If it was anyone other than Corwin, I'd say you're right. But he's been shown time and time again to have absolutely no bleeping clue that his straightforward approach could be interpreted in some other manner, especially as regards relationships with members of the opposite sex. Also, he both of them were clearly very tired when their internal filters were not at 100%, which might have led to some conversation that could have been a bit embarrassing in the morning, but that's not the same as either of them intending to push things any further than they did (or even that far, assuming someone clues Corwin in to the potential alternate interpretations).

>I'm not real clear if Korra knows why she's acting hand's off with
>Corwin either (or realizes what she's doing). Utena and Anthy will
>make Korra know it's ok to get touchy-feelie again, but I gotta wonder
>if they'd put a stop to anything beyond that.

I suspect their main intent is to get Corwin and Korra to simply act naturally around each other, neither pushing them to do anything nor being held back by themselves or anyone else. As has been proven many times, Utena and Anthy both subscribe to Feynman's wife's philosophy: "What do you care what other people think?" So what if outsiders might interpret things in a manner that is less than flattering. They'll know the truth, and that's all that matters to them. I suspect there's also a bit of Utena being reminded of Anthy holding back, and not wanting any part of it. Corwin won't do anything to intentionally hurt either Utena or Anthy, and they know it. Therefore, why not take steps to resolve things between Corwin and Korra?

>In the original thread I wrote "A nice piece, with many character
>developing vignettes, along with actually seeing some things hinted at
>or promised earlier (such as ice dodging). All in all, it gave me the
>feel of setting things up for a big payoff in the next part". But I
>also agree with what others have noted - it's slow, as have been the
>last few. I don't mind that much. As I wrote, I've had the feeling
>something big is being set up.

I can't disagree, but I also didn't really pay attention to it when I first read it. Not every piece can be all edge-of-the-seat thrillers. Besides, I've learned over the years to never underestimate Gryphon's ability to set something up that nobody saw coming, and have the seeds of it planted years beforehand...

Offsides

[...] in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.
-- David Ben Gurion
EPU RCW #π
#include <stdsig.h>