Really good, here's hoping it continues

Early on in this fic, I resolved that my eventual review would open with a comment on the levity of this story.

Then the last few chapters came along. Guess that's why you take in the whole thing before giving vaguely educated opinions, eh?

Anyway, the transformation of this story from chapter one to 11, more recently with its tied-up police officers, striking hallucinations and bad-news judges and overall legal system, has been quite the ride to follow. But that said, I can't think of very many fics I've had more fun reading than this one.

Like, let's run down the last of great things about this story. It can be uproariously funny, with some brilliant turns of phrases, legal humor, the whole shebang - and that Finnick scene, hoo boy, magnificent. I love the accents you give many of the characters, some of whom seem like they'd be quite at home in my homebase here in Brooklyn. Get a little Boston out of some of 'em too, especially Shaun. OH, also, some crazy good characterization of Judy and Nick in the brief time they're on the page. When Sam stepped into the car, I just knew it was gonna be revealed that he and Nick had crossed paths in the past. And the way Sam slowly drew out the real story of his speeding ticket from Nick was hilaaaaarious. I'm getting a little verklempt just thinking about it. I wanna buy that scene a drink and take it home with me.

But beyond that, this has shaped up to be quite the intriguing drama as well. Great job planting the seed of questioning whether or not Bellwether is pulling the wool over Sam's eyes, so to speak. And the introduction of Crypsis really throws an interesting wrench into the proceedings, particularly in the last two chapters.

Then there's that Night Howler pill. Oooooh, I can't wait to see how that thing pops up, because ya just know it will. Got this feeling about Cochelle, myself.

I know this story hasn't updated in ages (well, I do NOW; going in I thought it was complete, OOOOPS), so there's always the possibility that it's a dead story and that I'm wasting my time speaking to what I think could be coming down the line. But I couldn't not at least express my enthusiasm at what's come SO FAR, because I've had a heck of a time binging it.

(finish it sometime tho pls thx)

Found you through ZNN. I've logged into my ancient fan fiction account to give you this review, because damn this story is under appreciated.

I was skeptical at first reading the synopsis. I wasnt sure a lawyer drama would fit well in the world of Zootopia. I didn't realize I was hooked until the end if the 6th chapter.

I love your characters and world building. Story pacing is great too, interesting things are always happening.

Your use of Bellwether's character is really intriguing to me. You've brought up themes from the movie that I never would have thought about.

Keep up the great work, I can't wait until the next installment!

Good to see a new chapter.
I think Chief Bogo might be hurting here. He's probably got as many-maybe more-regrets about Bellweather's administration as Skippy. He's a good cop, a good bull, and I think he'd genuinely regret the abuses he'd unknowingly facilitated. Not to mention that he's more likely than not to have predator friends from his years as a cop and what I personally believe is a military past.
I think I'm being repetitive here. But I do love how you're building on these characters.

Glad to help. I look forward to seeing an expansion on Bogo's plans.
Thanks for your continued work!

Don't worry, the wait was well worth it. Awesome chapter!

I'll be honest, I didn't think Crypsis was actually going to be a credible threat either, which is kind of brilliant because that's exactly the surprise Sam felt in-universe. I kind of feel bad for Gromark now. Dick move using sheep instincts against him, not to mention the chewing out by Bogo.

Probably my favorite scene was that whole confrontation between Sam and Robin. Nice way to show how far the guy has fallen in his pursuit of justice, with some interesting (and disturbing) revelations thrown in as well. And the journey of the Feral Dream pill continues. Nice that the issue was dealt with, but until someone actually uses it, I'm not convinced that this Chekhov's gun has been fired. ;)

That was one trippy dream sequence. I'm not sure if that was just Sam's subconscious talking to him or an actual supernatural being, but either way, it was damn creepy. Nice way to sum up all of the guy's issues.

Anyway, I guess we're moving on to your miniseries for now. Looking forward to that. :)

Of course it was legal! Disney ain't going to tell kids that HEY! JUDY DID A VOICE RECORDING-IT IS COOL! AND TOTALLY ILLEGAL! 3

(live reactions copy-pasted from TVT)

Ok Cop Alex is so good, well at least he and Sam saw eye to eye in the end.

I thought Sam was ready with that pen before they began. But I guess it helps narrative-wise to explain it to the reader what it does.

OMG, this is just the funniest line ever. Mate, are you defendin' another murderer? I could imagine the delivery in my head, that was so good! Black Comedy good, anyway!

Oh wait, there's another one! I ain't a freakin' murderer, you dumbass kid!

When you were saying "cottoned" you mean "caught on", I guess?

So then they all chat and just proved more and more that the judge is a prejudiced bitch. Even if there's more character development for Skippy, which I did throughly enjoy.

I wonder why being called domesticated cracks him up so much. I know it is a racial slur, but there must be a special reason Sam's stone cold facade gets broken.

So the patrol car is gone and I wonder why it is, and what's gonna happen next time?

I wonder why proving to the world that Skippy is a prejudiced bitch is detrimental to Sam? Like he was gonna be disbarred for an entirely unrelated case, but they let him just take the current one so he can be a scapegoat or something? Wouldn't the recording ruin Skippy too, and she wasn't afraid of that, I guess, since everyone wants Dawn's head on a plate...

And finally, the part where Sam broke a vase, I got reminded of L.A. Law again! You see in one episode there's a lawyer there at a party and got angry when the host of a party spouted some anti-Semitic stuff (probably unaware that the lawyer was a Jew), so he grabbed a cupboard and pulled it off the wall and it fell on the floor...

This is perhaps the most impressive chapter so far.
I've often meditated on the prey mammals who watched their city's ideals begin to fall through their fingers like sand. Often, it centered on Chief Bogo, who depends on particularly large predators as the backbone of his department. Can you imagine what it was like for him? Wondering if the tigers and wolves he'd commanded for years and who respected him would one day throw themselves at hsi throat? And don't you think his heart cracked a little when he had to ask Clawhauser to hide his friendly manners in the basement?
Thinking about this, it always seemed natural that Bellweather would have had a good chance of being stomped flat by water buffalo hooves. Remember that he would have had to work closely with her, and that she was likely meeting with predator families and offering insincere condolences and sympathies throughout the crisis (and recall that she met Mrs. Otterton). The city Bogo had been serving and trying to protect for years almost devoured itself and Bogo would have helped slather on barbecue sauce for it.
Skippy is well developed. I enjoyed her boxing past and how her guilt is driving her to other extremes in this post-Bellweather Zootopia...or is she just protecting herself? I hope it's the former.

Uh oh, she had to go and use the "D" word.

Makes me wonder, though, where exactly do the cats, pigs, sheep, etc. originate from in this world? Are they descended from the results of some abandoned eugenics program?

Anyway, I've enjoyed this fic so far and am eager to see what happens next.

One little thing that bugs me (no pun intended), though: Even at the height of Bellwether's reign, Bug Burga seems an odd place to be an example of somewhere that would ever discriminate against predators. Isn't it mainly predators that eat there? I would have assumed it was mainly run by them as well.

And here I thought touristy Outback wasn't going to get much attention. And it still didn't get much, but nice touch anyway, especially with Gromark taking an interest in it.

I'm still having trouble reading Gromark by the way. He's definitely less of an antagonist than I expected, but his true motivations here are still a little unclear to me. I mean that in a good way of course, since it makes him more interesting. And speaking of interesting, what the hell just happened there at the end? Either Gromark was a victim of vandalism, or something much, much worse.

But more importantly, I loved the big confrontation between Sam and Skippy. A lot of really intense moments there, especially once the recording came in. I was half-expecting her to just punch him out at a few points, even though that would completely work against her. I gotta say, she made some very good points, but that only makes me more curious to see how Sam will fare in the trial.

So "domesticated" is a slur? That's not too surprising, but Sam's reaction to it sure was. The poor guy. He deserves to come out on top just for that.

This. Fic. Sooooooo. Fkn. GOOD. I can't even.

Sam Burmowitz is SO interesting! I can't get enough of him. and you did an absolutely awesome job of Bellwether, extrapolating her movie character so well! i wish i could give this fic multiple favorites.

Keep up the good work!

Woah, I didn't know Sam was actually going to Outback Island. This should be interesting. Maybe he could bring home a Wallabeanie for Bellwether. XD

I kid, but I expect fun happenings regardless.

I like Officer Gromark so far. Seems like somewhat of a Hero Antagonist, not really a bad guy or intentionally trying to get in Sam's way, but being a hindrance to his investigation regardless by just doing his job. Bart Bellwether seems interesting too, and I hope we'll get to see more of him. Come on, you can't tease us with Bellwether's brother and not bring him in at some point. :P

I'm happy that you brought Bellwether herself back into the story too after a significant absence. Their conversation was a nice continuation of that previous one, and shows a bit of character development on both ends. I'll have to brainstorm a joke for you. Believe it or not, I'm actually not that good at coming up with standard punchline jokes.

Bellweather's brother seems like an important addition. Bellweather's bigotry had fertile soil, indicating that she wasn't so nearly as innocent as she claimed to be when she first came to the city.
Reading this chapter, I realized that you had chosen one of two ways Bellweather's villainy can be interpreted. In the first, she can simply be a surprisingly sly racist. The second interpretation is that she is an utterly cynical politician who regards predators as a perpetual electoral platform that can keep her in office forever.
I don't see much difference in quality between the two ideas, so I'm not saying you chose wrong.

Jokes, lessee...I've found a few Polish jokes (I've never understood those stereotypes) and adapted some of them for Zootopia:

1. Did you hear about the terrible automobile accident in the Rainforest District last night?
A predator family on vacation lost all of their children.
The pickup truck they were riding in ran off the road into a lake and sank to the bottom.
The parents got out of the cab OK but all the kids in the back drowned...they couldn't get the tailgate open.

2. A pred is hired to paint the lines on the road.
On the first day he paints ten miles, and his employers are amazed.
But, the second day he painted just five, and on only the third day, he painted only a mile of the road.
Disappointed his boss asks what the problem was.
The pred replies, "Well sir, every day I have to walk farther and farther to get back to the paint bucket."

3. (I saw this one and couldn't ignore it)
Q: How do you ruin a predator party?
A: Flush the punch bowl.

4. Q: What did the wolf mother say when her daughter announced that she was pregnant?
A: "Are you sure it's yours?"

5. Q: Why don't predators ever have ice cubes?
A: They forgot the recipe.

Does that help?

Why did the horse cross the road? Because his fly was open. Tell me if you don't get it. :)
Pretty cool chap so far. I'm not normally the kind of guy who writes long reviews most of the time, so I'll try to keep this short. Sam needs to watch himself with that catnip. Wouldn't want him to succeed in reducing the sentence, then become a broken down tweaker. :(
I love the dynamic between him and Bellwhether. I don't know if there is anything that will be going on with them, but just judging by the dialogue it seems to be somewhat of a possibility.

Fun chapter. I like how you played Nick and Sam against each other, giving them a past that involved each other's respective career paths.
Interesting that Judy and Nick are hanging out, but I suppose Academy acceptance takes time and Nick needs stuff to do.

This is getting grimmer and grimmer. I was wondering how Sam was going to get out of jail, but I didn't think crazy court conspiracy would be the answer. It makes perfect sense too with the political climate going on. Sam has a point about these guys giving in to Bellwether's own rhetoric by doing this. Talk about irony.

I loved the story of how Sam and Nick met. Great retelling by both sides, especially with them constantly interrupting each other to tell their version. I know you had help, but I thought Nick and Judy were pretty much spot on, especially with how they interacted with each other, which let's face it, is the important part.

If there's one thing I've started to notice though, it's the distinct lack of Bellwether in a story about Bellwether. I know, I know, I complained about the Bellwether hallucination before so this is a bit hypocritical, but I kind of thought there would be a lot more of her and Sam interacting, or even some scenes of Bellwether by herself. Don't get me wrong, I think this is going along great, it's just not what I expected.

Also, I haven't forgotten about that Feral Dream pellet Sam's holding. I am so delightfully curious about what that is going to lead to. :)