#Rofflenet

[artist-issues]

When is Season 10 of Zombies, Run! coming out? I miss Five! I played the preview, and I miss Five. Help, Rofflenet homies. Give me a light at the end of the tunnel.

[runner5ive]

I always think the idea of a mute Runner Five has so much potential to be hilarious.

Like, imagine: Five has been in Abel for ten years, part of the family, surrounded by people who now know them better than they know themselves. Certain members of Abel can read their body language like a book, they know what ever facial expression means, they can tell when they're lying or when they're trying to mask their feelings. Often, especially in an argument, they can predict what Five's going to say (sign) before they even raise their hands to do so.

And yet nobody has ever heard their voice or has any idea what accent they might have.

Then one day, after somehow finding their birth certificate on Rofflenet, Sam bursts into their room like "YOU'RE GERMAN?!"

Five is just like " :D ja!" and leaves Sam doubting everything he's ever knew about them.

[disabledrunner5]

So on ROFFLENET (which I was able (heh able…as in yeah,) to join since I’m doing the season one community rerun) they’re doing a thing where you can post about your Fives with a template, so I decided to post one on there and one on here (I don’t think I’m allowed to repost the template though).

ROFFLENET version:

I still don’t really like my art on this but I don’t really want to post a photo of myself online like others are doing on there!

Tumblr version:

Five art by @runner5anna from like 2020 (I still love it!)

I honestly love the idea that my Five carries around a photo of her friends/found family and a note from her favourite radio operator in her bag. She also doesn’t realise just how kick-ass she is, like seriously.

Also the idea that Sam continues to slip snacks and water in her bag before a run even all these years later is something I am obsessed with, like yes, Sam look after your Five, she’ll forget to do so otherwise.

The specific note she carries is this short note from Sam:

And the photo is the bottom photo from this set she got one Christmas:

(The top one is hanging by her bed in her bunk room).

[grim-the-dog]

Let's play a game. The game is called- ~What if the apocalypse had social media?~(I know its the literal apocalypse but shhhhh we can pretend)

What social platforms would Five be on? why?

Which would they avoid? and why?

What kind of stuff would Five post and why?

What would the aesthetic of their account be?

Come up with an average post(s) of Five's that represent what their account would be like

Oh besides Rofflenet? This is hilarious.

First of all, Five is really bad with keeping up with trends, so he is often behind on online slang and trending topics. He's the kind of person to find out the Queen passed two weeks after the fact.

• What social platforms would Five use?

YouTube and TikTok. His scrambled mind latches onto the brainrot and doomscrolling like there's no tomorrow. He dissociates ten times a day listening to podcasts and reddit stories.

• What platforms would Five avoid?

Twitter and Facebook. He finds them confusing and struggles with the user-unfriendly interface.

• What woukd Five post?

He rarely posts, but when he does it's usually drawings he made or cool places and things he found on runs, like a golden sports bra or a hospital with a sign that said "Don't Dead Open Inside". His most viewed post is a short video of a giant cheese wheel full of zombies rolling down a highway, with the caption "Well that's not your dairy occurrence".

• What would the aesthetic of Five's account be?

Lots of nature, specially flowers and storms. And macro pictures of seemingly random things, like an orange fabric and the sun reflecting on some reading glasses.

• Average post in Five's account?

Something cool he found in the woods, probably a bug or animal bones. No tags, single word descriptions. Sam always comments something to encourage Five to keep posting his silly pictures.

(I'll add a fake post later)

[cyclist-5]

Starting Season 2!

SO, are any Runner 5s on here joining in the Rofflenet quasi-official Season 2 community run? I recently got back into ZR for the Season 1 run, and am juust about caught up. I'd love to know if anyone else on tumblr is doing it too!

[abeltownshipslittlebitch]

Five: Would you die for me, Peter?

Peter: i would die just because i feel like it but you are literally the only reason i am still alive.

Five: *smiling, heart eyes, internal screaming, publishes 150k+ words fanfiction of friends to lovers on Rofflenet*

@dorkylittleweirdo

[tazzy-zooming]

Inspired by Share on Rofflenet and the S9 Poshington side mission.

Sam and Five hunt for the best tea shop in North Africa. And try not to cause more property damage.

Image ID: An Asian man and a dark-skinned woman in matching green outfits walk down an alley decorated with Tunisian tile art. They are both smiling.

[korrolrezni]

Aww. Amelia, you have soft spot for babies?

Maybe we should broadcast that on Rofflenet.

[crownleys]

Have you noticed any trends/patterns in what makes you 'fannish' about something? (Particular mediums, character dynamics, aesthetics etc.) Also, is there anything you love but don't feel the impulse to engage in fandom with?

This was a really interesting question, and I had to sit and think about it for a while before feeling like I had some good conclusions to share with you, Anon! I think in general there's three things that have to be in the mix that get me feeling 'fannish'/involved in the fandom for something: 1) Regularly engaging with the source material 2) A good community 3) Space to play

I'll put the rest under a cut because I'm sure I'm about to ramble for a while

So, with regards to point one, it feels relevant to mention that I don't particular feel like I've been a member of too many fandoms. I'd say two, exactly -- Zombies, Run! and The Wayhaven Chronicles. I've dabbled with things like The Locked Tomb Series and Dragon Age of course, but I never necessarily felt like part of the fandom, just because it was so large and multifacted, and I only briefly engaged with it as someone who contributed to those respective fandoms. But with ZR and TWC, they're both things that have stuck around longer, mostly because I've continued to play them for a very long time. I got started with ZR about 10 years ago. When I was my most active with it was when I was going out literally every day and listening to missions, which helped keep the story and characters really fresh in my mind. It also helped me constantly think up new themes and ideas I really wanted to explore within the setting and with the characters. Similar with Wayhaven -- I played through all the books when Book 3 came out in April and I've more or less had a play-through going since then. My actual play-throughs have fallen a little on the wayside just because of life things but I'm still thinking about it & engaging with the source material a lot. So I guess my point is, to truly feel 'fannish' about something I need to be a little bit obsessed, lol!

As for my second point, I've truly felt my most 'fannish'/part of the fandom when I find a good community to interact with. One of my favorite parts of being a fan is actually getting to talk about the material in question -- play with it, theorize, etc. The Zombies, Run! Fandom when I joined was amazing for that, and there continued being a really good group constantly discussing meta on their Rofflenet website the entire time I was a player. There was even a weekly zoom book club to discuss the current releasing missions! It was awesome! And with Wayhaven I feel like I've found a really nice circle of mutuals to sit and talk about the books with (and also obviously, my dearest Delucadarling, who I constantly talk about it with). Which brings me to my last point, is I really like having a lot of space to 'play' and feel fannish. With ZR, it has a huge sprawling universe of a zombie apocalypse, and only a very small portion is shown to the players via the audio. It leaves a lot of room to imagine what happens around the missions. And with Wayhaven, since only a portion of the story is out, it leaves a lot of room to imagine with happens next to all the characters. That is the sort of thing I really find motivating! And there's for sure plenty of things I love that I don't really engage with the fandom for, or engage pretty lightly. For example, I've really been loving Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks, but I haven't really done more than chat with a few friends about it. Similarly for a lot of the books I read -- I'll talk about them with a friend or two but not really seek out a lot of online content for them. I also watch a lot of cooking competitions, lol, so that's different for me to. If you've stuck with me for this long thank you! I really appreciated the question and I hope you have a great day <3

[drowsystarlight]

Hey Neeks, here's a present from a half Filipino stranger :D

ZR-7747-94SU-U3H8

This is a 6 month VIP subscription code. If you want to use it now, I think the remainder of your current subscription (if your on a gift code) normally gets given back to you as another gift code. If you gave a reoccuring subscription you'll need to cancel it first.

Enjoy! And uh.. probs obvious, but please don't post a reply to this ask before you redeem your code.

THANK YOU?!1? IVE BEEN WANTING TO CHECK THE ROFFLENET SITE AND RUN A FEW OF THE RACES FOR SO LONG,,,, vip is ASS expensive here omg im so glad wtf THANK YOU ANON

I’m so excited . Omg . I got this ask like days ago and read it when i woke up so for a while i thought i was just dreaming it . I WASNT?!? I STILL CANT BELIEVE IT 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 watch out death wish it’s OVER FOR YOU

Thank u again anon,,,,,,

[artist-issues]

Am I getting excited for nothing or is the latest episode of ZRS10 coming out tomorrow? Answer my call, Rofflenet users

[runner5ive]

Not an ask per se, I just wanted to say I love your Five!! They’re a delightful goblin

@tazzy-zooming I didn’t know how to say thank you because I suck with words I let Five do it who also sucks with words 😌 Also it’s been a while since I did a BSL gif

Thanks, sweetie! 💖 I’ve seen your Five on Rofflenet a bunch, they’re awesome!

[kelzebub]

From my fic, Glass. I explained my whole approach, such as it is, on Rofflenet.

The blue and grey - institutional colors. I actually based the beds and swinging bathroom half- door from the psych units I've worked on. I was going for a feeling of cold, impersonal, walls closing in, no privacy ever. The inhabitant would always feel exposed and yet trapped, like a bug in a jar. Very little softness or warmth. I hope that comes through.

Anyways, drawing this helped me get past a mental block. And I don't know why it posted twice but it's linked to ao3 and I'm too lazy to figure out which one I can delete without having to relink it there.

[disabledrunner5]

It’s my birthday! But wait! that means…it’s my Five’s birthday too!

To celebrate, here’s what happened when Sam attempted to give Five the best birthday ever…

Firstly, this is some point whilst Janine is on the run and Jody is in charge. Sam realised that Five was having a rough time recently and knew her birthday was coming up so swore to make it a good one.

The day started with Sam making sure that Five was exempt from running that day except in the case of an emergency.

He made breakfast in bed for her…or Sam gave it a good shot.

Although it was a little difficult to get going, given he had to somehow worm his way around five who was asleep next to him and a light sleeper due to her trauma. He managed it though! (With a little help from Five’s surrogate big bro Peter).

Five woke up and the conversation went a little like this:

“Five? Five!”

“….Sam?”

“Morning Five! I just wanted to be the first to say it, Happy birthday!”

“It’s not-“

“It’s the 14th January, your birthday”

“You…remembered?”

“Of course I did!”

“Oh….Why aren’t you in bed?”

“Well we’ve got a long day ahead, starting with…breakfast!”

Five was really touched to have breakfast in bed.

Then it was a relaxing day hanging out with Sam, little Sara, Maxine, Paula, Peter and Jody watching Doctor Who, some of Five’s favourite films etc. although Jody, Peter and Paula had to rush off and do some runnings they’d be back eventually.

Sam got Radio Cabel to do a shout out and a song dedication for Five…although it was said using the vaguest possible terms because you know, Sigrid and her followers.

Birthday presents!

Jody knitted her a jumper that looked suspiciously like the fifth doctor’s cricket jumper.

Peter wasn’t sure what to get her but ended up finding a copy of Shaun of The Dead (Five’s favourite film) as a nod to the time she got out of a zombie infested pub with him and Sara by basically reenacting the bar fight from the film.

Maxine and Paula (and little Sara) got her a scrapbook with all of her photographed moments with Sara and the rest of the family in. Because she is part of their family.

Jamie even pitched in for a present, busy as he is being king and getting support back. Well I say present, it was more a card with a really nice message on but what can you do when you’re always on the move and Five still really appreciated it.

Even Amelia got her something….make up. Five does not wear make up. She’s actually really sensitive to it, as in she might have a sensory overload of she wears it. She forces a smile but Sam makes a mental note to give it to someone else later.

Sam…Sam waited until dark to give her her present. Where he lead her to the comms shack.

He’d actually set up this cute little picnic dinner (with permission from Jody who obviously thinking it’s the cutest thing ever, agreed- I fully believe that Jody is amongst the biggest 5am shippers). Fairy lights decking the walls, tea lights on a blanket laid out on the floor. A picnic basket Five’s favourite food, drink and a chocolate cake.

It was half way through the meal when he handed her a small memory stick.

She stuck in the memory stick into a computer and…it was a file. A file full of digital family documents, ranging from government files dating from the 1600s to the ministry files on her and her family members in the apocalypse, family photos that she thought were lost, videos. Etc.

If Five wasn’t crying then over the thoughtfulness of Sam and the cute meal, she was now.

She asked Sam how the hell he got all this information and he explained that he’d found someone on Rofflenet who was able to hack into the ministry documents, as well as a bit of permission from the king to get the pre-apocalypse government files and a quick secret mission to her old home….and he just put it all together.

Five then asked if he knew who the mystery Rofflenet person was. And he just said it was someone with the username bright_tabs who apparently used to work for the secret service.

Five realised very quickly who that was, ex Secret service? Someone with the same surname as her in their username? Holy Mary Mother of God. Tabitha. It was Tammy! HER COUSIN WAS ALIVE!

Sam was grinning, he’d realised that connection very early on when he’d contacted her on Rofflenet. And Tammy had basically told him she had a cousin called Alicia who she was trying to track down and he’d said that Alicia was with them. That’s how he got her to help, he’d set up a meeting between Five and her, if she’d help create the best birthday present for Five a conclusive documented record of her family.

The last thing on the file was a video. A new video, from her cousin, Tammy saying she’s glad that Five was still alive, and would be on her way to meet her at Abel as soon as she possibly could.

Anyway, Five tearfully kissed Sam and then hugged him so tightly and would not let go. Honestly, he’d done the best thing anyone had ever done for her, meshed her new family with the old and given her family back.

Five had the best quiet birthday she could wish for after that. And she went to bed wondering aloud what the hell had she done to deserve someone like Sam in her life.

Sam’s reply was ‘honestly? everything. Happy birthday Five.’

[cyclist-5]

Rofflenet's organizing an unofficial Season 2 Community Run!

Just in time- I've nearly finished my playthrough of Season 1! (I restarted midway through the S1 community run and ran out of time to finish). Looking forward to finally playing all the way through S2 with the community

[scorrigan]

Spoilers for, eh, season 8 onwards and the VRs 14/15

Repeating my rofflenet musings- The problem with Frances is that she is kind of an earlier season character- the naive enthusiast, and we werent allowed to bond with her in lower stakes missions.   Shes like a character from Alien, clueless about the danger, when we needed more marines from Aliens.   I also suspect she was introduced to give more urgency to the past two virtual races, as they brought Alice back for those.