Predictions and Observations:
Shadows of Doubt I - II and
Truth and Consequences I

Episodes Made Available Officially:
This Post Posted:

Still working on theories on how they determine when to release new episodes. Here are a few:
The Month Theory: 23 December, 12 January, 23 February... 12 March?!
The Day Theory: 21 days between the first and second, 42 days between the second and third... I don't like this theory very much. Let's not have our next new episodes be on April 28th. Please, please. Or May 26th. Heavens no.
The Paranoid Theory: They've obviously been watching me. 53-54 came right before Christmas; 55-57 came right before my nineteenth birthday; and now these are online just in time for my family changing residence, three birthdays in my family, and Duel Monsters Spirit Day. Should this be it, I'm expecting more episodes for Easter.

By the by, Happy Duel Monsters Spirit Day everyone! Am I the only one who dressed up?

Yay!! Martha, Rally, Blitz, Tank, and Nervin are back!! And we thought it was too easy! And we thought it was too soon! Yaaaay!!! Now-- miles to go before we sleep, I guess. Does Yusei even know? How will he find out that they're back? Will they go looking for him? Will they all reunite after the madness is over? By the way, Crow's nestlings would also be back from being fog-ified. We haven't seen Crow at the carnival yet. It's possible he split off from the group to go find them and might also be in search of Yusei's friends; it wouldn't surprise me at all if Yusei asked him to go make sure everyone's safe.

SHADOWS OF DOUBT I

The title, "Shadows of Doubt". Based, I guess, on the phrase "beyond a shadow of a doubt." The title says that some 'shadows of doubt' still remained or remain now. To the very end, Jack doubted that he could or should win this duel at Carly's expense. I like to say jokingly that Jack won the duel despite his best efforts. As another interpretation, the Dark Shadows answered Carly's doubts with Enlightenment.
As another interpretation, Yusei is attacked by shadows, shades, of the people who were vaporized/vanished/inconvenienced permanently by Zero Reverse, an event that still has a lot of doubt surrounding it; Yusei is gaining clarity and understanding of where he came from, by understanding the circumstances and actions surrounding Zero Reverse, including meeting his dad.

Um, dumb question: how did she learn to turbo-duel so fast? Let it pass, but keep in mind-- the next canon turbo-duelist could be *anyone*. I also note, for the record, that Carly is the first *female* turbo-duelist we have yet had. Our list, in total, so far is: Jack, Yusei, Hunter, Trudge, Tanner, Blister (and Arrow), Shira, Greiger, Crow, security grunt Crow duels in "Fight or Flight", the Stranger who built the bridge, Kalin, the Security officer with the pointy mustache and at least two or three other officers during the Enforcers days, and now Carly.

I think the race-to-start is becoming a barometer of the other player's honor; so far we've had three pairs of turbo-duelists agree to race to the first corner to go first, and two times out of three, the Dark Signer in the equation pulled a fast one and sideswiped his or her opponent. Is Carly unwittingly (blame it on the writers) showing us that she's just as nasty as Kalin was? She also greeted Jack by riding toward him at top speed then sparing him at the last instant, which is a move we saw before A Score to Settle. Kalin and Carly's runners are also of a very similar design, but that may be a Dark Signer thing. Based on chronology, btw, since Kalin became a Dark Signer while he was in the Facility, and he was no turbo-duelist before he was arrested, it would appear that Kalin *also* got his turbo-dueling skills from the Immortals.

I noticed that Carly declared different stakes for this duel; she said that she would go back to normal if she lost, and that Jack would become a Dark Signer if he lost. This is new. Can she *do* that? We saw one reason for Carly's setting the stakes this way-- she hoped that she and Jack could rule the world together. I think it also worth noting that Carly sees *in Jack* the potential for being a Dark Signer, even though he's a Signer. Perhaps this illustrates the fact that Signers are not the opposite of Dark Signers, but rather they walk a fragile line, and they're "two sides of one coin", like the drone said in "A Web of Deceit II". We've seen Yusei, Akiza, Jack, and Luna struggle with the same conflicts that precipitated the rise of their opponents. The first conflict in the show was over Jack having betrayed his best friend Yusei, and Yusei faces Kalin believing the same of him. Akiza has been just as violent, dangerous, frustrated, and confused as any Dark Signer, and among what she fights for is redemption, for the right to call herself one of the good guys. Luna spent eight years running from herself. They fight the same battles that the Dark Signers lost before their time, I said before, and I still say it. The Dark Signers may have just missed being Signers, or vice versa. Goodwin and Roman were brothers, both of them in the same place at the same time; Yusei and Kalin were all but brothers, and if Yusei had been arrested that night, things would have been different. How close did Misty come to being Akiza, when genetics would suggest she may be a psychic herself, and how close did Akiza come to being Misty when she believed Sayr gone forever? How close did Carly come to being Jack if she has it in her to call him out, or how close is he to becoming like her, which we caught a glimpse of already. How close did Crow come to being Greiger, when some thoughtless authority casually destroyed his home and his family? What keeps the Signers afloat? Where, but for their friends and their own inner strength and will to do good, go they? This also means that they, having faced these struggles, and facing them right now, are the best thing that could happen to the Dark Signers; they have the power to show them the way.

Before, Jack was the far better duelist and Carly could barely play; he worried about protecting her. Now, though, she is standing alone and possibly stronger than him, which creates a different relationship between opponents. All through this duel there's sort of a dissonance, because like Jack, we expect Carly to be weaker. Carly is repeatedly thwacking us upside the head with her moves and also with this being a turbo-duel, to reteach us that they are equals, that *she* is the strong one here, and Jack is uncertain and, in her words, "desperate". And that's also something we're not used to seeing in Jack. I think the reason I had so much trouble envisioning this duel before we got to it is because we aren't used to seeing Jack tormented by reluctance to hurt his opponent-- especially when he always derided Yusei for being that way--, and we aren't used to seeing Carly strong, especially not more aggressive than Jack!

Speaking of which, isn't Jack's middle name 'aggressive'? Did he really just end his first turn without playing any cards whatsoever? Crying Ogre is more Yusei's brand of aggression, the crafty come-from-behind. Jack's telegraphing that he's either drastically off his game, or his game is undergoing a phenomenal transformation. I'd say a bit of both. Jack's learning some subtlety and some sensitivity here, faced with an opponent he cares about as much as Carly. He has to fight her, but wants to protect her; he would rather get hurt than hurt her.

Then again, many good duelists will initially hold back to lull their opponents into showing their cards early-on. Carly whipped out, in the one turn he gave her, enough attack points to finish him; before then, Jack had no clue what he was up against. If he were dueling the Carly he's dueled alongside before, she couldn't blast him like that in a single turn, and he knows it. I'm not saying he got complacent because she's usually not a contender, but rather that he wanted a good, substantial sampling of what kind of contender she is now. By leaving himself wide-open, he goaded her into showing him what she can do. He's also testing the Dark Signer power's control; will Carly hesitate to attack him if she thinks it'll end the duel?

Carly sacrifices Fortune Lady Light to summon Fortune Ladies Dark and Earth. Fortune Lady Light is a creature of light; bright and innocent, not unlike Carly herself. Dark and Earth-- sounds like an Earthbound Immortal, because the two things to know about them are, scary-bad-evil and bound-to-the-earth. With cards such as Altar of the Bound Deity, Roaring Earth, and Contaminated Earth, symbolism has made a lot of the earthen nature of the Immortals. I believe, also, that the Dark Signers themselves are "earthbound"-- the thing that ties them to the Earth, that ties them to life, is their *unfinished business*, that for which the Immortals saved them so they could use it for their own ends. Carly's 'unfinished business' is her relationship with Jack, and the duel is all about that. We see FL Dark destroyed early-on, but FL Earth is kept around. In the time she spends on the field, Earth is used to replenish both players' lifepoints, nearly ends the duel several times, and is turned into a twisted, sinister voodoo doll by the Immortal when it possesses Carly. I think FL Earth represents Carly's true self, not as shy or vulnerable as even she ever thought, the Carly we come to know here, who is stronger and wiser than the one we identify with Lady Light, defined and shaped by that which in the end makes her overpower the shadows and turn the final attack on herself.

I'm noticing that in this duel, we had Fortune Ladies Earth, Wind, Water, Light, and Dark, but no Fire. What did Fire represent that wasn't in this duel? Why *not* play Fortune Lady Fire (and "because she didn't draw it" doesn't count)? Well, to me it seems that Carly's *second* duel with Sayr wasn't about her as much, other than being our first glimpse of her new power. Bullies get theirs big-time in this show, and he just blasted a near-defenseless girl out of a top-floor window. I believe there's some law of the Yu-Gi-Ohverse that says he's about to get served when he pulls something like that. Then again, Yami Bakura stuck around for five seasons, and the Egyptian Gods only tried to smite him twice. But I'm getting off-topic. My point is that Carly was a tool of justice, so to speak; Sayr's victim literally came back to haunt him. In that duel, the only Fortune Ladies we saw were Light and Fire; remember, the end of that duel left the roof of the Arcadia building in flames.

I found it very telling that Jack not only didn't lead aggressively-- which is unheard-of for him-- but lead with a monster distinguished by its tears-- *Crying* Ogre. I hear in Jack's dueling style here that his grief over Carly is what makes him strong. This monster gets stronger the more damage he just took, and then it fought back and destroyed Lady Dark.

I was surprised that Jack stopped there. How come? It makes sense in the larger scope of the duel; a whammy like Enlightenment, while they were riding? It would've been stretching it *just* a bit, to think that Jack still wouldn't have crashed. But as a character, why did he? Why show such weakness?

It seems to me that stopping during a turbo-duel breaks up the shape of the space. It's like crossing the field. Now I'm donning my theatrical hat; let me explain. When the two duelists stopped, the whole duel looked different; it was as though we'd had a change of scenery, because it broke the pattern. It changed the rules of what they could and couldn't do; they were no longer in motion. Similarly, a duel consists of two people standing a certain distance apart. If one or both crosses that distance, or if anyone steps into the space between them, the whole scene looks different. That's the shape of the space. As another example, look how much the mirrored maze, the narrow hallways, defined the boundaries of the duel, as opposed to the way the field looks now, with them blown away. The duel disks don't know the difference, but to us, the viewer, it feels a lot less cornered and confined, and like Misty and Akiza are on more of an even footing.

"As long as he plays *his game*, he'll come out on top!" What other game, Mina? Does she mean, if he's not off his game? As long as he plays the way he always has? As long as they're, not, say, turbo-Dungeon-Dice-dueling? I wonder if there is such a thing? Well, I wouldn't put it past them...

Hey, I just spotted Junk Synchron in Jack's hand! And later on, I also spotted Quickdraw Synchron.
Okay, I spotted Junk Synchron again, this time on Carly's duel disk instead of Fortune Lady Earth. I think some animator is punking us. By the way, point of interest, Saggi the Dark Clown is apparently in Weevil's deck during Duelist Kingdom; who knew!

We got a lot of camera shots of Jack's and Carly's hands in this duel. I've noticed, as I've transcribed, that our seeing a character's hand or hearing him or her think about their strategy tells us how familiar we are with them, how transparent they are at the moment. There are times when even characters we know well will hold us in suspense, and also times when mysterious villains will become a bit less mysterious; camera shots of their hands and hearing them think are measures of that.

I also noticed, in all these glimpses of their hands, that Jack, also, had the card Class Change in his hand, but never played it. As the kid once said, "Some may call that a coincidence-- but I call it Fate!" (Sinister Secrets, in which Yugi and Leon each drew Pot of Greed in the same round.)

Okay, this is the part where I talk about Enlightenment, and that vision.

Gee, sounds like a really *dark* card, "Enlightenment". By the way, we're still wondering if Iliaster isn't behind *all of this*. Though I guess, one could say symbolically that bright light makes the shadows that still exist sharper and deeper by contrast.

Carly reverted to normal eyes again when she was sitting there alone, so the Dark Shadows had to do something else to her to make the darkness "stick", I guess? They had to give her a reason to fight for the Dark Signers. What would've happened if not for Enlightenment? Could she have lost her "Dark-Signer-ness"? Or would she just have thrown this duel or never shown up? Did this flashback happen before Jack found out she was a Dark Signer, or after?

Carly was just as shocked, just as scared; seeing Jack wake up and suddenly be a Dark Signer really brings it home that no one expects to suddenly be one of the bad guys.

Hey, in that flashback where he loses the duel-- did she just kiss him? Well, while she's making up a dream future...

Hey, Bakura's back! Ted Lewis, who voices Jack, also voiced Bakura, and in the Enlightenment vision, you can really, really tell.

I noticed that Jack-as-a-Dark-Signer was different from any of the other ones we've yet seen. He's in orange and black, like Carly; he doesn't have his own color. Is it because Carly made him a Dark Signer, he didn't become one on his own like the rest of them did? Jack also didn't have a not-tracking-dye mark on his face, like the rest of the Dark Signers have. It should be noted that not only is Jack the only Enforcer who doesn't have tracking dye at this point, but he's also the only Dark Signer who wasn't marked. What gives? I note also that Jack was lacking the 'revenge' criterion. He isn't a Dark Signer who was saved by the shadows to complete 'unfinished business'. If he's a Dark Signer there, if that future *could be* and he could really be a full-fledged Dark Signer, what does that entail? What properties of Dark-Signerness would need to be re-examined in his case?

It wasn't so long ago that something like world domination might have held too much allure for Jack to resist. It's because of Carly, because of her support in parting gracefully with the championship, that Jack valued friendship and hope higher than that. Jack's sunglasses in "The Reunion Duel" create a visual effect of a Dark Signer's eyes, I realize in retrospect, as he struggles with his own identity.

Both as a Dark Signer and not, Carly believes that Jack should be and will be a king. We get two different "versions" of this, though: Enlightenment's vision of Jack as the dark king, and Carly's fortune-card image of him as the people's hero. But either way, he has that potential, that dare-I-say destiny.

I'd been noticing the motif of hot lava between Ascilla Pisku, Red Dragon Archfiend, and that vision. Is that connection why possessed-Carly, which may be Ascilla Pisku speaking, said that Archfiend was one of its favorite monsters?

Now here's the part where I talk about Yusei's plotline. Kinda off-the-wall, kinda surreal. So, the question is, what did this accomplish? What was the point? To begin with, the classical, standard, Campbellian or Jungian hero's journey includes things like a descent into the underworld; a rebirth of self; and, yeah, a confronting or reconciliation with a father figure or someone who has held power in the hero's life, and the hero's inheriting that power. To me, Yusei just defeated both of his greatest demons-- Kalin and Roman-- and this little segment is about what his *next* step is, about where he goes from here now that he beat the bad guys and all. Fudo mentioned that there's a lot still for Yusei to accomplish "back in the Satellite Sector"-- meaning in this battle, or in the Satellite overall?--, and that Yusei is "destined for great things", but must "rise to that greatness", if these great things are going to happen. There's that word again; "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." Now I'm reminding myself again that Yusei doesn't think of himself as a "*big-time* anything", even when he can't remember his own name ("A Duel To Remember"); the first thing he did as champion was take cover from all the attention ("A Web of Deceit I"); Martha *reamed* him for not taking responsibility for how much he inspires other people, after he crashed ("Supersensory Shakedown"); and time and again, Yusei has been surprised, even blindsided, by people trying to do for him what he'd do for them ("The Lockdown Duel", "The Take Back", "Dark Signs IV", "Mark of the Spider II"); half the battle may be Yusei's accepting the faith that others have in him.

Kal'Elna, anyone? That village of lost souls that provided the sacrifice necessary to forge the Millennium Items? This gathering of angry souls is ringing a bell.

What did the spirits show Yusei? Is he the only person living to have seen Zero Reverse so closely, because he got the images from those who *were* that close?

SHADOWS OF DOUBT II

I'm noticing that the design of the duel disks in this flashback to Carly's childhood are similar to designs we see now, and more like present-day 5D's duel disks than GX or original-era, widening the official, canon time gap between 5D's and the other two series. In the Satellite, the Enforcers apparently used more retro models; they look like Battle City, but they don't have batwinged projectors, so they aren't *that* dated. I think the Battle City model has always been an old standby, even with newer styles available, so that doesn't tell us much.

Who's Carly's friend there? Do we know her? Will we meet her?

"Those words ring out truer now than ever", Jack said. Does that mean he'll finally bury the hatchet with Yusei and be friends again?

Jack gives Carly the power with Changing Destiny. I'm reminded of Blue Flame Swordsman's ability juicing up one of Mai's Cyber Harpies in FFaF V-- "But remember, *you* have the strongest monster now. How you use it is completely up to you. But like I said before, you're one a' the greatest duelists I know; I'm sure you're gonna make the right decision. 'Cause Mai, underneath all that anger and frustration is a good person." ("Fighting For a Friend V"), or of Yugi's Exchange card in Friends 'Til the End, in which he even specifically said that Joey could, if he wanted to, take any card from his hand, including Red-Eyes. It's an act of strength in vulnerability, a move like this. It's a willingness to give the choice of whether or not to hurt you entirely into someone else's hands, which is a tremendous act of courage.

Um, the real Carly can't see without her glasses; why isn't she crashing that runner? Autopilot *not* standing by?

Carly didn't even summon her Immortal before Jack got through to her and the Immortal had to hijack her to keep the duel going its way. Wow.

"Your lifepoints are like the flame of a flickering candle" Like the candles in the Dark Signers' hideout?

Jack demonstrated that Carly was right, when she said that by reaching one person, she could reach them all; by reaching him, she has reached everyone he could believe in because she believed in him, including the other Signers. And from that, Jack can declare without a shadow of a doubt that, "You may have the shadows on your side, but I have the *light*!" And moreover, because of her, Jack has found it in himself to save the world, and to walk the path she has already rejoiced to foresee beneath his feet.

Are we going to see Majestic Ancient Fairy Dragon (Or Ancient Majestic Fairy Dragon, or Ancient Fairy Majestic Dragon, or Majestic Fairy Dragon) or Majestic Black Rose Dragon (Or Black Majestic Rose Dragon, or Black Rose Majestic Dragon, or Majestic Rose Dragon), coming up before this is all over?
At first when we saw Majestic Star, I'd thought it was a Yusei-specific fluke; he's the hero of the story-- of *course* he does the incredible. But Jack whipped out a similar feat, with Majestic Red Dragon. We now can surmise that all four (five... ish...) dragons have this power, that we've seen what the next level of brilliance the Signers possess looks like.
So what would it take for Akiza or Luna to go Majestic on us? Will Akiza show us Majestic Rose Dragon this duel? I say, if it goes on long enough, if she really steps up and stops the struggle, both internal and external, between Sayr and Yusei, we will.

Is Majestic Dragon an iteration, a manifestation, of the Crimson Dragon? Are they one in the same?

All 'Majestic' Signer dragons put the freeze on Immortals' abilities, I notice. They're built to take down Earthbound Immortals.

So I take it then that in this instance, the dark shadows prefer to look at a draw as both players losing, *not* both players winning. As opposed to the Orichalcos, in which both players escape a tied duel unharmed.

Jack's been called a king before; this is kind of an ongoing theme. Lezar offered him the tempting lure in "The Fortune Cup Finale I": "...To sit on a *real throne* as the king of the turbo-duels." Jack's favorite hideout seems to be that abandoned theater with the great big throne set piece, which also foreshadows to us this theme, this destiny, this potential Jack has to be a king of one kind or another. Now Carly declares that Jack will be the king, it's just a matter of whether that king is of dark or of light.

I love the image of Carly's fortunetelling cards, flying into the sky as they once fell into the dark shadows' fire. I don't know what I want to say about it, but all of this is just so poetic, so dramatic!

Carly has traveled a an amazing distance since all this began. I'm asking myself if Misty's prophecy came true: "It is a path that leads into a darkness... but when you choose to take this path, you will know yourself better than you ever have before!" In the end, Carly *did* choose, and she even fought, to be sent to the netherworld. And I think Carly *does* know herself better; she knows she has the power to change the future, and her effect on the world is the difference between a dark king and a king of light, between a smoldering wasteland and a better world. She used to say, as a Dark Signer, "Why report on the past, when I can dictate the future?" but she doesn't even *have* to dictate it anymore to be sure that it will happen the way she dreams it, because she believes in those who will create it. The card in her fortune deck she flips now, she rejoices to see, because it's the best future she could ever have imagined. I still want to know, though-- was Misty already a Dark Signer at that point, and did the prophecy play out the way *she* thought it would?

We're hearing more of 5Ds' take on destiny; I'm still reeling from our *last* swing at the determinism chestnut. However, I believe we're seeing more and more shades of grey in this matter. We've defined the concept of the past having been predetermined (i.e. Zero Reverse was destined to happen, Destiny's Will and all) as distinct from the concept of destiny as the blueprint, with its specifics still uncertain (Mark of the Monkey I, Goodwin's empirical test, and Mina's saying that Goodwin knew destiny, not the future; and possibly this iteration as well, because all that was declared for certain is that Jack would be king-- a dark one or light is his choice), and both are distinct from these wacky prophecies, like Misty's earlier or Carly's now.

Carly's glasses as a symbol. For one, they represent the non-Dark-Signer Carly, the ditzy, gutsy little blogger gal who showed us Jack Atlas has a soft side. Without her glasses, Carly herself appears far more vulnerable; with glasses that thick, it's almost certain she can't see without them. After Jack found them in the Arcadia building, he kept them to give them back to her, and they became a symbol of Jack's inner turmoil over her; when we saw him take them out of his pocket and brood, we knew what he was thinking about. Now, he finally gets to give them back to her, for a little while; but when she evaporates, they clatter to the ground again, and they are all that remains of her.

"I will, but not here." We'll get Carly back, but way down the road sometime? When? How? Why?

Wait... what about the stakes of the duel...? Shouldn't she *not* go to the netherworld and be back to normal now? Was dark-Carly lying? Why would she, when Jack had to duel her either way?

Hey-- did the New Domino folks who got eaten by Pisku come back?

It seems that each Dark Signer gets a different sort of sparkly omen in the sky. Greiger got that shooting star, Kalin got Majestic Star Dragon, Roman had those red sparklies, and now Carly's tribute is a little fountain of purple sparklies. How come? What's the significance? What will Misty's sparklies be?

By the way, Jack and Carly is a story no other character in the series knows. Jack isn't one for sharing his feelings, and no one, not even Mina, knows that, with his Dark Signer, he was facing a battle every bit as difficult as Yusei's reckoning with Kalin.

Kind of an origin-of-Blue-Eyes story, isn't it? I was going to go insane if I managed to send off a post about this without mentioning Kisara. She was the light in Seto's heart (and when I say Seto referring to the Ancient Past, remember the terminological difference between the ancient sorcerer and Seto Kaiba), and she inspired him to greatness. There are a lot of similarities between Kaiba and Jack; they're both the rival characters, with egos to match their dragons, and it's not often we see a soft side to them, but it's that which truly makes them strong. Jack's soft side is right here; I predict that Carly will inspire him to believe in himself and other people, especially.

What sort of state is Jack in right now, and since we haven't seen him next episode yet, what will he do next? I predict that when he meets up with the other Signers again, he'll be a whole different person.

The Signers are connected to each other, especially so when one of them can draw power from the rest. Is it possible that connection, that sharing of strength, means the other Signers know what Jack went through here, the turmoil? Or what happened between Yusei and Kalin?

TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES I

The Title; what does it mean? We've got a 'truth' card; Unwavering Truth. Truth is a tetchy, loaded word. Some hold that there's a single, objective truth, but I find that everyone's got their own. Right now Akiza and Misty have two different, conflicting versions of the truth-- that Akiza's in denial about harming Toby, or that Misty is just looking for someone to blame. Now-- where are the consequences? Sounds kind of ominous to me. Misty wants to make Akiza suffer the consequences of associating with Arcadia, but this duel isn't just about Misty.

Does Mina have a new voice? Just putting it out there. She sounds really different.

Once again, we see a duality between justice and revenge. Seems to be a bit of a theme with Akiza. She has wronged and hurt people, and she's also been wronged and hurt, so there's a lot of that flying around. Is Misty truly seeking justice, or does she just want revenge? Heck, is *Sayr* getting justice for wronged and ostracized psychics of society, or is *he* just in this for power and revenge? Hold on. Who, ultimately, is he out for revenge against? What's his story? Where did he get the idea that the world just can't cope with psychics? I'd like to know *that*. Is it possible that's his history with Goodwin?

"If purple fire starts to surround you, you should, you know, *run*." Akiza and Mina have been driving together all day; surely they're good pals by now.

An abandoned carnival? Really? It occurs to me that Lezar would love this place. Why set the duel here, narratively speaking? It's a very evocative setting; kind of creepy and unreal. Reason one: where else would you find a hall of mirrors (more on that later). Reason two... well, we may find out. Now that the hall of mirrors has been, oh, *vaporized* by Black Rose Dragon, the setting has changed; now we may discover the narrative significance of the rest of the carnival.

I'm remembering the *last* time we went to an amusement park, which was with Jack and Carly (and Mina and Trudge) in The Reunion Duel. Any connection? Well, *that* triangle is *also* getting brought back up ("That's it, it is ON, Jack Atlas!!!").

I noticed that Sayr says what Mina and Yusei each want to hear, what will get each of them to trust him. Notice how he appeals to Yusei's distrust of Goodwin. He's a tricky one.

Sayr *did* give Yusei that heads-up, which was less than horrible of him. Was he also the one who made it necessary?

Ah, "Take me back to Domino, that duelist-loving town / Where it's less likely you'll get rained on than it is you'll almost drown..." Man, what is it about this show and near-drownings? Journey to the Duelist Kingdom, Friends 'Til the End, Duel and Unusual Punishment, Get Yarr Game On, the Big Flashback in The Fortune Cup Finale I...

Yusei just fell into deep water with his duel disk on. I think we're about to see just how waterproof they are, which I've wondered about. Then again, Yusei's duel disk isn't any standard model, because it fits into a runner he built himself. What *Yusei's* duel disk is like won't necessarily reflect on any other duel disk, because it's custom and built by Yusei himself, who'd been tinkering with duel disks for years and years and is almost definitely an expert. But if he can't make a waterproof duel disk, nobody else can, that's for sure!
I hope Yusei's cards are okay. He didn't summon anything himself, so it's plausible that his deck box is waterproof; in fact, likely-- last time we know of that he ended up diving into deep water at a moment's notice, he had to leave his deck on shore and let Jack steal Stardust from it!

Why would Sayr try to hurt/drown Mina? Yusei, I can understand; Sayr well knows that Akiza has it bad for him. But Mina? Is it because she had that information from Arcadia that reveals the whole world-domination thing? Is it because she works for Goodwin? Is it just because he wanted to separate Akiza from her companions?

A hall of mirrors. What a wacky place to fight a duel. Oh yeah, I'm picking this one apart.
Mirrors are a potent symbolic image, which is why I can name a lot of cards that have to do with mirrors. They can signify vanity, because you'd think of someone who looks in the mirror a lot as a vain individual; Misty, as a supermodel, probably would fall into the category of someone who spends a lot of time looking in the mirror. Mirrors also connote duality, because they're the most common way to see *you* somewhere other than where you're standing, but it only shows how you look, not who you are. One of Misty's most memorable lines is: "Do not let my perfect face fool you, for I am a Dark Signer who has come here to send you to the netherworld." In addition, mirrors return what they get; think Mirror Force or Mirror Wall. In fact, think the myth of Medusa, which we've already connected to Misty because of her gorgon cards, in which Perseus used a mirror-bright shield to turn the gorgon to stone with her own power.
Mazes are also an interesting twist of a setting. I'm thinking Double Trouble Duel and Legendary Heroes. Actually, this duel reminds me a bit more of a turbo-duel; usually a standing duel doesn't move, but as the duel progresses, the duelists move. That's a weird one.

Breaking glass is definitely a motif in Akiza's plotline. For example, the breaking mirrors in this episode; the night Akiza tried to come home and shattered every window in her house, flashbacked in "Clash of the Dragons I"; and the big plate glass window Sayr blasted Carly out of in "Digging Deeper I". It's dangerous and it's beautiful and dramatic.

Why we tell tragedies, or 'what the heck were the card designers thinking on this one?'. I almost wrote a research paper for English class on this, but I wanted to write it well, you see.
With the Sad Story combo, I really am noticing how the cards also speak for their designers; the first card designer, as we all know, was a mad genius with a gift for artistry and storytelling. Pegasus was utterly fascinated with the stories of the shadow games in Egypt's ruins, to the point that he re-created the game. In the first few years of the game, the canon of cards rapidly grew to encompass mythologies around the world: Niebelung's Treasure and Ride of the Valkyries from the Norse myths; Gorgon's Eye and Mystic Horseman from the Greek myths; I won't bother looking it up, but I'm pretty sure Shinato's from India; we see plenty of angels and demons; and of course ancient Egypt's myths were also well-represented in the game from the very beginning. These three cards seem to be about the very components of a story itself, which makes sense because cards are inspired by stories. I'm curious; is the formula outlined by these three cards, the formula for a sad story, universal, or official at all?
There are plenty of different theories as to why we tell tragic stories. To come to grips with our own, sometimes harsh, reality, and to practice psychologically dealing with the bad stuff. To avoid others' mistakes. To create a social imperative not to do something, by reinforcing that bad things happen to people who do that. To allow people to commiserate and know that whatever bad things happen to them, they aren't alone. I've read about a scientific study that indicates people in a serious or sad mood are less likely to be gullible and more likely to be focused and attentive. (http://www.theweek.com/article/index/104248/Health_038_Science)
More on this with the conclusion of the duel; I've found a whole mess of reading to do, and I have less than eight hours to finish this post.

By the way, when we first discovered that Kalin Kessler and Carly Carmine were Dark Signers, I joked 'beware of alliteration'. Guess what? Toby Treadwell.

Hey, guess what-- Misty just unwittingly gave us the closest thing we have to a canon birthday! Toby's out for the summer, meaning it's somewhere in the vicinity of June, and her birthday was three months ago, making it right about now-- early March.

Can we consider those visions unbiased and accurate? Since Misty wasn't even present for two out of three, I'm guessing no.

What happened the day Akiza lost control and wrecked part of Domino City? Will we learn more about that? Can we ever know what really happened? Sayr may be the only one who can tell us what actually happened that day, and how convenient-- he's right there!

Right now it seems that this fight is at an impasse; Akiza and Misty are now at the point of arguing facts neither one of them actually knows. What happened, happened. This duel isn't about the facts of what happened; there's only one actual event, and it only happened one way. Where we get into conflict is how they interpret that set of facts. But first let's at least get clear what actually happened, one way or another, and not just descend into an argument of "did not, did too". Well, Sayr? Cough it up, ya loony toon. *Was* there a coverup?

What exactly happened to Misty? Are we keepin' it vague and not too scary for kids? Will we learn more? Was it an accident? Was it *not*? Whatever it was, the precedent suggests it nearly killed her, and would have if not for Koka Riah.

What's the common thread between Misty and Akiza? One thing that occurs to me-- how nearly we missed Sayr being to Akiza as Toby is to Misty; someone she just can't go on without. If not for Yusei, Akiza could have ended up like Misty is or worse; unable to go on. And since Sayr's completely psycho now, Akiza may have to find the strength to reject Sayr now that he *is* back. Will that end up being the difference between her and Misty, that she can find it in herself to choose to go on without Sayr?

Akiza knows what she's talking about, Misty; she also looked for someone to blame. She scratched Yusei and Stardust all over before she got over that.

As Misty put it, their decks, their future "is sealed away like a bad memory". But the future *isn't* a bad memory. It hasn't even happened yet. However, for Misty, it *is* "sealed away like a bad memory", whether that was her future or not. She's made it that way. But Misty's story isn't over yet, and it doesn't have to end tragically.

Um, shouldn't there be some purple fire around here somewhere? Where's the geoglyph?

The cards we saw Akiza draw then reshuffle are Evil Thorn and Violet Witch, both well-known opening plays for her. Evil Thorn played a big starting role in Clash of the Dragons, and no other duel; Violet Witch was her first card in The Profiler, and also her last card in her entrance exam to Arcadia. Both of these cards put us in mind of Akiza at her most frighteningly powerful and destructive; but we haven't seen anything yet, apparently.

Why *would* Misty "risk backing herself into a corner as well?" Does she think she already has everything she needs in her hand? Will she find that she doesn't, when she can't hurt Akiza to get the cards she needs through Dragon Queen's effect?

Since the duelists' draws have been so limited, there's a lot that can be determined deductively about their hands. In fact, even without the limitation there is, and I should do this more often. But anyway, right now, we can look back and start guessing what either duelist may have up her sleeve. Akiza placed a facedown in the first round, and we all conveniently forgot about it. Something tells me it's important. I can't identify it, though not for lack of trying. The two cards in her hand are the spell Seed of Deception, which allows her to summon a L2-or-below plant monster from her hand-- a monster of which variety she hadn't drawn and kept yet--, and a trap card I can't identify, though not for lack of trying. Misty has two cards in her hand. We know that one of these is a trap card, because it was drawn and kept during her draw phase when Sorrowful Memories and Unwavering Truth were both in effect. The other one is the one she drew out of phase after Dragon Queen's attack, meaning this card could be of any type.

So it would appear that Misty's strategy is to use Dragon Queen's effect to make it so she doesn't *need* to draw during her draw phase. Like someone wallowing in loss, all she has left is what's in her hand and what she can get by taking it out on someone else.

So next in this duel, Black Rose Dragon destroys Mirror Labyrinth and the entire Sad Story combo with her ability, am I right? Sweet!

"The entrance to the netherworld is on the witch's island"? What an interesting and pertinent codephrase. It's almost like he's psychi-- oh, right. In theory, the phrase itself is nonsense, something unlikely to be said by accident, to be used as a psychic trigger.
Huh. Like I said, interesting. The entrance to the netherworld, as we understand it, is the old reactor. Sayr said he knew more secrets about Goodwin ("And that, my dear, is the *least* of his secrets!" - Digging Deeper I); could he also know what really happened at Zero Reverse, and more about the old reactor than he's telling?
And, the "witch's island", or "witches' island", probably the former. In this series, the person who gets called a witch is Akiza, the Black Rose. In that context, this codephrase would then seem to say that the Satellite belongs to Akiza; she wields such power now that the Satellite probably *could* be hers-- if she can take down Misty and the power of the Dark Signers. Remember, Sayr wants to use an army of psychic duelists to take over the world; it would be like him to declare that the world lies at Akiza's feet because of her great power. Or, if the island we're talking about is metaphorical, the phrase says that Akiza opens the gate to the netherworld by isolating herself and becoming an island; also true. "Witches' island", plural, could refer to the fact that the last two Dark Signers to fall will be the only two female ones; or that the last Signer-Dark Signer battle, for the gate to the netherworld, is witch vs. witch-- Akiza vs. Misty, who also has demonstrated some clairvoyance and mystique, particularly in her prophecy to Carly and Dark Signer power in general.

We know what Sayr *says* he did. Did he really unleash power Akiza always had, or did he do something else to her? If he really unleashed power she'd already had, then, one: *Excuse* me, who do you think you are, tampering with someone else's inner essence without permission? Wouldn't that be the equivalent of handing Akiza a couple of powerful cards you "borrowed" from her deck earlier because she wasn't ready for them yet? Two: that means she hasn't been whole, as long as we've known her, so no wonder she's been so offbalanced. She hasn't been *able* to be herself as she really is, because she was still holding back, whether she knew it or not. If she can harness this power and win, she has taken a huge step forward. But right now, she's kinda losing it, going back into her shell, lashing out, defending herself from the world with all the force she can muster. If she still had that mask she might be wearing it right now. How will this newfound power and all impact Akiza's style? Yes, it evened things up between her and Misty, more or less; before she had been letting herself feel guilty about it and now she's declared that she's done listening to Misty whine. But will she be completely ruthless? Will the power control her? Will she lose her humanity?

On the other hand, Rose Fairy was a full-on will-based draw. Akiza drew *exactly* what she needed, down to the Watapon ability. *Can* that be construed as an indication that despite all this she's staying true to herself? I mean, the Heart is not a phenomenon of sheer power, but one of heart as well as will-- right?

This reminds me of the origin of the Dark Magician. Mahad, the royal guardian who wielded the Millennium Ring, was also the most powerful sorcerer in the world, and devoutly loyal to Atem, the then-Pharaoh; they had been childhood friends, and Atem had once saved his life, without any consideration for his own safety or rank. After Bakura rode into the capital city, tweaked the royal court's noses with a nasty demonstration of power, and left the whole city in flames, Mahad became determined to eliminate this threat. Mahad lured Bakura to a tomb far outside of town, trapped them both inside, and made his last stand. He had sealed some of his own magical power away in this tomb years before for his own safety; his mystical strength was so mighty, the full magnitude of his power was too dangerous to keep around. Now he reclaimed it, and sent his Illusion Magician into battle against Bakura's Diabound. The battle raged all night, and in the end, Mahad used his last bit of strength to combine himself with his monster, and attacked one last time. Mahad lost, and was sealed away as the monster spirit he had become; this new monster was called Dark Magician.
Akiza, too, has reclaimed power that had been hers, but was taken from her for her own safety. I don't think it will, but just for the record, here's hoping things don't end the same way; we've already got Carly imitating Kisara over here, which is wacky enough.

What the heck happened to Sayr? Hasn't the man heard of a comb and water?Where did Sayr get that wacky scar, the one his hair is covering up? What happened to that right eye we don't get to see? Is that just the whole fell-forty-stories-or-more-into-the-netherworld-and-somehow-still-alive-and-kicking look, which is bound to be a bit deranged? What are we meant to take from this change in appearance, what does it signify? One thing I've noticed is that Sayr's color scheme has shifted from warm, earthy browns and greens, to cool whites and grays. I think Sayr's reappearance is meant to unsettle us at the very level of gut instinct; even if you trust him like Akiza does, something just isn't quite right here. I wonder if Akiza feels that way at all, too?

We seem to be following a pattern. Am I the only one feeling like these two duels are "Digging Deeper" all over again, or "Digging Deeper" part two? Why always Carly, Sayr, Akiza, and Misty all at the same time? If I ever see three of them at the same time again, I'm going to wait for the fourth one to show up, no matter what shade of not-dead-but-dead they are!

Well, 'psycho' and 'psychic' have been easily confused with each other before (ESP Duelist, anyone?), but never fear-- Sayr's both! Wow, Sayr *is* even crazier than before. Or at least now he's crazy out loud. Note how irrationally he gets angry at Yusei; for mocking him, and because Akiza 'belongs to' him, and Yusei and his friends threaten to take her away.

Sayr said Akiza was "destined for greatness"-- there's that word again!

At this point, we all have different shades of contempt for Sayr. It's hard to remember where Akiza stands in all this, because she still trusts him. We have now seen Sayr capture Tanner, Yanagi, Luna, and Leo; hurt Leo and then try to use him to get to Luna; blast Carly through the top window of a skyscraper to silence her; and we know he was planning to leave Tanner, Yanagi, and the twins where they were while he evacuated the rest of the building due to the unnatural earthquake. But on the other hand, Sayr was the one who unmasked the Black Rose, the first person to accept Akiza and her powers, and he kept encouraging her to come out of her shell and face the world. If it hadn't been for him, she would have given up and burned her deck, thrown away her future. But may I hazard a guess that her powers are far more important to him than she, herself, is. I don't hate Sayr because I don't hate characters easily; I still like him because he's intriguing, and because *Akiza* still likes him, and by categorically dismissing Sayr I don't allow myself to understand the internal conflict she's going through. And it's going to get worse. I firmly believe that before the end of this duel, Akiza will face a full-blown decision between Sayr and Yusei.

The card I identified with Sayr most would've been Psychic Commander, before he fell. Clearly, he's changed some since then. How have his cards changed, and will we ever find out? I predict that his plays get more erratic, more crazy-out-loud, and more dangerous and nasty.

When Sayr fell, it seemed that such things as the plan Sayr discussed with Akiza in Digging Deeper I, in which she would become an international icon, a spokesperson for the Arcadia Movement, were just to throw us off the fact that he was about to get it. Keep in mind that with Sayr back, "Project Billboard", and Sayr's plan to manipulate Luna into joining the Movement, and plenty of other things I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention, are back on the table. As for the viability of these plans... well, in order to know that, we'd have to know more about the current state of the Arcadia Movement. It all but collapsed with its leader and its great big building, but with Sayr back we're left in more doubt. Goodwin must've known that, if Sayr ever came back, what was left of Arcadia was a problem waiting to happen; have his offices been taking it apart? Can we even hope? Then again, Sayr would know more about that than we do, and he said that he and Akiza would *revive* the Movement; something tells me they're all that's left of it.

Oh, here we go. Trudge-Mina-Jack-Carly. Let the games begin. Does Mina still have a chance with Jack, when he all but pledged his heart to Carly?
I predict, off the cuff: Trudge challenges Jack (to a duel, *of course*-- what did you expect?) to fight over Mina; at which point it's possible that Jack asks 'what in the name of the extremely cute fun-size majestic crimson tuner nanodragon out of time and space are you talking about?' (paraphrased); Mina hears him say this, and it hurts, a lot; Trudge explains *what* in the majestic name of the most adorable and cuddly little red last-play uber-card since Silent Magician he's talking about, most likely with helpful diagrams in the medium of massive lifepoint damage; and Jack might get the picture but it's also possible, incredibly enough, that he won't; meanwhile the twins, and Crow, think this is all very tiresome and mushy, and Yusei and Akiza each get a little shyer than usual for the moment and don't talk to each other much or make eye contact. Sound like fun? You bet!

When Yusei gets out of that underground deathtrap (any day now, Trudge), how will he react to all this? Personally, I don't like that nasty, crazy look in Akiza's eyes; something tells me he won't either. He, if anyone, will know whether this new power is a strength or a problem. I'm pretty sure he'll end up on the sidelines of this duel once he gets out of there, and I look to his judgment on this one, and also Luna's if she winds up there; Luna's very perceptive.

When Akiza duels, she battles with herself above all else. Hers is a battle of finding the courage to gain redemption. When Akiza is afraid, when she is upset, when she is angry, when she is threatened, the power can completely overwhelm her, lashing out at the threat. When this happens, she can become a violent demon, striking out at both friend and foe in blind confusion, and the destruction can be terrible and even tragic. I'm wondering if this is what happened that day in the Narrows that the duelists mentioned; if so, this is absolutely perfect. The battle Akiza fights is to be stronger than that overwhelming survival impulse, to not have that be what makes her who she is. She's reaching for the possibility of doing something good and meaningful, reaching for making the world a better place, reaching for being one of the good guys, by fighting for the tower; it isn't to make up for past wrongs, but to be someone who makes a difference despite everything, and to look forward to a brighter future.

It occurs to me that Sayr being gone for good was too convenient, really. It took the choice of continuing on the path that was comfortable and familiar out of Akiza's hands. Without Sayr, there was no going back, for her; that was extremely scary, and that fear was the basis for the Clash of the Dragons duel. When Akiza lashed out at Yusei, she lashed out at someone who dared to believe in her, who dared ask it of her to find the courage to keep going. With the end of that, Akiza compromised, delayed that fear; now she was leaning on Yusei, instead. Now, with Sayr's return, the choice to face that scary world, the choice she began to make when she took on the mantle of saving the world, is thrown right back at her; she *can* go back to the comfortable, the familiar, the safe, if she chooses that. She might even win that way, with the raw power she has behind her; but she would lose something far more important. Her reliance on Sayr is at odds with her being a Signer, with her being a hero, with her trust in Yusei.
The Akiza who hides behind the Arcadia Movement is no hero; she survives by clinging to the only home that would ever accept her when the world has cast her out as a monster, and she is that mean person Toby encountered in Unwavering Truth. She doesn't even spare a passing glance for the people around her, because she expects only censure from them. She could go back to that, and feel safe; and Misty would be right about her. This entire time, Akiza has been facing her doubts about whether, having been that person, she can find it in herself to be a hero, to be a Signer; to save the world from Misty and her destructive grief, she'll have to be, and that means coming to grips with how cruel she was in her fear, and choosing not to be that way anymore, even if it feels comfortable and safe. Only then can she truly stand on her own, and no longer doubt that she is a hero. With more power than she knows what to do with, with Sayr back from oblivion, with such high stakes, the temptation is greater than ever to give in. Winning this fight for redemption, making her stand as a Signer, not as a thoughtless weapon of the Arcadia Movement, and not as a victim, will take something more than that. It'll take everything she's got.

Now, I've blabbed a lot about how Sayr affects the nature of this conflict; what I can't wait to see is when Yusei shows up on the sidelines of this duel. Right now, Akiza, despite having just seized some control of the duel, is alone; in terms of the duel of ideas in this conflict, Sayr is pulling for Akiza being the horrible person who destroyed Misty's brother without even noticing. He doesn't want a person or a friend, he wants a weapon. Yusei, on the other hand, and the twins, and Mina and Trudge, know Akiza to be someone else; they know her as a friend, and as a Signer and a hero. They're cheering for her to be bigger than that violent fear, to be stronger than any thoughtless, destructive force, be it the Dark Signers' or her own.

Show of hands; who wishes Sayr would put his duel disk where his mouth is and justly step up to get his butt kicked by Yusei already?

The obvious question: Who Will Win? This is a weird one. This conflict is already breaking with YGO tradition in a huge way: Roman has fallen, and the last Dark Signer is Misty. She is *the* bad guy, for the moment, or at least *the* Dark Signer. Sayr's a lunatic, but he's not *the* villain. So I say it's not over yet. Therefore I predict, unfortunately, that the sun sets on us and we get to find out what or who this 'king of the netherworld' is. I don't think Akiza will lose. If she wins, she will have found the strength to be at peace with herself, and, from past experience, I think that's entirely too quick. I do predict that there will be some resolution on the subject of Misty's plotline, because once the king of the netherworld shows up, her grudge will seem a small trifle, which is kind of unfair to her as a character. Unless... it's sunset right now; what if Roman meant before the beginning of sunset, not before the *end* of sunset? What if the king of the netherworld's *already here*?! OMG, it's *Sayr*! So *that's* how he came back from the netherworld! Or was that because Jack defeated Carly? Lol, I joke, but I'm not entirely ruling it out, either.

NEW CARD SECTION
Carly-- Fortune Lady Earth [?/?/L6/earth] - hits the opponent for 400 points of damage when her level increases
Carly-- Fortune Lady Dark [?/?/L5/dark]
Carly-- Fortune Lady Water [?/?/L4/water]
Carly-- Fortune Lady Wind [?/?/L3/wind]
Carly-- Curse of Destiny, speed spell - when this card is activated, the activator designates a monster and places two 'curse counters' on that monster. When he or she chooses to remove one of those counters, damage is dealt to the opponent by this effect instead of that monster attacking during this turn.
Carly-- Enlightenment, trap - allows a monster that just destroyed an opponent's monster in battle to attack again in the same turn
Carly-- Bending Destiny, trap - negates the effect of one card played by the opponent, and returns it to the opponent's hand.
Carly-- Inherited Fortune, trap - activates when a Fortune Lady is destroyed, and allows the card's controller to summon two Fortune Ladies during their next turn.
Carly (and Jack)-- Class Change, trap - increases one monster's level by one.
Jack-- Crying Ogre [0/0/L4/dark] - can be special-summoned when its controller takes battle damage, and its attack points become equal to the amount of damage that was just taken.
Jack-- Power Supplier [400/400/L2/earth] - Can power up another monster's attack points by 400
Jack-- Majestic Red Dragon [4000/3000/L10/dark] - When Majestic Red Dragon attacks, all monsters on the field in defense mode are destroyed after the battle. Also, negates and absorbs the abilities of the opponent's monster.
Jack-- Half Seeds, speed spell - requires three or more speed counters. Halves one opponent monster's attack points, and adds the other half to the activator's lifepoints.
Jack-- Changing Destiny, trap - negates an opponent's attack. Half the attack points of the attacking monster then are either dealt to this card's activator as damage, or increase the opponent's lifepoints. The opponent chooses which one.
Jack-- Shockwave, trap - destroys a monster on the field, then deals damage to both players' lifepoints equal to that monster's attack points
Misty-- Reptilian Servant [100///] - When this monster is on the field, no other monsters can be summoned. If this card is designated as the target of a spell or trap's effect, it is immediately destroyed.
Misty-- Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings [1900/2600/L6/dark] - When this monster inflicts damage to the other player, she must discard one card from her hand. The controller of this card then draws one card.
Misty-- Mirror Labyrinth, field spell - when a monster is the only monster on the field, it can attack twice in a single turn.
Misty-- Sorrowful Memories, spell - While this card is in play, if a player draws a monster card on her draw phase, she must return that card to her deck and reshuffle it.
Misty-- Unwavering Truth, spell - While this card is in play, if a player draws a spell card on her draw phase, she must return that card to her deck and reshuffle it.
Misty-- Atrocious Day, spell - While this card is in play, if a player draws a trap card on her draw phase, she must return that card to her deck and reshuffle it.
Misty-- Sorrowful Chain, trap - Requires Sorrowful Memories, Unwavering Truth, and Atrocious Day to all be on the field, and special-summons Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings
Akiza-- Witch of the Black Rose [1700//L4/], tuner - when this monster is successfully summoned, the summoner draws one card from her deck. If that card is a spell or a trap, the player must discard it.
Akiza-- Rose Fairy [///] - When this card moves from the player's deck to her hand by way of a special effect, it is immediately special-summoned to the player's field.
Akiza-- Illusion Destruction, trap - flips a face-up card facedown.

Hey-- how could Goodwin be from the Satellite like Sayr said, if he's lived longer than the Satellite, which we know for a fact that he has? Unless there was an area of New Domino that was the Satellite Sector even before it became separated from the mainland. That would also take care of the whole either-Jack-*isn't*-a-native-satellite-or-Jack-is younger-than-Yusei thing.

Crazy random thought eons after the fact. The Facility couldn't have been named that to begin with. The word 'facility' on its own sounds vaguely ominous and unpleasant, for all it only means a space or establishment set up for a specific purpose, but it would make no sense to name this public institution with the intention of it sounding connotatively ominous; if anything, it would be the opposite. Political semantics; just, ew. It would make sense if it were, officially, the "Facility of" something or "Facility for" something, and it's shortened to Facility because everyone knows which one you're talking about when you're also talking about satellites, criminal justice, and nasty anchovy breath.

Um, is it the second season or not? Earlier, the stream site was dividing the first season from the second at episode 52, with A Whale II as the last episode of the first season and A Whale III as the first episode of the second season. Then they changed their minds, and now everything's still in the first season. I'm a little annoyed. If this holds up, I get to massively overhaul my filing system again. For now, I'll hold off and hope they come to their senses. But just so's everyone knows, we have no idea what season we're in anymore.

The morning this post went out, I passed my behind-the-wheel driving test! I have a driver's license now!! What a story it is-- I lost my paperwork and we had to jump-start the car I took the test in, when it was right at the starting line; it occurred to me at the time that, like one's runner breaking down, this would constitute an interrupt, not failing the test. I think the weirdest part is a sort of *state change*; I found it in myself not to be afraid of the test, and I have a strength and a confidence now that I just didn't have before I began my test this morning, and whether I had passed or failed, I still would have felt different within my own skin. This has nothing to do with this post, except I recall also writing about it here the first time I crashed. I like to share the really incredible things that happen in my life with everyone, and that includes you, all my friends out there who read me. 'Til next time, everyone! -Clio

READ A TRANSCRIPT OF SHADOWS OF DOUBT I

READ A TRANSCRIPT OF SHADOWS OF DOUBT II

READ A TRANSCRIPT OF TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES I