GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - Zoltan Chivay

short but sweet post for a short but sweet lad

Gemstones Episode 3.7: The Handsome Man, misdirections, queerbaiting, and me yelling at the screen a lot

In Episode 3.6, we saw the aftermath of the Judy/BJ and Kelvin/Keefe breakups, with failed reconciliation attempts, a fist fight, and both Kelvin and Judy quitting their jobs at the church.  In this episode, things get even worse.

Title: "Burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."  Exodus 21:25. Fans argued like mad about trying to connect the burn/wound/stripe to the personalities or kidnapping strategies of the Gemstone siblings, but it's a misdirection. The previous verse has the more familiar "eye for eye, tooth for tooth." It just means that the punishment should fit the crime.

Burn for burn and all that:  During the evening of the day of the Aimee-Leigh Hologram debacle, the BJ-Stephen penis fight, and probably the Kelvin-Keefe rocking chair fight, Judy goes to a drug store to buy pain medication for BJ.  On her way home, goons from Peter's militia crunch her car with the Redeemer and grab her. 

Misdirection alert: the trailer makes it look like she is the one crunching. 

Chuck Montgomery tries to trick Jesse, and when that doesn't work, the goons shoot him with a tranquilizer dart.

Kelvin bangs on the door at Woodpecker's Carpentry, yelling: "Are there any woodworkers in there? I'm looking for Keefe Chambers!" Now that he's no longer worried about his job at the church, he's free to reconcile with Keefe.    But it's long after hours; the building is dark and deserted. Why would anyone be inside?  Besides, Keefe told Kelvin where he was working; wouldn't he give him his new home address, too?

Six militia men wearing scary masks surround Kelvin.  The trailer makes him look paralyzed with fear, but actually he is quite brave, trying to intimidate them and then defend himself.  They punch and hit him, and squirt a toxic liquid into his eyes -- which stings but has no long term effects.  Why does Kelvin need six guys to take him down?  Why does he get a more brutal kidnapping?  I don't know.

Screaming like a woman:  The three siblings are put in what everyone calls a chicken silo, although chickens are housed in coops.  They are tied to chairs, with pillowcases over their heads.  What for?  You don't need to be imprisoned and tied up both.

Kelvin yells for help. Uncle Peter enters and asks if he is "screaming like a woman," maybe a dig at his gayness, but more likely because he considers any emotion "like a woman."   He explains that the militia is holding them for ransom.

The handsome man: When Keefe arrives for work the next morning, he sees Kelvin's car with the doors still open, checks the ground for signs of a struggle, and asks his coworkers, "Have you seen The Handsome Man?"  This makes no sense, as Kelvin only visited once, for a few minutes, and most of the carpenters weren't paying attention.

Cut to Amber and BJ noticing that their partners didn't come home last night. Next, Eli, at the office even though he's retired and should be fishing, receives a scary video of Kelvin crying and Judy and Jesse screaming in rage.  The gay one has a "sensitive" reaction. Peter gives the ransom demand.  

Cut to BJ, Amber, Gideon, and Eli discussing the kidnapping with Sheriff Brenda. They were kidnapped in town, so it should be the Rogers Police. 

Notice that Keefe is not there.  Why didn't Eli call him?  Because his number has changed, because they have broken up, or because he is just a friend, not a partner?

The Freemans arrive.  Tiffany has made dolls of the siblings --very quickly -- "for you to hug and kiss until they come home safe."  She gives the Kelvin doll to Eli.  Same question:Why doesn't she save it for Keefe? Because they have broken up, or because they were never partners to begin with?

Geography problem: How did they get to Eli's house so fast?  Don't they live in Florida?  

The trailer made it seem like the militia sent the dolls, adding a hint of the paranormal that turned out to be a misdirection.  Still, they look like Gullah Island voodoo dolls: "You can hug and kiss them until your loved ones come home safe.  And if they ever stray, you can make their privates fall off." 

More queerbaiting after the break

It's Kelvin's casual acquaintance:  BJ, Amber, and Gideon walk out into the garden. Keefe finally arrives.  Why does it take him longer to get to the compound than the Freemans?  There's no evidence that he called the family to see if they knew what happened before driving over.

Upon seeing the partners and Gideon, Keefe walks through some hedges to reach them, while they bicker about his name.  "Look, it's Kelvin's friend, Chief.... I always heard it as Quiche."  You don't know the name of your brother-in-law's partner, when they've been together for more than two years?  And what's with the "friend"?  Do they mean a post-breakup friend, or friend as a euphemism for "lover," or are we being told that the guys are actually straight buddies?

Apprised that Kelvin was kidnapped, Keefe offers to help, but Gideon rebuffs him: "The police are handling it."  Ok -- "this is a family crisis.  I'll go."  

Amber nods. Yep, you're a stranger.  Not family.  Get lost.  This infuriated me even on a second viewing.  Friggin asshole, Keefe was admitted to the family in Season 2.  But, assuming that McBride isn't queer baiting, maybe Amber is referring to the breakup -- Keefe is an ex-lover, no longer family.  Or maybe she thinks that gay relationships don't count.  

Wait -- BJ calls out: "You're Kelvin's friend.  We're family.  We're in this together."  Amber glares at him, as if to say "He's a casual acquaintance, dude," but she doesn't resist as Keefe says "Together," kneels, and does a weird offering thing to the three of them.  Ok, maybe BJ is using "friend" as a closeted term for "lover."

Time for Church: Meanwhile, at the compound, Peter calls the siblings to church. 

Timeline problem:  This is a weekday -- Keefe had to go to work. Has time elapsed, or does the militia have church every day?

Peter threatens the siblings with a snake, then forces them to lead the service.  They can't do it without a well-lit stage, a sound system, a band, sermon notes, hymnals, and so on -- plus they're terrified.  Peter judges that they are incompetent -- in spite of their wealth, he is a superior preacher.  Has this all been a "whose dick is bigger" contest with Eli?

Back at the office, Jesse's crew has set up a phone-tracking system. Shouldn't the police be doing that?  When Peter calls about his ransom demand, Eli tries to keep him on the line by refusing to pay?  He hangs up.

The militia guys suggest killing one of the siblings, to let Eli know that they mean business. Timeline problem: If this is the day after the kidnapping, why are they getting so frustrated so soon? 

Peter thinks that this is a good idea, and goes to inform them.  "I'm going to kill one of you after service today."  Timeline problem: Is the church service still going on, or is this the next day?  Or the next Sunday?  The siblings don't look nearly as disheveled as they would be after a week in the chicken silo.

Kelvin's Butthole:  Everyone goes home and puts on their Sunday clothes for a prayer circle.  Timeline problem: Why go home and change to pray?  Or is this a week later?

Keefe is wearing a BDSM outfit: a carpenter's smock and pants with breakway tabs and a slave collar.  This photo, which appeared on IMDB a few days before the episode, is a major misdirection.  The Kelvin doll looks like a genital whip, and we can't tell that Amber is sitting next to him.  It looks like Keefe is involved in a BDSM scene with an unidentified woman,

At least Eli gave him the Kelvin doll, suggesting that he knows that Keefe is his partner, not a platonic pal.

Your One F*king Guy:  In the chicken silo, the siblings discuss their potential murder.  If Jesse goes, he wants Judy and Kelvin to take care of his kids. They refuse: "it's a big ask." But Gideon and Pontius are over 18, and Amber will still be around to take care of Abraham. This makes no sense.

Left: a muscleman to make the upcoming queerbaiting palatable.

Kelvin complains that no one will miss him if he goes. Not necessarily, Jesse points out: "Your one fucking guy with the dead eyes and the perm. He'll miss you." Judy agrees.  Why doesn't Jesse know Keefe's name?  Why does he use a description, as if trying to specify one out of Kelvin's dozens of friends?  And most importantly, why "friend,'" Queerbait McBride?

No, Kelvin says, "Not after the type of friend I've been to him. Should've had his back, but now I may never have the chance." I got really angry at these lines the first time, thinking that it was the Big Reveal: "Kelvin and Keefe are buddies. They've never been boyfriends.  Fooled you!" 

But after watching Episodes 3.8 and 3.9. we know that McBride was not queerbaiting. What could Kelvin possibly mean?   Is he just being closeted?  Or maybe he means that they've broken up, so technically they are post-breakup friends, not lovers.  

Are we almost done here?  During the prayer circle, Cousin Karl, unwilling to let his cousins be murdered, calls May-May and tells her where they are being held.  

Why doesn't she yell out "I know where they are!"  Instead she goes out to her car and drives away.  Gideon, waiting in Eli's car, follows.  Why is he waiting?  Eli is at home.  He might not need a driver again until tomorrow.  And why doesn't he call the family and say "I'm following May-May to the compound.  I'll give you the directions, and you can tell the police."

Cousin Karl, May-May, and Gideon then rescue the siblings. The end.  Boo! 

The full review is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

Twitter to become ‘accurate data source’ in bid to woo advertisers, says new boss Yaccarino

Twitter boss seeks to reverse advertiser exodus following Elon Musk's takeover

Twitter’s new boss Linda Yaccarino has pledged the site will become “the world’s most accurate real-time information source” in a bid to restore advertisers’ confidence in the social media platform. 

Elon Musk’s decision to hire Ms Yaccarino, a former advertising executive, has been seen as an effort to encourage companies to spend their advertising dollars on the website. 

In a memo sent to staff on Tuesday, she promised that “Twitter 2.0” would represent a “complete reinvention” with a focus on free speech and the capacity to “create new partnerships”. 

“That’s not an empty promise,” Ms Yaccarino added, saying her mission is to “drive civilization forward through the unfiltered exchange of information and open dialogue about the things that matter most to us”.

Twitter is on a mission to become the world’s most accurate real-time information source and a global town square for communication. That's not an empty promise. That’s OUR reality.— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) June 12, 2023

The new chief executive faces an uphill battle to restore advertisers’ confidence in Twitter after major names such as Volkswagen, Balenciaga, Carlsberg and Dyson cancelled advertising campaigns on the site in November.

Twitter’s US advertising revenue has plunged 59pc in the past year, falling to $88m (£70m) in the five weeks from April 1, according to internal figures.

But since Ms Yaccarino was hired in May, advertisers have started to warm to the social media platform once again. GroupM, part of the London-listed ad group WPP, said Twitter was no longer “high risk” for brands after she came on board. 

Twitter’s move to make blue ticks available to all subscribers has hit advertisers’ confidence in the site as users became free to impersonate high-profile accounts. Tweets sent from a fake profile purporting to belong to Eli Lilly knocked billions of dollars off the value of the pharmaceuticals giant in November. 

Blue tick badges were previously available only to users and companies whose identities were verified by Twitter staff.

After it was bought by Mr Musk last year for $44bn, Twitter has also faced criticism over its moderation policies and questions over its commitment to freedom of speech.

Journalists from the Washington Post and other outlets that reported Mr Musk’s activities in a critical light sometimes found their accounts had been disabled.

Despite the Tesla and SpaceX boss describing himself as a “free speech absolutist”, a banning spree in December saw the chief correspondent of Voice of America removed from the site together with reporters from the Washington Post, the New York Times and CNN.

Those moves prompted Mr Musk to complain that activist groups were targeting him as he tweeted: “Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America”.

Ms Yaccarino, who joined Twitter from Universal Studios owner NBCUniversal, has been tasked with turning the site into Mr Musk’s “X” app, merging the social platform with a new payments service and delivering video subscriptions.

The site’s commitment to free speech has seen figures including former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson welcomed to the platform. 

The outspoken TV host has posted two episodes of his “Tucker on Twitter” show after being axed from the network in April. Between them, the ten-minute monologues have garnered around 170m views. It prompted Mr Musk to say: “Would be great to have shows from all parts of the political spectrum on this platform!”

Twitter is also targeting more interviews with big names. Mr Musk himself interviewed conspiracy theorist and US presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy last week, after hosting a disastrous campaign launch for White House hopeful Ron DeSantis in May. 

The Righteous Gemstones, Ep. 2x05 – Interlude II

Another flashback episode. This one also takes place in 1993.  We learn what happened to Billy after the incident at the mall.  We learn how Martian became so close to Eli.  And we get some information that suddenly makes everything in the present make a whole lot of sense.

I’m just going to get Billy’s story out of the way.   Billy comes to the family compound for Christmas and tells the family that his wife left him and took their son.  However, Aimee-Leigh calls his wife and finds out what really happened.  Billy tells her he left because he couldn’t provide for his family.

As for the Gemstones, it seems like Eli’s vision is bigger than his pocketbook according to his accountant.  So, Eli does what anyone would do in that situation, fire the accountant and hire a new one.  The new accountant being Martin.  At the same time, Glendon (Junior’s father) decides to pay Eli a visit.  He wants to donate a million dollars to the church. Eli is grateful, Aimee-Leigh is suspicious, and Eli’s father (who unfortunately is suffering from Alzheimer’s and, just as unfortunate, has taken to roam the compound with a load shotgun) has a moment of clarity and tells Aimee-Leigh to keep Eli away from this man.

Aimee-Leigh makes it clear that she doesn’t want Eli to take the money.  To make matters worse, it becomes very clear that the “donation” is being done as a way to launder money through the church, as Glendon wants it done off books.  Martin says he’ll do what Eli wants, but Eli decides not to take the money.  Glendon leaves the office, but they’re not done.

Cut to Christmas night and Martin has come to the house to talk business.  Eli goes outside, to find Glendon holding a gun on Martin.  Glendon threatens to harm Eli’s family.  Suddenly, Eli’s father steps out of the bushes and ends up shooting Glendon in the stomach with a shotgun.  It is indicated that, in that moment, Eli’s father actually might not be as confused as he normally is.  In other words, he knew who Glendon was and he killed him.  The thing is, now they got to figure out what to do.  You know they’re not going to call the police.

So, the three men take the body of Glendon and drive over to the family amusement park, which is currently being built.  And they dump the body in a hole where the Exodus ride is being constructed and they entomb him in cement.  And this is how Eli and Martin became close friends.

There’s a touch and sad scene between Eli and his father, as his father tells him that he’s actually proud of the man Eli’s become.  Something he’s never said before.  Unfortunately, as Eli hugs him, his father becomes confused again and is angry that a man he doesn’t know is hugging him.

Cut back to the present and we see Eli riding the rollercoaster.  Meanwhile, we also see Junior looking at a photograph of Glendon and Eli back in the ‘60s.  Junior is also playing with a gun.  It seems if old Junior may have an inkling that Eli has something to do with his Dad’s disappearance.

I’ve been thinking a lot about timings, specifically Douxie in Arcadia in regards to just the Trollhunter’s series and generally what he was up to at the time. He was clearly in the area before we saw him in Season 3 though his day to day was shown more by comparison in 3Below and thus thanks to an initial ramble in the tags I decided to go ahead and figure things out that make most logical sense to me and could well be completely wrong. As you do.

Prior to the start of Trollhunters it is very unlikely there would have been too many problems as all factions were largely keeping to themselves and under the radar of the others. However after Kanjigar fell, Bular was a LOT more active in Arcadia because of hunting down Jim and in turn because of trying to stop the Killahead project Jim was most active within town it's self at weird hours. As a result this greatly increases the run in risk with Douxie’s own night time wanderings however regular they were for dealing with non-troll related beings that are likely being attracted by the native magic (Ley-line) of the place. The changelings could clear up the messes a certain troll left behind, sure, but somebody who knows enough about trolls would start putting two and two together that the dynamic had shifted somehow and not in a particularly good way.

The easiest way to solve this problem would Douxie happening to be out of the area at the time and quite handily in his first appearance Claire mentions a tidbit that could easily do just that: Ash Dispersal Pattern was the opening act for at least one Papa Skull concert (Highly likely the one she went to with Steve) and it'd make sense to be fronting for more than one and it would keep him safely out the area for a while. After Bular is killed, it is much easier to again hand wave Team Trollhunter and Douxie/the hedge-witches simply not running into one another when something was happening on the Surface given the locations various things tended to happen with a lot less environmental destruction compared to recent times.  

In the first episode of Season 3 we see the kids have been placing warded signs under the guise of supporting Ophelia's campaign to help ward off Gumm-Gumms and that’s a giant neon sign something is there you're trying to protect for anybody with any magical knowledge. It's unknown how long they have been doing this though given Claire and Jim are planting them in the neighbourhood it's likely they started branching out after experimenting with the original hiding spot for Trollmarket (If with a few hiccups given one troll managed to stumble over them anyway) pretty recently which gives ample time for the source to be spotted before the sudden increase.

It stands to reason that around this period is when Douxie would have likely picked up there was now a human teenager running around as the current Trollhunter which I have no doubt he did side eye a bit as uh what and that Trollmarket had an emergency exodus to the Surface even if not knowing the reasoning behind either. Word will be passed on but it's still troll politics at the end of the day, nothing to do with us but worth keeping tabs on.

A few days maximum prior too will be also when a new unknown witch in Arcadia was noticed (Something I touched on here) whom he could just have easily innocently passed in the street. With Zoe's help they would be able to slowly pin down a bit more information (Teenager, likely in High School so gotta check 'em all) until through using Battle of the Bands as a ruse find out that person is Claire. Jim’s attempts at dissuading her joining in (The so-called ”after school activities”) would have confirmed any suspicion that she was also part of Team Trollhunter too which would stand out given they tended to be more solitary in that job role. While he did use very archaic terms (To us), he was being exceedingly respectful of another unknown magic user as appearance is no judge for true age as he proves himself.

Douxie is not seen again until he's on waiter duty at Mr. Benoit's and it's likely thanks to Darci's presence they don't fudge any mention of Trollhunting duties and not give him any tip offs/confirmation that Toby is also involved. Claire's initial outburst would have been very ?? but if you've been in customer service long enough it's a bit on the worrying side sure but not an immediate red flag. That said given the complete change in demeanour afterwards with very wrong vibes being given off to boot that would have been a whole nother kettle of fish easily leading to stealth texted Zoe while back inside say a bit of a situation was developing with the new witch and how best to handle it. I actually had a rough mention of this scenario here.

The next time he would see them, in passing or otherwise, whatever the situation was has been resolved thanks to the help of Strickler meaning whatever plans they had to research more or help would have been rendered unneeded which is good or bad depending on how you look at it. This would also mean the other magic users of Arcadia remained completely in the dark that both Morgana is actively in play and that she was right there in front of Douxie without him even realising it.

~

Author note: Due to the weirdness of the in the UK aired version, I cannot accurately speculate on Douxie seeing 100% possessed Claire as there are two jump cuts. The first during the bathroom scene just after Morgana leaves the mirror then where it then suddenly jumps to showing a few seconds of "I feel like a whole new girl" then a second jump to everybody walking home. I think there was a "Silence, peasant" in there from gif sets I've seen but aside from that I genuinely have no idea! Tried to do my best with what I know for certain.

~

Then you get the Eternal Night and ho boy this is precisely why I’m writing about it in a one shot and have previously had a mention of the situation here as well. Given Douxie’s outburst at the start of Wizards it stands to reason that Merlin never contacted him and this poor guy in turn had absolutely no idea that he’d awoken nor was in Arcadia. This meant that he (And very likely Hex-Tech too) were completely caught out when it hit which would match up with his being completely without the bracelet leaving him to defend Mary and Darci with a freaking flying kick and belting a Gumm-Gumm with his guitar. Honestly it does show he's not defenceless without it but damn what an entrance. Plus the little slip up with calling the attacker twits, that wouldn’t have registered with the girls but had Claire or Toby still been there? Oh that’d have been very interesting as that is not a term you know without knowing outting him on the spot very much like how it did for us as viewers. Alas they were elsewhere, his secret remains intact.

It’s very possible during this entire mess he might have seen Morgana too, distantly perhaps but very there given her colour of magic and the golds are very distinctive, leading to one very awful blast from the past but right now your focus has to be on getting these kids and any other stragglers to safety because that is where you can help right now and not on the field. Head down, keep going and freak out about it later. Oh and whenever get a spare minute text Zoe to check both she and any of the Coven in the area currently are holding up okay and if they need backup.

At the very least none of them would have to pretend they don't know what trolls are anymore, handy given at least two plus the two changelings who stayed behind though the same hat syndrome between Strickler and Douxie would be an absolute goldmine about now if they hadn't manage to have a run in prior. I am a simple person, I find the concept hilarious.

Finally there is one other little issue needs resolving. After the arrival in flying Camelot, Douxie much like the others appears far more worried about seeing Jim inside a crystal and not about the fact he's no longer human. Steve? There’s every possibility he found out along with Eli at some point from Toby but in the wizard's case, he would never have been in that friend (Or even kinda) circle to get that bit of information nor does Merlin pull him aside to mention it either. That leads me to suspect he may have briefly glimpsed Jim during the battle and put two and two together much like Aja did that they are the same person. It’s highly unlikely he knew of the Eclipse armour existence given how secretive Merlin tends to be (Plus he was 19 at the time not to mention a bit of a disaster but we love him anyway) however there would be absolutely no mistakening that it is the Trollhunter in a new coat... and new bluer form. Follow that train of thought enough and it leads to the fact there is only one person alive that could have pulled that one off: The very same one who created the amulet in the first place.

Oops.

Hi, Sapphire One here, how do you feel about Toby in the book and the show, along with Blinky and AAARRRGGHH? This is gonna sound like a weird question, but if there were any Trollhunters characters that you feel should've died or lived? Also, I have a theory that Vendal is linked to the Heartstone, do you have any theories of your own? Finally, I've talked to my dad about Balto, and when I described it to him he was really intrigued and wanted to watch it, what do you think of the movie?

I didn’t have a ton of strong opinions about the original Trollhunters novel because I didn’t engage with it the same way that I did with the show.

It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but something about how it was written made it hard for me to get through. I had to keep taking breaks and coming back to it, or skimming ahead and then going back to re-read more thoroughly. The issue might just be that suspense and mystery are not my genres of choice for reading material and the novel is highly suspenseful.

It’s weird that book-Tobias is taller than Jim, just because I saw the show first and that version of the character design is ingrained in my mental picture of them.

ARRRGH!!! is so different that I tend to perceive her and AAARRRGGHH as separate characters.

Other than appearance Blinky seems to be about the same. Maybe a bit less paternal towards Jim Sturges than he is towards Jim Lake.

+=+

For reasons I’ve expanded on before, I feel Angor and Draal should both have lived. (Or, if Angor wasn’t going to live, they should’ve let him stay dead after the first time.) (Or if they were always going to kill him in the finale, he should’ve changed sides sooner so it wouldn’t feel like a case of ‘redemption means death’.)

I also feel like at least a few of the Changelings from the Janus Order should’ve been shown to survive, Changeling who haven’t already changed sides and left like Strickler, Nomura, and Not Enrique did. As it stands, although in character because we know the Gumm-Gumms don’t value Changelings, Gunmar’s massacre feels like a cop-out so the writers wouldn’t have to deal with the Janus Order anymore.

Nobody survived whose character arc I felt would have made more sense if they had died. I did read a well-structured argument (I reblogged it) for how Strickler’s character arc would have concluded satisfyingly with him dying in a heroic sacrifice to protect someone else, most likely Jim or Barbara, showing how much Strickler has changed from his initial characterization as someone who will do almost anything to ensure personal survival.

+=+

I have a lot of theories, yes, some of which I’ve shared before:

Draal is part-Krubera. This idea occurred to me when Kanjigar possessed AAARRRGGHH and I thought to myself that, if someone showed me pictures of AAARRRGGHH and Draal before I watched the show and told me AAARRRGGHH was Draal’s father, I’d believe them. I’d assume Draal took after his mother in colouring and spikes, but I’d believe them.

Draal got the Grit-Shaka as a gift from Nomura, as a trap; hoping he’d recklessly put himself in danger and Kanjigar would come save him so the Changelings could get the Amulet.

Nomura and Gladys (the Changeling dental hygienist) used to date, which is why Nomura called Gladys to warn her about Toby and Jim.

Eli ordering spy gear near the start of Season 1 set off the chain of events that led to the troll exodus at the end of Season 3.

The Amulet not returning when stolen is a deliberate ‘safeguard’ so Merlin can take it away from Trollhunters who disagree with him.

The Amulet being destroyed while Killahead Bridge’s portal to the Darklands is open proves that Unbecoming was an illusion, not a true alternate-timeline.

Kanjigar died on a Monday morning. Based on context clues in the dialogue, the first three episodes of the series span about a week, ending on the Saturday.

The First Battle of Killahead Bridge happened between 1297, when the caption says Angor made his deal with Morgana, and 1620, the sailing of the Mayflower, which Blinky claims the trolls also traveled on. (This was published before, and ignores, the tie-in novel Angor Unleashed, which claims Angor made his deal after Gunmar was trapped in the Darklands.)

Nose rings are a Trollhunter thing. All past Trollhunters seen have them. Obviously other trolls do too, but still.

They could’ve saved all the babies back in Season One with a Fetch and a cherry picker. (This comes up in my fanfiction.)

Here are a few previously-unpublished theories of mine:

Blinky claims the human practice of ‘oral hygiene’ is ‘a concept quite foreign to us [trolls].’ This is a factor in why Draal thinks kissing, pressing one’s filthy mouth up against someone else’s filthy mouth, is disgusting.

Remember when that museum guard caught Strickler and Bular, and Strickler claimed he’d led the man there on purpose as a ‘midnight snack’? He’d actually just gotten careless, and this was an excuse so Bular would go after the human instead of the Changeling. Possibly this is a standing protocol with Changelings who deal with Bular regularly. Bular suspects it’s a cover-up, he’s not stupid, but he lets them get away with it because this means he gets to enjoy his meal in peace instead of listening to Strickler complain about the hassle of covering up the human’s death.

The spit-check thing Not Enrique does, to show Claire how Enrique’s doing, goes both ways. A Familiar spitting or drooling on a mirror will summon an image of the Changeling to whom they are magically bound. (This is also going to come up in my fanfiction.)

These last two aren’t really theories so much as points of contention:

Turning Jim “part-troll” elongated his limbs and increased his reflex speed. Not being used to that reflex speed, he would respond by over-compensating and end up appearing to have worse reflexes now. He should have been an absolute klutz while readjusting, and said readjustment period should have taken days or even a month, therefore it was a terrible plan to transform him right before a battle. Also, the increase in his sense of hearing, smell, and possibly sight, and decrease in his sense of touch (“I didn’t feel a thing!” he declares after AAARRRGGHH knocks him across the yard and through a fence), should have caused overstimulation and increased his sense of dissociation with his new body, respectively.

As a Changeling, Strickler is already magically linked to a human. When he used the binding spell on Barbara, that enchantment could have tangled with the enchantment tying him to Waltolomew. As Familiars cannot be harmed without a Changeling losing access to human form, this would result in Strickler forcibly shifting back to troll form whenever he or Barbara got hurt. Angor knew this risk and chose not to say anything because he hated Strickler.

+=+

Balto is a decent movie. That scene where the town carpenter is making the child-sized coffins; or the one where the telegraph operator takes down the lamp they’ve been keeping lit as a signal for the sled team to find the town if it’s dark, because everyone’s given up on them returning? Potent stuff. I like the animation. I also thought the live-action prologue and epilogue were well-crafted, setting up the animated story as what the grandkid is imagining as her grandmother tells the tale and providing an excellent conclusion with the grandmother’s identity reveal at the end. I don’t usually like when movies jump between styles like that, but, as with the change in animation style during the Dream World sequence in Mune, it serves a narrative purpose here.

Old Testament Historical Books part 3

The Books of Samuel Originally but one book, the scroll of Samuel was early divided into two. The Greek translators called these the first and second Books of Kingdoms, a title St. Jerome later modified to "Kings." The Hebrew title, "Samuel" alludes to the leading figure in the first book, who was responsible for the enthronement of David. It is David's history that the second book recounts. This sacred work thus comprises the history of about a century, describing the close of the age of the Judges and the beginnings of monarchy in Israel under Saul and David. It is not a complete and continuous history, nor a systematic account of the period, but rather a series of episodes centered around the persons of Samuel, Saul and David, the principal figures leading up to the establishment of the royal dynasty of David. The final editor is unknown, nor are we certain of the time at which the various strands of the narrative were put together, though one may think of the period, perhaps late in the seventh century B.C., when the other volumes of the "Former Prophets" from Joshua through Kings, were built into a more or less continuous historical corpus. The Samuel-Saul-David narratives clearly depend on several written sources: a Samuel cycle, two sets of stories about Saul and David, and a family history of David. This last (2 Sam 9-20; 1 Kings 1-2), one of the most vivid historical narratives surviving from ancient times, probably originated early in the reign of Solomon. One of the most significant theological contributions of the Old Testament is found in 2 Sam 7 the oracle of Nathan. David is here promised an eternal dynasty, and this becomes the basis for the development of royal messianism throughout the Bible. With this promise to David one should compare 2 Chron 17; Psalm 89:19-37;  132:11-13; Acts 2:30; Hebrews 1:5. The contents of this work may be divided as follows:  I.  History of the Last Judges, Eli and Samuel (1 Sam 1:1 - 1 Sam 7:17)  II .Establishment of the Monarchy in Israel (1 Sam 8:1 -1 Sam 12:25)  III  Saul and David (1 Sam 13:1 - 2 Sam 2:7)  IV. The Reign of David (2 Sam 2:8 - 2 Sam 20:26)  V. Appendixes ( 2 Sam 21:1 -  2 Sam 24:25) Books of the Kings The two Books of Kings were originally, like 1 Sam; 2 Sam - a single historical work. In conjunction with the Books of Samuel, they extend the consecutive history of Israel from the birth of Samuel to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. This combined work is designed as a religious history; hence in Kings the temple, which is the chosen site for the worship of Yahweh, occupies the center of attention. The Books of Kings show clearly the theological bent of a Deuteronomic editor. In them, as already in Judges, material from various sources, such as the "book of the acts of Solomon" ( 1 Kings 11:41) and the "book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel" (1 Kings 14:19), is forged into structural unity by an editor whose principal interest is in the fidelity to Yahweh of rulers and people. The reigns of individual kings are adapted to an editorial framework consisting of a presentation and an obituary notice for each, in stereotyped formulas. In between, the achievements of the king are reported-above all, his fidelity or lack of fidelity to Yahweh. The faithful prosper; the unfaithful pay for their defections. Since this is basically a narrative of sin and retribution, it would not be inappropriate to entitle the Books of Kings "The Rise and Fall of the Israelite Monarchy." Without minimizing the complexity of the process by which this material was transmitted for many centuries, one may speak of two editions of the Books: the first at some time between 621 B.C. and 597 B.C., and the second, final edition during the Exile; probably shortly after Jehoiachin was released from his Babylonian prison (561 B.C.). 1 Kings carries the history of Israel from the last days and death of David to the accession in Samaria of Ahaziah, son of Ahab, near the end of the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Judgment is passed on Ahaziah's reign but the details are given only later, in 2 Kings. We should note the two large cycles of traditions which grew up around the great prophetic figures of Elijah and Elisha, the former in 1 Kings and the latter chiefly in 2 Kings. These cycles, which interrupt the sequence of regnal chronicles, were very probably preserved and transmitted by the prophetic communities to which there are references in the same traditions. The Elijah cycle is the more important since it dramatically underscores Israel's critical struggle with the religion of Canaan. The principal divisions of the Books of Kings are: I.  The Reign of Solomon ( 1 Kings 1:1-11:43) II.  Judah and Israel to the Time of Ahab ( 1 Kings 12:1-16:34) III. Stories of the Prophets (1 Kings 17:1-22:54) IV.The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (2 Kings 1:1-17:41) V. The Kingdom of Judah after 721 B.C. ( 2 Kings 18:1-25:30) 1 Chronicles Originally the two books of Chronicles formed, with the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, a single historical work, uniform in style and basic ideas. The Greek title, paraleipomena, means "things omitted, or passed over (in Samuel and Kings)." The Books of Chronicles, however, are more than a supplement to Samuel and Kings; a comparison of the two histories discloses striking differences in scope and purpose. The Books of Chronicles record in some detail the lengthy span from the reign of Saul to the return from the Exile. Unlike the exact science of history today, wherein factual accuracy and impartiality of judgment are the standards for estimating what is of permanent worth, ancient biblical history, with rare exceptions, was less concerned with reporting in precise detail all the facts of a situation than with explaining the meaning of those facts. Such history was primarily interpretative and, in the Old Testament, its purpose was to disclose the action of the living God in the affairs of men. For this reason we speak of it as "sacred history"; its writer's first concern was to bring out the divine or supernatural dimension in history. This is apparent when we examine the primary objective of the Chronicler in compiling his work. In view of the situation which confronted the Jewish people at this time (the end of the fifth century B.C.), the Chronicler realized that Israel's political greatness was a thing of the past. It would be a people under God, or nothing. Yet Israel's past held the key to her future. The Chronicler proposed to establish and defend the legitimate claims of the Davidic monarchy in Israel's history, and to underscore the place of Jerusalem and its divinely established temple worship as the center of religious life for the Jewish community of his day. If Judaism was to survive and prosper, it would have to heed the lessons of the past and devoutly serve Yahweh in the place where he had chosen to dwell, the temple of Jerusalem. From the Chronicler's point of view, David's reign was the ideal to which all subsequent rule in Judah must aspire. The Chronicler was much more interested in David's religious and cultic influence than in his political power. There is little of royal messianism in his book. He apparently regarded as something of the distant past the prophet Zechariah's abortive attempt to have the Davidic kingdom reestablished in the time of Zerubbabel at the end of the sixth century B.C. ( Zechariah 6:9-15). He saw David's primary importance as deriving from the establishment of Jerusalem and its temple as the center of the true worship of the Lord. Furthermore, he presented David as the one who had authorized the elaborate ritual (which, in point of fact, only gradually evolved in the temple built by Zerubbabel) and who had also appointed Levites to supervise the liturgical services there. There are good reasons for believing that originally the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah formed the last part of a single literary work that began with 1 and 2 Chronicles. Some authors even regard Ezra himself as having been the anonymous Chronicler. In any case, the Chronicler's Hebrew as well as his religious and political outlook points to c. 400 B.C. as the time of composition of this work. The Chronicler used sources in writing his history. Besides the canonical Books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua and Ruth, and especially the Books of Samuel and Kings, he cites the titles of many other works no longer extant. "The books of the kings of Israel," or "the books of the kings of Israel and Judah," "the history of Samuel the seer," "the history of Nathan the prophet," "the history of Gad the seer," "the commentary on the Books of Kings," are some of the documents mentioned as historical sources. In addition, the Chronicler's work contains early preexilic material not found in the Books of Kings. At one time scholars discounted the value of this material, but modern research has shown that, even though the Chronicler may have at times treated the material rather freely, he derived it from authentic and reliable sources. The principal divisions of 1 Chronicles are as follows: I.  Genealogical Tables (1 Chron 1:1- 9:34) II.  The History of David ( 1 Chron 9:35-29:30)

By popular demand, here hare my essays comparing and contracting “The Decent of Inana” with “Last Stand of the Wreckers,” and Cain and Able to Megatron and Optimus in the Aligned continuity. Hope you all enjoy. They’re both pretty short. 

“Last Stand of Inanna”

The Descent of Inanna tells the story of Inanna, her descent into the underworld, being tricked, trapped, and eventually freed. Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers tells the story of a group of Autobots who descend on a captured prison, their struggle, their deaths, and the ultimate outcome. While these stories may seem drastically different at a glance, I found a few comparisons between Ereshkigal the queen of the underworld who trapped Inanna, and Overlord the character who captured the prison, as well as The Wreckers and the beasts who free Inanna, and the Autobots and the god who sent the beasts. I also managed to find similarities between Inanna and the prison itself, Garrus 9. Both stories have an intense role of “good” and “bad” however Last Stand of the Wreckers, in the Transformers style, contains  more ultimate evil and ultimate good themes. The reason for The Wreckers visit and the Beasts visit also differ in their intention, however accomplish a common goal.

While trying to compare these two works I first tried to equate Inanna to the Wreckers themselves, as both parties go alone into dangerous territory. The Wreckers themselves could be a parallel to the artifacts Inanna brings into protect herself with. Like the artifacts, which were removed in the seven gates, at every point of the Wreckers journey a member of the team is either killed or injured beyond repair, making the odds of the last Wrecker standing escape quite low. However, Inanna reminds me more of the Prison the Wreckers infiltrate. This Prison, Garrus 9, like Inanna, is captured and made a “corpse” by Overlord, the cruel death loving protagonist of the Wreckers story, who I compare to The Queen of the Underworld Ereshkigal. It is likely there is a greater reason behind Ereshkigal taking Inanna, but it appears as though she does it simply because she can, and the ultimate enemy of the Underworld is generally set up to be Heaven, where Inanna hails from and is a representative of (The Descent of Inanna). Overlord takes over Garrus 9 for attention, but while he is there he goes on a killing spree for the pure sake of it. (Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers) Making others suffer was literally what he was built for, (Transformers: More than Meets the Eye) and he does it as well as the Queen of the Underworld herself. It takes three years for anyone to be sent to Garrus 9, and in Inanna’s story she tells a servant to send someone after her in three days (The Descent of Inanna). The Wreckers remind me of the beasts in that they are disposable, and hold no greater meaning beyond that of their mission. Not only that, but both are sent by a “holy” figure. In Inanna’s case it is by Enki and in the Wrecker’s case it is by the Autobots, who hold themselves on a pedestal of Righteousness because their leader was assigned by their god, Primus.

The Descent of Inanna and Last Stand of the Wreckers does a good job of blurring the lines between good and evil, while at the same time setting up a character we are meant to root for and one we are meant to root against. The difference, however, is that The Wreckers do have an ultimate bad guy, and in the end he is defeated. Whereas in Inanna, while Ereshkigal loses Inanna, I would not count anything that happens as her being defeated. She is actually quite respected, considering her status. She is still a goddess and is still in high standing, despite what she had done. Overlord, on the other hand, is burned nearly to death in order for anyone to escape Garrus 9, which very few do (Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers). Another major difference between these stories is the intent. The Wreckers, unlike the Beasts, do not descend onto Garrus 9 to rescue anyone or liberate it, they go in to get data that would incriminate the Autobots. The only reason they fight Overlord as all is because defeating him was their only way out. While the intent is different the outcome is the same in both stories. One must stay for another to go. The only way Inanna was able to escape the Underworld was if someone took her place. The only way the Wreckers were able to escape Garrus 9 was if they defeated Overlord. In both cases there is an ultimate need to fulfill the ultimate goal.

The Descent of Inanna and Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers, while aesthetically very different, end up being very similar in the end. It is easy to equate certain characters from one story to certain characters in the other. The series of events I find to be very similar, and even though the intent differs, the ultimate goal becomes the same in the end.

“Brother’s Keeper”

The book of “Genesis” has no lack of siblings and their rivalries. The most notorious among them is the story of Cain and Abel, a pair of brothers whose differences lead one to do unto the other the unthinkable. Killing one’s own brother. The older of the two, Cain, is an example of the human at his worst, while Abel is the example of what can happen to man when human is at his worst. These two brothers share a similar story of another pair of “brothers” in a piece of today’s modern media. The quarrel between the Transformers characters of Megatron and Orion Pax, later known as Optimus Prime, follow in the footsteps of these Biblical examples. One, like Cain, is arrogant, and misunderstanding of God’s way and words. The God in this case, is meant as a literal entity,  as well as a higher power known as The Council. Megaton, like Cain, presents to this higher power an offering. In their ignorance though, the offer is not accepted, and the higher power shows that it is in favor of Abel, or Orion Pax, as opposed to Cain and Megatron. Both instances result in death.

Cain is the brother who “tills the earth.” (Genesis 4:2) Abel is the brother deemed “the keeper of the sheep.” (Genesis 4:2) Cain’s job implies a heavy amount of physical work, while Abel is a watchful eye meant to keep others safe. Abel is portrayed as being slightly more devout than his brother, in the way in which he works to please God. When an offering is called to be taken Abel picks his best lamb while Cain, not wanting to waste his best crop, gives God scraps of the land. Similar to how Cain does more physical work, Megatron works as a Gladiator before becoming a true revolutionary (Transformers Exodus). Orion Pax, on the other hand, watches and files away information as an Archivist, similar to how Abel watches over his herd. Further, the image of the Shepherd is often associated as a holy figure. A shepherd is often used to refer to God’s “deliverer” of the people. This role that Abel plays, along with his willingness and devotion to God, could have been why God favored Abel over Cain. Orion Pax, like Abel, was also favored, and granted an artifact called “The Matrix of Leadership” turning him into Optimus Prime (Transformer Prime 27) In essence he, too, became a shepherd, and it was his voice that was heard over Megatron’s.

It is no secret that brothers are prone to fighting, especially when brothers differ so much it is not surprising at all. Cain was hard and arrogant, believing himself the better of the two and deserving of more. Abel, on the other hand, can be described as “gentle and timid” and “a dreamer of kind and peaceful dreams” (Weisel 41). Orion Pax, being a young and curious soul, can also be described as soft in the way Abel is a lover of life with an unrelenting want to discover and explore. It is the complete opposite of his soon to be friend, Megatronus. While Cain, throughout his story, is not an advocate of violence like Megatron, both are lead to it through jealousy and rage. Unlike Cain Megatron never succeeded in killing his “brother” Orion Pax, but his anger lead to the destruction of many lives nonetheless. Had Cain not fallen to his knees before God and admitted his guilt, the same fate may have befell him. Megatron and his followers, like Cain, were cast out and cursed to wander for the rest of their lives. Though one wandered and found a wife and settled, the other went on fighting for the rest of their life.

Like the story of Cain and Abel the characters of Megatron and Optimus are meant to represent the ultimate “good and evil.” Cain and Megatron being the Ultimate Evil, and Optimus and Abel being the Ultimate good. The fact that I can find parallels between a story about humans written hundreds of years ago, and story about fictional space creatures written in the twenty first century demonstrates that these themes are universal.

(Cites for both)

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. Eds. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom and Pheme Perkins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. New Revised Standard Version.

Wiesel, Elie. Messengers of God: Biblical portraits and legends. Bibliophile Library, 1987

(Wiesel, Élie, and Marion Wiesel. Messengers of God: biblical portraits and legends. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005 (?))

Irvine, Alexander. Transformers: exodus. Del Rey, 2010

Dubuc, N. (Writer). (2012, February 18). Orion Pax Part 1 [Television series episode]. In Transformers Prime

Roche, Nick Et Al. Transformers last stand of the wreckers. 681336, 2010

2. Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer (trans). "The Descent of Inanna." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings - 100 C.E., edited by Paul Davis et al., Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004, pp. 28-39

3. Roberts, James, et al. Transformers: more than meets the eye. IDW Publishing, 2016

Letho and a little bit of Serrit&Auckes from the 2019 Season of the Viper reward trees

12. My detailed notes from the first two seasons, 2004-2006, of the TV serial drama “Lost,” 2004-2010.

5 May 2018, Saturday. 18 Apr 2006, Tuesday, Blogger.

Quite obviously, I really enjoyed this serial drama titled Lost, and for various OCD reasons, I tried to keep track of everybody and even every thing. The information below gets a SPOILER WARNING, if you have not seen it yet. Note: "4 8 15 16 23 42" contains "8 15", as in 'Oceanic Flight 815'.

Who's left on Lost, and who's been lost on Lost? So far, 51 of the 72 crash survivors have been identified, at least in part:

1. Aaron Littleton - Claire's newborn baby

2. Ann Lucia Cortez - tailie

3. Barbara Joanna Miller - 8th lost

4. Bernard - tailie

5. "Blonde guy" - tailie - taken by the Others  1

6. Boone Carlyle - 14 - 11th lost

7. Charlie Pace - 14

8. Cindy - tailie - only flight crew survivor - taken by the Others?

9. Claire Littleton - 14

10. Craig - tailie - SOS recruit

11. "Curley-haired guy" - tailie - taken by the Others 2

12. Donald - tailie - 7th lost

13. Edward Mars - US Marshal - 3rd lost

14. Eli - tailie - taken by the Others

15. Emma - tailie - Zack's sister - taken by the Others 3

16. "German guy" - tailie - taken by the Others 4

17. Hugo "Hurley" Reyes - 14

18. Jack Shephard - 14

19. Jim - tailie - taken by the Others 5

20. Jin-Soo Kwon - 14

21. John Locke - 14

22. Kate Austen - 14

23. Lance - skinny guy said Hurley

24. Leslie Artz - 12th lost

25. Libby - tallie

26. Michael Dawson - 14

27. 'Mr. Eko' - tailie

28. Nancy - tailie - taken by the Others 6

29. Nathan - 9th lost

30. Neil - tailie - SOS recruit

31. Pilot - 2nd lost

32. Richard - tailie - SOS recruit

33. Rose - knows her hubby is alive

34. Sawyer (James Ford) - 14

35. Sayid Jarrah - 14

36. Scott Jackson - 10th lost

37. Shannon Rutherford - 14 - 13th lost

38. Steve Jenkins - tailie - SOS recruit

39. Sullivan - treated by Jack for heat rash

40. Sun Kwon - 14

41. Tailie 1 - 4th lost

42. Tailie 2 - 5th lost

43. Tailie 3 - 6th lost

44. Tailie 4 - taken by the Others 7

45. Tailie 5 - taken by the Others 8

46. Tailie 6 - taken by the Others 9

47. Tailie 7 - taken by the Others 10

48. Tracy - message in a bottle

49. "Turbine Man" - 1st lost

50. Walter Lloyd Porter - 14 - taken by the Others

51. Zack - tailie - Emma's brother - taken by the Others 11

The major characters: Season 1:

1. Shannon Rutherford * died Ep ??? 2. Boone Carlyle * died Ep 118. 3. Hugo "Hurley" Reyes. 4. Claire Littleton. 5. Charlie Pace. 6. Walt Lloyd. 7. Michael Dawson. 8. Sayid Jarrah. 9. Jin-Soo Kwon. 10. Sun Kwon. 11. John Locke. 12. Sawyer. 13. Kate Ryan. 14. Jack Shephard.

The major characters: Season 2:

1. Ana Lucia Cortez. 2. Libby

Season 1, Episodes:

1.1. Pilot Episode, Part I - 22 Sep 2004, Wed.:

1. "Turbine Man" sucked into still-running engine. 49 survivors are left.

2. Aircraft pilot of Flight #815 by the "monster". 48 survivors are left.

1.2. Pilot Episode, Part II - 22 Sep 2004, Wed.:

1.3. Episode 101: "Tubula Rasa" - 06 Oct 2004, Wed.:

3. The wounded US Marshal Edward Mars mercy killed by Jack. 47 survivors are left.

1.4. Episode 102: "Walkabout" - 13 Oct 2004, Wed.:

1.5. Episode 103: "White Rabbit" - 20 Oct 2004, Wed.:

4. Barbara Joanna Miller swept out to sea while swimming. 46 survivors are left.

1.6. Episode 104: "House of the Rising Sun" - 27 Oct 2004, Wed.:

1.7. Episode 105: "The Moth" - 03 Nov 2004, Wed.:

1.8. Episode 106: "Confidence Man" - 10 Nov 2004, Wed.:

1.9. Episode 107: "Solitary" -17 Nov 2004, Wed.:

1.10. Episode 108: "Raised by Another": 01 Dec 2004, Wed.:

1.11. Episode 109: "All the Best Cowboy's Have Daddy Issues" - 08 Dec 2004, Wed.:

1.12. Episode 110: "Whatever the Case May Be" - 05 Jan 2005, Wed.:

1.13. Episode 111: "Hearts and Minds" - 12 Jan 2005, Wed.:

1.14. Episode 112: "Special" - 19 Jan 2005, Wed.:

1.15. Episode 113: "Homecoming" - 09 Feb 2005, Wed.:

5. Scott Jackson murdered by Ethan Rom. 45 survivors are left.

x. Ethan Rom murdered by Charlie Pace. Not on the plane.

1.16. Episode 114: "Outlaws" - 16 Feb 2005, Wed.:

1.17. Episode 115: "...In Translation" - 23 Feb 2005, Wed.:

1.18. Episode 116: "Numbers" - 02 Mar 2005, Wed.:

1.19. Episode 117: "Deus ex Machina" - 30 Mar 2005, Wed.:

1.20. Episode 118: "Do No Harm" - 06 Apr 2005, Wed.:

6. Boone Carlye died of crushing injuries. 44 survivors are left.

1.21. Episode 119: "The Greater Good" - 04 May 2005, Wed.:

1.22. Episode 120: "Born to Run" - 11 May 2005, Wed.:

1.23. Episode 121: "Exodus Part One" - 18 May 2005, Wed.:

1.24. Episode 122: "Exodus Part Two" - 25 May 2005, Wed.:

7. Dr. Leslie Artz died when dynamite he was holding exploded. 43 survivors are left.

Season 2, Episodes:

2.1. "Man of Science, Man of Faith" - 21 Sep 2005, Wed.:

2.2. "Adrift" - 28 Sep 2005, Wed.:

2.3. "Orientation" - 05 Oct 2005, Wed.:

2.4. "Everybody Hates Hugo" - 12 Oct 2005, Wed.:

2.5. "... And Found" - 19 Oct 2005, Wed.:

2.6. "Collision" - 09 Nov 2005, Wed.:

2.7. "The Other 48 Days" - 16 Nov 2005, Wed.:

2.8. "Collision" - 23 Nov 2005, Wed.:

2.9. "What Kate Did" - 30 Nov 2005, Wed.:

2.10. "The 23rd Palm" - 11 Jan 2006, Wed.:

2.11. "The Hunting Party" - 18 Jan 2006, Wed.:

2.12. "Fire + Water" - 25 Jan 2006, Wed.:

2.13. "The Long Con" - 08 Feb 2006, Wed.:

2.14. "One of Them" -  15 Feb 2006, Wed.

There are at least four published books about Lost. 

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - Ida Emean aep Sivney

2020 Season of Elves reward tree visuals and lore

GWENT: Way of the Witcher - Arnaghad

lore and visuals from his reward tree

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - 2019 Season of the Cat trees featuring Ciri, and the last tier of the border from beta for comparison

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - Brehen

2020 Season of the Cat reward tree lore and vanities

GWENT: Way of the Witcher - Ivar Evil-Eye

lore and visuals from his expansion reward tree

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - Keira deserved better in 2019 than the lore being basically only about the two but at least the cardback slaps