#I’m having stellarlune thoughts guys

[bookwyrminspiration]

smh at Sophie’s unreliable narrator ass

[mtr1234]

KOLTC fans who do not like Fitz, this post is for you. Fitz fans who do not believe people have sound arguments about why they dislike Fitz, this post is also for you.

Disclaimer:

I will mention stuff that happened in Stellarlune, so if you are not caught up with the series you might not want to continue reading.

I will try to provide quotes, but I will likely just describe the scene and what book it is in when I provide my reasons.

Also, this post will be pretty long which may or may not be a good thing depending on who you are.

______________________________________________________________

Anyway, let’s get to the reasons why I dislike Fitz. I have broken them up into three main categories, and I will be talking about aspects of Fitz’s character that I think a lot of people overlook (not the reasons that people do tend to mention: him having anger issues and being boring)

I don’t know if you guys have noticed this, but Fitz is really shady, Iike really shady (and not in a good way like our favorite shade Tam)

He has eavesdropped on Sophie and Keefe’s conversations before which I find so weird

In Lodestar, when Sophie and Keefe were communicating telepathically in that slimy location that Keefe picked out, Fitz started listening in on their conversation without their knowledge. He said it was because he was worried since he heard Sophie gasp. Personally, I do not buy this excuse. He can literally see Sophie so he could easily determine that she is not in danger. At the very least, why did he not immediately announce that he was listening once he knew Sophie was okay? In my opinion, it just feels odd, and if I were Sophie or Keefe I would feel a bit uneasy.

In Flashback, Sophie and Keefe were talking in the healing center about starting weapons training, and Sophie asks Keefe if he is down to do that (or something along those lines). Fitz immediately shouts, “I’m in!” The shady thing about this was that he was sleeping in his cot when they were talking. Now, I’m not saying that he is expected to cover his ears while they have a private convo in the healing center. But the thing is, he pretended to be asleep to listen to more of their conversation which is creepy.

The next very shady thing was the gift he gave Sophie in Legacy which was a painting he asked Keefe to make.

I always thought this was shady because, for one thing, he completely stole Keefe’s idea for a gift. Come on, a painting with a heartfelt message on the back?! That was literally what Keefe gave Sophie in Nightfall. Here comes the actual shady part though: why did he not just go to Atlantis or somewhere and have someone paint it for him? He purposefully asked Keefe to paint the confession scene between him and Sophie when he knows that Keefe likes Sophie. That is so messed up. This is made even worse by the fact that he paid Keefe when literally every elf is born with an unlimited birth fund so it was essentially worthless.

This next example happened in Legacy. I feel like a lot of people forgot about this or kind of swept in under the rug, but I think it is actually very telling of the type of person Fitz is. I am talking about when Fitz decided to search Lord Cassius’s mind to learn anything about where Alvar might be after he got away in Flashback.

There are several shady things about what happened in this scene. First of all, Fitz decided to do this even though he knew that it would make Keefe uncomfortable (Fitz would see the abuse/trauma Keefe suffered at home). Secondly, Fitz did this without even asking Keefe first or even letting him know about it. If you recall, he literally just showed up at Keefe’s house without any warning. Lastly, he tried to lie about it too. He tried to say “I’m doing this for Keefe” and “whatever I find will be helpful for Keefe”. Give me a break, we all know he did not do this out of concern for Keefe and he was caught lying in the act by Keefe himself. *I find it funny how he tried to lie about it to Keefe, when Keefe is literally the strongest empath in their world and is literally so smart even though he does not get enough credit for it.

2. When he gets mad at Sophie, the first thing he does is belittle her or try to make her feel stupid:

This first example comes from Exile when Fitz was getting mad at Sophie about what happened to his dad. Now, a lot of people like to dismiss how Fitz acted in this situation because he was under a lot of stress, but I do not think this is right to do because it absolves Fitz of any guilt instead of addressing how his behavior was wrong. The specific scene I am referring to is when, I believe, Alvar suggests that maybe Sophie can help Alden and then Fitz responds with: “Please, she’s just a kid.” What I get from this statement is that he is making Sophie feel less than, and in the process he is putting himself above her “level”. Now, one can use the excuse that he wasn’t himself and that he was torn up with grief, but he says similar things to Sophie later on in the series (when his dad is not on his deathbed) which I mention below.

This next example happens towards the end of Legacy, just before Fitz and Sophie broke up. Sophie was defending her decision to search Lord Cassius’s mind for any important information even though Fitz was already doing that (she honestly didn’t even need to do this because everyone knew he was getting nowhere and that he would never have found anything useful). Anyway, Fitz responds with: “So you thought the Moonlark needed to swoop in and take over? The leader of Team Valiant? Lady Sophie Foster? The fact that he is trying to make her feel bad about her accomplishments is a major red flag in my opinion. As someone who supposedly cares about her more than anyone, he should feel the most proud of her successes.

This third example is from Stellarlune. It’s when Fitz and Sophie have their first telepathy session after the whole “Fitzphie’s not a thing!” debacle. So, Sophie is asking Tiergan what a Cognate Inquisition is and then here comes the interjection: “Better question,” Fitz jumped in using a smug tone that made [Sophie] wish one of the buttons on her telepathy chair would turn Fitz’s into an ejector seat and launch him out of the room. “Why were you hoping to spare us from it?” I just think this is unnecessary and uncalled for; why is he trying to embarrass/ one up her in front of their mentor? (Did he forget that he is the one who joined her session, not the other way around?)

3. The last major issue I have with Fitz is the fact that he guilt trips Sophie and Keefe a lot. And, just so everybody is aware, not about minor stuff. He tries to make them feel guilty about things that are completely out of their control, and as you are reading these examples I just want you to keep in mind that elves are not equipped to handle guilt. Their mind can literally shatter if they feel too much of it (like Alden), and that’s why I think it is so horrific every time Fitz does stuff like this:

Everybody knows this one, but I am still going to put it here because it is worth mentioning. In Exile, Fitz blamed Sophie for his dad’s mind shattering. I have seen a lot of people try to say it is justified because he was going through a lot at the time, but I disagree. I think we can all agree that just because someone is going through a tough time (no matter how tough it may be), it does not give them the right to bully an innocent person.

Moving on, in Flashback, towards the end of the book Fitz makes everyone search for Alvar because he thinks he is up to something shady. When they find Alvar and question him, Keefe says that he can tell that Alvar is telling the truth. Then Fitz retorts, “Like you could tell with your mom?” In this remark, he is referring to the fact that, before she revealed her betrayal, Keefe had no idea that his mom was evil. This made me so angry on Keefe’s behalf because everyone already knows that he blames himself for everything that his mom is doing. With every revelation about his mom’s plan he sees how much worse things truly are, and that sends him into a downward spiral of guilt. For his “best friend” to say this to him is so messed up.

This is not another example, just my own thoughts about what I said above so you can skip it if you would like. I never understood why people (namely the Councillors) expected Keefe to know that his mom was evil. For one thing, his parents are literally known for never showing any physical or emotional affection to him. So, how is he supposed to be able to read his mom’s emotions if he never is close to her? Secondly, I think people are forgetting that as an empath he can only read people’s emotions. He does not know the reason why they are feeling the way that they do unless he has context. Lastly, his mom was literally erasing his memories left and right so whatever information he could even manage to glean would be wiped from his mind. Meanwhile, Fitz is literally a telepath, and he had no idea his brother was evil (and I assume he must have read his brother’s mind at least one time) so I think he needs to lay off the judgment.

In Legacy, Gisela leaves a note for Sophie to bring Keefe to Loamnore during the “showdown” (or whatever you want to call it). Anyway, Sophie does not want to do this because it is obviously a trap, and Keefe gives in and agrees to stay behind. When he makes this decision, Fitz says, “Wow, you really hate Tam that much? Because he’s the one who’ll pay the price if you’re not there—you get that right?” Is it just me or does that not sound so condescending? All I can say to this is how does he have the nerve to blame Gisela’s actions on Keefe, especially when Keefe is one of the people working the hardest to stop her? Also, it is crazy that Fitz is guilt tripping Keefe for deciding not to be bait and leaving his life in the hands of his (crazy) mom. I’m sure it’s easy for Fitz to say that because he is not the one who is being targeted by an evil mastermind who wants to experiment on him.

This last example happened in Stellarlune, so it is is quite literally very recent. Fitz and Sophie are in the school cafeteria, and they are disagreeing about next steps to take to stop the Neverseen. In that conversation Fitz says, “But sometimes it feels like you don’t realize that it’s only a matter of time before something you do gets someone else killed?” In my opinion this is a completely unfair statement to make against Sophie. First of all, since the beginning of the series she never wanted her friends involved in the fight against the Neverseen because she wanted to keep them safe. However, her friends (including Fitz) would not take no for an answer and insisted on helping. Secondly, Sophie is always going above and beyond (risking her life) to save that of others. Both times when she almost died fixing her abilities, she endured it all for the sake of becoming stronger and protecting her friends, family, and her world. That is why I think the way Fitz is trying to make her feel guilty, and put the entire weight of people’s lives on her shoulders, is so unjustified. She is literally a young girl trying to do her best to save her world from crazy powerful villains, cut her some slack.

If you made it to the end, thanks for reading. Honestly, there are many more examples that could be brought up that I’m sure a lot of you are thinking about, but I am too lazy to write all of that. I just wanted to share my thoughts because I have been seeing some people say that Fitz has had good character development throughout the series (which I just have not seen) and does not deserve all the hate so I just wanted to share why I believe Fitz is viewed the way he is by a majority of the Keeper fandom.

[myfairkatiecat]

Keefe (for bingo)

AHELDHKAUSHDKJAAHJSSHAKSBDKHSKSDSHAJAHDLDUSBSKSJSHALSHDHSKA

OK I CONTRADICTED MYSELF A LOT SO LET ME EXPLAIN

this is my favorite character of all time in any media, right up there with Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Nicholas & Nathaniel Benedict from TMBS (showverse) and Lancelot from bbc Merlin. Actually probably slightly above all those characters which is SAYING SOMETHING.

Is he comic relief? Yes.

Would I be his friend? Yes.

Has he done nothing wrong? Yes!! No he’s done many things wrong he’s so precious to me ok but the law he’s broken the law I love him so much he literally betrayed his friends I will always love him he has sooo much to answer for I’m glad Sophie forgives him after she chews him out she should chew him out longer but I suppose Fitz does that for her He has so many apologies to make but like he’s also done nothing wrong look I’m aware of my blorbo’s mistakes he’s honestly not as problematic as the tumblr fandom makes him out to be sometimes, and I MEAN that, but he’s also not as perfect and sweet as the eleven year olds on Wattpad make him out to be. He’s a LOT okay, you can’t analyze Keefe Sencen without the everything

Are my opinions unpopular? Yep! The other keefe girlies hate my opinions bc I acknowledge his character flaws and the Keefe haters hate my opinions bc I acknowledge the fact that he’s NOT an antagonist and actually has a lot of really good traits, and that’s NOT me making excuses. Also what are y’all on about saying he doesn’t get held accountable for his actions, like yeah Sophie forgives him pretty fast but not until she’s yelled at him, and the rest of his friends do NOT bounce back to normal (Fitz)

Do I relate to him? Yes, unfortunately. I have Fitz’s trauma and Keefe’s coping mechanisms (they aren’t good coping mechanisms but they’re literally mine)

Is the fandom wrong about him? Yes, the Keefe fans and Keefe haters alike. Don’t flatten this guy there’s SO MUCH THERE. (I’m not talking about my Keefe-negative mutuals—if I follow you, you didn’t flatten his character, I am very serious about Keefe Sencen)

Do I want to adopt him? YES I mean I’m literally his age but if I was old enough to adopt him I totally would, get that kid away from Cassius Sencen and kill Gisela Sencen. Honestly tho I’d settle for an Elwin adoption, dad!Elwin rocks

Did he need less screen time? *sighs in resigned Keefe fan* probably…objectively…yes…

Did canon do him dirty? I debated filling in this one. Because Shannon has made him a SUPER complex character. But also I swear if the ending of stellarlune isn’t the last time he steals something from Sophie to carry out a reckless plan he told no one about, I’ll riot. Don’t give him forward character progress and then erase it! If it’s a momentary relapse of bad habits I’ll allow it but I’m starting to want Shannon to let Keefe grow from all of that. Cause she keeps letting him get better—and then slip back. (Which isn’t unrealistic and I can work with!! I love him! But SHANNON PLEASE)

Do I want to study him? I want to get a full on PhD in this guy’s character arc actually

Did he need more screen time? Heh. Uh. Objectively NO. But also this amount of page time has allowed us to learn so much about his character complexities?? Like I’m torn between missing the other characters and eating up his character arc. Currently I’m gonna hope book 10 expands the other characters more bc I need more of them and 9.5 can feed my Keefe brain

Would I hit him with a golf cart? Listen my friend made this bingo game (hi Bods, if you’re reading this) and I know exactly what the actual intention was behind this square. But like. I want to slightly run into him with a golf cart. Just enough to slightly injure him and make him rethink his life choices (affectionate) (actually in the words of@phtalogreenpoison “I’d like to microwave Keefe. Just shortly”)

Does he need therapy? OH MY GOSH YES. I have thought this about other characters but SPECIFICALLY KEEFE HOLY GUACAMOLE GET THAT GUY THERAPY

Is he insane? Define insane. But I love him anyway (what is going on in his head half the time 😭)

Am I rotating him in my head 24/7? WELL YOU’VE READ THE POST WHAT DO YOU THINK

Do I have so many headcanons? Oh you guys don’t know the half of it. I have. So. Many. SO MANY

Is he wasted potential? Uhhhh I have too many thoughts on this to actually put it on this post. Genuinely love what Shannon’s doing with his character, like I said. But at some point she needs to. Address the things. Or he just becomes a guy with all these complications introduced that just kinda sit there and continue to change and grow and Keefe is the complex character to end all complex characters but Shannon you need to DO SOMETHING WITH THE MASTERPIECE OF A CHARACTER THAT YOU HAVE CREATED

The amount of bingos holy moly

Anyway

Keefe means a lot to me

Thanks for the ask anon!

[moonlarked]

Okay but have you guys thought about the fact that literally all of the main villains’ plans lead to Elysian? Like, obviously we have Gisela who was the focus in Stellarlune, but then there’s Vespera who literally created the first Nightfall, which we learn is a reference to an event centered around Elysian. And Fintan wanted to activate the Noxflares for his plan, and the Noxflares open the gate to Elysian, so obviously Elysian is part of the Lodestar Initiative. And this means Elysian is connected to the humans, considering what the Nightfall facility was used for and Fintan fixating on them for his Initiative. And I’m betting her connection to them has something to do with her being able to shut off Elvin abilities.

AND - since Prentice knew about the Lodestar symbol, and we know Fintan knew about Elysian and was planning something around her with the Lodestar Initiative, that means Prentice likely knew about Elysian too. That could’ve been the reason he called Swan Song.

AND AND AND the “lodestar” in the Lodestar Initiative is likely the unnamed unmapped star that appears during Nightfall! And activates the power source at the fields of Elysian!

[when-wax-wings-melt]

Adding onto your thoughts on wasted potential and sokeefe I really hate how much Sophie’s realization of her feelings was 1) completely outside of her own hands and 2) ENTIRELY FOCUSED ON THE WRONG THINGS LIKE. Ok. If ro was going to tell her all along it one makes the whole drawn out obliviousness unresolved in retrospect but also underplays her feelings for keefe bc she never has that realization for herself of what he means to her, what he has always meant to her. It is so anticlimactic when their entire relationship so far has been anything but… and that’s not the worst part bc issue 1 is only rlly a problem bc it plays into the 2nd bigger problem which is sophie’s realization of her feelings completely misses the mark on what her and keefe’s relationship represents. Like this is a Slowburn romance on Sophie’s side. The recontextualization, the oh my god that’s why I care that’s why this happened is half of the payoff and there is none of that!! Sophie is like omg he likes me… and he’s like… a decent guy omg I think I like him and girl!! Good for you but this is such a small part of what her feelings and their relationship represents!! They are not easy he has never been easy and implying that her realization of her feelings comes from saying well… he’d be less angry than fitz ig? completely misses the mark on everything substantial about them. She did not fight tooth and nail for him and never give up on him bc she thought he was cute!!! Jdkeojtjjfkt like I just… as someone who writes this is crazy to me bc how do u make the perfect setup with him being gone and her having to confront why she cares so much, why she wants him in her life and just!! Completely ignore it? Sokeefe in stellarlune was cute and I do like how she had the autonomy in choosing them and their relationship but there is so much that just feels completely wasted and I fear it will never go addressed again… anyway I’m so sorry for rambling so long but I loved your post and agghhhhh this will always haunt me.

NOOO GOD YOU'RE SO RIGHT!!! KEEP COOKING ANON

like the biggest problem was that ro TOLD her. and that's horrible both on Sophie's side AND Keefe's side, because the point was never that she figures it out it's that he TELLS her

and for some reason the "how it happened" was erased and replaced by "what happened next?"

like what I love about sokeefe is the fucking devotion. she is SO desperate to find him because she needs to tell him... what? she doesn't know yet but god she needs the choice she needs the option she needs him!! not because he likes her so she likes him BACK, but because she likes or loves him and has known it all along.

that's. it was just so fucking disappointing

[caliburn-the-sword]

I finally read Stellarlune guys it’s time for my major thoughts/hot takes:

Fitz is feeling emasculated by Sophie being a girlboss. Talk to the wall. They could never work out. He needs to get over his toxic masculinity. Luckily Keefe is a little malewife. I have 100% respect for him for that. While I’m on the Fitz anti train, in a human au Fitz would definitely be homophobic, change my mind lol. Look at how he was with being unmatchable. Idk if it’s internalised homophobia or just the regular kind so you can decide for yourself lol. 

[that-multi-fandom-mess]

!!Stellarlune Spoilers!!

more rambling guys, i have lots of thoughts

i can’t believe that sophie confessed first, like oh my god she has changed so much i’m like a proud parent rn

also, the way sophie kept assuming keefe would be mad about things because fitz was mad about those things (matchmaking, being a leader, etc) is just really sad i had to take a moment

Rayni is actually the most beautiful elf i’ve ever known and i want to know so much more about her

ummmmm why the hell am i suddenly sad about kenric and oralie??? like damn i never cared that much and honestly he’s kinda messed up but the fact that they could’ve been perfect for each other is just so bittersweet

and also edaline offered for keefe to sleep in jolie’s old room, my heart can’t take this, and when he was like, “that’s what a mom’s supposed to sound like” i- i can’t do this. 

GRADY AND KEEFE WORKING TOGETHER YES

ALSO I FUCKING KNEW THAT COMB BIANA DIDN’T WANT WAS GONNA BE IMPORTANT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT

THE WAY THAT DEX GOT MORE PAGE TIME

oh my god i hope jensi doesn’t die, it’s so nice to have him back. it’s horrible how he’s being judged by those stupid ass mfs

stina was kinda being rly annoying tbh like damn i thought she changed a little bit in legacy

fintan is back and insane as always

vespera is dead, i kinda wanted her to stay alive but oh well

okay but gisela being that violent was so..... idk how to say it but it was kinda.... cool? idk

bronte having curly hair was actually the best part of the book for me tbh like, he has curly hair. yes it makes him look soft but i really need him to grow it out again. for science.

the fact that i pictured keefe staying in some rundown motel and he was basically living like royalty most of the time is hilarious

fitz needs therapy is all i’m gonna say, yes it does hurt when your ex moves on so fast but come on man you were such an asshole to her

i can’t remember if alden and della ever made even one single appearance, they got the dex treatment

i fr thought sophie would commit more arson but we can’t have everything and we got sokeefe and gay ass tiergan so

[thelavendernarwhal]

Stellarlune as Reviewed by a Potato

I just finished reading Stellarlune and I’m going to make it everyone else’s problem.

- Finally some Sophie and Dex friendship. Even if we didn’t get a lot of it fully written, it’s nice to see these guys hang out.

- Jensi’s back and I couldn’t be happier. He adds a lot to the tonal range of the series and it’s neat to see how he’s developed since Sophie last checked in. You can tell that he’s changed over time while the camera was away.

- Also, we can finally explore one of Sophie’s friends being talentless. I hate to wish bad things upon Jensi, but it would add so much to the story overall.

- The shadow-realm tracking could’ve been foreshadowed more. I know Shannon can’t go back into book 5 and add this, but a small comment from Keefe hinting to it would’ve gone a long way.

- Please don’t let Dex and Biana be paired-spares, please don’t let Dex and Biana be paired-spares, please don’t let Dex and Biana be-

- I know this is a bit of a hot take, but I love Sophie’s interactions with Oralie. She’s bitter and spiteful and doesn’t want to forgive Oralie because she’s been betrayed by someone who should love her above all else, but clearly doesn’t and won’t.

- As much as I love her, Sophie needs to fail. It makes sense for her development to be very reckless in this book, but now she needs to learn about the consequences of her actions the hard way to balance her out.

- Keefe’s hiding plan was very well thought out and caught something I completely forgot about. Nice job.

————-If you like Sokeefe, you might want to stop reading here. If this is as far as you go, hope you liked my silly little opinions :) —————-

- Now it’s time for my most controversial take; I really didn’t like how Sokeefe was written. Granted, I never shipped it and I was never a fan of the love triangle as a whole, so this book would’ve had to do some serious heavy lifting to get me to like the pairing, but the romance in this book was unbearable. It didn’t seem like Sophie was interested in Keefe in the previous books, so her having a huge crush on him all of a sudden was really off putting. Shannon has said many times that she wasn’t partial to either side of the love triangle, but because of that, Sophie and Keefe’s relationship wasn’t developed enough to sell me on it. It just seemed like neither of them fully wanted this.

- Plus, Fitz got thrown under the bus this book and I feel so bad for him. He and Dex should start a club.

- Double plus, the whole ‘pros and cons of dating Keefe’ scene was the most aro thing I’ve ever read and it made me very sad that we don’t have a-spec Sophie.

And that pretty much sums up my thoughts. Sorry to end this on a negative note, but I give this book a solid 6 out of 10. When it wasn’t focusing on romance, I had a great time.

[crazedfangirl14]

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I tagged 372 of my posts in 2022

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#cuz i've been desperately wanting to know who's tribunal that was since they're not a common occurance

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So...here’s some random thoughts on Fitz being a jerk. I’m reading the first book to my little sister and he literally laughs at Sophie every. Single. Time some thing he’s used to but humans most definitely are not happens and Sophie’s just like “wtf?!” as she very well should be and he literally shames her for having freaking survival skills and she’s like “I gotta keep my cool” Girl you most certainly do not need to keep your cool child this is all new to you. Be afraid. Be shocked. Be amazed. Hate Fitz

Thank you.

17 notes - Posted March 30, 2022

#4

Hey guys! So I'm going to stop using tumblr because technically my parents didn't allow me to start using tumblr and I'd get in trouble if they find out so I'mma stop while I'm ahead.

I did make an email address just so people from tumblr can still socialize with me if they wanted so that's

seasellsseashells14@gmail.com

So yeah you can email me or send an invite on google chats

I'm now going to tag all of my moots so y'all enjoy that

@callas-pancake-tree @everenvacker @lady-hunkyhair @perhaps-it-was-never-before @myminddefiesreality @stopstealingtomatoes @rajenkinswrites @camilomyshiningsun @ducky-is-dead-inside @squishmallow36 @books-over-boys @axels-corner @camelspit @swansongsblogs

Even if you were tagged you're not obligated to email me and if you want to email me but weren't tagged feel free to do so!

Everyone please tell me what your tumblr url is when you email me

So good bye ig

21 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

#3

Okay all the stats on the abilities are the worst.

Inflicting is the rarest ability but Marella says there's one that she knows of but there might be another. How is that the rarest?

Mesmer only has one reported elf

Same with whatever the heck Terik does

And then telepathy is one of the rarest but literally everyone is a telepath. It bugs me so much

22 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

#2

GUYS GUESS WHAT

I'm actually 47

*having a mid life crisis*

I'm actually 14 guys

Y'all should take it here and tell me your "age"

25 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

@myminddefiesreality @stopstealingtomatoes

Roomies

I am going shopping. What do you need (beside bandaids, gloves and a new fire distinguisher)?

I have a $100 budget

63 notes - Posted May 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[crescentpaws]

ok hi i’m back. & i will be responding with some thoughts of my own if that’s ok :) to satisfy my greedy little fintan heart yk.

• honestly this was my main take on that whole healing scene fiasco: fintan knew he couldn’t let the council get their hands on the information he was protecting. so he’d have to get himself out of there somehow. since he was only half conscious at the time, i feel like it wasn’t truly the calculated decision everyone viewed it as and more a choice made out of desperation. he probably knew there was a high possibility he would die, but he was willing to take that risk to protect his secrets. though i do think that he was also motivated by self-preservation, obviously, so once the blaze was called down he was largely focused on escaping (while everblaze can hurt pyrokinetics, powerful ones like fintan can still control it. he probably somehow managed to keep the blaze from touching him while simultaneously burning down everything around him).

another related thing: a lot of people treat kenric’s death as this targeted, personal attack, when in reality it was only a matter of chance (kenric being the one to push sophie & others out of the way of the fire). i’m not saying fintan wasn’t glad when he later found out that he’d killed a councillor, but i think in the actual moment he was more focused on saving himself than murdering people. if sophie has to die in order for him to keep his secrets safe, so be it. he did say that everyone would pay

• it is probably likely that the neverseen has crystals hidden in the lost cities, given the fact that they have several hidden in the forbidden cities. and in the chaos of the fire, nobody would notice fintan walking around (especially in a place as desolate as oblivimyre.)

or maybe he somehow painted his nails with the thinnest leaping crystal ever (similar to gethen’s tracker). who knows.

• is it bad if i admit that i had a similar thought when i saw that post…… the brainrot is actually so real it’s insane. but anyway bronte would be the most insufferable telepath ever. i pity all the elves that live in that au. (though fintan wouldn’t be much better in a canon-universe scenario either. they’ve both been alive for so long there’s no way bronte hasn’t inflicted on him before. fintan probably thought it was hot.)

• ok well. i know we have differing opinions on this subject….. i firmly believe he is a red circlet warm colors wearer guy…. but i respect your take……

• i’ve thought about this before too and it’s so funny to me tbh…. like imagine being vespera… chilling in prison for thousands of years and then suddenly you’re getting broken out by some people you’ve never seen before- oh and also the guy who helped throw you in there in the first place. crazy. but yes i have to imagine that fintan is how the neverseen knew about vespera (or at least the main way they knew). kenric was even referencing her in that memory in stellarlune, so we know it’s still something the council kept tabs on after all this time

• technically fintan could have also been an emissary at the time… we never know… also keep in mind that fitz mentioned that fallon served for about 1000 years, so that leaves plenty of time for bronte to have joined the council while fintan was still serving (they WERE councillors together and i will die on this hill. them being begrudging coworkers is so funny to me. & isn’t it sort of implied that bronte was also on the council when the whole thing with vespera and nightfall happened? because that would put them on the council at the same time then as well (though we already know that shannon isn’t that consistent with the timeline. so honestly all of this could mean nothing.))

• LMAO i made a post about this not too long ago and i still think it’s funny. which leads me to wonder how many times has he pretended to be drunk to get out of things before…. he’s such a dramatic asshole </3 (also i really REALLY want to know what his key word was that keefe said to get the caches out of the void. because that was what fintan supposedly ‘accidentally’ told keefe)

i also think it’s funny that the neverseen is able to get their hands on wine but not good food apparently

• i mean, sure. i don’t have anything to say about this one really. (except that fintan probably would have had an awful reputation by then (just because of the pyrokinesis ban) so i’m not sure how celebrity crush worthy he is)

• look man i’ve just always imagined him with short fluffy hair for some reason i don’t know what to tell you. or a shitty-looking mullet. that works too. (though honestly he’s probably had every hair style ever at some point so i can’t really say i’m against the headcanon. but no matter how hard i try i can just never imagine him with long hair idk!!! i’m sorry keeper fandom!!!!!!!!)

• i support this. & he definitely wears balefire jewelry. though in my opinion he wore more jewelry as a councillor and less as neverseen leader because idk. he just doesn’t have time for that anymore. (but imagine balefire rings…. they look like normal crystal rings at first but then the sparks inside activate when you breathe on them…. aaaa)

• this. i honestly think that a lot of his impulsivity comes from the fact that the councillors (himself included) always sat back and waited, planning and thinking things over for too long & blah blah blah, so he’s determined not to be like that again. yes, he’s got his long dramatic planned-out schemes, but as we’ve seen, the neverseen seems to change their plans quite often. he’ll modify the plans as he goes along depending on what he feels would be best in the moment (such as revealing he was still alive in neverseen. that was a horrible strategic move long-term, but his main focus at that moment was to scare people and show the gnomes that the council couldn’t truly protect their people. similar with later in the book when he outed alvar as a traitor. sophie had seen king dimitar’s plan when she entered his mind, so obviously there was no way she was going to open that box and release the plague into the wild. alvar��s reveal was just another way of showing that even though the neverseen’s plan hadn’t gone quite as well as they had hoped, they were still 20 steps ahead of sophie and her friends. and fintan even said this. fear is one of the world’s greatest motivators.)

• honestly we have to assume that fintan has beef with everyone in the neverseen (even his horrible awful son brant)….. but i don’t know. perhaps ruy is just annoying. ruy and alvar are probably the youngest of the actual adults in the organization (excluding rayni), so they’d probably have different ideas than a guy who’s been alive for over five thousand years. there is going to be a lot of arguing. (also, ruy’s last name is ignis. this could mean nothing, but i’m betting at least one of ruy’s distant relatives was a pyrokinetic. if that’s the case, fintan probably knew them)

• no i fully support you in this. he even does this in my sims world 💀 i mean even I talk to myself a lot, am i’m not quite as insane as he is. so i know he talks to himself frequently (and probably uses mirrors to practice his evil speeches in front of, too)

• yeah, they probably all convinced him that he should wait until the ‘right moment’ or something. but we all know he’s an attention whore so he was probably going insane while everyone was mourning kenric and nobody was saying shit about him (“um excuse me where’s my wanderling? bitch.”)

• no yeah i definitely agree with you here. it’s just a known fact at this point. bro is flat as hell and that’s ok ❤️ there is nothing but bones there ❤️

• i feel like he’d be more into platform boots than heels. just for his whole villain aesthetic. plus they’re probably easier to run in (though he’s probably somewhat graceful so i doubt he’d have too much of a problem in heels). also just imagining him in heels hurts my feet.

• back to my other bullet point involving vespera: i think if fintan’s cache did contain the information about her, he’d probably try to find out everything he could about her afterwards. he’s a former councillor, so obviously he’s got tons of connections and knowledge that most people don’t have. i’m sure it wasn’t that hard for him to find the journals tbh. maybe there’s a designated place the council keeps the confiscated possessions of criminals in. (side note: why do the councillors let people keep their caches when they retire? sure, it’s their memories, but it’s still extremely confidential information. who knows how many disasters could have been avoided if fintan hadn’t been allowed to take his silly little marble home with him.)

at the same time, gisela could have definitely gotten her hands on the journals first, though it would have had to be significantly harder for her (though she would have the added benefit of being a secret conjurer). we know she hid her conjuring ability since she was a teenager, so clearly she already had sinister intentions even back then. and we know she joined the neverseen shortly after she got pregnant with keefe, so she would have had to do her stellarlune experiment things before then (which i think she got inspired by vespera for). though she definitely could have talked with fintan about vespera before officially joining. (also, who was the leader of the neverseen before gisela? it couldn’t have been fintan, because there’s no way he would have given up power that easily, only for him to steal it back soon after. perhaps they didn’t have an official ‘leader’ back then and only had a handful of high-ranking members)

it’s possible she could have talked to luzia vacker, though i doubt she would have gotten that much information out of her. maybe gisela and fintan worked together to find the journals. idk!!

• YES i’ve thought about this too lmaooo. fintan would probably scold him for not focusing enough on his training… and maybe brant would start to pull away from jolie after that.. i can also imagine fintan comforting brant after jolie’s death (‘comforting’ in a loose sense… i have no idea how much compassion that asshole is capable of), since he can relate to the trauma of accidentally killing someone you’re close with because of your pyrokinesis….. augh……….

• honestly both are plausible. when brant first approached fintan, it seemed to be implied that he was simply asking him for advice on how to deal with having a banned ability, and he wasn’t going in with the intention of getting illegal lessons. but as soon as fintan found out, he knew he had to help brant. he’s seen what’s happened to the other pyrokinetics that have been suppressing their fire for millennia (“it’s all but burnt out their minds,” he said). i’m not exactly sure how brant contacted him, but there was probably some discreet way of doing so… like maybe he passed along a message before actually trying a face to face confrontation. or maybe he simply approached fintan in one of the rare moments he was in public and they snuck off to have a secret conversation then. (fintan could apparently sense that marella was a pyrokinetic in nightfall, so i’m sure he was able to sense it with brant as well. pyrokinetics generate a much higher level of body heat, after all. fintan was probably able to sense the abnormal amounts of heat radiating off this poor kid.) plus, i doubt fintan is as popular as fallon vacker. it’s likely that not many people would want to visit him, so if this kid showed up at his doorstep demanding to meet with him, he’d probably be curious as to why

anyway. thank you for fueling my insanity 👍

“ask box is finally open” ok write an essay on fintan. go.

no, thanks. i think you got that covered. how about i give you random, assorted fintan thoughts, fanfic ideas, and headcanons instead:

thinking about that moment in everblaze during the healing scene where he says "his identity dies with me" about the pyrokinetic he's protecting right before the entire building goes up in flames. was he planning on killing himself to protect brant? everblaze harms pyrokinetics, so he knew that it would harm him. the other option, of course, is that he was willing to take the risk of everblaze to try to kill someone else so that he could escape. everyone was canonically wearing fire-resistant clothing, so he couldn't have done any damage to them with regular fire.

how did he even actually escape oblivimyre? he couldn't have had a leaping crystal on him, or someone would've found it. did the neverseen hide a crystal in eternalia somewhere for emergency scenarios?

this post by quil inspired an au idea where bronte is a telepath, and is responsible for shattering fintan's sanity instead of alden, and fintan is just horny for him the whole time he's doing it and it makes bronte super uncomfortable.

HIS CIRCLET COLOR WAS BLUE. THE SAME BLUE AS HIS EYES, WHICH IS SKY BLUE. also fintan loves cool colors. he dresses in them frequently.

there's a very good chance that he's one of the councillors that threw vespera in the dungeon, since he knows about her existence, and he also knows all the secrets in his cache. so there's some tension between the two of them, even though it was his plan that ultimately set her free. it's kind of like him supporting the pyrokinesis ban, but also being the one that'll likely get it unbanned (indirectly through marella). he's all about breaking cycles that he himself started. something about guilt and admitting you're wrong to yourself, but being too proud to admit it to everyone else.

he served at the same time as fallon vacker, and was present during the story bronte told in neverseen about meeting king gowg. this means he was councillor while bronte was emissary. i think this is how they met, and how their "long history" started.

he was messing with keefe the entire time he was with the neverseen, like pretending to be drunk to mislead him. there were easier, better, safer ways to lead keefe down the wrong path than pretending to be drunk, but this is fintan, and he's dramatic.

alden had a celebrity crush on him. i don't make the rules here.

HIS HAIR IS LONG. IT'S SHOULDER BLADE-LENGTH. PLEASE, I BEG.

he wears lots and lots of jewelry. all the time. he's so extra like that. also all the jewelry is blue/green/purple because he's a cool colors guy.

fintan seems to regret his time as a councillor, not just what he did to get pyrokinesis banned. in neverseen, he says that when he was a councillor, all he did was sit back and do nothing. so there's a possibility that he might've written off important things as nothing or something along those lines. people might've come to him with appeals to reform exillium or exile, or fix the separation between the talentless and the talented, and he might've refused. either way, there's something else he regrets. it might be in his cache.

what's your beef with ruy, man? there's something there canonically. i need to know. it's so juicy. gethen also hired ruy to the neverseen, so i imagine he's more partial to ruy, which means fintan may or may not also have beef with gethen.

he talks to himself in the mirror. shut up. i know he does.

when he faked his death, he wanted to immediately reveal himself as alive again, and it was only the collective cooperation of the other neverseen members that stopped him for so long.

HE HAS A FLAT FUCKING ASS. FLAT AS A FUCKING PANCAKE THAT GOT FLATTENED EVEN MORE. IT ISN'T CONCAVE, IT ISN'T BULBOUS. IT IS FLAT.

he wears heels to make himself feel taller, because even though he's tall (6'2"), he wants to be towering.

he probably found vespera's journals somehow. but how? did lady gisela show them to him? is that how she got her acceptance into the neverseen? vespera's main philosophy is ruthlessness, which fintan would agree with, but in a less intense way than vespera, i feel.

he probably heard brant gush about jolie a lot. i bet that was funny, since he was probably utterly disinterested. "so, it's about time you learned to summon bigger balls of everblaze. here's how t-" "FINTAN. JOLIE CALLED ME PRETTY TODAY" "wow. i would've never known . . . "

how did brant even reach out to him about manifesting? probably he hailed him or something. but remember, fintan's an ancient. so i doubt brant would've been able to properly get ahold of him (like how fallon wouldn't open the door for alden in nightfall). so did brant like burn down his door and scream ALRIGHT BITCH I NEED SOME LESSONS to get fintan's attention or something?

or was it the opposite? did fintan somehow know that brant was a pyrokinetic and reach out to him? if so, how? maybe he keeps tabs on everyone who's considered "talentless" and checks up on them to make sure they aren't exhibiting signs of being a pyrokinetic or something? if so, that's kind of sweet, not gonna lie.

it isn't an essay, but i hope i satisfied your greedy little fintan heart

[imissjensi]

hi everyone so i’m going to be posting a lot less frequently since i just started college and also just got cast as my first ever lead in a musical! so in honor of that have this keeper crew singing styles post that’s been sitting in my drafts, and i’ll probs be back consistently once stellarlune comes out! :)

Sophie would sing in a very typical musical theatre voice. She would probably be played by a mezzo soprano or an alto, and would have more modern influences. She'd stand out from everyone else's singing at first because of her outsider position. Maybe her songs have a light rock element to them, since I remember her listening to heavy metal in the first book. As the show progresses, rather than her singing molding to fit everyone else's, everyone else adopts some of her more modern style, to reflect how she is changing the lost cities.

The Vackers all sing very classically. The best comparison I have is that Sophie sings like she's an actress in Dear Evan Hansen, and the Vackers sing like they're all in Natasha. Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Alden sings like Josh Groban and you cannot change my mind! The people in Great Comet all sing like they're high society people, which they are, and so are the Vackers. No this comparison does not have anything to do with the fact that my Great Comet vocal book is lying on the ground in my room shut up. Biana and Fitz both sing like they're showing off. Fitz is very cocky in early books, and both of them are proud to be Vackers, so I believe this makes sense. I think all of the main guys in Sophie's squad would be played by baritones or tenors. Biana would be played by another mezzo sop, but as she becomes closer friends with Sophie and the audience learns that she's not just the pretty princess and could (and would) beat the shit out of you if given a reason she would transition into a more belty role. Fitz's voice begins to match Sophie's first, but Biana's ends up there before Fitz if that makes sense. (Fitz got a head start but Biana wins the race? I don't know)

The Ruewens begin by singing in stepwise motion. Grady gets some skips, since he's more energetic than Edaline is, but both mainly sing fairly slowly with simple melodies. I think maybe the music underneath them doesn't quite match their pace, like they should be higher energy, they should be excited, but they just can't find the energy to comply. I only got a 3 on the AP Music Theory exam so forgive me if this is the wrong term, but when they sing together there's a lot of contrary motion, and they get a lot of beautiful harmonies. Obviously, as Sophie impacts them more, they get more varied and expressive in their vocals. Edaline would be a sop, and if any character would have a big shot broadway star in the role, it would be these two.

The Dizznees would be the most similar to Sophie right out of the gate. They wouldn't have the same style as her, but they also stand out, and their music is the most different from anything else. I'm thinking their songs use a lot of strange percussion and resembles a toy store or something. I can't really think of a comparison at this point. They have a lot of crazy leaps in their music, and sing pretty fast paced, Dex especially.

Jensi also sings quickly, but due to his scatter-brained nature, when he sings one thought is on one note/in one key, and then when it shifts he changes the note/key he's singing in.

Marella? Jazz queen 100%. She's played by an alto and absolutely slays oml.

Tam and Linh are complete opposites. Linh's singing is very floaty and maybe a little operatic? She would def use vibrato. Linh would be an alto. Tam's singing would be far more harsh, more brooding, more low. His music would have a lot of tenudos written in. But when the two sing together, it goes together really well. Like overlapping melodies. I'm thinking in that introduction in the neutral territories and they're arguing over how much to trust Sophie, they each state (or rather sing) their case, and then they come together and each sing the same thing they just did but at the same time. Because I'm a sucker for that stuff.

Wylie is the only one in the group who's a bass, since he's the oldest. At first he sings super crazy low, but as his father begins to heal he gets back into a much more natural register of voice.

i do not know enough about maruca guys i am sorry i can probs come up with something after stellarlune

also i forgot about keefe which is a shame because i thought about his voice for a while. his family would be all prim and proper with their voices, but his would be pointedly the exact opposite. you know those songs in musicals that are a complete whiplash from everything else in the show? like the random rock or rap or metal song? that’s him. and it slays

[mtr1234]

KOLTC fans who do not like Fitz, this post is for you. Fitz fans who do not believe people have sound arguments about why they dislike Fitz, this post is also for you.

Disclaimer:

I will mention stuff that happened in Stellarlune, so if you are not caught up with the series you might not want to continue reading.

I will try to provide quotes, but I will likely just describe the scene and what book it is in when I provide my reasons.

Also, this post will be pretty long which may or may not be a good thing depending on who you are.

______________________________________________________________

Anyway, let’s get to the reasons why I dislike Fitz. I have broken them up into three main categories, and I will be talking about aspects of Fitz’s character that I think a lot of people overlook (not the reasons that people do tend to mention: him having anger issues and being boring)

I don’t know if you guys have noticed this, but Fitz is really shady, Iike really shady (and not in a good way like our favorite shade Tam)

He has eavesdropped on Sophie and Keefe’s conversations before which I find so weird

In Lodestar, when Sophie and Keefe were communicating telepathically in that slimy location that Keefe picked out, Fitz started listening in on their conversation without their knowledge. He said it was because he was worried since he heard Sophie gasp. Personally, I do not buy this excuse. He can literally see Sophie so he could easily determine that she is not in danger. At the very least, why did he not immediately announce that he was listening once he knew Sophie was okay? In my opinion, it just feels odd, and if I were Sophie or Keefe I would feel a bit uneasy.

In Flashback, Sophie and Keefe were talking in the healing center about starting weapons training, and Sophie asks Keefe if he is down to do that (or something along those lines). Fitz immediately shouts, “I’m in!” The shady thing about this was that he was sleeping in his cot when they were talking. Now, I’m not saying that he is expected to cover his ears while they have a private convo in the healing center. But the thing is, he pretended to be asleep to listen to more of their conversation which is creepy.

The next very shady thing was the gift he gave Sophie in Legacy which was a painting he asked Keefe to make.

I always thought this was shady because, for one thing, he completely stole Keefe’s idea for a gift. Come on, a painting with a heartfelt message on the back?! That was literally what Keefe gave Sophie in Nightfall. Here comes the actual shady part though: why did he not just go to Atlantis or somewhere and have someone paint it for him? He purposefully asked Keefe to paint the confession scene between him and Sophie when he knows that Keefe likes Sophie. That is so messed up. This is made even worse by the fact that he paid Keefe when literally every elf is born with an unlimited birth fund so it was essentially worthless.

This next example happened in Legacy. I feel like a lot of people forgot about this or kind of swept in under the rug, but I think it is actually very telling of the type of person Fitz is. I am talking about when Fitz decided to search Lord Cassius’s mind to learn anything about where Alvar might be after he got away in Flashback.

There are several shady things about what happened in this scene. First of all, Fitz decided to do this even though he knew that it would make Keefe uncomfortable (Fitz would see the abuse/trauma Keefe suffered at home). Secondly, Fitz did this without even asking Keefe first or even letting him know about it. If you recall, he literally just showed up at Keefe’s house without any warning. Lastly, he tried to lie about it too. He tried to say “I’m doing this for Keefe” and “whatever I find will be helpful for Keefe”. Give me a break, we all know he did not do this out of concern for Keefe and he was caught lying in the act by Keefe himself. *I find it funny how he tried to lie about it to Keefe, when Keefe is literally the strongest empath in their world and is literally so smart even though he does not get enough credit for it.

2. When he gets mad at Sophie, the first thing he does is belittle her or try to make her feel stupid:

This first example comes from Exile when Fitz was getting mad at Sophie about what happened to his dad. Now, a lot of people like to dismiss how Fitz acted in this situation because he was under a lot of stress, but I do not think this is right to do because it absolves Fitz of any guilt instead of addressing how his behavior was wrong. The specific scene I am referring to is when, I believe, Alvar suggests that maybe Sophie can help Alden and then Fitz responds with: “Please, she’s just a kid.” What I get from this statement is that he is making Sophie feel less than, and in the process he is putting himself above her “level”. Now, one can use the excuse that he wasn’t himself and that he was torn up with grief, but he says similar things to Sophie later on in the series (when his dad is not on his deathbed) which I mention below.

This next example happens towards the end of Legacy, just before Fitz and Sophie broke up. Sophie was defending her decision to search Lord Cassius’s mind for any important information even though Fitz was already doing that (she honestly didn’t even need to do this because everyone knew he was getting nowhere and that he would never have found anything useful). Anyway, Fitz responds with: “So you thought the Moonlark needed to swoop in and take over? The leader of Team Valiant? Lady Sophie Foster? The fact that he is trying to make her feel bad about her accomplishments is a major red flag in my opinion. As someone who supposedly cares about her more than anyone, he should feel the most proud of her successes.

This third example is from Stellarlune. It’s when Fitz and Sophie have their first telepathy session after the whole “Fitzphie’s not a thing!” debacle. So, Sophie is asking Tiergan what a Cognate Inquisition is and then here comes the interjection: “Better question,” Fitz jumped in using a smug tone that made [Sophie] wish one of the buttons on her telepathy chair would turn Fitz’s into an ejector seat and launch him out of the room. “Why were you hoping to spare us from it?” I just think this is unnecessary and uncalled for; why is he trying to embarrass/ one up her in front of their mentor? (Did he forget that he is the one who joined her session, not the other way around?)

3. The last major issue I have with Fitz is the fact that he guilt trips Sophie and Keefe a lot. And, just so everybody is aware, not about minor stuff. He tries to make them feel guilty about things that are completely out of their control, and as you are reading these examples I just want you to keep in mind that elves are not equipped to handle guilt. Their mind can literally shatter if they feel too much of it (like Alden), and that’s why I think it is so horrific every time Fitz does stuff like this:

Everybody knows this one, but I am still going to put it here because it is worth mentioning. In Exile, Fitz blamed Sophie for his dad’s mind shattering. I have seen a lot of people try to say it is justified because he was going through a lot at the time, but I disagree. I think we can all agree that just because someone is going through a tough time (no matter how tough it may be), it does not give them the right to bully an innocent person.

Moving on, in Flashback, towards the end of the book Fitz makes everyone search for Alvar because he thinks he is up to something shady. When they find Alvar and question him, Keefe says that he can tell that Alvar is telling the truth. Then Fitz retorts, “Like you could tell with your mom?” In this remark, he is referring to the fact that, before she revealed her betrayal, Keefe had no idea that his mom was evil. This made me so angry on Keefe’s behalf because everyone already knows that he blames himself for everything that his mom is doing. With every revelation about his mom’s plan he sees how much worse things truly are, and that sends him into a downward spiral of guilt. For his “best friend” to say this to him is so messed up.

This is not another example, just my own thoughts about what I said above so you can skip it if you would like. I never understood why people (namely the Councillors) expected Keefe to know that his mom was evil. For one thing, his parents are literally known for never showing any physical or emotional affection to him. So, how is he supposed to be able to read his mom’s emotions if he never is close to her? Secondly, I think people are forgetting that as an empath he can only read people’s emotions. He does not know the reason why they are feeling the way that they do unless he has context. Lastly, his mom was literally erasing his memories left and right so whatever information he could even manage to glean would be wiped from his mind. Meanwhile, Fitz is literally a telepath, and he had no idea his brother was evil (and I assume he must have read his brother’s mind at least one time) so I think he needs to lay off the judgment.

In Legacy, Gisela leaves a note for Sophie to bring Keefe to Loamnore during the “showdown” (or whatever you want to call it). Anyway, Sophie does not want to do this because it is obviously a trap, and Keefe gives in and agrees to stay behind. When he makes this decision, Fitz says, “Wow, you really hate Tam that much? Because he’s the one who’ll pay the price if you’re not there—you get that right?” Is it just me or does that not sound so condescending? All I can say to this is how does he have the nerve to blame Gisela’s actions on Keefe, especially when Keefe is one of the people working the hardest to stop her? Also, it is crazy that Fitz is guilt tripping Keefe for deciding not to be bait and leaving his life in the hands of his (crazy) mom. I’m sure it’s easy for Fitz to say that because he is not the one who is being targeted by an evil mastermind who wants to experiment on him.

This last example happened in Stellarlune, so it is is quite literally very recent. Fitz and Sophie are in the school cafeteria, and they are disagreeing about next steps to take to stop the Neverseen. In that conversation Fitz says, “But sometimes it feels like you don’t realize that it’s only a matter of time before something you do gets someone else killed?” In my opinion this is a completely unfair statement to make against Sophie. First of all, since the beginning of the series she never wanted her friends involved in the fight against the Neverseen because she wanted to keep them safe. However, her friends (including Fitz) would not take no for an answer and insisted on helping. Secondly, Sophie is always going above and beyond (risking her life) to save that of others. Both times when she almost died fixing her abilities, she endured it all for the sake of becoming stronger and protecting her friends, family, and her world. That is why I think the way Fitz is trying to make her feel guilty, and put the entire weight of people’s lives on her shoulders, is so unjustified. She is literally a young girl trying to do her best to save her world from crazy powerful villains, cut her some slack.

If you made it to the end, thanks for reading. Honestly, there are many more examples that could be brought up that I’m sure a lot of you are thinking about, but I am too lazy to write all of that. I just wanted to share my thoughts because I have been seeing some people say that Fitz has had good character development throughout the series (which I just have not seen) and does not deserve all the hate so I just wanted to share why I believe Fitz is viewed the way he is by a majority of the Keeper fandom.

[myfairkatiecat]

Hm. Okay. Lots of stuff going on in this post. By now, everybody already knows that I am well aware that Keefe is manipulative and it’s part of my enjoyment of his character, but there’s a whole lot else to unpack here too, and I’m not about to comb through all of it. But here’s some thoughts.

The only thing I have a strong, visceral reaction to in this post—the only thing I disagree with so badly I might actually throw something—is the idea that Keefe “doesn’t deserve all the sympathy he gets” excuse you. Yes we should ask how the other characters are doing more often. Yes the books should have more focus on the other character’s issues. You don’t have to diminish Keefe’s to do that. The fact that the books spend way more time fleshing out his trauma and sympathizing with him for it than anyone else doesn’t give anyone the right to say that trauma is less valid. It’s not the trauma Olympics. We don’t have to take away our sympathy for keefe’s situation in order to gain sympathy for other characters.

The best sentence by anyone on this post in my opinion: “i've noticed that chronically low self-esteem comes hand-in-hand with a strange sort of narcissism- people like keefe believe that they are too damaged or “bad" to be helped and that they will be putting their loved ones in danger by letting them help. unfortunately, this results in them causing more damage, but they can't necessarily see it because they think they're doing the right thing.”

^that right there is part of why I love Keefe. It’s not cause he’s an awesome guy with great character who’s always being great. It’s because he’s flipping complex. Yeah, Shannon could stand to flesh out the other characters a little more, but I don’t have to stop enjoying a character she has made quite complex in order to acknowledge that. And the reality is, he actually does have his good moments. He has those times where he really proves how much he cares. But boy oh boy is that kid messed up (using the word kid on purpose—I’d like to once again remind everyone that this is a CHILD who is a PRODUCT OF HIS CIRCUMSTANCES) and everything backfires consistently.

Honestly? I’m hoping in 9.5 he learns something major that he’s keeping from Sophie in stellarlune, and I hope it puts a strain on their relationships and his other friendships as well. I’m a huge sokeefe shipper for sure, but I need them to have a fight before they’re endgame, and also go to therapy but that won’t happen lol. I need Keefe to have that moment where he not only realizes how much he’s hurt his friends (he knows. He literally knows. Read his hecking 8.5 diary entries, that kid knows how much he’s hurt his friends, and he’s in a really, really bad pattern that he needs to break, and he just doesn’t know any other way to be. His survival instincts aren’t healthy.) but also in addition to realizing that finds a way to break from the cycle. I don’t want it to be a sudden switch—he’s struggling and the road to healing will be a struggle as well.

I think it’s not a matter of “excusing keefe’s actions” or “holding keefe accountable,” but rather “acknowledging the way keefe’s circumstances have made him into the person he is, and hoping for him to find healing and healthier coping mechanisms and instincts.” And I truly, truly mean that. Whether you’re like me and are just giddy at the way his character is written (all the delicious little layers. The trauma. The baggage. The way he’s always running. The way he’s subtly manipulative. The way he knows he’s hurting people he loves and doesn’t want to hurt people he loves but can’t stop. Won’t stop.) or are just flat out annoyed with his page time, I think we should all be able to agree that a character who is hurting others from a place of having been hurt is someone to be sympathized with, even without excusing their actions. Someone we should hope heals. Someone we definitely shouldn’t say “doesn’t deserve” the pity that he gets, just because his issues lead to him causing more issues (which is a realistic thing! That’s like! Often how trauma works! Especially in abuse victims!!)

Anyway that’s my take on all this. I’m not going to parade through here with a picket sign with a collage of Pinterest posts on it that say “Keefe is perfect!” “Keefe is the best boyfriend!” “Keefe is awesome, Fitz should die!” or even “Keefe is a good person!” If I have any signs, they say one thing: “Keefe is a child. Keefe has gone through trauma. Keefe is a product of his circumstances. Hopefully Keefe is able to one day heal and become a better person for it, with the help of his friends and those who care about him.” And honestly? Love him or hate him, enjoy rotating it in your brain or totally sick of hearing about it, those things are true.

@ase-worm-on-a-fandom @the-way-astray <-wanted to see my response to this post

Why do you hate keefe so much??

Let’s see:

Keefe is a reckless, impulsive individual who endangers his friends on a regular basis. Couple this with his stubbornness and inability to be dissuaded from going through with his foolish plans, and he becomes a liability. Yes, he was dissuaded from going to Ravagog - but look at everything else he’s done that he wasn’t able to be dissuaded from doing. Sophie couldn’t stop him from joining the Neverseen, couldn’t stop him from going back to the Neverseen in Lodestar, couldn’t stop him from fighting King Dimitar, couldn’t stop him from going to Loamnore - and now he’s running off to the human world (his stupidest and most reckless decision yet, BTW).

Keefe has promised to change every time - and yet he doesn’t. He continues his reckless exploits, putting everyone in danger - and creating problems that they’re still cleaning up to this day.

Keefe is also extortive and manipulative - he uses his empathy very dubiously; he uses it to get Sophie to tell him things that she wouldn’t normally tell him; he uses his empathy to get into things he normally wouldn’t be let into. In Nightfall, he uses his empathy to get Sophie to tell him about her kissing Dex - something she doesn’t want to do. I haven’t read Exile in a while, but I’m mildly sure that he used his empathy to get his way onto that Alicorn ride. If not, ignore that. I would hate him anyway. He uses his ability as a lie detector to worm information out of both Sophie and Fitz - in Legacy, he uses it (without Fitz’s permission) to figure out why Fitz was working with Lord Cassius. That’s my number one reason for thinking that empathy needs to be regulated like Telepathy or Beguiling.

He suffers no consequences for his actions. All of his reckless actions don’t even earn him a slap on the wrist. He compromised Alluveterre, blew up an office in Foxfire, and went back to the Neverseen in Lodestar - all of which he isn’t disciplined for at all because he did it “for Sophie” and he has “daddy and mommy issues” and so is let off the hook with a promise to change (which he doesn’t). He also gave a gift to Sophie (no, that doesn’t make up for it) and mood candy for everyone else. Mood candy is something you give for finals and midterms, not apologizing for joining a terrorist organization. He shows little regret for these actions, partly because he’s never reprimanded for these actions. Compare this to Fitz, who’s still apologizing for Exile - despite Sophie already forgiving him for that.

He ultimately is just a pity and sympathy magnet, allowing him to get away with his terrible decisions and attract more pity and sympathy.