Been looking for a Bluesky invite lately, since the account I was using (that someone posted credentials for on Twitter for anyone who didn't have their own account yet) I can't log into anymore, and the original post is gone.

I care a lot less about Bluesky right now than ATP itself, but as it turns out a lot of people do discuss it there, plus I know multiple people who have moved there exclusively and the feeling of being locked out is just irritating.

ATP does solve some major issues I have with AP... but I have some concerns, mainly about the current lack of privacy focus (which according to the devs is to come later, they're discussing it but not openly, so we'll see) and while some people don't flinch at the thought of their full archive being downloadable by anyone I don't feel quite as good about stuff like that.

Second concern is the BGS, who runs this? Who pays for it? How do they pay for it? Is it sustainable for a percentage of users to cover the costs through everyone through some perk like "super" PDS storage or will we inevitably have one usable provider that injects dropshipping ads every 3rd post?

Will be fun to see what holes get blown open once open federation starts, I've seen people say that Bluesky's existing user base is large enough that they can weather an influx of new people... good luck with that, let's hope the influx isn't in September...

#Bluesky

I like to talk about games (maybe other media but I'm just a game person) sometimes being cool but not good. There's something that draws you in, there's hype, graphics, new features, blah blah blah, then when you actually start playing, you might be engrossed in it all for a little while, but eventually you'll get tired, you're just not having fun. There are a few games I've seen or played that are like this.

Knuckles' Chaotix

This game has a killer soundtrack, bright and colorful graphics (maybe too bright and colorful), tons of characters, the tether mechanic, the hub world, 3D special stages, there's a lot going on in this game. Is it cool? Heck yeah, as a young Sonic fan I would've been all over this game, but is it good?

No lol, the special stages are legitimately good but beyond that I've never seen much praise for this game; it's cool to listen to a fresh remix for the hub world while you get a new character but then you're flying through stages with Charmy and dragging your partner behind you, because the tether mechanic and level design are not good. Metal Sonic is cool, Vector is cool, but looking at them isn't enough to make the overall experience of playing this game good.

Marvel Super Heroes VS Street Fighter

This game isn't that bad compared to the others here, but it's definitely watered down compared to every other entry in the series; it's also the only one to have zero actual new characters (other than Norimaro who isn't even in every version) and even reuses much of the stage assets from the previous game.

The music is cool, the Street Fighters all get their own new theme (I like them way better than the A3 themes); the presentation is REALLY cool and is probably my favorite in any fighting game, Cyber Akuma is cool, the secret characters are cool (most of them anyway), heck even the overall look of the game is cool; I like the stage palettes more than XvSF, they're very colorful (but not almost offensively so like some other game)

For gameplay however, the only thing positive I can really say about it is that the Turbo 2 speed is more in line with other games; for a Marvel entry, this game isn't that good; I don't dislike playing it but you can tell that this is a game where Capcom panic-nerfed because everyone in the previous entry was too powerful. Would rather have everyone be too powerful than half the cast feel super weak while Wolverine mashes sj.mp and builds meter during his install infinite, but that's just me...

Five Nights and Freddy's Security Breach

I haven't played this game myself, only watched others; I don't like playing jumpscare games and TBH would prefer not to do anything that directly gives Scott Cawthon money, knowing what he's done with some of it (only FNAF game I've played myself is UCN), but that aside, there's a lot to say about this game that's cool.

Free-roaming? That's new for FNAF (I'm ignoring the VR/AR stuff), that's cool; the new character designs are cool, Vanny is cool, the Pizzaplex is COOL, this game is just really cool!

Then the game's performance is shit, Vanny barely does anything, pacing is all weird, that one alert sound becomes more annoying than scary, same for the animatronics' lines, there's just so much that is not good. From the outset, it looks like a cool game, but these issues grow on you more and more until you reach the endings, styled as comic books... WHAT?

Sonic Forces

This is a bit like the previous game in that it has potential to deliver a cool experience; everyone is here, there's a cool new villain, there are cool environments like Null Space, the OC creator is cool...

Then you escape Null Space in 5 seconds, the game as a whole is very short, Sonic is very much not believable as a character (though I don't find Sonic, the character, cool at all since idk Colors); this game isn't very good but it has so much cool stuff in place that it all feels like wasted potential. While SB got its happy ending with Ruin it's hard to say the same for this.

Pokemon Scarlet/Violet

Having growing tired of Pokemon as of gen 6, I was apprehensive about getting this game, I was seeing more of the same old, same old. The graphics? Bleh, open world? I already got to play the Wild Area, I'm not that excited for it. But after seeing a bit of gameplay and some new time-saving conveniences I decided to get this game myself.

And... I was actually having fun, probably the most fun I've ever had playing a Pokemon game. You can't go into most buildings, the gym challenges aren't very cool (they're silly at best), there's less character customization than in Sword/Shield (maybe? Not like I ever did much of that so idk), the Team Star raids are dumb, but the new mechanics make the core of the series, fighting and catching Pokemon, so much more fun. To me, this game is not very cool but it is good. (But it is cool as hell towards the end, you have to admit that)

I have a lot of art that isn't posted anywhere... hmm okay, how about this

#FurryArt

GIANT BOYKISSER INVADES MYHOUSE.WAD

Had a dream where there was a cool song that I apparently had just made up in my head, and I was somehow competent enough to transcribe most of it to a tracker in the dream but now that I'm awake I've already forgotten all of it

I watched a FNAF SB Ruin playthrough last night and I'm not ashamed to say that one specific part of the game legitimately made me cry

I notice I haven't had a brain meltdown in a while, it's usually something that happens every one or two weeks, but the closest it's come to happening lately I was able to snap myself out of it after a few minutes. I don't know what I'm doing differently, or what's changed so much around me either