History Fanfic / HERZ

* HurtingHero: Shinji and Asuka had suffered terribly due to their mothers’ deaths, their fathers abandoning them, being turned into child soldiers and forced to pilot giant robots to fight alien monsters. Now they are adults and are more emotionally stable, but they are still forced to fight and still bear some psychological scars, with Asuka occasionally having nightmares about the past.

* TheHero: Shinji. He tries to be a good person and making the right thing, and the fate of humankind rests on his shoulders.

* TheyDo:
** Asuka and Shinji got married between the events of the series and the first chapter.
** Touji and Hikari between the FinalBattle and the epilogue.

* TriangRelations: Shinji/Asuka/Kurumi is a Type 4: Shinji and Asuka are HappilyMarried. Kurumi likes Shinji but her feelings are unrequited.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: In a chapter, Asuka reminds Shinji that she knows that he did in the hospital when she was comatose.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex:
** Shinji and Asuka are depicted as having a passionate and loving sex life frequently.
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the case of Shinji and Kurumi, whose one encounter sunk their relationship before it even set sail (Kurumi had dulled him with alcohol to get into his pants). Anytime she tries to seduce Shinji, things don't go well (especially if [[ClingyJealousGirl Asuka]] finds out).

* AdultFear: Shinji and Asuka fear that unless SEELE is stopped, their daughter will have no future and no chance to grow up and be happy. Ergo, they are set on the plan despite the risks.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Rei is blue-haired. Misato is purple-haired, but her hair is already getting grey.

* BlueIsHeroic: Rei’s robot is blue.

* NotSoDifferent: In chapter 4, a GEIST member fears his organization and SEELE are not so different, since the blood of young people is being spilled to fulfill their plans, too.

* KissingUnderTheInfluence: In the backstory, Kurumi kissed Shinji when he was heavily inebriated [[spoiler:and then had her way with him.]] She hoped that would lead to them becoming a couple, but instead, it [[RealityEnsues backfried]], as Shinji still loved Asuka and he was so disgusted by what happened that he started to actively avoid Kurumi.

''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'' is an AlternateUniverse FlashForwardFic ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfic written by Toh Ee loong.

''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'' is an AlternateUniverse {{Continuation}} ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfic written by Toh Ee loong.

* ReverseMole: Did you think that [[spoiler:Kaji working for three sides were overkill in the original series? Here he was working for four sides. When GEIST learnt about SEELE approached to him and made him an offer.]]

* FrickinLaserBeams: In order to gain the upper hand over the Evangelions, many countries built positron cannons. [[spoiler:When they were finally used, the MP-Evas were unable to dodge their beams.]]

* BadDreams: Even after twelve years, Asuka still has nightmares about the Angel War where she relives her defeats, her failures, her humiliation, her MindRape... and the FinalBattle where she lost her left eye, got her right arm cut in half, was impaled, torn into pieces and eaten alive.

* WeddingDay: In chapter 7, Kurumi examines pictures and watches records of Shinji and Asuka’s wedding.

One of the granddaddies of Evangelion fanfiction, HERZ is a mix of character drama and international intrigue. Everyone feels in-character and a logical extension of their canon selves at the time of End of Evangelion. The politics of the story are a real draw, presenting a colourful global setting where various factions are competing to realize their own vision of the future. The question isn't just "Is Third Impact going to be averted?" but "Even if it's averted, what sort of world will we be living in?"

Check ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'', ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionR'', ''Fanfic/ScarTissue'', ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'' and ''Fanfic/WalkingInTheShadowOfDreams'' to see other Eva continuation fics. Go to ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'', ''Fanfic/TheChildOfLove'', ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'', ''Fanfic/HigherLearning'', ''Fanfic/TheIkaris'', ''Fanfic/NobodyDies'', ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'', or ''Fanfic/MobileFighterEvangelion'' to see other AU Eva fics. Check ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'', ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'', ''Manga/ReTake'', ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'' to see PeggySue Eva stories. Go to ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'', ''Fanfic/GodsAngelsAndKings'', ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'', ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'', ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'' and ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'' if you are interested in crossovers.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: In a chapter Asuka reminds Shinji that she knows that he did in the hospital when she was comatose.
* AFatherToHisMen: Misato is the Director of HERZ. She raised Shinji and Asuka –although the latter moved out after the events of End of Evangelion-, and at least once she notes Shinji, Asuka and Rei are like the children she never had.
* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Rei after absorbing her larger body –Lilith’s- and Adam.]]

* AbortedArc: In 1999 the author announced he was planning for a prologue. Few months later he announced that "HERZ: Past as Prologue will be on hiatus until further notice." Shortly after he wrote a chapter set in 2016... And that was the end of it. The prologue chapter is nearly impossible to find nowadays.
* AbusiveParents: Shinji and Asuka suffered due to their abusive parents ditching them right after their mothers' deaths. That is the reason that they got messed-up during the Angel War, took six long years before becoming a couple and are still traumatized in their late twenties. At least Gendo is genuinely remorseful and trying to atone for his actions, but Asuka's father is completely absent from his daughter's life.
* AccidentalPervert: In chapter 4 Shinji enters the men’s locker room, hears someone showering in one of the stalls. He thinks it must be Asuka so that he strips his plug suit and walks in the shower stall… and on Kurumi. Subverted because it was a trap.

* ActionDad: Shinji abhors death and violence, but he's a mecha pilot and a veteran soldier -he's been fighting for twelve years-, and he ''will'' put a bullet in the head of whoever tries to hurt his wife Asuka and their daughter Akiko.

* AdultFear: Shinji and Asuka fear that unless SEELE gets stopped, their daughter will have no future and no chance to grow up and be happy. Ergo, they are set on the plan despite of the risks.
* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: In chapter 2 Asuka wakes up after a terrible nightmare. As he reassures her, Shinji strokes her red bangs.

* AllThereInTheManual: The author included supplementary, world-building notes after every chapter and in a F. A. Q. in his site.

* AndThatLittleGirlWasMe: When Rei tells Akiko how her father -Shinji- saved her mother -Asuka- twelve years ago thanks to the help of a friend of his Akiko quickly guesses Rei is his father's friend her aunt is talking about.
* AngerBornOfWorry: In chapter 10, [[spoiler:Shinji got kidnapped.]] Asuka was so worried she was about to explode, but she tried to keep her emotions under control.

-->'''Rei''':''"Do you understand?"''

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Although Asuka seems being always angry, there many times where it is clear how much she loves Shinji:
** In chapter 2 she wakes up from a nightmare. Shinji hugs her while she cries and she pleads him never leaving her.
** Later she deems necessary deploying Unit 01… and she wants to deploy all Evas together with it to protect Shinji.
** In chapter 10 [[spoiler:Shinji got kidnapped]] and Asuka was barely keeping herself under control.

* BabiesEverAfter: Akiko after the canon events. And in the last chapter [[spoiler:Shinji and Asuka discover that the former got the latter pregnant again. They call their second daughter Sakiko.]]

* BadDreams: Even after twelve years Asuka still has nightmares about the Angel War where she relives her defeats, her failures, her humiliation, her MindRape... and the FinalBattle where she lost her left eye, got her right arm cut in half, was impaled, tore into pieces and eaten alive.
* BathSuicide: In chapter ten it’s revealed that Shinji attempted this in the past because he believed Asuka hated him.
* BattleCouple: Shinji and Asuka, although due to Unit 02 getting repaired they are not seen battling in tandem until [[spoiler:the FinalBattle when they sortie together to fight SEELE.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Kensuke wished being an Eva pilot. He managed becoming a jet fighter pilot, which it is almost so good in his opinion… but it entails that Asuka is his superior officer.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Although they resolved it several years ago, Shinji and Asuka still have some good, ''[[Anime/MazingerZ Kouji/Sayaka-worthy]]'' bickering every so often, such like after the [[spoiler:FinalBattle]] when Asuka complained about [[spoiler:Shinji getting her knocked up]] again.
* BeneathTheMask: Asuka had created a mask of harshness and abrasiveness to hide her real, vulnerable inner self after her mother’s suicide. However it prevented her from feeling her mother and Shinji’s love. Rei eventually convinced her that she had to drop it and open up to be loved back and be happy.
** Some people like Kurumi wondered why Shinji had fallen for such a fiery woman. Shinji liked Asuka’s fierceness but he had also seen her real self under the mask.

** Asuka has several buttons, most of them related to her husband: Do not flirt with Shinji, try to steal him away or act pervert around him. Asuka will ensure it is hazardous to your health. Do not poke fun at her relationship with Shinji, suggest to her face they have S&M sex or make Nazi jokes around her. Kurumi is constantly pressing the first button. Kensuke gleefully punches the second one every time he opens his mouth.
** Rei. Threatens her niece’s life and she will liquefy you. Not a hyperbole.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Shinji hates violence and killing and he fervently wishes being a good person, husband and father. And part of his definition for that means being there for his family and protecting them. And he will shoot whoever threatens them.

* BigBad: SEELE. In 2015 they tried to culminate their plan to merge all human souls into a single being. They failed and spent the next twelve years trying to build more Evangelions to carry out their goals, funding black projects and terrorist organizations.

* BigEgoHiddenDepths: Asuka is a temperamental, prideful, boisterous woman, and some people wonder why Shinji married her. However she is a very fragile person who suffered terribly due to her mother's madness and suicide and her father abandonment, and Shinji knows that she is the only person who can understand him and help him.

* BigNo: Exclaimed by [[spoiler:the SEELE members when the Children took control of their newest MP-Evas.]] The exact wording was “This is impossible!” but the spirit was the same.

* BittersweetEnding: After the last battle [[spoiler:Shinji and Asuka are alive –and expecting!-. Most of canon characters have survived, Yui and Kyoko’s souls have been released and SEELE has been defeated once and for all. However Rei seals herself together with the Evas, Adam, Lilith and the Lance to ensure that they will never be used again, which means she has to say goodbye to her family forever.]]

** Asuka threatens Kensuke with telling his girlfriend about his pervert exploits back in middle school if he does not stop taunting her.
** Shinji and Asuka needed a babysitter, and Shinji thought their only recourse was Kurumi. Kurumi agreed to look after Akiko… if Shinji kissed her.
* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Subverted. The Chinese Government tried to build its own Eva in a top secret facility. The monster went out of control, obliterated the facility and started to rampage through China. A Chinese commanding officer pleaded Misato dispatching her Evas. She retorted she would deploy them… in exchange for information on where the other Evas were being built. When the officer complained about it being blackmail, her reaction was "So what?"
-->'''Commander Hai''':''"This is an emergency. Many lives are at stake. Your charter allows for action now."''\\
'''Misato''':''"Indeed."''\\

'''Commander Hai''':''"What is your price?"''\\
'''Misato''':''"Information. On where the other Evas are being built. All of them."''\\
'''Commander Hai''':''"You can't expect us to know all that. And what makes you think.."''\\
'''Misato''':''"..that you would know? [...] That thing was built in Lop Nor. Using technology from SEELE and Chinese military resources. I'm sure this will be an interesting revelation before the UN Organs and the world media..."''\\
'''Commander Hai''':''"That's blackmail!"''\\
'''Misato''':''"I'm also perfectly happy to let this thing continue its grand tour through your heartland and population centres. I don't have to do anything until the UN to get its paperwork done or until it reaches Japan itself..."''
* BloodKnight: Although Asuka is not an active pilot anymore she still is a soldier and enjoys fighting.

* BreakTheCutie: Before the beginning of the story Shinji had been so thoroughly broken that he [[spoiler:attempted to kill himself at one point.]]

* BreakThemByTalking: Asuka did this to Shinji accidentally seven years before the beginning of the story. [[spoiler:She wanted to go back to Germany. He pleaded her staying and told he needed her. Unfortunately Asuka thought he was mocking her, so she called him out on everything he had done and said she hated him.]] It broke him down, but she did not know it at the time.

* BrokenAce: Asuka was the best Eva pilot… and after fighting the MP-Evas she lost one eye, one arm and her body got scarred permanently. She almost died and lost her mother again, so she became even more furious and unstable.
* BrokenBird: Asuka. Let’s see: she lost her mother and got ditched by her father before being four. She was turned into a weapon and a tool and trained hard for ten long years to become the best as a way to validate her existence. When the time came to prove her skill she got overshadowed by a boy that -as far as she knew- was a rookie with no training. She got repeatedly defeated, humiliated and mind-raped by the enemy. She managed rising from her ashes only to be impaled, mutilated and eaten alive. And still she survived even after her heart stopped for a short while, she became a fine soldier and she even delivered a healthy child.
-->''Asuka leaned into the kiss. She had lost much and suffered terribly, but from the ashes, she had risen anew.''

* CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest: Asuka makes Kensuke shutting up and stopping bothering her when she threatens with telling his girlfriend what pervert things he did when they were teenagers.

* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: Shinji and Asuka had greatly hurt each other… and yet they could not live without each other. Asuka never stopped loving Shinji, not matter what she said or did. Shinji never wanted another woman, and when he thought Asuka was leaving and she hated him he was so grief-stricken that [[spoiler:he tried to kill himself.]]
* CanNotSpitItOut: Shinji and Asuka’s inability to express their feelings openly and clearly was an additional source of pain. In chapter 2 Asuka remembers their relationship finally improved when she managed to open up to him.

* CatapultNightmare: In chapter 2 Asuka is having a dream about her past traumas. When she reaches the part where the white Evas were eating her alive she wakes up screaming and bolting up in bed.

* TheChainsOfCommanding: Misato is Director of HERZ. Its organization is the only things stands between the humanity and its annihilation. Throughout the years she has been forced to make many distasteful things that she feels conflicted and remorseful about to ensure the future of her family and the survival of the humanity. In the process she has become grimmer and more serious, and too similar to Gendo Ikari to her liking.
* ChasteHero: Subverted. When Kurumi met Shinji she thought he was not interested in women because he was shy and oblivious. It's true that he ''is'' shy and oblivious, but the real reason is he was fixated on Asuka.
* ChefOfIron: Shinji is a soldier and pilot and an excellent cook right like another ''[[Anime/MazingerZ mecha anime ace pilot]]''. He is actually the one cooks in his household.
* ChekhovsGun: In chapter 5 it is mentioned briefly that Shinji can not hold his liquor. Several chapters later it is revealed that [[spoiler:Kurumi used that to take advantage of him in the past.]]

* ChildSoldiers: Twelve years ago Shinji, Asuka, Rei –and Touji for a short while- were child soldiers. The experience broke them down.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Asuka is still very jealous and possessive from Shinji. Kurumi trying to hit on Shinji even though she knows he is married does not lessen her jealousy, certainly.

* {{Continuation}}: The story happens twelve years after the end of the the series, changing the outcome of the movie.
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: All pilots are orphans. As they discovered after the battle against SEELE in 2015, it was NOT a coincidence.

* CooldownHug: In chapter 2 Asuka wakes up from a terrible nightmare and she starts to cry. Shinji embraces her, making her feeling safer, and she gradually calms down.
-->''Asuka screamed and bolted up in bed. Dream. Again. Breathing fast, shallow. Heart pounding. Cold sweat. Lightning flashed outside of the apartment's window. Hands over her face, she began to cry. Arms encircled her. Strong arms. She clutched at him. Burying her face into his chest as she sobbed. Shelter. Safe. Her breathing grew a little deeper.''
* CoolUncle: Rei to Akiko. She gives Akiko toys (some of them handmade), tells her stories and tales, is very protective of her... and Akiko loves her aunt.
* CurbStompBattle: Any battle involving an Eva –especially Unit 01- is one-sided and is over very, very quickly.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Even after being exposed, SEELE still managed having funding enough to build nine giant robots (and an unknown number of prototypes and nearly completed models blown up by HERZ). In comparison, HERZ needed twelve years to [[spoiler:rebuild Unit 00 and repair Unit 02.]]

* DarkSecret: Misato [[spoiler:-thinks she-]] killed Kaji.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** Kensuke is real good at snarking, especially when he is around Asuka. His sarcastic remarks irritate her every time.
*** In chapter 1:
--->'''Kensuke''':''"Asuka, could you please just stop pacing around for a moment?"''\\
'''Asuka''':''"Aaargh! I'll make him suuuffer for this! Just you wait till I get back, Baka-Shinji..."''\\
'''Kensuke''':''"Don't whip him too hard this time, alright?"''
** Shinji is usually non-confrontational, but he has some good zingers. Such like when [[spoiler:Asuka said it was his fault she was pregnant again:]]
--->'''Asuka''':''"BAKA-SHINJI! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"''\\
'''Shinji''':''"My fault!? Why is always my fault!?"''\\
'''Asuka''':''"Of course it's your fault! You're a male!"''\\
'''Shinji''':''"Oh yes! I suppose it's got nothing to with you throwing yourself at me almost every night for the last few weeks! And you kept insisting on being on top as well!"''
* DeathGlare: Asuka deploys this –together with a menacing twitch from her eye and brow- when another woman stalks her husband.

** Asuka warmed up to Shinji gradually throughout the Angel War, but his actions during the latter part of the conflict combined with her new, deep psychological and emotional scars destroyed her growth and turned her into a angrier, more asocial person than she was before. Shinji spent several years trying to reach her out until she finally opened up to him.
** Rei was a cold, unemotional person until she met Shinji, and she start changing. In fact [[spoiler:Third Impact was averted in 2015 because Shinji defrosted her.]]

* DidYouThinkICantFeel: Gendo ordered [[spoiler:Rei taking him to Lilith to start off the Third Impact, expecting she behaved like his obedient, well-indoctrinated puppet. However Rei had fallen in for Shinji, and as Gendo talked, she could feel Shinji’s angst and despair at being unable to save Asuka. So that she rejected Gendo –to his astonishment- and flew to help Shinji to defeat the enemy and protect Asuka.]]

* DisappearedDad: Gendo and Asuka’s father refused to take care of their offspring after Shinji and Asuka’s mothers’ deaths. Gendo at least has a –poor- excuse (he cared about Shinji but he was afraid of his son and thought he would screw him up if he raised him so he sent him away) and in this story he has made an effort to rebuild his relationship with his son, but Asuka’s relationship with her parents is inexistent.
* DopeSlap: In the epilogue Asuka smacked Shinji on the head because he did not manage to find their daughter among a crowd even though she had told him where she was several times.
* DoubleEntendre: In chapter 3 Kurumi glomps Shinji. He warns her he still has a gun

** In chapter 2 Misato notes how ironic is they are using the MP-Evas as instruments of salvation when they were created to be their destruction’s tools.
** In that same chapter Asuka ponders about her life’s several ironies: she had missed terribly her mother, but her mother had been always there and she had been unable to find her, open up and feel her love because Kyoko’s death had driven her to shut her heart; and she owed her family and her current happiness to two women she hardly considered as friends.
-->''Asuka leaned into the kiss. She had lost much and suffered terribly, but from the ashes, she had risen anew. She had also gained so much. Things she had not dared to hope for in the past, a past that seemed like a lifetime ago. The irony of it all. Owing so much to two women she hardly considered as friends.''
* DrivenToSuicide: In 2020 [[spoiler:after an argument with Asuka Shinji slit his wrists because he thought she hated him and never wanted to see him again.]] The scene was very similar to Asuka’s own suicide attempt during the series.
* DrowningMySorrows: During a scene Misato recalls she got hammered because she had not got the guts to confess to Kaji.
* DysfunctionJunction: Thankfully their traumas have mellowed down, but Asuka still has anger management troubles, Shinji is still somewhat insecure…
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Despite everything that they had to endure during the Angel War the main characters still are forced to defeat SEELE once and for all if they want to lead happy lives.
* EasilyForgiven: Gendo has been placed under permanent house arrest in punishment for collaborating with SEELE’s attempted global genocide. The story does not tell if he faced worse punishments. Likewise, Shinji and Asuka have forgiven him for everything he did to them, directly or indirectly. Gendo is pretty aware of how lucky he is.

* EldritchAbomination: In addition to the Angels the cast defeated in the backstory, the alien deities and Seeds of Life Adam and Lilith [[spoiler:whom Rei absorbed]] and the MP-Evas, several countries try to create their own Evangelion, and sometimes they spawn shapeless, massive monsters with too many limbs and heads sprouting from strange places. SEELE also created a new batch of MP-Evas to fight the main characters.
* EmotionlessGirl: She is not as bad as she used to when she was younger, but Rei is still pretty emotionless.

* EnemyMine: The US Government and SEELE does not like or trust each other, but they join to destroy GEIST. On the other hand, GEIST lends its support to HERZ to take down SEELE.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: In the past Shinji and Asuka were unable to realize each other’s feelings in spite that everyone else did. That blindness nearly caused the end of the world and [[spoiler:nearly got them killed several years before the beginning of the story.]]
* ExpendableClone: Gendo treated Rei in the past as an expendable tool. His attitude came back to bite him when she [[spoiler:turned against him because Shinji treated her as an human being.]]

* FanArt: Several fans created illustrations of the series and even a logo.
* TheFederation: In this setting the UN is becoming a world government de facto. Many state-nations and Great Powers are sick with its interference, and a bunch of conflicts HERZ has to deal with are born from that clash.
** The story treats this like a good thing and an ideal to reach. Though, the idea of ''[[Franchise/{{Gundam}} a world Government armed with giant robots and a willingness to deploy them against dissidents and rebels]]'' does not inspire confidence for some reason.
* FemaleGaze: In chapter 3 Kurumi is constantly checking Shinji’s behind as he trains his aim.
-->''She handed over the two clips to a blushing Ikari Shinji. Her eyes followed his behind as he walked towards the firing point.''
* FieryRedhead: Asuka is already a grownup woman and has a better control over her temper than her thirteen-years-old self... but she is still pretty temperamental, hot-headed, loud and passionate. Kurumi even describes her as "fiery".

* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: Natsume thinks that her sister Kurumi is so fixated on Shinji because he was her first love and she simply can not let it go.
* FirstKiss: As they are celebrating her fifth anniversary Asuka remembers her and Shinji’s first kiss.
* ForeignCussWord: Pretty frequent with Asuka, of course. “Scheisse” is fairly often used.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In an early chapter Shinji mentions that Asuka was feeling quite frisky lately. In the final chapter, Maya revealed that Asuka was pregnant.
* ForWantOfANail: The divergence starts out during the battle between Asuka and the MP-Evas. Rei felt Shinji's distress so she flew to help him. She broke the bakelyte blocking the access to the entry plug and both hurried to help Asuka. Meanwhile GEIST used a super-computer to disable five MP-Evas, making the Ceremony impossible. Shinji fought the remainder functional Evas and managed to win.

* FrickinLaserBeams: In order to gain the upper hand over the Evangelions many countries build positron cannons: huge laser beam cannons. [[spoiler:When they were finally used, the MP-Evas were unable to dodge their beams.]]
* FrontlineGeneral: Even after being promoted to Captain Asuka still sorties with her troops and leads from the frontlines.

* GambitPileup: Misato has a bunch of plans to deal with the huge number of global conflicts and destroy SEELE, SEELE has a plan to destroy HERZ and bring about Instrumentality, GEIST has a plan to defeat SEELE for good, and the Children has a plan of their own…
* GenkiGirl: Kurumi is incredibly energetic and enthusiastic even after becoming an adult woman.

* GirlishPigtails: Asuka is twenty-six-years-old, has got her hair cut… and she still wears pigtails right like when she was thirteen.
* GoThroughMe: When a pack of loonies tries to shoot Akiko, Rei steps in the way and declares she will not allow anybody threatens her niece.

* GoodParents: Shinji and Asuka try to raise Akiko [[spoiler:and later Sakiko]] at their best skill. Shinji desperately wants to be a good husband and father.

** Shinji and Asuka are depicted having good, nice, passionate, comforting, healing sex frequently (although Kensuke claims that they have S&M sex and Asuka is Shinji’s mistress).
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the case of Shinji and Kurumi, whose one encounter sunk their relationship before it even set sail (Kurumi had dulled him with alcohol to get into his pants). Any time she tries to seduce Shinji, things don't go well (especially if [[ClingyJealousGirl Asuka]] finds out.)

* GraspTheSun: During her nightmare in chapter 2 Asuka reminisces how she clutched at the Sun while threatening the Evas after getting her left eye impaled.
* GratuitousGerman: For Asuka and Akiko. Asuka often uses “dummkopf”.
** When she passed by Col Strasser in chapter 4 she greeted him “Gutten morgen, Her Strasser.”

* GraveMarkingScene: The Ikari family (Shinji, Asuka, their daughter Akiko and even Shinji's father Gendo) visit Shinji's mother Yui's grave every year on her death's anniversary. They visited it in chapter 4.
* GreenEyedMonster: Asuka is very jealous. When Shinji is out of her sight she often gets tense and angry, thinking some woman will try to steal him or maybe he will fool around. Despite the protestations of Kensuke, she is hardly paranoid, since Kurumi is always trying to steal him.
* GrewASpine: Shinji has become more confident and more determined to protect his family. Although he hates fighting and killing he has learnt to use weapons and practices his aim constantly to defend his wife and his daughter.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: The heroes are trying to protect humanity and their families, and in the name of that mission Misato has manipulated people and committed many shady actions she feels guilty about. SEELE is trying to liquefy all humans and merge their souls into a single being because they genuinely think it is something good.

* GuileHero: Misato. Being the Director of HERZ she has to deal with politicians constantly, often playing them against each other.
* GuiltComplex: Shinji felt guilty about most bad things had happened during the Angel War, including events where he had no control or no choice.
* HairTriggerTemper: After the Angel War, volatile Asuka’s temper got worst. For several years she was constantly angry, moody or bitter, and prone to explode when something triggered her anger. At the start of the story she has managed to control her temper –and she regrets some of her past explosions of wrath-, but she still has a short fuse.

* HauledBeforeASenateSubcommittee: Misato often has to appear before committees and general councils to argue about –and often against- using HERZ’s Evangelions in a war. In a chapter she talked before a committee to dissuade them from using Unit 01 in the Congo crisis.

** Shinji and Asuka cared for each other since they were ''thirteen'', but due to their numerous trauma and neuroses they were unable to reach out each other until they were nineteen. For the time the story starts out they have been married for five years.

* HoldingHands: After Rei reminds them that her plan is risky and both could die, Shinji and Asuka held hands as they reiterated they were together in this.
* HomeBase: The Geofront is HERZ’s base. After the top got blown up during the battle of 2015 it is no longer an ElaborateUndergroundBase.
* HopeSpot: When [[spoiler:SEELE got most of GEIST members assassinated and deployed their Evas against HERZ they thought they were going to win. Then Rei seized the MP-Evas.]]
* HopelessSuitor: Kurumi is this towards Shinji. Neither Sinji’s marital status nor intellectual realization that she IS hopeless stops her of keeping trying to seduce him.

* HouseHusband: Shinji is the one make all domestic chores in the Ikari’s homestead. It is lampshaded several times.

** In the backstory Asuka went from considering herself the top pilot and a prodigy child to regard herself as an ugly, scarred, worthless freak and a failure due to be –repeatedly- beaten, humiliated, mind-raped, brutally scarred and nearly killed.
** In chapter 10 [[spoiler:SEELE kidnaps Gendo.]] While one of their members is torturing him, he mockes him quoting the line verbatim:

* HumanoidAbomination: In the backstory Rei [[spoiler:absorbed the bodies of two {{Eldritch Abomination}}s: Adam and Lilith.]] After doing that, she should look like a planet-sized, glowing, white-haired and white-skinned version of herself, but she prefers to keep looking human to stay with her family. However, people come across her think that she is weird and even eerie.
* HumongousMecha: The bio-mechanical Evangelions. In addition to Unit-01 of canon, a new Unit-00 gets built, Unit-02 gets repaired, and the organization HERZ uses several MP-Evas seized from SEELE in the aftermath of the battle of 2015.
* HurtingHero: Shinji and Asuka had suffered terribly due to their mothers’ deaths, their fathers’ abandonment, being turned into child soldiers and forced to pilot giant robots to fight alien monsters… now they are adults and are more emotionally stable, but they are still forced to fight, some psychological scars still endure and Asuka still has nightmares about the past.

* IMissMom: In chapter 2 Asuka reflects about how she missed her mother… and she had been there in her Eva all along, but she had not felt it until she was able to open up her heart.

** Played straight with Rei, who even encouraged Asuka to open up and hook up with Shinji.
* IcyBlueEyes: Asuka’s sane eye is a lively, dark-blue colour in contrast with her dead eye’s milky grey. Her daughter Akiko inherited her eye colour.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Shinji’s eyes are a limpid, light blue. [[spoiler:Sakiko inherited her eye colour from him.]]
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: All of Asuka’s bluster, bravado and arrogance were a mask to hide her feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness. Shinji is one of the few people can see what is underneath, and he often has to reassure her he does not think she is ugly and he would never leave her.

** In an early chapter Shinji is shooting targets, thinking of how he does not hate fighting and killing and telling himself he has to protect his family.
** In one of his few appearances Gendo thinks of how fortunate he is because Shinji has chosen forgiving him and even lets him see his granddaughter.
* InsultOfEndearment: After five years married (and knowing each other since they were thirteen), when Asuka calls Shinji "baka" it is not really an insult but a pet name.

* InterruptedSuicide: In 2020 [[spoiler:Shinji attempted to kill himself by slitting his wrists.]] Fortunately [[spoiler:Kurumi]] found his suicide note to [[spoiler:Asuka]], and found him just in time to save him.
* {{Irony}}:
** In chapter 2 Misato notes how ironic is they are using the MP-Evas as instruments of salvation when they were created to be their destruction’s tools.
** In that same chapter Asuka ponders about her life’s several ironies: she had missed terribly her mother, but her mother had been always there and she had been unable to find her, open up and feel her love because Kyoko’s death had driven her to shut her heart; and she owed her family and her current happiness to two women she hardly considered as friends.
-->''Asuka leaned into the kiss. She had lost much and suffered terribly, but from the ashes, she had risen anew. She had also gained so much. Things she had not dared to hope for in the past, a past that seemed like a lifetime ago. The irony of it all. Owing so much to two women she hardly considered as friends.''

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: When she was younger Asuka pretended she was harsh and prideful so that nobody realized she was -to her eyes- weak and pitiful and hurt her. Later though she realized the wall she had built around her heart was separating her from people she loved as her mother and Shinji. When the story begins she is an adult woman, and although she is still bad-tempered, she does not feel the need to hide behind a mask and drive everyone away.

* KidHeroAllGrownUp: Shinji, Asuka and Rei were fourteen-year-old mecha pilots during the Angel War. Twelve years later, they are in their late twenties and they keep being soldiers.
* TheKidWithTheRemoteControl: All Evangelions were piloted by children because only they could synch with the souls stored inside.
** After the battle of 2015 Asuka discovered she could pilot Unit 02 because her mother was inside… and she had become unable to synch with it because she could not open up due to her mental trauma increasing during the Angel War.

** [[spoiler:All SEELE members in the last chapter, turned into LCL by Rei.]]
* KissingUnderTheInfluence: In the backstory Kurumi kissed Shinji when he was heavily inhebriated [[spoiler:and then the got her way with him.]] She hoped that action led to they becoming a couple, but it backfired horribly: Shinji kept loving Asuka and he was so ashamed of what happened he started to actively avoid Kurumi.
* LastGirlWins: Asuka in more ways than one: she was the last important female character Shinji met during the War. In the story she appears after Misato, Kurumi... and she is married to Shinji.
* LatexSpaceSuit: After twelve years the Children still wear their plugsuits, skintight pilot suits when they undergo a synch test or pilot their Evas. [[spoiler:Kurumi stoled Asuka's in a scene as part of a hopeless plan to try to snatch Shinji.]]
* LeaveNoSurvivors: In chapter 5 Misato orders an assault against a SEELE installation, and she reiterates -regretfully- that her troops mustn't give quarter or take prisoners:

* LighterAndSofter: The story can get pretty dark, but it is happier than canon. Third Impact was averted in 2015, and Asuka and Misato survived that battle. Twelve years later Shinji and Asuka are married, have a daughter, and the two of them together with Rei work under Misato's orders to fight SEELE's attempts to cause Instrumentality.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Asuka and Shinji already argued like an old married couple before becoming one. In chapter 12 their bickering is hilarious.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Shinji became incredibly emotionally-dependent on Asuka since he met her for first time. During the battle of 2015 he muttered over and over again he needed her. Seven years before the beginning of the story he asked her not leaving Japan, telling he needed her. And Asuka became way more stable and more grounded after hooking up with him.
* LonersAreFreaks: Shinji and Asuka hardly talk anyone other than Touji, Kensuke and Hikari in high school. Their schoolmates thought that they were weird.

* LoveHurts: Shinji and Asuka truly love each other but they have hurt a lot throughout the years. Shinji's obliviousness deepened Asuka's emotional and psychological scars, his actions in “End of Evangelion” cost her life -albeit temporarily- and made her feeling defiled and an ugly, unlovable monster. On the other hand her posterior abuse, fuelled by her resentment and self-loathing, drove Shinji to the edge.
* LoveInterest: Shinji and Asuka are each other’s love interest.
* LovelyAngels: Asuka and Rei were teammates and fought together during the Angel War, but their giant robots were destroyed at the end of the conflict. However the organization HERZ rebuilds Unit-02 and builds a new Unit-00 during the history, and Asuka and Rei face and fight the FinalBattle together (with Shinji).
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Misato feels she has much blood on her hands because she has done many questionable, shady things. And she did everything because she loved Shinji and needed to see him happy.

* LoveTriangle: Asuka and Shinji love each other, and Kurumi loves Shinji.
* LuminescentBlush: Even after so many years, Shinji still blushes like a schoolboy… and his wife is not very different.

* MadnessMantra: In chapter 2 Asuka remembers her words during her battle against the MP-Evas:

* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Subverted in chapter 4. Shinji entered the men’s locker room in the base and he was led to believe Asuka was waiting for him in one of the shower stalls. He made his way to the stall to “have fun” with his wife… and he found Kurumi inside, so that he fled.

** You don't want to know what lengths Misato will go to protect her children.

* ManipulativeBastard: A benign example. Misato is not above of using someone else’s motivations and emotions (like Kurumi’s curiosity) to lead that person on. However she does not like it and she restrains herself a lot.
* ManlyTears: In chapter 12 Shinji sheds a single tear [[spoiler:after Rei has said goodbye to him.]]

* MeaningfulName: "HERZ" means "heart" in German. “GEIST” means “spirit”.
* MechaShow: There’s plenty sci-fi technology around.
* MeleeATrois: [[http://web.archive.org/web/20021201015617/http://www.geocities.com/zhuoyilong/HERZfaq.html In this faq the different factions are listed]] Essentially you have: HERZ fighting SEELE's attempts to set Third Impact off and other nations' programs to build their own Evas; SEELE fighting HERZ, GEIST and the UN to initiate Instrumentality; GEIST fighting SEELE and the different world nations; the UN fighting SEELE but not particularly liking HERZ; and other nations fighting HERZ and the UN and not liking SEELE but being prone to strike a bargain with them.
* MildlyMilitary: Military organization HERZ is more formal than its predecessor NERV but it's still somewhat lax: a mere Lieutenant like Kensuke isn't afraid of mocking Captain Asuka Ikari, even when they are on duty, and most of staff talks freely and informally.

* MindRape: In chapter 2 Asuka has a nightmare where she relives her MindRape and how Arael's blinding light pierced her mind despite of her screams and pleas for it stopping.
* MindScrew: A mild one during the final battle: [[spoiler:Rei hijacked the MP-Evas and used Shinji, Asuka and their robots to set off the children’s own version of Instrumentality. As she collected the SEELE’s souls she showed to Kiehl several images of the Ikari family to teach him other way to reach Instrumentality. Shinji and Asuka saw their mothers across an immense void and said goodbye. Rei created a second Moon, sealing herself inside it, and Shinji and Asuka woke up on a beach.]]

* MoeCouplet: Akiko is a chirpy, lovable, endearing little kid and Rei is her cool, detached, unemotional aunt. When they are together Rei shows her softer, warmer and more overprotective side and Akiko is more cheerful.
* MyEyesAreUpHere: In chapter 1 Shinji turns around to face who had greeted him only to see a female chest in front of his eyes. Blushing, he looked upwards.

* MyHeroZero: Reinforced with Rei. After Unit 00’s destruction in the original series, HERZ built a new Eva for her… and it was also called Unit 00, even though it was a brand-new robot.

** [[spoiler:After the FinalBattle]], Shinji and Asuka wake up together in a beach.
* NeverMyFault: Hilarious example. In the epilogue, [[spoiler:Maya informs Shinji and Asuka that Asuka is pregnant.]] Asuka blames Shinji since it is always the guy's fault. Shinji retorts: "Oh yes! I suppose it's got nothing to with you throwing yourself at me almost every night for the last few weeks!"
* NiceGuy: Despite of some serious failings and bad actions he regrets (such like his actions in the hospital when Asuka was comatose), Shinji is not a bad guy, and he genuinely wants and try to be a good person.
* NightmareSequence: In chapter 2 Asuka dreams of the Angel War and how weak she felt when Zeruel destroyed her, how defiled she felt after Ariel’s MindRape, how worthless and useless she felt after being unable moving her Eva to fight Armisael, and what it was like when the MP-Evas tore her apart.

** Asuka never was good with people, and her social skill got poorer after getting disfigured by the MP-Evas, since she became angrier, more hostile and more resentful.
** Shinji was never at socializing either. After the Angel War he had few friends and no girlfriend, and he spent most of time trying to reconnect with Asuka.
* NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow: In the battle of 2015 Asuka’s Eva got impaled by nine spears and then cut into pieces, and she felt each blow, slash and bite. Her heart stopped for a few seconds. Misato got shot and collapsed bleeding on the floor. The narration pointed out it was a miracle Asuka was alive, and Misato always wondered how she survived.

* NoodleIncident: After Kensuke has pressed Asuka's buttons a tad too much she hints she will tell his girlfriend about his perverted exploits back when they were teens. She does not get specific, but Kensuke shuts up.
-->'''Asuka''':''"Kensuke... I bet your darling Kaori-chan would just love to hear about all your perverted little exploits back when we were in school.."''\\
'''Kensuke''':''"What exploits!?"''\\
'''Asuka''':''"Oh, you know... those..."''\\
'''Kensuke''':''"I don't know what you're talking about! I... Oh man..."''
* NotSoDifferent: In chapter 4 a GEIST member fears his organization and SEELE are not so different, since the blood of young people is being spilt to fulfil their plans, too.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Every so often HERZ has to deal with UN Inspectors and Auditors overseeing them, examining their accounts and records and poking their noses where they do not belong.
* OddFriendship: After twelve years Asuka and Hikari are still best friends although their personalities (Asuka is aggressive and pushing, Hikari calmer and more patient) and even their career choices (Asuka is an army commanding officer, Hikari a political analyst) are pretty different.

* OldFlame: When the story begins she meets him again after seven years, she still has a crush on him, but Shinji is married to Asuka and has a daughter. And even so she keeps chasing after him and he keeps running away from her.
* TheOneThatGotAway: Kurumi had a crush on Shinji since they met in high-school. However he was always in love with Asuka. She spent ''years'' chasing after him, but she never managed to get him to reciprocate her feelings, and her attempts to seduce him were impulsive and ill-though-out and alienated him further.

* OriginalCharacter:
** Akiko [[spoiler:and Sakiko]] Ikari, Shinji and Asuka's offspring. Akiko was a relatively popular Shinji and Asuka’s fan-created daughter back in the day, but never as much as ''[[Fanfic/TheChildOfLove Teri Ikari]]'', let alone [[spoiler:''[[Fanfic/TheSecondTry Aki Ikari]]'']].
** Kurumi Kagero, the members of GEIST…
* OrphansOrdeal: Shinji and Asuka lost their mothers when they were barely four. Afterwards, their fathers and everybody else treated them like crap. In chapter 2 Asuka reflects that she lost much and suffered terribly after her mother's demise.
* OverprotectiveDad: Rare female example. During a conversation Shinji tells he thinks his daughters have few suitors because his wife Asuka scares them away.

* PapaWolf: Shinji hates killing… but threatens his wife or his daughter and he WILL do whatever it takes to protect them.
* ParentalAbandonment: Most of Shinji and Asuka’s traumas and psychological issues come directly or indirectly from having been abandoned by their fathers when they were four. Shinji has forgiven his… but Asuka’s relationship with hers is non-existent.
* ParentalNeglect: Asuka’s father stopped looking after his daughter when she was four. She is twenty-six now and he is still absent of her life. He never shows up, never calls… and Asuka never ever mentions him. It’s telling that she has managed to forgive Gendo but she never talks about her father.
* ParentalSubstitute: Misato has looked after Shinji and Asuka since they were young (although Asuka moved out after the battle of 2015) and even after so many years she sees and Rei as the children she never had.
* PervertRevengeMode: In a scene Shinji walks on Kurumi when she is having a shower. Immediately he screams and flees, and Kurumi chases after him. Asuka sees both, fetches a bat and starts to chase them.
* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:Rei. Her soul was Lilith's, an EldritchAbomination was the mother of all life on Earth. However her body was Shinji's mother cloned body.]] In the battle of 2015 she absorbed [[{{EldritchAbomination}} Adam]] and her bigger body, becoming even more powerful, but she kept her mortal form to live with her family for a while longer.
* PietaPlagiarism: Shinji held [[spoiler:Gendo]] in this position as [[spoiler:his father died]] in chapter 10.
* PitbullDatesPuppy: Kurumi wondered why Shinji –a quiet, unassuming guy- had married a fiery woman as Asuka. In reality Shinji and Asuka need each other desperately and they think no one else will ever be able to understand their pain.

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: In chapter 2, after an awful nightmare Asuka clings to Shinji and whispers: "Don't ever leave me..."
-->''She hugged him fiercely and whispered, "Don't ever leave me..."''\\
''"I've always been yours."''
* ThePowerOfLove: In 2015 [[spoiler:Shinji was grieving because he loved Asuka and he could not save her. Rei’s love towards Shinji led her to feel his angst, rebel against Gendo and help him.]] In 2027 it is Shinji and Asuka love towards each other and their daughter and Rei’s love for them which drives them to come up with a risky plan to save humankind [[spoiler:and that love allows them succeed.]]
* PregnantBadass: [[spoiler:Asuka was pregnant with Shinji's child during the last battle. Even so she fought and helped to save the world.]]
* TheProfessor: Ritsuko played this role in the original series, but now she is mostly retired, and Maya is her substitute and HERZ’s head scientist.
* ThePromise: In the final chapter Rei promises [[spoiler:she will not allow the Evangelion technology is used to harm people again, and she seals herself together with the Evas, Adam, Lilith and the Lance to guarantee that.]]
* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Subverted. SEELE was fully confident on their victory because they thought that it was prophesized in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The GEIST's leader remarked that prophecies may be broken.
* PuppyDogEyes: In chapter 4, Asuka didn't want Akiko to keep a stuffed toy. So that Akiko used the puppy dog look on his father, and Shinji used it on Asuka. She relented.
-->''Shinji found himself caught between the two most important females in his life. His gaze darted to and from his wife and daughter. He settled on playing the sad puppy dog to Asuka. Faced with two pleading looks, Asuka relented.''
* QuitYourWhining: In chapter 3 HERZ is performing a battery of tests on one of their Evas… and simultaneously placating Asuka who is the test pilot and is not happy about it, considering it a long, useless, big waste of her time. Finally Kensuke asks her stopping complaining:

** In chapter 5 Rei does this to people when she is walking around.

* WhenSheSmiles: In chapter 10 Shinji imagines Asuka smiling such a beautiful smile that it was heart-breaking.

* WorthyOpponent: Asuka regarded Shinji as her greatest rival because she respected him deep-down.

->'''Rei''':''"Are your hearts and minds still set on the plan? [...] There is much danger. You both might die."\\
'''Shinji and Asuka''':''"For the hope that Akiko-chan can have the chance to grow up and have her own chance at happiness, it's a risk we must take."''

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the case of Shinji and Kurumi, whose one encounter sunk their relationship before it even set sail (Kurumi had dulled him with alcohol to get into his pants). Any time she tries to seduce Shinji, things don't go well (especially if [[ClingyJealousGirl Asuka]] finds out.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Shinji and Asuka are depicted having good, nice, passionate, comforting, healing sex frequently (although Kensuke claims that they have S&M sex and Asuka is Shinji’s mistress).

* JerkassFacade: When she was younger Asuka pretended she was harsh and prideful so that nobody realized she was -to her eyes- weak and pitiful and hurt her. Later though she realized the wall she had built around her heart was separating her from people she loved as her mother and Shinji. When the story begins she is an adult woman, and although she is still bad-tempered, she does not feel the need to hide behind a mask and drive everyone away.

* AGodIAm: [[spoiler:Rei after absorbing her larger body –Lilith’s- and Adam.]]

--->''The SEELE member looked in disdain at the quivering piece of humanity before him. "How the mighty have fallen. The Commander of NERV. Once a powerful man before whom nations and peoples trembled. Now reduced to this," he sneered noting that Gendou's right forearm was missing. An old injury. 'Pity,' he thought, 'five less fingers to break.'''

* DeathFromAbove: The Americans built a bunch of satellites fitted with positronic cannons as a weapon against the Evangelions.

* KillSat: The Orbital Defence Platforms, satellites mounted with positronic cannons. Power was collected by solar panels and channelled into a sophisticated power system to blast enemies from the sky.

* XanatosGambit: The Children’s plan was failure-proof. If SEELE did not attack they won. If SEELE managed completing nine MP-Evas and attacked [[spoiler:they won because they could hijack them and use them to eliminate SEELE and the Evangelion technology.]]

* ForWantOfANail: The divergence starts out during the battle between Asuka and the MP-Evas. Rei felt Shinji's distress so she flew to help him. She broke the bakelyte blocking the access to the entry plug and both hurried to help Asuka. Meanwhile GEIST used a super-computer to disable five MP-Evas, making impossible the Ceremony. Shinji fought the remainder functional Evas and managed to win.

* {{Badass}}: Shinji, Asuka and Rei used to kill giant alien monsters when they were kids, and they have been HumongousMecha pilots for years. Shinji works most of time as a music teacher, but he is the only pilot in active. Asuka is still a soldier and a captain leads from the frontlines. And Rei is... well... a [[spoiler:HumanoidAbomination.]]

Check ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'', ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionR'', ''Fanfic/ScarTissue'' and ''Fanfic/WalkingInTheShadowOfDreams'' to see other Eva continuation fics. Go to ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'', ''Fanfic/TheChildOfLove'', ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'', ''Fanfic/HigherLearning'', ''Fanfic/TheIkaris'', ''Fanfic/NobodyDies'', ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'', or ''Fanfic/MobileFighterEvangelion'' to see other AU Eva fics. Check ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'', ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'', ''Manga/ReTake'', ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'' to see PeggySue Eva stories. Go to ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'', ''Fanfic/GodsAngelsAndKings'', ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'', ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'', ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'' and ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'' if you are interested in crossovers.