#quil's queries

[bookwyrminspiration]

do you ever think about how pissed alvar was that fitz stopped pressing buttons

I haven't yet, but do you ever think about what, exactly, Alvar was yelling while he pounded on the glass? Because Fitz didn't specify

Was he furious at being imprisoned, enraged they stood by and watched? Was it because he was trapped or was it because it was them, his baby siblings, who had done it? Was it because it was just another example of the young being "better" than the old, or was it because deep down part of him wanted them to join him, to follow him, for there to still be something there, and this was a betrayal to that secret wish

Or was he desperate? Was he pleading, beseeching, imploring? Scared and screaming as the goop poured in hot and thick, yelling to be let out, to be saved. Did part of him, deep down, still believe that they would? That the family he'd scorned and disowned still meant something? That though he'd set the bridge on fire with his own hands, his baby siblings would reach out theirs?

What was he yelling, Shannon?

[bookwyrminspiration]

i'm sure i can guess, but. thoughts on the kotlc smut debate? do you think it's appropriate?

I'm not interested in getting into discourse, so I'll try and keep this short and sweet (also, none of this is angry or targeted at anyone and I’m fine talking about it—I’m just not interested in senseless, unproductive arguing!!)

As the subjects are fictional, I don't care. They aren't real people. Smut written about them does not impact or hurt them in any way.

What someone chooses to write about and why is not my business. If it's smut written by teens about teens as a means of exploring sexuality, if its a means of processing experiences or abuse, if its for fun--whatever it is, that's their business. Including for adult authors. They can have just as valid motivations, not that they need to justify themselves. They literally cannot hurt these characters

As for real people, such as fans, no one is forced to read it. If you find yourself in the middle of something that makes you uncomfortable, you can stop reading and walk away. And yes, there may be initial discomfort as you realize--for which I am sympathetic, but it happens and that is on you to manage, not the author.

Authors are also not responsible for rule breakers who access sites they're not old enough for. We're responsible for tagging and adhering to the rules of hosting sites

Also, smut as a whole is a valid form of writing/creation. Sexuality is a normal (note: I am not saying it is the ONLY normal. ace here), widespread part of life, and sexual gratification and enjoyment are morally neutral

Am I personally gonna write any kotlcrew smut? No. Am I gonna read any? Probably no. Not my kind of kotlc fic. I by and large don't enjoy it. But fic writers who chose to engage with the subject here are not writing about real people, and not responsible for real people's comfort with their work beyond tagging.

Smut is always going to exist. It is safer for all parties if it is freely allowed to exist so no one has to disclose potentially very personal justifications (e.g. processing abuse/experiences), and so it can be properly tagged and avoided by those who want/need to--otherwise individuals will not tag appropriately in the interest of not being taken down, and that helps no one.

and since this was brought up last time: this is my stance. I can't tell you how to think, and I don't decide for anyone else what is right from wrong. i can only share my reasonings

Oh also: I don’t hold it against anyone who’s disgusted or uncomfortable with it! That’s fine. I don’t enjoy it either! Valid! But that doesn’t mean we can say it shouldn’t exist or harass people who write it (not saying anyone has, this is just addressing the broad question)

[bookwyrminspiration]

QUIL! For April Fools, they made your cheese update. Aggressively click the cheese button, and post is covered in cheese.

Adding the photo from the other ask as requested!

I see! I see the update! God I can't let this be my magnum opus now I have to go out and achieve more in life or something, I can't believe tumblr would do this to me.

Anyway, I think of all the posts on this site the cheese one being covered in cheese is very fitting :). Thank you for instructing me on how the cheese function works, because I probably would not have intuited it otherwise!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hello,

I hope you and your family are well and in good health😃.

I am writing to kindly ask for your support in reblogging my pinned post on my page❤🙏.

It details my struggle and the hardships we face in Gaza😥, especially the dire conditions we are enduring in the hospital where I work as a doctor😣💔.

Your assistance in spreading this message is crucial to raise awareness and garner support for our cause✌💚.

I sincerely appreciate your help and look forward to your continued support🥺❤🙏.

Thank you very much.

Dr.mohammed aldeeb from gaza

Of course--I wish the same for you and your family.

This fundraiser has been vetted by multiple people, linked on the pinned post here, which also has more details about their situation.

Additionally, here's a direct link to their campaign:

As of July 11th, they are at €23,338 / €30,000 !!! These funds will go towards evacuating and reestablishing themselves in Egypt.

Donate if you can, and share if you can't

[bookwyrminspiration]

RUTHLESSNESS IS MERCY UPON OURSELVES

well that came back to bite him in the ass now didn't it

[bookwyrminspiration]

After everything you’ve done, how will you sleep at night?

what it felt like listening to 600 strike:

[bookwyrminspiration]

Dear/Dear

After Greetings,

I hope you are well and in the best condition. I am Ahmed, and I am writing to you today regarding a topic that is very important to me and my family. We are currently facing difficult circumstances that need the support of the community and good people like you.

I have written my story detailing my family's current situation and our urgent need for financial assistance. I would kindly ask you to help us spread this story as widely as possible. Reposting my story will go a long way in raising the funds we need to support my family during this difficult time.

I know your time is valuable, but your help in this matter will make a huge difference to us. If you can post the story on your social media platforms or share it with your friends and acquaintances, I would be very grateful.

Thank you for your interest and time. Your support gives us hope and strength to face these challenges.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-want-to-evacuate-my-family-from-the-gaza-strip?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_campaign=p_nacp+share-sheet

With sincere regards and appreciation,

[Ahmed]

---

I hope the same for your family tenfold.

This has been verified by el-shab-hussein and is #161 on this spreadsheet. Here is a direct link to their campaign:

As of July 13th, they've raised €10,279 / €100,000, which will be used to evacuate their family of ten to Egypt and reestablish themselves.

Donate if you can, and share if you can't

[bookwyrminspiration]

if i may ask, who the fuck is fitz vacker?

This is a delightful ask to receive as someone known for being vocally unwell about and obsessed with Fitz

For those new/following for other things, a fair chunk of my blog is dedicated to the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger, a middle grade sparkly elf dystopia series that crawled into my head when I was 12 and still holds me hostage. I've literally been called a walking kotlc encyclopedia on multiple occasions

One of the main characters is Fitzroy Avery Vacker (official art linked), a teenage telepath from the secret elven world's most prominent (but not royal, that's not a thing) family. He's known for having teal eyes and the MCs undying ardor, which she conceals not at all.

He's the golden boy--top of his class, incredibly rare ability (the telepathy), charming, handsome, prestigious family, the works. But! He's also been sent on illegal missions to the human world by his father since childhood, looking for the MC.

Throughout the series he's drawn further into rebellion, following the MC as she uncovers the dirt under the shine of their "utopia." But even amongst friends, that Wonderboy status continues, creating this tension between the prestige he's been showered and burdened with his whole life and its slow unraveling. What worth does being golden have if the whole system's rigged? But how can he let go of all he's ever been?

And how the hell do you process that? He's got an incredibly strong sense of justice, values trust above all else--and his world and the people close to him are breaking it. How can he do anything but lash out, desperate to recenter himself?

To the point the Golden Boy, who bakes for his friends and has a sparkly red stuffed dragon he can't sleep without, nearly kills his traitorous brother with a knife to the throat. To the point when his traitorous brother is trapped behind glass, suffocating liquid pouring in from Fitz's frantic smashing at the control panel, Fitz deliberately steps away. Because he knows one of the buttons probably opens a drain, and he's choosing to let him die by his doing. Even though it wasn't on purpose. even though elves cannot abide violence, and risk shattering their sanity even witnessing it

GOD I love him. he's everything everyone else wants to be, he's deeply jealous and constantly fighting it, he's sweet and thoughtful, he's full of a rage so profound he can't think straight, he's putting his life on the line to better the world, he can't quite let go of what he thought it was, he's everything 2 me.

[bookwyrminspiration]

ok not to alvar post in your inbox again but liek.

“You want to talk about being left for dead?” Alvar lunged forward, but Sandor and Ro shifted their blades to block him. “ I was left in a pod of orange goo while my brother and sister stood by watching! The same brother who threatened to carve me up with a knife earlier that night! The brother who stopped pressing buttons to try to save me as the pod filled up—did he tell you that? He let the tank fill, waiting for me to drown” (632).

this excerpt makes me want to eat concrete in a good way. we love to talk about fitz stopping pressing buttons, but the way alvar is angry at fitz for stopping isn’t really talked about as much as it could be i think.

i always thought it was so funny because alvar was given the chance to change and come back from what he did throughout flashback. and when his memories came back, he made his choice to turn his back on his family, but he’s mad when said family turns their back on him in return. but i rlly wanted to hear your thoughts on this because you’re one of the most ardent buttonsposters on this site

this is FASCINATING. Okay, so. Looking at Alvar's familial feelings, a lot of his hatred is centered on his parents. He felt drowned in unrealistic expectations he could never live up to as the only Vacker kid, and saw Fitz as a replacement, his parents saying he'd never be good enough. Whether this is true isn't really relevant, as it's how he took it

Fitz ends up in a weird cross section here where he hasn't actually done anything to Alvar but exist. Alvar hates Fitz for replacing him, but it was their parents that chose to have him. Everything Alvar hates about Fitz is a manifestation of his resentment for Alden and Della.

Fitz is the perfect golden boy. A telepath like their father, the youngest to naturally manifest at that. Replaced Alvar in looking for Sophie--actually found her when Alvar passed her by. Fitz enrages Alvar for being everything he thinks their parents wanted that he wasn't

But Fitz doesn't have to be. I think that's key. Fitz could throw it all away, stop being perfect, drown under the pressure like Alvar did, and join him. And I think Alvar wants him to. Then he wouldn't be replaced, and instead Fitz could serve as evidence of how horrible their parents were. If Fitz breaks, too, then the problem wasn't with Alvar

And yet he isn't. FItz is choosing, again and again, his family. His parents. To be on the opposite side. Which means he's now making an active choice to become the replacement he inadvertently always was, proving the problem's with Alvar. Which means Alvar can hate him for being himself now. He's just like them, and he's turning their sister, too. The little sister who was the most likely to get him--so when she doesn't? They're blinded, representing everything wrong with their world. The expectations, the indoctrination of the next generations, everything

Alvar is desperate to be the one hurting. He grew up incredibly privileged and only talks of the burden it was. Keefe said Umber was left for dead and he immediately lashes back with this quote, talking about how he's been hurt just as much if not more because he got gooed. And not only that, his family gooed him.

Which reveals he does value family to an extent. If it's worse to be hurt by your siblings, it's because they matter more. Again, everything Alvar hates is centered on their parents. Fitz and Biana were supposed to choose him, to see his pain and understand him, leave their parents behind. They're siblings, even if they're bratty and naive.

We see that in the repetition of brother before each point; he's highlighting the connection they should've had--and blaming its dissolution on Fitz. A little on Biana, but mostly on Fitz, as Fitz was the replacement and the spark to the fuel of Alvar's suffering. The last straw. He's furious. And frames everything as if its unbelievable.

Which implies, potentially, that he wouldn't do the same. That he wouldn't take a knife to his sister, or watch his brother drown. That for all his talk, he sees them as different from their parents and that they matter, deep down.

I think Alvar is desperate to have his pain acknowledged, to be seen and understood, which is a valid desire. But he has blown it entirely out of proportion in his quest to be seen--and his siblings were his main hope. Who better to understand what being a Vacker kid did to him than the other Vacker kids? But because of that blowing it out of proportion, even though they're all Vacker kids, they can't understand. Because Alvar's reaction is illogical. He's in the wrong, and he refuses to understand or realize that because there's kernels of validity to his feelings.

so he's simultaneously furious at Fitz for replacing him, being everything he wasn't, and not choosing him, and desperate to be seen and acknowledged and understood by him and Biana.

basically Alvar's a clusterfuck of complications of a man

[bookwyrminspiration]

i’m sensing . . . that you might . . . be thinking . . . about fitz vacker . . .

@lemontarto's art has me by the throat

[bookwyrminspiration]

how do you accidentally steal a baby 😭😭

There's some very specific laws and situations at play here.

In this world parents can legally leave their newborns on others doorsteps, and so long as they don't get caught, that baby is legally that household's (it's called "storking"). This is this world's solution to having an unwanted child, as abortion is illegal.

Also, these three teenagers are on the run from the law because they've been signed up to be disassembled into parts to be used as organ donors (very common).

For reasons yet unknown, one of the three (who's not good at thinking in emergencies, and there was a cop nearby--remember, fugitives), saw a storked baby and ran to it. There's repeated reference to some sort of incident with a storked baby in his history, but it's not elaborated on.

The mother of the house the baby was left at then saw this, and presumed the two of them were teen parents trying to stork the baby, and went ah ah ah, I've caught you, that means you keep legal responsibility >:) <3

And so now they have a random ass baby, are on a school bus to some random school with said baby, and are pretending to be its teen parents. Also these people met like yesterday.

[bookwyrminspiration]

wjat is it with people named Fitz and getting impaled

I have read two (2) books with a character named Fitz, and in two (2) of those two (2) books, Fitz was suddenly and severely impaled.

If you or someone you love is named Fitz, stay safe out there🙏🙏

[bookwyrminspiration]

I might vote for Watson just to spite you (/j)

brb can't talk right now writing a 60k fic of keefe getting set on fire and exploded and nuked and launched into the sun and a papercut and disembowled and cannibalized and shot and drowned and

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Kotlc tumblr fandom: I want to put fitz in a blender and throw him off a cliff ❤️😍😘💖💗💖

kotlc fandom literally everywhere else :I want to put fitz in a blender and throw him off a cliff 😾😡😡😠👿👿😾😾

churning him like butter, running him over with a truck, carving out his intestines, gluing him to the ceiling fan, parboiling him, putting him in a panini press, pickling him, pinning him like a dead butterfly, making a plaster mold of his entire body, putting him in a vacuum, sending him into the sun, turning his skin into fashionable pants, slurping his brain matter like slush through a straw, burying him alive ❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖❤️😍😘💖💗💖

[bookwyrminspiration]

Wait are there fat elves? Or is it a lotr terminally skinny thing? It's been so long since I read kotlc that I cannot remember any descriptions

Cuz like. If they're just bones they wouldn't have much nutritional value but if they can have fat and muscle they may be more nutrient dense than a human

So basically like. Is it standardized (eg 6ft 200lb elf vs 6ft 200lb human) or random elf vs random human

Supposedly there are fat elves, though we have yet to actually meet any.

At Alvar's trial, Shannon describes the Vacker family as having, "every hair color, skin color, feature shape, and body type" (Flashback 17). It's not elaborated on further or brought up again.

Anyway, my thought was standardizing the comparison. Do elves inherently have some beneficial extra vitamins and minerals in them, something humans don't have? Would a human be able to eat an elf without the complications preventing us from safely eating another human? Many such queries

[bookwyrminspiration]

in-depth opinions on keefe (trying to return you to your roots: getting asks about kotlc characters)?

I may be putting several additional feet in several additional fandoms but I promise y'all have me prisoner and can send me as many keeper asks as you want <3

I will say these are my personal, subjective opinions! Which do include a bit of bias (TLDR at bottom)

For years I was perfectly fine with Keefe; he's never been my favorite, but he had some funny lines and an engaging presence. Never failed to liven things up. This changed around end of Legacy/Stellarlune.

It's not because I don't ship sokeefe, but because I felt sokeefe's execution was rushed and overshadowing the rest of the story. Wasn't even a full book since Sophie broke up with Fitz and said she wasn't ready for a relationship, yet there they are. I think they, and we, deserved more time. (and yes, Keefe exists beyond shipping, but given how HUGE of a role it plays in his in-text and fandom presence, i find it relevant)

Of course that's not Keefe's fault, but seeing all the adoration for what I found lackluster kinda pavloved me into a general distaste. Especially when done at the expense at Fitz, one of my favorites. Which is unfair, but I did say there's bias. That's not to say I'm mid on Keefe because I love Fitz or that you can't love both, just that personally I'm a Fitz fan, and seeing Keefe used as a direct comparison to shoot him down doesn't endear him to me (and no, not everybody does this, but I've seen it enough to be impacted)

As for Keefe independently, he's following the path of Ro. Too many traits are staying stagnant and becoming repetitive, which is adulterating what I used to enjoy. The way he steamrolls everything--forcing hands to go to Ravagog in Neverseen, running away in Lodestar and refusing to listen, the mercadir incident in Nightfall, the going behind everyone's back thing in Legacy, the running away again, etc. At first it was annoying but interesting, but at this point it's like...we're still doing this?

The amount of time and effort Sophie has to expend managing Keefe is ridiculous. if we could just knock him out for like 2 months I think she could fix everything. it's gone from a facet of the plot's challenges to straight up nuisance like get tf out of her way !!

Others have mentioned this, but the privacy invasion and making others uncomfortable is another thing that I didn't mind at first but became annoying. A joke or overstep here or there is fine; no one's perfect, and if it moves the story forward, sure. But he's constantly pushing and isn't sorry. And the more it happens, the less I can stand the earlier instances. I do my pagethroughs and just get annoyed where I used to laugh

Is there an understandable explanation for several of these points? yes. how the hell would he know how to have healthy relationships and boundaries when he's been set such bad examples? However, he's also being consistently corrected and ignoring that advice. He's given pep talk after pep talk, has fight after fight, and yet nothing's changed.

Do I think he's beyond saving? No. I've spoken with a few people about this, but I think a key thing holding him back is Sophie's "I could never hate you" promise she keeps making. Because Sophie is the main (if not only) thing that matters to him, he's got a built in safety net for whatever stupid shit he pulls, and never faces the consequences he's really afraid of.

If we took that net away, if he faced her genuine distrust and anger and upset and her exclusion and her hatred--without the "but not really just give me some time" vibe. I think that'd do wonders and we'd actually get somewhere. And also it'd be vindicating to see; the nightfall healing center fight is one of my favorite scenes

TL;DR: In summary, I don't hate Keefe. He has potential and I've enjoyed him in the past. But currently the combination of him being used against Fitz, the lackluster execution of sokeefe (imo), the privacy invasion, and stagnation don't do it for me. His kind of character already isn't my niche, and that doesn't help. Does he have potential to become less annoying? yes! i hope he does for everyone's sakes. until then, mild distaste for him.

i will be taking Fitz, Tam, Cadence, and Luzia and playing in the corner, thanks <3

(this is in no way against Keefe fans. kudos to y'all! i'm simply not one of you atm)