Damn, Max. She's really putting Kate through it, huh.
I adored the story so far. I get so conflicted about the save Arcadia ending because I feel like it's way more in Max's character, plus the parallels of Chloe moving on from Rachel and Max moving on from Chloe hit me really hard. In a good way, I promise.
The characterization of Kate is so well done. Seeing her be happy for a while, even with all that's underneath, was wonderful. I suppose I'm biased, because Kate is my favorite LiS1 character, but this story does right by her.
I think it's interesting that Max didn't save Kate before, because I don't see a lot of fanwork really depict that. It's rough, like REALLY rough. Good though. Max realizing (or at least in the process of realizing) that just because she saved Arcadia doesn't mean all the problems will fix themselves is rendered with a nuance I appreciate a lot. It shows that, just because she has given up her powers, it doesn't mean she's isolated from the world.
I'm so eagerly looking forward to more updates on this project and reading the whole story when it's finished! Really good job here. Lots of promise.