#this is SOPHIE’S series!!!!!!! NOT KEEFE!!!

[myfairkatiecat]

okay so shannon giving us a keefe pov seems actually lowkey important and what i would do in the story rn but I'm not convinced she's going to use it to do the things I feel like we need her to do.

let me explain.

Shannon set Sophie up as a character who behaves certain ways. A lot of those ways are very good, and she's certainly a hero, but she also has character flaws that get worked through. For example, she can be a little reckless (personally I would have made all the same choices) (I know we think of Keefe as the reckless one but he's a different type of reckless) she can prioritize the wrong things, she can be disorganized, etc (all things that are super valid and understandable and make her relatable btw. I am a sophie foster defender)

and BECAUSE sophie is the protagonist, we see all of this develop. She has certain qualities that are a little stagnant sometimes, at least if you look from the outside, but there's actually a ton of development going on. She hears others' opinions on her actions, good and bad, and the reader sees how this impacts her and how she grows and changes, even if that change is nonlinear or in many ways she stays the same and just grows more mature.

Here's the thing about Keefe. he wandered out of side character territory and into second main character territory starting at the end of everblaze and peaking in legacy. And Shannon has been INTENTIONALLY writing him with consistent character flaws since the beginning, explainable by his past circumstances in fascinating ways. But we aren't there to see a lot of the falling out for that stuff.

A lot of people complain that keefe never faced consequences for stealing the caches or never had the black swan or adults yelling at him or mistrusting him or his friends avoiding him. And like... we do not know that. It could simply be that that was just not Sophie's problem at the time. Sophie also may have simply not been one of the people giving him a difficult time about it. In fact, we know she wasn't, but boy oh boy Fitz certainly didn't bounce back in less than five seconds. And we don't know what the Council and/or black swan did with him that sophie just wasn't involved in--and bc it didn't become relevant to the plot from sophie's perspective, sophie being the actual MC, it just seems unimportant.

Another thing is that Keefe has a lot of the same character flaws throughout the series, but they do shift somewhat with his experiences, and that's without us even seeing in his head, you know? So here's the thing.

Shannon went and started developing Keefe like a second protagonist (who is interestingly also an anti hero in some ways) and even if you aren't a person who thinks he's the most developed character on the paper (disagree but see where you're coming from) he's DEFINITELY most developed in shannon's brain, and that bleeds through. But then we ONLY see Sophie's perspective BECAUSE THIS IS SOPHIE'S STORY, and everything revolves around what is relevant to the plot from her perspective, and then keefe is just in the background being extremely important and relevant and having all these extra issues that we ONLY ever see from sophie's perspective.

Unlocked was... well, it was half a book, and only half of it was keefe. I actually do think his perspective was enlightening in some ways, but a full keefe book at this point kind of seems necessary to me. Because... he's taken on the role of another main character in this story, but we don't see any of that development happening, and for a lot of people i can see that getting taxing. Now I get that those same people also wish keefe would just. step back from the plot. and i get that! but I think with the way he's involved in the plot NOW, seeing his perspective is important, because sophie's POV (especially with her unreliable narration) doesn't give us enough of a window into the complexity that is keefe's worldview right now, especially with all the ways he keeps impacting things. it's just a really important perspective to have at this point.

Shannon, if unraveled is just keefe trying different human foods and giggling like a kotlc react on wattpad, I will probably enjoy it bc i love your work always, but i will also be shaking you by the shoulders because we need this book and you better spend it doing the things we need

[the-way-astray]

okay wait if you don’t mind me asking why don’t you like incorrect quotes?

anon, i swear this was not meant to be this long

my reasons are 100% subjective. over the years, i've dabbled in several different fandoms. and i find that the same incorrect quote format is used to describe relationships between characters in different series that i find to not be alike at all. for example, i've seen multiple of the same incorrect quote formats used for both percabeth and sokeefe, when i don't find the relationships to be that similar to one another at all. it's just that people see one dimension of sophie and annabeth (let's say smart) and one dimension of percy and keefe (let's say funny) and then the entire incorrect quote becomes about that. i find sokeefe and percabeth to be two entirely different relationships with few things in common (which i've talked about), but the incorrect quotes flatten them to those qualities only and i don't like that.

the sokeefe-percabeth thing is just an example, by the way, one i picked because i feel most people i'm talking to would understand it, but i've also seen the same incorrect quote formats used to describe relationships like jurdan or kanej . . . and if you've read tfota or soc you know how drastically dissimilar jurdan or kanej are to either sokeefe or percabeth (and each other). and i find that these indirect comparisons drawn between relationships like this flattens certain characters quite a bit. this is how we get stuff like "sokeefe is basically kotlc percabeth" and stuff like that.

then, once a character has been given a "role" (i use the term loosely) they have to occupy all the aspects that come with that "role". so then they're only allowed to be that "role" in the incorrect quote, even if the quote requires them to say/do things they would never say/do, because they've been slated into that role based on that one aspect. take this quote for example:

keefe has been slated into the role of "one that has a crush on sophie" for the purposes of this particular quote. but keefe doesn't ramble like this. he doesn't like his dad and would never discuss a crush on sophie with him (but this one i'm not that mad about since you could as easily change cassius to ro or something). he doesn't use exaggerated metaphors to describe things and he doesn't speak in purple prose. he does a pretty good job hiding his crush and would never inadvertently reveal it like this. do you see what i mean? because of the fact that the format requires him to be "one with a crush on sophie", he now has to fulfill all the other aspects the format requires, even though they don't apply to him. and it no longer feels like keefe. it flattens him down to this one aspect.

i feel like this flattening aspect of incorrect quotes does have a (very small, sort of indirect) effect on the way characters are perceived in fanon. and i don't like it? it's very weird to me. so i prefer to stay away from it. (best examples i can think of are cardan and kaz, who are both morally gray, but lots of incorrect quotes portray them as hopelessly in love with their love interests or malewives, and while that's true, them being slated into that role for the purpose of the incorrect quote often makes them out to be the kind that would doodle hearts around names in notebooks or blush or be in that sort of cutesy-teenager-with-a-crush kind of romance. and . . . uh . . . yeah, they love jude and inej, but that's like. not at all what either relationship is like. it's just not.)

also some incorrect quotes are so desperate to slate characters into certain "roles", as i call them, that they forsake crucial aspects of the character in the process, or actively make them do/say things that go against something that is a core aspect of that character. and i don't like the way the quote is willing to misinterpret something so crucial to the character for the sake of the incorrect quote exemplifying something much less important like "the funny one" or "the one with a crush on ___".

incorrect quotes also have a tendency to portray what a character actually wants to do, rather than how they would realistically behave, given the circumstances. take this quote (and ignore the weird anti-sophitz-ness for the moment, i'm trying to make a point):

in canon, it's kind of a point that sophie "isn't aware" of her crush on keefe, so to speak. she knows she has a crush on fitz. she may subconsciously want to kiss keefe, but remember, she thinks she likes fitz. so this incorrect quote just frustrates me because that's not what sophie would do!!!!!!! she would kiss fitz. actually, she would get all nervous and blushy and try to worm her way out of it. and if this is a post-stellarlune quote, and she knows she likes keefe, she wouldn't address fitz directly like that??? she would trying so hard not to look at fitz because omg omg omg i have to kiss my new boyfriend in front of my old boyfriend who appears to still not be over me. like the quote requires you to change fundamental aspects of sophie's personality/behavior to buy it. my analysis brain can't handle that. my problem is that i can't enjoy the quote for the quote, because my brain is always instead picking apart how un-character the incorrect quote feels.

having said all of that, i fully understand that anyone who likes incorrect quotes or engages with them frequently knows all this. i don't think you all are stupid. obviously keefe would never say something like that first example i showed in canon. that's understood! the point is to make fun of his crush on sophie. i get it. it's all in good fun. i just prefer not to engage with incorrect quotes because the flattening aspect makes me personally want to scream that the character would never do or say that, because at this point the character doesn't even feel like the character, so what even is the point of the quote anymore??? and then i get stuck in a loop.

and like i said in my original tags, i would never want to completely get rid of incorrect quotes. they're easy to make, fun, easily digestable, and in general sort of a safe way to get started in fandoms. they're the safety net of fandoms, and i think they really are crucial for smaller/more obscure fandoms where nobody wants to do hardcore analysis stuff but people still want to talk about their favorite media. so i think, for the purposes they fulfill, they're alright.

[winter-rossie]

Have you heard of Keeper of the Lost Cities? (KotLC) It's an amazing series with lots of characters, although the books are massive and there's 10 and counting

Hello, @oopsies-i-did-a-thing AHHHHH, I'm so sorry for never replying. I only just found out you could do this. I am so sorry. For forgiveness thee shall reward thou with memes. Keefe: "Wait, Mr. Forkle, how many identities did you just say you have?" Mr. Forkle: "Yes." Another bc i love this fandom Elwin, Giving Sophie another elixir Sophie, exasperated: "What will this one do?" Elwin: "Hopefully, fix everything. If not, it’ll just taste awful."

[arcadialedger]

There’s something so funny to me about the fact Keefe can likely absorb/ steal abilities as well and Sophie literally makes a Rogue comment earlier in the series when becoming an Enhancer.

There’s something so powerful to me that on top of being head and heart, their abilities now balance and foil each other in multiple ways.

[crescentpaws]

BOOOOO I HATE KEEFE BOOOOO WE ALREADY HAD KEEFE POV IN BOOK 8.5 BOO 🍅🍅🍅🍅

no hate to shannon ofc but. why can’t we just have all this stuff talked about in book 10…. the .5 stuff is kinda getting out of hand!! this is not usually how books work!!!!

(yes i am only being a hater because i don’t like keefe. i am sick of everything revolving around him recently </3 ik he’s a fan favorite but shannon pls! think of the keefe haters! we are people too!!! 😢)

[milo-igidk]

i dont think we talk enough about how fucking raw this line is

[swans-chirping-in-the-distance]

It's not "only Sophie can do this". That is so far from true. Her friends are:

Fitz, one of the most powerful telepaths of his time. Could've killed someone if his friends didn't stop him. Sort of did kill him. Btw, it was his traitorous older brother.

Biana, one of if not the ONLY vanisher who can completely vanish to every species. Has twice tackled murderers. Almost fell off Mount Everest and is covered in scars because of those times. She's super proud of it. Literally could kill you in a face full of a makeup

Keefe, also tested on. Has 3-4 abilities, two of which are new with him. Snarked the ogre king and won a sparring match with him because of it. Also ripped out THE ogre king's earring. Pretty good with weapons. Can make you listen by word of mouth.

Dex, such a powerful technopath that the council requested him to make special tech instead of an elf that's hundreds of years old and invented most of society's daily gadgets. Often underestimated.

Tam, one of the few shades that can control shadowflux. Joined a group of murderers and killed a friend to save his sister (yeah Keefe's alive, but Tam thought that Stellarlune would kill him and he still did it).

Linh, who held up a river surrounding a kingdom that was poisonous and harder to control when she didn't have full control over her abilities. Btw, she was 15.

She is friends with a variety of elves with crazy powers, ogres, trolls, dwarves, gnomes, and a human.

Only Sophie being able to go in these battles is dumb. It makes sense bcz she's the mc, but not in the actual series.

So I present multi-perspective kotlc.

Solves the "only Sophie can do this" issue. Better for character development. Makes side characters' relationships and lives matter more.

It would change the plot slightly but I think it would help.

[toxxtt-kotlc]

keefe book predictions .... congratulations on the book 9.5 little white boy

[clarissaweasley-10]

Fitz Vacker is just a 90 year old grandpa stuck in the body of a teen, leave my man alone 😭😭😭😭

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

thinking about how Keefe, Fitz and Sophie all are dehumanized and used as tools by the adults around them, cared for like a blade that’s rusting, but never a child

they were all raised for intentions outside of their own, by people with visions to suffocate them with. they didn’t have a choice. They are a means to an end. They may fight their fate, but it’s inevitable. All this suffering, all this martyrdom is unavoidable. They are valued for the blood they are willing to bleed. no darling, you aren’t human,

You are the lamb and the weapon that slaughters it.

[autistic-daydreamer]

Question for my KOTLC fans out there: what is something you read in the series that you couldn't defend the possible reasoning it was written. For research purposes (and specify what book)

[iggydancebreak]

fitz and keefe aside.

i think we can all agree we’re team sophie

[winwin17]

I miss when the whole dynamic was like this . . . 😢

[an-j8]

Have you noticed how Sophie's love for Fitz is similar to Annabeth's love for Luke? and how much is Sophie's love for Keefe like Annabeth's love for Percy?

Let me explain, Sophie and Annabeth fell in love with the golden boy who saved them from their unhappy lives, it's what we call love at first sight. But it's partly based on looks and this idea of ​​perfection that Annabeth and Sophie clung to. They were fans of Luke and Fitz, acted like little girls with a crush on the perfect “star”.

Annabeth and Sophie's love for Keefe and Percy happened very gradually thanks to the events they experienced and the moments they shared, that's what we call true love. They don't like Percy and Keefe because they are perfect / Golden boy, they loves them for their character but also because they understand them better than anyone

and that's why I HATE the love at first sight dynamic... especially when it's based on beauty with fan girls and perfect boys it's so cliché... I love it so much when the characters slowly fall in love because it has more meaning and it's much stronger and sooooo much deeper

[myfairkatiecat]

Hey KOTLC fandom I just wanna see something

[somewhereincairparavel]

Keefe Sencen 🤝 Annabeth Chase

"You are cute when you worry"