Creator questions

What's your name (real or screen, your choice)

Brutus, of course, is just an alias but my first name is Matthew.

Tell me about yourself, age, where you're from, what you do, anything you want others to know about you, sex, etc.

I'm 37 years old. California. Currently in retail with a couple side jobs. I'm a divorced single father raising my 13 year old daughter alone. The author known as Sandsstill is my girlfriend.

What brought you to the Zootopia fandom?

I joined the fandom after reading 'Boys like you.' At least I think that was the title. Been a long time. It's a high school AU. Anyway I saw the unfinished fan comic and googled to see if there was more to the story. Found ffnet and started writing again.

Who is your OC today?

Brutus Deagon

What animal are they?

Black furred wolf with brown eyes

What do they look like? Special markings, colorations, etc.

He's actually a few shades of dark grey. Wears glasses every day, loves t-shirts and hoodies.

What inspired you to create them?

He is my fursona. I made him to be my stand in online and my main character goes for pretty much everything.

What are they like?

He's a lot like me. Quiet, friendly, easygoing and has a temper.

What's their family life like?

Has two siblings. An older sister, a younger brother. His parents are judgemental and his father is very argumentative. He is divorced and raises his daughter alone.

Do they have a love interest?

Sandy Dielyelah Stills. A rabbit fox hybrid. I based her on Sandsstill's fursona.

Do you have any stories written about them or that they're included in?

Brutus and Sandsstill short stories on AO3.

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 Brutus Deagon. Thank you for joining me, Brutus."

"Great to be here Vicky. Hi listeners."

"So Brutus, why don't you tell us where you're from, what you do, that kind of stuff."

"I grew up in a little gold rush town in Califurnia, moved to Zootopia after I wrote my first fantasy novel. I am a single parent with a teenage daughter and I'm an inter."

"Was it much of a culture shock when you moved here?"

"Well out there was mostly canids and deer. Here it's, well everything. So yeah seeing so many mammals from around the world in one place was a bit of a shock. If I weren't so shy I probably would have geeked out harassing species I had never met before with questions." embarrassed chuckle

"When did you move to Zootopia and what brought you here?"

"Oh about 20-ish years ago. I was having issues with getting my books published so I came here and began my own little publishing company. I now have several clients that I have helped, in addition to myself, to become a published author."

"That's pretty impressive. How hard was it to get started?"

Very. I nearly gave up many times. Money was always an issue. I picked up an investor who wrote a little children's book. No you don't want to know and I'm not telling. Anyway they gave me start-up money to get my first book self published. It sold well enough for me to pour my profits into a new business. Zootopia publishing became my mistress for a while. chuckles of course I wasn't married at the time. Not for about 15 years at that point.

"At that point? Was this before or after meeting your daughter's mother?"

After. My ex left us when my daughter was an infant.

"And your status now?"

About sixteen years ago I met a new client, and during a business lunch we found ourselves flirting awkwardly. Well we ended up dating and are about to move in together. We both know that I'm going to ask her soon. I just need the right ring.

"Do you feel like a ring is necessary or just something formal you'd like to get her?"

It's about the formality in this case. As far as canine tradition is concerned we've been married for years now

"So you met sixteen years ago. You mentioned you started flirting almost immediately. How long before you two realized there was something more there?"

Too nervous to act on anything for a long time. Maybe a year or so? She had been my best friend for most of that time and I just thought that it was banter on her part. Reversed from her point of view. I got low. Real low and called her one night. The loneliness was getting bad and I was close to the edge. She came over and talked me down from something stupid. She told me she loved me and kissed me. So yeah this old wolf in tears because life sucked and she just turned everything on its head in one moment.

"Sounds dizzying." smirks

I actually based BBWolf and Little Red on us and the whirlwind of emotion that we went through in our lives. Real emotions make fictional characters come alive.

"As a writer, do you find it easier to communicate feelings you've experienced more than ones you rarely experience?"

"Yes, love is easy. Depression, unfortunately, is easy too. I'm always feeling those two. As a kid I had rage issues. I would melt down and attack for no reason so I kind of understand how to write senseless violence. As a wolf I can act very social so I can write dialogue for almost any situation. The funny part of that is that I'm an introverted borderline autistic. I can't stand being around crowds of mammals for long. Can only keep up the mask so long ya know? In wolf terms I'm a lone wolf. the one that can survive just fine on his own through cleverness and determination. I don't understand others' emotions very well. It takes a lot of patience and observation to understand how a person will react to any given situation. I study everyone I come into contact with intently so I can try to predict how they will react to what I do. Am I confusing you? Sorry if I am rambling. I do that when stressed or trying to explain something."

"No, you're fine. So since you've moved to Zootopia what do you think of the city and it's mammals and how has that perception changed over time?"

I love how beautiful the city is. Most of its mammals aren't total jerks so that helps. The rampant speciesism that they try to hide behind their fake smiles though... That gets to me. It's almost a relief when some sheep calls me a monster sometimes. It's more real than pretending they don't reek of fear. Fyi to all of you sheep. That sour smell of yours gets worse when you're frightened. Work on not being afraid of some nerdy wolf reading a book on the subway, he's already noticed your smell and is trying to ignore it but is feeling very uncomfortable. As for change? They try to hide it now.

"Do you think the city has a major problem with speciesism?"

"They preach that you can be anything. That's true you can but it's harder for some species over others. There's definitely a favoritism problem if not outright specism. Heck even when that fox cop showed that a fox could be trustworthy there are mammals who called him a crook when out of uniform. I hire mammals based on a test I have them take. They do well. I give them a trial period and take them on. The test itself is a purposely error ridden short story with a few glaring issues and no ending. I have them edit and make suggestions for or write a possible ending to the story. I framed a few really good ones and put them in the breakroom. Anyway yes the city needs to wake up as a whole and realize that other species are just like you mentally. A little crazy, a little normal, but all of us are just mammals."

"Do you think things have gotten better or worse since the nighthowler incident?"

"Is there such a thing as better or worse? I am not sure. Different yes, but then as they say change is the only true constant."

"Where were you when things started taking a turn for the worse?"

"When that witch started poisoning preds in public I took my daughter and left the city to stay with my family. I told my pred employees to get outta town and had a skeleton staff of prey working to keep the work load from being too out of paw before things settled down. My personal assistant, a weasel named Michael, got darted. He had a heart condition. Nearly died and was put in a medical coma. If it weren't for the cardiothoracic surgeon on duty when he was brought in he wouldn't have survived. As it was Michael died three years later while waiting for a heart transplant that never came. So yeah I would say I made the right choice to leave before things got really nasty."

"How long did you stay away?"

"I think about 6 months or so. Came back as the cure was being given to those affected."

"How were things different from when you left?"

"Well I noticed that sheep and goats were being treated even worse than skunks. Most mammals just wanted to use the truth as fuel or glue to bring everyone together. Some just used it as an excuse to bully someone new. I did notice that I got treated better in some places but as I said before there was a lot of faking it."

"Do you think the bad actors will have enough momentum to stay relevant?"

"Not any time in the next decade. If they're lucky."

"And where do you see yourself and your company in the next decade?"

"I'm actually thinking of finding a successor soon. I want to retire but I don't want some speciest prick to buy it and undo all my work on equality in my company."

"Do you have a vetting process for that?"

"Well I have been shopping around a bit. But I think I have somebody in mind. Just need to wait and see if he's interested."

"Do you think you'll ever fully pull away from your work?"

"I truly hope not. Even if I just edit now and then I'd like to still help somewhat."

"Shifting topics a little bit. Do you think mammals tend to do better with their own kind or when jumbled together the way they are in Zootopia?"

"Depends on the mammals individually. Some do fine in this scenario, some don't. Personally I like mixed."

"Do you think some of Zootopia's problems stem from the large mixture that we have?"

"No. I think it comes from a bad education and passing down false ideas and stereotypes. Perhaps one day we will fix those issues. The most we can do for now though is try."

"Well, let's keep on trying then. Thank you for coming on today."

"It was a pleasure."

"And thank you for joining on another episode of Characters of Zootopia."