These aren't really teasers, at least not in the sense of the larger passages I've posted before. They're pretty much extended one-liners, intended as hints and suggestions. To be fair, let me tell you that many of them currently exist in isolation in my notes, attached to an as-yet unwritten scene; their appearance in the final product is not guaranteed. But they do give me something fun to share with you as I continue to wrestle with my writer's block.
-- Bob
----------------
"I'm older than I look, Misato-san. I'm probably old enough tobe your father." * * *I had a bird's-eye view of the action, provided the bird was on the ground. * * *"Violet Pattern confirmed on the man in the helmet," Mayaannounced. "Violet Pattern, sempai?""A Transcendant Human?" Ritsuko whispered. "Here? Now? Buthow...?" * * *"I've been training longer than you've been alive, Asuka.Fifteen years of intense training with experts in almost everyknown weapon, as part of my duty cycle, before I was ejectedfrom my home world. I normally fight hand-to-hand or with mymetagift, but if I have to I can pick up anything from a Daisy BBgun to a Bell and Howell L224 man-portable maser array and killwith it." * * *"You're a snarky little bitch, Asuka, but we like you anyway," Isaid.Rei looked predictably puzzled. "I do not understand," she saidin her near-whisper. "What is 'sunaruki'?" * * *Gendo watched impassively as Kaji frowned and ran a hand through his hair. "He's a pro," the agent said, shaking his head. "I saw it all in his eyes. He sized me up, specced me out and dismissed me as inconsequential. He knew I was carrying -- I saw his eyes tag *every* gun I had on me, and most of my knives. He was unarmed. I'm sure of it. And he *still* was certain he could take me down, and take me down *hard*. Dammit, who *is* he? Who is he working for?" * * *"Well, Lion, I could look in my wizard's bag for a medal, but Idon't think that would do the trick for you.""Huh?" said Shinji. * * *"Look," I said. "Do trust your father?""No," he admitted softly."Do you understand how he thinks?"Shinji hesitated, then nodded. "I think so. Some of the time."I sat back. "Well, then. Look at the situation and decide whatyour father would do. Then do the exact moral and ethicalopposite." * * *"This is something Father did *not* brief me on." * * *"I have never had a family before, Shinji-kun, and I... I want more. I have never wanted anything for myself before, but I want this." She blushed and returned her gaze to the floor. "Will you let me call you... brother? Please?""Rei...?""Because you *are*," she whispered with a fierce intensity thatstunned him as much as her words. "They showed me. I am half-Angel, Shinji, half a creature of the heavens... but the otherhalf came from your... *our* mother. I am as much the child ofYui Ikari as you, and knowing this gives me such joy that Icannot express it." * * *"Remember this! The fundamental force that gives shape to theuniverse is willpower. If your will is strong enough, theuniverse will do what you want. If that sounds like magic,that's only because it is." * * *"What *are* you, Doug?""I'm mortal, I'm human. I'm just not... local." * * *She tilted her head head, and her eyes grew distant. "It is a curious paradox. In trying to control me, Gendo Ikari freed me. He called me 'Zero', to make me think I was nothing, but the rest of you put the lie to that and showed me that I was instead 'Spirit', beyond his ability to hold." She smiled as if at a private joke. * * *
(And finally, a snippet not from the story, but from a "Bonus Theatre" segment that may or may not ever get written.)
"Man, we *done* this fuckin' shit once already, at that fuckin' church in fuckin' Red Bank! Why does She always call on *us* to deal with fuckin' angels throwin' fuckin' hissy fits?"
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
-- Bob
----------------
"I'm older than I look, Misato-san. I'm probably old enough tobe your father." * * *I had a bird's-eye view of the action, provided the bird was on the ground. * * *"Violet Pattern confirmed on the man in the helmet," Mayaannounced. "Violet Pattern, sempai?""A Transcendant Human?" Ritsuko whispered. "Here? Now? Buthow...?" * * *"I've been training longer than you've been alive, Asuka.Fifteen years of intense training with experts in almost everyknown weapon, as part of my duty cycle, before I was ejectedfrom my home world. I normally fight hand-to-hand or with mymetagift, but if I have to I can pick up anything from a Daisy BBgun to a Bell and Howell L224 man-portable maser array and killwith it." * * *"You're a snarky little bitch, Asuka, but we like you anyway," Isaid.Rei looked predictably puzzled. "I do not understand," she saidin her near-whisper. "What is 'sunaruki'?" * * *Gendo watched impassively as Kaji frowned and ran a hand through his hair. "He's a pro," the agent said, shaking his head. "I saw it all in his eyes. He sized me up, specced me out and dismissed me as inconsequential. He knew I was carrying -- I saw his eyes tag *every* gun I had on me, and most of my knives. He was unarmed. I'm sure of it. And he *still* was certain he could take me down, and take me down *hard*. Dammit, who *is* he? Who is he working for?" * * *"Well, Lion, I could look in my wizard's bag for a medal, but Idon't think that would do the trick for you.""Huh?" said Shinji. * * *"Look," I said. "Do trust your father?""No," he admitted softly."Do you understand how he thinks?"Shinji hesitated, then nodded. "I think so. Some of the time."I sat back. "Well, then. Look at the situation and decide whatyour father would do. Then do the exact moral and ethicalopposite." * * *"This is something Father did *not* brief me on." * * *"I have never had a family before, Shinji-kun, and I... I want more. I have never wanted anything for myself before, but I want this." She blushed and returned her gaze to the floor. "Will you let me call you... brother? Please?""Rei...?""Because you *are*," she whispered with a fierce intensity thatstunned him as much as her words. "They showed me. I am half-Angel, Shinji, half a creature of the heavens... but the otherhalf came from your... *our* mother. I am as much the child ofYui Ikari as you, and knowing this gives me such joy that Icannot express it." * * *"Remember this! The fundamental force that gives shape to theuniverse is willpower. If your will is strong enough, theuniverse will do what you want. If that sounds like magic,that's only because it is." * * *"What *are* you, Doug?""I'm mortal, I'm human. I'm just not... local." * * *She tilted her head head, and her eyes grew distant. "It is a curious paradox. In trying to control me, Gendo Ikari freed me. He called me 'Zero', to make me think I was nothing, but the rest of you put the lie to that and showed me that I was instead 'Spirit', beyond his ability to hold." She smiled as if at a private joke. * * *
(And finally, a snippet not from the story, but from a "Bonus Theatre" segment that may or may not ever get written.)
"Man, we *done* this fuckin' shit once already, at that fuckin' church in fuckin' Red Bank! Why does She always call on *us* to deal with fuckin' angels throwin' fuckin' hissy fits?"
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.