Hm I actually do have thoughts about how she managed to be that oblivious (aside from the popular headcanon where sheās autistic, which could be part of the reason she simply did not figure out that he was always flirting with her).
I hope you donāt mind if I drop them here because I spent a whole series reread taking notes and trying to figure out WHERE the Sokeefe arc is, andā¦ itās sorta complicated. And itās sorta Keefeās fault in some ways (love my man Keefe but he wasnāt helping š)
I think Ro mentions in the Nightfall short story that Keefe turning everything into a joke sends way too many mixed signals, and I kind of agree, cause likeāsure heās always making comments that SHOULD make it obvious. But since heās always smirking and laughing, it becomes a question of āis he doing this for jokes and laughs, or does he mean all of it?ā
And thereās also the scene in Nightfall where Keefe tells Sophie that he really tries to flirt with people OTHER than Biana to make Biana see that sheās not interested.
And do you know what Sophieās thought is?
(Itās ok if you donāt remember. This is the sort of thing an overly dedicated Sokeefe fan remembers š
)
āFINALLYāan answer as to why she was always subject to so much Keefe teasing.ā
She NOTICED the teasing. She was justā¦ never able to figure out what it meant.
And the rest of her reaction in that moment it actually pretty explicitly disappointed, which I think is her first indication that she actually does like him, even if sheās in extreme denial of her feelings. She proceeds to comment that it sort of feels like a slap in the face (or ice water or something. Iāll find the actual quote if you like) to finally have an answer, and itās justā¦ Keefe trying to show Biana that he doesnāt like her back.
(And Keefe, word of advice, if you want the girl to realize you like her, DONāT TELL HER YOU ONLY FLIRT WITH HER TO DETER ANOTHER GIRL.)
But she was disappointed to hear that Keefe only flirted with her for that reason, even if she didnāt let herself think about what that meant. I think she was scared of more feelings since her crush on fitz complicated stuff like their cognate trust exercises. She didnāt need her own feelings getting MORE complex.
And when she gets the note from Keefe at the end of unlocked, she IMMEDIATELY reads into the āI care for youā lineāand then shuts herself down about it. She doesnāt let herself think it means what she thought it means.
And if weāre being honest here, she kinda did the same thing with Fitz when she KNEW she liked him. Every little moment that Fitz would hug her tight and whisper in her ear and bring her presentsāeven when they sat under callaās tree and he said they should āskip the talkingā (literally a universal āletās kissā line)āshe STILL managed to convince herself Fitz didnāt like her.
She didnāt realize her feelings for Fitz were requited until he literally said āI want your name to be on my matchmaking listā
And if I had to take a guess as to WHY, Iād say lingering insecurity from twelve whole years of hearing everyoneās inner thoughts about what a weird kid she is and how no one really liked her and everyone just wished she could be normal. And sheās only been without those thoughts for what, three years? Itās got to leave some sort of lasting impact, and that might be why she canāt fathom the fact that someone could seriously care about her like that.
As for how she convinced herself that Keefe would reject her, thatās one of the few things we actually DO get the thought process of. Obviously by that point Ro had sat her down and said āKeefe meant that part of his note EXACTLY how you thought he did. So figure out your feelings and HANDLE THIS.ā So she knew Keefe had liked her. But she fully expected her new feelings to throw him off, and he didnāt even react, which made her think he was avoiding the topic. (In reality, his empathy had stopped working, but she didnāt know that yet.)
Thereās also Keefeās like about how he didnāt respond to silvenyās transmissions because he felt like not thinking about the lost cities was the only way to āget over it,ā and doesnāt specify what āitā wasāhence Sophie starts internally freaking out like, āDOES HE MEAN ME?? Does he mean he got over me š„ŗā
and I was like AHDKFHSJAHSHFISS NO JUST KISS. LITERALLY JUST KISS.
And Iām glad Sophie was the one to make the first confession. It was refreshing honestly.
But yeah if you were wondering where the actual *arc* of Sokeefe was, thatās a totally valid thing to wonder because SO WAS Iāand Iām a hardcore Sokeefe shipper!!! But I think I found the reasons she was oblivious.
If I had to make a short list:
- insecurity that no one could like her after twelve years of hearing negative thoughts about her
- Keefe making every flirty comment into a joke so it was unclear if he MEANT it
- Keefe telling her he only flirted with her to keep Biana from thinking he liked her back
- Keefe telling her he got over something and not elaborating
- keeFE THERE ARE WAYS TO MAKE A GIRL REALIZE YOU LIKE HER AND THIS ISNāT IT š
So yeah she actually followed a lot of the same Sophie-esque patterns she followed with Fitzāexcept that with Fitz she didnāt make the first confession, so there was none of the self doubt, just a lot of is this happening? Naturally she was a lot more scared to initiate the conversation, but you know what? Iām proud of her! You go girl!
(Andā¦ that got REALLY long. On your post, too. I apologize. My thoughts on canon Sokeefe might be able to flood the ocean. Letās not test that thoā)
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