Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.
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The Fire Triangle—A Zootopia Fanfiction
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Part One:
Fuel
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Chapter 7—Tying Up Loose Ends
(Pt. 7...Conclusion)
"Now folks, let me point out that my engineer is an otter and my daughter's two best girlfriends are a weasel and a fennec...and I have absolutely no problem with that. But would she ever date a predator? The answer is not on your life, and I wouldn't allow it anyway. If some of you do-gooder species have a problem with that, I suggest you change the channel and go look after your own families. But don't come whimpering to me when your kid..."
Erin Hopps thumped her foot and tried to drown out the harangue coming from down the hall. She wished like heck that someone, any one of the other girls would finish up showering so she could take her turn and be done with this.
She was sitting on a bench outside the girl's bathroom in the Hopps Family Warren, waiting to get cleaned up before turning in for the night. What the heck was taking Liddy so long?
Fifteen yards away, in one the Hopps Family Warren's many dens, Rock Hardesty continued with his televised diatribe.
"It's fine to have a predator for a business partner or a schoolmate...even a BFF, but a romantic relationship? I'm sorry mammals, we have to draw the line somewhere..."
Erin sighed and stopped thumping her foot, it wasn't helping and if she made it any louder, her brother Billy would come out of his room and start complaining. Ohhh, why did this particular tunnel have to act like a blankety-blank echo chamber?
She could picture the scene in the den one flight below; the Hopps family adults all gathered in front of television #3, occasionally nodding in agreement with what they were hearing. Her father was only a causal viewer of the Rock Hardesty show, but her big bother, Stu Hopps Junior tried never to miss a broadcast, even saving the episodes he couldn't catch on Tivole. (He was an avid listener of the hyrax's radio program, as well.)
Rock Hardesty's program—or rather programs—originated in Zootopia, where his radio talk-show was the #1in the ratings. (His TV show wasn't doing too shabby either.) Here in the Burrow, where there was lot less competition, he all but owned the airwaves.
It was easy to see why; Hardesty's standard delivery style was a kind of old-fashioned folksiness that could charm and disarm. Usually, Erin found him easy to ignore. When he 'got his evangelical on' as her mother liked to say, then it was 'like trying to tune out someone dragging a rake across a chalkboard.' (Her friend, Terri Blackburn's words; Terri heartily detested the hyrax.) When he went on the attack, it was even worse; he had a habit of hanging up on callers who disagreed with him, and then belittling them once they were off the air. To Erin that smacked of cowardice; trash-stalking animals who couldn't defend themselves. And just to add insult to insult, whenever Hardesty booted a caller off his show, he would play the sound effect of a toilet flushing and then declare, "Back to where you came from, do-gooder."
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The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One
Mystery / ThrillerIt's been two years since Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps broke the Savage Predator conspiracy. Now a brilliant and effective team, they're only a few steps away from making the detective bureau and growing closer with every passing day. But even as thei...
