#representation in kotlc

[ora-lover-13]

why does tam keep tugging on his bangs. how do you physically tug on your bangs. what does this look like to everyone else.

[lotusishere]

I want a gender swap in kotlc. And I want Dex to stay the same. As androgynous as ever.

“Why didn’t Dex change a bit?”

We all know why.

[reader-104]

I’ve randomly been making connections between my favorite books lately so here’s one from my drafts:

Vacker family from KOTLC & Rajavis in Magisterium similarities ★

-both rich and prestigious families with 2 parents and 3 kids

- the oldest siblings both had lots of potential + expectations until they became a disgrace to their families (alvar working for the neverseen, ravan getting devoured)

- those older siblings both had redemption arcs at some point (though alvar went back to evil while ravan was mostly redeemed)

- the middle sibling is hated by like half of the fandom !! (fitz for his anger issues/priorities, kimaya for getting back with alex)

-the youngest sibling is the most well liked and arguable most accomplished of the three (biana was the youngest to get her nexus off; tamara is self explanatory)

-the youngest siblings also went through wild character arcs (both went from standoffish and indifferent to being one of the main character’s best friends)

-both parents have important roles in their world’s assemblies (Alden and Della are emissaries, forgot what the rajavis do but it’s important)

- their house is THE hangout house

apparently I never wrote a conclusion but I can’t think of one rn. let me know if there’s any other big similarities and I’ll add them on here

[bookwyrminspiration]

fun fact when i first joined the kotlc fandom/interacted with it online i was not at all up to date with the books, and so i did NOT know who ro was. however, i did not at all come to the conclusion that a new character had been introduced. instead, i came to the conclusion that ruy had became a good guy and transed his gender

the reason she's always wearing an addler is because she hasn't achieved her transition goals yet and doesn't want anyone to see or remember her until she has. bad guy -> good girl arc when shannon

[book-lover85]

kotlc is so interesting to me cause their societal norms are so different from humans but they're never portrayed as "better" (at least by Sophie/the narrative)

[abubble125]

garwin isn't the asian rep we wanted but he's the asian rep we needed amen

[myfairkatiecat]

I'd love to know ur kotlc sexuality head canons cuz Shannon may be too straight to make her characters queer but I know in my hear that sokeefe is bi4bi and biana is a lesbian

I, like shannon, am slightly too straight to know what each character’s vibes are for their sexuality and I would probably screw this up if I tried to answer if you know what I mean 😭 but if anyone who has opinions on this wants to pick it up, feel free!

[cogaytes]

hey keepblr i'm exhausted so let's chat.

all of you who like to call forkle/leto creepy or imply that anything he does towards sophie could be read/intended as potentially sexual please kindly shut the fuck up!! it is actually incredibly fucking insensitive to those of us who have experienced sexual trauma to talk about him like he's a pedophile instead of, like, someone who sees her as family and would never ever want to hurt her. that is a wiiiiiide jump you are making and it is a little bit invalidating to me as a csa survivor that you are equating him to an actual predator.

also!! tag your motherfucking neg! some of us have hyperfixations or personal reasons for being attached to characters and it is exhausting to see them constantly shit on! this also applies to discord servers; put your bashing in a discourse channel or keep it to dms so that those of us who like that character don't have to deal with it please and thank you 🥰

i am probably coming off as super aggressive and rude and i don't intend to shit on folks or direct this at anyone in particular. but as someone who's in this fandom to find joy, it is really fucking exhausting to log on and come across constant bashing of characters that bring me joy to headcanon/write about, especially when it starts diving into low key triggering implications

anyway. back to tiergan angst hours

[rusted-phone-calls]

Keefe hauling an entire gumball machine back to. wherever he calls home

[caliburn-the-sword]

Peak comedy is Keefe coming back after like literally the worst time of his life and Sophie is like movie prompting him to say that he’s always liked her and whatever like girl please read the room and give him some space lmao. Be a little less self absorbed perhaps.

[foxglove-and-foxfire-lover]

Probably they’d slap some contacts on me and give me a wig and I’d be a background character

for keeper fans

reblog and put in the tags which character you'd be most likely to be cast as if you auditioned for the kotlc movie (ignoring age)

[midasx9]

Pinterest Kotlc (and it’s flaws)

pinterest kotlc gives me whiplash every time I go on there because as someone who spends most of my kotlc time on tumblr the worlds are just. so drastically different.

pinterest kotlc has a few main points that make up most of the posts. it includes: sokeefe being some monumental, life-changing, beautiful ship that is just absolutely heart-shattering every time someone thinks about it. even tho it’s literally just. flirty bad boy x oblivious girl who is a little feisty towards him

meanwhile most tumblr posts are pretty normal abt sokeefe or are casual enjoyers of the ship

(such as this post)

another: aggressive fitz hatred. they act like he is so terrible to the point where you would think that he would’ve tried to kill sophie. like. bffr. they act like the mc’s ex-boyfriend (who she is on pretty good terms with now) is just the biggest villain of the whole story. it makes me very mad. it also comes with the hatred of sofitz and i just think that’s uncalled for. sofitz was a good ship and so is sokeefe. just because one didn’t work out does not mean the other is inherently so much awesomer and better than the dogshit one that just didn’t work out in the end.

also, most people on kotlc pinterest just blatantly ignore the canon things that are happening in the story (most recently stellarlune) to hate on fitz!! like, at this point you are hating the pinterest fanon character but take it out on the canon fitz!

but yeah.

kotlc pinterest is basically just discourse on the fitz/keefe thing and most are leaning towards sokeefe.

I could also talk about the millennial humor, the poorly made memes, disregard to potential queer or poc representation, the mischaracterization of things like anger issues or poor communication… yeah.

other than those things, once you get past those layers you find some pretty funny and good posts. like these!

lmk if you want more posts about pinterest kotlc or other websites kotlc fandoms!!

[bookwyrminspiration]

in honor of your titz fic (lol tits) what are your thoughts on them? why do you like them as a ship?

fun fact, i think they're just an alright ship. enjoyable, but there are better. the primary draw for me is that Tam and Fitz are my favorite characters, and so pairing them (not necessarily romantically) can be quite a fun study. I just like both of them and with titz they're both there!

As for actual appeal of the ship though, there is the golden boy vs scorned/banished shade situation. Wants to believe in their world vs completely disillusioned about it. There's their sibling bonds--Tam with his protectiveness of Linh and Fitz with his defense against Alvar, which is like 2 sides of the same coin. They're two boys who struggle with trust (Tam with his readings, Fitz saying he only trusts Sophie), and given that relationships are built on trust? Lots of potential there.

Dynamic wise, Fitz is someone who is completely infatuated with the subject of his affection. And Tam is someone who has only ever been loved and appreciated as himself by Linh. That's not to devalue his relationship with Linh, but to say he's not experienced in being cared for. And Fitz cares so much. Sometimes to the point of rage, which pushes most people away and hurts them. But Tam has the kind of thick skin that isn't so easily bruised, and Fitz's fury with the world around him isn't daunting, it's familiar. That's not to say Tam will let Fitz lash out at him, but that he's equipped to push back.

I think they can complement each other--there's a reason I was drawn to both of them individually, after all. There's something there. Titz isn't a ship I lose my mind over generally, but rather a "what if we explored this" kind of thought experiment--at least to me :)

[doodle-do-wop]

Not Mar not Ella

Happy Birthday @sasharcyreal!!

Also Happy Pride month yall, so glad we got representation in KOTLC, I wish Latina/Hispanic people were real

[anonymous-kotlc-thoughts]

TW: Trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling)

I’m pretty sure reading KOTLC at such a young age (around 11-12 if my memory is correct) triggered my trichotillomania that I am still struggling with as a full grown adult a decade later. I remember reading about Sophie pulling out her eyelashes and trying it, just because I didn’t get it, and then every time I read it in the books it sort of became a habit to do it too —sort of the same way how sometimes you make the faces that a character is described making while reading. But then it just became my anxious habit, anytime I was stressed I would do it without thinking. Eventually it migrated to mostly being my eyebrows (though when it’s really bad I do pick at my eyelashes too.) It comes in phases, sometimes I won’t do it for months and won’t even realize, and then I’ll sort of “wake up” from a trance and realize I’ve pulled half my eyebrow out without even really being conscious I was doing it — or sometimes after becoming aware of what I’m doing, but continuing because I need to “even it out” on both sides, and sometimes being fully aware and genuinely just not able to stop myself because I hate being able to “feel” the hairs that are coming out of my face.

I’m not really sure what the point of this ramble is. I wish it could be “be careful what behaviors you put in children’s media because kids will absorb that behavior into themselves.” But I also absolutely don’t want to imply that any child who is already going through something shouldn’t have the representation to know that they are not alone in going through that.

Nuance always has to ruin everything. (/j)

Anyways. Sorry for the kind of pointless ramble. Thanks you if you’re still reading this, it’s just something I’ve never really talked with anyone about but have been dealing with for a really long time. So it’s nice to write it down somewhere.

.

[official-tam-cam]

it's been said before, but you're a representation of the beauty of human beings. Or at least the potential.

Not many of us (if any of us) know your name, but we think of you fondly. We look forward to seeing you again even though we wouldn't recognize your face. You do the dishes and people care.

You represent something that I've seen few times in a way that wasn't abstract. I think of my ancestors, how I'll likely never know their names, but they still directly impact not only me, but the entire world. And not only my direct ancestors, but the brothers and sisters, the uncles and aunts and cousins of my direct ancestors. We're woven together- perhaps that's why we're fond of tapestries- we're like them, somehow.

This isn't to say you remind me of my ancestors, specifically. But the feeling is there. Even if you never reveal your name, you aren't replaceable and you've directly impacted the way other members of the fandom think (and in a positive way, which is still more reason for you to be cherished). You've impacted the world, and the ripples you've made will never be stilled as long as this world exists.

I'm afraid I must go now, but please know that the kotlc fandom loves you, Tam Cam

sincerely,

@sacrificiallovingyetagain

I fear that if I say anything it'll subtract from this beautiful piece of text, but thank you. From the bottom of my heart.