Nobody Dies

...Yeah, um... yeah.
"I mean, I've practically got weird crap happening on a timer, here. Just wait, three seconds and something whacky will happen."
—Pieter Sohryu, explaining the story about as well as anyone.
"Welcome to NERV. God's in His heaven because He's scared of our superior firepower."
—Yui Ikari

If Shinji and Warhammer 40 K can be called the love child of Eva, Warhammer 40,000, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, then NGE: Nobody Dies is what happens when you mix Eva with Overman King Gainer, a smidgen of Nextwave, and a not-inconsiderable number of Shout Outs. It could also be what happens when Rei is raised by the Warner siblings and Lelouch Lamperouge and then gets set loose in the Geofront.

Nobody Dies is the brainchild of Gregg Landsman, author of Walking in the Shadow of Dreams. The title's a little misleading, so here's the story in a nutshell -- it's Evangelion, except that Yui didn't go through with the contact experiment with Unit 01. As a result, both she and Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu are very much alive, and their influence on the story has turned virtually the entire series on its head, in some ways that are predictable (Shinji is more well-adjusted, though not so different from his canon counterpart as to be totally unrecognizable) and some ways that really, really aren't (Rei and Asuka, on the other hand...).

At its heart, the story is a Fix Fic and a transformation of Evangelion into a classic Super Robot show, with plenty of humor and action and giant robots beating the stuffing out of equally giant monsters. That's not to say everything is all sunshine and roses, however; not all the changes invoked are for the better, and the series has its share of dark moments. By and large, however, Nobody Dies is very much of the Lighter and Softer variety of Evangelion fanfiction, and it comes highly recommended to anyone looking for exactly that.

As of February 22nd, 2012, Nobody Dies had hit 110/79 chapters, having just begun its fifth "season." (However, it has seen no further additions since then.) Sections of each chapter are posted in the Spacebattles.com forum thread about the fic before the entire chapter is posted to fanfiction.net, if you want teasers. It should be noted that this is actually the twelfth discussion thread for this fic; here are the links to the original thread, the second [dead link] , a short-lived third thread, the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, & eleventh threads. It should also be noted that the original had become the largest discussion thread on the entire site, way past the point where threads are normally locked, and the second was one of a number of large threads that temporarily crashed Spacebattles' servers. The 3rd and every thread since, on the other hand, were locked before this could happen, and starting recently they've been getting auto-locked when they reach a length of 500 posts.

Due to this series' popularity, several spinoffs exist, often side-stories focusing on some of the many, many side characters. Canonised ones include:

  • Nobody Dies: Six AIs, One Continent, covering the misadventures of the Reego and two of the Keiworu in Australia.
  • Nobody Dies: The Trials of Kiri Harasami, a semi-prequel following a girl who's in Rei's class who gets noticed.

In addition, several future/alternate timelines have generated their own fics:

  • The Yomiverse, encompassing several stories, all focused around Yomiko Nagisa.
  • Nobody Dies: Those Who Remain, a Mana-centered story which spins off from ch. 75.

In February 2013 Gregg began posting chapters for a rewrite of the fanfic, The Rebuild of Nobody Dies One Point Zero. As of the end of 2014, it had reached fourteen chapters and nearly 145,000 words, but has seen no updates since then.

Please post single character-specific tropes to the character sheet. Other important links are at the top of the page.

Tropes used in Nobody Dies include:
  • A Boy and His X: A girl and her 200' tall giant fighting robot that thinks it's a dog.
  • Actor Allusion:
  • A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 27 focuses almost entirely on Uriel, Kensuke, Pieter, and Junior.
  • Air Vent Passageway
    • For Rei and the Ree, NERV's any accessible ductwork is a playground. They make xenomorphs and trapdoor spiders look like rank amateurs.
    • Kensuke seems to have picked this up as well. Not surprising, really.
    • During their intrusion into the canon NGE universe, T!Rei and canon!Asuka use the ductwork to get into the dummy plug chamber and wreak havoc.
    • Shinji has picked this up as well since being Reeified, but he's still not very good at it.
    • (Former) Subcommander Fuyutski is in New Vegas when a gang attacks the casino he's in. Guess how he rescues the hostages?
      • When they ask about how he got so good at it, he replies that it's an "occupational skill" he picked up.
  • All Just a Dream:
  • All There in the Manual: The fic's threads at Spacebattles.com (archived near the top of this page) contain some interesting information not found in the fic. They don't have to be read to enjoy the story, but they do help.
  • Alternate Timeline:
    • When Everybody Dies was canonized in Chapter 68, many fans began speculating about what would happen to Kei. It was suggested that she would run away to live with Kaworu in Germany, spawning the idea that their daughter Yomiko would be Locked Out of the Loop about her mother's past. Writing about the lulz that are generated when she finds out at the age of thirteen became so popular that there are three separate continuities working off of the idea.:
    • After the events of Chapter 75, Arujei created another alternate future in which Asuka, Rei, and the Ree never recovered from being tanged. This story, entitled "Those Who Remain", revolves around Mana.
  • And I Must Scream:
    • Iruel eventually corrupts Asuka's VR sim into a nightmare where Kyoko vivisects her for parts and leaves her soul trapped in her teddy bear.
    • Zeruel ends up as a tiny chunk in a jar for Kaworu to play with.
  • Animated Adaptation: An anime paralleling canon Evangelion is made in-universe, produced by Gainax and written by the Ree, complete with Gainax Ending.
  • Angrish:
    • When Yui lapses into this, you know she's truly lost her temper:
      • At the end of Chapter 19:

"She's not really angry," Shinji whispers to Asuka.
"How can you tell?" she asks.
"She's not making up words yet."
"Go back to your flurgen rooms," Yui growls towards the Ree.
"Okay, now she is," Shinji says, grabbing Asuka's wrist, and pulling her out with him.

      • Then there's her reaction at the end to Chapter 34 when she finds out Gendo started a bar brawl at the UN-sponsored dinner.

"Ffffffffffffffff....."
Rei leans into the host.
"I think she's sprung a leak."

      • Later...

"Great," Shinji groans, "Any way this day can get worse?"
The door slams open.
"Flargen! Hasshoff!"
"Oh, right," Shinji sighs, slumping into a chair, "Mom's pissed."

      • The beginning of Chapter 53 is something of an aversion: Yui becomes so angry that she loses the ability to communicate except through hand gestures and a sketchbook.
    • There's also Kyoko's reaction to learning that Asuka can pilot Unit 02 in Chapter 25.
    • Rei lets the occasional "flurgen" slip out.
  • Apocalypse How: In addition to the one nicked from canon Evangelion, Nobody Dies adds a few of its own:
    • The battle between the merged Rei/Go-Kun and ADAM causes a Class 6 on the post-Third Impact Earth of End of Evangelion It got bad enough that the Tanged souls pulled themselves together and took off into space.
    • Lilith's escape, if left unchecked, could have caused a Class 4.
    • Shinji bringing Mari into the entry plug of Unit 01 nearly caused another Class 1 Impact.
  • Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: Chapter 3, for one.

"I think so, dear," (Yui) says, "but I have no idea where we would get saran wrap in that bulk."

Asuka: "That...that was completely impossible. I mean...physics doesn't work that way!"

  • Ascended Extra: Contains many examples, some from canon Evangelion but others original creations.
    • Several of the Angels get their roles and personalities significantly more fleshed out than in Canon. Iruel, Tabris, Sandalphon, and ADAM in particular stand out; Armisael, Leliel, and Zeruel also get plenty of dialogue. Several of them even pull Heel Face Turns.
    • The Ree were originally meant to be a recurring Noodle Incident, but have since become much more fleshed out.
    • The Reego also fit this, thanks to a side story by EarthScorpion.
  • Audio Adaptation: Some readers have taken to making audio renditions of the Angels' Badass Boasts (Zeruel is a popular one). One reader even pulled out the pork products for a rendition of Iruel's dialogue (from Chapters 31, 32, 33, 37, and 38) A radio drama is being made by Spacebattles Forum.
  • Badass Boast:
    • Several of the Angels introduce themselves with these. They can be found on the Quotes page.
    • Mana gets off a beauty in Chapter 25 as she prepares to attack an incoming Angel.

"It's like a religious experience. Wanna know my prayer?" [...] "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil! For I am driving 35,000 tons of F___ YOU."

      • Thanks to Kyoko, she upgrades it a few chapters later:

" For though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death," Mana announces, "I will fear no evil. Not now. For I AM 35,000 tons of FUCK YOU."

    • Go-kun gets a nice one in Chapter 68 while fighting another Angel.

Angel, You will go no further. The forces of Mankind will stand against you. For every step you take, you will pay dearly. For every life you have taken, you will pay. We will fight to the last breath. We will fight to the last man. And if you wish to enter this city, you will do so only past me.

"Since he's Shinji from an alternate universe, the Project E staff are calling him AlterShinji. The Ree say he's from Canon or something, but I can't tell what the girls are saying half the time, myself."

    • Chapter 55 had this one:

Standing around the table in the briefing room, used as an impromptu theatre, Yui Ikari takes off her glasses and rubs her eyes, smacking herself to try to tell herself that was all just a very bad dream. But no. She is awake. She saw that. Now she's trying to figure out what it was.
"What did I just see?"
"The season finale," Pieter explains, slumping into one of the swivel chairs, "As it turns out, the MAGI has been rewriting the scripts at Gainax. So technically, the Ree wrote the anime."
"I...that made no sense. Why was Shinji sitting in a metal folding chair? Why was everyone congratulating him? What the Hell was going on there?"

  • Break the Cutie:
    • Chapters 31 through 33, for Shinji, Mana, and Asuka (as if Asuka wasn't already broken enough...).
    • Chapter 36 takes the abuse of Asuka and Shinji even further.
    • Ichi at the end of the third "season" and the start of the fourth.
  • Break the Haughty:
    • Several unsuccessful attempts are made on Kyoko. It takes learning her fate in canon Evangelion and how it affected canon!Asuka in Chapter 40 for it to finally stick.
    • Canon!Asuka gets this from ND!Asuka in Chapter 40.
  • Brick Joke:
    • Chapter 3. Yui and Gendo are pondering something that involves saran wrap in bulk. Chapter 10. Kozo Fuyutsuki has his office completely covered in saran wrap. Note - may actually be unrelated incidents.
    • Rei defeats a remnant of Sachiel in one of the earlier chapters. In Chapter 30, she clarifies where she put it:

"Well, then I had him stuffed. And mounted. And I installed hydraulics in his arms so he'd sort of jump anyone who looked in my closet. And stuff."

      • Then in Chapter 40, someone who really doesn't need any more trauma opens the closet...
      • It comes up again in Chapter 88 when Rei has to move and "for some reason no one wants to empty out her closet."
    • There's a brief scene where Maya reminisces on her tenure as Rei's babysitter when she was younger, and mention is made of a Noodle Incident where a four-year-old Rei somehow totaled Fuyutsuki's car with a squeaky toy mallet. A few chapters later after the depths of Asuka's mental damage are revealed and Kyoko is discovered to be responsible, she finds her car utterly wrecked with a squeaky toy mallet lying on the pavement next to it.
      • Rei had accomplices the second time, which sets up another brick joke as Kensuke mumbles in terror his fears of becoming a "prison bitch" while in lockup thanks to Rei blackmailing him with that possibility 8 chapters earlier. Comes back again in Chapter 43 too. Hell, it was even mentioned by Gregg himself in the very first post of the fic's original discussion thread.
      • Mana reveals that her uterus has been replaced by a hard drive (where she stores her illegally downloaded music) when putting down Lilith. Twenty-odd chapters later, she responds to a Groin Attack with "My hard drive! You hit my f_ing hard drive!"
  • Bridge Bunnies: All present and accounted for.
  • Butt Monkey:
    • Kozou Fuyutsuki is Rei's 'Special Friend.'
    • Kensuke Aida is blackmailed into being Rei's friend/partner in crime.
    • In Chapter 14, Kaworu comes to Tokyo-3 with the intention of breeding with Rei. It doesn't end well.
    • Aoba pretty much defines the trope.
  • Calling The Old Woman Out:
    • Shinji to Yui in Chapter 33.
    • Asuka to Kyoko in Chapter 43.
    • Possibly, Naoko to Yui in Chapter 57.
    • Kei was about to do this to Yui in Chapter 68.
  • Canon Immigrant:
    • Mana Kirishima, who is the pilot of Jet Alone Prime and arrives by orbital dropping on Ramiel.
    • Mari Makinami
    • For a few chapters, the canon version of Shinji.
    • There have been a few immigrants from the story's own (canonized) fan fiction as well: the Keiworu, Adam Mondschien, Allison Catorce...
  • Cats Are Mean: Merrill the Cat, who used to be Yui's pet, never forgave Shinji for hogging the attention of his human. Oh, and he was given a few superpowers by another scientist in the family.
  • Chekhov's Gun:
    • The fact that Ramiel's core was only partially destroyed comes back to bite the pilots in Chapter 22.
    • In Chapter 22 Asuka sees a seven-eyed mask during her sync test, foreshadowing the events of Chapter 61.
  • Children Are Innocent: Not only applies to Ichi, but also applies (albeit in a roundabout way From a Certain Point of View) to all the child-figures of the story. The child figures (Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Kei, Ichi/Rei Ikari, the Angels, etc) are all honest, sympathetic, caring, kind or some combination of the above [1]. On the other hand, many of the parent figures are either manipulative (Yui), aloof/distant (Kyoko), both (Kihl), smothering (Lilith) or just omnicidal (ADAM).
  • Colon Cancer: The story is NGE: Nobody Dies, and the sidestories are titled in the obvious fashion, e.g. NGE: Nobody Dies: The Kei Files.
  • Contagious Powers: Since Chapter 66, all EVA pilots have been physically and/or psychically part, if not completely, Angelic.
  • Cool Car: Misato's new car as of chapter 77: a Pagani Zonda which happens to be a transformer and Go-kun's new avatar body.
  • Crack Fic: One chapter features Gendo Ikari and a computer-simulated version of Hideaki Anno attempting to beat each other into a stinking pulp due, in part, to a disagreement over the value of nudity in a children's game. This is not the least sane thing to happen in this fic.
  • Cross Counter: You knew the only way to end the fight between Gendo and President Colbert was with a simultaneous KO. Right? Right. Of course you did.
  • Crossover:
    • Starting with chapter 39, Leliel starts juggling characters around from various universes. So far, confirmed worlds include Nobody Dies(obviously), the canon universe circa Leliel's attack, End of Evangelion, Taking Sights, Aeon Natum Engel, and the Petit Eva universe by Word of God.
    • As of ch. 46, the changes made to the canon Eva-verse by the ND! characters have set up Gregg's other fic, Walking in the Shadow of Dreams.
    • In chapter 48, Gregg moves on to interseries crossover when he reveals that on her trip through the multiverse, Rei picked up Tali. This is resolved in ch 52, when Fem!Shepard and the crew of the Normandy try to break into NERV and "save" her. The end of the chapter reveals that the whole thing was one big Plan by Ten to get back his sonic screwdriver from Rei. Shepard then headbutts the Doctor and they leave in the TARDIS, ensuring more wacky outer space hijinks to come.
  • Curb Stomp Battle:
    • Raziel manages to gravely wound Ichi and handily defeat and severely injure Asuka without trouble, until Shinji goes berserk.
    • Zeruel casually disposes of Turel and two other nameless Cherubim within the space of a few paragraphs.
    • In Chapter 72, Asuka vs. a teenage robot version of her mother, specifically designed to be her greatest foe. She simply blasts its head off and moves on.
  • Cute Bruiser:
    • Rei and her sisters in more ways than one. Not only are they physically cute, but they (with one exception) have a sunny disposition that you can't help but smile at...unless you're the target of their attentions.
    • And of course there's little Ichi. Unit-01, with the mind of a six year-old little girl.
  • Date Rape Averted: Hikari's sister hooks Asuka up with a blind date who turns out to be a total scumbag when he spikes her drink. This may be one of the most epic examples of this trope in media, because not two seconds later as the perp is preparing to leave with his comatose date, Shinji, Hikari, and Gendo sit down at the table with him. And they brought friends with them.

Gendo: The lady you have drugged is the daughter of one of my scientists. Allow me to introduce you to her security detail.
*On cue, every single patron in the restaurant stands and sheds plainclothes disguises for Section 2 uniforms.*

  • Deconstruction Fic: It's dubious to say any fanfic is deconstructing Eva itself, as it's already a deconstruction. But by turning Eva into the very genre it deconstructed, Landsman ends up deconstructing some of the tropes Eva helped make oh-so-common in "serious" Anime. Such as:.
  • Defeat Means Friendship:
    • After their respective defeats Liliel and Sandalphon have openly thrown their lot in with humanity.
    • Ditto for Ramiel after merging with Mari.
    • The Israfelim... well, in their case it's more like Defeat Means Neutrality, and they're mostly interested in integrating themselves into society anyway.
  • Defictionalization: There was talk that a fan and three friends would be Cos Playing as Gendo, Kozo, Yui and Rei and re-enacting the Driver's Training scene from chapter 19 at Mechacon 2010. Unfortunately, Gregg announced that it fell through.
  • Destination Defenestration: Kaworu should've known better than to get between a jet-lagged Rei and the bed, even if she thought he was really pretty and it was in the Honeymoon Suite.
  • Drives Like Crazy:
    • Rei. "RAMP!"
    • In the latest snippets, we learn that Yui drives with...passion. Asuka's terrified.
      • After being awakened from Arael's Dream, we find out that Yui ISN'T actually that crazy behind the wheel. and according to the conversation she has with Shinji after arriving, she apparently is one of those SUPER DEFENSIVE drivers. You know, the ones that go 10 in a 30 zone and have to make a complete stop for any given turn.
    • Misato. "I fucking raced the fucking Stig and blew him up with my transforming super car which has a jet engine and an Evangelion AI."
  • Drop the Hammer: Jet Alone Prime came equipped with an Eva-scale warhammer; Word of God is that it's a reference to one of the NGE video games. It gets put to good use more than once.
  • Dueling Fanfics: With Shinji and Warhammer 40 K to an extent. They have a lot of similar themes and came from similar nails ("Make Shinji's childhood better" vs "Save Shinji's mom") and the execution is similarly over-the-top for both fics. The main differences between the two are that (1) ND's nail changed a good chunk of the Eva-verse's backstory while S&40K only changed Shinji's childhood and then went from there, and (2) 40K has a more consistently epic scope while ND tends to stick somewhat closer to the Original Flavor, invoking just as many Crowning Moments as 40K does but also balancing them with moments of shock and horror that could've been pulled right out of the source material.
  • Dynamic Entry:
    • Done from orbit by Mana and Jet Alone Prime during the battle with Ramiel.
    • Go-Kun pulls one off inside the VR sim against Iruel, on its own.
    • Done again in chapter 85 by Gaghiel.
  • Dysfunction Junction: It's still there, although in a lot of ways it's been systematically dismantled - in particular, Shinji has done his best to bring Asuka out of her shell (with sideline assistance from Rei and Hikari), Rei has friends and is somewhat more normal and the mental issues of the cast in general seem somewhat muted in comparison to their canon counterparts.
  • Easter Egg: Chapter 96, just below the title card, note the bolded letters.

center cannot hold/it is coming/activate

  • Eldritch Abomination: The Angels, of course, and by extension Rei, the Ree, and Kaworu. The author has hinted that the "what?", "why?", and "from who?" for Rei may be different (and possibly worse) than canon.
  • Empathic Weapon: Instead of being soul jars for the mothers of the pilots, the Evas are directed by something similar to an onboard AI, making them closer to sapient weapons.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: The other canon Angels do not like Iruel very much. In fact, their immediate reaction upon learning that he might still be alive was "Let's kill him before he tries anything." They also do not like the Cherubim.
  • Everyone Has a Power Ring: How many more people will gain access to an Evangelion? How many more will gain angelic powers or turn out to have had them all along? The answer to both is "Heck if we know, but it's sure going to be awesome to find out."
  • Everybody Lives: Both used and subverted. So far, none of the main cast have died permanently, but Misato's father is still dead in the backstory, and the true circumstances of Naoko Akagi's death are still unresolved. Most of the canon Angels have actually survived, in one form or another.
  • Evil Counterpart: Word of God says that part of the final battle will be a fight between our heroes and their evil opposites. This goes for both the pilots and their Evas, and will apparently include Go-kun facing down the Eva version of Megatron.
  • Expanded Universe / Fan Verse: This fic has spawned a number of other fics acting as prequels and side stories. The list (so far) is as follows:
    • Earth Scorpion:
    • shanejayell: Mari and the Ree, depicting Mari's interactions with the Ree in MAGI-00 (potential Yuri).
    • Ultra Sonic 007: A Metal Gear Solid crossover in which Ocelot is ultimately responsible for Kei's "abduction". This one is slightly crossing over with The Kei Files; as one reader put it to Gregg, "[the] fanfics of your fanfic are crossbreeding."
      • Although the main story is explicitly non-canon, nonetheless various bits from this have been made canon; some of the personality quirks of the Ree (Hatchi and Siyon in particular) and, most recently, that Gendo beat M. Bison in a bar brawl.
    • fikjus: A boot camp scenario featuring Drill Sergeant Nasty Maritan.
    • Jomasten: A Christmas story, where the Ree meet Santa Claus (a Nephilim) and Grinshel (the Cherubim who hates Christmas).
    • Orichalcon: Angels, Airwaves, and Insanity, a story about Kihl's bastard son in command of an Archive.
    • Machina Ex Deus:
      • The Wrong Direction, where Kamina briefly winds up in ND!Evangelion instead of Canon!Evangelion. He meets Rei. The world shudders.
      • Dreams of the Dying, which is quite terrifying. Gregg has hinted that at least one part will be reflected in canon.
    • Lavanya Six:
    • K 9 Thefirst 1:
    • AmIADream: The Story of NERV-Alaska. This story covers the events occurring at the NERV branch in Alaska, focusing on Evangelion Unit-04, R&D Heavy Weapons Director Dr. Mondschein, his son, and his son's girlfriend Evangelion Unit-14. Seriously. According to Gregg, the entire story is canon.
    • Gregg has also created his own side story, Rei Ayanami Does the Multiverse. First stop? Babylon 5. Also, at some point Rei will meet up with the Sinestro Corps and will kill a Dalek. Not to mention bringing Tali to the main verse.
    • Thrythlind has created Crossover Omake Theater, which features key members of the cast of his fanfic Divine Blood showing up in Tokyo-3. Hopefully this one is not canon - if it is, then sooner or later the Ree will attempt to implement the notion of parthenogenesis introduced to them by their new friend Lusca.
  • Expy: The Angels get progressively more Geth-ish and Reaper-y as time goes along, especially Zeruel.
  • Eyepatch of Power: Of all people, the American President: Stephen Colbert. Yes, that one.
  • Eye Scream: Used comedically on Tabris. He lost his "ocular virginity" to Rei; considering Rei's status, and Tabris', it wasn't that difficult to do. Rei was very happy to realize he could regenerate!
  • Face Full Of Angel Wing Wong: Aoba just can't catch a break, even in something as innocuous as a PSA about Israfelim population control.
  • Face Palm: As in Gregg's other fics, this tends to get done a lot.
    • Gregg has done this at least once on the forum in response to the massive tangents and journeys so far from the topic that they require a Hyperspace-enabled starship to make.
  • Fate Worse Than Death:
    • Rather than simply killing Hoshi, the scumbag mentioned under the Date Rape Averted trope, Gendo decides to make an example of him...by handing him off to Rei (who, needless to say, is not at all amused at Hoshi's intentions towards her best friend).
    • There's also what happens to Iruel: it's locked into a virtual "Prison Shower" scenario with the Ree. Later the piece of it that was hiding in the Reego's AI network was apparently handed off to Arael by Tabris for this treatment.
  • Fix Fic
  • Flat What:
    • Shinji pulls two of these, one with Rei and one with Uri.
    • Later on, lots of people get into the act when the secrets start spilling left and right.
  • Folgers Crossover: The extended sequence where the canon versions of Asuka and Shinji change places for several chapters with their counterparts from the world of the fanfic.
  • For Great Justice: ...and blackmail.
  • For Massive Damage: Invoked by Rei.

Misato: The enemy is a Giant Crab!
Rei: Hit its weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE!
Misato: Rei! Get off the damn channel!

  • Foreshadowing: Chapter 62 contains some ominous hints that Yui may still be planning to initiate some form of Instrumentality.
  • Four Lines, All Waiting: A growing concern as the fic has progressed, what with the rapid growth in Loads and Loads of Characters.
  • Generation Xerox: After the reveal of Asuka's scars, Kyoko drunkenly comments to her ex-husband that she (Kyoko) has turned out just like her mother, which is added to by how Pieter mentions that Shinji and Asuka remind him of a younger him and Kyoko. This also shows up in how Kei and Kaworu's not-relationship is like Yui and Gendo's.
  • Giant Enemy Crab: This fic's version of Shamshel.
  • Gosh Darn It to Heck: JA-tan uses this at one point.
  • Gratuitous French: Zyuu uses this heavily, to the point where it may be helpful to read the fic with Google Translator open in another tab.
  • Groin Attack:
    • Rei and Go-Kun alpha-strike a T-RIDEN-T, to the discomfort of many.
    • Rei and Zyuu tame a Shamshelim like a wild horse, which includes gelding.
  • Guns Are Worthless: Averted by some heavy weapons, but largely played straight for conventional weapons such as EVA rifles or Unit 05 and Jet Alone Prime's weapon batteries, which are usually about as effective as Five Rounds Rapid.
  • Hannibal Lecture: In chapter 40, Yui and Canon!Gendo take turns at this.
  • Heroic BSOD:
    • Rei and the Evas get hit with this through ADAM's presence.
    • Shinji has one when he gets introduced to "Dollie" the hard way.
    • Ichi has her own when she's forced into Berserker mode against Raziel.
    • There's also the interview on Larry King Live, in the wake of Larry King's retirement in 2010.
  • Hope Spot: Deliberately invoked by Kei just before she smothers Kihl, just so his death hurts as much as possible.
  • Horny Devil: Lilith and the Ree. Especially since the mere proximity of Lilith causes everyone to go into heat.
  • Horny Scientist: It seems to be a stipulation for being a higher-up in NERV...which makes sense, considering who's in the basement.
  • Hostile Terraforming: Ichi is acidentally doing this in chapter 109.
  • Improbable Species Compatibility: Rei and Go-Kun in Rei's Iruel-induced VR sim. And to top it off, their "kids" have escaped to the real world...and adopted Aoba...and spent time depopulating Australia and fighting a Seraphim...and are now running around in NERV proper.
  • Hyperspace Arsenal: The Evas have access to the Dirac Armory built into them for this purpose.
  • I Choose to Stay: Mondschein in chapter 75.
  • Imagine Spot: Kei contemplates on Rei's comments of how they complement each other. What she sees them becoming down the line disturbs her.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Chapter 41: "Human Canon Ball"
  • Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja: As of Chapter 60. Played for laughs.
  • Interspecies Romance: A relationship of sorts between Rei and Unit 05 was hinted at and speculated about for a long time, but was Jossed in ch. 56.
  • Ironic Echo: "Delete. Bitch."
  • It Got Worse: ADAM's still alive. He's pissed at these upstart Lilim. He managed to spawn new Angels before the pilots turned him into Sealed Evil in a Can. He fought Cthulhu in the Aeon Natum Engel verse.
  • I Want Grandkids:
    • According to Gregg, this is Lilith's thought process: Babies. Babies. Babies babies babies babies babiesbabiesbabiesbabies. BABIES!!
    • Kyoko invokes this trope by name on the way to Vegas.
  • Jerkass:
    • Uri starts as one of these, but softens up over time, especially when he realizes how messed up Asuka is.
    • Kyoko damn near all the time, although after her Heel Realization she tones it down.
    • Shiro Tokita, even more so than in canon.
    • Chapter 53: Claire Makinami, full goddamned stop. Telling your daughter, to her face, that she's a monster automatically qualifies you.
      • Not so, as she apparently thinks that Mari is dead and that Ramiel is inhabiting her corpse. Thank you, Lorenz Kihl.
  • Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: Due to the revelation that Yui lies extremely easily, almost all the plot revelations have been thrown into question. It remains to just what is fact and what is fiction in this story, not to mention how it all fits together into the ultimate and final plot.
  • Karma Houdini: Although a lot of Blue and Orange Morality has to be considered, Rei is closely one of this in some parts, having her way with anyone just because she can and not being called for it.
  • Kill It with Fire: Ree!Shinji's method of CLEANING.
  • Large Ham: Lilith, according to Gregg.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Zyuu's use of heavily broken French makes it seem like Gregg just took English sentences/phrases and ran them through Google Translate. Chapter 96 reveals that this is because Zyuu memorized the exact code to Google Translate rather than just learning French normally.
  • Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Gendo's reaction to Rei blackmailing her principal.
  • Lipstick Lesbian: Maya, and possibly Ritsuko.
  • Little Miss Badass: All eight of the Ree. See also Cute Bruiser.
  • Loads and Loads of Characters: Yeah, there's a lot of players in this madcap game.
  • Lying Creator: Gregg. Word of God for this series is not very reliable. Exhibit A -- Ichi Ikari.
  • Mama Bear: Several.
    • Yui, as already mentioned. You do not mess with any of her kids (even those she didn't bear) without dire consequences.
    • It takes all three Bridge Bunnies to keep Misato from pummeling Kyoko when Asuka's problems first become known to NERV's command staff and that was way before she found out about "Dollie".
    • Rei also gets her own moments of this when she's being protective of Asuka.
    • After Kyoko reconciles with Asuka, she shows traits of this.
  • Manipulative Bastard:
    • Gendo, of course, but also Yui. Yes, married Manipulative Bastards. We're all screwed.
      • Gendo is, of course. Frequently. Yui considers Gendo's manipulation of the entire NERV command staff foreplay.
      • In Chapter 78, Gendo mentions that Ikaris seem to be universally aroused by mind games and manipulations. Annette's parents apparently met while playing chess in a park which quickly turned into sex on the chess table.
    • Rei and Kensuke have plenty of these moments, usually involving blackmail, explosives, or both.
    • ...and then there's Kei, the Rei clone formerly held prisoner by SEELE; see Expanded Universe above.
  • Merchandise-Driven: In-universe example, as NERV owns full property rights to anything Eva-related and produces merch to help fund it in fighting the Angels. This is also so NERV can have a public face, using Yui and later Rei as its mascot, headed by Maya to provide everything from action figures and plushie Angels to miniature...entry plugs.
    • And now there appear to be plans to create an anime based on NERV, with Rei as the star...
  • Mind Rape: Unit-01 going berserk for the first time has this effect on both the pilot and the Eva's AI.
  • Mind Screw: Chapter 66, full stop. The border between the real world and the dream world is blurred to the point that a first-time reader would be massively befuddled.
    • Chapter 102. Just Chapter 102. 'Nuff said.
  • Mismatched Eyes: EoE!Asuka has one blue and one red eye, at least until getting some regenerative surgery from Professor Mordin Solis.
  • Mythology Gag:
    • Shinji meets Rei while she's not wearing anything.
    • Remember the toothpick scene? Well Asuka just met Pen-Pen...
    • "Musn't run away. Musn't run away. Musn't run away" (Uttered by Rei when facing ADAM.)
    • Mana's Iruel-hijacked VR sim has turned her life into a Dating Sim.
    • Mana wonders why Rei's virtual, MP Eva-killing version of her self is giant...and naked.
    • After the brawl, Shinji is left alone, sitting on a metal folding chair.
      • He also rides the train loop and listens to his S-DAT player to run away from his Memetic Badass status.
    • Iruel tries to strangle Asuka.
    • After accidentally taking a wrong turn in the Dirac Sea, Shinji is drawn in in sketched pencil and random markers.
    • NERV's merchandising department recalled a chibified avatar body based on Kaworu. It came with a small cat doll, but that proved to be a choking hazard.
  • Naughty Tentacles: Parodied in Ch. 63 during a discussion about horrible NERV fanfiction.
  • Never Trust a Title: Somebody dies. Worse yet, somebody sympathetic dies. Even worse, somebody sympathetic dies horribly. She's eventually resurrected. Later on, Kei beats down a group of kidnappers disguised as Section 2 agents who were trying to abduct Shinji, and kills one of them with his own gun.
    • And eventually Kei kills Kihl immediately after giving him a Hope Spot, and Fuyutsuki kills Spencer. It's awesome.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Administered by Raziel to Units 01 and 02. In their fully-upgraded forms, no less.
  • Noodle Incident:
    • We haven't learned exactly what the Ree did to Kensuke...except that he's taken on more than a few of Rei's characteristics, it was amazing, and it somehow involved a turnip...which leads Hikari to ask, "How would it fit?"
      • This is a reference to one of the author's earlier fics.
    • The defeat of the Third Angel somehow helped Rei get Hikari and Touji together.
    • Kaworu's first encounter with Rei resulted in the loss of ocular virginity. The Author will not say what happened, what she used, or what exactly was done, except that in the Omake, Zeruel found it kinky.
      • Whatever it is, Gendo finds it absolutely disgusting and disturbing.
        • We DO know it involved a Corkscrew...
    • Rei somehow demolished a car with a squeaky hammer in her childhood.
    • Whatever Rei does to Kyoko in Chapter 37.

Gendo: If Rei used cabbage, she's definitely upset.

  • Non Sequitur Thud: Done by, of all things, Ramiel, after Rei punches out a fourth of its soul. The "thud" comes a tad later, by way of positron rifle.
  • Not So Harmless: The Cherubim haven't been much of a threat -- they're basically Angels, but not as smart, and generally without as much in the way of truly dangerous abilities other than 'make really big target of yourself'. Raziel changed all that.
  • Numerical Theme Naming: For the Evangelions, who are each named according to their designation numbers in their country of origin (or, more accurately, whatever country they were in when someone decided they needed names). Thus, the Japanese-dubbed Ichi and Go, and the German Zwei.
  • OC Stand-In: Rei could easily pass as one of the Ree, having no character similarities to her canon incarnation.
  • Odd Friendship: Pieter and Junior. Trust us, you'll know why their friendship is so odd once you get to that part of the story.
  • Oh Crap:
    • Ramiel, just before Rei Falcon Punches its Core.
    • The only sane response from anyone hearing the dreaded "Heee~ey" is to nod, smile, and get the hell away from Rei...if they can.
    • Chapter 13: Gendo and Yui's reaction when they realize that they forgot to tell Rei that Kyoko was not responsible for Asuka's scars.
    • Iruel's still alive.
    • The team is hopping dimensions. They just entered the Aeon Natum Engel universe.
    • Ch. 52 Garrus and Mordin just knocked out Asuka in front of Unit 02

Garrus: "It's a sedative! It won't hurt her, and we just need to-
Zwei: MASTER!
Garrus: "Oh crap! Mordin?"
Mordin: "This reminds me of a line from a famous Earth movie done by a comedy troop from the British Isles"
Garrus: "Which is?"
Mordin: "RUN AWAY!"

    • The beginning of ch. 53...it's a bit too long to post, but here's the key parts:

Or, realistically, it could have been all of those combined that has reduced Dr. Ikari to communicating through hand gestures and a sketchbook.
But that is simple semantics. As it is, Gendo Ikari has realized he is a dead man.

Give. Them. Back.

    • Zeruel has descended. This will not bode well for everyone else.
      • His opening act? Reducing Mt. Everest to rubble.
      • And even before then, and before single-handedly destroying a trio of Cherubim, the sequence in Chapter 66 showed him effortlessly annihilating all who resisted him, obliterating the Geofront, and killing everyone Shinji knows before confronting him and doing the same. Thankfully, it was All Just a Dream, but this only serves to highlight how unstoppable he is, and will become.
    • Chapter 71. Shinji is projecting an anti-AT field. Not quite as bad, since Hilarity Ensues.
    • Ch. 75. In short: Rei's opened the Room of Gauf, and she and Asuka have been Tanged. It is time.
    • Ch. 102. Kei finds out Lorenz Kihl is still alive.
  • Omake: Gloriously, gloriously hilarious extras are added to the forum thread. An excellent highlight, from the author himself (WARNING! SPOILERS!) is the Angels in a Chatroom post.
  • Omnicidal Maniac:
    • ADAM when he returns
    • The Cherubim, a new type of Angel whose whole purpose in existence is to be omnicidal maniacs.
    • Iruel indulges in this to round out his Complete Monster-ness.
  • Only Six Faces: Referenced by name in Chapter 49.
  • "On the Next...":
    • Chapter 38 is the end of the second season. kreuzritter, a collaborator with the author, gave one of these on the forum thread. To summarize his "spoilers", Misato slaps "Ikari", someone who can swear in German is disgusted that they kissed someone else, Uri's being shot at, Kaworu's on a date, Keel Lorenz of SEELE meets someone important, the Pilots go to America, Tokyo-3 is bombarded, Ichi attacks Go-Kun, Unit-03 is finally activated, Kaworu gets ANGRY, someone may be going insane, and Gendo questions who is the greater monster. Also, Zeruel will come. Also, more fanservice. Of course, one or more of these might be misleading.
    • One was also done for what we can expect from Season Four, straight from the author himself. To summarize, Junior explains there is something greater than what they are fighting. Snippets include a supercarrier launching with a six-eyed Evangelion on its deck, the Seventh Child being found, Unit-04a flying along with the Harpies, Shinji confronting the Beast, and Unit-07. The snippet ends with Pieter asking Junior if he knows what exactly they're facing, and Uri and Zwei, in Australia, speaking with a pillar of light that addresses him as Brother. Of course, one or more of these might be misleading.
  • Oral Fixation Fixation: Katsuhito Ikari loves his lollipops.
  • Patchwork Fic: This fanfic takes elements from the various Evangelion adaptations and spin-offs...when it doesn't Crossover directly. For example, Mari is a Composite Character of her Rebuild of Evangelion self and Asuka's unnamed half-sister from the manga.
  • Paranoia Fuel: "I have cameras everywhere."
  • Parental Abandonment: Shinji still gets this treatment in the backstory, for reasons arguably darker than canon, though he's far more well-adjusted because he actually knows and understands the reasons behind it. As such, he gets along well with Yui, and while his relationship with Gendo is a lot less antagonistic, Gendo's antics frequently irritate and exasperate him. Asuka, on the other hand, may have been better off as she was in canon.
    • Or not. In chapter 40, Kyoko yells at canon!Unit-02 (which contains the soul of her counterpart) for making canon!Asuka a "bitter, empty shell".
  • Parental Incest: The Reego are, in a sense, created by it. Rei created Go-Kun in that his mind came from her (she effectively is his parent) and the Reego were spawned by the crossing of their minds.
  • Playing Sick: Double subversion. Maya and Ritsuko call in sick for three days in ch. 20. Kyoko snorts in disbelief. Later you find out that Maya has been actually waiting hand and foot on Ritsuko while both are sick with a nasty cold, but then Maya finally snaps from irritation and spikes Ritsuko's tea with whiskey and Spanish fly.
  • Precision F-Strike: Played with; see T-Word Euphemism below.
    • Played horribly straight with Kyoko's Heel Realization about how truly messed up Asuka is.
  • Precursors: apparently have noticed events on Earth and will arrive in 3 weeks to sort it out.
  • Pretty Little Headshots: With a Chain Axe, against the first Cherubim in Chapter 29.
  • Prison Rape:
    • This is part of Rei's blackmail of Kensuke early on.
    • It's also what eventually happens to Iruel.
  • Random Events Plot: Increasingly apparent as the story progresses.
  • Rape Is Okay When Its Female On Male/The Unfair Sex: Rei performs "ocular rape" on one character -- which she wouldn't have if he didn't have a healing factor -- and deflowers another...with a turnip. She is reprimanded, but it's still played for laughs. By contrast, a male character who attempts to Date Rape Asuka is punished by being handed over to Rei for a Fate Worse Than Death, implied to include...rape.

"Shepard Commander! This platform requires adult supervision!"
"I aaaam an adult! :3"

  • Reconstruction: From the general tone of the series down to the upgraded weapons and newfound "Superness" of the Evas, this series is a very deliberate attempt to merge Evangelion with the classic Super Robot formula. We've even gotten a Rocket Punch, a giant golden progressive hammer, and a GIGA! DRILL! BU-REEEEAAKAAAAAA!
  • Reference Overdosed: Not quite as much as Shinji and Warhammer 40 K, perhaps, but it's close.
  • Ret-Gone: MOST of Season Four.
  • Rouge Angles of Satin: Though the quality control is pretty good by fanfic standards, it does suffer from this at times, constant to/too confusion and the occasional misused homonym being the most prolific mistakes.
  • Rule of Funny: The Petit Eva universe (aka Destination: Earth [ERROR]) runs off of this, which lets Shinji beat ADAM into submission with his own hands.
  • Running Gag:
    • The Dinosaur Tank is this in ch.73.
    • Babies.
  • School Uniforms Are the New Black: Uri doesn't see much point in owning clothes other than his school uniform and military uniform; one or the other is appropriate for most occasions.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can:
    • ADAM isn't dead. Hurt, perhaps, and very, very badly, but not dead. And oh, how the cast will wish he was.
    • Iruel, who's been floating around in the MAGI practically since they were created.
  • Shipping:
    • In universe, the Ree are trying to hook up Ritsuko and Maya, with the typical level of Terrifying!Rei subtlety. Rei herself is trying to do the same with Go-kun and Jet Alone. And as of Chapter 62, Rei has recruited Hikari and SEELE 06 (aka "her grandfather") to assist in a plan to hook up Kaworu and Kei.
    • Out of universe, the Kei/Kaworu pairing (which would be called "Keiworu", had that term not been taken for something else) is the most prominent and is canon, thanks to Chapter 63, but there are also other ones:
      • Mari/Wuffles ("Muffles") (this one's been Jossed in-story)
      • Mana/Wuffles ("Muffler")
      • Kensuke/various members of the Ree
      • Kensuke/Turnip (canon)
      • Turnip/Everyone
  • Ship Sinking: Chapter 56 has sunk the Rei/Go-kun ship, to some people's chagrin.
  • Shout-Out: Not exactly a paucity of these.
  • Shut UP, Hannibal: Gendo has a one to one with Canon!Yui (ie: Canon Unit 01) and dismantles her argument bit by bit before telling her that he will not only save everyone but, if he can help it, make sure Canon!Shinji doesn't return with her to their world.
  • So Proud of You:
    • Kyoko says this to canon!Asuka without realizing that ND!Asuka is in earshot. Subverted when we see things from Kyoko's perspective, where she reveals that A) she said it because what else do you say to someone who devoted their life to making their dead mama proud, and B) she has a massive breakdown at Unit 02, cursing out her AU self and sobbing that, even in another universe, she's "still a shitty mother".
    • Yui does the same with Kei, trying not to make the same mistakes as Kyoko did.
  • Something They Would Never Say: A rather depressing one; Asuka is tipped off that something weird is happening at NERV when her mother acts like a decent human being towards her.
  • Spider Tank: The Reego (Rei and Go-Kun's "kids" from the VR sim) have upgraded themselves into rather scary versions of this.
  • Squee: Rei is prone to these. Maya's let out a few, too.
  • The Stinger: Gregg loves ending chapters with these. A good example is the end of season 1. After Shinji seals ADAM in the Dirac Sea, Kaworu approaches Zeruel and proposes that, in the wake of their "Father's" defeat, the remaining Angels should band together and work as one rather than continue to compete for the chance to achieve Complementation. Zeruel agrees.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: This introduces Rei to religion after watching Shinji kill Gaghiel.

Rei: Oh my god! They explode! My life has new meaning!
Gendo: We need to switch that girl to decaf.

In the Overmind, the AngeliC groupmind, thE mass that is the QueeN of the Camiel Swarm awakens. Openings iTs mass of eyes, the grotEsque insect Rises, flapping Cellulose wings as it roars. Shinji tAkes the Natural respoNse - he runs, grabbing Zyuu's wrist and taking Off in a sprinT towards somewHere. Given, he's currently inside anOther pLane of existence. Exactly where he can heaD to, he's not entirely sure.
The emboldened letters read CENTER CANNOT HOLD the actual meaning of this message is anybody's guess.
Two paragraphs from the same chapter also give the following messages IT IS COMING and ACTIVATE these could be foreshadowing of chapter 100

  • Summon Bigger Fish: How does Rei get ADAM off her case? She tricks him into waking up and pissing off Cthulhu.
  • Super Robot: The Evas are a lot more super than they were in canon thanks to Yui inventing new ways to use the tech available to NERV, like using a portable Dirac Sea as storage for a Hyperspace Arsenal.
  • Sure Why Not: Many, many elements of the story (usually minor gags, but sometimes whole plot points) are the result of suggestions in the Spacebattles.com discussion thread.
  • Take That: The "Convention Time" chapter is one long series of attacks against the parts of EVA fandom Gregg has issues with, including obsessive Rei fans, oversexed and disturbing Fan Fiction , and Shinji/Rei shippers.
  • Think of the Children: Ch. 58. "Ahem. You can't kill people. This is a children's game!"
  • Tempting Fate: The NERV team views the (Ree-written) season finale for the in-universe Evangelion show, which happens to be an exact duplicate of the canon!Evangelion series finale. Everyone is understandably confused about what they've seen, and hope the The Movie won't be as confusing. It should be fine, really, as long as the Ree don't switch out the director's medication...
  • T-Word Euphemism: Used to censor the F-bombs, except for a few that are especially potent.
  • The Last of These Is Not Like the Others: When Gendo discusses rescuing the characters sent to another dimension by Leliel, Kyoko is differentiated from the others in the list.
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Each Angel has been destroyed in a successively over the top fashion.
    • Sachiel was destroyed via the Berserker Unit 01.
    • Shamshel by a rocket to the face and a progressive knife to the Core.
    • Gaghiel by the Triple Heavy Maser and Magoroku. At least, until it returns in Chapter 85.
    • Ramiel by an Orbital Drop by Jet Alone Prime, Rei, and the Positron Cannon. And when he later proved to be Not Quite Dead, Uri caved his head in with a baseball bat.
    • Sahaquiel by Jet Alone Prime hitting it in the core with a 15,000 ton Hammer.
    • ADAM is defeated through a S2 warhead opening up a portal to the Dirac Sea to trap Him and finished off when Unit-01 hits full power.
      • ADAM's come back, and caused Rei and Go-kun to reach 400% synchronization. They knocked him out of Leliel and into End of Evangelion (where Go-Rei throws in a pair of Shout Outs). Go-Rei then uses the Eiffel Tower on him before blowing off their arm using a Big Bang Attack on ADAM. No word yet as to what this means to ADAM, although Rei isn't too happy with the side effects when she reconstitutes.
    • Matariel is killed by the Lance of Longinius when it is delivered by Kaworu in the Mark-06.
    • Sandalphon attacks NERV by mind controlling the population of Tokyo-3 and opening the way to Terminal Dogma. In the process, Unit-00 goes berserk and he mind controls Ichi/Unit-01 as a bodyguard. Sandalphon is killed by Asuka in Unit-02 after she destroys Unit-00 by taking Jet Alone Prime's severed arm and activating its main weapon inside Sandalphon's mouth to discharge into his Core.
    • Shalgiel, the first Cherubim is destroyed by Jet Alone Prime destroying its first head, exposing its Core, and Unit-01 blasting the core at point blank range with the Triple Heavy Maser.
    • Iruel locks the pilots into a VR simulation, dangles their dreams in front of them and then Mind Rapes them before MAGI-04/Mari Makinami rescues them. It then engages them in a battle of wills which the Evas themselves join in before being systematically deleted from the MAGI, except for a tiny bit which is dragged off by the Ree. And before he's defeated, he still dumps the identities of the pilots all over the internet.
      • ...and in ch. 38, it breaks out of the MAGI, hacks the Trident robots, tries to kill Asuka, and eventually physically merges with the Cherubim Rampel, only to be launched into the atmosphere by JAP, 99.9% annihilated by Rei and Go-Kun, and finally...eaten by Pen-Pen.
    • In Ch. 51, the Ree sendTali to take out the remaining Israfel infestation using a War Machine armor and the Cain, and later help her out with the Power of Love... and Napalm.
    • Over the course of chs. 69 and 70, Zeruel is gradually softened up by a triple team from Zwei, Go-kun, and Mari, and is finally "killed" by Shinji and Asuka opening the Dirac sea and letting Four-chan blast him with the full brunt of its core detonations...all of them. The "killed" is intentional; a chunk of his core survives, but is now in Kaworu's possession.
    • By Word of God, if the escalation continues, Tabris will be destroyed by having the Sun dropped on him. Given the levels of Crazy Awesome established so far, this doesn't seem that far-fetched.
  • The Reveal: The "Great Asuka Langely Sohryu" fragment of Asuka's personality is Lilith.
  • Thundering Herd: Chapter 50. A brief description will not do it justice.
  • Time for Plan B: Running Gag for Rei.

"I love Plan B!" Rei screams, "It's always so much better than Plan A!"

Misato has her own thoughts on the matter:

"I love those Plan B's," Misato says, "It's the sort of plans I see through my eyelids."

  • Took a Level in Badass:
    • Inverted by Shinji. He's more badass than in canon, but compared to certain other versions of Shinji Ikari, NobodyDies!Shinji is rather quiet and understated. This version of Shinji hasn't so much Taken A Level In Badass as he has Lost A Level in Suck by virtue of not having his canon counterpart's laundry list of psychological issues. Where other fanfics show off what happens when you make Shinji into a Hot-Blooded Crazy Awesome Chessmaster or a Villain Protagonist Manipulative Bastard Eldritch Abomination, Nobody Dies shows what happens when you make Shinji into a perfectly normal, well-adjusted teenager, and the result is just as awesome in its own way as its more famous predecessors.
    • As of Chapter 25, as a poster on the Space Battles discussion thread says, Asuka didn't just take a level, she fucking powerleveled. She first proceeded to pound Unit 00 (possessed by Naoko Akagi) literally to a pulp, then did the same to Sandalphon. Even Rei was slightly taken aback by the sheer ferocity of Asuka'a assault.
      • And she does it again in Chapter 70, when she loads a machine gun and flamethrower into her plug suit, as well as giving it various martial arts muscle memories as we see a couple chapters later.
    • Rei. Does this even need to be explained?
    • Gendo. There's a reason he's referred to as "Gendo McBadass" by the forum-goers, one of which was using a sniper rifle on a T-RIDEN-T mecha that had gone berserk under Iruel's influence.
  • Troper Critical Mass: The fact that the author once had a folder devoted to examples from his fics on the Badass Boast page (now moved to the Quotes page), and this page's growing number of sub pages...yeah, we like this fic around here...
  • True Companions: The pilots, Asuka, Hikari, Touji, and Kensuke are slowly turning into these.
  • The Un-Reveal: The real truth of Naoko Akagi's death. Balthazar!Naoko was in the process of explaining things to Shinji when "she" was "killed" by Iruel. Chapter 58 has convoluted this even further. Tied into this is the origins of Rei and the Ree, and their original purpose.
  • Unwanted Harem: Between Shinji and Uriel, there's a mountain of girls(virtual and not) dying to be their girlfriend, especially when Shinji's Whumpa mode is active, including two of Rei's sisters towards Shinji.... ...until everyone realizes it's a dream
  • Unwilling Suspension: Kyoko gets this treatment by Rei.
  • Verbal Tic: When Pen-Pen is given the power of speech in Chapter 49, he ends all of his sentences with "d00d".
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: The mutual animosity between Kyoko and Yui has begun evolving into this since Kyoko's effective Heel Face Turn.
  • Wave Motion Gun: The Triple Heavy Maser.

Misato: (After the first firing of the THM) That was Plan B? I like Plan B! I could see Plan B through my eyelids!
Yui: Welcome to NERV. God's in His heaven because He's scared of our superior firepower.

  • We Have Reserves: The Ree, and all with different names.
    • Somewhat averted with them in this continuity; while the Ree are the extra bodies that were Rei's reserves in canon, in this story they each have their own intelligences, with distinct quirks such as being stealthy and utterly silent, speaking in French constantly, or constantly supplying "boom for the Boom God".
  • Wham! Episode:
    • Chapter 13, where we get the first real signs of how royally screwed up Asuka is.
    • Chapter 15 follows this up by making progress on various personal conflicts amongst the characters, before ADAM wakes up. Almost every reader had the same two word reaction. "Oh, shit."
      • Additionally, Chapter 15 also has Yui revealing to Shinji that Rei was created by Naoko Akagi to kill him and Yui so Naoko could have Gendo all to herself.
    • Chapter 22. Shinji is confronted by SEELE the Committee for Human Instrumentality. Mana is revealed as a "military cyborg". Mari is possessed by Ramiel's ghost, dying when the Angel leaves her body.
    • Chapter 36. By Kamina, Chapter 36. Shinji comes home to a nice dinner made by Asuka, only she drugged (maybe a little too much) Shinji's portion of the meal. Then she's horrified with herself and begins conversing with Dollie. Shinji sees this. It goes downhill from there.
    • And then there's Ch. 37, where Tokita shows up and announces that Jet Alone Prime is going to be decommissioned, and possibly Mana also. Also, Iruel has gotten free from his prison, hacked the new NHIS Trident mechs, and Asuka is trapped alone with him.
    • Chapter 39. Shinji, Rei, Asuka, Yui, and Kyoko enter the canon NGE universe, while the canon Shinji goes to the Nobody Dies verse.
    • Chapter 58. Unit 00 reveals to Yui that the Ree were created to reverse a contact experiment, not to kill Shinji.
    • Chapter 63. Bardiel is not in Unit-03 like in Canon...but Raziel, the Fourth Cherubim, is.
    • Chapter 64. Kihl Lorenz has finally completely snapped and is now openly trying to kill the heroes. Oh, and Ichi and Zwei get utterly curbstomped by Raziel. Oh, and Jet Alone Prime dies.
    • And in the season finale, Chapter 65, Zeruel is coming. And Junior says he's coming early! Not to mention something seems to have happened to Shinji after Unit-01 went Berserker, and we don't know what it is yet.
      • Chapter 66: It looks like Shinji's become a Nephilem himself, thanks to the berserker mode.
    • Chapter 68: In the middle of Zeruel's approach to Tokyo-3, Kei has learned about Yui's nasty little habit. And considering the canonization of Everybody Dies...
    • Chapter 73: You want to know who built the Dinosaur Tank? Iruel did. Because he's still alive.
    • Chapter 74 has this in a good way and in a not so good way. The Good: Mana is officially admitted into NERV, and Spencer and Kihl finally get their comeuppance for their role in Raziel's attack. Oh, and KaworuXKei becomes official. The Not So Good: Fuyutsuki joins SEELE, and apparently there's a new Cherubim on the way.
    • Chapter 75: Lilith finally awakens and begins Instrumentality. While Asuka manages to (barely) undo this, several characters are forced to remain inside the collective conscience, either by their own volition or because their physical bodies have been irreversibly destroyed. Oh, and at the end, its implied that the Lilith is not ND!Lilith, but Canon!Lilith.
    • Chapter 82: The tension between Shinji and Uri finally erupts into all out violence. This, plus the irresponsibility of the Ree, lead to Tokyo 3 very nearly being destroyed by Bardiel if not for some quick thinking from Asuka. Needless to say, no one is happy with either Shinji, Uri or the Ree.
    • Chapter 84: Remember that one Angel, Gaghiel, that showed up early in the story and got its ass handed to it? Turns out its still alive, and it chooses to resurface exactly at the point where the Cherubim Tamiel is already attacking.
    • Chapter 87: Tamiel merges with the mindless Gaghiel and severely wounds Mari. When Shinji goes to save her and brings her back into Unit 01, the unison of two Angel (well, one Angel and one Nephilim causes Unit 01 to unlock its Lilithian powers and nearly destroys the world. While both this and Tamiel are ultimately stopped, Unit 01 is deemed too dangerous to use anymore, which means that it has to be deep freezed. Thankfully, the Ree create an Avatar body for Ichi so she can still communicate with everyone else. Oh, and Tamiel basically destroys Misato's apartment.
    • Chapter 100: Zadkiel a.k.a. Zeruel jr. appears
    • Chapter 102 /71: Oh lord, where do we start? Season 4 was All Just a Dream invoked by Arael immediately after Zeruel's first attack, and the entire Earth was under stasis for seven weeks. Uri is now a Dominion and a fully awoken Angel. Go-kun's arm from the ANE!verse has corrupted his entire body and is now rampaging across the Geofront, with Shinji within a still dormant Ichi about to conront him. There's probably more, but as of right now this is the most apparent.
  • Wham! Line:
    • More than there were before.[2]
    • Lilith's only line in Chapter 60. "Hello, Asuka. How Long Has It Been?"
    • Zeruel: I am assuming direct control
    • Arael: "How did (did [did {did you break free} you find me] you see) know?"
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: In Rei Ayanami Does The Multiverse, Rei picks up a Shadow she names "Mr. Chirples." There has been no news as to his whereabouts since she returned to NERV.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Several of the fic's characters (mainly Yui and Go-Kun, but also Asuka and Kyoko!) give these out during their time sliding through Alternate Universes.
  • Word of God: Tying into Sure Why Not above: There's a lot of side information that isn't spelled out in the story but has been confirmed by Gregg in the discussion threads; a lot of ideas and theories have also been Jossed as well.
  • The Worf Effect: The poor Cherubim get hit with this hard, mostly serving as platforms upon which the Evangelion pilots (and Zeruel) can exercise their latest levels in badass. Some of them do manage to inflict some significant damage before they get curbstomped, though - see Not So Harmless, above.
  • You Killed My Father: In one of the greatest Crowning Moments in a series packed to the gills with them -- partially because the situation may actually be totally unique in all of Eva fanfic -- Misato gets to pay ADAM back for killing her father during Second Impact by shooting him in the chest with the Positron Cannon while on foot. She even gets to give him a Badass Boast to his face.

ADAM: I REMEMBER YOU.
Misato: Good. Because I sure remember you too.
ADAM: WHAT ARE YOU?
Misato: My name is Misato Katsuragi. Lieutenant Colonel of NERV. Daughter of Shiro Katsuragi, the stupid son of a bitch who woke you up. I am the daughter of a murdered man and the only human being to look on you with their own eyes and live to tell about it. I am the right hand of retribution and the last human being you will ever see, you glow in the dark mother f_er. Now smile asshole. Because this...
*Misato throws the 'fire' switch on the positron cannon*
...is my seventeen years of f_ing payback!

"Heee~ey"...)

  1. ↑ Zeruel may want to destroy humanity, but it has been implied that he does genuinely care about his fellow Angels
  2. ↑ Please note that that is not bolded for emphasis. That's the way the character who says the line speaks (much like how the Death of Discworld speaks like this).
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