OK, in the interest of spurring further discussion, I'm gonna share the near-horrifying thought I had whilst test driving a car today:
What's the strongest sign Marten can give Dora that he's not going to cheat on her, leave her, or trash their relationship in any other way?
I don't think Jeph's going there, not yet. At least, I hope that's not where this is heading before a lot more gets resolved.
So, maybe 2025 or so? Of course, if everyone waited until they were ready, it would never happen...
Um... I think I see what Carl was hinting at, but no one seems to have gone there...
The awful, dangerous, shocking, deeply frightening, outlandishly radical, massively matriarchal (or patriarchal?), male-soul-destroying institution that got a lot of teeth gnashing a few pages ago.... [near-horrifying, indeed!]
(Dare i say it..?) Hint: if everyone waited til they were ready, it would never happen...
Yes, "Marriage."
Imagine, if you will, a universe in which Marten (at some point in the future, I don't think any of us are nearly ready for it) decides to propose to Dora... (No! I don't see it either! It's just a remote possibility that would, probably, reassure Dora, move the uber-plot forward, display massive character development, trigger a massive fanservicey (for the female readers) wedding arc, etc, etc.)
( I'm Not Ready!!! )