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Worldbuilding Wednesday #10: Funzie Frogo
🕑 Added 2017-03-29 20:59:18 +0000 UTC I went through like, five drafts describing the Floran internet before hitting a wall and realizing it really wasn't that interesting a topic once you get all the communications history out of the way.They have about the same chaotic mess of an internet we have, but there's a lot more animal puns, I guess.
Something that actually is interesting: TV SHOWS
Funzie Frogo is an Anuran cartoon that became a worldwide hit and has been running for half a decade. It's popular with children for its exciting visuals and semi-educational nature, and with adults for its cheeky humor and strong sense of continuity. Despite its focus on amphibian cultures, it's fictionalized setting and general plots have made it relatable for a variety of species, and later seasons have made an effort to appeal to a more global fanbase.
The series takes place in the land of Phibeos, comprised entirely of free-floating islands and plantlife on a giant lake. Magic is a dwindling art in this world, with very few witches and mages left to practice it. Our hero, Frogo, stumbles across a charmed book that can teach ancient magical secrets, but only to those pure of heart. His father, Sal, is cursed when he attempts to profit from the book's magic, "granting his wish" by turning him into a living staff with mighty power, immobile and incapable of using any of it himself. He'll only transform back when his magic is selflessly used to make 1000 people happy.
Seasons 1 and 2 follow Frogo's journey to spread happiness in order to break the curse, as he and his companions slowly become caught up in a dangerous plot to conquer Phibeos by the mysterious Salamander Prince. Each episode usually focuses on a new character's dilemma, often solved by deciphering a convenient new spell from the book, but some are more plot-related than others.
Frogo is joined by Ribbitina, the most skilled "Charmaster" in the land (and by far the most popular character in the show), who wants to mentor Frogo's magic in order to reverse a disastrous youth charm she cast on herself, and Della, a clever but cowardly axolotl who is very interested in compiling magical information of all kinds.
Opposing them are the evil salamander sorceress Tigris, and the Prince's Guard, who are determined to get their hands on Frogo's book by any means. At the end of season one, after running off with the book, Della undergoes a metamorphosis and it's tragically revealed that his friendship was a ploy and he was the Salamander Prince all along, as he rises to power and becomes King.
Season two replaces Della's place in the trio dynamic with Libbius, a sickly old potion maker whose concoctions always have some kind of unfortunate but subtle flaw to them. It also sees Frogo's temporary success at restoring Ribbitina's original age and power, although she can only exist in short bursts before reverting back to tadpoledom. The dramatic storming of the Salamander King's castle and the great magical duel that ends with Sal's heroic sacrifice to seal the King away is considered the emotional high point of the series as a whole.
Season three is the season where Ribbitina returns to normal but Frogo is left as a tadpole instead through extremely contrived means. It's the bad season. We don't talk about season three.
Season four is the current season and is a return to the episodic nature of the first season, with Frogo and friends venturing into greater territories and learning more about magic in different cultures loosely based on real world locations as they try to find a way to bring his father back from the Slipsealed Zone.
Boris' favorite character is Ribbitina, but his "waifu" is a one-shot unnamed pig lady who shows up in S4E12: Runt Of The Litterer.
Next week's update will be about the mechanics of teleportation.
