#you were also one of the first blogs I really saw about Kotlc

[the-magic-school-bus]

hi one of your posts came across my dash where you said that the kotlc fandom bullied a 12 year old off tumblr for a headcanon?? and i don’t think that’s true. the “headcanon” in question was very insensitive and racist of her, and while it was an honest mistake, it was ignorant in a fandom with a high asian demographic and so many people who were willing to educate the fandom.

the knee jerk reactions were hostile, and it’s understandable that the 12 year old went on the defensive immediately. but she was being called out for racism, and told to check her biases, which is something that the fandom does to each other a lot. and in the end, the whole thing was resolved civilly. a lot of people explained to her what was wrong, and she apologized and swore to do better

tl;dr she wasn’t harassed for a headcanon, she was being called out for racism. she didn’t deserve the harassment, but many people informed her what she was doing wrong. it wasn’t bullying

it only took three months of sometimes rambling in the notes of posts to finally get an ask about this lol

like you said everyone’s knee jerk responses where hostile, instead of going “hey it’s obvious you don’t realize this because you are literally 12 years old and probably are pretty new to the internet and the world around you, but that’s considered racist so you really shouldn’t do that”

being hostile because someone makes an a honest mistake isn’t education, it doesn’t matter the intention, it doesn’t matter the reasoning and if she needed to check her biases, it makes it an attack, and attacking isn’t education, to me that’s bullying though and through.

yeah it got gentler later, and people acknowledged that she shouldn’t have been harassed, while still trying to educate her, but there was also asks telling her that she was wrong for being upset about being attacked and to listen to the people attacking her, and that still doesn’t change the fact that there was like almost a dozen people telling her what a horrible person she was (weather they meant to or not) for like you said a honest mistake.

on top of that i don’t think it should have been made public in the first place, Maya was a super sweet kid ok, instead of publicly calling her out she could have been dmed and told her, “hey kid, i realize you didn’t mean to but that was actually racist and here’s why” and she would have responded great to it, i know it.

and i wish, i wish, i had done that when i first saw that post, for some reason, for some idiotic reason i thought the fandom wouldn’t get hostile, when i knew better. because i had experienced it firsthand. twice. i’ve seen the fandoms way of educating one another, the way it end ups being hostile and guilt trippy, i’ve seen the way people go through others blogs in a public sever just to mock them. i knew better and yet i wanted to believe that the people i had considered my friends wouldn’t attack/gang up her and they did.

she literally left the site completely two days later because it was that bad, not because she thought she didn’t do anything wrong, but for how she was treated for making a mistake, like everyone does, especially at 12yo, and that’s why i’m upset about it

i really don’t think anyone under the age of like 14 should be on tumblr, i don’t think kids that age need to exposed to the things that are talked consistently on here. so i am relieved Maya is off the site, but like that was the worst way for her to leave. i loved that kid ok, she was so so sweet, she was sometimes the only reason i would write because she left the best comments in the world. she was sweet and kind and i desperately wanted to protect from how hostile i knew the fandom could get when they decided someone was in the wrong. i do hope she’s still on Ao3 and the experience on here didn’t scare her out of the fandom entirely.

like seriously!! guys?? i know just about every person who was involved by name, and i know y’all can do better than that. i know that you’re capable of being kinder, that doesn’t just need to be reserved for your friends. kindness is for everyone, even when some random internet child makes a mistake, you don’t need to guilt someone to tell them their wrong, you don’t need to make it public, nothing really needs to be a public call out, all it takes is a kind dm, if you really feel that it’s that important to address…for goodness sakes

[winterfireice]

You were intimidated ed by me? How?

I don’t know, you were really cool and knew a lot of people and I loved your content and personality

[bookwyrminspiration]

hey! i saw a post on instagram about your page so i thought i would say something because i think i know who the person who sent some of those confessions is (about the white humor) and i know they would never do it to hurt anyone’s feelings, but their wording was just off. im guessing she’s surprised tumblr interpreted it the way but if im right that it’s her, id just give the confession the benefit of the doubt. i don’t think they meant to address racism in either fandom at all— instagram has racism and sadly tumblr probably does too (i think everyone’s seen the posts by now of @keeperofthelostgrimms, an account who was racist and got away with it). i was hoping telling you this would let some users see it and understand that they misunderstood that confession. they’re not innocent— she worded it wrong— but her intentions weren’t to hurt anyone’s feelings. one more thing i thought to mention is the appropriation of aave subject that got brought up. this person, i believe, is Black. so her experiences with that and what she’s told me before make her comments about that very personal. so it’s upsetting to see people sort of make fun of them trying to explain how “slay” and other words are being used wrong by people who aren’t Black. this is not a kotlc fandom issue but a world and social media issue by the way! but if you do some research about aave appropriation in gen z, you can find a lot of articles that explain why they meant that. the fact that a few tumblr users made fun of that statement was a little weird and probably why some users are scared to just outright say things like this in the fandom. thank you!

Hey, thanks for reaching out to share your perspective! To be entirely fair I'm also surprised that Tumblr interpreted it this way/steered things in this direction, so I trust you when you say this person's intention wasn't the hurt any feelings.

It was a little bit of a surprise that racism got brought up here for both sides, I think. It didn't seem to have anything to do with what we were originally discussing, and while racism in fandom spaces is a topic well worth addressing it was like a red herring and detracted from the original point.

Also, we on tumblr actually have not seen what's up with keeperofthelostgrimms, but yeah there are issues within every fandom space, not limited to one or the other.

I cannot respond for the entirety of tumblr, but I appreciate the clarity you've provided on the confessions! And through my blog a few other people will likely see this as well, so that may help.

As for the AAVE discussion, I cannot apologize for the actions of others but I am sorry that the response was mocking when it's an important discussion. I'm not certain, but I think perhaps part of it is that this is the first time I've heard "bestie" called AAVE. Not that I'm saying it isn't as I'd want to look into it (I want to listen to your friend but also don't want them to be my one and only source), but it was surprising. Same with slay as that's been really popular within queer spaces (I found a few sources saying it's from Black and Latine LGBTQ+ ballroom dancing), so that may be where some of the responses came from as a lot of us are queer. But again, I can't speak for everyone else, that was just my sort of thought process.

We don't mean to belittle or insult your friend or their experience and don't want to shut anyone down when it comes to those kinda of serious, meaningful topics. That I think I can claim for all of us

I don't want to say more and detract from what you wanted to share so I'll stop here, but again thank you for reaching out to talk about it! I appreciate how respectful you were in broaching the topics and hope you have a good rest of your day!

[an-absolute-travesty]

Royal Screw-Ups

(it’s a bit of a different format for chapter 3 but I hope you’ll like it! I don’t know if I ever posted chapter 2 here so I’m posting it now along with chapter 3 but you can also find it and the rest of this story on my Wattpad @ohwowhatethis. Also, you can find chapter 1 under the tags “kotlc fic” and “keefex” on my blog if you haven’t read that one)

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or taken off as a whole or for this fic specifically): @you-are-the-vacker-legacy @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlykeefitz @percybetn  @holesinmyfalseconfidence @vibing-in-the-void @sewersewersewercouch

Chapter 2/3:

Word count: 2,285 combined

Warnings: relatively mild swearing

Ch. 2:

“Keefe?”

“Yes Miss Oralie?”

“Is there any particular reason that you have dirt smudged all over your tunic?”

“Why Mademoiselle Oralie, I’m sure I simply have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He didn’t want Oralie to know that he had been outside. He had a schedule and he wasn’t allowed to stray from it. It was easier to play dumb than to say ‘actually Oralie, funny story. I completely disregarded my father’s, the kings, orders! Which is basically treason if you really want to stretch it, and dear old daddy always does!’

A gentle rapping came at the door and Oralie opened it. 

“The king has asked to see the prince...again.”

Oralie looked at Keefe.

“Give us one moment, sir.”

After she closed the door she turned back towards Keefe.

“Keefe…”

“Neiti Oralie, there’s nothing to-”

Oralie led him over to a chair in the small class room and sat him down before crouching in front of him. 

“I know that your father isn’t the kindest person in the world-”

“You can say that again.”

“But, you have to respect him. If nothing else at least don’t run away when he calls for you” She took a pointed glance down at his tunic. “Or go outside when you’re not meant to. You turn 16 in 4 months and then you’ll be the one to take over the country. You must be responsible.”

“I’m too young to rule, my father is in perfect health and so is my mother. There’s no point.”

“Keefe, your father has ruled Eternalia for 200 years. We need a new, responsible, leader. That leader is you and the responsibility starts with going to talk to your father. Now, what are you going to go do when you leave this room?”

“I’m guessing that run away into the gardens isn’t the right answer.”

Oralie gave a small laugh.

“No, it’s not.” She stood up from her crouch and Keefe followed as she walked to the door. “Go on now, you know what you need to do.”

Keefe walked out the door and almost considered running right back to Dex’s house, but he decided to put up with his father just this once. 

He dragged his feet as he walked to the King’s study at the end of the hall. He knocked gently, honestly hoping it would be so quiet his father wouldn’t hear it.

A sharp voice came from inside, “The door is unlocked.”

As Keefe walked into the large, almost disturbingly pristine, room, his dad gestured for him to sit without even a glance up.

“I have some great news, Keefe.” He said it without the slightest trace of a smile on his face.

“You’re moving to Ravagog?”

“No.” He snarled. “I’ve found you a wife, as you didn’t seem to want to choose one, yourself.”

Keefe stood and slammed his hands down on the table. “But you only gave me a month! Please, Dad, just give me one more I promise I’ll find one myself-”

“No!” His father stood up to match him. “I gave you all the time you needed and my word is final.”

He slowly sat down and smoothed his hair, even though there wasn’t even one hair out of place.

“Her name is Sophie Foster, she has a slightly complicated past but what matters is that she’s a noble by blood, if not by name.”

Keefe sat down, defeated. “What’s she like?”

“Pretty enough, you’ll have good children.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“You’ll meet her in 2 weeks. Now, get out of my sight.”

Keefe walked out and slammed the door behind him, hoping that just maybe something fell off his stupidly perfect desk. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ch. 3

Keefe flopped down on his bed face-first. It had been 3 days since he was told who his wife would be and he wasn’t any happier about it.

Maybe he just needed a walk, some fresh air would clear his head. Maybe help him understand why he had to have a wife rather than a husband.

Walking through the grounds, he found himself slowly drifting towards the servants homes. He wasn’t even supposed to be outside right now, much less hanging out with servants.

But he couldn’t stop himself. Soon enough he was standing outside Dex’s door. 

With a look in the window (well, actually it was more like a hole in the wall but Keefe wasn’t one to judge) he saw the family sleeping on their beds. The whole house was about the size of his bedroom. 

Suddenly, one of the figures got out of bed. The familiar red-headed boy shuffled to the small bucket of water in the corner and took a sip from a tin cup. 

Keefe knocked on the window gently.

Dex turned, confused, and his eyes went wide at the sight of the prince. 

Keefe waved with a wide smile on his face. Dex furrowed his brow and shook his head in a ‘what the hell are you doing outside my house at midnight?’ kind of way. 

Keefe motioned him outside and he hesitantly creeped towards the door and walked outside. 

“What the hell are you doing outside my house at midnight?”

“Couldn’t sleep, you’re the only person I thought might let me bother them.”

Dex sighed. “Yeah, ok, you’re right.”

Keefe beamed. “Fantastic, in that case, follow me.”

After around 5 minutes of walking in awkward silence, Dex’s voice filled the void.

“So...where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, I think you’ll like it.”

As they turned a corner, there stood two guards talking by the castle wall. Keefe quickly grabbed Dex’s arm and pulled him back so they guards wouldn’t see them.

Even though it wasn’t his intention, the contact revealed his emotions to Keefe. 

Flustered, a touch embarrassed, and mostly anxious. 

No, don’t get hopeful. It was probably just a weird fluke.

Another peer around the corner revealed that the guards were now walking off to complete their rounds. Keefe ran ahead and waved Dex forward. 

Dex panted as he ran along beside him. 

“Why are we running?”

“The last guards just got done with that part of their round. That means the next set of guards are coming soon.”

After only a minute more of running Keefe saw what they were looking for.

“There it is!”

~*~

Dex rolled out of bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. It was the middle of the night so as he crept out of bed he had to be quiet. 

As he made his way to the corner of the room and took a sip of water from the bucket in the corner, he heard a light knocking by the window. 

He wasn’t expecting a prince to be peering in. 

As he went wide eyed, he was met with a handsome, lopsided smile and a wave. 

Dex only shook his head, confused. 

Keefe motioned him to come out of the house.

At first he didn’t want to, but there was just something about the Keefe that he couldn’t say no to… and not just because he was the prince. 

“What the hell are you doing outside my house at midnight?”

“Couldn’t sleep, you’re the only person I thought might let me bother them.”

Dex knew he was correct. “Yeah, ok, you’re right.” he sighed. 

He was rewarded with an even wider smile from the golden haired prince. 

“Fantastic, in that case, follow me.”

As they walked, Dex could only think about the odd circumstances of his situation. 

Three days ago he accidentally ran into the prince. With most rulers that would probably get him executed. Instead, he same prince was now leading him somewhere in the middle of the night. 

“So...where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, I think you’ll like it.”

He was paranoid. What if Keefe was taking him to be executed? What if King Cassius was even crueler than the legends? What if his family woke up in the morning to an empty bed and a notice from the royal guard?

Or worse, what if Keefe touched him and felt how the butterflies in his stomach were doing loopty-loops as he walked closely by his side?

As they approached a corner, Dex was yanked back and a finger was in front of his face telling him to stay silent. He complied. 

Keefe soon ran ahead again and motioned for Dex to follow. 

“Why are we running?”

“The last guards just got done with that part of their round. That means the next set of guards are coming soon.”

Dex was panting hard, despite his long limbs he wasn’t a runner. Yes, he was strong from physical labor but running never really came up a lot in that. Especially not running from guards. 

“There it is!” Keefe explained as he halted. 

From where they stood, it seemed to be a large wall that stood about 6 feet tall and closed completely around what was a long abandoned part of castle grounds. 

Keefe approached it excitedly but Dex hesitated. 

Keefe heaved himself up on the wall without issue despite its height. 

Jeez he was strong. 

Once he found his seat, he turned back to Dex and gave him a ‘why aren’t you coming?’ look. 

“Are you sure we’re supposed to be doing this?”

“Techmaster, we aren’t supposed to be doing any of this.”

“Techmaster?”

“Yeah, it’s your nickname now, you like it?” He immediately started talking again, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. “Anyway what I was saying was, we’re not supposed to be doing any of this. But, with my help you’re not going to get in trouble. I’d recommend you decide fast though, the guards should be coming around this way soon.”

Dex thought about it for a second. 

Keefe reached his hand out. 

“Don’t you trust me?”

His smile was irresistible, after only a moment of hesitation he grasped the prince’s hand. So much for fearing him reading Dex’s emotions. 

Keefe helped him up to sit on the wall with two hands. 

“Wow you’re heavy, must have a lot of muscle packed on that body.”

At that moment it became painfully apparent that the boys were still holding each other’s hands. They quickly dropped them but it was obvious Keefe felt every emotion that Dex did at that compliment. 

Keefe glanced over Dex’s shoulder and gasped. 

“Guards!” he said in a harsh whisper and quickly pulled Dex down into the walled area. 

They landed with a hard crash into some bushes.

“Ow…” Dex said as he slowly sat up. Only then did he see what resided in the wall.

It looked like it was a garden, or rather used to be a garden. It seemed long abandoned now. Where there used to be white marble statues, vines obstructed the figures. What looked like it used to be a fountain was now dry of water and covered by foliage. The garden beds were overgrown with weeds and rustled like a creature had made their home in them. 

“Wow” Dex said as he took it all in. 

“It used to be my mom’s private garden. Then she got married to my father and, well, she didn’t exactly have the time for it anymore.”

“I bet it was beautiful.”

“Yeah, I mean I wouldn’t know but...yeah.”

Keefe started down the path that led through the garden and Dex followed. 

“I figured that...well you’re a gardener so maybe you’d like it? I don’t know, it probably just reminds you of work-”

“No, I love it. It’s amazing.”

~*~

“Guards!” Keefe said, quickly pulling Dex down and diving into the bushes. In reality there weren’t any guards there, if he had his timing right then there wouldn’t be any more guards for another 5 minutes. But after feeling how embarrassed and flustered Dex got he just didn’t know how to respond. He had taken it too far, obviously Dex didn’t like him. 

“Ow…” Dex groaned as he sat up. Keefe was worried he hurt him when he yanked him down for a second. 

He wasn’t worried anymore after Dex said, “Wow” at the sight of the long abandoned Queen’s Gardens. 

“It used to be my mom’s private garden. Then she got married to my father and, well, she didn’t exactly have the time for it anymore.”

“I bet it was beautiful” 

“Yeah,” Keefe was more focused on how beautiful Dex looked in the moonlight. “I mean I wouldn’t know but...yeah.”

The Queen’s Gardens were abandoned well over a century before he was born. He had only seen artwork of when it was still neat and kept. 

Keefe started walking down the path that he knew led to the prettiest spot in the garden. He only knew about it because he and Fitz would always explore this place when they were little. His mother had gotten on to them about it more than once but they always came back. 

“I figured that...well you’re a gardener so maybe you’d like it? I don’t know, it probably just reminds you of work-” 

“No, I love it. It’s amazing.”

Keefe let out a relieved sigh as they came upon a small pond right at the center of the garden. It was still relatively clear despite the lack of upkeep and reflected the bright stars in the sky. It looked like a tiny portal to a far away galaxy contained in the ground. 

“Woah.” Dex said as he sat down on the bank. Keefe sat next to him. 

Keefe couldn't focus on the scenery. All he saw was the kind, funny, cute, boy sitting next to him. 

Dex noticed him staring. 

...fuck.

He was expecting something awkward, maybe he would swear at Keefe, or even just ask why he was staring. 

Instead, he was presented with a gentle smile. Dex then looked back out to the water and reached for Keefe’s hand. 

Keefe interlocked his fingers with Dex’s and looked out at the pond, too. He specifically tried not to read the redheaded boy’s emotions. 

They sat that way until they could barely keep their eyes open anymore and headed back to their homes. 

They both slept well that night.