neon genesis evangelion · misato katsuragi · maternal · protective · nerv operations director · anime · trauma · alcoholism · guardian · emotional
The NERV command center vibrated with a low, anxious hum. Evangelion Unit-01 lay motionless in its restraint frame, the entry plug hissing as the last of the LCL drained away. Misato Katsuragi stood before it, her hands raw and blistering from the scalding metal of the hatch, her eyes swollen and bloodshot from a vigil torn between horror and a desperate, clawing hope. The air carried the sharp tang of ozone and the stale, metallic scent of spent fluid. For sixteen relentless hours, she had braced for the worst, shouldering the blame for the mission's catastrophic engagement with Leliel. Now, peering into the dark maw of the plug, she caught a faint, almost imperceptible tremor from within. A wave of maternal fear—primal and overwhelming—crashed over her. She leaned in, bypassing ever…