tawnyprophet

[tawnyprophet]

Fitz and the Fool in the Elderling tent on Aslevjal in Fool’s Fate

“Sleepily I reached over and set my hand in his. He did not seem to wake. Strangely, I felt at peace. I closed my eyes and sank down into a deep and dreamless slumber.”

[tawnyprophet]

warning for half baked 4 am thoughts compeltely unsourced bc i cant ve bothered to unearth my books rn.

yeah fitz is notably passive when it comes to physical intimacy and autonomy. he doesnt really scrutinize the ways in which other characters use him for sex or intimacy. his agency in this has always been troubled; where his walls come up more often is always in words though. his sexual relationships with other characters always found conflict in defining what their actions *meant* to each other and fitz was notorious for having his own unspoken ideas of what he expected or wanted these relationships to be. he really craves definition but also scorns it from others when it doesnt match his own internal dialogue lol. the way i understand it is that accepting a kiss from the fool is easy and its been noted before how desirable physical contact with the fool was for him historically; they have a pattern of physical intimacy before the Big Freak Out. but saying "i love you and you know this"? oh god now he has context and meaning for that kiss. now he has to scrutinize the way in which the fools actions DONT line up to his internal definitions of love and insecurities of what that kind of love means and would look like. hes really good at letting things be until you try to put words to it which is what the fool understood inately and was trying to avoid at all costs.

Anyone has any thoughts about how Fitz wasn’t mad when the Fool kissed him, but then when he realized his friend actually loved him he was?

Was it because Fitz thought the kiss was a joke like he thought the love confession was? Was it because when it was finally clear that the Fool wasn’t joking he had to confront his own feelings?

It still feels weird to me because Fitz was never bothered about the kiss (all he did was be surprised about it and then at the end of the book he is like “oh yeah I hope my friend wears the earring I gave him forever”) and yet in the next trilogy he is such an ass when he realizes the all thing wasn’t a joke. It makes me think if he was already mad not only because of how confused he was about his feelings but also because that means the Fool told him he loved him and then left him for years.

[tawnyprophet]

[tawnyprophet]

Beside me at the table, I was aware of the Fool making some small movement but my vision was unfocused on the room and I had no warning of his intentions until his hand settled on my wrist. His fingertips unerringly found their own faded gray fingerprints, left on my flesh so many years ago. His touch was gentle, but the sensation was an arrow in my heart. I physically spasmed, a speared fish, and then froze. The Fool ran through my veins, hot as liquor, cold as ice. For a flashing instant, we shared physical awareness. The intensity of it went beyond any joining I’d ever experienced. It was more intimate than a kiss and deeper than a knife thrust, beyond a Skill-link and beyond sexual coupling, even beyond my Wit-bond with Nighteyes. It was not a sharing, it was a becoming. Neither pain nor pleasure could encompass it. Worse, I felt myself turning and opening to it, as if it were my lover’s mouth upon mine, yet I did not know if I would devour or be devoured. In another heartbeat, we would be one another, know one another more perfectly than two separate beings ever should.

Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb

[tawnyprophet]

local man brutally roasted by his own dog

[tawnyprophet]

i finally finished captive prince and it made me want to reread the greatest love story of all time

[tawnyprophet]

self indulgent posy giving

[tawnyprophet]

AMBER

[tawnyprophet]

name swap

[tawnyprophet]

the ideal date is coming over to my house and staring at my wolf figurines in complete silence. if you touch any of them the date is over

[tawnyprophet]

Still thinking about Farseer… doodled Kettricken, Nighteyes, Fool and Fitz slogging through the mountains because it was my fav part. 10/10 camaraderie and banter. 

[tawnyprophet]

“It was in keeping with our roles, and I harbored no resentment. I told myself this several times.”

Fitz, harboring resentment.

[tawnyprophet]

quit my job & ran away to the woods but brought my favorite books with me

[tawnyprophet]

Does Lord Golden use his sexuality as a weapon? I don’t think the use of “weapon” is useful here to your question.

I don’t think the word “weapon” is one that should be used here for many reasons -- most deal with the fact that gay, transgender, and queer people’s sexuality has often been met with fear (a gay person flirting with a straight person seems to be a common fear; somehow the very fact that a queer person has a sexuality is often immediately considered more threatening than many interactions between two heterosexual cisgender people).

I’d argue that Lord Golden is charming.

As Lord Golden, the Fool uses everything available to him to make his persona more appealing and attractive to others. The reason being that he will get what he wants -- which is typically information.

Lord Golden is beautiful, well-dressed, wealthy, and enticing in how he presents himself as this exotic, passionate nobleman. His charm reaches whoever he sets his gaze on, regardless of gender. Does he flirt? YES. But flirting isn’t inherently sexual or threatening (although it CAN be).

Sydel is won over by his charms, but then again so is the Bresinga Huntsman, Avoin, who is overly eager to share what he knows about Prince Dutiful’s cat, as much as he feels allowed to (Fools Errand, “Claws”). Fitz describes Lord Golden as an avid listener; his apparent passion and interest plays a huge part in getting people to divulge as much information as possible.

The Fool describes his charm as a “glamour.” While there is an understood danger of allowing Lord Golden to flirt with Sydel, the danger is mostly built up on the expectations that are held due to societal circumstances and practice. Gender roles and social class function in ways that frame Golden’s flirtatious behavior as threatening to the safety of Sydel. But this has less to do with Lord Golden utilizing his own *sexuality* as a weapon or tool, and more to do with how he knows his actions will be interpreted.

The Fool even admits to Fitz that he doesn’t care for the actions he feels he has to take as Lord Golden in order for them to proceed with their mission (i.e. Kissing Civil). But even here, the most overtly “sexual” act functions, not to garner him any sympathy or privilege with Civil or the Bresingas, but as a last resort social faux pas that allows him and Fitz and Laurel to leave quickly. Is he using his sexuality here to push people away? Eh.

He’s definitely aware of the impression the kiss leaves on Civil, and furthermore, he KNOWS the reaction will be negative -- but there’s no intent on the Fool’s part to actually engage in any sexual behavior. Any goal here is dependent on the negative reaction he knows hes going to be met with -- but his own sexuality is not necessarily a factor, only the impression of a sexuality - often one that is socially taboo depending on the circumstances. (Buckkeep doesn’t seem very accepting.)

So in sum... I DO think Lord Golden’s possesses a certain charm that is effective regardless of gender, but this charm does not hinge solely on his attractiveness as a sexual partner or his sexuality/sensuality. Does he use his charm as a tool? Yes. Of course. But this charm is a painting made up of many strokes, and sensuality/sexuality is just one of those. But it is the PERCEPTION of a sexuality or sexual attractiveness that is utilized rather than any reality of a sexual orientation or action.

P.S.

Fitz’ perception of Golden is often riddled with internalized notions about heteronormativity, homophobia, transphobia, and his more personal problem of marrying any sense of sexuality with his childhood friend; in Fool’s Errand there is  still a part of Fitz that views the Fool as this strange, sexless figure. This leads to Fitz being a tad more dramatic in his description and suspicions about Lord Golden’s sexual nature.

There’s one scene between Lord Golden and Laurel sitting and talking in their nightgowns where Fitz assumes they must be sharing a sexual interest since theyre sitting together at night in their bed clothes -- he immediately jumps to this assumption and ends up mentally batting away thoughts of discomfort at the notion.

SO yeah, Fitz definitely runs into some trouble when it comes to the Fool’s sexuality. There’s a lot there to unpack tbh.

Open Question:

Do you think that Beloved, via Lord Golden, uses their sexuality as a weapon?

By that I do not mean that they are necessarily violent with it - I mean rather that they use it as a tool, a way to impact other people, either drawing them closer or pushing them away. 

Or is this interpretation the result of seeing Lord Golden primarily through the eyes of Tom “No Homo” Badgerlock who reframes certain things as more unsettling than perhaps they are? Fitz has certainly flirted for information more than once, but he regards Lord Golden’s behaviour as in an entirely different category. Why?

Thoughts?

[tawnyprophet]

Guess what book finally arrived? I’m so happy, have a Fool sassing our dear Wall Ass

[tawnyprophet]

a playmoss playlist

[tawnyprophet]

Happy comes and happy goes. Loving someone isn’t that crazy infatuation that you feel at first. That passes. Well, not passes, but it calms down, and then sometimes, when you least expect it, you get a glimpse of the person and it all comes back again, in a big rush. But even that’s not what you’re looking for. What you’re looking for is the feeling that no matter what, being with that person is always going to be better than being without that person. Good times or bad. That having that person around makes whatever you’re going through better, or at least more tolerable.

City of Dragons, Robin Hobb