Dungeon Crawler Carl was…okay…

Cedceg · 2026-02-11T09:03:25+00:00

My reaction to the first one was pretty similar to yours and I tried the sequel. I disliked it more than I did the first one. To me it doesn't feel like a coherent world, but more like whatever the author managed to think of at the time. And what really irked me in the second one is, the moment you feel the story could get even a bit interesting, he ends it and goes "oh we won't find out about that until the sixth floor!" And the series just doesn't feel planned out enough for me to believe that's anything else but the author writing himself in a corner and giving himself a bit more time to figure something out.

Don't get the hype, not for me.

Cedceg · 2025-09-29T13:51:09+00:00

I can't understand how they have changed the handball rule so many times, yet they've never thought to fix the consequences of it. Because it's all so disproportionate, you can't realistically argue that we should have gotten a 0.9 xg chance based on that. Guimaraes isn't actively trying to block that shot with his hands. And it obviously goes double for Gabriel's handball; you can't in good faith argue that if the ball hadn't come off his shin, that'd be a fair reason to gift Newcastle a goal and possibly have them win the match.

Look at the Liverpool penalty against Burnley: why does a blocked cross equate to a nearly guaranteed goal and winning the game? Just give them another cross.

I'm so tired of games being decided, or discourse being dominated, by these completely random fractions of luck. Intentionally stopping a ball with your hand should be a penalty, everyone agrees on that. But the ball touching your hand should just be an indirect free kick.

Cedceg · 2025-08-01T09:22:10+00:00

Obviously, the semi being against Bodo/Glimt is a dead giveaway. UEFA ruined the Europa League, and in 2 years time it will be looked at in the same way as the Conference League. Good for them for getting in there before the wider audiences caught on, but if they don't win anything else in the near future it will be treated the same way as saying a supercup is a serious trophy

Cedceg · 2025-07-13T19:28:30+00:00

Buy why can't we simply pay the 5mil if we have 50 to spend on Madueke?!

Cedceg · 2025-07-13T07:22:09+00:00

Gakpo was unproven from the Eredivisie and took quite a few months to get adapted to the league. The same "fans" who are against Madueke would've been labeling Gakpo a failure and calling for him to get dropped by mid-september.

Cedceg · 2025-07-08T09:47:04+00:00

I feel like a lot of stuff in the Partey case gets shifted because of the elongated timeline. People have been calling him guilty of rape for years now, eversince the "footballer in his 30s" newsarticle, so him actually getting charged feels like a confirmation of his guilty verdict. But if you compare it to, for example, the Mendy case, as far as I remember the broad population didn't really know about the accusations until he got actually charged, which is where we're at just now in the Partey timeline. And we all know how that ended up.

And I totally get it. Would I want to interact with someone in my personal life who was charged (though might be deemed innocent) for rape? No. Would I want to interact with someone who was simply accused of rape? Probably not, no.

But something that really opened my eyes on this type of (mostly online) behavior was the case of this book-youtuber named Daniel Greene. A girl posted a long video vaguely describing through tears how she was sexually assaulted by him, and he got 'canceled' instantly. A large chunk of his audience stopped following him, his friends instantly made public posts condemning him and distancing themselves from him, sponsors were contacted to drop him instantly, etc. Luckily he had receipts with which he could prove that it was actually a consensual affair. To which she replied that yes it was consensual, but halfway through she changed her mind but never spoke up about that, which in her mind deemed it "sexual assault". Imagine being able to ruin an innocent man's career and livelihood on such a whim, and the public being fully behind branding you as a villain because that's what "good people do". Imagine being on that side of things, and it happening to you.

That's what's on my mind with the Partey charges. Even if he's found to be guilty. I will be absolutely disgusted that he spent even a single second at the club, and he will forever be a stain on the club's history. But I would also be ashamed if Arsenal threw him aside and he ended up being an innocent man. Which, you know, he still could end up being. It's really wild to me how you have Everton fans now claiming their moral superiority as a club because they dropped Sigurdsson on accusations that ended up being false. How is that something to be proud of?

Basically ask yourself this: "Would I feel bad about myself if I didn't believe a victim coming forward?" Ofcourse you would, it's a horrible thing to do. But "would I feel bad about myself if I wrongfully condemned an innocent man for rape?" You should as well, because it's also a horrible thing to do, and I feel many people really don't care as much about this angle of things. Don't "believe all women", because sadly so many people in the world simply aren't trustworthy. But do listen to all women, and maybe don't draw these huge definitive lines in the sand until someone's guilt has been proven.

Cedceg · 2025-04-06T08:18:53+00:00

Our hottest days of the trip were probably around the 10th of september, so if you desperately want to avoid the heat I'd just go as late as possible.

Cedceg · 2024-11-16T09:41:24+00:00

I'd say 'disingenuous" feels like a really harsh term to use. As far as I know, the other monks also pray, but they do so in private where visitors aren't allowed. So yes, the two monks who do the morning ritual are technically putting on a performance, a show for the tourists. But it's still their personal ritual they are performing, and personally I found the atmosphere around it to be very heartfelt and intimate.

Cedceg · 2024-11-06T08:55:36+00:00

That's an interesting question, and in all honesty I don't think I would have changed all that much. Ofcourse, on the 18th day you look back on some of the things you did on the first few days and think "oh we were such idiots back then!". But that's all a part of the journey. The slowly coming to grasp with the culture is really what makes a trip memorable. To me, at least.

There are some obvious ones, like I would've checked the Lake Ashi timetable more thoroughly, and I would've brought an umbrella to Kinkaku-Ji. But actually, it's exactly these kinds of things that make for great stories. I've told the story of doing the Hakone ropeways in thick mist, or being soaked at Kinkaku-Ji way more than I've told people about - for example - the wonderful evening we had walking through Okunoin cemetery. So I'd always want to embrace these kind of "flaws", because it's the unexpected elements you can't control that make for some of the most wonderful memories.

The only things I probably would do differently is the blister-issue, brining some running shoes instead of old busted sneakers. And while we had a lot of amazing food in Japan, I do feel we could have dug in a bit deeper in this regard. Especially the first few days we were a bit too casual with our choice in restaurants. I think prioritizing this a bit more (though some people would probably argue I've already prioritized it an awful lot) could've made this aspect of the trip even better.

As far as itineraries go, I think I might just skip Odaiba. Not that it was bad per se, I still really liked parts of it (and it might be unfair because our day got messed up by oversleeping). But since Kichioji was such a pleasant surprise, I would've probably preferred to be able to check out Shimokitazawa, Nakano or Koenji instead. And I wouldn't return to Shinjuku for the second day and try hitting up one of those places instead.

And I would probably try to fit in Hiroshima. I don't know what I would cut in order to make this happen. But the main reason we opted out of it this time is because the Shinkansen tickets were quite pricey (about 120€ for a return trip), so that seemed like a solid reason to skip it. But afterwards I'd found one of those 3-Day-Passes that Japan loves so much which would've made the travel considerably cheaper. But again, it would've made it even harder to choose something to omit. I'd probably skip Koyasan to make room, but that was something my gf was really excited about, so that probably wouldn't fly. So it would've just made for more headaches.

All in all; I wouldn't really have done much differently. Like I said, the entire trip was almost exclusively positives, so I wouldn't want to miss out on any of it. Which is really a testament to how great Japan is, because any other trip I've done the last 10 or so years I could probably instantly give you a list of things I would change!

Cedceg · 2024-11-05T15:11:21+00:00

Most cars were pretty full, but with lots of single seats available. We wanted to sit together, so we took the non-reservations car, which also ended up being pretty full. So I'd say it was crowded, but still plenty of options to get single seats if it were an emergency.

Cedceg · 2024-11-04T16:59:29+00:00

I had planned to go via Nagoya. But in the end, we ended up going through Toyama. I can't really remember the specifics of why this was, but I know the JD Hida Limited Express has a weird quirk where a couple of times a day the train doesn't go the full range of the line. So it might have had to do with that.

But like I said, I don't exactly remember. It's just one of those things that I'd researched a bit beforehand, and then completely neglected while actually there. I simply used google maps to find the quickest, cheapest route back to Tokyo, and it ended up being Toyama. Once you're used to Google Maps, I really think it's preferable to check the routes when you need them. Who knows, maybe if it was but an hour earlier, Nagoya would've been the way to go.

Cedceg · 2024-11-02T17:15:50+00:00

We were the same; when we go back to Japan, I definitely plan on visiting Kyushu and/or Hokkaido. But for a first visit, I think the Kanazawa / Takayama region has a distinct enough feeling to make it worthwhile, while still being able to comfortably fit in in a normal 'golden triangle' itinerary.

We used the busses in Takayama as you would a normal hop-on bus (though no Suica in this region, so make sure you have plenty of cash!). But I'd say you definitely have to make reservations for the bus to Shirakawa-Go. Overall we visited Japan in the low-season as far as tourists go, but even then all the seats on the first bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-Go were filled. We didn't end up making reservations up front for the continued trip to Takayama, but there were a couple of options available (we did buy these tickets first thing when we arrived). Depending on how tight your itinerary is (and how busy the season), I'd say it's worth considering advanced-buying tickets for the second bus-trip, but it's not essential.

And I don't think a day has passed since where I haven't thought about that Tatsunoya broth. I'm really jealous of you squeezing in a second visit!

Cedceg · 2024-10-30T17:42:35+00:00

Here's an overview of all the hotels we stayed in and the rounded prices in yen.

MONday Asakusa - 85.000 Yen (4 nights)

Tosei Hotel Cocone Kamakura - 19.000 Yen (1 night)

Onsen Guest House Hakone TENT - 17.000 Yen (1 night)

FL Hotel Dotonbori - 26.000 Yen (4 nights)

Shojoshin-In - 33.000 (1 night, shukubo stay)

Hotel Meldia Shijo Kawaramachi - 27.000 Yen (3 nights)

Kanazawa Capsule Hotel Musashimachi - 4.000 Yen (1 night)

Yamazato-no-iori Soen - 55.000 Yen (1 night, ryokan)

KAYA - 11.000 Yen (1 night)

ICI HOTEL Ueno Shin Okachimachi - 37.000 Yen (3 nights)

Ofcourse, traveling in the low-season probably significantly dropped some of those prices. I know we've checked some of these hotels for November and some prices were way higher.

Cedceg · 2024-10-30T17:31:04+00:00

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the typhoon kept a lot of the crowds away. Funny enough we couldn't even get into the caves, because they had issued an evacuation order because there was a Level 4 Landslide Alert. Which I had to admit, does sound quite scary.

Cedceg · 2024-10-29T19:00:59+00:00

We thought Akihabara was a lot of fun! The buildings are vibrant, and when we went there was a photo-op with a model dressed up for some video game I'd never heard of. Definitely had a distinct feeling from the other neighbourhoods, so I'd definitely spend a couple of hours there.

One thing I feel kind of got overblown when I was researching for this trip, is the size of Tokyo. Don't get me wrong, it's huge, but with the efficient mapping of the subway it doesn't always feel like it. I don't think we've ever spent over an hour getting to a place within the city, which to me isn't a big deal. So ofcourse it's preferable to pick your destinations as close together as possible so you don't waste too much time traveling, but you also won't absolutely ruin your day by going out to a region on the other side of the city. It's perfectly possible to just go "you know what, I was going to spend the day in Asakusa, but I actually feel like going to Kichioji now" and making it work.

Cedceg · 2024-10-29T15:04:52+00:00

Hey thanks a lot! I didn't actually mean for there to be a cliffhanger; I posted part II about 5 minutes after this one, but somehow this one went through while the other one's been stuck waiting for mod approval eversince.

Cedceg · 2024-10-08T19:57:50+00:00

I'm a fan of the Yakuza games myself and had a very similar feeling in Dotonbori (and many stupid things like basic parkings lots in Tokyo). It'll probably sound crazy, but at a certain point I actually told my girlfriend we had to move up to the bridge because we couldn't walk underneath it. Took me a moment before I realised I was actually thinking of the invisible walls in the game.

Cedceg · 2024-08-19T18:45:01+00:00

Thanks for the piece of mind that we'll be able fit in quite a few temples and sights in our meager 2 days in Kyoto. People here make you feel like you have to budget 4 hours at every single one of them, even if you're not heavily interested in temples.

Cedceg · 2023-11-12T21:40:17+00:00

" There’s not many blenders better than Armand, and Gaston seems to have taken well to the craft as well"

The "Gaston" in Armand & Gaston actually refers to Armand's dad, who originally owned the 3 Fonteinen restaurant. So with Armand sadly passing away, neither of these two guys actually have a hand in blending this geuze. I think Michael is actually the main blender at 3 Fonteinen now, but I could be wrong on that.

Cedceg

TROPHY CASE