Profile - Character Application for Damned
Name/Handle: Stefan
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Timezone: Pacific Standard Time (California)
Personal LJ: dragoon1940
E-Mail: dragoon1940@gmail.com
AIM/other: dragoon1940
Is English your primary language?: Yes.
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Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Series' Medium: Animated TV series, plus an animated movie.
Character: Shinji Ikari
Age: 14
Sex/Gender: Male/Male
Canon Role: Protaganist.
"Real" Name: Sean Inoue
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I began mucking about with him a month or two ago. Aside from a few private one-on-one roleplays, this would be the first time I’ve played him in a large game.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?:
In private museboxes, mostly.
Are you personally familiar with your character's canon?:
Yes, I am. I’ve watched the entire series series, as well as the End of Evangelion OVA. I’ve also read most of the manga (although that’s a different ‘verse, technically).
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
Shinji Ikari is, almost literally, the child of a world gone mad. He was conceived at roughly the same time that Second Impact was devastating his world. Second Impact was caused by a U.N. expeditionary science team attempting a “contact experiment” with Adam, the First Angel resting beneath the Antarctic. It caused an “anti-AT field”, which in turn caused a massive explosion. This resulted in massive climate change and flooding. Two billion people in the Southern Hemisphere were wiped out in the ensuing tsunamis and flooding.
In the chaos and wars following another billion people were wiped out by famine, war, and disease, before humanity finally began to pull itself back together. It was into this fragile and rebuilding world that Shinji was born, on June 6, 2001. His mother and father were Yui and Gendo Ikari, both scientists working for GEHIRN, a research and development think tank for the development of Evas and research into “Angels” (the progeny of Adam, who would latter attempt to force Third Impact).
The first four years of his life would be his happiest and his most normal. His mother and father continued to work on their research for Gehirn and he grew up with them, quite happily. That would all change when he was roughly four years old. His mother was the test subject for a contact experiment involving Eva Unit 01. Shinji was brought along to watch.
During the test, things went horribly wrong. Yui Ikari disappeared, absorbed into Unit 01. Efforts to recover her failed and within the year, she was declared dead. Shinji was witness to the test and the subsequent disappearance of his mother. This, naturally, had a rather traumatizing effect on the young boy. It would prove to be the beginning of his abandonment issues and help spur his low self-esteem later in life.
His father’s actions did not help either. Gendo Ikari through himself into his work on Project Evangelion in an effort to initiate Third Impact and (as a result) retrieve Yui in some form. Spurning Shinji and fearing becoming close to the boy, he left the boy with a teacher, further adding to Shinji’s abandonment issues and low self-esteem. Shinji lived a reclusive life for much of that time, becoming more introverted and shy as a result. At age fourteen, this changed.
He received a letter from his father, by now head of NERV, humankind’s line of defense against the Angels and controllers of the Eva units, summoning him to Tokyo-3. Hopefully believing that his father had finally turned around and finally wished to see him again, Shinji journeyed to Tokyo-3. He would be horribly disappointed.
After meeting the woman who would be his guardian for the duration of his stay in Tokyo-3, Misato Katsuragi, he descended into NERV’s headquarters, where he was brought face-to-face with Evangelion Unit 01, a massive bipedal fighting unit. His father then requested that he pilot the Eva in order to combat an approaching Angel attack. Angry, betrayed, and hurt, Shinji at first refused. Rei Ayanami was ordered to sortie in his place. However, she was injured and after witnessing the extent of her injuries, he agreed to fight in her stead.
Shinji found himself bundled into Unit 01 without much ceremony and was launched against his first Angel. Suffice to say, he did not do well. He was, in fact, being beaten horribly when Unit 01 went into “berserker mode” and proceeded to tear the Angel limb from limb, smashing its core and causing it to explode in an attempt to defeat Unit 01. Shinji was safely recovered from the Eva and placed in the hospital until he regained consciousness.
Following his recovery, he as sent to live with Misato Katsuragi. Her apparently happy-go-lucky and lazy attitude while at home surprised him, although they did become friends of sorts - one of Shinji’s firsts. He was also sent to attend school in Tokyo-3, where he met Toji and Kensuke, as well as Rei again. Shortly afterwards he was again sent to engage an Angel and despite difficulties, defeated it. During the course of the fight, both Toji and Kensuke (who had snuck out of their protective bunker) were admitted to the Eva by Shinji in order to save their lives. Following this incident, they became friends - some of the first ones around Shinji’s own age that he’d ever had.
He began to work for NERV, piloting Eva, despite his objections at times. He piloted because he was told to. His relationship with Rei, despite being puzzled and confused by her at first, began to blossom and he found that he cared for her. Rei remained cold towards him until the engagement with Ramiel, the Fifth Angel. During the ensuing fight and Ramiel’s eventual destruction, Unit 00, Rei’s Eva, was severely damaged and Shinji rushed to her aid in order to free her from the wreckage.
He and Rei began to develop an affection for one another, one which neither would fully be able to express (on Shinji’s side, due to his own innate introverted personality and shyness and on Rei’s because she did not fully comprehend what she was experiencing). However, they became relatively close as time went on.
Following the destruction of the Fifth Angel, Shinji was introduced to Asuka Langley Soryu, the pilot of Unit 02 when she was transferred to Japan to help combat the attacking Angels. She would prove to be a source of catalyst and change in his life, for better or for worse. He, Misato, Toji, and Kensuke were flown out to the fleet escorting Unit 02 to Japan, when it came under attack from the Sixth Angel. Asuka quickly activated Unit 02 and forced Shinji to scramble into it with her (wearing one of her plugsuits - special suits that aided in the necessary functions of piloting an Eva).
Unit 02 successfully defeated the Sixth Angel, although Shinji was horrified to learn upon his return home that Asuka would be staying with him and Misato. He found her overbearing attitude and ego overwhelming and unpleasant. Asuka also enjoyed alternately teasing Shinji and berating him for his mistakes. Despite his own attraction and care for Asuka, Shinji found himself afraid of her and outright cowed, acting friendly towards her, but also generally weak and submissive. Eventually, he would become almost entirely withdrawn in her presence in order to avoid further berating and abuse from her.
Still, they managed to maintain a functioning relationship for some time (they would, at one point, share a “practice” kiss). They worked together to defeat several Angels, along with Rei, and for a brief period of time, Shinji’s life seemed to be improving. His confidence boosted and it seemed, for a short time, that he was rebuilding his relationship with his father. This all came crashing down with the appearance of the 12th Angel. Overconfident after a string of successes, Shinji attacked it, only to be absorbed by the Angel's "shadow" and sent to a Sea of Dirac. He faced an introspective journey within it, until he and Unit 01 once again went berserk and blasted it's way free of the Angel, literally tearing a hole in reality (and the Angel) to escape.
His confidence shaken and wondering what this experience had actually meant, he returned to piloting Unit 01. That would not be anywhere close to his final ordeal as an Eva pilot, however. The next Angel infect the fourth Evangelion unit - Unit 03 and revealed itself when the Unit activated, with the test pilot - Shinji’s close friend, Toji - inside. Shinji, Rei, and Asuka were all scrambled to intercept the rogue Eva unit. Both Rei and Asuka were defeated, leaving Shinji to face it alone. Shinji refused to fight back, concerned for the pilot’s life (although he was not aware at the time that it was Toji). At this point, Gendo ordered a remote dummy system activated and Shinji was forced to watch with horror as Unit 01 destructively dismantled Unit 03. Only afterwards did he learn that he had nearly killed Toji.
As he realized what his father had forced him to, he turned his rage on NERV and on his father, attempting (briefly) to smash into NERV headquarters and kill him. He was stopped when the pressure of the entry plug was raised and he was forced unconscious. After recovering, he refused to continue to pilot for NERV or his father, becoming more withdrawn. Gendo accepted this andhe was told to leave. However, before he could leave Tokyo-3, it once again came under attack from an Angel. It defeated both Asuka and Rei and was on the verge of destroying NERV when Shinji finally sortied in Unit 01 and engaged in heavy hand-to-hand combat.
As the internal batteries of Unit 01 ran out, the Eva once again went into “berserker” mode as Yui (her spirit present inside of Unit 01) took control and destroyed the Angel, consuming its core. Shinji was absorbed into the Eva unit and was inside of it for a month, where he once again faced an odd, introspective journey, where he attempted to discern his own disconnect form the world and from those who tried to reach out to him. H eventually came into contact with his mother’s soul and was released from inside the Eva.
His psychological health continued to decline from that point onward. He became more and more introspective and withdrawn, avoiding Asuka and her abuse, even while he tried to figure out his own confused feelings for her and for Rei, who continued to show a gentle affection for him.
During the next Angel attack, Asuka was quite literally mind raped and following the encounter, was unable to pilot. Her depression reduced her to a comatose state and Shinji’s worry for her, combined with his own mental health issues quickly spiraled him towards some sort of breakdown. This was exacerbated when, during the same attack, Rei self-destructed her own Eva unit to save Shinji. Although she returned (cloned by Gendo and NERV), her relationship with Shinji was once again distant and cold. Soon after, it was revealed to him that NERV had Lillith, an Angel and the progenitor of mankind, kept chained in the heart of headquarters. Isolated and having lost the only companions he had left in the world, Shinji fell into bleak depression.
This was temporarily abated when Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child and replacement pilot for Unit 02 arrived. He showed an affection and kindness to Shinji that Shinji returned and for a brief period of time, Shinji seemed happy. He had a friend again, one who seemed to genuinely care. One who claimed to love him (and Shinji believed that he loved him in return). However, it was not to last.
Kaworu was the final Angel, sent by SEELE to foil Gendo Ikari. Taking control of Unit 02, he descended through NERV headquarters, destroying all defenses until he was finally exposed to Lillith. However, it was here that Kaworu learned that he had been tricked - he had been expecting to find Adam, who would’ve joined with and begun Third Impact. Foiled and knowing that if he lived, he would wipe out humanity, he asked Shinji to kill. Shinji, despondent, did so.
This would prove to be the final straw for Shinji. He fell deeper into depression, having killed the one person in the world who had claimed to love him. It is from that point that Shinji is drawn into the world of Damned.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
Shinji is coming from just after the end of episode 24 and his killing of Kaworu. Although it does put him at one of his lowest points in canon (the lowest being the beginning of End of Evangelion, when he refuses to react to anything), feasibly he has nowhere to go but up, at least from a psychological standpoint. Everything he knows is gone - he's going to have to make new connections and learn to stand on his own (hopefully).
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Shinji is an introvert, to say the least. The apparent “death” of his mother and his father’s subsequent abandonment of him have left him with serious abandonment issues and a very low image of his own self-worth. He has had very little contact with other people outside of his tutors and those people he meets in Tokyo-3. His social skills are lacking and as a result, he is not very assertive or dominant. Due to his own father’s abandonment, he often chooses to run away when faced with problems.
This does change over the course of the series, however - with the assistance of Misato and his own burgeoning self-confidence, he learns to be a bit braver, a bit more self-assertive. For a brief period of time, as he becomes a successful Eva pilot, he actually seems to be adjusting rather well. He believes in himself and has confidence in his own abilities.
However, thanks to Asuka’s belittling attitude (which continually gnaws at him) and a string of horrible failures against various Angels, he begins to revert. He is once again introverted, shy and unable to assert himself. He cannot bring himself to reach out to others, because he believes it will only bring him pain. Paradoxically, however, he hates being alone as this too brings him pain.
After his father forces his Eva to destroy Unit 03 and severely injure Toji, he attempts to leave. However, he eventually returns, because he discovers that he cannot simply let others be hurt or die because of him. He does not pilot the Eva because he wants to. He pilots it because he is told to and through it, hopes to win approval - specifically that of his father.
It is for much the same reason that he does not assert himself and is passive. He wants others to like him and hopes that by merely agreeing with them and apologizing they will not mistreat him or shove him away (for example, he simply took up the cello because his guardians wanted him to).
There is a streak of determination somewhere, deep inside of him - at one point, he risks his life to prevent Asuka and her Eva from being lost inside the depths of a volcano. He also risks severe injury to ensure that Rei is safe after her Eva is heavily damaged during an operation, burning his hands on the emergency hatch of her entry plug in order to get the door open and ensure her survival.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Shinji is a fairly average fourteen-year old boy. He’s thin and gangly, a bit scrawny, but not malnourished. He has dark hair and eyes and is of average height for his age. He seems to be in fairly decent shape, although he’s certainly no athlete.
What kinds of otherworldly abilities does your character have, if any?:
None, unless being able to pilot a robot with your mom’s soul inside of it counts.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
N/A
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
Shinji Ikari is a fairly decent cook, should he be able to get his hands on any ingredients and utensils, and is a talented cellist as well, although he denies being very good at it.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
This close to the end of the series, Shinji is actually almost a wreck. He’s depressed, isolated and completely out of touch with his surroundings the very few people (read: Misato) who still care about him and are trying to help him. A stay in a mental hospital, however crazy, might actually be good for him. His psyche will probably (slowly) begin to recover, at least for dayshifts. He may face horrible horrors and gribblies… but he’s faced them already. In larger scale. At this point, he almost doesn’t care about his own life. However, once he’s recovered enough and perhaps under someone else’s guidance, he may be able to rustle up the determination to soldier on and get out of there.
He’s already damaged, but he can recover. He can get better. And when and if he does, I think that having a support network, having other people around him that might actually be willing to help him, rather then exploit his passive nature and use him as a tool, will do him good and make him a better person, eventually. He might even learn to stand on his own.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Although Shinji may not be the picture of mental health, he comes from a setting that is unsettling and at times, downright horrific. He’s forced into combat, time after time in the vain hopes that his father will actually love him. And throughout it all, his father is just using him as a tool to achieve his own ends. He is forced to watch himself hurt one of his few friends. Another one blows herself up to save him (and then he finds out she’s a clone). Yet another goes comatose. Bad shit happens to him and he makes it through (even if he’s not always intact).
Third-Person Sample:
It was raining outside of the apartment. He could hear the drops, pattering off of the balconies, the windows. It didn’t rain often, anymore. It was usually always hot, he remembered. Humid. The buzz of cicadas a constant in the background. At least for now, it was all washed away in the rain - the buzz, the heat, the humidity. He shifted on his bed, rolled over onto his side and clicked his SDAT back on. The music that flooded into his ears was familiar. He’d listened to this, over and over again.
Shinji could still remember his face. The too-pale skin, the crimson eyes, and that strange hair. He remembered, “I’m saying I love you.”
He remembered fighting Unit 02 as they descended, shouting for answers from the boy he’d thought he could trust. He flexed his fingers, remembering the feeling of a small, helpless, frail body in his hands (Unit 01’s hands). The long, slow moments of indecision and then the convulsive squeeze.
Shinji squeezed his eyes shut against that memory and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to form. He took in a long, shuddering breath and tried to lose himself in the music again. What had he done to deserve this? When had he gone wrong? He’d done everything he’d been asked to do, fought every Angel, overcome every obstacle - and now he was stuck, here. No friends. Asuak gone. Toji gone. Kensuke gone. Rei… might as well be dead.
Kaworu was dead, too. He’d killed him. He’d loved him. It’d been love of a sort, anyway. He thought he might’ve loved Asuka too, even though she hated him (did he hate her?).
The music in his ears swelled triumphantly.
He reluctantly sat up and pulled the buds out of his ears as someone rapped on his door. For a moment he contemplated it and then rolled over onto his side again, facing away from the door again.
“Shinji?”
Misato again. She didn’t understand. She hadn’t had to kill a friend. She’d been safe in the command center, watching (he knew that was unfair - he shouldn’t think like that).
“Shinji… I just wanted to check on you. Are you OK?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and willed her to go away. He didn’t want to talk to her. He didn’t want to hear her words of reassurance. It wasn’t alright. It would never be alright, ever again.
“Just… let me know if you’re hungry or anything, OK, Shinji?”
Misato waited for a moment and then he heard the door slide shut. He carefully slipped one ear bud back in and clicked the play button again. Ode to Joy.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
He flexed his fingers again, lifted his hands to stare at them as the music blared. To look at the muscles and bone moving underneath the skin. To see the stain of blood.
Freude! Freude!
He didn’t think his hands would ever be clean again.
First-Person Sample:
[Although Shinji is perfectly literate, he does not seem the type to keep a journal. He likes to keep all of his thoughts internal so that he doesn’t potentially offend anyone with what he might write or say about them. He wants to play it safe - and the safest way to do that is by internalizing everything and ensuring it never gets out in public. It also takes a certain willingness to actually examine one’s self and a degree of self-awareness that Shinji either hasn’t displayed or simply isn’t willing to put forth.]
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Timezone: Pacific Standard Time (California)
Personal LJ: dragoon1940
E-Mail: dragoon1940@gmail.com
AIM/other: dragoon1940
Is English your primary language?: Yes.
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Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Series' Medium: Animated TV series, plus an animated movie.
Character: Shinji Ikari
Age: 14
Sex/Gender: Male/Male
Canon Role: Protaganist.
"Real" Name: Sean Inoue
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I began mucking about with him a month or two ago. Aside from a few private one-on-one roleplays, this would be the first time I’ve played him in a large game.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?:
In private museboxes, mostly.
Are you personally familiar with your character's canon?:
Yes, I am. I’ve watched the entire series series, as well as the End of Evangelion OVA. I’ve also read most of the manga (although that’s a different ‘verse, technically).
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
Shinji Ikari is, almost literally, the child of a world gone mad. He was conceived at roughly the same time that Second Impact was devastating his world. Second Impact was caused by a U.N. expeditionary science team attempting a “contact experiment” with Adam, the First Angel resting beneath the Antarctic. It caused an “anti-AT field”, which in turn caused a massive explosion. This resulted in massive climate change and flooding. Two billion people in the Southern Hemisphere were wiped out in the ensuing tsunamis and flooding.
In the chaos and wars following another billion people were wiped out by famine, war, and disease, before humanity finally began to pull itself back together. It was into this fragile and rebuilding world that Shinji was born, on June 6, 2001. His mother and father were Yui and Gendo Ikari, both scientists working for GEHIRN, a research and development think tank for the development of Evas and research into “Angels” (the progeny of Adam, who would latter attempt to force Third Impact).
The first four years of his life would be his happiest and his most normal. His mother and father continued to work on their research for Gehirn and he grew up with them, quite happily. That would all change when he was roughly four years old. His mother was the test subject for a contact experiment involving Eva Unit 01. Shinji was brought along to watch.
During the test, things went horribly wrong. Yui Ikari disappeared, absorbed into Unit 01. Efforts to recover her failed and within the year, she was declared dead. Shinji was witness to the test and the subsequent disappearance of his mother. This, naturally, had a rather traumatizing effect on the young boy. It would prove to be the beginning of his abandonment issues and help spur his low self-esteem later in life.
His father’s actions did not help either. Gendo Ikari through himself into his work on Project Evangelion in an effort to initiate Third Impact and (as a result) retrieve Yui in some form. Spurning Shinji and fearing becoming close to the boy, he left the boy with a teacher, further adding to Shinji’s abandonment issues and low self-esteem. Shinji lived a reclusive life for much of that time, becoming more introverted and shy as a result. At age fourteen, this changed.
He received a letter from his father, by now head of NERV, humankind’s line of defense against the Angels and controllers of the Eva units, summoning him to Tokyo-3. Hopefully believing that his father had finally turned around and finally wished to see him again, Shinji journeyed to Tokyo-3. He would be horribly disappointed.
After meeting the woman who would be his guardian for the duration of his stay in Tokyo-3, Misato Katsuragi, he descended into NERV’s headquarters, where he was brought face-to-face with Evangelion Unit 01, a massive bipedal fighting unit. His father then requested that he pilot the Eva in order to combat an approaching Angel attack. Angry, betrayed, and hurt, Shinji at first refused. Rei Ayanami was ordered to sortie in his place. However, she was injured and after witnessing the extent of her injuries, he agreed to fight in her stead.
Shinji found himself bundled into Unit 01 without much ceremony and was launched against his first Angel. Suffice to say, he did not do well. He was, in fact, being beaten horribly when Unit 01 went into “berserker mode” and proceeded to tear the Angel limb from limb, smashing its core and causing it to explode in an attempt to defeat Unit 01. Shinji was safely recovered from the Eva and placed in the hospital until he regained consciousness.
Following his recovery, he as sent to live with Misato Katsuragi. Her apparently happy-go-lucky and lazy attitude while at home surprised him, although they did become friends of sorts - one of Shinji’s firsts. He was also sent to attend school in Tokyo-3, where he met Toji and Kensuke, as well as Rei again. Shortly afterwards he was again sent to engage an Angel and despite difficulties, defeated it. During the course of the fight, both Toji and Kensuke (who had snuck out of their protective bunker) were admitted to the Eva by Shinji in order to save their lives. Following this incident, they became friends - some of the first ones around Shinji’s own age that he’d ever had.
He began to work for NERV, piloting Eva, despite his objections at times. He piloted because he was told to. His relationship with Rei, despite being puzzled and confused by her at first, began to blossom and he found that he cared for her. Rei remained cold towards him until the engagement with Ramiel, the Fifth Angel. During the ensuing fight and Ramiel’s eventual destruction, Unit 00, Rei’s Eva, was severely damaged and Shinji rushed to her aid in order to free her from the wreckage.
He and Rei began to develop an affection for one another, one which neither would fully be able to express (on Shinji’s side, due to his own innate introverted personality and shyness and on Rei’s because she did not fully comprehend what she was experiencing). However, they became relatively close as time went on.
Following the destruction of the Fifth Angel, Shinji was introduced to Asuka Langley Soryu, the pilot of Unit 02 when she was transferred to Japan to help combat the attacking Angels. She would prove to be a source of catalyst and change in his life, for better or for worse. He, Misato, Toji, and Kensuke were flown out to the fleet escorting Unit 02 to Japan, when it came under attack from the Sixth Angel. Asuka quickly activated Unit 02 and forced Shinji to scramble into it with her (wearing one of her plugsuits - special suits that aided in the necessary functions of piloting an Eva).
Unit 02 successfully defeated the Sixth Angel, although Shinji was horrified to learn upon his return home that Asuka would be staying with him and Misato. He found her overbearing attitude and ego overwhelming and unpleasant. Asuka also enjoyed alternately teasing Shinji and berating him for his mistakes. Despite his own attraction and care for Asuka, Shinji found himself afraid of her and outright cowed, acting friendly towards her, but also generally weak and submissive. Eventually, he would become almost entirely withdrawn in her presence in order to avoid further berating and abuse from her.
Still, they managed to maintain a functioning relationship for some time (they would, at one point, share a “practice” kiss). They worked together to defeat several Angels, along with Rei, and for a brief period of time, Shinji’s life seemed to be improving. His confidence boosted and it seemed, for a short time, that he was rebuilding his relationship with his father. This all came crashing down with the appearance of the 12th Angel. Overconfident after a string of successes, Shinji attacked it, only to be absorbed by the Angel's "shadow" and sent to a Sea of Dirac. He faced an introspective journey within it, until he and Unit 01 once again went berserk and blasted it's way free of the Angel, literally tearing a hole in reality (and the Angel) to escape.
His confidence shaken and wondering what this experience had actually meant, he returned to piloting Unit 01. That would not be anywhere close to his final ordeal as an Eva pilot, however. The next Angel infect the fourth Evangelion unit - Unit 03 and revealed itself when the Unit activated, with the test pilot - Shinji’s close friend, Toji - inside. Shinji, Rei, and Asuka were all scrambled to intercept the rogue Eva unit. Both Rei and Asuka were defeated, leaving Shinji to face it alone. Shinji refused to fight back, concerned for the pilot’s life (although he was not aware at the time that it was Toji). At this point, Gendo ordered a remote dummy system activated and Shinji was forced to watch with horror as Unit 01 destructively dismantled Unit 03. Only afterwards did he learn that he had nearly killed Toji.
As he realized what his father had forced him to, he turned his rage on NERV and on his father, attempting (briefly) to smash into NERV headquarters and kill him. He was stopped when the pressure of the entry plug was raised and he was forced unconscious. After recovering, he refused to continue to pilot for NERV or his father, becoming more withdrawn. Gendo accepted this andhe was told to leave. However, before he could leave Tokyo-3, it once again came under attack from an Angel. It defeated both Asuka and Rei and was on the verge of destroying NERV when Shinji finally sortied in Unit 01 and engaged in heavy hand-to-hand combat.
As the internal batteries of Unit 01 ran out, the Eva once again went into “berserker” mode as Yui (her spirit present inside of Unit 01) took control and destroyed the Angel, consuming its core. Shinji was absorbed into the Eva unit and was inside of it for a month, where he once again faced an odd, introspective journey, where he attempted to discern his own disconnect form the world and from those who tried to reach out to him. H eventually came into contact with his mother’s soul and was released from inside the Eva.
His psychological health continued to decline from that point onward. He became more and more introspective and withdrawn, avoiding Asuka and her abuse, even while he tried to figure out his own confused feelings for her and for Rei, who continued to show a gentle affection for him.
During the next Angel attack, Asuka was quite literally mind raped and following the encounter, was unable to pilot. Her depression reduced her to a comatose state and Shinji’s worry for her, combined with his own mental health issues quickly spiraled him towards some sort of breakdown. This was exacerbated when, during the same attack, Rei self-destructed her own Eva unit to save Shinji. Although she returned (cloned by Gendo and NERV), her relationship with Shinji was once again distant and cold. Soon after, it was revealed to him that NERV had Lillith, an Angel and the progenitor of mankind, kept chained in the heart of headquarters. Isolated and having lost the only companions he had left in the world, Shinji fell into bleak depression.
This was temporarily abated when Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child and replacement pilot for Unit 02 arrived. He showed an affection and kindness to Shinji that Shinji returned and for a brief period of time, Shinji seemed happy. He had a friend again, one who seemed to genuinely care. One who claimed to love him (and Shinji believed that he loved him in return). However, it was not to last.
Kaworu was the final Angel, sent by SEELE to foil Gendo Ikari. Taking control of Unit 02, he descended through NERV headquarters, destroying all defenses until he was finally exposed to Lillith. However, it was here that Kaworu learned that he had been tricked - he had been expecting to find Adam, who would’ve joined with and begun Third Impact. Foiled and knowing that if he lived, he would wipe out humanity, he asked Shinji to kill. Shinji, despondent, did so.
This would prove to be the final straw for Shinji. He fell deeper into depression, having killed the one person in the world who had claimed to love him. It is from that point that Shinji is drawn into the world of Damned.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
Shinji is coming from just after the end of episode 24 and his killing of Kaworu. Although it does put him at one of his lowest points in canon (the lowest being the beginning of End of Evangelion, when he refuses to react to anything), feasibly he has nowhere to go but up, at least from a psychological standpoint. Everything he knows is gone - he's going to have to make new connections and learn to stand on his own (hopefully).
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Shinji is an introvert, to say the least. The apparent “death” of his mother and his father’s subsequent abandonment of him have left him with serious abandonment issues and a very low image of his own self-worth. He has had very little contact with other people outside of his tutors and those people he meets in Tokyo-3. His social skills are lacking and as a result, he is not very assertive or dominant. Due to his own father’s abandonment, he often chooses to run away when faced with problems.
This does change over the course of the series, however - with the assistance of Misato and his own burgeoning self-confidence, he learns to be a bit braver, a bit more self-assertive. For a brief period of time, as he becomes a successful Eva pilot, he actually seems to be adjusting rather well. He believes in himself and has confidence in his own abilities.
However, thanks to Asuka’s belittling attitude (which continually gnaws at him) and a string of horrible failures against various Angels, he begins to revert. He is once again introverted, shy and unable to assert himself. He cannot bring himself to reach out to others, because he believes it will only bring him pain. Paradoxically, however, he hates being alone as this too brings him pain.
After his father forces his Eva to destroy Unit 03 and severely injure Toji, he attempts to leave. However, he eventually returns, because he discovers that he cannot simply let others be hurt or die because of him. He does not pilot the Eva because he wants to. He pilots it because he is told to and through it, hopes to win approval - specifically that of his father.
It is for much the same reason that he does not assert himself and is passive. He wants others to like him and hopes that by merely agreeing with them and apologizing they will not mistreat him or shove him away (for example, he simply took up the cello because his guardians wanted him to).
There is a streak of determination somewhere, deep inside of him - at one point, he risks his life to prevent Asuka and her Eva from being lost inside the depths of a volcano. He also risks severe injury to ensure that Rei is safe after her Eva is heavily damaged during an operation, burning his hands on the emergency hatch of her entry plug in order to get the door open and ensure her survival.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Shinji is a fairly average fourteen-year old boy. He’s thin and gangly, a bit scrawny, but not malnourished. He has dark hair and eyes and is of average height for his age. He seems to be in fairly decent shape, although he’s certainly no athlete.
What kinds of otherworldly abilities does your character have, if any?:
None, unless being able to pilot a robot with your mom’s soul inside of it counts.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
N/A
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
Shinji Ikari is a fairly decent cook, should he be able to get his hands on any ingredients and utensils, and is a talented cellist as well, although he denies being very good at it.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
This close to the end of the series, Shinji is actually almost a wreck. He’s depressed, isolated and completely out of touch with his surroundings the very few people (read: Misato) who still care about him and are trying to help him. A stay in a mental hospital, however crazy, might actually be good for him. His psyche will probably (slowly) begin to recover, at least for dayshifts. He may face horrible horrors and gribblies… but he’s faced them already. In larger scale. At this point, he almost doesn’t care about his own life. However, once he’s recovered enough and perhaps under someone else’s guidance, he may be able to rustle up the determination to soldier on and get out of there.
He’s already damaged, but he can recover. He can get better. And when and if he does, I think that having a support network, having other people around him that might actually be willing to help him, rather then exploit his passive nature and use him as a tool, will do him good and make him a better person, eventually. He might even learn to stand on his own.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Although Shinji may not be the picture of mental health, he comes from a setting that is unsettling and at times, downright horrific. He’s forced into combat, time after time in the vain hopes that his father will actually love him. And throughout it all, his father is just using him as a tool to achieve his own ends. He is forced to watch himself hurt one of his few friends. Another one blows herself up to save him (and then he finds out she’s a clone). Yet another goes comatose. Bad shit happens to him and he makes it through (even if he’s not always intact).
Third-Person Sample:
It was raining outside of the apartment. He could hear the drops, pattering off of the balconies, the windows. It didn’t rain often, anymore. It was usually always hot, he remembered. Humid. The buzz of cicadas a constant in the background. At least for now, it was all washed away in the rain - the buzz, the heat, the humidity. He shifted on his bed, rolled over onto his side and clicked his SDAT back on. The music that flooded into his ears was familiar. He’d listened to this, over and over again.
Shinji could still remember his face. The too-pale skin, the crimson eyes, and that strange hair. He remembered, “I’m saying I love you.”
He remembered fighting Unit 02 as they descended, shouting for answers from the boy he’d thought he could trust. He flexed his fingers, remembering the feeling of a small, helpless, frail body in his hands (Unit 01’s hands). The long, slow moments of indecision and then the convulsive squeeze.
Shinji squeezed his eyes shut against that memory and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to form. He took in a long, shuddering breath and tried to lose himself in the music again. What had he done to deserve this? When had he gone wrong? He’d done everything he’d been asked to do, fought every Angel, overcome every obstacle - and now he was stuck, here. No friends. Asuak gone. Toji gone. Kensuke gone. Rei… might as well be dead.
Kaworu was dead, too. He’d killed him. He’d loved him. It’d been love of a sort, anyway. He thought he might’ve loved Asuka too, even though she hated him (did he hate her?).
The music in his ears swelled triumphantly.
He reluctantly sat up and pulled the buds out of his ears as someone rapped on his door. For a moment he contemplated it and then rolled over onto his side again, facing away from the door again.
“Shinji?”
Misato again. She didn’t understand. She hadn’t had to kill a friend. She’d been safe in the command center, watching (he knew that was unfair - he shouldn’t think like that).
“Shinji… I just wanted to check on you. Are you OK?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and willed her to go away. He didn’t want to talk to her. He didn’t want to hear her words of reassurance. It wasn’t alright. It would never be alright, ever again.
“Just… let me know if you’re hungry or anything, OK, Shinji?”
Misato waited for a moment and then he heard the door slide shut. He carefully slipped one ear bud back in and clicked the play button again. Ode to Joy.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
He flexed his fingers again, lifted his hands to stare at them as the music blared. To look at the muscles and bone moving underneath the skin. To see the stain of blood.
Freude! Freude!
He didn’t think his hands would ever be clean again.
First-Person Sample:
[Although Shinji is perfectly literate, he does not seem the type to keep a journal. He likes to keep all of his thoughts internal so that he doesn’t potentially offend anyone with what he might write or say about them. He wants to play it safe - and the safest way to do that is by internalizing everything and ensuring it never gets out in public. It also takes a certain willingness to actually examine one’s self and a degree of self-awareness that Shinji either hasn’t displayed or simply isn’t willing to put forth.]