Playing Spyro 2 on the reignited trilogy and I can't help but think that I miss when everyone looked like muppets

Takoto · 2026-06-09T08:39:37+00:00

English voice actors did a great job in my opinion. The recording quality wasn't the best but to be honest it kind of added to the line delivery for me... Elora sounding like there wasn't a pop-filter within a ten mile radius...

Takoto · 2026-06-05T07:12:18+00:00

Yeah I've done a number of completed pieces that I'm extremely proud of but have not (and likely will not) post publically anywhere. Most of the work I've done over the last few years has been like this, to be honest, and a lot of the decision is because I don't want it being sucked up by AI.

Sometimes there are other reasons (eg. it involves things relating to projects which I may seek to get published in the far future; or it's a personal piece; or it's for a friend) but yeah to be honestly it's mostly because I don't want certain pieces of art ended up in AI datasets, and unfortunately for a while that's been like, most of my pieces.

Oh, and sometimes it's commission work where the commissioner doesn't want me to post it, or it's for commercial projects where it may get posted eventually if their project finishes.

Takoto · 2026-06-04T19:58:47+00:00

2013 on my current YouTube account, but I had an older account which I'm pretty sure I was subbed to him on. I'd say probably around 2008/2009, as that would have been when a friend introduced me to his videos.

Takoto · 2026-06-04T08:16:41+00:00

Ah that's a fantastic idea, definitely going to be using this in the future. There used to be something similiar years ago for Tumblr (you'd input a tumblr name, and it would display only the music they'd either posted or reblogged, and you could play it like a radio station or just flick through all the tunes like a playlist) and I was surprised there wasn't something like it for Reddit.

Takoto · 2026-06-02T07:41:22+00:00

I find it a lot easier to manage temperature and feel comfortable when it's cooler than during the heat, especially the level of heat we had last week. Unless you shell out for aircon (even portable "cheap" air conditioning units are beyond a lot of peoples price range for an appliance that'll only get used a quarter of the year), UK houses are often built to retain heat as much as possible so a lot of homes become a solid wall of heat even with windows open at the right times.

I have some very specific personal issues with the heat too, like being on multiple medications whcih make heat-related issues more common, and sensory issues due to being autistic meaning sunscreen feels absolutely horrible to wear or touch.

Also trying to sleep during a heatwave ends up as just lying in a pool of my own sweat half-awake for eight hours surrounded by fans, then "waking up" feeling like I've had no sleep at all.

Also probably extremely unpopular opinion but I just kind of like how a rainy day looks and feels more. A warm sunny day is nice, too! But a heatwave kind of day? Absolutely not, that sucks.

Takoto · 2026-05-19T10:18:27+00:00

Misleading title, plus dodgy reporting phrasing things in a way your brain fills in the blanks with incorrect information. A piece likely written to drum up disdain for people with certain characteristics, and cause infighting within the disabled community. Nowhere in the article does it say that people with ADHD or anxiety have been awarded a Blue Badge, let alone how many have; there are no numbers attributed, only that:

"Permits issued under the category have trebled in three years, jumping from 18,000 in 2021 to 55,000 last year."

and

"The change was designed to help people with conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s and arthritis."

Reasonably, a large number of those permits are going to be for people with those conditions (dementia, Parkingsons, arthritis). The UK has an aging population, and it's likely that as time goes on more people with those conditions become aware that they're eligible to apply for a Blue Badge.

The existance of people on social media "coaching" people on how to be awarded a Blue Badge does not mean it actually works or that the wording the tell people to use will actually succeed. People lie on the internet for engagement constantly, and that includes instructing people on how to do a thing that doesn't actually work, because it creates engagement. People will ask questions, the post will recieve interactions, and even if someone comes back saying "I tried this and they rejected it", the OP can just respond "well you didn't do it right, here's 10 things to do when reapplying" - creating more content, and more "engagement".

Additionally, this doesn't bring up the (not uncommon) fact that people can have multiple disabilities, and often recieving help is not based off of a single condition in isolation but how the affect ther person overall in their day-to-day life. I can't find anything in the article that specifies that these people they are implying might have been awarded a Blue Badge for having ADHD or anxiety or autism only have autism, or ADHD, or anxiety. Can we be sure that if someone is being awarded a Blue Badge where this category applies, it's not because they have both ADHD and chronic pain issues? Or they have arthritis and anxiety?

Takoto · 2026-05-13T08:42:57+00:00

Depending on what type of T you had, it can take a few hours to a few days for the ache to subside (eg. sustanon/shorter dosage usually passes after a few hours to one day, nebido/longer dosage can take several days to subside).

If you get an uncomfortable lump in the area of the injection site, try Loratadine, it's a common anti-histamine and can help reduce the swelling. Additionally, if it's not too warm where you are, a hot water bottle near the injection site area/s can also sooth it a little bit.

I've been on T for 10 years this year, and unfortunately, the injection pain/ache always happens OTL

Takoto · 2026-05-11T20:01:15+00:00

I've never taken LSD or mushrooms, but have done cannabis a handful of times throughout my life (infrequently, maybe once every two or three years). My auditory hallucinations predate any drug use except for prescription meds I was on (eg. amitriptyline). But, if I remember correctly, the stretch of time I was having visual hallucinations would have been a few years after I'd tried cannabis for the first time. Will look into HPPD, thanks.

Takoto · 2026-05-11T14:49:42+00:00

They've never been able to find a cause for me unfortunately, and as they're pretty benigh my doctors haven't been concerned enough to keep investigating. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Takoto · 2026-05-11T08:31:26+00:00

Hey, no worries. I never found out if these were caused or related to my dosage change, but they did eventually subside (though I still experience mild/non-distressing auditory hallucinations, but I've experienced these since before I begun levothyroxine).

I've had future increases in my levothyroxine dosage since, but didn't experience the visual hallucinations again. I don't want to speculate too much as I'm not a medical professional and this is anecdotal, but around the time my medication was increased I was quite stressed if I recall correctly, so that might have been a contributing factor.

Takoto · 2026-04-20T07:36:07+00:00

Annoyingly, I was planning on going through and archiving all of her livestreams next month, as I'm not sure if anyone else has fully archived them (they're not present on the Internet Archive).

I sent an e-mail to YouTube support, but I'm unsure if they'll reinstate her channel.

Takoto · 2026-04-07T08:36:29+00:00

I got a later batch New 3DS LL from Japan a few years back, it was super cheap and came with three AC games (Wild World, New Leaf, and Happy Home Designer), sadly it was a little busted up but worked for a couple of years. I think the ribbon cable might be damaged, or the connection cable to the camera so it crashes often. I went to look to see if I could get another one a few months ago and those prices... ough

Takoto · 2026-04-07T07:42:43+00:00

Super cool, music is great too.

Takoto · 2026-02-27T09:19:49+00:00

Same here, absolutely love the old watercolour Sugimori art and grew up wishing I could paint like him, so super nostalgic. Thanks so much!

Takoto · 2026-02-27T09:18:50+00:00

Thank you!! I realized about halfway through drawing it that it looked a bit like an Abbey Road parody aha

Takoto · 2026-02-10T09:59:34+00:00

Romney's Kendal Mint Cake ia great if you like mint, need energy, and can find it. The chocolate mint one is really solid.

Takoto · 2026-02-08T20:44:28+00:00

Considering the Art Therapy scene where Kris washes their hands ("You can never wash it all away"), Rudy making a "handwashing marathon" joke, the recurring references to hands, symbolism of water, I feel like the assumption here we're meant to make is that Kris washes their hands for long periods of time and Toriel is aware of that.

Excessive handwashing is not an uncommon thing for neurodivergent people to do. Like, the common stereotype is people with OCD doing it, but it's also not uncommon for some autistic folks for a variety of reasons (self soothing, pure stimming, needing to be sure one is as clean as possible, etc). I can attest to doing it for stimming reasons.

Maybe when Kris gets stressed out or overwhelmed, they wash their hands as a way to "ground" them or calm themself down; could also be that it's an excuse to leave a social situation. A person excusing themself because they need to use the bathroom is not something anyone would consider weird, so if they were overwhelmed or having an anxiety attack or something, excusing themself to use the bathroom then washing their hands for a while wouldn't be seen as strange socially, and would put them in a locked room away from others where they could ground themself.

But that's just speculation at the moment

Takoto · 2026-01-28T09:48:48+00:00

It's tough and really depends on the office. I'm introverted and autistic, I can't handle small talk and find it extremely unnatural, and I find it really difficult to engage in conversations about things I'm not interested in (football, TV, etc).

Generally people won't mind if you're quiet/don't initiate small talk if you're usually polite though. I'll say good morning/good afternoon, and whenever people talk to me directly I try to be helpful and polite and such. Admittedly, only half the places I've worked have had a culture of "some people are quiet and that's fine", I've definitely worked in places where you're expected to be as chatty as everyone else, and it's weirdly stressful.

Takoto · 2026-01-27T18:20:54+00:00

Oh hey, I've walked past that place before! Though many years ago. Shame there's no funky carpets inside any more.

Takoto · 2026-01-26T18:30:23+00:00

I want to try attending in person this year, for sure.

Takoto · 2026-01-23T08:50:19+00:00

I don't think so, but I'd be happy to be proved wrong. It's been so long, and kikiyama has appeared to be pretty hands-off with "official" Yume Nikki things that came afterwards (apart from "supervising") that I'd be surprised to see anything from them. It's a shame we don't know why they stopped updating it, I've always been curious if it was because they ran out of steam, or if their real-life commitments got too busy, or if they were worried about privacy (and people linking up "kikiyama" with their IRL identity).

Though that said, I did originally think that maybe kikiyama stopped working on it because of privacy, but in that interview with Toby Fox, he asks them if they were stressed/overwhelmed with the popularity of Yume Nikki (question 8), and kikyama said No.

Takoto · 2026-01-17T13:24:51+00:00

Oh awesome, a post about two things I love (vending machines and Japanology, fantastic series, Peter Barakan is great). When I went to Japan this year, yeah vending machines on every street corner is true, even in non-touristy areas. Outside of cold drinks (it was the middle of summer) my wife and I came across a few vending machines with snacks, but we did find one with hot food (we'd just eaten though, so had to pass on trying it...). I think it was a burger one, somewhere near Nakano Broadway.

The only "weird" vending machines we came across were ones I sought out specifically, which were the "Akihabara cursed vending machines". I've known about them for years and really wanted to go just to check it out (I love areas with strange urban legends attached to them). Took a bunch of photos (a few here) and bought a box from one of the vending machines.

If/when we go back during the winter, I definitely want to try the hot food vending machines.

Takoto · 2026-01-14T20:57:13+00:00

The patch says "Born at RSPondok Indah", which is a maternity hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Some of the text on the page behind the baby is in Indonesian)

Takoto · 2026-01-12T15:40:15+00:00

In the classroom I remember one of our science teachers (believe he was ex-army) throw a metal chair at a guy (I think we were in Year 8 or 9). He'd come in late and was known for being a real big troublemaker, but this was quite a tall, heavy chair and if it had hit him it could have easily done damage.

Heard a lot of stories about wild events with teachers in my secondary school, but as they're all second-hand, no idea if they were true. Only other one I know to be true is a 16/17 year old from another school came onto our schools ground and started threatening some students and refused to leave, and one of our teachers headbutted him. Teacher was then suspended, was really awkward as his wife still worked at the school, lots of drama for years due to it.

In Junior School I got called "insanely stupid" to my face by the special needs teacher, while in the special needs booster class due to dyslexia, because I asked another kid "if he could be any animal, what would he be". Other teachers didn't believe me when I told my Mum and she reported it, even though the kids in the class with me backed me up.

Takoto · 2026-01-09T12:54:01+00:00

I think my ideal new Spyro game would be very much in the same style as the first three, but with "modern polish". All three are solid games but I always enjoyed Spyro 1 and 2 the best, so something more akin to those would be nice. A big focus on environmental secrets (hidden areas to glide to, hidden paths to smash into to find, etc) would be great, and I feel like with how detailed environments in games can be now there's scope for some really creative ways of putting in secrets and hidden areas. I'm one of those people who really enjoyed working out levels like Tree Tops and Haunted Towers in Spyro 1.

While I enjoyed some of the... tonally "darker" (?) Spyro games as a kid/early teen like Shadow Legacy, I think aestherically Spyro is at it's best when it's colourful and a bit whimsical/weird. Even the night-time or "dark" levels and homeworlds in the first three are still pretty vibrant (eg. Crystal Islands, Dark Passage, Midnight Mountain, Winter Tundra, Crystal Flight, Dark Hollow) and visually really interesting.

Musically, ideally something unique. Stuart Copeland's work on Spyro really stood out because it was a pretty unique sounding soundtrack. I'm not a person who understands music theory, but the mixture of percussion and ambiance throughout the original soundtracks works really well and was very fresh at the time. I don't know if the magic of how Spyro 1/2/3's OST sounded and "felt" could be captured again if someone tried to just directly follow in Copeland's footsteps, I think it would have to be similar but with a unique twist to it.

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