I dunno about Asuka's quick turnaround. It seems perhaps too abrupt. I mean, I'm
sure she could come to realize that her method of interacting with others is a
bit harsh, and downright bitchy at times, but just like (snaps fingers) that? At
the end of the series, she was hardly close to thinking that, so I find it hard
to believe that one vague dream could do this: could elevate herself to that
level of self-understanding. Maybe you should start out slower, just have Asuka
apologize to Shinji, and maybe not go too far into the "I'm used to being mean,
but I won't anymore" speech. It feels like your character development is rushed.
I mean, this is something you could spread out over the course of your entire
story, you know?
Leif Johnson
I have this strange aversion to extreme pain, okay?- Ranma Saotome
Now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.- Dark Helmet
----- Original Message -----
From: W*ING Higley <higley@cephiro.com>
To: <ffml@anifics.com>; <cactusnick@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2001 8:39 PM
Subject: [FFML] [EVA] Alive In The World
All characters TM & copyright 1997 by GAINAX.
W*ING Higley Presents:
Evangelion: Alive In The World
*****
The End Of Evangelion:
He was choking her, anger and hatred plain in his eyes. He wanted her to die,
she had to die.
But she was already dead, wasn't she? She had felt her eye explode, felt her
arm shred, felt a dozen spears pierce her body and end her pathetic existence.
No, she had been dead. But he had willed her back to life. He had been given
the choice to resurrect the one person whom he needed more than anyone else, and
Shinji had chosen her.
Shinji had chosen Asuka Langley-Sohryu. Not Misato, not Rei, not Kaworu. He
had chosen her. And now he was killing her again.
She stared at him. There was so much pain in his eyes. Calmly, she placed her
hand on his cheek. It was time to end the pain.
He continued choking her, oblivious to this offer of love. She slowly caressed
his face, not caring whether or not she died.
Finally, he took notice. He slowly released his grasp on her neck and stared at
his hands in horror. And then, he began to cry.
"I feel sick..." And then everything went white....
*****
Asuka was floating now. Or at least it felt like she was floating. Everything
was pitch black.
"Mama?"
"I am hear, my child." Came a disembodied voice from beyond the darkness.
"Mama, you are here!" Asuka shouted in happiness.
"Of course, my daughter. I have always been here."
The younger girl swallowed. "What I just saw..."
"Was a vision of the future, yes. It is how things will turn out if you
continue to follow your present course."
A feeling of horror began to creep down Asuka's neck. "The mind rape, the third
impact, the murder of Misato....my treatment of Shinji?"
"Yes, my child."
"Is...is there nothing I can do to prevent it?" Asuka asked helplessly.
"I would not have shown you all of this if you did not have the power to change
it. But to do so, you will have to change as well. You cannot continue to be
the selfish child I have watched you become in the years since my death."
Shame filled Asuka. "I'm sorry, mama. I...I miss you so much..."
"I know, my daughter. It is my fault that things have turned out this way. I
thought suicide was an escape, and in my own selfishness failed to see what it
would do to you."
Asuka felt something begin to pull at her. "Mama, what's happening?"
"Our time here is short. Soon you must return to the real world, and this will
all seem like some strange dream."
"NO! Mama, I don't want to lose you again!"
"You will not lose me, child. Know that I will always be with you, always
protecting you in Unit-02. That much you will carry with you to the waking
world, along with the knowledge that you must change if you are to set things
right."
Asuka felt herself begin to be fully pulled away, back into consciousness. "I
will, mama. I promise, I will change!"
"Goodbye, my daughter. I love you so much...." the voice said as it faded.
"I love you too, mama...."
*****
Episode 8: Asuka Strikes!
Asuka gasped as she awoke. She stared blurry-eyed at her surroundings She was
sitting upright in a hospital gurney. Shinji was there, as were Misato and a
nurse.
"Wh-where am I?" she managed to choke out.
"Oh, thank god you're alright," Misato said in relief. "You're in the sick bay
of the aircraft carrier." She frowned. "You were in a light coma for a few
hours."
"What happened?" Asuka breathed.
Shinji answered. "After the two battleships blew up the Angel, there was some
kind of power surge. You blacked out and I couldn't wake you." Asuka slowly
realized that there were tears in Shinji's eyes.
Asuka stared at Shinji and Misato in confusion. Power surge? But she had been
with...who had she been with? Asuka tried to remember the strange dream she had
had, but all that came to mind were a series of images: a beach, pale-skinned
teenagers, her mother hanging from a closet coat rack, kissing Shinji, Shinji
telling her she needed him.
Asuka Langley-Sohryu shook her head in frustration. Try as she might, she could
not remember all the bits and pieces of her dream, save for the fact that
something was terribly wrong with NERV and it's hierarchy, and that her mother
was not truly dead.
"Asuka," Misato asked, "is everything alright?"
Asuka waved her off. "I'll be fine, Misato. I just need some time."
*****
Shinji lay curled in a fetal position with his face towards the wall, trying to
forget about the events of the past day, losing himself in the peaceful rhythms
provided by his DAT. As the boat sailed through the night, Shinji tried to
forget about Asuka and her harsh treatment of him, and tried to forget how she
had blacked out after the power surge.
He was mildly surprised by the sudden shaft of light that appeared in the
darkened room. Stopping the tape and rolling over, he was surprised to see
Asuka standing there, once again wearing her yellow sun dress.
"Mind if I come in?"
He nodded silently.
She smiled and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Shinji was
mildly surprised as she sat at the foot of his bunk. He rolled over fully and
sat-up, looking at her.
"Why aren't you eating dinner with the others?" Asuka asked.
"Oh...I just...didn't feel like eating, after everything that's happened, you
know?"
She nodded. "Fighting Angels can take your appetite away, I guess." She
swallowed and looked hesitant. "I...I came to apologize."
Now Shinji became confused. "Apologize? For what?"
She frowned and stared at the ground. "For the way I treated you earlier, I'm
sorry."
"Why would you be sorry?"
Asuka looked at him in shock. "I treated you like crap, and I hardly know you.
I had no right to do that."
Shinji shook his head. "It's alright, Asuka. Everyone treats me like crap, I'm
used to it."
She stared at the boy incredulously. "Shinji, that's not right. No one should
treat you like crap."
He shook his head. "No, it-" He was cut off as she placed a finger over his
lips.
"Shinji, let me tell you something. When I was six, my mother killed herself,"
Shinji grew wide-eyed at this, "and I found the body. Ever since then, I've...I
don't know...tried to compensate for the pain I felt by acting like a major
bitch. I've been obnoxious and arrogant to everyone around me, even to total
strangers like you."
She removed her finger and instead placed her hand on his shoulder. "But today,
when I got hit with the power surge and blacked out, it made me realize that I
was mean to you for no reason. I'm sorry about that."
"A-alright." It was the best response Shinji could come up with, at the moment.
"And," Asuka continued, "I want to start over. I don't want to be antagonistic
towards you." She took her free hand and held it out to Shinji.
"Friends?"
He smiled. "Friends. And...I'm sorry about your mother."
She smiled back. "Thank you." Still holding his hand, she twisted her fingers
around so that she was clasping his hand instead of shaking it.
Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, Asuka said, "By the way, I'm new to Tokyo-3.
Do you think that maybe, after school on Saturday, you'd like to take me on a
tour of the city?"
Not believing what he was hearing, the stunned Shinji managed a weak nod.
"Good. And maybe afterwards, we could get dinner and go to a movie or
something."
Shinji stopped breathing. "You mean, like a date?" He asked, blushing.
Asuka smiled again as she got up and headed towards the door. "Of course like a
date, baka. What else did you have in mind?"
As she headed out the door, she stopped and turned. "I'm staying in the NERV
barracks for now until I can get permanent housing. Pick me up at 3:00, okay?"
Still stunned, Shinji nodded.
"Good, see you then." Feeling extra playful, Asuka decided to blow him a kiss.
She watched in satisfaction as he simultaneously passed out and developed a
nose-bleed.
*****
Author's Notes:
This is an exploratory fic. I first posted this to fanfic.net and wanted to
gauge overall reaction (universally postive over at fanfiction.net) before
committing to this.
There are several ways I could go with this. Asuka does not have full knowledge
of everything that will happen. More like a vague precognition of things that
are to come. Some ideas I've tossed around:
1) A straight-out WAFFy retelling where Asuka seduces Shinji while steering him
(and herself) out of harm's way and trying to prevent the 3rd Impact.
2) Asuka fakes her own death in the Magma Diver episode and begins a guerilla
movement to stop SEELE.
Project Updates:
I'm toying with the idea of re-writing U-Jin's Ranma Diaries to correct some of
the complaints Red Death raised in his/her review on the Ranma Super Highway.
We'll focus more on development and characterization this time around.
"Melted Hearts," the authorized sequel to Jim Bader's "Fifth Fiancee" one-shot
is pretty much dead unless I can get a major boost of inspiration regarding
where to take the plot. I suppose I could have *Nabiki* get kidnapped by
Saffron instead of Akane. Odd that no fanfic author has ever (apparently)
explored that idea.
"Fangs of Love" was recently publised on Fanfiction.net, and has inspired me to
try and revive "Bloodlust In Nerima," which has Akane chosen as the next Slayer
after Faith dies with Happosai as her Watcher. We'll see how this goes
depending on how I react to the musical/Thanksgiving episode of Buffy, which
will either kill my fandom for that show or re-affirm it.
We All Shine On,
W*ING Higley
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