FunnyLittleOwl's Big APNA Q&A Session
Hi, folks! This is Karla, author of A Perfectly Normal Arrangement on AO3.
That absolute monster of a fic was finally finished this week, and at some point along the way I made the *very* sensible decision to convince myself Iâd keep writing in that universe for a long, long time.
As revealed in Chapter 10âs final notes (and judging by the reaction from readers, lol) that decision went over⊠surprisingly well, which honestly made the whole thing worth it in the end. Again, thank you so much for your continued and tireless support!
Naturally, a lot of questions followed about what exactly that was going to entail. Over the course of publishing the fic, I also came across several recurring questions that felt worth answering publicly, so we can all have a clearer picture of where Nick and Judy are coming from, especially when it comes to some of their choices throughout the story.
So! I gathered as many questions as I could find and compiled them into this massive Q&A for anyone whoâs curious enough to dive in. Fair warning: some answers are 18+, and the entire post is full of spoilers, so everything is tucked safely behind the cut.
Hope you enjoy!
Q: Why is APNA turning into the APNCU (A Perfectly Normal Cinematic Universe)?
A: The short answer is: I canât let go.
The long answer: Iâve actually done this before once, 9 years ago, for the Yuri On Ice fandom. I wanted to convince myself that âestablished relationshipâ stories could be just as compelling as âgetting togetherâ ones (I donât usually read much established relationship content), so I ended up writing an entire series spanning multiple parts and many years of Victor and Yuriâs relationship. I still feel like that was the biggest highlight of my fic writing career, but maybe weâre in due time for a repeat?
Thereâs a lot of ground I feel we can still cover with this iteration of Nick and Judy. I want to explore them in different moments of their lives, across many situations, so we can actually witness their growth and the new struggles theyâll face, now that theyâre together.
Q: When are you going to start writing the next installment? What else can you tell us about those future stories?
A: Good questions. The only concrete answers I have right now are: 1 - soon, 2 - that weâre starting with Judyâs accompanying POV story.
Judyâs actions were mostly a mystery throughout APNA, even though quite a few people figured things out very quickly, lol. That was honestly amazing to see, because it meant the foreshadowing Iâd been sprinkling in actually paid off and felt earned in the end.
Weâve given Nick a lot of grace throughout this story, and I feel like Judy deserves the same â even if not to the same extent. Her POV is very interesting in this fic, and Iâve often said it almost feels like a completely different genre from Nickâs. As I mentioned in my authorâs notes, this wonât be a full retelling, but more of a crash course through her perspective during the events of Christmas in Bunnyburrow. I think that alone will give readers plenty of insight into her character.
As for A Perfectly Normal Proposal, the de facto APNA sequel⊠Iâd like to keep those answers close to my chest for now. Itâll likely be a while before I get around to writing it, but I hope it ends up being just as impactful as the main story has been for so many people. So for now, no spoilers: only a musical glimpse into the vibe I have in mind for it.
Q: Why did you choose to write APNA from Nickâs POV?
A: I just think itâs more fun to write from the (obvious) yearnerâs perspective. But early on, I also realized I wanted this story to have a special twist â Judy already being ten steps ahead of him (and us) while Nick remained none the wiser. I think that makes for good comedy and gives the story strong reread value.
At the same time, I had to be careful to let Judyâs emotions come through without making them too obvious to an uninformed reader. I almost think of APNA as a dual-POV story, with Judyâs perspective reaching us through Nickâs reactions to her behavior. That approach made things a lot harder for *me*, but I think itâs one of the reasons why people were so invested in this story in the first place.
Q: Why is Nick so afraid of having sex with Judy in APNA?
A: There are a lot of reasons at play, I think, so letâs start dissecting them.
During that infamous scene in Chapter 7, Nick was terrified Judy would make him come when she grabbed him out of the blue â thatâs why he reacted so quickly and ended up putting his foot in his mouth.
After that, heâs still very hesitant about taking that next step once they get together. He knows itâs Judyâs first time, and he feels a lot of pressure that heâs trying not to show. Nick knows Judy would feel hurt if he admitted that, especially when sheâs been trying to convince him sheâs been ready this whole time. But honestly. Nick is *very* aware of the fact that heâs nearly twice her size, has a knot, big claws and a mean bite. So he was somewhat earnest, somewhat joking when he said âYou scared the shit out of me that nightâ and preferred to face Judyâs teasing instead of telling her the full, naked truth.
The truth is, Nick is *terrified* of hurting Judy, in any way, shape of form. So he tries to establish rules, a self-inflicted timeline to the beginning of their sex lives together. He wants them to date first. He wants more time to give Judy what he believes she needs from a good boyfriend. After the torturous DMV sequence, though, Nick realizes something important about Judy: she doesnât actually need dates from him, or any fanfare. What she actually wants is to stay up all night on the couch, watching movies and making out. He might have *not* been informed of it in advance, but she already thought theyâd been dating for a while now.
So. Judyâs been waiting for too long, and Nick finally realizes heâs only being selfish by holding back from something she so clearly wants. So he attacks her, lol. He still takes the reins in their sex life at first, as we see throughout Chapter 10, until heâs eventually outmaneuvered by Judy, her immense confidence in everything she does, and her bunny needs.
On a sillier note, Nick also hesitates because heâs worried he wonât perform well and might ruin that experience for her. In short, Nickâs a gentlemammal and a giant green flag in APNA, so we cheer.
Q: What do you headcanon as Nickâs sexuality in your story?
A: I left it open-ended purposefully, when I said his type was anything that moved and kept mentioning âmammalsâ instead of âfemalesâ. It did that so people could project onto him whatever they wished. I truly canât decide what I headcanon Nick as. To me, he sounds like a ladies man who enjoys being walked on a leash by a powerful ladyboss â though maybe thatâs only romantically speaking. Sexually, maybe heâs had experience with both males and females. I really donât know.
Your move. You decide.
Q: What did Judyâs neighbors say to her back in Chapter 1 that made her so angry?
A: Officially, that scene is supposed to offer a different POV into whatâs going on in the Zootopia 2 post-credit scene. So we, as an audience, saw Judy in her room replaying the carrot pen over and over again, while Nick was always waiting for her downstairs so theyâd check out their new apartment together.
But the more I thought about it while writing the story and understanding my version of Judy, while I still think thatâs the case, I think their conversation went by a little more differently than the one we saw in the movie.Â
Without going into too much detail, it might have something to do with things her neighbors may or may not have been hearing coming from her apartment, lol.
Q: Youâve written your Nick to have had a date (one-night stand? fling?) during the events of Zootopia 1, but didnât go into further detail in the chapter. Who was the mysterious mammal that Nick got with during that low point in his life and what was it like?
A: I found that question delightful, because I had lots of lore on this I kept to myself.
Nick was drowning in loneliness, disappointment and regret when Judy left for Bunnyburrow after the Night Howler press conference fiasco.Â
So he got stupidly smashed and slept with (an actual middle-aged) kangaroo traveling from the Outback Island he met at a bar â mostly so he could pull on her ears and let out some of the frustration heâd been simmering with toward Judy, toward himself, and toward the world.
He did, in fact, cry out âCarrots!â at one point, but thankfully the lady didnât understand. She just assumed it was some strange but polite Zootopian cussing idiom.
Q: What is the predator-prey marriage situation in APNA?
A: I like to think interspecies intermarriage was legalized relatively recently in the Zootopia world (more recently than the creation of the Weather Walls, I mean) so less than a hundred years ago in canon. Maybe around forty to sixty years ago.
Of course, according to Bellwetherâs speech in Z1, about 90% of the population is prey, which means legalization mostly resulted in things like a deer and a buffalo finally being able to marry if they wanted to.
So predatorâprey marriage is legally possible, just statistically unlikely. Because of lingering prejudices, predators tend to marry among themselves. A lot of people headcanon that Gazelle is married to one of her tiger dancers based on Zootopia+, which would explain why sheâs so vocal about predator rights in Z1.
That same discrimination (the kind we see in Judyâs auntsâ behavior) is one of the many reasons Nick hesitates to date Judy in APNA. In his mind, âIf she stays with me, that will make her a pariah in her group.â
Q: Are hybrids possible in your universe? Are Nick and Judy going to have a biological child in the future?
A: In this story, the status quo of the world is that hybrids are rare and only happen between members of the same âfamilyâ of mammals â so not possible in WildeHoppsâ case.
For APNA to really make sense, itâs very important to the plot that Judy and Nick (and everyone around them, for that matter) truly believe that foxes and bunnies cannot generate biological offspring. If they really want to be together, that is something they must understand and accept and go into it with their eyes open.
While that is my own personal headcanon for Judy and Nick that they canât have children together, itâs not set in stone that a miracle cannot happen for them (even in my own story!).Â
Personally, I see Nick and Judy as a kind of imperfect analogy to both interracial and same-sex couples in a lot of ways. There are social, even biological stigmas they must overcome in order to be together, and I believe being unable to conceive naturally to be one of them.
Even in APNA, Nick and Judy have opposing opinions on this matter: Nick is pessimistic (like thatâs ever going to happen), while Judy remains stubbornly hopeful that anything is possible for them.
She looked more disappointed with herself than anything when she added, in a small voice, âBut there are living hybrids in the world, Nick.â âNot between members of different families of mammals, baby,â Nick murmured softly. âYou, Leporidae. Me, Canidae. Itâs biologically impossible for that to happen.â âMaybe,â Judy mused, âit just hasnât been attempted yet. Maybe weâve evolved as animals beyond the point of that mattering and no one knows that yet, because interspecies is still so taboo.â Nick blinked. She really was a force of nature, his Judy. âThatâs a nice thought, Carrots,â Nick said, taking both of her paws in his to warm them. âYou shouldnât count on it, though. Promise?â He caressed her fingers back and forth, applying pressure at the center of her palm. âI promise,â she said, simply.
I know this can be a sensitive subject for many people, so I intentionally left a lot of room for different outcomes in the story. For now, YOU get to decide what happens â and maybe only you get to decide, because Iâm not entirely sure I want to touch that subject with a ten-foot pole, lol.
Things to keep in mind as well: A family can be two people. They can choose adoption. Life can take many different paths, even for couples who deeply want children but canât have them for one reason or another.
In any case, I have nothing against the idea of funnies and boxes in canon!! I am very curious how Disney would pull it off if they ever decided to go that route. I just donât know what Iâd do with myself if their offspring ended up looking weird đ
Thatâs all the questions I have for now, folks!
Thank you so much for being so interested in this Perfectly Normal Universe and everything that comes with it (even if itâs just a pocket universe inside another pocket universe).
Iâd be happy to answer more questions in the comments!
Hope to see you again soon for more insights into the next story.
As always,
Love you, partners!
Karla (the funny, little owl)
