#but yeah- just thought I'd explain why I don't vibe with Keefe fully

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

for me- not liking Keefe has less to do with HIM and more to do with the archetype/trope he falls under. Like, sure, he has toxic traits, and he's not perfect, that's not really my issue. (aside from the lack of accountability the narrative holds him to VS other characters <- THAT does bother me.)

BUT- at the end of the day, I'm just kinda tired of the "I use humor to mask my deep dark past' trope- and I mean, obviously, people relate to that... but it's kind of tired in fiction. I don't think he's very funny either which does not help lmao

anyway- KOTLC kinda beats the trope like a dead horse too. At some point I'm just like "WE GET IT."

Because it's not a very... 'complex' trope?? Especially because it's written for middle grade. After some time, it's repetitive and predictable, it retracts from emotional beats, and I've seen it done with more depth in other stories (ie. Jesper from Six of Crows, Leo Valdez from PJO (but I read PJO when I was way younger too and I bet he'd probably annoy me now as well XD)

I've also grown out of the series in many ways, and it isn't written for me- which is definitely why I don't connect with the material the way I did when I was in early Middle-School several years ago.

all this to say, I'm aware I am no longer the target demographic, so I'm not saying Shannon should be writing it all differently. It's literally not for me. I'm speaking into the void to explain my opinion ig

but my annoyance towards Keefe doesn't really come from a place of "Fitz is better!" "Fitphie ftw!" (I used to ship Fitzphie. I don't ship anything anymore tbh)

I do find Fitz more compelling as a character as a whole, sure. But it's not really a 'ship' thing, or 'This character is less/more toxic than this character'. argument. He's just not a common archetype, and I do wish it was given more exploration in the story. Same with characters like Tam and Linh.