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Fanfic / Nobody Dies

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And you're going to like it.
"Welcome to NERV. God's in His heaven because He's scared of our superior firepower."
— Yui Ikari

If Shinji and Warhammer40k can be called the love child of Neon Genesis Evangelion, 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 completely 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 Genre 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.

By February 22nd, 2012, Nobody Dies had hit 110/79 chapters, starting what would have been its fifth "season." Sections of each chapter were posted in the SpaceBattles.com forum thread about the fic before the entire chapter got posted to fanfiction.net. It should be noted that the link is the thirteenth in a run of massive discussion threads in its early daysLinks. 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. Starting with the third thread, they were locked before this could happen, and they got auto-locked when they reached a length of 500 posts.

The fic's popularity led to several spinoffs, often side-stories focusing on some of the many, many side characters. Canonised ones (in more or less chronological order) include:

  • Nobody Dies: Ichi's Birthday Party, a fun little prequel showing Ichi and the Ree generally being cute. (Read between Chapters 19 and 43).
  • Nobody Dies: The Trials of Kiri Harasami, a semi-prequel following a girl in Rei's class who gets noticed.
  • Nobody Dies: The Story of NERV-Alaska, a side story taking place in Alaska (duh), focusing on Dr. Dream Mondschein, his son Adam, and Evangelion Units 04 ("Quatre") and 14 ("Catorce"). It also has a sequel: NERV-Alaska: Aftermath, which serves to tie it in with the main story. (Read prior to Chapter 57).
  • Nobody Dies: The Kei Files, a side story detailing what happened to Kei when she was in SEELE's hands. Serves to greatly flesh out both her and Kaworu's characters, and introduces the Keiworu. (Read between Chapters 35 and 43.)
  • Nobody Dies: Everybody Dies, a theoretical endgame scenario revealed to have been dreamed up in-universe by Kei Ayanami, providing us further glimpses into her mind. (Read between Chapters 43 and 69).
  • Nobody Dies: Six AIs, One Continent, another side story covering the (mis)adventures of the Reego and two of the Keiworu in Australia. (Takes place concurrent to Chapters 64 - 70).

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

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

Additionally, Gregg began an open beta test of a rewrite of the fanfic, The Rebuild of Nobody Dies. The first thread is found here, and the second thread is here. The first twelve chapters have been posted to fanfiction.net.

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

Severe reader backlash from a certain Wham Episode led to a massive Creator Breakdown, and it seems that the original version of Nobody Dies is, well, dead. Gregg had insinuated that it's in a state best described as "hibernating", implying updates were possible. However, since then it has come out that the reference document has been deleted entirely, meaning the story is unlikely to ever be continued.

Provides examples of:

    open/close all folders 

    A-C 

  • 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 by comparison!
    • 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 Fuyutsuki 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:
    • Chapter 66.
    • Chapter 102 retcons the last 30 chapters.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Animated Adaptation: An anime paralleling canon Evangelion is made in-universe, produced by Gainax and written by the Ree, complete with Gainax Ending.
  • 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."
  • Art Major Physics:
    • Three words: "plasma focusing crystal".
    • Lampshaded in Chapter 54:
      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 certain side story by EarthScorpion.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: 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!
  • 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, [1] 38) A radio drama is being made by Spacebattles Forum.
  • Back from the Dead: Lorenz Kihl in Ch. 102.
    • Except that he wasn't even dead.
  • Badass Boast:
    • Several of the Angels introduce themselves with these. They can be found on the Quotes page.
    • In Chapter 18, Gendo Ikari regarding the destruction of ADAM:
      "We have avenged half the human race and have shown that even a being which most cultures would mistake as a God cannot stand against the Evangelions."
    • 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.
  • Badass Family: The Ikaris, especially since Ichi and the Ree count as members.
  • Bar Brawl:
    • The state function-equivalent of one, as instigated by Gendo.
    • Chapter 50 features one in a karaoke bar that turns into a Thundering Herd between Mari, Mana and Asuka (the latter two in various stages of inebriation) and several dozen foot-tall Israfels.
  • Beach Episode: Chapter 76.
  • Berserk Button:
    • Insulting Yui within earshot of Gendo is a bad idea.
    • If you value your life and property, you will never harm Asuka, or else you'll have Shinji to deal with. The principal learned this the hard way.
    • By Word of God, anyone doing irrevocable harm to one of Rei's friends is dead. Period.
  • Beware the Nice Ones:
    • Rei may be the nicest Eldritch Abomination this side of Haruhi Suzumiya, but if you hurt her friends, she and the Ree will make your life very painful.
    • Shinji in Chapters 36 and 66.
  • Beyond the Impossible: Jet Alone Prime generates an AT-field despite not being an Evangelion and Mana uses it to collapse an Angel's AT-field.
  • BFS: The Progressive Sword, Magoroku.
  • Big, Screwed-Up Family: With the way the pairings are working out, the Ikaris and the Sohryus are going to have multiple connections, along with the continual creation of Rei descendants and the AIs, there's going to be a very large and extensive family tree of lunatics.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: The inside of an Angel is weird.
  • Book Ends:
    • Zeruel's "I am assuming direct control" in Chapter 65 gets thrown in his face by Tabris in Chapter 70.
  • Boom, Headshot!: Used as a threat by Kyoko against Little Naked Lilith in Chapter 75. Specifically, she threatened to kill Shinji, and then subverted the trope when she revealed it was a toy gun.
  • Boss Rush: Asuka has to go through something like this to rescue Shinji from the Ree, in a combined nod to Scott Pilgrim and Mega Man.
  • Bowdlerise: Done by the author himself; see T-Word Euphemism below.
  • A Boy and His X: A girl and her 200' tall giant fighting robot that thinks it's a dog.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall:
    • The Ree. (Who else?)
      "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.
  • Broken Base: A very extended version of this is what caused the story to be discontinued. In the last Spacebattles thread, Gregg admitted that he felt the story had already developed serious problems by Chapter 19, and that outside of Spacebattles the comments were overwhelmingly negative. Eventually, Gregg deleted the notes he had on both this fic and Rebuild of Nobody Dies, so it is very unlikely he will ever come back to it.
  • 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...
  • Carry a Big Stick: 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[2]◊. It gets put to good use more than once.
  • Cassandra Truth: In Rebuild, when MAGI signals a long series of false Angel detections (so long that at some point it just gives up on numbering them), it also gets one right: Humanity.
  • 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 note . 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.
    • In chapter 106, Rei is unsure who the Stig is.
  • 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.

    D-F 

  • 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. However, 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.*
  • A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 27 focuses almost entirely on Uriel, Kensuke, Pieter, and Junior.
  • Dead Fic: The last update was back in 2012.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: When Shinji met Asuka she was very sheltered, insecure and shy due to her abusive parents. Slowly she warmed up to him, they fell in love and she became more strong-willed and more self-reliant.
  • 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.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Shinji gropes Asuka in order to get Uri to punch him, which would reset his core. It works, but Shinji expects Uri to calm down... which he doesn't.
  • Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: While departing from the ANE!Verse, Rei flirts with and fist bumps Nyarlathotep. Nyarlathotep flirts back.
    "Look me up in a few thousand years."
    • Nyarlathotep's response to Rei having seven sisters?
      "Kinky"
    • People who watch Rei eat tend to have this reaction also.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: When Asuka first gets into her plugsuit as Unit-02's new pilot (it's a long story), Shinji walks by on the way to a test. Once he gets a good look, a wall decides to say hi. Combining this with the multiple situations of Did I Just Say That Out Loud?, it's a wonder that Asuka hasn't gotten over her socialization issues.
  • Double Standard Rape: Female on Male/The Unfair Sex: Rei performs "ocular rape" on one male character — which she wouldn't have if he didn't have a healing factor — and "deflowers" another...with a turnip. No healing factor. 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.
  • Drives Like Crazy:
    • Rei. "RAMP!"
      • It's so bad that NERV has to design a "Rei-inforced" vehicle just for her. If it can't remain functional after being punted by an Eva, she can't drive it.
    • 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."
  • 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.
  • 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 would have been a fight between our heroes and their evil opposites. This goes for both the pilots and their Evas, and would've included 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:
  • 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!
    • When Grunt of Mass Effect goes through the same (since he can also regenerate), Misato snarks "He got the Nagisa Special." Tali wisely doesn't want to know what that means.
    • Used for horror during Iruel's VR nightmare for Asuka, where Kyoko cuts up Asuka to give her power and responsibilities to Uri, who she says deserves it better. She starts with the eyes.
  • Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong: Or rather, 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: The basic goal was take what made Eva unique and incorporate it into a more traditional super robot show.
  • 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.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • This comment in Chapter 14:
      Ritsuko: I think if [Shinji] ever does get angry, that's the point we run for the hills.
    • Chapter 62 contains some ominous hints that Yui may still be planning to initiate some form of Instrumentality.
  • For Great Justice: ...and blackmail.
  • For Want Of A Nail: In this universe, Yui got drunk a few weeks before the Contact Experiment with EVA-01 and spilled the details of her and Kihl's plan to Gendo, who sowed the seeds of doubt in her that kept her from going through with it. With her still alive to come up with a different plan that didn't involve traumatizing her family, events proceed very differently.
  • Four Lines, All Waiting: A growing concern as the fic progressed, what with the rapid growth in number of characters.

    G-I 

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Hostile Terraforming: Ichi is acidentally doing this in chapter 109.
  • Hot Skitty-on-Wailord Action: 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 Grigori...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.
  • Immortal Immaturity: Played with. Even though Sandalphon is only about 16 years old, he IS the Angel of Tears (complete with Creepy Monotone and Voice of the Legion). And he fist-bumps with a human. Also, Iruel's reaction upon seeing Rei's personal hallucination involving Unit 05: "What. The. F___." Hell, Rei herself.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Chapter 41: "Human Canon Ball"
  • Ironic Echo:
    • "Delete. Bitch."
    • "[Y]ou have failed. We will find another way. And I [...] am now assuming control."
  • From Bad to 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.

    J-L 

    M-O 

  • 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.
  • Mecha Show: The fic features even more cool kind of mechas and sci-fi devices than the original show.
  • 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.
  • My Friends... and Zoidberg: When Gendo discusses rescuing the characters sent to another dimension by Leliel, Kyoko is differentiated from the others in the list.
  • 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. Most of the odd events in that chapter are references to Petit Eva.
    • Shinji berserking against Raziel and uttering the line: "Give. Them. Back."
    • 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.note 
  • 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.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Administered by Raziel to Units 01 and 02. In their fully-upgraded forms, no less.
  • 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.
  • 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?" Apparently, 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. And they had to help her kill it.
    • 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.
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain: 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.
  • O.C. Stand-in: None of the original heads of Project E — Yui, Kyoko, and Naoko — had much if anything in the way of characterization in canon. The author fleshes them out considerably and makes them absolutely integral to the story, even if the last is a (mostly) Posthumous Character.
  • 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 troupe 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.
    • Chapter 64: Shinji just went berserker.
      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.
    • After speaking with Lilly about her purpose, one of the Seraphs gave a report to deliver a Red Moon to Earth in T Minus 20 years. Seeing as the White Moon Spawned ADAM and the Angels, the Black Moon spawned Lilith and Terran life and the conflict between the two led to massive extinction level events, this bodes a serious problem.....later....and if it wasn't a dream
    • 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: Katsuhito Ikari loves his lollipops.
  • Out-of-Character Alert: 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.

    P-R 

  • 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.
  • Parental Substitute: Yui and Gendo sent Shinji away because several eldritch abominations on the basement wanted to eat him (don't ask). When they summoned him back, Misato became his guardian. She also became Asuka's caretaker when the Sohryu family arrived on Tokyo-3. After considering she had ruined her daughter's life utterly Kyoko thought it would be for the best if Misato adopted Asuka, but Misato talked her out of it.
  • 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.
  • 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:
  • Precursors: They 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.
  • 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!
  • Relationship Upgrade: In chapter 21 when Shinji is about to fading in the Sea of Dirac he hears Asuka saying she is falling in love with him. Hearing her voice helps him to find his way back, and later he confesses he is falling for her, too. They become a couple since that moment.
  • Reference Overdosed: Not quite as much as Shinji And Warhammer 40 K, perhaps, but it's close.
  • Ret-Gone: MOST of Season Four.
  • The Reveal: The "Great Asuka Langely Sohryu" fragment of Asuka's personality is Lilith.
  • 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.

    S-U 

  • Schedule Slip: After ch. 110, the fic is in a months-long hiatus as Gregg first got distracted by Mass Effect 3, then apparently getting caught up in planning out and writing the next section of the fic. He has repeatedly said that it is not dead, though.
    • Gregg has recentlynote  said he now knows how he wants to proceed, but it will apparently tie into the Rebuild!ND plot and we will have to wait for that one to get caught up first before many new chapters get posted.
    • This has been put on hold due to excessive spamming in the beta thread.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Stupid Sexy Flanders: Ritsuko has one of these moments after seeing Maya in a faux-plugsuit made of spandex.
  • Subliminal Seduction: This paragraph from Chapter 96
    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 Genre: 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.
  • 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.
  • Techno Babble: In Chapter 44 ANE!Gendo & Fuyutsuki discuss how to explain ND!Rei:
    "If we use the word 'arcano' enough, it may give her a pass with them."
  • Their First Time: Shinji and Asuka are in love, but due to several complications (Shinij's concern over Asuka's fragile mental and emotional state, lingering doubts on Asuka's part as to Shinji's deeper feelings toward her, etc.) have been avoiding taking that step. It takes an encounter with Lilith to get them to do it. While Yui is furious with Shinji (since they're still 16, and despite the rather logical and mature attitude they took toward it), the rest of NERV is quietly celebrating the Relationship Upgrade.
  • 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...
  • 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 awesomeness established so far, this doesn't seem that far-fetched.
  • Think of the Children!: Ch. 58. "Ahem. You can't kill people. This is a children's game!"
  • 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 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.
  • True Companions: The pilots, Asuka, Hikari, Touji, and Kensuke are slowly turning into these.
  • T-Word Euphemism: Used to censor the F-bombs, except for a few that are especially potent.
  • Uniqueness Decay: 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."
  • The Unreveal: 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.

    V-Z 

  • 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 67: Ichi is the result of the Contact Experiment absorbing the four-week old fetus Dr. Ikari was unknowingly pregnant with. She is Shinji's sister by blood and not just by adoption.
    • 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 96: The [ANCESTOR] has become aware that the White Moon and the Black Moon are malfunctioning, and if they can't be brought into balance, the Red Moon will arrive in 20 years to take control and reset all life in the system.
    • 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 he is now rampaging across the Geofront, with Shinji within a still dormant Ichi about to confront him. There's probably more, but as of right now this is the most apparent.
  • Wham Line:
    • More than there were before.note 
    • 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.
  • 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 Villain, above.
  • You Killed My Father: 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..."

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