For my first review, I've chosen a fic that I liked. If felt more appropriate then reviewing a fic that I disliked. Since I read it only a few days ago, I've chosen "Step Beyond the Abyss" by N.T. Martin.

Let's start the show with this story "weaknesses". For starters, it's written in script. While it's not wrong, I *personally* prefer stories written in novel format. This is just a personal pet peeve of mine.

Another "problem" would be the continuity. It seems... unclear. It's quite hard to say when all of this happens. There is mention the 13th Angel incident happened, yet Touji is physically intact. Kaji is gone, but Misato doesn't seem to be on her quest for truth anymore. It's mentioned that Ritsuko destroyed the Dummy plug, but Ritsuko is apparently free and furthermore, Unit-00 is still there. If we take this into account, we can assume that the 14th Angel attack occurred, yet Unit-01 is not under freeze and it is unclear whether it needs power or not (unlike in episode 24 where you clearly see that Unit-01 doesn't have a power cord and doesn't worry about any time limit). And in addition, we have new Angels, coming from who knows where (hopefully, the later chapter will bring  light on this matter). Of course, *it could* be labeled as an alternate reality fic. We all know how often that occurs in NGE. However, further explanations on this alternate timeline might have been useful and enjoyable.

Now, are those continuity changes bad in themselves? I say a firm "no". After the 13th Angel incident occurred, the series got darker and darker, becoming more depressive, with End of Evangelion being the culminating point of all this aghast. So to see the characters being spared of those experience is somewhat welcomed. The mood of this series is lighter, much like NGE after Asuka's arrival. Personally, I like that.

Story wise, this fic is mostly an Asuka/Shinji story, a story that shows how their relation should be: it exists, but it grows with a lot of difficulty (not surprising if you consider who are Shinji and Asuka). But this it not all... We have new Angel attacks and the appearance of a rival, and some new sinister plots. The characterization is in my opinion very good. Asuka and Shinji seems to act as they would if you don't take into account all the crap that happened after the 13th Angel, Rei is Rei, although the author is working very slowly into giving her *a bit* more personality, and we have very nice views into Gendo and Ritsuko's personalities. The author also created in this story a a new character, Sohma Hikaru. Those who know me know also about my strict views on ACC (author created character). Usually, I don't like them. In this case, I do. In this story, Hikaru is pretty much harmless to the story (doesn't try to steal the spotlight) and brings a rivalry factor with Asuka, in her not-so-clear relation with Shinji. In some little ways, she makes me think of Aoi in "EVA-R" (character which I also like).

Overall, I've found this fic very enjoyable. If you don't take into account the changes in reality, it makes a very interesting read (and it's still very interesting even if you are bothered by the changes). I highly recommend it, especially to those who love Shinji/Asuka fics.

Until Instrumentality is needed again,