#but as the ephemera article states this is sort of an exception to the Mothers being largely non-interventionist

[ariadne-mouse]

re: Cleo & the Granddaughter - personally I'm only idly interested in the shipping angle at the moment (though the seeds are there and the show can certainly convince me) but what I do find intriguing about it is, whether romance or friendship, there is a fraught future already baked in. The Granddaughter is on a very specific personal journey to become a Mother, to gain incredible amounts of knowledge about the Cosmos in an eyeblink and live a life of detached service; even if there was a possibility of some romance remaining after that (give us the Mothers cultural lore, Third Person-), the Granddaughter would be irrevocably changed as a person. If they do catch feelings for Cleo, they will have to grapple with the choice of leaving that behind upon Realization. Who knows, maybe a friendship/romance and the trials within will be what precipitates Realization itself. Meanwhile Cleo would be in a position to grapple with falling for someone who is essentially marrying a life of service, and watch them change. Or, even more fraught, if the Granddaughter's journey/Realization are compromised by their connection, that is a whole new can of interpersonal consequence worms. So I am very excited by all that.