RJ is a Zootopia fanfic by Berserker88
, best known among Zootopia fans for Bornto Be Wilde, written as part of the "What If...?" Collaboration.
After being told that he shouldn't have become a cop during a routine drug bust, Nick sweats over the implications despite having shrugged them off on prior occasions. He fears where he could've ended up if he had never met Judy, speculating that he would've just spiraled deeper and deeper into the world of crime. Why is this only now weighing so heavily on him? Because with the PIXAR machine, he can now see for himself What Could Have Been.
Enter the specially crafted simulation "RJ", in which Nick plays "Reynard Junior", an ambitious new crime lord who is just about to secure his place as the new head honcho of Mr. Big's organization, while Judy plays a Private Detective tasked by the ZPD to stop him before he can solidify his place in the criminal underworld. Seems like a daunting task that could put her, and everyone she knows in danger, but hey, it's just a simulation. Right?
It can be read on FF.net or AO3.
What part of 'I control freaking TV Tropes' did you not understand?:
- Ambiguous Situation: Whether RJ is just a rogue AI that happens to be based on Nick, or Nick's actual dark side made manifest, is never really made clear. Even the author himself isn't sure.
- Big Bad: Reynard Junior is this for the simulation, though is more of a co-protagonist for the story. Doubly so when it's revealed that he is self-aware and intends to supplant the real Nick, kill Judy, and take over Nick's life, making him the actual big bad after all.
- Bilingual Bonus: See all that binary in the cover image? It's spelling out "Reynard Junior" over and over.
- Character Catchphrase: RJ has "Crazy like a fox.", which he'll say whenever someone calls him, or anything he does crazy.
- Chekhov's Gun: Detective Hopps' fox repellent, which is mentioned by her parents in the first chapter, then never brought up again. Then, in chapter 5, the real Judy uses it to briefly incapacitate RJ in a last-ditch attempt to reach the virtual PIXAR machine.
- Foreshadowing: There are several inconsistencies and convenient contrivances throughout the story that often go without explanation or are hand waved, usually stacking things in RJ's favor. This is because RJ is self-aware, which gives him a limited degree of control over the simulated world.
- Grand Finale: Is one for the "What If...?" Collaboration. While the collab has one more story after this one, RJ has a finale-like feel to it, being the only story in the collab with actual stakes, calling the ethics of PIXAR into question, and ending with the implication that Nick and Judy will not be revisiting PIXAR anytime soon.
- Hostile Show Takeover: Downplayed. Each chapter credits its writer and editors, and the creator of the cover art. However, the final chapter credits everything to RJ.
- Rule of Cool: The story has a few over-the-top action sequences that really only occur because they look cool.
Word of God admits it to be a staple of his writing, though being a simulation, it may be justified. - Shout-Out: The fic is loaded with nods to its sister fic Born to Be Wilde, which it is heavily based on.
- For obvious reasons, the final chapter has quite a few quotes and references from The Matrix. Eventually lampshaded.
- Villain Has a Point: RJ's plan is essentially spurred on by disgust that Nick and Judy have used the PIXAR machine to explore these virtual worlds only to throw their virtual selves away afterwards.
- Wham Line: At the end of chapter 4, Manchas delivers a chilling one that re-contextualizes the entire story.Manchas:"I know because...I am Martin Fitwik, inventor of the PIXAR machine."
