Author: Amelia Whitaker

Frogbloginning (Frog-blog-beginning) 

The end of the school year is just around the corner, and thus, this is the last of my blog posts for the year. Of course I have to send this off with a final frog blog! I hope you enjoy these final friends. (Or at least final until next year.)

Emei Moustache Toad (Leptobrachium boringii)

(Source)

CHOCOLATE CHIP MOUSTACHE FROGS. (Every toad is a frog, but not every frog is a toad.) How could you not love these guys. They look so adorable with their fancy spiky faces and cat-like eyes. It’s actually only the males that grow these moustache spikes, and they do so during breeding season. They use their moustaches to battle! That’s right, I’m not calling them spikes just because they look like it- they’re actually spikes. Tough and stabby spikes. They’re absolutely wonderful!

Wallace’s Flying Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus)

(Source)

I am SO SUPRISED that I haven’t shown off these amazing guys yet! Flying frogs! Flying frogs! They sound super duper cool, and they look amazing! I really love the patterns on their webbing- it’s so distinctive. But, ahem, as one might expect, these frogs don’t actually fly like birds or bugs. Launching themselves from the trees they live in, Wallace’s Flying Frogs are able to glide up to 50ft to the forest floor. Incredible.

Mutable Rain Frog (Pristimantis mutabilis)

(Source) (Source)

Relatively, this frog was actually discovered somewhat recently in 2009. The mutable rain frog is a super cool frog that is able to change the texture/shape of its skin to match its surroundings. It reminds me a bit of an octopus because of it! And, if that somehow wasn’t cool enough, the original specimen was named “Punk Rocker” by the scientists who discovered it. A fittingly awesome name for an awesome frog.

Frogblogending (Frog-blog-ending) 

That’s it for now, but don’t forget that there are plenty of frogs to discover! May the frogs be plentiful and eternal, and goodbye!

The universe has aligned for me to tell you all about random things I have perceived. (It’s time to talk about moments again.)

I don’t consider myself a superstitious person, but that is stabbed in the foot by the fact I tend to avoid bad superstitions if a person I’m with does. Sometimes it still comes to mind, though- like the morning of the day I’m writing this, where I saw a dead butterfly in the road. The dark asphalt was criss-crossed with an absurd amount of skid marks I had never noticed before, and in the midst of it, laying on its side, was the corpse of a tiger swallowtail. The wind slowly carried it across the ground, stopping and starting, but the swallowtail never flew. In that moment my brain remarked something about a bad omen, but the most I felt was sadness. The sight was remarkable in a way I wish it wasn’t.

Yet, on another, happier note taking place the same day, my window has once again allowed me to see an adorable animal. There’s been a good few times I’ve found turtles (safely) around my house. You can tell they’re turtles and not tortoises because of their claw structure, by the way! Turtles swim in water, so they have flatter, webbed feet. Tortoises, meanwhile, don’t swim, so their feet are much more rounded, bulky, and not webbed. BUT BACK ON TRACK. The turtles I find hide away in their shells, because, they’re turtles, of course they do, I’m a big scary thing that’s making weird cooing noises. However, this time was different. Through my window I was able to see a turtle walking around my back lawn, chomping on grass and leaves littering the ground. I squealed with utter joy. They move fast for a turtle when they’re unbothered, and their scaly skin bunches up around the joints. It’s beak was so shaped, too… I’m pretty sure it was even a turtle I had seen before, due to comparing the patterns on the shell with past pictures.

I wondered if instead of the geese we had last year, this year we would have a turtle frequenting the lake. Last year there was a pair of two geese that stayed throughout the seasons. I never got close due to stories, and thus, they remained peaceful. They would take turns- one would watch for danger, and one would eat. As time progressed, they had little gosling babies. They were absolutely adorable little brown-yellow fuzzballs. I got to watch them peck around in my back yard and grow into adults. It was really interesting to see them in their teenage years. They were, quite literally, just full grown geese but smaller. They had the same coloration and shape.

I am coming in last minute with this topic today, which is just about writing in general. Well, more specifically, how my writing has changed over time. I recently freed an old, dusty story from the basement of drafts, and that is what sparked this. I don’t think I want it to be my main focus for future projects, but the difference between when it began and when I resurrected it is very eye opening for me.

Originally, I had left the story years back due to how messy its plot and world was. There was a good premise and neat atmosphere, but I never got around to truly developing the society. Plus, the character goals were really odd, and I wasn’t incorporating some cool ideas right. Eventually I drifted away from that world, and whenever I thought about it again, I knew I wasn’t going to revive it. Not in a sad way; I just wasn’t interested in fixing it up when I had other things I wanted to work on more. 

But then, I had an assignment I was struggling to complete. That assignment lead to me thinking of the story, and, in need of at least something on paper, I got to writing. I did not remember anything super in depth, but I remembered the premise. Because I only remembered the premise, and because of how my skills have grown, I found myself enjoying the story much more. Now it actually felt coherent, and the changes my mind made to fill in blank memories made the plot much more interesting to my  eyes now. Plus, I’ve grown a lot more adept at worldbuilding.

Looking back at notes on what the plot used to be doesn’t make me embarrass me, but I actually find it really interesting. “Oh, man, you didn’t focus on that idea more?” “Wait, this was never actually supposed to happen?!” It’s given me a closer look at just how much I’ve grown. I still have a lot more growing to do.

Maybe one day I’ll revive other basement stories just for fun, but I think I’m good for now.

As I write this I am FOAMING AT THE MOUTH. Houseki no Kuni has officially ended today, April 25th, 2024, and though i haven’t read it due to availability things, the hype is STILL THERE. I am screeching. I am rolling. I am a frog. Man. To honor this occasion, and also because I just want to write about Houseki no Kuni again, I’m going to share SOME of my favorite panels from volume 12, which were the last chapters up until today. With that said:

This blog post DOES INDEED CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS for the Houseki no Kuni manga, also known as Land of the Lustrous.

Now, onto the panels! I was only able to get some pictures because I was on a time limit, plus there’s a lot of moments I love, so no ranking today! These are in no specific order.

THIS ENTIRE SCENE 

Cinnabar is such an interesting character to me, and they have so many moments that are stuck in my brain. This, this moment, though- this has to be one of my top favorite. Cinnabar’s blank expression as they agree with Phos’ snide commentary, not backing down even though they believe what Phos says. The fact that Phos’ dialogue is literally partly them voicing their own views on themself, with how others behaved around them before they went to the moon. It’s an amazing look into both Cinnabar and Phos’ character, and it does the story incredibly scrumptious justice. Also, the mercury-phos Cinnabar crushes between their palm is a stinging callback to near the beginning, when they preformed the same action (minus the crushing) to say they weren’t completely giving up on Phos yet.

BRO. BRO THE ART. BEAUTIFUL.

DO I EVEN NEED TO ELABORATE. The clashing shapes, the way Phos’ spikes stretch towards Cinnabar, the way Cinnabar’s mercury lash out at Phos, the impeccable shiny texture of both substances, the emphasis on the battle, the varying character in each stance. Haruko Ichikawa is a master of detail, and this scene DELIVERS.

Stares

The signature symmetry is back at it again, and GRHRHRHR. This moment is so pivotal to the plot, and the construction of the scene is so chompable. I especially love how you can make out different, distinct characters in the crowded clouds, and Phos’ people being centralized despite their lower population. I can’t imagine how Phos must have felt in this moment. 

Bonus!

The cover of the volume itself. Compared to all previous volumes, this cover is very desolate and empty, which adds a very tasty contrast. The contrast isn’t for no reason, either: the emptiness and somber tone is likely due to the story within. It wouldn’t be fitting for the cover to be colorful and full when the main character is isolated and suffering.

While I do not know how adept I am at describing my processes, I figure it’s better to try than not, because the topic for this post is writing description! Writing description is one of my favorite things to do in writing. Kind of. There’s a lot of things I like about writing.

First of all, this is basic knowledge, but it’s important you use all kinds of senses in description. Not only does it improve your work, but it also includes people who may not have certain senses, such as smell, sight, sound, etc. While writing this I thought, “Well, there’s some exceptions, like when someone screams, what else can you do but say they scream?” But then I realized I was literally ignoring one of my favorite things to do, which is translating senses into different senses. I feel the best way to describe this is with some examples.

“The choked shriek crashes into you like a wave, drenching your psyche in icy terror that sends prickles across your skin.”

“The deep red and magenta hues of the dress brought to mind the feeling of smooth gemstones.”

“The hot cocoa smelt like soft, cozy moments by the fireplace.”

Of course, these have to make sense, but also I’m the type of person that feels these things sometimes. Birds chirping being popping bubbles of colors sounds like it makes sense to me. An emotion feeling mustard yellow makes sense to me. For someone who doesn’t feel these things, I’d imagine they’d have to draw off of researching symbolisms and thinking about association. Ironically I struggle on how to describe crafting this method. I ask, “Why does X feel like X?” Does a bite feel like a kiss because the character is so used to being bitten? Does the personality of someone feel minty green because they’re calm? Things like that.

There are a bunch of more tips I can think of, but I don’t want to make this blog too long. Hope this mini talk helped!

My first thought for this post was to write about the experience of taking a nap on a damp picnic table. 

My second thought for this post was, “Is that enough?”

My third thought for this post was everything cluttered inside my brain.

As I sit at this keyboard, my skull feels like a bog of allergies and stuffiness, yet my heart beats with the urge to create so fiercely that I feel my chest melting. My fingers feel somewhat electric at the bone, and I want to write everything. I do not yearn for coherence. I want to feel the worn plastic of the keyboard bend beneath my fingertips as I write everything without a care. I want to break into sprawling prose about the raindrops pattering onto concrete after a storm, I want to write about the moments of bliss on the picnic table as I heard the world around me, I want to write the orange and textured beat that is playing in the background, I want to write map ideas for a project, I want to write- It would all jump from one topic to the next, thoughts blending together in impulsive dialogue and handmade quotes. It would mention a character’s unamused glare in a spiral of nature descriptors, observing the jumbled vines of words for one reason or another. It would describe how it feels to flex your hands above your head, with the joints stretching and skin pressing into muscles, before detailing the wooden window blinds in front of me and how they might taste. It would go on about the feeling of wiping up dust on the pad of your thumb, then break down into bullet points on worldbuilding and gods. It would wonder if my mind sounds as enthralling as I think it to be, or if I am living in the emotion of writing  too much, and go on a whole page spiel on the undermining of emotions. It would branch into the feeling of a warm embrace through the eyes of another being, then the eyes of a moth begging for the attention of a lantern. It would bubble up with sci fi horror, as wishing for the lantern’s attention is the equivalent of knocking on death’s door, then simmer down as I sternly think about frigidness seeping through the moths exoskeleton. It would leave me with a page of incoordination. It would leave me with a page I would love dearly. Despite it all, it would leave me a page that would make me wonder: 

“Is that enough?”

Hello! Recently, a certain new live action came out, prompting me to instead binge watch the original animated series. There are a lot of thoughts I have on Avatar: The Last Airbender, but for this blog I’ve decided to create a tier list of my favorite creatures from the series!

1. Appa

Of course, the first on this list either has to be Appa or Momo. Though I love both very much, I ended up putting Appa in first place due to everything he does for the group. Aang’s sassy “Why don’t we all get on your back and you can fly us to the north pole?!” quote lives rent free in my head. Appa is also insanely adorable, and I love his character design! He reminds me of one of my dogs, too, in all honesty, and I say that very lovingly.

2. Momo

Momo my beloved! I love this silly little guy and all his iconic moments, plus, his theme rocks. I also love the thought of a bat lemur- the two combined work so well! Animal sidekick characters tend to be glossed over in my mind, but for some reason Momo didn’t fall subject to that. He fit in with the group from his first introduction, and it makes me happy that not all the creatures of the air nation are gone. May his adorable eyes stare into your soul.

3. Bosco

Bosco! I think a big part of why I love him is because he’s a bear. Just a bear, and the show plays off of that. The comedy surrounding him overall is a big part of why he’s on this list, I think. The way the earth king asks Bosco for his opinions and the way everyone treats this wild animal as royalty is ridiculous. Bosco is also very cute in the scenes he has.

 4. Shirshu

If not for the personalities and building of the previously mentioned, shirshus would be at the top of this list. First of all, the design is absolutely baller- I really love the droopy fur, star-nosed mole face, and the simple patterning. The stance of them also gives off such vibes in general- like they’re going to rip your face off. I also love the paralyzing tongue whip and the sheer monstrosity of their sense of smell. Can you imagine moving to the other side of the world after committing a crime, only for some huge, growling animal to burst down your door, knowing what you did? Amazingly terrifying!

5. Koala sheep

I need everyone to see koala sheep. Literally look at them. Look at their smushed faces, big noses, and fluffy ears. Look at their cottony wool. What is there not to love about them, apart from them being part koala and koalas being pretty horrible? Nothing! They’re adorable and act chill even when Aang screams into one like a pillow. I wish these dudes existed in reality.

Frogbloginning (Frog-blog-beginning) 

It is time…

…for a frog blog. It feels like it’s been a good bit since I’ve last written one, and there’s still so many frogs to share! However, before we get into specific frogs, I figured I’d share a fun frog fact! Unlike other animals, frogs can see color in the dark. It’s one thing to have night vision, but being able to see color in extreme darkness is insane! You can read more about it here, which is where I learned this.

Turtle Frog (Myobatrachus gouldii)

(Source)

LOOK AT THAT FACE. THAT SHAPE. An adorable specimen if I’ve ever seen one. As you may have guessed from the face, turtle frogs are a species of burrowing frog! Their methods of digging into soil face forward is what caused them to evolve their unique appearance. They also don’t hop, which I suspect may also be because of the whole burrowing thing. There are more frogs that don’t hop than you’d expect. Also, their main diet is termites!

Indian Bullfrog/Indus Valley Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus)

(Source)

“WHAT IS THAT?!” “Are those the same frog?!”

These are Indian bullfrogs, and the answer is yes! These beautiful babies have different appearances based on their respective sexes and seasons due to sexual dimorphism. When mating season comes around, male Indian bullfrogs adorn glamorous yellow coloration and purple/blue/they can’t decide(if you should live or die) vocal sacs! The yellow reminds of a dirty highlighter, but I say this as a loving basic observation. They look absolutely rad. The females remain the same brownish color all year, but they don’t need to impress- plus their eyes look as if they know all of your sins. These frogs also don’t stop growing their whole lives, and the females are typically larger than the males.

Horned Marsupial Frog (Gastrotheca cornuta)

(Source 1) (Source 2)

Oh boy; these guys are practically on their own level of frog-existence. They also look adorable with their angular little faces and goat shaped eyes! However, the truly amazing thing about these fellas is that they’re the only species of frog with actual, true teeth on its lower jaw. Not fleshy stumps, not almost-teeth-but-lacking-enamel-so-they’re-not-really-teeth, actual teeth. What’s even more is that this species straight up re-evolved said set of lower jaw teeth, kicking Dollo’s law of irreversibility in the face and giving way to discovering how many frogs have evolved, lost, and re-evolved teeth in the past. This isn’t even the end of ride, either. Female horned marsupial frogs carry their eggs in a pouch on their backs, and these eggs hatch as fully-formed frogs. They also don’t hop and make a ‘bop’ noise. I love them. Horribly, they’re endangered due to a myriad of human-related issues and chytridiomycosis disease, which affects frogs worldwide. 

Frogblogending (Frog-blog-ending)

I had a lot of fun writing this post! Then again, It’s hard to not have fun reading about these cool little guys while looking at pictures of them for research. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know the marsupial frog even existed until recently! This was a great opportunity to spend some time learning about it.

Character playlists are exactly what they sound like: song playlists that are themed around characters. I’ve always loved the idea to them, but I struggle to create any myself. When choosing songs to represent my characters, I tend to ping-pong between being extremely nitpicky or looking for a specific vibe, leaving the pickings scarce. A part of me thinks it’s neat it’s so hard for me to find fitting songs, because perhaps that’s a testament to how out there my characters are, but that may be giving myself too much credit. In any case, as of now I have two character playlists- one for a whole group (12 songs) and one for one character (8 songs.) For this blog post, I figured I’d pick some songs from said playlists and talk about them!

Icicles by The Scary Jokes

The first thing that drew me to this song was the cover. Pink? Check. Playful imagery? Check. Scary or surreal imagery? Also check- all of these things line up with a certain pastel puppeteer of mine. Bonus points for the joke theme and violent lyrics, because that’s also right up her alley. I say this in the best way possible, but this song sounds like it would be on a stressed out teenage girl’s playlist for 3:00 am mental breakdowns. That vibe is also extremely fitting; I love it. The overall meaning of this song, at least in my interpretation, is dealing with repressed anger due to trauma, which is another check for the character box. She doesn’t repress her anger too much anymore, but she did so daily in her past.

Terror adhaerens by Yuki Kajiura

I could not create this list without mentioning a track by Yuki Kajiura, especially when it reminds me of a special interest character of mine. Contrary to the cute cover, this song is an embodiment of dread and hopelessness. The string instruments, which is something I always look for when it comes to this character, create such a sharp, creeping melody. When listening to this song, I can perfectly see a gray, blank landscape with foggy clouds and muddy soil. The song also kicks into a desperate tone further in, but desperate in a way that makes me think of gritted teeth and self destruction. Needless to say, it went straight into the character playlist. I do wish there were more fast paced, fuming songs with string instruments, though.

ព្រោះតែអូន (Because of You) by Sinn Sisamouth 

This song is more the source of inspiration than it is a direct character assignment, but it still reminds me of a character. This song is a Khmer oldie themed around love, and the sound immediately caught me. Something about this song is just so… sunset-sunrise sky colored, and it makes me think of sunlight and devotion. Listening to it lead to the creation of a motherly, yet stubborn Khmer woman with orange clothing and sunflower embroidery. She’s grown since her creation, but I definitely think this is a song she would enjoy. The meaning would remind her of her passed husband. (Sorry about that, by the way.) (You’re still not getting him back though.)

End of the Universe by Gooseworx

This is such a wonderfully goofy song, complete with a sense of otherworldly power and imminent doom. Those aspects alone, paired with the fact that this is carnival music, fits so extremely well with my pain-obsessed clown who should not have been given the power to exist outside of reality. Seriously. Who thought that would be a good idea. Oh, wait, I made them. Anyways, moving on, I think another reason this song fits so well is because of how unserious it sounds. You will never see this character take a singular moment seriously, even in the face of the atrocities they commit on a daily basis. The title itself also makes my brain happy, as this character’s story heavily revolves around universes and immortality. They have been at the end of a universe plenty of times, and there is no exit in sight. 

There are so many things about writing that I love, but one of my favorite things is writing characters. Keep in mind that I am a frog that knows how to type, but for this post, I figured I could share some character writing/creation advice! This is not professional advice, but if it works for me, it might work for other people as well.

Where Does One Begin?

Personally, I begin when an idea explodes from nothingness and inserts itself into my brain. I look around at the world, think while listening to music, take note of conversations I like or think would be interesting, think of concepts I want to use somehow, and I grab them. The concepts don’t have to be character concepts- world concepts, interaction concepts, battle concepts, and more all work. They work because in order to refine those concepts, creating a character for them is just natural. Thinking of battle sequences can give you ideas on how characters move, how they hold themselves, their experiences, and personalities. The same goes for interaction concepts. World concepts are harder to create characters for, but I think it’s helpful to think about what you want to explore in that world. Once you figure that out, then you can start building a character/characters who would explore those things.

If you have a concept or thought you want to use, but have nowhere to put it, or you’re stuck building it, etc, do not cast it aside. Write that concept down and mark it. Don’t feel like you have to use that concept immediately. Sometimes I’ll have sudden ideas for concepts that have been on the shelf for months, or I’ll be working on something else and realize an old concept I had would fit perfectly inside it.

Character Notes? I Keep All My Info Inside My Head.

I can almost agree. I sort of do this now, and I used to do it all the time, but then I found out just how amazing the power of notes are. You don’t need to write eloquent paragraphs on character personalities, make diagrams, or any of that stuff if you don’t want to. It gets easier with time, yes, but personally I find copy-pasting or writing down rambles to friends far easier. Ask someone you feel comfortable with if you can rant to them about a concept, then take those rambles and put them into your notes. It’s helped me so much. You can totally go back and edit your notes, too, if you feel like it!

It may also be helpful to put big events / core characteristics you know won’t change / things you for sure want to keep / etc. in bullet points off to the side. That way you can get a quick overview, and you don’t have to rewrite core elements if your character ends up changing. Or if you need to change a core element. In any case, I recommend keeping a separate document full of things you’ve changed, most importantly in early development stages.

I Just Can’t Get Invested In This Character…

(having both bad and good characteristics in characters, even if the character is supposed to be a good guy or bad guy)

Sometimes, with new characters, I have a lot of trouble becoming invested in them. It feels more like I’m looking at a sheet of characteristics, or I’m writing someone I’m entirely disconnected from. What I’ve come to realize is that when that happens, its because the character doesn’t have enough negative or positive traits, at least for me. Adding negative traits to a ‘good guy’ and adding positive traits to a ‘bad guy’ makes them feel so much more lifelike, and therefore easier to connect to. Or maybe it’s that it makes them more interesting, and therefore more fun to write. Either way, it works! Little positive and negative traits can help, but in my opinion, the best stuff is when you go all out. It’s even better when the negative traits effect other people, not just themselves. Here are some examples:

Negative:

• Uncaring towards others, but tries to be caring for (reason). Or just uncaring to one or a few people in particular.
• Often underestimates (or overestimates) people/circumstances/etc. Depending on what you choose, it will have different effects.
• Not breaking the law, but creepy or weird. 
• Extremely critical/judgmental

Positive:

• Family is extremely important to them.
• Funny, charismatic, etc.
• Kind of positive? Thinks they’re doing the right thing, when they’re really not.
• Animal lover (frog lover)

And there are so many more you can create!