Ayanami Vengeance
While Nobody Dies takes a softer Giant Robot anime direction for its reconstruction of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ayanami: Vengeance, on the other hand, despite also being a reconstruction (and deconstruction), is a whole different animal.
First conceived in mid 2009 and started in January 2010 by Gasmask Avenger, Ayanami: Vengeance is an Evangelion Alternate Universe Fanfiction that blurs the line between Darker and Edgier and Lighter and Softer with little to no regard towards normal conventions.
Like Nobody Dies, AV crafts a tale that presents a world where Yui Ikari wasn't absorbed into Unit 01 during the contact experiment. Unlike Nobody Dies, though, Kyoko remains dead, Gendo is a less of a Manipulative Bastard and more on the lines of a Bumbling Dad (with some shady skeletons in the closet) and most importantly... Shinji Ikari is not the lead protagonist.
Instead, AV shines its spotlight on Evangelion Unit 00 pilot Rei Ayanami, who unlike many other incarnations, is actually a (mostly) well-adjusted 13 (later 14) year old girl who aspires to form a heavy metal band and simply go on through life without much trouble, but like all takes on Evangelion, It Gets Worse.
Those who are interested in an Evangelion fic that really isn't interested in being just a lighter take or 100% grimdark, is unpredictable in its twist and turns and simply wants a more unusual, sometimes surrealistic take on the series, AV is the fic for you.
As of May 25th, 2011, the story is currently at a steady 34 chapters (plus a prologue) and according to its author, is still very much far off from its conclusion. The author was under the process of rewriting the early chapters to unify the fic for the sake of consistency but has recently decided to put the reworking project on hold in favor of new material. The reworking process may resume at a later date.
Although a Spacebattles thread exists, the author considers said thread currently abandoned but may come back to life if demand is given
There's now a character sheet for the fic's colorful cast. Like this page it's a major work-in-progress. Other important links are at the top of the page for those interested.
- Action Girl: All of the female EVA/Mech pilots, especially Rei.
- Artificial Limbs: Keel's spine and Naomi Mifune's right hand.
- Ascended Extra: A good majority of the various EVA characters receive this ranging from Canon Immigrant Mari Makinami (who's Rei's extremely British best friend) to Aoba, the not-so-nihilistic metal guitarist bridge bunny who Rei befriends and forms a band with. The biggest examples are Rei, who's the main character of the story, Shiro Tokita (who's an old friend of Kaji, Misato and Ritsuko from High School and later joins Nerv) and especially Maya Ibuki, who's...kind of a weirdo this time around.
- Big Bad: The Dark One.
- Canon Immigrant: Mari Makinami from the Rebuild films, :Mana Kirshima from Girlfriend of Steel/SIRP, Mayumi Yamagish from 2nd Impression, the angels and mechs from the various EVA spinoffs and Rebuild, DJ Croft from Neon Exodus Evangelion, Maria Vincennes and Commander Nicholaiev from the EVA Paper RPG
- Demoted to Extra: Shinji Ikari, who's now a secondary character/love interest to Rei, Misato Katsuragi (due to her being not all that a big part of Rei's life outside of ordering her commands during a mission) and especially Fuyutsuki. Unit 01 gets this too due to certain "reasons".
- Early-Bird Cameo: Keel and another member of SEELE in the Prologue. Kaworu in Chapter 32.
- Evil Cripple: Keel Lorenz. Kaworu could possible be this too once he becomes more prominent.
- Expy: Word of God says that The Burnt Lady Down the Street is essentially the lead character from a horror script he's been working on
- Gorn: Lots and lots of it
- Heroic Albino: Rei Ayanami
- Hugo Weaving: Agent Smith
- Hulk Hogan: Jet Alone Prime, who's AI was programmed to be exactly like Hogan
- The Illuminati: SEELE
- The Men in Black: Agent Will and Agent Smith
- Nightmare Face: The Burnt Lady Down the Street, Nightmare Rei from Chapter 8 and some of the angels.
- Original Character: Naomi Mifune, Desu Loli, Rei's parents, the Burnt Lady Down the Street and Misaki Baisotei. Argo and Claire Phoenix are not only OCs, but also canon immigrants due to them being the creations of another author associated with Gasmask.
- Precision F-Strike: Happens quite a few times throughout the fic.
- Will Smith: Agent Will