The Fool (spoilers for all RotE books, including LST)

[Valarya]

The single strongest trait of the Fool's link to the protagonist FitzChivary Farseer was friendship. As soon as you make the Fool a woman or homosexual or hermaphrodite it becomes a sexual relationship. Even as a counter-sexual being a hermaphrodite is sexual. The sexuality of one character overshadows the relationship. This wasn't a simple friendship. Fitz and the Fool were closer to one another than any other. More than once in the story Fitz and Nighteyes were as one. More than once in the story Fitz and the Fool were as one. None of the characters in the series thought of Nighteyes sexually, (I am speaking of the relationship as a character and a being in a story......the role occupied). The relationship was that of deep friendship and kinship. This was a shared feeling described towards Fitz and the Fool by Nighteyes.

I quoted this entire paragraph for context, but the part I want to focus on I have put in bold. That no one has ever had thoughts about the sexual relationship between Fitz and Nighteyes. It's obvious why, of course... a human and a dog. And as you say, the relationship between Fitz and Fool isn't conjecture. All the clues are there and they all point to deep friendship. A lot of people overlook the fact Hobb tried to "fix" this business in Tawny Man when Fool explains that being with Fitz would be like Fitz 'being' with Nighteyes.

The Fool was not human as described by Fitz more than once when inside his body with the skill and by the Fool himself when he needed to give Fitz back his emotional memories he had retrieved from Girl-on-a-Dragon. Fitz also mentioned how beautiful and unique a being the Fool was. He never identified anything about the Fool as being female when he was within him and able to see from the Fool's point of view.

Yes. This. Exactly this. It's the easiest "proof" that Fool's sexuality doesn't matter in regards to Fitz.

Either way... well stated Ampy. I love how you so eloquently stated my feelings on the Fool. Welcome to thePlenty!

It always makes me almost angry, when people spent hours to try to sort out what gender the Fool is.

Me too. Haha

I was fortunate to have had all of the Farseer books available as readily as I could complete each one. I started reading them well after all of them had been written. I skipped the Live Ship books because they did not include FitzChivalry. I read the Farseer and Fool trilogies like one large book.

I downloaded a sample of Ship of Magic to my Kindle and was immediately drawn into it. So I am currently reading the Live Ship trilogy.

This is exactly how I started the series. I read Farseer and TM as a whole then went back to read LST. It's interesting how LST instantly became my favorite 'trilogy' of the series overall. However... now that you have read LST (or will have by the time you read this perhaps), you will be so much clearer on several things that happened in Tawny Man. In fact.. going back and re-reading the entire series in its proper order made me realize just how lost you can be in Tawny Man without the LST context. It's so important.. so I try to tell people that it's a 9-book-series and must be read in order.

Enjoy!!