The Happy Red Planet (Now with illustrations and comics!)

[Literary Eagle]

The idea for this story has been on my mind for years, so I finally decided to write it!

Summary

Humans and Angels cannot coexist. One species must eliminate the other in order to inherit the world... or, you know, they could just find another planet. This is a tale of hope and friendship. It is also a story about a bunch of weird stuff happening on Mars.

The Story

Read it here: The Happy Red Planet

Illustrations

Chapter One cover, by Rulani

Chapter Two cover, by Rulani

Chibi group picture, by Literary Eagle

Will you take care of him? (a scene from Chapter 1), by np

Rei with a Taser (from Chapter 2), by kamika-star

Trampoline fun (from Chapter 3), by Frites

Branches of the Yggdrasil (inspired by Chapter 4), by nastypremiumbuffbabes

Falling Angels (inspired by Chapter 4), by Ivi

Falling Angels - Alternate Version, by Ivi

Comics

Stop dying, damn it!, by Ivi: A scene from Chapter One. Shinji tells Kaworu and Rei what he thinks about their multiple deaths.

Making sense?, by Ivi: A scene from Chapter Two. Asuka sums up Evangelion in a nutshell.

Doing that thing again, by Ivi: A scene from Chapter Three. Shinji finds out just how embarrassing his mother can be.

Merchandising, merchandising!, by Ivi: A musical interlude from Chapter Four. Gainax 'n Khara want you to spend more, so head on down to the Eva Store!

Scary Lilin dreams, by Ivi: A scene from Chapter Five. An Angel talking about Lilin dreams... this couldn't possibly get weird, right?

How did you know?, by Ivi: A scene from Chapter Six. How did Gendo find out about Kaworu's plans? The answer is probably not what you were expecting, heh.


Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

[amitakartok]

"My friend, that love is the very reason why I am not afraid to die. Because I love you more than life itself," Nagisa said. Indeed, his face had relaxed into the perfect picture of calm acceptance. "If I could end my own existence I would gladly do so, rather than burden you with the task. But I am the vessel of a Seed of Life. I cannot self-terminate. You must lower me into the steel."

Nagisa speaks the truth, Rei thought sadly, recognizing the significance of his wrist scars, He tried to die by his own hand, but was unsuccessful. If an Evangelion was the one thing powerful enough to kill him, but Unit-00 had already been destroyed and the pilot of Unit-02 was currently in a coma, then Ikari was the sole person who could do it. The fact that they were friends made this a truly lamentable fate. But what was that about lowering Nagisa into steel? They were in the LCL Plant, not a steel mill.

Ikari must have been wondering the same thing, for Unit-01 glanced down at the LCL lake, then looked back up at Nagisa, head tilted to one side in evident confusion. "Um… Kaworu, that's LCL below us," he said, "There is no steel here."

"Oh. Sorry, I've been spending too much time on TV Tropes," Nagisa said sheepishly.

[claps loudly]

[Hedgestar]

Well, the Angels have finally hit TV Tropes. Commence the self-destruct code.

Anyway, I'm liking the story so far. It make me giggle at some parts, the biggest one being the aforementioned joke. ^^

[Literary Eagle]

Thank you, amitakartok and Hedgestar! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. The funny thing is that Kaworu Nagisa really is listed on the TV Tropes page for "I Cannot Self-Terminate"... maybe he was trying to Google himself and that's how he found it.

[amitakartok]

...that actually makes sense.

[Hedgestar]

Kaworu was lucky enough to stop googling himself before finding all the twisted fan art.

[Squigsquasher]

Asuka approves. Top notch work.

"Who on earth would pay to see me naked?" Oh Kaworu, you have much to learn...

[DuncanR]

You've got an interesting premise here, but it doesn't contain nearly enough crushing depression and has far too many silly parts. You need to...

Waaaait a minute. This story is being funny... on purpose? That tears it: I'm going to have to examine this from a completely different point of view.

Ahem... Ha.

*Glowers at story coldly, stroking chin.*

Ah... yes. Now I see what all the fuss is about.

But despite this, I'm afraid you can't simply expect--

SPOILER: Show

In those painful moments that Shinji Ikari's heart was breaking, Rei Ayanami suddenly found herself whole again. And she knew that if she did not stop him from killing his best friend this very instant, Ikari would probably die from grief and guilt just a few minutes later.

Or he could become a deranged pervert who would touch himself inappropriately while standing beside Asuka Langley Soryu's hospital bed. It could go either way, really.

*spews carbonated beverage out of his nose*

Bwahaha!

Ahem. It's not even the perverted nature of this thought that made me laugh (though it helped). It's the inexplicably specific nature of Rei's prediction: clearly, those are the only two possible outcomes.

Blargh... I know dissecting a joke is a great way to kill the joke, but it's hard to describe exactly what it was that made me laugh. Regardless, there were quite a few points throughout that made me laugh with equal vigor. I was also somewhat disoriented by the inclusion of an actual serious storyline... though looking back on it, it doesn't seem contrived or "shoehorned in". It seems more like an interesting jump-off point for a sequel. Whether my disorientation was a good thing or a bad thing, or possibly all in my head, I shall leave you to judge.

In any case, I larfed. :)

[Literary Eagle]

Asuka approves. Top notch work.

Thank you very much! I'm glad that Asuka approves, because she's going to have a big role in Chapter 2, which I am working on right now.

It's not even the perverted nature of this thought that made me laugh (though it helped). It's the inexplicably specific nature of Rei's prediction: clearly, those are the only two possible outcomes.

Thanks! That joke was one of the first ideas that popped into my head when I began writing this story. Hmm, that probably says something rather disturbing about the way my mind works, but oh well. Heh.

there were quite a few points throughout that made me laugh with equal vigor. I was also somewhat disoriented by the inclusion of an actual serious storyline... though looking back on it, it doesn't seem contrived or "shoehorned in". It seems more like an interesting jump-off point for a sequel. Whether my disorientation was a good thing or a bad thing, or possibly all in my head, I shall leave you to judge.

I knew it would be a gamble to mix humor with a serious storyline, so I was worried about how people would take it. I'm glad you find it entertaining so far, despite the odd combination. Thank you so much for the feedback! It's very helpful. As I write the rest of the story, I'll keep it in mind so that (hopefully) I'll be able to pull off this mixture without it becoming too weird or jarring. Thanks again!

[DuncanR]

I knew it would be a gamble to mix humor with a serious storyline, so I was worried about how people would take it. I'm glad you find it entertaining so far, despite the odd combination. Thank you so much for the feedback! It's very helpful.

You're very welcome. Are there more chapters on the way? :)

As I write the rest of the story, I'll keep it in mind so that (hopefully) I'll be able to pull off this mixture without it becoming too weird or jarring. Thanks again!

Always remember to write the story how you want to write it. If you love what you do, it'll show in the work. I was a little disoriented, sure, but now I know what to expect: if you put out a few more chapters I'll be ready for it immediately.

In the end, there's only one sure-fire way to improve your skills: keep writing. :)

[Literary Eagle]

You're very welcome. Are there more chapters on the way? :)

I'm currently working on Chapter 2. Yay!

Always remember to write the story how you want to write it. If you love what you do, it'll show in the work. I was a little disoriented, sure, but now I know what to expect: if you put out a few more chapters I'll be ready for it immediately.

In the end, there's only one sure-fire way to improve your skills: keep writing. :)

That's great advice. I'll keep working at it!

[Literary Eagle]

Old post:

The story has been updated with Chapter 2! Now that Rei and Shinji have saved Kaworu, the Angel wishes to return the favor by helping Asuka. Just a simple mission; nothing to worry about. Well, except for the fact that Gendo Ikari and Seele still want Kaworu to die. Oh yeah, and the entire human race is in danger. In other words, business as usual.

I hope you enjoy the new chapter, and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

New post:

The story now has some illustrations and comics! My deepest thanks to Rulani and Ivi for their lovely artistic contributions! Here is the artwork available so far:

Chapter One cover, by Rulani

Chapter Two cover, by Rulani

chibi group picture, by Literary Eagle

Stop dying, damn it!, by Ivi: A scene from Chapter One. Shinji tells Kaworu and Rei what he thinks about their multiple deaths.

Making sense?, by Ivi: A scene from Chapter Two. Asuka sums up Evangelion in a nutshell.

By the way, I am currently writing Chapter Three, so feedback on the first two chapters would be greatly appreciated. Feedback helps me to improve, plus it lets me know what you want to see in future installments. Thanks, everyone!

[UrsusArctos]

"Oh, sorry. I've been spending too much time on TVtropes."

This is hilarious!

[Literary Eagle]

Thank you very much, UrsusArctos! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

[Gemini011]

So I've actually come across (and scrolled right past) this fic on FanFiction.net several times. I was always hesitant for some reason (though I'm not sure what ) to read it. After checking out those fancomics and the quote upthread that terminates with "I've been spending too much time on TvTropes" I decided to give it a shot.

First paragraph, I laughed three times.

Possibly best decision so far today.

[Literary Eagle]

Wow, thank you so much, Gemini011! This story is my return to fan fic writing after a 10 year hiatus (Yikes!), so I'm very grateful that you gave it a chance. Thanks for the nice review on fanfiction.net, too. You made my day!

I'm still working hard on the next chapter. I'll try my best to make it worth the wait!

[Literary Eagle]

Hi everyone! I’ve received a few messages here and elsewhere asking about progress on this fic, so I decided to post some news about it. I’m still working hard on Chapter 3, and it’s approximately 75% done. The main reason why this chapter has been taking a little while is because it’s gotten so ridiculously huge! In fact, once I’m done writing it, I’ll probably split it into at least two or three chapters, instead of dumping a massive amount of text on the readers all at once. So the good news is that when Chapter 3 is finally posted, it won’t take long for Chapter 4 and maybe even Chapter 5 to appear. Yay! I’ll be working on it some more this week, so if anybody has feedback on how to improve the story, or suggestions on what they’d like to see in upcoming chapters, that would be greatly appreciated.

Of course, there are also plans for more illustrations and comics for this story, so stay tuned for that as well!

[Squigsquasher]

I look forward to it- don't feel the need to rush it. If it means it ends up even more awesome, I'm happy to wait.

[El Squibbonator]

That's OK. Take all the time you want--this is one of my favorite EVA fics ever!

[Literary Eagle]

Aww, you folks are so nice. Thanks for the kind words, Squigsquasher and El Squibbonator! I'll do my best for you!