Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24.115.246.196-20181210030324/@comment-104.254.217.125-20191030014628

Alright guys this has gone on long enough. We need real arguments. Let's start with the basics, the stuff all you guys have heard before. Yes, I know it's boring, but you can't not include it. So I'll start off with the obvious stuff before moving on to more complex reasons.

They're cognates in training. They have more trust in each other than anybody else. Whenever Sophie needs a bit of a boost in confidence, she seems to fidget with her rings.

She's clearly had a crush on him for the entire series. (I'll elaborate on this later). Plus, Fitz has seemed to like her for the past three or four books. With Keefe, it's clear that he really likes her, but she has never said that she likes him, even in narration. Though, her heart does flutter. (Again, more on this).

They've been through a lot together. They've fought together (against the neverseen), they share many classes, and they are both a part of the Black Swan.

Now for a little rapid fire.

Okay, so in the last seven books, Sophie's crush has been developing on Fitz. And we know that he's liked her for a while. Even though Keefe likes her, I just don't see Sophie dropping all her feelings for Fitz that she's been building up for the ENTIRE SERIES because of one thing. Even matchmaking. Let's say, hypothetically, Fitz maybe hurts her feelings by feeling flustered about the unmatchable thing. Even if that happens, I don't think Sophie's just gonna go, "Oh, time to drop all my feelings for him and never look back because he hurt me once. I guess I've liked Keefe this entire time. DATE ME." Now, if Fitz does get mad at her in Legacy, I think she'll just end up being single.

Sophie has never said that she likes Keefe, not even in narration. Just gonna bring that up real quick.

Alright, so Exile....I know...

Look, Fitz thought he had lost his dad. He hadn't really begun to be close friends with Sophie yet, and blaming her was easy. I DO NOT agree with him in this case, but even if you're the most avid Sokeefe shipper out there, just try to understand. But, see, Sophie stuck with him the entire time. She forgave him, and ever since then, he's been trying to make it up to her. But she doesn't need it. She just likes Fitz for who he is.

A little bit more sprinkled in...they hold hands often, Fitz is very protective of her, he gets a little jealous of Keefe, (who wouldn't?), they have confessed crushes, they respect each other.

Why I think Sokeefe maybe shouldn't work:

Look, I'm sorry for bringing this up, but it must be talked about...Recklessness. I know, Keefe joined the Neverseen for her. I know he felt really bad about it. I know he likes her. But just THINK about it. He gave them his blood, a KEY plot point, he lost a real cache, he got fakes ones, and lost a little bit of her trust. They gained literally nothing from this, and lost a lot. I KNOW he did it for her, and I KNOW his intentions were good, but it still doesn't stop the fact that they lost so much.

And the problem is, he doesn't change. He then goes on to fight an ogre king. I know, this one is worse, because he did win and he did it for her. This was pretty good overall. But still, his behavior didn't change. And I think that by doing this, it has proven that he can add a lot of unwanted stress to Sophie's life.

But, I won't jab on that too much, since this is just a character flaw, which is good for characters. And, obviously, Fitz's anger is a character flaw so, touche.

Another key part is just how much they like each other. We all know that Keefe is absolutely head over heels for Sophie. But really...does she feel the same? She has her heart flutter when he is flirting (I don't know how to describe it) with her. She loves his homeade gifts (more on that), but she doesn't seem to LOVE him.

And I know that's a strong word, but eh. I just can't see her suddenly saying "Keefe, I love you", but I CAN see her saying, "Fitz, I love you". She just doesn't have a romantic connection with Keefe.

He's a goofy friend, maybe crush, and somebody who she wants to heal and love, BUT...not in that kind of way. She loves him like a best friend.

I don't know if anybody reading this has a really great friend, but I'm sure if you spent years with them and cared for them like a sibling, you could say that you loved them. That's how I see Sophie and Keefe.

As the books went on, I think Shannon slowly changed the direction it was going in. It used to be, Sophie is best friends with Dex, Keefe, Biana, and Fitz, and she spends a lot of time with Keefe doing secret mission type stuff. Now, it's become, her friend group expands, we get more discoveries, the plot focuses more (way too much) on Keefe's legacy and development, and Sophie begins to spend more time with Fitz. That's why I think Fitzphie might work out.

I honestly have a little bit more to go on, but I want to mention only one more thing.

Keefe's gifts. I have no problem with them. I think they're really sweet, and they really represent Keefe. But so do Fitz's.

I've seen a lot of arguments based off of, "Fitz's gifts are so much more materialistic, and Keefe's will leave more of an impact".

Just think about it. We know Keefe's hobbies, interests, life, etc. We know that he enjoys painting and is very artsy, so it makes sense that his gifts will center around that. That's part of him as a character.

As for Fitz...we know he's wealthy. We know he cares about Sophie. So, it makes sense for him to BUY her something. Part of his character is being rather wealthy. I know pretty much all elves are, but since we don't get much development for Fitz, I think this makes sense for him.

And, they DO leave an impact. Sophie's favorite color is teal. She likes Fitz. It makes sense that he would buy her things like cognate rings, you know, since they're COGNATES. And he would buy her a teal heart locket, which will always remind her of Fitz. Plus, he DID spend an entire day baking for her, stepping out of his comfort zone and spending time on HER. I'm just trying to say that Fitz's gifts make sense, because it bugs me that people don't see that in him.

Sorry if this was long.