Well, in the course of preparing the review for Lara and Ammadeau's 'Misato's Predicament', I decided to read this fic as well since it was the inspiration for the former. And after reading through quite a massive amount of text, why not a review too? (Haha) 'Ritsuko's Problem' is an example of how a story kernel or off-hand comment can grow into a massive fic (approximately 300kb at present). This is still a work-in-progress but has the feel of a very very long epic one-shot rather than a chapter-layered series.

While I am not the keenest fan of lemons, I'm not adverse to them either. I would say that 'Ritsuko's Problem' is a fanfic with strong lemon elements rather than a lemon per se. Nonetheless, the entire fic is charged with the underlying sexual tension or I've been reading too much Freud. Also the major premise of Ritsuko's emotional and sexual frustration, which allows Maya to be pushed to the rescue, is unlikely to be canonical as it lays aside Ritsuko finding some element of solace in Gendo. In all fairness to the author, he has acknowledged that the fic deviates from canon and some license to do that is really part of what makes fanfic interesting, isn't it? ^_-

The development of Ritsuko's and Maya's relationship results from the former cracking under the strain of her many personal anxieties and Maya moving in to fill the void with love and understanding. As much a paean to sexual liberation as it is to the redemptive possibilities of love, something which is also seen in the Ritsuko x Maya dimension of CoaEG as well as some of Joyce K Wakabayashi's work. It was the romance in the centre piece relationship of this fic that I enjoyed most - both main characters are explored and broadened beyond their usual stereotype of icy tormented doctor and her timid assistant. The development of Maya to show her wilder and more vibrant side feels completely plausible as we see a side of her that emerges from outside of the quiet oppression of NERV's working environment. This comes across in their behaviour, manner of speech, and even attire.

Another aspect which I enjoyed immensely was the antics of the Children in the story: as the author himself put it, "Rei's personal quest for life experience, Asuka the CLAMP detective, and Shinji growing a spine became as much a part of the story as the rest." 'Ritsuko's Problem' is very much a character-based piece and one wonders if and how the larger, darker dynamics within NGE will exert their influence on the story. But always looking forward to more of this story.