Shinji

>Well we've spent a good portion of the thread talking about the appeal of feminine fat boys, and Shinji fits the trope really, really well. I mean, in the show itself, he's docile, submissive, needy, and desperate to be loved. He already sort of slots into a feminine character trope in the actual anime. Making him get fat in a way that exaggerates that femininity thus seems like a really logical character progression. You don't have to invent scenarios as much as you do for, say, Ben Tennyson or Link. Shinji becoming very fat doesn't feel out of character.
>There's also the fact that the show provides a choose your own feeder for people. If you like humiliation pair him with Asuka, if you enjoy light dom with another man you go Kaoru, if you're into slightly incestual undertones with motherly overtones you go Rei. A lot more options for character dynamics than one normally gets.
>In regards to your second point I actually find enjoyment in trying to come up with probable scenarios for characters to gain beyond just "he/she likes being fat" or "his/her SO likes them fat". Those can certainly come into it, but I like it when something else is the primary reason. It's like a fun challenge
>There are some good Shinji weight gain fics where Kaworu is his feeder, but Rei is a really great option, too. That's especially the case if you like the idea of Shinji being pampered and infantilized in addition to being fattened. You can just see Rei's Yui side kicking in, resulting in her coddling and spoiling him, and Shinji welcomes it because he's desperate for affection. In no time he'd be a fat hog that Rei hand-fed and gave belly rubs to.
>As he gets fatter, people would start to mock and tease him more causing him to turn to Rei for comfort. What would start as a kind of weekly release turns into a daily indulgence. It seems like Shinji would intentionally make himself weaker and more dependent just so he wouldn't have to leave.
>Which is completely in character since in the anime Shinji's gone so far as to shut down when he feels unloved. Rei would have him in the palm of her hand, but on the other hand Rei herself is also needy and desperate for affection, so she'd want to keep Shinji around as best she could, which would result in her just doing more of what got him dependent on her in the first place. It's really easy to see them getting trapped in a cycle where Rei pampers and coddles Shinji, Shinji becomes needy and dependent, and Rei just pampers and coddles him more.
>Would it be in character for Shinji to do something drastic like sprain his ankle so he can have Rei as his personal caretaker, intentionally letting himself become weaker and more needy until even with the ankle recovered, he still needs assistance to walk long distances?
>I definitely think he'd do something drastic, but I don't think he'd intentionally injure himself. Shinji's always running away from pain, remember? He wouldn't inflict physical suffering on himself.
>What he might do instead is, I guess, stunt himself from a behavioral standpoint. He might get so used to being fed and cared for that I could see him regressing into a kind of toddler-like state, where Rei not only feeds him and gives him affection but increasingly has to do other things to care for him also, things a mother might do for a young child. I can see Shinji asking Rei to bathe him, for example, and Rei complying. Shinji becomes so desperate for affection and so afraid of the outside world that he infantlizes himself.
>That's a good point. He realizes the sooner he turns himself into a disgusting pig both physically and mentally is when he'll be free from his worries. You think he would intentionally try and dumb himself down, making sure his only thoughts were of his next meal, and the nice feelings that having Rei nearby gives him? Don't think beyond "eat" and "feels good". Maybe he'd take some kind of medication that made him drowsy and foggy headed which Rei would agree to supply since it keeps him more dependent on her.
>Well this is Eva, the series where a girl loses self-confidence to such an overwhelming extent that she slips into a coma. Shinji collapsing his self-identity into an animal state is well within the realm of possibility. Rei might eventually wind up in a kind of "keeper" role, feeding Shinji, cleaning him, jerking him off from time to time, managing his sensations as he lounges around, incredibly obese and only responsive to the meeting of his pleasures.
>I wonder what the true tipping point would be? There would probably come a time where Shinji's mental faculties are slowly eroding along with his will power and he knows it gets worse the more time he spends with Rei in a place where his brain takes constant dopamine hits and he doesn't have to do any thinking or exertion at all. Maybe he feigns being ill to stay under Rei's care fully realizing that he's intentionally giving up his higher reasoning but willingly doing it anyway.
>I don't know, I feel like the "tipping point" would be when he's forced himself into a livestock-like state to such an extent that he slips up and stops forcing it. Like, one day he's being fed and petted, and shutting out all his worries and cares, and suddenly, without warning, the part of his mind that even has those worries and cares just goes dark for good. Maybe his eyes suddenly get hazier and beadier. Maybe a trickle of drool seeps down the edge of his mouth. Regardless, all of a sudden all his wishing to be a hog would come true, and he'd be a true dumb animal, knowing only the lower pleasures of food, sleep, and comfort.