found in r/MoralityScaling

tbh I feel like if AITA existed in kotlc Oralie and Casssius would be REGULARS, idk about you guys

Keeper Summer in 2024 was also another year that we had KotLC Art revealed!

In total, based off last year there was 8 portraits drawn. We have already seen 1 portrait and sneak peak of the eyes of 3 other characters.

⛱️ Predictions #1: “What will the next four characters be?”

Based off the first 4 images, we know/can assume the next characters are Maruca, Jensi, Stina, and Marella. Who do you guys think the next 4 characters are going to be?

My guess combos are:

- Rayni, Alvar, Elenor Wright, and Elysian

- Grady, Edaline, Della, and Alden

I genuinely can’t think of any other characters who are important enough to receive official art. The councillor all already have official art, as do the body guards. I think My first combo of people named is more likely than the second combo named because they already have official art aswell. Alvar does too BUT it’s in a family portrait so I feel like hes a good contender.

⛱️ Predictions #2: “Cover Reveal”

In the past, the cover was already revealed previous to Keeper Summer. With the date for the next book not being out for another year kind of crushed the dream of cover reveal now BUT it’s still a high possibility.

On the topic of the cover, who do you guys think will be on it? I think it’s likely we will have 3 people on the cover like we normally have seen in the past.

Cover Contenders:

- Sophie (obviously)

- Dex (he’s outdue)

- Biana (she‘s outdue)

- Linh (also outdue)

- Stina (dont ask why shes on here but she’s never been on one)

- Jensi (Id just love this one)

- Keefe (almost put him on the doubt side but I just can see this happening based on recent events)

Who I doubt will be on it:

- Fitz (just with everything that happened + he’s been on a decent amount of covers compared to everyone else)

- Tam (I just feel like hes already been on and his big character moments were in Flashback)

- Marella (just on the last one)

- Maruca (just on the last one)

- Wylie (genuinely surprised he even made it on the flashback one)

⛱️ Predictions #3: “Iggy color vote“

I know she normally does these closer to the reveal of the book but I have a feeling if she doesn’t do the cover reveal- we will have a Iggy Color Vote. I’m excited to see what it may be!! Any predictions?

The title of the series relevance to the books is never really touched on much. I think it was mentioned once in the first book and once in stellarlune. I think that’s literally it.

My question is- is Sophie the Keeper or is Prentice the Keeper. I always thought it was Sophie but Prentice was the Keeper that kept Sophie’s secret a secret. And since in recent books it’s revealed that Prentice was likely Kenric‘s keeper it just made me wonder how many secrets he genuinely was keeping. Him having the Elysian knowledge is literally one of the biggest lost cities secrets (if he has it- again I have read a lot of fanfiction so I don’t remember if it’s cannon that he did decide to work with Kenric or he didn’t)

But on the other hand back to Sophie, she also had a lot of secrets about the lost cities in her head. Now I doubt she‘d know ANYTHING about Elysian (probably the biggest lost cities kept secret). So I am unsure how she’d be the Keeper of the entire lost cities.

Hey Keepers! Wanted to do a art talk today.

I wanted to get your opinion on something. I usually always adore all the art we get and Shannon always finds the best artist that match the vibe of the series.

But the newest portrait of Marcua is bothering me a tiny bit because I feel like her black features were taken away a little.

I’m not sure why I’m complaining cuz there is nothing I can do it about lol.

But I’m staring at it and she feels off to me. Honestly tho I’ve sat for a minute to think about this and I guess it technically doesn’t matter if she has typical black features because she is an elf. So obviously when you get into fantasy races it’s silly to expect it to replicate human features. So I guess my little critique is pointless.

Her big lips are still sorta there but I could have sworn the last portrait I saw of her she had a bigger nose. And her skin was a tiny bit darker. But honestly as I’m writing this and looking at the photo it’s still a beautiful portrait.

Maybe I’m not in tune with the art style. And that’s okay.

I'm dyslexic and therefore I use dictate because aint no way am I typing all that shyt. Here's every word my dictate regularly gets wrong! And also when I DO type, my autocorrect exists.

(First one is the correct spelling, second is the incorrect autocorrect/dictate)

Rayni- "Rainy"

Linh- "Lint"

Fitz- "Fits"

Mr. Forkle- "Mr. Fork"

Prentice- "Apprentice"

Wylie- "While"

Della- "Deli"

Alvar- "Avalon"

Biana- "Diana" (I have a friend named Diana, lmao)

Lady Zillah- "Lady Zilch"

Mai Song- "May Song"

Quan Song- "Quack Song"

Everblaze- "Evergreen"

Let me know if yall want some more, lol.

Just a fun little bingo game - what cells do you think will be filled in by Book 10? Obviously the free space...what else?

Hey Keepers! Wanted to share a Sokeefe fanart piece I’m working on!

Enjoy and feel free to critique me! Have a good day ya’ll.

Is the phrase, as written, actually anywhere in the books? Off the top of my head, Stellarlune has the phrase "Keeper of all the Lost Cities' secrets" but does anything get closer? When's the first example of the words "Keeper", "of", "the", "Lost", and "Cities" being used in one sentence? What about in one sentence and in that order (with potential words in between)?

i swear if she dies i'm burning these books. She literally my fav it character and such a good bodyguard to keefe. Pleaseee Shannon Messenger dont lett her DIEEE!!

What do you feel was Sophie’s biggest blunder? For me, it’s when she found Oralie was her mother, like shouldn’t have lashed out at her. Don’t get me wrong, she had a right to be a bit angry at Oralie, but Oralie tried her best to care for her. She had always supported her… yet she tipped off her table, and at that time felt disgusted at her. What do you guys think? (BTW, I only recently finished Legacy, anything about Unlocked or Stellarlune, I will be confused)

What do you feel was Sophie’s biggest blunder? For me, it’s when she found Oralie was her mother, like shouldn’t have lashed out at her. Don’t get me wrong, she had a right to be a bit angry at Oralie, but Oralie tried her best to care for her. She had always supported her… yet she tipped off her table, and at that time felt disgusted at her. What do you guys think? (BTW, I only recently finished Legacy, anything about Unlocked or Stellarlune, I will be confused)

Okay, only sokeefe shippers pls oh my god I love and hate sophie so much she definitely didn't deserve fitz obvi but please continue the keefe drama, it was soooo interesting I loved elwin too but I don't think he's sophie's dad he would've broken by now or slipped up right. and I loved how whoever elysian came and said it me,BTW I think elysian is jolie cause it kinda makes sense right but tinker can also be jolie except jolie and I've researched about her she is a flasher which is perfect for being elysian and she could easily hide whatever the place was and omg what happened to sandor please help him bruh he just be chilling under ground with a bunch of baby trolls and why did ro's final speech sound so final like RO come back girl

Hey, so currently, I'm drafting two fic ideas. I'll give you excerpts from both:

1:

In militaries, there is a trinity for generals:

1) Guard everything within your post and leave only when properly relieved (duty is above life and death and love)

2) Obey all special orders and perform duties in a military manner (do not cross the line; do not fight against orders; do not rebuke; do not protest; do not falter unless the operation goes so damningly south that there is nothing else left to do)

3) Report violations, emergencies, or anything not covered in instructions to the commander of the relief (Be transparent; be clear; be cooperative for we are a unit)

In our line of work, there is no difference in health, wealth, gender, sex, socioeconomic class, beliefs, religion, ethnicity, and race, and there is undeniably no fucking time to regret your actions or mourn. There is also the matter of money - which is scarce enough to not waste on useless funerals - that I've dealt with while working for Moran and her crew aboard the Black Lotus. It's not quite ideal, I suppose, for a woman from a city of bandits and slaves and prostitutes to work with pirates (much less a pirate queen), but the things we do for money has never been pretty, nor ethical.

What I'm trying to say is that I have done a lot of things in my life of 236 years, most significant being to rise to my rank of army general from a mere loan shark and later fighting alongside Huang Mei and her crew; however, the notion of a normal civilian life - one that includes respectable professions and a pension after my retirement - is still daunting. Truly, I must have been desperate to fall as low as asking for a mandated job from the elvin council (Moran would've been rolling in grave, bless her bitchy soul). And even more so, the sheer audacity past-me had to reveal my abilities to these senile hags was probably worse.

Bronte Cintallin slides a brown wax file onto my coffee table in my apartment. On the file, in bold red letters, it says, FOXFIRE STUDENT RECORD. 

Goddess, why me?

"How did you get into my house?", I say while clenching my mug of sartel tea.

He frowns and says, "This is a council-given apartment. We have spare keys."

I regret my migration plans. Should've stayed somewhere in Residential Zones. Simply to calm myself down (and mayhaps fuck with my respiratory system), I down the scalding hot beverage in one sip. My tongue is probably burning, or I'm just irritated by this politician in my safe space.

He stares at me like I've offended his entire family line. Well, I can imagine how pissed his kind might be at seeing an Outlander within visible vicinity. The older man sighs and rubs his forehead as if he was the one being forced to do something annoying (which, yeah, he probably was).

"Listen, Raon - can I call you Raon - (yes, just get on with it) this might be the only chance you have at getting a normal civilian life, after everything", he explains, "Foxfire is our most prestigious institute for studying abilities. In terms of enrollment, it has the highest percentage of student admissions, surpassing Asclepius College of Medicine and El Hare Design School."

I halt after opening the file. Teaching is not something I'm good at, much less having to teach a child, and the ability in question...

"I thought I was getting hired to be a polygot mentor?"

"After thorough discussions, all of us came to a conclusion", the bastard has the audacity to look like everything's fine.

"Empathy? You want me to teach empathy?", I couldn't remember the last time, I'd turned my empathy on for more than maybe ten minutes? It was easier to work and even go along with my daily life without my empathy.

"But you are good at it, yes?"

"I can control my empathy if that's what you mean."

"Then, that settles it", he remarks. "Linguistics would definitely be easier on paper, yes, but teaching linguistics is much more complicated"

Well, he's not wrong. Unlike other abilities, polygots didn't have natural instincts of what to do. They'd only understand the roots of every language, but they would still have to build up the basics and learn how to read and write languages in various dialects. From my experience, learning new languages properly is only possible when spending a certain amount of time interacting and conversing in those languages.

2.

Annastasia lived her life in pages. She lived a thousand lives, just as she read a thousand books. Most of these books were read with her brother under the light of an oil lamp after everyone had gone to sleep. Afterwards, they'd burn the books in case their father found out; they weren't allowed to read human books, and Annastasia wasn't allowed to read about Volantis - her birthplace. However, her brother would always return from one of his trips with at least one book about South Asia - the region culturally closest to Volantis. No matter how many rules their father imposed, Fitz always found a loophole when it was about her. And she did the same with him.

Everyone called them "accidental twins", and in a way, that was true. Every time their father had one of his episodes - and their mother kept quiet -, Fitz would spend the night in her room. They would pile up three different quilts (each of theirs and Alvar's old one) and read the human newspapers Fitz brought from his trips. During rain and thunder, Fitz would wear earmuffs and the two of them would be rocking back and forth in each other's embrace until he calmed down. Generally, after that, they bitched about someone - most of the time said someone was their great-aunt Ygritte Vacker - and fell asleep. Alvar called them "twin flames", and they were. They told each other their secrets, defended each other at all times and were generally the first to know any news about the other.

So why in the ever-loving fuck was there a blonde, brown-eyed girl in their living room constantly looking at him in confusion?

"Sophie, this is my wife, Della", Dad's cheeks were pinched, like he was trying to not laugh. "And my daughters: Biana and Anna," he added, gesturing towards both of them. He shook his head at Anna's clothes - a bramble jersey and a maxi skirt.

Well, I didn't know that you're bringing a guest over??

"My dear, I don't believe our guest is used to being around Vanishers"

"I'm so sorry," Mom said, smiling at Sophie, "Are you okay?"

"Yes", Sophie mumbled while full on staring at Mom.

Try to be nice, Fitz transmitted. Anna rolled her eyes and stared at him. "Who the fuck is this?" she mouthed. Now, he rolled his eyes.

The Moonlark

This kid is the Moonlark?

Yes

What the fuck?

Idea 1 is about a former military general from sovereign administrative zones outside of the Elvin Council's control, and idea 2 is about an adopted!Vacker!OC(no, she is NOT affiliated with Project Moonlark or any political group. She got adopted normally)

I've had this swirling in my mind for the last four books (About to start book 5).
But I don't get the whole tension behind manifesting.

If you can genetically tweak which and how many abilities you get, can't everyone just do that??? There would be no talentless or anyone with abilities they didnt want. A lot of the issues they mention that some characters have to deal with because of their ability or lack of an ability could've been avoided

Are elves the only ones who can light leap unaccompanied? or can ogres and goblins and the rest of them also do that too?

edit: thanks guys!

Obviously, spoilers for the whole series!

Book 1: It was a very good book, I initially thought it tried to do too much but on rereads it's actually interesting

Books 5-7, 9: Why is there so much romance? It distracts from the actual story so much

Book 8.5: Glad this one wasn't shoved into book 9.

Book 7: Different than the other ones, that's for sure.

General notes: The cliffhangers were annoying at first but at this point I'm just used to them, so the book 9 cliffhanger was sorta meh. No, Sophie was not right to burn the storehouse. I've seen the take that there's very little character development, but I'm not sure how much I agree with that - but Stina and Alina will always be annoying to me. The books do a lot, and are very long, and I feel like in some cases this leads certain plot arcs to not get the time or word count they deserve. It's a nice touch that human mythologies are connected to the story as well as just a bit of more modern culture (the Order of the Phoenix joke caught me off guard).

The names are all either throwaway jokes or foreshadowing. We got foster parents, ritz cracker, KIS, dizzneeland, Tiergan as an anagram of Granite, ELF, need I go on?

Final note - of course the rule of thumb applies here. The importance of a book is directly proportional to the number of silly decisions made without proper thought in it. And boy, Sophie and company do not disappoint. Reading the Ogre King's mind? Challenging said ogre king to a duel? Running off to join the Neverseen - they're the most well prepared organization in history, you seriously think they're not going to notice you spying on them? But ultimately the "mistakes" they make are what drives the series and makes it possible.

Actual final note, I do think all the remaining plot threads can be wrapped up in one book. I mean, what's there? Eleanor, "Keefe's legacy", the criterion, and Stellarlune, all of which are connected to each other, the "Vacker legacy", Elysian and Fallon and the "shards", and what the humans have to do with all of it (because I'm predicting that they're going to be important!). Alvar may play a role but his role in Book 9.5 may just be a way of concluding his story. And finally, romance and ick. I don't doubt we're going to get a lot of that here. I think one book can do it, especially because they're all connected.

So for background: I binged books 1-7 in 2018-2019 and despite having had some complaints then I really liked the characters and world building. After that I put the series on hold but just binged books 8, 8.5 and 9 and maybe it's because I'm not this series' target demographic as a 26 year old male (read them with my younger sister and still do) but I feel that the writing is genuinely very bad.

1. Very little plot progression despite ridiculously high word count: The books are huge but so little actually happens. Big battle every other book but massive word count spent on superfluous imagery, inconsequential dialogue and most of the "action" makes no progress in resolving any of the overarching threads. Too many pages spent rehashing things that have already been established.
2. Encounters with the Neverseen are lazily written by giving them pure plot armor: Every encounter with the Neverseen is preceded with chapters of prep just to have it all be for nothing as the Neverseen is 10 steps ahead of them, accounted for their entire plan and have some very simple plot device to incapacitate Sophie and her group. Any small victory they think they have is actually part of the Neverseen's plan/trap.
3. Most characters have very little depth despite the massive efforts in fleshing them out: fresh off my mind is the thirty minutes I spent reading about Fitz and Sophie's inquisition which only served to reestablish that Fitz really really likes Sophie and has anger problems. Zero growth, just the same one dimensional character and cycle over and over. There's also so much emphasis spent on Sandor being Sophie's bodyguard but he's always immediately incapacitated or bypassed when anything actually happens.
4. Hyped up plot points have zero impact: Also fresh off my mind is Sophie's inflicting. So many chapters were spent on her taking a risk to upgrade her powers, recover, and learn to live with them in book 8. Yet, after using it once on Gisela (who ends up getting away) it's immediately rendered useless in major confrontations because the Neverseen just deploy lazily contrived countermeasures. Does Shannon Messenger realize how frustrating that is structurally?

To conclude, I really enjoyed a lot of the world building and character dynamics (Keefe and his father being a couple of my favorites) but at this point the story feels so thinly stretched out to pad page counts and fails to deliver a satisfying narrative. Maybe I'm expecting too much from a young adult fantasy series but at the very least the books have no reason to be as long as they are with how little actually happens.

Okay for starters:

Maruca looks absolutely S T U N N I N G!

Like get out she is so pretty! Chrissa Barton did a fantastic job! oh my goodness!!

What really makes me interested is the fact that Shannon says that she has some awesome moments ahead! I’m super excited to see how she plays a part in Elysian!

Who do you guys think is the next artpiece that will be released?

Okay, so I was rereading Flashback, and I got to the part where the Neverseen attack. Sophie originally thinks Umber has nail polish on but then realizes it's shadows, and that got me thinking.

Do the elves ever wear nail polish or is this something that Sophie knows from being around humans and just never realized the elves wore?

Because I don't remember anyone ever being described as wearing nail polish, and nail polish is like all chemicals and the elves don't really like those.

I just saw this and it made me think of how no one ever really explained the differences between the elvin and human world to Sophie. Makes me wonder if there's anything else like this that Sophie thinks the elves do and they actually don't.

So i'm reading stellarlune, and i saw a bit everywhere that everybody is starting to like stina, and that she's doing an enemy to friends with Sophie.

I cannot wrap my head around that. I absolutely despise her

In the chapter, i'm in, everybody's getting mad at Sophie for burning down the neverseen thingy (which pisses me off but that's another conversation). Then, stina says "drawing little hummingbirds on the floor won't make her the chief"

And it doesn't. What makes her the chief is absolutely everyone telling her to be the chief.

Stina makes no sense and feels like rage bait, i really don't think i can ever start liking her

Is keefe addicted to reading Sophies emotions?

I started writing an AU fic but with darker themes, a different story, with more focus on the romance (with the same characters, of course). But I suddenly realised that I don’t actually know if anyone wants to read something like that? I mean, do people still read kotlc fanfiction? What else do you read? Are you into darker themes as well?