#inflection point

[mariacallous]

he will never live down that haircut from the traitor arc, whether in-universe or out

oh right, he was raised by jedi until they realized he couldn't use the force, and then he got dumped on his own, which is how he ended up becoming a spy

cue affectionate hug from married couple before parting and going about their missions

[prototypesteve]

Creative people are creative because they evolve and absorb and internalize and synthesize every hour of every day. This isn’t an evolve-or-die moment for creatives. This is a have-or-never-have-again-in-your-lifetime moment for consumers and integrators of our creativity which they’ve borrowed. Tomorrow’s human creativity won’t go away. It will just go out of easy or willing reach.

It’s done this before. Often.

Footnotes:

“Enshittification” doesn’t describe a decline in perceived quality. (Generative content will get past its nineteen-finger era.) It describes the decline in participant-joy of an entire marketplace, as the logical outcome of a prevailing business model:

1) Get non/semi-creatives hooked on generative algorithms.

2) Create a supply and demand apocalypse that pushes real creative workers out of the mass market (I won’t be able to let people be able to afford me, because they’ll push me into a price-war with generative algorithms).

3) With almost nothing but generative algorithms left within reach of the mass market and the corporate market, the handful of suppliers can push up the subscription prices to the absolute limit of what the market will bear, because those markets will be trapped with no one else to use.

We’ve seen it in food. We’ve seen it in clothes. We’ve seen it in housing. We’ve seen it in entertainment. Good isn’t gone. Good is just out of most people’s reach without difficult choices full of which, whether and why.

Like good food, well-made clothes, and great architecture, art and creativity will survive, but it will spend significant time out of affordable reach of the mass market, and far out of consistent or willing reach of the corporate market.

(End of footnotes.)

[onedragonarmy]

We had this knife for like 5 years... As a cook, you need a good general use knife at the very least. This one was just above workable. But I was still a student, and the knife worked, despite not holding an edge for more than a few days at most.

I berated this knife, wished it was something better, but I darent buy a nice hundred dollar replacement. For the knife still cut, it sufficed. I did not want to add yet another hundred to my debt, collecting interest by quartered percent.

On Sunday night, it snapped. I thought I would be furious. But I had landed a job and was scheduled to start in two days. I worked my first day there today, Document Control at a medical grade silicone company.

The knife lasted exactly as long as it needed to.

Today 3 of my favorite streamers all played league of legends, just like I used to watch them play dur- I mean between physics and chem classes, eleven years ago.

The spiral has come back around, but I am finally free of academia and can start to dig my way free of that cursed yoke upon us. I am so much more powerful than I was, undiagnosed and unable to sleep in a place that was not designed for me.

I am happily married, a certified lifeguard, a damn good singer, a DM with a tearfully finished campaign, and now that I can finally, guiltlessly buy a good knife, among many, many other things I've fearfully avoided purchasing.

Thank you for lasting this long. I can feel the inflection point of my life here.

[tharatorns]

In my view, the fabric that represents Kueakiat's feeling for Lady Pin is like a fine and elegant silk with expensive value. Then, are you able to see the fabric which represents my feeling for Lady Pin?

Becky Armstrong as PRINCESS ANIN THE LOYAL PIN | EP. 12

[wuggen]

I think I probably just barely missed becoming an actual proper dyed-in-the-wool lesswrong-ass rationalist. I came across hpmor in high school while it was coming out, read the first chapter or two, went "Haha, wacky fun clever!" got distracted and forgot about it until like 2020 when I became suddenly surrounded by people who know what the sequences are and learned that it was, like, actually in any way significant

[supportingwomenswrongs]

satosugu is like crack for the overthinkers, the dwellers on the past, the ponderers of the "what-if's"

[9w1ft]

Okay so... I'm not very good at maths but I was listening to Peter and... She's having this dialog with this past self she promised she'd come get but never did. And this past self says well, you were twenty five and those were cute fantasies but that's not something that can happen any longer, we both know it. So i wondered... when was it that Taylor was 25?... You mean to tell me Peter is talking about the year she was going to come out but backpedaled??? I mean. That was quite obvious before but she DATED IT. 🙀🙀🙀

i’m not incredibly versed in the theory that taylor was going to come out during 1989 era although i have had it explained to me before, but i tend to be a pragmatist in the sense that whether or not that’s true i am more interested in thinking about what the potential motivations for taylor’s actions might have been, in the contexts of the people and events of the time, what her goals or plans might have been because of who she was in love with and why coming out would have been related to who she’s in love with etc etc.. (this is me though, to each their own)

as for the 25 years old line,

i tend to think of this:

i tend to think of a story she shelved FOR REASONS right around when she turned 25 and how when we think about this story there are two people that fit the bill and they both don’t have to be taylor in order to make good sense. not to knock the two taylors theory that’s nice fine and perfectly interesting but like, this fits such a particular narrative in my opinion

[imtrashraccoon]

It's a wonder how much better I feel about my writing when I'm rested and not trying to cram last minute. Funny how that works! (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

@owl-bones

First, Previous, & Next Day

Bad Sansuary II: Horror - Hands

Word Count: 1,007

Hearing you talk seemed to help and by the time you had finished recounting your history together, Maul seemed to be feeling much better. He seemed more aware of himself, as if you had just woken him up from a strange dream, and his eyelight seemed to shine slightly brighter than before. He also seemed to be having a hard time keeping his eye sockets open and more than once, you caught him start to nod off before shaking himself awake.

Using your staff, you stood up. "Hey, are you feeling hungry?" you asked.

Maul nodded slowly and so you decided to go get him some of the rations. You weren't entirely sure if he was back to normal, but if you could help curb any lingering instincts, you were going to do whatever he needed. You still didn't trust him enough to turn your back to him but he showed no signs of moving as you walked away.

He didn't look up until you returned with some of the dried meat and cheese that had been brought along on the mission. You sat down beside him and he shifted to make some room for you on the log. When you handed him the food, his phalanges brushed against your paws, lingering longer than necessary.

He was trembling and just staring at your hands wordlessly. When he didn't let go, you gave him a quizzical look. "Um, is everything alright?" you asked carefully.

"...'m sorry. i... i didn't mean to scare ya," he whispered. He closed his large hands around your smaller paws, carefully holding them as if he was afraid he would hurt you with his strength or claws.

"so small..." he breathed, more to himself than anything. He raised his skull, making eye contact with you once more. "did... did i hurt ya at all?"

You quickly shook your head. "No, no, I'm okay!"

His eyelight trembled and by the look on his face, you knew he didn't quite believe you. He hunched his shoulders, curling in on himself and clutching your paws to his ribcage. For a moment, you were struck with the thought that he looked so guilty, like a pup that had been caught with their paw in the biscuit jar. It was enough to tug at your heartstrings and you instantly felt bad for him. Carefully, you extracted one of your paws from his grip, trying to ignore the sad whine he made at the loss of contact, even as minor as it was. You leaned in closer, rubbing his shoulder with your paw in an attempt to comfort him.

"You didn't hurt me but you did give me quite a fright. Do you remember what happened when you left the camp earlier?"

He shrugged, continuing to stare down at you, but when you made it clear that you would listen, he let out a heavy sigh. "...there was a scream," he started to say. "went to help but couldn't find them... couldn't save them..."

He paused, bonebrows pinched together in a frown. His eyelight suddenly shrank down to the size of an acorn and his breathing became more laboured. While his grip on your hand tightened fractionally, his right hand moved to his empty socket, as if to hook his phalanges into it. You managed to intercept his hand before he could potentially harm himself with his claws, gently pulling his hand away and placing it in his lap with the other.

"It's okay now. You did the best you could," you whispered. You rubbed small circles on the back of his hand with your thumb, giving him a gentle smile. "Do you remember what happened next?"

"not much..." he murmured. "found a stone structure, might've knocked over somethin' too..." He paused for a moment before adding, " 's fuzzy after that... there was an eye and then i smelled smoke..."

Your eyes widened at the mention of an eye. Could it be the same one you and Reven had found in the city? Taking your walking stick, you scratched out the symbol of the purple eye in the dirt. "Did the eye look like this, except purple?" you asked.

Maul studied the drawing for a moment, a look of recognition and shock taking over his face. "yes, that's what i saw." He took a deep breath, visibly shuddering at the thought. "i don't know what it was... just felt like i needed to hunt...to eat..."

You swallowed thickly at the mention of hunting and squeezed his hands. "It's alright, you weren't thinking straight at the time. Did...did you not know it was me you were hunting?"

"no," he muttered, hanging his head in shame. "until ya mentioned bein' friends, 's all blank..."

Your heart went out to him. He was clearly upset by his own actions, even if he hadn't been in control of them at the time. Something had to have happened to him out in the woods. What did the purple eye have to do with this? Was there someone out there who had attacked him? Was the camp even safe anymore?

"i didn't want to hurt ya..." Maul started to say. "i wouldn't blame ya for hatin' me after this... 'm nothin' but a monster..."

You shook your head. "No, this wasn't your fault. I can't hate you for something you didn't mean to do." You looked down at his hands again before adding, "Regardless, we need to tell the others in case whatever happened to you happens to one of us."

While he still looked concerned, Maul nodded in agreement. You didn't like to think about what would have happened if either Dirk or Reven had been in Maul's position. Both skeletons had a lot more mana and regularly used magic when they fought, so much so, that it was almost second nature to them. Combined with their high LV, you didn't think you could have talked either of them down in the same situation.

You really hoped that Reven found Dirk and returned soon.

[mariacallous]

girl yes because I've been doing it already!

of course they do - the empire's top spy, defecting to the republic? everyone wants Cipher Nine

[serpentface]

Do you conlang? I was wondering if you had naming languages (or possibly even more developed ones) for pulling the words you use. I tried to search your blog but didn't find anything, wouldn't be surprised if the feature is just busted tho. Your worldbuilding is wonderful and I particularly enjoy the anthropological and linguistic elements.

Ok the thing is I had kind of decided I was not going to do any conlanging because I don't feel like I'm equipped to do a good job of it, like was fully like "I'm just going to do JUST enough that it doesn't fail an immediate sniff test and is more thoughtful than just keysmashing and putting in vowels". And then have kinda been conlanging anyway (though not to a very deep and serious extent. I maybe have like....an above average comprehension of how language construction works via willingness to research, but that's not saying much, also I can never remember the meanings of most linguistic terms like 'frictives' or etc off the top of my head. I'm just kinda raw dogging it with a vague conceptualization of what these things mean)

I do at least have a naming language for Wardi (and more basic rules for other established languages) but the rudimentary forms of it were devised with methods much shakier and less linguistically viable than even the most basic naming language schemes, and I only went back over it LONG after I had already made a bunch of words so there's some inconsistencies with consonant presence and usage. (This can at least be justified because it IS a language that would have a lot of loanwords and would be heavily influenced by other language groups- Burri being by far the most significant, Highland-Finnic and Yuroma-Lowlands also being large contributors)

The 'method' I used was:

-Skip basic construction elements and fully move into devising necessary name words, with at least a Vibe of what consonants are going to be common and how pronunciation works -Identify some roots out of the established words and their meanings. Establish an ongoing glossary of known roots/words. -Construct new words based in root words, or as obvious extensions/variants of established words. -Get really involved in how the literal meanings of some words might not translate properly to english, mostly use this to produce a glossary of in-universe slang. -Realize that I probably should have at least some very basic internal consistency at this point. -Google search tutorials on writing a naming language. -Reverse engineer a naming language out of established words, and ascribe all remaining inconsistencies to being loanwords or just the mysteries of life or whatever.

I do at least have some strongly established pronunciation rules and a sense of broad regional dialect/accents.

-'ai' words are almost always pronounced with a long 'aye' sound.

-There is no 'Z' or 'X' sound, a Wardi speaker pronouncing 'zebra' would go for 'tsee-brah', and would attempt 'xylophone' as 'ssye-lohp-hon'

-'V' sounds are nearly absent and occur only in loanwords, and tend to be pronounced with a 'W' sound. 'Virsum' is a Highland word (pronounced 'veer-soom') denoting ancestry, a Wardi speaker would go 'weer-sum'.

-'Ch' spellings almost always imply a soft 'chuh' sound when appearing after an E, I, or O (pelatoche= pel-ah-toh-chey), but a hard 'kh' sound after an A or U (odomache= oh-doh-mah-khe). When at the start of a word, it's usually a soft 'ch' unless followed by an 'i' sound (chin (dog) is pronounced with a hard K 'khiin', cholem (salt) is pronounced with a soft Ch 'cho-lehm')

-Western Wardin has strong Burri cultural and linguistic influence, and a distinct accent- one of the most pronounced differences is use of the ñ sound in 'nn' words. The western city of Ephennos is pronounced 'ey-fey-nyos' by most residents, the southeastern city of Erubinnos is pronounced 'eh-roo-been-nos' by most residents. Palo's surname 'Apolynnon' is pronounced 'A-puh-lee-nyon' in the Burri and western Wardi dialects (which is the 'proper' pronunciation, given that it's a Kos name), but will generally be spoken as 'Ah-poh-leen-non' in the south and east.

-R's are rolled in Highland-Finnic words. Rolling R's is common in far northern rural Wardi dialects but no others. Most urban Wardi speakers consider rolling R's sort of a hick thing, and often think it sounds stupid or at least uneducated. (Brakul's name should be pronounced with a brief rolled 'r', short 'ah' and long 'uul', but is generally being pronounced by his south-southeastern compatriots with a long unrolled 'Brah' sound).

Anyway not really a sturdy construction that will hold up to the scrutiny of someone well equipped for linguistics but not pure bullshit either.

[group-50]

Understanding the Inflection Point in Business Growth

Every business faces an Inflection Point at some stage—when growth strains existing systems, processes, and people. This critical moment usually occurs at revenue milestones like $10M, $25M, $50M, and beyond. It's a time when strategic alignment, customer service, and operational efficiency are tested.

Recognizing an inflection point is key to overcoming it. It’s about identifying strategic and operational gaps and repositioning your business for the next phase of growth. Whether it's refining your organizational structure, technology, or business model, making the right moves at this stage can lead to doubling your success.

Is your business at an Inflection Point? Let’s talk about how to navigate it successfully!

[riisume]

My morning routine for the past month or so has just been wake up, feed the dog, put away cleaned dishes, maybe eat breakfast, and rewatch ENA episodes while I do all that—

I love waking up to see and hear one of my wives aughigjajekr (deranged)

What a joyous time to be alive! /gen

[orchidego]

Doing another veep rewatch with my sister. People (who don’t seem to know me that well) don’t understand why I have this thing with a(n outdated) show that is literally about extracting the most mean-spirited versions of people and putting them in situations, but I basically think about it nonstop because of how they massacred the perfect equilibrium of Dan x Amy.

Seasons 1-4, perfect. Season 5, my heart in my stomach. Season 6, grinning and bearing. Season 7, I’m screaming at the television like HE WOULDN’T DO THAT. IT’S NOT IN CHARACTER. If you’re going to tank a ship I need it to be written in a way that makes sense to me (as in, I would have accepted the bad ending wholeheartedly if it made sense within the premises of the characters that were presented to us and felt earned)(you can’t give me excellent codependent functional dysfunction and then do. That)

[therealbeachfox]

The Magnus Protocols - Episode 23

It really is a shame that Sam and Celia bailed before that breakdown in the break room. I have no doubt that Celia would be fascinated to hear about this creature with too many eyes and a tape recorder. Probably would’ve cut out at least eight episodes of cross talk and miscommunications too.

[rustchild]

.

[mariacallous]

theron's former coworker hitting on his wife...mess, I love it

"Not this again." But also, girl, not very surprising.

if there's a flirt option, I will take advantage of it, especially with balkar