pwhodges wrote:Actually, Shinji applies himself to domestic matters, especially cooking - and not, as far as I can see, for praise. ... Also, he doesn't play the cello for praise
(Quote Edited to address specific points)
Both good points, and ones that I failed to take into consideration when composing my post. Though a far as domestic matters go, I do wonder if he does it out of necessity? Also, I'm open to considering the possibility that domestic duties and his cello playing are simply habitual from before the beginning of the series, as we get relatively few details about the pre-EP 1 background of the characters. I haven't read the manga as of yet so perhaps there are minor details there I've missed. When all is said and done, we have no way of knowing if he was assigned domestic duties while living with his teacher/distant relations, so the best we can go off of is conjecture. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or have missed something.
pwhodges wrote:As for Gendō being an adult Shinji, that's never sat quite right with me.
That could be seen as a matter of preference, such as my preference of LRS or LMS over LAS. OR it can genuinely be a matter of two different people interpreting the character differently. Which is good, because that variety of interpretations is what leads to many differnt fanfiction being different from each other. A wise man told me "Variety is the spice of life"
DarkBluePhoenix wrote:Well, in my own fanfic, it's how I've written Gendo. It seems to work, at least as long as you have a tragic backstory for him, not dissimilar to Shinji's but messed up enough to warrant similar, over the top responses.
Valid point, and one that isn't addressed too often, I believe that the Kotetsu no Girlfriend 2/Angelic Days manga explored this briefly in its fifth volume, however there is little else to work with as far as backstory for Gendou, other than what we get in the anime (and perhaps the manga, as I've said I haven't read it yet.)
DarkBluePhoenix wrote:Shinji, just like Asuka, or Rei, is intelligent for sure. ... He doesn't get praised for his grades, so he neglects them because they won't get him any attention.
I think this is a brilliant point to bring up. As a child grows, their development is influenced by a number of factors, including (or especially if you prefer) interaction with others, something that, from the few pieces of circumstantial evidence we're given throughout the series, Shinji seemingly lacked in his upbringing. Because we are given a rudimentary backstory for Shinji's life between Yui's disappearance and Gendou calling Shinji to Tokyo-3, the events of his upbrining between age 4 and age 14 is entirely conjecture, and that is most likely why when fanfiction author's choose to alter Shinji's personality for a work, the childhood is where they often make their changes.
DarkBluePhoenix wrote:Also, cool you're from Connecticut too.
That I am, the Manchester Area, PM me and we can collectively gripe about this hole of a state lol. Also, your Avatar is awesome and Wing Zero is definitely the best Gundam EVER.