#there's an entire other essay ruminating at the back of my mind for Burrich/Chivalry too ngl

[ulfrsmal]

just finished Assassin's Apprentice and I have thoughts about the Fool & Fitz's friendship, not just it being developed off-page but in general. no spoilers for the rest of the series pls i'm starting Royal Assassin today tl;dr: the Fool and Fitz are consistently, canonically othered by the people in Buckkeep in different ways, yet similarly enough so that we can say "like recognises like". they are friends because nobody else understands what they go through day by day -- because nobody else is othered like they are. they can be intrepreted as joining forces to remain more or less sane, and/or less lonely, in an environment that does not, nor wants to, support them. also they may both be queer in different ways

basically, their friendship was forged quickly and offpage in a way that can feel like a copout, but which to me was not. it makes sense to me! both are alone and lonely and othered by the people in Buckkeep, albeit in different ways, plus what we have of their characterisation supports this too. Fitz canonically is alone and lonely, and he canonically considers friends those he spends some time with. eg Molly, who i can't argue was a true friend to him, but whom Fitz def saw as that. Fitz and the Fool live in the same place (give or take a tower a stable or three), they saw each other semi-regularly at best, and for Fitz this Creates Friendship. The Fool also makes fun of Fitz in the same way he makes fun of everyone. this is important because most people look down on, and make fun of, Fitz specifically because he's Fitz The Bastard. he's set apart from everybody else in Buckkeep in this way. but the Fool doesn't do that: he treats Fitz in the same way he treats everyone else. for someone like Fitz who's only had negative attention, this neutral attention must feel like praise outright. thus: Friendship on the other hand: the Fool. his physical description sets him apart from the dark-eyed, dark-haired, ruddy-from-being-outdoors, people of Buckkeep (Farseer line especially). his profession also sets him apart from every other non-royal, non-nobility person. (i've done no research but i've been told that historically irl court bufoons had physical disabilities, eg dwarfism. i accept corrections & info about this, i know i could very easily be wrong). Basically, nobody sees the Fool for what/who he is, they only see his profession in the same way that they only see Fitz as The Bastard. no nuance. the Fool, by virtue of having lived in Buckkeep for longer (and perhaps being older and/or more developed than Fitz), must have recognised this similarity between them fairly quickly. plus he dreams about Fitz. Thus: Friendship

there's another angle i didn't touch upon for lack of info but here it is too: queerness.

to me Fitz read like aroace (he didn't get Molly's implying/expecting him to ask her to marry him, for example, nor the "catamite" reference which could've been understood by context if not through the actual word). Besides, the Wit can be taken as a Gay Analogy/Allegory, which would only add to his (canon) queerness! the thing is: idk about the Fool. not yet. so I cannot say if this plays a part into their shared bond/friendship.

but the Fool already has a very Gender Thing going on canonically, there's an italics at the beginning of a chapter that's basically him telling people to mind their own fucking business when asked what gender he is, so like. Fitz and the Fool are arguably part of the same community, aka they're both queer, just in different ways perhaps. will need to read more about the Fool especially to expand on this X)