An avid book reader

I live reading books and watching movies, hyper analyzing character and their relationships, and being crack sometimes

[raynilikescats]

"villain Sophie" this "villain Sophie" that, well yes I agree but I think we should get more hero Sophie x villain Keefe pilled. its almost canon in some ways and there's a lot of angst we could do with that

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Omg, someone should write a fanfic on that. It would be EPIC. And it would be enemies to lovers sokeefe too. A fucking gold mine.

[the-way-astray]

elwin shouldn’t adopt keefe because keefe already has a father who loves him and cares for him and that father’s name is alden

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

He was so loving, caring and encouraging to Keefe, and VERY fatherly, not emotionally manipulating him AT ALL in the Flashback bonus scene, so that his spoiled son could date Sophie.

And they have the AUDACITY to say Elwin's better, who helps Keefe on multiple occasions, treas his wounds and offers him a place to stay after he woke up from his coma.

Puh-lease.

[evasthefirstfox]

EvaJacks novella

I am so tired of the delusional Caraval fans not onlu trying to make the veil in an EVAJACKS novella about Scarlett and Julian . Idc if they are engaged , they still don't matter in the OUABH series

Also their nasty fans being rude af to OUABH / EvaJacks fans ? Saying that it's a spin-off of Caraval ? . Dpmo

Fans of one series have to beg / guilt trip / be rude to make people read the boring series of Caraval . 4 bland characters . The best characters were the fates .

It better be EvaJacks's wedding . Donatella and her equally boring and selfish sister (and their partners) better not have huge cameos

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Ugh, you're so right. It's really annoying to see the Caraval fans be livid about the Evajacks books. I'm sorry it's not our fault most of Spectacular was about Legend SAing Tella and them taking over the entire book while being lackluster as usual.

Scarlett and Julian can get married and even have kids, but it still doesn't matter in the magnificent North. It's an Evajacks and ChaosLala novella, not Tellalegend (ugh) and Scarlettjulian.

[the-court-jester-arts]

kotlc rant ahead:

Hi! Although I love Kotlc, I have some things I'd love to know is anyone else feels kinda icky about. These are unpopular opinions, I know, but here is my lengthy list (that is slightly out of order chronologically). Also, no hate to Shannon Messenger, I love the series, this is just my fun little rant. There will be three parts, some rants about the way Sophie behaves in the plot, some stuff about her character and personality, and other misc. rants.

MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

In the book series' plot--Sophie:

She should have told everybody about Alden's " mind break" in Exile. Yes, she's new to the elven world in book 2, but when someone FAINTS with a HEADACHE in a world where the mind is a fragile and important thing, SHE SHOULD HAVE THE COMMON SENSE TO TELL SOMEBODY. Even in the human world, when someone faints, we tell people and worry for them.

Slightly off-topic, but I think Fitz was much more justified in being angry at Sophie than the fandom gives him credit for. His father basically died, and the one person who knew and could have warned his family beforehand hid it from them.

Sophie, please girlie, tell people about your headaches. Going into potentially dangerous scenarios that you don't know much about while thinking you may be hurt is not a good idea.

I do understand that the miscommunication may be residue from not telling anyone about her Telepathy when she lived in the Forbidden Cities, but I still think she needs to learn to give the elves/her friends more information about her.

The kiss with Keefe made no sense. Now, before any SoKeefe shippers come and burn me in the comments--I think the ship is fine. It did have promise for the first 3-ish books for me. But Shannon (bless her heart she's so cool) really pushed the Sofitz thing for an extremely long time, it took up pretty much all of the series that Sophie only likes Fitz. Then, Sofitz is canon! They start dating! And Sophie is still head-over-heels in love with Fitz. However, as we know, their relationship is rocky because they cannot trust each other. Fitz requires honesty in relationships and Sophie can't give that to him-she needs her secrets (justifiably). So, they break up. Sophie was sad, like any other teenage girl would be. BUT THEN, KEEFE COMES BACK AND SHE SUDDENLY THINKS, "I LIKE HIM NOW" WITH NO BUILDUP??? AND SHE'S NO LONGER SAD ABOUT FITZ??? HUH?

I feel like exploring the relationship of a former golden boy and a secretive newbie who's infinitely better at him is really dope. There's lots of space for cool paradoxes about Fitz loving her but being jealous, and Sophie loving him but wanting to keep him safe and out of her way. But when the toxicity of canon Sofitz is shown and Keefe, an already introduced love interest is there, it feels like Shannon just took a pivot to avoid fixing it.

Sokeefe could work. However, if Keefe randomly confesses one day (in a letter, no less) after a breakup, Sophie realistically should take some time being by herself, understanding how to juggle her feelings along with the stress of her parents (cough, cough Oralie) and the Neverseen. Sokeefe has a base. Sophie wants someone who doesn't care about titles or the matching systems, someone who doesn't need to know her secrets. Keefe has always loved Sophie. It could work, but it needed time just like Sofitz's buildup.

Sofitz and sokeefe is kinda a play on Sophie trying to choose what would make sense (the golden boy + the golden girl) or the love that wouldn't (troublemaker + golden girl). Her choosing Keefe is almost a metaphor for Sophie breaking away from what people said made sense and who she should love (Fitz) or the wildcard "what she actually wanted" (Keefe). Thing is, Sophie wanted Fitz. It was just a weird switch to emphasize Sofitz's toxicness.

I think these shipping things come strongly from the fandom and most people's general hatred towards Fitz.

kissing your ex's best friend DIRECTLY after you broke up is not cool, Sophie. That's a low, mean blow. especially if ya'll didn't even kiss yet.

woo, okay. That's that section done.

Sophie's character:

She's a Mary-Sue. Need I even explain? She can do anything, has a crapton of abilities, and is always trying to do the right thing, even if she isn't, and then immediately forgiven. Her only "flaw" is her being clumsy, which conveniently goes away when she's fighting.

Her clumsiness, if anything, is an "uwu girl haha oopsie" plot device for romance. Nothing wrong with that! but she does need a few more flaws.

Granted, when she burned down the Neverseen storehouse, that was quite reckless and could have hurt her friends. HOWEVER, that was seen as a strong empowering move for her by most people.

She needs to work on her friendships. She's kinda abandoned Dex and Marella, who often really needed it. Dex has also gone through a lot with the kidnapping and his family's bad match status, and I feel like that's been glossed over by not only Sophie, but the fandom too. Marella has also suffered (her mom, Pyrokinesis, etc.). Granted, these two don't have it as bad as Sophie. But somebody having more trauma doesn't mean that other characters' pain is null and void.

Other random rants:

SO MANY CHARACTERS. I think part of the reason that characters like Linh, Tam, Dex, and Marella are getting forgotten is because there's too many main characters! They were used as plot devices and then faded into the background.

It is extremely hard to keep up with this many people. Shannon has made it wayyyy too hard on herself.

Worldbuilding. I just want more history lmao. It's not a super big thing, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

And with that, this rant comes to an end. Thank ya'll so much for listening. No hate to Shannon Messenger, she's my goat and I love the series.

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

I'm not sure I agree, but yeah, sokeefe was rushed. In a very unsatisfying way, might I add. Keefe deserves so much better than being Sophie’s rebound. They had really good momentum and buildup too. But Sophie just magically decides that she likes Keefe ? It feels unearned. Sure, we know that she already does like Keefe but isn't aware of it, but still.

I would disagree with you about Sophie liking Fitz. Her crush on Fitz is very immature, a classic tween crush. She raves on ONLY about his physical features. Literally nothing else. Not his personality (understandable) or something that he did. He was shown to be the cookie-cutter definition of a perfect boyfriend. But he isn't. Throughout the entire series, Sophie had rose colored glasses on for Fitz. Completely blind to his flaws, which everyone has. Amd when the glasses fall away, she doesn't like the person he is. She's constantly uncomfortable around him, avoids him because she knows he's going to blow up on her.

In my opinion, for now, Sophie shouldn't be dating ANYONE right now. Everyone has bigger problems to deal with, and I don't think she'll DIE if she doesn't like someone. Shannon should've made Sophie had a slower realization of her liking Keefe and them getting together at THE END of the series. And also, THIS is why authors shouldn't do fan service. Ruins perfectly good ships.

[the-way-astray]

i’ve definitely said this before somewhere but keefe and fitz in canon were never really actually close friends? “bring back keefitz friendship!” what friendship? their “friendship” is so surface level and always has been. flashback confirms that fitz didn’t even know about keefe’s shitty personal life before the events of the main series. like let that sink in. it’s fully possible sophie, who met keefe when he was thirteen, found out about keefe’s abusive parents before fitz, who met and supposedly befriended keefe at eleven. keefe admits that he was jealous of fitz’s non-abusive family from the start and never said anything about it because he wanted to pretend that his family life was as perfect as fitz’s. and it goes the other way too, because clearly keefe has no sympathy for all the pressure fitz is under, and he sees him as nothing but perfect, and he resents him for it, so fitz is not opening up to him either. i need people to understand that these two were never friends in any meaningful way. just because they played base quest and made boobrie jokes together does not make them best friends like are we kidding right now. need i remind you that these two were supposedly “best friends” for two. years. before the events of the main series and yet they did not understand (and in keefe’s case, still doesn’t understand) what the other was going through. two years and fitz had no inkling keefe had abusive parents? two years (and counting) and keefe had no idea that being a vacker isn’t the perfect life everyone makes it out to be? and these two are “best friends” please you have got to be kidding me. just because they refer to each other as best friends does not make them best friends, that’s just unreliable narration (unintentional on shannon’s part but who gaf about that). “bring back keefitz friendship” what friendship. keefe doesn’t even like fitz, and seemingly never has. i don’t think he’s canonically said even one genuinely nice thing about fitz that’s not backhanded in some way or sympathized, truly sympathized, with anything he’s gone through even once in the entire series. but he does think and say a lot of downright mean things about him, with nothing positive to balance his supposed “teasing”

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Uhm, excuse me but I will NOT be putting up with this.

Keefe had an evil sociopathic narcissistic mother and a father who would throw glass goblets of wine at him when he got angry. He's been mentally, emotionally and physically abused his entire life. Of course he's going to think the Vackers are perfect, because the Vackers themselves believed they were perfect.

Everyone realized they weren't after the whole Luzia Vacker thing. Being pressured is not as scarring as having your hand sliced open.

And I am SO not falling for the "Keefe makes backhanded comments about Fitz propaganda". Did we even read the same books ? FITZ makes backhanded comments about Keefe ALL. THE. TIME. In Exile when he just HAD to tell Sophie that Keefe was the only guy in his level who still has a nexus on (even though leefe is literally an entire year younger than him), and the passive aggressive behaviour since Neverseen, which amplified ever since Keefe ran away.

That comments in Flashback in which Keefe said Alvar has genuinely list his memories, and he can tell because of his empathy and Fitz said "like you could with your mother?"

Even Sophie said it was a burn and acknowledged Fitz being petty. Keefe didn't say a word. He could if he wanted to, but didn't.

[loverblaze]

elysian WILL have a scene where tiergan eats quan and mai tf up and beats the shit out of them

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

I will force-manifest that fellow soldier 🫡

[carimelmari]

Majority of the time, Keefe is the little spoon of the sokeefe dynamic, and I will die on this hill

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

But, when he's the BIG SPOON, that day's the best day of Sophie's life. Like that scene in Nightfall, when he has Sophie AGAINST THE WALL ?! ahskdkdkfkj

[kotlcsophitzsokeefebianexkoralie]

KotLC 10 update!!!

Ahhhhhhhh Shannon Messenger posted a vid on Instagram that Keepers 10 is to be released in Summer of 2027!!!!!!

Been reading kotlc since 2020 and don't mind the wait, it'll be so worth it (even if I'll be in Uni when it comes out 😭😭😭)

What are all your thoughts???

Dexiana or Tam×Biana?

I am doe hard Dex×Biana... as for Bangs Boi? ehhhh, Rayni works fine...

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Personally, Tiana. They have this undeniable chemistry. Grumpy x Sunshine, and isn't it confirmed that they like each other, with linh saying Tam likes brunettes in Lodestar and Fitz saying Biana is a fan of silver bangs in Unlocked ? While Dex is sweet, I really can't imagine him with Biana.

And no, Rayni is NOT an option. Tam is a MINOR while Rayni is an adult. Neither have shown any interest in each other except for allies who are on good terms.

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Since people think im just hating on Fitz. I dont like him (he's exactly like my ex, so i know what im talking about), so heres my lengthy reply.

First of all, yes, Fitz knew. He isn't dumb or stupid, and Keefe isn't exactly subtle. You can see Fitz being jealous multiple times in Neverseen and Nightfall (also Lodestar to some length, which reminds me - do you remember when he and Sophie met up with Keefe on the selkie island thing and Keefe was sharing his memory with Sophie ? And Fitz EAVSDROPPED them ?

Don't tell me that "Oh, he was just making sure they were okay after Sophie gasped. Okay, but why did he continue spying on them after checking ? Keefe didn't give him permission to watch a very personal memory of his, and Sophie didn't say he could read her mind. He broke the rules of telepathy (kind of hypocritical for someone who loves to show what a stickler for the rules he is). And Sophie's reaction was very affectionate. She isn't like that with anyone, the way she is with Keefe. So, even if Fitz "didn't know" about Keefe and Sophie, this scene would've solidified it.

And, as for the whole painting deal, Keefe gave her a painting of her friends and family because he noticed she didn't have a lit of personal stuff in her room, and because she'd asked for a painting when she discovered how talented he was. Also, he wanted to pull her out of her depressive slump (side note, he was the only one who could do that, and he gave it a shot after everyone else failed). She loved the present so much she tackled him in a hug and didn't want to let go. Even though this was in front of everyone. And "Fitz's eyes narrowed at Keefe’s arms wrapped around her waist".

Now, Fitz is known for baking treats for Sophie (I'm not mentioning the teal heart necklace because it's too...). But, Sophie never had such a drastic reaction to any present he gave, compared to the 2 presents Keefe had given her (the flower necklace in neverseen which she stil wore even after he joined the neverseen and the painting, but granted, Fitz didn't know about the former). He wanted that reaction. He knew Keefe would do anything for Sophie. The telepathic projection of him and Sophie together was just an excuse. He knew he wasn't very good at it, and probably could've found some other alternative present idea instead. But he didn't. He asked Keefe to photoshop it.

And sure, it was just a friend helping him out. But really, what was his effort ? Telepathic projection is very low effort (and probably blurry), and Keefe’s flourishes are what made it gift worthy. And what reaction did he expect, exactly? Did he really think she wouldn't recognize Keefe’s style ? Which she has on display in her room ? It's very icky to me. It felt like he was trying to assert Sophie, a way to tell Keefe to back off (when Keefe had put boundaries for him and Sophie).

So, yeah, he most definitely knew. His actions prove it, ironically.

Because Fitz gives Sophie those "perfect boyfriend" presents, which seem perfect on paper. (The teal heart...man). Keefe always gave her meaningful and thoughtful presents, nothing lavish or fancy, just hit the feels really hard.

[castleofravens]

i have seen WAY too many people acting like fitz asking keefe for a painting for sophie was like.. a shitty move even though ?? 1) we have no evidence suggesting that fitz knew keefe liked sophie too, 2) it’s actually very logical like if he’s not as great at art he’s obviously gonna ask his best friend who’s a good artist for help, 3) he and sophie were LITERALLY DATING ??

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Okay, I can't believe I'm doing this again.

First of all, yes, Fitz knew. He isn't dumb or stupid, and Keefe isn't exactly subtle. You can see Fitz being jealous multiple times in Neverseen and Nightfall (also Lodestar to some length, which reminds me - do you remember when he and Sophie met up with Keefe on the selkie island thing and Keefe was sharing his memory with Sophie ? And Fitz EAVSDROPPED them ?

Don't tell me that "Oh, he was just making sure they were okay after Sophie gasped. Okay, but why did he continue spying on them after checking ? Keefe didn't give him permission to watch a very personal memory of his, and Sophie didn't say he could read her mind. He broke the rules of telepathy (kind of hypocritical for someone who loves to show what a stickler for the rules he is). And Sophie's reaction was very affectionate. She isn't like that with anyone, the way she is with Keefe. So, even if Fitz "didn't know" about Keefe and Sophie, this scene would've solidified it.

And, as for the whole painting deal, Keefe gave her a painting of her friends and family because he noticed she didn't have a lit of personal stuff in her room, and because she'd asked for a painting when she discovered how talented he was. Also, he wanted to pull her out of her depressive slump (side note, he was the only one who could do that, and he gave it a shot after everyone else failed). She loved the present so much she tackled him in a hug and didn't want to let go. Even though this was in front of everyone. And "Fitz's eyes narrowed at Keefe’s arms wrapped around her waist".

Now, Fitz is known for baking treats for Sophie (I'm not mentioning the teal heart necklace because it's too...). But, Sophie never had such a drastic reaction to any present he gave, compared to the 2 presents Keefe had given her (the flower necklace in neverseen which she stil wore even after he joined the neverseen and the painting, but granted, Fitz didn't know about the former). He wanted that reaction. He knew Keefe would do anything for Sophie. The telepathic projection of him and Sophie together was just an excuse. He knew he wasn't very good at it, and probably could've found some other alternative present idea instead. But he didn't. He asked Keefe to photoshop it.

And sure, it was just a friend helping him out. But really, what was his effort ? Telepathic projection is very low effort (and probably blurry), and Keefe’s flourishes are what made it gift worthy. And what reaction did he expect, exactly? Did he really think she wouldn't recognize Keefe’s style ? Which she has on display in her room ? It's very icky to me. It felt like he was trying to assert Sophie, a way to tell Keefe to back off (when Keefe had put boundaries for him and Sophie).

So, yeah, he most definitely knew. His actions prove it, ironically.

Because Fitz gives Sophie those "perfect boyfriend" presents, which seem perfect on paper. (The teal heart...man). Keefe always gave her meaningful and thoughtful presents, nothing lavish or fancy, just hit the feels really hard.

[vodorokotlc]

It's nice to dream sometimes that Foster's Great Oblivion doesn't refer to the love square she can't figure out, but to her Great Oblivion of All of Fitz's Grandest Fucking Mistakes.

(she seriously didn't understand why Keefe had asked Fitz to "stop and not tell Sophie any more terrible things that he'd regret later." she just FORGOT.????.GIRL?...)

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

I love that people are finally waking up

The fact that Keefe had to stop Fitz from saying stupid stuff reminds me of the bonus Flashback scene, where Alden wanted Keefe to be there for the tribunal JUST TO STOP FITZ FROM BLOWING UP AT SOPHIE. Dude. Neither Sophie nor Keefe should put up with this.

[luvisour]

even if kam isn't canon i still need kam bestfriendification so bad. i need keefe to call tam his Best Dude (pls get the reference) at least once by the end of the series

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Omg, YES. Platonic Kam would end the world. Literally. When Tam was first introduced, that's what I thought was going to happen, but then they started hating each other ..??? I don't know. But I hope it happens. They're a disaster duo waiting to happen.

[ilovecoveysongs]

The fact that Fitz told his best friend who very obviously had a crush on Sophie to paint a romantic picture of Sophie Fitz proves to me that he wasn't a good friend.

If Fitz was willing to do that then his friendship with Keefe was always going to fail.

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

YES. Thank you. People always say "Oh,but Fitz didn't know" or "Shannon intentionally butchered Fitz's character for SoKeefe." No. Those character traits didn't come out of nowhere. They were always there. The reason we didn't see them is because Sophie had rose tinted glasses on for Fitz, thinking he could do no wrong.

But yall aren't ready to accept that.

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

Rereading KOTLC, and I remember why I ship Tiana with my heart and soul. They fill the empty void that is my heart.

P.S. WHY do people ship Tam with Rayni? She's almost as old as Wylie and Tam's never shown any interest in her. And he's a MINOR.

Besides, as Linh says, Tam is into brunettes. And there's literally only 1 brunette (+ stina).

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

A random thought I had at the crack of dawn ~

Now we all know it's going to be Keefe Foster and not Sophie Sencen. BUT. But, if Sophie were to take Keefe’s last name, their initials would line up perfectly to be K.I.S.S.E.S

[Keefe Irwin Sencen and Sophie Elizabeth Sencen]

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

When I'm procrastinating, my mind tends to wander to this one particular thing that Gethen said to Keefe at the end of Everblaze -

"We take good care of your mother. Way better than you or your dad ever did."

I've spent more time thinking about this than I can admit. I know kotlc isn't YA, but that's freaky.

[eternaltrancestarfarer]

People here keep bringing up the fact that sophitz was a bad ship, but Fitz is a good person. I mean, is he ?

Remember in Legacy, when he "PAID" Keefe to paint a picture of him and Sophie together ?

And dont tell me that he probably didn't know that Keefe liked Sophie, blah blah. He knew. He knew just as everyone knew (except Sophie herself).

And he paid Keefe money, which isn't really worth anything in the Lost Cities just so he could call Keefe’s efforts and talents as his and gift the picture to Sophie, as if she wouldn't notice the painting is Keefe’s.