Seeker's Abode

Personal blog run by Seeker; Notifications from the RP blog perpetualxfire, as this is a side blog. Primarily posts Red vs Blue related content, but content is prone to occasional variation.

[jomeimei421]

21 years of RVB!!!! Thank you for everything, and so long! ❤️💙

[seekerwing4]

I wanna send smth in to the Delta blog but I am unsure if that blog is mutuals only or not

I have never personally believed in the concept of mutuals only, my friend; I find it's just another wall of needless social etiquette to dance around and causes more frustration than it stops and heads to isolation and people feeling bad when others are scared or nervous to interact.

So go for it!

[seekerwing4]

Is the Delta blog still active?

I'm always around on all of my rp blogs, lurking, aha, so if you wanted to send me a thing I'd absolutely reply! Just not much of an instigator these days (lot of stuff going on irl).

for those who don't know, I have a delta side blog @humanxcreated; it just doesn't see a lot of use because I tend to not advertise it that heavily.

[seekerwing4]

You have slowly roused me from years long slumber my good person

[seekerwing4]

Nobody Asked for this, but:

One thing I've learned from several of the job/volunteer positions I've had

Girl Scouts

Equestrian Center: A lot of things, really - I was there for four years (all through High School). Don't be afraid to refer to somebody who has more expertise on a subject, it's okay to ask for help from other regions of the barn (or, in terms of a workplace, other departments)... Also! Horses (like any animal, really) have a LOT of personality. Some are MAJOR drama beans, and some are Not Afraid to steal your shoes, but might just be terrified of mailboxes. And birds. And unbroken hay bales. And gates while they're being opened. And buckets. And-

Archery Instructor: Small children can be given weapons, but your best bet is to prove to them that you're a better shot first- Okay, no, I'm (mostly) joking, but in reality - for the love of god, wear sunblock, and more importantly, set boundaries! If somebody is making you feel unsafe (of any age!!!) speak up, and make adjustments. I once had to send a whole troop home because they were playing hunger games (before they had arrows, fortunately) and refused to listen to safety instructions. If you can't even understand (after it's explained to you!!) that it's bad for the bow to release the string with no arrow cocked, or that you should never point a weapon, loaded or not, at somebody else, then you shouldn't be handling it.

UN Delegate for WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) to the 56th Commission on the Status of Women (long title but it's hard to explain this one;;;): Lost my voice because I was sick right before this trip, so somebody else had to give the speech I helped write, but that's okay, because I still learned a lot. I think my favorite lesson is that games can be a universal language; there were plenty of WAGGGS reps there (we were all 16-18) who didn't speak a lick of English, but by the end of the week we all had basic games we were playing in our downtime, and even had some rudimentary 'conversations' (non-verbal) about our homes. You just need a mutual effort and desire to try. Also: Take a sketch book and/or notepad everywhere. Pictures really are worth a thousand words.

Church Youth Group (I fall into that "I'm not religious but my mom wanted me to at least try" crowd, but I also believe we can take lessons from anything;)

Hurricane Katrina Cleanup in New Orleans: Even several years after the hurricane, several parts of the city were still recovering. The city sure fixed up the tourist areas fast, but a lot of residents were still struggling. I think it took a while for these lessons to sink in, honestly, but the first one was to respect that people from different backgrounds would naturally have different skillsets. It boggled my mind that the group I was paired with to help with yard work for elderly folk who didn't have their tools/support network anymore didn't know how to use a weed-eater (weed whacker? I swear, everybody calls these something different), but they were from inner city New York, and as I learned from my UN Delegation (above), living in such a massive urban landscape is likely to limit the opportunities one has to learn yard work, which to a Kansas Girl like me is wild. After that was mostly a harsh lesson on how easy it is to destroy a community and just how deep the class divide in the states runs; it had been years, and these communities were still recovering.

I have a lot more to say about my experiences in the youth group (haha we were less than an hour from w.estboro b.aptist and actively protested by them, that was an experience), but they aren't all relevant to this post so we're going to move on.

Actual Work Experience

Hotel: Learn how to spot an abusive work environment, and learn how to get out of it. Also! How to fold a fitted sheet.

Big Chain Department Store: Learn how to spot an abusive work environment 2: Electric Boogaloo - also, people will rarely hand opportunities to you. You have to seek them out, ask about them, and understand the process. You can be the best candidate for a promotion, for example, but if you don't know how to get it, you won't. I quit because they promoted a toxic person to manage my area and was asked why I didn't apply;;; Ma'am, this is my second ever job, nobody told me I have to apply for promotions, I just kinda thought they happened.

UPS (Can't really hide this one): God is it nice to not work with customers. I loaded the trucks - early morning shifts. This is the first job I ever worked with an active union, and it was cool to see how unions actually operate in a nation with such intense anti-union propaganda out there. Just like the previous job, this one really sent home that you have to learn your position and your rights. This was also my first experience with worker's comp!!! Boy was that fun!!!

Local BBQ Restaurant: Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you work or what value you bring, you'll be overlooked for raises and promotions until they notice you aren't doing it anymore. Then suddenly it's all about how important you are to them and how they'd love to see you stay!!! If a place values you, they'll show it; don't let them talk you into sticking around if they've got you to the point that you're leaving, the cycle will just start over again.

Current Job: Don't let customers push you around if you can help it, and if your boss tells you to suck it up and deal with abusive customers, you have a shit boss. You are providing a service. I'm lucky to be in a position where if somebody is too toxic, I can minimize my role with them and make them deal with the counter-intuitive automatic services, but it's taken a long time to learn what boundaries I can set, and how to set expectations with the people around me.

[seekerwing4]

If You Dislike A Character...

   Don’t post about it in that character’s tags maybe???

You use a tag to get people to see something. The only thing you accomplish when you post hate in a tag is telling everybody who’s looking at that tag (aka the people who like that thing) that you hate it.

[seekerwing4]

 Damn, ya’ll’re really looking through my headcanons and canon observations lately; I’m still around, if anybody wants to ask questions or engage - this is just a side blog to my RP blog (because yes, the RvB RPC is still around, it’s just small and quiet and most of us are quite shy) so it doesn’t get a lot of posts. But I am here! <3

[mythicalcoolkid]

Asexuality is weird because you’ll be 12 going “wow why are people my age concerned about sex we’re just kids” and then you’re 16 going “wow why are people my age concerned about sex we’re just kids” and then you’re an adult suddenly realizing that other people are attracted to people and want to have sex with them and that’s the normal thing at that age and you’re like oh maybe it’s me

[seekerwing4]

 Never in my life will I be this lucky again. This is my peak.

[robotnuts]

just saying that if burnie had said that he envisioned carolina as non lethal and thats why one of her weapons was a stun baton and all of seasons 9 and 10 show her fighting against like, actual threats, then she probably would have been upset at tex for murdering someone who’s literally the equivalent of a random guy on the street if we’re being honest

[saichic]

The next controversial statement I’m going to make is that OC blogs have to work ten times harder to be recognized as Anything by the community and that most canons don’t have to try half as hard by comparison (while still getting double the recognition that most OCs do), and therefore some canon blogs? Are just worse.

[texas-hates-taxes-too]

I really want to know what she was planning on talking to Carolina about....

[texas-hates-taxes-too]

Anyone got any ideas? Headcanons?

[seekerwing4]

Hi! I don’t pop up a lot in the community, aha, but I’ve been following the Carolina dynamic since day one, and let me tell you the dynamic between Carolina and Tex is a fascinating one to actually delve into.

So RT actually originally intended for Tex’s side of their relationship to be almost maternal (without Tex necessarily knowing why) and you can kind of see that if you watch the behind the scenes stuff for season 10, so it’s very likely that the original intent of Tex coming to check on Carolina in this specific scene is out of legitimate goodwill.

Even if RT’s original intent in writing Tex’s side of the Tex/Lina dynamic didn’t come through as well as it could have, we can tell by watching Tex that she legitimately respects Carolina’s skill (but won’t let Carolina walk on her) and, during the break in, it’s clear that Tex’s goal was always to get Carolina on her side - something that Carolina would never abide, for reasons that I personally believe are only tangentially related to Tex. (From Carolina’s perspective, I’ve always written it personally so that Tex is more a symptom of a problem rather than the problem itself; that’s my personal take though, and I know a lot of people don’t agree.)

So I genuinely believe that Tex was honest to god there to see if Carolina handled implantation well. This is from episode title New and Improved, right before Three’s a Crowd (I could use episode numbers as landmarks but the titles just say so much more), so it’s RIGHT before Lina’s implantation, in theory. But when Tex says that she hopes the double AI thing works out for Lina, I think she’s being completely genuine. It’s a bold move, and Tex can respect that.

The important thing to remember about the Tex/Lina rivalry is that it’s entirely one-sided; Tex never seemed to resent Carolina - if anything she probably thought Carolina’s attitude could use a little adjustment. It makes me wonder if, when she told Alpha (and Epsilon subsequently apparently got the memories of her telling Alpha? I’m a little fuzzy on that, honestly) that she would have done anything to save Carolina, I always wonder if Tex was talking about the double implantation rather than the Meta, aha.

Anyway, I know I’m not really good at getting ideas out in a cohesive manner, but there’s that!

EDIT: I should note that it is in this scene, if I recall correctly, that Tex finds the CT data, so this can’t be Tex’s first attempt to recruit Carolina to her side - I did consider that possibility first, but the timeline just doesn’t work out.

[septembercfawkes]

Creating Fictional Languages (Conlangs)

I wish I could say I’m an amazing linguist and could give you my take on creating languages for fiction, but I’m not and I can’t.

So seems kind of strange I’m doing this post, right?

Well, recently I spent a good deal of time researching how to actually make a constructed language (the term for a constructed language is “conlang,” by the way), so I could create one for a manuscript. It was easier than I was expecting (and yet more complex than I was expecting at the same time), and super fascinating! So I wanted to do a recap/review of my experience for anyone else out there looking to do this from scratch. If I can do it, chances are so can you! (For the record, I don’t speak any other languages.)

I used a couple of resources, but I found this guide to be my favorite.

As Always, Start with the Basics

The idea of creating a language can seem really daunting, especially when you look at conlangs like Tolkien’s Elvish or Star Trek’s Klingon–which are essentially full “complete” languages. But like just about everything, you don’t need to start with a huge complicated language, you need to start with the bare basics, and you know what’s amazing about the basics? Everything else builds off them!

And as an added bonus, for books, you don’t actually need a complete language, you just need to give the impression of one. (However, if you are the type of person who really gets into this, you might have so much fun that you don’t stop and that’s cool!)

At this point, some of you may be wondering if it’s really necessary to even create a language–that depends on the project, the effect you want, and your personal opinion. Because I want to expand my conlang to other projects, I decided to create one–even if I only needed 4 - 6 sentences for my current WIP. 😂🙈

The Very Basics

If you’re like me, when you think of creating a language, you think of coming up with words and sentences. But guess what? Those aren’t the very basics! Sounds are.

So if you are going to create a language from scratch, it will go in this order:

Sounds –> Syllables –> Words –> Sentences

Roughly. You might have already made up a few words, and that’s okay. You can break what you have down to syllables and sounds, and when you identify those, build from there.

Selecting Sounds

Each of the three sources I used (including a linguist briefly), said to start with sound. If you aren’t really sure how to do that, I’ll get you going in this section.

So, there is this thing called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and it includes every sound of every language (even has clicks!). If you’ve looked up words in the dictionary, you’ve probably noticed symbols like this:

That’s how to pronounce the word using IPA symbols.

You can go to InternationalPhoneticAlphabet.org and click on the symbols to hear the sounds. The chart is also organized based on where in the mouth (and how) a sound is made.

But if you want to give the impression of a real language, you shouldn’t just jump in and pick a bunch randomly, because there are natural reasons certain sounds occur together and others don’t.

You think I know all the ins-and-outs of those rules? No way! But this video will help guide you.

Some of the common sounds in languages include: p, t, k, s, h, m, n

Some sounds are voiced, some are not (compare how you say the “p” sound with the “b” sound–they are essentially the same, but “b” requires your vocal chords). If a language has the voiced version of an obstruent consonant (ex. “b”), it will also have the voiceless version (“p”), but not necessarily vice versa. Most languages have at least one nasal (such as “m” or “n”) and one (what’s called) liquid (such as “r,” “l,” or “w”)

Most languages have five vowels, but every language has at least two.

Most languages have 20-30 sounds. But if you want a distinct language with more “character,” it might be smart to go with fewer.

Making Syllables

I thought I had a good understanding of what a syllable was. After all, I remember clapping words out like “ap-ple” and “bas-ket-ball” when I was in elementary school. And as a native English speaker, that was good enough for me.

What I didn’t know was that in other languages, there are actual rules for syllables!

That’s when I realized my understanding of syllables was rather narrow.

But don’t worry, it’s still not too crazy.

You can handle it.

In general, a syllable is made up of these components: the onset, the nucleus (hey, bet you didn’t know we had sciency terms), and the coda.

So in the syllable “bas” (for “basketball”), “b” is the onset, “a” is the nucleus, and “s” is the coda. Bas. Ket. The “k” is the onset, “e” is the nucleus, and “t” is the coda.

Every syllable has a nucleus (almost always a vowel), but not every syllable has an onset or a coda (for example “ap” in “apple” doesn’t have an onset, and the “za” in “pizza” doesn’t have a coda).

Some languages have rules for codas.

Hawaiian is what’s called an “open syllable” language. That means none of their syllables have a coda. They all end on the vowel. Have you noticed? Ho-no-lu-lu. A-lo-ha. O-ha-na.

Other languages have codas, but only certain sounds can be a coda.

Mandarin has set codas. Only “n,” “ng,” and “r” can be codas. So every Mandarin syllable will end in “n,” “ng,” “r,” or a vowel (nucleus) as an open syllable.

Keep reading

[jaywrites101]

You, sir, are my spirit animal.

[halfbloodlycan]

Omg who was looking for conlang stuff yesterday??? @pen-and-sword-writing ??? I’m sorry, I forget.

[caitlin-elias]

Not me, but I’m happy to repost for someone else!

[not-so-serious-wastebasket]

As some one who's been in the rvb fandom for years, I still have no clue who halo is

[seekerwing4]

I am honestly embarassed to admit that this took four hours--

[motherofdragonseeker]

Mom’s Corn Bread

My mom, Peggy Ann Koehler Muse, has made this corn bread ever since I can remember. She says she originally got it off the corn meal container. This recipe has no sugar in it, but has several variations as well. Mom usually made in either a 9 inch round or square cake pan, whichever she had on hand. You could also use an iron skillet or other similarly sized pan. She says Grandma Hartle liked it fried in a pan on top of the stove, or fried corn bread. Kind of like a pancake.

1 c corn meal

1 c flour

3 t baking powder

½ t salt, or to taste

1 egg

¼ c oil or less

1 c milk or less

Mix all the dry ingredients first. Mix in egg and oil. Add just enough milk to make it pour, no more than a cup. Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil in the bottom of the pan, then pour in the mixture on top. Bake at 400 for about 20+ minutes. Check to see if it’s done the same way you check a cake (toothpick/knife blade inserted in the middle comes out clean when done).

Variations

Hushpuppies - add some chopped onions and less milk. The batter needs to be thicker for deep frying.

Sweet - add 1/8 - ¼ c sugar or honey

Corny - sub powdered milk (enough to make 1 c milk) and creamed corn instead of the milk

Corn bread pancakes - make just like pancakes. May want to add more liquid for a thinner batter.

Chili pie - at least 3-4 c leftover chili in a baking dish. Spoon corn bread mixture over the top. Do not stir in. Do not spread. It’ll do it’s own spreading as it bakes. Bake at 400 for 20+ minutes, until corn bread is done.

[motherofdragonseeker]

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This casserole is inspired by by Grandma Lillian Verna Grace Hartle Koehler Seabaugh. She would make her version of this casserole for just about every family dinner I remember and we all loved it! I began making it for my family and now they want the recipe, so here goes!

1 cooked chicken or 4 cooked chicken breasts, meat only

1 lb frozen broccoli

2 10-oz cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 lb grated cheese, fiesta blend

1 small onion, chopped

garlic powder

2-3 c white rice, cooked

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cut chicken into pieces approximately 1 inch in size. Add to a large bowl. Carmelize chopped onion in a skillet and add to chicken in large bowl. Add broccoli, condensed soup, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir together all ingredients in large bowl. Add in cheese, reserving about ½ cup to sprinkle on top, if desired. Finally, add cooked rice and stir until well mixed. Add all to a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until middle is heated. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Variations:

Chicken: I will often purchase a rotisserie chicken and use its meat. If cooking from raw, meat can be boiled or roasted.

Broccoli: Raw broccoli is acceptable. If using raw, may want to steam or blanch before adding.

Rice: I often cook rice substituting about ½ the water with chicken broth. It improves the flavor of the dish. Rice can also be added to stretch. Also, brown rice works just as well.

Cheese: Any preferred cheese or other cheese on hand may be used, even Velveeta.