[Fic] Genocide Extended: Finale December 8th!

[Atw622]

Will the finale be available on fanfiction.com on Dec 08 Thursday?

[Rommel]

It's up now, and of course I was reminded why I hate FFN. It took almost an hour to fix random formating issues. I suggest you read it using the 1/2 page feature so paragraphs aren't all stretched out.

I've mentioned before that I might work on an epilogue, and I still might. I guess it depends on whether people want more or leave it as is. I could probably write a whole book on the layers of meanings, symbols, etc in every scene (you should see the hundreds of messages in my inbox over the last two years) but I think I've bored User with that stuff long enough :p

Anyway, here goes. Hope you like.

The End of Genocide

[esselfortium]

*jumps up and down screaming*

Fantastic! I had just about given up on ever seeing this finished. I'm glad you stuck with it, Rommel :)

I'll have to give this a read soon.

[AngelNo13Bardiel]

Excellent. Tonight shall be a very good evening, methinks.

[Na7e]

Wow. Thats all I can really say. I wish I could have signed up sooner, this is a amazing story. Beginning to end, you truly have a gift when it comes to writing. I honestly could go on about what was great about the story. But, congrats on finishing this story. In regards to a possible epilogue, I would say make the call on your own. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just it was a satisfying ending that fit the mood perfectly. Once again thank you for finishing this.

[AngelNo13Bardiel]

Having just come back from completing it, I leave you with these thoughts, echoed in my review at FFN:

I...I...

...I have no words. Seriously Rommel, this is so far over my skill level it's not even funny.

Truly, after all this time, you have finally completed this vast and heavy undertaking of yours. And with a conclusion that couldn't be more appropriately epic and satisfying.

And on the subject of a potential epilogue you mentioned above: YES YES YES, for the love of every holy being that has ever *and* will ever exist, YES!

Truly, this one belongs in the hallowed halls of the top-tier of Evafiction. Bravo, sir. You have certainly made one fan supremely happy this night.

On more specific notes, abso-fucking-lutely fantastic job on your action scenes. And your command of wielding the wand of Asuka/Shinji...Jesus man, I bow to you. I even had one of those "the universe sending me a sign" moments when,

SPOILER: Show

during the conversation between Shinji and Asuka merged in the Eva cores,

"If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" came up on my MP3 player and made me shed tears at the connected moments. Only one of three times such a moment has happened in my experience with Evafiction.

I wish I could find the words, but...it just escapes me at the moment. So instead, I'll just settle for this:

[esselfortium]

Damn you, Rommel, for keeping me up past 6 am reading your story.

Amazing work, and a satisfying end to the story.

SPOILER: Show

To be completely honest, for about as long as I had been following this story, I had been expecting and absolutely dreading a much darker end than this. Given just how dark its darkest moments have been, I was very pleasantly surprised that you concluded it without killing Shinji, Asuka, or Misato, at least one of whom I was for a long time all but certain would be a goner.

Thanks for opting against the cheap and shocking way out; it takes far more skill to end something as heavy as this on as hopeful and uplifting a note as you did without it feeling like a forced concession to emotionally invested readers. :P

And for what it's worth, I would gladly read as many epilogues and continuations of this story as you see fit to write. With the amount of depth you've built into the characters and their relationships, you could probably write an entire chapter consisting solely of Shinji and Asuka buying groceries together and still manage to make it interesting. And not in the Seinfeld way.

Thank you again for finishing this.

And now, to bed.

[Chuckman]

Absolutely incredible. I find it difficult to believe you are not a professional writer.

[Rommel]

Three reviews. That is just pathetic. I guess I don't have a reason to do any more with this story. Might as well go back to smut.

[AngelNo13Bardiel]

Three reviews. That is just pathetic.

Yeah, I had a conversation recently with one of your beta-readers (who's now doing the same for me) and we both agreed that it deserves far more attention than it's getting. But I've seen that happen with a lot of really good fics, and it never ceases to make me facepalm.

I guess I don't have a reason to do any more with this story.

Sure you do. Think of the fans who do give a damn about it: we may not be numerous, but we have zeal. And a nice lengthy epilogue that finishes filling in the last details would be most excellent.

And if you don't do it for the fans, at least do it for yourself.

Might as well go back to smut.

We could always use more of that, though. I did enjoy 6 Days a great deal. And I guess PP too, although that was more on a psychological level than a physical one.

[esselfortium]

It is really disheartening that this hasn't gotten more attention. There's got to be a better way to self-promote fanfiction.

[JimmyWolk]

Well, I went ahead and posted a review/rant, dunno if'll do much good though.

Either way, as Bard said, don't let this dishearten you too much. There are still plenty who care, and I'd say it's still one of the most highly regarded fics in the fandom.

[Monk Ed]

*checks calendar* It's been only three days, right? How long is it supposed to take? Do really popular fics get flooded with reviews in the same day?

*is, for the record, still at chapter 1, about 80% through*

[BiQ]

FWIW, I haven't even read the last chapter yet. Because I won't have time to do it before... christmas, I guess. And I'm afraid I'm gonna need to at least skim through chapter 13 first.

[Bagheera]

It took me awhile to read it all, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. I think that was the only iteration of the MP Eva battle I've seen that involved Shinji and Asuka and didn't trivialize her in the process. The fact it was well-written was just icing by that point.

I liked the bit within the cores. The ending there was a little pat, but it still seemed genuine throughout; very nice.

The use of OC characters was excellent; they never once eclipsed the main characters in any fashion, and yet their stories were still relevant and interesting. I want to know more about them.

My one complaint is that we didn't get 3I. The core scenes partially made up for that, but even still SEELE's plan seemed awfully haphazard (even moreso than in canon) and Gendo was shockingly unprepared for this sort of contingency. Rei was also kind of left hanging, a plot thread with no real resolution.

But that is a minor complaint. Shinji and Asuka were the core of the story (ha hah!), and they were rock solid. Fantastic stuff. I for one would very much like to see more in the way of epilogues and such, as the ending we got was sufficient but only just. I want to see what happens when they wake up and start moving forward. I want to see how they rebuild their lives. I want to see how Rei figures into the mix, and if she gets her chance to reconcile with Asuka. I want all of these things. I want them very much.

But if you go back to writing Eva smut I won't complain, since your efforts are the best examples of such I've encountered in well over a year of searching. Be it Genocide or porn it's a damn fine day when I encounter something from you, so I count it as a win no matter what you decide to do.

[Na7e]

It really is a tragedy that people don't read this. It's a great work. Is there anyway we could get it on TvTropes list of recommended fics? It would be a great way for it to get extra exposure.

[EveryoneGotTurnedIntoTang]

It already is. And recommended by three people, too.

We really need Gregg Landsman and Chuckman promoting this fic on their profiles.

Anyways, marathoned this fic, and I'm surprised it's not an official Evangelion novel series. It more than deserves to be, so people aren't stuck reading Anima.

The writing is excellent; it's very original-flavor and engaging, and it certainly sticks to canon very closely while carving out its own path with plenty of detail. The quality drops a bit occasionally, but other than that, it's an exceptional fic that's very underrated. Definitely one of the best Eva fics I have read.



As for an epilogue, YES PLEASE WRITE ONE. I liked the ending (surprised that all the main characters got off surprisingly easy, so I praise you for not going the SOMEBODY HAS TO SUFFER route), but there's still a lot left hanging, such as what happens to Keiko and Rei, SEELE and NERV, Hikari, Kensuke, and everybody else in Tokyo-3, and Nakayima and Miko. I would also like an "After the End" bit for Shinji and Asuka to give us a look at their relationship after the conclusion of Genocide.

I'll like to congratulate you for spending ten years on this masterpiece, because it turned out beautiful in the end. Thank you for writing this.

[soul.assassin]

Three reviews. That is just pathetic. I guess I don't have a reason to do any more with this story. Might as well go back to smut.

In my case, I only had one review per chapter, but that's okay with me; even one review is enough to persuade me to keep on going despite the snail's pace.

I'd better DL the Kindle version for offline reading.

[Chuckman]

It already is. And recommended by three people, too.

We really need Gregg Landsman and Chuckman promoting this fic on their profiles.

I added a link to my profile (it's in my favorites but the way ff.net sets up the profile pages, people have to click a link to see them...) and I'm adding recommending it everywhere people post eva recommendations.

I want the epilogue, too.

Although I admit... I enjoy the smut. I was wondering if that was the same Rommel.

[Rommel]

Thank you all for the support and the reviews. If I ever get to the epilogue I might just post it here and not bother with FFN. For now I've marked this story as complete.

I know one of the things people have said is that the SEELE/NERV plot thing was somewhat lacking. This had to be one of those tough decisions made for the sake of the story. The ending was also supposed to be Asuka/Shinji (and I have an alternated one, too) so taking too long or putting too much focus on other stuff would have diminished the emotional impact of the intended ending. I'll probably go back and flesh out the aftermath for NERV a little more in a revision but don't expect me to spell everything out.

As for Rei, her ending really happens when she refuses to let herself be manipulated by her feelings for Keiko. While Not-Kaworu is obsessed with Asuka and rejection, and Gendo, who will sacrifice everything to get back to Yui, Rei is the exact opposite. She has already accepted that she has to let go even of someone she cares about, and that she can't allow the fear of losing that someone to dictate the choices she makes.

Shinji was tricky in that the ending had to show rather than tell how far he had come. The last scene is an opposite of the first, when he tries to wake her up out of desperation. He doesn't need to do that anymore. He is a grown up now.

Anyway, if anyone want to discuss the finer points I'm open to it. Like I said, I'll probably get around to doing a revision some time soon. And yes, I know I've been talking about a Genocide-based lemon so I may get to that. I had hoped for contributions (especially from a certain Sage) but with the lack of reviews I don't think that will happen.