- Location
- Out and About
And considering his lack of people skills, it seems even more dubious.
Advice and Trust [NGE]
Maybe it's just me, but ive always assumed that most of what Gendo was doing, was making it up as he went along.
What I mean is, his end goal was fixed and he had a few key things he needed/planned to happen. The rest, such as Shinji living with Misato was more a case of him trying to make use of a situation as it arrised.
Shinji living with Misato for example
Does it make any diffrence either way?
Pros
x,y,z
Cons
a,b,
Allow/dont allow = Allow
What I mean is, his end goal was fixed and he had a few key things he needed/planned to happen. The rest, such as Shinji living with Misato was more a case of him trying to make use of a situation as it arrised.
Shinji living with Misato for example
Does it make any diffrence either way?
Pros
x,y,z
Cons
a,b,
Allow/dont allow = Allow
- Location
- Out and About
If that's true, it might actually mean he's a better schemer. Plans rarely survive contact with the enemy, so to speak, which means flexibility is required. Gendo's ability to think on his feet and react to changing situations and events make him much more successful than some obsessive, anal-retentive plotter who methodically plans things down to the tiniest detail.
Best is to plan in extensive, appropriate detail,
And plan for all conceivable contingencies,
And adapt quickly to the unexpected.
Gendo's had the time to do this; whether he does is the matter in question.
Pretty sure. Like I said, neither Ritsuko nor Gendo appear on screen. In fact no one is on screen, and it's practically a still shot. Voices are heard in the background and you have to identify Gendo and Ritsuko by voice. I only caught it on something like my 3rd watch through, and I had to rewind to follow along.
Trying to remember if it was the Japanese dub, or the English dub, as one of them might have made the conversation more opaque.
Long time follower of AaT here. I could repeat some of the praises for this fic, but that would be redundant, so instead I gotta ask if you're ever planning on doing a story focusing on Misato and Kaji. There's a sad lack of good fic with them, which is the worst, because they have a lot of unused potential for waff and/or deep physiological angst depending on where one goes. I especially enjoy the way you write their characters, and for sure you have a lot of knowledge on them, considering both Misato and Kaji tend to be watered down in most fics.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
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Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
I find your question taking on a whole new angle given your avatar is Kaji.
That said, I'll agree with it, and give you a hug for being a fellow fan.I find that ironic coming from someone always late! And a like for you with good taste; always felt writers have more to work with (juuust enough foundation for Misato and Kaji's history, with juuust enough ambiguity and unanswered questions) for Misato-Kaji fics, if only they'd decide to take the plunge.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
As it happens, the part I'm writing now is focusing on them and their relationship. Naturally, this makes it a devil to write. So things are a little slow. Oh yeah, also new baby.
Stargrave
Wine-drinking evil
- Location
- The White City
You have a responsibility now, Stryp. Someday, that baby will grow up and be ready to be introduced into the wide world of fiction and fandoms. When that day comes, she needs to already know, in her heart of hearts, that Kawoshins are evil.
MarqFJA87
Proud member of Ala Iridia
- Location
- Saudi Arabia
... No they're not. Not all of them, at least.
And for the record, I'm pro-"Marry Them All" rather than pro-[insert ship name here].
Great news! Congratulations!
...I actually prefer Kawoshin, most times.
- Location
- Out and About
Speaking of KawoShin, I've been thinking about something: is Shinji canonically bisexual or not?
There's a lot of homoerotic subtext between them, which I'm pretty sure was deliberate. The fact that Shinji was willing to shower with somebody he barely knew has a lot of undertones. During said bathing scene, Kaworu puts his hand on Shinji's, which he accepts, unlike when Misato did the same thing. That night, he sleeps in Kaworu's room, right next to his bed in fact. He finds it easy to talk with him about his conflicted feelings. After being forced to kill him, he says that he was the only person in his life to ever give him unconditional love. Then, in EoE, he reacts a lot better to GNK than GNR. Consider, too, the fact that Gainax seems to love playing it up in the merchandise. Unlike with most cases of Yaoi fangirls, it seems to me that there's a lot of canon evidence for Shinji swinging both ways. The amount is especially amazing considering how little time they actually spent together.
On the other hand, you have to consider Shinji's emotional state at the time. He's never experienced much in the way of human affection. His mother disappeared when he was a toddler, and his father abandoned him shortly thereafter, leaving him to live with a man who evidently didn't care very much about him. Then he's essentially blackmailed into putting his life on the line for the sake of humanity. Things start improving for him after a while, but then everything falls apart. Asuka starts going into a downward spiral. He's forced to horrifically injure one of his best friends, by his own father, no less. He spends a month trapped inside his Evangelion. Kaji gets whacked, sending Misato into a state of bitterness and despair. Asuka has her mind violated. Rei dies in battle, then comes back as a different person (literally). His friends from school are forced to evacuate. Asuka loses the will to live and falls into a coma. Remember: it's at this point, when Shinji's very close to his emotional nadir, that Kaworu enters his life. Sexually speaking, adolescence is confusing enough as it is. Throw in massive amounts of tragedy and trauma, and things get even more muddled. Honestly, I'd have been surprised if he didn't latch onto him.
So there's the million-dollar question: is Shinji bi, or just desperate?
There's a lot of homoerotic subtext between them, which I'm pretty sure was deliberate. The fact that Shinji was willing to shower with somebody he barely knew has a lot of undertones. During said bathing scene, Kaworu puts his hand on Shinji's, which he accepts, unlike when Misato did the same thing. That night, he sleeps in Kaworu's room, right next to his bed in fact. He finds it easy to talk with him about his conflicted feelings. After being forced to kill him, he says that he was the only person in his life to ever give him unconditional love. Then, in EoE, he reacts a lot better to GNK than GNR. Consider, too, the fact that Gainax seems to love playing it up in the merchandise. Unlike with most cases of Yaoi fangirls, it seems to me that there's a lot of canon evidence for Shinji swinging both ways. The amount is especially amazing considering how little time they actually spent together.
On the other hand, you have to consider Shinji's emotional state at the time. He's never experienced much in the way of human affection. His mother disappeared when he was a toddler, and his father abandoned him shortly thereafter, leaving him to live with a man who evidently didn't care very much about him. Then he's essentially blackmailed into putting his life on the line for the sake of humanity. Things start improving for him after a while, but then everything falls apart. Asuka starts going into a downward spiral. He's forced to horrifically injure one of his best friends, by his own father, no less. He spends a month trapped inside his Evangelion. Kaji gets whacked, sending Misato into a state of bitterness and despair. Asuka has her mind violated. Rei dies in battle, then comes back as a different person (literally). His friends from school are forced to evacuate. Asuka loses the will to live and falls into a coma. Remember: it's at this point, when Shinji's very close to his emotional nadir, that Kaworu enters his life. Sexually speaking, adolescence is confusing enough as it is. Throw in massive amounts of tragedy and trauma, and things get even more muddled. Honestly, I'd have been surprised if he didn't latch onto him.
So there's the million-dollar question: is Shinji bi, or just desperate?
grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
Insufficient data, given how touch-starved the poor boy probably is.
So, make your own decision.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
I've got to come down pretty firmly on the 'just that desperate' side. Series!Kaworu had twelve minutes of screentime. Building a great romance with Shinji on that seems...kind of reaching. I've showered with a lot of guys thanks to Army locker rooms, it doesn't mean it was attraction, just a locker room.
There's a better case for manga!Shinji being bi, since he all but says so explicitly, but series!Shinji I think was just in an emotional crash and desperate for affection, plus teenage hormones making everyone seem attractive.
For his part, I think Series!Kaworu loved Shinji, but given his nature I am much less sure how much of that translates into regular human-sexual-romantic terms versus a more abstract 'I love him from the POV of an alien demi-god-thing'. Manga!kaworu was even more muddled, his attraction to Shinji being at least partly due to cross-contamination from Rei via Armisael's link.
So, Series probably not, Manga pretty sure yes, other continuities who knows?
As far as A&T, Shinji's heart has long since been stolen forever by our favorite redhead, so he's not going to look at Kaworu at all like that no matter what. (Though if Asuka ever hinted she'd like to watch a little yaoi action, Shinji might go for it just because he likes anything that makes her happy.)
Dragontrapper
Homeless Draconis
- Location
- A Tower in the middle of nowhere
Hikari: "You're okay with this?"
Asuka: "I paid 50 bucks for this!"
Schpoonman
They call me the Bord of Lays
- Location
- United States
Given that Shinji doesn't really make any comments about any of the other boys in the series (you know, the two that we speak to in Kensuke and Touji), I'd say it's more a matter of Kaworu being the only person in the world at that time willing to give Shinji some unconditional love and that he was latching onto that more than anything.
Different continuity and everything, but in Rebuild 3.0 when Kaworu acts much the same (unconditional love and kindness in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile and unbearable) Shinji latches onto him but is seemingly more concerned with Rei's disappearance, basically adding more fuel to the fire that was their growing attraction in 2.0. He spends more screentime interacting with Kaworu, but I thought it was more platonic in their interactions compared to the series, because he already has a torch so to speak.
Different continuity and everything, but in Rebuild 3.0 when Kaworu acts much the same (unconditional love and kindness in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile and unbearable) Shinji latches onto him but is seemingly more concerned with Rei's disappearance, basically adding more fuel to the fire that was their growing attraction in 2.0. He spends more screentime interacting with Kaworu, but I thought it was more platonic in their interactions compared to the series, because he already has a torch so to speak.
Cae Lumis
Chief Director of Shinra Archaeology Department
- Location
- Southern New Jersey
In order to not completely retread my last post about Kaworu (which was threadmarked), I'll simply begin by saying that Kaworu was intentionally written by the staff so that it'd be impossible for Shinji to not develop a complex for him. Given the context for their relationship and the state of Shinji's mind after recent events (i.e. Gendo using him to nearly kill Toji, Kaji dying, Misato going into full on soldier/ workaholic mode, Asuka winding up in room 303 for reasons we all know, and learning the truth about Rei AND loosing Rei II and feeling alienated by Rei III), it quite literally was impossible for Shinji not to latch onto the one person who had offered him for the first time unconditional love to him... Shinji was just that broken and desperate for someone to need him other than for killing and being a pilot... who wanted him just because of who he was.
As I said before, a part of the allure of Kaworu is just how giving of a character he is (granted, this generous and selfless nature is balanced by his disregard/ complete lack of understanding of Social Mores, boundaries, and overall having a blue/ orange morality and understanding of the world around him.) Personally, I'd compare him to a Time Lord in that regard, since he is that far removed from how humans think about the world around them... he wants to understand and is utterly fascinated by the things humans take for granted, but he currently lacks such an understanding.
But I digress.
Most likely, as I mentioned before, Shinji will probably just be drawn to Kaworu because of how willing Kaworu wishes to be friends with him (as opposed to seeing him as the last person who could fill the void left by so many people either frightening him or dying on him), and simply wish to be friends with the guy.
NOW, is Asuka into Yaoi... that's the real question.... given her only line of dialogue with Kaworu from the original series comes from a radio drama where the characters (mostly) act in character and discuss the possibilities of a sequel to Evangelion where she accuses Kaworu of being gay and Kaworu replying, "Don't accuse someone without any evidence,"... I suspect the answer is a resounding... no.
Citation of scene (be warned, it's a product of it's time):
on a completely unrelated note... we see the origin of the revealing Test Suit in Rebuild 2.0 here lol....
As I said before, a part of the allure of Kaworu is just how giving of a character he is (granted, this generous and selfless nature is balanced by his disregard/ complete lack of understanding of Social Mores, boundaries, and overall having a blue/ orange morality and understanding of the world around him.) Personally, I'd compare him to a Time Lord in that regard, since he is that far removed from how humans think about the world around them... he wants to understand and is utterly fascinated by the things humans take for granted, but he currently lacks such an understanding.
But I digress.
Most likely, as I mentioned before, Shinji will probably just be drawn to Kaworu because of how willing Kaworu wishes to be friends with him (as opposed to seeing him as the last person who could fill the void left by so many people either frightening him or dying on him), and simply wish to be friends with the guy.
NOW, is Asuka into Yaoi... that's the real question.... given her only line of dialogue with Kaworu from the original series comes from a radio drama where the characters (mostly) act in character and discuss the possibilities of a sequel to Evangelion where she accuses Kaworu of being gay and Kaworu replying, "Don't accuse someone without any evidence,"... I suspect the answer is a resounding... no.
Citation of scene (be warned, it's a product of it's time):
on a completely unrelated note... we see the origin of the revealing Test Suit in Rebuild 2.0 here lol....
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Character Notes #67 - Stargrave's Thoughts on Kaworu's Attraction Or Lack Of
Stargrave
Wine-drinking evil
- Location
- The White City
There's an equally valid opposite question that I feel people don't ask enough: Is Kaworu actually attracted to Shinji?
He exhibits very few different emotions that would suggest that Shinji is actually having an effect on him. For the most part of his twelve minute run he wears this face of accepting serenity that may or may not be a mask, but that seems to be his general attitude and not something reserved for Shinji. He is suggestive and perhaps even be interpreted as flirty, but that seem to be a function of his lack of social mores. He asks Shinji to kill him, but it's unclear if he does this because he wants Shinji to live, because he wants humanity as a whole to live, or because he himself wants to die. He treats Rei somewhat differently, but Rei is an angel just like him which obviously informs their interaction.
I generally think that anime Kaworu isn't really a character so much as a vessel for Shinji's further deterioration, and he really does show very little actual personality in total, making it kinda hard to actually pin him down. You can interpret what few things we know about him in a lot of different ways, from the idea that he's actually mostly passive in his providing of affection and that Shinji's the one who aggressively latches on to him, across the whole spectrum of friendship and affection towards Shinji or other people, up to the idea that he's just as fucked up and approaches Shinji because he finds a kindred soul in him and thinks they can heal each other. Any of them is I think equally valid.
He exhibits very few different emotions that would suggest that Shinji is actually having an effect on him. For the most part of his twelve minute run he wears this face of accepting serenity that may or may not be a mask, but that seems to be his general attitude and not something reserved for Shinji. He is suggestive and perhaps even be interpreted as flirty, but that seem to be a function of his lack of social mores. He asks Shinji to kill him, but it's unclear if he does this because he wants Shinji to live, because he wants humanity as a whole to live, or because he himself wants to die. He treats Rei somewhat differently, but Rei is an angel just like him which obviously informs their interaction.
I generally think that anime Kaworu isn't really a character so much as a vessel for Shinji's further deterioration, and he really does show very little actual personality in total, making it kinda hard to actually pin him down. You can interpret what few things we know about him in a lot of different ways, from the idea that he's actually mostly passive in his providing of affection and that Shinji's the one who aggressively latches on to him, across the whole spectrum of friendship and affection towards Shinji or other people, up to the idea that he's just as fucked up and approaches Shinji because he finds a kindred soul in him and thinks they can heal each other. Any of them is I think equally valid.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
I'm afraid all the Character notes and omakes are at least for now an SV exclusive bonus, though now that you mention it, I might roll them up as a bonus update at some point.
- Location
- Australia, mate
Could possibly add them in where they fit as an interlude chapter or something, if that's possible on FF.net
- Location
- Out and About
Or maybe you could upload them as a different "story" or something.