I mean, you can see that she looks healthier now.

Ah, Captain Katsuragi, you have something you'd like to tell Gendo?

You gulp and tell Gendo that you've taken Rei into your home. You found her apartment in an unacceptable condition for a young girl—a valuable asset like an Evangelion pilot to live in. You actually end up using very similar arguments to the ones you used to convince Rei to leave. Rei is more similar to Gendo than you realized. You finish by bringing up Rei's sync ratio, which has increased eight points since moving into your home.

Gendo does not say a single word the entire time you talk. It's like trying to convince an oncoming boulder to not crush you. When you finish, Gendo leans slightly forward at his desk. The little light in the office catches his glasses so you can no longer see his eyes.

Do you know what it's called when you take a child into your custody without permission, Captain? It's called kidnapping. The blood drains from your face. Thankfully for you, Gendo is deigning to give you permission to keep Rei in your apartment. For now. The results of Rei's sync scores speak for themselves. Fuyutsuki chimes in that he had long thought Rei should be moved elsewhere, to Gendo's clear annoyance.

Gendo continues. The instant there is a problem, this arrangement will stop. Considering the living conditions you described at Apartment 402, the degree of which Gendo claims ignorance, she obviously cannot move back there, so rest assured she'll be put elsewhere. If it comes to that. Gendo trusts that it will not. Gendo also informs you that if you even dreamed you would succeed keeping Rei's whereabouts from him, you would be sorely mistaken. He knew about her move within seconds of you leaving her apartment with boxes of her possessions. Of course, you would not withhold such important information from him, certainly not for a week next time, right, Captain?

Moreover, you have bigger issues to worry about. Shinji will not pilot Evangelion Unit-01. Gendo of course would have put the boy on a high speed train out of the city as soon as possible, but the train is not currently running, thanks to your stunt with the N2​ mine. You take some personal satisfaction in seeing Gendo's annoyance here. Moreover, Fuyutsuki thinks the boy can be persuaded. By you, ideally. If he can before train service is restored to Tokyo-3, he can stay, provided he behaves himself.

Also, you're dismissed. Take good care of Rei. Gendo will be watching you.



[X] Do not tell Rei

You agonize over the decision, but you eventually decide that Rei might not be ready for this information right now. She should focus on adjusting to her new living situation and growing stronger as an Evangelion pilot. She can process her fucked-up situation later. You hope.

[X] Ask Rei when her birthday is

Rei doesn't know. She's only vaguely familiar with the concept of a "birthday" and a "birthday party". She's pretty sure she's supposed to be fourteen. You're taken aback by this, but Rei just goes back to her reading as if admitting she's not sure of her age and date of birth is no big deal.



[X] Arcade (kids like that sort of thing, right?)
[X] Friendship. Rei needs a friend that isn't you. You know, if she considers you a friend. You're not sure about that.

Okay, okay, let's finally get these kids acquainted. You drag Rei downtown to an arcade, where Shinji is waiting outside with a frown. He looks tired. The arcade, in spite of recent events, is noisy and crowded-looking. You guide Rei over to him and prod her into introducing herself. Shinji's frown disappears, and he looks warily at her as she introduces herself as the pilot of Evangelion Unit-00 (and 01, for now). You quickly add that this is Rei. Rei sticks out her hand stiffly. This is what people do when they meet. Rei saw it on TV.

Shinji mutters something under his breath and shakes her hand, blushing slightly. Shinji introduces himself as "nobody important". You give him a Look and he adds that his name is Shinji Ikari. Rei stares at him. Shinji stares back. Rei pulls out a crumpled piece of paper from her uniform pocket and hands it wordlessly to Shinji. It's a picture of Pen2​. Shinji looks at it with confusion but pockets it. Rei seems happy about this.

You usher the two of them into the arcade and immediately are overwhelmed with noise, humidity and people. It's also dark. They have those cool blacklights that make certain colors glow. Rei's hair glows bright purple. At the very least, you don't have to worry about losing her in here. Shinji mumbles that he likes Rei's hair. Rei cups her hand to her ear, clearly unable to hear him over the din. Shinji repeats himself louder, flushing. You smirk at him and he gives you a brief glare. This should be fun.

You drag them around the arcade and try to encourage them to try a few different games. It's a little awkward. They're hesitant at first, but you manage to get them to play a light gun game about shooting zombies together. Rei's a pretty good shot, and Shinji isn't terrible either. Nonetheless, they die pretty quickly. Rei seems disappointed and you let her keep playing until Shinji gets tired of it. Rei wants to keep trying until she wins, but you push them along to other games.

Shinji keeps bumping into other patrons and profusely apologizing. You're not sure he's having fun. Rei seems okay, though you can tell she's getting some sensory overload based on how frequently she looks around the room.

You find the DDR machine. They are going to dance for your personal amusement. You will make this happen. You cajole and tease Shinji into stepping up to the plate. Rei just goes with it. And holy shit, Rei is freakishly good at DDR. After some initial frustration with the machine, Rei suddenly enters a Zenlike state and begins nailing every beat. PERFECT after PERFECT lights up on the screen. Shinji, for his part, does just okay. Rei obviously smokes him. He seems pretty put out by this, so you swallow your pride and decide to take one for the team. You tell Shinji to step aside, you'll show Rei how it's done.

And proceed to get your ass handed to you. Again and again and again. It's what you expected, but you weren't aiming to win. You were aiming to make Shinji root for Rei against you. And it worked. Shinji finally seems to be having a good time. It takes some convincing to get Rei off the machine (she's still more than capable of continuing, she tells you), but you unveil a second phase of your plan. You promise to take over Rei's chores for a week if Shinji can beat you three times at this game. Rei lets you and Shinji battle it out while she watches and roots for Shinji against you. You and Shinji are more closely matched than you thought, and he beats you twice. He never manages the third time, but Rei occasionally volunteers some advice to him, and he does improve a little.

You manage to survive, and you decide to leave the two of them to their own devices and grab a beer at the bar. You'll easily be able to find Rei again if you need to.

Three beers later, you remember you should probably go and check on the kids. You survey the room, and…where's Rei? Oh no. Oh no no no. You just had a meeting with Gendo about taking care of her. You can't lose her. You wobble to your feet and wander the arcade, unable to find Rei's distinctive hair. Shit! You're about to despair when you spot Rei out of the corner of your eye outside the front entrance, standing next to Shinji.

Hello, Captain. Rei informs you she needed some air. Shinji agrees. The two of them seem to be making some conversation about one of Rei's hobbies. Mahjong. Shinji apparently plays sometimes too. Good to know. Anyway, you think today went well. Nobody died, the two kids seem to like each other, they had a conversation. Everything is good in Tokyo-3.



Random Event

Everything is not good in Tokyo-3. The amount of damage caused by the N2​ mines and Angel attack has the populace pretty spooked, and a mass exodus has begun as people realize they really would rather not be in the city giant alien monsters have at the top of their shitlist, nor one the military would readily blow up in the case of an emergency. The death toll settled at one hundred and thirty-eight civilians dead and thirty-one military personnel KIA. It's not exactly attractive to a homeowner.

The JSSDF is also disgruntled about the entire thing. It made them look bad. You need to reinspire some confidence to make sure your population doesn't hoof it to safer climes. They're a major pool of personnel and funding, and a valuable source of normalcy for NERV employees. Now it's your job to convince these people to stay in a potentially dangerous place to keep the air in the balloon hot. You cannot force them, much as you would like to.

What will you do?

[ ] Hold a demonstration of the Evangelion. Show people that they're safe with the tools NERV has to offer.
[ ] Center a propaganda campaign around the pilot(s). Let people feel like they know them and use them as a rallying point to appeal to people's sense of duty. They might not have loyalty to a sketchy government operation, but they could be convinced to be loyal to an individual.
[ ] Offer special benefits to the citizens. This will cut into NERV's budget, and likely only work on people in more precarious positions economically, but it's probably the most moral thing to do.
[ ] Something else (Write-in)
 
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The Third VII: Preparedness Day
[X] Hold a demonstration of the Evangelion. Show people that they're safe with the tools NERV has to offer

You call a press conference to announce a public demonstration of the Evangelion and joint training exercise with the JSSDF, which you hope will help assuage the bruised egos of the military after being frankly humiliated by NERV. There's palpable tension in the air when you meet up with the generals to arrange the exercise. They don't like you and are not at all shy in letting you know it. Nevertheless, you do what you can to be as gracious and cordial as possible, which helps somewhat.

You decide to have Rei sit in on the meeting. The generals are unsure what to make of her. She never speaks during the meeting, but you can tell they're uneasy about her obvious youth and intense seriousness. You're pretty sure they knew she was a child, but seeing her in person puts it into starker focus. They complain about NERV's use of child soldiers, though not necessarily to you, which you take as progress.

The exercise itself goes well. Rei has Unit-01 perform some basic maneuvers before letting her show off some more acrobatic exercises. They're nothing fancy. You can tell most of the citizens in attendance are ambivalent, but the children and young people are captivated by the whole spectacle. Ritsuko armed with a microphone serves as commentary for the Evangelion's capabilities, and you run some exercises where Unit-01 tears up some obsolete military equipment and metal targets in tandem with the JSSDF. It's a good day, for the most part. Rei finishes the show by politely bowing to the assembled crowd in Unit-01.

The only real snag in the whole thing is the JSSDF shows off its newest R&D with some robot they built called "Jet Alone". It impresses the crowd but the guy presenting it keeps taking the opportunity to get digs in at the Evangelion for being "energy inefficient", "hard to repair", "requires an on-board pilot", etc, etc. Someone from behind the stage has to yank him offstage and tell him to knock it off and present a united front to the citizens of Tokyo-3. It doesn't seem to ruin the festivities, but still, it's something to be concerned about. Ritsuko seethes about it to you after the event concludes.

As a result of the demonstration, the exodus slows down some, though not as much as you hoped. You might be short-handed if this keeps up for too long. Best to make your next Angel fight cleaner to seal the deal on this sales pitch. Doing some exercises with JSSDF has demonstrated it is possible to use the Evangelion together with them in a way that doesn't involve just throwing them into harm's way and keeping Rei out of the action. It's not much, but they seem to hate you less now, so it's a win in your book.



It's time.

Conversation
Select one of the following for each:
Talk to Rei about:
Talk to Shinji about:

Self
[ ] General well-being
[ ] Mood
[ ] The past
[ ] The present
[ ] The future

Others
[ ] Yourself
[ ] Friends
[ ] Romance

Environment
[ ] NERV
[ ] School
[ ] Home
[ ] Tokyo-3
[ ] The World

Activities
Select two of the following (Rei only):

[ ] Combat training
[ ] Synchronization training
[ ] Physical training
[ ] Study
[ ] Arts program
[ ] Go out

Special Activity
You may do one special activity of your choosing each week. It won't raise Rei's stats, but you can use it to bond with her, affect her mood, or solve her problems. Additionally, you can also use this slot to pursue your own projects, if any. This is not controlled by majority vote. The QM will merely choose the most entertaining one.

[ ] Write in
 
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The Third VIII: Hikari
[X] Talk to Rei about Friends

Rei thinks about it for a moment. Misato is Rei's friend, she thinks. She's not fully sure, since you're also her CO and her roommate, so her relationship with you is a bit more complicated than the others in her life right now. Most of her other relationships are easy to define. Coworkers. Classmates. Superior officers. The only person who she'd consider filling multiple roles like you are right now is the Commander. But…she's not sure the Commander is her friend. He's something else.

What about Shinji? Rei isn't sure. She doesn't really know him very well, and she's not sure Shinji enjoys her company. Truth be told, not many people do. That's why she doesn't have any friends at school. But that's fine; Rei does not need her classmates to like her. Whether they like her or not has nothing to do with whether she can pilot Eva. Rei's expression noticeably darkens as she says this. You feel a sense of foreboding.

[X] Talk to Shinji about General well-being

You catch Shinji loitering around the Geofront awkwardly. He's staying in quarters on-site, so they can't not let him stay here, but the overwhelming bulk of the facilities here have no relevance to him as a civilian. Most of the personnel are studiously attempting to ignore him, for the most part. Nobody wants to risk unwanted attention from Gendo.

You ask Shinji how he's doing, but he tries to weasel his way out of it and mostly just mumbles to himself. You finally manage to get him to talk, and the results are hardly surprising. Shinji's feeling stressed out. He feels like he should not have come here, and you're the only person who has even spoken to him all day. He never feels like he knows what he's supposed to be doing. His father wants him to pilot a machine he's never seen before to fight giant aliens. He knows he can't do that! He doesn't have any real talent for anything, and he's too scared. He also resents his father for calling him up after years of neglect only to demand he work for him. He's also pretty sure that if he transfers into his new school nobody will talk to him there, either.

The only good time he's had is the arcade outing. He still isn't sure what to make of Rei. She kind of scares him, to be honest. He's worried Rei doesn't like him. She's really good at everything, and Shinji is just there. It's no wonder she hasn't spoken to him this week, right?

Do you have anything you want to say to Shinji?

[ ] Write-in



[X] Combat training

You decide to work on Rei's hand-to-hand techniques. You noticed that during her fight with the Third Angel she was often stabbing randomly, rather than efficiently, even before she was blinded. You help her focus her attacks and teach her how to reduce the amount of movement she needs to execute an attack. You also work on some hand-to-hand grappling drills in case she's disarmed again. Rei keeps hesitating to land the kill in simulations, which concerns you. She didn't hesitate before. Rei is evasive when you press her on this, and keeps resolving to correct herself when confronted. Eventually, she stops hesitating, so you guess it's fine. For now.

[X] Study

You have a frank discussion with Rei about her grades. Rei opens her mouth to give you the "the world is ending and my grades are low priority" spiel she gave you last time you asked her about school, but you head her off by agreeing with her. Rei seems confused. Shouldn't things be fine as they are, then? You shake your head. Like it or not, both her and you are being scrutinized by your superiors. You do not know how much, if at all, Gendo cares about Rei's academic performance. But you do not want to take any unnecessary risks. You very carefully tell Rei that Gendo has threatened to remove her from your care if he is dissatisfied with anything. Rei frowns. That is…unfortunate. Rei decides to try harder in school. Besides, perhaps she could learn something she could use in piloting, right?

Rei spends her evenings this week trying to catch up on her long-neglected readings.


יסוד
~Foundation~



Random Event

You're sitting at home, having your usual second afternoon beer after an early finish on Friday, only to have your Misato Time interrupted by someone ringing the doorbell to your apartment very insistently. It can't be Rei, as she just wordlessly lets herself in. You've been trying to train her to announce she's home so you can greet her, but it so far hasn't taken.

You open the door to find a rather intense-looking girl with brown pigtails and a dusting of freckles across her face standing in front of Rei, who is looking at the ground with a clearly irritated expression. The girl introduces herself as Hikari Horaki, class representative for Class 2-A. Are you Ms. Katsuragi? Rei's guardian? You answer in the affirmative and straighten the straps on your tank top. You look a mess. Not a great impression to give. She looks at you dubiously before continuing.

Hikari proceeds to explain that Rei decked one of her classmates in the face. She doesn't sound angry, or anything, but she thinks you ought to know about Rei's behavior at school. Rei misses class a lot, and often doesn't pay attention at all. One of her classmates, Suzuhara, approached her earlier and apparently said something very unkind to Rei. His sister, Sakura, was injured in the Angel attack, you see. Anyway, Rei responded by punching him in the nose. Hikari's already given Suzuhara a stern talking-to, but Rei is not seeing reason on this and refuses to apologize. Hikari's expression softens and she admits she's been earnestly very worried about Rei's situation for a while, and that's why she's here.

What will you do?

[ ] Write-in



[X] Special Activity: Do something nice for Rei to celebrate her Angel kill. Buy or make her a gift (maybe her own art equipment?), take her out for a nice dinner, that sort of thing.
-[X] Make it her first birthday party. Rei has apparently never celebrated her birthday, whenever that is; let's make up for lost time and give her the experience(s) she has missed out on.

You decide to throw Rei a surprise birthday party/celebration party for her Angel kill. Who are you inviting? (select three):

[ ] Shinji
[ ] Hikari
[ ] Ibuki
[ ] Aoba
[ ] Hyuga
[ ] Ritsuko
[ ] Fuyutsuki
[ ] Gendo
 
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The Third IX: The Birthday of Rei Ayanami
[X] Tell him that Rei doesn't dislike him and also told her that she's unsure if he enjoys her company, she's not very good with people but is less cold than she looks like.

You try to build Shinji up by reassuring him that Rei does not dislike him. You tell him that Rei is bad at reading people and is somewhat shy. Not entirely true, but close enough for Shinji to understand that Rei isn't ignoring him because of something that he did. You actually tell him that Rei is having some of the same worries about him that he is about her. Shinji looks relieved. Did she, um, say anything else about him? You tease him and say he's going to have to ask her himself. Shinji's expression sours a little, but he seems a lot less stressed out than before.



[X] Ask Rei to tell you her version of the events and explain that while being offended is an healthy reaction to an insult she should understand that her classmate was hurt by the angel's attack and his reaction while unfair was understandable too.

You invite Hikari inside and have the pair of them sit at the kitchen table. Hikari sits quietly and looks expectantly at Rei. Surprisingly, Rei gives her version of events without prompting from you. She informs you that Suzuhara physically grabbed her by the collar and began shouting at her about his younger sister, who was apparently injured in the flooding of the waterfront. Rei informed him that the N2​ mine was neither her decision nor executed by her, and he began directing his ire towards you. Rei felt a violent urge and so hit him in the face. He was being irrational and did not appreciate the necessity of defeating the Angels at any cost, nor the personal sacrifices that Rei may have to make in the future to ensure that happens. Rei sounds surprisingly bitter as she relates this.

Hikari listens quietly to all this and asks her to consider that Rei may not be fully appreciating the sacrifices Suzuhara's family has made in service of defeating the Angels. Rei opens her mouth, and your intuition tells you that Rei is going to say something very inflammatory about Sakura. It's not hard to guess what it is: that Sakura wouldn't have gotten hurt had she evacuated properly. Being hurt in an accident isn't exactly the same as getting hurt in the line of duty. But you empathize with Sakura's situation. You were hurt for being in the wrong place at the wrong time before. Probably the worst time and place in human history.

You head Rei off by agreeing that Suzuhara's reaction was unfair and inappropriate, but understandable. He must really care about his younger sister. Rei became angry because he was saying hurtful things about you, right? Suzuhara is feeling exactly the same, if not more intensely, for his sister's sake. Rei's own urge to hurt Suzuhara was driven by the same irrational urges. Rei considers this and does not argue further. She hadn't…thought of that.

Hikari gently requests that Rei consider apologizing to Suzuhara for striking him. She will see to it that he does not do this again. She bows politely to you, seemingly having gained some respect for you and your words of wisdom, before taking her leave.

Rei excuses herself and secludes herself in her bedroom until suppertime. You exhale in relief. You're secretly a little proud of Rei for expressing her feelings and being able to punch a boy out. You've punched a few boys out in your time. It's a delicate time now, but you hope you can laugh about this with Rei someday.



[X] Shinji
[X] Hikari
[X] Ibuki

You invite Shinji and Hikari to a little get together at an upscale restaurant to celebrate Rei's "birthday". You also invite Ibuki, as she and Rei seem to get along. At least, you're pretty sure Rei had fun playing her in mahjong. You consider Ritsuko, but you're still feeling awkward about the whole "knew Rei was living in squalor and never thought to tell you" situation, so you refrain.

Rei seems shocked when you bring her into the restaurant. Hikari, Shinji and Ibuki pull some party poppers that Ibuki smuggled in, scattering confetti everywhere. You explain that you're making up for all the birthdays Rei never had. Rei doesn't understand. Is today her birthday? You shrug at her. Does it matter? You're going to show her what a birthday party is like. It's kind of sad she hasn't had one, isn't it? Rei gives you a blank stare, but sits at the table anyway. She's learned to stop questioning this kind of thing from you.

She greets Shinji politely and nods at the girls. You tell Rei to order whatever she likes, who obliges you by ordering the most expensive item on the menu that fits her dietary needs. Your wallet is crying. Hikari expresses her surprise at Rei's vegetarianism and asks more about it. The three of them make polite conversation about food. Rei doesn't speak much, but she seems interested in the conversation. Apparently, Hikari and Shinji do a lot of cooking. For your part, you make some small talk with Ibuki. You ask vaguely how Ritsuko is doing. Ibuki says she's been under a lot of pressure lately. Rei's move, the psychograph results, Jet Alone, a bunch of churn at NERV Germany…it's a lot. Is everything alright between you two? You shrug and say you've just both been busy. You know Ibuki really looks up to Ritsuko and do not want to open that can of worms with her.

At the end of the dinner, you return to your shared apartment for cake. It was a little hard to find a vegan one, but you somehow managed. It took four hours and a dozen phone calls. Rei blows out her candles after some brief confusion, and then receives a gift from each of the guests.

From Shinji, a set of watercolor paints. From Ibuki, a mahjong set of her own. From Hikari, ever practical, a fancy notebook and set of expensive pens. And from you, a charcoal art kit. Rei, in her subdued way, seems happy.

It's a good night.



Conversation
Select one of the following for each:
Talk to Rei about:
Talk to Shinji about:

Rei
[ ] General well-being
[ ] Mood
[ ] The past
[ ] The present
[ ] The future

Others
[ ] Yourself
[ ] Friends
[ ] Romance

Environment
[ ] NERV
[ ] School
[ ] Home
[ ] Tokyo-3
[ ] The World

Activities

Select two of the following (Rei only):

[ ] Combat training
[ ] Synchronization training
[ ] Physical training
[ ] Study
[ ] Arts program
[ ] Go out

Special Activity

You may do one special activity of your choosing each week. It won't raise Rei's stats, but you can use it to bond with her, affect her mood, or solve her problems. Additionally, you can also use this slot to pursue your own projects, if any. This is not controlled by majority vote. The QM will merely choose the most entertaining one. Note that this activity does not have to include the pilots.

[ ] Write in
 
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The Third X: Hell Week
[X] Talk to Rei about You

You decide to tell Rei a little more about yourself now that you're a little closer. You're flattered Rei would punch a boy in the face for your sake. You briefly go over your service history and background; you gloss over some of the less pleasant details of your childhood (like being at Ground Zero for the ongoing mass extinction event and spending around three years in a quarantine facility). Rei doesn't really need to know those details. You tell Rei that you joined NERV for the sole purpose of destroying the Angels. You quickly add that this is, of course, to protect humanity and ensure world peace, blah blah blah, but deep down you know that those are abstract concerns to you. Rei looks at you blankly. You hope she didn't think anything of that little slip-up.

At the very least, Rei seems to like staying with you immensely and likely considers you the closest person to herself (apart from perhaps Gendo). She finds you a little confusing at times, but appreciates your efforts to expose her to new stimuli. It's very educational.

Well, okay then.



[X] Talk to Shinji about Home

Shinji tells you that he's living by himself in the Geofront. It's…okay. He's used to being by himself. He used to live with a teacher of his, but the teacher was pretty old, and they didn't really spend much time with each other. It's not like they were family or anything. It's fine. Shinji's used to it. Anyway, he's not allowed to live anywhere else right now until his father decides what to do with him. Shinji clenches his fists. He hates that his father has so much control over his life right now, after spending so much time not even acknowledging that he existed. It isn't fair. Shinji says he's going to just wait this situation out and keep out of the way. It's worked so far. Maybe his dad will forget about him soon. Shinji would like that.

How do you respond?
[ ] Write-in



[X] Physical training
A pilot really needs to keep in shape. The greater their physical capabilities, the easier it is to imagine the Evangelion performing those same feats. Of course, a high synchronization rate helps, but there's a limit to unrefined talent.

At the moment, you're trying to work on Rei's stamina and endurance, which is, based on her performance after you asked her to drop and give you 50, frankly pathetic. Granted, the girl was wheelchair-bound for almost a month and may have been slowly dying of malnutrition before you taught her how to cook stir-fry, but this is weaksauce. You're not sure how the Marduk Institute determines pilots, but it's clearly not based on any physical attributes, given how scrawny Shinji looks and how waifish Rei generally is. You feel some pity for the girl as the grunts with exertion, but this will not do at all.

You spend the week doing mostly cardio and compound exercises. Running on a treadmill, squats, jump rope, running up flights of stairs, that sort of thing. You're sure Rei absolutely hates you after every session, because after a certain point during each session she fixes her gaze on your face like an annoyed cat. You'd rather not think about what she's imagining about you. Regardless, she seems to improve with each session, so it's doing something. Rei takes to doing a few simple exercises in her room each morning as well.

You also make sure Rei remembers to hydrate herself. You're pretty sure her hydration routine was…erratic, prior to your intervention. It gets hot in Tokyo-3, and a lot of water is lost through sweat. The last thing you need is for her to get heat stroke.

[X] Go out

As a treat for putting up with your torture sessions, you take Rei out for shave ice after each session. Rei begins experimenting with different combinations of syrup. She doesn't talk much about her results, or really much at all, but she seems less annoyed with you after she takes the first bite. You assure her that it gets easier over time. She gives you a dubious look but doesn't object. She understands why she needs to do it.

In the remaining free time, Rei uses her new watercolor set to draw pictures of Pen2​ and some rather abstract pictures of what you assume are clouds. She also occasionally fiddles with her mahjong tiles and tries playing against herself.



Random Event

Gendo calls your apartment phone.

He is en route to your apartment to inspect Rei's living situation for himself.

He will be there in around ten to fifteen minutes.

You look around your apartment. Detritus from Rei's "birthday party" still remains scattered around the kitchen; you were both meaning to get rid of it, but working out takes so much out of both of you, you know? There's a weird smell coming from the trash. Your fridge is stuffed to the gills with beer. Pen2​ is walking around with one of your less socially-acceptable undergarments caught on one of his weird little claws, warking pathetically. Meanwhile Rei is lounging on the couch in nothing but a towel, flipping through the channels with a bored expression. Also, both your and Rei's bedrooms look like bombs went off in them. You've been keeping the communal areas of the apartment clean, but each of you took your own rooms as chores assigned to their respective owners and whoops! You suck at keeping your room tidy!

Oh god, oh no, oh shit! Rei notices your growing panic quickly and asks what's wrong, without taking her eyes off the television.

You have to triage this. You do not have time to make your entire apartment presentable in the remaining interval before Gendo's arrival.

[ ] Write-in
 
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Sariel I: Der Engel des Mondes
[X] Shinji: Ask him if he wants to try to have a relationship with his father, maybe open up about how Misato didn't have a chance to. Agree that it's unfair, and point out how Gendo is generally bad with people.

You decide to be a little vulnerable around Shinji and tell him about your father. You leave out the circumstances by which you were parted (civilians by and large have been told the Second Impact was caused by a hyper-speed meteorite impact; details about the Contact Experiment are classified), but you tell him that you never really had a chance to get to know your father. He was always busy with his work, and left your mother and you behind. You hate to make excuses for him, but you say that your father was a weaker man than you thought, and couldn't connect to others the ways other people wanted him to.

You agree that it's unfair Gendo has dragged Shinji back into his life only to demand total obedience from him. You, if you were in Shinji's position, would not feel like Gendo had really earned that. Nevertheless, you tell Shinji three things. One, that Gendo may be weaker than he looks and struggle to connect to others (you refrain from comparing him to Rei; Rei doesn't deserve that sort of insult); two, that this is probably the only way Shinji will ever have a chance to reconnect with his father; and three, you ask him what he wants to do. He has that choice to reconnect or to not reconnect.

Shinji tells you he needs some time to think about it. He seems more focused than when you started talking to him.



[X] Random Event: Tell Rei that Gendo is coming to inspect the apartment in 10 minutes and that he may send her elsewhere if he thinks that this place is too dirty, then tell her to get dressed, clean her room and the kitchen while you clean the lounge and hide/clean up the trash

You inform Rei of the imminent arrival of Gendo. Rei's eyes widen just barely perceptibly. She turns the television off and scoops up Pen2​, who warks in annoyance, and shoves him into his refrigerator. Her face is one of calm determination, but you can tell that she's also panicking inside. She looks to you for direction.

You tell her to first get dressed. Rei's always been a little…lax about the amount of clothing she wears in the evenings, but it's never really bothered you that much. It's not like you're much better. It's her home, she can lounge around in the nude if she wants to. That said, Gendo doesn't need to know this.

Rei rushes to her bedroom to get changed. You tell her to tidy her space as much as she can while she's in there, and then to handle the kitchen. Meanwhile, you tackle the living room and toss as much of the garbage as you can into your bedroom. You really hope Gendo has no reason to look in there. You figure he's mostly going to be concerned about the spaces Rei spends her time in. You also put the funky-smelling garbage in your bedroom for now.

You check your watch. Gendo will be here any minute and Rei is still in her bedroom. You pull open the door to find a thankfully dressed Rei trying to put away her mahjong set, which is strewn across the floor. Rei is attempting to put each tile in its exact correct order. The rest of her room is covered in crumpled balls of paper, empty blister packs of medication, dirty paintbrushes, and some fish bones that evidently Pen2​ coughed up. You tell Rei to handle the garbage while you stuff the mahjong tiles into their trays in random order. Rei's lips part slightly in apparent mortification, but she dutifully grabs the paper, fishbones and medicine packets, and in accordance with your will, throws them into your bedroom. The paintbrushes get thrown into the bathroom sink.

The doorbell rings. You haven't even started on the kitchen. You tell Rei to do her best in there while you stall with Gendo. Rei's on it.

You answer the door. Gendo, and to your unpleasant surprise, Fuyutsuki, step inside before you can even open your mouth to invite them in. You greet them and hurry them into the living room. The two of them pace the room and inspect most of the objects in it. It'd be comical if you weren't terrified out of your wits. Gendo makes some remark about how the room is cleaner than he'd expected it to be. He had heard certain rumors that you were a bit of a slob. You laugh awkwardly and dismiss them as malicious gossip, all while secretly wondering who was telling him this. A few weeks ago, you'd worry it was Rei, but you're fairly certain she's too attached to this place to do something that could potentially get her moved elsewhere.

Gendo asks if he and Fuyutsuki can stay over for dinner in a way that suggests that he's not really asking. O-of course he can! You look nervously towards the kitchen where a clattering sound emanates from within. What the hell is Rei doing in there?

Rei sticks her head out of the kitchen and greets the Commander and the Subcommander. They exchange pleasantries like nothing's wrong. Rei seems a little happy to see Gendo, which makes you feel…angry. Gendo rises and makes for the kitchen. Oh no. You try to call out to him but the words stick in your throat, and he enters beyond the curtain. You quickly rush in, preparing to apologize.

The kitchen is…not clean, but it's better than it was. Most of the party debris is gone, but the counter is messier, somehow. You realize Rei has started cooking dinner. You're not sure it's her turn, but it creates an alibi for why the counter is so messy. You hastily apologize and tell Gendo that Rei's still learning how to cook, so things can get a little messy in here. Gendo gives you a long, very Rei-like stare before sitting at the table and quietly watching Rei's cooking. He asks about the beer can pyramid. He does not sound happy.

What beer can pyramid? You look to your left to discover Rei has somehow assembled one from both discarded and still-cold cans she pulled out of the fridge. You look at Rei in stupefaction.

It is a sculpture of the Geofront, Rei informs the two of you. Rei is trying to recycle. You are unable to respond beyond nodding vigorously. You sit in extremely uncomfortable silence with Gendo while Rei cooks dinner for you. At one point, Gendo offers Rei some advice about putting away ingredients as she goes, rather than leaving it for the end. Rei smiles and begins to do so.

Rei's dish is a bland and inoffensive stir-fry that's terribly underseasoned. The vegetables are a little soggy, but it's not the worst thing you've ever eaten, nor the worst thing Rei's ever cooked for you. You shudder at the memory of that particular omelet.

The actual dinner itself with your two superior officers has to be in the bottom five though. The dinner is eaten in almost total silence. Even Fuyutsuki looks uncomfortable. After the meal, Gendo rises without thanking you for the meal and returns to the living room. Fuyutsuki is more gracious, at the very least. You decide to wash up to show you're not making Rei do all the housework, while Rei joins them in the living room. You hear them talking, though it's too quiet for you to make anything out.

You emerge to find Gendo and Fuyutsuki preparing to take their leave. Everything appears to be in order, Captain. Gendo's not exactly pleased, per se, but he seems to find Rei's living conditions satisfactory, perhaps even better than expected. Mercifully, he never asks to see either of your bedrooms.

Your bedroom stinks of fish and trash for the next three days.



[X] Special Activity: See a romance movie with Rei

Against what is probably your better judgment, you take Rei to see some romcom you'd been wanting to see. You prefer action movies most of the time, but the leading man in this movie is seriously hot and you've religiously watched all of his films. So obviously you have to see this one. You're mostly curious about how Rei will react to it, and the whole cinema-going experience in general. You're pretty sure she's never been to a movie theater, and your suspicions are confirmed by her visible confusion upon entering the lobby.

Once you settle in and the movie starts, you spend more time watching Rei's face than the very hunky pleasantly proportioned male lead in the movie. You're not really sure what to make of it. She seems…bored? Not like, "every femtosecond I have to spend here is a tiny knife through my brain" bored, but more that she's looking at the film with the same kind of polite detachment you'd look at a tank of aquarium fish in a dentist's office with. Rei doesn't really seem to get too much out of the experience, and you're a little disappointed. She doesn't seem to "get" romance yet. And you missed looking at some pecs for this! You're going to see this movie again with Ibuki or something next weekend. You hope that at least making her aware of romance has done something for her, as part of your devious plan to turn Rei into a regular teenage girl.

Of course all these thoughts take a bit of a back seat as you step out of the theater and see a long, glowing white thread slowly extending from the first quarter moon. That's not normal, right?

BLOOD TYPE BLUE CONFIRMED. ANGEL DETECTED APPROACHING TOKYO-3.

SARIEL
~Der Engel des Mondes~
The Angel is a glowing thread. It is stretching down from the moon. It is the same color as the moon. It is making a low buzzing noise like a dying fluorescent light. It is accelerating.

The early warning system was successful. Evacuation has successfully completed, and the shelters have retracted.

Your combat readiness is Good. The Geofront is Fully Intact.

The JSSDF is prepared to assist with the battle. Their combat readiness is Good. Their attitude towards you is Begrudging.

'OLE KŪ LUA
~Eighth Night~

You and Rei do some creative driving to get to NERV. Just as you park, you hear a loud boom from overhead. Great!

You and Rei part ways as she gets suited up and ready to deploy, and you head for Central Dogma's bridge. When you get there, you're greeted by three very baffled looking technicians and a frantic Ritsuko reading through some printouts at lightning speed. You demand to know what the situation is.

Well, uh, the Angel seems to have disappeared, Aoba informs you. The others confirm that the Blue Pattern detected by the MAGI computer system has vanished without a trace. The "thread" from the moon collided with the city directly above Central Dogma at high velocity before quickly reversing course and receding into the moon. The moon's surface itself, according to the latest data, does not have an Angel on it. It's very odd. It's as if the Angel has ceased to exist.

Ritsuko tells you that the MAGI supercomputer have calculated the odds of the Angel being annihilated spontaneously. The number is 0.00000000000000000002%, apparently. It is likely still out there, somewhere.

Evangelion Unit-01 and Rei are standing by, awaiting your orders.

What will you do with Rei?

[ ] Deploy Rei now.
[ ] Do not deploy Rei yet. Wait for the Angel to reappear.

What will you do with the JSSDF?

[ ] Tell them to stand by along the perimeter of Tokyo-3.
[ ] Tell them to move towards where the Angel attacked.
[ ] Tell them to withdraw for now.

And what of Shinji?

[ ] Bring him to Central Dogma.
[ ] Bring him to the Evangelion cages where Rei is standing by.
[ ] Leave him in his quarters for now.
 
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Sariel II: 'Ole ku lua
[X] Do not deploy Rei yet. Wait for the Angel to reappear
[X] Tell the JSSDF to stand by along the perimeter of Tokyo-3
- [X] Send a scout to... scout... the Angel's impact area.
[X] Bring Shinji to Central Dogma

You take control of the situation once you realize everyone's eyes are on you. You're just as confused as they are, but it's your job to make the decisions. You instruct Rei to remain on standby in the cages. You don't know what this thing can do, and you'd rather not send your most valuable asset into the potential kill zone of an unknown entity. You also instruct the JSSDF to hold their positions, though request a small detachment to go get a better look at the point of impact. You're pretty sure you hear the generals play rock-paper-scissors to determine whose unlucky men get to move into the impact zone.

Gendo mutters something about a lack of professionalism, with which Fuyutsuki concurs. You ignore them and continue to watch the monitors. The detachment moves towards the impact zone slowly.

While you're waiting for them, you also order someone to bring Shinji up to Central Dogma. Gendo objects to letting a civilian on the bridge. Fuyutsuki and him begin what you can best describe as "calmly bickering" about the pros and cons of bringing the kid up there. You argue that Shinji is going to be safer in Central Dogma where the majority of the anti-Angel defenses are located than anywhere else. You add, only half-sincerely, that in an emergency they can sortie him in the event that Rei becomes unusable.

Gendo says fine. Some intelligence goons go down to his quarters to fetch him. They return with the boy, flanking him and yanking him by both arms. You glare at them for the roughness of their treatment and apologize to Shinji. In spite of everything, Shinji apologizes to you, for some inexplicable reason. Shinji takes a moment to take in the bridge. Most of the personnel are looking on in curiosity. Gendo barks at them to pay attention to their monitors. They do so reluctantly.

The JSSDF report that the area where the Angel impacted is partially melted. It managed to pierce one of the twenty-two plates of armor between the surface and the cavern where the Geofront lies. A tittering spreads through the bridge. With just a single attack, it was able to pierce one of those plates instantly. Fuyutsuki grumbles about overestimating the defensive power of their materials. Hyuga conjectures that the Angel plans to directly attack the Geofront from above. The JSSDF relays some more data and withdraws from the impact zone. Luckily, the Angel seems either disinclined or unable to attack them.

You and the bridge wait for the Angel to return. And…it doesn't. It's the damnedest thing. Shinji asks what's going on. He seems awfully confused. Why did you bring him up here again? You reassure Shinji that everything's going to be alright to the best of your ability and move the main bridge staff, along with Shinji, into the operations room. You figure that maybe seeing that there are procedures and well thought-out discussions behind orders given to the pilots might help him feel like he's in better hands, should he decide to pilot Eva.

You, Ritsuko and the other three First Lieutenants pore over photographs of the impact crater and charts generated by the MAGI. Ibuki informs you that the attack was a simple concussive impact. A very forceful impact, but nothing fancy. Just brute strength. The temperature readings at the site also indicate that the Angel's body is also likely to be very hot. No ionizing radiation detected, thankfully. The Angel was likely traveling at thousands of times the speed of sound, on average around Mach 1013. It took around 18.463 minutes from its point of origin to reach the impact zone. Great. Worse yet, it took around a third of that time to fully retract. It was on the ground for less than five minutes. Not good.

The good news is you have some notice about an incoming attack. Only 1107.78 seconds' worth of notice, but notice nonetheless. The bad news? There's not enough to go on to figure out how to prevent another attack, beyond physically having Rei try to block it. The amount of force required to pierce one of those shields is immense, and nobody is confident that Rei's AT-Field is strong enough to absorb it without injury to the Evangelion or the pilot inside.

You're at a loss. Ritsuko suggests waiting for another attack. The data NERV collected wasn't very thorough. A more prepared research operation would be able to collect more data, and maybe reveal some kind of weakness to the damn thing.

You tell Ritsuko to do it. The Technical Division begins to place monitoring equipment on the surface near the impact zone. The entire operation takes until sunrise. Shinji watches with interest for a while before sleep overtakes him. You tell Rei to rest in the cage's quarters reserved for this kind of thing. Rei assents, sounding tired.

The next day is spent in a torturous state of listlessness. Once the equipment is in place, the only thing that can be done was wait for the Angel to come back. You don't think the thing is stupid or lazy enough to only crack one armor plate and then go back to wherever it came from. A clock counts the hours since the previous attack. You groggily sip coffee and glare at the numbers counting upwards. Somehow, Gendo is the only person that doesn't seem even remotely tired.

'OLE KŪ KOLU
~Ninth Night~

At the 23:32:18 mark, something finally happens. The thread reappears and begins its descent towards the same impact zone. After 18.463 minutes, it still hasn't impacted. It takes 27.694 minutes. The boom from above is louder this time. The strike is at exactly the same time as the previous night's attack, down to the nanosecond.

The Research Division announces a few things. One, and most obviously, the Angel has slowed down since its previous night. Two, the Angel's body temperature is around 1900 degrees Celsius. Three, most of the Angel's mass is in its "head" (i.e., the "end" of the thread that impacts Tokyo-3). Four, the Angel is emitting UV-B and UV-C radiation.

One other thing. The Angel has destroyed another layer of armor and severely damaged the third. Its attack power is increasing. At the current rate of growth, the Angel will likely penetrate the shields in five more impact attacks. Also, it's still up there. What will you do?

[ ] Deploy Rei
[ ] Deploy Rei and the JSSDF
[ ] Allow the Angel to retreat and wait until the next attack
 
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Sariel III: 'Ole ku kolu
[X] Allow the Angel to retreat and wait until the next attack

You groan and tell everyone to stand by. You think you might have a better chance if you ambush it right as it impacts. Sure enough, the Angel pulls itself off the ground and rockets off into the sky, disappearing beyond the moon. The Blue Pattern disappears once more. Ritsuko notes that the Angel was on the ground for roughly 3 minutes, which is one minute longer than the previous attack.

You spend the next few hours devising plans. First off, high yield bombs are not exactly off the table, but they are to be used as a near-final resort. Unlike the previous Angel, this Angel is directly in the center of downtown. Not exactly the place you want to drop an N2​ mine or high yield conventional explosive. There's also a good chance an N2​ mine would melt through several layers of armor, which, if it fails to kill the Angel, would make the Angel's job easier. Plus, you did implicitly promise the populace to keep the city safe with your big military rally and using another gigantic bomb against the city you're protecting probably would not look good.

The Angel's body is extremely hot. Unfortunately, the D-type heat resistant equipment being developed by NERV is not compatible with pre-production models of Evangelion like Unit-00 (Prototype) or Unit-01 (Test Type). If Unit-02 were here, this wouldn't be an issue, but Unit-02 is unfortunately still in Berlin. Unit-03 and Unit-04 are still under construction in the United States, and moreover, they do not have pilots yet. You're not sure about the status of Units-05 through 16.

'OLE KŪ PAU
~Tenth Night~

You have a few options here. Select one.

[ ] Operation Slime Pit: Fill the impact site with dilatant fluid, which will harden when force is applied to it. Maybe it will get stuck long enough to finish it off with JSSDF artillery and Evangelion power.
[ ] Operation Freezer Burn: Attack the Angel with supercooled fluid (think liquid nitrogen) to cool and maybe even harden its body, then have Rei and the JSSDF finish it off.
[ ] Operation Heaven's Rain: Attack the Angel on the way up and down with orbital bombardment of N2​ mines.
[ ] Operation Wonder Girl: Have Rei engage the Angel during the few minutes it's on the ground without doing anything else, with the JSSDF as fire support.
[ ] Wait until tomorrow and use tonight to collect more data on the Angel.
[ ] Something else (so long as it's sufficiently general and different from the above. It must also have a cool name. This is very important.) (write-in)
 
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Sariel IV: 'Ole ku pau
[X] Operation Freezer Burn: Attack the Angel with supercooled fluid (think liquid nitrogen) to cool and maybe even harden its body, then have Rei and the JSSDF finish it off.

This one seems the most promising. You order Operations to requisition every last drop of cryogenic liquid in Tokyo-3 and the surrounding area while the JSSDF sets up a complex delivery system to spray the impact site shortly after impact. Meanwhile you brief Rei on the plan. Rei doesn't ask any questions or raise any objections. Shinji, for his part, tells Rei to be careful. Rei stares at him for a moment too long before nodding once and returning to the cages to prepare herself.

You hope that at the very least the Angel won't be hot enough to burn Rei's hands. You're still concerned about its evasiveness, but you hope maybe the cold will slow it down somehow. When you're not overseeing the transportation of equipment, you stare at the hologram clock displayed high above the bridge, now ticking down until the next anticipated strike.

At 00:41:32 remaining, the Angel's thread reappears. As expected, it's moving slower, but has started earlier to compensate for the delay. According to MAGI calculations, the Angel is scheduled to impact the center of the Null Zone at exactly the same time as the previous two impacts. The JSSDF pulls back to a safe radius around the impact site. You grab a coffee and watch the monitors as the thread slowly makes its way down to the point of impact.

Gendo tells the bridge to brace themselves as the clock counts down to zero. A tremendous boom shakes the entire Geofront. The JSSDF immediately move into position and spray the coolant onto the Angel. A misty white cloud completely covers the battlefield as the liquid nitrogen instantly begins to boil. A layer of nitrogen bubbles surrounds the end of the Angel. It's hard to get a visual on the Angel.

You deploy Rei at last. The JSSDF retreats to a safe distance and takes aim. Rei approaches the cloud of vapor cautiously. Ritsuko advises that you have Rei attack sooner rather than later, as it's uncertain how long the Angel will be around before going back to…wherever it goes.

A great white hand emerges from the cloud and seizes Unit-01. The force blows the obscuring fog away and reveals the form of the Angel.

The Angel looks like a great stony hand with six fingers. It has one too many knuckles in each finger. Its fingers end in six fingered hands. Their fingers end in six fingered hands. It glows white like the surface of the moon. It is hard to look at. It is emitting ultraviolet radiation. It is crushing your pilot.

Rei manages to pry herself free with some effort. One of the smaller hands breaks off and smashes into the ground. Rei stumbles, clearly disoriented. The JSSDF opens fire on the Angel with artillery. Most of it bounces off the Angel's AT-Field. Unfortunately, Rei also stumbles into the crossfire. Some stray shots graze Rei. Most hit her own AT-Field, but one of them almost knocks her over. The JSSDF, to their credit, hold their fire so Rei can get her bearings.

Gendo mutters something to himself. He looks calm, but you know he is absolutely livid at the JSSDF.

Regardless of Gendo's feelings on the matter, the cryogenic treatment has made it possible for Rei to touch the Angel without fear of burning herself. Rei informs you that she's fine.

What will you do now?

[ ] Write-in
 
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Sariel V: 'Ole ku pau (continued)
[X] Have the JSSDF shoot at the thread - after Rei has neutralized the Angel's AT Field - while Unit 01 goes for the main body. Make sure Rei knows to retreat if the Angel begins to pull back.

You give the order to the JSSDF to target the Angel's…neck…wrist…tail? You think you might be able to permanently ground it, and it seems like its best offensive capability is largely tied to its ability to smash into the earth at high velocity. No thread, no lift.

Before you can have them fire at it though, you need Rei to tear apart its AT-Field. You tell Rei to do just that, with special focus on the area where the hand meets the arm. Rei gives her assent and makes ready to charge. She sprints towards the Angel, before tripping over one of the fingers splayed on the ground. The finger pulls into the palm before "kicking" outward, launching Rei into the air. Rei lands in a heap before pulling herself up and trying again. She seems a little uncoordinated after the beating she took, and the Angel is so bright…

Rei manages to jump onto the back of the hand and starts working at tearing through the AT-Field with her own arms. It's much tougher stuff than the previous Angel's and you can see her struggling to cleave it in two. Still, according to Ibuki, the AT-Field is slowly being neutralized. You order the JSSDF to take aim.

And then one of the larger fingers bends completely backwards and pins Rei's arm. Rei squeaks in pain but keeps trying to cut through the AT-Field. Rei should be able to escape but she'd have to abandon cutting through the AT-Field. Rei says she can keep going. She can do this. Rei is fine. Rei can handle it.

[ ] Trust Rei. Let her keep cutting the AT-Field.
[ ] Order her to focus on getting free first.
 
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