Creator questions
What's your name (real or screen, your choice)
I go by BoggedBazzie on AO3, so most people probably know me as that. But you can call me Bastoz, BeeBee, or anything really.
Tell me about yourself, age, where you're from, what you do, anything you want others to know about you, sex, etc.
I'm just a teenager in Asia writing stuff. Nothing more, nothing less lol. Any pronouns are fine, really.
What brought you to the Zootopia fandom?
In February and March 2020, I was getting bored with quarantine. A series of events later, and here I am!
Who is your OC today?
Anton Näätänen.
What animal are they?
Pine Marten. Of the European kind.
What do they look like? Special markings, colorations, etc.
A male pine marten in his mid 40s, Anton is a relatively unremarkable pine marten with the usual coloration. He has a relatively lithe and flexible body for a marten his age. He has round, beady eyes with slight bags, which came with his age.
What inspired you to create them?
Basically, Anton is a jester. Cap, bells, and all. I know that's...weird. I'm telling you that because I was toying with the idea of writing an archetypical wise fool type lad to serve the story and Anton serves as that. And it's a nice exercise of worldbuilding as well, I guess.
What are they like?
As per required for his job, he's quite a friendly and fun guy. A mammal of the arts, he has a variety of ways to entertain his clients, his clients' guests, and bystanders at fairs and markets. Understanding that clowning around professionally is his job, he doesn't limit himself. He's a charming individual who always has a smile on his face.
However, Anton is also a cunning individual capable of long term planning to further his personal interests. Dedicated to the arts and his job, he doesn't treat kindly anything that he deems to be opposing him or his interests.
What's their family life like?
Due to natural causes, his parents have passed away. He has a sister, whom he doesn't talk that often with.
Do they have a love interest?
He had a boyfriend. "Had" being the keyword. :(
Do you have any stories written about them or that they're included in?
Not yet. He'll appear later in my fic soon when the time comes. Because of that, i won't go too deep into the character, and this can provide a sneak peek of what can happen later in my work.
Tell us how you see culture in Zootopia. For example, do all foxes or rabbits have the same culture or is there a difference depending on subspecies or region?
Well, I want every species to be a bit unique in their culture. However, mammals tend to have similarities in culture or religion to other mammal species they coexist with or share a similar ecological niche with. I guess an example from my headcanon would be red foxes and wolves. Both have a distinct culture, but have things in common in their culture and traditions, and both canids practically worship different branches of the same religion.
Ultimate Zootopia question. Are you a WildeHopps shipper or do you prefer them with a different ship?
To Be honest, I don't actually ship them. I like the ship, and I respect those who ship them, but I'm just not interested personally.
For the purpose of the OC interview the setting is the creator's OC is about to be interviewed by my co-owned OC Vicky Chola. A north american grey fox vixen in her mid 20s. They're both in a studio booth with headphones on and microphones to speak into. The interview we did earlier about the creator and their OC is considered a pre conversation between these two before going on the air. Vicky will ask questions based on the answers provided by the creator. Enjoy!
"Welcome everyone to another edition of the Characters of Zootopia show! I'm your host Vicky Chola and joining me today is Anton Näätänen. Thank you for joining me Anton."
"Hei~! Thank you for having me." waltzes in
"That's quite an impressive outfit you're sporting. Any reason you're dressed like, uh, is it a clown?"
"Oh, no particular reason! It's just the uniform they issued me back in Clown Academy." chuckles "We jesters are different than your usual clown, but i'm not offended if you call me a clown. After all, our main job is still entertaining folks."
"So what's the difference between a clown and a jester?"
"Clowns scare kids, we don't. Jokes aside, we're more like fancy medieval larpers compared to your usual entertainers like mimes or clowns. And because of that, we do have a larger set of skills to entertain a more varying audience of people, like singing, dancing, storytelling, and so on."
"So what's your favorite part of being a jester?"
"Ooh, a lot of things~! But I like the simpler stuff, like seeing folks smile and laugh with me... That's when I know I made someone's day a wee bit brighter, and that I'm getting paid."
"How hard is it to find work as a jester?"
"Well…I wouldn't say it's hard. But you need a bit of strategizing. Kinda depends on the season. There's more luck during times of the years where mammals are interested in setting up events, like holidays for example. Sometimes folks want an entertainer, and they'd pick something different. You also have to understand your audience, because being a court jester is a bit of an eccentric role and the only real "demand" for this kind of service comes from a more niche market. A lot of my clients are, interestingly, rich mammals with a sense of eccentricity, and I am a bit used towards that demographic. Shows you that mammals will spend their money on weird stuff when they have lots of it."
"However, most of the time you're just gonna play the town fool and be a street performer. Put on a good act, and that'll hopefully bring in some money."
"Does it provide a comfortable life?"
"Is it comfortable for me? Yes! I enjoy this job, and I make just enough money to live a life I enjoy personally. I don't consider myself a rich lad, but it's enough for me."
"So where are you originally from?"
"Oh, I am from Tundratown. Born there, still live there. My parents came from Howlsinki."
"Have you ever been there?"
"Only once. Went there with my parents when i'm still 12."
"What was the biggest difference you remember?"
"Well, I don't remember much of it. Just that it's very cold and people don't like talking to each other."
"So what part of Zootopia did you grow up in?"
"I was born in Tundratown, but spent my young years at the Canal District. Moved in after my parents got a job there."
"What was it like growing up there?"
"Boring. That's one way to put it. Even the ballet classes there are sad. A lot of unique stuff, of course, but people aren't the most fun there and it kinda got old quickly."
"What would you recommend to anyone who goes to Tundratown for the first time?"
"The food's great! They've got great seafood there, like lamprey milt, fermented shark, and anything salmon. If you've got some lining in your pockets, some fancy places do sell Ossetra caviar. Lumpsucker caviar's pretty common if you're interested."
"Sounds like seafood heaven. So you live in Tundratown but is it your favorite district? And if you could live in a different district which would you choose?"
"To be honest, I'll stay. I like it here. No interest to go anywhere else. I'll be here for the rest of my life… Being lonely, like I always am. Throughout my 4 decades of existence, I've spent a lot entertaining others, yet the only person I can't make happiness with is myself. Again and again, I've been wronged a lot of times, again and again I have to fight tooth and nail to gain what I rightfully deserve… So far, only one person has truly warmed my heart. Yet he's…gone. Perhaps a life in a quiet Tundratown cabin will lead me to the peace this lonely, desperate fool always desires."
"…Ah, sorry. Got lost in the moment haha. It do be really like that. So yeah, hope that answers your question. Tundratown's basically home for me, and i love it! Y'know what they say…home's where the heart is. But for me, home's where the saunas are, hehe!"
"Would you like to talk about him? The one who warmed your heart?"
"There's only one thing that truly blesses me with warmth. Curvy, bright, and hot… A home radiator, of course!" Anton chuckles, silence reigns "…Shit. I am still bad at verbal jokes. Clown boot camp failed me on that one. Do radiators even glow?" Anton pulls out a manual out of nowhere, before quickly discarding it
"Alright, jokes aside… He's but a burning memory now, a vestige of the past. I'd like to keep it that way for the moment."
"Of course. What do you think of the mammals of Zootopia?"
"Well, it's a love-hate relationship. What can I say? As a people, I believe we can do great things. The Zootopian knows there's always room for change and improvement, and as long as people know this and aren't content with the status quo there's always some impetus for change which we'll strive for. However, i also feel like that folks here also love to basically band together into some kind of stupid herd whose sole function is to collectively shit on you."
"May just be biased towards stuff, but that's my 2 cents. This also extends to preds to a degree. But we lack cohesiveness as a united group for some reason, maybe because we're a bit tribalistic in that regard or whatever."
"Were you in Zootopia during the savage mammal crisis?"
"Well…Kinda. I was ill during that time and spent most of my time indoors. I didn't see firsthand what happened."
"What about afterwards? Were things different for you then?"
"For me? Specifically? Sort of… People move on, things move on, but that won't leave the collective memory of Zootopians. Overall, folks are less willing to trust the government , or even the liberal democratic system that's running our city. To think that the scum actively working against the very foundations of our society are living and plotting among us… Needless to say, people are wary. Oh yeah, for me specifically. Mhm. So all I see are more frowns to be turned upside down!"
"Sounds like a good perspective to have."
"Yeah! Always good to remember to smile."
"Do you mind if we get into some deeper topics?"
"Well…yes. I am a wacky dude, so expect some wacky response."
"What do you think of all the different beliefs mammals have? Faith, religion, politics."
"Eh. Well… Contrary to this swastika," Anton began, pointing to a small swastika on his hat. "I am not the kind of person who gives much thought on that stuff. I think they're something that aren't inherently bad nor good. It's a part of our consciousness as sentient beings, and these kinds of stuff even form a part of people's identity. However, I won't say all beliefs are equal… Zootopia is founded on the basis of pluralism and harmony. The extremist groups who threaten the very fiber of this city are only setting us back, and they must be destroyed. It's cruel… But the ends justify the means."
"Can you elaborate on that last part for me? What do you mean by destroyed?"
"Uh… I am no politician, but a public persona I am, and let's see if I can explain it with some fancy words… So, what makes us a…nation? What unites these millions of mammals, all living in this city? The thing is, we are all tied ideologically. We all share the same utopian "goal", constitution, and such. Our nationalism is built on civic nationalism, adhering to liberal values. And therefore, radical beliefs -hereby defined as beliefs which put itself against our basic democratic order like religious fundamentalism, species tribalism, communism, and such- must be seen as a threat. It might be cruel, but I believe it's necessary."
"Now, some might think that I'm a fence sitter licking the status quo. But believe me, it's not like that. You, me, we're minorities. We know the status quo doesn't benefit us, and yet it'll stay that way for a long time. But I'm willing to believe that as long as there are good mammals willing to fight within this democratic society, there's always an impetus for change. And these undemocratic, fascistic scum -like Bellwether, for example- is the biggest threat for these good mammals. I understand well that we have to fight hard for the necessary things in life, and this is one way I can see the…Zootopian experiment going well."
"Would it be fair to say that it's a set of core values that we have to rally around in order to succeed and ideas that go against those values are what causes society to fracture?"
"I believe so. Let's face it, people -as a group- behave like a herd. We rally around stuff that we identify with, like sharing a common species, faith, beliefs, and the like. People often stereotype sheep and rabbits for this. They're not entirely wrong, that's how they survive after all, by sticking together. But let's be fair, every mammal including solitary ones like me do that. It's the basic building block of society after all, and the mammals who don't form a cohesive society now walk the dinosaur. Now, the end of the Cold War has heralded the triumph of liberalism and left us without a solid ideological opponent. It was, as our founding fathers foretold, the inevitable victory of democracy and liberty over tyranny. But things have changed. You see, there's no more foreign enemy we can rally around anymore. Wars are now fought over the increasingly dwindling resources, no more "fantastic free people's struggle against fascists and pinkos". And because of that, I believe that it's important for us to unite as a nation and band together against the ideas that threaten our society."
"I believe so. Let's face it, people -as a group- behave like a herd. We rally around stuff that we identify with, like sharing a common species, faith, beliefs, and the like. People often stereotype sheep and rabbits for this. They're not entirely wrong, that's how they survive after all, by sticking together. But let's be fair, every mammal including solitary ones like me do that. It's the basic building block of society after all, and the mammals who don't form a cohesive society now walk the dinosaur. Now, the end of the Cold War has heralded the triumph of liberalism and left us without a solid ideological opponent. It was, as our founding fathers foretold, the inevitable victory of democracy and liberty over tyranny. But things have changed. You see, there's no more foreign enemy we can rally around anymore. Wars are now fought over the increasingly dwindling resources, no more "fantastic free people's struggle against fascists and pinkos". And because of that, I believe that it's important for us to unite as a nation and band together against the ideas that threaten our society."
"I certainly hope it does. Thank you for joining us today Anton.
"Heh. Not gonna lie, thought you're gonna ask me about shady stuff going on with the performance art industry when you told me you told me about deeper topics…" Anton smiled. "But no problem! Thank you for letting me in!" Anton leaps from the couch. He walks to the back of the couch, before slowly going down as if descending down a staircase. Upon closer inspection, Anton has disappeared, and only a Tarot card depicting The Fool is left behind the couch.
"Wow, And thank you Zootopia for joining us in another episode of the Characters of Zootopia. See you next time."