Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-66.209.255.5-20180909012305/@comment-2601:647:4201:C508:FD76:AB29:6AEF:2A17-20181113055401


 * THERE WILL BE SPOILERS****

I don't mind either ship. I think both ships have their pros and their cons, and that's something this debate clearly brings out. We know that Keefe likes Sophie and that Fitz ALSO likes Sophie. We know that Sophie definitely has feelings for Fitz. Her feelings for Keefe are more subtle. I think we can all agree that Sophie goes through a lot for her friends. She clearly hates it when her friends are mad at her and are going through difficult times.

Flashback is definitely a major point for Sophitz, just as Nightfall was for Sokeefe. Nightfall confirmed Keefe's feelings, and Flashback confirmed Fitz's feelings.

As for the matchmaking, I think that knowing her parents will help. BUT, it also takes into account abilities, of which she has 4. They (I think) want diversity in this, so that doesn't help her case. (it DOES help Sokeefe tho, considering Sophie's not an empath) I think we will find out eventually, and that it will become a major plot point in the next book. However, I doubt Sophie and her friends would be able to figure it out themselves, considering they have nothing to base it off of. I think Sophie will have to pester the Black Swan about it until they give in. (They did agree to keep the identity of her parents a secret).

Her current status as 'unmatchable' poses a problem for Sophitz. Because we found out at the END of the book, we have no idea if she tells Fitz, who had previously said he was opposed to being with someone who's not on his list. However, this was because he felt like it'd hurt his family's image and legacy - something that had been shattered before this event. This could mean that Fitz could no longer care about the legacy he was trying to protect with his match. There's always the case of Fitz being like 'whatever, I want to be with Sophie anyways, she's great and amazing and super powerful'

There was a previous argument about the legal definition of cognate, and it meaning "blood relative". However the WIKI for KOTLC states "Cognates are a pair of Telepaths who work together and have a special mental connection. They can achieve things that a single Telepath cannot by combining their energy and balancing each other's personality. Cognates are required to share everything with each other and their bond is based on trust... they have to be so open and perfect for each other." I don't believe they have to be 'perfect' romantically for each other. They have to be able to get along and work well together, which means they have to understand each other. I don't think that Shannon Messenger meant for the actual, legal definition of cognate to be used when referring to the bond that Fitz and Sophie share.

I do agree that someone caring for someone else to the extent where they're sacrificing their own wellbeing is unhealthy. No matter how much the other person cares for the other, their care isn't going to save their life if the person gets themselves into a situation where the other can't help them. Keefe sending Sophie calming thoughts and emotions DURING his battle with Dimitar was a sweet gesture. However, he was sacrificing his concentration for that, and it could've ended badly. Knowing these books, and the audience they target, its easy to assume that everything will EVENTUALLY work itself out and that the main characters won't die. This book IS meant for younger teenagers, and while they can handle death in books (hopefully), it generally isn't the main character in these types of books. Shannon is GREAT at making things be surprising and unpredictable, throwing plot twists in there and everything, but I don't think that killing off a character that is known to be a favorite would help her. (Think of all the times she ALMOST killed one of them, and then they MIRACULOUSLY survived-Sophie when she almost faded, Sophie when she was getting her mind fixed, Alden when his mind broke, who just so happened to find a cove in his mind to hide in, Keefe when he fought Dimitar, Fitz with the Arthropleura, Fitz and Sophie with the echoes, Dex with the kidnapping. and then there's FORKLE, who died and then she was like 'oh nope, here's a twin, let's keep forkle alive' tbf Umber DID die, but Umber wasn't a main character or a developed one. And Brant. But he wasn't fully developed like the others either. And Kenric, which was arguably the saddest considering Forkle's still alive technically. in THAT many instances of near death, the only true, sad death was Kenrics, and even Kenric wasn't a focal point in the books, unlike Forkle, the crew, Alden, etc)  ANd while I'm sure some of the original audience from 2012 stuck with it (like I did), I'm sure not all of them have. The book isn't geared towards people in junior/senior year of high school. (I would know, I am one) By the time people reach that age, they generally find other books that interest them more and speak to their values more than a middle-school read does. (generally speaking, the age range is 9+ for this book.) THE POINT OF THIS IS, IT WAS PRETTY SAFE TO ASSUME KEEFE WAS GOING TO BE FINE, ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER NEAR DEATH ENCOUNTERS OUR CREW HAS HAD. That doesn't mean that Keefe putting Sophie's emotions in front of his own safety while fighting an ogre is justified. It's a sweet thought, but at some point, the characters have to go 'I need to put myself before my friends, I can help them more that way'. SOPHIE does this when she decided to go get healed. She knew the risks and what might happen, but she knew that if she didn't put herself in this situation and put herself first she wouldn't be able to help her friends.

I've clearly gotten off topic, but I'll leave it there.

Anyways, who she ends up with is ultimately Sophie's choice. I don't think it'll come down to who can get past her 'unmatchable status', though it probably will be a factor. Sophie could choose Fitz if he gets over the fact and be happy. She could choose Keefe and be happy. She could probably end up with nobody and be happy.

If nothing else, we should be happy for Sophie no matter what happens and who she ends up with. She deserves it.