"Wow, you look amazing Kitten," Sam's icy blue eyes widened as he looked her up and down.
"Don't call me Kitten. We aren't together anymore Samuel," Kaitlyn replied bluntly, turning away from him.
"C'mon Kitten, I-"
"Don't."
Sam blinked, astonished at her curt tone. "S-sorry."
"Whatever." Kaitlyn looked towards Sans, who was still at the counter waiting for their food. He wasn't facing her way, though she willed him to turn around and save her. She was hoping Sam would take the hint and leave. He didn't. Of course.
"Wait Kit- sorry Kaitlyn, I wanna talk." Sam walked to the other side of the table and pulled out the chair, moving to sit in front of her.
"There's nothing to talk about." Kaitlyn caught one of the chair's legs with her foot to keep him from sitting. Sam shuffled backwards, not expecting the resistance, but sighed and stepped forward again, refusing to give up.
"Yes, there is. Look, I'm sorry about your aunt, but that wasn't my fault."
"I know." She turned her glare from him down to her hands which were clenched tightly together. Come on Sans, hurry up so we can leave, she thought a little frantically.
"Then why are you still mad at me?"
A screech echoed around the room as she stood up, fury burning in her eyes.
"Why? Are you kidding? You were supposed to be there for me Sam! When everyone else thought I was crazy, you were supposed to stand by me and support me, the way a husband would! I know we weren't married yet, but- damn it!" Kaitlyn's fist slammed into the table as she turned away from him to hide her tears. "You sure as hell weren't supposed to just bail on me! When things got a little hard, you tucked tail and ran out on me… In my greatest time of need, you abandoned me. Everyone abandoned me..." Tears ran down her cheeks. She wiped them away, furious at her own weakness. "Even you and Ashleigh..."
"Kitten, I…"
"what's going on here?" Sans had heard the commotion but wasn't sure he should interrupt until he saw Kaitlyn crying and immediately ran over.
Sam squinted his eyes. "Just what are you supposed to be?"
"usually just the punchline to a bad joke, but in this case, a concerned friend," Sans said as he laid a skeletal hand on Kaitlyn, attempting to calm the sobbing girl. "who are you and why are you harassing Kat?" His usually laid back tone turned dark as did his eye sockets when he turned to glare at the man.
"I'm her fiancé." Sam's voice was triumphant though he felt nervous and small under the skeletons black stare.
Sans was slightly taken aback by this. Kaitlyn had never mentioned a fiancé… She had said something about an ex-boyfriend but nothing about being currently engaged.
he has to be lying... might as well take a shot in the dark, he thought before saying, "oh, you mean you're her ex. huh, guess that makes you the sorry punchline, bud."
Sam's eye twitched in frustration. Sans grinned triumphantly.
"Kaitlyn, please tell me you didn't replace me with this sick joke."
"what's it to you if she did? last I checked, you're old news." Sans had both of his hands on Kaitlyn's shoulders and almost possessively pulled her head towards his midsection to further hide her obvious pain at seeing Sam.
The now furious boy stood up, a full head taller than Sans, and looked down at the smug skeleton before him. "Listen up, you sorry monster," Sam spat the word like it was poison in his mouth, "this is between me and her, so I suggest you back off and-"
Kaitlyn spun around and slammed her hand down on the table, blocking Sam from Sans. The sound echoed across the room which had long since been silent to watch the scene unfold.
"You will not touch him." She grabbed Sans' hand and began to walk briskly toward the nearest exit. Sam reached for her free hand which she quickly yanked away from him. She turned to face him again and said in a low, threatening voice, "there is only one monster I see here and it sure as hell isn't Sans, so I suggest you back off and never show your face around me again. I'm sick of your bullshit lies. I don't want your empty apologies. I don't want your sympathy. I don't want you."
Sam stood there frozen long after the two had left him behind.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kaitlyn shook as she walked in front of Sans, her hand still gripped tightly to his. She didn't let go until they reached the car, and when they got there, she stepped into the back without a word.
"you okay, Kat?" Sans sat in the back beside her, unsure of what to do.
She nodded, the tears had stopped but she was still shaking and her eyes were wet and red.
"that was Sam?"
Another nod.
"you aren't… really engaged to that guy, are you?"
Kaitlyn sighed, rubbing her puffy eyes. "No, but I was. He broke it off after the first few months. We had dated for quite some time before then though."
"why?"
"It's a long story…"
"i'm all ears. well, figuratively."
Kaitlyn smiled weakly. She took a deep breath before looking up and thinking back on the memories she had long since locked away. "It all happened about a year or so ago…"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Sam asked me to marry him last year in the middle of August. He was such a gentleman and everything I had dreamed of: handsome, smart, funny, caring. He wanted the same things that I wanted and he was always so… perfect, I guess. He could be a little harsh at times, but I think I loved him too much to really see it or care.
The problems started when you guys, the monsters, began moving Aboveground. I'm sure you've noticed by now that most of the people here aren't entirely accepting of… anything new… or unknown," Kaitlyn chose her words carefully.
"Aunt Luce was ecstatic. She said stories of monsters and magic had been passed down in the family for ages. Naturally, I was curious as well since she used to tell me about all of the stories when I was little." She smiled at the memories.
"i've, uh, been meaning to ask about your aunt. you said the whole reason you came was to visit her, but i don't really understand why we haven't seen or heard from her since we've been here."
"Well, when everyone started going crazy about monsters and everything, she got a sudden onset of Alzheimer's and dementia."
Sans gave a confused look.
"Alzheimer's and dementia are illnesses that affect the brain," Kaitlyn explained, "as they progress, the person's memory gets worse and they get really confused about things that used to make sense… Luce…. S-she didn't recognize me. It even seemed like her illness would get worse when I was around. I stopped going to see her as much; moved out and began living with Sam but I still called her a lot and would go visit her. She really appeared to be getting better for a while but one night she-" Kaitlyn choked. Sans laid a hand on her shoulder until she calmed down enough to take a deep breath.
"She just wanted some tea. It was the first I had seen her in about a month but I didn't want to stay long. I was convinced me being there somehow triggered her illness to make it worse. I started the tea and told her not to forget to turn off the stove. I-I should have called to make sure or stayed until after she went to sleep or-or… I…" she was gasping between words.
"it's okay, Kat. breathe... what happened?"
"S-she forgot… the paramedics said s-she probably d-died of smoke inhalation but her b-body was mostly g-gone by the time the firemen put the f-fire out," she sputtered over her tears.
Sans pulled her over to him for a hug as he stroked the back of her head. "shhh... i'm sorry Kat. i'm so so sorry. you don't have to talk about it anymore, okay?"
She shook her head and drew away, rubbing her red eyes.
"I-I need to do this." Kaitlyn sat for a few minutes trying to steady her breathing before she continued.
"Aunt Luce was everything to me. She was the only real connection I had left to my parents; she was the only real family I had left." She sniffled.
"I put the wedding on hold for a while. Sam said he understood, that he wanted to be there for me in any way possible, but one day he just said he was done. He said he couldn't take any more of my depression and that I was being selfish. He said he couldn't put his entire life on hold for my 'silly emotions,' and that he had 'moved on.' Luce died in November and Sam broke off the engagement in January. I thought he just needed some space for a little bit, but I found out the jerk had just found a new toy to play around with." Kaitlyn pinched the bridge of her nose in anger and as an attempt to keep from crying again. Despite this, she still felt tears drip from her eyes and soak her cheeks.
"Do you remember that woman who came over to Sophie's?" Her voice was shaky.
"yeah, her name was, umm, Emily, right?"
"Yeah, well her daughter, Ashleigh, was my best friend at the time... and also Sam's new 'toy.'"
Sans sat in shock, letting the words fully register before he clenched his fists in rage.
how the hell could anyone do something like that to their best friend? how the hell could someone do something like that to their fiance? no, forget that, he thought, how could anyone do something like that to someone like Kaitlyn?
"It's fine. I've left that part of my life behind."
Sans looked over. He could tell she wasn't being completely honest. Tears still clung around her eyes. She fiddled with the end of her dress and stared ahead of her with obvious sorrow at losing her best friend and her fiance all at once.
"makes sense why you went off on the old bat yesterday," he said, remembering how the usually quiet and well-mannered Kaitlyn had shouted at Emily.
"There are other reasons. The relationship between me and Ashleigh was already a little strained because after Luce got sick, Emily stopped hanging around. Like I said before, most people around here don't like things they can't understand, including Luce's sickness.
I moved in with Sophie for a while before deciding that I couldn't stay here anymore. She and John were the only ones who didn't abandon Luce after finding out she was sick. They welcomed me into their home when I showed up the night Sam broke off the engagement, even though I didn't have any money. Sophie immediately assumed the role of therapist and caretaker for me," Kaitlyn tried to laugh lightly but it came out as more of a cough and the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I left at the beginning of February this year. I met you only about a week after moving away."
"why did you leave?"
"Too many memories here. I needed to move on. Maybe I should thank Sam. If he hadn't left me, I probably never would have moved away and met you." Kaitlyn smiled at Sans and blushed before adding, "and everyone else too, of course."
"then i guess i should thank the jerk too." A small blue blush crept up Sans' face as well.
"Anyway, I came to get closure. I said I wanted to visit my aunt, and that wasn't a lie, but it's so hard… This may sound crazy, but I've been calling her cellphone to leave messages even though she's, you know, gone. I know it's pointless, but I don't know if I can let her go. Going to see her feels like I'd be admitting she's really gone."
"Kat… it's okay to move on. you have nothing to feel guilty about. it's natural to want to hang on to those you love." He took her hands in his own.
Kaitlyn gripped tightly to his hands. "But I'm so tired of hanging on… God, I'm awful. Do you think she'd forgive me? I've wanted to forget for so long but it just doesn't seem right. Why did she have to be the one to suffer so much? I think I was so mad about Sam abandoning me because of my guilt over abandoning Luce. Would moving on be abandoning her again?"
"going to see her doesn't mean you're love will fade, and it doesn't mean you're giving up on her. i'm sure she wouldn't want you to feel that way. moving forward doesn't mean you're leaving her behind. you'll still have your memories of her and your love, right?"
She nodded slightly.
"why don't we go now? if you're okay, that is… maybe having someone with you will help, but if not, i understand."
Kaitlyn looked at Sans. "You'd do that for me?"
"of course i would, Kat."
Tears built around the edges of her eyes again, this time in gratitude and slight relief. She blinked them away and said, "Yes, I'd be very thankful if you did."
"let's go now," Sans said.
"What? N-now?"
"yeah, now. why not? the others can wait for a little longer, but i get the feeling it's best if we do this sooner rather than later."
"Okay," Kaitlyn nodded slowly, "okay, let's go."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Twenty minutes later, Kaitlyn and Sans were pulling into the local cemetery. She had been to the cemetery dozens of times before but that had been with Luce, not to visit her. This was different, but having Sans stand beside her as she walked up to the stones with her family members' names scrawled across the tops made it somehow seem easier than if she was alone.
Kaitlyn walked up to her parents' grave first, placing white lilies they had stopped to grab at a nearby shop on top of the stone. She knelt and paid her respects, like she had seen Luce do countless times.
She traced her fingers over the names.
Jonathan Foss and Lauren Foss
"these are your folks?"
"Yeah," Kaitlyn stood, "I never really knew them… Luce went on and on about how perfect they were for each other and how much they loved me before I was even born. My mom died after my birth while holding me, but Luce said she died smiling. My dad died a few months later of a heart attack. Luce said that he loved me more than anything else in the world but losing my mom had hurt him more than he could bare. She swears that he never blamed her death on my birth, even though it was my fault. He had a weak heart from childhood issues and had undergone a big surgery while my mom was pregnant, so the doctors said it was probably inevitable."
"what do you think?"
"Me?" She laughed, "no one's ever asked me… I guess I feel bad, but I never knew them, so I can't really say I miss them. I wish I had known them, but I've only ever known Luce." Kaitlyn turned to the newer grave beside her parents'.
"Lucille Foss, huh?" Sans bent next to the stone and placed a bony hand over the name. "guess i owe her a big thanks." He said, speaking to the grave.
"What for?" Kaitlyn came to kneel beside him.
"for raising you, Kat. gotta say, living here, i've met a lot of humans, but none of them are as kind or wonderful as you."
"Well, there was at least one." She looked to the stone. "But I think if she was here, she would say it's high-time for me to be moving on." She blinked and smiled through a sheen of tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.
"wish i could have met her."
"I used to say the same thing to Luce about my parents when we'd come here," she let out a little sigh. "She would've loved you. She would've loved all of you." Kaitlyn reached into a pocket sewn into her dress and pulled out a small flip-phone. "This was hers. I told you earlier that I still called it when I missed her." She gave a melancholy smile. "I've kept it with me ever since...well, since she left, but I think it's time to give it back. Will you…" she took a deep breath, "will you please help me?"
"course i will, kiddo."
Kaitlyn smiled and wiped away her tears. She and Sans dug a shallow hole in the ground and she placed the phone inside. She felt like she could finally breath again, as though a crushing weight had been lifted from her chest. She then pulled out a single yellow daffodil and planted it just above the phone.
"Daffodils were her favorite… she loved how happy they always looked and how they made her feel happy. Sh-she used to say I reminded her of daffodils..."
Sans took Kaitlyn's shoulders and faced her towards him. "Kat, is there anything i can do? anything you need?"
She shook her head and smiled a wide, genuine smile at the skeleton. "You're already doing it. Thank you, Sans. Really. You don't know how much you being here means to me."
His cheeks grew slightly hot at her words, though he didn't really comprehend why exactly…
"uh, sure kid. no problem. if you think of anything, let me know," he said as he stood and pulled her up as well.
"I will. Thank you, Sans," she smiled more at his blush. Without thinking, she leaned in and gently kissed his cheek. It was only a peck, but Sans became so flustered she might as well have kissed him full on the mouth. She laughed at his expression and began pulling him back to the car.
"C'mon silly bones, let's get back to Sophie's place. It's been awhile since we left and they're probably wondering what happened to us."
"y-yeah, sure." He followed in a daze of sorts behind her, one hand on his cheek where she placed the kiss and the other in her own hand.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kaitlyn almost felt bad as they drove back. She could feel Sans' discomfort and not just because of her odd ability. It was almost like he didn't know quite how to deal with what had happened. She couldn't really blame him though; first they run into her ex, then she turns into an emotional wreck and tells him her depressing past, then they go to visit her dead aunt and parents he didn't even know had passed, and to top it all off, she made him all unsettled by kissing him on a whim. She'd only meant it as a thank you, but got the feeling monsters didn't show thanks the same way.
Now that she thought about it, she had never seen monsters kiss each other before, even on the cheek. It was probably a very intimate thing to share for them and she had done it without thinking...
Stupid! Why did you do that? You made him feel weird…
Perhaps she could help take his mind off of it… She focused her energy on him and sensed his unease. She furrowed her brow and attempted to dig deeper. She had wondered for a while whether or not what she had done to Gaster would work with others but never had a chance, or excuse, to try.
She gently reached out with her odd power but his embarrassment and unease suddenly turned into ice cold fear and suspicion as she felt something stab through her, almost as if his mind was rejecting her. Kaitlyn gasped and nearly drove off the road and immediately pushed her emergency flashers, pulling off into the grass to stop as she did. She threw open her door and placed her hands on her knees, gasping for air.
What the hell was that?! She thought, still shaking from what she swore was a physical icicle jamming through her insides.
Sans sat inside the car frozen, wondering the exact same thing. Kaitlyn hadn't looked over to see but when he felt something touch his Soul, his left eye flared a brilliant yellow and cyan, however they were now both dark as he processed what could have happened.
Could have? Who was he kidding he knew what happened. Kaitlyn happened. He didn't know what exactly she did but it couldn't have been anyone else. He knew there was something odd about her, but he had trusted her enough to let his guard down. He certainly didn't expect for her to try touching his Soul. He jumped out of the car and strolled over to the shaking blonde.
okay, cool it Sans. maybe she doesn't really know what's up either. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"you okay?" His voice came out more curt and abrasive than he'd meant.
"Y-yeah."
"mind telling me what, exactly, that was?"
Kaitlyn nodded and straightened up. She looked anywhere but at Sans. "Let's get back in the car and I'll tell you."
She began to explain what she knew about her odd ability to Sans while they drove the rest of the way back, only leaving out anything to do with Gaster.
"so you've always had this ability?"
"Well, kinda. I used to only be able to read people's emotions but I only recently have been able to actually feel what they feel or reach into their emotions."
"Kat, you aren't just 'reaching into their emotions,' your Soul is reaching beyond its own boundaries into other beings' Souls. that may be fine if you were a monster but humans can't do that. even when monsters do it, they don't feel the other Souls thoughts or emotions, they just barely reach in to pull out the opposing Soul. i did it to you once, before we left. you remember?"
"Yeah, you said my Soul had some sort of weird coloring or something… I can't explain it. I don't know why I can do it, I just can… believe me, I want answers as much as you do…"
"how long have you been able to do the new stuff? reaching into other Souls i mean."
Kaitlyn thought for a moment. "Pretty recent, but I guess I started really experiencing other people's emotions around the time Luce got sick and you all moved Aboveground. It's gotten stronger since I've been hanging around with you and the others though. I used to only be able to sense emotions of people around me, but I guess it's just sort of grown since I met you and Papyrus."
"maybe our magic is affecting it… but that would mean what you do is also derived from magic. no, that's impossible. humans don't have magic." Sans wracked his brain. What was he missing?
They pulled up to the house but neither moved to exit the car. Sans mind raced with possible hypotheses.
Frisk had a stronger than usual Soul, it wouldn't be impossible for something like that to happen to Kat, too, but... He looked over to her. She stared ahead, avoiding his gaze. Frisk can't use magic. no, something's definitely off here.
"do you mind if we take a look at your Soul later?"
"Sure, that's fine."
"hm. don't do anymore of… that in the meantime."
Kaitlyn looked down. She still felt a touch of Sans' unease and even fear, though just barely. It was like he had built a wall so she couldn't fully reach his emotions.
"Sans, look I… I'm really sorry…. I just felt bad about you feeling awkward and I didn't want it to be weird between us so I figured I'd try and absorb those feelings but-"
"woah, hold on. backup. you can absorb emotions?"
Oops, she had wanted to keep that secret since it tied in so closely to Gaster…
"Well, y-yeah. Kinda… I guess…"
Sans sighed in frustration and pinched the area between his eye sockets. "look kiddo, i know it's been a rough and emotionally charged day, so why don't we save all this for later and then we'll talk and you can fill me in on all of the details."
Kaitlyn clenched her fists at his tone and immediately regret keeping so many secrets for so long. She absolutely hated lying. Sure, he probably had his own secrets, but he was one of her closest friends… she shouldn't have kept him in the dark about her for so long. Especially since magic and Soul research is what he did. She finally nodded and squeaked out another "I'm sorry" before exiting the car.
"Where on earth have you two been? It's been hours since you left!" Sophie exclaimed when they walked in. Sans walked away without a word. Kaitlyn watched him go with sadness and turned to a concerned Sophie.
"We ran into Sam," she started.
"Oh."
"And we went to see Luce…"
"Ohh… sweetie, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Sans helped me through it," Kaitlyn leaned into Sophie and whispered, "but I think I screwed up and made him mad on the way back."
"He'll get over it, dear," Soph whispered back, "he doesn't seem the type to stay angry for long, but don't forget to apologize when he's ready to talk." She winked.
What the heck does she think happened between us? Kaitlyn wondered briefly.
"Well, it's nearly four o'clock now so I need to start supper. The pool's already been heated if you young ones would like to swim and I'll join you after dinner," Sophie said as she smiled.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thirty minutes later they were all outside laughing and having fun. Papyrus loved the pool and his new swim trunks but found that he had a hard time swimming so he mostly splashed around the shallow end where he could stand comfortably. Undyne was a terrific swimmer and chased Alphys and Paps around the pool but never pushed either of them into swimming where they weren't comfortable. Sans changed into his trunks but decided against getting in.
Probably because you ruined his mood, idiot. Kaitlyn mentally smacked herself for the millionth time. He still wasn't ready to talk to her, but she couldn't blame him, it had only just happened about an hour ago. She sat at the edge of the pool with her legs dangling in the water and sighed.
"OH I WISH FRISK COULD HAVE JOINED US! THE HUMAN WOULD LOVE THIS!" Papyrus bellowed as he splashed at Undyne.
"Sorry Papyrus. I've never met Frisk before so I guess I didn't really think about it. Maybe next time, okay?" Kaitlyn had been wanting to meet Frisk since she'd heard the stories from Sans and Papyrus about their adventures in the Underground.
"Having the punk kid here may be fun," Undyne gave a huge, toothy smile.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK, BROTHER? WOULD YOU LIKE TO INVITE THE SMALL HUMAN NEXT TIME WE COME?"
"hm? oh, sure. whatever you want Pap."
Papyrus climbed out of the pool and walked over to Sans to sit beside him.
"Are you okay Sans? You haven't been yourself since we came out here to swim…"
Kaitlyn stopped kicking the water at Undyne who was trying to pull her in. She excused herself and suddenly got up to go back inside. She didn't want to overhear the brothers' conversation and make Sans any more upset with her than he already was. Sans watched her go and sighed. Papyrus noticed.
"What's wrong, brother?"
"it's complicated bro… it's been a long day and a lot happened…"
"Oh, I see," Papyrus lowered his voice a bit more, "does your emotional state have to do with Kate?"
"kinda. i found out she's been keeping some stuff from me and you know how i feel about being lied to."
"Well, you know Sans, I've seen you in all sorts of moods, but I don't think I've ever seen you as happy as when you're with Kaitlyn. Honestly, I talked to grandma Sophie while you two were gone and she said that it's the same with Kaitlyn. I'm not sure what happened in her past, but apparently she hasn't always been so happy. You and I know best what it's like to come from a not-so-happy past. Not only that, but we keep a lot of things about us in the dark from her as well. You especially have lots of secrets that I don't think even I know all about and... well my point is, do you think you two could talk soon so you can both be happy again?"
Sans looked wide eyed at his brother, absolutely stunned at how well he could read the atmosphere between him and Kaitlyn. He thought they had been acting pretty normal, but he supposed there was no fooling Paps. He laughed lightly and told Papyrus, "i'll talk to her tonight, Paps. everything will be good tomorrow." i hope.
Papyrus smiled and began standing up. "GOOD. YOU KNOW BROTHER IF YOU ARE BOTH HAPPY AROUND ONE ANOTHER I TRULY DON'T SEE WHY YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN THE HUMAN ON A 'DATE' YET!" He was back to his normal, loud tone.
Sans blushed, glad that Kaitlyn had gone inside, before answering, "aw gee, Paps i-"
"Oh my god! You and Kate would be so cute together!" Alphys gushed. She turned to Undyne and announced, "that is officially my new OTP." She squealed with glee.
"Yeah yeah! I'm into it!" Undyne lifted Alphys above the water in excitement.
Sans laughed nervously. "you know it's not like that. besides, we don't see each other that way." i don't think we do, anyway…
"C'mon Sans! Just go for it!" Undyne yelled.
"Y-yeah! Plus, you k-kinda went on a date with her today!" Alphys chimed in.
Papyrus' eyes went wide and gleamed at her words. "I DID NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT! BROTHER, WHY DID YOU NOT INFORM ME THAT YOUR OUTING WITH KATE WAS A DATE? I COULD'VE COME AND GIVEN YOU TIPS!"
"not sure that's how a date works Pap… and it wasn't a date!"
Sans wished he had his hoodie so he could hide; he even considered teleporting away for a split second. Luckily, Sophie chose this moment to come through the back door and announce that dinner was ready. Sans gratefully jumped up and ran inside to escape his friends and let his face cool down. He made them all swear to keep what they'd talked about just between them before he left. He needed to have a quick chat with Kaitlyn anyway.
He took a deep breath and stepped down the long hallway to her room.
Wow, hi there wonderful! So good news is I'm not dead and I didn't fall off the planet! Bad news is I've been busy with school and haven't had as much time to work on this as I would've liked. It doesn't help that I got distracted with some newfound interests along the way (curse you Magi, Hamilton, Yuri on Ice, and Final Fantasy!) BUT I have been working on it (slowly yet surely).
Now that the semester it thankfully over, I should have a bit more time to work on this. I've melded some of the chapters together and haven't completely finished redoing them all quite yet but I'm well on my way! I was going to wait until I had them all done but I feel bad for making everyone wait. I know it's stuff most of you have read before but I like to think my writing has improved since starting so please feel free to refresh your memory! I think the new chapters flesh out the characters and the story a bit better to keep everything consistent.
I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Thank you for the continued support! Please feel free to leave any comments, criticism, or requests in the reviews (I promise I read every single one and really take to heart what you guys say and think!) Much love :3