From what I've seen, a lot of fans weren't happy with the way Ghosts ended. While I personally would have preferred the Coopers to stay at Button House, I do understand why the Idiots chose to end it the way they did, though. The issue here, I think, is not Alison and Mike leaving but the way it was executed. The last episode of series 5 was all about the ghosts convincing Alison and Mike to stay so having them sell the house an episode later almost felt like a retcon because that twist was so sudden and seemingly came out of nowhere.

I've mentioned before that a longer run time would have probably fixed that issue but thinking about it, swapping the main storylines of series 4 (gatehouse) and 5 (selling part of the land) might have as well. And here's how:

Alternate Series 4: To get the gatehouse ready, Alison and Mike need money and look into selling some of the land they own. This sets up the plots with Barclay and the French buyers. Just like in 5x06, the company expresses interest in the house which leads to Alison finding out that Julian pushed her out of the window. In the end, Julian convinces her to stay and Alison and Mike sell the land but not the house.

Alternate Series 5 starts with them trying to make the gatehouse work, including all the shenanigans we've seen in series 4 but with added, "Omg we're going to have a baby," to raise the stakes because Alison and Mike really, really need this to work if they want to get the house ready for a child. And just like in series 4 everything seems to work out until the gatehouse gets struck by lightning and burns down. The series ends on an uncertain note: "The question is: what now?"

Which leads us to the final episode where Betty stays after Mia's birth to help out as much as she can because Alison and Mike have their hands full with the insurance company and trying to make ends meet. Nerves are frayed, tensions run high until at last the ghosts come to Alison on Christmas Day and tell her, "It's okay. You don't have to stay." They know it's not working out for Alison and Mike (Fanny did the math) and they know they can't ask them to stay, not when they have Mia to think of now. So they let them go.

The show would end the same way it did in canon but not quite so abruptly because Alison and Mike wouldn't leave because the ghosts are annoying and overbearing. They would leave because it's the right thing for them to do at this point - the only option they have left, really, and it would have given us a gentler goodbye.

So I wanted to cover that bit about the "not everyone gets the same amount of Christmas presents" that I mentioned here. The original quote from the EXU Calamity Wrap-up is:

"I didn't want it to be like Christmas where it's like, 'Everyone gets the same amount of presents.' (...) There's some people in this Brass Ring that are up to an asymmetrical amount of shady shit and that's realistic and that's going to create fun dynamics."

I think with actual play, there can be this artificial expectation that every does get the exact same amount of presents - focus, plot, items, etc - that we don't have as much for scripted works. Some of that is that in D&D, a few of these things are objectively quantifiable and some aren't and people struggle to evaluate equivalence (my endless struggle to get people to understand that the fact that some sorcerers get more spells is not game-breaking or unfair is indicative of this). Some is also that I think people take their own experience of playing D&D, in which you are deeply attached to your character and often see them as the main character of their story, and struggle with their favorite PC not being obviously the main character of the story on screen.

Critical Role gets this more than other shows, and I think some of it is that most other shows either have significantly smaller (3-4 people) parties or in the case of D20 are often more heavily plot-driven. Critical Role is also alone among the more popular shows in its lack of editing, so if one player is in focus, there's no way to condense all the little hems and haws and backtracking that is typical in D&D and so the plot focus seems longer. Its particularly long runtime means that a ten-episode arc focused on a character you're less invested in will take 3-4 months in real-time and 40-ish hours to watch. And finally, I think Critical Role's fandom has groups of people with pronounced preferences for certain actors that at least to me have little to do with acting/d&d skill or recurrent themes explored, and I have not seen this phenomenon elsewhere.

Getting to the actual topic though: the fact is, different characters require different stories! I think a prime example is Fjord having a particularly cool sword; he is a hexblade, and having a sword is a fundamental part of that class and serves as a symbol of the source of his powers, and on top of that he grew up having very little and so the possession of a special material item is meaningful to him in a way it wouldn't be to (for example) Beau, whose story is much more about overcoming the self-hatred she learned from her father's abuse; finding a position in the world she loves and in which she can excel; and in finding family in the Mighty Nein, in the Cobalt Soul, and with Yasha. Percy's story is deeply tied to a particular location and enemy such that it belongs in a self-contained arc with largely background development afterwards; Vex's story is a highly internalized one of constant slow progress with notable and consistent beats but no specific clearly defined arc throughout the entire campaign; and Keyleth's arc is a mix of concrete trials and ongoing personal growth. Or, going back to Brennan's original statement, Patia, Nydas, and Laerryn have background information that isn't present for the rest of the party because that's the story being told! It doesn't mean that Zerxus, Loquatius, and Cerrit don't have compelling backstories; it means that they are differently positioned within the city and the story and have their own specialized knowledge. In fact, giving these characters the knowledge that Patia, Nydas, and Laerryn had would significantly change the intent of those characters from what the players had planned.

Which is in fact another part of this issue: overall, I think most characters get a decent number of "christmas presents", but sometimes the fandom response goes further not just to quantity but also a belief that everyone should get the exact same things, too. I still recall people asking me about TLOVM and whether Vex and Keyleth had comparable screentime with each other, or if they had comparable screentime with the men in the story. These remain among the more baffling questions I've gotten - and I've gotten some weird ones - because it's such a profound lack of understanding how stories work. One would hope that all D&D characters get the same amount of development overall, but that does not necessarily mean the same amount of screen time.

Anyway: the questions to ask are not "who gets the most presents" because most people aren't great at defining what a "present" is or which presents are equivalent in the first place; it's "is this character getting developed in the story in a way that makes sense, and is the plot compelling to other characters around them even if it is for the moment centered on them."

Japan ~ Summer 2018 #3 🎌✈️

Quick introduction: Hello my lovlies!! As most of you might already know, I went to Japan this summer. It was a rather spontaneous decision based on the fact that both Hikaru and Wakana had announced their solo lives. At that point I was suffering from a serious case of Kalafina withdrawal so I felt like I had no choice but to go. I just needed to see them. Also, it was my 30th birthday so I thought I would treat myself. You only turn 30 once, right? On a side note, the timing finally gave me the opportunity to do something I had wanted to do for a few years now. Climb Mount Fuji. o(〃＾▽＾〃)o So yeah, that’s the backstory of my trip. I stayed in Japan from July 30 till August 14 and pretty much my entire trip was dedicated to Kalafina Pilgrimage. Let me tell you this, it was by far the best summer vacation of my life, worth each and every penny! And believe me, there were a LOT of pennies involved XD

Notes: This report will be a bit different since I thought it would be nice to include some travel tips here and there. I guess you could see this as some sort of travel/Kala-guide. Many of my followers have never been to Japan so some general info would be useful to make things easier for you if you ever decide to travel to Japan.

Please note that this is Part 3 of my report. It is dedicated to my time in Fukuoka and Okayama. Part 1 can be found HERE! Part 2 is HERE!

Without further ado, let’s get to it 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Aug 6 (Mon) ~ Flying off to Fukuoka

My flight was scheduled for around 9 am so I checked out of my hotel pretty early. I had packed all of my stuff the previous evening so I wouldn’t have to worry about that in the morning. I had never been to Kyushu before so I was really looking forward to that trip. While I don’t hate Tokyo, everything is just a little too hectic for me. Don’t get me wrong, I like big cities and I much prefer them to the countryside but Tokyo is just a tad TOO big for me. It’s cities like Osaka where I feel most at home and I expected Fukuoka to have a similar vibe (and it did!). Out of convenience I once again took the Narita Express to the airport and then I waited till I was able to check in. This time I travelled with Peach which is a pretty cheap airline but even though tickets are cheap, their service is totally fine (it’s a lot of self-service though so be prepared for that). Didn’t have any issues with them. Plus, the plane is pink so of course I was immediately smitten XD Previously I have travelled with Jetstar and their service was also a-okay. I think the flight took less than two hours but I can’t remember right now. I had a window seat so I got a lovely view of Mount Fuji. I couldn’t believe that just a few days ago I had actually climbed that thing. It looked so tiny XD Btw, I was super lucky because on that day I found out that yet another typhoon was heading to Tokyo.

Once I had arrived at Fukuoka airport I waited for my luggage and then I took the subway to Hakata Station. It’s only two stations away so that’s VERY convenient. Generally speaking, there is really no other airport that’s more conveniently located than Fukuoka airport. You get to the city center in less than five minutes, in comparison it will take you around an hour to get to Tokyo from Narita or to Osaka from Kansai airport. Haneda or New Chitose are quite close to their respective city centers but it still takes around half an hour to get there. Either way, within a couple of minutes I was at Hakata Station which actually reminded me a lot of Shin-Osaka Station. I immediately went to the Midori no Madoguchi Ticket Office to reserve a ticket for the Hello Kitty Shinkansen which I was planning to take the next day. I was scared that it would be booked out since the shinkansen is always packed during commuter hours but luckily I got myself a seat, BANZAI. Then it was time to drop off my luggage at my hotel. I booked a nice hotel right outside of Hakata Station (still managed to get lost on my way there though :P). It’s called JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom, I really recommend it. Convenient location, fancy looking but not too extraordinary. The prices are okay, not exactly cheap but also not super expensive.

Then it was finally time to get to Tenjin to do some Wakana 10th Anniversary Film sightseeing. I had no trouble getting there since Tenjin is pretty close to Hakata Station (you can take the subway or a bus, I guess you could even walk if you wanted but meh, it was way too hot for that). My first stop was 656 Muttsugoro Manjyu Tenjin ( 中央区天神2丁目5-35 Fukuoka, 福岡県 〒810-0001). It’s a little hidden but with the address and google maps you should be able to find it. 

And you should definitely make the effort to find it because that ham&egg thingy is freaking delicious. THANK YOU SO MUCH for that awesome recommendation, Wakana! I feel so bad for Hikaru because I didn’t really like her Nanakosi but THIS HERE, it was absolutely heavenly. I regret that I only bought one. Could have eaten ten of them I think. There are some onions in there too and a light sauce so it’s actually a very refreshing little snack. Soon after I headed to Kego Park (it’s where Wakana walked around in the movie - nothing special really but it was still nice to check out the area). I wish I had seen it with all the Christmas decorations but oh well, maybe next time I travel to Fukuoka. Then it was time to go to the Karaoke place that Wakana had worked at in the past. All of these places are within five-minute walking distance so it’s super convenient. You can do it all in one go. I had never really done a solo karaoke session so I thought that was the perfect opportunity for it. And honestly, it was SO MUCH fun. I am not a big singer and I am not a group person so being by myself felt really nice. I sang pretty much all of my favourite Kalafina ballads XD I stayed there for quite some time actually. Karaoke is really cheap if you don’t go in the evening.

In the evening I did some window shopping in the Tenjin area and then I went to WEST Udon to have some dinner. Wakana always recommends their udon so I just had to check it out, there are restaurants all over the place so it’s not hard to find one. I went to one in Tenjin since I was already there. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture. At this point I think I was already super tired so my brain had stopped working. Ughh, that’s why I really hated the heat, I didn’t really do much that day but still, the heat took a huge toll on me, I constantly felt exhausted and couldn’t do as much as I would have wanted to do. Anyways, I got myself some curry udon because that’s my absolute favourite. I am not a fan of clear soups so I didn’t get any of the dishes that Wakana usually orders. Afterwards I headed back to my hotel to get some much needed rest before my upcoming shinkansen trip.

❗ Some tips ❗ 

As a holder of the JR Pass decide whether you want to fly or take the shinkansen. Domestic flights can sometimes be cheaper than a shinkansen ride but if you already purchased a JR Pass, you will save money by taking the train. Of course you have to take into account that the shinkansen will take a bit longer than the plane so I only recommend this if you have some time to spare.

I feel like you can make most of your JR Pass if you travel via Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Odawara (Mount Fuji area - stay there a couple of days), then to Nagoya and finally you will reach the Kansai area where you can take a long break to check out Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Himeji, etc (I recommend staying somewhere near Shin-Osaka because it’s super easy to reach all of the popular Kansai destinations from there). Once you are done you can take the Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama, Hiroshima etc and last but not least you will reach Hakata in Fukuoka from where you can explore the Kyushu area. If you are more interested in the northern parts of Japan, you can take the Tohoku/Hokkaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hakodate and from there you can go pretty much anywhere in Hokkaido. So yeah, as you can see, you can have lots of fun with your JR Pass (and believe me, you will save a TON of money).

Midori no Madoguchi Ticket Offices are your best friend if you are planning to do a lot of long-distance travelling. Many trains and buses require you to book a seat in advance and it’s much easier to just let a staff member do the work for you instead of trying to deal with one of the ticket vending machines. Plus, many reserved seats for long-distance trips can ONLY be purchased at the office. In case you have a JR Pass you just have to show it to the person working at the booking office, you won’t have to pay anything as long as the train/bus is operated by JR.

I mentioned it in my last post, always reserve your shinkansen seat in advance. This is particularly important if you are traveling during commuter hours (and if you are taking one of the faster trains). 

Aug 7 (Tue) ~ Hello Kitty Shinkansen/Okayama

Time for my Hello Kitty Shinkansen ride!! This special shinkansen started operating at the end of June and it was meant to have a limited runtime. It turned out to be really popular so it’s still running but back then I thought I wouldn’t get another chance so I was hell-bent to get on that train. Luckily, I was in the right place at the right time. This new adorable train provides a Kodama service on the Sanyo Shinkansen line, which connects the western cities of Osaka and Fukuoka. It’s all included in the JR Pass. The train runs twice a day (back and forth between Hakata and Shin-Osaka Station) but keep in mind, the Hello Kitty shinkansen isn’t in service every day. Anyways, I boarded my train at 6:40 in the morning. Kodama is the slowest among the different trains so it took quite some time to get to Okayama but hey, I had lots of fun in the train and I got a lovely view of many beautiful places in Japan.

During the whole ride I was checking out all the cool Hello Kitty stuff. There’s an entire car dedicated to cute displays, you can also buy lots of merch there (which of course I did because I can never resist XD). Another car has special interior but otherwise it’s just meant for sitting. It’s non-reserved seating so you can sit wherever you want as long as there is room. When I boarded the train this car was only half-way full but by the time I had reached Okayama, the entire train was packed. As you can probably tell from the amount of pictures I took, I had a blast! I love everything pink and cute, I was literally in Hello Kitty heaven. (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) So glad I made that trip even though it was quite time consuming. But oh well, I had wanted to go to Okayama anyways so that was a perfect opportunity.

Now you might wonder what’s so special about Okayama. Okayama's most famous attraction is Korakuen Garden, which is ranked as one of the three best landscape gardens in Japan. Okayama Castle is located just across from the garden so that’s very convenient. And of course I don’t go anywhere without a hidden Kalafina agenda XD Okayama is the birthplace of Keiko’s mother and she has mentioned on a couple of occasions that it means a lot to her. Back in 2016 she went there for the first time (for their “Kalafina with Strings” Christmas Premium LIVE TOUR 2016). She was deeply moved to finally be able to visit. One of the places she visited was Korakuen Garden so obviously I had to go there as well. I took a cute little cat-bus to the garden. I really love Japanese buses! They often have a special design. This bus goes all the way to Yumeji Art Museum. A black cat, named Kuronosuke, serves as mascot of the museum so the bus was designed to honour that cat. An actual cat actually shows up in the bus and the museum once in a while, it even has its own office at the museum! Either way, I was literally the only person on that bus so I had lots of fun XD Once I had arrived at the garden it was my main goal to find the very same bridge from that LINE blog picture. And BANZAI! I found it! Look at me standing on the same bridge as Keiko!! *weeeee*  It was so hard to find someone to take a picture for me because there were hardly any people. Plus, I hate approaching people. Oh well, the things I do for Kalafina (and for Keiko in particular :P)

The garden was truly gorgeous but boy, I think that was one of the hottest days ever so I was literally dying. Thankfully the garden was MUCH smaller than I expected so I was finished rather quickly. There isn’t much else to do in Okayama so after buying some souvenirs and strolling around for a while I decided it was time to head back to Hakata. I took the faster train back home. Thank God for shinkansen air conditioning! It was so nice to finally cool down a bit. Although tbh, the air conditioning is pretty strong on those trains so I was actually freezing my ass off. It’s a miracle I didn’t get sick from all those dramatic temperature changes. Once I had gotten back to Hakata it was almost time for dinner. This time I decided to go to Yoshida because Kalafina have ALWAYS eaten there, it’s pretty famous actually. They are known for two dishes. Their live-squid and their sea bream ochazuke. Needless to say, I went with the second option. This special dish features rice topped with sea bream sashimi marinated in a secret heirloom sauce. Hot tea is poured over the top of the fish and rice to complete the dish

I’ll be honest, I don’t like raw fish so this wasn’t my favourite dish in the whole wide world. But it was okay. I definitely recommend it to everyone who likes sashimi. Or you could always try the live-squid :P

❗ Some tips ❗ 

Here you can find all the info you need if you wanna take the Hello Kitty Shinkansen. It’s a great experience so you should definitely do it if you are travelling somewhere between Hakata and Shin-Osaka.

It’s best to reserve a table at Yoshida because they are always packed.

Next up we have my final two days in Fukuoka, please look forward to it.

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” - My review

(***WARNING!!! May contain positive opinions!!!!)

           I walked into this movie feeling two separate emotions: 1) I was prepared to despise it and whatever downgrade that came along with it. And 2) I still wanted to approach this with as much of an open mind as I could and give it a chance. Apart from the recasting controversy, the surge of downvotes on the film’s trailers on YouTube that surely make A Christmas Story 2 blush (yes, that actually exists), and the scathing reviews it has received on Rotten Tomatoes, you must ask yourself a few questions…does it really warrant the critical thrashing it’s being given? Does it deserve to be shunned away from the rest of the franchise? Is it worth my time just to check it out and see what all the hate is about? Is this just a shameless cash grab to make a quick buck for Fox? Well, let’s dive in and find the answers to these harrowing questions, shall we?

             This latest installment in the Wimpy Kid films follows protagonist Greg Heffley (now portrayed by Jason Drucker) and his family getting ready to embark on a family road trip for his grandmother’s 90th birthday. But after a ballpit mishap forever brands Greg as an internet meme known as “Diaper Hands”, our hero decides to use this family trip to his advantage. His plan is to reroute the van GPS to a video game convention so he can meet his favorite YouTuber, an obnoxious, catchphrase-spewing gamer named Mac Digby, and appear in his next video with the hopes that everyone will eventually forget the “Diaper Hands” incident. As the Heffleys hit the road, numerous hijinks ensue, including: another vacationing family with a crazy bearded patriarch who has it out for Greg, faulty car engines, dive-bombing pigeons who have an insatiable hunger for Cheese Puffs, disgusting roach motels, a technology ban that the mother Susan (now played by Alicia Silverstone) reinforces with an iron fist, a baby pig, and several other road movie inconveniences.

             Seeing as how multiple DOAWK fans, or at least the ones I’ve come across in my life, can attest to the fact that The Long Haul is one of the weaker books in the series, the fact that they chose to adapt this book for the screen was baffling at best. To pad out the runtime, the screenwriters (one of the them being Jeff Kinney himself) borrow elements from the other books to make everything balance out and have a “cohesive narrative”. For me, the better part of the movie is the last half because that’s where the story gets you hooked and it keeps your interest in just what will happen to these characters on the rest of their journey. It’s the only portion of the film where they feel like they’re a real family and it delivers some heartwarming moments that actually got an “awwww” out of me! The first half is more plodding and meandering, confused on whether or not it should give the characters something funny to say or do and is where a solid chunk of the expected gross-out humor and groaner jokes are, playing out like a Disney Channel recut of the 2015 Vacation reboot/sequel. Be warned, easily disgusted…there’s a barf scene that will literally make you thank the sweet lord that this DOAWK movie was not released in 3D. That doesn’t mean there are ZERO laughs to be found. The comedy is present but is executed awkwardly at times, isn’t exactly up to par with the original movies, and is more scattered and sporadic. You just have to really keep focused to find the particularly humorous moments. Plus, four words: Psycho shower scene homage.

             While many fans will disagree, the replacement cast doesn’t really bother me as much as I thought they would (except for a certain rock music-loving older brother in the family but we’ll get to him in a minute). Jason Drucker is aware he’s got some pretty big shoes to fill in taking over the role of Greg but you have to give this kid credit where credit is due. He’s got a bit of a young Zachary Gordon flair reminiscent of Greg in the first DOAWK movie but still manages to make this interpretation of the character something all his own. As for the parents, they aren’t too bad, either. They’re no Rachael Harris and Steve Zahn, but their acting abilities appear to be on both ends of the spectrum. Tom Everett Scott, playing dad Frank Heffley, looks slightly ashamed to be a part of the project but he toughs it out the best he can like a champ, and Alicia Silverstone on the other hand seems like she genuinely had a blast on the set and just enjoyed every second of being there. Bottom line, the brand new cast DOES pale in comparison to the original but they’re decent replacements and don’t half-ass their performances on screen. They were a pleasant surprise.

             But then you got Rodrick, played by Charlie Wright. After the trailers were first released, the recasting of Rodrick was what pushed Wimpy Kid fans over the edge. “#NotMyRodrick” was a hashtag that blew up all over social media, resulting in countless upon countless internet memes and edits. I will admit, a lot of those memes are really hilarious. But one would put themselves in denial and figure, “Maybe they’re saving all the funny Rodrick scenes for when the movie comes out but now we’re just saddled with the unfunny material”. But putting the controversy aside, does Charlie Wright do the character any justice? Um…they got that Rodrick is in a band called Löded Diper and likes rock music. That’s really about it. Now, in the books and movies, he obviously isn’t the brightest bulb in the tanning bed but he was still fun. Devon Bostick was clearly going to be a tough act to follow because he brought likability to a character we’re supposed to hate. Plus, he was the original emo dreamboat in many a pre-teen/teen girl’s eye. Wright, however, either over exaggerates his lines or is way too laid back. And even then, he doesn’t really seem to take the role all that seriously and is basically winging it. Out of everyone in the film, they wrote him the laziest by dumbing him down to Patrick Star levels (oh yeah...PATRICK STAR LEVELS!!!) He confuses a hotel safe for a microwave *insert immediate facepalm here*, he literally has the line “We’ve got a pet pig, now that means we’ll get bacon every morning” *insert double facepalm*, eats nine sticks of deep-fried butter only to go on a ride at the country fair and declare “I could totally go for another stick of butter” after PUKING IT ALL UP on said ride, and plenty more but if i list everything, we’ll be here all night. The only “A” for effort he gets is for a freak-out scene near the end of the film and it’s one of the few parts that got me to laugh but I dare not give it away here!

             I’m decidedly half-and-half so far, but what are the other elements of The Long Haul that need no nitpicking? The music score and the soundtrack are a lot of fun, the color palette and atmosphere pops off the screen and you feel like you’ve been transported back into the world of Greg Heffley again, and the final scene does get your heart in bizarrely sweet way. I don’t know, maybe I’m just a sucker for that kind of stuff.

             My overall thoughts in general?

             PROS: Most of the cast is alright, Jason Drucker is a passable Greg Heffley (I think Zachary Gordon would be very proud of him), the soundtrack, the last half is better than the first half because of its heart, only three laugh-out-loud scenes, and its aesthetic certainly feels like a DOAWK film.

             CONS: Majority of the comedy comes off as confused and unsure, Charlie Wright as Rodrick (seriously, man, what did they do to your character?), the gross-out humor is too much, most of the jokes fall flat, the first half could’ve been written better, and it somehow feels much longer than the past films but yet it has the shortest runtime out of them all (90 minutes).

             FINAL THOUGHTS: I can most definitely understand why critics are tearing this movie apart and why fans would do the same, too. Personally, I’m glad I at least sat down and gave The Long Haul a chance. Is it as great as the original movies? No. But for what it is, it could’ve been waaay worse! Would this have fared better by going direct-to-DVD, done as an animated special for Cartoon Network, or as a Netflix Original Movie rather than be released theatrically? Yes. Is it the trainwreck we all anticipated it’d be? Not really. It’s bad but not horrendous. Am I gonna watch it multiple times like I have with the past films? Nah, one viewing is good enough for me. While it is an unnecessary installment, The Long Haul is harmless and if you watch it only to find yourself loving it, then that’s awesome; it doesn’t make you an idiot or a bad person. It means that at the very least, you were able to find more to love in it than I could. So, if I had to give this a letter grade, let’s make it a “C” or “C-”.