Rei Ayanami Raising Project

[Sculpt0r]

I don't think turning it back on Rei is a good idea. Besides the fact that we have to send children out to fight (in these giant war cyborgs), we're supposed to be the adult here. Misato has (presumably) received training and instruction in tactics and command. Rei hasn't. Just. Feels bad to throw that in her face.

Plus, if we say 'oh you could've died' then Rei might double-down on her own perceived disposability, which is not great with Asuka in the room.

 

[Mechasaurian]

Plus, if we say 'oh you could've died' then Rei might double-down on her own perceived disposability, which is not great with Asuka in the room.

Click to shrink...

I mean, Rei is doubling down on her percieved disposability right now.

She's angry in large part because we didn't treat her as the disposable pawn she percieves herself as.

Also, Asuka is upset because we keep giving her the most dangerous jobs but didn't give Rei the same treatment here.

So yes, I say push back.

 

[TNO]

The fourth option does not suit me.

Click to shrink...

Fair enough.
But there is this problem. Rei now is finally influenced by her emotions. And emotions are both good and bad. Sure there is being happy with her friends, but also the possibility of anger and frustration when something goes wrong.
And things are very wrong.
Rei never has been really angry in her life, even here (in canon the closest thing is slapping Shinji, or angry glare at Asuka). This negative emotions will pent up, and fester. Then after some time it will blow in some ugly fashion.
It is better for everybody allow her to vent up now, in (more or less) controlled environment. More healthy in the long run.

Also it may give us more insight into what she thinks/feels now.

 

[Mechasaurian]

I appreciate Rei learning to express her feelings, but I really don't think her slagging off her commander is the way to go about it.

Plus, again, her feelings are "you should have put me in the line of fire because I'm the disposable one." Do we want to legitimize that?

 

[TNO]

There is no easy way out from this situation.
Fighting her now will resolve this particular conflict, but in the long run isn't healthy.

I appreciate Rei learning to express her feelings, but I really don't think her slagging off her commander is the way to go about it.

Click to shrink...

Either we treat her as quasi-adoptive child, or as a solider who has to shut up and follow the orders. Can't have it both ways.

Plus, again, her feelings are "you should have put me in the line of fire because I'm the disposable one." Do we want to legitimize that?

Click to shrink...

Most probably. But it maybe something more. We don't know. And as they say "Assumption is the Mother of All Fuckups"

Also at least it allows us to control the damage.

 

[Mechasaurian]

Either we treat her as quasi-adoptive child, or as a solider who has to shut up and follow the orders. Can't have it both ways.

Click to shrink...

Is that really what the vote is saying/doing?

I will note. Rei actually did ask us to explain ourselves. She even said "please." So I say we give her an explanation.

Most probably. But it maybe something more. We don't know. And as they say "Assumption is the Mother of All Fuckups"

Also at least it allows us to control the damage.

Click to shrink...

Is it really much of an assumption when Rei has been struggling with feelings of disposability (and possibly outright suicidal ideation) the entire story, and is now - again - showing a lack of concern for her own well-being next to others?

EDIT: Also, the possibility of "Rei saying something both her and Misato regret" doesn't seem like damage control to me. It could make their relationship worse, not better.

 

[Comrade Future]

I don't think turning it back on Rei is a good idea. Besides the fact that we have to send children out to fight (in these giant war cyborgs), we're supposed to be the adult here. Misato has (presumably) received training and instruction in tactics and command. Rei hasn't. Just. Feels bad to throw that in her face.

Plus, if we say 'oh you could've died' then Rei might double-down on her own perceived disposability, which is not great with Asuka in the room.

Click to shrink...

I meant the opposite - that Rei-chan is too precious, and her loss will make others feel the same as she does now.
I am ready to accept alternatives, but "Let her lay" does not suit me categorically.

 

[Metalbard]

Great, just when things were starting to get better with Rei.

[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.

I almost picked the fourth option, but in the end, i think not answering will be worse than a answer she won't like to hear.

 

[GreatWyrmGold]

Asuka says to shut up and keep firing. She screams that if Shinji gets her killed she's going to kill him. She sounds hysterical.

Click to shrink...

Don't blame Shinji, it's not his fault. Blame us.

The pilots are all alive, miraculously.

Click to shrink...

Thank god (unless he's the bastard in charge of these Angels). I hope we never fight another Angel with an unblockable AOE attack like that again...for the same reason that I anticipate that we'll see several more of them before this war(?) is over.

Too bad there's no "because I knew you'd let yourself be killed" option.

Click to shrink...

We could probably write one in if we thought that was best.

Explain yourself, Major. Rei thinks for a second. Please, she adds as an afterthought.

[ ] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.
[ ] Blame the Angel instead. Rei should be directing her ire at the monsters trying to kill you all. You're both on the same team here. Fighting amongst yourselves isn't helping anything.
[ ] Try to find some way to escape this interaction and push this discussion to another time. Rei is probably not interested in whatever you have to say when she's in this (frankly terrifying) emotional state. Hopefully you can have a civil discussion once she's had some time to calm down.
[ ] Let her lay into you, if that's what she wants. Hopefully she will not say or do something you will both regret.

Click to shrink...

#4 seems obviously dangerous. Cathartic for Rei, but it doesn't address either the short-term anger or Rei's long-term issues. #2 is good for the former but not the latter. So...try to tackle it now, or delay and hope we can handle it better later?

[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.
-[X] Ask what Rei would want if her and Shinji's positions were reversed. Would she want Shinji to risk his life to protect her?

 

[Parzival95]

[X] Let her lay into you, if that's what she wants. Hopefully she will not say or do something you will both regret.

Rei needs to vent right now. Let her be emotional.

 

[Nottheunmaker]

[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.

 

[PurposefulZephyr]

[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.
-[X] Ask what Rei would want if her and Shinji's positions were reversed. Would she want Shinji to risk his life to protect her?

Edit: I don't know if sub-plans count towards general (turn back on Rei), but in case it doesn't
[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.

Silence sounds like an awful idea here.

 

[<o>U<o>]

[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.
-[X] Ask what Rei would want if her and Shinji's positions were reversed. Would she want Shinji to risk his life to protect her?

 

[Bernkastel]

This feels like a messy choice, one where none of the options doesn't have me anxious about how it could go wrong. But I don't have any insights to offer, so I'm hoping whatever wins doesn't result in an update that feels like "we fucked up".

 

[Sutekh]

There's a tie, 8-8, on this vote between Turn it back on Rei and Let her lay into you.

Both of these choices have fairly different outcomes, so I'm reluctant to break the tie myself here, but I will do it if nobody changes their vote (or votes to break the tie).

 

[Mechasaurian]

If anyone else is still on the fence about this, I will reiterate my support for Turn it back on Rei.

Rei specifically asked us to give her an explanation. So I say we respect her wishes.

 

[Kymecho]

[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.

 

[Sutekh]

Very well. Votes are now closed.

 

[Sutekh]

[X] Turn it back on Rei. What would she have done, in your position? You did what you could to reduce the risk to the pilots. If you had ordered her to get in front of Shinji, she could have been the one hurt, or worse, considering her willingness to throw her life away in battle.

You decide to stand your ground on this one. Rei's been questioning your leadership in battles for the last couple of encounters you've had with the Angels, and you're kind of sick of it. Especially given her critiques amount to wondering why you aren't sending her to her death. You feel like you did the best you could with a very bad situation here, and you don't think this is fair of Rei. Someone was going to get hurt, no matter what you did. You took a decision you felt minimized the risk, and unfortunately, Shinji drew the short stick in this fight.

You ask Rei what she would have done in such a desperate situation, and challenge her to come up with something better than you did. Rei says she would have ordered Unit-00 to take fire for Unit-01 without hesitation. Okay, and then the pilot of Unit-00 is in the hospital instead, and now you have the pilot of Unit-01 yelling at you instead. Or worse, the pilot of Unit-00 gets herself killed because she cannot be trusted with her own sense of self-preservation. Maybe the pilot of Unit-02 gets hurt too, because nobody is drawing any fire away from her either. Now you have two pilots in the hospital, maybe two Evangelions down. Or worse.

You did what you could, but the exact outcome was outside of your control. Rei interjects. Surely you knew that having Shinji shoot without protection would result in this outcome, didn't you? You explain your reasoning. You say when she gets like this it makes it difficult for you to trust that she will not throw her life away, and that influenced your decision, too. You assure her it was a painful choice for you to make.

Rei seems unhappy with your explanation, but she appears to have calmed down a bit. She sees. She understands your reasoning. But she still doesn't think there's anything wrong with her dying. It's not like it'd be of any consequence.

Asuka interjects and says that's bullshit. Shut the fuck up, Rei. Do you know how upset the Idiot would be if she died? Doesn't she care about anyone other than herself? Rei has to be the big hero, does she? Does she think the Commander will give her pats on the head and say she's his best little doll if she's a good girl and lets herself get burnt to a crisp? No, he won't touch her because she'll be a corpse. When you die, that's it, dumbass. Are you stupid?

Rei frowns and tells Asuka not to comment on matters that do not concern her. She is not a doll.

Asuka says she'll comment on whatever the hell she wants. Who died and put her in charge of Asuka's life? Stop talking like she knows better than everyone, because she's stupider and more clueless than anyone else. Rei doesn't know jack shit about anything or anyone. Maybe Rei's the one who should stop commenting on shit that doesn't concern her.

You tell Asuka to knock it off. She's made her point. No need to further antagonize her. You tell Rei that Asuka is right. About the dying part, not the part about her being stupid. It's your responsibility to keep Rei alive, and you care about her. You refuse to back down from this position. No matter who was in what Evangelion during this fight, you would have done your best to minimize the risk here. It's unfortunate Shinji was hurt, but you are also worried about him.

You plan to visit him the second you're able to. You can't bully the hospital staff into letting you, unlike Rei. Rei breaks eye contact with you, her cheeks flushing slightly. Rei says okay. She understands your decision. She's going to visit Shinji again. You get the sense she's not fully satisfied with your assessment of the situation and is obviously still very upset about Shinji getting hurt, but she doesn't seem like she's contemplating killing you anymore, which is a relief.

You hope either you or Asuka got through to her about her feelings regarding her disposability, but you're not convinced she's changed her ways. She seems to have accepted that you refuse to abandon her in battle, at the very least.

Her feelings regarding Asuka do not seem to have fared as well, though. She takes a moment to glare at her roommate before leaving the room.

God, she really is stupid, Asuka mutters to herself. You tell Asuka to consider the way she talks to other people. Asuka says Rei is stubborn. She said what needed to be said. If Rei wants her respect so bad, she should try to earn it instead of acting like she's entitled to it because she's the Commander's pet. If she wants Asuka to be nice to her, why doesn't she try being nice to other people for even one second, instead of just caring only about her own feelings? Tell Rei to consider that, why don't you?

You don't think you have another heart-to-heart in you right now, but you do think Asuka might have a point. Rei hasn't exactly done anything to make Asuka feel welcome. But on the other hand, Asuka hasn't exactly been amicable with Rei either. You wish everyone could just get along.

Conversation
Select one of the following for each:
Talk to Rei about:
Talk to Asuka 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 for each pilot (if the same activity is selected for two pilots, they will attend that activity together):

[ ] Combat training
[ ] Synchronization training
[ ] Physical training
[ ] Study
[ ] Arts program
[ ] Go out/free time

Note: Shinji is not available this week for activities.

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

 

[Mechasaurian]

For activities, I want to take both Rei and Asuka on synchronization training. They both showed very high sync scores on that last op - I want to better understand why, and perhaps capitalize on that.

Conversation topics. For Rei...I don't know. Obviously her own sense of self-preservation is the hot topic, but we just had a big heart-to-heart about that already.

Maybe ask about NERV? What is NERV to Rei, exactly? She grew up there, after all. Has her thoughts about the institution she's spent her entire life around changed any?

For Asuka, maybe talk about friends? Social life? Her possibly being less of a prickly pitbull?

Imma put down


Conversation
[X] Talk to Rei about:
-[X]NERV
Talk to Asuka about:
-[X] Friends

Activities

[X] Rei: Combat training
[X] Rei: Synchronization training
[X] Asuka: Combat training
[X] Asuka: Synchronization training

Special Activity: [X] Cover your ass. Gendo was on the warpath with you before the Angel battle, and while victory might stave being fired off for a bit, you want him to know just how indispensible you actually are. Write a report about the battle showing why your decision to fight - and, by implication, your actions with the pilots up until now - was/were the correct one/s.

Yes, it's a lot of training. Frankly I think it's needed. The Angels are not getting any easier. And we still have not had our Zeruel equivalent.

 

[VX-145]

That talk went reasonably well, I think. We've not quite gotten through to Rei but I think we made progress? Yay?


Mechasaurian's plan is good, though I think we talked to Asuka about friends recently?

Conversation
[X] Talk to Rei about: NERV
[X] Talk to Asuka about: Friends


Activities

[X] Rei: Combat training
[X] Rei: Synchronization training
[X] Asuka: Combat training
[X] Asuka: Synchronization training


For write-ins... this tends to be where I struggle, but have a suggestion anyway:

Special Activity: [X] Cover your ass. Gendo was on the warpath with you before the Angel battle, and while victory might stave being fired off for a bit, you want him to know just how indispensible you actually are. Write a report about the battle showing why your decision to fight - and, by implication, your actions with the pilots up until now - was/were the correct one/s.

EDIT: Vote formatting.

 

[SpacePaladin]

Special Activity

[X] Write-in
-[X] Recruit Horaki and Pen2 and make Shinji get well packages with Asuka and Rei.

 

[Mechasaurian]

Special Activity: [X] Cover your ass. Gendo was on the warpath with you before the Angel battle, and while victory might stave being fired off for a bit, you want him to know just how indispensible you actually are. Write a report about the battle showing why your decision to fight - and, by implication, your actions with the pilots up until now - was/were the correct one/s.

Click to shrink...

I like it.

 

[Indivisible]

Conversation
[X] Talk to Rei about:
-[X]NERV
[X][]Talk to Asuka about:
-[X] Friends

Activities

[X] Rei: Combat training
[X] Rei: Synchronization training
[X] Asuka: Combat training
[X] Asuka: Synchronization training
Special Activity:
[X] Cover your ass. Gendo was on the warpath with you before the Angel battle, and while victory might stave being fired off for a bit, you want him to know just how indispensible you actually are. Write a report about the battle showing why your decision to fight - and, by implication, your actions with the pilots up until now - was/were the correct one/s.

 

[GreatWyrmGold]

Having caught up on the quest I have realised something:
I can't handle this, it's too stressful to be at the forefront of these fight arcs and think about what the best option might be, so I'm not watching this quest for now.

Someone please @ me an update or two after this fight arc is finished so I don't forget about this amazing quest

Click to shrink...

@BeepSmile, the fight is over and we're planning for next week. Nobody died except the Angel and some anonymous wild animals.

Asuka interjects and says that's bullshit. Shut the fuck up, Rei. Do you know how upset the Idiot would be if she died? Doesn't she care about anyone other than herself?

Click to shrink...

Asuka, if you pay attention to the words coming out of Rei's mouth, you'll realize that Rei caring too much about herself is the opposite of the problem.

Rei frowns and tells Asuka not to comment on matters that do not concern her. She is not a doll.
Asuka says she'll comment on whatever the hell she wants.

Click to shrink...

Rei, if you pay attention to the words coming out of Asuka's mouth (or at least the volume thereof), you'll realize that this was only going to make her comment more.

Note: Shinji is not available this week for activities.

Click to shrink...

...
I'm going to pretend I didn't see that.

Mechasaurian's plan is good, though I think we talked to Asuka about friends recently?

Click to shrink...

Maybe if I keep linking the spreadsheet I made for this specific purpose, people will remember they can check that instead of guessing.
Anyways, yeah. We asked Asuka about friends in week 20, and we're planning for week 25. Not super recent—the update came out in September—but not that far back either.

Did I forget to mark it public? Is the formatting bad? Is it missing something people think is important? Or do people just not remember it exists when it could be handy?


[X] Talk to Rei about: NERV
[X] Talk to Asuka about: Well-Being
[X] Rei: Combat training
[X] Rei: Synchronization training
[X] Asuka: Combat training
[X] Asuka: Art program
[X] Shinji: Convalescence

If we don't have a particular plan for handling the Rei Thing, I don't see much point asking her about friends again. But talking with Rei about NERV seems like a good idea.
Synchronization is not Asuka's problem. If anything, her synchronization rates are too high already. (Don't tell her I said that.) Anyways, the only time she's done art since she came here is her self-imposed painting contest with Rei, which...wasn't ideal. I think she'd enjoy a chance to play violin, especially if she figures out how to do angsty rock covers on it.

[X] Special Activity: Cover your ass. Gendo was on the warpath with you before the Angel battle, and while victory might stave being fired off for a bit, you want him to know just how indispensible you actually are. Write a report about the battle showing why your decision to fight - and, by implication, your actions with the pilots up until now - was/were the correct one/s.
[X] Special Activity: Recruit Horaki and Pen2​ and make Shinji get well packages with Asuka and Rei.
I don't want to choose, but that's not my job. Sutekh has to make that call.