Episode 3: The only part I thought was stupid out of an otherwise decent episode was the whole teacher "I just happened to feel *insert exact issues they went through* so they didn't deserve to win first place. Why should it matter how they got to the outcome, that wasn't the assignment given to them, it was to create a final project and see how their peers reacted.
Why should it matter how they got to the outcome, that wasn't the assignment given to them, it was to create a final project and see how their peers reacted.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I would point out that Professor Hottie said it wasn't just that it wasn't what they planned but that, because it wasn't what they planned, it lacked the, like, vision or whatever that was supposed to drive the project. Which is a little bit silly, but it's also the kind of abstract lesson that would make sense to apply when trying to teach students how to make art rather than just the mechanics of putting a production together.
What's a little unfair about this, I think, is that, while it's absolutely possible to pick up on what Professor Hottie was talking about just by watching the end product, she did have a little bit of an idea of what was going on with our group before filming, so she's kinda got a cheaty bit of knowledge she might not have otherwise.
It still smacks of authorial contrivance, even if the writers can list out exactly why it makes sense, which is the main issue.
This series could be good but it has a problem: it is not focusing on its interesting aspects.
This series could be fun and psychological because I feel that there is an interesting idea, meeting your heroes and seeing them struggle.
If these people are outstanding enough to be called the Platinum Generation, they must be amazing.
I wonder if Kyoya will bring out the motivation in this group. We have unexplained time travel, so it is possible.
Is anyone else feeling that the sexy parts feel out of place?
That seems to be the most frequent complaint, in the thread, yes.
I would argue that every part of the show feels out of step with all the other parts, thus far, since it can't seem to clue us in on what kind of show it's supposed to be.
I would argue that every part of the show feels out of step with all the other parts, thus far, since it can't seem to clue us in on what kind of show it's supposed to be.
Wise Interregnum, you've cracked the code.
This show does feel like the author had many ideas and decided to do all of them without focusing on anything specific.
That is why I feel frustrated. There is good material here. USE IT!
What's especially frustrating is that the ideas that get mashed next to each other don't feel like they belong together. (And I don't mean the silly anime tiddy stuff. That's a different kind of issue (if you think it's an issue).) And it's less that the ideas seem disparate than that they don't seem to be headed in the same direction: are we looking to meet the broad genre expectations or subvert them?
In that...is this a story about a wish-fulfillment do-over ("Yay! I get to be awesome and hang with my awesome heroes who now think I'm awesome and my life is awesome and I invented YouTube and then sold YouTube!") or about the inescapability of fate ("turns out, even after changing the timeline, everything just...is the same as it was, but the color palates are a little different")?
Which is to say nothing of whether or not the main story mechanic (the time travel) even belongs in the story to begin with.
What's especially frustrating is that the ideas that get mashed next to each other don't feel like they belong together. (And I don't mean the silly anime tiddy stuff. That's a different kind of issue (if you think it's an issue).) And it's less that the ideas seem disparate than that they don't seem to be headed in the same direction: are we looking to meet the broad genre expectations or subvert them?
Man, I really want to like this show. It has such a strong initial premise that hits all my weak points, with its setup of a guy after several disappointing experiences deciding to let go of his doubts and go all out chasing the artistic career he always yearned for. But so far every time something interesting seems to happen it just fizzles out too quickly, only to give way to generic "omg protag-kun, you are so awesome and smart and incredible <3<3" for doing... not particularly impressive stuff, really, especially in an environment where he's surrounded by people who are supposedly the best of the best in terms of artistic talent and creativity.
There's no reason for him to have had his meet-cute with Chief-chan then meet her in the past if they weren't destined to be together.
Shinoaki is a red herring, the girl he goes into the story crushing on only to be whisked away by the girl he unexpectedly bumps into who fervently denies she feels anything for him.
In fact, if nothing else, the story seems not to care about the "platinum generation" as anything more than a means for the MC to [plot stuff]. The emotional stuff would seem to be with Chief-chan, the only other character with a storyline of her own.
...is how I see it. Though I've been wrong in the past. (Not this season, so far, it looks like. But many times in the past.)
This is a very solid way of looking at it, and I really wish you were right because Kawasegawa is best girl by such a large margin it's not even funny. But, as much as I hate being the bearer of bad news, that entire scene from where he meets her, has drinks with her, gets recruited as an apprentice by her... all of it in its entirety is anime original. In the original light novel it immediately jumps from the scene where he's jadedly returning to his hometown straight into waking up in 2006.
Here, you can read the prologue of volume 1 for free in Amazon's sample for confirmation, which ends at the scene where he time travels back in time.
Meaning, the actual first girl in the source material is none other than Shinoaki.
Not that it completely disqualifies Kawasegawa from winning, but somehow this, combined with Shinoaki actually being in the volume 1 cover makes it seem kinda hopeless to me, sadly.
They might have included that scene in the anime as a nod to Bokutachi no Remake ver.β, a side-story written by the author set in an alternate universe where he doesn't time travel, and joins future Kawasegawa in an extremely similar series of events (without the final project cancellation we see in the anime). This novel was advertised as a what-if AU focusing on selling Kawasegawa as the main heroine, similarly to those Re:Zero IF side-stories.
I mean, I believe you, of course. But...that is such a weird decision, if it doesn't foreshadow her significance to him. 'Cus, like, then why include it? What does it narratively contribute to the story? If it's just to show him get depressed about work...why do it like that? Why include THE OBVIOUS BEST GIRL right up front only to then try to win us over with [shudders] Shinoaki?
I know it's cool to hate the main girls, sometimes, but...Shinoaki is literally the worst of the 6 (7, if you count the sister twice) girls we've seen have lines of any significant amount. She's not even cliche, just...dull.
Is it possible the adaptation is of both? Like, a version that's going to end ambiguously anyway so why not squish the two versions together?
Further...is it possible that this isn't an alternate version as a best girl what-if but as a what-if with best girl? As in: is the "side story" that it's Chief-chan and not Shinoaki he gets with, or is it that he ends up with Chief-chan in a different way (that didn't involve time travel)?
Do you know if he worked with Chief-chan canonically? Like, if he's home and depressed because of the game being scrapped that he worked on with her?
Because, if that's the case, she's still first girl, just like in the show--but she's secretly first girl. Like in [REDACTED], where the cover girl/first girl never ever ever gets any kind of traction...because she's also not the one whom he met first, it turns out.
Regardless, it should still be her because CHIEF-CHAN IS SO GREAT.
I know it's cool to hate the main girls, sometimes, but...Shinoaki is literally the worst of the 6 (7, if you count the sister twice) girls we've seen have lines of any significant amount. She's not even cliche, just...dull.
Yeah, I completely agree. To me, Shinoaki also feels particularly out of place in the setting. As in, all the other characters, while still pretty colorful and anime-ish, feel remarkably down to earth compared to her. Even Nanako, ignoring the over the top fanservice scenes, feels like such a normal, friendly girl you could meet in college. Shinoaki on the other hand gives off this extreme "moeblob 4-koma" vibe that makes her stand out in a bad way. And don't get me wrong, I love moeblob shows, but with this show's setting and premise she just feels annoying.
This is definitely a possibility, especially considering that Beta timeline scene that got included, and I'm crossing my fingers the show decides to go this route.
Further...is it possible that this isn't an alternate version as a best girl what-if but as a what-if with best girl? As in: is the "side story" that it's Chief-chan and not Shinoaki he gets with, or is it that he ends up with Chief-chan in a different way (that didn't involve time travel)?
The original light novels are still ongoing, and as far as I know no official winner has come out, so it's still not out of the question that best girl might still win in the original series. Though pragmatically it just feels so unlikely. I mean, just look at how many times she appears in the volume covers compared to Shinoaki and Nanako:
She's only in 2 out of 8 volume covers (as opposed to Shinoaki's 6/8 and Nanako's 5/8), and she's only the central character in one of them. It annoys me how it makes her feel like just a side character.
Compare this with the Beta volumes, where she's sold as the main heroine:
Always there paired with the protagonist, and I will say rocking that 10-years later look.
I read the prologue and chapter 1 up until the first lecture scene (her first appearance in the book), and was let down when the protagonist reacts to her self-introduction without reaction or even a hint of recognition:
"Number 10, Kawasegawa Eiko."
From the seat in front of me came a crisp, clear voice.
Without thinking, I raised my head.
The girl called Kawasegawa was a beauty with long, slightly curled hair. She had a face with good features and eyes that were... not quite cold, but showed a rather fine sharpness instead.
But the next step of her introduction wasn't coming. [Note: They were supposed to mention a film director they admire]
(Huh? Could it be, this person also doesn't know about movie directors, just like me?)
But,
"A director I like........ There are too many to single them down to only one or two."
Was how she finally started off.
I still maintain that Professor Hottie is top-flight, in terms of looks, but Chief-chan has pretty much everything going on. (And, I mean, being a 9 instead of a 9.5 ain't exactly crying poverty.)
I'm just going to put this thought out into the universe:
She's an odd character to introduce in a story where she's not part of the future-MC's gaggle of idols--AND--giving her such a big role as we've seen it in the show would seem to make her not being the "it"-girl even stranger.
So, by anime series logic, that doesn't mean anything and Shinoaki will win.
Oh, I wasn't dissing Nanakoーdidn't mean for it to come off that way. I was actually praising her characterization.
Speaking of the fanservice, I personally don't mind it in non-ecchi shows as long as it fits the scene as well as the characters involved, and I actually felt the "boobs on head" scene was pretty good at characterizing both her as a buddy-buddy girl who isn't particularly self-conscious about getting physically close to her guy friends, and the protagonist as a guy who has no qualms secretly enjoying said physical closeness with a hot girl.
Now, the "I walked into the living-room in my underwear and now I'm gonna hit you like a hysterical maniac" scene, on the other hand, is abysmal and it doesn't even seem in-character for her to react that way. Seemed to me more like a generic reaction to a generic ecchi scene that's there just to tick off a box.
I'm just going to put this thought out into the universe:
She's an odd character to introduce in a story where she's not part of the future-MC's gaggle of idols--AND--giving her such a big role as we've seen it in the show would seem to make her not being the "it"-girl even stranger.
Yeah, when I found out it was an anime-original scene I was just as baffled as you. She gets so much focus in the opening episode that I was genuinely expecting her to be the uncontested main girl.
I still think this show has potential, and I'll probably keep up with it as long as it stays focused on the protagonist's drive to polish his own creative skills. If strays off from that theme, and especially if it's to focus on tired love triangle shenanigans, I might end up dropping this sooner rather than later.
Heh, no, I didn't think you were. My "justice" comment is a callback to something I said about the karaoke scene (and my crush on her) in a previous post and not at all about anything you said about her.
...the song's just stuck in my head, at the moment, is all. No deeper meaning than that.
I actually felt the "boobs on head" scene was pretty good at characterizing both her as a buddy-buddy girl who isn't particularly self-conscious about getting physically close to her guy friends, and the protagonist as a guy who has no qualms secretly enjoying said physical closeness with a hot girl.
Totally agree. I thought that scene was overall very well done, particularly in giving Nanako and the MC a moment of genuine chemistry upon which I can believe their friendship can build (and totally got me rooting for that ship which will ABSOLUTELY NEVER SAIL).
Totally agree. I think they could have gotten away with her somehow not realizing she wasn't wearing a shirt if either the setup prompting her response was more urgent or in some way intense (prompting a sudden, unthinking response) or if it was another way to let us know she's never had to deal with boys or was never in a situation where her being a girl mattered to the boys she knew. (Also...punching the MC was stupid. I don't think it even rose to the level of cliche.)
Which, for those not in the know, isn't a compliment. But also sort of is.
'Cus, like, this show is a mess. Tone's all over the place. The MC is inconsistent, in a lot of ways, and not from some internal struggle over his impulses and any time travel apprehensions he might have (but seemingly doesn't). And I still don't have a frikkin' clue what this show is actually supposed to be about.
But dammit if I don't race to watch it, every week.
Anyway. Let's get into the episode proper:
That the beach scene was as short as it was is a crime. And, no, I don't care that it makes absolutely no goddamn sense for Chief-chan and Shinoaki to be in bathing suits unless they were going to be in the film (like Nanako) as girls at the beach. Which...I mean, maybe they were. But everything implied that the only actor in the scene was Nanako. But, even so--too short. And no Professor Hottie at the beach.
Ludicrous, I tell you.
It did give us our ecchi joke of the week, though, so it's good to see we're still doing that. And it almost gets a pass, I think, because it both wasn't gratuitous AND resulted in the "perpetrator" getting slapped instead of the MC (for just being there).
And, apparently, we're just speeding through the year, given that it's, like, 3 or 4 months after the previous episode. Which...is a choice.
Chief-chan's rant against Nanako at karaoke was a little bit...in-your-face, even if it was very much in-character for her to be both observant enough to see what Nanako's deal is and to bluntly shove it down her throat. I don't want to say I didn't like it, but I certainly thought it could have been done better.
Points, though, for further building best girl's characterization by having jealousy (rather than...hmm, frustration, let's say, at Nanako making the "logically" wrong choice by pursuing acting) be what prompted the outburst. And then, in hindsight, having it be embarrassment that prompts her to leave the karaoke room.
Now, the Chief-chan/Nanako stuff is interesting, I think, because it presents a great triangle (love and otherwise): the girls are opposites, in a lot of ways, and they both have very natural chemistry with the MC for very different reasons. Chief-chan being jealous of her is great, and Nanako should be equally as jealous of Chief-chan. I'd love for this story to be as much about them being friendly rivals in a professional sense as in a romantic sense. And...I dunno if either of those scenarios are gonna make the cut, here. But, golly, that'd be fun.
Plus we could get rid of Shinoaki, which I think was one of the Beatitudes.
"Blessed art thou who purge the Shinoaki, for Chief-chan is best girl, yo."
I think that's how it went.
But it does make me ask: if it's taking this to get Nanako to really pursue her music...then what the hell happened in the original timeline? Who not only kicked her butt but also pulled her out of her depression?
If he wasn't literally living in his younger body, I'd say this was a case of the MC having always been in both places at once (one version going to the art school and the other the...other school) and we're looking at a time loop of some kind. But...since he is in his younger body...how...???
Anyway.
And then there's Loli-senpai. Turning down her game offer is...weird. Not turning it down because he's busy or because he feels he's not ready (though I have an issue with that), but because I don't know why it's been introduced like this. I mean, I assume it'll come back, but...why have her offer him a job? It's weird. It's a very weird story choice.
Then again...so's a lot of this show.
Frivolous upsides include Professor Hottie wearing an absurd scarf that I assume was reclaimed materials from her skirt (assuming it would be accurate to call it a skirt and not the bottom of her shirt) and getting to see Clubroom Girl, who doesn't care what the weather is like, dammit, you will stare at her ample rack and shapely legs or face her wrath.
And frivolous downsides include Shinoaki. Just generally. (Go away, Shinoaki.) Oh, and that--somehow--the MC still hasn't figured out that NANAKO IS N@NA YOU STUPID F***.
Looking forward to next week. Somewhat inexplicably.
i have a feeling kyoya's gonna change their future a liiiittle too much, not really ruin their future or anything like that, just massively change some of the characters' futures
Um.. ok so I already decided to drop this in the first 2 minutes but the motivation to reply to @interregnum was too strong. xD So seeing as this will be farewell I might as well be thorough. You're welcome, I guess.
Yeah so of course I'm gonna get pissed about the ecchi parts, but I was actually equally pissed about the Shinoaki-boob-cam
as the "wardrobe malfunction" part. I mean, we already have our dude ogling all the girls (which is whatever, we get some "nice" pan-ups and boob bounces). I really thought the additional boob angle was unnecessary.
Ok then secondly
This is like... unbelievably contrived. So 1) we have the dude grab for the tie of her bikini yo her shoulder's right there bro and 2) I'm pretty sure any girl with normal reflexes would immediately put her arms up before it got to the point of fully exposing her chest, like yo, this shit happens on occasion so the girl would keep it in the back of her mind.
This is a trope that's confused me many times and has occurred elsewhere in this show where
A) Random shenanigans happen to expose the girl
B) Girl is startled into silence, thus exposing her further and/or longer (which is a fair reaction in many cases)
C) Girl's reaction is IMMEDIATELY violence.
So far I've never seen B or C swapped out with "girl covering herself up" because nooo the audience has to get a good look. I guess Monogatari bypasses B and C in Kizu by converting A into wind and slowing down the panty shot because Araragi is an observant perv. Nekus can correct me if there are others... xD
Btw I won't count it against Kawasegawa but she really shoulda gone for the double knot--again not her fault but some advice for next time. ^_^"
And, no, I don't care that it makes absolutely no goddamn sense for Chief-chan and Shinoaki to be in bathing suits unless they were going to be in the film (like Nanako) as girls at the beach.
And it almost gets a pass, I think, because it both wasn't gratuitous AND resulted in the "perpetrator" getting slapped instead of the MC (for just being there).
And this is actually fair and I was pleasantly surprised by that. Maybe I woulda given it a pass if the dudes had more abs, idk.
Onto the rest of the episode... Y'know what really gets me about this show? For a show about the kids in art school, they barely show the art. And I feel like it's critical context for the characters. In this episode they cut 1) the movie and 2) Nanako's karaoke performance. And both end up being the centers of the conflict for the episode. Imagine if in a sports anime, they show the preparation and the aftermath but cut the games. That's essentially what they're doing here, and while I'm not completely lost due to their (mildly annoying) conversations, I feel like I'm missing the sympathy required to understand Nanako and Kawasegawa. Unfortunately this show cares more about repeated boob antics than stuff that actually matters to the characters.
Chief-chan's rant against Nanako at karaoke was a little bit...in-your-face, even if it was very much in-character for her to be both observant enough to see what Nanako's deal is and to bluntly shove it down her throat. I don't want to say I didn't like it, but I certainly thought it could have been done better.
Oh yeah it was 100% in-your-face. Way too much. And somehow I still liked it since it brought to justice all the stuff I complained about last week. xD Also Kawasegawa being a class act when 1) she acknowledges she spoke out of turn and 2) excuses herself for having ruined the mood. Idk why but I liked that a lot.
Hahahaha can you add this one:
Blessed are you who endure ecchi scenes for the sake of the forum, for your reward shall be witty interregnum replies.
(And yes I'm calling myself blessed)
Ok even before that, I found the game offer itself weird... Like "hey I need you to do me a favor" turned into "hey do this specialized job because I heard you're good in production." Like, why hire him?? Just why. It clearly seems more like an opportunity for him than a favor for her. Make him do copies for her if you want to introduce the loli character and the company or whatever.
Onto the rest of the episode... Y'know what really gets me about this show? For a show about the kids in art school, they barely show the art. And I feel like it's critical context for the characters. In this episode they cut 1) the movie and 2) Nanako's karaoke performance. And both end up being the centers of the conflict for the episode. Imagine if in a sports anime, they show the preparation and the aftermath but cut the games. That's essentially what they're doing here, and while I'm not completely lost due to their (mildly annoying) conversations, I feel like I'm missing the sympathy required to understand Nanako and Kawasegawa. Unfortunately this show cares more about repeated boob antics than stuff that actually matters to the characters.
Thank you for putting that so well, so I could just quote you and say "^this^."
I'm not gonna say that the boob antics aren't for someone. But the decision to focus on that over-played element that already has a flood of anime catering to its audience when there's a unique and interesting concept that hasn't been covered nearly enough right there that would benefit from getting to be the actual focus would be baffling if I didn't understand how the anime market works: boobs sell, market saturation be damned. And when you wrap everything together - the harem nonsense, the time travel, the art school side of things -- it all just feels unfocused, like someone tried to stitch three separate shows together into one nightmarish franken-anime.
Alright, I'm done... I can't take any more of this. Have fun.
i have a feeling kyoya's gonna change their future a liiiittle too much, not really ruin their future or anything like that, just massively change some of the characters' futures
We are steadily approaching the point where the change in timeline would seem to be so radically different that the MC is set to be the one who get credited for being the Platinum Generation, despite it being a collaborative effort based on the artistic talents of the big three (plus Chief-chan). Which...is this going to be addressed, soon? Is this okay or are we on the brink of disaster coming around to panic the MC?
Totally agree. The moment I saw him pull that string, I said, "Oh, she would grab her top IMMEDIATELY. Don't lie to me, anime!" I freak out when I think my sweater is riding up, slightly, you think a girl's not going to be sensitive to every single movement of her bikini top? Come on.
I...totally didn't even notice this. I was--no joke--looking at the MC and thinking about his shirt.
To be fair, though, I often miss these kinds of shots. Even when they are more flagrant.
"And of course they had that shot of Zoe Saldana's butt."
"What? When did that happen?"
"How did you miss that? It's when she's walking over to talk to the Klingons."
"I was looking at the Klingons."
"Well, you missed her butt."
"Dammit!"
Oh, I don't think it gets a pass, even though I'm generally not concerned about stupid fanservice. (Though, really, I do agree that there should have been more from the guys. Just given the apparent wardrobe logic of the scene.)
Here, though, my big issue with the bikinis and (more broadly) the ecchi stuff is that it feels forced.
Like, they can be in more revealing outfits because they're at the beach (like with the MC's open shirt) without having to be in bathing suits. Nanako might have naturally been gung-ho to toss on a bikini top, but the other two girls strike me as less showoff-y, when it comes to their looks. (Would they have tried to look a little sexy? Sure. I can buy that. But bathing-suit sexy? Not my first thought.) And while I am all for there being a time and place for some silly "oh no I've walked in on you coming out of the shoooooower" moments, you can't just jam them wherever you want.
It feels like the writers know what fanservice is but lack the contextual knowledge to understand how it works. Like it's your parents trying to use internet slang in casual conversation.
Or, if you're me, like overhearing anyone using internet slang in casual conversation.
STOP SAYING "MEME" WHEN YOU MEAN "JOKE," YOU ARTLESS CAPPOCHIANS, WE ALREADY HAVE WORDS FOR THESE THINGS.
I have to assume this--like many cliches or shorthand conventions in anime--comes from some theatrical tradition that is native to Japan. Like, there'd always be a goofy character in some dramatic performance who would fall down and accidentally touch a woman, and then he'd gt a good comical whack on the head and he'd be all "oooooowwwww!!!" and make silly faces. And this was the natural extension of that.
...and then they realized weebs ate that s*** up and cranked it to 11.
I just...don't know why they can't come up with better ways to get to the same ends. Is it meant to be hipster-ironic? Like, the lazier and more contrived the fanservice, the funnier it's supposed to be, because all fanservice/ecchi jokes are traditionally tenuous in their believability?
Which would be fine if this show was, like, about something else. Or anything else. Or anything. At all.
Like, you might list K-On! as a music anime, but it's actually less a music anime than a music club members anime. And K-On! is awesome. So it'd be fine for this show to wearing the trappings of an arty
But, given that the focus, at least insofar as the MC's internal monologues keep stressing, is on the creative stuff, it is bizarre that so little time is spent on the creative stuff.
Or on anything, if I'm honest. I genuinely can't pin down what takes up so much time in each episode if it's not about the artsy stuff or the interpersonal stuff.
Is it, though? I feel like it's just as aimless in all directions.
It certainly feels more out of place, so there's definitely the impression that someone is taking pains to make sure those moments get into production than anything storiented. So, actually, in that sense, yeah...yeah, you're right.
Kawasegawa being a class act when 1) she acknowledges she spoke out of turn and 2) excuses herself for having ruined the mood. Idk why but I liked that a lot.
I found the game offer itself weird... Like "hey I need you to do me a favor" turned into "hey do this specialized job because I heard you're good in production." Like, why hire him?
I think the several-month time jump makes this weirder than it needs to be, though, since we can assume the MC has garnered quite a reputation as a top-flight production guy. (I mean, he's just sooooo awesome, right? Everyone says so! Repeatedly! A lot!) So I can, in that sense, see why she's want him on board, since he'd probably be a known property, of sorts.
Of course, it'd be nice to, I dunno, actually frikkin' see this. But, then again, it's always best to tell instead of show, right?
They just really don't belong here. At least, not as they are done, here.
They could have gotten away with a nice "MC turns around after futzing around in a bag and smashes into bikini-bosomed Nanako!" or "it's windy and Chief-chan's sarong gets blown over MC's head!" or "Shinoaki likes to masturbate in her sleep!"
Like, you might list K-On! as a music anime, but it's actually less a music anime than a music club members anime. And K-On! is awesome. So it'd be fine for this show to wearing the trappings of an arty
Darn you got me with the K-ON. But sure, I agree it could work, just... as you were saying what they do with Remake is not the way to go though.
Also I'd argue that K-ON season 1 is a music anime - it's about how the HTT was formed and developed its musical identity.
And for me one of the weaknesses of the second season, even though I love it, is the nearly full departure from the music theme. Especially since some of the performance scenes towards the end have such an incredible emotional impact. Obviously I still love the series and Mio is best girl, fight me.
Not gonna lie I completely missed this until I read your first post. I really could have used a little montage since my brain missed that in the dialogue somewhere.
