Great characterisation. Spot-on dialogue. A believable course of events. A handful of typos. This fic did well in illustrating the issues of an unequal relationship between damaged individuals. It is arguably a deconstruction of the 'sex-fixes-everything' lemon fic, though I'd like to stress the physical side of things is quite (thankfully? YMMV) underdone with the exception of the more positive, lemon alternate ending - which, though it may feel tacked-on, is IMO truer to the spirit of NGE as I see it; it is the human condition to be imperfect and alone, but it is in striving to overcome our flaws and make our relationships work that we become truly, but still merely, human.

In both following the plot and retaining the theme and ambiance of the series, it is pessimistic and dismal and virtually every decision results in It Got Worse, with the intermittent moments of happiness and hope all the more powerful as a result. That does not mean a happy ending, though. Y'all have been warned.