While We're Young is a Zootopia AU Slice of Life fanfic authored by Dizzie HamHam Writer
, that explores the question "What would happen if Nick and Judy were the same age and met as kits?"
Nick and Judy have been living their respective lives, when one day, Nick's family decides to take a vacation to Bunnyburrow. While there, Nick rescues Judy from a certain red-furred bully, and they quickly hit it off, but Nick has to leave before they even get a chance to know each other. Nevertheless, it's clear that they've already had an impact on each other. Fortunately, they get a second chance to see each other during a second trip to the burrows, where they discover they get along very well and officially strike up a friendship.
Overall, the story lacks an overarching storyline, instead opting for relatively self-contained misadventures as Nick and Judy explore the city of Zootopia and the quiet town of Bunnyburrow with a close circle of friends consisting of some of Judy's siblings, de-aged movie characters, and original characters. Think Hey Arnold!, but with talking animals.
It can be read here.
A sequel, titled Endless Summer is currently in the works. Taking place four years after the original, it details Judy spending an entire summer in the big city with Nick, now as boyfriend and girlfriend. It can be read here.
Warning: For the sake of readability, all spoilers prior to chapter 10 will be unmarked. Read at your own risk.
While We're Young and Endless Summer provide examples of:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Thanks to Judy being a part of Nick's early life, she helped him recover from the muzzle incident with the Junior Ranger Scouts and regain his faith in being more than a sly fox much earlier than in the film.
- Armor-Piercing Question: After their prank on the Junior Ranger Scouts, Nick asks them two of these, the first: how is what he did to them any different than what they did to him? Second: Since when does being a fox imply being untrustworthy?
- Batman Gambit: Nick and Judy pull an epic one on the Junior Ranger Scouts in revenge of their bullying Nick. They taunt the scouts into confessing that they are prejudiced against foxes, and predators in general, which they record, and use to force an apology out of them. It seems to fail when the scouts decide to take the recording from them, but it turns out Nick anticipated this, and pretends to go savage to scare them straight, giving him leverage to call them out on their hypocrisy when they use this as proof that foxes are untrustworthy.
- Break Them by Talking: Ultimately how Nick defeats Gideon in their fight. He figures out what makes Gideon tick and hurls speculations about him that clearly hit too close to home until Gideon loses the will to fight.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Nick decides to bury the hatchet with the Junior Ranger Scouts after learning that they turned themselves in, but he makes it clear that they have a long way to go before he'll trust them again.
- Heel Realization: The Junior Ranger Scouts have one following the aforementioned prank and questions, realizing that they were unfair to Nick, and offering to start over.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Nick ultimately rejects the offer though, feeling that they don't deserve to be Junior Ranger Scouts, and not wanting to be part of an organization that doesn't practice what it preaches. Eventually subverted when Nick decides to give them a second chance in his own personal scout troop upon seeing proof that they've learned their lesson.
- Opposites Attract: Discussed in chapter 4 where Nick and Judy mention that they feel like they could be really good friends despite having nothing in common and being natural enemies.
- Reformed Bully: Like in the movie, Gideon Gray gives up on bullying, thanks to Nick thoroughly deconstructing his character and he and Judy sympathizing with his plight once his assessment proves truthful.
- Surprisingly enough, the Junior Ranger Scouts become this as well following their Heel Realization. To drive the point home, the woodchuck willingly dons the very muzzle he forced onto Nick just to prove their sincerity.
- Take a Third Option: Rather than join the Junior Ranger Scouts, which he now views as dishonorable, or going packless like he's always been, Nick decided to form his own pack, which will accept both predator and prey of all species.
