FanFicRecs Chuckg's review
It's not an immortal classic like some other recs here, but it is quite good. Well-written, plausible dialogue, believable characterization (both canon and alternate interpretation), no self-inserts, author avatars, or canon sues, and a nice PG-13 romance. The entire point of the fic is to explore all the possible ramifications of "What if somebody just gave Shinji a damn hug?", and even though many bad things still happen to all parties involved, it's still a good experience for the reader overall. WAFF-y but still realistic. The people who will find it hardest to suffer through are Asuka fans, as one of the Butterfly Effect changes are that Asuka loses both Shinji and Hikari as possible sources of emotional support which means that she has the hardest journey of them all. However, if you can make it to the end she does get a happy ending, its not an Asuka hatefic. I won't spoil who lives and who dies, except that its not all the same people as canon. I will say that even those who die in this fic don't die alone, or in despair, and that makes all the difference.
FanFicRecs Willbyr's review
Good stuff. It's a noticeably different spin on a Shinji/Hikari dynamic than that presented in Changing Seasons, but is just as interesting (and if lemon isn't your thing, then this is definitely the one you'll want to read). I also like that the author takes time to explain his reasoning for some of the changes at the end of the chapters.