Theory: THEY'RE ALL LGBT+

[Marlow]

Is it just me... or are they all at least a little bit gay...?

Sophie: I know that a majority of KOTLC fans ship Sokeefe, but hear me out. Sophie has I Figured Out That I'm Bisexual at the Age of Thirty vibes. She also keeps describing a pair of teal eyes, and since Fitz's eyes turned murder red after a couple of books, she is clearly talking about Biana. Plus, literally everyone non adult character in the series has flirted with her other than Tam, but we'll get to that later.

Keefe: Keefe has pansexual vibes, and definitely likes Tam. If you don't believe me, please reread the end of Legacy. I swear that scene was copy and pasted from a queer YA book...

Biana: I've seen a ton of theories and headcanons about LESBIANa and BIana . Either way, That One Awkward Scene in Nightfall would've been a lot less horrible if it was Biana instead of Dex. (And it would've been hilarious if Edaline had walked in.) Plus, in Unlocked Fitz says, "My sister's a fan of silver bangs." This could be a reference to Biana liking Linh. Biana has also definitely liked Sophie at some point.

Dex: Dex is bisexual. He has had a crust on both of the Vackers and Sophie (and maybe Tam). You can try to prove me wrong, but you can't.

Linh: I'm pretty sure that the Song twins are both gay. There's evidence that she and Marella are currently dating in Legacy (see the Marellinh page on Fandom) and Unlocked. In Unlocked, it was stated that AcCoRdInG tO rUmOr ThEy HaVe BeEn CoMpLeTiNg AdDiTiOnAl PrAcTiCe SeSsIoNs ToGeThEr. That... pretty much means that they're dating.

Tam: It seems pretty clear to me that Tam does not like girls. I get that there is some evidence that he likes Biana, but there's just as much, if not more, evidence that he likes Keefe (see the Kam Fandom page). Also, in chapter 65 of Exile, he is too distracted by Dex to respond when Keefe insults him. Surprisingly, Keefe and Tam have no interactions in Unlocked. One possible reason for this is Shannon not wanting to out Tam from Keefe's point of view (Keefe can now sense everyone's emotions through the air).

Marella: In the first book, it appears as though Marella is boy crazy (which is apparently the straight version of disaster gay). If you look closer, a lot of the things she says actually make it seem as though she is less comfortable around other girls and prefers to be with male friends. This leads me to the conclusion that she is gay. Although this doesn't count as solid evidence, she definitely gives off lesbian energy. Plus, there is significant evidence that she and Linh are currently dating. In Unlocked under Sophie's file, the council states, "If school gossip is to be believed, then Sophie has 'liked' or dated (or may currently be dating) a number of different prodigies." Spreading rumors about Sophie's love life definitely sounds like something Marella would do, and there is a noticeable lack of gendered terminology in the statement. In her file, it is stated that Marella has registered for the Match. Under the assumption that the elven world totally disregards the existence of the LGBT+ community, we can assume that Marella registered because she felt that she had to or was forced to by her dad (who may have not wanted to bring any more unnecessary attention to the family).

Maruca: In Legacy, Maruca alludes that she is hiding something in the same scene that Marella alludes that she and Linh are dating.

Stina: She probably liked Sophie at some point.

Conclusion: Nice job L*ura. Your gaydar is absolutely flawless. Laura Hollingsworth

Additional link to bother a transphobe: J.K. Rowling

Shannon Messenger Keeper of the Lost Cities Exile Everblaze Neverseen Lodestar Nightfall Flashback Legacy Unlocked Bonus Keefe Story

[Emmie]

I completely agree with Keefe, Tam, and Linh.
I can also see Sophie being bi.

Although it seems that Fitz is straight, because he clearly has(had) a crush on Sophie, but I can also see him as bi. He could have had a crush on Keefe at some point in thieir friendship. This may be a stretch, but hear me out.... We all know Fitz gets really jealous whenever Keefe is with Sophie. What is that's because he has a crush on both of them. Fitz as we know is the "Golden Boy", and has to live up to that expectation. Since he needs to maintain this image of himself, maybe that's why he hasn't made any references to liking both boys and girls.

I know it was a stretch but, you never know. Although I wish Shannon included more diversity in her books.

[Marlow]

Good point! That would give his character a lot more depth if Shannon did it well... which is why I don't think it's going to happen, but it would definitely be really great for his character development by forcing him to come to terms with his family's expectations around the match.

Shannon definitely does need to include more diversity in her books... Did you catch the part in Unlocked where if she had had a different Dizznee triplet say they had a crush on Keefe, she would have had LGBT+ rep?

Links to bother homophobes and transphobes: J.K. Rowling Laura Hollingsworth

[Emmie]

I did catch that part in Unlocked, I just figured it was Bex, but since she didn't specify it is very much possible it was either Lex or Rex.

I know many fans are unhappy with Laura for being homophobic, could you explain what happened? Just wondering, so I know who to support.

Also, I am a 'bit' book hungover from the ending of "Unlocked", any book recommendations?

[Marlow]

Laura has blocked a bunch of fan artists for drawing LGBT+ ships, and she has stated that she will not draw an LGBT+ couple. She has also retweeted some racist tweets. There could be more; this is just what I've heard.

What kind of books do you like?

[Emmie]

That is horrible and unacceptable.

I have read all the classics: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, Divergant... (and enjoyed them)

I recently read: Red Queen Series, and The Folk of the Air trilogy, and A court of Mist and Fury

(I am 13, but I read at very high level.)

I have been looking for a book to match the way I feel when I read kotlc, but I haven't been able to find one. :(

[Marlow]

Ooh cool! I really like a lot of those books (or think I'll like them when I finally get to read them)!

I recently read The Raven Cycle series which was pretty good but wasn't much like KOTLC other than a character named Noah who was pretty similar to Dex. If you like Percy Jackson, maybe try some of the Rick Riordan Presents books. It's an imprint that Uncle Rick started to promote own voices mythology books. He's also recommended Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out and the Nemesis series. The Ascendance Series, Artemis Fowl, The Gender Game, Strange the Dreamer, and Chaos Walking are also supposed to be good, but I haven't read them yet.

(I'm 14.)

[Emmie]

Thank you! I will check those out.

Since this is a kotlc 'discussion': Who do you think Sophie's father is?

[Marlow]

I'm not really sure...

I think there's still a possibility that her dad could be Forkle because she could've been talking to the other twin when she asked him if he was her dad. It's almost definitely not Elwin because he told Mr. Forkle at one point that Sophie should be allowed to know who her biological parents are. Other than that, I think he could be Tiergan or Gethen because they're both powerful telepaths, but I don't really think there would be a need to keep it secret if it were Tiergan. As for Gethen, it would sort of make sense if he switched sides at some point. There could've been a schism in the Black Swan which could be why Forkle knew about some of their plans towards the beginning of the series. Forkle also seems to really not want Sophie to go in Gethen's head. This theory doesn't totally make sense, though because Gethen probably would've told Sophie in order to scare her. Other than that, Forkle said that enhancing comes naturally from her genetics, so it is possible that her biological dad is an enhancer or has an enhancer somewhere in his family tree.

Do you have any theories?

[Emmie]

I agree with the Gethen theory. I believed for a while that it was Forkle, but when he swore to her that it wasn't him, I chose to trust him.

I have a theory that Jolie is still alive. I think that Jolie is disguised as Lady Cadence. Somehow (I'm not sure how) she survived the fire. She has been living with the Ogres (for 17 years, the same amount of time she has been dead) and only came back to the Lost Cities when she was asked to teach Sophie. It is said that Lady Cadence's hair is "ravens black", and when Sophie was looking in Jolie's room she found a hair dye called "ravens black". Lady Cadence has had a grudge against Sophie since the day she started mentoring her, but she did show concern when Sophie was marked with Aromark. This could be because Jolie feels replaced by Sophie, as Grady and Edaline's daughter. Also Lady Cadence is a conjurer, just like Edaline, as well as a polyglot (which often come two abilities).

It's a little crazy.... Let me know what you think.

[Marlow]

Yeah, the Forkle theory is probably wrong because at this point, there probably would be no reason for him to keep that information from her.

Your Jolie theory makes a lot of sense, and it definitely sounds like something Shannon would do. The only problem is that Jolie wasn't a polyglot (or at least not that we know of). It's definitely possible that Grady and Edaline never mentioned it, or that she kept the ability a secret for some reason, though

[Marlow]

Oralie Theory

This theory isn't mine; it's my friend's.

"So I've been thinking about this for a bit, and I think that Oralie is trans.

So first of all, the most obvious pointer to this theory is that she constantly says that Sophie is "her only chance to have kids." Assuming that elves can have kids anytime they want, Oralie could simply step down and have children (especially if she falls in love again). Now, this wouldn't work if she was born a guy, and everyone now thinks she's a girl. Also, if she and Kenric were in love for so long (assuming that Sophie wasn't born immediately and took at least 6 months to a year to even be like y'know alive), Oralie and Kenric could've simply stepped down and had a family. But why didn't Oralie? Well, she was scared that Kenric would fall out of love with her, and potentially blow her secret.

Now, Oralie herself said that the procedure to donate her genetic material for Sophie was painful. But what if this was actually a sex change surgery? Donating eggs isn't a painful procedure- only slight bloating and irritability, not like Oralie was experiencing (I googled the egg thing). Also, she would've been sedated, and I doubt that Forkle wouldn't have given her some sort of pain medication. Plus, genetic information can easily be obtained from blood, saliva, and hair (so why would it be painful?) unless it was a complete sex change surgery.

Also, how bad could it actually be for Sophie's biological parents in reality? Elves are immortal, and other than Oralie, I doubt they would lose their jobs. Sure, their social standing would fall, but eventually they would recover (it's not like they need to work to survive anyway). They could also play it off as genetic information being stolen from them (because the Black Swan would definitely do that). Unless her parents were actually trans and had received a sex change surgery from the Black Swan.

Also, gonna mention this and try not to sound like a bad person. But has anyone realized that Oralie is like the complete definition of a girlie stereotype? Likes makeup, is obsessed with the color pink (who owns a pink castle??) and wears pretty pink ball gowns (calm down girl). This could be her trying to look super feminine and not arouse suspicion (or Shannon being Shannon).

[Annie]

This is a good theory. While I don't think everyone is gay, I think some LGBTQ characters would definitely add to the theme of the Lost Cities being an imperfect utopia.

[Marlow]

As an LGBT+ person, I'm very curious to know how exactly you think characters that represent me, along with a significant portion of the KOTLC fandom, would make the Lost Cities an "imperfect utopia." Do you think you could explain that for me?

[Tom]

I seriously feel like some LGBTQ+ things have been hinted at in the books, like Tiergan and Prentice both being fathers for Wylie and also having a close "friendship" before that, and a scene where Sophie is sitting under the Panakes and Biana brushes petals off of her that happen to be "Pinkish purplish bluish" in that exact order, which also happens to be the order of colors in the bi flag...

And yeah I really feel like Tam has a crush on Keefe

[ReggieFromTheLake]

This is not what the book is about

[Marlow]

Kayahorsegirl wrote: "This is not what the book is about"

It's not "about" straight people either but they're still prominently featured in the series.