#elwin adopts keefe au

[the-great-gullon-incident]

Kotlc swap au

Keefe has been living with humans his whole life while secretly being an Empath

Biana finds him and takes him back to the lost cities

He’s adopted by the Ruewens

He comes with Edaline to a meeting with another animal rehabilitation center where he meets Stina who’s a year younger then him but still offers to show him around on his first day

During said first day he meets Dex and Marella who make insult and berate Stina after she put a gullon in Dex’s locker

Jensi stays the same because Jensi is eternal

Keefe gets saved from the droolly boys by Maruca who invite him to her table

Plot shenanigans

On his way to find the Infermary and getting very lost he runs into Sophie who’s ditching Universe since she already has all the star maps memorized

She’s in his year and takes him to see Elwin saying she’s been in enough accidents to know her way there

More plot shenanigans

Fitz initially doesn’t like Keefe but eventually invites him over to Everglen

It’s revealed Sophie and Biana are best friends

Continued plot shenanigans

Dex reveals that Fitz was ordered to befriend Keefe on his parents orders after Marella hear it through the grapevine

Stina and Keefe get kidnapped

Later on during book four it’s explained that Tam was the one exiled after a shadow flux accident and Linh went with him into exile

[cavennmalore]

elwin this grady that where is the ro adopts keefe au

[synonymroll648]

hehe so you ar my number one fic supporter and i GUESS im asking if you have any keefitz prompts for me :)

i cannot something right away but :))

ASRFGDEGTFGJHGJUKHYJHFDF WHEN I READ THIS MY JAW FUCKING DROPPED AND STARTED STIMMING BECAUSE OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

okokok. so. i'll give you multiple so you can pick and choose as you like!

that au you had where fitz was a model and keefe was his favorite makeup artist and they were besties w/ seemingly unrequited love? please feel free to expand on this au AT ALL. how they met and became friends or the aftermath of the og fic or keefe's pov on the og fic or something else or both - i would devour any and all of it, that au is gold. in my heart

keefitz + pancake art. interpret as you like <3

human au or canon divergent fic where elwin's an aquatic therapist and adopted keefe and keefe's going into the same field as him, and fitz is going into aquatic therapy for his knee, and keefe's the guy he sees and they realize they (still? up to you) have chemistry and resolve to hang out outside of the water

pre-canon sleepover in which keefe finds out firsthand that fitz is the lord of the snuggles

being fruity at the level 3 midterm party (since shannon posted an excerpt from neverseen once that had keefe saying what happens at the level 3 midterm party stays at the level 3 midterm party and i have taken that run w/ it since and i think you would have fun w/ it too)

backstory behind how keefe ended up wearing fitz's bramble jersey(s) (can't remember if it was multiple times or once, but it's confirmed to be pre-canon)

keefe teaching fitz how to draw and getting increasingly distracted

fitz teaching keefe how to bake and getting increasingly distracted

take literally anything and everything from hits different by taylor swift (since i know you're also a swiftie) and fucking run (personally, off the top of my head, i feel like the part of the chorus that says catastrophic blues / moving on was always easy for me to do / but it hits different / it hits different 'cause it's you is the most Them but. you do you!!)

fitz and keefe navigating their canon and implied (implied, to me, meaning keefe's neurodivergency because that boy is one of us in my heart) disabilities together, mayhaps

ok so y'know the destiel i love you meme? yeah so. make keefitz news reporters that went viral as a meme because one of them went 'i love you' on air and the other just responded w/ the headlines for the day (avery would know who is who, i can't remember - i think it's keefe saying i love you and fitz responding w/ the news, but i could be wrong)

fitz telling keefe a bajillion stories about the search since it's over and keefe wanted to know

so y'know how fitz gave sophie fancy presents as a method of flirting? yeah so do that but fitz giving keefe the WEIRDEST shit when they were kids that he loves and by extension thinks keefe will love too. like some fucking umbrella off the street of louisiana, for example. dumb things like that that he REFUSES to explain where he got them from. bonus if he gives inaccurate explanations for their uses

keefe trying to teach fitz how to flirt but fitz can't flirt for SHIT but alsooooooo it's kinda working for keefe

"dammit, i'm not immune to fitz vacker" (or, alternatively: "i guess the wonderboy charm works on guys too")

au where keefe got to go on the search w/ fitz (can be as angsty or fluffy as you'd like)

ok so i could brainstorm more but also i want to finish my qpr keefex fic before i leave for a weeklong trip (leave time is supposedly in 2hrs and i haven't gotten ready for the day) so i'm gonna stop there. hopefully some of these prompts click w/ you!

[crymeariveronceagain]

Elwin: We have one rule in this household. 

Sophie: Don’t let Keefe do stupid stuff.

Elwin: Why?

Keefe: because I have no regard for my personal safety.

[gay-otlc]

Keeper (1) Recap

Everything I say is 100% true, if you were wondering.

Sophie's trich is so bad I'm so sorry honey

The driver from the beginning deserves a spinoff series. He also apparently has a tumblr account that he posted about this on, and that's how the Neverseen found Sophie in the human world.

Fintan lent Alvar his boyfriend's books (LOTR) and Fitz read them too.

There's a tribunal taking place at the beginning of book one. It's never mentioned again. Whose is it? Good question. Maybe Linh's?

All elves are canonically nonbinary. Elf is a gender in itself.

Sophie isn't a girl, she's an elf. Elwin isn't a man, he's an elf. Those two in particular are extra non of binary.

Sophie's place in her human family is totally a metaphor for being queer I don't make the rules. Could also be a neurodivergent metaphor- or both!

Sophie's favorite kind of cookie is E L fudges, her mom gives her some at the beginning.

The lost cities has so many gender roles, which is bad for Sophie who, as mentioned previously, is nonbinary.

Sophie is not a lady.

Alden IS a lady.

Alden is *winks* friends with Quinlin.

Seriously, he refers to Quinlin as his "friend" a LOT, who is he trying to convince? That's kinda gay ngl.

It's honestly so iconic of Tiergan to yell at Alden for two pages and then decide he doesn't want to interact with anyone ever. What a mood.

Sophie is really, really gay for Biana.

Sophie saying goodbye to her human family is so fucking sad no one talk to me

Biana is really, really gay for Sophie but denying it vehemently

Dex and Sophie friendship supremacy

Marella has a pretty homoerotic crush on Biana

The Deck scene -> Dex calling Fitz "his royal highness" -> rwrb au

As she should be, Marella is a Tiertice shipper.

The dadwin dynamic has been going on since pre-keeper and I love this so much.

Biana is avoiding Sophie because she’s terrified of catching feelings for a girl, in this essay I will-

Keefe and Fitz are dating.

Like, they are very much dating.

Biana gets so nervous asking Sophie to be friends, she's a gay mess and it's so cute.

Marella "giggles and stares" when the Vackers eat lunch with her, but Shannon never actually specifies which Vacker.

Clearly it's Biana.

It's so homophobic that Tiergan has to talk to Alden, honestly.

He enjoys spilling the Alden/Alina tea a little too much. We stan.

Shannon just decided to through in a little Marella/pyrokinesis irony.

Tiergan has to talk to Alden three whole times this book, and is therefore entitled to financial compensation. Or punching him. Either works.

Very cool of him to "forget" to return his leaping crystal to the forbidden cities.

Either Tiergan is terrible at keeping secrets or just Does Not Care if Sophie knows he's with the Black Swan. Or both.

TIERTICE ANGST

Biana is a lesbian.

Sophie tells Grady and Edaline she loves them and it's the sweetest fucking thing.

Fitz says "no reason to worry" and then has an internal crisis about turning into his father. Mood lmao

The scene where Sophie and Grady/Edaline talk about the cancelled adoption is so good, it has so much raw emotion and it completely shattered my heart. 10/10 I hate it.

Sophie's trich is so bad I'm so sorry honey, part two, electric boogaloo

Fintan has stayed close friends with most of the councillors, in conclusion, Fintante.

The scene where Stina tells Sophie why Biana initially became friends with her… just… oh shit

KOTLC is really not a kids book, just... why.

Because I'm not done screaming about Sophie & Grady & Edaline, the scene where Sophie unfades? And they talk to each other? Very sweet I love it.

Sophie broke so many laws... I'm a little gay for her ngl

(Biana is too)

SOPHIE & GRADY & EDALINE FAMILY (violent sobbing)

[song-tam]

So I Wrote You A Song - Tam x Keefe

A/N: So this is finally done? I’m freaking out because this idea has been circling in my head for a while and I am so glad it is finally done! This is basically a high school!band!AU and I did headcanons about the four keeper boys being in a band here, which was kind of the inspiration to do a oneshot. Plus, I’m absolute Kam trash as well... and yes I did write an actual fucking song purely for the sake of the oneshot I’m just that extra don’t judge me and enjoy! (also let’s pretend Elwin adopted Keefe shall we, cassius sencen who?)

Warnings: I think there’s like a minor curse word in there but other than that pure kam fluff

Word Count: 1.4K

Taglist: @stardustanddaffodils @dreaminq-out-loud @sunset-telepath @summer-waves9764 @falling-drops-of-rain @jenniecrushed @jaxtheshade @beautifuldaysahead​ @bianavacker-is-bi-as-hell @the-genius-behind-the-mask​ @real-smooth @scribblesnsketches05 @the-sky-isnt-blueee @spreadyourwingsandfly @cadence-talle @linhamon2 ​ @xonar-verse​ @an-absolute-travesty​ @hershis-kotlc​ @turquoise-skyyyy​ @blxckh0les42​ @completekeefitztrash​ @gay-paladin-of-etheria​ @the-robins-chronicles @the-angel-of-all-storms

Read on AO3

“Okay, I don’t care what any of you say, but you sounded awesome!” Biana shrieked as the boys finished playing their latest song. “Best you’ve ever played, in fact.” The brunette had quickly become their biggest fan after they’d started playing for an audience, constantly stopping by rehearsals, screaming about them to everyone she met, and nominating herself Crystal Gambit’s manager--and she actually did a pretty good job; half the gigs they’d landed wouldn’t have happened without her.

“You say that every rehearsal,” Fitz grinned. “The sentiment is appreciated, though.”

“Oh, you were kind of awful,” Biana replied, “but the rest of you rocked it.”

Fitz scowled, and the others laughed, but in truth, Fitz was probably the best musician out of all four of them. Or the best singer, at least--his voice was amazing.

“But, Tam,” Biana continued, spinning around to face him, “you killed on the drums. I have no words.”

Tam gave her a small smile. If he was being honest, he never really knew what to do when Biana--or anyone really--complimented him. “Thanks, Bi.”

“And the new song you wrote,” Biana pressed, “what are you calling it again? You kept talking about it and now I’m excited so--”

“Wait,” Keefe interrupted, holding a hand out to stop Biana from rambling. “New song? What new song?”

Fitz looked just as confused as Keefe, but Dex knew exactly what Biana was talking about, and at least the periwinkle-eyed boy had the sense to save Tam from confessing. “Biana’s talking about that song Tam showed us earlier,” Dex lied. “Y’know, the work in progress. It’s a rough draft, Bi, and Tam’s only written the chorus.”

Biana caught on quickly and her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. “Oh. Oh. Yeah, for some reason I thought it was finished… um, but the chorus was great! I’m looking forward to the rest of it. Anyway, uh,” she grabbed her backpack and her brother’s arm, “Fitz and I should probably get going. Mom wants us home a little earlier today.”

“Thanks for the save,” Tam whispered to Dex as Fitz and Biana left.

Dex winked. “No problem. I know you aren’t ready to sing him the song yet.”

“Well, actually… I’m planning on confessing soon. Just not in front of an audience.”

“Well, good luck. Not that you’ll need it.”

“I’m going to need all the luck I can get, Dex.”

Dex snorted. “Come on. Everyone can see the way you two look at each other. Honestly, it’s surprising you two aren’t dating already.”

Before Tam could stammer out a response, Keefe slung his arms around both him and Dex. “Guys, don’t leave me out of this secret,” the blond pouted. “I’m lonely.”

Tam rolled his eyes, but really he was trying not to blush at how incredibly close the two of them were standing together. He was not going to think about how Keefe’s arm was around his shoulder, how Keefe smelled like vanilla, and--

Shut up, brain, Tam commanded himself.

“Shit,” Dex muttered, looking down at his watch. “You guys are gonna have to leave… Mom’s insisting that we go out for dinner, sorry...” But one look in his direction and Tam knew that Dex wasn’t the least bit sorry, that he didn’t have to go anywhere, and that this was all an act to get Keefe and Tam to be alone.

“Don’t worry about it,” Keefe said cluelessly. “Bangs Boy and I have some things to discuss.”

“Do we?” Tam cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Keefe said stubbornly, dropping his arm from Tam’s shoulder and grabbing his hand instead, dragging him out of the garage and outside. “Come on, come to my house--Elwin’s making dinner, he won’t mind if there’s another person.” Keefe smiled and Tam’s heart started doing cartwheels.

Honestly, Keefe, Tam thought as he stared at their intertwined hands. I’m already in love with you, so stop making me fall even harder, goddammit.

Before he knew what he was doing, Tam pulled out of Keefe’s grip and studied his reaction. Keefe seemed fairly indifferent to it, though his brows seemed to furrow a bit… but maybe Tam was just imagining things. Maybe it was all just wishful thinking.

But… every passing touch, every soft smile. It always felt like there was something more between every glance they shared, every word they said. There was more to the two of them, more to their relationship than they were admitting.

“Since when do you have an acoustic guitar?” Tam asked as they entered Keefe’s messy bedroom.

“Well, you started learning,” Keefe said with a one-shouldered shrug. “I couldn’t let you one-up me, now could I?”

Tam rolled his eyes. “Always a rivalry with you.”

“Only with you, Bangs Boy, you’re special that way.” Keefe winked. “Anyway, what’s that song Biana was talking about? The one you haven’t shown to me and Fitzy?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tam fibbed.

Keefe looked at him with raised eyebrows. “You’re really gonna try and hide it? Come on, dude, I know you--and I know whatever you’ve written will be even better.”

“It isn’t a song for the band, it’s… it was just something I wrote.”

“So there is a song! But even if it isn’t for an audience, or even for rhe four of us to play, I want to hear you. So,” Keefe gestured to his guitar, “can I hear it?”

Tam hesitated for a second. Was he really ready to do this? Ready to confess. Yes, he thought. I’m tired of him not knowing how I feel. I’m tired of not knowing if he feels the same.

He summoned courage, strummed the opening chords on the guitar, and started to sing.

There’s something that I’ve been meaning to say A truth I’ve been hiding for who knows how long My heart holds a secret, it’s been kept locked away And you might think it isn’t real, that I’ve got it wrong

But I think I kind of love you When I’m lost in the dark, you’re my light I know how cliche it sounds but it’s true I promise, it’s true that I love you

I know after this you might hate me And I won’t blame you if you don’t feel the same But I had to tell you, had to set these words free Because I think you like me too, so can we stop playing this game?

I think I kind of love you When I’m lost in the dark, you’re my light I know how cliche it sounds but it’s true I promise, it’s true that I love you

Why do we keep dancing around our feelings? Why do we keep pretending that this isn’t real? Because it is I know it is, and I know you know too So can we maybe just try this Try this and see where it goes?

I think I kind of love you When I’m lost in the dark, you’re my light I know how cliche it sounds but it’s true I promise, it’s true that I love you

Tam opened his eyes, watching Keefe’s expression, worried of what he might say. This is it, it’s over, a voice inside told himself, but another part said, You did it.

“Was,” Keefe said softly as he connected the dots, “was that about me?”

Tam nodded slowly, still studying Keefe’s face. “Um. Yeah, yeah it was. And… it was all true.”

Keefe shook his head dazedly, not saying anything, just staring at the floor.

“Keefe? Say something, please.”

The blond looked up to meet Tam’s eyes, and Tam gulped, wondering if this was it, when he was rejected, when his heart was broken, when--

Suddenly Keefe’s lips were on his and they were kissing and oh.

The kiss was everything. It was soft, and sweet, and filled with yearning and love and dreams and felt like fireworks. He tastes like vanilla, Tam noted.

Keefe pulled away for breath, and Tam felt a teensy bit disappointed, but that feeling was lost in the thought that Oh my God, I just kissed Keefe Sencen.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Keefe whispered softly, “I love you too.”

Tam felt euphoric at his words, it was all he’d been wanting to hear for he couldn’t remember how long. “Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to do that?”

“Enjoyed that kiss, huh?”

“Just shut up and kiss me again, will you?”

[loverofallthingssmart]

so i’ve been lacking kotlc content and my brain is empty so have the headcanons i came up with for gray’s college au (minus stina and wylie because i didn’t think of them so sorry monarchs maybe next time) like a few months ago (love you babe <3)

FITZ

mom friend

works at the same coffee shop as a baker as marella and that’s how she knows him

is a baker and tries to help jensi by promising a baked treat for every good grade

(It backfired and now he just provides the snacks every session)

best friends with keefe

older brother of biana by one year (DUH)

on a scholarship (for what i don’t know)

uber rich like super rich, the vackers are actually minor european royalty

has glasses but wears contacts to protect his “popular boy” image (we all know he’s a dork like come on)

BIANA

is a tutor (tutors jensi at math)

basically is the most vocal kam and marellinh shipper of them all

she does varsity volleyball and is on an athletic scholarship

majors in law???maybe??

best friends with sophie and is linh’s first real friend at the new school (like how dex was sophie’s in canon)

low key matchmaker and claims kam or marellalinh happened because of her

the one who suggests going to the coffee shop for tutoring sessions (mainly to bother her brother)

again, just like fitz, super rich because the vackers are actually minor european royalty

she’s the one keefe goes to for relationship advice and they're the brotp

the distinguished lesbian (or bisexual)

one of the only people in the gang to actually process stress healthily (get my babes some therapy please)

DEX

techno whiz (DUH)

basically in charge of the wi-fi and all the electronics and internet and such at the coffee shop

majoring in cyber security or something like that (minoring in data analysis for business to help with the coffee shop??)

his dad runs the coffee shop (elwin is in nursing school and owns the record store and harasses sophie for fun)

marella and dex are brotp because they like the same music and are the chaotic dumbasses of the group (we stan a bunch of dumb geniuses)

the one that’s not technically in your business but is a sucker for gossip

(amazing with kids and helps keefe with his child studies work)

Has ADHD which is why he focuses on tinkering and has a fidget cube

SOPHIE

the “perfect” friend (we all have that one friend who’s good at everything)

majoring in neuroscience (with a variety of minors and stuff) but not really sure what she wants to do when she’s done with college

everyone babies her and linh

youngest but makes up for it by exuding the rebellious older sister vibes since she and keefe are the ones suggesting and doing all these crazy ideas

has never backed down from a dare (and that’s how she earns marella’s respect)

tam’s first friend (like how dex is sophie’s in canon)

the one matchmaker who remains neutral in arguments (so the sneaky and sly matchmaker to biana’s loud and vocal one)

works at the record store by organizing the records and doing the displays and crunching the numbers (she’s too anxious to work at the register)

the record store is her second home (get it like elwin’s office in canon cuz she’s in there all the time)

lets elwin test his nursing knowledge on her and helps him study along with keefe (photographic memory buddies)

grady and edaline are her adopted parents

disaster child: she is quite literally a mess when she is hyper focused; no sleep, barely eats, stress (there’s a VERY good reason why she’s babied)

KEEFE

the clyde to sophie’s bonnie (the ultimate partner in crime duo)

best friends (turned boyfriends) with tam and thought thinking your friend was so super attractive was normal (biana and sophie helped him figure it out that “no keefe you do not want to kiss your bro platonically”)

was the one who helped tam and linh dye their hair silver

super protective of linh (even though he knows literally everyone in the group can hold their own he can’t help his older brother tendencies)

him and tam are the mushy gushy couple but also the married couple (don’t ask me how they can be both they just are)

majoring in psychology or child studies (used to major in business before he said a big fuck you to his parents and did what he want with the help from his friends)

lives with tiergan (who is the gang’s father along with grady and elwin and maybe alden)

does inventory at the record store

the local prankster at the college (his pranks are legendary and he’s never been caught, thanks to fitz, dex, and sophie helping him)

“can” drive (thinks he can but is that one driver that everyone is scared for their life with him behind the wheel) and do math

TAM

he is short like 5’3 and full of RAGE

literally saw keefe and his brain went 404 error (had a crush on keefe the whole time but thought it was unrequited and didn’t want to ruin their friendship)

works at the record store and actually does the inventory while keefe slacks around and flirts with him

has a damn good poker face BUT

blushes very easily (keefe thinks this is adorable and will always try to rile tam up...it works every time)and because of that gets teased by the gang a lot (all in good fun)

him and sophie are complete gossip buddies and paint each others nails and such

one time tam wore braids in his hair because of sophie (or marella!) and keefe would NOT stop drooling over it...now he puts braids in his hair whenever he wants to mess with keefe

majoring in family law so he can help with child custody and stuff like that

can’t drive OR do math (so he really didn’t get luck in any department)

super protective of linh especially from their parents

a gay disaster but thinks he’s low key about it

LINH

tall like maybe 5’7, 5’8 but still gives off little sister vibes

has a pet lemur named Rocco because she wanted an exotic animal and tam can’t say no to her

majoring in education (wants to be a kindergarten teacher maybe??)

bad at driving but good at math (neither of the song siblings can drive how sad)

an oblivious cinnamon roll (she can’t tell when people are being flirtatious which leads to more protective tam and keefe)

functional (that’s like pushing it) lesbian

loves heeled boots (her and biana go on shopping trips together….sometimes with a very reluctant sophie and an enthusiastic keefe)

studied dance and martial arts when she was like super young but quit because she felt overwhelmed

MARELLA

our favorite disaster lesbian

maybe 5’4 and adores her very tall gf

since her mom was sick and in and out of hospitals and on meds and such, she learned how to control her emotions and has a hard time opening up (but with the gang she’s comfortable and doesn’t really have that issue because she instinctively trusts them and feels safe with them)

keeps braids in her hair because her mother used to braid her hair and learned how to braid in her memory (she’s not dead but it helps with the pain)

her (and fitz surprisingly) are the designated hair braiders (biana is in charge of makeup and linh and keefe are in charge of outfits) for sleepover makeovers

surprisingly good at driving (you would think she’s a reckless driver but she’s not) but bad at math

the one sarcastic, done with everything waitress at the coffee shop

wanted to major in neuroscience because of her mom but then fell in love with gender studies and civil rights and stuff

GROUP HEADCANONS

fitz and biana are the best drivers and drive everyone around in Sophie’s sparkly white minivan named Silveny

PLATONIC CUDDLES FOR LIFE!!! everyone loves their cuddles and sometimes they just pile on top of each other in someone’s room and fall asleep like that

jensi is technically the honorary member of the gang so he’s included but not included included

when they're in the coffee shop trying to tutor jensi…..it's a mess there’s yelling, they’re getting sidetracked and they're getting side-eyes and annoyed glances thrown at them but it doesn’t matter because “no keefe a +b is not supposed to be 34” “fitz i don’t care if you got an A in calculus, i’m the tutor and this is college level algebra” “hey, stop getting crumbs all over the paper!” “this is fitz’s fault why does he always have to bake such good treats” “is this jelly on my goddamn notes”

whenever one of them is feeling down they all have this whole ritual of them like going to get ice cream and then going to a park and screaming at the sky….it's very cathartic and really helps the person who’s feeling shitty

EVERYONE has been adopted by ALL of the good parents (namely grady and edaline, della and alden, tiergan, elwin, and kesler and juline)

they each have their own designated spots in each ones’ house and the triplets (dex’s siblings..rex, bex and lex) know them and count them as family

they're a found family ok (in a modern au whatever still a found family)

[meelsonwheelsies]

Introducing a New Mini-Series

sooo...for English class this semester we read Romeo and Juliet. For our end project, we had to write a skit that used the basic outline of one of the scenes from R&J. One of my groups decided to adopt the ballroom scene, turning it into a western hoedown. I still have the script and...behold. A series no one asked for but I decided to write instead of writing the other fanfic I haven’t updated in two months. Yay writing!

Introducing:

Howdy - A Romeo and Juliet/Cowboy AU 

           A KOTLC Mini-Series Fanfiction

Cast of Characters:

Sophie Foster……….Juliet

Fitz Vacker……….Romeo

Keefe Sencen……….Mercutio

Vertina……….Nurse

Tam Song……….Tybalt

Grady Ruewen……….Capulet

Eadline Ruewen……….Lady Capulet

Dex Dizznee……….Benvolio

Featuring Elwin as Friar Lawrence, Biana Vacker as herself, and Linh Song as herself

Summary:

There is a hoedown being hosted at Havenfield, a rural area. It is for the Ruewen family to celebrate a birthday party for their daughter Sophie. They are rivals with the Vacker family, who live in Everglen, a large city. Three boys from the Vacker’s side of the town decide to go to the hoedown for a fun time.

Available: Wattpad, Tumblr

@silveny-dreams this is the beginning

Fanfic Taglist:

@nervousnightcollector87 , @sophiexmallowmelt , @bananafosters-and-books 

[crymeariveronceagain]

Keefe getting into fights

mkay but you gotta understand that you 100% asked for these feelings

The first time Elwin met his son, the kid was ten years old.

Elwin didn't know that was his son, yet. He'd figure that out later.

"It's not my fault!" Keefe's voice was high-pitched and screechy, affronted and sharp and everything a kid would be, when being dragged through the hallways, his nose bleeding profusely, tears in his eyes, his whole body trembling and shaking.

"You're a lying little brat," snapped Alina, as she dragged him. "I'm going to contact your parents."

Keefe looked like he was going to cry.

"What happened?" Elwin said, startled.

Alina sighed, deeply, dropping Keefe's arm with an exhausted air.

The little boy glared up at her with all the rage of ten forest fires.

"This kid was picking fights and got what was coming to him. Fix him up, will you, Elwin? I need to go hail Lord Sencen about his son. Again."

The little blonde boy winced.

Elwin nodded, once, his eyes still on the broken, bloody nose, on the kid in front of him. "You go do that, Alina. I'll handle this."

Alina huffed. "Good luck. He's a troublemaker, and--"

"Goodbye, Alina," Elwin said, shooting her a bored glance. "I can handle this."

Alina rolled her eyes, and then spun away, and the door slammed shut behind her.

The little boy winced. Elwin exhaled, sharply. "Stars," he said, "She's mean, huh?"

Two big, ice blue eyes looked up and met Elwin's gaze. Then, the kid nodded. "Yeah."

"What's your name, kid?"

"Keefe."

"Nice to meet you, Keefe. I'm Elwin. Wanna get your nose fixed?"

Keefe nodded, and then winced in pain.

So, Elwin dug out a Snotelek-Gro(tm) potion from his cupboard, and checked the ingredients. "What's your last name, Keefe? I need to make sure there's nothing in here that'll make you sick."

"Sencen," Keefe answered.

Elwin walked over to his files, and flipped through the S last names.

There was no Keefe Sencen. He looked again.

No Keefe.

"Hmm," Elwin said, out loud. "Is Keefe a nickname?"

Keefe looked upset. "It's my middle name."

"What's your first name?"

Keefe looked even more upset. "C...Cassius."

Elwin checked his files. Then he smiled. "Found it!"

Keefe looked like he was going to cry.

Elwin respectfully ignored it. "Alright," he said, "You don't have any allergies. Let's fix your nose up, huh?"

Keefe watched him, doubtfully, as though by asking for his first name, some boundary between them had been crossed, and he hated Elwin as much as he hated Alina.

Elwin poured out the correct potion dosage. He handed it to Keefe in the little cup. Keefe stared at it as though it was poison.

"It's gonna taste pretty gross," Elwin said, conversationally. "But it's like really cold bean mash. It's pretty nasty, but it's gonna make you feel a lot better. Then we can clean your nose, once we don't have to worry about it hurting anymore."

Keefe stared at the cup for ten seconds more. "Okay," he said, and chugged the potion.

His whole face squinched in disgust. "Blech," he said, "You're right, that's awful."

Cute, Elwin thought. "I know, right. I should really get a berry flavored one. But they want my medicines to taste bad so no one breaks in and tries to grow themselves another arm for fun."

Keefe's eyes went wide. "You can do that?"

"Only if you want to drink potions like that one you just drank but worse," Elwin said, with a note of warning.

Keefe's shoulders dropped in sorrow. Elwin decided he liked this kid.

He put gloves on and helped clean the kid's face off. He hoped he wouldn't see the kid for a while, and that he'd stay out of whatever trouble he'd been starting.

But, Elwin saw him three weeks later, this time being dragged by Sir Rosings.

"What's the problem?" Elwin asked.

"Fighting," snapped Sir Rosings. "Honestly, my one day to deal with children, the little ones, and there's a huge fight! And this one is all to blame!"

"No I'm not!" Keefe half-shouted. "It's not my fault! Markiel started it!"

Sir Rosings rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna call his father. You deal with this mess."

Elwin glanced at Keefe.

The poor kid had a black eye and a split lip.

Part of Elwin wondered where the other kids were. Had they just beat up Keefe, but gotten away without a scratch? It seemed unlikely that that would have just been any old fight, then.

He helped Keefe over to the cot he had on the side of the room. The kid looked like he was about to fall over. Elwin checked him for a concussion. He seemed okay. Just needed an ice pack or two for his face.

"What happened, Keefe?" Elwin asked, finally. "You're a good kid. What's up with the fights?"

Keefe looked like he was about to cry.

Elwin sighed, and then pulled out two ice packs. "This one's for your face," he said, "This one's for your lip."

He grabbed a stuffed animal from his cupboard full of stuffed animals, and handed it to Keefe. The little boy's eyes widened.

"What kind of animal is this?"

"A gulon," Elwin said, brightly. "They're super stinky, but super cute."

Keefe nodded, and held it close to him.

"Wanna talk about what happened?"

Keefe shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"I still did something wrong."

Elwin wondered what was going on in this kid's head, and why he seemed so tired, so world-weary, so exhausted. "Why?"

Keefe's eyes teared up, and Elwin watched as he tried to choke it down. It was a little disturbing to watch a ten-year-old try to stop themselves from crying with a practiced ability of one of the elite level students that Elwin always saw and thought had been told too often that crying was only for girls when they were little.

He looked at the kid, the little little boy, and decided to take a gamble. "You know," he said, "This room is the crying room, honestly."

Keefe blinked, startled. "Huh?"

"This is the place people are always allowed to cry in, because if you're here, something hurts. So you never have to try not to cry when you're here. I always tell that to these older boys, who are taking Elite classes. They always try not to cry, but I always say, "It's okay to cry if it hurts."

Keefe looked like he didn't believe Elwin, but some of the tension left his shoulders. "They were being mean to Fitz."

"Fitz... Vacker? That nice boy who broke his arm two months ago and needed pain medication every day for a while?"

Keefe nodded. "He's my best friend."

"Isn't he a year older than you?"

"We're in the same level."

Elwin nodded. "Why were they being mean to him?"

"He's always so perfect, and no one likes being worse than him," Keefe's face got angry. "And they make fun of him. Behind his back. They call him mean names and talk about how he's cheating and how he's stupid and how he's only the top of the class because his dad's a powerful Lord."

Elwin blinked.

"And today," Keefe's face got even angrier, like little flames had lit behind his light blue eyes. "They said something so mean and Fitz heard it. And he got all sad and scared because he works really really hard to be good at school. He's actually really bad at reading, but he has to pretend to be super good, because he wants to get really good grades, and so he got all sad and I got super mad and I had to get them," Keefe sighed, softly. "But they got me first."

Elwin listened, quiet. "Maybe talk to a teacher?"

Keefe looked as though Elwin had advised him to eat a worm. "I have! They don't think it happens."

Elwin nodded, slowly. "I believe you. I used to get bullied a lot in school."

Keefe's eyes went wide. "Why?"

Elwin tapped his glasses. "They thought I looked weird."

Keefe sighed, and then collapsed back on the bed. "I wish I'd been able to hit them harder."

Elwin sighed. "No," he said, going over to his files to write up a report of the incident. "That's not gonna help anything. They'll just match that way of dealing with problems."

"Yeah?"

Elwin nodded. "If you hit someone, they'll wanna hit you back. Or they'll go after Fitz."

Keefe's eyes went wide. "Oh."

"You better figure out a different way to handle the situations," Elwin said. "I know you can."

Keefe nodded.

Elwin saw him again the next week.

And the week after that.

And the week after that.

Each time for a fight.

Elwin watched the kid with concern.

Every time he got in a fight, the teacher would snarl something about calling his parents, and the kid would flinch, but would get a look in his eyes that made Elwin nervous.

"Call my mom," Keefe said, one day, to Magnate Leto. "Call my mom instead of my dad, please."

The Magnate looked at the kid.

Elwin looked at the kid.

"Your father is your preferred contact."

"He's not preferred to me!"

Elwin glanced at the Magnate.

Leto blinked, then nodded. "I'll call your mother, today."

And Keefe lit up.

Elwin worried.

Months passed, and the kid kept getting into fights, constantly. Elwin just, watched.

Helped. Offered support.

Bandaged the kid's cuts and bruises. Patched up another kid's broken nose.

One day, Elwin decided to do some reading.

There was an article, published in some journal.

It caught his eye because it was titled, "The Many Reasons Aggression Occurs in Young Children."

He read it, quietly.

There were many reasons.

It could be a coping mechanism, he read, if someone has a lot of pent up feelings that they can't get out. It could be taught, that fighting was the way to solve their problems. It could be from boredom, from a level of dissatisfaction.

The last one caught his eye.

Children will also act on aggression to receive attention.

Elwin blinked at it.

He kept reading.

In unstable, neglectful households, it can be common for young children to act aggressively towards their peers in order to receive attention, no matter what kind, from adults in their lives. Parents need to pay attention to children who cause trouble. Teachers need to pay attention to children who cause trouble. Troublemakers get noticed, and if a child needs to be noticed, they will often do whatever it takes to get noticed, even if that involves getting hurt or acting agressively.

Elwin re-read that paragraph.

And he read it again.

The next paragraph started with the line: The worst thing to do here is to ignore the child, or give them only negative attention.

Elwin blinked.

If they receive only negative attention, but they are still starved for attention in general, they will seek out that attention, even at the cost of themselves. However, if the child associates positive attention or care with their aggressive behavior, this will just encourage them to do it more often.

Elwin exhaled, softly.

Well.

He knew what he had to do.

Keefe showed up in his office the next day, battered and bruised as usual.

"Hey, Kiddo," Elwin said, happily. "I wondered when you were gonna show up."

Keefe blinked, seemingly startled.

"Who's the teacher today?"

"Sir Rosings got mad and made me walk myself. He's calling my dad right now."

Elwin nodded. "Let's get you patched up, and get you back to class, huh?"

He watched the kid go over to the cupboard where Elwin kept his bandages.

Elwin watched the kid fix himself up, while chattering absently about life, and friends, and who he'd been fighting, and why he'd gotten in the fight, and he sat down on the bed, and smiled, brightly at Elwin.

Elwin looked at the little kid, and understood exactly what was going on.

"Hey, Keefe?"

Keefe smiled brighter. "What?"

"You know you don't have to be hurt to come hang out with me, right?"

Keefe blinked. "You're a nurse."

"But you don't have to be hurt to come see me. You can just come to hang out."

Fear flickered through the little boy's eyes. "Are you mad I'm here?"

Elwin quickly shook his head. "Nah, kid. I just wondered if you knew you didn't have to be hurt to come see me. It's fine if you come see me just to talk."

Keefe looked down at the floor, and then nodded.

"Wanna come back tomorrow? I can give you a sucker from the candy jar if you didn't get in another fight."

Keefe's whole face lit up. He smiled like sunshine had drenched him. "You mean it? Do I get to pick what flavor?"

Elwin nodded. "You just can't get in another fight."

Keefe nodded, excited. "I won't! I promise!"

He was back the next day, his face bright, and he took his sucker with a thrill that only a ten-year-old can.

Elwin felt some small level of relief flood him. At least this kid wouldn't be fighting so much. And, if he lost a ton of suckers just to accomplish that, it would be worth it.

[crymeariveronceagain]

hi!

you know the post / fic you did about grady adopting keefe? could you please recommend any others like that (if there are any) ?

thanks

... i honestly think that may be the only one....

not sure

kotlc fans seem to tend towards the "Elwin adopts Keefe" trope more. I've got scattered posts about Keefe and grady interactions.. but if you want like. Keefe and good parent interactions, in a general sense, I've written some fics for those.

Here's my Elwin adopts Keefe fic. Very angsty. Much angst. But also hugs and soup and a nice long sokeefe date.

Here's a primarily Sokeefe soulmate au that involves Keefe leaving to go to the lost cities and while he's there gaining a sort of mom in the form of a woman who rents the apartment below him.

Other than that, I'm not sure, honestly. I'll let you know if I find any good ones! :D