What are your thoughts on the fan fictions of Shinji and Asuka having kids?

[C.T.1290]

So there’s been about countless numbers of fan fiction where Shinji and Asuka getting into relationships and eventually start a family together, such famous examples would be The 2nd Try, Ghost of Evangelion, etc. Although this raises the question for me; would that totally be out of character for them, given the context of their relationship?

We all know in the original series that Asuka explicitly stated that she never wanted kids. Of course, she’s too young at that time to be having kids. And with Shinji of all people, that would be even stranger. And some of the fan fictions would make them be OOC at times, like how some authors would make Shinji into a stud and have Asuka be nicer to him than she actually was in the series.

In any case, please share your thoughts.

[Mr. Tines]

Being a sub-set of thoughts on a return to near-normal after 3I/Instrumentality (or after running out of Ube station, for followers of that novel heresy), or side-stepping of same.

As a notorious anti-LAS shipper, I simply do not let such things trouble my consciousness. I do take some wry amusement at the fan arts showing them with a large brood of the usual mix-and-match quasi-clone offspring.

[BiQ]

Asuka would hardly be the first or last teenager to swear off ever having children to find themselves wanting and having them later on in life. Not saying she surely would, but to say she surely wouldn't isn't really truthful either.

And whether or not they would have children together... well, that's just the question of whether the LAS ship makes any sense in the first place. Some stories do the required legwork believably and some do not, and I guess if you refuse to don the shipping gogglesvehemently disagree with the reading of the base material that gives any leeway for such scenarios, then we'll just have to agree to disagree. It's just the "to LAS or not to LAS" debate with specific focus and I frankly have no interest in that.

[VeryConfusedDingus]

I find it very weird to ship characters in general - let alone in this series. Shinji is definitely not a "stud, he's fruity and makes Elton John look like G.I. Joe in comparison. Also, there's the fact he downright hates Asuka because she is a rude brat who projects her insecurities onto others. I think it's just a self-insert thing. Happens with every show. The ending of EoE implies that they are forced to be together. IMO Kawoshin is canon and has been shown in both the show, films and manga. I have yet to see the later films so maybe it changes? I don't really care.

[ChaddyManPrime]

I enjoy it because I enjoy kids, and seeing two characters/people I like raising kids better than they were raised gives me WAFF.

[Kendrix]

It would be one thing if like, some fics had her have kids since she is young enough that she might change her mind, but it's like every single LAS fic ever has them end up with babies like you just compulsively have to follow some idea that Happy Ending = Babies.

It's such an annoying trope that ppl who don't want kids always get told they'll change their mind, and usually they don't - in my experience ppl who love kids kind of always loved them.

Besides I can't see Asuka being anything other than a super career driven person even if she mellowed out to a healthy, normal level of ambition, I can't see her doing an 180 to the extent she would no longer care about it. There'd be no time for kids.
If they end up just like Kyoko & Gendo and have kids they just end up neglecting, nothing has been learned here...


That said, I don't get the realism objection, cause some ppl do meet their longterm partner in their youth (my maternal grandparents met at 16 and stayed together until my grandpa died in his mid 50s), and obviously however old a character is while the plot takes place, that's when they'll meet their partner. Having them married to some rando OC no one cares about for "realism" just isn't satisfying.


That said, I realize that my opinion might not be the most relevant here because as a former bullying victim myself I just can't ship Asuka with somebody she bullied, so I can't with AsuShin or AsuRei, unless it's darkfic & supposed to be fucked up. (I realize this is somewhat a me/personal taste thing; Ppl can ship whatever they want) I don't want to demonize her cause obvsly she didn't have good parenting to guide her & being a mean shoolgirl isn't a capital crime, she still deserves happiness, but imho not with people she picked on. (and while I can't judge Shinji too harshly for things he did in a state of exceptional despair, he too did some stuff that's just a whole load of baggage to deal with, when you could just get with someone else.) I prefer her with someone she actually has a positive relationship with like Mari or Rebuild!Kensuke. (preferably without kids.)

It's fundamentally a story about learning to deal with rejection, & I think you lose something important when you miss how Asuka is, fundamentally, the one who tells Shinji "No". The solution here is that he learns to deal with that without flipping out, not that they get married.

I think those fics are mostly written by ppl who like Asuka, genuinely have great sympathy for her & want her to be happy & even relate to her whole complex about needing to be tough & independent, but they don't get that her perfectionism & tough guy ism is what destroyed her, rather they think everyone else (especially Shinji) should embrace hyper-individualistic toughguy- ism too. Everyone else has to change, her meanness is glossed over... It's the naive approach to making her happy that is just giving her all she wants & all the validation.
I don't even want to talk about 'responsibility' cause that would imply 'she deserved it', which she didn't, she shouldn't have been put in that situation. But she did contribute to her woes at least to the same extent that Shinji can be said to.

It's not my cup of tea but I get that some ppl have repressed masochism a fantasy about making someone who puts you down finally respect you, or that idea that if you get the respect from someone who previously dissed you it must be real. Fanfiction is just the right place for an unrealistic fantasy; I'll never tell anyone they're doing fantasy wrong, though it's not my cup of tea.

[BernardoCairo]

I really like Shinji and Asuka for my own personal reasons. I prefer flawed, more grounded stories over idealized ones. And, thankfully, the show itself explores them a lot, which is great to me. Ironically, though, I don't mind they having kids in fanfics. I actually see Kendrix's point that Asuka probably wouldn't want a child. But in the case of these fan stories, I like when they go all out and create these different scenarios. I think kids are cute, so maybe that's why so many fanfics include them. Not what I would write, of course. But it is what it is. I think the same for other ships, even if I don't connect with them as much. Even more 'unique' ones, like Asuka and Kaworu.