[the_faery_queen]

actually, that's not always true. writers don't always know what's best for their characters. they know what they want for their characters. i read the liveships and felt a lot of what happened there was forced on everyone, it wasn't what they wanted, it wasn't what they would have realistically chosen, going with who robin hobb had made them to be (althea being pregnant mostly) and i think that's true of this. she wanted the fitz and molly thing, and that's what happened. that's even why she killed burrich off, the same way she did kyle in liveshops, to give a happy ending to other characters, not because it made sense for the book or was realistic.

the fitz and fool thing comes out, msotly, through the tawny man. through the sacrifices the fool made for fitz, for the understanding he gave, unconditional love. molly didn't have that. she HAD conditions. she wanted fitz with her, she didn't like the wit. she didn't want to share him. the fool had a true, open, sacrificing love for fitz. and that was the shame of it, that fitz was hung up on the fact he was male. it's all plumbing, the fool said, and it's true. it IS just plumbing, and fitz realised that later. he told hap he loved him, and hap was embarrassed but eventually realised, as fitz did, that there's no shame in loving other men. fitz just couldn't get beyond the plumbing to have a physical relationship with the fool, btu i have no doubt he loved him and if the fool had been female, they would have been together.

sorry, i know you're hung up on molly and fitz, but to me it's not true love. it's not a proper loving relationship. she had conditions on hinm. she demanded too much and she just didn't get him. the fool did. kettricken did. he was better off with either of those.