#beloved fool

this is probably beating a dead horse but you know I hear often this debate on whether rote is queerbaiting and I have to say I genuinely argue it is already on-page queer. beloved is canonically queer & in love with fitz and I just don't think there's a version of fitz that's normal about that. i think that even if there was a different author but the same fitzchivalry you could not honestly write that man in this story coming to terms with his identity because he doesn't reallyyy come to terms with any other parts of his identity. he doesn't come to terms with any of his loves on-page, barely comes to terms with the wit, never stops lying, is deeply uncomfortable with himself and his life and his relationships and his family and himself as a father and the fact that he is a bastard so why would this be any different? it's weird that hobb takes such a stance against a romantic fitzfool reading or a queer fitz because she already wrote it, it's on the page! this IS how a relationship between the two of them would play out, this is how fitz would act if he was queer, there is no what if, this is it. in my opinion at least it IS a queer story. anyway.