Update on my stance: After re-reading the comic some more, I have come to the conclusion that Meowrails as portrayed in the comic is bad, actually. Specifically bad for Nepeta, like others have said. Actually, I can specifically respond to my past self:

> I think that Nepeta genuinely enjoys Equius' company. When she spots him on her planet, she immediately rushes over to him. That doesn't seem like "I'm dreading being with this person" behavior to me.

I still agree with this. When Equius isn't being a controlling creep, they enjoy each other's company. But the "when Equius isn't being a creep" part is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Also, if Nepeta wasn't dreading being with Equius, why did she procrastinate on telling Equius about her joining Sgrub? She correctly predicted that conversation wouldn't go well.

> People are right that Nepeta ends up doing a lot of emotional labor, but Equius' "This is f001ishness upon one hundred thousand prior, equally unsolicited f001ishnesses" comment implies that he's also doing emotional labor here too. Also, I'd wager that he probably taught her about several social norms that she would otherwise not learn as an autistic cave hermit.

So... how does education work on Alternia anyway? Regardless, if Equius was actually bothering to teach stuff to Nepeta, you'd think he'd also bother to teach her, say, the basics of the hemospectrum, which is important information to know when your civilization (unfortunately) is based on it. But it's plainly evident that what Equius says on the subject goes completely over her head, so I think it's safe to say that Equius isn't doing much teaching (maybe for the best considering he's Equius.)

As for the "emotional labor" part... IDK past Ethan, are you sure that the scale of Nepeta and Equius' emotional labor is remotely comparable? Even if it is, one of these people clearly has more power here, and it isn't Nepeta.

Nepeta herself defends her relationship by saying that A) she isn't really being bossed around by Equius, she can quit any time she wants, and B) Someone needs to keep Equius in check or whatever. So A) girl, why don't you stand up for yourself, and B) shouldn't that be the job of Equius' lusus, or at the very least, someone who isn't you?

Overall, I think Nepeta is trucking through her relationship because there are parts of it she likes and she thinks she "can fix him." Which... maybe Equius could get better! But you don't need to be in a relationship where you let yourself get walked over to encourage him to improve!

So yeah. Nepeta and Equius are a happy couple to me, in the timelines where they actually get their act together and learn the lessons they need to learn. And that's not the alpha timeline.