I posted this earlier in the "Alternate Guardians for Shinji" thread, and I really want to keep going with it, but I'm sort of stalling on plot details.
Here's what I've got done so far:
Next up is obviously the fight with Sachiel, which won't go quite as badly as in canon. Shinji won't fall flat on his face, but he will have trouble driving the Eva at first, and won't be able to generate an AT Field. Sachiel will start smacking him around a bit, and then Roger finally shows up with Big O (had to retrieve him from where he was being unloaded off the freighter they hired, down at the docks). Sachiel doesn't quite know what to make of the Black Megadeus; it's not an Angel, but it's not an Eva either. He's a little baffled.
Roger gets in a few good hits and then runs up against the AT Field. Sachiel starts beating up on Big O, but Shinji recovers some what and draws off his attention. He smacks Unit One around some more, tosses it aside, it goes berserk. From there it goes like canon, although with Big O trying to chip in (Roger hasn't realized that Shinji isn't in control, what with not being tied into NERV communications).
In the long-term plot, though... I'm not quite sure how to handle things. Roger obviously presents a major threat to Gendo's plan--not because he has a Megadeus, but because he's bonded with Shinji, something he didn't expect. When he met Roger ten years earlier to arrange for him to take in Shinji, he got the impression that Roger didn't really like kids much and was annoyed at being saddled with one--which was essentially accurate.
What he didn't count on was Dorothy and Norman--he dismissed them as hired help, and not the near-family they are. Dorothy in particular becomes very close to Shinji, partly because she's the only one in the household who speaks Japanese (she learns it by simply downloading the language
). She gradually teaches Shinji English (yes, despite Big O being anime itself, I'm operating on the premise that they actually spoke English in Paradigm City, since it's clearly supposed to be a version of New York City).
Roger all but ignores Shinji at first, but as he grows up he isn't around many other children, so he follows the example of his only role models and behaves very grown-up at a young age, not at all what Roger expected, and he starts to become close to the boy. Eventually he even starts to show Shinji how to pilot a Megadeus, though he never actually goes into combat himself--just a bit of experimental walking around.
By the time of the scene above, Shinji hasn't changed quite that much. He's happier and more open and somewhat more confident, but Gendo remains capable of ripping that all down easily. He knew that if he answered his father's summon alone, he'd wind up giving in to whatever he said eventually, which is why he asked for Roger to intercede on his behalf.
This is where I stalled. Roger is, as I said, a major problem for Gendo, because he's unable to get control over Shinji with him in the way... but I'm not sure what he would do about this. Roger's a smooth operator, and attempts to have him kicked out of the city or removed as Shinji's guardian or something would be stalled. He could, I suppose, try and have Roger killed, but Shinji would potentially realize this and then be even harder to control.
I also have little to no idea how SEELE would react, aside from entertaining the idea that Alex Rosewater is part of their circle. How exactly that would affect things I don't know either.
Oh, and as to Paradigm City itself being present in the Evangelion universe... prior to Second Impact, there was a large-scale physics experiment going underway, revolving around some kind of space-time manipulation. The site was remote, on Russia's pacific coast. The main test apparatus was a huge dome-shaped structure, nearly a hundred miles across and so tall it would block civilian air traffic.
Unfortunately, they were beginning activation right when Second Impact happened.
Nobody was quite sure what actually happened, because communication with the interior of the array was cut off almost immediately. Nearly two years later, it finally shut down and opened up... from the inside. The array had created a bubble of isolated space-time, within which time was moving at a greatly accelerated rate... and the bubble wasn't entirely stable. Reality within it shifted, erasing the memory of everyone inside with every major shift. Time began repeating itself over and over. Ultimately, one person--Angel--finally managed to shut down the array, at which point they were reconnected with the outside world.
In the aftermath, no-one could figure out exactly how much time had passed, but it had to have been a lot--a major city had been built where before there was only wilderness, modeled after New York. Most of the bubble was turned into desert. Of the few thousand staff who began the experiment, none were still alive or retained their memories when the array shut down, though a great many of the inhabitants of "Paradigm City" were identified as their descendants.
In particular, Roger Smith was identified as the grandson of Shinji's aunt and uncle, who had been part of the crew for the experiment. He met briefly with Gendo and Yui after Paradigm City rejoined the outside world, but didn't have any other contact until Gendo dumped Shinji on him.
No-one knows exactly where all the giant mecha running around Paradigm City came from.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas? Opinions?
Oh, and I'm not sure on the title. "Professional Behavior" or "Aggressive Negotiations" are my two current ideas.
Here's what I've got done so far:
Next up is obviously the fight with Sachiel, which won't go quite as badly as in canon. Shinji won't fall flat on his face, but he will have trouble driving the Eva at first, and won't be able to generate an AT Field. Sachiel will start smacking him around a bit, and then Roger finally shows up with Big O (had to retrieve him from where he was being unloaded off the freighter they hired, down at the docks). Sachiel doesn't quite know what to make of the Black Megadeus; it's not an Angel, but it's not an Eva either. He's a little baffled.
Roger gets in a few good hits and then runs up against the AT Field. Sachiel starts beating up on Big O, but Shinji recovers some what and draws off his attention. He smacks Unit One around some more, tosses it aside, it goes berserk. From there it goes like canon, although with Big O trying to chip in (Roger hasn't realized that Shinji isn't in control, what with not being tied into NERV communications).
In the long-term plot, though... I'm not quite sure how to handle things. Roger obviously presents a major threat to Gendo's plan--not because he has a Megadeus, but because he's bonded with Shinji, something he didn't expect. When he met Roger ten years earlier to arrange for him to take in Shinji, he got the impression that Roger didn't really like kids much and was annoyed at being saddled with one--which was essentially accurate.
What he didn't count on was Dorothy and Norman--he dismissed them as hired help, and not the near-family they are. Dorothy in particular becomes very close to Shinji, partly because she's the only one in the household who speaks Japanese (she learns it by simply downloading the language
). She gradually teaches Shinji English (yes, despite Big O being anime itself, I'm operating on the premise that they actually spoke English in Paradigm City, since it's clearly supposed to be a version of New York City).Roger all but ignores Shinji at first, but as he grows up he isn't around many other children, so he follows the example of his only role models and behaves very grown-up at a young age, not at all what Roger expected, and he starts to become close to the boy. Eventually he even starts to show Shinji how to pilot a Megadeus, though he never actually goes into combat himself--just a bit of experimental walking around.
By the time of the scene above, Shinji hasn't changed quite that much. He's happier and more open and somewhat more confident, but Gendo remains capable of ripping that all down easily. He knew that if he answered his father's summon alone, he'd wind up giving in to whatever he said eventually, which is why he asked for Roger to intercede on his behalf.
This is where I stalled. Roger is, as I said, a major problem for Gendo, because he's unable to get control over Shinji with him in the way... but I'm not sure what he would do about this. Roger's a smooth operator, and attempts to have him kicked out of the city or removed as Shinji's guardian or something would be stalled. He could, I suppose, try and have Roger killed, but Shinji would potentially realize this and then be even harder to control.
I also have little to no idea how SEELE would react, aside from entertaining the idea that Alex Rosewater is part of their circle. How exactly that would affect things I don't know either.
Oh, and as to Paradigm City itself being present in the Evangelion universe... prior to Second Impact, there was a large-scale physics experiment going underway, revolving around some kind of space-time manipulation. The site was remote, on Russia's pacific coast. The main test apparatus was a huge dome-shaped structure, nearly a hundred miles across and so tall it would block civilian air traffic.
Unfortunately, they were beginning activation right when Second Impact happened.
Nobody was quite sure what actually happened, because communication with the interior of the array was cut off almost immediately. Nearly two years later, it finally shut down and opened up... from the inside. The array had created a bubble of isolated space-time, within which time was moving at a greatly accelerated rate... and the bubble wasn't entirely stable. Reality within it shifted, erasing the memory of everyone inside with every major shift. Time began repeating itself over and over. Ultimately, one person--Angel--finally managed to shut down the array, at which point they were reconnected with the outside world.
In the aftermath, no-one could figure out exactly how much time had passed, but it had to have been a lot--a major city had been built where before there was only wilderness, modeled after New York. Most of the bubble was turned into desert. Of the few thousand staff who began the experiment, none were still alive or retained their memories when the array shut down, though a great many of the inhabitants of "Paradigm City" were identified as their descendants.
In particular, Roger Smith was identified as the grandson of Shinji's aunt and uncle, who had been part of the crew for the experiment. He met briefly with Gendo and Yui after Paradigm City rejoined the outside world, but didn't have any other contact until Gendo dumped Shinji on him.
No-one knows exactly where all the giant mecha running around Paradigm City came from.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas? Opinions?
Oh, and I'm not sure on the title. "Professional Behavior" or "Aggressive Negotiations" are my two current ideas.
