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HOPE ZHANG XUE QI | 张雪荠 | 28 | BOTANIST

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Hope, 28, is a botanist at the New York Botanical Garden, usually tending to the flora and fauna in the garden, in charge of the greenhouse at the conservatory of plants for research and scientific experiments and oftentimes holding school tours and classes for kids. Coming from a line of doctors in the family, she stuck out as the one Zhang kid that never made it, and she couldn’t be happier. Stuck in a greenhouse at the garden’s conservatory when the outbreak happened, she locked herself in until things didn’t seem to be ending and she packed up and headed north, meeting Santiago’s and Scout’s team to follow them on their journey with nowhere else to go. However, with the team’s direction back south of New York, she wanted to go back to NYBG, whether to find people she knew, or find supplies, or just a hidden layer of sentimental value wanting to check on the plants. But somewhere in between she got separated from the group, and her only option was to follow the vague direction Santiago said he was heading for, south, and the only thing she knew in the south in Manhattan, was the Wexley from an old friend or two.

Useful Skills Botany, Herbology, Wilderness Survivalist, can climb very well, has good grip strength, Bouldering, Rock Climbing, Tree Climbing, Has the willpower to argue with you for days if you let her.

Additionals.

Full Name: Hope Zhang Xue Qi Chinese Name: 张雪荠 Nicknames: Chestnut Birthday: 5th August, 1996 Birthplace: Long Island City, Queens, New York Current Home: the Bronx, New York pre-outbreak, most likely found in a tree or something. Religion: Buddhist Orientation: Pansexual MBTI: ENFP-A The Campaigner Enneagram: Type 8w9, The Bear Alignment: Chaotic Good Zodiac Sign: Leo Face Claim: Chase Sui Wonders Voice Claim: Chase Sui Wonders

Physical Attributes.

Height: 4’10” Build: Lean, Small, Strong arms and shoulders Exercise Regime: Burning Calories through pure spite and picking fights. And also climbing, hiking and bouldering. Allergies: None. Hair Color: Black, Brown in the Sunlight Eye Color: Dark Brown Glass/Contacts: 20/20 vision baybee, fight me Dominant Hand: Right Tattoos: ankle tattoos, left with a dandelion, right with a chestnut Scars: scraps and cuts the never healed right, mostly callus on her hands and scars on her knees. Piercings: ear piercings Outfit Clothing Style: Oversized shirts and utility pants, flannels, combat boots, dr martens.

Background Information.

Hometown: Long Island City, Queens, New York Current Residence: preoutbreak the Bronx, New York / now apt #502 at the Wexley Spoken Languages: English / Mandarin / Conversational Spanish Driver’s License: fuck no Occupation: Botanist at NYBG

Biography.

Hope was one of those kids at the hospital that liked to sit on the counter and just watch her parents and everyone work, swinging her legs around with such blind optimism that the Earth and everyone will get better, it’s just a lil’ sick and needs the right medicine. She was ambitious at first as a wide eyed 9 year old kid, excited about helping people and making some miracle drug to save Mother Earth and her people. And then she realised how much effort and science it took. A second generation American, her parents were both doctors at a hospital, working their way up to where they were in the medical world. Her parents dedicated their lives to two things only, surviving in these lands as doctors and making sure their children could do the same, passing the medicinal knowledge down the line, hoping that their children would continue to help people this way. But perhaps Hope’s brain just wasn’t.. sciency enough for them. Her older siblings all seemed to fall in line with their studies. Once she was old enough to be introduced to study, she kept asking the annoying question “Why?” Being from a family of doctors, Hope just didn’t function like the rest of them, still smart, still bright, but in completely different sectors - plants. Hospitals soon exchanged for gardens, watching doctors turn to watching botanists work. Biology fascinated her, just not in most human biology like her family had hoped. Most of her youth studying biology and medicine had been spent doodling flowers and plants, singling them out in public, being able to point out their names, from the sturdiest of trees to the most delicate of dandelions. What a disgrace.

Hope tried her best to ignore the disappointment rolling over her shoulders, walking in strides towards a degree in botany, pretty sure she would’ve been disowned if there wasn’t the prospect of joining the elite list of Dr Zhangs, even in plants, she’d still be a doctor right? A PhD in botany wouldn't be too shabby too, she knew she could do it. Still, the blowback from her parents was a lot and she chose a college as far away from New York as possible at Clemson in South Carolina. But by the time she finished her degree, Hope didn't really feel like wasting more time in books, she wanted to be with the plants. She landed herself a job back in her home city at the New York Botanical Garden, remembering being a young girl getting lost in the beauty for hours there, it was all she ever wanted. Skipping a doctorate, she did the ballsy move of kicking herself out of her parents house before they could after moving back from South Carolina, paying rent, living in the Bronx with a couple of others sharing a shitty New York apartment. Contact with her parents became minimal, once every few months, cold, transactional as if the check-ins were just out of formality. But she was happy, kicking ass, loving plants, no one takes the botanists seriously, when there are lives to save in this new world, and she takes no one’s shit either.

But when the world comes crashing down and Mother Nature turns her back on them, guess who will be in her corner, working hard in taking care of the only Earth they’ll ever have?

Hope was in the greenhouse at the Botanical Garden working her shift when the outbreak hit up north in the Bronx. She hadn't been paying attention to the news at all, music blasting and humming while she worked overtime, the winter was hitting and she was hoping to make sure all the plants were transplanted and settled in the artificial warmth until they started work on the outdoor winter exhibits. She pulled out her ear buds when she finally heard screams, "what?" and the grotesque face slammed against the glass panes right in front of her, high grade glass the only thing protecting her from death. She immediately fought back the oncoming chompers at the entrance with a shovel and managed to lock the greenhouse. Just her and the plants. They were safe. She tried to call her family she hasn't spoken to in months, her housemates, her old college friends. Nothing. Hours, days, weeks passed. She had access to water, electricity, edible plants and fruits. Following the news on her phone until service was cut off. Fuck it, she was a fighter, she wasn't going to just lay down and die.

She whispered an apology to her babies in the greenhouse, packing seeds, seedlings, fertile soil, several sturdy useful plants, everything she could carry and couldn’t bear to leave behind and left the greenhouse to find a way to survive up north. It wasn't until she was picked up by a group, she remembered Santiago, she remembered Scout, they were heading back south into the city, which sounded stupid to Hope, but she understood the reason, and she had no other reason not to tag along.

With no goal other than to survive, she was happy to go wherever the group was going, learning to defend herself properly, foraging edible plants and food for the group, carrying her own small portable garden as they jumped from place to place. But as they headed further down south back pass the Bronx, Hope wanted to go back to the Botanical Garden, just a quick trip, it’ll be good for supplies, wanting to see if any of her colleagues survived, and most importantly, if any plants survived. But a series of unfortunate events got her separated from the group, by then she had gotten used to being with her new found family, and the only sense of direction she has, was south. And in the south to Manhattan, the only thing she had to her knowledge - was the Wexley.

Headcanons.

Her family took the family on a trip to the botanical garden for a family day and they absolutely lost their 5 year old girl. Hope got distracted by a rare species she’s never seen before and trailed behind one of the workers in the garden following them around all day. By sunset, she was found hands in the dirt, giggling over getting to pot seedlings and young trees into the ground, excited to grow up with them. Years later when she joined the Garden as a botanist of her own, she looked for those plants and trees, and greeted them with humility - thank you, and I’m home.

She also once got lost hiking with Beau during their college days in South Carolina and from then on was made to wear bright colored clothes into the forests for their weekly hiking trips. She had way too many ugly ass college football shirts way too big for her that really grew her into that oversized clothing style for awhile.

While out there surviving, Hope had fashioned a small portable garden she carries with her as the group moves from place to place, allowing them to grow small humble, but useful plants yet bring them wherever they go.

Despite it all Hope was glad her parents instilled strong cultural values and practices in their ethnic roots. Her parents had insisted on keeping their kids’ Chinese Names as a sense of cultural pride in the system. Her Chinese name means snow chestnut, the nickname of chestnut from close friends and family has grown on her. But they also wanted to make sure they had an English one as well to make things less complicated for them in their future. It perhaps created more bureaucratic confusion than necessary if they had just westernized themselves with first name last name, hospitals where they were born were baffled at what to write, schools were confused, thinking Qi was her last name, classmates didn’t get it, but their family gets it. She gets it. And that’s what matters.

She is absolutely terrified of driving and tried to learn to drive in South Carolina in a pick up truck from Beau on stick shift and absolutely hated it. Probably the biggest reason for not staying there after graduation even though she loved the nature there so much. Hope cycled most times during her college years unless someone else was driving.

Supplies (on Wexley Day 1):

hori hori garden knife

machete

portable mini garden

seeds and gardening tools

sack of soil

water bottle

small first aid kit

flashlight

small shears

small pack of rice

two cup noodles