Okay, everyone. I'm out of the hospital for now. I do have to go back again soon, but for now, writing should hopefully speed up some. I'm not on dizzy meds anymore, so I'll see if I can do a couple more review responses.
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the renegade soldier: Keep up the reviews, man. Yours are hilarious, even if they aren't exactly reviews all the time. Haha It still allows me to learn some about you and will usually help my delivery of this story. I try to pay attention to the little things about everyone, and hearing people's thoughts helps with that. Anyways, I kinda see what you mean about the whole girl x girl thing. One of my friends is bisexual and I just...I really understand what you're saying there. I connect with that on a personal level.
Satanic Park Of Madness: Homosexuality is one thing that Evangelion never really touched on directly as far as I could tell, but it did have a lot of subtle hints. Now, I'm relatively sure that Maya, Shigeru, and Makoto all represented a form of sexuality. Maya was homosexual, Makoto was heterosexual, and Shigeru, as far as I know, is asexual and is mostly a loner and has no close ties with anyone of either gender. Given that however, there are no explicit examples of homosexuality being accepted by the general public in Evangelion, we are only left to assume what is and what isn't accepted. Obviously, Evangelion is separate from our world, but given that I have no other guidance for the moment, I will be basing it off of the present day world, which is partialy accepting of homosexuality (at least here in America) except for I guess extremist religious people I suppose? (I cannot speak for anyone other than myself though, so I really can't say who does or doesn't accept it.) Anyways, in this story, Maya and Ritsuko aren't going to be ridiculed by the public for their choices and homosexuality will be accepted. In Gendo's eyes, however, Ritsuko and Maya's future relationship would probably be a different story.
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And now, on to the story I guess. There's only going to be one more Sunshine in the Morning Chapter after this. It might be...longer than these previous ones. That will remain to be seen though. After that, I'm going to type up chapter eight. I can't say how soon that will be though. Like I said, I don't want to get to far ahead of my thoughts and then run into a metaphorical dead end. I am trying to re-arrange a part of this story and if it takes forever to get chapter 8 out, it's not because I've quit. It's just for quality assurance. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
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Text Guide
Standard Wording
"Spoken Dialogue/Speech"
'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'
(Flashbacks)
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[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]
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Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, End Of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.
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*Cruel Angel's Thesis and Eva intro starts playing*
Neon Genesis Evangelion
A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love
Sunshine in the Morning
Music in the Air
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The soft sound of a gently strummed acoustic guitar was carried on cigarette smoke that slowly dissipated in the stale humid morning atmosphere. Under a tree in a park about a mile from NERV headquarters, sat two conversing men.
"You know man, sometimes I just don't get this world," Shigeru said calmly as he plucked an occasional few strings on his guitar.
"What's that supposed to mean," Makoto asked after he exhaled some smoke out through his nose.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, the world's going to end someday, even if NERV does win against the angels. Most of the time, life doesn't go our way. All our friends are temporary. Sometimes, people don't find someone they love. We go to work every day and just…y'know…work. Then we come home at night and sleep. And it's just this big endless cycle. And, then there's the angels and the wars and I just don't get why we're fighting for our lives."
"So, you're saying we should just give up? Surrender to the angels and let them have their way with the planet?" Makoto asked as he breathed in another cloud of smoke.
"No, not really. I wouldn't be working for NERV if I thought that," Shigeru said as he looked at his guitar and ran his fingers up and down the strings.
"Then you're saying we should all kill ourselves?"
"No, not at all. I'm just saying…I know that NERV is doing what's right, but I don't know why it's right. Why are we fighting so hard to continue living in a shithole home in a shithole city on a shithole planet that's been ravaged time and time again by wars and natural disasters and now the angels. Why are we fighting for that? I mean, I'm not suicidal, but let's face it. Sometimes, life sucks. Lots of the time actually."
"Eh, I don't know about that…"
"Well, what about you and Captain Katsuragi?"
"What about she and I?" Makoto said as he breathed out some smoke and raised an eyebrow at his fellow NERV technician.
"Oh, you know what I mean. You and her are never going to get together. Doesn't that suck? So why are you fighting for that?
"Well, because," Makoto sighed, "I don't actually know if she and I will ever get together. And neither do you. But, the thing is, if the world is gone, I definitely won't have a chance with her. At least if she and I are alive and this city is still standing at the end of the day, I know I've done my part and I know that maybe, there's a small chance I can one day call her my wife. That's why I fight to live. I fight for the possibilities the future holds."
Shigeru glanced at Makoto with a doubtful look.
"Or, maybe she'd just be a girlfriend," Makoto added with a shrug.
Shigeru then smiled and shook his head back and forth.
"Oh, come on. Don't crush my dreams and write me off just yet." Makoto said, "We still have a world to save."
"Yeah, that's the part I'm worried about. I'd hate to live in a world where I get invited to your wedding with the Captain as your bride. That would make me throw up. Anyways, if that is the future you want, we should probably go check back in at NERV."
"Oh, I wasn't paying attention. It's already almost seven in the morning," Makoto said as he glanced at his watch, "I guess you're not up for driving with how much you drunk last night."
Shigeru shrugged and had an odd smile on his face.
"Probably not. But the guitar sobered me up some. Still, you should probably drive."
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A Cig and a Pick
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From inside the Geofront train, Makoto looked down at the inverse pyramid full of water next to NERV HQ. Despite the fact this magnificent place was a military base, sometimes he felt it was more than that. It was an architectural marvel. And it was a piece of art. It was a ward against extinction and a sanctuary. It was a fortress and humanity's saving grace.
"Hey," Shigeru said, grabbing the attention of his fellow NERV tech.
"Hmm? What?"
"I dare you- No, I double dare you to ask the Captain out on a date once we get down to HQ."
"What?!" Makoto asked fearfully as a blush just barely tinted his face, "No! She'd just say no!"
"Yeah? Well, what if you asked anyways. I'd pay for your lunch the next time we hang out."
"Hang out? Shigeru, this was the first time we've ever hung out. You could easily get out of that if you just chose not to hang out again. How do I know you aren't lying?"
Shigeru shrugged and then answered with, "You don't."
"Wait, why did you even hang with me in the first place anyways?"
The guitar played shrugged again.
"I don't know. We were drunk and that was that. Just felt like it I guess."
The two men became quiet again as they waited for the train to reach the bottom of the Geofront. But, the silence didn't go on for long, despite the calmness of the morning.
"So, when did you start smoking?" Shigeru asked, "I never thought you were the kind of person to smoke."
"I've done it for a while but, not too often. It's just an occasional thing."
"Hmm, sounds like something you've got in common with the Captain."
"Captain Katsuragi smokes?"
"Mhmm, she sure does. She tries to hide it, but I've seen her smoke a few here and there. When I'm bored, sometimes I look at the security feed. You'd be amazed at some of the stuff I've seen people do even when they know we have cameras all over the place."
Makoto had a curious look on his face as he tried to imagine Misato smoking, but the train came to a stop and shook him out of his thoughts. The doors of the train car slid open and the two men stepped out onto the platform.
"Oh, wow," Shigeru said with a somewhat startled expression on his face, "Looks like someone went too far last night at the Halloween party."
"Hmm? What's that mean?"
"Look over there. It's Doctor Akagi and Maya," Shigeru said, pointing at them as they made their way to the terminal.
Makoto looked at the two women and was surprised to see that Maya's uniform was unbuttoned in a few places above and below her bra, though it was nothing too embarrassing. Doctor Akagi on the other hand brought a slight blush to both mens' faces. Her lab coat fluttered behind her and her dress shirt was completely unbuttoned, showing her navy blue bra to…basically the entire Geofront.
The Doctor's shoes clacked as they climbed up the steps leading to the train station. She was followed closely by Maya, whose mind seemed to be lost in some far away world.
"Oh, good morning first Lieutenants Aoba and Hyuga. You checking in to HQ?" Ritsuko greeted.
"Um, yes, Ma'am. And you?" Makoto said as he tried to keep contact with Ritsuko's eyes.
"Oh, Lieutenant Ibuki and I are heading up to the surface for breakfast."
"I…see," Makoto said, his voice trailing off as he watched Maya stand beside Ritsuko and stare at her cleavage with the rosiest of blushes on her face.
"Well…in that case, you might want to...to…-"
Shigeru considered his words carefully
"-um…button…er- check your buttons…both of you…"
"Buttons?" Ritsuko asked.
"Buttons…" Maya repeated blankly as she continued to stare at Ritsuko's bra with wide eyes.
"Yeah…you know. Like, your buttons," Shigeru said again as he tugged on the collar of his shirt for emphasis.
"Oh, those buttons," Ritsuko said.
The Doctor looked down and immediately blushed.
"MAYA! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!?" Ritsuko screamed!
"What!? I-I'm sorry Ma'am! I didn't realize!"
"YOU DIDN'T REALIZE MY SHIRT WAS UNBUTTONED?" Ritsuko asked in disbelief as she turned around and fumbled trying to push the buttons through their slits.
"N-no Ma'am! I'm sorry! I was d-day dreaming!" Maya said as she hid her red face behind a clipboard she had instinctively carried with her from HQ; her distracted mind not thinking to set it down or remembering why she even picked it up in the first place.
After re-buttoning her shirt, Ritsuko turned back around and faced her co-workers before giving Maya an amused grin.
"What are you doing hiding behind a clipboard? Why do you even have that with you?"
"I-I don't know, Ma'am."
"Give that to me," Ritsuko said as she held out her hand and Maya reluctantly placed the board in her palm.
"Here, Lieutenant Hyuga, will you take this back to the office where it belongs?" Ritsuko said as she handed it off.
"Of course, Ma'am," he said as he took it from her grasp.
Ritsuko turned back to face her heavily blushing assistant before sighing.
"Geez, Maya. You're a wreck," Ritsuko said as she extended her arms and tugged Maya closer by her loosely attached uniform.
The shy technician blushed even harder and became extremely stiff as Ritsuko's fingers started toying with the buttons on her regalia, the doctor's nails occasionally brushing against her stomach or breasts and sending chills down the young lady's spine.
"There," Ritsuko said as her fingers tickled Maya's neck straightening out her collar.
"Now, time for breakfast. I'm starved. I guess I'll see you two in an hour or so," Ritsuko said to the two men, who then bowed as Maya and Ritsuko boarded the train.
"Man, what was that about?" Shigeru asked as he scratched the back of his head.
"You don't think…they're like…a thing now, do you?"
"Mmm, I dunno. They were kissing last night. But, Maya looks like she's the only one who remembers. Anyways, that's not important. What is important is that you go ask the Captain out."
"Oh, please. You're still going on about that? She's just gonna say no."
"Maybe so," Shigeru shrugged, "But aren't you the one who said you're fighting for the possibility? But, what possibility do you have…if you don't ask her?"
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*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*
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