A list of the canon, and original characters in In Darkness I Hide.
There are some unmarked spoilers on this page, so proceed with caution or read the story first!
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Wolford Family
Murana Delante Wolford
Murana Delante Wolford in her vigilante alias: Dark Flame Wolf.
Our timber wolf heroine of this entire story. She is a reputable bank CEO by day for Lemming Brothers Bank and a cold-hearted vigilante that goes by the name of Dark Flame Wolf at night.- Abusive Parents: Murana didn't really have the best childhood growing up. Her own brother being raped and burned alive at the hands of her mother and boyfriend is just the tip of the iceburg of the horrors in her young life.
- The Ace: What Jack Savage proclaims Murana to have been, back when she was in her prime working alongside him.
- Action Girl: Zigzagged. Murana is a vigilante who kicks butt and murders criminals. However, the story depicts both her victories and failures over the course of the story.
- Action Mom: Played Straight and Inverted. Murana is a mother to Steven Stinkman, but not by birth but by adoption. This is because Murana cannot conceive normally due to a womb injury when she was younger, strongly hinted at being caused by Don Karnage.
- Anti-Hero: Murana does not kill for pleasure and she doesn't kill at random. She chooses to target criminals who have harmed innocent women and children. However, burning them alive has put her on the wrong side of the law.
- Author Avatar: A interesting case where the author's own Zoosona is the primary protagonist of the entire story. However, the narrative makes her three-dimensional with her flaws, faults, and plenty of negative character attributes to offset her positive ones. It also seems like she fails a lot more than she succeeds.
- Berserk Button: Abusing, murdering or violating a female or young kid is enough to sign your death warrant and prompt a visit from the Dark Flame Wolf to come burn you alive.
- Big Damn Heroes: Played straight and then Averted. At the end of Day 2, Murana surges into the Tail Hollow Orphanage as it is being pillaged by Don Karnage and his men. She lays waste to anyone in her path to save the children, stopping only when she meets Don Karnage, giving up when he holds Max at swordpoint.
- Broken Bird: Because of her past, she has endured a lot of hardship which has hardened her exterior to the point that although she wants to be loving and mentoring to those in her family, she's more adept at pushing them away. It isn't until crisis happens that she learns to work better with her family.
- Combat Pragmatist: Murana will use or try just about anything to win a fight.
- She attempts to subdue Javier Sanchez in Day 1 with a well placed sniper shot, when that fails, she immediately proceeds to chase him down to capture him personally. When he survives his burning, she shows up at his hospital bed in Day 2 and unplugs his life machines to finish the job.
- Christopher Guara confronts her on the rooftops. Murana burns just his orange hoodie to keep him from following her. As he persists in tracking her down, she knocks him off the ledge and leaves him to dangle on an outstretched flag pole, convinced he can no longer bother her.
- When all out of options when confronted by Don Karnage's men on the Iron Vulture on Day 6, she chooses to use her own skunk son as a stinky flamethrower!
- Dark and Troubled Past: Murana has this in spades. First with her abusive childhood and the raping and burning alive of her little brother by her mother and current boyfriend, then with the kidnapping and sexual/mental abuse of Don Karnage, followed finally by being inducted into an assassin's guild for many years and being forced to kill for hire. No wonder she has many priorities and core values screwed up.
- Dark Action Girl: Murana is considered to be quite the villain to all those who are following the law, such as Chief Bogo and most of the police force. Burning your victims alive, even if they are heinous criminals, doesn't sit well with those who view a white, rather than grey, sense of justice.
- Determinator: Murana encapsulates this. Even when she is recovering from being stabbed through the ribs, she takes a combination of adrenaline and pain killers and forces herself to enage in a motorcycle chase across rooftops in the rain to aerial land on an airship, fight off dozens of bad guys and ultimately crash land onto The Docks. Even after all of this, she continues to get up and drag herself to chase after Don Karnage to save her son despite numerous injuries.
- Does Not Like Tea: When Ronald offers Murana some tea, his favorite blend, to drink, she promptly gets up and dumps it into the nearby potted plant clarifying that she despises tea. She states this as well to the skin of the succulent chicken Ron brings to work for her, not liking the way the texture of the skin feels in her mouth.
- Driven to Villainy: Murana was not a very nice person growing up and a lot of that had to do with her past influencing her. This story is primarily about her redemption.
- Easily Forgiven: At the end of the story, Ralph, Judy, Anthony and others go to bat for Murana's character and convince Bogo to speak to the DA to cut a deal where she could continue to live free as long as she was monitored, tracked and open to helping the ZPD out as a confidential informant/agent.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Murana has three vertical claw marks crossing over her navel on her lower abdomen caused by Don Karnage himself upon her escape attempt when she was a teenager.
- Handicapped Badass: Even when hopped up on pain killers with tons of wounds, bruises and recovering from a literal knife through the ribs, Murana manages to chase down Don Karnage and stab him in the neck as Nick and Judy shoot out his knee caps. Only after the danger has passed does she allow herself to collapse from her injuries.
- Heroic BSoD: The moment Murana lays eyes on Don Karnage and sees him about to kill Max, she completely breaks down and gives up. We later find her in Day 4 somewhat amnesiac and in a fugue state where she has regressed to that of a child.
- Hidden Depths: Murana comes off as a crazy juxtaposition of loving mother, ice-cold CEO, merciless vigilante and no-nonsense wife. None of her character qualities seem to mesh well at first until it is further explored in the story why she is the way she is.
- Iron Lady: When in public as the CEO of Lemming Brothers Bank, Murana is very tough, stoic and cold to those who approach her. However, when among family or friends her softer, more vulnerable side peeks out.
- Justified Criminal: Murana's stance on her justice is in targeting only the most vile and depraved criminals for death. However, her methods to achieve these ends puts her directly in the path of the ZPD and Chief Bogo. There is even a huge altercation that Murana and Bogo get into over just this subject and debating if her actions were truly justified or not as they both point out the flaws in the other's argument.
- Lack of Empathy: She doesn't have much sympathy for criminals who have harmed innocents. Once she targets them for death, there is little that gets in her way in seeing them suffer and die for their crimes.
- Like a Son to Me: When rescuing Steven from the Iron Vulture, she drops the notion that she already thinks of Max as her own son despite not being adopted yet, which makes Steven very happy to hear this.
- Made of Iron: Murana suffers many injuries in the last two days and despite this continues to trudge on to save her family, sometimes even relying on drugs such as pain killers and adrenaline to help boost her over the edge.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Murana just simply gives up when she meets Don Karnage at the end of Day 2 and lets her, Max and every other orphan get captured, the reader knows something is up. When we find her later again amnesiac and in a fugue state where she acts like a little child, we know something seriously messed up went down in the interim. It is only later explained why she had such a extreme reaction to Don Karnage.
- Original Character: She is the foundation of this entire fanfic. It is centered primarily around her.
- Out of Focus: Zigzagged. In an unique twist, although this story is primarily about Murana, Days 3 thru 5 focus instead on other characters like Ralph Grayz, Steven Stinkman and Max Thrash. Despite following these different character viewpoints, the story is still revolving around Murana's story.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: She wears only a mask to cover her eyes, yet still people have not identified the Dark Flame Wolf as Murana for over a decade. She actually masks her own scent with skunk musk to prevent those mammals who could sniff her out from isolating her scent.
- Pet the Dog: Murana is very formal and sometimes cold to business parters or when she is running her bank. She is ruthless when tracking down and killing her criminal victims. However, when it comes to her son, Steven, and adoptee hopeful, Max, along with any other child, she is enormously loving and only wants to take care of them and be motherly.
- Playing with Fire: Played straight. Murana literally uses fire to burn her victims in her pursuit of justice. She also uses fire later on to innovatively make a skunk flamethrower with her son, Steven.
- Survivor Guilt: Murana feels this because she was unable to protect her younger brother from dying at the hands of their mother. As a result, she is determined to protect all the innocent women and children out there by permanently removing those criminals that would harm them in a similar fashion.
- Team Mom: What she ultimately ends up becoming in the Epilogue, where her entire family becomes a crime-fighting unit with her at the head.
- Vigilante Woman: Having been wronged by sadistic cultists and those who had no scruples of harming a child when she was but a cub and having seen them get away with it, Murana finds the current law establishment inadequate and seeks to burn alive any who would harm innocents like herself and others. She finds herself at odds with the law when seeking out her own justice murdering criminals for their crimes.
Anthony Wolford
His role just got expanded.
The husband to Murana Wolford and a ZPD cop that has just received a promotion.- Aggressive Categorism: He dismisses Steven and Max on the mere fact they are not wolf cubs, let alone that of his own flesh and blood. He is even corrected by Murana that neither Steven nor Max are actually rodents, but Anthony refuses to see past his prejudice. This is thankfully resolved and alleviated somewhat by the end of the story.
- Ascended Extra: Where he was basically a background character briefly named in two scenes in Zootopia during the bullpen segments (and randomly appearing elsewhere in the movie), he gets his own role in the story by being Murana's husband and being influential in her successful recovery when she goes missing.
- Awkward Father-Son Bonding Activity: It can't get any weirder than Steven and Anthony bonding as father and son by investigating the disappearance of Murana and tracking her down across the city.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Although he may seem like he'd be a terrible parent and a dismissive husband at the start, his genuine concern and love for Murana helps him overcome his inner bias and ends up being a far better husband and father to both Steven and Max by the time the epilogue rolls around.
- A very poignant example in Day 2: Murana deliberately comes home late to a very distressed and aggravated Anthony. He stayed up late, hoping she would come home normally like she usually does, having prepared a full, homemade romantic dinner for two - completely intent on making things up to her.
- Loving a Shadow: At the outset, Anthony knows very little about his wife (even after a year!) and continues to invest in what he believes to be a working marriage. When her hopes and aspirations directly conflict with his and the truth of her past is revealed, he has to take a few steps back and reevaluate the wolf he fell in love with and accept the real Murana if he wants to continue having a relationship with her.
- A Man Is Always Eager: Anthony never makes it subtle that he admires his wife sexually. From the start of their playful banter in chapter 1 to the spontaneous raunchiness in the final chapter, Anthony makes it 100% clear he is in love with his wife and prefers no other.
- Maternally Challenged: Even wanting pups of his own, he has a hard time relating to the children in Murana's life. He gets better by the end though and even seems to have somewhat of a rapport with both Steven and Max.
- Parents as People: The story portrays Anthony as a wolf who has prior ambitions and dreams of what he wants to be as a father and what his future family would look like. It is all dashed over the course of the story and he has to learn to come to grips that not all of life works out the way you'd hope it would.
Max Thrash
Max Thrash, looking suave and without a care in the world.
An orphan raccoon residing in Tail Hollow orphanage located in Happytown. He is a unique child with a specific condition that makes it hard for him to relate to others. As a result, he is bullied incessantly. However, he has many hidden talents just waiting to emerge.- Badass Adorable: Max is a proven fighter with little to no training. He gets the better of quite a few pirates and even manages to surprise Jack Savage by kicking him down a stairwell.
- Brutally Honest: He will just come out and say exactly what he thinks of someone, regardless of how offensive it might sound to others.
- Deadpan Snarker: He really doesn't mean to be, but because of his autism, his direct way of talking to people can make some of his speech unintentionally hilarious.
- Foil: He is this to Mad Dog, Don Karnage's second in command. They have a rival-like relationship with each other and Max fittingly defeats Mad Dog by accidently sucking out his soul.
- Innocently Insensitive: Max doesn't mean to hurt other's feelings, he just says what is on his mind at the time.
- Morality Pet: In the epilogue, Max promises to be this for Murana in case she ever gets out of control.
- Odd Friendship: Max makes unlikely friends with Ronald Latrinae. Through their interactions together and the reunion with Murana that is observed by Ron, this convinces the otter assassin to back off from his task of killing Murana and instead turn around and help her escape and ultimately get her family back from Don Karnage.
- Ron is even convinced by Max to break Murana out of the hospital and deliver all her vigilante gear from her office.
- Original Character: He is the zoonsona of DrummerMax64
. - No Sense of Humor: He doesn't quite understand humor like most others can which can lead to some awkward conversations.
- Not Quite Dead: When Don Karnage shoots Max in the head at the the story climax, Max is only able to survive because of having stole Mad Dog's soul previously on the Iron Vulture.
Steven Stinkman
Steven Stinkman, looking all shy and cute.
The adopted skunk son of Murana Delante Wolford. He was rescued when he was much younger and brought into her family early on. He now works as a reporter at ZNN.- Ambiguously Bi: It is never really clear if Steven is just not into females like Zoey or Courtney because they just aren't the right girl for him or if he's simply gay. He clearly has no qualms having sex with either of them though! However, it becomes very apparent his preferred sexual orientation at the end when he freely accepts the proposal of Billy Silva.
- Berserk Button: Don't get between Steven and his mom. Whenever he feels she is in trouble or needs his help, he will do anything he can to assist, even if it means yelling at others to stop them from arguing or not paying attention to the needs of his mom.
- Skunk in Distress: Steven is not a fighter and is used as a hostage by Don Karnage to keep Murana in line during their altercation at the Lemming Brothers Bank.
- Momma's Boy: Steven can't stay mad at his mom for long, even if she betrayed his trust. When push comes to shove, he comes to her aid in searching for her when she's missing and continuing to believe that she'll do the right thing all the way up to the end when she has a gun to Don Karnage's head.
- The Nose Knows: Steven is able to track down Murana's scent in AJ's club, the Fox Den, by smelling himself first. Only by tracking his own scent does he find where she has been kept safe by Billy Silva.
- Original Character: He is the zoosona of Berserker 88.
- Secret-Keeper: For the longest time, Steven kept Murana's nighttime identity a secret from everyone. It wasn't until she was missing and possibly in danger did he turn to Anthony and Ralph and reveal the fact he knew she was the Dark Flame Wolf the entire time.
- Sensory Overload: Steven does this to Billy Silva by blasting him face first with his musk spray.
- For Steven himself, when things get a bit too heated or stressful for him, his own anxiety acts up and causes him to pass out from hyperventilation if he doesn't take his inhaler.
- Smelly Skunk: Steven's nature as a skunk is used extensively throughout the story. Murana uses it as a covering scent as well as weaponizing it into stink bombs. Steven uses it to track her down during day 4 and to defend himself accidently against Billy Silva. We also get the hilarious and innovative use when Murana utilizes Steven as an actual stinky flamethrower at the end to ward off Don Karnage's men.
Lemming Brothers Bank
Ronald Latrinae
Ronald Latrinae, in his best pressed suit and glasses.
A mysterious figure that shows up suddenly one day to request the job for being CEO secretary for Lemming Brothers Bank. He has a lot of knowledge about a wide variety of topics and seems to excel at everything he puts his mind to.- Beware the Nice Ones: He is always the consummate professional. Willing to help Murana recover from financial loss with her bank, serve her chicken and tea and even manage the daily operations of the bank within just the first few days upon being hired. Little did she know he was just doing this to get close to her and seek the right moment to strike and kill her as the second assassin alongside Jack Savage.
- Conflicting Loyalty: He has a rough time trying to justify his own personal ideals with that of his father, Rosco. He questions the need to eliminate Murana's family and seems to regret stabbing her on his father's orders. This conflict comes across clearly as he recounts his relationship with his dad to Max in Day 5.
- Failed a Spot Check: He comments directly to Murana that he researches thoroughly those employers he seeks to apply to, impressing her with his knowledge of her and her bank. He fails however in knowing that she hates tea and prefers coffee and dislikes chicken skin. He clearly didn't research his mark enough!
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Although it seems Ronald Latrinae is a dutiful and faithful secretary to Murana, he was constantly plotting her death throughout the entire story up until the end of Day 5 where he stabs her through the ribs. He later regrets this action and ends up helping her get her son back from Don Karnage.
- I Have No Son!: What Ron assumes his dad will do when he refuses to kill Murana or Max and instead goes to help them.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Ron immediate regrets stabbing Murana through the ribs.
- Nice Guy: Despite what happens in the story, he really is a Nice Guy and is very cordial and friendly to those he meets, especially Max whom he has an immediate fondness for.
- Original Character: He is the zoosona of Blenderguy15.
- Turn in Your Badge: Basically what Ron does when he refuses Jack's order to kill Max, he's turning in his assassin title. He even later tells Murana that he'd rather give up that life and instead be her secretary for the rest of his career.
- You Remind Me of X: Murana states that Ronald looks familiar to her and asks if they've ever met before, Ronald claims they have not. It later becomes clear she recognizes him because he looks so much like his dad, Rosco, whom she worked for when she was a young assassin under his employ.
Trudy
The former secretary of Murana Wolford. She is fired when it was discovered that she was embezzling a lot of money from the bank. She later returns to seek revenge on being fired.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Subverted. When Murana fires Trudy from her secretary position, she begins to beg and weep to invoke sympathy from her boss. It halfway works long enough for her to get close to Murana to try and stab her with a hairpin.
- Death by Irony: The very same Gatling Guns she had installed into the ceiling of the bank foyer are the ones that kill her in the end.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Getting fired for embezzlement which was entirely her fault, that is later linked back to Mr. Big, she tries to stab Murana with a hairpin as retribution. What makes it more ridiculous is she shows up later during the night of Day 5 with a crew of Mr. Big's henchmen to literally shoot up the joint and kill Murana.
- Hoist By Her Own Petard: For unknown reasons, Trudy had Murana sign off on the installation of the Gatling Guns in the foyer of Lemming Brothers Bank. It is these guns that end up killing her.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Although only appearing in two scenes in the fanfic, she helps establish for the reader Murana's job and its links back to Mr. Big, the installation of the Gatling Guns which hinder Don Karnage long enough for the entire sequence to occur at the end of Day 5 and beginning of Day 6, and finally pave the way for Ronald Latrinae's hiring on as Murana's secretary.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Getting shot into little bitty giblets by Gatling Guns is definitely a horrible way for a tiny Lemming to go.
Zootopia Police Department
Chief Bogo
Bogo is not happy about vigilantes!
The chief of Precinct 1 of the ZPD. He takes his job seriously and has made it his personal mission to bring down criminals who take the law into their own hands. He can be very protective of his officers while simultaneously chewing them out.- Brutal Honesty: He does not hold back in telling Murana exactly what he thinks of her type. He is initially intent to put her away for life and freely lets her know this.
- By-the-Book Cop: He chides Ralph Grayz for working on his day off and more importantly, working on cases he has no authority or permission to be working. Bogo is also a stickler for ensuring that Murana holds true to the rules of the agreement laid down for her to become a Confidential Informant (CI) for the ZPD.
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Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Which is why it is so weird and out-of-character that he'd ignore the fact she is bringing her youngest son, Max, with her when she goes out to be vigilante for the ZPD. Could be a case of Not Even Bothering with an Excuse, or just giving her more rope to hang herself with - it's very unclear.
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- A Father to His Men: He gives Judy and Ralph the rest of the day off on Day 3 after recovering from their stink bomb assault on Day 1. He even brings Ralph in on Day 3 to reprimand him for working on a case he's not authorized for and to be home with his family which he states is far more important than his police work right now.
- He even shows some surprising empathy for Murana when he finds her beaten and collapsed at the Docks on Day 7. He mentions he understands her at last and proceeds to carry and escort her back to the hospital himself.
- Graceful Loser: After learning the truth about Murana's past, he admits that he misjudged her and with Judy's insistence is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and make her a CI for the ZPD.
- I Gave My Word: He reminds Murana in the epilogue that he is always more than willing to send her to jail should she mess up, but will remain true to their tasking of her being a CI as long as she adheres to the rules they agreed upon for it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be hard on his men and even harder on criminals, but he will admit when he is wrong and even offers Murana a chance to turn her life around since her family and friends vouched for her character.
Judy Hopps
Ready to make the world a better place!
The famed bunny cop of the ZPD. She is heralded as the most prestigious cop in her class, graduating as valedictorian and cementing her status as a fine officer by solving the missing mammals case involving Night Howlers.- Action Girl: Judy constantly leaps into the fray during this story. She is the first on scene to go chasing after the Dark Flame Wolf on the night of Day 1. She leaps at the chance to try and take down Don Karnage during the bank siege of Day 5/6. She is there during the final confrontation at the musk mill down by The Docks. Whenever there is action afoot, she is guaranteed to be there.
- Badass Adorable: Judy handily demonstrates her lethality in combat by physically bringing down the Dark Flame Wolf on Day 1. The only reason why she failed was not accounting for the skunk bomb Murana was packing.
- Berserk Button: Do not call her 'cute.' Don Karnage calls her this, which prompts her to make a foolhardy attempt at subduing him. It ends up working because it allows an opening for another to take a shot at him.
- Demoted to Extra: Although she has a bigger role to play than Nick Wilde, she still is not the focus of the story and tends to only show up when she will have greater plot relevance.
- Determinator: Even when she has an injured leg and can barely perform dynamic dodging manuevers, she insists on hightailing it to The Docks to assist Murana in taking down Don Karnage. Although she slips and injures her leg further during the confrontation, she still manages to nail a crack-shot and bust out Karnage's knee caps.
- Kick Chick: This is how she takes down the Dark Flame Wolf during the night of Day 1, by propelling herself feet first into Murana, causing the wolf to plummet down several stories to the street.
- Le Parkour: When the Dark Flame Wolf takes to the rooftops, leaving the rest of the officers stranded on ground level, Judy uses the nearby fencing and brick wall siding to get up to the rooftops as well and give chase.
- Rules Lawyer: It's because of her insane knowledge of the justice and law system that she is able to come up with a solution that allows the DA and the ZPD to utilize Murana as a confidential informant (CI) - the only way she could be absolved of her crimes and still be useful to society.
- Satellite Character: She doesn't seem to propel the plot like the other main characters do. She is mainly used as a sounding board for Ralph Grayz and as support for action scenes where her skills would be beneficial.
- Small Role, Big Impact: The biggest contribution Judy brings to the story is her solution that saves Murana from a lifetime of imprisonment. Because of her convincing Bogo to cut a deal with the DA to make Murana a CI, it essentially changes the course of Murana's life for the better.
Nick Wilde
Zootopia's favorite fox cop!
The former hustler of pawpsicles on the streets, he was inducted into the Night Howler case by Judy Hopps and eventually grew to respect her as an individual. She prompted his decision to become a cop himself and rise above the station of his species.- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Discussed. He suggests this to Anthony in the coffee shop on Day 2 when it is clear that Anthony just stepped onto Murana's bad side and the marriage relationship was far worse than Nick was expecting.
- Deadpan Snarker: Never misses the chance to make a sassy comment or give someone a nickname that they may or may not appreciate. Detective Oates in particular despises Nick's sense of humor.
- Demoted to Extra: Although he shows up in quite a few scenes throughout the fanfic, he still has very little to say or do. There isn't any 'one scene' that is solely his in terms of character development. Despite this, his actions off-page still have impact on the story — like miraculously putting out the fire on Javier Sanchez during Day 1.
- The Medic: He is always helping others with their injuries. Putting out the fire on Javier Sanchez in Day 1 is a prime example. Doing his best to keep Max out of harm's way during the bank siege on the morning of Day 6 is another. Finally, he even tries to keep Don Karnage alive right before Judy accidently kills him by destroying Karnage's totem.
- Satellite Character: Nick stays fairly one-note for the majority of the story since the bulk of its focus is not on his or Judy's actions. However, he does get a few poignant moments by being the caring friend who makes that phone call to Murana on the night of Day 2 to ensure that things get patched up between the her and Anthony.
Ralph Grayz
A Wildebeest cop newly assigned to the Zootopia Precinct 1 ZPD. He has a strong sense of justice and is eager to get out on the streets and prove his worth. He is accompanied by his wife, Stella and his son, Rodney.
- Berserk Button: He hates walking/running on all four hooves, thinking it highly uncivilized. He only deigns to do this deliberately when saving Murana from the choking clutches of Dumptruck.
- Big Damn Heroes: Played straight and Averted. He comes running in to save Murana from Dumptruck, only to be shortly overpowered by him a few moments later.
- For Great Justice: Ralph starts off believing the idealism of upholding the law, only slowly having his views compromised by the reality of how Zootopia truly is.
- Guilt Complex: Because of his best friend being killed in Bunnyburrow and he was unable to stop it from happening even though he had the means to, Ralph vowed to not let the Dark Flame Wolf get away with her crimes; her case being so similar to the one in Bunnyburrow with how it was handled at the police level.
- Hot-Blooded: His inner sense of justice makes him willing to disobey his chief's orders and continue to investigate the Dark Flame Wolf even after being told to stop. His eagerness to see justice done has landed him and others in hot water, with his initial excitement to get to work upon transferring to Zootopia; convincing Anthony to relinguish his shift on Ralph's first day which put him in the hospital after a run-in with the Dark Flame Wolf.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When casually interrogating AJ at his own club, Ralph makes the mistake of blatantly revealing he and Anthony are cops. This sours the conversation and ultimately instigates a full-scale brawl on the club dance floor which puts him again into the hospital (although he goes of his own accord this time with AJ being nice enough to drive him there).
- Original Character: A custom-made character of Dark Flame Wolf's design.
- Parents as People: Ralph is a loving husband and doting father, but he is struggling to juggle his responsibilities to his job while finding time to take care of his ailing wife and crippled son. He is overly stressed at his finances and medical insurance and wonders if he can support his family at all.
- The Smart Guy: Despite being a greenhorn from Bunnyburrow, Ralph is quite savvy on manipulating the ZPD database and piecing clues together to get the information he wants. He is also very adept at interrogating people unless his own prejudices get in the way.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Ralph has to abandon his black and white morality center and decide between doing what is lawful and doing what is right, when doing the lawful thing would end up with a lot of bad things happening to innocent people.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Ralph comes to Zootopia with hopes that he can make the world a better place, quite similar to Judy Hopps. However, his experience the first week breaks him very quickly of this notion.
Zootopia Citizens
AJ
A very suave fox DJ, hitting up all the ladies.
A former fox lover of Murana Wolford. He was a huge part of her youth growing up in Zootopia. He now runs a small night club in central downtown called The Fox Den which fronts as a cover for other operations. Has a disdain for cops.- Hidden Depths: Despite appearing to be a jerk to Ralph and Anthony during Day 4, he has an extreme soft spot for Steven and it is hinted that he was in love with Murana - to the point he even had a ring picked out and bought. He takes Murana under his wing when he finds her lost and confused in a Fugue state and brings her in to take care of and protect alongside Billy Silva.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Although AJ has some questionable loyalties and views cops with contempt, he still has fond feelings for Murana and Steven. Even taking care of Murana in her child-like mindstate for the duration of Day 4, warding off Ralph and Anthony in an attempt to protect her.
- Another example is after Steven and co. discover Murana in the care of AJ and Billy. Even though Ralph got beaten up by AJ's bouncers and rave clientele, AJ still acknowledged that he might have been too harsh and offers to drive Ralph to the hospital to be with his family.
- Kick the Dog: During the rave altercation in The Fox Den, AJ is not content to just let his bouncers handle Ralph and Anthony. He gets up to the DJ block and selects appropriate battle music and goads the crowd to join in on the one-sided brawl. Even when Steven pleads for him to stop, he comes up with a flimsy excuse to keep the fight going and ignores him.
- Lack of Empathy: Due to some unexplored past with the law, AJ does not have high opinions of the ZPD. The moment Ralph reveals he and Anthony are cops, the conversation takes a sudden downward turn leading to The Fox Den brawl.
- He still isn't happy that Murana married Anthony. AJ quietly threatens Anthony that he'll come 'deal' with him should he ever hurt Murana in any fashion.
- Original Character: He is the zoosona of AJ the Fox.
- Pet the Dog: Despite his cold nature towards Ralph and Anthony, he is overjoyed to see Steven, implying they had a former familial relationship in the past. He even goes so far to suggest he'd hook Steven up with a potential lady for the night that would fall right in line with Steven's unique interests.
- Romantic Runner-Up: Is this to Anthony Wolford. Despite having a lot more passion and less relationship woes with Murana, he never did get the chance to marry her. It is briefly touched upon in Day 7 why she and AJ never got hooked up, but the true story is left a mystery.
Billy Silva
Crafty fox with a boatload of black market weapons.
An associate of Murana Wolford. He currently resides under The Fox Den run by AJ. He is the current weapons supplier for her moonlighting activities. He is a very mysterious silver fox who values the privacy of his clients.- Being Personal Isn't Professional: Billy makes it a point to remain professional whenever he is around clients to include Murana. She pokes fun at this and even states he doesn't have to be so aloof when dealing with her.
- Que her bawking at this when he goes to propose to her son, which he claims he is doing outside his professional capacity as her weapons dealer.
- Big Damn Heroes: After disappearing from the story in Day 5, he comes back at the tail end of Day 6 right as all hope seems lost in trying to chase down the Iron Vulture as it launches into the sky. With provided gear, weapons and a motorcycle to chase the aircraft down with, he quite literally saves the day.
- Crazy-Prepared: His entire underground abode is littered with traps, gadgets and easy-to-reach weaponry to defend his home. He also seems to have just the item, gear or weapon for Murana and co. when the need arises.
- Deadpan Snarker: The banter between Murana and Billy during Day 2 gives off this vibe as he continues to remain professional with her despite their long-standing working relationship.
- Hidden Depths: He may be a professional, but he is a romantic at heart as well. After his unfortunate first encounter with Steven, he did off-page research on the culture of skunks and came back with a wilted orchid symbolizing his promise to Steven that he promises to be his partner and protector.
- Original Character: He is the zoosona of Mind Jack.
- Secret-Keeper: He is very strict when it comes to the privacy of his clients. Unless it is for the strict reason of providing safety and protection to his clients, he will not reveal their true identities to others. This quality made him a trustworthy and dependable ally to Murana.
- He breaks this policy during Day 4 when Murana is in a Fugue State and very vulnerable. He trusts her identity to her family with the intent that they'll take her in and protect her regardless of what she's done.
- Sensory Overload: In his excitement at meeting the owner of the musk Murana uses on her person, Billy comes off as somewhat of a creeper to Steven. This leads to unfortunate consequences when, as Steven tries to escape, trips, falls and causes Billy to land face first into a plume of skunk musk at close range. This naturally causes him to pass out.
- The Stoic: Zigzagged. Despite his exterior being all professional, there are moments that his sensitivity and caring shine through. This is clearly seen during Day 4 and in the epilogue. All other times, it is straight business with Billy.
Christopher Guara
A happy, little vigilante who looks suspiciously like a fox.
A fellow ZNN colleague of Steven Stinkman's. He has known the skunk for quite some time and seems to lead a secret double life.- Anti-Hero: A counterpoint to Murana's more brutal variant. Instead of punishing or killing the criminals he targets, he instead subdues them and leaves them for the cops to apprehend. Either way, like Murana, he breaks the law to do it, just a bit less drastically.
- Berserk Button: He abhors being called a fox when he is actually a maned wolf. The color of his fur also does him no favors in this regard. Calling him a 'fox-on-stilts' is what sets him off to literally attack Murana.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When he spars with Murana at the end of Day 2, he has no chance at defeating her. His self-taught fighting skills are no match for her highly-skilled assassin training. He does his best though and holds his own for a brief few minutes.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Nowhere near the level of Murana, Chris has had his fair share of issues growing up. He comments to Max during Day 5 that he used to grow up in a bad part of town and associated with the wrong sorts of people before he straightened his life out - which would explain some of his fighting prowess.
- His Out-of-character moment described below also hints at something darker too.
- Justified Criminal: In his own mind, Chris truly believes he is helping the city by apprehending criminals for the cops to take care of later. He even compares what he is doing as less criminal than what Murana is doing when he confronts her on the night of Day 2 despite both breaking the law.
- Lured into a Trap: Subverted. He gives false information about another potential hit Murana could tackle, but meets her at her supposed target's location. Luring her instead just to confirm his own suspicions of her identity and to get a chance to talk to her face to face with evidence of their double lives out on the table between them.
- Nice Guy: Even if he teases Steven a bit at the beginning, he really does have the best interests at heart towards anyone he meets. He is quick to befriend Max and tries his best to convince Murana there is a better way to go about her vigilante work than killing her victims.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Two instances with him. Typically, Chris is a happy-go-lucky maned wolf who likes to tease, have fun and make new friends. However, he has a very volatile streak when being called a fox and whenever he sees anything remotely sexual (or in this case, a naked mongoose) he completely flips out and goes almost catatonic, suggesting some past abuse there.
- Original Character: He is the zoosona of Raphael Luck.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: He doesn't even try to hide himself when he goes out vigilanting. He wears the same clothes as he does during the day, with maybe only drawing his orange hoodie over his head as some sort of minimal identity cover.
- Playing with Fire: Literally, when he tests his fate by confronting Murana directly on the night of Day 2. She makes him pay by burning his orange hoodie, with him still in it!
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After being sent off towards the end of Day 5, he completely drops off from the rest of the story, despite having a throwaway line that he lives down by The Docks, where the climatic finale takes place. It's after the climax, as everything is settling down, that we get a brief phone call interaction between him and Steven as a means to wrap up any loose ends to his character.
Courtney
A skunk that Steven Stinkman meets in a local coffee shop that has taken quite a liking to him and his family.
- Car Fu: Courtney basically plows into Jack Savage with her own car accidently to save Murana's life at the start of Day 6.
- Deus Ex Skunkette: Courtney showing up to slam her car into Jack Savage qualifies as this since it is so random and it appeared that Murana had no avenues to survive against Jack Savage.
- Hidden Depths: She is surprisingly adept at working on cars, as evidenced in Day 4 when she tells Steven that her father taught her everything she knows. She is also a fantastic cook, home maker, love partner and stalker.
- Fridge Brilliance: This could explain why Jack Savage didn't hear her car coming during her Deus ex Machina. She probably had custom-tuned the engine to run silent, which is certainly saying something of her skills since Jack is a rabbit with fantastic hearing!
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- Love Hungry: She basically steamrolls over any protests from Steven about the course of their relationship. She talks as if all decisions on how their lives are to be together have already been decided, leaving no room for argument. It is subtly hinted in the story that she lacks the love she is searching for in Steven, which could make the rejection in the epilogue Harsher in Hindsight.
- Stalker with a Crush: It is insane how Courtney, through pure volition alone, manages to find out where Steven lives, where Murana works and even manages to track both down in the action-packed bank siege scene in Day 5/6 just in time to pull a Deus ex Machina that saves Murana's life.
- Yandere: There is no doubt that Courtney is fiercely obessessive over Steven, to the point of basically integrating herself into his daily life by the start of Day 4 and even showing up on Day 6 in full wedding dress, ready to marry the 'love of her life.' When Billy Silva proposes to Steven and he accepts, she goes into full attack mode and tries to kill Billy.
Zoey Javan
The diminutive mongoose neighbor to Murana Wolford. A very raunchy girl who has had some steamy encounters with a wide variety of mammals in and around Murana's apartment.
- Ephebophile: A bit disturbing, but it is made clear that Zoey had her eye on Steven for most of his young adolescent life living in the Wolford household with Murana. Despite her attraction to the skunk, she obliged the laws of age restriction and did The Jailbait Wait until he turned 18, then she enjoyed him that very night and many subsequent nights after that!
- Good Bad Girl: She really wants the best for her partners. Despite wanting to bed Steven during Day 4, she realizes his need to find his mom and elects to help him along with that endeavor. Being intimate is an extension of how she relates to the males she is into, as evidenced with Trevor.
- Naked First Impression: When Max and Christopher come knocking at Murana's apartment looking for her on Day 5, Zoey opens the door naked since she was in the middle of having sex with Trevor. This causes Christopher to go near catatonic while making Max slightly uncomfortable.
- Original Character: A custom-made character of Dark Flame Wolf's design.
- Questionable Consent: The near sexual encounter with Steven during Day 4 is suspect on if Steven was fully accepting of her advances; especially knowing she pacified him with the scent of her hindpaws, which is an aphrodisiac to Steven. Despite this, he never calls her out on it and it's heavily implied that he's come to her for sexual relations multiple times in the past.
- Species Fetish: She has sex with and is wanting to marry a wolf, Trevor. She has had multiple encounters with a skunk, Steven. And knowing the type of partners Murana is interested in and that she's shared a few simultaneously with Zoey, she's probably had other species as well.
- Really Gets Around: That she does. Two mammals we know for sure during the story with many more alluded to outside the bounds of this fanfic.
- Satellite Character: She has glimpses of depth to her character when she chastised Murana in Day 2 for burning mammals alive and letting Steven go to find her mother when all she wanted to do was jump his bones in Day 4. She even warmly expressed her happiness at seeing Max in Day 5 and seemed willing to help him too at first. Despite these examples, she still seems to be 'just there' as a character and is primarily used to direct the protagonists to where they need to be for relevant plot points/locations.
Villains
Don Karnage
Don Karnage, not looking so smug right now.
The infamous pirate of the skies from the classic series, TaleSpin. He shows up suddenly in Zootopia, decades past his supposed prime and life span to kidnap children for unknown purposes. He seems to have a checkered past with Murana Delante Wolford.- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Don Karnage is absolutely in it for survival. If he feels he doesn't have the upper hand, and he doesn't have a stolen soul to take a fatal wound for him, he has no shame in groveling and pleading for his life, if not flat-out running away.
- Affably Evil: He has a perchant for being flamboyant and dramatic when he is enjoying himself being evil.
- Big Bad: He is the primary villain of the story, despite not showing up until the end of the second day, 7 chapters in!
- Brought Down to Normal: If Don Karnage or any of his men currently have a stolen soul absorbed into their bodies, they can survive a fatal wound that would normally have killed them. However, this expends the soul they stole and they can then be killed like anyone else unless they steal another.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Don Karnage has a huge chunk of skin bitten off on his left ear where Murana bit him when she escaped the Iron Vulture when she was a teenager.
- Kick the Dog: Don Karnage delights in doing this to ordinary civilians or people who displease him. He also abuses his own crew quite often.
- Large Ham: Don Karnage loves to play to the crowd, or rather primarily to his crew, when he does villainous things.
- Offstage Villainy: He actually plays this straight and defies it at the same time. We hear a lot of the atrocities he has done onto Murana and others, but we also see the bad things he does during the story as well. However, some of his worst actions are still described as happening offstage.
- Older Than They Look: Because of their totems which allow them to suck the souls of their victims and add their years onto their own, every pirate is able to live centuries past the time of their natural death.
- Rapid Aging: When Judy Hopps shoots and destroys the totem Don Karnage was holding in his possession, the magic on his body lifted and he aged centuries in just a few seconds, leaving nothing but a pile of dust.
- Sky Pirate: He literally is a sky pirate, commanding an entire airship called the Iron Vulture.
- The Sociopath: Don Karnage cares little for others even among his own crew. He is only concerned for what people and things can do for him. He states to Murana in Day 6 that his primary goal is to survive and live a life of luxury. Anything that does not serve that purpose is useless to him.
- Walking Spoiler: Every single trope that references Don Karnage on the main trope page for this work is marked as a spoiler since his appearance in the story is such a pleasant surprise for readers who are familiar with the TV show he heralds from: TaleSpin, and that most wouldn't realize this story is a crossover of sorts until his introduction.
- Would Hurt a Child: Don Karnage and his pirate crew all don't seem to care who gets in the way of their objectives. Only Ronald Latrinae seems to avert this trope, immediately calling out that he won't harm a child.
Dumptruck
A very unsavory pirate that doesn't like orcas.
The dumb bulldog muscle for Don Karnage. He isn't very bright, but he is very lethal and has a strange perversion for young cubs.- Death by Irony: He is a perverted pirate who likes going after prey smaller than him. He is killed by a large orca prostitute, Sebastian, when caught and dragged underwater to be sexually impaled to death and drowned.
- Dumb Muscle: Lampshaded. He is perfectly aware he is not smart and knows why his captain has given him the nickname of 'Dumptruck,' however he seems to hold this in pride instead.
- Made of Iron: A full-blown ramming tackle by Ralph does little slow down down the oppressive might of Dumptruck's strength, easily getting the upper paw on Ralph and choking the life out of him.
- Mighty Glacier: Zigzagged. He is slow and lumbering, however he is very quick on the draw and can easily whip out his musket and nail a target from several meters away.
- Older Than They Look: Because of their totems which allow them to suck the souls of their victims and add their years onto their own, every pirate is able to live centuries past the time of their natural death.
- Pædo Hunt: Given that All Men Are Perverts, he makes a not-so-subtle threat to Max that he's more than willing to do the same to him.
- Sky Pirate: He literally is a sky pirate. He is the Dumb Muscle to Don Karnage and seems to be very trusted in this position.
- Took a Level in Badass: He is not very bright, skilled or lethal in the original TaleSpin animation series. That changes completely upon his first introduction at the start of Day 5.
Jack Savage
Jack Savage, as deadly efficient as ever.
A very suave and dangerous assassin from Murana Delante Wolford’s past. He is deadly efficient and has been tasked with the job of killing her. However, his actions are unusual and it seems he may have other motives.- Badass Boast: Jack is very confident in his abilities to kill. He openly makes himself known to Murana days before he attempts to assassinate her, not caring that tipping her off would leave him at a potential disadvantage.
- But Now I Must Go: When Jack fails to kill Murana, he admits defeat and even visits her at her apartment to say goodbye before he disappears from her life, quite possibly for good.
- Crazy-Prepared: Jack Savage. When going up against a fellow assassin, you can't be anything less.
- Determinator: He suffers a near fatal fall down a stairwell and is met against heavy police opposition in pursuit of his goal in killing Murana. He does not stop until Courtney comes in from left field and puts him out for good.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Jack Savage is very polite when he first meets Murana. Because of their past relationship as partners, he offers her a headsup that he will be gunning for her as a courtesy to their past friendship.
- In the same vein, Jack Savage also knows when he has failed and willingly stands down from killing Murana when it is clear that Rosco would not be happy with his failure regardless of what happened next.
- Failed a Spot Check: When entering the bank stairwell in pursuit of Murana, Jack fails to check the overhead pipes above the door where Max is hanging out, right before he is kicked off the landing and down the entire stairwell.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Jack Savage seems to have this during the fight sequence beginning day 6. With sniper rifles to elevator cable cutters to grenade launching gun attachments to pole extension metal shields to a variety of ammo types. It seems crazy to think he had it all stuffed in his tuxedo. Even Nick Wilde calls him out on this.
- Only in It for the Money: Jack makes it clear that it is just business that he is tasked to kill Murana. Even when he fails, he knows that his money and job security is forfeit and drops all attempts at killing her since it would provide no benefit to himself.
- Professional Killer: Jack Savage is a pay for hire assassin who is under the employ of a mysterious figure named Rosco who runs a shadowy guild called The Arbiter's Hand.
- Sharp-Dressed Mammal: Jack Savage is the epitome of a consummate professional assassin, wearing a tuxedo even when it seems highly inappropriate when hunting down his mark.
- We Used to Be Friends: Murana and Jack were partner assassins together working under Rosco when they were younger.
Mad Dog
A pirate with a grudge and an image to prove.
The sniveling right-hand canine to Don Karnage. He is always looking to get in his captain's good graces and hates anyone who tries to usurp his position.- Death by Irony: Early on in Day 5, Mad Dog is hellbent on proving himself better than Max, even to the point of almost sucking out his soul before Don Karnage stops him. Fast forward to the evening of Day 6 and that's exactly how he dies, but with Max accidently sucking out his soul.
- Dirty Coward: When Jack Savage kills Don Karnage in the bank foyer on Day 6, he isn't above considering running away and leaving his captain behind.
- The Dragon: He is the second-in-command to Don Karnage. However, it is debatable if Karnage truly trusts him in this role.
- Driven by Envy: Envy for Max being the current captain's pet and getting all the favors and passes that bestows, as limited as they may be.
- Gadgeteer Genius: A small example, but it may be surprising to fans of the TaleSpin show that Mad Dog is smart enough to design a device complex enough to pick up and locate pieces of raw tungsten found in Zootopia.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He is provoked very easily by Max several times throughout the story, each time ending with Mad Dog attempting some form of lethal action on Max.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: What Mad Dog tries to pull on Max in Day 5. He is not successful at hiding up his insecurities when Max easily points out the flaw in his own logic.
- Older Than They Look: Because of their totems which allow them to suck the souls of their victims and add their years onto their own, every pirate is able to live centuries past the time of their natural death.
- Sky Pirate: He literally is a sky pirate. He is second-in-command to Don Karnage.
Rosco
A mysterious figure that seems to be the mastermind behind the shadowy assassins that have been sent after Murana Wolford.
- Greater-Scope Villain: He is the greater threat to Murana, responsible for both Ronald Latrinae and Jack Savage. Although setback due to the failure of both in this story, it is certain that Rosco won't rest until Murana has paid for her betrayal of their guild.
- The Unseen: He is only ever mentioned and doesn't have any active role in the story outside of who he sends after Murana to kill her.
