Tell me about the frig pirates
OKAY FIRST OF ALL. they're all gay. that shouldn't need to be explicit but i need you to understand that. now i don't want to rehash any points so summary: metal is an extreme rarity bc working it is so dangerous for frogs that only certain toads can be in those heats without dying, being a frog is dangerous but the most reliable and effective weaponry are often metal, creating a society that relies heavily on private militias and gangs to keep them safe from predators, with the wealthiest frogs controlling the flow of weapons and who can access them, often fueling intergang warfare to stop the different groups from targeting them. frogs live in pretty isolated little cities along the lake coast with ships that go in between. that's were the pirates will come in obviously.
the metal scarcity is also a false scarcity bc while It Definitely Is Scarce, there are available replacements for it it's just a matter of everyone believing that That's The Best Weapons, made worse by the fact that treating and keeping metal good for the pond frogs is super hard.
but yeah in main story, protag is a defeatist revolutionary, who's particular group believes that there is no saving their civilisation and the best thing to do is just take Those Who Understands That and find somewhere else to make their own perfect society, and protag joins the pirate ship with the purpose of slowly converting them to the cause and to get use of their ship and experience as sailors.
BUT RECENTLY i've been looking at spin-off about the land bases frogs, focusing on highwaymen and smugglers. the protag of this one is called Muckle!! muckle grew up as the rabbithand (stable hand) of a inn that harboured a highwaymen gang and fully romantisised and believes in the stories of glory and want it for themself, but by the time they're alive highwaymen are already in decline, safer roads, increases security, and the invention of frog banks all turning most highwaymen into smugglers as it's no longer lucrative. but that's not glamourous enough for muckle so they decide to tame a crow, a super dangerous feat for a small frog, but they do manage it, only just, but in their first raid they get shot at and the noise causes the crow to startle and run off carrying muckle across the forest to a part of the woods muckle doesn't recognise. on the return journey, muckle will have to learn that adaption to preserve the status quo without considering whether the status quo is worth preserving and that only inacting change for person vanity is fundamentally useless. i love themes.
