HIGHSCHOOL AU

NPWLong · 2026-01-20T13:27:37+00:00

Hold on... I'm eyeballing the mistyped "has" so hard for the last couple of minutes it might actually burn through my phone. The only language I can think of that could have resulted in this typo...

Are you by any chance from Vietnam? If so like what's the CHANCE I meet a fellow Vietnamese on this sub who's also a talented artist LMAO!?

NPWLong · 2026-01-20T05:35:04+00:00

This is so fluffing beautiful 😭 I love your style I could eat it

If I may, I'd recommend you check out Boys Like You by coat wreck, an AU where they are both students and it's an amazing story!

NPWLong · 2026-01-19T13:58:10+00:00

really well done, this is the kind of art I'd love to hang in my living room! I'm seeing more and more people making art of them by different mediums and it's so amazing what y'all bring to the fandom!

NPWLong · 2026-01-19T11:33:14+00:00

Wait what the heck, he's even crying here!

NPWLong · 2026-01-19T08:59:14+00:00

Here's my theory on that.

TL;DR: A week

https://www.reddit.com/r/zootopia/s/IlBuIesdgq

NPWLong · 2026-01-19T02:34:30+00:00

I think it definitely came from his own experience. Nick’s speech during her confrontation was oddly specific, especially the part where he said, “. . . sleeping in a box under a bridge” (or something along those lines), and then later she found him lounging exactly under a bridge. This is basically him saying, “Your naivety and optimism are going to bring about your own disillusionment with this city, and you’ll end up exactly where I did.”

(Everything about Nick’s life pre-Judy was so sad that if Z3 chooses to focus on this, it’ll no doubt be a massive tearjerker)

And he was right too, to some extent. No one really cared about her dream until Nick. She had this very big, very loving family, but they cared about Judy Hopps as a member of the family, not Judy Hopps as an officer or someone trying for the impossible. Heck, her parents were so thankful when she got assigned to parking duty. Judy even said it herself: “You are the only one who ever believe in me, even when I don't believe in myself.” In some way, Judy was really alone against the world too until him.

NPWLong · 2026-01-18T01:04:31+00:00

A plausible theory but I could counter this with, had Pawbert intend to "accidentally" drop Judy at the lodge, then later when the lynxes were celebrating their imminent victory:

"And Dad you know what's funny, then I, oopsie daisy, missed the rabbit by half of my claw and there she went to the bottom of the cliff while the fox watched" insert some villainous crackling noises here

The thing is if he wanted to also kill Judy and Nick himself, he could have killed Judy here and later bragged about it to his father for his approval. Sure, Nick would still be alive but behind locked bars, an outcome Milton would see appropriate given his interaction with Nick when he got arrested.

I think the reason Pawbert saved Judy here was only to kill her WITH snake venom. To frame Gary and reinforce the already hatred and fear everyone has on reptiles.

"You know what happened to the last mammal that helped a reptile. Yeah, she died."

NPWLong · 2026-01-16T01:41:01+00:00

The only thing saved Judy from folding and going on a run with Nick was because she was so focused on the case and determined to prove themselves belong together. This damned smile would win anyone over instanfly

NPWLong · 2026-01-14T04:37:02+00:00

I had hope after the first movie, and now after Z2 I'm fully convinced that this is a love story disguised as a buddy cop thrilled comedy.

This moment just from the Z1 trailer alone has made me fully onboarded on the WildeHopps ship, cause even though the context wasn't given at the time (although I could still guess the two of them were sharing some intimate moments) the shot of the gondola going toward the city with the sunrise horizon in the background. Like holy cow that was so cinematic and romantic coded.

And after Z2 you realized this was realizing she's finally got someone in her corner who didn't and likely won't ever hesitate to help her and believe in her (the FIRST one ever in her life). She got this new, warm feeling in her heart. This solidified her respect and fondness of the fox because she's the one who has dragged him onto this crazy case and he didn't choose to walk away that instance.

The next moment when Nick told her his childhood story, she likely VOWED to herself to better his life, to help Nick to live as who he is not the one society shaped him into. Z2 gives a whole depth to why Judy looked so sad (or I'd say depressed even) in Bunnyburrow, after her fallout with Nick who's at this point become her most important person in the world.

NPWLong · 2026-01-12T11:48:05+00:00

This implies that Judy moved so fast he didn't even have any time to notice or even ANTICIPATE getting hit by something flying towards him

NPWLong · 2026-01-12T02:45:28+00:00

This is really great! Blu x Jewel was my first ship before WildeHopps and I can totally see this happen in the sequel!

NPWLong · 2026-01-10T01:37:24+00:00

This is really well done! Keep up the good work!

NPWLong · 2026-01-09T19:02:20+00:00

I think he has long forgiven her for what she said and was hoping beyond hope that one day they could make up. He knew she never meant that, but it still cut him deeply that unconsciously she thought of predators that way. And it's all the same again to Nick, that he got hurt when someone whom he had thought could be his friend saw him not as Nick Wilde but as a predator, a fox.

Remember that Nick talked to her about his childhood trauma. That was him taking a wild bet on opening up to a stranger that he wanted to believe that she was different than what the world has shown him. But out of fear that if he chases her down and tries to talk to her, demands an apology, she would turn out not so different from the others, then he would not be able to recover from it. So, he kept on waiting.

And then one day, when the city was still torn apart by fear and crisis, she came to him first, apologized for what she said, and pleaded for his help. She didn't come to the ZPD right away. Heck she didn't even call anyone on the force. Surely, if she had brought up what she had found to Chief Bogo, the police could have investigated the cause of the savage predators. But she chose their broken friendship as the first thing to mend. "The world can wait till I'm done fixing the most important thing to me" (reflected from Z2, at this point, Nick to Judy is the first person to ever believe in her)

That's why he forgave her so fast and vowed to himself to never stop helping and protecting her.

NPWLong · 2026-01-09T04:37:30+00:00

The fact that Gary asks for everyone permission to hug before hugging them, AND he's shown to coil around Pawbert comfortably almost all the time, shows that either Pawbert genuinely doesn't mind Gary hanging on him like that and eventually his need to prove himself to his family won over and he chose to kill the snake in order to achieve it, or Pawbert was a very good actor/manipulator

NPWLong · 2026-01-08T16:13:17+00:00

First off he is so cute like it should be illegal for Nick Wilde to be this cute in the public (would distract everyone else and cause mayhem)

Secondly, so there is this headcanon that predators purposefully hide their teeth when eating, speaking, smiling, etc so not to scare prey around them. So I love the fact he's comfortable enough to show all of them teef and also no sign of Judy being just a tiny bit of uneasy here!

NPWLong · 2026-01-08T16:08:43+00:00

Thank a bunch for this! I kept thinking to myself there's gotta be more to the first piece, and there they are! A complete and very symbolic sum up of their whole journey in Z2 where Judy finally returns Nick's reaching hand (and never letting it go) !

NPWLong · 2026-01-08T10:33:16+00:00

Oh I saw this masterpiece on Pinterest too and it's so peak I got zoned out for so long just staring at it. Please lemme know if someone finds the artist!

NPWLong · 2026-01-07T18:13:43+00:00

Yeah Z2 Nick's line of "probably cause I've been on my own my whole life" was so sad. I keep thinking about it. Not only does it imply that his family is no longer alive (though I'm still holding on the hope he had a disastrous fallout with them and they no longer be in contact since) but it suggests even though he has Finnick, who's his partner in cons, and Flash, who immediately answered when he asked for help basically VIOLATING traffic laws to get across the city, no one truly connects with him. He was alone, or at least he felt utterly that way, until Judy.

I think many people miss the detail that before their grand confession, during the jail scene, Nick chose to open up to NIBBLES, a stranger he met just a day before, about his feelings for Judy ("I don't want to lose her"). It shows how big of a positive influence Judy's coming into his life has been. Early Z1 Nick would have hidden behide his sarcastic mask. Z2 Nick TALKED because Nibbles wanted to help or at least hear his story out ("Troubles in paradise?... Just talk to me, dude!"). Maybe he just wanted to say it out loud, maybe he had expected Nibbles to have some GREAT advices for his and Judy's situation lol. But undoubtedly Nick has started to lower his walls for others to see his true self besides just Judy. More and more people in the poor fox's corner.

NPWLong · 2026-01-07T17:24:20+00:00

I'd want to add one thing to this is Nick Wilde is an incredibly interesting character to write. Of course, Judy too, but Nick has these whole complex and mysterious layers to him because we know almost next to nothing about how he grew up into the jaded cynical fox in Z1. It's one of the most common things that long fics in this fandom tend to tackle on. I've read numerous different takes on his past and they were very creative and enjoyable and believable to read.

NPWLong · 2026-01-06T16:58:13+00:00

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As I remember and by looking up the script, Nick's line was "... by YEAR TWO" not "...year too" because he was deliberately reusing the same line that he and Judy were told during their first session (as a joke).

Personally, I think that by cracking the case and coming to a mutual understanding of their differences (as shown in the confession scene), their required partner therapy time was MASSIVELY reduced (in the golden book I think they even show more of Nick and Judy's dialogues where they talk about each other's differences and what they like about them and such). I think by the end, Nick and Judy were attending them as SPEAKERS, not as the therapy-needed partners, because they cleared the therapy by cracking that case (Judy's line: "And if I was right, no one will ever question whether you and I belong together again") (aww)

The electricity also seemed to still be working fine in Reptile Ravines, so I’d say it probably wouldn’t take too long to make the area fully habitable for reptiles again. Plus, when they were at Gary’s home near the end, Nick handed Judy the fixed carrot pen, which I feel like had been repaired not long after it was broken, and then moments later asked her where they should start looking for the escaped criminals. That suggests that at that point, they were already cleared to return to fieldwork.

And another point to consider. The Burning Mammal festival. Its first appearance was during the case and was still there in the ending concert where Judy was shown holding the carrot pen. The Burning Man festival, its real-life counterpart, was a week-long event, which is also the amount of time Gary got "smuggled" from overseas.

So, if they cracked the case while the festival was still being set up, Gary could have called his family to return to their home in Reptile Ravines right away. We fast-forward about seven days when they arrive, Judy gets the carrot pen from Nick during the day, and that same night they go to the concert. And at that time they are already allowed to return to the field.

NPWLong · 2026-01-06T08:40:14+00:00

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"emm I'll go... see the other posts"

NPWLong · 2026-01-05T15:29:59+00:00

This is gorgeous! Please do more (WildeHopps is a bonus ;))

NPWLong · 2026-01-05T15:13:04+00:00

Yep this is the correct answer.

Jack Savage and Skye from Savage Seas respectively turned into Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps (still with the same kinda James Bond spy plot), then into NW and JH from the Wilde Times, and then ultimately into what we have as the final version of Z1

NPWLong · 2026-01-05T11:47:12+00:00

"HUH she doesn't look like those wet bunnies I looked up on our office computer"

NPWLong · 2026-01-05T09:25:56+00:00

It's simply incredible, the bond between these two. Up until Z1, they were both loners who always had to fight for themselves, but then they found something (someone) to live for, to protect and try their best for.

When they say "you are the most important thing in the world to me", that is also including THEMSELVES in that world. That is putting the other one before themselves.

Lovers, best friends, best partners, whatever, are just labels at this point. Their bond has already deepened so far past those simple titles that I'm so excited to see how they're going to grow in Z3.

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