Personal Matters II: Three Secrets
[X] Write-in:
-[X] Hug Rei. Let her calm down before continuing.
-[X] She's not going to be alone. You accepted her, Angel and all.
-[X] You've spoken to Shinji - you haven't told him the secret, but you've sounded him out on the subject of secrets in general as subtly as you can and he was pretty positive about it.
-[X] He shares her fear of rejection. Yes, Rei has a pretty big reason to be worried - but these worries are also just a natural part of getting closer to someone.
-[X] With the last Angel battle and everything else, Shinji's probably aware something is up. It'll be a lot better for you both if you talk about it now instead of having it hover over your head like a literary metaphor of her choice.
Rei flinches from the sudden physical contact. Her skin is still cool to the touch. She's having trouble believing you fully accept her. It's understandable, considering your history, but you insist that you're in her corner. She stares blankly at you without arguing back. You can see doubt behind her dark red eyes. It will take time to rebuild the trust between you two. As much as you hate to admit it, you too feel a nagging wariness towards Rei, pulling down on your guts like inverted marionette strings. It annoys the loftier parts of yourself.
You recount your last conversation with Shinji. Rei is displeased and anxious about how you've made telling her secret to Shinji a fait accompli, but she recognizes she doesn't have much of a choice now that you've primed Shinji to expect her to open up. She can only hope you're being truthful about Shinji's potential receptiveness, but…
But?
But there are things she does not want to tell him. Or that she has no idea how to tell him. Her secret is really three secrets: that she's a clone, that she's not fully human, and that her DNA and shape are partially based on Yui Ikari's. At least one of those things is going to be objectionable to each of her teammates. For Ikari, it's that she's been salvaged from Yui Ikari's remains. For Sohryu, she will find Rei's lack of humanity objectionable. For Horaki, Rei isn't sure, but Horaki was injured by one of her…sister clones, so Rei can't imagine she's going to take that well.
She'll try to figure something out, since you've forced her hand. But this isn't just a simple fear of rejection. It's information that has severe consequences for her relationships. She needs time to think.
Over the course of the next few days, your pilots' circumstances gradually change. Rei begins making appearances outside of Terminal Dogma again. The injuries on her foot have healed completely, but as you and Ritsuko had feared, a long pink line of scar tissue runs up her injured arm. Ritsuko has explained this to Gendo as a necessary precaution given the public nature of her injuries. He seems to buy it, for now. Rei, for her part, has dutifully acted a little muddled about events since the Twelfth Angel, though you suspect that Ritsuko has strategically amped up her medication dosage to sell it.
Hikari is no longer confined to a hospital bed, though remains restricted to the medical wing. She's been allowed to move around in a wheelchair. You occasionally see Suzuhara pushing her around while the two of them converse pleasantly. He gives you the stinkeye whenever you see him.
The first pilot to be returned to your care is Shinji. His movements are restricted; he is to be either at NERV HQ, at home, or in your car. Asuka remains confined to HQ, which of course she finds deeply unfair, outrageous even.
Meanwhile, repair work begins on the Evangelions. While Unit-01 requires fairly minor fixes, the others require extensive attention, particularly Unit-03, which has no functioning appendages and is riddled with holes. Unit-02 isn't in much better condition. Unit-00 also needs repairs, though the mechanical crew assigned to it are understandably reluctant to touch it.
One unusual thing to come out of the damage to the Evangelions is a change of color. Perhaps in a bid to get away from Unit-03's image as a harbinger of oblivion, they have opted to repaint it from black and red to a less morbid color palette. Hikari settles on orange with indigo highlights as her color of choice, but apparently sales projections don't favor two orange Evangelions, so the PR department bickers like seagulls fighting over a long-forgotten French fry before approaching Rei for a color change to Unit-00. Rei is largely apathetic about whatever color the Evangelion is, so long as it isn't red, so Unit-00 gets repainted an inky blue the color of the sea at night, with ivory highlights. Each sigil representing a dead Angel is reverently reinscribed into the armor in milky silver. The latest conquest is represented by a feather.
Outside of NERV, developments are worrying. Civil unrest in the wake of the Angel attack has spread across the country, blossoming into brief paroxysms of violence before being snuffed out by the wet thumb of the law. The first homicide in the history of Tokyo-3 occurs over the weekend. Nobody you know. It's as if the presence of the Thirteenth Angel has permanently tainted the psychic landscape of Japan.
This is outside of your jurisdiction, however. You decide to focus on the lone ward remanded to your care. Shinji. It's just the two of you, plus Pen2, in the two halves of your apartment now. It's…weird. It doesn't feel unnatural, but it's the first time it's just been the two of you. Shinji mostly keeps to himself in a way Rei does not. Unlike Rei, who is a creature of inescapable routine and can be expected to make appearances at locales within your apartment with the regularity of the phases of the moon, Shinji is furtive and haphazard in his movements about your residence. You've never noticed before. The girls mask his presence, you suspect. At any rate, he deliberately seems to be avoiding you, if only not to be a bother.
This state of affairs has left you feeling quite lonely. The peace and quiet is unnerving.
What will you do?
[ ] Force Shinji to hang out with you. You can't leave the apartment with him, but it's something to do.
[ ] Go to Kaji's place.
[ ] Go back to HQ and see if there's anything for you there to distract yourself with.
[ ] Go for a walk.
-[X] Hug Rei. Let her calm down before continuing.
-[X] She's not going to be alone. You accepted her, Angel and all.
-[X] You've spoken to Shinji - you haven't told him the secret, but you've sounded him out on the subject of secrets in general as subtly as you can and he was pretty positive about it.
-[X] He shares her fear of rejection. Yes, Rei has a pretty big reason to be worried - but these worries are also just a natural part of getting closer to someone.
-[X] With the last Angel battle and everything else, Shinji's probably aware something is up. It'll be a lot better for you both if you talk about it now instead of having it hover over your head like a literary metaphor of her choice.
Rei flinches from the sudden physical contact. Her skin is still cool to the touch. She's having trouble believing you fully accept her. It's understandable, considering your history, but you insist that you're in her corner. She stares blankly at you without arguing back. You can see doubt behind her dark red eyes. It will take time to rebuild the trust between you two. As much as you hate to admit it, you too feel a nagging wariness towards Rei, pulling down on your guts like inverted marionette strings. It annoys the loftier parts of yourself.
You recount your last conversation with Shinji. Rei is displeased and anxious about how you've made telling her secret to Shinji a fait accompli, but she recognizes she doesn't have much of a choice now that you've primed Shinji to expect her to open up. She can only hope you're being truthful about Shinji's potential receptiveness, but…
But?
But there are things she does not want to tell him. Or that she has no idea how to tell him. Her secret is really three secrets: that she's a clone, that she's not fully human, and that her DNA and shape are partially based on Yui Ikari's. At least one of those things is going to be objectionable to each of her teammates. For Ikari, it's that she's been salvaged from Yui Ikari's remains. For Sohryu, she will find Rei's lack of humanity objectionable. For Horaki, Rei isn't sure, but Horaki was injured by one of her…sister clones, so Rei can't imagine she's going to take that well.
She'll try to figure something out, since you've forced her hand. But this isn't just a simple fear of rejection. It's information that has severe consequences for her relationships. She needs time to think.
Over the course of the next few days, your pilots' circumstances gradually change. Rei begins making appearances outside of Terminal Dogma again. The injuries on her foot have healed completely, but as you and Ritsuko had feared, a long pink line of scar tissue runs up her injured arm. Ritsuko has explained this to Gendo as a necessary precaution given the public nature of her injuries. He seems to buy it, for now. Rei, for her part, has dutifully acted a little muddled about events since the Twelfth Angel, though you suspect that Ritsuko has strategically amped up her medication dosage to sell it.
Hikari is no longer confined to a hospital bed, though remains restricted to the medical wing. She's been allowed to move around in a wheelchair. You occasionally see Suzuhara pushing her around while the two of them converse pleasantly. He gives you the stinkeye whenever you see him.
The first pilot to be returned to your care is Shinji. His movements are restricted; he is to be either at NERV HQ, at home, or in your car. Asuka remains confined to HQ, which of course she finds deeply unfair, outrageous even.
Meanwhile, repair work begins on the Evangelions. While Unit-01 requires fairly minor fixes, the others require extensive attention, particularly Unit-03, which has no functioning appendages and is riddled with holes. Unit-02 isn't in much better condition. Unit-00 also needs repairs, though the mechanical crew assigned to it are understandably reluctant to touch it.
One unusual thing to come out of the damage to the Evangelions is a change of color. Perhaps in a bid to get away from Unit-03's image as a harbinger of oblivion, they have opted to repaint it from black and red to a less morbid color palette. Hikari settles on orange with indigo highlights as her color of choice, but apparently sales projections don't favor two orange Evangelions, so the PR department bickers like seagulls fighting over a long-forgotten French fry before approaching Rei for a color change to Unit-00. Rei is largely apathetic about whatever color the Evangelion is, so long as it isn't red, so Unit-00 gets repainted an inky blue the color of the sea at night, with ivory highlights. Each sigil representing a dead Angel is reverently reinscribed into the armor in milky silver. The latest conquest is represented by a feather.
Outside of NERV, developments are worrying. Civil unrest in the wake of the Angel attack has spread across the country, blossoming into brief paroxysms of violence before being snuffed out by the wet thumb of the law. The first homicide in the history of Tokyo-3 occurs over the weekend. Nobody you know. It's as if the presence of the Thirteenth Angel has permanently tainted the psychic landscape of Japan.
This is outside of your jurisdiction, however. You decide to focus on the lone ward remanded to your care. Shinji. It's just the two of you, plus Pen2, in the two halves of your apartment now. It's…weird. It doesn't feel unnatural, but it's the first time it's just been the two of you. Shinji mostly keeps to himself in a way Rei does not. Unlike Rei, who is a creature of inescapable routine and can be expected to make appearances at locales within your apartment with the regularity of the phases of the moon, Shinji is furtive and haphazard in his movements about your residence. You've never noticed before. The girls mask his presence, you suspect. At any rate, he deliberately seems to be avoiding you, if only not to be a bother.
This state of affairs has left you feeling quite lonely. The peace and quiet is unnerving.
What will you do?
[ ] Force Shinji to hang out with you. You can't leave the apartment with him, but it's something to do.
[ ] Go to Kaji's place.
[ ] Go back to HQ and see if there's anything for you there to distract yourself with.
[ ] Go for a walk.
