#@runnerzero

[notforconsumption]

ZOMBIES, RUN! SECRET SANTA 2023

IT'S NOVEMBER ONCE MORE AND THAT MEANS IT'S TIME FOR THE ZOMBIES, RUN! SECRET SANTA EXCHANGE!

You read that correctly - the time-honoured tradition is back and you can now sign up for the 7th ZR Secret Santa!

And we know - you'll be used to seeing these posts from @runnerzero, who started the ZR Secret Santa a frankly shocking seven years ago. Zero's been snowed-under busy this year so this year @delucadarling and I are taking over the posting duties in addition to helping out with the behind the scenes part as we usually do.

Entries are open from now (right now, actually) until December 1st - at which point we'll shut down the form and get to work assigning each of you a gifter and a recipient.

Gifts can be art, fic, a combination of both, graphics, compositions, interactive fic, playlists (so long as the playlist is complementing something else!), or whatever you think will bring some joy.

SIGN UP: https://forms.gle/ERzeAQBzN8yLP2916

The only rules are to keep it secret, and spend some time on it!

Dates!

December 1st: Sign ups end!

December 2nd: You recieve your secret santa recipient

December 24th: Entries due! Post em here, send em direct to your recipient, do both! Up to you.

December 25th: We post all the entries in one mammothly festive post (if you'd like to be included!).

If you've any questions, concerns, confessions feel free to message me or @delucadarling here or on Discord.

[high5runner5]

@runnerfiveready

A very belated Merry Christmas!! Apologies for the lateness of this gift! It was so much fun getting to draw your lovely Five!! I love a good 5am interaction more than anything! I loved your Five so much and their ridiculous with Sam that I couldn't help but write a small blurb about them!! I hope I delivered on the angst and the grief! Once again, Merry Christmas!!

Thanks to @notforconsumption, @runnerzero, and @delucadarling for another amazing year!!

TW// Spoilers for Season 4, Main Character Death, Injury Mention

Currently, Five tossed and turned in their cot, a sweat covered brow furrowed as they dreamt of a blood soaked Sam, wailing about being left for dead before being engulfed in a mass of rotten limbs and teeth, all desperately wishing to consume him. Soon, like all the other recurring nightmares, Five woke with a jolt.

Five sat upright, panting and wild-eyed as their head swiveled around the room. Trying to locate the danger that awoke them. It wasn’t until the dark shapes of the room came back into focus and their mind cleared that Five noticed the knife gripped in their hand. Realizing it was nothing but another nightmare, they relaxed their grip, they took silent note of the blood rushing back to their fingers and palm. Kicking off their blankets, they rested on their back once again, a sour feeling settling in their stomach as they reminded themselves that Sam was gone. Long gone were the days Five could sneak into the radio shack after a particularly horrid nightmare and find Sam greeting them with a soft smile and an extra blanket. Feeling empty and standing on the brink of sleep deprived exhaustion, they forced themselves to relax back into their cot.

It had been three days since Five abandoned was forced to leave Sam in the zombie infested building. They could only listen in horror to his screams as they ran for Abel, baby Sarah crying in their arms and Paula and Maxine waiting desperately for their daughter to be returned to them. Five understood that Sam’s final wish was to get baby Sarah back home - but that fact did little to stop the nightmares that found them in the quiet of night.

Five tried to find reprieve in their memories of Sam, yet it proved to be more harmful than helpful. Thinking of the tender fleeting moments they shared did nothing but bubble up sentiments of unrequited feelings and the fact that Five can never tell Sam what they felt for him. It often made grief hit Five like a dull blade in the chest.

There was a quiet keening sound closeby that broke through Five's train of thought, it sounded similar to a wounded animal crying out in pain. It wasn’t strange or unheard of to hear people crying for loved ones in the privacy of night - hell, it was often encourage at Able. It wasn’t until a tearful sob reverberated in the tiny room that Five realized tearful sounds came from them.

Frustrated, Five wiped angrily at the hot tears wetting their cheeks. Crying wasn’t going to bring Sam back. He’s dead and that’s that. Sam would be ashamed to see them like this. Able’s savior and best runner, reduced to a bluberring mess and scared stiff from the threat of nightmares. No, they refused to shut down and retreat within themselves similar to last time with Moonchild. They had to keep it together, or until they Sam’s body was back in Abel and buried in the ground. Yes, that was doable, they could manage keeping it together until then.

Determined - and physically exhausted - Five slipped into a dreamless sleep.

[wubbelwubbwubb]

It’s this time of the again! Zombies Run Secret Santa, and here’s my gift for @runnerzero, who wouldn’t mind to be tortured with season 2 angst.

... as always, I am bringing the holiday cheer.

Thank you so much @runnerzero for organizing this event and letting a forgetful idiot like me participate. (Also, thank you to the whole zr fan community here, you spoiled me for any other fandom)

[are-you-sure-its-me-you-see]

It's that time of year again! Time for me to post the one fic I write a year. 🤣 Happy Holidays @kaoticfive ! I hope you enjoy this fic and have a great end of the year overall.

Special thanks to @notforconsumption and @delucadarling for organizing this year, and to @runnerzero for starting such a lovely tradition in our community!

[runnerzero]

ZR Secret Santa 2022

Here’s the full list for this year’s Zombies Run Secret Santa! Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I’m so proud of everyone who put work into this.

If you received a gift, be sure to thank your Secret Santa! Go show our writers/artists/creators some love!  ❤️

abel-runners to warriorsmurf (x)

bebtea to fiveneedsanap (x)

runnerzero to wubbelwubbwubb (x)

naith to enbeast (x)

peyton to puptart (x)

qkhilltop to runnerzero (x)

puptart to qkhilltop (x)

thefifthrunner to curiousobsession101 (x)

high5runner5 to runnerfiveready (x)

warriorsmurf to thefifthrunner (x)

feeshcapades to scavengerfive (x)

runnerfiveready to feeshcapades (x)

fiveneedsanap to areyousureitsmeyousee (x)

tinynavajo to naith (x)

limepigeon to peyton (x)

enbeast to notforconsumption (x)

areyousureitsmeyousee to tinynavajo (x)

runnerzero to abel-runners (x)

wubbelwubbwubb to runnerzero (x)

curiousobsession101 to bebtea (x)

scavengerfive to limepigeon (x)

[only-mostlydead]

Merry ZR Secret Santa, @are-you-sure-its-me-you-see! I curated a playlist chronicling the progression of Sam and Five’s relationship with the most bittersweet of vibes for you. I hope you enjoy!

@runnerzero

[curiousobsession101]

Zombies, Fanworks! Secret Santa 2022.

This fic is for @bebtea​ I hope you like it!

Thank you @runnerzero​ @puptart​ and @notforconsumption​ for setting up this year’s Secret Santa exchange!

The Noah Base Bash

This fic takes place shortly before Season 5 Mission 23 and has spoilers for Zombies, Run! up to the end of that season. This is an AU where a certain major character death didn’t happen. Also I’m not totally sure what year season 5 takes place in but for the purposes of my fic Chanukkah overlaps Christmas. This is basically fluff without plot.

Also, I am neither christian, nor Muslim, nor from England. If I get any details wrong as a result, I’m sorry.

One last author’s note: This fic includes a character (Andrew) who canonically has no screentime at all. He is mentioned offhandedly twice in the entirety of Zombies, Run!

“And... there’s mine. This tree is officially decorated.” Peter said cheerfully as he stepped back from hanging his ornament.

“Perfect timing too; the Abel - that is, Noah Base holiday party is scheduled to start in just a few minutes.” Janine said, stepping up beside Peter. He smiled at her. Coming from Janine, that was a compliment.

“That tree looks really good, guys.” Sam enthused from where he stood next to Maxine, Paula, and their daughter. “Those improvised ornaments made from stuff the runners have found look even nicer than I would have expected. And there was enough for each of us to make an ornament with our own names!” He had been particularly thrilled to “help” baby Sara with her own ornament.

“Yeah, too bad we couldn’t get an actual tree.” Jody chimed in with a laugh.

“Oh I don’t know,” Peter replied, “I think this tree we made from the pieces of the furniture we found that wasn’t sturdy enough to use anymore is perfect for the Noah Base holiday party. It’s like a modern sculpture.” This earned him laughs from the others.

“Honestly,” Jody addressed Kytan, “I still can’t believe you were able to find real tinsel.”

Kytan grinned. “Oh yeah, I had to fight my way through so many zombies for it I had to use my nunchucks. It was like, ‘Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!’ and then ‘Kapow!’ right to their faces. I wasn’t even there for tinsel, but I saw a box labeled ‘tinsel’ and was like ‘Jackpot!’. But even after I got all the supplies there were still a bunch of zombies left so I had to backflip out the window like this.” He stood up from where he’d been sitting between Cameo and Andrew with Yang on Cameo’s other side and did a backflip.

“Kytan, you don’t have to demonstrate; we all believe you did a backflip.” Cameo said as if she wasn’t always delighted by Kytan’s exuberant displays.

“Oh no, as I’ve told you before,” Kytan replied in a faux-serious voice, “there is always a need for a backflip.” The other three laughed and Kytan sat back down.

“You know, Jody,” Tom said from where he stood next to her, “I’m just as impressed that you were able to get so much wool and knit it so quickly.” Jody was the only one whose holiday presents had been given out before the party. Everyone was wearing the sweaters she had knitted especially for them. Tom’s had the Jurassic Park logo on the front, except that the t-rex skeleton was wearing a santa hat.

Jody smiled at the praise. “Oh, it wasn’t that much work.”

”No, Tom’s right.” Yang said. “Take a moment with that achievement. You should be proud.”

Jody smiled a little wider. “Thanks.”

“Alright everyone.” Janine’s voice cut through the chatter. “Miss Al Hanaki will be transmitting shortly and then the party will officially begin.”

As if on cue, the broadcast system started transmitting Nadia’s voice. “Noah Base, can you hear me?”

“Yeah, we can hear you Nadia.” Sam responded.

“How are you, Miss Al Hanaki?” Janine asked. The question sounded almost businesslike, but it was clear she asked out of real concern.

“Oh I’m all right.” Nadia reassured Janine (and everyone else). “Owen and Veronica and me are still on the Minister’s good side so we’re treated pretty well. Owen’s even come up with a little Christmas celebration for the three of us. Speaking of which, happy Christmas and happy Hanukkah everyone!”

The not-quite-in-sync chorus of responses was mostly “Happy holidays!” but a few responded specifically with the holiday they themselves grew up celebrating and there were a few “You too!”s in the mix also.

After the tumult had died down, Sam said “I wanted to say Happy and then whatever you celebrate but um, what holiday do you celebrate this time of year?”

Nadia laughed. “I really don’t celebrate any particular holiday this time of year. But you can always say ‘happy Christmas’ to me too, since I’ll be celebrating it with Owen and Veronica.”

”Oh.” Sam thought about it for a second. “Well then happy Christmas. And I hope this Friday is a good one for you.”

“Thanks.” Nadia laughed again. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go to the mosque this week, but I’ll see. Alright, I should go. Owen’s ready to start. Have a great party!”

Noah Base chorused its goodbyes.

The party kicked off with Paula lighting the menorah on the dinner table. She carefully explained what she was doing and what all the prayers meant to a wide-eyed Sara who seemed totally enraptured by the bright candles. All the adults enjoyed the adorable scene - in addition to the Christmas tree patterned sweater Jody had knitted for her, she was also wearing knitted socks with dreidels on them (knitted by Sam after he got Jody to teach him how). But the truth was the explanations were just as helpful for some of the adults present as the baby.

“Hey Paula,” Sam said as an idea struck him, “do you think you could teach Maxine and me how to dance the horah? Then we could dance with Sara.”

“Oh, I’m not sure if-” Paula started.

“Oh, I’d love to learn too if that’s alright.” Peter said, smiling.

And then practically everyone in the base was begging Paula to teach them. She finally agreed, looking a little embarrassed but also happy. She taught them a version of the horah with a Yiddish name she told them translated to “crooked dance”. Everyone had a great time; even baby Sara seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself from where she was held in Maxine’s arms.

Afterward everyone sat down to eat the best holiday dinner a bunch of fugitives could make out of their scavenged supplies. Without access to Abel’s farm there was more canned and shelf-stable food than usual, but by this point the residents of Noah base were experts at making delicious meals out of canned food.

“Is that Christmas cake?” Peter asked. “How did you manage to make a Christmas cake?! Where could you possibly have gotten the ingredients?”

“Well, we couldn’t get all the ingredients exactly.” Sam admitted. “I had to improvise. It should still be good though.”

“It’s great.” Yang enthused. “Especially for a cake made while in hiding during a zombie apocalypse.”

After eating, everyone gathered in front of the tree to exchange presents (other than the sweaters Jody had made). Before the gift exchange could start, however, a machine in the corner of the room clacked to life. It was the machine Cameo had made that printed out snippets from Radio Abel. Apparently they were doing a holiday broadcast. Everyone clustered around, but Cameo pushed through and read the snippet out to everyone else. “And happy holidays to everyone back at Abel and New Canton, and all our friends wherever you happen to be. We’re sending you our best wishes.” She looked up from the paper. “That’s all it printed.”

The group returned to the tree, and nothing else interrupted the gift exchange. Tom gave Jody an automatic crossbow. She looked so happy she was almost lost for words. Peter gave Janine a bottle of good whisky he’d managed to find during a supplies run and had kept hidden in anticipation of the holiday since. Janine gave him a new pair of running shoes she’d had scavenged especially for him. He seemed touched. Most of the good shoes to be scavenged already had been; these wouldn’t have been easy to find.

Cameo, Yang, Kytan, and Andrew gave gifts as a group. For those within the group the other three banded together to get their gifts. Kytan got weapons scavenged from a dojo where it seemed everyone who might have minded had been eaten. Cameo received broken phones to work with, in light of how skillfully she had used just such tech as part of the machine that printed snippets of Radio Abel. Yang got a handful of batteries he could keep all to himself. And Andrew got books scavenged from a bookstore.

Once the rest of the gifts had been given, Sara started to fuss. Maxine and Paula excused themselves to put their daughter to bed and then go to sleep themselves. Everyone else stayed, chatting and laughing quietly long into the night. And for that night in Noah base, everything was peace and camaraderie.

[teacup-crow]

Blood of Eden

Merry Christmas Mel @fiveneedsanap! You’re one of the poor souls at the receiving end of my rants about work at the minute, so I probably don’t have to explain why this is a little short, but I hope you enjoy this bittersweet Janine/Peter scene and the vaguely horrifying implications of it as much as I loved writing it!

Thanks as always to @runnerzero and the gang for organising.

***

He’s leading her by the hand, a strip of cloth tied carefully over her eyes, loose enough that she could shrug it off if there were any real danger, if she grew tired of the game. And though it feels foolhardy to be so defenseless out in the field, there’s something exhilarating about blindness, too. It’s a rare occasion when Janine De Luca gives up control, gives her life entirely to someone else.

Perhaps she ought to do it more often.

“Here,” Peter says, and lets her hand drop for a second, pulling the blindfold away with one gentle tug at the knot. She blinks at the sudden sunlight, and then gasps.

Before her, unfurled, are rows upon rows of saplings, thorny roses, hydrangeas and dahlias; daisies, cornflowers, lilies and sweetpeas, the snow dappled in a colourful carpet almost as far as she can see. She finds herself naming each one, English and Latin and Greek, fingertips brushing at the petals, the perfectly tilled soil. It’s a dreadful waste of decent farmland, she thinks. It’s the most beautiful thing she’s seen in over a decade.

“How…” she murmurs.

“Quite a lot of trial and error, really. And blood, sweat and tears. A lot of tears.”

And more than a little immortal blood, to make any of this grow out of season. It seems better not to share that part, though. How the petals bloom in the salt of his wounds, how he brings what should be dead to life. How all it costs is some piece of his soul, each time.

“…Peter, I… Mr Lynne, I don’t know what to say.”

He grins, a hand resting on her elbow. “I’ve rendered the great Janine de Luca speechless?”

“Quiet, you.”

She doesn’t force him to move his hand. And it’s very quiet, right here. Flowers blooming in the snow. Growth in a wasteland. Unnatural and lovely, just like he is.

“Merry Christmas, Jenny,” Peter says, his voice barely above a whisper.

[enbeast]

@notforconsumption happy holidays! please accept this minimalist sara smith (i am in the middle of reshuffling my house and could only find my yellow pen otherwise i would have coloured her in more aa i kept telling myself id remember to look for the pens Later but that was the adhd devil talking)

@puptart @runnerzero

[high5runner5]

“You’ve have your axe, Five...”

Merry Christmas to @runnerfiveready ! I decided to do a little tense scene from one of the most conflicting missions: Shoot the Runner! I truly wish you a Merry Christmas and I had a great time being your secret Santa! And a thanks to @runnerzero for another amazing year of the community Secret Santa!

[runnerfiveready]

It's that time of year again!

I joined the ZR Secret Santa again, and I had a really great time making this one. Shout out to my last Secret Santa who gave me the idea; my gift was super special and felt super personalized, and I wanted to pass that feeling along by doing it to my gift this year. So I've created a Playlist based on the Radio Boyfriends for @feeshcapades this year. I hope you like it ♡

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm0V8-q8jW3L2GfQbvB5gvzFcV0b6X0oH&feature=share

(Also I know I'll be a wee bit early on the chain; my timezone is ahead of everybody else!! I tried to wait as long as I could so it matched up better with everybody else, but ah well! )

@runnerzero

[ijustcantwaittobeme]

For RunnerZero

I don’t have a title other than randomly saying “Yo! @runnerzero !” & I have no idea if you would appreciate me saying that or not haha but anyway, after seeing this ( original reblog link goes here ) on your page, I wanted to reblog and give credit where credit is due but also make this a little bit more of a special shout out to you specifically and for the community as well. ^_^ 

What’s funny is that I have been wanting to make an appreciation post for you but wasn’t sure how to go about it at first. ^^’ I’m still having weird issues of having a steady hand in drawing but maybe I can make it up to you in the future. ^_^ 

Again - not my original idea but the original inquiry gives me a prompt to start with so - time to begin! :D 

If I could hand in actual papers to you @runnerzero on my perception and appreciation of you - I  would and then probably even make it into a small journal of sorts if I got too ramble-y. 

I have said it before but you were one of the first people on here & in this community to ever say hello to me, make me feel welcomed like I had been apart of everything for years.

 Any silly drabble I’d post - you would see it and like it almost immediately and I don’t know how you keep up with everyone who posts on here and have for years but I genuinely admire and respect you for all that you do here.

 I see you continue to encourage and welcome newcomers and veterans alike on here and I just - want to give you something tangible that let’s you know how awesome you are, how much your connectivity and personality and effort are appreciated to the nines and beyond. 

You are like the center of this community, you continue to branch, reach out and get so many encouraged and excited about events on here like ZR Secret Santa. 

We have so many wonderful people in this fandom and community and I don’t have a doubt that you have inspired most if not all of us in one way or another. 

You definitely have for me. I always want to give back in some way to let you know you are appreciated and loved here. 

What’s cool about the ZR fandom is that everyone who joins or posts something gains an immediate supporter and Internet Friend. There is a lot of positivity and wholesomeness here and you are a huge reason why it exists, and why it continues to grow every year. 

This has gotten away from me sharing my perception of you but I perceive you as a very smart soul who has to juggle so many things in their personal world and possibly on here too but you make it look effortless. 

You have a strength and charisma about you that just beams like the beacon leading Runner Five back to Abel. 

I perceive you as hilarious, someone with biting wit,  who is both organized but chaotically disorganized as well but with a huge heart and creative spirit. If you were a character from the fandom you are without a doubt Janine - and I don’t say that lightly - you are a powerful badass who does a lot for everyone, and this community needs and appreciates you dearly. 

I mentioned Janine because this is the ZR fandom and community but I perceive you - individually - as a remarkable person as well as a friend. A friend that I hope is always doing well and is having a good day because you matter.

So - it’s not as much but - thank you for all that you do and for being here @runnerzero and for somehow making sure at the end of the day that someone’s day here is acknowledged and possibly brightened  nearly every day. 

A thank you seriously doesn’t feel like it’s enough but until I can formulate a decent essay or suggest a soundtrack - I hope you won’t mind a heartfelt appreciation post. <3

[are-you-sure-its-me-you-see]

@fiveneedsanap

@runnerzero

Happy Holidays from your secret Santa! Enjoy a fluffy slice of life between an operator and their favourite runner.

[pldubrahs]

@runnerzero​ replied to your post “Wow I can't believe Peter Lynne is an avatar of The End”

oooh I wonder what entities all the characters align with

i’m on s3 but here are my hot takes:

Peter’s the End, obviously, textbook definition of it. Sam’s gotta be Eye, Sara is Slaughter, because I love my murder wife and she reminds me of Melanie. Similarly, Janine reminds me of Daisy so she’s the Hunt. I’m torn between Lonely or Stranger for Tom de Luca, but leaning towards Lonely because.... all those years alone..... that poor man. Amelia is probably Web if only because, as I understand it, Web is mostly about manipulation and that’s Just How Amelia Is.

Veronica McShell would be Eye as well, because if this was a real AU then Veronica “morality is subjective when science is involved” McShell would be Jon. Van Ark is Flesh, Moonchild is Web, Sigrid is Desolation, and I’ve been thinking for a Long Time that Valmont reminds me of Leitner so, take that as you will. 

[crazyspookies]

awwww :’)

[notforconsumption]

runnerzero replied to your photo “Drawlloween Day 18: Justice Ultimate leader, ultimate babe, Janine...”

janine........with a sword......��

Hey if I’m drawing semi-fantastical Janine am I NOT gonna give her a sword?? Absurd.