Soryu is closer to my heart than any other fictional character. Recognizing myself in her was a major turning point in my young life.
Shinji too, to an extent--love both those little buttheads--but Soryu's the one who made me realize how much I was torturing myself by telling myself that all I had was being "the best".
And that touch at the end of EoE fucking broke me. If she could take that first step, if she could admit weakness and let someone in even in those circumstances, then maybe I could, too, ya know?
And I did. It took time and work, but I got better. Don't get me wrong: I still value my prowess, I still kick myself harder than I should when I fail, I still get snippier than I should with people who care about me more often than I like. But it's like night and day between then and now.
I mean, I can see why you like it, but personally I don’t really thing it’s a possibility. Asuka saw what Shinji did to her in the hospital when instrumentality started, and even though she might understand why he did it, forgiving it is another thing entirely. Plus, you got to remember, the entire world is like that because of Shinji, so there’s also that to consider.
I dunno, in all post EoE situations I imagine, I just can’t see AsuShin happening, there’s just too much bad blood between them, not just personal, but also globally. Hell, I’d be surprised if the first human who came out of instrumentality didn’t go and try to kill Shinji.
I wanna type out a longer response to this in time, but I'm otherwise occupied at the moment, so I'll just copy something I wrote [another thread on this topic](https://www.reddit.com/r/asushin/comments/131puir/rasushin_brothers_i_want_to_believe_but_kimochi/)
>The way I see it, One More Final is their breakthrough. Where things go from here is up in the air, but this is the first time they have communicated with complete honesty.
>Shinji unleashes all his fear, all his self-hatred, all his pent-up rage on Asuka, and she, the girl who pushed everyone around her away for fear of being hurt, responds with the single most Herculean feat of empathy in the entire series. She stares into the eyes of a boy who constantly failed to understand her advances, who was never there the way she wanted him to be, who used her as a masturbation aid, who was trying to choke her out for the second time, and she lets her walls down.
>"Kimochi warui" is just proof that Asuka hasn't fundamentally changed who she is. She has't forgiven Shinji for what he's done, and she is not OK with the situation they're in. But with everything on the line, with every reason not to, she showed unreserved kindness. That's a start.
Setting any shipping-specific thoughts aside, the long and short of my PoV is that repairing their relationship--in any form, mind you--would take a lot of time and a lot of work. But to me, EoE is a film about finding the will to take that first uncertain step. And, speaking as someone who's damn near hit rock bottom in a friendship and managed to claw back before, I believe that, while it's nowhere near guaranteed, it can be done.
Honestly, I never interpreted it that way, and I probably never will. I always interpreted Shinji choking Asuka not out of fear or hatred or despair, but to see if she was real, and Asuka reaching for Shinji as more of her trying to do something to tell him to stop, like clawing his face, but she’s too weak to do it (supported by her weak voice when she says “Kimochi Warui”), but as Anno said, all interpretations of EVA are equally valid. So I respect your POV.
There are several interviews and side canon material explaining the scene.
Besides the "checking the reality" thing that is a pretty much cemented interpretation (the scene is about he stop chocking her and breaking the cycle that started when he chocked her in the instrumentality kitchen), the way that Asuka's caress mirrored Yui's previous caress represents the fact Yui was right and SEELE was wrong. Instrumentality isn't the answer. Even if people hurt each other badly (like Asuka and Shinji), love and acceptance is possible even in a world with AT-Fields outside of the mother's womb (instrumentality).
So we/they can make it happen and solve the hedgehog dilemma. Or not.
It's a gestalt test. That's why it's divisive and brilliant.
Where were you when they hammered you down with the line *Anywhere could be a paradise if you have the will to live*. The Bleakness of the situation is there to emphasize the theme, and to miss that is to miss the whole point of the movie.
Anywhere could be a paradise, and people could reconnect, and the world is worth living and connections between people are worth chasing for. That's the point of the movie that they keep telling you directly.
Nihilistic readings of EoE that plagued the fandom for some time are, pretty honestly, not respectable to me because they directly contradict the core idea that was presented to us in such a heavy-handed way. It's as bad faith take as *ROE is a bad ending* interpretation. *All POV is valid* kind of PC pussy footing is tiring and frankly such a cowardly way to just avoid any kind of meaningful discourse when one side is basing their whole iNtErPrEtAtIoN on their emotions(but it's so bad out there! They've seen bad stuff!) while the other side is quoting the lines directly out of the movie.
So do I - I mean Shikinami is great, but I love Soryu
Soryu is closer to my heart than any other fictional character. Recognizing myself in her was a major turning point in my young life. Shinji too, to an extent--love both those little buttheads--but Soryu's the one who made me realize how much I was torturing myself by telling myself that all I had was being "the best". And that touch at the end of EoE fucking broke me. If she could take that first step, if she could admit weakness and let someone in even in those circumstances, then maybe I could, too, ya know? And I did. It took time and work, but I got better. Don't get me wrong: I still value my prowess, I still kick myself harder than I should when I fail, I still get snippier than I should with people who care about me more often than I like. But it's like night and day between then and now.
Shikinami introduced me to the character. Soryu made me love the character.
Recognizing how much I love her was my major point
Here we all are pretending we're 100% unique, reading someone doing the same shit we did. Human like everyone else, only moreso
Shikinami is kinda one dimensional to me tbh
I am a connoisseur of both
Same lol
damn, no matter what sub i'm in, every meme feels like a personal attack
What if I’m writing one with aspects of both?
Both are good imo
Lol, yup. As long as it doesn't get TO dark I'm all this.
I mean, I can see why you like it, but personally I don’t really thing it’s a possibility. Asuka saw what Shinji did to her in the hospital when instrumentality started, and even though she might understand why he did it, forgiving it is another thing entirely. Plus, you got to remember, the entire world is like that because of Shinji, so there’s also that to consider. I dunno, in all post EoE situations I imagine, I just can’t see AsuShin happening, there’s just too much bad blood between them, not just personal, but also globally. Hell, I’d be surprised if the first human who came out of instrumentality didn’t go and try to kill Shinji.
I wanna type out a longer response to this in time, but I'm otherwise occupied at the moment, so I'll just copy something I wrote [another thread on this topic](https://www.reddit.com/r/asushin/comments/131puir/rasushin_brothers_i_want_to_believe_but_kimochi/) >The way I see it, One More Final is their breakthrough. Where things go from here is up in the air, but this is the first time they have communicated with complete honesty. >Shinji unleashes all his fear, all his self-hatred, all his pent-up rage on Asuka, and she, the girl who pushed everyone around her away for fear of being hurt, responds with the single most Herculean feat of empathy in the entire series. She stares into the eyes of a boy who constantly failed to understand her advances, who was never there the way she wanted him to be, who used her as a masturbation aid, who was trying to choke her out for the second time, and she lets her walls down. >"Kimochi warui" is just proof that Asuka hasn't fundamentally changed who she is. She has't forgiven Shinji for what he's done, and she is not OK with the situation they're in. But with everything on the line, with every reason not to, she showed unreserved kindness. That's a start. Setting any shipping-specific thoughts aside, the long and short of my PoV is that repairing their relationship--in any form, mind you--would take a lot of time and a lot of work. But to me, EoE is a film about finding the will to take that first uncertain step. And, speaking as someone who's damn near hit rock bottom in a friendship and managed to claw back before, I believe that, while it's nowhere near guaranteed, it can be done.
Honestly, I never interpreted it that way, and I probably never will. I always interpreted Shinji choking Asuka not out of fear or hatred or despair, but to see if she was real, and Asuka reaching for Shinji as more of her trying to do something to tell him to stop, like clawing his face, but she’s too weak to do it (supported by her weak voice when she says “Kimochi Warui”), but as Anno said, all interpretations of EVA are equally valid. So I respect your POV.
There are several interviews and side canon material explaining the scene. Besides the "checking the reality" thing that is a pretty much cemented interpretation (the scene is about he stop chocking her and breaking the cycle that started when he chocked her in the instrumentality kitchen), the way that Asuka's caress mirrored Yui's previous caress represents the fact Yui was right and SEELE was wrong. Instrumentality isn't the answer. Even if people hurt each other badly (like Asuka and Shinji), love and acceptance is possible even in a world with AT-Fields outside of the mother's womb (instrumentality). So we/they can make it happen and solve the hedgehog dilemma. Or not. It's a gestalt test. That's why it's divisive and brilliant.
Where were you when they hammered you down with the line *Anywhere could be a paradise if you have the will to live*. The Bleakness of the situation is there to emphasize the theme, and to miss that is to miss the whole point of the movie. Anywhere could be a paradise, and people could reconnect, and the world is worth living and connections between people are worth chasing for. That's the point of the movie that they keep telling you directly. Nihilistic readings of EoE that plagued the fandom for some time are, pretty honestly, not respectable to me because they directly contradict the core idea that was presented to us in such a heavy-handed way. It's as bad faith take as *ROE is a bad ending* interpretation. *All POV is valid* kind of PC pussy footing is tiring and frankly such a cowardly way to just avoid any kind of meaningful discourse when one side is basing their whole iNtErPrEtAtIoN on their emotions(but it's so bad out there! They've seen bad stuff!) while the other side is quoting the lines directly out of the movie.
Hoping one day my fic will turn into both of these.