Cal C
cdcubed.bsky.social
Cal C
@cdcubed.bsky.social
J->E TL
he/him
Ah, the thing is, I did do the scripts for volumes 5 and 6 (odd to have those scripts sold off with my name attached, but that's life in the salt mines!).

...But I definitely translated the staff interview at the end 🤷‍♂️
January 22, 2026 at 4:16 PM
other minor but cherished finds:

-diecast Bulma bike from Tomica
-sniper in fake earphones gachapon
-3D Hiroshige dioramas
-to-scale Gold and Typhlosion
January 18, 2026 at 10:43 PM
I coveted giant Pory every time I saw it in a crane game (impossible to win; never tried) then found it secondhand in a Book-Off for 1500 yen (< 10 USD) right at the end of the trip

poor thing had to come home in a vacuum bag
January 18, 2026 at 10:26 PM
my two shopping hyperfixations during this Japan visit focused on Little Guys from opposite ends of history
January 18, 2026 at 10:21 PM
pleased to discover that the little papercraft model of Todaiji Temple that I bought in the gift shop
has the pillar-hole!

completely obscured once fully built, but still
January 17, 2026 at 6:18 PM
got called a kouseinen (a fine youth!) by my fiancee's creaky Kagoshima grandparents in a letter re: our engagement, and it's unlikely any compliment will top that soon
January 16, 2026 at 8:19 PM
finally got an irl glimpse at Japan's earliest IPs. even got merch!
January 7, 2026 at 5:48 AM
loc spot in RuriDragon ch43:

Kashiro is a manic codeswitcher, but the switch is so abrupt (same scene/audience!) and her distal speech is so plainly facetious that I just had to have the ENG loop back around to "pwetty pwease"

also pleased with "And we're back to touching me?" for <don't touch me>
January 6, 2026 at 2:49 AM
did some more tinkering;
proud of my vacation homework
January 5, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Costco hot dog, eat your heart (and other assorted animal parts) out
January 5, 2026 at 1:22 AM
food court locations too, obviously.

I appreciated the drink bar option, so one can try the lingonberry soda, pear soda, and a self-serve cappucino for only 200 yen
January 5, 2026 at 1:18 AM
went to the legit Ikea in Yokohama yesterday, mostly to find the exact reference shots used in She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, volume 5
#tsukutabe #つくたべ
January 5, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Costco was a surreal experience.
Same layout, same tropes (card scan, giant carts, receipt checkers), many of the same products! But with a vague iwakan to it all. Overpriced (not underpriced!) Lego sets. Different muffin flavors. Pork not beef hot dog (kosherなんてないよ)

Great bulgogi bake though
December 30, 2025 at 1:28 AM
spent yesterday roaming southeast Kanazawa and making a dual pilgrimage to sites concerned with earthly attachments (against/for)
December 30, 2025 at 1:09 AM
but more importantly, I set out to start learning new art mediums (charcoal drawing and crochet) while continuing to cross-stitch
December 28, 2025 at 5:05 AM
2025 TL roundup-
three new titles for the life-to-date mosaic

straight-to-GN manga: 34 📚
add'l GNs via simuls: 10 📑
simul chapters: 55 💻
simul chapters done on the Osaka->Yokohama Nozomi shinkansen, in a harrowing battle with spotty wifi: 2.5 🎡🚄🐙
still-NDA titles: 3
QA'd GNs: 70🔎❌
lectures: 1 🗣️📈
December 28, 2025 at 4:51 AM
this was already pretty magical to start with, and then we stumbled across an actual battle of the bands, with local teens wringing out every drop of precious 青春 manna before they graduate and die inside forever. feel-good-yet-melancholic slice-of-life vibes off the charts
December 21, 2025 at 1:10 AM
spotted an ad for a maker's market at the industrial port ass-edge of Osaka and, as avid craft fair goers, we had to check it out.

like comiket for potters and knitters and muffin makers.
not a single IP in sight (incredible!!), tons of alt people, and basically no sweaty tourists! ...except us!
December 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM
the hole and hall and Buddha in question
December 18, 2025 at 4:07 AM
first crawled through the Buddha's nostril pillar hole in Todaiji back in 2008

Did it again today, 17 years later, as haters and doubters looked on. Have now escaped reincarnation a second time. Reupped my nirvana subscription.
December 18, 2025 at 3:16 AM
valuable reviews of this office building 👍
December 17, 2025 at 11:07 PM
that tracks!
December 17, 2025 at 10:51 PM
woke up in this Osaka hotel, opened the curtains, and experienced the opposite of a jumpscare
December 17, 2025 at 10:45 PM
highlights from 2 days in Kinosaki Onsen
December 17, 2025 at 12:52 AM
environmental storytelling in Kinosaki Onsen

(bear rummages for sweet dregs in recycle bin next to hanbaiki; town puts up warning, turns bin around to render it unusable, asks people not to litter; people cannot/do not read, they litter; alluring vessels are now even more available to bear)
December 15, 2025 at 10:54 PM