If you could create your own character and put them into NGE

[redbomb]

If you could create your own character and put them into NGE, what would be their name, their race, age, etc? Would it make the story more interesting? Are they a new eva pilot? What would their relationships be with the other characters.?

[Stryker]

This belongs in the fandom section(?), but I'll go with it.

Name: Akim Ya'Ari
Birthplace: Israel (Israel belongs to no single race)
Age: 32
Occupation: NERV Chief of Security
Relationship to other characters:

Ritsuko: Professional
Misato: Professional
Shinji: Professional/Platonic
Asuka: Professional
Rei: Professional/wishes for Platonic
Kaji: Hilarious
Gendou: Professional

I'm not good with stories, so I'ma leave that blank.

[Hyper Shinchan]

Birthplace: Israel (Israel belongs to no single race)

Lol at the Jewish State then, but the name is Hebraic, isn't it? I agree that this probably fits the fandom section better, sometimes I have some fantasies about a female Japanese-Italian pilot but I never really elaborated it because I'm not good at this stuff.

[Xard]

inb4 thousand self-insert characters romancing Asuka/teh Rei

[Stryker]

I agree that this probably fits the fandom section better

The only problem is that nobody reads that anymore. Maybe it should be made into a subforum here, or perhaps it's subforums moved here.

[amitakartok]

From what I can tell, people do still read that section. It's just that an overwhelming percentage of those who read it are just lurking.

As for this topic, it's kinda hard to write OCs into the Evaverse in any significant role: readers are very quick to cry "wish fulfillment/poorly-disguised SI" at any OC that gets a significant role in the story.

I saw in a review on FF.net that two unwritten rules of writing an OC into Eva are not replacing or dating any of the pilots, which closes off pretty much any significance an OC can have, seeing that the story doesn't really have character roles not already filled by someone.

Which is why I propose that if you definitely want an OC protagonist, go with an all-OC cast instead. It gives you greater creative freedom.

[Kendrix]

Isn't this more something for the fanfic forum/wasn't there already a thread concerned with OCs?

The problem with those is that the readers come for the original cast, so your OCs won't interest them at first, and the worst you could do is to try to hard to make the audience like them/ get too escapistic there.

EVA pilots are supposed to be rare, so, better none of those.


Sometimes you just have to insert some for the sake of perspective flip/perspective in general, like, random bystanders, random section 2 agents, people who should be affected by various implications, barely-mentioned minor characters whom you "fill out" ... you might, say have a bookstore owner who initially thought his new blue-haired customer was a bit... off for the sake of having outside perspective on Rei, give Hikari's father a name and a personality to expand on Hikari, or have two random scientists who were involved with him talk about Kaworu for the sake of introducing Kaworu, have one of them seeing him as an unsettling monster and the other finding him to be a charming, cute kid.

Then there's proper, inserted OCs - I say those can be done right, and that this sentiment to immediately stop reading once one shows up isn't justified, but you have to do it right - the trick is to introduce them gradually, to give them only small, "non-threatening" parts at first and them gradually expand on them/flesh them out so that the reader has a chance to get interested in them.
As a rule of thumb, they should serve a function, a function that you can't just take a preexisting character or some extracanonical character for.

Or, put some characters in roles that we know some unknown NERV or SEELE personell must've filled.

In the project I'm currently working on, I've put in a few in minor roles, mostly to bring about certain Situations. And there's also that CI bit of Yui being from a family of conspirators. The plot bunnies that could spring from that, if you only made up those SEELE-affilated relatives.
That would be an opportunity to actually show the individual story and a possible personal reason for someone to follow SEELE's goals, give em more of a face.

[Clover]

lmao

[A.T. Fish]

The safest choice here would be sneaking in another bridge bunny or a new classmate for the children. I'd go for a classmate, preferably replacing Kensuke because really, no one would miss the guy. I haven't thought of any details for the character, but pretty much anything is an improvement over Kensuke.

[Hyper Shinchan]

EVA pilots are supposed to be rare, so, better none of those.

(In Dozle Zabi's tone) Once the Evangelion is mass produced we'll put an end to the rarity of the pilots in no time.

[Lavinius]

A Seele member. There are plenty of them, with no details beyond a bloody integer. And Seele is very interesting.

There is also a vast variety of characters who would not even interact with the central storyline or characters. A poor girl who never did hajj in Instrumentality. Asuka's Bavarian duchess ancestor who sponsored a crusade which found a half-developed angel under Jerusalem. A monk who tried to find out why the odder Jesuits were so obsessed with the shrine to Izanami near Edo. Dux Lactis, alien emperor, finding post-Third Impact Earth and wondering what the hell the Lilim did to their Seed. A gay romance about men working on a pirate radio ship who are randomly killed by Second Impact.

[amitakartok]

Once the Evangelion is mass produced we'll put an end to the rarity of the pilots in no time.

*snickers* Good one.

The way I see it, mass-produced Evas are not exactly a good thing. I honestly can't see Evas going anywhere beyond a limited production run; EoE showed us that the Harpies might have numerical advantage, but a competent pilot in a full production unit still mows them down like grass.


Anyway, back to topic. I agree with Kendrix in that stories where we get seven, eight or even more pilots are rarely good. Either the Angels are going to be outmatched in every fight or someone is constantly playing cannon fodder.

[Clover]

(In Dozle Zabi's tone) Once the Evangelion is mass produced we'll put an end to the rarity of the pilots in no time.

Think of all the hot babes you'd have to sacrifice for such a project. I'd rather have a bunch of angst-ridden milfs piloting their children.

[Mr. Tines]

Isn't this more something for the fanfic forum/wasn't there already a thread concerned with OCs?

I thought there was, beyond the Lilin design contests, but can't spot any in the Fandom or Fanfiction sections.

[Tribblepoo]

A better way to phrase the question might be "what sort of character do you think might add to the narrative of NGE?"

I've seen it crop up in fanfiction from different sources, so I don't know if there's something canon that I missed or if multiple people hit upon the same idea, but I think it's a good one.

Cultists. Specifically, cultists who believe that the "angels" really are god's messengers and that NERV is doing the work of the devil. Of course, they are dead wrong, due to a mix of zealotry and misinterpretation of code-names, but they still pose a threat, especially when they have an insider feeding them info, they make different attempts on the pilots and even make a laughable attempt to sabotage a NERV combat operation.

Of course, such an organization would be short lived as Gendo would have them squashed fairly quickly if they got within arm's reach of Shinji or Rei. But even if he didn't, it would provide a number of great aspects to the series, such as a view of ordinary (if deluded) people in the area and some prime opportunities for Gendo to fuck with Shinji's head even more.

[Mr. Tines]

Cultists. Specifically, cultists who believe that the "angels" really are god's messenger

Swarthy types shouting "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!" no doubt.

"Why are they shouting 'No! No!' at the Angel?" asked Rei.

[Kendrix]

The safest choice here would be sneaking in another bridge bunny or a new classmate for the children. I'd go for a classmate, preferably replacing Kensuke because really, no one would miss the guy. I haven't thought of any details for the character, but pretty much anything is an improvement over Kensuke.

Am I the only one who really likes him? And Aoba.

[A.T. Fish]

Aoba is cool, if there was no Kaji he'd be the coolest guy, and yes, you're probably the one person who really likes Kensuke.

[Kendrix]

C'mon, comic relief nerdery aside, he's a pretty nice, savy guy. He's actually the most reasonable one in the bunch - as long as there's no mechas nearby, that is.

[amitakartok]

There's lots of character development potential for Kensuke.

In one of my stories I PM'd to Kendrix about, I have Kensuke admit that being a mecha fanboy is one thing, being actually qualified for it is another matter entirely. In this case, he still fanboys the Evas but when actually given the opportunity to become a pilot due to critical shortage of personnel, he turns it down specifically because he knows he'd never be as good at it as, say, Asuka.

Plus, he points out that while pilots usually get all the credit for a victory, they'd be unable to do their job without the non-combat support crew keeping their rides in one piece - which is where he comes in as logistics officer (I figured his military fetish would mean he has the mental faculties to memorize lots of small details).

As any programmer who likes his job can tell you, putting a videogame together is almost as satisfying as playing it. You still get to work with the object of your obsession while also leaving the rest to those who are actually better at those tasks than you are. It's a win-win scenario.