#Keefe not letting go of his feelings is not entirely on him

[lovecla]

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME KNOW | jack hughes.

chapter six:

<last chapter> <next chapter>

➴ warnings: none!!

➴ word count: 4.1k

➴ author’s note: thought it’d be great to give u guys jack’s pov please don’t kill me—or jack. also wanna say thank you to each one of you who take the time to read this series and give me your thoughts abt it. i cannot thank you enough. pls be patient with jacky, he’s just a boy :p nice reading yall!!!

liked by charlieputh, troyesivan, billboard and 3,899,092 others

sophiamontenegro 'rip to my feelings' is out now 🪄 i want to start this by saying thank you to everyone who helped me make this dream of mine come true.

all of the songs here mean the world to me, and i truly hope they help to heal some of you, like they healed me. please, don't let anyone make you feel like you don't deserve good things. you do, all of us do.

thank you grace, thank you john, thank you hannah, a special thank you to charlieputh and a huge thank you to all of you.

View all 8,270 comments

charlieputh You’re a genius and it was my pleasure 💙 congratulations, Soph!

morgan.grace I love you so much I might turn into a puddle. Soph, you’re one of the strongest, sweetest people I’ve ever met and I’m so grateful to call you my best friend. I watched you put so much effort and energy into this, and i am proud. Happy RTMF day 🪦

billboard I am crying, you’re crying, all of us are crying.

user1 i knew this was going to hurt but DAMN Girl what the hell

user2 it’s been hours and I’m still crying because of this goddamn music video. And i HATE charlie puth

user3 user2 NO GIRL BC SAME?? it’s so SAD

user4 Harris Dickinson if i fucking catch you on the streets you’re DONE

user5 off topic but do you guys think any of these songs were written for jack hughes…

user6 user5 honestly no,, soph said this album has been in the making for one year and apparently they just broke up last week?

_quinnhughes Congrats, Soph 👍

sophiamontenegro _quinnhughes thank u, quinny

user43 sophiamontenegro _quinnhughes CHAT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN???

— ♡

“HUGHES, the hell was wrong with you today?” Keefe’s voice sounded harsh and angry.

Even though there were two Hughes in the team, everyone knew who the coach was referring to.

“It’s just not a good day,” Jack mumbled, removing his uniform and not bothering to look up.

The locker room was dead silent, so everyone heard Keefe’s scoff. “Not a good day? More like not a good week,” he stepped closer, hands on his hips. “You’ve been off for the entire week and let me tell you something, son, we’re not making it to the Finals with you playing like you did tonight.”

Jack wanted to talk back so bad but deep down he knew Coach was right. He had been playing like shit, ever since that night at your house.

You. Just thinking about you made Jack feel like straight up shit. Something that never happened before.

He is handsome, he has thousands of fans. People paid to watch him play, people wore his jersey proudly. He could have any girl he wanted but still. Everything changed at that dinner, six months ago, when he saw you performing up close for the second time.

At that moment, he was mesmerized by you. Back then, he thought he was just horny and in the need of a good fuck but looking back now he knows that it wasn’t just that. It was something bigger than himself, yet something he couldn’t name.

“I get it, Coach,” Jack muttered, putting on his suit.

“I hope you do, kid, otherwise, you can just say goodbye to your NHL career and the Stanley Cup.” Coach barked before getting out of the locker room.

Ignoring the stares he was getting, Jack moved on autopilot, like he’d been doing the entire week, shoving his things inside his duffel bag and frowning.

“Cap, wanna go out and grab some drinks? I wanna get wasted!” Someone, Jack didn’t care to know who, shouted, talking to Nico.

“‘Can’t today, man,” Nico answered, duffel bag already on his shoulder. “I’m going to a concert tonight.”

That caught Jack’s attention, pulling him back from his thoughts.

“Concert?” He asked, looking at how everyone went quiet and stared at Nico. “Whose concert?”

“Well, you see…” Nico stuttered and somehow, even if he hadn’t said anything, Jack knew exactly whose concert it was. “Just. A singer?”

“Yeah, no shit is a singer, Hischier, I thought we went to concerts to watch electricians doing their shit,” Jack bited back, the frown just bigger now. “Whose concert, Cap?” He said the word like he was mocking Nico and even though he wanted to take that back, he didn’t. Nico was an amazing person and it wasn’t his fault you didn’t want anything to do with Jack anymore.

“Hum, well—”

“For fuck’s sake, man, just spit it out,” Bastian said, rolling his eyes. “We’re going to Soph’s concert. Launching party, whatever.”

“We?” Jack’s eyes doubled in size. “Who else is going?”

“She invited the entire team,” Mercer answered, and Jack could swear he was one step away from passing out. “And Zegras.”

“Yeah, the entire team minus you!” Zegras shouted, clearly not reading the room. None of the players said anything about your and Jack’s situationship-break-up but Trevor made it clear he was happy with the situation. “Zegras is out in the hunt again, baby, ‘gonna give Soph the real D!”

Jack didn’t even notice he moved until he felt a heavy hand on his chest, looking down and realising it was Nico’s hand and he was now toe to toe with Trevor.

“Watch the shit you say, Zegras. I’m not fucking with you.” Jack spoke slowly, eyes not leaving Zegras’.

“Like you’re going to do anything, Hughes. You lost the prize, now it’s time for her to know what a real man is.”

Jack stepped foward again, only to be stopped by Nico’s hand.

“She’s not a fucking prize and this is not a fucking game, asshole,” Jack said through his teeth, ready to punch Trevor right there and now.

“How old are you two?” Hischier hissed, separating Jack and Trevor like a dad would do. “Trevor, shut the fuck up and don’t talk about Soph like that. And you,” he looked and Zegras before looking at Jack again. “You can’t and you won’t do shit. You and Sophia aren’t a thing anymore and there’s no one to blame but yourself. Suck it up, Hughes.”

Jack wanted to punch all of them in their fucking faces. It wasn’t his fault! He wasn’t the one who published the article and he wasn’t the one who sent that fucking picture of him and Ava leaving that party.

So what if she was his ex? That was in the past. He didn’t even remember her name, for fuck’s sake. She meant nothing to him while you—

“Whatever,” Trevor shrugged, before leaving the room.

“Hischier,” Jack called before Nico left. He turned back and stared at Jack, eyes tired. Jack felt bad for acting like that and giving even more trouble to Nico but Trevor was a fucking assface. “I need to go to that concert.”

“Unless you have an invitation or a ticket, I can’t take you there, man.” He bit his lips. “I’m sorry, but I won’t do that to Soph.”

Jack hated how Nico was clearly choosing sides and he also hated how he said her name and how everyone seemed very comfortable with calling you Soph but he pretended that he didn’t care.

“I’m not going to talk to her, I just…” his lips formed a straight line. He wasn’t sure of what he wanted exactly, but he needed to see you. Ever since your album had been released, he had been playing it nonstop, trying to memorize every breath you took, every line you sang, every beat you produced. He just needed to see you. “I want to see her.”

“Man, you know I can’t do that. Grace will kill me.”

“I’ll deal with her, Hischier, I swear,” in that moment, Jack was glad everyone else had already left, otherwise it’d be humiliating.

Although he noticed, with shock, that he wouldn’t mind begging in front of people if he got the chance to see you.

Nico ran his hands through his hair, muttering something in German before nodding with his head once.

“Fine, but I swear to God that if you upset Grace or Soph or worse, both,” he got closer to Jack’s body, looking like he did when he was on the ice. Terrifying. “I’ll personally make sure you won’t do that ever again.”

Gulping, Jack nodded once, before following Nico.

— ♡

THE line outside the venue was gigantic, making the men inside the van yell and whistle.

Much to Jack’s dismay, all of the Devils who were your fans had been invited to your concert— except him, of course. Which he thought was really, really shitty, by the way— and they were all excited, wearing shirts with your face on it and holding banners with your name.

Jack had to wear an all black outfit, with a cap hiding his hair and sunglasses. He thought he looked ridiculous but unfortunately, Nico was right: you couldn’t see him. He knew that if you did you’d be upset and the last thing he wanted was to ruin your night and concert. So yeah, hiding himself it is.

They left the van, entering the building from the back entrance, not wanting to cause a commotion out there in the front. Jack had been told this was just a small concert but the place looked packed with people.

“Okay, so,” Nico started, wearing his Captain belt once again. “Grace will be here in a second, and she will give us the VIP necklaces so we can go to our sets,” he turned around, facing Jack. “I honestly don’t know what to do with you. Grace will probably kick you out but at least I did my part.”

Jack just nodded, already thinking of millions excuses he could say to Grace so she would say yes.

True to Nico’s words, Grace showed up not even a minute later, wearing a red, tight dress and heavy makeup. She looked beautiful.

“Hi, fellas!” She walked in, smiling brightly. “Nice seeing you all, Soph will be happy with you being here and— what the fuck are doing here?” Her smile was gone, and now the only thing left was a scowl on her face.

Jack smiled awkwardly.

“Grace, listen, he asked me to bring him here because he wanted to see Soph—” Nico started, only to be interrupted by Grace’s harsh words.

“I don’t give a single fuck, Nico, what the hell!” She was starting to leash out on Hischier so Jack knew he had to say something.

“She’s not going to see me, I promise,” he replied.

Grace laughed. “Of course she isn’t going to see you because you’re going to leave!”

“Grace, come on,” Jack muttered, ready to beg to another person just to see you. Fucking shit. “I can sit in the back, there’s like a thousand people outside. She won’t see me.”

“Baby,” everyone looked at Nico as he approached Grace. Jack frowned. Since when were they together? “I told him that if he did anything bad I’d punch the shit out of him myself. He will behave.”

“I’m not a dog—”

“Fine,” Grace sighed, loudly, already looking like she regretted saying yes. “Nico I swear that if Sophia sees him or if someone takes any pictures of him here, I’ll snatch your dick out of your body.”

All of the men there made an ouch sound, faces amused and terrified. Nico only nodded, after giving Jack the scariest look ever.

Grace gave them their badges and asked for another one for Jack. Everyone there was running around and shouting things, probably all worried about everything being perfect, and Jack found himself smiling because you were surrounded by people who cared about you and your work.

Turns out that sitting in the back really meant sitting in the back, because Grace gave Jack a really shitty seat that despite being small as fuck, had a really good view of the stage, even if it’d be impossible for you to spot him.

Jack’s hands were sweaty and his heart was racing in his chest. The place was packed with all different types of people, from children to adults, and some grandparents here and there.

He was proud. He remembered how excited you were for this album, for this little concert, and watching how you’ve managed to ace all of that, made him smile under his hand.

The rest of his teammates were sitting in the VIP section, really close to the stage, and hell if Hughes didn’t envy them. But he knew this was for the best.

Thirty minutes after he sat down, the lights dimmed and only the stage was on. The screams were so fucking loud and if Jack wasn’t already used to people screaming his ears off during games, he’d probably have a fit right there.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Sophia Montenegro.”

Nothing could ever prepared Jack for the sight of you on that stage. It’d been two weeks since you last saw each other and the last time was awful, his heart hurting every time he remembered the sight of you crying and remembering he was the reason why.

But watching as you stood on top of some kind of platform, wearing a black, glittery body suit, with heels and black, see through socks. Your hair was styled in a way that drove him absolutely crazy, and now he wasn’t so sure that coming to this concert was a good idea after all.

“One year, ten thousand bad moments

But it was dressed up in heated emotion

And I tried to look for the best in the worst

But like, fuck me, that caused a commotion.”

Your voice was perfect, of course it was. Somehow, you knew how to sing live even better than the recorded songs, and your stage presence was out of this world. Jack looked at you as you moved around, singing and dancing and waving at people and interacting with the band, not knowing what to do with the weight on his chest.

He was happy to see you, he really was, happier than he’d felt in this entire week, but fuck if he wasn’t hurt. Watching you from afar was even worse than not watching you at all, because he was reminded again and again that he lost you.

Even if he still thinks it wasn’t exactly his fault.

The crowd was loud, people were dancing here and there and Jack could swear the girl in front of him was crying.

“Oh, you're so vicious

Love me, then pretend you didn't

Crush my heart and wreck my image

Why you gotta be so, so, so

Oh, you're so vicious”

You were sitting in the middle of the stage, microphone in your right hand, singing with your whole heart. Anyone could see how alive you felt whenever you sang and honestly, it was beautiful to witness.

The song continued, and every second Jack was taken aback by how beautiful you were. So fucking beautiful. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen, inside and out, full of life and happiness and joy.

He only noticed that the song had ended when he heard people cheering louder than they were before, and he started to pay attention again.

There you stood, in the middle of the stage, trying to even your breath. You were smiling so hard, cheek to cheek, eyes shining so bright even Jack in his shitty ass seat could see it.

“Hi, guys,” you were out of breath but your voice still sounded like honey to Hughes’ ears, and he had missed the sweetness. So. Much. “Oh my god, there’s so many of you in here, what the hell.”

People laughed, and Jack found himself smiling.

“Hi, I’m Sophia,” you said, shyly, like the people there hadn’t paid to see you. “Thank you for being here, guys. It’s been a while since I last saw you guys face to face. Last time was in Coachella, back in April, right?”

People shouted many things, you smiled.

“So a week ago I released my fifth album, rip to my feelings,” more cheering. “I know the title is corny but I couldn’t find better wording. This album, and I’ve said this countless times, means the world to me,”

“Fuck Harris Dickinson!” Someone shouted and everyone started laughing, including you.

“Yeah, yeah,” you agreed. “I hope you like the show. I’ve also heard that we have some special guests tonight…”

Jack’s heart stopped. For some idiotic reason, he thought you’d say his name. Until he reminded himself that you and him were no longer a thing and you didn’t even know he was there.

“Please, please, please, make some noise for my favorite hockey team, the New Jersey Devils!”

The camera focused on the fifteen men sitting on the VIP section, who got out of their seats and started shouting, while showing off their merch, making the other people cheer too.

Jack knew he shouldn’t, but he felt jealous all the same. He should be there, cheering for you and kissing you in front of all of them. Maybe punching Zegras in the face while he was at it too.

“Thank you for coming, guys,” you smiled again, before you started singing the next song.

Jack was mesmerised with you for the next hour and a half. How you danced, how you sang, how you twirled around, how you looked so fucking gorgeous in that tight outfit. How your eyes shined, how your body was perfect, and how he wanted nothing more than you.

The concert went well, like everyone knew it would, you making yourself comfortable, and at home: talking with your fans, taking pictures with them, handing the mic to some of them, who sang awfully in Jack’s humble opinion. Even if the majority of the songs were sad and soul crushing, you made sure people enjoyed themselves.

You were a true sight.

“Now, this is going to be the last song,” some sad oooh’s were heard and you smiled, nodding with your head. “I know, I know, I’m sad too but you all have to go home and these people here,” you pointed at the band behind you. “Also have to go home. But,” you raised your finger, moving your body until you were sitting on the edge of the stage. Some of your fans shouted. “I have one more song for you. This one isn’t in the album because I wrote this recently, but I still want to show it to you guys.”

More cheers, more shouts, more people crying.

“This one’s called Bad for Business and will be available on all streaming platforms by midnight.” Jack watched as you smiled, making him raise and eyebrow. He didn’t know about this one.

“He's good for my heart but he's bad for business

Tears me apart when he grants my wishes

All of my friends think I've gone crazy

But they don't know me like my baby

We look good in photographs

I like the way you like to laugh at dirty jokes

I know they'll always land

Used to get work on time

But now you're taking up my nights

Never been so glad to be so tired

Ooh, I'm mad for you

It's sad but true and I know it

Ahh, you're on my mind

You stole my life and it's showin’…”

Jack couldn’t take his eyes off the stage, eating up every word. He knew this song was about him. It was as clear as day, and maybe he was just being cocky but he didn’t care. It meant that he still had a chance.

He's good (good), it's bad (bad)

The best I've ever had (best I've ever had)

And he's so nice, it's sad (it's sad)

He ruined all my plans

And he just makes me so crazy

I know everyone sees

That he'll be the death of me

He still had a chance. He could still try because it was clear: you were still in love with him. Why else would you sing this? Why else would you write something like this?

He got up, he had seen enough. He left the venue with his head low, trying to walk without being noticed. He knew exactly what he had to do, and even if it sucked, it was the right thing.

—- ♡

“I really hope there is a reason why you’re calling me in the middle of the night, Jack,” Quinn sounded tired but. He always did. “A good one, that is,”

“I need some advice,” Jack looked at his brother through the screen, noticing the eye bags and the tired eyes. Why the hell Quinn always looked like he had been hit by a train was unknown.

Quinn just hummed, signaling for him to continue speaking.

“It’s Soph.”

“Did something happen?”

Jack cringed. Maybe they did need to start paying attention to what happened online. “Yeah, well, someone took a picture of me leaving the Halloween party with that girl named Ava who’s apparently one of my exes and posted it online, making it look like we hooked up or whatever. Then, they talked shit about Soph and Soph kind of broke up with me after saying she was in love with me and basically calling it a mistake.”

Quinn stared at the camera for a good minute, and just when Jack was starting to think he’d fallen back asleep, he moved, caressing his face with his hand.

“The hell is going on in New Jersey.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Jack scoffed. “I didn’t call you for nothing. If I wanted whatever the hell this is I would’ve called Luke.”

“I mean, what did you expect to happen? One day your whore days would catch up on you. Everyone knew this.”

“Why does everyone keep calling me a whore? Is this how women feel?” Jack frowned.

“They call you that because you had a new girl every month. Every time you had a gala you’d take a new girl with you and of course people would talk about that.”

“Okay but I wasn’t dating any of them!” Jack raised his arms, forgetting that he was still holding his phone and dropping it. Picking it up, he continued. “So what if I had a new woman every month? The issue here is Sophia not wanting to be with me anymore!”

“I think that, before wanting to be with her, you have to know if you want a relationship at all,” Quinn said, calmly. “You’ve never had a girlfriend before, a serious one that is. A relationship is a commitment, especially when you’re dating someone as famous as Sophia.”

“I know that she’s famous, I don’t care about that—”

“It’s not about her being famous, jackass, it’s about people forgetting that she is more than that. She is more than the Sophia who sings and dances, she’s a person. That’s literally common sense.”

“I know that too,” Jack mumbled.

“Soph’s been through a lot with that son of a bitch who’s not even worth mentioning. I don’t know much, you probably know about it better than me, but what I know is enough to make me want to punch him with my stick.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “I hate that fucking asshole. He cheated on her, lied, manipulated her and had the audacity to break up with her.”

“So, knowing all of that, how do you think she felt when she saw that picture?” Quinn asked, eyebrow arched. “The guy she’s in love with, holding hands with his ex.”

“I didn’t fuck her!” He raised his voice, tired of everyone saying the same. “I just took her home and went back to my place.”

“Yeah, but does Soph know that?”

Jack frowned. “Of course she does. I’ve told her multiple times that I was only seeing her. And Ava was drunk, I wouldn’t have done anything with her even if I wanted to.”

“Yes because it’s very credible that the guy who used to date a new girl every month now suddenly only dates a single girl. Jack, sometimes I feel like you just don’t think.”

“If I wanted someone to call me dumb—”

“You would’ve called Luke, I know. But right now, that’s what you need to hear,” Quinn sighed. “Look, I know it’s hard for you to understand but put yourself in her shoes. Just think.”

“Everyone keep saying this is my fault but I don’t see how I am the person in the wrong here. I didn’t publish the article, I didn’t fuck Ava—”

Quinn sighed loudly again, interrupting Jack and staring at the screen for a minute, again.

“What?”

“Sometimes I ask myself if we were raised by the same woman,” he shrugged. “Just imagine if Ma knew all of this. She’d probably yell at you.”

“Get to the point, Quinn,” Jack rolled his eyes.

“Look. I’ll try to make it simple,” he started. “Sophia is in love with you. She fell in love with you despite knowing that you have a long history of dating. But, she’s also hurt. And you made it all worse when you said the things I know you probably said.”

“I didn’t say anything that bad…”

“Oh, quit it, Jack. I know you,” Quinn smiled. “You probably made her cry too. That’s the drill. Anyways, you have to ask yourself how do you feel about Soph—”

“I love her.”

They both stayed quiet for at least five minutes. Quinn just staring at the screen like he was reading a newspaper article and Jack staring back at him, looking like he was about to explode.

He hadn’t stopped to think about what he truly felt for you. He knew he liked you, adored even, but he never thought of naming the things he felt whenever he thought about you.

But it was as clear as day. He loved you, he was in love with you.

“Well, then I think my job here is done.” Quinn finally said, breaking the silence.

“What?” Jack almost shouted. “What do you mean? You have to help me get her back!”

“I don’t have time for that and honestly neither do you,” he stated and, well, he was right. They were in the middle of the season, and that was their job. Jack needed to get a grip. “If I were you, though, I’d start by apologising and telling her that you didn’t have sex with Ava or anyone else for that matter.”

“Okay,” Jack breathed. “And then?”

“Figure it out yourself. You’re a big boy.”

Jack groaned, leaning back on the couch. “Fuuuck. This is so fucking shitty. I love her, and she loves me, why can’t we just be together?”

“You will, after you fix this mess.” Quinn yawned and nodded at you. “I’m gonna go back to sleep. You should too. You’ve been playing like shit lately.”

“Fuck you. Bye.”

“Bye.”

He hung up, throwing his phone on the pillow next to him.

How the hell was he going to fix this?

[the-way-astray]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[myfairkatiecat]

legacy keefe, letting it happen

that sounds like he doesn't actually care, or at least not enough to actually do what's right.

'But he also knows that it’s seriously wrong because Sophie is with fitz and even if Sophie doesn’t realize what they’re doing, Keefe absolutely does. He does, and he wants Sophie to be better, but he also doesn’t want it to stop.'

that's not a good friend

he can be conflicted or whatever, but that doesn't change that he doesn't really care about fitz- at least not anymore

Hmmm no I disagree.

Because keefe really did do everything he could short of stopping seeing Sophie altogether, that’s literally the reason he felt guilty about it. He wanted Sophie and Fitz to be happy and he didn’t want Sophie to be emotionally cheating in Fitz. He really wanted their happiness.

Where it gets messy is that they both liked the same girl which isn’t their fault by the way. Keefe isn’t a bad friend in any right for liking Sophie.

The thing that makes his situation in legacy tough is that he knows that without realizing it, Sophie really is emotionally cheating on her boyfriend, but he can’t tell her that without telling her her heart emotions actually like him, which he doesn’t want to tell her because that isn’t fair. She should get to figure out her emotions on her own. And of course he’s going to want to keep hanging out with her.

But he’s also very clear that they need to be good friends to Fitz. He tells Sophie she needs to be honest with Fitz about their project—Sophie just ended up forgetting cause she had so much on her plate. And he makes lots of jokes whenever they’re around about how happy they are together and how great Fitzphie is even though he still wants Sophie.

He’s in this really difficult situation where he really likes a girl who he knows really likes him, but who also really likes his friend and is technically dating his friend. So every time they hang out, even as friends, Keefe feels a little guilty about it because he knows what’s going on with Sophie’s emotions—which ALSO isn’t his fault by the way.

But naturally there’s a part of him that’s happy his feelings aren’t unrequited. That’s to be expected. And it only adds to his guilt in legacy because of course he secretly hopes Sophie will eventually choose him and can tell it might be an actual possibility. He really, really likes her. But of course he doesn’t want Sophie to be a bad girlfriend—and he clearly cares about Fitz in legacy, telling Sophie to reach out and wanting them to communicate and be happy.

Keefe can simultaneously care about Fitz and wish the girl he is dating would choose him instead. Honestly, your ask kind of sounds like you’re calling Keefe a bad friend for simply having his own feelings outside of wanting the best for his friend. I’m sure it isn’t your intention, but keefe can both care about Fitz’s feelings and also want something for himself.

Like I mentioned, the messiest part is that keefe knows all of Sophie’s emotions all the time, which he can’t even turn off, so that’s not his fault! He wants to hang out with Sophie, and he doesn’t mind that she has these feelings for him… he actually WANTS her to have those feelings… but he hates that it’s during her relationship with fitz and wishes Sophie would either be happy with fitz and go communicate and be a good girlfriend or break it off with fitz entirely and maybe start talking with keefe with those little flutters in her stomach then. And you know what? It’s not keefe’s job to make that happen. It’s Sophie’s, and she’s a little confused and oblivious in legacy, which isn’t keefe’s fault at all.

So… yeah no.

The situation is complicated. Of course keefe feels conflicted in the position he’s in. He doesn’t have a lot of right options—or any—and he’s a seventeen year old with a lot more on his plate.

Of all the issues in the Keefe and Fitz friendship (which I’d love to see worked through in canon), them not caring about each other has NEVER been one of them.

Sophie didn’t handle everything perfectly—but she didn’t realize what she was doing.

Keefe didn’t handle everything perfectly—but he really, really tried his best, and didn’t do half bad of a job either.

Fitz didn’t handle everything perfectly either. What can I say. They’re teenagers.

Hope you have a good rest of your day anon :)

[crescentpaws]

unprompted anti keefe post because i remembered this quote just now and got unnecessarily mad about it again. almost every reason i have to hate keefe can be seen in this quote from legacy btw:

“Isn’t this the epic showdown you’ve been planning where you order Tammy Boy to kill me? Thanks for the warning about that, by the way,” he told Tam. “As you can see, it worked super well.”

“keefe can keep a secret if it’s actually important” no the fuck he can not. this quote just proves how little he actually cares for other people. tam risked SO MUCH to pass along that warning to sophie, and keefe just casually mentions it in front of gisela. i can’t tell if he’s just really stupid or if he genuinely doesn’t care about the very REAL and very LIKELY possibility that gisela would literally kill tam for that. keefe casually decides to possibly condemn someone to death just to have a moment where he can tell his mom “i already knew what you were planning all along btw! lol! haha!” god he’s a fucking idiot.

then he has the nerve to say “as you can see, it worked super well” as if keefe didn’t SPECIFICALLY CHOOSE to ignore the message????? acting as if it’s tam’s fault that they’re in this position???

i get he uses humor as a coping mechanism, but all his comebacks to his mom just seem so stupid considering he is fully aware of what she is able to do. even if he knows she won’t hurt him, she is fully willing to hurt his friends. which he never seems to care about (unless it’s sophie, because for some reason sophie is the only person that matters to him. but clearly not even she really matters or else he would stop betraying her trust over and over and over again.)

reminder that the only reason they’re here is because sophie knew if she didn’t take keefe to london he would go by himself btw. which is just so. UGH. it’s not her job to be his fucking babysitter. how is that a healthy relationship

and then keefe has the nerve to be mad after tam escapes with gisela. like, you know, the literal exact same fucking thing he did with alvar in lodestar. except in keefe’s situation, he wasn’t a prisoner. he wasn’t wearing special bonds made of light that restricted his power. tam actually had a reason to go back with gisela. which keefe never did with alvar. but it’s ok! he’s allowed to be mad because it’s his mom! he’s allowed to be mad at everyone if they focus on the bigger picture instead of what will stop making him feel sad right this second! it’s ok for him to be mad because his mom is evil! but it’s not ok for fitz to be mad about them letting alvar go! because that’s different for some reason! trust me guys!!!!!!!!!!!

and don’t even get me STARTED on the final battle scene in loamnore. keefe is just so. oh my god. he’s so fucking aggravating. literally the whole group’s plan relied on the fact that keefe WASNT going to be there. he literally PROMISED he wouldn’t show up and try to take things over (like he always does). i seriously have no idea how sophie ever trusts him again after that. that would be my final straw. all he’s done is prove that no matter how much he swears he’s telling the truth, he’s just a manipulative liar 👍 it shouldn’t be sophie’s job to be constantly monitoring keefe to make sure he doesn’t do stupid shit like this. she shouldn’t have to be using her energy 24/7 worrying about what stupid thing he’s going to do next. that is not a healthy relationship.

and what do you know, keefe arriving at the scene was exactly what the neverseen wanted! gisela got to do what she was planning from the beginning!! and keefe acts like it wasn’t ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE.

god he’s just so stupid i don’t understand how any of these characters are able to remain friends with him. but whatever. keep glorifying his shitty behavior i guess.

[dragoncookies]

The Unlocked Healing Center Scene

There are many, MANY scenes in which you could pick apart the ever-loving shit out of Fitz's dialogue and his actions, or just look at how his character is treated from the POV the scene is being told from and compare that to what objectively might be happening.

But one of my favorite's has got to be the Unlocked healing center scene from Keefe's POV, because GOLLY was Fitz just bagged on in that scene, in an almost undetectable way.

(This also isn't meant to be hate on Keefe btw. He's a fine character, not my absolute favorite, but there's no reason to hate on him. It just so happens that Keefe's POV of Fitz is especially patronizing in this scene).

First of all, Shannon starts the scene with presenting us with how lonely and sad he was, just straight up:

”sadness

Nervousness

Regret

Loneliness

Plus a hefty dash of anger.

Coming straight from Fitz” (-Unlocked, idk what page lmao).

I mean, the man was grieving. He just broke up with his maybe girlfriend AND lost the only chance he had to finding his terrorist older brother (who might or might not want to end him and who has caused him and his family immense stress/trauma for the past 4 books if not their entire lives to a degree) in one fell swoop (because of the maybe girlfriend he trusted a lot, not to mention Fitz values trust almost more than he does love so you could basically say the girl he loved).

Me personally? I would just cease to exist after that, but here we have sad, nervous, regretful, lonely and angry Fitz in the healing center waiting for his maybe-bro to wake up. 

Once Keefe DID wake up, Fitz was nothing if not worried for Keefe and trying to comfort Keefe. Fitz was obviously GENUINELY worried for Keefe. Look at this:

”Fitz tore a hand through his boringly perfect hair. ‘I get why your mad. But I’m only trying to help. I know what you’re going through-‘

’Right-you totally know what it’s like to have you mom do deadly experiments on you,’ Keefe muttered. ‘I must’ve forgotten that part of the Vacker history.”

’Maybe not,’ Fitz conceded, ‘but I know what it’s like to have a traitor in the family. And I also remember how scary it is to wake up in one of these cots after being brutally attacked-just like I know how hard it is to talk about what’s wrong, because it feels like you’re admitting the Neverseen beat you. But they only win if you keep pretending everything’s normal, because you end up making the damage permanent.’

’I’m not damaged-‘

‘You’re right. That’s the wrong word.’ Fitz blew out a breath. ‘Look, all I’m trying to say is that I wouldn’t be walking right now if I hadn’t let Elwin help me. I probably wouldn’t even be alive. So I want to make sure you get the help you need-and you do need it, Keefe. No matter what you believe. But accepting help doesn’t make you weak. It just means you’re taking care of yourself.’”

Such an underrated Fitz moment, imo.

First and foremost, lets just take a second to point out the "boringly perfect" hair comment. I don't know why this stuck out to me, but it shows how differently these two characters think. While Fitz has his hair styled "perfectly" because its been his lifestyle to maintain a perfect façade, here we can see that Keefe STILL doesn't understand just what goes beyond this perfect façade of Fitz's. Keefe values freedom, loves rebellion, and his hairstyle reflects that. Keefe makes it messy, but a masterpiece. To Keefe, Fitz's hair is just generic and standard. Perfect, well presenting, but it follows the standard of whatever is considered "perfect" to elves, so we can see that it is repulsive to Keefe's nature.

This is much the same as how much Keefe sees the scale of what Alvar's disappearance has done to the Vacker Family. Keefe continues to reject the idea that the Vackers aren't as perfect as he once believed. As soon as Fitz even mentioned the idea of empathy for Keefe, the idea of relating to him, Keefe immediately rejects it, and rejects the idea that Fitz could have gone through any mental/emotional turbulence as a result of the horrendous situations Alvar has put him and his family through. I mean, for crying out loud, Fitz had literally tried to kill his brother in an emotional mess of conflicting feelings and guilt just two books ago, and unheard of crime for the elves. Fitz had to spend weeks and WEEKS in the healing center. Keefe was there when Alvar, on his deathbed, described how the "Vacker Legacy" was what drove him to a life of crime.

Yes, Keefe was having a rough time to put it lightly, but taking it out on others isn't justified (if you want to be mad at Fitz for taking his anger out on others, now you have to be mad at Keefe for taking his emotional distress out on his friend). We can certainly understand it, but we can't justify it, and because the POV is from a likable character, we're more willing to trust what the character says. Since Keefe presents Fitz's actions in a way that makes them seem appalling and jerk-y, and if Keefe presents this idea in his POV that Fitz is always Mr. Perfect and never has trouble in his family, then the readers are more likely to believe that. Objectively, based on what Fitz is saying and doing, we can see he's struggled and is struggling a lot. Fitz had to have worked on learning to receive help himself (asking for help is a SKILL, believe it or not) in order to truly explain how important it is to Keefe in the way he did.

Who just says "Accepting help doesn't make you weak, it just means you're taking care of yourself" and doesn't mean it in the kindest, most sincerest way ever?

Not just Keefe can take this advice, anyone should.

Side note: I also feel like he gave himself bad flashbacks to when he called Sophie damaged in book two when he accidentally used the word here. Ouch.

At another point in this scene, Keefe also shows how irrational he can be, as Fitz is simply trying to do the right thing and get Keefe the help he needs, and Keefe is ABSOLUTELY DEMONIZING Fitz for it. Keefe's health was Fitz's priority, and Fitz didn't necessarily care if he stepped on Keefe's toes to get him the help that he couldn't see he needed (Sophie was in the room as this point):

Unlocked page 561:

“‘Uh, you should probably step back, Sophie,’ Fitz warned. ‘I think your emotions are too strong for him.’

’No, they’re not!’ Keefe argued-and wow,did his voice sound strained. He cleared his throat and tried again. ‘Nothings wrong. I swear, I’m fine.’

’He keeps saying that,’ Fitz told her-because he was begging for a face-punch. And if the world hadn’t gotten so spinny, Keefe might’ve given it to him when Fitz added, ‘But Keefe’s been picking up all our emotions without even trying. And he’s always been able to do that with you, so I think you’re overwhelming him right now.’

’Okay, I’m done liking Captain Perfectpants,’ Ro announced.

‘Keefe was right there with her-which was probably why he blurted out, ‘Uh, for the record, most of the emotions are coming from you, Fitzy. You wouldn’t happen to have some unresolved feelings for anyone in this room, would you?’”

I'm not gonna lie, if somebody read my emotions and called me out on something that I was VERY touchy about, and was a relatively new blow, I would just leave the room. That was an A class jerk move right there.

Not saying Keefe IS a jerk, because all the characters have acted jerk-y in the series and everyone has their moments, but it was still pretty rude of Keefe to make that comment. What’s annoying is that nobody in the books seemed to react as though it is rude when Keefe makes these kinds of comments. If it was anybody else who had said that, there would be an apology required in order for that character to be redeemed. 

Keefe also literally wanted to PUNCH Fitz, because Fitz was...making sure Keefe stayed alive? Because Fitz cared enough about Keefe's health to make sure the details were pressed out and make sure the facts of the situation were clear? So Elwin could actually do his job??

Keefe hated Fitz in this moment because Fitz was being a practical, helpful guy, but from Keefe's perspective it just makes Fitz look like an asshole.

Ro’s unsolicited opinions are also very unhelpful, since Ro is written to be in support of what Keefe wants (or just in support of whatever will make Sokeefe happen…she’s kind of creepy about her Sokeefe obsession ngl), it makes her more likable and therefore the readers are more likely to trust what she says or take her opinion as their own. 

But Ro saying things like “I’m done liking Captain Perfect Pants” is rude, because it 1), insinuates she will only like someone based on how much they please her, and 2) denotes him to his perfect facade, which undermines his brilliant and complex character. 

Eventually, Keefe tried to apologize to Sophie in a telepathic conversation. He didn’t remotely consider apologizing to Fitz. 

I mean, Keefe was crazy terrified and hurting but...I don’t get how when Fitz was hurt and acted out he was suddenly “toxic and trash”, but when Keefe did the exact same thing nobody said anything.

And nobody even knows Fitz is hurt because nobody asks him. Nobody talks to him about how hard the Alvar situation is for him because they’re scared he’ll just get mad and yell at them, or they just assume he’s just mad about it and wanted to kill Alvar. 

Is nobody going to see that there’s some deep emotional/mental trauma to unpack here? Is he always just going to have to help himself all the time?

At least Keefe has people who understand him, who are willing to talk to him about what’s wrong and help him through it. He had a seriously traumatic childhood, and I’m not comparing their trauma or anything, that’s not what I’m trying to do. What I am trying to say is, Keefe’s got a whole crew of people helping him, people who want to make sure he’s okay, people who care for him, and he rejects it, deems them annoying in Fitz’s case, and just discounts the effort and energy they spend on him.

There is a lot more to unpack from this scene, but it’s mostly all along a similar vein of what I talked about here (this is long enough haha). There are also tons of little details about the Vackers in Unlocked that just emphasize how pressured Fitz is into the Vacker mold, and how the Alvar drama just makes it worse. 

For example: reading Fitz’s registry file, it says that it is “highly suggested that he choose someone on his match list” because of how dragged the Vacker name already is. So when people want to get upset with him for choosing "his reputation over Sophie", we have text evidence that its more complicated than that. Fitz isn't just choosing between being liked by the world and the person he likes, he's choosing whether or not to maintain a level of peace within his family at his own sacrifice. SPOILERS! (if you haven't read stellarlune don't read the rest of this paragraph). Eventually it was his sacrifice, because as of stellar lune, Sokeefe is official. Fitz couldn't repair things with Sophie quick enough, so she moved on.

It also mentions in Keefe’s detention slip write ups about how people actually hassle Biana and Fitz at Foxfire for Alvar being apart of the Neverseen. Because of their family, because of the Alvar drama, Fitz and Biana can't go to school without people bullying them.

Theres also this sad note in Fitz’s Base Quest instructions where Fitz writes about how you can use you special abilities while playing base quest, but included a little side note that said “but it's no fun when you turn invisible the whole time and hide Alvar!” Which just insinuates that Alvar would turn invisible and leave to go do whatever else he wanted while Fitz still thought they were playing. :( 

Depressing. 

[swans-chirping-in-the-distance]

hello. you seem to have a very interesting/unique stance on sokeefe and fitz- can you elaborate maybe only if you want?

Rip anon hope you know you just signed yourself up for a multiparagraph essay/ hj

To really dissect this trio, I'll start with each duo and build up at the end.

Let's start with the relationship between Keefe and Fitz. They both met each other in a dark time; Fitz was never at school, and Keefe's only escape from his family was where he didn't have friends. They grew a trust with each other because they gave each other a chance. Keefe always values chances because his parents never gave him any. Fitz always values chances because his peers never gave him any. They grew to be best friends through this. But the problem was, they didn't know each other. How much of Keefe's own jealousy blinded him from the impurities of the Vackers? How much of the abuse Keefe experienced did Fitz pick up on? This eventually led to their downfall.

Keefe's betrayal arc is very important to me, especially Fitz's reaction. He didn't yell like normal. He cried. He cried because right when he needed his best friend the most, he proved that Fitz couldn't trust anyone. He proved to be just like Alvar. And from Keefe's perspective, he was just trying to help, but Fitz didn't know that. This tore their friendship apart. They couldn't trust each other. Fitz thought he knew his best friend better, but did he really know anyone? Keefe thought his best friend knew him better, but did anyone really know him?

But even throughout their distrust, you can see the remnants of their previous relationship. They obviously miss that relationship. You can see it when they make strained comments to each other and by their reactions to every insult. There's a lot of unresolved tension that, if diffused, could lead to a bond closer than ever before. Fitz and Keefe now understand the imperfections of each other's lives. They can rebuild a bond on knowing each other and remake their trust once they're able to discuss their flaws and failures.

Now, with Sophie and Fitz, they've had an entirely different relationship. Sophie started out looking up to Fitz. He was this handsome guy who saved her, who made her feel like she belonged. Her first friend. And Fitz looked up to her, too. He looked up to this beautifully brave girl who never backed down. They did like each other, and I think between their trusting cognate bond and their growing shared trauma, they really did love each other. In a lot of situations, they turned to each other before anyone else. They've been able to rely on each other. The problem when they got together is that they didn't seem to fit like that, like two intricately designed puzzle pieces that just didn't go together. Fitz still had terrible emotional control at the time, and Sophie was uncomfortable with the situation and didn't go to him as much. They had a fight where they both were equally wrong, and they just couldn't do it.

In Stellarlune, when Sophie knows their relationship is too important to keep it a secret, she had to tell Fitz about her and Keefe. And he was hurt because he thought, yet again, that he knew one of his best friends and was so off. But he respected the decision, choosing to stay clear of them when they're together but still checking on both of them. And that's really where we get our trio. Because we know that Sophie and Keefe care about each other. They spent years turning to each other out of support and falling for each other. They were a long time coming. A long time of building a trust in knowing each other. They all love each other, but now in different ways. Sophie and Keefe love each other in a romantic way, while they love Fitz and Fitz loves them in a friendship way. Or at least I want him to and think he will eventually. The three of them have been friends for years and gone through some psychologically and physically horrific things, yet they still love each other. And I think the display of both romantic and platonic love between the three of them is absolutely beautiful.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Thoughts on Sophie’s love interests/their relation to her?

Okay I'm gonna try and cover a breadth, but let me know if I missed one! (this got long)

Sokeefe: Spoke about it more here, general idea is I think Keefe's become stagnant and is constantly inhibiting the plot/Sophie to an aggravating degree. He's unhealthily obsessed with her + praises her, yet is constantly meddling/steamrolling in a way I don't enjoy. I think he needs a life outside her and to actually experience consequences--Sophie should hate him for a while. As a treat. Sokeefe's execution was too quick for my tastes, but is still salvageable.

Sophitz: I'm biased; I love Fitz. He's shown remorse and growth, he spent his childhood looking for her while she spent hers wishing for someone like her. Sophie, without knowing or trying, completely annihilated all the pedestals Fitz stood on. Manifested younger, transmits farther, blocks better, etc. She's unwillingly everything he wanted to be. There's this tension, an undertone of subconscious jealousy to it all. Then the matchmaking makes it painfully clear what different worlds they come from, but it's gloriously frustrating because it didn't have to end like that, yet it was always going to, you know? They could've talked, they could've waited--but they were giddy and rushed in too soon (they never would've waited) and now they're further apart than ever. Really really hoping to see them re-find each other and establish something true and strong, non-romantically

Sodex: Sophie feels weird about it because they're technically cousins, so we're not starting strong (if Sophie didn't care, neither would I, but that's a separate thing). Furthermore, Dex fell hard for the first person in the world to not be a bigoted ass to him. Very low bar, very sweet and innocent, but entirely doomed to fail from day one. The crush was one-sided and built on nothing, the friendship forming later based on actual interactions and getting to know each other, which I think is a more compelling and sensible direction for the two of them. Dex is quick, stubborn, petty, and loyal. Big fan of what they've got now.

Sophiana: The pettiness of the first book, the push and shove. The nudge from Alden, the betrayal. Sophie consumed Biana's family's existence before she could walk, Biana always left out wanting until suddenly she was There. This thing she'd been excluded from made flesh to hate. A ratty, weird antithesis to Biana's princess reputation. The bridging of that gap and the sincerity they develop is beautiful. The ways Sophie opens Biana's eyes and Biana fights in turn to be there for her. Hoping we get more from them in-depth in the future

Solinh: Linh's resilient, caring, has spent a lifetime being an unwanted danger afraid of herself and hasn't had the time to find herself outside of survival. Sophie revolutionized Linh's world, enabled her to find the space she needed to grow and breathe easier. She's scary powerful, determined, and joyful--all of which Sophie would benefit from in turn. They could go on a journey of self-discovery and building confidence together, though right now their one-on-one scenes are a little lacking

Sopharella: Lot of layers to these two. One of her first friends, but despite that was one of the last Sophie actually got to know. Marella wanted to join and blamed Sophie for leaving her, decided it wasn't for her, then was dragged into it all anyway. They've never been super close, but are still tied together in ways they don't understand (Caprise's relationship to the Neverseen). Neither of them want to be in the situation they're in, and yet. They're in a sort of truce, but it doesn't seem either of them are doing anything to move beyond that

Hekster: Ah, rivals to lovers. Stina's unstable superiority, distancing herself from them in hopes no one remembers hey, weren't your parents...? The immaturity of "you laughed at me. you didn't even know me but you took his side" (paraphrased, Lodestar). The "We good, Foster?" Lot of hostility, but a lot of growth on Stina's part in this one (said because like 90% of Sophie's hostility is in reaction). Solid up until Stellarlune. However, I find the imbalance of that hostility to detract from the rivalry's appeal; if it was genuinely mutual instead of Stina being a bully and Sophie defending herself, I'd be more into it.

Sotam: Adore Tam. The defiance, the stubbornness, the way he'd rather fuck off and yet he's become part of this group almost against his will. The quiet burden he's given himself his whole life, the fear and responsibility. The way he'd choose Linh over the world. He's indebted to Sophie for saving Linh, for getting them out and getting her to an environment where she could connect and build her confidence. He's saved her in turn. They've got a sort of silently orbiting each other thing going on. I personally find their backgrounds (as Others), defiance, and humor to best serve a strong platonic bond.

Lopster: I don't even need to explain myself 100/10 no notes

[squish36-writes-and-draws]

3 November: Unraveling

Hello everybody and welcome to Keefe wandering around in the forbidden cities, delivered to you each day dracula daily style! Yes the plot is inspired by the crane wives song that I then borrowed for the title. Anyway I'm not done writing this yet and school might make that an issue but I do have a buffer of about a week and a vague plan for where the story will go if keefe allows it so here's hoping for the best.

Word count: 674

General Taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed!): @stellar-lune @faggot-friday @kamikothe1and0nly @nyxpixels @florida-preposterously @poppinspop @uni-seahorse-572 @solreefs @corruption-exe @rusted-phone-calls @when-wax-wings-melt @good-old-fashioned-lover-boy7 @dexter-dizzknees @abubble125 @hi-imgrapes @callum-hunt-is-bisexual @callas-pancake-tree @hi-my-name-is-awesome @katniss-elizabeth-chase @sillyguy-supreme @void-kill @thefoxysnake

Unraveling Project Specific Taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed/upgraded): @cutebisexualmess @crippling-pages @daizythegreat @sophiefostersno1stan @iggydancebreak @theleopardstalker @you-will-meet-your-downfall @multi-fandom-lunatic

TW: threats of physical violence against Cassius, mild Keefe angst over his new abilities

On Ao3 or below the cut!

Next

I once loved a tailor who took eager care of me Sewed together my loose ends with stitches neat and clean But now my love is gone And I am left unraveling Unraveling

Keefe Sencen's Journal

First day in the Forbidden Cities. No, not even that much. First half a day in the Forbidden cities. Four hours and counting. I still have ink stained on the side of my hand from the letter I left Foster Sophie. I’ve spent most of the day writing and rewriting phrases in my head, wishing I could go back and change things. Change everything. Not embrace the change and all that, but I guess that’s too much to ask now. Exile, I’d go back to before I was summoned into existence like the little science project I am and kick Cassius in the nuts if I were given the chance. Although then I don’t know how I would have existed to do that, but that’s beside the point. I’d figure out a way. Well, to be completely fair, I’d tell Dex to go figure it out but I’d trust him implicitly, which is basically the same thing. It’s a shame I fucked over his entire family before I left. I know I should try to tell myself that it’s just a matter of time, that Rex was always going to be talentless, but now Dex gets to lie to everybody about what could be one of the biggest aspects of Lex’s life. Ah, elvin culture. Such a fair and just system with no flaws whatsoever. Whatever Gisela’s plans are with me, I doubt that particular bombshell was one of them, but it’s something I’ll never forgive her or myself for. I can’t let her promote me from a pawn to a rook, although that's probably already happened. Maybe I’m supposed to be a knight stuck in a 3x3 board, but I’ve found another dimension. I’ve found a way to escape this game. 

Stars, look at this nerd using a chess metaphor unironically. I don’t know if that or the fact that I feel the need to justify myself to a piece of paper is worse. I just know I played (read: lost) a game of chess in some park today, and it was a surprisingly entertaining ten minutes of my life. It’s not like I had anything better to do. Or have anything better to do tomorrow. Or ever. It’s equal parts liberating and daunting that this could be the rest of my existence for thousands of years, or at least as long as the human authorities don’t figure out that I’m here. 

New life goal acquired: be the cranky old man in the park, a menace to society on a microcosmic scale. Just ever so slightly a burden to everyone’s existence. It’s not like I can do a whole lot to contribute to society with my lack of any valid identification or access to a birth fund. You can add that to the list of things I should have asked Dex about before I left, but no, I didn’t think through anything. I’m incapable of making rational decisions. Whatever. It’s still for the best. I’ll figure it out. 

And now I’m here, rambling my thoughts into a diary, of all things. I guess I don’t know why I felt the need to bring a notebook with me from the Forbidden Cities, let alone document my experiences, but it feels…surprisingly unfeeling. Not in the numb way I know is ever approaching on my horizon—I can feel the humans walking down the street blocks away without even trying—but right now, I’m in that perfect sweet spot of just using enough brain power to keep me from going off on three tangents simultaneously but not so much that I actually have to try, because there isn’t a faster way to get me to stop doing something than to make it require effort. I am nothing if not obscenely stubborn when it comes to being minimally productive, even if these last few hundred words are a testament to the opposite phenomenon.

I’m going to give this three days, max before I completely give up on this endeavour. Until then, I shall see thee to-morrow.

[girlboypersonthingy]

Omg if you want can you write the fluff alphabet for Keith pls??? 💜

FUCK YEAH I LOVE ME SOME SOFT KEEF ❤️‍🔥 Thanks again for the rq anon 😘 Got the fluff template from @the-coldest-goodbye cuz I’m lazy 🙃

Keith- Fluff Alphabet 💌

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Okay, in public or in front of like literally anyone, he’s not super affectionate. He’s still nice to you and will occasionally reach for your hand in front of other voltron members. He just doesn’t like PDA very much. He doesn’t like the attention it draws to him. Behind closed doors tho…omg this boy is like so clingy. He just wants to hold you for the rest of his life, you’re so nice to hold. He likes to show affection physically rather than emotionally. He’s kinda dumb when it comes to this romance relationship stuff, he has a hard time explaining his feelings so he’d rather show you how much he loves you with hugs and kisses and cuddles and gentle touches.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

You guys had to have clicked right away when you met. I’m sure Keith is difficult to befriend let alone date so he probably really enjoyed your company and support as a friend to keep you around. He probably felt really safe and at ease with you, like he could be his true authentic self around you. You guys really lean on each other. And because he feels so himself around you, you fall for the purest version of Keith, the real Keith. And he falls for your loyalty and kindness and faith in him.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

KEEF LOVES CUDDLES WITH U OMG. Like I said, he’s emotionally constipated and has a hard time voicing his love for you so he shows it instead and due to your busy schedules, you only get alone time at night before bed and early in the morning if you’re both up before your alarm. So every night before you both doze off and every morning about an hour before your alarm goes off, he’s stuck to you like a koala on a tree branch. It’s the best couple hours of his entire day, everyday. He will cuddle you in any way he can. He’ll be the big spoon or the little spoon, he’ll hold you while you’re facing each other, if he’s in a good deep sleep he’ll lay his head on your chest or stomach with an arm slung over you as he snores. He just wants to be touching you. He needs the physical contact.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Yes and no. Keith definitely wants this war to be over and he wants to go home and have a normal life with you but he’s also never going to give up on helping his friends protect the universe. If he had to, he’d stay in space forever just to protect all of it. But he does occasionally daydream about you and him living together somewhere in the desert or the country maybe where there’s not a lot of people and it’s quiet. Keith is a mess in the kitchen, please keep him away from the stove. He can help you cut stuff up or make the salad but other than that, he’ll burn everything and anything you ask him to cook. Cleaning on the other hand, he can do that. Just imagine this…Keith wearing old scrappy clothes with his hair pulled back by a headband or bandana and he’s deep cleaning your whole apartment/house with those big yellow dish gloves on. Omg hes ur housewife. Sure he can be messy and disorganized at times too but he’ll roll up his sleeves and deep clean when it’s obvious it needs to be done. Just plz cook for him and he’ll clean for you.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

If Keith had to break up with you, I seriously feel like he would still want to be your friend. As much as Keith blows up and loses his temper, the break up would be soft and slow and gently. He wouldn’t want to lose you completely so he’d ask you to be his friend still. So things didn’t work romantically…it’s fine, just don’t leave him behind. He still has love for you. He’ll always care about you.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Keith ain’t the marriage type. He’s just one of those people who thinks marriage is stupid and pointless and too expensive and dramatic. He doesn’t need a big fancy ceremony or a piece of signed paper to prove his love for you. Screw it. He’s gonna call you his wife/husband/partner/spouse no matter what anyone else says. If you really want to get properly married tho, he’d agree and go along with it to make you happy. But he’d be in charge of the guest list…which will only have like 10 people on it bc he also doesn’t like crowds or big parties.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Physically, he’s so gentle with you. He’s always worried he’s gonna hurt you or make you uncomfortable. He holds you so tenderly, he kisses you so lightly. Keith spends most days fighting off training bots, sparring with Shiro and often engaging in battle with an actual enemy. When it comes to you, he treats you like a one-of-a-kind piece of stained glass. You’re the one person he’s soft with. Emotionally…he’s stubborn and short tempered and easily overwhelmed. He’ll snap at you every now and then, he can’t help it. He’s never mad or annoyed with you, it just comes out in his voice and his gestures are harsh as he speaks to you. He tries very hard to be patient and understanding with you. He’s really trying. Give him a break plz.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Keith loves your hugs, it’s one of the most comforting things you can offer him. He likes to hug you a lot, he’ll just randomly hug you throughout your day. But when he’s upset or frustrated or feeling stressed and scared, he’ll hug you really tight and for a while. He’ll just hold you close, arms wrapped fully around your torso as he hides his face in your neck or shoulder. Hugs make him feel so much better, they remind him that he is real and has feelings and that someone cares about him.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

I think Keith would wait a while to actually say it to your face. He would be really nervous and wouldn’t want to rush things or make you feel like you have to say it back. In the meantime, he often slips the phrase to you sneakily and without grabbing your attention first. He’ll mumble it to himself after you finish a good round of training with him and he’s glowing with pride at how amazing you are. He’ll whisper it softly when you fall asleep next to him. He’ll mouth the words as he hugs you tightly, imagining how the words would sound if you said them back to him right now. He just needs time…

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Keith gets extremely jealous but not all the time. He sees you talking to some cool alien or even joking around with Lance, he’s whatever about it. He trusts you so he’s not worried. Now if another galra tried to approach you, oh boy is there gonna be a fight. It’s just a galra thing, he feels that they are more of a threat bc he is also part galra. One time, another member of the blade was standing just a little too close to you and Keith didn’t know what he was saying to you but he just had a bad feeling about it. But he wasn’t trying to flirt with you at all, he was actually asking about Keith and how long you’ve know him, just small talk. Keith stomped over and straight up pushed you behind him, glaring at his teammate in front of him. You had to explain that it was all innocent chit chat and calm him down. Yeah, he’s dramatic asf when he wants to be. He’ll kill a bitch for you, no hesitation.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Kisses with Keith are always soft and slow and lingering. He doesn’t move at a fast pace, even when making out. He takes his time and enjoys it and cherishes the moment. He’s also not sure exactly how to kiss so he goes slow and follows your lead. It’s not often that you two kiss, only in the privacy of your room when you both know you won’t be interrupted or occasionally you’ll share a lingering gentle kiss in the hangar in front of the team after a long and scary mission. Keith loves kissing your lips, he likes that he can feel you kiss him back. He’ll kiss your cheeks and forehead sometimes but he craves the feeling of your lips returning the gesture, ya know? He really likes when you kiss pretty much anywhere that’s not his face. Kiss that boy on the shoulder, neck, back, hands or arms and he’s a flustered mess. Not that he minds face kisses from you tho.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He’s so awkward omfg. He is kind of on the fence about kids. He likes them but he’s unsure how to act around them. He mostly just listens to kids ramble about stuff and he smiles and nods along and offers the occasional “oh really? Wow. That’s crazy.” He would like a kid of his own one day but not anytime soon. He needs time to learn and mature before he has his own kid.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Pretty much every morning with Keith is spent the same way…he’ll wake up earlier than the alarm is set just to cuddle and love on you before you have to go about your busy day. This (and at night before you guys fall asleep) is the only time you two can really spend quality time together. Fighting in an intergalactic war leaves very little time for you two to hang out and bond. So he loves sleepy, early mornings with you where neither of you talk, you just hold each other and place soft kisses on each others face.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights go pretty much the same way as mornings. The first hour that you two are awake and the last hour or so before you two fall asleep is spent in silence while you just hold each other close and cherish the moment. You don’t get much time to be clingy and romantic so bed time is the best time. He’ll plop into bed with you and wrap you in his arms as you’re both dozing off.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Keith would take some time to fully open up to you. I’m sure he probably took a while to open up to Shiro too. He’s just a closed off, secretive kind of person. He doesn’t want his business on display for everyone to know. As friends, he probably told you about his home life and his dad but it wasn’t until you two had been dating for a while that he finally let down his walls and told you all of the things that weigh on him. He trusts you with his life now.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

👀 boy has a very short temper and gets very easily annoyed and over stimulated. He’s definitely snapped at you before and he will most likely snap at you again. He’s always quick to apologize and try to explain himself. He just loses it sometimes, there’s a lot going on and he has a hard time coping. He’ll bottle everything up and stay quiet until it all boils over and explodes out of him. He snaps at pretty much anyone and everyone, don’t take it personally. He’s even yelled at Shiro before. He’s working on it tho…he swears.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Both??? He’ll definitely forget things every now and then, sorry he’s got so many thoughts in his head at one time, sometimes the things you tell him go in one ear and out the other. BUT he does remember a lot about you too. He’ll never forget the gorgeous color of your eyes and your favorite food and your favorite color. He’ll remember many cute moments throughout your relationship but also if you mention that one time that one thing happened, he’ll be like “I did? Oh…okay if you say so.” He might forget an anniversary or your birthday too, don’t be mad. He’s really sorry…just remind him and he’ll make it up to you, pinky promise.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Keith’s favorite moment in your whole relationship is when you first kissed him. It wasn’t on the lips, you had kissed him on the cheek when he was frustrated with not being able to beat a certain level on the training simulator. He was just having a moment, shouting out in anger as he flopped down on the floor. As he tried to catch his breath, you approached him without saying a word and sat in front of him with a sweet smile. He watched you for a second before you leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek then followed it with the words “Don’t give up. Keep trying…I believe in you, Keith.” He’s pretty sure that’s the moment he knew he really loved you and he also knew that you really loved him back. He felt so stupid and ugly in that moment of weakness and anger but you showed him unconditional love anyways. He’ll never forget that.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Keith is very protective of you, especially when you are out in the middle of battle with the team. He often insists that you and him stick together regardless of what Shiro or Allura have to say. He’ll protect you by keeping a close eye on you and having your back when you need him. You do pretty much the same for him. You watch out for each other always.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

As far as dates, anniversaries and gifts, Keith’s terrible. He’s never been in a relationship before so he has no idea what to do. If you give him ideas and share what you are planning to do for him, he’ll take mental notes and learn from you and then he’ll try his best those things. With everyday tasks tho, Keith is the sweetest and most attentive partner ever. He asks you how you slept every morning, he’ll ask you if you’ve eaten yet today, if he hasn’t seen you around all day he’ll go searching for you just to check up on ya. He’ll bring you water in the training room if he’s not already there with you, he’ll kiss you every morning and every night, he’ll play with your hair and gently scratch your back when you’re stressed or upset, he’ll listen intently when you need to rant or when you’re excitedly explaining something you like to him. He’s a great bf, he’s so involved with you. Such a sweet pea ❤️‍🔥

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Keith loves to shut himself off from you, especially when you’re having a bad day yourself. He feels like a burden sometimes, like he’s damaged goods that you never asked for. He knows he can trust you and confide in you but he worries that he’ll only make you more overwhelmed and stressed if he tells you how he’s feeling. Most of his bad days are spent avoiding you in hopes of not burdening you with his moody attitude. You always end up finding him and convincing him to open up to you. Once he gets it all off his chest tho, he feels soooo relieved. He just doesn’t want you to ever feel like his feelings matter more than yours.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

NOT AT ALL. He doesn’t give a fuck, especially with you. I mean…you guys are already dating and he’s never been super into his appearance so ??? why would he start worrying about it now? He has other things to worry about. He’s clean and well kept so …what now?

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yesssss, he’s a wreck when he’s away from you for too long. It’s one things to be away from you all day, but when missions are going on for days or weeks at a time with the blade of marmora, he gets so depressed and also so much more irritated. You’re the light of his life so when he can’t see you for several days in a row, he starts to unravel. You just bring him so much peace of mind, without you he doesn’t know how to cope with his emotions. He has no one else to talk to…💔

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

HE SLEEPS SO FUCKIN GOOD WITH YOU IN HIS BED NEXT TO HIM!!! You’ve walked in on him sleeping before and he’s pretty quiet, but whenever you sleep beside him, bro snores like a bear as he clings to you. Sometimes he wakes you with his loud ass snores and his aggressive snuggling but he’s having the best sleep of his entire life rn, you can’t bring yourself to wake him. One time, you gently nudged him awake and whispered “You’re snoring so loud. Turn on your side.” And he straight up went “Huh? Oh…okay.” then fell right back into his loud snoring a second later. Sorry but you kind of signed up for this.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

The only turn off for Keith is a liar. If he can’t trust his partner, he doesn’t even want to be with them. He wants you to be able to tell him anything and he wants to be able to trust you with everything. Just don’t ever lie to him and there’s nothing that can tear you two apart.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Not only does this mf snore loud as hell and suffocate you with his cuddles but he also drools sometimes. One time he drooled on your face and the grossed out scream that came from you startled him awake. He apologized profusely but you just had to tell the rest of the team about it the next morning. He’s never gonna live this down, it’s just too funny.

[lotusishere]

I’m going to talk about Fitz Vacker in this post because I’m shocked I haven’t shared my feelings about him yet. So here we go. I don’t think it should be a shocker to literally anyone but I actually don’t like Fitz. But I don’t hate him for no reason and I don’t hate him for just his aggression. I just don’t like him as a person but I appreciate his character. He’s a middle child and a golden child at that. He’s was born to live up to highest expectations compared to his brother. Not to mention the legacy itself is tough to keep in good spotlight. I know having his title would make it hard for him to find real friends, as everyone would want to be friends with him because of his family name. He’s smart, attractive, snarky. But as he has good traits he has bad ones too. He’s occasionally aggressive and frustrated (and frustrating). But let’s talk about it.

Before Sophie he seemed to be living in bliss. His family’s name wasn’t in ruin. He was in the highest place he could be. He might have been struggling to find good connection and felt the pressure of trying to hold his families name; but it definitely wasn’t like the stress he has now. His brother is literally a terrorist. His great great (a couple greats) grandmother used to experiment on humans and cause trouble. Right now everyone is looking at their family and it’s messing up the Vacker Legacy. Something that he not only has pride in but something that he worships and holds in his heart. I feel like because he was raised (and kinda forced) to be in a big spot light all the time it made him feel like if he wasn’t he wasn’t good enough or failing his name. He was raised to be perfect. He was perfect but I feel like all that perfection caused cracks he didn’t see.

Fitz is a beautifully flawed character. He has passions, beliefs, BIG flaws but most importantly he has feelings. We see it throughout the entire book. He’s emotional and wears what he’s feeling on his sleeve. When he’s angry you’re gonna know. When he’s sad you’re gonna know. He was raised for his family name not tough situations that are in light now because Sophie is in the elf world. He wasn’t raised or prepared for the betrayal of his brother. He wasn’t ready for the breaking of his father. He wasn’t ready for the emotional drain of his mother not being able to let go and move on. He reacts because well because he’s a teenager. I feel like a lot of people forget that he’s also a kid. He might be older but it doesn’t mean he’s any less of a child. He’s hormonal, emotional and going through a lot of stressors in his life. I bet his life is entirely different from what he planned or imagined and he’s trying to hold everything he can to keep it from changing more but is failing. To go from Mr popular to everyone gossiping about his family in a negative way is a big change. I feel like the social pressures of having to be a Vacker gets to him a lot. He wants to rebuild the name they had. He wants to live up to his family title. He doesn’t want to wear it down more than what certain family members has done.

Can you imagine living your entire life based on being perfection for a perfect title only to have both taken away? I know his ass is going through an identity crisis. And it’s sad because I wish people gave him recognition that he’s more than a Vacker. He’s Fitz. He’s his own person. He’s not just Sophie cognate. He’s not just Sophie’s bf or Sophie’s ex. He’s not just Alvar’s little brother. He’s not just Biana’s older brother. He’s not just Keefe’s “best friend”. He’s not just a Vacker. He’s Fitzroy Avery Vacker. He is temperamental, caring, occasionally a good friend. He is selfish but he’s also compassionate. He may not understand things and might be ignorant to a lot but he tries with what he is given. Do I feel like he has acted inappropriately at times? Oh absolutely. Book 2, Exile, with how he treated Sophie. Calling her “broken” absolutely unacceptable. I’m also upset because I feel like they don’t really hold Fitz accountable to just how much what he says or does hurts people’s feelings. He has constantly hurt Sophie’s feelings by saying the wildest stuff to her. She legit began to be afraid to even share her emotions or things with Fitz because she was scared of him being angry at her.

Which is crazy. Especially because they were dating. I feel like because Fitz was drawn out to be Sophie’s love interest it took out what made Fitz in the book couple of books Fitz. Do I like how he treated other characters? No I did not. His relationship with Keefe is something I hold deeply to my heart. Because (not sure if anyone agrees but) Keefe and Fitz were never best friends. At least not real ones. They were best friends by situation. It is said AND shown multiple times that they actually don’t know anything about one another. Or at least it’s one sided. I feel like Fitz was so focused on himself that he couldn’t see Keefe struggling. Which is crazy cuz his ass is abused as hell and for him to know literally nothing to how his parents treat him or what he’s been through is crazy. What’s crazier is that the second Keefe joined Neverseen the switch up Fitz had was crazy. That’s your so called best friend. But at the same time his reaction was slightly justified because his brother betrayed him too. So he has a right to be on edge and to be upset.

It’s just heartbreaking because I feel like Fitz could have been so much more if he was flushed more as a character. I wished he interacted with characters (positively) more. For example I wished Keefe and Fitz were able to develop an actual and genuine friendship ON their OWN terms instead of being friends by situation. I wished i could have seen a mutual respect for Dex and Fitz. Especially after that moment they shared where Dex almost accidentally killed Fitz. I feel like he’s been so condensed to this angry teenager who is hormonal and jealous that it has replaced the good qualities he has. He has a right to be jealous because he’s never had anything of his own before. Sophie sees him for more than just his title. He’s never had anyone like him genuinely like that before. And I know he feels jealous because he wants to be like Keefe while Keefe wants to be like Fitz. But to make that majority of his character and flush him out and make him a douche bag? Do I believe match making papers are important to fitz. Yes I do.

Do I believe he would have made it a big deal causing emotionally turmoil on Sophie? No. Idk some people might disagree but I feel like he wouldn’t have done that. I feel like as much as he WOULD want her to it wouldn’t be pressure. Him getting angry and causing scenes like come on. He’s better than that and I know that. I know he wants to better his family image but book one Fitz would have never said or treated Sophie half of the way he did in the lastest 2 books. I believe the second he would have realized it wouldn’t have worked he would have talked to her and put up with an agreement to pull back. Or at least wait until everything is over to start a relationship. I see the good in Fitz. I do. I know he has it in his heart to be caring even if he doesn’t agree with people. I know he has his own judgements and beliefs and that’s fine. But I don’t think it’s in his character to shame everyone else’s ideas because of it. If it was he would have shamed Dex a LONG time ago but he didn’t. He keeps his opinions to himself (majority of the time). He gets a little quirky during the day sometimes.

But these are just some of my feelings about Fitz. There are more but this post is already long lmfao. Tell me how yall feel? Hate him? Love him? Neutral feelings? Again I don’t love him but I don’t hate him. He’s a good (kinda) neutral character. He’s just not the character for me.

[winterfireice]

Chapter 4!!

Now there are only two chapters left before this story is over, I hope you're enjoying it so far.

Tag list: @amandayetagain @doodle-do-wop @tiana4evahh

Rest of the chapter is under the cut

“I am not that clumsy!” Sophie basically shouts out of annoyance,

“We once watched you almost trip on your cape and as you were falling you tripped again on the air around you,” Biana responds, “I didn't even know that was possible before I met you,”

“Ok that did happen, but I hadn't slept in days, so it wasn't my fault,” Sophie tries to defend herself,

Stina makes a face, “You hardly ever sleep, that's not a valid argument,”

“Or does that mean I’m always tired, so I always have an excuse? Maybe the trauma is finally helpful for once,”

“No, you’ve gotten pretty good at being functional without sleep, plus I’ve seen you right after a good night’s sleep and you still trip,” Dex says not helping at all,

This specific post-Team Valiant meeting was not going according to Sophie’s plan at all, they had all ganged up on her as they were walking out to the Council Hall, and she tripped on a rock. They had carried on even after they had gotten settled in their “Fancy Hangout House” as Keefe had dubbed it.

Just thinking about her boyfriend summoned him apparently because all of a sudden, he was knocking at the door,

“Ooo Sophie your boyfriend is here,” Biana taunted, she had always been their biggest fan and the most annoying person regarding their relationship,

With the loving taunting as background noise, Sophie opens the door welcoming Keefe into the room pulling him over to one of the couches without saying anything,

“The Lady Foss-Boss is really coming out in you right now,” Keefe says as he lets himself be pulled around like a rag doll,

“You don't have a single thought going on behind your eyes when they're on Sophie do you?” Stina asks watching Keefe,

“Nope,” Keefe responds confidently,

“At least you’re self-aware,” she mutters,

Sophie and Keefe share a look holding back laughter,

“Well definitely one of us is self-aware,” Keefe says slyly,

“You’re talking about how it took me forever to realize I had a crush on you, right?” Sophie nudges him,

“Oh of course,” Keefe smiles, “Who else would I be talking about?”

“I am going to kill you” Sophie transmits with a smile on her face,

“I would die a happy man,” Keefe responds,

Wylie coughs as Biana rolls her eyes,

“We may not be able to hear you, but we can see you two obviously flirting in your heads,” Biana says,

“You have no idea what goes on in our heads, we are very complex individuals,” Keefe nods,

“This reminds me that Sophie is part horse,” Stina adds,

“How! How did that remind you of that?” Sophie exclaims,

“It’s my favorite fact about you, it always makes me laugh. It's the reason I’m able to be around you,”

“I have so much blackmail that I could use right now, you’re lucky I’m a good person,” Sophie snarks

Stina looks horrified, she opens and closes her mouth at least twice before giving up on speaking all together,

Biana just stares in wonder at the rare sight of Stina’s silence, “What do you have on her?” she asks, “I have never seen her this silent before,”

“Oh shut up,”

“There’s the Stina we all know and love,” Dex says, eyes widening and avoiding Stina’s entire body. Stina’s cheeks start to blush and one of her hands starts tapping against the side of the chair,

Sophie feels Keefe’s hand bumping against her side and takes that as a hint to enter his mind, “I think I can feel their hearts about to beat out of their chests,” he transmits,

“They are hopeless,” Sophie responds, “And adorable, I’m rooting for them,”

“You’re not the only one, we should make posters,”

“That say what? ‘Stinex’s number one fans?” she asks,

“Yes, exactly that, it's almost like you can read my mind,” Keefe jokes,

Sophie smiles, “Almost like I’m reading it right now,”

“At this point, I’m just going to stop asking because you all confuse me,” Biana says annoyed, looking around the room. Stina and Dex are still avoiding looking at each other while Sophie and Keefe are cuddled on the couch,

“Sorry,” Sophie tells her sparkly best friend,

“I’m only partly sorry,” Keefe says in return, “I’m quite bad at owning up to my actions, but I will repay you in quick-witted comments in the future,”

“It’s days like these where I wonder why I’m friends with you guys,” Biana says smiling,

~~~

“When did you know you liked Keefe?” Stina asks after taking a sip out of her juice. She had called Sophie a couple of days ago asking to get lunch and be able to talk a little bit without being observed by all their friends.

So now they were in Atlantis trying to find a restaurant they could both agree on, which meant they were mostly walking around the underwater city and vetoing each other’s ideas,

“I guess I didn't fully know until right before we kissed” Sophie admitted, “That doesn't mean that’s how everyone feels at the beginning of their relationships though, I was in denial for a long time, but Keefe knew how he felt for years before we ever got together,”

Stina looks surprisingly vulnerable, “But what made you confident enough to tell him?”

“It just got to the point where I couldn’t take having him not know how I was feeling or what I was thinking anymore,” Sophie says, “I had overthought every possible thing up until that moment where his lips were on mine. But I had the extra add-on of my crush running away from everyone and everything he knew before I confessed,”

“Only half of your response was helpful,” Stina sighs, “and even when you’re being helpful it feels weird. You basically just said that the only reason you’re dating Keefe is because you annoyed yourself into telling him you were in love with him,”

“Who said anything about love?” Sophie smiles, “I think you Stina Heks are starting to become a romantic,”

Stina starts to look horrified which Sophie is starting to get used to, “There is absolutely no possibility that I ever become, that word,”

“Wow, you can’t even say it! I think we may have another Great Oblivion on our hands,”

“Stop enjoying this so much!”

Sophie is in the middle of laughing when she spots two teenage boys walking closer and closer, “Oh I don’t think that will be happening any time soon. Look over there,”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Stina says under her breath after she sees their friends notice them,

“Oh, hey girls, fancy meeting you two here,” Keefe says genuinely surprised,

“Did either of you have something to do with this?” Stina whispers,

“No, I seriously didn't know they were going to be here,” Sophie whispers back so only Stina can hear,

Luckily Dex looks as terrified as Stina does so there is a very small chance of him noticing this very obvious conversation, “What are you guys doing here? Not that you can’t be here! You are your own people that deserve to be anywhere whenever they want to be,” He spurts out anxiously,

“Smooth dude,” Keefe comments,

“We were trying to find somewhere to eat, do you guys want to join us?” Sophie asks as she ignores Stina’s glare,

“I think we’re go-” Dex starts as Keefe interrupts him, “That sounds amazing,”

“Perfect where should we go?” Sophie asks before Stina or Dex can come up with an excuse to leave, “Stina is picky so it's taken us forever to find a place,”

“What about that sandwich shop that I took you to last month? Plus, it's super customizable so Stina will have to find something edible there,” Keefe walks around Dex’s frozen body to Sophie so he can take her hand in hers,

“I think that is a great idea, Stina, Dex? How do you guys feel?” Sophie says as she leans into her boyfriend,

“Fine,” Stina grumbles as Dex seems to realize he hasn't been functioning like a normal elf and just simply nods along, Sophie smiles as she pretends the others are genuinely excited about the next few hours of their lives, “Yay, this will be great!”

~~~

“Ok, this place is pretty good,” Dex mumbles as he continues to inhale half of his sandwich,

“I told you I have the best date spots,” Keefe exclaims after stealing another slice of something that looks like a pink yam but tastes like French fries off of Sophie’s plate,

The tips of Dex’s ears turn bright red at the comment and Sophie can guess how that topic came up before they ran into Stina and herself,

“I still refuse to believe that Keefe is actually good at being a boyfriend,” Stina complains even though her plate is near-empty,

“As someone with first-hand experience,” Sophie starts, “I can definitely disagree with you,”

“Foster, are you complimenting me?” Keefe asks with sarcastic surprise, his hand coming up to clutch fake pearls,

“Yes love, I am. You would think after three years you would have gotten used to it,”

“Nope, maybe keep trying,” he smiles,

“I can’t figure out if I find this adorable or nauseating,” Dex says putting down his food for the first time,

Stina looks equally disgusted but not any more than normal, “I’m going with the second option,”

“You two don’t get to have an opinion about this,” Sophie almost laughs, “They are borderline hypocrites,” she transmits to Keefe,

“I don’t think that’s a thing,” Keefe says out loud causing both Dex and Stina to look at him confused,

“I think you forgot to clue us into part of this conversation,” Stina tells him,

“Forget that part, it doesn't matter right now,” Sophie waves her hand in the air as if pushing the conversation away,

Dex ignores the handshaking, “I thought you were trying to keep fewer secrets between us?”

“I’ll stop when you guys stop,” Sophie says, enjoying her friend's embarrassment, “I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Stina manages to squeak out,

Sophie and Keefe only look at each other in response trying not to laugh at their friends.

“You guys are hilarious, one day we’re going to look back on this and laugh about it with Sophie and me,” Keefe chuckles,

“I hate you,” Stina grumbles, and Sophie is sure she can hear Dex whisper his agreement,

[arcadialedger]

Sokeefe One- Shot: The Kiss

Set during Chapter 42, this one- shot chronicles what would have happened had Sophie and Keefe not been interrupted after their confession.

~~~

“I won’t,” she promised, tilting her chin up to steal another quick kiss.

It was only brief moment, a second-long brush of her lips against his. And yet suddenly, the world seemed new again.

It all felt… right. 

Sophie pulled back, and rested her forehead against Keefe’s. His arms wrapped around her, Sophie couldn’t help but let out a laugh of contentment. 

“I can’t believe it,” she admitted, her voice little more than a whisper, “I was so terrified when I came to find you, I thought for sure I was about to get rejected.”

Keefe’s lips curled into an amused smirk, “You really thought that? Foster, I told you how I felt in my letter, thinking I’d never see you again. When you showed up in London, I was so happy, but also… terrified. Terrified because you knew, and I couldn’t tell what you were feeling. Even now it’s still unsettling. I thought you still… didn’t think of me that way.”

Sophie winced at the unspoken words.

I thought you still liked Fitz.

“Fitz and I were a disaster, because it wasn’t meant to be,” Sophie spoke out loud, as she came to the realization, “It was just a silly crush. But when I realized how much I cared about you, after you left, it was… different. Overwhelming, to be honest. Ugh, and Ro was rooming with me when it happened. She had a field day with that.”

Keefe let out a laugh, “Let me guess, The Great Foster Oblivion?”

“The Great Foster Oblivion,” Sophie agreed, “but luckily, it’s over. And I’m… sort of loving the results now that it is.”

Sophie stepped back and laced her fingers with Keefe’s once more. To her surprise, Keefe blushed slightly. She had to remind herself that Keefe wasn’t as entirely as confident as he let on. He’d thought she didn’t like him, had dealt with her crush on Fitz. 

Had all of the teasing, all of the flirting, been a… coping mechanism to deal with the hurt? Her mind flashed back to her Cognate session with Fitz, etched into the green notebook for “the hard stuff.”

“So am I,” Keefe declared, “To be honest, I’m kind of in shock. And kind of glad you talked to me while my Empathy is messed up.”

Sophie’s brow scrunched in confusion. She wasn’t sure what he meant by that— had he been able to tell, this would have been a lot easier. 

“It forced you to come to me,” Keefe explained with a smile, “Forced this to be genuine. Not just me reading your emotions.”

Oh. 

“That… actually makes a lot of sense,” Sophie agreed, “But I promise, we are going to get your Empathy fixed. We are going to get through this. And then you’ll be able to feel how I feel so intensely it’ll probably make you sick,” Sophie grimaced with embarrassment. 

“Trust me,” Keefe gave her hand a squeeze, “It won’t be half as much as what I feel for you.”

Sophie let out a breath.

“Really? All this time?”

Keefe nodded, “All this time. I just had to wait for you, and… hope.”

Sophie felt tempted to say sorry, but stopped herself. In the end, she had nothing to be sorry for. She’d taken the time to sort out her feelings, and had come to the best conclusion. 

And now here she was, fingers intwined with this beautiful, brilliant boy. This boy who made her laugh and cry and smile and feel. 

“Let’s just enjoy the moment,” she concluded, as she stepped forward and rested her head on his shoulder. 

Keefe leaned into the embrace, and immediately their breaths seemed to sync together. 

“No regrets?” Sophie asked this time.

“Absolutely none,” Keefe whispered.

Sophie could have stood there forever, hand in his, head on his shoulder. However, through the glen, Sophie could see the sun beginning to set. Grady and Edaline would start wondering where she was. 

Keefe must have come to the same conclusion, as he kept her hand in his and started to lead her out of the glen.

“Need to lean on me again for balance?” He teased. 

Sophie only took it as an excuse to lean into him more, and tuck herself under his cape.

Keefe laughed— the sound like ringing silver bells in her ears.

For a few minutes, they just walked in silence along the pastures that way. The night was bitter and cold, but Sophie thought she had never felt warmer, never felt happier.

Slowly, Havenfield came into view, and Sophie untucked herself from Keefe’s cape. 

“Just in case Grady or Edaline see us,” Sophie explained, her face flushing at the thought, “I don’t think I’m quite ready to talk to them about… this.”

Keefe bit his lip, “Yeah… to be honest I’m a little scared for my session with Grady when he finds out. I mean, talk about awkward.”

Sophie chuckled, “We’ll cross that bridge when we’re ready. With our friends too.”

The same worries Sophie had in her room after Ro left, before Keefe came home, came rushing back into her head. 

How Fitz would react. How Biana would handle this, after years of having a crush on Keefe. It seemed like she had gotten over it long ago, but it still made things.. tricky. And Dex…

Well, given Dex’s feelings towards the Vackers, and his newfound friendship with Keefe, Dex would probably be thrilled, if Sophie was being honest. 

“When we’re ready,” Sophie declared. Keefe nodded in agreement. 

Without another word, Keefe let go of her hand, and blew her a kiss goodbye, before turning away into the orange and pink tinted horizon.

Sophie let out a breath, and held her hand to her heart, the warm tingle of Keefe’s presence still there.

In that moment, the entire reality of what had just happened, the entire rush, fell over her. And all of the sudden, Sophie felt as though she could cry with happiness. 

She had done it. She had been brave. And if this was the outcome, she was going to be brave a whole lot more often. 

[the-way-astray]

keefe has never gaslit or extorted anyone ever . manipulate MAYBE and i ONLY say that because katie knows all but i draw a line at extortion you arae wrong

hi, anon! those are some opinions you got there! obviously, it seems you've made up your mind, so my goal isn't to change your opinion, but rather to defend my side. i believe gaslighting is actually a form of manipulation, and you've already acknowledged that keefe could be manipulative, so i'm not really going to talk about that. however, it seems you feel very strongly about the extortion thing, so let's chat.

keefe's threats don't tend to come off as threats, because he's usually camouflaging them as something else, but the force (his use of empathy) is blatantly obvious. here are some examples (copy-pasting from my rant, only the stuff in the [brackets] is new):

(note: these are all out of order and i'm tired so i'm not citing shit. i may or may not change that later. point is, there is evidence in the text that proves that keefe is an extortive little shit, which is what i'm trying to prove.)

“Keefe nudged Dex’s arm, then grinned at Sophie. ‘Interesting.’ ‘What?’ Dex asked. ‘Which one’s your gift, Dex?’ Sophie interrupted. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what Keefe was going to tease Dex about.” Here we mark the start of Keefe using his empathy to learn people’s secrets without their consent. He feels not a hint of remorse for it, and instead uses it as a way to breach people’s boundaries and embarrass them. As a lot of people have already said, Keefe is the primary reason empathy should have similar restrictions on it to telepathy. [He obtained something (Dex's feelings, without permission, for no other reason than he wanted to) through force (his use of empathy).]

“He reached out and brushed Grady’s arm. ‘Whoa—that is some serious tension radiating off of you. Is it that bad?’” Again, here we see an example of Keefe breaching boundaries and using his ability to get people to tell him things they aren’t comfortable telling him. If Keefe was a Telepath, this would be breaking the law. In case you care. [Same thing as above.]

“Keefe grabbed Fitz’s wrist and pressed his fingers against the exposed skin. ‘Hate to break it to you, but I can tell you’re hiding something.’” (26) Another example of Keefe breaching personal boundaries and using his empathy to extort secrets out of people to get him to tell things they wouldn’t ordinarily tell him. This happens a lot starting in this book, and yes, I am going to point them all out. By the way, what Fitz was hiding was not at all important to their mission. It’s a secret of Sophie’s that Fitz accidentally saw and was forced to tell because of Keefe. And Keefe tries to make fun of Sophie for it, but is cut off. [Same as above.]

“Keefe spotted the crush cuffs about ten seconds after he got to Havenfield the next morning—despite the long-sleeved tunic Sophie had worn to keep them covered. And he dragged out the rest of the story with a relentless bombardment of questions.” Can Keefe keep his nose out of Sophie’s personal business for even a minute??? The “dragged” here is very telling: Sophie would not have chosen to tell Keefe all this of her own free will. He bombards her with questions, and so she tells him, not because she wants to, but because she knows that he won’t shut up until he has the full story. This is Sophie’s secret. Sophie’s business (and Dex’s). Keefe has no right to ask about the cuffs at all. The fact that he “retelentless[ly]” asked her questions until she was forced to tell him the entire story is not a good thing. It does not demonstrate trust, but quite the opposite: a breach of personal boundaries. Keefe is so toxic, I honestly find it impressive how Shannon has twisted him into a seemingly perfect-angel love interest. [He obtains something (what happened between Sophie and Dex) through force (his questions, which are specifically described using the words "dragged" and "relentless", as I stated).]

“She could feel him reaching for her glove—and yanked her hand away.” Keefe tries to breach Sophie’s boundaries. But what else is new. [Once again, he tries to extort, yes, extort, Sophie's feelings out of her. He isn't successful, but hopefully this proves that Sophie is not a willing participant here.]

“He traced his thumb over the sliver of skin between her glove and the edge of her beaded sleeve. ‘There’s something you’re not saying right now. I can feel it.’” (12) Keefe once again breaches boundaries because he can’t keep his nose out of other people’s personal feelings. He has no right to just help himself to Sophie’s emotions like that. It’s a massive breach of boundaries, and then using that to try to pry the secret out of her is nothing short of repulsive behavior. [He obtains something (Sophie's feelings, specifically the feeling of "she's not saying something", which he states) through force (his empathy).]

“Keefe snatched Fitz’s wrist. ‘I knew it!’ ‘Knew what?’ Fitz shouted, trying to wrench his arm away. Keefe tightened his grip. ‘Shhhhh, let the Empath work.’” (367) Oh, boy. Keefe really is such a manipulative asshole. He grabs Fitz’s hand to read his emotions because he wants to know why Fitz is offering to search his dad’s memories. He really can’t respect his supposed best friend’s privacy, can he? He can’t control himself; when he wants to know something he needs to have it right away. He breaches people’s trust and boundaries. Fitz tries to “wrench his arm away”, meaning that he’s uncomfortable and clearly doesn’t want this. But Keefe instead tightens his grip and forcibly extricates what he wants out of Fitz, even having the audacity to say “let the Empath work”. What an asshole. Honestly. He’s such a piece of shit. He’s a terrible person and the fact that Shannon is romanticizing this behavior is revolting. [He once again obtains something (Fitz's feelings, and from that the fact that he's trying to go after Alvar) through force (very literal here, he uses not only his empathy, but also his physical strength to keep Fitz from wrenching away).]

“‘Okay, two choices,’ Keefe told her, standing up and tilting her chin toward him. ‘You can tell me what’s wrong. Or I can put my Empath powers to work—but keep in mind, Option B will likely pick up on all kinds of other feelings.’ Sophie gave him her surliest scowl, but he didn’t back down.” First of all, here’s another example of Keefe touching Sophie’s face creepily. Secondly, Keefe just extorted Sophie’s personal feelings out of her. He just threatened to use his empathy on her if she didn’t tell him what was going on. He then said that if she didn’t tell him the thing she obviously doesn’t want to tell him, he’d not only use his power on her and figure it out, but would also probably pick up on other things she doesn’t want him knowing about. Sophie then makes it very obvious that she doesn’t want to do it, but he “didn’t back down”, by which Shannon of course means “didn’t respect Sophie’s feelings and her right to keep them to herself”. That is so. That is just. I don’t understand how Shannon somehow managed to twist this into Keefe caring about Sophie. He threatened, coerced, manipulated, and extorted her into telling him, sure, but caring about her??? Don’t make me laugh. Keefe is possibly the most toxic character in this entire series, and it is disgusting how Shannon gives the impression that this is caring behavior, or correct in any capacity at all. When someone wants to be left alone, you leave them alone. Keefe needs to go back to seventh grade health class, where they teach you that no means no. [My personal favorite example, because this is the one that most makes me think Shannon actively does not realize what a shitty character she's created in Keefe. He threatens Sophie (by telling her that if she didn't tell him, he'd forcefully take it from her, with some possible extra secrets, thrown in for funsies) into getting something he wants (her telling him what she's feeling). Yes, this is still shitty if you mask it as "caring". If Sophie doesn't want to talk, he needs to respect that, not pretend he knows her wishes better than she knows them herself. That is gaslighting. And taking away someone's agency to make their own decisions regarding their own feelings is bad and not good!]

[block limits are fun!!!]

“‘[ . . . ] forced herself to meet Keefe’s ice blue eyes. ‘I’m fine.’ When he raised one eyebrow, she added, ‘I’m just frustrated [ . . . ]’” (7) That’s right, the page numbers return. And I have physical copies of the rest of the series, so they’re here to stay. It may seem like Keefe is just trying to check on Sophie and make sure she’s okay, which is a noble cause, but when someone says they don’t want to talk about something, that means they don’t want to talk about it. That does not mean you prod and prod until they spill. So many things Sophie tells Keefe get twisted and people think she tells him because she trusts him, but more often than not she doesn’t and he just prods her or extorts them out of her. [It may not seem like Keefe "prod[s] and prod[s]", as my past self put it. But this is Flashback, so you do have to take into account the fact that Sophie has been putting up with Keefe's shitty behavior for six books, so she succumbs quicker. She knows that he will just take it from her if she doesn't give him what she wants. There is a quote later down that proves this, actually (it'll be in red).]

“‘Yup! But I can’t stop her, so I might as well let her take you down with me.’” (97) This is Keefe talking about Ro using him as a lie detector to extort Sophie’s secret out of her, by the way. Which Keefe agrees to do. Which he wouldn’t do if he really was a good friend. Just like Sophie wouldn’t have to make this deal with Ro if Keefe would just listen to good advice for once and do the smart thing. But he doesn’t care about Sophie’s mental health, and he doesn't care about Sophie’s feelings, because or else he would respect them by agreeing to stay out of the Neverseen’s way and not using his empathy to extort secrets Sophie clearly doesn't want to share out of her. And Ro. Honestly, she’s even worse than Keefe, partly because of her personality, but mostly because of the wasted potential. Keefe was always going to be the “bad boy angsty prankster with daddy issues that causes trouble” trope that we've seen a million times. But Ro could’ve been so much more. She’s the ogre princess, and the most Shannon could do with her is make her a Sokeefe fangirl. [Again, Keefe uses his empathy (force) to keep Sophie honest as Ro forces her to tell her and Keefe the secret that she desperately doesn't want to tell to the both of them (obtaining something he wants). And this is somehow spun around and sold to the audience as caring.]

“‘But do you really think you’re going to be able to leave here without telling me what happened with the Forklenator? If you do, you’re going to be sorely, sorely disappointed—and covered in biscuit crumbs.’” (351) Again, Keefe as good as admits that he’d force Sophie to spill if she didn’t tell him what happened with Mr. Forkle. His extortive ways need to stop being glorified and start being treated like the horrific manipulation it is. [This may seem like a joke, but it got Sophie to spill, so I mean. And yes, Sophie came there with the intention of telling Keefe. But that doesn't change the fact that telling someone they have to tell you something they may not want to is shitty. Especially considering how Keefe has acted for the past seven books (this is in Legacy).]

“She wasn’t sure if they were allowed to tell him—but it was so much easier than arguing.” (336) Keefe has literally annoyed Sophie so much that she doesn’t even think it’s worth the fight to keep a secret. That’s not good. It means that Sophie just succumbs to whatever he wants without a thought. That’s pretty much the highest sign of a toxic relationship. [And the reason she succumbed? Because he consistently shows her he has the power to take what he wants from her, over and over and over, and consistently has threatened/forced her, so now she doesn't even think it's worth the fight to try to keep stuff secret anymore. I don't know what else to say. This is not good. It is not caring. It is extortive and shows a clear lack of trust in Sophie and Keefe's relationship.]

and just as a comparison point, here's what keefe using his empathy in a healthy, not extortive way looks like:

so yeah, i'd say keefe consistently and constantly extorts sophie (and others) when he decides it's convenient for him.

[tarohonii]

꒰Eleceed Characters At A House Party‧₊˚✧

↷Base: Fruit Tea ↷Flavor: Sucheon, Jisuk, Jiwoo, Curtin, Kayden, Wooin, Vator, Dark, Gangseok, Duke, Asher ↷Allergies (Warnings): drug usage, alcohol, overdrinking/blacking out

┊Jisuk: 

Hosting the party. The one who initiates all the drinking games and gets the overall vibe going. Screams along to chief keef songs and nothing else. Probably has fought somebody by the end of the night and trashes the house more than anybody else even though...he's hosting it.

Takes care of a few select people throughout the night with the upmost care even though he's off his rocker. Fetches them water, doordashes them food, gets them home safe or offers to let them sleepover. But everyone else can go fuck themselves, to be honest. Not his problem if they live or die.

┊Subin

Probably the center of the party, whether it be games or dancing. Her specialty is drinking competitions with Jisuk, which is essentially the highlight of the night. Emotionally connecting with every person in the party by ugly sobbing with them about their destructive families and then also instantly dancing with them seconds after.

┊Gangseok:

 hotboxing one of the bedrooms. a very calm smoker, so probably started a "talk about our feelings circle" honestly very quiet and peaceful down there.

┊Wooin

in the smoking circle and the only one who brings snacks to the party (and edibles lol). Gets the munchies and makes the most vilest snack combinations and claims they test amazing. Starts crying once they start playing frank ocean at the end of the party.

┊Sucheon

Was hiding in the basement but Gangseok turned it into a hotbox so he just decided to smoke with them and ended up getting absolutely greened tf out. Laying on his back in the basement and can't move or speak the entire night.

If he's drinking, he's passed out in the bathroom because he was coerced into playing a drinking game and lost

┊Jiwoo:

Nervously follows Jisuk and Subin around and tries to make sure they're staying hydrated. Tries to take care of Sucheon and Wooin too but he can barely breathe down in the basement. Eventually ends up getting drunk by accident because someone (Asher) spiked the minute maid

┊Gahin:

One of those destructive high maintenance lightweights. Keeps tripping over his own feet and has to have someone personally escort him to the bathroom to hold his hair while he throws up. Either ends up fighting someone or sobbing his eyes out on the couch.

┊Asher:

Brought half of the alchohol and extremely questionable substances. High out of his fucking mind and ALSO drank (WHICH IS A TERRIBLE IDEA) Makes the most vilest, black-out inducing concoctions known to man and then pays people to drink it.

One of those loud, annoying people when they get high. Wandered off halfway through and ends up in a bush somewhere and doesn't wake up until like two days later.

┊Duke:

Drinking bottles of smirnoffs like it's water and somehow not blacked out at all. Sitting in a chair in the living room with a thousand yard stare and completely unresponsive the entire night. Everybody's too scared to ask him if he's okay.

┊Ian:

Flirts with everybody shamelessly, manages to coerce the police to leave (while drunk) mostly mingles, but gets absolutely thrashed once the party hits it's peak.

┊Lia:

Completely out of her element. Standing in the corner and nursing what she's pretty sure is a cup of water. Plays with the pet or observes the paintings on the walls because literally has nothing better to do. Somewhere in the night does end up getting drunk by the help of Subin or Jisuk or something and does loosen up a little

┊Boyoung:

One of those really peppy, outgoing drunks so she's living it up. Giggling and gossiping with literally anyone and dancing with Subin. Also sleeps over but helps clean the next day!

┊Jaehyuk:

Brought the speakers so ends up being the DJ. Doesn't take requests, which would usually be annoying, but it's fine since he actually knows how to put music to a vibe

[alaydabug2]

@sparklenarniawizard

Broken heart/Broken mind

Chapter six

(Human AU)

Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay.

As the years pass, they wind up being in the same classroom together due to their physical conditions. This makes their bond deepen.

But are they able to handle when life gets tough, throwing problems and complications their way?

Second Grade:

Sophie panted as she ran around the track. PE was probably her least favorite subject. By far. She was always so slow and behind the other kids. Especially since her class and the normal class were combined for PE.

At least she wasn't as far behind as Keefe. He was dead last. She stopped to catch her breath and give him time to catch up.

He finally got to her. His hands were rested on his knees. He struggled to get a breath in. His shaky and sweaty form looked ready to collapse.

"Do you just want to start walking?" she asked him.

"Yeah. We won't get in trouble, will we?" he murmured.

"I honestly don't think I care," she reached for his hand.

Keefe wiped the sweat off his brow. "Me neither. Let's go." He sucked in a few more breaths.

As the teacher blew the whistle to head inside, Sophie's vision tilted. She gripped Keefe's hand.

He turned to her. "Hey. Are you ok, Sophie?"

She shook her head and lowered herself down to the ground. Keefe followed in suit with a little, "Oh."

He let her rest her head in his lap as the tingles and darkness overwhelmed her. She heard him shout across the track to the teacher before blacking out.

Many voices rung in her ears as she awoke. Everything was too loud, too bright, and too overwhelming.

She covered her ears with her hands and curled up as tight as she could on her side. She could vaguely hear a voice shooing the others away. There was shuffling and murmuring.

Sophie squinted up to see Keefe waving the other kids away. He wrapped one of his arms around her, using the other to keep their classmates away from her. He was saying something with furrowed brows, but her brain was still too hazy to understand.

Someone squatted beside her. It took her a moment to recognize her teacher. She reached out and brushed Sophie's hair from her face. "Come on, sweetie. You need to get up."

Sophie tried to sit up, but it left her with a blood rush to the head. She groaned. Clearly, her body didn't think it was time to get up. She leaned against Keefe for support as she stood up, but her knees still wobbled.

The teacher led them all inside. Sophie was still shaking as she sat down in the nurses office. There wasn't much that could be done other than to wait for the clammyness to go away.

The school nurse took a cold cloth and placed it on the back of her neck. It was really the only thing the nurse could think of, even if it was just to cool off from the scorching sun.

She leaned back into Keefe. When she was in the clingy stage after waking up at school, she always wanted to be near him. The teachers had learned not to try to separate them.

The nurse went to go call her parents to explain what happened. She could faintly hear the conversation.

Sophie sighed. "How many people were there?"

Keefe cringed. "Do you really wanna know?"

She could feel the tears in her eyes well up. She smeared them away.

"There wasn't as many as you're thinking," Keefe tried to reassure her

She looked up into his eyes. "We both know it was the entire class, ok. You don't need to lie."

She pulled away and curled up on the small cott, facing the wall. She had just humiliated herself in front of the entire PE. Not just her class, they were used to her passing out. But everyone else.

Keefe scooted up on the bed and leaned his head against the wall. He laid his hand on top of hers, which was clutching the sheets.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"It's ok." She lifted her head to look at him. "Thank you for trying to get them to leave me be."

"Of course. I hate seeing them do that to you. I know it's overwhelming enough for you."

She scooted to where she could be closer to him and nodded. She closed her eyes to hopefully calm her headache.

[out-of-control]

hi i sent the original jaxjim theory anon and im keefed and i didnt realize that yoru discord usernames were usernames and i thought you were saying "dick game baptismal they fuck like crazy KILL YORUSELF they fuck like crazy dick game baptismal" and so on and so forth. can u guys elaborate on all the insano car crash metaphors in jaxjim divorce saga.

KATZ: before meeting Jim, Jax already has a relationship with car crashes. his mother was killed in a car crash and so even though he was never in it, it's become this thing that looms hugely over his whole life. like he and Erin were so close and he sees the crash not just as something that killed her but something that Took Her Away From Him and so since he feels so alienated from and by the crash and he's spent years and years trying to understand it/get closer to it. like when he was a teenager he dug up fucking police reports because he was obsessed with the idea that by understanding everything about her death he could sync up with her again somehow and maybe fill this hole that opened up inside him when she died. like. Jax didn't get Erin's birth date tattooed on his arm, he got her death date. so even before Jax ever meets him he has this whole thing going on where he's obsessed with the crash from his own past and. feels left behind by not having been in the car crash and so he tries to map out other violence onto his body to make up for it.

but in addition to having his weird like desire to manifest car crash stigmata to honor his dead mother, he also is deeply affected not only by the violence of her death but the isolation of it. she died alone and scared and in pain. and that breaks his heart. and it's that whole thing more than the violence aspect that first drives him towards Jim, actually. because he sees Jim as alone. and his brain sort of makes the connection between Jim the car crash victim and Erin the car crash victim, but ALSO between Jim as a literal car crash survivor and Jax as a more metaphorical car crash survivor (he wasn't in it, but it ruined his life regardless). and it was that sort of empathy of being like. so you went through this horrible traumatic pain and now there is no one to help you carry it. and subconsciously at least Jax wanted to shoulder that. just a little. he wanted Jim to not be so sad on a summer's evening. so he said do you wanna get out of here.

so that's the background. and although it's lovely that car crash related trauma brought them together it's also absolutely part of the reason it drove them apart. after Erin died, Jax sort of lost the ability to see her as a person. to an extent I think most people do that with their mothers but since she was dead too Jax heaped all of his misery into the same pile and really developed this belief that if only she had lived, his entire life would be perfect. which is of course silly. some things would undoubtedly be better, but some things are unavoidable. and although Erin can't really be affected by this on account of being dead, I think that the whole "let me sanctify you" thing freaked the fuck out of Jim. because well Jim is just some guy but Jax treats him like he's holy. lot of pressure there.

FEO: <- has nothing to add to this