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Dreamer. Go-getter. Naive. Idiot.
Judy has been called many things throughout her life, from ear twitching positive compliments to condescending insults (the majority courtesy of Gilbert).
It’s a bit sad that she’s heard more insults so far than compliments, even from her own family. Of course, she knew they loved her deeply and would always cheer for her. But should she give up her silly cop dream tomorrow? Much better, much safer for the little bunny who dreamed big.
Judy was fortunate to always have friends and people on her side throughout her life, but she didn’t have anyone who truly understood her. Who didn’t try to change her mind once a day — or multiple times, like her father. He really didn’t want her to get hurt out there and as grating as it was, she knew it came from a place of love.
With more naysayers than cheerleaders on her side, she brushed it off. Who needs them when you can be your own cheerleader? And nothing beats the taste of proving an animal (especially a bigger one) thoroughly wrong. There’s something satisfying in being right, in getting the right and final word in. Even better when it’s an ignorant, no good animal.
She’s always felt the need to fight for what’s right. According to her parents, even as a kit she’d always been ending fights among siblings (even ones she didn’t start) and scurrying around trying to find toys the pranksters hid from fellow kits. It’s not really something she remembers, but it feels right. She’s always been like this.
Judy knows who she is. A fighter for justice, a do-gooder, and finally, she found a profession that matched her: a police animal. Seeing cop flicks the few times she could get the TV for herself changed her life: seeing buddy cops investigating together, fighting crime, catching the bad guys and delighting in thanks from the victims (and some delicious doughnuts to boot) was addicting. Soon, she’d memorized every cool line she’d seen. For their little fair production, she’d even made her mother sew a little cop outfit for her (‘not a costume, mom, a uniform!’, she’d say).
Her younger brothers loved playing cop with her. They’d spend afternoons pretending to be cops (Judy always made sure she’d get the role, by playing fair and… not so fair) and bad guys. The farm went unattended for so long, her parents made sure to separate them so some work would get done daily. As time passed, they lost interest.
“These games are getting soo boring, Juds. Let’s play magicians now!”
Every month or so, the favored profession would change for each bunny. Of course, they all knew they’d end up as carrot farmers but dreaming never hurt when you were a kit, as their mother used to say, a bit tiredly.
Judy was the only one among her siblings who never gave up on her childhood dream.
And what had been cute became concerning very soon.
Not only her parents and older siblings, but even aunts and uncles who lived far away started calling her, asking if she lost her mind. Their bunny neighbors badgered her every time they saw her. And the non-bunny neighbors thought it was the funniest joke of the year. No one put words into action, aside Gilbert. He was the first and last animal who messed with her. Somehow, word got out that she was scary and Judy quite liked that. Bad guys had to fear the good guys after all, that’s how the world worked!
And Judy Hopps had always been (and always would be) one of the good guys, obviously.
Judy was aware of the dangers of the world: prejudice, hatred, violence, traffic, murder, and so on. They all came from the same place: downright ignorance. If only animals would live in peace with each other, without prejudice, things would be so much better. Here at the farm, they’d never reach a true understanding, what with almost no other animals aside bunnies and ferrets.
But in Zootopia? Everything was possible there.
And that’s exactly where Judy needed to go.
Even if not a single animal understood her here, even if she was mocked daily and had to deal with it all smiling, she knew someone would understand her. In a world as big as this, there had to be at least one other animal who got her. Who understood what she was fighting for and that it was a good, noble dream. Someone who not only agreed with her but who understood her.
Not Jude the dude, the carrot farmer, but Judy Hopps, the bunny cop.
Zootopia would never have that level of ignorance. It was the place that existed to fight against it! And therefore, it was the place for her.
She dreamed high and what was so bad about that?
Being first in her class was the sign she needed: she was born for this work and a natural at it! With no outside help from instructors and examinations (an entire infrastructure, really) not accommodating at all for her size, she still made it.
‘Always think what only a bunny can do.’ Is what she’d think nonstop. How to best use her assets in ingenious ways. Being small wasn’t always a problem if you’re fast. A good hearing is better than a strong punch at times. And her kick was nothing to laugh at.
And with that, Judy graduated with a bright smile and with so, so much hope.
The world was her oyster. Next stop: Zootopia!
She was assigned to her dream city right away! If that’s not a sign of destiny — and her excellence — she doesn’t know what it is!
Well, her first day hadn’t been… the best. Nor the first week, really.
The city itself was amazing. It was even more than she’d imagined: such an incredible, beautiful, diverse place! And so so different from home.
And also very intimidating.
Only when she moved to Zootopia did she realize how… small she was. Not just literally (har, har) compared to other huge animals and even bigger buildings she could barely see the roof. But how, as much as she did her best, she wasn’t much to anyone around her.
Scratch that. She was nothing. A token bunny, they said. Nothing more.
All that effort at the academy, all these years fighting off all the doubts from everyone around her, and she only got to here as a token minority. Even worse, she passed the academy with flying colors, only to become… a meter maid?
Insulting didn’t cut it.
But nothing a good attitude and results couldn’t solve! So Judy kept at it. If meter maid was the first step, she’d show them all she could do it! She could do anything she put her mind to. Surely meter maid had to be a temporary thing!
And then the fox changed everything.
Well, the world crashing case they found themselves in too.
But mostly, the fox.
Nick had been such an enigma. Even though she was wary of him — what’s wrong with having a spray? It was for protection and mostly to appease her father — she couldn’t be partial. It was her duty and plus, Gideon was one fox. That didn’t mean all foxes were like him, right?
Yet, it seemed like all foxes have a penchant for putting you down in the worst way and relishing in it. Pretty villainous, if you’d ask her.
What Gideon did with fists, Nick did with words. And she honestly wasn’t sure which was worse.
That infuriating always smirking fox always had to be acting like he was so above it all. He was a criminal and she couldn’t catch him in the act! She had to get a way to bring him to justice. His small friend too, sure, but this guy had to go down first. She’d make sure of it.
The worst thing that happened since she moved to Zootopia hadn’t been the terrible apartment, the meter maid job or even those god awful carrots. Not even the cement part was that bad! Because Nick trumped all that in spades.
Nothing was worse than hearing all your personal, deepest fears laid out in the most sarcastic voice.
Getting all her dreams crushed and going back home with her tail between her legs, like a… a dog? Never. She was Judy Hopps, the world’s first bunny cop. Not some annoying, sleazy canine.
That’s what she had to start telling herself daily — especially at night when her neighbors wouldn’t shut up and she’d miss the comfortable chaos of her family.
The case was her way out. It felt like destiny all over again! This was her chance to prove she could do it. And if the time limit felt a bit cruel and insane? That’s okay, she could still make it!
Unfortunately, that also meant she had to work together with the damn fox. Well, even destiny sometimes puts the bad with the good. She’d just make the most of it.
Plus, she’d been thinking of the many ways to shut up that fox (so far, 531 ways though the truly good ones amounted to, well, three). No time like the present!
She decided to go with the taxes and pen plan. Not only because it was the best all around, but also because she wanted to have evidence of that fox being dumbfounded for once.
Tricking the biggest conman she’s met so far was honestly the best thing that happened so far in Zootopia.
She’s trying not to think about how a fox was involved in the best part of her Zootopia life so far.
Somehow, the last hours had been the wildest and, honestly, everything she hoped for as a cop. Sure, it started pretty terribly, courtesy of Nick, with all the nudists and ugh sloths, but somehow… It turned out quite well after that. She couldn’t really forget how he’d risked his life to go with her in a case that had nothing to do with him.
What she definitely would never forget was their time up high, when he (almost?) opened up to her. It felt… so special. Judy was used to being one of the therapist siblings, as they called it, and having people open up to her. But coming from Nick? It was like a reindeer Christmas miracle.
She didn’t have time to delve on that now, but she wanted to, at a later time. She wanted to sit down and just… talk to Nick. Something the Judy of 48 hours before would’ve preferred losing an arm over and yet… here she was.
Her first actual friend in this crazy city turned out to be a fox, of all animals. She honestly felt a bit insane about it.
The even crazier part of her brain (the one that usually controls her impulse to go after the criminal) even spelled out a new word.
Not friend. Partner.
And maybe it was all the adrenaline and the rush of finally, finally being an actual cop for once and succeeding at it, but it felt right.
Judy didn’t want to lose touch with Nick. She also didn’t want to see him keeping that stupid pawsicle crime (not hustle, crime) and doing nothing with his life when clearly he’s so talented, smart and just not a criminal.
She needs to check up on him. She has to make sure he’s okay and actually working on something good.
Clearly, they click. They work together so well, it’s just like the buddy cop flicks she still loves — though real life turned out to be pretty bitter and buddy-less. The way they got each other, it’s everything she always dreamed of having as a cop.
It feels so insane that her dream partner turned out to be a fox.
But no, Nick isn’t like the other foxes. He’s different. He’s good. Judy trusts him.
After handing him the paper, she turns to the reporters waiting for her. She silently prays he does consider it. Even if not now, maybe someday.
She really hopes they become partners.
Despite being a fox, he’s an animal she can trust her life with.
Turns out, she is as ignorant as every single animal she mocked her whole life.
No, more than ignorant. Downright stupid. Idiotic to levels never seen before by animalkind.
How did everything come crashing down like this? She thought she rocked that press conference! She did the whole answering a question with another thing! She made it very clear that the ZPD didn’t have a solution yet but they were working on it. And she thought she made it clear to Nick how much she appreciated him.
“The kind that needs to be muzzled?!” keeps echoing in her mind all the time. Even days later. Especially at night.
Did she mess up that badly? Clearly, all animals were predators… There wasn’t a single prey in the lab! And, honestly, the idea of a bunny or a sheep going savage and attacking people was laughable.
Everyone thought it was impossible. It wasn’t just her! So why had Nick been that angry? It’s not like there were savage foxes. Well, there could eventually be one… but it wouldn’t be Nick! He wasn’t like that!
Nick becoming savage was as surreal as a bunny attacking someone. It was just impossible.
But still, she screwed up. She wasn’t quite sure how, but she did.
Eventually Nick would come around though… right?
After all, no prey animals were turning savage so it’s not like she was wrong.
Not like they could turn savage, after all.
It hits her like a brick when she understands… eventually.
Funnily (not really funny, but bunnies always tried to find the good side of things), it hadn’t been the copious amounts of specialist analysis on TV, podcasts and in magazines that convinced her. It hadn’t even been Gazelle and her passionate remarks (and an upcoming single inspired by the whole situation) or the things she heard as whispers from people recognizing on the street.
Nothing had quite convinced her that she had done something wrong. Until she saw that mother protecting her child from a tiger that was just sitting there. Calmly, minding his own business, probably thinking of dinner or what to do after work. Just like Judy. He was living his life, silent, and yet that was a source of horror for many.
“The kind that needs to be muzzled?!” keeps echoing in her mind. And now, it clicks.
Nick was right.
Not about everything, mind you, his view on the world and cops was off and Judy made it her mission to change it — if he ever talked to her again.
But he had been right about her screw up at the press conference.
While trying to do good and be good, Juddy Hopps ruined the lives of many good animals who’d done nothing wrong.
In trying to catch the bad guy, here she was: definitely one of them now.
She’d been so wrong and so stupid.
Just because she suffered prejudice all her life, it didn’t mean she wasn’t also prone to being prejudiced.
And all the hatred she thought she’d endured had never been hate. Indifference, condescension, sure. But not hatred.
This, what was happening in Zootopia right now, this was pure hatred. And she’d made it happen.
For the first time in her life, Judy Hopps gave up on her dreams — and herself.
One last case, she swore to herself. Actually, the very first case of her career. And it’d be her last.
She couldn’t trust herself to be a good cop… or even a decent one, at this point. Even Clawhauser was more of a cop than her, even though he really didn’t care about any of it despite being the right animal type for the job… no, she had to stop thinking like that, she knew she had. This whole thing happened due to her.
But she now knew about the night howlers and damn if she could just pretend it didn’t happen. She owed it not only to Zootopia, but also to all animals, to make up for her wrongs.
She’d solve this and then retire. Not like she entertained doing much more.
One thing was missing though… to really crack this case, she knew she needed Nick. Actually, she needed Nick for a lot more (to crack jokes at her, to get through long annoying desk jobs, to show her the best spots for a veggie smoothie, to just be around…) but she didn’t deserve that.
Nick was a good animal. A better animal than her, that’s for sure; by a mile better. She knew that even if he hated her and could never forgive her, he’d still help. But he’d do the right thing, even while complaining all the while and pretending he didn’t care when he clearly did. That’s the kind of guy he was.
Nick Wilde was a good guy.
And Judy Hopps was the bad guy who made life so much worse for so many animals.
After this was all done, it wouldn't be surprising at all if he just disappeared and told her to never see him again. Just thinking about it hurt like hell (more than any hippo kick or lion's almost scratch she ever got at the academy) but if that’s what he wanted, Judy would honor it.
It was the least she could do.
Somehow, the high of solving the case and catching the bad guy wasn’t even the best part of the day. No, it was the high of being forgiven by Nick.
Forgiven! After all she did!
It seemed like a miracle, truly. Even more of a miracle than being offered her job back and being thanked by so many animals, prey and predators.
They kept asking her when she’d come back to work. Her parents kept calling, asking her when she’d come back home. Judy couldn’t answer either. She had no idea what to do.
And, like magic, all her doubts cleared with two very simple words from Nick.
“Here, partner.” He smiled in that mischievous but secretly kind way only he could do while handing her a piece of paper.
Judy had never cried that much at a police job form — not even her own.
Bellwether calls her a traitor to their kind. A disgusting prey who let predators go scat free and even collaborated with one.
“You were on the right path, Judy. And you had to lose your way.” The sheep sneered at her, disappointed and angry (she was always angry, Judy realized later on; she just hid it well).
“No. With all due respect,” which was none but she refrained from saying it, “I believe I’m finally on the right path now.”
That was the last time they spoke. The trial quickly ended and the ex-mayor was thrown into the highest security level prison.
The sheep had been the first ally Judy had in the city. She stuck up for her and made investigating the case possible. It was her that gave Judy hope.
Funny how life is. The friend she thought she had turned out to be an enemy. And the conman she thought was the worst person she’s met turned out to be her greatest partner.
Her family stops asking her to give up and come home. Her closest siblings namedropped her constantly now and showed how proud they were of her. Stevie, her favorite and still twelve, called her a hero in the last phone call. It was the second time she cried tears of joy ever since coming to Zootopia (the first had been when Nick forgave her).
To be fair, her parents stopped the first week she went back in despair. Her father tried to show her all the beauty in carrots and blueberries and whatnot but Judy really couldn’t bring herself to care… about anything anymore really.
Now that she was back in the city and truly being the force of good she’d always dreamed of being, nothing could stop her. But it was a relief not having to hear her parents guilt tripping her and asking when she’d go back to being a meter maid. Their only question now was when she’d be back home and if Nick was coming along. The answer was always “as soon as there’s a holiday” and “yes”.
She wants to know more about Nick (what was your childhood like? Favorite food, aside from blueberries? Favorite hobby? Where do you go in your free time? - just to name a few) but he almost never gives her an inch.
Finn is the closest thing to a friend Nick seems to have, so she tries with him too — a bit more patiently. Only Nick seems to bring out her extra anxious side.
She’s always appreciated how the fenneck fox is straight to the point. No games, no analogies and definitely no endlessly irritating “wouldn’t you like to know?”.
Maybe that’s why Finn and Nick get along so well, they’re different enough to not get on each other’s nerves. Maybe that’s also why she and Nick got along.
Finn isn’t one to gossip though, or ‘tattle’, as he calls it.
“When Nick is ready, he’ll tell you, Judy. Give him some time.” The fennec fox says tiredly.
“Do you think so?” She wants to trust that, she wants to believe all of the mysteries that make Nick… Nick will one day be solved. As big an optimist as she is, Judy still isn’t sure if that will ever happen.
Finn can read her well enough by now, especially as she’s also included in the baby trick squad, as Nick lovingly calls it.
Sighing, the fennec fox looks squarely at Judy. “I knew his mom. Great person, one of the rare decent folk we had, gone too soon. Nick and I never talk about her.”
Judy is shocked. Every now and then, Nick makes a short quick comment about her mother, what she used to like, how her cooking was divine, how Judy’s nagging reminds him of her (which she isn’t sure is a compliment but she’ll take it). She never had the honor of meeting Ms. Wilde but they talked about her. To think Finn knew her and yet they never discussed her or any memories?
To say she was floored was an understatement. And honored, too.
Turns out she’s still innocent in other things in life. Such as relationships.
For a long time, Nick was her partner. What did that mean? Everything, really. Clearly the most important animal ever in her life. More than friends and family. Partner was the perfect word.
It’s only when her siblings won’t stop pestering her about Nick that she wonders. Of course he’s the best, of course he’s her partner. What do they mean, in what sense? In every sense of the world, obviously.
That got the attention of her whole family and, years later, she once again started receiving calls and messages from the most distant relatives (some she never even met) asking her what was wrong with her.
“Judy Hops! First a cop, and now a fox boyfriend?? Are you insane? What has the world come to?” was the latest call she got this week, this time from her great aunt twice removed, something something Gertrude.
Of course she wasn’t insane. She’d never been, contrary to her relatives’ opinion of her. But it got her wondering, the more calls she got.
Nick was her partner in the force and in her life. Did that equal a boyfriend?
Psh, no. He was a fox and she was a bunny! That wasn’t possible.
Apparently it was to her family, friends and even her screaming neighbors who just had to give their opinion on her life (so what if she liked to listen to Nick’s new partner line in her pen? Who doesn’t like to listen to nice things, especially coming from the world’s most emotionally distant fox?).
She’d never heard of any relationships between species, after all.
And, once again, public transport is her friend. Her second epiphany came from, again, noticing the animals around her.
Maybe it was being longer in Zootopia but now, she was a bit more observant than before (just a bit, she wouldn’t dare think highly of herself after all that mess) and she noticed how PDA existed here, just less. Bunnies in the farm were so physical and clear in their affections, it took her a while to even realize who were the couples and who were friends when she first moved.
She noticed now: the longing looks, paws that stayed a bit too long, shoulders brushing, all of it. And not just the same animal species, but different ones did the same. A tiger and a lion on Monday, a giraffe and an antelope on Thursday and, finally, a fox and a deer on a Friday.
Not just different species. But prey and predators… together.
For the thousandth time since she’d moved to Zootopia, Judy Hopp’s mind was blown.
Was it… possible? For different species to be with each other? In that way?
What she confused for physical affection between friends was actually between a couple. And she thought of her and Nick (well, she always thought about them).
That was stuff Nick and her did all the time. Not even because Nick did anything. It was always her first. She was always the one hugging him and grabbing his paws (bunnies were a physical species, she had to remind him of that constantly).
Judy left the subway with her brain scrambled.
So, after a very long zoogling session (and many, many links that could only be viewed in incognito), she was fairly informed on the subject. There wasn’t that much to go on, sadly. Every relationship was different and things varied greatly depending on species, especially by their sizes.
Prey/prey and predator/predator relationships were rare, but still acceptable, apparently. But predator/prey? According to some, the very definition of sodomy and the kinkiest of porns; to others, the most bizarre thing ever only freaks indulged in. Judy decided to end her search there. It was enough negativity for her day (and porn).
It was all still so weird and new. Judy hadn’t even properly dated. She didn’t count silly little crushes and handholding back in the farm, as did none of the bunnies. It only became serious when a hare started being courted, after all. If she’d been courted, then she never found out because her one true love was being a cop. She didn’t have time (or the desire, if she was being honest here) to get pregnant and have litters and litters. Fighting crime had been her true pleasure — proved real now by experience and reality. Nothing gave her that same high.
Judy had already decided she’d never stop working until it was time to retire. Marriage and anything else was off the table if it’d keep her from her work. Her mind was good at compartmentalizing and that served her well in the force.
As long as she could always be a cop and always have Nick at her side, that was all she needed.
But now… she’d never considered both were possible. That she could perhaps continue her work and have a relationship, a family, and with the animal she loved most in the entire world.
Could she love Nick like that, though? She really wasn’t sure. Touching him was always so wonderful (and rare-ish, though less so nowadays) and she had been planning on renting a place together since he graduated — though he always turned her down for some reason.
Judy didn’t know where she stood. So, research was her friend. Like she always did before she decided on her dream, she studied a lot, daydreamed a lot and chose on what felt right.
Finding tasty fox porn also didn’t hurt her very thorough research.
Suddenly many of Nick’s weird habits and annoying winter disappearances made a lot more sense.
They still had a year and a half of therapy to go but clearly they were ready to at least live together. Of all the partners there, they were easily the best (as expected).
Maybe this was one of the doctor’s examples of her taking charge without consulting him… maybe. But it’s not like she was going to move in right away. Judy still needed a lot of money to find a decent place for two animals, especially considering Nick was bigger than her. It had to be somewhere not too hot (neither of them liked it) and not too far away from the precinct. And she’d get her opinion.
When she mentions she’s searching for a new place, he demands to go with her to every single one. After four months of searching, he finally acquiesced on a place for her. Close to the precinct, in a safe neighborhood a bunny could walk at night (not like she was that alone nowadays) and with good vegetarian restaurants nearby. It was perfect. And if the apartment was too big for just one bunny, he never commented. She felt like he got the wrong idea; he asked her about bucks more often now. She always made sure to deny any interest. But Nick managed to be thick as a rock exactly in times like these.
Always keeping her safe, always there. Nick wasn’t good with verbal or physical affection and that was okay. It was in the actions. Judy could see how much he cared for her in the way he paid attention, was always looking out for her and checking safety routes when her mind was too focused on the task.
And she loved him for it. She loved him for many, many things. Each day there was a new reason to love.
Judy Hopps always knew what she wanted. Since childhood, she wanted to be a cop and no other profession would do.
And now, as an adult, she knew the only partner she could ever want was Nick. No one else would do.
Zootopia keeps surprising her. The day she’s covertly getting a second key made for Nick (fox-shaped, of course) while he’s at the doctor, she gets asked for an autograph. It’s not the first one she’s done but this time it’s special. She didn’t realize before but this is a bunny key shop. A rather rare thing as bunnies aren’t known for working with metal. It turns out to be a happy coincidence and the owner is so excited to meet Judy that he calls all the family. It turns out to be a rather small one — for rabbit standards — of only eight members.
From the great grandmother who still has a lot of energy to hop around and thank her for being an example, especially to her younger granddaughters, to said bunnies skipping around her asking so many questions she can barely catch them, it’s a true delight.
It’s the first time she’s spent around bunnies so far from home and it feels nostalgic. She makes a note to invite them to visit Gary’s house; the kind viper would absolutely love meeting them. And he needs a pick-me-up. Judy couldn’t imagine how destroyed she’d feel if her partner (not in crime) betrayed her like that. Once again, she thanked her lucky stars for having met Nick.
The youngest bunny hops around shyly, still a young girl with braids. She was hiding behind her father but hopped to Judy when her sisters piped down. With big, shining eyes, she says in the quietest, sweetest voice:
“I want to be just like you when I grow up!”
And Judy cries again, with happiness.
She vows to make the world a better place in whatever way she can. So that by the time this young bunny becomes the second (or maybe even fourth, or fifth?) bunny cop in the world, things will be easier for her.
So that the world gets to be even a little bit kinder for each generation. That’s her new dream.
So, it turns out the world isn’t so black and white. There aren’t just bad and good guys out there. Sure, some animals really seem like they’re 100% bad, but she’s sure somewhere they have good in them… maybe. They still deserve to go to jail, though.
But there isn’t a single animal that’s 100% perfect. And Judy knows that only too well now.
Certainly, even she wouldn’t ever make the cut — despite what her past self so foolishly thought.
And there’s no shame in that. Because no one is perfect, we’re all afforded a little grace. We get to fail, take a step back, learn and get back at it. It’s kind of beautiful in a way.
She messed up a lot in her life. So did Nick. They gave each other second chances, even when the world didn’t afford them such kindness.
There was still much to learn. Judy was still in the very beginning of her life, both career-wise and love-wise. And that was exciting! She couldn’t wait for her next adventure.
She was still innocent (and downright ignorant) in many things. But what mattered is that she was willing to learn – both anew and from her mistakes. As long as she never lost that attitude, Judy knew she would be alright. Especially with so many good animals by her side.
And, in particular, a certain fox by her side always. She wondered if proposing after half a year of living together was too soon.
As soon as their therapy was over and she mastered every single technique (just like she did for police work), she decided she’d try.
Only to be surprised by Nick asking first. That sly fox still always managed to surprise her and make her heart skip.
And for that and much, much more, she was thankful.