Keeper of the Lost Cities Thoughts

A Few Things About Me That Will Horrify the Fandom

Thing #1: Fintan is one of my favorite characters.

Opening with a bang, am I?

It's not that Fintan is a good guy. He very, very, very, very is not. He doesn't have justification for what he does, but at least he has an explanation. And one that might arguably be better than Sophie's explanation.

What is Sophie's motivation? She helps the Black Swan because they made her to help them. She wants to fix the Lost Cities, but really hasn't done much about it. She's been there for years and the only people she's mentioned her concerns about the system to are her friends and the Black Swan. Really, her main goal is, "Stop the Neverseen. We can fix the system later." I sometimes feel like Sophie is a thinly disguised Chosen One.

Also, remember the elvin guilt thing? (If you don't, how?) Like thousands of years ago, Fintan accidentally killed five of his friends and got his ability banned. (Way back in the first book or something, it was mentioned that Fintan voted in favor of the ban. He's got to regret that so hard now.) That would mess up anyone, but the elvin guilt thing makes it even worse. I suspect he's at least partly broken, which gives him an explanation for why he can do such horrible things. He has better written motivation than any of the other villains and I really wish SM would explore his character more (though I slightly don't because I have a whole idea for who he is and I don't want it to be ruined), though she probably won't because Fintan isn't really relevant anymore.

Okay, I did I terrible job of justifying myself, but I've always thought that villains are either written really well or written horribly. Fintan has motivation, defined goals, a somewhat established backstory, and his character is also fun to explore and think about.

Thing #2: I don't entirely want Jensi to start working with Sophie.

Yeah, Jensi shouldn't be ignored, but I feel like his character now serves one purpose only: Proving that Sophie doesn't only work with powerful people. Jensi's been really set up to be Talentless, which is sad, but it's cool that one of Sophie's friends is Talentless. Though Jensi isn't really one of Sophie's friends anymore.

All of Sophie's friends are mega-powerful except Stina and maybe Wylie and Biana. I feel like Shannon went, "Sophie needs to work with someone who isn't OP. Where's a character that hasn't manifested yet so I can make them Talentless and prove that Sophie will let Talentless elves help her? Oh, Jensi!"

I kind of want Jensi to work on his own things and prove that Talentless can be amazing without having to work for the moonlark. That wouldn't work super well because the books are from Sophie's perspective, but I still think it would be great.

Thing #3: Dex is ignored way less than some other characters.

Yeah, Dex has had a smaller part than Fitz and Keefe, but so has basically everyone. Shannon's really obsessed with this love triangle thing. Why has everyone gotten so focused on Dex? Biana's barely had a part for a long time. Tam and Linh's characters are getting weird—either they're best friends or they're mortal enemies and if they argue at all, that's a breach of the Official Twin Contract. Marella just got added to the story because there needed to be a not-evil Pyrokinetic. Stina is hated on because she doesn't like Sophie. We know nothing about Maruca. Wylie gets ultra-mega-ignored despite being probably the sanest one of the bunch. Amy isn't even there most of the time—she's just "a human."

Really, the only characters that matter anymore are Sophie, Fitz, and Keefe. These three are among my less favorite characters.

Thing #4: Stina is one of my favorite characters.

Yes, Stina is kind of mean, and she's said some pretty disrespectful things about Talentless, bad matches, Sophie, and the Council. But that's not her whole character. I feel like the first two—Talentless and bad matches—is a defense mechanism. Stina's family is eyed with suspicion because Vika and Timkin is the bad match that wasn't. Stina and her parents try to deflect that attention to other people. Not justifiable, but still worth thinking about.

As for the Council, I kinda think they deserved it.

Stina was definitely a bully at the beginning, but she's begun to tolerate Sophie. She still isn't afraid of telling Sophie just how wrong she thinks the moonlark is, but I think we need someone who does that. Stina isn't the nicest character, but she's definitely interesting.

Thing #5: I think both Sokeefe and Sophitz should be doomed to fail.

I'm going to get some angry mail because of this. (Just remember this is my own opinion and you don't have to agree with me.)

Sokeefe is pretty obviously canon (Stellarlune), but I don't see it as working out, really. Keefe never listens to Sophie, even when she's pretty obviously right. I feel like they could be good friends, but I can't see a romantic relationship working out between them. Keefe loves Sophie, but I feel like Sophie's feelings in Stellarlune came out of the blue. I can't really explain why Sophie likes Keefe except that Shannon thought it should happen. Not much justification. (The only reason my Next Generation story has Sokeefe in it is because I needed to pick one and it was the one I decided on. I might write another Next Generation story with Sophitz later).

I don't really have an obvious explanation for why I don't ship Sokeefe, except maybe this: My brother, a Keefe super-fan who does not like Fitz, once told me that, between Sophitz and Sokeefe, he thought that Sokeefe was better, but he didn't like either of them.

Sophitz is not really working out. I think that Fitz gets hated on a bit too much. Sure, he has problems he needs to work out, but so does Keefe. I don't think Sophitz is going to work out, either. One thing I hate about this ship is how much of a big deal Fitz makes about matchmaking. You guys are teenagers! You should not be thinking about marriage! Work out your matchmaking when you're older! Don't plan your wedding yet!

In conclusion, Sokeefe is overrated and Sophitz isn't that good either.

Apologies for this insanity.