TsukikoHime
CEO of yuri
- Location
- that one gay idol magical girl show
.... = Strype - 2? Would that be Stry, rype, a complex number, or one negative Strype?
Advice and Trust [NGE]
.... = Strype - 2? Would that be Stry, rype, a complex number, or one negative Strype?
- Location
- Altamonte Springs, FL
Just changed it to ZeroChan, HOPEFULLY, it should work.
TheShiningSun
*Waits for Polyphemus Ch. 16*
- Location
- Practically the middle of Germany
This is more like it (Let them see the image....):
Perfection. Thank you!
Ah, good ol' Kaworu and his Motor-Mouth tendencies. Hopefully it doesn't turn into another "persistent" Problem.
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Dranndor
Clueless Idiot
- Location
- Cloudcuckooland
Funnily enough these pictures are actually better in quality than any drawings I have made in my life.So apparently my brother is watching (one of) the Eva movies, and is making shitty MSPaint fanart (he's the bucktooth'ed idiot)
Caption^ : When conventional weapons never work in media
- Location
- Spain
Ditto. My manual artistic skills are... less than impressive. I mean, when you have to convince a random four year old that what you just drew in the blackboard is a horse, that's probably saying something.
- Location
- Online
My art skills are anti-drawing. If i ever want to be a manga artist i'd have to stick to writer.Ditto. My manual artistic skills are... less than impressive. I mean, when you have to convince a random four year old that what you just drew in the blackboard is a horse, that's probably saying something.
- Location
- Stanford in the Vale
I think this goes without saying, but I cannot even draw anything, it just comes out as meaningless mundane shapes.
- Location
- Texas
So apparently my brother is watching (one of) the Eva movies, and is making shitty MSPaint fanart (he's the bucktooth'ed idiot)
And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids!
- Location
- Altamonte Springs, FL
Keel's last words?
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Now I want to find a fan image of the Eva cast dressed as the Scooby gang pulling the head off an Angel to find Gendo underneath.
Schpoonman
They call me the Bord of Lays
- Location
- United States
Could you imagine that, though? Pulling a Scooby Doo villain mask off and being greeted by an unmasked Unit-01?
TsukikoHime
CEO of yuri
- Location
- that one gay idol magical girl show
Now I want to find a fan image of the Eva cast dressed as the Scooby gang pulling the head off an Angel to find Gendo underneath.
So, SeptimusMagisto's Raising Project Sequel?
"And Iruel was really..."
*pulls*
*the Pribnow Box is destroyed by a full-scale Unit-01 popping out of the tiny swarm*
Or, perhaps:
Shinji: "And Kaworu was really..." *pulls*
Yui: "Hello, son."
Shinji and Gendo: "Nani?"
...Now I'm imagining Rebuild 3.33 with Kaworu-as-secretly-Yui and it's really quite strange.
-------------------------
And now for something completely different- Looking at the Evafic Recommendations threadmark, it's three years old. I'd like to do my own updated version, but I'm no expert, so- if I could get a list of recommended Evafics, quests, roleplays, etc on this or any site (preferably with links to the work), I can start putting together an Updated Evafics List
- Location
- Stanford in the Vale
My god, that put a huge smile on my sleep-deprived face, granted that's because I keep staying up at night to check up on the threads I follow and read fanfiction, whilst theorising about things I'm a fan of.
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Brilliant! Though to be fair I'm pretty sure you could do that with a vast number of songs.
Ranma-sensei
Sorcerer
- Location
- Citrix Receiver
- Pronouns
- Weatherdependent
Don't know aboutAnd now for something completely different- Looking at the Evafic Recommendations threadmark, it's three years old. I'd like to do my own updated version, but I'm no expert, so- if I could get a list of recommended Evafics, quests, roleplays, etc on this or any site (preferably with links to the work), I can start putting together an Updated Evafics List
recommendations, but I can provide an archive with the classics (and some fair amount of trash, but it's a full HTTracker mirror)....
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- Location
- Really? This field is required?
Apparently that's a really common BPM because it works with the Star Wars cantina music too.
- Location
- Stanford in the Vale
Look what I found.
Comedy Omake #97 - Evangelion in the FRANXX 3
BG_Character_592
The Fisherman
- Location
- Australia
I suppose it's that time again, isn't it? Time for some more Chronicles: Darling in the Evangelion! The trauma gets doubled, yet more prophecy comes to be, and even more egregious plot
The river of time flowed.
Kaworu watched over the purple strobes of the starboard realm. Something about this he found quite beautiful.
This serenity was broken by the enthusiastic calling of the other resident Nephilim. "Oi! Ashey boy! Over here!"
He chuckled, as he walked portside. "Observing something, Azrael?"
Nodding, arm resting on her raised leg. "This realm, I would think, is more interesting than that other one. You can clearly see," She pointed, "whatever these powered beings are, they use this realm for their own purposes. Much like us."
Kaworu observed. His expression immediately dropped to one of deadpan. "It's a horse."
"You out of all people shouldn't discriminate on the basis of species, Ash." Light prodding. "I don't even think it's a horse as we know them anyway. Its features kinda give it away."
"Ignoring the fact it's dark as night?"
"Which is why I've taken interest in it." A smooth transition to the subject at hand. "Our agents on Earth determined an event that fit the second criteria. The 'Martyr's Meteor'."
"...When was this?"
"Christmas, oddly enough." A short chuckle. "Funny how that works, eh Ash? It was even on the news, according to them."
Well, that was something he didn't know. "Maybe I should watch the news sometime."
A shrug. "I can sorta understand. It's probably all stuff you know your benefactors control anyway." She looked back to this port realm. "But that leaves only two more criteria that need fulfilling."
Kaworu perked up. "Only two?"
"It's not a very long piece of prose, the prophecy. 'When the Sun rises in the west'."
He strained finding a connection. "How would this relate?"
"I'm sure you understand the concept of Yin and Yang. Darkness and Light, Female and Male. But one cannot exist without the other."
"Therefore you think there is another. One opposite to this one."
"That's the thinking, at least. It's logical." Back to observing. "I would say they look tense, but considering they're a horse, I cannot tell. Plus, my nose doesn't carry beyond the confines of these walls."
Thinking. "I might have something."
"I expected you would have a sense."
Nodding. "I hear. That's probably why I can hear a flute from the northern realm."
"There's sound coming from the tunic boy's realm?" Shrugging it off as irrelevant, she got back to the task at hand. "Can you hear the emotion of that horse?"
"Never in my 17 years of living in this timeline would I ever think that was a phrase I would hear."
"Strange world, init? Come on, make with the ear thing!"
Rolling eyes. "You know I really shouldn't be helping you. Y'know, SEELE."
Shrugging. "It'll probably happen regardless. Since the past two did."
Kaworu couldn't argue with that logic, so he simply listened on.
"...she is indeed one with the night. But... there's a lot of melancholy to her. Almost like she feels unappreciated."
"Both night and day have their qualities. An average person, I would think, would prefer the tender warmth of the sun, compared to the chill of ni-"
He put his hand up for some quiet. "Hold on... this is changing into... bitterness." The word shook him. "Anger. Hate. Resentment towards her counterpart. A... sister?"
"The sun, I would expect." Azrael kept watch, as events unfolded.
His eyes went wide, as he was given a five second foreshadow. "Tomorrow dawns in darkness."
"What?"
The port realm became engrossed in piercing darkness, a small aftershock of power hitting their realm. Similar to the sensation Kaworu felt when Madoka's realm changed.
Azrael looked on and cackled like she were a mad scientist reanimating a corpse. "Good grief! I'm gonna have to remember that line, Ash!"
Kaworu was still rather confused, as he looked over towards his counterpart. "...Can you tell me what the hell just happened?"
"Simple." She stood from her station. "She succumbed to despair."
"It's not the prophecy though, isn't it?"
Shaking of the head, a small chuckle escaping her. "It may yet be linked, Ash. It may yet be linked."
And like she were made of fireflies, she dissipated into nothing.
Leaving Kaworu alone.
"Well. This'll be an interesting story for Rei."
He removed himself from the metaphysical back to the physical, his movement stirring a not quite asleep Rei. "...what's it fish?"
"You know how in Madoka, the magical girl eventually succumbs to despair and becomes a witch?"
A sleepy nod. "...where's this goin Kaou."
"I just saw that happen to a horse."
Rei took a long pause to process this with her half shutdown brain. Though eventually she started giggling at the absurdity to it all. "I'm not evn gonna question how yeu saw that, Kaou." She burrowed her face into his chest. "Tish worl is weird."
A small smile grew on Kaworu's face, as he settled into a more comfortable position, for both of them. "Good thing I got you to face it with."
Rei sounded in agreement, enjoying her current situation. "Lov ya, my phish." She fell asleep immediately after saying that.
"Love you too, Rei."
~
"...How did you do that, Zero Two?"
Junko Kaname wasn't an idiot. She could put two and two together. Something Zero Two did resulted in Mami's awakening.
"I... I don't know, Ms Kaname. It was just something I felt in me."
It wasn't a lie. She genuinely didn't know. The elder was able to pick up on this, at least.
Junko observed through a window into the ward. The puella plus one had elected to stay the night with a recently awoken Mami. Madoka had fallen asleep close to her, and Homura close to Madoka. Kensuke was acting as a pillow for the other two girls.
"...It does sound like you have something, though. Not just those horns."
Zero Two's hand drifted up to her head. "What was that organisation Kensuke mentioned, that he said might explain me?"
"NERV? I mean, out of all the places, that'll be a good start. Though I thought all they did was operate those giant robots they send against aliens."
In the horned girl's mind, her train of thought stopped and said 'Wait a minute'. "...run that by me again, Ms Kaname?"
Frivolous, she began. "NERV's this organisation that probably does a lot more than operate giant robots that they deploy against alien invaders. All that would be pretty top tier classified though. It's one of the reasons I haven't moved my family to Tokyo-3." A scoff. "And here I thought after the Angel war, things would calm down, but apparently a rogue UN operative ordered an invasion on the city, and they're still dealing with aliens." She sharply exhaled, still shocked at the incompetence of it all, as she leant back on the wall. "Course, it's probably a fabrication, knowing them."
"...Huh." Zero Two took this all in. "I definitely need to visit this NERV then."
The elder noted the TV and pointed Zero Two towards it. "Looks like they're already looking for you."
And indeed they were. The sketch of the person of interest on the television looked eerily like herself. Horns and all.
This only firmed her goal to get to Tokyo-3. The only way they would know she existed would be if someone else was there to tell them.
~
Ritsuko was busy banging a wrench on one of the terminals, while Maya continuously dropped one from a height of around two feet. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the Nephilim in the doorway. "I assume you guys have a reason for abusing those poor terminals." Was Rei's deadpan query.
"Yes." Was Ritsuko's succinct answer. "Maya here is reseating some connectors and chips."
"And that's how you do it." Kaworu matched his betrothed. "Must say it's a bit of a barbaric method."
A thud. "It beats having to open up every single machine to fix it." Amazingly, the terminal came back to life.
"And the wrench?"
"Anger management."
That humoured the Nephilim.
"Anyway, " Ritsuko continued, "How did that 'dive' go with Hiro?"
"He's cognitive. He knows he is Hiro, but he appeared to me as a young child. Even mistook me for Ichigo." The blue haired Nephilim began.
"I suppose since he's not awake, something went wrong."
"That would be accurate." Rei conceded with a hint of melancholy. "He believes to be in another world, one he 'doesn't belong'. And without Zero Two he 'might as well be dead'."
That caught the mad science duo off guard. "...sounds like he's also dependent on her."
"Much like all of us." Conceded Kaworu. "I doubt he will wake unless Zero Two also happens to exist in our world."
In Ritsuko's mind, a few connections synchronised. "I think she might."
On her terminal, she bought up the same wireframe diagram she had shown Maya a couple days ago. "A double meteor was sighted on Christmas morning. I only found this out from the news."
'The other Nephilim did say something like that.'
'Not like we watch news.'
Ritsuko continued, ignorant of this mental conversation. "This one was extrapolated to have impacted where we found Hiro. The other one, however," The orange and black scene on the terminal shifted outward, following the path to another place. "We extrapolated to Tokyo-2."
The Nephilim inspected this scene, coming to the same conclusions Ritsuko did. "So if she were to exist, she would be there."
"My thinking, Rei. Of course, we don't have that great authority outside Tokyo-3, at least without getting the UN involved, so I just pulled a few strings to get a POI sent out."
"Odds are, if she does exist, she would want to know more about why she ended up here." Kaworu theorised. "And one of the only ways she could find out-"
"Is if she came here, precisely." Her terminal was put away, and she returned to the Ultradisc player. "So, I think we should be patient. Especially since we still can't be dragged away from Tokyo-3."
"A wise decision, I would think."
On time, the other two pairs made their presence known. "Ah, another day, another Jian."
"Already expecting it, Asuka?" Misato deadpanned, tired (no thanks to Asuka keeping good on her word last night).
"Don't lie, you are too."
"That, and more sexual innuendo." Kaji added on.
"Of course, we should be expecting this by now." Interjected Kaworu. "I would hope that things would slow down after such a significant event."
"You would think?"
"Actually," Rei began from Ritsuko, "our show also slowed down a bit after Ramiel."
"Our lives as well. It was actually somewhat relaxing. Relatively."
"Somewhat being a key word." Asuka deadpanned. "Our lives definitely became more relaxing eventually, but only after we booted SEELE out of this Earth."
"Even then." Maya deadpanned.
Everyone gathered and sat down, Ultradisc player working sub-par, the next disc started.
~
Kaworu watched over the purple strobes of the starboard realm. Something about this he found quite beautiful.
This serenity was broken by the enthusiastic calling of the other resident Nephilim. "Oi! Ashey boy! Over here!"
He chuckled, as he walked portside. "Observing something, Azrael?"
Nodding, arm resting on her raised leg. "This realm, I would think, is more interesting than that other one. You can clearly see," She pointed, "whatever these powered beings are, they use this realm for their own purposes. Much like us."
Kaworu observed. His expression immediately dropped to one of deadpan. "It's a horse."
"You out of all people shouldn't discriminate on the basis of species, Ash." Light prodding. "I don't even think it's a horse as we know them anyway. Its features kinda give it away."
"Ignoring the fact it's dark as night?"
"Which is why I've taken interest in it." A smooth transition to the subject at hand. "Our agents on Earth determined an event that fit the second criteria. The 'Martyr's Meteor'."
"...When was this?"
"Christmas, oddly enough." A short chuckle. "Funny how that works, eh Ash? It was even on the news, according to them."
Well, that was something he didn't know. "Maybe I should watch the news sometime."
A shrug. "I can sorta understand. It's probably all stuff you know your benefactors control anyway." She looked back to this port realm. "But that leaves only two more criteria that need fulfilling."
Kaworu perked up. "Only two?"
"It's not a very long piece of prose, the prophecy. 'When the Sun rises in the west'."
He strained finding a connection. "How would this relate?"
"I'm sure you understand the concept of Yin and Yang. Darkness and Light, Female and Male. But one cannot exist without the other."
"Therefore you think there is another. One opposite to this one."
"That's the thinking, at least. It's logical." Back to observing. "I would say they look tense, but considering they're a horse, I cannot tell. Plus, my nose doesn't carry beyond the confines of these walls."
Thinking. "I might have something."
"I expected you would have a sense."
Nodding. "I hear. That's probably why I can hear a flute from the northern realm."
"There's sound coming from the tunic boy's realm?" Shrugging it off as irrelevant, she got back to the task at hand. "Can you hear the emotion of that horse?"
"Never in my 17 years of living in this timeline would I ever think that was a phrase I would hear."
"Strange world, init? Come on, make with the ear thing!"
Rolling eyes. "You know I really shouldn't be helping you. Y'know, SEELE."
Shrugging. "It'll probably happen regardless. Since the past two did."
Kaworu couldn't argue with that logic, so he simply listened on.
"...she is indeed one with the night. But... there's a lot of melancholy to her. Almost like she feels unappreciated."
"Both night and day have their qualities. An average person, I would think, would prefer the tender warmth of the sun, compared to the chill of ni-"
He put his hand up for some quiet. "Hold on... this is changing into... bitterness." The word shook him. "Anger. Hate. Resentment towards her counterpart. A... sister?"
"The sun, I would expect." Azrael kept watch, as events unfolded.
His eyes went wide, as he was given a five second foreshadow. "Tomorrow dawns in darkness."
"What?"
The port realm became engrossed in piercing darkness, a small aftershock of power hitting their realm. Similar to the sensation Kaworu felt when Madoka's realm changed.
Azrael looked on and cackled like she were a mad scientist reanimating a corpse. "Good grief! I'm gonna have to remember that line, Ash!"
Kaworu was still rather confused, as he looked over towards his counterpart. "...Can you tell me what the hell just happened?"
"Simple." She stood from her station. "She succumbed to despair."
"It's not the prophecy though, isn't it?"
Shaking of the head, a small chuckle escaping her. "It may yet be linked, Ash. It may yet be linked."
And like she were made of fireflies, she dissipated into nothing.
Leaving Kaworu alone.
"Well. This'll be an interesting story for Rei."
He removed himself from the metaphysical back to the physical, his movement stirring a not quite asleep Rei. "...what's it fish?"
"You know how in Madoka, the magical girl eventually succumbs to despair and becomes a witch?"
A sleepy nod. "...where's this goin Kaou."
"I just saw that happen to a horse."
Rei took a long pause to process this with her half shutdown brain. Though eventually she started giggling at the absurdity to it all. "I'm not evn gonna question how yeu saw that, Kaou." She burrowed her face into his chest. "Tish worl is weird."
A small smile grew on Kaworu's face, as he settled into a more comfortable position, for both of them. "Good thing I got you to face it with."
Rei sounded in agreement, enjoying her current situation. "Lov ya, my phish." She fell asleep immediately after saying that.
"Love you too, Rei."
~
"...How did you do that, Zero Two?"
Junko Kaname wasn't an idiot. She could put two and two together. Something Zero Two did resulted in Mami's awakening.
"I... I don't know, Ms Kaname. It was just something I felt in me."
It wasn't a lie. She genuinely didn't know. The elder was able to pick up on this, at least.
Junko observed through a window into the ward. The puella plus one had elected to stay the night with a recently awoken Mami. Madoka had fallen asleep close to her, and Homura close to Madoka. Kensuke was acting as a pillow for the other two girls.
"...It does sound like you have something, though. Not just those horns."
Zero Two's hand drifted up to her head. "What was that organisation Kensuke mentioned, that he said might explain me?"
"NERV? I mean, out of all the places, that'll be a good start. Though I thought all they did was operate those giant robots they send against aliens."
In the horned girl's mind, her train of thought stopped and said 'Wait a minute'. "...run that by me again, Ms Kaname?"
Frivolous, she began. "NERV's this organisation that probably does a lot more than operate giant robots that they deploy against alien invaders. All that would be pretty top tier classified though. It's one of the reasons I haven't moved my family to Tokyo-3." A scoff. "And here I thought after the Angel war, things would calm down, but apparently a rogue UN operative ordered an invasion on the city, and they're still dealing with aliens." She sharply exhaled, still shocked at the incompetence of it all, as she leant back on the wall. "Course, it's probably a fabrication, knowing them."
"...Huh." Zero Two took this all in. "I definitely need to visit this NERV then."
The elder noted the TV and pointed Zero Two towards it. "Looks like they're already looking for you."
And indeed they were. The sketch of the person of interest on the television looked eerily like herself. Horns and all.
This only firmed her goal to get to Tokyo-3. The only way they would know she existed would be if someone else was there to tell them.
~
Ritsuko was busy banging a wrench on one of the terminals, while Maya continuously dropped one from a height of around two feet. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the Nephilim in the doorway. "I assume you guys have a reason for abusing those poor terminals." Was Rei's deadpan query.
"Yes." Was Ritsuko's succinct answer. "Maya here is reseating some connectors and chips."
"And that's how you do it." Kaworu matched his betrothed. "Must say it's a bit of a barbaric method."
A thud. "It beats having to open up every single machine to fix it." Amazingly, the terminal came back to life.
"And the wrench?"
"Anger management."
That humoured the Nephilim.
"Anyway, " Ritsuko continued, "How did that 'dive' go with Hiro?"
"He's cognitive. He knows he is Hiro, but he appeared to me as a young child. Even mistook me for Ichigo." The blue haired Nephilim began.
"I suppose since he's not awake, something went wrong."
"That would be accurate." Rei conceded with a hint of melancholy. "He believes to be in another world, one he 'doesn't belong'. And without Zero Two he 'might as well be dead'."
That caught the mad science duo off guard. "...sounds like he's also dependent on her."
"Much like all of us." Conceded Kaworu. "I doubt he will wake unless Zero Two also happens to exist in our world."
In Ritsuko's mind, a few connections synchronised. "I think she might."
On her terminal, she bought up the same wireframe diagram she had shown Maya a couple days ago. "A double meteor was sighted on Christmas morning. I only found this out from the news."
'The other Nephilim did say something like that.'
'Not like we watch news.'
Ritsuko continued, ignorant of this mental conversation. "This one was extrapolated to have impacted where we found Hiro. The other one, however," The orange and black scene on the terminal shifted outward, following the path to another place. "We extrapolated to Tokyo-2."
The Nephilim inspected this scene, coming to the same conclusions Ritsuko did. "So if she were to exist, she would be there."
"My thinking, Rei. Of course, we don't have that great authority outside Tokyo-3, at least without getting the UN involved, so I just pulled a few strings to get a POI sent out."
"Odds are, if she does exist, she would want to know more about why she ended up here." Kaworu theorised. "And one of the only ways she could find out-"
"Is if she came here, precisely." Her terminal was put away, and she returned to the Ultradisc player. "So, I think we should be patient. Especially since we still can't be dragged away from Tokyo-3."
"A wise decision, I would think."
On time, the other two pairs made their presence known. "Ah, another day, another Jian."
"Already expecting it, Asuka?" Misato deadpanned, tired (no thanks to Asuka keeping good on her word last night).
"Don't lie, you are too."
"That, and more sexual innuendo." Kaji added on.
"Of course, we should be expecting this by now." Interjected Kaworu. "I would hope that things would slow down after such a significant event."
"You would think?"
"Actually," Rei began from Ritsuko, "our show also slowed down a bit after Ramiel."
"Our lives as well. It was actually somewhat relaxing. Relatively."
"Somewhat being a key word." Asuka deadpanned. "Our lives definitely became more relaxing eventually, but only after we booted SEELE out of this Earth."
"Even then." Maya deadpanned.
Everyone gathered and sat down, Ultradisc player working sub-par, the next disc started.
~
Key:
Shinji (S) Asuka (A)
Rei (Re) Kaworu (Kaw)
Misato (Mi) Kaji (Kaj)
Ritsuko (Ri) Maya (Ma)
Shinji (S) Asuka (A)
Rei (Re) Kaworu (Kaw)
Misato (Mi) Kaji (Kaj)
Ritsuko (Ri) Maya (Ma)
I don't like sand
A: "Ah shit, don't tell me."
Ichigo started her monologue.
Mi: "It is." She deadpanned. "A fucking beach episode."
Kaj: "Oh great. Looks like we're gonna miss the entire episode." He dripped with cynicism.
Re: "I suppose we can't blame you guys this time."
S: "Knowing this show, might be a good idea if we were exempt from having to look away every time. Although considering this episode will most likely be of equal fanservice to you guys too."
A: "Alright, but no staring. It's rude."
S: "As long as you don't stare as well." He poked his tongue out at her.
Kaw: "Oh wow, they get a vacation? Maybe APE is alright."
Ri: "I get it, Kaworu." Flat. "You understand why at least."
Re: "Still, would be nice. Considering we have a few things that need doing."
Ma: "Have they not ever seen the beach before?"
Kaji gave a look. "Take a guess."
Ma: "Okay, dumb question."
Mi: "Hang on a minute, how are there completely fine places like that if the rest of the world has to live in those mobile Geofronts?"
Kaw: "Not all the world would be affected by world changing events. There's always the chance some parts get lucky."
A: "Even Ikuno says that."
S: "Still, it would be nice to not be on call every day."
Mi: "At the very least, your sorties are few and far between. Hell, we've gone almost a full month without a battle."
Literally everyone glared at her. "Thanks Commander Murphy for jinxing that for us." Asuka deadpanned.
Egregious Plot
A: "If those boys weren't at the other side of a screen, I'd give them a piece of my mind for gawking."
S: "You can understand though. At least they're gawking at who they like. Mostly."
A: "Well yeah, I'm fine if you gawk at me, Shin-chan!"
Kaj: "I'd preferably like to go one episode before you guys start making out again."
Mi: "You're getting old, Kaji." She noted in jest.
Ritsuko caught a glimpse of Hiro, and noticed the scar on his chest. "Hmm. Our Hiro has a similar scar on our chest."
Re: "...Odd indeed. Yet more evidence that these people maybe connected."
Ma: "If by connected you mean it's them."
Kaw: "At the very least, it seems like all their tensions have been resolved. This is definitely a cooling off episode."
S: "Much like the Jet Alone episode."
A: "Though that does mean this'll probably be filler."
Re: "In the grand scheme of things, maybe. We haven't heard much from JHCI ever since the Jet Alone incident."
Misato thought. "I think after the clusterfuck that was Jet Alone-"
Kaj: "That NERV caused."
Misato poked her tongue at him. "After that, they were absorbed by Mitsubishi. Hell, we even bought some hardware related to Jet Alone from them."
Ri: "Plus all the other stuff they provide, mostly their trucks and aerospace related items."
Ma: "How can Zero Two be so cool yet adorable at the same time?" She continued gushing.
A: "Almost like she was designed that way."
Kaj: "Except she might exist."
~
Primate
Ma: "A specimen? As in Hiro?"
Kaw: "I would expect that. Makes sense the conspiracy would be interested in not only a skilled pilot, but one with as much confidence as to name his peers. He is indeed the tallest poppy in the field."
Kaj: "But the tallest poppy gets cut down. Pretty sure it was the Australians who said that."
Mi: "What happened to Australia anyway?"
Kaji shrugged. "It got pretty fucked after Second Impact. It was only a year or so ago the UN made contact with three significant successor states; Australian Bendigo, The Swan Confederacy, and Arnhem Land."
Ri: "Well that'll be a fun debate as to who gets the status as official successor."
Kaj: "I've got money on Bendigo myself."
A: "Ignoring Australia for a minute, it sounds like this SEELE ripoff wants to pursue a Grand Crevasse of some sort."
S: "Probably some sort of thing they need is there."
Re: "Something of importance. Like Adam or Lilith."
Kaw: "We do not yet know of any progenitive beings in their reality, however."
Ri: "It's certainly possible. At least our world's biology, a progenitor is required."
Ma: "Of course, we simply can't assume they have the same sort of rules we have."
Surveillance
A: "Either way, looks like they're gonna get their mitts on the plantation."
Kaj: "Realistically, they already have. They have even more power than SEELE, they seem to control this whole planet."
S: "Like our SEELE with Mars?"
Kaj: "Possibly."
Kaw: "Of course, it makes sense APE would want to surveil Plantation 13 more closely. One of their elite pistils and Units is not only in their supervision, she and Hiro are an official piloting pair now."
Mi: "Took them long enough." She muttered something about red tape.
Ma: "Just how vast is the plantation? In places it even looks larger than the Geofront."
Ri: "We should remember that, for an underground installation, the Geofront is completely absurd."
Re: "It wouldn't even exist, if not for Lilith."
Kaj: "And APE have the resources to create not only one, but multiple, mobile Geofronts."
Flashback
A: "Oh boy, it's the perverted cyborg again."
Mi: "Wait, Doctor Franxx?"
A: "He invented the Franxx?!" So many things finally clicked in Asuka's mind. "So THAT'S why they're so damn perverse!"
Re: "Explains a lot, actually."
Ri: "Should we be cynical? It's probable he has reasons other than being a pervert."
Kaj: "As I'm sure that other elite would know. Least I'm assuming they're elite."
Ma: "To be fair, his uniform kinda gives it away."
A: "I don't like him. His smug aura mocks me."
Kaw: "He doesn't seem that bad. Though I can see how you feel that."
Mi: "Not just cause he seems more upper class, eh?"
A: "We're about as upper class as you can get though."
S: "We don't show it."
Mi: "And of course it was the pervy robot man who suggested a beach episode."
Volleyballs
The egregious fanservice continued, the boys in the show gawking questionably at the girls of the show, as the boys outside the show did their best not to attract the ire of their partners.
S: "Ignoring the fanservice-"
A: "A wise decision."
S: "-this episode seems a bit vapid so far."
Misato chuckled. "The beautiful women not doing anything for you, Shin-chan?"
S: "Well, I already have a beautiful woman, don't I?"
That caused a blush to creep up on Asuka's face. "...baka Shinji."
Kaw: "Shinji has a point. Though we've had episodes like this, haven't we?"
Mi: "Not a beach episode."
A: "We weren't even allowed to go to the beach!"
Kaw: "No, but we still had some downtime." 'Sandalphon.'
'Oh yes.' "Remember Sandalphon, Asuka?" A predatory smirk on her face. "Thermal expansion."
Ri: "Oh, and the hot springs."
Asuka was still hiding her blush as she choked out, "Yeah, I get it. Still, those boys could stop gawking at Kokoro's volleyballs."
Mi: "Boys will be boys. I'm sure you know quite well Asuka, how easy it is to manipulate someone of the opposite sex." She teased. "Kaji here still hasn't come up with a way around it."
S: "We have no hope then."
'God knows that works with me.' If a soulbound thought could be in deadpan, it would be, causing Rei to crack up.
Strelitzia
Kaj: "At the very least, Hiro is keeping his eyes loyal to the one he loves."
A: "And that's one of the reasons why I respect him. Eyes for Zero Two only, much like you with me, Shinji."
Shinji grew bashful. "That's sorta the same with Zero Two as well. She's obsessed with him."
A: "As I am you, Shin-chan." A glare towards the screen. "Interesting how this parallels us."
Ri: "I sincerely doubt this would copy your lives exactly. Considering the Laserdiscs were only accurate to episode 15, and the Theatrical going completely off the rails by the second one."
Kaw: "Still, I can understand how Asuka would see parallels with this. Of course, as she said, we must consider this could be inspired by the Theatrical. They came on the same sort of discs after all."
The close up of Hiro's chest only confirmed in Ritsuko's mind that the two were linked somehow.
Mi: "She definitely seems as in love with Hiro as you are with Shinji."
Re: "Even without a sense, Kaworu and I can see it. No matter what world, love is quite universal."
Advice
A: "'Don't let her consume your emotions'? Isn't it a bit too late for that piece of advice?"
Mi: "I would think. They're already quite a bit intertwined together."
Kaj: "They probably do intertwine on the regular.
Ma: "Referring to their piloting, right?"
Kaj: "A- " Misato gave a glare. "Yeah lets go with that."
Ri: "She still has those tics though. Most people would find them weird."
Kaw: "Hiro doesn't."
Re: "Though I do think he was expecting a kiss."
S: "His disappointed expression doesn't say that?"
Hiro was suddenly dragged down.
Mi: "Yep. That's boys for you."
Wallflower
Ma: "Ikuno seems like a bit of a wallflower, doesn't she?"
Re: "But I suspect she also has an attachment to Ichigo."
Kaw: "So that's another thing to add to the tumbleweed of a relationship chart."
A: "It's getting quite absurd, isn't it?"
Ri: "I think Ikuno was sorta hoping Ichigo would stay by her side."
S: "Thank the Gods it's not just us who can misinterpret emotional cues."
Said wallflower put on her stoic face.
Kaj: "Seems she has a few masks as well."
Ma: "That would mean she feels something for Ichigo. If she feels comfortable enough to be like that around her."
Kaw: "I would expect she is also important to Ikuno, in one way or another."
A: "Unlike Mitsuru. Even though they're partners."
Ri: "Which I expect may factor into a decision to change pilots. They've already had a few sync issues in the past, and their relationship seems business at best."
Kiss
S: "Well, this is gonna get awkward fast."
A: "Lets just hope they don't demonstrate."
Ma: "I mean, I wouldn't mind."
Mi: "Hiro would, trying to run like that."
Kaj: "Even Goro is getting in on the action."
Ri: "Boys will-"
Re: "-be boys."
Kaw: "I doubt they would even think anything wrong with it. Considering they don't even know the concept of a kiss."
Asuka huffed like a bull at Futoshi's remark about food. "This doesn't help my view of him."
The group cracked up at Zorome's enthusiasm. "God damn it Zorome." Muttered Misato.
~
Exploration
Kaj: "Now this is interesting. Maybe the path leads to a town of some sort."
Kaw: "Makes sense. I'm sure a village would have a path to a beach like that."
Ri: "It'll almost certainly be abandoned, however."
A: "It's a perfect opportunity to talk about love, at least to them."
S: "Considering they don't even know what love is."
Re: "The feelings are still there. It's increasingly obvious with some people."
Mi: "For most of them, the feelings were there from the first episode."
The town came into view.
Ma: "Well what'dya know. Kaji and Ritsuko were right."
Kaw: "The town would've had to have been abandoned once Klaxosaurs became a problem. It's probably been laying in state for a while."
S: "It definitely looks like it." He observed the letterboxed view. "Kinda reminds me of parts of Japan."
Mi: "Oh yeah, especially after Second Impact."
Kaw: "I find it amazing how quickly nature can reclaim from humans, if we don't hold it at bay."
A: "Jesus, it certainly does look like it's been abandoned for ages. I don't think I've seen it this bad, though."
Re: "They probably find this fascinating. An above ground city, similar but so different to the Geofronts. I imagine they had never even considered what the past was like."
Mi: "They would especially find a design like their home interesting."
Ri: "If APE wanted those kids to live a somewhat normal life, at least by our standards, then it makes sense they would replicate these past conditions. Especially if they wanted to foster socialisation and friendship."
Pamphlet
Re: "Kokoro seems rather curious."
Mi: "Never would've taken her for the curious type."
Kaw: "We saw with how she interacted with Mitsuru that she's a naturally curious individual, one of great empathy too."
She found a pamphlet.
Kaji, immediately connecting a few dots, started a low chuckle. "I can see where this is going."
Kaw: "You see the foreshadowing too?"
A: "Exactly how is she gonna get pregnant in the first place? They don't even know what a kiss is."
Rei meanwhile was busy quelling Lilith's call. "It's all relatively straightforward, I would think."
Ri: "Plus, I'm sure instinct can guide a few things."
Mi: "Aw Christ, she is gonna become pregnant, isn't she? Who the hell will be the father then?"
Kaworu thought back, and especially took mind of Mitsuru's saving her not five seconds after she found the pamphlet. "Right now, there are two potential candidates, I would feel. Ask this: who out of all the Stamen would she like, or even love?"
Ma: "Well, there's Futoshi."
Re: "Or Mitsuru. Right now, it's a matter of who ends out on top."
S: "She does appear to like Futoshi though. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to pilot."
Kaw: "The only way we could know for sure is if our Senses worked with television. Though I can definitely see how the show might be emphasising Mitsuru and Kokoro, considering this is their second scene together."
Mouth to Mouth
Mi: "And it seems there may be something for Ichigo as well."
Re: "She definitely continues to feel something for Hiro."
Kaj: "Well that'll be fun when Goro realises that."
A: "Goro seems rather chill when it comes to that stuff, though."
S: "He seems pretty chill regardless."
Ri: "Of course, Zero Two loves to shove Ichigo's face in it."
Ma: "Kinda reminds me of you with everyone else, Asuka."
A: "Well, when you have someone like Shinji, why wouldn't you?"
Kaw: "Not that it helps Ichigo's feelings about the matter."
Sunset
Kaw: "I imagine this is the first time they've seen a sunset."
Mi: "Well, a significant sunset. Considering their habitat has sunlight."
S: "I don't think I've ever seen the sun set over ocean."
Kaj: "Never been west before, Shinji? It's quite unique."
A: "Have any of us Children seen the sun set over ocean? I know Germany doesn't really have a significant coast, let alone anywhere significant to see the sun set over water. I only remember seeing it while I was on the Over The Rainbow."
Kaw: "Not to mention Berlin itself is somewhat separated from the coast."
Mi: "Really? Man we're gonna have to show you guys one day."
Ri: "Zero Two seems to know her stuff about the history of that world."
Re: "I would feel her knowledge would be common sense. Klaxosaurs are dangerous, therefore APE decided to build the Plantations to protect the human population from them."
Kaw: "It would definitely help protecting the population if they were in an enclosed area."
Ri: "Thank the Gods that's not how it worked here. We were lucky enough to have Lilith as a beacon for the Angels, meaning we could turn Tokyo-3 into a honeypot fortress."
Kaj: "If the Angels, or indeed any significant alien enemy, attacked elsewhere other than Tokyo-3, then the way the Franxx world does it would make sense. Mobile fortresses on the scale of the Geofront, with their own mecha squad to protect them."
Barbecue
Mi: "Now that looks like some nice grub."
Kaj: "Nothing like a good barbecue."
Re: "I'm assuming the Plantation custodians set all that up for them while they were busy exploring."
Kaw: "Yet another reward for good work, I expect."
A: "Gee, it would've been nice to have some nice food after nearly risking our lives."
S: "I thought that Sahaquiel ramen was alright. Then again, we nearly died, so any sort of food would've tasted better."
Mi: "You guys did feast like that recently. All that good stuff you cooked for Christmas."
Ma: "Looks like Miku basks in the stares of boys."
Asuka was humoured, "I imagine it's to make Zorome jealous."
Campfire
Ri: "I find it odd they didn't come to the conclusion that Klaxosaurs may have been the deciding factor in not living on the surface."
Kaw: "Odds are it didn't even spring to their minds. Especially with how laid back they've been today."
S: "It sprung to Miku's mind. And they're obviously thankful to Papa for doing it."
A: "Other than Hiro. Though how would extracting what amounts to oil from the ground attract Klaxosaurs?"
Re: "We already know that the Klaxosaurs attack anything with a significant magma energy signature. Could be an extension of that."
Kaw: "Odds are the Klaxosaur are linked to magma energy, one way or another."
Ma: "Maybe it's just like Mother Nature protecting her assets."
Ri: "If they were trying to go for that angle, it's possible."
S: "At the very least, Hiro's Squad finally seems to be accepting of him."
Mi: "They already were, but now he's a proper pilot with Zero Two, it would help."
Asuka was cynical and flat. "So they only like him because he can pilot."
Ri: "I mean, it would help to pull your weight."
Crab
A: "For God's sake, you can show more than one trait with someone."
Kaw: "His eating is definitely a significant aspect. Though as we know, significant amounts of eating point to deeper psychological issues. We see this with both Sakuras."
Ri: "Indeed, binge eating often leads to significant issues, physically and mentally. We can already see Futoshi is more... shapely, but it's certainly possible he has other mental issues."
Re: "Low self esteem, maybe? I definitely saw shades of that with Sakura."
Ri: "And I can see shades in Futoshi too, at least from what we see. It may not be the food, but he seems more dependent as well. Hell, he might even be depressed for all we know."
S: "I know for a fact I never had to eat a lot to be depressed."
Asuka would've snarked as she does, but further thinking gave her pause for a moment, eventually resting her head on Shinji. "You and me both, Shinji."
Kaj: "...I would think eating would be to make one feel happy."
Mi: "Much like alcohol, it would just make you more depressed."
Stars
Ma: "It's a rare moment in our world to see the stars like that."
Ri: "I'm pretty sure the last time I saw them like that was right before Ramiel."
S: "It's definitely a nice sight."
A: "You should go to the country sometime then. It's definitely a sight for sore eyes."
Mi: "And I imagine there ain't that many surface settlements to cause any light pollution. Almost all their world would see it like that."
Re: "I imagine they even see a significant starscape from Mistilteinn. There doesn't seem to be that much lighting on the surface of a Plantation."
Kaw: "Well, they have their surface lights and some spotlights. But I imagine near Mistilteinn there wouldn't be any strong sources of light. You'd want your pilots to get some good sleep, and the day/night cycle is quite important to that."
Orion
Misato noted with some awe. "It's been a while since I've seen Orion like that."
Ma: "Their world is a world without a Second Impact, then. They must've had another sort of natural disaster, to cause the parched Earth and Klaxosaurs."
A: "I recall seeing Orion in Germany, though."
Kaj: "The changing of the axis would merely shift how the stars appear in the sky. Of course, if the axis did shift by any significant amount, the world would've been even more screwed."
S: "What caused the constant summer then? I was taught it was due to said shift."
Ritsuko shrugged. "Kaji might know better, but I think the UN and SEELE embellished the cover story a bit. Considering the sky is still mostly the same."
Kaj: "Correct, they thought to make it sound even more like it was a freak event, so no one would suspect it was actually them who caused it. Though to be fair, it did shift. Ever so slightly, so they didn't exactly lie."
Maya thought. "I know ice and permafrost can function as a carbon sink. Melting all that would make the Earth more of a greenhouse, wouldn't it?"
Kaj: "Pretty much. The climate changed quite a bit due to that."
Mi: "Al Gore was right, then."
S: "Huh. I kinda expected it to be a crock of shit."
15th Star
Ma: "That's really sweet of Hiro to name a star after Ichigo."
Mi: "I wonder if he did the same for Zero Two."
S: "It would be the second star of Orion, I would think."
Kaw: "I would think the fact her star is one not normally seen would be an analogy."
A: "Or, you could just be seeing analogy in everything in this show."
Kaworu pursed his lips. "That's the point of analogy."
Ri: "Of course, we don't need analogy to know Ichigo wants Hiro's attention."
They collectively cringed as Hiro interrupted her confession, though it was for a decent reason. The meteor shower helped change their expressions to wonder.
Didn't stop Asuka from berating the boy. "Look kid, I respect ya but you gotta be more perspective about these sorts of things."
Asuka glared at the credits. "Well, this is just more fanservice. I'm sure there's easier ways to find hentai than to wait for a wormhole to pop one out."
"At least Ichigo takes Hiro's lack of perceptiveness in her stride." Misato noted. "Seems some thing about men remain the same, even though out different worlds."
"If anything, Hiro is more perspective about that sort of thing than I was." Defended Shinji. "At least, before Asuka made the message quite clear to me."
"To be fair, that wasn't all your fault, was it? I've got some blame too."
"Though maybe it was wise you didn't go too fast with Shinji. With all the masks you lot had, it was downright luck you two managed to get together."
"Considering what happened when they didn't." Rei deadpanned.
"Yeah Kaji, somehow if they didn't get together, we'd all be orange juice by now." Maya matched Rei's tone.
This entertained Kaworu, as he tried to suppress how much it humoured him. "I've never heard that used as an analogy for LCL."
"Considering the analogy this show uses, it's quite tame." Spoke Ritsuko, performing percussive maintenance on the Ultradisc player. Eventually, the next episode got started.
~
A: "Ah shit, don't tell me."
Ichigo started her monologue.
Mi: "It is." She deadpanned. "A fucking beach episode."
Kaj: "Oh great. Looks like we're gonna miss the entire episode." He dripped with cynicism.
Re: "I suppose we can't blame you guys this time."
S: "Knowing this show, might be a good idea if we were exempt from having to look away every time. Although considering this episode will most likely be of equal fanservice to you guys too."
A: "Alright, but no staring. It's rude."
S: "As long as you don't stare as well." He poked his tongue out at her.
Kaw: "Oh wow, they get a vacation? Maybe APE is alright."
Ri: "I get it, Kaworu." Flat. "You understand why at least."
Re: "Still, would be nice. Considering we have a few things that need doing."
Ma: "Have they not ever seen the beach before?"
Kaji gave a look. "Take a guess."
Ma: "Okay, dumb question."
Mi: "Hang on a minute, how are there completely fine places like that if the rest of the world has to live in those mobile Geofronts?"
Kaw: "Not all the world would be affected by world changing events. There's always the chance some parts get lucky."
A: "Even Ikuno says that."
S: "Still, it would be nice to not be on call every day."
Mi: "At the very least, your sorties are few and far between. Hell, we've gone almost a full month without a battle."
Literally everyone glared at her. "Thanks Commander Murphy for jinxing that for us." Asuka deadpanned.
Egregious Plot
A: "If those boys weren't at the other side of a screen, I'd give them a piece of my mind for gawking."
S: "You can understand though. At least they're gawking at who they like. Mostly."
A: "Well yeah, I'm fine if you gawk at me, Shin-chan!"
Kaj: "I'd preferably like to go one episode before you guys start making out again."
Mi: "You're getting old, Kaji." She noted in jest.
Ritsuko caught a glimpse of Hiro, and noticed the scar on his chest. "Hmm. Our Hiro has a similar scar on our chest."
Re: "...Odd indeed. Yet more evidence that these people maybe connected."
Ma: "If by connected you mean it's them."
Kaw: "At the very least, it seems like all their tensions have been resolved. This is definitely a cooling off episode."
S: "Much like the Jet Alone episode."
A: "Though that does mean this'll probably be filler."
Re: "In the grand scheme of things, maybe. We haven't heard much from JHCI ever since the Jet Alone incident."
Misato thought. "I think after the clusterfuck that was Jet Alone-"
Kaj: "That NERV caused."
Misato poked her tongue at him. "After that, they were absorbed by Mitsubishi. Hell, we even bought some hardware related to Jet Alone from them."
Ri: "Plus all the other stuff they provide, mostly their trucks and aerospace related items."
Ma: "How can Zero Two be so cool yet adorable at the same time?" She continued gushing.
A: "Almost like she was designed that way."
Kaj: "Except she might exist."
~
Primate
Ma: "A specimen? As in Hiro?"
Kaw: "I would expect that. Makes sense the conspiracy would be interested in not only a skilled pilot, but one with as much confidence as to name his peers. He is indeed the tallest poppy in the field."
Kaj: "But the tallest poppy gets cut down. Pretty sure it was the Australians who said that."
Mi: "What happened to Australia anyway?"
Kaji shrugged. "It got pretty fucked after Second Impact. It was only a year or so ago the UN made contact with three significant successor states; Australian Bendigo, The Swan Confederacy, and Arnhem Land."
Ri: "Well that'll be a fun debate as to who gets the status as official successor."
Kaj: "I've got money on Bendigo myself."
A: "Ignoring Australia for a minute, it sounds like this SEELE ripoff wants to pursue a Grand Crevasse of some sort."
S: "Probably some sort of thing they need is there."
Re: "Something of importance. Like Adam or Lilith."
Kaw: "We do not yet know of any progenitive beings in their reality, however."
Ri: "It's certainly possible. At least our world's biology, a progenitor is required."
Ma: "Of course, we simply can't assume they have the same sort of rules we have."
Surveillance
A: "Either way, looks like they're gonna get their mitts on the plantation."
Kaj: "Realistically, they already have. They have even more power than SEELE, they seem to control this whole planet."
S: "Like our SEELE with Mars?"
Kaj: "Possibly."
Kaw: "Of course, it makes sense APE would want to surveil Plantation 13 more closely. One of their elite pistils and Units is not only in their supervision, she and Hiro are an official piloting pair now."
Mi: "Took them long enough." She muttered something about red tape.
Ma: "Just how vast is the plantation? In places it even looks larger than the Geofront."
Ri: "We should remember that, for an underground installation, the Geofront is completely absurd."
Re: "It wouldn't even exist, if not for Lilith."
Kaj: "And APE have the resources to create not only one, but multiple, mobile Geofronts."
Flashback
A: "Oh boy, it's the perverted cyborg again."
Mi: "Wait, Doctor Franxx?"
A: "He invented the Franxx?!" So many things finally clicked in Asuka's mind. "So THAT'S why they're so damn perverse!"
Re: "Explains a lot, actually."
Ri: "Should we be cynical? It's probable he has reasons other than being a pervert."
Kaj: "As I'm sure that other elite would know. Least I'm assuming they're elite."
Ma: "To be fair, his uniform kinda gives it away."
A: "I don't like him. His smug aura mocks me."
Kaw: "He doesn't seem that bad. Though I can see how you feel that."
Mi: "Not just cause he seems more upper class, eh?"
A: "We're about as upper class as you can get though."
S: "We don't show it."
Mi: "And of course it was the pervy robot man who suggested a beach episode."
Volleyballs
The egregious fanservice continued, the boys in the show gawking questionably at the girls of the show, as the boys outside the show did their best not to attract the ire of their partners.
S: "Ignoring the fanservice-"
A: "A wise decision."
S: "-this episode seems a bit vapid so far."
Misato chuckled. "The beautiful women not doing anything for you, Shin-chan?"
S: "Well, I already have a beautiful woman, don't I?"
That caused a blush to creep up on Asuka's face. "...baka Shinji."
Kaw: "Shinji has a point. Though we've had episodes like this, haven't we?"
Mi: "Not a beach episode."
A: "We weren't even allowed to go to the beach!"
Kaw: "No, but we still had some downtime." 'Sandalphon.'
'Oh yes.' "Remember Sandalphon, Asuka?" A predatory smirk on her face. "Thermal expansion."
Ri: "Oh, and the hot springs."
Asuka was still hiding her blush as she choked out, "Yeah, I get it. Still, those boys could stop gawking at Kokoro's volleyballs."
Mi: "Boys will be boys. I'm sure you know quite well Asuka, how easy it is to manipulate someone of the opposite sex." She teased. "Kaji here still hasn't come up with a way around it."
S: "We have no hope then."
'God knows that works with me.' If a soulbound thought could be in deadpan, it would be, causing Rei to crack up.
Strelitzia
Kaj: "At the very least, Hiro is keeping his eyes loyal to the one he loves."
A: "And that's one of the reasons why I respect him. Eyes for Zero Two only, much like you with me, Shinji."
Shinji grew bashful. "That's sorta the same with Zero Two as well. She's obsessed with him."
A: "As I am you, Shin-chan." A glare towards the screen. "Interesting how this parallels us."
Ri: "I sincerely doubt this would copy your lives exactly. Considering the Laserdiscs were only accurate to episode 15, and the Theatrical going completely off the rails by the second one."
Kaw: "Still, I can understand how Asuka would see parallels with this. Of course, as she said, we must consider this could be inspired by the Theatrical. They came on the same sort of discs after all."
The close up of Hiro's chest only confirmed in Ritsuko's mind that the two were linked somehow.
Mi: "She definitely seems as in love with Hiro as you are with Shinji."
Re: "Even without a sense, Kaworu and I can see it. No matter what world, love is quite universal."
Advice
A: "'Don't let her consume your emotions'? Isn't it a bit too late for that piece of advice?"
Mi: "I would think. They're already quite a bit intertwined together."
Kaj: "They probably do intertwine on the regular.
Ma: "Referring to their piloting, right?"
Kaj: "A- " Misato gave a glare. "Yeah lets go with that."
Ri: "She still has those tics though. Most people would find them weird."
Kaw: "Hiro doesn't."
Re: "Though I do think he was expecting a kiss."
S: "His disappointed expression doesn't say that?"
Hiro was suddenly dragged down.
Mi: "Yep. That's boys for you."
Wallflower
Ma: "Ikuno seems like a bit of a wallflower, doesn't she?"
Re: "But I suspect she also has an attachment to Ichigo."
Kaw: "So that's another thing to add to the tumbleweed of a relationship chart."
A: "It's getting quite absurd, isn't it?"
Ri: "I think Ikuno was sorta hoping Ichigo would stay by her side."
S: "Thank the Gods it's not just us who can misinterpret emotional cues."
Said wallflower put on her stoic face.
Kaj: "Seems she has a few masks as well."
Ma: "That would mean she feels something for Ichigo. If she feels comfortable enough to be like that around her."
Kaw: "I would expect she is also important to Ikuno, in one way or another."
A: "Unlike Mitsuru. Even though they're partners."
Ri: "Which I expect may factor into a decision to change pilots. They've already had a few sync issues in the past, and their relationship seems business at best."
Kiss
S: "Well, this is gonna get awkward fast."
A: "Lets just hope they don't demonstrate."
Ma: "I mean, I wouldn't mind."
Mi: "Hiro would, trying to run like that."
Kaj: "Even Goro is getting in on the action."
Ri: "Boys will-"
Re: "-be boys."
Kaw: "I doubt they would even think anything wrong with it. Considering they don't even know the concept of a kiss."
Asuka huffed like a bull at Futoshi's remark about food. "This doesn't help my view of him."
The group cracked up at Zorome's enthusiasm. "God damn it Zorome." Muttered Misato.
~
Exploration
Kaj: "Now this is interesting. Maybe the path leads to a town of some sort."
Kaw: "Makes sense. I'm sure a village would have a path to a beach like that."
Ri: "It'll almost certainly be abandoned, however."
A: "It's a perfect opportunity to talk about love, at least to them."
S: "Considering they don't even know what love is."
Re: "The feelings are still there. It's increasingly obvious with some people."
Mi: "For most of them, the feelings were there from the first episode."
The town came into view.
Ma: "Well what'dya know. Kaji and Ritsuko were right."
Kaw: "The town would've had to have been abandoned once Klaxosaurs became a problem. It's probably been laying in state for a while."
S: "It definitely looks like it." He observed the letterboxed view. "Kinda reminds me of parts of Japan."
Mi: "Oh yeah, especially after Second Impact."
Kaw: "I find it amazing how quickly nature can reclaim from humans, if we don't hold it at bay."
A: "Jesus, it certainly does look like it's been abandoned for ages. I don't think I've seen it this bad, though."
Re: "They probably find this fascinating. An above ground city, similar but so different to the Geofronts. I imagine they had never even considered what the past was like."
Mi: "They would especially find a design like their home interesting."
Ri: "If APE wanted those kids to live a somewhat normal life, at least by our standards, then it makes sense they would replicate these past conditions. Especially if they wanted to foster socialisation and friendship."
Pamphlet
Re: "Kokoro seems rather curious."
Mi: "Never would've taken her for the curious type."
Kaw: "We saw with how she interacted with Mitsuru that she's a naturally curious individual, one of great empathy too."
She found a pamphlet.
Kaji, immediately connecting a few dots, started a low chuckle. "I can see where this is going."
Kaw: "You see the foreshadowing too?"
A: "Exactly how is she gonna get pregnant in the first place? They don't even know what a kiss is."
Rei meanwhile was busy quelling Lilith's call. "It's all relatively straightforward, I would think."
Ri: "Plus, I'm sure instinct can guide a few things."
Mi: "Aw Christ, she is gonna become pregnant, isn't she? Who the hell will be the father then?"
Kaworu thought back, and especially took mind of Mitsuru's saving her not five seconds after she found the pamphlet. "Right now, there are two potential candidates, I would feel. Ask this: who out of all the Stamen would she like, or even love?"
Ma: "Well, there's Futoshi."
Re: "Or Mitsuru. Right now, it's a matter of who ends out on top."
S: "She does appear to like Futoshi though. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to pilot."
Kaw: "The only way we could know for sure is if our Senses worked with television. Though I can definitely see how the show might be emphasising Mitsuru and Kokoro, considering this is their second scene together."
Mouth to Mouth
Mi: "And it seems there may be something for Ichigo as well."
Re: "She definitely continues to feel something for Hiro."
Kaj: "Well that'll be fun when Goro realises that."
A: "Goro seems rather chill when it comes to that stuff, though."
S: "He seems pretty chill regardless."
Ri: "Of course, Zero Two loves to shove Ichigo's face in it."
Ma: "Kinda reminds me of you with everyone else, Asuka."
A: "Well, when you have someone like Shinji, why wouldn't you?"
Kaw: "Not that it helps Ichigo's feelings about the matter."
Sunset
Kaw: "I imagine this is the first time they've seen a sunset."
Mi: "Well, a significant sunset. Considering their habitat has sunlight."
S: "I don't think I've ever seen the sun set over ocean."
Kaj: "Never been west before, Shinji? It's quite unique."
A: "Have any of us Children seen the sun set over ocean? I know Germany doesn't really have a significant coast, let alone anywhere significant to see the sun set over water. I only remember seeing it while I was on the Over The Rainbow."
Kaw: "Not to mention Berlin itself is somewhat separated from the coast."
Mi: "Really? Man we're gonna have to show you guys one day."
Ri: "Zero Two seems to know her stuff about the history of that world."
Re: "I would feel her knowledge would be common sense. Klaxosaurs are dangerous, therefore APE decided to build the Plantations to protect the human population from them."
Kaw: "It would definitely help protecting the population if they were in an enclosed area."
Ri: "Thank the Gods that's not how it worked here. We were lucky enough to have Lilith as a beacon for the Angels, meaning we could turn Tokyo-3 into a honeypot fortress."
Kaj: "If the Angels, or indeed any significant alien enemy, attacked elsewhere other than Tokyo-3, then the way the Franxx world does it would make sense. Mobile fortresses on the scale of the Geofront, with their own mecha squad to protect them."
Barbecue
Mi: "Now that looks like some nice grub."
Kaj: "Nothing like a good barbecue."
Re: "I'm assuming the Plantation custodians set all that up for them while they were busy exploring."
Kaw: "Yet another reward for good work, I expect."
A: "Gee, it would've been nice to have some nice food after nearly risking our lives."
S: "I thought that Sahaquiel ramen was alright. Then again, we nearly died, so any sort of food would've tasted better."
Mi: "You guys did feast like that recently. All that good stuff you cooked for Christmas."
Ma: "Looks like Miku basks in the stares of boys."
Asuka was humoured, "I imagine it's to make Zorome jealous."
Campfire
Ri: "I find it odd they didn't come to the conclusion that Klaxosaurs may have been the deciding factor in not living on the surface."
Kaw: "Odds are it didn't even spring to their minds. Especially with how laid back they've been today."
S: "It sprung to Miku's mind. And they're obviously thankful to Papa for doing it."
A: "Other than Hiro. Though how would extracting what amounts to oil from the ground attract Klaxosaurs?"
Re: "We already know that the Klaxosaurs attack anything with a significant magma energy signature. Could be an extension of that."
Kaw: "Odds are the Klaxosaur are linked to magma energy, one way or another."
Ma: "Maybe it's just like Mother Nature protecting her assets."
Ri: "If they were trying to go for that angle, it's possible."
S: "At the very least, Hiro's Squad finally seems to be accepting of him."
Mi: "They already were, but now he's a proper pilot with Zero Two, it would help."
Asuka was cynical and flat. "So they only like him because he can pilot."
Ri: "I mean, it would help to pull your weight."
Crab
A: "For God's sake, you can show more than one trait with someone."
Kaw: "His eating is definitely a significant aspect. Though as we know, significant amounts of eating point to deeper psychological issues. We see this with both Sakuras."
Ri: "Indeed, binge eating often leads to significant issues, physically and mentally. We can already see Futoshi is more... shapely, but it's certainly possible he has other mental issues."
Re: "Low self esteem, maybe? I definitely saw shades of that with Sakura."
Ri: "And I can see shades in Futoshi too, at least from what we see. It may not be the food, but he seems more dependent as well. Hell, he might even be depressed for all we know."
S: "I know for a fact I never had to eat a lot to be depressed."
Asuka would've snarked as she does, but further thinking gave her pause for a moment, eventually resting her head on Shinji. "You and me both, Shinji."
Kaj: "...I would think eating would be to make one feel happy."
Mi: "Much like alcohol, it would just make you more depressed."
Stars
Ma: "It's a rare moment in our world to see the stars like that."
Ri: "I'm pretty sure the last time I saw them like that was right before Ramiel."
S: "It's definitely a nice sight."
A: "You should go to the country sometime then. It's definitely a sight for sore eyes."
Mi: "And I imagine there ain't that many surface settlements to cause any light pollution. Almost all their world would see it like that."
Re: "I imagine they even see a significant starscape from Mistilteinn. There doesn't seem to be that much lighting on the surface of a Plantation."
Kaw: "Well, they have their surface lights and some spotlights. But I imagine near Mistilteinn there wouldn't be any strong sources of light. You'd want your pilots to get some good sleep, and the day/night cycle is quite important to that."
Orion
Misato noted with some awe. "It's been a while since I've seen Orion like that."
Ma: "Their world is a world without a Second Impact, then. They must've had another sort of natural disaster, to cause the parched Earth and Klaxosaurs."
A: "I recall seeing Orion in Germany, though."
Kaj: "The changing of the axis would merely shift how the stars appear in the sky. Of course, if the axis did shift by any significant amount, the world would've been even more screwed."
S: "What caused the constant summer then? I was taught it was due to said shift."
Ritsuko shrugged. "Kaji might know better, but I think the UN and SEELE embellished the cover story a bit. Considering the sky is still mostly the same."
Kaj: "Correct, they thought to make it sound even more like it was a freak event, so no one would suspect it was actually them who caused it. Though to be fair, it did shift. Ever so slightly, so they didn't exactly lie."
Maya thought. "I know ice and permafrost can function as a carbon sink. Melting all that would make the Earth more of a greenhouse, wouldn't it?"
Kaj: "Pretty much. The climate changed quite a bit due to that."
Mi: "Al Gore was right, then."
S: "Huh. I kinda expected it to be a crock of shit."
15th Star
Ma: "That's really sweet of Hiro to name a star after Ichigo."
Mi: "I wonder if he did the same for Zero Two."
S: "It would be the second star of Orion, I would think."
Kaw: "I would think the fact her star is one not normally seen would be an analogy."
A: "Or, you could just be seeing analogy in everything in this show."
Kaworu pursed his lips. "That's the point of analogy."
Ri: "Of course, we don't need analogy to know Ichigo wants Hiro's attention."
They collectively cringed as Hiro interrupted her confession, though it was for a decent reason. The meteor shower helped change their expressions to wonder.
Didn't stop Asuka from berating the boy. "Look kid, I respect ya but you gotta be more perspective about these sorts of things."
Asuka glared at the credits. "Well, this is just more fanservice. I'm sure there's easier ways to find hentai than to wait for a wormhole to pop one out."
"At least Ichigo takes Hiro's lack of perceptiveness in her stride." Misato noted. "Seems some thing about men remain the same, even though out different worlds."
"If anything, Hiro is more perspective about that sort of thing than I was." Defended Shinji. "At least, before Asuka made the message quite clear to me."
"To be fair, that wasn't all your fault, was it? I've got some blame too."
"Though maybe it was wise you didn't go too fast with Shinji. With all the masks you lot had, it was downright luck you two managed to get together."
"Considering what happened when they didn't." Rei deadpanned.
"Yeah Kaji, somehow if they didn't get together, we'd all be orange juice by now." Maya matched Rei's tone.
This entertained Kaworu, as he tried to suppress how much it humoured him. "I've never heard that used as an analogy for LCL."
"Considering the analogy this show uses, it's quite tame." Spoke Ritsuko, performing percussive maintenance on the Ultradisc player. Eventually, the next episode got started.
~
Battle
A: "And we're immediately back to action."
Mi: "Vacations can't last forever."
S: "Like we've even had one."
Kaw: "On the bright side, this episode shouldn't be one we have to look away from every 12 seconds."
Ri: "They seem to be taking on this Klaxosaur quite well, actually. Colour me surprised."
Ma: "Maybe that vacation did them some good. Sometimes a bit of time off is good for recuperating and training."
Kaj: "But you don't want to take too much time off, otherwise your skills start diminishing."
Re: "Even so, they didn't expect that slime attack."
S: "That's sorta like Matarael, isn't it?"
A: "Well, they're probably burning to death in that case." Cynical clapping. "Once again Squad 13 have completely failed."
Slime
Re: "Odd. What would the point of that emission be if it wasn't an attack?"
Ri: "You could still do mechanical damage, even with a benign slime. It gets in all the different openings in the armour and would make it harder to move the limbs."
Ma: "At the very least our Evangelion are partially biological to counteract something like that. The Franxx looks completely mechanical, they don't even require a resident soul in a core to run."
A: "That slime probably has some other function then."
Everyone could pick up on her implication that Trigger were perverted.
Mi: "I would say I doubt people could fetishise a robot, but the simple fact this show exists proves me wrong."
Drippings
The slime dribbled into the cockpit.
Ri: "Okay, why aren't the cockpits airtight?"
And it started burning away at the pistil's plugsuit.
Misato started giving a heavy laugh. "Oh I can see where this is going."
A: "What, the boys get distracted by a bit of skin? It's very obvious, isn't it."
S: "Probably doesn't help they're teenagers."
Re: "As long as they don't let it get to their heads."
Kaw: "Rei, it gets to my head. They have no chance."
Acid
Ma: "So that slime was designed to do that?"
Ri: "It was still corrosive, like Matarael's one. Fair enough, that might explain how it got into the cockpit. Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if the pistil suits weren't painted on."
A: "I'm pretty sure Matarael's acid would burn through the plugsuit."
Ri: "It would also burn through your skin and bone."
S: "Plus, even if it burned off your plugsuit, the Eva is a solo system. At worst, you'll just have to use sound only mode and request a towel when you get out."
A: "Of course, if I was piloting with Shinji, maybe I wouldn't give that much of a damn."
Mi: "At the very least, they sound like they can still get the job done."
And they did. Well, specifically Strelitzia.
It was at this moment Hiro decided to inform Zero Two about the lack of plugsuit.
Kaj: "Hiro's an idiot."
A: "Hiro's respectful. And he left it until after the enemy was defeated, so that no one would get distracted."
Re: "Almost like he knew how the girls would react."
Ri: "It's a fair enough response, to be fair. I'm sure you all wouldn't want to end up naked in front of anyone."
Asuka muttered. "Not like it mattered when NERV did it."
Mi: "We haven't even done that since Iruel."
A: "Guess we have something to thank it for then."
That got them laughing.
~
Debrief
Kaw: "You can see each of their personalities by the way they judge the boys."
A: "Especially with Zero Two, and how much she doesn't give a shit about that sort of stuff."
S: "Considering her first interaction with Hiro, she was completely nude. At least my first interaction with you was only an upskirt."
Asuka poked out her tongue. "That I promptly charged you for, and didn't fuss more about it."
Mi: "At least until Toji fussed."
Re: "He was also promptly charged, if I recall."
Ri: "Goro makes a good point. If they had told them, they would've completely locked up, might've even lost the battle."
Kaji facepalmed. "Futoshi isn't helping their case."
A: "Neither is Hiro. Or Zero Two."
Ma: "Then again, they're a unique case."
Kaw: "It definitely wouldn't help. I know when Rei glares at me like that, I might have made a mistake."
Re: "I haven't glared at you like that since the last time we went to that forest."
Ogle
Ri: "Ah Gods. It sounds like it's getting to them."
Ma: "They're still quite green though. They probably haven't learned to deal with this in a productive fashion."
Mi: "What would be a productive way to deal with stuff like this?"
A: "Well Misato, just look at the way we deal with it!"
Misato gave her a look. "The way you guys deal with it, is by either flooding Tokyo-3 with blood, or flooding yourselves with your partners."
Her pure deadpan guaranteed the entire room would crack up at that remark.
Kaj: "And I doubt they would want to do that."
S: "It sounds like it's especially getting to Miku."
Kaw: "Do they really expect to be able to just stop living with their partners? The people they need to actually pilot the damn Franxx?"
Ri: "I doubt the commanders would allow that."
Split
Ritsuko grumbled as she was immediately proven wrong.
Mi: "Oh God, they're serious." Misato on the other hand was laughing.
A: "Surely there's a more mature way of dealing with that."
Kaj: "Considering you, if I recall correctly, didn't believe boys and girls should even be under the same roof after 7."
A: "Oh right." A glance sideward. "Thank God I don't think like that now."
Mi: "Knowing how teenagers are like, we should've expected them to react like this."
Re: "Chances are the commanders are allowing this deliberately. Especially if they wanted to make a point."
Kaw: "I imagine they monitor every inch of their habitat. So they would know."
Kaworu, on the other hand, was immediately proven right.
S: "So Doctor Franxx wants to monitor this household because everyone's going through puberty?"
Ri: "I wouldn't expect them to go through that late, but then again they've been genetically engineered."
Kaj: "Also I don't recall if we even know their ages. They're just vaguely teenage."
A: "Still, lotta hormones going round."
Mi: "Hell, you lot still have plenty of those hormones."
Kaw: "We have our methods of resolving any problems caused by said hormones, at least."
Subvert
A: "Of course, Zero Two just doesn't give a shit about what anyone else wants."
S: "Makes sense, she just want to be with Hiro. No piece of masking tape will prevent her from doing that."
Kaw: "Hiro wouldn't give a damn either. Their relationship seems equally dependent on one another."
Ri: "It certainly seems like it. Zero Two needs Hiro or she'll go on a rampage. Hiro needs Zero Two or he'll want to kill himself. Honestly it sounds a lot like you four."
Re: "Good to know we aren't the only ones dependent on one another." She deadpanned.
Kaji gave a chuckle at the scene unfolding. "I knew the boys would try to push these stupid rules as much as they could."
Mi: "Okay, that's a bit bull. Why did they get the bathroom to themselves?"
A: "Zorome has a point. It's their side."
Ma: "I imagine the girls are gonna paint themselves into a corner eventually."
Mi: "Eventually, the commanders will have to intervene. With how the boys are pushing it, justifiably, I know there will eventually be a boil over."
Ri: "And it would be the girls overreaction to blame. They should've just pulled an Asuka and charged them a 'viewing fee'."
A: "See? It is a good idea. The boys get taught a bit of respect, and you get to feel like you've gotten back at them. You don't have to saw your house in half."
Provoke
Kaw: "I can see how Goro could come up with an idea like that. With the girls he's respectful, but around the boys he's just like them."
A: "Also Zorome and Futoshi are idiots, as Ichigo suggested."
Kaj: "Maybe the girls are idiots, in this case. They can't really complain about having the clean the bathroom."
Mi: "Well yeah, they wanted the bathroom so they have to clean it. I'd say the lake was better; sure it would be cold but it's not like you have to clean a lake afterwards."
Re: "You'd want to leave it as it was, but it wouldn't require active cleaning."
S: "Plus, their lake actually looks quite nice. I wouldn't mind going for a swim in it."
Dine
Asuka and half the group burst into laughter as the girls continued to get hoisted by their own petards. "Did they not think about what they wanted?"
Mi: "By the looks of it, no. They just split the house 50/50."
Kaw: "So the boys not only bathe in the lake, they get the dining room. I'm sure Hamlet had something to say about this."
The camera panned out.
Now all the group were laughing, as they witnessed how the boys had also gotten a hand on the tape and curved it to the dining room.
Ri: "They found a loophole!"
Kaj: "They should've taped it to the front door."
Re: "They shouldn't have done this at all."
S: "As Goro said. At least he offered an olive branch."
A: "That no one but Zero Two took."
Ma: "Miku wanted to take it."
Mi: "Food is a good leverage. But I think the girls have become stubborn."
Kaj: "As Hiro said."
Kaw: "Zero Two's outlook on this seems rather different to his."
Asuka exhaled sharply. "By 'spicing up', she obviously means pushing the girls over the edge."
Ma: "She's not exactly on their side, is she?"
Ri: "She never even gave a single damn about this whole thing."
Greenhouse
Kaw: "Well well. Yet another scene with Mitsuru and Kokoro."
Ri: "They have been spending a while together, haven't they?"
A: "I'd say. Considering that two by four of a foreshadow they did last episode."
Re: "They both have secrets they want hidden from the others. Mitsuru his medication, Kokoro that pamphlet."
Mi: "Didn't you say your call was to do that?"
Re: "Indeed. Kaworu helps with quelling that call, however."
Misato wasn't sure how to respond to such a reply.
S: "This is all just foreshadowing, isn't it?"
Ma: "Considering this entire show just seems like a sex metaphor."
Re: "I think Kokoro is attracted to Mitsuru's cool and collected demeanour."
Kaw: "Do you think they will become an item in this show?"
Ri: "Her partnership with Futoshi would be an obstacle, I would think. Unless they get swapped around."
Mi: "Which you mentioned was possible. Considering Mitsuru can't get it up with Ikuno."
Badly suppressed laughter from her immaturity.
Ration
S: "They have to eat rations." He deadpanned.
A: "Yeah they didn't entirely think this through, did they?"
Kaw: "When emotions dictate ones actions, one might not think them through."
Ri: "Which is exactly what a pilot would want to avoid."
Mi: "Obviously, most of those pilot pairs don't know that."
Ma: "They're new to piloting, they have time to learn."
Re: "Indeed. I imagine this will be a learning experience for everyone involved. Although I find it odd they've never been to the first floor of their own abode."
A room was blocked out with yellow tape.
Kaj: "Odds are they're gonna have a look."
A: "A room that says keep out? Of course they're gonna look."
Secret
Mi: "I see Zero Two is still licking the competition."
A: "Showing dominance, more like."
Ri: "At least Zero Two is mature enough to not let something like a boy ogling her get to her head."
S: "Considering her relationship with Hiro, she probably didn't mind."
Kaw: "And I doubt she'll succumb to peer pressure. That's not like her."
Re: "If anything, she'll get them to stop acting like this. Directly or indirectly."
A: "Given her status as elite pilot, she probably sees all this as the incessant wailing of babies."
Kaj: "Considering she took down that sign on the bathroom, I suspect she's getting involved in the game of sabotage and conspiracy."
Ma: "That's not really that big a sabotage and conspiracy."
Kaj: "Compared to us, maybe."
Sabotage
Ma: "I wouldn't be that cynical though. Maybe allowing them to bathe there is like an olive branch."
Ri: "Considering the boys offered an olive branch earlier."
Mi: "Of course, Zero Two would've known the boys would've taken her up on that offer. As Zorome said, it's like they waved a white flag."
A: "Don't tell me." She was as flat as the Earth wasn't. "The girls are gonna be there already, and they're gonna get a sight of stamen wang."
Re: "It is rather obvious, isn't it?"
Approximately one second later, Asuka gave a smirk; both satisfied she was proven right and dissatisfied she was proven right, as all the girls of the show looked on in horror.
Kaj: "Knew it."
S: "And this was all Zero Two's doing."
Kaw: "Maybe they should've gotten another source of this information. Because knowing girls, they're about to be thrown against the wall."
Asuka turned to Rei. "That says a lot about us, doesn't it?"
Rei's simple, blank reply was a single "Yep."
Throw
Ma: "They aren't throwing them against any walls, at least."
A: "Merely bombarding them with anything they could get their hands on. Man Zero Two got everyone didn't she?"
Ri: "I imagine she was getting tired of their immaturity."
Kaw: "Would an event like this force the commander's hand? Because if that's what Zero Two was going for, then that's quite a genius plan."
Mi: "If I was in Nana's shoes, I'd intervene at this point. Cyborg be damned."
S: "Considering Zero Two is stealing everyone's clothes, yes I do suspect that's what she's trying to do."
Towel
Kaj: "Well. Now Zero Two's seen Hiro naked."
Mi: "We all have." She was flat.
Asuka was laughing at Zero Two's relatively light hearted teasing of Hiro. "Damn she's fast."
Maya was trying not to squee at the adorableness. "She's definitely enjoying herself."
They saw how she threw all the clothes at Hiro.
S: "Good to see Hiro can see the humour in all this."
Ri: "Of course, this never would've happened had everyone just acted more maturely."
Mi: "They're teenagers. You don't expect maturity in them as a rule."
They grew quiet as Zero Two revealed her reasoning.
Re: "...I can understand her. She just wants to feel more human."
Kaw: "Indeed. We can relate."
Authority
Mi: "Jesus they're still going at it?"
Ri: "They're both in it for the long haul now. Unless the commanders get their act together for once."
S: "At least Mitsuru isn't getting involved in this."
A: "By the looks of it, it's mainly Zorome. Though that does fit from what we've seen of him."
Nana finally bought this clusterfuck to a stop.
Kaj: "She does remind me of you, Misato."
Mi: "Well, yeah. A good commander knows when to discipline their troops and when to praise them."
Kaw: "And if we consider she had already been lenient with Squad 13, to follow Doctor Franxx's wishes."
Ma: "She sounded like she didn't want to do that."
Mi: "Well yeah. Something like this you would want to resolve immediately. Considering the piloting system of the Franxx requires both male and female to be in sync, something like this could legitimately threaten the safety of the entire Plantation. Nana and Hachi know that."
Re: "As they should. They're the commanders after all."
Rebellious
Kaw: "I knew the girls would suspect Zero Two did that."
Ri: "As they rightfully should."
Re: "Zero Two's explanation seems somewhat foreboding to me, however."
S: "Considering she's been a part of other squads, she probably knows how easy it is for pilots to die out there."
Kaw: "Which makes Zero Two's actions make sense. She knows how something like this could result in tragedy on the battlefield."
Kaj: "I doubt the boys would get a reasonable explanation for this, however."
Ma: "Then again, most of this was caused by the girls in the first place, wasn't it?"
A: "Yeah, they could've dealt with it in a more mature way."
Mi: "Hiro seems to be offering a reasonable explanation. I imagine it was fun for him."
Ma: "Especially seeing Zero Two be like that."
Re: "His explanation of the piloting relationship seems similar to ours, isn't it?"
S: "Except we're both controlling and feeling the pain."
Ri: "We strive for gender equality at NERV." She deadpanned. "At the very least, the stamen are starting to realise that their partners are people too."
A: "About time. At least Hiro already thought that."
Kaw: "I'm sure some other boys thought that too."
Conclusion
Re: "Seems the girls have come to that conclusion as well."
S: "So the lesson they were taught today is that the other sex are people too? I mean, I would think they would know that by now."
A: "You'd be surprised, Shinji. Just look at all those boys at school I had to put down."
Kaj: "We may not be alike at all, but we can still work together and form something great."
Ri: "Of course, a man isn't exactly required, is it Maya?"
Maya gave a small chuckle. "We showed society, didn't we?"
Ri: "Though it helps after all we went through, we told society to stuff it."
Her remark got a laugh out of the gathered.
Re: "There are some things that require one of another sex. As Kokoro implied."
Ri: "Not if you science the shit out of it!"
That also got laughs out. Misato gave Ritsuko a knowing look.
Search
Mi: "Ah Christ, where did she get off to?"
A: "The commanders probably know. They have eyes everywhere."
Kaw: "This would serve to bond the boys and girls more, I imagine."
The camera panned down a darkened hallway, with ripped off police tape hanging off a doorway.
Re: "Found her."
Kaj: "Maybe the contents of this room will change her mind."
S: "What would be in a taped off room?"
Ri: "It's taped off for a reason, Shinji."
Ma: "It looks like a dormitory, like the pilots usually have."
Gone
Kaj: "Well that's a horrible implication."
Miku looked around the room, and noticed many things of interest.
Including a photograph of a squad that wasn't their own.
Mi: "...That is a horrible implication."
Ri: "...That squad would've been completely wiped out."
The syndicate fell silent as they observed. Especially as Miku's entire outlook seemed to change in an instant.
A: "...something like this would completely change her. You told me, Misato. About the MP-Evangelion. When I... died to them. How bad they can be."
Mi: "...did that change how you viewed them?"
A: "...it did. Knowing how easily I could."
Kaw: "...That is exactly what Miku is going through right now. The enemy may be different, but the feeling was still the same."
Re: "...This is why Zero Two and the commanders wanted this resolved. They don't want another squad wiped out."
Ri: "And Goro knows this. If they don't work together, they'll meet the same fate."
"...I thought it sweet they changed the flowers out." Maya murmured. "It's a little memory of them."
"...God knows I wouldn't want to be forgotten like that."
"The meaning of those flowers make this worse." Rei thought out loud. "...That squad was young and seemed close."
"...that is the one thing we don't want to ever happen." Misato spoke, some emotion breaking through her cool. "I don't think we would ever recover from such a thing."
"...It is a possibility, however. Which is why we're so hard on you lot when it comes to piloting."
"...We know that, Ritsuko." Asuka softly spoke.
"...especially with how piloting's like." Shinji emulated Asuka's soft tone. "But... out of all the things that could happen. As long as we got the job done."
"...the thing with us though." Kaworu scooted a little closer to Rei. "Four Evangelions for five pilots. Someone will be left."
"...You or Hikari." Realised Rei.
"...and you know how I was like when I thought I lost you."
Silence reigned.
"...Well, this is depressing."
Kaji's remark lightened the mood a little, which was good as the next episode was starting.
~
A: "And we're immediately back to action."
Mi: "Vacations can't last forever."
S: "Like we've even had one."
Kaw: "On the bright side, this episode shouldn't be one we have to look away from every 12 seconds."
Ri: "They seem to be taking on this Klaxosaur quite well, actually. Colour me surprised."
Ma: "Maybe that vacation did them some good. Sometimes a bit of time off is good for recuperating and training."
Kaj: "But you don't want to take too much time off, otherwise your skills start diminishing."
Re: "Even so, they didn't expect that slime attack."
S: "That's sorta like Matarael, isn't it?"
A: "Well, they're probably burning to death in that case." Cynical clapping. "Once again Squad 13 have completely failed."
Slime
Re: "Odd. What would the point of that emission be if it wasn't an attack?"
Ri: "You could still do mechanical damage, even with a benign slime. It gets in all the different openings in the armour and would make it harder to move the limbs."
Ma: "At the very least our Evangelion are partially biological to counteract something like that. The Franxx looks completely mechanical, they don't even require a resident soul in a core to run."
A: "That slime probably has some other function then."
Everyone could pick up on her implication that Trigger were perverted.
Mi: "I would say I doubt people could fetishise a robot, but the simple fact this show exists proves me wrong."
Drippings
The slime dribbled into the cockpit.
Ri: "Okay, why aren't the cockpits airtight?"
And it started burning away at the pistil's plugsuit.
Misato started giving a heavy laugh. "Oh I can see where this is going."
A: "What, the boys get distracted by a bit of skin? It's very obvious, isn't it."
S: "Probably doesn't help they're teenagers."
Re: "As long as they don't let it get to their heads."
Kaw: "Rei, it gets to my head. They have no chance."
Acid
Ma: "So that slime was designed to do that?"
Ri: "It was still corrosive, like Matarael's one. Fair enough, that might explain how it got into the cockpit. Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if the pistil suits weren't painted on."
A: "I'm pretty sure Matarael's acid would burn through the plugsuit."
Ri: "It would also burn through your skin and bone."
S: "Plus, even if it burned off your plugsuit, the Eva is a solo system. At worst, you'll just have to use sound only mode and request a towel when you get out."
A: "Of course, if I was piloting with Shinji, maybe I wouldn't give that much of a damn."
Mi: "At the very least, they sound like they can still get the job done."
And they did. Well, specifically Strelitzia.
It was at this moment Hiro decided to inform Zero Two about the lack of plugsuit.
Kaj: "Hiro's an idiot."
A: "Hiro's respectful. And he left it until after the enemy was defeated, so that no one would get distracted."
Re: "Almost like he knew how the girls would react."
Ri: "It's a fair enough response, to be fair. I'm sure you all wouldn't want to end up naked in front of anyone."
Asuka muttered. "Not like it mattered when NERV did it."
Mi: "We haven't even done that since Iruel."
A: "Guess we have something to thank it for then."
That got them laughing.
~
Debrief
Kaw: "You can see each of their personalities by the way they judge the boys."
A: "Especially with Zero Two, and how much she doesn't give a shit about that sort of stuff."
S: "Considering her first interaction with Hiro, she was completely nude. At least my first interaction with you was only an upskirt."
Asuka poked out her tongue. "That I promptly charged you for, and didn't fuss more about it."
Mi: "At least until Toji fussed."
Re: "He was also promptly charged, if I recall."
Ri: "Goro makes a good point. If they had told them, they would've completely locked up, might've even lost the battle."
Kaji facepalmed. "Futoshi isn't helping their case."
A: "Neither is Hiro. Or Zero Two."
Ma: "Then again, they're a unique case."
Kaw: "It definitely wouldn't help. I know when Rei glares at me like that, I might have made a mistake."
Re: "I haven't glared at you like that since the last time we went to that forest."
Ogle
Ri: "Ah Gods. It sounds like it's getting to them."
Ma: "They're still quite green though. They probably haven't learned to deal with this in a productive fashion."
Mi: "What would be a productive way to deal with stuff like this?"
A: "Well Misato, just look at the way we deal with it!"
Misato gave her a look. "The way you guys deal with it, is by either flooding Tokyo-3 with blood, or flooding yourselves with your partners."
Her pure deadpan guaranteed the entire room would crack up at that remark.
Kaj: "And I doubt they would want to do that."
S: "It sounds like it's especially getting to Miku."
Kaw: "Do they really expect to be able to just stop living with their partners? The people they need to actually pilot the damn Franxx?"
Ri: "I doubt the commanders would allow that."
Split
Ritsuko grumbled as she was immediately proven wrong.
Mi: "Oh God, they're serious." Misato on the other hand was laughing.
A: "Surely there's a more mature way of dealing with that."
Kaj: "Considering you, if I recall correctly, didn't believe boys and girls should even be under the same roof after 7."
A: "Oh right." A glance sideward. "Thank God I don't think like that now."
Mi: "Knowing how teenagers are like, we should've expected them to react like this."
Re: "Chances are the commanders are allowing this deliberately. Especially if they wanted to make a point."
Kaw: "I imagine they monitor every inch of their habitat. So they would know."
Kaworu, on the other hand, was immediately proven right.
S: "So Doctor Franxx wants to monitor this household because everyone's going through puberty?"
Ri: "I wouldn't expect them to go through that late, but then again they've been genetically engineered."
Kaj: "Also I don't recall if we even know their ages. They're just vaguely teenage."
A: "Still, lotta hormones going round."
Mi: "Hell, you lot still have plenty of those hormones."
Kaw: "We have our methods of resolving any problems caused by said hormones, at least."
Subvert
A: "Of course, Zero Two just doesn't give a shit about what anyone else wants."
S: "Makes sense, she just want to be with Hiro. No piece of masking tape will prevent her from doing that."
Kaw: "Hiro wouldn't give a damn either. Their relationship seems equally dependent on one another."
Ri: "It certainly seems like it. Zero Two needs Hiro or she'll go on a rampage. Hiro needs Zero Two or he'll want to kill himself. Honestly it sounds a lot like you four."
Re: "Good to know we aren't the only ones dependent on one another." She deadpanned.
Kaji gave a chuckle at the scene unfolding. "I knew the boys would try to push these stupid rules as much as they could."
Mi: "Okay, that's a bit bull. Why did they get the bathroom to themselves?"
A: "Zorome has a point. It's their side."
Ma: "I imagine the girls are gonna paint themselves into a corner eventually."
Mi: "Eventually, the commanders will have to intervene. With how the boys are pushing it, justifiably, I know there will eventually be a boil over."
Ri: "And it would be the girls overreaction to blame. They should've just pulled an Asuka and charged them a 'viewing fee'."
A: "See? It is a good idea. The boys get taught a bit of respect, and you get to feel like you've gotten back at them. You don't have to saw your house in half."
Provoke
Kaw: "I can see how Goro could come up with an idea like that. With the girls he's respectful, but around the boys he's just like them."
A: "Also Zorome and Futoshi are idiots, as Ichigo suggested."
Kaj: "Maybe the girls are idiots, in this case. They can't really complain about having the clean the bathroom."
Mi: "Well yeah, they wanted the bathroom so they have to clean it. I'd say the lake was better; sure it would be cold but it's not like you have to clean a lake afterwards."
Re: "You'd want to leave it as it was, but it wouldn't require active cleaning."
S: "Plus, their lake actually looks quite nice. I wouldn't mind going for a swim in it."
Dine
Asuka and half the group burst into laughter as the girls continued to get hoisted by their own petards. "Did they not think about what they wanted?"
Mi: "By the looks of it, no. They just split the house 50/50."
Kaw: "So the boys not only bathe in the lake, they get the dining room. I'm sure Hamlet had something to say about this."
The camera panned out.
Now all the group were laughing, as they witnessed how the boys had also gotten a hand on the tape and curved it to the dining room.
Ri: "They found a loophole!"
Kaj: "They should've taped it to the front door."
Re: "They shouldn't have done this at all."
S: "As Goro said. At least he offered an olive branch."
A: "That no one but Zero Two took."
Ma: "Miku wanted to take it."
Mi: "Food is a good leverage. But I think the girls have become stubborn."
Kaj: "As Hiro said."
Kaw: "Zero Two's outlook on this seems rather different to his."
Asuka exhaled sharply. "By 'spicing up', she obviously means pushing the girls over the edge."
Ma: "She's not exactly on their side, is she?"
Ri: "She never even gave a single damn about this whole thing."
Greenhouse
Kaw: "Well well. Yet another scene with Mitsuru and Kokoro."
Ri: "They have been spending a while together, haven't they?"
A: "I'd say. Considering that two by four of a foreshadow they did last episode."
Re: "They both have secrets they want hidden from the others. Mitsuru his medication, Kokoro that pamphlet."
Mi: "Didn't you say your call was to do that?"
Re: "Indeed. Kaworu helps with quelling that call, however."
Misato wasn't sure how to respond to such a reply.
S: "This is all just foreshadowing, isn't it?"
Ma: "Considering this entire show just seems like a sex metaphor."
Re: "I think Kokoro is attracted to Mitsuru's cool and collected demeanour."
Kaw: "Do you think they will become an item in this show?"
Ri: "Her partnership with Futoshi would be an obstacle, I would think. Unless they get swapped around."
Mi: "Which you mentioned was possible. Considering Mitsuru can't get it up with Ikuno."
Badly suppressed laughter from her immaturity.
Ration
S: "They have to eat rations." He deadpanned.
A: "Yeah they didn't entirely think this through, did they?"
Kaw: "When emotions dictate ones actions, one might not think them through."
Ri: "Which is exactly what a pilot would want to avoid."
Mi: "Obviously, most of those pilot pairs don't know that."
Ma: "They're new to piloting, they have time to learn."
Re: "Indeed. I imagine this will be a learning experience for everyone involved. Although I find it odd they've never been to the first floor of their own abode."
A room was blocked out with yellow tape.
Kaj: "Odds are they're gonna have a look."
A: "A room that says keep out? Of course they're gonna look."
Secret
Mi: "I see Zero Two is still licking the competition."
A: "Showing dominance, more like."
Ri: "At least Zero Two is mature enough to not let something like a boy ogling her get to her head."
S: "Considering her relationship with Hiro, she probably didn't mind."
Kaw: "And I doubt she'll succumb to peer pressure. That's not like her."
Re: "If anything, she'll get them to stop acting like this. Directly or indirectly."
A: "Given her status as elite pilot, she probably sees all this as the incessant wailing of babies."
Kaj: "Considering she took down that sign on the bathroom, I suspect she's getting involved in the game of sabotage and conspiracy."
Ma: "That's not really that big a sabotage and conspiracy."
Kaj: "Compared to us, maybe."
Sabotage
Ma: "I wouldn't be that cynical though. Maybe allowing them to bathe there is like an olive branch."
Ri: "Considering the boys offered an olive branch earlier."
Mi: "Of course, Zero Two would've known the boys would've taken her up on that offer. As Zorome said, it's like they waved a white flag."
A: "Don't tell me." She was as flat as the Earth wasn't. "The girls are gonna be there already, and they're gonna get a sight of stamen wang."
Re: "It is rather obvious, isn't it?"
Approximately one second later, Asuka gave a smirk; both satisfied she was proven right and dissatisfied she was proven right, as all the girls of the show looked on in horror.
Kaj: "Knew it."
S: "And this was all Zero Two's doing."
Kaw: "Maybe they should've gotten another source of this information. Because knowing girls, they're about to be thrown against the wall."
Asuka turned to Rei. "That says a lot about us, doesn't it?"
Rei's simple, blank reply was a single "Yep."
Throw
Ma: "They aren't throwing them against any walls, at least."
A: "Merely bombarding them with anything they could get their hands on. Man Zero Two got everyone didn't she?"
Ri: "I imagine she was getting tired of their immaturity."
Kaw: "Would an event like this force the commander's hand? Because if that's what Zero Two was going for, then that's quite a genius plan."
Mi: "If I was in Nana's shoes, I'd intervene at this point. Cyborg be damned."
S: "Considering Zero Two is stealing everyone's clothes, yes I do suspect that's what she's trying to do."
Towel
Kaj: "Well. Now Zero Two's seen Hiro naked."
Mi: "We all have." She was flat.
Asuka was laughing at Zero Two's relatively light hearted teasing of Hiro. "Damn she's fast."
Maya was trying not to squee at the adorableness. "She's definitely enjoying herself."
They saw how she threw all the clothes at Hiro.
S: "Good to see Hiro can see the humour in all this."
Ri: "Of course, this never would've happened had everyone just acted more maturely."
Mi: "They're teenagers. You don't expect maturity in them as a rule."
They grew quiet as Zero Two revealed her reasoning.
Re: "...I can understand her. She just wants to feel more human."
Kaw: "Indeed. We can relate."
Authority
Mi: "Jesus they're still going at it?"
Ri: "They're both in it for the long haul now. Unless the commanders get their act together for once."
S: "At least Mitsuru isn't getting involved in this."
A: "By the looks of it, it's mainly Zorome. Though that does fit from what we've seen of him."
Nana finally bought this clusterfuck to a stop.
Kaj: "She does remind me of you, Misato."
Mi: "Well, yeah. A good commander knows when to discipline their troops and when to praise them."
Kaw: "And if we consider she had already been lenient with Squad 13, to follow Doctor Franxx's wishes."
Ma: "She sounded like she didn't want to do that."
Mi: "Well yeah. Something like this you would want to resolve immediately. Considering the piloting system of the Franxx requires both male and female to be in sync, something like this could legitimately threaten the safety of the entire Plantation. Nana and Hachi know that."
Re: "As they should. They're the commanders after all."
Rebellious
Kaw: "I knew the girls would suspect Zero Two did that."
Ri: "As they rightfully should."
Re: "Zero Two's explanation seems somewhat foreboding to me, however."
S: "Considering she's been a part of other squads, she probably knows how easy it is for pilots to die out there."
Kaw: "Which makes Zero Two's actions make sense. She knows how something like this could result in tragedy on the battlefield."
Kaj: "I doubt the boys would get a reasonable explanation for this, however."
Ma: "Then again, most of this was caused by the girls in the first place, wasn't it?"
A: "Yeah, they could've dealt with it in a more mature way."
Mi: "Hiro seems to be offering a reasonable explanation. I imagine it was fun for him."
Ma: "Especially seeing Zero Two be like that."
Re: "His explanation of the piloting relationship seems similar to ours, isn't it?"
S: "Except we're both controlling and feeling the pain."
Ri: "We strive for gender equality at NERV." She deadpanned. "At the very least, the stamen are starting to realise that their partners are people too."
A: "About time. At least Hiro already thought that."
Kaw: "I'm sure some other boys thought that too."
Conclusion
Re: "Seems the girls have come to that conclusion as well."
S: "So the lesson they were taught today is that the other sex are people too? I mean, I would think they would know that by now."
A: "You'd be surprised, Shinji. Just look at all those boys at school I had to put down."
Kaj: "We may not be alike at all, but we can still work together and form something great."
Ri: "Of course, a man isn't exactly required, is it Maya?"
Maya gave a small chuckle. "We showed society, didn't we?"
Ri: "Though it helps after all we went through, we told society to stuff it."
Her remark got a laugh out of the gathered.
Re: "There are some things that require one of another sex. As Kokoro implied."
Ri: "Not if you science the shit out of it!"
That also got laughs out. Misato gave Ritsuko a knowing look.
Search
Mi: "Ah Christ, where did she get off to?"
A: "The commanders probably know. They have eyes everywhere."
Kaw: "This would serve to bond the boys and girls more, I imagine."
The camera panned down a darkened hallway, with ripped off police tape hanging off a doorway.
Re: "Found her."
Kaj: "Maybe the contents of this room will change her mind."
S: "What would be in a taped off room?"
Ri: "It's taped off for a reason, Shinji."
Ma: "It looks like a dormitory, like the pilots usually have."
Gone
Kaj: "Well that's a horrible implication."
Miku looked around the room, and noticed many things of interest.
Including a photograph of a squad that wasn't their own.
Mi: "...That is a horrible implication."
Ri: "...That squad would've been completely wiped out."
The syndicate fell silent as they observed. Especially as Miku's entire outlook seemed to change in an instant.
A: "...something like this would completely change her. You told me, Misato. About the MP-Evangelion. When I... died to them. How bad they can be."
Mi: "...did that change how you viewed them?"
A: "...it did. Knowing how easily I could."
Kaw: "...That is exactly what Miku is going through right now. The enemy may be different, but the feeling was still the same."
Re: "...This is why Zero Two and the commanders wanted this resolved. They don't want another squad wiped out."
Ri: "And Goro knows this. If they don't work together, they'll meet the same fate."
"...I thought it sweet they changed the flowers out." Maya murmured. "It's a little memory of them."
"...God knows I wouldn't want to be forgotten like that."
"The meaning of those flowers make this worse." Rei thought out loud. "...That squad was young and seemed close."
"...that is the one thing we don't want to ever happen." Misato spoke, some emotion breaking through her cool. "I don't think we would ever recover from such a thing."
"...It is a possibility, however. Which is why we're so hard on you lot when it comes to piloting."
"...We know that, Ritsuko." Asuka softly spoke.
"...especially with how piloting's like." Shinji emulated Asuka's soft tone. "But... out of all the things that could happen. As long as we got the job done."
"...the thing with us though." Kaworu scooted a little closer to Rei. "Four Evangelions for five pilots. Someone will be left."
"...You or Hikari." Realised Rei.
"...and you know how I was like when I thought I lost you."
Silence reigned.
"...Well, this is depressing."
Kaji's remark lightened the mood a little, which was good as the next episode was starting.
~
Gift
Kaw: "I see Goro is engaging in a spot of philosophy."
Kaj: "Philosophising can be fun. I'm sure you two know it well."
A: "That's if you mean actual philosophising, not the suggestive philosophising."
Re: "We do both." She cheekily remarked. "Though his philosophising is specifically related to Ichigo."
Ri: "And how she seems hard to predict, by the sounds of it."
Mi: "So like most of us."
S: "They have Christmas as well?"
A: "I doubt it's called Christmas there. It's probably something like 'Thank APE for your miserable lives' day or some shit."
Ma: "It would be a good way of rewarding the pilots. Make them feel appreciated for the job they do in protecting the rest of the plantation."
Mi: "Sounds like Squad 13 have been rewarded quite a bit lately. Which is odd especially considering what happened last episode."
Re: "Though considering what they did the episode before that."
A: "Some of the gifts seem pretty cheap too. A pen? Another ball? Peanuts?"
S: "Goro implied they ask for the gifts."
Asuka gave Shinji a look. "Man they aren't creative."
Kaj: "Hiro's is, somewhat. A book on birds."
A: "More birds?"
~
Eavesdrop
Ma: "Aww, that's sweet of Hiro."
Kaw: "Ah yes, how sweet the sound of love."
Re: "Shame we can't sense it through the screen."
Kaw: "We know how it feels from experience, don't we?"
Flashback to their childhood days.
Mi: "Man they really were bred for the job, aren't they?"
Ri: "APE don't really seem to be a group that cares about the whole can of worms something like this would result in."
A collective wince swept around the room, as they realised the extent of Goro's feelings and Ichigo's obliviousness towards them.
A: "God damn they both got a hair clip for her?"
S: "Man I feel really sorry for Goro."
Kaj: "I'm sure everyone here feels the same way. But Goro doesn't hold it against Hiro."
Mi: "Well yeah, that's just how he's like though."
What Is Love?
A: "So Hiro is only now finding out about Ichigo's feelings towards him? I would've thought there was something that suggested 'Maybe she's into me'."
Kaw: "He continues to see her as a sibling. Also, his budding relationship with Zero Two would certainly muddy the senses."
Re: "It's certainly possible he never knew the full extent. Considering how Ichigo had also never really put her love of Hiro into appropriate words."
Ma: "I mean, she almost did at the end of that beach episode. Before Hiro interrupted her."
Ri: "And Goro is perfectly fine with it. Obviously he just wants her happy."
Kaw: "Though he loves Ichigo as well. God damn, if the show goes on like this, I'll need to actually start charting the relationships."
That got laughs out of a few people. "It does seem like a complex map of relations, doesn't it?" Spoke Kaji. "Certainly not as easy to understand as our relationships."
S: "It certainly does sound like Goro to just calmly drop a bombshell like that."
Mi: "At the very least, he finally understands his feelings for her. They might not be requited, but at least he knows his feelings for her."
Gutenberg
S: "Well great. It's one of those big Klaxosaurs that nearly ended the show."
A: "I'm sure it won't pose that much of a threat to their habitat. Especially considering it's over 2000 kilometres away from where they're at."
Ri: "To their habitat, maybe. But to the pilots."
Mi: "Even to them, they have a bit more fighting experience then the last time they faced a Gutenberg. In addition to the small break they've had and their recent lesson in mortality, I'm sure they'll do this with Strelitzia carrying the team only half the time, instead of all the time."
Kaj: "That still doesn't speak too kindly of Squad 13's chances."
Mi: "They're still amateurs."
Re: "Nana has a point with her plan. Sometimes it's better to intercept the enemy before it arrives at your fortress."
Kaw: "Same idea Misato had with Israfel."
Mi: "Though the main reason for that was we were still recovering from what Ramiel did. We're damn lucky the next few battles didn't require much strain from Tokyo-3."
Journey
Mi: "Wait, they're skating towards it? Why not use a transport of some sort, save your fuel for the damn battle?!"
Ri: "A question for the philosophers."
The Ange- Klaxosaur came into view.
Kaw: "It vaguely reminds me of Leliel."
Asuka squinted her eyes at the great, floating ball of a Klaxosaur. "I can definitely see similarities."
Re: "It does seem to lack the extra dimensional qualities of Leliel."
Argentea begun the attack.
A: "Don't just go at it alone, you idiots!"
And was promptly put into a position of distress.
S: "What is that, the 4th, 5th time Argentea has been put into that situation?"
Kaj: "When both pilots think less with strategy and more with force, of course it will result in a failure."
Argentea spotted a core and immediately went for it.
Ma: "I assume this will be a demonstration of that maxim, Kaji."
Kaj: "They had literally just demonstrated it but sure, lets watch them make the same exact mistake again."
Delphinium bailed Argentea out by replacing them as the ones that needed bailing out of the whole 'trapped in the Klaxosaur' situation.
Not that it helped when the Klaxosaur made an explosion.
Re: "If the AT-Field existed in that reality, a simple explosion like that wouldn't be too much of a problem."
Error
Mi: "Man that hurt as a Commander to watch."
A: "What did they do wrong?"
Mi: "Everything. Though it's half Argentea using their Wolverine claws as a substitute for their brains, and no one else getting involved or even really trying to stop Argentea."
Ri: "Hang on a minute, where did Ichigo go?"
Kaj: "I'm sure this flashback will tell us exactly what happened."
It did.
S: "Why would you eject the pistil if they're required to run the Franxx?"
Mi: "I know right? Seems a bit stupid. It would be like you ejecting the core of your Evangelion should things go haywire."
That remark scheduled a cronjob in Kaworu's mind, as the rest of the crew continued making remarks.
Leliel
Asuka noted with slight horror, "Wait, he's inside the Klaxosaur? This is Leliel!"
Mi: "It already sounds like a less hardcore Leliel. Considering when you got stuck in that damned Angel, you couldn't communicate full stop."
A: "I'm sure the effect would still be the same for Goro, though."
S: "Yeah. Being trapped in that tin can like that."
A: "...It's quite confronting, having a timer that counts down to your death."
S: "...I'd say I wouldn't know how I would react to something like that. But I can't really say that, having seen our show."
Kaw: "...Goro seems to be taking it decently. If it's any consolation."
Ma: "I see another flaw with the Franxx. Why doesn't it use the magma fuel if there's no pistil?"
Ri: "Since the pistils are the interfaces for the Franxx, it requires a pistil for any significant use. Including running the power systems."
Ma: "Well that's a bit of a stupid system."
Berate
A: "Props to her for having the willpower to berate her squad members while she's still injured."
Kaw: "She cares for Goro. It may not be on the same level as her love for Hiro, but there's certainly something there."
Re: "Or maybe it is. Maybe she finds herself conflicted about it."
Kaj: "Or maybe once she realises Hiro is out of bounds, she'll settle for Goro."
Mi: "Settling for the guy who actually loves her?"
Shinji chuckled. "Zorome is a wise man to want to back away from that argument."
Kaj: "Too bad he wasn't that wise on the battlefield. Maybe they could've avoided this situation in the first place."
Ri: "To be fair, we had to retreat when Unit-02 was taken into Leliel. When something like that happens, you have to regroup and replan. You don't want to stay on the field, just it case it happens again."
Mi: "As horrible as it sounds, Nana made the right choice. And it would've been even more of a harder choice, cause this Klaxosaur isn't on their doorstep. It's thousands of kilometres away."
Ma: "Which would only decrease the time they could have for a rescue operation."
A: "...He's still in a much better position than I was."
Ri: "...Considering they still plan on using immense firepower."
S: "...you can understand why they'd react like that."
Ri: "...Sometimes that's just how you have to think."
Amniotic
A: "I wonder what this is trying to say."
Mi: "Delphinium is even in a fetal position, it's pretty obvious."
Ri: "30 minutes in and he's already at 85%. Those batteries are trash compared to ours."
Ma: "Then again, it's not like they need them, considering they have liquid fuel."
Kaw: "I think Ichigo is also starting to realise the true extent of her feelings to Goro."
S: "I'm kinda worried about his plan though, considering his current position of not being able to do anything."
Kaj: "Whatever his plan is, he's down to 27% on his batteries."
Ri: "Wait, what? A simple phone call used that much?!"
A: "...And he's already struggling to breathe. They need to deploy now or he won't make it."
Re: "...I'd like to think he won't die this far into the series."
Ri: "We are over halfway through the discs. Odds are if Trigger wanted to pull something like that, they'd do it around this point."
Rescue 3: Rescue with a Vengeance
Re: "She must care for Goro, if she was willing to risk herself."
Kaw: "Even if her feelings for Goro aren't as strong as they are for Hiro, they're still there, and they're still strong."
Ri: "I find it strategically odd that they still send Argentea out to face the Klaxosaur. Considering they're the one who trapped Delphinium in the first place."
Kaj: "Argentea would also have some empirical experience with how it works. And I doubt they'll make the same mistake again."
Mi: "Have you seen their track record? At the very least, Strelitzia is doing most of the heavy lifting."
A: "We don't even know if Ichigo's plan will even work or not."
S: "Well if it doesn't, then she's dead too."
Ma: "That Klaxosaur must be moving at a thousand kilometres an hour, if it's already that close to the Plantation."
Asphyxia
Asuka was gradually becoming more distressed, as the reminders begun to surface again. "...he's having the same sort of hallucinations I had."
Kaw: "...We know why he cares so much for Ichigo, at least."
Re: "Outside of Hiro, Ichigo sounds like the first friend he had. And even back then, he calls it love."
Kaj: "And even back then, Ichigo had pined for Hiro more than Goro. Poor lad."
S: "...This is why he's okay with that then. He's always been a loner of sorts."
Mi: "...Even back then. Ichigo and Hiro sound like the two people he can truly be open with."
Ri: "That's why he was able to confess to Hiro about his feelings for Ichigo. Hiro is one of those special people in Goro's life that he can be completely open with."
Ma: "Sounds a lot like you guys."
Kaw: "I can certainly see how he could also love Hiro. He would certainly have good reason to."
Mi: "Is that another branch to add to this chart you're thinking of making?"
Kaw: "Quite possibly. Though he certainly regrets not being able to tell Ichigo about anything."
Destruct
A: "...he's not serious with the self destruct, right?"
S: "...Sounds like he is."
Asuka looked troubled. In fact she had been troubled throughout most of this episode. "...that idiot."
Mi: "...At least Ichigo put a stop to that."
Ri: "Right on time, too."
Kaj: "Though unless they start doing something, they're still gonna die."
Ma: "...I don't think they will. They're too far into this."
They watched as Delphinium reactivated, dropping off something as it got the hell out of there.
Re: "An auxiliary power unit, I would think."
Kaw: "It would be used as a bomb. Considering Goro was going for that."
The N2 like explosion proved Kaworu's thoughts correct.
Asuka leant her head on Shinji. "Least they got out of that, eh Shinji?"
Shinji returned the affection. "Yeah. We both got out of it as well."
A: "...yeah."
Crater
Mi: "Oh Jesus, that would've obliterated the plantation."
Ri: "It's a good thing they didn't have to use any firepower on it, then. Because that crater looks larger than a single plantation."
A: "...nothing like nearly dying alone and cold to remind you of what's important."
S: "...Sounds like Goro took that to heart. I know we certainly did."
A: "...and I'm so glad I did, Shinji."
Re: "...You don't want to regret your life. I certainly took that to heart. And I know for a fact you two did as well."
A: "...that's the reason why I bonded so closely to Shinji in the aftermath of Leliel. Getting that close to dying, knowing I had just found someone in my life that truly cared.
...i'm so glad I had that opportunity, Shinji. I... I didn't want to die in there, thinking about what could've been. and..."
Her composure had gradually deteriorated throughout this episode, all too painful memories of Leliel still there like a jagged piece of steel, deep in her mind. Shinji could see this all too well, and wrapped her up in an attempt of calming the shaken girl.
"Shh... it's alright Asuka."
The rest of the group remained quiet at this rare display of weakness.
"...may we go, Misato?" A look towards her.
Misato could see in the poor girl's eyes that she just wanted to be alone with Shinji. She gave a simple nod in reply, and they left shortly afterwards.
"...Looks like this show isn't as vapid as we think it is." Mournful was Kaji's tone. "If it can do something like that."
"...That's what it's like, Kaji." Misato kept her cool for now. "After a traumatic event like that. Time could pass and you think wounds heal and things get better. But then you just get a reminder, even something seemingly disconnected from it all, and it all comes back. Including the pain."
"...that is exactly what it's like." Kaworu could relate, so so terribly.
So could Rei, for that matter, as they also got up to leave and find a quiet spot. "...I think every single one of us has post traumatic stress from the struggles we've faced."
That gave Misato some pause as they left them alone, as she was once again reminded that her actions as commander affects those she considers her children in such horrible ways. "...shit like that is why I drink."
~
Kaw: "I see Goro is engaging in a spot of philosophy."
Kaj: "Philosophising can be fun. I'm sure you two know it well."
A: "That's if you mean actual philosophising, not the suggestive philosophising."
Re: "We do both." She cheekily remarked. "Though his philosophising is specifically related to Ichigo."
Ri: "And how she seems hard to predict, by the sounds of it."
Mi: "So like most of us."
S: "They have Christmas as well?"
A: "I doubt it's called Christmas there. It's probably something like 'Thank APE for your miserable lives' day or some shit."
Ma: "It would be a good way of rewarding the pilots. Make them feel appreciated for the job they do in protecting the rest of the plantation."
Mi: "Sounds like Squad 13 have been rewarded quite a bit lately. Which is odd especially considering what happened last episode."
Re: "Though considering what they did the episode before that."
A: "Some of the gifts seem pretty cheap too. A pen? Another ball? Peanuts?"
S: "Goro implied they ask for the gifts."
Asuka gave Shinji a look. "Man they aren't creative."
Kaj: "Hiro's is, somewhat. A book on birds."
A: "More birds?"
~
Eavesdrop
Ma: "Aww, that's sweet of Hiro."
Kaw: "Ah yes, how sweet the sound of love."
Re: "Shame we can't sense it through the screen."
Kaw: "We know how it feels from experience, don't we?"
Flashback to their childhood days.
Mi: "Man they really were bred for the job, aren't they?"
Ri: "APE don't really seem to be a group that cares about the whole can of worms something like this would result in."
A collective wince swept around the room, as they realised the extent of Goro's feelings and Ichigo's obliviousness towards them.
A: "God damn they both got a hair clip for her?"
S: "Man I feel really sorry for Goro."
Kaj: "I'm sure everyone here feels the same way. But Goro doesn't hold it against Hiro."
Mi: "Well yeah, that's just how he's like though."
What Is Love?
A: "So Hiro is only now finding out about Ichigo's feelings towards him? I would've thought there was something that suggested 'Maybe she's into me'."
Kaw: "He continues to see her as a sibling. Also, his budding relationship with Zero Two would certainly muddy the senses."
Re: "It's certainly possible he never knew the full extent. Considering how Ichigo had also never really put her love of Hiro into appropriate words."
Ma: "I mean, she almost did at the end of that beach episode. Before Hiro interrupted her."
Ri: "And Goro is perfectly fine with it. Obviously he just wants her happy."
Kaw: "Though he loves Ichigo as well. God damn, if the show goes on like this, I'll need to actually start charting the relationships."
That got laughs out of a few people. "It does seem like a complex map of relations, doesn't it?" Spoke Kaji. "Certainly not as easy to understand as our relationships."
S: "It certainly does sound like Goro to just calmly drop a bombshell like that."
Mi: "At the very least, he finally understands his feelings for her. They might not be requited, but at least he knows his feelings for her."
Gutenberg
S: "Well great. It's one of those big Klaxosaurs that nearly ended the show."
A: "I'm sure it won't pose that much of a threat to their habitat. Especially considering it's over 2000 kilometres away from where they're at."
Ri: "To their habitat, maybe. But to the pilots."
Mi: "Even to them, they have a bit more fighting experience then the last time they faced a Gutenberg. In addition to the small break they've had and their recent lesson in mortality, I'm sure they'll do this with Strelitzia carrying the team only half the time, instead of all the time."
Kaj: "That still doesn't speak too kindly of Squad 13's chances."
Mi: "They're still amateurs."
Re: "Nana has a point with her plan. Sometimes it's better to intercept the enemy before it arrives at your fortress."
Kaw: "Same idea Misato had with Israfel."
Mi: "Though the main reason for that was we were still recovering from what Ramiel did. We're damn lucky the next few battles didn't require much strain from Tokyo-3."
Journey
Mi: "Wait, they're skating towards it? Why not use a transport of some sort, save your fuel for the damn battle?!"
Ri: "A question for the philosophers."
The Ange- Klaxosaur came into view.
Kaw: "It vaguely reminds me of Leliel."
Asuka squinted her eyes at the great, floating ball of a Klaxosaur. "I can definitely see similarities."
Re: "It does seem to lack the extra dimensional qualities of Leliel."
Argentea begun the attack.
A: "Don't just go at it alone, you idiots!"
And was promptly put into a position of distress.
S: "What is that, the 4th, 5th time Argentea has been put into that situation?"
Kaj: "When both pilots think less with strategy and more with force, of course it will result in a failure."
Argentea spotted a core and immediately went for it.
Ma: "I assume this will be a demonstration of that maxim, Kaji."
Kaj: "They had literally just demonstrated it but sure, lets watch them make the same exact mistake again."
Delphinium bailed Argentea out by replacing them as the ones that needed bailing out of the whole 'trapped in the Klaxosaur' situation.
Not that it helped when the Klaxosaur made an explosion.
Re: "If the AT-Field existed in that reality, a simple explosion like that wouldn't be too much of a problem."
Error
Mi: "Man that hurt as a Commander to watch."
A: "What did they do wrong?"
Mi: "Everything. Though it's half Argentea using their Wolverine claws as a substitute for their brains, and no one else getting involved or even really trying to stop Argentea."
Ri: "Hang on a minute, where did Ichigo go?"
Kaj: "I'm sure this flashback will tell us exactly what happened."
It did.
S: "Why would you eject the pistil if they're required to run the Franxx?"
Mi: "I know right? Seems a bit stupid. It would be like you ejecting the core of your Evangelion should things go haywire."
That remark scheduled a cronjob in Kaworu's mind, as the rest of the crew continued making remarks.
Leliel
Asuka noted with slight horror, "Wait, he's inside the Klaxosaur? This is Leliel!"
Mi: "It already sounds like a less hardcore Leliel. Considering when you got stuck in that damned Angel, you couldn't communicate full stop."
A: "I'm sure the effect would still be the same for Goro, though."
S: "Yeah. Being trapped in that tin can like that."
A: "...It's quite confronting, having a timer that counts down to your death."
S: "...I'd say I wouldn't know how I would react to something like that. But I can't really say that, having seen our show."
Kaw: "...Goro seems to be taking it decently. If it's any consolation."
Ma: "I see another flaw with the Franxx. Why doesn't it use the magma fuel if there's no pistil?"
Ri: "Since the pistils are the interfaces for the Franxx, it requires a pistil for any significant use. Including running the power systems."
Ma: "Well that's a bit of a stupid system."
Berate
A: "Props to her for having the willpower to berate her squad members while she's still injured."
Kaw: "She cares for Goro. It may not be on the same level as her love for Hiro, but there's certainly something there."
Re: "Or maybe it is. Maybe she finds herself conflicted about it."
Kaj: "Or maybe once she realises Hiro is out of bounds, she'll settle for Goro."
Mi: "Settling for the guy who actually loves her?"
Shinji chuckled. "Zorome is a wise man to want to back away from that argument."
Kaj: "Too bad he wasn't that wise on the battlefield. Maybe they could've avoided this situation in the first place."
Ri: "To be fair, we had to retreat when Unit-02 was taken into Leliel. When something like that happens, you have to regroup and replan. You don't want to stay on the field, just it case it happens again."
Mi: "As horrible as it sounds, Nana made the right choice. And it would've been even more of a harder choice, cause this Klaxosaur isn't on their doorstep. It's thousands of kilometres away."
Ma: "Which would only decrease the time they could have for a rescue operation."
A: "...He's still in a much better position than I was."
Ri: "...Considering they still plan on using immense firepower."
S: "...you can understand why they'd react like that."
Ri: "...Sometimes that's just how you have to think."
Amniotic
A: "I wonder what this is trying to say."
Mi: "Delphinium is even in a fetal position, it's pretty obvious."
Ri: "30 minutes in and he's already at 85%. Those batteries are trash compared to ours."
Ma: "Then again, it's not like they need them, considering they have liquid fuel."
Kaw: "I think Ichigo is also starting to realise the true extent of her feelings to Goro."
S: "I'm kinda worried about his plan though, considering his current position of not being able to do anything."
Kaj: "Whatever his plan is, he's down to 27% on his batteries."
Ri: "Wait, what? A simple phone call used that much?!"
A: "...And he's already struggling to breathe. They need to deploy now or he won't make it."
Re: "...I'd like to think he won't die this far into the series."
Ri: "We are over halfway through the discs. Odds are if Trigger wanted to pull something like that, they'd do it around this point."
Rescue 3: Rescue with a Vengeance
Re: "She must care for Goro, if she was willing to risk herself."
Kaw: "Even if her feelings for Goro aren't as strong as they are for Hiro, they're still there, and they're still strong."
Ri: "I find it strategically odd that they still send Argentea out to face the Klaxosaur. Considering they're the one who trapped Delphinium in the first place."
Kaj: "Argentea would also have some empirical experience with how it works. And I doubt they'll make the same mistake again."
Mi: "Have you seen their track record? At the very least, Strelitzia is doing most of the heavy lifting."
A: "We don't even know if Ichigo's plan will even work or not."
S: "Well if it doesn't, then she's dead too."
Ma: "That Klaxosaur must be moving at a thousand kilometres an hour, if it's already that close to the Plantation."
Asphyxia
Asuka was gradually becoming more distressed, as the reminders begun to surface again. "...he's having the same sort of hallucinations I had."
Kaw: "...We know why he cares so much for Ichigo, at least."
Re: "Outside of Hiro, Ichigo sounds like the first friend he had. And even back then, he calls it love."
Kaj: "And even back then, Ichigo had pined for Hiro more than Goro. Poor lad."
S: "...This is why he's okay with that then. He's always been a loner of sorts."
Mi: "...Even back then. Ichigo and Hiro sound like the two people he can truly be open with."
Ri: "That's why he was able to confess to Hiro about his feelings for Ichigo. Hiro is one of those special people in Goro's life that he can be completely open with."
Ma: "Sounds a lot like you guys."
Kaw: "I can certainly see how he could also love Hiro. He would certainly have good reason to."
Mi: "Is that another branch to add to this chart you're thinking of making?"
Kaw: "Quite possibly. Though he certainly regrets not being able to tell Ichigo about anything."
Destruct
A: "...he's not serious with the self destruct, right?"
S: "...Sounds like he is."
Asuka looked troubled. In fact she had been troubled throughout most of this episode. "...that idiot."
Mi: "...At least Ichigo put a stop to that."
Ri: "Right on time, too."
Kaj: "Though unless they start doing something, they're still gonna die."
Ma: "...I don't think they will. They're too far into this."
They watched as Delphinium reactivated, dropping off something as it got the hell out of there.
Re: "An auxiliary power unit, I would think."
Kaw: "It would be used as a bomb. Considering Goro was going for that."
The N2 like explosion proved Kaworu's thoughts correct.
Asuka leant her head on Shinji. "Least they got out of that, eh Shinji?"
Shinji returned the affection. "Yeah. We both got out of it as well."
A: "...yeah."
Crater
Mi: "Oh Jesus, that would've obliterated the plantation."
Ri: "It's a good thing they didn't have to use any firepower on it, then. Because that crater looks larger than a single plantation."
A: "...nothing like nearly dying alone and cold to remind you of what's important."
S: "...Sounds like Goro took that to heart. I know we certainly did."
A: "...and I'm so glad I did, Shinji."
Re: "...You don't want to regret your life. I certainly took that to heart. And I know for a fact you two did as well."
A: "...that's the reason why I bonded so closely to Shinji in the aftermath of Leliel. Getting that close to dying, knowing I had just found someone in my life that truly cared.
...i'm so glad I had that opportunity, Shinji. I... I didn't want to die in there, thinking about what could've been. and..."
Her composure had gradually deteriorated throughout this episode, all too painful memories of Leliel still there like a jagged piece of steel, deep in her mind. Shinji could see this all too well, and wrapped her up in an attempt of calming the shaken girl.
"Shh... it's alright Asuka."
The rest of the group remained quiet at this rare display of weakness.
"...may we go, Misato?" A look towards her.
Misato could see in the poor girl's eyes that she just wanted to be alone with Shinji. She gave a simple nod in reply, and they left shortly afterwards.
"...Looks like this show isn't as vapid as we think it is." Mournful was Kaji's tone. "If it can do something like that."
"...That's what it's like, Kaji." Misato kept her cool for now. "After a traumatic event like that. Time could pass and you think wounds heal and things get better. But then you just get a reminder, even something seemingly disconnected from it all, and it all comes back. Including the pain."
"...that is exactly what it's like." Kaworu could relate, so so terribly.
So could Rei, for that matter, as they also got up to leave and find a quiet spot. "...I think every single one of us has post traumatic stress from the struggles we've faced."
That gave Misato some pause as they left them alone, as she was once again reminded that her actions as commander affects those she considers her children in such horrible ways. "...shit like that is why I drink."
~
Asuka was resting her head on Shinji's leg, Shinji running a hand through her hair.
One of the few places they could get some quiet time in the Geofront was in their locker rooms. No cameras, and the fact that no one else went into them unless they were searching for the pilots, meant they could get some quiet time outside their abode.
"...it never goes away, does it Asuka?"
Shinji knew this feeling all too well. When the painful memories just come back.
"...yeah. they say time heals, but the feelings are still there. and... and they're still painful."
"...I know that all too well, Asuka." More comforting from Shinji. "You're just like me."
A half chuckle, half sob escaped her. "...we're both traumatised teens. not even old enough to drink or smoke legally, yet we've faced more than the average veteran, haven't we?"
"yeah... and all because of events outside our control."
A long thought from Asuka. "...y'know, Shinji? before we... got together. I used to dream about living a normal life. one without Eva or NERV or all that other crap. but I would always deny and deny and deny that part of myself."
"...i can relate as well." He made sure to watch his breathing. "...just a normal life. with a normal mum and dad, with normal friends and a regular life like anyone else."
"...especially with my mama." Hers was but a whisper at this point. "...i- i still get flashbacks to that, Shinji. even now, after all this time, even with my mama back in my life. i... i still see her like that, shi- shin..."
A quiet sobbing was the only sound in that room for a short while, emotions having become too much for her to bear.
Shinji did his best to console and comfort his beloved.
Eventually the waterworks dried up and she returned to resting, calm, on Shinji's lap.
"...if you could, would you want to live a normal life, Asuka?"
Asuka thought for a long while, before a murmur. "...i did say i used to dream of that, didn't i Shinji?"
"...you did."
"yeah... a normal life would be nice. but the thing is, Shinji, if I had a normal life, I would've never met you."
That hit home. His eyes also started watering slightly, as he held Asuka closer, letting his actions speak louder than any words could.
Asuka continued, soft, taking in the warm comfort of this hug. "...and y'know something? if I had to do it all over again, just so I could be with you. I would. I so would, Shinji."
Now watering more than slightly, he merely held her tighter and replied in a tone similar to hers, "I would too, Asuka... i can't imagine life without you."
She gave a soft chuckle. "...Same here, Shinji." She settled onto his shoulder, dampening it. "you'll never know, dear, how much I love you."
They stayed there for a while.
~
In an adjacent locker room, another piloting pair were also spending some time basking in each other's presence.
"...we are pretty screwed mentally, aren't we?"
A single chuckle. "It makes us us though, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't change it for the world."
That cronjob Kaworu had scheduled about an hour ago had finally run. "I had a horrifying thought during that last episode."
"Join the club."
"For once, it doesn't have anything to do with anything PTSD related."
Rei became curious. "Oh?"
"You know how the Franxx requires two pilots? But the female pilot merely serves as an interface for the Franxx and doesn't actively control it." Pieces started falling into place. "The Franxx can be used by a pistil alone but not by a stamen alone. The face of the pistil is projected as the Franxx's face. Rei, the Franxx doesn't require a core like the Evangelion, because the pistil is the core."
Rei spent a good while thinking. "You know what, Kaworu? That makes sense." And it making sense was what horrified her. "That would also explain why they require such a close connection with their partner."
"Like how a standard core design requires a close connection to someone they love. In fact, exactly how."
"The Franxx is more alike to the Evangelion than we think, then." Rei concluded. "The only thing it has now is it's mechanical and it uses a liquid fuel."
"As far as we know. The Evangelion would've initially appeared mechanical too."
"But we knew it was biomechanical by the second episode. The scale of it also looks incorrect for a biological design."
"Then again, it's not like we could apply our designs to them." He furrowed his brow. "Even though they're almost entirely the same at this point."
"...Do you think Ritsuko would like to know about this design?"
He thought.
She thought.
They bolted from the room.
~
Ritsuko's forehead quickly met desk. "You know what? That makes sense."
"Exactly my thinking, doctor." Remarked Rei, in deadpan. "Would such a design allow one to use an Evangelion without a core?"
"I never thought of it through that lens, but lets see."
The SCIENCE! whiteboards was quickly being covered in marker by both doctor and technician, both quickly and wordlessly brainstorming like they were soulbound. Pictographs, theorem, mathematics, all appearing and sometimes disappearing over the course of several hours. Rei and Kaworu couldn't really understand the numbers, mainly due to their more instinctual knowledge of the fine art of Metaphysical Biology and the Evangelion.
"Oh you are fucking kidding me."
Her reaction after a good while of crunching numbers was all they needed to know, however. "I assume that means it's possible." Kaworu humoured.
"Theoretically." Remarked Maya, the whiteboard now looking like it was made by a conspiracy theorist. "Though that does mean it is possible."
"Not only is it possible, it might even be easier and cheaper to implement. The only issue I have with this design is that I don't know what the mental or metaphysical strain would be on the pistil. Especially since the first time we tested the core based Evangelion, it consumed the pilot."
"Not to mention the fact we have no spare Evangelion that we can just use to experiment on like they're Frankenstein's monster."
"We can still have one more Evangelion, according to the Vatican Treaty." Thought Rei. "Though even trying to implement such a design will take years at best."
"If we really pushed it, we could probably retrofit an Evangelion. We would need resources on the scale of Crucifix however."
"Which we'd only get if we were under dire risk."
"Still, it's a very interesting design." Remarked Ritsuko, as she activated the whiteboard reader. The other NERV installations would certainly want to know this. "I can't believe no one's thought of it before."
~
The river of time flowed.
Kaworu was still perplexed on how a horse, of all things, could become a witch, like in Madoka. Though at least events today had overridden that as his main concern.
Plus, by this point he should've been used to weird happenings. Considering his current situation.
"Not very much to look at, is it?"
"Not particularly, no."
Though they had both been looking at it. The darkened miasma had cleared up around ten seconds or minutes or hours ago from this point, leaving the westward realm empty.
"Once this part of the prophecy is fulfilled, that'll only leave one part left before we play our hand."
"And you're telling me this because you want us to try stopping you."
A nod. "I won't be able to do much once it begins. Hell, you might have to end up killing me."
That gave Kaworu some pause.
Azrael could sense this and gave a laugh. "You already care that much for me?"
"...I always give a pause when I may have to kill someone."
She gave him a smirk, and a knowing look. "Y'know what, Ash? What if I make you promise that you're the one who kills me?"
The only emotion he let slip was a widening of his eyes. "...you would want me to?"
"Out of all the people, at least it'll be someone I consider a friend."
Kaworu gave pause again, looking out over the horizon. "You know something, Azrael? I made my partner promise me that. Before all this."
"And judging by the fact you're here to speak with me, she didn't have to do that."
"Or maybe I could be a ghost."
"Except they don't exist, at least in the physical world." She poked her tongue. "I know something about the soul, Ash."
"As you would. Nephilim have a great instinctual understanding of Metaphysical Biology."
"...Is that what they call it? It's a bit of a grandiose name, isn't it?"
"It's descriptive. As befits a doctorate."
Their banter was disrupted by the emergence of a being from the port realm, Kaworu tuned his ears.
Azrael knew soon come her time, for in that void a pale horse burned. "You've studied the Revelation, right Ash?"
"They made you study it too?"
A huff. "Revelation 6:8."
"'And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.'" He gave a closer look. "I wouldn't call this horse death though. If the last one embodied the moon, then that would embody the su- oh. That's the prophecy, isn't it?"
Azrael burst out laughing at his complete deadpan. "You have a keen mind, Ash! 'When the sun rises in the west', yes this would fulfil the prophecy."
A realisation dawned on Kaworu. "There isn't much time left before SEELE make their play, is there?"
"Depends on the last prophecy, Ash. 'When the last of the First but the last fade'. Make of that what you will."
She dissipated.
Leaving Kaworu alone, as an all too melancholic lullaby sounded out from the west.
~
One of the few places they could get some quiet time in the Geofront was in their locker rooms. No cameras, and the fact that no one else went into them unless they were searching for the pilots, meant they could get some quiet time outside their abode.
"...it never goes away, does it Asuka?"
Shinji knew this feeling all too well. When the painful memories just come back.
"...yeah. they say time heals, but the feelings are still there. and... and they're still painful."
"...I know that all too well, Asuka." More comforting from Shinji. "You're just like me."
A half chuckle, half sob escaped her. "...we're both traumatised teens. not even old enough to drink or smoke legally, yet we've faced more than the average veteran, haven't we?"
"yeah... and all because of events outside our control."
A long thought from Asuka. "...y'know, Shinji? before we... got together. I used to dream about living a normal life. one without Eva or NERV or all that other crap. but I would always deny and deny and deny that part of myself."
"...i can relate as well." He made sure to watch his breathing. "...just a normal life. with a normal mum and dad, with normal friends and a regular life like anyone else."
"...especially with my mama." Hers was but a whisper at this point. "...i- i still get flashbacks to that, Shinji. even now, after all this time, even with my mama back in my life. i... i still see her like that, shi- shin..."
A quiet sobbing was the only sound in that room for a short while, emotions having become too much for her to bear.
Shinji did his best to console and comfort his beloved.
Eventually the waterworks dried up and she returned to resting, calm, on Shinji's lap.
"...if you could, would you want to live a normal life, Asuka?"
Asuka thought for a long while, before a murmur. "...i did say i used to dream of that, didn't i Shinji?"
"...you did."
"yeah... a normal life would be nice. but the thing is, Shinji, if I had a normal life, I would've never met you."
That hit home. His eyes also started watering slightly, as he held Asuka closer, letting his actions speak louder than any words could.
Asuka continued, soft, taking in the warm comfort of this hug. "...and y'know something? if I had to do it all over again, just so I could be with you. I would. I so would, Shinji."
Now watering more than slightly, he merely held her tighter and replied in a tone similar to hers, "I would too, Asuka... i can't imagine life without you."
She gave a soft chuckle. "...Same here, Shinji." She settled onto his shoulder, dampening it. "you'll never know, dear, how much I love you."
They stayed there for a while.
~
In an adjacent locker room, another piloting pair were also spending some time basking in each other's presence.
"...we are pretty screwed mentally, aren't we?"
A single chuckle. "It makes us us though, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't change it for the world."
That cronjob Kaworu had scheduled about an hour ago had finally run. "I had a horrifying thought during that last episode."
"Join the club."
"For once, it doesn't have anything to do with anything PTSD related."
Rei became curious. "Oh?"
"You know how the Franxx requires two pilots? But the female pilot merely serves as an interface for the Franxx and doesn't actively control it." Pieces started falling into place. "The Franxx can be used by a pistil alone but not by a stamen alone. The face of the pistil is projected as the Franxx's face. Rei, the Franxx doesn't require a core like the Evangelion, because the pistil is the core."
Rei spent a good while thinking. "You know what, Kaworu? That makes sense." And it making sense was what horrified her. "That would also explain why they require such a close connection with their partner."
"Like how a standard core design requires a close connection to someone they love. In fact, exactly how."
"The Franxx is more alike to the Evangelion than we think, then." Rei concluded. "The only thing it has now is it's mechanical and it uses a liquid fuel."
"As far as we know. The Evangelion would've initially appeared mechanical too."
"But we knew it was biomechanical by the second episode. The scale of it also looks incorrect for a biological design."
"Then again, it's not like we could apply our designs to them." He furrowed his brow. "Even though they're almost entirely the same at this point."
"...Do you think Ritsuko would like to know about this design?"
He thought.
She thought.
They bolted from the room.
~
Ritsuko's forehead quickly met desk. "You know what? That makes sense."
"Exactly my thinking, doctor." Remarked Rei, in deadpan. "Would such a design allow one to use an Evangelion without a core?"
"I never thought of it through that lens, but lets see."
The SCIENCE! whiteboards was quickly being covered in marker by both doctor and technician, both quickly and wordlessly brainstorming like they were soulbound. Pictographs, theorem, mathematics, all appearing and sometimes disappearing over the course of several hours. Rei and Kaworu couldn't really understand the numbers, mainly due to their more instinctual knowledge of the fine art of Metaphysical Biology and the Evangelion.
"Oh you are fucking kidding me."
Her reaction after a good while of crunching numbers was all they needed to know, however. "I assume that means it's possible." Kaworu humoured.
"Theoretically." Remarked Maya, the whiteboard now looking like it was made by a conspiracy theorist. "Though that does mean it is possible."
"Not only is it possible, it might even be easier and cheaper to implement. The only issue I have with this design is that I don't know what the mental or metaphysical strain would be on the pistil. Especially since the first time we tested the core based Evangelion, it consumed the pilot."
"Not to mention the fact we have no spare Evangelion that we can just use to experiment on like they're Frankenstein's monster."
"We can still have one more Evangelion, according to the Vatican Treaty." Thought Rei. "Though even trying to implement such a design will take years at best."
"If we really pushed it, we could probably retrofit an Evangelion. We would need resources on the scale of Crucifix however."
"Which we'd only get if we were under dire risk."
"Still, it's a very interesting design." Remarked Ritsuko, as she activated the whiteboard reader. The other NERV installations would certainly want to know this. "I can't believe no one's thought of it before."
~
The river of time flowed.
Kaworu was still perplexed on how a horse, of all things, could become a witch, like in Madoka. Though at least events today had overridden that as his main concern.
Plus, by this point he should've been used to weird happenings. Considering his current situation.
"Not very much to look at, is it?"
"Not particularly, no."
Though they had both been looking at it. The darkened miasma had cleared up around ten seconds or minutes or hours ago from this point, leaving the westward realm empty.
"Once this part of the prophecy is fulfilled, that'll only leave one part left before we play our hand."
"And you're telling me this because you want us to try stopping you."
A nod. "I won't be able to do much once it begins. Hell, you might have to end up killing me."
That gave Kaworu some pause.
Azrael could sense this and gave a laugh. "You already care that much for me?"
"...I always give a pause when I may have to kill someone."
She gave him a smirk, and a knowing look. "Y'know what, Ash? What if I make you promise that you're the one who kills me?"
The only emotion he let slip was a widening of his eyes. "...you would want me to?"
"Out of all the people, at least it'll be someone I consider a friend."
Kaworu gave pause again, looking out over the horizon. "You know something, Azrael? I made my partner promise me that. Before all this."
"And judging by the fact you're here to speak with me, she didn't have to do that."
"Or maybe I could be a ghost."
"Except they don't exist, at least in the physical world." She poked her tongue. "I know something about the soul, Ash."
"As you would. Nephilim have a great instinctual understanding of Metaphysical Biology."
"...Is that what they call it? It's a bit of a grandiose name, isn't it?"
"It's descriptive. As befits a doctorate."
Their banter was disrupted by the emergence of a being from the port realm, Kaworu tuned his ears.
Azrael knew soon come her time, for in that void a pale horse burned. "You've studied the Revelation, right Ash?"
"They made you study it too?"
A huff. "Revelation 6:8."
"'And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.'" He gave a closer look. "I wouldn't call this horse death though. If the last one embodied the moon, then that would embody the su- oh. That's the prophecy, isn't it?"
Azrael burst out laughing at his complete deadpan. "You have a keen mind, Ash! 'When the sun rises in the west', yes this would fulfil the prophecy."
A realisation dawned on Kaworu. "There isn't much time left before SEELE make their play, is there?"
"Depends on the last prophecy, Ash. 'When the last of the First but the last fade'. Make of that what you will."
She dissipated.
Leaving Kaworu alone, as an all too melancholic lullaby sounded out from the west.
~
Looks like the pilots can't call this show vapid trash anymore, if it can bring back such painful memories. Though that says a bit about the show, if there's events that mirror what happened to them. Of course, reacting to their show itself would've still been painful.
3/4 down, one more prophecy to go. Kaworu might realise the true significance of this phrase soon enough.
Of course, their world isn't the only one with prophecy. Kaworu saw the beginnings of one from his station, and I'm sure that song told him a lot more. Of course, he would still find it all odd. But then again, anyone would. Actually, anyone would go mad at what the Nephilim can do and understand
Zero Two will eventually make her way to Tokyo-3, don't worry about that. She'll find her darling eventually. Of course, I'm not just gonna give him to her, that would be too easy
Those of you not into the particular details of Unix, cron is a job scheduling system, running tasks at a specific time. It seems Kaworu figured out a secret of the Franxx. What was truly horrifying to the Nephilim and the scientists was that it actually made sense with their world's logic, but instead of using a core and a pilot, you would substitute the core for another, living soul. And obviously, Ritsuko was playing the numbers and came to a similar conclusion. Guess it's time to develop the New New-Type Evangelion (how about N2-Type?)
3/4 down, one more prophecy to go. Kaworu might realise the true significance of this phrase soon enough.
Of course, their world isn't the only one with prophecy. Kaworu saw the beginnings of one from his station, and I'm sure that song told him a lot more. Of course, he would still find it all odd. But then again, anyone would. Actually, anyone would go mad at what the Nephilim can do and understand
Zero Two will eventually make her way to Tokyo-3, don't worry about that. She'll find her darling eventually. Of course, I'm not just gonna give him to her, that would be too easy
Those of you not into the particular details of Unix, cron is a job scheduling system, running tasks at a specific time. It seems Kaworu figured out a secret of the Franxx. What was truly horrifying to the Nephilim and the scientists was that it actually made sense with their world's logic, but instead of using a core and a pilot, you would substitute the core for another, living soul. And obviously, Ritsuko was playing the numbers and came to a similar conclusion. Guess it's time to develop the New New-Type Evangelion (how about N2-Type?)
Dranndor
Clueless Idiot
- Location
- Cloudcuckooland
Evangelion and Jojo. Together......
My life is complete. I can die in peace now. Thank
- Location
- Spain
Funny, I've actually been watching JoJo during my downtime these past weeks, myself. It's a neat series so far and I'm enjoying it, but art style aside (which took some getting used to) it's not exactly living up to the huge amounts of praise I've heard people throw in its direction. Especially the fights up until now have been either boring and formulaic (for shonen standards) or with a resolution completely out of left field that basically made no sense within the scene, with very few standouts among them all.
The latter is especially true for the Pillar Men arc, what with the MC being the 'smart' type and prone to improvised schemes. It doesn't help that, looks aside, the titular Pillar Men were about as boring as they come, either.
As I said, good but not amazed, so far. I'll keep trucking with the third season, though, since my friend tells me that this is where it really picks up, so we'll see.
TheShiningSun
*Waits for Polyphemus Ch. 16*
- Location
- Practically the middle of Germany
Which is funny in itself since it is older than a lot of todays Shonen Manga since its was started in 1987 by the japanese version of Keanu Reeves, Hirohiko Araki. If you watch or have watched a lot of Shonen Manga/Anime, there is a good chance that JoJo did it, much like the "Simpsons did it" joke.