PLEASE DO also right i keep telling sooz that shinji shouldn't be a space racist smh smh but also: i am open to any reason for him to just Show Up and Appear, whether it be that he just drops in to talk to some nerds in the stem club and catches wind of the Project or just happens to get asked to grab some parts - that's cool. maybe he's just there for the snacks and tags along after crusher. we have many options.