"I don't think they definitely shouldn't."

"Cool."

"I do feel like I should maybe point out that - none of the other Imrainais had ever liked anyone before they met their version of you. I don't think this is definitive but it's - weirdly uniform, and seems like it might be relevant information, if you're going to conspire to marry her off to someone."

"We could ask Elizabeth to steal another me from somewhere in the universe but I think this has some potential to go badly."

"It seems like a kind of terrible idea, honestly. Just - she can't necessarily decide to be comfortable with arbitrary people because it would be convenient. ...I kind of also worry that she might be trying a little too hard to be convenient, right now."

"We don't have to bring it up at all. Just if she is from a culture that'd want to get married -"

"I think they should talk to her. I just - also think someone else should talk to her about how she thinks these things are supposed to go. Maybe Valentine."

Nodnodnod.

"Also probably shouldn't take any big steps until they've figured out what they're going to do about the father. Pretty good chance that Elizabeth can find him."

"I think the Elves are - more sticklers about that than about anything else including murder - doesn't mean she can't tell them to buzz off -"

"Doesn't seem inclined to."

"Should someone else do it?"

"I dunno. I guess someone could ask them why they think it's so essential. But maybe she'll be right and the father won't care anyway."

"Let's ask Alex?"

"Sure."

So he wanders Alex-ward.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Can you explain the Elf thing about - why it's so important we figure out who Imrainai's baby's father is."

" - yeah. So, we're immortal, right, we get returned to life if we die, we expect to live for as long as the universe."

"Elves where I'm from are not that way but sure."

"So then what's - never fixable? What will never, ever be okay? Not murder, that's fixable, not even - horribly mistreating someone, unless you're Melkor, who manages to make that stick only through some really concerted effort - not missing someone for ten thousand years -

- there's really only a couple of things. Marrying someone, that's not fixable. And - missing your kid's childhood, or being less than fully present for it. If you don't see an adult for a thousand years you can build a relationship later but if you miss a childhood, that's it. 

All of you are really young. So probably missing a kid's childhood seems bad but not - incommensurably worse than anything else you can think of -"

"Yeah, I kind of don't think that Asmodia missing half of Verita's childhood is a worse thing than - whatever happened to your Imrainai, say."

"I think in ten thousand years you might think so. But also, humans might be really different than Elves. Or - what the worst thing is might depend a lot on what one's society thinks the worst thing is."

"That makes sense.

"I think - there's some sort of case to be made that pushing the new Imrainai into a childrearing and relationship situation that makes her miserable during her child's infancy is also that kind of irrecoverable harm?"

Nod. "Being miserable for your child's infancy is really bad! But - we haven't met the guy. If he's a horrible person who should be nowhere near a child that's one thing. If they're just incompatible - I think we should facilitate him getting time with the baby every day if he wants it. She doesn't have to interact with him."