Ask AU; Childhood Friends AU

 

Wasty: I think the difficult thing here...aside from bringing the ages in line, is figuring out how to have them all grow up in the same general area while still maintaining large elements of their initial upbringing. What I would probably do would be to drop everyone in roughly the same area, and the one that's most accommodating for everyone involved would be in between the North and South Meadowlands, with Nick living in the more suburban Southern Meadowlands, and Judy and her family being shifted up to the North Meadowlands either with them moving or having always lived there. I'd also shift over Gideon Grey and Sharla and her brother to keep Judy's Kithood mostly consistent.

Starting off, I think Dawn and Judy would become friends first, what with both being fairly small mammals. Considering young Judy's personality, I think she'd notice a very shy and timid Dawn and feel sort of compelled to befriend her. She'd also usually be the one to stick up for Dawn against bullies even if her efforts to do so were easily blow off by most mammals since she was just a 'weak little bunny'. Through that connection Dawn would also be befriended by Sharla, as Judy would have met the little black lamb before Dawn and brought her along. Vernon would come along shortly after, with the same situation occurring that brought them together in the first place, only this time there'd be a distinct difference. The bully would be Gideon Grey. I imagine Judy would miss school semi-regularly due to having to help with the family farm, which would end up leaving Dawn without a defender, and after several attempts on picking on the ewe spoiled by Judy going Hall Monitor on Gideon, the first absence since Judy started stepping in for Dawn would leave an opening to good for the fox to pass up. After all, the tod knew there was no way Sharla would step in without Judy. Sharla would run to the teacher to get help, but by the time she got help the situation would have already been handled by a certain grey wolf pup.

Vernon would still leap into the fray, pulling the same stunt he always did by recklessly fighting a bully, but he would more than likely win this one, as despite being a runt, he'd still be bigger than Gideon. The next day Dawn would introduce Vernon to Judy and Sharla and tell her about how he sent Gideon wailing for a teacher, and Vernon would immediately earn the rabbits' friendship. In a short time, Judy would become super enamored with Vernon's family after finding out just what they did, and would probably get to the point of driving Vernon and his brothers nuts by asking endless questions about real police work. As they grow up, she even develops a little kithood crush on Vernon's Dad for a while because he's just 'So COOL!" in her words. And unlike her own parents and most of those in the community, Dorian and the Hunters, (Save for Yuri), are super supportive of Judy's dream. Dorian even allows her to train with the boys, much to Yuri's annoyance.

Dawn and Vernon's friendship is still briefly broken up by Aster about a month after the trio unites. However, Dawn having multiple friends in school rather than just one wolf gives Clover the extra push she needs to leave her husband the night he breaks Dawn's friendship bracelets, (As there is now a bracelet from for both Vernon and Judy.) At that point, Dorian brings Clover and Dawn to the Hunter Ranch to stay while Clover files for divorce and looks to find a new home for her and her daughter. They end up staying a year before, with the help of Dorian and Judy's Parents, managed to find a small townhome relatively close to both the Hunter Ranch and the Hopps farm, thus allowing Dawn continued easy access to her friends.

Nick would come along later, shortly after the 'Ranger Scout' incident. I figure Nick's Mom would be a mixture of heartbroken and livid that her son was treated the way he was, but knowing she wouldn't be able to get anyone to do anything meaningful about it, and that Nick would still have to go to school with those kids that teased him, she calls on her cousin in the North Meadowlands and with their help quickly relocates her and her son out of the suburbs. That cousin is Gideon Grey's mother, and while part of the intent of moving Nick up there was so he'd be able to be friends with his second cousin Gideon, and have a fox friend, the pair immediately rub each other the wrong way. It doesn't help that they're forced to live under one roof while Nick's mom attempts to find a new job and a new home for the both of them.

Fairly quickly the two get in a fight after Gideon finds out that Nick is still holding on to some of his ranger scout uniform and teases him mercilessly over it, eventually sending Nick running out of the house in tears. Nick walks alone for a while, wandering the local roads of the North Meadowlands until he gets to a small bridge over a river. Nick, still crying considers tossing the last of his Ranger scout gear into the water when he's discovered by an awkward little billy goat who mistakes him for a new recruit to the scouts he hasn't met yet. After Nick reluctantly explains himself and what happened, the little goat refuses to let the young tod throw away his ranger gear, instead promising to get Nick into his own troop. This little billy, if you haven't picked up on it by now, is Gustav Hornsly. 

With Gus vouching for him, the fox is inducted, (reluctantly on the part of the den leader), into the North Meadowlands Ranger Scout Troop. Of course, that reluctance came more from his being related to notable troublemaker Gideon Grey more than anything. But being friends with the weird sickly little goat is bound to get you picked on, and thus a similar situation happens to that of the initial bathroom swirly scene where Gus met Vernon. Only now, Gus is quickly dropped in favor of Nick when the tod steps in to defend his friend. Of course, his charisma isn't enough to save him, and so the tod finds himself about to get the crap kicked out of him by a lumbering teenage cheetah when Vernon enters the bathroom and breaks the whole mess up. Nick tries to play off needing the wolf's help, but Gus undermines him by thanking the wolf for saving both their hides. Gus and Vernon become fast friends, with Nick tailing behind as the friend group is finally connected.

A lot goes on from that point in terms of character interaction. Gus and Vern start the school's BnB club together, dragging a reluctant Nick along with Dawn, Judy, Sharla, Broomie, Joel, and Claire. Judy ends up joining the ranger scouts and being one of the few mammals aside from Gus willing to work with Nick, the pair become fast friends. Dawn still briefly dates Gus in this timeline, and then the 'singles' prom situation plays out similarly, only now Dawn has a significantly larger female support group advising her as to what to do, and the same goes for Vern with his male support group. Of course, being friends with Claire, Dawn knows she has feelings for Vern and that does cause friction when Dawn develops her own feelings for the wolf. And as for Vern, you can bet Nick mercilessly teases Vernon over being a prey chaser. Of course, that's before actually going to the prom, and the wolf actually catching feelings for Dawn, at which point Nick is oddly sympathetic and encouraging.

Meanwhile, ol' Gideon Grey has been out of the picture for a while, at least in terms of picking on members of the group. It is only when he comes to see Nick and apologizes to him that everyone learns the chunky tod has been seeing a counselor and has mostly mended his ways. He apologizes to everyone in the group and is eventually absorbed into it. In the lead-up to prom, Gideon and Sharla really warm up to each other, but it still really shocks the group when Gideon asks Sharla to the prom, and even more shockingly she agrees. Naturally, this puts Sharla in the best position to really rally behind Dawn when her own romantic feelings for Vern begin to form, as well as makes her the best to confide in about her feelings next to Judy.

After graduation, Judy is the first to rocket into the local police academy, with both Dorian's training giving her a head start, and a written recommendation from the law wolf forcing a lot of the instructors to push aside their misgivings about a rabbit aiming to be a cop. According to Dorian, starting out in the North Meadowland Police would make for a great stepping stone to getting into the ZPD, a goal that the doe is eager to shoot for. By this point, Nick and Judy have become really close, and so she ends up encouraging him to follow along with her into the NMPD, and after some training with ol' Mam' Hunter, the fox signs up for the academy as well.

Vernon is reluctant to go into the police academy. He feels...sort of pigeonholed by his father to take up the work and definitely feels uncertain about the whole thing. But with two of his friends in the academy, the wolf decides to go for it. As for Dawn, encouraged by seeing all of her friends enter, especially Judy, and having endured the 'Hunter Family' police regiment herself, and done quite well in Dorian's eyes, Dawn follows swiftly along with her mate. While Vernon and Judy prove to be strong in the athletic portion of the training, Dawn, and Nick really shine in the more mental investigation and observation aspects of the work. The four are hired onto the NMPD shortly after graduation, and while Vernon and Dawn stay in the North Meadowlands and rise to the ranks of deputy. Judy transfers out to the ZPD about two years in, with Nick following shortly behind his partner. 

Though now separated, the four meet up fairly regularly and remain close friends even into the present. Although the four of them have begun to muse about the prospect of creating a private investigation business in Zootopia to run together. Whether that happens or not, who can say? It was a fun little tangent nonetheless.

Yearbook Transcript

Yo Gus, hope summer camp won't keep ya too busy. Me and Dawn are gonna really miss havin' ya around. Plus without you around to stem the flock, these ewe's 'er gonna eat me alive.

-Yer best friend "Sheepdog" A.K.A. Vernon Hunter

I'm sorry things didn't work out between us Gussy. I hope we can always stay best friends! See you after your Ranger Camp stuff.

-Dawn Bellwether

Howdy Gus, Sorry I'm not great at the BnB stuff! Still had fun though!

-Love, Sharla Baker

Thanks fer makin' me feel welcome after all I did ta most of ya. Thanks for the second chance.

-Gideon Grey

Hey Gus, have fun at Ranger Camp! Much Love,

-Claire Baahley

When you get back, you owe me a pocket mammals rematch!

-Yer Bud Dylan Broomie

Ey Shatterhorn, hate to admit it, but I actually had fun "playing pretend" with your other nerd friends in club. See ya in the Ranger Scouts Summer Camp. Heads up! I'm coming for that merit badge record!

-Nick P. Wilde - Your 'better' best friend.

Hey Ranger buddy! Looking forward to summer camp? I know I am! Hope you prep a campaign or two for the slow nights! I'm really digging this roleplaying stuff.

-Judy Hopps

Hey Dude, have fun at summer camp! Promise I'll have a bunch of Mamanga's to share when you get back! I swear to keep the porn ones to a minimum.

-Joel Pacal

(And here's a 'yearbook signage free' version of Gus' yearbook page for the BnB club. The characters are around 16 to 17 here.)

Ask Gideon and Sharla; 20 years later; Rude Customers

Gideon: Well...iffin' ya have me hard-pressed to pick some out...I er...well I mean we live in a purty 'bunny dense' county. I mean, our town is called 'Bunnyburrow' fer cryin' out loud. Also, bunny weddin's are....big business. Still, I don't want to make it seem like it's exclusively a bunny thang but-.

Sharla: Well I'm not afraid to say it, almost all bunny brides are real bridezillas...just to varying degrees.

Gideon: D-Darlin' please-...

Sharla: All of our horror stories usually involve a bunny bride. Our worst stories specifically focus on Jilly Hopps, as she's been back to us for three different marriages.

Gideon: Ehh...yeah Jilly was...she's real...disagreeable...

Sharla: That's sugarcoating it. She almost always came in three sheets to the wind, making demands like she was some sort of dictator by virtue of throwing our partnership with the Hopps family farm out between every daiquiri-fumed breath. 

Gideon; Also usually ate two cakes worth o' samples every time she came in despite knowin' the flavors purty well by then...

Sharla: The puking in our toilet and bawling about getting married...Gods, the last time she came in she actually had the gall to hit on you! I nearly tossed her out on her ass right there!

Gideon: Y-yeah...that was real uncomfortable...her whisperen' slurred sweet nothin's up to me...breath smellin' o' sick and sour alcohol...*shudders*. I didn't take her fer a crosser...

Sharla: She's pushin' fifty with three failed marriages, at this point she's desperate for anything...oh, and of course at the end of it all she makes sure to bring up the 'Hopps family discount'....real classy rabbit that one...

Gideon: Most o' the Hopps don't even ask fer it outta respect fer our smaller family...

Sharla: Weddings aside, again bunnies tend to be our rudest customers...whether it's casual or overt speciesism toward my mate, I'm looking at you Misses Hoppley...

Gideon: Well, she's pushin' a hundred years old...old lady is set in her ways. Then there's also the...y'know...I mean I picked on a lotta the younger folks who come in when we were younger...I sorta expec-...

Sharla: We're all adults now, it's time to grow up and out of that sort of thing. You did, so what excuse do they really have? Oh also, then there are the bunnies that have trouble with us being an interspecies couple, yet still, come to us for all their baking needs! A few of them have landed themselves on the 'banned for life' list because I caught them whispering about us.

Gideon: Now Darlin'...

Sharla: I don't know what it is about middle-aged, single does, but they love their gossip...oh and don't get me started on how insanely picky some of them are, especially when it comes to carrot cake! It's like, if you want it the way 'your mother makes it', then lamb shanks just have your mother make it and leave us out of it!

Gideon: Black Forest Cake...yer bubblin' over...this is gonna be bad fer our publicity...

Sharla: O-Oh! Sorry, sugar-fox...I just...I've been bottling a lot up I guess...sometimes I wonder if it would have been better or worse to pick up and move the business to Zootopia instead of staying here...

Gideon: It's alright Darlin' I understand. And even if we had been the family to pack up shop here, we'd still need someone to operate this arm of the business and deliver supplies up to our city store from the Hopps' place. Easier to let some of the Hopps run our city store since a few of them were aspirin' bakers lookin' to follow after Judy in terms of tryin' their paws at city livin'...me, fer the occasional trouble we run into livin' and workin' how we do out here well...I'm always gonna prefer country livin'. 

Sharla: Yeah...and I suppose it was better for our pups too. They may get teased from time to time, but as I've heard from Judy with her pups, it's no better in the city when it comes to that...

Gideon: Kits can be real cruel...y'all can trust me on that one...

Ask the Foxes; Rainbow of Moprhs

 

Cameron: I supposed getting a sort of accurate number would depend on whether or not your are separating by species. Arctics and Fennecs are largely categorized as separate species, but still, classify colors using the general morphs, hence how you can separately categorize a white fox morph, and an arctic fox morph even though they are functionally the same. That prospect alone makes in hard to kinda pen down a hard number on all the possible colors you can find among foxes, but then you have the fact that a pelt can change color based on climate, seasonal or other factors throughout the years regardless of the species. Then there are of course cross-species foxes like your friend to talk about...Which just make thye whole thing that much more confusing...

Val: Dad, you're rambling...

Cameron: I'm not rambling, I'm merely educating you and the mammal asking the question on just how complex morph families among the vulpes species can be. Granted in the case of Val and myself...well me to a lesser extent, we are the most common color of red morph, orange.

Val: What do you mean, 'too a lesser extent' when you're talking about your own fur? You look pretty orange to me.

Cameron: My pelt is also considered part of the red morph family, but instead of being a simple orange morph like Val's is, it's actually a sort of deeper, more vibrant red referred to as 'fire'. This specific color is rarer, and its origins can be traced back to grussian red foxes, which is where a majority of my side of the family comes from if you go back far enough.

Val: Pfft...lame...I want a cooler pelt color too...

Cameron: Hey, it may have been the standard, but that was your mother's pelt color too, and I happen to think it's very cool.

Val: Pftt...sure...What about you slick?

Nick: Oh, I was waiting for my time to chime in. *Chuckles* I'm afraid I'm in the same boat as you are kid, standard red morph here, and same for my mother, though I do know quite a few vixens who are sporting pelts from the white morph family. 

Judy: Quite a few eh? *Glares at Nick.

Nick: Oh hush, you know Skye, and Wade's partner from the Tundratown district. And those relationships are all above board, you know that.

Judy: And these are all still considered red foxes? So where do Arctic foxes come in?

Nick: Well, I'm pretty sure Skye and Finnick are considered 'Sandy Morphs', which are technically still Red Morphs, Although I think Wade's partner is purely a white morph.

Qali: Arctic Foxes are techincally their own species, like Fennecs. But while a majority of arctic foxes sport a 'white morph' like me and my sister Matsa, there are a bunch of arctic foxes sporting what we call a 'Blue Phase Morph', like my younger sister Auniq. Despite the name, a Blue Phase has a pelt that appears almost black or charcoal colored all year round. It's a rare morph, and it's also exclusive to Artic Foxes.

Cameron: Interesting, I don't think I've ever met a real blue morph arctic fox before. Closest I've come to meeting a fox with a pure black morph was Val's great uncle on her mother's side.

Val: Grunkle Silas? The guy who worked the steam train?

Cameron: The the same. Marian used to joke that the family could never tell whether or not he still had soot on his fur from the job. *chuckles* All you could make on in the dark was his eyes, and that garish golden fang he had put in.

Nick: In terms of just how rare your buddy's pelt is, I guess we'd need to see him. But you can more or less use the general morph categories to place him I think. Reds like me, and Val, are the more common Red fox Morph you'll run into on the street. Cameron's color is probably less rare, but I don't think most mammals outside of other foxes will pick up on that.

Cameron: Silas, and the other true Slivers and melanistic type phase foxes are rarer, although not the rarest. They are more common on this side of the world, and you're bound to meet a few of them in the colder districts. then there are of course grey morphs, which are less common here rather than in Roarope.

Nick: The white pelts, however, well I suppose they would be the rarest...although thanks to Zootopia housing a Tundra Climate, There are quite a few families of White and shades of luetcistic non-artic families that have settled down there. 

Qali: You may not notice a difference between those foxes and the native arctics ones with a naked eye, especially if you are not a fox yourself, But arctic foxes are smaller than white morphs, and have stunted ears.

Cameron: And that's of course not even counting mutations...such as 'champagne' like my mother Aleta, (which is still technically a red morph) or...of course full on albino foxes, oh and let's not forget the lavender pelt, like Marian's great grandmother. And of course the Marble pelt. Which some of my younger cousins in Roarope sport, and which runs on my side. Marian's Grace, at this point it might just be easier to try to plot us all on some sort of color sheet to better help your friend out. But do tell him not to be discouraged. You are far from alone in terms of having a rather unique pelt. At the end of the day, the range is simply too vast to neatly count-out, so keep your chin up!

Gabriel Grey (Sketch Ask)

This was drawn up as a payment/sketch to thank KarakuriCentral for all he's done in regards to being my editor, for fics and otherwise. Many you may remember some of his previous commissions were very Gideon Grey X Sharla centric, one of the more recent releases being that of the 'Sharla pregnant yoga' flats piece. 

On the most recent stream, Kara had asked me what a future potential kit for the pair would look like. And I told him I had actually done that before in an ask, wherein I sketched up a few potential hybrid kits from the pair.

So in order to put a little twist on it, I decided to draw one of them as an adult, and allowed him to pick which kit that got to be. 

With that, I present to you, Gabriel Grey, the king of fluff and the goodest of boys.

Gabriel is a soft, rather sweet-natured Shox who takes a great deal of his looks from his father over his mother, right down to his rather stocky frame, and spare tire. Since he was kit he had always looked even more chunky than he actually was due to his rather luxiourus wool fur pelt, and that's always made him super self-conscious. The boy has also always had a natural talent for baking like his Pa, something he had tried to resist when he was younger but over time grew to love. This was largely because he already got more than enough flack at school for being a hybrid kit in general. being talented in what many would see as a rather girly profession would have only made him more of a pariah. 

So there's a quick write-up on Gabe. Maybe some other time I'll do one on his lil' sister.

-Wasty

Ask Sharla 20 Years Later; Gideon's Changes

 

Sharla: Well the easiest answer would be to say that Giddy has gotten even more cuddly and softhearted since we adopted lambs, something I didn't even think was possible as he was practically as soft as a sponge-cake already. *Giggles*

Gideon: Aw shucks Darlin'...*blushes* Makin' me flustered here...

Sharla: I'm only stating a fact Giddy.

Gideon: Still though...*chuckles*

Sharla; It's not like I'm saying you're a pushover hubby, in fact, that's another thing that's changed since we adopted. Giddy has...well, he's been very afraid about coming off like he did as a kit...so much so that I've seen him back down when in situations where he was totally in the right, just to avoid the confrontation...

Gideon: I mean...It's true. I don't...I don't wanna be that fella anymore. I really want to keep that version o' myself in my kithood.

Sharla: I still think you're over-correcting sweetie, which is why I'm glad to see you taking a more...aggressive stance when it comes to our lambs. If they get picked on, or something happens to them, Giddy is always the first to rush to stand up for them. It's one of the few situations where he'll risk the confrontation.

Gideon: Well...I mean...bein' a kit can...can be tough. So many adults just look down their nose as kits...treat 'em as lesser without even thinkin', especially iffin' they're actin' out. No one want's to listen to 'em. They need someone in their corner....a-and what kinda Pa would I be iffin' I didn't stand up fer my kits.

Sharla: You did split that one rabbit's lip open...

Gideon: When his kit says loudly in front o' me and the rest of the kits that 'his daddy says he ain't allowed to play with a 'filthy crossers' kits' at the public playground in front of the other parents, what was I supposta do? There weren't no reasonin' with that kinda bigotry.

Sharla: I'm not saying you were wrong. Had I been there I probably would have taken a swing at him myself. But my point still stands, my hubby turned into a fierce and protective Papa real fast.

Gideon: They made lil' Daisy Lee cry! No one makes my baby girl cry...

Aks Gideon; Echoes of the Past

 

    Gideon: I just try to get by day by day when it comes to how I...used to act...and the impact it left behind. I tired to apologize to every mammal I teased and bullied growin' up, wether it was in person, er' by mail. O'course, that don't mean everyone accepted them apologies, and I do still get some cold stares from those who still harbor them feelin's about me. While I can't blame 'em, it does still sting a might from time to time. What was worse was them folks who were more upset that I was a fox in 'their' town, rather then a bully as a kit. There's still folks like that skulkin' around Bunnyburrow to this day, and while bein' forced to interact with 'em is few in far between, it never really gets any easier. Folks like that er' why my kithood was the way it was. It's par tof the reason I spent them year's lashin' out.

Before Shar came into my life, a lot of that frustration and bein' all uspet over that sorta thing would spill into my bakin' from time to time. A burnt pie here, salt in place o' sugar there, all cause I was too busy dwellin' on the pain to be at top performance. And while that still happened from time to time before our little family formed, I had my Darlin' black forest cake to come along and talk my troubles outta me.

O' course, my kits havin' to deal with well...bein' adopted, and by Gideon Grey no less, the ol' terror of Bunny Burrow, they got more flack that I was ready to handle. Our older boy is real sensitive like I was...but he buries that pain, and he ends up comin' home cryin' rather than givin' some of his bunny bullies a swirly in the middle school bathroom. That kind stuff had me back to messin' up my pies and cakes somethin' fierce. But he has somethin' I didn't have growin' up. Our little lamb is a real spitfire, and she's usually there to stick up fer our son with them bein' near the same grade. Then there's the twins, who are in the same grade so they can can back eachother up even easier. Not only that, but all of 'em have a lovin' family to come home to. A family who while march down to the school and fight fer 'em in person. Who always got their back. I just hope that when they is grown up, they'll....well they'll have been better for it. I mean, I know our little mixed pack ain't perfect...no family is. But I just hope they'll always remember me and their Ma fer bein' right there for 'em. 

(Edit; I forgot when writing this, because I wasn't feeling so hot, that the Gideon pack has 4 kits. A fox tod, the oldest, then a younger lamb, and the youngest, a set of bunny twins, one boy and one girl. None of them have names yet, and since I wasn't feeling good I kind of avoided coming up with names on the spot. I'm open to suggestions, but it'll be rectified either way in the future.)

Ask Gideon; Popular Yule Baked Goods

 

Gideon: might seem kinda straight forward, but our most popular item durin' the whole Yule season would be the classic 'Yule Log'. That's generally a chocolate cake with a sweet cream cheese sorta fillin' and different type o' gnash' on top. O'course we do other flavors, but I mean, most mammals don't celebrate Yule without a classic Yule Log.

Sharla: Coming up second is our peppermint chocolate forest cake. It's your classic dark forest cake with sort of a peppermint bark twist. It's proven very popular around Yule, and a lot of mammals tend to get it as a secondary cake for big family gatherings.

Gideon: Well It'd probably be awkward if everyone in the family brought the exact same Yule log to the get together.

Sharla: After that it's some of the traditional holiday staples, like chocolate chip and sugar cookies.

Gideon: And o'course classic Peppermint Bark. Granted that's barely a baked good. Aside from my 'special' ingredients, y'all just melt white and milk chocolate, miz the white chocolate with peppermint bits, and layer the chocolate together.

Sharla: Simple, but tasty.

Gideon: My lil' Black Forest Cake here is a big fan o' peppermint. She was kinda the inspiration fer the peppermint chocolate forest cake. She suggested it, and it really took off.

Sharla: I wish I was still a big a fan of the idea as I was before we started making it officially. By now I've had so much Peppermint and chocolate my tongue is probably red and white striped. *Giggles*

Ask Gid and Sharla; Astronomy Club

 

Ask Gideon; NSFW art

 

Ask Gid and Sharla; 20 Years Later

WT: I'd say after 20 years, Giddy has learned to accept his pudge, and while it's gotten a bit bigger, Sharla is not complaining. Of course, that doesn't mean he didn't make some dedicated efforts to shed the pounds, which Sharla supported him through even if she preferred the classic Gideon. But despite his best efforts, none of the methods worked out. Of course, that meant that Gid had the perfect cuddly Dad bod when he and Sharla eventually adopted a few lambs/kits of their own. In fact, they ended up adopting about four pups in total. A fox, a lamb, and twin rabbits.

As for the business, it remained fairly strong, with a miniature Gideon's bakery opening in Zootopia which started out being run by some of the Hopps family before eventually being turned over to one of Gid and Sharla's kits when they grew up. There were offers to go bigger since then, to make Gideon's Real Good Baked Stuff a household name all over Animalia, but Gideon feared that allowing the company to get too big would lead to a drop in quality, something that was very important to him. As for whether that will change with his kits running the show down the line, well...who can say?

And yes, Giddy makes a great Santa Claws, so much so that the township of Bunnyburrow picked him to play the role pretty much any chance they got. And knowing Gideon's soft nature, there was no way he'd be able to turn the role down.