#rote meta

the average ROTE meta post on tumblr: where do the fictional constraints of female oppression end and the real-world implications of RH's innately ingrained view on gender roles begin? How does the intersectionality of the Fool's gender expression and his need to manipulation circumstances to his/fate's advantage negatively and positively impact both the broader story and the overall message being projected throughout the work regarding gender non-conformity and the increasingly nebulous concept of "the one true self"? Is there such a thing as self determination or merely self-deception within varying layers of societal privilege? What does the positing of the inherently invasive Skill as a noble, desirable magic versus the far more mutually consensual Wit as a base and reprobate magic imply when examined through the lens of Wit as queerness and Skill as intimacy? Does authorial intent truly merit the final word in regard to widely recognized, consistent patterns of behavior and strong suggestions of undisguised desire between two apparently "platonic" friends? How does Hobb's attempt at commentary regarding societal oppression and cultures of violence fall short and what aspects of political upheaval and organized rebellion does she actually portray successfully?

thinking about fitz’s relationship with hunger in the beginning of assassin’s apprentice and how food (or the lack thereof) is part of the reason for his abandonment at moonseye.

if i may. the concept of fitz being a repressed touch-me-not is so juicy to me because there is no way this man could be normal about anything. his concept of masculinity is incredibly rigid and there would have to be an irrational period of unbearable stupidity on his behalf before he would manage to remotely process the experience of attraction that he perceives as incongruous and backwards. the fool would be cautious but wouldn’t reject him because he would be too busy losing his mind that FITZ, the guy who he’s been in love with since his teen years, is showing affection in that way at all.

One aspect I find particularly compelling to reflect on is the nature of bonds and the obligations they generate, which is a theme that permeates the entire Fitz's arc (and, to a certain extent, also the Liveship Traders and the Rain Wild Chronicles). From the end of Royal Assassin, with its emblematic epilogue “Wolves have no kings” through the state of isolation, and a kind of “non-life” that frees him from every painful bond as well as from his deepest affections, to Fool’s Fate, in which Fitz quite literally “returns to life” by forging ties grounded in natural, reciprocal obligations with Molly, with his family, with the crown, and thus once again with the Six Duchies.