#kotlc-anon

[anonymous-kotlc-thoughts]

someone should write smth with transmasc sophie where since the elves have weird names they don't know that sophie is a "girl name" and so he gets everyone to think he's a cis dude

.

[autistic-arsonist]

we got an american pope before kotlc book 10

[the-way-astray]

Favorite thing about Unraveled?

major unraveled spoilers under the cut:

cassius likes art reveal and subsequent keefe-cassius conversation. god it's perfect. that entire chapter is perfection. kissing it on the mouth. shannon really got me with the reveal like i fully did not see that coming, and it's a reveal that actually adds something of importance and is foreshadowed!!!! so basically my favorite form of plot (i know this is technically character but shut up. let me have my moment)

making cassius nuanced is the best thing shannon decided to do with this book, by far. over the course of the series, i have been consistently confused about why cassius wants to join the black swan . . . it's literally everything he stands against. he hates talentless people. he adheres to matchmaking. he's snobby and arrogant and cares way too much about the council's opinion of everything he does. but now!!!! now it all makes sense!!!! because with the reveal that he only uses that as a cover so he can break the rules behind the council's back and nobody will ever suspect him???? and the fact that for nine books that is the exact trap the audience has fallen into???? oh it's so good. so so so so good. like genuinely i had to put the book down at that reveal i was so shocked. and my favorite line in the entire book is "the lost cities are not kind to those who do not conform" or something to that effect. not because of the line itself (we've seen plenty of lines similar to that) but because it comes from the person you would least expect it from. cassius???? and now that you have the background to why he wants keefe to conform so, so badly, it almost makes you feel bad for him, but also he's still abusive even if his heart was sort of kind of in the right place???? kind of???? augh he's just. he's so nuanced!!!!

and the addition that the reason keefe was able to do so well in the forbidden cities was because of his dad!!!! i loved that. when i read stellarlune i was super annoyed that keefe was able to make out so well for himself when he quite literally knows nothing. it just isn't realistic that he somehow got an id or knows how to find the black swan's cameras by himself, but adding an extra layer of cassius backup and advice is just. fantastic. because now, not only is it realistic that keefe was able to make out so well, you can really see keefe struggle with making the logical decision even though he badly doesn't want to accept help from his dad. it's just. so so so so good.

also it's a relatively subtle detail but cassius getting genuinely hurt when keefe insulted his art had me kicking my feet. because!!!! we have never seen cassius like that before!!!! we've never seen him hurt. he's sometimes pissed off, but never like. hurt hurt. so seeing him like that, you can tell that his art really means a lot to him and that he does care about keefe's opinion in some things because keefe's insult made him feel genuinely sad. and it's like you really feel bad for him but also he sucks and is bad so not really. anyway. it's just so good!!!! favorite chapter in the entire book is the conversation between keefe and his dad. shannon cooked so hard with that.

[myfairkatiecat]

Okay guys I was debating making a post about it but I’m just going to make a short one with just the root of the point

You’re allowed to criticize media you enjoy, especially the writing itself, but if there’s something about the content of the story being told that isn’t your thing, that’s not an objective issue with the author

If you’re reading KOTLC and you really dislike sokeefe, you can either keep reading for the other stuff in the story that you like, or you can stop reading because it really ruins it for you, but what you really shouldn’t do is act like Shannon’s done something wrong by writing sokeefe into the story she wants to tell, I mean that’s actually pretty disrespectful to the author. You don’t have to LIKE her story, but she’s not objectively doing something wrong just because it isn’t the choice you would have made

For example: if Shannon made sophitz canon that would definitely not be my thing. However I would keep reading kotlc for my enjoyment of the story she was telling. I would not come into tumblr and start picking out every issue with their relationship, calling it terribly unhealthy (unhealthy dynamics can be storytelling devices btw) and saying therefore Shannon has made an objectively wrong decision that ruins her own story. That would just be disrespectful, not just to other shippers but to Shannon herself!!

That’s all I’m gonna say unless someone miraculously misses the entire point of this post to a terrible degree

Have a great day

[ann-lol]

do u hate @the-way-astray @fintan-pyren or the one that makes fintant art

What? No. Why in the world would I hate either of these people??? I literally follow all of them-

Also by “the one who makes *fintan art” do you mean @crescentpaws ? Cause no I don’t hate him…

Are you assuming I hate them because I’m a Keefe lover and they all happen to be Keefe haters?? Because if so, I don’t hate people that have different opinions on a FICTIONAL character. Also they all have valid reasons for hating Keefe anyway so I don’t see your logic, if that is where you’re coming from.

What a weird freaking ask, the hell

Can someone tell me how to turn off anon asks. They’re starting to piss me off 😭

In all honesty though, there’s a chance that they may not like ME. I will admit that I can be VERY annoying sometimes so I wouldn’t blame them lol. I hope they don’t tho idk loll

Also why are you asking ME this?? There are other very well known Keefe lovers out there?? I’m literally like no one the hell? This ask is getting me more pissed off by the second…

@the-way-astray @fintan-pyren @crescentpaws

[floofeeeeee]

Can you pretty please draw Dex with a mullet? :)

I do not know how to draw Dex who the HELL IS THATTT LMAOAO

I tried my best 😔💔

[fitzroythevacker]

Should I kill you off? I have a very strong urge to murder you and shock my fic readers cause no one will expect that :3

KILL ME??? WHAT???

HOW? WHO ARE YOU, ANON?

...wait is this about the fanfiction stuff Sophie was telling me about...

[crispys-rambling]

Why guilt matters

for the gang in the kotlc discord yall have heard this before lmao

Out of all the possible weaknesses Shannon could have chosen to give the elves, she made guilt be the thing that breaks them. This is incredibly deliberate and I'll be shocked if this is not the reason she chose it.

Let's talk about guilt v shame for a second.

Most often, shame is a feeling centered around who you are not what you did. Guilt is usually a feeling centered on an action you did. Shame is unproductive, while guilt serves an emotional purpose. There is definitely a distinction between the two.

Guilt is often a major motivator for people. An internal sign that you fucked up and need to atone for your actions, and make things right. The elves purposely avoid this feeling otherwise it will break them. It is their one weakness.

Ignoring the "suppressing your feelings will often make things worse" side of things because that's rarely acknowledged in the books tbh. But guilt is often a feeling the elves avoid, for their own safety.

A lack of guilt means it is much more difficult for them to acknowledge their own wrongdoing. This is why the laws and cultural rules of the elves rarely ever change. They purposely refuse to feel bad for things they have done, making them feel as though there's no wrongdoing ever. It's the explanation given for why serious crimes aren't committed, why the elves did not suspect that Dex and Sophie were kidnapped.

But the thing is, crimes were committed in the past, and the elves find difficulty in acknowledging this. The council even removes memories that could cause guilt. But for memories that aren't wiped? Well they can't acknowledge mistakes because that has genuine health ramifications.

This is why nothing has really changed in the lost cities before Sophie.

This is why cultural norms like mysterium is for the working class and the talentless, and the fact that the council assumed everything at Exillium was fine and didn't check on them. They don't want to think about the harm they could be causing.

Because thinking that you fucked up can cause some serious harm.

Anyway I haven't seem many people discussing this, but it's something ive been analyzing in my head for a while lol

[deepspacialrift]

Stina Heks, perhaps?

taking character requests!

[camelspit]

Roisin's Reading Rumble 2024

The RRR will officially be coming back!! Signups will most likely start on SEP 16.

If you want to be tagged in the official signup post, tell me either in the comments or tags on this post. IF YOU SEND ME AN ASK OR MESSAGE ME ABOUT IT, I WILL NOT REMEMBER TO TAG YOU!!!

This year, unfortunately, I don't have the time to grade a bunch of stuff so! It's going to be just one big project this year, with 1-2 months to complete! Im currently considering 2 options.

More info on each below the cut!

Note: For both of these, only one person can do each. So if someone were to take Tiergan or Sophie/Marella, that would be off the table (during the sign up period, you can do a top 5 characters/dynamics.)

Characters:

Main characters (Sophie, Fitz, Dex, Keefe, Biana, Linh, Tam, and Marella) would be off the table, just to sort of. diversify the characters picked and make people branch out more.

We did this last year!! It would most likely be pretty much the same thing. If you tag search Roisins Reading Rumble, you can probably find some pretty good examples!!

Dynamics:

These can be romantic/platonic/familial, etc. Anything you want!! It can be however many characters you want as well, but I don't recommend more than 3.

These relationships can either be textual (like sophie and keefe) or just something interesting that you'd like to see in the books (like wylie and keefe)!

Additional information about rules and submissions will be released after the poll is concluded.

[swans-chirping-in-the-distance]

YOU have a very interesting take on sokeefe. you don't just love every part of it- please elaborate, your tags on anti sokeefe posts are FASCINATING

THIS TOOK FOREVED IM SORRY ILYSM FOR THIS AHDJDLFKWNKDJF

I think one majorly important thing about sokeefe is that precious bond they have with each other. In fact, that's what makes me love the ship so much. It's truly stunning to see such a natural love built on years of trust and support. They clearly display so many different ways of loving, whether it be emotional, physical, mental, or verbal. The way that Shannon captured them is something I'm not sure I've seen anyone else do the same way.

Sophie ignores her feelings for Keefe for the majority of the series and writes it off due to insecurity. And Keefe knew that. Yet, instead of just telling her how she felt, he decided to let her decide how to act. To not rush her or pressure her. To let her make her own decision. He held himself back and let her be with his best friend without telling her, which many adults couldn't bring themselves to do. But he did it for HER. Because he loved her, whether he said it or not. How terrifying must it have been for Keefe to be so vulnerable as to fall for someone when that had made him hurt so much in the past? How terrifying must it have been for SOPHIE, who'd not let herself realize she fell until she was far too gone to come back from this unscathed?

The two are often very physical with each other, from the constant support of holding one another's hand to the gripping hugs late at night when their sobs are louder than their family's disappointment. Not only do they show how they feel about each other with touch, but also with general body language. The comfort of Keefe turning her head gently to look at him. The way they relax around each other, their facial expressions and their hands involuntarily grabbing the other's without a moment's notice. The display of casualty hidden within the deep depths of their relationship. They even manage to think about each other with the same sort of intensity, the determination to keep the other alive and the sheer desperation not to lose the other. They're reliant on each other's safety, not because their lives would be in danger without them, but because a huge part of their happiness would.

The two often joke around with each other, but they know when to stop. They know when it's time to get serious, to remind the other of how high they think of them and how much they care for them. How they'll always be at each other's side. Their words say "I love you" for them. And while they're in terribly traumatic situations and had such different backgrounds, they're the only ones who understand each other. They're absolute foils who were born to be enemies and fell for each other anyway. Their relationship is a beautiful one, but it's also one that's extremely fragile.

Sokeefe's relationship could go wrong in many ways. There are multiple paths towards a toxic relationship that would be really easy for their canon characters to fall into. For example, while for now they help each other stay brave and empathetic, their vulnerability towards each other makes them more prone to toxicity. They're both known for being reckless. How easy would it be to accidentally get the other to do something terrible? Would killing a random Neverseen member be self-defense? Would that really help anyone in the long run? They're traumatized kids forced to lead, like a malfunctioning toy released before it was fixed. They have no idea what they're doing if you really think about it. Who are they to advise the other?

Another issue I've noticed is one that's super minimal now but could become a huge issue. Sophie, being a relatable teen girl, likes apologies for things that hurt her, even if she knows it's technically not the other person's fault. She's not going around asking for apologies that aren't warranted, but she's accepting them. And that usually doesn't matter much, but it does with someone like KEEFE. Keefe, who blames himself for things that aren't his fault because it's all he knows. He feels so guilty for his and his family's existence that he takes it out on himself. And that could turn into a problem. Because a boy who apologizes for everything he didn't do doesn't fit well with a girl who accepts them. Sophie would never want Keefe to blame himself for things more, but she could inadvertently cause it with ease.

On top of all of that, they often struggle with looking at each other realistically and being truly reliable about the other. Keefe doesn't think Sophie's perfect; don't get me wrong. Part of the appeal of Keefe is that he sees her flaws and still loves her through them. But he also doesn't do much to help her fix said flaws. Perhaps it's out of his own insecurity in thinking he has no place to judge others because he believes he's worse, but my point stands nonetheless. And Sophie often forgives too easily, which lowers her own standards while also making sure Keefe can't grow from his mistakes because no one's acknowledging them. They seem to move too fast at times, and slowing down could really help. Get therapy and learn to bite the bad habits in the ass, in a way.

Another interesting aspect of their relationship are the parallels of their own to others. A loyal girl desperate to believe the man she loves is good, even when he keeps doing wrong? A girl who doesn't realize there's a difference between good and right until it's far too late? I think we all saw the ruedacted/ Lodestar sokeefe parallels. And if you took any koralie interaction and changed the names out? Sokeefe moment. It's just so easy for them to end tragically, but they're so desperate for it to work out. They're walking on the most delicate of ice for a chance that they can meet in the middle. They're running across a tightrope, hoping they don't fall to the ground. They're pulling at the web in hopes that they don't get stuck in its fabric, but they ALWAYS do. Sokeefe is a beautiful relationship built on trust and love, but trust and love don't always mean something is good for you. Their entire existence is truly a bittersweet delicacy only to be enjoyed by the most careful of takers.

[anonymous-kotlc-thoughts]

SOPHIE FOSTER IS NOT A METALHEAD NOR A SWIFTIE. SHE ONLY LISTENS TO FUCKING ASAPSCIENCE

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[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]

As a fellow White Collar and Kotlc fan, I now imagine Fitz’s hair to look like Neal’s (specifically season 2)

Anon you need to reveal your identity to me RIGHT now. And I mean RIGHT now. You have no clue how much I NEED white collar kotlc fans to talk to.

Also you’re so right… Neal’s season two hair would be Fitz Vacker for sure

We talking about this look?

Or this look?

Either way. He’s so freaking handsome and you’re so so so right about the hairstyle.

Anon I’m so serious DM me right now

[ann-lol]

yk crescentpaws likes marella right?

she probly hates you

First of all, @crescentpaws goes by he/him pronouns. Respect and remember that.

Second of all, Marella is a FICTIONAL character so I’m sure he doesn’t hate me because I hate Marella. Plus he hates Keefe like a lot and I love Keefe and yet I don’t hate him- if anything Max is pretty chill and makes some great art and fanfics, which I am currently obsessed with but that’s besides the point.

I don’t wanna assume what Max thinks of me but I’m sure whatever it is isn’t hate.

[katies-anonymous-post-box]

why doesnt ao3 have silvontefellie (silveny x bronte x greyfell x you)

Probably because why the hell would it