Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-146.135.19.252-20181116034422/@comment-216.139.22.227-20191017214413

I do want to debate point 7, in that I think at the moment, Fitz needs Sophie and vise versa more than Sophie and Keefe need each other. Heya! I really like the point you make, so here are my thoughts!

I do agree that Sophie and Fitz need to be together, at least for a while, for story reasons- so Sophie can figure out what it is that she wants. However, I don't think that Fitz should need Sophie in order to get past Alvar. (Again, I haven't read Flashback, so keep that in mind, 'kay?)

I mean, maybe he does. Maybe he needs a romantic relationship with Sophie in order to help him cope. But if that's so, then I disapprove, for several reasons. I don't think that one should rely too heavily on a romantic relationship. Relying on a friend (such as how Keefe relies on Sophie for the Lady Gisela mess) is okay with me, because deep friendships feel more permanent to me than romantic relationships. Romance is hard to navigate- and there are no guarantees. If Fitz is relying too much on Sophie's love, if she decided that she didn't want to be with him and stopped being a romantic interest, then Fitz could very well fall apart without that support. If what you said is the case is true, then I think that Fitz would need to take a step back and realize that he has other pillars of support to rely on. (Alden, Della, Biana, Keefe to an extent, as well as Sophie, but as a friend.)

As for when I made my point about Keefe and Sophie needing each other, I didn't necessarily mean that they needed to have a romantic relationship. I'm perfectly happy with my Keefoster ship remaining a close friendship throughout the story, but my point is, if Fitzphie became permanent, Keefe and Sophie's friendship will probably be strained, since Keefe has undeniable feelings for her- not to mention his friendship with Fitz would be strained too, and his relationship with Biana would be awkward, and he'd probably avoid Everglen (which means avoiding Alden and Della too) in order to prevent inserting himself into a situation that will only hurt him. Whereas, if Fitz lost Sophie, he would have Biana, Alden, and Della (though possibly not Keefe, considering their relationship would be strained on Fitz's side if Sophie got together with Keefe). However, if Sophie went with Fitz permanently, Keefe would lose every healthy relationship he's got except for with Dex and the twins, and he seems to be the member of the main group who is least close to them. You said: "Sure, Keefe does need support, What with his mom being a jerkface and a general bad parent and everything else going on, but it's nothing Sophie hasn't helped with before..." And while I think that's true, if Sophie went with Fitz, it would be kind of hard for her to provide that scomfort (since Keefe would feel awkward around her and Fitz) and Keefe would lose his one and only pillar of support. In general, I think that if Fitz's relationship with Sophie was ruined, he would go through less devastation than Keefe would if Sophie's relationship with him was ruined. (Again, haven't read Flashback.)

So anyway, that's my take on it. I'd love to hear your response!

P.S. To the user above (Chicken tornado), I think that theory is brilliant- it's kind of what I've subconsciously thought all along about Shannon Messenger's intentions. Kudos, friend!

~ JAKS (Just Another Keefoster Shipper)