#runner 4

[runner5ive]

I challenged myself to draw a city scape and thought early seasons zr for the vibe better 😌

[i-will-go-with-you-five]

oooooOOOOOOOO Maxine the matchmaker is in the house

CACKLING at Owen and Jody. I never knew that Jody could be so annoyed by someone lol.

[artist-issues]

Sometimes I interact with the tiny little Zombies, Run! Fandom and I wonder how some people can view the story the way they do.

Specifically, I keep seeing that Sam and Five are "drifting apart," and I keep seeing lots of attention for Peter. Like, going into Season 6, 7, and 8 (which is the one I'm on now) I kept waiting for something big to happen to suggest that Peter was as impactful to Five as Sam seems to be.

But there just isn't anything. I mean, if you tilt your head and squint, and take everything Simon did or said to Five before dying and coming back as "Peter," and combine that with Peter...you still only have a handful of moments where they even seem close.

Like. Sure. Peter was willing to die for Five several times since coming back, but...he was lowkey willing to die for literally everybody? Because he wanted to heroically sacrifice himself? He had a whole character arc about it?

And it's not like he knows Five better than anyone, either. He has one or two moments where he notices that Five is being asked to do dangerous things even though Five is not indestructible, but that's really it. He doesn't even seem to get more concerned for Five than he does for others; just that one time, in the catacombs or whatever, when he's like "IS FIVE ALL RIGHT?"

And sure, that was sweet, but also, the writers clearly put that line in there so that Colonel Sage could point out that Peter shouldn't sacrifice himself if he really cares about his friends' safety, in general, because he can do more for them alive than dead. It wasn't a line to communicate to us that Peter cares a special way about Five. It was a line to communicate to us that Peter cares about friends, conveniently placed so that Sage could use that to convince him not to sacrifice himself.

Guys, one time should not a strong connection make.

I guess I remember he also said, when Janine was hinting that he was Simon under a different name, that Peter said "I don't want to talk about it in front of Five!" But...again, that's just. Or enough for me to believe that Peter is replacing Sam in estimation.

And speaking of Janine, there is WAY more evidence that Five is getting closer to Janine, if any character. Janine is given much more story focus than Peter, throughout the most recent Seasons. She runs more missions with Five. She's present for moments when Five is given rare character beats, like being visibly distressed at the Glassdoor Monster chasing her or ANNIE playing Five's friends' screams.

Which, is another thing, by the way. When the player is meant to notice that Five is being emotionally traumatized by a demonic A.I., the writers choose to play clips of Simon screaming and dying--sure--but the A.I. also plays those same screams for Janine. And the A.I. spends MORE time replaying Sam's screams and taunting Five with the idea of Sam Yao's mortality.

AND SPEAKING of Sam, the other side of this conversation-coin is the idea that while Five and Peter "get closer" (which I see very little evidence for,) Sam and Five are "drifting apart."

I keep looking for a big falling out, or a difference in the character of Sam Yao's reactions when Five is in danger or has to do something hard or is in an emotional situation, etc. But like...I'm halfway through Season 8 and zip. Zilch. Nada.

There's just as many instances of Sam insisting on helping Five, or appealing to Five, or hinting that he knows Five better than everybody else, or exhibiting special concern for Five, as there have been in any other season. The only thing I could maybe say is that the writers no longer put Sam on every single mission...but that's still not saying much. And all the post-mission email material? It's all still Sam writing to Five. I get maybe one or two letters from other characters, but literally only like, two letters from Peter, at most.

DISPROPORTIONATELY, Sam is still the closest character to Five. No matter how you spin it. And Peter is no closer to Five than Janine, or Jody, or even Veronica.

Now.

I'm not trying to start a shipping war or anything. If you want to say Sam and Five are drifting apart in your specific, in-between-canon-missions headcanon, go right ahead. If you LIKE Peter more than Sam for some reason, go right ahead.

But unless something happens further on in Season 8 or 9 or some extra-mission stuff I haven't unlocked yet, why are you saying they're drifting apart in-canon? Are you just...projecting that on it, because you find Peter more interesting, or because Sam's character has more going on than just "radio guy directing Five and missing his dead girlfriend" in later seasons?

This has been a niche rant that basically nobody but the teeny tiny ZR fandom will bother reading all of, but it felt good to get off my chest. Cuz sometimes, with the self-indulgence/self-insert trends of modern fandom, I think we're losing the ability to understand story. And we just blur the lines between what's actually in the story, and what we like to imagine ABOUT the story.

[tazzy-zooming]

Continuing with procreate portraits of ZR characters with Jody! Precious, precious Jody. I treasure her.

Image ID: a digital drawing of a woman with red hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. She has light freckles across the middle of her face and is wearing a shirt that reads “Abel 4”

[notforconsumption]

runners three, four, five ready for business 

(nature of business may vary)

thank you @lime-pigeon for letting me pinch your five!!

[zombiesrun]

Imagine you come home after your home had been totally destroyed.

…Did anyone know what runners actually survived the rocket launch?

[iamacolor]

It's becoming a habit. What? What is? You holding my hand. You hold it so easily and casually.

LOVELY RUNNER - EPISODE 15

[optimus-rhyme]

[alyx-sp]

“All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.”

[baifengxis]

anny’s favorite 2024 asian dramas

when the phone rings, south korea fangs of fortune, china a tale of love and loyalty, china reverse 4 you, thailand the double, china lovely runner, south korea blossom, china yong an dream, china the legend of shen li, china the story of pearl girl, china

[fresthered]

i'm on time. don't even worry about it

[runner5ive]

Operation: Santa’s coming to town(ship): give all the displaced children the best Christmas they’ve ever had.

Janine would be as serious as a heart attack whilst execute that mission perfectly.

I started this almost a month ago, but new house has eaten up all my time, so raced to finish it today lmao

[fujunfuren]

worried bf x crying gf

THE MIDNIGHT STUDIO (2024) QUEEN OF TEARS (2024) LOVELY RUNNER (2024)

[homestarrunner]

[nunafilms]

Whoever runs this convenience store has a good eye for beauty.

No Gain, No Love 손해 보기 싫어서 (2024)

[konakoro]

This is definitely my favorite runner in book 6