Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Postby IgRAzm » Tue Jun 30, 2020 11:24 am

I was wondering if anyone have read stories in which Asuka's high IQ is explored in-depth. I've found that aspect of hers underdeveloped in the series, but I can see why. Her seemingly impossibly early graduation was done, likely, to emphazise the gap between her and her peers, and at the end of the day I can't really call her portrayal as a stupid person, not at all, she seems smarter than Shinji in most scenarios, and in those she isn't, usually her flaws come into play.

Anyways, it's just what I'd like to see a fic where it's more integral to the story. Oh, and what I mean by that is it having a clear effect on her decisions and behaviour, in a distinctive character trait-way. Most likely done through POV. Overthinking stuff on the level deeper than most adults, yet having a lot of blind spots and issues, what her intelligence can't possibly resolve on it's own.
I can't promise what I won't borrow any ideas from these fics, though. Writing her is harder than I could've ever expected, especially when I want to put her in an unusual situation. Of all the characters in fics, it appears to me Asuka has some of the most drastic differences in what she is deep down, whenever I see her portrayed. It's not like it's rare what the reason is simply her being misunderstood by writers, but even when their portrayals are really spot on... With how well she is written in the series, there is still, always, so much speculation and ambiguity.

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Postby Mr. Tines » Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:11 pm

I attempted to bring out that side of her character in the major fix-fic I wrote, being a mix of my recollections of my own teenage years, and a side of being MC, rather than nerfed by being MC's foil, and thus able to do her thing.
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Re: Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Postby IgRAzm » Tue Jun 30, 2020 1:01 pm

Thanks, I'll check it out then.

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Re: Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Postby pwhodges » Tue Jun 30, 2020 1:26 pm

Bagheera's Ghosts of Evangelion, while not majoring on it, does acknowledge Asuka's intelligence.
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Re: Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Postby IgRAzm » Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:41 pm

View Original Postpwhodges wrote:Bagheera's Ghosts of Evangelion, while not majoring on it, does acknowledge Asuka's intelligence.


I've read it just a week or two ago, and it's very good and I liked her portrayal. It's not a flaw to me, really, it's just about the way the story is told, in a way of interactions what are spread out over time. I like the realism of that fic and characters' behaviours, but...
What I'm looking for,what wasn't quite there, is probably the analytical soul-searching of sorts. How people who hate themselves think, how different it is inherently in comparison to the healthy people. While we see how Shinji reacts to things and gets in a downward spiral over a prolonged time, with Asuka we get a deep introspection only when she is on the verge of snapping. I'm wondering how people can write her when she is doubting the things what she values, what she thinks deep inside after coming to Tokyo 3, how is her thought process going when she, simultaneously with behaving pretty normally, also constantly convinces herself what being a pilot will carry her in life. I'm also wondering how would she cope with things if her loss of the Eva was going differently, for example if she had an analogy of Leliel thing in the middle of the series... I guess it also comes down to being a divergence from canon rather than post EoE fic, to her figuring out how to begin dealing with her issues, rather than doing a desparate clean start.
Maybe part of me is trying to do something that one guy, who didn't see any good qualities in her and there was a long discussion, I happened to stumble upon it. I think I'm much better at relating to the character than he was, at least, but it's still always interesting to get a deeper understanding, if possible.

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Re: Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Postby Derantor » Tue Jun 30, 2020 4:42 pm

@IgRAzm: I don't think there is something quite like what you are looking for. Portraying her intelligence mostly boils down to giving her skills and informing the reader that she is studying or working in Academia in some capacity in the fics I read. The only thing I can think of that somewhat tackles what you are interested in is Vengeance, but that relies on a completely OOC Hannibal-Lectoresque Shinji. The latter part of chapter two features Asuka heavily questioning her beliefs, which might give you some inspiration.

I've skimmed your fic, and I think you nailed her down pretty well. Maybe made her a little too self-aware and friendly too fast, but given the point in the series you have chosen, it's probably allright. Balancing her character is always a walk on a tight-rope. Keep on writing - I'm interested to see how you handle her when things start getting ugly.
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Postby IgRAzm » Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:51 pm

@Derantor

Very well, I might check this out.

Glad you like how it went. I'm hoping it will turn out in-character enough for them all when things settle a bit. I have a throughline in there deep down, really. Just have to force myself not to make new big impulsive changes after I really come back to writing. It will be soon.

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Re: Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Postby silvermoonlight » Wed Jul 01, 2020 4:05 am

You may want to check out https://www.fanfiction.net/u/957082/jcmoorehead his stories all hint to her smarts. ^_^
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Postby IgRAzm » Wed Jul 01, 2020 11:44 am

@silvermoonlight All of them? Ok, I'll follow him.
Hmm, it seems he is the guy who reviewed a lot of the fics I've read...

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Re: Asuka as a genius in fanfiction

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Postby silvermoonlight » Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:50 am

View Original PostIgRAzm wrote:@silvermoonlight All of them? Ok, I'll follow him.
Hmm, it seems he is the guy who reviewed a lot of the fics I've read...


Yeah all of them ^_^
Anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live. After all, you are alive, so you will always have the chance to be happy.

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Sequel As The Divine Light Breaks For download version please go to AO3

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Postby Derantor » Thu Jul 02, 2020 9:11 am

If you heaven't read it, Evangelion: Genocide is also chock-full with introspection. I'd warn you in advance, though. It might kill your drive to write, as it already does pretty much everything to perfection.
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Postby IgRAzm » Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:29 pm

Genocide is one of the first Eva fics I've read, and is actually a big source of inspiration, being my favorite one. I should really reread it, actually.
I managed to recover from it and still begun to write, somehow. Maybe it's cos of my approach to the thing, I very much laser-focused myself on expressing the idea, so it's just managing to accomplish the main stuff I wanted to convey. At the same time I don't really believe in my abilites with making a good execution, a totally finished story. Basically, I'm trying to own me being a noob writer. Hopefully, I will get sometime to the point when I can rewrite everything what warrants it. But until then, I'll just try my best with keeping an eye on the characters, occasionally spewing out crazy ideas and playing off the original series. Unlikely what it will turn out as well put together as Rommel's fic, but even he/she rewrote stuff.

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Postby amitakartok » Fri Jul 03, 2020 4:06 pm

The closest I ever came to this in my ongoing fic is an Asuka who focuses more on pursuing an explicitly military career path, rather than academic success. As such, she's not any further ahead academically than her peers but is an exceptionally skilled junior pilot even in non-Eva mechas (in fact, she initially considers the Evas a stepping stone in her career - but as you can probably guess, fate has other ideas...), knows her chosen profession enough to not just identify and describe certain experimental weapons on sight but have NERV personnel actually consult her for suggestions on how to improve the Evas' equipment (in fact, she was hired on as a pilot specifically because she can give a second opinion from a non-civilian, non-scientific POV), and is a very good tactician who improvises and adapts on the fly during a fight (in particular, figuring out counters to the Israfel twins' tactics by observing their behavior and coordinating the others to exploit that).

All due to the butterfly of being raised by a military officer father who actually gives a damn about her, reining her arrogance in from a young age enough that other people are actually willing to listen to what she has to say, rather than dismiss her as an arrogant brat who thinks she's hot shit. Of course, that doesn't mean she doesn't have any arrogance in her, she just knows that if she wants to succeed in a professional capacity, she'd better put a lid on her attitude when it's uncalled for.
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Postby IgRAzm » Fri Jul 03, 2020 5:17 pm

@amitakartok That sounds interesting. I imagine she comes off very differently with all these changes, but the very core is still like in the original. I might read it. It seems it has the half-life setting, if the fic I'm seeing RN is what you're referencing. I quite like that setting.

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Postby amitakartok » Fri Jul 03, 2020 6:05 pm

It is, but mostly for the backstory and worldbuilding. In the here and now, it's still very much an Evangelion story with the same characters and eventual tone.

It's just that this time around, the core formative reason for Asuka's personality wasn't Kyoko's suicide, but Kyoko getting gunned down while shielding a two year old Asuka with her body, leaving Asuka to grow up with a combination of survivor's guilt and thirst for vengeance. Hence why this Asuka wants to go professional soldier: she wants influence and/or authority to track down the killers, who were never caught (SEELE is involved). Her life goal is to put a bullet in the head of whoever offed her mom, everything else is secondary, especially since her dad being constantly shifted from posting to posting means they move around a lot and thus she isn't able to make lasting friendships until the rest of the Eva cast. It's not a healthy way to live and her dad knows that but, having assumed Misato's role as the scarred Second Impact survivor, he's not in any position to criticize due to having his own baggage to deal with.
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