#kotlc matchmaking

[milo-igidk]

all the pro matchmaking posts are just "matchmaking isnt too bad! the only downsides are *describes what matchmaking is and how it works*"

[oroshka]

Rex WILL become a counciler and end the matchmaking system and every hatred towards talentless elves.

[the-way-astray]

i feel like some of you need to do a better job of understanding that if keefe was in fitz’s position he would care about matchmaking just as much as fitz does

the only reason keefe does not care about matchmaking is because he does not care how it reflects on his family because they suck. being a bad match is like a win-win situation for him. he can piss off his abusive father and be with sophie. honestly being a bad match is the easiest choice he could ever make. there's no struggle to overcome with regards to matchmaking because he's already decided he wants to do whatever he can to piss off his family

fitz, on the other hand, literally says that the reason he couldn't handle being a bad match is because it would reflect poorly on his family. he doesn't think he can deal with his family who he loves because they aren't abusive having to put up with the consequences of his actions

people are such romantic fools about matchmaking and the way it's portrayed in canon . . . i'm sure the idea of being willing to throw away society's expectations for the sake of love is nice and all, but realistically speaking it's selfish, because it reflects poorly on people close to you as well. and being a bad match is no small scandal. it's a huge, devastating thing that will follow you for the rest of your life. people will stare. gossip about you. all the works. and all that will happen to the people you love too . . . obviously if you want desperately to be with someone and are willing to put up with it all, that's a show of love. but in keefe's case you cannot discuss his relationship to matchmaking without bringing up the fact that he will not have to deal with what likely makes being a bad match a scary possibility to most people, because he does not give one single shit what people think of his father. all those consequences are gone for him, and with it, a large part of the burden of being a bad match. that's something that he and fitz do not and will never share and why being a bad match is something that terrifies fitz more than it does keefe

throw in the fact that fitz's family is legendary and you have the perfect recipe for misery for fitz if he steps even a toe out of line. we see the way his relatives talk about his family after alvar's trial . . . they talk about how they're ruining the vacker name and wouldn't even look at them. imagine how much worse the way his own relatives, legendary relatives, talk about his family would become if he were to willingly become a bad match. imagine the way elvin society would react. it would be the scandal of the century and he would never get a break from it. ever. the council know this too, as seen by the way they talk about him in his registry file . . . it's almost a warning to him to not be a bad match and make things even worse than they already are for his family

anyway idk just consider all this the next time you parade keefe around as the superior love interest just because he's willing to throw matchmaking out the window. yes, his willingness to be a bad match goes well with sophie's unmatchable status, but you have to remember that even sophie doesn't want to be a bad match. remember. this is something that she is basically going to be forced into. even sophie says that she wants some mark of normalcy in her life and she doesn't want to have to deal with the drama that comes with being a bad match. already you can see the romantic aspect of being a bad match is going to be removed from this equation entirely, because for it to be romantic it has to be a choice. you have to choose to throw away everything for the relationship. in sophie's case, it is not. this is something she does not want. she does not want to be a bad match. she and fitz were actually on the same page about that, until circumstances not under her control forced her to face the fact that she will never be in a matched relationship. honestly, you could argue that sophie's unwillingness to be a bad match and fitz's unwillingness to be a bad match compliment each other more than sophie's unmatchable status and keefe's willingness to be a bad match because those are things that sophie and fitz put a lot of thought into deciding, and they are decisions that come from the heart for both of them. whereas sophie's unmatchable status comes from something entirely outside her control and keefe's willingness to be a bad match comes entirely out of a desire to piss off his parents and is clearly not something he's thought about for longer than four seconds

anyway the short version is: have some nuance about the way matchmaking is portrayed in canon. fitz is actually incredibly selfless for not being willing to be a bad match because he's clearly put a lot of thought into the way it would affect his parents and sister. also acting like the only reason keefe is willing to throw matchmaking out is because he just likes sophie that much is decidedly not true. him willing to be a bad match for her doesn't mean anything because he already did not care about being in a matched relationship

[dragoneyes613]

It's just occurred to me that the whole elf matchmaking system is kind of, well, eugenics.

People are matched up based on various qualities, the foremost among which is their Talents? With the explicit goal of producing children who have those same or stronger Talents? The assumption that Talent somehow decreases with each successive child, hence why having more than two is looked down on? (Wow, the elves would hate your typical Jewish family lol) Children of bad matches are assumed to have a higher chance of being Talentless?

Yeah, there's a good reason why the Black Swan wanted Sophie to be raised in the human world. She needs to give some people a few history lessons.

[artemisiamasterofnone]

Isnt it convenient that sophie was only vaguely bothered by the matchmaking system till she was the one suffering because of it

and girl no your life is NOT rekt because some old people said you cant be in a romantic relationship

[anonymous-kotlc-thoughts]

okay so I feel like the whole matchmaking thing can be a bit useful? It's got options and you can get to know the matches. The only downsides are that they segregate the talentless and the ones with abilities, and that it's considered a 'bad match' if you marry someone that's not on your list. If the matchmaking is considered as a suggestion and not literally like a standard that you have to meet, then it would become useful for people like me who have no hopes of finding love 🤷

.

[myfairkatiecat]

(You may have to click the images to see them fully)

Hmmm

Look I hate the matchmaking system, naturally, as we all should. But this scene still made me squeal—especially since Oralie brought up that telepaths and empaths are frequently match together, and both Sophie and Dex’s minds immediately went “so like…..Keefe”

Not “oh Sophie will probably get matched with an empath then.” Just Keefe. Keefe is the answer.

They are correct, Keefe is the answer

But I think it’s telling that everyone in the room jumped to that conclusion when they heard those words. EVEN THOUGH both of them are Matchmaking System Haters, for different reasons.

[begayandstabpeople]

Where did the matchmakers get the idea that pairing the talentless together with other talentless will produce children with special abilities, like the whole system is just so fucked but then they just lie to themselves about what would be better for everyone