Kotlc Tam - Tumblr Posts

THIS IS IMPORTANT AS F*CK. REBLOG THIS.

Let’s talk about how the Song family is written. Especially Linh.

I know it’s long but please try to read all of it

Shannon does not give the Song twins, or the whole entire family for that matter, a specific nationality. They’re described to look like Kpop models and anime (that comes from Japan), yet have Vietnamese names and a Chinese surname. On top of that, Quan (the father) is a Chinese name and Mai (the mother) is given a Vietnamese/Japanese/Chinese name (the origins are dubious, but Mai is also a romanticized spelling of a Chinese surname, transcribed in Mandurin dialect).

At this, some people are bending over backwards to remind the fact that “thEy’Re ELveS thEy DoNT hAVe a CouNtRy”. It still doesn’t excuse it much.

Throughout history and a few personal anecdotes, so many people do not understand the concept that different countries in Asia exist. Innumerable times I have been asked if I was Chinese or Japanese, and been told that all asian languages “are basically the same”, yet I am one of the lucky ones. As a Korean, a country who’s culture has popularly been introduced in the western part of the world, I do not experience as much erasure as others such as southeastern Asians. Southeastern Asians very rarely show up on media thanks to whitewashing and are even barely considered “real” Asians. But overall, the concept that the whole entire continent of Asia is the same has been perpetuated throughout the west’s culture of ignorance and racism. (And I can assure you, every single asian person who lives in America has experienced at least one of these incidents of racism and ignorance. Ask any asian. I’m serious.)

…

The Songs’ last name was originally Tong, but it was changed due to the family’s profession; songwriting. It actually encourages the stereotype that Asians are supposed to be good at music. I cannot tell you how many times the kids at my school told me that it “doesn’t count if I’m good at music because Asians are supposed to be good at it anyway”.

And I am forever grateful that Shannon didn’t write in the typical “tiger mom” for Mai. The “tiger mom” stereotype is the concept of angry, harsh, and strict mothers in asian households, similar to the false notion of abusive black fathers with belts. But it’s still a huge stereotype that asian parents are conservative, strict, and sometimes abusive. Quan and Mai are a direct personification of that concept.

…

Now, let’s explore Linh’s character. Linh is a quiet, kind, humble, and sweet person, often dubbed a “cinnamon roll” by the fandom. She is written not to be comfortable with violence, gore, blood, and war. She also takes on a very whimsical vibe, controlling water, usually having a calm demeanor, and having very light eyes compared to the fact that almost every single asian has dark colored eyes.

It’s pretty racist.

The western culture has a huge problem with fetishizing Asians, especially Asian women. Asians are so, so sexualized to the point where East Asian girls are specifically targeted by sex trafficking systems. Asian girls are stereotyped as bubbly, cute, innocent, sweet, and submissive. Linh is written as your stereotypical innocent, docile kawai uwu soft girl. She is every stereotype of an asian girl (while keeping it child appropriate) shoved into one arbitrary box of “representation”.

…

Now, let’s talk about her appearance. Tam’s, too.

Despite the fact that almost every asian has dark colored eyes, typically brown eyes, Shannon makes sure that she creates the only asian characters with the lightest eye color. Tam and Linh are the only ones with a mutation in their hair (other than Marella with her braids and Livvy with her jewels, but Marella and Livvy are not main characters). Overall, Tam and Linh generally look much different than the rest of the group. It’s just another stereotype that Asians are considered to be exotic. When the twins are introduced, they appear to be malnourished from the poor food given in Exilium. They’re skinny. It’s yet another addition of Asia’s fat shaming culture leaking into the western areas of the world as an expectation of thinness.

…

The whole entire Song family, especially the twins, and especially Linh, was just a poor attempt to engage in some “diversity” and ended up compiling every single stereotype of Asians and shoving them into Barbie doll package with labels slapped on their foreheads. The Song family is just “general East Asian”. The parents are strict and conservative. Tam and Linh are skinny and exotic. Linh is humble, cute, soft, whimsical, quiet, and not prominently present in many of the books. It’s all. Just. Stereotype. After. Stereotype. And I am sick of it.

I cannot tell you how I happy I was when Neverseen came out with the introduction of Linh because finally, finally there was someone like me. It was at the time when I was still struggling with my internalized racism. I tried my best to project myself into Linh. I said she was my favorite character. I only drew her when drawing fanart. But at the end of the day, I was not like Linh, because I did not fall under the category of the picture perfect “China doll”.

I am not your China doll, and Linh shouldn’t have been, either.

✨*Non-asian keeper fans should reblog*✨

Fitz : presses a button

tam & linh should dye their hair rainbow for pride reblog if you agree

If the KOTLC boys were a K-pop group...

Hey y'all! I just had this idea yesterday and I knew I had to make a meme sorta thing about it.

I also made a list of their top songs:

FOSTER

Take Me With You (ft. Biana)

Girl, you need sleep

DON'T CRY 4 ME (I know u were gonna)

NEIGH NEIGH

CHOOSE ME

Kiss Me 2

Your Eyes

UNIQUE (That's why baby)

Don't hurt me like that

I hope y'all liked it. I'm thinking of actually making choruses for them ;)

Oh and forgot to mention, their group name is KFT(D)

If the KOTLC boys were a K-pop group...

Hey everyone! I'm gonna be nice and say if this post gets 10 likes I'll make a chorus for one of KFT(D)'s songs. Comment below which one you want and I'll consider it ;)

FOSTER

NEIGH NEIGH

DON'T CRY 4 ME (I know u were gonna)

If the KotLC boys were a K-pop group...

Sorry I haven't been on for ages - been busy writing fan fics ;)

I'm going to write a chorus for NEIGH NEIGH for y'all - I'll try to use some online music thingy so you can listen to it.

If this works and I get enough likes I'll make more for different songs :)

My hcs for the Neverseen

•Trix and Umber have beef with Alvar (pettiest stuff ever)

•Glimmer and Ruy are forced into this beef

•Vespera is borderline friendly with Ruy (not much but its the thought that counts) since she deep inside (subconsiously atp) she doesnt want him to feel the way she did all those years ago

•Fintan recruited Alvar

•Gisela was a messy farm girl before her evil girl arc

•Ruy tried to be as fancy as possible to show everyone that he didn't need to from nobility to be worthy before being expelled

•Alvar and Ruy were friends before Ruy got Expelled

one thing abt Keeper that I'm shocked no one rlly talks about is how the Keeper crew and the neverseen main members low-key parallel eachother in different ways,

Like Tam & Linh w/ Ruy. All of them traumatized and hurt from the treatment of Exilium and Elvin Society. The humiliation forming a hard defense that comes when they feel stinging again.

Maruca & Alvar are both motivated by family whether it be love or hatred. Both want to valued more, Maruca wanting to help more, knowing the hurt her family went through & Alvar wanting to destroy more after learning what his family has done.

Brant and Fitz and their unfiltered rage whenever someone hurts someone they love, its blinding. But it comes from the desire to help others, to find a answer thats been prolonged. They both hold this but one manages it and one basks in it.

Biana and Giesla, strong hardworking beautiful, yet majority of their lives were spent overshadowed by the men in their lives. Biana fought to be seen while Gisela stood down to downplayed. being underestimated was a constant for both of them.

Sophie and Trix being torn by the people they love, wanting to let out the frustrations, Their power is what makes people fear them and is prevents most from seeing whats underneath. People not only restrict their power but also their emotions causing them to slowly spiral into insanity and stress.

Fintan and Keefe are both desperate for something to fill the gaping hole in them, Fintan insane from the voices begging him for just one little spark while Keefe is begging for a voice, to guide him to assure him it'll be alright

ill add more later but for now this is good

edit- Y'all can talk you aren't on mute

One thing we as a society need to talk about more is the fact that elves only wanting one kid/not twins is super messed up and also extremely stupid.

The reasoning is the fact that the firstborns have the best genetics but this has been disproven. By Fitz being a telepath while Alvar a vanisher, and Tam and Lin being a Hydrokinetic and SHade. Thses are the ones that came in my head but like for the millenniums Elvin society has existed no one thought that MAYBE having more then one kid wasn't so bad. Like its not like the Songs and Vackers were the first and only siblings in Elvin society. In conclusion Elves are stupid

Shade beef in 2024 is crazy ngl

KOTLC Favorite ice creams flavors!

Sophie-Rocky Road, I feel like Sophie was a sucker for chocolate and Rocky Road gives me Mallowmelt vibes, with it having marshmellows.

Fitz-Mint Chip, I think he'd like the fresh minty flavor and would hunt for the choclate chips like pirates digging for treasure with Biana (and Alvar before shit went down)

Keefe- Cookie's n Cream, seems like a guy with a huge sweet tooth

Biana- Green Tea, I feel like she'd want a nice calm earthy flavor to soothe her after all the shit going on

Tam- Chocolate, I feel like he'd have a basic ice cream flavor since it doesn't really matter that much too him.

Linh - Salted Caramel, especially sea salt, This girl also has a massive sweet tooth and indulges on any sweet food since that was her and Tam had least access to in Exilllium.

Marella- Mango Sorbet/Ice cream I feel like she'd like Sorbet more honestly but for the sake of the title, Ice cream. Its fruity, tropical and sunny, all stuff Marella would seem into (I was tempted to put Vanilla Ice cream for her but decided thats too basic for her.)

Maruca- Butter Pecan, she seems like a girl who'd like nuts (Pun unintended) Especially Pecans. I also imagine her family served something like Pecan Pie at holidays and had a secret family recipe of theirs.

Mr. Forkle...-dirt

Umber- Toffee, likes sweet syrupy tastes like Toffee,. No need for spoons since she has shadowflux! She also likes to let it melt a little so she can drink it like a soup.

Trix- Pumpkin pie, Im getting lazy atp so yeah. (wrote this after the rest of them but wanted umber and trix to be next to eachother)

Fintan- Vanilla, if his fossilized ass is even aware of icecream, this dude is every bit basic and if he does know about icecream, he probably has nostalgia of collecting snow and shredding fruits on it from the 3rd century

Gisela- Coffee, she wouldn't have much of a sweet tooth in my mind honestly

Alvar- Pistachio, preferably with chocolate chips. Much like Fitz...Erm he judges people and shops on how good their Pistachio Ice cream is since he a connoisseur on this flavor. Will down a whole tub of this actually.

Ruy- Strawberry, he's not much into icecream so anything will do but he does a small preference for Strawberry since its nice and refreshing adn he likes fruits with a tang.

(This hurt my fingers)

Omg this is fabulous. The absolute best Tam art I've ever seen. If he wasnt already one of my favorite characters this would've done it, you did him so much justice! Its even better than the Lodestar coverrrr

Tam Song

commission for Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Sketches and linearts on my patreon

omg okay so I've decided I'm going to rank my favorite kotlc characters. This just includes the main kids though because I actually suck at caring about the adults in the fiction I read. I love Grady, Edaline, Della, Tiergan, etc etc but I would never rank them above the main cast so oh well. Uh I'll just do this list style I guess. You can just keep reading if you care (I'm new to this site so I hope I did that keep reading function right).

13. I feel so bad for this but I put Keefe here. Maybe if I reread the books I would change my mind but where I stand he's one of the more boring, cookie-cutter boys in the series. He's got the parental issues, the comedic mask, etc etc. I don't hate him, he's an interesting character who I ship with Sophie but I just couldn't put him above the other characters is all

12. I put Linh here. I think the way Shannon handles her personality is odd from what I remember. I think in my head I like her more than I like her in the books because she just turns into a mean girl kinda as Stina's friend and she doesn't understand Tam at all once he gets back from the Neverseen. She doesn't leave room for him to change from his experiences. Again, I need to reread the books but thats my quick take. PS. Its really weird how much she dislikes Rayni and I just think she needs to relax a little bit. If she can consider forgiving her parents she can trust Tam's judgement a little bit more.

11. I think Wylie's pretty cool. He's definitely older and more mature than a lot of the other guys are and he has potential to be very relevent to the plot right now. He's just a very mid character for me though, I just don't have many strong feelings for him.

10. Maruca is a pretty cool person. I admire her determination and her willingness to put herself out there to help even when Wylie protests. She is the only helpful Psionipath we know so she's special in a way and she is best friends with one of my favorite characters! I'm also very interested in her dynamic with Biana pre-Sophie and I just want to know how that switch to Stina happened in detail.

9. Jensi goes here. I love Jensi! I think he's very cheerful and it's very cool to have a talentless elf Sophie's age, and as one of her first friends at Foxfire. He's different from the rest of the drooly boys from the start which I find compelling and I would love to see another character compete with Sophie for talents. I remember he was the only other elf who could explode the ball with his mind like Sophie did. Thats pretty cool and unaddressed as of right now but seeing as he joined their table when Foxfire started back up I imagine he'll get a bit of development so yay! Also, I always like imagining him in a fun pre-Sophie dynamic with Dex and Marella as an opposite to Biana, Fitz, and Keefe (and I guess Maruca haha) and whenever I can imagine someone being in a cool group dynamic they usually go up in points so oops.

8. Ooh its Rayni time! I think she's a much more interesting flasher character than Wylie is at the moment. She was part of the Neverseen, she encouraged Sophie to take action (I still don't like how they reacted to Sophie. As if Sophie did the wrong thing) and best of all Rayni is close with Tam for unknown reasons and I love Tam and I trust his judgement and she seemed really nice in his pov at first. I also just really love a bit of that shade and flasher dynamic especially considering they're both pretty powerful supposedly and aided in Keefe's transformation. Sooo yeah! Rayni is pretty cool, I like her attitude but she needs to be a little less attached to that cloak and a little more ready to cooperate I think.

7. Sophie is the main character so naturally I won't like her the best lol. But I actually like her a bit better than I typically care for main characters so that's still a win! She's very strong and she's finding her way. She has a human perspective and cool abilities and I think that if she became more independent of the Black Swan she could be even cooler. I still love that she burned that hideout and stood up to Lord Cassius, and she's also respectful of people's mind privacy. I do wish that her view of the Lost cities was expanded or that we got to know more about the other character dynamics outside of Sophie but everyone wishes that for every side character so it's not her fault lol.

6. Marellaaaaa. She's cool, she has fire powers, and she has an interesting home and social life. I think its great she's also getting lessons from Fintan, would love more on that. Fire is my favorite element, btw. I already technically did an analysis on her but I find the way she rejected female friendships to be interesting more than annoying and I also would love to see her have more of a childhood friend dynamic with Dex but I guess thats just not how theyre set up. I also love her hair with the little braids, its very cute.

5. Top five baby! Biana is amazing! I love that she didnt like Sophie at first and I like how it wasnt like she actively bullied Sophie she just didnt make her her business, which is totally fair. I think Biana's struggle of being under Fitz's spotlight is a great dynamic to see play out and honestly Biana is just a girl's girl. She's feminine, she's strong, and I really wish she was the one to kill Vespera but instead it was Gisela and that still makes me upset. Oh well, Biana is amazing, strong, and feminine and I love that for her! I want to see more of her desire for attention or insecurities, maybe even her friendship with Maruca being reflected upon or renewed.

4. Dex is a technopath. Therefore he is cool, despite what he thinks about the ability. Have I been called a nerd my whole life? Yes. My opinion on cool definitely still counts I promise! He can't be simplified down to a cinnamon roll, he's got a lot of anger at the class system that needs to be addressed and is totally valid. I love his dynamic with Stina, his loyalty and innocence, his distrust of the Vackers, and now his concern for Rex. He's also infinitely cooler being a student of Tinker who I also think is really really awesome.

3. TOP THREE. Okay my third is Fitz Vacker. Yes, he has some anger issues but my boy is very generous and sweet and he is remorseful for his actions. I think that he's not as angry as everyone makes him out to be and I like his arc of being the golden boy much more than Keefe's dynamic of being the disappointment. And he has a lot more experience with the human world than most elves but I feel like fandom kinda throws that under the rug. I want to see his collection! And he bakes. I bake too so I love that he bakes and he bakes for people he cares about. Why would he commission Keefe to make a painting when he could've just baked Sophie's favorites and shown he cared in his own time consuming way? Anyways, I can already imagine his innocent charming smiles and I like brunettes too, sorry. And he definitely has a maturity Keefe doesn't have. I don't ship Sophitz, I just think Fitz is better. He does care about his status tho and what an interesting dynamic is it to have a hero who actively helps fight the bad guys but also still has to confront his own support of the class system in place? He's not bad, just morally grey!

2. I love Stina soooo so so so much. I know a lot of that is headcannon and fandom but I still do. She was mean in the first books and I think the mean girls are usually the most fun. I think its not only because you can channel your own internal aggression into them but also because they're a refreshing critic to the main character when everyone else enables them. I love that she takes care of unicorns and she probably rides them and I have channeled my minor love for music into Stina potentially having a huggggee love for it. If she ever discovered human music (unless she has in which case she's already in love). I love her friend group in the recent books and I think shes just herself and she attracts others who wsnt to be themselves. Now animal kidnapping and bullying is certainly not okay, but come on I wish Dex and Stina were portrayed on even playing fields because it would've been so much more fun and plausible that Dex and Stina both just equally hate and torment each other. She wants to be more involved in fighting and she has a loving home life so I love that for her. She'd be a great commentary on societal expectations which is such a contrast to Fitz actively supporting some of these expectations and that is so cool to me. Anyways, sorry I love Stina.

Okay, so it's hard to decide if I truly like Tam more than Stina but at this moment I will say that I do. Tam is a very interesting character. He's loyal to those he cares about but he makes himself appear to be very standoffish and suspicious. Its like, he has trouble letting you in but once you are he isnt letting you face anything alone. He's got his own morals and that includes not hurting anyone but he's not self righteous about it. I love his banter with Keefe, I love that he has common sense. I love that he is canonically a reader because I also love books and I feel like he could be known for having a great imagination or researching some cool things, whichever way his book preferences sway. His relationship with Rayni is so interesting and so is the shade/flasher dynamic. I think Tam and Keefe will have a different dynamic after this and I really want to see Tam address his parents more clearly and I want a conversation with Linh because she's trying to forgive her parents and also not trusting Tam or Rayni. Tam's whole aesthetic is so cool too. You might think he's emo, but he's not. He just likes black and that's totally fine. Shadow magic is also so interesting, and I have more thoughts on that for later. He has a relationship with the gnomes and the dwarves now technically. He has survival experience and he is one of the few who has full skill training that he could utilize. Anyways, I love love love Tam so there ya go. He's at the top and Keefe's at the bottom. Oops, not oops tho.

HII so I really love your kotlc sketches <3 Its how I aspire to draw!! :D They're so good.

I have a drawing request, if thats alright! I would LOVE to see Tam drawn in your style! You can draw him however.

Even if you don't do the request, I just really love you sketches and art style! <3 You're doing great!!

Thank you so so much!! And I am more than happy to oblige—tam is my favorite skrunkly shade boy

(but seriously you’re so nice for saying all that)

Keefe: I think we should have glowstick juice injected in our bones when we're born so if we break em there's a fun little surprise.

Sophie: What's the surprise?

Tam: Blood poisoning.

Biana: Why is Tam crying?

Sophie: He took one of those 'which kotlc character are you' Buzzfeed quizzes.

Biana: Oh man, who did he get?

Sophie: He got Keefe.

Dex: Who's the scariest-

Keefe: Tam

Dex: I didn't even finis-

Keefe: Tam

Sophie: Hey guys, wanna hear all my secrets?

Fitz: I DON'T LIKE BEING A COGNATE OR A TELEPATH

Keefe: Hair is terrible. The last thing I need to worry about is my hair. Besides, I look terrible.

Biana: Hey, where's my plain black tunic? And my black boots?

Dex: What? I can't work with gadgets. It's useless- Oh, Sophie can you die Iggy back to gray?

Tam: Ooooh where's the butterfly? I want a puppy! The butterfly and puppy can be friends!

Linh: GRR STAY AWAY FROM ME I'M HAVING A BAD LIFE

Alden: Everyone, THERE'S A REASON TO WORRY!!!!!

Linh: Keefe, why is Tam in the hospital?

Keefe: I DON'T KNOW. I SAID, "breathe if you like me."

THEN OUT OF NOWHERE TAM STARTED TURNING BLUE. AND THEN HE FELL OVER.

Oh wait, now I know why he went blue.

Keefe Sencen's eulogy

Dearly beloved,

we are gathered here today to celebrate the wonderful life of Keefe I’m not your legacy boy Sencen. Keefe was a wonderful friend to those who were close to him. We all knew him by his trademark messy blonde hair, smirk, and “I don’t care” attitude. Keefe loved serving the black swan, and we could talk about all of those adventures but I think if he was here today he would rather have us talk about his prankster legacy. He loved to break into dame Alina’s office and put nasty things in her desk. He also loved to destroy things such as the glass pyramid on top of foxfire. And let’s not forget his most infamous prank, the great gluon incident. These pranks helped him win the foxfire detention record. However the most important thing in his life was his adorable boyfriend tam song. They didn’t get along at first but soon they were inseparable. As we wrap up here today Keefe Sencen lives on in all of our (and especially his fan girls) hearts.