Versailles season 3

 Versailles is a fantastic series, with awesome visuals and strong acting performances.

 

Yet somehow, the thrid season always slipped backwards on my to watch list...

 

But no more, I started the year with binging through the 10 episode long final season of the rise of Louis XIV, le Roi Soleil.

 

This final season builds further on the shisms that have been growing over the course of the first seasons, the political machinations, the shifting of alliances and the brothers becoming more and more opposed to each other.  In his ever glowing delusions of grandeur, Louis first starts imposing draconic measures on the defeated Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire, instigating the distrust of the church.  This results in the Vatican taking action, going as far as threatening to excommunicate him should he not become a puppet to their will.

 

In order to do so, they have the one trump card that Philippe had accidentally discovered.  A prisoner in an Iron Mask.  Ever since the time of Louis XIV this prisoner has been an urban myth and the many writers and historians have made their own theories about who this was.  An italian envoy (the most likely theory imho), the twin or older brother and rightful heir of the throne of France (the most often used one in stories and movies ever since Alexander Dumas used this in his Musketeer tales), and so much more.  In this series, it turns out to be the real father of Louis and Philippe, after they first chased an actual unknown brother of them, but who had died as an infant.  Members of the court had been in the loop on this, but they convince their father to take poison in the end, widening the chism between the brothers even further, but securing the throne and robbing the church of their possible hold over France.

 

The queen also died, making Louis having to look for another wife, and he falls for the charms of Francoise d'Abignee, a marquise that spend time as a prostitute, then turned devote christian and wow his heart.  But her fanatiscism causes Louis to prosecute all protestants in Paris, causing the people to revolt against him.  But when he invokes a ritual of Thaumaturgy to come closer to the people, he survives an assassination attempt thanks to his brother.

 

It was a good season for sure, and yes, the debauchery of the first seasons continues as chastity was not one of Louis's christian virtues he went by, even though he has convinced him he is the only true man of God put on Earth, and conquers the surrounding countries as such in name of the Lord.  George Blagden stars again as the king, but for me Alexander Vlahos (Philippe) and Evan Williams (the chevalier of Lorraine) remain by far the strongest performers for the series, especially the transformation they go through over the series from pompous dandy's.  One becomes a believer of freedom, the other a fighter for the protestant rights respectively. 

 

It is these deep character arcs that make Versailles such a strong series, not only the visual marvel that it is, and definitely worth checking out have you not done so over the years. 

My Dress-up Darling volume 10 - Shinichi Fukuda

 Well, manga (and basically, reading) has been on a low level the past 3/4th of a year, due to, well, things.

 

But we are picking up the pace again, and the first volume I read this year is the 10th book of My Dress-up Darling, because what better way to start again then a dose of Marin, right?

 

Her gentleness, hidden geekiness for the school beauty, kindness and affection for Gojo are just so enjoyable for some light reading during the busy night shifts.  And in this volume, we learn that not everyone in the group likes each other as much as it appears.  But never the less, they decide on doing a group cosplay of a game called Coffin, and they set out to make it a fun experience.  

 

During a movie night, trainservices go down and Gojo spends the night over at Marin.  She panic's as she fears and hopes it will finally happen between them, but Gojo, being the gentleman that he is, doesn't pick up on the signals, and he takes care of her.  But Marin decides that once their current project is over, she will finally ask him out and confess she likes him far more then just as a friend!  In the meantime, Gojo learns from Akira how to make props, while Juju will be cosplaying Black Lobelia by suprise with the support of her team...

 

It is a strange series, it keeps having you hooked, yet barely anything happens in this slice-of-life manga about cosplaying fans.  And still, it is enjoyable, and definitly worth to keep reading.

 

Even though I'm going into the final 5 volumes now, so it might be completely done by the end of the year... but it has been a great fun ride then nevertheless! 

Warhammer Underworlds battlereport: The Shadeborn vs The Grymwatch

 Time for another outing with my Mistborn, and I trimmed down their deck just a little compared to the previous game, in the hopes of having them score just a bit easier.

 

Though I was rather confident with my "poof, here I am" ability combo, I should be able to get to Krakmarrow quickly and shut the enemy down.

 

I played as such my Raging Slayers / Blazing Assault combination, but have dumped Overwhelming Force and switched out two upgrades.

 

The Grymwatch brought Pillage and Plunder to the table, coupled with Edge of the Knife.

 

The board was set up, and the Shadeborn had the first turn, so the assassination of the Ghoul leader was on!

 

Sylarc tried to shoot an arrow into the leader, but he blocked, before a Dark Lamprey wounded him.  A Sidestep and a Knife to the Heart later, the ghoul was in killing range, even though he played a card to reduce my attack dice by one.  Never the less, Slythael took her moment, and her single die came up a crit, only to be blocked by a crit and the ghoul surviving... for now.  So close to that activation 2 take out...

 

My opponent had already used his In the Name of the King to inspire Gristlewell, but opted to bring Krakmarrow to relative safety first.  This opened the way for Drusylla to take out the 3 damage wielder crazed maniac. 

 

Everyone started to gang up on Sylarc, bringing the crossbowman down to vunerable status...  The first round as such ended on a 4-4 score to each side, but if I could get the first turn, he was in a heap of trouble.  

 

Which I duly did, and Slythael killed of Krakmarrow, shutting down his resurrection powers before he could bring back any of his warriors, while Drusylla send Valreek to the afterlife as well.

 

A game of delve ensued now for the remainder of the Flesh-eater Court, with the Shadeborn in pursuit.

 

But a small opening in the score formed, as the Shadeborn now lead 10-9 at the end of the second turn.

 

The ghouls grabbed the initiative for the third round, something I actually liked as this would give me the final chance to try and deny the still not appeared Strip the Realm.  But it actually just became a clean-up action as almost any attack of the aelves took down one of the remaining three ghouls.

 

And this resulted in being able to table them and score Annihilation to round out a sweet 20-9 victory.  

 

The game actually gave me the things I wanted to know, as in could I take down Krakmarrow (or any other 4-5 wound model) by activation 2 if needed (technically yes, he really got lucky on his die roll there), but also if the aelves could hold their own in a game vs hordes, where they are barely able to inspire with all their 2 damage attacks versus basically 2 wound hordes.  Valuable lessons learned for sure, and some things as well that I think I should do slighty different next time round... but it is starting to click together.

 

Now onwards to the next try-out phase: attack sequences of the warband... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blood Bowl match report: Only Fangs versus Big Fist Energy

 Time for the second game in the League for me, and again it's a Stunty team facing me.

 

Though these guys are only Stunty in name, as it are the Ogres!

 

That means I'm facing half a dozen of those big guys with S5 and AV10, so I'll have to see and run my Linewomen around them and go for the goals, all the time trying to counter the gnoblars that will be flying all around... sounds easier then done.  Guess Raven Black with her Tackle skill from last game has her job cut out for her...

 

As he had a large deficit in team rating after his first game, he could spend quite a bit on inducements, taking Fungus the Loon and Varag Ghoul-chewer along.

 

So, let's get kinky as the Slaaneshy ladies read about big fisting energy...

 

The teams came onto the pitch in some Pouring Rain, the ladies a bit disappointed by this as at least in last game's Sweltering Heat they could work on their tanlines.   They also noted that Fungus the Loon kept following them, as like last game, he was present here as well.  As was a big bad orc, as Varag Ghoul-chewer had joined the Big Fist Energy for some savage smashing around.

 

The game started with Cat Coxx quickly passing the ball to Peachgardens, and the ladies started to form up on the left flank in an effort to quickly break through his lines to have Fungus send off as fast as possible.

 

Because that little crazed maniac started to smack around some of them, luckily without any grave harm done to their hairstylings!

 

Raven Black had already send one of the Gnoblars to the Badly Hurt pile after a fierce block, and soon Fungus himself was suffering this fate as well, after a one die block by the ganged up vixens!  That takes care of that problem, now to try and get that ball in his end zone!

 

To that end, my offensive switched over to the right side now of the pitch, in an effort to get all his strength 5 players out of position. 

 

Sabrina Sabok was put over, and she spend three turns angrily raging on the floor before she would get back up and into the fray, as the ball started to switch flanks once more.  The waiting game for a safe opening was being played, instead of a high risk break-out now that the fanatic was out of the picture.

 

And then the opening fell on the left flank, and Peachgardens, defended by Raven Black, went through and towards the end zone.  Val Steele decapitated a Gnoblar, while Tanya Virago broke another Gnoblars elbow, resulting in the blighter having -1 AG from now on.

 

And with the lines thin on the Ogre side, Peachgardens ran into the end zone, moaning "yes yes yeeeees" as she put the 1-0 on the scoreboard.

 

 The teams set up again, OnlyFangs going for an intimidating FemDom lineup to show them how it's done.

 

 The Gnoblars picked up the ball, with Tanya Virago going over to try and stop them, before Abella Danger was ko'd by a wild swing of Varag Ghoul-chewer.

 

As the half ended without further incidents, the teams set up for the second half, and once more OnlyFangs took a very aggressive stance, eager to get in the other half fast to recuperate the ball.   

 

As the lines clashed, Raven Black injured one of the journeyman Gnoblars that had flocked to the team.

 

Varag Ghoul-chewer was put prone for once, and the girls went on for a reverse gangbang on the green menace, an act so foul, especially by Sabien DeMonia, that he had to be carried off badly hurt in the loins.

 

Fo, one of the ogres, then badly hurt Sabrina Sabok in return, but she was pumped full of painkillers and ready to return to the pitch in the next drive.  As an act of sisterly love and vengeance, Cat Coxx killed another Gnoblar journeyman by putting him somewhere where every man has gone before until he suffocated.  At least he died a happy little Gnoblar!

As the ball kept bouncing around near the end zone of the ogres, the Gnoblars picked it up and tried to dodge near the sidelines to get away with it as far as possible, but he was overtaken and Sabien DeMonia put the safe 2-0 on the board.  

  

 

One last drive followed, and the teams set up again.  Out for revenge, Sabrina Sabok by then badly hurted another Gnoblar, taking almost all of the little blighters not out of the game, no way those little idiots will score a goal!

With no Ogre players left in the outfield, the girls made themselves ready for an all out charge to score that important 3rd goal with only two turns remaining. 

  

Sabien DeMonia was first on the ball, and without wasting time and risks on blocks, scored the final goal of the game and her second today to grab that all important 3rd bonus point for the league!  With two victories now and the maximum of 12 out of 12 possible points, OnlyFangs has made a good start towards the play-offs, and now sits in second place in the league, way to go you loveable hoe's! 

 

Most Viewed Pornstar

 

In today's game, many of the ladies excelled in their swift moves and vicious blocks, but the audience tuned in the most to BowlHub to view the opening touchdown made by Peachgardens!  This broke the Ogre's resilience at the later part of the first half, and started preparing the way for the smooth sailing towards victory!

 

 

But the great performance once more by the girls, who amassed a solid 28 SPP's during this game, resulted in quite a few advancements on the roster.  Tanya Virago obtained Tackle, while Sabrina Sabok, Peachgardens, Cat Coxx and Sabien DeMonia all went for a manicure and had their fingernails shaved into vicious Claws! 

 

And the team also is joined by a fresh lady looking for fame with OnlyFangs, as Veronica Rose expands the roster for the next games!  Welcome to another Beastly Hot Woman to the team, as she had passed our casting couch interview with flying colours! 

 

Next time, we tackle the leaders in the League, a horde of Necromantic Horrors.  Does anyone have Grashnak's phonenumber?  Or holding pen adress at least??? 

 

Agatha Christie's Seven Dials

 Recently Netflix dropped this british mini-series based on the 1929 novel by Agatha Christie, so Noshi and me sat down and binged straight through the 3 episode series.

 

Now, I have read a LOT of Christie's books, but mostly all her Hercule Poirot works, so I didn't know how this would pan out.

 

Central in the story is Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent, a great performance by Mia McKenna-Bruce, and her group of friends.  And it includes some big names as Helena Bonham Carter as her mother Lady Caterham, or Martin Freeman as Superintendent Battle.  And "leftenant Gruber", albeit without his little tank, as the butler.

 

The story turns around Bundle's betrothed being murdered during a party at their house, and Eileen suspecting it wasn't an overdose of sleeping medicine but actual murder.  She sets out to investigate, which results in another one of her friends being fatally shot, while uncovering a secret society called "The Seven Dials".  

Further digging, and witnessing a meeting of the mysterious Seven Dials, she is contacted by superintendant Battle from Scotland Yard, who warns her to stop her digging as it might threaten her life.  Which of course, like any central figure in a series, she throws into the wind.  Kudos to Battle, he already realises this before she walks out of his office door.

 

She attends a party hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where a Cameroonian (is that an actual word?) attends to negotiate a deal with the government about a special metalworking formula he created.  Eileen suspects the Seven Dials want to stop this, and finds her friend Jimmy shot in the arm, and the formula stolen by her betrothed's sister.  Setting chase, they find her at the station with Jimmy, as she connects the dots that they work for the Seven Dials and they need to meet up with their handler on the train.

 

But so wrong she was, as it turned out to be none other then her mother behind it all, who still holds a grudge against the government for having her son killed during World War 1, and wants the fornula to get make her a profit.  Bundle learns later as she is invited to a meeting of the Seven Dials, that this is actually a secret service branch (basically, an interbellum stand in for MI:7), headed by Battle, and she is invited to join them to take her father's place, who was one of the members, which she accepts.

 

Now, before the third episode, I had deducted most of the plot to be honest, that Jimmy shot himself, that the Seven Dials "open spot" would be for one of her parents (I thought her mother), that Battle was part of them and that mom was behind it all.  I only had thought her mom had gone rogue, but the number 7 had ringed my bell for James Bond's branch of the secret service, the no longer existing at the moment (or is it) MI:7 whom was a spionage and information service during the wars.

 

Guess I really read a lot of Christie's indeed, but this was a very, very enjoyable series to watch, and well produced.  The visuals are stunning and the acting performance up there, so it is certainly worth a watch.  Even early in the year, this might even be a runner for my Best Of list in 10 months!

 

Go watch it! 

Wake up dead man: A knives out mystery

 Sometimes, a good who dunnit movie is ideal for a lousy evening of television.

 

And so Noshi and me sat down to watch Wake up dead man on Netflix, the latest instalment in their A Knives Out Mystery series.

 

Starring Daniel Craig and Josh Brolin, this one is about an eccentric priest that rules, and blackmails, people in his parish.  A young priest, former boxer, is send to the parish to help out and observe what is actually happening there, and he immediatly gets an idea because the cross is removed from the wall.  It seems the father's mom was a whore, and he interprets faith "slighty" different.

 

Now, it is actually quite a fun way how it builds to the setting of the murder with all the flawed parishians, like a writer down on his luck, a depressed alcoholic daughter, a bastard son for the priest and more.  This all gives them motive (of course, at first the young priest is the suspect), and the flamboyant Daniel Craig out there to solve the mystery.  

 

But as the story progresses and more mysteries unravel in the small village, it soon becomes apparant that not only it was all a set-up that was manipulated into a true murder, but that it was the maid behind it all.  Because of course, it's always the house staff is it not.  She was a witness to what transpired all those years ago, and as she saw the priest stray from true faith took it all in her own hands.  Especially because a fortune is also on the line, an inheritance of the priest's father and something everyone seemed to be looking out for...

 

So while the actual murderer might be a bit predictable (great performance by Glenn Close), the story is actually really enjoyable to follow, and you might get sidetracked once or twice during the chase and the reasons behind it.

 

So that makes it for me an enjoyable murder mystery film! 

Warhammer Underworlds Battle report: The Shadeborn vs The Blood of the Bull

 Roight, with my Shadeborn recently painted up (though I like to call them the Mistborne), let's bring them to the table!

 

Ever since I started painting on them somewhere in october (they lingered a long time amongst other projects) I was adamant on bringing them to a tournament.  I mean, a potential 18 hex charge, who can resist that!

 

Nice damage potential, tricky inspire conditions though, high mobility and louzy safe... rather right up my playstyle alley, so I paired them with a deck of Blazing Assault and Raging Slayers for all out aggro on the enemy half to have at least some defence.  Though the used deck still had two objectives I'm in doubt about to retain, switch out, or drop one from, as 20 glory on 13 cards might be to steep with the not so easy to score endgamers.

 

Facing me was Peter who had brought along the Blood of the Bull, using Pillage and Plunder coupled to Countdown to Cataclysm. 

 

Both warbands deployed, and we got ready for some hopefully high speed assassination. 

 

Which immediatly took place, as Slythael quickly dispatched off Grisk. Because I don't want his both hammers and swords are success shenanigans anywhere near me!

 

Soon after, Morudok, who had been pinged by the Dark Lamprey, followed, as Drusylla emerged from the shadows and cut down the amazed dwarf in a flurry of strikes.

 

Zuldrakka appeared next to Slythael, but as she wiffed her attack the sinister leader kept upright, though we where trailing 4-7 in the score.  I decided to take a gamble here, keeping the three "end game objectives" I wanted to try out into round 2.  Now, in any competitive setting, I would have changed at least 2 of them at this point, but I wanted to find out what could be scored.

 

The second round began with Slythael out to finish Imnidrin off, before Zuldrakka smacked down Valyssa. 

 

Soon after, Sylarc was dispatched off as well, before Tokkor in return was killed by Drusylla, and I only managed to score one of those end gamers at this point, leaving me behind 11-16 even though Drusylla had snuck onto his Aqua Ghyranis token.

 

The final round began with a very fast Zuldrakka (she moved 8!) dispatching Drusylla, and surviving thanks to standfast a lethal attack from Slythael.  From then on, it became a game of cat and mouse, with the Blood of the Bull firmly in the lead.  But Peter had not taken note I hadn't played a Sidestep yet this game (I had it in hand from my opening), and while he thought he was safe, Slythael stepped one square closer, killed Zuldrakka, and as a result scored both Overwhelming Pressence as well as Annihilation, swinging the score at the final moment to a 20-19 victory.

 

Yes, the deck sort of worked, as I would probably switched out those last two at the end of round one for lower but easier scoreable cards.  On the other hand, that would also mean I would have needed to score more consistent, so I'm still gunning for one or two games with the deck in this form before making my final decision on if or what to cut...

 

The test as such will continue!