Fanfic / Rise of the Minisukas

We are legion for we are many, red and angry.

Misato: "Perhaps you should get some sleep, unraveling the mystery of the Minisukas can wait until after you've gotten some rest."
Ritsuko: (glaring) "Stop calling them 'Minisukas'! It's dumb, and not going to catch on!"
Misato: "Pretty sure it already has, don't the MAGI refer to them like that now?"
Ritsuko: "That's because one of the little gremlins hacked the MAGI and put it there to spite me! I'll find proof they did it, I swear!"

Rise of the Minisukas (full name: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Rise of the Minisukas) is a Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfiction written by Blackunknown, blending comedy, romance and drama.

Shinji Ikari is being thoroughly beaten by Sachiel when two tiny redheads mysteriously and suddenly appear in his entry plug, and encourage him to keep fighting. Since Shinji doesn't feel up to the task, one of them summons an army of billions of tiny, angry redheads armed with tiny lances who swiftly overwhelm and kill Sachiel with extreme prejudice. Shinji passes out in the aftermath of the battle, and when he comes around, he finds out his two tiny helpers—who call themselves "Leader" and "Shiki"—have appointed themselves as his bodyguards.

In the meantime, an army of countless tiny redheads—dubbed the "Minisukas" by Misato—have kind of subtly invaded Tokyo-3. All of them look exactly like the Second Child, wield weaker copies of the Lance of Longinus, and to human ears communicate only by saying "Baka" and "Anta Baka". Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari tries to figure out who they are, where they come from, and whether they are a threat to his plans.

The next battles prove that the Minisukas are surprisingly effective allies, and Gendo notes they seem to be oddly protective of the Third Child, as well as having some measure of foreknowledge. He is not overly concerned about it, though, until the Sixth Angel being completely different than anybody expected throws him, SEELE, and even the Minisukas themselves for a loop. As Leader and Shiki grow concerned about their ability to protect Shinji from harm, SEELE starts freaking out about their plans hitting several unexpected bumps in the road.

At the same time, a mysterious, ghastly entity called Enigma is manipulating events behind the scenes with the stated purpose of "ending the cycle". And whoever or whatever Enigma is, it is powerful enough to force Kaworu Nagisa, aka Tabris, into complying with his orders.

It can be read in FF.net and AO3.

Non-Canon Specials

• Halloween Spooktacular
• Thanksgiving Thankstravaganza
• Christmas Cheerapalooza
• Valentine Heartmageddon
• Saint Patrick's Shamnarok
• Shinji's Birthday Banaza

Crossovers

• The Second Try: "The 3rd Try - No Explanations"
• Asuka & Shinji's Infinite Playlist: "Minisukas' Infinite Playlist"
• Minisuka Gaiden: Crossover Chaos
• Serum Concentration - Neon Genesis Minisuka

---

Rise of the Minitropes:

• Agony of the Feet: When someone—let's say Touji or Kaji—annoys one Minisuka, she will summon her Lance and aim for the shin or the ankle.
• Air-Vent Passageway: The Minisukas sneak into and out of places by crawling through the air vents. Justified, since they are only eight inches tall.
• Alliance of Alternates: The Minisukas are legions of diminutive Asukas hailing from billions of parallel timelines and working together to protect Shinji and save the present universe. "Leader" is the original, "Shiki" is Asuka Shikinami from the Rebuild films, "Blonde" is from the manga timeline, "Blue" is from a particularly screwed universe...
• Alliterative Name: Sakura Suzuhara's nicknames for Leader and Shiki: "Scarlet Sistine Superczar" and "Burgundy Buccaneer Blastcaster".
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Even though both Evangelions and Angels have visibly used them in several battles, JHCI executive Shiro Tokita doesn't believe in the existence of the soul-powered energy barrier known as the AT-Field. His creation, the Jet Alone Kai, claims AT-Fields are lies created to suppress the working class...as Shinji is using his own Field to repel its blows.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Ritsuko resents the Minisukas because "She was sure they altered the MAGI somehow, she was sure they were watching her when she wasn't looking, and she was sure they were feeding her cat when she wasn't home."
• Ascended Extra: Kotone Suzunami is a minor character exclusive to the Evangelion: Battlefields video game. Here, she has been given main character status (as well as being written as the niece of bridge bunny Shigeru Aoba).
• Attack Drone: The Sixth Angel's main body is orbited by clockwork-shaped laser-shooters.
• Autobots, Rock Out!: Aoba decides the assault of the Minisukas upon Shamshel needs a guitar solo. Ritsuko orders him to put the guitar away, arguing they don't deserve a soundtrack, but the MAGI disagrees.
  A dozen camera feeds were brought up, showing a curious sight. A fleet of RC cars painted red and kitbashed to look like post-apocalyptic raider vehicles manned by Minisukas. This was accompanied by a large flock of mismatched birds of different breeds ridden by even more Minisukas. Apparently, the cavalry had arrived, and they couldn't decide between a post-apocalyptic or fantasy aesthetic. The command center was engulfed by a stunned silence, once again due to the arrival of the tiny reinforcements. Until Ritsuko broke the silence.
  "Aoba put the guitar away!"
  "Come on! This needs some music!"
  "We are not dignifying those little gremlins with a soundtrack!" Suddenly the MAGI announcement system was brought online.
  "Initiating playlist: Songs to Kill Angels to."
  "Mother why." Ritsuko put her face into her hands as she was drowned out by some rock song.
• Badass Boast: Rei asks one of the Minisukas relay a message to Prankster:
  Rei: "Tell the one who transgressed against me that I, Rei Ayanami, will not take this act of disrespect lying down. I will enact upon them a vengeance so grand, so sublime, that future generations of mankind will write epics about my victory. Plays will be written about my conquest over your compatriot, sonnets depicting my revenge will be distributed to schoolchildren to teach them of the folly of men perpetrated by the one who wronged me. And when my dread vengeance is brought to fruition, when this Prankster who had defaced me lies broken and defeated at my feet, I will say nothing. As nothing needs to be said to mere dust."
• Bait the Dog: Despite its creepy appearance, disturbing speech and dubious methods, you would be forgiven to think Enigma is a good guy—albeit of the well-intentioned extremist kind—since it is actively hindering SEELE...until Enigma reveals it is opposing SEELE because it wants to usurp the Third Impact in order to destroy the future.
• Being Watched:
  • Shinji has the feeling that he is being watched...and he cluelessly wonders whether Mayumi might tell him who is watching him, since she is constantly staring at him.
  • When Toji asks Kensuke if he ever gets the feeling that they are being watched, his pal chalks that feeling up to being watched by the bodyguards monitoring their friend Shinji from a distance. He then greets one of them, who greets him back.
• Beneath Notice: It is unclear how Matarael was able to deceive Shinji's whole class for weeks; but it involved, at least partially, Matarael posing as a quiet, friendless, unassuming new student who is too awkward to talk to, too insignificant to pay attention to...and definitely not a multi-eyed, bowl-headed giant spider.
• Bizarre Alien Senses: Rei is the only one who can feel the Minisukas are not humans but cosmic aberrations. Also, she and Shiki are the only ones who can see through "Mat"'s deception at a glance.
• Bland-Name Product: Asuka owns a "Segatendo Dreamcube", and a farming sim called "Lunar Farming: A Marvelous Life".
• Berserk Button: Do *not* insult or attempt to harm a Minisuka in Shinji's presence.
• But Thou Must!: When Lailah offered to make Mayumi a Nephilim, she actually implanted her core in the girl before asking, because it didn't occur to her that Mayumi might say no. And she doesn't know how to reverse the process.
• Butt-Monkey: The "Prankster" Minisuka gets constantly put in bad situations, including being caught in an errant gust of wind while trying to theatrically get away from Rei on a hang glider (it did however make her smack into the Fifth Angel, and she hurt it with her Lance, which is what she was planning and nobody can say otherwise); being kidnapped by animals who thought she was a toy or food, forcing her to leg it back to Tokyo-3 (already a pain because of her tiny stature, not to mention the really weird things she encounters along the way); and not keeping up with business meetings.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: As Blue attempts to murder her, Rei calmly asks why she is trying to kill her, and if she could postpone her assassination attempt since she has laundry to be done.
• Ceiling Cling: NERV's bodyguards also resort to ceiling-clinging to monitor the Children, but they are not inconspicuous enough to not be noticed by even Kensuke.
• Chekhov's Gag: In the ninth chapter, Touji complains about him and Kensuke becoming "backup dancers for a crazy-eyed Yakuza guy" due to his buddy's loony antics. That apparent throwaway gag comes up again in chapter 15 when Hikari demands to know why they are rating dance videos, and becomes plot-relevant in chapter 17 when Asuka challenges both guys to prove they can outperform her and Shinji at their synchronized dance training.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Shinji in chapter 22 and Kensuke in chapter 23 mention offhandedly "Mat", a new student who is so quiet and unassuming than hardly someone has noticed him; and not even Shinji, who considers him a friend, can remember his full name. Is it short for Matsuhide? Or Matsusuke? Chapter 24 finally shows "Mat" and reveals his full name: Matarael.
• Clone by Conversion: Mayumi is convinced that the Minisukas are attempting to transform her into one of them. The first time she sees regular-sized Asuka, Mayumi becomes convinced that she was a normal girl whom they have turned into one member of their brethren.
• Cloudcuckooland: When Asuka arrives in Tokyo-3, she finds the place invaded by countless miniature versions of herself. One of her teammates is creepily obsessed with getting revenge on the Minisuka who pranked her. Said Prankster was captured by a giant swallow, saved by a purple-haired hermit samurai, and then abducted by a fox, a bear, a gang of beatboxing rabbits, and a monkey on a unicycle while making her way out of a forest infested by murderous clowns. Her teacher at school is locked in a mental loop, repeating the same drivel about the Second Impact over and again. And hardly anyone seems to find so much nonsense noteworthy. After the incident with the man punching a tiger which was prowling about a shopping mall's food court, Asuka finally gives up on trying to make sense out of Tokyo-3.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Sakura Suzuhara is an hyperactive eight-year-old with a somewhat loony mindset. She wants to go through medical school so she can replace her real legs with cybernetic limbs and become a superhero. She also tells Gendo she is firing him from being a dad and becoming Shinji's new dad since she will obviously be a better parent than him.
  She wasn't disappointed that she might be crippled for life, that was her fault for not evacuating when the giant monster showed up. She, however, was disappointed when the doctors refused her request to amputate her legs and replace them with metal ones that she could use to fight crime by night. With that, her dream of becoming a cyborg vigilante was struck down for the fourth time in her short life. Her attention returned to her room's TV as she flipped through the channels.
• Cold Ham: Rei's obsession with vengeance (on Prankster) and talking about it at length has not made her raise her voice at all.
• Crazy-Prepared: Both SEELE and Gendo have actually considered the possibility of future people going back to the past and trying to mess up with their plans. Although Gendo himself considers no amount of foreknowledge to be a threat to him, he has prepared counters for any time-traveler...except for Aoba, who is too unpredictable.
  "Are you suggesting the Ishim possess foreknowledge of events to come?"
  "Are you saying you haven't considered the possibility of such Ikari?" He has in fact considered it, and he has come to the conclusion that no amount of foreknowledge would be a threat to him. He had counters prepared in case of any wayward time travelers, no matter who they were. Well, except for Aoba. That man was a wildcard, but too useful to get rid of.
• Creepy Child: One Running Gag is how Rei's obsession with one-upping Prankster in their prank war (or as Rei insists on calling it, "getting vengeance") has made her more creepy to the rest of the cast.
• Crush Blush: When Shinji first sees Leader and Shiki sitting in his cockpit, he thinks he must be hallucinating, since why else would he be seeing two beautiful girls calling him an idiot? He does not notice both Minisukas blushing intensely at being called beautiful.
• Cutting Corners: The explanation why Provisional Unit-05 has wheels instead of feet is that NERV was going through a budget crunch.
• Dastardly Whiplash: The Minisuka named "Prankster" decides to start wearing stereotypical clothes of this character type (cloak, top hat, monocle), as well as an increase in theatrics—which occasionally backfire on her—as well as a lot of evil laughter.
• Deadly Dodging: When the team is fighting both Sandalphon and Baraqijal, Asuka provokes the former into attacking her. When Baraqijal shoots a lance of acid at her as she is grappling with Sandalphon, Asuka pivots her body, putting Sandalphon between her and its partner's corrosive projectile. The acid lance strikes Sandalphon in the back, melting its stone armor and exposing his vulnerable core.
• Death Glare:
  • When Gendo first meets the Minisukas, Leader and Shiki "[glare] at him with the heat to rival the surface of the sun".
  • When Asuka points out she is too tiny to even use her console's controller, Shiki responds with "a death glare to end all death glares".
  • When Mana hints that she is after Shinji, Asuka gives her a glare so heated it could fry an egg.
• Death of a Thousand Cuts: A Minisuka, armed with a spear the size of a salad fork, isn't much of a threat. The full Germantide can pull down a Kaiju.
• Decapitation Presentation: When Matarael kidnaps Shinji, Rei mumbles that its head must be cut off and put on display as an object lesson.
• Denser and Wackier: Even if you don't factor in all the Minisukas, it's clear this take on the series is goofier by default. Kensuke getting involved with terrorists, Hikari hunting down students with a net gun, and a brief mention of a racoon with a switchblade, for example.
• Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: When Mana takes a seat next to Kotone, she wonders how many people would miss Asuka if she suddenly disappeared in mysterious and very suspicious circumstances. Upon hearing Kotone's Flat "What", Mana realizes she said that out loud.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Mayumi Yamagishi physically throttles a terrified Angel (Lailah) when it is revealed that she placed her core inside of her without her knowledge or consent.
• Didn't Think This Through: After Mana gleefully asks if he needs her to murder someone, General Taihou from the JSSDF starts considering that "[training] emotionally unstable teenagers to pilot weapons of mechanized destruction" was maybe a bad idea and he now needs to "decrazy" his pilots.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Rei wishes to get even for Prankster writing on her face with marker while she was sleeping, but the way she phrases said desire would be best coming out of the mouth of a Sith Lord.
• Distinction Without a Difference: Tender, one of Pen-Pen's friends, declares that "Just because a Yakuza member runs the company I work at doesn't mean I work for the Yakuza!"
• Dual Wielding: Mentioned. Shiki asks one Minisuka to loan her her lance, and unwilling to reveal she has not one, claims she wants to dual-wield against Matarael.
• Elephants Never Forget: When Asuka praises Rei's good memory, the latter mutters her memory is like an elephant's, since she never forgets...or forgives (referring to her ongoing feud with Prankster).
• Embarrassing Nickname: Sakura Suzuhara calls her guardian Minisuka "Crimson Septuple Hypermax". Leader and Shiki find it hilarious...until Sakura christen them "Scarlet Sistine Superczar" and "Burgundy Buccaneer Blastcaster".
• Entertainingly Wrong: Rei consistently overestimates "Prankster" Minisuka's competency and misreads her motives, believing that she is a calculative genius whose minute actions serve to facilitate a more intricate plot (to prank her).
• Exact Words: In the aftermath of the Jet Alone incident, the NERV staff is told they can take what they want from the bar. Misato turns a tablecloth into a makeshift sack, loads it up with as many bottles as she can carry, and takes the bundle home.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: As SEELE discusses the matter of three unfinished Eva units going missing, Keel begins listing what kind of traits the thief must have before realizing that Tabris ticks all the boxes.
• Face Doodling: Prankster writes on Rei's face with black marker while she is sleeping, creating in Rei a burning need for getting even upon awakening and discovering her new "moustache" and "goatee".
• Facepalm: Leader and her minions' antics to keep Mana away from Shinji are silly enough to make Shiki cover her face.
• Failed a Spot Check: Neither Shinji, Asuka, Kotone, nor Leader really stare at "Mat" or notice anything peculiar about him until Rei points out he is a giant spider.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: When Rei and "Prankster" meet before Operation Yashima and Rei swears vengeance, the Minisuka attempts a dramatic getaway via a miniature hang glider that ends with her being caught by a gust of wind and tossed at Rei's feet, who just stares as Prankster collects herself and glides off again correctly (and unknown to Rei, smacking into the Fifth Angel).
• Flat "What":
  • Ritsuko's reaction when Misato lays out her plan to destroy Ramiel:
    Ritsuko: "Well, you've certainly had worse bases for plans before-."
    Misato: "Also we need to hijack Japan's entire supply of electricity."
    Ritsuko: "What."
  • Ritsuko again has reaction when Tokita claims the AT field is a hoax.
    "Ah yes, the 'AT field'. The supposed soul magic barrier the aliens possess that the Eva's can also use. You may have fooled the UN with that nonsense, but I will not be!" What.
  • The Jet Alone Kai elicits a double flat what from Shinji when he declares the AT Fields are lies and propaganda devised by the ruling class to oppress the proletariat.
    "FALSE. AT-FIELDS ARE A LIE CREATED TO SUPPRESS THE WORKING CLASS." What. "YOUR PARLOR TRICKS HAVE NO EFFECT ON ME. NOW DIE." The hammer once again bounces off his AT field. "CEASE YOUR TRICKERY AND FIGHT FAIR! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY A LIE PROPAGATED BY REPTOIDS!" What.
• Flipping the Bird: When Ritsuko meets and acknowledges Leader and Shiki, her tone dripping with condescending sarcasm, both Minisukas stop arguing for one second to flip her the bird.
  "Oh good, you're awake." She spoke with the fake warmth of a telemarketer trying to sell extended car warranties and the tiredness of a student studying for midterms fueled by nothing but cheap coffee. Her eyes fell to the foot of the bed as she glared at Leader and Shiki. "And you have visitors as well. How. Nice." Her tone conveyed that she found it anything but nice. Leader and Shiki turned to look at her, raised a hand each, and proceeded to flip Doctor Akagi the bird, then they went back to their argument. Well, Leader went back to the argument, Shiki ignored her and instead stared at Shinji. Akagi's eye twitched erratically for a moment before turning her full attention to Shinji.
• Foul Cafeteria Food: The food at the school the pilots go to is made from "ninety-three percent fake synthetic 'meat' from concentrate".
• Friendless Background: Shinji shocks Asuka when he confesses that he never had any friends until he came to Tokyo-3. Asuka admits she considers him a friend, but she is not sure what it exactly means since she had no friends either before leaving Germany.
• Frothy Mugs of Water: As befits a stereotypical Noir detective, the "Noir" Minisuka goes to bars. However, she drinks only seltzer water and the bartender charges her nothing because the "cup" is much smaller than a thimbleful and he doesn't see it worth grousing over.
• Fusion Dance: The Sixth Angel is an amalgamation of Gaghiel and Rebuild's unnamed Seventh Angel. Basically, Gaghiel is wearing him like he was body armor.
• Gamer Chick: Asuka is happy to unpack her "Segatendo Dreamcube" and show Shinji her games. As she and Shinji play a farming sim, Shiki eagerly picks one of her farming sims' instruction manuals and starts reading.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Shiki starts losing it when Shinji is kidnapped by an Angel. Leader's quick slap snaps Shiki out of it and lets her focus on their "search, rescue and annihilate" mission.
  Shiki shouts in an uncharacteristic display of raw anguish, snapping Leader out of her shell shock. Leader slaps Shiki out of her state and stares her in the eye.
  "Anta Baka!" Shiki blinks and nods, her face now a visage of vengeful fury.
• Giant Spider: Matarael looks like a man-sized spider.
• Giving Up on Logic: After the incident involving a man punching a tiger in a food court, Asuka decides logic has clearly been forcibly evicted from Tokyo-3.
  "Alright, calm down Asuka. There's a logical explanation for this. Wait, no there isn't. You live in a place where countless mini versions of you run around and people punch tigers in malls! Logic had obviously been taken behind the shed to be put down."
• Grammar Correction Gag: Leader and Shiki burst out into laughter when Shinji mispronounces "Flädlesuppe" (a German pancake soup) as "Fladlesuuppe".
• Guns Are Worthless: Since the Pallet Rifle proves to be utterly useless (Shinji cannot recall even one instance where it was effective against their giant alien enemies), Shinji is given a katana and an electromagnetic crossbow.
• Has a Type: Shinji's rumored to have a redhead fetish. General Taihou thinks Mana Kirishima can take advantage of it.
  "You shouldn't have too much trouble with this one." He slid the folder containing Shinji Ikari's portfolio towards her. "Initial reports say he has a thing for redheads, so you already have a massive lead."
• Head Desk: Maya bangs her head against her desk when her simple "How are you doing" question for Rei, who is supposed to be technically the most stable pilot, is answered with "I am trying to figure out where to get a banana cream pie and ten gallons of olive oil".
• Honey Trap: General Taihou calls his plan to have Mana seduce Shinji in order to extract NERV's secrets out of him "Operation Honeytrap". Meanwhile, the Minisukas, who are planning to catch her and send her away from Shinji, refer to Mana by the codename "Red Honey".
• Human Mail: One Minisuka's plan for Mana is to stuff her in a box and mail her to Bhutan. Why Bhutan? Because it was the furthest place that Leader could think of where a human sized package could be sent without inviting too many questions.
• Humanoid Abomination: The Minisukas may look like diminutive humans, but they are really "aberrations in the fabric of reality that should not exist". Gendo grows quite alarmed when he learns this fact from Rei, who thought it was obvious.
• I Hate Past Me: Shiki generally despises Asuka, since she reminds her of the person that she used to be.
• I Meant to Do That: While getting away from Rei, "Prankster" Minisuka grabs her hang glider, launches herself off a walkway...and finds herself smacking into the Fifth Angel due to an errant gust of wind. She then hurts it with her Lance, and proclaims that this was her plan all along, and nobody can prove otherwise.
  If anyone asked, she planned that. She absolutely didn't lose control of her glider and get thrown directly into the core of the Angel by an errant gust of wind. Anybody who suggested that was just jealous of her skills.
• I Need a Freaking Drink:
  • After hearing Misato's plan to destroy Ramiel by hijacking Japan's entire power supply, Ritsuko wonders "if Ooi still had that bottle of vodka hidden away at her station."
  • After Jet Alone Kai goes rogue, the chief engineer for the robot declares "Welp, if my life is ruined beyond repair I might as well raid the bar and get blackout drunk, any of you want anything?"
• Insistent Terminology: Ritsuko does not care whatever Misato says: NERV did NOT loot the Jet Alone's N2 reactor. They merely "re-appropriated" it.
  Ritsuko: "Yes, well thanks to the N2 reactor we 're-appropriated' after the Jet Alone incident we have some power to work with.[...]"
  Misato: "You mean looted right?"
  Ritsuko: "Call it whatever you want, neither the UN nor JHCI are getting it back."
  Later
  Ritsuko: "Sorry to interrupt your tearful reunion— but our re-appropriated-",
  Misato: "Looted."
  Ritsuko: "-re-appropriated N2 reactor is showing signs of instability."
• Inventional Wisdom: Jet Alone Kai can apparently feel pain. Upon discovering this, it immediately wonders both why it can feel pain and why it doesn't have the option to turn it off.
• It's Not Porn, It's Art: Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu has taken to writing fantasy novels while being stuck in Unit-02. (Somewhat erotic fantasy novels.) She defends her writing choices to Enigma in this manner.
  Kyoko: "They are not porn! They just contain tasteful depictions of lovemaking between characters in love! Is that so wrong?!"
  Enigma: "Right or wrong doesn't matter when the first twenty pages of a book contains two dragons doing the horizontal limbo!"
• It's Raining Men: Shiki injures Matarael by jumping out of a hot air balloon, landing on its body and embedding one lance into its head.
• Jaw Drop:
  • One of the Minisukas becomes slack-jawed when Rei calmly declares she will exact a terrible, frightening and dreadful revenge against the Minisuka "Prankster" who doodled on her face.
  • The collective reaction in the NERV's command center to Israfel being a Super Sentai team.
    The NERV command center was dead silent after this spectacle. Not a word was spoken as jaws were collectively on the floor.
    "Oh shit." Aoba managed to collect his thoughts first. "They're a super sentai team."
  • Shinji—and everybody else—needs to pick his jaw up off the floor when Toji and Kensuke perform a perfectly synchronized four-minute-long dance routine.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Upon hearing the name of Shinji's new sword (the "Magoroku Exterminate Sword"), Asuka demands to know who is naming their weapons. Ritsuko tells her off, but she privately agrees that Asuka is right and those names are dumb—but she doesn't want to give the obnoxious girl the satisfaction of admitting she is right.
• Katanas Are Just Better: When she sees Unit-01 getting equipped with a katana, Asuka smugly asks whether they couldn't afford a normal sword. Ritsuko bites back that the Weapons Department determined a katana was the superior choice after careful testing.
• Killer Rabbit: At first glance, The Minisukas seem adorable and harmless, yet they are each armed with miniature versions of the Lance of Longinus and are fully capable of murdering an Angel without an Evangelion.
• Knuckle Cracking:
  • When Gendo first meets Leader and Shiki, the latter starts cracking her knuckles maliciously while glaring heatedly at him. It is scary enough to give Gendo pause.
  • When Mana tries to claim one desk beside Shinji, Asuka cracks her knuckles ominously and encourages her not-at-all-rival to keep walking for her dentures' sake.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Shinji charges in a reckless, crazy way when he thinks Shamshel is going to harm the Minisukas. Later, Misato informs him that letting yourself being impaled by your enemy's whips in order to stab it to death is not a valid battle strategy.
• Leonine Contract: General Taihou expects Tokita and his bosses to readily take up his offer and sell JHCI and the Jet Alone Kai to the JSSDF because they have no options left, what with being blackmailed by the rest of the mecha industry (a situation personally engineered by Taihou so Tokita could not refuse). Hence, he is shocked when Tokita informs him that Japan Heavy Chemical Industries has already been bought out, and he has been offered a job by the new owners.
• Lethal Chef: Despite his misgivings, Shinji dares to try Misato's food. He wakes up eight hours later in a hospital bed and is informed that he got his stomach pumped.
  "I mustn't run away." He muttered, causing Shiki to freeze. He sat down at the table and weighed his options. Deciding that the bowl of what looked like soup would be a good starting point, he took a spoonful and instantly regretted his decision. As soon as the broth entered his mouth he was assaulted by a sense of dryness as if all moisture was sucked out of his mouth by the broth. His hand shot out for a glass of nearby water, gulping it down before nearly spitting it back out. Why does the water taste burnt!? He gazed at the final dish, a plain plate of rice covered in a non-Newtonian magenta mass that he swore was staring at him. He grabbed a spoon and scooped some up, noting it was both like an airy cream and a solid rock. He was barely cognizant of Shiki shaking him, begging him to stop, but he still took a bite out of wait, why was he staring at a vaguely familiar ceiling?
  He was then informed by a very worried nurse (and two screaming tiny redheads) that he was in the Geofront hospital's ICU after getting his stomach pumped. Apparently, he broke a world record by eating two spoonfuls of Misato's cooking and only being unconscious for eight hours.
  "It's official, I'm banning Misato from the kitchen." He grumbled as Leader and Shiki were pummeling his head.
• Look Behind You: Shinji has to resort to this to distract Jet Alone Kai. He just took a blow to the head, so it's forgivable that this was best he could do at the spur of the moment.
• Make an Example of Them: Rei wants to behead Matarael and put its corpse on display so everyone realizes that kidnapping Shinji is a terrible idea.
  Rei: "I agree with Pilot Soryu, we must reave apart the Angel and display its head so that all will be aware of the folly it committed against us."
• Malaproper: Zefron's inability to not mix up words constantly drives its partner Azrael up the wall.
  Azrael: What I wouldn't give for someone who understands the value of presentation.
  Zefron: I UNDERSTAND PRESENTATION. I WILL PRESENTATION MYSELF BEFORE FATHER AFTER I SMASH THE LILIM.
  Azrael: That's not….. you know what? Nevermind. Hopefully, the Lilim can appreciate a bit of flair.
  Zefron: HOW WOULD YOU BURN THEM ENOUGH FOR THEM TO APPRECIATE FLARE? YOU DO NOT CONTROL FIRE.
  Azrael: Not flare, flair!
  Zefron: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
  Azrael: …..I hate you so much right now.
• The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: When Asuka is awakened from a nightmare and asks her reflection about what to do, she writes off the fact that her reflection nodded in agreement, independent of her, as being something her half-asleep mind came up with. She also fails to notice that the reflection disappeared of its own volition.
• Meteor-Summoning Attack: Matarael's last-resort gambit involves leaping into the atmosphere, grabbing onto a meteorite, and throwing it at the Evangelions.
• Morton's Fork: Asuka "politely" explains to Matarael that it has two options: letting Shinji go and dying quickly, or holding him hostage and dying slowly and painfully.
  Asuka: "Alright you arachnid asshole, this can end in one of two ways, and in both of them, you die. So you wanna do this the easy way, or the hard way?"
• Mouse World: Because of their being eight inches tall, the Minisukas sneak around through air vents, drive RC vehicles (cars, helicopters, and boats), hold meetings in mezzanine floors, and are stalked by rats.
• Murder the Hypotenuse:
  • Played straight with Blue, who wants Asuka to murder Rei.
  • Subverted with Leader. Her minions believe she wants Mana murdered, until Leader clarifies she merely wants her captured and shipped to Bhutan.
  • On the other hand, Mana starts making plans to make Asuka "disappear" quietly.
• Newhart Phonecall: In Chapter 23, Leader takes a call through Shinji's cell phone (later revealed to be her being told that Mana is coming) and all the onlookers see is Leader saying an increasingly alarmed bunch of "anta baka"s to whoever is on the other side of the line, followed by her summoning a (model) helicopter to take her away when she hangs up.
• New Transfer Student: Lampshaded. Upon Mana's arrival, Toji and Kensuke wonder why so many people (Shinji, Asuka, Kotone, "Mat", and Mana, within a handful of weeks) are transferring into their school, and why so many of them are redheads.
• Non-Giving-Up School Guy: When Asuka introduces herself to her new classmates, several of them freak out and sprint out of the classroom, screaming as they flee. Promptly, three Minisukas hand class representative Hikari Horaki a net gun, and she stomps off menacingly to round up the runaways, dragging them back within the hour.
• Noodle Implements: When Maya asks Rei how she is doing, the blue-haired pilot states she needs to get "a banana cream pie, ten gallons of olive oil and possibly a panda bear" (presumably to get revenge on the Minisuka "Prankster").
• Noodle Incident:
  • Toji and Kensuke have run into some very weird people:
    Toji: "Whatever Ken, just don't drag me inta another one of yer meet n greets again, I still ain't forgiven ya fer that time with the Yakuza."
    Kensuke: "I keep telling you I thought it was an underground idol concert, I didn't expect to be forced into becoming backup dancers for a crazy one-eyed Yakuza guy!"
    Toji: "That don't stop the nightmares, I still hear the song in my sleep."
  • While rambling about being possibly turned into a Minisuka, Mayumi Yamagishi avoids to explaining the thing with her classmate's demon-possessed teddy bear.
    Mayumi: "What if Nene starts hanging out with me and tries to get me to talk with the ghost inside her teddy bear!?"
    Shinji: "Wait what was that last-"
    Mayumi: "I just want a quiet, peaceful life, Mister Ikari!
• Not Enough to Bury: There only was a blood stain smeared across the streets after the horde of Minisukas was done with Sachiel.
• O.C. Stand-in: Nene Matsuzake is a minor character from the visual novel Neon Genesis Evangelion Gaiden Vol. 2 ~ Feast of Dolls ~, where she is a redhead with a teddy bear that she proclaims is possessed by a spirit named Sandy...and that is the entirety of her character, hence the author giving her a "ditzy airhead" personality.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Shinji, Asuka and Rei spend one week undergoing synch training and improving their teamwork in order to fight the five Israfels. Meanwhile, the Minisukas hasten to build more anti-Angel weapons to back up the pilots. After seven days, the three pilots and the Minisukas team up to destroy all five Israfels simultaneously, but the battle is completely skipped over by the narrator.
• Oh, Crap!: Leader freaks out when Shiki points out that Israfel's core has five sections (meaning he will split into five duplicates instead of two):
  Shiki: "Hey, Leader. There are two Israfel halves right?"
  Leader: "Right."
  Shiki: "Meaning the core would be split in two, right?"
  Leader: "Also correct."
  Shiki: "Then what does that one having a core with five sections mean?"
  Leader: "….Scheiße."
  Shiki: "Leader, what does it mean?"
  Leader: "It means-" (Unit-02 charges the Angel and cuts it in half) "-hold onto something because this is gonna be a bumpy ride."
• Only Known by Their Nickname: The Minisukas are named after some particular trait or job: Leader, Professor, Hacker, Prankster, Blue, Blonde, Camo (because she wears camouflage), Hood...
• Only Sane Man:
  • Ironically, Asuka herself serves as such, since most of the cast have swiftly adapted to, and become desensitized to, the bizarre presence and absurd antics of the Minisukas.
  • Leader is the only Minisuka who tries to remain rational and cool-headed at all times.
  • Musashi Lee Strasberg is this among the T•RIDEN•T pilots. Mana is kinda kill-happy, and Keita Asari spends his one scene in the story so far giving a "I must destroy everything" speech like a Final Fantasy villain.
• Other Me Annoys Me: Shiki and regular-sized Asuka are very hostile toward each other. When Leader asks Shiki why she picked a fight with their bigger counterpart, Shiki replies that her face and her attitude piss her off. Leader reminds her that they are her own face and attitude, and Shiki claims she grew up...and anyway, she would still hate her because she hates herself (which is canon-accurate).
• Papa Wolf: When Kaji arrives at his regular bar in Tokyo-3 to get loaded, and discovers that 1) the Noir Minisuka likes to drink (seltzer) here and 2) there are patrons that try to hit on her (regardless of the fact she is eight inches tall), Kaji tells the bartender who told him this latter tidbit that the Minisukas are thirteen years old, he considers Asuka a daughter, and that the bartender had better give him the names of everybody who tried to hit on her so he will make sure they get sent to the worst base locations NERV has. The bartender does so.
• Past Experience Nightmare: Shinji confides in Asuka that he suffers from recurring but vague nightmares involving a red Earth, white vultures circling overhead, screams, fights, explosions...Asuka feels disturbed, because she has been having the same nightmares. The Minisukas, especially Leader and Shiki, feel even more troubled because Shinji is dreaming about the final battle which started the time loop (as in, End of Evangelion).
• Pie in the Face: After the battle against Matarael, Rei pushes her apartment's door open and is hit in the face with a banana cream pie, courtesy of Prankster.
• Pokémon Speak: The Minisukas, to human ears, only communicate by uttering "Baka" and "Anta Baka" (and sometimes "Baka Shinji", or Bakasuka) repeatedly.
• Private Eye Monologue: Parodied. The Minisuka "Noir" dresses like a classic movie detective, and "intones as if narrating the scene like an old-time detective show". But like all Minisukas, to human ears she can only say "Baka" and "Anta Baka".
• Properly Paranoid: When the Geofront suffers a blackout, Misato suddenly suggests that they get the Evas ready just in case, since "this seems exactly like a situation where an Angel would attack, so [they] should prep the Evas however [they] can." Ritsuko states that this is insane, one minute before the pilots rush into the Command Center screaming that Shinji has been kidnapped by an Angel.
• A Rare Sentence:
  • During a meeting, Leader lampshades that she did not expect to discuss their victory over the Armenian Mafia.
    Leader: "Alright, so now that we dealt with the mafia, not a sentence I'd thought I would say, how are our other plans going?"
  • As Keel is trying to calm the rest of SEELE down, following the news about the likeness of the Fifth Angel being purchased and used as a virtual pop idol reaching them:
    "Enough!" Keel had enough, this bickering only served to waste his time. "We can deal with the issue regarding the equipment and the fifth's idolification-" Keel couldn't believe that was something he had to seriously say.
  • As the Children are fighting the Sixth:
    "Uh, Captain?"
    ""What?!"" Misato and the Captain shouted in unison at the first mate, who looked nervously between the two, not sure who had command.
    "Uh, the fleet is ready to fire at the…..giant alien clockwork whale? Not a sentence I'd thought I'd say today….."
• Reassigned to Antarctica: When Kaji finds out about the patrons of his regular bar hitting on one of the Minisukas, he takes steps to ensure that they get suddenly and inexplicably transferred to very out-of-the-way places. Like a Siberian gulag.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Leader (Red Oni) is an emotional, loud show-off. Shiki (Blue Oni) is morose and quiet.
• Revenge: Rei becomes obsessed with exacting revenge after being pranked by Prankster.
• Riding the Bomb: Matarael rides a meteorite to try to take the Evangelions out.
• Shout-Out:
  • The title of chapter 9, "The Fortress of Soryutude", is a nod to the Home Base of the Superman and Supergirl comics.
  • Rei's research material on achieving revenge includes The Count of Monte Cristo.
  • Chapter 15's opening bit with someone investing in a business, forgetting the key part and then having it drop out of the sky—in this case, the Sonic Glaive from the Sixth Angel fight—is taken from an episode of Phineas and Ferb.
  • Toji and Kensuke's exploits involving eccentric Yakuza are based on Like a Dragon.
  • Shinji does not like people who diss Antonio Salieri.
  • Matarael cites the story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.
• Sinister Surveillance: In order to carry out her anti-transmogrification plan, Mayumi watches over Shinji, Asuka, and the Minisukas, taking pictures without being seen or noticed.
• Schmuck Bait:
  • When the Jet Alone Kai talks Shinji into lowering his AT-Field to talk things over, Unit-01's head takes a hammer blow from the robot, and Shinji takes several blows from Leader and Shiki for being so stupid. Shortly after, Shinji gets even by successfully carrying out a "Look, a distraction!" tactic.
  • Enigma orders Kaworu to download a virus onto a flash drive, put a label on the flash drive saying "payroll", and leave it visible in a crowded area. When Kaworu questions the reliability of such a silly trap, Enigma retorts he should not underestimate human greed and stupidity.
• A Storm Is Coming: Fuyutsuki says as much when SEELE asks Gendo to build a spare Evangelion. They would never allow to Gendo strengthen himself, so something has frightened them out of their wits.
  "There's a storm brewing Rokubungi, I hope we are sturdy enough to weather it."
• Spanner in the Works:
  • Not only was the appearance of the Minisukas completely unpredictable, but also they are gradually messing up with SEELE's (and Gendo's) plans by altering the outcome of the battles and hacking their bank accounts.
  • Aoba is the only potential time-traveler who Gendo has not prepared any countermeasures for, due to him being a wildcard. Unfortunately for Gendo, he is too useful to get rid of.
• The Stations of the Canon: Subverted. In spite of the presence of the Minisukas, the story seems to stick closely to the canon's main points as usual for the first few chapters...until the Sixth Angel turns out to be a fusion of Gaghiel and Rebuild's Seventh Angel. From that point on, the arrival of different Angels (taken from another Eva shows, videogames and even tabletop games) completely changes the original sequence of events...much to the annoyance of Leader (who trusted on her knowledge of the original timeline to keep Shinji safe) and even Gendo and Keel Lorenz (whose knowledge, stemming from Dead Sea Scrolls, has become utterly useless).
• Strange Minds Think Alike: When Asuka unveils her Unit-02, Shinji notes it has four eyes, and he wonders aloud if Unit-03 will have eight eyes, since Unit-00 and 01 have one and two eyes, respectively. Ten chapters later, Aoba—who has not even talked to Shinji—asks Gendo if Unit-05 has thirty-two eyes, since Unit-00, 01 and 02 have one, two and four eyes.
• Stunned Silence: A shocked silence envelops NERV's control bridge when a legion of Minisukas suddenly shows up to fight Sachiel.
• "Super Sentai" Stance: Parodied. After splitting into five, the Israfels perform a synchronized pose, complete with an explosion backdrop.
  Alright guys, let's show the Lilim what teamwork looks like!
  Israfel's two bisected halves separate into five different colored blobs that quickly take shape.
  Israfel Red! The red blob morphs into a smaller Israfel that has it's 'arms' in a cross shape.
  Israfel Blue! The blue blob morphs into a smaller Israfel with one 'hand' in front of it's 'face' and one to it's side.
  Israfel Black! The black blob morphs into a smaller Israfel that points one 'finger' forward.
  Israfel Yellow! The yellow blob morphs into a smaller Israfel that puts one 'hand' on it's 'chin' and another on the opposite 'hip'.
  Israfel Pink! The pink blob morphs into a small Israfel that crosses both 'arms' above it's 'head'.
  Together we are THE ISRAFEL RANGERS! An unexplained explosion erupts behind them.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: Rei steps into her apartment and is greeted with a pie to her face, courtesy of Prankster. Rei mentions she has not seen Prankster for weeks, undoubtedly because her nemesis has spent a long time plotting her next masterstroke. Unwilling to admit she has spent weeks lost in the woods, Prankster dons her best "Yes, that is EXACTLY what happened!"
• Suspiciously Specific Denial:
  • After tailoring a training program for Shinji, Asuka ponders if she should make one for Rei; she then discards the idea, because Rei clearly does not need her help, and definitely not because it might hinder "her non-existent plans to woo the idiot".
  • Mana introduces herself to Shinji's class by happily declaring she is not a spy for a military organization.
• Take Over the World: Parodied. When Toji jokes about how the Minisukas would conquer Japan if Shinji asked them, Shinji says they are obviously aware that conquering a country is a bit much. Upon hearing this, Leader covertly signals another Minisuka to cancel their Japan-conquering plans.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Even when several Angels are forced to team up, they are more likely to bicker or fight each other than engage the Evas.
  They're just standing there, attack them!
  No, they're obviously having pre-battle banter, it would be impolite to interrupt.
  …The pain of being forcibly fused to you pales in comparison to the pain of interacting with you.
  I assure you, the feeling is mutual.
• Tempting Fate: After repeatedly tempting his luck while fighting the Sixth Angel, Shinji tries to weaponize it:
  "I'll keep an eye out for the core, if you can stab it with the Sonic Glaive while it's charging, we should be able to beat it easily!" The Third makes a good point, and if he focuses on finding weak points, she can focus on kicking this thing's ass! "It doesn't seem to have any ranged attacks so we should be fine." Suddenly the Angel's four orbital clock hand things glow, then each shoot an inky beam that lances towards them while making odd maneuvers.
  "Scheiße!" She summons her AT-field once more to block the beams, the recoil of the impacts on her AT-field pushing the Over the Rainbow back.
  "Uhhh, at least they're coming from one direction, so we know where they're coming from?" The orbitals suddenly detach from the main body and start flying around the area, glowing with energy.
  "Anything else you want to say Third?" She doesn't take her eyes away from the battle, but she is giving him a look in her mind's eye right now.
  "It would really be terrible if we got reinforcements to help us win the battle right now." Really? Well, he's trying at least, the idiot. Suddenly a speck appears on the water's surface out of the corner of her eye.
  "Wait, is that a miniature Viking longboat?"
• There Are No Therapists:
  • When Shinji is showing signs of mental instability, Misato considers consulting one of the NERV's therapists...except that she does not know if they have therapists, and Ritsuko does not see a need to hire shrinks. Later, Rei explains that NERV's previous therapist was arrested for malpractice.
    "Then whom should I inquire about to understand myself?"
    "A therapist?"
    "NERV has lacked a therapist ever since the previous head therapist was arrested for illegally prescribing Methylphenidate to college students in Tokyo-2 who lacked requirements to be prescribed said drugs." Huh, that explains a lot actually.
  • General Taihou from the JSSDF thinks he can counteract NERV's mentally unstable teenagers by recruiting his own trio of seriously disturbed teen pilots...until Mana gleefully asks if her next mission will involve murdering someone. It turns out that she passed her psych evaluation because they lack a base psychologist, and Taihou decides he needs to hire one to "decrazy" his pilots.
• This Is Gonna Suck: After freaking out when she realizes that Israfel's core has more sections than expected, Leader calmly tells Shiki to strap herself in, because they are in for a very bumpy ride.
• Time Loop: It is implied the Minisukas come from different parallel universes spawned by an endless time loop. It is also implied that Leader and Shiki are the original series and Rebuild of Evangelion Asukas, respectively.
• Toast of Tardiness: Mana prepares one as part of a planned Meet Cute for her mission to ensnare Shinji in a Honey Trap.
• Too Dumb to Fool: Nene Matsuzake is The Pollyanna and a Cloud Cuckoolander, and utterly immune to the manipulations of "Sandy", the Angel inhabiting her teddy bear.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • Shinji reacts with cold, seething anger whenever he feels that the Minisukas are being disparaged.
  • When Shiki calls Asuka an idiot, Asuka asks her to say that again in a cool, level tone, which is belied by her utterly enraged expression.
    "You wanna say that to me again you little shit?" Asuka had a deceptively calm tone despite looking like rage made manifest.
• Translation Convention: The Minisukas' strategic meeting in the ninth chapter is translated from "Minisukese":
  (The following scene has been translated from Minisukese in order to improve clarity and reduce confusion. Any confusion or lack of clarity that remains is either intentional or not our problem. Best Wishes- The underpaid translators.)
• Trap Is the Only Option: When the Minisukas deploy the Unit-01 decoy, Ramiel is unsure of how to proceed, suspecting it to be a trap. He then decides to trust in its own strength, blast it, and withstand whatever is triggered.
• Trauma Button: As she is constantly haunted by her failure to protect her Shinji in the Rebuild Universe, Shiki reacts volatilely after witnessing his kidnapping by the Angel, Matarael.
  "Baka Shinji?" Shiki whispers as her eyes grow distant and unfocused. Leader just stares off into the distance where the Angel disappeared. "Baka Shinji? BAKA SHINJI?!" Shiki shouts in an uncharacteristic display of raw anguish, snapping Leader out of her shell shock.
• Trespassing to Talk: Makoto Hyuga nearly jumps out of his skin when he walks into his apartment and finds Rei waiting for him to discuss her ongoing prank war against Prankster. Apparently, it is not an uncommon occurrence.
  "I'm home." He muttered as he entered his apartment, more out of habit. He didn't expect anyone to-
  "Welcome back."
  "Gyah!?" He nearly leapt a foot in the air as he reached for his NERV standard issue self-defense sidearm (now with thirty-three percent fewer fatalities) before he recognized the individual who broke into his home. "Ayanami?! How many times have I told you not to break into my apartment?!"
  "Forty-three." Ayanami answered with her usual uninterested tone. "I wish to consult you, my plan failed and I was unexpectedly counterpranked." Makoto sighed. Of course.
• Tsundere: Shinji has an an entire army of them watching his back 24/7. Shiki is one of the most prominent examples, as she often feigns a demeanor of cold indifference whenever she is around him (despite being the Minisuka that has the most physical contact with him, as she resides within his breast pocket on a daily basis and watches him sleep at night), yet is also aggressively protective of him. When Matarael kidnaps Shinji, Shiki not only leads the charge to save him, but when he's finally recovered, Shiki timidly embraces him (as do the rest of the Minisukas), and becomes bashful whenever Shinji shows her physical affection, such as when he strokes her head. Asuka herself is constantly denying in her head that she finds Shinji attractive, yet becomes violently jealous whenever a prospective female threatens to take him away from her.
• Twitchy Eye:
  • Ritsuko's eye twitches erratically when Leader and Shiki respond to her usual snark by flipping her the bird and then ignoring her utterly.
  • Shinji's eye twitches when Toji calls him "Shin-man", right after Shinji told him—again—to not call him that.
• Unfazed Everyman: In sharp contrast to Asuka's role as the Only Sane Man, Shinji has steadily become borderline unflappable to the absurd occurrences that he's witnessed and experienced following his first battle against Sachiel. Whether he is fighting Angels(or even being kidnapped by them), dealing with miniature—and seemingly omnipresent—redheads that act as his personal bodyguards/army, or is being abruptly assaulted by the Armenian mafia, he is seemingly at ease with the chaos. Asuka herself seems to take notice of this, to a certain extent.
  "Hey Third?"
  "Hmm? What's up Asuka?"
  "Is…this place always so weird?"
  "What do you mean?" He asks with a confused look on his face. She'll take that as a yes.
  "Nevermind." She could feel a headache beginning to form because of all this nonsense.
  • Shinji himself begins to realize that he has become this trope while in captivity by Matarael, when he momentarily questions himself over how he's able to remain calm and composed in spite of the fact that he was kidnapped by an Angel; he then eventually concludes that the number of unusual situations that he often finds himself in have probably left him completely desensitized.
• Unknown Rival: Gendo has convinced himself that Shigeru Aoba is a brilliant, manipulative mastermind who has waltzed his way into NERV and has made himself indispensable to bring about his downfall while posing as a mere grunt. Of course, Aoba is a mere grunt who is completely unaware of his boss' goals and plans.
• Villains Out Shopping: While talking to her shrink, Rei states that her nemesis is undoubtedly planning her next move. Meanwhile, Prankster is trying to make her way back to Tokyo-3 after wandering through the woods for days, whereupon she goes to her secret base to watch old movies.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: When Matarael kidnaps Shinji, Asuka wants to find it and apply her axe to its face until it no longer looks like a face. The countless Minisukas clearly share her feelings, given that they go on a rampage when Shinji is kidnapped and spear Matarael to a bloody pulp.
• Worth It: Fuyutsuki lets Gendo know he has seen the video feed where he asked his son how his puberty is going, and he is not erasing it. He knows Gendo will make him pay for it, but he considers it a small price to pay—the opportunity was simply too good to pass up.
• Worth Living For: Rei realizes that she has something worth living for: revenge. After all, she cannot pay Prankster back if she dies, right?
  Rei: "So you have come, my nemesis. I have come to a sudden realization, I have previously stated to Pilot Ikari that I could be replaced if I die, but I have seen the error in my judgment. Dying before I obtain my vengeance would be meaningless, so I will say this to you, I will survive so I may enact my revenge upon you. This is a promise, my nemesis."
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Baraqijal speaks with a real fake Shakespearean style:
  Baraqijal: Forsooth, the Lilim doth arriveth in their constructs of false flesh. No matter, it shall taketh more than that to striketh down I, Baraqijal the Lightning of God! So shall ye faceth my acidic wrath Lilim! Have at thee!
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: Leader intends to counteract Mana's Honey Trap by intercepting her, kidnapping her and mailing her to Bhutan. Despite the Minisukas' efforts and vigilance, though, they cannot prevent Mana from making it to the school and introducing herself to Shinji.
• You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good!: Prankster declares she has learned how to alter reality during her ordeal in the crazy forests surrounding Tokyo-3, and she will use her newfound ability to prank Rei. Her "comrades" are shocked and incredulous over her wasting her power like that.
• You Didn't Ask: When Shiki demands to know why Leader never mentioned a blue-haired, red-eyed, mentally-unstable Minisuka, Leader dodges the question by pointing out that Shiki would know about it if she even attended the group's meetings.
  "Leader." Oh, right. Leader turned to look at a glaring Shiki. "You wanna explain about how that Ayanami-type-like us never came up?" Her tone indicated that she would be receiving an answer, or else.
  "In my defense, you never come to any of the meetings, so you really aren't up to date on all the going ons."
• You Do Not Want To Know: When Hikari wants to know why Toji and Kensuke have been missing for days, and why Toji's mind seems broken, Kensuke mutters that they "had an extended run-in with the Wild Wyvern of Tatsumi and the Inugami of Inaba", and he warns Hikari against asking questions, because it is a real long and downright bizarre story.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Ritsuko reacts with disbelief when she sees the Minisukas have deployed the Unit-01 decoy.
  "New contact detected! Approaching from Sector-9-Y-5!" Hyuga's announcement got everyone's attention. "Bringing it up on scene 12 now!" Attention was quickly directed to the aforementioned scene to reveal…. Unit-01?
  "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Ritsuko immediately recognized what it was. "What are they doing with the 1:1 Unit-01 Decoy Balloon?" Misato shot her a confused look.
  "The what?" Any explanation Ritsuko could give died in her throat as energy buildup in the Angel was detected.
• Zerg Rush: Obviously, one individual Minisuka is no threat to an Angel. Good thing there are billions of them, and even though their Lances are not as powerful as the real article, they can still pierce through a Core.

---