#zrs1

[joggerfive]

I have a Pinterest board about ZR characters and their associated vibes that’s over 600 pins, so I’m sharing some of my personal faves of season 1 characters on here so it at least feels somewhat productive - enjoy!

Sam:

Janine:

Simon:

Jody:

Maxine:

Jack:

Eugene:

Sara:

[pixeldinostorytelling]

we did it, runners 5! well done, no matter how much of the community run you participated in.

this was great fun, got me even more excited to start s6 soon!

(both five and me are glad but exhausted. don't look at the shoes too closely, ta)

[runner5ive]

3, 2, 1, go favorite ZR missions and moments from the first two seasons or the 5k training prequel

Answer under the cut to prevent spoilers up to S2 finale!

EDIT: I realise I spelt Sam’s name wrong LMAO dont come for me

This was a very hard question to answer! Ngl, my favourite missions are definitely the later series (hello to listening s7m32 in pure darkness) but S1/2 does hold a big place in my heart because I love all the character development/dynamics that we see starting to emerge. (There’s so many good 5am moments to pick from).

- S1 finale is just *chefs kiss* I’ve drawn it so many times I can’t believe it

- S2 m18 - Dark and Long 😌

- S2M4 - we used to be friends.

- s2M30 Panic - for the above bit of dialogue alone 😌

- S2M32 Tightrope - >:)

- I do just love the whole of the 5k because I love watching Five and Sam’s friendship starting to develop?

- Can I say the whole of Radio mode season 1 and 2 too? Best seasons for me, will never lie.

Honestly, though, most of my favourite bits of S1 and S2 happen between the episodes, things I’ve filled in with my brain of what happens to Five in Abel.

Like, after the mission I drew, there’s an angsty bit of conversation I picture Five and Sam having where Five insists that Sam puts Abel first from now on, which is what leads to Tightrope because he’s sticking to his promise. Or, after S2M4 - when five is finally back in Abel, there’s lots of emotional greeting from their friends, before they find themselves moving into Janine’s pantry because there’s nowhere else for them.

You’ve got some brilliant missions ahead of you >:)

[vfdcatlady]

Letters from the Apocalypse - Season 1 (980 words) by BBCMuggle Chapters: 10/10 Fandom: Zombies Run! Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Sam Yao, Runner Five (Zombies Run!), Major de Santa, Ed Harrison, Molly Harrison, Janine De Luca, Maxine Myers, Paula Cohen Series: Part 1 of Letters from the Apocalypse Summary: Letters from Runner Five to various characters in the ZR universe

Some letters I wrote as Runners Five while going through Season 1 again

[vesper-morgenstern]

Ohhh Runner Ten my beloved. Oh. Oh I’m weak for a quiet smart man with trauma. Ohh boy.

[korrolrezni]

"All we need is Eight and we could start a dance class. You get it? Five, six, seven, eight?"

I cannot believe we were depraved of Maggie. She's a hoot! Why did you have to take her away so early?

[artist-issues]

So

I think ZR id very carefully written so that you can borderline ship Sam with Runner 5 OR simply let Sam be like a brother to Five. Listening to most of the story beats, it could really go either way. They do it really strategically. Sam lost both his girlfriend AND his sibling early on in the apocalypse, so Five can replace either depending on the player's preference.

HOWEVER

It is so interesting to go back and listen to A Voice in the Dark from s1.

Because I think you can argue that however Sam and Five are bonded, it happens in that Mission.

Sam is forever the character in the zombie apocalypse who still finds joy in the little things, and holds out hope even when everybody else gives up. But in A Voice in the Dark, when it looks like Five is gone, he has that whole super depressing voice clip where he says, "nobody stays sane through all this, Five," and goes on to muse about how "maybe next time I see you, I'll have to shoot you in the head."

And he's literally about to walk out and give up on Five making it back, and FIGURATIVELY about to turn a corner into being a less hopeful character. You get the sense that after seeing Alice zombified and killed recently, and after losing "another good runner," and spending the whole dark night alone thinking about how he lost his family, Sam Yao is about to drop the hopefulness and turn more cynical.

But then Five makes it back!

And he's back to being normal, ever-hopeful, ever-funny, sunshiny and caring radio operator. Whereas he COULD have turned out more like any other cynical survivor in the series.

So basically what I'm saying is, it's really well written, because not only can Five fill the shoes of the people closest to Sam whom he's lost, but Five can also represent the indestructible hope Sam always has. And in turn, while Five is out there running around facing impossible odds, there's always someone representing the everyman, the innocent and worthwhile, on the other end of the comms like an anchor.

In conclusion an exercise app has no right to be written as well as this one is 🤷‍♀️

[zombiesrun]

He doesn’t get told that enough