hope-zhang

[hope-zhang]

Hope wasn't dumb, she had been across on all the rotations and shifts people have been taking up, gladly sharing that report with the council to see who's been pulling their weight and then some. It was just like back at the Botanic Garden managing new interns or high school part-timers trying to slack off. Though she doesn't say anything about Aspen picking up her sister's share of the work, that was ultimately their own decisions and problems, not Hope's, as long as the work gets done. "Really? She's been... surprisingly calmer in the fields actually." Hope tapped a finger to her chin as she thought back, at least a small observation on the difference in her demeanor out on the fields and normally. Though Hope would easily give credit to simply being with nature, it has that affect to people simply just being one with the earth.

An eyebrow was raised at the new Aspen lore unlocked, pausing for a second not quite sure how to response, or whether Anora had been kidding or not. "Uh- she really puts taking matters into her own hands in a whole new light, huh?" An awkward chuckle before she recollected herself, "guess at least there were good intentions there." Whatever it is, Aspen wasn't kidnapping anyone else at least, lesson learnt, Hope presumed. She'll go off of whatever her own judgement of Aspen was as a person.

"Oooh chilies!" Hope sighed despondently at the thought, dying for a taste of spice herself, "I'll definitely try to see if the scouts can find seeds. I managed to get the few usual bird's eye chili plants growing though we won't get them till the summer. Can you imagine? A whole chili eating contest would be so fun."

Yeah, like Anora would ever forget about the hours spent under the sun digging fucking potatoes from the dirt. The only saving grace for those mandatory shifts in the field was that Anora could easily get Aspen to do both of their work as long as she kept her talking. Which, was like the easiest thing in the world to do because Aspen is in capable of keeping her mouth closed for more than three consecutive minutes. Anora gave Hope a semi-serious warning about the younger sister. "...Don't let her know how helpful she's been because it will go to her head and she will ruin this." It wouldn't be on purpose ( anora was the one who ruined things on purpose ), but Aspen had a habit of getting... overexcited.

"When she was thirteen she basically kidnapped this new girl in our neighborhood. She heard the kid's parents were total dicks and thought our parents wouldn't mind adopting another sister." It had actually been kind of impressive how Aspen had kept the seven year old hidden in her bedroom for two days. At least the kid had been excited for the 48 hour sleepover and wasn't totally traumatized by the whole thing.

"What about Jalapeños? Or Habaneros?" God everything tasted so bland these days. Finding a bottle of hot sauce had become a special little treat for Anora due to the rarity.

[hope-zhang]

"Guh, nevermind, that's too much work for you," Hope made a face, never having judged either siblings of their work but rather a face made for the empathy of just how much effort it took for their line of work. Hope would've gotten fired day one for punching a client that pissed her off, she just knows it. "You should bank on exclusivity and charge way more, supply and demand or whatever, I wasn't a business student." She joked as if a light bulb blinked above her head. Not that it mattered anymore in the world they lived in.

Hope's expression softens at the statement of their reality, "..mmhmm." She half heartedly agreed, only because of the price it costed. What she'd give to find Beau again, or have everyone they lost still alive, this would've been theirs to run together. ..where did they go? Would they ever come back? Not that she'd ever regret fighting back against a head bitch in charge, she will always fight back. She snapped out of her somber thoughts as Maddie continued, perking up to put on her best face when the conversation but back on her. "Yes! The limes, oh my god I'm glad the small limes grew up fine," she snorted at the thought of her being a farmer, "if I was a farmer I wouldn't be staying in New York now, would I? I'd stay back out in South Carolina and would've never met you and Maddy." Hope stuck her tongue out at Madison, both of them finding excuses for their lack of capabilities to figure out a way to share an apartment in Manhattan. "Admit it, you miss sharing an apartment with me, no one can fill your Hope shaped void in the new apartment."

"Ray Ray!" she greeted gleefully, pulling her in for a hug with one arm while the other held tight to her champagen glass. Madison doubted they would ever get over the luck she and Ducky had at becoming part of such a thriving community. But she was convinced it had everything to do with Hope. Ever since the two'd met, she seemed to be Madison's lucky charm. Things always just seemed to work themselves out when she was around and it would appear that hadn't changed with the end of the world.

"Do you know how many dicks I would have had to suck to afford that? No thank you," she joked with a chuckle of her previous career choice, taking a seat next to where Hope lay. She took a drink of her champagne and watched as the bubbles slowly dissipated, gently rolled the stem between her fingers. Despite having long ago become numb to the reality of their life choices, they still felt the soft sting of shame whenever they spoke about it. "But we have it now and that's all that matters," she went on optimistically, soaking in the remaining heat of the sun. "And we have your amazing strawberries and my favorite, limes. You should have become a farmer before all this shit. You would have made a killing at the markets. We could have probably afforded a Manhattan apartment then," she joked with a smirk as she took another drink.

[hope-zhang]

[ 🍃 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they feel like they belong ?

[ ⚓ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat does “home” mean to them ?

[ 🧭 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhere would they go if they could disappear tomorrow ?

headcanons ask meme

[ 🍃 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they feel like they belong ? Hope since young never felt like she belonged, not in school, not at home, not even in her apartment and the only place she truly felt she belong was with the garden, in the forest, with the plants. Even now, with her best friend missing and gone that shared that same tacit understanding of that connection with nature, her one place she feels right at home is with the rooftop garden and with the farm. Though she has quite an extroverted, blunt and radiant joy, it's more of an over compensation to how she felt, amongst the plants she's softer, kinder, more at ease and peace with the world.

[ ⚓ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat does “home” mean to them ? Home is the people she cares the most about, most people suck and Hope rather be spending all day with plants and crops, but there are a handful of people that she cares more about and they are what home is to her.

[ 🧭 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhere would they go if they could disappear tomorrow ? Clemson, South Carolina. Take her back to simpler days of studying plants, hiking mountains, silly student life, freedom.

[hope-zhang]

"Heh, thanks, and thank you for your help too with the harvest, Adam was also great help!" Not really physically but his joy and giggles by the field brightened up the work day all the same and helped lift their spirits through a grueling harvest. "Hey, crops wouldn't be food without you guys too, that's kitchen privileges for sneaking some bites. How else can you tell that it's good?" More food for them! Though Hope foresee them packing the leftovers for the next few meals too, and that excited her.

Hope gladly returned the hug with a tight squeeze, joy brimming through in a grin, embarrassment tinge over a dusted flush across her cheeks for the kind words, "it's alright, I know I threw a bit of a fit over the request but you guys made it possible for pitching in to help. I had no way to do it myself." It's still crazy to know Charlie after all those years in school together, yet nothing seemed to have really changed. "You're gonna hafta teach me some of your secret recipes!"

"You did wonderful. It was truly a pleasure to work with all the fresh ingredients, you're a miracle worker, Hope, really." Charlie offered her friend a soft but genuine smile, reaching over to give a squeeze of her arm as she stood back to make sure that the tables were set up just right. At least to her standards. "I can honestly say I'm not sure how much I'll eat tonight because I was sneaking bites all through the prep."

Chuckling as she turned back to her, Charlie wrapped her up in a hug without much warning, giving her shoulders a little pat as she let her go. "I just want you to know that we're really so appreciative of all the extra work you put in for the extra crops. Truly making things special here with the food." That was always the best part of any wedding, in her opinion.

[hope-zhang]

which one: pet parent edition (maddox&madison&hope) roomies with a pet

which one ship prompts

send me a pairing and i'll answer: @duckycooper @survivalxofxthexfittest

Who vetos more names? (bonus: what type of names would they like/hate?): Hope! She probably really hates all the food name options because like why would we wanna name the kitten over something so delicious that they wanna eat it! That's so morbid. Plant names though that's fine.

Who is very invested in training the pet? (and who is better at it)? Maddie (Madison) probably takes the best care in the training of a pet, unless it's a pet plant! Hope is too distracted at the Botanical Garden.

Who gets into cooking for the pet? Definitely Hope, she'd love to just think of ways to make food from produce for their pet, back kibbles and snacks, and wet food and everything in between, she just finds it so much fun and don't mind help in the kitchen from the siblings.

Who lets the pet sleep in the bed even though they swore they wouldn’t? Maddy (Maddox) probably! He can't say no to that face of a kitten when it sneaks into his bed.

Who tries to teach the pet new tricks? Maddy! Every time finding a new trick online and trying to teach it and probably failing.

Who takes the pet on “spa days” for grooming? Maddie absolutely will lead the charge, but gotta have spa days together with all of them, no one left behind on a pampering session! Money is hard but when they do have extra they splurge it together.

Who makes a scrapbook of all the pet's achievements? Hope! She has those little old school disposable film cameras and love to take photos of flowers and her friends and her flat mates, celebrating every milestone in a lil scrapbook. She still has her camera even but ran out of film and has no way to develop them anymore.

Who throws a birthday party for their pet every year? Maddie and Maddy would both do it, Hope thinks it's a bit much not even knowing when the actual birthday is.

Who tries to teach the pet to "talk" using buttons? Maddy for sure! All part of the tricks to teach and the cat as officially learnt to say fuck you on buttons!

Who insists on having a pet cam at home and checks it regularly? I don't think any of them could really insist on a pet cam, they're a little expensive and they trust the kitty to vibe on its own.

Who uses the pet as a reason to cancel plans and stay in? Absolutely Hope, she use excuses to leave human engagements and sometimes end up back in the Garden or just chilling at home.

Who holds long conversations with the pet and insists the pet understands? Maddie sometimes does late night chats until they both fall asleep.

Who gets emotional when the pets fur starts turning white? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Maddy actually, underneath he's just a sweetheart that cares.

[hope-zhang]

"Nah, not just me, it was a team effort," Hope waved it off before a cheeky grin grew, "buuut... a lot of it is me." She was more than happy for people to appreciate where their food was coming from. They should know that food wasn't a given anymore, they had to work for it or there'd be nothing. "Right?? You have to try the broccoli, it's so fresh and I don't know what wonders the kitchen did but it's awesome," Hope had already begun placing the charred broccoli on the other's plate as she spoke.

Now that she's gotten a good look at the older woman, a sense of familiarity washed over, "you've been around the Wexley before, right? I've seen you before all this, in the diner at least." She shook off the guessing game and simply explained herself with her answer, "I'm Hope. Beau's best friend from college, so I used to be around once in awhile."

"So you're the one I have to thank for this spread? This is amazing." Amelia had tasted a little of everything, doing her best to not eat too much on a stomach no longer used to such volumes of food. It was all so heavenly, though, and she'd found herself with a whole new appreciation for food that she'd never had before.

"I think I was more excited for the caramelized carrots than I was for the champagne."

[hope-zhang]

“Psh, aw thanks! To be fair when we do need help, we always put out a call for more hands on the field, but the few of us take charge to plan and plant.” Hope couldn’t even take all the credit, Beau had left behind detailed plans and grand ideas for the rooftop garden and beyond, even every season planned, the genius mind was his and Hope just studied and worked with him for a long enough time before to understand the blueprints well and execute his ideas to perfection. A part of Hope thinks that Anora wouldn’t really care about that details though and fair enough, doesn’t concern her.

Hope joined her in picking up a plate and lightly humming to herself, picking up some of the food and fruits too, “no handshake necessary, maybe thank your sister! She was a big help with the harvest and the season in general.” If there was sarcasm, it slipped off her back with a tease back to her sister, she didn’t understand the dynamic between the two siblings to be honest. “In another year hopefully we’ll get some apples too!” Hope beamed at the thought, “any request for crops you hope to see for the next season?”

Anora didn't give a fuck about the wedding. What she did give a fuck about was decent food and liquor. If the price for that was showing up looking hot and having a quickie with Ethan while everyone was busy watching fake promises being made, so be it. Anora was piling her plate with the colorful, fresh, delicious looking fruit when the other woman commented on the food. She paused with the scooper and gave a half-friendly smile. "You did really good. It's still weird to think that just a couple of people can actually run those fields."

Illy expected something like the Wexley farm to need... actual farmers to run. And tractors. And barns. And... all the other farm-y stuff. But in two years they'd managed to sustain a variety of fruits and vegetables. And... a few pot plants. Which Illy was equally grateful for. "Should I like, shake your hand? Thank you for your service?" There was sarcasm, but not too much. The food basically wouldn't exist without Hope.

[hope-zhang]

does your muse accept responsibility for mistakes, or are they prone to making excuses to avoid it?

morality / ethics / one’s character headcanon q’s

As much as she calls people out on their bullshit, she holds herself to the same high standard. She will call herself out on her own bullshit and own it if the facts are facts and others call her out on it too. Anytime she does push back is because she believes it isn’t a mistake or it isn’t a mistake she’s done. She also stands against people falsely taking blame for anything, because let’s just move on is a shitty excuse for sweeping things under the rug without resolving anything. 

[hope-zhang]

does your muse think of themselves as a good person?

morality / ethics / one’s character headcanon q’s

Hope thinks she’s a pretty good person, but it’s all in relativity and perception. She’s good in the way she cares for nature, she’s good in the way she stands up for what she thinks is right and will call bullshit out when she sees it, she’s good in the way she treats her friends. In another’s eyes, she can be obnoxious for caring more about plants than people, saying most people suck, and she can be blunt and callous and combative when she doesn’t need to be. All in all, she thinks she’s doing good in the world, and fuck whatever anyone else thinks about her morality.

[hope-zhang]

Good Morning 🌼

[hope-zhang]

//open. ext. central park - day. 1st may 2026.

Hope for once was made to dress up nicely in a sundress, exchanging out her usual wears of oversized shirts and farmwear that she's oh so carefully cultivated over the years. Basically whatever that was easy to wash. But it was a fancy occasion, as fancy as they could make it in these times, so Hope had to put in the effort to at least feel pretty again for once. She's been covered in soil and dirt for too much, even more so than when she worked at the Botanic Garden, that was manicured compared to this.

And of course, the first thing that catches her eye after the entire shebang of the important part of a wedding, the next most important part of the wedding is the food! Even more so when she's had a hand in growing the food herself. Hope glowed over the prepared food, grinning proudly as a person joined her in admiring the meal, "ooooh doesn't it look so delicious? I'm so happy with the way the fruits and veggies turn out, it was a temperamental batch to be honest."

[hope-zhang]

//ext. central park - day. 1st may 2026. @survivalxofxthexfittest

"Maddie!" Hope skipped over to her friend once she spotted her alone after the entire ceremony, the grass was nice again, trees growing, the smell of the dead long gone from the center of the township once they've carved out their tiny slice of community and gotten rid of every single chomper in their home. Either that or they've just gotten so used to it it no longer smelled like anything bad.

But with that, Hope had the urge to simply lie on the comfy grass, soaking in the last of the setting sun patting on the area beside her, "enjoy the sunset with me!" Hope rested her arms behind her head as she hummed, "we should've found an apartment closer in Manhattan huh? It's actually really nice here."

[hope-zhang]

The dress had really grown onto Hope over the day not really convinced at first when she had to go round hunting for a dress. She had arrived to the Wexley with very little and over the years accumulated a nice stash, but none consisted of a nice dress for a wedding. Aspen once again brought her "shopping" before the big day. And so she seemed really happy about the work here. Hope did feel pretty again, so that's a success. "It really is! Aw, I love love," Hope giggled feeling the hug wrap around from behind her, "made the special order of crops this season worth it."

Honestly, Hope was a little annoyed at the favor asked of the farm to work on and provide some more special crops for the occasion, strawberries, eggplants, wheat, etc etc. It took more effort than it should for the season of harvest, but now being here and literally seeing the fruits of their labor, it was a nice feeling. Hope twirled around to face Aspen as she made her request, demand? Same same, guess she owed Aspen for all her help. "What, to this slow romantic song? Do you think Tad has anything super fun?"

Who: @hope-zhang Where: Post-Ceremony When: May 1st

"Isn't this all so amazing?!" Aspen had spent a considerable time before the ceremony gushing over how pretty Hope looked, trapping her this time around in a big hug and absolutely glowing spout of how beautiful everyone else looked. "This is all so magical! It's not even my wedding and I feel like I'm going to remember it forever. I thought Charlie and Roman's was so sweet but this is even more beautiful!" Granted they didn't have central park when the other pair had wed, and things had still been raw from the coup.

Now, everyone was smiling and dancing and eating, and it truly felt in that moment like things were how they used to be. "Come and dance with me!"

[hope-zhang]

Hope had been lounging in her chair, taking in the picturesque scenery with the food in hand, proud of what they've managed to grow, really farm from table vibes. Scenery soon self inserted with a familiar presence, "-no." She joked as she immediately cut Knox off after his first few words with the way he was being shifty with his entrance to join her in the seat next to her.

She gave him a pointed look at his suggestion once again, every single time, always asking about the weed. "Well, maybe if you work for it more, I'll consider it." Beau had already started something for the weed on the rooftop when she first started taking over, but to her, she kept those at a minimum to focus on crops and retaking their sustainability power.

Overall survival it was just more important to use their resources on things they can eat. Of course she kept some of them growing knowing how much a little weed can help people in their new and immensely stressed out world. "There's a lovely wedding here and all you can think about is weed huh?" Hope joked as she leaned back in her chair giving Knox a pointed look, gesturing to the more family friendly event with kids running around and toddlers playing. What a strange sight indeed.

//Central Park. May 1st, 2026.

closed starter for @hope-zhang

"So, tell me—"

Knox sat in the chair next to Hope, looking far more suspicious than he would probably like to, but that's how he usually came across - making simple questions sound mischievous when he asked them. This time, it soon turned out fair and

"—what kinda plants do we want around here this year? Cause all these wildflowers look pretty and carrots are more than okay, I guess, but..."

He furrowed his brows and looked at Hope.

"How about weed?"

[hope-zhang]

"Hm heard from an old friend that they did it that way early on. Guess that was when no one knew this was going to last for months, or.. ever," Hope shrugged at the thought, it is what it is, they'll hafta live with it. But hopefully one day, they'll get to make some choices again. Though maybe not Aspen, guess she might combust at the thought. "How would you ever survive a buffet?" It was a scenario that tickled her, laughing at the thought of her wanting everything from everywhere all at once. "It's all about strategic pacing and priorities, making it a bang for your buck." Hope had long mastered the art of buffets from family trips, how so much food can fit into a tiny body like hers still baffled many including Beau and herself. But she will god damn make it worth the money.

Hope sighed longingly at the reminder of food from before, "ugh you're so right, those waffles were everything. I wonder if they still have the waffle machine.. I'd die for a waffle right now." She wondered how easy it would be to scrounge for ingredients to taste the memory of early morning waffles before work again. Alright enough about food, this was just depressing, rides are something she had less attachment too. "I heard about the zip line though where people came in from, I bet you could get a thrill from that!"

"Right! Like thank goodness that rations aren't buffet style, I think I'd overload from one more choice." Heck, even her suite had been assigned to her, thankfully. "I've never been good at choices anyway, I just want it all right now, all the time, you know?" Anora had always been the one who made all the choices and Aspen had just followed along for the ride. Heck, even without her sister, she'd always just sorted of flittered from one thing to another, funded by Daddy's dollar.

"That's so cool. I bet the food at that diner was fire when it was serving fresh stuff. Not that the food they have now isn't amazing." Thankfully, Aspen at least remembered to bite her tongue on what she'd been eating for months before this. Prancing onto the elevator behind Hope, she gave a bright laugh and shook her head. "I wish I could go on a real rollercoaster right now, nothing is better than the adrenaline from a real good ones. Those ones where you hang under the track are my favourite."

[hope-zhang]

"There's an incinerator.." that's just sounds like some old timey wimey cluedo house where someone conveniently burns the evidence of a murder. Was it Bob with the knife in the ballroom? They'll never know, it was burnt in the incinerator. She shook off the shiver down her spine from the though, Beau never told her about that. Probably a good thing she decided to stay elsewhere when they moved (or for her moved back) to New York. She wasn't sure she'd fit the aesthetics of this place. Though she would've gladly roomed with Beau if she hadn't already gotten the lease to her place after he got drafted to this city too.

Hope beamed and nodded enthusiastically before remembering her manners, "thanks, it's okay if you're busy. I heard of uh.. the traps." Stupid self infliction decision if you asked her, but nobody would ask her. Hope squinted back at the lady as both of them stared at each other as if at the tip of their tongues. "Oh!!" She jumped up at the realization with her. "Well, went there as much as they would've wanted to kick me out, but yes!" Hope snickered at the sudden rush of fond memories not really of the school itself but of this once close friend, "Charlie?? Oh my god," an exclamation of disbelief, before looking at them both years and years later with only a laugh that followed with a glomp of a tight hug, "geez, neither of us grew any taller did we? I can't believe we never crossed paths since then."

Hope let go off Charlie before giving her a once over glance to take a good look at her, "what did you get up to? Well, before the world end, after, tell me all about it."

"Oh, we had tons of that kind of stuff at the Diner, or even better, now in the incinerator room." Considering that no one was picking up recycling in this brave new world, all the old cans and cartons from before the outbreak were probably waiting down there to be used. Bags and bags of them. Besides, now that she thought about it, Beau and Ziggy had probably snagged all the five gallon buckets for potatoes.

"Come on, I'll show you the way." At the very least Gray had given her a map of his traps, though he'd made her memorize it and promise to keep it to herself, rather than give the map itself to her. Still, she was fairly confident she could get them to the incinerator and back without much problem. Pausing in her step to really look at the other female, it took a moment before it truly dawned on her, Charlie giving a deep chest gasp of realization.

"You went to Speyer Legacy for school, didn't you?!"

[hope-zhang]

The corners of her lips twitched up to a lopsided grin, hearing Scout certain about their group. "Probably," Hope echoed the same sentiment as Scout, exhaling a loud sigh thereafter, "you're right, they're too annoying and strong, you can't even get rid of them all if you tried." Like a cockroach in the face of the end of the world, their little nomad group was strong, surely they'd still be doing well out there even without Santi or any of them. At least they won't hafta hear Hope yap about plants anymore! Instead the unfortunate task falls on Scout. But she'll spare her for today. First day back is a bit much to talk her ear off.

"Since Santi already gave me his spiel of the big bad wolf in a granny skin suit up top, what's your take on it all?" Santi obviously had reasons to stay and ignore the rest of the bad stuff if the good outweighs it. Hope wondered if Scout has her reasons too, or perhaps had conflicting opinions. Both their opinions were important to Hope, before she'd turn around then and make her own opinion on the matter.

the thought of naming the plant struck her as odd, absurd even in the the most literal sense of the word. objects took on their own meaning, but she couldn't imagine that there was a place where they could be humanized. she could not subscribe to the logic that it could be found in such transcendent ways.

perhaps she would name it hope, perhaps she would name it nothing at all. the pop of color unsettles her more than the question that's been asked, giving her an easy enough pivot off of the plant.

"they are." she is certain because there is nothing else to be. there is certainly nothing that the two of them could do. so, she holds on to the plant, unable to put it down and leave a smear of dirt on whatever surface it might find. "it is possible." not right, missed the mark. "it is probable."